pageid
int64 12
74.6M
| title
stringlengths 2
102
| revid
int64 962M
1.17B
| description
stringlengths 4
100
⌀ | categories
list | markdown
stringlengths 1.22k
148k
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
673,127 | Trenyce | 1,168,690,861 | American singer (born 1980) | [
"1980 births",
"21st-century African-American women singers",
"21st-century American actresses",
"American Idol participants",
"American cabaret performers",
"American expatriates in the United Kingdom",
"American stage actresses",
"Living people",
"Singers from Memphis, Tennessee"
] | Lashundra Trenyce Cobbins (/trəˈniːs/; born March 31, 1980) is an American singer and actress best known as a finalist on the second season of American Idol and for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Trenyce won one of the categories of the NAACP ACT-SO as a teenager, and attended the University of Memphis on a music scholarship.
In 2004, Trenyce began to focus on theatre, playing roles in the plays Not a Day Goes By, The Vagina Monologues, Soul Kittens Cabaret and Mama's Sweet Potato Pie. In 2006, she played the lead role of Deena Jones in an Indianapolis production of the musical Dreamgirls. She made her film debut in 2008 and became the first American Idol contestant to headline a show in Las Vegas. She originated the role of Portia in David E. Talbert's play Love in the Nick of Tyme. Trenyce performed in a 2009 North American tour of the musical Ain't Misbehavin.
From 2010 to 2013, she was the leading female vocalist in the revue Thriller – Live during a European tour and its West End run. She appeared in the 2013 comedy film Kick-Ass 2. In 2015, Trenyce hosted the Franco Dragone-produced cabaret show Taboo at the casino City of Dreams in Macau, China. She then returned to London for an extended reprise of her role in Thriller – Live. In 2017, she starred in the cabaret production Heart & Soul: Music of Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick & Diana Ross, in California. In the same year, she played Diana Ross in a North American tour of Motown: The Musical.
## Early life and education
Lashundra Trenyce Cobbins was born in Memphis, Tennessee on March 31, 1980. Her father, Jesse Cobbins, worked for St. Joe Company, and her mother, Linda Ruth Cobbins, worked at FedEx. She has an older and a younger sister. As a child, she decided to be known by her middle name, feeling that it better suited her ambitions as a performer. Trenyce has written that her interest in music started after performing a solo in a musical production celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. She grew up in North Memphis, where she attended Central High School and performed in various talent shows and pageants. In 1996, she won first place in a singing competition at the national NAACP Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics in Atlanta.
At the age of nineteen, Trenyce was arrested for theft at work. A Shelby County, Tennessee, court permitted her to participate in a pre-trial diversion program that expunged the felony charges from her record. She has denied the theft and claimed that it was a co-worker who stole the items from her workplace. Trenyce attended the University of Memphis on a full music scholarship. While in college, she joined the University Singers ensemble choir and its band Sound Fuzion, which toured throughout Tennessee. After completing three years of the school's nursing program, Trenyce left the University of Memphis to pursue music full-time, performing in such venues as Rhythms Night Club, Precious Cargo and Isaac Hayes' Restaurant.
## Career
### 2002–03: American Idol
In October 2002, Trenyce auditioned for the second season of the reality television series American Idol. She became one of the 32 semi-finalists. She was eliminated in the top 30 round, but judge Paula Abdul chose her as a "wildcard selection" to become one of the twelve finalists. Trenyce's arrest was disclosed to the public during an appearance on the show, but she was not removed from the series, as had happened with some former contestants. Producer Nigel Lythgoe clarified that Trenyce informed the producers of her criminal history from the outset. Trenyce placed fifth during the season finals. Jim Cantiello of MTV News connected the disclosure of Trenyce's mug shot and felony theft charges to her elimination from the show by public voting. Entertainment Weekly also concluded that the news relating to her criminal record reduced her appeal with voters. Several media commentators suggested that racism may have played a role in Trenyce's elimination, as she was one of only two dark-skinned finalists during the season (the other was winner Ruben Studdard).
Entertainment Weekly found her to be one of the show's most underrated contestants and called her a "polished performer with enough sass to eschew her surname". Tim Cuprisin of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel criticized Trenyce's use of her mononymous stage name as "a bit too slick even for a slick competition". Jan Jagodzinski argued in a 2005 book, however, that the name was an attempt to garner "an American appeal", since her birth name Lashundra Cobbin is "an impossible 'pop' signifier". Judge Simon Cowell said that he "never really warmed" to Trenyce, as she "worked very hard at her image – too hard".
In 2016, Billboard magazine included Trenyce's rendition of "I Have Nothing" in its list of the 100 best American Idol live performances. Vulture.com's Maura Johnston criticized Trenyce for being "[a] little yell-y, a little pitch-y, a little guarded", but praised her voice and song choices and felt that she set "a precedent for the divas who followed" in later American Idol seasons. Trenyce's performance of "Let's Stay Together" was included on the compilation album American Idol Season 2: All-Time Classic American Love Songs (2003). AllMusic's Heather Phares thought Trenyce was one of the strongest performers of the show, but criticized her cover version for having an "indistinct quality". In an interview, Trenyce said that she was offered a record deal, following her appearance on American Idol, but she and her mother (who was her manager) rejected it because she found the terms unsatisfactory.
Following her elimination, Trenyce made appearances on television shows, including Live with Regis and Kelly, Extra, ET, Fox and Friends, The Early Show, The Wayne Brady Show, Inside Edition, Good Day Live, the Today Show and TRL. She also was featured in various Memphis periodicals, including as one of Memphis' 30 Most Beautiful People in Elite Magazine's June 2003 issue, and appeared on a cover of "God Bless the USA" along with the other American Idol Season 2 finalists. Trenyce participated in a three-month concert tour with the other season 2 finalists, performing "Proud Mary" and "I Have Nothing". Robin Givhan of The Washington Post was critical of Trenyce's performance on the tour, saying that she demonstrated the "earsplitting finesse of a sledgehammer". Arion Berger of the same publication described her as "a female drag queen with a diva's intimidating presence".
### 2004–09: Transition to musical theatre
Trenyce's work in theatre has mostly focused on "various entertainment aspects of African-American interest". In 2004, she made her theatre debut as Yancey in a North American tour of Not a Day Goes By, a play with songs adapted from the E. Lynn Harris' 2000 novel of the same name. The tour ran from January to May 2004. Jet magazine wrote that Trenyce "breathes life and voice into Yancey", describing her as one of the show's "rich vocal talents". The Chicago Defender felt that Trenyce displayed a "theatrical perception as she interprets a character". She soon performed in the play The Vagina Monologues. In 2005, she played in two Nicci Gillbert stage productions: Soul Kittens Cabaret and Mama's Sweet Potato Pie, participating in a North American tour of the latter. Trenyce's performance as the wife in Mama's Sweet Potato Pie was praised by 'Call and Posts Chris Bournea. The same year, she made a cameo appearance in the comedy film Beauty Shop, and performed on the BET reality television series College Hill.
Trenyce played the leading role of Deena Jones in an Indianapolis production of the musical Dreamgirls, which ran from June to July 2006. Her performance received positive reviews, including one from the newspaper NUVO, commenting that Trenyce's "smooth voice creat[ed] a sound for The Dreams that could easily have taken the group to the top of the charts". David Lindquist of The Indianapolis Star thought that Trenyce brought "star power" to the production. In the same year, she became the first American Idol contestant to headline a show in Las Vegas, Nevada, with V: The Ultimate Variety Show and Late Night Idol at the Sahara Hotel and Casino. She hosted it for nine months.
In 2007, Trenyce played Portia in David E. Talbert's play Love in the Nick of Tyme. It toured in North America to seventeen cities, starting in the Beacon Theatre in New York in January. In 2010, a film of the play was released on DVD, and its soundtrack was released separately. The film was also broadcast on Black Entertainment Television (BET). Trenyce performed at the Razz Room in San Francisco from July 22 to August 2, 2008. The same year, she made her film debut as Unique in the LGBT independent romantic comedy movie Friends & Lovers: The Ski Trip 2. A year later, she contributed the title track to the soundtrack for the film Truth Hall. Trenyce played a role in the 30th anniversary revival tour of the musical Ain't Misbehavin after a recommendation from Ruben Studdard. As traditionally done with the show, the performers used their own names for their characters. The cast album received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
### 2010–14: Thriller – Live and work in London
In 2010, Trenyce sang during the interludes and dance performances for Louis Van Amstel"s Ballroom with a Twist. Karyn Saemann of Madison.com described Trenyce as "a truly gifted singer who did more than justice to several tunes", especially in her performances of Whitney Houston songs.
Later in 2010, Trenyce joined the Michael Jackson tribute concert revue Thriller – Live as the leading female vocalist during a European tour. She reprised her role when the show played at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End. She starred in the concert for three years, from 2010 until 2013, performing material from different periods in Jackson's career. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Trenyce said that the audience was initially hesitant to hear a woman interpret Jackson's music. Theatreworld's Geoff Billingsley praised Trenyce's performance, writing that her voice sounded very similar to Jackson's and describing her as an improvement over the previous female lead Cleo Higgins.
While in London, Trenyce also hosted the variety show The Box. In 2012, she provided the vocals for Baff Akoto's short film Afterglow about a group of friends who navigate jazz culture in London. She had a minor role in the 2013 superhero, comedy film Kick-Ass 2 as Hit-Girl's cheerleading coach. In December 2013, she released three songs: "Fever", "In the End (Alright)" and "Where Do They Go?" on iTunes. The following year, she worked with producer DJ Guy Scheiman on his single "Brazil You're Ready (Synethetic)", with remixes released in 2015.
### 2015–present: Macau and other work
In 2015, Trenyce hosted Taboo, a cabaret show designed by Franco Dragone, in Macau, China. The show was staged in the casino City of Dreams; Trenyce was given creative control over the selection of musical genres and songs as long as they fit the cabaret's overall style. Macau.com praised Trenyce's stage presence and "the power of her voice and stature". In 2016, Trenyce collaborated with DJ Guy Scheiman on his single "This Time". From 2015 to 2017, Trenyce reprised her role in the West End production of Thriller – Live. Reviewer Hannah Kerin praised Trenyce's performance of Jackson's 1987 single "The Way You Make Me Feel", calling it "show-stopping" and writing that it "stood out amidst many fantastic renditions of the hits and less well known material".
In 2017, Trenyce starred in Heart & Soul: Music of Whitney Houston, Dionne Warwick & Diana Ross, promoted as part of "the Chris Isaacson Presents lineup of spring cabaret fare". as one of "three sultry starlets". She participated in the show during its stints at the Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood and Martinis Above Fourth in San Diego, California. The same year, she volunteered in Karamu House, speaking to young girls and participating in its "Saving Our Daughters Cinderellas on Broadway" program; she was named "Celebrity Godparent" for her work. Later in the year, Trenyce played Diana Ross on a North American tour of Motown: The Musical. Her performance received positive reviews. The Times of Northwest Indiana's Eloise Marie Valdez praised her vocals, while Chicago Sun-Times''' Hedy Weiss pointed to her ability to connect with the audience as a highlight.
## Credits
### Theatre and cabaret
### Filmography
## Discography
### Cast albums
### Singles
### Other songs |
65,794,257 | U.S. Route 63 in Iowa | 1,160,509,587 | U.S. Highway in Iowa | [
"Transportation in Black Hawk County, Iowa",
"Transportation in Bremer County, Iowa",
"Transportation in Chickasaw County, Iowa",
"Transportation in Davis County, Iowa",
"Transportation in Howard County, Iowa",
"Transportation in Mahaska County, Iowa",
"Transportation in Poweshiek County, Iowa",
"Transportation in Tama County, Iowa",
"Transportation in Wapello County, Iowa",
"U.S. Highways in Iowa",
"U.S. Route 63"
] | U.S. Highway 63 (US 63) is a United States Highway that runs through the eastern third of Iowa. It begins at the Missouri state line southwest of Bloomfield and travels north through Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Tama, Waterloo, and New Hampton. It ends at the Minnesota state line at Chester. Between Ottumwa and Oskaloosa, the highway is a four-lane controlled-access highway. Through Waterloo and New Hampton, it is partially controlled; that is, the road as both grade-separated interchanges and at-grade intersections. The rest of the highway is largely a two-lane rural highway.
While US 63 was created in 1926, it dates back eleven years prior to the creation of the Daniel Boone Trail, which sought to be the best north–south highway in an era when most routes traveled from east to west. Through Iowa, it traveled through Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Prairie City, Des Moines, Boone, and Algona. Upon creation of the primary highway system in 1920, the Daniel Boone Trail was assigned a series of route numbers. When the U.S. Highway System was created in 1926, US 63 was assigned to the path that had been the Daniel Boone Trail, but only from the Missouri state line to the state capitol in Des Moines. 1934 brought major changes to the U.S. Highway System as a whole and US 63 had a major realignment. Instead of turning to the northwest at Oskaloosa, it now traveled north through Tama, Waterloo, and New Hampton, eventually reaching Lake Superior at Ashland, Wisconsin.
Since then, the routing of US 63 has served the same communities, but the route has been adjusted as new highway projects have been completed. Significant infrastructure projects in Ottumwa and Waterloo in the 1950s through the 1970s updated the roadway to modern standards. In the 1990s and 2000s, large parts of the US 63 corridor found itself removed from planning budgets while other portions of the route were widened to four lanes. Portions of a Des Moines-to-Burlington corridor that included US 63 were widened to four lanes in the 1990s through the mid-2000s. Through Waterloo, all of US 63 north of the Cedar River was rebuilt in the 2010s. It was expected that the renewed highway would be a catalyst for economic growth in the area.
## Route description
US 63 enters the state in Davis County north of Lancaster, Missouri. It heads north for about eleven miles (18 km) until it reaches Iowa 2. The route turns east onto Iowa 2 and the two highways travel together until Bloomfield. There, Iowa 2 continues east and US 63 turns north and travels through the town. North of Bloomfield, the highway does not pass through another community for the next 20 miles (32 km) when it arrives in Ottumwa. At a roundabout on the southeast side of town, it meets US 34. The first of two business routes splits away from the main route and follows westbound US 34 while eastbound US 34 joins US 63. The two highways cross the Des Moines River and curve around the downtown area of Ottumwa until they reach Iowa 163. Here, at a sweeping curve, US 34 follows Iowa 163 east and US 63 heads north. The freeway bypasses Ottumwa to the east and then curves around to the north; a couple interchanges serve local traffic. At the Iowa 149 interchange, the US 63 business route rejoins the mainline highway.
After continuing west for a few miles, US 63 and Iowa 163 turn to the northwest near Chillicothe to follow the course of the Des Moines River. At Eddyville, they meet Iowa 137 on the south side of the town. Another exit on the north end serves Eddyville Raceway Park. North of Eddyville, they head north for six miles (9.7 km) until they reach exit 60 where Iowa 163 continues along the four-lane road and US 63 exits to the north. Coincidentally, this interchange is numbered exit 60 in both directions; it is about 60 miles (97 km) from Iowa 163's western end in Des Moines as well as US 63's southern end. US 63 enters Oskaloosa and meets Iowa Highway 92 in the downtown area. As it leaves Oskaloosa, it passes the campus of William Penn University. It continues north and reaches the town of New Sharon. In this town's downtown area, the highway turns east at the intersection of Main and Market streets. Iowa 146 begins its northward trek at the intersection and from 1980 to 2003, Iowa 102 followed West Market Street toward Pella. When Iowa 102 was turned back in May 2003, the City of New Sharon did not enter into a transfer of jurisdiction agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation for its portion of the highway, thus the state still maintains the one-half mile (800 m) of Iowa 102 in the city.
US 63 heads east for a few miles before turning back to the north to head towards Montezuma. There, it skirts the downtown area to the west. Prior to the mid-1990s, it met Iowa 85 at an intersection with Main Street; that highway was turned back to the eastern city limits in 1994. Just south of Malcom, US 63 comes to an interchange with I-80. The crosses a line of the Iowa Interstate Railroad and passes through the community. The highway comes to a T-intersection with US 6 between Grinnell and Brooklyn. The two roads overlap each other for two miles (3.2 km) before US 63 splits off to the north. It heads north for about fifteen miles (24 km), crosses the Iowa River and enters Tama. In Tama, it passes through the downtown area where it intersects the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway. Farther north it meets the byway again before entering Tama's sister city, Toledo. There it has an interchange with the current routing of US 30 and an intersection with the previous routing, now signed as a business route of US 30.
North of Tama–Toledo, the highway passes through rural Tama County. It meets Iowa 96, which heads west toward Gladbrook at a T-intersection. US 63 turns east for a few miles and then turns north into Traer. There it meets the western end of Iowa 8. Continuing north, the highway passes Buckingham to the west and then intersects Iowa 175 not long after crossing into Black Hawk County. At Hudson, it meets Iowa 58 before turning to the northeast. Shortly before the US 20 interchange, the roadway widens to a four-lane divided highway. Known as Sergeant Road through southwestern Waterloo, the highway follows the course of Black Hawk Creek, which flows to the west of the road. At University Avenue, US 63 curves around to meet it at a right angle. Lying just yards from this intersection is an interchange with US 218. US 63 and US 218 do not overlap each other; US 63 splits into a one-way couplet and each direction surrounds the US 218 freeway. Northeast of US 218, US 63 remains as one-way streets. The northbound lanes use 1st Avenue and the southbound lanes use Mullan Avenue. At the Cedar River, Young Arena lies between the two streets.
North of Franklin Street, the two directions rejoin and form Logan Avenue. The road travels on a viaduct over railroad tracks owned by Canadian National that opened on November 1, 2019. Previously, the roadway went underneath the railroad tracks, but the underpass was prone to flooding. The road continues through northern Waterloo as a five-lane road, two travel lanes in each direction and a central turning lane. A few miles north of the city limits, the turning lane ends and the road becomes a divided highway. At Denver, an interchange serves the community as the highway curves around it to the west. A short distance later is another interchange with Iowa 3. The four-lane highway continues north where it meets Iowa 93 and Iowa 188 in short succession. About six miles (9.7 km) north of Frederika lies an interchange with US 18 and Iowa 346. US 18 turns onto the US 63 expressway and they head north toward New Hampton.
Just south of New Hampton is an exit for the second of US 63's business routes. At another interchange near the city center, US 18 exits and heads west; Iowa 24 heads east. The four-lane road curves along the north side of town and meets the northern end of the business route. As the road curves back to the north, the divided highway ends and it becomes a two-lane road for the remainder of its trip through Iowa. It travels through rural Chickasaw and Howard counties until it reaches Iowa 9 roughly midway between Riceville and Cresco. It skirts to the west of Lime Springs and then turns to the northwest. The road passes through Chester, which is the last Iowa community along the route. It crosses the Upper Iowa River and enters Minnesota three-quarters mile (1,200 m) later. The roadway continues toward Rochester.
## History
What is now the US 63 corridor has been used, under various names, for over 100 years. The route was first organized as the Daniel Boone Trail in 1915 during the height of the Good Roads Movement. Then, the road was maintained by the Daniel Boone Trail Association, which solicited donations from people who lived along the route. Five years later, the Iowa General Assembly passed a primary road bill which shifted the responsibility of road maintenance from associations to Iowa's 99 counties. At the same time, route numbers were applied to the new primary highway system; the Daniel Boone Trail was designated several route numbers. In 1925, confusion between route associations and nascent state highway systems led to the creation of the U.S. Highway System. U.S. Highway 63 was realized the next year.
A road study organized in 1958 identified roads that should be expanded to four lanes by 1980. The study listed all of Iowa 163 and US 63 from Oskaloosa to Bloomfield. An updated report in 1968 called for two freeways along US 63, one from Des Moines to Burlington that also used Iowa 163 and another from Waterloo to New Hampton, and widening the road to four lanes from Ottumwa south to the Missouri state line and from New Hampton north to Minnesota. Major infrastructure projects were undertaken in Ottumwa in the 1950s and 1960s. In the Waterloo area, there were projects in response to growing traffic needs in the 1960s that carried over into the 1970s. Forty years later, these areas once again modernized their roadways.
### Daniel Boone Trail
Spearheaded by former state representative J.B. McHose of Boone, the Daniel Boone Trail Association was created with the idea of creating the pre-eminent north–south highway in the country at the time. McHose met with chambers of commerce in cities along the proposed route in order to drum up interest. The route was intended to travel from St. Louis, Missouri, to St. Paul, Minnesota, by way of Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Des Moines, Boone, Fort Dodge, Humboldt, and Algona. Through southern Iowa, it was not immediately known where the trail would be located. Meetings in early 1916 clarified that the route between Des Moines and Oskaloosa would follow the northern bank of the Des Moines River and pass through Pella and Prairie City. An alternate route had been proposed through Knoxville and Albia south of the river.
Before numbered highways and road maps became the norm for wayfinding, blue books were an important way for the traveling public to get from place to place. In 1916, then the president of the Daniel Boone Trail Association, McHose accompanied a pathfinder writing for a blue book from Boone to Ottumwa, ensuring the Daniel Boone Trail was recorded correctly for the next edition. At the same time, route markers were being placed along the route. The signs measured 10 by 30 inches (250 by 760 mm) and said "Daniel Boone trail, Canada to the gulf."
### Primary roads
In 1919, the Iowa General Assembly passed a bill that created a fund for improving and hard-surfacing nearly 6,300 miles (10,100 km) of primary roads in the state. The primary road system was to connect every city and town with at least 1000 inhabitants. The bill gave Iowa's 99 counties the responsibility for maintaining the roads, which had previously fallen upon road associations that sponsored their respective highways. The new primary roads were assigned route numbers, a trend seen in other Midwestern states. Route numbers were painted onto telegraph and telephone poles in order to guide travelers without the need for maps. Because of the snaking route the Daniel Boone Trail took through the state, it was assigned multiple route numbers: Primary Road No. 13 from the Missouri state line to No. 24 near Hedrick, thence on No. 24 to Oskaloosa, No. 2 from Oskaloosa to Des Moines, No. 60 from Des Moines to Boone, No. 6 from Boone to Ogden, No. 90 from Ogden to Harcourt, and lastly No. 16 from Harcourt to the Minnesota state line.
### U.S. Highways
In the mid-1920s, automobile associations continued to sponsor their named routes — there were 64 such named routes in Iowa — on top of the route numbers given by the state highway commission. This proved to be more confusing than helpful to the casual traveler, so in 1924, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO, later AASHTO) called for a national system of interstate highways. Of the 75,884 miles (122,123 km) proposed by AASHO, nearly 3,000 miles (4,800 km) were allocated to Iowa. Across the country, support for the system was nearly unanimous among state highway officials and the new national routings and route numbers were assigned in 1925. The Iowa State Highway Commission chose to renumber a few highways as to not have conflicting route numbers along important routes. U.S. Highway 63 was designated along Primary Roads No. 13, 24, and 2, which was the Daniel Boone Trail from Missouri to Des Moines. Once the U.S. Highway System was established, the automobile association-sponsored roads gradually disappeared.
The new US 63 entered Iowa near Bloomfield and traveled north through Ottumwa to Oskaloosa. There it turned to the northwest to go through Pella, Monroe, and Prairie City. The national northern end of the highway was at the corner of Grand Avenue and E. 14th Street near the Iowa State Capitol where US 32 and US 65 split. When it was designated, only a small percentage of the route was paved – a short section south of Oskaloosa and all it in Polk County. By August 1934, the whole route was paved.
In 1933, residents of southeastern Minnesota expressed interest to the state highway department for an extension of US 63 from Iowa through Minnesota and to Lake Superior in Wisconsin. Around the same, AASHO was conducting a review of the young U.S. Highway System. In other states, some U.S. Highways split into two routes, e.g. US 70N and US 70S; these splits were found to not be particularly useful for the traveling public and AASHO recommended their removal.
At AASHO's annual meeting in 1934, among the topics discussed was the highway system itself. Attendees decreed that the system should serve interstate traffic and that shorter routes that do not serve that purpose should be consolidated into other highways or removed from the system entirely. Additionally, any new routes in the system would only be approved in areas that were unoccupied by any other routes. At that same meeting, US 63 away from Des Moines and instead north from Oskaloosa over Iowa 59. This created a route from Turrell, Arkansas, to Ashland, Wisconsin, by way of Waterloo, Rochester, Minnesota, and Red Wing, Minnesota. Due to the major change in the route, the abandoned segment from Oskaloosa to Des Moines was renumbered U.S. Highway 163. The newly numbered US 163 did not last long. In 1937, AASHO changed its policies with regards to numbered highways entirely within one state. As a result, Iowa 163 replaced US 163 in its entirety; US 161 in eastern Iowa was also affected. When it became US 63, the former Iowa 59 was nearly fully paved. Only the portion of the route in Poweshiek County south of US 6 was a gravel road. That section was paved in 1938.
After two floods inundated Ottumwa in 1947, the city created an ambitious public works project that began in 1955. The main part of the project was the straightening and widening of the Des Moines River through the city. The main channel of the river was an oxbow that curved into the southern half of the city; a smaller channel bordered the northern half. The smaller northern channel was to be widened to accommodate the full river. Dirt excavated for the new channel was to be used to build levees and to provide fill dirt for the relocation of US 63 and US 34. US 63 entered Ottumwa from the south along Madison Street and met US 34 at the foot of the river. They then crossed on the Jefferson Street bridge; US 34 split away at the intersection with Main Street. US 63 continued north on Jefferson but turned west on Vanness Street for a block before turning north on Court Street and out of town. The new routing of US 63 followed the bank of the Des Moines river more closely. It intersected US 34 near the John Deere plant and followed the new river bank. US 63 turned north onto the new Wapello Street viaduct, passed over downtown, and then north along a new four-lane road that connected to Court Street. The \$2-million viaduct was the last piece of the \$22-million project (equivalent to \$ and \$, respectively, in dollars) that lasted ten years.
### Growing pains in Waterloo
In the late 1950s, an editorial published in the Waterloo Daily Courier called for the Iowa State Highway Commission to widen the highways in the Waterloo area. It cited a statistic that suggested a highway with over daily traffic of over 4000 vehicles should be expanded to four lanes. On US 63, the highway commission's count in 1956 found that 4430 vehicles north of Waterloo and 2490 vehicles south of the city used the highway daily. Traffic on US 63 had nearly doubled since the previous count in 1954. Traffic entered Waterloo from the southwest on a winding road that became 4th Street. At Washington Street, which carried US 218, the highway split into a one-way couplet between Washington and Franklin streets. Northbound traffic used 5th Street and southbound traffic Park Avenue; both streets traveled over the Cedar River and passed through downtown Waterloo. At Franklin, which carried US 20, the two directions of US 63 and they followed Franklin for a few blocks before turning north onto Logan Avenue. At the intersection with Center Street, there was a level crossing with the Illinois Central Railroad.
Two years later, the commission announced \$8 million in highway projects (equivalent to \$ in dollars) in the Waterloo area, among which was relocating US 63 on the west side of Waterloo, a shifted Cedar River crossing, and a rail crossing north of downtown. In 1960, it was announced that the rerouted path of US 63 in western Waterloo would run adjacent to the Chicago Great Western railroad tracks that ran along Black Hawk Creek. It would then meet US 218 near the John Deere plant and then use Mullan Avenue and a new bridge at 1st Street across the Cedar River to US 20. North of US 20, an underpass would be constructed to eliminate the Illinois Central crossing. The new underpass opened with great fanfare on October 31, 1963, as it brought relief from a bottlenecks brought on by the nearby rail yard. A pedestrian bridge over US 63 was built as well.
Parts of the western Waterloo route opened in 1962. It was opened up from Hudson to San Marnan Drive, which was Iowa 412. The rest of the western Waterloo highway was delayed by the city so the Army Corps of Engineers could complete a study on flood control in the downtown area. It was not known if the heights of any potential new levees would require a new Mullan Avenue bridge. The new section of highway from Hudson featured a 90-degree turn, a temporary stopgap measure until the rest of the highway could be built to US 218. Inadequate signage notifying drivers of an abrupt speed limit change from 70 to 25 miles per hour (115 to 40 km/h) led to numerous accidents where drivers did not handle the turn correctly. The connection to US 218 opened on December 16, 1968.
A new bridge over the Cedar River opened in June 1968, but northbound US 63 traffic was not rerouted onto the new span right away. Traffic lights and street lights were not yet installed along the bridge and widened First Street. Southbound US 63 was using the Mullan Avenue shortly after the First Street bridge opened. The Waterloo City Council voted in March 1969 to replace the Mullan Avenue bridge with a new span. The old bridge was built in 1913, but it was determined to be in worse condition than originally believed. The Mullan Avenue bridge closed on February 16, 1970, and southbound US 63 traffic was detoured to 5th Street; by then northbound US 63 traffic had been using the First Street bridge. A month later, while using a wrecking ball on one of the support arches, the rest of bridge collapsed into the Cedar River. A small tractor and large air compressor fell into the water with the bridge. The new Mullan Avenue bridge opened on November 23, 1970.
The 1980s and 1990s were a busy time for road construction in the Waterloo–Cedar Falls metro area. Waterloo mayor Leo P. Rooff in the 1970s declined extending I-380 to Cedar Falls by using the Federal Highway Administration's interstate substitution program; money that was earmarked for interstate highway construction could be used for other projects. Rooff wanted the money to be used for existing infrastructure, which was not in good condition. Some of the money saved was used to build the Iowa 58 expressway in Cedar Falls and the US 218 expressway connecting the two cities. US 20 was rerouted onto a freeway south of Iowa 412 in 1983; the interchange between US 20 and US 63 was built overtop Iowa 412's western end. I-380 was completed in 1985 finally connecting the area to the Interstate Highway System. A 4-cent-per-US-gallon (1.1 ¢/L) increase in Iowa's gas tax in 1988 (equivalent to Error in convert: Needs the number to be converted (help) in dollars) also added some much needed funds for highway construction. In the early 1990s, connecting Waterloo to Rochester, Minnesota, was looked at as the next big project. A study suggested building a four-lane road in stages all the way into Minnesota, but also suggesting improving the existing two-lane roadway and constructing bypasses around cities. Meanwhile, construction of a bypass around Denver was ongoing. The Denver bypass was initially approved in 1986, but it was not programmed for construction until 1991–1992. Traffic was routed onto the new bypass in October 1994, but the project wasn't completed for another month.
### Des Moines to Burlington highway
In 1996, the Iowa Transportation Commission approved an ambitious, \$1.7-billion highway construction plan (equivalent to \$ in dollars) that would expand six important corridors to four-lane expressways—and not freeways—including the Des Moines to Burlington route, by 2004. Local officials applauded the project, stating that it would improve the state's economy overall and help southeastern Iowa businesses locally. The project received a major boost when President Bill Clinton signed a \$216-billion highway bill on June 9, 1998, out of which \$314 million was earmarked for Iowa projects (equivalent to \$ and \$ in dollars, respectively). Plans to begin work on the new highway were submitted to the transportation commission and approved.
Construction began on the Des Moines-to-Burlington route. Plans for US 63 between Oskaloosa and Ottumwa did not follow the routing of US 63. Instead, it was to follow Iowa 137 south out of Oskaloosa to Eddyville. Then it would follow Iowa 23 from Eddyville to near Chillicothe. From there it would curve east and rejoin US 63 near the Ottumwa Regional Airport. Construction near Eddyville was halted temporarily when the palegreen orchid, a plant considered endangered in Iowa at the time, was found in the sand dune prairie near Eddyville. The relocated highway opened on July 15, 1997. At the same time, what was left of the former Iowa 23 from Ottumwa to Eddyville was turned over to Wapello County and the former routing of US 63 became a new Iowa 23 between Oskaloosa and Iowa 149 near Hedrick; that highway was extended from the new Iowa 23 south to the new expressway.
Budget constraints in the early part of the 2000s caused the Iowa DOT to table some highway projects, but they were still committed to completing the six high-priority corridors. Part of the budget issues were caused by a change in federal earmark philosophy. Prior to this change, the Congress would fund projects individually, but now funding was being given to states in the form of a block grant and discretion on how the funds would be used was now up to the states. The DOT was able to achieve some savings by extending the timeline for completing the priority projects. The Ottumwa bypass was one of the delayed roads. The Iowa Transportation Commission initially approved the road in 1998, but later put the project on hold. The commission re-approved the plan for the nine-mile (14 km) road at a cost of \$68 million (equivalent to \$ in dollars).
Construction lasted for a couple years; crews were able to make use of a fruitful 2007 road construction season. Ottumwa's bypass opened to traffic on November 19, 2007. The new road shifted US 63 traffic out of downtown and onto US 34 heading east from the intersection of the two highways near the city's John Deere plant. The final section of the 165-mile-long (266 km) Des Moines to Burlington route was completed in November 2008. Governor Chet Culver presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony that celebrated the opening of the Fairfield bypass and the completion of the 1996 highway plan. The next year, the Des Moines to Burlington route was given a single route number, Iowa 163, which had previously extended from Des Moines to Oskaloosa. Between Oskaloosa and Burlington, the Iowa 163 number was overlaid atop the existing route numbers, US 63 and US 34.
### Bypassed in New Hampton
Plans for a bypass in New Hampton started in the early 1990s after a study reported that building a four-lane road that connected Waterloo and Rochester, Minnesota, was economically feasible. The New Hampton city council discussed potential bypass routes as early as 1991. Initial plans had included connecting the newly constructed bypass of Denver to the New Hampton bypass, but that section was shelved in 1995 due to budget cuts. The actual design of the bypass was not approved until April 1998. Later that year the Iowa DOT pledged to connect the Denver and New Hampton bypasses by 2001. Fourteen people died in accidents on the 15 miles (24 km) between the two cities from 1986 to 1994, so the announcement was welcomed by local residents. In 2001, however, the section of US 63 between the cities found itself again removed from the DOT's five-year plan.
The bypass of New Hampton was complete in 2002, but the four-lane connection to Denver was not. The transition from four lanes to two presented a few dangers – four-lane traffic must slow down from 65–70 to 55 mph (105–115 to 90 km/h) and then the two-lane road itself was in rough shape. Most frustrating to some was that the DOT already owned the right-of-way for the expanded highway, but they chose to allow farmers to grow oats on the land instead. Road construction budgets received a major boost with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Highway projects that had been pushed back, like the widening of US 63 between Denver and New Hampton, finally had a green light.
Near Frederika, where the new highway bypassed two 90-degree curves, dirt fill was used from a nearby property that was slated for wetland restoration near the Wapsipinicon River. By using the nearby soil, an estimated \$500 thousand was saved from the \$2.82 million project (equivalent to \$ and \$ in dollars, respectively). The expansion of US 63 from New Hampton to Iowa 188 was completed in 2009. The rest of the connection to Denver was scheduled as part of \$600 million in statewide road construction for 2012 (equivalent to \$ in dollars).
### Updating Waterloo
The improvements through Waterloo that came about in the late 1960s were showing their age in the 2010s. The railroad underpass that was celebrated for reducing wait times was subject to flooding after a heavy rain. The four lanes of Logan Avenue were too narrow for turning traffic. The east side of Waterloo was seen as economically depressed. The local media saw an improved US 63 as a welcome mat to the downtown area and by extension, the east side. It was an opportunity to improve the way of life for everyone in Waterloo. A tax increment financing district was created along Logan Avenue and through eastern Waterloo with the hope that the rebuilt highway would be a catalyst to economic growth. Six houses were moved out of the construction zone along Logan Avenue and 24 other properties were torn down before work began. These houses and businesses were removed to make room for walking trails along the highway; they were considered to be located too close to the highway.
The project was divided into three phases: north of Newell Street, south of Franklin Street to Jefferson Street across the Cedar River, and the new viaduct between Franklin and Newell. Construction on the segment north of Newell began in 2013 and finished in 2016. The downtown phase was contracted out in January 2017 and finished in early 2019. The biggest piece of the corridor improvement puzzle was the replacement of the railroad underpass. The DOT proposed going over the Canadian National rails instead of under. The viaduct project was estimated to cost \$26.4 million. The project entailed filling in the underpass, stabilizing the soil, and mitigating groundwater in addition to building the viaduct. The completed road reopened on November 1, 2019; civic and business leaders held a small ceremony at the foot of the viaduct to celebrate its opening.
## Major intersections |
6,736,198 | Upnor Castle | 1,173,446,112 | Fort in Kent, England | [
"1567 establishments in England",
"16th-century forts in England",
"Castles in Kent",
"Elizabeth I",
"English Heritage sites in Kent",
"Forts in Medway",
"George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle",
"Grade I listed buildings in Kent",
"Infrastructure completed in 1567",
"Military and war museums in England",
"Museums in Medway"
] | Upnor Castle is an Elizabethan artillery fort located on the west bank of the River Medway in Kent. It is in the village of Upnor, opposite and a short distance downriver from the Chatham Dockyard, at one time a key naval facility. The fort was intended to protect both the dockyard and ships of the Royal Navy anchored in the Medway. It was constructed between 1559 and 1567 on the orders of Elizabeth I, during a period of tension with Spain and other European powers. The castle consists of a two-storeyed main building protected by a curtain wall and towers, with a triangular gun platform projecting into the river. It was garrisoned by about 80 men with a peak armament of around 20 cannon of various calibres.
Despite its strategic importance, the castle and the defences of the Thames and Medway were badly neglected during the 17th century. The Dutch Republic mounted an unexpected naval raid in June 1667, and the Dutch fleet was able to breach the defences, capturing two warships and burning others at anchor in the river at Chatham, in one of the worst defeats suffered by the Royal Navy. Upnor Castle acquitted itself better than many of the other defensive sites along the upper Medway, despite its lack of provisioning. Gun fire from the fort and from adjoining emplacements forced a Dutch retreat after a couple of days, before they were able to burn the dockyard itself.
The raid exposed the weaknesses of the Medway defences and led to the castle losing its role as an artillery fortification. New and stronger forts were built further downriver over the following two centuries, culminating in the construction of massive casemated forts such as Garrison Point Fort, Hoo, and Darnet Forts. Upnor Castle became a naval ammunition depot, storing great quantities of gunpowder, ammunition, and cannon to replenish the warships that came to Chatham for repair and resupply. It remained in military use until as late as 1945. The castle was subsequently opened to the public and is now an English Heritage property.
## History
### Strategic context
The River Medway is a major tributary of the Thames, merging at an estuary about 35 miles (56 km) east of London. Its upper reaches from Rochester to the confluence with the Thames at Sheerness meander between sand and mud banks for about 10 miles (16 km). The water flows slowly without strong currents and is free of rocks, while the surrounding hills provide shelter from the south-west wind. These characteristics made the section of the river below Rochester Bridge a desirable anchorage for large ships, as they could be anchored safely and grounded for repairs. The complexity of the channel's navigation also provided it with defensive advantages.
During Henry VIII's reign, the upper Medway gradually became the principal anchorage for ships of the Royal Navy while they were "in ordinary", or out of commission. They were usually stripped of their sails and rigging while in this state and the opportunity was taken to refit and repair them. Storehouses and servicing facilities were built in the Medway towns of Gillingham and Chatham which eventually became the nucleus of the Chatham Dockyard. By the time Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, most of the royal fleet used this section of the Medway, known as Chatham and Gillingham Reaches, as an anchorage.
Although the Thames had been defended from naval attack since Henry VIII's time, when five blockhouses were built as part of the Device Forts chain of coastal defences, there were no equivalents on the Medway. Two medieval castles – Rochester Castle and Queenborough Castle – existed along the river's south bank, but both were intended to defend landward approaches and were of little use for defence. There was thus a pressing need for proper defences to protect the vulnerable ships and shore facilities on the upper Medway.
### Construction
Upnor Castle was commissioned in 1559 by order of Queen Elizabeth and her Privy Council. Six "indifferent persons" chose a site opposite St Mary's Creek in Chatham, on 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land belonging to a Thomas Devinisshe of Frindsbury. It was acquired by the Crown – possibly compulsorily purchased – for the sum of £25. Military engineer Sir Richard Lee was given the task of designing the new fortification, but he appears to have been fully occupied with working on the defences of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and the project was carried out by others to his designs. His deputy Humphrey Locke took the role of overseer, surveyor, and chief carpenter, while Richard Watts, the former Rochester mayor and victualler to the navy, managed the project on a day-to-day basis and handled the accounting.
The castle's original appearance differed significantly from that of today. The arrow-shaped Water Bastion facing into the Medway and the main block behind it were part of the original design. There were also towers at either end of the water frontage, though these were subsequently replaced by towers of a different design. The gatehouse and moat were later additions. A number of derelict buildings in Rochester Castle, Aylesford, and Bopley were pulled down to provide stone for the castle. The main structure had been completed by 1564, but it took another three years and an infusion of extra funds to finish the project. The total cost came to £4,349.
### Improvements and repairs
During the late 16th century, tensions grew between Protestant England and Catholic Spain, leading ultimately to the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604. Spain was in a strong position to attack the south of England from its possessions in the Spanish Netherlands. New fortifications were erected along the Medway, including a chain stretched across the width of the river below Upnor Castle. The castle itself was poorly manned until Lord High Admiral Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham highlighted this and recommended that the garrison should be increased. By 1596, it was garrisoned by eighty men who were each paid eight pence per day (equivalent to £6 today).
Continued fears of a Spanish incursion led to the castle's defences being strengthened between 1599 and 1601 at the instigation of Sir John Leveson. An arrowhead-shaped timber palisade was erected in front of the Water Bastion to block any attempted landings there. An enclosing ditch some 5.5 metres (18 ft) deep and 9.8 metres (32 ft) wide was dug around the castle. Flanking turrets were constructed to protect the bastion on the site of the present north and south towers. The bastion itself was raised and a high parapet was added to its edge. A gatehouse and drawbridge were also built to protect the castle's landward side.
A survey conducted in 1603 recorded that Upnor Castle had 20 guns of various calibres, plus another 11 guns split between two sconces or outworks, known as Bay and Warham Sconces. The castle's armament consisted of a demi-cannon, 7 culverin, 5 demi-culverin, a minion, a falconet, a saker, and four fowlers with two chambers each. Bay Sconce was armed with 4 demi-culverin, while Warham Sconce had 2 culverin and 5 demi-culverin. Eighteen guns were recorded as being mounted in the castle twenty years later. The garrison's armament included 34 longbows, an indication that archery was still of military value even at this late date. By this time, however, the castle was in a state of disrepair. The drawbridge and its raising mechanism were broken, the gun platforms needed repairs, and the courtyard wall had collapsed. A new curtain wall had to be built to protect the landward side of the castle. The foundations of Warham Sconce were reported to have been washed away by the tide, and it appears that both sconces were allowed to fall into ruin.
In August 1606 King James, Anne of Denmark, her brother Christian IV of Denmark, and Prince Henry came to Upnor Castle by barge from Rochester. They had dinner aboard the Elizabeth Jonas. The ship was connected by a timber bridge to the Bear and a third boat or hulk served as a kitchen. The floating venue was devised by the naval engineer Phineas Pett. After dinner they took coaches from Upnor towards Gravesend, and stopped to watch cannon salutes from Windmill Hill.
Upnor Castle fell into Parliamentary hands without a fight when the English Civil War broke out in 1642, and was subsequently used to intern Royalist officers. In May 1648, a Royalist uprising took place in Kent and Essex, with the royalists seizing a number of towns, including Gravesend, Rochester, Dover, and Maidstone. The Royalists were defeated in the Battle of Maidstone on 1 June, and the castle was restored to Parliamentary hands. Parliamentary commander-in-chief Sir Thomas Fairfax inspected the castle and ordered further repairs and strengthening of the gun platforms. It appears that the height of the gatehouse was also increased at this time, and the north and south towers were built up. They appear to have been left open at the back (on the landward side), but this was remedied in 1653 in the course of further repairs, making them suitable for use as troop accommodation.
### Raid on the Medway
The castle only saw action once in its history, during the Dutch Raid on the Medway in June 1667, part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch, under the nominal command of Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, bombarded and captured the town of Sheerness, sailed up the Thames to Gravesend, then up the Medway to Chatham. They made their way past the chain that was supposed to block the river, sailed past the castle, and towed away HMS Royal Charles and Unity, as well as burning other ships at anchor. The Dutch anchored in the Medway overnight on 12 June, while the Duke of Albemarle took charge of the defences and ordered the hasty construction of an eight-gun battery next to Upnor Castle, using guns taken from Chatham. The castle's guns, the garrison's muskets, and the new battery were all used to bombard the Dutch ships when they attempted a second time to sail past Upnor to Chatham. The Dutch were able to burn some more ships in the anchorage, but they were unable to make further progress and had to withdraw. The outcome of the raid has been described as "the worst naval defeat England has ever sustained."
The castle had acquitted itself well in the eyes of contemporary observers, despite its inability to prevent the raid, and the dedication of its garrison was praised. The pro-government London Gazette reported that "they were so warmly entertained by Major Scot, who commanded there [at Upnor], and on the other side by Sir Edward Spragg, from the Battery at the Shoare, that after very much Dammage received by them in the shattering of their ships, in sinking severall of their Long Boats manned out by them, in the great number of their Men kill'd, and some Prisoners taken, they were at the last forced to retire." Military historian Norman Longmate observes tartly, "in presenting damning facts in the most favourable light Charles [II's] ministers were unsurpassed." Samuel Pepys, secretary of the Navy Board, got closer to the truth when he noted in his diary that the castle's garrison were poorly provisioned: "I do not see that Upnor Castle hath received any hurt by them though they played long against it; and they themselves shot till they had hardly a gun left upon the carriages, so badly provided they were."
### Usage as a magazine and naval facility
Upnor Castle had been neglected previously, but the Dutch attack prompted the government to order that it be maintained "as a fort and place of strength". In the end, the raid marked the end of the castle's career as a fortress. New and more powerful forts were built farther down the Medway and on the Isle of Grain with the aim of preventing enemies reaching Chatham, thus making the castle redundant. It was converted into "a Place of Stores and Magazines" in 1668 with a new purpose of supplying munitions to naval warships anchored in the Medway or the Swale. Guns, gun carriages, shot, and gunpowder were stored in great quantities within the main building of the castle, which had to be increased in height and its floors reinforced to accommodate the weight. By 1691, it was England's leading magazine, with 164 iron guns, 62 standing carriages, 100 ships' carriages, 7,125 pieces of iron shot, over 200 muskets of various types, 77 pikes, and 5,206 barrels of powder. This was considerably more than was held at the next largest magazine, the Tower of London.
In 1811 a new magazine building was erected a little way downstream from the castle, relieving pressure on the castle. Upnor Castle ceased to be used as a storage magazine after 1827 and was converted into an Ordnance Laboratory (i.e. a workshop for filling explosive shells with gunpowder). Further storage space was required, and six hulks were moored alongside to serve as floating magazines; they remained even after a further magazine had been built ashore (1857). These storage problems were only alleviated when a further five large magazines, guarded by a barracks, were built inland at Chattenden (these were linked to Upnor via a 2 ft 6in (76 cm) narrow-gauge line built for steam locomotives). In 1891, the castle and its associated depot came under the full control of the Admiralty, ending an arrangement in which the War Office had managed the site with the Admiralty providing the funding. In 1899 it was noted that the castle was being used to store dry guncotton (a highly-flammable and dangerous explosive), while the less dangerous 'wet guncotton' form was kept on board the ever-present hulks moored nearby. This practice ceased soon afterwards, specialist storage magazines having been built alongside Chattenden at Lodge Hill.
After the First World War, Upnor became a Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD), one of a group of such facilities around the country. The castle and magazine were used for a time as a proofyard for testing firearms and explosives.
The castle remained in military ownership, but it became more of a museum from the 1920s onwards. During the Second World War, the castle was still in service as part of the Magazine Establishment and was damaged by two enemy bombs which fell in 1941. The bombing dislodged pieces of plaster in the castle's south tower and gatehouse, under which were discovered old graffiti, including a drawing of a ship dated to around 1700.
### The castle today
Following the end of the war in 1945, the Admiralty gave approval for Upnor Castle to be used as a Departmental Museum and to be opened to the public. It subsequently underwent a degree of restoration. The castle was scheduled as an Ancient Monument in January 1960 and is currently managed by English Heritage. It remains part of the Crown Estate.
## Description
Upnor Castle's buildings were constructed from a combination of Kentish ragstone and ashlar blocks, plus red bricks and timber. Its main building is a two-storeyed rectangular block that measures 41 m (135 ft) by 21 m (69 ft), aligned in a north-east/south-west direction on the west bank of the Medway. Later known as the Magazine, it has been changed considerably since its original construction. It would have included limited barrack accommodation, possibly in a small second storey placed behind gun platforms on the roof. After the building was converted into a magazine in 1668 many changes were made which have obscured the earlier design. The second storey appears to have been extended across the full length of the building, covering over the earlier rooftop gun platforms. This gave more room for storage in the interior. The ground floor was divided into three compartments with a woodblock floor and copper-sheeted doors to reduce the risk of sparks. Further stores were housed on the first floor, with a windlass to raise stores from the waterside.
A circular staircase within the building gives access to the castle's main gun platform or water bastion, a low triangular structure projecting into the river. The castle's main armament was mounted here in the open air; this is now represented by six mid-19th century guns that are still on their original carriages. There are nine embrasures in the bastion, six facing downstream and three upstream, with a rounded parapet designed to deflect shot. The water bastion was additionally protected by a wooden palisade that follows its triangular course a few metres further out in the river. The present palisade is a modern recreation of the original structure.
A pair of towers stand on the river's edge a short distance on either side from the main building. They were originally two-storeyed open-backed structures with gun platforms situated on their first floors, providing flanking fire down the line of the ditch around the castle's perimeter. They were later adapted for use as accommodation, with their backs closed with bricks and the towers increased in height to provide a third storey. Traces of the gun embrasures can still be seen at the point where the original roofline was. The South Tower was said to have been for the use of the castle's governor, though their lack of comfort meant that successive governors declined to live there. The two towers are linked to the main building by a crenellated curtain wall where additional cannon were emplaced in two embrasures on the north parapet and one on the south.
The castle's principal buildings are situated on the east side of a rectangular courtyard within which stand two large Turkey oaks, said to have been grown from acorns brought from Crimea after the Crimean War. A stone curtain wall topped with brick surrounds the courtyard, standing about 1 m (3.3 ft) thick and 4 m (13 ft) high. The courtyard is entered on the north-western side through a four-storeyed gatehouse with gun embrasures for additional defensive strength. It was substantially rebuilt in the 1650s after being badly damaged in a 1653 fire, traces of which can still be seen in the form of scorched stones on the first-floor walls. A central gateway with a round arch leads into a passage that gives access to the courtyard. Above the gateway is a late 18th-century clock that was inserted into the existing structure. A wooden bellcote was added in the early 19th century, and a modern flagpole surmounts the building.
The curtain wall is surrounded by a dry ditch which was originally nearly 10 m (33 ft) wide by 5.5 m (18 ft) deep, though it has since been partially infilled. Visitors to the castle crossed a drawbridge, which is no longer extant, to reach the gatehouse. A secondary entrance to the castle is provided by a sally port in the north wall. On the inside of the curtain wall the brick foundations of buildings can still be seen. These were originally lean-to structures, constructed in the 17th century to provide storage facilities for the garrison.
### Other associated buildings
Standing to the west of the castle, Upnor Castle House was built in the mid-17th century as accommodation for the Storekeeper, the officer in charge of the magazine. Expanded in the 18th century, it is now a private residence.
A short distance to the south-west of the castle is a barracks block and associated storage buildings, constructed soon after 1718. Built to replace the original barrack accommodation within the castle when it was redeveloped to convert it into a magazine, it has changed little externally in the last 300 years. It is a rare surviving example of an 18th-century building of this type and was one of the first distinct barracks to be built in England.
Depot buildings formerly associated with the castle still survive in the area immediately to the north-east. The earliest is a gunpowder magazine of 1857 (built to the same design as the 1810 magazine, which formerly stood alongside to the south but was demolished in the 1960s; these buildings had space for 33,000 barrels of powder between them). Between the magazines and the castle a Shifting House (for examining powder) had been built in 1811; both it and an adjacent shell store of 1857 were likewise demolished in 1964. They were constructed on top of earlier gun emplacements, of which earthwork traces can still be seen in the form of a broad bank running north-east from the castle towards the depot. A further four shell stores were built further to the north, together with other munitions stores, several of which remain. The Depot compound continued in Ministry of Defence hands until 2014, after which the area was due to be redeveloped as housing (with the surviving military buildings refurbished for light industrial use). |
31,045,188 | House of Jealous Lovers | 1,158,061,059 | 2002 single by The Rapture | [
"2003 singles",
"The Rapture (band) songs"
] | "House of Jealous Lovers" is a song by American indie rock band the Rapture. It was released as the lead single from their second studio album, Echoes, in March 2002, through DFA Records in the US and Output Recordings in the UK. It was eventually re-released in 2003.
Produced by James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy of the DFA, the song was designed to market the band through dance music distributors. The accompanying music video for the song is influenced by punk imagery. Upon release, it became DFA's best-selling single and helped re-establish dance-punk. The song received acclaim from music critics and was rated 16th and 6th respectively on Pitchfork and NME's tracks of the decade lists. The song would go on to peak at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was used in the soundtrack for the video game NBA 2K15, which was curated by famed music producer Pharrell Williams.
## Background and release
The Rapture moved from San Francisco to New York in 1999 and wrote "House of Jealous Lovers" the following year. They met James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy of DFA Records at one of their first performances in New York. Murphy and Goldworthy took a long time to persuade the band to work together because of a concern that making a dance song would alienate their fans.
While mastering "House of Jealous Lovers", Murphy used techno music as a benchmark for the track's bass frequencies. After hearing the DFA's mix, Sub Pop, the band's record label at the time, and the band both reacted negatively and initially refused to release it. Vocalist Luke Jenner hated the mix, feeling that it sounded unfinished. On the way to a gig, Murphy played the mix for Jonathan Galkin; Galkin credited it for his decision to join DFA Records.
The Rapture originally released the song in 2002 as a limited 12" vinyl single, a format preferred by club DJs. The single included a remix by Morgan Geist of Metro Area as the second song on the A-side and a song titled "Silent Morning" as the B-side. The single format and remix were part of a strategy to market the single through dance music stores. A music video for the song, directed by London-based group Shynola, was made and released in 2003. The chaotic, surreal video was inspired by the collage style of old punk fliers. It features footage of the band, animated newspaper headlines, scrapbook paraphernalia, and scenes of military conflicts. Pitchfork listed the video as the 27th best music video of the 2000s.
## Composition
"House of Jealous Lovers" is a dance-punk song. Its percussion section features disco hi-hat patterns and snare drums doubled with handclaps. The DFA reshaped the percussion by layering and reversing the hi-hats and chopping the drums. The song includes prominent cowbell rhythms that grow louder through the course of the song. Its jagged, coarse guitar is doubled with electronic effects. The sound follows British predecessors such as Gang of Four, Public Image Ltd, and Happy Mondays.
The track opens and closes with long instrumental sections and features lyrics largely consisting of the song's title being repeated. Jenner said he was unsure of the subject of the song and wanted to project a sense of "invincibility". His performance, described as a "deranged falsetto", drew comparisons to the vocals of the Cure's frontman Robert Smith. Geist's remix removes the vocals and adds keyboard riffs. It introduces brass sections, performed by James Duncan, to the arrangement.
## Critical reception
"House of Jealous Lovers" received acclaim from music critics. Stylus Magazine described the track as all four band members "playing their instruments as if they were leads" and continued that "nobody's been able to pull this off so well since Joy Division". AllMusic said that its rhythm section was "as dynamite as anything from the late-'70s U.K. post-punk bands." Pitchfork called the song "the unparalleled champion of 2002's summer anthem sweepstakes".
The song placed 9th on the 2002 Pazz & Jop list, and it appeared at 26th place the following year. Stylus Magazine and Spin each named it the 9th best single of 2002. Pitchfork ranked "House of Jealous Lovers" 4th on its 2003 singles list.
Pitchfork placed the song 16th on its "500 best tracks of the 2000s" list. Rolling Stone ranked the song 53rd on its list of the best songs of the 2000s, and Slant Magazine placed it at 45th. The NME listed the song sixth on its 2000s list. In October 2011, NME placed the song at number 86 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". Pitchfork included "House of Jealous Lovers" in its 2006 collection of The Pitchfork 500. The Guardian listed the track in its "1000 songs everyone must hear".
## Impact
"House of Jealous Lovers" became DFA's best-selling single, and the label sold 20,000 vinyl copies of it. The single reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart in September 2003.
The song's use in dance sets opened rock music for formats other than concerts. It has been credited for re-establishing dance-punk during a period when rock and dance music rarely intersected. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland have cited "House of Jealous Lovers" as an influence on their 2006 single "SexyBack". Timberlake used the song for an entrance during his FutureSex/LoveShow tour.
## Track listing
### 2002 release
### 2003 release
## Charts
## Release history |
6,524,528 | Northwestern Memorial Hospital | 1,171,411,736 | Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States | [
"1966 establishments in Illinois",
"Hospital buildings completed in 1999",
"Hospital buildings completed in 2007",
"Hospital buildings completed in 2019",
"Hospitals established in 1972",
"Hospitals in Chicago",
"Northwestern Medicine",
"Northwestern University",
"Skyscrapers in Chicago",
"Streeterville, Chicago",
"Teaching hospitals in Illinois"
] | Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) is a nationally ranked academic medical center located on Northwestern University's Chicago campus in Streeterville, Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship campus for Northwestern Medicine and the primary teaching hospital for the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. Affiliated institutions also located on campus include the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital with Level I pediatric trauma care and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation.
In 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked Northwestern Memorial as the top hospital in both Chicago and Illinois for the eleventh consecutive year and \#9 in the nation. In the same report, Northwestern Memorial is nationally ranked in 11 adult specialties including \#5 in Neurology & Neurosurgery.
## History
### Origins
Northwestern Memorial Hospital's roots date back to 1865 when the then Deaconess Hospital of Chicago was established by local reverend William A. Passavant Sr., with a capacity of 15 beds. In the first year, the hospital had treated 75 patients, with most receiving care free-of-charge. A few years later in 1871, Deaconess Hospital was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire, and Passavant could not afford the cost of a rebuild.
In 1885, after 14 years without an area hospital, Passavant opened a new hospital known as "Emergency Hospital" on Superior Street to better treat emergencies from the area.
Wesley Hospital was founded in 1888 on Dearborn Street in Chicago. In 1890, at Northwestern's request, Wesley Hospital agreed to move to the area around Northwestern University's Medical School and establish a preliminary affiliation to train doctors at Northwestern.
In 1897, a group of local women formed the Passavant's Woman's Aid Society to raise money for the continued operation of the hospital. The society was later renamed to the "Woman's Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital" after the merger between Passavant and Wesley. The society is now one of Chicago's oldest charities.
In 1901, both Passavant Memorial Hospital and Wesley Hospital completed building expansion and renovation projects, expanding patient capacity to 65 and 181 beds, respectively.
In 1914, local philanthropist James Deering made a \$1 million donation to Wesley Memorial Hospital to help formalize the hospital's affiliation with Northwestern University Medical School and to support the care for those that could not afford.
In 1917, doctors and nurses from Wesley and Passavant enlisted to help treat victims of World War I with many serving in France with other Northwestern University staff at a base hospital.
In 1924, it was announced that Wesley would move to the north side campus adjacent to Northwestern University for a stronger affiliation, but funding for construction was delayed until the 1930s. Northwestern University also contacted Passavant Memorial Hospital to offer an affiliation and a land plot near the school for a new hospital, which later began operation in 1929.
In 1925, Passavant Memorial Hospital signed an affiliation with Northwestern University, allowing medical students from Northwestern to learn at the hospital. Additionally, Passavant administration decided to suspend patient care in order to begin fundraising for a new, larger hospital. Four years later, in 1929 Passavant Memorial opened their new 325-bed hospital building on 303 East Superior Street across from their affiliate, Northwestern University Medical School.In 1937, local philanthropist and steel mogul George Herbert Jones donated \$1 million for construction of a new high-rise building to house Wesley Memorial Hospital. Four years later, in 1941 the new Wesley Memorial Hospital, opened at 250 East Superior Street.
Wesley Memorial Hospital's new hospital was officially completed in 1941, and over the next thirty years, the two institutions began to form bonds because they were both the primary hospitals for Northwestern Medicine. In 1942, doctors and nurses from both Passavant Memorial and Wesley were once again enlisted to help tender aid to soldiers during World War II. In June 1948, hospital founder William A. Passavant Sr. died, triggering a rename to Passavant Memorial Hospital to honor and memorialize Passavant's life.
In 1954, the former Chicago Memorial Hospital finalized a merger with Wesley Hospital which triggered a rename to Chicago Wesley Memorial Hospital; the two hospitals merged their boards, endowment funds and medical staff as a part of the new agreement. Four years later, Passavant Memorial Hospital finished construction on their new east pavilion, bringing the total capacity of the merged hospital to 350 beds. In 1959, Wesley Memorial Hospital completed the Ruth Jones Allison Pavilion, adding space for additional inpatient beds and upgraded lab space.
Due to their proximity and affiliation with Northwestern, the hospitals began working together on a number of clinical services and teaching programs, laying the groundwork for a future merger. The merger plans were accelerated when a new partnership was formed between Northwestern, Wesley Memorial, and Passavant Memorial Hospital. A precursor to a full merger, Passavant and Wesley began looking into collaborative efforts in multi-hospital services and shared inpatient clinical programs.
In 1968, planning and fundraising commenced for a proposed joint women's hospital (Prentice Women's Hospital) that was to be controlled by Northwestern, Wesley Memorial, and Passavant Memorial Hospital.
In 1971, staff from Passavant Memorial and Wesley Memorial gained admitting and hospital privileges at both hospitals; at the time, hospital leadership denied this was a precursor to a merger, but the two hospitals voted to investigate the possibility in May 1972 and had already announced the consolidation of their two nursing schools.
### Merger
On September 1, 1972, Passavant Memorial Hospital and Wesley Memorial Hospital officially merged to become Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The 1,000-bed hospital became one of the largest private nonprofit healthcare institutions in the Chicago and the Midwest region; it was the sixth-largest private hospital in the United States with the merger.
In 1975, the Prentice Women's Hospital and Northwestern University's Institute of Psychiatry were absorbed into Northwestern Memorial Hospital. A few years later, In 1979, the Olson Critical Care Pavilion opened adjacent to both the Passavant and Wesley Pavilions.
In the 1980s, it was realized that the hospital's original inpatient facilities could not keep up with the current technological advances and did not support any future growth. This triggered the planning and designing for a new facility to replace the Passavant Pavilion, Wesley Pavilion, and many of Northwestern's outpatient offices. In 1992, hospital administration announced that they would embark on a \$630 million replacement hospital project to replace the aging Passavant and Wesley Pavilions. Construction on the new facility began in 1994 on the block bordered by Fairbanks Court, St. Clair, Huron and Erie Streets.
In 1996, surgeons from Northwestern Memorial Hospital became the first in Illinois to perform an islet cell transplantation.
On May 1, 1999, Northwestern Memorial Hospital opened the 17-floor Feinberg Pavilion and 22-floor Galter Pavilion at its current location in Streeterville. The new construction became a model facility for hospital construction attracting healthcare providers to the hospital. The new hospital consisted of 492-all-private-patient-rooms and an emergency department that has the capacity to treat 70,000 patients per year. At the end, the replacement hospital cost a total of \$580 million and consisted of over 2 million square feet of space.
In 2001, demolition on the Passavant Building proceeded as the university had plans to replace the building with a new research facility. The new research facility was completed in 2005 and has since been named the "Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center" to honor the \$40 million donation from the Ann Lurie Foundation in honor of her late husband. Currently, all that remains from the former Passavant Pavilion is pieces of the wall preserved at the Feinberg Pavilion.
In 2005, the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute was established at Northwestern Memorial after local philanthropist Neil G. Bluhm donated \$10 million to Northwestern to establish a heart institute.
### Modern day
In October 2007, after years of construction, the new Prentice Women's Hospital opened at 250 East Superior Street, the same site that held the former Wesley Hospital. This facility would replace the old Prentice Women's Hospital Building which later was demolished in September 2014 for new campus construction. The new hospital doubled the size of the previous women's hospital at 947,000 square feet (88,000 m<sup>2</sup>), with one of the largest neonatal intensive care units in the country.
In 2009 the William Wirtz family (former owner of the Chicago Blackhawks) donated \$19.5 million to Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for cancer research.
The American College of Healthcare Architects recognized Northwestern Memorial for forward-thinking design as it was one of the first hospitals to dedicate private rooms to patients in the main Feinberg and Galter Pavilion buildings. To date, Northwestern Memorial Feinberg and Galter Pavilion buildings make it the third tallest hospital in the United States and the eighth tallest hospital in the world. The neighboring Lurie Children's Hospital, also affiliated with Northwestern, is the sixth tallest hospital facility in the country.
In 2011, demolition began on the building that was occupying 259 E. Erie Street to make way for the construction of the new Northwestern Outpatient Pavilion. The next year, in 2012, Northwestern began construction on the \$334 million, 1,000,000-square-foot (93,000 m<sup>2</sup>) building. The new building contains the Northwestern Musculoskeletal Institute, outpatient operating rooms, a center for diagnostics, eight floors of doctors offices, and a 575-car garage. The new building officially opened on October 13, 2014. In January 2015, Northwestern Medicine announced that they would convert the 11-floor of the building from doctors offices to additional operating rooms due to higher-than-expected demand of outpatient surgeries. In October 2015, the Northwestern Outpatient Pavilion was renamed to the Lavin Family Pavilion to honor the philanthropic efforts of the Lavin Family Foundation towards Northwestern Medicine.
On October 12, 2015, Northwestern Memorial Hospital named Julie L. Creamer as its first female president. Creamer received her BSN from Marquette University and holds a Master of Science Degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
With construction beginning in 2015 and completed in 2019, the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center is a 600,000-square-foot (56,000 m<sup>2</sup>) building on the hospital campus that houses laboratories dedicated to biomedical research. Future expansion of the 14-story building will bring total dedicated research square footage to roughly 1.2 million. The project was partially funded and eventually named after Louis Simpson and his wife, Kimberly Querrey who made a \$92 million donation to the center.
In February 2020, it was announced that Northwestern Memorial Hospital would once again expand bed capacity, building a three-story addition between the Galter and Feinberg Pavilions with 49 new beds.
#### CyberAttack
In April 2021, a breach at Elekta Inc., a company who handles cancer patient data for Illinois, involved unauthorized access to patient information from the Northwestern Memorial Healthcare system. Hospital officials claimed that personally identifiable information (PII) including social security numbers were involved in the leak.
## About
Northwestern Memorial provides a total of 894 inpatient beds and encompasses more than three million square feet (280,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of medical buildings within the Northwestern University Chicago campus in the Streeterville neighborhood downtown. Nearly every medical specialty is represented by over 1,900 physicians on the medical staff at Northwestern Memorial who also carry faculty appointments with Feinberg School of Medicine. As of 2018, total hospital-based research funding topped \$484 million, placing Northwestern in the top 15 for the National Institutes of Health ranking among all American medical schools. The hospital's endowment reached \$264 million as of 2020.
Northwestern Memorial is a partner with CommunityHealth in Chicago and provides healthcare through medical volunteers who participate in a residency program at the center's two sites in the West Town and Englewood neighborhoods.
### Research
In partnership with the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, more than 4,500 clinical trials and studies are conducted each year with over 50,000 patients and volunteers participating.
Research awards for Feinberg totaled \$534 million in fiscal year 2019. Current clinical trials are being conducted in the following areas: AIDS, cancer, cardiovascular disease, dermatology, diabetes, gastroenterology, genetics (stem cell research), mental health, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, rheumatology & immunology, sleep disorders, organ transplantation, and weight loss.
The Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center opened in 2019 and is expected to produce over \$1.5 billion in new federal medical research funding in the center's first 10 years.
## Facilities
### Galter
The Galter Pavilion is one of the main buildings making up Northwestern Memorial Hospital and is named after hospital benefactors Jack and Dollie Galter. It is one of the tallest hospital buildings in the United States, and is the twenty-third tallest in the world. The Galter Pavilion is joined to the hospital's Feinberg Pavilion on the first three floors. The buildings were constructed as the centerpiece of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 1997. Together the buildings house a total of 2,134,920 square feet of space. It currently houses a combination of inpatient and outpatient services.
### Feinberg
Construction on the Feinberg Pavilion happened simultaneously as the neighboring Galter Pavilion was being constructed. Feinberg primarily serves as the inpatient component for the hospital. The Feinberg Pavilion is joined to the hospital's Galter Pavilion on the first three floors. The two buildings were constructed as the centerpiece of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 1997. Additionally, the Feinberg pavilion houses the main imaging department of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.
### Lavin Family
The Lavin Family Pavilion (formerly Northwestern Outpatient Pavilion) is the main outpatient pavilion of Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The building opened in 2014 and contains the Northwestern Musculoskeletal Institute, outpatient operating rooms, a center for diagnostics, eight floors of doctors offices, a 575-car garage, and ground level restaurants.
### Olson
In 1979, the Olson Critical Care Pavilion opened adjacent to both the Passavant and Wesley Pavilions.
### Prentice
Prentice Women's Hospital is an acute care women's hospital located adjacent to both Northwestern Memorial and the Lurie Children's Hospital. Prentice Women's Hospital is a member of Northwestern Medicine and serves as a teaching hospital for the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The hospital provides tertiary-level obstetric, gynecological, and neonatal care to patients from the entire region. The hospital has 256 beds, with 86 AAP verified level III neonatal intensive care unit beds, 32 labor and delivery beds, 86 healthy bassinets, and 10 operating rooms. The hospital is directly attached to the Lurie Children's Hospital via skybridge because Lurie physicians provide care on Prentice's neonatal intensive care units. Additionally, Prentice houses three inpatient units of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center; and select outpatient cancer services.
## Awards
Northwestern Memorial Hospital is frequently ranked as a top hospital in both Chicago and Illinois as well as in the top 10 of hospitals in the nation.
Northwestern Memorial is also ranked among the best in the nation in 12 specialties: neurology and neurosurgery (#7); orthopedics (#7); diabetes and endocrinology (#9); urology (#9); digestive disorders (gastroenterology) (#10); gynecology (#11); geriatrics (#11); heart (cardiology) and cardiac surgery (#12); pulmonology (#13); cancer (oncology) (#14); nephrology (kidney disorders) (#14); ear, nose and throat (otolaryngology) (#17); and as high-performing in rheumatology and ophthalmology.
The hospital ranked nationally in 11 adult specialties and as \#1 in Illinois on the 2020-21 U.S. News & World Report: Best Hospitals rankings. In addition, the hospital was ranked as the tenth-best hospital in the country.
## See also
- Northwestern Medicine
- Lurie Children's Hospital
- Prentice Women's Hospital
- Feinberg School of Medicine |
10,442,499 | Bengal slow loris | 1,144,343,624 | Species of primate | [
"Fauna of Yunnan",
"Mammals described in 1800",
"Mammals of Bangladesh",
"Mammals of Cambodia",
"Mammals of Laos",
"Mammals of Myanmar",
"Mammals of Thailand",
"Mammals of Vietnam",
"Northeast India",
"Slow lorises",
"Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède"
] | The Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) or northern slow loris is a strepsirrhine primate and a species of slow loris native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina. Its geographic range is larger than that of any other slow loris species. Considered a subspecies of the Sunda slow loris (N. coucang) until 2001, phylogenetic analysis suggests that the Bengal slow loris is most closely related to the Sunda slow loris. However, some individuals in both species have mitochondrial DNA sequences that resemble those of the other species, due to introgressive hybridization. It is the largest species of slow loris, measuring 26 to 38 cm (10 to 15 in) from head to tail and weighing between 1 and 2.1 kg (2.2 and 4.6 lb). Like other slow lorises, it has a wet nose (rhinarium), a round head, flat face, large eyes, small ears, a vestigial tail, and dense, woolly fur. The toxin it secretes from its brachial gland (a scent gland in its arm) differs chemically from that of other slow loris species and may be used to communicate information about sex, age, health, and social status.
The Bengal slow loris is nocturnal and arboreal, occurring in both evergreen and deciduous forests. It prefers rainforests with dense canopies, and its presence in its native habitat indicates a healthy ecosystem. It is a seed disperser and pollinator, as well as a prey item for carnivores. Its diet primarily consists of fruit, but also includes insects, tree gum, snails, and small vertebrates. In winter, it relies on plant exudates, such as sap and tree gum. The species lives in small family groups, marks its territory with urine, and sleeps during the day by curling up in dense vegetation or in tree holes. It is a seasonal breeder, reproducing once every 12–18 months and usually giving birth to a single offspring. For the first three months, mothers carry their offspring, which reach sexual maturity at around 20 months. The Bengal slow loris can live up to 20 years.
The species is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and is threatened with extinction due to growing demand in the exotic pet trade and traditional medicine. It is one of the most common animals sold in local animal markets. In traditional medicine, it is primarily used by wealthy to middle-class, urban women following childbirth, but also to treat stomach problems, broken bones, and sexually transmitted diseases. It is also hunted for food and suffers from habitat loss. Wild populations have declined severely, and it is locally extinct in several regions. It is found within many protected areas throughout its range, but this does not protect them from rampant poaching and illegal logging. Critical conservation issues for this species include enhancing protection measures, stricter enforcement of wildlife protection laws, and increased connectivity between fragmented protected areas.
## Taxonomy and phylogeny
Nycticebus bengalensis, commonly known as the Bengal slow loris or northern slow loris, is a strepsirrhine primate in the slow loris genus, Nycticebus. Formerly considered a subspecies of the Sunda slow loris (N. coucang), it was recognized as a distinct species in 2001 by taxonomist and primatologist Colin Groves. It is difficult to distinguish from the other species in its genus.
To help clarify species and subspecies boundaries, and to establish whether morphology-based classifications were consistent with evolutionary relationships, the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Nycticebus have been investigated using DNA sequences derived from the mitochondrial markers D loop and cytochrome b. Although most of the recognized lineages of Nycticebus (including N. pygmaeus, N. menagensis, and N. javanicus) were shown to be genetically distinct—the analysis suggested that DNA sequences from some individuals of N. coucang and N. bengalensis apparently share a closer evolutionary relationship with each other than with members of their own species. The authors suggest that this result may be explained by introgressive hybridization, as the tested individuals of these two taxa originated from a region of sympatry in southern Thailand. The precise origin of one of the N. coucang individuals was not known. This hypothesis was corroborated by a 2007 study that compared the variations in mitochondrial DNA sequences between N. bengalensis and N. coucang, and suggested that there has been gene flow between the two species.
## Anatomy and physiology
The Bengal slow loris is the largest species of slow loris, weighing 1 to 2.1 kg (2.2 to 4.6 lb), and measuring between 26 and 38 cm (10 and 15 in) from head to tail. It has a skull length of more than 62 mm (2.4 in). It has dense, woolly, brown-gray fur on its back and white fur on its underside. It also has a clear dark stripe that runs up to the top of its head, but does not extend laterally towards the ears. Its forearm and hand are almost white. The limbs of the pelvis vary in color from brown to nearly white, and the feet are always pale. Moulting may cause seasonal variations in the color of the dorsal surface. Like other slow lorises, its tail is vestigial and it has a round head and short ears. It has a rhinarium (the moist, naked surface around the nostrils of the nose) and a broad, flat face with large eyes. Its eyes reflect a bright orange eye shine. On its front feet, the second digit is smaller than the rest; the big toe on its hind foot opposes the other toes, which enhances its gripping power. Its second toe on the hindfoot has a curved "toilet-claw" that the animal uses for scratching and grooming, while the other nails are straight.
In addition to being smaller than the Bengal slow loris, the sympatric Sunda slow loris also differs in its coloring: it does not have the pale areas of the head, nape, and shoulders, and its overall color is a tawny- or golden-brown. The pygmy slow loris (N. pygmaeus) is much smaller, with a skull length less than 55 mm (2.2 in). It also lacks the dark dorsal stripe of the Bengal slow loris, has dark brown fur, and longer ears.
The Bengal slow loris has a small swelling on the ventral side of its elbow called the brachial gland, which secretes a pungent, clear oily toxin that the animal uses defensively by wiping it on its toothcomb. The oil has been analyzed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, and it has been shown that almost half of the several dozen volatile or semi-volatile chemicals present do not occur in the closely related pygmy slow loris. The most predominant component was the phenolic compound m-cresol. The authors of the study suggest that the chemically complex oils may help the lorises communicate with each other, allowing them to transmit by scent information about sex, age, health and nutritional status, and dominance.
## Behavior and ecology
The preferred habitats of the Bengal slow loris range across tropical and subtropical regions, and include evergreen and semi-evergreen rainforests with forest edges and continuous, dense canopies. It can also be found in bamboo groves. It prefers habitats with larger diameter, tall trees with a large crown depth (defined as the length along the main axis from the tree tip to the base of the crown); these areas are typically associated with greater food abundance, and decreased risk of predation. Because of its preference for dense forests, it acts as a good indicator of the ecosystem's health.
The species acts as an important seed disperser and pollinator, as well as a prey item for several carnivores. The Bengal slow loris feeds on plant exudates such as sap, gums, resins, and latexes, particularly those from the family Fabaceae. Even though the species does not have keeled nails, it will scrape the plant, actively breaking its surface; this behavior resembles that of marmosets and the fork-marked lemurs. Exudates are also obtained by gouging holes in the bark. The winter food supply consists almost entirely of plant exudates. The bastard myrobala (Terminalia belerica), a deciduous tree common in Southeast Asia, is a preferred source for exudates, but it has also been observed taking plant exudates from a number of families: Moraceae (Artocarpus), Magnoliaceae (Manglietia), Fabaceae (Acacia, Bauhinia), Lecythidaceae (Careya arborea), and Sterculiaceae (Pterospermum). Although it will feed on large insects (such as katydids and crickets), gum, snails, small birds, and reptiles, it is primarily frugivorous. Lianas of the flowering plant genus Bauhinia are a commonly-used food source.
A nocturnal animal, the Bengal slow loris has excellent night vision, enhanced by a tapetum lucidum—a layer of tissue in the eye that reflects visible light back through the retina. It sleeps during the day curled up in a ball in dense vegetation or in tree holes. Males and females mark their territory with urine. The species is known to live in small family groups. Animals may practice social grooming.
### Reproduction
The Bengal slow loris is not a seasonal breeder, unlike the pygmy slow loris. Females in an estrous cycle attract males with a loud whistle. Females reproduce every 12–18 months and have a six-month gestation. Because they are not seasonal breeders, females could become pregnant when their offspring are approximately 6 months old, making possible for females to produce two offspring per year. Females typically give birth to a single offspring, although twins rarely occur. This differs from the sympatric pygmy slow loris, which commonly has twins. The mother carries her young about three months before they become independent, although they may be temporarily left on branches while the mother searches for food. Sexual maturity is reached at approximately 20 months of age. The species is known to live up to 20 years.
## Distribution
The species has the largest geographic range of all slow loris species and is native to Bangladesh, Northeast India, and Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Vietnam, southern China, and Thailand). It is the only nocturnal primate found in the northeast Indian states, which include Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Tripura. It is found in parts of Yunnan and in southwest Guangxi in China, and has been recorded in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. It is known from 24 protected areas in Vietnam, and is distributed across most of Thailand. In Burma, it has been reported from Bhamo, Sumprabum, Kindat, Chin Hills, Pathein, Thaungdaung, and Pegu; populations in Laos have been recorded in the north, central, and southern portions of the country.
The Bengal slow loris is sympatric (shares its range) with the pygmy slow loris in the southeast of China, Vietnam, and Laos. The Bengal slow loris is also sympatric with the Sunda slow loris on the southern peninsula of Thailand. In 2001, Groves reported the existence of hybrids between these two species in this region.
## Conservation
Listed as "Data Deficient" as recently as 2006 on the IUCN Red List, the Bengal slow loris was evaluated in 2020 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered-a decision based solely on habitat loss due to lack of sufficient field data. It is found within numerous protected areas within its range. However, poaching and illegal logging are rampant while conservation measures are not species-specific. The species can be found in at least 43 protected areas in Northeast India, 14 conservation areas in Laos, and 24 protected areas in Vietnam. It can be found at Lawachara National Park in Bangladesh, and 80% of its range in China is protected. The species has been listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, and in June 2007, it was transferred, along with all other slow loris species, to CITES Appendix I, which forbids international commercial trade.
The most severe threats facing the species are the wildlife trade (trapping for exotic pets and use in traditional medicine) and deforestation. Slash and burn agriculture has also resulted in the destruction of its habitat, and road construction is another factor in its decline. Hunting has been found to be most severe when nearby urban human populations increase. Enhancing protection measures, enforcing current wildlife protection laws, and improving the connectivity between protected areas are factors considered critical to ensure the survival of this species.
The species is commonly sold as a pet and to zoos throughout Southeast Asia. In Cambodia, it was reported in 2006 as one of the most common mammals found in shops and stalls, found in the hundreds and selling for US\$0.85 to US\$6.25. In the same year, it was found selling for US\$2.50 to US\$6.30 at bazaars in China (Mengla County in Yunnan Province) and US\$70 in Thailand. The Bengal slow loris is used in traditional medicine in all of these countries, selling for US\$15 in Vietnam, and is also eaten in Vietnam. The animal is predominantly used to prepare treatments for women after childbirth, stomach problems, healing wounds and broken bones, and in the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Primary users are wealthy to middle-class women in urban areas.
### Habitat and population trends
Throughout its geographic range, slow lorises are in serious decline. Their habitat has been seriously degraded, and growing human populations will add increasing pressure. In countries like Bangladesh, only 9% of the original forest cover was still present in 2000. In northeastern Cambodia, forests are being cleared at an increasing rate, with a loss of 6% of the natural forest between 1999 and 2000. Within those same years, Myanmar and Thailand lost 14% and 26% of their natural forest, respectively. In Vietnam, only 30% of the original forest cover remains due to the deforestation caused by the Vietnam War, and only 10% of that includes closed-canopy forests. Habitat destruction remains rampant, and all slow loris populations within its borders are significantly depleted. Populations have been declared locally extinct in southern Quảng Nam Province and parts of the highlands, and the same is expected in Song Thanh and Kon Cha Rang nature reserves.
In India, dense forest canopy has been depleted by as much as 55% in some areas and is rapidly disappearing. As early as 1987, the Indo-China region had reportedly lost 75% of the natural habitat for slow lorises. In 1992, the population size was estimated between 16,000 and 17,000 individuals, based on available habitat; however, recent publications report that few individuals remain due to a reduced geographic range. The Bengal slow loris may be restricted to a few isolated populations and is in serious threat of becoming locally extinct in parts of Assam and Meghalaya. In Arunachal Pradesh, its population is declining and under threat.
Population density has been estimated between 0.03 and 0.33 individuals per km<sup>2</sup> in Assam, India, according to a study published in 2006. A survey in 2007 at the Thrisna Wildlife Sanctuary and Sipahijola Wildlife Sanctuary in Tripura, India, yielded an encounter rate of 0.22 individuals/km, with seven of nine sightings occurring within 1.71 km<sup>2</sup> (0.66 sq mi) and most of the animals found at a height of 8–15 m (26–49 ft) and near the interior of wet, deciduous forest. In 2008, the species abundance was measured at 0.18 individuals/km at Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam.
Since the 1990s, China's forests have declined significantly. In Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, primary forests are few and isolated, and secondary forests have been severely degraded. Yunnan has lost 42% of its forests and 2,000 or less slow lorises remain. In Guangxi, the Bengal slow loris is nearly extinct. It has been extirpated in Ningming County and only a few individuals are left in Jingxi, Longzhou, and Pingxiang. |
31,004,866 | Indianapolis (Parks and Recreation) | 1,165,667,132 | null | [
"2011 American television episodes",
"Parks and Recreation (season 3) episodes",
"Television episodes directed by Randall Einhorn",
"Television episodes set in Indianapolis",
"Television episodes written by Katie Dippold"
] | "Indianapolis" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 36th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on February 24, 2011. In the episode, Leslie and Ron travel to Indianapolis to receive a commendation, while Ann suspects Chris is cheating on her. Meanwhile, Tom tries to pitch his personal fragrance to a cologne maker while simultaneously bonding with Ben.
Written by Katie Dippold and directed by Randall Einhorn, "Indianapolis" was the last of six episodes filmed almost immediately after the second season ended as part of an early shooting schedule needed to accommodate actress Amy Poehler's pregnancy. The episodes were ultimately held for several months due to a scheduling hiatus. It was originally intended to be the last episode featuring guest star Rob Lowe, but he became a permanent cast member after it was filmed.
The episode features a guest appearance by actor Jason Mantzoukas as fragrance maker Dennis Feinstein. According to Nielsen Media Research, "Indianapolis" was seen by 4.59 million household viewers, an increase in viewership from the previous week's episode, "Media Blitz". The episode received generally positive reviews.
## Plot
Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Ron (Nick Offerman) head up to Indianapolis to receive a commendation at the Indiana Statehouse for reestablishing the Pawnee Harvest Festival, although Ron is only interested in eating at Charles Mulligan's Steak House, his favorite restaurant. Ann (Rashida Jones) tells Leslie her last talk with Chris (Rob Lowe) reassured her their relationship was fine, but he has been acting distant since then. She asks Leslie to look for signs of whether Chris is cheating on her, since he has since returned to Indianapolis.
Tom (Aziz Ansari) is attending a launch party for cologne maker Dennis Feinstein (Jason Mantzoukas) at the Snakehole Lounge, where Tom hopes to pitch his own cologne "Tommy Fresh" to him. Ben (Adam Scott) initially turns down the invitation because he does not want to get too attached to anybody, since his job will require him move soon. However, Ben relents when Tom invites him again at Leslie's urging (Ben also notes that "Dennis Feinstein" is an oddly ordinary name for a cologne designer, but Tom explains that Dennis' real name, "Dante Fiero", is considered less exotic here). Meanwhile, April (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy (Chris Pratt) are now dating, but Andy is worried he is too broke to take her out.
Leslie and Ron visit Chris' apartment, where Leslie discovers a woman's razor and a pink swimming cap in the bathroom. Upon hearing this, Ann decides to drive up to Indianapolis to confront Chris. To Ron's horror, Charles Mulligan's has been shut down by Indiana's health department, so Chris invites everyone back to his place for food. To Ron's further horror, Chris prepares vegetarian dishes, and Ron nearly passes out as he had been starving himself with the expectation of eating at Mulligan's. At the launch party, Tom approaches Dennis, who insults "Tommy Fresh" and quickly dismisses Tom. Ben cheers him up and tells him not to give up on his dreams, admitting that he considers Tom his friend. Ben is happy when it is apparent that the parks department feels the same way. Andy and April, who are both broke, hold a contest to see how much free stuff they can get at the party, earning \$218 by posing as staff and accepting tips. However, they both feel guilty and give the money to the bartender.
Ann eventually shows up at Chris' apartment and lashes out at him, but he explains he shaves his legs with the razor for swimming, and the pink shower cap was for swimming in a breast cancer awareness triathlon. However, he tells Ann they broke up last week during their talk; Ann realizes that Chris was so positive in how he ended the relationship that she was totally oblivious to it. Leslie decides not to attend the commendation ceremony so she can drive Ann home that night, cheering her up during the trip by telling her all the numerous embarrassing ways she has been dumped over the years. They end up at the Snakehole Lounge for the party to rendezvous with everyone else. As they all leave the party, Ben avenges Tom by pouring "Tommy Fresh" all over the inside of Dennis' parked SUV. Meanwhile, a starving Ron goes to a diner and, after being disappointed by the steak he orders, tells the waiter, "Give me all the bacon and eggs you have".
## Production
"Indianapolis" was written by Katie Dippold and directed by Randall Einhorn. It was the last of six third season episodes that were written and filmed almost immediately after the second season ended as part of an early shooting schedule needed to accommodate Amy Poehler's pregnancy. However, although finished early in anticipation of a September 2010 release date, the series' third season was ultimately placed on hiatus until early 2011, many months after production on "Indianapolis" was finished. The episode "Time Capsule" was actually the last of the six to be filmed because it afforded the most opportunities for actress Amy Poehler to conceal her pregnant belly behind a variety of props, but "Indianapolis" as planned was the sixth episode of the season. Because of this, "Time Capsule" has an "easter egg" reference to the character Dennis Feinstein on the time capsule idea sheet before he appears in the show later in the season. "Indianapolis" was originally expected to be the final episode starring Rob Lowe, who was first scheduled to make only a string of guest appearances throughout the third season. However, after the episode was filmed, Lowe was signed as a permanent Parks and Recreation cast member, so his character returned in future episodes.
Jason Mantzoukas made a guest appearance in "Indianapolis" as the fragrance maker Dennis Feinstein. The character and some of his fragrance brands have been mentioned in previous Parks and Recreation episodes, but this marked his first on-screen appearance. Mantzoukas portrays the character Rafi in the FX comedy series The League; he is the third actor from that show to appear on Parks and Recreation, as Nick Kroll previously guest-starred in the episode "Media Blitz", and Paul Scheer appeared in the episode "Kaboom". "Indianapolis" included a scene in which Leslie comforts Ann with stories about multiple times Leslie was dumped in the past, all of which were edited together in a series of jump cuts. The technique has been commonly used throughout the series to condense multiple takes of improvisation from Poehler.
## Cultural references
Tom said Blackout, one of Dennis Feinstein's fragrances, was named one of the "top 100 ways to trick someone into sex" by Maxim, an international men's magazine. While proposing possible date activities to April, Andy suggests watching television at Best Buy, a consumer electronics retailer store. While describing one of his past meals at the steakhouse restaurant, Ron recalled having drunk a 16-year-old Lagavulin Single Malt, a type of Scotch whisky. Ben claims that his signature drink is Miller Lite, a very common brand of lager beer. Leslie reveals her nickname in high school was Angela Lansbury, an actress best known for her role on the television series Murder, She Wrote. Ben says because he moves around so much due to work, he does not become close with many people, and considers the acquaintances he makes the equivalent of Facebook friends, a reference to the social network service website.
## Reception
### Ratings
In its original American broadcast, "Indianapolis" was seen by an estimated 4.59 million household viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, with an overall 2.7 rating/4 share, and a 2.4 rating/6 share among viewers between ages 18 and 49. It constituted a 9 percent increase over the previous week's episode "Media Blitz", which was seen by 4.33 million households. Along with 30 Rock, Parks was the only show from the NBC Thursday comedy block on February 24 to see an increase in ratings over the previous week: Community, Perfect Couples, Outsourced and The Office were all flat, with the latter two shows matching their lowest ratings of the season. Parks and Recreation was outperformed in its 9:30 p.m. timeslot by the Fox reality series American Idol and the CBS crime drama series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which were seen by an average 21.82 million and 12.48 million household viewers, respectively. "Indianapolis", however, earned higher ratings than the CW Network drama series Nikita, which was seen by 3.4 million household viewers.
### Reviews
"Indianapolis" received generally positive reviews. The Atlantic writer Scott Meslow called it "a very funny, very sweet episode of a show that's been consistently great this season". Meslow said the transition of April and Andy from courting to dating was handled especially well, and liked how the Ben and Tom subplot allowed Ben's character to "loosen up a little", but said Ron's character seemed too much like a "self-parody" in the episode. Alan Sepinwall of Hitfix said the episode reminded him of the first season finale "Rock Show", which he called "the show that was capable of living up to the talent in front of and behind the camera". Sepinwall said the characters were now so well-developed that he enjoyed simply getting to "hang out with them", and he particularly liked the rapport between Tom and Ben, the latter of whom he said was becoming better integrated into the cast. IGN writer said the episode perfectly highlighted all the characters various eccentricities, and enjoyed that the show took the characters out of the usual parks department office setting and placed them into the "wonderful, lovable world that this show has created for itself".
Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club called the episode "one of the finest in this first season three batch and a solid showcase for all the characters". He praised the show for going in directions atypical for sitcoms, like having the Ann and Chris break-up off-screen, and said "Ann's character defies all the expectations heaped on her from two previous seasons". Steve Kandell of New York magazine said "Indianapolis" was not as strong as other third season episodes, but that it "proves to be as emblematic of the show's soft, gooey heart as any the series has done". In particular, Kandell praised how Ben is growing to love Pawnee, and how April and Andy donated their tips at the end of the episode. Hollywood.com writer Eric Sundermann said the writers took "some risks outside of the characters' comfort zone" in "Indianapolis" and that they worked, especially with Ann's character, who he felt opened up more than in past episodes. He also said Andy and April work well together because the characters seem so genuine with each other. Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic declared "Indianapolis" a great episode. He particularly enjoyed the April and Andy date, which he called, "downright adorable", and the Ron Swanson subplot, which he called "so ridiculous and hilarious".
Rick Porter of Zap2it called the episode a "pretty low-key affair" and "a nice pause in the harvest festival story". Porter praised Rashida Jones' performance and said Adam Scott and Aziz Ansari played well off each other. Joel Keller of TV Squad called the steakhouse subplot "Ron Swanson at his best" and enjoyed the Andy and April scenes, but said he did not like how the Ann and Chris romance had been handled throughout the season, and hoped it would end with "Indianapolis". Entertainment Weekly writer Hillary Busis said she liked seeing Ben interact with characters other than Leslie, and enjoyed the development between Ann and Chris. However, Busis found the other subplots of the episode "a little flimsy" and found it lacking compared to recent episodes like "Ron and Tammy: Part Two" and "Media Blitz". |
7,021,516 | Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station | 1,173,153,364 | New York City Subway station complex in Brooklyn | [
"1888 establishments in New York (state)",
"1940 disestablishments in New York (state)",
"1967 establishments in New York (state)",
"1978 establishments in New York (state)",
"BMT Brighton Line stations",
"BMT Fifth Avenue Line stations",
"BMT Fourth Avenue Line stations",
"Downtown Brooklyn",
"Heins and LaFarge buildings",
"IRT Eastern Parkway Line stations",
"National Register of Historic Places in Brooklyn",
"New York City Subway stations in Brooklyn",
"New York City Subway transfer stations",
"Railway and subway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City",
"Railway stations closed in 1940",
"Railway stations in the United States opened in 1888",
"Railway stations in the United States opened in 1967",
"Railway stations in the United States opened in 1978"
] | The Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station (formerly Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street station) is a New York City Subway station complex shared by the BMT Fourth Avenue Line, the BMT Brighton Line and the IRT Eastern Parkway Line. Named after Atlantic Avenue and the Barclays Center arena, it is located at Fourth and Flatbush Avenues' intersections with Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The complex is served by the 2, 4, D, N, Q and R trains at all times; the 3 train at all times except late nights; the 5 and B trains on weekdays during the day; and a few rush-hour W trains.
The Eastern Parkway Line platforms at Atlantic Avenue were built for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as a terminal station on the city's first subway line, which opened on May 1, 1908. The Fourth Avenue Line platforms of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT; later Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation or BMT) opened in 1915 as the Pacific Street station. As part of the Dual Contracts, the Brighton Line platform at Atlantic Avenue opened in 1920, and the Eastern Parkway Line platforms were modified to accommodate local and express service. There was also a station on the elevated Fifth Avenue Line at Atlantic Avenue, which operated from 1888 to 1940 and was not connected to the subway complex. Several modifications have been made to the complex over the years, and all three stations were connected to each other within fare control by 1978. The complex was renovated in the early 2000s. The control house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980, while the Brighton Line and Eastern Parkway Line stations have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004.
The Eastern Parkway Line station under Flatbush Avenue has two side platforms, one island platform, and four tracks, while the parallel Brighton Line station has one island platform and two tracks. The Fourth Avenue Line station, running to the west under Fourth Avenue, has two island platforms and four tracks. The platforms are connected to each other and to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)'s Atlantic Terminal by several passageways. Numerous elevators make the complex compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). As of 2019, it is the busiest subway station in Brooklyn and the 20th busiest station in the system, with nearly 14 million passengers.
## History
### Original subway
#### Construction
Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864. However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act. The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900, in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.
Several days after Contract 1 was signed, the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners instructed Parsons to evaluate the feasibility of extending the subway south to South Ferry, and then to Brooklyn. On January 24, 1901, the Board adopted a route that would extend the subway from City Hall to the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)'s Flatbush Avenue terminal station (now known as Atlantic Terminal) in Brooklyn, via the Joralemon Street Tunnel under the East River. Contract 2, which gave the IRT a 35-year lease,was executed between the commission and the Rapid Transit Construction Company on September 11, 1902. Work under Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn commenced in April 1904. The IRT line in Brooklyn had been proposed as a two-track line under Fulton Street, expanding to three tracks under Flatbush Avenue. Belmont submitted a revised proposal to the Rapid Transit Commission in April 1905 to widen the line to four tracks.
#### Opening
The Joralemon Street Tunnel opened in January 1908 between Lower Manhattan and a temporary terminus at Borough Hall, the first underground subway station in Brooklyn. The line was to extend three more stops to Atlantic Avenue; this extension was nearly complete by March, except for the Atlantic Avenue station. The extension opened on May 1, 1908; the first train, an express from Manhattan, left Bowling Green at 1:02 a.m. and entered Atlantic Avenue sixteen minutes later. The extension's opening was marked with a parade and a poem praising Belmont. According to The New York Times, the extension was "regarded as of the utmost importance" because it connected the IRT with the LIRR for the first time. The extension relieved congestion at the overcrowded Borough Hall station; trains from Atlantic Avenue were already crowded by the time they reached Borough Hall.
The Atlantic Avenue station originally had two tracks, with one island platform and two side platforms in a Spanish solution arrangement. Initially, the station was served by express trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). Lenox local trains to 145th Street served the station during late nights. The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) extended its streetcar lines to the Atlantic Avenue station when the IRT extension opened. The LIRR and IRT also held discussions on the feasibility of running LIRR trains onto the IRT tracks to the Bronx, but this was not done because the LIRR did not have enough rolling stock.
To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway. As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to \$1.5 million (equivalent to \$ million in ) spent on platform lengthening, \$500,000 (equivalent to \$ million in ) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent. The island platform at the Atlantic Avenue station on the modern Eastern Parkway Line was extended 105 feet (32 m) to the east. On January 23 and 24, 1911, ten-car express trains began running.
### Dual Contracts
After the original IRT opened, the city began planning new lines. As early as 1903, Parsons had proposed constructing a four-track extension of the IRT line under Flatbush Avenue, running southeast from Atlantic Avenue to Grand Army Plaza; from there, two branches would have extended south to Flatbush and east to Brownsville. This plan did not progress for a decade due to various disputes over the original subway. Nonetheless, the Atlantic Avenue station was never intended as the permanent terminus of the line, and various proposals for extensions and spurs were put forth. In 1908, the IRT unsuccessfully proposed a two-track subway line across the Manhattan Bridge to Canal Street in Manhattan; this line would have used the outer tracks at the Atlantic Avenue and Nevins Street stations, then diverged from the original line to cross the Manhattan Bridge.
#### Fourth Avenue Line
The New York City Board of Estimate approved the construction of the Fourth Avenue Line, a subway line running under Fourth Avenue, in early 1908. Contracts for the Fourth Avenue Line were awarded on May 22, 1908, for the section between 43rd Street and the Manhattan Bridge, but the Board of Estimate did not approve them until October 29, 1909, when a taxpayer's lawsuit regarding the city's debt was settled. Groundbreaking for the first section of the subway, between DeKalb Avenue and 43rd Street (ending at 36th Street), took place on November 13, 1909, at DeKalb Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, after the plans and surveys for the line were completed. The Fourth Avenue Line was assigned to the BRT (after 1923, the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation or BMT) in the Dual Contracts, a series of contracts for the construction, rehabilitation, and operation of rapid transit lines in New York City, which were adopted on March 4, 1913.
William Bradley built the portion of the line from the intersection of Fulton Street and Ashland Place to the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Sackett Street, including the Pacific Street station. This section passed under the existing IRT subway and required the relocation of a sewer. Because of the presence of the sewer, the section under Flatbush Avenue was built in two pieces; the eastern part of the tunnel was built first, followed by the western part. The president of the IRT wrote a letter to the Public Service Commission, complaining that the Fourth Avenue Line's construction was damaging the IRT station at Atlantic Avenue. The South Brooklyn Board of Trade proposed in 1910 to change the Pacific Street station from an express stop to a local stop, as well as changing the Ninth Street and DeKalb Avenue stations from local to express stops, but this was not done. By January 1912, the tunnel containing the Pacific Street station had been completed, and contractors were installing station finishes. D. C. Serber received a contract to install the station finish along the northbound local track, as well as various other station finishes, in early June 1915.
The Pacific Street station opened on June 22, 1915, as part of an extension of the subway to Coney Island, which included the Fourth Avenue Line north of 59th Street as well as the entire Sea Beach Line. The station's opening was marked with a competition between two trains heading from Chambers Street station in Manhattan to the Coney Island station, one heading via the West End Line and the other via the Sea Beach Line; the latter got to Coney Island first. As an express station, the Pacific Street station was originally 480 feet (150 m) long to accommodate eight-car trains. Workers also built a passageway from the Fourth Avenue Line's Pacific Street station to the IRT's Atlantic Avenue station, which was completed by late 1915. The tunnel was not opened along with the rest of the Fourth Avenue Line station, since the IRT and BRT could not reach an agreement on splitting maintenance costs. Following pressure from Public Service Commissioner Travis H. Whitney, the two companies opened the passageway on October 4, 1916, while they worked out an agreement.
#### Brighton Line and Eastern Parkway Line extension
Two lines under Flatbush Avenue, one each operated by the BRT and IRT, were also approved as part of the Dual Contracts. The IRT was authorized to extend its Brooklyn line under Flatbush Avenue, with a four-track route paralleling the BRT's subway southeast of the existing Atlantic Avenue station. The BRT route, an extension of the Brighton Line, was to run under Flatbush Avenue and St. Felix Street in Downtown Brooklyn, with a station at Atlantic Avenue. This station would connect not only with the original IRT and the LIRR, but also with the Fourth Avenue Line station at Pacific Street. The BRT route was originally planned as a four-track line. Groundbreaking for the lines under Flatbush Avenue took place in May 1914, by which point the BRT line was reduced to two tracks. The Cranford Company was contracted to build two sections of the Flatbush Avenue tunnel, extending from Fulton Street to Grand Army Plaza, in mid-1914.
The IRT's architects filed plans in mid-1915 for the construction of a glass structure on the south side of Atlantic Avenue, just outside the station, which was to contain stores. By 1918, the Atlantic Avenue station had become a bottleneck for IRT service, although the completion of the Dual Contracts was expected to alleviate the station's congestion. The Dual Contracts expansions necessitated that the station be widened to four tracks, so the original island platform was shaved back, allowing the IRT to install two tracks to the inside of the existing tracks. The island platform served IRT Lexington Avenue Line trains, while the side platforms were to serve trains using the Clark Street Tunnel and the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, after the original IRT line was split into an "H" system in 1918. To allow this new service pattern, the Rapid Transit Commission allocated \$300,000 in May 1918 for the construction of new track connections at the Times Square, Borough Hall, and Atlantic Avenue stations. By 1917, new track crossovers had been installed at the IRT's Atlantic Avenue station, and a set of temporary platforms were removed after the two new tracks had been added. The connection between the southern ends of the platforms was removed, and a second underpass at the south end of the station opened in early 1919. Large signs were installed near some station entrances to help passengers who were transferring from BRT streetcar routes. The Public Service Commission also gave passengers maps of the revised station and track layout. Meanwhile, for the construction of the Brighton Line's Atlantic Avenue station, the BRT sought an easement from the LIRR because the route was to run partially under Atlantic Terminal. To the north of Atlantic Avenue, the BRT line was to be built under St. Felix Street and then Fulton Street, while to the south, it would run parallel to the four-track IRT line under Flatbush Avenue. Construction of the segment of the line under St. Felix Street, including the Atlantic Avenue station, was delayed due to disagreements with the LIRR, which did not grant the New York City government an easement until 1915. The LIRR agreed to build a concrete slab beneath its terminal for \$250,000, allowing the BRT to build its station underneath. The Degnon Construction Company was hired to build the short section of tunnel under St. Felix Street for \$810,265 in March 1916. The Brighton Line platform had to be placed at a relatively deep level, necessitating the construction of an escalator. The Transit Commission began soliciting bids in July 1919 for the installation of station finishes at the Brighton Line's Atlantic Avenue station. Charles H. Brown submitted a low bid of approximately \$86,000 for this contract, which was then awarded to P. N. Brown & Co. at that price. By that December, the station was 98 percent completed.
Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line trains began operating to the IRT's Atlantic Avenue station after the Clark Street Tunnel opened in 1919. These trains originally terminated on the northbound local track. Express trains began operating on the Eastern Parkway Line when it was extended to Utica Avenue on August 23, 1920, although all off-peak trains from Manhattan continued to terminate at Atlantic Avenue until early 1921. The BRT Brighton Line's Atlantic Avenue station opened on August 1, 1920, providing direct service between the existing Brighton Line and Midtown Manhattan.
### 1920s to 1950s
As part of an agreement with the IRT and BRT, the New York Telephone Company installed payphones at the Atlantic Avenue station in September 1920, making the station one of the first to receive such phones. In 1922, the Rapid Transit Commission awarded a contract to the Wagner Engineering Company for the installation of navigational signs at the Atlantic Avenue station and several other major subway stations. The IRT platforms received blue-and-white signs, while the BRT platforms received red-white-and-green navigational signs.
Also in 1922, the New York State Transit Commission commissioned its engineers to examine platform-lengthening plans for 23 stations on the lines of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), the successor to the BRT, to accommodate eight-car trains. As part of the project, platforms would be lengthened to 530 feet (160 m). Though the Transit Commission ordered the BMT to lengthen these platforms in September 1923, no further progress was made until February 16, 1925, when the New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) commissioned its engineers to examine platform-lengthening plans for Pacific Street and eleven other stations along the Fourth Avenue Line. It estimated the project would cost \$633,000 (). The Brighton Line platform at Atlantic Avenue was also to be lengthened to accommodate eight-car trains. The New York City Board of Estimate appropriated \$362,841 for the lengthening of the platforms at Pacific Street, Atlantic Avenue, and four other stations in January 1926 and awarded the contract to Charles Meads & Company early the next month. The platform extensions at Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street opened on August 1, 1927. The eastbound IRT local platform at Atlantic Avenue also needed to be lengthened, but, according to witness testimony in 1926, only by about 24 feet (7.3 m).
In February 1928, bids were received by the BOT on a project to remove kiosk subway entrances from the median of Fourth Avenue and to relocate them to the sidewalk to improve safety for transit riders. As part of the project, the station entrances at Pacific Street, along with at 36th Street and 59th Street, would be relocated. In addition, malls between 44th Street and 47th Street would be reduced in width, and the malls from 61st Street to 58th Street, and from 36th Street to Atlantic Avenue would be removed. Mezzanines would be constructed to allow riders to cross Fourth Avenue below street level. Work would be completed within six months. As part of a pilot program, the BMT installed silencers on turnstiles at the Fourth Avenue Line's Pacific Street station in August 1930.
The city government took over the BMT's operations on June 1, 1940, and the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. The BOT announced plans in November 1949 to extend platforms at several IRT stations, including Atlantic Avenue, to accommodate all doors on ten-car trains. Although ten-car trains already operated on the line, the rear car could not open its doors at the station because the platforms were so short. Funding for the platform extensions was included in the city's 1950 capital budget. The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced plans in 1956 to add fluorescent lights throughout the IRT portion of the station. In July 1959, the NYCTA announced that it would install fluorescent lighting at the Fourth Avenue Line station and five other stations along the Fourth Avenue Line for between \$175,000 and \$200,000. Bids on the project were to be advertised on August 7, 1959, and completed by fall 1960.
### 1960s to 1980s
In August 1961, NYCTA chairman Charles Patterson announced a \$2.5 million project to reconfigure the tracks between Nevins Street and Atlantic Avenue, reducing the travel time between the two stations by up to one minute. The platforms at the two stations would be extended to accommodate 10-car trains, as opposed to the eight and nine-car trains that they could serve at the time, and the tracks between the two stations would be straightened. During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the Brighton Line platforms at Atlantic Avenue, along with those at six other stations on the Brighton Line, were lengthened to 615 feet (187 m) to accommodate a ten-car train of 60-foot (18 m) IND cars, or a nine-car train of 67-foot (20 m) BMT cars.
Passengers had advocated for the passageway between the stations to be placed within fare control as early as 1949. The transfer between the Brighton Line and Eastern Parkway Line was placed within fare control until November 26, 1967, to alleviate congestion caused by major service changes related to the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection. On January 16, 1978, the Fourth Avenue Line station was placed within the same fare control area as the two other stations in the complex. This eliminated the need for passengers to pay a second fare to transfer between the Fourth Avenue Line and either the Eastern Parkway Line or the Brighton Line. In addition, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) planned to construct a passageway between the LIRR and subway stations at Atlantic Avenue; at the time, an average of 8,000 passengers per day transferred from the LIRR to the subway.
The MTA announced in late 1978 that it would modernize the Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street station. The improvements included new finishes on the walls and floors; acoustical, signage, and lighting improvements; replacement of old mechanical equipment; and new handrails. A further renovation of the Atlantic Avenue station was funded in 1983 as part of the MTA's capital plan. The renovation was supposed to begin in 1983 but was postponed to 1989 due to various issues such as cost overruns. The complex was planned to be renovated for \$26.6 million, but MTA officials diverted funding for the project in December 1989 to cover a budget shortfall. To discourage crime, the MTA also installed CCTV cameras at the Atlantic Avenue IRT station in 1989.
### 1990s to present
The MTA requested funding for the station's renovation as part of its 1990–1994 capital program. In April 1993, the New York State Legislature agreed to give the MTA \$9.6 billion for capital improvements. Some of the funds would be used to renovate nearly one hundred New York City Subway stations, including all three stations at Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street. About \$49 million in funding was allotted to the Atlantic Avenue station's renovation, but, by mid-1993, the city indicated that it might not be able to provide these funds. In 1994, the administration of mayor Rudy Giuliani proposed delaying the station's renovation; the project was indefinitely deferred later the same year. The Brighton Line and Fourth Avenue Line stations at Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street were also supposed to receive elevators, as part of the MTA's plan to make dozens of "key stations" accessible to passengers with disabilities. By 1993, the elevator installations had been postponed to 2002 due to a lack of money.
Local newspaper Newsday wrote that the station suffered from chipped tiles, missing ceiling sections, and flaking plasterwork and that some of the damage had been painted in an attempt to hide the deterioration. At the time, the subway station and adjacent LIRR terminal saw 50 million passengers per year, and a major mixed-use development was being planned for the area above the station. A pair of Palestinians plotted to bomb the station in 1997, but police thwarted the attack.
#### Renovation
On January 21, 1997, work began on a 42-month project to widen Flatbush Avenue from six to eight lanes near Hanson Place and Atlantic Avenue and to waterproof and repair the roof of the IRT station. The MTA announced the same month that it would award an \$11 million design contract for the renovation the following month. At the time, the project was to cost \$147 million. A joint venture of de Domenico + Partners and Parsons Brinckerhoff was hired to design the project, which included a new LIRR entrance, a new lower mezzanine below the IRT station, and ventilation improvements. The MTA approved plans in March 1998 to renovate the Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street subway station and the adjoining LIRR terminal, as well as build the Atlantic Terminal shopping mall above the station. Work on the stations' renovation began in 2000, and work on the shopping mall commenced the next year.
When the renovation began, workers dug two temporary 40-foot-deep (12 m) holes, through which they installed supports measuring 90 feet (27 m) long to carry the weight of the street above. The supports allowed workers to excavate the entire site at once and reduced construction time by one year. The entire IRT station had to be supported by 36-foot-long (11 m) crossbeams hanging from the roof of the station box; the station was also supported by conventional columns from below. The installation of these supports required extensive pile testing because this technique had never been used on the New York City Subway system. The subway infrastructure under Flatbush Avenue, as well as the avenue itself, were collectively raised by less than an inch.
As part of the project, contractors built or rebuilt fifteen stairs. The MTA also re-tiled the walls and floors, upgraded the station's lights and the public address system, and installed new trackbeds for local and express trains entering the IRT station. The passageway between the Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street portions of the complex was widened from 15 to 42 feet (4.6 to 12.8 m). An escalator was replaced at Hanson Place, and a new station entrance was added there. The station house was also temporarily relocated for restoration, then moved back to its original site. To approximate the original look of the station house, contractors ordered bricks from Minnesota for \$4 apiece. In 2004, the Brighton and Eastern Parkway lines' platforms were added to the NRHP. Additionally, eight elevators were installed throughout the station complex at a cost of \$77.9 million. When the elevators were completed, disabled riders could only enter one car of IRT express trains because part of that platform was too narrow. The entire IRT express platform became accessible in 2007 after the MTA spent \$360,000 to relocate two stair railings.
#### Later modifications
In June 2009, the MTA sold the naming rights of the station complex to Barclays, who had also bought the naming rights to the under-construction Barclays Center sports arena, for 20 years at \$200,000 per year. It was one of the few such renames in the system; following this renaming, the MTA considered selling the naming rights of other subway stations. A new entrance through the station, the Atlantic Terminal Pavilion, opened in 2010. As part of a pilot program, digital announcement boards, train countdown clocks, and improved intercom systems were installed in the station the same year. In advance of Barclays Center's opening, the station was renamed Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center in May 2012. A new entrance serving the arena, which includes stairs, escalators, and an elevator, opened in September 2012 at a cost of \$76 million. The new entrance, originally budgeted at \$29 million, required digging a hole measuring 35 feet (11 m) deep and 100 by 125 feet (30 by 38 m) wide.
The MTA announced in December 2021 that it would install wide-aisle fare gates for disabled passengers at five subway stations, including Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center, by mid-2022. The implementation of these fare gates was delayed; the MTA's chief accessibility officer indicated in February 2023 that the new fare gates would be installed at the Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center and Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport stations shortly afterward. The MTA announced in late 2022 that it would open customer service centers at 15 stations; the centers would provide services such as travel information and OMNY farecards. The first six customer service centers, including one at the Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station, were to open in early 2023. The Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station's customer service center opened in February 2023.
## Station layout
The station complex consists of three stations: those of the Eastern Parkway Line, Brighton Line, and Fourth Avenue Line. The Fourth Avenue Line station runs in a southwest-northeast direction under Fourth Avenue. The Eastern Parkway Line station runs in a northwest-southeast direction under Flatbush Avenue, next to the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Terminal, while the Brighton Line platform runs almost precisely north-south under the terminal. The Brighton Line platform is oriented with St. Felix Street and runs partly under private property.
The shallowest of the stations, the Eastern Parkway Line platforms, is at the same level as the Atlantic Terminal railway platforms and are only 20 feet (6.1 m) below street level. The second level below ground is the Fourth Avenue Line platforms, which are 40 feet (12 m) deep and have a mezzanine. The deepest is the Brighton Line platform, which is approximately 60 feet (18 m) deep and has two mezzanines above it. The Eastern Parkway Line and Brighton Line portions of the complex are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
### Mezzanines
A 350-foot-long (110 m) passageway connects the Fourth Avenue Line platforms with the other platforms. This passageway was originally only 15 feet (4.6 m) wide but was widened to 42 feet (13 m) during the 2000s. At the western end of the passageway is a small mezzanine above the Fourth Avenue Line platforms, which has a fare control area and station agent's booth; the fare control area leads to exits at Fourth Avenue and Pacific Street. Originally, stairs led down from this passageway to the southbound IRT local platform, and additional stairs led to an underpass below the IRT platforms. The stairs to the southbound IRT local platform were replaced with a ramp during the 2000s renovation.
An underpass below all of the IRT platforms connects with the Fourth Avenue Line passage to the west and the Brighton Line and LIRR platforms to the east. Built as part of the original IRT station in 1908, it allowed IRT passengers to exit through the head house of Atlantic Terminal. The underpass was reconfigured and expanded as part of the early-2000s renovation, when elevators were built between the underpass and each IRT platform. In addition to a large stairway leading up to the Fourth Avenue Line passageway, two stairs lead from this underpass to the northbound IRT local platform, while three stairs lead to the IRT express platform. A set of turnstiles separates the Eastern Parkway Line mezzanine from a concourse leading to the LIRR station.
There is an additional underpass at the south end of the IRT station, which opened to the public in 1919. By the 2000s, this underpass had been closed to the public and converted to staff areas, and the stairs from either IRT local platform to the passageway had been removed. Another passageway between the Eastern Parkway and Brighton Line is present at the south end of the station, which also leads to an exit immediately adjacent to Barclays Center.
There are two mezzanines above the Brighton Line platform, which have wave-patterned wainscoting and white ceramic tiles. The lower mezzanine runs the entire length of the station. At the north end of the mezzanine is a set of high entry-exit turnstiles and a high exit-only gate, while the center of the mezzanine contains more high entry-exit turnstiles and a high exit-only gate. The rest of the lower mezzanine was closed to the public by the 2000s.
### Artwork
The station contains a sculpture by George Trakas, Hook (Archean Reach), Line (Sea House), and Sinker (Mined Swell), which was commissioned as part of the MTA Arts & Design program and installed in 2004. The sculpture is placed under a skylight in the station's old control house, which is between the Fourth Avenue Line platforms and the other platforms, and includes a peephole and a boat-shaped steel structure. The walls of the mezzanine contain a wave-shaped granite wainscoting where the Fourth Avenue Line platforms (formerly the Pacific Street station) meet the other platforms (formerly the Atlantic Avenue station). In designing the sculpture, Trakas had intended to compare the station's role as a train hub with the maritime traffic on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
### Exits
To the Fourth Avenue portion of the complex, there is a stair to the northwest corner of Fourth Avenue and Pacific Street. There is also a stair and elevator to the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue and Pacific Street. This elevator makes the Fourth Avenue Line station ADA-accessible.
To the Eastern Parkway/Brighton portion of the complex, there is a stair to the northwestern corner of Hanson Place and St. Felix Street, and a stair and elevator to the southwestern corner of Hanson Place and St. Felix Street. A passageway also leads from the Brighton Line station's upper mezzanine to the basement of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, as well as directly to the street within the building. Two stairs lead to the north side of Flatbush Avenue southeast of Hanson Place. One of the street stairs had a metal hood, dating from the original IRT station's opening, which was removed as part of the 2000s renovation. The station also has a direct exit to the LIRR's Atlantic Terminal station through both the IRT mezzanine and the northbound local platform. The Atlantic Terminal exit at Hanson Place and Flatbush Avenue is also ADA-accessible and leads to the Brighton Line and Eastern Parkway Line platforms.
A stair, an elevator, and a set of escalators lead to Barclays Center at the southeast corner of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues. The elevator is privately maintained and, during the 2010s, was one of the least reliable in the New York City Subway system. This subway entrance has a sloped roof that faces Barclays Center and is surrounded by wooden benches and gray pavers. A green roof was installed above the subway entrance as part of the construction of Barclays Center Plaza. Formerly, a stair led to the sidewalk at the southeast corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, but this stair had been closed by the 2000s.
### Control house
The original IRT station house, also known as the control house, was designed by Heins & LaFarge, who also designed elements of many of the original IRT subway stations. It is designed in the Flemish Renaissance style. Intended as an ornate entrance to the station, the building sits on a traffic island bounded by Atlantic Avenue, Fourth Avenue, and Flatbush Avenue, which is known as Times Plaza. The control house occupies an area of 50 by 37 feet (15 by 11 m) and was adjacent to what is now the IRT station's southbound local platform. The station house was one of several on the original IRT; similar station houses were built at Bowling Green, Mott Avenue, 72nd Street, 103rd Street, and 116th Street.
The one-story control contains exterior walls made of buff brick, with a water table made of granite blocks. Above the ground story of the structure, the north and south facades contain four square windows, above which is a row of dentils. The west and east facades each contain three window openings with metal screens, The north and south facades are topped by a set of Dutch Revival-style gables. Terracotta letters spelling the name "Atlantic Avenue" are placed on the sides of each gable. Above the letters are a flat lintel with a keystone, as well as a cartouche flanked by swags. Just below the roof, the west and east facades contain ventilation grilles. The roof itself is made of standing-seam copper.
The control house's original interior was gutted by the 1970s, when it was used as a concession stand. Despite being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, the control house fell into decline over the years before being temporarily relocated during the station's 2000s renovation. Although the control house has since been restored, the actual entrance was removed and serves as a skylight into the IRT station. The skylight contains part of the Hook, Line, and Sinker artwork.
## IRT Eastern Parkway Line platforms
The Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station (originally Atlantic Avenue station) is an express station on the IRT Eastern Parkway Line. The station has four tracks, one island platform, and two side platforms. The local tracks are used by 2 trains at all times; 3 trains at all times except late nights; and 4 trains at night. The express tracks are used by 4 trains at all times except late nights, as well as by 5 trains on weekdays during the day. On all routes, the next station to the north is Nevins Street. The next station to the south is Bergen Street for local trains and Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College for express trains.
The platforms are all 530 feet (160 m) long; the southernmost 135 feet (41 m) of each platform was built in the early 1910s. Two stairs descend from the center of each side platform to the mezzanine connecting with the BMT and LIRR. Three stairs and an elevator descend from the center of the island platform to the mezzanine. The LIRR's Atlantic Terminal is just to the northeast of the northbound local platform, on the same level. There are turnstiles leading from the northbound local platform to the LIRR tracks; the station agent's booth for these turnstiles is located outside fare control, within the LIRR terminal. A second underpass, connecting only to the Brighton Line platforms, is at the southern end of each platform.
### Design
As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a cut-and-cover method. The tunnel is covered by a "U"-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick. Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The platforms contain cast-iron columns with Tuscan capitals, spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m). Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), support the reinforced concrete station roofs. The ceiling above the platforms and tracks is made of flat concrete and is covered with plaster. There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.
The walls adjacent to the local platforms consist of a pink marble wainscoting on the lowest part of the wall, measuring 2 feet (0.61 m) high. Above this wainscoting is a horizontal band of pink mosaic tiles as well as white ceramic tiles. The walls contain mosaic tile plaques with the name "Atlantic Avenue"; these are framed by multicolored mosaic bands with foliate and geometric patterns, which in turn are framed by pink mosaic tile. The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station. Along the platforms, there are faience plaques every 15 feet (4.6 m), which depict tulips and scrolls flanking the letter "A". The plaques at the southern end of the southbound local platform are made of mosaic instead of faience. The northern end of the southbound local platform originally had glazed ceramic-block walls, while the northern end of the northbound platform has I-beam columns instead of round cast-iron columns. The express island platform has I-beam columns, and part of the floor is made of glass blocks.
### Track layout
The Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station is one of three express stations in the New York City Subway system to have side platforms for local services and a center island platform for express services. The other two are the 34th Street–Penn Station stops on the IND Eighth Avenue Line and on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. This may have been done to reduce crowding, as cross-platform transfers could be made at the adjacent Nevins Street station. This arrangement was also a modification of the original station layout. When the Atlantic Avenue station opened in 1908, it was the terminal for the line and had two tracks, two side platforms, and one island platform. All of the platforms were connected at their southeastern end.
Northwest of the station, two trackways connected the LIRR's Atlantic Branch and the IRT line; only the northbound trackway was originally built. Vestiges of this track still exist. In addition, an unused trackway splits from the southbound local track for a proposed subway under Fourth Avenue (later built as the BMT Fourth Avenue Line). It merges with the Manhattan-bound express track and ends on a bumper block between the two express tracks at Nevins Street. Southeast of the station, there were provisions for two trackways to diverge to the LIRR's Atlantic Branch. The trackways to the southeast were never used but can be seen from public areas.
## BMT Brighton Line platform
The Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station (originally Atlantic Avenue station) on the BMT Brighton Line has two tracks and an island platform. The Q train stops at the station at all times, while the B train stops here on weekdays during the day. On both routes, the Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station is between the DeKalb Avenue station to the north and the Seventh Avenue station to the south.
The platform contains tiled columns which support the ceiling. The walls next to the tracks are covered with white ceramic tiles and contain mosaic tablets with the station's name. At the top of the wall is a cornice composed of 5-foot-wide (1.5 m) blue-and-buff panels, above which is a border with geometric motifs. There are mosaic plaques every 15 feet (4.6 m), which have the letter "A". There is also an enamel sign pointing to the Brooklyn Academy of Music near the southern end of the platform. The platform was extended to the south in 1964–1965 to fit ten-car trains.
The platform has seven stairs: two to the Hanson Place exit at the north end (which does not link to any other platform), three to the main mezzanine, and two at the south end (which leads to both an exit immediately adjacent to Barclays Center and another mezzanine that connects to the IRT platforms). All of these stairs have white ceramic-tile walls.
North of this station, there is a bellmouth where the northbound track curves northwest onto Fulton Street. The bellmouth marks the location where the westbound track of the proposed Ashland Place Connection, which would have connected to the now-demolished BMT Fulton Street El, would have merged with the Brighton Line. The bellmouth was added to the plans for the Brighton Line tunnel in 1916; at the time the city could not afford to build the connection. South of the station, the Brighton Line tracks cross underneath the Eastern Parkway Line's northbound tracks and curve under Flatbush Avenue.
## BMT Fourth Avenue Line platforms
The Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station (originally Pacific Street station then Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street station) is an express station on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line that has four tracks and two island platforms. The local tracks are used by R trains at all times; D and N trains during late nights; and limited W trains. The express tracks are used by the D and N trains at all times except late nights, as well as limited rush-hour northbound Q trains. The next station to the north is DeKalb Avenue for local trains, Canal Street for the , and Grand Street for the . The next station to the south is Union Street for local trains and 36th Street for express trains. To the north of the station, three switches connect the tracks.
The walls of the Pacific Street station were originally decorated with white tile and green marble. The color of the marble was intended to distinguish it from other stations on the Fourth Avenue Line. Within the tunnels north and south of the station, each of the BMT Fourth Avenue Line's four tracks is separated by a concrete wall, rather than by columns, as in older IRT tunnels. These walls were intended to improve ventilation, as passing trains would push air forward, rather than to the sides of the tunnel. At the Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center station, there is a wall between the two express tracks. Waterproofing was placed under the floor, on the side walls, and above the roof of the tunnel when the station was built.
At the north end of the BMT Fourth Avenue platforms, three stairs and one elevator from each platform go up to the main fare control area. This leads both to the passageway connecting to the rest of the complex, as well as to the exits on Pacific Street.
## BMT Fifth Avenue Line station
A separate, elevated station on the BMT Fifth Avenue Line, called the Atlantic Avenue station, was also located at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue. The elevated station opened on November 5, 1888, as part of what was then called the Hudson and Flatbush Avenue route. The station had two tracks and one island platform and was also served by trains of the BMT Culver Line and BMT Fifth Avenue Line.
Originally, only one stair descended from the platform, which split into two flights midway between the platform and the street. On June 25, 1923, eight passengers died and many others were injured when two cars of a train coming from 65th Street Terminal derailed and fell toward Flatbush Avenue. With increased use of the subways compared to the elevated lines, and the completion of the unification of the city's subway systems, the Fifth Avenue Line was closed on June 1, 1940, and was demolished in 1941.
## Ridership
By 1913, the Atlantic Avenue station was the busiest on the IRT system, with 23 million riders entering it every year. The station complex, including the BMT elevated station, recorded 26.8 million annual riders by 1923, of which over half used the IRT station. By the mid-1980s, six million people on average entered the subway complex every year.
The Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street station recorded 27,559 entries on an average weekday in 2005, making it the 33rd-busiest station in the system by weekday ridership. By 2010, there were about 35,000 riders entering the station every weekday, which increased to about 41,000 in 2014. As of 2019, the Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center system is the busiest subway station in Brooklyn, with 13,939,794 passengers, and is ranked 20th overall. This amounted to an average of 43,498 passengers per weekday. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, ridership dropped drastically in 2020, with only 5,474,265 passengers entering the station that year. The station had 6,420,924 passengers in 2021. |
6,088,215 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | 1,172,476,510 | 2008 video game | [
"2008 video games",
"Aspyr games",
"D.I.C.E. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Story winners",
"Euphoria (software) games",
"Hack and slash games",
"IOS games",
"J2ME games",
"Krome Studios games",
"LucasArts franchises",
"LucasArts games",
"MacOS games",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"N-Gage service games",
"N-Space games",
"Nintendo DS games",
"Nintendo Switch games",
"PlayStation 2 games",
"PlayStation 3 games",
"PlayStation Portable games",
"Single-player video games",
"Star Wars video games",
"Universomo games",
"Video games developed in the United States",
"Video games scored by Mark Griskey",
"Video games using Havok",
"Video games with alternative versions",
"Video games with expansion packs",
"Wii games",
"Windows games",
"Xbox 360 games"
] | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an action-adventure game developed by LucasArts and part of The Force Unleashed multimedia project. It was initially developed for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles and on iOS, second-generation N-Gage, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Java-equipped mobile phone handhelds. The game was released in North America on September 16, 2008, in Australia and Southeast Asia on September 17, and in Europe on September 19. LucasArts released downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. An Ultimate Sith Edition of the game, containing both new and previously released downloadable content, was released in November 2009, and later ported to the macOS and Microsoft Windows. An enhanced remaster of the Wii version, developed by Aspyr, was released on Nintendo Switch on April 20, 2022.
The project bridges the first two Star Wars trilogies, acting as an origin story for both the united Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Civil War depicted in the original trilogy. The game introduces a new protagonist named "Starkiller", a powerful Force user trained as Darth Vader's secret apprentice, who is tasked with hunting down Jedi survivors of the Great Jedi Purge while trying to keep his existence a secret. However, after he is tasked with planting the seeds of what would become the Rebel Alliance, which Vader plans to take advantage of to overthrow the Emperor, Starkiller begins to question his own morality and to slowly redeem himself. Following Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, the game became part of the non-canonical Star Wars Expanded Universe (also known as Star Wars Legends), and an alternative origin for the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Civil War was given in other forms of Star Wars media, such as Star Wars Rebels.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics, with praise for its story, voice acting, physics, art and soundtrack, but criticism for its linear gameplay and technical issues. The game was a bestseller in the United States and Australia, with over one million copies sold its debut month. As of February 2010, the game had sold over seven million copies, and was the fastest-selling Star Wars video game of its time. A sequel, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, was released in October 2010.
## Gameplay
The Force Unleashed is a third-person action game in which the player's character's weapons are the Force and a lightsaber. Developers treated the main character's lightsaber like another Force power, and wanted to ensure "something visceral and cool" happened with each button-push. The game has a combo system for stringing lightsaber attacks and for combining lightsaber attacks with Force powers. Experience points earned by killing enemies and finding artifacts can be used to increase Starkiller's powers and traits. The gameplay is intended to be easy to learn; the development team included "horrible" gamers to help ensure the game's accessibility. Players can casually run and gun through the game, but the game rewards those who take a stealthy, more tactical approach. The game includes enemies that are easy to overcome; game difficulty arises from presenting these enemies in large numbers that can wear down the player's character. Additionally, enemies learn from the player's character's attacks; using the same attack on different characters can sometimes lead to the player's character doing less damage. The enemies, which number over 50, have various strengths and weaknesses; developers faced the difficulty of effectively placing them throughout the game's varied environments.
### Version differences
The Force Unleashed has different features across platforms. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, powered by the Ronin engine, utilize high-definition graphics and advanced dynamic destruction effects. These versions also support downloadable content in the form of two expansions that expand upon the game's plot. The Nintendo versions use motion controls to implement Starkiller's attacks, with the Wii version using the Wii Remote to execute lightsaber attacks and the Nunchuk to wield Force powers, while the Nintendo DS version utilizes the touchscreen to execute attacks, where single actions can be executed by tapping a certain region of the screen (with each region corresponding to a particular action, such as jumping or Force pushing), while more advanced attacks can be performed by dragging the stylus across neighboring regions of the screen.
The PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions are identical in content to the Wii version, which is different than the PS3 and Xbox 360 version. Since these versions don't support or use downloadable content, they exclusively intersperse certain levels with three of the five Jedi trials that Starkiller completes at the Jedi temple in Coruscant to further hone his abilities, which are all included in a DLC pack for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The PSP version also exclusively features five additional "historical" bonus levels that re-enact pivotal scenes and duels throughout the Star Wars saga, as well as special scenarios that can be played with as different Star Wars characters who have the same abilities in the standard single-player mode. The Nintendo DS version utilizes 3-D graphics like all other major versions, but lacks voice acting.
The Wii and handheld versions support multiplayer. Two players duel against each other as famous Jedi and Sith in the Star Wars saga in the Wii version, while the handheld versions utilize wireless multiplayer for a four-player battle mode.
## Plot
Shortly into the Galactic Empire's rule, Imperial spies locate a Jedi survivor of the Great Purge named Kento Marek on Kashyyyk. Darth Vader arrives as the planet is invaded and eliminates any Wookie resistance between him and the fugitive Jedi. Reaching Kento's home, Vader easily defeats him in a lightsaber duel but senses someone far more powerful nearby. Initially believing it to be Kento's Jedi Master, Vader prepares to execute the defiant Jedi until his lightsaber is suddenly force pulled from his hand by Kento's son Galen. Sensing the boy's strong connection to the Force, Vader proceeds to kill Kento and an Imperial squadron after they try to execute Galen and secretly takes him as his apprentice with only a select few knowing of his existence.
Years later, an adult Galen (given the alias "Starkiller") completes his Sith training. He's sent by Vader to eliminate several Jedi survivors across the galaxy in preparation for assassinating the Emperor so that the duo can rule the galaxy together. Starkiller travels aboard his personal ship, the Rogue Shadow, alongside training droid PROXY (who is programmed to try and kill Starkiller) and Imperial pilot Juno Eclipse. Starkiller's targets include Rahm Kota, a Clone Wars veteran and leader of a militia; Kazdan Paratus, insane after years of isolation on Raxus Prime; and Shaak Ti, who's hiding on Felucia. As they duel, Kota senses that Vader won't always be Starkiller's master and that he'll be part of his future before being blinded with his own lightsaber and falling to his seeming death. Before she dies, Shaak Ti warns Starkiller that he'll eventually be betrayed by Vader. His final mission complete, Starkiller meets with Vader, but the Emperor arrives, his spies having uncovered Starkiller's existence. To prove his loyalty to the Emperor, Vader swiftly impales his apprentice and hurls him into space.
Unbeknownst to the Emperor, Vader has Starkiller recovered and resuscitated. Vader sends Starkiller to foster a rebellion among the Empire's enemies, hoping to distract the Emperor's spies for Vader to overthrow him. Starkiller rescues Juno, who had been arrested and branded a traitor to the Empire, and escapes with her and PROXY. Looking for allies to aid his mission, Starkiller finds an alive Kota on Cloud City, rendered blind and reduced to alcoholism, and rescues him from Imperial forces.
The group travels to Kashyyyk to locate Kota's contact, senator Bail Organa. Starkiller discovers his old home and meets his father's spirit, who expresses remorse for Starkiller's upbringing under Vader. To gain Bail's trust, Starkiller rescues his captive daughter Princess Leia Organa, and liberates the enslaved Wookiees at her request. Starkiller learns from Kota that Bail went missing on Felucia, after searching for Shaak Ti in the hope that she would rescue Leia. Starkiller travels to Felucia to find Bail, discovering that he'd been captured by Shaak Ti's former apprentice Maris Brood, who succumbed to the Dark Side after her master's death. Starkiller defeats Brood but spares her life, and convinces Bail to join the rebellion.
To convince more dissidents to do the same, Vader suggests that Starkiller attack a Star Destroyer facility on Raxus Prime to show that the Empire is vulnerable. Juno learns that Starkiller is still serving Vader and chastises him, but agrees to keep silent. On Raxus Prime, Starkiller is attacked by PROXY, who attempts to fulfill his programming by killing him, but Starkiller defeats him, destroys the facility, and pulls a falling Star Destroyer out of the sky using the Force. Bail meets with fellow senators Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis on Corellia to formally organize a rebellion, only for Vader to arrive and arrest them and Kota. After overpowering Starkiller, Vader reveals that he was merely a tool to lure out the Empire's enemies, and had never intended to use him to overthrow the Emperor. Starkiller escapes after PROXY sacrifices himself by attacking Vader.
Juno rescues Starkiller, who uses the Force to see that Kota and the senators are being held on the Death Star. After Juno kisses him and he bids farewell, Starkiller battles his way through the station to reach the Emperor's throne room. Vader confronts him, but Starkiller defeats his former master and faces the Emperor, who tries to goad him into killing Vader so Starkiller can take his place. Kota tries to attack the Emperor, but is subdued with Force lightning. At this point, the player must choose between saving Kota (Light Side) or killing Vader (Dark Side).
- If the player chooses the Light Side, Starkiller defeats the Emperor, but spares him at Kota's urging. The Emperor unleashes Force lightning at Kota, but Starkiller absorbs it, sacrificing himself to allow Kota and the senators to escape on the Rogue Shadow. The Emperor and Vader become concerned that Starkiller has become a martyr to inspire the newly-formed Rebel Alliance. On Kashyyyk, the senators proceed with the rebellion and Leia chooses Starkiller's family crest as their symbol. Kota tells Juno that among Starkiller's dark thoughts, Juno herself was one bright spot that he held onto right until his death.
- If the player chooses the Dark Side, Starkiller kills Vader and is congratulated by the Emperor, who commands him to kill Kota to sever his ties to the Jedi and become a Sith Lord. Starkiller instead attacks the Emperor, who foils his attempt and then crushes him with the Rogue Shadow, severely injuring Starkiller and killing Juno, Kota, and the senators. Starkiller later awakens to find his body being grafted with armor to continue serving the Emperor, though he assures Starkiller that he'll be replaced once he finds a new apprentice just as Vader before him.
### Downloadable content
Three downloadable content (DLC) levels for the game were released. The first one is set during the events of the main story and explores more of Starkiller's background, while the second and third ones expand upon the non-canonical Dark Side ending of the game, taking place in their own alternate timeline.
The Coruscant DLC depicts Starkiller, at some point before traveling to Kashyyyk, deciding to visit the abandoned Jedi Temple to learn more about his identity and connection to the Force. After fighting his way past the Imperial security forces, he reaches the old Council Chambers, where he meets Kento Marek's spirit who tells him that he needs to pass three Jedi trials. Upon doing so, Starkiller is faced with a mysterious Sith warrior, revealed to be a dark reflection of himself created by his own fear. Following his defeat, Starkiller finds a holocron left by Marek, who reveals himself as his father and implores him to return to the light side. Starkiller then returns to the Rogue Shadow to resume his current mission.
The Tatooine and Hoth DLC's are set during alternate depictions of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, respectively, and present Starkiller as the Emperor's trusted assassin, referred to as "Lord Starkiller".
In the Tatooine DLC, he's tasked with retrieving the Death Star plans stolen by the Rebel Alliance, which have been tracked to Tatooine. He visits Jabba the Hutt, who has knowledge on the plans' whereabouts, revealing that they're in the possession of two droids at Mos Eisley. When Starkiller refuses to work for him, Jabba attempts to have Starkiller eaten by his rancor. Killing the beast, Starkiller escapes from Jabba's palace after massacring Jabba's mercenaries, including Boba Fett. At Mos Eisley, Starkiller kills Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi after a duel which allows the droids to board the Millennium Falcon, though Starkiller manages to place a tracking device on the ship before it takes off.
In the Hoth DLC, Starkiller partakes in the Battle of Hoth, where the Empire attacks the weakened Rebel Alliance base. During the battle, Starkiller infiltrates the base with orders to capture Luke Skywalker, who had begun training as a Jedi. Starkiller finds and defeats Skywalker in the base's hangar, severing his right hand. When the Falcon tries to take off, Starkiller seizes the ship with the Force while goading Skywalker to give into the Dark Side to rescue his friends. Skywalker attacks Starkiller with Force lightning, causing him to let go of the ship and congratulate Skywalker for embracing the Dark Side, planning to make him his apprentice the same way that Vader did to him.
## Cast and characters
- Sam Witwer as Galen Marek / Starkiller — The forbidden child of a Jedi, Starkiller was adopted by his father's killer, Darth Vader, who, aware of his strong connection to the Force, raised him to be his secret apprentice. Once his training is complete, Starkiller is dispatched by his master to kill several prominent Jedi who survived the Great Jedi Purge. Although initially acting as a villain, Starkiller is "really just [a] damaged kid." Developers decided not to give Starkiller a name in the game, but the novelization reveals his real name as "Galen Marek". Although Starkiller starts as Vader's apprentice, a focus of the game is to allow the character to evolve into "something more heroic, something greater." Audio director David Collins saw a resemblance between Starkiller concept art and his friend, Witwer; Collins asked for Witwer's headshot and an audition reel, and a few weeks later Witwer sat for a 45-minute audition. Witwer secured the role by demonstrating to developers his deep understanding of the character; in portraying Starkiller, Witwer brought many new ideas about the character and imbued him with a sense of humanity. Developers tried not to make Starkiller so evil that players would have difficulty connecting to him, aiming to strike a balance between loyalty to his master and his growing sense of disillusionment with the Empire. The character's name is an homage to "Anakin Starkiller," the original name of the character that eventually became Luke Skywalker.
- Matt Sloan as Darth Vader — A powerful Dark Lord of the Sith, high-ranking enforcer of the Empire, and Starkiller's master, who discovers Starkiller as a child and trains him. In training Starkiller by having him hunt the few remaining Jedi survivors, Vader intends to prepare him to overthrow the Emperor, although there are "twists and turns" in this scheme. The events depicted in The Force Unleashed are pivotal to Darth Vader's history and development, depicting him as being largely responsible for the events leading to the Galactic Civil War, depicted in the original Star Wars trilogy.
- Nathalie Cox as Juno Eclipse — Rogue Shadow’s pilot and Starkiller's love interest. Eclipse was not originally part of the game; early concepts had the apprentice as an older character who develops a connection with a young Princess Leia. Star Wars creator George Lucas, uncomfortable with this idea, encouraged the developers to create a love interest. The apprentice, who has had limited interaction with women when the game begins, does not at first know how to act around her. Her introduction early in the game allows the relationship with Starkiller to develop, and her inclusion helps "recapture that rich ensemble feel of the original Star Wars". According to Sean Williams, who wrote the novelization, the romantic storyline is the key to The Force Unleashed. The name "Juno Eclipse" was originally proposed as a name for the character eventually called "Asajj Ventress" — it was ultimately rejected as insufficiently villainous. The Force Unleashed project lead Haden Blackman brought the name back for the mythic quality of the name "Juno" and the duality suggested by an "eclipse." Cox, in addition to strongly resembling the character's concept art, had "integrity and poise" appropriate to Juno Eclipse that helped the actor secure the role.
- Cully Fredricksen as General Rahm Kota — A Jedi Master and Clone Wars veteran who provides Starkiller with additional insight into the Force and helps connect him to his Jedi heritage. Developers realized early that Starkiller would require insight into the Force from someone other than Darth Vader; after rejecting the idea of this coming from the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn or some version of Darth Plagueis, they decided to fill this role with one of Starkiller's Jedi opponents. The character was conceived as a "tough-as-nails" contrast to the more traditional image of a Jedi represented by Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Senior concept artist Amy Beth Christianson drew upon samurai influences for Kota's appearance. The character changed little after being conceived; Fredricksen's own traits made the character tougher. Fredricksen was the first actor cast for the project.
- Adrienne Wilkinson as Maris Brood — A Zabrak survivor of the Jedi Purge and Shaak Ti's apprentice. After her master's death at Starkiller's hands, Brood falls to the dark side and uses Felucia's inhabitants to wage war on the Imperial forces trying to occupy the planet. The character was originally conceived as a pirate captain, and Christianson's early art included Brood's distinctive lightsaber tonfas. Wilkinson brought strength to her performance, leading to an expansion of the role with more dialogue.
- David W. Collins as PROXY — Starkiller's droid sidekick, designed to constantly test his lightsaber and Force abilities, as well as deliver important messages through holographic projection. Collins said PROXY has C-3PO's innocence but also is "really dangerous." The companion trade paperback describes the conflict between PROXY's primary programming to kill Starkiller and its self-imposed desire to help him; PROXY is eager to please Starkiller, but does not know how dangerous it can be or that there is a conflict between its programming and Starkiller's wishes. Trying to avoid having PROXY's dialogue become too reminiscent of either C-3PO or the villainous HK-47 of Knights of the Old Republic, developers focused on PROXY's friendly naïvety.
- Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa — Smits voices the character he played in the prequels trilogy: a Galactic Senator from Alderaan and Princess Leia's adoptive father who becomes a founding member of the Rebel Alliance.
- Sam Witwer as Emperor Palpatine
- Tom Kane as Kento Marek / Captain Ozzik Sturn
- Larry Drake as Kazdan Paratus
- Susan Eisenberg as Shaak Ti
- Catherine Taber as Princess Leia Organa
- David W. Collins as Jabba the Hutt
- Dee Bradley Baker as Boba Fett
- Rob Rackstraw as Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Lloyd Floyd as Luke Skywalker
## Development
### Concept
Game planning began in summer 2004. Initially, about six developers started with a "clean slate" to conceptualize a new Star Wars game; the small group of engineers, artists, and designers spent more than a year brainstorming ideas for what might make a good game. Over 100 initial concepts were whittled down to 20 to 25 that included making the game the third entry in the Knights of the Old Republic series or having the protagonist be a Wookiee "superhero", Darth Maul, a bounty hunter, a smuggler, a mercenary or the last member of the Skywalker family living 500 years after the events of Return of the Jedi. The decision to focus on the largely unexplored period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope helped energize the design team. Consumer feedback helped the developers narrow in on seven concepts, and elements from those seven went into The Force Unleashed's overall concept.
Production was greatly aided by concept art, which was intended to visually bridge the two Star Wars trilogies, convey the impression of a "lived-in" universe, show how the galaxy changes under Imperial rule, and to seem familiar yet new. An off-hand comment about the Force in the game being powerful enough "to pull a Star Destroyer out of the sky" inspired an image by senior concept artist Amy Beth Christenson that became an important part of the developers' idea pitches and evolved into a major moment in the game. These illustrations also inspired the creation of dozens of simple, three-dimensional animations. Eventually, a one-minute previsualization video highlighting the idea of "kicking someone's ass with the Force" helped convince the designers that The Force Unleashed would be "a great game"; George Lucas, upon seeing the one-minute video, told the designers to "go make that game". Once the concept was solidified, the development team grew from ten to twenty people. The idea of "reimagining" the Force as "amped up" in The Force Unleashed aligned with LucasArts' overall goal of harnessing the power of the latest video game consoles to "dramatically" change gaming, specifically through the use of simulation-based gameplay.
### Story
In April 2005, after several months of planning, the LucasArts team received Lucas' encouragement to create a game centered on Darth Vader's secret apprentice in the largely unexplored period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, drawing the two trilogies together. LucasArts spent six months developing the story. Lucas spent hours discussing with the developers the relationship between Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine and provided feedback on what Vader would want out of and how he would motivate an apprentice. Lucas Licensing reviewed many game details to ensure they fit into canon. Focus group feedback indicated that, while hunting down Jedi at Vader's order would be fun, the character should be redeemed, in keeping with a major Star Wars motif. Before the game's release, Lucasfilm claimed it would "unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy" with a "redemption" motif. The story progresses through a combination of scripted events, in-game cinematics, cutscenes, and dialogue.
Looking over a number of unexplored already existing characters, the creative team considered bringing Darth Plagueis, Emperor Palpatine's enigmatic master only mentioned in Revenge of the Sith, into the game's story through various methods: one was for Plagueis' spirit to serve as the guide for Vader's secret apprentice to provide players with information about their character's powers, another had Plagueis as the story's MacGuffin by having Vader send his apprentice to search for Plagueis to resurrect his beloved Padmé Amidala, making Vader's apprentice actually a reincarnated Plagueis or having a redeemed Plagueis become the apprentice's mentor. Knight and the developers explored different possible looks for Plagueis, depicting him as a human resembling actor Michael Gambon, a zombie, a time traveler, a cyborg, etc. Although the game introduces new characters, developers felt the presence of characters already part of Star Wars would help anchor the game within the official continuity.
### Technology
During pre-production, about 30 people were on the project team. LucasArts spent several years developing the tools and technology to create The Force Unleashed. Prototyping, level construction, marketing, and public relations took about a year. Until late 2006, the production team was ascertaining "how many polygons, lights, [and] characters" next-generation platforms supported; a year of full production began in early 2007. A series of quickly-produced "play blast" videos helped the developers focus on mechanics, the user interface, and finishing moves. Development of the Xbox 360 version came first; PlayStation 3 development started when the production team had enough development kits. Making the game run on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was "a monumental task".
The game is based on LucasArts' proprietary "Ronin" game engine but also integrates third-party technology: Havok for rigid body physics, Pixelux Entertainment's "Digital Molecular Matter" (DMM) for dynamically destructible objects, and NaturalMotion's Euphoria for realistic non-player character artificial intelligence. The focus of employing Euphoria to develop The Force Unleashed caused LucasArts to "sideline" Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, an Indiana Jones title that had been in development since two years ago, for a while until development on the Star Wars title concluded. LucasArts' programmers had to overcome technical hurdles to get Havok-, DMM- and Euphoria-coded components to interact. Developers also had to strike a balance between realistic and entertaining physics. LucasArts initially opted not to release a personal computer version of The Force Unleashed, stating that doing the game well would be too processor-intensive for typical PCs and that scaling down the game's procedural physics for the PC platform would "fundamentally" change The Force Unleashed's gameplay. However, LucasArts later announced Windows and Mac versions of the game, developed in conjunction with Aspyr Media, for release in Fall 2009.
Lacking Havok, Euphoria, and DMM, Krome's Wii version relies on the company's in-house physics engine. Some character animations may be ragdoll while others are preset; in developing the game, Krome tried to blur the distinction between the two. The lighting system in the Wii version is more advanced than that in the PS2 version, which Krome also built; the PS2 includes more graphic details than their PSP version.
### ILM collaboration and cast performance
The Force Unleashed is intended to make players think they are "actually, finally, in a Star Wars movie". It is the first game on which LucasArts and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) collaborated since they both relocated to the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco, California. This collaboration allowed the companies to co-develop tools to make film-quality effects. LucasArts worked with ILM's Zeno tool framework and helped ILM build its Zed game editor. Lucas said having the two companies working together in the same building was "a great collaboration".
It took Senior Manager of Voice and Audio Darragh O'Farrell four months to cast The Force Unleashed. ILM's face- and motion-capture "CloneCam" technology recorded actors' voice and physical performances. This led to a change in LucasArts' casting process: for the first time, actors needed to match characters' age and gender. Actors performed their lines together, rather than in isolation, to better get the sense of their characters interacting with each other. Consequently, the script's dialogue was reduced while reliance on characters' expressions — captured through the CloneCam — increased. CloneCam technology had previously been used in producing the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
### Music
LucasArts music supervisor Jesse Harlin said the music matches the game's motif of redemption and goal of bridging the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope:
> We had to make sure that the game's score started off rooted within the Prequel Trilogy feel of ethnic percussion and sweeping themes that spoke to the nobility and grandeur of the old Jedi Order. As the game progresses, however, the Empire gains more control, the Jedi are hunted, and the ordered control of the Prequels gives way to the more romantic temperament of the Original Trilogy.
The game's soundtrack includes material composed by John Williams for the films in addition to material created specifically for The Force Unleashed. Jesse Harlin composed the game's main theme, while Mark Griskey composed the score. Griskey made use of several motifs from the film scores as well as Harlin's main theme. The 90-minute soundtrack was recorded by the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra and mixed at Skywalker Sound in Lucas Valley in September and October 2007. During gameplay, a proprietary engine combines "musical elements according to the pace, plot, and environment of the game at any given moment", resulting in a unique musical experience. A promotional soundtrack album was made available online through Tracksounds.com in 2008.
## Other media
### Print works
Sean Williams' novelization was released in the United States on August 19, 2008. It spent one week as \#1 on both Publishers Weekly's and The New York Times' hardcover fiction bestsellers lists, slipping to \#7 and \#9, respectively, the following week. It also reached \#15 on USA Today's bestsellers list.
Williams took on the writing project in part because of the "catchy description" of The Force Unleashed being "Episode 3.5" of the Star Wars saga. The novel focuses on the dark side of the Force and its practitioners; Williams found it "interesting" to portray the Jedi as "bad guys." The author most enjoyed developing the character of Juno Eclipse, exploring the "feminine" side of The Force Unleashed in a way the video game does not. Williams also said that while the game allows the player to "do" Starkiller's actions, the novel allows readers to experience Starkiller's thoughts about those actions, adding another dimension to the story.
Dark Horse's The Force Unleashed graphic novel was published August 18, 2008. Newsarama called the graphic novel a "solid story" that matches the video game source material in both structure and plot. IGN gave the graphic novel a score of 6.9/10 (6.4/10 for art, 7.5/10 for the writing), praising the overall story but faulting inconsistency in the art and questioning whether the comic medium was the best way to convey the story.
### Merchandise
At Toy Fair 2007, Hasbro showed seven figures from their action figure line based on the game. Lego released a model of the Starkiller's ship, the Rogue Shadow.
### Expansion
Two weeks after the game's release, LucasArts announced development on two downloadable expansion packs for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. The first expansion added "skins" that allow the player's character to appear as Star Wars figures other than Starkiller, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn, Jango Fett, C-3PO, Luke Skywalker, Darth Maul, Darth Sion, Mace Windu, Plo Koon, Kit Fisto and Ki-Adi-Mundi. The skins chosen to be part of the expansion were based in part on fans' feedback. The second expansion pack added a new mission that expands on Starkiller's background. Although a moment in the game's main story was considered as a "jumping off point" for the expansion, LucasArts decided instead to make the new mission instantly accessible to players. The mission's location — the Jedi Temple on Coruscant — appears in the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions of The Force Unleashed, but was cut during planning from the PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms.
The Tatooine Downloadable Content, released August 27, 2009, is the first of two expansions that occur in an "Infinities" storyline, an alternate history in which Starkiller kills Vader and becomes Palpatine's assassin. The second Infinities expansion, which takes place on Hoth, was originally only available as part of the Ultimate Sith Edition, which also includes all previous downloadable content. However, the Hoth expansion was later made available for download on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.
## Reception
1.738 million unit sales of The Force Unleashed across all platforms made it the third best-selling game globally in the third quarter of 2008; as of July 2009, it had sold six million copies. The Force Unleashed was both the fastest-selling Star Wars game and LucasArts' fastest-selling game. The Force Unleashed won a Writers Guild of America award for Best Video Game Writing.
### PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC
The Force Unleashed received mixed to fairly positive reviews. Electronic Gaming Monthly said the game is "ambitious--yet dissatisfying"; however, GameSpot said the game "gets more right than it does wrong". GameSpot said the PC port of the game retained all of the game's strengths and weaknesses, but that the port failed to take advantage of the PC platform.
GameSpot called the game's story "more intimate and more powerful" than the Star Wars franchise's prequel trilogy; X-Play identified the game's story as one of the game's "few bright spots" and said the game's visuals successfully convey Star Wars' "classic used universe" feel. GamePro and GameSpot praised the game's art and physics, and GamePro also commended Starkiller's "cool powers". IGN praised the game's voice acting, particularly Witwer's performance as Starkiller. The Washington Times identified Mark Griskey's soundtrack as "another star" of the game, and Tracksounds called it "the most entertaining Star Wars score since Return of the Jedi". Time called The Force Unleashed the seventh best video game of 2008. The game received GameSpot's 2008 award for Best Use of a Creative License and was nominated for Best Voice Acting. Gaming Target selected the game as one of their "40 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2008".
Conversely, Entertainment Weekly called The Force Unleashed the second-worst game of 2008 and GameTrailers called it the most disappointing game that year; it was also a nominee for GameSpot's Most Disappointing Game recognition. Official Xbox Magazine cited the game's linear gameplay and lack of multiplayer as reasons the game falls short of being "an all-engrossing Star Wars experience". gamesTM suggested that allowing players to take a hack-and-slash approach means many "will never view the title's full potential". IGN and X-Play criticized some boss battles and enemies' behavior; GamePro also faulted "disappointing" boss battles and the game's "uneven" combat. Rather than feeling more powerful as the game progresses, GamePro felt that increases in Starkiller's powers were dampened by increasingly difficult enemy abilities and positions; X-Play commented that despite a good level-up system, Starkiller and his enemies are "pretty much on even ground most of the time". Wired.com, X-Play, and GameSpot criticized the game's third-person camera and the sequence that requires the player to make Starkiller pull a Star Destroyer out of the sky. Wired.com speculated that LucasArts could have recognized the frustration of the Star Destroyer sequence and removed it, but left it in because they hyped the sequence before the game's release. Wired.com and GameSpot further criticized the load times and abrupt gameplay-cinematic transitions. GameSpot also faulted "loose" targeting and some visual and audio glitches. IGN, which also identified problems with targeting, speculated that DMM's processor intensiveness limited its use throughout the game, detracting from players' ability to feel immersed. GameTrailers and IGN were disappointed with the lack of variety within and between levels. X-Play, pointing to "Default Text" as the bonus objective description in the Xbox 360 version's final mission and other glitches, said it seems the developers one day "just stopped working on the game". GameSpot cited the port's lack of visual options and poor framerate as evidence the PC edition had been rushed.
IGN described the Jedi Academy expansion as "pretty decent". GameSpot said LucasArts seems to have acknowledged some of the game's criticisms in developing the Tatooine expansion, but IGN called the level's boss fights "a joke" in light of the player's high Force powers. IGN found the level design in The Ultimate Sith Edition's Hoth scenario uninteresting, and called the boss fight against Luke Skywalker tough but "not nearly as fun" as it could have been.
The demo was the fourth most-played Xbox Live game during the week of August 25, trailing Grand Theft Auto IV, Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare; it was the ninth most-played Xbox Live title throughout all of 2008. The week it was released, The Force Unleashed was the sixth most-played game on Xbox Live, and it rose to fifth the following week. In its first week on sale in Australia, the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of The Force Unleashed were the top and second-best sellers, respectively. In the United States, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version sold 325,000 and 610,000 copies, respectively, in September 2008; that month, the Xbox 360 version was the best-selling game and the PlayStation 3 version was the fifth best-selling game for their respective consoles.
### Other platforms
Nintendo Power praised the story and the number of lightsaber combos but criticized the game's easiness and hack-and-slash gameplay. It also praised the Wii version for its story and Force powers, but criticized the game's lightsaber controls and linear gameplay. GameSpot noticed visual glitches and problematic audio compression that detracted from the Wii version's "mature and exciting" story, adding that the reduced number of Force-manipulable objects helps mitigate the targeting problems experienced on other platforms. Referring to the Wii remote and nunchuck controls, GameSpot also speculated that The Force Unleashed is "possibly the most waggle-heavy" Wii game. Zero Punctuation criticized the Wii version's graphics and compared lightsaber combat to "trying to follow an aerobics routine with both your arms tied to different windmills". The ability to upgrade Starkiller's abilities in the PS2 version, according to IGN, is not as "robust" as it should be, and the game's targeting system is sometimes frustrating. IGN said the PS2's real-time cutscene rendering made Starkiller seem emotionless, and that pre-rendered cutscenes would have been better. GameSpot found the DS version's plot interesting but the storytelling itself "lackluster". While the DS version is easy, with Starkiller killing enemies "like a hot knife through butter", GameSpot said the player's sense of power is not matched by a sense of freedom. GameSpot called the PSP version's camera "unwieldy", but added that smaller and less cluttered environments make the targeting system less frustrating than on other platforms. The Wii version was a nominee for multiple Wii-specific awards from IGN in its 2008 video game awards, including Best Story and Best Voice Acting.
In the week of its release, the Wii version was the sixth bestselling game in Australia and was second to Wii Fit among games for that platform. The PS2 version was the eighth bestseller in Australia, and both the PS2 and PSP versions were the top sellers on their respective platforms. The DS version was eighth most sold among DS games in Australia. In the United States, the Wii version sold 223,000 copies in September 2008, making it the ninth best-selling game that month. In the United States, the PlayStation 2 version was the 14th best-selling game in September 2008, selling over 100,000 copies. |
73,261,703 | Carmen García (politician) | 1,172,913,783 | Bolivian politician (born 1963) | [
"1963 births",
"21st-century Bolivian politicians",
"21st-century Bolivian women politicians",
"Bolivian educators",
"Bolivian municipal councillors",
"Bolivian people of Quechua descent",
"Bolivian politicians of indigenous peoples descent",
"Bolivian senators from Potosí",
"Bolivian trade unionists",
"Bolivian women educators",
"Bolivian women trade unionists",
"Higher University of San Simón alumni",
"Living people",
"Movimiento al Socialismo politicians",
"People from Daniel Campos Province",
"Quechua politicians",
"Tomás Frías Autonomous University alumni",
"Women members of the Senate of Bolivia"
] | Carmen García Mamani (born 16 July 1963) is a Bolivian academic, politician, and trade unionist who served as senator for Potosí from 2010 to 2015. A member of the Movement for Socialism, she previously served on the Tomave Municipal Council from 2000 to 2005.
An ethnic Quechua, García worked for over a decade as a schoolteacher in rural Potosí. She later studied educational management at multiple universities, finally settling on a career in teacher training and indigenous language research. In tandem, García actively operated within the trade syndicates of her home region, through which she began a career in politics as a member of the Movement for Socialism.
Elected to the Tomave Municipal Council in 1999, García later won a seat in the Senate in 2009, representing Potosí. Over the course of her tenure, García grew disgruntled with the often hierarchical structure of her caucus and ultimately joined a group of "free thinking" ruling party dissidents that depleted the government's parliamentary supermajority. She was not nominated for reelection.
## Early life and career
Carmen García was born on 16 July 1963 in Yonsa, a hamlet in the Campos Province of western Potosí. She spent most of her early life in nearby Quijarro Province, residing in Tocora, a community situated in one of the many ayllus that make up the Uyuni valley. An ethnic Quechua, García was raised monolingual, speaking only her native tongue until reaching primary school, where she was made to learn Spanish. She completed her primary studies at the 1 de Mayo School in Tocora before moving back to the Campos Province to finish her secondary education.
García graduated as a primary school teacher from the Franz Tamayo Normal School in Llica. She taught at educational institutions in and around southwest Potosí for over fifteen years. In tandem, she also pursued instruction in educational management; taking advantage of the enhanced training opportunities conferred to teachers by the education reform of 1994, García attended courses in multiple cities, graduating with a bachelor's in intercultural bilingual education from Tomás Frías University and a master's in the same field from the Higher University of San Simón, in addition to receiving a second bachelor's in educational management from Juan Misael Saracho University.
After graduating, García settled in Cochabamba, where she dedicated herself to a career in teacher training at the Paracaya Normal School in addition to doing research work in the fields of indigenous and second languages. During this time, between 2007 and 2008, she completed a postgraduate diploma in indigenous rights at Cochabamba's Simón I. Patiño University.
## Chamber of Senators
### Election
Alongside her work in education, García actively participated in her region's trade syndicates and social movement organizations, holding membership in the Uyuni affiliate of the Unified Regional Federation of Rural Workers of Southwest Potosí. The organization's early association with the nascent Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP) facilitated García's entry into politics, starting out in 1999, when she was elected to a seat on Tomave's municipal council.
In 2009, García's syndicate nominated her for a seat in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, and the MAS, in turn, incorporated her onto its slate of Potosí Senate candidates. The decision to designate her to a high Senate position was driven by the implementation of a fifty percent female gender quota, which first took effect this election cycle. As a result of this requirement, García joined the largest delegation of peasant women ever elected to parliament up to that point. Uniquely, she was the only newly elected senator not to succeed a man in the position; her predecessor, Carmen Rosa Velásquez, had been the sole female senator elected in 2005.
### Tenure
With the expressed mission of making Bolivia a benchmark country on the topic, García's senatorial term focused on her field of expertise: education. She chaired the Senate's Education Committee in her first year, overseeing the initial stages of reviewing and passing 2010's landmark Avelino Siñani Educational Law, which implemented a new system of education, with special emphasis on indigenous and traditional knowledge. That bill, notably, was approved by parliament without any modifications from the original draft delivered by the executive, reflecting – from García's perspective – the MAS's rigid internal hierarchy, which often discouraged legislators from challenging the party line.
Over the course of her tenure, the inability of legislators "to participate at all" in decision-making led García to grow disaffected with her party. By 2013, she had joined the ranks of the so-called "freethinkers", a small faction of MAS dissidents that assumed a critical stance toward the government without fully aligning with the conservative opposition. Though a majority of the group's members came from the Chamber of Deputies, they also counted the support of a few senators, including García, but also her regional colleague, Eduardo Maldonado, as well as Pando's senator, Manuel Limachi. García's break with the ruling party was not without consequences; in 2013, she was expelled from her committee seat, ostensibly due to coordination issues, and by the end of her term, she was not nominated for reelection.
### Commission assignments
- Chamber of Senators Directorate (Third Secretary: –)
- State Security, Armed Forces, and Bolivian Police Commission
- State Security and Fight Against Drug Trafficking Committee (Secretary: 2013–)
- Plural Economy, Production, Industry, and Industrialization Commission
- Energy, Hydrocarbons, Mining, and Metallurgy Committee (Secretary: –)
- Social Policy, Education, and Health Commission
- Education, Health, Science, Technology, and Sports Committee (Secretary: –, –)
## Electoral history
## Publications |
26,033,094 | John Joscelyn | 1,104,080,718 | 16th-century English writer and antiquarian | [
"1529 births",
"1603 deaths",
"16th-century English Anglican priests",
"16th-century English historians",
"16th-century antiquarians",
"Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge",
"English antiquarians",
"People from Hollingbourne"
] | John Joscelyn, also John Jocelyn or John Joscelin, (1529–1603) was an English clergyman and antiquarian as well as secretary to Matthew Parker, an Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Joscelyn was involved in Parker's attempts to secure and publish medieval manuscripts on church history, and was one of the first scholars of the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) language. He also studied the early law codes of England. His Old English dictionary, although not published during his lifetime, contributed greatly to the study of that language. Many of his manuscripts and papers eventually became part of the collections of Cambridge University, Oxford University, or the British Library.
## Early life
Joscelyn was born in 1529, and was the son of Sir Thomas Joscelin and Dorothy née Gate, of Hyde Hall, Sawbridgeworth. John was their third son to survive childhood, and was probably born on his father's estate at High Roding, Essex. He matriculated as a pensioner at Queens' College at Cambridge in 1545, attaining a Bachelor of Arts in 1549. In the academic year 1550–1551 he taught Latin at Queens' College, and the following school year he taught Greek. At the end of 1552, he was awarded a Master of Arts. In 1555, during Queen Mary I's reign, Joscelyn subscribed to the required church doctrine, and was once more a teacher of Greek during the academic year 1556–1557. However, in 1557 he resigned from his fellowship at Queens'.
## Work for Parker
In 1559, shortly after he was appointed as archbishop, Matthew Parker, the Archbishop of Canterbury, named Joscelyn to a chaplaincy, and also as his Latin language secretary. The following year Parker gave Joscelyn a prebend at Hereford Cathedral, held until 1578. Unusually for the time, besides Greek and Latin Joscelyn was a scholar of Hebrew. From Parker's interest in the history of early Christianity, and to discover more information about the growth of papal power in the Middle Ages, Joscelyn also began to study Old English (a topic of interest to Parker), and helped the archbishop in his studies of the English pre-Norman Conquest church. Joscelyn helped discover lost manuscripts, obtained them for Parker, and prepared them for publication. Joscelyn also acquired manuscripts for himself, 40 of which were written in Old English.
Joseclyn often annotated the manuscripts he or Parker owned, and even inserted some pages of faked script into the D manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and probably owned that manuscript prior to Robert Cotton. His glosses are still extant on several dozen manuscripts, usually in Latin, but occasionally in English. He was, however, also concerned that their collections be properly cared for. He had a good understanding of the law codes of the English Anglo-Saxon kings, which he used in the preparation of an Old English-Latin dictionary he worked on, but which was never completed. The dictionary was, however, of great help to later Old English scholars, as it passed into the hands of Robert Cotton, and became part of the Cotton library as manuscripts Titus A xv and Titus A xvi. Joscelyn's written work on Old English grammar also became part of the Cotton library, but was lost after Cotton loaned the manuscript to William Camden in 1612.
Parker published in 1572 a work entitled De Antiquitate Britannicae Ecclesiae & Priuilegiis Ecclesiae Cantuariensis, cum Archiepiscopis eiusdem 70, which is the first privately printed work to appear in English. Although Parker claimed in a letter that he was the author, it is likely that at the very least Joscelyn did most of the research, and the manuscript of the work, which is now Vitellius E xiv, is largely in his handwriting. Further, Parker's son, after the archbishop's death, noted beside the bequest notation for Joscelyn's brother Thomas that John Joscelyn was the author of the work.
In 1569, Parker gave Joscelyn a rectory at Hollingbourne, Kent which he held until his death.
## Legacy and death
Joscelyn also published an edition of Gildas' work De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae in 1568, for which he wrote the preface. He also wrote a history of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Historiola Collegii Corporis Christi that remained unpublished until 1880. He contributed extensively to Parker's A Testimonie of Antiquitie Shewing the Auncient Fayth in the Church of England, the earliest printed book containing portions in Old English. Joscelyn also contributed a large part of Parker's De Antiquitate Britannicae, published in 1572.
Parker died on 28 December 1603, probably at High Roding, and was buried in All Saints' Church in High Roding where the inscription of his memorial brass survives. He never married.
Joscelyn's contributions to the study of Old English have been called "a significant contribution to the development of the study of the language". The historian May McKisack called him a "man of great learning and a good servant to his master". Besides his dictionary and grammar, his working notebook also became part of the Cotton library, now manuscript Vitellius D.vii. Other of his manuscripts, either written or acquired by him, were either given to Corpus Christi College by Parker's heirs, or became parts of the British Library or the Bodleian Library. |
12,622,776 | Bonaparte Crossing the Alps | 1,161,327,500 | 1850 painting by Paul Delaroche | [
"1848 paintings",
"Horses in art",
"Paintings by Paul Delaroche",
"Paintings in the Louvre by French artists",
"Paintings in the Royal Collection of the United Kingdom",
"Paintings in the Walker Art Gallery",
"Paintings of Napoleon"
] | Bonaparte Crossing the Alps (sometimes called Napoleon Crossing the Alps, which is also the title of Jacques-Louis David's better-known version of the subject) is a 1848–1850 oil painting by French artist Paul Delaroche. The painting depicts Napoleon Bonaparte leading his army through the Alps on a mule, a journey Napoleon and his army of soldiers made in the spring of 1800 in an attempt to surprise the Austrian army in Italy. Several versions of this painting exist: in the Louvre- Lens and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, England. Queen Victoria owned a small version of it.
The work was inspired by Jacques-Louis David's series of five paintings of Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801–1805), which present a glorified vision of Napoleon "calm on a spirited horse" rather than a mule, crossing Great St. Bernard Pass.
## Painting
### Historical background
As part of his 1798 campaign during the French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleon prepared to invade and conquer Egypt, which was at the time a province of the Ottoman Empire. Such a military action promised numerous benefits, including securing French trade interests, and inhibiting British access to India. By 1 July 1798, Napoleon had landed on the shores of Egypt. After a lengthy chain of conflicts with heavy casualties, the campaign resulted in an Ottoman-British victory. Napoleon received news from France that Austrian forces had retaken Italy and he decided to return to Paris.
In order to regain the upper hand, he planned to launch a surprise assault on the Austrian army stationed in the Cisalpine Republic. Based on the assumption the Austrians would never expect Napoleon's large force to be able to traverse the Alps, he chose that as his route. He selected the shortest route through the Alps, the Great St Bernard Pass, which would enable him to reach his destination as quickly as possible.
On 15 May 1800, Napoleon and his army of 40,000—not including the field artillery and baggage trains—(35,000 light artillery and infantry, 5,000 cavalry) began the arduous journey through the mountains. During the five days spent traversing the pass, Napoleon's army consumed almost 22,000 bottles of wine, more than a tonne and a half of cheese, and around 800 kilograms of meat.
After crossing the Alps, Napoleon commenced military operations against the Austrian army. Despite an inauspicious start to the campaign, the Austrian forces were driven back to Marengo after nearly a month. There, a large battle took place on 14 June, which resulted in the Austrian evacuation of Italy.
### Artist and commission
Delaroche, who studied with Antoine-Jean Gros, a protege of David, was a popular French painter of portraits and grand subjects from history and the Bible.
The Liverpool painting was commissioned by Arthur George, Third Earl of Onslow, after Delaroche and George reportedly visited the Louvre in Paris, where they saw David's version of the famous event. It had only recently been re-hung in the museum after a resurgence of interest in Napoleon, nearly 40 years after he was exiled. Agreeing that the painting was unrealistic, George, who owned a sizable collection of Napoleonic paraphernalia, commissioned Delaroche to create a more realistic depiction. Elizabeth Foucart-Walker asserts that in fact the painting that hangs in the Louvre-Lens was produced first as it was already in America by 1850, when the Liverpool painting was produced. Stephen Bann suggests that Arthur George's meeting with Delaroche may have occurred, but Delaroche chose to produce two works that are almost identical and send one to America.
## Reception
The work, despite its attempt to depict Napoleon realistically, was criticised by several authorities for a variety of reasons. A few disapproved of Delaroche's choice of painting, while others disapproved of Delaroche himself, saying, in some form, that he sought the genius of Napoleon, to no avail.
Soon after its completion, the work was taken to England, and there, in 1850, it was reviewed by the critic of the Atheneum, a literary magazine. The magazine's comments on the work indicated that, while they praised the painting for several of its features, they criticised Delaroche, for various reasons:
> An Officer in a French costume, mounted on a mule, is conducted by a rough peasant through a dangerous pass, whose traces are scarcely discernible through the deep-lying snow; and his aide-de-camp is just visible in a ravine of the towering Alps. These facts are rendered with a fidelity that has not omitted the plait of a drapery, the shaggy texture of the four-footed animal, nor a detail of the harness on his back. The drifting of the embedded snow, the pendent icicle which a solitary sun-ray in a transient moment has made-all are given with a truth which will be dear to those who exalt the Dutch School for like qualities into the foremost rank of excellence. But the lofty and daring genius that led the humble Lieutenant of Ajaccio to be ruler and arbiter of the destinies of the larger part of Europe will be sought in vain by M. Delaroche.
Some were displeased with Delaroche's work at the time in general, and, in part, Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, criticising what was described as his 'lowered standards in art'. Such critics included The Gentleman's Magazine, who wrote the following text about Delaroche:
> These all reveal a modification in his style, but not a happy one. His more recent works are not calculated to restore him the sympathy he had lost. It must be confessed that Delaroche is an artist of talent rather than a genius. Education and diligent study qualified him to be a painter, but not an artist, in the true sense of that word. For he has failed in the true mission of the artist-that of advancing the education of the masses; when it was in his power to give an impulse, he yielded to it; he has been a reflection, but not a light; and instead of elevating the public to himself, he has lowered himself to the public. |
7,053,358 | Gettysburg Cyclorama | 1,145,250,431 | Cyclorama painting by Paul Philippoteaux | [
"1883 paintings",
"19th-century murals",
"American Civil War in art",
"Art in Pennsylvania",
"Battle of Gettysburg",
"Cycloramas",
"George Pickett",
"Gettysburg National Military Park",
"Murals in Pennsylvania",
"War paintings"
] | The Battle of Gettysburg, also known as the Gettysburg Cyclorama, is a cyclorama painting by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux depicting Pickett's Charge, the climactic Confederate attack on the Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.
## Description
The painting is the work of French artist Paul Dominique Philippoteaux. It depicts Pickett's Charge, the failed infantry assault that was the climax of the Battle of Gettysburg. The painting is a cyclorama, a type of 360° cylindrical painting. The intended effect is to immerse the viewer in the scene being depicted, often with the addition of foreground models and life-sized replicas to enhance the illusion. Among the sites documented in the painting are Cemetery Ridge, the Angle, and the "High-water mark of the Confederacy". The completed original painting was 22 feet (6.7 m) high and 279 feet (85 m) in circumference. The version that hangs in Gettysburg, a recent (2005) restoration of the version created for Boston, is 42 feet (13 m) high and 377 feet (115 m) in circumference.
Details of the painting:
## Development
Philippoteaux became interested in cycloramas and, in collaboration with his father, created The Defence of the Fort d'Issy in 1871. Other successful works included Taking of Plevna (Turko-Russian War), the Passage of the Balkans, The Belgian Revolution of 1830, Attack in the Park, The Battle of Kars, The Battle of Tel-el-Kebir, and the Derniere Sortie. He was commissioned by a group of Chicago investors in 1879 to create the Gettysburg Cyclorama. He spent several weeks in April 1882 at the site of the Gettysburg Battlefield to sketch and photograph the scene, and extensively researched the battle and its events over several months. He erected a wooden platform along present-day Hancock Avenue and drew a circle around it, eighty feet in diameter, driving stakes into the ground to divide it into ten sections. Local photographer William H. Tipton took three photographs of each section, focusing in turn on the foreground, the land behind it, and the horizon. The photos, pasted together, formed the basis of the composition. Philippoteaux also interviewed several survivors of the battle, including Union generals Winfield S. Hancock, Abner Doubleday, Oliver O. Howard, and Alexander S. Webb, and based his work partly on their recollections.
Philippoteaux enlisted a team of five assistants, including his father until his death, to create the final work. It took over a year and a half to complete. The finished painting was nearly 100 yards long and weighed six tons. When completed for display, the full work included not just the painting, but numerous artifacts and sculptures, including stone walls, trees, and fences. The effect of the painting has been likened to the nineteenth century equivalent of an IMAX theater.
## Chicago version
In 1879, the National Panorama Company, led by Charles Louis Willoughby and supported by Marshall Field, Judge Treat, Jefferson Printing Company and an assortment of other capitalists commissioned the artist Paul Dominique Philippoteaux to begin works on a cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg. Preparation began in 1880 and by 1883 the National Panorama Company had taken possession of the monumental cyclorama painting which became known as the Gettysburg Cyclorama, Chicago version (so-named for the city in which it was first exhibited).
The work opened to the public in Chicago on October 22, 1883, to critical acclaim. General John Gibbon, one of the commanders of the Union forces who repelled Pickett's Charge, was among the veterans of the battle who gave it favorable reviews. So realistic was the painting that many veterans of the war were reported to have wept upon seeing it.
Wake Forest University/ Joe King Version (hereinafter WFU version) It was originally believed that Joe King, a Winston-Salem artist tracked down this Chicago version and later donated it to Wake Forest University, where it was then sold to three NC investors before it was donated in 6/2019 to the Civil War and Reconstruction History Center.
However, The authors of Gettysburg Cyclorama, The Turning Point of the Civil War on Canvas, Boardman and Brenneman present extensive historical research that concludes that the WFU version is not one of the original four done directly under Philippoteaux's direction, but is rather one done under the direction of Austen, using Philippoteaux's drawings, and with many artists from Philippoteaux's studio. Furthermore, they cite newspaper articles showing that what they believe to be the Chicago version was destroyed in a storm in Omaha in 1894, and they also present evidence that Austen directed the production of the WFU cyclorama in 1905. This WFU version was recently featured on WRAL's Tarheel Traveler program.
## Boston version
The Chicago exhibition was sufficiently successful to prompt businessman Charles L. Willoughby to commission a second version, which opened in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 22, 1884. From its opening until 1892, approximately 200,000 people viewed the painting. The Boston version was housed in a specially designed building, the Cyclorama Building, on Tremont Street, and was the site of popular public lectures on the battle. Two additional copies of the cyclorama were made: the third was first exhibited in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, beginning in February 1886 and a fourth debuted in Brooklyn, New York, in October 1886.
Many reviewers and visitors agreed with the Boston Daily Advertiser that "it is impossible to tell where reality ends and the painting begins." One veteran, pointing at the painting, said to his friend: "You see that puff of smoke? Just wait a moment till that clears away, and I'll show you just where I stood." In New York, police responding to a report of a nighttime burglary and disoriented by the illusion twice seized dummies representing dead soldiers, convinced that they were live burglars.
In 1891, the Boston cyclorama, housed in the Cyclorama Building, was exchanged temporarily with the cyclorama Crucifixion of Christ, also one of Philippoteaux's works When it returned in 1892, it was stored in a 50-foot (15 m) crate behind the exhibition hall, where it was subjected to damage from weather, vandals removing boards from the crate, and two fires. It was eventually purchased in its deteriorated state by Albert J. Hahne of Newark, New Jersey, in 1910. Hahne displayed sections of the cyclorama in his department store in Newark beginning in 1911, and sections were also shown in government buildings in New York City, Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. In the Baltimore exhibition, George E. Pickett's widow, "Sallie" Pickett, lectured on her husband's experiences and found herself very moved by the experience.
In 1894, Chase & Everhart displayed their Cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg during a National Guard encampment at Gettysburg.
On September 3, 1912, ground was broken for a new cyclorama building on Baltimore Street in Gettysburg, on Cemetery Hill (on the site of the present day Holiday Inn), near the entrance to the Soldiers' National Cemetery. It opened to the public in 1913, in time for the 50th anniversary of the battle, once again displayed as a full circular painting, rather than in sections. The unheated, leaky brick building took a further toll on the condition of the painting. The Boston cyclorama was purchased by the National Park Service in 1942, and moved to a site on Ziegler's Grove near the new Visitor's Center in 1961, after a second round of restoration.
The exhibition remained open to the public until 2005, when it was closed for a third restoration. The \$12-million restoration, by Olin Conservation, Inc., of Great Falls, Virginia, started with the 26 sections of the painting and recreated its original shape of 14 panels hung from a circular railing, slightly flared out at the bottom. In the process, some original pieces were found of the 12 circumferential feet that had been cut away. Fourteen vertical feet of sky was also restored.
The painting restoration was accompanied by the construction of a facility to house the painting, the new Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center on Hunt Avenue, located away from any areas in which fighting occurred in 1863. The restored Cyclorama exhibition was reopened to the public in September 2008. The proposed demolition of the old Cyclorama building in Ziegler's Grove was a source of some controversy among history and architecture buffs, with some opposing the destruction of the modernist structure designed by architect Richard Neutra. Nevertheless, it was razed in early 2013, and the site restored to its wartime appearance.
## The Benedict "Buck-eye"
A buck-eye cyclorama is a cyclorama painting of the same or roughly the same dimensions as an original, which is a very slavish copy. These were often created cheaply by painters of little skill and almost always with sub-standard materials. Several buck-eye cycloramas were exhibited in the United States during the time when cyclorama paintings were popular attractions, including several copies of the Gettysburg Cyclorama. Once an individual had seen a particular cyclorama, it was unlikely that they would purchase a ticket to revisit it. This meant that the low-quality copies could be exhibited with a very low risk that a ticket holder would request a refund, as they would likely never have seen the original. Tickets could be sold at the same price as the admission to see an original and the exhibitor of a buck-eye could visit the original themselves, obtain copies of all of the pamphlets and promotional materials, and have them cheaply copied for sale alongside the attraction. In fact, copy houses were formed in order to meet the demand for such paintings, one being the Milwaukee Panorama Painters.
In 1885 the Milwaukee Panorama Painters were commissioned by Mr. Myron Herrick (at that time a banker, who later twice served as the U.S. Ambassador to France) to create a copy of the Gettysburg Cyclorama, which was later purchased by E. W. McConnell (the "Cyclorama King") and exhibited by McConnell at: the Cotton States Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia in 1895; the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, Nashville, Tennessee in 1897; before moving to Louisville, Kentucky; and finally, to Nashville, Tennessee in 1898 before it was placed in storage in that city. During the time of McConnell's ownership, McConnell sold a share of the painting to a Mr. Benedict who, in turn, sold a share of his share to a Mr. Graves.
In 1920, more than 20 years after the buck-eye had been placed into storage, Benedict informed McConnell that a flood had ruined the buck-eye painting, but failed to inform Graves. Graves was not available to be consulted when questions from his family arose regarding the whereabouts of the buck-eye (in 1957) and the beneficiaries of Graves' Estate later made the assumption that the painting purchased by Mr. Joseph Wallace King (the Chicago Version) in 1964 was this 'missing' buck-eye painting. The estate then launched a legal action against King, claiming that a share of the painting King had purchased was theirs. This case was settled in arbitration by the comparison of photographs of the buck-eye with the painting King had purchased and the matters were resolved in King's favour, as the buck-eye was obviously of inferior quality to the Chicago Version which King had in his possession.
In 1957 the Milwaukee County Historical Society contacted the firm of lawyers who had been acting for McConnell and asked if they could purchase the painting and were informed that it had been destroyed.
## See also
- Panorama
- Panoramic painting
- International Panorama Council
- Atlanta Cyclorama
- Raclawice Panorama
- Richard Neutra's Cyclorama Building |
1,866,015 | Hurricane Ginny | 1,168,501,791 | Category 2 Atlantic hurricane in 1963 | [
"1963 Atlantic hurricane season",
"1963 in Canada",
"1963 natural disasters in the United States",
"Category 2 Atlantic hurricanes",
"Hurricanes in Canada",
"Hurricanes in New England",
"Hurricanes in North Carolina",
"Hurricanes in the Bahamas"
] | Hurricane Ginny was the strongest recorded tropical cyclone to make landfall in Canada, as well as the latest hurricane on a calendar year to affect the U.S. state of Maine. The eighth tropical storm, as well as the seventh and final hurricane of the 1963 Atlantic hurricane season, Ginny developed on October 16 over the Bahamas, although it was not initially a fully tropical cyclone. As it moved to the North and later northwest, Ginny intensified to hurricane status as it became more tropical. For eight days, it was located within 250 mi (400 km) of the United States coastline. After approaching North Carolina, Ginny looped to the southwest and approached within 50 mi (80 km) of the Florida coastline. It turned to the North, to the East, and later to the northeast, strengthening late in its duration to peak winds of 110 mph (175 km/h). Ginny became an extratropical cyclone shortly after striking Nova Scotia at its peak intensity on October 29.
Although it remained close to the United States coastline, its impact was minor. Beach erosion and light rainfall was reported along much of the coastline, although the precipitation was beneficial in ending droughts in South Carolina and New England. High waves destroyed one house in North Carolina. Damage was heaviest in New England, where several buildings were damaged and thousands were left without power. The passage of Ginny resulted in a snow storm across eastern New England, particularly in northern Maine, where it killed two people. In Atlantic Canada, the extratropical storm produced high wind and waves, causing damage to boats and resulting in power outages.
## Meteorological history
The origins of Hurricane Ginny were from a trough that extended from the Bahamas to Bermuda in the middle of October. On October 16, a depression formed near the Turks and Caicos islands after a tropical wave interacted with the trough, although initially it was not tropical in nature due to the widespread presence of cold air. The system initially moved generally northward, attaining gale–force winds on October 19 as it turned to the northwest. For several days, Ginny maintained a hybrid-type structure, and although it attained winds of 75 mph (121 km/h) on October 20, it was not a true hurricane. It closely approached the North Carolina coastline, passing 135 mi (220 km) southeast of Cape Lookout before turning abruptly to the northeast. It executed a small loop and began a steady motion to the southeast while located over the Gulf Stream. This motion was due to a large ridge located over New England. On October 21, the hurricane became better organized and began transitioning into a tropical cyclone. By early on October 22, Hurricane Hunters indicated that Ginny completed the transition into a fully tropical cyclone, observing an eye 20 mi (32 km) in diameter.
On October 23, Ginny briefly weakened to tropical storm status as it was moving toward Florida, although within 10 hours it regained hurricane intensity. Its motion to the southwest was unusual but not unique, and resembled the tracks of the 1935 Yankee hurricane and Hurricane Able in 1951. On October 24, it turned sharply northeastward off the northeast Florida coast, coming within 50 mi (80 km) of Daytona Beach. The hurricane continued paralleling the coast of the Southeastern United States, turning northeast away from Georgia and South Carolina. On October 26, Ginny turned to the east away from the United States, having been located within 250 mi (400 km) of the country's coast for eight consecutive days. The next day, the hurricane began a motion to the northeast, accelerating in advance of an approaching trough. It gradually intensified, reaching peak winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) on October 29. Later that day, Ginny made landfall near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia while only weakening slightly with sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h), making it the strongest tropical cyclone known to have made landfall in Canada. Ginny became extratropical shortly thereafter, and its remnants dissipated on October 30 in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
## Impact
Early in its duration, the precursor to Ginny dropped high amounts of rainfall. Monción in the Dominican Republic reported 6.83 in (173 mm), and Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas reported 4.20 in (107 mm).
Despite Ginny's proximity to the United States for over a week, a hurricane warning was only issued from Charleston, South Carolina, and Cape Fear, North Carolina, as well as Cape Hatteras. This represented about one-sixth of the entire coastline that was threatened by the storm. In Jacksonville, Florida, Ginny produced winds of 40 mph (64 km/h). Rainfall in the state peaked at 1.32 in (34 mm) at Saint Augustine. Tides in Daytona Beach were 3 ft (0.91 m) above normal, which caused beach erosion and minor property damage. Further north, minor damage and beach erosion was likewise reported in Georgia. Along the South Carolina coast, Ginny dropped beneficial rainfall, which alleviated the state's worst drought conditions on record. The rainfall peaked at 5.06 in (129 mm) in Isle of Pines.
The hurricane approached North Carolina twice. During the second time, residents in low-lying areas and along the coast evacuated. As it passed the area, Ginny produced sustained winds that were estimated at 70 mph (110 km/h) on Cape Fear, with gusts to 100 mph (160 km/h). These were the highest winds related to the hurricane, although they may have been overestimated. In addition, the heaviest rainfall related to the storm occurred near Southport, where 6.71 in (170 mm) of precipitation fell. Tides along the coast were 4 ft (1.2 m) above normal, which caused minor flooding and destroyed one house in Carolina Beach. In Virginia, the hurricane caused minor flooding and minimal beach erosion. During Ginny's first approach through the region, it produced gale-force winds along the Virginia coast, although it did not do so during its second approach.
Later, a gale warning was issued for New England due to Ginny's threat, as well as a hurricane watch for Long Island and southern New England. Across the region, the strongest winds on land were 65 mph (105 km/h) along Nantucket, where a gust of 76 mph (122 km/h) was also reported. However, a boat offshore Portland, Maine reported 40 ft (12 m) seas and winds of at least 105 mph (169 km/h). In New York City, the outskirts of the storm dropped 0.10 in (2.5 mm) of precipitation, and tides were 1 ft (0.30 m) above normal. Rainfall in eastern New England surpassed 1 in (25 mm), peaking at 3.92 in (100 mm) in Machias, Maine. The rainfall was beneficial across the region, ending a 28-day drought. Along Cape Cod and in Maine, high winds from the storm downed several trees, some of which fell onto power lines. About 1,000 homes in Chatham, Massachusetts lost power. In Nantucket, high waves caused additional erosion in an area affected by Hurricane Esther two years prior. Damage was heavier in Maine, where many boats were damaged or broke from their moorings. One person died from a heart attack while trying to rescue his boat. Several small buildings in the state were destroyed, and the post office in Calais, Maine lost its roof. Ginny was the latest hurricane on record to affect Maine. During its passage, Ginny brought an influx of cold air over New England that produced the first snowfall of the season across Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. In most locations, the snow quickly melted, although higher totals occurred in northern Maine, the highest being 4 ft (1.2 m) on Mount Katahdin. The snow killed a mountain climber and a park ranger. Damage from Ginny in the United States was estimated at \$400,000.
As the remnants of Ginny moved across Atlantic Canada, they produced heavy rainfall, peaking at 4.53 in (113 mm) in southern New Brunswick. Winds peaked at 99 mph (160 km/h) in Greenwood, Nova Scotia. The winds blew down trees in the Halifax area, and there were power outages reported there and in Antigonish. High waves broke boats from their moorings, causing them to either wash ashore or float out to sea. Ferry service across the region was canceled. In neighboring New Brunswick, the storm caused outages to telephone and electric services. Several injuries were reported, although there were no fatalities. The entirety of Prince Edward Island was also left without power.
## See also
- List of New England hurricanes |
10,578,490 | Meat ant | 1,172,133,297 | Common Australian ant | [
"Endemic fauna of Australia",
"Household pest insects",
"Hymenoptera of Australia",
"Insects described in 1858",
"Insects of Australia",
"Iridomyrmex",
"Scavengers",
"Taxa named by Frederick Smith (entomologist)"
] | The meat ant (Iridomyrmex purpureus), also known as the gravel ant or southern meat ant, is a species of ant endemic to Australia. A member of the genus Iridomyrmex in the subfamily Dolichoderinae, it was described by British entomologist Frederick Smith in 1858. The meat ant is associated with many common names due to its appearance, nest-building behaviour and abundance, of which its specific name, purpureus, refers to its coloured appearance. It is among the best-known species of ant found throughout Australia; it occurs in almost all states and territories except for Tasmania. Its enormous distribution, aggression and ecological importance have made this ant a dominant species.
The meat ant is monomorphic (occurs in a particular form), although there is evidence that certain populations can be polymorphic. It is characterised by its dark-bluish body and red head. It is a medium to large species, measuring 6–12 mm (0.24–0.47 in). The workers and males are approximately the same sizes at 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) and 8 mm (0.31 in), respectively. The queens are the largest and appear mostly black, measuring 12.7 mm (0.50 in). The iridescence in workers ranges from green or blue to plain green and purple, varying in different body parts and castes. Meat ants inhabit open and warm areas in large, oval-shaped mounds that are accompanied by many entrance holes. The nest area is always cleared of vegetation and covered with materials including gravel, pebbles and dead vegetation. They are also polydomous, where a colony may be established in a series of satellite nests connected by well-defined paths and trails. Satellite nests are constructed away from the main nest and nearby areas with valuable food sources so workers can exploit them.
Queens mate with a single male and colonies may have more than one queen until the workers arrive, where they both exhibit antagonism. It takes around one or two months for an individual egg to develop into an adult. Colonies range in size, varying between 11,000 individuals to over 300,000. The meat ant is a diurnal species (active throughout most of the day), especially when it is warm. It forages on trees and collects sweet substances such as honeydew and nectar, and also captures insects or collects the remains of animals. A number of predators eat these ants, including the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), numerous species of birds, blind snakes and spiders. This species is also a competitor of the banded sugar ant (Camponotus consobrinus). Meat ants establish territorial borders with neighbouring colonies and solve disputes through ritualised fighting.
Meat ants play an important role in both the environment and for humans. A single nest is capable of dispersing over 300,000 plant seeds; moreover, meat ants have formed symbiotic relationships with many insects. This ant may be used as a form of pest control to kill the cane toad, an invasive species. They can also help farmers to remove animal carcasses by consuming and reducing them to bones in a matter of weeks. Despite this, meat ants are sometimes pests around urban areas and eradicating them is difficult.
## Taxonomy
The meat ant was first described in 1858 by British entomologist Frederick Smith in his Catalogue of Hymenopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum part VI, under the binomial name Formica purpurea from a holotype worker ant he collected in Melbourne, Victoria. The type material is currently housed in the Natural History Museum, London. In 1862, Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr erected the genus Iridomyrmex, and reclassified the meat ant as a member of Iridomyrmex rather than the genus Formica. The ant was named Iridomyrmex purpurea in 1862. Mayr renamed the ant as Iridomyrmex purpureus one year after. I. purpureus was later classified as a synonym of Iridomyrmex detectus, and this taxon was designated as the type species of Iridomyrmex in 1903.
In 1993, I. detectus was synonymised with I. purpureus and grouped into the I. purpureus species complex. I. detectus was described as a separate species by Smith the same year as I. purpureus from two syntype queens he collected from the Hunter River in New South Wales. Although the name I. purpureus was used by many authors, Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre reused I. detectus and this was adopted by several authors, replacing I. purpureus. By the 1960s I. purpureus once again became preferred over I. detectus. While the two names were described in the same year and publication, the name I. purpureus is the valid name for the species in accordance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Entomologist B.T. Lowne was the first person to revise I. purpureus and I. detectus, and he synonymised the two species.
Several synonyms have either been classified as a separate species from the meat ant or even a subspecies. Iridomyrmex purpureus sanguineus and I. p. viridiaeneus were classified as subspecies in 1974, previously being recognised as two species. I. detectus castrae was originally described as a variant of the meat ant in 1925 (as I. d. var. castrae), but the taxon was reclassified as a subspecies in 1985; subsequently, a 1993 revision reclassified I. p. sanguineus and I. p. viridiaeneus at species level while I. d. castrae was synonymised, based on morphological examinations of collected material.
Camponotus horni, Formica smithii and Liometopum aeneum were described as three distinct species in three different ant genera, but these classifications were short-lived, as scientists discovered that these taxa were all identical, and subsequently synonymised them with the meat ant. Camponotus horni was described by English entomologist William Forsell Kirby in 1896 from worker and queen syntypes he collected at Palm Creek in the Northern Territory. In 1930, Australian entomologist John S. Clark reviewed these specimens and synonymised the taxon with the meat ant. However, the queen was later found to be distinct from the workers and C. horni was redescribed as a species. The information provided by Clark makes it sufficient to retain the validity of the name, making Clark the new author of C. horni. Due to the uncertain taxonomic status of Clark's C. horni, a proposal to rename the species cannot be carried through. Clark's C. horni is currently a junior homonym for Kirby's C. horni.
One synonym, Iridomyrmex greensladei, was described as a separate species from the meat ant based on the anatomical differences of its head and pronotum (the dorsal portion of the prothorax's exoskeletal plates), which are the same colour as its mesosoma. In the meat ant, the head and pronotum are usually lighter than the mesosoma. American entomologist Steve Shattuck notes that the two ants are non-sympatric (they exist in the same geographic area and regularly encounter each other), and supporting evidence to separate them as two distinct species emerged when the enzymes esterase and amylase were examined and the results show that they had different amylase allele.
These examinations did not take any account of any distinction in colour between populations previously known as I. greensladei and I. purpureus. For example, colonies residing in Western Australia may have lighter heads whereas those living in the eastern states have darker heads. An unpublished study examining the mitochondrial DNA did not find any distinction between eastern and western populations of I. greensladei and I. purpureus. Additional evidence suggests that the populations found in the east and west are the same species.
Despite this evidence, there are several problems: forms intended to be I. greensladei were found in the Yorke Peninsula by a 1987 study, which noted that while the ants were morphologically indistinguishable from both I. greensladei and I. purpureus populations, their nests only contained a single nest hole (whereas I. purpureus nests have many). Shattuck also collected workers for his holotype and paratype specimens from Israelite Bay in Western Australia, rather than collecting those from Yorke Peninsula. The forms in Yorke Peninsula have also never been subject to study, so future research may shed light as to whether or not these ants are genetically different from the meat ant.
Under the present classification, the meat ant is a member of the genus Iridomyrmex in the tribe Leptomyrmecini, subfamily Dolichoderinae. It is a member of the family Formicidae, belonging to the order Hymenoptera, an order of insects containing ants, bees, and wasps. The genus Froggattella is the sister group of Iridomyrmex, both of which are in a clade that is 23 million years old. Fossils related to the meat ant and other species are from the Eocene and Oligocene.
### Forms
In the early 1970s, scientists discovered several different forms of meats ants, forming the Iridomyrmex purpureus species group; three forms were identified (the regular I. purpureus and the other two forms I. sanguineus and I. viridiaeneus), differing in colour and nest structure. However, as there were no clear morphological differences among these variations, the taxonomic status and evolutionary relationship of these ants remained uncertain. Colouration varies from ants with a red head and thorax and a blue metallic sheen, to those with a yellowish body and a bluish-purple gaster. Others may be darker, appearing metallic-bluish to purplish-black.
Owing to their different geographical ranges, the behaviour and ecology of these forms differentiated, based on examinations where multiple forms were sympatric. Each form had its own geographical limit, although the regular I. purpureus form is very common, inhabiting at least one-third of the Australian continent. Some forms may be dominant in certain habitats; for example, one form may be widespread throughout moist environments in dry areas, and others in cool and dry areas.
In 1974, I. sanguineus and I. viridiaeneus were classified as two subspecies of the meat ant by P.J. Greenslade. He also recognised another form, an undescribed blue form that was first studied several years earlier. Greenslade did not propose any taxonomic recognition of the newly discovered taxon, but instead referred to it as a "form". In 1975, a study examined the distinctiveness of three forms by comparing the amylase enzyme allele frequencies. The blue form was found to be genetically isolated and its allele frequencies differed significantly from the forms purpureus and viridiaeneus, but the same study concluded that these latter two forms were similar. During this time, Greenslade would continue to study these forms to include a dark yellow, yellow, orange and a small purple form.
In addition, two new forms were recognised in later studies, but these two forms were not given any formal species description. Instead, they were only recognised by their colour and the genitalia of the males. Although these forms most likely represented undescribed, yet distinct species, the I. purpureus species group only contained a single valid species, three subspecies and seven different forms. In 1993, all known forms and subspecies were either revived or classified at species level in an article revising the group, concluding the separation of the forms from each other.
### Etymology and common names
The specific epithet of the meat ant, purpureus, derives from Latin, in which it means "purple", "purple-coloured" or "dark-red", referencing the coloured appearance of the ant. In classical Latin, purpureus primarily translated to "dyed purple", while the word purpura, used by Smith for the meat ant (Formica purpura), translates to "purpled-dyed cloth". The generic name, Iridomyrmex, translates to "rainbow ants" from Ancient Greek, another reference which points to its appearance. This, in particular, is due to its blue-green iridescence colour. It is a compound of two Ancient Greek words – iris, meaning "rainbow", and myrmex, that means "ant".
The ant is commonly known as the meat ant because of its habit of stripping the meat off dead vertebrates. Alternative names include the gravel ant, Greenslade's meat ant, meat-eater ant, mound ant, or southern meat ant. The name "southern meat ant" is due to its extreme abundance in the southern regions of Australia.
## Description
In general, meat ants are medium to large in size, measuring 6–12 mm (0.24–0.47 in), and can be easily recognised by their dark-bluish body and red head. Generally, their heads and pronotums share similar colours and are lighter than the mesothorax (the middle of the three segments in the thorax) and the propodeum (the first abdominal segment), which are reddish brown. However, the head may sometimes be lighter, and the pronotum and mesothorax may share similar colours. The mesosomal setae (as in hair found on the mesosoma) are dark and sometimes translucent. The iridescence between the compound eyes and the lateral portion of the head ranges from slightly purple to strong and dark purple. The colour of the legs and coxae (the basal segment of the insect leg, which attaches to the body) are darker than the mesothorax, and the petiole (narrow waist) is reddish brown and also darker than the mesothorax.
The lateral portion of the second gastral tergite (a dorsal segment other than the head) is shiny, and the iridescence varies among workers, from green or blue to plain green and purple. The soft hairs on the head are frequent around the occipital margin, and around the mandibular insertion, three to eight pale setae are usually seen. The soft hairs are also common around the first gastral tergite. Examined specimens show no known ocelli. Erect setae on the pronotum are abundant. The anterodorsal (meaning in front and toward the back) portion of the propodeum is arched and flat.
There are no allometric differences among workers. On average, workers measure around 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in); this character distinguishes these ants from queens, as well as the different variety of colours they exhibit on their bodies. The head and pronotum range from orange to brick-red, and the mesonotum and propodeum are either light, same in colour or darker than the head. The gaster can be brown or black with blue or purple iridescence and the legs are either orange or brown. The iridescence around the foreparts is blue, pink, pale greenish yellow and purple. The erect setae are brown. The head has a concave posterior margin (as in the end of an organism from its head) with erect setae abundant in front of the face. The sides of the head are convex.
Fully erect setae on the genal (side region of the head) are either present or absent, although a small number of setae may be seen around the mandibular insertion. The eyes are semicircular and positioned around the midpoint of the ants' head capsule. The frontal carinae (a keel-shaped ridge or structure) are convex and the antennal scapes extend beyond the head's posterior margin by two or three times the diameter. Erect setae are found all over the antennal scape and noticeably prominent on the clypeal margin (a shield-like plate at the front of an insect). The mandibles are elongated and triangular, with long curved setae around the head capsule.
The pronotum is evenly curved with at least 12 or more pronotal setae present. These setae are mostly short and bristly. The mesonotum is sinuous (meaning it has many curves), and, like the pronotum, has 12 or more mesonotal setae. The mesothoracic spiracles are very small and the propodeal dorsum is smooth or convex. There are also a number of propodeal setae. The dorsum of the node (a segment between the mesosoma and gaster) is thin, scale-like and sometimes vertical. There are both non-marginal and marginal setae present on the first gastral tergite around the gaster.
Queens are easily distinguishable from workers by their black colour and larger size, measuring 12.7 mm (0.50 in). Queens are black, being mostly dark. The antennae and legs are ferruginous (rust-like colour), the head is fusco-ferruginous, and the sides beneath the face and mandibles are ferruginous. The head is wider than the thorax and emarginate. There is an impressed line that runs from the anterior (nearer to the front of the body) stemma to the base of the clypeus. The thorax is ovate (has an oval-shaped outline) and thinly covered with short reddish brown pubescence (soft short hair). The wings are subhyaline, exhibiting a glassy appearance. The wings are yellowish along the anterior margin of the superior pair and also around the base; the nervures (the veins of the wings) are rufo-fuscous.
Like the thorax, the abdomen is ovate and several abdominal segments appear rufo-piceous, making it reddish-brown or glossy brownish black. Males are smaller than queens, measuring 8 mm (0.31 in). Males are bright violet, and the antennae (except for the first joint) and tarsi are ferruginous. The first pair of the legs look almost ferruginous, and the head, legs and thorax are covered with black pubescence. Like the queen, the wings are subhyaline (imperfectly hyaline) and the nervures are rufo-fuscous. The abdomen shows a bright green tinge when seen under certain light.
Larvae measure 2.7–2.9 mm (0.11–0.11 in). The body is stout-shaped and the dorsal side is longer whereas the ventral side (the bottom portion of the body) is shorter and more straight. The head and anus are ventral. The integument is covered in spinules that are either isolated from each other or in short rows on the posterior somite and on the ventral surface. The body hairs are very short, measuring 0.008–0.016 mm (0.00031–0.00063 in). The cranium on its dorsal side outlines a curve which is smooth, and the spinules are moderately large. These spinules are either isolated or seen in near parallel rows. Several head hairs are present but they are small at 0.013–0.025 mm (0.00051–0.00098 in) in length.
The labrum is narrow and bilobed (consisting of two lobes). Each lobe has spinules and three sensilla (simple sensory receptors) around the anterior surface. The ventral border only has two sensilla and a number of spinules, and on the posterior surface, there are several rows of spinules and three sensilla. The mandibles have a central apical (most distal plate or appendage from the body) tooth which is clearly noticeable and sharp. The maxillae have lobes, and the labial palps (sensory structures on the labium) are knob-shaped.
Meat ant workers may be confused with those of I. lividus, as the two appear similar and are grouped in the same species complex. I. lividus and the much more localised I. spadius can be distinguished from other members of the I. purpureus group by the shape of the pronotum. Aside from colour differentiation that was a key morphological character to distinguish I. purpureus and the synonym I. greensladei from each other, some meat ant populations exhibit polymorphism despite being monomorphic (occurs in a particular form); specifically, body size among meat ants may vary geographically. For example, those that are found in very hot regions tend to be larger, whereas those found in regions of high humidity tend to be smaller than average.
Examined workers once referred to as I. greensladei from southwestern Western Australia have erect setae on the genae (lateral sclerites), whereas those studied elsewhere have glabrous genae, meaning that these areas have no hairs. Such patterns are most likely clinal, where several characteristics may gradually differentiate over a geographical area. The colour of the setae throughout the body and the iridescence may vary geographically. For example, populations restricted to the coasts of Western Australia usually have pale setae, compared to most colonies throughout the country, which have the common blackish setae. In 1993, Shattuck could not separate populations with pale setae when other key diagnostic traits that would separate these populations were not considered.
Meat ants from the Western Australian wheatbelt and goldfields show different iridescence; the iridescence in some collected specimens ranged from pale greenish-blue to yellowish-green, especially around the humeri (a structure which forms the basal corner of an insect's wing or wing case) and frons. The variation of the iridescence is, however, a consistent pattern found in other Iridomyrmex species with little distinction, making it a subtle character. The colour variation is less marked in all collected specimens of I. purpureus, as well as its close relative I. viridiaeneus, which is found in dry regions around the south-western regions. Shattuck further notes that populations found throughout the Northern Territory and South Australia have reduced pubescence on the first gastral tergite, but this is different elsewhere.
## Distribution and habitat
The meat ant is one of the best-known species of ant endemic to Australia; it has an enormous geographical range, covering at least one-third of the continent. Its range spans 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) from east to west, and 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) from north to south. This extensive range has allowed the meat ant to form large nesting grounds in areas where no development has occurred, and large amounts of gravel and open space have led to an abundant supply of materials (i.e. pebbles and dead pieces of vegetation) used to construct nests. Its isolation has also allowed meat ants to form associations with neighbouring nests of the same species. The ant is particularly dominant and frequently seen across the coastal and inland regions of southeastern Australia. Based on examined material, meat ants are widespread throughout New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. In Queensland, they are frequently encountered in the eastern regions, whereas their abundance is limited around the north and central parts. The ants are common in the southwestern regions of Western Australia, though not in the north. However, the Division of Entomology of the CSIRO states that the ant's presence in the state has not been verified. Most specimens collected in South Australia are from the south-east, but some populations are known in the north-west and northeast regions of the state. In the Northern Territory, specimens have been collected in the north and south regions but compared to other jurisdictions the ant is uncommon. No specimens have been collected from Tasmania or any outlying islands surrounding Australia.
Meat ants thrive in varied habitats, especially where it is open and warm. These ants are adapted to and thrive in warm climates and areas with constant high temperatures. The meat ant shares its distribution with many other animals and insects, some of which may cause harm to the ant or rival it, such as the banded sugar ant (Camponotus consobrinus). Nests are seen in box-pine scrubs, Callitris forests, dry and wet sclerophyll woodland, eucalypt open woodland, in farm pastures, flat savannah woodland, mallee woodland, heath, mulga, riparian woodland, around roads and cracks in sidewalks, and urban areas such as urban gardens and parkland. Nests are also common in lateritic ridges, granite outcrops and clay formations. Meat ants are able to survive in dry areas if there is a rich supply of water and food resources (such as honeydew and arthropod prey), especially along river banks, station properties and irrigated areas. Meat ants typically occur at altitudes of 5 and 1,170 m (16 and 3,839 ft) above sea level, though at times they can be found at heights of 915 m (3,002 ft). Those that are found at these altitudes are always associated with Eucalyptus rubida, and colonies situated in eastern New South Wales tend to nest near E. melliodora and E. blakelyi. In the south coast of New South Wales, meat ants are mainly found in heath shrubland, but are absent from heavily timbered slopes and cannot build nests in quartz. Other areas where the ants do not occur include dense pastures, dense bushes, tropical rainforests and treeless areas. For example, the Canberra suburb of Turner was constructed on subterranean clover pasture, which meat ants do not nest around. Their populations would later flourish and nests became numerous around houses after shrubs and trees were planted.
### Nests
Meat ants are well known for their large, oval-shaped nest-mounds (normally 1 or 2 metres (3.3 or 6.6 ft) in diameter) that are encountered in areas of occurrence, and obvious to identify. These nests are often associated with many entrance holes; most nests have 20 to 35 holes. On the surface on the nest, workers clear the area of vegetation and cover the mound with gravel, but may use other materials that are available, including sand, pebbles, dead vegetation, eucalyptus fruits and twig fragments. Nests are built in the sun and hardly in the shade to keep them warm. The ant is a polydomous species, meaning that they live in more than one nest. Some colonies are known to create "super-nests": workers construct many nests connected through established paths, extending up to 650 metres (2,130 ft) in length. In one extreme case, a single colony was found to occupy over 10 hectares (25 acres) of land with 85 individual nests and 1,500 entrance holes. While they show no aggression toward their own nest mates, meat ants are aggressive to occupants of different nests within the same colony. Polydomy within a colony is typically favoured as it improves access to forage, as workers deliver most of their food to the nest that is closest to any site they forage in.
At any size, a meat ant nest always has a possibility of dying out in any year, but the site may be reoccupied by another colony. Hence, nests can be very old as suggested in one study. Some nests may never be reoccupied for unknown reasons. The regrowth of vegetation which shades the nest, soil damage or even a disease may wipe out a colony and leave the nest site completely abandoned. The death of a colony may be obvious when competing colonies increase in population and size by expanding their territories with well-established satellite nests in order exploit the food sources once used by a former colony. Satellite nests may diverge from their parent nests to become independent, as suggested by the antagonism of worker ants from different nests or when others are uninhabitable by insecticide treatment. After the eradication of a nest, satellite nests emerge nearby, and may sever their connections with the parent nest. The separation of a satellite nest is an effective way for a nest to exploit food sources, and a colony with less than 11 entrance holes is recognised as non-mature (a nest is mature at 12). As most satellite nests have 11 holes and accept a queen of their own, a satellite nest may easily develop maturity in one year.
All entrance holes of a given nest lead into a separate set of galleries. Entrance holes tend to be very small with only enough space for a single worker to fit through, but others may be 1 centimetre (0.4 in) wide. Beneath the surface, there are widened circular vertical shafts which are 1.5 centimetres (0.6 in) wide. Below these shafts, the tunnels turn into irregular galleries with paths going outward and downward which form more galleries. Almost all of these galleries are clustered together 15 to 20 centimetres (5.9 to 7.9 in) beneath the soil, which is extensively reworked by worker ants in the area above the nest. These sets of galleries are isolated from others connecting to neighbouring holes, although some may come close. However, there is no known physical connection. Each gallery has a flat floor, a domed roof and is irregularly oval-shaped. A gallery is typically 1.5 centimetres (0.6 in) high and 5 to 7 centimetres (2.0 to 2.8 in) wide. Below the galleries are a small number of shafts in undisturbed soil with large, yet scattered chambers where the population remains during the winter. In the upper areas of the colony, the galleries and shafts only account for 7–10% of nest space. For example, the galleries of excavated colonies occupy 420 cubic centimetres (26 cu in) whereas the total volume is around 5,000 cubic centimetres (310 cu in). Overall, a nest may dwell extremely deep beneath the soil as excavated nests are as deep as 3 metres (9.8 ft).
## Life cycle and reproduction
### Nuptial flights
Nuptial flight usually occurs during spring, in October. Reproductive females only mate with a single male and begin establishing their own colonies afterwards. Nuptial flight occurs after rain, where the males emerge from their nest first, followed by the virgin queens; groups of 20 to 40 females emerge after the males have flown away. The alates (the reproductive males and females) position themselves on top of the nest in order to heat themselves, and all fly at the same time once they are warm. This process may happen multiple times unless the weather had changed, otherwise, the queens would return to their nest. Nuptial flight may continue for days until all virgin queens have withdrawn from the nest. Most of the time, a single queen will start her own colony and lay eggs that will take around 44 to 61 days to fully develop and emerge as adults, but colonies can also be founded through multiple queens cooperating with each other, adoption into an existing colony, or "budding" (also called "satelliting" or "fractionating"), where a subset of the colony including queens, workers and brood (eggs, larvae and pupae) leave the main colony for an alternative nest site. Around 10% of queens will have at least another queen with them during colony foundation. Many queens are killed during colony founding; major aspects include predation by birds and other ants, even those of the same species, due to the fact they attempt to establish their nests near large colonies. However, some queens are successful, sometimes with the assistance of neighbouring workers, who help the queen dig some chambers. Other causes of queen deaths include disease and starvation. A queen's ovaries may take four weeks to mature, and she lays around 20 eggs that may develop into larvae in less than a month. Workers have been observed laying eggs, presumably trophic eggs. The function of these unfertilised eggs are nutritional, not reproduction.
### Populations
The number of individuals in a colony varies. A mature nest of several years old can hold between 11,000 and 64,000 ants, while other colonies can house around 300,000. In some cases, enormous colonies can have as many as a million ants. Observed colonies are known to contain nearly 70,000 larvae and 64,000 workers; some can have 20,000 males and over 1,000 virgin queens, but others may have more virgin queens than males. The ratio of worker ants to the number of the larvae in colonies ranges from one worker for every two larvae or two larvae for every worker. The population of a nest can be affected or altered by several factors: human interference can severely damage or completely destroy nests which potentially devastates the nest population, and overshadowing is the main cause of a nest's demise. As well as that, neighbouring nests may increase in population if damaged or abandoned sites are taken over. Meat ants also rely on their nests to withstand climatic stress in summer and winter, as foraging activity and food sources are sometimes limited in summer and in winter, workers are unable to survive cold temperatures. As a result, meat ants overwinter, which is a process where some organisms wait out the winter season due to cold conditions making everyday activity and survivability almost impossible; populations may be affected greatly.
### Number of queens
Most colonies are monogyne, meaning that a colony only has a single queen, but based on observations, some nests contain more than a single queen. Some nests are known to contain two queens, with some even having as many as four in a single colony, making them polygynous; a high proportion of queens living in polygynous nests are unrelated to one another. Some colonies are oligogynous, which means that multiple queens are present in a colony, but they are tolerated by all workers birthed from different queens and treated equally. Tolerance still occurs even when new reproductive females and males are born, but recognition based on kin from queens and workers is known, hinting brood discrimination when the larvae are fed or groomed; queens will only take care of their own brood and neglect to look after broods laid by other queens. The queens, on the other hand, will only cooperate with each other during nest founding, but will be antagonistic once there are workers present in the colony. Queens become more intolerant of each other as the colony grows, and eventually separate within the nest, resulting in the queen laying more eggs. Such cases usually happen when pleometrotic founding occurs, or if a queen ant is adopted by a colony, setting up aggressive relationships. Physical fights between queens in the same colony are rare.
### Polydomy
As most meat ant colonies rarely have a second queen, polydomy is not always associated with polygyny, although the two are frequently associated with each other because polygynous colonies reproduce by budding. This means that the ecological factors that promote polydomy and polygny both differ. Studies show that most meat ants are produced by a single, inseminated queen due to the high level of relatedness in all but one tested colonies. Colonies that are not closely related are the result of colony fusion (meaning that two unrelated and separate colonies form a single entity). Meat ants also show nest fidelity: in polydomous colonies, workers from different nests will always mingle with others from different nests but never return to a nest they do not originate from. Instead, they return to the nest they enclosed in. This means that colonies may only homogenise through brood transfer. Nestmates from different nests will always be aggressive towards each other, but this is due to a number of factors: genetic and spatial distance in nests can correlate with the level of aggression exhibited by the ants. However, they exhibit more aggression to ants of different species from adjoining territories. They are also aggressive to conspecific ants from distant colonies, suggesting that environmental cues play a vital role in nestmate recognition. An example is that background odours in a particular environment may impair ants from identifying their own nestmates, and may need to make more attempts to determine an ant's identity.
## Behaviour and ecology
### Foraging and dominance
A diurnal species (active mainly during the day), the meat ant shows minimal interaction with nocturnal ant species when their territories overlap. The meat ant and other members of the I. purpureus species group are regarded as a dominant group of diurnal species in Australia, as they are highly active, aggressive, and have an enormous geographical range. During the day, the bulk of the workers attend and feed on honeydew secreted by insects that live on the leaves of Eucalyptus trees. These trees are connected by foraging trails formed by meat ants, which also connect to satellite nests that are a part of a single colony; these trails are easily visible due to the absence of vegetation and lead to important food and water sources. Other workers in smaller numbers will often scavenge around the nest area for dead insects, or other proteinaceous foods to bring back to their colony. Their dominance is clear when meat ants are capable of finding food sources more successfully than most ants, capable of displacing many ants and other insects. Food sources are also discovered more rapidly and greatly reduces the foraging efficiency of other ants, including those of Iridomyrmex. However, some ants such as the green-head ant (Rhytidoponera metallica) are not affected by the presence of meat ants and are still successful in finding food sources. As green-head ants are general predators and forage singularly and cannot recruit other nestmates, they are unable to defend food sources from dominant ants. They heavily rely on any food source and the impossibility of successfully defending it from other ants may have led to its peaceful coexistence with dominant species, including meat ants. This means green-head ants avoid conflict with meat ants. Certain myrmicines, which are highly competitive, are capable of defending themselves from foraging workers; the rapid recruitment of nestmates and the use of chemicals for defence allows them to withstand attacks from meat ants. In particular, Monomorium ants have been observed occupying baits regardless of the presence or absence of the meat ant. This is not the case with mealworms, but they have moderate success with honey baits. In foraging areas where meat ants are excluded or not present, the number of other ants observed is far greater and activity dramatically increases. However, the presence of meats ants does not affect abundant species, and most of the time it is only Iridomyrmex ants that increase their foraging rate.
The impact of meat ants on other species varies, depending on the habitat and type of food source, and the ecological role the ant plays. The deliberate exclusion of meat ants show that not only can they alter the amount of sources available, but the dynamics of resource use on entire outcrops. If present, meat ants rely on rapidly discovering food sources and retain their dominance so other ants cannot collect them, as well as exploitation and interference which helps displace other ants. The habitat meat ants live in may affect their dominance among the fauna. They are less successful in complex habitats and more successful in open areas, allowing workers to forage efficiently; for example, workers forage around rocks and collect food sources more successfully in contrast to those in vegetation. Meat ants are even more dominant than other I. purpureus species group members in non-complex habitats. Meat ants are normally larger than other Iridomyrmex species and can displace or even kill those trying to compete for food sources. The similar behaviours among meat ants and certain Iridomyrmex species have increased the level of conflict among each other, especially those in open habitats.
The rate of movement of workers is associated with temperature, and foraging workers leave the nest after sunrise when the nest is warmed in the early morning. Meat ants emerge and start foraging when temperatures are approximately 14 °C (57 °F), but they are capable of withstanding extremely hot temperatures, as workers have been seen foraging in 43 °C (109 °F) heat. Workers may only forage for several minutes when soil temperature is well above their thermal limit at 45.8 °C (114.4 °F)). At 50 °C (122 °F) soil surface temperature, foraging activity is reduced even further. As these ants exhibit high running speeds during hot days, their speed decreases after temperatures of 50 °C (122 °F) due to the physiological stress put onto them. Workers can withstand such temperatures by exhibiting opportunistic thermal responses to adjust their behaviour in order to handle high trail temperatures and alter their thermal biology for low temperatures. They will also deliberately expose themselves closely to their thermal maxima.
The success of meat ants depends on what resource they are dealing with. In one study, the removal of meat ants allowed the successful foraging of Iridomyrmex ants at carbohydrate sources, but not for protein baits. The success of the ants also did not increase with mealworm baits, suggesting that competition does not always occur between meat ants and other species, and factors, such as food preference, may be involved. In contrast with camponotines and some myrmicines, both of their success was affected at numerous food sources with meat ants present. Camponotines exhibit no aggression and cannot defend themselves.
### Diet
Like other Iridomyrmex species, the meat ant is an omnivore, retrieving food sources from various insects it tends, including caterpillars and various sorts of butterflies, particularly the larvae of the Waterhouse's hairstreak (Jalmenus lithochroa). Meat ants usually feed on honeydew from sap-sucking insects, flower nectar, sugar and other sweet substances. In captive colonies, workers prefer to consume small pieces of grapes rather than honey solutions and other sweet foods. These ants prey on various insects and animals, collecting both live and dead invertebrates and acquire meat from dead vertebrates. Insects the meat ants prey on include giant lacewings, which they swarm up trees to kill, the butterfly genoveva azure Ogyris genoveva, Indian mealmoths, almond moths, the Western Australian jarrah leafminer and the larvae of the wasp Trichogramma. Large and developed larvae of the cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae) are attacked more effectively by meat ant workers than those of other Iridomyrmex species. On sandy beaches, this species is observed preying on the polychaete annelid worm, Armandia intermedia, causing high mortality rates on them (rates of 30 percent). These ants will feed on a number of dead or alive animals, including metamorphic crucifix toads, snakes, lizards, and birds. On some occasions, swarms of workers have been found on dead foxes. The meat ant is the only known ant in Australia that feeds on fresh guano. The collection of guano by a nearby meat ant colony shows the opportunistic nature of the species. Observations show that trails of workers in groups of two to four were found collecting the guano under an active bat roost within an abandoned mine and proceeded to return it to the nest. The collection of guano by any Australian ant colony was never recorded prior to these observations, but it is unknown why meat ants collect fresh guano.
Meat ants are among the very few native species of Australia that are not harmed by the toxins of the cane toad, an invasive species. Most of the time, foraging workers target metamorph toads. Observations show that workers would forage around ponds and seize any toadlet. This normally starts with a single worker making contact with an individual and tracing its movements, followed by three or four workers capturing it. All the participating ants would grab a limb and sever the legs, returning the prey item back to their nest. Most of the time these tactics do not work. For example, most toadlets are able to escape the ants by displaying aversion-like behaviour; an individual may escape by struggling erratically or forcing the ants to release their grip by returning to the water. This aversion behaviour leads to most toadlets remaining in the water or staying on objects such as water lilies, pieces of bark that the ants cannot access, or moving around on moist substrates. It is unknown if meat ant predation on the toadlets affected the population, but based on the population density of the toadlets within the studied site and the foraging time and efficiency, approximately 2,700 toadlets could be removed per day. As the toadlet population density is extremely high, the impact of meat ant predation is minor. However, the survivability of the toadlets may be affected if the ants prevent the toadlets from foraging into many areas of moist substrate.
Water is an important resource for colonies living in dry and arid environments, but sometimes it may not be available. To counter this, workers are able to extract a significant amount of water from the sand with 2%–4% water content and 4% from the soil. Meat ants are unable to retrieve as much water from the soil, whereas with sand they are able to attain a greater amount of water; however, the soil contains a wide variety of particles, including clay and coarse sand, which causes water to be bound firmly. Ants may retrieve it by digging or directly suck on the soil itself at a low metabolic cost. This may be an evolved response based on tested ants, but no observations show meat ants doing this. Meat ants are known to dig into moist soil to gain access to water or where water has been spilt, either if the site is nearby their nest or far away.
### Predators
Despite their dominance among ants, a number of animals are known to prey on meat ants. The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is a prominent predator of the meat ant, mostly due to the high fat levels (up to 47%) in virgin queens. These queens can almost contain 47% fat, and when no queens are available after an attack, an echidna may stop attacking the nest. However, these ants are normally consumed either in low numbers or avoided entirely. Attacking echidnas burrow down into the hole they have made and consume them while handling the bites from the ants, as they frequently scratch themselves on the head and chest. The echidna does not consume meat ants throughout the whole year; instead, echidnas only attack meat ant nests from August to October, which is when nuptial flight (meaning that virgin queens and males emerge to mate) occurs. This time period makes it much easier for echidnas to prey on the winged females since they are directly above on the nest. Despite attacks, colony growth is not affected by echidnas.
Several birds prey on meat ants. The masked woodswallow (A. personatus) and the white-browed woodswallow (Artamus superciliosus) will gather around meat ant nests and swoop at them, catching several ants before eating them. Pieces of meat ants have been found in the faeces of the red-capped robin (Petroica goodenovii), rufous whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris), hooded robin (Melanodryas cucullata) and the red-browed treecreeper (Climacteris erythrops). Meat ants that forage on Ventilago viminalis trees are often eaten by the apostlebird. Some large ground-feeding birds, such as currawongs, magpies and ravens dig out newly established colonies after a queen has found a suitable spot to nest. Small domes of excavated soil are present at such spots, revealing the queens' presence to these birds. As a result, many queens are consumed by birds, leaving many abandoned nest chambers.
The blind snake Ramphotyphlops nigrescens follow trails laid by meat ants to locate them, and the snakes are also known to feed on the brood. Various species of spiders prefer to prey on meat ants, mainly attracted by the alarm pheromone the ants release. One spider, in particular, the cursorial spider Habronestes bradleyi, is a specialist predator against these ants and uses their alarm pheromones that are released during territorial disputes to locate them. These alarm signals are created by oscillating the body along the longitudinal axis, which are mostly released when an ant encounters a nest mate.
Cyclotorna monocentra moths feed on meat ant broods. The larvae of these moths are parasites to leafhoppers and will move to meat ant colonies to complete their development, where they will proceed to consume the brood; the females lay many eggs near ant trails which are close to the leafhoppers tended by ants. Other observations show that the Iphierga macarista larvae are scavengers in meat ant nests, while Sphallomorpha beetles live in burrows near nests of meat ants, where the larvae capture and prey on workers passing by. The larvae of the spitfire sawfly and Pseudoperga guerini are able to regurgitate a fluid against the meat ant if they are getting attacked by them; depending on how much is regurgitated, an ant will either walk away and clean itself or become fatally affected by it. Lizards such as the thorny dragon, which is a sit and wait predator, consume meat ants, but other lizards which eat Iridomyrmex ants usually reject this species.
### Ritualised fighting
Meat ants are highly territorial and aggressive ants which establish firm borders between neighbouring colonies. While the boundaries are not physical, worker ants maintain them by engaging in ritualised fighting with opponent ants, an interaction most colonies engage in. Fatalities are rare on both sides, but fights may cause injuries to several workers. This fighting enables territory to be contested between opposing colonies without them killing each other and costing many casualties on both sides. Because of this, it is a method of avoiding casualties and promotes intercolony communication and assessment. A drainage of the work force would occur if these boundaries acted as a conflict zone if ritualised fighting did not take place. Lethal fighting only occurs if the colony is under attack.
Encounters between workers last for 15 seconds. Ritualised fighting only occurs with two worker ants who come into contact with each other, but if both ants are from the same colony, they break contact and groom themselves. Afterwards they walk around until they make contact with another ant. A meat ant detects a foreign worker by intense antennation (the act of touching with the antennae) and gaping of the mandibles, and stretch themselves upward to appear taller and larger, suggesting that meat ants will do this in a display of size-matching. Workers perform a behaviour known as "front leg boxing"; both workers have their front legs sweeping up and down, where it would flex at the coxal joint in a paddling motion. This paddling motion is aimed at each other during the fight, going on for three to five seconds on average. From this point on, this would determine who is a "loser" and who is the "winner".
The ant who lost the ritual fight will lower its body, and lean sideways from the victorious ant. The victorious ant will remain raised upward and reach down to the worker and open its mandibles wider, grasping on the opponent's mandibles, and then tug and shake its head slightly for a few moments. However, the fight may continue if neither worker backs down, and will commence a side to side posture. Both ants circle each other and present their gasters directed to their opponent, and on some occasions, either one or both of the ants would kick outward using their legs at each other. Eventually, they will break contact and groom once appeasement has been reached and continue to search for another ant.
### Relationship with other organisms
Meat ants have been observed blocking banded sugar ant nesting holes with pebbles and soil to prevent them from leaving their nest during the early hours of the day. Banded sugar ants counter this by preventing meat ants from leaving their nest by blocking their nesting holes with debris, a behaviour known as nest-plugging. If meat ant nests are encroached by trees or other shade, banded sugar ants may invade and take over the nest, since the health of the colony may deteriorate from overshadowing. Members of an affected meat ant colony later move to a nearby satellite nest that is placed in a suitable area, while invading banded sugar ants fill nest galleries up with a black resinous material. Meat ants sometimes attract cats because of the chemicals they secrete (dihydronepetalactone, isodihydronepetalactone and iridomyrmecin).
Meat ants are generally intolerant of myrmecophiles (which are insects or other organisms that share positive interspecies associations with ants) living in their colonies, but Cyclotorna larvae are known to dwell in colonies. Although Sphallomorpha larvae sometimes prey on workers as discussed earlier, some are inquilines and live in the nest commensally. Unused or abandoned areas inside colonies are sometimes occupied by other species of ants and in some cases, termites. Meat ants may deliberately destroy the colonies of the termite Amitermes laurensis if competition between the two intensify.
Meat ants play an important role in seed dispersal. A meat ant colony is capable of dispersing 334,000 individual bellyache bush seeds per hectare, which shows a strong ant-seed relationship among the two.
Common jassid (Eurymela fenestrata) nymphs excrete a sugary sap that is collected by the ants, which protect this valuable food resource.
## Relationship with humans
Meat ants are able to kill poisonous cane toads, an introduced pest, as the toxins exuded by the toad, usually lethal against its predators, do not affect the meat ants. Due to this, scientists in Australia have considered using meat ants as a form of pest control to reduce the cane toad population. One way of doing this is by establishing meat ant nests in habitats where cane toad numbers are high. In rural Australia, meat ants are important to farmers, who place animal carcasses on ant nests to get rid of them. In a matter of weeks, the entire carcass is consumed and reduced to bones. Due to the meat ants' aggression, workers will pour out of entrance holes to attack if a human or animal disturbs their nest.
### As pests
Despite their beneficial importance to humans, meat ants are sometimes considered pests, due to these ants disturbing the soil in urban areas and entering human houses occasionally to feed. The nests may cause annoyance if they are built around gravel paths, tennis courts and other cleared spaces. Although meat ants enter houses occasionally, they have adapted well to urbanisation and populations can flourish in urban areas. During the early days of the city of Canberra, newly constructed suburbs provided new nest sites for meat ants. Unpaved streets, gravel paths and driveways are among the many new sites meat ants could nest in, making them a commonly encountered ant that may pose as a considerable pest to many. The abundance of food supplies from parks, plantations and home gardens also attracted meat ants to urban areas. They pose a serious problem for citrus growers in eastern Australia, because they affect the biological control of Hemiptera insects, specifically those who produce honeydew. Meat ants cannot sting, but they can induce irritating bites and secrete a defensive fluid from the end of their abdomen. Meat ants have been reported causing mortality amongst poultry.
Many attempted methods of eradicating meat ants have proven unsuccessful. The first investigations were made in the 1930s to control meat ant populations in urban areas by fumigation, using carbon disulfide and calcium cyanide. Although these methods successfully eradicated some nests, they were rapidly reoccupied by those living in satellite or rival nests. However, the reoccupation of these nests by incipient colonies (young colonies beginning to develop) does not occur. This is because colony founding is often difficult and rare when most areas are nested by mature colonies. This behaviour has led to long-term maintenance and repeated treatments to ensure the nests are not resettled. In addition, not all nests can be treated, and some may remain undetected from pest controllers. In 1973, Greaves notes that the poor penetration of insecticides into all nest galleries may be the reason why nests are reoccupied, but owing to the nest structure, the insecticides have to be poured into each individual hole as no gallery connects the holes to one another. Missing a single gallery can lead to the reoccupation of the nest site. Greaves concludes that dieldrin is the most effective insecticide to control meat ants, capable of killing the ants quickly and being the most long-lasting chemical used.
The difficulty of eradicating meat ants has led to further studies. Two studies between 1996 and 2002 studied the effects of granular baits on meat ant colonies. Bait containing hydramethylnon and fipronil effectively reduced the number of workers foraging. However, this was only effective when 10 g (0.35 oz) of bait was placed on citrus trees or onto mounds. The ant bait Amdro was used in a recent study to identify an effective method of eradicating meat ants, but results showed that the bait failed to reduce ant populations significantly. There was evidence that the amount of active mounds declined, but this effect was only temporary. This is due to colonies only having 5 g (0.18 oz) of bait which was insufficient to eliminate further nests, but the effect may have been more dramatic if extra bait was used.
## See also
- List of ants of Australia |
13,048,626 | Matt Striebel | 1,155,168,816 | American lacrosse player (born 1979) | [
"1979 births",
"American lacrosse players",
"Association football players not categorized by nationality",
"High school lacrosse coaches in the United States",
"Iowa Hawkeyes coaches",
"Lacrosse midfielders",
"Lacrosse players from Massachusetts",
"Living people",
"Major League Lacrosse players",
"Men's association football players not categorized by position",
"National Lacrosse League players",
"New York Lizards players",
"New York Saints players",
"People from Gill, Massachusetts",
"Philadelphia Barrage players",
"Philadelphia Wings players",
"Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse coaches",
"Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse players",
"Princeton Tigers men's soccer players",
"Rochester Rattlers players",
"Soccer players from Massachusetts",
"University of Iowa alumni"
] | Matt Striebel (born January 12, 1979) is a former professional lacrosse midfielder who played professional field lacrosse in the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) for the New York Lizards and formerly played professional box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). He starred as a member of the Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team from 1998 through 2001 and the Princeton Tigers men's soccer team from 1997 through 2000.
During his time at Princeton, the team qualified for the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship all four years, reached the championship game three times, won the championship game twice and won four Ivy League championships. He was a two-time honorable mention United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American and three-time All-Ivy League selection (once first team, twice second team). He was also an All-Ivy league performer in soccer and earned Princeton co-athlete of the year (all-sport) honors as a senior.
As a professional, he has earned three MLL championships, a league record eight MLL All-Star recognitions and an MLL championship game MVP award. He is also a three-time Team USA representative and two-time World Lacrosse Championship gold medalist.
In 2019, Striebel was elected to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
## Background
Striebel is a native of Gill, Massachusetts. He first got involved in lacrosse at about the age of 12 or 13 when his sister brought home the Brine Lightning stick that he began to play with. Striebel attended The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. Striebel first started playing lacrosse when he was a youth for Jeff Coulson, owner of Indoor Action Sports, in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
He also attended the Writers Workshop at The University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2007. He had earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Princeton.
## College career
At Princeton he was a two-time honorable mention USILA All-American Team selection in 2000 and 2001. He was a second team All-Ivy League selection in 1999 and 2000 and a first team selection in 2001. He was a 2001 USILA Scholar All-American. During his four-year career, Princeton went undefeated in Ivy League Conference play with consecutive 6–0 records. Princeton was invited to the 1999 tournament, was a finalist in the 2000 tournament and earned championships in both the 1998 and 2001 tournaments, bringing the schools consecutive tournament invitations streak to twelve. In Striebel's 2001 senior season, the arrival of freshman Ryan Boyle necessitated that he move from attack to midfield. The move came the first practice after Princeton's 14–8 loss to Syracuse. Striebel had previously been orchestrating the Princeton offense from behind the goal, but on March 25, 2001, head coach Bill Tierney made the switch. During the 1998 season when Princeton won the NCAA title, Striebel had been playing midfield. Princeton went undefeated for the rest of the 2001 season after the switch.
During the 2000 NCAA tournament, Striebel scored two goals in the quarterfinals 10–7 victory against Maryland, and he added another in the 13–7 championship game loss to Syracuse. Striebel was one of the leading scorers on the team that season, and he was the team leader in assists entering the final four weekend. In the quarterfinals of the 2001 NCAA championship tournament, Striebel had an assist in the 8–7 victory over Loyola. In the 12–11 semifinal victory over Towson State, Striebel had a goal and an assist. Striebel scored twice in the 2001 championship game and also added two assists. He was selected to the All-tournament team.
Striebel was also an honorable mention All-Ivy League soccer player in 2000 as well as a 2000 Academic All-Ivy selection in soccer. As a junior, Striebel was a member of the 1999 Ivy League Champion Princeton Soccer team that earned an invitation to the 1999 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The team posted a 10–5–2 (5–1–1 Ivy League) record.
As of 2010, Striebel ranks eighth on the Princeton Lacrosse career assists list and eleventh on the Princeton soccer career assists list. As a senior, he was honored as one of the three athletes of the year on campus (along with Dennis Norman and Scott Denbo)
## Professional career
Striebel began his career in the league's inaugural 2001 MLL season with the Bridgeport Barrage and stayed with the team as it remained in Bridgeport, Connecticut until the 2003 season. Then he moved with the franchise and played with the Philadelphia Barrage from 2004 through 2008. In 2009 MLL season, he joined the Chicago Machine and then became a member of the Rochester Rattlers for the 2011 MLL season. Striebel and Boyle were reunited for five seasons in Philadelphia. Striebel has helped the Barrage to win three Steinfeld Cup championships in 2004, 2006, and 2007. In the 2004 championship game, he scored what the Baltimore Sun described as the clinching goal in the 13–11 victory over the Boston Cannons. In the 2006 game, he had nine points (four goals, including one two-pointer and four assists). He was presented with the 2007 Steinfeld Cup Game Most Valuable Player Award. Striebel appeared in the 2005 & 2007 Major League Lacrosse All-Star Games. In the 2006 All-Star game he represented Team USA by scoring a goal and two assists. Striebel was an MLL All-Pro selection in 2007 and 2008. Striebel was an MLL All-Star in 2011. In 2012, Striebel set the MLL record for most All-Star games with eight (consecutive).
Striebel served as an assistant coach for Princeton Men's Lacrosse in 2005. Striebel also spent time assisting the men's lacrosse team at Iowa during his time there. , Striebel currently coaches the Varsity Boys Lacrosse team at Northampton High School in Northampton, Massachusetts which is just south of his hometown. He also played professionally in 2012 and 2013.
In addition to his field lacrosse career, Striebel played one season in 2003 of box lacrosse with the Philadelphia Wings in the National Lacrosse League. Streibel was traded by the Wings to the New York Saints in February 2003. He never appeared in a game for the Saints. Striebel has also played professional soccer for the Western Massachusetts Pioneers.
Striebel has represented Team USA in the World Lacrosse Championship in 2002, 2006, and 2010. In the 2002 World Lacrosse Championship semifinal match against the Iroquois Nation, Striebel scored a goal in the 18–8 victory. Striebel also serves as a representative of Trilogy Lacrosse.
On November 11, 2013, Striebel was traded to the New York Lizards.
## Statistics
### MLL
### Princeton University |
475,208 | The Feast of the Goat | 1,171,427,359 | Novel by Mario Vargas Llosa | [
"2000 novels",
"Alfaguara books",
"Dictator novels",
"Fiction set in 1961",
"Historical novels",
"Novels by Mario Vargas Llosa",
"Novels set in the Dominican Republic",
"Peruvian novels adapted into films",
"Peruvian novels adapted into plays",
"Picador (imprint) books",
"Rafael Trujillo"
] | The Feast of the Goat (Spanish: La Fiesta del Chivo, 2000) is a novel by the Peruvian Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa. The book is set in the Dominican Republic and portrays the assassination of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, and its aftermath, from two distinct standpoints a generation apart: during and immediately after the assassination itself, in May 1961; and thirty-five years later, in 1996. Throughout, there is also extensive reflection on the heyday of the dictatorship, in the 1950s, and its significance for the island and its inhabitants.
The novel follows three interwoven storylines. The first concerns a woman, Urania Cabral, who is back in the Dominican Republic, after a long absence, to visit her ailing father. Eventually, she ends up recalling incidents from her youth before recounting a long-held secret to her aunt and cousins. The second story line focuses on the last day in Trujillo's life from the moment he wakes up onwards, and shows us the regime's inner circle, to which Urania's father once belonged. The third strand depicts Trujillo's assassins, many of whom had previously been government loyalists, as they wait for his car late that night; after the assassination, this story line shows us the assassins' persecution. Each aspect of the book's plot reveals a different viewpoint on the Dominican Republic's political and social environment, past and present.
Readers are shown the regime's downward spiral, Trujillo's assassination, and its aftermath through the eyes of insiders, conspirators, and a middle-aged woman looking back. The novel is therefore a kaleidoscopic portrait of dictatorial power, including its psychological effects and its long-term impact. The novel's themes include the nature of power and corruption, and their relationship to machismo or sexual perversion in a rigidly hierarchical society with strongly gendered roles. Memory, and the process of remembering, is also an important theme, especially in Urania's narrative as she recalls her youth in the Dominican Republic. Her story (and the book as a whole) ends when she recounts the terrible events that led to her leaving the country at the age of 14.
Vargas Llosa interlaces fictional elements and historical events: the book is not a documentary and the Cabral family, for instance, is completely fictional. On the other hand, the characters of Trujillo and Trujillo's assassins are drawn from the historical record; Vargas Llosa weaves real historical incidents of brutality and oppression into these people's stories, to further illuminate the nature of the regime and the responses it provoked. In Vargas Llosa's words, "It's a novel, not a history book, so I took many, many liberties. [. . .] I have respected the basic facts, but I have changed and deformed many things in order to make the story more persuasive—and I have not exaggerated."
The Feast of the Goat received largely positive reviews, with several reviewers commenting on the book's depiction of the relationship between sexuality and power, as well as the graphic descriptions of violent events. It has been described as a powerful exploration of the atrocities associated with dictatorship, and a testament to the dangers of absolute power.
A film version of the novel was released in 2005, starring Isabella Rossellini, Paul Freeman, and Tomas Milian. Jorge Alí Triana and his daughter, Veronica Triana, wrote a theatrical adaptation in 2003.
## Background
The Feast of the Goat is only the second of Vargas Llosa's novels to be set outside Peru (the first being The War of the End of the World). It is also unusual because it's the first to have a female protagonist: as critic Lynn Walford writes of the leading character in The Feast of the Goat, and also Vargas Llosa's subsequent book The Way to Paradise, "both are utterly unlike any of the other female characters in his previous novels".
The novel examines the dictatorial regime of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina in the Dominican Republic. Trujillo was, in historian Eric Roorda's words, "a towering influence in Dominican and Caribbean history" who presided over "one of the most durable regimes of the twentieth century" during the thirty-one years between his seizure of power in 1930 and his assassination in 1961. Trujillo had trained with the United States Marine Corps during the United States occupation of the island, and graduated from the Haina Military Academy in 1921. After the U.S. departed in 1924, he became head of the Dominican National Police which, under his command, was transformed into the Dominican National Army and Trujillo's personal "virtually autonomous power base".
Trujillo was officially dictator only from 1930 to 1938, and from 1942 to 1952, but remained in effective power throughout the entire period. Though his regime was broadly nationalist, Daniel Chirot comments that he had "no particular ideology" and his economic and social policies were basically progressive.
The novel's title is taken from the popular Dominican merengue Mataron al chivo ("They Killed the Goat"), which refers to Trujillo's assassination on May 30, 1961. Merengue is a style of music created by Ñico Lora in the 1920s and actively promoted by Trujillo himself. It's now considered the country's national music. Cultural critics Julie Sellers and Stephen Ropp comment about this particular merengue that, by envisaging the dictator as an animal who could be turned into a stew (as frequently happened with goats struck down on the Dominican Republic's highways), the song "gave those performing, listening to, and dancing to this merengue a sense of control over him and over themselves that they had not experienced for over three decades." Vargas Llosa quotes the lyrics to Mataron al chivo at the beginning of his novel.
## Plot summary
The novel's narrative is divided into three distinct strands. One is centred on Urania Cabral, a fictional Dominican character; another deals with the conspirators involved in Trujillo's assassination; and the third focuses on Trujillo himself. The novel alternates between these storylines, while jumping back and forth from 1961 to 1996, with frequent flashbacks to periods earlier in Trujillo's regime.
The Feast of the Goat begins with the return of Urania to her hometown of Santo Domingo, a city which had been renamed Ciudad Trujillo during Trujillo's time in power. This storyline is largely introspective, dealing with Urania's memories and her inner turmoil over the events preceding her departure from the Dominican Republic thirty-five years earlier. Urania escaped the crumbling Trujillo regime in 1961 by claiming she planned to study under a tutelage of nuns in Michigan. In the following decades, she becomes a prominent and successful New York lawyer. She finally returns to the Dominican Republic in 1996, on a whim, before finding herself compelled to confront her father and elements of her past she has long ignored. As Urania speaks to her ailing father, Agustin Cabral, she recalls more and more of the anger and disgust that led to her thirty-five years of silence. Urania retells her father's descent into political disgrace, while revealing the betrayal that forms a crux between both Urania's storyline and that of Trujillo himself.
The second and third storylines are set in 1961, in the weeks prior to and following Trujillo's assassination on May 30. Each assassin has his own background story, explaining his motivation for their involvement in the assassination plot. Each has been wronged by Trujillo and his regime, by torture and brutality, or through assaults on their pride, religious faith, morality, and loved ones. Vargas Llosa weaves the tale of the men as memories recalled on the night of Trujillo's death, as the conspirators lie in wait for "The Goat". Interconnected with these stories are the actions of other famous Trujillistas of the time: Joaquín Balaguer, the puppet president; Johnny Abbes García, the merciless head of the Military Intelligence Service (SIM); and various others—some real, some composites of historical figures, and some purely fictional.
The third storyline is concerned with the thoughts and motives of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina himself. The chapters concerning The Goat recall the major events of his time, including the slaughter of thousands of Dominican Haitians in 1937. They also deal with the Dominican Republic's tense international relationships during the Cold War, especially with the United States under the presidency of John F. Kennedy and Cuba under Castro. Vargas Llosa also speculates upon Trujillo's innermost thoughts and paints a picture of a man whose physical body is slowly failing him. Trujillo is tormented by both his incontinence and impotence. Eventually, his storyline intersects with Urania's narrative when it's revealed that Urania was sexually assaulted by Trujillo. He is unable to achieve an erection with Urania and, in frustration, rapes her with his bare hands. This event is the core of Urania's shame and hatred towards her own father. In addition, it's the cause of Trujillo's repeated anger over the "anemic little bitch" who witnessed his impotence and emotion, as well as the reason he's en route to sleep with another girl on the night of his assassination.
In the novel's final chapters, the three storylines intersect with increasing frequency. The tone of these chapters is especially dark as they deal primarily with the horrific torture and death of the assassins at the hands of government agents, the failure of the coup, the rape of Urania, and the concessions made to Trujillo's most vicious supporters allowing them to enact their horrific revenge on the conspirators and escape the country. The book ends as Urania prepares to return home, determined this time to keep in touch with her family back on the island.
## Characters
### Modern day
Urania Cabral and her father Agustín Cabral appear in both the modern day and historical portions of the novel. In the year 1996, Urania returns to the Dominican Republic for the first time since her departure at the age of 14. She is a successful New York lawyer who has spent most of the past 35 years trying to overcome the traumas of her childhood, a goal she pursues through an academic fascination with Trujillo and Dominican history. Urania is deeply troubled by the events of her past, and is compelled to confront her father Agustín about his role in those events. Urania visits her father, finding him weakened by age and a severe stroke, so much so that he is barely able to respond physically to her presence, let alone speak. Agustín listens helplessly as Urania recounts his past as "Egghead Cabral", a high-ranking member of Trujillo's inner circle, and his drastic fall from grace. Urania details Agustín's role in the events that led to her rape by the Dominican leader, and subsequent lifetime of celibacy and emotional trauma. Agustín's character in the modern day portion of the novel serves primarily as a sounding board for Urania's recollections of the Trujillo era, and the events that surrounded both Agustín Cabral's disgrace and Urania's escape from the country. His responses are usually minimal or non-vocal, despite the ardency of Urania's accusations and the enormity of his own actions during Trujillo's reign.
### The Trujillo regime
Rafael Trujillo, known also as The Goat, The Chief, and The Benefactor, is a fictionalized character based on the real dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930 to 1961 and the official President of the Republic from 1930 to 1938 and 1943 to 1952. In The Feast of the Goat, Vargas Llosa imagines the innermost thoughts of the dictator, and retells the Goat's last hours from his own perspective. Trujillo's character struggles with aging and the physical problems of incontinence and impotence. Through fictional events and first person narrative, the reader is given insight into the man who, during his "thirty-one years of horrendous political crimes", modernized the country's infrastructure and military, but whose regime's attack against its enemies overseas (particularly the attempted assassination of Rómulo Betancourt, president of Venezuela) led to the imposition of economic sanctions on the Dominican Republic by the Organization of American States in the 1950s. The resultant economic downturn, in conjunction with other factors, leads to the CIA supported assassination plot that ended Trujillo's life on May 30, 1961.
Trujillo's regime is supported by Johnny Abbes García, the head of the Military Intelligence Service (SIM), a brutal man to whom many "disappearances, ... executions, ... sudden falls into disgrace" are attributed. Abbes and his intelligence officers are notorious for their cruelty, particularly their habit of killing dissidents by throwing them into shark-infested waters. Colonel Abbes "may be the devil, but he's useful to the Chief; everything bad is attributed to him and only the good to Trujillo". Trujillo's son, Ramfis Trujillo, is a loyal supporter of the Chief. After unsuccessful attempts at schooling in the United States, Ramfis returns to the Dominican Republic to serve in his father's military. He's a well-known womanizer. Upon Trujillo's death, Ramfis seeks revenge, even going so far as to torture and kill his uncle by marriage, General Jose Roman, for his part in the assassination conspiracy.
Joaquín Balaguer, Trujillo's puppet president is also a supporter, and initially his seemingly innocuous character holds no real power. Following Trujillo's death, the calm and serenity of Balaguer bring about real change in his character, and General Román comments that "this insignificant man whom everyone had always considered a mere clerk, a purely decorative figure in the regime, began to acquire surprising authority". It's Balaguer who guides much of the action in the last sections of the book.
### Conspirators
The storyline concerning the assassination primarily follows the four conspirators who directly participate in Trujillo's death. Antonio Imbert Barrera is one of the few conspirators who survives the violent reprisals that follow Trujillo's assassination. Imbert is a politician who becomes disillusioned with the deception and cruelty of Trujillo's regime. His first plan to kill Trujillo was foiled by the unsuccessful attempted overthrow of the regime by Cuban paramilitary forces. Now convinced of the difficulty of his task, Imbert joins the other conspirators in plotting Trujillo's death. Among the others is Antonio de la Maza, one of Trujillo's personal guards. Antonio's brother is killed as part of a government cover-up and Antonio swears revenge upon Trujillo. Salvador Estrella Sadhalá, known as "Turk", is a devout Catholic who, in indignation at the regime's many crimes against God, swears an oath against Trujillo. Turk eventually turns himself in for fear that the regime was torturing his family. Both Turk and his innocent brother are then tortured for months. His father remains loyal to Trujillo and disowns Turk in his face. Despite all of this, Turk refuses to commit suicide and doesn't lose faith in God. He is later executed by Ramfis and other high level government men. Turk's close friend, Amado García Guerrero, known as Amadito, is a Lieutenant in the army who gave up his beloved as proof of his loyalty to Trujillo, and then later was forced to kill her brother to prove himself to Trujillo. Amadito's disgust with himself and disillusionment with the regime lead to his decision to help kill Trujillo. Following the assassination, he hides out with de la Maza and dies fighting. In the aftermath of the assassination, Amadito and Antonio de la Maza choose to fight the members of SIM who come to arrest them, opting to die in battle rather than be captured and tortured.
## Major themes
The Feast of the Goat'''s major themes include political corruption, machismo, memory, and writing and power. Olga Lorenzo, reviewer for The Melbourne Age, suggests that overall Vargas Llosa's aim is to reveal the irrational forces of Latin tradition that give rise to despotism.
### Political corruption
The structure of Dominican society was hierarchical, with strongly gendered roles. Rafael Trujillo, the ruler, was a cruel dictator who haunts the people of Santo Domingo even 35 years after his death. He is a true caudillo, ruling with brutality and corruption. He creates a personality cult in his capitalist society and encourages decadence within his regime. Prior to their promotion for a position of responsibility, an officer is required to pass a "test of loyalty". His people must remain loyal to him all cost. Their obedience is periodically tested by public humiliation and censure, even though acts of disloyalty were rare. Trujillo violates both women and children as an expression of his political/sexual power. In some cases, he sexually assaults the wife or child of his own lieutenants, many of whom still remain blindly loyal. Even the church and military institutions are employed to give women to the tyrant for pleasure.
Many of the assassins had belonged to Trujillo's regime or had at one point been his staunch supporters, only to find their support for him eroded by the state's crimes against its own citizens. Imbert, one of the assassins, sums up this realization in a comment prompted by the murder of the Mirabal sisters: "They kill our fathers, our brothers, our friends. And now they're killing our women. And here we sit, resigned, waiting our turn." In an interview, Vargas Llosa describes the corruption and brutality of Trujillo's regime: "He had more or less all the common traits of a Latin American dictator, but pushed to the extreme. In cruelty, I think he went far far away from the rest—and in corruption, too."
### Machismo
According to literary scholar Peter Anthony Neissa, the two important components of machismo are aggressive behaviour and hyper-sexuality. Aggressive behaviour is exhibited by displays of power and strength, while hyper-sexuality is revealed through sexual activity with as many partners as possible. These two components shape the portrayal of Trujillo and his regime in The Feast of the Goat. As Lorenzo observes, Vargas Llosa "reveals traditions of machismo, of abusive fathers, and of child-rearing practices that repeat the shaming of children, so that each generation bequeaths a withering of the soul to the subsequent one."
In a display of both aspects of machismo, Trujillo demanded that his aides and cabinet provide him with sexual access to their wives or daughters. Mario Vargas Llosa wrote of Trujillo's machismo and treatment of women, "[h]e went to bed with his ministers' wives, not only because he liked these ladies but because it was a way to test his ministers. He wanted to know if they were ready to accept this extreme humiliation. Mainly the ministers were prepared to play this grotesque role—and they remained loyal to Trujillo even after his death." Trujillo's sexual conquests and public humiliations of his enemies also serve to affirm his political power and machismo. In Neissa's words, "The implication is that maximum virility equals political dominance."
Trujillo's attempted sexual conquest of Urania is an example of both political manipulation of Agustín Cabral and sexual power over young women. However, as Trujillo's penis remains flaccid throughout the encounter and he is humiliated in front of the young girl, the encounter fails to satisfy his requirements for machismo.
### Memory
All of the novel's storylines concern memory in some sense or another. The most apparent confrontation of memory is on the part of Urania Cabral, who has returned to the Dominican Republic for the first time in 30 years. Soon, Urania is forced to confront her father and the traumas that led her to leave the country at 14. She was the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Trujillo himself, a sacrifice her father made to try to gain favor with the dictator again (a fact to which she alludes throughout the book, but which is only revealed at the very end). The book concludes with her recounting the memory of that night to her aunt and cousins, who never knew the true reason she left the country. When her aunt is surprised that she remembers all these details, Urania responds that while she forgets many things, "I remember everything about that night." For Urania, forgetting the atrocities committed by the regime is unacceptable. Her father, on the other hand, is not capable of joining her in this process of remembering, since he has suffered a stroke and is not capable of speaking. However, Urania is angry that he chose to forget these things while he was still capable of acknowledging them.
Memory is also important in the sections of the novel that deal with the assassins. Each recalls the events that led him to take part in the assassination of Trujillo. These incidents included the 1956 Galindez kidnapping and murder, the 1960 murder of the Mirabal sisters, and the 1961 split with the Catholic Church. These historical events are used by Vargas Llosa to connect the assassins with specific moments that demonstrate the violence of Trujillo's regime. Trujillo, too, is shown reflecting on the past, not least his own formation and training at the hands of the US Marines.
But above all, Mario Vargas Llosa uses the fictional Urania to facilitate the novel's attempt at remembering the regime. The novel opens and closes with Urania's story, effectively framing the narrative in the terms of remembering the past and understanding its legacy in the present. In addition, because of her academic study of the history of the Trujillo regime, Urania is also confronting the memory of the regime for the country as a whole. This is in keeping with one purpose of the book, which is to ensure that the atrocities of the dictatorship and the dangers of absolute power will be remembered by a new generation.
### Writing and power
In her treatment of the novel, María Regina Ruiz claims that "power gives its wielder the ability to make prohibitions; prohibitions that are reflected in history, the study of which reveals what is and what is not told." The government's actions in The Feast of the Goat demonstrate the discourse of prohibition: foreign newspapers and magazines were prohibited from entering Trujillo's country as they were seen as a threat to the government's ideas. Mario Vargas Llosa takes part in this discourse by recounting what was prohibited.
Ruiz notes that writing also has the power to transform reality. It brings the reader back to the past, allowing the reader to comprehend myths or distorted stories told by historians. Ruiz contends that knowing the past is crucial to one's understanding of the present that takes us to postmodernism, and argues that The Feast of the Goat can thus be seen as a postmodern discourse that gives power to history recreation.
The construction of fictions surrounding the events of Trujillo's regime allow a degree of freedom from the horrors that took places. Author Julia Alvarez contends that these events can "only finally be understood by fiction, only finally be redeemed by the imagination", while Richard Patterson claims that Vargas Llosa "reconfigures, and to a large degree demythologizes" Trujillo and his brutal reign through use of narrative structure. Vargas Llosa's writing acts as a cathartic force for this period in history.
## Fact and fiction
The novel is a combination of fact and fiction. Blending together these two elements is important in any historical novel, but especially in The Feast of the Goat because Vargas Llosa chose to narrate an actual event through the minds of both real and fictional characters. Some characters are fictional, and those that are non-fictional still have fictionalized aspects in the book. The general details of the assassination are true, and the assassins are all real people. While they lie in wait for the Dictator to arrive, they recount actual crimes of the regime, such as the murder of the Mirabal sisters. However, other details are invented by Vargas Llosa, such as Amadito's murder of the brother of the woman he loved.
Those within the regime are also a mix of fictional characters and real people. President Balaguer is real, but the entire Cabral family is completely fictional. According to Wolff, Vargas Llosa "uses history as a starting point in constructing a fictionalized account of Trujillo's "spiritual colonization" of the Dominican Republic as experienced by one Dominican family. The fictional Cabral family allows Vargas Llosa to show two sides of the Trujillo regime: through Agustin, the reader sees ultimate dedication and sacrifice to the leader of the nation; through Urania, the violence of the regime and the legacy of pain it left behind. Vargas Llosa also fictionalized the internal thoughts of the characters who were non-fictional, especially those of the Goat himself. According to literary scholar Richard Patterson, "Vargas Llosa's expands all the way into the very "dark area" of Trujillo's consciousness (as the storyteller dares to conceive it)."
Vargas Llosa also built an image of the regime with the troubled historical events. With regard to the historical accuracy of the book, Vargas Llosa has said "It's a novel, not a history book, so I took many, many liberties. The only limitation I imposed on myself was that I was not going to invent anything that couldn't have happened within the framework of life in the Dominican Republic. I have respected the basic facts, but I have changed and deformed many things in order to make the story more persuasive—and I have not exaggerated."
## Critical reception
The realist style of The Feast of the Goat is recognized by some reviewers as being a break from a more allegorical approach to the dictator novel. The novel received largely positive reviews, most of which were willing to accept sacrifices of historical accuracy in favour of good storytelling.
A common comment on the novel is the graphic nature of the many acts of torture and murder, which are depicted in the novel. Vargas lets the reader see the realities of an oppressive regime with a degree of detail not often used by his compatriots in Latin American literature, as Michael Wood suggests in the London Review of Books: "Vargas Llosa ... tells us far more about the details of day-to-day intrigue, and the sordid, sadistic minutiae of torture and murder." Walter Kirn of The New York Times suggests that the "grisly scenes of dungeon interrogations and torture sessions" cast other aspects of the novel in a pale light, draining them of their significance and impact. Similarly, Kirn implies that the "narrative machinery" mentioned by Wood as being somewhat unwieldy also produces a largely superfluous storyline. The plot line centered on Urania Cabral is described by Sturrock as being an emotional centre that focuses the novel, and Wood agrees that her confrontations with past demons hold the readers attention. In contrast, Kirn's review states that Urania's segments are "talky and atmospheric ... [and] seem to be on loan from another sort of book."
Most reviews of The Feast of the Goat make either indirect of direct reference to the relationship between sexuality and power. Salon reviewer Laura Miller, writer for The Observer Jonathan Heawood, Walter Kirn, and Michael Wood each detail the connection between Trujillo's gradual loss of ultimate control, both over his body and his followers. The means by which Trujillo reinforces political power through sexual acts and begins to lose personal conviction as his body fails him, are topics of frequent discussion among reviewers.
In 2011 Bernard Diederich, author of the 1978 non-fiction book Trujillo: The Death of the Goat, accused Vargas-Llosa of plagiarism.
## Adaptations
An English-language film adaptation of the novel was made in 2005, directed by Luis Llosa, Mario Vargas Llosa's cousin. It stars Isabella Rossellini as Urania Cabral, Paul Freeman as her father Agustin, Stephanie Leonidas as Uranita and Tomas Milian as Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. It was filmed in both the Dominican Republic and in Spain. Reviewing the film for the trade paper Variety'', critic Jonathan Holland called it "less a feast than a somewhat rushed, but thoroughly enjoyable, three-course meal", commenting that the main difference from the source novel was the sacrifice of psychological nuance.
The novel has also been adapted for the stage, by Jorge Alí Triana and his daughter Veronica Triana, directed by Jorge Triana: the play was put on (in Spanish, but with simultaneous translation to English) at Repertorio Español (www.repertorio.org/chivo) in New York in 2003; and the production moved to Lima in 2007. A feature of the novel's stage version is that the same actor plays both Agustin Cabral and Rafael Trujillo. For reviewer Bruce Weber, this makes the point "that Trujillo's control of the nation depended on gutless collaborators". |
3,313,199 | Belize at the 2000 Summer Olympics | 1,137,362,229 | null | [
"2000 in Belizean sport",
"Belize at the Summer Olympics by year",
"Nations at the 2000 Summer Olympics"
] | Belize sent a delegation to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia from 15 September to 1 October 2000. This was Belize's eighth appearance at a Summer Olympic Games. The delegation sent by Belize consisted of two track and field competitors: Jayson Jones and Emma Wade. Neither advanced beyond the first round heats of their events.
## Background
The Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association was recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 1 January 1968. The nation made its debut in Olympic competition later that year at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and except for the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics has appeared in every Summer Olympiad since. This made Sydney their eighth appearance at a Summer Olympic Games, although they have yet to appear at any Winter Olympic Games. As of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Belize has yet to win its first Olympic medal. The 2000 Summer Olympics were held from 15 September to 1 October 2000; a total of 10,651 athletes represented 199 National Olympic Committees. The Belize delegation to Sydney consisted of two track and field competitors: Emma Wade and Jayson Jones. Wade was selected as the flag-bearer for the opening ceremony, a duty she would reprise four years later in Athens.
## Athletics
Emma Wade was 19 years old at the time of the Sydney Olympics, was making her Olympic debut, and would later go on to represent Belize at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. On 23 September, she was drawn into the third heat of the women's 100 meters. She finished the race in 12.25 seconds, which was seventh out of eight competitors in her heat, and Wade was eliminated. In the event overall, the gold medal is vacant due to original gold medalist Marion Jones of the United States admitting to steroid use and forfeiting her medals and results from the Sydney Games. Officially, the medals in the event are held by Ekaterini Thanou of Greece and Tayna Lawrence (the original bronze medalist) of Jamaica sharing silver, and Merlene Ottey, also of Jamaica, the original fourth-place finisher, being awarded a bronze. Gold was left vacant because Thanou, the original silver medalist, had her own issue with missing a drug test at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Jayson Jones was 23 years old at the time of these Olympics, and was also making his Olympic debut; he would later represent Belize at the 2008 Summer Olympics. On 27 September he took part in the first round of the men's 200 meters, and was drawn into heat one. He finished the heat in a time of 22.20 seconds, seventh and last in his heat, and he was eliminated. Gold was eventually won in 20.09 seconds by Konstantinos Kenteris of Greece, the silver was earned by Darren Campbell of Great Britain, and the bronze was taken by Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago. |
4,263,518 | Kung Fu Chaos | 1,171,103,086 | 2003 video game | [
"2003 video games",
"3D fighting games",
"Filmmaking video games",
"Martial arts video games",
"Microsoft games",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"Ninja Theory games",
"Parodies of films",
"Parody video games",
"Party video games",
"Video games about ninja",
"Video games developed in the United Kingdom",
"Works based on Journey to the West",
"Xbox games",
"Xbox-only games"
] | Kung Fu Chaos is a 3D fighting party game developed by Just Add Monsters and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox in 2003. Described as a "multiplayer brawler", the game is a comedic beat 'em up title with a stylistic presentation inspired by kung fu films. Kung Fu Chaos was the first title developed by Ninja Theory, a Cambridge studio formed by former staff of Millennium Interactive to pursue an independent project. Initial development was self-funded, with a prototype developed by a team of four to eight to pitch to publishers. The final version of the game was financed under an acquisition of the studio by Argonaut Games and a publishing deal with Microsoft Game Studios.
Upon release, Kung Fu Chaos received mixed reviews, with the game receiving praise for its unique tone, humor, and level design, whilst also receiving criticism for its limited depth of gameplay and fighting mechanics. The game also received criticism from some publications for its stereotypical representation of Asians in its depiction of the character Shao Ting. Kung Fu Chaos was a commercial disappointment upon release, with the developer attributing poor sales performance to a lack of marketing on the part of the publisher. Development on a cancelled sequel to the game, Kung Fu Story, influenced the direction by Just Add Monsters to develop an action title with a more serious tone, Heavenly Sword, for the PlayStation 3 in 2007.
## Gameplay
Kung Fu Chaos is a fighting game that takes place within the shooting of a fictional film of the same name, with director Shao Ting acting as narrator and guide to the gameplay. In line with this theme, the game's stages reflect various scenes of the film being produced. Gameplay features several modes, including 'Ninja Challenge', a campaign mode with a progression of unlockable scenes consisting of 'Main Feature' levels and various minigames. 'Main Feature' scenes require players to fight and survive levels within a time limit. Players progress and unlock further scenes if the players beat bosses in the time allotted and receive sufficient stars on the 'Star Meter', which gradually increases as the player defeats enemies in the level. Other modes in the game include 'Battle Game', allowing for local multiplayer play of an unlocked level selected by the player, 'Championship' and 'Miniseries', a series of random levels chosen by the computer, 'Freestyle', an arena-style fight in a single area, and 'Rehearsal', a practice mode.
The game features a roster of six playable characters and three unlockable characters. Each character features similar controls and attacks, with different taunts and special attacks. Similar to other fighting games, combat mechanics in Kung Fu Chaos require the player to use a mixture of combos on the controller to perform different attacks, including fast and heavy attacks, tripping opponents, picking up and throwing items, jumping and jump kicking, and spin attacks. Players can also use blocks and counters to defend against enemy attacks. The game features a taunt system in which players gain power-ups when taunting after defeating an enemy. During a taunt, a player is momentarily vulnerable, allowing enemies or other players to interrupt them, or steal a taunt on the other player's taunt meter. Once three taunts have been successfully performed, the player can perform a Super Attack that cannot be defended against by enemies.
## Development and release
Kung Fu Chaos was the debut game of Just Add Monsters, an independent Cambridge based games studio founded in 2000. The studio was founded by three former members of Cambridge studio Millennium Interactive, Tameem Antoniades, Nina Kristensen, and Mike Ball, who departed the studio following its acquisition by Sony Computer Entertainment in 1997. Antoniades made the decision to leave Millennium Interactive and form an independent studio after Sony rejected his pitch for a proposed title named Moon Warrior, a kung-fu fighting game inspired by Once Upon a Time in China. The concept of Kung Fu Chaos expanded upon the ideas presented under the Moon Warrior concept, with several influences taken from kung fu movies. Antoniades described the concept of the game as "a kung fu game based around Jackie Chan movies", stating "at the time those Hong Kong movies were copying western movies but adding kung fu to it, and I thought right, there’s an idea – make a story about a crazy director with a ‘safety last’ approach trying to emulate American Hollywood movies using kung fu actors and make it a chaotic four-player multiplayer game.” Similarly, Kristensen stated that the "flavour of (the) game" was rooted in the "accidental humor" of "old school kung fu movies that had questionable dubbing, hilarious mistranslation and ridiculous plot lines...merging with disco, funk and blaxploitation as evidenced in Enter the Dragon, Shaft (and) Charlie's Angels."
Initial development of Kung Fu Chaos was completed over three months in a team of "four to eight people", with a prototype developed on a highly restricted budget from a bedroom. The three developers pitched the game to studios based upon a "full design spec covering everything from level designs to combat mechanics." The studio was acquired in October 2000 by Argonaut Games for £410,000 in cash and loans, and secured a publishing deal with Microsoft Game Studios, allowing the development team to finance production of the game and expand to a team of twenty. The soundtrack of Kung Fu Chaos was composed by duo Paul Arnold and Andrew Barnabas. The duo stated the soundtrack was inspired by Lalo Schiffrin’s music on Enter the Dragon and was "a fusion of funk and authentic Chinese instrumentalists". Antioniades stated that the game had a troubled release, citing the decision of Microsoft Game Studios marketing staff to distribute an "early" and "untextured" build of the game with "placeholder sound" and "no effects" to review magazines and websites without the knowledge of the studio. Just Add Monsters reported that the game was released "on time (and) on budget". In Japan, the game was ported for release under the name Kung Fu Panic (カンフーパニック, Kan Fū Panikku) on 29 May 2003.
### Sales
Kung Fu Chaos was a commercial disappointment upon release. In European sales charts, the title peaked at 6 for Xbox titles, and 36 for combined full price games. Writing for Games Industry, Rob Fahey stated that the title "didn't shift any units" and the game was a "retail failure." Antoniades stated that the game "tanked at retail" as it had a limited marketing budget with "no ads (and) no support", a position shared by outlets including Kristan Reed for Eurogamer, who speculated that Kung Fu Chaos experienced low sales "given the fact it has devoted a slim marketing budget to the title."
## Reception
Kung Fu Chaos received "mixed or average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic, with an average review score of 68% across 41 reviews. Several critics praised the design of the game's stages. Writing for GMR, Greg Orlando stated the stages for their "chaotic fun" and "rapid-fire changes in scenery". Christian Nutt of GameSpy praised the "spot-on, clever and attractive" design of the game, stating "the developers have crafted some really imaginative and clever levels that give the game the depth and flavor of an old-school Final Fight-style brawler." Evan Shamoon of Xbox Nation praised the levels as "notable achievements, offering an impressive degree of dynamic interaction and a constant stream of eye candy". Dave Rees of Official Xbox Magazine praised the game's "wild atmosphere", stating "there's a lot of added depth in how you can interact with objects and use the environment to your advantage."
Many critics remarked that the fighting game mechanics of Kung Fu Chaos were simplistic. Writing for GameSpot, Greg Kasavin noted that whilst "there's a decent variety of moves and combos in all", "all the characters basically play the same way...it can be difficult to tell which character is yours and what exactly is going on, so you'll likely resort to mashing on buttons and hoping for the best." Hilary Goldstein of IGN observed that "the fighting engine is so incredibly basic" and "too easy", remarking that "there are so few moves that combos become an unconscious act." Electronic Gaming Monthly stated the game was "not as robust as a real fighter. Once you figure out how to taunt and bust out super attacks, it's a cinch", critiquing the "dearth of enemy types".
### Controversy
Kung Fu Chaos received negative reception for the use of stereotypes in its representation of Asian characters and culture, particularly the voice acting for the character Shao Ting. Writing for GameSpy, Christian Nutt critiqued the "questionable sense of humor" in the game, dismissing the character Shao Ting as a "completely racist and utterly despicable caricature of an Asian man." Similarly, Electronic Gaming Monthly critiqued the "inappropriate humor" and "stereotypical character designs", flagging that some players may "take offense at the chop-sockey accents and stereotypes." Evan Shamoon of Xbox Nation described the theme of the game as "ill-conceived", stating "not that it's an inherently racist game, rather, it simply wields its satire with such a lack of grace and humor that it's difficult to rally behind", critiquing the "poor impressions" of Shao Ting's voice actor. In a retrospective of "insensitive" games, Levi Buchanan of IGN stated "the game vainly attempts to wrap itself in the mantle of satire, but its caricatures of Asians are downright unpleasant", citing the "purposefully butchered" dialog.
Just Add Monsters defended the game upon release. Antoniades stated that the studio was "surprised" by the accusations as the game was a homage to kung fu films, and the negative reviews "hurt (the studio) on a personal level because that was not the intention". Antoniades stated that the game had been supported by Microsoft, who ran the game past "various ethnic groups to make sure that they wouldn’t find it offensive", and had gone to great effort to imitate the visual style of the kung fu genre. However, Antoniades stated that the management of the controversy by the publisher's marketing department had worsened the situation as they had turned away "gaming magazines, newspapers and radio stations (sending) us mails to offer support and defend the game" on the basis that "no one talks about this", expressing frustration that the decision led to "only those who think the game is racist (being) given a voice". Antoniades suggested that the controversy adversely affected marketing and PR support for the game.
### Retrospective reception
Several publications praised Kung Fu Chaos after release, with many describing the game as an overlooked and cult title on the Xbox. Writing for Play, Dave Halverson described the game as a "sleeper" title for the Xbox, stating the game "was the ultimate melding of action and combat, and stands as one of the most beautiful SD-style games ever built. Too bad America didn't get it." Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer described Kung Fu Chaos as a "cult classic", praising the game's "feel good gameplay, superb technical grace, hilarious voiceovers and general madcap melee combat", noting the game largely "went ignored" upon release. In a more neutral review, Douglass Perry and David Clayman for IGN stated "although it wasn't a great game by any standard, it offered the variety and pick-up-and-play ease that every great party game needs," praising the accessibility of its "simple controls".
## Legacy
Following the release of Kung Fu Chaos in February 2003, Just Add Monsters began development of an unreleased sequel titled Kung Fu Story. In response to player feedback, the developers planned to abandon the cartoon presentation of the original and pursue a "slightly more mature style for the game", citing the "expectation from publishers that audiences wanted more realism in their games". By March 2003, Just Add Monsters completed concept work for Kung Fu Story, including prototype videos to demonstrate the desired art style for the game. However, by May 2003, due to the poor commercial performance of Kung Fu Chaos, Microsoft made the decision not to commission a sequel for the Xbox. Development on Kung Fu Story was discontinued due to the ownership of the intellectual property by Microsoft Game Studios.
Following the cancelled development of Kung Fu Story, Just Add Monsters began development of a new game to market to publishers, with the game designed to capitalise on the launch of the next generation of consoles. Development of the title had been underway from November 2003. Following the collapse of its parent company Argonaut Games in 2004, former CEO Jez San acquired Just Add Monsters and rebranded the company to the title Ninja Theory. In September 2004, the title was announced as Heavenly Sword, a "next-generation" fighting game with a more serious and realistic design. Antoniades stated that Kung Fu Story concept "evolved into" Heavenly Sword, with the game heavily influenced by the development of Kung Fu Chaos, stating the game "would never have been possible without the experience we gained from making (it)", citing the lessons of learning "how to make combat work in a third-person game with multiple enemies" and develop fighting games with "object interaction". Heavenly Sword was released by Ninja Theory in September 2007. |
62,911,947 | Cymmer Colliery explosion | 1,162,670,138 | July 1856 mining disaster in Wales | [
"1856 in Wales",
"Coal mining disasters in Wales",
"Explosions in Wales",
"History of Wales",
"July 1856 events",
"Mining disasters in Wales",
"Rhondda Valley",
"Trials in Wales"
] | The Cymmer Colliery explosion occurred in the early morning of 15 July 1856 at the Old Pit mine of the Cymmer Colliery near Porth (lower Rhondda Valley), Wales, operated by George Insole & Son. The underground gas explosion resulted in a "sacrifice of human life to an extent unparalleled in the history of coal mining of this country" in which 114 men and boys were killed. Thirty-five widows, ninety-two children, and other dependent relatives were left with no immediate means of support.
The immediate cause of the explosion was defective mine ventilation and the use of naked flames underground. Factors contributing to the explosion included the rapid development of the mine to meet increased demand for coal, poor mine safety practices allowed by management despite official warnings, and deteriorating working relationships between miners and management.
After the explosion, mine owner James Harvey Insole and his officials were accused of "neglecting the commonest precautions for the safety of the men and the safe working of the colliery". At the coroner's inquest into the deaths, Insole deflected responsibility onto his mine manager Jabez Thomas and the jury brought a charge of manslaughter against Thomas and the four other mine officials. To the outrage of the local mining communities, the subsequent criminal proceedings resulted in the exoneration of the mine officials from any blame for the disaster.
The Cymmer Colliery disaster influenced the introduction of mine safety improvements including legislation for improved mine ventilation and the use of safety lamps, employment of children, and qualifications of mine officials. The tragedy highlighted the need for a workable compensation scheme for miners and their dependents to reduce their reliance on public charity after such disasters.
## Background
George Insole and his son James Harvey Insole purchased the Cymmer Colliery in 1844. In 1847 they sank the No. 1 Pit which, after 1853, became known as the Cymmer Old Pit. James Insole took control of the business on his father's death in 1851.
Between 1852 and 1855, HM Inspector of Mines Herbert Francis Mackworth inspected the colliery twice and sent letters to Insole recommending safety improvements, in particular to the mine's underground ventilation system and the use of safety lamps underground.
Colliers (miners) relied on the colliery firemen's daily reports of gas hazards before entering the mine. In 1854, mine manager Jabez Thomas summarily dismissed two experienced firemen and appointed two others from outside the colliery. The workmen complained to Insole they had no confidence in these replacements. The men's refusal to work under the new firemen, and Insole's insistence on exercising his "authority to dismiss or employ those whom I please, without consulting any body of men", led to a twenty-two week miners' strike. Financial loss and threat of legal action eventually compelled the men to return to work under the new firemen.
By the mid-1800s, the Rhondda variety of coal was in high demand as a coking coal. The Crimean War created additional demand for coal, and in 1855 Insole intensified his mining operations at the Old Pit, doubling the number of colliers and increasing the mine area by over a third. Welsh historian E. D. Lewis concluded that,
> It was the success of [the Cymmer Old Pit mine] when developed with such inordinate speed and recklessness by [George Insole's] son, James Harvey Insole, that led directly to the terrible mining disaster of 1856.
## Explosion
On Tuesday, 15 July 1856, 160 men and boys descended the Old Pit mine shaft to commence their 6:00 a.m. shift. As they made their way to their workplaces underground, there was an explosion of gas near the mine entrance which trapped the colliers already deeper in the mine. It was three hours before rescuers could reach the site. They found that many of the colliers had congregated in groups to die together as they ran out of air. By that evening, 112 bodies had been recovered, another was brought up the next day, and a severely burnt collier died the following day. In his report to the Secretary of State for the year 1856, Mines Inspector Mackworth described the disaster as "the most lamentable and destructive explosion which had ever occurred in any colliery either in this country or abroad".
## Inquest
The coroner's inquest into the deaths began on 16 July 1856 in Porth before the North Glamorgan coroner George Overton and a jury of eighteen. It was adjourned to allow the jurors to view the bodies and reconvened eleven days later in Pontypridd. Twenty-nine witnesses were called. The evidence indicated that the explosion resulted from defective mine ventilation and the use of naked flames underground, (Note: both the Davy lamp and Geordie lamp safety lamps had been invented in 1815, and widely used in mines at the time) despite warnings having been sent to the mine owner by Mackworth. He told the inquest that "the explosion arose from the persons in charge of the pit neglecting the commonest precautions for the safety of the men and the safe working of the colliery".
The inquest determined that, apart from the collier who died later of burns, all the deaths were the result of "suffocation, caused by the post-explosion effects of afterdamp or methane poisoning". Among the 114 victims, thirty-four were boys under the age of sixteen and another fifteen were under the age of twelve. Insole, the mine owner, walked free from the inquest after claiming he took "no part in management" of the mine. The mine manager, Jabez Thomas, and the mine's officials, Rowland Rowlands (overman), Morgan Rowlands (fireman), David Jones (fireman), and William Thomas (fireman), were charged with manslaughter for negligence causing the deaths of 114 men.
## Trial
At the Glamorgan Spring Assizes held in Swansea in March 1857, the judge, His Lordship Baron Watson, made his own position clear in his pre-trial address to the grand jury. Noting that the mine manager did not go underground, and that "no direct case of omission" had been brought against the other mine officials, he indicated that they could not be guilty of manslaughter. Nevertheless, the grand jury returned a "true bill" (indictment) against Jabez Thomas, Rowland Rowlands, and Morgan Rowlands, who were then tried on the charge of "having feloniously and wilfully killed and slain one William Thomas, on the 15th July, 1856". At the trial, it was reported that the judge made clear he sided with the defendants and thought the matter should not have come to court.
At the conclusion of the trial, the jury complied with the judge's directions to acquit the defendants. To the deep distress and anger of the local mining communities, the final result of the legal proceedings was that the mine owner and his officials were exonerated from all blame. However, E. D. Lewis' analysis of the disaster concluded that:
> Possibly the legal processes of the time were insufficient to punish those who were culpable, but of the moral responsibility of owner and officials, even when judged against the background of their own time and place, there can be no question.
## Survivors
`Among the small local communities no household was left untouched, almost all the working-age men and boys having perished. Thirty graves were opened at the Cymmer Independent Chapel graveyard and the bodies of forty-eight victims were interred on 17 July 1856 in the presence of huge crowds (estimated at 15,000 people). Smaller numbers of burials occurred in other local communities, with "11 at Tonyrefail, nine at Ffrwd Amos, eight at the Dinas Methodist Chapel, and the rest at Pontypridd, Treforest, Coed Cymmer, Llantrissant, Llanharry, Bedwas, Trelanos, Brynmenyn, Wauntrodau, Llanwonno". Thirty-five widows, ninety-two children, and other dependent relatives were left with no immediate means of support. The court's verdict meant the Fatal Accidents Act 1846, which required compensation to be paid only when a mine manager or proprietor was held to have been at fault, did not apply.`
The dependents of the victims of the disaster had to rely on public charity and "the final humiliation" of seeking poor relief. Insole contributed £500 (approximately ) to the Cymer Widows' and Orphans' Fund, set up shortly after the disaster, and undertook to meet the cost of the thirty graves. However, local coal owners also combined to deny work to those colliers who had given evidence against the mine officials at the inquest and trial. Laments were published and, marking the first anniversary of the disaster, a song was published under the patronage of Mrs Insole of Ely Court (Insole's wife) in aid of the relief fund.
## Legacy
Described by Mines Inspector Thomas Evans as a "sacrifice of human life to an extent unparalleled in the history of coal mining of this country", the Cymmer Colliery disaster of 1856 influenced future coal-mining practices, locally and nationally. After another gas explosion at the colliery in December 1856, the single-shaft Cymmer Old Pit and New Pit mines were linked to create a safer and better ventilated two-shaft arrangement. Although mechanical mine ventilators had been used in the Lower Rhondda from 1851, they were installed at the Cymmer Colliery in the mid-1870s. Also by the mid-1870s, the colliery management realised it was safer and cheaper to provide colliers with safety lamps. The Cymmer Old Pit was worked by the Insole company until the mine closed in 1939.
More broadly, influenced by the number of children killed in the disaster, the Mines Regulation Act 1860 prohibited employment of boys under twelve years of age, unless they could read and write and were attending school for at least three hours a day on two days a week. Two-shaft mines were made compulsory by 1865. Mackworth's safety recommendations, sent to Insole in 1854 and including "that a qualified mining engineer and a sufficient number of competent subordinate officers and deputies should take complete charge of the machinery, ventilation, ways and works and watch over and provide for the safety of the workmen during the hours of labour", were passed in the Mines Act 1872. Following the Cymmer Colliery explosion, steps were taken to reduce the reliance on public charity in the case of fatal disasters by introducing comprehensive compensation schemes, but the first successful scheme did not emerge until 1881.
## See also
- List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll |
32,807,474 | Linton Park | 1,158,962,735 | Grade I listed English country house | [
"Borough of Maidstone",
"Country houses in Kent",
"Grade I listed buildings in Kent",
"Houses completed in 1730"
] | Linton Park, formerly Linton Place or Linton Hall, is a large 18th-century country house in Linton, Kent, England. Built by Robert Mann in 1730 to replace a much earlier building called 'Capell's Court', the estate passed through the ownership of several members of Mann's family before coming into the Cornwallis family. The house was enlarged to its current size in 1825.
The house sits in a prominent location, part way down a south-facing slope which provides excellent views of the grounds and the Weald beyond. Gardens close to the house contain formal walks laid out in 1825 with specimen trees planted then and later.
The house is a Grade I listed building and the garden and park is listed Grade II\*. Other buildings and structures in the park are also listed.
From 1985, Linton Park was the corporate headquarters of Camellia Group, an international agricultural company.
## History
From the late 14th century, a house by the name of Capell's Court stood on the site of Linton Park. It took its name from a family of local landowners named de Capell who held the property from the late 14th century to the mid-15th century. It was then sold to the Baysden family who held it until the late 16th century, when it was sold to Sir Anthony Mayney. Mayney's grandson sold the estate to the judge Sir Francis Wythen. Wythen's daughter, Catherine, inherited the estate and, following her second marriage to Brigadier-General Sir George Jocelyn, the estate was sold to London merchant Sir Robert Mann.
Around 1730, Mann demolished Capell's Court and built the first part of the present house. On his death in 1751, the house passed to his son Edward Mann. Edward Mann died in 1775 without legitimate children and the house passed to his brother the diplomat Sir Horace Mann. Sir Horace had taken the name of the estate as his territorial designation when made a baronet in 1755, but was permanently resident in Florence. Sir Horace Mann was a friend and long-time correspondent of Horace Walpole. After a visit to Edward Mann at Linton Park in 1757, Walpole wrote to Sir Horace in Florence that: "the house is fine and stands like the citadel of Kent; the whole county is its garden." On the death of Sir Horace in 1786, the baronetcy and the house passed to his nephew, Sir Horatio Mann MP, of Boughton Place in nearby Boughton Malherbe.
Sir Horatio died in 1814 and the house was inherited by James Cornwallis, Bishop of Lichfield, who was the widowed husband of Mann's older sister, Catherine. Cornwallis became the fourth Earl Cornwallis on the death of his nephew Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Marquess Cornwallis in 1823, but died himself in 1824. The estate passed to his son James, the fifth Earl. On the fifth Earl's death in 1852, the property was inherited by his daughter Julia. In 1862, she married William Amherst, Viscount Holmesdale (later, after her death in 1883, the third Earl Amherst).
By 1888, the estate was in the possession of Fiennes Stanley Wykeham Cornwallis MP (created 1st Baron Cornwallis in 1927), grandson of the fifth Earl Cornwallis's other daughter Jemima Isabella Mann. He owned the house until his death in 1935. His first son, Captain Fiennes Wykeham Mann Cornwallis MC, was killed in an IRA ambush near Gort, County Galway in 1921, and so the first baron was succeeded by his second son, Wykeham Stanley Cornwallis. The second baron sold the house in 1937 and it became the property of Olaf Hambro, a member of the Hambro banking family. Following the death of Hambro in 1961, the house was sold to the Daubeny family. The house and its nearest surrounding land were sold to the Freemasons in 1974 and were briefly operated as a school before passing into corporate ownership by Camellia Group plc in 1985.
In 2023, after extensive restoration, the house and estate were offered for sale for £32 million through agents Strutt & Parker.
## Buildings
Robert Mann's original 1730s house was a two-storey brick building seven bays wide with a break front. This was extended for the fifth Earl Cornwallis in 1825 by Thomas and William Cubitt. The Cubitts' alterations included adding a third storey to the original house and building two-storey wings four bays wide on each side. The house was also refinished with stucco render. Its hipped roof is covered with slates.
The entrance to the house is on the north side through a single storey portico. The north façade features tall sash windows on the ground and first floors of 12 panes; the second floor windows to the central section are shorter and of nine panes. moulded stucco cornices run above the ground and first floor windows. The east and west façades are five bays wide with a two-storey projecting bay on the east end and a single-storey projecting bay on the west end.
Due to the slope of the site, the south façade, which overlooks the main part of the grounds, stands on a raised and terraced platform with the ground floor raised to first floor level and the basement becoming the ground floor. Above the terrace, the façade has the same general arrangement as the north façade, but the wings project slightly past the central section, which has a two-storey pedimented portico. Each wing previously had a single-storey bay at its centre but these have been removed.
Internally, a number of rooms feature period wall and ceiling decorations including the entrance hall, which dates from the original 1730s building and features moulded panelling and cornices, a marble fireplace and ornamental plaster ceiling and an arabesque frieze. The stairwell is lit from above with a roof light and features a cantilevered stair with iron balusters from the 1825 adaptation with a later brass handrail.
To the north-east of the house is the estate's former stable building. This was built around the time of the fifth Earl's extension of the house and is aligned on a north–south axis. The building comprises three three-storey gable-fronted pavilions separated by a pair of two-storey wings. The façades are of brick, with the west façade painted white and the east unpainted. The roof is of slate with a clock tower in the centre of the east side of the central pavilion. Close to the stables is an underground brick-built ice house accessed by a vaulted tunnel. The ice house dates from 1788.
The main house is a Grade I listed building and the stables and the ice house are listed Grade II.
## Park
Approached across parkland along a tree-lined drive from a lodge to the north, the house sits in a landscape of approximately 132 hectares (330 acres) of parkland, woodland and farmland part way down a south facing greensand slope overlooking the valley of the River Beult. Although now simplified without the intensive planting used in earlier centuries, elements remain of the formal gardens designed by John Claudius Loudon in 1825 that were previously arranged on the north, south-east, south and west sides of the house.
Immediately to the south of the house is a wide 100-metre (330 ft) long terrace with a stone balustrade. From the centre of this, aligned with the central portico of the house, stone steps descend in three flights over grass covered terraces to an oval lawn around the perimeter of which runs a gravel path and from which paths run to the east and west. In the centre of the lawn is a sundial. A wide lawn to the south-east of the house is ringed by paths and divided by another on a north–south axis. This is interrupted by flights of steps and a fountain pond. Two small temples are positioned amongst trees part way down the slope.
To the west of the house, Loudon laid out a flower garden. Later in the 1860s this was replanted with roses, but it is now lawns. At the south end of a walkway through this section of the garden is a water and rock garden known as "Jacobs Well". From the north end of the walk an avenue of giant sequoias planted in 1864 runs north-west towards the parish church of St Nicholas. Other Giant Sequoia are planted around the gardens. Close to the church, at the end of a paved walk is a small Gothic folly designed by Richard Bentley. South of the avenue is a grass amphitheatre cut into the slope. The southern perimeter of the formal garden is formed by a ha-ha. To the south, beyond the formal gardens, the steepness of the slope reduces and the estate continues as open parkland with a tree-fringed lake about 500 metres (1,600 ft) south of the house.
The gardens and parkland are listed Grade II\*, with a number of features in the garden also individually listed for their group value with the house and park. The north lodge, the steps to the south of the house, the sundial on the oval lawn and the folly are all listed Grade II.
The estate is private property and is not open to the public, but the Greensand Way long-distance walk crosses the parkland east-west to the north of the house and a public footpath crosses the southern parkland close to the lake on a similar alignment.
## See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Maidstone |
41,970,908 | Iran at the 2014 Winter Paralympics | 1,002,049,309 | null | [
"2014 in Iranian sport",
"Iran at the Paralympics",
"Nations at the 2014 Winter Paralympics"
] | Iran sent a delegation to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia from 7–16 March 2014. This was Iran's fifth time participating in a Winter Paralympic Games. The Iranian delegation consisted of a single alpine skier, Sadegh Kalhor, who had his leg amputated in a skiing accident as a teenager. In the standing slalom event, he finished in 20th place.
## Background
Iran first joined Paralympic competition at the 1988 Summer Paralympics, and have appeared at every Summer Paralympic Games since. The nation sent a delegation to a Winter Paralympics for the first time at the 1998 Winter Paralympics, and, likewise, has sent a delegation to every edition since. The 2014 Winter Paralympics were held from 7–16 March 2014, in Sochi, Russia; 45 countries and 547 athletes took part in the multi-sport event. Sadegh Kalhor, competing in his fifth winter games, was the only athlete sent to Sochi by Iran, as he had been for the three immediately preceding Winter Paralympics; only once, in the 1998 Winter Paralympics, had Iran sent a second competitor. Kalhor was chosen as the Iranian flag-bearer for the parade of nations during the opening ceremony, but the delegation left before the closing ceremony.
## Disability classification
Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories: amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, though there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; and Les Autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, like dwarfism or multiple sclerosis. Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Events with "B" in the code are for athletes with visual impairment, codes LW1 to LW9 are for athletes who stand to compete and LW10 to LW12 are for athletes who compete sitting down. Alpine skiing events grouped athletes into separate competitions for sitting, standing and visually impaired athletes.
## Alpine skiing
Sadegh Kalhor suffered a skiing accident at the age of 18 that required the amputation of his right leg. The 2014 Paralympics were his fifth consecutive Games, and he was 35 years old at the time. As a leg amputee, he is classified as LW2, and competes in a standing position. LW2 classified athletes "have a significant impairment in one leg" and ski with only one ski. On 13 March, 51 participants started the standing slalom, including Kalhor. He completed the first run in 58.07 seconds, and the second run in 1 minute and 3.17 seconds. His total time, which was the sum of his two run times, was therefore 2 minutes and 1.24 seconds, placing him in 20th position out of 35 competitors who finished both legs of the race. The gold medal was won by Alexey Bugaev of Russia in a time of 1 minute and 38.97 seconds; the silver was taken by Vincent Gauthier-Manuel of France, and the bronze by Alexander Alyabyev, also of Russia.
## See also
- Iran at the Paralympics
- Iran at the 2014 Winter Olympics |
69,710,218 | Charlie Moore (basketball) | 1,167,610,539 | American basketball player | [
"1998 births",
"21st-century African-American sportspeople",
"African-American basketball players",
"American men's basketball players",
"Basketball players from Chicago",
"Belfius Mons-Hainaut players",
"California Golden Bears men's basketball players",
"DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball players",
"Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players",
"Living people",
"Miami Hurricanes men's basketball players",
"Morgan Park Academy alumni",
"Point guards"
] | Charlie Edward Moore (born February 3, 1998) is an American basketball player for Pistoia Basket 2000 of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), whose college basketball career spanned four major conferences culminating with a year for the Miami Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2021–22 ACC basketball season. He previously played a full season for the California Golden Bears and the Kansas Jayhawks as well as two seasons for the DePaul Blue Demons. At Morgan Park High School he won two Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state championships and Illinois Mr. Basketball.
In college, he led the Big East Conference in assists playing for the 2019–20 DePaul Blue Demons. Later, he helped the 2021–22 Miami Hurricanes become the first team in school history to reach the Elite Eight at the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. That season he earned All-ACC defensive team and All-ACC honorable mention recognition.
## Early life
Moore is the son of Curis and Tanya Moore. Moore's father started training him to dribble at age 3 and continued training his ball handling skills as he was growing up. He was raised in Chicago's Englewood Community area. Moore was part of back-to-back IHSA Class 3A state champions in 2013 and 2014 at Morgan Park High School. As a freshman for the 2012–2013, team he served as backup to senior Billy Garrett Jr. In both the 2014 state semifinals against Orr Academy High School and the championship game against Lincoln High School of his sophomore season, he contributed 12 points as one of three double digit scorers for Morgan Park. As a junior, he teamed with Marcus LoVett Jr. for Morgan Park's third place finish in the state tournament. They lost to Jordan Goodwin and Tarkus Ferguson of Althoff Catholic High School in the IHSA Class 3A semi-finals. They defeated Rockford Lutheran High School in the consolation game.
In November 2015, Moore, who was at the time the top recruit in Illinois and the number 57 recruit in the national class of 2016 according to Rivals.com, committed to play for head coach Josh Pastner (and assistant coach Damon Stoudamire) at Memphis, becoming the first Chicago area player to commit to Memphis since Derrick Rose. As a senior, he was joined by sophomore transfer Ayo Dosunmu who played a supporting role. Morgan Park was defeated in the supersectional round of the IHSA tournament by Lincoln-Way West High School, but not before Moore established school career records with points (2,346), assists (368) and steals (303). Moore won Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2016 over Mike Smith and Zach Norvell Jr. after averaging 28 points, seven assists, five steals and four rebounds. Less than 2 weeks later, Pastner was hired by Georgia Tech. Moore immediately decommitted from Memphis. He considered offers from California, Georgia Tech, Illinois, LSU, Miami, SMU, UNLV and Western Kentucky. Six weeks later, he signed to play at Cal for Cuonzo Martin after center Ivan Rabb decided not to declare for the 2016 NBA draft. According to an article in The Daily Californian, at that point in his career, Moore was regarded as a scorer and playmaker who would have to learn how to excel on defense to succeed at a higher level. Nonetheless, he was the highlight of his recruiting class for the 2016–17 Cal Bears and would help replace production lost in the backcourt with the departures of Jaylen Brown and Tyrone Wallace.
## College career
In his second game at Cal, with three starters sidelined due to injuries, Moore broke Shareef Abdur-Rahim's 1995 single-game freshman scoring school record of 33 points by scoring 38 in an overtime win against UC Irvine. As a freshman, Moore was the only player to start all 34 games for Cal and led the team in assists and steals, while scoring 12.2 points per game. Following the season, Martin was hired by Missouri. Subsequently, with Rabb entering the 2017 NBA draft and Jabari Bird graduating, Moore transferred to Kansas.
According to NCAA transfer rules, Moore sat out a season before joining the 2018–19 Kansas Jayhawks, which had guards Devon Dotson, Marcus Garrett, Ochai Agbaji, LaGerald Vick and Quentin Grimes. Moore's only start of the season was December 8 against New Mexico State. On December 18, 2018, with Udoka Azubuike sidelined and Dedric Lawson somewhat limited by foul trouble, Moore scored a season-high 18 points (all on three point shots) against South Dakota. Following the season, he announced he would be transferring to be closer to family. By this time, his father had health issues, and Moore transferred to hometown DePaul University.
A month before the season was to begin, Moore received a waiver to play immediately for the 2019–20 DePaul Blue Demons. During the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Moore fell 4 assists shy of joining Rod Strickland (1987–88) as the only Blue Demons with 400 points and 200 assists in a season. Nonetheless, he was only player in the Big East Conference to place in the top ten in scoring (8th), assists (1st) and steals (6th). Moore began the 2020–21 DePaul Blue Demons season as a pre-season All-2020–21 Big East Conference first team selection. Moore picked up Big East player of the week honors on February 21, 2021. Following the season, which was the fifth consecutive year in with DePaul finished last in the Big East, DePaul fired head coach Dave Leitao. That summer when the Big East recognized its 2020–21 scholar athletes, Moore was recognized as an All-Academic team selection.
With the NCAA having granted an additional year of eligibility to all players due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Moore elected to transfer to play for the 2021–22 Miami Hurricanes where Chris Lykes had just vacated the point guard role and he had relationships with head coach Jim Larranaga and assistant coach Bill Courtney. Following the regular season Moore joined teammates Kameron McGusty and Isaiah Wong on the All-ACC basketball team. Moore earned All-Defensive team and honorable mention All-ACC recognition. Moore, fellow 6th-year senior McGusty and Wong are all 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) or shorter. In the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Moore contributed 16 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 3.0 seconds left, to give Miami a 68–66 victory over USC. Moore contributed 15 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in the second round upset of number 2 seed Auburn. Once Miami got to the Sweet Sixteen round, they found themselves playing at Moore's hometown United Center, where they defeated Iowa State to reach the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. Playing again at the United Center, Miami was matched up against the 2021–22 version of the Kansas Jayhawks, one of Moore's previous teams. The Jayhawks included Moore's former teammate Agbaji. Kansas won the game, and they went on to win the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game. For the season, Moore led the Hurricanes in assists (4.5/game) and steals (2.0/game), and he contributed 12.7 points/game. His 2.0 steals/game was second in the ACC to Reece Beekman. Moore was recognized as an All-ACC Academic Team selection.
## Professional career
Moore was not invited to the May 18–20, 2022 NBA draft combine. On June 24, 2022, Moore signed an NBA Summer League contract with the Detroit Pistons after going undrafted in the June 23, 2022 NBA draft.
On July 24, 2022, Moore signed his first professional contract with Belfius Mons-Hainaut of the BNXT League.
On July 28, 2023, he signed with Pistoia Basket 2000 of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).
## Career statistics
### College
\|- \| style="text-align:left;"\|2016–17 \| style="text-align:left;"\|California \| 34 \|\| 34 \|\| 28.8 \|\| .388 \|\| .352 \|\| .756 \|\| 2.0 \|\| 3.5 \|\| 1.1 \|\| .0 \|\| 12.2 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\|2017–18 \| style="text-align:left;"\|Kansas \| colspan=11 style="text-align:center;"\| Transferred \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\|2018–19 \| style="text-align:left;"\|Kansas \| 35 \|\| 1 \|\| 13.1 \|\| .286 \|\| .267 \|\| .714 \|\| 1.0 \|\| 1.3 \|\| .6 \|\| .1 \|\| 2.9 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\|2019–20 \| style="text-align:left;"\|DePaul \| 32 \|\| 32 \|\| 35.6 \|\| .376 \|\| .317 \|\| .811 \|\| 3.3 \|\| 6.1 \|\| 1.5 \|\| .1 \|\| 15.5 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\|2020–21 \| style="text-align:left;"\|DePaul \| 16 \|\| 15 \|\| 32.3 \|\| .407 \|\| .346 \|\| .762 \|\| 3.6 \|\| 4.2 \|\| 1.1 \|\| .0 \|\| 14.4 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\|2021–22 \| style="text-align:left;"\|Miami (FL) \| 37 \|\| 37 \|\| 32.5 \|\| .447 \|\| .364 \|\| .737 \|\| 2.6 \|\| 4.6 \|\| 2.0 \|\| .1 \|\| 12.4 \|- class="sortbottom" \| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"\|Career \| 154 \|\| 119 \|\| 27.9 \|\| .394 \|\| .334 \|\| .771 \|\| 2.4 \|\| 3.9 \|\| 1.3 \|\| .1 \|\| 11.1 |
3,247,787 | Hall XPTBH | 1,066,913,798 | 1937 US experimental torpedo-bomber seaplane | [
"1930s United States bomber aircraft",
"1930s United States patrol aircraft",
"Aircraft first flown in 1937",
"Floatplanes",
"Hall aircraft",
"High-wing aircraft",
"Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft"
] | The Hall XPTBH was a prototype American twin-engined seaplane, submitted to the United States Navy by the Hall Aluminum Aircraft Corporation in response to a 1934 specification for new bomber and scout aircraft. Constructed in an innovative fashion that made extensive use of aluminum, the XPTBH proved successful in flight testing, but failed to win favor with the U.S. Navy. No production contract was awarded, and the single aircraft built served in experimental duties before its destruction in a hurricane during 1938.
## Design and development
In late 1934, the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) issued a specification for new scout bomber and torpedo bomber designs. Eight companies submitted a total of ten designs in response, evenly split between monoplanes and biplanes. The Hall Aluminum Aircraft Company submitted the only seaplane design; a single prototype was ordered by the Navy for evaluation on June 30, 1934. Given the designation XPTBH-1, it became the only aircraft to receive three mission-type letters under the U.S. Navy's designation system used between 1922 and 1962.
Hall's choice of the twin-float seaplane configuration was dictated by the Navy's requirement that the new torpedo-bomber design should be capable of carrying a standard naval torpedo of the type carried by destroyers. As ordered, the XPTBH-1 was intended to be fitted with Wright R-1820 "Cyclone" radial engines; delays in design caused by Hall relocating their production facility, difficulties with the contract, and doubts about the aircraft's performance potential led to a redesign, the aircraft becoming slightly smaller and the engines being changed to a pair of Pratt & Whitney R-1830 "Twin Wasp" radials. The changes to the aircraft resulted in it receiving the revised designation XPTBH-2.
Utilising Hall's standard aluminum tubular spar, the fuselage and wing leading edges were covered in aluminum, while the rest of the wing and the control surfaces were fabric-covered. The aircraft was well-armed defensively by 1930s standards, with a powered turret, designed by Hall, mounted in the nose and carrying a single .30-caliber machine gun. Hand-traversed mountings for a pair of machine guns were fitted in dorsal (top) and ventral (belly) positions aft. An optically flat glass panel was fitted in the nose below the turret for use by the bombardier; the aircraft's offensive weaponry, consisting of a Mark XIII aerial torpedo or, alternatively, up to 2,000 pounds (910 kg) of bombs, was carried in an internal bomb bay, the twin-float arrangement allowing for a clear release of the weaponry.
## Operational history
Delivered to the Navy on January 30, 1937, the aircraft was officially presented to the public at Hall's Bristol, Pennsylvania factory in April of that year. The aircraft's early flight testing, starting in February and conducted by test pilot Bill McAvoy, showed that the XPTBH had few faults, with the only significant issue being a lack of roll authority – a reduction of the ability of the ailerons to turn the aircraft – as a result of the surface area of the floats. A modification to increase the area of the rudder solved the issue. The aircraft's water-handling characteristics were found to be excellent; the only significant complaints that surfaced during the testing period concerned the XPTBH-2's beaching gear, which was found to be extremely difficult to use in anything other than the calmest water.
Although the XPTBH-2 met most of its design specifications and was rated overall very good in flight testing, it failed to meet the contractual requirements for top speed and attack speed. In addition, the U.S. Navy did not consider a seagoing torpedo-bomber to be an aircraft for which there was an operational requirement; the fact that as a floatplane the aircraft was restricted to operation from water was also considered a negative, while the aircraft's "three-in-one" role led it to be viewed as a jack of all trades, purpose-designed aircraft for each role being considered superior. The company, however, blamed Navy politics for the lack of a production order.
Following the conclusion of its test program, the XPTBH-2 was used for experimental duties at the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport, Rhode Island, participating in trials of aerial torpedoes. Its service at Newport came to an end on September 21, 1938, when the XPTBH-2 was destroyed during the Great New England Hurricane. The XPTBH-2 was the last aircraft designed by Hall Aluminum; the company remained in business until 1940, when it was bought out by Consolidated Aircraft.
## Specifications (XPTBH-2)
## See also |
33,629 | Weak interaction | 1,172,223,856 | Interaction between subatomic particles and one of the four known fundamental interactions | [
"Fundamental interactions",
"Weak interaction"
] | In nuclear physics and particle physics, the weak interaction, which is also often called the weak force or weak nuclear force, is one of the four known fundamental interactions, with the others being electromagnetism, the strong interaction, and gravitation. It is the mechanism of interaction between subatomic particles that is responsible for the radioactive decay of atoms: The weak interaction participates in nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. The theory describing its behaviour and effects is sometimes called quantum flavourdynamics (QFD); however, the term QFD is rarely used, because the weak force is better understood by electroweak theory (EWT).
The effective range of the weak force is limited to subatomic distances and is less than the diameter of a proton.
## Background
The Standard Model of particle physics provides a uniform framework for understanding electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions. An interaction occurs when two particles (typically, but not necessarily, half-integer spin fermions) exchange integer-spin, force-carrying bosons. The fermions involved in such exchanges can be either elementary (e.g. electrons or quarks) or composite (e.g. protons or neutrons), although at the deepest levels, all weak interactions ultimately are between elementary particles.
In the weak interaction, fermions can exchange three types of force carriers, namely W<sup>+</sup>, W<sup>−</sup>, and Z bosons. The masses of these bosons are far greater than the mass of a proton or neutron, which is consistent with the short range of the weak force. In fact, the force is termed weak because its field strength over any set distance is typically several orders of magnitude less than that of the electromagnetic force, which itself is further orders of magnitude less than the strong nuclear force.
The weak interaction is the only fundamental interaction that breaks parity symmetry, and similarly, but far more rarely, the only interaction to break charge–parity symmetry.
Quarks, which make up composite particles like neutrons and protons, come in six "flavours" – up, down, strange, charm, top and bottom – which give those composite particles their properties. The weak interaction is unique in that it allows quarks to swap their flavour for another. The swapping of those properties is mediated by the force carrier bosons. For example, during beta-minus decay, a down quark within a neutron is changed into an up quark, thus converting the neutron to a proton and resulting in the emission of an electron and an electron antineutrino.
Weak interaction is important in the fusion of hydrogen into helium in a star. This is because it can convert a proton (hydrogen) into a neutron to form deuterium which is important for the continuation of nuclear fusion to form helium. The accumulation of neutrons facilitates the buildup of heavy nuclei in a star.
Most fermions decay by a weak interaction over time. Such decay makes radiocarbon dating possible, as carbon-14 decays through the weak interaction to nitrogen-14. It can also create radioluminescence, commonly used in tritium luminescence, and in the related field of betavoltaics (but not similar radium luminescence).
The electroweak force is believed to have separated into the electromagnetic and weak forces during the quark epoch of the early universe.
## History
In 1933, Enrico Fermi proposed the first theory of the weak interaction, known as Fermi's interaction. He suggested that beta decay could be explained by a four-fermion interaction, involving a contact force with no range.
In the mid-1950s, Chen-Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee first suggested that the handedness of the spins of particles in weak interaction might violate the conservation law or symmetry. In 1957, Chien Shiung Wu and collaborators confirmed the symmetry violation.
In the 1960s, Sheldon Glashow, Abdus Salam and Steven Weinberg unified the electromagnetic force and the weak interaction by showing them to be two aspects of a single force, now termed the electroweak force.
The existence of the W and Z bosons was not directly confirmed until 1983.
## Properties
The electrically charged weak interaction is unique in a number of respects:
- It is the only interaction that can change the flavour of quarks and leptons (i.e., of changing one type of quark into another).
- It is the only interaction that violates P, or parity symmetry. It is also the only one that violates charge–parity CP symmetry.
- Both the electrically charged and the electrically neutral interactions are mediated (propagated) by force carrier particles that have significant masses, an unusual feature which is explained in the Standard Model by the Higgs mechanism.
Due to their large mass (approximately 90 GeV/c<sup>2</sup>) these carrier particles, called the W and Z bosons, are short-lived with a lifetime of under 10<sup>−24</sup> seconds. The weak interaction has a coupling constant (an indicator of how frequently interactions occur) between 10<sup>−7</sup> and 10<sup>−6</sup>, compared to the electromagnetic coupling constant of about 10<sup>−2</sup> and the strong interaction coupling constant of 1; consequently the weak interaction is "weak" in terms of intensity. The weak interaction has a very short effective range (around 10<sup>−17</sup> to 10<sup>−16</sup> m (0.01 to 0.1 fm)). At distances around 10<sup>−18</sup> meters (0.001 fm), the weak interaction has an intensity of a similar magnitude to the electromagnetic force, but this starts to decrease exponentially with increasing distance. Scaled up by just one and a half orders of magnitude, at distances of around 3×10<sup>−17</sup> m, the weak interaction becomes 10,000 times weaker.
The weak interaction affects all the fermions of the Standard Model, as well as the Higgs boson; neutrinos interact only through gravity and the weak interaction. The weak interaction does not produce bound states, nor does it involve binding energy – something that gravity does on an astronomical scale, the electromagnetic force does at the molecular and atomic levels, and the strong nuclear force does only at the subatomic level, inside of nuclei.
Its most noticeable effect is due to its first unique feature: The charged weak interaction causes flavour change. For example, a neutron is heavier than a proton (its partner nucleon) and can decay into a proton by changing the flavour (type) of one of its two down quarks to an up quark. Neither the strong interaction nor electromagnetism permit flavour changing, so this can only proceed by weak decay; without weak decay, quark properties such as strangeness and charm (associated with the strange quark and charm quark, respectively) would also be conserved across all interactions.
All mesons are unstable because of weak decay. In the process known as beta decay, a down quark in the neutron can change into an up quark by emitting a virtual boson, which then decays into an electron and an electron antineutrino. Another example is electron capture – a common variant of radioactive decay – wherein a proton and an electron within an atom interact and are changed to a neutron (an up quark is changed to a down quark), and an electron neutrino is emitted.
Due to the large masses of the W bosons, particle transformations or decays (e.g., flavour change) that depend on the weak interaction typically occur much more slowly than transformations or decays that depend only on the strong or electromagnetic forces. For example, a neutral pion decays electromagnetically, and so has a life of only about 10<sup>−16</sup> seconds. In contrast, a charged pion can only decay through the weak interaction, and so lives about 10<sup>−8</sup> seconds, or a hundred million times longer than a neutral pion. A particularly extreme example is the weak-force decay of a free neutron, which takes about 15 minutes.
### Weak isospin and weak hypercharge
All particles have a property called weak isospin (symbol T<sub>3</sub>), which serves as an additive quantum number that restricts how the particle can interact with the of the weak force. Weak isospin plays the same role in the weak interaction with as electric charge does in electromagnetism, and color charge in the strong interaction; a different number with a similar name, weak charge, discussed below, is used for interactions with the . All left-handed fermions have a weak isospin value of either ++1/2 or −+1/2; all right-handed fermions have 0 isospin. For example, the up quark has T<sub>3</sub> = ++1/2 and the down quark has T<sub>3</sub> = −+1/2. A quark never decays through the weak interaction into a quark of the same T<sub>3</sub>: Quarks with a T<sub>3</sub> of ++1/2 only decay into quarks with a T<sub>3</sub> of −+1/2 and conversely.
In any given strong, electromagnetic, or weak interaction, weak isospin is conserved: The sum of the weak isospin numbers of the particles entering the interaction equals the sum of the weak isospin numbers of the particles exiting that interaction. For example, a (left-handed) , with a weak isospin of +1 normally decays into a (with T<sub>3</sub> = ++1/2) and a (as a right-handed antiparticle, ++1/2).
For the development of the electroweak theory, another property, weak hypercharge, was invented, defined as
$Y_\text{W} = 2\,(Q - T_3),$
where Y<sub>W</sub> is the weak hypercharge of a particle with electrical charge Q (in elementary charge units) and weak isospin T<sub>3</sub>. Weak hypercharge is the generator of the U(1) component of the electroweak gauge group; whereas some particles have a weak isospin of zero, all known spin-1/2 particles have a non-zero weak hypercharge.
## Interaction types
There are two types of weak interaction (called vertices). The first type is called the "charged-current interaction" because the weakly interacting fermions form a current with total electric charge that is nonzero. The second type is called the "neutral-current interaction" because the weakly interacting fermions form a current with total electric charge of zero. It is responsible for the (rare) deflection of neutrinos. The two types of interaction follow different selection rules. This naming convention is often misunderstood to label the electric charge of the W and Z bosons, however the naming convention predates the concept of the mediator bosons, and clearly (at least in name) labels the charge of the current (formed from the fermions), not necessarily the bosons.
### Charged-current interaction
In one type of charged current interaction, a charged lepton (such as an electron or a muon, having a charge of −1) can absorb a boson (a particle with a charge of +1) and be thereby converted into a corresponding neutrino (with a charge of 0), where the type ("flavour") of neutrino (electron $\nu_\mathrm{e}$, muon $\nu_\mu$, or tau $\nu_\tau$) is the same as the type of lepton in the interaction, for example:
$\mu^- + \mathrm{W}^+ \to \nu_\mu$
Similarly, a down-type quark (d, s, or b, with a charge of −+ 1 /3) can be converted into an up-type quark (u, c, or t, with a charge of ++ 2 /3), by emitting a boson or by absorbing a boson. More precisely, the down-type quark becomes a quantum superposition of up-type quarks: that is to say, it has a possibility of becoming any one of the three up-type quarks, with the probabilities given in the CKM matrix tables. Conversely, an up-type quark can emit a boson, or absorb a boson, and thereby be converted into a down-type quark, for example:
<math>\begin{align}
` \mathrm{d} &\to \mathrm{u} + \mathrm{W}^- \\`
` \mathrm{d} + \mathrm{W}^+ &\to \mathrm{u} \\`
` \mathrm{c} &\to \mathrm{s} + \mathrm{W}^+ \\`
` \mathrm{c} + \mathrm{W}^- &\to \mathrm{s}`
\end{align}</math>
The W boson is unstable so will rapidly decay, with a very short lifetime. For example:
<math>\begin{align}
` \mathrm{W}^- &\to \mathrm{e}^- + \bar\nu_\mathrm{e} ~ \\`
` \mathrm{W}^+ &\to \mathrm{e}^+ + \nu_\mathrm{e} ~`
\end{align}</math>
Decay of a W boson to other products can happen, with varying probabilities.
In the so-called beta decay of a neutron (see picture, above), a down quark within the neutron emits a virtual boson and is thereby converted into an up quark, converting the neutron into a proton. Because of the limited energy involved in the process (i.e., the mass difference between the down quark and the up quark), the virtual boson can only carry sufficient energy to produce an electron and an electron-antineutrino – the two lowest-possible masses among its prospective decay products. At the quark level, the process can be represented as:
$\mathrm{d} \to \mathrm{u} + \mathrm{e}^- + \bar\nu_\mathrm{e} ~$
### Neutral-current interaction
In neutral current interactions, a quark or a lepton (e.g., an electron or a muon) emits or absorbs a neutral Z boson. For example:
$\mathrm{e}^- \to \mathrm{e}^- + \mathrm{Z}^0$
Like the bosons, the boson also decays rapidly, for example:
$\mathrm{Z}^0 \to \mathrm{b} + \bar \mathrm{b}$
Unlike the charged-current interaction, whose selection rules are strictly limited by chirality, electric charge, and / or weak isospin, the neutral-current interaction can cause any two fermions in the standard model to deflect: Either particles or anti-particles, with any electric charge, and both left- and right-chirality, although the strength of the interaction differs.
The quantum number weak charge (Q<sub>W</sub>) serves the same role in the neutral current interaction with the that electric charge (Q, with no subscript) does in the electromagnetic interaction: It quantifies the vector part of the interaction. Its value is given by:
$Q_\mathsf{w} = 2 \, T_3 - 4 \, Q \, \sin^2\theta_\mathsf{w} = 2 \, T_3 - Q + (1 - 4 \, \sin^2\theta_\mathsf{w}) \, Q ~.$
Since the weak mixing angle $\ \theta_\mathsf{w} \approx 29^\circ\ ,$ the parenthetic expression $\ (1 - 4 \, \sin^2\theta_\mathsf{w}) \approx 0.060\ ,$ with its value varying slightly with the momentum difference (called “running”) between the particles involved. Hence
$\ Q_\mathsf{w} \approx 2 \ T_3 - Q = \sgn(Q)\ \big(1 - |Q|\big)\ ,$
since by convention $\ \sgn T_3 \equiv \sgn Q\ ,$ and for all fermions involved in the weak interaction $\ T_3 = \pm\tfrac{1}{2} ~.$ The weak charge of charged leptons is then close to zero, so these mostly interact with the Z boson through the axial coupling.
## Electroweak theory
The Standard Model of particle physics describes the electromagnetic interaction and the weak interaction as two different aspects of a single electroweak interaction. This theory was developed around 1968 by Sheldon Glashow, Abdus Salam, and Steven Weinberg, and they were awarded the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. The Higgs mechanism provides an explanation for the presence of three massive gauge bosons (, , , the three carriers of the weak interaction), and the photon (γ, the massless gauge boson that carries the electromagnetic interaction).
According to the electroweak theory, at very high energies, the universe has four components of the Higgs field whose interactions are carried by four massless gauge bosons – each similar to the photon – forming a complex scalar Higgs field doublet. Likewise, there are four massless electroweak bosons. However, at low energies, this gauge symmetry is spontaneously broken down to the U(1) symmetry of electromagnetism, since one of the Higgs fields acquires a vacuum expectation value. Naïvely, the symmetry-breaking would be expected to produce three massless bosons, but instead those "extra" three Higgs bosons become incorporated into the three weak bosons, which then acquire mass through the Higgs mechanism. These three composite bosons are the , , and bosons actually observed in the weak interaction. The fourth electroweak gauge boson is the photon (γ) of electromagnetism, which does not couple to any of the Higgs fields and so remains massless.
This theory has made a number of predictions, including a prediction of the masses of the and bosons before their discovery and detection in 1983.
On 4 July 2012, the CMS and the ATLAS experimental teams at the Large Hadron Collider independently announced that they had confirmed the formal discovery of a previously unknown boson of mass between 125 and 127 GeV/c2, whose behaviour so far was "consistent with" a Higgs boson, while adding a cautious note that further data and analysis were needed before positively identifying the new boson as being a Higgs boson of some type. By 14 March 2013, a Higgs boson was tentatively confirmed to exist.
In a speculative case where the electroweak symmetry breaking scale were lowered, the unbroken SU(2) interaction would eventually become confining. Alternative models where SU(2) becomes confining above that scale appear quantitatively similar to the Standard Model at lower energies, but dramatically different above symmetry breaking.
## Violation of symmetry
The laws of nature were long thought to remain the same under mirror reflection. The results of an experiment viewed via a mirror were expected to be identical to the results of a separately constructed, mirror-reflected copy of the experimental apparatus watched through the mirror. This so-called law of parity conservation was known to be respected by classical gravitation, electromagnetism and the strong interaction; it was assumed to be a universal law. However, in the mid-1950s Chen-Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee suggested that the weak interaction might violate this law. Chien Shiung Wu and collaborators in 1957 discovered that the weak interaction violates parity, earning Yang and Lee the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Although the weak interaction was once described by Fermi's theory, the discovery of parity violation and renormalization theory suggested that a new approach was needed. In 1957, Robert Marshak and George Sudarshan and, somewhat later, Richard Feynman and Murray Gell-Mann proposed a V − A (vector minus axial vector or left-handed) Lagrangian for weak interactions. In this theory, the weak interaction acts only on left-handed particles (and right-handed antiparticles). Since the mirror reflection of a left-handed particle is right-handed, this explains the maximal violation of parity. The V − A theory was developed before the discovery of the Z boson, so it did not include the right-handed fields that enter in the neutral current interaction.
However, this theory allowed a compound symmetry CP to be conserved. CP combines parity P (switching left to right) with charge conjugation C (switching particles with antiparticles). Physicists were again surprised when in 1964, James Cronin and Val Fitch provided clear evidence in kaon decays that CP symmetry could be broken too, winning them the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1973, Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa showed that CP violation in the weak interaction required more than two generations of particles, effectively predicting the existence of a then unknown third generation. This discovery earned them half of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Unlike parity violation, CP violation occurs only in rare circumstances. Despite its limited occurrence under present conditions, it is widely believed to be the reason that there is much more matter than antimatter in the universe, and thus forms one of Andrei Sakharov's three conditions for baryogenesis.
## See also
- Weakless universe – the postulate that weak interactions are not anthropically necessary
- Gravity
- Strong interaction
- Electromagnetism |
52,829,535 | Stewart Friesen | 1,172,566,479 | Canadian racing driver | [
"1983 births",
"Canadian racing drivers",
"Living people",
"NASCAR drivers",
"People from Niagara-on-the-Lake",
"Racing drivers from New York (state)",
"Racing drivers from Ontario",
"Sportspeople from the Regional Municipality of Niagara"
] | Stewart J. Friesen (born July 25, 1983) is a Canadian-American professional dirt track and stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 52 Toyota Tundra for his own team, Halmar Friesen Racing, and part-time at local dirt tracks across New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and elsewhere in the United States, driving the No. 44 car for HFR.
## Racing career
### Early years
Friesen started racing early in life, his family owning Ransomville Speedway in Western New York. After racing go-karts, Friesen raced big-blocks with widespread success in the Northeast United States, advancing to the 2010 World Finals at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He was the 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Modified track champion at Fonda Speedway.
He was one of the top competitors in the SuperDIRT Series in the mid-2010s, and he also has triumphed in the World of Outlaws sprint car series, winning over 230 career races as of the end of the 2017 season. He has won the Syracuse 200 Modified race four times. Friesen has run over 900 dirt races in his career. Eventually, he met Chris Larsen, who gave Friesen his first NASCAR ride at Eldora Speedway, which was supposed to be a one-time deal. However, the partnership blossomed into a full-time ride.
On occasion, Friesen runs NASCAR and dirt on the same day. He maintains an active presence on New York dirt tracks such as Fonda Speedway and Utica-Rome Speedway.
### NASCAR
Breaking into NASCAR with the 2016 Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby, Friesen put his No. 16 Halmar Racing truck into the twelfth starting spot on the grid by virtue of a second-place finish in his heat. However, contact with Caleb Holman ruined his night, and Friesen's debut race resulted in a 28th-place finish. Running five more races in the season, Friesen recorded three top 20 finishes, the best being a 13th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
On January 9, 2017, Friesen announced that he would run the full 2017 season in the Halmar Friesen Racing (HFR) No. 52 truck with Tommy Baldwin Jr. coming on as a team manager. In June, following the first seven races of the season, HFR announced it would undergo a two-week hiatus before returning at Kentucky Speedway in July. At Eldora, Friesen qualified on the pole position and remained in the place for the start of the feature after winning his heat race. He led more than half the laps and claimed the victory in the second stage but lost the lead to Matt Crafton in the closing laps, finishing a then-career-best second. About a month after Eldora run, the team took another two-race break while severing its relationship with Baldwin and making a new technical alliance with GMS Racing. After returning to competition, Friesen scored four finishes of seventh or better in the season's last six races, climbing to fourteenth in the season-ending points tally.
For 2018, HFR continued the alliance with GMS, so much so that GMS driver Johnny Sauter referenced Friesen as a teammate. After advancing to the playoffs and a best finish of second on three occasions throughout the year, he finished seventh in the final points standings after being eliminated in the Round of 8.
Friesen remained at HFR in an alliance with GMS for the third straight year in 2019. He was also contacted by JR Motorsports to run a partial schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but nothing came of it. At Kansas Speedway, Friesen led both practices, won both Stage One and Stage Two and led the most laps, but ran out of fuel with three laps to go due to a pit communication on the previous pit stop, in which the fuelman did not put enough fuel in the truck, handing the win to Ross Chastain and relegating Friesen to 15th, furthering a streak of near-misses for Friesen. On August 1, 2019, Friesen won his first career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Eldora. On November 8, Friesen achieved his second career victory and his first on a paved track by winning at Phoenix after passing Brandon Jones with four laps remaining. As a result, Friesen qualified for the Championship 4 for the first time but ultimately finished 11th at Homestead and fourth in the final standings.
After missing the playoffs in 2020, Friesen later abandoned a full-time Truck schedule and skipped a race at Kansas Speedway in order to run the Short Track Super Series at Port Royal Speedway. On the night of the Kansas truck event, Friesen finished second to Mat Williamson in a \$53,000-to-win race at Port Royal.
Friesen returned with his No. 52 team to the Truck Series full-time in 2021, and despite having a worse season and missing the playoffs in 2020, HFR remained with Toyota. Later in the year, Friesen would make his debut in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 77 for Spire Motorsports in the series' new dirt race at Bristol. Despite driving a Toyota in the Truck Series, Friesen drove for Spire, a Chevrolet team, in this one race. He finished 23rd, one lap down. Despite not winning a Truck race for the second straight season, Friesen made the Playoffs, scored his best of 2nd in the season finale at Phoenix, and finished sixth in the final standings.
On May 20, 2022, Friesen broke a 54-race winless streak in the Truck Series by scoring his third career victory at Texas after passing Christian Eckes for the lead in Overtime.
## Personal life
Friesen grew up in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and played hockey as a child. He attended the University of Windsor, attaining a degree in science.
Friesen is married to Jessica Friesen (née Zemken). The two have one son. Friesen and his wife also run a t-shirt printing business (One-Zee Tees), which was originally a fallback plan in case racing did not work out. They live in Sprakers, New York. Like her husband, Jessica also is a dirt racing driver and she attempted to make her Truck Series debut in a second HFR truck, the No. 62, at the Bristol dirt race in 2021. However, she failed to qualify after the qualifying heat races were canceled due to rain.
## Motorsports career results
### NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. \* – Most laps led. Small number below track name denotes finishing position.)
#### Cup Series
#### Craftsman Truck Series
<sup>\*</sup> Season still in progress
<sup>1</sup> Ineligible for series points
#### Pinty's Series |
42,786,813 | Saints Row: The Third downloadable content | 1,163,953,967 | Downloadable content for a video game | [
"Lists of video game downloadable content",
"Organized crime video games",
"Saints Row",
"Video games developed in the United States"
] | Downloadable content for Saints Row: The Third was announced before the game's November 2011 release along with a commitment from publisher THQ to support 40 weeks of content. Among smaller upgrades, three main content packs were released: Genkibowl VII, Gangstas in Space, and The Trouble with Clones. Reviewers found all three packs short—around an hour in length—and considered The Trouble with Clones the best of the bunch.
Genkibowl VII, released in January 2012, brought four new activity types to Steelport around a Professor Genki-themed competition. Sad Panda Skyblazing, the only one of the four activities to not modify an existing activity type, was the reviewers' favorite. Gangstas in Space, released in February, is a three-mission story about a Saints-themed film production starring the player and fighting aliens. The Trouble with Clones, released in March, has the player tracking down and quelling a rampant clone of Saints leader Johnny Gat. Reviewers highly praised its "Saints Flow" superpower sequences, and questioned why they could not have been unlocked in the main game afterwards. All download packs offered unlocks upon their completion.
The Full Package, a version containing all of the game's downloadable content on disc alongside the main game, was released in November. Some of the smaller content items include costume, vehicle, and ability unlocks. THQ planned a standalone expansion of the game called Enter the Dominatrix. It was originally an April Fools' Day prank, that would be spun into Saints Row IV'''s downloadable content.
## The Full Package
Downloadable content for Saints Row: The Third was announced before the game's release, and has included additional story missions, weapons, and characters. The game's publisher, THQ, pledged "40 weeks" of downloadable content following the game's launch on November 15, 2011. A season pass offered a discount on the total cost of three downloadable content packs—Genkibowl VII, Gangstas in Space, and The Trouble with Clones—all scheduled for release by Q2 2012, and added the Nyte Blade vampire hunter content as a bonus.
A full release containing all downloadable content with the original game, Saints Row: The Third – The Full Package, was announced in September 2012 for release two months later on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The package included all three mission packs ("Genkibowl VII", "Gangstas in Space", and "The Trouble with Clones") as well as the add-on clothes, vehicles, and weapons. It was released on November 6, 2012 in North America, and ten days later internationally.
THQ announced an Enter the Dominatrix standalone expansion to the game as an April Fools' Day prank in 2012. It was confirmed as in development the next month. In Enter the Dominatrix, the alien commander Zinyak imprisons the Saints' leader in a simulation of Steelport called The Dominatrix so as to prevent interference when he takes over the planet. The expansion also added superpowers for the player-character. In June, THQ said the expansion would be wrapped into a full sequel, tentatively titled "The Next Great Sequel in the Saints Row Franchise" and scheduled for a 2013 release. Parts of Enter the Dominatrix that weren't incorporated into the sequel, Saints Row IV, were later released as Enter the Dominatrix downloadable content for the new title.
## Genkibowl VII
Genkibowl VII was the first downloadable mission pack of three to be released for Saints Row: The Third. The pack is structured around a contest with four different activities structured around a Professor Genki theme. Genki is a "homicidal man-cat" whose Super Ethical Reality Climax competitions are popular in Steelport, and the leader of the Saints is invited to participate in his annual Genkibowl. Zach and Bobby, the commentators associated with Professor Genki's shows, return to cover the competition with Tammy Tolliver.
Three of the four activities are "revamped versions" of other activities from the main game. Genki Apocalypse is a shooting minigame similar to the main game's Super Ethical Reality Climax, where the player travels through rooms shooting enemies and targets (such as Ethical and Money Shot targets) to earn money. Accidentally shooting the Sad Panda targets reduces the player's earnings. Unlike Super Ethical Reality Climax, Genki Apocalypse has a jungle theme, including shark-infested waters. The second activity, Super Ethical PR Opportunity, is based on the main game's Escort minigames, but the player instead escorts Professor Genki himself. The Genki Mobile car features flamethrowers around its periphery, for when Genki demands carnage en route. The car is unlocked upon finishing the activity. The third activity, Sexy Kitten Yarngasm, is a cross between the main game's Tank Mayhem activity and the Katamari series where the player rolls a destructive ball of yarn around the streets. The player must destroy a certain amount of property within a time limit. Upon completing the activity, the player unlocks Yarnie (the ball of yarn) as a vehicle. In the last activity, the new Sad Panda Skyblazing, the player dons a Sad Panda costume and jumps from a helicopter, falling through fire rings into Ethical balloons and onto rooftops to kill costumed mascots with a chainsaw. There are two instances of each activity on the map, and finishing each activity unlocks new costumes, support characters, and vehicles. The pack was released three months following the game, on January 17, 2012.
### Reception
Genkibowl VII received "generally unfavorable" and "mixed" reviews for its Xbox 360 and PlayStation versions, respectively, according to video game review score aggregator Metacritic. Reviewers complained that the pack was too short, with GameZone's David Sanchez and GameSpot's Carolyn Petit finishing it in under an hour. Official Xbox Magazine's Francesca Reyes called it "crazy short". Reviewers thought the new activity, Sad Panda Skyblazing, was the highlight of the pack, though Game Informer's Dan Ryckert thought it was "the most annoying of them all". Critics were dissatisfied by the amount of recycled content.
GameZone's Sanchez thought that the activities were "crazy" and "fun". He considered Super Ethical Reality Climax among the best activities in the main game, and was not surprised that Genki Apocalypse was "the most enjoyable" in the pack. Sanchez was frustrated by the charging enemies in Super Ethical PR Opportunity, and thought Sad Panda Skyblazing was the "craziest" and "most unique" of the four activities, fitting in with Saints Row: The Third's "insane nature". He did not feel that the game needed to be included in the original release, but thought there should have been at least five different opportunities to do each new activity. Similarly, Petit of GameSpot also thought only Sad Panda Skyblazing matched the main game in "zaniness", and said the pack felt "mundane" overall. She said that the story is more minor in the pack and that it was less funny than the main game. Petit was frustrated by the labyrinth-like design of some of the Genki Apocalypse levels, and was uninterested in Super Ethical PR Opportunity by the time the activity ended. Rock Paper Shotgun's John Walker wanted something more expansive for the first pack, and expected something more original and strange along the lines of Saints Row 2's "shit spraying" activity. UGO's Paul Furfari wrote that the lack of content is less disappointing if the player thinks of Genkibowl as "a small booster pack".
## Gangstas in Space
A month later, Gangstas in Space was released. In three missions, players continue the Saints Row: The Third story in a new arc about the Gangstas in Space film referenced in the main story. In the game, the film about the Saints is being directed by the self-interested Hollywood director Andy Zhen and the player is acting the final scenes of the film alongside a female co-star making her debut. In the first level, the player fights the military to save a female alien and controls the turret on the getaway vehicle. In the second, the player is in a shootout in a linear map. The last mission has the player in an aircraft fighting other aircraft while the co-star uploads viruses to transmitters. At the time of review, the player could not revisit the old missions to earn missed achievements, but was later patched. Costumes and vehicles are unlocked upon completing the pack. The pack was released in North America on February 21, 2012, and in Europe the next day.
### Reception
Gangstas in Space received "mixed or average" reviews, according to video game review score aggregator Metacritic. Reviewers found the pack similar in length to its predecessor.
GameZone's David Sanchez thought the quality was much better than the previous pack and that the missions were "lengthy", but still felt the game was still too short—an hour in duration. Official Xbox Magazine's Josh Abrams wrote that the pack had the "foul language, cool set-pieces, and satirical worldview" of the main game and a grindhouse feel, which he appreciated. Dan Ryckert of Game Informer called the story minimal and said that the pack's only difference from the game was the alien skins atop the main game's weapons and vehicles. He added that if they did not have the skins, the missions would "easily be some of the most uneventful in the game". Overall, Ryckert was disappointed with the first two content packs. Andrew Smee of Rock, Paper, Shotgun thought Gangstas in Space was the better of the final two packs, and praised the game's humorous voice acting as "the best since ... Psychonauts". He also found the cutscenes "fantastic" in comparison to BioWare's Mass Effect 3 scenes.
## The Trouble with Clones
When Saints leader Johnny Gat died, Saints fan and stereotypical nerd Jimmy Torbitson cloned him, beginning a three-mission series on capturing and quelling the superpowered clone, who acts like the "brute" enemy type in the main game. Torbitson narrates the missions like a superhero film. The first mission has the player fighting off enemy gangs and police, and the second involves a ploy to calm Gat with music while Torbitson dancing to distract Saints fans and the player tranquilizes the fans with a bee gun. In the final mission, the player drinks Torbitson's Saints Flow, granting superpowers such as speed, strength, and fireballs, and the player protects the clone Johnny Tag on a bridge from a military onslaught. Upon completion, the player unlocks two computer-controlled homies for support and a vehicle. The missions can be replayed. The pack was released March 20, 2012, halfway through THQ's promised 40 weeks of additional content.
### Reception
Similar to the other packs, The Trouble with Clones contained about an hour of gameplay. Reviewers thought the pack was the best of the set, and praised the Saints Flow superpowers sequence. Multiple reviewers questioned why the bee gun and superpowers were not unlocked in the main game.
Game Informer's Dan Ryckert said he found sprinting with Saints Flow to be preferable to driving, and that portion to be "a lot of fun". He was disappointed when the powers and "bee gun" did not unlock in the main game. Official Xbox Magazine's Josh Abrams compared the pack to a 1980s film with Torbitson's narration and praised both the part where a female brute attracts Gat, and the Saints Flow superpower sequence. He lamented not being able to export the powers back into the main game. GameZone's David Sanchez called the bee gun "a great deal of fun", but praised the final mission "freaking awesome" as "bleeding the madness that made so many gamers fall in love with Saints Row: The Third'' in the first place."
## Other content
- The Nyte Blade pack includes a vampire hunter-themed sports car and motorcycle, and altar boy and "bloody canoness" costumes.
- The Explosive Combat pack adds a "future soldier" costume and M2 grenade launcher, while the Z Style pack adds a "Z-style" suit and bling shotgun.
- The Warrior pack adds four Kabuki costumes. The Bloodsucker pack adds an ability to regenerate health by sucking the blood of non-playable characters, as well other ability upgrades.
- The free CheapyD Homie pack adds computer-controlled support with a character modeled on CheapyD of Cheap Ass Gamer. He felt honored to be included, even if he "bought [his] way in".
- A Penthouse pack includes support characters modeled on pornographic actresses Nikki Benz, Justine Joli, Ryan Keely, and Heather Vandeven. |
32,176,098 | Nils Vogt (journalist) | 1,173,799,296 | Norwegian journalist and newspaper editor. | [
"1859 births",
"1927 deaths",
"Journalists from Bergen",
"Knights of the Legion of Honour",
"Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog",
"Morgenbladet people",
"Norwegian literary critics",
"Norwegian newspaper editors",
"Norwegian theatre critics",
"University of Oslo alumni"
] | Nils Vogt (27 October 1859 – 27 June 1927) was a Norwegian journalist and newspaper editor. Born into a family of politicians and civil servants, he became the first chairman of the Norwegian Press Association and the Conservative Press Association. Vogt worked at the conservative newspaper Morgenbladet for 45 years, acting as editor-in-chief from 1894 to 1913. He wrote numerous articles during his lifetime, advocating independence from Sweden and the Riksmål standard of written Norwegian.
## Early life and education
Nils Vogt was born in Bergen as the son of politician Niels Petersen Vogt (1817–94) and his wife Karen Magdalena ("Kaja") Ancher Arntzen (1819–70). Amongst Nils Vogt's forebears were many politicians and government officials. His brother was Paul Benjamin Vogt (1863–1947) and his second cousins were Johan Vogt (1858–1932), Nils Collett Vogt (1864–1937) and Ragnar Vogt (1870–1943). Growing up in Kristiansand and Christiania (today Oslo), he finished his secondary education in 1876. He graduated with a cand.jur. degree in 1881 after having studied law at the Royal Frederick University in Christiania.
## Journalistic and political career
After a brief stint in Statistics Norway, Vogt began devoting his life to journalism, picking up a job for the newspaper Morgenbladet. His decision to make a career within journalism was met with disdain among his peers and family. He worked in the beginning as sub-editor for the editor-in-chief Christian Friele, whom he succeeded in 1894. The press historian Rune Ottosen writes in Vogt's entry for Norsk biografisk leksikon that he "unfolded his wide journalistic commitment for politics" in the newspaper. Having a profound interest in the plays of Henrik Ibsen, Vogt also wrote theatre reviews for the newspaper. From 1905 to 1915, Vogt was a correspondent to The Times. He subsequently was correspondent to Stockholms Dagblad and other newspapers in Northern Europe.
When it came to politics, Vogt was a conservative with many liberal opinions. He disagreed with Francis Hagerup, who supported the Union between Sweden and Norway. In his political articles, he championed the Riksmål written standard and the policies of Michelsen's Cabinet.
Having founded the Conservative Press Association in 1892, Vogt was its first chairman, serving from 1892 to 1898 and from 1906 to 1909. He was also elected the first chairman of the Norwegian Press Association (NP), notwithstanding his controversial position in the press of Kristiania. In 1910, he penned an article for the periodical Samtiden entitled "Pressen og kapitalen" ("The Press and The Capital"), in which he made the distinction between newspaper editors who were solely motivated by profit and those who regarded the job as an ideal life mission. The article was reprinted in his 1913 book Under Frieles haand og paa egen.
In 1910, controversy arose in the NP when lawyer Olaf Madsen – who had cooperated with Ola Thommessen for more than 20 years at the newspaper Verdens Gang and was responsible for its economic decisions – wanted to have more dividend for his investments in the newspaper. Editor Ola Thommessen considered this to be an inappropriate intervention in the editorial part of the newspaper, and took his staff with him and started a new newspaper named Tidens Tegn. Vogt supported Thommessen in his decision, and came at odds with the chairman of Morgenbladet's board, lawyer and politician Edmund Harbitz. Both left Morgenbladet in the summer of 1913 as a result of the disaccord, although Vogt continued as theatre and literature critic in the paper until his 1927 death. As editor, Vogt was succeeded by C. J. Hambro.
## Marriage, honours and death
On 6 November 1884, Vogt married Helena Andrea Ottesen (1861–1906). Acting as Norwegian president in the Nordic press partnership, he attended the press meetings in Kristiania in 1899 and in Copenhagen in 1902. He was also delegated to the international press congresses in Stockholm (1897), Rome (1899) and Berlin (1909). He was decorated as a Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1907. He was also a knight of the Danish Order of the Dannebrog and the French Legion of Honour. Vogt died in Aker (now Oslo) on 27 June 1927. |
35,501,667 | Miracle of the Moment | 1,161,876,445 | null | [
"2007 singles",
"2007 songs",
"Songs written by Matt Bronleewe",
"Sparrow Records singles",
"Steven Curtis Chapman songs"
] | "Miracle of the Moment" is a song recorded by contemporary Christian singer and songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman. Written and produced by Chapman and Matt Bronleewe, it was released as the lead single from Chapman's 2007 studio album This Moment. Lyrically, the song challenges the listener to let go of their past regrets and live in the moment.
"Miracle of the Moment" received positive reviews from critics, several of whom praised the song's lyrical message, and it has been performed by Chapman on his concert tours. The song has been included on several compilation albums; an acoustic version has also been released. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Christian AC chart and at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart, as well as at No. 3 on the Radio & Records Christian AC chart and at No. 4 on the Radio & Records INSPO chart.
## Background and composition
According to Steven Curtis Chapman, the idea for "Miracle of the Moment" came out of a song he had written called "Find Me", which did not end up being included on This Moment. He reflected that he thought "God was just saying 'I really just want you to be present in this moment - the good ones, the bad ones - all that'". "Miracle of the Moment" was written and produced by Chapman and Matt Bronlewee. It was mixed by F. Reid Shippen and mastered by Ted Jensen.
"Miracle of the Moment" is a contemporary Christian song with a length of three minutes and twenty-eight seconds. It is set in common time in the key of A major and has a tempo of 84 beats per minute, with a vocal range spanning from the low note of F<sub>4</sub> to the high note of E<sub>5</sub>. Chapman's vocal delivery on the song is "matured" and "slightly sandy", while the lyrics challenge the listener to let go of past regrets and to live in the moment.
## Reception
### Critical reception
"Miracle of the Moment" met with a positive critical reception upon the release of This Moment. John DiBiase of Jesus Freak Hideout praised the song as "possibly the album's strongest offering" and said that its message is one "most everyone can gravitate towards". Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today commented that "Miracle of the Moment" sets up the message of This Moment, which he defined as "enjoying the God-given time we're blessed with". Deborah Evans Price of CCM Magazine regarded the song as a "meaningful anthem" and stated that it would "take its place alongside [Steven Curtis] Chapman classics such as 'For the Sake of the Call' and 'The Great Adventure'".
### Chart performance
"Miracle of the Moment" was released as the lead single from Chapman's 2007 studio album This Moment and began going for adds on Christian AC radio on July 20, 2007. On the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart, it debuted at No. 26 for the chart week of August 18, 2007; it was the second-highest debuting song of that chart week on the Hot Christian Songs chart, with only Relient K's "Give Until There's Nothing Left" debuting higher on that particular week. "Miracle of the Moment" advanced to No. 20 in its second chart week, and to No. 16 in its third chart week. In its eighth chart week, the song advanced to No. 10 on the Hot Christian Songs chart, and it moved to No. 6 in its tenth chart week. The song advanced to No. 5 in its twelfth chart week, and advanced to its peak position of No. 4 in its fourteenth chart week. In total, "Miracle of the Moment" spent twenty weeks on the Hot Christian Songs chart. The song spent twenty-one weeks on the Billboard Hot Christian AC chart, peaking at No. 3 for the chart week of November 2, 2007. "Miracle of the Moment" also peaked at No. 3 on the Radio & Records Christian AC chart and at No. 4 on the Radio & Records INSPO chart.
## Live performances
Steven Curtis Chapman has performed "Miracle of the Moment" on his concert tours, including the Live in the Moment Tour, The United Tour, and the Stories and Songs Tour. At a concert of November 13, 2007 at Calvary Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Chapman performed the song as part of his setlist. At a concert with fellow contemporary Christian singer Michael W. Smith on April 4, 2009 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Chapman performed the song as the third song of his opening setlist. On October 6, 2011 at Calvary Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Chapman performed the song as part of an exclusive acoustic session.
## Other uses
"Miracle of the Moment" has been included on the compilation album WOW Hits 1 and Discover: Steven Curtis Chapman. Acoustic versions of the song were included on the "Special Edition" of This Moment and the compilation album Acoustic Playlist - Medium: A New Blend of Your Favorite Songs. A live version of the song was included on the live EP Live in This Moment Tour EP.
## Charts
### Weekly
### Year-end |
2,928,652 | Samuel Aba | 1,163,484,457 | null | [
"1044 deaths",
"10th-century Hungarian people",
"11th-century Hungarian people",
"Aba (genus)",
"Executed monarchs",
"Kings of Hungary",
"Palatines of Hungary",
"Year of birth unknown"
] | Samuel Aba (Hungarian: Aba Sámuel; before 990 or c. 1009 – 5 July 1044) reigned as King of Hungary between 1041 and 1044. He was born to a prominent family with extensive domains in the region of the Mátra Hills. Based on reports in the Gesta Hungarorum and other Hungarian chronicles about the non-Hungarian origin of the Aba family, modern historians write that the Abas headed the Kabar tribes that seceded from the Khazar Khaganate and joined the Hungarians in the 9th century.
Around 1009, Samuel or his father married a sister of Stephen I, the first King of Hungary. Thereafter the originally pagan or Judaism (because of Khazar-elite-link) Aba family converted to Christianity. King Stephen appointed Samuel to head the royal court as his palatine. However, the king died in 1038, and the new monarch, Peter the Venetian, removed Samuel from his post.
The Hungarian lords dethroned Peter in 1041 and elected Ispán Samuel as king. According to the unanimous narration of the Hungarian chronicles, Samuel preferred commoners to noblemen, causing discontent among his former partisans. His execution of many opponents brought him into conflict with Bishop Gerard of Csanád. In 1044, Peter the Venetian returned with the assistance of the German monarch, Henry III, who defeated Samuel's larger army at the battle of Ménfő near Győr. Samuel fled from the battlefield but was captured and killed.
## Origins and early life
According to the anonymous author of the Gesta Hungarorum, Samuel's family descended from two "Cuman" chieftains, Ed and Edemen, who received "a great land in the forest of Mátra" from Árpád, Grand Prince of the Hungarians around 900. The 13th-century historian Simon of Kéza, and the 14th-century Hungarian chronicles describe the Aba kindred as descendants of Csaba (himself a son of Attila the Hun) by a lady from Khwarezm. Since all Hungarian chronicles emphasize the Oriental – either "Cuman" or "Khwarezmian" – origin of the Abas, Gyula Kristó, László Szegfű and other historians propose that the Aba clan descending from them ruled the Kabars, a people of Khazar origin who joined the Hungarians in the middle of the 9th century, before the Hungarians' arrival in the Carpathian Basin around 895. Kristó argues that both Samuel's Khazar origin and his first name suggest that he was born to a family that adhered to Judaism.
Despite the uncertainty over the clan's origins, Samuel undoubtedly descended from a distinguished family, since an unnamed sister of Stephen I, who had in 1000 or 1001 been crowned the first King of Hungary, was given in marriage to a member of the Aba clan around 1009. However, historians still debate whether Samuel himself or Samuel's father married the royal princess. If Samuel was her husband, he must have been born before 990 and converted – either from Judaism or paganism – to Christianity when he married Stephen I's sister. His Christian credentials are further evidenced by Samuel's establishment of an abbey at Abasár which was recorded by Hungarian chronicles. According to Gyula Kristó and other historians, Samuel's conversion coincided with the creation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Eger encompassing his domains.
Samuel held important offices during the reign of King Stephen. Pál Engel proposes that Abaújvár ("Aba's new castle") was named after him, implying that he was also the first ispán, or head, of that fortress and the county surrounding it. Samuel was a member of the royal council and became the first palatine of Hungary. The death of King Stephen on 15 August 1038 led to his nephew, Peter Orseolo of Venice, ascending to the throne. The new monarch preferred his German and Italian courtiers and set aside the native lords, including Samuel. In 1041, discontented Hungarian noblemen expelled King Peter in a coup d'état and elected Samuel king.
## King of Hungary
> ... King Aba became insolent and began to rage cruelly against the Hungarians. For he held that all things should be in common between lords and servants; but to have violated his oath he considered a mere trifle. Despising the nobles of the kingdom, he consorted with peasants and commoners. The Hungarian nobles were unwilling to endure this from him, and chafing under this insulting behaviour they conspired and plotted that they would kill him. But one of them informed the King of the conspiracy against his life, whereupon the King imprisoned as many of them as he could and had them put to death without examination or trial, which did great damage to his cause.
Samuel abolished all laws introduced by Peter the Venetian and had many of his predecessor's supporters killed or tortured. The contemporaneous Hermann of Reichenau even called him "the tyrant of Hungary" in his Chronicon. Hungarian chronicles sharply criticized Samuel for socializing with the peasants instead of the nobles. Samuel even abolished some levies payable by the commoners.
Following his ousting, Peter the Venetian took refuge in Germany. In response, Samuel stormed Austria in 1042, provoking a retaliatory invasion by the German monarch, Henry III in 1043. It forced Samuel to renounce all Hungarian territories to the west of the rivers Leitha and Morava as well as agree to the payment of a tribute. The funding of the tribute payment was through new taxes on the Christian prelates and seizure of Church estates. This policy caused discontent even among the members of Samuel's own council. He had a number of his councillors executed during Lent. In order to punish the king, Bishop Gerard of Csanád (modern-day Cenad, Romania) refused to perform the annual ceremony of putting the royal crown upon the monarch's head at Easter.
King Henry III again invaded Hungary in 1044 to restore Peter the Venetian. The decisive battle was fought at Ménfő near Győr, where Samuel's army was routed. Samuel's fate following the battle is still uncertain. According to nearly contemporaneous German sources, he was captured in short order and executed on Peter the Venetian's command. However, 14th-century Hungarian chronicles narrate that he fled up the river Tisza where he was seized and murdered by the locals. The latter sources further state that Samuel was first buried in a nearby church, but was later transferred to his family's monastery at Abasár.
> When King Aba had broken his oath and his treaty, King Henry invaded Hungary with a very small force. Aba, who had equipped a very large army, held him in such contempt that he allowed him to enter the province, as though it would be easy to kill or to capture him. Henry, however, trusting in divine help, rapidly crossed the River Raab with part of his force and began the battle, while all the knights rushed hither and thither. In the first attack he defeated and put to flight the innumerable army of the Hungarians, losing very few of his own men. He himself fought very bravely and he won a most glorious victory on 5 July. King Aba narrowly escaped by fleeing, while all the Hungarians rushed in crowds to surrender to King Henry and promised subjection and service. ... Not long afterwards Aba was taken prisoner by King Peter and paid the penalty of his crimes with his head.
## Family
No report on the fate of Samuel's widow and children has been preserved. Even so, historians – including Gyula Kristó and László Szegfű – suppose that the powerful Aba family descended from him.
## See also
- Aba (family)
- Abaújvár |
1,408,123 | Presbyterian Church in the United States of America | 1,173,141,815 | Historical Presbyterian organization | [
"1789 establishments in Pennsylvania",
"Orthodox Presbyterian Church",
"Presbyterian Church (USA) predecessor churches",
"Presbyterian denominations in the United States",
"Presbyterian organizations established in the 18th century",
"Protestant denominations established in the 18th century",
"Religious organizations established in 1789"
] | The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was the first national Presbyterian denomination in the United States, existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America, a denomination with roots in the Seceder and Covenanter traditions of Presbyterianism. The new church was named the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. It was a predecessor to the contemporary Presbyterian Church (USA).
The denomination had its origins in colonial times when members of the Church of Scotland and Presbyterians from Ireland first immigrated to America. After the American Revolution, the PCUSA was organized in Philadelphia to provide national leadership for Presbyterians in the new nation. In 1861, Presbyterians in the Southern United States split from the denomination because of disputes over slavery, politics, and theology precipitated by the American Civil War. They established the Presbyterian Church in the United States, often simply referred to as the "Southern Presbyterian Church". Due to its regional identification, the PCUSA was commonly described as the Northern Presbyterian Church. Despite the PCUSA's designation as a "Northern church", it was once again a national denomination in its later years.
Over time, traditional Calvinism played less of a role in shaping the church's doctrines and practices—it was influenced by Arminianism and revivalism early in the 19th century, liberal theology late in the 19th century, and neo-orthodoxy by the mid-20th century. The theological tensions within the denomination were played out in the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy of the 1920s and 1930s, a conflict that led to the development of Christian fundamentalism and has historical importance to modern American evangelicalism. Conservatives dissatisfied with liberal trends left to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1936.
## History
### Colonial era
#### Early organization efforts (1650–1729)
The origins of the Presbyterian Church is the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. The writings of French theologian and lawyer John Calvin (1509–64) solidified much of the Reformed thinking that came before him in the form of the sermons and writings of Huldrych Zwingli. John Knox, a former Catholic priest from Scotland who studied with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland, took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland and led the Scottish Reformation of 1560. As a result, the Church of Scotland embraced Reformed theology and presbyterian polity. The Ulster Scots brought their Presbyterian faith with them to Ireland, where they laid the foundation of what would become the Presbyterian Church of Ireland.
By the second half of the 17th century, Presbyterians were immigrating to British North America. Scottish and Scotch-Irish immigrants contributed to a strong Presbyterian presence in the Middle Colonies, particularly Philadelphia. Before 1706, however, Presbyterian congregations were not yet organized into presbyteries or synods.
In 1706, seven ministers led by Francis Makemie established the first presbytery in North America, the Presbytery of Philadelphia. The presbytery was primarily created to promote fellowship and discipline among its members and only gradually developed into a governing body. Initially, member congregations were located in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Further growth led to the creation of the Synod of Philadelphia (known as the "General Synod") in 1717. The synod's membership consisted of all ministers and one lay elder from every congregation.
The synod still had no official confessional statement. The Church of Scotland and the Irish Synod of Ulster already required clergy to subscribe to the Westminster Confession. In 1729, the synod passed the Adopting Act, which required clergy to assent to the Westminster Confession and Larger and Shorter Catechisms. However, subscription was only required for those parts of the Confession deemed an "essential and necessary article of faith". Ministers could declare any scruples to their presbytery or the synod, which would then decide if the minister's views were acceptable. While crafted as a compromise, the Adopting Act was opposed by those who favored strict adherence to the Confession.
#### Old Side–New Side Controversy (1730–1758)
During the 1730s and 1740s, the Presbyterian Church was divided over the impact of the First Great Awakening. Drawing from the Scotch-Irish revivalist tradition, evangelical ministers such as William and Gilbert Tennent emphasized the necessity of a conscious conversion experience and the need for higher moral standards among the clergy.
Other Presbyterians were concerned that revivalism presented a threat to church order. In particular, the practice of itinerant preaching across presbytery boundaries and the tendency of revivalists to doubt the conversion experiences of other ministers caused controversy between supporters of revivalism, known as the "New Side", and their conservative opponents, known as the "Old Side". While the Old Side and New Side disagreed over the possibility of immediate assurance of salvation, the controversy was not primarily theological. Both sides believed in justification by faith, predestination, and that regeneration occurred in stages.
In 1738, the synod moved to restrict itinerant preaching and to tighten educational requirements for ministers, actions the New Side resented. Tensions between the two sides continued to escalate until the Synod of May 1741, which ended with a definite split between the two factions. The Old Side retained control of the Synod of Philadelphia, and it immediately required unconditional subscription to the Westminster Confession with no option to state scruples. The New Side founded the Synod of New York. The new Synod required subscription to the Westminster Confession in accordance with the Adopting Act, but no college degrees were required for ordination.
While the controversy raged, American Presbyterians were also concerned with expanding their influence. In 1740, a New York Board of the Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge was established. Four years later, David Brainerd was assigned as a missionary to the Native Americans. New Side Presbyterians were responsible for founding Princeton University (originally the College of New Jersey) primarily to train ministers in 1746.
By 1758, both sides were ready for reconciliation. Over the years, New Side revivalism had become less radical. At the same time, Old Side Presbyterians were experiencing numerical decline and were eager to share in the New Side's vitality and growth. The two synods merged to become the Synod of New York and Philadelphia. The united Synod was founded on New Side terms: subscription according to the terms of the Adopting Act; presbyteries were responsible for examining and licensing ordination candidates; candidates were to be examined for learning, orthodoxy and their "experimental acquaintance with religion" (i.e. their personal conversion experiences); and revivals were acknowledged as a work of God.
### American Independence (1770–1789)
In the early 1770s, American Presbyterians were initially reluctant to support American Independence, but in time many Presbyterians came to support the Revolutionary War. After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Synod of New York and Philadelphia published a letter in May 1775 urging Presbyterians to support the Second Continental Congress while remaining loyal to George III. In one sermon, John Witherspoon, president of Princeton, preached "that the cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of justice, of liberty, and of human nature". Witherspoon and 11 other Presbyterians were signatories to the Declaration of Independence.
Even before the war, many Presbyterian felt that the single synod system was no longer adequate to meet the needs of a numerically and geographically expanding church. All clergy were supposed to attend annual meetings of the synod, but some years attendance was less than thirty percent. In 1785, a proposal for the creation of a General Assembly went before the synod, and a special committee was formed to draw up a plan of government.
Under the plan, the old synod was divided into four new synods all under the authority of the General Assembly. The synods were New York and New Jersey, Philadelphia, Virginia, and the Carolinas. Compared to the Church of Scotland, the plan gave presbyteries more power and autonomy. Synods and the General Assembly were to be "agencies for unifying the life of the Church, considering appeals, and promoting the general welfare of the Church as a whole." The plan included provisions from the Church of Scotland's Barrier Act of 1697, which required the General Assembly to receive the approval of a majority of presbyteries before making major changes to the church's constitution and doctrine. The constitution included the Westminster Confession of Faith, together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, as the church's subordinate standard (i.e. subordinate to the Bible) in addition to the (substantially altered) Westminster Directory. The Westminster Confession was modified to bring its teaching on civil government in line with American practices.
In 1787, the plan was sent to the presbyteries for ratification. The synod held its last meeting in May 1788. The first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America met in Philadelphia in May 1789. At that time, the church had four synods, 16 presbyteries, 177 ministers, 419 congregations and an estimated membership of 18,000.
### 19th century
#### Interdenominational societies
The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw Americans leaving the Eastern Seaboard to settle further inland. One of the results was that the PCUSA signed a Plan of Union with the Congregationalists of New England in 1801, which formalized cooperation between the two bodies and attempted to provide adequate visitation and preaching for frontier congregations, along with eliminating rivalry between the two denominations. The large growth rate of the Presbyterian Church in the Northeast was in part due to the adoption of Congregationalist settlers along the western frontier.
Not unlike the circuit riders in the Episcopal and Methodist traditions, the presbyteries often sent out licentiates to minister in multiple congregations that were spread out over a wide area. To meet the need for educated clergy, Princeton Theological Seminary and Union Presbyterian Seminary were founded in 1812, followed by Auburn Theological Seminary in 1821.
Growth in the Northeast was accompanied by the creation of moral reform organizations, such as Sunday schools, temperance associations, tract and Bible societies, and orphanages. The proliferation of voluntary organizations was encouraged by postmillennialism, the belief that the Second Coming of Christ would occur at the end of an era of peace and prosperity fostered by human effort. The 1815 General Assembly recommended the creation of societies to promote morality. Organizations such as the American Bible Society, the American Sunday School Union, and the American Colonization Society, while theoretically interdenominational, were dominated by Presbyterians and considered unofficial agencies of the Presbyterian Church.
The support of missionary work was also a priority in the 19th century. The first General Assembly requested that each of the four synods appoint and support two missionaries. Presbyterians took leading roles in creating early local and independent mission societies, including the New York Missionary Society (1796), the Northern Berkshire and Columbia Missionary Societies (1797), the Missionary Society of Connecticut (1798), the Massachusetts Missionary Society (1799), and the Boston Female Society for Missionary Purposes (1800). The first denominational missions agency was the Standing Committee on Mission, which was created in 1802 to coordinate efforts with individual presbyteries and the European missionary societies. The work of the committee was expanded in 1816, becoming the Board of Missions.
In 1817, the General Assembly joined with two other Reformed denominations, the American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church (now the Reformed Church in America) and the Associate Reformed Church, to form the United Foreign Missionary Society. The United Society was particularly focused on work among Native Americans and inhabitants of Central and South America. These denominations also established a United Domestic Missionary Society to station missionaries within the United States.
In 1826, the Congregationalists joined these united efforts. The Congregational mission societies were merged with the United Domestic Missionary Society to become the American Home Missionary Society. The Congregational American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) became the recognized missions agency of the General Assembly, and the United Foreign Missionary Society's operations were merged with the American Board. By 1831, the majority of board members and missionaries of the ABCFM were Presbyterians. As a result, most of the local churches established by the organization were Presbyterian.
#### Second Great Awakening
Another major stimulus for growth was the Second Great Awakening (c. 1790 – 1840), which initially grew out of a 1787 student revival at Hampden–Sydney College, a Presbyterian institution in Virginia. From there, revivals spread to Presbyterian churches in Virginia and then to North Carolina and Kentucky. The Revival of 1800 was one such revival that first grew out of meetings led by Presbyterian minister James McGready. The most famous camp meeting of the Second Great Awakening, the Cane Ridge Revival in Kentucky, occurred during a traditional Scottish communion season under the leadership of local Presbyterian minister Barton W. Stone. Over 10 thousand people came to Cane Ridge to hear sermons from Presbyterian as well as Methodist and Baptist preachers.
Like the First Great Awakening, Presbyterian ministers were divided over their assessment of the fruits of the new wave of revivals. Many pointed to "excesses" displayed by some participants as signs that the revivals were theologically compromised, such as groans, laughter, convulsions and "jerks" (see religious ecstasy, holy laughter and slain in the Spirit). There was also concern over the tendency of revivalist ministers to advocate the free will teaching of Arminianism, thereby rejecting the Calvinist doctrines of predestination.
Facing charges of heresy for their Arminian beliefs, Presbyterian ministers Richard McNemar and John Thompson, along with Barton W. Stone and two other ministers, chose to withdraw from the Kentucky Synod and form the independent Springfield Presbytery in 1803. These ministers would later dissolve the Springfield Presbytery and become the founders of the American Restoration Movement, from which the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Churches of Christ denominations originate.
Meanwhile, the Cumberland Presbytery, also within the Kentucky Synod, faced a shortage of ministers and decided to license clergy candidates who were less educated than was typical and who could not subscribe completely to the Westminster Confession. In 1805, the synod suspended many of these ministers, even bringing heresy charges against a number of them, and by 1806 the synod had dissolved the presbytery. In 1810, ministers dissatisfied with the actions of the synod formed the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (CPC). The CPC subscribed to a modified form of the Westminster Confession that rejected the Calvinist doctrines of double predestination and limited atonement.
Church growth in the Northeast was also accompanied by revivalism. While calmer and more reserved than those in the South, the revivals of the Second Great Awakening transformed religion in the Northeast, and they were often led by Presbyterians and Congregationalists. The Plan of Union led to the spread of New England theology (also known as the New Divinity and New Haven theology), originally conceived by Congregationalists. The New England theology modified and softened traditional Calvinism, rejecting the doctrine of imputation of Adam's sin, adopting the governmental theory of atonement, and embracing a greater emphasis on free will. It was essentially an attempt to construct a Calvinism conducive to revivalism. While the Synod of Philadelphia condemned the New Divinity as heretical in 1816, the General Assembly disagreed, concluding that New England theology did not conflict with the Westminster Confession.
#### Old School–New School Controversy
Notwithstanding the General Assembly's attempt to promote peace and unity, two distinct factions, the Old School and the New School, developed through the 1820s over the issues of confessional subscription, revivalism, and the spread of New England theology. The New School faction advocated revivalism and New England theology, while the Old School was opposed to the extremes of revivalism and desired strict conformity to the Westminster Confession. The ideological center of Old School Presbyterianism was Princeton Theological Seminary, which under the leadership of Archibald Alexander and Charles Hodge became associated with a brand of Reformed scholasticism known as Princeton Theology.
Heresy trials of prominent New School leaders further deepened the division within the denomination. Both the Presbytery and Synod of Philadelphia found Albert Barnes, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, guilty of heresy. Old School Presbyterians, however, were outraged when the New School dominated General Assembly of 1831 dismissed the charges. Lyman Beecher, famous revivalist, moral reformer and president of the newly established Lane Theological Seminary, was charged with heresy in 1835 but was also acquitted.
The most radical figure in the New School faction was prominent evangelist Charles Grandison Finney. Finney's revivals were characterized by his "New Measures", which included protracted meetings, extemporaneous preaching, the anxious bench, and prayer groups. Albert Baldwin Dod accused Finney of preaching Pelagianism and urged him to leave the Presbyterian Church. Finney did just that in 1836 when he joined the Congregational church as pastor of the Broadway Tabernacle in New York City.
The Old School faction was convinced that the Plan of Union with the Congregational churches had undermined Presbyterian doctrine and order. At the 1837 General Assembly, the Old School majority successfully passed resolutions removing all judicatories found under the Plan from the Presbyterian Church. In total, three synods in New York and one synod in Ohio along with 28 presbyteries, 509 ministers, and 60 thousand church members (one-fifth of the PCUSA's membership) were excluded from the church. New School leaders reacted by meeting in Auburn, New York, and issuing the Auburn Declaration, a 16-point defense of their Calvinist orthodoxy.
When the General Assembly met in May 1838 at Philadelphia, the New School commissioners attempted to be seated but were forced to leave and convene their own General Assembly elsewhere in the city. The Old School and New School factions had finally split into two separate churches that were about equal in size. Both churches, however, claimed to be the Presbyterian Church in the USA. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided that the Old School body was the legal successor of the undivided PCUSA.
#### Slavery dispute and Civil War division
The Synod of Philadelphia and New York had expressed moderate abolitionist sentiments in 1787 when it recommended that all its members "use the most prudent measures consistent with the interests and state of civil society, in the countries where they live, to procure eventually the final abolition of slavery in America". At the same time, Presbyterians in the South were content to reinforce the status quo in their religious teaching, such as in "The Negro Catechism" written by North Carolina Presbyterian minister Henry Pattillo. In Pattillo's catechism, slaves were taught that their roles in life had been ordained by God.
In 1795, the General Assembly ruled that slaveholding was not grounds for excommunication but also expressed support for the eventual abolition of slavery. Later, the General Assembly called slavery "a gross violation of the most precious and sacred rights of human nature; as utterly inconsistent with the law of God". Nevertheless, in 1818, George Bourne, an abolitionist and Presbyterian minister serving in Virginia, was defrocked by his Southern presbytery in retaliation for his strong criticisms of Christian slaveholders. The General Assembly was increasingly reluctant to address the issue, preferring to take a moderate stance in the debate, but by the 1830s, tensions over slavery were increasing at the same time the church was dividing over the Old School–New School Controversy.
The conflict between Old School and New School factions merged with the slavery controversy. The New School's enthusiasm for moral reform and voluntary societies was evident in its increasing identification with the abolitionist movement. The Old School, however, was convinced that the General Assembly and the larger church should not legislate on moral issues that were not explicitly addressed in the Bible. This effectively drove the majority of Southern Presbyterians to support the Old School faction.
The first definitive split over slavery occurred within the New School Presbyterian Church. In 1858, Southern synods and presbyteries belonging to the New School withdrew and established the pro-slavery United Synod of the Presbyterian Church. Old School Presbyterians followed in 1861 after the start of hostilities in the American Civil War. In May, the Old School General Assembly passed the controversial Gardiner Spring Resolutions, which called for Presbyterians to support the Constitution and Federal Government of the United States.
In response, representatives of Old School presbyteries in the South met in December at Augusta, Georgia, to form the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America. The Presbyterian Church in the CSA absorbed the smaller United Synod in 1864. After the Confederacy's defeat in 1865, it was renamed the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) and was commonly nicknamed the "Southern Presbyterian Church" throughout its history, while the PCUSA was known as the "Northern Presbyterian Church".
#### Old School-New School reunion in the North
By the 1850s, New School Presbyterians in the North had moved to more moderate positions and reasserted a stronger Presbyterian identity. This was helped in 1852 when the Plan of Union between the New School Church and the Congregationalists was discontinued. Northern Presbyterians of both the Old and New School participated in the Christian Commission that provided religious and social services to Union soldiers during the Civil War. Furthermore, both schools boldly proclaimed the righteousness of the Union cause and engaged in speculation about the role of a newly restored America in ushering in the millennium. This was, in effect, the Old School's repudiation of its teaching against involving the church in political affairs.
A majority of Old School leaders in the North were convinced of the orthodoxy of the New School. Some within the Old School, chiefly Princeton theologian Charles Hodge, claimed that there were still ministers within the New School who adhered to New Haven theology. Nevertheless, the Old and New School General Assemblies in the North and a majority of their presbyteries approved the reunion in 1869 of the PCUSA.
#### Higher criticism and the Briggs heresy trial
In the decades after the reunion of 1869, conservatives expressed fear over the threat of "broad churchism" and modernist theology. Such fears were prompted in part by heresy trials (such as the 1874 acquittal of popular Chicago preacher David Swing) and a growing movement to revise the Westminster Confession. This liberal movement was opposed by Princeton theologians A. A. Hodge and B. B. Warfield.
While Darwinian evolution never became an issue for northern Presbyterians as most accommodated themselves to some form of theistic evolution, the new discipline of biblical interpretation known as higher criticism would become highly controversial. Utilizing comparative linguistics, archaeology, and literary analysis, German proponents of high criticism, such as Julius Wellhausen and David Friedrich Strauss, began questioning long-held assumptions about the Bible. At the forefront of the controversy in the PCUSA was Charles A. Briggs, a professor at PCUSA's Union Theological Seminary in New York.
While Briggs held to traditional Christian teaching in many areas, such as his belief in the virgin birth of Jesus, conservatives were alarmed by his assertion that doctrines were historical constructs that had to change over time. He did not believe that the Pentateuch was authored by Moses or that the book of Isaiah had a single author. In addition, he also denied that Biblical prophecy was a precise prediction of the future. In 1891, Briggs preached a sermon in which he claimed the Bible contained errors, a position many in the church considered contrary to the Westminster Confession's doctrines of verbal inspiration and Biblical inerrancy.
In response, 63 presbyteries petitioned the General Assembly to take action against Briggs. The 1891 General Assembly vetoed his appointment to Union Theological Seminary's chair of Biblical studies, and two years later Briggs was found guilty of heresy and suspended from the ministry. Ultimately, Union Theological Seminary refused to remove Briggs from his position and severed its ties to the Presbyterian Church.
In 1892, conservatives in the General Assembly were successful in adopting the Portland Deliverance, a statement named for the assembly's meeting place, Portland, Oregon. The Deliverance reasserted the church's belief in biblical inerrancy and required any minister who could not affirm the Bible as "the only infallible rule of faith and practice" to withdraw from the Presbyterian ministry. The Portland Deliverance would be used to convict Briggs of heresy.
### 20th century
#### Confessional revision
Briggs' heresy trial was a setback to the movement for confessional revision, which wanted to soften the Westminster Confession's Calvinistic doctrines of predestination and election. Nevertheless, overtures continued to come before the General Assembly. In 1903, two chapters on "The Holy Spirit" and "The Love of God and Missions" were added to the Confession and a reference to the pope being the anti-christ was deleted. Most objectionable to conservatives, a new "Declaratory Statement" was added to clarify the church's doctrine of election. Conservatives criticized the "Declaratory Statement" and claimed that it promoted Arminianism.
The 1903 revision of the Westminster Confession eventually led a large number of congregations from the Arminian–leaning Cumberland Presbyterian Church to reunite with the PCUSA in 1906. While overwhelmingly approved, the reunion caused controversy within the PCUSA due to concerns over doctrinal compatibility and racial segregation in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Warfield was a strong critic of the merger on doctrinal grounds. Northern Presbyterians, such as Francis James Grimké and Herrick Johnson, objected to the creation of racially segregated presbyteries in the South, a concession demanded by the Cumberland Presbyterians as the price for reunion. Despite these objections, the merger was overwhelmingly approved.
#### Social gospel and evangelization
By the early 20th century, the Social Gospel movement, which stressed social as well as individual salvation, had found support within the Presbyterian Church. Important figures such as Henry Sloane Coffin, president of New York's Union Seminary and a leading liberal, backed the movement. The most important promoter of the Social Gospel among Presbyterians was Charles Stelzle, the first head of the Workingmen's Department of the PCUSA. The department, created in 1903 to minister to working class immigrants, was the first official denominational agency to pursue a Social Gospel agenda. According to church historian Bradley Longfield, Stelzle "advocated for child-labor laws, workers' compensation, adequate housing, and more effective ways to address vice and crime in order to advance the kingdom of God." After a reorganization in 1908, the work of the department was split between the newly created Department of Church and Labor and the Department of Immigration.
While the Social Gospel was making inroads within the denomination, the ministry of baseball player turned evangelist Billy Sunday demonstrated that evangelicalism and the revivalist tradition was still a force within the denomination. Sunday became the most prominent evangelist of the early 20th century, preaching to over 100 million people and leading an estimated million to conversion throughout his career. Whereas Stelzle emphasized the social aspects of Christianity, Sunday's focus was primarily on the conversion and moral responsibility of the individual.
#### Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy
Between 1922 and 1936, the PCUSA became embroiled in the so-called Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy. Tensions had been building in the years following the Old School-New School reunion of 1869 and the Briggs heresy trial of 1893. In 1909, the conflict was further exacerbated when the Presbytery of New York granted licenses to preach to a group of men who could not affirm the virgin birth of Jesus. The presbytery's action was appealed to the 1910 General Assembly, which then required all ministry candidates to affirm five essential or fundamental tenets of the Christian faith: biblical inerrancy, the virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, the bodily resurrection, and the miracles of Christ.
These themes were later expounded upon in The Fundamentals, a series of essays financed by wealthy Presbyterians Milton and Lyman Stewart. While the authors were drawn from the wider evangelical community, a large proportion were Presbyterian, including Warfield, William Erdman, Charles Erdman, and Robert Elliott Speer.
In 1922, prominent New York minister Harry Emerson Fosdick (who was Baptist but serving as pastor of New York's First Presbyterian Church by special arrangement) preached a sermon entitled "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?", challenging what he perceived to be a rising tide of intolerance against modernist or liberal theology within the denomination. In response, conservative Presbyterian minister Clarence E. Macartney preached a sermon called "Shall Unbelief Win?", in which he warned that liberalism would lead to "a Christianity without worship, without God, and without Jesus Christ". J. Gresham Machen of Princeton Theological Seminary also responded to Fosdick with his 1923 book Christianity and Liberalism, arguing that liberalism and Christianity were two different religions.
The 1923 General Assembly reaffirmed the five fundamentals and ordered the Presbytery of New York to ensure that First Presbyterian Church conformed to the Westminster Confession. A month later, the presbytery licensed two ministers who could not affirm the virgin birth, and in February 1924, it acquitted Fosdick who subsequently left his post in the Presbyterian Church.
That same year, a group of liberal ministers composed a statement defending their theological views known as the Auburn Affirmation due to the fact that it was based on the work of Robert Hastings Nichols of Auburn Seminary. Citing the Adopting Act of 1729, the Affirmation claimed for the PCUSA a heritage of doctrinal liberty. It also argued that church doctrine could only be established by action of the General Assembly and a majority of presbyteries; therefore, according to the Affirmation, the General Assembly acted unconstitutionally when it required adherence to the five fundamentals.
The 1925 General Assembly faced the threat of schism over the actions of the Presbytery of New York. Attempting to deescalate the situation, General Assembly moderator Charles Erdman proposed the creation of a special commission to study the church's problems and find solutions. The commission's report, released in 1926, sought to find a moderate approach to solving the church's theological conflict. In agreement with the Auburn Affirmation, the commission concluded that doctrinal pronouncements issued by the General Assembly were not binding without the approval of a majority of the presbyteries. In a defeat for conservatives, the report was adopted by the General Assembly. Conservatives were further disenchanted in 1929 when the General Assembly approved the ordination of women as lay elders.
In 1929, Princeton Theological Seminary was reorganized to make the school's leadership and faculty more representative of the wider church rather than just Old School Presbyterianism. Two of the seminary's new board members were signatories to the Auburn Affirmation. In order to preserve Princeton's Old School legacy, Machen and several of his colleagues founded Westminster Theological Seminary.
Further controversy would erupt over the state of the church's missionary efforts. Sensing a loss of interest and support for foreign missions, the nondenominational Laymen's Foreign Mission Inquiry published Re-Thinking Missions: A Laymen's Inquiry after One Hundred Years in 1932, which promoted universalism and rejected the uniqueness of Christianity. Because the Inquiry had been initially supported by the PCUSA, many conservatives were concerned that Re-Thinking Missions represented the views of PCUSA's Board of Foreign Missions. Even after board members affirmed their belief in "Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Saviour", some conservatives remained skeptical, and such fears were reinforced by modernist missionaries, including celebrated author Pearl S. Buck. While initially evangelical, Buck's religious views developed over time to deny the divinity of Christ.
In 1933, Machen and other conservatives founded the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions. A year later, the General Assembly declared the Independent Board unconstitutional and demanded that all church members cut ties with it. Machen refused to obey, and his ordination was suspended in 1936. Afterwards, Machen led an exodus of conservatives to form what would be later known as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
#### Later history
With the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s, the optimism of liberal theology was discredited. Many liberal theologians turned to neo-orthodoxy in an attempt to correct what were seen as the failings of liberalism, namely an overemphasis on divine immanence and the goodness of humanity along with the subordination of American Protestantism to secularism, science, and American culture. Neo-orthodox theologians instead emphasized divine transcendence and the sinfulness of humanity. From the 1940s into the 1950s, neo-orthodoxy set the tone at Presbyterian seminaries. Prominent Presbyterian theologians of this era include Elmer George Homrighausen and Joseph Haroutunian.
At the same time, evangelicalism was continuing to influence the Presbyterian Church. In the late 1940s, the efforts of Christian educator Henrietta Mears at First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, California, would make it the largest church within the denomination. First Presbyterian's emphasis on evangelism would have a profound influence on a number of prominent figures including Louis Evans Jr., founder of Bel Air Presbyterian Church; Richard C. Halverson, Chaplain of the United States Senate; and Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. According to historian George Marsden, Mears "may have had more to do with shaping west coast Presbyterianism than any other person."
In 1958, the PCUSA merged with the century-old United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA). This denomination was formed by the 1858 union of Covenanter and Seceder Presbyterians. Between 1937 and 1955, the PCUSA had been discussing merger negotiations with the UPCNA, the Presbyterian Church in the United States and even the Episcopal Church before settling on the UPCNA merger.
Within the UPCNA, there was decreasing support for the merger amidst conservative reservations over the PCUSA's decision to ordain women to the office of minister in 1956 (the PCUSA had been ordaining women to the office of deacon since 1922 and elder since 1930). Nevertheless, the merger of the two denominations was celebrated in Pittsburgh that summer. The new denomination was named the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA).
## Beliefs
As a Calvinist church, the Presbyterian Church in the USA shared a common theological heritage with other Presbyterian and Reformed churches. The Bible was considered the only infallible source of doctrine and practice. The Presbyterian Church also acknowledged several subordinate standards, the most important being the Westminster Confession of Faith. As part of their ordination vows, ministers and other church officers were required to "sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith of this Church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures". In addition to the Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism and Larger Catechism were also used.
Throughout the denomination's existence, a "relatively uniform" view of biblical authority and interpretation based on Reformed scholasticism dominated Presbyterian thought until the 1930s. In reaction to the Scientific Revolution, the doctrine of biblical infallibility as found in the Confession of Faith was transformed into biblical inerrancy, the idea that the Bible is without error in matters of science and history. This approach to biblical interpretation was accompanied by Scottish common sense realism, which dominated Princeton, Harvard, and other American colleges in the 18th and 19th centuries. When applied to biblical interpretation, Common Sense philosophy encouraged theologians to assume that people in all times and cultures thought in similar ways. Therefore, it was believed that a modern interpreter could know the mind of biblical writers regardless of differences in culture and context. This form of biblical literalism was standard teaching in Presbyterian colleges and seminaries.
The rise of higher criticism in the late 1800s posed a challenge to this dominant view by arguing that "the Bible was composed of strands of material written by ancient, Near-Eastern people whose world view and manner of thought was formulated in language structures and cultural contexts very different from those of nineteenth century Americans." A division emerged between a majority who held that inerrancy was an essential doctrine and a growing minority that believed it actually undermined scriptural authority for "faith and life". Beginning in 1892, the General Assembly sought to combat liberal theology by specifying beliefs that every minister should affirm. From 1910 to 1927, the Confession of Faith was officially interpreted with reference to five fundamental beliefs: biblical inerrancy, the virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, the bodily resurrection, and the miracles of Christ.
Faced with possible schism, the General Assembly opted for "theological decentralization" after 1927. It was determined that the General Assembly could not define essential beliefs without first amending the church's constitution, which allowed a greater degree of toleration for alternative interpretations of the Confession. The outcome of the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy was that the church ultimately accepted "moderate liberalism" in order to maintain peace.
Just as liberal theology was gaining acceptance in the 1930s, however, a new theological movement emerged as some liberals became disenchanted with the optimism of their tradition in the face of World War I, the Great Depression and the rise of European fascism. The neo-orthodox looked back to the Bible and the Protestant Reformers of the 16th century in order to construct a "more sturdy theology" able to address the crisis of Western culture. Unlike the liberals who tended to view the Bible "as a record of humanity's evolving religious consciousness", the neo-orthodox understood the Bible to be the instrument through which God spoke and revealed himself—in the person of Jesus Christ—to humanity. At the same time, neo-orthodoxy was distinguished from fundamentalism in its acceptance of biblical criticism and rejection of biblical inerrancy. While the Bible was an "adequate witness to the one revelation of God, Jesus Christ", it was a fallible document written by fallible men. Neo-orthodoxy was also characterized by an emphasis on divine transcendence rather than divine immanence, renewed affirmation of total depravity, and resistance to secularism and cultural accommodation within the church. By the 1940s, neo-orthodoxy and the closely related biblical theology movement had become the unifying doctrinal consensus within the PCUSA.
## Organization
### Governing bodies
The Presbyterian Church in the USA was organized according to presbyterian polity. The church's constitution consisted of the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, the Form of Government (adapted from the 1645 Form of Presbyterial Church Government), the Book of Discipline (adapted from the Scottish Book of Discipline), and the Directory for the Worship of God (adapted from the 1645 Westminster Directory). Consistent with presbyterian polity, the governance of the PCUSA was vested in a series of judicatories.
A local church was governed by the session, a body of ruling elders elected by the congregation and moderated by the pastor. The session was charged with overseeing the church's spiritual affairs and providing for public worship according to the Directory. The session was also responsible for dispensing church discipline to church members.
Local churches were further organized into geographically defined presbyteries. A presbytery was a convention of all ministers within its jurisdiction and one ruling elder chosen by each session. Collegiate churches were entitled to be represented by two or more ruling elders in proportion to the number of its pastors. Presbyteries were responsible for examining, licensing and ordaining candidates to the ministry, as well as judging and removing ministers. They were also responsible for resolving doctrinal or disciplinary questions and also functioned as courts of appeal from sessions. An executive commission was appointed to more efficiently manage the presbytery's work, and judicial cases were referred to a judicial commission.
Three or more presbyteries formed a synod, which met annually and whose members consisted of ministers and ruling elders representing the presbyteries. Synods functioned as courts of appeal from the presbyteries. They also had the responsibility to ensure the presbyteries and sessions below them adhered to the church's constitution.
The highest judicatory and court of appeal in the church was the General Assembly. Members of the General Assembly included equal numbers of ministers and ruling elders chosen by the presbyteries. Members of the General Assembly were called "Commissioners to the General Assembly". The General Assembly met annually and was presided over by a moderator. It also appointed an executive commission and a judicial commission. The General Assembly could propose constitutional amendments, but these had to be approved by a majority of all presbyteries before taking effect.
### Boards
The work of the denomination was carried out through various church boards. As of 1922, these boards included the following:
- Board of Home Missions
- Board of Foreign Missions
- Board of Education granted scholarships to those seeking seminary education.
- Board of Publication oversaw the publication of religious literature as well as the denomination's Sabbath schools.
- Board of the Church Erection Fund provided financial aid to congregations unable to construct their own church buildings. It also provided interest-free loans to help build manses.
- Board of Relief provided financial aid to retired and disabled ministers and missionaries. It also provided aid to the families of deceased ministers. It also operated homes for disabled ministers and the widow and orphans of deceased ministers.
- Board of Missions for Freedmen was established at the end of the Civil War to establish churches and schools for freedmen. It continued to operate in the southern United States until 1923. Its responsibilities included helping to educate and supply African American preachers and teachers. It also built and supported black schools, churches, colleges and seminaries.
- Board of Aid for Colleges and Academies oversaw fundraising for affiliated institutions of higher education.
In 1923, there was a general reorganization of the PCUSA's boards. Seven boards, including Home Missions and Missions for Freedmen, were eliminated and their work consolidated under the newly created Board of National Missions.
## Missions
After the Old School–New School split, the Old School General Assembly created the Board of Foreign Missions. Missions were started in Africa, Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Japan, and Thailand. When the New School (which had been partnering with the Congregationalist ABCFM) reunited with the Old School in 1870, the Board of Foreign Missions took over the ABCFM's operations in Iran, Iraq, and Syria. The reunited denomination also expanded missions into Korea, Central America, South America, and the Philippines.
The Board of Home Missions carried on work among Native Americans, Jews, and Asian immigrants. In the words of Frederick J. Heuser, Jr. of the Presbyterian Historical Society, the PCUSA's missionary work established "indigenous churches, a variety of educational facilities, hospitals, orphanages, seminaries, and other institutions that reflected the church's educational, medical and evangelical ministry."
## Ecumenical relations
Along with other mainline Protestant churches, the Presbyterian Church in the USA was a founding member of the Federal Council of Churches (a predecessor to the National Council of Churches) in 1908. During World War I, the PCUSA was a leading contributor to the work of the Federal Council's General War–Time Commission, which coordinated chaplaincy and supported the war effort. From 1918 to 1920, the church participated in a short-lived international ecumenical organization called the Interchurch World Movement.
## See also
- List of Moderators of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America |
24,457,736 | Japanese settlement in Palau | 1,170,603,197 | None | [
"Ethnic groups in Palau",
"History of Palau",
"Japanese diaspora in Oceania",
"Palauan people of Japanese descent",
"Society of Palau"
] | There is a small Japanese community in the Pacific Island country of Palau, which mainly consists of Japanese expatriates residing in Palau over a long-term basis. A few Japanese expatriates started to reside in Palau after it gained independence in 1994, and established long-term businesses in the country. Japanese settlement in Palau dates back to the early 19th century, although large scale Japanese migration to Palau did not occur until the 1920s, when Palau came under Japanese rule and administered as part of the South Seas Mandate. Japanese settlers took on leading administrative roles in the Japanese colonial government, and developed Palau's economy. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, virtually all of the Japanese population was repatriated back to Japan, although people of mixed Japanese-Palauan descent were allowed to remain behind. People of Japanese-Palauan descent constitute a large minority of Palau's population as a result of substantial intermarriage between the Japanese settlers and Palauans. They generally identify with, conforming to cultural norms and daily lives with the Palauans.
## History
### Early years (1820–1945)
The first recorded account of Japanese contact in Palau occurred in 1820, when a coastal sailing ship was blown off course and eight surviving men spent five years in Palau until 1825. Japanese traders began to establish settlements from the mid-19th century onwards, and by 1890 two Japanese trading stations had been established. Many of these traders married the daughters of local chieftains and raised local families. When Japan annexed Palau from Germany in 1914, Japanese settlers and their descendants acted as state liaison officials and interpreters for the Japanese military administration.
Under the South Seas Mandate, a civilian government was established on April 1, 1922, with its headquarters at Koror, replacing the military administration. The civilian government initiated a programme to identify and collectivise unused land between 1923 and 1932 for redevelopment. Much of this land was used to build new industrial estates and expand towns to accommodate immigrants from Japan and Okinawa. In Japan, the government actively encouraged the Japanese and Okinawans to resettle in Micronesia, including Palau, and began establishing farming settlements. The first farming settlement was established at Ngaremlengui in 1926, but the settlers encountered problems with its humid tropical environment and abandoned it by 1930, although later settlements were established more successfully.
As the Great Depression resulted in massive unemployment in the late 1920s and 1930s, more Japanese and Okinawans migrated to Palau. Immigrants brought along their families and sought employment in various professions. The Japanese immigrants held administrative posts, while the Okinawans and a few Koreans worked as labourers in the agricultural, fishery and mining industries. By 1935, the Japanese constituted at least 60% of Palau's population and were concentrated in urban areas such as Angaur and Koror. Some Japanese settlers took Palauan wives or mistresses, and there was a sizeable minority of mixed Japanese-Palauan children towards the later years of the Japanese administration.
The Japanese navy expanded their military facilities from 1937 onwards. More labourers from Japan and Korea were employed to construct the facilities to complete the facilities within a short period of time. The number of indentured labourers rose to more than 10,000 throughout Micronesia, and placed a heavy strain on the islands' scarce resources. Many Okinawan and Japanese labourers and permanent settlers were repatriated back to their homeland. Japanese men were conscripted into regular services, and Palauans who held administrative posts in the police force were reallocated jobs in the agricultural sector. The Japanese civilians played an important role in the islands' propaganda activities. As food resources were cut off from Japan, many Japanese encountered greater difficulties in dealing with starvation than their Palauan counterparts, who were more knowledgeable with tropical survival skills.
### Postwar years (1945–present)
Following the Surrender of Japan to the Allied forces, Japanese military personnel and civilians were repatriated to Japan between 1945 and 1946, although some 350 labourers and technicians were permitted to remain behind to carry out repair works to Palau's infrastructure. However, offspring of Japanese-Palauan intermarriages were allowed to remain, although a few migrated to Japan with their fathers. In the 1950s, Japanese-Palauans formed an organisation, Sakura-kai to assist Japanese-Palauans and Japanese youths who were abandoned by their parents to search for their parents and kinsmen who were forcibly separated as a result of forced repatriation of Japanese settlers back to Japan. The organisation became a cultural organisation from the 1980s onwards, as most Japanese-Palauans had reunited with their Japanese families or voluntarily chose to leave certain family separations as they were.
Palau's interaction with Japan was kept to a minimal level during the post-war years, although Okinawan fishermen occasionally visited Palau for catches from the 1960s onwards. A few Japanese nationals resettled in Palau in the 1970s, and married local Palauans. In the 1980s, Japanese businessmen set up businesses in Palau, and by 1995 there were 218 Japanese nationals residing in Palau. Of these, about half of them expressed a desire for permanent residency in Palau and a few married Palauan or Filipino women. However, the majority brought their families from Japan along, and maintained frequent contacts with Japan. Some settlers from the 1980s also consisted of former Japanese settlers who were repatriated back to Japan after World War II. Former settlers who returned to Palau usually consisted of individuals over 60 years of age, and often worked as tour guides or restaurateurs in Palau.
Many Japanese-Palauans assumed key positions in the public service sector and politics. At least one ethnologist, Mark Peattie, suggested that the strong representation of Japanese-Palauans in leading positions in society could be attributed to the mainstream Japanese education which they had received in their youth. Palau's first president, Kuniwo Nakamura—who was half-Japanese—fostered closer diplomatic ties between Japan and Palau during his presidency. During a state visit to Japan in 1996, Emperor Akihito personally received Nakamura, and the visit was commended by Palauans and Japanese alike. Nakamura's visit prompted Japan to channel monetary aid to Palau to facilitate repair work on the Koror-Babeldaob Bridge and securing special trade agreements with Japan.
## Demographics
In the early years of civilian administration, the Japanese population consisted of about a few hundred individuals, and reached a little over 2,000 by 1930. The Japanese resident population increased at an exponential rate from the mid-1930s onwards, and there were about 15,000 Japanese in Palau by 1938, the vast majority of whom were concentrated in Koror. The influx of Japanese immigrants fuelled the development of Koror into a city by 1939. The Palauans were quickly outnumbered by the Japanese, and constituted only about 16 percent of the city's population in 1937. The Japanese made up more than half of the islands' population, as well as 27% of Micronesia's Japanese population in a 1938 census. A large minority of the Japanese populace consisted of Okinawan immigrants, as well as a few Koreans. Palau's Japanese population was repatriated after the Japanese surrender, but people of Japanese-Palauan descent remained behind and constitute a large minority of Palau's population. A study done by the Sasakawa Pacific Island Nations Fund estimated that about 10% of Palauans are born to a Japanese father and Palauan mother, the vast majority of whom were born before 1945. Another study done by the Foundation for Advanced Studies in International Development from Japan in 2005 estimates that about 25% of Palau's populace have some Japanese ancestry.
The following table shows the increase in the Japanese population in Palau throughout the Japanese colonial era:
## Language
During the Japanese colonial era, Japanese settlers mainly used Japanese in their daily discourse, and Japanese was the lingua franca used for communication between Japanese and Palauans. English was also recognised as a co-official language along with Japanese, and many Japanese had at least some knowledge of the language as well. People of mixed Japanese-Palauan heritage were more competent in Japanese than to Palauan, especially those who attended mainstream primary schools. The Japanese also introduced the use of the Katakana script in Palauan, which was also used in informal settings. After the Japanese surrender, the use of Japanese was discouraged in place of Palauan and English. Most Japanese-Palauans use Palauan in their daily discourse in favour of Japanese or English, although Japanese was used more frequently among Japanese-Palauans than to those that do not have Japanese ancestry. As the number of Japanese tourists increased during the 1990s, Japanese was introduced as an elective subject to Palauan schools and in elections.
The state constitution of the island of Angaur mentions English, Palauan, and Japanese as official languages, making Angaur the only place in the world where Japanese is an official language.
## Religion
State Shinto was heavily emphasised in the 1930s as means to promote Japanese nationalism and acculturalisation of Palauans to Japanese norms. A few shrines were built around Palau during the 1930s. Of particular note was the completion of the Taisha Nanyo Jinja (transliterally the Great Southern Shrine) in November 1940 at Koror, which subsequently served as the central shrine in Micronesia. Civilian participation of Shinto rituals was heavily emphasised, which focused on Japanese cultural ideals and worship of the Japanese emperor. Shinto, Zen Buddhist and Tenrikyo missions were also encouraged to establish religious missions, and the first Buddhist temple in Palau was erected in 1926, mainly to cater to the spiritual needs of the Japanese settlers. Early Japanese settlers reportedly built small Shinto shrines in agricultural colonies before the civilian government actively encouraged religious missionary activities in Palau.
Christian missions were initially given financial support by the Japanese civilian government and were encouraged to stamp out certain Animist rituals practiced by Palauans, but many were later imprisoned from the late 1930s onwards as the Japanese became suspicious of the missionaries' involvement in espionage activities. After the war, many of these shrines were abandoned or demolished, and Japanese-Palauans chose to adopt Christianity in favour of Buddhism or Shinto. In the 1980s and 1990s, miniature replicas of the Great Shinto Shrine, Peleliu and Angaur shrines were reconstructed. Unlike Shinto shrines during the Japanese colonial era, reconstructed shrines served as memorial sites for Japanese soldiers who died during the Second World War, and are visited by Japanese tourists and family members of slain soldiers.
## Society
### Racial segregation
The Japanese civilian administration segregated the Japanese immigrants from the Palauans and adopted policies that were intended to protect the welfare of the Palauans. From the 1930s onwards, focus was later shifted towards providing more for the Japanese immigrants as the civilian administration faced difficulties in meeting the demands of an increasing immigrant population. Racial segregation was practiced in most sectors of society, but was more highly pronounced in the workforce and educational sectors. Palauans faced difficulties in getting employed in administrative positions in the workforce, which was dominated by Japanese settlers. In the educational sector, Japanese children attended mainstream primary schools (shogakko) whose lessons are based on the mainstream curriculum as with other schools on mainland Japan. Palauan children attended "public schools" (logakko) and attended lessons that focused on imparting skills for menial labour. Most students from "Public schools" dropped out after completing their elementary education and some children of Japanese fathers and Palauan mothers also faced difficulties in getting enrolled into primary schools, especially for those who were born out of wedlock.
### Mixed-race descendants
During the Japanese colonial-era, a sizeable minority of mixed-race Japanese-Palauans emerged. Japanese-Palauans were offspring of intermarriages between Japanese men and Palauan women. Most of them lived in urban areas, and were brought up in accordance to Japanese norms and values and spoke Japanese in their daily lives. A few sought further education in Japan, and at the same time had limited knowledge of Palauan customs and language, although children that were born out of wedlock reportedly had a greater exposure to their matrilineal customs and spoke both Japanese and Palauan fluently. Although Japanese-Palauan children were generally classified as Japanese in official figures and had access to Japanese social privileges, many reportedly faced discrimination when placed in Japanese and Palauan circles. In rural areas where Palauans formed higher concentrations, spouses and mistresses of Japanese men were shunned upon, and Palauan nationalists (especially Modekngei) actively discouraged mixed unions between Japanese men and Palauan women. The Japanese government encouraged such intermarriages, and provided social benefits to women who had married Japanese men. However, only unions with civilian men were recognised and military personnel were prohibited from marrying Palauan women, although they were allowed to keep mistresses. The civilian government suppressed unions between Palauan men and Japanese women, and there was only one known case of a union between a Palauan man and a Japanese woman during the Japanese colonial-era.
After the Japanese surrender in 1945, Japanese settlers were repatriated back to Japan, and male Japanese settlers who had raised Japanese-Palauan families abandoned their families in favour of repatriation, reasoning that the offspring would be able to better adapt in Palau than in Japan. Many of these Palauan women raised their mixed-race children singlehandedly, while others were abandoned and adopted by Palauan families. Some Japanese-Palauan families migrated to Japan, but generally faced a cultural shock and petitioned to return to Palau after living in Japan for some years. Most petitions were allowed, although they were not allowed to bring their Japanese spouses along.
Second and third-generation descendants of Japanese-Palauans who were descended from earlier settlers generally chose to remain behind, although those who were raised in Japanese-speaking families reportedly faced trouble conversing in Palauan. Most retained their Japanese surnames, but Japanese-Paluans generally identified themselves as Palauans after the war. Second-generation Japanese-Palauans usually married Palauan women, and became assimilated with the local Palauan populace. In terms of self-identification, Japanese-Palauans usually emphasised their Japanese identities only on occasions when they associate with other Japanese, for instance when they participate in memorial services for Japanese soldiers who died during the Pacific War. Some Japanese-Palauans also chose to be buried in Japanese cemeteries after their deaths, notably those in Koror.
## Economy
The Japanese civilian administration encouraged Japanese businessmen and settlers to the expand phosphate mining and copra production, which came into commercial existence during the German colonial era. During this time, new infrastructure was built between towns—including road and harbour facilities, and electricity and sewerage lines were laid out. Immigration from Japan, Okinawa and Korea to Palau intensified as a result of new job opportunities. A state-owned enterprise, Nanyo Kohatsu Kabushiki Kaisha (South Seas Colonization Corporation) was formed in 1936 to streamline the islands' economic activities with the administration objective of developing the islands' self-sufficiency capabilities. In the late 1930s, Japanese pearl divers made regular visits to the Arafura Sea, and stopped by Palau from October to April. The influx of pearl divers from Japan led to the development of the island's tourist industry, and some Japanese settlers from Saipan opened new cafés, geisha houses and liquor houses in Koror to cater to the pearl divers during their stopovers in between October and April.
When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, Japanese business enterprises and organisations in Palau closed, effectively ending the Japanese influence on Palau's economy. In the first two decades after the war, the American occupation government imposed strict trade restrictions with Japan. Contact with Japan was reestablished in the 1960s, starting with Okinawan fishermen who were granted fishing rights. Japanese tourists began to visit Palau in increasing numbers from the mid-1970s. The growing influx of tourists to Palau led to the restoration of heritage sites around Palau, particularly memorial sites and administrative buildings built in the Japanese era as well as Palauan longhouses to accommodate to the interests of Japanese tourists, which accounted for half of all visiting tourists. Many of Palau's tourist sites were run and maintained by Palauan citizens of Japanese-Palauan heritage, whose knowledge in Japanese and Palauan customs and languages helped to facilitate tour groups consisting of Japanese tourists.
## Education
The Japanese Language School of Palau, a weekend supplementary programme, is in operation in Koror.
## Notable people
- Santy Asanuma, senator
- Elias Camsek Chin, former vice-president
- Hersey Kyota, politician and diplomat
- Kuniwo Nakamura, former president and foreign minister
- Haruo Remeliik, former president
- Peter Sugiyama, former politician
- Shiro Kyota, former politician
## See also
- Japanese settlement in Micronesia |
3,832,026 | Bagme Bloma | 1,121,870,693 | Poem in Gothic by J. R. R. Tolkien | [
"1936 poems",
"Gothic language",
"Poetry by J. R. R. Tolkien",
"Songs about trees"
] | "Bagmē Blōma" (Gothic language: "Flower of the Trees") by J. R. R. Tolkien is a poem in the 1936 Songs for the Philologists, and the only one ever written in the Gothic language. It was to be sung to the tune of "O Lazy Sheep!". Scholars have found the poem beautiful, and have debated its interpretation. Tom Shippey proposed that the Birch tree, praised in the poem, symbolises the 'B' scheme of English teaching, namely Tolkien's own subject, philology. Verlyn Flieger doubted the connection, writing that the Birch played a significant emotional role in Smith of Wootton Major, as in the poem, and that this was only diminished by seeking a further interpretation.
## Publication history
The poem was published along with a collection of others in the rare privately-printed 1936 book Songs for the Philologists, unauthorised by either of the poems' authors, J. R. R. Tolkien and E. V. Gordon. It was reprinted, together with a Modern English translation by Rhona Beare, in Tom Shippey's The Road to Middle-earth.
## Poem
The poem has three verses, each of six lines. It was intended to be sung to the tune of "O Lazy Sheep!" by Mantle Childe, after an old French air.
## Analysis
The poem was, like the others in the collection, written as a scholarly philological entertainment. Tolkien had to reconstruct some of the words he used from other Germanic languages, as little of the Gothic language survives. The scholar of historical linguistics Luzius Thöny has analysed the grammar and meaning of the words of the poem. He comments that Tolkien has to some extent relied on Old English rather than what is common to the Germanic languages, giving the example of bogum meaning "boughs", whereas in other Germanic languages "bog-" means "shoulder".
The Tolkien scholar Lucas Annear, in Tolkien Studies, writes that Tolkien "uses reconstruction liberally", which he finds understandable given the choice of Gothic and the private nature of the publication. He comments that the poem stands out from others in the collection: it is a serious poem with a lyrical tone, where many of the rest are written for comic effect. Verlyn Flieger describes the poem as "an unusually beautiful lyric, far lovelier in the Gothic than in English translation". She notes that another of Tolkien's poems in the collection, the Old English "Eadig Beo þu" ("Good Luck to You"), also concerns the Birch tree, and that both sing the tree's praises.
The leading Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey, in his book The Road to Middle-earth, connects the Birch (the "Beorc" rune-name in Old English) to the "B" scheme of English studies at the University of Leeds where Tolkien had taught, namely his subject, philology. This meant an interest in language and comparative linguistics, especially of the old Germanic languages like Old English and Old Norse. These things that Tolkien loved stood in sharp opposition to the "A" scheme, symbolised by the Oak tree (the "Ac" rune-name in Old English) for "literature and literary critics", meaning from the Early Modern period onwards. Shippey states that "oaks were furthermore the enemy: the enemy of philology, the enemy of imagination, the enemy of dragons". He links this meaning to Smith of Wootton Major, noting that the name of that story's Master Cook, Nokes, in Middle English "\*atten okes" ("at the Oaks"), is connected to the Oak tree. He deduces that the Old Cook, Alf (Old English ælf, "Elf") "is a philologist-figure" while Nokes is "a critic-figure" and Smith himself must be "a Tolkien-figure". In Shippey's view, Bagme Bloma's praise of the Birch, with its defiance of wind and lightning, confirms the tree's symbolism of the "B" scheme of study.
The scholar of medieval literature Verlyn Flieger, while admiring the poem, and remarking that it is the only one "by any hand" written in Gothic, is not convinced by Shippey's arguments, stating rather that Shippey's description of the Birch as a representation of "learning, severe learning, even discipline" and the world's "traditional opponent, scholarly study", "a kind of Golden Bough between Earth and Paradise" says little about the powerful emotional effect of the Birch episode in Smith. She connects that with the poem's "lightning flashes" (verse 3), saying there is no need to diminish that effect by looking for further symbolism. |
412,453 | Jim Bottomley | 1,162,426,344 | American baseball player and manager | [
"1900 births",
"1959 deaths",
"Baseball players from Illinois",
"Chicago Cubs scouts",
"Cincinnati Reds players",
"Houston Buffaloes players",
"Major League Baseball broadcasters",
"Major League Baseball first basemen",
"Major League Baseball player-managers",
"Mitchell Kernels players",
"National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees",
"National League RBI champions",
"National League home run champions",
"People from Crawford County, Missouri",
"People from Nokomis, Illinois",
"People from Oglesby, Illinois",
"People from Sullivan, Missouri",
"Sioux City Packers players",
"Sportspeople from LaSalle County, Illinois",
"St. Louis Browns announcers",
"St. Louis Browns coaches",
"St. Louis Browns managers",
"St. Louis Browns players",
"St. Louis Cardinals announcers",
"St. Louis Cardinals players",
"St. Louis Cardinals scouts",
"Syracuse Chiefs managers",
"Syracuse Chiefs players",
"Syracuse Stars (AA) players"
] | James Leroy Bottomley (April 23, 1900 – December 11, 1959) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1922 to 1937, most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals where he helped lead the team to four National League pennants and two World Series titles.
Born in Oglesby, Illinois, Bottomley grew up in Nokomis, Illinois. He dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to raise money for his family. While he was playing semi-professional baseball, the Cardinals scouted and signed Bottomley before the 1920 season. He became an integral member of the Cardinals batting order, driving in 100 or more runs batted in between 1924 and 1929 as the team's cleanup hitter. In 1924, he established a major league record for driving in 12 runs in a nine inning game.
In 1926 he led the National League (NL) in runs batted in and total bases, helping the Cardinals win their first World Series championship. Bottomley was named the NL's Most Valuable Player in 1928 after leading the league in home runs, runs batted in and total bases. He won another World Series with the Cardinals in . Bottomley hit above .300 nine times and had accumulated a .310 career batting average by the end of his sixteen-year major league career. He also played for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Browns and also served as player-manager for the Browns in 1937.
After finishing his playing career with the Browns, Bottomley joined the Chicago Cubs organization as a scout and minor league baseball manager. After suffering a heart attack, Bottomley retired to raise cattle with his wife in Missouri. Bottomley was nicknamed "Sunny Jim" because of his cheerful disposition. Bottomley was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 by the Veterans Committee and to the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.
## Early life
Bottomley was born on April 23, 1900, to Elizabeth (née Carter) and John Bottomley in Oglesby, Illinois. His family later moved to Nokomis, Illinois, where Bottomley enrolled in grade school and Nokomis High School. He dropped out when he was 16 years old in order to help support his family financially. Bottomley worked as a coal miner, truck driver, grocery clerk, and railroad clerk. His younger brother, Ralph, died in a mining accident in 1920.
Bottomley also played semi-professional baseball for several local teams to make additional money, earning \$5 a game (\$ in current dollar terms). A police officer who knew Branch Rickey, the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, saw Bottomley play, and recommended Bottomley to Rickey.
## Professional career
### St. Louis Cardinals
Rickey dispatched scout Charley Barrett to investigate Bottomley. The Cardinals decided to invite Bottomley to a tryout in late 1919, and signed him to a \$150-a-month (\$ in current dollar terms) contract. Bottomley began his professional career in minor league baseball in 1920. That year, Bottomley played for the Mitchell Kernels of the Class-D South Dakota League, posting a .312 batting average in 97 games, as Barrett continued to scout him. He also played six games for the Sioux City Packers of the Class-A Western League. During his time in the minor leagues, the media began to call Bottomley "Sunny Jim", due to his pleasant disposition.
The next season, Bottomley played for the Houston Buffaloes of the Class-A Texas League. Bottomley suffered a leg injury early in the season which became infected, and impeded his performance during the season. Bottomley managed only a .227 batting average in 130 games and struggled with his fielding. Unable to sell Bottomley after the season to Houston for \$1,200 (\$ in current dollar terms), Rickey sold Bottomley to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class-AA International League for \$1,000 (\$ in current dollar terms). Fully recovered from his leg injury in 1922, Bottomley batted .348 with 14 home runs, 15 triples, and a .567 slugging percentage for the Chiefs. After the season, the Cardinals purchased Bottomley from the Chiefs for \$15,000 (\$ in current dollar terms).
Bottomley made his Major League Baseball debut for the St. Louis Cardinals on August 18, 1922. Replacing Jack Fournier, Bottomley batted .325 in 37 games. The Cardinals named Bottomley their starting first baseman in 1923. As a rookie, Bottomley batted .371, finishing second in the National League (NL) behind teammate Rogers Hornsby, who batted .384. His .425 on-base percentage also finished second in the NL behind Hornsby, while he finished sixth in slugging percentage, with a .535 mark. His 94 runs batted in (RBIs) were tenth-best in the league.
Bottomley posted a .316 batting average in 1924. In a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers on September 16, 1924, Bottomley set the major league record for RBIs in a single game, with 12, breaking Wilbert Robinson's record of 11, set in 1892. Robinson was serving as the manager of the Dodgers at the time. (Bottomley had two home runs, a double and three singles as he went 6-for-6 at the plate.) This mark has since been tied by Mark Whiten in 1993. As he finished the season with 111 RBIs, placing third in the NL, Bottomley's 14 home runs were seventh-best in the NL, while his .500 slugging percentage was good for tenth. On August 29, Bottomley became the last left-handed player to record an assist while playing second base.
Bottomley hit .367 in 1925, finishing second in the NL to Hornsby. He led the NL with 227 hits, while his 128 RBIs were third-best, and his .413 on-base percentage was seventh-best in the league. Bottomley batted .298 during the 1926 season, with an NL-leading 120 RBIs. His 19 home runs placed second in the NL, behind Hack Wilson's 21, while his .506 slugging percentage was sixth-best. He batted .345 in the 1926 World Series, as the Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees.
In 1927, Bottomley finished the season with 124 RBIs, fourth best in the league, and a .509 slugging percentage, finishing sixth in the NL. Bottomley hit .325 with 31 home runs and 136 RBIs in 1928, leading the league in home runs and RBIs. He also became the second Major League player in history to join the 20–20–20 club, and became the first (since achieved by Jimmy Rollins in 2007) to record a 30 double, 20 triple, 30 home run season. That year, he won the League Award, given to the most valuable player of the NL. The Cardinals reached the 1928 World Series, and Bottomley batted .214 as they lost to the New York Yankees.
In 1929, Bottomley hit 29 home runs, finishing seventh in the NL, while his 137 RBIs were fifth-best, and his .568 slugging percentage placed him in eighth. After having what manager Gabby Street considered a "poor year" in 1930, Bottomley struggled in the 1930 World Series, batting .045 in 22 at-bats, as the Cardinals lost to the Philadelphia Athletics. Following the series, Bottomley described his World Series performance as "a bust as far as hitting goes".
Amid questions about Bottomley's status with the Cardinals heading into the 1931 season, he demonstrated renewed hitting ability during spring training. Despite the presence of Ripper Collins, a superior fielder who transferred to the Cardinals from the Rochester Red Wings of the International League, Street announced that Bottomley would remain the starting first baseman. However, Bottomley suffered an injury and struggled early in the 1931 season after returning to the game, and it appeared that he might lose his job to Collins, who filled in for Bottomley during his injury. Bottomley returned to form after his return, and he finished the season with a .3482 batting average, placing third behind teammate Chick Hafey's .3489 and Bill Terry's .3486, the closest batting average finish in MLB history. His .534 slugging percentage was the sixth best in the league. The Cardinals reached the 1931 World Series, with Bottomley batting .160, as the Cardinals defeated the Athletics. That offseason, other teams began to attempt to trade for either Bottomley or Collins. Bottomley batted .296 in 1932, though he played in only 91 games.
### Cincinnati Reds
After the 1932 season, the Cardinals traded Bottomley to the Cincinnati Reds for Ownie Carroll and Estel Crabtree, in an attempt to partner Bottomley with Chick Hafey in developing a more potent offensive attack. Bottomley had also sought Cincinnati's managerial position that offseason, which instead went to Donie Bush.
Bottomley threatened to quit baseball in a salary dispute with the Reds, as he attempted to negotiate a raise from his \$8,000 salary (\$ in current dollar terms), a reduction from the \$13,000 salary (\$ in current dollar terms) he earned with the Cardinals the previous year. He and the Reds eventually came to terms on a one-year contract believed to be worth between \$10,000 and \$13,000. Bottomley finished eighth in the NL with 83 RBIs in 1933, and ninth with 13 home runs. In three seasons with the Reds, Bottomley failed to hit higher than .283 or record more than 83 RBIs in a season. Bottomley left the Reds during spring training in 1935 due to a salary dispute, deciding to return to the team in April.
### St. Louis Browns
Before the 1936 season, the Reds traded Bottomley to the St. Louis Browns of the American League (AL), who were managed by Hornsby, for Johnny Burnett. During a July road trip, Bottomley announced his retirement as a result of an injured back; however, he changed his mind and decided to remain with the team. Bottomley batted .298 for the 1936 season.
Bottomley decided to return to baseball in 1937. When the Browns struggled during the 1937 season, beginning the season with a 25–52 win–loss record, the Browns fired Hornsby and named Bottomley their player-manager. Bottomley led the Browns to 21 more victories, as the team finished the season in eighth place, with a 46–108 record. The Browns trailed the seventh place Athletics by 9+1⁄2 games, and were 56 games out of first place. As a player, Bottomley batted .239 in 65 games during the 1937 season. Bottomley was among the ten oldest players in the AL that year.
The Browns did not retain Bottomley after the 1937 season, replacing him with Street, who served as his first assistant during the 1937 season. In 1938, Bottomley served as the player-manager of Syracuse. After a bad start to the season, and with team president Jack Corbett not adding capable players, Bottomley resigned and was replaced with Dick Porter. Bottomley also indicated that he did not want to continue playing.
### Career statistics
In 1,991 games over 16 seasons, Bottomley posted a .310 batting average (2,313-for-7,471) with 1,177 runs, 465 doubles, 151 triples, 219 home runs, 1,422 RBI, 58 stolen bases, 664 bases on balls, .369 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .988 fielding percentage as a first baseman. In 24 World Series games over four Series, he batted just .200 (18-for-90) with one home run and 10 RBI.
## Managerial record
## Personal life
Bottomley married Elizabeth "Betty" Browner, who operated a St. Louis beauty parlor, on February 4, 1933. The couple had no children. After he retired from baseball in 1938, Bottomley and his wife moved to the Bourbon, Missouri, area, where he raised Hereford cattle. In 1939, Bottomley became a radio broadcaster, signing a deal with KWK, an AM broadcasting station, to broadcast Cardinals and Browns games.
Bottomley returned to baseball as a scout for the Cardinals in 1955. In 1957, he joined the Chicago Cubs as a scout and managed the Pulaski Cubs of the Class D Appalachian League. While managing in Pulaski, Bottomley suffered a heart attack. The Bottomleys moved to nearby Sullivan, Missouri. Bottomley died of a heart ailment in December 1959. He and his wife Betty were interred in the International Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery, Sullivan, Missouri.
## Honors
Bottomley holds the single-season record for most unassisted double plays by a first baseman, with eight. Bottomley is also known as the only man to be sued for hitting a home run ball that hit a fan. The plaintiff was not looking. He had over 100 RBIs in each season from 1924 to 1929. Bottomley was the second player in baseball history to hit 20 or more doubles, triples, and home runs in one season (Frank Schulte being the first) and the first of two players (Lou Gehrig being the other) to collect 150 or more doubles, triples, and home runs in a career.
Bottomley was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 1974 by the Veterans Committee. The Baseball Writers' Association of America charged that the Veterans Committee was not selective enough in choosing members. Charges of cronyism were levied against the Veterans Committee. When Bottomley was elected, the Veterans Committee included Frankie Frisch, a teammate of Bottomley's with the Cardinals. Frisch and Bill Terry, also a member of the Veterans Committee at the time, shepherded the selections of teammates Jesse Haines in 1970, Dave Bancroft and Chick Hafey in 1971, Ross Youngs in 1972, George Kelly in 1973, and Freddie Lindstrom in 1976. This led to the Veterans Committee having its powers reduced in subsequent years.
In 2014, the Cardinals announced Bottomley was among 22 former players and personnel to be inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum for its inaugural class of 2014.
The city park in his adopted home town of Sullivan, Missouri is named for Bottomley. Also the park in his birthplace Oglesby, Illinois. A museum in Nokomis, Illinois, the Bottomley-Ruffing-Schalk Baseball Museum, is dedicated to Bottomley and fellow Hall of Famers Ray Schalk and Red Ruffing, who were also Nokomis residents.
## See also
- 20–20–20 club
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
- List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball player-managers
- List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball runs batted in records
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
- List of St. Louis Cardinals team records
- St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum
- List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders |
4,781,857 | The Wanderers (1979 film) | 1,168,169,025 | 1979 film directed by Philip Kaufman | [
"1970s American films",
"1970s English-language films",
"1970s coming-of-age comedy-drama films",
"1970s crime films",
"1970s gang films",
"1979 films",
"American coming-of-age comedy-drama films",
"American crime films",
"American gang films",
"Films about juvenile delinquency",
"Films about race and ethnicity",
"Films based on American novels",
"Films directed by Philip Kaufman",
"Films set in 1963",
"Films set in New York City",
"Films set in the 1960s",
"Films set in the Bronx",
"Films shot in New York City",
"Films with screenplays by Philip Kaufman",
"Hood films",
"Orion Pictures films"
] | The Wanderers is a 1979 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen, Toni Kalem, Tony Ganios and Jim Youngs. Set in the Bronx in 1963, the film follows a gang of Italian-American teenagers known as the Wanderers and their ongoing power struggles with rival gangs such as the Baldies and the Wongs.
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Price; its screenplay was written by Philip Kaufman and his wife Rose. The film had a troubled development stage: after unsuccessfully trying to obtain financing for The Wanderers from Alberto Grimaldi, Kaufman directed other films. After filming the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Kaufman went to New York City and successfully pitched The Wanderers to Martin Ransohoff. The film's budget is unknown, but Kaufman said it was relatively low.
After an advance screening, The Wanderers premiered on July 13, 1979, to mostly positive reviews. The film was a financial success, grossing \$23 million at the worldwide box office.
The film's increasing popularity and cult status led to The Wanderers being given a theatrical re-release in the U.S. by Warner Bros. in 1996. According to Kaufman, "it took a long time for [the film] to find [an] audience".
## Plot
Joey and Turkey are members of the Wanderers, an Italian-American greaser street gang living in the Bronx. Joey tries to dissuade Turkey from joining a rival gang, the Fordham Baldies. Before Turkey can ask, Terror's girlfriend Peewee overhears Joey insulting the Baldies, calling them a "bunch of pricks with ears". Joey and Turkey flee and the Baldies chase them. Richie—the leader of the Wanderers—and Buddy come to help but they also flee from the Baldies. After being cornered, the Wanderers are helped by a tough stranger named Perry, who has recently moved to the Bronx from New Jersey. After much persuasion, Perry joins the Wanderers.
In school, the Wanderers get into a racial dispute with another gang, the Del Bombers who are all African-American. Both gangs agree to settle their dispute, seemingly a street fight, but the Wanderers struggle to find a gang willing to back them. With no other options, Richie asks his girlfriend's father, alleged local mafia boss Chubby Galasso, who agrees to help solve the gangs' dispute.
During a game of "elbow-tit", Richie gropes a woman called Nina. He feels ashamed of himself, apologizes for his actions and persuades Nina to accept Joey's telephone number. The Wanderers then decide to follow Nina in Perry's car.
After Perry becomes lost, the Wanderers are attacked by an all-Irish-American street gang called the Ducky Boys. They escape after Perry's arm is broken.
While drunk, the Baldies are tricked into joining the Marines. Before reporting for training, they decide to crash Despie's party, where Turkey—who has recently joined the Baldies—is told to draw the Wanderers outside. After drawing them out, Turkey realizes the Baldies have abandoned him. He tries to chase them but fails. Upset, Turkey visits a nearby Catholic church. After being spotted by a member of the Ducky Boys attending Mass, Turkey is chased down the street. After climbing a fire escape ladder in an attempt to escape, he falls to his death.
In school, while the Wanderers are mourning Turkey's death, the rest of the gang oust Richie for sleeping with Joey's date Nina. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Richie rekindles his relationship with Despie. When Chubby discovers his daughter is pregnant, he forces Richie into marrying her.
In the climax, we discover the Wanderers and the Del Bombers are settling their dispute not with a street fight but with a football game organized by Chubby. Richie uses the opportunity to make amends with Joey. A member of the Ducky Boys interrupts the game, as the Wanderers momentarily turn their heads, hundreds of Ducky Boys invade the field. Many of the Wanderers and the Del Bombers flee, but some stand their ground. The remaining players join forces with spectator gangs in the stands, including one called the Wongs and even Emilio. After a long and bloody battle, the Ducky Boys flee.
After being physically abused by his father Emilio, Joey decides to spend the night at Perry's apartment. Perry tells Joey he is planning to leave the Bronx and move to California. Joey asks Perry if he can go with him; after an initially skeptical response, Perry agrees. Emilio, drunk, enters Perry's apartment and fights with him; Joey knocks Emilio unconscious with a glass bottle. Joey and Perry quickly leave the apartment and head to Richie's engagement party. At the party Richie notices Nina walking by and quickly follows. Before he catches up to her, she walks into a bar where Bob Dylan is performing "The Times They Are a-Changin'". Accepting that their relationship is over, he makes his way back to the party.
Upon his return, Joey and Perry say an emotional goodbye to Richie, and when they leave, Richie realizes things will not be the same. At Richie's party, members of the Wanderers, the Del Bombers and the Wongs embrace one another while singing "The Wanderer". The movie ends with Joey and Perry traveling to California.
## Cast
- Ken Wahl as Richie Gennaro, the leader of the Wanderers.
- John Friedrich as Joey Capra, Richie's closest friend and a fellow Wanderer.
- Karen Allen as Nina Becker, Richie's love interest.
- Toni Kalem as Despie Galasso, Richie's girlfriend and Chubby Galasso's daughter.
- Tony Ganios as Perry LaGuardia, a member of the Wanderers and a close friend of Joey.
- Jim Youngs as Buddy Borsalino, a leading member of the Wanderers.
- Alan Rosenberg as "Turkey", a member of the Wanderers who wants to join the Fordham Baldies.
- Dolph Sweet as "Chubby" Galasso, the local mafia boss and father of Despie Galasso.
- William Andrews as Emilio Capra, Joey's father.
- Erland van Lidth as Terror, the leader of the Fordham Baldies.
- Linda Manz as "Peewee", Terror's girlfriend.
- Michael Wright as Clinton Stitch, the leader of the Del Bombers.
- Samm-Art Williams as Roger, the only black member of the Fordham Baldies and the cousin of Clinton Stitch.
- Val Avery as Mr. Sharp, a high school teacher.
- Dion Albanese as Teddy Wong, the leader of the Wongs.
Additional actors include Olympia Dukakis as Joey's Mother, the novel's author Richard Price as a Hustler, Wayne Knight (in his film debut) as a Waiter, and Faith Minton as The Big Lady.
## Production
### Development
Philip Kaufman and Richard Price unsuccessfully tried to pitch the project to Alberto Grimaldi. Because of this, Kaufman signed on to direct what would have been the first motion picture based on Star Trek: The Original Series, to be called Star Trek: Planet of the Titans. Allan Scott and Chris Bryant were hired to write the film's screenplay, but their attempt was rejected and Kaufman tried to write the screenplay himself. Before he could finish the screenplay, Paramount Pictures abandoned the project, saying there was no market for science-fiction movies. After the Star Trek project was shelved, Kaufman directed the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. When filming finished, he went to New York and successfully pitched The Wanderers to Martin Ransohoff. According to Kaufman, "the pieces somehow fell together", partly because of the increasing popularity of gang movies.
### Writing
Kaufman's wife Rose wrote the screenplay's first draft. It took her several years to complete: she found adapting the entire novel difficult. Some of the characters and stories from the novel were either changed or given retroactive continuity. Despite the differences, Richard Price approved of Kaufman's adaptation, saying, "I love that picture. It's not my book, and I don't care. The spirit is right, and the way Phil Kaufman directed it showed me another way of looking at my own book."
### Casting
The casting process, which Kaufman described as "arduous", began in New York City. He said teenagers from across the city wanted to audition. Academy Award-winning producer Scott Rudin was the film's casting director who found Erland van Lidth and Linda Manz. There was no character named Peewee in the novel. Rudin had organized an interview with Manz. Kaufman and Price were present; they all thought she had "great character". Manz was so convincing that everyone assumed she was a real member of a street gang. Because of this, the character Peewee was specifically written for her.
Many of the film's actors were unknown at the time of casting. The film was the acting debut of four cast members; Ken Wahl, Tony Ganios, Erland van Lidth and Michael Wright. It was also the feature film debut of Toni Kalem, who had previously acted on television. Kaufman intentionally cast unknown actors; someone sent a photograph of Wahl on his way to his job in a pizza parlor to Rudin, thinking he could play one of the smaller roles in the film. Kaufman felt Wahl was talented, so he cast him in the lead role, instead.
To cast the role of Perry LaGuardia, Kaufman telephoned every gymnasium around New York asking for a "six-foot, four inch, 18 year-old kid". He was put into contact with Ganios, whom he cast in the role. Ganios said:
> After a mysterious phone call, [my uncle] politely asked me to stop training and get dressed. He 'insisted' that I accompany him downtown to what was supposed to be a commercial audition, [but it later] turned out to be an interview for The Wanderers. I thought acting was for sissies, but I went anyway.
### Filming
Filming of The Wanderers began in September 1978, most of it taking place in The Bronx. Kaufman said that during filming, "[This] Puerto Rican motorcycle gang came pushing its way through the crowd; wanting to see what was going on", and "they pushed everyone aside". They walked away after bumping into van Lidth. The crew also encountered trouble from former members of the "real" Baldies, who complained the film portrayed the Baldies incorrectly, saying: "[The movie] is a lie! This was not a bad neighborhood. There was no crime, no robbery. Murder, yes, but no crime!" Rose Kaufman eventually told them to "fuck off", which nearly resulted in a brawl between the former gang members, Wahl and several other actors.
The final battle with the Ducky Boys, which takes place during a football game, was filmed in Van Cortlandt Park. Kaufman compared this scene to a "brutal British soccer brawl"; Ganios compared it to the Battle of Mons Graupius. When asked further about this scene, Ganios said:
> The final fight with the Ducky Boys was absolutely wild, [and] for all practical purposes it was real. For an entire week hundreds of screaming, stunted madmen—armed with real baseball bats, axe handles, and chains—hurled themselves at us in wave after wave of unabated Celtic fury. It got totally out of hand, with the mayhem sometimes continuing for a full five minutes after [the director] yelled cut. Some of the actors and camera crew were seriously injured and had to be hospitalized.
### Editing
During editing, Kaufman removed six minutes of footage from the film.
## Release
The Wanderers was released theatrically on July 13, 1979, by Warner Bros. Kaufman said the film initially had a "very small, limited" release. The director's cut premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in 1995. This was followed by a 1996 theatrical re-release in the U.S. due to the film's popularity. In 2012, the director's cut of The Wanderers was screened to the Film Society at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Both versions of the film were released in 2017 by Kino Lorber under license from the film's producers, who own its rights.
### Critical reception
The film's initial reception was mixed. After an advance screening on December 31, 1978, Variety praised it, saying that "despite" the "uneasy blend of nostalgia and violence", The Wanderers "is a well-made and impressive film". The Kaufmans were also complimented for their script, which was described as "accurately" capturing the "urban angst" of growing up in the early 1960s. Janet Maslin of The New York Times criticized the film in her 1979 review, saying "the movie never attempts to tell a single story" and instead "settles for a string of boisterous vignettes, which are heaped carelessly atop one another without any consistent scheme".
A number of critics praised the film, including Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle, after its 1996 theatrical re-release. Stack noted Kaufman's talent for effectively changing the film's tone and praised the acting abilities of Wahl and Ganios. He also complimented the film's soundtrack.
The film has an approval rating of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. Time Out praised the film, saying it "deliver[s] some great, gross, comic book capers; and rock history gets its most intelligent illustration since Mean Streets".
### Box office performance
The Wanderers made \$5 million at the U.S. box office and \$18 million overseas, for a worldwide gross of \$23 million. When asked about the financial success, Kaufman said the film had done "very well".
### Legacy
Since its initial release, The Wanderers has gained a significant cult following. In 1988, Danny Peary said the film's "sensitive depiction" of teenagers coming-of-age was partly responsible for its cult status. Placing The Wanderers seventh in his list of "lesser-known" cult films, Neil Evans describing the film as a "lost masterpiece". Another writer described the film as a "near masterpiece" and called it "one of the best coming-of-age [films] ever made". On the film's popularity and cult status, Kaufman said:
> It took a long time for [the film] to find [an] audience. It's great to see that now—however many years later—[that] it went to a brief re-release by Warner Bros. [in 1996] because of the cult following. Bravo says it's the most popular film they've shown in the New York area. [The film was also shown] at the Telluride Film Festival. All [of] the people who run the festival are members of The Wanderers fan club, all wear Wanderers jackets, and [they] know every line in the film. They show the film at least twice a year up there [in Colorado]. There were about 1000 people outside, under the mountains and watching the film. It was a great night.
## Soundtrack
Kaufman and Price compiled the soundtrack themselves. The film features Bob Dylan performing "The Times They Are a-Changin'", but the song was not included on the soundtrack album. |
8,569,916 | English language | 1,173,610,475 | West Germanic language | [
"Analytic languages",
"Anglic languages",
"Cultural globalization",
"English language",
"Fusional languages",
"Germanic languages",
"Lingua francas",
"Sahitya Akademi recognised languages",
"Stress-timed languages",
"Subject–verb–object languages"
] | English is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family. Originating in early medieval England, today English is both the most spoken language in the world and the third most spoken native language, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. English is the most widely learned second language and is either the official language or one of the official languages in 59 sovereign states. There are more people who have learned English as a second language than there are native speakers. As of 2005, it was estimated that there were over two billion speakers of English.
English is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain, and its speakers are called Anglophones. English is the primary language of the Anglosphere, which is usually defined as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as of the Republic of Ireland, and it is also widely spoken in areas of the Caribbean, Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. It is a co-official language of the United Nations, the European Union, and many other international and regional organisations. English accounts for at least 70% of speakers of the Germanic language branch.
Old English began as a group of dialects emerging among the West Germanic-speaking Anglo-Saxons who settled Britain. The late Old English period absorbed some grammar and core vocabulary from Old Norse, a North Germanic language. Then, the Middle English period borrowed words extensively from French dialects, which contributes approximately 28% to Modern English vocabulary, and from Latin, which also provides about 28%. Thus, despite a majority of its vocabulary coming from the Romance branch of the Indo-European language family, Modern English is genealogically classified under the Germanic branch. It exists on a dialect continuum with Scots and then is most closely related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages.
## Classification
English is an Indo-European language and belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages. Old English originated from a Germanic tribal and linguistic continuum along the Frisian North Sea coast, whose languages gradually evolved into the Anglic languages in the British Isles, and into the Frisian languages and Low German/Low Saxon on the continent. The Frisian languages, which together with the Anglic languages form the Anglo-Frisian languages, are the closest living relatives of English. Low German/Low Saxon is also closely related, and sometimes English, the Frisian languages, and Low German are grouped together as the Ingvaeonic (North Sea Germanic) languages, though this grouping remains debated. Old English evolved into Middle English, which in turn evolved into Modern English. Particular dialects of Old and Middle English also developed into a number of other Anglic languages, including Scots and the extinct Fingallian and Forth and Bargy (Yola) dialects of Ireland.
Like Icelandic and Faroese, the development of English in the British Isles isolated it from the continental Germanic languages and influences, and it has since diverged considerably. English is not mutually intelligible with any continental Germanic language, differing in vocabulary, syntax, and phonology, although some of these, such as Dutch or Frisian, do show strong affinities with English, especially with its earlier stages.
Unlike Icelandic and Faroese, which were isolated, the development of English was influenced by a long series of invasions of the British Isles by other peoples and languages, particularly Old Norse and Norman French. These left a profound mark of their own on the language, so that English shows some similarities in vocabulary and grammar with many languages outside its linguistic clades—but it is not mutually intelligible with any of those languages either. Some scholars have argued that English can be considered a mixed language or a creole—a theory called the Middle English creole hypothesis. Although the great influence of these languages on the vocabulary and grammar of Modern English is widely acknowledged, most specialists in language contact do not consider English to be a true mixed language.
English is classified as a Germanic language because it shares innovations with other Germanic languages such as Dutch, German, and Swedish. These shared innovations show that the languages have descended from a single common ancestor called Proto-Germanic. Some shared features of Germanic languages include the division of verbs into strong and weak classes, the use of modal verbs, and the sound changes affecting Proto-Indo-European consonants, known as Grimm's and Verner's laws. English is classified as an Anglo-Frisian language because Frisian and English share other features, such as the palatalisation of consonants that were velar consonants in Proto-Germanic (see ).
## History
### Overview of history
The earliest varieties of an English language, collectively known as Old English or "Anglo-Saxon", evolved from a group of North Sea Germanic dialects brought to Britain in the 5th century. Old English dialects were later influenced by Old Norse-speaking Viking settlers and invaders, starting in the 8th and 9th centuries. Middle English began in the late 11th century after the Norman Conquest of England, when considerable Old French, especially Old Norman French, and Latin-derived vocabulary was incorporated into English over some three hundred years.
Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the start of the Great Vowel Shift and the Renaissance trend of borrowing further Latin and Greek words and roots, concurrent with the introduction of the printing press to London. This era notably culminated in the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare. The printing press greatly standardised English spelling, which has remained largely unchanged since then, despite a wide variety of later sound shifts in English dialects.
Modern English has spread around the world since the 17th century as a consequence of the worldwide influence of the British Empire and the United States. Through all types of printed and electronic media in these countries, English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions and professional contexts such as science, navigation, and law. Its modern grammar is the result of a gradual change from a typical Indo-European dependent-marking pattern with a rich inflectional morphology and relatively free word order to a mostly analytic pattern with little inflection and a fairly fixed subject–verb–object word order. Modern English relies more on auxiliary verbs and word order for the expression of complex tenses, aspects and moods, as well as passive constructions, interrogatives, and some negation.
### Proto-Germanic to Old English
The earliest form of English is called Old English or Anglo-Saxon (c. 550–1066). Old English developed from a set of West Germanic dialects, often grouped as Anglo-Frisian or North Sea Germanic, and originally spoken along the coasts of Frisia, Lower Saxony and southern Jutland by Germanic peoples known to the historical record as the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. From the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxons settled Britain as the Roman economy and administration collapsed. By the 7th century, this Germanic language of the Anglo-Saxons became dominant in Britain, replacing the languages of Roman Britain (43–409): Common Brittonic, a Celtic language, and British Latin, brought to Britain by the Roman occupation. At this time, these dialects generally resisted influence from the then-local Brittonic and Latin languages. England and English (originally Ænglaland and Ænglisc) are both named after the Angles.
Old English was divided into four dialects: the Anglian dialects (Mercian and Northumbrian) and the Saxon dialects, Kentish and West Saxon. Through the educational reforms of King Alfred in the 9th century and the influence of the kingdom of Wessex, the West Saxon dialect became the standard written variety. The epic poem Beowulf is written in West Saxon, and the earliest English poem, Cædmon's Hymn, is written in Northumbrian. Modern English developed mainly from Mercian, but the Scots language developed from Northumbrian. A few short inscriptions from the early period of Old English were written using a runic script. By the 6th century, a Latin alphabet was adopted, written with half-uncial letterforms. It included the runic letters wynn and thorn , and the modified Latin letters eth , and ash .
Old English is essentially a distinct language from Modern English and is virtually impossible for 21st-century unstudied English-speakers to understand. Its grammar was similar to that of modern German: nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs had many more inflectional endings and forms, and word order was much freer than in Modern English. Modern English has case forms in pronouns (he, him, his) and has a few verb inflections (speak, speaks, speaking, spoke, spoken), but Old English had case endings in nouns as well, and verbs had more person and number endings. Its closest relative is Old Frisian, but even some centuries after the Anglo-Saxon migration, Old English retained considerable mutual intelligibility with other Germanic varieties. Even in the 9th and 10th centuries, amidst the Danelaw and other Viking invasions, there is historical evidence that Old Norse and Old English retained considerable mutual intelligibility, although probably the northern dialects of Old English were more similar to Old Norse than the southern dialects. Theoretically, as late as the 900s AD, a commoner from certain (northern) parts of England could hold a conversation with a commoner from certain parts of Scandinavia. Research continues into the details of the myriad tribes in peoples in England and Scandinavia and the mutual contacts between them.
The translation of Matthew 8:20 from 1000 shows examples of case endings (nominative plural, accusative plural, genitive singular) and a verb ending (present plural):
- Foxas habbað holu and heofonan fuglas nest
- Fox-as habb-að hol-u and heofon-an fugl-as nest-∅
- fox-NOM.PL have-PRS.PL hole-ACC.PL and heaven-GEN.SG bird-NOM.PL nest-ACC.PL
- "Foxes have holes and the birds of heaven nests"
### Middle English
From the 8th to the 12th century, Old English gradually transformed through language contact into Middle English. Middle English is often arbitrarily defined as beginning with the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066, but it developed further in the period from 1200 to 1450.
First, the waves of Norse (Viking) colonisation of northern parts of the British Isles in the 8th and 9th centuries put Old English into intense contact with Old Norse, a North Germanic language. Norse influence was strongest in the north-eastern varieties of Old English spoken in the Danelaw area around York, which was the centre of Norse colonisation; today these features are still particularly present in Scots and Northern English. The centre of norsified English was in the Midlands around Lindsey. After 920 CE, when Lindsey was reincorporated into the Anglo-Saxon polity, English spread extensively throughout the region. An element of Norse influence that continues in all English varieties today is the pronoun group beginning with th- (they, them, their) which replaced the Anglo-Saxon pronouns with h- (hie, him, hera). Other core Norse loanwords include "give", "get", "sky", "skirt", "egg", and "cake", typically displacing a native Anglo-Saxon equivalent. Old Norse in this era retained considerable mutual intelligibility with some dialects of Old English, particularly northern ones.
With the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, the now-Norsified Old English language was subject to another wave of intense contact, this time with Old French, in particular Old Norman French. Old Norman French in England eventually developed into Anglo-Norman. Because Norman was spoken primarily by the elites and nobles, while the lower classes continued speaking English, the main influence of Norman was the introduction of a wide range of loanwords related to politics, legislation and prestigious social domains. Middle English also greatly simplified the inflectional system, probably in order to reconcile Old Norse and Old English, which were inflectionally different but morphologically similar. The distinction between nominative and accusative cases was lost except in personal pronouns, the instrumental case was dropped, and the use of the genitive case was limited to indicating possession. The inflectional system regularised many irregular inflectional forms, and gradually simplified the system of agreement, making word order less flexible.
In Wycliff'e Bible of the 1380s, the verse Matthew 8:20 was written: Foxis han dennes, and briddis of heuene han nestis. Here the plural suffix -n on the verb have is still retained, but none of the case endings on the nouns are present. By the 12th century Middle English was fully developed, integrating both Norse and French features; it continued to be spoken until the transition to early Modern English around 1500. Middle English literature includes Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, and Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. In the Middle English period, the use of regional dialects in writing proliferated, and dialect traits were even used for effect by authors such as Chaucer.
### Early Modern English
The next period in the history of English was Early Modern English (1500–1700). Early Modern English was characterised by the Great Vowel Shift (1350–1700), inflectional simplification, and linguistic standardisation.
The Great Vowel Shift affected the stressed long vowels of Middle English. It was a chain shift, meaning that each shift triggered a subsequent shift in the vowel system. Mid and open vowels were raised, and close vowels were broken into diphthongs. For example, the word bite was originally pronounced as the word beet is today, and the second vowel in the word about was pronounced as the word boot is today. The Great Vowel Shift explains many irregularities in spelling since English retains many spellings from Middle English, and it also explains why English vowel letters have very different pronunciations from the same letters in other languages.
English began to rise in prestige, relative to Norman French, during the reign of Henry V. Around 1430, the Court of Chancery in Westminster began using English in its official documents, and a new standard form of Middle English, known as Chancery Standard, developed from the dialects of London and the East Midlands. In 1476, William Caxton introduced the printing press to England and began publishing the first printed books in London, expanding the influence of this form of English. Literature from the Early Modern period includes the works of William Shakespeare and the translation of the Bible commissioned by King James I. Even after the vowel shift the language still sounded different from Modern English: for example, the consonant clusters in knight, gnat, and sword were still pronounced. Many of the grammatical features that a modern reader of Shakespeare might find quaint or archaic represent the distinct characteristics of Early Modern English.
In the 1611 King James Version of the Bible, written in Early Modern English, Matthew 8:20 says, "The Foxes haue holes and the birds of the ayre haue nests." This exemplifies the loss of case and its effects on sentence structure (replacement with subject–verb–object word order, and the use of of instead of the non-possessive genitive), and the introduction of loanwords from French (ayre) and word replacements (bird originally meaning "nestling" had replaced OE fugol).
### Spread of Modern English
By the late 18th century, the British Empire had spread English through its colonies and geopolitical dominance. Commerce, science and technology, diplomacy, art, and formal education all contributed to English becoming the first truly global language. English also facilitated worldwide international communication. England continued to form new colonies, and these later developed their own norms for speech and writing. English was adopted in parts of North America, parts of Africa, Oceania, and many other regions. When they obtained political independence, some of the newly independent states that had multiple indigenous languages opted to continue using English as the official language to avoid the political and other difficulties inherent in promoting any one indigenous language above the others. In the 20th century the growing economic and cultural influence of the United States and its status as a superpower following the Second World War has, along with worldwide broadcasting in English by the BBC and other broadcasters, caused the language to spread across the planet much faster. In the 21st century, English is more widely spoken and written than any language has ever been.
As Modern English developed, explicit norms for standard usage were published, and spread through official media such as public education and state-sponsored publications. In 1755 Samuel Johnson published his A Dictionary of the English Language, which introduced standard spellings of words and usage norms. In 1828, Noah Webster published the American Dictionary of the English language to try to establish a norm for speaking and writing American English that was independent of the British standard. Within Britain, non-standard or lower class dialect features were increasingly stigmatised, leading to the quick spread of the prestige varieties among the middle classes.
In modern English, the loss of grammatical case is almost complete (it is now only found in pronouns, such as he and him, she and her, who and whom), and SVO word order is mostly fixed. Some changes, such as the use of do-support, have become universalised. (Earlier English did not use the word "do" as a general auxiliary as Modern English does; at first it was only used in question constructions, and even then was not obligatory. Now, do-support with the verb have is becoming increasingly standardised.) The use of progressive forms in -ing, appears to be spreading to new constructions, and forms such as had been being built are becoming more common. Regularisation of irregular forms also slowly continues (e.g. dreamed instead of dreamt), and analytical alternatives to inflectional forms are becoming more common (e.g. more polite instead of politer). British English is also undergoing change under the influence of American English, fuelled by the strong presence of American English in the media and the prestige associated with the US as a world power.
## Geographical distribution
As of 2016, 400 million people spoke English as their first language, and 1.1 billion spoke it as a secondary language. English is the largest language by number of speakers. English is spoken by communities on every continent and on islands in all the major oceans.
The countries where English is spoken can be grouped into different categories according to how English is used in each country. The "inner circle" countries with many native speakers of English share an international standard of written English and jointly influence speech norms for English around the world. English does not belong to just one country, and it does not belong solely to descendants of English settlers. English is an official language of countries populated by few descendants of native speakers of English. It has also become by far the most important language of international communication when people who share no native language meet anywhere in the world.
### Three circles of English-speaking countries
The Indian linguist Braj Kachru distinguished countries where English is spoken with a three circles model. In his model,
- the "inner circle" countries have large communities of native speakers of English,
- "outer circle" countries have small communities of native speakers of English but widespread use of English as a second language in education or broadcasting or for local official purposes, and
- "expanding circle" countries are countries where many people learn English as a foreign language.
Kachru based his model on the history of how English spread in different countries, how users acquire English, and the range of uses English has in each country. The three circles change membership over time.
Countries with large communities of native speakers of English (the inner circle) include Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand, where the majority speaks English, and South Africa, where a significant minority speaks English. The countries with the most native English speakers are, in descending order, the United States (at least 231 million), the United Kingdom (60 million), Canada (19 million), Australia (at least 17 million), South Africa (4.8 million), Ireland (4.2 million), and New Zealand (3.7 million). In these countries, children of native speakers learn English from their parents, and local people who speak other languages and new immigrants learn English to communicate in their neighbourhoods and workplaces. The inner-circle countries provide the base from which English spreads to other countries in the world.
Estimates of the numbers of second language and foreign-language English speakers vary greatly from 470 million to more than 1 billion, depending on how proficiency is defined. Linguist David Crystal estimates that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1. In Kachru's three-circles model, the "outer circle" countries are countries such as the Philippines, Jamaica, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia and Nigeria with a much smaller proportion of native speakers of English but much use of English as a second language for education, government, or domestic business, and its routine use for school instruction and official interactions with the government.
Those countries have millions of native speakers of dialect continua ranging from an English-based creole to a more standard version of English. They have many more speakers of English who acquire English as they grow up through day-to-day use and listening to broadcasting, especially if they attend schools where English is the medium of instruction. Varieties of English learned by non-native speakers born to English-speaking parents may be influenced, especially in their grammar, by the other languages spoken by those learners. Most of those varieties of English include words little used by native speakers of English in the inner-circle countries, and they may show grammatical and phonological differences from inner-circle varieties as well. The standard English of the inner-circle countries is often taken as a norm for use of English in the outer-circle countries.
In the three-circles model, countries such as Poland, China, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, Egypt, and other countries where English is taught as a foreign language, make up the "expanding circle". The distinctions between English as a first language, as a second language, and as a foreign language are often debatable and may change in particular countries over time. For example, in the Netherlands and some other countries of Europe, knowledge of English as a second language is nearly universal, with over 80 percent of the population able to use it, and thus English is routinely used to communicate with foreigners and often in higher education. In these countries, although English is not used for government business, its widespread use puts them at the boundary between the "outer circle" and "expanding circle". English is unusual among world languages in how many of its users are not native speakers but speakers of English as a second or foreign language.
Many users of English in the expanding circle use it to communicate with other people from the expanding circle, so that interaction with native speakers of English plays no part in their decision to use the language. Non-native varieties of English are widely used for international communication, and speakers of one such variety often encounter features of other varieties. Very often today a conversation in English anywhere in the world may include no native speakers of English at all, even while including speakers from several different countries. This is particularly true of the shared vocabulary of mathematics and the sciences.
### Pluricentric English
English is a pluricentric language, which means that no one national authority sets the standard for use of the language. Spoken English, for example English used in broadcasting, generally follows national pronunciation standards that are established by custom rather than by regulation. International broadcasters are usually identifiable as coming from one country rather than another through their accents, but newsreader scripts are also composed largely in international standard written English. The norms of standard written English are maintained purely by the consensus of educated English-speakers around the world, without any oversight by any government or international organisation.
American listeners generally readily understand most British broadcasting, and British listeners readily understand most American broadcasting. Most English speakers around the world can understand radio programmes, television programmes, and films from many parts of the English-speaking world. Both standard and non-standard varieties of English can include both formal or informal styles, distinguished by word choice and syntax and use both technical and non-technical registers.
The settlement history of the English-speaking inner circle countries outside Britain helped level dialect distinctions and produce koineised forms of English in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The majority of immigrants to the United States without British ancestry rapidly adopted English after arrival. Now the majority of the United States population are monolingual English speakers, and English has been given official or co-official status by 30 of the 50 state governments, as well as all five territorial governments of the US, though there has never been an official language at the federal level.
### English as a global language
English has ceased to be an "English language" in the sense of belonging only to people who are ethnically English. Use of English is growing country-by-country internally and for international communication. Most people learn English for practical rather than ideological reasons. Many speakers of English in Africa have become part of an "Afro-Saxon" language community that unites Africans from different countries.
As decolonisation proceeded throughout the British Empire in the 1950s and 1960s, former colonies often did not reject English but rather continued to use it as independent countries setting their own language policies. For example, the view of the English language among many Indians has gone from associating it with colonialism to associating it with economic progress, and English continues to be an official language of India. English is also widely used in media and literature, and the number of English language books published annually in India is the third largest in the world after the US and UK. However, English is rarely spoken as a first language, numbering only around a couple hundred-thousand people, and less than 5% of the population speak fluent English in India. David Crystal claimed in 2004 that, combining native and non-native speakers, India now has more people who speak or understand English than any other country in the world, but the number of English speakers in India is uncertain, with most scholars concluding that the United States still has more speakers of English than India.
Modern English, sometimes described as the first global lingua franca, is also regarded as the first world language. English is the world's most widely used language in newspaper publishing, book publishing, international telecommunications, scientific publishing, international trade, mass entertainment, and diplomacy. English is, by international treaty, the basis for the required controlled natural languages Seaspeak and Airspeak, used as international languages of seafaring and aviation. English used to have parity with French and German in scientific research, but now it dominates that field. It achieved parity with French as a language of diplomacy at the Treaty of Versailles negotiations in 1919. By the time of the foundation of the United Nations at the end of World War II, English had become pre-eminent and is now the main worldwide language of diplomacy and international relations. It is one of six official languages of the United Nations. Many other worldwide international organisations, including the International Olympic Committee, specify English as a working language or official language of the organisation.
Many regional international organisations such as the European Free Trade Association, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) set English as their organisation's sole working language even though most members are not countries with a majority of native English speakers. While the European Union (EU) allows member states to designate any of the national languages as an official language of the Union, in practice English is the main working language of EU organisations.
Although in most countries English is not an official language, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language. In the countries of the EU, English is the most widely spoken foreign language in nineteen of the twenty-five member states where it is not an official language (that is, the countries other than Ireland and Malta). In a 2012 official Eurobarometer poll (conducted when the UK was still a member of the EU), 38 percent of the EU respondents outside the countries where English is an official language said they could speak English well enough to have a conversation in that language. The next most commonly mentioned foreign language, French (which is the most widely known foreign language in the UK and Ireland), could be used in conversation by 12 percent of respondents.
A working knowledge of English has become a requirement in a number of occupations and professions such as medicine and computing. English has become so important in scientific publishing that more than 80 percent of all scientific journal articles indexed by Chemical Abstracts in 1998 were written in English, as were 90 percent of all articles in natural science publications by 1996 and 82 percent of articles in humanities publications by 1995.
International communities such as international business people may use English as an auxiliary language, with an emphasis on vocabulary suitable for their domain of interest. This has led some scholars to develop the study of English as an auxiliary language. The trademarked Globish uses a relatively small subset of English vocabulary (about 1500 words, designed to represent the highest use in international business English) in combination with the standard English grammar. Other examples include Simple English.
The increased use of the English language globally has had an effect on other languages, leading to some English words being assimilated into the vocabularies of other languages. This influence of English has led to concerns about language death, and to claims of linguistic imperialism, and has provoked resistance to the spread of English; however the number of speakers continues to increase because many people around the world think that English provides them with opportunities for better employment and improved lives.
Although some scholars mention a possibility of future divergence of English dialects into mutually unintelligible languages, most think a more likely outcome is that English will continue to function as a koineised language in which the standard form unifies speakers from around the world. English is used as the language for wider communication in countries around the world. Thus English has grown in worldwide use much more than any constructed language proposed as an international auxiliary language, including Esperanto.
## Phonology
The phonetics and phonology of the English language differ from one dialect to another, usually without interfering with mutual communication. Phonological variation affects the inventory of phonemes (i.e. speech sounds that distinguish meaning), and phonetic variation consists in differences in pronunciation of the phonemes. This overview mainly describes the standard pronunciations of the United Kingdom and the United States: Received Pronunciation (RP) and General American (GA). (See , below.)
The phonetic symbols used below are from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
### Consonants
Most English dialects share the same 24 consonant phonemes. The consonant inventory shown below is valid for California English, and for RP.
\* Conventionally transcribed
In the table, when obstruents (stops, affricates, and fricatives) appear in pairs, such as , , and , the first is fortis (strong) and the second is lenis (weak). Fortis obstruents, such as are pronounced with more muscular tension and breath force than lenis consonants, such as , and are always voiceless. Lenis consonants are partly voiced at the beginning and end of utterances, and fully voiced between vowels. Fortis stops such as have additional articulatory or acoustic features in most dialects: they are aspirated when they occur alone at the beginning of a stressed syllable, often unaspirated in other cases, and often unreleased or pre-glottalised at the end of a syllable. In a single-syllable word, a vowel before a fortis stop is shortened: thus nip has a noticeably shorter vowel (phonetically, but not phonemically) than nib (see below).
- lenis stops: bin , about , nib
- fortis stops: pin ; spin ; happy ; nip or
In RP, the lateral approximant , has two main allophones (pronunciation variants): the clear or plain , as in light, and the dark or velarised , as in full. GA has dark l in most cases.
- clear l: RP light
- dark l: RP and GA full , GA light
All sonorants (liquids and nasals ) devoice when following a voiceless obstruent, and they are syllabic when following a consonant at the end of a word.
- voiceless sonorants: clay ; snow RP , GA
- syllabic sonorants: paddle , button
### Vowels
The pronunciation of vowels varies a great deal between dialects and is one of the most detectable aspects of a speaker's accent. The table below lists the vowel phonemes in Received Pronunciation (RP) and General American (GA), with examples of words in which they occur from lexical sets compiled by linguists. The vowels are represented with symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet; those given for RP are standard in British dictionaries and other publications.
In RP, vowel length is phonemic; long vowels are marked with a triangular colon in the table above, such as the vowel of need as opposed to bid . In GA, vowel length is non-distinctive.
In both RP and GA, vowels are phonetically shortened before fortis consonants in the same syllable, like , but not before lenis consonants like or in open syllables: thus, the vowels of rich , neat , and safe are noticeably shorter than the vowels of ridge , need , and save , and the vowel of light is shorter than that of lie . Because lenis consonants are frequently voiceless at the end of a syllable, vowel length is an important cue as to whether the following consonant is lenis or fortis.
The vowel only occurs in unstressed syllables and is more open in quality in stem-final positions. Some dialects do not contrast and in unstressed positions, so that rabbit and abbot rhyme and Lenin and Lennon are homophonous, a dialect feature called weak vowel merger. GA and are realised as an r-coloured vowel , as in further (phonemically ), which in RP is realised as (phonemically ).
### Phonotactics
An English syllable includes a syllable nucleus consisting of a vowel sound. Syllable onset and coda (start and end) are optional. A syllable can start with up to three consonant sounds, as in sprint , and end with up to five, as in (for some dialects) angsts . This gives an English syllable the following structure, (CCC)V(CCCCC), where C represents a consonant and V a vowel; the word strengths is thus close to the most complex syllable possible in English. The consonants that may appear together in onsets or codas are restricted, as is the order in which they may appear. Onsets can only have four types of consonant clusters: a stop and approximant, as in play; a voiceless fricative and approximant, as in fly or sly; s and a voiceless stop, as in stay; and s, a voiceless stop, and an approximant, as in string. Clusters of nasal and stop are only allowed in codas. Clusters of obstruents always agree in voicing, and clusters of sibilants and of plosives with the same point of articulation are prohibited. Furthermore, several consonants have limited distributions: can only occur in syllable-initial position, and only in syllable-final position.
### Stress, rhythm and intonation
Stress plays an important role in English. Certain syllables are stressed, while others are unstressed. Stress is a combination of duration, intensity, vowel quality, and sometimes changes in pitch. Stressed syllables are pronounced longer and louder than unstressed syllables, and vowels in unstressed syllables are frequently reduced while vowels in stressed syllables are not. Some words, primarily short function words but also some modal verbs such as can, have weak and strong forms depending on whether they occur in stressed or non-stressed position within a sentence.
Stress in English is phonemic, and some pairs of words are distinguished by stress. For instance, the word contract is stressed on the first syllable (/ˈkɒntrækt/ KON-trakt) when used as a noun, but on the last syllable (/kənˈtrækt/ kən-TRAKT) for most meanings (for example, "reduce in size") when used as a verb. Here stress is connected to vowel reduction: in the noun "contract" the first syllable is stressed and has the unreduced vowel , but in the verb "contract" the first syllable is unstressed and its vowel is reduced to . Stress is also used to distinguish between words and phrases, so that a compound word receives a single stress unit, but the corresponding phrase has two: e.g. a burnout (/ˈbɜːrnaʊt/) versus to burn out (/ˈbɜːrn ˈaʊt/), and a hotdog (/ˈhɒtdɒɡ/) versus a hot dog (/ˈhɒt ˈdɒɡ/).
In terms of rhythm, English is generally described as a stress-timed language, meaning that the amount of time between stressed syllables tends to be equal. Stressed syllables are pronounced longer, but unstressed syllables (syllables between stresses) are shortened. Vowels in unstressed syllables are shortened as well, and vowel shortening causes changes in vowel quality: vowel reduction.
### Regional variation
Varieties of English vary the most in pronunciation of vowels. The best known national varieties used as standards for education in non-English-speaking countries are British (BrE) and American (AmE). Countries such as Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa have their own standard varieties which are less often used as standards for education internationally. Some differences between the various dialects are shown in the table "Varieties of Standard English and their features".
English has undergone many historical sound changes, some of them affecting all varieties, and others affecting only a few. Most standard varieties are affected by the Great Vowel Shift, which changed the pronunciation of long vowels, but a few dialects have slightly different results. In North America, a number of chain shifts such as the Northern Cities Vowel Shift and Canadian Shift have produced very different vowel landscapes in some regional accents.
Some dialects have fewer or more consonant phonemes and phones than the standard varieties. Some conservative varieties like Scottish English have a voiceless sound in whine that contrasts with the voiced in wine, but most other dialects pronounce both words with voiced , a dialect feature called wine–whine merger. The unvoiced velar fricative sound is found in Scottish English, which distinguishes loch from lock . Accents like Cockney with "h-dropping" lack the glottal fricative , and dialects with th-stopping and th-fronting like African-American Vernacular and Estuary English do not have the dental fricatives , but replace them with dental or alveolar stops or labiodental fricatives . Other changes affecting the phonology of local varieties are processes such as yod-dropping, yod-coalescence, and reduction of consonant clusters.
General American and Received Pronunciation vary in their pronunciation of historical after a vowel at the end of a syllable (in the syllable coda). GA is a rhotic dialect, meaning that it pronounces at the end of a syllable, but RP is non-rhotic, meaning that it loses in that position. English dialects are classified as rhotic or non-rhotic depending on whether they elide like RP or keep it like GA.
There is complex dialectal variation in words with the open front and open back vowels . These four vowels are only distinguished in RP, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In GA, these vowels merge to three , and in Canadian English, they merge to two . In addition, the words that have each vowel vary by dialect. The table "Dialects and open vowels" shows this variation with lexical sets in which these sounds occur.
## Grammar
As is typical of an Indo-European language, English follows accusative morphosyntactic alignment. Unlike other Indo-European languages though, English has largely abandoned the inflectional case system in favour of analytic constructions. Only the personal pronouns retain morphological case more strongly than any other word class. English distinguishes at least seven major word classes: verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, determiners (including articles), prepositions, and conjunctions. Some analyses add pronouns as a class separate from nouns, and subdivide conjunctions into subordinators and coordinators, and add the class of interjections. English also has a rich set of auxiliary verbs, such as have and do, expressing the categories of mood and aspect. Questions are marked by do-support, wh-movement (fronting of question words beginning with wh-) and word order inversion with some verbs.
Some traits typical of Germanic languages persist in English, such as the distinction between irregularly inflected strong stems inflected through ablaut (i.e. changing the vowel of the stem, as in the pairs speak/spoke and foot/feet) and weak stems inflected through affixation (such as love/loved, hand/hands). Vestiges of the case and gender system are found in the pronoun system (he/him, who/whom) and in the inflection of the copula verb to be.
The seven word-classes are exemplified in this sample sentence:
### Nouns and noun phrases
English nouns are only inflected for number and possession. New nouns can be formed through derivation or compounding. They are semantically divided into proper nouns (names) and common nouns. Common nouns are in turn divided into concrete and abstract nouns, and grammatically into count nouns and mass nouns.
Most count nouns are inflected for plural number through the use of the plural suffix -s, but a few nouns have irregular plural forms. Mass nouns can only be pluralised through the use of a count noun classifier, e.g. one loaf of bread, two loaves of bread.
Regular plural formation:
- Singular: cat, dog
- Plural: cats, dogs
Irregular plural formation:
- Singular: man, woman, foot, fish, ox, knife, mouse
- Plural: men, women, feet, fish, oxen, knives, mice
Possession can be expressed either by the possessive enclitic -s (also traditionally called a genitive suffix), or by the preposition of. Historically the -s possessive has been used for animate nouns, whereas the of possessive has been reserved for inanimate nouns. Today this distinction is less clear, and many speakers use -s also with inanimates. Orthographically the possessive -s is separated from a singular noun with an apostrophe. If the noun is plural formed with -s the apostrophe follows the -s.
Possessive constructions:
- With -s: The woman's husband's child
- With of: The child of the husband of the woman
Nouns can form noun phrases (NPs) where they are the syntactic head of the words that depend on them such as determiners, quantifiers, conjunctions or adjectives. Noun phrases can be short, such as the man, composed only of a determiner and a noun. They can also include modifiers such as adjectives (e.g. red, tall, all) and specifiers such as determiners (e.g. the, that). But they can also tie together several nouns into a single long NP, using conjunctions such as and, or prepositions such as with, e.g. the tall man with the long red trousers and his skinny wife with the spectacles (this NP uses conjunctions, prepositions, specifiers, and modifiers). Regardless of length, an NP functions as a syntactic unit. For example, the possessive enclitic can, in cases which do not lead to ambiguity, follow the entire noun phrase, as in The President of India's wife, where the enclitic follows India and not President.
The class of determiners is used to specify the noun they precede in terms of definiteness, where the marks a definite noun and a or an an indefinite one. A definite noun is assumed by the speaker to be already known by the interlocutor, whereas an indefinite noun is not specified as being previously known. Quantifiers, which include one, many, some and all, are used to specify the noun in terms of quantity or number. The noun must agree with the number of the determiner, e.g. one man (sg.) but all men (pl.). Determiners are the first constituents in a noun phrase.
#### Adjectives
English adjectives are words such as good, big, interesting, and Canadian that most typically modify nouns, denoting characteristics of their referents (e.g., a red car). As modifiers, they come before the nouns they modify and after determiners. English adjectives also function as predicative complements (e.g., the child is happy).
In Modern English, adjectives are not inflected so as to agree in form with the noun they modify, as adjectives in most other Indo-European languages do. For example, in the phrases the slender boy, and many slender girls, the adjective slender does not change form to agree with either the number or gender of the noun.
Some adjectives are inflected for degree of comparison, with the positive degree unmarked, the suffix -er marking the comparative, and -est marking the superlative: a small boy, the boy is smaller than the girl, that boy is the smallest. Some adjectives have irregular suppletive comparative and superlative forms, such as good, better, and best. Other adjectives have comparatives formed by periphrastic constructions, with the adverb more marking the comparative, and most marking the superlative: happier or more happy, the happiest or most happy. There is some variation among speakers regarding which adjectives use inflected or periphrastic comparison, and some studies have shown a tendency for the periphrastic forms to become more common at the expense of the inflected form.
#### Determiners
English determiners are words such as the, each, many, some, and which, occurring most typically in noun phrases before the head nouns and any modifiers and marking the noun phrase as definite or indefinite. They often agree with the noun in number. They do not typically inflect for degree of comparison.
#### Pronouns, case, and person
English pronouns conserve many traits of case and gender inflection. The personal pronouns retain a difference between subjective and objective case in most persons (I/me, he/him, she/her, we/us, they/them) as well as an animateness distinction in the third person singular (distinguishing it from the three sets of animate third person singular pronouns) and an optional gender distinction in the animate third person singular (distinguishing between she/her [feminine], they/them [epicene], and he/him [masculine]). The subjective case corresponds to the Old English nominative case, and the objective case is used in the sense both of the previous accusative case (for a patient, or direct object of a transitive verb), and of the Old English dative case (for a recipient or indirect object of a transitive verb). The subjective is used when the pronoun is the subject of a finite clause, otherwise the objective is used. While grammarians such as Henry Sweet and Otto Jespersen noted that the English cases did not correspond to the traditional Latin-based system, some contemporary grammars, for example , retain traditional labels for the cases, calling them nominative and accusative cases respectively.
Possessive pronouns exist in dependent and independent forms; the dependent form functions as a determiner specifying a noun (as in my chair), while the independent form can stand alone as if it were a noun (e.g. the chair is mine). The English system of grammatical person no longer has a distinction between formal and informal pronouns of address (the old second person singular familiar pronoun thou acquired a pejorative or inferior tinge of meaning and was abandoned).
Both the second and third persons share pronouns between the plural and singular:
- Plural and singular are always identical (you, your, yours) in the second person (except in the reflexive form: yourself/yourselves) in most dialects. Some dialects have introduced innovative second person plural pronouns, such as y'all (found in Southern American English and African-American (Vernacular) English), youse (found in Australian English), or ye (in Hiberno-English).
- In the third person, the they/them series of pronouns (they, them, their, theirs, themselves) are used in both plural and singular, and are the only pronouns available for the plural. In the singular, the they/them series (sometimes with the addition of the singular-specific reflexive form themself) serve as a gender-neutral set of pronouns. These pronouns are becoming more accepted as part of the LGBT culture.
Pronouns are used to refer to entities deictically or anaphorically. A deictic pronoun points to some person or object by identifying it relative to the speech situation—for example, the pronoun I identifies the speaker, and the pronoun you, the addressee. Anaphoric pronouns such as that refer back to an entity already mentioned or assumed by the speaker to be known by the audience, for example in the sentence I already told you that. The reflexive pronouns are used when the oblique argument is identical to the subject of a phrase (e.g. "he sent it to himself" or "she braced herself for impact").
#### Prepositions
Prepositional phrases (PP) are phrases composed of a preposition and one or more nouns, e.g. with the dog, for my friend, to school, in England. Prepositions have a wide range of uses in English. They are used to describe movement, place, and other relations between different entities, but they also have many syntactic uses such as introducing complement clauses and oblique arguments of verbs. For example, in the phrase I gave it to him, the preposition to marks the recipient, or Indirect Object of the verb to give. Traditionally words were only considered prepositions if they governed the case of the noun they preceded, for example causing the pronouns to use the objective rather than subjective form, "with her", "to me", "for us". But some contemporary grammars such as that of no longer consider government of case to be the defining feature of the class of prepositions, rather defining prepositions as words that can function as the heads of prepositional phrases.
### Verbs and verb phrases
English verbs are inflected for tense and aspect and marked for agreement with present-tense third-person singular subject. Only the copula verb to be is still inflected for agreement with the plural and first and second person subjects. Auxiliary verbs such as have and be are paired with verbs in the infinitive, past, or progressive forms. They form complex tenses, aspects, and moods. Auxiliary verbs differ from other verbs in that they can be followed by the negation, and in that they can occur as the first constituent in a question sentence.
Most verbs have six inflectional forms. The primary forms are a plain present, a third-person singular present, and a preterite (past) form. The secondary forms are a plain form used for the infinitive, a gerund-participle and a past participle. The copula verb to be is the only verb to retain some of its original conjugation, and takes different inflectional forms depending on the subject. The first-person present-tense form is am, the third person singular form is is, and the form are is used in the second-person singular and all three plurals. The only verb past participle is been and its gerund-participle is being.
#### Tense, aspect and mood
English has two primary tenses, past (preterite) and non-past. The preterite is inflected by using the preterite form of the verb, which for the regular verbs includes the suffix -ed, and for the strong verbs either the suffix -t or a change in the stem vowel. The non-past form is unmarked except in the third person singular, which takes the suffix -s.
English does not have future verb forms. The future tense is expressed periphrastically with one of the auxiliary verbs will or shall. Many varieties also use a near future constructed with the phrasal verb be going to ("going-to future").
Further aspectual distinctions are shown by auxiliary verbs, primarily have and be, which show the contrast between a perfect and non-perfect past tense (I have run vs. I was running), and compound tenses such as preterite perfect (I had been running) and present perfect (I have been running).
For the expression of mood, English uses a number of modal auxiliaries, such as can, may, will, shall and the past tense forms could, might, would, should. There are also subjunctive and imperative moods, both based on the plain form of the verb (i.e. without the third person singular -s), for use in subordinate clauses (e.g. subjunctive: It is important that he run every day; imperative Run!).
An infinitive form, that uses the plain form of the verb and the preposition to, is used for verbal clauses that are syntactically subordinate to a finite verbal clause. Finite verbal clauses are those that are formed around a verb in the present or preterite form. In clauses with auxiliary verbs, they are the finite verbs and the main verb is treated as a subordinate clause. For example, he has to go where only the auxiliary verb have is inflected for time and the main verb to go is in the infinitive, or in a complement clause such as I saw him leave, where the main verb is see, which is in a preterite form, and leave is in the infinitive.
#### Phrasal verbs
English also makes frequent use of constructions traditionally called phrasal verbs, verb phrases that are made up of a verb root and a preposition or particle that follows the verb. The phrase then functions as a single predicate. In terms of intonation the preposition is fused to the verb, but in writing it is written as a separate word. Examples of phrasal verbs are to get up, to ask out, to back up, to give up, to get together, to hang out, to put up with, etc. The phrasal verb frequently has a highly idiomatic meaning that is more specialised and restricted than what can be simply extrapolated from the combination of verb and preposition complement (e.g. lay off meaning terminate someone's employment). In spite of the idiomatic meaning, some grammarians, including , do not consider this type of construction to form a syntactic constituent and hence refrain from using the term "phrasal verb". Instead, they consider the construction simply to be a verb with a prepositional phrase as its syntactic complement, i.e. he woke up in the morning and he ran up in the mountains are syntactically equivalent.
#### Adverbs
The function of adverbs is to modify the action or event described by the verb by providing additional information about the manner in which it occurs. Many adverbs are derived from adjectives by appending the suffix -ly. For example, in the phrase the woman walked quickly, the adverb quickly is derived in this way from the adjective quick. Some commonly used adjectives have irregular adverbial forms, such as good, which has the adverbial form well.
### Syntax
Modern English syntax language is moderately analytic. It has developed features such as modal verbs and word order as resources for conveying meaning. Auxiliary verbs mark constructions such as questions, negative polarity, the passive voice and progressive aspect.
#### Basic constituent order
English word order has moved from the Germanic verb-second (V2) word order to being almost exclusively subject–verb–object (SVO). The combination of SVO order and use of auxiliary verbs often creates clusters of two or more verbs at the centre of the sentence, such as he had hoped to try to open it.
In most sentences, English only marks grammatical relations through word order. The subject constituent precedes the verb and the object constituent follows it. The example below demonstrates how the grammatical roles of each constituent are marked only by the position relative to the verb:
An exception is found in sentences where one of the constituents is a pronoun, in which case it is doubly marked, both by word order and by case inflection, where the subject pronoun precedes the verb and takes the subjective case form, and the object pronoun follows the verb and takes the objective case form. The example below demonstrates this double marking in a sentence where both object and subject are represented with a third person singular masculine pronoun:
Indirect objects (IO) of ditransitive verbs can be placed either as the first object in a double object construction (S V IO O), such as I gave Jane the book or in a prepositional phrase, such as I gave the book to Jane.
#### Clause syntax
In English a sentence may be composed of one or more clauses, that may, in turn, be composed of one or more phrases (e.g. Noun Phrases, Verb Phrases, and Prepositional Phrases). A clause is built around a verb and includes its constituents, such as any NPs and PPs. Within a sentence, there is always at least one main clause (or matrix clause) whereas other clauses are subordinate to a main clause. Subordinate clauses may function as arguments of the verb in the main clause. For example, in the phrase I think (that) you are lying, the main clause is headed by the verb think, the subject is I, but the object of the phrase is the subordinate clause (that) you are lying. The subordinating conjunction that shows that the clause that follows is a subordinate clause, but it is often omitted. Relative clauses are clauses that function as a modifier or specifier to some constituent in the main clause: For example, in the sentence I saw the letter that you received today, the relative clause that you received today specifies the meaning of the word letter, the object of the main clause. Relative clauses can be introduced by the pronouns who, whose, whom and which as well as by that (which can also be omitted.) In contrast to many other Germanic languages there are no major differences between word order in main and subordinate clauses.
#### Auxiliary verb constructions
English syntax relies on auxiliary verbs for many functions including the expression of tense, aspect, and mood. Auxiliary verbs form main clauses, and the main verbs function as heads of a subordinate clause of the auxiliary verb. For example, in the sentence the dog did not find its bone, the clause find its bone is the complement of the negated verb did not. Subject–auxiliary inversion is used in many constructions, including focus, negation, and interrogative constructions.
The verb do can be used as an auxiliary even in simple declarative sentences, where it usually serves to add emphasis, as in "I did shut the fridge." However, in the negated and inverted clauses referred to above, it is used because the rules of English syntax permit these constructions only when an auxiliary is present. Modern English does not allow the addition of the negating adverb not to an ordinary finite lexical verb, as in \*I know not—it can only be added to an auxiliary (or copular) verb, hence if there is no other auxiliary present when negation is required, the auxiliary do is used, to produce a form like I do not (don't) know. The same applies in clauses requiring inversion, including most questions—inversion must involve the subject and an auxiliary verb, so it is not possible to say \*Know you him?; grammatical rules require Do you know him?
Negation is done with the adverb not, which precedes the main verb and follows an auxiliary verb. A contracted form of not -n't can be used as an enclitic attaching to auxiliary verbs and to the copula verb to be. Just as with questions, many negative constructions require the negation to occur with do-support, thus in Modern English I don't know him is the correct answer to the question Do you know him?, but not \*I know him not, although this construction may be found in older English.
Passive constructions also use auxiliary verbs. A passive construction rephrases an active construction in such a way that the object of the active phrase becomes the subject of the passive phrase, and the subject of the active phrase is either omitted or demoted to a role as an oblique argument introduced in a prepositional phrase. They are formed by using the past participle either with the auxiliary verb to be or to get, although not all varieties of English allow the use of passives with get. For example, putting the sentence she sees him into the passive becomes he is seen (by her), or he gets seen (by her).
#### Questions
Both yes–no questions and wh-questions in English are mostly formed using subject–auxiliary inversion (Am I going tomorrow?, Where can we eat?), which may require do-support (Do you like her?, Where did he go?). In most cases, interrogative words (wh-words; e.g. what, who, where, when, why, how) appear in a fronted position. For example, in the question What did you see?, the word what appears as the first constituent despite being the grammatical object of the sentence. (When the wh-word is the subject or forms part of the subject, no inversion occurs: Who saw the cat?.) Prepositional phrases can also be fronted when they are the question's theme, e.g. To whose house did you go last night?. The personal interrogative pronoun who is the only interrogative pronoun to still show inflection for case, with the variant whom serving as the objective case form, although this form may be going out of use in many contexts.
#### Discourse level syntax
While English is a subject-prominent language, at the discourse level it tends to use a topic-comment structure, where the known information (topic) precedes the new information (comment). Because of the strict SVO syntax, the topic of a sentence generally has to be the grammatical subject of the sentence. In cases where the topic is not the grammatical subject of the sentence, it is often promoted to subject position through syntactic means. One way of doing this is through a passive construction, the girl was stung by the bee. Another way is through a cleft sentence where the main clause is demoted to be a complement clause of a copula sentence with a dummy subject such as it or there, e.g. it was the girl that the bee stung, there was a girl who was stung by a bee. Dummy subjects are also used in constructions where there is no grammatical subject such as with impersonal verbs (e.g., it is raining) or in existential clauses (there are many cars on the street). Through the use of these complex sentence constructions with informationally vacuous subjects, English is able to maintain both a topic-comment sentence structure and a SVO syntax.
Focus constructions emphasise a particular piece of new or salient information within a sentence, generally through allocating the main sentence level stress on the focal constituent. For example, the girl was stung by a bee (emphasising it was a bee and not, for example, a wasp that stung her), or The girl was stung by a bee (contrasting with another possibility, for example that it was the boy). Topic and focus can also be established through syntactic dislocation, either preposing or postposing the item to be focused on relative to the main clause. For example, That girl over there, she was stung by a bee, emphasises the girl by preposition, but a similar effect could be achieved by postposition, she was stung by a bee, that girl over there, where reference to the girl is established as an "afterthought".
Cohesion between sentences is achieved through the use of deictic pronouns as anaphora (e.g. that is exactly what I mean where that refers to some fact known to both interlocutors, or then used to locate the time of a narrated event relative to the time of a previously narrated event). Discourse markers such as oh, so or well, also signal the progression of ideas between sentences and help to create cohesion. Discourse markers are often the first constituents in sentences. Discourse markers are also used for stance taking in which speakers position themselves in a specific attitude towards what is being said, for example, no way is that true! (the idiomatic marker no way! expressing disbelief), or boy! I'm hungry (the marker boy expressing emphasis). While discourse markers are particularly characteristic of informal and spoken registers of English, they are also used in written and formal registers.
## Vocabulary
It is generally stated that English has around 170,000 words, or 220,000 if obsolete words are counted; this estimate is based on the last full edition of the Oxford English Dictionary from 1989. Over half of these words are nouns, a quarter adjectives, and a seventh verbs. There is one count that puts the English vocabulary at about 1 million words—but that count presumably includes words such as Latin species names, scientific terminology, botanical terms, prefixed and suffixed words, jargon, foreign words of extremely limited English use, and technical acronyms.
Due to its status as an international language, English adopts foreign words quickly and borrows vocabulary from many other sources. Early studies of English vocabulary by lexicographers, the scholars who formally study vocabulary, compile dictionaries, or both, were impeded by a lack of comprehensive data on actual vocabulary in use from good-quality linguistic corpora, collections of actual written texts and spoken passages. Many statements published before the end of the 20th century about the growth of English vocabulary over time, the dates of first use of various words in English, and the sources of English vocabulary will have to be corrected as new computerised analysis of linguistic corpus data becomes available.
### Word formation processes
English forms new words from existing words or roots in its vocabulary through a variety of processes. One of the most productive processes in English is conversion, using a word with a different grammatical role, for example using a noun as a verb or a verb as a noun. Another productive word-formation process is nominal compounding, producing compound words such as babysitter or ice cream or homesick. A process more common in Old English than in Modern English, but still productive in Modern English, is the use of derivational suffixes (-hood, -ness, -ing, -ility) to derive new words from existing words (especially those of Germanic origin) or stems (especially for words of Latin or Greek origin).
Formation of new words, called neologisms, based on Greek and/or Latin roots (for example television or optometry) is a highly productive process in English and in most modern European languages, so much so that it is often difficult to determine in which language a neologism originated. For this reason, American lexicographer Philip Gove attributed many such words to the "international scientific vocabulary" (ISV) when compiling Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1961). Another active word-formation process in English are acronyms, words formed by pronouncing as a single word abbreviations of longer phrases, e.g. NATO, laser.
### Word origins
English, besides forming new words from existing words and their roots, also borrows words from other languages. This borrowing is commonplace in many world languages, but English has been especially open to borrowing of foreign words throughout the last 1,000 years. Nevertheless, most of the core vocabulary and the most common words in English are still West Germanic. The English words first learned by children as they learn to speak are mainly Germanic words from Old English. It is not possible to speak or write English without Germanic words, but it is possible to write or speak many sentences in English without foreign loanwords.
But one of the consequences of long language contact between French and English in all stages of their development is that the vocabulary of English has a very high percentage of "Latinate" words (derived from French, especially, and also from other Romance languages and Latin). French words from various periods of the development of French now make up one-third of the vocabulary of English. Linguist Anthony Lacoudre estimated that over 40,000 English words are of French origin and may be understood without orthographical change by French speakers. Words of Old Norse origin have entered the English language primarily from the contact between Old Norse and Old English during colonisation of eastern and northern England. Many of these words are part of English core vocabulary, such as egg and knife.
English has also borrowed many words directly from Latin, the ancestor of the Romance languages, during all stages of its development. Many of these words had earlier been borrowed into Latin from Greek. Latin or Greek are still highly productive sources of stems used to form vocabulary of subjects learned in higher education such as the sciences, philosophy, and mathematics. English continues to gain new loanwords and calques ("loan translations") from languages all over the world, and words from languages other than the ancestral Anglo-Saxon language make up about 60% of the vocabulary of English.
English has formal and informal speech registers; informal registers, including child-directed speech, tend to be made up predominantly of words of Anglo-Saxon origin, while the percentage of vocabulary that is of Latinate origin is higher in legal, scientific, and academic texts.
### English loanwords and calques in other languages
English has had a strong influence on the vocabulary of other languages. The influence of English comes from such factors as opinion leaders in other countries knowing the English language, the role of English as a world lingua franca, and the large number of books and films that are translated from English into other languages. That pervasive use of English leads to a conclusion in many places that English is an especially suitable language for expressing new ideas or describing new technologies. Among varieties of English, it is especially American English that influences other languages. Some languages, such as Chinese, write words borrowed from English mostly as calques, while others, such as Japanese, readily take in English loanwords written in sound-indicating script. Dubbed films and television programmes are an especially fruitful source of English influence on languages in Europe.
## Writing system
Since the ninth century, English has been written in a Latin alphabet (also called Roman alphabet). Earlier Old English texts in Anglo-Saxon runes are only short inscriptions. The great majority of literary works in Old English that survive to today are written in the Roman alphabet. The modern English alphabet contains 26 letters of the Latin script: 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 (which also have capital forms: 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).
The spelling system, or orthography, of English is multi-layered and complex, with elements of French, Latin, and Greek spelling on top of the native Germanic system. Further complications have arisen through sound changes with which the orthography has not kept pace. Compared to European languages for which official organisations have promoted spelling reforms, English has spelling that is a less consistent indicator of pronunciation, and standard spellings of words that are more difficult to guess from knowing how a word is pronounced. There are also systematic spelling differences between British and American English. These situations have prompted proposals for spelling reform in English.
Although letters and speech sounds do not have a one-to-one correspondence in standard English spelling, spelling rules that take into account syllable structure, phonetic changes in derived words, and word accent are reliable for most English words. Moreover, standard English spelling shows etymological relationships between related words that would be obscured by a closer correspondence between pronunciation and spelling, for example the words photograph, photography, and photographic, or the words electricity and electrical. While few scholars agree with Chomsky and Halle (1968) that conventional English orthography is "near-optimal", there is a rationale for current English spelling patterns. The standard orthography of English is the most widely used writing system in the world. Standard English spelling is based on a graphomorphemic segmentation of words into written clues of what meaningful units make up each word.
Readers of English can generally rely on the correspondence between spelling and pronunciation to be fairly regular for letters or digraphs used to spell consonant sounds. The letters b, d, f, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, y, z represent, respectively, the phonemes . The letters c and g normally represent and , but there is also a soft c pronounced , and a soft g pronounced . The differences in the pronunciations of the letters c and g are often signalled by the following letters in standard English spelling. Digraphs used to represent phonemes and phoneme sequences include ch for , sh for , th for or , ng for , qu for , and ph for in Greek-derived words. The single letter x is generally pronounced as in word-initial position and as otherwise. There are exceptions to these generalisations, often the result of loanwords being spelled according to the spelling patterns of their languages of origin or residues of proposals by scholars in the early period of Modern English to follow the spelling patterns of Latin for English words of Germanic origin.
For the vowel sounds of the English language, however, correspondences between spelling and pronunciation are more irregular. There are many more vowel phonemes in English than there are single vowel letters (a, e, i, o, u, w, y). As a result, some "long vowels" are often indicated by combinations of letters (like the oa in boat, the ow in how, and the ay in stay), or the historically based silent e (as in note and cake).
The consequence of this complex orthographic history is that learning to read and write can be challenging in English. It can take longer for school pupils to become independently fluent readers of English than of many other languages, including Italian, Spanish, and German. Nonetheless, there is an advantage for learners of English reading in learning the specific sound-symbol regularities that occur in the standard English spellings of commonly used words. Such instruction greatly reduces the risk of children experiencing reading difficulties in English. Making primary school teachers more aware of the primacy of morpheme representation in English may help learners learn more efficiently to read and write English.
English writing also includes a system of punctuation marks that is similar to those used in most alphabetic languages around the world. The purpose of punctuation is to mark meaningful grammatical relationships in sentences to aid readers in understanding a text and to indicate features important for reading a text aloud.
## Dialects, accents and varieties
Dialectologists identify many English dialects, which usually refer to regional varieties that differ from each other in terms of patterns of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The pronunciation of particular areas distinguishes dialects as separate regional accents. The major native dialects of English are often divided by linguists into the two extremely general categories of British English (BrE) and North American English (NAE). There also exists a third common major grouping of English varieties: Southern Hemisphere English, the most prominent being Australian and New Zealand English.
### Britain and Ireland
Since the English language first evolved in Britain and Ireland, the archipelago is home to the language's most diverse dialects, particularly in England. Within the United Kingdom, the Received Pronunciation (RP), an educated dialect of South East England, is traditionally used as the broadcast standard and is considered the most prestigious of the British dialects. The spread of RP (also known as BBC English) through the media has caused many traditional dialects of rural England to recede, as youths adopt the traits of the prestige variety instead of traits from local dialects. At the time of the Survey of English Dialects, grammar and vocabulary differed across the country, but a process of lexical attrition has led most of this variation to disappear.
Nonetheless, this attrition has mostly affected dialectal variation in grammar and vocabulary. In fact, only 3% of the English population actually speak RP; the remainder speaking in regional accents and dialects with varying degrees of RP influence. There is also variability within RP, particularly along class lines between Upper and Middle-class RP speakers and between native RP speakers and speakers who adopt RP later in life. Within Britain, there is also considerable variation along lines of social class; some traits, though exceedingly common, are nonetheless considered "non-standard" and associated with lower-class speakers and identities. An example of this is h-dropping, which was historically a feature of lower-class London English, particularly Cockney, and can now be heard in the local accents of most parts of England. However, it remains largely absent in broadcasting and among the upper crust of British society.
English in England can be divided into four major dialect regions: Southwest English, South East English, Midlands English, and Northern English. Within each of these regions, several local subdialects exist: Within the Northern region, there is a division between the Yorkshire dialects and the Geordie dialect spoken in Northumbria around Newcastle, and the Lancashire dialects with local urban dialects in Liverpool (Scouse) and Manchester (Mancunian). Having been the centre of Danish occupation during the Viking Invasions, Northern English dialects, particularly the Yorkshire dialect, retain Norse features not found in other English varieties.
Since the 15th century, southeastern England varieties have centred on London, which has been the centre from which dialectal innovations have spread to other dialects. In London, the Cockney dialect was traditionally used by the lower classes, and it was long a socially stigmatised variety. The spread of Cockney features across the south-east led the media to talk of Estuary English as a new dialect, but the notion was criticised by many linguists on the grounds that London had been influencing neighbouring regions throughout history. Traits that have spread from London in recent decades include the use of intrusive R (drawing is pronounced drawring ), t-glottalisation (Potter is pronounced with a glottal stop as Po'er ) and the pronunciation of th- as (thanks pronounced fanks) or (bother pronounced bover).
Scots is today considered a separate language from English, but it has its origins in early Northern Middle English and developed and changed during its history with influence from other sources, particularly Scots Gaelic and Old Norse. Scots itself has a number of regional dialects. And in addition to Scots, Scottish English comprises the varieties of Standard English spoken in Scotland; most varieties are Northern English accents, with some influence from Scots.
In Ireland, various forms of English have been spoken since the Norman invasions of the 11th century. In County Wexford, in the area surrounding Dublin, two extinct dialects known as Forth and Bargy and Fingallian developed as offshoots from Early Middle English, and were spoken until the 19th century. Modern Irish English, however, has its roots in English colonisation in the 17th century. Today Irish English is divided into Ulster English, the Northern Ireland dialect with strong influence from Scots, and various dialects of the Republic of Ireland. Like Scottish and most North American accents, almost all Irish accents preserve the rhoticity which has been lost in the dialects influenced by RP.
### North America
North American English is generally homogeneous compared to British English, but this has been disputed. The American accent variation is increasing at the regional level and decreasing at the very local level, though most Americans still speak within a phonological continuum of similar accents, known collectively as General American English (GA), with differences hardly noticed even among Americans themselves, including Midland and Western American English. In most American and Canadian English dialects, rhoticity (or r-fulness) is dominant, with non-rhoticity (or r-dropping) being associated with lower prestige and social class, especially since the end of World War II. This contrasts with the situation in England, where non-rhoticity has become the standard.
The English language is far and away the most widely-used language in the United States. Its roots trace back to the British colonial era, which began with the settlement in present-day Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. While German was the predominant language among German immigrants, who arrived primarily in eastern Pennsylvania, English was ultimately widely-adopted throughout the Thirteen Colonies that ultimately launched both the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War against the Kingdom of Great Britain, then rules by King George III and establishing the United States as an independent sovereign nation in September 1783.
Separate from the General American English are American dialects with clearly distinct sound systems that have developed over time, including Southern American English, English of the coastal Northeastern United States, including Eastern New England English, New York City English, and African-American Vernacular English, all of which are historically non-rhotic. Canadian English, except for the Atlantic provinces and perhaps Quebec, are also classified as General American English, but often shows the raising of the vowels /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ before voiceless consonants, and distinct norms for written and pronunciation standards.
In Southern American English, the most populous American "accent group" outside of the General American English, rhoticity now strongly prevails, replacing the region's historical non-rhotic prestige. Southern accents are colloquially described as a "drawl" or "twang", being recognised most readily by the Southern Vowel Shift initiated by glide-deleting in the vowel (e.g. pronouncing spy almost like spa), the "Southern breaking" of several front pure vowels into a gliding vowel or even two syllables (e.g. pronouncing the word "press" almost like "pray-us"), the pin–pen merger, and other distinctive phonological, grammatical, and lexical features, many of which are actually recent developments of the 19th century or later.
Spoken primarily by working- and middle-class African Americans, African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is also largely non-rhotic and likely originated among enslaved Africans and African Americans influenced primarily by the non-rhotic, non-standard older Southern dialects. A minority of linguists, contrarily, propose that AAVE mostly traces back to African languages spoken by the slaves who had to develop a pidgin or Creole English to communicate with slaves of other ethnic and linguistic origins. AAVE's important commonalities with Southern accents suggests it developed into a highly coherent and homogeneous variety in the 19th or early 20th century. AAVE is commonly stigmatised in North America as a form of "broken" or "uneducated" English, as are white Southern accents, but linguists today recognise both as fully developed varieties of English with their own norms shared by a large speech community.
### Australia and New Zealand
Since 1788, English has been spoken in Oceania, and Australian English has developed as the first language of the vast majority of the inhabitants of the Australian continent, its standard accent being General Australian. The English of neighbouring New Zealand has to a lesser degree become an influential standard variety of the language. Australian and New Zealand English are each other's closest relatives with few differentiating characteristics, followed by South African English and the English of southeastern England, all of which have similarly non-rhotic accents, aside from some accents in the South Island of New Zealand. Australian and New Zealand English stand out for their innovative vowels: many short vowels are fronted or raised, whereas many long vowels have diphthongised. Australian English also has a contrast between long and short vowels, not found in most other varieties. Australian English grammar aligns closely with British and American English; like American English, collective plural subjects take on a singular verb (as in the government is rather than are). New Zealand English uses front vowels that are often even higher than in Australian English.
### Southeast Asia
The first significant exposure of the Philippines to the English language occurred in 1762 when the British occupied Manila during the Seven Years' War, but this was a brief episode that had no lasting influence. English later became more important and widespread during American rule between 1898 and 1946 and remains an official language of the Philippines. Today, the use of English is ubiquitous in the Philippines, being found on street signs and marquees, in government documents and forms, in courtrooms, in the media and entertainment industries, in the business sector, and in various other aspects of daily life. One particularly prominent form of English usage in the country is found in everyday speech: most Filipinos from Manila use or, at the very least, have been exposed to Taglish, a form of code-switching between Tagalog and English. A similar code-switching method is used by urban native speakers of Bisayan languages under the name of Bislish.
### Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia
English is spoken widely in southern Africa and is an official or co-official language in several countries. In South Africa, English has been spoken since 1820, co-existing with Afrikaans and various African languages such as the Khoe and Bantu languages. Today, about 9 percent of the South African population speaks South African English (SAE) as a first language. SAE is a non-rhotic variety, which tends to follow RP as a norm. It is one of the few non-rhotic English varieties that lack intrusive R. There are different L2 varieties that differ based on the native language of the speakers. Most phonological differences from RP are in the vowels. Consonant differences include the tendency to pronounce without aspiration (e.g. pin pronounced rather than as as in most other varieties), while r is often pronounced as a flap instead of as the more common fricative.
Nigerian English is a dialect of English spoken in Nigeria. It is based on British English, but in recent years, because of influence from the United States, some words of American English origin have made it into Nigerian English. Additionally, some new words and collocations have emerged from the language, which come from the need to express concepts specific to the culture of the nation (e.g. senior wife). Over 150 million Nigerians speak English.
Several varieties of English are also spoken in the Caribbean islands that were colonial possessions of Britain, including Jamaica, the Leeward and Windward Islands and Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, and Belize. Each of these areas is home both to a local variety of English and a local English-based creole, combining English and African languages. The most prominent varieties are Jamaican English and Jamaican Creole. In Central America, English-based creoles are spoken on the Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua and Panama. Locals are often fluent both in the local English variety and the local creole languages and code-switching between them is frequent, indeed another way to conceptualise the relationship between Creole and Standard varieties is to see a spectrum of social registers with the Creole forms serving as "basilect" and the more RP-like forms serving as the "acrolect", the most formal register.
Most Caribbean varieties are based on British English and consequently, most are non-rhotic, except for formal styles of Jamaican English which are often rhotic. Jamaican English differs from RP in its vowel inventory, which has a distinction between long and short vowels rather than tense and lax vowels as in Standard English. The diphthongs and are monophthongs and or even the reverse diphthongs and (e.g. bay and boat pronounced and ). Often word-final consonant clusters are simplified so that "child" is pronounced and "wind" .
As a historical legacy, Indian English tends to take RP as its ideal, and how well this ideal is realised in an individual's speech reflects class distinctions among Indian English speakers. Indian English accents are marked by the pronunciation of phonemes such as and (often pronounced with retroflex articulation as and ) and the replacement of and with dentals and . Sometimes Indian English speakers may also use spelling based pronunciations where the silent found in words such as ghost is pronounced as an Indian voiced aspirated stop .
### Non-native varieties
## Sample text
An excerpt from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English:
> All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
## See also
- Linguistic purism in English
- English-speaking world
- English-only movement
- List of countries and territories where English is an official language |
25,325,576 | U.S. Route 80 in Arizona | 1,157,576,198 | 1926–1989 American highway | [
"Former U.S. Highways",
"Former state highways in Arizona",
"Transportation in Cochise County, Arizona",
"Transportation in Maricopa County, Arizona",
"Transportation in Pima County, Arizona",
"Transportation in Pinal County, Arizona",
"Transportation in Yuma County, Arizona",
"U.S. Highways in Arizona",
"U.S. Route 80"
] | U.S. Route 80 (US 80) also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, the Broadway of America and the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway was a major transcontinental highway that existed in the U.S. state of Arizona from November 11, 1926, to October 6, 1989. At its peak, US 80 traveled from the California border in Yuma to the New Mexico state line near Lordsburg. US 80 was an important highway in the development of Arizona's car culture. Like its northern counterpart, US 66, the popularity of travel along US 80 helped lead to the establishment of many unique road side businesses and attractions, including many iconic motor hotels and restaurants. US 80 was a particularly long highway, reaching a length of almost 500 miles (800 km) within the state of Arizona alone for most of the route's existence.
Along with US 66, US 80 was one of the first U.S. Highways to span Arizona. Where US 66 served northern Arizona, US 80 acted the main interstate highway for the southern half of the state, serving the major cities of Phoenix and Tucson, along with other small towns and cities. The condition of the highway was modernized and improved during the Great Depression, largely through manual labor and funding provided by the Works Progress Administration, which included the grade separation of railroad crossings and paving of the highway. Tourism and traffic along US 80 greatly increased following the end of World War II, creating a temporary economic boom for businesses along the highway. Several areas of the highway were also bypassed or straightened during this time to help alleviate the increasing traffic.
Due to the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956, both Interstate 10 and Interstate 8 gradually replaced US 80 as a major highway. Many towns and communities along the highway fell into an economic decline after Interstate bypasses caused a decrease in tourism and patronage. Since US 80 was largely concurrent or bypassed by Interstate Highways across Arizona, the older U.S. Highway was seen as a redundant designation. The US 80 designation was removed from Arizona between 1977 and 1989. The remaining stand-alone sections of US 80 in Arizona, not concurrent with other highways, were re-designated as State Route 80, a northern extension of SR 85 and various Interstate business loops. In September 2018, the Arizona Department of Transportation designated many surviving segments of the former highway as Historic U.S. Route 80, making it the fourth state-recognized historic route in Arizona's history.
## Route description
Within the state of Arizona, US 80 made two indirect loops to both Phoenix and Douglas. Both loops were often bypassed by travelers, using the more direct routes of SR 84 and SR 86 respectively to decrease travel time between California and New Mexico. The odd shape created by the two "loops" gave US 80 a long length through the state of Arizona, which was around 500 miles (800 km) in total. In 1935, US 80 was 500.5 miles (805.5 km) long. By 1951, the total length had reduced to about 498 miles (801 km), shrinking further to 488 miles (785 km) in 1956 with the bypass of Arlington and the Gillespie Dam. The following route description roughly describes the path of US 80 as it would have been in 1951.
### Yuma to Phoenix
North of the 1914 Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge, the state border between California and Arizona briefly exits the Colorado River and makes its way through the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, placing several acres of land on the California side of the river in Yuma County, Arizona. It is at this land border that US 80 entered Arizona on present-day Quechan Road in front of a now-abandoned Agricultural Inspection Station. The highway turned to head south across the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge, entering Yuma on Penitentiary Avenue. Penitentiary curves west at the remains of Yuma Territorial Prison, becoming 1st Street, passing the downtown district of Yuma. The historic Hotel San Carlos, now an apartment building, is located at the curve where Penitentiary becomes 1st.
A few blocks west at 4th Avenue, US 80 had its first major highway junction in Arizona with State Route 95, which came in from the west on 1st Street. Both US 80 and SR 95 turned south joining the route of present-day I-8 Business, sharing a wrong-way concurrency. At 16th Street, SR 95 split off and headed east towards Quartzsite. Today, 16th Street carries US 95, the successor to SR 95. At 32nd Street, US 80 curved east, skirting the north end of Yuma International Airport. Past Avenue 81⁄2 East, I-8 takes over the route of US 80, save for a small area near Exit 14, where US 80 followed the South Frontage Road for less than a mile. US 80 mostly followed the route taken by the I-8 westbound lanes over Telegraph Pass, before splitting off onto East Highway 80 through Ligurta. The highway then used an underpass to clear the Southern Pacific Railroad mainline (now part of the Union Pacific Railroad), paralleling the tracks east into Wellton and becoming Los Angeles Avenue through town.
Between Yuma and Phoenix, US 80 paralleled the Gila River. East of Wellton, US 80 continued to parallel the Southern Pacific into Mohawk Pass, where it once again took on the route of I-8, then continued straight ahead onto Old Highway 80 into the town of Dateland, iconic for its large date palm orchard. The highway continued east from Dateland on what is now the south frontage road of I-8. Around Tenmile Wash was where the small highway and railroad town of Aztec once stood. Today, all that remains of Aztec is an isolated water tower between old US 80 and the tracks. Past Aztec, US 80 used the eastbound lanes of I-8 crossing the Maricopa County line before heading through Sentinel. Sentinel was a common stop for highway travelers using US 80, being home to a gas station. Today, a different gas station at Sentinel serves I-8 travelers.
US 80 then continued onto the south frontage road from Piedra through Theba and Smurr before finally reaching Gila Bend, becoming Pima Street. Today Pima Street acts as both I-8 Business and SR 85. The intersection of Martin Avenue and Pima Street served as the northern terminus of SR 85, which itself has since replaced US 80 to Phoenix. Gila Bend is home to the iconic 1961 vintage Space Age Lodge, a motel with an outer space theme sporting a fake alien spaceship on its roof. The oldest remaining building in Gila Bend, the former Stout Hotel, is also located on former US 80 in town. US 80 turned north towards Phoenix, leaving Pima Street at Old Highway 80. The rest of the I-8 Business loop east of this point was formerly SR 84 to Casa Grande. The old highway parallels the Gila Bend Canal through Cotton Center and crossed over an old concrete bridge (now destroyed with only one span left standing) then curved northwest, arriving at the eastern bank of the Gila River near the ruins of the Gillespie Dam.
US 80 crossed the 1927 Gillespie Dam Bridge over the Gila River, where it immediately turned north on the other side of the river. After heading north a short distance, the highway turned northeast near Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station and passed through Arlington. East of Arlington, US 80 then before turned east, crossing over the Hassayampa River into the town of Hassayampa. At Wilson Road, US 80 turned north, then east onto Hazen Road. At SR 85, the highway traveled north to the next major intersection with MC 85, then curved east into the town of Buckeye as Monroe Avenue. Buckeye marks the western end of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Heading east from Buckeye, US 80 used both MC 85 and Buckeye Road, through the Phoenix suburbs of Goodyear and Avondale. East of Avondale and present-day Loop 202, US 80 entered Phoenix proper. At 17th Avenue, US 80 left Buckeye Road, heading north past the Arizona State Capitol to Van Buren Street. At Van Buren St., the highway headed east again to an intersection with 7th Avenue and Grand Avenue, where it met US 60, US 70 and US 89. East of Grand Ave., US 80 shared a long concurrency with the other three U.S. Highways through the eastern half of the Phoenix area.
### Phoenix to Tucson
Passing through downtown Phoenix on Van Buren Street, US 60/US 70/US 80/US 89 turned southeast where the Phoenix Zoo is today, arriving at an interchange with Washington Street (now Center Parkway). Washington Street was an unsigned bannered route of US 80 known as US 80 Alternate. South of the intersection, the highways used the 1931 Mill Avenue Bridge to cross the Salt River into downtown Tempe. At 13th Street, the four highways curved east, passing the Arizona State University main campus onto Apache Boulevard. Apache Boulevard becomes Main Street through downtown Mesa. This was where the quartet of U.S. Highways met SR 87. In 1951, the junction with Main Street and SR 87 was the northern terminus of the latter highway.
US 60/US 70/US 80/US 89 continued east across the Pinal County line onto the beginning of the Apache Trail into Apache Junction. Apache Trail split from the old highway, becoming SR 88 as it headed to Tortilla Flat. From the junction with SR 88, US 60/US 70/US 80/US 89 angled southeast down Old West Highway and continued straight from Goldfield Road, becoming present day US 60. The highways continued down the modern US 60 past present day Gold Canyon to Florence Junction. US 60/US 70/US 80/US 89 diverged from present day US 60 north of the current diamond interchange with SR 79 (Exit 212), taking El Camino Viejo east to an at-grade intersection with SR 79. At this intersection, US 60 and US 70 diverged from US 80 and US 89. Running concurrently, US 60 and US 70 continued east on El Camino Viejo and present-day US 60 towards Superior and Globe. US 80 and US 89 took SR 79 south, crossing the Gila River a second time, into Florence.
In Florence, US 80 and US 89 split from SR 79 at the state prison, going west on Ruggles Street, then south on Main Street through downtown. The junction with Main Street (SR 79 Business) and SR 287 on the south side of town served as the eastern terminus of SR 287 in 1951. From here, US 80 and US 89 went southeast on SR 79 Business, returning to SR 79. Just south of Florence on the side of the highway is a roadside memorial to cowboy western actor Tom Mix. It was not far from this position in 1940 that Mix was killed when his car slid off US 80/US 89 into a small wash. US 80/US 89 continued south to Arizona at the southern terminus of SR 77.
US 80/US 89 continued south on current SR 77 across the Pima County line where the highway becomes Oracle Road. Both highways passed through the town of Oro Valley on the western side of the Santa Catalina Mountains before crossing the El Rillito river into Tucson. Where SR 77 turns west onto Miracle Mile was where US 80 and US 89 met SR 84. This intersection was formerly a large traffic circle. South of this point, Oracle Road was once part of Tucson's Miracle Mile District, a former bustling business district lined with historic motels and iconic structures. US 80, US 89 and SR 84 continued south on Oracle Road, then east at another large traffic circle on to Drachman Street through the Miracle Mile District, passing the iconic Tucson Inn before reaching the end of the Miracle Mile at Stone Avenue.
The three highways proceeded to curve south onto Stone Avenue, passing the 1936 Art Deco-styled Old Pueblo Service Station before taking the Stone Avenue Underpass, a decorative Gothic Style 1939 underpass, to cross the Southern Pacific Railroad into downtown. US 80, US 89 and SR 84 continued on Stone Avenue through downtown to the Five Points intersection at 18th Street and 6th Avenue, where Stone ended. The highways from this point used 6th Avenue to continue south through the enclave of South Tucson, passing a few more historic 1930s era motels. Sixth Avenue met Benson Highway at an intersection just north of the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Hospital. Today, this part of Benson Highway is now I-10. SR 84 ended at this intersection, while US 89 continued south on 6th Avenue to Tubac and Nogales. US 80 turned east onto present-day I-10, passing the historic Old Spanish Trail Inn right before curving southeast onto Benson Highway. Benson Highway has a row of neon-signed motels that stretch southeast out of Tucson towards Vail, including the iconic Spanish Trail Inn, which now stands partially abandoned. US 80 then continued southeast on Benson Highway, exiting Tucson.
### Tucson to the New Mexico state line
At Valencia Road, US 80 continued towards Vail along present-day I-10, passing the Triple T Truck Stop at Craycroft Road along the way. Near Vail, US 80 diverged from I-10 onto the north frontage road, crossing a decorative wash bridge. Going south of Vail past the northern terminus of SR 83, US 80 went northeast through small foothills on Marsh Station Road, crossing Ciénega Creek over the historic 1921 Ciénega Bridge. The highway then arrived in the small town of Pantano. Today, Pantano is a ghost town, with few structures still standing. US 80 continued southeast on Marsh Station Road, returning to the routing of I-10, then crossed the Cochise County line. Just across the county line, US 80 made a small curve onto Titan Drive, crossing under the now-abandoned El Paso and Southwestern Railroad before returning once again to the route of I-10. Arriving in Benson, US 80 headed east onto 4th Street (now I-10 Business) through the town center. US 80 met the western terminus of the eastern section of SR 86 at a 1941 interchange/underpass complex. SR 86 continued east on I-10 Business and I-10 towards Willcox and New Mexico, while US 80 turned south on what is now SR 80. US 80 then passed through St. David as Patton Street and Lee Street, heading towards Tombstone.
Passing the eastern terminus of SR 82 near Fairbank, US 80 came into Tombstone on SR 80 and Sumner Street. At Fremont Street, US 80 continued southwest for one block to Allen Street, then continued southeast on Allen through the heart of Tombstone, passing the O.K. Corral and the site of the infamous gunfight. The highway turned northeast on to 6th Street for one block, then turned southeast on to Fremont Street. US 80 exited Tombstone on Fremont Street, before continuing southeast on SR 80, passing the eastern terminus of SR 90. At the intersection with Old Divide Road, US 80 headed south over Mule Pass on the winding mountain road over what was once believed to be the Continental Divide. On the other side of the pass, US 80 then curved east onto Tombstone Canyon Road, entering the mining town of Bisbee.
Entering downtown Bisbee, US 80 became Main Street, winding its way past the historic Copper Queen Hotel. On the east side of downtown, the highway continued east on SR 80 at the Copper Queen Mine and skirted the edge of the massive Lavender Pit mine, curving onto Erie Street and entering downtown Lowell. US 80 then passed under the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad, meeting SR 92 at its eastern terminus before running northeast of Warren through Grace Corner towards the Mexican border. Near the border, US 80 turned directly east, meeting the southern terminus of US 666 before crossing under the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad again, heading into Douglas, Arizona.
Upon arriving in Douglas, US 80 passed a large copper smelter on the south side of the highway, before entering downtown Douglas on G Avenue. Once downtown, US 80 passed by the historic Gadsden Hotel and turned west onto 10th Street. After going a few blocks east on 10th Street, the highway then went north onto A Avenue. It then turned east again, onto SR 80, with the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad paralleling it to the north. East of Douglas, US 80 entered the small ghost town of Apache, which was home to three buildings, including a two-story general store. Off the side of the road near Apache is a stone cone-shaped monument marking the event of Geronimo's surrender, which occurred just southeast of this point in 1886. US 80 then reached the New Mexico state line, where it continued east to Rodeo and Lordsburg.
## History
The history and background surrounding the Arizona section of US 80 dates back to pre-Columbian Native American culture and society. It was originally a section of the ancient Gila Trail. When it was a commissioned U.S. Highway, US 80 was a popular and heavily promoted transcontinental route between California and Georgia. There were several tourist attractions and historical sites along the route. As a result, US 80 had a profound effect on Arizona's economic development and car culture, much like US 66 had done in the northern part of the state. The highway was ultimately replaced by the Interstate Highway System as a major route. This led to a decline in popularity of US 80 and its eventual decommissioning within the western United States. In recent years, the popularity of US 80 has increased, leading to it being designated a historic route in multiple states.
### Background
The general path of the Gila Trail in Arizona was traversed by Native Americans for thousands of years. The first non-Native person to travel the Gila Trail was a Spanish-owned African slave named Esteban, who had been brought to North America in 1527 as part of the colonization of Florida by Charles V of Spain. In 1538, Esteban accompanied a Franciscan friar by the name of Marcos de Niza on a journey, which included travelling along the Gila Trail. Father Eusebio Kino utilized the Gila Trail to establish missions across present day southern Arizona and California. In 1821, southern Arizona had become part of Mexico.
The first Americans on the trail were 19th Century fur trappers, who made use of the nearby Gila River's beaver population. During the Mexican–American War Lieutenant General Stephen W. Kearney of the United States Army sent his Army of the West over the Gila Trail. Following the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, the land surrounding the Gila Trail became part of the United States and was organized as New Mexico Territory in 1850. After 1848, Gila Trail had become a popular and heavily traveled wagon route to California. By this time it was now known as Cooke's Wagon Road. The new name was in reference to Captain Philip St. George Cooke, leader of the Mormon Battalion, whom had used the road shortly after General Kearny. In 1863, the western part of New Mexico Territory was re-established as Arizona Territory.
By 1909, Cooke's Wagon Road had become segments of the East-West Territorial Road and North-South Territorial Road respectively. The former route traveled between Yuma and Phoenix to Duncan while the latter traveled between the Grand Canyon region, Phoenix, Tucson and Douglas. In February 1912, Arizona was accepted into the union as a state, which led to the reorganization of the Territorial Road system into Arizona's true State Highway System. When the first set of reorganizations were complete in 1914, the North-South Territorial Road between Phoenix and Douglas as well as the East-West Territorial Road between Yuma and Phoenix were reorganized into a new state highway known as the Borderland Highway.
Using funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Ocean to Ocean Bridge was constructed between Winterhaven, California, and Yuma in 1914. It carried the Borderland Highway over the Colorado River. The bridge's namesake was the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, which was a common name given to the Borderland Highway between Yuma and Phoenix. Between 1917 and 1919, the Dixie Overland Highway was established from Savannah, Georgia, to San Diego, California, becoming the first auto trail to be designated over the Borderland Highway. From Yuma to New Mexico, the Dixie Overland Highway followed the basic route of the Borderland Highway very closely. The route also became part of the Bankhead Highway in 1920 and the Old Spanish Trail in 1923.
In 1919 and 1920, the Borderland Highway between Dome and Buckeye suffered extensive damage from flooding. This was due to the route being located on the Gila River floodplain. The Arizona State Highway Department (ASHD) decided to construct a new alignment further south, following the Southern Pacific Railroad more closely through Gila Bend. The new route was completed in 1922. Up to 1924, the Bankhead Highway, Dixie Overland Highway and Old Spanish Trail still followed the older route. By 1925, the trio of auto trails had been moved to the newer alignment of the Borderland Highway, while the new alignment was being paved. Within the same time frame as the Gila Bend realignment, improvement work also occurred on the eastern section of the Borderland Highway. Between 1917 and 1922, a section of the Borderland Highway southeast from Bisbee towards Douglas was paved. This section of the Borderland Highway and a section of the Roosevelt Dam Highway further north were the first two paved highways in the state of Arizona.
The Arizona State Highway Department, with the assistance of federal financial aid as well as financial aid from both Pima and Cochise counties, constructed a new improved alignment of the Borderland Highway between Benson and Vail, completed in 1921. This project was known as Federal Aid Project Number 18. As part of this highway construction project, the Ciénega Bridge, an open-spandrel concrete arch east of Tucson, was constructed between 1920 and March 1921. The new bridge came at a total cost of \$40,000 (which was approximately \$ in ). The state highway system was re-organized again, following the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921. As a result, the Borderland Highway was re-designated into entirely new named state routes. The Borderland Highway became the Yuma–Phoenix Highway, the western section of the Phoenix–Globe–Rice Highway (present-day US 70), the Florence Junction–Tucson Highway, Tucson–Benson–Bisbee Highway and the Bisbee–Douglas–Rodeo Highway. Later in the 1920s, paving of the Tucson–Benson–Bisbee Highway through Mule Pass near Bisbee was completed using prison labor. This section of road had already been rebuilt in 1911, from a mostly unaltered 1881 wagon road.
### U.S. Highway designation and early improvements
In April 1925, the Joint Board on Interstate Highways was appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to simplify the transcontinental highways. The joint board proposed a new nationwide highway system, with a uniform standard of signage and numbering. This system was to become the U.S. Numbered Highway System. By October 1925, a new route under the numeric designation "80" was proposed along a similar path to the Dixie Overland Highway, Old Spanish Trail and Bankhead Highway. This meant that the new stretch of US 80 was to be placed over the entirety of the old Borderland Highway route. On November 11, 1926, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) approved of the new system, which included U.S. Route 80 between Savannah and San Diego. Both US 80 and another U.S. Highway to the north, US 66, were the first transcontinental U.S. Highways to span the entire length of Arizona. Both highways connected the major towns and cities in Arizona with California and the eastern United States, with US 80 serving southern Arizona while US 66 served the northern part of the state. However, the Arizona State Highway Department did not recognize US 80, US 66 or any other U.S. Highways within the state until September 9, 1927. After this date, the U.S. Highway designations were included with new numbered state routes as the entirety of the new Arizona State Highway System.
In 1928, US 80 became part of the Broadway of America auto trail. The new auto trail traversed multiple U.S. Highways and state routes from New York City to San Diego. In Arizona, Broadway of America followed US 80 between Yuma and Phoenix as well as between Tucson and the New Mexico border. The rest of the Broadway of America in Arizona consisted of SR 87 and SR 84 between Tucson and Phoenix via Casa Grande. Despite the new U.S. Highway designation and Broadway of America designation, the Dixie Overland Highway, Bankhead Highway and Old Spanish Trail designations would continue into the early 1930s.
With new U.S. Highway status came great changes and improvements. In 1927, the steel truss Gillespie Dam Bridge was constructed over the Gila River next to the Gillespie Dam. Prior to the construction of the bridge, traffic utilized a concrete apron constructed at the foot of the dam to cross the river. At the time, the Gillespie Dam Bridge was the largest steel structure in the state of Arizona. In 1928, the section of US 80 through Telegraph Pass was constructed and would be paved by 1930. The paving work on the highway east of Douglas was under way as well by 1930. 1930 also marked the year catastrophic flooding washed out US 80 through the town of Wellton. The town itself was also mostly destroyed by the flood. This led to the highway department having to construct an entirely new alignment north of the older one. The town center of Wellton was also reconstructed on the new alignment. The new alignment became the main street of Wellton, and was named Los Angeles Avenue. In 1931, the Mill Avenue Bridge in Tempe was constructed to carry US 80 and US 89 across the Salt River. The Mill Avenue bridge replaced the earlier 1913 Ash Avenue Bridge, which had carried both highways between Phoenix and Tempe since 1926.
Paving on US 80 between Douglas and New Mexico was also completed in 1931, as was the entire highway between Yuma and Phoenix. By 1932, US 80 was fully paved between Tucson and Vail as was the highway between Florence Junction and Florence. That year, more of US 80 had been improved and better surfaced than US 66. In response, a group of US 66 proponents from northern Arizona traveled to Phoenix on May 8, 1932 and demanded the State Highway Commission to block further funding to improve US 80 entirety of US 66 had been improved. The commission ultimately denied the delegation's demands and did not place a restriction on funding for improvements on US 80. Further paving occurred between Oro Valley and Tucson as well as between Benson and Bisbee between 1932 and 1934. By 1935, most of US 80 was paved within the state of Arizona, save for a small section between Florence and Oracle Junction. The sole remaining unpaved section was instead surfaced with rock and gravel. Travelers wishing to stick to paved roads between Phoenix and Tucson had the option of using SR 87 and SR 84 through Casa Grande.
Passage of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 by the United States federal government allocated over \$200 Million (\$ in ) in federal funding to road construction across the country. Of this funding, the state of Arizona allocated over \$6 million (\$ in ) for statewide highway improvement the following year; much of this funding was allocated to US 80, for constructing and rebuilding alignments and bridges as well as improving water drainage along the highway. Emergency Relief Appropriation Act also provided another \$200 million (\$ in ) to all territories and states to rebuild or replace unsafe railroad grade crossings on state and federal highways. This allowed the Highway Department to construct two railroad underpasses on US 80 in 1936. The first overpass was constructed on Stone Avenue in Tucson and the second was constructed in Douglas, with both overpasses providing safe crossings of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The Tucson underpass also included pedestrian walkways besides the four traffic lanes of US 80. Further west, WPA funding was being used to rebuild US 80 between Phoenix and Buckeye. Further aid on US 80 was supplied by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which provided the state with extra funding and a labor force to reconstruct the highway.
In 1936, real estate developer Stanley Williamson laid out a business district proposal for the Tucson area. Williamson aimed to rebuild a large section of US 80 and US 89 north of downtown, as well as a small segment of SR 84, into a thriving commercial district. The new district was similar in design and principle to the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles, California. Originally, the glorified roadway along the three highways was to be named "Parkway Boulevard" but Williamson decided instead to call the proposed district Miracle Mile after its inspiration. These plans also called for a section of US 80 and US 89 between Drachman Street and SR 84 to be reconstructed. Known as Oracle Road, the section of road was rebuilt into a four lane divided highway to handle larger traffic volumes and promote business growth as well as further highway improvements. The rebuild would also include two large traffic circles at either end of the four-lane section with SR 84 and Drachman Street. Reconstruction of Oracle Road (US 80 and US 89) was awarded to the Tanner Construction Company in 1937 and completed within the same year. Not long after construction, motels began appearing along the new Miracle Mile, marking the beginning of what would become a successful business district. The widened section of Oracle Road was also the first divided highway in Arizona.
On October 12, 1940, Hollywood cowboy western actor Tom Mix left the Oracle Junction Inn at the intersection of US 80, US 89 and SR 77, heading north by car on US 80 and US 89 towards Florence. Later that same day, Mix lost control of his vehicle on the unpaved road and was killed instantly when his car crashed into an unfinished wash bridge just south of Florence. Today, a memorial to Mix stands near the exact spot where he lost his life on the highway. By 1946, the section of US 80 between Florence Junction and Oracle Junction was finally reconstructed and paved. The completion of the 1946 project meant every section of US 80 in Arizona was now a fully paved modern highway from Yuma to New Mexico.
### The boom years
On April 15, 1947, a group of US 80 proponents met at the Pioneer Hotel in downtown Tucson to discuss the improvement of tourism on US 80 through the American southwest. The small group had studied tourism statistics along the route following the end of the Second World War. The findings concluded tourism on US 80 had exponentially decreased since the 1930s. In response, the proponents voted to form a California, Arizona and New Mexico division of the U.S. Highway 80 Association to better promote US 80 to cross country tourists. In June 1949, the western division of the U.S. Highway 80 Association was formally established with Tucson chosen as its headquarters. The division committed itself to publishing thousands of informational booklets, strip maps and pay for roadside advertisements all in an effort to promote the highway. Membership was also offered to local businesses on the route between San Diego and El Paso, Texas. By November 1949, the western division of the U.S. Highway 80 Association had printed over 50,000 promotional strip maps of US 80 between San Diego and El Paso. The maps were distributed to multiple gas stations and chambers of commerce along the western section of the highway.
In the following years, the highway's popularity increased dramatically. During the 1950s, more motorists traveled on US 80 between Arizona and California than on the famous US 66. Approximately 2,500 cars travelled on US 80 each day by the middle of the decade. Arizona's five largest cities of the time were also located along the highway. Like its northern counterpart, US 80 also featured many iconic road side businesses and attractions, which included Boothill Cemetery and the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Stoval's Space Age Lodge in Gila Bend, Yuma Territorial Prison, the Geronimo Surrender Monument near Douglas and the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site. Rows of iconic neon signed motels aligned US 80 in the many towns and cities it passed through, including Tucson's Miracle Mile. High demand for motel rooms by U.S. Army personnel and the postwar population boom in Tucson resulted in an explosive growth of hotel and restaurant construction on Miracle Mile and Benson Highway southeast of downtown. As of 2016, many of these attractions and structures have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Further adding to the increased success, the January 1956 issue of Arizona Highways magazine was partially dedicated to the state's section of US 80.
Construction and improvement work continued on US 80 through the 1950s. In 1950, the Phelps Dodge Corporation and Bisbee Chamber of Commerce entered a cooperative agreement to create a new open pit mine. The new mine would be named the Lavender Pit after H.M. Lavender, the vice president and general manager of Phelps Dodge. Phelps Dodge would pay the expenses of moving the displaced residents and utilities, including US 80 itself, which ran through the proposed pit area. The project of relocating US 80 was awarded to the A.J. Gilbert Construction Company of Warren, Arizona. The relocation of US 80 and all other displaced persons and utilities was completed between January and April 1951. US 80 now ran the edge of the new open pit mine. An observation tower was also constructed on the new alignment of US 80 to view the pit from. Soon after, work began on stripping and excavating the land officially opening the Lavender Pit. In total, the project cost \$25 Million (\$ in ) and required 250 total structures to be demolished and relocated. It also resulted in the total removal of the Johnson Addition district of Bisbee.
In May 1954, the Arizona Highway Commission and California Highway Department approved the construction of a new bridge over the Colorado River in Yuma. The new bridge would replace the 1914 Ocean To Ocean Bridge. The new bridge site was selected five blocks west of the existing bridge and would carry 4th Avenue across the river into Winterhaven. Both states would split the cost of construction. 4th Avenue was extended to the south approach of the proposed bridge in June 1954 with planning on the California approach completed the same month. Management of the bridge's construction was undertaken by the California Highway Department. The bridge itself was designed by engineers within the state of California. By November 1955, construction on the bridge was well under way on both sides of the river by the California-based Fred J. Early Junior Construction Company. A \$53,000 (\$ in ) inspection station was built on the Arizona side as part of the project. The bridge was opened to traffic on May 13, 1956 in a dedication ceremony conducted by officials from both states. Attending was Arizona governor Ernest McFarland, who gave the main address at the ceremony. The bridge cost a total of \$1,236,000 (\$ in ) to complete. US 80 was rerouted over the new bridge, with the old route over the 1914 bridge becoming US 80 Business.
Two straighter and faster alignments of US 80 were constructed in 1955 and 1956, bypassing the Gillespie Dam area and Ciénega Creek. The Ciénega Creek bypass was the first to be constructed. The original winding route over the 1921 bridge had developed a dangerous reputation. Between 1952 and 1955, 11 people were killed in separate car accidents on the Ciénega Creek section of US 80. Construction on the bypass began in 1952 and required a total of 805,000 cubic yards (615,467 m<sup>3</sup>) to be excavated and moved to accommodate the new roadway. Two new bridges had to be constructed over Ciénega Creek and Davidson Wash as well as an underpass to allow the new section of US 80 to travel underneath the Southern Pacific Railroad. Opening on April 9, 1955, the new section of highway cost \$1,397,000 (\$ in ) to construct. The highway was originally two lanes wide with space added for a third lane under the new railroad overpass should traffic volumes increase in the future.
The Gillespie Dam bypass of US 80, which traveled between Gila Bend and Buckeye, was completed in May 1956. It was also used to test an experimental safety feature by the Highway Department. Double white intermittent stripes were placed down the center of the new highway in hopes it would help increase visibility of the center line for traffic driving the highway at night and to place heavier emphasis for drivers on staying within their designated lane. The new section was originally 29 miles (47 km) long with a total width of 40 feet (12 m). The two individual lanes were 12 feet (4 m) wide each, complemented with the addition of an 8 feet (2 m) shoulder. In total, the new route was about 10 miles (16 km) shorter than the original route past the Gillespie Dam and saved approximately 30 minutes of travel time for commuters between Buckeye and Gila Bend. When this section of road first opened, it carried up to 12,000 cars and trucks in a single day. In 1961, the Arizona Highway Commission voted to designate the entirety of US 80 in Arizona as part of the Jefferson Davis Highway.
### Construction of the Mule Pass Tunnel
By far the largest combined roadway improvement project on US 80 in the 1950s was the construction of the Mule Pass Tunnel and adjoining bypass of downtown Bisbee. Originally constructed as a wagon road in December 1881 and becoming a paved auto highway by the 1920s, the older route of US 80 over Mule Pass (also known as the Old Divide) provided a dangerous obstacle for vehicles heading into Bisbee. It was a common occurrence for large trucks to lose their brakes on the steep grades, resulting injury and in worst cases, death. Furthermore, winter snowfall and ice made crossing the Old Divide sometimes impossible. Plans had been in place since the 1930s to replace the treacherous route with a tunnel. By the 1950s however, US 80 still utilized the Old Divide routing with no tunnel having been constructed.
In April 1955, the Arizona State Highway Department began studying the feasibility of constructing a tunnel to bypass the older route of US 80 over the Old Divide. The proposed tunnel was 34 feet (10 m) wide and 1,200 feet (370 m) long and would take US 80 under the pass. Initial survey would require the boring of a pilot tunnel at the proposed tunnel site. As planning continued, the proposed length grew from 1,200 feet (370 m) to 1,400 feet (430 m). The new Mule Pass Tunnel would be the longest tunnel in the state of Arizona upon completion, surpassing the Queen Creek Tunnel on US 60 in Globe. On November 13, 1956, the Highway Department opened bidding for the tunnel project, with the low bid set at \$1,983,659 (equivalent to \$ in ). The original completion date was set for August 31, 1958. The contract was awarded to Peter Kiewitt and Sons Company of Phoenix on November 25. At the time, it was the largest highway construction contract ever awarded in Arizona's history.
In January 1957, the Arizona State Auditor, Jewel Jordan, rejected the contractor's first claim for \$15,000 (\$ in ) in payment regarding tunnel work completed up to that point. Jordan claimed her rejection of the initial payment was due to the contract being illegal, being \$600,000 (\$ in ) over the original allocated budget. This led to the Highway Department petitioning the state Attorney General, Robert Morrison, to look into the legality of the tunnel contract in order to secure payment to the contractor from the state. Morrison took the side of the highway department. Due to the dispute between Jordan and Morrison, the matter had to be brought to the Arizona Supreme Court for ultimate decision. Morrison filed the case as a lawsuit on behalf of the Highway Department, with Jordan acting as respondent. The outcome of the suit would determine the legality of the contract. On March 5, 1957, the court ruled the contract was legal, despite being over budget. When financial issues were settled, the state of Arizona ended up paying for 28 percent of the cost, with the remainder being reimbursed by the Federal Government.
Initial work on the tunnel itself began on January 9, 1957 with excavation work commencing on the Bisbee end of Mule Pass. By August 10, the construction crews were excavating an average of 2,700 cubic feet (76 m<sup>3</sup>) per day. This broke the world record of most earth excavated by a drilling machine per day, breaking the previous record of 2,562 cubic feet (72.5 m<sup>3</sup>) set in Australia. The tunnel crew exceeded their own record twice by September, first increasing to 2,873 cubic feet (81.4 m<sup>3</sup>) of material excavated per day, then further to 3,106 cubic feet (88.0 m<sup>3</sup>) of material per day. By October 6, over 1,100 feet (340 m) of tunnel had been excavated. The width of the tunnel was now 42 feet (13 m) wide, exceeding the original proposed width. The tunnel also measured 21 feet (6.4 m) in height at an elevation of 5,894 feet (1,796 m) above sea level. As the tunnel was excavated, the bore was supported by multiple steel reinforcing beams.
By October 30, construction crews finally broke through to the other side, opening the western portal for the first time. By June 1, 1958, the completion date for the tunnel had been extended to October 23 of the same year and construction crews had lined half the walls of the tunnel with concrete. When the tunnel was completed in late 1958, over 93,000 short tons (84,000,000 kg) of earth material had been excavated, with 446 steel supporting ribs installed along with 210 short tons (190,000 kg) of reinforced steel at both portals. The walls of the tunnel had concrete lining 31 feet (9.4 m) thick. The tunnel carried three lanes of traffic, with two lanes being westbound and the third for eastbound traffic. The tunnel was supposed to be opened to traffic on December 12, but due to weather delays, the dedication ceremony was postponed to December 19. The Mule Pass Tunnel was opened in a dedication ceremony on December 19, 1958. The ceremony itself took place at the eastern portal. Governor McFarland attended the ceremony, cutting a copper braided ribbon.
Complementing the Mule Pass Tunnel was the construction of a limited access bypass around downtown Bisbee, also part of US 80. Construction for the first 1.1 miles (1.8 km) section of the bypass was awarded to the Tanner Construction Company of Tucson in late 1958. Referred to as the "Bisbee Freeway", the bypass was under construction by March 1959 heading south from the Mule Pass Tunnel. In April 1960, the Fisher Construction Company submitted the low bid entry for the remaining 1.9 miles (3.1 km) section of the bypass. Fisher Construction addressed the Bisbee public, stating explosives used during the bypass construction would be controlled and not affect nearby buildings or businesses. Fisher Construction was awarded the contract and commenced work on the final stretch of the bypass by January 1961, with work being ahead of schedule. Construction of the bypass did not go without incident however. In September 1961, a segment of the first completed section of the bypass, 150 feet (46 m) long, was observed to be settling into the ground. Investigation of the matter concluded water seepage underneath the roadbed had caused the settlement. Tanner Construction had completed construction of this section of the bypass a year earlier. Test bores were drilled to find the source of the water intrusion and solve the problem.
During construction of the bypass, several historic residences and landmarks were demolished and removed. On September 31, 1961, construction of the two lane Bisbee Freeway was completed. Arizona State Highway Department officials, Bisbee Chamber of Commerce officials and 100 citizens of Bisbee turned out to attend the dedication. A line of new cars provided by local auto dealers carried officials over the newly completed bypass. The officials became the first motorists to use the new section of US 80. The new bypass redirected US 80 traffic off Tombstone Canyon Road and Main Street, the original highway through the heart of Bisbee itself. Despite the convenience of the new freeway, local motorists preferred the original route over the Old Divide and through town. Today, the Mule Pass Tunnel remains the longest tunnel in the state of Arizona.
### Replacement by Interstate highways
Following the establishment of the Interstate and Defense Highway System by August 1957, two new highways, Interstate 10 and Interstate 8, were both slated to replace US 80. In 1948, the Arizona State Highway Department approved construction of the Tucson Controlled Access Highway, a freeway bypass around the core of Tucson. This would become one of the first sections of I-10. Though a state highway, initial construction of the bypass was funded by a 1948 city bond issue passed by the city of Tucson. The construction contract was awarded to the Western Construction Company on November 9, 1950 for \$407,000 (\$ in ). Construction on the freeway began on December 27. During construction, the Santa Cruz River had to be diverted into a new artificial channel in order to minimize the risk of the river flooding the new freeway. Heavy truck traffic in Tucson on December 20, 1951 caused state highway officials to open the first section of the freeway on the same day, with the next section already under construction. The new highway was signed as SR 84A. SR 84A originally ran between Congress Street and Miracle Mile. At first, this bypass lacked overpasses and interchanges between Grant Road and Speedway Boulevard. SR 84A was extended eastward by 1956 to an interchange with US 80 and US 89 at 6th Avenue and Benson Highway. Construction started in 1958 to rebuild SR 84A to Interstate standards.
In 1957, construction work began on a section of US 80 southeast of Tucson. This section, known as Benson Highway, was to be upgraded into a four lane divided highway. Of the 7.25 miles (11.67 kilometres) of upgraded road, 4.25 mi (6.84 km) were slated to become part of I-10 and be rebuilt to full interstate standards. This small section of Benson Highway became the first federally funded Interstate Highway construction project in Arizona. This section was completed by December 1960. The new section of I-10 had full freeway interchanges and frontage roads at Craycroft Road and Wilmot Road with a third planned later for Valencia Road. Other sections of US 80 and SR 86 east of Tucson were also being upgraded into new sections of I-10, with a total of four freeway interchanges between Tucson and Benson complete. Other sections were rebuilt into a four lane divided highway around 1958. I-10 west of 6th Avenue and Benson Highway up to Flowing Wells was completed by 1961, with a sections north of Tucson through Marana well under construction.
Construction began on transforming US 80 into I-8 on December 22, 1960 between Sentinel and Gila Bend. Four other sections began conversion in 1961 and 1962 between Gila Bend and Yuma. The Sentinel project was completed on April 18, 1962 at a cost of \$1,268,954 (\$ in ) and became the first section of I-8 completed in Arizona. The details of the Sentinel project were later investigated by the United States House of Representatives for financial mismanagement of the project by the Arizona State Government. By 1963 construction was under way on rebuilding sections of US 80 and SR 84 between Casa Grande and Yuma into I-8 as well as parts of SR 84 between Picacho and Casa Grande into I-10. Most of I-8 through Arizona was completed by 1971 as well as most of I-10 in the southeastern part of the state. Most of US 80 had been fully rebuilt into I-8 between Blaisdell and Gila Bend, save for a standalone section between Ligurta and Mohawk. In the eastern part of Arizona, I-10 had been completed between 6th Avenue and Valencia Road as well as taking over all of US 80 between Valencia Road and 4th Street in Benson. Both Interstates were complete between Gila Bend and Tucson, replacing or bypassing almost all of SR 84. Between Benson and the New Mexico state line near San Simon, former SR 86 had been rebuilt into I-10 and decommissioned. I-10 was also finished between Casa Grande and I-17 in Phoenix, effectively bypassing US 80 from Phoenix to Tucson.
As construction of the Interstate Highways progressed, remaining sections of US 80 were bypassed and rendered obsolete. As a result, the amount of traffic through business districts along US 80 decreased. The decline in traffic led to motels and other businesses along US 80 receiving fewer customers. Several of these establishments closed permanently and were torn down. Others remained, but greatly declined in quality. As a result, the amount of crime and poverty along US 80 through populated areas grew. Since most of the highway had been replaced with or bypassed by Interstates, western states began viewing the US 80 designation as redundant. Between 1964 and 1969, California retired its section of US 80 in favor of I-8, effectively moving the western end of US 80 to the California state line in Yuma. On October 28, 1977, the Arizona Department of Transportation (also known as ADOT and successor to the Arizona State Highway Department) requested a truncation of US 80 to Benson. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved the request, allowing ADOT remove the designation between Yuma and Benson on September 16. However, US 80 signage remained in place between Yuma and Benson until December 27, 1977, when the ADOT directed state highway maintenance crews to remove all remaining references to the highway. Upon retirement of the designation, the section of US 80 between I-8 Business in Gila Bend and US 60/US 89 at Grand Avenue in Phoenix became a northern extension of SR 85.
In 1989, representatives of Arizona and New Mexico at AASHTO requested the elimination of US 80 in both states. The request was mostly approved by AASHTO on October 6. As a result, the remaining section of US 80 in Arizona was re-designated as SR 80. Despite the designation being entirely removed from Arizona, a former section of US 80 between Buckeye and Phoenix had yet to be bypassed. Being signed as SR 85 at the time, the section was still used as a primary route by I-10 traffic through western Phoenix into the early 1980s. This was due to the Papago Freeway, a proposed section of I-10, having not been constructed yet between Buckeye and I-17 near downtown Phoenix. The Buckeye to Phoenix section of SR 85 was finally bypassed in 1990, when the Papago Freeway was completed. However, the section of SR 85 between I-10 and Gila Bend, another former section of US 80, has yet to be bypassed or replaced by a freeway. Other sections of old US 80 throughout Arizona pay homage to the retired highway through their names, including Old U.S. Highway 80 through Wellton and Old US 80 Highway between Gila Bend and Buckeye. Although US 80 no longer runs through Arizona, the designation itself is still active between Dallas, Texas and Savannah.
### Historic U.S. Route 80
In 2012, the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation (also known as the THPF) embarked on preliminary work needed to apply for a state historic designation of US 80 in Arizona. The foundation commenced survey and mapping work on old sections of the route the same year. Over \$100,000 was spent by the THPF to initiate the historic designation process. Further research by the THPF utilized essays written for the Arizona Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration as well as a US 80 driving guide written by Jeff Jensen. Further resources were obtained through the special collections of the University of Arizona and Arizona Historical Society. Findings by the THPF concluded at least 40 separate segments of former US 80 in Arizona survive un-interrupted.
In July 2016, the THPF finished all necessary preparation work for a historic designation and submitted a formal application for the Historic US 80 designation to the ADOT Parkways, Historic and Scenic Roads Advisory Committee. The proposal included several attached letters of support from various historical committees, mayors and city council members of several towns which the designation would affect. During a meeting on June 20, 2017, the Parkways, Historic and Scenic Roads Advisory Committee decided to unanimously recommend the Historic Route 80 designation to the Arizona State Transportation Board. By August 2018, ADOT was close to completing required reports for the Arizona State Transportation Board needed to sign and designate the segments of Historic US 80 that are part of the state highway system. Currently, ADOT is also working with respective local governing bodies to sign and designate the segments that are no longer part of the state highway system.
On September 21, 2018, all preparation work was complete and the ADOT Parkways, Historic and Scenic Roads Advisory Committee officially adopted Historic U.S. Route 80 as a state designated Historic Road. The Historic Route designation connects to and supplements Historic Route 80 in California. Historic US 80 is the fourth state designated Historic Route in Arizona, joining Historic Route 66, the Jerome-Clarkdale-Cottonwood Historic Road (Historic US 89A) and the Apache Trail Historic Road.
The total mileage of Historic US 80 is 398.54 miles (641.39 km). The shorter distance of Historic US 80 compared to the original highway is because certain segments of former US 80 are not included in the designation. More specifically, segments that have been rebuilt into I-8 and I-10. This means Historic US 80 is cut up into several non-consecutive segments, existing where the highway has not been directly replaced by the Interstates. This is a similar situation to Historic US 66 in the northern part of the state, which is not designated along parts of US 66 that have been rebuilt into I-40. A primary objective of the designation is to highlight and preserve highway segments and artifacts relating to former US 80, dating between 1926 and 1955, along the designated historic route. This period of the highway's history was deemed to be the most historically significant by the State Transportation Board.
In parallel with the Historic Route 80 designation project, the City of Tucson submitted an application to add a segment of former US 80, known as Miracle Mile, to the National Register of Historic Places in Summer 2016. On December 11, 2017 the application was approved and the segment added to the NRHP became known as the Miracle Mile Historic District. The Historic District includes part of Stone Avenue, Drachman Street, the southern segment of Oracle Road, West Miracle Mile (former SR 84) and a small two block section of Main Avenue south of the intersection of Oracle and Drachman. The Miracle Mile Historic District also includes over 281 man made structures including historic motor hotels among other roadside attractions and local businesses.
## Major intersections
This list follows the 1951 alignment.
## Structures and attractions
The following is an incomplete list of notable attractions and structures along old US 80 in Arizona:
- Ocean to Ocean Bridge, Yuma
- Ruins of Dome, Arizona
- The Space Age Lodge, Gila Bend, built in 1962 and currently owned and run by Best Western
- Gillespie Dam, Gila Bend
- Gillespie Dam Bridge, Gila Bend, 1927 bridge across the Gila River next to the Gillespie Dam
- Agua Caliente, Arizona
- Arizona State Capitol, Phoenix
- Tom Mix Memorial, near Florence
- Tucson Inn, Tucson, part of the Miracle Mile Historic District
- Stone Avenue Underpass, Tucson
- Ciénega Bridge, Historic concrete arch bridge in Pima County
- Horseshoe Cafe, Benson, 1940s cafe
- O.K. Corral and C.S. Fly's Photo Gallery, Tombstone, site of the infamous gunfight between the Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday against the Clantons
- Queen Mine, Bisbee, a copper mine opened in the late 19th century and ceased mining operations in 1975 that is open for public tours
- Gadsden Hotel, Douglas
- Geronimo Surrender Monument, Douglas
## See also
- Arizona State Route 80
- Arizona State Route 84
- Arizona State Route 86
- U.S. Route 66 in Arizona
- U.S. Route 80
- U.S. Route 180 |
22,821,692 | 2007 Heineken Cup final | 1,152,657,939 | Rugby Union match | [
"2006–07 Heineken Cup",
"2006–07 in English rugby union",
"Heineken Cup finals",
"Leicester Tigers matches",
"Rugby union in London",
"Wasps RFC matches"
] | The 2007 Heineken Cup Final was a rugby union match played at Twickenham Stadium in London, England, on 20 May 2007 to determine the winners of the 2006–07 Heineken Cup, European rugby's premier club competition. It was contested by English clubs Leicester Tigers and London Wasps. It was the 12th Heineken Cup final overall, and the third to be contested by two teams from the same nation, after the finals of 2003 and 2005, both of which were all-French affairs. It was Leicester's fourth appearance in the final, following a defeat in 1997 and back-to-back victories in 2001 and 2002. Wasps were competing in their second final, three years after their last appearance in 2004, also at Twickenham, which was hosting the final for the third time after 2000 and 2004.
Each club needed to progress through the group stage and two knockout rounds to reach the final, playing eight matches in total. Wasps and Tigers each won their respective groups to qualify for the quarter-finals. Wasps advanced to the final after defeating Irish side Leinster in the quarter-finals and fellow English club Northampton Saints in the semi-final. Tigers made the final after wins over French side Stade Français in the quarter-finals and the Llanelli Scarlets Welsh regional side in their semi-final. Alan Lewis was the referee for the match, which was played in front of a crowd of 81,076 – a world record for a club rugby union match – and broadcast worldwide in more than 100 countries.
The first score of the match came from Wasps' Alex King, who kicked a penalty in the 4th minute, but Andy Goode equalised for Tigers with another penalty three minutes later. Wasps went back in front thanks to a try from scrum-half Eoin Reddan in the 13th minute, only for King to miss the conversion. Tigers reduced the deficit to two points with a quarter of an hour gone, when Goode scored his second penalty following an infringement by Fraser Waters on Lewis Moody, but Raphaël Ibañez extended Wasps' lead with their second try in the 34th minute, only for King to again miss the conversion. A third penalty for Goode two minutes from half-time meant Wasps led 13–9 at the interval. In the second half, three penalties and a drop goal from King, unanswered by Leicester, ensured Wasps won the game 25–9 and their second Heineken Cup.
## Background
The Heineken Cup, European rugby's premier club competition, was established by the Five Nations Committee in 1995 to provide a new level of professional cross-border rugby competition. Clubs from the Premiership Rugby, Pro14, Super 10 and the Top 14 leagues qualified for the competition based on their performance in their respective national leagues.
The 2007 final was the last match of the 2006–07 Heineken Cup and the 12th final of the Heineken Cup. It was the first time in the competition's 12-year history that two English clubs would play each other in the final. This was London Wasps' second Heineken Cup final and their first since beating Toulouse 27–20 in the 2004 final. Leicester Tigers had conversely appeared in three previous finals, the most recent being the 2002 final when they defeated Munster 15–9. The two sides had met each other in the competition twice before in December 2004. Leicester Tigers had won each of their two meetings in the 2004–05 Heineken Cup pool stage. Tigers won the two fixtures between the two clubs in the 2006–07 Premiership Rugby 19–13 at Adams Park in November 2006 and 40–26 at Welford Road Stadium in April 2007. It was the Tigers' third cup final of the season; they had won the 2006–07 EDF Energy Cup and the 2006–07 Premiership Rugby. This meant that the club were aiming to achieve the first treble in English rugby union history.
## Route to the final
The 2006–07 Heineken Cup featured 24 teams from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy who were assigned into six groups of four each. Teams were awarded four points for a win, two for a draw and bonuses were given to clubs scoring four of more tries or losing by seven or fewer points. The winners of each of the six groups as well as the two highest-placed runners-up qualified for the quarter-finals. The four quarter-final winners made the semi-finals which decided the two teams who would face each other in the final.
### London Wasps
Wasps were assigned to the first pool along with Benetton Treviso, Castres and Perpignan. Wasps won their first match 19–16 at home at Adams Park on 21 October 2006, but were defeated 19–12 by Perpignan in their first away fixture of the pool at Stade Aimé Giral a week later. The club's third pool match saw them whitewash Treviso 55–0 in poor weather at Adams Park on 10 December 2006 with a Heineken Cup club-record nine tries and five conversions. The result gave Wasps enough points to usurp Castres atop the pool table. The return fixture at Stadio Comunale di Monigo six days later saw Wasps defeat Treviso 71–5 with a club-record eleven tries and eight conversions to go one point atop the pool table ahead of Perpignan. Wasps' fifth pool game saw the club beating Perpignan 22–14 at Adams Park and needing to win their final match to qualify for the knockout stages. They were able to reach the quarter-finals in their final pool game with a 16–13 victory over Castres at Stade Pierre-Antoine one week later.
In the quarter-finals, Wasps were drawn to play Leinster and the match was played at Adams Park on 31 March 2007. Wasps made but ultimately withdrew a request to host the match at a larger ground so they could receive more gate receipts. Two Alex King penalties and one conversion and Eoin Reddan's try gave Wasps the lead. Chris Whitaker's try and Felipe Contepomi's try and conversion for Leinster made it 13–10 to Wasps at half-time. Second-half tries from James Haskell, Daniel Cipriani and Reddan as well as a penalty and conversion from King ensured Wasps won the match 35–13 to make the semi-finals. In the semi-final, played at Ricoh Arena on 22 April 2007, Wasps faced fellow Premiership Rugby side Northampton Saints. A try, conversion and two penalties all scored by Bruce Reihana put Saints 13–0 ahead before Wasps won the match 30–13 and progression to the final with scoring by Paul Sackey, Haskell, Mark van Gisbergen and Josh Lewsey.
### Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers were drawn into the fourth pool along with Munster, Cardiff Blues and Bourgoin. Tigers lost their first match of the pool 19–21 to Munster at home at Welford Road Stadium on 22 October, ending the side's 26-match unbeaten record at home. The team won their following match 21–17 away to Cardiff Blues at Millennium Stadium a week later. Tigers' third pool game, held on 8 December 2006 at Stade Pierre Rajon in heavy rain forcing a pitch inspection, was against the yet-to-win Bourgoin. They led Bourgoin 28–3 at half time with three tries and penalties as well as two conversions. Although Bourgoin scored 10 points in the second half, Tigers won 28–13 and claimed their second victory in succession at an away venue. The return fixture at Welford Road eight days later saw Tigers defeat Bourgoin 57–3 with eight tries, seven conversions and one penalty. Tigers' second match against Cardiff Blues, this time at Welford Road on 13 January 2007, saw the side score six tries and two Ian Humphreys conversions in a 34–0 victory to set up a final match decider with Munster at Thomond Park the following week. Tigers beat Munster 13–6 to end Munster's 26-match unbeaten home record in the Heineken Cup and qualify for the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-finals, Tigers played Stade Français at home on 1 April 2007. Tigers took the lead inside three minutes when Seru Rabeni scored a try. Penalties from Stade's David Skrela and a Juan Martín Hernández try tied the match 11–11 at half-time. In the second half, Skrela scored a penalty from 35 metres (38 yd) to put Stade in the lead equalled by Andy Goode for Tigers seven minutes later. Skrela's subsequent penalty and drop kick from 40 metres (44 yd) put Stade 20–14 ahead. On 72 minutes, Tom Varndell scored a try under the goal post that was converted by Goode for Tigers to win 21–20 and make the semi-finals. In the semi-final held at Walkers Stadium on 21 April 2007, Tigers played Llanelli Scarlets. Tigers took a 16–10 lead before half-time through points all accumulated by Goode. In the second half, a Matthew Rees try converted by Stephen Jones gave Scarlets a 17–16 advantage. Tries by Shane Jennings and Louis Deacon that were each converted by Goode betwixt a Goode penalty saw Tigers win 33–17 and qualify for the final.
## Match
### Pre-match
In April 2006, European Rugby Cup (ERC), the organisers of the Heineken Cup, awarded the right to host the 2007 final to Twickenham Stadium in South West London. It was the third time the stadium had hosted the Heineken Cup final. Twickenham had previously staged the 2000 Heineken Cup Final between Northampton Saints and Munster, which Northampton won 9–8, and the 2004 Heineken Cup Final. The referee for the match was Alan Lewis, representing the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). It would be the first time the 42-year-old Lewis would officiate a Heineken Cup final although he had refereed the European Challenge Cup finals of 2002 and 2005. Lewis' assistants were Alain Rolland, and Simon McDowell, also representing the IRFU. The fourth official was Peter Fitzgibbon, also from the IRFU. The IRFU's David McHugh was the television match official. Douglas Hunter and Richard McGhee of the Scotland Rugby Union (SRU) were the citing and match commissioners. Both clubs sold out their 9,500 ticket allocation distributed to their supporters. A total of 56,000 tickets were sold to the general public and 7,000 were allocated to ERC's European rugby stakeholders. The match was broadcast worldwide in more than 100 countries.
This was the last match for both coach Pat Howard and centre Daryl Gibson at Tigers, who were replaced by Marcelo Loffreda and Aaron Mauger respectively. Shaun Edwards, a Wasps coach, called the match "the biggest game ever between Wasps and Leicester and the biggest club rugby match ever in the world since the sport began 100 years ago" and that his team did not need internal motivation "because it's Wasps versus Leicester." He added: "If we allow ourselves to be bullied, we'll get what we deserve. If we can't handle Tuilagi or Seru Rabeni then we're in trouble." Paul Sackey, a winger for Wasps, said before the match that his team would be inspired by their 2006–07 Premiership Rugby final day defeat to Tigers and felt they could equal their physical strength: "Talking Leicester up is half a bonus for us because we're the underdogs. We're really disappointed we haven't got any silverware yet this year and that motivates us even more." Tigers captain Martin Corry did not wish to make a comparison with his team's Premiership win to potential events at Twickenham, saying: "We will enjoy the victory and enjoy lifting the trophy, but we will make sure that come Monday we're all focusing completely on Wasps."
Tigers were considered favourites to win the final by bookmakers. Wasps fly-half King had recovered from a knee and hamstring injury sustained on the final day of the Premiership Rugby season three weeks earlier to be selected amongst the club's starting lineup. Gibson was returned to the centre position, replacing Ollie Smith. Phil Vickery was due to move to loose head prop since no replacement was found for the injured Tim Payne, but instead played at tight head to accommodate the inclusion of Tom French, who replaced Peter Bracken in the front row. Josh Lewsey played in centre in place of Dominic Waldouck, who was put onto the substitutes bench. Tigers registered no scrum half covers for the fixture. They were without scrum half Harry Ellis who, during the 2006–07 Premiership Rugby semi-final, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament rupture in his left knee, requiring reconstructive surgery. Ian Humphreys was named to the substitutes bench in place of Ben Youngs, who was ineligible to play in European matches. The club were without Martín Castrogiovanni who was sidelined with a sprained right knee.
### First half
Goode commenced the match in hot weather at 14:30 British Summer Time (UTC+01:00) on 20 May 2007, in front of a crowd of 81,076 spectators, a world record crowd for a rugby union club fixture. After eight seconds, Tigers were awarded a turnover after Wasps' Lewsey fouled Frank Murphy. Wasps earned two penalties in quick succession due to infringements by Tigers. For each, King elected to attempt a kick at goal, and was successful in his second attempt slightly to the left of the goal from 22 metres (24 yd) on four minutes. The match was temporarily interrupted on five minutes when King needed treating following an attempted incorrect tackle on Lewis Moody. After seven minutes, Tigers earned a penalty kick after Lawrence Dallaglio was adjudged to have been on the incorrect side of the tackle area. Goode kicked the ball between the goal posts to equalise at 3–3. A third penalty was awarded to Wasps when Tigers were deemed to have come on the side. King's wide shot from the left struck the left upright of the goalpost. On 13 minutes, Raphaël Ibañez looked at his choice for a short-range line-out, and Reddan collected his underarm pass from a short distance. Reddan ran 20 metres (22 yd) unchallenged to the left-hand corner and scored a try to make it 8–3 to Wasps.
King's attempt to convert the try went across the posts. Two minutes later, Fraser Waters blocked Moody as the former tried to protect Joe Worsley at the kick-off in front of the referee and the goal posts. The result earned Tigers a penalty kick, which was scored by Goode for his second of the match to make it 8–6. Wasps received another penalty after 18 minutes when Corry was reprimanded by Lewis for not moving away from the ball. King's penalty kick was a weak effort from 45 metres (49 yd), giving him his third miss of the day. Play was stopped on 27 minutes due to a dispute between Vickery and Corry which was found to have been started by the former. Tigers earned a penalty in a five-metre scrum but Goode's kick went straight down the field. Ibañez passed low to Simon Shaw, who was near the five-metre line. Shaw returned the ball to Ibañez, who ran to the corner unchallenged and scored Wasps' second try to double their lead to 13–6 on 34 minutes. King was again unable to convert the try when the ball hit the goalposts at his fourth shot at goal. Four minutes later, Tigers earned a penalty kick when Tom Palmer committed an infraction at a ruck. Goode scored to complete a penalty hat-trick. No further points were scored and the first half ended with Wasps leading 13–9.
### Second half
Neither side made changes to their lineup during the interval. Two minutes into the second half, Wasps increased their lead through a King penalty kick going between the posts from 30 metres (33 yd). This came after Alesana Tuilagi was observed holding the ball longer than allowed during a tackle. Another penalty was awarded on 44 minutes this time to Tigers but Goode's shot went wide. In the 48th minute, Sackey was gang-tackled by three Tigers players and needed treatment. Lewis observed Tuilagi committing a second infringement when the latter was offside in a ruck and the referee awarded Wasps a penalty in the 49th minute. King kicked to the right of the goal from 35 metres (38 yd) and scored his third penalty of the match to extend Wasps' lead to 19–9. On 50 minutes, Smith came on for Gibson in the centre at Tigers. Dallaglio picked up a left knee injury and was replaced by James Haskell a minute later. After 54 minutes, Vickery gathered the ball and allowed Tom Voyce to get a position that allowed King to make a drop kick from in front of the goal posts and increase Wasps' lead by three more points.
Wasps replaced Shaw with Daniel Leo in the 55th minute. Tuilagi went to fly-half and threw a high pass over Geordan Murphy's head before Dan Hipkiss broke through the Wasps defense and passed the ball to Smith, who then gave it to Corry. In the 62nd minute, Tigers brought Ian Humphreys on for Goode. In the 68th minute, Hipkiss passed to Tuilagi, who ran to within 10 metres (11 yd) on the left before he was tackled by Ciprani who was then supported by other Wasps players. The subsequent defensive scrum saw Haskell run 70 metres (77 yd) up the field before Humphreys tackled him 5 metres (5.5 yd) from the line. Tigers flankers were observed to be offside at the ruck, earning Wasps a penalty kick. King, kicking from the right, successfully scored his fourth penalty in the 73rd minute. In the concluding seven minutes, Tigers substituted four players and Wasps made five personnel issues but no further points were scored. Lewis blew the final whistle, with Wasps winning the match 25–9 and their second Heineken Cup.
### Details
## Post-match
The Heineken Cup trophy was lifted by both Wasps captain Dallaglio and King following the presentation of runners-up medals to the Tigers side. Fraser was named man of the match but returned the glass vase presented to him because he did not want to damage it celebrating Wasps' victory on the pitch. Dallaglio commented on the victory: "Being underdogs pumps you up. We defended as if our lives depended on it. That was our greatest ever win in a final." He added: "Of all the finals that was number one without a doubt. Everyone was telling us that was the best Leicester team ever, so we must be the best Wasps team ever." Worsley noted the team had not been consistent all year "but on our day we're awesome". Wasps' head coach Ian McGeechan commented: "I don't know what the second team are going to say. They're the only team to have beaten the European champions." Ibañez remarked: "You can’t imagine how good it feels to have win the Heineken Cup with these guys – it is fantastic. Those two lineout tries were good weren’t they – two specials!"
Howard, who flew back to Australia to take over the family pharmacy business following a two-year spell as Tigers' coach, spoke of his team's failure to win the treble: "To do a treble is an amazing thing. You've got to turn up lots of times. For the first time, we let ourselves down today." He also noted Wasps' physicality and Tigers' slight loss of composure contributed to their defeat. Nevertheless, Howard declared he was "immensely proud" of the club and commented: "It's been pretty special this year, but we've let ourselves down today. I'll be down for an hour or so then I'm going to celebrate our two wins." Corry admitted Wasps' outplayed the Tigers but said fatigue played no part in their defeat, adding: "Those tries cost us the game. When you defend the line-out as fiercely as we do it leaves you vulnerable and Wasps found the holes. In the second half we gave everything. I saw that in the lads' eyes. As a captain and coach that's all you can ask for."
Wasps received £37,000 for winning the final. McGeechan criticised the prize money disparity in winning the Heineken Cup and being relegated from Premiership Rugby, saying: "At present, the system penalises Wasps when we give up a dozen players to Test rugby because under the current share-out of funds, we do not have the money to bring in new players. It's just not possible." Dallaglio raised concern over the level of financial investment and Wasps' resources, adding: "We need to go away and address the issues off the field and make sure we don't fail because of our lack of ability to compete at that level. We need to sort ourselves out and move forward. We need to compete with the likes of Leicester, Harlequins and Northampton who have great facilities." |
30,121,922 | Tropical Storm Omeka | 1,169,147,777 | Pacific tropical storm in 2010 | [
"2010 Pacific hurricane season",
"Eastern Pacific tropical storms",
"Off-season Eastern Pacific tropical cyclones",
"Tropical cyclones in 2010"
] | Tropical Storm Omeka was the latest forming Eastern Pacific named storm since reliable records began in the 1960s. The storm was part of the 2010 Pacific typhoon and hurricane season. On December 18, 2010, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) began monitoring a subtropical cyclone near the International Dateline for possible tropical cyclogenesis. Over the following two days, the system tracked southwestward, entering the Western Pacific basin. It then began to transition into a tropical cyclone. Shortly before crossing the dateline on December 20, the CPHC assessed the system to have become a tropical storm. The storm was assigned the name Omeka several hours later as it moved into the CPHC's area of responsibility, which is from 140°W to the International Dateline. Upon doing so, Omeka attained its peak intensity with winds of 60 mph (100 km/h). Later on December 20, wind shear in the region increased, causing the system to weaken. By December 21, the center of Omeka was devoid of convection and dissipated on the next day. Omeka brushed Lisianski Island but caused no damage.
## Meteorological history
The origins of Omeka were from an extratropical cyclone in the western Pacific Ocean. The storm tracked southeastward near the International Dateline, and by December 18 it transitioned into a kona storm and soon into a subtropical cyclone. A large, sprawling system, little development was initially expected to take place as the storm moved towards the southwest. As the low moved over warmer waters, the cyclone was able to maintain an area of deep convection near its center. According to the CPHC, the system was nearly fully tropical early on December 19 as it moved west of the dateline. However, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) considered the low to be fully subtropical as a cold-core was present over the center of circulation. At this time, the storm had an eye-like feature, and attained its peak strength with winds of 60 miles per hour (100 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 997 millibars (29.4 inHg). Later on December 19, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) classified the system as a tropical depression as the low turned towards the southeast. Early on December 20, the JMA issued their final advisory on the depression as it moved east of the dateline and reentered the CPHC's area of responsibility.
Already classifying it as a tropical storm, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) issued their first advisory on the system at 0900 UTC on December 20, at which time it was situated roughly 505 miles (815 km) south of Midway Island. Upon issuing this advisory, they designated the system as Tropical Storm Omeka, the first named storm of the Central Pacific season. The storm generally tracked towards the northeast, in response to a mid-level low to the west, throughout the remainder of its existence. Traversing an area of decreased sea surface temperatures and increasing wind shear, Omeka quickly weakened to a minimal tropical storm later on December 20, with winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km/h). Intermittent bursts of convection allowed the system to maintain gale-force winds through December 21; however, persistent shear finally took its toll later that morning. Between 0700 and 0800 UTC, Omeka brushed Lisianski Island. Around 0900 UTC, the CPHC issued their final advisory on Omeka, as it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone roughly 280 miles (450 km) east-southeast of Midway Island, near Lisianski Island. Omeka's extratropical remnant dissipated on December 23.
## Impact and records
On December 21, the center of Omeka brushed Lisianski Island, with winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km/h). However, no tropical storm watches or warnings were issued since the CPHC anticipated weakening prior to the storm passing the island.
At the time, Omeka was judged to have existed in the northeast Pacific later than any other storm since the 1960s, when reliable records begin in the basin. However, according to the CPHC's database, there are two possible tropical cyclones in 1903 and 1904 which developed on December 23. In addition, even though it did not strengthen into a tropical storm, Tropical Depression Nine-C of the 2015 Pacific hurricane season formed later in the calendar year than Omeka, forming on December 31, 2015 and dissipating the next day.
Omeka was the first December storm in the Central Pacific since Tropical Storm Paka in 1997. Throughout 2010, the entire Pacific Ocean experienced record-low tropical cyclone activity due to a strong 2010–12 La Niña event. Since Omeka was the first storm in the Central Pacific during the year, it marked the latest start to a season since reliable records began, excluding seasons with no storms.
## See also
- Kona storm
- 1951 Hawaii cyclone
- Tropical Storm Haiyan (2007)
- 2006 Central Pacific cyclone
- List of off-season Pacific hurricanes
- Subtropical Storm 96C |
155,623 | Brugada syndrome | 1,173,180,348 | Heart conduction disease | [
"Cardiac arrhythmia",
"Cardiogenetic disorders",
"Channelopathies",
"Congenital disorders",
"Rare syndromes",
"Syndromes affecting the heart",
"Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate"
] | Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a genetic disorder in which the electrical activity of the heart is abnormal due to channelopathy. It increases the risk of abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death. Those affected may have episodes of syncope. The abnormal heart rhythms seen in those with Brugada syndrome often occur at rest. They may be triggered by a fever.
About a quarter of those with Brugada syndrome have a family member who also has the condition. Some cases may be due to a new genetic mutation or certain medications. The most commonly involved gene is SCN5A which encodes the cardiac sodium channel. Diagnosis is typically by electrocardiogram (ECG), however, the abnormalities may not be consistently present. Medications such as ajmaline may be used to reveal the ECG changes. Similar ECG patterns may be seen in certain electrolyte disturbances or when the blood supply to the heart has been reduced.
There is no cure for Brugada syndrome. Those at higher risk of sudden cardiac death may be treated using an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). In those without symptoms the risk of death is much lower, and how to treat this group is less clear. Isoproterenol may be used in the short term for those who have frequent life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms, while quinidine may be used longer term. Testing people's family members may be recommended.
The condition affects between 1 and 30 per 10,000 people. It is more common in males than females and in those of Asian descent. The onset of symptoms is usually in adulthood. It was firstly described by Andrea Nava and Bortolo Martini in Padova in 1989 [48] but it is named after the Catalan cardiologists Pedro and Josep Brugada who described the condition in 1992. Chen first described the genetic abnormality of SCN5A channels [49]
## Signs and symptoms
While many of those with Brugada syndrome do not have any symptoms, Brugada syndrome may cause fainting or sudden cardiac death due to serious abnormal heart rhythms such as ventricular fibrillation or polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. Blackouts may be caused by brief abnormal heart rhythms that revert to a normal rhythm spontaneously. If a dangerous heart rhythm does not stop by itself and is left untreated, the person may have a fatal cardiac arrest. However, blackouts can occur in those with Brugada syndrome despite a normal heart rhythm due to a sudden drop in blood pressure, known as vasovagal syncope.
The abnormal heart rhythms seen in Brugada syndrome often occur at rest, following a heavy meal, or even during sleep. These situations are linked to periods when the vagus nerve is activated, referred to as periods of high vagal tone. Abnormal heart rhythms may also occur during fever or following excessive alcohol. Sodium channel blocking medications, commonly used to treat cardiac arrhythmia, may also worsen the tendency to abnormal heart rhythms in patients with Brugada syndrome and should be avoided.
## Causes
The individual heart muscle cells communicate with each other with electrical signals that are disrupted in those with Brugada syndrome. As a genetic condition, the syndrome is ultimately caused by changes to a person's DNA, known as genetic mutations. The first mutations described in association with Brugada syndrome were in a gene responsible for a protein or ion channel that controls the flow of sodium ions through the cell membrane of heart muscle cells – the cardiac sodium channel. Many of the genetic mutations that have subsequently been described in association with Brugada syndrome influence the sodium current in some way, or affect other ionic currents.
A long list of factors that can generate a Brugada ECG pattern have been described, including certain medications, electrolyte disturbances such as a decrease in the levels of potassium in the blood, and a reduction in blood supply to key areas of the heart, specifically the right ventricular outflow tract. Drugs that have been implicated include antiarrhythmic medications such as flecainide, verapamil and propranolol, antidepressants such as amitryptiline, and drugs that enhance vagal tone such as acetylcholine. The ECG pattern can also be seen following excessive use of alcohol or cocaine.
### Genetics
Brugada syndrome is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, meaning that only one copy of the defective gene is needed to produce the syndrome. However, a person diagnosed with the condition may be the first in their family to have Brugada syndrome if it has arisen as a new mutation. The gene in which mutations are most commonly found in Brugada syndrome, known as SCN5A, is responsible for the cardiac sodium channel. Mutations in SCN5A associated with Brugada syndrome generally cause the flow of sodium ions to decrease. However, only 20% of cases of Brugada syndrome are associated with mutations in SCN5A, as in the majority of patients with Brugada syndrome genetic testing is unable to identify the genetic mutation responsible. Over 290 mutations in the SCN5A gene have been discovered to date, each altering sodium channel function in subtly different ways. This variation partially explains the differences in severity of the condition between different persons, ranging from a highly dangerous condition causing death at a young age to a benign condition that may not cause any problems at all. However, the genetics of Brugada syndrome are complex, and it is likely that the condition results from the interactions of many genes. Because of these complex interactions, some members of a family who carry a particular mutation may show evidence of Brugada syndrome while other carrying the same mutation may not, referred to as variable penetrance. Mutations in the SCN5A gene seem to have a prognostic value.
Several other genes have been identified in association with Brugada syndrome. Some are responsible for other proteins that form part of the sodium channel, known as sodium channel β subunits (SCN1B, SCN2B, SCN3B) while others form different types of sodium channel (SCN10A). Some genes encode ion channels that carry calcium or potassium ions (CACNA1C, CACNB2, KCND3, KCNE3, KCNJ8, KCNT1), while others generate proteins that interact with ion channels. (GPD1L, PKP2, MOG1, FGF12). Another gene associated with this condition is RRAD. The genes associated with Brugada syndrome and their description include:
Some mutations associated with Brugada syndrome can also cause other heart conditions. Those who show more than one cardiac conditions at the same time caused by a single mutation are described as having an 'overlap syndrome'. An example of an overlap syndrome is Brugada and long QT syndrome (LQT3) caused by a mutation in SCN5A that reduces the peak sodium current but simultaneously leaves a persistent current leak. Brugada syndrome has been described as overlapping with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) caused by a mutation in the PKP2 gene, causing a Brugada ECG pattern but structural changes in the heart characteristic of ARVC. Another example of an overlap syndrome would be Brugada syndrome and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs) caused by a mutation in KCNT1 that leads to an abnormal gain-of-function in potassium channels of neurons and cardiomyocytes.
## Mechanisms
The abnormal heart rhythms seen in those with Brugada syndrome are typically dangerous arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation or polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, but those with BrS are also more likely to experience rapid heart rates due to less dangerous arrhythmias such as AV nodal re-entrant tachycardia and abnormally slow heart rhythms such as sinus node dysfunction. There are several mechanisms by which the genetic mutations causing this condition might produce these arrhythmias.
Some argue that the main reason these arrhythmias arise is due to abnormally slow electrical conduction in areas of the heart, specifically the right ventricle. The genetic variants associated with BrS support the concept as SCN5A, the gene most commonly associated with the condition, along with SCN10A, SCN1B, SCN2B and SCN3B, all directly affect the sodium current I<sub>Na</sub>. The sodium current is a major contributor to the characteristic flow of electrical charge across the membrane of heart muscle cells that occurs with each heartbeat known as the action potential. I<sub>Na</sub> causes the initial rapid upstroke of the action potential (phase 0), and decreasing the early peak current, as occurs in BrS-associated genetic variants, leads to slowing of the electrical conduction through the heart muscle. This slow conduction allows 'short circuits' to form, blocking the waves of electrical activity in some areas while allowing the waves to pass in others in a phenomenon known as wavebreak. Given the right circumstances, this wavebreak can allow the waves of electricity to perform a U-turn within the muscle, travelling in the reverse direction before beginning to rapidly circle around a point, referred to as re-entry, and causing an abnormal heart rhythm. Those who support this view (known as the depolarisation hypothesis) argue that conduction slowing may explain why arrhythmias in those with Brugada syndrome tend to occur in middle age, when other factors such as scarring or fibrosis that accompany old age have exacerbated the tendency to conduction slowing caused by the genetic mutation.
Others suggest that the main cause of arrhythmias is a difference in the electrical properties between the inside (endocardium) and outside (epicardium) of the heart (known as the repolarisation hypothesis). The shape of the action potential differs between the epicardium and the endocardium. The action potential in cells from the epicardium shows a prominent notch after the initial spike due to a transient outward current. This notch is far less evident in cells from the endocardium, and the difference between the endocardium and epicardium are most clearly seen in the right ventricle. In those with Brugada syndrome, these differences are increased, creating a brief period within each cardiac cycle when current flows from the endocardium to the epicardium creating the characteristic ECG pattern. The differences in electrical properties between the epi- and endocardium are described as a 'transmural dispersion of repolarisation" which if large enough can lead to electrical impulses becoming blocked in some regions but not others. Once again, this wavebreak can allow the waves of electricity which usually travel in only one direction to instead begin circling around a point as a re-entrant circuit, causing an arrhythmia.
A further factor promoting arrhythmias in Brugada syndrome is changes to the structure of the heart. Whilst the heart of those with Brugada syndrome may look normal, scarring or fibrosis is often seen in particular regions of the heart, specifically the right ventricular outflow tract. As Brugada syndrome can be caused by mutation in many different genes, it is possible that different mechanisms may be responsible for the arrhythmias seen in different patients.
## Diagnosis
### Electrocardiography
Brugada syndrome is diagnosed by identifying characteristic patterns on an electrocardiogram. The pattern seen on the ECG includes ST elevation in leads V<sub>1</sub>-V<sub>3</sub> with a right bundle branch block (RBBB) appearance. There may be evidence of a slowing of electrical conduction within the heart, as shown by a prolonged PR interval. These patterns may be present all the time, but may appear only in response to particular drugs (see below), when the person has a fever, during exercise, or as a result of other triggers. The ECG pattern may become more obvious by performing an ECG in which some of the electrodes are placed in different positions from usual, specifically by placing leads V<sub>1</sub> and V<sub>2</sub> higher up the chest wall in the 1st or 2nd intercostal spaces.
Three forms of the Brugada ECG pattern have historically been described, although the Type 3 pattern is frequently merged with the Type 2 pattern in contemporary practice.
- Type 1 has a coved type ST elevation with at least 2 mm (0.2 mV) J-point elevation and a gradually descending ST segment followed by a negative T-wave.
- Type 2 has a saddle-back pattern with at least 2 mm J-point elevation and at least 0.5 mm elevation of the terminal ST segment with a positive or biphasic T-wave. A type 2 pattern can occasionally be seen in healthy subjects.
- Type 3 has a saddle-back (type 2 like) pattern, with at least 2 mm J-point elevation but less than 1 mm elevation of the terminal ST segment.
According to current recommendations, only a Type 1 ECG pattern, occurring either spontaneously or in response to medication, can be used to confirm the diagnosis of Brugada syndrome as Type 2 and 3 patterns are not infrequently seen in persons without the disease.
### Provocation testing
Some medications, particularly antiarrhythmic drugs that block the cardiac sodium current I<sub>Na,</sub> can reveal a Type 1 Brugada pattern in susceptible people. These drugs can be used to help make a diagnosis in those suspected of having Brugada syndrome (e.g. survivors of an unexplained cardiac arrest, family members of a person with Brugada syndrome) but in whom a diagnostic ECG pattern has not been seen. In these cases, sodium current blocking medications can be given in a controlled environment. The most commonly used drugs for this purpose are ajmaline, flecainide, and procainamide, with some suggestions indicating that ajmaline may be the most effective. Precaution must be taken in giving these medications as there is a small risk of causing abnormal heart rhythms.
### Genetic testing
Genetic testing can be helpful to identify patients with Brugada syndrome, most commonly in family members of a person with Brugada syndrome, but sometimes performed in a person who has died suddenly and unexpectedly. However, interpretation of the results of genetic testing is challenging. In family members who all carry a particular genetic variant associated with Brugada syndrome, some family members may show evidence of Brugada syndrome on their ECGs while others may not. This means that carrying a genetic mutation associated with Brugada syndrome does not necessarily imply that a person is truly affected by the condition. To further complicate matters, many frequently occurring variations in the SCN5A gene do not cause any problems, and therefore genetic variants are sometimes identified in persons with Brugada syndrome that are not truly causing the disease.
### Other investigations
Invasive electrophysiological studies, in which wires are passed through a vein to stimulate and record electrical signals from the heart, can sometimes be used to assess the risk of a person with Brugada syndrome experiencing dangerous abnormal heart rhythms. Risk stratification is also sometimes performed using a signal averaged ECG. Ambulatory ECG monitoring, including implantation of a loop recorder, is sometimes used to assess whether dizziness or faints in a person with Brugada syndrome are due to abnormal heart rhythms or other causes such as vasovagal syncope.
## Treatment
The main aim when treating people with Brugada syndrome is to reduce the risk of sudden death due to serious abnormal heart rhythms such as ventricular fibrillation or polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. While some with this condition are at high risk of serious heart rhythm disturbances, others are at much lower risk, meaning that some may require more intensive treatment than others. In addition to treating the person who has Brugada syndrome, it is often important to investigate members of their immediate family to see if they too carry the condition.
### Lifestyle
The first line of treatment, suitable for all people with Brugada syndrome regardless of their risk of arrhythmias, is lifestyle advice. People should be advised to recognise and avoid things that may increase the risk of serious arrhythmias. These include avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, avoiding certain medications, and treating fever promptly with paracetamol. Although the abnormal heart rhythms seen in Brugada syndrome are generally more likely to occur at rest or even during sleep, some people with Brugada syndrome experience arrhythmias during strenuous exercise. Some physicians may therefore advise people with Brugada syndrome that while gentle exercise is helpful, very strenuous exercise should be avoided.
### Implantable defibrillator
In people felt to be at higher risk of sudden cardiac death, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) may be recommended. These small devices implanted under the skin continuously monitor the heart rhythm. If the device detects a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia it can give the heart a small electric shock, stunning the heart back into a normal rhythm. An ICD can also function as a pacemaker, preventing abnormally slow heart rates that can also occur in people with Brugada syndrome.
Implanting an ICD is a relatively low-risk procedure and is frequently performed as a day case under local anaesthetic. However, complications such as infection, bleeding or unnecessary shocks can occur, which can sometimes be serious. Because of the small risk associated with implanting an ICD, as well as the cost of the devices, ICDs are not recommended for all people with Brugada syndrome but are instead reserved for people deemed at higher risk of sudden cardiac death.
### Medication
Quinidine is an antiarrhythmic drug that may reduce the chance of serious abnormal heart rhythms occurring in some people with Brugada syndrome. It is most frequently used in people with Brugada syndrome who have an ICD and have experienced several episodes of life-threatening arrhythmias, but may also be used in people at high risk of arrhythmias but in whom an ICD is not appropriate.
Isoprenaline, a drug that has similarities with adrenaline, can be used in an emergency for people with Brugada syndrome who are having frequent repeated life-threatening arrhythmias, known as an "electrical storm". This drug must be given as a continuous infusion into a vein and therefore is not suitable for long-term use.
### Catheter ablation
A further treatment option for people with Brugada syndrome is radiofrequency catheter ablation. In this procedure, wires are passed through a vein in the leg into the heart, or through a small hole underneath the sternum. These wires are used to find the area of the heart responsible for initiating the arrhythmias. The tip of one of these wires is used to make a series of tiny burns, intentionally damaging the area of abnormal heart muscle that has been causing the problem. Current recommendations suggest that this treatment should be reserved for those with Brugada syndrome who have had repeated shocks from an ICD.
## Epidemiology
Between 1 and 30 per 10,000 people are affected by Brugada syndrome. Although those affected are born with the condition, symptoms typically only begin in adulthood. While the rare cases seen in childhood are equally likely to be male or female, in adulthood symptoms occur more frequently in males than females, potentially due to the higher testosterone levels found in men.
Brugada syndrome is more common in people of Asian descent and is the most common cause of sudden death in young males without known underlying cardiac disease in Thailand and Laos. In these countries Brugada syndrome is likely to be responsible for many cases of sudden unexpected nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS). Local names vary – in the Philippines the condition has been known as Bangungut meaning "a scream followed by sudden death during sleep", while in Thailand it was known as Lai Tai, and in Japan Pokkuri. Type 1 Brugada ECG patterns are seen more frequently in Asian populations (0–0.36%) than those in Europe (0–0.25%) and the United States (0.03%). Similarly, Type 2 and Type 3 ECG patterns are more prevalent in Asia (0.12–2.23%) than in Europe (0.0–0.6%) or the United States (0.02%).
## History
Brugada syndrome is named after the Spanish cardiologists Josep and Pedro Brugada who described the condition in 1992, although the association between the characteristic ECG pattern and sudden cardiac death had been reported in 1989. Brugada syndrome was described as a cause for the sudden unexplained cardiac death syndrome seen in Thai men in 1997. The first genetic mutations affecting the SCN5A gene associated with the syndrome were identified by their brother Ramon Brugada in 1998, with many more mutations affecting at least 19 genes subsequently identified by others. Studies in the 2000s led to competing theories surrounding the mechanisms by which abnormal heart rhythms were generated. Research into Brugada syndrome is ongoing, identifying new genetic variants, exploring mechanisms of arrhythmias, and searching for better treatments.
## Society and culture
- A 1992 segment of the television series Unsolved Mysteries profiled the Guamanian Santos family that had lost various members due to heart issues. Surviving members of the family were ultimately diagnosed with Brugada syndrome.
- The British television soap opera EastEnders featured a storyline in which one of the characters experienced cardiac arrest due to Brugada syndrome.
- In episode 8 of the 8th season of the TV sitcom Scrubs ("My Lawyer's in Love"), Perry Cox asks a final question of intern Ed which he is unable to answer. He is subsequently fired. One correct answer to his question is Brugada Syndrome, while Long QT syndrome would have also been an acceptable answer.
- In "Transplant", Season 2, Episode 2, a patient of South Asian descent is diagnosed with it.
## See also
- Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia
- Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome |
12,282,348 | Ulpia Severina | 1,171,555,178 | Roman empress from 270 to 275 | [
"3rd-century Roman empresses",
"Augustae",
"Aurelian",
"Crisis of the Third Century",
"Ulpii"
] | Ulpia Severina was Roman empress as the wife of Roman emperor Aurelian from c. 270 to 275. Severina is unmentioned in surviving literary sources and known only from coinage and inscriptions and as a result, very little is known about her. Her nomen Ulpia suggests that she may have been related either to Emperor Trajan (r. 98–117) or the usurper Laelianus (r. 269), as they share the same nomen, and perhaps from Dacia, where the name was common. It is not known when she married Aurelian, but it might have been before he became emperor. She was probably proclaimed Augusta in the autumn of 274.
Aurelian was murdered in September/October 275 and his successor, Tacitus, was proclaimed emperor only after a brief interregnum, lasting somewhere between five and eleven weeks. Though coins of Severina were minted under Aurelian from 274 to 275, some historians speculatively assign certain unusual types of coins to this brief interregnum period and suggest that Severina either effectively briefly ruled the empire in her own right, or that there was confusion in regards to Aurelian's successor until Tacitus became emperor, and coin mints thus chose to mint coins in Severina's name. Given that no literary source discusses Severina, any interpretation of the unusual coins remains speculation.
## Early life and family
Very little is known of Ulpia Severina given that no surviving literary source discusses her at all. The only allusions to her whatsoever in surviving texts are a handful of references to "Aurelian's wife" in the Historia Augusta and the 12th-century Epitome of Histories by Joannes Zonaras stating that Aurelian married a daughter of Zenobia, probably an invented story. Her year of birth is not known. Through conjecture, it is possible to assume that Severina came either from Dacia or one of the other Danubian provinces, as the nomen Ulpia had been common there ever since the conquests of Emperor Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Trajanus). It has historically been assumed that Severina was the daughter of a man by the name Ulpius Crinitus, a figure that appears in the Historia Augusta as a paragon of military and senatorial virtue, a descendant of Trajan and the adoptive father of Aurelian. However, Ulpius Crinitus's existence is perhaps an invention of the Historia Augusta, given that contemporary evidence gleaned from inscriptions and coins does not mention him. Severina may have been related to the usurper Laelianus (Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus).
It is not known when she married Aurelian, possibly it was before he became emperor, and nothing is known of her role as empress and her political influence. The only reliable evidence in regards to Severina at all is a scant number of inscriptions and coins, which confirms that she was Aurelian's wife and that she held the title of Augusta. Only two known coins omit the title Augusta, instead styling her as Pia. These were probably minted before she was made Augusta. In full, the coins title her as domina Ulpia Severina Augusta, mater castrorum et senatus et patriae ("lady Ulpia Severina Augusta, mother of the camp, the senate and the fatherland"). Some inscriptions also style her as Piissima Augusta (pious Augusta). Severina also appears to have been deified, as some coins style her as diva. No coins styling Severina as Augusta can be dated before 274 and it is possible that she was not made Augusta until the autumn of that year, perhaps around 29 August, coinciding with Aurelian's triumph celebrating the defeats and reincorporations of the Palmyrene and Gallic empires.
After the autumn of 274, coins commemorating Severina were issued together with those commemorating Aurelian; some coins included the profiles of both. On the coins, Severina is depicted in a typical way for her time, with braided hair drawn up over the back of her head and an austere expression. Typically, her coins include the goddess Concordia, though some instead feature the goddesses Venus and Juno, the standard deities for empresses. Severina survived beyond Aurelian's murder in 275 and the date of her death is unknown. Aurelian and Severina had a daughter together, though her name is unknown.
## Dowager empress
### Interregnum
Aurelian died in September or October 275, murdered by his own officers after his secretary, afraid of being punished for a small lie, convinced them that the emperor intended to put them to death. Aurelian's successor, Tacitus, was proclaimed emperor in November or December. Historically, many scholars, including Edward Gibbon, assumed that the "interregnum" between Aurelian and Tacitus was significantly longer given that both the Historia Augusta and the 4th-century writings of Aurelius Victor state that the interval between Aurelian's death and Tacitus's rise to power lasted six months. According to their accounts, this period consisted of the army in Thrace, worried as they were complicit in Aurelian's murder, and the Roman Senate repeatedly petitioning each other to elect a successor.
This account is overwhelmingly dismissed today as not being credible as the dates given by the Historia Augusta and Victor only fit if Aurelian died early in 275 and Tacitus became emperor in September, which does not fit the surviving evidence. Contemporary documentation from Egypt suggests that the interval was at the most only 10 or 11 weeks, and perhaps as short as just 5 weeks. If accounting for the time it took for the news of Aurelian's death to reach Italy, and the information to spread out into the empire from there, the interval of the supposed interregnum is very brief. The Epitome of Histories by the 12th-century historian Joannes Zonaras mentions an "interregnum" between Aurelian and Tacitus, but he likely used the 4th-century Enmannsche Kaisergeschichte as a source, wherein the term "interregnum" more probably referred to the time between Aurelian and Probus, regarding the briefly reigning emperors Tacitus and Florianus as sorts of "inter-regents". Other ancient historians, such as Eusebius, are known to sometimes have regarded Tacitus and Florianus as too insignificant to count. Despite the dismissal of a lengthy interregnum as fantasy, and the lack of unequivocal evidence for any extended interregnum at all, many historians still believe that there was a brief interregnum of some sort, often citing spurious numismatic (coin-based) evidence. Some coinage once thought to have been minted in the period between Aurelian and Tacitus, bearing the legend GENIVS P.R. and sometimes the letters SC (interpreted as indicating the Roman Senate assuming control of the government between the reigns of the two emperors), have recently been re-assigned to the earlier reign of Gallienus.
### Severina's status
Some scholars supporting the notion of an interregnum between Aurelian and Tacitus have turned to speculating based only on numismatic evidence that the Roman Empire was governed, at least nominally, by Severina until Tacitus became emperor. Though many numismatists view Severina's tenure as de facto ruler of the empire as beyond dispute, it is only speculation and there are serious doubts with the interpretation given that it is only based in the interpretation of certain coins and that literary sources are entirely silent on the matter. Based on the increasing quantity of her coinage towards the end of Aurelian's reign, it has been argued that some coins were minted of Severina also after Aurelian's death, though Alaric Watson, author of a biography on Aurelian, dismissed this argument since he found it based more in a desire to find coins supposedly dating to the interregnum rather than the actual features of the coinage. According to the numismatist David L. Vagi, Severina ruling the empire for an extended interregnum "does not appear to be based in historical fact", though her coins may have been issued at a few mints in the weeks between Aurelian's death and Tacitus's accession.
The coins most widely suggested to have been minted under Severina's supposed tenure as ruler of the empire bear the legend CONCORDIAE MILITVM and depict the goddess Concordia holding two legionary standards, interpreted as Severina perhaps working to retain the loyalty of the soldiers. No similar coins were issued with the name of Aurelian, taken by some to mean that they were minted after his death. Coins of this type minted at Antioch are even more unusual in that they style Severina as Pia Felix Augusta, a feminine version of the normal title of the emperors (Pius Felix Augustus). A handful of coins also bear the legend CONCORDIA AVG. That it is the singular AVG (Augusta/Augustus) used rather than the plural AVGG (Augusti) is a striking detail that may perhaps hint at them being minted at a time when Severina was the sole ruler. Though they are highly unusual, a problem with attributing these coins to after Aurelian's death is that most agree that such issues were minted in Antioch, Rome and Ticinum, but not in the Balkans and other eastern cities (which had never minted any coins in Severina's name but would have been the first places to hear of Aurelian's death). It is possible that some of the coins of Severina were minted after Aurelian's death, but that in of itself does not necessarily mean that she ruled in her own right since it is also possible that the time it took to name Aurelian's successor led to a period of confusion, and that some coin mints thus simply continued to mint coins recognizing Severina. |
1,916,965 | Billy Boys | 1,168,694,917 | Loyalist song associated with Rangers F.C. | [
"Anti-Catholicism in Scotland",
"Bridgeton–Calton–Dalmarnock",
"Culture of Northern Ireland",
"Gangs in Scotland",
"Orange Order",
"Rangers F.C. songs",
"Wikipedia Did you know articles that are good articles"
] | "Billy Boys", also titled "The Billy Boys", is a loyalist song from Glasgow, sung to the tune of "Marching Through Georgia." It originated in the 1920s as the signature song of one of the Glasgow razor gangs led by Billy Fullerton and later became viewed to reflect the long-running sectarian religious hatred directed by some Protestants against Catholics in the city. It is associated in particular with Rangers F.C.
## Origins
Billy Boys originated in the 1920s as the signature tune of the Billy Boys, who were a Protestant street gang in Bridgeton (an area of Glasgow historically associated with the city's Protestant population, and with Scottish unionism - Brigton is the Scots form of Bridgeton) led by Billy Fullerton. The gang was named after King William of Orange, popularly known as "King Billy". The gang often clashed with Roman Catholic gangs such as the Norman Conks and the Calton Tongs. Fullerton was a member of the British Fascists who was awarded a medal for strike-breaking during the 1926 General Strike and formed a Glasgow branch of the British Union of Fascists with the onset of World War II. The Billy Boys song was often sung loudly when the gang performed it. They regularly sang it when they marched through primarily Catholic areas of Glasgow on Catholic holy days. This often led to the Billy Boys being attacked by members of the Norman Conks as a result. Despite being primarily based in Glasgow, in the 1930s the Billy Boys were invited to march in Belfast and sang Billy Boys while they were there as part of The Twelfth celebrations.
The Brigton Billy Boys and their youth wing, the Derry Boys, started to attend association football matches in the late 1920s and early 1930s. During this time, they attended Rangers matches and Rangers fans started to sing the Billy Boys song as part of a perceived affiliation with the Billy Boys.
Despite Percy Sillitoe, the Chief Constable of Glasgow, eradicating the Glasgow razor gangs and most young Protestants joining the Orange Order instead of the remaining gangs, Rangers fans continued to sing the Billy Boys in tribute to Fullerton as he still retained a prominent position among Glasgow Protestants even after the gangs had disbanded. The Orange Order then adopted the "Billy Boys" song and changed the lyrics to be played on Orange walks, with the references to Billy being altered to refer to King William II of Scotland and III of England and Ireland.
## Football song
### Rangers
Even after Fullerton's death, Rangers fans continued to sing "Billy Boys" to commemorate Fullerton and the Brigton Boys. In later years, attempts were made to portray the song as being against Irish republicanism rather than Catholics. In 1999, the Scotland national football team manager Craig Brown was filmed singing "Billy Boys" (as part of a joking exchange with his Catholic girlfriend) and faced calls to step down from his position in charge of the Scotland national football team. However, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) gave him their backing.
The song was at the centre of a controversy surrounding "ninety-minute bigots", an expression allegedly coined by former Rangers chairman Sir David Murray: "Ninety-minute Bigots do not hold beliefs but nonetheless sing songs at football matches which are sectarian, simply to join in with the rest of the crowd." Rangers have adopted several measures to tackle this behaviour including attempts to bring older Rangers songs back into popular use, with Murray speaking out against the singing of the "Billy Boys" on many occasions. In 2006, Rangers were charged by UEFA for discriminatory chanting over the singing of "Billy Boys" during a UEFA Champions League game against Villarreal. Rangers were found not guilty due to "Billy Boys" having been sung for years without the SFA or the Scottish government intervening against it and ruled that it was tolerated as a social and historic song. However, after an appeal where they were warned, Rangers were ordered by UEFA to make a public announcement at all home games, prohibiting the singing of the song despite UEFA admitting they were unable to do anything about it because it was a Scottish social issue.
In 2011, "Billy Boys" was included in a list of chants that had been banned from Scottish football grounds as part of new legislation from the Scottish government. It was specifically banned because of its "Up to our knees in Fenian blood" line. It was banned because it was decided by the Scottish government that "Fenian" in the context of the song meant Roman Catholics and was thus sectarian.
Despite the ban, "Billy Boys" has still been sung at Rangers matches, including their match against Queen's Park at Hampden Park in 2012. Other Scottish football clubs, among them Heart of Midlothian, Kilmarnock, and Dundee, use versions of "Billy Boys" adapted to support their own clubs.
### Northern Ireland
The Billy Boys song has also been used in Northern Ireland, which may have arisen as a result of the Brigton Boys' march in Belfast. It is often used by supporters of Belfast club Linfield due to historic links with Rangers as "Blues Brothers".
The song was sung in 2013 by supporters of the Northern Ireland national football team during their match against Luxembourg at Stade Josy Barthel in protest against the Northern Ireland team anthem, God Save the Queen, not being played at the Irish Cup final. In April 2014, the Irish Football Association (IFA) introduced punishments for "any ... song or chant that is undeniably sectarian or offensive". Linfield advised their supporters that this included all variations of Billy Boys, including the Marching Through Georgia tune. The IFA based their decision on the precedent from the UEFA decision regarding Billy Boys and Rangers in 2006. There was doubt expressed by fans as to how the IFA would enforce the ban on the Marching Through Georgia tune if it was used in a song other than Billy Boys.
## Lyrics
> > Hello, Hello We are the Billy Boys Hello, Hello You'll know us by our noise We're up to our knees in Fenian blood Surrender or you'll die For we are The Brigton Derry Boys
The 'Derry Boys' were a smaller, youth faction of the Billy Boys, and the original version used the term Brigton Billy Boys in its place. |
44,344,941 | Cunard Building (New York City) | 1,173,681,302 | Office building in Manhattan, New York | [
"1921 establishments in New York City",
"Bowling Green (New York City)",
"Broadway (Manhattan)",
"Carrère and Hastings buildings",
"Cunard Line",
"Financial District, Manhattan",
"Historic district contributing properties in Manhattan",
"New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan",
"New York City interior landmarks",
"Office buildings completed in 1921",
"Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan"
] | The Cunard Building, formerly the Standard & Poors Building, is a 22-story office building at 25 Broadway, across from Bowling Green Park, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The Cunard Building was designed in the Italian Renaissance style by Benjamin Wistar Morris, in conjunction with consultants Carrère & Hastings. The Cunard Building's facade and principal first-floor interior spaces are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places district created in 2007.
The Cunard Building's main facade, on Broadway, is made of limestone and consists of three horizontal sections. The design employs setbacks and open "light courts" as mandated by the 1916 Zoning Resolution. The structure was designed around an irregular street grid and is located directly above a subway line that crosses the building site diagonally. The first floor interior contains an elaborately decorated lobby, as well as a similarly opulent Great Hall, which extends 185 feet (56 m) with a 65-foot-tall (20 m) dome. The remaining floors contain various offices and school spaces.
The Cunard Building was erected for the New York City office of British-American steamship operator Cunard Line; construction started in 1920 and the building was completed the next year. Upon completion, the Cunard Building's exterior and interior designs received critical acclaim, and the building was almost fully leased to tenants in various industries. The Twenty-five Broadway Corporation, a Cunard Line affiliate, owned the building until the 1960s. The Great Hall was vacated after the Cunard Line moved out in 1968; the United States Postal Service occupied the Great Hall from 1974 until 2000, and Cipriani S.A. started using the space in 2014. The upper floors continued to host offices and various educational facilities.
## Site
The Cunard Building is a 22-story building, bounded by the Bowling Green Offices Building (11 Broadway) and 1 Broadway to the south, Broadway to the east, Greenwich Street to the west, and Morris Street to the north. It is located across from Bowling Green Park to the southeast, and 26 Broadway and the Charging Bull sculpture to the east. While 25 Broadway is considered to be its primary address, it is also known as 13–27 Broadway, 13–39 Greenwich Street, and 1–9 Morris Street. The Cunard Building has a frontage of 203 feet (62 m) along Broadway, 231 feet (70 m) along Greenwich Street, and 248 feet (76 m) along Morris Street. Due to the irregular street grid of the area, none of its corners are at right angles.
The Cunard Building was one of several structures built on the lower section of Broadway in the early 20th century that would be affiliated with the maritime trade. It was also one of several corporate headquarters to be constructed at the southern end of Broadway during the early 20th century.
## Architecture
The Cunard Building was largely designed by Benjamin Wistar Morris. The massing and facade were devised by Carrère and Hastings, while exterior detail was created by Rochette & Parzini. The structure was laid out so that ancillary structures such as smoke stacks, penthouses, and storage tanks could not be seen from the side. Its location near ferry slips, the New York City Subway, elevated Interborough Rapid Transit lines, and the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad's Hudson Terminal made the Cunard Building desirable to tenants. In the 1970s, the Cunard Building became known as the Standard & Poors Building, after its tenant Standard & Poor's, though the name also came to refer to nearby structures.
### Form
The building is H-shaped, with "light courts" facing north toward Morris Street and south toward the Bowling Green Building. The "light courts" are located above the base. The placement of these courts allowed light to enter the Great Hall, located on the first floor. According to Morris, the irregular street grid of the neighborhood made it difficult to determine the orientation of the building; he finally decided on its current north–south alignment since, at the time, it would have been possible to see the North River (now the Hudson River) to the south.
At the time of the Cunard Building's construction, large buildings in New York City were being erected in a "C" or "H" shape to maximize illumination of the interior space. Additionally, the 1916 Zoning Resolution necessitated the inclusion of setbacks on buildings in New York City that were above a certain height. The Cunard Building was the first large structure built in the city after the end of World War I, and set an example for compliance to the 1916 law. Because of the presence of large intersections on either side of the building (Bowling Green to the east and the intersection of Greenwich Street and Trinity Place to the west), the required setback under the 1916 zoning law was minimal.
### Foundation
The New York City Subway's BMT Broadway Line (carrying the ) crosses diagonally underneath the Cunard Building from northwest to southeast. Two additional subway lines, the IRT Lexington Avenue Line () and the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (), run adjacent to the western and eastern boundaries of the building, respectively. The Lexington Avenue Line's Bowling Green station is located directly under the building's boundary, while the Broadway Line's Whitehall Street station is located one block south. Because of the subway tunnels in the area, the Cunard Building's foundation was built around the subway.
During construction, the engineers considered and rejected an idea for placing the Cunard Building's girders on the roof of the Broadway Line tunnel, since that would have resulted in vibrations every time a subway train passed by. Furthermore, the subway tunnel was designed to support the weight of several small buildings and might not have been able to support one large building. Instead, engineers decided to place the building's foundation columns on either side of the subway tunnel, and then erect girders for the building above the tunnel's roof. The foundation columns were placed as close to the subway tunnel as possible, in order to reduce the length of the trusses, which would have had to carry heavy loads. All of the foundation columns were sunk to the depth of the rock underneath.
A cofferdam was then built on the eastern border of the site, and on part of the northern border. The rock surface underneath the building site was closer to the ground on the western side of the lot, requiring extensive excavation. On the eastern side of the lot, the rock surface sloped below the elevation of the subway tunnel. A 6-foot-thick (1.8 m) wall was built on the southern boundary of the Cunard lot, of which a 2-foot (0.61 m) width was located under the Bowling Green Offices Building. The wall served several purposes: it closed the cofferdam, underpinned the subway, and provided support for the columns on the southern side of the Cunard Building.
### Facade
#### Broadway elevation
The facade of the Broadway elevation is made of Indiana Limestone, making the Cunard Building part of a masonry "canyon" on lower Broadway. It is divided horizontally into three sections; one author described the juxtaposition of these sections as "stacked classical compositions". The outermost portions of these facades consist of pavilions that project outward, while the central pavilion is set back 5 feet (1.5 m). The projecting pavilions on either side rise to the maximum height allowed under the 1916 law. On the Broadway facade, the side pavilions are 50 feet (15 m) wide, while the central pavilion is about 103 feet (31 m) wide.
The Broadway elevation contains decorative elements that signify the area's historic connections with the maritime industry. These include "nautically-inspired sculpted elements", decorative keystones above the first-floor arches, decorative ship-themed roundels above the third-floor loggia, and carvings of seahorses with their riders above the pavilions' setbacks.
Within the four-story base, the central section is recessed slightly. The first floor contains five double-height arches, set within rusticated masonry, facing Broadway. The rusticated arcade is designed in a manner similar to that of 16th-century Italian villas. The center three arches, within the recessed central pavilion, lead to the Great Hall; the southernmost arch leads to the elevator lobby for the office space above; and the northernmost arch led to a banking area on the north side of the building. All the arches contain doors and windows with bronze frames. The third and fourth floors contain an Ionic-style loggia structure supported by Tuscan-style column pairs. Above the base, the facade is mostly composed of smooth limestone, except for rustication around the fifth story windows. The columns of windows around the central pavilion, which is recessed further, are also set within a rusticated facade. The outer pavilions are set back beyond the 18th story to comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution. The central pavilion contains a loggia between the 19th and 21st stories, also supported by Tuscan-style column pairs, and includes a mansard roof above the 22nd story. The roofs of the outer pavilions, above the 22nd story, are flat.
#### Other elevations
On Morris Street, the first and second stories are faced with limestone, while the basement is faced with a water table made of granite. Above the second story is a light court. The facade of the eastern wing (facing Broadway) is limestone, while the rest of the Morris Street facade is made of tan brick. There are also numerous glazed doors with bronze frames, as well as glazed paneled windows with metal frames. The remaining windows on Morris Street are sash windows.
On Greenwich Street, the basement is faced with granite and the remaining stories are faced with tan brick. The basement contains service doors, a garage door, and metal window openings. Above the garage door is a large triple-height arched window on the first through third floors, with balconies on the second and third floors; the window is recessed at an angle. The remaining windows on Greenwich Street are sash windows. There is a cornice of stone above the 22nd floor. The southernmost section of the Greenwich Street facade only goes to the third floor to allow light to enter the light court within the southern side of the building. The gray brick at both Morris and Greenwich Streets was designed to "harmoniz[e] closely with the limestone".
The south elevation consists of a brick facade with sash windows. The light court faces south toward the Bowling Green Offices Building.
### Interior
At opening, the Cunard Building featured over 700,000 square feet (65,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of space, of which 500,000 square feet (46,000 m<sup>2</sup>) was made available for tenants when it opened. A basement in the building contained a safe-deposit vault. The building's superstructure was fireproof. According to data collected by The Real Deal magazine, the precise floor area of the Cunard Building is 809,401 square feet (75,195.8 m<sup>2</sup>). The first floor contains numerous elaborate works of art.
The building also contained 36 elevators: 33 for passengers and 3 for freight. Of the passenger elevators, 28 were "high-speed" elevators for general use and the remaining 5 were private cabs. The elevators were clustered in the northwestern and eastern parts of the building. Twenty of the "high-speed" elevators were local and express elevators, accessible from the elevator lobby at the southern end of the Broadway facade. The other eight were located at the building's northwest corner, near Greenwich and Morris Streets.
#### Lobby
The main entrance is from Broadway, through the three center arches, each of which contains a small entrance vestibule inside. The vestibules and the two outer arches all lead to the building's main lobby. The lobby contains a ceiling of five groin vaults, each of which correspond to one of the arches on the Broadway facade. The floors are made of travertine with marble trim and contain maritime-themed bronze medallions. The walls are also made of travertine; there is a fireplace on the southern wall and a roll-down gate and doors on the northern wall. A passageway runs along the western wall of the lobby, connecting the northern four bays to the Great Hall to the west. The building's original owners had decided against putting "miscellaneous minor business adventures" in the lobby, such as newsstands, shoe-shine stands, and cigar shops.
The lobby ceiling was painted by Ezra Winter and sculpted by Carl Jennewein, and contains decorations of marine animals and children. The lobby's end bays also contain bas-reliefs carved by Jennewein. Wrought-iron screens topped by lunette grilles, designed by Samuel Yellin, separate the passageway from both the lobby to the east and the Great Hall to the west.
The north side of the first floor contained a banking area, which had a private elevator to the fourth floor and a basement-level bank vault. This was initially occupied by a branch of the Mechanics and Metals National Bank.
#### Great Hall
The Great Hall extends about 185 feet (56 m) from east to west and is about 74 feet (23 m) wide. It contains several Beaux-Arts design elements, including a symmetrical plan, transverse axes, a central dome, and various walled-off areas. The features are reminiscent of Roman bathhouses and the treatment of the artwork resembles that at the Villa Madama's loggia in Italy. When completed, the Great Hall was described as "the largest of its kind" in the United States and was compared to the waiting rooms of railroad terminals. One source described the Great Hall as being the "size of a six-story building covering nearly six city lots".
It includes three separate vaults. The central vault is 65 feet (20 m) tall with a diameter of 70 feet (21 m). There are large arched windows or "luminary squares" at the ends of its diagonal axes, under which are Ionic columns. Flanking the main dome are two spaces with rectangular rib vaults, which extend the hall to the west and east. There are additional arched openings through the west and east walls of the Great Hall: the former leads to a window facing Greenwich Street, while the latter leads to the lobby. As built, the hall was overlooked by wrought-iron balconies on the east wall, designed by Yellin. When the Great Hall was in operation, there were counters for ticket sales, as well as waiting lounges with wood paneling.
The ceiling of the Great Hall contains maritime-themed frescoes, which Winter painted using the fresco-secco method. These murals depicted maritime activity and, according to Winter, depicted "the age-old romance of the sea or the lure of travel". Barry Faulkner painted murals of maps into the walls of the Great Hall's niches, depicting the routes operated by the Cunard Line. The pendentives of the Great Hall's dome include depictions of oceanic explorers Leif Erikson, Christopher Columbus, Sebastian Cabot, and Francis Drake. On the Great Hall's floor is a marble compass surrounded by a bronze frieze, designed by John Gregory as an "allegory of the sea".
#### Upper stories
Each of the office floors consisted of about 48,000 square feet (4,500 m<sup>2</sup>) of space, though the actual rentable space on each floor ranged from 20,000 to 30,000 square feet (1,900 to 2,800 m<sup>2</sup>). Because of the "H"-shaped design, all offices had access to windows. In addition, the offices were divided by glass partitions, which allowed managers to observe workers and "see that the occupant of no desk is idle". The Cunard Line's executive offices were placed immediately above the main entrance. The offices also had a library, which one source described as containing the "dignity and comfort of old England".
The top four floors have since been converted for use by the Léman Manhattan Preparatory School, which uses a side entrance at 1 Morris Street. The school space contains a cafeteria; 30 classrooms; a library; a 400-seat auditorium; and a 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m<sup>2</sup>) athletic complex with a gym, swimming pool, and rock climbing wall.
## History
The site of the Cunard Building was occupied by Dutch houses after the colony of New Amsterdam was founded in the 17th century. In 1846, the site became a hotel and restaurant operated by Joseph and Lorenzo Delmonico. This later became a hotel called the Stevens House, which was popular among shipping and mercantile industry figures. By the 1900s and 1910s, the "Stevens House" name applied to two 5-story buildings at the corner of Broadway and Morris Street. According to a 1910 photograph, the buildings on 13-27 Broadway were largely commercial and included a restaurant, art publishers, the Anchor Line steamship company, hatters, and the Stevens House. Meanwhile, the lots facing Greenwich and Morris Streets contained Manhattan Railway Company's lost-property building and the late vice president Aaron Burr's former house.
The Cunard Line, for whom the Cunard Building was constructed, was one of the preeminent British transatlantic steamship companies of the 19th century. Its New York City office, which opened in 1846, had always been situated in or around Bowling Green. After moving several times, the Cunard Line sought "an adequate and permanent American headquarters" by the 1910s. Benjamin Wistar Morris started planning for a new office building for the Cunard Line by August 1917, before the site had even been purchased. His preliminary plans called for a grandiose ticket lobby for Cunard's ticket offices and a smaller elevator lobby for tenants of the upper floors. Despite subsequent modifications to the draft, the two separate lobbies remained in the final plan. The individual lots comprising the future Cunard Building were then purchased by the Irons & Todd real-estate firm, which then formed the Todd, Irons & Robertson, Inc. construction company. Irons & Todd eventually hoped to turn over the land to the Twenty-Five Broadway Corporation, a subsidiary headed by an official for the Cunard Line.
### Construction
Plans for the Cunard Building were announced in February 1918. At the time, the building was supposed to be 26 stories and cost \$10–15 million. One New York Times writer lamented that the plans would involve the destruction of the Stevens House, described as "the last quaint landmark standing as an interesting connecting link between" historic New York City and the "towering structures of commercial industry." of the modern city Due to World War I, further planning was delayed until June 1919 when Morris was authorized to create "working drawings, specifications and contracts". The demolition of the Stevens House began in July 1919, at which point the Cunard Building's final plans were publicized, showing that it was to comprise only 21 stories. Several details were revised in the final plans; for instance, a colonnade on the Broadway facade was replaced with arches. The New York City Department of Buildings received the blueprints for the Cunard Building in August 1919 and approved the project the next January, allowing construction to begin right afterward.
Construction was hindered by the presence of subway lines directly underneath the building site, as well as the irregular plot shape and "unknowable" costs. During construction, the underground BMT Broadway Line was carried on a concrete bed held by quicksand above the bottom of the Cunard Building's excavation site, in order to dampen the noise. The presence of the subways, combined with the fact that the Cunard site had been assembled from numerous separate plots, made construction more difficult. In one construction incident in February 1920, rock blasts from the building's excavation resulted in several subway passengers being injured.
The designs of the interior artworks were devised off-site and then transferred to a studio within the Cunard Building. The paintings were then installed within the building in four months; the artists used scaffolds to paint the ceilings while the foundations were still being built beneath them. The Cunard Building opened in May 1921 at a total cost of \$15 million. Despite increasing material costs at the end of World War I, the project had been completed on time, within 3% of its original budget.
### Cunard Line use
The building accommodated nearly 9,000 employees. At the building's opening, Cunard and Anchor Lines occupied the Great Hall, lowest three stories, basement, and top floors. The remaining floors housed numerous other tenants, including Atlas Portland Cement Company, Anaconda Copper, Merchant Shipbuilding Corporation, Consolidated Steel Corporation, International Motor Truck Company, and Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Lines. A branch of the Mechanics and Metals National Bank was located at the first floor, within the retail space on the northeast corner. Even before the Cunard Building's official opening, it was almost fully leased, with only 24,000 square feet (2,200 m<sup>2</sup>) remaining unused by April 1921. This was attributed to relatively low rents, the inclusion of 21-year leases, the timely completion of the project, and a shortage of available office space in the Financial District. In later years, other industries moved into the Cunard Building as well, such as attorneys, railroad and steamship companies, shipbuilding companies, brokers, engineers, and raw materials companies. These included the New York Central Railroad, which moved into the building in 1946.
To pay for the building's mortgage, its owners were given a loan of \$8 million in 1930 and another \$2.82 million in 1944. In subsequent years, the assessed taxes for the Cunard Building was reduced multiple times. The New York Supreme Court gave the building's owners tax reprieves in 1946, 1948, and 1950. In 1955, the owners completed a \$3 million project to add air conditioning to the Cunard Building, one of the largest such retrofits in an existing structure in the city. Ashforth, Todd & Company purchased the building in 1962. The Cunard Line continued to operate the ticket hall until 1968, when it moved to 555 Fifth Avenue; the vacant space was then leased by brokerage company Francis I. duPont Co.
### Later tenants
The building was sold again in 1971, this time to the Cementation Company of America, a subsidiary of Trafalgar House Investment Group. Initially, the owners had difficulty finding tenants for the Great Hall due to its vast size. The United States Postal Service leased the Great Hall in 1974, intending to relocate its post office from the nearby Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House two years later. By 1977, the USPS had moved into the Great Hall, and Standard & Poor's had signed a 20-year lease for space at the Cunard Building. The building was sold to Zev W. Wolfson for \$15 million by 1979. The City College of New York's Center For Worker Education was established on the seventh floor of the Cunard Building in 1981.
In 1995, the exterior and the first floor interior of the Cunard Building, along with several other buildings on Bowling Green, were formally designated as New York City landmarks. In 2007, the building was designated as a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places district.
S&P vacated its spaces at the Cunard Building, as well as at 26 Broadway directly to the east, in 1997 when the company started leasing space at nearby 55 Water Street. The post office closed in 2000. Afterward, the Great Hall went unused again for over a decade. The New York Times cited the hall's landmark status as a factor in the difficulty of leasing the space. The doors were locked, barring visitors from entering the Great Hall. During the mid-2000s, the Sports Museum of America considered opening within the Great Hall, but the museum ultimately opened in 2008 at 26 Broadway. In 2014, the Great Hall was leased to Cipriani S.A. for the operation of an event venue.
The upper floors remained in use by multiple tenants, including school and college campuses. In 2002, Deloitte leased three floors of the Cunard Building after its previous offices at the World Trade Center were destroyed in the September 11 attacks. Léman Manhattan Preparatory School moved to the Cunard Building in 2010, occupying the top four floors for its middle and high school campuses. Relay Graduate School of Education, a private graduate school for teachers, moved into the building in 2019. WeWork operated an 86,000-square-foot (8,000 m<sup>2</sup>) coworking space at 25 Broadway from 2013 to 2021, after which Industrious and Wolfson Group leased 44,000 square feet (4,100 m<sup>2</sup>) for use as a coworking space in 2022.
## Critical reception
Upon its opening, writers praised the Cunard Building's design. Architectural Forum magazine published six pieces about the Cunard Building in its July 1921 volume alone. In one such piece, art historian Royal Cortissoz described the external plan as "indeed organic architecture", writing that the "genuine architectural inspiration [sprang] straight from the personality of the designer". Cortissoz said of the building's facade: "You have a sense of business raised to a higher power, taking luxury in its stride." Architecture and Building called the site "exceedingly well chosen", and the New-York Tribune called the Cunard Building "one of the fine structures of the city". Other critics praised the building's manner of construction, and how it had been built above the Broadway subway line.
The interior was similarly regarded. In a piece for American Architect and Architecture in 1928, C.H. Blackall described the building as having "a magnificent counting room", and that the domed ceiling had "individuality and a most charmingly successful decorative effect." Henry Hope Reed Jr., in 1964, called the lobby "the finest interior in the city". David Dunlap of The New York Times said in 1991 that the Great Hall was "one of New York's most magnificent—and least appreciated—public spaces". The Landmarks Preservation Commission, in its 1995 landmark-designation report, called the hall "among New York's most impressive interiors". In a 2001 book, Daniel Abramson ranked the Cunard Building's Great hall as "among New York's finest monuments to travel", alongside the Main Concourse at Grand Central Terminal and the departure concourse of the old Pennsylvania Station.
## See also
- List of buildings and structures on Broadway in Manhattan
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street |
668,190 | Billy Meredith | 1,172,498,970 | Welsh footballer | [
"1874 births",
"1958 deaths",
"Association football coaches",
"Banned sportspeople",
"Burials at Southern Cemetery, Manchester",
"Chirk AAA F.C. players",
"English Football Hall of Fame inductees",
"English Football League players",
"Footballers from Wrexham County Borough",
"Manchester City F.C. players",
"Manchester City F.C. wartime guest players",
"Manchester United F.C. players",
"Men's association football forwards",
"Men's association football wingers",
"Northwich Victoria F.C. players",
"People from Chirk",
"Port Vale F.C. wartime guest players",
"Wales men's international footballers",
"Welsh men's footballers",
"Wrexham A.F.C. players"
] | William Henry Meredith (30 July 1874 – 19 April 1958) was a Welsh professional footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each domestic trophy in the English football league and gained 48 caps for Wales, for whom he scored 11 goals and won two British Home Championship titles. His favoured position was outside right, and his key skills were dribbling, passing, crossing and shooting. A dedicated and extremely fit professional, his habit of chewing on a toothpick during games made him instantly recognisable.
In 27 seasons in the Football League from 1892 to 1924 (not including the four seasons lost to the First World War and the 1905–06 season in which he was banned for bribing an opposition player), he scored 194 goals in 740 league and cup appearances. He played for Chirk, before joining Northwich Victoria in 1892. His career took off when he signed with Manchester City in 1894 and turned professional in January 1895. He captained the team to the club's first major honour, a 1–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the 1904 FA Cup Final. He moved to Manchester United in May 1906 after being banned for bribing Aston Villa half-back Alex Leake £10 to lose a match. There he won the league title in 1907–08 and 1910–11, the FA Cup in 1909, as well as two FA Charity Shields. He also helped to set up the Players' Union, which was a fore-runner of the Professional Footballers' Association. He returned to Manchester City in 1921 at the age of 47 and played a further 32 games before retiring in 1924, making him the oldest ever player for City, United and Wales. He later ran the Stretford Road Hotel and helped to coach the short-lived Manchester Central.
## Early life
Meredith was born in 1874 in Chirk, a small mining town in Denbighshire, Wales, just south of Wrexham. He started work at Black Park Colliery as a pit pony driver at the age of 12. His family were Primitive Methodists, and Meredith himself remained a lifelong teetotaller. He spent eight years working in the mines, and worked during a tough time for the industry, enduring a 25% pay cut which led to strike action in 1893; this experience helped to shape his political views, which would become significant later in his life. An interest in football was kindled by his elder brothers. Elias, the eldest, was a train driver for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. His work allowed him to take Meredith to watch professional teams such as Everton. Football was a keen pastime for the miners, and the standard of amateur teams from towns and villages in north east Wales was high as a result; Chirk won the Welsh Cup five times between 1887 and 1894, with miners making up a large proportion of the team. All the Meredith brothers played football, but Sam, two years older than Billy, was the first to make an impression. He left Chirk to attempt a professional career, and went on to play for Stoke City as a full-back.
Meredith made his debut for the Chirk first team in September 1892. The club played in The Combination, a league which contained a mixture of town clubs and reserve teams of clubs from big cities. At the end of his first season Meredith played in the 1893 Welsh Cup final, which Chirk lost 2–1 to Wrexham. Meredith formed a solid understanding with inside-right William Owen, a former Wales international. Chirk withdrew from The Combination and entered only the Welsh league in 1893 due to low attendances caused by the coal miners' strike. In an attempt to make ends meet, Meredith not only played for Chirk, but accepted an offer to play for Football League club Northwich Victoria as well, who gave him a small fee on top of his expenses. Northwich were a struggling side, who withdrew from the Football League at the end of the 1893–94 season after finishing bottom of the Second Division. The club won just three league matches; Meredith featured in each win. Back at Chirk, Meredith gained his first honour as part of the team that beat Westminster Rovers to win the 1894 Welsh Cup. Meredith also played for Wrexham in 1894, sharing his talents between them, Chirk and Northwich Victoria that year.
## Club career
### First spell at Manchester City
Meredith's performances for Northwich gained the attention of several other clubs in the Football League. Bolton Wanderers full-back Di Jones, a former Chirk player, spoke with him about a possible move, but Bolton secretary J.J. Bentley felt Meredith was too inexperienced and his frame too slight. Lawrence Furniss, an official at Ardwick, had first noticed him while refereeing a Northwich match. Meredith also played in both meetings between the clubs that season. Later in 1894, Ardwick, by then known as Manchester City, vigorously pursued Meredith's signature. Two club officials travelled to Wales to meet the player. One was secretary-manager Joshua Parlby, the other either Furniss or chairman John Chapman. The pair were met with suspicion. Anecdotes by contemporary figures suggest they were initially chased away by locals, and were only allowed to speak to Meredith after they bought drinks for his mining colleagues. Meredith did not wish to abandon life in Chirk. His mother was particularly against the idea: "It is all very well for you gentlemen to leave your big cities and come to our villages to steal our boys away ... Our boys are happy and healthy, satisfied with their work and innocent amusements ... if Billy takes my advice he will stick to his work and play football for his own amusement when work is finished." Meredith did eventually sign for Manchester City, but as an amateur. He continued to work at the pit for at least a year, commuting back and forth for matches.
Meredith made his Manchester City debut in November 1894 in a 5–4 loss to Newcastle United. The following week he played his first home match for the club at Hyde Road, and scored two goals against Newton Heath – who later became Manchester United – in the first Manchester derby to take place in the league. Newton Heath won the match 5–2. He turned professional in January 1895, and ended the 1894–95 season with 12 goals in 18 appearances, just three strikes behind top-scorer Pat Finnerhan, who had played an extra 12 games.
In his first full season at Manchester City, Meredith finished as top scorer. He was appointed club captain in his second season at the club, aged just 21. The club finished as Second Division runners-up in 1895–96, but were denied promotion after heavy defeats to West Bromwich Albion and Small Heath in the test matches. After the departure of strike partner Pat Finnerhan to Liverpool in March 1897, Meredith remained as City's star player.
His new partner for the 1897–98 season was William Smith (known as "Stockport Smith" to differentiate him from another William Smith in the team), whilst Billie Gillespie was placed at centre-forward. Meredith provided Gillespie with many crosses into the box, picking up numerous assists as Gillespie outscored Meredith by 19 goals to 12. Meredith also acted as a mentor for the slightly younger Gillespie, steering him away from drinking sessions by taking him along on fishing trips. The final match of the season saw Meredith score his first hat-trick for the club in an emphatic 9–0 win against Burton Swifts.
City dominated the Second Division in the 1898–99 season, and won promotion as champions. Helping them to keep them in winning ways in the close season was late signing Jimmy Ross, a veteran forward who Meredith considered to be his "favourite hero". Meredith claimed 30 goals in 34 games, including hat-tricks against Grimsby Town, Loughborough, Darwen and Barnsley.
Meredith scored City's first goal in the First Division on the opening day of the 1899–1900 season in a 4–3 defeat to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on 2 September. Seven days later he claimed two goals in a 4–0 home victory over Derby County, and "led the field that day" by dribbling the ball almost the whole length of the pitch before launching a powerful shot that settled into the corner of Jack Fryer's net. The Athletic News reported that "for real brilliance the right-wing [Meredith and Ross] took the biscuit".
First Division defences managed to limit Meredith's contribution in the 1900–01 campaign by singling him out for rough treatment, though Liverpool manager Tom Watson felt compelled to write a letter to Manchester City denying that a Liverpool director had stated that "all that the opposition had to do was watch Meredith – the rest are no good". He finished the season with just seven goals in 35 appearances.
Meredith found the net eight times in 37 games in the 1901–02 campaign, as City were relegated back out of the First Division. The club's secretary, Sam Ormerod, selected 29 different players as the club slumped to defeat in 13 of the opening 20 games. Ormerod was forced to step down, as new business figures took control behind the scenes and began to sign promising young Scottish players. New manager Tom Maley was more willing than his predecessor to confront Meredith over his tendency to stray out of position and attempt to dominate the City attack.
City won immediate promotion as Second Division champions in 1902–03, with Meredith scoring 23 goals in 35 appearances and claiming a hat-trick against Chesterfield Town. Maley managed to find him a suitable inside-right partner in Jimmy Bannister, who was unselfish in his play and willing to feed the ball through to Meredith. He also played Sammy Frost at half-back, who was able to win the ball and bring Meredith into the play, and signed outside-left Frank Booth to balance the attack. Maley encouraged teamwork, meaning there was less pressure on Meredith from opposition defenders.
Meredith was partnered with George Livingstone for the 1903–04 campaign, who was able to supply him and the rest of the team with quality passes. Drawn against a strong Sunderland outfit in the First Round of the FA Cup, Meredith was the "raider-in-chief" as City claimed a 3–2 victory at Hyde Road. City then defeated Woolwich Arsenal and Middlesbrough to reach the semi-finals. There they faced The Wednesday at Goodison Park, and Meredith scored one goal (bundled in by Gillespie) and claimed two assists as City won the game 3–1. Their opponents in the final at Crystal Palace were mid-table Second Division outfit Bolton Wanderers, and Meredith was cautiously optimistic before the match, stating "We ought to win ... if we play anything like our normal game the cup is ours ... but this is the cup final and, well, anything might happen." With just over 20 minutes played, Livingstone found Meredith with a long ball, who then beat goalkeeper Dai Davies to score the only goal of the game; Bolton supporters long maintained that Meredith had been offside. As captain, Meredith was handed the trophy by Prime Minister Arthur Balfour.
He scored ten goals in 35 games in the 1904–05 season, as City came within two points and two places of champions Newcastle United. The season ended in controversial circumstances at Villa Park, and with a 3–2 defeat to Aston Villa ending any hopes of winning the league, Sandy Turnbull and Villa captain Alex Leake exchanged blows. The Football Association launched an investigation into the violence, and the findings shocked the sporting world as Meredith was suspended for the entirety of the 1905–06 season for (unsuccessfully) attempting to bribe Alex Leake. No evidence was taken from Meredith, who denied the charge, and the evidence was not made public. The club, fearful of FA sanctions, refused to pay Meredith during the campaign. He was transfer listed in May 1906 after he claimed that he had only attempted to bribe Leake on the orders of manager Tom Maley and that illegal payments were common practice at Hyde Road. The FA acted on his information, and fined Manchester City £900 for illegal payments and suspended numerous players, boardroom members and staff members.
> You approve of the severe punishment administered by the Commission AGAINST ME and state that the offence I committed at Aston Villa should have wiped me out of football forever. Why ME ALONE? when I was only the spokesman of others equally guilty.
### Manchester United
In May 1906, while still serving his ban, Meredith moved to Manchester United. He joined on a free transfer and received a £500 signing-on fee from United; Manchester City reluctantly accepted the transfer as they had previously signed an undertaking promising Meredith a benefit match, and he was willing to forego on the agreement if the club instead granted his transfer. He returned from suspension on 1 January 1907, and marked his debut at Bank Street with an assist for Sandy Turnbull to score the only goal of the game against Aston Villa. In addition to Turnbull, Meredith was joined at United by former City teammates Jimmy Bannister and Herbert Burgess. This new forward line made the team into a powerful force, as they already possessed a dominant half-back line in captain Charlie Roberts, Dick Duckworth and Alex Bell. They ended the 1906–07 season in eighth place in the First Division.
Manager Ernest Mangnall signed Jimmy Turnbull, and the forward line of Meredith, Bannister, Jimmy Turnbull and Sandy Turnbull were dominant in the 1907–08 campaign. United won the title with a nine-point margin over second-placed Aston Villa, and secured the 1908 FA Charity Shield (the first ever Charity Shield) with a 4–0 win over Queens Park Rangers at Stamford Bridge.
United slipped to a disappointing 13th-place finish in 1908–09. Meredith was suspended for the month of January in punishment for kicking a Brighton & Hove Albion player in an FA Cup match. The club reached the 1909 FA Cup Final, knocking out Brighton, Everton, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and Newcastle United. Their cup final opponents at Crystal Palace were Bristol City, captained at centre-half by Billy Wedlock – England captain and staunch opponent of the Players' Union. A Sandy Turnbull goal settled the tie, which was described as quite a boring game; Meredith himself dismissed reports of the match, stating "it was a good game for dashing, keen, thrilling football, great goalkeeping and narrow escapes at either end". Meredith and his teammates celebrated the victory with music hall stars such as George Robey.
United finished fifth in 1909–10 and exited the FA Cup at the First Round with a defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor. However the club continued to advance under the generous chairmanship of John Henry Davies, and Old Trafford was opened in February 1910.
Harold Halse was to partner Meredith at inside-right for the 1910–11 season, but proved too much of a "free-spirit" and was replaced by Jack Picken, a "plodder [who] understands what Meredith requires". A defeat at Villa Park in the penultimate game of the season left United needing to beat third-place Sunderland and hope that Aston Villa failed to beat Liverpool. United were a goal down when Meredith provided Enoch West with a cross which West sent into the net for the equalising goal. Four more goals came and they won the game 5–1 and left the field as champions of England for the second time.
Meredith played in the 1911 FA Charity Shield, as United beat Swindon Town 8–4 at Stamford Bridge. However the 1911–12 campaign ended in a disappointing 13th-place finish and Mangnall left the club to manage rivals Manchester City. Meredith's Benefit match was played on 7 September 1912, between Manchester United and Manchester City, and the Welsh FA also donated the proceeds of two trial matches to the fund. There were 39,911 spectators and a total of £1,400 was raised.
New manager John Bentley led United to a fourth-place finish in 1912–13. He dropped Meredith to blood a young Jackie Sheldon. By this time, Meredith made headlines primarily due to his squabbling with the club over them stalling payment of his benefit matches and his dissatisfaction at being dropped. The club dropped to 14th spot in 1913–14, and only avoided relegation on the last day of the 1914–15 season after bribing Liverpool to lose 2–0 at Old Trafford; Meredith this time played no part in the resulting bribery scandal. He instead claimed to be baffled as to why his teammates refused to pass to him during the game.
During the First World War he actually played a match against United, making a guest appearance for Port Vale, with Vale recording a 5–2 victory at the Old Recreation Ground. Frustrated with the club for delaying payments over his benefit match, he also played as a guest for Manchester City. After the war ended he demanded a free transfer, and was repulsed that the club demanded a transfer fee, stating that the transfer market was a "degrading business" for players. On 7 May 1921, at 46 years, 281 days, he became United's oldest ever player when he took to the field in a league game against Derby County.
### Return to Manchester City
In 1921 he returned to Manchester City on a free transfer. He played 25 first team games in the 1921–22 season, helping City to record a derby victory over rivals Manchester United. He featured once in the 1922–23 campaign, playing the club's final game at Hyde Road. He played four FA Cup and two First Division games in the 1923–24 season. Mangnall, now his manager at City, shocked Manchester when he selected Meredith for the cup game with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Goldstone Ground, but was vindicated with a 5–1 victory; Meredith also scored a goal, though this was due to a poor mistake from the Brighton goalkeeper. He played both games against Cardiff City in the next round, a 0–0 draw at Maine Road and 1–0 win at Ninian Park, and claimed an assist in the goal that settled the tie. His last match was against Newcastle United in the semi-finals at the age of 49 years and 245 days, making him City's oldest ever player; the game ended in a 2–1 defeat.
## International career
Meredith won his first cap for Wales in a 2–2 draw with Ireland on 16 March 1895 in Belfast. He won 12 caps in the 1890s, but was forced to miss six games as his club would not let him play in games that clashed with league fixtures. Wales could compete with Ireland, but were regularly beaten by Scotland and England. On 26 March 1900, Wales played for the first time in South Wales, at Cardiff Arms Park, and Meredith scored a goal to earn the Welsh a celebrated 1–1 draw with England. After serving his suspension, he returned to Wales for the British Home Championship title victory in 1907, the nation's first success in the competition. In those three games, he scored against Ireland in a 3–2 victory, and captained Wales to a 1–0 win over Scotland and a 1–1 draw with England. Wales were denied a late penalty against the English, and Meredith was later recorded to have said "never mind, little Wales will win some day [against England]. May I be there at the death."
After draws with Ireland and Scotland, Meredith "wept unashamedly" as he helped Wales to beat England 2–1 at Highbury to claim the 1920 British Home Championship. It was only his second victory against the English in 20 attempts, and it marked the last of his 48 caps. Though his record number of caps was later surpassed, at 45 years and 229 days he remains the oldest player to win a Wales cap. He was actually chosen by the selectors for 71 consecutive matches, but only made 48 appearances as his clubs regularly refused to release him for international duty.
## Style of play
Meredith was able to avoid injury throughout his career, despite the extremely physical nature of the game during the period. This was due in part to his extraordinary balance and agility, which allowed him to avoid clumsy challenges, and the toughness he had built up from spending his adolescence working in the mines. A model professional, he spent his spare time improving his game with extra training sessions and maintained peak physical fitness by avoiding alcohol and tobacco. His "gimmick" was to chew on a toothpick during matches, and this unusual trait was picked up on by cartoonists of the time.
Writing a 1947 critique of Stanley Matthews, Meredith criticised the lack of direct play on show in the 1940s and stated that when he was playing that "I knew what was expected of me – to beat the wing-half and the full-back, take the ball down to the corner flag and centre". His ball control skills were unparalleled, leaving opposition players unable to tackle him. He also was an extremely accurate passer and crosser of the ball. His dribbling and crossing gave him a large advantage over rival wingers, who relied solely on speed to beat opposition full-backs. In addition to wing-play, he was also highly skilled at sending in long-range shots across the face of the goal, and could be relied upon to meet crosses from his left-winger with a powerful volley.
Meredith had to deal with extremely physical defences, and was often boxed into the corner of the pitch by as many as four players. As his talents became widely regarded, more well organised defences would designate him with a man-marker, to try and isolate him from his teammates. This often left him reliant on an unselfish inside-right partner willing to fetch and carry the ball for him without expecting much in terms of goals or glory in return. A hard-working wing-half would also improve Meredith's effectiveness by winning the ball and sending him a pass down the flank. The best teams he played in also had a centre-forward able to make the most of his accurate crosses.
## Players' Union
Meredith organised the first meeting of the Players' Union (PU) in December 1907. Meredith had previously been involved with the Association Footballers' Union (the "AFU"), the first attempt by football players in England to organise a trade union. The Players' Union, like the AFU before it, sought the relaxation of restrictions on transfers and wages. Others made the argument that a free market wage structure would ruin the amateur principles the sport was founded on, but Meredith felt that these words rang hollow considering that club directors and shareholders made vast profits. At the first annual meeting in December 1908, the PU stated their aims as to allow unlimited wages, the right to transfer from club to club, and for players to take a percentage of any transfer fee.
With the union threatening strike action, particularly at international matches, in April 1909 the Football Association insisted that all players agree to leave the union and pledge loyalty to the FA. Manchester United refused to issue the revised contracts to its players, and the FA suspended the entire squad. The club then refused to pay the players in lieu of their suspension, and so the players instead took away ornaments from the club's office before Mangnall persuaded them to return the items. The players continued to train, and captain Charlie Roberts came up with the name of Outcasts F.C. The FA organised a meeting of 200 players, excluding the Outcasts, but a rambling speech from chairman Charles Clegg failed to win them over, and an agreement was reached where the PU would be recognised by the FA.
In October 1909, the Union balloted its members over the organisation's membership of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GTFU). The result of the vote, a decisive "no" to GFTU support, effectively supported the FA's position that professional footballers were fundamentally different from workmen in other industries. Meredith resumed league football in November 1909, bemoaning his view that "many players refuse to take things seriously and continue to live a kind of schoolboy life".
## Personal life and legacy
He married Ellen Negus in 1901, and the couple had two daughters. He was a supporter of the Liberal Party. He ran businesses throughout his career, with little success, and was declared bankrupt in July 1909 after his outfitting shop was damaged by fire. During the 1910s he ran a public house (despite being a teetotaller) and later pursued an interest in the film industry by buying shares in numerous Stretford cinemas in the 1930s. He also starred in the 1926 picture The Ball of Fortune, playing himself as a football trainer; the film received generally positive reviews. In 1928, together with former colleague Charlie Roberts, he became a coach for the ambitious but short-lived Manchester Central. Meredith's son-in-law, former City captain Charlie Pringle, was a player. He retained a passion for football, and spent much of his retirement discussing the game with former colleagues and regulars at his hotel, the Stretford Road Hotel, which he ran from 1930 to 1945. He rarely missed the chance to attend a Wales game in the 1920s and 1930s.
Meredith died in Withington, Manchester in April 1958 at the age of 83 (two months after the Munich air disaster, which claimed the lives of eight Manchester United players), and was buried in Southern Cemetery, Manchester. After he spent many years in an unmarked grave, the Professional Footballers' Association, the Welsh FA, Manchester City and Manchester United all agreed to cover the cost of upkeep on a new headstone. Meredith is honoured in the hall of fame at the City of Manchester Stadium. It was announced in August 2007 that Meredith was one of the 10 new inductees for 2007 to the English Football Hall of Fame.
## Career statistics
### Club statistics
### International statistics
## Honours
### Club
Chirk
- Welsh Cup: 1894
Manchester City
- Second Division: 1898–99
- FA Cup: 1903–04
Manchester United
- First Division: 1907–08, 1910–11
- FA Cup: 1908–09
- FA Charity Shield: 1908, 1911
### National team
Wales
- British Home Championship: 1907, 1920
### Individual
- Football League 100 Legends: 1998 (inducted)
- English Football Hall of Fame: 2007 (inducted) |
1,216,176 | Legend of Mana | 1,169,417,868 | 1999 Square Enix role-playing video game | [
"1999 video games",
"Action role-playing video games",
"Cooperative video games",
"Japanese role-playing video games",
"Mana (series) video games",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"Nintendo Switch games",
"PlayStation (console) games",
"PlayStation 4 games",
"PlayStation Network games",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Video games scored by Yoko Shimomura",
"Video games with gender-selectable protagonists",
"Windows games"
] | Legend of Mana is a 1999 action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the PlayStation. It is the fourth game in the Mana series, following 1995's Trials of Mana. Set in a high fantasy universe, the game follows an unnamed hero as they restore the land of Fa'Diel by creating the world around them and completing a number of interrelated quests in order to restore the Tree of Mana.
While incorporating action role-playing elements from the prior games in the series, such as real-time battles, Legend of Mana has its own distinct style of gameplay. Most notably, it gives the player the ability to shape the world's structure through the Land Make system, generating regions and quests in a non-linear gameplay system rather than a strong main plotline. Legend of Mana was directed by series creator Koichi Ishii, designed by Akihiko Matsui, and produced by veteran Square director and producer Akitoshi Kawazu.
The game had high sales, selling 400,000 copies in its first week of release and 700,000 by the end of 1999. Reviews were less positive than for prior games in the series. Critics gave considerable acclaim to its vibrant and colorful hand-drawn graphics and soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura, but were critical of the lack of a clear main storyline, stating that it left the game feeling disjointed. The game was re-released as a part of both the PlayStation's and Square Enix's best-sellers lines. It was released as a PSOne Classic in Japan and North America.
A remastered version was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Windows on June 24, 2021 and for Android and iOS on December 7, 2021.
An anime adaptation by Yokohama Animation Laboratory and Graphinica titled Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal was announced in June 2021. The series premiered in October 2022.
## Gameplay
Like previous games in the Mana series, Legend of Mana displays an angled top-down perspective, in which the player characters navigate the terrain and fight off hostile creatures. The player controls the unnamed main character, and is assisted by up to two companions. One of these companions is an optional support character, which depends on what quest the player is performing, while another companion can be chosen by the player out of a roster of monsters, pets, and golems. Both companions are typically controlled by the game's AI, though a second player can take control of the support character, or load in their own character from a different save file, if present. The main character and companions each have their own set of numerical attributes including hit points and strength, which represent the amount of damage the player can take or cause. These stats grow whenever the player advances a level, after gaining enough experience points from battle with enemies.
Battles occur when the player character encounters an enemy while traversing the world. Combat takes place in real-time, and in the location the player found the enemy rather than a separate battle screen. The main character can equip a variety of weapons, armors, and accessories. Weapons let the player perform abilities in combat. Referred to as Special Techs, these abilities are powerful attacks by the main characters and support characters that can be used when the special move meter is full. This meter fills as the player damages enemies. Each weapon, such as a sword or spear, has a set number of special attacks to learn, which can hit single or multiple targets and can be assigned to different buttons on the controller.
Legend of Mana, unlike previous games in the Mana series, does not feature a set journey through a fixed world. Instead, it features a unique "Land Make" system where the player generates the structure of the game world by placing objects, named Artifacts, on empty square plots on a map. This map takes the form of a grid of spaces presented in an isometric viewpoint on a map screen. When an Artifact is placed in a space on the map, it creates a Land, and the player can enter that Land by selecting the position on the map. Adjacent Lands are not connected; to move from one land to another the player must first return to the map screen. Different Lands are generated from different Artifacts, each containing a quest which upon completion usually gives the player another Artifact to place. Lands can also contain additional quests. Each Land is ranked from 0 (no presence) to 3 (strong presence) in its strength in each Spirit of Mana; this in turn causes magic of that element to be stronger in that Land. The strength of the rankings is dependent on the Artifact, its position on the Map, and the rankings of adjacent Lands. Many locations have non-player characters who give quests and information or sell equipment. Other areas feature enemies and bosses with which the player can battle.
In addition to the main game, after certain quests are completed Legend of Mana gives the player the option to delve into optional gameplay aspects centered around the hero or heroine's house. The player can forge or improve weapons and armor using raw materials found throughout the game, or combine equipment with items to change their power or add special effects. They can grow different types of fruit in the orchard, raise pets to use as adventuring companions, create items, and build golems. Pets can also be raised with the Japan-only PocketStation peripheral, and two players can battle each other in an arena.
## Plot
### Setting
Legend of Mana is set in the fictional world of Fa'Diel. The Mana Tree, the giver of mana and life for the world, burned down almost entirely nine centuries prior to the events of the game. A war erupted between faeries, human, and others seeking the scarce power of mana that was left. When the war concluded, the burnt Mana Tree slept as it regrew and the many lands of the world were stored in ancient artifacts. A hero, controlled by the player, is self-charged with restoring the world, and mana, to its former self. The Lands of Fa'Diel are populated with a large number of different creatures, including humans, faeries, demons, the jewel-hearted Jumi race, plant-like Sproutlings and Flowerlings, miner bears called Dudbears, and shadowy beings of the Underworld known as Shadoles. Fa'Diel is also the home of a host of anthropomorphic animals and objects, as well as monsters from other Mana titles such as Rabites, Chobin Hoods, and Goblins. The player controls the protagonist of the game, who is either a male or female silent protagonist. The character is unnamed and no information is given about their past; their history and personality is meant to be determined by the player.
### Characters and story branches
Rather than a single, overarching plot, the story of Legend of Mana is composed of a multitude of quests split into three main quest arcs, numerous other quests, and a final quest arc. Each main quest arc contains optional side-quests in addition to the main quests. Whenever the player completes the required portions of one of the quest arcs they are allowed to begin the final arc and finish the game, even if the other arcs have not yet been started or completed. The three main quest arcs prior to the final arc are: the Jumi arc, the Larc and Sierra arc, and the Matilda and Irwin arc.
The first main arc is the story of the Jumi, a dying race of people who have external jewel hearts which are considered valuable. The Jumi have long been a persecuted people, and many magic characters in this game refer to them as "dirt" as a pejorative on their jewel cores. This branch focuses on Elazul and Pearl, who are among the few survivors of the Jumi. Elazul is a Jumi Knight, and the mission of his life is to protect the Jumi Guardian Pearl at any cost, even in the face of the jewel hunter, Sandra. The player assists them in helping the Jumi.
The second arc is the story of Larc and Sierra—brother and sister dragoons who serve different dragon masters and fight on opposite sides of the same war for power. Larc serves the dragon Drakonis, who wants to kill the other three dragons so that he can rule the world. Larc blackmails the game's protagonist to help him in this quest. Sierra, a dragoon for Vadise the White Dragon, wants to stop Drakonis without hurting her brother Larc. In the end, Drakonis is defeated again and banished to the underworld, and Larc is freed from Drakonis' rule.
The third arc is the complicated love story of four childhood friends: Matilda, Irwin, Daena and Escad. Irwin is a half-demon who is angry that society prevents him from a relationship with the holy leader Matilda, and seeks to destroy the world in retribution. Escad seeks to destroy Irwin, and Daena tries to act as a mediator between all parties while keeping Matilda away from Irwin. The conflict eventually escalates into a war between humans and faeries. Depending on the choices of the player, either Daena or Escad will die, while the player helps bring an end to the conflict.
Regardless of which path(s) the hero decides to take, they begin the game's final story, titled "Legend of Mana". This arc concerns the re-appearance of the Mana Tree. The player journeys to the Mana Tree and scales it, but upon reaching the top they find that the Mana Goddess has become corrupted and the tree is rotten. The player is forced to fight the Mana Goddess, and after winning a Sproutling plants itself in the Mana Tree's rotten trunk. Calling upon the other Sproutlings to join them, they restore the Mana Tree.
## Development and release
Legend of Mana was directed by Mana series creator Koichi Ishii, who had worked on the three previous games in the series. Many of the other developers were new to the series, including producer Akitoshi Kawazu, the director and producer of many games in Square's SaGa series, and designer Akihiko Matsui, who had been the director for Chrono Trigger. The game's character designs and illustrations were done by Shinichi Kameoka. Retro Gamer, in 2011, stated that although Ishii kept the game tied to previous titles in the series by reusing gameplay elements, Kawazu had a heavy influence on the gameplay design of the game.
Legend of Mana was designed as a 2D game, despite the PlayStation's 3D-focus, as the console could not handle the full 3D world Ishii envisioned where one could interact with natural shaped objects. Kawazu initially let Ishii have a relaxed schedule and budget, as Ishii had a great number of ideas he wanted in the game, but when the project began to get out of control and out of time Kawazu tightened down the rest of the development schedule and convinced the Square executives to delay the game by two months—even though it had already been announced to the public—to allow it to be completed as Ishii envisioned. Content such as numerous character sprites and item game mechanics had to be scrapped for the sake of fitting the whole game on one CD-ROM. Kawazu has said that this experience taught him that his true skill in game development lay in working as a producer.
Legend of Mana was first announced by Square in March 1999 just before its debut at the Tokyo Game Show. The game was released in Japan in July 1999 with considerable hype, packaged with demos of Square's future releases Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross, Front Mission 3, and Threads of Fate. It was planned to be released in North America alongside the July and August 2000 releases of Chrono Cross and Threads of Fate, but was instead released early on June 6.
### Music
The original score for Legend of Mana was composed, arranged, and produced by Yoko Shimomura. Shimomura was a newcomer to the series; the previous two Mana games were scored by Hiroki Kikuta, and the first by Kenji Ito. Shimomura said in 2002 that she considered the soundtrack to Legend of Mana to be the one that best expresses herself. She claims that she prefers "passionate music that comes from the heart", and that she has to "feel the emotions of a piece in the extreme before I am able to write" the music by putting herself in the same mood as the piece is supposed to be in. Legend of Mana featured the first vocal track of any Mana game, "Song of Mana", which also serves as the game's opening theme. It was sung by Swedish vocalist Annika Ljungberg, who was chosen by Shimomura because she "wanted to stay away from working with someone popular that everyone already knows". After hearing a sample of Ljungberg's music, she flew to Sweden "straight away" to do an analog recording of the song.
The 1999 soundtrack album Seiken Densetsu / Legend of Mana Original Soundtrack collects 55 tracks of music from Legend of Mana on two discs. The music covers many styles including piano, hard rock, and electronic music. The soundtrack was published by DigiCube, and was reprinted by Square Enix in 2004. The album reached \#65 on the Japanese Oricon music charts and stayed on the charts for two weeks. "Song of Mana" was later made available on the Square Vocal Collection album in 2001. Four of the game's tracks were released as part of Drammatica: The Very Best Works of Yoko Shimomura, an album of arrangements highlighting the composer's work.
### Merchandise
Upon the game's Japanese release, several promotional items were made available from Square, including stuffed toy dolls of the rabite enemy and mascot of the series, a necklace, and lighters. As a promotion for Square's "Summer of Adventure" release schedule in 2000, which the North American release of the game was a part of, those who preordered the game were given a free music CD with select tracks from the game. Legend of Mana was re-released in Japan late in 2000 as part of the Square Millennium Collection at a budget price along with a special music box and two character figurines. A companion book titled Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana Ultimania including artwork and interviews was released as part of Square's Ultimania series. It was published by DigiCube in 1999 and later reprinted by Square Enix in 2004 after the subsidiary's closing. An artbook, Legend of Mana: Making of Mana, was published in 2000 by ASCII. A five-volume manga series, created by Shiro Amano, was published between 2000 and 2002.
## Reception
In Japan, Legend of Mana was a bestseller at the time of release, and sold over 400,000 units in its first week alone as the highest-selling release that week in Japan. By the end of the year, it had sold over 700,000 copies in Japan. Legend of Mana was also the top selling PlayStation game during the week of its release in North America.
Legend of Mana received mixed reviews from critics. The game's presentation was almost universally praised, especially its use of vibrant and colorful hand-drawn graphics. David Smith of IGN claimed that the graphics were one of the game's best points, and RPGamer's Andrew P. Bilyk noted that the visuals "may be the most impressive two-dimensional graphics ever to grace an RPG". Andrew Pfister of Electronic Gaming Monthly praised them even more, calling them "the most impressive 2D artwork ever seen on a console". Damian Thomas's RPGFan review likened the graphics to Disney animation for having "a very storybook, cutesy cartoony feel to them", while Andrew Vestal of GameSpot said that the graphics were some of the most lush and ornate 2D graphics ever made. The game won an award for best graphics at the 4th Japan Game Awards from the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association. The music in Legend of Mana was also a high point in many reviews; the reviewers for Electronic Gaming Monthly called it "fantastic" and "wonderful". Smith of IGN's review stated that the soundtrack is "as good as any you'll hear today" with a good mix of intensity, suspense, and subtle nuance, and Vestal of GameSpot termed it "excellently orchestrated" and a perfect fit for the game in each environment.
Much of the game's criticism stemmed from its substitution of mostly unrelated quests over a main storyline. GamePro, while praising the Land Make system, found that the "focus of Legend of Mana is obscured by the over-abundance of subplots". Similarly, Game Revolution's Johnny Liu commented that the game lacked depth and felt like a collection of short quests rather than a single game, while Vestal of GameSpot noted that the game's use of miniquests will likely disappoint those seeking an action-RPG classic, and said that, although fun, the gameplay had a "schizophrenic and disjointed nature". Next Generation agreed, saying that the Land Make system was an "innovative feature" but that it left the game disjointed without a solid plot to keep everything together. The Japanese Weekly Famitsu reviewers felt that the system was ambitious, but left the game feeling disconnected, and that the divided plotlines kept the beginning of the game from having the charm of the end.
Gary Steinman of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine said that the lack of a plotline gave the player no incentive to keep playing through what he felt was a poor combat system. Both of those criticisms were repeated by Electronic Gaming Monthly's Sam Kennedy in his review. RPGamer's Bilyk felt that the smaller plots, while sometimes simplistic and not focused on the player, were enjoyable experiences. IGN's Smith concluded that while he enjoyed the game, he felt that it was not a complete game like Secret of Mana, but instead a collection of fun experiences.
### Legacy
In November 2000, Legend of Mana was ranked number 48 on Weekly Famitsu's list of top 100 PlayStation games of all time. The game was re-released on February 21, 2002 as part of the PSone Books best-sellers series in Japan, in 2006 as part of Square Enix's Ultimate Hits collection, and re-released on the PlayStation 3 PlayStation Network store as part of the PSone Classics series on March 22, 2011. A remastered version was released on June 24, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC. This version of the game was later released for Android and iOS on December 7, 2021. |
1,384,972 | David Greenglass | 1,168,264,753 | Atomic spy for the Soviet Union (1922–2014) | [
"1922 births",
"2014 deaths",
"Admitted Soviet spies",
"American people convicted of spying for the Soviet Union",
"American people in the Venona papers",
"American people of Austrian-Jewish descent",
"American people of Russian-Jewish descent",
"Cold War spies",
"Haaren High School alumni",
"Julius and Ethel Rosenberg",
"Manhattan Project people",
"Nuclear secrecy",
"People convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917",
"People from Laurelton, Queens",
"People from the Lower East Side",
"Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni",
"World War II spies for the Soviet Union"
] | David Greenglass (March 2, 1922 – July 1, 2014) was an American machinist and atomic spy for the Soviet Union who worked on the Manhattan Project. He was briefly stationed at the Clinton Engineer Works uranium enrichment facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and then worked at the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico from August 1944 until February 1946.
He provided testimony that helped convict his sister and brother-in-law Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were executed for their spying activity. Greenglass served nine and a half years in prison.
## Early life and career
Greenglass was born in 1922 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. His parents, Barnet Greenglass and Theresa "Tessie" Feit, were Jewish immigrants from Russia and Austria, respectively. He attended Haaren High School, and graduated in 1940. He attended Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute but did not graduate.
Greenglass married Ruth Printz in 1942, when she was 18 years old. The two joined the Young Communist League shortly before Greenglass entered the U.S. Army in April 1943. They had a son and a daughter. He worked as a machinist at Fort Ord, California, and then at the Mississippi Ordnance Plant in Jackson, Mississippi. In July 1944, Greenglass was assigned to the secret Manhattan Project, the wartime project to develop the first atomic weapons. He was first stationed at the Clinton Engineer Works uranium enrichment facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, but was there for less than two weeks. In August 1944 he was sent to the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. In order to pass his security clearance, he disguised or omitted details of his communist associations, and had friends write glowing references.
Julius Rosenberg, who had married Greenglass' sister, Ethel, in 1939, had become an agent for the Soviet Union (USSR), working under Alexander Feklisov. In September 1944, Feklisov suggested to Rosenberg that he should consider recruiting his brother-in-law, David Greenglass, and his wife. On September 21, 1944, Feklisov reported to Moscow: "They are young, intelligent, capable, and politically developed people, strongly believing in the cause of communism and wishing to do their best to help our country as much as possible. They are undoubtedly devoted to us." David wrote to his wife, Ruth: "My darling, I most certainly will be glad to be part of the community project [espionage] that Julius and his friends [the Soviets] have in mind."
After Julius Rosenberg recommended his sister-in-law Ruth Greenglass to his NKVD superiors for the use of her apartment as a safe house for photography, the NKVD realized that David was working on the Manhattan Project. He was then recruited into Soviet espionage by Ruth at Rosenberg's behest in November 1944. Greenglass began to pass nuclear secrets to the USSR via the courier Harry Gold, and more directly with a Soviet official in New York City.
According to the Venona project intercepts decrypted by the National Security Agency between 1944 and some time in the 1970s, Greenglass and his wife Ruth were given code names. David was codenamed "KALIBR" (Cyrillic: Калибр, "calibre") and Ruth "OSA" (Cyrillic: оса, "wasp").
Greenglass turned down requests from the Los Alamos Laboratory (and Rosenberg) to work on the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll because he wanted to be with Ruth. He was honorably discharged from the Army on February 29, 1946. Greenglass returned to Manhattan, where, with his brother Bernie, and Julius Rosenberg, he ran a small machine shop known as G & R Engineering.
On February 14, 1950, Ruth, who was pregnant with their second child, came too close to the gas heater in their Lower East Side apartment, and her nightgown caught on fire. Greenglass extinguished the blaze, but she suffered severe burns. She was taken to Gouverneur Hospital for skin grafts. He suffered second degree burns to his right hand. He was already aware that the UK and US intelligence agencies had discovered that a Los Alamos theoretical physicist, Klaus Fuchs, had spied for the USSR during the war.
Through Fuchs' confession, they found that one of his American contacts had been a man named Harry Gold from Brooklyn, New York. Gold had passed Fuchs' information on to a Soviet agent, performing the role of courier, and Anatoli Yakovlev would then pass the information on to his controllers in the USSR. Through Gold, the FBI's trail led to Greenglass and the Rosenbergs, who had allegedly also used Gold as a courier. When Fuchs was first captured, Julius allegedly gave the Greenglasses \$5,000 to finance an escape to Mexico. Instead, they went to the Catskills and used the money to seek legal advice.
## Trial and aftermath
David Greenglass was arrested by the FBI for espionage in June 1950 and quickly implicated Julius Rosenberg. He explicitly denied his sister Ethel's involvement when he testified before a grand jury in August 1950. In February 1951, weeks before the trial, he changed his testimony to claim that Ethel had typed up his notes. He testified against his sister and her husband in court in 1951 as part of an immunity agreement. In exchange for that testimony, the government allowed Ruth to stay with their two children. She was named a co-conspirator, but was never indicted. Greenglass told the court, "I had a kind of hero worship there with Julius Rosenberg and I did not want my hero to fail ..."
During subsequent testimony in 1951, Greenglass related in detail the secrets he passed on to the Soviet Union. He falsely attributed passing the cross-section drawing of the Atom Bomb to the Soviets to Julius and he also acknowledged passing other sketches through Gold. He described his work on the molds into which were poured the component of the explosive lenses of the Fat Man bombs used for the Trinity nuclear test and in the bombing of Nagasaki. At first this was a matter of difficulty for the prosecution, who wanted Greenglass to testify in open court about the secrets he had given—something which would by definition make them no longer "secret".
The Atomic Energy Commission decided that the implosion concept could be declassified for the trial, and limited all discussion to the weapons used in World War II (fearing that Greenglass may have seen prototypes for future weapons while at Los Alamos). As a result of a surprise defense motion that all testimony about the alleged "secret of the atomic bomb" be impounded, Federal Judge Irving Kaufman at first made all spectators and news reporters leave the room when Greenglass began testifying about his "secrets".
Ten minutes later, Judge Kaufman invited the news reporters back in, asking them to use their discretion in reporting on Greenglass's testimony. The Rosenbergs' defense attorney, Emanuel H. Bloch, attempted to convince the jury that his clients were concerned about issues of national security, but failed. Greenglass' testimony, later seen to be crude and in the words of many scientists who examined it "worthless", remained sealed until 1966. He also testified that Rosenberg had stolen and given to the Soviets a proximity fuze.
However, Aleksander Feklisov also claimed that Julius Rosenberg supplied him with a whole proximity fuze, which would corroborate at least this part of Greenglass' testimony. During the trial, Bloch claimed Greenglass wanted revenge for the machine shop business failure. Bloch attempted to discredit Greenglass' character and testimony. At Greenglass' sentencing hearing, his attorney O. John Rogge repeatedly told the court his client deserved "a pat on the back" for his testimony and argued that a light sentence, no more than five years, would encourage others to follow his example. Greenglass was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released after nine and a half years and reunited with his wife.
In March 1953, three months before the Rosenbergs' executions, he wrote a letter for his attorney to deliver to President Eisenhower asking for their sentences to be commuted to prison terms so that they would have an opportunity to confess. He wrote: "if these two die, I shall live the rest of my life with a very dark shadow on my conscience". He described his own testimony as "an act of contrition for the wrong I had done my country, my family and myself" and explained how he now viewed its consequences: "Here I had to take the choice of hurting someone dear to me, and I took it deliberately. I could not believe that this would be the outcome. May God in His mercy change that awful sentence." That same month he admitted he had stolen a few ounces of uranium-238 from a bomb laboratory at Los Alamos years before and had tossed it into the East River in 1950 after he first denied having stolen it.
## Later years
After his release in 1960, Greenglass and his family lived in New York City under an assumed name. For some years they lived on 228th Street in Laurelton, Queens, New York. In 1996, Greenglass recanted his sworn testimony in an interview with The New York Times reporter Sam Roberts and stated he had lied under oath about the extent of his sister's involvement in the spying plot in order to protect his wife. At the trial, Greenglass had testified that Ethel Rosenberg typed his notes to give to the Soviets. However, in the Roberts interview, he stated, "I frankly think my wife did the typing, but I don't remember ... My wife is more important to me than my sister. Or my mother or my father, okay? And she was the mother of my children." When Roberts asked Greenglass if he would have done anything differently, he replied, "Never."
The role of Ethel Rosenberg in her husband's espionage ring remains a matter of dispute.
In 2008, when a group of academic historians sought the release of the transcripts of the grand jury proceedings that indicted the Rosenbergs, Greenglass objected to the government's release of his testimony. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein declined to order the release of the testimony of Greenglass and other surviving witnesses who withheld their consent or could not be located.
The grand jury testimony was finally released in July 2015. Greenglass never mentioned involvement by his sister in Rosenberg's delivery of atomic secrets to the Soviets.
David Greenglass died on July 1, 2014. He was predeceased by his wife, Ruth, who died on April 7, 2008. His death was not publicly announced by his family and was only discovered on October 14, 2014, when The New York Times called the nursing home where he had been living under an assumed name. |
43,300,024 | Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 | 1,171,412,337 | null | [
"2015 in Cypriot television",
"Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015",
"Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest"
] | Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "One Thing I Should Have Done" written by Mike Connaris and Giannis Karagiannis and performed by Karagiannis. The Cypriot broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their withdrawal in 2014 due to financial and budget restrictions, and organised the national final Eurovision Song Project in order to select the Cypriot entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. The national final featured 54 entries competing in a nine-week-long process, resulting in the selection of Karagiannis with "One Thing I Should Have Done" at the final on 1 February 2015, where six entries remained.
Promotional activities for the entry prior to the contest included performances of the song in both Amsterdam and London. Cyprus was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 21 May 2015. Performing during the show in position 15, "One Thing I Should Have Done" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 23 May. It was later revealed that Cyprus placed sixth out of the 17 participating countries in the semi-final with 87 points. In the final, Cyprus performed in position 11 and placed twenty-second out of the 27 participating countries, scoring 11 points.
## Background
Prior to the 2015 contest, Cyprus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-one times since their debut in the 1981 contest. Its best placing was fifth, which it achieved three times: in the 1982 competition with the song "Mono i agapi" performed by Anna Vissi, in the 1997 edition with "Mana mou" performed by Hara and Andreas Constantinou, and the 2004 contest with "Stronger Every Minute" performed by Lisa Andreas. Cyprus' least successful result was in the 1986 contest when it placed last with the song "Tora zo" by Elpida, receiving only four points in total. However, its worst finish in terms of points received was when it placed second to last in the 1999 contest with "Tha'nai erotas" by Marlain Angelidou, receiving only two points. The nation failed to qualify for the final in with "An me thimasai" performed by Despina Olympiou.
The Cypriot national broadcaster, Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), broadcasts the event within Cyprus and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. In October 2013, CyBC announced their withdrawal from the citing public opinion regarding the 2012–2013 Cypriot financial crisis and budget restrictions as factors that influenced this decision. Following rumors since late May 2014 that the nation would be returning to the contest, CyBC confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest on 14 July 2014. Cyprus has used various methods to select the Cypriot entry in the past, such as internal selections and televised national finals to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. CyBC opted to organise a national final based on the Swedish Eurovision selection Melodifestivalen in order to select the 2015 Cypriot entry with a trailer for the selection being first seen along with their participation confirmation. The national final was originally planned to be a collaboration with music channel MAD TV, however the collaboration was cancelled in October 2014 due to the low amount of submissions received.
## Before Eurovision
### Eurovision Song Project
Eurovision Song Project was the national final format developed by CyBC in order to select Cyprus' entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. The competition involved a nine-week-long process that commenced on 7 December 2014 and concluded with the final on 1 February 2015. The shows took place at the CyBC studios in Nicosia, hosted by Antri Karantoni and were broadcast on RIK 1, RIK Sat as well as online via the broadcaster's website cybc.cy. The final was also streamed online at the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.
#### Format
The Eurovision Song Project consisted of 54 entries competing over three phases: the auditions between 7 December 2014 and 11 January 2015, the Eurochallenges on 16 and 23 January 2015, and the final on 1 February 2015. The auditions and Eurochallenges were pre-recorded while the final was broadcast live. Each of the six audition shows included three parts: the Eurobox where each artist talked about their life and connection to the contest along with a short a cappella cover of a past Eurovision entry, the Viewing Room where relatives and friends of each artist watched their performance, and the Eurostudio where each artist performed their candidate Eurovision song in front of a judging panel. Only a one minute preview of the audition performances were shown. During the first Eurochallenge, the 20 artists that progressed from the auditions were required to make a stage performance of their songs in full without backing dancers and 10 entries were eliminated. Each of the remaining 10 artists performed two songs during the second Eurochallenge, one being a piano cover of a past Eurovision entry and one being their candidate Eurovision song. Four acts were eliminated, while the remaining six acts progressed to the final. In the final, the winner was selected from the remaining six entries.
The results of the auditions and Eurochallenges were determined by the judging panel, while the results of the final was determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from the judging panel and televoting. The panel consisted of four permanent members that were joined by varying guest international judges during the Eurochallenges and the final. The permanent judges were:
- Despina Olympiou – Cypriot Eurovision representative in 2013
- Alex Panayi – Cypriot Eurovision representative in 1995 and 2000
- Elena Patroklou – Cypriot Eurovision representative in 1991
- Tasos Tryfonos – Actor and media personality
#### Competing entries
Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 14 July 2014 and 5 September 2014 through an online submission form. All artists were required to have Cypriot nationality or origin and were able to submit a maximum of two entries, while foreign songwriters were allowed to submit songs as long as they collaborated with at least one songwriter of Cypriot nationality or origin. At the conclusion of the deadline, over 100 entries were received by CyBC and included entries from singer Valanto Trifonos, 1993 and 2002 Cypriot Eurovision entrant Dimos Beke, and 2002 Cypriot Eurovision entrant Philipos Konstantinos. The 60 selected entries were announced on 20 October 2014, and among the competing artists was 2008 Cypriot Junior Eurovision entrant Charis Savva. Mike Connaris composed the Cypriot Eurovision entry in 2004, Nasos Lambrianides co-composed the Cypriot Eurovision entry in , and Zenon Zindilis co-composed the Cypriot Eurovision entry in 2013. Six of the entries were later withdrawn from the competition as their artists did not attend the auditions.
#### Auditions
The six audition shows were aired between 7 December 2014 and 11 January 2015 and featured all 54 entries. Twenty entries received at least three "yes" votes from the four permanent judges and progressed to the Eurochallenge.
#### Eurochallenges
The two Eurochallenges shows aired on 16 and 23 January 2015. Each of the twenty remaining artists performed their candidate Eurovision song in the first show and the judging panel selected 10 to progress to the second show. Each of the ten remaining artists performed a piano cover of a past Eurovision entry and their candidate Eurovision song in the second show and the judging panel selected six to progress to the final. The two guest international judges for the Eurochallenges were Christer Björkman (Head of Delegation for Sweden at Eurovision and supervisor of Melodifestivalen) and Dimitris Kontopoulos (Greek producer).
#### Final
The final took place on 1 February 2015. The six remaining entries competed and the winner, "One Thing I Should Have Done" performed by Giannis Karagiannis, was selected by a 50/50 combination of votes from the judging panel and a public televote. The two guest international judges for the final were Bruno Berberes (French television director) and Nicola Caligiore (Head of Delegation for Italy at Eurovision). In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the four permanent judges of the competition each performed with two of the finalists. Alex Panayi performed with Doody and Giannis Karagiannis, Elena Patroklou performed with Hovig and Panagiotis Koufogiannis, and Despina Olympiou performed with Nearchos Evangelou and Charis Savva.
### Promotion
John Karayiannis made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "One Thing I Should Have Done" as the Cypriot Eurovision entry. On 18 April, Karayiannis performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Edsilia Rombley. On 26 April, Karayiannis performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell.
## At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 took place at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria. It consisted of two semi-finals held on 19 and 21 May, respectively, and the final on 23 May 2015. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five", consisting of , , , and the , were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top 10 countries from each semi-final progress to the final. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous 10 years. On 26 January 2015, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Cyprus was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 21 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.
Once all the competing songs for the 2015 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Cyprus was set to perform in position 15, following the entry from and before the entry from . All three shows were broadcast in Cyprus on RIK 1, RIK SAT, RIK HD and Trito Programma with commentary by Melina Karageorgiou. Loukas Hamatsos was the Cypriot spokesperson who announced the nation's votes during the final.
### Semi-final
John Karayiannis took part in technical rehearsals on 14 and 16 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 20 and 21 May 2015. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.
At the start of the song, the arena was plunged into darkness and Karayiannis had a single spotlight shining down from above on him. The initial shots were all in black and white. Karayiannis was dressed very smartly in a black suit and black tie, with him wearing his trademark glasses. Gradually the light increased and the LED screens showed a star-like background, with the lighting having various hues of blue, purple and orange. Around two minutes into the song, the background exploded into flame-like bursts of light on key moments in the lyrics, especially on the 'I should' line.
At the end of the show, Cyprus was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the final. It was later revealed that Cyprus placed sixth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 87 points.
### Final
Shortly after the second semi-final, a winner's press conference was held for the 10 qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final; Cyprus was drawn to compete in the first half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Cyprus was subsequently placed to perform in position 11, following the entry from Sweden and before the entry from Australia.
Karayiannis once again took part in dress rehearsals on 22 and 23 May 2015 before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Karayiannis performed a repeat of his semi-final performance during the final on 23 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Cyprus placed 22nd with 11 points.
### Voting
Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the final.
Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Cyprus had placed twenty-third with the public televote and ninth with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, the country scored 8 points, finishing in 23rd place, while in the jury vote, Cyprus placed ninth with 63 points. In the second semi-final, Cyprus placed eighth with the public televote, receiving 80 points and eighth with the jury vote with 76 points.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Cyprus and awarded by the country in the second semi-final and final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
#### Points awarded to Cyprus
#### Points awarded by Cyprus
#### Detailed voting results
The Cypriot votes in the second semi-final and the final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results. The following members comprised the Cypriot jury:
- Andreas Giortsios (jury chairperson) – radio producer, news anchorman
- Elias Antoniades – lyricist, general manager
- Gore Melian – singer
- Stella Stylianou – singer, teacher
- Argyro Christodoulidou – composer, lyricist |
9,345,406 | Sam Irving | 1,164,413,122 | Northern Irish footballer-manager | [
"1893 births",
"1968 deaths",
"20th-century Scottish businesspeople",
"Association football managers from Northern Ireland",
"Association footballers from Belfast",
"Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players",
"Bristol City F.C. players",
"Bristol Rovers F.C. players",
"British Army personnel of World War I",
"Cardiff City F.C. players",
"Chelsea F.C. players",
"Directors of football clubs in Scotland",
"Dundee F.C. players",
"Dundee United F.C. directors and chairmen",
"Dundee United F.C. managers",
"English Football League players",
"Esh Winning F.C. players",
"Men's association football inside forwards",
"Men's association football wing halves",
"Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland",
"Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers",
"Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers",
"Scottish Football League managers",
"Scottish Football League players",
"Shildon A.F.C. players"
] | Samuel Johnstone Irving (28 August 1893 – 12 December 1968) was an Irish professional footballer and manager. Born In Ireland, he was raised in Scotland before playing football in the North of England. He turned professional in 1913 and played in the Football League for Bristol City before World War I. After the war he returned to non-league in England.
In 1920, Irving joined Scottish Football League side Dundee where he quickly established himself in the first team. He spent six years with the club, making over 150 appearances in all competitions, despite suffering persistent knee injuries for several years. He helped the club to two top four finishes and reach the 1925 Scottish Cup Final where they were defeated by Celtic. He joined Football League First Division side Cardiff City in 1926 in a swap deal with Joe Cassidy. In his first year with the club, he helped them win both the FA Cup, becoming the only team from outside England to win the competition, and the Welsh Cup. He also won the 1927 FA Charity Shield the following year, but fell out of favour midway through the 1927–28 season.
He was sold to Second Division side Chelsea where he gained promotion to the First Division in 1930. He signed for Bristol Rovers in 1932 and spent one season with the side before retiring from playing. At international level, Irving made 18 appearances for Ireland between 1923 and 1931, captaining the side on several occasions. After retiring as a player, he was co-manager of Dundee United for the 1938–39 season.
## Early life
Irving was born in Belfast on 28 August 1893 to Henry and Isabella Irving, both of whom were Scottish. The family later moved to Glasgow where Irving was raised. His father worked as a blacksmith. Irving served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War.
## Club career
### Early career
Irving began his playing career in the North-East of England, appearing for non-League clubs Shildon Athletic, Galashiels United and Esh Winning. In 1911, he had an unsuccessful trial with Football League First Division side Newcastle United before eventually being signed to a Football League side with Bristol City in November 1913. After the First World War, Irving had spells playing for Blyth Spartans and with his first club Shildon Athletic before signing for Dundee in 1920.
### Dundee
Irving quickly impressed during the club's pre-season and debuted for the first team on the opening day of the 1920–21 season in a 2–2 draw away at Falkirk on 16 August. He immediately established himself in the first team and scored his first goal for the side on 4 September in a victory over Falkirk. After receiving the ball, he advanced to the penalty area before shooting past the opposition goalkeeper, with the Dundee Evening Telegraph describing it as a "great goal". With the club struggling to fulfill their forward line, Irving moved from his traditional half back role to play as an outside right in November, although it was deemed unsuccessful by the Dundee Courier who noted that his presence was also missed from the half back line. His early season was later disrupted after missing several weeks of the season during the later months of 1920 after sustaining an injury against Airdrieonians. He made his return in December against Hamilton Academical. Irving helped the club to a fourth-placed finish in the 1920–21 Scottish Football League.
At the end of his debut season with Dundee, Irving was appointed captain of the first team. After failing to win their opening two games of the 1921–22 campaign, Irving led his side to victory over Third Lanark after which the Dundee Courier remarked that there was "probably no more popular player" at the club than Irving. These early performances led to him being considered for his first selection for the Ireland national football team, but he was denied a call up due to injury. These persistent problems would disrupt most of the remaining season as he missed several months at the start of 1922 with injuries, before returning in April. Dundee achieved another fourth-place finish during the season.
The following year, Dundee were unable to repeat their top four finishes and fell to seventh place before undertaking a tour of Spain at the end of the campaign. Irving missed the opening of the 1923–24 season due to injury. He returned to the first team in September but suffered further injury problems after playing for Ireland against England in October that saw him rarely feature in the following months. He returned to the first team in late February 1924 against Third Lanark. However, Irving continued to be plagued by knee problems; he was stretchered off in matches against both St Mirren on 30 March and Clydebank on 19 April. Representatives from Burnley had travelled to watch Irving play in the latter match, the final game of the season, and were informed that the recurring problem would require surgery to remove a piece of loose cartilage from the knee to rectify the problem.
Although troubled by injury, Irving was resigned for the following season. However, he began the season as cover for Crawford Letham until the latter was sold to Cowdenbeath in September. Having overcome his injury concerns, Irving remained a first team regular and returned to form. Although Dundee finished in eighth place in the league, their lowest placing since Irving's arrival, the club did reach the 1925 Scottish Cup Final, losing 2–1 against Celtic at Hampden Park. Despite the defeat, Irving was praised for his performance in the match with the Dundee Courier remarking that he had "held the Celts' forwards as in a vice".
Irving started the 1925–26 season in goalscoring form, opening his account for the campaign on the opening day during a 3–0 win over Morton. He added another against local rivals Dundee United a week later, in the first Dundee derby played since United's promotion to the top tier of Scottish football. Irving's side won the match 5–0 with his goal being scored via a deflected shot off a United player. He was awarded a benefit match against Sunderland in April 1926. More than 11,000 people attended the match which raised around £500 for Irving. Dundee ended the season in 10th place. His final appearance for the club came on the opening day of the 1926–27 season when he scored in a 4–1 victory over Heart of Midlothian. In total, he made 183 appearances for Dundee netting 6 goals.
### Cardiff City
In June 1926, after six years with Dundee, Irving signed for Football League First Division side Cardiff City in an exchange deal that led to Joe Cassidy moving to Dundee, with the Scottish club also paying a fee towards the move. Irving had nearly joined Cardiff in February 1924 but the move had collapsed. He made his debut for Cardiff in a goalless draw with Leeds United on 30 August, before scoring his first goal on 9 October in a 3–0 win over Sheffield United. His early months were disrupted by a knee injury sustained after slipping down steps at a team hotel before a game against Bury and an infected finger that caused him to miss several matches in November. Having initially played at half back, he was moved to inside right in February 1927 and remained there for the rest of the campaign. Irving made 27 league appearances, scoring three times as Cardiff finished in 14th place. He also played in all six of the club's matches en route to reaching the 1927 FA Cup Final and was instrumental in his side's 3–2 victory over Chelsea in a sixth round replay, scoring one and assisting Len Davies for another. In the final, Irving started at inside right as Cardiff went on to beat Arsenal 1–0 to become the only side from outside England to win the competition. Two weeks later, Irving scored in the final of the Welsh Cup as Cardiff defeated Rhyl to complete a cup double.
Irving remained a first team regular the following season and played in Cardiff's 2–1 victory over Corinthians in the 1927 FA Charity Shield on 12 October. During a 2–1 defeat against Burnley on 24 December, Irving was hit in the chest by a forceful shot. After the match, he was taken ill and rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with pleurisy. Irving found his first team opportunities limited after the injury and appeared in only four more matches for the club.
### Chelsea
On 29 February 1928, Irving joined Second Division side Chelsea and made his debut in a victory over Hull City. Despite his advancing years, the Dundee Evening Telegraph reported that by December of the same year he was excelling following his move to Chelsea. Near the end of his first full season with Chelsea, Irving was signed on for another season shortly before the club embarked on a 20-match tour of South America. The team were surprised by the unsporting tactics of their opponents, and antics of the crowd who pelted them with oranges. Irving responded by catching one of the oranges, before peeling and eating the fruit. He was part of the side that won promotion out of the Second Division during the 1929–30 season after finishing the campaign as runners-up.
During a match against Liverpool in October 1931, Irving collapsed on the field late in the game and required medical attention. The cause was later discovered to be a burst varicose vein in his knee. The injury would keep Irving out of the side until the following year and, on his return, he found himself unable to regain his place in the first team. At the end of the 1931–32 season Irving was released by the club.
### Bristol Rovers
In May 1932, he returned to Bristol, this time signing for Bristol Rovers alongside teammate Alec Donald. Irving assumed a player-coach role upon his arrival at the club. After leaving Rovers at the end of the season, Irving spent a year away from playing. He initially agreed to join Scottish Division Two side Brechin City in August 1934 but later backed out of the deal after deciding to retire from playing.
## International career
Irving first attracted the attention of selectors for the Irish national side in 1921 after his first season with Dundee, but was not called up after struggling with injury. He was again considered for selection for matches against Scotland and England in 1922, but missed the first match due to injury before turning down his call-up for the latter game due to Dundee suffering from a number of injuries which had left them short of players. He eventually made his debut for the side in March 1923 against Scotland and played in the remaining two matches of the 1922–23 British Home Championship. Their victory over England October 1923 was the first time they had defeated the opposition since 1914, with Irving being described as "a big factor" in the win by The Sunday Post. After the match, Irving and Billy Gillespie were carried off the pitch on the shoulders of the team's supporters.
In October 1925, Irving was selected to captain the Irish side for the first time, but withdrew from the squad when Dundee refused to release him for international duty. From his debut, Irving missed only one match for Ireland until 1929 when he was omitted from the squad for a match against Wales in February of that year when Chelsea refused to release him. After an absence of two years, Irving was recalled to win his 18th, and final cap, at the age of 38 in a 4–2 defeat against Wales in April 1931.
## Managerial career
Upon retiring from playing, Irving unsuccessfully applied for the vacant managerial position at his former club Dundee. In July 1938 he was involved in a takeover of Dundee United, taking control of the team as joint-manager/director with Jimmy Brownlie for the 1938–39 season. The pair led the side to 9th place in the Scottish First Division but stepped down from the manager's role after a year, remaining with the club as a director.
## Style of play
Irving spent the majority of his career as a half back. The Western Mail wrote that, although not as accomplished on the defensive side of the game as other leading backs, he was especially skilled at "creating openings for the forwards" and always "placed (his passing) perfectly". The paper also noted that, during his time with Dundee, he was regarded as "one of the best attacking half-backs in Scotland". During his career, Irving played at inside right on numerous occasions when required, but was often deemed to be simply adequate cover in the position rather than a natural.
In the later years of his career, the Dundee Evening Telegraph noted how Irving adapted his game to compensate for his advancing years, writing how he "has made a fine art of accomplishing much with the minimum of effort".
## Personal life
Irving married Nellie Gelston on 8 December 1922 in Monifieth. Bobby Willis, his Dundee teammate, served as his groomsman at the ceremony. The couple had a son and daughter together. Their son died as an infant in 1930 after suffering from diphtheria. During his playing career, Irving owned a shop in the Dundee area. After his retirement, Irving settled in Dundee where he ran the La Scala billiards hall and competed for the venue's team in the Dundee Snooker League. He died in December 1968 at the age of 75 in a Dundee hospital.
## Managerial statistics
## Honours
- Dundee
- Scottish Cup runner-up: 1924–25
- Cardiff City
- FA Cup: 1926–27
- Welsh Cup: 1926–27
- FA Charity Shield: 1927
- Chelsea
- Football League Division Two runner-up: 1929–30 |
58,023,262 | Ricky Megee | 1,172,705,926 | Man lost in desert | [
"1970s births",
"Australian writers",
"Living people",
"People from Victoria (state)",
"Survivalists"
] | Ricky Megee (born 1970/1971) is an Australian, most notable for having been stranded in the Outback and surviving for 71 days in 2006. Megee later gave contradictory statements as to how he came to be stranded crossing the Northern Territory and Western Australia. On one occasion he said that his car broke down, and on another that he had been carjacked by an armed gang. However, a doctor later confirmed that Megee's appearance was consistent with having lived in extreme conditions. Like most deserts, the Tanami can reach 40 °C (104 °F) during the day but still be very cold at night. Megee made his own primitive shelters and survived by drinking rainwater and eating small animals and available vegetation for nourishment. He was eventually discovered by a group of station hands near Katherine, Northern Territory, and taken to Darwin for medical assistance. Although some doubts were later raised as to the exact chain of events as Megee related them, the police did not find evidence that a criminal offence had occurred.
## Early life
Ricky Megee was born in 1970 or 1971 in Gippsland, Victoria; he later described his childhood as a happy one, until the family moved to Melbourne, where his father later killed himself. Megee worked at a variety of jobs. He was, variously, a carpet salesman, prawn fisherman, nightclub doorman, and an electrician. He eventually became a bailiff. Eventually, he went to jail after being involved in a fight in Perth, as well as for drug offences. In 2006 he was 35 years old and living in Queensland.
## Journey to Port Hedland and attack
In January 2006 Megee had been offered work in a government department in Port Hedland, Western Australia. He accepted the job, and set off on the long drive, which he had made multiple times before. Driving a 2001 Mitsubishi Challenger he took the Buntine Highway, which for much of his journey was a desert track across the outback of the Northern Territory.
The events leading to Megee being stranded are somewhat confused, and indeed, Megee's version of how events unfolded changed significantly over time. He first told his rescuers that his car had broken down, but then, The Washington Post reported, he claimed "that he had been drugged by hitchhikers and left for dead". Megee later elaborated on how this scenario unfolded, saying he had picked up a lone Aboriginal hitchhiker between the towns of Kalkaringi and Halls Creek. He believed that at some point the hitchhiker drugged Megee's drink. Megee said that although he normally always opened his own drinks from the car refrigerator, on this occasion he allowed his passenger to open one for him.
Later, in his 2010 autobiography, Megee said that there had been three men sitting on the roadside, who had run out of petrol, and that he had offered to give one of them a lift to a petrol station. Megee also posited that he could have been stabbed with a drugged-syringe during a struggle. Either way, Megee later recalled feeling increasingly "dazed and confused", and then blacked out before he recovered consciousness hours later. He also said that his attackers did not leave him immediately: they over-powered and stunned him. He later awoke in their camp. They had a gun, wrote Megee, but never used it; they did bring him water. After an unknown period, the carjackers lifted camp and disappeared. Before they left, they stole his shoes, but left him with \$12.30 which had been in his pocket.
When he regained consciousness, he said, he was in a hole, covered in black plastic, which had had "some rocks and dirt thrown on top". Megee suggested that it was only the attempts by four dingoes to claw him that woke him up.
### Journey across the desert
Megee walked for ten days through the northeastern fringe of the Tanami Desert. He often lost consciousness through heat exhaustion, as temperatures regularly went above 40 °C (104 °F). According to Mark Clifford, a local man who later witnessed Megee's arrival, although the temperatures were high, it was also the middle of the wet season during the time, which was in Megee's favour. When combined with the abundance of small wild animals and Megee's "hardy constitution", his chances of survival were, with hindsight, actually relatively good. However, it was never clearly established precisely how Megee became as lost as he did.
Megee said that he survived by eating leeches, insects, snakes, ants and lizards, and edible plants. He drank water from "various dams and waterholes" and scavenged in the bush every evening, eating "only one meal a day, just enough to stay alive". When water was unavailable, he drank his urine after chilling it to suppress the flavour.
Megee—"baked in the day and frozen at night"—created temporary shelters from the sun out of old branches, and eventually found a decrepit windmill. Megee said that he made "a little humpy out of a feed trough that was at some cattle yards, obviously a mustering point, I thought to myself, so I've dragged it up on top of the dam, flipped it over and dug a hole and just lived in there for 10 weeks." Megee became dangerously weak, to the extent that he was unable to travel as far on his daily foraging expeditions. At one point he suffered an abscess of the tooth that—weakened as he was—could have been fatal, and which he prised out of his mouth with his car keys.
### Rescue and recovery
Megee was eventually discovered about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Birrindudu Station, about 500 kilometres (310 mi) southwest of Katherine, Northern Territory. His rescuers were local station hands and their trainees, known as jackaroos. By now, Megee was starving, sunburnt, and suffering from malnutrition and exposure. Birrindudu Station manager, Mark Clifford, described Megee as "just a walking skeleton" when he was brought to the station, and said that the area he was found in was one of the "most isolated places in Australia".
On 5 April 2006 Megee was flown to the Royal Darwin Hospital, where medical staff described him as "emaciated, but...well hydrated". While in Darwin Hospital, Megee was interviewed by Northern Territory police, although they dismissed suggestions that there was any question of criminal activity on Megee's part. Indeed, they said they were unable to find any evidence of criminality at all, or even Megee's stolen car. Megee discharged himself from hospital after six days.
## Aftermath
Megee's Challenger was never recovered, and Megee himself lost 60 kilograms (130 lb), or over half his original bodyweight, which was over 100 kilograms (220 lb).
The Sydney Morning Herald subsequently suggested that there were "some doubts" over elements of Megee's account, and reported that Megee was attempting to sell his story to "a commercial television station". It was also reported that the police, too, initially "had doubts about the story because of Megee's previous minor drug convictions". Megee refuted allegations that his account was in any way misleading and even offered to appear live on television and eat frogs to prove he was telling the truth. ABC Radio reported that Megee had told his story to them for free—although only after trying, unsuccessfully, to persuade the station to match a A\$15,000 offer he said he had received from elsewhere. The doctor who treated Megee in Darwin commented that it was "very difficult to either deny or validate" his story, as he had responded so well to the treatment provided by dieticians, nutritionists and physicians.
Bush Tucker Man Les Hiddins—considered an expert on outback survival—acknowledged that Megee's survival was not as surprising as might have been thought. It was possible, he said, to survive in the bush for up to three years, and that "there are some areas where it's difficult to survive, and others where you can". For example, the area where Megee was, Hiddins described as "dry country which is, you know, that's pretty severe country in there". Other survival experts credit Megee's survival on his "instinctively solving the basic requirements of water, food and shelter—and adopting a survival mindset that pulled him through".
Megee subsequently wrote a book on his experience and emigrated to Dubai to work in construction.
## See also
- Mauro Prosperi
## Note |
26,164,539 | Effects of Hurricane Floyd in New England | 1,173,178,508 | null | [
"1999 natural disasters in the United States",
"Effects of hurricanes in the United States",
"Hurricane Floyd",
"Hurricanes in Connecticut",
"Hurricanes in Maine",
"Hurricanes in Massachusetts",
"Hurricanes in New England",
"Hurricanes in New Hampshire",
"Hurricanes in Rhode Island",
"Hurricanes in Vermont"
] | The effects of Hurricane Floyd in New England stretched across the region from Connecticut to Maine and included two casualties. Floyd, once a large and powerful hurricane, made landfall in North Carolina and weakened as it tracked northward along the U.S. East Coast. By September 17, 1999, the storm, downgraded in strength to a tropical storm, was situated over New England. It produced heavy rainfall and gusty winds throughout the entire region, leading to widespread downing of trees and extensive power outages before it moved away later that day. In Danbury, Connecticut, Floyd triggered severe flooding, considered the worst in 40 years, that damaged hundreds of homes. Precipitation in some areas amounted to 10 in (250 mm), with wind gusts approaching hurricane force in Massachusetts. Damage totaled \$4.819 million.
## Background
Floyd's origins are traced back to a westward-moving tropical wave that developed into a tropical depression on September 7, 1999, while centered 1,000 mi (1,600 km) east of the Lesser Antilles. The system moved west-northwestward, and intensified into a tropical storm on September 8. Continuing to intensify, Floyd attained hurricane strength on September 10. The hurricane ultimately peaked as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale as it struck the Bahamas. The storm turned northwestward and soon northward, brushing the coast of Florida and the southeast United States. On September 16, Floyd made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane in North Carolina, and moved northeastward along the Eastern Seaboard. It passed through the Mid-Atlantic States as it deteriorated into a tropical storm, and lost its tropical identity over southern Maine.
## Preparations
On September 15, an existing tropical storm watch was extended northward to the Merrimack River in Massachusetts. The next day, a tropical storm warning was extended northward to Plymouth, Massachusetts, but was soon replaced by a hurricane warning. The watch stretching to the Merrimack River was then replaced by a warning. By 0900 UTC on September 17, all tropical cyclone advisories were lifted. In Connecticut, utility companies readied supplies and emergency crews in advance of the hurricane. In Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with the anticipation of heavy rains, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) prepared to send eight teams into the field to take measurements along 30 rivers. Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond advised residents to prepare for the storm's onslaught. The storm disrupted many residents' travel plans in the state, while people evacuated from certain coastal communities. The threat of Hurricane Floyd forced schools, malls, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst to close.
## Impact
### Southern New England
In Connecticut, the storm caused one casualty: a man drowned after boating in the swollen Quinnipiac River. The storm caused extensive flooding and serious damage. Wind gusts exceeding 50 mph (80 km/h), combined with the saturated ground, brought down many trees and triggered severe power outages in the area. As Floyd tracked up the Connecticut River Valley towards Massachusetts, it dropped heavy precipitation. The heaviest rainfall occurred in a southwest–northeast orientated swath from northern New Jersey to southwestern Connecticut, including southeastern New York. At the Danbury Airport, 11.13 in (283 mm) of rain was reported. Rainfall rates of 1 to 2 in (25 to 51 mm) per hour occurred at Bethel and Danbury. Numerous rivers overflowed; for example, the Still River and its tributaries triggered severe flooding. The worst of the flooding—considered the worst in 40 years—took place at Danbury. Hundreds of homes, two car dealerships, several roads, and other structures were damaged there. At Greentree Motors, all 200 vehicles were declared a total loss. Parts of the city were submerged with 4 ft (1.2 m) of water. However, throughout the state, roads were closed and basements were inundated. The flooding inflicted at least \$1.3 million in monetary damage within Fairfield County. Portions of the state were declared a federal disaster area.
Floyd brought intense winds and heavy rain to Rhode Island. The strongest winds were confined to Washington and Providence counties. The winds brought down numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines. Rainfall typically ranged from 2 to 5 in (51 to 127 mm), with a report of 7.12 in (181 mm) at North Smithfield, Rhode Island. The Pawtuxet River reached flood stage on September 16, and crested the next day. Although it surpassed its banks, no flood damage was reported. The storm's effects in the state were mostly minor.
In Massachusetts, the storm produced wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph (97 to 113 km/h), reaching 76 mph (122 km/h) at the New Bedford Hurricane Barrier. The strongest winds were concentrated over two sections of the state—the western mountains terrain and Cape Cod. The winds brought down trees and power lines in these areas, particularly around Pittsfield. In terms of rainfall, the storm dropped 6 to 10 in (150 to 250 mm) in many locations. The heavy precipitation caused rivers to swell, and in some cases flow over their banks. Storm surge at the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier reached 4.2 ft (1.3 m).
### Northern New England
By September 17, Floyd was located over southwestern Maine, dropping heavy rains. The entire state received precipitation, with the highest totals confined to southern areas. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for two-thirds of the state. The storm was described as "tame", and damage was generally minor. In much of Androscoggin County, rainfall amounted to between 7 and 8 in (180 and 200 mm); Poland reported 8.72 in (221 mm). Several rivers approached or exceeded flood stage due to rainfall from Floyd and Hurricane Dennis less than a week earlier, causing minor flooding. Floyd helped to alleviate drought conditions in Maine. Some roads in susceptible areas were submerged, and a few basements were flooded. Wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph (48 to 64 km/h) blew down trees and snapped branches, especially in the area surrounding Baxter State Park. Around 15,000 residents were affected by power outages as a result. Following the event, five counties—Androscoggin, Cumberland, Kennebec Oxford, and Somerset—were declared disaster areas, making federal aid available to those areas.
Rainfall in New Hampshire generally ranged from 4 to 7 in (100 to 180 mm), although a few higher totals were recorded. At Mount Washington, 9.54 in (242 mm) of precipitation fell. The rainfall swelled rivers, pushing them above flood stage; the Saco River at Conway crested at 15.56 ft (4.74 m), surpassing the 9-ft (2.7 m) flood stage. Along the Saco and Pemigewasset rivers, minor flooding took place, though only in low-lying terrain. Strong winds also impacted the state, with gusts often exceeding 40 mph (64 km/h). The winds brought down several small trees in Jaffrey, and triggered power outages that affected 10,000 residents. A federal disaster area was declared in the state.
In Vermont, for the first time in years, the Tunbridge World's Fair was canceled due to the storm. One woman sustained injuries after a tree crashed on her vehicle. Floyd produced high winds and heavy rain throughout the state, leading to widespread downed trees and powerlines. Thousands of residents in the state lost power after 60 mph (97 km/h) winds impacted the area. Rainfall totals of 3 to 6 in (76 to 152 mm) were common, although there were localized higher reports. The rainfall was offset by persistent drought conditions, however. Numerous tributaries overflowed their banks, and significant flooding was reported. In Weathersfield, part of U.S. Route 5 was washed away. Some schools were closed and events canceled in the region. The downed trees caused structural damage, blocked roadways, and affected hiking trails. The high winds also damaged buildings and some apple orchards, Waves of 8 to 10 ft (2.4 to 3.0 m) occurred on Lake Champlain, damaging numerous watercraft along the shore. The hurricane caused one death. Most of Vermont was declared a disaster area after the storm.
## See also
- List of New England hurricanes |
30,791,516 | Gateway Program (Northeast Corridor) | 1,172,022,995 | Planned expansion of the U.S. Northeast Corridor | [
"Crossings of the Hudson River",
"Hackensack River",
"High-speed railway lines in the United States",
"Hudson River",
"Hudson Yards, Manhattan",
"NJ Transit",
"New Jersey Meadowlands District",
"Northeast Corridor",
"Passaic River",
"Passenger rail transportation in New Jersey",
"Passenger rail transportation in New York (state)",
"Port Authority of New York and New Jersey",
"Proposed railway lines in New Jersey",
"Proposed railway lines in New York (state)",
"Proposed railway tunnels in North America",
"Proposed tunnels in the United States",
"Railroad tunnels in New Jersey",
"Railroad tunnels in New York City",
"Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey",
"Transportation in Newark, New Jersey"
] | The Gateway Program is the planned phased expansion and renovation of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) rail line between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City, New York along right-of-way between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station (NYP). The project would build new rail bridges in the New Jersey Meadowlands and new tunnels under Bergen Hill (Hudson Palisades) and the Hudson River, rehabilitate the existing 1910 tunnel, and construct a new terminal annex.
The existing two-track rail line used by both Amtrak and NJ Transit Rail Operations (NJT) has reached its full capacity of 24 trains per hour. The improvements would double train capacity across the Hudson River to 48 trains per hour, allowing for additional high-speed rail service. The Gateway Project, as it was originally known, was unveiled in 2011, one year after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's cancellation of the somewhat similar Access to the Region's Core (ARC) project. Some previously planned improvements already underway were incorporated into the Gateway Program. New construction of a "tunnel box" that would preserve the right-of-way on Manhattan's West Side began in September 2013, using \$185 million in recovery and resilience funding from Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
The need for the Gateway Program increased after Hurricane Sandy damaged the existing North River tunnels. A draft environmental impact statement for the Gateway Program was released in July 2017. Funding for the project had been unclear for several years due to a lack of funding commitments from state and federal government. The project was formally approved by the federal government in May 2021 and final regulatory approval was given that December, with work to commence in 2023.
## Announcement and initial phases
The Gateway Project, as it was originally known, was unveiled on February 7, 2011, by Amtrak President Joseph H. Boardman and New Jersey Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez. The announcement also included endorsements from New York Senator Charles Schumer and Amtrak's Board of Directors. Officials said Amtrak would take the lead in seeking financing; a list of potential sources included the states of New York and New Jersey, the City of New York, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) as well as private investors.
By late 2011, two parts of the project were underway: the replacement of the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River and the development of Moynihan Train Hall in Manhattan. Environmental impact statements had been completed and the design and engineering of the new bridges had begun. The ceremonial groundbreaking of the first phase of the conversion of the James Farley Post Office to the new Moynihan Train Hall took place in October 2010. Some funding for the projects comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
## Background
### Right-of-way
The right-of-way was originally developed by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in conjunction with the 1910 opening of New York's Pennsylvania Station, which required the construction of the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River and the North River Tunnels under the Hudson Palisades and Hudson River. The following year the Manhattan Transfer station was opened in the Kearny Meadows to allow changes between steam and electric locomotives. This station also provided for passenger transfers to/from its former main terminal at Exchange Place in Jersey City or the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (H&M), the forerunner of today's Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH). The Dock Bridge over the Passaic River was opened in conjunction with adjacent new Newark Penn Station in 1935. In 1937, the H&M was extended over a second span, making the transfer in the meadows redundant.
In 1949, the PRR discontinued its ferry system on the Hudson, and in 1961, it closed its Exchange Place station. In 1963, due to declining traffic and revenue, the PRR demolished the above-ground NYP station. It retained its below-ground passenger concourses and waiting areas, and sold its air rights, enabling construction of a new Madison Square Garden. In 1967, the Aldene Plan was implemented, requiring the floundering Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), Reading (RDG), and Lehigh Valley (LV) railroads, to travel into Newark Penn with continuing service to New York Penn. Under continued financial pressure, the PRR merged with New York Central (NYC) in 1968, but the newly-formed Penn Central (PC) declared bankruptcy on June 21, 1970. In 1976, the PC long-distance service (including part of today's Northeast Corridor and Empire Corridor) was taken over by Amtrak, which had been founded in 1971. Conrail was created in 1976 to bail out numerous Northeast railroads, including the commuter service on the CNJ and the LV. In 1983, when the corporation divested its passenger rail operations, they were taken over by New Jersey Transit (NJT), which had been created in 1979 to operate much of the state's bus system.
In 1991, New Jersey Transit opened the Waterfront Connection, extending service on some non-electrified trains which had previously terminated at Newark Penn Station to Hoboken. In 1996, it began its Midtown Direct service, rerouting some trains from the west which previously terminated at Hoboken Terminal to New York Penn. Secaucus Junction was opened in 2003, allowing passengers travelling from the north to transfer to Northeast Corridor Line, North Jersey Coast Line, or Midtown Direct trains, though not to Amtrak, which does not stop there. Between 1976 and 2010, the number of New Jersey Transit weekday trains crossing the Hudson using the North River Tunnels (under contract with Amtrak) increased from 147 to 438.
### Trans-Hudson crossings
The Northeast Corridor is the most heavily traveled railway in the United States, and is the only rail line that travels under the Hudson River and through New York City. The other rail system crossing the Hudson was developed by the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, partially in conjunction with the PRR, and taken over by PANYNJ in 1962, who rebranded the H&M as the PATH, a rapid transit system. Direct trans-Hudson rail service to Lower Manhattan from Newark Penn is provided by PATH with additional terminals at World Trade Center and Herald Square in Manhattan, and at Hoboken Terminal and Journal Square in Hudson County, New Jersey. In 1971 New Jersey Governor William T. Cahill proposed constructing another rail tunnel from Weehawken, New Jersey to 48th Street in Midtown Manhattan.
There are three vehicular crossings of the lower Hudson River. The Holland Tunnel, opened in 1927, is minimally used for public transportation and connects Jersey City, New Jersey, to lower Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge, opened in 1931, is used by suburban buses to GWB Bus Terminal, and connects Fort Lee, New Jersey, to upper Manhattan. Its lower level, opened in 1962, is the last new river crossing. The Lincoln Tunnel, composed of three tubes opened in 1937, 1945, and 1954, connects Weehawken, New Jersey, to Midtown Manhattan. More than 6,000 bus trips are made through the tunnel and bus terminal daily. Its eastern terminus is connected via ramps to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the gateway for most NJT bus traffic entering Manhattan. Despite the Lincoln Tunnel XBL (express bus lane) during the morning peak there are often long delays due to traffic congestion and the limited capacity of the bus terminal.
### Access to the Region's Core
Launched in 1995 by PANYNJ, NJT, and MTA, Access to the Region's Core (ARC) was a Major Investment Study that looked at public transportation ideas for the New York metropolitan area. It found that long-term goals would best be met by better connections to and in-between the region's major rail stations in Midtown Manhattan, Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. The East Side Access project, including tunnels under the East River and the East Side of Manhattan, was completed in early 2023; some LIRR traffic has been diverted to Grand Central, freeing up track slots at Penn Station.
The Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel or THE Tunnel, which later took on the name of the study itself, was meant to address the western, or Hudson River, crossing. Engineering studies determined that structural interferences made a new terminal connected to Grand Central or the current Penn Station unfeasible and its final design involved boring under the current rail yard to a new deep cavern terminal station under 34th Street. While Amtrak had acknowledged that the region represented a bottleneck in the national system and had originally planned to complete work by 2040, its timetable for beginning the project was advanced in part due to the cancellation of ARC, a project similar in scope, but with differences in design. That project, which did not include direct Amtrak participation, was cancelled in October 2010 by New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who cited potential cost overruns. Amtrak briefly engaged the governor in attempt to revive the ARC Tunnel and use preliminary work done for it, but those negotiations soon broke down. Amtrak said it was not interested in purchasing any of the work. Senator Menendez later said some preparatory work done for ARC may be used for the new project. Costs for the project were \$117 million for preliminary engineering, \$126 million for final design, \$15 million for construction and \$178 million real estate property rights (\$28 million in New Jersey and \$150 million in New York City). Additionally, a \$161 million partially refundable pre-payment of insurance premiums was also made.
## Funding and start of construction
### Projected costs
In 2011, the project was projected to cost \$13.5 billion and finish in 2020. In April 2011, Amtrak asked that \$1.3 billion in United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) funding for NEC rail corridor improvements be allocated to Gateway and related projects. In November 2011, Congress allocated \$15 million for engineering work.
In 2012, revised projections put the cost at \$14.5 billion and completion date at 2025. In April 2012, the U.S. Senate appropriations subcommittee on transportation proposed to provide another \$20 million; that awaits further congressional approval.
While New Jersey officials have said the state will pay its "fair share" of the project, they have committed to no specific dollar amount. In 2013, it was estimated New Jersey's contribution would be between \$3 and 5 billion. The source of further funding remains unclear. The state had planned to spend some \$600 million on Access to the Region's Core; some of the completed design and engineering work has been used by Amtrak to develop the Gateway Project.
In September 2012, Schumer estimated that the project would need \$20 million in 2013 and \$100 million in 2014 to keep it from dying.
In December 2012, Amtrak requested \$276 million from Congress to upgrade infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Sandy that would also eventually support trains run along the new Gateway Project right-of-way. That earmark funding, which had been revised to \$188 million, was deleted from the legislation. However, the United States Department of Transportation provided \$185 million from its portion of these Sandy relief and resiliency funds to build the "tunnel box" under the Hudson Yards redevelopment project and rebuild an overlapping Maintenance of Equipment building for the Long Island Rail Road.
In July 2017, the projected cost for the new tunnels under the Hudson River and for the repair of the North River Tunnels increased to \$12.9 billion, up from a previous estimate of \$7 to 10 billion.
In August 2021, projected costs for construction of the new tunnels and repair of the existing North River Tunnels was revised to \$12.3 billion in a financial plan submitted on behalf of the Gateway Development Commission. The States of New York and New Jersey identified their sources of funding for the project, and Amtrak increased its contribution to the project. Early in 2022, the FTA upgraded the rating for the sought Federal Grant share of the tunnel to project, making it eligible for funding. In July 2022, the governors of New York and New Jersey signed a memorandum in which the two states' governments agreed to share the cost of the project. By that August, the projected cost of the tunnels and related projects had increased to \$16.1 billion.
### Development corporation and commission
In November 2015, Amtrak, U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Chuck Schumer, and Governors Christie and Cuomo announced that a new Gateway Development Corporation would be created to oversee the project with the federal government paying for 50% of its costs and the states sharing the rest. The Gateway Development Corporation was formed under the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The corporation board will be composed of PANYNJ board members from both states, the USDOT, and Amtrak. Staff will be provided by the PANYNJ and Amtrak. The corporation oversees planning, environmental, design, engineering and construction work. It would also seek federal grants and apply for loans.
In December 2015 new federal legislation was introduced allowing Amtrak to operate the NEC as a financially separate entity, thus able to re-invest profits from the line into new infrastructure. The legislation also provided for more low interest loans through changes in the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing and Capital Investment Grant (New Starts) federal funding programs. In March 2016, Amtrak and PANYNJ committed \$35 million each for design and engineering work. Additional funding has not been identified.
The group met for the first time on January 12, 2017. On June 30, 2017, the U.S. Department of Transportation sent a letter to the Gateway Development Corporation permanently withdrawing from its board of trustees. Shortly afterward, the draft Environmental Impact Study for the project was issued.
The creation of a new bi-state agency to potentially oversee the project required identical legislation in both New York and New Jersey legislatures. On June 24, 2019, the state governments of New York and New Jersey passed legislation to create the bi-state Gateway Development Commission, whose job it is to oversee the planning, funding and construction of the rail tunnels and bridges of Gateway Program. This bill stipulates that each state is responsible for 50% of the funding and creates standards for transparency and accountability. The Commission is capable of receiving funds from federal, state, and local sources. The Commission's first CEO, Kris Kolluri, was nominated by New York governor Kathy Hochul and New Jersey governor Phil Murphy in early 2022.
### Federal funding
The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama called Gateway the most vital piece of infrastructure that needs to be built in the United States. In a September 2015 joint letter to Obama, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo offered to pay half of the project's cost if the federal government picks up the rest, but did not identify how they would fund it. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chairman John J. Degnan said in May 2015 that the agency "would step up to the plate" with regard to funding the project. The governors have asked the agency to oversee the project. The administration of President Donald Trump cast doubts about funding for the project, and Trump suggested defunding the FTA's New Starts program for all new projects. In 2017 then-United States Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao called the project "an absolute priority".
In September 2017, \$900 million was allocated for the project in a House of Representatives spending bill. Following the passage of this allocation, 155 Republican and four Democratic representatives co-sponsored a proposed amendment that would take away that funding. One co-sponsor of the amendment, North Carolina Republican Ted Budd, said that "North Carolina and the other 48 states should not have to foot the bill for this hall of fame earmark." Bipartisan groups of representatives from New Jersey disagreed. Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Republican, said: "The people of Texas, victims of an historic storm (Hurricane Harvey), need additional federal disaster assistance. The people of New Jersey need a safe and well-functioning transportation infrastructure. I intend to continue to fight for both." Bonnie Watson Coleman, a Democrat, stated: "I support restoring the funding that the Trump administration has sought to cut from the New Starts program, but I certainly oppose it coming at the expense of the Gateway project."
On December 14, 2017, Governor Chris Christie committed \$1.9 billion, New Jersey's share of the tunnel cost. However, on December 29, 2017, multiple news sources published a letter from a top Federal Transit Administration official who stated that the Gateway Program was a "local" project, thereby putting federal funding for the project in doubt.
In March 2018, Trump talked with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, in an effort to get other Congressional Republicans to oppose federal funding for the Gateway Program in the omnibus spending bill that was then being worked on. However, when the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed on March 23, 2018, it provided \$2.9 billion to discretionary grant programs, which Amtrak and its partners could potentially use to begin financing the project. Democrats said that the bill would provide as much as \$541 million in the 2018 fiscal year as well as making Gateway eligible to compete for additional funding with other transportation projects. The bill allocated \$650 million to Amtrak for improvements to the Northeast Corridor, of which Amtrak planned to spend \$388 million directly on the Gateway Program. Another \$153 million would come from FTA grants, comprising the rest of the \$541 million that would be made available. In June 2018, the State of New Jersey approved \$600 million in bonds to finance the Portal Bridge part of the project. In its 2020 budget, the Trump administration cut funding for the Gateway Program by half, from \$650 to \$325 million.
With the inauguration of Joe Biden as U.S. President in January 2021, discussion resumed on the Gateway Program. Schumer, who had become the Senate majority leader, said that month that he was working with Pete Buttigieg, the Transportation Secretary of Biden's administration, to allocate \$12 billion to the project. Buttigieg supported the project, saying, "This is a regional issue, but one of national significance."
### Final approval
On May 28, 2021, the project was formally approved by the federal government. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed in November 2021, appropriated billions in funds for the Gateway Project and other upgrades to the Northeast Corridor. The next month, the United States Army Corps of Engineers gave final approval. On August 31, 2022, the Gateway Development Commission announced that the new tunnels would be completed in 2035 and that the existing North River Tunnels would be rehabilitated by 2038. The project will use federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with the balance provided by the states of New Jersey and New York.
In July 2022, New Jersey officials and New York officials each agreed to pay 25 percent of the project's cost; under the agreement, federal officials would pay 50 percent. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority agreed to help fund New Jersey's portion of the project in December 2022. Schumer said the same month that construction on the project would commence in 2023 with \$292 million in federal funding. Biden subsequently announced that the \$292 million grant would be used to complete the final phase of the Hudson Yards "tunnel box". The FTA gave a \$6.88 billion grant to the project in July 2023, the largest transit grant that the federal government had ever given.
### Governance
As of July 2023, the board consists of:
- New Jersey Co-Chair - Balpreet Grewal-Virk - Appointed by Phil Murphy
- New York Co-Chair - Alicia Glen - Appointed by Kathy Hochul
- Amtrak Vice Chair - Tony Coscia
- New Jersey Commissioner - Janine Bauer - Appointed by Phil Murphy
- New Jersey Commissioner - Amy Rosen - Appointed by Phil Murphy
- New York Commissioner - Jamey Barbas - Appointed by Andrew Cuomo
- New York Commissioner - Marie Therese Dominguez - Appointed by Andrew Cuomo
As of July 2023, the Executive Director is Kris Kolluri.
## Existing and new infrastructure along right of way
The current route, about 11 miles (18 km) long, includes infrastructure that was built in the 1900s and 1910s. The system operates at capacity during peak hours—24 trains per hour—and limits speed for safety reasons. The new route would run parallel to the current right-of-way, enabling dispatching alternatives, potential speed increases, and up to 24 more trains per hour.
### Newark Penn, Dock Bridge, and Harrison PATH station
Six tracks connect Newark Penn Station and the adjacent Dock Bridge over the Passaic River at . The station and the west span of the bridge, carrying three tracks, were built in 1935. The east span, opened in 1937, carries one outbound track, and the two Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) rapid transit tracks entering and leaving the station. The bridge, owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), underwent repairs as recently as 2009. To the northeast lies the PATH's Harrison station. Between the bridge and the station Amtrak and NJT trains are aligned on three center tracks to pass through it, with the PATH using side platforms. While not part of the Gateway Project, the station itself is undergoing a \$173 million reconstruction and expansion funded by the PANYNJ which owns and operates the PATH and the Federal Transit Administration. Passenger use is expected to grow as the area develops; it already includes the Red Bull Arena. Maps for the Gateway Project indicate that a fourth track for the NEC will be added through the station.
### Sawtooth Bridges-Kearny Meadows
At the Sawtooth Bridges at east of the former Manhattan Transfer, the rights-of-way of Amtrak, and PATH, and several NJT lines converge and run parallel to each other. While there is no junction with PATH, NJT trains can switch tracks, depending on their terminal of origination or destination, enabling Midtown Direct trains on the Morris and Essex Lines to join or depart the Northeast Corridor. The single track limited-use Waterfront Connection connects some lines using diesel trains on Hoboken Terminal trips with the NEC to the west. Plans call for replacement of the bridges and expansion from two to four tracks, requiring the construction of bridges in the Kearny Meadows at Newark Turnpike and Belleville Turnpike.
### Portal Bridge
The 1910 Portal Bridge at , a two-track, rail-only, 961-foot (293 m) swing bridge over the Hackensack River between Kearny and Secaucus, limits train speeds and crossings and requires frequent and costly maintenance. Its lowest beams are 23 feet (7.0 m) above the water, so it opens regularly for shipping, though not during weekday rush hours, when trains have priority.
In December 2008, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approved a \$1.34 billion project to replace the Portal Bridge with two new bridges: a three-track bridge to the north, and a two-track bridge to the south. In 2009, New Jersey applied for funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and on January 28, 2010, received \$38.5 million for design. In April 2011, Amtrak applied for \$570 million for construction from US DOT. New Jersey was expected to contribute \$150 million.
Plans call for two two-track bridges, a Portal North Bridge and a Portal South Bridge. In the early design years, cycling advocates, with Lautenberg's support, lobbied to include a bike path that would have become part of the East Coast Greenway, however that was not included in the final design of the Portal North Bridge.
In October 2015, a \$16 million TIGER grant was awarded and will be used to support early construction activities such as realignment of a 138 kV transmission monopole, constructing a temporary fiber optic cable pole line, building a finger pier construction access structure, a service access road and a 560-foot retaining wall.
Construction on the new bridges had been scheduled to begin in 2010 and wrap up in 2017, at which time the Portal Bridge would have been dismantled; however, the project encountered numerous delays primarily due to a lack of state and federal funding during the Republican administrations of New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie and U.S. President Donald Trump, both of whom opposed the project.
In June 2020, Trump informed NJ Governor Phil Murphy that he would no longer oppose the Portal Bridge replacement, allowing the project to begin once it could be properly financed. The first phase of the project, the construction of two-track Portal North Bridge, which would not expand capacity, is expected to take 6 years to complete once construction begins. A timeline for the construction of two-track Portal South Bridge has not yet been released. Construction on the new bridge began on August 1, 2022, with a groundbreaking ceremony.
### Secaucus Junction–Bergen Loop
Opened on December 15, 2003, at a cost of \$450 million, Secaucus Junction (at ) is an interchange station served by nine of New Jersey Transit's rail lines, and is sited where Hoboken Terminal trains intersect with those traveling along the Northeast Corridor. Passenger transfers are possible, but there is no rail junction. While Access to the Region's Core had planned a loop to create a junction, original plans for the Gateway Program did not. Amtrak trains pass through the station, but do not stop there, nor are there plans to include an Amtrak stop. In April 2012, Amtrak announced that the project might include a "Bergen Loop" connecting Main Line, Bergen County Line, Pascack Valley Line and Port Jervis Line service to the NEC at Secaucus Junction. MTA constituencies are encouraging the agency to include funding for the loop its capital plan.
If a loop were built, passengers bound for New York Penn Station would not need to use Secaucus Junction for transfers. Trains using the loop would also increase the capacity demands on the already over-capacity NEC which the Gateway Program is designed to alleviate. Suburban property owners along the Main Line/Bergen County Line and Pascack Valley Line would stand to gain economically as property values have increased significantly along commuter rail lines once they were upgraded to offer "single-seat commutes".
### Hudson Tunnel
The Gateway Program would build two new tunnels, doubling the rail capacity. The current North River Tunnels allow a maximum of 24 one-way crossings per hour; the Gateway proposal would allow an additional 24 trains per hour.
The North River Tunnels were 102 years old when they were inundated by seawater from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. If the new Hudson Tunnel is not built, the North River Tunnels will have to be closed one at a time, reducing weekday service below the existing level of 24 trains per hour. Due to the need to provide two-way service on a single track, service would be reduced by over 50 percent. In the best-case scenario, with perfect operating conditions, 9 trains per hour could be provided through the tunnel, or a 63% reduction in service. During the duration of construction, passengers would have to use overcrowded PATH, buses, and ferries to get between New Jersey and New York. In May 2014, Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman told the Regional Plan Association that there was something less than 20 years before one or both of the tunnels would have to be shut down.
As a result of the storm damage and the tunnels' age, component failures regularly occur within the tubes, resulting in frequent delays. One report in 2019 estimated that the North River Tubes and the Portal Bridge contributed to 2,000 hours of delays between 2014 and 2018. The North River Tunnels need to be repaired without major reductions in weekday service, making it necessary to have new tunnels built. Once the new tunnels open, the two North River Tunnels would close for repairs, one at a time, with the existing level of service maintained. They will be closed one at a time as without one of the North River Tunnels in service, the existing level of service cannot be maintained. This is because the new tunnel would be located further south–there would be no access to Track 19, and Tracks 9-18 would only have access to the tunnel by the single I ladder-track. Once the new North River Tunnels reopen in 2030, capacity on the line would be doubled. The Hudson Tunnel Project would also allow for resiliency on the Northeast Corridor to be increased, making service along the line more reliable with redundant capacity.
In April 2011, \$188 million in federal funding was requested for preliminary engineering studies and environmental analysis. On May 2, 2016, the FRA published a Notice of Intent to jointly prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) with NJ Transit for the Hudson Tunnel Project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EIS will evaluate the potential environmental impacts of a reasonable range of alternatives, including a no-build alternative. As appropriate, FRA and NJ Transit will coordinate with Amtrak and PANYNJ on the EIS.
The ARC Tunnel was to be built in three sections: under the Hudson Palisades, under the Hudson River, and under the streets of Manhattan, where it would have dead-ended. The Hudson Tunnel will likely be built along the footprint of the Palisades and river sections, but will enable trains to join the current interlocking once it emerges. A flying junction is planned for later stages. This will allow Amtrak and NJT to continue to use the East River Tunnels and Sunnyside Yards for staging, storage, and carrying Amtrak NEC trains. The Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) for Gateway tunnels was issued in June 2017. Four alternatives for alignments under the Hudson River and the Palisades. Option 1 would have the new tunnels run close to the existing tunnels with a ventilation site near the Lincoln Tunnel Helix. This option would have required a construction staging site within the Lincoln Tunnel Helix, thus displacing New Jersey Transit's Weehawken bus storage site, which would have a negative impact on the operation of buses to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Option 2 would have the new tunnels run further south than the first option, with a shaft site north of 19th Street near JFK Boulevard East. This option would require the acquisition and demolition of an existing multi-story office building to build the shaft site. The third option would be further south with a shaft site south of 19th Street. This option would preclude the development of a portion of a planned residential development under construction at 800 Harbor Boulevard. The fourth option would be further south with a shaft site south of 18th Street–following the same horizontal alignment identified in the ARC FEIS. Alignment Option 4 was chosen for the build alternative even though it would have a slightly longer tunnel than in the other alternatives. Because of the additional length, there would be additional tunneling costs for this option. However, the first three options have greater pre-construction risks, meaning that if construction was delayed the cost difference would be minimized. In addition, Option 4 does not have the issues that the first three options have.
The new tunnel would be built to comply with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 130, Standard for Fixed Guideway Transit and Passenger Rail Systems, with the two tubes connected by cross passages every 750 feet (230 m) with fire-rated doors to separate the two tubes. The tunnel would be constructed through the use of two tunnel boring machines beneath the river bottom.
While the Hudson Tunnel Project would double the number of tracks under the Hudson River, it would not result in an increase in rail capacity due to constraints at Penn Station. Penn Station operates at capacity during peak periods, and since it takes a long time for passengers to board and alight trains, trains cannot leave and enter the station as might otherwise be possible. Even with improvements in the station, there are inadequate train storage facilities at Penn, and there is no capacity in the East River Tunnels to allow for trains to be stored during middays at Sunnyside Yard. Without these additional improvements, it is assumed that the same number of trains going between New Jersey and New York today would be operating in 2030, albeit with the additional tunnel capacity.
#### Palisades Tunnel
A groundbreaking for ARC was held on June 8, 2009, for new underpass at , under Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen near the site western portal of the tunnel through Hudson Palisades just south of the North River Tunnels. The land, which cost \$26.3 million, is owned by NJT. A tunneling contract for the Palisades Tunnel was awarded on May 5, 2010, to Skanska. Maps indicate this part of the Hudson Tunnel would follow a route to the Weehawken-Hoboken border. In October 2012, in an eminent domain case for a property in Weehawken NJ Transit acquired a parcel in the path of the tunnel for \$8.5 million.
#### Hudson River Tunnel
The Gateway Hudson River tunnel, one point of which would be at , will travel from a point at Weehawken Cove under the Hudson River and its eastern portal south of West Side Yard in Manhattan. Engineering studies for ARC along this route had been deemed unfeasible. Surveys of properties which would or would not be affected by underground construction at underground eastern end of the ARC Tunnel had been completed. Federal funding of \$25 million for the completion of the highway overpass was authorised in \`June 2023.
#### Hudson Yards "tunnel box" and West Side Yard
The air rights over the West Side Yard are being developed as a residential and commercial district on a platform constructed over the yard as part of the Hudson Yards project. Placing a new Amtrak portal in Manhattan could have conflicted with the Hudson Yards project, which broke ground in late 2012. In February 2013, Amtrak officials said they would commission a project to preserve a right-of-way under Hudson Yards for future use, to be built with \$120 million to \$150 million in federal funds. in June 2013 it was announced that \$183 million had been dedicated to the "tunnel box" as part of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding.
Construction began on the first phase, from 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue between 31st Street and 33rd Streets, on September 23, 2013, at . The underground concrete casing for the first phase was 800 ft (240 m) long, 50 ft (15 m) wide, and about 35 ft (11 m) tall. Amtrak awarded Tutor Perini a \$133 million contract to build a section of box tunnel. This portion was completed a year later. Amtrak, NJ Transit, and the MTA applied to the Federal Transit Administration for a \$65 million matching grant for another 105 ft (32 m) long structure to preserve the right-of-way at 11th Avenue in Manhattan under a viaduct that was rehabilitated in 2009–2011. Construction started in December 2014 and was nearing completion as of July 2017, though funding disputes stalled the tunnel box's completion. The tunnel box was substantially complete by November 2017. The following phase would extend the casing between 11th and 12th Avenue as the development of Hudson Yards continues westward.
To connect the tunnel to Penn Station, extensive track modifications will be required. The profile of several tracks will have to be lowered so that they can meet the grade of the new tunnel tracks at the new portal within A Yard. The I Ladder track, which runs diagonal to the other tracks to provide connections to the platforms tracks, would be extended to connect to the new tracks from the tunnel, allowing trains to stop on Tracks 1 through 18. Some tracks within A Yard would be reconfigured. While construction takes place in A Yard, the three trains stored in A Yard and D Yard would be stored in other locations due to the unavailability of storage tracks in those yards. The Empire Line tunnel, near Tenth Avenue, will be modified: 100 feet of that tunnel beneath Tenth Avenue will be lowered so its tracks can connect to the lower track profile in A Yard. This work will be done during weekends over a 20-month period, or through a full closure of the Empire Line tunnel for two to three months. All of this work would take 21 months.
### New York Penn Station
Penn Station, the 1968 structure that replaced the original Pennsylvania Station in New York, has been called the "busiest, most congested, passenger transportation facility in North America on a daily basis". It used by Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and served by several New York City Subway lines. Between 1976 and 2010 weekday train movements increased 89%, from 661 to 1,248, reaching what is considered to be capacity. In 2010, the station saw 550,000 daily boardings/alightings.
Penn Station is part of the Pennsylvania Plaza complex that includes Madison Square Garden (MSG). In 2013, the New York City Council voted to extend the MSG Special Permit by up to ten years, in an effort to have the arena move to a different location so that a new station structure can be built in its place.
#### Moynihan Train Hall
In the early 1990s, then-New York Senator Daniel Moynihan championed a proposal to convert the James Farley Post Office to a train station. Opened in 1912, soon after the original Pennsylvania Station, the landmark building stood across from Penn Plaza and was built over tracks approaching the station from the west.
In 2010, work began on a \$267 million Phase 1. This phase consisted of an expansion of the Long Island Rail Road's underground West End Concourse, which ran under the Farley Building's main entrance, as well as two entrances to the existing Penn Station platforms through the Farley Building on Eighth Avenue. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on October 18, 2010. In May 2012, the PANYNJ announced that a \$270 million contract for the first phase, including the concourse expansion under 8th Avenue, had been awarded. The West End Concourse opened in June 2017.
Phase 2 consisted of the new train hall in the fully renovated Farley Building. In January 2016, New York governor Cuomo announced plans for a combined Penn-Farley Post Office complex, a project estimated to cost \$3 billion. At that time, the project was renamed Moynihan Train Hall. In August 2017, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Moynihan Train Hall. The train hall opened to the public on January 1, 2021.
#### Penn Station South
Plans call for Penn Station South to be located on the block south of the current New York Penn Station at 31st Street and diagonally across Eighth Avenue from the post office, on land which is currently privately held. While the PANYNJ had been acquiring land for ARC along its route, acquisition south of the station has not begun. It is likely the entire block would be razed and made available for highrise construction after completion of the station. Plans call for seven tracks served by four platforms in what will be a terminal annex to the entire station complex. In April 2011 Amtrak requested \$50 million in federal funding for preliminary engineering and environmental analysis.
In 2014, it was estimated that it would cost \$404 million to purchase 35 properties in order to build a new terminal at the location. Based on development guidelines from the New York City Planning Commission, it is estimated that at 2015 prices it would cost between \$769 million and \$1.3 billion to buy the block bounded to the north and south by 31st and 30th streets, and to the east and west by Seventh and Eighth avenues. Real estate prices are 21⁄2 times higher now than they were in 2012 according to prominent real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
## Related projects
Other projects in the New York metropolitan area are planned as part of the NEC Next Generation High Speed Rail, including the northern and southern approaches to the Gateway Project.
### New Brunswick–Trenton high-speed upgrade
In May 2011, \$450 million was dedicated to increase capacity on one of the NEC's busiest segments, a 24-mile (39 km) section between New Brunswick and Trenton, New Jersey. The planned six-year project will upgrade signals and electrical power systems, including catenary wires, to improve reliability, increase train speeds, and allow more frequent high-speed trains. In July 2011, a bill passed by the House of Representatives threatened funding for the project and others announced at the same time, but the money was released the following month. The project, along with the purchase of new train sets, is expected to raise speeds on the segment to 186 mph (299 km/h). In September 2012, Acela test trains hit 165 mph (266 km/h) over the segment. The track work is one of several projects planned for the "New Jersey Speedway" section of the NEC, which include a new station at North Brunswick, the Mid-Line Loop (a flyover for reversing train direction), and the re-construction of County Yard, to be done in coordination with NJT.
### Harold Interlocking and Hutchinson River
Over 750 LIRR, NJT, and Amtrak trains travel through the Harold Interlocking every day, causing frequent conflicts and delays. In May 2011, a \$294.7 million federal grant was awarded to address congestion at the USA's busiest rail junction and part of the Sunnyside Yard in Queens. The work will allow for a dedicated track to the New York Connecting Railroad right of way for Amtrak trains arriving from or bound for New England, thus avoiding NJT and LIRR traffic. A new flying junction will allow Amtrak trains to travel through the interlocking separately from LIRR and NJ Transit trains on their way to Sunnyside. Financing for the project was jeopardized when the House of Representatives voted in July 2011 to divert the money to unrelated projects, but funds were later obligated so that work on the project could begin in 2012. Some of the interlocking improvement projects are complete as of early 2023, while several other projects are projected for completion by late 2025.
Amtrak applied in 2011 for \$15 million for the environmental impact studies and preliminary engineering design to examine replacement options for the more than 100-year-old, low-level movable Pelham Bay Bridge over the Hutchinson River in the Bronx. The goal is for a new bridge to support expanded service and speeds up to 110 mph (177 km/h). In August 2022, the FRA awarded a \$4.5 million grant to Amtrak for the bridge replacement project. In June 2023, Amtrak applied for additional FRA grants to support multiple improvement projects in the Northeast Corridor, including additional work on the Pelham Bay Bridge project.
### Subway service
While not part of the Gateway Project, Amtrak's announcement included a proposal to extend the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) 7 Subway Extension three blocks east to New York Penn Station from the current station at 11th Avenue and 34th Street. This would provide service to the Javits Convention Center and a one-seat ride to Grand Central Terminal, the city's other major train terminal on the East Side of Manhattan at 42nd Street. Shortly before the introduction of Gateway, the New York City Economic Development Corporation voted to budget up to \$250,000 for a feasibility study of a Hudson River tunnel for an extension to Secaucus Junction awarded to Parsons Brinckerhoff, a major engineering firm that had been working on the ARC tunnel. In October 2011, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg reiterated his support for the NJ extension, estimated to cost around \$10 billion and take ten years to complete, indicating that he would give approval by the end of his third term in 2013. Environmental-impact studies and a full business plan are required before the proposal proceeds. It was likely that the two projects—Gateway and the subway extension—would have been in competition for funding.
In April 2012, citing budget considerations, the director of the MTA effectively scuttled the project and said that it was doubtful the extension would be built in the foreseeable future, suggesting that the Gateway Project was a much more likely solution to congestion at Hudson River crossings. The report was released in April 2013. In a November 2013 Daily News opinion article, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York and the chairman of Edison Properties called for the line to be extended to Secaucus in tunnels to be shared with the Gateway Project. In November 2013, the New Jersey Assembly passed a Resolution 168 supporting the extension of the line to Hoboken and Secaucus.
## See also
- Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel – freight rail project proposed in 1993
- Fehmarn Belt fixed link - the world's longest road and rail tunnel
- High-speed rail in the United States
- List of fixed crossings of the North River (Hudson River)
- List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey
- List of bridges and tunnels in New York City |
3,167,330 | Dunstaffnage Castle | 1,079,842,572 | Castle in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK | [
"Castles in Argyll and Bute",
"Clan Campbell",
"Clan MacDougall",
"Historic Scotland properties in Argyll and Bute",
"Reportedly haunted locations in Scotland",
"Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Argyll and Bute"
] | Dunstaffnage Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Dhùn Stadhainis) is a partially ruined castle in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. It lies 3 miles (5 km) NNE of Oban, situated on a platform of conglomerate rock on a promontory at the south-west of the entrance to Loch Etive, and is surrounded on three sides by the sea. The castle and the nearby chapel ruin have been a Historic Scotland property since 1958. Both are Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
The castle dates back to the 13th century, making it one of Scotland's oldest stone castles, in a local group which includes Castle Sween and Castle Tioram. Guarding a strategic location, it was built by the MacDougall lords of Lorn, and has been held since the 15th century by the Clan Campbell. To this day there is a hereditary Captain of Dunstaffnage, although they no longer reside at the castle. Dunstaffnage is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland, and is open to the public, although the 16th century gatehouse is retained as the private property of the Captain. The prefix dun in the name means "fort" in Gaelic, while the rest of the name derives from Norse stafr-nis, "headland of the staff".
## History
### Before Dunstaffnage
Before the construction of the castle, Dunstaffnage may have been the location of a Dál Riatan stronghold, known as Dun Monaidh, as early as the 7th century. It was recorded, by John Monipennie in 1612, that the Stone of Destiny was kept here after being brought from Ireland, and before it was moved to Scone Palace in 843. However, Iona and Dunadd are considered more likely, given their known connections with Dál Riatan and Strathclyde kings. Hector Boece records that the stone was kept at "Evonium", which has traditionally been identified with Dunstaffnage, although in 2010 the writer A. J. Morton identified Evonium with Irvine in Ayrshire.
### The MacDougalls
There was a castle here in the time of Somerled, Lord of the Isles. However, the castle became the seat of Duncan MacDougall, Lord of Lorn and grandson of Somerled in the second quarter of the 13th century. He had also travelled to Rome in 1237 and was the founder of nearby Ardchattan Priory. Duncan's son Ewen MacDougall inherited his father's title in the 1240s, and expanded the MacDougall influence, styling himself "King of the Isles" though that title belonged to the MacDonalds. It is probable that Ewen built the three round towers onto the castle, and constructed and enlarged the hall inside.
Following Alexander III's repulse of the Norse influence in Argyll, the MacDougalls backed the Scottish monarchy, and Ewen's son Alexander was made the first sheriff of Argyll in 1293. However, they supported the Balliol side during the Wars of Scottish Independence which broke out a few years later. Robert Bruce defeated the Clan MacDougall at the Battle of the Pass of Brander in August 1308. After a brief siege, King Robert took control of the MacDougall castle of Dunstaffnage. He did not destroy it, as he did others, but appointed a constable and provisioned it, thinking to use it to guard the countryside and seaways. With the land he gave his friend, Angus Og Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, that included much of the MacDougall lands, including nearby Mull, the castle could be well used for that purpose by the Isleman.
### Royal fortress
Now a Crown property, Dunstaffnage was controlled by a series of keepers. James I seized the castle in 1431, following the Battle of Inverlochy, as his enemies were hiding inside. In 1455 James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas stayed at Dunstaffnage, on his way to treat with John MacDonald, Lord of the Isles. This followed James II's attack on Douglas power, and led to the signing of the Treaty of Westminster-Ardtornish. A later keeper, John Stewart of Lorn, was a rival of Alan MacDougall, and was stabbed by his supporters on his way to his marriage at Dunstaffnage Chapel in 1463, although he survived long enough to make his vows. Although MacDougall took the castle, he was ousted by James III, who granted Dunstaffnage to Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll in 1470.
### Clan Campbell
The Earls of Argyll appointed Captains to oversee Dunstaffnage, and keep it in readiness, on their behalf. Changes were made to the buildings, particularly the gatehouse, which was rebuilt around this time. The Campbells were loyal allies of the royal house, and Dunstaffnage was used as a base for government expeditions against the MacDonald Lords of the Isles, among others, during the 15th and 16th centuries. James IV visited Dunstaffnage on two occasions.
Dunstaffnage saw action during the Civil War, holding out against Montrose's army in 1644. The castle was burned by royalist troops, following the failure of Argyll's Rising in 1685, against the Catholic James VII. During the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745, the castle was occupied by government troops. Flora MacDonald, who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape from Scotland, was briefly imprisoned here while en route to imprisonment in London.
According to W. Douglas Simpson the castle appears in Tobias Smollet's Humphry Clinker, which although not naming Dunstaffnage, presents "a fair picture of life in the castle in the third quarter of the eighteenth century".
### Decline and restoration
The Campbells continued to add to the castle, building a new house over the old west range in 1725. However, the rest of the castle was already decaying. In 1810 an accidental fire gutted the gatehouse, and the Captains ceased to live here, moving to Dunstaffnage House some 2 km to the south-east. Tenants lived in the 1725 house within the castle until 1888.
Restoration work was undertaken in 1903 by the Duke of Argyll, the castle's owner. This was followed in 1912 by a court case, in which the Court of Session ruled that Angus Campbell, the 20th hereditary Captain, had right of residence notwithstanding the Duke of Argyll's ownership. Works were delayed by World War I, and the planned total restoration was never completed. In 1958, the 21st Captain and the Duke agreed to hand the castle into state care, and it is now open to the public as a Historic Environment Scotland property.
## Description
### Walls
Dunstaffnage is an irregular quadrangular structure of great strength, with rounded towers at three of the angles. It measures approximately 35 by 30 metres (115 by 98 ft), and has a circumference of about 120 metres (390 ft). The walls are of coursed rubble, with sandstone dressings, and stand up to 18 m (60 ft) high, including the conglomerate bedrock platform. The walls are up to 3 m (10 ft) thick, affording strong defence to this highly strategic location, guarding the entrance to Loch Etive and the Pass of Brander beyond, and today commanding a splendid view. The parapet walk, which once followed the whole of the walls, has been partially restored with new stone flags. The original parapet is now also gone. Arrow slits, later converted into gunloops, are the only openings. Brass cannon recovered from wrecked vessels of the Spanish Armada were once mounted on the walls.
### Round towers
Soon after the construction of the castle walls, three round towers were built on the north, east, and west towers. The north tower, or donjon, is the largest, comprising three or four storeys originally, and probably housed the lord's private apartments. The west tower is almost internal, barely projecting beyond the rounded corner of the curtain wall, and could only be entered via the parapet walk. The basement level contains a pit prison which was accessed from above. The east tower was almost completely rebuilt in the late 15th century as a gatehouse. Each tower was probably once topped by a conical roof.
### The gatehouse
The gatehouse was built by the Campbells in the late 15th century, replacing an earlier round tower in the east corner. It takes the form of a four-storey harled tower house, with the entrance passage running through half the vaulted basement, the other half forming guard rooms with arrow slits facing the gate. The present approach to the gate is by a stone stair, replacing an earlier drawbridge. The tower was remodelled in the 18th century to provide reception rooms and a private suite. The dormer windows at the top are capped by the pediments from the 1725 house (see below), and bear the date, the Campbell arms, and the initials AEC and DLC, for Aeneas Campbell, 11th Captain, and his wife Dame Lilias. The pediments were moved here during the 1903 restoration works.
### Internal ranges
The east range was located between the north and east towers, although only foundations remain. This was the principal range of buildings and contained a large hall above vaulted cellars. The hall had double-lancet windows, decorated with carved patterns, which were later blocked up; their outlines can be seen in the east curtain wall.
A second range stood along the north-west wall, and would have been connected to the hall range by the donjon tower. The ground floor housed a kitchen. In 1725 the range was remodelled into a two-storey house, accessed via a stone stair, and topped with the dormer windows which now form part of the gatehouse. The well in front is original, although the large stone surround is of 19th century date.
## Dunstaffnage Chapel
A ruined chapel lies around 150 metres (490 ft) to the south-west of the castle. This was also built by Duncan MacDougall of Lorn, as a private chapel, and features detailed stonework of outstanding quality. Experts believe that the chapel was built in the second quarter of the 13th century. The chapel is 20 by 6 metres (66 by 20 ft), and formerly had a timber roof. The lancet windows carry dog-tooth carving, and have fine wide-splayed arches internally. The chapel was already ruinous in 1740, when a burial aisle was built on to the east end, to serve as a resting place for the Campbells of Dunstaffnage.
## Captain of Dunstaffnage
Traditionally, an officer called the Hereditary Captain of Dunstaffnage is responsible for the castle and its defence. The office still exists, and to retain the title (now rather a sinecure without military significance), the incumbent is required to spend three nights a year in the castle. No other responsibilities or privileges now attach to the post.
## Castle ghost
A ghost, known as the "Ell-maid of Dunstaffnage", is said to haunt the castle. A type of gruagach, the ghost's appearances are said to be associated with events in the lives of the hereditary keepers. |
21,898,039 | Skinners Falls–Milanville Bridge | 1,169,517,116 | Bridge spanning the Delaware River between Milanville, Pennsylvania and Cochecton, New York | [
"Bridges in Sullivan County, New York",
"Bridges in Wayne County, Pennsylvania",
"Bridges over the Delaware River",
"Former toll bridges in New York (state)",
"Former toll bridges in Pennsylvania",
"Metal bridges in the United States",
"National Register of Historic Places in Sullivan County, New York",
"New York–Pennsylvania Joint Interstate Bridge Commission",
"Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)",
"Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania",
"Truss bridges in the United States"
] | The Skinners Falls – Milanville Bridge is a bridge spanning the Delaware River between Milanville, Pennsylvania, and Cochecton, New York, in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and Sullivan County, New York. The bridge is 470 feet (140 m) long and holds one single lane of Skinners Falls Road, a local road. The bridge was constructed by the American Bridge Company and funded by the Milanville Bridge Company. The bridge replaced a ferry run by raftsman Daniel Skinner and his family. The bridge opened in 1902 and remained in service up until recently. It is one of several bridges in Sullivan County that are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Roebling Aqueduct and Pond Eddy Bridge. The bridge is located with the Milanville Historic District.
## Early history and construction (1764–1902)
In 1764, the crossing from Skinners Falls to Milanville was the location of timber rafting for one of the most prominent families in the area, the Skinners. That year, Daniel Skinner took the first timber raft down the Delaware River. Completing this accomplishment, Skinner received the name "Lord High Admiral", an honor that still stands to this date. The Skinners lived in a place christened as Milanville, but was known more locally as Skinners Falls. Upstream from the falls along the Delaware, another member of the Skinner family, Milton L. Skinner, operated a private ferry across the river between Pennsylvania and New York. Along with his brother, Volney, Milton Skinner also operated a local sawmill in Pennsylvania. For many years, these two rivermen remained prominent in the area.
The idea to construct a bridge in the area did not arise until the 20th century. In 1900 and 1901, politicians started to feel it was appropriate to build a bridge in the area. A firm, run by Milton L. Skinner, first opened in 1901 to help sell stock, construct the bridge, and then follow it by operating it for the general public. The firm, named the Milanville Bridge Company, was located in the community of Milanville on the Pennsylvania side. At the time the name of the bridge was referred to as the Milanville Bridge, but eventually, locals referred it as the "Skinners Falls Bridge". The corporation received the charter from the state of Pennsylvania to construct the bridge in the later months of 1901. The firm hired the American Bridge Company to construct the bridge. Construction did not get far, before an ice flood raised the river to the second story level of Milanville homes. This, along with local opposition, caused a short delay in construction.
Other than local opposition, the company owners for the nearby Narrowsburg–Darbytown Bridge and Cochecton–Damascus Bridge, complained about the competition of a bridge just 3 miles (4.8 km) apart from each. The owners said that the bridge was unnecessary, and the issues eventually reached the state capital of New York, Albany. The attorney of the Cochecton Bridge, John Anderson, went to the capital to fight the construction of the bridge. The most noticed objection to the companies was that the bridge under construction could only handle one lane of traffic, increasing the necessity of the other two bridges for people in a hurry. Objections decreased with the compromise, and the American Bridge Company finished construction of the bridge in November 1902, the total cost being \$14,000.
## Private ownership (1902–1920s)
After construction of the Skinners Falls–Milanville Bridge was completed in late 1902, tolls were immediately charged along the one lane structure. However, unlike the other two bridges, the Skinners Falls–Milanville Bridge cost \$0.22 (1902 USD). A person traveling on foot did not have to pay to cross the structure. This decision was different compared to the other bridges, which made it separate. Another decision was that ministers were not tolled so they could better serve their communities. However, when one minister began to abuse the special privilege, he was charged \$0.05 for crossing. The tollhouse for collection was in Milanville and was run by the Dexter family.
Just two years after opening, a flood in March 1904 did serious damage to the structure. However, the owners hired the Horseheads Bridge Company, run by the Perkins brothers. They charged \$7,000 (1904 USD) to complete repairs of the bridge. With the reopening of the bridge, and along with the newly constructed Erie Railroad station, a new revitalization came to Skinners Falls and Milanville, including an acid company, creamery, and a dairy company, which helped raise income for the bridge using the \$0.22 toll. One company that could not make it is the Skinners' timber rafting, which had been in business for over 140 years. In 1914, J. Skinner was the new owner, but the company was devastated when one of their timber rafts collided with a Myers family-owned ferryboat, killing four. The blame was placed on the ferry operator. However, along with the tragedy, the lack of riverside forests made it hard for timber rafting to prosper and in 1914, they closed their doors.
## Bridge Commission ownership (1920s–present)
With the opening of the New York – Pennsylvania Joint Bridge Commission, a predecessor of the current Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, in the 1920s to buy out these bridges from private ownership, the tolls along the bridges of the Delaware were beginning to come to an end. The Commission offered the Bridge Company an offer of \$19,542.22 (1920s USD). The company took the offer and under new ownership, the tolls were eliminated. The bridge had more activity after the elimination of tolls and business continued to prosper. With the new owners, the bridge was kept under routine maintenance, and the bridge has continued to maintain a strong structure. Even with the floods from Hurricanes Connie and Diane of 1955 and the 1960s, the bridge survived with little to no structural damage. From May to October 1986, the commission closed the bridge to do some renovations. The wooden deck was replaced, the entire bridge was painted, and new guide rails were constructed. The 3 ton (6000 lb) weight limit remained after the revamping. On November 14, 1988, the bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
### Repeated bridge closures
On January 19, 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation shut down access to the Skinners Falls – Milanville Bridge when a truss member of the bridge was found to be defective. The bridge was supposed to undergo rehabilitation of the truss members later in the year for \$200,000 (2010 USD) and a larger \$8 million (2015 USD) rehabilitation in 2015. As of July 2013, the bridge is in operation and open to vehicle traffic.
An inspection on December 11, 2015, revealed that the bridge's suspension wires were twisted and out of line, making the bridge unsafe to carry vehicles and the 114-year-old bridge will be closed indefinitely, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
"This is not something that's going just weeks or even months; it's going to be a while," added DOT spokesman, James May.
Throughout 2016 the necessary repairs were made and as of November 2016 the bridge was once again open to traffic. Height bars were installed at both ends of the bridge to prevent heavy vehicles from being able to use the bridge, which is what caused the most recent damage to the structure.
The bridge was closed once again in early 2018 after more deterioration was found, and the central pier was damaged by an ice jam in the Delaware River. As of November 2018 the bridge was open to traffic, again serving one vehicle in one direction at a time.
As of summer 2020, the bridge is currently closed.
## See also
- List of bridges and tunnels on the National Register of Historic Places in New York
- List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
- List of crossings of the Delaware River
- New York–Pennsylvania Joint Interstate Bridge Commission
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Sullivan County, New York
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, Pennsylvania |
3,406,477 | Descent 3 | 1,161,741,768 | 1999 video game | [
"1999 video games",
"Classic Mac OS games",
"Cooperative video games",
"Descent (series)",
"Fiction set on Mars' moons",
"First-person shooters",
"Interplay Entertainment games",
"Linux games",
"Loki Entertainment games",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"Video game sequels",
"Video games about robots",
"Video games developed in the United States",
"Video games scored by Jerry Berlongieri",
"Video games set in Seoul",
"Video games with 6 degrees of freedom",
"Video games with expansion packs",
"Windows games",
"Zero-G shooters"
] | Descent 3 (stylized as Descent3) is a first-person shooter video game developed by Outrage Entertainment and published by Interplay Entertainment. It was originally released for Microsoft Windows in North America on June 17, 1999. Descent 3 is the third game in the Descent video game series and a sequel to Descent II. The game takes place in a science fiction setting of the Solar System where the player is cast as Material Defender, a mercenary who must help an organization known as the Red Acropolis Research Team to stop robots infected by an alien virus.
Unlike in standard first-person shooters, the player must control a flying ship that has a six degrees of freedom movement scheme, allowing the player to move and rotate in any 3D direction. In addition to a single-player campaign mode, Descent 3 features an online multiplayer mode where numerous players can compete against each other in eight different game types. The game features both indoor and outdoor environments, made possible with the use of a hybrid engine that combines the capabilities of a portal rendering engine with those of a flight simulator-like terrain engine.
Descent 3 received positive reviews from critics, holding a score of 89 out of 100 at review aggregate website Metacritic. The most praised aspects of the game were its graphics, artificial intelligence of enemies, and outdoor environments. An official expansion pack, Descent 3: Mercenary, was released on December 3, 1999. The expansion pack includes a new series of missions, multiplayer maps, and a level editor. After its release on Microsoft Windows, the game was subsequently ported to Mac OS and Linux platforms.
## Gameplay
Like its predecessors Descent and Descent II, Descent 3 is a six degrees of freedom shooter where the player controls a flying ship from a first-person perspective in zero-gravity. It is differentiated from standard first-person shooters in that it allows the player to move and rotate in any 3D direction. Specifically, the player is free to move forward/backward, up/down, left/right, and rotate in three perpendicular axes, often termed pitch, yaw, and roll. Aboard the ship, the player can shoot enemies, turn on the ship's afterburners to temporarily increase its acceleration and speed, and fire flares or turn on the ship's headlight to explore darkened areas.
In the game's single-player mode, the player must complete a series of levels where multiple enemies controlled by the game's artificial intelligence will try to hinder the player's progress. The game primarily takes place inside labyrinthine underground facilities, but the player can occasionally travel over the surface of the planets where the facilities are buried to reach other nearby areas. The underground facilities are composed of a set of tunnels and rooms separated by doors. Most of them can be opened by either firing weapons at them or bumping into them, but others require special actions to be performed first before entry is allowed. For instance, some doors require special keys that must be collected. To finish a level and proceed to the next one, the player must complete a set of objectives that range from collecting items to activating switches, defeating enemies, and destroying objects.
As the player progresses throughout the game, two additional ships become available for use. Each of the game's three ships offers a different balance of speed, weapons, and maneuverability. Within the levels, the player may collect power-ups that enhance the ship's weaponry. Weapons are categorized into three different types: primary weapons, secondary weapons, and countermeasures. Primary weapons range from a variety of laser plasma cannon and the napalm cannon, which projects a stream of burning fuel. Secondary weapons include different types of missiles, while countermeasures range from proximity mines to portable turrets. Most primary weapons consume energy in different rate, but some, such as the Napalm Cannon, use their own type of ammunition. In contrast, all secondary weapons and countermeasures require their own ammunition suppliers.
The player's ship is protected by a shield which decreases when attacked by enemies. If the shield is fully depleted, the player dies and must start the game again from a previous section of the fight without any collected power-ups. Nevertheless, the player can reclaim the missing power-ups from the ruins of the destroyed ship. Shield, energy, and ammunition suppliers are dispersed among the levels to help players increase their resources. The player can also collect equipment items which grant special powers. For example, the Quad Laser modifies the laser weapons to fire four shots at once instead of the standard two, while the Cloaking Device renders the player invisible to enemies for 30 seconds. During the game, the player may also deploy the Guide-Bot, an assistant that keeps track of the next objective and shows the player the way to a specific target.
### Multiplayer
In addition to the single-player campaign mode, Descent 3 features an online multiplayer mode where numerous players can compete against each other in eight different game types. Notable game types include Anarchy, where the objective is to kill as many opponents as possible, Capture the Flag, where two to four teams compete against each other to capture opposing flags, and Monsterball, in which players must shoot and guide a ball into their opponents' goal. Aspects such as time limit, number of players, map to play on, and selection of what weapons are allowed, among others, can be customized to match player preference. The game also features an observer mode which allows players to watch a multiplayer game as a spectator and a co-operative mode that allows players to work together to complete campaign missions. Multiplayer games support the DirectPlay, IPX, and TCP/IP protocols. Online gameplay was also possible over Parallax Online, an online gaming service which kept track of players' statistics and rankings.
## Plot
Descent 3 takes place in a science fiction setting of the Solar System where the player is cast as Material Defender MD1032, a mercenary working for a corporation called the Post Terran Mining Corporation (PTMC). The game begins moments after the events of Descent II, with the Material Defender escaping the destruction of a planetoid where he was clearing PTMC's robots infected by an alien virus. He was about to return to Earth to collect his reward, but a malfunction occurred with the prototype warp drive in the ship he was piloting, making it drift towards the Sun's atmosphere. At the very last moment, the Material Defender is rescued via a tractor beam by an organization known as the Red Acropolis Research Team.
While the Material Defender recovers in the Red Acropolis station on Mars, the director of the team informs him that they have been investigating PTMC, and have uncovered a conspiracy: one of her acquaintances in the PTMC was killed by a robot, and when she contacted PTMC about it, they denied having ever employed such acquaintance, even though he had worked with them for years. The Red Acropolis had tried to notify the Collective Earth Defense (CED), a large police group, of the PTMC's actions, but they took no action, not daring to interfere with such a powerful corporation. The director also tells the Material Defender that, while he was clearing the mines during the events of Descent II, PTMC executive Samuel Dravis was actually testing and modifying the virus and deliberately tried to kill him by overloading the warp drive on his ship. After some persuasion and offers from the director, including a new ship and an AI assistant known as the Guide-Bot, the Material Defender accepts to help the Red Acropolis stop the virus.
The Material Defender is first sent to Deimos to obtain information about the location of a scientist named Dr. Sweitzer who has evidence of the PTMC's actions. He is then rescued in the Novak Corporate Prison on Phobos. After recovering the evidence, the Material Defender delivers it to PTMC President Suzuki in Seoul before leaving with his reward. When the Material Defender arrives at the Red Acropolis Research Station, the director tells him that the PTMC president has been killed and that the Red Acropolis Research Team are now accused of being terrorists, resulting in the destruction of the then-abandoned station. After a series of missions, the Material Defender and the Red Acropolis Research Team manage to develop an antivirus and convince the CED that they are not terrorists. The CED suggest to broadcast the antivirus through their strategic platform orbiting Earth, but the results are unsuccessful. The Material Defender is then sent to Venus, where Dravis has been tracked by the Red Acropolis. In the ensuing confrontation in his stronghold, Dravis is mortally wounded by the Guide-Bot's flares and the Material Defender deactivates the virus, which disables all of the PTMC's robots. The game ends with the CED destroying the PTMC's orbital headquarters while the Material Defender returns to Earth.
## Development
Descent 3 is the first project developed by Outrage Entertainment. The company was founded when Parallax Software, creators of previous Descent games, decided to split in two: Outrage Entertainment and Volition. Volition would focus on creating the combat space simulator FreeSpace games, while Outrage would continue with the Descent series. Development on Descent 3 began in November 1996 with a team of eight people. According to programmer Jason Leighton, one of the major problems during the game's development cycle was a lack of direction and control. He explained that the team had "no code reviews, no art reviews, [and] no way of saying, 'This is bad and we should be going in a different direction'". This "anarchistic" development environment worked for Descent and Descent II because they were developed by small groups that worked closely together and often in the same room. However, as Outrage started to grow from eight people to almost 20 by the end of the project, the developers did not introduce enough management to control the process. As Leighton recalls: "We literally had to build the team and company at the same time we started production on the game".
Originally, Descent 3 was intended to support both a software and a hardware renderer, implying that the rendering process of the game could take place either in the CPU or dedicated hardware like a video card, but about six months after starting development, the team decided to go with a hardware-only renderer because it allowed them to create "visually stunning" graphics and maintain a solid frame rate without worrying about the limitations imposed by the software renderer. This was a difficult decision since the team had to scrap many tools and software rendering technology that were already developed. In addition, computers with hardware acceleration were not common at the time the decision was made. As the developers noted: "We knew just by looking at our progress on the game under acceleration that we had a beautiful looking game with all the latest technologies — but would anyone actually be able to play it?" Fortunately, as development progressed, hardware acceleration became more popular with each passing year. The game natively supports the Direct3D, Glide and OpenGL rendering APIs for graphics, and the A3D and DirectSound3D technologies for sound.
The new technology also allowed the developers to create both indoor and outdoor environments; one of the biggest complaints of Descent II was the fact that it was considered too "tunnely". To this end, the developers created a new technology which featured an indoor portal rendering engine "hooked to a flight-sim-like terrain" engine, collectively called the Fusion Engine. The portal engine permitted designers to create small rooms with complex geometry. These rooms would later be linked together via shared dividing polygons called portals to create a portalized world for the player to fly through. In contrast, the terrain engine, which was initially planned for another game and whose function is to create more polygonal detail as players get closer to the ground and decrease polygons when they are farther away, gave designers the ability to create expansive outdoor terrains. Transitions between both engines were achieved using an external room (with its normal vectors inverted) that could be placed anywhere on the terrain map. With this technique, developers could create hybrid levels where the player could transit from indoor to outdoor areas in real-time and without loading screens. Leighton commented that whenever one of these transitions occurs, "the game code [switches] collision detection, rendering, and so on, to use the terrain engine".
The company had no standardization of level design tools. Leighton said: "Some people used 3D Studio Max, some used Lightwave, and one designer even wrote his own custom modeler from scratch". This practice led to an inconsistent quality across the game's levels. For example, one designer would create structures with great geometry but bad texturing, while another would create the opposite. Once the structures were modeled individually, they were all imported into a custom editor, called D3Edit, so that the designers could "glue everything together". The D3Edit editor received constant updates because it initially did not feature an intuitive interface for designers. It was not until the last third of the development period that the editor improved significantly. As Leighton notes: "Even in the shipped game you can tell which levels were made early on and which were made near the end of the production cycle. The later levels are much better looking, have better frame rates, and generally have better scripts". Developers also considered the idea of shipping the game with a level editor based on the one they used to create the game's levels. Due to the constant changes the developers made to their own editor, it was hard for them to design a more user-friendly one.
In addition to the changes in the game's engine, the developers decided to improve the artificial intelligence to give each enemy a distinct behavior. According to Matt Toschlog, president of Outrage Entertainment and lead programmer of Descent 3: "It's very rewarding for the player to meet a new enemy, get to know him, learn his quirks, and figure out the best way to kill him. It's great when a game requires both thinking and quick reactions". Originally, the developers planned to add weather effects that would disorient the player's ship during gameplay, but this feature was ultimately not implemented due to time and technology constraints. Multiplayer games were heavily tested to ensure their network stability and support IPX, TCP, and DirectPlay. The actual development of the game took 31 months to complete, with the developers describing it as both a joyful and painful process due to in part of the almost nonexistent management and the rapidly evolving technology at the time.
## Marketing and release
Descent 3 was presented at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 1998, where developers showed off a demonstration of the game. In the months leading to the game's release, the game's publisher, Interplay Productions, ran a program that allowed Descent fans to submit a digital photo of themselves along with a pilot name to the company. These photos would later be included in the game so that players could use them as their multiplayer profiles. Outrage also released two game demos that allowed customers to try the game before purchasing it. The second demo included a single-player level and several multiplayer matches which could be played through a matchmaking service provided by Outrage. From March to August 1999, Interplay held a Descent 3 tournament in the United States consisting of three phases where numerous players could compete against each other in multiplayer matches. The winner was awarded a prize of US\$50,000.
Descent 3 was initially released for Microsoft Windows on June 17, 1999. A level editor was released shortly afterwards, allowing users to create both single and multiplayer maps for the game. A Mac OS version of the game was released on November 23, 1999. The Mac OS version was ported by programmer Duane Johnson, who previously worked on the 3dfx versions of the original Descent and Descent II. Descent 3 was ported to Linux platforms by Loki Entertainment Software after an agreement with the game's publisher. The port, which features a multiplayer mode optimized for 16 players, was released in July 2000.
An expansion pack, titled Descent 3: Mercenary, was released for Microsoft Windows on December 3, 1999. The expansion introduces new features, a seven-level campaign, a fourth ship, and several multiplayer maps. It also includes the game's level editor. Although the expansion was praised for adding more replay value to the game, the level design of the new campaign was considered inferior to that of the base game. A compilation that includes both Descent 3 and its expansion pack was released on June 14, 2001. In 2014, the game was released on the Steam digital distribution service.
## Reception
Descent 3 received positive reviews from video game critics. The most praised aspects were its graphics, artificial intelligence of enemies, and outdoor environments. Erik Wolpaw of GameSpot felt that the game "improves in almost every conceivable way on its predecessors and reestablishes the series as the premier example of the play style it single-handedly pioneered", while Next Generation praised both its originality and faithfulness to its predecessors. IGN lauded the game's new engine, noting that the transition between indoor and outdoor environments is seamless. GameRevolution remarked that the addition of outdoor environments allows "greater use of the maneuvering capabilities, adds variety to the levels, and ensures that the game never gets dull or boring". The reviewer also acknowledged that the game's six degrees of freedom movement scheme may be difficult to master for some players, stating that the game "can be confusing, dizzying, and even nauseating. This is a game for the pro's".
The music and sound effects received similar praise. GameSpot pointed out that "explosions erupt with lots of satisfying, floor-rattling bass, lasers ping nicely, flamethrowers emit appropriate rumbling whooshes, and there's plenty of ambient beeping, hissing, and mechanical humming". Game Revolution praised the graphics for their "modeling, colored lighting, incredible special effects, wonderful animation, [and] sheer overall feel". Victor Lucas of Electric Playground stated similar pros, but also admitted that the game's hardware requirements were relatively high. Criticism was leveled at the game's story. GameSpot considered it not compelling, while Jason Cross, writing for Computer Games Magazine, felt that it "really doesn't have much to do with actual gameplay". PC Gamer reviewer Stephen Poole also criticized the Guide-Bot's efficiency, remarking that sometimes it can get lost or trapped while leading the player to a destination.
The gameplay was praised for its variety of weapons and enemies. Game Revolution said that each enemy is "unique both in ability, structure, and behavior so that each requires a specific combat approach". Maximum PC reviewer Josh Norem praised the levels for their interesting objectives, stating that the missions "vary widely, ranging from finding lost colleagues to defending strategic structures against enemy assaults". Computer Games Magazine praised the fact that the developers replaced the wire-frame automaps of previous Descent games with flat-shaded polygons because they "provide more detail and make it easier to recognize where you are and how to get where you want to go". The multiplayer was highlighted positively due to its replay value and variety of game types. Computer Games Magazine also credited its "rock-solid performance on standard dialup modems and easy connectivity", while GameSpot praised it for being "fun and stable". The game was a runner-up for GameSpy's Action Game of the Year and a nominee for GameSpot's PC Action Game of the Year.
### Sales
Despite positive reviews and the commercial success of its predecessors, Descent 3 was a commercial disappointment. According to PC Data, its sales in the United States were under 40,000 units by the end of September 1999, which drew revenues of roughly \$1.7 million. A writer for PC Accelerator remarked that this figure was "not enough to keep publishers plugging at long, expensive development cycles in the hope of scoring a Half-Life". By the end of 1999, Descent 3's sales had risen to 52,294 units in the United States. Daily Radar's Andrew S. Bub presented Descent 3 with his "System Shock Award" (named after the 1994 game of the same name by Looking Glass Studios), arguing that it was difficult "to find a better game that under-performed sales-wise, this year". Descent 3's sales were similarly low in the German market. It debuted in 27th place on Media Control's computer game sales rankings, and fell to 33rd, 56th and 78th over the following three months, respectively. Interplay blamed its underperformance in the region on stiff competition in the genre. Conversely, PC Player's Udo Hoffman reported a German retailer's view that "the genre is no longer popular", and that demand for a mission pack was at "0.0 percent".
## Other uses
A study published in 2002 used Descent 3 to study hawkmoth flight activities. Using the game's editing module, the researchers created a virtual environment consisting of a flat plane with rectangular pillars, across which the animal successfully navigated. This was one of the first successful attempts at studying insect flight using virtual reality. |
20,999,665 | Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson | 1,165,642,023 | Mixed martial arts rivalries | [
"2003 in mixed martial arts",
"2004 in mixed martial arts",
"2008 in mixed martial arts",
"2018 in mixed martial arts",
"Mixed martial arts rivalries",
"Ultimate Fighting Championship rivalries"
] | Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva versus Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is a mixed martial arts series of fights that began in the now-defunct Pride Fighting Championships in Japan. All four fights have been televised live on pay-per-view.
The series features four particularly violent fights in mixed martial arts, with all four contests ending in a knockout or technical knockout. On two occasions, the loser of the fight was rendered unconscious. The second fight in particular has received high acclaim, as it was named the 2004 Fight of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards. The series is also known for the rivalry and bad blood between the two fighters. Indeed, Chris Parry of the Vancouver Sun considers the matches between Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson to be "legendary" for the hatred and violence displayed. MMAWeekly.com considers Silva vs. Jackson to be among the greatest trilogies in the history of mixed martial arts.
The rivalry began in the months leading up to Pride Final Conflict 2003 on November 9, 2003, where the first fight took place. Silva was victorious in the first meeting, after landing close to 20 standing knee strikes to Jackson's face before the contest was halted. Silva once again bested Jackson with a combination of knees in the subsequent rematch at Pride 28: High Octane, leaving the latter motionless and hanging between the ropes. The third fight took place in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 on December 27, 2008. This time, however, it would be Quinton Jackson avenging his two earlier defeats to Silva by knocking him unconscious with a left hook.
## Background
The rivalry between the two fighters reportedly began around the Pride Middleweight (205 lb) Grand Prix. In an attempt to set up a "tune-up" bout for Kazushi Sakuraba, who had just been defeated by Silva, Pride brought in Quinton Jackson, a relative unknown at the time, to face the Japanese fighter. The fight did not go as expected, with the much bigger Jackson overpowering Sakuraba and landing several punches. Sakuraba was eventually victorious via submission, but Jackson established himself as a legitimate contender to Wanderlei Silva's Pride Middleweight Championship in the process.
Following this success, Jackson began to direct several personal insults at Silva, a gesture that infuriated the champion. Silva was in the midst of what would be a 17-fight unbeaten streak. He captured the championship from Sakuraba at Pride 17, and defeated him a total of three times. Jackson continued his negative comments towards the champion, and directed his latest insult at Silva's training camp at the time, the Chute Boxe Academy.
These insults culminated in an altercation between the two on March 16, 2003, at Pride 25. Following a victory over Kevin Randleman, Jackson was given the microphone and started talking directly to Silva, who was sitting at ringside, saying "I want you boy. It's gonna be me and you." Silva immediately jumped to his feet and made his way into the ring. He was now face-to-face with Jackson, who continued by saying, "You have my belt, you're keeping it warm for me." Silva responded by yelling "MY BELT!" and giving Jackson a forceful shove. Jackson, visibly upset, advanced towards Silva as dozens of Pride officials intervened. Jackson stood still as he was surrounded by officials, while Silva had to be constantly restrained from charging at Jackson. Jackson later stated that he was instructed by Pride executives to make these comments. He added that Silva's shove infuriated him, and he was ready to fight Silva immediately.
Since then, Jackson has further clarified the origins and the nature of the bad blood between the two. According to Jackson, the rivalry exists because he was one of the few fighters in Japan who was not afraid of Silva outside of the ring. Jackson stated that fighters were afraid to eat or be in an elevator with Silva, but he was not one of them. He added that the bad blood is only coming from Silva's end. Silva, on the other hand, cited Jackson's apparent insults towards him on the internet to account for the bad blood in an interview prior to the UFC 92 fight.
## Pride Final Conflict 2003
The first meeting between the two took place in the final round of Pride's Middleweight Grand Prix tournament at Pride Final Conflict 2003 on November 9, 2003. The venue for the fight was the sold-out Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, with a live audience of 53,000. The two fighters each fought in the same night prior to the finals, with Silva defeating Hidehiko Yoshida, and Jackson defeating Chuck Liddell, respectively. On the line was the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix Championship.
The fight began with Jackson looking to close the distance early. Jackson immediately went for a double-leg takedown, and picked Silva up. Silva then locked his legs, creating a standing closed guard, and applied a guillotine choke. The two stayed in this position until Jackson loosened his own grip, taking the fight to the ground for the first time, with Silva holding onto the chokehold.
After going to the ground, Jackson managed to slip out of the choke. Jackson began to attack with ground and pound, dealing strikes to Silva's body while Silva answered with the same from the bottom. Jackson began to land punches to Silva's face, and the latter attempted an armbar. Silva could not pull off the hold, and Jackson moved into side control shortly after. From here, Jackson threw punches to Silva's head and followed by landing two knees, again to the head (which were legal under Pride rules).
Jackson spent the next 5 minutes working on body strikes from closed guard. The referee then decided to return the fight to stand up due to inactivity. This decision by the referee is seen as controversial by some commentators, such as Dave Meltzer. Jackson has also voiced his displeasure for the stand-up. Sam Caplan, an MMA journalist, added that the Pride referees were employees of the promotion, and Jackson was victim of several "hasty" stand-ups from the officials. Whether he was referring specifically to the fights against Silva is unknown. Shortly following the stand-up, Silva secured a Muay Thai Clinch and landed approximately 20 knee strikes to Jackson's face and several soccer kicks to the head before the referee called a stop to the contest. Silva was declared the winner by Technical Knockout at 6:28 of the 1st round and the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix Champion.
## Pride 28: High Octane
The rematch took place on October 31, 2004 at Pride 28: High Octane. The venue for the fight was the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, with a live audience of 24,028. This time, Silva's Middleweight Championship was on the line. Jackson became the number one contender after knocking out Ricardo Arona with a slam at Pride Critical Countdown 2004.
The second fight began with Jackson moving forward and getting into a clinch early. The two exchanged strikes in this position before breaking up. Jackson followed by throwing a brief flurry of punches and landing a knee. About halfway into the first round, Silva threw a flurry of punches and landed several knees from the Muay Thai Clinch before pushing Jackson against the turnbuckle. Jackson scrambled out of the clinch and scored a takedown with a combination of a leg trip and a headlock. Jackson attacked with ground and pound, but to limited damage, while Silva attempted submissions unsuccessfully. The referee then stood the fighters up due to inactivity.
Silva re-opened the action standing with a combination of punches and kicks. Jackson answered with a straight right hand, knocking Silva on to the canvas. Jackson followed Silva down and looked to finish the fight in Silva's closed guard. Jackson moved into side control shortly after and landed a clean knee strike to Silva's head followed by several punches, again to the head to end the round.
The second round began with the two fighters exchanging a flurry of strikes. Silva then attempted a takedown with a combination of a body lock and a trip, but Jackson reversed it into a takedown of his own. The action stayed in Silva's guard very briefly, until the two scrambled back to their feet.
During the subsequent exchange of strikes, Silva landed a direct right hook on Jackson's face, stunning Jackson and sending him backpedaling towards the ropes. Silva closed the distance and secured a Muay Thai clinch. From here, Silva landed approximately 5 knee strikes to Jackson's head, causing him to fall into the ropes, unconscious and with blood pouring out of his face. Silva was declared the winner by Knockout at 3:26 of the 2nd round to remain the Pride Middleweight Champion.
## Aftermath and Ultimate Fighting Championship
Following the second fight, Jackson fought a pair of disappointing performances against the Rua brothers, earning a controversial decision over Murilo and getting brutally TKO'd by Mauricio. These fights caused the rivalry to "cool down," because Jackson was no longer promoted as a contender for Silva's Middleweight Championship. Silva's unbeaten streak was ended in his next fight, when he lost a split decision to heavyweight kickboxer, Mark Hunt. The streak lasted from August 2000 to December 2004. The rivalry between Silva and Jackson would be rekindled in the Ultimate Fighting Championship more than 4 years later.
Wanderlei Silva signed with the UFC in August 2007, and had two fights in the organization, a decision loss to Chuck Liddell at UFC 79, and a 36-second knockout victory over Keith Jardine at UFC 84. Quinton Jackson joined the organization in December 2006, became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion with a technical knockout of Chuck Liddell at UFC 71, and successfully defended the belt at UFC 75 against Dan Henderson. Jackson then lost the championship to Forrest Griffin in a decision at UFC 86.
## UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008
It was announced that the third fight between Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson would take place at UFC 92. The winner between the two would likely be the next challenger for the UFC's Light Heavyweight Championship. "Showdown" Joe Ferraro expected the third fight between Silva and Jackson to "steal the show" at UFC 92, and would "no doubt be one for the ages." Jason Probst of Sherdog expected the fight to be a "solid fight at worst" and an "epic struggle at best." Adam Morgan of FiveOuncesofPain.com predicted another "classic battle" between the two. Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports added that it would not be a surprise if the contest turned out to be the fight of the year.
The fight was announced after a series of personal incidents involving the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Among them were Jackson's split with former trainer and mentor, Juanito Ibarra, relocation to the UK-based training camp, Wolfslair, hit and run arrest, and possible jail time. There were questions surrounding Jackson's mental health, following an apparent episode of delirium on the day of his arrest on July 15, 2008. UFC President Dana White attributed the condition to a combination of Jackson not eating and sleeping for four days, while drinking only water and energy drinks. White added that drugs or alcohol were not factors in the incident. Jackson's personal problems and mental state became central issues for those who analyzed the fight, including for Randy "The Natural" Couture, a fighter noted for his exceptional ability in fight analysis. After consideration of these events, speculation arose as to whether putting Jackson back into action against Silva would be too soon.
Wanderlei Silva reiterated his dislike for Jackson in pre-fight interviews, and asserted that his sentiments toward Jackson have not changed since their previous fight. In an interview with UFC.com, Silva stated that he was not fighting Jackson for money, but for "pure pleasure." He again cited Jackson's apparent insults toward him on the internet to account for the animosity. Jackson on the other hand, insisted that the third fight with Silva was not about avenging his two prior defeats, but was "merely his job." He also added that the third encounter with Silva was inevitable, especially after Silva signed with the UFC.
Silva and Jackson had another brief altercation, this time at the UFC 92 weigh-ins. After both tipping the scales, they participated in an intense staredown for photography. In the course of the staredown, Wanderlei Silva shoved Quinton Jackson before the UFC officials and security quickly intervened. Jackson could be seen smiling and saying something to Silva immediately preceding the scuffle. Jackson followed with his trademark howl and a "throat-slashing" gesture, as Silva was escorted away. The fight between took place on December 27, 2008 at UFC 92. The venue for the fight was the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a live audience of 14,166.
The fight began with Jackson taking the center of the cage as Silva circled outside. Jackson opened the action with an overhand right, and immediately moved backwards. Both fighters appeared cautious for the opening minutes of the fight, exchanging strikes and quickly moving away. Silva focused on leg kicks, while Jackson focused on working the jab.
At 3:21 of the 1st round, after Wanderlei flurried and missed a punch with his right hand, Jackson countered with a left hook on Silva's jaw, sending the latter on to the canvas and rendering him unconscious. Jackson followed with three punches to Silva's head on the ground, two of which occurred after referee Yves Lavigne attempted to halt the contest. Wanderlei remained on the canvas for several moments, but appeared to be OK as he left the cage under his own power.
Following the fight at UFC 92, Jackson drew criticism from Todd Martin of CBS Sports for ignoring referee Yves Lavigne's attempt to stop the contest. Martin compared Jackson's actions to Renato Sobral's continued choke of David Heath following a tap out, which led to Sobral's dismissal from the UFC. Martin called for punishment against Jackson, but no action was taken against Jackson for this allegedly unsportsmanlike behavior.
## Bellator MMA
On February 16, 2016 Jackson had settled the contractual disputes with Bellator MMA and signed with the company for a 2nd time. During this time at Bellator, Jackson brought on the expertise of celebrity sports nutritionist Edwina Cheer to advise him on all aspects of nutrition on fight preparation and leading up to, and including, the weight cut.Known for his particular eating habits, Jackson thanked Cheer, stating "I know I'm hard to deal with".
Jackson fought Satoshi Ishii on June 24, 2016 at Bellator 157 and won via split decision. Jackson faced Muhammed Lawal at Bellator 175 on March 31, 2017 and he lost the fight via unanimous decision and lost by decision again after he faced Chael Sonnen in the quarterfinals of the Bellator Heavyweight Tournament.
Meanwhile, in early March 2016, Bellator MMA announced that Silva had signed a multi-fight contract with the organization. The previous lifetime ban handed down by the Nevada State Athletic Commission was reduced to a three-year suspension retroactive to 24 May 2014. He was eligible for reinstatement beginning 25 May 2017. The ban would not prevent Silva from competing at Indian Casinos or in Japan.
After four years away from the sport, Silva made his delayed Bellator debut against Chael Sonnen in the main event at Bellator NYC on 24 June 2017 and Silva lost by unanimous decision.
## Bellator 206
After coming off both disappointing performances against Chael Sonnen, Rampage and Wanderlei were set to Face at Bellator 206 in San Jose, California in a Heavyweight bout.
In the first round Silva used his jab and both fighters had their moments while landing shots. Jackson hit a body kick that seemed to be one of the significant strikes of the round.
In the second, Jackson came out strong with a right hand that hurt Silva while the latter was grabbing hold of Jackson. Silva was seemingly exhausted but was still able to engage in a serious striking exchange. The flurry of strikes continued until Jackson connected with another right hand that dropped Silva. Jackson held Silva against the cage and continued to land punches until referee Mike Beltrand stopped the fight at 4:32, declaring Rampage the winner by TKO and putting an end to the rivalry.
## Aftermath
The rivalry between Silva and Jackson has been regarded as "exceptionally violent," and the fights in the Pride Fighting Championship have been considered to be two of the most brutal matches to ever take place in the organization. Chris Parry of the Vancouver Sun asserted that the two fights in Pride will be remembered as "some of the best fights in this era," and as "some of the most devastating boxing and kickboxing exchanges seen in years." The rematch at Pride 28 has been noted as an exciting fight with back-and-forth action, and was also named the 2004 Fight of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards. The first fight at Pride Final Conflict 2003 has also gained fight of the year consideration.
Jackson's next fight was not against the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Rashad Evans, as the pre-fight reports suggested. UFC President Dana White indicated that the original plan was for Jackson to receive an immediate title shot, but Evans requested time off to recover from injuries he sustained from his fight against Forrest Griffin. Instead, Jackson faced Keith Jardine at UFC 96, and was victorious by unanimous decision. He was then scheduled to face Rashad Evans at UFC 98, but it was later revealed on March 11, 2009 that Jackson needed surgery to repair torn ligaments in his jaw, effectively cancelling the bout against Evans.
In a post fight interview following UFC 92, Wanderlei Silva stated that he would be making his return to action in the Summer of 2009, preferably at UFC 100. He added that would like to fight Jackson for a fourth and even fifth time if possible. Silva's next fight was a catchweight contest against Rich Franklin at UFC 99, in Cologne, Germany on June 13, 2009. Silva lost by unanimous decision in a competitive fight.
While Silva had an impending fight with Franklin, he was still asked about his future with Jackson. Indeed, in an interview with Fighters Only Magazine, Silva reiterated his desire to fight Jackson for a fourth time, and added that he wants it to be the final fight of his career. He also said that he no longer has problems with Jackson outside of the cage. Silva ended by saying that he spoke with Jackson at UFC 95 in London, England, and the two shook hands. |
20,713,032 | Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain | 1,164,241,522 | 2014 Indian English-language historical drama film | [
"2010s British films",
"2010s English-language films",
"2010s Hindi-language films",
"2010s disaster films",
"2014 drama films",
"2014 films",
"Bhopal disaster",
"British drama films",
"Disaster films based on actual events",
"English-language Indian films",
"Films scored by Benjamin Wallfisch",
"Films scored by Papon",
"Films scored by Swanand Kirkire",
"Films set in 1984",
"Films set in Madhya Pradesh",
"Films shot in Hyderabad, India",
"Films shot in Los Angeles",
"Films shot in Mumbai",
"Indian disaster films"
] | Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain is a 2014 Indian English-language historical drama film directed by Ravi Kumar. Based on the Bhopal disaster that happened in India on 2–3 December 1984, the film stars Martin Sheen, Mischa Barton, Kal Penn, Rajpal Yadav, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Fagun Thakrar. Benjamin Wallfisch composed the film's music. Kumar's idea for making a film based on the Bhopal disaster came after he read a book about it. Shot over a period of 18 months, it was originally scheduled for a late 2010 release. However, the lack of responses from distributors kept delaying the release.
In April 2013, a new trailer was released and the film received a market screening at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival on 16 and 19 May. It was also screened at Pan Asia, Dingle and the Tokyo International film festivals. Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain was released in the United States on 7 November 2014 and in India on 5 December 2014. A private screening of the film was held at the youth assembly in the United Nations on 7 August 2014.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the actors' portrayal of their respective characters but found the film underwhelming. A few organisations fighting for the rights of the victims of the tragedy blamed the film for presenting the facts in a distorted manner. Kumar and Sheen denied these allegations. The Madhya Pradesh government exempted the film from paying tax.
## Plot
In 1984, a few months before the Bhopal disaster, Dilip, a rickshaw driver, loses his income when his rickshaw breaks down while transporting an employee to the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal. Dilip lives in the slums near the plant with his wife, a son and his sister. He obtains a job in the plant as a labourer, and is happy since his daily wage is restored.
The plant's revenues drop due to lower sales of pesticides, and in order to reduce costs the officials neglect safety and maintenance. Questioning the chemicals used in the plant, Motwani, a tabloid reporter, publishes reports on his printing press which are disregarded by most of the officials and workers. Roy, the plant safety officer, expresses his concerns. The officials however ignore his warnings, and a worker is killed when a drop of methyl isocyanate leaking from a pipe lands on his arm. The officials deem the worker's irresponsibility as the cause of the accident and the plant continues to function. Dilip is given a better-paying vacant job in the plant despite lacking the skill to operate the machinery. A gas leak is prevented by Roy when water is mixed with methyl isocyanate, and in an attempt to stop people from panicking, the official in the plant disables the warning siren.
Warren Anderson, the CEO of Union Carbide, visits the plant to inspect its functionality, where he is briefed about a plan to connect two additional tanks for storage of methyl isocyanate to increase the output of the plant, ignoring the deteriorated condition of the tanks. Motwani meanwhile meets Eva Gascon, a reporter for Paris Match, and persuades her to interview Anderson. She falsely claims to be an Associated Press reporter, but her lie is exposed during the interview. Motwani convinces Dilip of the danger posed by the chemicals.
As the date of the disaster nears, Dilip arranges a loan for his sister's wedding. Roy later explains how the company is ignoring safety standards and that a future leak might become uncontrolled as the officials had turned off safety measures to reduce maintenance costs. Roy gives his resignation to the company and advises Dilip not to talk about the plant's safety if he wishes to retain his job. Dilip makes a phone call to Motwani describing what Roy just said, and expresses his fear about the plant's safety, saying he will return to the rickshaw-pulling business as soon as his sister is married.
To overcome the increasing revenue loss, the officials shut down the plant, firing most of the workers, including Dilip. The plant officials then order the use of the remaining methyl isocyanate as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Dilip is busy with his sister's wedding, and Roy has a final look of the control room. The safety measures fail and a runaway reaction follows. The faulty tanks cause the gas to start leaking, and an attempt to contain the leak fails. The gas escapes to the surroundings and is carried east by the wind. Motwani rushes to alert the people in the vicinity of the plant to vacate and head west, since the warning sirens were previously sabotaged. He meets Dilip, who ignores the warning and asks Motwani to leave the area without causing any hindrance to the wedding. Meanwhile, the guests experience irritation in the eyes and discomfort in breathing. Dilip senses the danger and visits the plant, realising that the plant had been compromised. He rushes back to his residence where he finds his family and relatives dying from acute exposure to the toxic gas. He carries away his son, paying farewell to his wife's corpse and flees the slum.
As the gas shows its effects, a nearby hospital is filled with hundreds of patients reporting cyanide poisoning, and the lack of antidote results in most of the patients' death. Dilip, on his deathbed, and using the last of his strength, rips off his Union Carbide identity badge and after flinging it away, rests his dead son on the ground. He eventually accepts his fate to die in the highly toxic gas cloud and succumbs to the toxic gas, dying by his son's side. The story jumps to the present day, where a blind boy is holding Dilip's identity badge, and the film ends with Motwani narrating the words, "Whatever may be the cause of the disaster, Carbide never left Bhopal." A photo montage depicts the aftermath of the disaster and pictures of the characters and their real-life counterparts.
## Cast
- Martin Sheen as Warren Anderson, the chief executive of Union Carbide. Anderson was declared a fugitive by an Indian court.
- Mischa Barton as Eva Gascon, a Paris Match reporter
- Kal Penn as Motwani, a local journalist. Penn said that the "larger-than-life, colourful role" of the reporter was what attracted him to the project. His role is inspired by the story of the Indian journalist Rajkumar Keswani
- Rajpal Yadav as Dilip, a factory worker
- Tannishtha Chatterjee as Leela, Dilip's wife
- Manoj Joshi as Dr. Chandra
- Fagun Thakrar as Rekha
- Gopichand Lagadapati as Steward.
- Akhil Mishra as Napoleon
- Joy Sengupta as Roy
- David Brooks as Shane
- Satish Kaushik as Labour Minister Lalit
## Production
In 2004, while reading Sanjoy Hazarika's book Bhopal: Lessons of a Tragedy, Ravi Kumar got the idea of making a film based on the Bhopal disaster, considered the world's deadliest industrial disaster. Seeing that very few people of the newer generation knew about the disaster, Kumar decided to make a film based on it. He chose several well known actors for the film because he felt that this provided more chances of showing the "story to the world." He wanted to cast Sheen for the role of Anderson, because of his political views and acting skills. Tannishtha Chatterjee and Rajpal Yadav were also cast for the film. Sienna Miller was previously attached to the project, but later dropped out and her role was given to Mischa Barton. In December 2008, it was confirmed that Barton, Sheen and Penn were filming in India for the project. A copy of the script was sent to Penn, who agreed to join the project. Penn played the role of an Indian journalist and learnt Hindi from an instructor. Shooting finished in January 2009. Initially, the film's story was written like a thriller and then dramatic elements were added. Kumar wanted to depict Anderson as a victim of organisational error of judgement but Sheen insisted that Anderson should be depicted as a guilty and so he rewrote some of the scenes. Made on a total budget of US\$12 million, the film was shot in Hyderabad's Charminar area and Golconda Fort, Mumbai and the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal during a course of 18 months. A few scenes were also shot in Los Angeles. Hyderabad was chosen since it bore great resemblance to Bhopal in terms of its Mughal influence and architecture. Only a few important scenes were shot in Bhopal while the majority were shot on different factory locations and sets in order to create the setup for the period.
The script was jointly written by Kumar and David Brooks Miller. To present the correct technical and medical facts in the film, Kumar analysed documents of the court proceedings, forensic evidences and interviewed several survivors of the tragedy and also the staff members of the Union Carbide plant. Bhopal Group for Information and Action and many activists fighting for the rights of the victim of the disaster wanted to stop the film's screening, called it an insult to the victims, blamed the filmmakers of distorting the facts related to the disaster, diverting attention from Dow Chemical Company which acquired Union Carbide in 2001 and for portraying Anderson as a person who wanted to help the people but was unable to do so. Sheen denied these allegations and said that he did not sympathise for Anderson. Kumar also denied these allegations and said that the organisations had seen an older script. He added that making the film was a life-changing experience for him. A Prayer for Rain was added to the film's title because had it rained on the night of 2—3 December 1984, fewer people would have died.
On 7 January 2009, Barton was questioned by the Indian media on why she chose to sign on the project to which she responded "I'm interested in all kinds of things, I did this film for moral reasons. Also, I felt the story needed to be told, I feel that this is going to be an important film." Benjamin Wallfisch, an Emmy and Ivor Novello-nominated composer, composed music for Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain. The film was slated to release in 2010 but the lack of response from the distributors delayed the release. On the 30th anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh attended the film's premiere in Bhopal and after watching the film he announced that the state government would not charge any tax on the film's earning. Chouhan called the film "very sensitive" and praised the "heart-rending" performance given by actors. To promote awareness about the tragedy a NGO The Bhopal Medical Appeal and the film's director collaborated with mobile commerce portal Paytm and the online shopping website Snapdeal. As part of the partnership Paytm and Snapdeal offered their customers a chance to donate money in form of online coupons to the disaster victims.
## Marketing and release
The first look of the film was unveiled on 18 September 2014 and the official trailer was released on the following day. Sheen felt that finding a theatrical release for the film would be difficult. He said that the film portrayed "America's cultural arrogance." Director Ravi Kumar opined that Anderson was guilty of the disaster. While promoting the film in New Delhi, he compared it to Titanic and said that the film "is realistic and poignant, but entertaining." Rajpal Yadav termed it the biggest project of his life and dedicated his role to the victims of the disaster.
The film was screened in Cannes, at the Pan Asia Film Festival in London, the Dingle Film Festival, and the Tokyo International Film Festival. The distributors advised director Kumar to remove a scene which they considered to be too dramatic for Western audiences. A private screening for a youth assembly was held at the United Nations. Revolver Entertainment acquired the distributor rights of the film for North American region in September 2014. The worldwide sales rights were acquired by GFM Films. The film's United States release was scheduled for 7 November 2014. A special screening of the film was held in New York on 18 September. Another special screening was conducted in Bhopal just prior to the release, attended by many well known actors of the Hindi film industry. The film opened in New York on 7 November, Los Angeles on 14 November and in India on 5 December 2014. Reportedly, Kumar had insured the film against libel for an undisclosed amount. Bhopal-based journalist Rajkumar Keswani wanted to sue the film producers for portraying him as a "salacious gossip columnist" before his lawyer advised him to watch the film first. He had seen the film's original script in which Penn's character was named Keswani. Inspired by the film, musician Sting collaborated with Anoushka Shankar to record a song. Kumar also confirmed their collaboration.
## Reception
Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, rated the film 71% based on a total of 17 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.35/10. Another review aggregator, Metacritic, gives the film a rating of 50% based on seven critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Meena Iyer of The Times of India praised the actors and noted that despite being based on true incidents the film "[managed] to connect emotionally". In her review for Hindustan Times, Sweta Kaushal wrote that director Ravi Kumar "should be congratulated for picking a rather grave subject" and praised the actors for doing justice to their respective characters. However, she felt that in portraying Dilip, Kumar took away the "severity of the issue" and that he did not put "the blame on anyone". Further, she opined that the film had depicted Anderson "as a rather humanist [person]". She concluded that better research should have been done and that the film "could have been a more involving story". While Kaushal felt that Barton's role was unnecessary, Anuj Kumar of The Hindu suggested that this role was planted in the story to provide Warren Anderson a chance to express his views. Kumar praised Yadav's acting by calling him the "face of the tragedy." He also praised Sheen but felt that Penn looked "out of place in the mofussil surroundings." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express noted that Chatterjee was effective in her role. India Today's Rohit Khilnani praised the director for "[capturing] everything that [the] drama needed". However, he felt that the overall quality of the film could have been better.
Bryan Durham of Daily News and Analysis praised the actors, particularly Martin Sheen, the costumes and sets used for the film. He considered Barton's character and Hinglish unnecessary. He also questioned how Rajpal's character was able to live for a longer period of time than others who were exposed to the gas, and how the doctor and nurses survived the whole disaster. He concluded that "the film takes [the] viewer for granted in places." Durham noted that the film had "its heart in the right place." Prasanna D. Zore of Rediff.com called Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain an "honest yet haunting film" and appreciated Anil Chandel's cinematography. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN praised Yadav, Sheen and Chatterjee for their acting. He criticised the film for its dialogues and Mischa Barton's role. He further noted that there was "a sense of drama in the final moments" but the film "has few moments that are extraordinary or even genuinely moving."
Martin Tsai of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the "cautionary tale could not be more relevant". Stephanie Merry of The Washington Post wrote that despite the terrible finale, the "movie never feels as powerful as it should." She felt that the dialogue, acting and music tended to be melodramatic but "the overt heartstring-pulling doesn't add much." In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, Frank Scheck praised Sheen's portrayal of Anderson and the visuals of the leakage but felt that the film is "slack in its tension". Writing for The New York Times, Ben Kenigsberg noted that the film "mines every chemical drip and gurgle for suspense."
## Box office
In the first three days of its release, the film grossed merely ₹900,000 (US\$11,000) at the Indian box office. In its first weekend the film collected ₹7 million (US\$88,000). At the United States domestic box office, the film grossed US\$6,150 in its first weekend and a total of US\$12,628. It grossed US\$6,317 in its first week and US\$6,311 in its second weekend.
## See also
- 2014 in film
- List of British films of 2014
- List of Bollywood films of 2014
- Bhopal Express (film) |
37,091,624 | 1902 Ibrox disaster | 1,137,000,364 | Stadium structural failure in Glasgow, Scotland | [
"1900s in Glasgow",
"1901–02 in English football",
"1901–02 in Scottish football",
"1902 disasters in the United Kingdom",
"1902 in Scotland",
"April 1902 events",
"Building collapses in the United Kingdom",
"Disasters in Glasgow",
"England–Scotland football rivalry",
"Football in Glasgow",
"Govan",
"History of football in Scotland",
"Man-made disasters in Scotland",
"Stadium disasters",
"Unofficial England national football team matches",
"Unofficial Scotland national football team matches"
] | The 1902 Ibrox disaster was the collapse of a stand at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium) in Govan (now part of Glasgow), Scotland. The incident led to the deaths of 25 supporters and injuries to 500 more during an international association football match between Scotland and England on 5 April 1902 as part of the 1901–02 British Home Championship.
Ibrox Park had completed construction less than three years before the incident and was hosting its first international fixture, with the crowd estimated to be over 68,000. The match was the first time that the ground had been used at more than half capacity since its opening. Scotland entered the game needing only to avoid defeat to win the British Home Championship title. During the first half of the match, a section of the newly built West Tribune Stand collapsed, dropping between 200 and 300 people to the concrete floor below. Two spectators were declared dead at the scene, and a further twenty-three died of injuries sustained in the incident soon after, the last victim dying three weeks later.
Despite the collapse, the match was eventually resumed after a break as officials feared emptying crowds could interfere with rescue attempts and lead to further panic. The teams resumed the match, which ended in a 1–1 draw, although both the Scottish Football Association and the Football Association later agreed that the result should be voided. A replay was hastily organised and played a month later at Villa Park in Birmingham with all proceeds from the match being donated to a relief fund for victims of the disaster. The disaster led to an overhaul in stadium design, with wooden terraced stands being largely replaced by earth or concrete embankments.
## Background
Founded in 1872, Rangers had played at various local grounds in the Glasgow area and had eventually settled at Kinning Park. However, the ground's capacity, originally 2,000 but later expanded to 7,000, was struggling to meet demand for the club's fixtures, and the venue's landlords eventually looked to move Rangers on to develop the site. To combat this, the club built the first Ibrox Park to the south of the burgh of Govan in 1887, and the new ground remained in use for twelve years. The construction of Celtic Park by their Old Firm rivals Celtic in 1892 led Rangers to seek an improved venue to compete for the chance to host Scottish Cup finals or Scotland international matches, which could generate considerable income for the hosts, particularly fixtures against England. Such was the fervour surrounding these international fixtures, The Times noted that the "attendance is limited only by the size of the ground". The original Ibrox Park had hosted an England–Scotland match in 1892, but the subsequent four fixtures between 1894 and 1900 had been awarded to Celtic Park. Rangers' directors sanctioned the £20,000 construction of a new Ibrox Park in an attempt to improve the facilities.
The new stadium was built partially overlapping the previous site and was officially opened on 30 December 1899 when Rangers defeated Heart of Midlothian 3–1. Soon after opening, the ground reached a capacity of 75,000. The construction was soon recognised by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) when the new stadium was selected to host the 1902 England–Scotland match by a single vote. The match was the 31st meeting between the two sides and was the first to be contested by fully professional teams.
### West Tribune Stand
The West Tribune Stand was designed by Scottish architect Archibald Leitch, a boyhood Rangers fan who offered his services free of charge, and had a capacity of 35,913. However, Leitch himself had expressed concerns over the maximum capacity and visited the site prior to the match to inspect the stand, but a surveyor passed the ground fit for purpose. There had previously been reports of significant swaying in the structure. The stand had been built using a steel framework which featured vertical beams set in concrete at the foundations. Horizontal beams were then interlocked with wooden decking used to form a step-like construction for spectators to stand on. There were 96 steps in total, each measuring four inches in height and around fourteen inches wide. It was estimated that at full capacity, each spectator had on average a personal space measuring sixteen inches long and fourteen inches wide.
## Events
### Pre-match
The 1901–02 British Home Championship began in February 1902 with Ireland defeating Wales. Scotland played their first match of the competition on 1 March, defeating Ireland 5–1 in Belfast, while reigning holders England were held to a goalless draw in their first fixture two days later against Wales. Scotland and England both won their second matches; the Scots defeated Wales 5–1 while England beat Ireland 1–0 a week later. With only one match to be played Scotland led the group by a single point, needing only to avoid defeat against England at Ibrox to win their second title in three seasons.
### Match and stand collapse
On 5 April 1902, the final match of the season's British Home Championship between Scotland and England kicked off at 3:30pm. There was no official count of the attendance, but estimated figures for the match state there was a crowd of more than 68,000 in attendance, half of whom were standing in the West Tribune Stand. There were around 50 stewards on duty for the match, most of whom were experienced in their role and had been provided by the SFA. Although they had no way of determining when the stand was full, they had been given signs declaring the stand full that were displayed at an appropriate time. The stand had never previously held as many supporters, never being more than half full in previous uses. Early in the match, supporters briefly surged toward the front of the terracing, and the on-duty police were forced to intervene in order to regulate the crowd and disperse them from one area.
Newspaper reports and later studies place the incident occurring around 30 minutes into the first half of the match, when the back of the newly built West Tribune Stand collapsed, sending hundreds of supporters up to 40 feet (12 metres) to the ground below. Several factors have been reasoned for the collapse, including heavy rainfall the previous night and the large crowd stamping and swaying as the match progressed. One theory in a report following the event centred around Scottish player Bobby Templeton. Regarded as an exciting attacking player, Templeton was making his debut for the Scottish national team and had gained possession of the ball moments prior to the collapse. The investigation stated that the crowd's desperation to see Templeton dribble with the ball caused them to surge forward, which may have contributed to the collapse. It was also noted that the bottom ten rows of the stand had been left vacant as people had filled the racing track surrounding the pitch. This blocked the view from these rows and resulted in the spectators on the lower rows to continually press upwards to avoid being pushed into the empty rows below them and lose their vantage points.
An investigation of the scene afterwards found that seventeen joints had given way, causing a hole approximately 20 yards (18 metres) long to open up in the stand. Several witnesses in the crowd reported hearing loud cracking noises prior to the collapse, and one witness, who worked as a joiner, claimed to have seen the wooden boards split prior to the collapse.
### Response
Immediately following the collapse, the crowd around the hole fled onto the playing field in an attempt to escape the stand. Scottish player Alex Raisbeck later stated that the players were unaware of the incident and initially believed that the surging crowd was a pitch invasion as supporters scrambled over the railings surrounding the field. He would later describe the scene, stating "When we saw the ambulance men at work we knew that something serious had happened. We were told to retire to the dressing-rooms. I shall never forget the scenes inside. Dead bodies and groaning men were lying on the seats where only a short time ago the Scottish players had stripped. Even some of the players’ clothing was requisitioned for bandages."
Officials estimated that between 200 and 300 spectators fell through the hole to the ground below. The majority of fatal injuries that occurred were directly caused by people impacting with either the ground or the steel girders as they fell. The mass of people eventually became heaped on the ground, with historians from the Western Infirmary in Glasgow, where the deceased were taken, commenting "Those who first reached the ground alive must then have been at hazard from suffocation" due to the volume of people. The first people to reach the incident had to rip down a galvanised iron fence around the base of the stand to gain access to the injured and The Herald wrote that rescuers first on the scene were met by "a scene of indescribable horror and confusion ... a mass of mangled and bleeding humanity, the victims piled one above the other." Some spectators had become entangled in the steel beams during their fall and were suspended in the air until they could be rescued. Local hospitals were overwhelmed with casualties, with around 190 people estimated to have been admitted following the incident, and the cells of the nearby Govan police station were used as emergency treatment rooms, with the injured being taken by requisitioned brakes or taxis carrying up to 30 people at a time. Newspaper reporters visiting the scene in the following days remarked on the lack of debris at the site as vast amounts of the shattered metal and wood had been used to form makeshift stretchers to carry injured spectators.
Despite the chaos, match officials feared that abandoning the match would lead to further injury if supporters began exiting the stadium en masse and could hinder the rescue attempts. Representatives of the SFA and the Football Association hastily discussed how to proceed and instead chose to resume the match after a twenty-minute delay. Although some players and officials disagreed with the decision, the match resumed, with Raisbeck, who supported the continuation, commenting "none of the players were sorry when the final whistle went as they were all heartily sick." Spectators and officials surrounded the field during the remainder of the match as the injured were attended to, so much so that they often interfered with the run of play as they spilled onto the pitch. The Scotsman noted how, on one occasion, mounted police officers had to be asked to move in order for a free kick to be taken. Scottish goalkeeper Ned Doig was reported to have wept consistently throughout the second half of the match. A significant number of spectators were unaware of the severity of the incident and, despite the gates being thrown open upon the incident in fear of a crush developing, few chose to leave the ground. The fixture ended in a 1–1 draw.
### Casualties
In total, 25 people died and over 500 were reported as injured, ranging between "dangerously" and "slightly". The most common cause of death was listed as a fracture at the base of the skull, with fourteen of the victims being recorded under this category. Two of the fourteen, Alexander Murray and Bruce Crawford, were listed as "instantaneous" and were the only two victims to be pronounced dead at Ibrox Park itself. By the end of the day, a total of eight people had been confirmed dead. Eight victims were listed with causes of death pertaining to crush injuries sustained by the large mass of bodies, such as severe internal chest injuries and broken ribs. The remaining three deaths were attributed to either shock or cardiac arrest. The final victim, Peter Patterson, died five weeks after the disaster on 15 May.
Two weeks after the disaster, The Scotsman issued a list of injuries that read "dangerously injured 24, seriously injured 168, injured 153, slightly injured 171" totalling 517 injuries in total. Other reports put the injured as high as 588. A large number of injuries were described as cuts and gashes to the heads of spectators, believed to have been caused by the jagged edging of the wooden decking left by the collapse. William Dewar from Kirkcaldy was also seriously injured in the disaster and the Dundee Evening Telegraph reported that he never recovered from his injuries before dying suddenly in July 1904. Another spectator, Donald Smith, died in July 1905 which was also attributed to injuries sustained in the disaster.
## Aftermath
The disaster was considered the first major incident of its kind, with the Athletic News writing "the one solacing reflection is that this is the only case of fatality of this kind in connection with (the) sport". It remained the deadliest stadium disaster in Britain until the Burnden Park disaster in Bolton in March 1946. No charges were brought against Rangers or the SFA over the incident. A criminal investigation into the disaster did bring charges against timber merchant Alexander McDougall, who was charged with culpable homicide in June of the same year. McDougall had supplied the wood used in the construction of the stand and was accused of attempting to cut corners by using yellow pine instead of the higher-quality red pine. Noted civil engineers Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir William Arrol appeared as witnesses in McDougall's defence. Both testified that they believed the selection of yellow pine had played no part in the disaster and instead blamed the accident on the construction of the stand. The design was deemed too light for the work for which it was built, having been based on out-of-date textbooks. Baker concluded that the stand's design made it safe for a load of 25 lb per square foot (122 kg/m<sup>2</sup>) but estimated that on the day of the match it had experienced loads of up to 75 lb per square foot (366 kg/m<sup>2</sup>). McDougall was later unanimously acquitted of the charge.
Leitch himself was distraught over the incident and begged Rangers for a chance to fix the mistakes made, stating "I need hardly say what unutterable anguish the accident caused me." He was re-employed by the club to oversee the redevelopment of Ibrox and went on to design numerous football stadiums in Britain. Following the accident, the use of wooden frameworks on steel frames for football grounds was largely discredited, and replaced throughout the United Kingdom by terracing supported by earthworks or reinforced concrete.
Rangers had won four consecutive Scottish league championships prior to the disaster, but following the accident the club sold several of their best players to raise funds for a major redevelopment of Ibrox. Rangers did not win another league championship until 1911.
### Benefit fund and matches
On 19 April 1902, a meeting of the FA Council declared that the match would be officially listed as "unfinished". During the meeting, it was also agreed for a relief fund to be created for victims and their families, with the FA donating £500 themselves, and a replay match organised, with all proceeds being donated to the fund. The SFA later agreed on all counts. The replay was held four weeks later at Villa Park in Birmingham on 3 May 1902 and ended in a 2–2 draw, with the majority of the players remaining unchanged from the original match, Scotland making three changes. The result secured the British Home Championship title for Scotland. A one-off club tournament, the British League Cup, was also organised to raise funds, while Rangers' Old Firm rivals Celtic organised a match against English side Blackburn Rovers to raise funds.
An Ibrox Park disaster fund was established in aid of the victims and ran for nearly two years before being disbanded. During its operation, the fund paid out nearly £18,000 to injured spectators and more than £5,000 to the families of the deceased. The remaining funds, totaling around £5,500, were used to pay administrative costs before being donated to the infirmaries which had treated the injured spectators.
### Ibrox redevelopment and later incidents
Ibrox underwent substantial redevelopments following the disaster. By the end of 1902, the West Tribune Stand had been significantly lowered in height to match the other stands. The number of beams in the stand was trebled which was designed to make it impossible for a spectator to fall through, even if the boards should give way. Matches also resumed the same year but with limited capacity in all stands.
During 1963, concerns were raised about the safety of the stairway adjacent to passageway 13 (colloquially known as Stairway 13), the exit closest to Copland Road subway station. On 16 September 1961 two people were killed in a crush on the stairway, and there were two other incidents, in 1967 and 1969, where several people were injured. Rangers had by then spent a total of £150,000 on improvements. Despite this, another larger disaster occurred at Ibrox in 1971, when 66 people were killed in a crush as supporters tried to leave the stadium at an Old Firm match.
## See also
- 1971 Ibrox disaster
- England national football team results (unofficial matches)
- England–Scotland football rivalry
- List of disasters of the United Kingdom and preceding states
- List of structural failures and collapses
- Scotland national football team results (unofficial matches) |
5,864,002 | Sega AM1 | 1,153,850,537 | Japanese development team within Sega | [
"Defunct video game companies of Japan",
"Japanese companies disestablished in 2004",
"Japanese companies established in 2000",
"Sega divisions and subsidiaries",
"Video game companies disestablished in 2004",
"Video game companies established in 2000",
"Video game development companies"
] | is a development department within Japanese video game developer Sega that also previously existed as Wow Entertainment and AM1 spent most of its early existence under the leadership of Rikiya Nakagawa and developed a number of arcade games for Sega.
In 2000, Sega split its development studios into nine semi-autonomous companies, with AM1 becoming Wow Entertainment. Wow developed games for the Dreamcast and later other consoles as well as arcade games. In 2003, as part of studio consolidations within Sega, Wow was merged with (originally titled and later AM7) and renamed to Sega Wow. Nakagawa resigned a few weeks later after Sammy Corporation acquired a significant amount of shares in Sega. Sega Wow was re-integrated back into the company the next year. Since then, the AM1 division has continued within Sega.
## History
Rikiya Nakagawa joined Sega as a programmer in 1983. Working for Sega's development division, he programmed arcade games including Ninja Princess, Alien Syndrome, and Choplifter. Although the exact date of the transition is not known, some time after the release of Power Drift, Sega began to separate the amusement division into the Amusement Machine Research and Development teams, or AM teams. AM1 was formed not long after the decision was made to separate the teams. Hisao Oguchi worked with AM1 before later going to AM3.
Nakagawa was made manager of AM1 in September 1991. According to Nakagawa, he was working with AM2 with Yu Suzuki before being made head of AM1. He has also stated that his job focus had to change upon taking the new title, with less coding and more production and schedule management. Joining him at AM1 were members of Team Shinobi, who had developed Alien Syndrome and the arcade version of Golden Axe. AM1 also included Makoto Uchida, the lead developer for Golden Axe, who had also developed Altered Beast as well as several other Sega arcade titles.
During the next few years, AM1 made several technological advances in their game development. The team used 3D computer graphics for the first time in 1994's Wing War, a game that would also be released for Sega's R360 arcade cabinet. AM1 would also develop Indy 500, which Nakagawa called his most memorable AM1 project and he credits it for AM1's ability to develop proper 3D games. From there, AM1 developed WaveRunner and The House of the Dead. AM1 also collaborated with Sega Technical Institute to develop and release Die Hard Arcade in 1996. According to developer Koichi Izumi, who had worked with AM1 before moving to AM3, AM1 had developed so many games that he lost count of them. Nakagawa has stated that he considered it good that AM1 did not have a specialty area and could develop almost any game as long as it was fun, and highlighted Wakuwaku Anpanman, a kiddie ride, as an example. AM1 also took charge of technical aspects of the NAOMI arcade system board. Some of AM1's other titles developed were Sega Bass Fishing, Sega Strike Fighter, and Wild Riders.
In April 2000, Sega restructured its arcade and console development teams into nine semi-autonomous studios headed by the company's top designers. Sega's design houses were encouraged to experiment and benefited from a relatively lax approval process. Nakagawa chose the name Wow Entertainment for his new company, because it was an easy name to say in Japanese and also would work worldwide as a word in the English dictionary. At the time, Wow Entertainment had a staff of 120 and had 12 to 13 production lines, one of which was based in the United States. Though AM1 had previously focused on arcade games, Wow would split its time with console games as well. Wow also announced a collaboration with Nihon Television and Kodansha for the development of additional games.
Wow's offices were based in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. In addition to Dreamcast games, such as Sega Bass Fishing 2, Wow developed for other consoles. The Game Boy Advance received Columns Crown, and games were developed for the GameCube, as well as the Xbox and PlayStation 2. Arcade games, such as The House of the Dead III, were also released.
In 2003, Hisao Oguchi was named president of Sega. He announced his intention to consolidate Sega's studios into "four or five core operations". As part of the mergers, Wow Entertainment merged with Overworks, formerly Sega's AM7 department and headed by Noriyoshi Ohba. With this merger, completed in October 2003, Wow Entertainment changed its name to Sega Wow. Also in 2003, Sammy Corporation purchased a large share of Sega and announced its desire to have Sega focus on arcade game development, preferably with Sammy's Atomiswave arcade system board, which was less expensive and less advanced than Sega's Chihiro and Triforce boards. Nakagawa resigned weeks after the acquisition. While no official reason for his departure was given, it has been suggested that Nakagawa's resignation could have been due to a desire not to comply with Sammy's demands. Nakagawa joined Sammy itself as a general manager at the start of 2004, and as of 2008, was then president of the company Paon DP. Kazunori Tsukamoto, who had worked on The House of the Dead and Super GT, replaced Nakagawa as president of Sega Wow. As Sega Wow, they developed Blood Will Tell and the 2005 Altered Beast game. During the existence of existence of Sega Wow, producer Yosuku Okunari pitched remakes of Streets of Rage and Dragon Force made by Sega Wow for the Sega Ages 2500 series. Ultimately, only Dragon Force eventually became an outsourced project with Okunari helming the project and the Sega Ages 2500 series as whole.
During mid-2004, Sammy bought a controlling share in Sega at a cost of \$1.1 billion, creating the new company Sega Sammy Holdings, an entertainment conglomerate. Prior to the acquisition by Sammy, Sega began the process of re-integrating its subsidiaries into the main company, which was completed by October 2004. Sega Wow's 215 employees were split across consumer and arcade development after the integration back into Sega.
The AM1 division has continued within Sega since the re-integration of Sega Wow. Further development since 2004 has included smartphone games, such as Chain Chronicle. Some of AM1's arcade developments since 2004 include Maimai, Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity, Puyopuyo!! Quest Arcade, Fist of the North Star: Battle Medal, and Starhorse III, as well as Sangokushi Taisen, a digital collectible card and trading card game. AM1 is said to be the broadest division of Sega covering arcade video games, smartphone apps, games for kids, medal games, and simulators.
## Overworks
Overworks was a development division of Sega, originally founded as CS Research and Development \#2. It was led by Noriyoshi Ohba, who was initially hired to Sega's CS2 department as a planner and worked on titles such as Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Clockwork Knight. Rieko Kodama was a developer on the team, which was formed of developers who had previously worked on series such as Shinobi, Streets of Rage, Phantasy Star, and Alex Kidd. CS2 R&D had a hand in the development of Sega Saturn games, including Sakura Wars, Deep Fear, and J-League Pro Soccer. The team would later be known as R&D \#7 or AM7. Upon the transition of the studios that led to the formation of Overworks from AM7, Ohba chose the name "Overworks" as a simplification of "Over Quality Works". Games released for the Dreamcast as Overworks include Skies of Arcadia, Sakura Wars 3: Is Paris Burning?, and GuruGuru Onsen. They also released a game for arcades called Dragon Treasure. After the discontinuation of the Dreamcast, Overworks continued to work on Sakura Wars 4: Fall in Love, Maidens and a sequel to Shinobi, before being consolidated into Wow Entertainment. After serving as vice president of Sega Wow, Ohba departed Sega in 2004 to join Interchannel. The CS2 designation would later be given to Sonic Team by 2010.
## See also
- Sega development studios
- Amusement Vision
- Smilebit
- United Game Artists |
269,156 | Woolworth Building | 1,173,629,171 | Skyscraper in Manhattan, New York | [
"1913 establishments in New York City",
"Broadway (Manhattan)",
"Buildings at Fordham University",
"Cass Gilbert buildings",
"Civic Center, Manhattan",
"Columbia Records",
"F. W. Woolworth Company buildings and structures",
"Former world's tallest buildings",
"Gothic Revival architecture in New York City",
"Gothic Revival skyscrapers",
"National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan",
"New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan",
"New York City interior landmarks",
"New York State Register of Historic Places in New York County",
"Office buildings completed in 1913",
"Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan",
"Residential skyscrapers in Manhattan",
"Retail company headquarters in the United States",
"Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan",
"Tribeca"
] | The Woolworth Building is an early American skyscraper designed by architect Cass Gilbert located at 233 Broadway in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1930, with a height of 792 feet (241 m). More than a century after its construction, it remains one of the 100 tallest buildings in the United States.
The Woolworth Building is bounded by Broadway and City Hall Park to its east, Park Place to its north, and Barclay Street to its south. It consists of a 30-story base topped by a 30-story tower. Its facade is mostly decorated with architectural terracotta, though the lower portions are limestone, and it features thousands of windows. The ornate lobby contains various sculptures, mosaics, and architectural touches. The structure was designed with several amenities and attractions, including a now-closed observatory on the 57th floor and a private swimming pool in the basement.
F. W. Woolworth, the founder of a brand of popular five-and-ten-cent stores, conceived the skyscraper as a headquarters for his company. Woolworth planned the skyscraper jointly with the Irving National Exchange Bank, which also agreed to use the structure as its headquarters. The Woolworth Building had originally been planned as a 12- to 16-story commercial building but underwent several revisions during its planning process. Its final height was not decided upon until January 1911. Construction started in 1910 and was completed two years later. The building officially opened on April 24, 1913.
The Woolworth Building has undergone several changes throughout its history. The facade was cleaned in 1932, and the building received an extensive renovation between 1977 and 1981. The Irving National Exchange Bank moved its headquarters to 1 Wall Street in 1931, but the Woolworth Company (later Venator Group) continued to own the Woolworth Building for most of the 20th century. The structure was sold to the Witkoff Group in 1998. The top 30 floors were sold to a developer in 2012 and converted into residences. Office and commercial tenants use the rest of the building. The Woolworth Building has been a National Historic Landmark since 1966, and a New York City designated landmark since 1983.
## Architecture
Cass Gilbert designed the Woolworth Building in the neo-Gothic style. The building resembles European Gothic cathedrals; Reverend S. Parkes Cadman dubbed it "The Cathedral of Commerce" in a booklet published in 1916. F. W. Woolworth, who had devised the idea for the Woolworth Building, had proposed using the Victoria Tower as a model for the building; he reportedly also admired the design of Palace of Westminster. Gilbert, by contrast, disliked the comparison to religious imagery. The architect ultimately used 15th- and 16th-century Gothic ornament on the Woolworth Building, along with a complementary color scheme.The Woolworth Building was designed to be 420 feet (130 m) high but was eventually raised to 792 feet (241 m). Several different height measurements have been cited over the years, but the building rises about 793.5 feet (241.9 m) above the lowest point of the site. The Woolworth Building was 60 stories tall when completed in 1913, though this consisted of 53 usable floors topped by several mechanical floors. The building's ceiling heights, ranging from 11 to 20 feet (3.4 to 6.1 m), make it the equivalent of an 80-story building. It remained the tallest building in the world until the construction of 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building in 1930, both in New York City. The building is assigned its own ZIP Code, 10279; it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes as of 2019.
### Form
The building's tower, flush with the main frontage on Broadway, joins an office block base with a narrow interior court for light. The base occupies the entire lot between Park Place to the north, Broadway to the east, and Barclay Street to the south. The site measures 155 feet (47 m) wide on Broadway and 200 feet (61 m) wide on both Park Place and Barclay Street. The base contains two "wings" extending westward, one each on the Park Place and Barclay Street frontages, which form a rough U-shape when combined with the Broadway frontage. This ensured that all offices had outside views. The U-shaped base is approximately 30 stories tall. All four elevations of the base are decorated, since the building has frontage on all sides.
The tower rises an additional 30 stories above the eastern side of the base, abutting Broadway. Above the 30th floor are setbacks on the north and south elevations. There are additional setbacks along the north, south, and west elevations on the 45th and 50th floors. The 30th through 45th floors measure 84 by 86 feet (26 by 26 m); the 46th through 50th floors, 69 by 71 feet (21 by 22 m); and the 51st through 53rd floors, 69 by 61 feet (21 by 19 m). The tower has a square plan below the 50th-story setback and an octagonal plan above. Though the structure is physically 60 stories tall, the 53rd floor is the top floor that can be occupied. Above the 53rd floor, the tower tapers into a pyramidal roof.
### Facade
The lowest four stories are clad in limestone. Above that, the exterior of the Woolworth Building was cast in limestone-colored, glazed architectural terracotta panels. F. W. Woolworth initially wanted to clad the skyscraper in granite, while Gilbert wanted to use limestone. The decision to use terracotta for the facade was based on both aesthetic and functional concerns. Terracotta was not only fireproof but also, in Gilbert's mind, a purely ornamental addition clarifying the Woolworth Building's steel construction. Each panel was of a slightly different color, creating a polychrome effect. The facade appeared to have a uniform tone, but the upper floors were actually darker and more dense. Behind the terracotta panels were brick walls; the terracotta pieces are attached to the brick walls by metal rods and hangers.
The Atlantic Terra Cotta Company provided the original terracotta cladding. The panels were manufactured in shades of blue, green, sienna, and rose. The terracotta panels were partially vitrified, allowing them to bear large loads. Gilbert also asked that John Donnelly and Eliseo V. Ricci create full-size designs based on Atlantic Terra Cotta's models. In 1932, Atlantic Terra Cotta carried out a comprehensive cleaning campaign of the Woolworth's facade to remove blackening caused by the city's soot and pollution. The Ehrenkrantz Group restored the building's facade between 1977 and 1981. During the renovation, much of the terracotta was replaced with concrete and Gothic ornament was removed.
The building has several thousand windows: the exact number is disputed, but various sources state that the Woolworth Building has 2,843, 4,400, or 5,000 windows. Windows were included for lighting and comfort; because the Woolworth Building was built before air conditioning became common, every office is within 10 feet (3.0 m) of a window. Some of the Woolworth Building's windows are set within arch-shaped openings. Most of the building's spandrels, or triangles between the top corners of the window and the top of the arch, have golden Gothic tracery against a bright blue backdrop. On the 25th, 39th, and 40th stories, the spandrels consist of iconography found in the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. Gold-on-blue tracery is also found on the 26th, 27th, and 42nd floors.
#### Base
On the part of the base facing Broadway, as well as the tower above it, there are three bays; the left and right bays have two windows per floor, while the center bay has three windows. The elevations facing Park Place and Barclay Street each have six bays with two windows per floor. The base, on its lowest four stories, is divided into three-story-high entrance and exit bays, each of which has a one-story attic above it. There are nine entrances in total.
The main entrance on Broadway is a three-story Tudor arch, surrounded on either side by two bays: one narrower than the main arch, the other wider. The five bays form a triumphal arch overhung by a balcony and stone motifs of Gothic design. The intrados of the arch contains 23 niches. The topmost niche depicts an owl; the lowest niches on both sides depict tree trunks; and the other twenty niches depict animated figures. The spandrel above the left side of the arch depicts Mercury, classical god of commerce, while that above the right side depicts Ceres, classical goddess of agriculture. Above all of this is an ogee arch with more niches, as well as two carvings of owls hovering above a "W" monogram. There are salamanders within niches on either side of the main entrance. Inside the triumphal arch, there is a smaller arch with a revolving door and a Tudor window; it is flanked by standard doors and framed with decorations. There is a pelican above this smaller arch.
Decorated revolving doors are also located at the northern and southern entrances, at Park Place and Barclay Street respectively. The Park Place and Barclay Street entrances are nearly identical, except for the arrangement of the storefronts. Both entrances are located on the eastern sides of their respective elevations, lining up with the tower above them, and contain a wide arch flanked by two narrower arches. The three entrances feed into the arcaded lobby. The building's Park Place entrance contained a stair to the New York City Subway's Park Place station, served by the , inside the westernmost bay of the building entrance.
The facade contains vertical piers, which protrude diagonally. There are six such piers on the Broadway elevation. In addition, horizontal belt courses run above the 4th, 9th, 14th, 19th, and 24th stories. The 25th and 26th stories, above the topmost belt course, are separated by dark-bronze spandrels. The 27th floor contains a canopy of projecting terracotta ogee arches. These decorative features make the tower section "appear to merge with the atmosphere", as architectural writer Donald Reynolds described it. Above the 28th floor, a two-story-tall copper roof with complex tracery in the Gothic style tops the canopies. The 29th and 30th stories of the north and south wings are of similar depth to the six narrow bays on the Park Place and Barclay Street elevations but contain five bays. A small tower with three bays caps these wings.
#### Tower section
The 30th through 45th floors contain three bays on each elevation; the side bays contain two windows, while the center bay contains three windows. The 46th through 53rd floors also have three bays on each elevation, but the side bays only contain one window. At the 45th- and 50th-story setbacks, there are turrets at each corner of the tower. The northeast corner turret concealed a smokestack.
There is a pyramidal roof above the 53rd floor, as well as four ornamental tourelles at the four corners of the tower. The roof was originally gilt but is now green. The pyramidal roof, as well as the smaller roofs below, used 40,000 square feet (3,700 m<sup>2</sup>) of gold leaf. The main roof is interspersed with small dormers, which contain windows into the maintenance levels inside. The pyramidal roof is topped by another pyramid with an octagonal base and tall pointed-arch windows. In turn, the octagonal pyramid is capped by a spire. The three layers of pyramids are about 62 feet (19 m), or five stories tall. An observation deck was located at the 55th floor, about 730 feet (220 m) above ground level. The deck was octagonal in plan, measuring 65 feet (20 m) across, was accessed by a glass-walled elevator. It was patronized by an estimated 300,000 visitors per year but was closed as a security measure in 1941 after the Pearl Harbor attack.
Strongly articulated piers, which carry right to the pyramidal cap without intermediate cornices, give the building its upward thrust. This was influenced by Aus's belief that, "From an engineering point of view, no structure is beautiful where the lines of strength are not apparent." The copper roof is connected to the Woolworth Building's steel superstructure, which serves to ground the roof electrically. The Gothic detailing concentrated at the highly visible crown is over-scaled, and the building's silhouette could be made out from several miles away. Gilbert's choice of the Gothic style was described as "an expression of the verticality of the tower form", and as Gilbert himself later wrote, the style was "light, graceful, delicate and flame-like". Gilbert considered several proposals for exterior lighting, including four powerful searchlights atop nearby buildings and a constantly rotating lamp at the apex of the Woolworth Building's roof. Ultimately, the builders decided to erect nitrogen lamps and reflectors above the 31st floor, and have the intensity of the lighting increase with height.
### Structural features
#### Substructure
In contrast to other parts of Manhattan, the bedrock beneath the site is relatively deep, descending to between 110 and 115 feet (34 and 35 m) on average. The site also has a high water table, which is as shallow as 15 feet (4.6 m) beneath ground level. Due to the geology of the area, the building is supported on either 66 or 69 massive caissons that descend to the bedrock. The caissons range in depth from 100 to 120 feet (30 to 37 m).
To give the structure a sturdy foundation, the builders used metal tubes 19 feet (5.8 m) in diameter filled with concrete. These tubes were driven into the ground with a pneumatic caisson process to anchor the foundations to the bedrock. Because the slope of the bedrock was so sharp, steps had to be carved into the rock before the caissons could be sunk into the ground. The caissons were both round and rectangular, with the rectangular caissons located mainly on the southern and western lot lines. The caissons are irregularly distributed across the site, being more densely concentrated at the northeastern corner. This is because the building was originally planned to occupy a smaller site at the corner of Broadway and Park Place; when the site was enlarged, the caissons that had already been installed were left in place. The two basement levels, descending 55 feet (17 m), are constructed of reinforced concrete.
#### Superstructure
Whereas many earlier buildings had been constructed with load-bearing walls, which by necessity were extremely thick, the Woolworth Building's steel superstructure was relatively thin, which enabled Gilbert to maximize the building's interior area. Engineers Gunvald Aus and Kort Berle designed the steel frame. Each column carries a load of 24 short tons per square foot (2.3 MPa), supporting the building's overall weight of 233,000 short tons (208,000 long tons). Where the columns of the superstructure did not match up with the caissons, they were cantilevered above on plate girders between two adjoining caissons. These girders are extremely large; one such girder measures 8 feet (2.4 m) deep, 6.75 feet (2 m) wide, and 23 feet (7.0 m) long.
For the wind bracing, the entire Woolworth Building was considered as a vertical cantilever, and correspondingly large girders and columns were used in the construction. Continuous portal bracing was used between the 1st and 28th floors, except in the interior columns, where triangular bracing was used. The portal braces on the building's exterior direct crosswinds downward toward the ground, rather than into the building. Interconnecting trusses were placed at five-floor intervals between the tower and the wings; these, as well as the side and court walls, provided the bracing for the wings. Directly above each of the tower's setbacks, the outer walls are supported by girders, as the columns beneath them are offset. Above the 28th floor, knee braces and column-girder connections were used; hollow-tile floors were installed because it would have taken too long to set the concrete floors, especially during cold weather.
### Interior
Upon completion, the Woolworth Building contained seven water systems—one each for the power plant, the hot-water plant, the fire-protection system, the communal restrooms, the offices with restrooms, the basement swimming pool, and the basement restaurant. There are water tanks on the 14th, 27th, 28th, 50th, and 53rd floors. Although the water is obtained from the New York City water supply system, much of it is filtered and reused. A dedicated water system, separate from the city's, was proposed during construction, but workers abandoned the plan after unsuccessfully digging 1,500 feet (460 m) into Manhattan's bedrock.
The Woolworth Building was the first structure to have its own power plant with four Corliss steam engine generators totaling a capacity of 1,500 kilowatt-hours (5.4×10<sup>12</sup> mJ); the plant could support 50,000 people. The building also had a dedicated heating plant with six boilers with a capacity of 2,500 horsepower (1,900 kW). The boilers were fed from subterranean coal bunkers capable of holding over 2,000 tons of anthracite coal.
#### Lobby
The ornate, cruciform lobby, known as the "arcade", was characterized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) as "one of the most spectacular of the early 20th century in New York City". It consists of two perpendicular, double-height passageways with barrel-vaulted ceilings. One passageway runs between the arcade's west wing at the Woolworth Building's "staircase hall" and the east wing at Broadway. The other runs between the north wing at Park Place and the south wing at Barclay Street. A mezzanine crosses the arcade's north and south wings. Where the passageways intersect, there is a domed ceiling. The dome contains pendentives that may have been patterned after those of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The walls of this intersection vault are laid out in an octagonal shape, with mailboxes at the four intercardinal directions.
Veined marble from the island of Skyros in Greece covers the lobby. Edward F. Caldwell & Co. provided the interior lights for the lobby and hallways. Patterned glass mosaics that contain blue, green, and gold tiling with red accents decorate the ceilings. There are other Gothic-style decorations in the lobby, including on the cornice and the bronze fittings. Twelve plaster brackets, which carry grotesques depicting major figures in the building's construction, are placed where the arcade and the mezzanine intersect. These ornaments include Gilbert with a model of the building, Aus taking a girder's measurements, and Woolworth holding nickels and dimes. Two ceiling murals by C. Paul Jennewein, titled Labor and Commerce, are located above the mezzanine where it crosses the south and north wings, respectively.
The staircase hall is a two-story room located to the west of the arcade. It consists of the ground level, which contains former storefronts, as well as a mezzanine level above it. The ground floor originally contained 18 storefronts. A 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) marble staircase leads westward from the arcade to a mezzanine, where the entrance to the Irving National Exchange Bank office was formerly located. The mezzanine contains a stained-glass skylight surrounded by the names of several nations. The skylight contains the dates 1879 and 1913, which respectively signify the years of the Woolworth Company's founding and the building's opening. The skylight is also surrounded by sculpted grotesques, which depict merchandising activities in the five-and-dime industry.
There is a smaller space west of the staircase hall with a one-story-high ceiling. This room contains a coffered ceiling with a blue-green background. The crossbeams contain Roman portrait heads, while the cornice contains generic sculpted grotesques. The lobby also contains a set of German chimes designed by Harry Yerkes.
#### Basement
The basement of the Woolworth Building contains an unused bank vault, restaurant, and barbershop. The bank vault was initially intended to be used for safe-deposit boxes, though it was used by the Irving National Exchange Bank in practice. In 1931, Irving moved some \$3 billion of deposits to a vault in its new headquarters at 1 Wall Street, and the Woolworth Building's vault was converted into a storage area for maintenance workers. There is also a basement storage room, known as the "bone yard", which contains replacement terracotta decorations for the facade.
The basement also contains closed entrances to two New York City Subway stations. There was an entrance to the Park Place station directly adjacent to the building's north elevation, served by the . This entrance was closed after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Another entrance led to the City Hall station one block north, now served by the , but this was closed in 1982 because of concerns over crime. The area in front of the former entrances was used as a bike-storage area by the 2010s.
A private pool, originally intended for F. W. Woolworth, exists in the basement. Proposed as early as 1910, the pool measured 15 by 55 feet (4.6 by 16.8 m) and had a marble perimeter. The pool was later drained but was restored in the mid-2010s as part of the conversion of the Woolworth Building's upper floors into residential units.
#### Offices
At the time of construction, the Woolworth Building had over 2,000 offices. Each office had ceilings ranging from 11 to 20 feet (3.4 to 6.1 m) high. Gilbert had designed the interior to maximize the amount of usable office space, and correspondingly, minimize the amount of space taken up by the elevator shafts. The usable-space consideration affected the placement of the columns in the wings, as the columns in the main tower were positioned around the elevator shafts and facade piers. Each of the lowest 30 stories had 31 offices, of which ten faced the light court, eight faced Park Place, eight faced Barclay Street, and five faced Broadway. Above the 30th-story setback, each story had 14 offices. For reasons that are unknown, floor numbers 42, 48, and 52 are skipped.
Woolworth's private office on the 24th floor, revetted in green marble in the French Empire style, is preserved in its original condition. His office included a mahogany desk with a leather top measuring 7.5 by 3.75 feet (2.29 by 1.14 m). That desk contained a hidden console with four buttons to request various members of his staff. The marble columns in the office are capped by gilded Corinthian capitals. Woolworth's reception room contained objects that were inspired by a visit to the Château de Compiègne shortly after the building opened. These included a bronze bust of Napoleon, a set of French Empire-style lamps with gold figures, and an inkwell with a depiction of Napoleon on horseback. The walls of the office contained portraits of Napoleon, and gold-and-scarlet chairs were arranged around the room. At some point, Woolworth replaced the portrait of Napoleon with a portrait of himself.
#### Elevators
The Woolworth Building contains a system of high-speed elevators capable of traveling 650 feet (200 m) or 700 feet (210 m) per minute. The Otis Elevator Company supplied the units, which were innovative in that there were "express" elevators, stopping only at certain floors, and "local" elevators, stopping at every floor between a certain range. There were 26 Otis electric elevators with gearless traction, as well as an electric-drum shuttle elevator within the tower once construction was complete. Of these, 24 were passenger elevators, which were arranged around cruciform elevator lobbies on each floor. Two freight elevators and two emergency staircases were placed at the rear of the building.
The elevators are accessed from bays in the eastern and western walls of the arcade. The walls are both divided by two bays with round arches, and there are four elevators on each wall. The elevator doors in the lobby were designed by Tiffany Studios. The patterns on the doors have been described as "arabesque tracery patterns in etched steel set off against a gold-plated background".
## History
### Planning
F. W. Woolworth, an entrepreneur who had become successful because of his "Five-and-Dime" (5- and 10-cent stores), began planning a new headquarters for the F. W. Woolworth Company in 1910. Around the same time, Woolworth's friend Lewis Pierson was having difficulty getting shareholder approval for the merger of his Irving National Bank and the rival New York Exchange Bank. Woolworth offered to acquire shares in New York Exchange Bank and vote in favor of the merger if Pierson agreed to move the combined banks' headquarters to a new building he was planning as the F. W. Woolworth Company's headquarters. Having received a commitment from the banks, Woolworth acquired a corner site on Broadway and Park Place in Lower Manhattan, opposite City Hall. The entrepreneur briefly considered purchasing a plot at West Broadway and Reade Street, a few blocks north of the Woolworth Building's current site. Woolworth decided against it because of the prestige that a Broadway address provided (despite its name, West Broadway was a separate street running several blocks from Broadway).
Woolworth and the Irving National Exchange Bank then set up the Broadway-Park Place Company to construct and finance the proposed structure. Initially, the bank was supposed to purchase the company's stock gradually until it owned the entire company, and thus, the Woolworth Building. Irving would be able to manage the 18 floors of rentable space on a 25-year lease. While negotiations to create the Broadway-Park Place Company were ongoing, Woolworth and his real estate agent Edward J. Hogan purchased several parcels from the Trenor Luther Park estate and other owners. The entire footprint of the current building, a rectangular lot, had been acquired by April 15, 1910, at a total cost of \$1.65 million.
#### Original designs
Woolworth commissioned Cass Gilbert to design the new building. There are few print documents that indicate early correspondence between Woolworth and Gilbert, and news articles as late as March 1910 mentioned that no architect had been chosen. Gilbert later mentioned that he had received the commission for the Woolworth Building after getting a phone call from Woolworth one day. The architect had recently finished designing the nearby Broadway–Chambers Building and 90 West Street, whose architecture Woolworth admired. Woolworth wanted his new structure to be of similar design to the Palace of Westminster in London, which was designed in the Gothic style. At the time, Gilbert was well known for constructing modern skyscrapers with historicizing design elements.
Gilbert was originally retained to design a standard 12- to 16-story commercial building for Woolworth, who later said he "had no desire to erect a monument that would cause posterity to remember me". However, Woolworth then wanted to surpass the nearby New York World Building, which sat on the other side of City Hall Park and stood 20 stories and 350 feet (110 m). A drawing by Thomas R. Johnson, dated April 22, 1910, shows a 30-story building rising from the site. Because of the change in plans, the organization of the Broadway-Park Place Company was rearranged. Woolworth would now be the major partner, contributing \$1 million of the planned \$1.5 million cost. The Irving Bank would pay the balance, and it would take up a 25-year lease for the ground floor, fourth floor, and basement.
By September 1910, Gilbert had designed an even taller structure, with a 40-story tower on Park Place adjacent to a shorter 25-story annex, yielding a 550-foot (170 m)-tall building. The next month, Gilbert's latest design had evolved into a 45-story tower roughly the height of the nearby Singer Building. After the latest design, Woolworth wrote to Gilbert in November 1910 and asked for the building's height to be increased to 620 feet (190 m), which was 8 feet (2.4 m) taller than the Singer Building, Lower Manhattan's tallest building. Woolworth was inspired by his travels in Europe, where he would constantly be asked about the Singer Building. He decided that housing his company in an even taller building would provide invaluable advertising for the F. W. Woolworth Company and make it renowned worldwide. This design, unveiled to the public the same month, was a 45-story tower rising 625 feet (191 m), sitting on a lot by 105 by 197 feet (32 by 60 m). Referring to the revised plans, Woolworth said, "I do not want a mere building. I want something that will be an ornament to the city." He later said that he wanted visitors to brag that they had visited the world's tallest building. Louis J. Horowitz, president of the building's main contractor Thompson-Starrett Company, said of Woolworth, "Beyond a doubt his ego was a thing of extraordinary size; whoever tried to find a reason for his tall building and did not take that fact into account would reach a false conclusion."
#### Plans for world's tallest building
Even after the revised height was unveiled, Woolworth still yearned to make the building even taller as it was now close to the 700-foot (210 m) height of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, then the tallest building in New York City and the world. On December 20, 1910, Woolworth sent a team of surveyors to measure the Metropolitan Life Tower's height and come up with a precise measurement, so he could make his skyscraper 50 feet (15 m) taller. He then ordered Gilbert to revise the building's design to reach 710 or 712 feet (216 or 217 m), despite ongoing worries over whether the additional height would be worth the increased cost. In order to fit the larger base that a taller tower necessitated, Woolworth bought the remainder of the frontage on Broadway between Park Place and Barclay Street. He also purchased two lots to the west, one on Park Place and one on Barclay Street; these lots would not be developed, but would retain their low-rise buildings and preserve the proposed tower's views. Such a tall building would produce the largest income of any building globally.
On January 1, 1911, the New York Times reported Woolworth was planning a 625 feet (191 m) building at a cost of \$5 million. By January 18, 1911, Woolworth and Hogan had acquired the final site for the project at a total cost of \$4.5 million; the lot measured 152 feet (46 m) on Broadway, 192.5 feet (58.7 m) on Barclay Street, and 197.83 feet (60 m) on Park Place. In a New York Times article two days later, Woolworth said that his building would rise 750 feet (230 m) to its tip. In order to fit the correct architectural proportions, Gilbert redesigned the building to its current 792-foot (241 m) height. Renderings by illustrator Hughson Hawley, completed in April 1911, are the first official materials that reflect this final height.
Gilbert had to reconcile both Woolworth's and Pierson's strict requirements for the design of the structure. The architect's notes describe late-night conversations that he had with both men. The current design of the lobby, with its arcade, reflected these conflicting pressures. Sometimes, Gilbert also faced practical conundrums, such as Woolworth's requirement that there be "many windows so divided that all of the offices should be well lighted", and so that tenants could erect partitions to fit their needs. Gilbert wrote this "naturally prevented any broad wall space". Woolworth and Gilbert sometimes clashed during the design process, especially because of the constantly changing designs and the architect's fees. Nevertheless, Gilbert commended Woolworth's devotion to the details and beauty of the building's design, as well as the entrepreneur's enthusiasm for the project. Such was the scale of the building that, for several years, Gilbert's sense of scale was "destroyed [...] because of the unprecedented attuning of detail to, for these days, such an excessive height".
### Construction
In September 1910, wrecking crews demolished the five and six-story structures which previously occupied the site. Construction officially began on November 4, 1910, with excavation by The Foundation Company, using a contract negotiated personally by Frank Woolworth. The start of construction instantly raised the site's value from \$2.25 million to \$3.2 million. The contract of over \$1 million was described as the largest contract for foundation construction ever awarded in the world.
It took months for Woolworth to decide upon the general construction company. George A. Fuller's Fuller Company was well experienced and had practically invented skyscraper construction, but Louis Horowitz's Thompson-Starrett Company was local to New York; despite being newer, Horowitz had worked for Fuller before, and thus had a similar knowledge base. On April 20, 1911, Thompson-Starrett won the contract with a guaranteed construction price of \$4,308,500 for the building's frame and structural elements. The company was paid \$300,000 for their oversight and management work, despite Woolworth's attempts to get the company to do the job for free due to the prestige of the project. On June 12, 1911, the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company received a \$250,000 contract to manufacture the terracotta. The next month, Donnelly and Ricci received the \$11,500 contract for the terracotta work and some of the interior design work. Gilbert requested Atlantic Terra Cotta use an office next to his while they drew several hundred designs.
The construction process involved hundreds of workers, and daily wages ranged from \$1.50 for laborers () to \$4.50 for skilled workers (). By August 1911, the building's foundations were completed ahead of the target date of September 15; construction of the skyscraper's steel frame began August 15. The steel beams and girders used in the framework weighed so much that, to prevent the streets from caving in, a group of surveyors examined them on the route along which the beams would be transported. The American Bridge Company provided steel for the building from their foundries in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; manufacturing took over 45 weeks.
The first above-ground steel had been erected by October 1911, and installation of the building's terracotta began on February 1, 1912. The building rose at the rate of 1+1⁄2 stories a week and the steelworkers set a speed record for assembling 1,153 tons of steel in six consecutive eight-hour days. By February 18, 1912, work on the steel frame had reached the building's 18th floor. By April 6, 1912, the steel frame had reached the top of the base at the 30th floor and work then began on constructing the tower of the Woolworth Building. Steel reached the 47th floor by May 30 and the official topping out ceremony took place two weeks ahead of schedule on July 1, 1912, as the last rivet was driven into the summit of the tower. The skyscraper was substantially completed by the end of that year. The final estimated construction cost was US\$13.5 million (), up from the initial estimates of US\$5 million for the shorter versions of the skyscraper (). This was divided into \$5 million for the land, \$1 million for the foundation, and \$7 million for the structure. Woolworth provided \$5 million, while investors provided the remainder, and financing was completed by August 1911.
### Woolworth operation
#### Opening and 1910s
The building opened on April 24, 1913. Woolworth held a grand dinner on the building's 27th floor for over 900 guests, and at exactly 7:30 p.m. EST, President Woodrow Wilson pushed a button in Washington, D.C., to turn on the building's lights. Attendees included: Francis Hopkinson Smith, who served as toastmaster; author William Winter; businessmen Patrick Francis Murphy and Charles M. Schwab; Rhode Island Governor Aram J. Pothier; Judge Thomas C. T. Crain; US Senator from Arkansas Joseph Taylor Robinson; Ecuadorian minister Gonzalo Córdova; New York Supreme Court Justices Charles L. Guy and Edward Everett McCall; Commissioner of Education of the State of New York John Huston Finley; Collector of the Port of New York William Loeb Jr.; naval architect Lewis Nixon; Rear Admiral Charles Dwight Sigsbee; Commissioner of Docks and Ferries of the City of New York R. A. C. Smith; Colonel William Conant Church; United States Representative from New York Herman A. Metz; New York City Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo; banker James Speyer; former Lieutenant Governor of New York Timothy L. Woodruff; writer Robert Sterling Yard; Admiral Albert Gleaves; and reportedly between 69 and 80 congressmen who arrived via a special train from Washington, DC. Additional congratulations were sent via letter from former President William Howard Taft, Governor of New Jersey James Fairman Fielder and United States Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels.
The building was declared ready for occupancy on May 1, 1913, and Woolworth began advertising the offices for rent beginning at \$4.00 per square foot. To attract tenants, Woolworth hired architecture critic Montgomery Schuyler to write a 56-page brochure outlining the building's features. Schuyler later described the Woolworth Building as the "noblest offspring" of buildings erected with steel skeletons. On completion, the Woolworth Building topped the record set by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower as the world's tallest building, a distinction it held until 1930. Woolworth had purchased all of the Broadway-Park Place Company's shares from the Irving National Exchange Bank by May 1914; his company held no ownership stake in the building. The building contained offices for as many as 14,000 employees. By the end of 1914, the building was 70% occupied and generating over \$1.3 million a year in rents for the F. W. Woolworth Company.
#### 1920s to 1960s
During World War I, only one of the Woolworth Building's then-14 elevators was turned on, and many lighting fixtures in hallways and offices were turned off. This resulted in about a 70% energy reduction compared to peacetime requirements. The building had more than a thousand tenants by the 1920s, who generally occupied suites of one or two rooms. These tenants reportedly collectively employed over 12,000 people in the building. In 1920, after F. W. Woolworth died, his heirs obtained a \$3 million mortgage loan on the Woolworth Building from Prudential Life Insurance Company to pay off \$8 million in inheritance tax. By this point, the building was worth \$10 million and grossed \$1.55 million per year in rent income. The Broadway-Park Place Corporation agreed to sell the building to Woolco Realty Co., a subsidiary of the F. W. Woolworth Company, in January 1924 at an assessed valuation of \$11.25 million. The company paid \$4 million in cash and obtained a five-year, \$11 million mortgage from Prudential Life Insurance Company at an annual interest rate of 5.5%. The sale was finalized in April 1924, after which F. W. Woolworth's heirs no longer had any stake in the building.
In 1927, the building's pinnacle was painted green, and the observation tower was re-gilded for over \$25,000. The Atlantic Terra Cotta Company cleaned the Woolworth Building's facade in 1932. Prudential extended its \$3.7 million mortgage on the building by ten years in 1939, and the observation deck was closed after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Ten of the building's 24 elevators were temporarily disabled in 1944 because of a shortage of coal. The next year, the building's owners replaced the elevators and closed off the building above the 54th story.
By 1953, a new chilled water air conditioning system had been installed, bringing individual room temperature control to a third of the building. The old car-switch-control elevators had been replaced with a new automatic dispatching systems and new elevator cars. The structure was still profitable by then, although it was now only the sixth-tallest building, and tourists no longer frequented the Woolworth Building. The building's terracotta facade deteriorated easily, and, by 1962, repairs to the terracotta tiles were occurring year-round. The Woolworth Company had considered selling the building as early as the 1960s, though the planned sale never happened.
#### Restoration and landmark status
The National Park Service designated the Woolworth Building as a National Historic Landmark in 1966. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) considered giving the Woolworth Building official city-landmark status in 1970. The F. W. Woolworth Company called the landmark law "onerous" since it would restrict the company from making modifications to many aspects of the building. The commission ultimately declined to give the Woolworth Building a designated-landmark status because of the company's opposition to such a measure, as well as the increased costs and scrutiny. The lobby was cleaned in 1974.
The F. W. Woolworth Company commissioned an appraisal of the building's facade in 1975 and found serious deterioration in the building's terracotta. Many of the blocks of terracotta had loosened or cracked from the constant thermal expansion and contraction caused by New York's climate. The cracks in the facade had let rain in, which caused the steel superstructure to rust. By 1976, the Woolworth Company had placed metal netting around the facade to prevent terracotta pieces from dislodging and hitting pedestrians. The issues with the facade were exacerbated by the fact that very few terracotta manufacturers remained in business, making it difficult for the company to procure replacements. The New York City Industrial and Commercial Incentives Board approved a \$8.5 million tax abatement in September 1977, which was to fund a proposed renovation of the Woolworth Building. The Woolworth Company still occupied half the building; its vice president for construction said "we think the building merits the investment", in part because F. W. Woolworth had used his own wealth to fund the building's construction. Much of the remaining space was occupied by lawyers who paid \$7 to \$12 per square foot (\$75 to \$129/m<sup>2</sup>).
The F. W. Woolworth Company began a five-year restoration of the building's terracotta and limestone facade, as well as replacement of all the building's windows, in 1977. Initially, the company had considered replacing the entire terracotta facade with concrete; this was canceled due to its high cost and potential backlash from preservationists. The renovation, carried out by Turner Construction to plans by the New York architectural firm Ehrenkrantz Group, involved the replacement of roughly one-fifth of the building's terracotta. Since there were so few remaining terracotta manufacturers, so Woolworth's replaced 26,000 of the tiles with concrete lookalikes; many of those tiles had to be custom-cut. The concrete was coated with a surface that was meant to be replaced every five years, like the glazing on the terracotta blocks. Similarly, the original copper windows were replaced with aluminum frames which allowed them to be opened, whereas the originals were sealed in place. The company also removed some decorative flying buttresses near the tower's crown and refaced four tourelles in aluminum because of damage.
The building's renovation was completed without fanfare in 1982. The estimated cost of the project had risen from \$8 million to over \$22 million. Much of the renovation was financed through the city government's tax break, which had increased to \$11.4 million. The LPC again considered the Woolworth Building for landmark designation in early 1982, shortly after the renovation was completed. Upon the request of the building's lawyers, the LPC postponed a public hearing for the proposed landmark designation to April 1982. That year, the building's entrance to the City Hall subway station was closed because of fears over crime. The LPC granted landmark protection to the building's facade and the interior of its lobby in April 1983. The Woolworth Company (later Venator Group) continued to own the building for a decade and a half. After struggling financially for years, and with no need for a trophy office building, Venator Group began discussing a sale of the building in 1996. To raise capital for its other operations, Venator formally placed the Woolworth Building for sale in April 1998.
### Witkoff Group ownership
#### Sale and initial plan
Venator Group agreed to sell the building in June 1998 to Steve Witkoff's Witkoff Group and Lehman Brothers for \$155 million. Before the sale was finalized in December 1998, Witkoff renegotiated the purchase price to \$137.5 million, citing a declining debt market. Venator shrunk its space in the building from eight floors to four; this was a sharp contrast to the 25 floors the company had occupied just before the sale. Witkoff also agreed to license the Woolworth name and invest \$30 million in renovating the exterior and interior of the building. After purchasing the building, the Witkoff Group rebranded it in an attempt to attract entertainment and technology companies. In April 2000, the Venator Group officially moved their headquarters to 112 West 34th Street, and Witkoff indicated that he would sell the upper half of the building as residential condominiums. That October, the company proposed a 2-story addition to the 29th-floor setbacks on the north and south elevations of the tower, to be designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who were also leading the renovation of the building. The LPC denied the proposal.
The company unveiled an ambitious plan in November 2000 that would have converted the top 27 floors of the building into 75 condominiums, including a five-story penthouse. The plan would have included a new residential lobby on Park Place, a 100-space garage, a 75-seat underground screening room, and a spa in the basement. The developers planned to spend \$60 to \$70 million on the conversion and to be ready for occupancy by August 2002. The LPC opposed the plan because it would have required exterior changes to the roof. The commission eventually approved a modified version of the plan. Following the September 11 attacks, and the subsequent collapse of the nearby World Trade Center, the status of the plan was in doubt, and the proposal was later canceled.
#### Security increases and new plan
Prior to the September 11 attacks, the World Trade Center was often photographed in such a way that the Woolworth Building could be seen between the complex's twin towers. After the attacks occurred only a few blocks away, the Woolworth Building was without electricity, water and telephone service for a few weeks; its windows were broken, and falling rubble damaged a top turret. Increased post-attack security restricted access to most of the ornate lobby, previously a tourist attraction. New York Times reporter David W. Dunlap wrote in 2006 that a security guard had asked him to leave within twelve seconds of entering the Woolworth Building. However, there was renewed interest in restoring public access to the Woolworth Building during planning for its centennial celebrations. The lobby reopened to public tours in 2014, when Woolworth Tours started accommodating groups for 30- to 90-minute tours. The tours were part of a partnership between Cass Gilbert's great-granddaughter, Helen Post Curry, and Witkoff's vice president for development, Roy A. Suskin.
In June 2003, Credit Suisse First Boston provided \$201 million in financing for the property spread across a \$125.4 million senior loan, a \$49.6 million junior interest and a \$26 million mezzanine loan. In April 2005, Bank of America provided a \$250 million commercial mortgage-backed security interest-only loan on the office portion of the building. At the time, the building was 96% occupied, appraised at \$320 million, and generated almost \$18 million a year in net operating income.
By 2007, the concrete blocks on the Woolworth Building's facade had deteriorated because of neglect. A lack of regular re-surfacing had led to water and dirt absorption, which stained the concrete blocks. Though terracotta's popularity had increased since the 1970s, Suskin had declined to say whether the facade would be modified, if at all. Around the same time, Witkoff planned to partner with Rubin Schron to create an "office club" on the top 25 floors building to attract high-end tenants like hedge funds and private equity firms. The plan would have restored the 58th floor observatory as a private amenity for "office club" tenants, in addition to amenities like a private dining room, meeting rooms, and a new dedicated lobby. The partners planned to complete the project by the end of 2008, but the financial crisis of 2007–2008 derailed the plans, leaving the top floors gutted and vacant.
### Residential conversion
On July 31, 2012, an investment group led by New York developer Alchemy Properties which included Adam Neumann and Joel Schreiber, bought the top 30 floors of the skyscraper for \$68 million from the Witkoff Group and Cammeby's International. The firm planned to renovate the space into 33 luxury apartments and convert the penthouse into a five-level living space. The lower 28 floors are still owned by the Witkoff Group and Cammeby's International, who planned to maintain them as office space. The project was expected to cost approximately \$150 million including the \$68 million purchase price. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the changes to the building in October 2013.
When the sale was first announced in 2012, the developers expected the building's conversion to be complete by 2015. However, construction took longer than expected. Workers could not attach a construction hoist to the building's landmarked facade without damaging it, and they were prohibited from using the elevators because of the active office tenants on the lower floors and the regular public tours of the landmarked lobby. The renovation included many restorations and changes to the building's interior. Two of the elevator shafts only went to the 29th floor, allowing extra floor space for the residents above. A new private lobby was also built for residents and the coffered ceiling from F.W. Woolworth's personal 40th floor office was relocated to the entryway. Thierry Despont and Eve Robinson designed the building's new interiors with Miele appliances and custom cabinetry. Each unit also received space in a wine cellar, along with access to the restored private pool in the basement. The 29th floor was converted to an amenity floor named the "Gilbert Lounge" after the structure's architect, while the 30th floor hosts a fitness facility.
In August 2014, the New York Attorney General's office approved Alchemy's plan to sell 34 condos at the newly branded Woolworth Tower Residences for a combined total of \$443.7 million. After a soft launch in late 2014, units at the building were officially listed for sale in mid-2015. Alchemy initially intended to leverage an in-house sales staff and hired a director from Corcoran Sunshine to lead the effort. However, the new sales director left at the end of 2015 for Extell Development Company amid rumors of slow sales at the project. Following his departure, the company hired Sotheby's International Realty to market the units. The building's penthouse unit, dubbed "The Pinnacle", was listed at \$110 million, the highest asking price ever for an apartment in downtown Manhattan. If it had sold at that price, the unit would have surpassed the record \$50.9 million penthouse at Ralph Thomas Walker's Walker Tower, and even the \$100.5 million record price for a Manhattan penthouse set by Michael Dell at Extell's One57 in 2014.
In 2015, The Blackstone Group provided a \$320 million loan on the office portion of the building to refinance the maturing Bank of America loan from 2005. United Overseas Bank of Singapore provided a \$220 million construction loan for the residential conversion in June 2016. Due to delays, the conversion was expected to be completed by February or March 2019, about six and a half years after Alchemy bought the property. By February 2019, only three of the building's 31 condos had been sold, since the developers had refused to discount prices, despite a glut of new luxury apartments in New York City. The still-vacant penthouse's asking price was reduced to \$79 million. By 2021, Alchemy had sold 22 condominiums to tenants such as entrepreneur Rudra Pandey.
## Tenants
### Early tenants
On the building's completion, the F. W. Woolworth Company occupied only one and a half floors. However, as the owner, the Woolworth Company profited from renting space out to others. The Woolworth Building was almost always fully occupied because of its central location in Lower Manhattan, as well as its direct connections to two subway stations. The Irving Trust Company occupied the first four floors when the building opened. It had a large banking room on the second floor accessible directly from a grand staircase in the lobby, vaults in the basement, offices on the third-floor mezzanine, and a boardroom on the fourth floor. In 1931, the company relocated their general, out-of-town, and foreign offices from the Woolworth Building after building their own headquarters at 1 Wall Street. Columbia Records was one of the Woolworth Building's tenants on opening day and housed a recording studio in the skyscraper. In 1917, Columbia made what are considered the first jazz recordings, by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, in this studio.
Shortly after the building opened, several railroad companies rented space. The Union Pacific Railroad and Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad occupied the ground floor retail space with ticket offices. Other railroad companies that leased office space included the Alton Railroad, on the 13th floor; the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road), on the 14th floor; the Canadian Pacific Railway, Great Northern Railway, and New York Central Railroad on the 15th floor; the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, on the 17th floor; the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, on the 19th floor; the Canadian Northern Railway; the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad; the Pennsylvania Railroad; the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway; the Kansas City Southern Railway; and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.
The inventor Nikola Tesla also occupied an office in the Woolworth Building beginning in 1914; he was evicted after a year because he could not pay his rent. Scientific American moved into the building in 1915 before departing for Midtown Manhattan in 1926. The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America was present at the building's opening, occupying the southern half of the 18th floor after signing a lease in January 1913. Other early tenants included the American Hardware Manufacturers Association headquarters, the American Association of Foreign Language Newspapers, Colt's Manufacturing Company, Remington Arms, Simmons-Boardman Publishing headquarters, the Taft-Peirce Manufacturing Company, and the Hudson Motor Car Company.
### Later 20th century
By the 1920s, the building also hosted Newport News Shipbuilding and Nestlé. In the 1930s, prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey maintained his offices in the building while investigating racketeering and organized crime in Manhattan. His office took up the entire fourteenth floor and was heavily guarded. The regional headquarters of the National Labor Relations Board also moved into the building in 1937, shortly after its founding in 1935. During World War II, the Kellex Corporation, part of the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear weapons, was based here.
During the early 1960s, public relations expert Howard J. Rubenstein opened an office in the building. In 1975, the city signed a lease for state judge Jacob D. Fuchsberg's offices in the Woolworth Building.
### Higher education
The structure has a long association with higher education, housing a number of Fordham University schools in the early 20th century. In 1916, Fordham created "Fordham Downtown" at the Woolworth Building by moving the School of Sociology and Social Service and the School of Law to the building. The Fordham University Graduate School was founded on the building's 28th floor in the same year and a new Teachers’ College quickly followed on the seventh floor. In September 1920, the Business School was also established on the seventh floor, originally as the School of Accounting. By 1929, the school's combined programs at the Woolworth Building had over 3,000 enrolled students. Between 1916 and 1943 the building was also home at various times to the Fordham College (Manhattan Division), a summer school, and the short-lived School of Irish Studies. In 1943, the Graduate School relocated to Keating Hall at Fordham's Rose Hill campus in Fordham, Bronx, and the rest of the schools moved to nearby 302 Broadway because of reduced attendance because of World War II.
The New York University School of Professional Studies' Center for Global Affairs leased 94,000 square feet (8,700 m<sup>2</sup>) on the second, third, and fourth floors in 2002 from defunct dot-com startup FrontLine Capital Group. The American Institute of Graphic Arts also moved its headquarters in the Woolworth Building.
### 21st-century tenants
By the early 2000s, the Woolworth Building was home to numerous technology tenants. Digital advertising firm Xceed occupied 65,000 square feet (6,000 m<sup>2</sup>) across four floors as its headquarters, Organic, Inc. took 112,000 square feet (10,400 m<sup>2</sup>), and advertising agency Fallon Worldwide used two floors. Xceed terminated its lease in April 2001 during the midst of the Dot-com bubble collapse in order to move to smaller offices in the Starrett–Lehigh Building. One month after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Northeast Regional Office at 7 World Trade Center was destroyed in the September 11 attacks, the commission's 334 employees moved into 140,000 square feet (13,000 m<sup>2</sup>) across five floors of the Woolworth Building. The Commission left for a larger space in Brookfield Place less than four years later in 2005. The General Services Administration took over the commission's space on November 1, 2005 and used it as offices for approximately 200 staff of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System. Following the completion of renovations at the historic Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in late October 2017, both offices moved into newly vacated space in the nearby Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse.
The New York City Police Department pension fund signed a lease for 56,000 square feet (5,200 m<sup>2</sup>) on the 19th and 25th floors in April 2002. The pension fund renewed their lease for another 20-year term in October 2010. Starbucks opened a 1,500-square-foot (140 m<sup>2</sup>) location on the ground floor in the spring of 2003. In 2006, Levitz Furniture moved its headquarters to the 23rd floor of the building from Woodbury, Long Island, after declaring bankruptcy a second time. The design firm Control Group Inc. leased an entire floor of the Woolworth Building in 2006.
As of 2010, the Lawrence Group handles leasing at the Woolworth Building. In May 2013, SHoP Architects moved the company's headquarters to the building's entire 11th floor, occupying 30,500 square feet (2,830 m<sup>2</sup>) of space. In February 2016, the New York City Law Department leased the building's entire 32,000 square feet (3,000 m<sup>2</sup>) fifth floor for the Department's tort office. Joseph Altuzarra's namesake fashion brand, Altuzarra, signed on to occupy the 14th floor in June 2016. In November 2017, Thomas J. Watson's Watson Foundation signed a lease to relocate to the 27th floor of the building. In 2017, the New York Shipping Exchange moved into the 21st floor of the building. In May 2018, architecture and design firm CallisonRTKL signed a lease for the building's entire 28,100 square feet (2,610 m<sup>2</sup>) 16th floor. The Vera Institute of Justice left the building's 12th floor a few months later, moving into a larger space in Industry City, Brooklyn.
## Impact
Before beginning construction, Woolworth hired New York photographer Irving Underhill to document the building's construction. These photographs were distributed to Woolworth's stores nationwide to generate enthusiasm for the project. During construction, Underhill, Wurts Brothers, and Tebbs-Hymans each took photographs to document the structure's progression. These photos were often taken from close-up views, or from far away to provide contrast against the surrounding structures. They were part of a media promotion for the Woolworth Building. Both contemporary and modern figures criticized the photos as "'standard solutions' at best and 'architectural eye candy' at worst".
Later critics praised the building. Amei Wallach of Newsday wrote in 1978 that the building resembled "a giant cathedral absurdly stretched in a gigantic fun mirror" and that the lobby "certainly looks like a farmboy's dream of glory". A writer for The Baltimore Sun wrote in 1984 that the lobby's lighting, ceiling mosaic, and gold-leaf decorations "combine for a church-like atmosphere", yet the grotesques provided a "touch of irreverence". Richard Berenholtz wrote in his 1988 book Manhattan Architecture that, at the Woolworth Building, Gilbert "succeeded in uniting the respected traditions of architecture and decoration with modern technology". In a 2001 book about Cass Gilbert, Mary N. Woods wrote that "the rich and varied afterlife of the Woolworth Building ... enhances [Gilbert's] accomplishment". Dirk Stichweh described the building in 2005 as being "the Mozart of skyscrapers".
In recognition of Gilbert's role as the building's architect, the Society of Arts and Sciences gave Gilbert its gold medal in 1930, calling it an "epochal landmark in the history of architecture". On the 40th anniversary of the building's opening in 1953, one news source called the building "a substantial middle-aged lady, with a good income, unconcern over years—and lots of friends". A one-third-scale replica of the Woolworth Building, the Lincoln American Tower in Memphis, Tennessee, was also built in 1924.
The Woolworth Building has had a large impact in architectural spheres, and has been featured in many works of popular culture, including photographs, prints, films, and literature. One of the earliest films to feature the skyscraper was the 1921 film Manhatta (1921), a short documentary film directed by painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand. Since then, the building has made cameo appearances in several films, such as the 1929 film Applause. It was also the setting of several film climaxes, such as in Enchanted (2007), as well as used for the setting of major organizations, such as in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016). The television show Ugly Betty used the Woolworth Building as the 'Meade Publications' building, a major location in the series, while one of the vacant condominiums was used as a filming location for the TV series Succession in 2021. The Woolworth Building has also appeared in works of literature, such as Langston Hughes's 1926 poem "Negro" and the 2007 novel Peak.
## See also
- Early skyscrapers
- List of tallest buildings in the United States
- List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street |
9,214,390 | Mark Bonner (footballer) | 1,170,274,014 | English footballer (born 1974) | [
"1974 births",
"Blackpool F.C. players",
"Cardiff City F.C. players",
"English Football League players",
"English men's footballers",
"Footballers from Lancashire",
"Hull City A.F.C. players",
"Living people",
"Men's association football midfielders",
"Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players",
"People from Ormskirk"
] | Mark Bonner (born 7 June 1974) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. During his career, he made over 300 appearances in the Football League. He began his professional career with Blackpool, making his first team debut at the age of just 17, and went on to make over 200 appearances for the side in all competitions. In 1998, he turned down a new contract at Bloomfield Road and instead joined Cardiff City, nicknamed the Bluebirds, where he spent six seasons. In 1999, he spent a brief period on loan at Hull City to regain match fitness after struggling for playing time at Ninian Park, playing one match before returning to Cardiff due to injury.
During his spell with the Bluebirds, Bonner helped the club to three promotions in six seasons and suffered one relegation during the 1999–2000 season. The club reached the First Division in his time there, and he also played in their 2–1 victory over Premier League side Leeds United in the third round of the FA Cup in January 2002. In 2004, Bonner joined Oldham Athletic but suffered a career ending injury in September 2005 after breaking his arm in a match against Port Vale. After two surgeries on the arm, he was advised to stop playing by medical staff and subsequently retired from professional football in 2006 at the age of 32.
## Early life
Bonner was born in Ormskirk in Lancashire. As a teenager, he attended Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy in Croston.
## Career
### Blackpool
Bonner began his career playing youth football for local side Euxton Villa. A boyhood Blackpool fan, he joined the club on a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) deal at the age of 15 after impressing scout Neil Bailey, before progressing through the youth ranks under Jimmy Mullen and Graham Carr. He broke into the first team as a teenager, making his debut at the age of 17 in November 1991 as a substitute during a 5–2 victory over Aldershot. However, this match was later expunged from the final standings after Aldershot withdrew from the Football League due to bankruptcy. His official debut then came just four days later when he was named in the starting line-up in a 1–1 draw with Chesterfield. He went on to make three league appearances during the 1991–92 season as Blackpool reached the Division Four play-off final, defeating Scunthorpe United on penalties to win promotion to the Third Division, although Bonner played no part in the play-offs. At the end of the season, he signed his first professional contract on 18 June 2002.
At the age of 19, he became a regular in the first team under Billy Ayre during the manager's final two years with the Tangerines. During the 1995–96 season, Blackpool missed out on promotion to the Second Division by a single point under the guidance of manager Sam Allardyce. During the play-offs, they played Bradford City, with Bonner scoring once during a 2–0 first leg win. However, Bradford won the second leg 3–0 to advance to the final. He also played in several notable FA Cup upsets at the club, including defeating Manchester City, a game in which he was tasked with marking Georgian winger Georgi Kinkladze, and a 5–4 defeat to Chelsea, after Blackpool had recovered from an original 2–0 first leg deficit by scoring three times at Stamford Bridge.
### Cardiff City
After seven years and four managers in his time at Bloomfield Road, Bonner moved south to join Cardiff City in 1998 on a free transfer after turning down a new contract at Blackpool, stating "I felt I was going a bit stale and I needed a new challenge. It was nothing to do with Blackpool or the people connected with the club, I just felt it was time to move on." Another reason Bonner chose Cardiff was the presence of his former Blackpool manager Billy Ayre at Ninian Park, describing him as "almost like a second dad to me", where he was assistant manager to Frank Burrows. Ayre would later replace Burrows as manager during the 1999–2000 season as the club struggled. He soon established himself in the side but after suffering from injury he was unable to reclaim his place and was allowed to join Third Division side Hull City on a one-month loan deal, alongside Blackpool midfielder Gary Brabin. In debut for the club, he scored the winning goal against Rotherham United, but the loan spell was cut short when he suffered an ankle injury in training and was sent back to Cardiff, with the Rotherham game being his only appearance for the club.
After recovering from the injury, he managed to force his way back into the side that had seen an injection of funds from chairman Sam Hammam that saw a number of new signings arrive, including Graham Kavanagh, Spencer Prior and Neil Alexander. Bonner played a key role in the club's promotion to Division Two, forming a central midfield partnership with Willie Boland, stating that the pair did the "donkey work" to allow the rest of the team to focus on attacking. Having come close to leaving the side in March 2003 after falling out of favour under manager Lennie Lawrence, Bonner commented "I got my head down, trained hard and have forced myself back into the side". He also revealed that he had considered handing in a transfer request to Lawrence several weeks prior.
During his time at Ninian Park, Bonner played key roles in avoiding relegation back to the Third Division and the eventual promotion to the First Division, helping the club to three promotions during his six-season stay and suffering one relegation during the 1999–2000 season. He also played in the 2003 Football League Second Division play-off final at the Millennium Stadium as a late substitute in place of Andy Legg as Cardiff defeated Queens Park Rangers 1–0 to win promotion. He was also part of the side that caused a FA Cup upset by defeating Premier League leaders Leeds United in the third round during the 2001–02 season.
During the 2003–04 season, Bonner made 20 appearances for the Bluebirds but fell out of favour at the club, making his final appearance in December 2003 as injuries decreased his playing time. He grew unhappy after he and teammate Gareth Whalley were excluded from the side due to a potential contractual bonus being triggered if either of the pair played another league fixture for the club. He left the club in March 2004 after being released. Prior to his release he commented, "It's disappointing to go, but things have gone a bit stale and it's time to move on for the good of my football future."
### Oldham Athletic
Bonner joined Division Two side Oldham Athletic in March 2004 on a deal until the end of the 2003–04 season, becoming Brian Talbot's first signing since being appointed manager. After criticising Cardiff for not triggering the £50,000 bonus payment for matches played, he was rebuffed by Lawrence who commented "I have never heard such nonsense in my life. (He) had a two-year contract shortly after I took over, a deal extraordinarily generous in both length and terms." Bonner had been recommended to Talbot by Lawrence and Cardiff had paid Bonner a £30,000 tax free lump sum to move as Oldham were unable to afford his full wages.
He made nine appearances during the final two months of the season as Oldham avoided relegation and he was rewarded with a two-year contract with the Latics. He scored once for Oldham against Southend United.
On 28 September 2005, having just signed a new contract extension at the club, Bonner played in a 2–2 draw with Port Vale but suffered a severely broken arm in the opening five minutes of the match after colliding with a Port Vale player. He was quickly replaced by Richard Butcher, before being transported to a local hospital for treatment. His arm was pinned back together and he was originally expected to be out for eight weeks. However, his arm failed to knit back together correctly and, in November, this was eventually extended to an estimated three months out. He was forced to undergo a second operation where surgeons were able to graft bone from his hip onto his arm, which was eventually secured using a metal plate and nine pins. He was forced to retire from football at the age of 32 on medical advice after being warned of potential permanent disability if he injured the arm again.
## Personal life
Bonner met his wife Anna while playing for Cardiff. After his retirement from football, the pair opened their own furniture store in Chorley.
## Career statistics
### Club
## Honours
Cardiff City
- Football League Third Division runner-up: 1
: 2000–01
- Football League Second Division play-off winner: 1
: 2002–03 |
51,716,964 | Inès de Bourgoing | 1,164,996,051 | French nurse (1862-1953) | [
"1862 births",
"1953 deaths",
"French nobility",
"French women nurses",
"Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour",
"Health professionals from Paris"
] | Inès-Marie de Bourgoing, also Inès Fortoul, Inès Lyautey, (5 January 1862 – 9 February 1953) was a pioneering French nurse who served as president of the French Red Cross and established Red Cross nursing in Morocco. In recognition of her extensive social work, she became the first woman to be honoured with the rank of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. She was also decorated as a Grand Officer of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite in recognition of her work in Morocco.
Born into the nobility, de Bourgoing was educated at court and married an artillery officer, Joseph Fortoul. Widowed, after raising her children, de Bourgoing chose the field of nursing as a means of helping alleviate poverty and participated in the first formal nursing classes offered in Paris. After she began working as a nurse, she went abroad with the Société de Secours aux Blessés Militaires, a forerunner of the French Red Cross, to work in North Africa. In 1907, she joined the SSBM and that same year, travelled to Morocco, where she established an infirmary in Casablanca. Fifteen months later, she assisted in disaster relief following an earthquake in Sicily.
After her second marriage in 1909 with Hubert Lyautey, who would become the first resident-general in Morocco, de Bourgoing spent the rest of her life dividing her time between France and Morocco, establishing hospitals, maternity clinics and child care centres in both countries. She served as a hospital administrator in France, during both World War I and World War II, and opened a convalescent centre for troops in Salé, as well as a retirement home near La Balme-les-Grottes for the French Foreign Legion. After serving as head of the Ladies Committee of the SSBM (1926–1939), when the three precursor organisations came together as the Red Cross in 1940, she became Vice President of the Central Committee of the Ladies of the French Red Cross and later Director General of the organisation. Working into her 80s, de Bourgoing remained active until her death in Morocco in 1953. Her remains were later repatriated to France.
## Early life
Inès de Bourgoing was born in Paris on 5 January 1862 to Anne-Marie Léonie Dollfuss and Baron Philippe La Beaume de Bourgoing. Her mother was a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Eugénie de Montijo, who was also de Bourgoing's godmother. The Baron was the Grand Squire of France to Napoleon III; he then served as Inspector of the Haras Equestrian Service before being elected five times as the Député for Nièvre in the French Parliament. De Bourgoing attended the school for girls of the court at the Tuileries Palace and in 1880, at the age of 18, married the artillery captain Joseph Antoine Fortoul with whom she had three children: Antoine (1881–1963), Mathieu (1882–1969) and Victoire (1887–1888), who died when she was only 20 months old.
Fortoul was often called to serve abroad in Japan and south-east Asia; between 1882 and 1885, he was in Tonkin in Indochina, returning home after being seriously injured. During his absence, in addition to raising her two boys, de Bourgoing wrote nearly 1,000 pages of letters to her husband, now preserved in her archive. After his injury, Fortoul was stationed in Castres, where he commanded the 3rd Artillery Regiment, until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1900. As both her sons, now grown, had embarked on military careers, de Bourgoing determined to study nursing, hoping she could help to alleviate sickness and distress in France's colonies. That same year, she joined the first school opened to train nurses in Paris and was in the inaugural class of trainees.
## Career
In 1901, on receiving her diploma, de Bourgoing joined the Société de Secours aux Blessés Militaires (SSBM), forerunner of the French Red Cross, as a volunteer and began working at the Beaujon Hospital in Paris. As a result of her competence and the understanding she showed both patients and doctors, she was appointed president of the SSBM. In 1907, she sailed for Morocco with the French expeditionary force under General Antoine Marius Benoît Drude. As head of a team of SSBM volunteers, she established an infirmary in Casablanca, treating the wounded in the conflicts between the French and Moroccans. As conditions were difficult in Morocco, it was decided the wounded and seriously ill should be transported to Oran in Algeria where it would be easier to provide proper treatment. It was in October 1907 while she and two of her nurses were accompanying the wounded on a French naval crossing to Oran, that she first met General Hubert Lyautey, who was division commander there. After spending fifteen months in North Africa, she returned to France, only to leave shortly afterwards for the Italian port Messina in December where she and her nursing team helped care for the 80,000 victims of the 1908 earthquake. As a result of their exemplary services, they were decorated by Princess Hélène of Orléans.
On 14 October 1909 in Paris, de Bourgoing married General Lyautey. They returned to Algeria where Lyautey maintained his division command. In 1910, they returned to France where the general took command of the Tenth Army Corps in Rennes. In 1912, the couple returned once again to North Africa where Lyautey was appointed first Resident-General of Morocco following the Treaty of Fez under which Morocco became a French protectorate. De Bourgoing was instrumental in the creation and organisation of many programmes for women and children including nurseries, kindergartens, and the first maternity center in Morocco, an exemplary institution which impressed child care specialists in France and abroad. She organised clinics in rural areas, as well as Morocco's first tubercular clinics and nurse training programmes. With support from the SSBM, de Bourgoing also built the Salé Convalescent Home in Salé, near Rabat, for the recovery of French and Foreign Legion soldiers together with their families, and a retirement center for the Foreign Legion near La Balme-les-Grottes in the Isère department in metropolitan France. As a result, she received the rare title of "Honorary Corporal of the Foreign Legion".
In 1915, de Bourgoing began an initiative to provide nourishment to children in Casablanca. The Milk Drop (French: Goutte de Lait) served as a milk bank, providing milk, and later powdered milk, to malnourished children and education on nutrition and hygiene to their parents. Within five years, it expanded to include a neonatal center for premature babies needing more constant care and then expanded further to build facilities in Fez, Kenitra, Marrakesh, Meknes, Mogador, Oujda, Rabat, Safi and Taza. During World War I, in France, she served as a supervisor at the Military Hospital Val-de-Grâce and in 1918, she organised and supervised programs for the SSBM in Nancy. In 1921, the couple received the titles of Marshal and Marschallin of France.
In 1925, de Bourgoing returned with her husband to France where they spent their time both in Paris and at their ancestral home, the in the village of Thorey-Lyautey, of Lorraine. The following year she was appointed President of the Central Committee of the Ladies of the SSBM. In Thorey, they built a family clinic and a home for young people. After her husband's death in 1934, she divided her time between France and Morocco. Interested in helping Moroccans in Paris, she helped improve the Muslim Institute of the Grand Mosque of Paris while caring for the sick in the French-Muslim Hospital in Bobigny. In Morocco, she took part in all the committees, initiatives and meetings of the SSBM, but by 1938, resigned as its president in France to allow herself more time to spend in Morocco.
In 1939, she assumed the management of the 300-bed Asnée Military Hospital for spinal cord and head injuries in Nancy. Unable to leave France because of World War II, she initiated programs to provide care packages for troops and POWs in North Africa. In August 1940, de Bourgoing agreed to serve as Vice-President of the newly formed Unified French Red Cross. In 1944, despite the cold winter, she travelled to the front lines in the Vosges to encourage the 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division who were engaged in heavy battles with the Germans. When the war ended, she resumed her trips to Morocco, spending several months there each year. In 1946, de Bourgoing was not only appointed Directrice Générale de la Croix Rouge but was elevated to Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, the first woman to receive the honour. She was also awarded the rank of Grand Officer of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite in recognition of her work in Morocco.
## Recognition
While there was wide recognition of the achievements of de Bourgoing, none was more impressive than that expressed by the French Minister of State Édouard Bonnefous on behalf of the French government following her funeral in Rabat on 12 February 1953. Addressing her as La Maréchale Lyautey, he emphasized how her work as a nurse in Morocco had contributed so much to France's humanitarian image, thanks to the way in which she had striven to create a bond between the two countries. Through her works to care for wounded soldiers, help the weak and the poor regardless of race, gender or faith, she won acclaim from those who had turned out in sympathy in both Casablanca and Rabat over the two days of her memorials. France's appreciation had been expressed in her recent decoration as a Grand Officier de la Légion d'Honneur, the very first time the title had been conferred on a woman.
Colonel Pierre Geoffroy, an associate of the Lyauteys, referred to her as a "great lady" whose little known contributions to humanitarian work are only now emerging, revealing her pioneering humanitarian and social work in "nursing without borders" at the beginning of the 20th century.
## Death and legacy
Inès de Bourgoing died on 9 February 1953 in Casablanca and was interred in Marshal Lyautey's Mausoleum in Rabat on 12 February. In 1961, when the Marshal's remains were repatriated to France, de Bourgoing's were re-interred in the cemetery at Thorey-Lyautey at the request of the village.
On 7 July 2002, on the 140th anniversary of her birth, a small area on the first floor of the Château de Thorey-Lyautey was opened by Senator Philippe de Bourgoing and Count Pierre de Bourgoing in memory of Inès de Bourgoing. It contains photographs and other historical artefacts in a building which is otherwise dedicated to the life of her husband Hubert Lyautey.
In 2014 the Centre Inès Lyautey was opened in Paris by the French Red Cross to assist homeless women. Named in her honor, the center provides emergency food and clothing, medical aid, and employment training. In 2015, Casablanca's Milk Drop celebrated its 100th anniversary. Tribute was paid to its founder who created Morocco's first neonatal care centers. |
42,033,006 | SMS Schwalbe | 1,166,314,303 | Unprotected cruiser of the German Imperial Navy | [
"Maritime incidents in January 1889",
"Schwalbe-class cruisers",
"Ships built in Wilhelmshaven"
] | SMS Schwalbe ("His Majesty's Ship Schwalbe—Swallow") was an unprotected cruiser built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), the lead ship of the Schwalbe class. She had one sister ship, Sperber. Schwalbe was built at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Dockyard) in Wilhelmshaven; her keel was laid down in April 1886 and her completed hull was launched in August 1887. She was commissioned for service in May 1888. Designed for colonial service, Schwalbe was armed with a main battery of eight 10.5-centimeter (4.1 in) guns and had a cruising radius of over 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi); she also had an auxiliary sailing rig to supplement her steam engines.
Schwalbe spent the majority of her career overseas. She served in German East Africa from 1889 to 1893, and during this period she assisted in the suppression of the Abushiri Revolt. In 1893, she returned to Germany for a major overhaul. She was decommissioned until 1898, when she returned to service for another tour abroad. She initially returned to German East Africa, where she patrolled South African waters to protect German shipping during the Second Boer War. The outbreak of the Boxer Uprising in China in 1900 prompted the Kaiserliche Marine to send Schwalbe to join the European forces battling the Boxers. Schwalbe spent 1901 and 1902 in Chinese waters, blockading the mouth of the Yangtze and suppressing local unrest. The ship returned to Germany in 1903 for another major overhaul and another stint in reserve. She ended her career as a barracks ship during World War I, and as a target ship in 1918. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1922.
## Design
Through the 1870s and early 1880s, Germany built two types of cruising vessels: small, fast avisos suitable for service as fleet scouts and larger, long-ranged screw corvettes capable of patrolling the German colonial empire. A pair of new cruisers was authorized under the 1886–1887 fiscal year, intended for the latter purpose. General Leo von Caprivi, the Chief of the Imperial Admiralty, sought to modernize Germany's cruiser force. The Schwalbes were the first modern unprotected cruiser to be built for the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), marking the first step in Caprivi's plans.
Schwalbe was 66.9 meters (219 ft) long overall and had a beam of 9.36 m (30.7 ft) and a draft of 4.4 m (14 ft) forward. She displaced 1,111 t (1,093 long tons) normally and up to 1,359 t (1,338 long tons) at full load. Her propulsion system consisted of two horizontal 2-cylinder double-expansion steam engines powered by four coal-fired cylindrical fire-tube boilers. These provided a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) and a range of approximately 3,290 nautical miles (6,090 km; 3,790 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). To supplement the steam engines, she was fitted with a barquentine rig. Schwalbe had a crew of 9 officers and 108 enlisted men.
The ship was armed with a main battery of eight 10.5 cm (4.1 in) K L/35 guns in single pedestal mounts, four in sponsons fore and aft to give a measure of end-on fire, and the remaining four amidships on the main deck. Four guns could fire on either broadside. The guns were supplied with 765 rounds of ammunition in total. They had a range of 8,200 m (9,000 yd). The gun armament was rounded out by five 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon for defense against torpedo boats.
## Service history
The keel for Schwalbe was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Dockyard) in Wilhelmshaven in April 1886. Her completed hull was launched on 16 August 1887; then-Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Alexander von Monts gave the launching speech. She was commissioned for sea trials on 8 May 1888, and they lasted until 8 August. Schwalbe was formally placed into service on 12 November and assigned to the East Africa Station in German East Africa. The assignment came following requests for reinforcement from Konteradmiral Karl August Deinhard, the local commander of naval forces in the region, to help suppress the Abushiri Revolt. She departed Germany eight days later and arrived in Zanzibar on 31 December, and was joined by the aviso Pfeil. The two ships reinforced the old sail corvettes Leipzig and Sophie.
### First deployment to East Africa
On 3 January 1889, Schwalbe bombarded rebel positions at Bagamoyo before taking Deinhard aboard to Dar es Salaam. The next day, she ran aground on the reef surrounding Fungu Yasini Island. The ship remained stranded for two days before Leipzig and the British steamer SS Woodcock arrived to pull her free. She thereafter took her place in a blockade line to prevent contraband from reaching the rebels; Schwalbe patrolled the line from Kiswere to Ras Kimbiji. On 1 March, she was moved to the area between Kilwa Kisiwani and Mafia Island. Schwalbe, Leipzig, and the corvette Carola sent a contingent of naval infantry ashore at Kunduchi to attack rebel forces there; the three warships also provided artillery support to the landing force. Korvettenkapitän (KK–Corvette Captain) Hirschberg, Schwalbe's captain, commanded the operation. Schwalbe returned to Bagamoyo on 8 May to launch another attack; further engagements took place at Saadani on 6 June and at Pangani on 8 July. Schwalbe and her crew were given a respite from the conflict from 20 July to 17 August for a period of rest and refit at Port Louis in Mauritius.
On 29 August, Schwalbe returned to the blockade line off German East Africa. During this period, she frequently carried Deinhard on special trips. Between 7 and 10 October, she carried the station commander to survey the colony's northern border with British Kenya in company with the British gunboat HMS Mariner. Schwalbe continued to operate against insurgent forces, particularly to support Reichskommissar (Imperial Commissioner) Hermann Wissmann's forces. At the end of October, Schwalbe was joined by her sister ship Sperber. In early December, Schwalbe and Sperber were present at ceremonial reception of the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition at Bagamoyo. Both ships were also involved with settling the border of Wituland on 27–29 December. In mid-January 1890, Pfeil, Leipzig, and Sophie left East Africa, leaving Schwalbe, Sperber, and Carola on the station. Schwalbe went to Cape Town in South Africa for an overhaul that lasted from 3 March until mid-April.
Following her return from Cape Town, Schwalbe returned to supporting operations to pacify the coastal area in southern German East Africa carried out by Wissmann. During this period, several artillery pieces were captured, one of which was taken aboard Schwalbe before eventually being given to the Training Inspection for the colonial troops. By mid-May, the uprising had finally been suppressed. Schwalbe thereafter conducted the normal peacetime routine of cruising the coast to show the German flag. Hirschberg contracted malaria and became severely ill, prompting his return to Germany on 24 June to recover; KK Rüdiger arrived on 13 July to take over command of the ship. On 9 October, Rüdiger presided over a ceremony to dedicate a memorial in Tanga to the naval personnel who had been killed in the Abushiri revolt. Meanwhile, on 1 July, Wituland had been ceded to Britain as part of the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty; this development upset the Sultan of Wituland, who ordered the killing of several Europeans in the colony, mostly Germans. The British launched a punitive expedition, and Schwalbe remained in the area as an observer until the end of October.
In June 1891, Schwalbe went to Mahé in the Seychelles to rest her crew. Rüdiger was promoted to the position of Deputy Governor of the colony in October, and KK Oelrichs replaced him aboard the ship. Schwalbe then departed to visit Bombay, returning to German East Africa on 27 January 1892. Unrest in Moshi required Schwalbe's presence to provide support for the Schutztruppen. She was anchored off Tanga by June, and in October, the death of Ali bin Said, the Sultan of Zanzibar, caused a succession crisis that forced Schwalbe and other vessels to steam to the island to help mediate the disputes. By January 1893, Schwalbe was free to return to Bombay for repairs. In May, Schwalbe received the order to return to Germany. She arrived in Kiel on 6 August, and was decommissioned on 25 August. The Kaiserliche Werft in Kiel took the ship into drydock for an extensive overhaul and modernization. She remained out of service after the repair work was completed, until 1 April 1898, when she was recommissioned for another tour in German East Africa, to replace the cruiser Seeadler.
### Second deployment overseas
On 20 April, Schwalbe left Germany and arrived off Zanzibar a month and a half later, on 7 June. She went to Cape Town for periodic maintenance from 10 October to mid-November. In January 1899, she towed the disabled German East-Africa Line steamer SS Setos to Dar es Salaam. For this, the Line donated a sum to the Navy, which the Reichsmarineamt (Imperial Navy Office) used to improve the sailors' barracks. In October, the Second Boer War broke out between British South Africa and the Boer Orange Free State and the Transvaal. Schwalbe and the cruiser Condor were sent to South Africa to protect German shipping, since the British had begun aggressively searching foreign freighters to prevent contraband from reaching the Boers. Despite the presence of the two cruisers, several German ships, including the Imperial post steamers SS Bundesrat and SS General, the freighter SS Hans Wagner, and the barque Marie were seized by the Royal Navy. This caused a major diplomatic incident and led to the passage of the Second Naval Law in Germany. During her patrol of South African waters, she stopped in Durban from 19 to 21 January 1900, Port Elizabeth, East London, Cape Town, and Delagoa Bay. Tensions eased as the Boers began to suffer several defeats in early 1900, and on 7 May, Schwalbe was back in Dar es Salaam. From here, she was ordered to leave for East Asian waters to reinforce the German East Asia Squadron and assist with suppressing the Boxer Uprising in China.
She arrived in Chinese waters in late September, and was assigned to the blockade of the mouth of the Yangtze. She spent the period from 14 February to 3 March 1901 in the German concession at Qingdao, after which she returned to the Yangtze. The blockade of the river ended in June, and on 10 June she returned to Qingdao. From 4 September to 11 November, she underwent an overhaul in Shanghai. She then returned to Qingdao and the Yangtze area, before riots in Zhejiang province forced her to steam to Ningpo to assist in suppressing the unrest on 9 April 1902. On 16 April, she left for repairs at Shanghai. On 23 July, while Schwalbe was moored in Qingdao, she received the order to return to Germany. On 16 August, she departed Qingdao and arrived in Danzig on 10 December. There, she was decommissioned a second time three days later. Another lengthy overhaul followed, which lasted from 1903 to 1905 at the Kaiserliche Werft in Danzig.
### Later career
Schwalbe remained in reserve following the completion of her overhaul in 1905, until 26 October 1911, when she was recommissioned for use as a special-purpose ship. The Navy planned to convert her into a survey ship for use abroad, but in 1912 the Navy instead decided to use her to replace the old aviso Grille as a training ship. After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, she was converted into a barracks ship based in Kiel. She served in this capacity until 1918, when she was used as a target ship outside Kiel. She was stricken from the naval register on 6 December 1919 and sold for scrapping on 7 August 1920. Schwalbe was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1922 in Hamburg. |
2,332,130 | Nemesis (Resident Evil) | 1,171,106,699 | Fictional character in Resident Evil franchise | [
"Capcom antagonists",
"Cyborg characters in video games",
"Fictional characters with dissociative identity disorder",
"Fictional hybrid life forms",
"Fictional mass murderers",
"Fictional monsters",
"Fictional parasites and parasitoids",
"Fictional super soldiers",
"Genetically engineered characters in video games",
"Male characters in video games",
"Male horror film villains",
"Mutant characters in video games",
"Resident Evil characters",
"Science fiction weapons",
"Video game bosses",
"Video game characters introduced in 1999",
"Video game characters with accelerated healing",
"Video game characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability",
"Video game characters with superhuman strength",
"Video game mascots",
"Weapons of mass destruction in fiction",
"Zombie and revenant characters in video games"
] | The Nemesis, also called the Nemesis-T Type, or the Pursuer (追跡者, Tsuisekisha), is a character in Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by the Japanese company Capcom. Although smaller than other Tyrant models, the creature dwarfs a typical human, and possesses vastly superior intelligence and physical dexterity to its undead peers. It is featured in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999) as a titular main villain before later emerging in other titles and cameo roles. It is also featured on various merchandise and was portrayed by Matthew G. Taylor in the 2004 film Resident Evil: Apocalypse. The character is voiced by Tony Rosato in the original game and Gregg Berger in Operation Raccoon City (2012). In the 2020 remake of Resident Evil 3, the character is voiced by David Cockman, with Neil Newbon providing the motion capture performance. Nemesis has also been featured in several other game franchises, including as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom and Dead by Daylight.
Taking inspiration from the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Nemesis was conceived by Shinji Mikami and Kazuhiro Aoyama as an enemy that stalk the player throughout the game and invoke a persistent feeling of paranoia. Written by Yashuhisa Kawamura to be a weapon of revenge by the Umbrella Corporation, Nemesis' design was drawn by arist Yoshinori Matsushita, who was instructed to create "a rough guy who attacks with weapons and has an intimidating build" in order to heighten the fear of being pursued. Since the Nemesis' introduction, the character has received a positive reception and has come to be regarded as one of the series' most popular characters, though his design and role in the Resident Evil 3 remake has been criticized. Some publications have praised its role as an intimidating villain, while others have noted it as one of their favorite and most terrifying monsters in video games.
## Conception and creation
Introduced in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, producer Shinji Mikami and director Kazuhiro Aoyama wanted to implement a stalker-enemy into the game early on that would chase the player, according to Mikami intended to "introduce a new kind of fear into the game, a persistent feeling of paranoia." Taking inspiration from the T-1000 villain from the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the character was initially meant to be a slime creature that could bypass obstacles such as doors by liquifying past them or melting through them. However due to the nondescript nature of the creature, he felt the stalker aspect was lost on the player as there was no recognizable sense of cohesion. So they started over, focusing on the early "Tyrant" enemy introduced in the original Resident Evil as a base. The character was designed under the concept of a "huge, overpowering monster that could use weapons and intelligently track you anywhere," partly inspired by the movie Day of the Dead, where scientists attempt to train zombies, only to be shot by them at the end of the film.
The character's backstory and biology was created by writer Yashuhisa Kawamura, who felt the horror aspect of Resident Evil was "stuck in a rut" at that time and wanted to explore new ways to bring horror through Nemesis. Kawamura conceived the character as the result of infecting a T-103 model Tyrant—a humanoid bio organic weapon (BOW) created to be the ultimate lifeform by the Umbrella Corporation—with the Nemesis Alpha parasite (or "NE-α") designed to increase its intelligence. Upon infection, the parasite takes control of the Tyrant's nervous system, forming its own brain and enabling it to follow precise instructions and make decisions without needing constant direction. Upon spotting its target, it says the target's name out loud and attacks. In this backstory, the European branch of Umbrella intended to not only demonstrate their superiority within the company with their new creation, but also seek revenge against the "S.T.A.R.S." police group that had destroyed their original Tyrant creation, codenaming their new creature "Nemesis" after the Greek mythology Goddess of Vengeance.
### Design
Nemesis' appearance was designed by Yoshinori Matsushita, with Aoyama instructing him to create "a rough guy who attacks with weapons and has an intimidating build" in order to heighten the fear of being pursued. who drafted several early takes on the character. Although some elements remained consistent among them, the early designs featured several different degrees of surface damage as well as different options for clothing, such as a protective vest instead of a coat, or a nude design similar to the original Tyrant. Clothed in black trousers, an overcoat, boots, and gloves, the Nemesis is armed with a rocket launcher mounted on its left arm. A parasite was added to help further characterize it. To emphasize its design as a prototype, the game developers left exposed muscles on its body and added stitches to cover its right eye. It lacks lips and a nose whatsoever, with the underneath facial muscles and teeth completely exposed. As Nemesis is damaged its appearance does not change as drastically as previous Tyrants, due to Matsushita wanting to keep him visually different from Resident Evil 2's William Birkin in this regard.
The secretions from the parasite give the Nemesis massively heightened regenerative abilities, which result in the creature being almost impervious to damage; although it can be put down with enough fire from small arms, eventually it will repair itself and resume the pursuit of its targets. However, this resulted in unexpected side effects, including damage to the skin and the emergence of additional tentacles, as well as unpredictable mutations caused by further attacks. In Resident Evil 3, the creature's survival instincts eventually override Nemesis' programming, causing the host's body to reject the parasite and transform into a giant digestive organ. Featuring large central bone protrusions and elongated tentacles, it crawls looking for prey, yet continues trying to complete its mission despite its now diminished intelligence. This design proved to be the most difficult for Matsushita, as he worked to try to make it appear as unique as possible. To this end he designed it to be a quadrapedal creature facing upwards, with the fang-like protrustions from the body being Nemesis's exposed ribs.
In the 2020 remake of Resident Evil 3, the producer indicated that the reinvention of Nemesis was influenced by Mr. X from Resident Evil 2. According to producer Peter Fabiano, "During development, our director saw what the team did with Tyrant in last year's RE2 and was determined to surpass that with Nemesis." He also goes on to say that the team intends to transform Nemesis into its own brand of terror, "a relentless pursuer with its own arsenal of weapons." The parasite's origins are partially retconned in the 2020 remake to be a genetically engineered copy of the Las Plagas parasite, introduced in Resident Evil 4. Because Nemesis is a prototype and not a completed model, its body is covered in haphazard restrictive gear from head to toe consisting of thick black plastic and various warning labels over the body. A large metal device on its chest regulates the parasite, and also keeps it from going out of control. It now retains both eyes and the Tyrant's original nose, but with the skin stretched drastically on the face resulting in a broken crooked nose. The aim was to contrast between Nemesis and Mr. X, with the latter having the more completed look. As with the original, the remake Nemesis also mutates after suffering heavy damage. However the development team chose to give it a more animalistic, quadrupedal body with diminished intelligence, the in-universe reasoning being that the parasite could no longer maintain a humanoid form. Dubbed "Type 2", it was designed so the player could not evade it as easily as the original, but that its movements could be better anticipated.
## Appearances
### In video games
Nemesis first appears in the 1999 PlayStation game Resident Evil 3: Nemesis as the game's title character and primary antagonist. The product of years of research, the prototype is deployed by the Umbrella Corporation as a field test to hunt and kill the STARS police team before they can expose Umbrella's activity in the Arklay mountains. The game’s protagonist, Jill Valentine, first encounters the Nemesis outside Raccoon City’s police station where it kills Brad Vickers and then pursues her, uttering "STARS..." on sight. The Nemesis continues to stalk Valentine throughout the game, attacking with physical blows and grabs, and later, armed with a rocket launcher. After losing its overcoat as a result of heavy damage, the Nemesis mutates, and gains the ability to attack with long, extendable tentacles. Despite later being doused in acid, the Nemesis continues its pursuit, and mutates into a much larger, tentacled monster after absorbing a dead Tyrant, gaining the ability to spew poison. Jill finally defeats the Nemesis using a rail cannon, and then depending on the choice of the player, she either kills it once and for all by unloading her weapons into it, or leaves it to die in the nuclear explosion that destroys Raccoon City.
After its initial appearance, it appeared in other Resident Evil titles such as Resident Evil Survivor 2 – Code: Veronica, in which it will chase the player if they fail to complete a level before the time limit expires and kill them instantly if it hits them. In this game it can also be fought as a secret boss armed with a rocket launcher if the player has met the proper conditions upon completing the game. The Nemesis returns for the Resident Evil 3 chapter of Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, in which it pursues Jill in the same manner as the original game and mutates into its secondary form as a boss. The Nemesis also appears in Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, in which its programming is damaged and Umberlla dispatches a task force to find a NE-Alpha parasite to repair it. Once the parasite is found, they defeat Nemesis and inject it with the parasite. In the game it uses a gatling gun for the fight and is mainly based on its film counterpart; however once the task force completes their mission, the Nemesis awakens to find its rocket launcher and proceeds to hunt after the STARS police team. In the 2020 remake of Resident Evil 3, Nemesis returns as the game's first boss fight, wielding a flamethrower. Nemesis also appeared as a playable character in Resident Evil: Resistance and in Resident Evil Re:Verse, a companion game to Resident Evil Village.
The character has been featured in other games outside of the Resident Evil franchise as well, such as in the Capcom title Under the Skin alongside Jill, and serves as a boss the player must steal coins from in a Raccoon City-inspired level. In an interview, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds producer Ryouta Niitsuma stated a desire to use the Nemesis in the title as a "monster-type" character from the Resident Evil series, but was dropped after considering it too "grotesque and disgusting" and in consideration of ESRB ratings. The character would instead appear briefly in the game's ending sequence for the Hulk. However, despite the initial concerns about its inclusion, the Nemesis appears as a playable character in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, an updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The Nemesis returns as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. In the game's story, following the Convergence, it is captured by A.I.M.brella leader M.O.D.O.K. and reprogrammed as his enforcer; it later battles and is defeated by Chris Redfield and Mike Haggar. In the tactical role-playing game Project X Zone, Nemesis appears as a rival unit. Nemesis appeared in an online multiplayer battle royale game Knives Out as a costume at July 29 to August 12, 2021. Nemesis, along with Leon S. Kennedy and Jill Valentine, appeared in Dead by Daylight as playable characters.
In card based games, Nemesis appears in SVC: Card Fighters' Clash 2 Expand Edition and its Nintendo DS counterpart, He was also included in the 2012 mobile games Minna to BIOHAZARD Clan Master in both its regular and damaged states from Resident Evil 3. In the 2019 game TEPPEN a card for the character was added in its "Day of Nightmares" expansion, and later another in its "A Dark Agenda" expansion, this one modeled after its appearance in the Resident Evil 3 remake. In printed trading card media, he appears in the Bandai produced game Resident Evil: The Deck Building Game.
### In film
The Nemesis is featured in the 2004 film, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, portrayed by Matthew G. Taylor. The character's design was left relatively unchanged, brandishing a rocket launcher and similar attire, but with the addition of a forearm-mounted rail gun, modeled after a heavily modified minigun. Writer and producer Paul W. S. Anderson noted that the gun's addition was inspired by the idea of the Nemesis "walking around with a gigantic, powerful weapon in each hand and almost indecisive as to which one to use". The costume for Nemesis was created by Kropserkel Inc. and PJFX Studios, and stands roughly tall, weighing nearly 100 pounds (45 kg). After production of Apocalypse was completed, the costume was restored and put on display at Kropserkel's offices.
While The Nemesis' design remained similar, the character itself was expanded upon, now portrayed as a tragic villain. Formerly Matt Addison (portrayed by Eric Mabius), a survivor of the events of the first film, he was infected with the T-virus after being scratched by a Licker and later captured and experimented upon by the Umbrella Corporation. Transformed into the Nemesis, he is sent to kill the surviving members of STARS, but remembers his humanity after fighting Alice, and fights alongside the protagonists towards the film's conclusion. The Nemesis is eventually crushed beneath a crashing helicopter, and is later killed by the nuclear explosion that destroys Raccoon City.
### In printed adaptations
The Nemesis appears in a 1999 Hong Kong manhua adaptation of Resident Evil 3 by Lee Chung Hing, Biohazard 3: Last Escape, which is named after the game's Japanese title. The 27-issue series adds to the Nemesis' backstory, detailing its origin by showing the infection and transformation of the original Tyrant by the Nemesis parasite. Some elements are changed for its design, such as the Nemesis retaining both eyes initially, and then losing the right eye and gaining cranial staples only after an encounter with Jill. The comic also introduces characters from Resident Evil 2 into the storyline, which results in several face-offs between the Nemesis and the mutated William Birkin throughout the series. During these fights Nemesis remembers before being experimented on his life as a boxer whose family had been infected and killed by a sadistic Umbrella executive. Encountering the man after defeating Birkin, Nemesis bites his head clean off in a fit of rage.
In 2000, Simon & Schuster published a novelization of Resident Evil 3, written by S. D. Perry. Though left unchanged for the most part, the Nemesis is immediately recognized as a modified Tyrant in the novel, which Jill Valentine dubs the "Nemesis" after thinking about why it hunts her. Instead of mutating due to having taken damage, the Nemesis transforms voluntarily towards the conclusion of the story in its pursuit of Jill, with its second form from the game being its actual appearance beneath the coat.
A novelization of Apocalypse was released in 2004, written by Keith R. A. DeCandido. In the book, Matt and the Nemesis act as separate personalities in the same body, both aware, but with the Nemesis dominant. Matt eventually regains control after his body is impaled on a metal shard while fighting Alice, by showing the Nemesis his memories of Umbrella's experimentation upon "them". The Nemesis is later mentioned in the 2007 novelization of Resident Evil: Extinction, in which antagonist Doctor Isaacs considers the Nemesis both his greatest success and his greatest failure, hating mention of it and blaming its defection and destruction upon Umbrella's desire to immediately field test it.
## Promotion and reception
Nemesis appears on the cover of every version of Resident Evil 3, and is mentioned prominently on flyers for Resident Evil: Survivor 2. Capcom has also released commercial products modeled on the character, such as a silver ring modeled after Nemesis's head available for purchase through their Japanese online store. Palisades Toys used its likeness to create a posable action figure (packaged with a base and equipable rocket launcher) and a mini bust, which were released alongside several other Resident Evil-based merchandise. Moby Dick released its own line of Resident Evil action figures bundled in pairs of a playable character and enemy. Included in the series were Nemesis's first and second form, with the first form featuring an alternate head and equipable rocket launcher. Each set additionally includes a part of an action figure of Nemesis's third form, which measures 24 inches (60 cm) long when completed. In 2019, a minted icon 9-inch plush depicting Nemesis was also made. In 2022, Numskull made a 10.9" collectible figurine of Nemesis, based on his appearance in the remake.
Following the game's debut in 1999, the Nemesis became one of the most recognizable and popular characters in the Resident Evil series. G4's Filter named the Nemesis one of the top ten videogame villains of all time as selected by viewers, placing fifth on the list. 1UP.com named the battle against the Nemesis one of the "25 of the Most Badass Boss Fights of All Time", saying "There are plenty of bosses worth mentioning from the Resident Evil series... but the one that to this day most people point to as the biggest badass of the bunch is Nemesis [sic]". GameSpot featured Nemesis in a "Reader's Choice" edition of their "Top 10 Video Game Villains" article and noting the character's high popularity among fans when compared to the Tyrant. Dave Meikleham of GamesRadar described Nemesis as the "deadliest villain in the history of survival horror", comparing him to another fictional character the terminator and adding "Resident Evil 3 is undoubtedly defined by its iconic villain". Patrick Gill of Polygon said Nemesis moves in a menacing manner, but the worst part is to watch his "nasty trash face." He also stated he's frightening and defended how you lose him while catching up to you. Aaron Potter of Den of Geek named Nemesis as second of their "Best Resident Evil Bosses and Monsters", stating that "He becomes more deformed the longer Resident Evil 3’s campaign progresses, too, making each fight feel scarier than the last." In 2021, Alex Aniel in the book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil described Nemesis as an icon fondly remembered for his aggressiveness and terrifying personality, and further noted him as a popular subject for fandom convention cosplay.
While IGN described Nemesis as one of the best Resident Evil bosses and one of their favorite video game monsters of all time, they noted disdain for his film counterpart, stating "little of what made us love Nemesis made it through to his film incarnation. As it runs out, a man in a rubber suit isn't half as scary as a well-crafted collection of polygons." Michael Kennedy of Screen Rant shared similar sentiments, describing him as the "coolest of the bunch" in terms of game series adversaries, but added that the film ruined the character and "Making Nemesis a good guy was an absolutely terrible decision, and understandably elicited a collective groan from fans of the Resident Evil games." While Trace Thurman of Bloody Disgusting noted Nemesis "looks awesome and is a total badass" in the film, he shared similar disdain for the character's heroic turn in the finale, exclaiming "Why would you take the biggest and baddest Resident Evil villain and neuter him?"
On the other hand, Nemesis's appearance in the Resident Evil 3 remake has received mixed reception from critics. Hirun Cryer of Eurogamer criticized and described Nemesis's "large fangs and smooshed nose" as "cartoonish." Ben Tyrer of GamesRadar downplayed Nemesis's appearance and stated that "Resident Evil 3's main villain has lost his fear factor," while Andy Kelly of PC Gamer described Nemesis as "giant and terrifying stalker in town." Kirk McKeand of VG247 explained that Nemesis is only active in a small portion of the game, and that he is primarily featured in scripted sequences or boss fights. This led some critics to believe that he was underused and that a lot of his potential was wasted, with Electronic Gaming Monthly's Mollie Patterson stating "[if] you were hoping for him to dial up the danger, you may feel some disappointment." Red Bull called Nemesis one of the scariest video game villains of all time, stating "You cannot kill him, you cannot stop him. At best you can run away and even that isn’t always effective", and noting his increased mobility options in the remake provided him enhanced this aspect. |
2,469,901 | Road to Europe | 1,172,539,420 | null | [
"2002 American television episodes",
"Cultural depictions of Kiss (band)",
"Family Guy (season 3) episodes",
"Kiss (band)",
"Middle East in fiction",
"Road to... (Family Guy)",
"Television episodes set in Amsterdam",
"Television episodes set in Athens",
"Television episodes set in Europe",
"Television episodes set in Germany",
"Television episodes set in London",
"Television episodes set in Paris",
"Television episodes set in Pisa",
"Television episodes set in Rome",
"Television episodes set in Switzerland",
"Television episodes set in Vatican City",
"Television episodes set in Venice"
] | "Road to Europe" (originally called "European Road Show") is the 20th episode of the third season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 7, 2002. The episode follows baby Stewie, who becomes obsessed with the fictional British children's television series "Jolly Farm Revue". He decides to run away from home to become part of the cast and his anthropomorphic dog Brian decides to chase him down in an attempt to bring him back home. Meanwhile, Peter and Lois go to a Kiss concert, where Lois reveals she knows nothing about the band, much to Peter's embarrassment.
"Road to Europe" was written by Daniel Palladino and directed by Dan Povenmire. It received mostly positive reviews from critics for its storyline and its many cultural references. The episode featured Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. It also featured guest voices by comedian Andy Dick, actor and director Jon Favreau, actor Sean Flynn, actress and singer Lauren Graham, actress Michelle Horn, and voice actor Wally Wingert.
## Plot summary
Stewie is obsessed with a British television program called Jolly Farm Revue, a colorful children's TV show featuring several imaginary characters. Reluctant to stay in Quahog, Stewie decides to travel to "Jolly Farm" in London and live there forever. Desperate, he goes to the local airport and stows away on a transatlantic flight, intending to travel to Britain, and to find the BBC studios where Jolly Farm Revue is filmed. Brian tries to stop Stewie from leaving Rhode Island, and follows him onboard the plane. When he finally finds Stewie, the plane takes off and lands in the Middle East.
Brian begins to search for a way to get back to the United States, but Stewie refuses to leave with him and insists they continue to London. Brian and Stewie search for a camel to use as transportation, and they perform a musical number as a diversion in order to steal one. They begin their journey, but the camel dies in the middle of the desert. They soon find a nearby Comfort Inn, however, in which to stay. They steal a hot air balloon from the hotel premises and make their way to Vatican City, embarrassing the Pope upon landing, then traveling by train from Switzerland to Munich, and end up in Amsterdam. Upon finally arriving at the BBC Television Centre, Stewie is shocked to discover that the farm is a set, and his beloved characters are merely burnt-out, vulgar actors. Heartbroken, Stewie decides to travel back home with Brian to Quahog after getting revenge at the Mother Maggie actress for kicking him by defecating in her shoes. This situation also causes Stewie to lose interest in the show.
Meanwhile, Peter is overjoyed to hear about Kiss-stock, a five-night set of concerts in New England by his favorite band, Kiss. He and his wife, Lois, dress in face paint and leather just like the band members in Kiss, as does the rest of the crowd, and they manage to stand in the front row. When Gene Simmons points the microphone at Lois as a way to prompt her to sing the next line in the chorus of "Rock and Roll All Nite," only to discover that she doesn't know the words, shaming Peter. Deeply saddened by this, Gene and Paul Stanley leave the stage, leaving Ace Frehley and Peter Criss to perform "Chattanooga Choo Choo" to cheer up the displeased audience.
After the concert, Peter accuses Lois of only pretending to be a Kiss enthusiast, and they leave the concert venue in disgrace. Later that night, Peter and Lois stop at a Denny's on the way home from the concert. The Kiss members are seated at another table, and Lois recognizes Gene without his "Demon" make-up as Chaim Witz (Gene Simmons' birth name), an old friend. Peter is amazed to discover that Lois or "Loose Lois" had dated Gene when they were in high school. Peter's faith in Lois is then restored, and he proudly shares the news on public-access television that "my wife did Kiss."
## Production
The episode was written by Daniel Palladino, his first official episode for the series, an executive producer for the show. In addition, the episode was directed by series regular Dan Povenmire, in his fourth episode directing for the season; the first three being "One If by Clam, Two If by Sea", "To Love and Die in Dixie", and "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows".
"Road to Europe" is the second episode of the "Road to..." hallmarks of the series, which have aired throughout various seasons of the show, and is the second "Road to..." episode to be directed by Povenmire. The episodes are a parody of the seven Road to ... comedy films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. The episode was inspired by the 1941 film Road to Morocco, including its musical number "(We're off on the) Road to Morocco", which was previously parodied by the two characters, then with alternate lyrics, in the Family Guy episode "Road to Rhode Island". Fans originally believed that the original title of this episode was "Road to Baghdad", but in an interview with IGN MacFarlane stated that it was not the case.
In addition to the regular cast, the episode featured guest appearances by comedian Andy Dick, actor and director Jon Favreau, actor Sean Flynn, actress and singer Lauren Graham, actress Michelle Horn and voice actor Wally Wingert. It also guest starred Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley as themselves.
## Cultural references
"Road to Europe" features several cultural references. Brian compares Stewie's look with Charlie Brown; Stewie responds by comparing him with Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy; both these characters are from the comic strip Peanuts. At the Kiss concert, the song that the band plays, and the one that Lois does not know the lyrics to, is the single "Rock and Roll All Nite". In the song Stewie and Brian sing, the Marquis de Sade, singer Ricky Martin and actress Phylicia Rashad are mentioned. Brian also uses Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's catch phrase, "For me to poop on" to insult Stewie.
While riding a tour bus in Germany, Brian looks at a German history book and notices that has no information regarding Germany from 1939 – 1945. When he questions the tour guide about this, the guide denies that anything happened in those years. Brian points out that Germany invaded Poland during that time, until the guide yells "Sie werden sich hinsetzen! Sie werden ruhig sein! Sie werden nicht beleidigen Deutschland!", literally meaning "You will sit down! You will be quiet! You will not insult Germany!" while making the Nazi salute with his left hand. The last sentence is grammatically incorrect, as the proper German statement would be, "Sie werden Deutschland nicht beleidigen!" At the beginning of the episode, the credits are presented with title cards containing images of Brian and Stewie passing by various iconic places in Europe. These include France's Eiffel Tower, Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa and a venetian gondola, the United Kingdom's Stonehenge and Greece's Parthenon. Other iconic items shown include the Union Flag and the Pope.
## Reception
Reviews of the episode by television critics were mostly positive. Critic Ahsan Haque of IGN placed "Road to Europe" in the top ten of Stewie and Brian's Greatest Adventures, ranking it fifth. Haque noted that the episode is not as entertaining as many of the other Stewie and Brian adventures, but the song included in the episode, "You and I Are So Awfully Different" made it worthy of an appearance on the list. "Road to Europe" is the lowest ranked Road to ... episode on the list with "Road to Germany" at number four, "Road to Rupert" at number three, "Road to the Multiverse" at number two and "Road to Rhode Island" ranked as the best. Television critic Ramsey Isler, also of IGN, commented positively about the episode in his review of the eighth season episode "Go Stewie, Go," which contained an American version of Jolly Farm Revue. Isler went on to note, "for the most part the Jolly Farm concept is much less interesting than it was in the much more amusing and classic Family Guy episode, 'Road to Europe.'" |
592,567 | Kensington (Olympia) station | 1,162,841,660 | London Underground and railway station | [
"1844 establishments in England",
"District line stations",
"Former West London Railway stations",
"Kensington",
"London station group",
"Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1844",
"Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1940",
"Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1844",
"Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1862",
"Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1946",
"Railway stations in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea",
"Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway",
"Railway stations served by London Overground",
"Single platform tube stations",
"Tube stations in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea"
] | Kensington (Olympia) is a combined rail and tube station in Kensington, on the edge of Central London. Services are provided by London Overground, who manage the station, along with Southern and London Underground. It is in Travelcard Zone 2. On the Underground it is the terminus of a short District line branch from Earl's Court, originally built as part of the Middle Circle. On the main-line railway it is on the West London Line from Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction, by which trains bypass inner London. The station's name is drawn from its location in Kensington and the adjacent Olympia exhibition centre.
The station was originally opened in 1844 by the West London Railway but closed shortly afterwards. It reopened in 1862 and began catering for Great Western services the following year. In 1872 it became part of the Middle Circle train route that bypassed central London. The station was bombed during World War II and subsequently closed. It reopened in 1946 but the limited service to Clapham Junction was recommended for withdrawal in the 1960s Beeching Report. The main-line station was revitalised later in the decade as a terminus for national Motorail, and upgraded again in 1986 to serve a wider range of InterCity destinations. The station's Underground connection after World War II was limited to a shuttle service to and from Earl's Court.
With around million passenger journeys recorded in , Kensington (Olympia) is the station on the entire Underground network.
## Name and location
In 1863, with the opening of the West London Extension Railway, a station named Kensington was opened 3⁄8 mile (600 m) north of the junction with the West London Railway, but when several underground lines opened stations at High Street Kensington and West Kensington, the station name was changed to Addison Road to avoid any confusion.
The station appears as Kensington Olympia on the National Rail website and on some of its maps and timetables. On London Underground and London Overground maps, station signage and the London Rail & Tube Services map, it is labelled Kensington (Olympia). On the automated announcements and the dot matrix indicators on District line trains, the station is shown as simply Olympia.
The station is located alongside the namesake Olympia exhibition centre. The boundary between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham here runs parallel to and immediately to the west of the railway line.
The platforms are accessed via Russell Road from the east and Olympia Way from the west. A footbridge connects the two roads, and is segregated so it is possible to walk directly from Russell Road to Olympia Way without having to pass through any ticket barriers. Platform 1 serves the part-time District line services towards High Street Kensington via Earl's Court, platform 2 serves Overground trains towards Willesden, and platform 3 runs towards Clapham Junction.
London Buses routes 9, 23, 27, 28, 49, 306, C1; night routes N9, N28 and Green Line Coaches services 701 and 702 call at and pass the station.
## History
### Opening
A station called Kensington was opened by the West London Railway as its southern terminus on 27 May 1844, located just south of Hammersmith Road. The line was not popular and it was closed on 1 December that year due to the losses made. A scant and erratic goods service continued. The line was re-opened to passengers on 2 June 1862 as part of the West London Extension Railway with a new station, also called Kensington, to the north of Hammersmith Road, providing services to Willesden and Clapham Junction. Great Western Railway trains started serving the station in 1863, with London & North Western Railway trains arriving in 1872. A link to the Hammersmith & City Railway enabled the station to join the Middle Circle service, which operated via Paddington to the north and South Kensington to the south. In 1868 the station was renamed Kensington Addison Road.
From 1869 the London & South Western Railway operated trains from Richmond to London Waterloo via Addison Road, until their branch via Shepherd's Bush closed in 1916. By 1907 the Middle Circle had been replaced by a link to Hammersmith. The station appears on the first 'London Underground' map in 1908 with Metropolitan and District Railway services.
There was an Express Dairies creamery and milk bottling plant close to the station. It was served by milk trains running from the Great Western Railway at Old Oak Common to a siding adjacent to the station.
### Decline
In 1940, Addison Road and the link to the Metropolitan line at Latimer Road closed along with the other West London Line stations after the line was bombed, and it was not considered cost-effective to rebuild by the London Passenger Transport Board. Due to its ability to access all lines radiating from London, its close location to SHAEF headquarters and its relative quietness compared to the main London termini, it was the preferred embarkation point for US Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower when he visited troops in Wales preparing for the June 1944 Normandy landings.
On 19 December 1946, the station was renamed Kensington (Olympia) and became the northern terminus of a peak-hour shuttle service to Clapham Junction, serving workers at the Post Office Savings Bank (later National Savings Bank) in nearby Blythe Road. Until 1986, apart from Motorail services, this was the only British Rail service regularly stopping at the station. It was known as the "Kenny Belle" and was unadvertised, reportedly because the Post Office Savings Bank was under the Official Secrets Act. There was also a District line shuttle to Earl's Court, as the station had been left without a dedicated Underground connection. The service originally only ran when there was an exhibition at the centre, but a permanent platform opened on 3 March 1958. The station was sometimes used as a terminus during reconstruction and upgrading of mainline London terminal stations.
### Cold War
Kensington (Olympia) was included in 1960s Cold War plans to ensure continuity of government in the event of hostilities. Secret plans entailed use of the station, in the prelude to a nuclear war, to evacuate several thousand civil servants to the Central Government War Headquarters underground bunker (codenamed "Burlington") in Wiltshire. Civil servants tasked with staffing the facility would have been directed to join trains at this station, chosen since the West London Line connected to the Great Western Main Line (and hence Wiltshire) at North Pole Junction, 1 mile 68 chains (2.98 km) to the north. These trains would have connected with buses at Warminster for further transfer to the bunker near Corsham.
### Motorail
In 1966 Kensington (Olympia) became the main London terminus for British Rail Motorail trains, which carried passengers and vehicles across Britain. In the London Midland Region timetable for 1970–71, services are shown to Perth, Stirling, Carlisle, St Austell, Totnes, Newton Abbot and Fishguard (connecting with the ferry for Rosslare). This facility closed in 1981 with operations transferred to Paddington, Euston and King's Cross.
The car park for the service is now used for exhibition vehicles, and by Europcar for car rental, and is called "Olympia Motorail Car Park P4".
### Revival
From 12 May 1986 services at the station were greatly enhanced. The London Underground shuttle service started to run to a regular daily schedule, and inter-regional services from the Midlands and northern England stopped at Kensington (Olympia). Southern Region destinations included Brighton and Dover Western Docks. As part of this the footbridge was painted in InterCity colours. These trains were operated by the InterCity division of British Rail and later, after privatisation, by Virgin CrossCountry and CrossCountry. Destinations included Birmingham New Street, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley. The services were withdrawn in October 2008, by which time only two daily Brighton–Manchester journeys were operated. The station was part of the London Station Group, accepting "London Terminals" tickets, until it was delisted in May 1994. The same year, a full passenger service between Willesden Junction and Clapham Junction was reinstated after a gap of 54 years.
There were two bay platforms on the south-eastern side, mainly used by services to/from Clapham Junction. These platforms were removed in 1983 and the track was lifted; the space was used for an additional car park for the exhibition centre. One of the former platforms is now Olympia Garden, a community garden with 89 vegetable plots.
Before the Channel Tunnel Rail Link was proposed in 1996, Kensington (Olympia) was planned to be expanded to accommodate a car terminal for international services including Regional Eurostar. The line would have run via the West London and South Eastern Main Lines to Folkestone Central before entering the tunnel. Before Eurostar transferred in November 2007 to St Pancras International, Eurostar trains passed through the station between Waterloo International station and North Pole depot, and the station was a backup terminus for the services in case Waterloo International became unusable; immigration facilities were maintained there.
In June 2011, Transport for London (TfL) announced that the District line shuttle between Kensington (Olympia) and Earl's Court would close on weekdays at the end of the year. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea unsuccessfully protested against the closure, and general weekday services ceased in December 2011. Some special weekday services continue to run on the District line when there is an exhibition on. In 2012 TfL announced plans to introduce ticket gates at the station to combat fare dodgers, which would remove access to the footbridge used by local residents for years. Both the councils within whose boundaries this station falls challenged this loss of an established right of way. The plan was abandoned the following year.
## Services
### National Rail
The station is on the West London line of the London Overground network, which is signed by Transport for London as the "Willesden Junction – Clapham Junction" line. The line lies entirely in zone 2, and can be used to bypass central London. National Rail services are provided by London Overground and Southern.
The London Overground services in trains per hour are:
- 4 northbound to Stratford
- 4 southbound to Clapham Junction.
The Southern hourly service pattern is:
- 1 northbound to Watford Junction
- 1 southbound to East Croydon or Clapham Junction
Two northbound trains per day extend to and from Hemel Hempstead.
### District line
The District line shuttle to Earl's Court and High Street Kensington runs at weekends and sometimes when there is an exhibition on. A very limited service also operates during the early morning and evening each weekday. There is no service New Year's Eve or New Year's Day when these days fall on or partly on a weekend. |
57,977,435 | Anuel AA | 1,173,011,972 | Puerto Rican rapper and singer (born 1992) | [
"1992 births",
"21st-century American rappers",
"21st-century Puerto Rican musicians",
"Latin music songwriters",
"Latin trap musicians",
"Living people",
"MTV Europe Music Award winners",
"Obscenity controversies in music",
"People from Carolina, Puerto Rico",
"Puerto Rican hip hop musicians",
"Puerto Rican rappers",
"Puerto Rican reggaeton musicians",
"Sony Music Latin artists",
"Spanish-language singers of the United States",
"Urbano musicians"
] | Emmanuel Gazmey Santiago (born November 26, 1992), known professionally as Anuel AA, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. His music often contains samples and interpolations of songs that were popular during his youth. He is seen as a controversial figure in the Latin music scene for his legal troubles and feuds with fellow Puerto Rican rappers Cosculluela and Ivy Queen as well as American rapper 6ix9ine. Raised in Carolina, Puerto Rico, he started recording music at age fourteen and began posting it online four years later in 2010, before eventually signing to the Latin division of fellow American rapper Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group. His 2016 mixtape Real Hasta la Muerte was well-received, but his success was put on hold the same year by a 30-month prison sentence for illegal firearm possession in Puerto Rico. He recorded the entirety of his debut album while incarcerated, during which time his genre of music surged in popularity.
Anuel AA released his debut album, also titled Real Hasta la Muerte, on July 17, 2018, the day he was released from prison. The album was a critical and commercial success. In the coming six months, he appeared on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, solidifying his position as one of the top Latino artists. In August 2019, he released the song "China", a collaboration with Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Ozuna, and J Balvin, which was a global success. He has since released the hit song "Me Gusta" with Shakira, and his second album, Emmanuel, which was released on May 29, 2020. In November 2020, Anuel AA made a statement on Instagram and released a new song suggesting his imminent retirement from the music industry, citing family and relationship issues. He was back to music with his collaborative album Los Dioses with Ozuna. His third studio album Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren was released on November 26, 2021, including 16 tracks.
## Early life
Anuel AA grew up in Carolina, Puerto Rico. His father is Afro–Puerto Rican and his mother is of White Puerto Rican descent; Anuel AA has stated that he has experienced racism since childhood for being mixed-race. His father, José Gazmey, was vice president of the Puerto Rican division of Sony Music Entertainment's A&R department. When Anuel AA was a child, his father worked in the studio with salsa artists such as Héctor Lavoe and Fania All-Stars. While he does not identify as a fan of the salsa genre, Anuel AA recalls that seeing his father interact with these artists inspired an interest in the recording industry. However, his father lost his job when Anuel AA was fifteen years old; this led him to become what Rolling Stone magazine described as a "son of the streets".
He idolized Tupac Shakur while growing up and aspired to emulate his style of dress, particularly his emphasis on jewelry. He is childhood friends with Puerto Rican rapper Casper Mágico, who co-wrote, and performed on the track "Te Boté". Speaking about how his upbringing in the projects influenced his music, Anuel AA stated, "My music is my soul speaking, literally. It's spiritual. It has a lot of feelings, a lot of pain. It's my experiences growing up en la calle [in the streets]."
## Career
### Early career
Anuel AA began recording music at age fourteen, and started posting it online at age 18 in 2010. His music garnered millions of streams and views and eventually caught the attention of American rapper Rick Ross, who signed him to the Latin division of Maybach Music Group. His mixtape Real Hasta la Muerte was released in February 2016 and received positive reviews from critics. The success of this mixtape lead to Anuel AA landing a guest feature on Ozuna's 2017 album Odisea.
### 2016–2018: Incarceration and Real Hasta la Muerte album
In April 2016, Anuel AA was arrested in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for illegal possession of three firearms. Billboard noted that Latin trap surged in popularity while Anuel AA was in prison, writing, "Anuel remained behind bars, while outside, his music flourished." After being arrested and imprisoned, he recorded his debut album while incarcerated. He did this by primarily recording his vocals over the phone and taking advantage of his mandatory stay at a Miami halfway house to complete the album.
He released his debut album Real Hasta la Muerte on July 17, 2018, the day he was released from prison. Rolling Stone included it on its list of Best Latin Albums of 2018, noting that the artist "demonstrates impressive pop instincts" and further commented, "As Anuel keeps one foot in trap, he's also looking toward Latin pop's mainstream". Real Hasta la Muerte peaked at number 42 on the Billboard 200 and topped the US Top Latin Albums chart. The release of the album, along with the artist's release from prison, garnered significant media attention; the rapper was surprised by the public response and stated that he "didn't even know how to talk in interviews" after being incarcerated for more than two years. He achieved his first Billboard Hot 100 hit in August 2018 through his collaboration with American rapper 6ix9ine on the song "Bebe".
In the six months following the release of Real Hasta la Muerte, Anuel AA contributed vocals to eleven Billboard Hot Latin Songs-charting singles, including "Ella Quiere Beber" with American singer Romeo Santos. He also collaborated with Nicki Minaj and Bantu on the song "Familia" for the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack, released in December 2018. In January 2019, the rapper released the single "Secreto" with Colombian singer Karol G, confirming the romantic relationship between the two artists in the song's accompanying music video. The single reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the US Hot Latin Songs charts. The song was inspired by the time when Anuel AA and Karol G were dating but had not yet publicly discussed their relationship. The video's "power couple" aesthetic garnered comparisons to Beyoncé and Jay-Z as well as Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.
### 2019–2020: "China" success and Emmanuel
In July 2019, Anuel AA released "China", a collaboration with Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Ozuna, and J Balvin. The song heavily samples Shaggy's 2000 single, "It Wasn't Me", a track Anuel AA remembered from his childhood, which he selected from a number of old songs he had been listening to with the intention of "redo[ing] a classic". He told XXL that "when I used to go with the big boys in my hood to the club, they put that song on and everybody used to go crazy". "China" debuted at number two on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart and topped both the Latin Digital Songs and Latin Streaming Songs charts with 1,000 downloads sold and 14.1 million streams, while the accompanying video was included on the Rolling Stone list of the 10 Best Latin Music Videos of July. Anuel AA later appeared on the single "Whine Up" from Nicky Jam's album Íntimo, released on November 1, 2019.
In January 2020, Anuel AA collaborated with Shakira on the song "Me Gusta", which interpolates Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle's 1992 hit "Sweat (A La La La La Long)". Rolling Stone called the song "an unhurried lover's rock number with a delicate touch of dembow". He featured on Bad Bunny's 2020 album YHLQMDLG on the song "Está Cabrón Ser Yo". On April 3, 2020, Anuel AA released "3 de Abril" which commemorates the day that the artist was arrested, leading to prison time. The song reflects on his troubled youth and the challenges he faced while incarcerated. Suzy Exposito of Rolling Stone called the track a "sobering commemoration". Also in April 2020, Anuel AA released the single and video for "Follow" with Karol G, recording it entirely while in quarantine in Miami due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 27, 2020, he announced and revealed the tracklist for his second album, Emmanuel, which was released on May 29. Anuel AA had originally planned to release the album in April, but postponed the date due to the pandemic. On the day of the album's release, he promoted it by launching three luxury yachts off the coast of Miami's Isle of Normandy neighborhood. Each yacht had the name Emmanuel written on the side and played his music at high volume. The rapper explained his promotional strategy by saying, "Everybody does their release party in a club. And with coronavirus? I wouldn't go to the club right now!" The 22-track double album features collaborations from Bad Bunny, Enrique Iglesias, Travis Barker, Tego Calderón, Karol G, Lil Wayne, Farruko, Yandel and Ñengo Flow. Regarding the title of the album, the artist explained, "It's my name and it means 'God with us'. I wanted the album to have that good vibe. It's my life, made into music."
### 2020 – mid 2021: Retirement comments and Los Dioses
In November 2020, Anuel AA indicated in an Instagram post that he was retiring from the music industry. On November 19, he released a new track, "Me Contagié 2", in which he talks about depression, indicates unhappiness with his relationships and expresses anguish at the fact that his career often takes him away from his young son, who has asked him to retire. He closes the song with the statement "In these Grammys, I retire". The comments have left his fans in a state of confusion about his future plans, as it appears that he has yet to make a more formal announcement of retirement.
On January 22, 2021, Anuel AA and Ozuna released their collaborative album Los Dioses. The album includes 12 tracks.
In June 2021, Anuel AA's manager Frabián Elí announced that Anuel's fourth studio album will be released in July. The album will include trap and only two reggaeton songs. Later he announced via Instagram that the album wouldn't come yet. Anuel later appeared on the remix of the single "Mr Jones" from the deluxe of Pop Smoke's album Faith, released on July 31, 2021.
In August 2021, Anuel released two songs, "Los de Siempre" with Chris Jedi and "23 Preguntas", dedicated to his ex-girlfriend Karol G. In the music video of 23 Preguntas he announced the name of his next album Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren. In September he partnered with Jhayco in the track Ley Seca, part of his album Timelezz.
In December 2021, Anuel became the first Latin artist to collaborate with UFC to promote a sports conceptual album, which features his admiration for influential cultural figures, including sports icons. Real Hasta la Muerte was the presenting sponsor of UFC Fight Replay for pivotal moments of UFC 269's main card. The company's activation with UFC included Anuel AA's visuals, logo, and artistic concept for his third album, Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren.
### Late 2021: Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren
On September 22, he announced that his album Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren was complete and ready for release. In October he released "Dictadura", the first single of his upcoming album. In November, Anuel featured on the long-awaited BZRP Music Session 46 with Argentinian Producer Bizarrap. On November 11 he released the second single from the album, "Leyenda". On November 17 he revealed the tracklist for his album by printing song names on the jersey of his basketball team. The day after, he released the album's last single, "Súbelo", with Myke Towers and Jhayco. Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren released on the rapper's 29th birthday. The album has 16 tracks and features Eladio Carrión, Mora, Myke Towers and Jhayco.
### 2022: LLNM2
On January 1, 2022, Anuel AA took part of Dominican rapper Rochy RD's song "Los Illuminaty". Later he confirmed the announcement of the second part of his album Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren. The first single of the new project is supposed to be "Si Tú Me Busca" with Dominican rapper Yailin La Más Viral. On 20 May 2022, Anuel AA partnered with Chris Jedi, Chencho Corleone and Ñengo Flow in global hit "La Llevo al Cielo". Later he released the electro pop song "¿Qué Nos Paso?".
Anuel AA announced the EP Me Fui de Gira with 6 or 7 tracks but later he cancelled it and unified it with the upcoming album Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren 2. The first announced single in the project was the collaboration "Malo" between Anuel and Puerto Rican singer Zion and Puerto Rican rapper Randy.
On February 18, 2022, Anuel participated in the 2022 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
### 2023: Rompecorazones
In early 2023, Anuel AA announced his tour in the United States, named "Legends Never Die Tour". In the promotional video he also confirmed his upcoming EP Rompecorazones.
On March 2, 2023, Anuel AA released the single "Más Rica Que Ayer" alongside Puerto Rican producer duo Mambo Kingz and Puerto Rican producer DJ Luian. It became popular and the music video has received over 80 million views on YouTube. Later he partnered with Maluma in the song "Diablo, Que Chimba". In April 2023, Anuel AA collaborated with Eladio Carrión on the long-awaited track "Triste Verano". Later he released "Mi Exxx", a collaboration with Wisin.
On May 5, 2023, Anuel AA released the single "Mejor Que Yo" with DJ Luian and Mambo Kingz, dedicated to his ex-girlfriend Karol G. In July, 2023, Anuel AA featured on Rochy RD’s song "Milloneta", previously performed by both artists at the 2023 Heat Latin Music Awards in Dominican Republic. On May 28, 2023, Anuel AA partnered with Jay Wheeler on the remix of "Pacto" alongside Hades66, Dei V and Bryant Myers.
## Musical style and influences
According to XXL, Anuel AA is considered "one of the founding fathers of Latin trap music". He is noted for his signature "BRRR" adlib, which is meant to mimic the sound of an automatic firearm. Anuel AA's lyrics often discuss sex, crime, and life on the streets. Paul Simpson of AllMusic described his lyrics as "too risqué to be played on the radio" and highlighted that his success has instead stemmed from streaming services and the artist's highly active social media presence. Gary Suarez of Vice viewed his 2018 album Real Hasta la Muerte as a collection of both "gleaming trap bangers" and "reggaeton crowd pleasers". Despite his "bad guy image", Suarez wrote that the relationship-themed songs "Culpables" and "Secreto" represent "a softening of his hardened trapero persona". Anuel AA is noted for his use of the word "bebecita" ("baby girl") in songs and on social media, and the word has become associated with the reggaeton genre as well as Anuel AA and Karol G's relationship.
Anuel AA's introduction to hip hop occurred upon listening to rapper Tupac Shakur. His songs frequently pay homage to both U.S. and Latin artists that influenced him in his youth. Examples include "China" which samples both "It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy and "Ella Me Levantó" by Daddy Yankee, and "Delincuente" which interpolates "Bandoleros" by Don Omar and Tego Calderón. He is influenced by, and has collaborated with, American hip hop artists Meek Mill and Gucci Mane, both of whom, like Anuel AA, gained notoriety for serving time in prison. Describing Meek Mill's impact on his music, Anuel AA explained, "I listen to what people say in the songs, not just the melodies. With rappers you gotta listen to what they say. And Meek be talking some real shit. That's why I look up to him." In an interview with Vice, he expressed admiration for the music of bachata artist Zacarías Ferreíra, Dominican rapper el Alfa, and English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. He has also indicated an interest in collaborating with Post Malone and Billie Eilish.
## Controversies
On September 15, 2018, Anuel AA released a diss track called "Intocable" aimed at fellow rapper Cosculluela. The track was widely criticized due to its profanity and remarks about homosexuality and HIV/AIDS patients. In the song, he refers to model and television host La Taína as a "pig" for her HIV-positive status. Due to the public backlash, Anuel AA's concert at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico venue, scheduled for October 12 of that year, was canceled by his production staff and main producer Paco López. Anuel AA later issued an apology for the song. He explained, "It is the worst mistake of my career. I do not need this and I apologize to all the people I offended. To homosexuals, to people with AIDS, to La Taína [the model] and to those who lost everything after Hurricane Maria ... My fans deserve from me to be a better person, and I apologize to everyone in Puerto Rico."
In early April 2019, Anuel AA and Ivy Queen engaged in an argument on Instagram after Anuel AA questioned how Ivy Queen could be still considered the "Queen of Reggaeton". Anuel argued she hadn't had a hit song in more than 7 years, and further questioned if Karol G should be considered another "Queen of Reggaeton". Followers on Instagram speculated about why he made the comments. Ivy Queen responded with comments about where she came from and how she was a pioneer, paving the way for other women to follow.
## Personal life
### Relationships
Anuel AA has a son with his ex-wife, Astrid Cuevas, named Pablo Anuel, a daughter with Colombian model Melissa Vallecilla, named Gianella, and a daughter with his ex-spouse, Yailin La Más Viral, named Cattleya.
Anuel AA met Colombian singer Karol G in August 2018 on the set of the music video for their song "Culpables", a month after his release from prison. In January 2019, Anuel AA and Karol G confirmed their relationship. On April 25, 2019, Karol G arrived at the Billboard Latin Music Awards wearing a "massive" diamond ring, confirming the couple's engagement. In March 2021, it was reported that the couple ended their relationship after two years of dating.
In early 2022, Gazmey confirmed his relationship with Dominican rapper Yailin La Más Viral. In June 2022, the couple got married. In February 2023, the couple announced their separation.
### Legal issues
Anuel AA was arrested and held in the Metropolitan Detention Center, Guaynabo on April 3, 2016, with three companions when police found three pistols including one stolen, nine magazines, and 152 bullets. He signed a plea deal, accepting a 30-month sentence in federal prison, on gun possession charges. Following his arrest, the \#FreeAnuel movement became popular among his fans as he continued to release tracks from prison by recording his voice over the phone.
While incarcerated, Anuel AA spent 90 days in solitary confinement following an incident with another inmate. During his trial, he stated that the lyrics in his music did not represent his true character. The presiding judge Aida Delgado-Colón said she had never heard any of his songs. In March 2018, Anuel AA was released from federal prison into a state prison in Miami. During this time, he told Billboard that while imprisoned, he listened to the radio and kept up with what was happening in the streets to draw inspiration for his songwriting.
### NFTs
On June 10, 2022, it was reported that Anuel AA would be entering the NFT space by launching his own NFT collection making him one of the first Latin rappers in history to do so. He is also the first Latin artist to collaborate with the UFC promoting a sports conceptual album.
The rapper's NFT collection will be made up of physical assets along with exclusive real life experiences such as limited edition merchandise, access to album release parties, studio visits and listening sessions.
## Discography
Solo studio albums
- Real Hasta la Muerte (2018)
- Emmanuel (2020)
- Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren (2021)
- LLNM2 (2022)
Collaborative studio albums
- Los Dioses (with Ozuna) (2021)
## Tours
- Real Hasta la Muerte Tour (2018–2019)
- Culpables Tour (with Karol G) (2019)
- Emmanuel Tour (2019–2020)
- Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren Tour (2022–2023)
- Rompecorazones Tour (2023)
## Filmography
## Awards and nominations |
23,685,171 | Rambhadracharya | 1,170,037,530 | Indian Hindu religious leader since 1988 | [
"1950 births",
"20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians",
"20th-century Hindu religious leaders",
"20th-century Indian educational theorists",
"20th-century Indian philosophers",
"20th-century Indian poets",
"21st-century Hindu philosophers and theologians",
"21st-century Hindu religious leaders",
"21st-century Indian composers",
"21st-century Indian philosophers",
"Acharyas",
"Awadhi writers",
"Blind musicians",
"Blind poets",
"Blind scholars and academics",
"Hindi-language poets",
"Indian Hindu religious leaders",
"Indian Sanskrit scholars",
"Indian Vaishnavites",
"Indian blind people",
"Indian theologians",
"Living people",
"People from Jaunpur district",
"Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in other fields",
"Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Sanskrit",
"Sanskrit grammarians",
"Sanskrit poets",
"Vaishnavite religious leaders"
] | Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya (born Pandit Giridhar on 14 January 1950) is an Indian Hindu spiritual leader, educator, Sanskrit scholar, polyglot, poet, author, textual commentator, philosopher, composer, singer, playwright and Katha artist based in Chitrakoot, India. He is one of four incumbent Jagadguru Ramanandacharya, and has held this title since 1988.
Rambhadracharya is the founder and head of Tulsi Peeth, a religious and social service institution in Chitrakoot named after Saint Tulsidas. He is the founder and lifelong chancellor of the Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University in Chitrakoot, which offers graduate and postgraduate courses exclusively to four types of disabled students. Rambhadracharya has been blind since the age of two months, had no formal education until the age of seventeen years, and has never used Braille or any other aid to learn or compose.
Rambhadracharya can speak 22 languages and is a spontaneous poet and writer in Sanskrit, Hindi, Awadhi, Maithili, and several other languages. He has authored more than 100 books and 50 papers, including four epic poems, Hindi commentaries on Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas and Hanuman Chalisa, a Sanskrit commentary in verse on the Ashtadhyayi, and Sanskrit commentaries on the Prasthanatrayi scriptures. He is acknowledged for his knowledge in diverse fields including Sanskrit grammar, Nyaya and Vedanta. He is regarded as one of the greatest authorities on Tulsidas in India, and is the editor of a critical edition of the Ramcharitmanas. He is a Katha artist for the Ramayana and the Bhagavata. His Katha programmes are held regularly in different cities in India and other countries, and are telecast on television channels like Shubh TV, Sanskar TV and Sanatan TV. He is also a leader of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
## Birth and early life
Jagadguru Rambhadracharya was born to Pandit shri Rajdev Mishra and shrimati Shachidevi Mishra in a Saryupareen Brahmin family of the Vasishtha Gotra (lineage of the sage Vasishtha) in Shandikhurd village in the Jaunpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was born on Makara Sankranti day, 14 January 1950. Born to mother Shachidevi and father Pandit Rajdev Mishra, he was named Giridhar by his great aunt, a paternal cousin of his paternal grandfather, Pandit Suryabali Mishra. The great aunt was a devotee of Mirabai, a female saint of the Bhakti era in medieval India, who used the name Giridhar to address the god Krishna in her compositions.
## Loss of eyesight
Shree Giridhar Ji lost his eyesight at the age of two months. On 24 March 1950, his eyes were infected by trachoma. There were no advanced facilities for treatment in the village, so he was taken to an elderly woman in a nearby village who was known to cure trachoma boils to provide relief. The woman applied a paste of myrobalan to Giridhar's eyes to burst the lumps, but his eyes started bleeding, resulting in the loss of his eyesight. His family took him to the King George Hospital in Lucknow, where his eyes were treated for 21 days, but his sight could not be restored. Various Ayurvedic, Homeopathic, Allopathic, and other practitioners were approached in Sitapur, Lucknow, and Bombay, but to no avail. Rambhadracharya has been blind ever since. He cannot read or write, as he does not use Braille; he learns by listening and composes by dictating to scribes.
### Childhood accident
In June 1953, at a juggler's monkey dance show in the village, the children—including Giridhar—suddenly ran away when the monkey began to touch them. Giridhar fell into a small dry well and was trapped for some time, until a teenage girl rescued him. His grandfather told him that his life was saved because he had learned, that very morning itself, the following line of a verse in the Ramcharitmanas (1.192.4), from the episode of the manifestation of the god Rama:
> यह चरित जे गावहिं हरिपद पावहिं ते न परहिं भवकूपा ॥ yaha carita je gāvahı̐ haripada pāvahı̐ te na parahı̐ bhavakūpā ॥
> Those who sing this character (of Rama), they attain to the feet of Hari (Vishnu) and never fall into the well of birth and death.
Even after he fell into the well, Giridhar was confident that Rama will somehow rescue him from this "kupa" (well). Thereafter, Giridhar's grandfather asked him to recite the verse always, and from then on, Giridhar has followed the practice of reciting it every time he takes water or food.
### First composition
Giridhar's initial education came from his paternal grandfather, as his father worked in Bombay. In the afternoons, his grandfather would narrate to him various episodes of the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, and devotional works like Vishramsagar, Sukhsagar, Premsagar and Brajvilas. At the age of three, Giridhar composed his first piece of poetry—in Awadhi (a dialect of Hindi)—and recited it to his grandfather. In this verse, Krishna's foster mother Yashoda is fighting with a Gopi (milkmaid) for hurting Krishna.
### Mastering Gita and Ramcharitmanas
At the age of five, Giridhar memorised the entire Bhagavad Gita, consisting of around 700 verses with chapter and verse numbers, in 15 days, with the help of his neighbour, Pandit Murlidhar Mishra. On Janmashtami day in 1955, he recited the entire Bhagavad Gita. He released the first Braille version of the scripture, with the original Sanskrit text and a Hindi commentary, at New Delhi on 30 November 2007, 52 years after memorising the Gita. When Giridhar was seven, he memorised the entire Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas, consisting of around 10,900 verses with chapter and verse numbers, in 60 days, assisted by his grandfather. On Rama Navami day in 1957, he recited the entire epic while fasting. Later, Giridhar went on to memorise the Vedas, the Upanishads, works of Sanskrit grammar, the Bhagavata Purana, all the works of Tulsidas, and many other works in Sanskrit and Indian literature.
### Upanayana and Katha discourses
Giridhar's Upanayana (sacred thread ceremony) was performed on Nirjala Ekadashi (the Ekadashi falling in the bright half of the lunar month of Jyeshtha) of 24 June 1961. On this day, besides being given the Gayatri Mantra, he was initiated (given Diksha) into the mantra of Rama by Pandit Ishvardas Maharaj of Ayodhya. Having mastered the Bhagavad Gita and Ramcharitmanas at a very young age, Giridhar started visiting the Katha programmes held near his village once every three years in the intercalary month of Purushottama. The third time he attended, he presented a Katha on Ramcharitmanas, which was acclaimed by several famous exponents of the Katha art.
### Discrimination by family
When Giridhar was eleven, he was stopped from joining his family in a wedding procession. His family thought that his presence would be a bad omen for the marriage. This incident left a strong impression on Giridhar; he says at the beginning of his autobiography:
> I am the same person who was considered to be inauspicious for accompanying a marriage party. ... I am the same person who currently inaugurates the biggest of marriage parties or welfare ceremonies. What is all this? It is all due to the grace of God which turns a straw into a vajra and a vajra into a straw.
## Formal education
### Schooling
Although Giridhar did not have any formal schooling until the age of seventeen years, he had learned many literary works as a child by listening to them. His family wished him to become a Kathavachak (a Katha artist) but Giridhar wanted to pursue his studies. His father explored possibilities for his education in Varanasi and thought of sending him to a special school for blind students. Giridhar's mother refused to send him there, saying that blind children were not treated well at the school. On 7 July 1967 Giridhar joined the Adarsh Gaurishankar Sanskrit College in the nearby Sujanganj village of Jaunpur to study Sanskrit Vyakarana (grammar), Hindi, English, Maths, History, and Geography. In his autobiography he recalls this day as the day when the "Golden Journey" of his life began. With an ability to memorise material by listening to it just once, Giridhar has not used Braille or other aids to study. In three months, he had memorised and mastered the entire Laghusiddhāntakaumudī of Varadaraja. He was top of his class for four years, and passed the Uttara Madhyama (higher secondary) examination in Sanskrit with first class and distinction.
First Sanskrit composition
At the Adarsh Gaurishankar Sanskrit College, Giridhar learnt the eight Ganas of Sanskrit prosody while studying Chandaprabhā, a work on Sanskrit prosody. The next day, he composed his first Sanskrit verse, in the Bhujaṅgaprayāta metre.
### Graduation and masters
In 1971 Giridhar enrolled at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi for higher studies in Vyakarana. He topped the final examination for the Shastri (Bachelor of Arts) degree in 1974, and then enrolled for the Acharya (Master of Arts) degree at the same institute. While pursuing his master's degree, he visited New Delhi to participate in various national competitions at the All-India Sanskrit Conference, where he won five out of the eight gold medals—in Vyakarana, Samkhya, Nyaya, Vedanta, and Sanskrit Antakshari. Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, presented the five gold medals, along with the Chalvaijayanti trophy for Uttar Pradesh, to Giridhar. Impressed by his abilities, Gandhi offered to send him at her own expense to the United States for treatment for his eyes, but Giridhar turned down this offer, replying with an extemporaneous Sanskrit verse.
In 1976 Giridhar topped the final Acharya examinations in Vyakarana, winning seven gold medals and the Chancellor's gold medal. In a rare achievement, although he had only enrolled for a master's degree in Vyakarana, he was declared Acharya of all subjects taught at the university on 30 April 1976.
### Doctorate and post-doctorate
After completing his master's degree, Giridhar enrolled for the doctoral Vidyavaridhi (PhD) degree at the same institute, under Pandit Ramprasad Tripathi. He received a research fellowship from the University Grants Commission (UGC), but even so, he faced financial hardship during the next five years. He completed his Vidyavaridhi degree in Sanskrit grammar on 14 October 1981. His dissertation was titled Adhyātmarāmāyaṇe'pāṇinīyaprayogānāṃ Vimarśaḥ, or Deliberation on the non-Paninian usages in the Adhyatma Ramayana. The thesis was authored in only thirteen days in 1981. On completion of his doctorate, the UGC offered him the position of head of the Vyakarana department of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University. However, Giridhar did not accept; he decided to devote his life to the service of religion, society, and those with disabilities.
On 9 May 1997, Giridhar (now known as Rambhadracharya) was awarded the post-doctorate Vachaspati (DLitt) degree by Sampurnanand Sanskrit University for his 2000-page Sanskrit dissertation Pāṇinīyāṣṭādhyāyyāḥ Pratisūtraṃ Śābdabodhasamīkṣā, or Investigation into verbal knowledge of every Sūtra of the Ashtadhyayi of Panini. The degree was presented to him by K. R. Narayanan, then President of India. In this work, Rambhadracharya explained each aphorism of the grammar of Panini in Sanskrit verses.
## Later life
### 1979–1988
Virakta Diksha
In 1976 Giridhar narrated a Katha on Ramcharitmanas to Swami Karpatri, who advised him not to marry, to stay a lifelong Brahmachari (celibate bachelor) and to take initiation in a Vaishnava Sampradaya (a sect worshipping Vishnu, Krishna, or Rama as the supreme God). Giridhar took vairagi (renouncer) initiation or Virakta Diksha in the Ramananda Sampradaya on the Kartika full-moon day of 19 November 1983 from Shri Ramcharandas Maharaj Phalahari. He now came to be known as Rambhadradas.
Six-month fasts
Following the fifth verse of the Dohavali composed by Tulsidas, Rambhadradas observed a six-month Payovrata, a diet of only milk and fruits, at Chitrakoot in 1979.
In 1983 he observed his second Payovrata beside the Sphatik Shila in Chitrakoot. The Payovrata has become a regular part of Rambhadradas' life. In 2002, in his sixth Payovrata, he composed the Sanskrit epic Śrībhārgavarāghavīyam. He continues to observe Payovratas, the latest (2010–2011) being his ninth.
Tulsi Peeth
In 1987 Rambhadradas established a religious and social service institution called Tulsi Peeth (The seat of Tulsi) in Chitrakoot, where, according to the Ramayana, Rama had spent twelve out of his fourteen years of exile. As the founder of the seat, the title of Śrīcitrakūṭatulasīpīṭhādhīśvara (literally, the Lord of the Tulsi Peeth at Chitrakoot) was bestowed upon him by Sadhus and intellectuals. In the Tulsi Peeth, he arranged for a temple devoted to Rama and his "Patni"Sita to be constructed, which is known as Kanch Mandir ("glass temple").
### Post of Jagadguru Ramanandacharya
Rambhadradas was chosen as the Jagadguru Ramanandacharya seated at the Tulsi Peeth by the Kashi Vidwat Parishad in Varanasi on 24 June 1988. On 3 February 1989, at the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, the appointment was unanimously supported by the Mahants of the three Akharas, the four sub-Sampradayas, the Khalsas and saints of the Ramananda Sampradaya. On 1 August 1995 he was ritually anointed as the Jagadguru Ramanandacharya in Ayodhya by the Digambar Akhara. Thereafter he was known as Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya.
### Deposition in the Ayodhya case
In July 2003 Rambhadracharya deposed as an expert witness for religious matters (OPW 16) in Other Original Suit Number 5 of the Ram Janmabhoomi Babri Masjid dispute case in the Allahabad High Court. Some portions of his affidavit and cross examination are quoted in the final judgement by the High Court. In his affidavit, he cited the ancient Hindu scriptures including the Ramayana, Rāmatāpanīya Upaniṣad, Skanda Purana, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda, and others describing Ayodhya as a city holy to Hindus and the birthplace of Rama. He cited verses from two works composed by Tulsidas which, in his opinion, are relevant to the dispute. The first citation consisted of eight verses from a work called Dohā Śataka, which describe the destruction of a temple and construction of a mosque at the disputed site in 1528 CE by Mughal ruler Babur, who had ordered General Mir Baqui to destroy the Rama temple, considered a symbol of worship by sanatana dharmi. The second citation was a verse from a work called Kavitāvalī, which mentions a mosque. In his cross examination, he described in some detail the history of the Ramananda sect, its Mathas, rules regarding Mahants, formation and working of Akharas, and Tulsidas' works. Refuting the possibility of the original temple being to the north of the disputed area, as pleaded by the pro-mosque parties, he described the boundaries of the Janmabhoomi as mentioned in the Ayodhya Mahatmya section of Skanda Purana, which tallied with the present location of the disputed area, as noted by Justice Sudhir Agarwal. However, he stated that he had no knowledge of whether there was a Ram Chabootra ("Platform of Rama") outside the area that was locked from 1950 to 1985 and where the Chati Poojan Sthal was, nor whether the idols of Rama, his brother Lakshmana, and Sita were installed at Ram Chabootra outside the Janmabhoomi temple.
### Multilingualism
Rambhadracharya is a scholar of 14 languages and can speak 22 languages in total, including Sanskrit, Hindi, English, French, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Oriya, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, Magadhi, Awadhi, and Braj. He has composed poems and literary works in many Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, and Awadhi. He has translated many of his works of poetry and prose into other languages. He delivers Katha programmes in various languages, including Hindi, Bhojpuri, and Gujarati.
### Institutes for the disabled
On 23 August 1996 Rambhadracharya established the Tulsi School for the Blind in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh. He founded the Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University, an institution of higher learning solely for disabled students, on 27 September 2001 in Chitrakoot. This is the first university in the world exclusively for those with disabilities. The university was created by an ordinance of the Uttar Pradesh Government, which was later passed as Uttar Pradesh State Act 32 (2001) by the Uttar Pradesh legislature. The act appointed Swami Rambhadracharya as the lifelong chancellor of the university. The university offers graduate, post-graduate, and doctorate degrees in various subjects, including Sanskrit, Hindi, English, Sociology, Psychology, Music, Drawing and Painting, Fine Arts, Special Education, Education, History, Culture and Archeology, Computer and Information Sciences, Vocational Education, Law, Economics, and Prosthetics and Orthotics. The university plans to start offering courses in Ayurveda and Medical Sciences from 2013. Admissions are restricted to the four types of disabled students—visually impaired, hearing impaired, mobility impaired, and mentally impaired—as defined by the Disability Act (1995) of the Government of India. According to the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the university is among the chief educational institutes for Information Technology and Electronics in the state.
Rambhadracharya also founded an organisation called Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Viklang Seva Sangh, headquartered in Satna, Madhya Pradesh. Its goal is to create community awareness and initiate child development programmes in rural India. Its primary objective is to supplement the education programmes of Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University by helping disabled children get a good education. Aid is generally given in the form of facilities which enable easier access to education. Rambhadracharya also runs a hundred-bed hospital in Gujarat.
### Critical edition of Ramcharitmanas
The Ramcharitmanas was composed by Tulsidas in the late sixteenth century. It has been extremely popular in northern India over the last four hundred years, and is often referred to as the "Bible of northern India" by Western Indologists. Rambhadracharya produced a critical edition of the Ramcharitmanas, which was published as the Tulsi Peeth edition. Apart from the original text, for which Rambhadracharya has relied extensively on older manuscripts, there were differences in spelling, grammar, and prosodic conventions between the Tulsi Peeth edition and contemporary editions of the Ramcharitmanas.
In November 2009, Rambhadracharya was accused of tampering with the epic, but the dispute died down after Rambhadracharya expressed his regret for any annoyance or pain caused by the publication. A writ petition was also filed against him but it was dismissed. This edition was published in 2005 by Shri Tulsi Peeth Seva Nyas.
### Assassination threats
In November 2007 someone claiming to be an al-Qaeda member sent Rambhadracharya a letter telling him and his disciples either to accept Islam or to be prepared to die. Police superintendent Kamal Singh Rathore said that this letter had been sent from Haridwar, that Rambhadracharya's security arrangements had been increased and that an intensive investigation of the letter had been carried out. Gita Devi, secretary of JRHU, said that Rambhadracharya had been threatened by al-Qaeda, as Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas president Nrityagopal had been in the past.
In November 2014, Rambhadracharya received another assassination threat with a demand of "terror tax" over JRHU operations.
### Participation in 84-kosi yatra
On 25 August 2013, Rambhadracharya arrived at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport in Lucknow along with VHP leader Ashok Singhal. He was going to Ayodhya to take part in the 84-kosi yatra, a 12-day religious yatra which was banned by the state government citing law and order reasons. It is alleged that the ban was due to opposition from Muslim organisations or vote-bank politics. Rambhadracharya's participation in the yatra was kept secret. Rambhadracharya was put under house arrest at the home of R C Mishra, his disciple and friend.
On 26 August 2013, a local lawyer Ranjana Agnihotri filed a habeas corpus petition in the Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench, on which judges Imtiyaz Murtaza and D K Upadhayaya passed the release order for Rambhadracharya, along with Singhal and Praveen Togadia. The petitioner's advocate H S Jain said that even though Rambhadracharya and other leaders were arrested under the section 151 of the 1973 Criminal Procedure Code, which permits an arrest to prevent commission of cognisable offences, the custody period cannot exceed 24 hours unless any other section of the code or any other law is applicable. After his release, Rambhadracharya said that the government had creating misconceptions about the yatra.
Two days after the incident, Rambhadracharya was given Y-category security cover by the Uttar Pradesh government since he had reported security threats. Hindustan Times reported that this grant could be a possible attempt to "build bridges with the sadhus after the Sunday showdown." Government officials said that a high-powered committee will decide on the continuation of the security cover. JRHU vice-chancellor B Pandey said that Rambhadracharya met Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow and invited him to be the chief guest in a University function, and Yadav accepted the invitation. However, Yadav did not attend the function due to difficult circumstances, but sent the Energy Minister of State Vijay Mishra and Secondary Education Minister of State Vijay Bahadur Pal. Rambhadracharya was disappointed that Yadav could not "come for even 15 minutes for disabled children," and said that he will have atone for this.
## Works
Rambhadracharya has authored more than 100 books and 50 papers, including published books and unpublished manuscripts. Various audio and video recordings have also been released. His major literary and musical compositions are listed below.
### Poetry and plays
- \(1980\) Kākā Vidura (काका विदुर) – Hindi minor poem.
- \(1982\) Mā̐ Śabarī (मा̐ शबरी) – Hindi minor poem.
- \(1991\) Rāghavagītaguñjana (राघवगीतगुञ्जन) – Hindi lyrical poem.
- \(1993\) Bhaktigītasudhā (भक्तिगीतसुधा) – Hindi lyrical poem.
- \(1994\) Arundhatī (अरुन्धती) – Hindi epic poem.
- \(1996\) Ājādacandraśekharacaritam (आजादचन्द्रशेखरचरितम्) – Sanskrit minor poem.
- \(1996\) Āryāśatakam (आर्याशतकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(1996\) Gaṇapatiśatakam (गणपतिशतकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(1996\) Caṇḍīśatakam (चण्डीशतकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(1996\) Jānakīkṛpākaṭākṣam (जानकीकृपाकटाक्षम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(1996\) Mukundasmaraṇam (मुकुन्दस्मरणम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(1996\) Śrīrāghavābhyudayam (श्रीराघवाभ्युदयम्) – Single-act Sanskrit play-poem.
- \(1996\) Śrīrāghavendraśatakam (श्रीराघवेन्द्रशतकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(1997\) Aṣṭādhyāyyāḥ Pratisūtraṃ Śābdabodhasamīkṣaṇam (अष्टाध्याय्याः प्रतिसूत्रं शाब्दबोधसमीक्षणम्) – Sanskrit commentary in verse on the Sutras of the Ashtadhyayi.
- \(1997\) Śrīrāmabhaktisarvasvam (श्रीरामभक्तिसर्वस्वम्) – Sanskrit poem of one hundred verses.
- \(1998\) Śrīgaṅgāmahimnastotram (श्रीगङ्गामहिम्नस्तोत्रम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2001\) Sarayūlaharī (सरयूलहरी) – Sanskrit minor poem.
- \(2001\) Laghuraghuvaram (लघुरघुवरम्) – Sanskrit minor poem.
- \(2001\) Namo Rāghavāya (नमो राघवाय) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2001\) Śrīnarmadāṣṭakam (श्रीनर्मदाष्टकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise on the river Narmada.
- \(2001\) Bhaktisārasarvasvam (भक्तिसारसर्वस्वम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2001\) Ślokamauktikam (श्लोकमौक्तिकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2001\) Śrīrāghavacaraṇacihnaśatakam (श्रीराघवचरणचिह्नशतकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2001\) Śrījānakīcaraṇacihnaśatakam (श्रीजानकीचरणचिह्नशतकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2001\) Śrīrāmavallabhāstotram (श्रीरामवल्लभास्तोत्रम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2010\) Sarvarogaharāṣṭakam (सर्वरोगहराष्टकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2001\) Śrīcitrakūṭavihāryaṣṭakam (श्रीचित्रकूटविहार्यष्टकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2001\) Śrījānakīkṛpākaṭākṣastotram (श्रीजानकीकृपाकटाक्षस्तोत्रम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2002\) Śrībhārgavarāghavīyam (श्रीभार्गवराघवीयम्) – Sanskrit epic poem. The poet was awarded the 2004 Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit for the epic.
- \(2002\) Śrīrāghavabhāvadarśanam (श्रीराघवभावदर्शनम्) – Sanskrit minor poem.
- \(2003\) Kubjāpatram (कुब्जापत्रम्) – Sanskrit letter poem.
- \(2004\) Bhṛṅgadūtam (भृङ्गदूतम्) – Sanskrit minor poem of the Dūtakāvya (messenger-poem) category.
- \(2007\) Manmathāriśatakam (मन्मथारिशतकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2008\) Caraṇapīḍāharāṣṭakam (चरणपीडाहराष्टकम्) – Sanskrit hymn of praise.
- \(2008\) Śrīsītārāmakelikaumudī (श्रीसीतारामकेलिकौमुदी) – Hindi Rītikāvya (procedural-era Hindi poem).
- \(2009\) Śrīsītārāmasuprabhātam (श्रीसीतारामसुप्रभातम्) – A Sanskrit suprabhatam.
- \(2010\) Aṣṭāvakra (अष्टावक्र) – Hindi epic poem.
- \(2011\) Gītarāmāyaṇam (गीतरामायणम्) – Sanskrit lyrical epic poem.
- \(2011\) Avadha Kai Ajoriyā (अवध कै अजोरिया) – Awadhi lyrical poem.
- \(2011\) Śrīsītāsudhānidhiḥ (श्रीसीतासुधानिधिः) – Sanskrit minor poem of the Stotraprabandhakāvya category.
### Prose
#### Sanskrit commentaries on Prasthanatrayi
Rambhadracharya composed Sanskrit commentaries titled Śrīrāghavakṛpābhāṣyam on the Prasthanatrayi scriptures – the Brahma Sutra, the Bhagavad Gita, and eleven Upanishads. These commentaries were released on 10 April 1998 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then Prime Minister of India. Rambhadracharya composed Śrīrāghavakṛpābhāṣyam on Narada Bhakti Sutra in 1991. He thus revived the tradition of writing Sanskrit commentaries on the Prasthanatrayi. He also gave the Ramananda Sampradaya its second commentary on Prasthanatrayi in Sanskrit, the first being the Ānandabhāṣyam, composed by Ramananda himself. Rambhadracharya's commentary in Sanskrit on the Prasthanatrayi was the first written in almost 500 years.
#### Other prose works
- \(1980\) Bharata Mahimā (भरत महिमा) – Hindi discourse.
- \(1981\) Adhyātmarāmāyaṇe Apāṇinīyaprayogānāṃ Vimarśaḥ (अध्यात्मरामायणे अपाणिनीयप्रयोगानां विमर्शः) – Sanskrit dissertation (PhD thesis).
- \(1982\) Mānasa Me̐ Tāpasa Prasaṅga (मानस में तापस प्रसंग) – Hindi deliberation.
- \(1983\) Mahavīrī (महावीरी) – Hindi commentary on Hanuman Chalisa.
- \(1985\) Sugrīva Kā Agha Aura Vibhīṣaṇa Kī Karatūti (सुग्रीव का अघ और विभीषण की करतूति) – Hindi discourse.
- \(1985\) Śrīgītātātparya (श्रीगीतातात्पर्य) – Hindi commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.
- \(1988\) Sanātanadharma Kī Vigrahasvarūpa Gomātā (सनातनधर्म की विग्रहस्वरूप गोमाता) – Hindi deliberation.
- \(1988\) Śrītulasīsāhitya me̐ Kṛṣṇa Kathā (श्रीतुलसीसाहित्य में कृष्णकथा) – Hindi investigative research.
- \(1989\) Mānasa me̐ Sumitrā (मानस में सुमित्रा) – Hindi discourse.
- \(1990\) Sīta Nirvāsana Nahī̐ (सीता निर्वासन नहीं) – Hindi critique.
- \(1991\) Śrīnāradabhaktisūtreṣu Śrīrāghavakṛpābhāṣyam (श्रीनारदभक्तिसूत्रेषु श्रीराघवकृपाभाष्यम्) – Sanskrit commentary on the Narada Bhakti Sutra.
- \(1992\) Prabhu Kari Kṛpā Pā̐varī Dīnhī (प्रभु करि कृपा पाँवरी दीन्ही) – Hindi discourse.
- \(1993\) Parama Baḍabhāgī Jaṭāyu (परम बड़भागी जटायु) – Hindi discourse.
- \(2001\) Śrīrāmastavarājastotre Śrīrāghavakṛpābhāṣyam (श्रीरामस्तवराजस्तोत्रे श्रीराघवकृपाभाष्यम्) – Sanskrit commentary on the Rāmastavarājastotra.
- \(2001\) Śrī Sītārāma Vivāha Darśana (श्री सीताराम विवाह दर्शन) – Hindi discourse.
- \(2004\) Tuma Pāvaka Ma̐ha Karahu Nivāsā (तुम पावक मँह करहु निवासा) – Hindi discourse.
- \(2005\) Bhāvārthabodhinī (भावार्थबोधिनी) – Hindi commentary on the Ramcharitmanas.
- \(2007\) Śrīrāsapañcādhyāyīvimarśaḥ (श्रीरासपञ्चाध्यायीविमर्शः) – Hindi deliberation on Rāsapañcādhyāyī.
- \(2006\) Ahalyoddhāra (अहल्योद्धार) – Hindi discourse.
- \(2008\) Hara Te Bhe Hanumāna (हर ते भे हनुमान) – Hindi discourse.
- \(2009\) Satya Rāmapremī Śrīdaśaratha (सत्य रामप्रेमी श्रीदशरथ) – Hindi discourse on the character of Dasharatha.
- \(2011\) Veṇugīta (वेणुगीत) – Hindi discourse on chapter 21 from Book 10 of Śrīmadbhāgavatam.
### Audio and video
- \(2001\) Bhajana Sarayū (भजन सरयू) – Audio CD with eight bhajans (devotional hymns) in Hindi devoted to Rama. Composed, set to music, and sung by Rambhadracharya. Released by Yuki Cassettes, Delhi.
- \(2001\) Bhajana Yamunā (भजन यमुना) – Audio CD with seven bhajans in Hindi devoted to Krishna. Composed, set to music, and sung by Rambhadracharya. Released by Yuki Cassettes, Delhi.
- \(2009\) Śrī Hanumat Bhakti (श्री हनुमत् भक्ति) – Audio CD with six bhajans in Hindi devoted to Hanuman, and composed by Tulsidas. Set to music and sung by Rambhadracharya. Released by Kuber Music, New Delhi.
- \(2009\) Śrīsītārāmasuprabhātam (श्रीसीतारामसुप्रभातम्) – Audio CD of Śrīsītārāmasuprabhātam, a Sanskrit Suprabhata poem. Composed, set to music, and sung in the Vairagi Raga by Rambhadracharya. Released by Yuki Cassettes, Delhi.
- \(2009\) Sundara Kāṇḍa (सुन्दर काण्ड) – DVD with a musical rendition of and commentary on the Sundar Kand of Ramcharitmanas. Spoken, set to music, and sung by Rambhadracharya. Released by Yuki Cassettes, Delhi.
### Literary style
Rewa Prasad Dwivedi writes in his Sanskrit poem dedicated to Rambhadracharya that he is an encyclopaedia of learning whose literature is like numerous Narmadā rivers flowing out simultaneously, and in whose literary works Shiva and Parvati delight while performing Tandava and Lasya.
Devarshi Kala Nath Shastry writes in his review of Rambhadracharya's works that Rambhadracharya is an accomplished and eloquent poet who is the foremost among scholars and is also well-versed in all scriptures, and who even talks in extemporaneously composed poetry with Sanskrit scholars, usually in Upajāti metre. Rambhadracharya uses with great effect the Daṇḍaka style with Sanskrit adjectives in his speeches. Shastry recounts a use of a long sentence in the Daṇḍaka style at a speech in Jaipur in July 2003 by Rambhadracharya, in which one sentence with multiple adjectives lasted around seven minutes and was "replete with poetic beauty". Shastry writes that among Sanskrit poets, only Śrīharṣa (poet of Naiṣadhīyacaritam) has been described as having such wonderful command over Sanskrit as Rambhadracharya has.
Shastry critiqued the work Śrībhārgavarāghavīyam in the January 2003 issue of the Sanskrit monthly Bhāratī. Shastry writes that the work has poetic excellence, variety of meters and dexterity of language which has not been seen hitherto in Sanskrit epics. Shastry finds the twentieth canto of the epic to be an excellent illustration of Sanskrit poetry in Prakrit verses, a style which was pioneered by Shastry's father.
Dr. Brajesh Dikshit, Sanskrit scholar from Jabalpur, says that Śrībhārgavarāghavīyam combines the styles of three previous Sanskrit epics – it has two leading characters like in Bhāravi's Kirātārjunīyam, the poetic excellence and variety of prosodic metres is like in Śrīharṣa's Naiṣadhīyacaritam, while the length and extent of the work is like the Śiśupālavadham of Māgha.
Shastry also critiqued the work Bhṛṅgadūtam, about which he says that it has many new usages (Prayogas) not seen earlier in Sanskrit poetry. As per Shastry, new dimensions in Sanskrit literature are seen in the play Śrīrāghavābhyudayam where there are songs in the Gīti style, and Gītarāmāyaṇam which is an epic poem in the Gīti style of Gītagovindam by Jayadeva. Dikshit writes that Kubjāpatram is a revival of the letter-poem (Patrakāvya) genre in Sanskrit after 2000 years, and is the first work in Sanskrit literature whose lead character is disabled.
Shastry says that rhyme (Antyānuprāsa) is a distinguishing feature of Rambhadracharya's Sanskrit poetry. Shastry notes that another feature of Rambhadracharya's works is the devotion to motherland and patriotism, which is most evident in the poetic work Ājādacandraśekharacaritam on the life of Chandrashekhar Azad. Shastry says that this strong feeling of love towards motherland is reminiscent of old Sanskrit literature including Prithvi Sukta of Atharva Veda, various Puranas including Bhagavata Purana, and also in the Sanskrit works of Swami Bhagavadacharya, a former Jagadguru Ramanandacharya. Dikshit says that the nationalistic play Śrīrāghavābhyudayam establishes Rambhadracharya as a successful playwright at a young age. Dikshit praises the aesthetics of the work Śrīsītārāmakelikaumudī saying that it represents all the six Sampradāyas of Indian literature (Rīti, Rasa, Alaṅkāra, Dhvani, Vakrokti and Aucitya), and that it is a unique work of Rambhadracharya when it comes to figures of speech. Dikshit says that this work places Rambhadracharya in the league of Ritikavya poets like Raskhan, Keshavdas, Ghananand and Padmakar; but observes the distinction that while the works of all these poets are primarily in the Śṛngāra Rasa, Śrīsītārāmakelikaumudī is a work which has Vātsalya Rasa as the primary emotion, which is augmented by Śṛngāra Rasa.
Dinkar notes that in the poems of Rambhadracharya, the three poetical styles of Pāñcālī (secondary figurative sense with short and sweet-sounding compounds), Vaidarbhī (with compounds and soft contexts and without many figures of speech) and Lāṭī (with precise contexts and without many figures of speech) are dominant.
## Recognition, awards and honours
### Recognition
Recognition in India
Rambhadracharya is widely popular in Chitrakoot. Atal Bihari Vajpayee considered Rambhadracharya to be an "immensely learned person well versed in Vedic and Puranic literature besides the grammar", and commended his intelligence and memory. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi said of Rambhadracharya that the "intense knowledge of the most revered is indeed adorable". Nanaji Deshmukh called Rambhadracharya "an astonishing gem of the country". Swami Kalyandev considered Rambhadracharya to be "an unprecedented intellectual and speaker, and an Acharya with great devotion". Somnath Chatterjee called him a "celebrated Sanskrit scholar and educationist of great merit and achievement". He is considered one of the greatest scholars on Tulsidas and Ramcharitmanas in India, and is cited as such. Ram Prakash Gupta and Keshari Nath Tripathi have stated that Rambhadracharya has enriched society with his contributions and will continue to do so. Swami Ramdev considers Rambhadracharya to be the most learned person in the world at present. Rambhadracharya was a member of a delegation of saints and Dharmacharyas which met the then president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and the then union Home Minister Shivraj Patil in July 2005 to hand over a memorandum urging to strengthen the security arrangements for important religious places in the country. Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra said that Rambhadracharya is of a high-mind, has a stupendous grip on the Indian literature, and "his soul feels the true pleasure in serving oppressed disabled people". Mata Prasad Pandey, the Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, said that Rambhadracharya has opened a door of development for those with disabilities in India, and that he has achieved what eminent industrialists and the government cannot do. Energy Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Uttar Pradesh Vijay Mishra termed Rambhadracharya as "most revered", whereas Uttar Pradesh's Secondary Education Minister of State Vijay Bahadur Pal called him the "chancellor of the utterly unique handicapped university." Rambhadracharya is also a member of the 51-members Akhil Bharatiya Sant Ucchadhikar Samiti (Empowered Committee of the All India Saints). In November 2014, Rambhadracharya was one of the nine people nominated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Clean India Campaign. In September 2014, Rambhadracharya adopted five villages of Chitrakoot, with an aim to construct toilets in all the households. Rambhadracharya was one of the guests in the inaugural International Yoga Day event in New Delhi.
International recognition
In 1992 Rambhadracharya led the Indian delegation at the Ninth World Conference on Ramayana, held in Indonesia. He has travelled to several countries, including England, Mauritius, Singapore, and the United States to deliver discourses on Hindu religion and peace. He has been profiled in the International Who's Who of Intellectuals. He was also one of the key figures of the Dharma Prachar Yatra at Detroit.
Address at Millennium World Peace Summit
Rambhadracharya was one of the spiritual and religious Gurus from India at the Millennium World Peace Summit, organised by the United Nations in New York City from 28 to 31 August 2000. While addressing the gathering, he gave Sanskrit definitions for the words Bharata (the ancient name of India) and Hindu, and touched upon the Nirguna and Saguna aspects of God. In his speech on Peace, he called for developed and developing nations to come together to strive for the eradication of poverty, the fight against terrorism, and nuclear disarmament. At the end of his speech, he recited the Shanti Mantra.
### Awards and honours
He received padmavibhushna award in 2023
In 2015, Rambhadracharya was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour. Rambhadracharya has been honoured by several leaders and politicians, including A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Somnath Chatterjee, Shilendra Kumar Singh, and Indira Gandhi. Several state governments, including that of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh have conferred honours on him. In 2021, he was also awarded with Kendra Sahitya Academy Fellowship.
## See also
- Timeline of Rambhadracharya
- List of Hindu gurus and saints
- List of Sahitya Akademi Award winners for Sanskrit |
27,364,078 | The Immortals of Meluha | 1,173,276,922 | 2010 novel by Amish Tripathi | [
"2010 Indian novels",
"2010 debut novels",
"2010 fantasy novels",
"Hindu mythology in popular culture",
"Indian fantasy novels",
"Indus Valley civilisation in popular culture",
"Novels by Amish Tripathi",
"Novels set in Jammu and Kashmir",
"Novels set in Punjab",
"Novels set in Sindh",
"Novels set in Tibet",
"Novels set in Uttar Pradesh",
"Novels set in ancient India",
"Novels set in the 19th century BC",
"Shiva",
"Westland Books books"
] | The Immortals of Meluha is the first book of Amish Tripathi, first book of Amishverse, and also the first book of Shiva Trilogy. The story is set in the land of Meluha and starts with the arrival of the Shiva. The Meluhans believe that Shiva is their fabled saviour Neelkanth. Shiva decides to help the Meluhans in their war against the Chandravanshis, who had joined forces with the cursed Nagas; however, during his journey and the fight that ensues, Shiva learns how his choices actually reflect who he aspires to be and how they lead to dire consequences.
Tripathi had initially decided to write a book on the philosophy of evil, but was dissuaded by his family members, so he decided to write a book on Shiva, one of the Hindu Gods. He decided to base his story on a radical idea that all Gods were once human beings; it was their deeds in the human life that made them famous as Gods. After finishing writing The Immortals of Meluha, Tripathi faced rejection from many publication houses. Ultimately when his agent decided to publish the book himself, Tripathi embarked on a promotional campaign. It included posting a live-action video on YouTube, and making the first chapter of the book available as a free digital download, to entice readers.
Ultimately, when the book was published in February 2010, it went on to become a huge commercial success. It had to be reprinted a number of times to keep up with the demand. Tripathi even changed his publisher and hosted a big launch for the book in Delhi. It was critically appreciated by some Indian reviewers, others noted that Tripathi's writing tended to lose focus at some parts of the story. With the launch of the third installment, titled The Oath of the Vayuputras, in February 2013, the Shiva Trilogy has become the fastest selling book series in the history of Indian publishing, with 2.5 million copies in print and over ₹60 crore (US\$7.5 million) in sales.
## Plot
Meluha is a near perfect empire, created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest kings that ever lived. However, the once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe crisis as its primary river, Saraswati, was slowly drying to extinction. They also face devastating attacks from the Chandravanshis who have joined forces with the Nagas, a cursed race of people with physical deformities. The present Meluhan king, Daksha, sends his emissaries to Tibet, to invite the local tribes to Meluha. Shiva, chief of the Guna tribe, accepts the proposal and moves to Meluha with his people. Once reached they are received by Ayurvati, the Chief of Medicine of the Meluhans. The Gunas are impressed with the Meluhan way of life. On their first night of stay the tribe wake up with high fever and sweating. The Meluhan doctors administer medicine.
Ayurvati finds out that Shiva is the only one devoid of these symptoms and that his throat has turned blue. The Meluhans announce Shiva as the Neelkanth, their fabled saviour. Shiva is then taken to Devagiri, the capital city of Meluha, where he meets Daksha. While staying there, Shiva and his comrades, Nandi and Veerbhadra, encounter Princess Sati, the daughter of Daksha. She is a Vikarma, an untouchable person due to sins committed in her previous births. Shiva tries to court her, but she rejects his advances. Ultimately Shiva wins her heart and even though the Vikarma rule prohibits them from doing so, an enraged Shiva vows to dissolve it and marries Sati.
During his stay in Devagiri, Shiva learns of the war with the Chandravanshis and also meets Brahaspati, the Chief Inventor of the Meluhans. Brahaspati invites Shiva and the royal family on an expedition to Mount Mandar, where the legendary drink Somras is manufactured using the waters of the Saraswati. Shiva learns that the potion which made his throat turn blue was actually undiluted Somras, which can be lethal when taken in its pure form. But he was safe, indicating him to be the Neelkanth. Somras has anti-ageing properties making the Meluhans live for many years. Brahaspati and Shiva develop a close friendship and the royal family returns to Devagiri. One morning, the Meluhans wake up to a blast that took place at Mandar, destroying parts of the mountain and killing the scientists living there. There is no sign of Brahaspati, but Shiva finds the insignia of the Nagas, confirming their involvement with the Chandravanshis.
Enraged by this, Shiva declares war on the Chandravanshis at Swadweep, consulting with Devagiri Chief Minister Kanakhala and the Head of Meluhan Army, Parvateshwar. A fierce battle is fought between the Meluhans and the Swadweepans in which the Meluhans prevail. The Chandravanshi king is captured but becomes enraged upon seeing the Neelkanth. The Chandravanshi princess Anandmayi explains that they too had a similar legend that the Neelkanth will come forward to save their land by launching an assault against the "evil" Suryavanshis. Hearing this, Shiva is dumbfounded and utterly distressed. With Sati he visits the famous Ram temple of Ayodhya, the capital of Swadweep. There he has a philosophical discussion with the priest about his karma, fate and his choices in life, which would guide him in future. As Shiva comes out of the temple, he finds Sati being kidnapped by a Naga.
## Characters and locations
Tripathi believes "Myths are nothing but jumbled memories of a true past. A past buried under mounds of earth and ignorance." The book has known characters from Hindu texts as well as those born from Tripathi's imagination; however the former do not inherit all of their classical traits.
### Characters
- Shiva – The main character in the story. He is a Tibetan immigrant to Meluha and the chief of the Guna tribe. On arriving in Meluha and consuming the Somras, his throat turns blue making him the Neelkanth of the Meluhan legend, which speaks of the appearance of Neelkanth as a destroyer of evil. The Meluhans end up believing that Shiva would be their saviour against evil.
- Sati – The Meluhan princess, she is the daughter of emperor Daksha. Shiva falls in love with her but cannot marry her because of a law that considers her to be a Vikarma, an untouchable. Vikarmas are people who bear misfortunes in this life due to sins of their past births. She is a skilled swords-woman and has been brave since childhood. During the course of novel she marries Shiva and bears his child.
- The Lord of the People — A powerful Naga with mysterious origins.
- Nandi – A captain in the Meluhan army. A loyal devotee of Shiva, who is often considered for his opinion and suggestions by Shiva.
- Veerbhadra – A captain of Shiva's army and his close childhood friend. He was later renamed as Veer Bhadra, a title earned by once defeating a tiger single-handedly. He seeks Shiva's permission, the leader of Gunas, to marry Krittika.
- Brahaspati – The chief Meluhan scientist who becomes Shiva's good friend. Though he does not believe the legend of the Neelkanth, he believes that Shiva is capable of taking Meluha to its new glory.
- Daksha – The Emperor of the Meluhans, he is appreciative of every effort that Shiva does to save his country.
- Kanakhala – The prime minister of Daksha's royal court' in-charge of administrative, revenue and protocol matters, Kanakhala is an extremely learned and intelligent woman, who gets into verbal conflicts with Parvateshvar regarding Shiva.
- Parvateshvar – Head of Meluhan Army; in-charge of army, navy, special forces, and police. He is a staunch Suryavanshi, Parvateshvar is critical of Shiva's ways with the Meluhans, and is loyal to Daksha. He eventually becomes an avid follower of Shiva as he realizes that Shiva could actually lead them to victory and finish Lord Ram's unfinished task. He is a good follower of Lord Ram.
- Ayurvati – The Chief of Medicine, Ayurvati is an intelligent and revered woman, who is capable of curing any disease. She is the first to realize that Shiva is the "Neelkanth", their savior.
### Races
- Suryavanshis – The Suryavanshis are followers of Shri Ram and the Solar Calendar and try to lead a life that is as ideal as possible. The Suryavanshis believe in Satya, Dharma, Maan—Truth, Duty, and Honor.
- Chandravanshis – The Chandravanshis are followers of the Lunar Calendar. Traditionally the Chandravanshis and Suryavanshis are enemies. They are democratic dynasty who believes in Shringar, Saundarya and Swatantrata- Passion, Beauty and Freedom.
- Nagas – A cursed race of people who have physical deformities. They are extremely skilled warriors.
### Kingdoms
- Meluha – The empire of the Suryavanshis, also known as the land of pure life. Meluha is based in the areas of the modern Indian provinces of Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and the whole of Pakistan. It also includes parts of eastern Afghanistan.
- Swadweep – The empire of the Chandravanshis, also known as the island of the individual. Swadweep comprises the modern Indian provinces of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya and all of the country of Bangladesh, besides most parts of Nepal and Bhutan.
Characters and locations are per the books from the series and from the official website.
## Critical reception
After its publication, The Immortals of Meluha received mostly positive response from critics for its concept but the prose received mixed reviews. Pradip Bhattacharya from The Statesman felt that the "plot skips along at a brisk pace, the characters are well etched and the reader’s attention is not allowed to flag. It will be interesting to see how the trilogy progresses. One cannot but admire the creative drive that impels a finance professional to embark on such an ambitious odyssey on uncharted seas." Another review by Gaurav Vasudev from the same newspaper wrote that "the book is a gripping mythological story written in modern style."
Devdutt Pattanaik from The Tribune commented that "the writer takes us on a sinister journey with the characters, who frequently sound as if they are one of us only." Society magazine complimented Tripathi's writing by saying, "Reading this beautifully written creation is like plunging into the icy and venerable waters of the Manasarovar Lake. One can actually sense the beats of Shiva's dumru and fumes of intoxicating chillum. Simply unputdownable." Nandita Sengupta from The Times of India felt that "while the author spins a tale of adventure, it could have been a slightly snappier, tighter read. Some crunching of thoughts that tended to overlap and repeat would be welcome in the next two books." However, Sengupta was most impressed by the author's crafting of Shiva as a "rough-hewn, hot-headed, a great dancer, smitten by Sati... Shiva's our definition of a hero, ready to fight for a good cause anytime."
Lisa Mahapatra from The New Indian Express was impressed with the story and Tripathi's writing and praised "the interactions between Shiva and Sati, [which were] intriguing. Age-old thoughts and philosophies were delivered in a very modern context, which I thought made for an interesting juxtaposition." Mahapatra added that "the only downside throughout the novel, I was unable to really get into the main characters—they remained mostly on a two-dimensional level." It received a mixed review from Hindustan Times, where the reviewer was critical of Tripathi's usage of common, everyday language. "There are many other subtle depictions of Lord Ram and other characters and overall its very well written. I wrote to Amish to express one small observation, the script writing is not that sharp. You have words like 'Goddamnit', 'bloody hell', 'In the name of God what is this nonsense?' etc, which I guess would be great for an Indian audience but after you just finish a Steven Erikson novel you find it falling a little flat," the reviewer concluded. Sunita Sudhir of Learn Religions also gave a glowing review stating that 'whether the book fires your imagination to dwell on the larger questions of life or not, it certainly is a populist page-turner.'
## Commercial performance
The Immortals of Meluha was a commercial success. Just after a week of its publication in February 2010, the book hit the best seller list of several magazines and newspapers, including The Statesman, The Economic Times, The Times of India, Rolling Stone India, among others. The book had to be re-printed for another 5,000 copies thrice within the next week, and by the end of July, it had sold around 45,000 copies across India. Both Tripathi and Bahri decided that a transfer of the rights of the book to a larger publisher was needed, so as to take the book to higher grounds. Many publishers bid for it, but they went with Westland Publishers, who had been the distributing partner for the book. The Westland edition of the book was published on 10 September 2010, in Delhi amidst a media frenzy. It was launched by former UN diplomat Shashi Tharoor, who praised it. The edited version of The Immortals of Meluha was accompanied by the release of an audiobook for the novel. As of January 2013, The Immortals of Meluha, and its sequel, The Secret of the Nagas, have crossed a print run of a million copies. These books have continued to top the bestseller lists of Nielsen BookScan, with the gross retail sales being impressive at ₹22 crore (US\$2.8 million) within two years of publishing. As of June 2015 over 2.5 million copies of the Shiva Trilogy have been sold and have also made over ₹60 crore (US\$7.5 million) in revenue.
## Translations
The books have been translated into a number of languages like English (South Asia), Odia, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Assamese, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Bahasa Indonesian, Tamil, English (UK), Estonian, Czech and Spanish, with the author believing that publishing as a whole is gradually being embedded in the Indian business sensibilities. Further explaining his thoughts, Tripathi said "I genuinely believe those five years from today, we will have a situation when other languages will account for higher sales of books than in English. That is the big change happening in publishing—it is taking pride in its own culture than knowing other cultures like in television, where regional language channels have more TRPs." The local language versions were also commercial successes. The Telugu version was translated by Rama Sundari and published by BCS Publishers and Distributors; the book sold more than 5,000 copies in a month and went for a second print order of 10,000 copies. Other than the local versions, the books have also been released as an Amazon Kindle version, available only in India.
## Film adaptation
In January 2012, Karan Johar's Dharma Productions bought the film rights of The Immortals of Meluha. Johar said that he was "blown away with the world of Meluha and rivetted by Amish's creation of it." The director was confirmed to be looking into the finer details of the production, along with the screenplay. Though initially rumored that Karan Malhotra's Shuddhi was to be the film adaptation of the book, it was a different film. In September 2013, Johar announced that Malhotra would be directing The Immortals of Meluha, but only after the release of Shuddhi. Tripathi also revealed during Jaipur Literature Festival that an unnamed Hollywood producer bought the rights for an American version of the film. This led to speculation in the media whether Johar would indeed helm the film or the release would be an American production. In January 2015, Tripathi confirmed that the film adaptation was on-going and would have the biggest budget of any film series. Malhotra started adapting the story into a film script, with Tripathi acting as creative consultant and reviewer.
In May 2017, the author revealed that Dharma Productions had dropped the film rights due to the contract expiring. Although media reported that Johar canceled the project in fear of any backlash from making a film on an Indian God, Tripathi said that a new contract had been signed with another unnamed film studio. In June 2017, it was reported that Sanjay Leela Bhansali bought the film rights from Dharma Productions.
In March 2022, Shekhar Kapur announced that he, along with Roy Price, would adapt the book into a web series, with Suparn Verma as director and showrunner. The series will be the maiden project of Roy Price's film and television production house, International Art Machine, which will mark the adaptation as its debut production venture in India. |
1,997,830 | Netley Castle | 1,071,581,812 | Castle in Netley, Hampshire, England | [
"1540s establishments in England",
"Borough of Eastleigh",
"Castles in Hampshire",
"Device Forts",
"Forts in Hampshire",
"Grade II* listed buildings in Hampshire",
"Netley",
"Scheduled monuments in Hampshire"
] | Netley Castle is a former artillery fort constructed in either 1542 or 1544 by Henry VIII in the village of Netley, Hampshire. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and it defended Southampton Water near the Solent. The castle included a central, stone keep with two flanking gun platforms and was garrisoned by ten men. It was decommissioned during the English Civil War and by 1743 it was overgrown and in ruins. In the 19th century the property was gradually converted into a private house, being extended in a Gothic style, complete with octagonal towers. Between 1939 and 1998 it was used as a nursing home, until the high costs of maintenance led to its closure. Following an archaeological survey, it was then converted into nine residential flats. It is protected under UK law as a Grade II\* listed building.
## History
### 16th–17th centuries
Netley Castle was built as a consequence of international tensions between England, France and the Holy Roman Empire in the final years of the reign of King Henry VIII. Traditionally the Crown had left coastal defences to the local lords and communities, only taking a modest role in building and maintaining fortifications, and while France and the Empire remained in conflict with one another, maritime raids were common but an actual invasion of England seemed unlikely. Modest defences, based around simple blockhouses and towers, existed in the south-west and along the Sussex coast, with a few more impressive works in the north of England, but in general the fortifications were very limited in scale.
In 1533, Henry then broke with Pope Paul III in order to annul the long-standing marriage to his wife, Catherine of Aragon and remarry. Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and he took the annulment as a personal insult. This resulted in France and the Empire declaring an alliance against Henry in 1538, and the Pope encouraging the two countries to attack England. An invasion of England appeared certain. In response, Henry issued an order, called a "device", in 1539, giving instructions for the "defence of the realm in time of invasion" and the construction of forts along the English coastline.
Netley Castle was built next to Southampton Water between the mouths of the Hamble and Itchen rivers, 250 metres (820 ft) south-west of the remains of Netley Abbey. Netley Abbey had been recently dissolved by Henry, and material from the site was reused to build the castle. William Paulet, later the Marquess of Winchester, was in charge of the construction, which took place in either 1542 or 1544 and Henry granted him various estates to pay for the support of the fort and its garrison. The castle took the form of a central keep, 19.5 by 14 metres (64 by 46 ft) across with deep embrasures along the battlements, and a gun platform on either side; its design resembled that at nearby Southsea. It was initially garrisoned with two soldiers, six gunners and a porter, under the command of a captain.
It was still garrisoned in the mid-1620s and was probably still in active service at the start of the English Civil War between the supporters of King Charles I and Parliament in 1642. Captain Swaley, a Parliamentary naval commander, seized Netley at the end of that year and decommissioned it as a fortification. During the Interregnum, the castle was restored to use, due to concerns about a potential Royalist invasion, but was abandoned as obsolete after the restoration of Charles II to the throne. By the time that Alexander Pope visited in 1734, the castle was overgrown and in ruins.
### 18th–20th centuries
William Chamberlayne inherited the castle in 1826 and built a crenellated tower on the south-east end of the property the following year, inspired by a proposal by the antiquarian Horace Walpole that the castle be made habitable. A description of the castle around this time suggested it stood "in the midst of a thicket of trees, on a little hill close to the beach" and formed "a striking object seen from the water". It became popular with artists, and J. M. W. Turner visited and sketched the castle and its new tower, probably in 1832.
George Hunt leased the castle in 1841 and it was turned into a private house under the supervision of the architect George Guillame. Hunt remained at Netley until 1857, by when the castle had an oriel window overlooking the sea, and the battlements had been blocked in to allow the construction of a second storey to the building. George Sherriff leased the castle between 1868 and 1873, building a stone wall around the front of property.
Sir Henry Crichton bought the castle in 1881, along with the surrounding gardens, orchards, pond and a boat house. The architect John Sedding remodelled the castle between approximately 1885 and 1890, creating a Gothic styled house, adding another storey and a new wing. After Crichton's death in 1922 his wife remained in the house until her death in 1936, when the property and the surrounding grounds were sold at auction.
Middlesex County Council bought the castle in 1939 and converted it into a nursing home for elderly men; it passed into the control of the National Health Service in 1948 and continued to be used as a nursing home. It proved expensive to maintain and the surrounding land was gradually sold off, until the Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust finally decided to close it in 1998.
### 21st century
Fairmist Limited, a firm of property developers, purchased Netley Castle in 2000 and converted it into nine private residential flats, at a cost of £1.7 million, during which process an archaeological survey was made of the property. It is protected under UK law as a Scheduled Monument and a Grade II\* listed building.
The castle is now approximately 62 by 14 metres (203 by 46 ft) across and 13.5 metres (44 ft) tall, surrounded by 1.54 hectares (3.8 acres) of land. The castle comprises three wings, with the original 16th-century fort incorporated into the centre of the property. The north wing is three storeys tall, decorated in a restrained Gothic style and has an octagonal turret on one corner. The central range is two storeys tall, with round corner turrets and battlements. The southern wing is two storeys in height, with elaborate Gothic detailing and another, larger octagonal tower. The castle features a substantial staircase, fitted with a musical organ, and a wood-panelled billiard room. Other buildings around the main castle include the converted boat house and a former ice house.
## See also
- Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
- List of castles in England |
31,223,331 | Space and Time (Doctor Who) | 1,145,870,405 | null | [
"2011 British television episodes",
"Doctor Who charity episodes",
"Doctor Who mini-episodes",
"Eleventh Doctor episodes",
"Television episodes written by Steven Moffat",
"Three-handers"
] | "Space" and "Time" (later known simply as "Time, Part One" and "Two") are two mini-episodes of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by the programme's head writer Steven Moffat and directed by Richard Senior, the mini-episodes were broadcast on 18 March 2011 as part of BBC One's Red Nose Day telethon for the charity Comic Relief.
The episodes form a two-part story, set entirely within the TARDIS, starring Matt Smith as the Doctor, and Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill as married couple Amy Pond and Rory Williams. Rory, helping the Doctor work on the TARDIS, looks up the glass floor surrounding the console and becomes distracted by Amy's short skirt, causing him to drop the thermal couplings he was holding. This causes the three to be stuck in a "space loop" where the TARDIS materializes inside the TARDIS.
"Space" and "Time" were filmed in two days alongside the sixth series DVD Night and the Doctor extras "Bad Night" and "Good Night". The episodes are intended to show what life aboard the TARDIS would be like. Several editing techniques and doubles were used for the various shots where there were more than one of the same character on the screen. The mini-episodes received mixed reviews; some scenes were thought to be funny, but other jokes were criticised for relying on sexist humour. "Space" and "Time" were later released on the DVD and Blu-ray sets of the sixth series.
## Plot
### "Space"
Amy is trying to get the Doctor's attention while he fixes the TARDIS. She discovers that her husband Rory is helping the Doctor by installing thermal couplings underneath the glass floor of the TARDIS. Rory and Amy then start a small argument about Amy cheating when she took her driving test, when the TARDIS suddenly shakes and the lights go out. The Doctor asks Rory if he dropped a thermal coupling, which Rory admits to and apologises for doing. Amy then apologises as well and, at the Doctor's confusion, explains that Rory was looking up her skirt through the glass floor when he dropped the thermal coupling. The Doctor then notes that they have landed through "emergency materialisation" which should have landed the TARDIS in the safest space available. The lights come on, revealing another TARDIS inside the control room — the TARDIS has materialised inside itself. The Doctor experimentally walks through the door of the TARDIS inside the control room and instantly walks back into the control room through the door of the outer TARDIS. The Doctor tells Rory and Amy that they are trapped in a "space loop" and that nothing can enter or exit the TARDIS ever again. Despite the Doctor's words, another Amy enters through the TARDIS door saying, "Okay, kids, this is where it gets complicated."
### "Time"
The other Amy reveals that she is from a few moments in the future, and is able to come into the current outer TARDIS because "the exterior shell of the TARDIS has drifted forwards in time". The other Amy knows what to say and do because, from her perspective, she is repeating what she heard herself say earlier on. The Doctor sends the current Amy into the TARDIS within the current TARDIS, in order to maintain the timeline. The two Amys take a moment to flirt with each other before the current one departs, much to the Doctor's exasperation. However, not long after the current Amy has left, Rory and Amy enter through the door of outer TARDIS explaining that the Doctor, from their perspective, has just sent them into the inner TARDIS. The current Doctor promptly sends the current Rory and the now-current Amy through the inner TARDIS. The Doctor then explains that he will set up a "controlled temporal implosion" in order to "reset the TARDIS", but in order to do so he must know which lever to use on the control panel. Moments after he speaks, another Doctor enters through the outer TARDIS door and tells him to use "the wibbly lever", which he quickly operates, then steps into the inner TARDIS to tell his past self which lever to use. The inner TARDIS dematerialises while the outer TARDIS (being the same TARDIS) does the same, and the Doctor assures Amy and Rory that they are now back in normal flight, and then advises Amy to put some trousers on.
## Production
Doctor Who had previously aired two related specials for Comic Relief. The first was the 1999 spoof The Curse of Fatal Death, which was also written by Steven Moffat. The spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures produced its own mini-episode "From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love" for the 2009 Comic Relief appeal. Unlike The Curse of Fatal Death, "Space" and "Time" are considered to be canonical. The canonicity of the two mini-episodes was affirmed by Moffat in Doctor Who Magazine. Moffat stated that, unlike The Curse of Fatal Death, "Space" and "Time" is not a spoof or a sketch, but rather "a little miniature story" in the style of the Children in Need mini-episodes. He described it as "A moment of life aboard the TARDIS. But obviously life about the TARDIS instantly gets you into terrible jeopardy, and all of causality is threatened. As I'm sure it is every day when they get up and have their coffee..." The concept of a TARDIS inside the TARDIS had been previously explored in The Time Monster (1972) and Logopolis (1980), though both times it was the TARDIS of the Master. Amy also repeats one of her lines from "The Big Bang" at the end of "Space".
The special was shot over two days alongside the made-for-DVD Night and the Doctor mini-episodes "Bad Night" and "Good Night". It was mostly shot on the first day, where all of the scenes with the TARDIS inside the TARDIS were filmed. Several tricks were used to create the illusion that there were more than one Doctor, Amy, and/or Rory. In scenes where the camera had to move between the double characters, a "whip-pan" was used twice, with the actor in a different place each time. The two shots were then edited together into one seamless take. For scenes where there were more than one of the same character in the same shot, such as the two Amys in front of the TARDIS, the camera was held very still and the scene was filmed twice, with the actor's double filling in for the part they were not playing. The doubles were also used briefly in scenes where the characters' backs were to the camera, such as when the Doctor, Amy, and Rory watched the future Amy and Rory enter the TARDIS.
## Broadcast, release and reception
"Space" and "Time" were broadcast during the Comic Relief Red Nose Day telethon on 18 March 2011 on BBC One. The telethon was watched by 10.26 million viewers. The BBC posted the episode in two parts on their official YouTube channel. The mini episodes were included as bonus features in the Complete Sixth Series DVD and Blu-ray box set, released on 21 November 2011 (Region 2) and 22 November 2011 (Region 1).
Lucy Mangan of The Guardian responded positively, noting it "manages brilliantly to nod to just about every Whovian in-joke, demographic and fetish within the span of two tiny instalments". The A.V. Club reviewer Christopher Bahn opined that the two Amys in "Space" and "Time" were "a lot more fun to watch" than the two in the sixth series episode "The Girl Who Waited". Tor.com's Teresa Jusino, who had been positive towards Amy's character in the past, was disappointed that the ending of the miniepisodes relied on "too-easy, dated, sexist humor". She cited the fact that Rory dropping the coupling was blamed on Amy's short skirt rather than Rory himself, which implied that she had a "responsibility to cover up, because 'men will be men'". In Who is the Doctor, a guide to the revived series, Robert Smith wrote that the episode was "cute, plotted to perfection and ends precisely when it should, before it has the chance to outstay its welcome". He said that the episodes used Amy well, as it did not make her unlikable. On the other hand, his coauthor Graeme Burk said that the story was "derivative and lazy" and a "missed opportunity". He likened the plot to that of Red Dwarf's "Future Echoes", and felt that Moffat could have written something better and funnier. Like Jusino, he thought that the "blokey humor" was "misplaced", denying a broad audience appeal and leading to the sexist last line: "Pond, put some trousers on!". Despite this, both Jusino and Burk enjoyed the scene where Amy flirts with herself. In March 2022, Chamberlain revealed that the time loop concept in his 2011–2012 web series sequel to his original 2009 viral analog horror short film No Through Road had been inspired by "Space" and "Time", being the Doctor Who episodes that had just come out whilst he and his friends had been brainstorming sequel ideas. |
36,998,573 | Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell | 1,173,595,776 | Book by Jean Louis De Esque | [
"1908 books",
"American poetry collections",
"Fiction set around Betelgeuse"
] | Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell is a 1908 lyrical poem book written by Jean Louis De Esque. The publication includes a preface by the author with two poetic works, "When I am Gone" and "Betelguese." The latter poem has been called a "classic" work that utilized off-beat language, considered to be a delight to the philologist. It has been compared to the poetic works of George Sterling and Kenneth Patchen.
The book was published during the height of the nature fakers controversy, and it has been suggested that De Esque elected to release Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell while Theodore Roosevelt was on a trip to Africa in an effort to avoid potential conflict that might have resulted from Roosevelt's awareness of its content.
## Publication
Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell was published by Connoisseur's Press in Jersey City, New Jersey on July 1, 1908. An application for copyright was submitted on September 28, 1907. Two copies were received by the Library of Congress on August 28, 1909. For the publishing company, Betelguese was considered its first work of distinction after several years of modest publications.
The book features a frontispiece by painter Nicholas Briganti, an illustration of Typhon the Greek "Father of all monsters." Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell opens with a prefatory note by De Esque written on September 22, 1907, in which he reveals that the writing of the poem began when he was "up at [his] desk mauling and drubbing the English language with a vengeance for thirty-six consecutive hours, and that [he] awoke at 12.30 A.M," and began writing the poem "Betelguese," continuing to work on it until the early morning. The writer later explained that he repeated this process over the next fifteen nights, completing the work at a total of 8116 words. The preface is succeeded with a photograph of Jean Louis De Esque and a short poem entitled "When I Am Gone." Finally, the publication concludes with the eponymous poetic work "Betelguese," making the length of Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell in total 104 pages.
### Promotion
To promote Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell, Connoisseur's Press took out advertisements months before its release in various literary publications. This included Publishers Weekly, The Bookseller, and The Bookman, which showcased Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell alongside three other works by De Esque which were published in the same year: The Flight of a Soul, The Seasons and other poems, and Silence, the latter which was published under the pseudonym "Stewart." In these advertisements, Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell was listed as being printed on fine, handmade rag paper. The hardcover book featured a gold-stamped title on maroon cloth, with a height of 19.5 centimetres (7.7 in). The book also included a color frontispiece and was printed in Cheltenham typeface. It sold for US\$1.25.
The advertisement also called Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell a unique work with "absolutely nothing like it written since Dante's Inferno."
## "Betelguese"
Betelguese is one of a number of historical variant spellings of Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in the constellation of Orion.
By his own admission, De Esque chose to place hell on this star, over placing hell on Earth, the Moon or the Sun because it was "a celestial pariah, an outcast, the largest of all known comets or outlawed suns in the universe." The latter three were rejected by De Esque: the Sun because it was uninhabitable for animal or vegetable life, and the Moon because it was once part of the Earth. De Esque also describes Betelguese on p. 77 with:
> And Betelguese, an evil lair
>
> ` With infernal, warring legions,`
> ` Careens as stars shed tears of woe.`
In full, the poem is rife with descriptions of the terrifying aspects of hell, those that dwell there, and the actions thereof. Among those in De Esque's hell are Thomas Fortune Ryan, John Pierpont Morgan, August Belmont, Jr. and John D. Rockefeller. Also appearing regularly throughout "Betelguese" are many Greek mythological figures, including the subject of the frontispiece, Typhon.
Similar to what would be a recurring double-quatrain, the rhyme scheme of most of "Betelguese" has four lines to a stanza, wherein the two successive stanzas, line one rhymes with line five, line two with line six and so on; or, "ABCD-ABCD." The following sets of two stanzas have their own rhyming words. Additionally, "Betelguese" was written in an octametric (8-syllable) meter, where De Esque contracts typically multi-syllable words, such as "cavern'd" to be read as two syllables, as opposed to "poisoned" to be read as three syllables.
### Reception
The main work, "Betelguese", has been called a "study in unconscious parody" by the Manchester Literary Club, a "classic" by Bookseller and Stationer, and a "frabjous poem" by the Saturday Review. It has also been called an "yrie poem" by Publishers Weekly.
Featured in the section "In the World of Books" of April 18, 1909 edition of the Los Angeles Herald, Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell was likened to George Sterling's poem "The Wine of Wizardry". In comparing the two poetic works, the columnist felt that "Betelguese" had made "Mr. Sterling's poor dragons look like small pink lizards," stating that De Esque's work had "immortalized the dreams of the opium eater." In later years, it had also been compared to the poetic work of Kenneth Patchen.
On its verbose language, one editor at Manchester Literary Club felt that the "enthusiastic philologist" would "make heaven" of Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell. However, a review in the March 28, 1909 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune was mixed on De Esque's off-beat use of the English language, stating, "it is plentifully sprinkled with weird words without any particular meaning." The Salt Lake Tribune columnist went on to say that "Betelguese was a "wild sort of rhapsody, which is less fierce than one might suppose from the subtitle."
Betelguese, a Trip Through Hell was published during the nature fakers conflict; the Los Angeles Herald'' columnist further suggests that the book was intentionally released during one of US President Theodore Roosevelt's trips to Africa. According to them, lines such as "mildewed screes" and "poisoned skinks" would have shocked Roosevelt; he goes on to say that he "hopes the poet will have ready an explanation before Colonel Roosevelt returns from Africa."
## See also
- Betelgeuse
- Hell in popular culture |
6,565,579 | Stacy Warner | 1,164,642,966 | Fictional character in House | [
"Fictional American lawyers",
"Fictional characters from New Jersey",
"House (TV series) characters",
"Television characters introduced in 2005"
] | Stacy Warner is a fictional recurring character portrayed by Sela Ward on the Fox Broadcasting Company's medical drama House. She was in a relationship with Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), when a clotted aneurysm in his right thigh led to an infarction during a game of golf, causing his quadriceps muscle to become necrotic. Regarding House's treatment, Stacy acted against House's wishes when he was put into a chemically induced coma. She authorized a safer surgical middle-ground procedure by removing just the dead muscle, leaving House with a lesser, but serious, level of pain for the rest of his life. House could not forgive her and they broke up. The two meet again, five years later, at the end of season one; Stacy wants House to treat her husband, Mark (Currie Graham). House correctly diagnoses Mark with acute intermittent porphyria, and so he has to remain at the hospital for close monitoring. Stacy becomes the hospital's lawyer, and she and House grow closer together. When she is ultimately willing to leave Mark for him, House tells her to go back to Mark, which devastates her and causes her and Mark to leave the city.
When the writers of the show wrote "Three Stories", the first episode in which Stacy appeared, the first name they came up with to play the character was Sela Ward. Although Ward was not initially interested in portraying Stacy, she changed her mind after watching tapes of the show. While she was originally hired to appear in only two episodes of the first season, the chemistry between Ward and Laurie was strong enough to have her appear in seven more second season episodes. She also appeared in the House finale "Everybody Dies". Stacy was received mostly positively by critics who considered her arc a "juicy subplot".
## Arc
Although not much is revealed about Stacy's early life, it is said in "Acceptance" that she is a Duke University graduate. Presumably ten years before the events of House, at a "Doctors vs. Lawyers" paintball game, she met Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) with whom she started a romantic relationship. Five years later, during a game of golf, House suffered an infarction in his right leg. He was admitted at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, but went misdiagnosed for three days due to doctors' concerns that he was exhibiting drug-seeking behavior (House eventually diagnosed the infarction himself). An aneurysm in his thigh had clotted, leading to an infarction and causing his quadriceps muscle to become necrotic. House had the dead muscle bypassed in order to restore circulation to the remainder of his leg, risking organ failure and cardiac arrest. He was willing to endure excruciating post-operative pain to retain the use of his leg. After he was put into a chemically induced coma to sleep through the worst of the pain, Stacy, his medical proxy at the time, acted against his wishes and authorized a safer surgical middle-ground procedure between amputation and a bypass by removing just the dead muscle. This resulted in the partial loss of use in his leg, and left House with a lesser, but still serious, level of pain for the rest of his life. House could not forgive Stacy for making the decision, which caused their relationship to end.
Stacy goes to visit House again in "Three Stories", five years after their break up. She has married Mark Warner (Currie Graham), a high school guidance counselor. Stacy believes Mark is ill, and wants House to treat him. However, Mark does not believe anything is wrong with him. Similarly, the members of House's diagnostic team are not able to find any medical problems. After various failed attempts to diagnose Mark, House tests Mark's urine for porphobilinogen. The test is positive, and Mark is diagnosed with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP). He is therefore required to undergo "close monitoring" at the hospital for a while. Stacy makes a deal with Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) to become the hospital's lawyer during Mark's stay. While there, she and House grow closer. In "Need to Know", they end up spending the night together. However, when Stacy admits that she is willing to leave Mark for House, House rejects her, stating that he cannot make her happy, because he cannot change. Stacy quits her job and returns to Short Hills, New Jersey, with Mark. She later appears in the series finale, "Everybody Dies", first as one of House's hallucinations and then again at House's funeral.
## Personality
House creator David Shore says that Stacy is the "true love that got away." She is "quick" and "witty", "the one character who is able to spar with House on a level playing field." Actress Sela Ward has described her character as a window into both House's vulnerability and his heart. House himself describes Stacy as "very convincing." He is willing to believe Stacy's word that Mark is ill despite Mark's own denial. Many critics noted that Stacy's presence affected House's behavior. Diane Kristine of Blog Critics stated that, with Stacy, House was "almost nice." Although Stacy tells House on several occasions that she loves Mark, she is still in love with House and was willing to have an affair with him. However, she admits that she finds House selfish whereas Mark leaves "room for [her]".
## Development
According to the producers of House, Stacy was brought into the show to give viewers some insight into House's character. The writers chose to start off Stacy's story arc "very subtly," but to end it with a "big blowout." Shore explained that he wanted Ward for the part because she was the first person the writing staff suggested, adding that she acts in a "simple" and "convincing way." Initially, Ward was not interested in taking the role because, after the cancellation of Once and Again, she wanted to spend more time with her kids, which is why she had also turned down earlier roles on CSI: Miami and Desperate Housewives. However, she changed her mind after watching tapes of the show, because she realized that House "would be fun to be a part of".
In a 2005 Entertainment Weekly interview, Ward, who had never appeared in a medical show before, stated that when she was young, her mother was sick for over nine years and she spent a lot of time in hospitals. Because of this, she felt "at home" on the set of House. Although Ward was initially only hired to appear in "Three Stories" and "Honeymoon," the chemistry between Ward and House lead actor Hugh Laurie was strong enough for her to return for a multiple-episode arc in the second season. On working with Ward, Laurie commented: "we're professionals who were lucky enough to be extremely well-equipped with a very sound, true script, the fact that Sela is immensely attractive and we got on well certainly is not an impediment." Though Ward expressed interest in returning to the show, Shore told USA Today in 2006 that, although he was eager to write her back in, there were "no specific plans" to bring Stacy back.
## Reception
Initial responses to Stacy were mostly positive. TV Guide's Matt Roush stated that he was pleased with the character showing of House's soft side, calling the character's story arc a "juicy subplot". David Bianculli of The New York Daily News stated that with the addition of Stacy, House shifted "to the top echelon of today's TV dramas". Critics from USA Today stated Ward "brought a sense of joy, if fleeting, to the show". In an article about who annoyed House the most, Entertainment Weekly's Alynda Wheat stated that Stacy annoyed House third most, ranking behind Amber Volakis (Anne Dudek) and Michael Tritter (David Morse). However, Alan Sepinwall, of the Star-Ledger, commented that although he finds Ward a "talented" actress, her character, along with prior, and later, recurring characters, was "humorless" and "determined to ruin the audience's fun right along with House's". |
37,116,923 | Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114 | 1,107,327,777 | Chorale cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach | [
"1724 compositions",
"Chorale cantatas",
"Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach"
] | Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost (Ah, dear Christians, be comforted), BWV 114, in Leipzig for the 17th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 1 October 1724.
Bach created the work as part of his second annual cantata cycle when he was Thomaskantor (director of music) in Leipzig. That cycle was planned as a cycle of the chorale cantatas for all occasions of the liturgical year. Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost is based on a hymn of penitence by Johannes Gigas (1561). An unknown poet kept three stanzas in their original form, which Bach set as an opening chorale fantasia, a central fourth movement with the soprano accompanied only by the continuo, and a four-part closing chorale as movement 7. The poet reworded the other stanzas as arias and recitatives, including references to the prescribed gospel about the healing of a man with dropsy. Bach scored the cantata for four vocal parts, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of a horn to reinforce the chorale tune, a transverse flute, 2 oboes, strings and continuo.
## History and words
Bach composed the cantata in his second year as Thomaskantor (director of music) in Leipzig for the 17th Sunday after Trinity. That year, Bach composed a cycle of chorale cantatas, begun on the first Sunday after Trinity of 1724. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Ephesians, the admonition to keep the unity of the Spirit (), and from the Gospel of Luke, healing a man with dropsy on the Sabbath ().
The cantata is based on a song of penitence, "Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost", in six stanzas by Johannes Gigas (1561), sung to the melody of "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält". The hymn is only distantly related to the readings, concentrating on the thought that the Christians sin and deserve punishment, but may be raised to joy in a "seliger Tod" (blessed death). An unknown poet kept the first, third and sixth stanza as movements 1, 4 and 7 of the cantata. He derived movements 2 and 3, aria and recitative, from stanza 2, movement 5, another aria, from stanza 4, and the last recitative from stanza 5. In movement 3, he deviated from the song text, expanding in connection to the gospel that sin in general is comparable to the dropsy, "diese Sündenwassersucht ist zum Verderben da und wird dir tödlich sein" (this sinful dropsy leads to destruction and will be fatal to you), and alluding to Adam's fall, caused by self-exaltation in the forbidden quest to be like God, "Der Hochmut aß vordem von der verbotnen Frucht, Gott gleich zu werden" (Pride first ate the forbidden fruit, to be like God).
Bach first performed the cantata on 1 October 1724, only two days after the first performance of his chorale cantata Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir, BWV 130, on the feast of Michael, the archangel, 29 September 1724.
## Music
### Structure and scoring
Bach structured the cantata in seven movements. The chorale tune is used in movements 1, 4 and 7, as a chorale fantasia, a chorale sung by a solo voice, and a four-part closing chorale. These three movements frame two sets of aria and recitative. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of horn (Co) to double the soprano, flauto traverso (Ft), two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo. The title of the autograph score reads: "Dom: 17 post Trin: / Ach lieben Xsten seyd getrost / a 4 Voc: / Corno / 2 Hautbois / 2 Violini / Viola / con / Continuo / di / Sign:JS:Bach".
In the following table of the movements, the keys and time signatures are taken from the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The instruments are shown separately for brass, woodwinds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
### Movements
#### 1
In the opening chorale fantasia, "Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost" (Ah, dear Christians, be comforted), Bach expresses two thoughts of the text, comfort and fear, by contrasting themes that appear simultaneously in the instruments: an assertive theme is derived from the melody and played by the two oboes and first violins, an "anxious" one in the second violins and the continuo. The soprano sings the melody as a cantus firmus, doubled by the horn, while the lower voices are set partly in expressive imitation, partly in homophony. They are treated differently to reflect the meaning of the text. The Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann compares the movement to the opening of the cantata Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78, written three weeks earlier: both "a sort of chaconne" in G minor, with a "French style" bass as "the expression of mourning and lamentation".
#### 2
The first aria is set for tenor with a virtuoso flute, "Wo wird in diesem Jammertale" (Where, in this valley of suffering). It contrasts again the anxious question "Wo wird ... vor meinen Geist die Zuflucht sein?" (Where ... is the refuge of my spirit?) and the trusting "Allein zu Jesu Vaterhänden will ich mich in der Schwachheit wenden" (However, to Jesus' fatherly hands I will turn in my weakness), The anxious question returns in the da capo form.
#### 3
The first recitative, "O Sünder, trage mit Geduld" (O sinner, bear with patience), begins secco, but expresses the contrasting words "erhebst" (exalt) and "erniedrigt" (humbled) from the Gospel as an arioso.
#### 4
The chorale stanza, "Kein Frucht das Weizenkörnlein bringt" (The grain of wheat bears no fruit), is set for the soprano, accompanied only by the continuo. In its "starkness of the unembellished chorale", it is the centerpiece of the cantata.
#### 5
The alto aria, "Du machst, o Tod, mir nun nicht ferner bange" (You make me, o death, no longer fearful now), is the only movement of the cantata in a major key. A shift to minor on the words "Es muß ja so einmal gestorben sein" (One day, indeed, one must die) is even more striking.
#### 6
A final recitative "Indes bedenke deine Seele" (Therefore, consider your soul) invites to turn body and soul to God.
#### 7
The cantata ends with a four-part setting of the chorale melody, "Wir wachen oder schlafen ein" (Whether we wake or fall asleep), expressing "confidence in God".
## Recordings
The listing is taken from the Bach Cantatas Website. Ensembles playing period instruments in historically informed performance are marked by green background. |
52,206,629 | SAS Transvaal | 1,144,075,636 | Loch-class frigate in the South African Navy | [
"1944 ships",
"Frigates of the South African Navy",
"Loch-class frigates",
"Maritime incidents in 1978",
"Scuttled vessels",
"Ships built in Belfast",
"Ships sunk as artificial reefs",
"Shipwrecks of South Africa"
] | SAS Transvaal was one of three Loch-class frigates in the South African Navy (SAN). She was built as HMS Loch Ard (K602) for the Royal Navy during World War II, but was transferred to the SAN in 1944 before completion and renamed as HMSAS Transvaal. The ship was completed shortly after the German surrender in May 1945 and did not participate in the war.
Transvaal was assigned to ferry troops home from Egypt after the war and participated in the annexation of the Prince Edward Islands in late 1947. Together with her sister ships, the ship made port visits in Middle Africa in 1948. Three years later, she participated in the celebration of Australia's Golden Jubilee. Transvaal received a lengthy refit in the late 1950s. The ship was placed in reserve in 1964 and was sold for scrap in 1977. Transvaal's remains were donated for use as an artificial reef and it was scuttled the following year.
## Description
Transvaal displaced 1,435 long tons (1,458 t) at standard load and 2,260 long tons (2,300 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 307 feet (93.6 m), a beam of 38 feet 7 inches (11.8 m) and a mean deep draught of 12 feet 4 inches (3.8 m). She was powered by a pair of vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines developed a total of 5,500 indicated horsepower (4,100 kW) which gave a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). The ship carried 730 long tons (740 t) of fuel oil that gave it a range of 9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km; 10,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Her main armament was a single 4-inch (102 mm) Mk V dual-purpose gun. The ship's anti-aircraft armament consisted of four 2-pounder (40 mm) Mk VIII "pom-pom" in a quadruple mount and six 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon guns in two twin powered mounts and two single hand-operated mounts. For anti-submarine work, Transvaal was fitted with a pair of triple-barrelled Squid anti-submarine mortars and 15 depth charges delivered by one rail and two throwers. The ship was equipped with Type 144 and 147B ASDIC and a Type 277 surface-search radar. Her crew numbered 114 officers and ratings.
When Transvaal began her long refit in 1957, her main armament was replaced by a twin-gun turret fitted with more powerful four-inch Mk XVI guns. In addition her anti-aircraft guns were replaced by a water-cooled, twin-gun Mk V mount for 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors AA guns in the position formerly occupied by the "pom-pom" mount, a pair of single 40 mm guns where the twin-gun 20 mm were and another pair of 40 mm guns on the quarterdeck. Her radar and radios were also upgraded. During a later refit in 1962, the ship's forecastle deck was extended to accommodate trainees.
## Construction and career
Transvaal was ordered from Harland & Wolff on 2 May 1943 and was laid down on 20 January 1944 at their shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was launched on 2 August and commissioned on 14 May 1945. The ship was originally named Loch Ard, but was renamed by the South Africans after it was transferred by the British while building. Transvaal was completed a week later after having fitted out at Lobnitz & Co.'s dockyard at Renfrew, Scotland. After working up at HMS Western Isles in Tobermory, Mull, she sailed for home and reached Table Bay on 28 July.
Transvaal and her sister ships and repatriated some 700 troops from Egypt between November 1945 and March 1946 and escorted the battleship HMS Vanguard while she was serving as the royal yacht during King George VI's tour of South Africa in 1947. At the end of the year, Transvaal's captain, Lieutenant-Commander John Fairbairn, read the proclamation annexing the Prince Edward Islands. All three sisters toured ports in Portuguese West Africa and the Belgian Congo in August–September 1948. A few months later, Transvaal rescued survivors from the tanker Esso Wheeling whilst sailing from Durban to Simon's Town to begin a brief refit. In February 1949 the ship towed the disabled coastal steamer SS Pequena from the South Atlantic to Cape Town. Two years later, she represented South Africa during the celebrations of Australia's Golden Jubilee in Sydney and then participated in exercises with other Commonwealth. warships. In 1955, Transvaal surveyed Gough Island to determine its suitability for a weather station.
The ship began a lengthy refit at Simon's Town Naval Dockyard on 11 September 1957 and was recommissioned on 24 August 1960. After the eruption of Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha on 10 October 1961, Transvaal ferried a team of scientists from the Royal Geographical Society to investigate conditions on the island in January 1962. Later that year her machinery was overhaul in Cape Town and she was mostly used for training and fishery protection duties. The ship's starboard propeller shaft broke in December 1963 and she returned home on a single shaft. Transvaal was taken out of service on 14 August 1964 and laid up in Simon's Town. She was sold for scrap for R6,500, together with her sister Good Hope, in 1977. After stripping her of all valuable metals and fittings, the ship's hulk was donated to the False Bay Conservation Society for use as an artificial reef and she was scuttled on 3 August 1978 in False Bay.
The wreck lies upright on the sand at a depth of about 34 metres (112 ft) at coordinates . The wreck is starting to collapse, the bow has broken off, and a permit is required to dive on the site. |
31,872,584 | Mickey Micelotta | 1,168,115,182 | American baseball player (1928–2022) | [
"1928 births",
"2022 deaths",
"American people of Italian descent",
"Baseball players from New York (state)",
"Baseball players from Palm Beach County, Florida",
"Birmingham Barons players",
"Bradford Blue Wings players",
"Carbondale Pioneers players",
"Dayton Indians players",
"Dover Phillies players",
"Major League Baseball shortstops",
"Miami Marlins (International League) players",
"People from Corona, Queens",
"People from Greenacres, Florida",
"Philadelphia Phillies players",
"Schenectady Blue Jays players",
"Syracuse Chiefs players",
"Terre Haute Phillies players",
"United States Army personnel of the Korean War",
"Vandergrift Pioneers players"
] | Robert Peter "Mickey" Micelotta (October 20, 1928 – October 9, 2022) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played 13 total seasons of professional baseball, two of which were spent in the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 17 career MLB games, Micelotta posted a batting average of .000 and had two runs in nine plate appearances.
Born and raised in New York, Micelotta first played professionally with the Dayton Indians and Carbondale Pioneers in 1947. Over the next three seasons, he played for various minor league teams in the Phillies organization before missing the 1951 and 1952 seasons, serving in the Korean War. He returned and played for the Terre Haute Phillies in 1953 and the Syracuse Chiefs from 1954 to 1955, splitting time between the Chiefs and the Phillies' major league squad. Micelotta spent the next three seasons with the Miami Marlins and three seasons after that with the Birmingham Barons before retiring from baseball.
## Early baseball career
Born in Corona, New York, Micelotta made his professional debut in 1947 at the age of 18 and played for two different teams that year. He played in 40 games for the Dayton Indians of the Ohio State League and in 25 games for the Carbondale Pioneers of the North Atlantic League. Micelotta spent the 1948 season with two teams in the Philadelphia Phillies minor league system. He spent 58 games with the Bradford Blue Wings of the New York–Penn League and 60 games with the Dover Phillies of the Eastern Shore League, both D-class teams. In 1949, Micelotta was promoted to the C-class Vandergrift Pioneers of the Middle Atlantic League; in 129 games for the Pioneers, he hit .287 and hit a then-career high seven triples.
Micelotta moved to the Schenectady Blue Jays of the Canadian–American League the following season, where he had a three-hit game against the Gloversville-Johnstown Glovers, which the Blue Jays won, 8–7. Micelotta finished the season with a .257 batting average in 133 games. He missed the 1951 and 1952 seasons as a result of serving in the United States Army during the Korean War. Micelotta returned to baseball in 1953, and played for the Terre Haute Phillies of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. In 115 games for them, he had a .297 batting average and 15 home runs. After the season ended, the Philadelphia Phillies purchased his contract, adding him to their roster for the upcoming season.
## Major league career
As the 1954 season began, the Phillies noted that Micelotta had a good chance at winning a major league roster spot due to manager Steve O'Neill being impressed with his fielding and hitting power. His performance during spring training was regarded highly, and he was noted on a list of promising rookies throughout the majors. Micelotta made the roster for the 1954 Phillies and made his major league debut on April 20. Micelotta played in 13 games for the Phillies that year, served primarily as a pinch runner, and scored two runs in three total at-bats. In June, he was demoted to the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League, where he finished the season. In 95 games for the Chiefs, Micelotta hada .229 batting average and 38 runs batted in.
Micelotta remained on the Phillies' 40-man roster to start the 1955 season, but near the end of spring training, the Phillies chose to send him and three others to Syracuse for the season. He spent the first three months of the season with the Chiefs, then was called back up to the Phillies due to both Granny Hamner and Roy Smalley Jr. getting injured. He played in four games during his time with the club, going hitless in four at-bats and playing his final major league game on August 2. After Hamner and Smalley returned from the disabled list, Micelotta was sent back to Syracuse, where he finished out the year. In 127 games for Syracuse in 1955, Micelotta had a .244 batting average and a career-high nine triples.
## Later baseball career
Micelotta was still considered a promising prospect in 1956, and spent spring training trying to fight his way back on the roster. By the end of March, with a couple of weeks to go until the season began, he was noted as playing very well, and the Phillies were considering keeping him on the major league roster for the season. He ended up not making the team, and spent the season with the Miami Marlins. During his time with Miami in 1956, Micelotta was known for his defensive plays at the shortstop position, making three good ones in a 6–1 loss against the Havana Cubans in late May. He finished the season with a .236 batting average and 12 home runs in 146 games.
Due to Micelotta's "very mediocre" hitting and being unable to help the Phillies as a result, he remained with Miami for the 1957 season. He, Woody Smith, Bobby Young, and Pancho Herrera were considered to be one of the best infields in the International League, with one writer saying, "they make plays the Phillies couldn't make." Micelotta finished the year with a .216 batting average in 143 games. He again played a full season with Miami in 1958 after spending the offseason playing in the Dominican Winter League. His performances that season included a triple late in a game against the Richmond Virginians to win it, 3–2, and a walk-off home run against the Montreal Royals to win that game, 2–1. He finished the season with a .201 batting average in 127 games played.
After the season ended, Micelotta was released from the Marlins, and he joined the Birmingham Barons, a Detroit Tigers affiliate in the Southern Association, where he spent the final three seasons of his professional career. In 1959, Micelotta played in all 154 games for Birmingham and had a batting average of .239, as well as career highs in stolen bases (10) and strikeouts (117). The following season, Micelotta was named to the Southern Association All-Star Team alongside fellow Barons Stan Palys and Ron Nischwitz. He finished the season with a .253 batting average in 150 games and career highs in home runs (20) and runs batted in (87).
Micelotta's comeback season in 1960 resulted in the Detroit Tigers bringing him into spring training as someone who could serve as a utility infielder on the major league roster. After spending March with the Tigers, he was sent back to Birmingham, where he spent the 1961 season. In a match against the Atlanta Crackers, Micelotta had three runs batted in as Birmingham won, 11–2. He finished his final season of professional baseball with a .237 batting average, seven home runs, and 55 runs batted in in 112 games while splitting time between shortstop and third base.
## Later life and death
After retiring from baseball, Micelotta worked in the carpet business in New York, then later moved to Greenacres, Florida. Micelotta died in Henderson, Nevada on October 9, 2022, at the age of 93. |
13,135,716 | Forge Park/495 station | 1,161,224,294 | Rail station in Franklin, Massachusetts, US | [
"MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Norfolk County, Massachusetts",
"Railway stations in the United States opened in 1988",
"Stations along New York and New England Railroad lines"
] | Forge Park/495 station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter rail station on the Franklin Line located off Route 140 near Interstate 495 in Franklin, Massachusetts, United States. A park and ride station serving southwestern Boston suburbs and northeastern Rhode Island, it is the outer terminus of the Franklin Line. The station has two side platforms serving a single track, with an accessible mini-high platform and a station building on the south platform.
The Milford, Franklin and Providence Railroad opened in 1883, with a station built at Unionville soon after. The line was soon acquired by the Milford and Woonsocket Railroad, which became part of the New York and New England Railroad in 1887 and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1898. Service on the line, by then down to a single daily mixed train, ended in 1920. It resumed in 1926 (likely without Unionville station) and lasted until 1938, with a brief revival in 1940.
In 1986, the MBTA agreed to build a new MBTA Commuter Rail station, near the former Unionville site, to serve an industrial park in Franklin. Forge Park/495 station, named for the industrial park and Interstate 495, opened on June 2, 1988. A second parking lot, the mini-high platform, and the station building were added in 1989.
## Station design
Franklin/Forge Park station is located off Massachusetts Route 140 in the Forge Park industrial park, about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of downtown Franklin, Massachusetts. Its name also reflects nearby Interstate 495, which has an interchange with Route 140 about 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) to the east. The station has two side platforms serving a single track — a layout unique on the MBTA system – to provide access from parking lots on both sides of the track. A mini-high platform on the south platform makes the station accessible.
A brick station building with a canopy is located on the south side of the track. Forge Park/495 serves as a park and ride station for the Blackstone Valley area, including portions of northeast Rhode Island, with around 700 parking spaces in the two lots.
## History
### Former service
The Milford, Franklin and Providence Railroad, under control of the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W), was charted in 1882. It opened in August 1883, connecting Bellingham Junction (where the Milford and Woonsocket Railroad met the Charles River Branch Railroad) to Franklin Junction on the New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE). Unionville station was built soon afterwards at Central Street in the Unionville village in Franklin, near where the modern station is located. The small station building was located on the north side of the tracks.
The newly independent Milford and Woonsocket obtained control of the Milford, Franklin and Providence Railroad in 1884. The Milford and Woonsocket was leased by the NY&NE in September 1887. The NY&NE entered bankruptcy in 1893; its 1895 successor New England Railroad was leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1898 as its Midland Division. Service between Milford and Franklin was reduced to a mixed train and ended in 1920.
Service between Bellingham Junction and Franklin resumed on June 13, 1926, as some Charles River Branch trains were rerouted to Franklin. Unionville station was no longer served by the time the 88 stations case ended that service on July 18, 1938, nor was it served when the service was briefly revived from March to May 1940. The line continued in use by freight, eventually becoming the CSX Milford Secondary. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was created in 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail service; the Midland Division was cut back to Franklin station in 1966 and became the Franklin Line. The former Unionville station building is no longer extant.
### Forge Park/495
In September 1985, the National Development investment firm purchased 382 acres (155 ha) of land to build an industrial park called Forge Park near I-495 in Franklin – one of many such developments on the state's circumferential highways that decade. By March 1986, the MBTA had agreed to build a new station with a 1,000-car garage on the Milford Secondary to serve the development, and the state had committed \$8 million (equivalent to \$ million in ) for the project. The developer donated 8 acres (3.2 ha) of land to build parking lots for the station. It was intended to serve as a park and ride location to reduce crowding at other lots elsewhere in the MBTA system. The MBTA leased the Milford Secondary from Conrail for the extension, with the possibility of future purchase.
The station opened on June 2, 1988, as a 2.8-mile (4.5 km) extension of the Franklin Line. Built at a total cost of \$10 million (equivalent to \$ million in ), it had a 381-space surface parking lot rather than the originally planned garage. Later that month, the MBTA board approved construction of an additional 365-space parking lot at a cost of \$2.3 million (equivalent to \$ million in ). The station was not accessible upon opening; the mini-high platform was added in 1989 along with the additional parking and the brick station building.
The MBTA initially leased the ticket booth and concession stand to the town for \$1 annually; Franklin Youth Services operated the franchise and retained the profits to support its programs. Another new station on the Franklin Line, , was constructed by National Development to support a different development; it was opened in January 1990. A further extension of the Franklin Line from Forge Park/495 to Milford was approved by the MBTA board in March 1989. This extension was studied in 1997 and 2011, and a potential extension to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, via the Milford Secondary and Charles River Branch was studied in 2007, but Forge Park/495 has remained the terminal. |
36,861,528 | Great World MRT station | 1,170,849,551 | Mass Rapid Transit station in Singapore | [
"Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) stations",
"Railway stations in Singapore opened in 2022"
] | Great World MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Thomson–East Coast line (TEL). Located in River Valley, Singapore, the station is near the Great World shopping mall and surrounding residential developments. The station is operated by SMRT Trains.
First announced in August 2012 as part of the Thomson line (TSL), the station was constructed as part of TEL Phase 3 (TEL 3) with the merger of the TSL and the Eastern Region line. The station opened on 13 November 2022 with only two out of five entrances completed due to construction difficulties at the site. Great World station features an Art-in-Transit artwork Great World, Great Times by Deanna Ng.
## History
The station was first announced on 29 August 2012 as part of the Thomson line (TSL). The contract for the design and construction of the station and associated tunnels was awarded to a joint venture between Tiong Seng Contractors and Dongah Geological Engineering (Singapore branch) for S\$316 million (US\$ million) in May 2014. Construction started in 2014, with an expected completion date in 2021.
On 15 August 2014, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that TSL would merge with the Eastern Region line to form the Thomson–East Coast line (TEL). Great World station was constructed as part of Phase 3, consisting of 13 stations between the Mount Pleasant and Gardens by the Bay stations.
On the morning of 11 June 2015, residents of Bukit Merah, Outram, Tanjong Pagar and Tiong Bahru were affected by an Internet outage. A section of fibre optic cables was damaged during the station's construction. The disruption lasted more than eight hours and affected all the major Internet service providers in Singapore. The LTA issued an apology for the disruption. On 19 December 2015, a Bangladeshi construction worker guiding an excavator was killed when the excavator's bucket dislodged and fell on him. He was taken to Singapore General Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
With restrictions imposed on construction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the TEL3 completion date was pushed by a year to 2022. On 9 March 2022, Transport Minister S. Iswaran announced in Parliament that TEL3 would open in the second half of that year. As confirmed during a visit by Iswaran at the and stations on 7 October 2022, the station began operations on 13 November.
Due to the presence of multiple steel beams and plates underground initially absent from historical records, contractors have to use the cut-and-cover method alongside micro tunnel boring to construct the Kim Seng underpass. The additional cut-and-cover works, including diverting traffic, delayed the opening of the other station entrances. The other entrances were expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
## Description
Great World station serves the TEL and is between the Orchard and Havelock stations. The official station code is TE15. Being part of the TEL, the station is operated by SMRT Trains. Train frequencies on the TEL range from 5 to 6 minutes.
The station is near the eponymous Great World City, connected via three entrances. Situated along River Valley Green, the station serves various residential developments including Grand Copthorne Waterfront, Riva Lodge and The Trillum. It also serves River Valley Primary School and Church of St. Bernadette.
Great World, Great Times by Deanna Ng is displayed at this station as part of the Art-in-Transit programme, a showcase of public artworks on the MRT network. The collage of advertisements, which includes old movie posters, reflects an era of the 70s when the Great World Amusement Park was still operating. Many of the advertisements were recreated using modern-day participants such as a choral troupe for cabaret girls, while the movie poster was reproduced with permission from The Shaw Organisation. Also included is Ng's parents' wedding photo taken near Great World Amusement Park, which inspired the artwork. |
8,179,770 | Sol Bamba | 1,165,712,345 | Ivorian footballer | [
"1985 births",
"2010 Africa Cup of Nations players",
"2010 FIFA World Cup players",
"2012 Africa Cup of Nations players",
"2013 Africa Cup of Nations players",
"2014 FIFA World Cup players",
"Association football coaches",
"Cardiff City F.C. players",
"Citizens of Ivory Coast through descent",
"Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players",
"English Football League players",
"Expatriate men's footballers in England",
"Expatriate men's footballers in Italy",
"Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland",
"Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey",
"Expatriate men's footballers in Wales",
"Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics",
"Footballers from Val-de-Marne",
"French expatriate men's footballers",
"French expatriate sportspeople in England",
"French expatriate sportspeople in Italy",
"French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland",
"French expatriate sportspeople in Turkey",
"French expatriate sportspeople in Wales",
"French men's footballers",
"French sportspeople of Ivorian descent",
"Hibernian F.C. players",
"Ivorian expatriate men's footballers",
"Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in England",
"Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Italy",
"Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland",
"Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey",
"Ivorian expatriate sportspeople in Wales",
"Ivorian men's footballers",
"Ivory Coast men's international footballers",
"Ivory Coast men's under-20 international footballers",
"Leeds United F.C. players",
"Leicester City F.C. players",
"Ligue 1 players",
"Living people",
"Men's association football defenders",
"Men's association football midfielders",
"Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff",
"Middlesbrough F.C. players",
"Olympic footballers for Ivory Coast",
"Palermo FC players",
"Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players",
"People from Ivry-sur-Seine",
"Premier League players",
"Scottish Football League players",
"Scottish Premier League players",
"Serie A players",
"Süper Lig players",
"Trabzonspor footballers"
] | Souleymane Bamba (born 13 January 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was most recently the first team coach/assistant manager at Cardiff City.
Bamba started his career in his native France with Paris Saint-Germain, but failed to establish himself in their first team. He moved to Scotland to join Dunfermline Athletic in 2006, helping the club reach the final of the Scottish Cup in his first season. Two years later, he was transferred to Hibernian, before joining English side Leicester City in January 2011.
He was sold to Turkish club Trabzonspor in 2012 for £750,000 before joining Palermo. However, he was loaned to Leeds United after making only one appearance in six months. He eventually joined Leeds on a permanent deal and was appointed club captain, spending a further year with the club before being released and subsequently joining Cardiff City. In his first full season with Cardiff, he helped the side win promotion to the Premier League.
Born in France to Ivorian parents, Bamba represented Ivory Coast in the 2008 Olympic Games and became a regular for the senior national side until his most recent cap in 2014. In 2012, he was part of the side that reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
## Club career
### Paris Saint-Germain
Bamba began his career with Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the age of 11. He had been spotted by club scouts playing street football in Paris but had initially turned the club down as his mother hoped for him to become a doctor. He lived with his parents Sehrata and Bakary Bamba in Ivry-sur-Seine, a suburb in central Paris. Since his family could not afford the travel to the club's training facilities outside the city, he moved away from his family home to instead live at the club's academy. Originally playing as a defensive midfielder, he converted to playing as a central defender at the age of 15 after impressing there as cover for a teammate who had missed a match due to being stuck in traffic.
Despite impressing for PSG's youth and B teams, he only appeared in two first team games, in his final year at the club at the age of 21. Dissatisfied with his lack of appearances, Bamba asked to be sent out on loan to gain experience but was denied by manager, Vahid Halilhodžić, causing Bamba to reject PSG's offer of a new contract and subsequently leave the club. He later claimed that PSG had damaged potential transfers to other French sides after he left the club, stating "I was disappointed because my club said, 'He's a good player but he's a tough guy – he doesn't listen and he can get the team into trouble."
### Dunfermline Athletic
After an initial trial period, Bamba signed for Scottish Premier League side Dunfermline Athletic in July 2006 on a two-year contract. Jim Leishman later revealed that he had been intending to bring over another player from France on trial, but this deal fell through and Bamba's agent sent him instead. Leishman was immediately impressed by Bamba's physique and his performance as a trialist during a preseason friendly against West Bromwich Albion striker John Hartson. He made his competitive debut for the club in Dunfermline's opening league match of the season, a 2–1 defeat to Hearts. On 2 December 2006, Bamba was sent off for the first time in his professional career after pushing Steven Naismith in the chest during a 5–1 defeat to Kilmarnock.
In his first season at the club, Bamba was part of the squad that reached the 2007 Scottish Cup Final and played in a 1–0 defeat to Celtic in the final. However, the club also suffered relegation from the Scottish Premier League after a seven-year spell in the division. Bamba signed a two-year contract extension at the start of the 2007–08 season. The extension brought an end to rumours of his desire to leave the club in order to play at a higher level and further his chances of breaking into the Ivory Coast national side, having not played in any of Dunfermline's preseason matches.
Bamba was allowed to go on trial with Championship side Watford in July 2008, appearing in a friendly for them against Boreham Wood. Soon afterwards, manager Jim McIntyre said he expected a fee to be agreed between Dunfermline and Watford, which would allow Bamba to move to the Championship side. The deal was thought to be almost complete, with Watford sending a doctor to China, where Bamba had travelled with the Ivory Coast Olympic squad, to conduct his medical. However, Watford later pulled out for unknown reasons. A few weeks later, Dunfermline accepted offers of £50,000 for Bamba to move to either Hibernian and Motherwell, keeping him in the Scottish Premier League.
### Hibernian
Bamba chose to move to Hibernian, signing a three-year contract with the club. As part of the transfer deal, Dunfermline were due 10% of any future transfer fee. He was sent off on his debut for a second bookable offence against Dundee United, but Bamba subsequently established himself in the Hibs first team. Despite being a natural centre back, manager Mixu Paatelainen praised Bamba's performance as a defensive midfielder during a 2–0 win over Celtic in December 2008. Paatelainen commented further that he believed Bamba had improved as a player since his spell at Dunfermline, with him no longer going to ground when making a challenge, and described him as possessing "tremendous pace and physical presence." Bamba quickly became a popular player with the Hibs support due to his tough and committed tackling in this new role.
Following Paatelainen's departure, new manager John Hughes moved Bamba back to a central defensive role after the departure of Rob Jones in the 2009 season. In his second match in this position, Bamba scored his first ever professional goal in a 3–1 win against Falkirk on 22 August, heading in from a John Rankin corner. Coincidentally, he scored his second goal for the club at the same ground against the same team and in another 3–1 win, on 27 March. The Edinburgh Evening News reported on 8 May 2010 that Bamba's performances had "not gone unnoticed", with scouts from Fulham and Rennes due to watch Bamba. Sven-Göran Eriksson, the new manager of the Ivorian national team, was also due to watch Bamba ahead of the 2010 World Cup, but was not spotted at the last game played by Hibs in the 2009–10 season.
Bamba angered manager John Hughes when he failed to report for a pre-season tour of the Netherlands in July 2010. Bamba responded angrily to the criticism by claiming that he needed a full three weeks off after returning from the World Cup and had attempted to contact both Hughes and Hibernian's chairman to discuss the situation, but Hughes dropped Bamba from the first team squad when he eventually returned to Edinburgh. Bamba was made to train with the club's youth team on his return but was recalled for the second leg of a UEFA Europa League tie with NK Maribor at Easter Road, which Hibs lost 3–2 on the night and 6–2 on aggregate. Following the incident, manager Hughes stated his desire for the situation to be forgotten. During his time with Hibs, he made 80 appearances in all competitions, scoring four times.
### Leicester City
With Bamba's contract with Hibs due to expire at the end of the 2010–11 season, the club agreed on a deal with Football League Championship club Leicester City for his transfer. The deal was confirmed on 2 January 2011, with Bamba joining for an undisclosed fee midway through the season, although sources placed the figure around £250,000 with Hibs also due to receive a percentage of any future transfer fee. He was reunited at Leicester with his former Ivory Coast manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson. He made his debut for the club in a 2–2 draw against Manchester City on 9 January in the third round of the FA Cup, scoring with his first touch of the ball. He scored his first two league goals in a 4–2 win over Millwall on 22 January.
After speculation linking him with several Premier League sides, including Blackburn Rovers, and French side Marseille during the 2011 summer transfer window, Bamba signed a new contract with Leicester in September 2011. During negotiations, Eriksson compared Bamba's style of play to that of former German international player Franz Beckenbauer. Blackburn manager Steve Kean had claimed that the two clubs had made a bid for Bamba and described the move as being "quite close" to being completed.
After Eriksson was replaced by Nigel Pearson as Leicester manager, Bamba played less regularly, particularly after January when the club signed Wes Morgan and Bamba missed a month to play in the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast. In his 17 months at the club, in total he played 55 games for the club in all competitions, scoring four goals. He later expressed his regret at leaving the club, stating his belief in Pearson's ability to help them win promotion to the Premier League.
### Trabzonspor
Bamba signed for Turkish club Trabzonspor in June 2012 for a fee of £750,000 after being recommended to the club by his international teammate Didier Zokora. He made his debut for the club on 26 August 2012 playing the full 90 minutes, in a 2–0 victory at home to Elazigspor. He only made 18 appearances during his first season at the club, missing a proportion of fixtures in December and January in part because he was away with Ivory Coast as they qualified for the 2013 African Cup of Nations.
During the 2013–14 season, Bamba made 15 appearances for Trabzonspor in the first half of the season, including being a regular starter in their Europa League campaign. However, on 22 January 2014, he picked up an ankle injury which ruled him out for the majority of the latter part of the season. Bamba was not selected to play for Tranzonspor again after suffering the injury, however he recovered in time to play for Ivory Coast at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
### Palermo
On 26 August 2014, after having been released by Trabzonspor, Bamba agreed a three-year deal with newly promoted Serie A club Palermo. He made his Palermo debut on 24 September 2014, when he started the match for Palermo in a 3–3 draw against Napoli. However, he made no further appearances for the club. After leaving the club, he expressed his confusion over not playing more for Palermo, commenting "The manager would say ‘you’re not far off, keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be playing.’ Well, after one month then two, three and four you start to get worried."
### Leeds United
On 23 January 2015, less than six months into his Palermo contract, Bamba was loaned to Championship side Leeds United for the remainder of the season, with the possibility of making the transfer permanent at a later date. He made his debut for Leeds in a 2–1 West Yorkshire derby win over Huddersfield Town a week later. Less than a month after joining the side, Bamba was named captain for three games in place of Liam Cooper. In particular, he served as captain when Leeds beat the then league leaders Middlesbrough 1–0, with Bamba receiving praise for his performance.
Bamba scored his first goal for Leeds against Fulham in a 3–0 away victory in March. After impressing during his time at Leeds, Bamba revealed his desire to join the club on a permanent basis. However, he was also outspoken towards the club's owner Massimo Cellino advising "the person in charge has to do better for the sake of the club and the supporters". In June, Leeds arranged with Bamba's club Palermo to sign him on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee. The deal was for two years with the option for a third year. New Leeds United head coach Uwe Rösler described Bamba as "a match-winner in both boxes", and said that "he brings fantastic qualities with him" and "he can be a leader by himself for the young team he is working with".
In the offseason, Bamba was appointed captain of Leeds by head coach Uwe Rösler, taking over from previous captain Liam Cooper. Bamba received the man of the match award in a 1–1 draw against Burnley in the league on the opening day of the season. Bamba scored a "stunning" long range volley against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 2–1 win late in the season. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Bamba was again critical of Leeds owner Cellino, calling on him to put 'promises to action'. He revealed the players were unaware if head coach Steve Evans would be retained for the following 2016–17 season, that the players were unaware of when to return for pre season training and they were told they would find out 'by text' when Cellino had made a decision.
Nonetheless, new head coach Garry Monk announced Bamba would remain as Leeds captain for the 2016–17 season. On 7 August, Bamba scored an own goal against Queens Park Rangers in a 3–0 defeat in the opening match of the season and was subsequently dropped from the side, falling behind Kyle Bartley, Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson in the pecking order. On 1 September 2016, Bamba, despite being Leeds' captain, was released by the club. His contract was cancelled by mutual consent following the close of the transfer window the previous day. The decision was made after Monk informed him that he would no longer be first choice at the club.
### Cardiff City
Following his release, Bamba trained with Derby County who were managed by his former Leicester boss Nigel Pearson but was not offered a deal. He instead joined Neil Warnock at Cardiff City in October 2016, signing a two-year contract. Warnock had long been keen on signing Bamba at previous clubs and had contacted him a month before the move, when both were without a club, and urged him to wait for Warnock's appointment at a new club to join him there. He made his debut for the club in a Severnside derby match against Bristol City on 14 October, scoring the winning goal as the Bluebirds won 2–1. His performances for Cardiff led manager Warnock to declare that "I wouldn't want anyone else. I don't think there's anyone better." Bamba received his first red card in seven years against Ipswich Town in December, following a scuffle with forward, David McGoldrick. After receiving the red card, Bamba clashed with the fourth official before being physically restrained by Warnock and leaving the pitch. His reaction led to a three match ban. In April, Bamba suffered a groin injury against Barnsley, which ended his season prematurely.
Bamba returned to the squad at the beginning of the 2017–18 season, helping Cardiff win their three opening games of the season, for the first time in their history. He signed a new three-year contract on 25 August 2017, following it up by heading in the winner against Queens Park Rangers the next day. He went on to help the club win promotion to the Premier League after finishing the season in second place. He was ever present in the league, appearing in all 46 league matches, and was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year.
He made his debut in the Premier League in Cardiff's first match of the 2018–19 season, a 2–0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth, before scoring his first goal in the top division in a 4–1 defeat to Chelsea in September 2018. Bamba scored a further 3 goals during the season, including in wins against Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton. Having missed only one match during the course of the season, he was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after rupturing his cruciate knee ligaments in a defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 5 March 2019.
In July 2019 it was revealed that Bamba would miss the start of the 2019–20 season due to injury.
### Middlesbrough
Bamba was re-united with former manager Neil Warnock after joining Middlesbrough on a one-year contract on 10 August 2021. He made his first start for the club 1 day later in a 3-0 defeat away to Blackpool in the Carabao Cup. His first league start came in a 2-0 defeat away to Coventry City on 11 September 2021. Bamba won the Sky Bet Man of the Match award for his performance in a 2-0 victory against his former club Cardiff City on 23 October 2021.
On 4 February 2022, Bamba was subbed on in the 28th minute of extra time in Middlesbrough's FA Cup tie against Manchester United. Upon the game going to penalties, he took and converted Middlesbrough's 5th spot kick and ultimately allowed the Boro to progress to the fifth round of the tournament for the first time since 2015. Bamba was released by the club at the end of the 2021–22 season.
## International career
Although born in France, Bamba represents his parents' nation of Ivory Coast. He featured in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, the 2005 African Youth Championship and the 2008 Toulon Tournament. Bamba was part of the Ivory Coast squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 Olympic Games.
Bamba won his first cap at full international level for Ivory Coast in a 2008 friendly match against Israel, and his second cap as a late substitute in a friendly against Turkey. Bamba made his competitive debut in a 5–0 win against Malawi in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, again as a late substitute. This match was played in the aftermath of the Houphouët-Boigny Arena stampede, which killed dozens of Ivorian spectators. Bamba became a regular in the national team as they qualified for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Bamba scored his first goal for the team in a friendly against Rwanda, as part of the squad's preparation for the 2010 African Cup. He played in all of Ivory Coast's matches at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, but the team suffered a quarter-final defeat to Algeria after extra time. The "uneasy" central defensive partnership between Kolo Touré and Bamba was cited as one of the reasons for their defeat. The tournament had been played in the shadow of the shooting of the Togo team bus, however, with death threats also being made against the Ivory Coast team.
Manager Vahid Halilhodžić, who had worked with Bamba at PSG and given him his first appearances at club and international level, was sacked after the tournament. The new Ivorian coach, Sven-Göran Eriksson, selected Bamba in his provisional 30-man squad for the 2010 World Cup on 11 May. Bamba scored in Eriksson's first match in charge, a 2–2 draw with Paraguay. Bamba was selected in the Ivory Coast's 23-man World Cup squad, but was dropped from the starting lineup, with midfielder Didier Zokora chosen to partner with Kolo Touré in central defence.
Bamba resumed his partnership with Touré in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Ivory Coast did not concede a goal during the entire tournament, but lost the final against Zambia on a penalty shootout. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Bamba played in central defence alongside Zokora after Toure contracted malaria in the period before the tournament. Bamba was booked in the first match, which Ivory Coast won 2–1 against Japan. Ivory Coast were eliminated at the group stage after suffering 2–1 defeats against both Colombia and Greece.
Bamba was called up to the squad for 10 September 2014 fixture against Cameroon, however on 29 December 2014 he was a surprising omission from the Ivory Coast squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. Although he has not retired from international football, he has not appeared for the side since 2014.
## Coaching career
Bamba was appointed assistant manager of Cardiff City in January 2023. He left the club in June 2023 after the expiry of his contract.
## Style of play
Chiefly a centre-back, Bamba played as a defensive midfielder during his emergence at Paris SG, before becoming a centre-back at age 15. He has sporadically played in the midfield since then, most successfully for Mixu Paatelainen at Hibs.
Jim Leishman, who signed Bamba at Dunfermline Athletic, said of his former charge in 2010: "He's certainly got the physique and he's got the potential to do it. But potential sometimes passes you by, it's all about going out and doing it. He's a great runner, he's as strong as an ox, and he's a strong tackler." Sky Sports Soriebah Kajue in September 2011 said Bamba "established himself as a rock at the heart of the Foxes defence and has produced a level of consistency this year that has simply been outstanding", paying tribute to "Bamba's burgeoning reputation as a ball-playing defender".
Sven-Göran Eriksson, who managed Bamba at club level for Leicester City and internationally for the Ivory Coast, compared the defender with Franz Beckenbauer. Cardiff manager Neil Warnock regularly told Bamba "Don’t be Beckenbauer. Just kick or head it. When it’s on, pass it, but if it’s not on, just put it up there," and in December 2017 Warnock branded Bamba and fellow Cardiff centre-half Sean Morrison as better than Virgil van Dijk. Bamba's favourite players growing up were Lilian Thuram and George Weah.
## Personal life
Bamba met his English wife Chloe while playing for Leicester. They have three children together. He also has a son called Jaxxson Shields from a previous relationship with a Scottish woman. Bamba is multilingual, being able to speak English, French, Italian, Turkish and "the Ivorian dialect that his father used at home". In 2021, he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and began undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Four months later in May 2021, he announced that he was cancer-free.
## Career statistics
### Club
### International
## Honours
Dunfermline Athletic
- Scottish Cup runner-up: 2006–07
Cardiff City
- EFL Championship runner-up: 2017–18
Ivory Coast
- Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2012
Individual'
- PFA Team of the Year: 2017–18 Championship
- Leeds United Player of the Month: August 2015 |
38,999,150 | Mercury Hg | 1,171,427,943 | 2011 puzzle-platform video game | [
"2011 video games",
"Marble video games",
"Platform games",
"PlayStation 3 games",
"Puzzle video games",
"UTV Software Communications franchises",
"Video games developed in the United Kingdom",
"Xbox 360 games"
] | Mercury Hg is a puzzle-platform game developed by British studio Eiconic Games and published by UTV Ignition Games. It is the third entry in the Mercury series. The goal is to navigate a blob of mercury to a goalpost by tilting the stage without losing all of the mercury. The mercury can be split apart into multiple blobs, change colors using Paintshops, and be remerged into a new color. In addition, the game utilizes an online leaderboard, ghost sharing, and the ability to insert music into the levels.
The game was released in North America on September 27, 2011, on PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network and in Europe the following day. The Xbox 360 version was released via Xbox Live Arcade internationally on October 19, 2011. In addition, the game received two DLC packages titled "Heavy Elements" and "Rare Earth Elements". The game was praised for its visual style and level designs but was criticized for being too easy and lacking features from its predecessors.
## Gameplay
thumb\|300px\|left\|The HUD consists of two bars (left) to measure Par time and amount of remaining mercury while, the Roll (top) and Tilt (right) bar measure how much the stage is being tilted.
Mercury Hg is a puzzle-platform game. Similar to its predecessors Archer Maclean's Mercury and Mercury Meltdown, the goal is to navigate a blob of Mercury towards the goalpost by tilting the stage. Players can tilt the stage using the left analog stick in all versions in addition with Sixaxis motion controls for the PlayStation 3 version. The camera position can be moved using the right analog stick and music tracks can be changed using the D-pad.
The mercury blob can be split up into multiple blobs using sharp corners of the stages and can be remerged by making contact with each other or remerge instantly with a press of a button, however, using the latter method will cost players a few seconds. The blob of mercury can change color by moving under Paintshops or merging with other blobs of mercury of different colors. Stages feature color-dependent tiles that activate pathways toward goalpost and tiles are blocked by invisible barriers unless the mercury is a specific color.
Across the base game and DLC, there are a total of 120 levels named after chemical elements and organized on a periodic table with the last two being fictional elements due to the periodic table ending at 118. Each level has achievements for completing the stage within the time limit, obtaining all atoms, and completing with 100% of mercury remaining. All achievements can be obtained individually via multiple playthroughs. Collecting achievements allows players to unlock bonus levels and challenge levels. In bonus levels, players start off with an insufficient amount of mercury and must collect mercury vials scattered across the stage in order to obtain 100% mercury and complete the level. In challenge levels, players have a set group of levels that must be completed in succession and meet a specific set of goals that vary between Challenge levels. The objectives range from completing set levels within a time limit, a certain amount of mercury, or obtaining a certain amount of collectibles.
Mercury Hg has online leaderboards, the ability to insert music to be played during levels, ghost racing, and the ability to share replays.
## Development and release
Mercury Hg was developed by a five-man team known collectively as Eiconic Games for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was announced in E3 2011. Dave Pollard served as co-producer alongside James Boulton, and co-directed the game with Simon Credland. Neal Jones and Graeme Monk served as designers. The music was created by two independent artists: Jilk and Sugar Jesus. UTV Ignition Games approached Eiconic Games based on Graeme Monk's previous involvement with Archer Maclean's Mercury and due to previous development team, Ignition Banbury, no longer existing. UTV Ignition Games requested the game to be a modernized version of the series and appeal to a wider audience. Credland created the art style, which was inspired by Portal and Wipeout. Developing the game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 allowed Eiconic Games to make the mercury more accurate and behave with better physics. The title is a play on words for Mercury HD. Eiconic Games tailored the levels to never take more than two minutes to complete, in order to reduce the frustration of players of losing a level.
UTV Ignition Games released the game on PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network on September 27, 2011, in North America, and in Europe the following day. The Xbox 360 version was planned to be released via Xbox Live Arcade worldwide on the same day as the PS3's European release but was delayed and released on October 19, 2011. Two downloadable content (DLC) packages were released for the game. The first DLC titled "Heavy Elements" was released in North America on the same day as the base game for PS3 and Xbox 360, and contains 45 levels, 10 of them bonus and five challenge. It was later released in Europe on October 19, 2011 for both PS3 and Xbox 360. The second DLC titled "Rare Earth Elements" contains the same number of levels as the first DLC, and was released in North America on November 29, 2011, for PS3. The PS3 version was later released in European regions the following day alongside the Xbox 360 version for both North America and Europe.
## Reception
Mercury Hg was well received, holding an aggregated score of 74 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 14 reviews. IGN praised the game as fun and satisfying, particularly appreciating its replay value. GamePro applauded the puzzles for being engaging and calling the game a "fun and breezy diversion". GameSpot highlighted the visual style and periodic table theme as standout elements. PlayStation Official Magazine also gave praise to the theme and design of the game, which they felt gave it a "Truly distinctive feel." Machinima and GamesRadar+ complimented the music customization feature. Official Xbox Magazine noted the game would be more appealing to speedrunners. GameZone highlighted the accuracy of the mercury physics stating that it reacts like a real liquid would and that it breaks apart convincingly.
Common criticism among reviewers was the game being too easy and the lack of additional content. Both GameSpot and Official Xbox Magazine criticized the game for lacking the party games from its predecessor, Mercury Meltdown. GamePro was disappointed in the lack of multiplayer and felt the game was more suited to an iOS release. GamesRadar+ criticized the game for not taking full advantage of the game's premise of controlling mercury, and for the imprecise motion controls of the PS3's DualShock 3 controller. GameZone was also critical of the Sixaxis motion controls and disappointed in the lack of a level creator feature. |
623,824 | Grantham Canal | 1,166,619,993 | Canal once running between Grantham and Nottingham | [
"Canal restoration",
"Canals in Lincolnshire",
"Canals in Nottinghamshire",
"Canals linked to the River Trent",
"Canals opened in 1797",
"Grantham"
] | The Grantham Canal ran 33 miles (53 km) from Grantham through 18 locks to West Bridgford, where it joined the River Trent. It was built primarily for the transportation of coal to Grantham. It opened in 1797 and its profitability steadily increased until 1841. It was then sold to a railway company, declined, and was finally closed in 1936. It was used as a water supply for agriculture, and so most of it remained in water after closure, although bridges were lowered. Since the 1970s, the Grantham Canal Society have been working to restore parts of it. Two stretches are now navigable to small vessels. A new route will be required where the canal joins the Trent, as road building has severed the original one.
## History
The concept of a canal from the River Trent to Grantham was first raised on 27 August 1791, as a way of supplying the district with cheaper coal. The intent was for the navigation to join the Trent below Nottingham at Radcliffe-on-Trent. As William Jessop was surveying the Nottingham Canal at the time, he was asked to survey the Grantham route as well, and a bill was put before Parliament in 1792. It was defeated, as there was opposition from coal suppliers, who delivered coal by road to Grantham, and from those who thought that the River Witham would be damaged by the project. A revised route was developed, with the junction now at West Bridgford, and an additional 3.6-mile (5.8 km) branch to Bingham. A second bill was put forward and the act of Parliament received royal assent on 30 April 1793. Building work on the canal started in 1793, with Jessop in overall charge, but with James Green and William King as resident engineers: Green, who was from Wollaton, was appointed engineer for the section of canal from the Trent to the Leicestershire border, while King, who was the agent for the Duke of Rutland, was responsible for the rest of the canal, including two reservoirs, one at Denton and the other at Knipton on the River Devon.
The act authorised an initial £75,000 to be raised to pay for construction, together with an option to raise a further £30,000, of which £20,000 should be raised by shares of £100 each among the initial subscribers, and £10,000 by mortgaging the future income of the canal. However, this amount proved insufficient, and there was also disagreement between the shareholders as to their liability to raise the additional £20,000. As a result, a second act was sought. This received the Royal Assent on 3 March 1797, and made clear the obligations of existing shareholders to pay the extra subscription, and also authorised an additional £24,000 to be raised. The second act also removed restrictions in the first act, and allowed the company to set whatever rates it chose for using the canal.
The eastern section from the Leicestershire border was opened on 1 February 1797, with the rest of the canal later that year. The canal was built with locks 75 by 14 feet (22.9 by 4.3 m), the same size as those on the Nottingham Canal to allow boats to use both. The branch to Bingham authorised by the first act was not built. The 18 locks raised the level of the canal by 140 feet (43 m) from the Trent to Grantham. Eleven of them were in the first 4 miles (6.4 km) above the Trent, after which there was a level pound of around 20 miles (32 km) before a flight of seven locks at Woolsthorpe, and a much shorter upper pound to Grantham. At Harlaxton, the canal passed through a deep cutting (effectively crossing the watershed between the River Witham and the River Trent), which was only wide enough for a single boat, but this situation was partially rectified in 1801 when the cutting was widened in two places to allow boats travelling on opposite directions to cross. At Cropwell Bishop and Cropwell Butler, the route passed through gypsum beds, which resulted in problems with leakage.
### Operation
The canal made sufficient money to repay substantial debts in 1804 and 1805, after which dividends were paid to the shareholders, beginning at 2 per cent in 1806, rising to 5 per cent in 1815, and reaching their highest level of 8.6 per cent in 1839. The tolls brought in an income which remained below £9,000 until 1823, but then rose steadily to reach £13,079 in 1841. Traffic towards Grantham included coal and coke, lime, groceries and building materials. Some of it supplied villages along the line of the canal, and some of that which travelled the full distance was distributed by land to villages beyond Grantham. Downward traffic was largely agricultural produce, including corn, beans, malt and wool. Such produce was normally loaded at Grantham or Harby.
Initially, some of the coal carried on the canal had been transported in boats owned by the canal company, but they had given up this practice in 1812. They resumed carrying coal in 1827, because they felt that coal stocks at Grantham were not adequate, but were accused of price-fixing. Although the penalty imposed by Lincoln Assizes was small, they ceased this trade, and the coal merchants agreed to maintain stocks of 2,660 tons at Grantham. In 1833, J. Rofe and his son made a proposal for a canal to connect Grantham and Sleaford, but this was not pursued.
### Decline
In common with most canals, competition from railways posed a major threat, and in 1845 the canal owners agreed to sell it to the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway when their line from Ambergate to Grantham was opened. Although the railway was completed in 1850, the railway company did not honour the agreement. The canal company brought a large number of cases against the railway company, and successfully opposed several bills which the railway were trying to get passed in Parliament. Eventually the railway company agreed to pay, and shareholders received £45 per share in cash, with the balance being in railway mortgages. The agreement was reached on 1 June 1854, and the transfer of ownership took place on 20 December. Railway mergers meant that the canal came under the control of the Great Northern Railway in 1861, and later the London and North Eastern Railway.
Traffic declined as the railway companies neglected the canal, and were down to 18,802 tons in 1905, on which the tolls amounted to £242 and an Act of Parliament was passed in 1936, formally closing the canal, though there had been no boat traffic since 1929. The closure act stipulated that water levels should be maintained at 2 feet (60 cm) to support agricultural needs. This effectively guaranteed the continued existence of the canal channel, but structures such as locks and bridges deteriorated, and in the 1950s 46 of the 69 bridges over the canal were lowered as part of road improvement schemes. Although the low bridges act as barriers to navigation, large parts of the canal are still in water.
In 1948 Britain's railways, and hence the canal, were nationalised, and became the responsibility of the British Transport Commission. In 1963 control of the canal passed to British Waterways. Under the terms of the Transport Act 1968, all waterways within the jurisdiction of British Waterways were classified as commercial, cruising or remainder waterways. Remainder waterways were those that were deemed to have no economic future, and maintenance would only be carried out where failure to do so would create health or safety issues. The Grantham Canal was listed in this latter category.
## Restoration
A plan to fill in a section of the canal in Nottingham resulted in a number of letters appearing in the local press in 1963, and a student at Kesteven College produced a report on the state of the canal, which was presented to the Grantham Civic Society. In 1970, the British Waterways Board attempted to obtain an act of parliament which would have allowed them to cease maintaining the water levels of the canal. The Inland Waterways Association campaigned against the bill, and the clause was amended. The Grantham Canal Society was formed soon afterwards, to promote restoration of the waterway. In 1974, a National Boat Rally was held at Nottingham, to gain support for the restoration scheme, and to promote the idea of a new link to the Trent, which would pass through old gravel workings.
Together with British Waterways, the Inland Waterways Association and the Waterway Recovery Group, the society began the work of restoration of the canal to navigation, a process which is still ongoing. A major development was the granting of permission in 1992 to remove an old railway embankment, which blocked the route near the top of the Woolsthorpe flight of locks. The task was completed by a number of Waterway Recovery Group workcamps. New gates were fitted to the top three locks, and rebuilding of Casthorpe bridge was funded by Lincolnshire County Council, opening up 4.4 miles (7.1 km) of the canal for navigation. Further down the canal, restoration of a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) section between Hickling Basin and Hose was funded by a derelict land grant of £400,000, received in 1993. The Grantham Canal Partnership was formed in 1997, as a way to take the project forwards. It consisted of representatives from each of the six local authorities through which the route passes, British Waterways, the Inland Waterways Association, the Grantham Canal Restoration Society and the Grantham Navigation Association, a group which had split off from the Canal Society in 1992. As a result of the co-operation, British Waterways formulated a draft business plan for the canal.
Following the restoration of the top three locks at Woolsthorpe in the 1990s, a 10-mile (16-km) section from the A1 to Redmile will be completed once the bottom four locks of the flight are restored. The rebuilding of locks 6 and 7, completed in 2000, brought the number of locks restored to five, and approximately one quarter of the canal has been restored to navigable standard. Much improvement of the towpath has also taken place, and access to it is possible at most of the bridges.
A major setback occurred in 2007, when one of the walls of Woolsthorpe Top Lock had to be propped to prevent it collapsing, and British Waterways took the decision to fill it in, as funding was not available to rebuild it. The Inland Waterways Association received a legacy of £100,000 from the estate of Fredrick Woodman, designated for the Grantham Canal, but British Waterways ruled that no work could start until the whole cost of £175,000 had been found. The balance was made up by grants of £40,000 from Lincolnshire County Council and £35,000 from the East Midlands Development Agency. The wall was demolished and rebuilt in three sections, utilizing 290 cubic yards (220 m<sup>3</sup>) of concrete and 7,500 new bricks.
Restoration of most of the canal does not present major problems, but challenges are presented by the final sections at both ends. The original route to join the Trent has been severed by the building of the A52 road. A route was identified which followed the course of the Polser Brook, which passes under the A52 to the north of the canal, but by 2009, three possible solutions were under consideration. These pose additional problems in finding funding, since they do not count as restoration, and many of the traditional funding sources are not then available. At Grantham, an embankment carrying the A1 road blocks the line of the canal, and the terminal basin has been filled in. There are plans for a tunnel under the A1 as part of a cycle route to improve access to Grantham, and the basin could be redeveloped in due course.
There is also a 5-mile (8 km) dry section between Cotgrave and Kinoulton, which has presented problems since construction in the 18th century: gypsum in the soil reacted with the waterproof clay leading to leaking.
In early 2005, the Grantham Canal Partnership appointed a full-time Grantham Canal restoration manager, Kevin Mann, for an initial 18-month trial period. He would be responsible for planning and managing funding schemes for the restoration, identifying development opportunities and the promotion and interpretation of the canal. The trial proved to be successful, as he was still doing the job in 2009.
The canal and its banks between Redmile and Harby is designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest as Grantham Canal SSSI.
## Points of interest
## Belvoir tramway
The Duke of Rutland also constructed a private wagonway or tramway between the wharf at Muston Gorse and Belvoir Castle. It was constructed in 1814–15, and remained operational for 100 years. It was constructed with fish-belly rail set into stone chairs, some of which, and some wagons, still exist in the castle cellars. The gauge was , and the rails were supplied by The Butterley Company. Some are in the collection of the science museum, and the National Railway Museum where there is the chassis of one of the wagons.
## See also
- Canals of the United Kingdom
- History of the British canal system |
38,074 | Kidney stone disease | 1,172,715,835 | Formation of mineral 'stones' in the urinary tract | [
"Acute pain",
"Kidney diseases",
"Urological conditions",
"Wikipedia emergency medicine articles ready to translate",
"Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate"
] | Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urine stream. A small stone may pass without causing symptoms. If a stone grows to more than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches), it can cause blockage of the ureter, resulting in sharp and severe pain in the lower back or abdomen. A stone may also result in blood in the urine, vomiting, or painful urination. About half of people who have had a kidney stone are likely to have another within ten years.
Most stones form by a combination of genetics and environmental factors. Risk factors include high urine calcium levels, obesity, certain foods, some medications, calcium supplements, hyperparathyroidism, gout and not drinking enough fluids. Stones form in the kidney when minerals in urine are at high concentration. The diagnosis is usually based on symptoms, urine testing, and medical imaging. Blood tests may also be useful. Stones are typically classified by their location: nephrolithiasis (in the kidney), ureterolithiasis (in the ureter), cystolithiasis (in the bladder), or by what they are made of (calcium oxalate, uric acid, struvite, cystine).
In those who have had stones, drinking fluids is suggestion to prevent stones. Drinking fluids such that more than two liters of urine are produced per day is recommended. If fluid intake alone is not effective to prevent kidney stones, the medications thiazide diuretic, citrate, or allopurinol may be suggested. Soft drinks containing phosphoric acid (typically colas) should be avoided. When a stone causes no symptoms, no treatment is needed. For those with symptoms, pain control is usually the first measure, using medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or opioids. Larger stones may be helped to pass with the medication tamsulosin or may require procedures such as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy, or percutaneous nephrolithotomy.
Kidney stones have affected humans throughout history with descriptions of surgery to remove them dating from as early as 600 BCE. Between 1% and 15% of people globally are affected by kidney stones at some point in their lives. In 2015, 22.1 million cases occurred, resulting in about 16,100 deaths. They have become more common in the Western world since the 1970s. Generally, more men are affected than women. The prevalence and incidence of the disease rises worldwide and continues to be challenging for patients, physicians, and healthcare systems alike. In this context, epidemiological studies are striving to elucidate the worldwide changes in the patterns and the burden of the disease and identify modifiable risk factors that contribute to the development of kidney stones.
## Signs and symptoms
The hallmark of a stone that obstructs the ureter or renal pelvis is excruciating, intermittent pain that radiates from the flank to the groin or to the inner thigh. This is due to the transfer of referred pain signals from the lower thoracic splanchnic nerves to the lumbar splanchnic nerves as the stone passes down from the kidney or proximal ureter to the distal ureter. This pain, known as renal colic, is often described as one of the strongest pain sensations known. Renal colic caused by kidney stones is commonly accompanied by urinary urgency, restlessness, hematuria, sweating, nausea, and vomiting. It typically comes in waves lasting 20 to 60 minutes caused by peristaltic contractions of the ureter as it attempts to expel the stone.
The embryological link between the urinary tract, the genital system, and the gastrointestinal tract is the basis of the radiation of pain to the gonads, as well as the nausea and vomiting that are also common in urolithiasis. Postrenal azotemia and hydronephrosis can be observed following the obstruction of urine flow through one or both ureters.
Pain in the lower-left quadrant can sometimes be confused with diverticulitis because the sigmoid colon overlaps the ureter, and the exact location of the pain may be difficult to isolate due to the proximity of these two structures.
## Risk factors
Dehydration from low fluid intake is a major factor in stone formation. Individuals living in warm climates are at higher risk due to increased fluid loss. Obesity, immobility, and sedentary lifestyles are other leading risk factors.
High dietary intake of animal protein, sodium, sugars including honey, refined sugars, fructose and high fructose corn syrup, and excessive consumption of fruit juices may increase the risk of kidney stone formation due to increased uric acid excretion and elevated urinary oxalate levels (whereas tea, coffee, wine and beer may decrease the risk).
Kidney stones can result from an underlying metabolic condition, such as distal renal tubular acidosis, Dent's disease, hyperparathyroidism, primary hyperoxaluria, or medullary sponge kidney. 3–20% of people who form kidney stones have medullary sponge kidney.
Kidney stones are more common in people with Crohn's disease; Crohn's disease is associated with hyperoxaluria and malabsorption of magnesium.
A person with recurrent kidney stones may be screened for such disorders. This is typically done with a 24-hour urine collection. The urine is analyzed for features that promote stone formation.
### Calcium oxalate
Calcium is one component of the most common type of human kidney stones, calcium oxalate. Some studies suggest that people who take calcium or vitamin D as a dietary supplement have a higher risk of developing kidney stones. In the United States, kidney stone formation was used as an indicator of excess calcium intake by the Reference Daily Intake committee for calcium in adults.
In the early 1990s, a study conducted for the Women's Health Initiative in the US found that postmenopausal women who consumed 1000 mg of supplemental calcium and 400 international units of vitamin D per day for seven years had a 17% higher risk of developing kidney stones than subjects taking a placebo. The Nurses' Health Study also showed an association between supplemental calcium intake and kidney stone formation.
Unlike supplemental calcium, high intakes of dietary calcium do not appear to cause kidney stones and may actually protect against their development. This is perhaps related to the role of calcium in binding ingested oxalate in the gastrointestinal tract. As the amount of calcium intake decreases, the amount of oxalate available for absorption into the bloodstream increases; this oxalate is then excreted in greater amounts into the urine by the kidneys. In the urine, oxalate is a very strong promoter of calcium oxalate precipitation—about 15 times stronger than calcium.
A 2004 study found that diets low in calcium are associated with a higher overall risk for kidney stone formation. For most individuals, other risk factors for kidney stones, such as high intakes of dietary oxalates and low fluid intake, play a greater role than calcium intake.
### Other electrolytes
Calcium is not the only electrolyte that influences the formation of kidney stones. For example, by increasing urinary calcium excretion, high dietary sodium may increase the risk of stone formation.
Drinking fluoridated tap water may increase the risk of kidney stone formation by a similar mechanism, though further epidemiologic studies are warranted to determine whether fluoride in drinking water is associated with an increased incidence of kidney stones. High dietary intake of potassium appears to reduce the risk of stone formation because potassium promotes the urinary excretion of citrate, an inhibitor of calcium crystal formation.
Kidney stones are more likely to develop, and to grow larger, if a person has low dietary magnesium. Magnesium inhibits stone formation.
### Animal protein
Diets in Western nations typically contain a large proportion of animal protein. Eating animal protein creates an acid load that increases urinary excretion of calcium and uric acid and reduced citrate. Urinary excretion of excess sulfurous amino acids (e.g., cysteine and methionine), uric acid, and other acidic metabolites from animal protein acidifies the urine, which promotes the formation of kidney stones. Low urinary-citrate excretion is also commonly found in those with a high dietary intake of animal protein, whereas vegetarians tend to have higher levels of citrate excretion. Low urinary citrate, too, promotes stone formation.
### Vitamins
The evidence linking vitamin C supplements with an increased rate of kidney stones is inconclusive. The excess dietary intake of vitamin C might increase the risk of calcium-oxalate stone formation. The link between vitamin D intake and kidney stones is also tenuous.
Excessive vitamin D supplementation may increase the risk of stone formation by increasing the intestinal absorption of calcium; correction of a deficiency does not.
## Pathophysiology
### Supersaturation of urine
When the urine becomes supersaturated (when the urine solvent contains more solutes than it can hold in solution) with one or more calculogenic (crystal-forming) substances, a seed crystal may form through the process of nucleation. Heterogeneous nucleation (where there is a solid surface present on which a crystal can grow) proceeds more rapidly than homogeneous nucleation (where a crystal must grow in a liquid medium with no such surface), because it requires less energy. Adhering to cells on the surface of a renal papilla, a seed crystal can grow and aggregate into an organized mass. Depending on the chemical composition of the crystal, the stone-forming process may proceed more rapidly when the urine pH is unusually high or low.
Supersaturation of the urine with respect to a calculogenic compound is pH-dependent. For example, at a pH of 7.0, the solubility of uric acid in urine is 158 mg/100 mL. Reducing the pH to 5.0 decreases the solubility of uric acid to less than 8 mg/100 mL. The formation of uric-acid stones requires a combination of hyperuricosuria (high urine uric-acid levels) and low urine pH; hyperuricosuria alone is not associated with uric-acid stone formation if the urine pH is alkaline. Supersaturation of the urine is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the development of any urinary calculus. Supersaturation is likely the underlying cause of uric acid and cystine stones, but calcium-based stones (especially calcium oxalate stones) may have a more complex cause.
### Randall's plaque
While supersaturation of urine may lead to crystalluria, it does not necessarily promote the formation of a kidney stone because the particle may not reach the sufficient size needed for renal attachment. On the other hand, Randall's plaques, which were first identified by Alexander Randall in 1937, are calcium phosphate deposits that form in the papillary interstitium and are thought to be the nidus required for stone development. In addition to Randall's plugs, which form in the Duct of Bellini, these structures can generate reactive oxygen species that further enhance stone formation.
### Pathogenic bacteria
Some bacteria have roles in promoting stone formation. Specifically, urease-positive bacteria, such as Proteus mirabilis can produce the enzyme urease, which converts urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide. This increases the urinary pH and promotes struvite stone formation. Additionally, non-urease producing bacteria can provide bacteria components that can promote calcium oxalate crystallization, though this mechanism is poorly understood.
### Inhibitors of stone formation
Normal urine contains chelating agents, such as citrate, that inhibit the nucleation, growth, and aggregation of calcium-containing crystals. Other endogenous inhibitors include calgranulin (an S-100 calcium-binding protein), Tamm–Horsfall protein, glycosaminoglycans, uropontin (a form of osteopontin), nephrocalcin (an acidic glycoprotein), prothrombin F1 peptide, and bikunin (uronic acid-rich protein). The biochemical mechanisms of action of these substances have not yet been thoroughly elucidated. However, when these substances fall below their normal proportions, stones can form from an aggregation of crystals.
Sufficient dietary intake of magnesium and citrate inhibits the formation of calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate stones; in addition, magnesium and citrate operate synergistically to inhibit kidney stones. The efficacy of magnesium in subduing stone formation and growth is dose-dependent.
### Hypocitraturia
Hypocitraturia or low urinary-citrate excretion (variably defined as less than 320 mg/day) can be a contributing cause of kidney stones in up to 2/3 of cases. The protective role of citrate is linked to several mechanisms; citrate reduces urinary supersaturation of calcium salts by forming soluble complexes with calcium ions and by inhibiting crystal growth and aggregation. Therapy with potassium citrate is commonly prescribed in clinical practice to increase urinary citrate and to reduce stone formation rates. Alkali citrate is also used to increase urine citrate levels. It can be prescribed or found over-the-counter in pill, liquid or powder form.
## Diagnosis
Diagnosis of kidney stones is made on the basis of information obtained from the history, physical examination, urinalysis, and radiographic studies. Clinical diagnosis is usually made on the basis of the location and severity of the pain, which is typically colicky in nature (comes and goes in spasmodic waves). Pain in the back occurs when calculi produce an obstruction in the kidney. Physical examination may reveal fever and tenderness at the costovertebral angle on the affected side.
### Imaging studies
Calcium-containing stones are relatively radiodense, and they can often be detected by a traditional radiograph of the abdomen that includes the kidneys, ureters, and bladder (KUB film). KUB radiograph, although useful in monitoring size of stone or passage of stone in stone formers, might not be useful in the acute setting due to low sensitivity. Some 60% of all renal stones are radiopaque. In general, calcium phosphate stones have the greatest density, followed by calcium oxalate and magnesium ammonium phosphate stones. Cystine calculi are only faintly radiodense, while uric acid stones are usually entirely radiolucent.
In people with a history of stones, those who are less than 50 years of age and are presenting with the symptoms of stones without any concerning signs do not require helical CT scan imaging. A CT scan is also not typically recommended in children.
Otherwise a noncontrast helical CT scan with 5 millimeters (0.2 in) sections is the diagnostic method to use to detect kidney stones and confirm the diagnosis of kidney stone disease. Near all stones are detectable on CT scans with the exception of those composed of certain drug residues in the urine, such as from indinavir.
Where a CT scan is unavailable, an intravenous pyelogram may be performed to help confirm the diagnosis of urolithiasis. This involves intravenous injection of a contrast agent followed by a KUB film. Uroliths present in the kidneys, ureters, or bladder may be better defined by the use of this contrast agent. Stones can also be detected by a retrograde pyelogram, where a similar contrast agent is injected directly into the distal ostium of the ureter (where the ureter terminates as it enters the bladder).
Renal ultrasonography can sometimes be useful, because it gives details about the presence of hydronephrosis, suggesting that the stone is blocking the outflow of urine. Radiolucent stones, which do not appear on KUB, may show up on ultrasound imaging studies. Other advantages of renal ultrasonography include its low cost and absence of radiation exposure. Ultrasound imaging is useful for detecting stones in situations where X-rays or CT scans are discouraged, such as in children or pregnant women. Despite these advantages, renal ultrasonography in 2009 was not considered a substitute for noncontrast helical CT scan in the initial diagnostic evaluation of urolithiasis. The main reason for this is that, compared with CT, renal ultrasonography more often fails to detect small stones (especially ureteral stones) and other serious disorders that could be causing the symptoms.
On the contrary, a 2014 study suggested that ultrasonography should be used as the initial diagnostic imaging test, with further imaging studies be performed at the discretion of the physician on the basis of clinical judgment, and using ultrasonography rather than CT as an initial diagnostic test results in less radiation exposure and equally good outcome.
### Laboratory examination
Laboratory investigations typically carried out include
- microscopic examination of the urine, which may show red blood cells, bacteria, leukocytes, urinary casts, and crystals;
- urine culture to identify any infecting organisms present in the urinary tract and sensitivity to determine the susceptibility of these organisms to specific antibiotics;
- complete blood count, looking for neutrophilia (increased neutrophil granulocyte count) suggestive of bacterial infection, as seen in the setting of struvite stones;
- renal function tests to look for abnormally high blood calcium levels (hypercalcemia);
- 24 hour urine collection to measure total daily urinary volume, magnesium, sodium, uric acid, calcium, citrate, oxalate, and phosphate;
- collection of stones (by urinating through a StoneScreen kidney stone collection cup or a simple tea strainer) is useful. Chemical analysis of collected stones can establish their composition, which in turn can help to guide future preventive and therapeutic management.
### Composition
#### Calcium-containing stones
By far, the most common type of kidney stones worldwide contains calcium. For example, calcium-containing stones represent about 80% of all cases in the United States; these typically contain calcium oxalate either alone or in combination with calcium phosphate in the form of apatite or brushite. Factors that promote the precipitation of oxalate crystals in the urine, such as primary hyperoxaluria, are associated with the development of calcium oxalate stones. The formation of calcium phosphate stones is associated with conditions such as hyperparathyroidism and renal tubular acidosis.
Oxaluria is increased in patients with certain gastrointestinal disorders including inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease or in patients who have undergone resection of the small bowel or small-bowel bypass procedures. Oxaluria is also increased in patients who consume increased amounts of oxalate (found in vegetables and nuts). Primary hyperoxaluria is a rare autosomal recessive condition that usually presents in childhood.
Calcium oxalate crystals can come in two varieties. Calcium oxalate monohydrate can appear as 'dumbbells' or as long ovals that resemble the individual posts in a picket fence. Calcium oxalate dihydrate have a tetragonal “envelope” appearance.
#### Struvite stones
About 10–15% of urinary calculi are composed of struvite (ammonium magnesium phosphate, NH<sub>4</sub>MgPO<sub>4</sub>·6H<sub>2</sub>O). Struvite stones (also known as "infection stones," urease, or triple-phosphate stones) form most often in the presence of infection by urea-splitting bacteria. Using the enzyme urease, these organisms metabolize urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide. This alkalinizes the urine, resulting in favorable conditions for the formation of struvite stones. Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, and Morganella morganii are the most common organisms isolated; less common organisms include Ureaplasma urealyticum and some species of Providencia, Klebsiella, Serratia, and Enterobacter. These infection stones are commonly observed in people who have factors that predispose them to urinary tract infections, such as those with spinal cord injury and other forms of neurogenic bladder, ileal conduit urinary diversion, vesicoureteral reflux, and obstructive uropathies. They are also commonly seen in people with underlying metabolic disorders, such as idiopathic hypercalciuria, hyperparathyroidism, and gout. Infection stones can grow rapidly, forming large calyceal staghorn (antler-shaped) calculi requiring invasive surgery such as percutaneous nephrolithotomy for definitive treatment.
Struvite stones (triple-phosphate/magnesium ammonium phosphate) have a 'coffin lid' morphology by microscopy.
#### Uric acid stones
About 5–10% of all stones are formed from uric acid. People with certain metabolic abnormalities, including obesity, may produce uric acid stones. They also may form in association with conditions that cause hyperuricosuria (an excessive amount of uric acid in the urine) with or without hyperuricemia (an excessive amount of uric acid in the serum). They may also form in association with disorders of acid/base metabolism where the urine is excessively acidic (low pH), resulting in precipitation of uric acid crystals. A diagnosis of uric acid urolithiasis is supported by the presence of a radiolucent stone in the face of persistent urine acidity, in conjunction with the finding of uric acid crystals in fresh urine samples.
As noted above (section on calcium oxalate stones), people with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis) tend to have hyperoxaluria and form oxalate stones. They also have a tendency to form urate stones. Urate stones are especially common after colon resection.
Uric acid stones appear as pleomorphic crystals, usually diamond-shaped. They may also look like squares or rods which are polarizable.
#### Other types
People with certain rare inborn errors of metabolism have a propensity to accumulate crystal-forming substances in their urine. For example, those with cystinuria, cystinosis, and Fanconi syndrome may form stones composed of cystine. Cystine stone formation can be treated with urine alkalinization and dietary protein restriction. People affected by xanthinuria often produce stones composed of xanthine. People affected by adenine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency may produce 2,8-dihydroxyadenine stones, alkaptonurics produce homogentisic acid stones, and iminoglycinurics produce stones of glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. Urolithiasis has also been noted to occur in the setting of therapeutic drug use, with crystals of drug forming within the renal tract in some people currently being treated with agents such as indinavir, sulfadiazine, and triamterene.
### Location
Urolithiasis refers to stones originating anywhere in the urinary system, including the kidneys and bladder. Nephrolithiasis refers to the presence of such stones in the kidneys. Calyceal calculi are aggregations in either the minor or major calyx, parts of the kidney that pass urine into the ureter (the tube connecting the kidneys to the urinary bladder). The condition is called ureterolithiasis when a calculus is located in the ureter. Stones may also form or pass into the bladder, a condition referred to as bladder stones.
### Size
Stones less than 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter pass spontaneously in up to 98% of cases, while those measuring 5 to 10 mm (0.2 to 0.4 in) in diameter pass spontaneously in less than 53% of cases.
Stones that are large enough to fill out the renal calyces are called staghorn stones and are composed of struvite in a vast majority of cases, which forms only in the presence of urease-forming bacteria. Other forms that can possibly grow to become staghorn stones are those composed of cystine, calcium oxalate monohydrate, and uric acid.
## Prevention
Preventative measures depend on the type of stones. In those with calcium stones, drinking plenty of fluids, thiazide diuretics and citrate are effective as is allopurinol in those with high uric acid levels in urine.
### Dietary measures
Specific therapy should be tailored to the type of stones involved. Diet can have an effect on the development of kidney stones. Preventive strategies include some combination of dietary modifications and medications with the goal of reducing the excretory load of calculogenic compounds on the kidneys. Dietary recommendations to minimize the formation of kidney stones include
- increasing total fluid intake to achieve more than two liters per day of urine output;
- limiting cola, including sugar-sweetened soft drinks; to less than one liter per week.
- limiting animal protein intake to no more than two meals daily (an association between animal protein and recurrence of kidney stones has been shown in men);
- increasing citrate, or alkali intake, including from lemon and lime juice. Citric acid in its natural form, such as from citrus fruits, "prevents small stones from becoming 'problem stones' by coating them and preventing other material from attaching and building onto the stones."
- Reducing sodium intake is associated with a reduction in urine calcium excretion.
Maintenance of dilute urine by means of vigorous fluid therapy is beneficial in all forms of kidney stones, so increasing urine volume is a key principle for the prevention of kidney stones. Fluid intake should be sufficient to maintain a urine output of at least 2 litres (68 US fl oz) per day. A high fluid intake may reduce the likelihood of kidney stone recurrence or may increase the time between stone development without unwanted effects.
Calcium binds with available oxalate in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby preventing its absorption into the bloodstream. Reducing oxalate absorption decreases kidney stone risk in susceptible people. Because of this, some doctors recommend increasing dairy intake so that its calcium content will serve as an oxalate binder. Taking calcium citrate tablets during or after meals containing high oxalate foods may be useful if dietary calcium cannot be increased by other means as in those with lactose intolerance. The preferred calcium supplement for people at risk of stone formation is calcium citrate, as opposed to calcium carbonate, because it helps to increase urinary citrate excretion.
Aside from vigorous oral hydration and eating more dietary calcium, other prevention strategies include avoidance of higher doses of supplemental vitamin C (since ascorbate is metabolized to oxalate) and restriction of oxalate-rich foods such as leaf vegetables, rhubarb, soy products and chocolate. However, no randomized, controlled trial of oxalate restriction has been performed to test the hypothesis that oxalate restriction reduces stone formation. Some evidence indicates magnesium intake decreases the risk of symptomatic kidney stones.
### Urine alkalinization
The mainstay for medical management of uric acid stones is alkalinization (increasing the pH) of the urine. Uric acid stones are among the few types amenable to dissolution therapy, referred to as chemolysis. Chemolysis is usually achieved through the use of oral medications, although in some cases, intravenous agents or even instillation of certain irrigating agents directly onto the stone can be performed, using antegrade nephrostomy or retrograde ureteral catheters. Acetazolamide is a medication that alkalinizes the urine. In addition to acetazolamide or as an alternative, certain dietary supplements are available that produce a similar alkalinization of the urine. These include alkali citrate, sodium bicarbonate, potassium citrate, magnesium citrate, and Bicitra (a combination of citric acid monohydrate and sodium citrate dihydrate). Aside from alkalinization of the urine, these supplements have the added advantage of increasing the urinary citrate level, which helps to reduce the aggregation of calcium oxalate stones.
Increasing the urine pH to around 6.5 provides optimal conditions for dissolution of uric acid stones. Increasing the urine pH to a value higher than 7.0 may increase the risk of calcium phosphate stone formation, though this concept is controversial since citrate does inhibit calcium phosphate crystallization. Testing the urine periodically with nitrazine paper can help to ensure the urine pH remains in this optimal range. Using this approach, stone dissolution rate can be expected to be around 10 mm (0.4 in) of stone radius per month.
#### Slaked lime
Calcium hydroxide decreases urinary calcium when combined with food rich in oxalic acid such as green leafy vegetables.
### Diuretics
One of the recognized medical therapies for prevention of stones is the thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics, such as chlorthalidone or indapamide. These drugs inhibit the formation of calcium-containing stones by reducing urinary calcium excretion. Sodium restriction is necessary for clinical effect of thiazides, as sodium excess promotes calcium excretion. Thiazides work best for renal leak hypercalciuria (high urine calcium levels), a condition in which high urinary calcium levels are caused by a primary kidney defect. Thiazides are useful for treating absorptive hypercalciuria, a condition in which high urinary calcium is a result of excess absorption from the gastrointestinal tract.
### Allopurinol
For people with hyperuricosuria and calcium stones, allopurinol is one of the few treatments that have been shown to reduce kidney stone recurrences. Allopurinol interferes with the production of uric acid in the liver. The drug is also used in people with gout or hyperuricemia (high serum uric acid levels). Dosage is adjusted to maintain a reduced urinary excretion of uric acid. Serum uric acid level at or below 6 mg/100 mL is often a therapeutic goal. Hyperuricemia is not necessary for the formation of uric acid stones; hyperuricosuria can occur in the presence of normal or even low serum uric acid. Some practitioners advocate adding allopurinol only in people in whom hyperuricosuria and hyperuricemia persist, despite the use of a urine-alkalinizing agent such as sodium bicarbonate or potassium citrate.
## Treatment
Stone size influences the rate of spontaneous stone passage. For example, up to 98% of small stones (less than 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter) may pass spontaneously through urination within four weeks of the onset of symptoms, but for larger stones (5 to 10 mm (0.2 to 0.4 in) in diameter), the rate of spontaneous passage decreases to less than 53%. Initial stone location also influences the likelihood of spontaneous stone passage. Rates increase from 48% for stones located in the proximal ureter to 79% for stones located at the vesicoureteric junction, regardless of stone size. Assuming no high-grade obstruction or associated infection is found in the urinary tract, and symptoms are relatively mild, various nonsurgical measures can be used to encourage the passage of a stone. Repeat stone formers benefit from more intense management, including proper fluid intake and use of certain medications, as well as careful monitoring.
### Pain management
Management of pain often requires intravenous administration of NSAIDs or opioids. NSAIDs appear somewhat better than opioids or paracetamol in those with normal kidney function. Medications by mouth are often effective for less severe discomfort. The use of antispasmodics does not have further benefit.
### Medical expulsive therapy
The use of medications to speed the spontaneous passage of stones in the ureter is referred to as medical expulsive therapy. Several agents, including alpha adrenergic blockers (such as tamsulosin) and calcium channel blockers (such as nifedipine), may be effective. Alpha-blockers likely result in more people passing their stones, and they may pass their stones in a shorter time. People taking alpha-blockers may also use less pain medication and may not need to visit the hospital. Alpha-blockers appear to be more effective for larger stones (over 5 mm in size) than smaller stones. However, use of alpha-blockers may be associated with a slight increase in serious, unwanted effects from this medication. A combination of tamsulosin and a corticosteroid may be better than tamsulosin alone. These treatments also appear to be useful in addition to lithotripsy.
### Lithotripsy
Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is a noninvasive technique for the removal of kidney stones. Most ESWL is carried out when the stone is present near the renal pelvis. ESWL involves the use of a lithotriptor machine to deliver externally applied, focused, high-intensity pulses of ultrasonic energy to cause fragmentation of a stone over a period of around 30–60 minutes. Following its introduction in the United States in February 1984, ESWL was rapidly and widely accepted as a treatment alternative for renal and ureteral stones. It is currently used in the treatment of uncomplicated stones located in the kidney and upper ureter, provided the aggregate stone burden (stone size and number) is less than 20 mm (0.8 in) and the anatomy of the involved kidney is normal.
For a stone greater than 10 millimetres (0.39 in), ESWL may not help break the stone in one treatment; instead, two or three treatments may be needed. Some 80-85% of simple renal calculi can be effectively treated with ESWL. A number of factors can influence its efficacy, including chemical composition of the stone, presence of anomalous renal anatomy and the specific location of the stone within the kidney, presence of hydronephrosis, body mass index, and distance of the stone from the surface of the skin.
Common adverse effects of ESWL include acute trauma, such as bruising at the site of shock administration, and damage to blood vessels of the kidney. In fact, the vast majority of people who are treated with a typical dose of shock waves using currently accepted treatment settings are likely to experience some degree of acute kidney injury. ESWL-induced acute kidney injury is dose-dependent (increases with the total number of shock waves administered and with the power setting of the lithotriptor) and can be severe, including internal bleeding and subcapsular hematomas. On rare occasions, such cases may require blood transfusion and even lead to acute kidney failure. Hematoma rates may be related to the type of lithotriptor used; hematoma rates of less than 1% and up to 13% have been reported for different lithotriptor machines. Recent studies show reduced acute tissue injury when the treatment protocol includes a brief pause following the initiation of treatment, and both improved stone breakage and a reduction in injury when ESWL is carried out at slow shock wave rate.
In addition to the aforementioned potential for acute kidney injury, animal studies suggest these acute injuries may progress to scar formation, resulting in loss of functional renal volume. Recent prospective studies also indicate elderly people are at increased risk of developing new-onset hypertension following ESWL. In addition, a retrospective case-control study published by researchers from the Mayo Clinic in 2006 has found an increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus and hypertension in people who had undergone ESWL, compared with age and gender-matched people who had undergone nonsurgical treatment. Whether or not acute trauma progresses to long-term effects probably depends on multiple factors that include the shock wave dose (i.e., the number of shock waves delivered, rate of delivery, power setting, acoustic characteristics of the particular lithotriptor, and frequency of retreatment), as well as certain intrinsic predisposing pathophysiologic risk factors.
To address these concerns, the American Urological Association established the Shock Wave Lithotripsy Task Force to provide an expert opinion on the safety and risk-benefit ratio of ESWL. The task force published a white paper outlining their conclusions in 2009. They concluded the risk-benefit ratio remains favorable for many people. The advantages of ESWL include its noninvasive nature, the fact that it is technically easy to treat most upper urinary tract calculi, and that, at least acutely, it is a well-tolerated, low-morbidity treatment for the vast majority of people. However, they recommended slowing the shock wave firing rate from 120 pulses per minute to 60 pulses per minute to reduce the risk of renal injury and increase the degree of stone fragmentation.
Alpha-blockers are sometimes prescribed after shock wave lithotripsy to help the pieces of the stone leave the person's body. By relaxing muscles and helping to keep blood vessels open, alpha blockers may relax the ureter muscles to allow the kidney stone fragments to pass. When compared to usual care or placebo treatment, alpha blockers may lead to faster clearing of stones, a reduced need for extra treatment and fewer unwanted effects. They may also clear kidney stones in more adults than the standard shock wave lithotripsy procedure. The unwanted effects associated with alpha blockers are hospital emergency visits and return to hospital for stone-related issues, but these effects were more common in adults who did not receive alpha-blockers as a part of their treatment.
### Surgery
Most stones under 5 mm (0.2 in) pass spontaneously. Prompt surgery may, nonetheless, be required in persons with only one working kidney, bilateral obstructing stones, a urinary tract infection and thus, it is presumed, an infected kidney, or intractable pain. Beginning in the mid-1980s, less invasive treatments such as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy, and percutaneous nephrolithotomy began to replace open surgery as the modalities of choice for the surgical management of urolithiasis. More recently, flexible ureteroscopy has been adapted to facilitate retrograde nephrostomy creation for percutaneous nephrolithotomy. This approach is still under investigation, though early results are favorable. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy or, rarely, anatrophic nephrolithotomy, is the treatment of choice for large or complicated stones (such as calyceal staghorn calculi) or stones that cannot be extracted using less invasive procedures.
#### Ureteroscopic surgery
Ureteroscopy has become increasingly popular as flexible and rigid fiberoptic ureteroscopes have become smaller. One ureteroscopic technique involves the placement of a ureteral stent (a small tube extending from the bladder, up the ureter and into the kidney) to provide immediate relief of an obstructed kidney. Stent placement can be useful for saving a kidney at risk for postrenal acute kidney failure due to the increased hydrostatic pressure, swelling and infection (pyelonephritis and pyonephrosis) caused by an obstructing stone. Ureteral stents vary in length from 24 to 30 cm (9.4 to 11.8 in) and most have a shape commonly referred to as a "double-J" or "double pigtail", because of the curl at both ends. They are designed to allow urine to flow past an obstruction in the ureter. They may be retained in the ureter for days to weeks as infections resolve and as stones are dissolved or fragmented by ESWL or by some other treatment. The stents dilate the ureters, which can facilitate instrumentation, and they also provide a clear landmark to aid in the visualization of the ureters and any associated stones on radiographic examinations. The presence of indwelling ureteral stents may cause minimal to moderate discomfort, frequency or urgency incontinence, and infection, which in general resolves on removal. Most ureteral stents can be removed cystoscopically during an office visit under topical anesthesia after resolution of urolithiasis. Research is currently uncertain if placing a temporary stent during ureteroscopy leads to different outcomes than not placing a stent in terms of number of hospital visits for post operative problems, short or long term pain, need for narcotic pain medication, risk of UTI, need for a repeat procedure or narrowing of the ureter from scarring.
More definitive ureteroscopic techniques for stone extraction (rather than simply bypassing the obstruction) include basket extraction and ultrasound ureterolithotripsy. Laser lithotripsy is another technique, which involves the use of a holmium:yttrium aluminium garnet (Ho:YAG) laser to fragment stones in the bladder, ureters, and kidneys.
Ureteroscopic techniques are generally more effective than ESWL for treating stones located in the lower ureter, with success rates of 93–100% using Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy. Although ESWL has been traditionally preferred by many practitioners for treating stones located in the upper ureter, more recent experience suggests ureteroscopic techniques offer distinct advantages in the treatment of upper ureteral stones. Specifically, the overall success rate is higher, fewer repeat interventions and postoperative visits are needed, and treatment costs are lower after ureteroscopic treatment when compared with ESWL. These advantages are especially apparent with stones greater than 10 mm (0.4 in) in diameter. However, because ureteroscopy of the upper ureter is much more challenging than ESWL, many urologists still prefer to use ESWL as a first-line treatment for stones of less than 10 mm, and ureteroscopy for those greater than 10 mm in diameter. Ureteroscopy is the preferred treatment in pregnant and morbidly obese people, as well as those with bleeding disorders.
## Epidemiology
Kidney stones affect all geographical, cultural, and racial groups. The lifetime risk is about 10-15% in the developed world, but can be as high as 20-25% in the Middle East. The increased risk of dehydration in hot climates, coupled with a diet 50% lower in calcium and 250% higher in oxalates compared to Western diets, accounts for the higher net risk in the Middle East. In the Middle East, uric acid stones are more common than calcium-containing stones. The number of deaths due to kidney stones is estimated at 19,000 per year being fairly consistent between 1990 and 2010.
In North America and Europe, the annual number of new cases per year of kidney stones is roughly 0.5%. In the United States, the frequency in the population of urolithiasis has increased from 3.2% to 5.2% from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. In the United States, about 9% of the population has had a kidney stone.
The total cost for treating urolithiasis was US\$2 billion in 2003. About 65–80% of those with kidney stones are men; most stones in women are due to either metabolic defects (such as cystinuria) or infections in the case of struvite stones. Urinary tract calculi disorders are more common in men than in women. Men most commonly experience their first episode between 30 and 40 years of age, whereas for women, the age at first presentation is somewhat later. The age of onset shows a bimodal distribution in women, with episodes peaking at 35 and 55 years. Recurrence rates are estimated at 50% over a 10-year and 75% over 20-year period, with some people experiencing ten or more episodes over the course of a lifetime.
A 2010 review concluded that rates of disease are increasing.
## History
The existence of kidney stones was first recorded thousands of years ago, with various explanations given; Joseph Glanville's Saducismus Triumphatus, for example, gives a detailed description of Abraham Mechelburg's voiding of small stones through his penis' virga, attributing the issue to witchcraft.
In 1901, a stone discovered in the pelvis of an ancient Egyptian mummy was dated to 4,800 BC.
Medical texts from ancient Mesopotamia, India, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome all mentioned calculous disease. Part of the Hippocratic Oath suggests there were practicing surgeons in ancient Greece to whom physicians were to defer for lithotomies, or the surgical removal of stones. The Roman medical treatise De Medicina by Aulus Cornelius Celsus contained a description of lithotomy, and this work served as the basis for this procedure until the 18th century.
Examples of people who had kidney stone disease include Napoleon I, Epicurus, Napoleon III, Peter the Great, Louis XIV, George IV, Oliver Cromwell, Lyndon B. Johnson, Benjamin Franklin, Michel de Montaigne, Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, Samuel Pepys, William Harvey, Herman Boerhaave, and Antonio Scarpa.
New techniques in lithotomy began to emerge starting in 1520, but the operation remained risky. After Henry Jacob Bigelow popularized the technique of litholapaxy in 1878, the mortality rate dropped from about 24% to 2.4%. However, other treatment techniques continued to produce a high level of mortality, especially among inexperienced urologists. In 1980, Dornier MedTech introduced extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy for breaking up stones via acoustical pulses, and this technique has since come into widespread use.
### Etymology
The term renal calculus is from the Latin rēnēs, meaning "kidneys", and calculus, meaning "pebble". Lithiasis (stone formation) in the kidneys is called nephrolithiasis (/ˌnɛfroʊlɪˈθaɪəsɪs/), from nephro-, meaning kidney, + -lith, meaning stone, and -iasis, meaning disorder. A distinction between nephrolithiasis and urolithiasis can be made because not all urinary stones (uroliths) form in the kidney; they can also form in the bladder. But the distinction is often clinically irrelevant (with similar disease process and treatment either way) and the words are thus often used loosely as synonyms.
## Children
Although kidney stones do not often occur in children, the incidence is increasing. These stones are in the kidney in two thirds of reported cases, and in the ureter in the remaining cases. Older children are at greater risk independent of whether or not they are male or female.
As with adults, most pediatric kidney stones are predominantly composed of calcium oxalate; struvite and calcium phosphate stones are less common. Calcium oxalate stones in children are associated with high amounts of calcium, oxalate, and magnesium in acidic urine.
Treatment of kidney stones in children is similar to treatments for adults, including shock wave lithotripsy, medication, and treatment using scope through the bladder, kidney or skin. Of these treatments, research is uncertain if shock waves are more effective than medication or a scope through the bladder, but it is likely less successful than a scope through skin into the kidney. When going in with a scope through the kidney, a regular and a mini-sized scope likely have similar success rates of stone removal. Alpha-blockers, a type of medication, may increase the successful removal of kidney stones when compared with a placebo and without ibuprofen.
## Research
Metabolic syndrome and its associated diseases of obesity and diabetes as general risk factors for kidney stone disease are under research to determine if urinary excretion of calcium, oxalate and urate are higher than in people with normal weight or underweight, and if diet and physical activity have roles. Dietary, fluid intake, and lifestyle factors remain major topics for research on prevention of kidney stones, as of 2017.
### Gut microbiota
The gut microbiota has been explored as a contributing factor for stone disease, indicating that some bacteria may be different in people forming kidney stones. One bacterium, Oxalobacter formigenes, is potentially beneficial for mitigating calcium oxalate stones because of its ability to metabolize oxalate as its sole carbon source, but 2018 research suggests that it is instead part of a network of oxalate degrading bacteria. Additionally, one study found that oral antibiotic use, which alters the gut microbiota, can increase the odds of a person developing a kidney stone.
## In animals
Among ruminants, uroliths more commonly cause problems in males than in females; the sigmoid flexure of the ruminant male urinary tract is more likely to obstruct passage. Early-castrated males are at greater risk, because of lesser urethral diameter.
Low Ca:P intake ratio is conducive to phosphatic (e.g. struvite) urolith formation. Incidence among wether lambs can be minimized by maintaining a dietary Ca:P intake ratio of 2:1.
Alkaline (higher) pH favors formation of carbonate and phosphate calculi. For domestic ruminants, dietary cation: anion balance is sometimes adjusted to assure a slightly acidic urine pH, for prevention of calculus formation.
Differing generalizations regarding effects of pH on formation of silicate uroliths may be found. In this connection, it may be noted that under some circumstances, calcium carbonate accompanies silica in siliceous uroliths.
Pelleted feeds may be conducive to formation of phosphate uroliths, because of increased urinary phosphorus excretion. This is attributable to lower saliva production where pelleted rations containing finely ground constituents are fed. With less blood phosphate partitioned into saliva, more tends to be excreted in urine. (Most saliva phosphate is fecally excreted.)
Oxalate uroliths can occur in ruminants, although such problems from oxalate ingestion may be relatively uncommon. Ruminant urolithiasis associated with oxalate ingestion has been reported. However, no renal tubular damage or visible deposition of calcium oxalate crystals in kidneys was found in yearling wether sheep fed diets containing soluble oxalate at 6.5 percent of dietary dry matter for about 100 days.
Conditions limiting water intake can result in stone formation.
Various surgical interventions, e.g. amputation of the urethral process at its base near the glans penis in male ruminants, perineal urethrostomy, or tube cystostomy may be considered for relief of obstructive urolithiasis.
## See also
- Nephrocalcinosis
- Kidney disease
- Kidney stone formation in space |
27,070,286 | SpongeBob SquarePants (season 9) | 1,172,440,115 | Season of television series | [
"2012 American television seasons",
"2013 American television seasons",
"2014 American television seasons",
"2015 American television seasons",
"2016 American television seasons",
"2017 American television seasons",
"SpongeBob SquarePants seasons"
] | The ninth season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by animator and former marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States from July 21, 2012, to February 20, 2017, and contained 26 half-hour episodes. The series chronicles the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The season was executive produced by series creator Hillenburg and writer Paul Tibbitt, the latter of whom also acted as the showrunner for the first 11 episodes of the season. Starting with "Lost in Bikini Bottom", Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller became the supervising producers and showrunners and served in that position for the rest of the season.
This season marks the show's transition to 1080i HDTV by now having episodes produced and aired in widescreen (16:9), the native aspect ratio of high-definition.
The season was first announced on January 3, 2011. A total of 26 episodes were produced for the season, bringing the number of episodes up to 204. The ninth season is the longest-running season of SpongeBob SquarePants to date, airing for four and a half years. The SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Ninth Season DVD was released in region 1 on October 10, 2017, and region 4 on October 7, 2020.
## Production
The season's executive producers were series creator Stephen Hillenburg and Paul Tibbitt, who also acted as the series' showrunner. During production of the eighth season, Deadline Hollywood reported on January 3, 2011, that Nickelodeon had renewed the series for a ninth season, with 26 episodes in order, which would push the series over the 200th episode mark. SpongeBob SquarePants became the sixth Nickelodeon series with most episodes, surpassing Rugrats with 172 episodes, having 178 after the eighth season had completed broadcast on television.
On July 21, 2012, the season premiered with the episode "Extreme Spots"/"Squirrel Record" during a SpongeBob SquarePants television marathon event called "The Super Spongy Square Games". The episode "Extreme Spots" was written by Luke Brookshier, Marc Ceccarelli, and Derek Iversen, while Tom Yasumi served as animation director. It was guest starred by actor Johnny Knoxville. Moreover, "Squirrel Record" was written by Brookshier, Ceccarelli and Iversen, and Alan Smart served as animation director. During the television event, Nickelodeon also debuted – "Face Freeze!" and "Demolition Doofus" – of the eighth season. The animation took place in South Korea at Rough Draft Studios. Production also switched to high-definition in the season; the first episode "Extreme Spots", aired July 21, 2012. Episodes were written by a team of writers, which consisted of Casey Alexander, Josh Androsky, Brookshier, Ceccarelli, Zeus Cervas, Daniel Dominguez, Solomon Georgio, Andrew Goodman, Iversen, Clare O'Kane, Kyle McCulloch, Mr. Lawrence, Blake Lemons, Jack Pendarvis, and Kaz. The season was storyboarded by Alexander, Chris Allison, Ed Baker, Brookshier, Bob Camp, Ceccarelli, Cervas, Ryan Kramer, Chong Lee, Blake Lemons, Brian Morante, Lynne Naylor, Shellie O'Brien, Fred Osmond, Howie Perry, John Trabbic, and Joe Wierenga. The animation directors were Alan Smart and Tom Yasumi. This is the first season to be produced in high-definition.
According to an interview with Princess Grace Foundation-USA, creator Stephen Hillenburg said he would return for the show following production on the second film.
Season nine resumed when a new two-segment episode led into the 2015 Kids' Choice Sports on July 16, 2015; Viacom claimed at the beginning of the year that several new episodes would premiere over the summer of 2015, but only "Lost in Bikini Bottom"/"Tutor Sauce" and "Squid Plus One"/"The Executive Treatment" aired before the end of Labor Day on September 7, which is the effective end of Nickelodeon's summer season. During this season, the series diverged from its long-standing storyboard-driven writing format (in which the storyboard artists write the episodes as they draw its storyboard), instead opting for a script-driven format. In October 2015, Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli took Paul Tibbitt's place as showrunners.
## Cast
The ninth season featured Tom Kenny as the voice of the title character SpongeBob SquarePants and his pet snail Gary. SpongeBob's best friend, a starfish named Patrick Star, was voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, while Rodger Bumpass played the voice of Squidward Tentacles, an arrogant and ill-tempered octopus. Other members of the cast were Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs, a miserly crab obsessed with money who's SpongeBob's boss at the Krusty Krab; Mr. Lawrence as Plankton, a small green copepod and Mr. Krabs' business rival; Jill Talley as Karen, Plankton's sentient computer sidekick; Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks, a squirrel from Texas; Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff, SpongeBob's boating school teacher; and Lori Alan as Pearl, a teenage whale who is Mr. Krabs' daughter.
In addition to the regular cast members, episodes feature guest voices from many ranges of professions, including actors, musicians, and artists. For instance, the season premiere "Extreme Spots" was guest starred by American stunt performer and Jackass actor Johnny Knoxville voicing the character of Johnny Krill. The writing staff wrote the episode specifically for Knoxville. Executive producer Paul Tibbitt said, "[Nickelodeon] wanted to do a show about extreme sports and the first thing that came to mind was Johnny Knoxville, because there are few humans living that are as extreme as him." Knoxville accepted the role because he is a fan of the show.
Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway returned, reprising their respective roles as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy in "Patrick-Man!". The episode was Borgnine's last voice-over work for the series as, on July 8, 2012, he died at the age of 95. The episode also marked as being Conway's final voice-over work for the series before his death on May 14, 2019 at the age of 85, though he returned to the franchise as the voice of a seagull in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, released in 2015. The characters were retired after this episode due to Borgnine's death prior to its release and have since been reduced to silent background cameos. In "License to Milkshake", comedian and Spinal Tap band member Michael McKean guest starred as the voice of Captain Frostymug. Rapper Biz Markie guest appeared as Kenny the Cat in the episode of the same name. In "The Executive Treatment", an American stage actor, comedian and director, Frank Ferrante, guest-starred as the voice of Stockholder Eel. In "Sanctuary!", former Price is Right host Bob Barker guest starred as the voice of Bob Barnacle. In "Mall Girl Pearl", comedian legend Betty White and Aubrey Plaza guest starred as the voices of Beatrice and Nocturna. In "Sharks vs. Pods", Michael McKean returned and he voiced a new different character, Lonnie the Shark, along with Henry Winkler and David Lander as Sharkface and Donnie the Shark. Jon Hamm guest starred in "Goodbye, Krabby Patty?" as the voice of the business executive Don Grouper.
## Reception
### Critical reception
The season received positive reviews from media critics. In a DVD review for a season release, Paul Mavis of DVD Talk was positive on the episode "Extreme Spots", writing "[It] gets big laughs from some very funny bits, including a motorcycle ripping off SpongeBob's arms, and SpongeBob's pathetic attempts at 'extreme jump roping' and 'extreme pillow fighting.'" However, the episode "Squirrel Record" was described by Mavis as "the weakest entry" on the set.
The episode "Gary's New Toy" received a nomination at the 2013 Golden Reel Awards for the Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR Animation in Television category. The show itself also received recognition. At the 40th Daytime Emmy Awards, the series was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Animation. The show won the 2013 Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Cartoon, and the ASCAP Film and Television Awards for Top Television Series. At the BMI Film & TV Awards, the show won the BMI Cable Award. Sarah Noonan was nominated at the Artios Awards of the Casting Society of America, and the episode "Company Picnic" was nominated for an Emmy for "Outstanding Short-format Animated Program". The ninth season was also nominated for a Producer's Guild Award in 2017.
### Political controversy
In 2013, the episode "SpongeBob You're Fired" was criticized for its line that refers to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps benefit). During a scene from the episode, Patrick Star tried to show SpongeBob "the benefits of being unemployed", at which he said in response, "Unemployment may be fun for you, but I need to get a job." The scene was meant to demonstrate the title character's "eternal optimism and willingness to get back to work", and "do it in a way that's still funny and relatable". However, it was reported that political activists claim the "notorious line" as a "slam" to the Food Stamps benefit. In a report by The Hollywood Reporter, it stated there that the episode may have a political agenda about the social safety net. It added that "It's not the first time SpongeBob has waded into social commentary, though usually when it does, it bugs the right and supports the left." This incident sparked a political debate, after the New York Post and Fox News remarked on the episode. The Media Matters for America, a politically progressive media watchdog group, responded. According to the group, the attacking news media, both owned by News Corporation, were using the episode "to slam poor people who use social services".
In response to Fox News, Media Matters immediately posted an item titled "Right-Wing Media Use SpongeBob SquarePants' Firing To Attack Social Safety Net", arguing that the talking heads "are using the firing of fictional cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants to attack the social safety net and those who rely on it". The article said "Right-wing media have a long history of attacking the social safety net. Media Matters was "also particularly bothered by [a] line from The Post story: "Lest he sit around idly, mooching off the social services of Bikini Bottom, a depressed SpongeBob sets out to return to gainful employment wherever he can find it," reporter Andrea Morabito wrote. "No spoilers -- but it's safe to say that our hero doesn't end up on food stamps, as his patty-making skills turn out to be in high demand. Furthermore, the coverage from Fox News prompted civil rights activist, and talk show host Al Sharpton of MSNBC to "stick up for poor Americans". Sharpton remarked in the October 31 episode of PoliticsNation, "The right-wingers found a new hero in its war against the poor [...] SpongeBob SquarePants. That's right. SpongeBob SquarePants [...] So a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea doesn't need government help. That means no one does?"
Nickelodeon declined to comment on the issue caused by the message of the episode. However, Russell Hicks of Nickelodeon said the show is "tapping into the news of the moment, but did not specifically address any political leanings or ideologies within the episode". In a statement, Hicks said "Like all really great cartoons, part of SpongeBob's long-running success has been its ability to tap into the zeitgeist while still being really funny for our audience. As always, despite this momentary setback, SpongeBob's eternal optimism prevails, which is always a great message for everyone."
## Episodes
The episodes are ordered below according to Nickelodeon's packaging order, and not their original production or broadcast order.
## DVD release
The DVD boxset for season nine was released by Paramount Home Entertainment and Nickelodeon in the United States and Canada on October 10, 2017, eight months after the season had completed broadcast on television. The DVD release features bonus materials, including "animated shorts". |
11,217,280 | The Go-Getter (2007 film) | 1,151,308,381 | null | [
"2000s American films",
"2000s English-language films",
"2000s coming-of-age comedy-drama films",
"2000s road comedy-drama films",
"2007 comedy-drama films",
"2007 films",
"2007 independent films",
"American coming-of-age comedy-drama films",
"American road comedy-drama films",
"Films set in California",
"Films set in Mexico",
"Films set in Nevada",
"Films set in Oregon",
"Films set in Sacramento, California",
"Films shot in Eugene, Oregon"
] | The Go-Getter is a 2007 American independent road film directed and written by Martin Hynes. The film stars Lou Taylor Pucci, Zooey Deschanel, and Jena Malone. In the film, 19-year-old Mercer (Pucci) steals a stranger's car to embark on a road trip to find his estranged brother and tell him that their mother has died. He communicates with the car's owner, Kate (Deschanel), via her cell phone while he travels.
The story was based partially on Hynes's own experiences. After his mother died, and his marriage ended, he took a road trip of his own and wrote "different things," some of which came together in the script for The Go-Getter. Before production began, Hynes and three other crew members traveled to almost every location visited in the film to perform a test shoot, trying various filming styles and techniques. Filming took place between October and November 2005 in Oregon, Nevada, California, and Mexico. Singer and guitarist M. Ward provided most of the music for the film, complemented by songs from The Black Keys, Elliott Smith, The Replacements, and Animal Collective.
The Go-Getter debuted on January 22, 2007, at the Sundance Film Festival and was given a limited theatrical release on June 6, 2008, by Peace Arch Entertainment. Its run lasted just three days, and it grossed only US\$11,931. Critics were divided in reaction to the film; some praised the performances, the dialogue and the cinematography, while others thought it was unoriginal, forgettable, and poorly acted.
## Plot
One ordinary day, 19-year-old Mercer White steals a Volvo station wagon from a car wash, and leaves Eugene, Oregon to find his estranged half-brother Arlen, who is unaware that their mother has recently died. Soon after leaving, a cell phone in the car rings, and Mercer finds himself talking to the owner of the car, Kate, who lends him her car on the condition that he calls regularly to describe his trip to her.
Mercer travels to a bohemian pottery-making commune in Shelter Cove, California where Arlen once lived, but learns that he moved to Reno, Nevada. He passes through Fallon, Nevada to meet up with the seductive Joely, his middle school crush. In Reno, they take ecstasy and almost have sex before Mercer resumes his search for Arlen. Later he finds himself on the set of a pornographic film, where the director tells him that Arlen left to work at a pet store in Sacramento, California. Joely asks Mercer if he can drive her cousin Buddy and his friend Rid to Mojave, California, where they are building their own car. While driving, Mercer finds Kate's YMCA card in the trunk of her car and, now knowing what she looks like, describes a dream to her in which he, Joely, and Kate are dancing in a re-enactment of Bande à part's dance sequence. Not wanting to get sidetracked, he tries to leave the others behind in a motel room, but when Buddy threatens to steal the car, Mercer tells him that the car belongs to his girlfriend, and Buddy, Rid, and Joely leave without Mercer in Kate's car. He hitchhikes to Mojave and finds the salvage yard where Buddy and Rid are working, and retrieves the car.
Mercer talks to Kate while driving, imagining her sitting in the back seat of the car, but she hangs up in jealousy when he mentions Joely for the first time. He arrives in Sacramento and finds the pet store where Arlen worked. The owner asks Mercer to sing in her children's band, for which she plays as part of her probation. When he returns to the car, he finds somebody trying to break into it, only to discover that it is Kate. They spend the night at a hotel, but he leaves without her the next morning and catches a train to Los Angeles, California. With the help of a translator, he phones Arlen's last residence and learns from a Hispanic woman that Arlen is working at a hotel in Ensenada, Mexico. Mercer finally meets Arlen at the hotel in Ensenada, but Arlen assumes Mercer is just there for money. Enraged, Mercer tackles his brother to the ground and gets kicked off the premises. Kate later finds a bloody Mercer sitting on the side of a road and takes him to a hotel. She tells him that she let him take her car because she was attracted to him, and they have sex. The next day Mercer meets with Arlen again, more amicably, and tells him that he and Kate are driving to Louisiana to spread his mother's ashes.
## Cast
## Production
### Development
Writer-director Martin Hynes referred to the film as "very uncomfortably autobiographical". He had learned that his mother was diagnosed with cancer when making his 1999 film The Big Split. His marriage ended soon after his mother died, which Hynes saw as "a huge amount of loss". After deciding that "I have to do less," he took a road trip, spending much of his time writing as he traveled. He wrote "really different things", some of which were pieced together and led to his script for The Go-Getter, which he wrote in 2004. Within six months of the script's completion, producer Lucy Barzun Donnelly had raised the entire budget of the film without any actors attached at the time.
Barzun Donnelly recommended to Hynes that he consider Lou Taylor Pucci for the lead role of Mercer, believing that he was "perfect". Hynes watched Pucci's 2005 film Thumbsucker and thought that "We'd be so lucky to have him." He contacted Pucci about the role but was leaving for Norway in less than a week to attend a friend's wedding and wanted to meet with him before leaving. Pucci was in San Francisco on a press tour and Hynes flew from Los Angeles to have lunch with him. Hynes said of the meeting, "I think we really [got] each other," and Pucci accepted the role a week later. Jena Malone signed on to portray Joely because she "loved the script" and was keen to play "a woman on the cusp of learning to toy with her [...] sexual manipulation"; she only later learned that Hynes had written the role with her in mind, having previously worked with her on the short film Al as in Al. Hynes said that Zooey Deschanel, Maura Tierney, and Bill Duke each joined the cast because they "read [the script] and really liked it". He made a deliberate attempt to cast Deschanel and Malone against their previous types. He described Deschanel as a "glamour girl" and Malone as a sexually mature woman.
### Filming
Four months before filming began, Hynes asked Barzun Donnelly to set US\$20,000–25,000 aside from the film's budget so that he could perform a test shoot. Hynes, cinematographer Byron Shah, a camera assistant, and a stand-in for Mercer—as Pucci had not yet been cast—traveled to every location in the film except for Mexico. Over 2,000 miles (3,200 km), they shot 8,000 feet (2,400 m) of film, testing different filters, lenses, film stocks, and shooting styles. Hynes wrote an 85-page shot list, "scop[ing] out" the entire film. He called the test shoot an "incredible boon" and remarked that "Not one frame of it ended up on the movie, but it paid for itself time and time again." After returning to Los Angeles, he visited each of the locations (including Mexico) again with the principal and technical crews.
Principal photography began in mid-October 2005 and continued through November over a total period of 25 days. The film was shot in sequence, with production starting in Eugene, Oregon and then moving to Reno, Nevada and subsequently Ensenada, Mexico. Hynes called the filming "a high-wire act the whole way", and said that one of the biggest challenges was transporting the crew of 40 from Oregon to Mexico, sometimes changing locations twice a day with few hours of daylight. A crew member lost the project's Filming Permit on the last day of shooting in Mexico, and filming at rush hour was halted by the police. Hynes took a smaller camera to film several blocks away from the original set, but the second assistant director soon arrived warning that the police were coming and that they would be taken to prison because they did not have the paperwork for filming. Hynes and the crew "scatter[ed]", leaving Pucci alone further down the street, which Hynes claims is his strangest experience in the film industry. The crew later returned to Los Angeles to shoot final scenes and to commence post-production.
### Music
When searching for the film's music, one of the producers suggested to Hynes that he go to a Bright Eyes concert. Singer and guitarist M. Ward opened the show as a supporting act, and Hynes recalled thinking, "Holy shit! That's the guy. That's it. He's perfect!" Hynes sent an unsolicited script of the film to Ward, who read it and signed on to the project when there was no financing behind the film nor any actors attached. He told Hynes that any of his songs could be used in the film; Hynes said that, in post-production, he tested every one of Ward's songs, including instrumental versions, in the final cut. In the beginning of the film, Mercer comes across a band; Hynes had always intended for whichever song they were playing to become the overture of the film. Ward's song "Vincent O'Brien" became that overture, and described the continuous presence of Ward's music as "a reminder of home". He decided that when Joely entered "it was right to step away from Mercer's sound—M. Ward—and [convey] that this movie has been overtaken by forces outside his control," using The Black Keys' "10 A.M. Automatic" and "Keep Me" in addition to The Replacements' "Color Me Impressed". Hynes was able to obtain, at a low cost, "Banshee Beat" by Animal Collective and the late Elliott Smith's song "Coast to Coast", after writing a "heartfelt letter" to Smith's mother and sister, his main estate holders.
He also used "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" by novelty singer Corn Mo at the insistence of Nick Offerman, who plays three minor roles in the film. The Portland Youth Jazz Orchestra All Stars plays Ward's "One Life Away" as an "old-timey instrumental" for one of Mercer's dreams, an homage to a dancing sequence seen in Jean-Luc Godard's 1964 film Bande à part. For the closing credits, Ward and Zooey Deschanel recorded a duet cover of "When I Get to the Border" from Richard and Linda Thompson's 1974 album I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight. The pair found themselves "mutually charmed", according to The New York Times' Melena Ryzik, and bonded over similar musical interests. After Ward listened to Deschanel's demos, they paired up and formed the band She & Him. Pitchfork Media reported in April 2007 of a future The Go-Getter soundtrack to be released by Merge Records, including a 12-song tracklist, but Merge later claimed that it was never planning to release a soundtrack.
## Distribution
### Theatrical release
The world premiere of The Go-Getter was held on January 22, 2007, at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was subsequently screened at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival, Waterfront Film Festival, Nantucket Film Festival, Hamburg Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Stockholm International Film Festival, and the Prague Febiofest. Peace Arch Entertainment bought the film's distribution rights and it was given a limited release on June 6, 2008, in selective theatres in New York City, Santa Monica and Irvine, California, and Portland, Oregon. The film's release was withdrawn on June 8, its theatrical run lasting only three days. On its only open weekend, the film earned US\$11,931 across six locations with a per-screen average of \$2,386. The Go-Getter placed 512th for the highest-grossing films of 2008 and 375th for the year's highest-grossing opening weekends.
### Home media
The Go-Getter was released on DVD on October 21, 2008, in Region 1 and in August 2008 in Region 4. The region 1 disc includes an audio commentary with Martin Hynes, a "20 Questions" featurette with the cast and crew, a voucher for the download of a She & Him song, and a digital copy of the film for use with portable video players.
## Reception
`At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 69, based on 12 reviews.`
Rolling Stone's Peter Travers awarded the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, commending the film for being "emotionally truthful, painfully funny and vibrantly alive" and labeling it "a near-perfect road movie". Stephen Holden of The New York Times believed that "Much of the dialogue is so quirky it sounds overheard instead of scripted" and called the cast "correspondingly spontaneous". New York magazine's chief film critic David Edelstein praised Hynes' "talent for deadpan jaw-droppers that aren't self-consciously quirky", and thought that "In The Go-Getter, filmmaking itself feels like Manifest Destiny." Todd McCarthy, writing for Variety, was impressed by Pucci's performance and Shah's cinematography, calling the film "an unusually fresh-feeling indie with a nice sense of style". Lou Lumenick of the New York Post wrote that The Go-Getter "breathes new life [...] into the overworked indie road-movie formula", labeling Pucci as "charming" and the cinematography as "unusually nice". The New York Press's Mark Peikert thought that Deschanel made the film's flaws "almost forgivable", and that the film was "a feature-length audition reel for Deschanel to finally get the roles she deserves". New York Daily News critic Elizabeth Weitzman called Pucci "one of the best, and most overlooked, young actors around" and giving the film 4 out of 5 stars.
Other reviews were less positive. The Los Angeles Times' Carina Chocano felt that "despite flashes of genuine emotion [The Go-Getter] eventually succumbs to its own tweeness" and that the "moments of beauty" were outweighed by "the mannered dialogue and hamstrung performances". Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly graded the film as a C, saying that it "travels, but it doesn't go anywhere" and likening Pucci to "a wan, passive Johnny Depp". The Hollywood Reporter critic Frank Scheck praised the film's "appealing performances, sun-dappled cinematography and occasional witty dialogue", but thought that it was "contrived and derivative" and "a little too pleased with itself". The Globe and Mail's Rick Groen called The Go-Getter "a fairly well-made picture that's just been fairly well-made too many times before, a knock-off of a thousand other knock-offs". Gabriel Wilder of The Sydney Morning Herald felt that it was "hard to maintain interest in [Mercer's] plight" because of Pucci's underacting and thought that "the script isn't so much quirky as incomplete", referring to the film's ending. With a rating of 2.5 out of 4, Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide wrote the film is "too familiar to make any great impression". |
25,678,734 | Kepler-6b | 1,172,802,036 | Extrasolar planet orbiting Kepler-6 | [
"Cygnus (constellation)",
"Exoplanets discovered by the Kepler space telescope",
"Exoplanets discovered in 2010",
"Giant planets",
"Hot Jupiters",
"Transiting exoplanets"
] | Kepler-6b is an extrasolar planet in the orbit of the unusually metal-rich Kepler-6, a star in the field of view of the NASA-operated Kepler spacecraft, which searches for planets that cross directly in front of, or transit, their host stars. It was the third planet to be discovered by Kepler. Kepler-6 orbits its host star every three days from a distance of .046 AU. Its proximity to Kepler-6 inflated the planet, about two-thirds the mass of Jupiter, to slightly larger than Jupiter's size and greatly heated its atmosphere.
Follow-up observations led to the planet's confirmation, which was announced at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society on January 4, 2010 along with four other Kepler-discovered planets.
## Discovery and naming
NASA's Kepler satellite trails the Earth and continually observes a portion of the sky between the constellations Cygnus and Lyra. It is devised to search for and discover planets that transit, or cross in front of, their host stars with respect to Earth by measuring small and generally periodic variations in a star's brightness. Kepler recognized a potential transit event around a star that was designated KOI-017, which was named Kepler-6 after the confirmation of Kepler-6b. The star was designated "6" because it was the sixth planet to be observed (but the third planet to be discovered) by the Kepler satellite.
After the initial detection of a transit signal by Kepler, follow-up observations were taken to confirm the planetary nature of the candidate. Speckle imaging by the WIYN Telescope was used to determine the amount of light from nearby, background stars that was present. If not accounted for, this light would have made Kepler-6 appear brighter than it actually was. Consequently, the size of Kepler-6b would have been underestimated. Radial velocity data was taken by HIRES at the Keck I telescope in order to determine the mass of the planet. Independently, observations were made with the Spitzer Space Telescope at infrared wavelengths of 3.6 and 4.5 micrometres. Along with additional data taken by Kepler, these observations detected the occultation and phase curves of Kepler-6b behind its star.
The confirmation of Kepler-6b was announced at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society with the discoveries of planets Kepler-4b, Kepler-5b, Kepler-7b, and Kepler-8b on January 4, 2010.
## Host star
Kepler-6 is a sunlike star in the Cygnus constellation. It is approximately 20.9% more massive than and 39.1% larger than the Sun. With an effective temperature of 5647 K, Kepler-6 is cooler than the Sun. It is predicted to be 3.8 billion years old, compared to the Sun's age of 4.6 billion years. It is most notable for its unusually high metallicity for an exoplanet-bearing star; with an [Fe/H] = 0.34, Kepler-6 has 2.18 times more iron than the Sun does. Kepler-6b is the only planet that has been discovered in the orbit of Kepler-6.
## Characteristics
Kepler-6b is a hot Jupiter, having a mass 0.669 times that of Jupiter, but an average distance of only 0.046 AU from its star and, thus, an orbital period of 3.23 days. It is almost 10 times closer to its star than Mercury is from the Sun. As a result, Kepler-6b is strongly irradiated by its star, heating its atmosphere to a temperature of 1660 K and puffing it up to a size 1.3 times that of Jupiter. It may also be the case that Kepler-6b has a thermal inversion of its atmosphere, where temperature increases with increasing distance from the center of the planet.
The planet is likely to be tidally locked to the parent star. In 2015, the planetary nightside temperature was estimated to be equal to 1719 K. |
13,997,586 | NASCAR Arcade | 1,048,958,905 | 2000 racing arcade game | [
"2000 video games",
"Arcade video games",
"Arcade-only video games",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"NASCAR video games",
"Racing video games",
"Sega-AM3 games",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Video games scored by Jun Senoue"
] | initially known as NASCAR Rubbin' Racing outside North America, is a 2000 racing arcade game developed by Sega Rosso and released by Sega. It was produced at the suggestion of producer Kenji Arai, and the soundtrack was produced by Jun Senoue. The game is based on NASCAR, and carries an official license with permission from Electronic Arts, which permitted Sega to develop the game as a coin-op only title.
The game was released in both standard and deluxe arcade cabinets, and up to eight cabinets can be linked for multiplayer. Players have to race against competition at one of four tracks while also racing against a timer. Previews and reviews of the game praised the realistic graphics and smoothness, but had criticisms of the game's gear shifter and comparison to other Sega games.
## Gameplay
NASCAR Arcade is a racing game based on the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Four tracks are available to select from: Talladega Superspeedway, Richmond International Raceway, and Watkins Glen International, as well as a "Team SEGA" secret track. Each track represents a different level of difficulty. The goal of the game is to advance through the field of rival race cars, while racing against a timer. Reaching a goal before the timer reaches zero resets the timer and extends the play. There are Race and Time Attack modes in single-player, as well as a multiplayer mode where up to eight arcade cabinets can be linked. The game's arcade cabinet seat will move when hitting an opponent or being hit, and the game's deluxe cabinet includes a tubular roll cage. Secret codes via gear shifter and by highlighting a particular car and holding down the brake pedal would allow access to drivers such as Richard Petty, Adam Petty (who died prior to the game's release), and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
## Development
NASCAR Arcade was developed by Sega Rosso, formerly Sega's R&D \#5 division. Production of a NASCAR-based game was suggested by the game's producer, Kenji Arai, despite concerns that NASCAR was not well known in Japan (although NASCAR had previously hosted exhibition races at Suzuka Circuit and Twin Ring Motegi). At the time of its development, the license to create console games based on NASCAR belonged to Electronic Arts (EA), who were not releasing games on Sega's home console system, the Dreamcast. EA granted permission to Sega to develop NASCAR Arcade as a coin-op only game. The game runs on the Sega Hikaru arcade system board. According to Anoop Gantayat of IGN, he felt the game's original name of NASCAR Rubbin' Racing would sound odd to native English speakers and needed to change when the game came to North America. Official Dreamcast Magazine called the game's original title "very, very strange". The game was released as NASCAR Arcade in Japan.
NASCAR Arcade's soundtrack was created by Jun Senoue and recorded by Sons of Angels (later known as Crush 40), with Senoue on guitar and Johnny Gioeli singing the vocals. Senoue had previously worked on a racing game soundtrack before with Eric Martin of Mr. Big on the title track for Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition, also called "Sons of Angels". Senoue and Gioeli later released the soundtrack as the album Thrill of the Feel on March 23, 2000 in Japan under the Sons of Angels name. It was released by Victor Entertainment.
## Release and reception
In a preview of the game from testing in Shinjuku, Chris Johnston of GameSpot called NASCAR Arcade "one to watch out for". He noted the smooth textures of the graphics and the game's ability to run at 60 frames per second without any slowdown. The game was also demonstrated at the JAMMA 2000 show in Tokyo, with Anoop Gantayat of IGN stating the graphics and shadow effects appeared very realistic and that the steering wheel controls felt very realistic with the addition of resistance, along with good quality sound including deep, roaring engine sounds. In Japan, Game Machine listed NASCAR Arcade on their November 15, 2000 issue as being the eighteenth most-successful dedicated arcade game of the month. Edge stated that unlike Daytona USA, NASCAR Arcade shows a focus on realism. The reviewer called the game "technically accomplished, with cars and background well rendered", but criticized the gear shifter and negatively compared the game's graphics to Sega Rally 2. In 2011, Tim Daniels of Bleacher Report rated the game 16th in a list of the top 25 NASCAR video games, praising the game's realism.
## See also
- Daytona USA 2001 |
3,581,993 | German cruiser Königsberg | 1,173,248,586 | Königsberg-class cruiser | [
"1927 ships",
"Cruisers sunk by aircraft",
"Königsberg-class cruisers (1927)",
"Maritime incidents in April 1940",
"Military units and formations of Nazi Germany in the Spanish Civil War",
"Ships built in Wilhelmshaven",
"Ships sunk by British aircraft",
"World War II cruisers of Germany",
"World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea"
] | Königsberg was a German light cruiser that was operated between 1929 and April 1940, including service in World War II. She was the lead vessel of her class and was operated by two German navies, the Reichsmarine and the Kriegsmarine. She had two sister ships, Karlsruhe and Köln. Königsberg was built by the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down in April 1926, launched in March 1927, and commissioned into the Reichsmarine in April 1929. She was armed with a main battery of nine 15 cm SK C/25 guns in three triple turrets and had a top speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph).
Königsberg served as a training ship for naval cadets throughout the 1930s, and joined the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, she laid defensive minefields in the North Sea and then participated in Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway in April 1940. While attacking Bergen, she was badly damaged by Norwegian coastal artillery, and sunk by Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua fighter-bombers the following day in the harbor. The wreck was eventually raised in 1942 and broken up for scrap in 1947.
## Design
Königsberg was 174 meters (571 ft) long overall and had a beam of 15.2 m (50 ft) and a maximum draft of 6.28 m (20.6 ft). She displaced 7,700 long tons (7,800 t) at full load. The ship had a forecastle deck that extended for most of the length of the ship, ending just aft of the superfiring rear turret. Her superstructure consisted of a conning tower forward with a heavy, tubular mast and a secondary conning tower further aft. Königsberg had a crew of 21 officers and 493 enlisted men.
Her propulsion system consisted of four steam turbines and a pair of 10-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines. Steam for the turbines was provided by six Marine-type, double-ended, oil-fired water-tube boilers, which were vented through a pair of funnels. The ship's propulsion system provided a top speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) and a range of approximately 5,700 nautical miles (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).
The ship was armed with a main battery of nine 15 cm (5.9 in) SK C/25 guns mounted in three triple gun turrets. One was located forward, and two were placed in a superfiring pair aft. The rear gun turrets were offset to increase their arc of fire. They were supplied with 1,080 rounds of ammunition, for 120 shells per gun. The ship was also equipped with two 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns in single mounts; they had 400 rounds of ammunition each. Königsberg also carried four triple torpedo tube mounts located amidships; they were supplied with twenty-four 50 cm (20 in) torpedoes. She was also capable of carrying 120 naval mines. The ship was protected by an armor deck that was 40 mm (1.6 in) thick amidships and an armor belt that was 50 mm (2 in) thick. The conning tower had 100 mm (3.9 in) thick sides.
## Service history
Königsberg was ordered as "Cruiser B" and given the temporary name Ersatz Thetis, since she was intended to replace the old cruiser Thetis. She was laid down at the Reichsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven on 12 April 1926 and launched on 26 March 1927. She was commissioned into the Reichsmarine on 17 April 1929. After her commissioning, the ship was assigned as the flagship of the reconnaissance force for the German fleet. She thereafter conducted a series of training cruises for naval cadets and made numerous goodwill visits throughout the Mediterranean Sea. In 1931, the ship's first major modification took place; her foremast was shortened and her rear superstructure was slightly lengthened. Otto von Schrader commanded the ship from September 1931 to September 1934. Hubert Schmundt relieved him and served as the ship's captain for the following year. In 1934, a pair of 8.8 cm (3.5 in) anti-aircraft guns in individual mounts were installed on her aft superstructure just forward of her main battery turrets. That same year, she and the cruiser Leipzig made the first goodwill visit to the United Kingdom since the end of World War I sixteen years earlier.
In 1935, the ship had an aircraft catapult installed, along with a crane to handle floatplanes. The following year, the single 8.8 cm guns were replaced with a new triaxially stabilized twin-mount; two other twin mounts were added on the rear superstructure. Fire control directors for the anti-aircraft guns were also installed. After emerging from this refit, Königsberg was employed as a gunnery training ship. During the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s, the ship participated in non-intervention patrols, during which she forced Republicans to surrender a German freighter they had seized.
After returning to Germany, Königsberg resumed her gunnery training duties, and also served as a testbed for radar prototypes. She was scheduled to be transferred to the U-boat School, where she would be used as a target ship for U-boat crews. This duty was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. One day before the German invasion of Poland, on 31 August, Königsberg spotted the Polish destroyers and in the Baltic. At the start of hostilities, she and several other German cruisers laid a defensive minefield in the North Sea. She then went into the Baltic Sea for training maneuvers. Kurt-Caesar Hoffmann served as the ship's captain from June to September 1939. In late 1939, a degaussing coil was installed on the ship's hull. Königsberg returned to active duty in March 1940, when she was assigned to the invasion force for the attack on Norway.
### Operation Weserübung
The invasion of Norway took place in early April 1940. Königsberg was assigned to Gruppe 3, and was tasked with transporting 600 troops from the Wehrmacht's 69th Infantry Division from Wilhelmshaven to Bergen, Norway. Gruppe 3 also included her sister ship Köln, the artillery training ship Bremse, and the torpedo boats Wolf and Leopard. The Germans left Wilhelmshaven on 8 April, and had reached their target the following day, where Königsberg transferred part of the landing party to several smaller vessels. She then made a high-speed run into the port in an attempt to land the remainder of the infantry in the town directly. A 21 cm (8.3 in) coastal battery at the Kvarven Fort took the ship under fire, and scored three hits, all forward. The hits caused severe flooding and fires in her boiler rooms that cut the ship's power. Adrift, and unable to maneuver, Königsberg had to drop anchor, while she and Köln, Luftwaffe bombers, and the infantry neutralized the Norwegian guns.
Königsberg required major repairs before she would be able to return to Germany, so she was temporarily moored in the harbor with her broadside facing the harbor entrance. This would allow her to bring all of her main battery guns to bear against any British naval attack. The rest of Gruppe 3 returned to Germany. On the evening of 9 April, she was attacked by British bombers, but to no effect. The following morning, the British launched another air raid on the ship. The raid consisted of sixteen Blackburn Skua dive bombers of the British Fleet Air Arm (seven of 800 Naval Air Squadron and nine of 803 Naval Air Squadron), launched from RNAS Hatston, Orkney. Königsberg's thin deck armor rendered her quite vulnerable to dive bomber attack. The Skuas attacked in three groups: the nine of 803 NAS, six of 800 NAS, and one aircraft of 800 NAS which lost contact during the outward flight but found Königsberg independently. The dive bombers attacked at 7:20, catching the ship's crew off guard. Half of the dive bombers had completed their dives before the crew realized they were under attack. Only one large anti-aircraft gun was reported as being manned with shells being fired once every five seconds from the aft of the ship with lighter anti-air weapons firing from the shore and adjacent ships firing even later in the attack.
Königsberg was hit by at least five 500-pound (230 kg) bombs, which caused serious damage to the ship. One penetrated her thin deck armor, went through the ship, and exploded in the water, causing significant structural damage. Another hit destroyed the auxiliary boiler room. Two more bombs exploded in the water next to the ship; the concussion from the blasts tore large holes in the hull. She took on a heavy list almost immediately, and the captain ordered the crew to abandon the ship. It took slightly less than three hours from the start of the attack for the ship to completely capsize and sink, which gave the crew enough time to evacuate many of the dead and wounded. They also had time to remove a significant amount of ammunition and equipment from the stricken cruiser. Only eighteen men were killed in the attack.
The wreck was raised on 17 July 1942 and towed to Heggernes (Nyhavn). It was later towed to Laksevåg (on the south side of Bergen harbor) and righted. However, the hulk could only be kept afloat by constant pumping, and was therefore put into the floating dock at Laksevåg. Unfortunately, the wreck fell over when the dock was raised, causing considerable damage to the dock, and leaving it with a 11-13 degree list. The hull was, however, sealed, and refloated, and remained at Laksevåg until February 1945, when it was towed to Herdlafjorden, and allowed to settle, with a heavy list, at Berlandsundet, to the east of Askøy. The ship was salved once again on 14/15 September 1945 and to Stavanger, leaking throughout. Scrapping was completed there by 1947. |
32,716,562 | Kumatanchi | 1,148,897,268 | 2008 video game | [
"2008 video games",
"Japan-exclusive video games",
"Kemonomimi",
"Life simulation games",
"Moe anthropomorphism",
"Nintendo DS games",
"Nintendo DS-only games",
"Single-player video games",
"Vanillaware games",
"Video games about bears",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Video games set in zoos",
"Virtual pet video games"
] | Kumatanchi (Japanese: くまたんち, "Kuma-tan Zoo") is a life simulation video game co-developed for the Nintendo DS by Vanillaware and doujin studio Ashinaga Oji-san. It was published on September 25, 2008 by Dimple Entertainment. The premise and gameplay revolves around the player taking care of an anthropomorphic girl based on the mascot character Habanero-tan, seeing her interactions with other anthropomorphic characters over two weeks in real-time. Due to its gameplay and subject matter, it was only released in Japan.
Vanillaware artist Shigetake acted as both director and character designer, with the game being an attempt by Vanillaware to produce two projects at the same time. Production was stressful due to staff shortages, putting Shigetake off the idea of directing any more games. The music, composed by Kimihiro Abe and Mitsuhiro Kaneda of Basiscape, was meant to break away from the company's traditional sound. Kumatanchi met with low sales and mixed reviews from Japanese and Western journalists.
## Gameplay
Kumatanchi is a life simulation video game, set in a zoo housing moe anthropomorphic young girls; the player assumes the role of a caretaker at a zoo, tasked with looking after a new arrival, the bear girl Kuma-tan. The interactions with Kuma-tan influence her mood and performance during public shows in the zoo. The game takes place over two weeks in real-time, during which time the player must raise Kuma-tan's standing in the zoo by interacting with her as much as possible. The player interacts with her in her home, which can be outfitted with furniture and activities. At set points in the game, Kuma-tan receives visits from other zoo inhabitants, which further reflect on Kuma-Tan's progress.
Kuma-tan's mood and hunger levels are each divided into five stages, and can be maintained by feeding and interacting with her regularly. Players can give positive reinforcement to her by patting her head. Too much patting can cause her to misbehave, and may be balanced with a disciplinary flick to the forehead. Players may interact with other animals in the zoo, allowing Kuma-tan's mood to become better by taking part in conversations and activities, as well as purchase food from the zoo's shop. Accessories are paid for with money earned by selling themed merchandise and pictures of Kuma-tan to zoo visitors, with some pictures yielding higher rewards depending on Kuma-tan's mood. At the end of the two weeks, the player's choices are reflected in Kuma-tan's behavior.
## Development and release
Kumatanchi was co-developed by Vanillaware and the doujin studio Ashinaga Oji-san. Shigetake, who was a member of both developers, handled both direction and character design. The lead character is based on Habanero-tan, a mascot character of his design. It was produced by Nobuhiro Takagaki from publisher Dimple Entertainment. It was part of an attempt by Vanillaware to develop two games at the same time; Kumatanchi was in production alongside Muramasa: The Demon Blade. However, there were little to no staff for Kumatanchi, forcing Shigetake to act as both director and art designer. Due to this and the tight production schedule, development was tiring and discouraged Shigetake from taking on a directorial role again. It also prompted Vanillaware to abandon parallel game production at the time.
Speaking about the potential broad appeal of Kuma-tan, Shigetake commented that while the game was intended to be a family-friendly experience for all ages, he admitted that the character and gameplay was comparable to an adult-oriented edgy style. To research the game's zoo setting, three of the staff members went to Tennōji Zoo, with many of the game's props and activities based on their observations of the animal pens and zoo activities. The game's opening cinematic was inspired by anime openings, with Shigetake taking specific cues from the opening of Pani Poni Dash!. The team considered several titles for the game, including one based on an earlier product of Ashinaga Oji-san before settling on Kumatanchi.
The music was composed by Kimihiro Abe and Mitsuhiro Kaneda of Basiscape, a music company founded by Hitoshi Sakimoto which frequently collaborates with Vanillaware. The aim for the music was to break away from Basiscape's traditional musical image, commemorating the company's launch of its self-titled commercial label. The score combined toy drums, melodica, recorder and ukulele to create a homely and comforting sound. The game's opening and ending themes were performed by Ryouki Ruou. The opening theme was intended to convey the energy of an anime opening. A soundtrack album was released on December 16, 2009 by Basiscape and Sweep Records. For the soundtrack version, a different sound source was used, creating an alternate sound from the in-game score.
The game was announced in June 2008, after Vanillaware earlier hinted that they were working on a game for the Nintendo DS. When the game was revealed, it was 70% complete. It was released on September 25 the same year. A drama CD was published by Dimple Entertainment, first as a promotional item then as a limited commercial release. The game was only released in Japan. In a 2009 interview, Vanillaware director George Kamitani said that the game was denied localization due to its portrayal of training people who resembled small girls.
## Reception
The game sold 3,500 copies in its debut week, becoming the 4th highest-selling Nintendo DS game during that period. Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu enjoyed the artwork and basic premise, but one reviewer felt that its real-time gameplay mechanic was intrusive, while another thought the game lacked substance.
Joystiq commented on the game's visual style, which they felt was a departure from previous Vanillaware titles, also calling it "cutesy". Janine Dong of GamerTell was fairly mixed about the game; while she enjoyed the art design and some of its gameplay ideas, she found the general gameplay and interactions with Kuma-tan uncomfortable. Mathias Oertel, during a review of Dragon's Crown for German website 4Players, noted Kumatanchi as having inferior artwork to the rest of the developer's titles. |
50,008,852 | 2001 Macau Grand Prix | 1,171,871,294 | 48th running of the Macau Grand Prix | [
"2001 in Chinese motorsport",
"2001 in Formula Three",
"2001 in Macau sport",
"Macau Grand Prix"
] | The 2001 Macau Grand Prix (officially the 48th Macau Grand Prix) was a Formula Three (F3) motor race held on the streets of Macau on 18 November 2001. Unlike other races, such as the Masters of Formula 3, the 2001 Macau Grand Prix was not part of any F3 championship, but was open to entries from all F3 championships. The race was split into two 15-lap aggregate legs held in the morning and afternoon, with the overall winner being the driver who completed all 30 laps in the quickest time. The 2001 edition was the 48th Macau Grand Prix and the 19th for F3 cars.
Takuma Sato of Carlin Motorsport won the Grand Prix after starting second on the first leg. Sato overtook pole position starter Björn Wirdheim of Prema Powerteam at the start of the first leg and pulled away to win to start the second leg from first. He led every lap of the second leg to win the race outright on his second appearance, becoming the first Japanese driver to do so. Benoît Tréluyer of Mugen x Dome Project took second place and Wirdheim finished third overall.
## Background and entry list
The Macau Grand Prix is a Formula Three (F3) race that has been dubbed the territory's most prestigious international sporting event and a stepping stone to higher motorsport categories such as Formula One (F1). The 2001 Macau Grand Prix was the event's 48th edition and the 19th time it was held to F3 rules. It was held on the 6.2 km (3.9 mi) Guia Circuit on 18 November 2001, after three days of practice and qualifying. Following an accident during the warm-up session for the 2000 Guia Race of Macau in which driver Frans Verschuur's brakes failed, causing him to penetrate the Lisboa corner tyre wall and plough into a truck, killing a mainland Chinese tourist and injuring three others, race organisers installed two rows of steel barriers and improved safety by replacing its canvas and repairing the area's asphalt road surface.
Drivers had to compete in a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)-regulated championship race during the calendar year, in one of the seven national F3 championships that took place during the calendar year, with the top-placed drivers receiving priority to earn an invitation to the race. Each of the major F3 series champions were on the event's 30-car grid. British champion Takuma Sato, who had been signed to drive for Jordan Grand Prix in the 2002 Formula One World Championship in October 2001 and was the first contracted F1 driver to compete at the Macau Grand Prix since the 1985 race, was joined in Macau by German title holder Toshihiro Kaneishi, French series champion Ryō Fukuda, Japanese series winner Benoît Tréluyer and Australian champion Peter Hackett. The Macau Grand Prix Committee invited three Macanese drivers to compete: Jo Merszei, Michael Ho and Lei Kit Meng. British series driver Gianmaria Bruni elected to withdraw from the event and the Korea Super Prix because of a lack of car familiarisation time and instead tested an International Formula 3000 vehicle. Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship driver Heikki Kovalainen replaced Bruni.
## Practice and qualifying
There were two one-hour practice sessions preceding the race on Sunday: one on Thursday morning and one on Friday morning. The first practice session was held on a dirty track due to debris left over from the Guia Race of Macau and in cool, cloudy weather. TOM'S Paolo Montin lapped fastest in the final minute at 2:14.510. He was nearly four-tenths of a second faster than Jonathan Cochet, who had front braking issues and was fastest until Montin's lap. Sato, Pierre Kaffer, Tiago Monteiro, Yuji Ide, Kaneishi, João Paulo de Oliveira, Kosuke Matsuura and Tréluyer completed the top ten. No major incidents were reported during the session although Mark Taylor and Kovalainen scraped the trackside barriers.
Qualifying was divided into two 45-minute sessions, one on Thursday afternoon and one on Friday afternoon. Each driver's fastest time from either session was used to determine their starting position in Sunday's race. The first qualifying session took place on Thursday afternoon in warm weather with a strong sea breeze from Macau's coastline. Practice pace setter Montin contended from the start and took provisional pole position with a 2 minutes, 13.214 seconds lap with less than two minutes left. Sato, second, led for much of qualifying with Cochet third. Monteiro led early on but failed to lap faster and came fourth. Anthony Davidson was fifth after seeking to find a rhythm he liked. Sixth-placed Kaneshi took first from Monteiro until he fell back. Fukuka, seventh, did not push too hard. Early pace setter Andy Priaulx was eighth; Tréluyer and Matsurra completed the top ten. De Oliviera was the fastest driver not to reach the top ten despite a strong start. The final positions were Kaffer, Björn Wirdheim, Enrico Toccacelo, Derek Hayes, Marchy Lee, Kovalainen, Bruce Jouanny, Tristan Gommendy, Sakon Yamamoto, Peter Sundberg, Hackett, Ho, Haruki Kurosawa, Lei, Merszei, Matteo Bobbi and Taylor. Ide and Raffaele Giammaria set no laps.
Ide slid on his out-lap and hit the Mandarin Oriental Bend wall. He recovered but stopped in the Melco hairpin tyre barrier, causing a traffic jam that caught Giammaria off guard. This stopped qualifying to allow marshals to clear the wreckage. Davidson could not avoid striking Lei's stricken car and went airborne. His suspension wishbones were broken and his nose cone removed. Davidson limped to the pit lane for car repairs. Later, Kurosawa removed one of his car's wheels in an impact with a wall. Taylor and Bobbi collided and ended their session early as Yamamoto struck the trackside wall. With less than a minute left, Davidson lost rear vehicle traction at Matsuya bend and struck the barrier. He ricocheted sideways across the track and stopped broadside. An unsighted Montiero then rammed Davidson's car at low speed. Davidson prepared by moving his head forward and exited his car unaided. He complained of a sore neck and was taken to the local hospital by ambulance for a precautionary x-ray. He was hospitalised overnight and withdrawn for the rest of the meeting due to a concussion, torn neck ligaments and a fractured C5 vertebrae.
Priaulx set the early pace in the second half-hour practice session, which took place in hot and clear weather on Friday morning, and he held the top spot until Wirdheim set the first sub 2:15 lap. The order continuously changed but practice's opening minutes did not have anyone record a sub 2:14 time. Monteiro adjusted his car's set-up to set the fastest lap time of 2:13.241, 0.112 seconds faster than Sato, who was quick throughout due to a car set-up change. Tréluyer was third after a mid-session collision with the wall. Positions four through ten were held by Cochet, Kaffer, Fukuda, Wirdheim, de Oliviera, Toccacelo and Priaulx.
The second 45-minute qualifying session on Friday afternoon was held in clear, hot and breezy weather. Provisional pole sitter Montin led early with the first sub 2:13 lap. Wirdheim prepared by inspecting and filming 20 laps of the track on VHS tape in a hire car with his race engineer early Tuesday morning. He attributed this to his efforts to take pole position from Montin, but Tréluyer quickly took it. Fukuda then set a new fastest lap before the session was stop due to Hackett's crash into the wall, which was recovered by track marshals. Wirdheim, Tréluyer, and Cochet traded pole before Wirdheim clinched it with a 2:11.983 lap, which the motorsport press considered surprising. Sato improved from ninth to join Wirdheim on the grid's front row in the final ten minutes, but he did not earn pole position because he swerved to avoid hitting Ho's car at the exit to Fisherman's Bend corner. Cochet failed to respond to Wirdheim and Sato's pace, remaining third. Montin dropped to fourth after failing to regain the necessary speed to rejoin the top three. He was just ahead of Tréluyer in fifth. Priaulx improved to sixth in second qualifying's last minute. Matsuura moved to seventh, as Monteiro and Fukuda fell to eighth ninth, respectively. Kaffer was tenth. Behind him the rest of the field lined up as Kaneishi, Ide, Toccacelo, Hayes, Jouanny, de Oliviera, Sundberg, Taylor, Gommendy, Kurosawa, Lee, Kovalainen, Giammaria, Yamamoto, Bobbi, Ho, Hackett, Lei and Merszei.
### Qualifying classification
Each of the driver's fastest lap times from the two qualifying sessions are denoted in bold.
- – Anthony Davidson crashed heavily during the first qualifying session and he was declared medically unfit to take part in the race.
## Warm-up
On the morning of the race, a half-hour warm-up session was held. Montin lapped fastest at 2:12.836, nearly four-tenths of a second faster than Sato. Positions three to ten were occupied by pole sitter Wirdheim, Fukuda, Priaulx, Cochet, de Oliviera, Kaffer and the Japanese pair of Kaneishi and Matsuura.
## Race
Sunday's race was divided into two aggregate legs totaling 30 laps. The first 15-lap leg took place in the morning, and the results determined the starting order for the second leg, with the winner starting from pole position. Following that, a five-hour interval was observed to allow for the intervening support races. The second 15-lap leg took place later in the afternoon. The driver who completed all 30 laps in the shortest amount of time won the event overall.
### Leg 1
The race's first leg began in hot and sunny weather at 10:15 Macau Standard Time (UTC+08:00) on 18 November. Matsuura failed to start and was instructed to restart from the pit lane. Wirdheim and Sato both made quick starts, but neither led on the approach to Lisboa corner, where Cochet glimpsed open space and executed a slingshot pass to take the lead. Further down the order, two multi-car accidents caused the leg to be stopped. Hayes was slipstreaming Jouanny's rear on the straight into Lisboa turn when he felt a sudden spike of acceleration as he was about to be cautious. He then locked his brakes, launching himself over Jouanny's head and landing on Kaffer's car. Some drivers collided as they scrambled for open space to avoid becoming entangled in the incident. Yamamoto was greatly unsettled and he ran off at San Francisco Bend. This caused Giammaria to drive off the track in avoidance and he hit the trackside barrier. Eleven cars were damaged in both crashes and de Oliviera, Kaneishi, Sundberg, Lee and Gommendy retired.
Sato made a better getaway from the standing restart to slipstream past Wirdheim into Lisboa corner for the lead. Meanwhile, Cochet was unable to get off to a quick start, leaving him to battle Montin and Tréluyer. That freed Wirdheim to focus on staying with Sato if possible, as Cochet lost the duel and fell to sixth. Priaulx suffered a puncture and had to make a pit stop for new tyres to go several laps down. Sato pulled away from the rest of the field, leading Wirdheim by one second. Meanwhile, Monteiro and Toccacelo collided, forcing the latter to retire and the former to return to the pit lane for a new front wing. Taylor improved from nineteenth to eighth by the end of the third lap, while Kovalainen gained 13 positions to be in tenth. Montin overtook Tréluyer for third, but Tréluyer stayed close behind him. Similarly, Sato was unable to pull away from Wirdheim, who set a new fastest lap to catch up.
The safety car was deployed on lap four when Cochet spun at the Reservoir bend and hit the tyre wall. Fukuda collected him and sustained heavy left-hand damage. Although Fukuda exited his car unaided, he sustained a concussion and was transported by ambulance to the local hospital. Four laps later, the safety car was withdrawn and racing resumed. It was quickly deployed again when Taylor pushed too hard on cold tyres and lost control of his car at the Reservoir bend. He collided with the wall, removing a wheel that Hackett then struck. After the safety car was withdrawn on the ninth lap, racing resumed. The race became a procession as all drivers tried to avoid an unpleasant situation. Sato won the first leg and started the second from pole position after going unchallenged in the final six laps. Wirdheim was 1.490 seconds behind in second and Montin completed the podium in third. Off the podium, Tréluyer gained on Montin but settled for fourth. Matsuura finished fifth, Bobbi sixth, Ide seventh and Kovalainen eighth. Ho was the highest-placed Macanese driver in ninth and Hackett tenth. Outside the top ten, Lei finished 11th, having gained 18 positions from where he started. The final classified finishers were Merszei, Monteiro, and Gommendy, with Sato lapping the latter two twice.
### Leg 2
The second leg began later that day at 15:40 local time, in hot and sunny weather. Taylor, Cochet, Fukuda, Sundberg, Giammaria, and Yamamoto were unable to begin because their cars were damaged beyond repair, reducing the field to 23 drivers. The driver's main concern in the middle of the grid was that they would be easily overtaken by faster vehicles, so Lei let them pass so he would not interfere. Sato made a good start and withstood heavy pressure from Montin to maintain his lead on the run to the first corner, despite a brush with the circuit's barrier. Tréluyer passed Wirdheim for second place despite having multiple cars alongside him. Kovalainen was unable to accelerate from his grid position and fell three-quarters of a lap behind Sato. While Sato pushed hard to establish a 1.4-second lead by the end of lap one, Wirdheim put Tréluyer under pressure in the battle for second. Bobbi was overtaken by Ide further back in the field, and Ho lost several positions to all drivers behind him except Kovalainen and Lee. Montin's rear-left wheel was removed in a collision with the wall on lap two. He drove slowly to the pit lane for a replacement wheel, and the extra time cost him a top-ten overall finish.
Sato's lead was cut slightly as Tréluyer pulled away from Wirdheim in third. Sato responded by increasing his lead by a small margin the following lap, and he did the same whenever Tréluyer appeared to be closing in on him. Hayes attempted to make up for the first leg by breaking Narain Karthikeyan's Guia Circuit race track lap record of 2:12.921 seconds set the previous year. He caught Kurosawa and easily overtook him before focusing on Hackett, whom he quickly passed. By the end of the seventh lap, Hackett had lost more positions to Kaneishi and de Oliviera as they attempted to recover lost ground from not restarting the first leg. Monteiro led a battle over fifth with Priaulx, Kaffer, and Ide, who prevented Monteiro from passing him, and Priaulx eventually overtook Monteiro. Kaffer challenged Monteiro for sixth as Ide lost fifth to Priaulx on lap 12. This unsettled Ide, who was overtaken by Monteiro and Kaffer and dropped to eighth soon after due to his four-lap delay. Matsuura was separated from the quartet by Wirdheim, who began to challenge Tréluyer in slower traffic.
Tréluyer was distracted long enough for Wirdheim to attempt an overtake, which the former blocked. During the last lap, Jouanny and Hayes passed Bobbi on the road. Meanwhile, Sato was unchallenged for the rest of the second leg on his second appearance in Macau, finishing it ten minutes faster than the first and winning outright, the first victory for a Japanese driver in the race's history. Tréluyer followed 4.410 seconds later in second and Wirdheim took third overall. Matsuura and Ide of Japan finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Bobbi finished sixth, Hackett seventh, Kovalainen eighth, and the Macanese duo of Ho and Lei completed the top ten. Montin, Merszei, Monteiro, Gommendy, and Kurosawa were the final classified finishers.
### Race classification |
5,701,516 | Oblation Run | 1,161,687,842 | Nude fraternity protest event in Philippines | [
"Alpha Phi Omega",
"Clothing-free events",
"Polytechnic University of the Philippines",
"Streaking",
"University folklore",
"University of the Philippines"
] | The Oblation Run (sometimes referred to as Pylon Run or the Ritual Dance of the Brave) is an annual event held by the University of the Philippines (UP) and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) chapters of Alpha Phi Omega (APO) in the PUP and different UP campuses. The runners are male, and traditionally run completely naked in public places, with their genitals fully visible, on a designated route. The event was first organized in 1977 at the University of the Philippines Diliman to promote Hubad na Bayani (Tagalog for Naked Hero), a film. It draws its name from the Oblation, a statue of a nude man located in every University of the Philippines campus, which symbolizes "a selfless offering of one's self to the country." The event is usually done on December 16, and serves as a protest to contemporary national issues.
Participants of the Diliman Oblation Run are male APO members numbering 24 on average. Women participating in the event, however, is not unheard of. Runners usually bear masks to hide their identities, and may wear leaves to cover their genitals. They usually hand roses to a number of female spectators. Additional runs are sometimes held in special events, such as the Centennial Run in 2008 where 100 members ran to celebrate the 100th anniversary of UP.
The run has been criticized by Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., a Philippine senator, calling it a "blatant display of male genitals" and a "wanton disregard of the rules of decent society," and comparing it with exhibitionist behaviors that are prohibited by the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines. In line with this, he called for an investigation on March 2009 to determine if the event violates that law.
## History
Alpha Phi Omega is a fraternity founded on December 16, 1925 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States. The first Philippine APO chapter was chartered on March 2, 1950 at the Far Eastern University in Manila. The Eta chapter was established on February 10, 1953 at UP Diliman. UP Diliman is the main campus of the University of the Philippines, a Philippine state university founded in June 1908. It is particularly known for its student activism.
### Inception
Despite inconsistencies, sources generally agree that the Oblation Run started in 1977. Also known as the Ritual Dance of the Brave, it takes its name from the Oblation, a statue of a nude man unveiled in 1939. Originally completely nude, a fig leaf was added to cover its genitals during UP President Jorge Bocobo's term (1934–1939). It is found in every UP campus, and has since become UP's identifying symbol. The run has since spread to other UP campuses, including Baguio, Los Baños, Manila and Visayas, and non-UP colleges and universities, such as the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Far Eastern University and Bulacan State University.
According to a 1996 article published by the UP Diliman APO website, the run originated when an unnamed APO member ran naked inside the campus to promote an APO-sponsored play called Hubad na Bayani (Tagalog for Naked Hero). The play is dedicated to Rolly Abad, an APO member who was killed in a brawl a few months earlier. The run was a success so APO decided to stage it every year on the fraternity's anniversary, December 16. This view is supported by a GMA News and Public Affairs report.
A newer account by Oble, a student newspaper of University of the Philippines Baguio, gives a different story. According to a 2011 article of the paper, the first Oblation Run was done by Rolly Abad himself to protest the Ferdinand Marcos's banning of Hubad na Bayani, a play detailing human rights violations during his martial law regime. Rolly Abad would be killed a few months later in a brawl. In his honor, APO decided to stage the run annually and voice contemporary socio-political issues along with it.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Daily Inquirer notes an APO member, Menggie Cobarrubias, saying "We [I and four others] started it as a prank when the Marcos dictatorship did not allow the showing of the play, Hubad na Bayani." The play was a political satire against Marcos.
An Associated Press article likewise details a different version of the story. According to Oliver Teves who wrote the article, the run started as a stunt to promote Hubad na Bayani, a film that depicted oppressed plantation workers. Similar to the account by Oble, the film was banned by Marcos. Similarly, the Internet Movie Database lists Hubad na Bayani as 1977 film directed by Robert Arevalo. It reportedly won the 1978 Gawad Urian Awards for best picture, best production design and best screenplay.
### Participation of women
During the December 2005 Oblation Run at UP Diliman, two unidentified naked women, reportedly Koreans, were seen tailing 30 members who were part of the event. This is the first ever instance that women took part in the occasion. The two, wearing masks to hide their identities, held banners promoting equal rights for women. After posing for photographers, they entered a car which then sped off. The act, however, was condemned by APO.
> We are condemning their act not on gender issues because they are women, they can do run naked if they want to. But the event [Oblation Run] was supposed to be ours.
### Centennial Run
To celebrate the University of the Philippines centennial, 100 APO members ran half a mile around the Diliman campus on June 18, 2008. This is the largest Oblation Run in its history in terms of number of participants. The participants started running on 11 AM PST from Vinzons Hall to the Oblation statue in front of Quezon Hall, the UP administration building. Several runners carried placards stating "Serve the People" and raised social issues, including appeals for greater state subsidy of education and ouster of then-President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The event was observed by senior APO alumni, including Jejomar Binay who was the mayor of Makati.
## Event
The Oblation Run is usually held on December 16, in honor of the international founding of Alpha Phi Omega on December 16, 1925. The date may be changed if December 16 falls on a weekend. The run may also be held in concurrence with other significant events, such as APO's national anniversary on March, an APO chapter's anniversary, and occasions significant to their home university. Runners usually bear masks to hide their identities, and may wear leaves to cover their genitals. They usually hand roses to a number of female spectators.
Contrary to popular belief, neophytes are forbidden to run.
> All those who run are full pledged [sic] members who have volunteered. There is a misconception that the Oblation Run is something our neophytes have to undergo as part of their initiation. That’s not true. We never allow our applicants to join [the Oblation Run].
As a sign of protest, it has called attention to several national issues including appeals for the ouster of former President Joseph Estrada, justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre and the 2010 Philippine Bar exam bombing.
## Themes
### UP Diliman Campus
- 2019 (February 8) Protection of freedom of expression and self-determination.
- 2017 End drug-related killings, rebuild war-torn Marawi City, lift martial law in Mindanao, and resume the peace talks between the government and the Communist Party.
- 2016 Condemnation of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos' burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, and justice for Martial Law victims.
- 2015 "Huwad na daan" and "Hubad na daan"
- 2014 Accountability and sustained action on the part of those in power to respect the rule of law.
- 2013 Better disaster risk reduction and management
- 2012 Free, fair and clean 2013 national elections
- 2011 "A Run for Philippine Rivers"
- 2010 Justice for the victims of the 2010 Philippine Bar exam bombing.
- 2009 Justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre
- 2008 Opposing Charter Change particularly to any extension of the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
- 2007 Ouster of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and others.
- 2006 Protest against the University of the Philippines tuition increase, Charter change, and the withholding of funds of the Philippine Collegian
- 2005 "Merry Christmas ???", three question marks represent the budget cut for the tuition of the Iskolar ng Bayan ("Scholars of the Nation") the backpay and cost of living allowance woes of the University of the Philippines employees; and the implementation of the EVAT
- 2004 "Environment Restoration and Social Justice for Hacienda Luisita Victims"
- 2003 Clean and peaceful elections (and others)
- 2002 "No to Budget Cuts"
- 2001 "Stop Corruption! Transparency in the Government"/"Walang Ku-Corrupt"
- 2000 "Erap Resign"/Ouster of President Joseph Estrada
- 1999 Calling attention to University of the Philippines Budget Cuts
- 1995 Stop Fraternity Violence
## Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Polytechnic University of the Philippines holds the same version of event known as Pylon Run, organized by the PUP chapter of Alpha Phi Omega (Philippines). The event usually held at PUP's foundation day on October 1, situated in the grounds of main building.
- 2018 "Kapatiran at Bayan" (Brotherhood and Nation)
- 2017 Good governance, Respect of Human rights and Better quality of education
- 2016 Respect human dignity and rule of law.
- 2013 Abolishment of the priority development assistance fund, a known pork barrel program.
## Criticism
On March 2009, the Oblation Run was criticized by Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., a Philippine senator, calling it a "blatant display of male genitals" and a "wanton disregard of the rules of decent society." He noted that the Oblation Run, being a public event, was being viewed by young children and "innocent audiences, young and old," comparing it with exhibitionist behaviors that are prohibited by the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines. He also said that it was discriminatory against women.
Pimentel's position was supported by officials of the Catholic Church. For instance, Tagbilaran Bishop Leonardo Medroso identified it as "malicious" and "morally lacking." Like Pimintel, he cited that "innocent youths" are among the spectators of the run. He said that "it could be done in a more decent way without showing their nude bodies" (trans). Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz supports this view.
In line with this, he called for an investigation on March 2009 to determine if the event violates the said law. He sought "to sanction the parties responsible, including the university authorities, for failure to exercise their bounden duty to see it that the laws and rules of this country prevail." The Oblation Run was defended by Senator Francis Pangilinan, a former UP Student Council president. He argued that the run is not obscene because the runners were merely exercising their freedom of expression.
In 2010, Salvador Curutchet of the Institute of the Incarnate Word banned De La Salle Araneta University students from participating in the run. Two years prior to banning it in 2010, the APO chapter of De La Salle held the Oblation Run after obtaining a permit from the city government of Malabon. This was in celebration of its 50th anniversary since the university recognized the fraternity. In response to the ban, the chapter held a luncheon on its 2010 anniversary instead of a nude run.
Similarly, there used to be an Oblation Run conducted in Taft Avenue, Manila in support of the APO members taking the bar examinations. However, it has been of prohibited since 2008 by the city government of Manila due to complaints from examinees and their guests regarding "the unnecessary noise and obscenity of the said oblation run." |
28,107,389 | 1967–68 Manchester City F.C. season | 1,166,878,137 | 1967–68 season of Manchester City | [
"English football championship-winning seasons",
"English football clubs 1967–68 season",
"Manchester City F.C. seasons"
] | The 1967–68 season was Manchester City Football Club's seventy-sixth season of league football and their second consecutive season in the First Division. In the third full season under the management of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison, Manchester City were unfancied at the start of the season due to a mid-table finish a year before. However, following the signing of forward Francis Lee, the Blues embarked on an unbeaten run that saw them challenge for the top of the table. A televised victory against Tottenham Hotspur in snowy conditions proved particularly notable, becoming known as the Ballet on Ice.
Going into the final match of the season, Manchester City led the table. A 4–3 win at Newcastle United clinched the club's second league title, with City finishing by two clear points over rivals Manchester United. The league championship was the first trophy of the most successful period in Manchester City's history. Under Mercer and Allison, the club won a further four domestic and European trophies in the following two seasons.
## Background and pre-season
The 1966–67 season had been Manchester City's first in the top flight after winning promotion from the Second Division in 1966. A fifteenth-place finish consolidated the club's place in the division. Club captain Johnny Crossan struggled with injuries in 1966–67, and was sold to Middlesbrough for £34,500 in the close season. Tony Book succeeded him as captain. The club made no major signings before the start of the season, though Tony Coleman, a winger with a wild off-field reputation, had arrived from Doncaster Rovers at the tail-end of the 1966–67 season. Mercer had reservations about signing Coleman, but Allison convinced Mercer that he could pacify a man he once described as "the nightmare of a delirious probation officer". City also attempted to sign England international goalkeeper Gordon Banks, but were outbid by Stoke City.
The team travelled to Europe in pre-season, playing friendlies against Eintracht Braunschweig and Standard Liège. After returning to England they played Portsmouth at Fratton Park, winning 2–0, and finished their preparations with a resounding home win against Borussia Dortmund. Between matches, the players followed a fitness plan created by former athlete Joe Lancaster, under instruction from Malcolm Allison. The training regime was initially unpopular with the players; the severity of the first session caused some players to vomit.
## First Division
City's season opened with a 0–0 draw at home to Liverpool. City were awarded a penalty, but new captain Tony Book hit it wide. Two defeats followed, at Southampton and Stoke. The Stoke defeat led to a tactical switch. Mike Summerbee, who played wide on the right at the start of the season, was moved to centre-forward. The change reaped immediate dividends, with Summerbee playing a leading role in a 4–2 win against Southampton. This was the first in a run of five straight wins, after which Manchester City had caught up with the league leaders. During this run of wins young winger Stan Bowles made his league debut, scoring twice in a 5–2 win against Sheffield United.
Manchester City's first transfer business of the season brought goalkeeper Ken Mulhearn to the club from Stockport County on 21 September, a deal that involved City's back-up goalkeeper Alan Ogley moving in the opposite direction. Harry Dowd kept goal in the next match, a 1–0 defeat at Arsenal, but then dislocated a finger, prompting a debut for Mulhearn in the season's first Manchester derby. Mulhearn was reputedly so nervous before the match that Allison locked him in the medical room until he calmed down. Colin Bell scored the opener after five minutes, but two Bobby Charlton goals meant a win for Manchester United. In the second half of the match, Bowles exchanged punches with Brian Kidd, though neither man was sent off, largely thanks to the intervention of their respective captains. The derby loss was followed by a third consecutive defeat, at Sunderland.
A couple of days after the Roker Park defeat, Manchester City completed the signing of centre-forward Francis Lee from Bolton Wanderers for a club record £60,000. During negotiations Mercer stated to Lee that "we feel we've got the start of a good side. We are just one player short, and we think you are that player." Lee made his debut in a 2–0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, the start of an 11 match unbeaten run, including a 6–0 win against Leicester City.
### Ballet on Ice
Midway through their unbeaten run, City faced Tottenham Hotspur at home in snowy conditions, in a match televised on Match of the Day. As the teams came out onto the frozen pitch, commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme called the Manchester City team as "the most exciting team in England". Aided by a modification to the studs on their boots suggested by Tony Book, City produced one of their best footballing performances in their history. One Spurs player was quoted as saying, "It was extraordinary. City moved like Olympic speed skaters while we were falling around like clowns on a skid patch." Tottenham took an early lead through Jimmy Greaves, but Bell equalised before half-time, and in the second half City besieged Tottenham, scoring three more times to win 4–1. After the match City trailed the league leaders by only a single point.
The match was named as Match of the Day'''s "Match of the Season", and as the only match at Maine Road that season to be recorded for television, is the foremost recorded example of the 1967–68 team in action.
The unbeaten run came to an end at Christmas, with back-to-back defeats in matches against West Bromwich Albion causing the club to fall to fourth place. The team commenced 1968 with a seven match unbeaten run, starting with consecutive 3–0 wins at Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United, and culminating in a 5–1 defeat of Fulham to go top of the table. The run came to an end with a defeat at Don Revie's Leeds United, which also meant City were overtaken at the top of the table by local rivals Manchester United. A visit to United's Old Trafford ground then followed. United took an early lead, but City rallied to win 3–1.
In late April, after City won 1–0 against Sheffield Wednesday and title rivals Manchester United lost to West Bromwich Albion, City were in a position where winning their final three games would all but guarantee the championship. In the first of the three, a home match against Everton, City won 2–0 in a match featuring Tony Book's first league goal for the club. Next was Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. City took a 3–0 lead before half time, eventually winning 3–1.
### Title decider at Newcastle
Going into the final match, City were level on points with neighbours Manchester United, with City holding the advantage in goal average – the first decider if teams finished level on points – but needing to win to be sure of staying above their cross-city rivals. Liverpool were three points behind, but had a game in hand, so could still win the title if both City and United faltered. City faced tenth-placed Newcastle United at St James' Park; United were at home to bottom-half Sunderland. Bookmakers made United slight favourites for the title.
Mike Summerbee opened the scoring on 13 minutes, but Newcastle soon equalised. Neil Young made it 2–1, but again Newcastle equalised. A second strike by Young was disallowed for offside, and at half-time the score was 2–2. Straight after half-time Young scored again, and Francis Lee scored a fourth on 63 minutes. A late Newcastle goal set up a nervy finish, but City held on to win 4–3 and secure the title. The win was compounded by a 2–1 victory by Sunderland over Manchester United, giving City the title. Liverpool won one of their remaining games but lost the other, missing their chance to leapfrog United into second by one point.
### Matches
### Results summary
## FA Cup
As a top-flight side, Manchester City entered the FA Cup in the third round proper, and were drawn at home to Reading of the Third Division. With City unusually wearing their maroon change kit, the match finished goalless, with Tony Coleman missing a penalty. The replay at Elm Park was a one-sided affair. City won 7–0, as Mike Summerbee scored a hat-trick. In the fourth round, another home tie finished 0–0, this time against Leicester City. In the replay, Manchester City squandered a 2–0 lead and lost 4–3.
## League Cup
Manchester City's League Cup run saw two notable debuts for young players. In the second round against Leicester City, Stan Bowles scored twice in a 4–0 win. In the next round against Blackpool, Joe Corrigan made the first of his 605 appearances for the club. City progressed after a replay. Fulham were the opponents in the fourth round, meaning City visited Craven Cottage for the second time in as many weeks. However, they could not replicate their league win and lost 3–2.
## Squad statistics
### Squad
Appearances for competitive matches only''
Source:
## Transfers
### In
### Out
## Legacy
The league championship was Manchester City's first trophy since the 1956 FA Cup. The triumph was the first in the club's most successful period of the 20th century. Under Mercer and Allison, City went on to win the FA Cup in 1969, and the League Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1970. The Mercer-Allison partnership changed in October 1971, with Allison taking the manager's role, and came to an end in June 1972 when Mercer left to take charge of Coventry City.
As a result of the title win, Manchester City entered European competition for the first time. However, Malcolm Allison's prediction that City would "terrify Europe" proved inaccurate, with the club losing to Fenerbahçe in the first round of the European Cup. A more humble and concentrated approach a year later proved efficient, as City clinched their first European trophy in 1970.
## See also
- List of Manchester City F.C. seasons |
62,705,243 | 2021 World Rally Championship | 1,154,446,335 | 49th running of the World Rally Championship | [
"2021 World Rally Championship season",
"2021 in motorsport",
"2021 in rallying",
"Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on motorsport",
"World Rally Championship seasons"
] | The 2021 FIA World Rally Championship was the forty-ninth season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing competition recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews competed in twelve rallies for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews were free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car, Rally Pyramid and Group R regulations; however, only manufacturers competing with World Rally Cars homologated under regulations introduced in 2017 were eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The championship began in January 2021 with the Rallye Monte-Carlo and concluded in November 2021 with Rally Monza. The series was supported by the World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3 categories at every round of the championship and by the Junior World Rally Championship at selected events.
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were the defending drivers' and co-drivers' champions, having secured their seventh championship titles at the 2020 Rally Monza. Hyundai were the defending manufacturers' champions and were defending their manufacturers' title for the second consecutive year.
At the conclusion of the championship, Ogier and Ingrassia won their eighth world titles after winning the 2021 Rally Monza. Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin finished second, trailing by twenty-three points. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe were third, a further thirty-one points behind. In the manufacturers' championship, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT clinched the title, a massive fifty-nine-point lead over the defending manufacturer champion Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, with M-Sport Ford WRT in third.
## Calendar
The 2021 championship was contested over twelve rounds in Europe and Africa:
The following rounds were included on the original calendar published by WRC Promoter GmbH, but were later cancelled:
### Calendar changes
With the addition of Rally Chile to the calendar in 2019, the FIA opened the tender process for new events to join the championship in 2020. Three events were successful, but the championship was affected by a series of cancellations in 2019 and 2020 that necessitated changes to the 2021 calendar:
- Rally Catalunya returned to the championship. The rally was removed from the 2020 schedule as part of an event-sharing agreement that would see it removed from the calendar for one year, but was guaranteed a spot on the calendar for the next two. The rally returned to running exclusively on tarmac roads for the first time since .
- Rally Chile was due to return after a one-year absence. The rally had been included on the original draft of the 2020 calendar, but was later cancelled in the face of ongoing civil unrest in the country. Organisers of the event negotiated a return to the calendar for the 2021 championship, but it was again cancelled due to continued travel and other restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Acropolis Rally replaced the rally after a seven-year absence on the calendar.
- Rally Croatia made its championship debut, replacing Rally Mexico. Croatia thus became the 34th country to host a World Rally Championship round. It was based in Zagreb, and ran on tarmac roads.
- Rally Deutschland was removed from the calendar. The event had planned to run in 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was not included on the 2021 calendar.
- The Rallies of Finland and Portugal also returned to the championship after a one-year absence. The 2020 events were cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Rally GB was replaced by the Ypres Rally in Belgium. Rally GB had originally planned to move from Wales to Northern Ireland, but the event was replaced when organisers were unable to come to an agreement with the government of Northern Ireland to support the rally.
- Rally Japan was scheduled to return to the calendar for the first time since , but it was ultimately called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rally was also originally included on the 2020 calendar, but was also cancelled because of the pandemic. Rally Monza was confirmed to hold the season finale for the second year in a row.
- The Safari Rally was run as a World Championship event for the first time since . The event was based in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and featured stages around Lake Naivasha. The event had been planned to make its return to the championship in 2020, but was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Rally Sweden was included on the first draft of the calendar with its traditional February date, but was cancelled before the start of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arctic Rally in northern Finland was chosen as a replacement to ensure that a winter rally was included on the calendar.
In light of the disruption caused by the pandemic in 2020 and in anticipation of further delays, the calendar included an additional six reserve rounds that could be included in the event of rallies being cancelled. These events include rallies in Turkey, Argentina and Latvia. The Ypres Rally had also been included on this reserve list before it replaced Rally GB, so as the Acropolis Rally and Rally Monza.
## Entries
Four teams from three manufacturers contested the 2021 World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, enlisting the following crews for each round as detailed. All crews use tyres provided by Pirelli.
The below crews are not entered to score manufacturer points and are entered in World Rally Cars as privateers or under arrangement with the manufacturers.
### In detail
M-Sport Ford WRT only entered two full-time entries in 2021. The first was crewed by Gus Greensmith and Elliott Edmondson, who contested selected rallies for the team in 2019 and 2020. Edmondson was later replaced by Chris Patterson. Stuart Loudon became Greensmith's third co-driver of the season, when Patterson was absent in Sardinia due to personal reasons. Greensmith and Patterson parted away after Rally de Catalunya as Patterson decided to retire from competition. Jonas Andersson is confirmed to co-drive with Greensmith in the season finale. The second car was shared by two crews; one made up of World Rally Championship-2 graduates Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul, while the other was led by Teemu Suninen, who was partnered by Mikko Markkula. However, Suninen announced that he quited from the team by mid season. Fourmaux split away with Jamoul during the season. Alexandre Coria became Fourmaux's new co-driver. Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm, who drove for M-Sport in 2020, left the team. The two later joined World Rally Championship-2 team Movisport.
Hyundai retained the line-up of Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja. Thierry Neuville also retained with the team, but he ended his ten-year partnership with Nicolas Gilsoul. Martijn Wydaeghe became Neuville's new co-driver. The team's third entry was shared between crews led by Dani Sordo and Craig Breen. Sordo formed a new partnership with new co-driver Borja Rozada after the Monte Carlo Rally as Carlos del Barrio moved to co-drive with Fabrizio Zaldívar in the WRC-3 category. However, their partnership only lasted three rounds, with Cándido Carrera replaced Rozada. Nine-time World Champion Sébastien Loeb left Hyundai to join Bahrain Raid Xtreme team in the 2021 Dakar Rally and Team X44 in the Extreme E electric rally raid series. Tänak is confirmed to miss the season's finale for family reasons. Suninen, who left M-Sport and competed for Hyundai in the WRC-2 category in Spain, replaced the Estonian in Monza.
Hyundai's second team, Hyundai 2C Competition, entered an i20 Coupe WRC for Pierre-Louis Loubet and Vincent Landais at every round of the championship. Loubet and Landais had previously contested three events with the team in 2020. Florian Haut-Labourdette later replaced Landais to co-drive with Loubet since Portugal. However, Loubet's full-season programme was brought to an early end as he suffered a hip injury after being involving in a car accident. Junior World Rally Champion Nil Solans made his top-tier debut in Spain as a replacement to the injured Loubet with Marc Martí. Oliver Solberg and Aaron Johnston made their World Rally Car debut at the Arctic Rally. However, Johnston was replaced by Sebastian Marshall at the weekend after testing positive for COVID-19 pandemic. Solberg announced later in the season that the partnership with Johnston ended. American Rally Association champion Craig Drew took over the seat in Catalunya, before Edmondson cooperated with Solberg in Monza.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT was planned to introduce a new car based on the Toyota GR Yaris, an "homologation special", or road-going version of a car specifically designed for competition and with production limited to the minimum number required to meet homologation requirements. However, the team later announced that it had abandoned development the GR Yaris, citing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the automotive industry and the costs of developing the car when new regulations were due to be introduced in . Tommi Mäkinen stepped down from Toyota's team principal to become the company's motorsport advisor. Former driver Jari-Matti Latvala was named to succeed Mäkinen's role.
Reigning World Drivers' Champion Sébastien Ogier announced that he would retire from full-time competition at the end of the 2020 championship, but his retirement was delayed when he renewed a one-year deal with Toyota. Ogier explained that his decision to stay in the sport was because the shortened 2020 championship was not how he wanted his career to end. The team retained the pairings of Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin and of Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen. Takamoto Katsuta and Daniel Barritt also remained with the team to contest a full-time campaign in a fourth car. Barritt missed several events following back and neck injuries suffered in Estonia. Keaton Williams joined Katsuta as substitute co-driver in Greece before a family emergency forced him to withdraw from in the next two events. Johnston became Katsuta's third co-driver following the departure with Solberg, but soon succeeded by Edmondson in the following round.
## Changes
### Technical regulations
Pirelli has become the championships' sole nominated tyre supplier with the removal of Michelin and Yokohama. Under the terms of the agreement, Pirelli will supply tyres to all entrants of four-wheel drive cars.
### Sporting regulations
The season saw the creation of the World Rally Championship for Teams, a new championship title that existed alongside the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. A team taking part in the Teams' championship was able to only score points in a rally if a manufacturer competing with the same make of car had been entered into the event. Teams that competed in the Teams' championship were required to take part in a minimum of seven rallies, one of which had to be outside Europe to be eligible for the championship.
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that only seven of the thirteen events planned for the 2020 championship took place, the World Motorsport Council passed a resolution declaring that for the drivers', co-drivers' and manufacturers' championship titles to be awarded a minimum of six rallies must be held.
Manufacturers were awarded Power Stage bonus points for the first time. The scoring system remains the same as that used by drivers and co-drivers, with five points awarded for the fastest manufacturer car down to one point for the fifth quickest. Only the two fastest drivers from a single manufacturer are eligible to score.
## Season report
### Opening rounds
The 2021 FIA World Rally Championship began in Monaco. The Hyundai crew of Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja took an early lead, but their lead was wiped out when by a loss of power in hairpins. The Estonian pair's rally was further hampered by two punctures, which meant that they did not have enough rubber on one of their wheels for the car to be considered road legal. Unable to complete the liaison between special stages, Tänak and Järveoja were ruled out for the second consecutive year in Monte-Carlo. The M-Sport crew of Teemu Suninen and Mikko Markkula also retired from the rally when they crashed out on the very first stage of the event. Local heroes Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were the favourites for the weekend. Despite a flat tire that lost the lead to their teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin, the reigning world champions set fastest stage time after fastest stage time to regain the top spot and eventually won their eighth Monte Carlo victory, a new record for wins in Monte Carlo. They also became the first crew to win the rally with five different manufacturers. Evans and Martin finished second to complete a Toyota one-two. The Japanese manufacturer's party was further flourished by the dominance at the Power Stage, which saw them build a twenty-two-point lead over the reigning manufacturers' champions Hyundai. The prior year's victor, Thierry Neuville, joined them on the podium with his new co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe, whose first ever podium in the championship.
The Arctic Rally Finland saw the championship first visiting inside the Arctic Circle, where local favourites Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were determined to win their first WRC event. However, their ambition was spoiled by Tänak and Järveoja, who benefited from a greater road position. The former world champions demonstrated brilliant pace throughout the weekend, leading the event from start to finish to win their first rally of the season. Unable to match the speed of Tänak and Järveoja, Rovanperä and Halttunen were threatened by Neuville and Wydaeghe going onto the final day. The battle for the runner-up spot would decide the championship leads. Eventually, the Finnish crew managed to edge the Belgian pair by 2.3 seconds as well as winning the Power Stage. This was enough to ensure the twenty-year-old Rovanperä to become the youngest driver to lead the championship in the forty-nine-year history of the WRC. Reigning world champions Ogier and Ingrassia had a weekend to forget. The French crew went into a snowbank 200 meters from the flying finish on Saturday's final test, which took them twenty minutes to free themselves from. They eventually limped home in twentieth place but did collect one consolation point form the Power Stage.
The third round of the season saw the championship held in Croatia, the thirty-fourth country to host a WRC event. Rovanperä and Halttunen entered the rally as championship leaders, but they crashed out on the very first stage of the rally. This gave Neuville and Wydaeghe a clean road, leading the rally onto Saturday. However, an incorrect tyre choice of hard and soft compound mixture plus brake issues on Saturday's morning loop saw them drop down to third. Ogier and Ingrassia became the new rally leaders, but a puncture meant their lead was limited to single-digits. Ogier and Ingrassia snatched the victory and reclaimed the championship leads. 0.6 second was the winning margin, making the rally the third closest win in history after the 2011 Jordan Rally and the 2007 Rally New Zealand. In addition to a full thirty championship points haul, the French pair also reached their 600th stage win milestone. With two 1–2 finishes in three rounds, Toyota held an early lead in the manufacturers' standings, twenty-seven points cleared of Hyundai. Adrien Fourmaux and Renaud Jamoul made their World Rally Car debut with M-Sport Ford this weekend. They posted several top-five stage times to record a remarkable fifth place.
### Mid-season gravel events
Rally Portugal marked the championship returned to the gravel surface in over 200 days. Hyundai dominated the early stage of the rally, holding 1–2–3 after Friday's morning loop. The situation was looking good for the South Korean manufacturer until Neuville and Wydaeghe damaged their rear-right suspension in a tight left-hander following an over-optimistic pacenote in the afternoon. Benefitting from their main rivals' retirements and a relative late road position, Evans and Martin won the rally, their first of the season. Dani Sordo and new co-driver Borja Rozada completed the event second overall to bring their team valuable points after a disaster weekend for Hyundai, while Ogier and Ingrassia rounded out of the podium. Katsuta drove a clean and consistent rally, ensuring the Japanese driver a career-high fourth place.
The Sardinia island rally witnessed another catastrophic weekend for Hyundai. Despite a dominant performance on Friday, the crews of Tänak and Järveoja and of Sordo and Rozada retired from Saturday due to rear suspension damage. Following Hyundai's double disasters, Ogier and Ingrassia took over the rally, with Evans and Martin covered second. With another 1–2 finish, Toyota's lead over Hyundai extended to massive forty-nine points. Neuville and Wydaeghe were the only hope of Hyundai. The Belgian crew was struggling throughout the event and could only managed to finish third.
The Safari Rally in Kenya, Africa is renowned for impassable, hard to traverse, open, soft, bumpy, rocky and gravel roads. When the World Rally Championship returned to Kenya after nineteen years, nothing changed. Neuville and Wydaeghe retired from the lead on the final day with a suspension-collapsed issue. This meant for the third consecutive rally, a Hyundai retired from the top spot. Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta became the new rally leader afterwards, leading a WRC event for the first in his career, but he and his co-driver Barritt were soon overhauled by a charging Ogier and Ingrassia, who were once down in seventh overall. The French crew eventually won the eventful rally to wrap up their fourth victory of the season, and held a commanding lead of thirty-four points in the drivers' and co-drivers' championships heading into the second half of the season. Katsuta secured his WRC podium alongside Barritt, with Tänak and Järveoja rounded out of the podium.
Halfway through the season, the championship's next stop was Rally Estonia. Ahead of home crowds, local favourites Tänak and Järveoja were keen to repeat their success one year ago. They initially led the rally, but double punctures on Friday's morning loop put them from heroes to zeroes as they run out of spare wheels. Following Tänak and Järveoja's issue, Rovanperä and Halttunen took the lead. Having fended off the pursuit of Craig Breen and Paul Nagle, they claimed their maiden WRC win. At 20 years and 290 days, Rovanperä became the youngest driver to win a WRC event, breaking the previous record of 22 years and 313 days held by Jari-Matti Latvala. Breen and Nagle achieved their first podium of the season by finishing second, with teammates Neuville and Wydaeghe rounded out of the podium with their fifth third place.
### New and return rallies
The debut of Ypres Rally on the calendar meant Belgium became the thirty-fifth country to host a WRC event. The combination of bridle path and the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit proved to be relentless for competitors. Local experience was the key to success, which was why local heroes Neuville and Wydaeghe came out in front, bagging an emotional home triumph. This was also the first career victory for Wydaeghe. The only crew who can match their blistering pace were their teammates Breen and Nagle. The Irish crew completed the weekend with another second place.
Greece gave the championship a warm welcome as the Acropolis Rally returned to the calendar after eight years. Victory in the event belonged to Rovanperä and Halttunen, who steered out of trouble and bagged their second victory of the season. The result also saw Toyota extend their championship lead to a mighty fifty-seven points. With only three rounds to go, things were looking really promising for their championship bid.
Rally Finland went ahead on the twenty-first birthday of Rovanperä, who was keen to win his home event. He and Halttunen were running in the front field until they hit with a large pile of gravel on Saturday morning. This caused significant damage to their Yaris, which led to their retirement from the day. Katsuta and new co-driver Aaron Johnston also retired from the day when they ran too deep into a quick left-hander and clouted the bank on the right. Neuville and Wydaeghe's slim title hopes were completely shattered when they stopped halfway through the second test of the Patajoki stage following a compression broke the radiator and caused a water leak. Championship leaders Ogier and Ingrassia were struggled for pace all the weekend, and a one-minute time penalty for not fastening crash helmet strap meant they were in a no men's land. Meanwhile, teammates Evans and Martin were out in front and ultimately won the rally as well as the Power Stage. The result saw Evans and Martin slashed the championship gap by a massive twenty points, trailing Ogier and Ingrassia by twenty-four points after the event.
### Closing rounds
Although Neuville and Wydaeghe lost any chance to clinch the world titles coming into the event, they completely dominated the Spain tarmac, winning a total of ten special stages to grab their second victory of the season after overcoming a late starter motor problem. Evans and Martin kept their title hopes alive as they outscored championship leaders Ogier and Ingrassia. The French crew was looking good to achieve a podium finish till an engine stall at Saturday's final test erased their gap over local heros Sordo and Cándido Carrera and eventually got overhauled on Sunday morning. Katsuta and Johnston's hope of a good result was gone at the very first stage when their Yaris understeered into the barrier at the opening stage of Friday.
The championship was down to the wire as the season finale was again held at Monza. Holding a healthy lead in the championship standings, championship leaders Ogier and Ingrassia immediately took the lead. Title rivals Evans and Martin passed Ogier and Ingrassia by the end of the first day, but soon lost it back to the French crew in the following morning loop. The top spot changed hands repeatedly. Eventually, Ogier and Ingrassia came out on top, winning their fifth rally of the season to bag their eighth world titles. Sordo and Carrera rounded out of the podium after teammates Neuville and Wydaeghe spun into traffic barrier on Saturday. Manufacturer-wise, Toyota won a total of nine victories out of twelve in comparison to Hyundai's three, which was enough for the Japanese team to clinch the title.
## Results and standings
### Season summary
### Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event. In the manufacturers' championship, teams were eligible to nominate three crews to score points, but these points were only awarded to the top two classified finishers representing a manufacturer and driving a 2017-specification World Rally Car. There were also five bonus points awarded to the winners of the Power Stage, four points for second place, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. Power Stage points were awarded in the drivers', co-drivers' and manufacturers' championships.
### FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers
The driver who recorded a top-ten finish was taken into account for the championship regardless of the categories.
### FIA World Rally Championship for Co-Drivers
The co-driver who recorded a top-ten finish was taken into account for the championship regardless of the categories.
### FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers
Only the best two results of each manufacturer in the respective overall classification and Power Stage at each rally were taken into account for the championship. |
302,848 | Fire Emblem | 1,173,523,509 | Tactical role-playing video game franchise published by Nintendo | [
"ADV Films",
"Fire Emblem",
"Japanese brands",
"Nintendo franchises",
"OVAs based on video games",
"Tactical role-playing video games",
"Tactical role-playing video games by series",
"Video game franchises",
"Video game franchises introduced in 1990",
"Video games about magic"
] | is a Japanese fantasy tactical role-playing game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. First produced and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, the series currently consists of seventeen core entries and five spinoffs. Gameplay revolves around the tactical movement and actions of characters across grid-based battlefields, while incorporating a story and characters similar to traditional role-playing video games.
A notable aspect of gameplay is the permanent death of characters in battle, removing them from the rest of the game when they are defeated. In newer games, from Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem onwards, players get to choose between "Classic Mode", in which fallen characters remain dead, or "Casual Mode", in which fallen characters are revived for the next battle. The series title refers to the "Fire Emblem", a recurring element in the series that is usually portrayed as a royal weapon or shield representing the power of war and dragons. The development of the first game began as a dōjin project by Shouzou Kaga and three other developers. Its success prompted the development of further games in the series. Kaga headed the development of each entry until the release of Thracia 776, when he left Intelligent Systems and founded his game studio to develop Tear Ring Saga.
No games in the series were released outside of Japan until two characters, Marth and Roy, were included as playable characters in the 2001 fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee. Their popularity, as well as the international success of the similarly turn-based Advance Wars, eventually convinced Nintendo to release future games in Western territories, starting with the seventh game The Blazing Blade under the title Fire Emblem in 2003. Many games in the series sold well, although sales suffered a decline during the 2000s. This resulted in the series' near-cancellation, a fate that was reversed with the unprecedented critical and commercial success of Fire Emblem Awakening (2012). Individual entries have generally been praised, the series as a whole has been lauded for its gameplay, and it is frequently cited as the seminal series in the tactical role-playing genre, codifying various gameplay elements that would come to define the genre. Characters from across the series have also been included in crossovers with other video game franchises, including the aforementioned Super Smash Bros. series.
## Common elements
### Gameplay
Fire Emblem's developers have described it as an "RPG simulation", combining tactical simulation gameplay with the plot and character development of a role-playing game, creating a sense of connection with characters not present in previous tactical games. Battles in the Fire Emblem series play out on a grid-based map, with the player controlling a set number of characters across maps tied to both the game's story and optional side stories. Each character has a specific character class, giving them set abilities and affecting how far they can move across the field. Some character classes have innate skills unique to them, and each character has their own stats. Depending on the series installments, a character's class can be changed or upgraded, sometimes with the requirement of special items. During a battle, each character gains experience points by performing actions, such as attacking an enemy, healing an ally, or slaying a foe (which typically offers the most experience points). When a certain level is reached, the character levels up, and new skill points are awarded randomly to a character's attributes, such as the character's health, agility, or strength. The more a character is used in battle, the more experience that character gains.
A key element in combat since Genealogy of the Holy War is the Weapon Triangle, a system governing the strengths and weaknesses that certain weapons and types of magic have against each other in a rock–paper–scissors fashion. For weapons, lances have an advantage against swords, swords have an advantage against axes, and axes have an advantage against lances. In the magic system, fire is stronger than wind, wind is stronger than thunder, and thunder is stronger than fire. From The Binding Blade through Radiant Dawn, these three elements are collectively known as anima magic. Anima is stronger than light, light stronger than darkness, and darkness stronger than anima. In Fates, the Weapon Triangle relationships add other weapons: swords and tomes are stronger than axes and bows, axes and bows are stronger than lances and shurikens, and lances and shurikens are stronger than swords and tomes. Most games use a Weapon Durability system: after being used a certain number of times, a character's weapon will break. Different installments have various systems related to weapons: in Genealogy of the Holy War, weapons can be repaired at special shops; in Path of Radiance and future games, weapons can be bought and upgraded, while Fates replaces the durability system with a system where more powerful weapons weaken some of their wielder's stats.
Character relationships can be developed using support affinity both inside and outside of battle, which increases certain battle abilities. A feature introduced in Genealogy of the Holy War and also used in later installments was introduced, where characters who fall in love can have a child who inherits certain skills and stats from them. One of the recurring features in the series is permanent death, a function in which units defeated in battle are permanently removed from the party, with very few exceptions (one exception being the main character, whose death results in a Game Over). Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem introduced Casual Mode, in which dead characters were revived at the end of a battle. Fates added Phoenix Mode, in which defeated characters are revived on the player's next turn. Another inclusion from Fates is 'My Castle', a customizable castle that serves as the player's base of operations throughout the game.
### Story and themes
The Fire Emblem games take place across multiple unrelated settings within a Medieval or Renaissance-themed time period, with the main protagonist, being either royalty or a mercenary, caught in the conflict of two or more countries across a continent and fighting for their cause. The continents of Archanea and Valentia are the settings of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Gaiden, Mystery of the Emblem, and Awakening, and the planned setting for Fire Emblem 64. Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776 are set in Jugdral, distantly connected with Archanea and Valentia, while The Blazing Blade and The Binding Blade take place in Elibe. The Sacred Stones is set in Magvel and Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn are set on the continent Tellius. Fates is set on an unnamed continent, with the story instead focusing on the two powers fighting over its territory. Three Houses takes place on the continent of Fódlan. Engage is set in the continent of Elyos.
A recurring element in the series is the titular artifact known as the "Fire Emblem". In Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and other games set in Archanea, it is a shield inset with five magical gems. Its name derives from its connection to dragons and weapons of war, being the "emblem of flame". It also appears as a family crest in Genealogy of the Holy War, a family seal in the world of The Binding Blade, a magic gemstone in The Sacred Stones, a bronze medallion holding a goddess of chaos in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, a sword in Fates, and hereditary magical sigils in Three Houses. Other magical elements, including feuding gods and mystical species such as dragons and shapeshifters, are also recurring elements in the series.
## Development and history
The first Fire Emblem game, Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, was originally never intended as a commercial game, defined by creator Shouzou Kaga as a dōjin project with three other job-holding students. However, the game's unexpected commercial success prompted the development of more games in the series. The game was developed at Intelligent Systems, whose previous notable game was the strategy game Famicom Wars. Kaga worked on the Fire Emblem series until Thracia 776, when he left Nintendo and began development on Tear Ring Saga for the PlayStation. After Thracia 776, the Fire Emblem series had several releases on portable devices. In 2001, Marth and Roy, from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and The Binding Blade respectively, appeared as playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee, prompting western interest in the Fire Emblem series. The positive reception of the characters led to Nintendo's decision to localize The Blazing Blade for Western regions under the title Fire Emblem. Due to its success overseas, it was decided to return the series to home consoles for Path of Radiance for the GameCube. Despite it arriving late in the GameCube's life cycle, it provided a late boost to sales, reaffirming Nintendo's faith in the series. By 2010, the series was suffering from declining sales and Nintendo told Intelligent Systems that if their next Fire Emblem failed to sell above 250,000 units, the series would be canceled. This prompted Intelligent Systems to include many features new to the series with the intention of making it the culmination of the entire series up to that point. The game's reception and sales ended up saving the series from cancellation, convincing Nintendo to continue production.
The series' original music was composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko. As the only music composer at Intelligent Systems when Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was in production, she acted as both composer and sound director, up until Thracia 776, when she left the company to become a freelancer after completing the score for Paper Mario. She has worked on later Fire Emblem games, alongside other composers including Saki Kasuga, Hiroki Morishita, and Rei Kondoh. The series includes several other notable staff members: Tohru Narihiro, who was involved in every Fire Emblem since the original; Masahiro Higuchi, who began as a graphics designer for Genealogy of the Holy War; and Kouhei Maeda, who wrote the scenarios for every game since The Blazing Blade and became a director for Awakening.
Multiple artists are associated with the series. The characters of Mystery of the Emblem and Genealogy of the Holy War were designed by Katsuyoshi Koya, who later worked on designs for the Fire Emblem Trading Card Game. Katsuyoshi, who was unsatisfied with his work on the series, stepped down for Thracia 776. The designer for Thracia 776 was Mayumi Hirota, whose brief tenure with the series ended when she left Intelligent Systems with Kaga after the game's completion. Nevertheless, her art for the series was described by Kaga as his favorite up to that point. Other artists involved in later games are Eiji Kaneda (The Binding Blade), Sachiko Wada (The Sacred Stones) and Senri Kita (Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn). For Shadow Dragon, the character artwork was remade by Ghost in the Shell artist Masamune Shirow. The in-game portraits were instead designed by longtime contributor Daisuke Izuka, who returned as character designer for the remake of Mystery of the Emblem. For Awakening, art director Toshiyuki Kusakihara worked with character designer Yūsuke Kozaki, who was brought in to give a new look to the series. Kozaki later returned as character designer for Fates and Heroes. For Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, illustrator Hidari was hired to revise classic Gaiden designs in addition to creating new ones. To depict a "glamorous, aristocratic society" in Three Houses, Intelligent Systems contracted character designer Chinatsu Kurahana, best known for her work on otome games such as Uta no Prince-sama, while freelance artist Kazuma Koda provided the concept art. Kurahana returned to design protagonist Shez, Arval, and the house leaders in its spin-off, Warriors: Three Hopes, with Kusakihara filling in for the rest of the cast.
## Games
There are currently seventeen games in the core Fire Emblem series, of which fourteen have been original games and three have been remakes.
### Main series
The first entry in the series, Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, was released in 1990 for the Japanese Famicom. A second game for the Famicom, Fire Emblem Gaiden, was released in 1992. It is known for having unusual mechanics compared to the rest of the series, such as dungeon exploration. It takes place in a similar timeframe as Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, but on a different continent. In 1994, Mystery of the Emblem was released for the Super Famicom, containing both a remake of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and a sequel of the first game. Two more games were released for the Super Famicom in 1996 and 1999 respectively: Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776.
The next entry released was The Binding Blade in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance. A prequel to The Binding Blade, The Blazing Blade, was released for the Game Boy Advance the following year. It was released overseas under the title Fire Emblem in 2003 in North America and 2004 in Europe, becoming the first official release of the Fire Emblem series in these regions. The final entry for the Game Boy Advance, The Sacred Stones, was released in 2004 in Japan, and in 2005 in North America and Europe.
The ninth installment in the series, Path of Radiance, was released worldwide on the GameCube in 2005. It was the first Fire Emblem game to feature 3D graphics, voice acting, and full-motion animated cutscenes. A direct sequel to Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn was released for the Wii in 2007 in Japan and North America, and 2008 in Europe.
In 2008, the series returned to handheld systems with two releases for the Nintendo DS. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, an expanded remake of the first game, was released in 2008 in Japan and Europe, and 2009 in North America. Shadow Dragon makes use of unique DS features unavailable to the Famicom and introduced new characters, added additional story elements, revamped mechanics, and modernized graphics. A Japanese-only entry, New Mystery of the Emblem, was released in 2010 for the DS as an expanded remake of Mystery of the Emblem.
The series moved to the Nintendo 3DS with Fire Emblem Awakening, the thirteenth game in the series, released in 2012 in Japan and 2013 in North America and Europe. Awakening was a major critical and commercial success, and is credited for revitalizing the franchise. The second entry for the Nintendo 3DS, Fates, was released in June 2015 in Japan, February 2016 in North America, and in May 2016 for Europe and Australia. Fates comes in three versions: two physical versions titled Birthright and Conquest, and a third route titled Revelation released as downloadable content. Fates was later re-released as a special version with all three versions included. A third entry, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, was released on the Nintendo 3DS in April 2017 in Japan and in North America and Europe the following month. Echoes is an enhanced remake of Gaiden, maintaining many of the unique features of Gaiden while revamping the graphics and script, and adding several ease-of-play improvements.
A Fire Emblem game was announced for the Nintendo Switch during a Fire Emblem focused Nintendo Direct in January 2017. The game was officially revealed as Fire Emblem: Three Houses during the Nintendo Direct presentation at E3 2018, and was released in July 2019. Fire Emblem Engage, a second entry for Nintendo Switch, was announced during a September 2022 Nintendo Direct and released in January 2023.
### Spin-offs and cameos
In 1997, an episodic prequel to Mystery of the Emblem titled BS Fire Emblem: Archanea Senki-hen was released through Satellaview. The events of Archanea Senki were included in the remake of Mystery of the Emblem. BS Fire Emblem is considered an official part of the series by some developers, but not generally by fans. A crossover with the Shin Megami Tensei series, Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, was released in December 2015 in Japan and worldwide in June 2016 for the Wii U. Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE was developed by Atlus rather than Intelligent Systems and combines gameplay, narrative, and aesthetic elements from both the Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei series. On January 17, 2020, an enhanced version titled Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore was released on Nintendo Switch. Fire Emblem Heroes is a spin-off gacha game for Android and iOS, and was released in February 2017 for mobile devices. Heroes is a crossover of characters from across the Fire Emblem series, rather than with another series, and also introduced original characters not seen in any other Fire Emblem game. A crossover with the Dynasty Warriors series, Fire Emblem Warriors, was released for the New Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch in 2017. It was developed by Omega Force and Team Ninja. A second Warriors game, based on Three Houses, and titled Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes was announced in a Nintendo Direct on February 9, 2022 and released on June 24, 2022.
Characters from the Fire Emblem series have appeared in a number of other games as cameos or as part of crossovers. This includes multiple entries in the Super Smash Bros. series, beginning with protagonists Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Characters from the series also appeared in Intelligent Systems' strategy game Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. as optional characters unlocked via amiibo.
### Cancelled games
A Fire Emblem game was initially in development for the Nintendo 64 and its peripheral 64DD. Originally codenamed Fire Emblem 64, it was first revealed by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1997. Ultimately, due to poor sales for the 64DD and internal structural changes at Intelligent Systems, Fire Emblem 64 was cancelled in 2000 and development shifted to what would become Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. Work done for Fire Emblem 64 was incorporated into The Binding Blade.
An additional RTS-based game for the Wii was planned and would have been released after Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, but after trial and error and an unfocused development schedule, the project was cancelled. Intelligent Systems never planned a Fire Emblem game for the Wii U. Nintendo producer Hitoshi Yamagami said such a game would need to sell 700,000 copies to be profitable. A rumored Fire Emblem remake for the Nintendo 3DS was being developed by AlphaDream, but was cancelled following the company's bankruptcy surfaced in late 2019. According to the reports, it was one of the many video games that had been in development, but were ultimately scrapped for the platform, with many speculating those projects could be moved to the Nintendo Switch.
## Reception
Sales in Japan were the highest with Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light but progressively declined with future games, which sold 329,087; 324,699; 776,338; 498,216 and 106,108 copies respectively. As of 2002, total sales had reached over two million copies. Awakening topped the total sales of both Radiant Dawn and the Mystery of the Emblem remake in its first week. It went on to sell 2.35 million copies worldwide and become the best-selling Fire Emblem game in Western territories at the time.
In 2007, a Japanese public poll named Mystery of the Emblem as one of the country's All Time Top 100 video games. Speaking to USGamer, Massive Chalice creator Brad Muir commented on how Fire Emblem had influenced the game, referring to it as "[a] venerable strategy series", making positive reference to its gameplay and character relationships. In her review of Awakening, IGN'''s Audrey Drake said that "Far too few people have played the Fire Emblem series", calling it "[a] darling of the hardcore strategy RPG crowd - and one of the shining gems of the genre".
Several journalistic sites have cited its low notoriety in the west as an effect of Nintendo's sporadic localization efforts, along with its place in a niche game genre. At the same time, they have praised the series' gameplay, regularly noting its high difficulty and relationship mechanics. The series has been cited as an inspiration for later tactical role-playing games, with Gamasutra naming Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, Final Fantasy Tactics and the Disgaea series as being influenced by its design. In 2014, Destructoid writer Chris Carter praised the series' mechanics, and at the same time chose Mystery of the Emblem, Path of Radiance, and Awakening in his list of the five best games in the series. Awakening is generally cited as having brought the series more publicity and player attention outside of Japan.
## Legacy
### Tear Ring Saga lawsuit
After Kaga left Intelligent Systems, he founded a studio called Tirnanog and began development on a game titled Emblem Saga, a strategy role-playing game for the PlayStation. The game bore multiple similarities to the Fire Emblem series, and Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Tirnanog for copyright infringement. The first suit failed, and the court ruled in Tirnanog's favor. Nintendo filed a second lawsuit, and this time was awarded a cash settlement of ¥76 million. Nevertheless, Tirnanog and publisher Enterbrain were still allowed to publish the entry, though they changed its name to "Tear Ring Saga", and eventually developed a sequel. Nintendo attempted taking a third lawsuit to the Japanese Supreme Court in 2005, but the second ruling was upheld.
### In other media
A short, two episode original video animation series based on Mystery of the Emblem was released in 1996. These anime episodes were released in North America in 1998, five years before The Blazing Blade was localized, making them the first official Fire Emblem media to be released in the region. Nintendo produced Amiibo figures of several Fire Emblem characters; they are compatible with Fates, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Three Houses, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Manga based on the games have also been produced, including The Binding Blade, Awakening, and Engage. Two trading card games have been made with the Fire Emblem franchise: Fire Emblem: Trading Card Game, which was released from 2001–2006, and Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher), which was released in 2015 and was discontinued in late 2020 with the twenty second expansion pack being the last one.
## See also
- List of Fire Emblem video games
- Wars series, a modern military strategy series also developed by Intelligent Systems
- Super Robot Wars'' a tactical strategy role-playing game series also like Systems.
- List of Nintendo franchises
- List of Japanese role-playing game franchises |
11,298,576 | Utah State Route 313 | 1,136,765,911 | Utah state highway in San Juan and Grand Counties | [
"State highways in Utah",
"Utah Scenic Byways",
"Utah State Routes in Grand County, Utah",
"Utah State Routes in San Juan County, Utah"
] | State Route 313 (SR-313) is a 22.506-mile-long (36.220 km) state highway in San Juan and Grand Counties in the U.S. State of Utah. The highway has been designated the Dead Horse Point Mesa Scenic Byway. The highway is an access road for both the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. The highway is a toll road in Dead Horse Point State Park. Westbound traffic is charged a state park entrance fee at the park boundary.
The route was assigned north of Moab in the 1975 in place of SR-278, a proposed but never constructed access to Dead Horse Point. The original alignment of the highway featured steep grades and blind corners. The highway was completely rebuilt in the 1980s after sustaining damage while crews rebuilt the access road to Canyonlands National Park.
## Route description
The highway begins at the overlook in Dead Horse Point State Park's parking lot (22 miles south of Moab). Gaining its scenic byway designation, SR-313 heads northward, along the ridges of Dead Horse Point. The highway climbs in elevation, reaching a height of 6,000 feet (1,800 m). Soon after, all drivers exit the park and have to pay a toll. After the high peak at 6,000 feet (1,800 m), SR-313 heads slowly downward, continuing along the ridges in the park. There is an intersection with a local road, and the highway begins to turn to the northwest. The elevation along SR-313 fluctuates for several miles, until intersecting with Long Canyon Road. Long Canyon Road is a connector that heads through Long Canyon and intersects with SR-279. The route continues in a stretch of area known as the Big Flat, where it intersects the entrance to Canyonlands National Park. Soon after the westward turn, SR-313 intersects with Island in the Sky Road, a local road that heads southward from the main highway.
The Knoll, a nearby mountain, is visible as the highway makes a turn to the north. The route has left Dead Horse Point State Park by now, and progresses northward through Grand County. At the intersection with Little Canyon Road, SR-313 turns to the northwest once again. However, this pattern straightens out to a northward one. At Gemini Bridges Road, the route turns to the opposite direction, heading to the northwest. The highway continues along in this direction for some time, passing Mineral Bottom Road, and drops down in elevation. The route turns back to the north, and then northeast, until it makes a hairpin turn in the mountains, entering the South Fork of the Sevenmile Canyon. While traversing the canyon there are several view areas along the highway overlooking both Sevenmile canyon, Dead Horse Point, and two rock formations called the Monitor and Merrimac Butte, both named after warships in the American Civil War. Running along the canyon, SR-313 terminates at an intersection with U.S. Route 191 about 9 miles (14 km) north of Moab.
## History
With highways in and near Moab back in the 1960s limited to just two state-maintained highways, there was no state route built to access Dead Horse Point. The only two highways in the area were U.S. Route 160 (now U.S. Route 191) and State Route 128. There were two routes assigned in the direction of Dead Horse Point in the 1960s, SR-278 and SR-279. The route that SR-313 runs along was mapped by 1969, stretching all the way to Dead Horse Point as an unmarked county highway. Though SR-279 was completed in 1962, SR-278 was never constructed. In 1975, the proposal for SR-278 was cancelled. In its place, the Utah Department of Transportation assigned SR-313, assuming maintenance for what was local roads.
The original roadbed featured blind switchbacks and an 11% grade on the descent into Seven Mile canyon. The access road to Canyonlands National Park was rebuilt 1988, and the construction crews severely damaged SR-313 in the process. The highway was completely rebuilt, starting in 1989, to its modern form. The reconstruction reduced the maximum grade from 11% to 8% and re-graded the switchbacks to be on level ground to eliminate the blind corners.
## Major intersections |
883,533 | Stanton Drew stone circles | 1,165,775,687 | Neolithic henge in Somerset, England | [
"Archaeological sites in Somerset",
"Articles containing video clips",
"Bath and North East Somerset",
"Bronze Age sites in Somerset",
"Buildings and structures in Bath and North East Somerset",
"English Heritage sites in Somerset",
"Henges",
"History of Somerset",
"Neolithic settlements",
"Scheduled monuments in Bath and North East Somerset",
"Stone Age sites in England",
"Stone circles in England",
"Tourist attractions in Somerset"
] | The Stanton Drew stone circles are just outside the village of Stanton Drew in the English county of Somerset. The largest stone circle is the Great Circle, 113 metres (371 ft) in diameter and the second largest stone circle in Britain (after Avebury); it is considered to be one of the largest Neolithic monuments to have been built. The date of construction is not known, but is thought to be between 3000 and 2000 BCE, which places it in the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age. It was made a scheduled monument in 1982.
The Great Circle was surrounded by a ditch and is accompanied by smaller stone circles to the northeast and southwest. There is also a group of three stones, known as The Cove, in the garden of the local pub. Slightly further from the Great Circle is a single stone, known as Hautville's Quoit. Some of the stones are still vertical, but the majority are now recumbent, and some are no longer present.
The stone circles have been studied since John Aubrey's visit in 1664, and some excavations of the site were performed in the 18th century. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, geophysical surveys have confirmed the size of the stone circles and identified additional pits and postholes. The Cove has been shown to be around 1000 years older than the stone circles, and so date from 4000-3000 BCE. A variety of myths and legends about the stone circles have been recorded, including one about dancers at a celebration who have been turned to stone.
## Monument
The most famous feature is the Great Circle, the second largest stone circle in Britain (after Avebury). The stone circle is 113 metres (371 ft) in diameter and probably consisted of 30 stones, of which 27 survive today. It was recorded by both John Aubrey in 1664 and William Stukeley in 1723. The Great Circle probably was surrounded by the ditch (approximately 135 metres (443 ft) outer diameter — now filled in) of a henge. The North East Circle is 30 metres (98 ft) in diameter and probably consisted of 10 or more stones, of which 8 survive today. The South West Circle is 43 metres (141 ft) in diameter, and has 12 stones surviving today. An avenue extends to the northeast of the Great Circle towards the River Chew and a second avenue meets it from the north eastern stone circle.
A (now recumbent) standing stone called Hautville's Quoit lies across the river to the north on an alignment with the centres of the Great Circle and the southern circle. It is a large stone close to Hautville Quoit Farm, recumbent since at least the mid 17th century but assumed to have originally been upright. Described by Stukeley in 1723 as being 13 feet (4.0 m) long, it is now about half that length, Leslie Grinsell suggesting that fragments have occasionally been broken off for mending the roads. Stukeley also referred to the presence of a second stone.
Further to the west is a cove of two standing stones with a recumbent slab between them, which can be found in the garden of the Druid's Arms public house. All are of different heights, the stone to the north east being 4.4 metres (14 ft) the south western 3.1 metres (10 ft), and the north eastern 1.4 metres (4 ft 7 in). The stones of The Cove are mineralogically different from those in the nearby stone circles. A long barrow burial chamber has been found under the stones of The Cove. It is thought that this predates the erection of the stones by approximately a thousand years.
## Excavations
In 1740 the site was surveyed and mapped by architect, freemason and antiquarian John Wood, the Elder, who noted the different stones used. He suggested the layout was based on the Pythagorean planetary system, and thought it was used as the Druid's "University". The number and positioning of the stones according to Wood, corresponded to the Pythagorean planetary system of worlds, with three of the circles corresponding to the solar, lunar and Earth cycles. This deeply influenced his plans for a circle of 30 houses called The Circus in Bath, an ambitious architectural project completed by his son John Wood, the Younger.
When one of the stones fell in the mid 17th century, some human bones were discovered accompanied by an object described as a "round bell, like a large horse-bell". The burial date and the purpose of the bell-like object are unknown.
## Geophysical survey
Geophysical work by English Heritage in 1997 revealed a surrounding ditch and nine concentric rings of postholes within the stone circle. More than four hundred pits, 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) across and at 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) intervals, stood in rings at the site. The ditch is 135 metres (443 ft) in diameter and about 7 metres (23 ft) wide. A 40 metres (130 ft) wide entrance was visible on the north east side. No surrounding bank has been identified although the site awaits excavation.
The geophysical work transformed the traditional view of Stanton Drew as being a surface monument and the Great Circle is now seen as being one of the largest and most impressive Neolithic monuments to have been built. Analogous with the circles of postholes at sites at Woodhenge, Durrington Walls and The Sanctuary, it is thought that the pits would have held posts which would have either been freestanding or lintelled as they could not have supported a roof at that size. The postholes in nine concentric rings held posts up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) in diameter indicating the use of ancient trees which were sacred to the druids.
Nearby and to the north east is a smaller ring of eight stones in the centre of which the geophysical work identified four further pits. A third ring of twelve stones, measuring 43 metres (141 ft) wide, stands to the south west.
A fluxgate gradiometer survey in July 2009 investigated standing stones in the garden of the Druids Arms public house known as The Cove, which showed that the stones date from nearly a thousand years before the stone circles. The conclusion from the study was that these upright stones are likely to have been the portals or façade of a chambered tomb.
In 2010 a further survey was carried out by Bath and Camerton Archaeological Society and the Bath and North East Somerset Archaeological Officer. This involved high data density magnetometer, resistance pseudosection profiles and photographic surveys showed a new henge entrance and further detail of post holes.
## Myths about Stanton Drew
Being a henge and stone circle site, astronomical alignments are a common theory to explain the positioning of the stones at Stanton Drew. Similarly, there are less well evidenced theories relating to ley lines.
One theory suggests the site was dedicated to funerary ritual. As a sacred site this is to be expected, but also then to be host to other significant events of the local community such as weddings and religious ceremonies. There are several local traditional stories about the megalithic complex. The best known tells how a wedding party was turned to stone: the party was held throughout Saturday, but a man clothed in black (the Devil in disguise) came and started to play his violin for the merrymakers after midnight, continuing into holy Sunday morning. When dawn broke, everybody had been turned to stone by the Demon: so the stone circles are the dancers, the avenues are the fiddlers and The Cove is the bride and the groom with the drunken churchman at their feet. They are still awaiting the Devil who promised to come back someday and play again for them.
Wade and Wade in their 1929 book "Somerset" suggest:
> One of the curiosities of the place is Hautville's Quoit, which, to save time, should also be looked for on approaching the village. (Enter iron gate on L. a few hundred yards before reaching tollhouse, and search backwards along the hedge bordering road.) It is a large stone, which legend says was hurled by Sir J. Hautville (whose effigy is in Chew Magna Church) from the top of Maes Knoll. The famous "druidical remains" will be found near the church. About 50 yards from the entrance to the churchyard take a lane to the L. leading to an orchard: the stones will be observed in the field beyond (admission free, but field closed on Sundays). The "remains" consist of three contiguous circles. The first is of considerable area, and is marked out by twelve large stones, only three of which remain upright; a smaller circle of eight stones lies just beyond; and a third circle of eight will be found farther away in an orchard on the R. The two larger circles have each a few scattered stones thrown off as a kind of avenue. Standing apart from the circles is a curious group of three stones huddled together in a garden abutting on the churchyard, from which they can be easily seen by looking over the W. boundary wall. These mystic rings probably had the same origin (whatever that may have been) as that of the more famous circle at Avebury in Wiltshire, with which they should be compared. The proximity of Maes Knoll is comparable with that of Silbury Hill. A ridiculous theory suggests that the monoliths were erected as a trophy after one of Arthur's victories. Arthur is connected to the site because a site in the nearby village of Camerley is reputed to be the location of Camelot in an oral tradition. The stones are of a reddish hue similar to that described in the Arthurian legend as connected to Camelot and to a sword that was seen in a stone near to Camelot. The country story is that a local wedding once took place on a Sunday, when the frivolous guests would insist on winding up with a dance. The penalty for a "Sabbath" thus "profaned" was the prompt transformation of the bridal party into stone. Hence the local appellation of "The fiddlers and the maids". |
58,048,429 | Lotsa de Casha | 1,156,262,088 | Book by Madonna | [
"2005 children's books",
"American picture books",
"Books by Madonna",
"Children's books about dogs",
"Children's fiction books"
] | Lotsa de Casha is a picture book written by American entertainer Madonna. It was released on June 7, 2005, by Callaway Arts & Entertainment. The book was written for readers aged six and up. The book's titular character is an Italian greyhound who learns the moral "money can't buy happiness". Madonna drew from her life when writing the story, from denouncing materialism to her motherhood. Portuguese artist Rui Paes illustrated the book, and modeled his illustrations on Renaissance and Baroque painting, and the works of painter Caravaggio.
Callaway hosted a party for the book release at New York's Bergdorf Goodman store, where Madonna read the story aloud. She also made promotional appearances on television talk shows and gave magazine interviews. Lotsa de Casha debuted at number three on The New York Times Best Seller list. It received mixed reviews from book critics, who found some humor in the story, but felt it did not gel with Paes' illustrations, which received positive feedback.
## Synopsis
In a distant land lived a wealthy merchant called Lotsa de Casha. He had everything money could buy, however Lotsa was still unhappy. So he sought out the opinion of all the well-known doctors of the land regarding his misery, but failed to find an answer. One day, his driver told him about a wise old man who lived faraway in an ancient city. Lotsa travels to the wise man who explained that the secret to his happiness was in sharing his wealth with others and putting them before himself. Lotsa was stunned since he had always put forth his own needs first, and became skeptical about the man's words.
While exploring the ancient city, Lotsa saw a man slogging to change the wheel of his car by himself. But Lotsa did not stop to help and continued walking. He soon got lost and was robbed by two thieves who left him penniless. A distraught Lotsa cried for help to a passing driver and realized it was the same man he had seen earlier. The man, who called himself Mister Forfilla, agreed to give him a ride back to his house, but in exchange Lotsa had to work for him. Throughout their journey Forfilla ordered Lotsa de Casha to transport an assortment of things—including chairs, tables, clothing—to people's homes, who all appreciated the gifts. Forfilla explained Lotsa the same thing as the wise man, that sharing his wealth was the key to happiness.
One night as he was driving the carriage, Lotsa was able to put someone else's need before his own by giving his blanket to a beggar who needed it. They finally reached Lotsa's palace and Forfilla confessed that it was his old home before Lotsa had bought it. Lotsa invited Forfilla inside for lunch, being a changed man now.
## Background and writing
In 2003, Madonna signed a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment for a series of five children's books. She explained that each book dealt "with issues that all children confront... Hopefully there is a lesson that will help kids turn painful or scary situations into learning experiences". During the promotion of the fourth book in the series, The Adventures of Abdi, Callaway announced the plans of publishing the fifth and final book titled Lotsa de Casha. The press release stated that the characters will be portrayed as animals with the central character, Lotsa de Casha, shown as an Italian greyhound in the style of Aesop's Fables. It was written for readers aged six and up with the moral that "money can't buy happiness". Madonna herself described Lotsa de Casha "as a story that claims that we can all resist selfishness and do something good for ourselves and for others". She confirmed that all profits gained from the sales of the book would be donated to charity.
With Grazia magazine, Madonna explained that writing Lotsa de Casha was ironic since she felt it was a "parable of her life". The story reflected her own journey from being labeled a "material girl" to being a mother. Like the titular character—described by the Associated Press as "a wealthy Scroogelike greyhound"—the singer felt that she had changed from being materialistic. "I spent 15 years of my life thinking about myself, thinking about everything from the point of view of: 'What is in it for me?'," Madonna pondered. Accepting herself as someone "privileged", she realized that "ultimately material things won't bring you happiness. Most very wealthy people are not happy. Why? They have too much of something they don't need, and they don't share it with other people." Lotsa de Casha was dedicated to her then-husband Guy Ritchie since he inspired her.
## Design and illustrations
According to Communication Arts, the calligraphy of the book was done by Julian Waters with Japanese novelist Toshiya Masuda as the art director and Krupa Jhaveri as the book designer. The images were illustrated by Portuguese painter Rui Paes, who was contacted by Callaway after seeing his painting in The New York Times Magazine of a Singerie in Norway. Having established that he would maintain the secrecy of the project, Callaway sent him the story-draft, based on which Paes developed a small batch of sketches. Among them were cartoon-like paintings based on anthropomorphic animals by French caricaturist J. J. Grandville. The publishers liked them and the idea of the main characters depicted as animals were carried on for the book.
Paes sketched various aspect of the characters which helped him in understanding the different nuances the story presented. It took him almost two years to finish the illustrations with the majority of the work being accomplished in the final twelve months. Paes worked 12–14 hours per day uninterruptedly everyday which resulted him getting back pain and Callaway sending him an Aeron chair to aid him. Madonna worked closely with Paes, supplying him the material to be included in the book. She suggested he should travel to Siena and Rome for inspiration, and sent him drawings by her children for inclusion. The artist researched on Renaissance and Baroque painting for further inspiration, including the works of painter Caravaggio. Paes recalled the singer became the inspiration for the image of the wise old man's wife in the story. The animal characters were given as much human qualities and emotions as possible, with hand and body expressions to convey. Paes removed two images from the final illustrations, feeling they were inadequate.
## Publication and reception
The book was released on June 7, 2005, at a party hosted by retailer Bergdorf Goodman at New York's Fifth Avenue. It was attended by socialites and artists with signed copies of Lotsa de Casha available to purchase for \$75, proceedings going to UNICEF. Attendees were dressed up in 18th century garments, depicting characters from the book. According to Reuters, the book reading at Bergdorf Goodman "drew puzzled responses from the group of about 25 kids, who appeared to have difficulty grasping the book's morals". Other promotions included book signing at Borders Time Warner Center and reading sessions at New York libraries. The singer read out to the students of Saint Ann's School from Brooklyn Heights, and handed out autographed copies. Tatiana Delgiannakis from New York Post noted that Madonna employed an Italian accent while reading aloud Lotsa's parts. Madonna appeared on NBC's Today show and ABC's The View to talk about the book, and gave interview in Ladies' Home Journal magazine for its July 2005 issue.
Lotsa de Casha debuted at number three on The New York Times Best Seller list. Elaine Stuart from Parenting found humor in the names Madonna gave in the book, like naming Lotsa's castle as "Flasha de Casa" and the mountain on which it is situated as the "Muchadougha Mountains", details she believed would make the readers laugh. Roy Blatchford from Books for Keeps liked the story and rated it four-out-of-five stars. He said that the story avoided any cliche plots, "creates a number of original cameos and bounces along with humour and lively dialogue, clearly influenced by [Madonna]'s Italian New York background." Blatchford complimented Paes' images describing them as "striking" and the design as "eye-catching" thus making Lotsa de Casha "a first-class picture book to grace any library". A review in Publishers Weekly called the story as "artless fable" but believed that Paes' illustrations improved it with the "tongue-in-cheek homage to classic Baroque painting". The reviewer found that in contrast to the grand images, the story appeared simple and the accented edge on Lotsa's words were "uncharacteristic of a rich gentleman". Delgiannakis complimented the "beautifully illustrated" images in the book but found it to be littered with "preachy factoids" like "Just because something is expensive, doesn’t mean it's worth it". Boyd Tonkin from The Independent panned the release, calling it "howlingly egotistical" and a vehicle of "personal gratification" for Madonna, "rather than a virtue in itself". Ilene Cooper of Booklist said that like many other celebrities-turned-authors, Madonna mistakenly thought that she could write books for children. |
1,941,510 | Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know | 1,173,733,308 | 2001 single by Britney Spears | [
"1990s ballads",
"1999 songs",
"2001 singles",
"Britney Spears songs",
"Jive Records singles",
"Music videos directed by Herb Ritts",
"Number-one singles in Romania",
"Pop ballads",
"Song recordings produced by Robert John \"Mutt\" Lange",
"Songs written by Robert John \"Mutt\" Lange",
"Songs written by Shania Twain"
] | "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again (2000). It was released on March 12, 2001, by Jive Records as the fourth and final single from the album. After meeting with producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange in Switzerland, Spears recorded several songs for the album, including "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know", which she considered one of her favorites on the album. Additional lyrics were written by guitar player Keith Scott and country pop singer Shania Twain. The pop ballad speaks of a woman wanting to hear her boyfriend say that he loves her, and is sonically similar to David Bowie and Iggy Pop's song "China Girl" (1983).
"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who considered it a good break from the album's genre and praised Spears' vocals, comparing them to those of Twain and Stevie Wonder. The song attained moderate commercial success, reaching number one in Romania, and peaking inside the top ten in Austria, Europe and Switzerland, while reaching top twenty positions in many European countries. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was only released for mainstream radio in the United States; therefore, it failed to chart on any major music chart in the country.
An accompanying music video, directed by Herb Ritts, portrays Spears in love scenes with her on-screen boyfriend, played by French model Brice Durand. The singer's real-life boyfriend at the time Justin Timberlake, however, was said to be annoyed at the kissing scenes, while Spears' mother, Lynne, objected to the explicit sexuality of the original cut of the video. Parts of the video were edited before its release to the public on March 2, 2001. As part of promotion for the song, Spears performed it at TRL, Saturday Night Live, and The View. It has also been included on four of her concert tours. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was nominated at 2002 Kids' Choice Awards for "Favorite Song". Spears has named "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" one of her favorite songs from her career.
## Background
In 1999, Spears began work on her second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again (2000), in Sweden and Switzerland. After meeting with Robert Lange in Switzerland, the singer started to record several songs for the album, including "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know". After finishing the track, Spears revealed in an interview with Billboard that "with the first album, I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging. This song is incredible. It's going to surprise people in the best way." "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was written and produced by Robert Lange, while additional lyrics were written by his then-wife Shania Twain and Keith Scott. Spears recorded her vocals for the song between November and December 1999 at Robert Lange's and Shania Twain's chateau in La-Tour-de Peilz, Switzerland, and it was later mixed by Nigel Green and programmed by Cory Churko, Kevin Churko and Richard Meyer. During a live concert at Hawaii, included on her second home video release Live and More! (2000), Spears said the song is one of her favorites on Oops!... I Did It Again. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was released on January 17, 2001 as the final single from the album.
## Composition
"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" is a pop ballad that lasts for three minutes and 51 seconds. The song is composed in the key of E major and is set in the time signature of common time with a tempo of 76 beats per minute, and Spears' vocal range spans from the low note of F<sub>3</sub> to the high key of D<sub>5</sub>. A NME staff reviewer said that the song takes the riff of David Bowie and Iggy Pop's "China Girl" (1983) and "puts it over schmaltzy cocktail-hour bass and love film strings". Tom Terrell of MTV, however, compared the riff to the one of A Taste of Honey's cover of "Sukiyaki" (1981). Terrell further commented that the "Eagles-esque chorus" features "an '80s hair band power ballad groove" where "Britney soul-maxes with a vocal that channels both Stevie Wonder (via "Knocks Me Off My Feet") and Shania herself."
Stephanie McGrath of Jam! said the song is "a nice break from the 'baby babys', 'yeah yeahs' and insistent drum beats that pepper the other songs" of Oops! [sic]. David Veitch of the Calgary Sun compared the backing vocals to "nicely old-fashioned shoo-be-doo-doos". Lyrically, "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" alludes to how Spears wants to hear her boyfriend say he needs her all the way and that he loves her. Spears considered it a "pure and delicate" song. "It's just one of those songs that pull you in. That's why I like it, and I like singing it as well", she continued. "I think they wrote it 'specially for me, because the lyrics of the song, if you really listen... they're more of what I can relate to, 'cause they're kind of young lyrics, I think. I don't think Shania would probably sing some of the words that I'm saying."
## Critical response
"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" received mostly positive reviews from contemporary critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic deemed it "sweetly sentimental" and akin to the other ballads on Oops!... I Did It Again, while a Rhapsody review considered them "perfectly constructed ballads". Stephanie McGrath of Jam! called the song "the best showcase of Spears' talents". A NME staff reviewer considered the track "absolutely frightening", with Tracy E. Hopkins of Barnes & Noble deeming "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" a "polished ballad", and praising Shania Twain for the songwriting. Billboard journalist Michael Paoletta noted that Spears may not have the vocal range of "colleagues Jessica Simpson and Christina Aguilera, but she does have an instantly recognizable style-and Oops!... indicates that she's developing a soulful edge and emotional depth that can't be conjured with a glass-shattering note", further commenting that this can be confirmed "on the hitworthy, Shania Twain-penned ballad 'Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know'".
While reviewing 2011's Femme Fatale Tour, Jocelyn Vena of MTV considered the song, along with "Toxic", "old-school jams". Bustle's Alex Kristelis highlighted its "epic" chorus while the staff from Entertainment Weekly called it "a pretty mid tempo melody", and placed it at number 84 on their ranking of Spears' songs. For Pink News' Mayer Nissim, "it's not that Britney can’t do slow tracks, but her vocals don’t always have the energy to push them", citing "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" as an example. Nicholas Hautman, from Us Weekly, concluded that "Spears showcases her soulful, unwavering vocals on this well-executed ballad". "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was nominated at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for "Favorite Song" in 2002.
## Commercial performance
"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was not commercially available in the United States, and was sent only to mainstream radio on April 2, 2001. Therefore, the track failed to appear on any major music chart in the United States. However, "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was successful in Europe, debuting and peaking at number nine on the European Hot 100 Singles on the chart issue dated April 14, 2001. The song was also able to reach the top ten in Austria and Switzerland, while attaining top 20 positions in Belgium (Flanders), Finland, Ireland, Norway and Sweden. In the United Kingdom, it debuted and peaked at number 12 on April 7, 2001, exiting the UK Singles Chart after eight weeks. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" achieved commercial success in Romania, where it reached number one and was the third best-selling single of 2001. Despite reaching number 14 in Denmark, the song was later certified gold by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), for shipping over 4,000 units of the single in the country. The single was not released in Australia; instead, it was included as a bonus second disc of the limited edition of Oops!... I Did It Again released in the country.
## Music video
The music video for "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was directed by American photographer Herb Ritts, and shot at Key Biscayne in Miami, Florida in the last week of January 2001. Spears revealed she was inspired by Janet Jackson's video for "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" (1990) to select Ritts as the video's director. According to Ritts, the singer "wanted to do something fresh. There was one outfit, no dancing, and that meant that it boiled down to her. She really had to act the song, and she was very impressive." He also revealed that the video was set at "a funky beach shack" similar to the videos for Madonna's "Cherish" and Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" (both from 1989). "The story is, pretty much, Britney longing for him to tell her the words", said Ritts, who was impressed with the chemistry between the singer and her on-screen boyfriend, played by French model Brice Durand. Spears' real-life boyfriend at the time Justin Timberlake, however, "was said to be miffed at Spears' kissing scenes with French model", according to Jennifer Vineyard of MTV. Spears' mother, Lynne, also considered the original music video too racy at the time because it contained sexual material. Parts of the video were edited before its release to the public.
The music video debuted at number one on MTV's TRL on March 2, 2001. The video begins with Spears and her boyfriend in a hammock. Cuts of her cuddling with her love interest beside a fire are also included. We also see her and her boyfriend on the seashore doing a love scene. Inside a tiki hut, Spears exclaims the words she wants her boyfriend to know. In the second half of the video, she is seen on a tree where her boyfriend reaches for her. There are also scenes where she is running on the beach and her boyfriend is chasing after her. Spears wears only a bikini top and a pair of cutoff shorts during the whole video, going barefoot throughout. The music video was considered by Spears to be "the funnest [sic] video I've ever done." An alternate footage of the video can be found on the DVD of Spears' first compilation album Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (2004). Vineyard described the footage as the one that "makes the most use of Britney's body of work, with the spaceman from "Oops!... I Did It Again", an opening door from "My Prerogative" and one love interest from "Toxic" all making cameos".
## Live performances
The first performance of "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was on March 8, 2000, during the Crazy 2k Tour in Pensacola, Florida, where Spears appeared onstage sitting on a magic carpet and flew over the audience while singing the song. After releasing her second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again, Spears performed the song on the American music show TRL, on Saturday Night Live and on The View. She also performed the song live on the Oops!... I Did It Again Tour. After performing "Sometimes", she climbed the staircase and briefly spoke to the audience before moving into the performance of the song, for which she wore a long white dress trimmed with boa feathers. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was performed also on the Dream Within a Dream Tour in 2001 and 2002. The performance consisted of Spears singing the song on an elevated platform wearing an evening gown with artificial snow falling from the ceiling, while two of her dancers performed a routine.
Almost ten years later, "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was performed by Spears at select dates of the Femme Fatale Tour, in 2011. The performance consists of Spears sitting on a swing singing the song, whilst a male dancer dances beneath her, at one point attaching himself by his feet to the swing whilst midair. Shirley Halperin of The Hollywood Reporter named it one of the best performances of the show along with "Piece of Me" and "3", stating that "ironically enough, [they] were the ones with fewest frills." In a review of the special broadcast by American premium television channel Epix of the tour, Jocelyn Vena of MTV summarized her thoughts about the performance saying, "It's rare these days to see Britney Spears show her soft side, but she takes a break from the nonstop, fist-pumping music during the spectacle that is the Femme Fatale Tour and kicks it old-school, showing us she still has the heart and soul to bust out a power ballad."
## Track listings
- European CD single
1. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (album version) – 3:50
2. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Hex Hector Radio Mix) – 4:01
- European CD maxi single
1. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (album version) – 3:50
2. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Hex Hector Radio Mix) – 4:01
3. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Hex Hector Club Mix) – 10:12
4. "Stronger" (MacQuayle Mix Show Edit) – 5:21
5. "Stronger" (Pablo La Rosa's Transformation) – 7:21
- French CD maxi single
1. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (album version) – 3:50
2. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Hex Hector Radio Mix) – 4:01
3. "Stronger" (MacQuayle Mix Show Edit) – 5:21
- Japanese CD maxi single
1. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (album version) – 3:50
2. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Hex Hector Radio Mix) – 4:01
3. "Oops!... I Did It Again" (Rodney Jerkins Remix) – 3:07
4. "Lucky" (Jack D. Elliot Radio Mix) – 3:27
5. "Stronger" (Miguel Migs Vocal Edit) – 3:42
6. "Oops!... I Did It Again" (Ospina's Deep Edit) – 3:24
7. "Oops!... I Did It Again" (Instrumental) – 3:29
- UK CD maxi single and cassette single
1. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (album version) – 3:50
2. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Hex Hector Radio Mix) – 4:01
3. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Hex Hector Club Mix) – 10:12
- UK limited-edition CD maxi single
1. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (album version) – 3:50
2. "Oops!... I Did It Again" (Riprock 'n' Alex G. Oops! We Remixed It Again!) [Radio Mix] – 3:54
3. "Stronger" (MacQuayle Mix Show Edit) – 5:21
4. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (enhanced video) – 3:57
- 12-inch vinyl
1. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Hex Hector Club Mix) – 10:12
2. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Hex Hector Dub) – 8:00
3. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Thunderpuss Club Mix) – 10:02
4. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Thunderpuss Dub) – 9:04
5. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" (Azza Remix) – 3:49
## Credits and personnel
Credits for "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" are adapted from Oops!... I Did It Again liner notes.
Technical
- Recorded at Mutt Lange's and Shania Twain's chateau in La-Tour-de Peilz, Switzerland.
- Mixed by Nigel Green for Out Of Pocket Productions, Ltd.
Personnel
- Britney Spears – lead vocals
- Robert Lange – background vocals, songwriting, production
- Shania Twain – songwriting
- Keith Scott – songwriting
- Kevin Churko – programming
- Cory Churko – programming
- Richard Meyer – programming
- Michel Gallone – assistant recording, mix engineering
- Chris Trevett – vocal engineering
- Paul Oliveira – assistant vocal engineering
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications
## Release history
## See also
- List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s |
7,439,689 | Marvel Trading Card Game | 1,173,408,429 | Video game for Nintendo DS, Windows, and PlayStation Portable | [
"1st Playable Productions games",
"2007 video games",
"Digital collectible card games",
"Engine Software games",
"Konami games",
"Multiplayer and single-player video games",
"Nintendo DS games",
"PlayStation Portable games",
"Vicious Cycle Software games",
"Vicious Engine games",
"Video games based on Marvel Comics",
"Video games developed in the United States",
"Video games scored by Jason Graves",
"Video games scored by Rod Abernethy",
"Windows games"
] | Marvel Trading Card Game is a video game for the Nintendo DS, Windows, and PlayStation Portable. It was developed by Vicious Cycle Software and 1st Playable Productions and published by Konami. The game is based on Upper Deck Entertainment's Marvel Comics-based collectible card game, and was released across all three platforms in several regions in 2007.
Marvel Trading Card Game is a virtual card game in which the player chooses to be either a superhero or supervillain in single-player mode. Multiplayer modes are also available. The game follows the rules laid out in Upper Deck's VS System, used in card games across several franchises including Marvel, DC Comics, and Hellboy.
The game received mixed reviews from critics. It was considered faithful to the physical version, but reviewers commented that it was not accessible to players who weren't already fans of collectible card games. The handheld versions were criticized for presenting a visual format inappropriate for small screens.
## Gameplay
Marvel Trading Card Game is a collectible card game with similarities to other card games, like Magic: The Gathering. The game was designed to portray the VS System rules exactly the same as the physical version, created by baseball card manufacturer Upper Deck Entertainment. Players start each match with a premade deck of cards, from which they draw a number of cards to form a hand. Cards in the hand can be subsequently put into play, and each card represents a character or ability that is played against similar cards possessed by the opponent.
Matches are formatted into segmented turns during which players can act. Each turn a player draws two cards to add to their hand, and cards in a hand can be put onto the playing field. The playing field is made of up individual rows where cards can be placed; there are six rows for each player. Cards are played by spending "resource points" which act as a form of energy. The more powerful a card is, the more resource points are required to play it. Resource points are gained by specifically assigning any card in the hand to a resource row, and only one card can be made into a resource each turn. More powerful cards, such as Magneto, require a higher available pool of resources and so can only be played in later turns in a match. Once put into play from the player's hand, a card can be used to provide a benefit to the player or to attack the opponent. Types of cards include characters, such as Onslaught and Namor; each character has an attack and defense rating that represents how much damage they can inflict and sustain. Other cards include locations and equipment, which can be used to boost the statistics and abilities of characters, and "plot twists" which encompass a wide range of effects, such as forcing an opponent to forfeit some of the cards in their hand. Each player has a life bar that is depleted with each successful attack by an opponent, and a player loses the match when their life bar is empty.
Whenever a card in play is activated or otherwise used, such as resources, it is referred to as "tapped" and is generally unavailable for further use until the next turn. Unlike Magic, however, characters can attack and defend in the same turn, unless they are "stunned" in combat. Damage is calculated by adding the difference between an attacking character's attack and the defending character's defense, plus the resource cost of the card. Any damage not absorbed by a defending character is applied to the player's life total. The location of a card on the playing field can affect its statistics; in order to attack, characters further away from the opponent must possess a projectile weapon or the ability to fly, for instance. Adjacent characters with a matching team affiliation within the Marvel universe can also reinforce one another's attack and defense, such as the Spider Friends and X-Men. Cards activating an ability can be countered by the opponent, and these abilities and counters combine to form a "chain" that dictates the order in which their effects are applied.
### Single-player
Marvel Trading Card Game's single-player mode allows the player to choose one of two different campaigns; one for heroes and one for villains. Both campaigns are based around the Sentinels. Each campaign contains six chapters, with each chapter represented by a series of card matches. The chapters are different for heroes and villains with the exception of the final chapter. Some matches have additional requirements for victory beyond reducing an opponent's health to zero. Completing missions awards the player booster packs and virtual money that can be used to purchase additional cards in the in-game card shop.
### Multiplayer
Each version of the game offers multiplayer support. The PC version allows players to play over the internet or a local area network. Players can trade cards among one another and participate in matches and tournaments, some of which were sponsored by Konami. PSP owners can play Marvel Trading Card Game with the console's local wireless "ad-hoc" mode or online against other PSP and PC players. The DS version can be used for both local- and internet-based two-player games, but is incompatible for tournament use. Cards earned in the single-player campaign cannot be used in multiplayer games, but they were available for purchase with actual money in an online store until Konami suspended the service.
## Development
In August 2005, video game publisher Konami acquired an exclusive license to make games based on Upper Deck's Marvel collectible card game. Konami had published previous titles based on card games, such as the Yu-Gi-Oh! series. Marvel Trading Card Game was formally announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game convention in May 2006. Konami explained that the game would use Upper Deck's "VS System" rules and would be available for the DS, PSP, and PC consoles. It was to have both single-player and multiplayer modes for all three systems, and the PC and PSP versions would be cross-compatible. Konami promised that it would host online tournaments, complete with prizes. The PSP and PC versions were developed by Vicious Cycle Software, and the DS version was outsourced to New York-based designer 1st Playable Productions.
From the beginning of development, Vicious Cycle wanted players on all three consoles to be able to play against each other online. This option was ultimately not implemented for the DS. Lead designer Dave Ellis said "...development time and platform limitations didn't permit our DS developers to pursue that option, so the DS version was ultimately limited to Wi-Fi and online play with other DS players." The PSP and PC versions allow players to use the same matchmaking system, and the game's code is linked so that if one platform is patched, the other must be as well. Players with a PC can download and use the online component of the game for free.
The plot in the single-player mode of Marvel Trading Card Game was composed by Marvel writer John Layman, and the cutscenes were drawn by comic artists like Keron Grant and Pat Olliffe. Early in the development process, the design team had considered portraying the player's avatar as a character within the game's story, but this idea was eventually discarded, and the game does not explain the player's role. The plot, which revolves around the group of robotic enemies of the X-Men known as Sentinels, was created because in real life, competitive play in the Marvel card game community was focused on Sentinel decks around the time of Marvel Trading Card Game's development. Around 300 separate decks were created by the design team for the single-player mode, and AI opponents use a more challenging deck if they are played against more than once.
The game contains over 1,100 cards, and includes cards from select expansion sets in the physical version, like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. PC and PSP owners can download the X-Men expansion set online for free. Over four hundred characters are represented, with over a hundred as specific entries in the story mode. Artwork for cards was provided by artists such as Alex Garner and Adam Kubert. Whenever a player completes a chapter in the story mode, they are awarded a five-card booster pack. The game includes a deck editor that allows players to create and modify decks as they see fit.
Marvel Trading Card Game was released for the PSP on February 27, 2007 in North America, June 8 in Europe, and July 6 in Australia. The DS version was released on May 22 in North America, July 25 in Europe, and on August 3 in Australia. The PC version was released on June 8 in Europe and July 3 in North America, and included a limited edition.
### Online community
Online matchmaking and the card store were opened in tandem with the PSP version's North American release. PC players used the same services when their version was released. The matchmaking service, the website, store, and other online features were maintained by Agora Games, a gaming company that specializes in online communities. Konami offered players sanctioned tournaments and downloadable card packs. On March 12, 2008, Konami announced that it was closing down the website's forums and the online store. Matchmaking and online play would continue to be available to the public, but all cards would be made available for free to all accounts.
> As we pass our one year anniversary, Konami has decided to transition the site to a free service. All cards in all accounts will be made available, and we will continue the service as long as there is a strong desire for it from the community.
## Reception
Reception of Marvel Trading Card Game across all three platforms was mixed. The game was compared to other collectible card games such as Pokémon, Magic, and Munchkin. Reviewers were pleased with the game's representation of the VS System rules, but felt that it was less accessible to players who weren't familiar with the physical version. Several reviews referred to the gameplay as addictive; IGN's Hilary Goldstein said "I have to admit, I am somewhat addicted to the Marvel Trading Card Game. It's not a great game by any measure, but it does an excellent job of tapping into the collector's mentality of comic-book fans."
The game's difficulty, especially the complexity of the VS System ruleset, was described as a potential barrier for gamers. PALGN said "Even though there are a handful of in-game tutorials, they aren't entirely utilised efficiently as they're basically just a big slab of text making the game less friendly towards a wider audience." GamesRadar's Eric Bratcher said "If you aren't familiar with the source, get ready for a very steep learning curve." One X-Play reviewer commented that the game's tutorial "might go down in history as the worst in-game tutorial ever created," and another said that gamers who would be most interested in the video game would already be avid players of the physical version.
On the handheld versions, many reviewers complained that Marvel Trading Card Game's layout made it difficult to play, as there wasn't enough room on the small screens for the playing field of a match. IGN referred to the presentation and visuals as "abysmal". GameSpot described the game's portrayal of plot twist chains as "an alien tax return". The text on individual cards on the PSP version was considered difficult to read, but the DS format of holding the console sideways to play was praised.
Reviewers praised the gameplay options available to players, although GameZone described the story mode as "bland" and IGN called it "too long for its own good". Multiplayer gameplay was well received. GameSpot called the multiplayer "surprisingly solid" and Pocket Gamer described the choice of online modes as "a raft of pleasing multiplayer options." IGN said of the PSP version "Though MTCG's single-player is fairly deep and enjoyable, the focus is on multiplayer ... It's only through the infrastructure online mode that you can access the aspects of MTCG that make it worth the \$30 purchase." |
978,860 | You Really Got Me | 1,172,506,572 | 1964 single by the Kinks | [
"1964 singles",
"1964 songs",
"1978 debut singles",
"Arista Records singles",
"British garage rock songs",
"Number-one singles in New Zealand",
"Protopunk songs",
"Pye Records singles",
"Reprise Records singles",
"Song recordings produced by Shel Talmy",
"Song recordings produced by Ted Templeman",
"Songs written by Ray Davies",
"The Kinks songs",
"UK Singles Chart number-one singles",
"Van Halen songs",
"Warner Records singles"
] | "You Really Got Me" is a song written by Ray Davies for English rock band the Kinks. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two song versions were recorded, with the second performance used for the final single. Although it was rumoured that future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page had performed the song's guitar solo, the myth has since been proven false.
"You Really Got Me" was built around power chords (perfect fifths and octaves) and heavily influenced later rock musicians, particularly in the genres of heavy metal and punk rock. Built around a guitar riff played by Dave Davies, the song's lyrics were described by Dave as "a love song for street kids".
"You Really Got Me" was released in the UK on 4 August 1964 by Pye Records as the group's third single, and reached number one on the Record Retailer chart the following month, remaining there for two weeks. It was released in the US on 2 September by Reprise Records. The song became the group's breakthrough hit. It established them as one of the top British Invasion acts in the United States, reaching number seven later in the year. "You Really Got Me" was later included on the Kinks' debut album, Kinks. American rock band Van Halen adapted the song for their 1978 self-titled debut album; it was released as their first single and peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
## Background
"You Really Got Me" was written by Ray Davies, the Kinks' vocalist and main songwriter, sometime between 9 and 12 March 1964. Created on the piano in the front room of the Davies' home, the song was stylistically very different from the finished product, being much lighter and somewhat jazz-oriented. Ray said of the song's writing, "When I came up with ['You Really Got Me'] I hadn't been writing songs very long at all. It was one of the first five I ever came up with."
Davies said that he had been inspired to write the song one night during his college days playing with the Dave Hunt Band, when he saw an attractive girl on the dance floor. He said: "When we finished, I went off to find her, but she was gone and never returned to the club. She really got me going."
During the spring of 1964, Ray Davies played an early version of "You Really Got Me" on the piano to rock photographer Allan Ballard during a photo shoot. Ballard later remembered, "It was quite a small, pokey, Victorian Terrace, a bit scruffy, and in the hallway they had an upright piano. Ray sat down and plonked out, 'Der-der, der, Der-der!' He said, 'What do you reckon to this?' It meant nothing to me at the time, but it ended up as 'You Really Got Me'."
Ray, initially planning for the song to be a "more laid-back number", later played the chords of the song to brother Dave Davies, the Kinks' lead guitarist. However, upon hearing the track, Dave decided that the riff would be much more powerful on a guitar. Ray said of the track's change to a guitar-centred track, "I wanted it to be a jazz-type tune, because that's what I liked at the time. It's written originally around a sax line ... Dave ended up playing the sax line in fuzz guitar and it took the song a step further." The band began performing the new track in some of their live shows, where it was well received.
In 1998, Ray said, "I'd written 'You Really Got Me' as tribute to all those great blues people I love: Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy." Dave cited Gerry Mulligan as an inspiration, saying, "Ray was a great fan of Gerry Mulligan, who was in [the Jazz on a Summer's Day movie], and as he sat at the piano at home, he sort of messed around in a vein similar to Mulligan and came up with this figure based on a 12-bar blues". Dave has also said that song had been inspired by Jimmy Giuffre's song "The Train and the River". According to the band's manager, Larry Page, the song's characteristic riff came about while working out the chords of the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie". Lyrically, the song was said to be influenced by an encounter with one of the band's "first serious female fans".
## Recording
The song was recorded by the Kinks at least twice in the summer of 1964. The band's demo was in a "bluesy" style, while a full studio version recorded in June was slower and less emphatic than the final single. Shel Talmy had, according to Davies, covered the track in reverb, all but burying the lead guitar. The band wanted to rerecord the song, but their record company Pye refused to fund another session on the grounds that the band's first two singles had failed to chart. Ray Davies, however, threatened that he would refuse to perform or promote the single unless it was re-recorded. Manager Larry Page also refused to publish the original recording. When Pye stood its ground, the band's own management broke the stalemate by funding the session themselves. Ray Davies' adamant attitude on behalf of the career-making song effectively established him as the leader and chief songwriter of the Kinks. Davies later said, "I was floundering around trying to find an identity. It was in 1964 that I managed to do that, to be able to justify myself and say, 'I exist, I'm here.' I was literally born when that song hit."
The influential distortion sound of the guitar track was created after guitarist Dave Davies sliced the speaker cone of his guitar amplifier with a razor blade and poked it with a pin. The amplifier was affectionately called "little green", after the name of the amplifier made by the Elpico company, and purchased in Davies' neighbourhood music shop, linked to a Vox AC-30. In 2014, Dave Davies accused brother Ray of lying about participating in Dave's guitar distortion sound. Dave wrote on his Facebook page, "My brother is lying. I don't know why he does this but it was my Elpico amp that I bought and out of frustration I cut the speaker cone up with a razor blade and I was so shocked and surprised and excited that it worked that I demonstrated the sound to Ray and [Kinks bassist] Pete [Quaife] ... Ray liked the sound and he had written a riff on the piano which formed the basis of the song 'You Really Got Me' and I played the riff on my guitar with my new sound. I alone created this sound."
According to recent Kinks' releases that give full official performance credits of the track, group members Ray Davies (vocals and rhythm guitar), Dave Davies (lead guitar), Pete Quaife (bass) are joined by session men Bobby Graham (drums), and Arthur Greenslade (piano). Regular Kinks drummer Mick Avory plays the tambourine.
## Guitar solo
The guitar solo on the recording has been the subject of the persistent myth that it was not played by the Kinks' lead guitarist Dave Davies, but by then-session player Jimmy Page, who later joined the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. Among those claiming Page played lead guitar was Jon Lord of Deep Purple, who also claimed to play piano on the track. Page has always denied playing the song's guitar solo, going so far as to state in a 1970s interview cited in Sound on Sound magazine that "I didn't play on 'You Really Got Me' and that's what pisses him [Ray Davies] off." Rock historian and author Doug Hinman makes a case that the rumour was begun and fostered by the established British rhythm and blues community, many of whose members were resentful that an upstart band of teenagers such as the Kinks could produce such a powerful and influential blues-based recording, seemingly out of nowhere.
Shel Talmy, the producer on the track, has gone on record and put the controversy to rest in an interview with The Guardian, saying "contrary to myth, Jimmy didn't play on 'You Really Got Me'." In a 7 November 2014 interview with SiriusXM's Town Hall series, Page confirmed again that he did not play on the song, saying "Oh, Crikey! I wasn't on 'You Really Got Me,' but I did play on the Kinks' records. That's all I'm going to say about it. But every time I do an interview, people ask me about 'You Really Got Me.' So maybe somebody can correct Wikipedia so people won't keep asking me." Drummer Mick Avory also confirmed that the guitar solo was played by Dave Davies and not Jimmy Page in an interview with AllMusic in 2023.
In his 1998 autobiographical release The Storyteller, Ray Davies discusses the guitar solo. He confirms that his brother Dave played the solo and it was preceded by some bantering between the two:
> Halfway through the song it was time for Dave's guitar solo. This moment had to be right. So I shouted across the studio to Dave, give him encouragement. But I seemed to spoil his concentration. He looked at me with a dazed expression. 'Fuck off.' If you doubt me, if you doubt what I'm saying, I challenge you to listen to the original Kinks recording of 'You Really Got Me'. Halfway through the song, after the second chorus, before the guitar solo, there's a drum break. Boo ka, boo boo ka, boo ka, boo boo. And in the background you can hear 'fuck off'. You can, you can. When I did the vocal I tried to cover it up by going 'Oh no', but in the background you still hear it 'fuck off'. And it's even clearer on CD, it's really embarrassing.
## Music and lyrics
Commentators have described "You Really Got Me" as garage rock, hard rock, rock and roll, and proto-punk. While Ray Davies had been instructed at the time to write "Beatle-type" material for commercial reasons, "You Really Got Me" was written as a more R&B-based composition. The song is centred on a guitar riff by Dave Davies, which has since been referred to as "instantly identifiable". American musicologist Robert Walser described "You Really Got Me" as "the first hit song built around power chords."
The song has since been labeled as an early influence of the heavy metal genre, with critic Denise Sullivan of AllMusic writing, "'You Really Got Me' remains a blueprint song in the hard rock and heavy metal arsenal." However, Dave Davies has since rejected the idea that the song is heavy metal, saying "I've never really like that term, heavy metal. I think, in all humility, it was the first heavy guitar riff rock record. Just because of the sound—if you played it on a ukulele, it might not have been so powerful."
The lyrics of the song are about lust and sex. Dave Davies said of the song's lyrics, "'You Really Got Me' [is] such a pure record, really. It's a love song for street kids. They're not going to wine and dine you, even if they knew how to chat you up. [They say] 'I want you—come here.'"
## Release and reception
"You Really Got Me" was released as the band's third single on 4 August 1964, backed with "It's All Right" (also spelled "It's Alright"). Within three days of the single's release, "You Really Got Me" began to appear on local charts. Eventually, the song climbed to the top of the British charts, the band's first single to do so. Ray Davies later claimed that, due to the single's high demand, Pye Records put all their other records on hold to solely produce copies of "You Really Got Me". Due to the high level of success the single achieved in the UK, a rush-release of "You Really Got Me" was put out in the US on 2 September 1964, despite being delayed from its initial release date of 26 August. Although it did not enter the charts until 26 September, the record rose to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. The song later appeared on the band's debut album, Kinks, with the title of the American release of the album being changed to You Really Got Me. Plans for Ray to sing versions of the song in French, German, Spanish, and Japanese for their respective markets were proposed by Shel Talmy, but they never materialized. The single B-side, "It's All Right", was included on the UK EP Kinksize Hits (1964). It was first issued on an album in the US, where it was included on the Kinks' third album Kinkdom (1965). Music writers have described the song as "shockingly different" to the Kinks' recorded work up to this point, and a "frenetic lost gem". The song is included on a 1998 CD reissue of the group's debut album.
Upon release, the single received a positive review from Record Mirror, which said, "Highly promising group with strong guitar sound and a compact sort of vocal performance. Mid-tempo but bustling song should sell well." In Melody Maker, singer Dave Berry was featured in a blindfold test of the song, with Berry at first guessing the song was by the Kingsmen. He said, "It's fabulous, this one. I like these records that sound as if they've gone into a recording studio and done what they wanted to on the spot. It's a good chance of being a big hit." The Melody Maker review had a lasting impact on Ray Davies, who said that Berry "had a few hits – so he mattered" and that Berry's belief that the band had "done what they wanted" had "said it all" for him. In the U.S., Cash Box described the single as "a pulsating, blues-flavored rock-a-rhythmic...that builds along the way."
The Kinks' use of distorted guitar riffs continued with songs like "All Day and All of the Night", "Tired of Waiting for You", and "Set Me Free", among others. Pete Townshend of the Who, a band also produced by Talmy at that time, has stated that their first single, "I Can't Explain", was influenced by the Kinks' work at the time. Other artists influenced by "You Really Got Me" include Tom Petty, John Lydon, Joe Jackson, Chris Bell of Big Star, and Jimi Hendrix, who, according to Dave Davies, described the song as "a landmark record".
In 1999, "You Really Got Me" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone magazine placed the song at number 82 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time and at number four on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time. In early 2005, the song was voted the best British song of the 1955–1965 decade in a BBC radio poll. In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number nine in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In 2009, it was named the 57th Greatest Hard Rock Song by VH1.
## Live history
Prior to its release, the Kinks performed "You Really Got Me" in some of their early concerts. It was a crowd favourite, with Ray Davies later claiming to feel a connection with the crowd as he performed the song. Ray later said, "Our success came from playing [the song] live. When we played 'You Really Got Me' people actually took notice. They realised we had something original."
The Kinks continued to perform successfully for over 30 years through many musical styles, but "You Really Got Me" remained a mainstay in concert. During some shows, the song was played in a medley with its follow-up single "All Day and All of the Night", while in 1977, a performance on Saturday Night Live featured a four-song medley of "You Really Got Me", "All Day and All of the Night", "A Well Respected Man", and "Lola". In a live performance on the Don Lane Show in 1982, "You Really Got Me" was featured in a medley with the band's 1981 song, "Destroyer". In 1984, Dave Davies claimed that, even after twenty years of performing "You Really Got Me", the track was "still fun to play live."
A live version of "You Really Got Me" was released on the band's 1980 live album, One for the Road. This version, following the minor success of the same album's live version of "Lola", was released as a single in America, backed with the live take of Low Budget's "Attitude". However, the single failed to chart. This version was later included on the 1986 compilation album, Come Dancing with the Kinks: The Best of the Kinks 1977–1986.
Other live renditions of "You Really Got Me" have also been released. A version on Live at Kelvin Hall recorded at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland, was released in 1967, while a performance at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, appeared on 1994's To the Bone. The Davies brothers also performed a live version in Boston, Massachusetts with the Smithereens in November 1991, which later appeared on the latter band's 1995 compilation album Attack of the Smithereens. Both Ray and Dave Davies still perform the song in solo shows, generally as a closing number.
In December 2015, Ray Davies joined brother Dave onstage at one of his concerts to perform "You Really Got Me". The event marked the first time the brothers performed on stage together in nearly twenty years, sparking rumors of a possible Kinks reunion.
## Personnel
According to Doug Hinman:
The Kinks
- Ray Davies – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
- Dave Davies – backing vocal, lead guitar
- Pete Quaife – backing vocal, bass
- Mick Avory – tambourine
Additional musicians
- Bobby Graham – drums
- Arthur Greenslade – piano
- Unknown session musician – rhythm guitar
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications
## Van Halen version
The American hard rock band Van Halen released a cover of "You Really Got Me" for their 1978 debut album, Van Halen. As the band's first single, it was a popular radio hit that helped jump-start the band's career, as it had done for the Kinks 14 years earlier. This version, which was cited by Eddie Van Halen as an "updated" version of the original, featured "histrionic" guitar playing by himself and "vocal shenanigans" by David Lee Roth. The song had been played by the band live for years before its studio release. On the radio, it is often featured with "Eruption", the instrumental that precedes it on the album, as an intro.
The song was released as a single as a result of an encounter between Eddie Van Halen and members of the band Angel. Eddie Van Halen and Angel drummer Barry Brandt had both been bragging about their new material to one another, resulting in Eddie Van Halen showing a demo of "You Really Got Me" to Brandt. On the following day, the band's producer, Ted Templeman told Van Halen that Angel was recording their own cover of "You Really Got Me" to release before Van Halen's version. As a result, the song was rush-released as a single before Angel could do so.
Record World said that it's a "supercharged, heavier version" than the Kinks' version and that "it's still a fine, primal rocker."
Eddie Van Halen later expressed dissatisfaction with the use of "You Really Got Me" as the band's debut single. He said, "It kind of bummed me out that Ted [Templeman] wanted our first single to be someone else's tune. I would have maybe picked "Jamie's Cryin'", just because it was our own."
The Kinks' Dave Davies has claimed to dislike Van Halen's rendition of the song, saying "There's the thing: good art isn't always about having the comfiest technique. I shouldn't encourage him, but I'm sure Eddie Van Halen played better when he was drunk." He also told of how a concert-goer approached him after a live show and congratulated him on performing a "great cover of the Van Halen song". Ray Davies, on the other hand, claimed to like the track because it made him laugh.
## See also
- List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1960s |
32,354,712 | Robinson Crusoes of Warsaw | 1,133,505,448 | Poles who hid in the ruins of Warsaw | [
"Robinson Crusoe",
"Warsaw Uprising"
] | Robinson Crusoes of Warsaw were Poles who, after the end of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising and the subsequent planned destruction of Warsaw by Nazi Germany, decided to stay and hide in the ruins of the German-occupied city. The period of hiding spanned as long as three and a half months, from the day of the capitulation of the uprising, October 2, 1944, until the entry of the Red Army on January 17, 1945. The hideaways lived in the ruins of houses, basements, and bunkers which had been prepared ahead of time. They lived in extremely dire circumstances, while the city was being destroyed around them. Some managed to escape Warsaw, many were captured and killed by the Germans, while others survived until the withdrawal of German troops.
The estimates of the number of hideaways vary from several hundred to approximately two thousand. Even though the majority of the Robinsons perished during the war, most of the information about their circumstances comes from those who survived. The largest group of hideaways consisted of around 36 individuals who were led by two medical doctors. The Robinsons also included a group of Jewish Combat Organization (Polish: Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa, ŻOB) Warsaw ghetto fighters, who managed to leave the ruined city in mid-November.
The terms "Robinson Crusoes" or "Robinsons" for the hideaways appeared almost immediately, and were popularized in many contemporary and later works, including memoirs, newspaper reports, and films, by both writers and the "Robinsons" themselves, the most famous of whom was the composer Władysław Szpilman, whose story was the subject of the films, The Warsaw Robinson (1950), and The Pianist (2002).
## Background
The Warsaw Uprising, which began on August 1, 1944, was an attempt by the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa, AK) to liberate the capital of Poland from Nazi occupation in advance of approaching Soviet forces. The insurrectionists hoped for Soviet and Allied support, but in early August Joseph Stalin halted the Red Army on the right bank of the Vistula and denied British and American planes, which carried aid to the uprising, landing rights in Soviet controlled territory. Despite the fact that in September the Soviets captured the Praga suburb and allowed a few limited landings by Allied planes, the insurrection became more and more isolated and pushed into an ever shrinking area within the city. By early September, without Soviet aid, the uprising was doomed. While capitulation talks were already in progress, the Germans took the suburb of Żoliborz on September 30. The final surrender agreement was concluded on October 2, by the commander of the Home Army in Warsaw, Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, and the German general in charge of suppressing the uprising, Erich von dem Bach.
The provisions of the capitulation agreement stipulated that the Home Army soldiers were to be accorded full combatant status and treated as prisoners of war. The civilian population of Warsaw was to evacuate the city, be transferred to holding camps and then released. From the date of the surrender all civilians and soldiers had three days to leave the capital.
Another portion of the agreement, point \#10, stated that the German command would ensure the preservation of remaining public and private property as well as the evacuation or protection of objects and buildings of "artistic, cultural or sacred value". However, soon after the fighting was over at a conference held on October 9, 1944, Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer of the SS, ordered the total destruction of the city. Himmler stated: "The city must completely disappear from the surface of the earth and serve only as a transport station for the Wehrmacht. No stone can remain standing. Every building must be razed to its foundation." The task of carrying out the destruction was assigned to SS-Brigadeführer Paul Otto Geibel. Subsequently, the buildings of the city were systematically reduced to ruin, one by one.
## Origins and usage of the term
About two weeks after the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, on October 17, 1944, the commander of the German 9th Army stationed in Warsaw, Smilo von Lüttwitz, issued an order in which he informed his soldiers that there was a large number of "sneaky Poles" still hiding in the ruins of Warsaw. According to Smilo, they "posed a threat to the German forces". Von Lüttwitz ordered a large scale łapanka (police action/round-up) to "cleanse the city" of them. The order also sanctioned immediate execution of any individuals found hiding in the ruins. In some rare cases, those found were placed in a specially created concentration camp, and used as manual labor as the German army looted the remnants of the city.
The phenomenon of the hideaways was noticed soon after the Red Army captured Warsaw. On January 26, 1945, a bulletin of the Żydowska Agencja Prasowa (Jewish News Agency) reported that 48 individuals had emerged from hiding and referred to them as jaskiniowcy, or "cavemen". The term "Robinsons" soon became common, a reference to the fictional castaway Robinson Crusoe in the Daniel Defoe novel. The Soviet writer and journalist Vasily Grossman, upon entering the ruined city, described finding four Jewish and six non-Jewish Poles who had just left their hideouts.
The term and the analogy with the castaway has often been made by Robinsons in their own memoirs, as well as by other writers. Dawid Fogelman had been imprisoned at the Gęsiówka concentration camp. After the camp was liberated by the Polish Home Army, he joined its ranks and fought in the uprising. At the end of the fighting, Fogelman became a Robinson, hiding in a bunker on Szczęśliwa Street, where he began writing a diary. He wrote: "We lived like Robinson Crusoe, with the one difference that he was free, could move about freely, while we lived in hiding." While Fogelman's diary survived, his ultimate fate is unknown.
In his memoirs, Władysław Szpilman also compared himself to Crusoe and, like Fogelman, emphasized the isolation and hopelessness which characterized the Warsaw Crusoes. Szpilman's memoir served as a basis for a screenplay, written as early as 1945 by the Polish writers Jerzy Andrzejewski and Czesław Miłosz, entitled Robinson of Warsaw. The movie that was eventually filmed, Miasto Nieujarzmione ("Unyoked city"), was heavily censored by the communist authorities, and its original theme changed to such an extent that Miłosz requested his name be removed from the film's credits. The experience with the film contributed to Miłosz's disillusionment with cinema as an artistic medium.
Wacław Gluth-Nowowiejski, a member of the Home Army who was wounded during the uprising and barely managed to escape the Wehrmacht's Marymont massacre of civilians and wounded soldiers, hid in the basement of a destroyed house from mid-September until mid-November. Gluth-Nowowiejski wrote several books about his experiences after the war, including Rzeczpospolita Gruzów ("The Commonwealth of Ruins") and Stolica jaskiń: z pamięci warszawskiego Robinsona ("The capital of caves: memoirs of a Warsaw Robinson").
Major Danuta Ślązak of the Home Army, hid out with a group of wounded patients whom she had saved from a hospital that had been set on fire by the Germans during the last days of the uprising. After the war she wrote a book about her experiences, Byłam Warszawskim Robinsonem (I was a Warsaw Robinson). A portion of her group left the hiding place after German troops called out for them to surrender and were immediately executed. The rest remained hidden and escaped detection. Eventually they used the corpses of their murdered companions to disguise the entry to their hiding place.
The name "Robinsons" has also been used to refer to those Jews who hid out in the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto in the aftermath of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Uri Orlev's (Jerzy Orlowski) children's book The Island on Bird Street (1981), adapted into a 1997 film, tells the story of an 11-year-old boy who hides out in the ruins of the ghetto. Orlev also draws analogies with Robinson Crusoe in this work; in fact one of the few things Alex, the story's protagonist, possesses is a copy of Defoe's novel.
Other memoirs by the Robinsons include Bunkier (The Bunker) by Chaim Goldstein, Byłem ochroniarzem Karskiego (Karski's Bodyguard) by Dawid Landau, Ukrywałem się w Warszawie : styczeń 1943 – styczeń 1945 (I Hid in Warsaw: January 1943 – January 1945) by Stefan Chaskielewicz, Moje szczęśliwe życie (My Fortunate Life) by Szymon Rogoźinski, and Aniołowie bez skrzydeł (Angels Without Wings) by Czesława Fater. Many other testimonies and recollections are contained in the archives of the Emmanuel Ringelblum Żydowski Instytut Historyczny (Jewish Historical Institute) in Warsaw and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
## Reasons for staying
The capitulation agreement between the Home Army and German forces stipulated that insurgents were to be treated as regular prisoners of war. The city's civilians were to be transferred to transit camps and afterward released.
Although the agreement did not stipulate different treatment for Poles who were ethnically Jewish, many Jews feared that the agreement would not be honored in their case. In fact, the Nazis conducted a "medical examination" at the Pruszków internment camp, in order to "catch out" Jews from among Warsaw's refugees. As a consequence, a large number of the Jews who were still in Warsaw at the time of the uprising, decided to remain in hiding rather than join the non-Jewish civilians leaving the city. According to memoirs from the period, the choice often came down to whether a particular person "looked Aryan" and could pass for a non-Jewish Pole.
A significant number of non-Jewish Poles also did not trust the Germans and decided not to leave the city. Many wounded Home Army soldiers became stranded during the uprising and were simply not able to evacuate in time. For others, the choice to remain resulted from feelings of despair and hopelessness brought by the fall of the uprising; at least initially, they simply did not have the motivation to leave.
## Number and demographics
Between the end of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (May 1943) and beginning of 1944, there were between 10,000 and 20,000 Jews hiding in the Ghetto ruins. The number of Robinsons after the Warsaw Uprising has been estimated at between several hundred and two thousand, spread across all the suburbs of Warsaw. Another source gives the number as between 400 and 1,000. Most of those hiding were Jewish, including some who had been in hiding since the fall of the ghetto uprising, though a significant number were non-Jewish Poles. Unlike Szpilman, whose case was somewhat unrepresentative, most of those in hiding remained in medium-sized to large groups, often of mixed ethnicities. The majority of the Robinsons were men.
Many of the hiding places and makeshift bunkers were prepared in advance by those anticipating the fall of the uprising. As a result, the sequence whereby people became Robinsons closely followed the military developments of the insurrection. The first groups went into hiding in Wola during the Wola massacre and in Starówka (Warsaw Old Town), while fighting was still taking place in other parts of the city. The majority of the Robinsons hid when German forces captured the Żoliborz and Śródmieście (Warsaw City Centre) districts from the insurgents.
The largest known group of Robinsons was composed of approximately 37 people under the leadership of Roman Fiszer and medical doctors, Dr. Beer and Prof. Henryk Beck. Beck was the director of a makeshift insurgent hospital during the uprising. As it became clear that the insurrection was going to fail, he and Cpt. Władysław Kowalski, a Home Army soldier who also decided to stay, converted two adjacent basements into a well-equipped and -supplied hiding place. The group stockpiled water, coffee, medicines, fuel, and various foodstuffs. Additionally, Beck kept a set of watercolors, crayons, ink, and paper, which he used to illustrate life in the bunker. As some of the members had fought in the uprising, the group also possessed a small cache of weapons, unusual for Robinsons. A dog, Bunkierek ("bunker puppy"), also stayed with them and, according to the memoirs, did not bark or make any noise.
After their water ran out, the Beck/Fiszer group developed a routine whereby some of the group worked to dig a well, while others watched out for approaching Germans, and yet others ventured outside the bunker to scavenge for useful items. The group eventually dug their way to two water canals and built a well. On November 17, during an excursion outside the bunker, the group made contact with a small partisan unit, also in hiding, led by a Russian POW who had been liberated during the uprising. Subsequently, several of the group would join the partisans for small scale attacks on German troops. The group survived until the entry of the Red Army in mid-January.
## Living conditions
Initially, the living conditions of the Robinsons varied according to whether or not they had had time to prepare. There were roughly three days between the signing of the capitulation and the deadline for civilians to leave the city, during which those who made the decision to stay could stockpile food and water, and camouflage their hiding places. As time passed, supplies ran out, and many Robinsons had to change their locations for security reasons. The situation soon became equally desperate for all who remained.
While food was extremely hard to come by, an even more pressing need was obtaining drinking water. Thirst and the search for water are mentioned in most of the Robinsons' memoirs. The most common sources originally included toilet cisterns, boilers, and standing water found inside bathtubs. As these ran out, those in hiding were forced to risk sneaking access to wells, which were often guarded by German soldiers. Some memoirs describe long periods observing a particular well and waiting for a chance to obtain a quick drink. Another method involved obtaining polluted sewer water from the canals, and then filtering it through coals wrapped in rags. Generally, records indicate that whatever scant water supplies existed were shared fairly among individuals hiding as a group. In at least one instance, one person was unable to withstand the thirst and drank the whole group's water supply. As a result, Jakub Wiśnia, a former Gęsiówka inmate and after its liberation, a Home Army soldier, was court-martialed by his fellow group members and sentenced to death. The execution was to be postponed until after liberation, but when that occurred, the Robinsons were so overwhelmed with joy, the crime was forgiven and the sentence was never mentioned again.
There were numerous instances of death from drinking poisoned or fouled water (there were still many unburied, decomposing corpses inside the ruins). In one instance, desperate Robinsons were driven to drink their own urine and subsequently died.
The coming of winter improved the water situation for some who had access to icicles, but the cold made living conditions worse. It was impossible for those in hiding to build fires to warm themselves, as smoke could reveal their location to the Germans. As a consequence, many died of cold.
Unlike the Robinson Crusoe of the novel, who craved human contact, most of the Warsaw Crusoes tried to avoid it at all cost. This contradiction was noted by both the Robinsons and those who wrote about them after the war. Being discovered by the Germans in almost all cases meant immediate death. There were, however, some exceptions, the best known being that of Szpilman's encounter with Wilm Hosenfeld, a captain of the Wehrmacht who helped to hide and feed him. In a few instances those captured were first forced to help the Germans with the looting of the city's ruins, before being either executed or sent to the Pruszków camp.
A few of the Robinsons actually tried to actively take revenge on the occupying forces. The most famous of these, who became a local legend, was an individual known only as "Ares" (after the Greek god of war), described by Gluth-Nowowiejski, based on interviews with the Robinsons he conducted. Ares, active in the Śródmieście district, staged numerous ambushes of German soldiers, in at least one case using an improvised explosive device. According to Gluth-Nowowiejski's sources, he would leave behind graffiti of his name, as well as slogans such as "Hitler kaput". Other messages included communications to the German soldiers. In one case he dumped a body of a soldier he had killed with the note: "This awaits all of you in Warsaw". In another he wrote: "Ares is a ghost, not matter – your search for him is useless". Eventually, Ares met his demise when the Germans left some poisoned food for him to find. Soon they discovered a man in the ruins who was obviously sick from having eaten it. He shot at them before taking his own life. According to some sources, other individuals took on Ares' struggle but used the names of other Greek Gods as their signature.
Within some of the destroyed suburbs, a limited postal system between various Robinson groups was established. Dawid Landau had served as a bodyguard to the courier of the Polish government in exile, Jan Karski, while Karski secretly entered the ghetto to gather information for a report on the extermination of Polish Jews by Nazi Germany for the Western allies, in 1943. Later, Landau fought in both of the Warsaw uprising as part of Żydowski Związek Wojskowy (Jewish Military Union, ŻZW) and afterward decided to stay in the ruins. In his memoirs he reports that the post functioned through the use of empty electrical socket boxes. Various groups would leave notes for others informing them of who was alive and in hiding, news from the front that had been obtained, as well as requests for special forms of assistance. According to Landau, the most common pleas were for doctors or other forms of medical help.
## Escape
Some of those who had initially remained in the ruins of the city after the uprising later made attempts to leave. This was particularly true of Robinsons who had stayed, not of their own choice, but due to unfavorable circumstances.
The best known case of post-uprising departure involved a group of Jewish Combat Organization fighters under the leadership of Icchak Cukierman and Marek Edelman, who had taken part in both the Ghetto and the Warsaw Uprisings. Originally, the former Ghetto fighters stayed together in a large group, but in the second week of October, some of them moved to a different location. Those remaining stayed in the same place on Promyka Street until mid-November, when they were contacted by Ala Margolis, a courier from the Home Army, who had previously managed to leave the city. Margolis and a "rescue squadron" of five people returned to get the rest of the group out. The Germans had begun a systematic search and destruction of ruined houses near the hiding place, which meant time was running out. Dressed as nurses and doctors, with clothes and Red Cross IDs provided by Dr. Lesław Węgrzynowski, director of the Home Army sanitation unit, the rescue squadron and the seven in hiding made their way out of the city through two German checkpoints. The group consisted of five men and two women: Edelman, Cukierman, Cywia Lubetkin (later, Cukierman's wife), Tosia Goliborska, Julek Fiszgrund, Tuwia Borzykowski, and Zygmunt Warman. The first checkpoint was crossed during dinner, and the Germans did not bother to examine the group, but at the second, an SS officer noticed that Warman, who was lying in a stretcher, was wearing combat boots. He yelled, "These are Polish bandits!", but one of the escorts dressed as a nurse quickly declared that the patients in the stretcher were ill with typhus. The SS soldiers backed off, and the group moved on its way.
In many cases, the opportunity to leave Warsaw came by chance. For example, the hiding diarist Wacław Gluth-Nowowiejski was taken out, after he was accidentally found by a woman (name unknown) who had been given permission by the Germans to remove some of her property from the ruins. On their way out of the city the group also had to pass German checkpoints and encountered difficulties similar to those of the ŻOB fighters. A Wehrmacht soldier accused the wounded and sick Gluth-Nowowiejski of being a "bandit" but let him pass after protestations made by his escort.
## Individual Robinsons
Of the total number of the Robinsons who hid in the ruins of the city only a portion's names and locations are known. The recognized individuals are mostly the ones who either survived the war themselves or who came into contact with other survivors at some point. As such, the list of the known hideaways is not representative; the majority of the Robinsons died while in hiding, and hence their identities, were never recorded. The table below lists some of those who have been mentioned in the memoirs or other written works on the subject.
Sources for table:
## See also
- Wolf children |
44,741,275 | Lalji Singh | 1,133,628,486 | Indian scientist | [
"1947 births",
"2017 deaths",
"20th-century Indian zoologists",
"Banaras Hindu University alumni",
"Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences",
"Indian geneticists",
"People from Jaunpur district",
"People from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh",
"Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering",
"Scientists from Uttar Pradesh",
"Vice Chancellors of Banaras Hindu University"
] | Lalji Singh FNA, FASc (5 July 1947 – 10 December 2017) was an Indian scientist who worked in the field of DNA fingerprinting technology in India, where he was popularly known as the "Father of Indian DNA fingerprinting". Singh also worked in the areas of molecular basis of sex determination, wildlife conservation forensics and evolution and migration of humans. In 2004, he received the Padma Shri in recognition of his contribution to Indian science and technology.
Singh founded various institutes and laboratories in India, including the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics in 1995, Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) in 1998, and Genome Foundation in 2004, aiming to diagnose and treat genetic disorders affecting the Indian population, in particular the under-privileged people residing in rural India.
Singh served as the 25th Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and Chairman of Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi from August 2011 to August 2014. Before his term as Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, he also served as director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) from May 1998 to July 2009 and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) of Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad, India in 1995–1999.
## Early life and education
Lalji Singh was born and raised in a small village Kalwari in Jaunpur District of Uttar Pradesh, India. His father, Suryanarayan Singh, was a farmer and used to serve as head of the village. Singh underwent his primary education up to eighth standard at a government school in Kalwari. However, as there were no further education facilities in the village for senior classes, he was admitted at another school in the nearby village of Pratapganj 6–7 km (3.7–4.3 mi) from his village. After completing his 12th standard in the science group at school, he attended Banaras Hindu University to pursue his graduation in Zoology and cytogenetics.
## University education
Singh obtained a B.Sc. degree in 1964 from the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Singh scored the highest marks in his Master's degree class at BHU in 1966, and won the Banaras Hindu Gold Medal for standing first in order of merit. He was awarded a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) by the University Grants Commission (India) in 1966. Singh then worked on his doctoral research at the Banaras Hindu University receiving a degree in 1971, for his work on "Evolution of karyotypes in snakes" in the area of cytogenetics under the guidance of professor S.P. Ray Chaudhuri. A summary of the findings from his doctoral research was published in Chromosoma. Singh received the INSA Medal for Young Scientists in 1974, for his research work in the field of cytogenetics.
## Research career
In 1971–72, Singh worked as a research associate at the Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta and in April 1974, he was appointed as pool officer of CSIR. In 1974, Singh received the Commonwealth Fellowship to carry out research at the University of Edinburgh, UK, where he worked until 1987. During that time, Singh also worked as a guest scientist at the University of Calcutta, India, for a short period of time and visited the Australian National University in Canberra as a visiting fellow.
In June 1987, Singh returned to India and joined the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, as a senior scientist. Singh developed and established the DNA fingerprinting technology for forensic investigation of crime and civil disputes. In July 1998, Singh became the fourth director of the CCMB, where he served until July 2009. During April 2006 to July 2015, Singh was awarded the J.C. Bose National Research Fellowship of India. He was also awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Fellowship of CSIR in January 2010 to December 2014. On 22 August 2009, Singh was appointed as the 25th Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India. During his three-year tenure as vice chancellor at BHU, Singh took a ₹ 1 token salary from the university.
From 2014 Singh was associated with several academic and research organisations in various capacities. These included being a member of the Governing Board of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi; chairman of the Research Advisory Council (RAC) of National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR), Karnal; chairman of the RAC of Project Directorate on Poultry (PDP), Hyderabad; member of the advisory committee of Pharmacopeia Commission of India; chairman of the RAC of National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), Lucknow; member of the Board of Management of Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai and member of the Board of Governors of Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali. Singh also served as director of the Genome Foundation, a non-profit organization aiming to develop cheap molecular diagnostics for genetic disorders prevalent in rural India.
Singh published more than 230 research papers during his 45 years of research, and as of April 2013 he had an h-index of 30.
## Innovations and contributions to science and technology
### DNA fingerprinting technology
During his early science career as a Masters student in 1968, Singh became interested in studying the cytogenetics of Indian snakes. During the 1970s, while studying the evolution of sex chromosome in a species of an Indian snake, the banded krait, Singh and his colleagues identified a highly conserved repeated DNA sequences in the banded krait and other vertebrates, which they named the "Banded Krait Minor" (Bkm) sequences in 1980. These Bkm sequences were conserved across various species and were found to be polymorphic in humans. In 1987 through 1988, while working in the CCMB, Singh established that this Bkm-derived probe could be used to generate individual specific DNA Fingerprints of humans for forensic investigations; and in 1988, he used that probe for the first time to solve a case of parentage dispute in India. In 1991, Singh produced the first DNA fingerprinting based evidence in an Indian Court to settle a disputed paternity. This was followed by DNA fingerprinting based resolution of hundreds of civil and criminal cases, including cases such as the assassination case(s) of Beant Singh and Rajiv Gandhi, Naina Sahni Tandoor murder case, Swami Premananda case, Swami Shraddhananda case, and Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case.
This established the DNA fingerprinting to be used as evidence in the legal system of India. Singh's work in this arena prompted the government of India's Department of Biotechnology to form an autonomous institution, the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) in 1995, with the aim to provide DNA fingerprinting services to the country, especially for human identification purposes.
Singh's lifetime contributions for the development and establishment of indigenous DNA Fingerprinting Technology in India were recognized and he has been called the "Father of DNA fingerprinting" in India.
### Wildlife conservation and forensics
While serving as director of CCMB, Singh realized an urgent need for assessment and conservation of the wildlife resources of India. To address that need, he conceptualized the Laboratory for conservation of endangered species (LaCONES) in 1998. The foundation stone of this laboratory was laid by the Minister of Environment and Forests, Government of India on 16 September 2001. On 2 February 2007, the laboratory was inaugurated and dedicated to the nation by then President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
LaCONES serves as a research laboratory for the conservation and preservation of wildlife resources using advanced technological interventions; and also the "National Wildlife Forensic Cell" to provide wildlife identification services for the nation, based on the fundamental discovery of universal primer technology made by Sunil Kumar Verma and Singh (2001). The first DNA-based test for establishing the species identity of an unknown biological sample pertaining to a case of wildlife crime, was conducted in that laboratory in 2000. Since then, the laboratory has undertaken thousands of such cases on a routine basis for the entire country and has revitalized the field of wildlife forensics.
The laboratory recorded a major success in the Assisted reproductive technology (ART) of wild animals, when the world's first successful artificial insemination of an in estrus induced spotted deer, by non-surgical intra-vaginal insemination done in the laboratory, led to the birth of a live fawn on 14 March 2006. This achievement was further followed by an artificial insemination (AI) assisted birth of an Indian blackbuck fawn in August 2007. These were the first reports in the world of such successful AI of wild animals.
On the World Heritage Day in 2013, the LaCONES campus was recognized as a "Heritage Monument" by the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture (Intach) for its notable architecture and design.
### Molecular basis of sex determination
In 1982, Singh and his colleagues discovered that a tiny portion of the short arm of sex-determining Y chromosome was necessary and sufficient to convert a female mouse to male. This fundamental discovery provided a new concept of Chromosomal translocation of sex-determining region from Y chromosome to X chromosomes causing sex reversal in mice. These findings later became the foundation for the discovery of a similar phenomenon of sex reversal in humans.
### DNA-based molecular diagnostics
Until 1998, India did not have an adequate facility for diagnosis of genetic disorders, prevalent in the country. The fundamental research carried out by Singh and his colleagues in that area, led to conceptualization and establishment of the first DNA based diagnostic laboratory in the country. The lab later evolved into a separate institute, the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics in Hyderabad, India to provide advanced DNA based molecular diagnostics services for the nation.
### Novel insights into evolution and migration of humans
The fundamental DNA-based research carried out by Singh and his colleagues on primitive tribes including the tribal population of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, provided critical insights into the evolution and migration of humans, suggesting the out of Africa route of modern humans about 60,000 years ago to the Andaman Islands. These findings have furthered the scientific community's understanding of the origin of man in terms of evolution and migration from place to place.
### Genome Foundation
In 2004, Singh founded a non-profit research and service organization, the Genome Foundation, with the aim of diagnosing and treating genetic disorder affecting the Indian population, in particular the under-privileged people residing in rural India, with the participation and voluntary services of scientists and professionals.
## Death
Lalji Singh died in Varanasi, India following a heart attack on 10 December 2017 at the age of 70. He complained of chest pain when he reached the Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport to board a flight for Delhi. He was taken to the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Trauma Centre from there but he could not be saved.
## Books by Singh
- You Deserve, We Conserve () (2007)
- Scientoonic tell-tale of Genome and DNA ( (2007)
- DNA Fingerprinting: the Witness within (), (2012)
- My travails in the Witness Box (), (2012)
## Awards and honors
as of October 2014, Singh holds fellowships from several Indian and Foreign academies. These include:
- Fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences (FASc), (elected in 1989)
- Fellow of The National Academy of Sciences, India (FNASc), (elected in 1991)
- Fellow of Indian National Science Academy (FNA) (elected in 1993)
- Fellow of Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences (elected in 2000)
- Fellow of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (FAAS) (elected in 2001)
- Fellow of National Academy of Medical Sciences (FAMS) (elected in 2002)
- Fellow of Third World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS) (elected in 2002)
Some of the notable awards conferred to Singh are as follows:
- Indian National Science Academy Medal for Young Scientists, (1974)
- Commonwealth Fellowship, (1974–1976)
- CSIR Technology Award (Twice: 1992 and 2008; The 2008 Award was jointly conferred to Verma and Singh),
- Ranbaxy research Award (1994)
- Goyal Prize in Life Sciences (2000)
- Vigyan Gaurav Award (2003)
- FICCI Award (2002–03)
- The New Millennium Plaques of Honour, (2002), for services in the field of biological sciences from the Prime Minister of India at the 89th Session of the Indian Science Congress.
- JC Bos National Fellowship (2006)
- CSIR Bhatnagar Fellowship (2009)
- NRDC Meritorious Invention Award (2009), jointly conferred to Verma and Singh),
- Biospectrum Life Time Achievement Award (2011).
- The Padma Shri, (2004), in recognition of his contributions to Indian science and technology.
Singh has also been awarded "Honorary D.Sc. degree" by six Universities including the Banaras Hindu University.
## Selected publications
- Chromosomes and classification of the snakes of the family Boidae
- Sex Chromosome associated satellite DNA: Evolution and conservation
- Sex reversal in the mouse (Mus musculus) is caused by a recurrent nonreciprocal crossover involving the X and an aberrant Y chromosome
- The conserved nucleotide sequences of Bkm, including those, which define Sxr in the mouse, are transcribed
- Bkm sequences are polymorphic in humans and are clustered in pericentric regions of various acrocentric chromosomes including the Y
- DNA profiling and its applications
- Novel universal primers establish identity of an enormous number of animal species for forensic application
- Reconstructing the origin of Andaman Islanders
- A common MYBPC3 (cardiac myosin binding protein C) variant associated with cardiomyopathies in South Asia
- Ancient human genomes suggest three ancestral populations for present day Europeans |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.