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38,536,234
Go Missin'
1,105,820,848
null
[ "2013 songs", "Song recordings produced by Diplo", "Songs written by Ariel Rechtshaid", "Songs written by Diplo", "Songs written by Eric Bellinger", "Songs written by Usher (musician)", "Usher (musician) songs" ]
"Go Missin'" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Usher. It was produced by Diplo and was released on Valentine's Day 2013 through SoundCloud as a free download. The year before, Usher released "Climax" on Valentine's Day, the lead single from his seventh studio album, Looking 4 Myself (2012). Prior to its release, the singer tweeted that he had a "special delivery from the cloud" for his fans, who responded positively to the release of "Climax" on Valentine's Day the preceding year. "Go Missin'" contains similar characteristics to "Climax"; it is a quiet storm-style mid-tempo R&B track, and incorporates heavy bass and synthesizers. Usher utilizes his falsetto range throughout, with Billboard writing that the song's lyrics follow Usher attempting to "convince a stranded woman at a club to come home with him". The song received positive reviews from music critics, who praised Diplo's production and Usher's vocals. ## Background and release On February 14, 2013, Valentine's Day, Usher announced through his Twitter and Facebook the release of a new single. He wrote through Twitter "You loved what I gave you last Valentine's \#Climax So here is 'Special delivery from the cloud'Happy [sic] Valentine's Day!". "Go Missin'" was released on the day of its announcement through SoundCloud as a free download. The song was produced by Diplo, who previously collaborated with Usher on the track "Climax", which was released as the lead single from the latter's seventh studio album, Looking 4 Myself (2012). "Go Missin'" was later released to Italian radio on February 22, 2013. ## Composition and lyrics "Go Missin'" has a running duration of three minutes and two seconds. It contains similar characteristics to "Climax", in that it is a quiet storm-style R&B track, complemented by drum machine.[^1] It is built upon synthesizers, while incorporating bass. Usher utilizes his falsetto range throughout the song, shifting in arrangements. Billboard wrote that the song's lyrics follow Usher attempting to "convince a stranded woman at a club to come home with him". The Huffington Post's Kia Makarechi described "Go Missin'" as a "standard track", and wrote that its lyrics contain "serial killer-esque" undertones in the line: Conscience telling you you shouldn't go, don't listen / I'mma take care of you for sure / Follow me right out that back door / Go missin. ## Critical response August Brown of Los Angeles Times commended the song's production and Usher's vocals. Brown described the track as to be "full of roiling snares and boomy bass kicks" while saying that Usher's vocals are "so pristine" that they walk a line between "digital witch-magic and the hair-raising choral work of Ligeti." About.com's Mark Edward Nero described the collaboration as "innovative", and thought that the track contained a "cinematic quality with delicate vocals laid over a moody, semi-futuristic electronic beat". Billboard's David Greenwald compared "Go Missin'" to the work of Canadian singer The Weeknd, while describing Usher's vocals as "seductive". Marc Hogan of Spin wrote that despite the song not being as "immediately jaw-dropping" compared to "Climax", it still contains the same "Radiohead quiet storm style" as the latter song, with Usher utilizing his "hair-raising falsetto". Forrest Wickman of Slate magazine interpreted the song as different in terms of music and lyrics to the latter song. Wickman praised Usher's vocals, describing them as "calculated" to make you feel "uneasy, swirling around in minor harmonies". Rolling Stones'''s Jon Dolan gave the song three out of five stars, writing that "Go Missin'" is not as "subtle" as "Climax", though he praised its implementation of synthesizers, saying that it gives the song a "nervous, predatory throb". ## Chart performance [^1]: \|last=Hogan\|first=Marc\|date=February 15, 2013\|work=Spin\|access-date=February 15, 2013}}
51,419,748
Blow Your Mind (Mwah)
1,160,732,883
2016 Single by Dua Lipa
[ "2016 singles", "2016 songs", "British disco songs", "Dua Lipa songs", "Electropop songs", "Songs written by Dua Lipa", "Songs written by Jon Levine", "Songs written by Lauren Christy", "Warner Records singles" ]
"Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" is a song by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa from her eponymous debut studio album (2017). The song was written by Lipa alongside Lauren Christy and its producer Jon Levine. The song was released for digital download and streaming through Warner Bros. Records on 26 August 2016 as the fifth single from the album, and impacted contemporary hit radio as Lipa's first single in the United States. It is a disco and electropop song with dark moombahton and chambré tropical house elements. The production includes tropical beats, indietronica vocals and sawtooth synths. Lyrically, the song is about being comfortable in one's own skin. Several music critics complimented Lipa's attitude in "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" as well as its message. Some reviewers criticized her vocal performance, specifically as she blows a kiss at the end of the chorus. Commercially, it gave Lipa her second entry on the UK Singles Chart, where it reached number 30, and her first US Billboard Hot 100 entry, reaching number 72. It additionally reached the top 40 of charts in the Wallonia region of Belgium, Ireland and Scotland. The song was awarded gold certifications in Italy and the United States as well as platinum ones in Canada and the United Kingdom. The music video for "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" was directed by Kinga Burza and released on 12 September 2016. It was filmed in London's Barbican Centre, and features Lipa and her girl gang posing in the area, as well as walking around; model Tawan Kedkong makes an appearance. According to Lipa, the video is a campaign for niceness. Critics commended the video's fashion looks. Lipa further promoted the song in 2016 with live performances for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, the Gouden Televizier-Ring Gala, and Today. The song received several remixes, including ones by Alex Metric and Karma Kid, as well as an acoustic version. ## Background and release Dua Lipa co-wrote "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" with Jon Levine and Lauren Christy, with Levine solely handling the production. They wrote it in Los Angeles in February 2016. After working as a model, Lipa was inspired for the song after being told that she needs to lose weight in order to be successful as a model. The collaborators decided to write about being comfortable in one's own skin. The song was recorded at The Synagogue in Los Angeles, while the vocals were recorded at TaP / Strongroom 7 in London. Serban Ghenea mixed it at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia while it was mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound in New York. Lipa announced the release of "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" on 24 August 2016. It was released for digital download and streaming two days later as the fifth single from Dua Lipa, along with the pre-order of the album. The song was sent for radio airplay in Italy on 2 September 2016. The song was released to contemporary hit radio formats in the United States on 20 September 2016 as Lipa's first single in the country. An acoustic version was released on 21 October 2016 alongside a remix extended play (EP) featuring remixes by Alex Metric, Karma Kid, Night Moves and Black Saint. "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" was included as the opening track on Lipa's 21 April 2017-released The Only EP. It also appears as the sixth track on her debut album, released 2 June 2017. ## Music and lyrics Musically, "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" is a disco and electropop song, with tropical beats alongside dark moombahton and chambré tropical house elements. It runs for 2 minutes and 58 seconds, and has a structure of verse, bridge, chorus, post-chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, post-chorus, breakdown, chorus, post-chorus. The song is composed in time and the key of D minor, with a moderate groove tempo of 109 beats per minute and a chord progression of B–Gm–Dm–Csus. Lipa's vocals were categorized as indietronica and range from A<sub>3</sub> to C<sub>5</sub>. The lyrics discuss having the upper hand in a relationship and rejecting people who want others to change. The song begins slowly, with ethereal synths, and echoing tribal drums. The first verse has empowerment themes and sees Lipa being secure with herself, even though at one time she was not. In the bridge, Lipa sings about her desire to pursue music and how people told her she was crazy for it, as well as commenting that people think she has changed but her aspirations have only gotten bigger. The chorus has k-pop sawtooth synths, electro beats and synth-bass hits. Vocally, Lipa blows a kiss at the end of the chorus and half-talks the post-chorus. Lipa describes the chorus as being "in the heat of an argument," lyrically asking someone why they keep coming back to her if they dislike her aspirations and who she is. She eventually states that the person will love her blind, meaning that they have chosen Lipa because they would not want her any other way. The post-chorus sees Lipa wanting to live her life, not needing money or superficial stuff. In the second verse, Lipa addresses the lover, showing that they enjoy the arguments. ## Critical reception Anna Gaca of Spin called the song "a short, bombastic number" with "equal parts club-ready sultriness." Idolator's Rachel Sonis labeled it "feisty" and said that "it's playful, bubbly, and a perfect number to serve as her first official single in the US." She went on to state that the song "oozes confidence" and categorized the beat as "pulsing" and "infectious." Mike Nied, also of Idolator, labelled the song a "flirty bop with a playful message." For The Guardian, Graeme Virtue viewed it as "a slice of futuristic disco that slyly incorporates an actual kiss-off into its chorus". Ben Hogwood of musicOMH viewed "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" as "a confident declaration of intent" and "outright feminine power," but criticized Lipa blowing a kiss in the style of Holly Valance, stating the song "spoils itself" with that aspect. However, Raúl Guillén of Jenesaispop enjoyed the kiss, writing that it is "one of those silly details that you cannot later get out of your head" and called the chorus as a whole one of her "most effective." The same website later named it the 73rd best song of 2016, praising the combination of a "forceful" bass and vocal performance as well as calling the chorus "casual and fresh," while concluding by stating the song is "frankly irresistible." In The Line of Best Fit, Claire Biddles categorized the song's aesthetic as "high-heeled in a club" and called it "the most enticing moments in recent pop." Of the same magazine, Laurence Day stated "it's fizzing with youthful energy and oozes cheeky joy from every refrain." The staff of Billboard called the song "cheeky" and stated that it "impressively showcases her attitude and nuanced voice." In Renowned for Sound, Rachael Scarsbrook compared the song to Carly Rae Jepsen and wrote that it "gets people going." She concluded by stating, "[t]here isn't one negative way this track could be perceived." For The Guardian, Hannah J Davies called "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" "unapologetically in-your-face" as well as "strong and stylish." Alim Kheraj of DIY viewed the song as "flirtatious," but criticized the lack of longevity, writing that it is "still immensely enjoyable, although over time [it's] lost some of [its] glittery sheen." Rick Pearson from Evening Standard criticized the song, calling it "irritating in the extreme." "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" won Performance of the Year by an International Artist at the Wish 107.5 Music Awards. ## Commercial performance "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" debuted at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart issue dated 2 September 2016, becoming Lipa's second entry on the chart, following "Hotter than Hell" (2016). In its seventh week, the song reached a peak of number 30 and lasted for an additional eight weeks afterwards. In August 2019, the song was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling 600,000 units in the UK. In Ireland, the song debuted at number 75 on the Irish Singles Chart and eventually peaked at number 40. The song was more successful in Scotland, where it debuted at number 24 on the Scottish Singles Chart and later reached a peak of number 15. In Belgium, it reached number 44 on the Ultratop 50 Flanders chart and number 37 on the Ultratop 50 Wallonia chart. The song was awarded a gold certification in Italy from the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) for track-equivalent sales of 25,000 units. The song became Lipa's third entry on the ARIA Singles Chart of Australia, on which it reached number 59. In the US, "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" became Lipa's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, where it debuted and peaked at number 72 on the issue dated 5 November 2016, though the song only lasted one week. It reached number 23 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart and the summit of the Dance Club Songs chart. The song also earned Lipa a spot on Billboard's emerging artists of the week dated 2 September 2016. In June 2018, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of 500,000 certified units in the US. In Canada, it was awarded a platinum certification from Music Canada (MC) for selling 80,000 track-equivalent units. In June 2018, the song reached number 65 on the South Korean Gaon Music Chart. ## Music video The music video for "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" premiered via YouTube on 12 September 2016. It was directed by Kinga Burza and filmed at the Barbican Centre in London. Tawan Kedkong, and Lipa's friends Sarah and Rosie make appearances in the visual. Burza cut the video at his house while on Skype with editor Emilie Aubry in Los Angeles. The production company was Partizan Darkroom while The Mill graded and post-produced the video. Jason Oakley handled the production while Claire Stubbs did the executive production and post-producer from Lucy Mason. Other crew members include production manager Lucy Rogers, first assistant director Dominic Asbridge, second assistant director John Joe O'Driscoll, director of photography Benoit Soler, focus puller Thomas Nicholson, second clapper loaders Jomar O'Meally and Will Gardner, gaffer Rik Burnell, art director Anna Rhodes, wardrobe from Lorenzo Possecco, hair from Anna Cofone, make-up from Francesca Brazzo, colourist Oisín O'Driscoll, commissioner Caroline Clayton, steadicam Richard Lewis and location manager Thomas Gale. When asked about it, Lipa stated that "the whole video is a campaign for niceness. It's like the girl gang that everyone can be a part of." The music video opens with Lipa and her girl gang posing against a charcoal wall. Lipa is seen wearing a diamond "Mwah" choker and the girls appear in a manner that was noted for being individualistic. They are then seen posing and dancing in the modern Barbican centre, on a bench, in a flower garden and walking around the buildings. The group chews gum and blow bubbles, as well as riding skateboards. They are also seen walking in a tunnel, where Lipa walks backwards while singing to the camera. Eventually, the group holds a pride parade as Lipa sings through a megaphone and the girls are seen holding rainbow flags alongside signs that say "Dua for President" and "You Can Sit With Us". At the end, the group go to a roof top on which they dance. The video closes with the group holding a sign with the song's title on it over the railing of the rooftop. Nied called the visual a "fashionable affair" and a "simple but striking offering." The staff of V viewed the video as a "walking fashion editorial" and compared it to Karl Lagerfeld's Spring 2015 Chanel runway show. For Fuse, Bianca Gracie stated that the "Mwah" choker and "Dua for President" sign were video highlights. In Coup De Main Magazine, Rose Riddell called it a "sassy video of solidarity." The staff from DIY stated that the video makes London look like a paradise. ## Live performances "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" was first performed live during Lipa's Hotter than Hell Tour (2016) and was included on regular set lists for the tour. It was also performed live during her Self-Titled Tour (2017–18). Lipa performed the song at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball in 2016 and 2017, respectively, as well as at the Summertime Ball in the latter year. Lipa performed the song on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, released 29 September 2016. On 13 October of that year, Lipa performed the song at the Gouden Televizier-Ring Gala in the Netherlands. On 20 November 2016, she performed the song at the Iridium in New York City as part of her MTV Setlist show. She performed the song for American talk show Today on 29 November 2016. Lipa performed the song during a session for her Critics' Choice Award at the 2017 Brit Awards. The following year, she performed it for a live session with iHeartRadio. ## Track listings - Digital download and streaming 1. "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" – 2:58 - Contemporary hit radio – radio edit 1. "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" – 2:58 - Digital download and streaming – acoustic version 1. "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" [acoustic] – 2:39 - Digital EP – remixes 1. "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" [Alex Metric remix] – 5:00 2. "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" [Karma Kid remix] – 3:35 3. "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" [Night Moves remix] – 4:09 4. "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" [Black Saint remix] – 5:35 ## Personnel - Dua Lipa – vocals - Jon Levine – production, engineering, keyboards, Rhodes, bass, guitar, drum programming - Serban Ghenea – mixing - John Hanes – engineering for mix - Chris Gehringer – mastering ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## Certifications ## Release history ## See also - List of music videos set in London - List of Billboard Dance Club Songs number ones of 2017
30,830,453
Unearthed (Fringe)
1,171,198,171
null
[ "2010 American television episodes", "Fringe (season 2) episodes", "Television episodes written by Andrew Kreisberg" ]
"Unearthed" is a bonus special standalone episode released during the second season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. While it serves as the 31st released episode of the series, it was produced during the first season and is recognized by Fox as the 21st episode of Fringe overall. Despite this, it does not fit into the series' continuity nor is it recognized as the season finale; it was released later due to an accounting error. The episode features a reappearance of Kirk Acevedo as Charlie Francis, whose character was already killed off in the second season premiere. However, Acevedo's character was still alive in the series' continuity when the episode was produced. While the body of a young, recently deceased girl is being harvested of its organs, she suddenly comes back to life yelling classified naval launch codes and Russian phrases, leading the Fringe Division to a recently murdered naval officer. The episode was written by co-executive producers David H. Goodman and Andrew Kreisberg, and was directed by producer Frederick E. O. Toye. Though the episode was produced at the end of the first season "Unearthed" first aired during the second season, on January 11, 2010, in a one-time timeslot. An estimated 7.79 million viewers tuned into the episode, giving it a "whopping" ratings improvement over its best ratings of the season. It was included in the second season's DVD release as a special feature. The episode was almost unanimously disliked by critics, with one reviewer calling it "a stinker that should have remained safely out of public view." Numerous critics also disliked guest actress Alice Kremelberg's performance, particularly when her character becomes possessed by a male ghost. ## Plot A seventeen-year-old girl, Lisa Donovan (Alice Kremelberg), is declared brain dead at a hospital and is pulled off life support. While the doctors remove her organs for donation, she suddenly comes back from the dead and yells highly classified naval missile codes. Fringe Division arrives to investigate, along with a naval officer; he tells them the codes are tied to a missing sailor called Andrew Rusk (Chazz Menendez). Lisa is unaware of the numbers or Rusk, but suddenly starts speaking Russian while Olivia (Anna Torv), Peter (Joshua Jackson), and Walter (John Noble) question her. The naval officer informs them that Rusk is fluent in the language. Olivia asks Lisa's mother Maureen (Amy Carlson) for permission to run more tests on the girl as a means to find Rusk, but Maureen disagrees. Meanwhile, Lisa has a vision of Rusk standing behind her, which leads Maureen to conclude they should end the investigation, as it is causing Lisa to experience these strange occurrences. Walter posits that Lisa's aneurysm tied her to Rusk and gave them a psychic bond. Having continued to suffer visions, Lisa soon calls Olivia and leads her to Rusk's body. It is determined that at the same time Lisa was taken off life support, Rusk was murdered. Walter believes that part of Rusk's consciousness transferred over to Lisa. Walter clashes with the family's priest (Sean Dugan) over her resurrection. Olivia learns that Rusk had recently experienced high levels of radiation; Walter posits that, due to this heavy radiation exposure, Rusk's energy is not completely "expended". Lisa is transferred to Walter's lab, where he gives her special drugs to extract Rusk's thoughts from her mind. Instead, Rusk gains control of Lisa's body and demands to know where he is. His description of the murderer allows Charlie Francis to identify and pursue another naval officer. This other officer tells them Rusk's physically abused wife Teresa (Annie Parisse) hired him for the murder. Believing that he has left her mind, they learn too late that Rusk is still in control of Lisa; he goes to exact revenge on Teresa, but is stopped by Charlie shooting him with a tranquilizer dart. Lisa is eventually able to purge Rusk from her consciousness. The final scene shows an unrelated car crash victim suddenly waking up, mumbling in Russian: "My Star", the pet name Rusk called his wife, meaning that Rusk is back. ## Production Co-executive producers David H. Goodman and Andrew Kreisberg wrote "Unearthed", while producer Frederick E. O. Toye worked as the episode director. "Unearthed" was the last episode filmed during the first season schedule. Although it was filmed during the first season, "Unearthed" aired during the following season on Monday, January 11, 2010, a departure from its normal timeslot on Thursdays. Actor Joshua Jackson explained the move in April 2009, "[It's] for boring reasons. They only had 22 airdates for our show this year, but they ordered 23 episodes, so we shot one for next year, which is just silly TV network stuff. It's not for any cool reason like we had something we needed in New York that we couldn't shoot elsewhere. It's just an accounting issue." That same month, executive producer/showrunner Jeff Pinkner further commented on the episode chronology for the new season, "It won't be the first episode, and it probably won't be the second, but it'll be somewhere in the first batch of episodes. It's a stand-alone, but it still honors the condition that we know it will fall into the world." Fox issued a press release on January 11 previewing the episode's plot. It concluded, "While the girl's mind-bending condition intensifies, Walter dusts off some old lab videos and hypothesizes the unthinkable, sending Olivia and Peter to investigate the bewildering case in an original 'Unearthed' episode of Fringe and here's another mystery: is it an unaired episode from Season One or is it from an alternate universe?" As the press release purposely alluded to whether the episode was indeed originally part of the first season or from a different parallel universe, one critic wrote that "FOX [was just] having fun with the fact that Fringe has alternate universes" and that readers of the press release should "take this with a grain of salt". According to Fox's media site, "Unearthed" was listed as the 21st episode of season one, despite its broadcast during the second season and inclusion in that season's DVD release as a special feature. Though one character had been killed off earlier in the second season, a former series regular appeared in the episode, sparking confusion among some viewers. As the broadcasting change went unexplained at the time, one media outlet speculated it was a marketing ploy on the network's part, believing the episode title was "more than a stunning coincidence" and that it was a reference to co-creator J. J. Abrams' other television series, Lost. ## Reception ### Ratings On its initial broadcast in the United States, "Unearthed" was watched by an estimated 7.79 million viewers, earning a 2.8/7 share among viewers aged 18–49. The episode aired on a Monday night, which was a departure from its usual timeslot on Thursdays. This led it temporarily into direct competition with another science fiction series, Heroes; Fringe easily won, as Heroes had its lowest rated airing in the show's history while, according to SFScope's Sarah Stegall, "Unearthed" gave Fringe a "whopping 24 percent improvement over its best ratings this season." ### Reviews Critical reception to the episode was generally negative. The A.V. Club's Noel Murray graded the episode with a C−, explaining he didn't want to watch a season one cast-off, and that some of the episode moments were "generic[ally] embarrassing", such as when Olivia tricked someone into telling her Rusk was sick and when Rusk failed to kill his wife after falling into the "old Fallacy Of The Talking Killer" cliche. New York's Tim Grierson thought it was "the lamest in recent memory" and "a stinker that should have remained safely out of public view". He did however remark that the episode allowed him to see how far the show had improved since its first season. In a slightly more positive review, MTV's Josh Wigler wrote "As far as standard installments of Fringe go, 'Unearthed' ranks somewhere in the middle of the pack, but the quality diminishes due to its awkward placement in the middle of season two". IGN's Ramsey Isler rated the episode 6.4/10, commenting that it was "cheesy, with mediocre writing and some fairly bad performances from the guest supporting cast". Isler found little to redeem the episode, and wished the story's partial focus on the intersection of science and faith had been further explored. Andrew Hanson from the Los Angeles Times thought the "premise was a little thinly stretched over the hour" and believed it would have been overshadowed by stronger episodes in season one, but was glad to have another hour of Fringe regardless. SFScope contributor Sarah Stegall disliked that the network failed to issue a "disclaimer" about the episode's production date, stating "...maybe the producers assume that all their audiences are brand new to the franchise. Or perhaps, unhappily, it is a sign that Fox has given up on this show, and no longer cares whether its lingering audience is confused." She concluded, "As a standalone episode, this one was of middling interest, and I can see why Fox would have dropped it from the Season One lineup. Fans looking eagerly for more 'mythology' episodes, where the links between the Fringe team, Massive Dynamics [sic], Nina Sharpe, William Bell and, for all I know, the Illuminati are explored, may be disappointed." Jane Boursaw of AOL TV was also critical of Fox for giving no warning about the episode and thought it should actually have been titled 'Walter vs. The Priest.'" She continued, "The whole episode was an interesting intersect between science and faith, not to mention the whole 'being possessed by a dead person because your brain waves crossed during life and death' thing. You can tell it was vintage Fringe -- if indeed it was -- because the storylines are more complex than that these days, what with the alternate universe and Leonard Nimoy and all." Various critics noted guest actress Alice Kremelberg's performance, particularly when she had to give the impression she was possessed by a male ghost; most reviews were negative, though Boursaw praised it, giving Kremelberg "high fives".
69,489,363
Sir Richard Hughes, 1st Baronet
1,171,578,816
Royal Navy officer and baronet
[ "1708 births", "1779 deaths", "Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain", "Military personnel from London", "People from Deptford", "Royal Navy officers", "Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War", "Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession" ]
Captain Sir Richard Hughes, 1st Baronet (1708 – 23 September 1779) was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century who served as Resident Commissioner of Portsmouth Dockyard. Hughes joined the navy in 1721 and served on a variety of ships, some commanded by his father Captain Richard Hughes, mostly in the Mediterranean Sea and Baltic Sea, and was also a some-time follower of Admiral Sir John Norris. He was promoted to commander in 1739 and given command of HMS Anne Galley, and was promoted to post-captain in the following year. Having served mostly in command of ships in the Mediterranean Fleet, Hughes was given command of the guardship HMS Fougueux in 1753, from where he was appointed Resident Commissioner of Portsmouth in 1754. He served there until 1773, in which year he was created a baronet and then retired. He died at Southampton, aged 71. ## Naval career ### Early life Richard Hughes was born in 1708, the son of Captain Richard Hughes, who was Resident Commissioner, Portsmouth Dockyard and Governor of the Royal Naval Academy, and his wife Mary Loader, at Deptford. The Hughes family were descended from the Princes of Cardigan in the Kingdom of Gwent, and had changed the family surname from Ap Hughes to Hughes in the 1600s. He had one brother, Robert, who would become a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy. Hughes also joined the navy, becoming a volunteer on board the 60-gun fourth-rate HMS Nottingham on 26 August 1721. Nottingham was commanded by his father, and served in the Baltic Fleet of Admiral Sir John Norris. ### First services Hughes stayed in Nottingham only briefly, moving in the same rank to the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Chichester on 20 September when his father was given command of her. He served in Chichester, also in the Baltic Fleet, until 23 June of the following year when he was made an able seaman on board the 50-gun fourth rate HMS Leopard, which was serving in home waters. Hughes was then promoted to midshipman in the 70-gun ship of the line HMS Edinburgh, also commanded by his father, on 13 July 1723 and passed his examination for his lieutenancy on 18 December 1725. Throughout this time Edinburgh served as the guardship at Blackstakes, Kent. Hughes was promoted to lieutenant on 28 July 1726 and posted to the 70-gun ship of the line HMS Grafton to serve as that ship's fourth lieutenant in the Baltic. He was advanced to become Grafton's third lieutenant on 20 April 1727 and then on 26 July 1728 transferred to the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Cornwall when his father gained command of her, serving as that ship's second lieutenant on guardship duties at the Nore. On 8 February 1729 he was moved to become Cornwall's third lieutenant, before being translated into the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Princess Amelia, the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir George Walton in the Mediterranean Fleet, as that ship's fourth lieutenant on 12 April. Hughes served in Princess Amelia until 16 December and then went on a period of half pay before joining his next ship, the 50-gun fourth rate HMS Salisbury, on 4 February 1731. Salisbury sailed to the Newfoundland Station later in the year; Hughes served there as her second lieutenant until 8 May 1732 when he was advanced to become first lieutenant of the 60-gun fourth rate HMS Sunderland, guardship at Sheerness. He became Sunderland's second lieutenant on 15 February 1733. Hughes continued to serve as such in Sunderland until 6 May 1735 when he became the sixth lieutenant of the 100-gun ship of the line HMS Britannia, Norris's flagship off Lisbon. He stayed in Britannia until 16 October and then went on an extended period of half pay. This ended on 12 June 1739 when he was appointed as the first lieutenant of the 90-gun ship of the line HMS Namur, which was Norris's new flagship for service in home waters. ### Command Hughes was promoted to commander on 3 July and given command of the new 8-gun fireship HMS Anne Galley, serving in the Mediterranean Fleet of Rear-Admiral Nicholas Haddock as part of the War of the Austrian Succession. On 24 October 1740 he was promoted to post-captain and sent to command the 20-gun frigate HMS Dursley Galley, also in the Mediterranean. He was employed in escorting the main fleet and in cruising short distances away from it on patrols, but the presence of the large fleet meant that French and Spanish ships refused to leave harbour, and Dursley Galley found no action in this period. On 10 July 1741 he was briefly appointed as acting Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth. Hughes was advanced to command the 40-gun frigate HMS Faversham on 25 July 1742 and in August of that year was attached to a squadron under the command of Commodore William Martin which sailed to Naples and forced the country to confirm its neutrality in the conflict under the threat of bombardment and attack by the British. Hughes left Faversham in August 1743 and in January 1744 sat as one of the presiding officers in the court martial of Captain Richard Norris at Mahon. He received his next command, still in the Mediterranean, on 1 April when he was given the 50-gun fourth rate HMS Chatham, a ship that had been commanded by his father between 1706 and 1710. Hughes was given command of a small squadron off the coast of Italy, with which he protected trade and convoys going along the coast in support of the allied armies on land. On 18 August Hughes was moved to another ship of the fleet, the 70-gun ship of the line HMS Essex, which he left on 25 October 1748 when she was put in for a refit. His next command came on 10 January 1753 when he was given the newly recommissioned 64-gun ship of the line HMS Fougueux, a captured French vessel. Fougueux was stationed as the guardship at Portsmouth and was Hughes' last ship command. ### Commissioner On 12 February 1754 Hughes was appointed as the Resident Commissioner at Portsmouth upon the retirement of his father from that same position. The historian Daniel A. Baugh suggests that Hughes only embarked on a career at sea in order to qualify to eventually succeed his father at Portsmouth, comparing the Hughes family with the similar career paths of Sir Richard Haddock and his son Richard Haddock, both serving as Comptroller of the Navy. Hughes continued at Portsmouth, highly successfully, until he retired from the navy, still a captain, on 25 August 1773. On 17 July that year, Hughes hosted George III at a visit of the dockyard and in reward for this service of "great magnificence" he was made a baronet. In retirement he was given a pension of £500 a year, dying at Southampton on 23 September 1779, aged 71. ## Family Hughes married Joanne Collyer, the daughter of Captain William Collyer of Deptford, some time in the 1720s; together they had two sons and two daughters: - Mary Hughes (d.1824), married Captain Thomas Collingwood; he died in 1780 and she next married Colonel Nathaniel Heywood, a gentleman of the bedchamber to Prince William Henry - Sarah Hughes, died unmarried - Admiral Sir Richard Hughes, 2nd Baronet (1724–5 January 1812) - Reverend Sir Robert Hughes, 3rd Baronet (17 September 1739–4 June 1814) ## Notes and citations
2,379,565
1905 Atlantic hurricane season
1,152,693,258
Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean
[ "1900s Atlantic hurricane seasons", "1905 meteorology", "1905 natural disasters" ]
The 1905 Atlantic hurricane season featured five known tropical cyclones, two of which made landfall in the United States. The first system was initially observed near the Windward Islands on September 6. The last system to dissipate, the fourth storm, transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on October 11, while located well southeast of Newfoundland. These dates fall within the period with the most tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic. Between October 5 and October 10, the fourth and fifth system existed simultaneously. Of the season's five tropical cyclones, only one reached hurricane status, the fewest since 1890. Furthermore, that storm strengthened into a major hurricane, which is Category 3 or higher on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. This storm, which was the fourth and strongest hurricane of the season, peaked at Category 3 strength with 120 mph (195 km/h) winds. It was also attributed to at least six fatalities after sending a rogue wave across the steerage of the steamer Campania. The first storm also resulted in two deaths after a schooner wrecked in Barbados. The season's activity was reflected with an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) rating of 28, the lowest value since 1864. ACE is a metric used to express the energy used by a tropical cyclone during its lifetime. Therefore, a storm with a longer duration will have high values of ACE. It is only calculated at six-hour increments in which specific tropical and subtropical systems are either at or above sustained wind speeds of 39 mph (63 km/h), which is the threshold for tropical storm intensity. Thus, tropical depressions are not included here. ## Timeline ## Systems ### Tropical Storm One The first storm of the season, already at tropical storm intensity, was identified on September 6 to the east of Grenada. A small storm, it quickly passed through the southern Lesser Antilles early on September 7. The next day, the storm weakened to a tropical depression before dissipating as a shallow but large system. A schooner sailing from Bridgetown to Suriname encountered heavy seas just a day out of port and turned back. It was thrown onto the pierhead and wrecked. The captain and a crewman were swept overboard and drowned. ### Tropical Storm Two HURDAT indicates that a tropical storm originated to the northeast of the Windward Islands on September 11. Steadily tracking towards the west-northwest, the storm gradually intensified, reaching its peak intensity with winds estimated at 60 mph (95 km/h) on September 13. After turning northwestward, the system slowed and began to weaken. By September 16, the storm weakened to a tropical depression and dissipated shortly thereafter. ### Tropical Storm Three Based on weather reports from the Weather Bureau Office in New Orleans, Louisiana, a tropical storm was first observed about 20 miles (30 km) north-northwest of Swan Island on September 24. The storm strengthened slightly before making landfall near Punta Allen, Quintana Roo, around 1200 UTC on September 25. Early on the following day, the system emerged into the Gulf of Mexico and headed north-northwestward. At midday on September 26, it peaked with sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h). The storm re-curved north-northeastward late on September 28, while approaching the Gulf Coast of the United States. At 1000 UTC the next day, this system made landfall in extreme southwest Vermilion Parish, Louisiana at the same intensity. The storm slowly weakened inland and dissipated over Arkansas on September 30. Strong winds and rough seas were reported along the central Gulf Coast of the United States, forcing ships to remain in port. However, rough seas beached many other vessels and washed away some bathhouses and waterfront buildings south of New Orleans. In Gulfport, Mississippi, storm tides inundated the railroad wharves. ### Hurricane Four On October 1, a tropical depression developed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea. Moving slowly north-northeastward, it reached tropical storm status early on October 3. The following day, the storm curved northeastward. Kingston, Jamaica, recorded rainfall as the system bypassed the island. Late on October 5 and early on October 6, the storm passed through the Windward Passage. Eastern Cuba was affected "with some force", but damage was not significant. Entering the Atlantic Ocean, the system passed through the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands without causing damage. While centered about halfway between Bermuda and Turks and Caicos Islands, the storm strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Later on October 8, it deepened to a Category 2 hurricane, while passing south of Bermuda. The island experienced gale-force winds with gusts reaching hurricane force, but damage was apparently minimal. Early on October 9, the storm intensified into a Category 3 hurricane and peaked with winds of 120 mph (195 km/h). On October 10, it weakened to a Category 2 and then became extratropical early the next day. The steamer Campania encountered the remnants of the storm and was reported to have been struck by a large rogue wave, which was described as "disastrous." The ship roll and water moved across the steerage, sweeping five passengers into the ocean, they presumably drowned. At least 30 other people were injured, one of them fatally. The extratropical remnants dissipated over the Labrador Sea on October 13. ### Tropical Storm Five A tropical storm was first observed in the Gulf of Mexico on October 5, while located about 105 miles (170 km) north of the Yucatán Peninsula. The storm strengthened slowly while crossing the Gulf of Mexico and peaked with sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) early on October 8. At 1700 UTC on the following day, it made landfall near Morgan City, Louisiana, at the same intensity. The system quickly weakened inland and transitioned into an extratropical cyclone over Mississippi on October 10. The extratropical remnants dissipated over Virginia on October 11. The remnants of this storm brought heavy rains to the Eastern United States and Atlantic Canada. ## Season effects This is a table of all of the storms that have formed in the 1905 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s)–denoted by bold location names – damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 1905 USD. ## See also - 1900–1940 South Pacific cyclone seasons - 1900–1950 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons - 1900s Australian region cyclone seasons
20,640,342
Weiquan movement
1,160,293,951
Non-centralized group of legal experts and intellectuals in China
[ "Chinese law", "Civil rights activists", "Human rights in China", "Political movements", "Weiquan movement" ]
The Weiquan movement is a non-centralized group of lawyers, legal experts, and intellectuals in China who seek to protect and defend the civil rights of the citizenry through litigation and legal activism. The movement, which began in the early 2000s, has organized demonstrations, sought reform via the legal system and media, defended victims of human rights abuses, and written appeal letters, despite opposition from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Among the issues adopted by Weiquan lawyers are property and housing rights, protection for AIDS victims, environmental damage, religious freedom, freedom of speech and the press, and defending the rights of other lawyers facing disbarment or imprisonment. Individuals involved in the Weiquan movement have met with occasionally harsh reprisals from Chinese government officials, including disbarment, detention, harassment, and, in extreme instances, torture. Authorities have also responded to the movement with the launch of an education campaign on the "socialist concept of rule of law," which reasserts the role of the CCP and the primacy of political considerations in the legal profession, and with the Three Supremes, which entrenches the supremacy of the CCP in the judicial process. ## Background Since the legal reforms of the late 1970s and 1980s, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has moved to embrace the language of the rule of law and establish a modern court system. In the process, it has enacted thousands of new laws and regulations, and begun training more legal professionals. The concept of "rule of law" was enshrined in the constitution, and the CCP embarked on campaigns to publicize the idea that citizens have protection under the law. At the same time, however, a fundamental contradiction exists in the implementation of rule of law wherein the CCP insists that its authority supersedes that of the law; the constitution enshrines rule of law, but also emphasizes the principle of the "leadership of the Communist Party." The judiciary is not independent, and is therefore subject to politicization and control by the CCP. This has produced a system that is often described as "rule by law," rather than rule of law. Because judicial decisions are subject to the sometimes arbitrary assessments of the CCP, citizens who attempt to make use of the legal system to pursue grievances find that, if their cause is determined to have the potential to undermine the authority of the CCP, they may be suppressed. Defendants who find themselves facing criminal charges, such as for conducting activism or for their religious beliefs, often have few means of pursuing an effective defense. The Weiquan movement coalesced in the early 2000s in response to these inherent contradictions and the arbitrary exercise of legal authority in China, though its roots could be traced to the consumer protection movement that began in the 1990s. The movement is informal, and can be understood as including lawyers and legal activists who advocate for civil rights and defend the interests of citizens against corporations, government or CCP organs. Fu Hualing and Richard Cullen note that Weiquan lawyers "are generally always on the side of the weaker party: (migrant) workers v. employers in labor disputes; peasants in cases involving taxation, persons contesting environmental pollution, land appropriation, and village committee elections; journalists facing government censorship; defendants subject to criminal prosecution; and ordinary citizens who are discriminated against by government policies and actions." The emergence of the Weiquan movement was made possible by a confluence of factors, including a market for their services, and an emerging rights consciousness. It was also facilitated by the 1996 "Lawyers Law," which changed the definition of lawyers from "state legal workers" to professionals holding a legal certificate who perform legal services. The law effectively delinked lawyers from the state, and gave lawyers greater (though still limited) autonomy within the profession. Weiquan lawyers tend to be especially critical of the lack of judicial independence in China. Rather than challenging particular laws, they frame their work as being in keeping with Chinese laws, and describe their activities as a means of defending and upholding the Constitution of the People's Republic of China against abuses. As such, Weiquan lawyering has been described as a form of rightful resistance. ## Weiquan lawyers Weiquan Lawyers (Chinese: 維權律師), or "rights protection" lawyers, refer to a small but influential movement of lawyers, legal practitioners, scholars and activists who help Chinese citizens to assert their constitutional, civil rights and/or public interest through litigation and legal activism. In the context of a rising number of lawyers in China, the proportion of Weiquan lawyers is very small. Weiquan Lawyers face considerable personal, financial and professional risks. Notable Weiquan Lawyers include He Weifang, Xu Zhiyong, Teng Biao, Guo Feixiong and Chen Guangcheng, Gao Zhisheng, Zheng Enchong, and Li Heping. Many barefoot lawyers are peasants who teach themselves enough law to file civil complaints, engage in litigation, and educate fellow citizens about their rights. Some Weiquan lawyers are the pragmatists and some are more radical. ## Major fields ### Freedom of expression Although freedom of speech is enshrined in Article 35 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Chinese authorities enforce restrictions on political and religious expression. Such restrictions are sometimes in accordance with Article 105 of the criminal code, which contains vague and broadly defined provisions against "inciting subversion of state power". Weiquan lawyers, along with international human rights organizations, have argued that the provisions against subversion are inconsistent both with China's own constitution and with international human rights standards, particularly in light of the lack of transparency and clear guidelines used in applying the laws. Several Weiquan lawyers have been involved in litigation and other forms of advocacy to defend the rights to free expression for individuals charged with the crime of subversion. Notable cases include that of Liu Xiaobo, a prominent Beijing intellectual sentenced to 11 years in prison for inciting subversion in December 2009. Chengdu activist Tan Zuoren was sentenced to five years for inciting subversion for publishing writings on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, advocating for the families of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake victims, and accepting interviews from the Falun Gong-affiliated Sound of Hope radio. His lawyers were reportedly barred from entering the courtroom. In October 2009, intellectual Guo Quan was sentenced to 10 years in prison for publishing "reactionary" articles online. Weiquan lawyers have also challenged the application of state secret laws, which are sometimes used to prosecute individuals who disseminate information on politically sensitive issues. In November 2009, for instance, lawyers were involved in arguing for Huang Qi, a Sichuan activist who had advocated online for the parents of Sichuan earthquake victims. Huang was sentenced to three years in prison for possession of state secrets. ### Judicial independence The Chinese Constitution enshrines rule of law, but simultaneously emphasizes the principle of the "leadership of the Communist Party." The legal profession itself is subordinate to the authority of the CCP; the Ministry of Justice, not the bar associations, is responsible for issuing and renewing lawyers' licenses. Weiquan lawyers have argued that this structure precludes the emergence of genuine rule of law, and in some cases have advocated for reforms to advance judicial independence and the protection of legal professionals. In late August 2008, a collection of several dozen Beijing lawyers signed a petition stating that the Beijing Bar Association leaders should be elected by the organization's members, rather than being appointed. The petition letter stated that selection process in place for the Association's directors is inconsistent with official guidelines and the Chinese constitution, and should be replaced with a democratic voting process. The Beijing Bar Association responded to the campaign by asserting that "Any individual who uses text messages, the web or other media to privately promote and disseminate the concept of direct elections, express controversial opinions, thereby spreading rumors within the Beijing Bar Association, confuse and poison people's minds, and convince people of circumstances that do not exist regarding the so-called 'Call For Direct Elections For the Beijing Bar Association' is illegal." The following year, the Beijing Bureau of Justice refused to renew the licenses of 53 Beijing Weiquan lawyers, all of whom had signed the petition for elections to the Bar Association. ### Land rights Under Chinese property law, there is no privately held land; "urban land" is owned by the state, which grants land rights for a set number of years. Rural, or "collectively owned land," is leased by the state for periods of 30 years, and is theoretically reserved for agricultural purposes, housing and services for farmers. Forced evictions are forbidden under International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which China has ratified. Under China's constitution and other property laws, expropriation of urban land is permitted only if it is for the purpose of supporting the "public interest," and those being evicted are supposed to receive compensation, resettlement, and protection of one's living conditions. The "public interest" is not defined, however, and abuses are common in the expropriation process, with many citizens complaining of receiving little or no compensation. Forced evictions with little or no compensation occur frequently in both urban and rural China, with even fewer legal protections for rural citizens. Collectively owned rural land may be "reallocated" at the discretion of authorities, and in many regions local governments collude with private developers to reclassify rural land as urban land, which can then be sold. from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s, an estimated 40 million Chinese peasants were affected by land requisitions. Citizens who resist or protest the evictions have reportedly been subjected to harassment, beatings, or detention, and land-related grievances occasionally escalate into large-scale protests or riots. Several Weiquan lawyers have advocated for the rights of individual citizens whose land and homes were taken with inadequate compensation, including Shanghai lawyer Zheng Enchong. Ni Yulan, a Beijing lawyer, was herself left homeless by forced eviction, and became an outspoken advocate for victims before being sentenced to two years in prison. In 2007, a 54-year-old farmer in Heilongjiang Yang Chunlin published numerous articles on human rights and land rights, and helped to organise a petition entitled: "We want human rights, not the Olympics." The petition reportedly collected over ten thousand signatures. Yang was put to trial, and sentenced to five years in prison, where he has allegedly been tortured. Li Fangping was hired to defend him, but was denied access to his client. ### Defense of ethnic minorities Several Weiquan lawyers, including Teng Biao, Jiang Tianyong, and Li Fangping, offered legal aid to Tibetans in the wake of the March 2008 Tibetan protests. The protests resulted in the imprisonment of at least 670 Tibetans, and the execution of at least four individuals. Chinese government sources asserted that the unrest and violence in Tibet had been masterminded by the Dalai Lama and executed by his followers for the purpose of fomenting unrest and disrupting the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The Open Constitution Initiative (OCI), operated by several Weiquan lawyers and intellectuals, issued a paper in May 2009 challenging the official narrative, and suggesting that the protests were instead a response to economic inequities, Han Chinese migration, and religious sentiments. The OCI recommended that Chinese authorities better respect and protect the rights and interests of the Tibetan people, including religious freedom, and pursue the reduction of economic inequality and official corruption. Tibetan Filmmaker Dhondup Wangcheng was sentenced to six years in prison for making a documentary on human rights in Tibet in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. Two lawyers who sought to represent him, Chang Boyang and Li Dunyong, faced threats and harassment for their advocacy. In July 2010, a group of Chinese activists including Teng Biao co-signed a letter to the Chinese leadership to protest the 15-year prison sentence that had been meted out to Uighur journalist Halaite Niyaze. Niyaze was not permitted to have a lawyer at his trial, where he was charged with "endangering state security." According to reports, Niyaze was being charged because he had criticized the Chinese government in an interview with a Hong Kong news agency for not doing enough to prevent the July 2009 Ürümqi riots. ### Falun Gong Falun Gong, a spiritual qigong discipline that once claimed tens of million adherents in China, was banned in July 1999 under the leadership of the CCP, and a campaign was launched to suppress the group. In an attempt to have Falun Gong adherents renounce their belief in the practice, they are subject to state-sanctioned, systematic violence in custody, sometimes resulting in death. Some sources indicate hundreds of thousands may have been detained in reeducation-through-labor camps for practicing Falun Gong and/or resisting persecution. In November 1999, the Supreme People's Court offered a judicial interpretation of article 300 of the criminal code, stating that Falun Gong should be regarded as a "xie jiao," or cult. Large numbers were subsequently sentenced to long prison terms, often under article 300, in what are typically very short trials without the presence of a lawyer. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, note that the application of the law to persecute Falun Gong adherents contravenes both China's own constitution and international standards. Several Weiquan lawyers have argued similarly while defending Falun Gong adherents who face criminal or administrative sentencing for their beliefs. Lawyers who have defended Falun Gong include Guo Guoting, Zhang Kai and Li Chunfu, Wang Yonghang, Tang Jitian and Liu Wei, among others. In addition to litigation work, Weiquan lawyers like Gao Zhisheng have also advocated publicly and in the media for human rights for Falun Gong. In 2004 and 2005, Gao wrote a series of letters to China's top leadership detailing accounts of torture and sexual abuse against Falun Gong practitioners, and calling for an end to the persecution of the group. In response, Gao lost his legal license, was put under house arrest, detained, and was reportedly tortured. ### HIV/AIDS Some Weiquan lawyers have advocated for the rights of HIV/AIDS victims who contracted the virus as a result of state-sponsored blood drives. In the 1990s, government officials in central China, and especially in Henan, encouraged rural citizens to sell blood plasma in order to supplement their incomes. Gross mismanagement of the process resulted in hundreds of thousands of individuals being infected with HIV. According to activists, victims have not been compensated, and no government officials were held accountable. Authorities continue to suppress information about the epidemic, which is particularly sensitive in light of the involvement of Li Changchun, the CCP Central Propaganda Department head and formerly Party chief in Henan. Hu Jia is arguably the most well known advocate for HIV/AIDS victims, having served as the executive director of the Beijing Aizhixing Institute of Health Education and as one of the founders of the non-governmental organization Loving Source. ### Women's rights Chen Guangcheng, a blind self-taught Weiquan lawyer, rose to prominence for defending victims of China's one-child policy. First implemented in 1979, the one-child policy mandates that couples may have only one child, though there are exceptions for some rural citizens, ethnic minorities, and couples who were themselves only children. Though Chinese laws condemn harsh enforcement measures, Chinese authorities and family planning staff have been accused of carrying out coercive, late-term forced abortions, sterilization, incarceration and torture to enforce the policy. In 2005, Chen Guangcheng filed a class-action case against family planning officials in Linyi, Shandong, who were accused of subjecting thousands of women to sterilization or forced abortions. ### Underground Christians China's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, yet also provides a caveat specifying that only "normal" religious activities are permitted. In practice, religious freedom is granted only within the strictly prescribed parameters of the five officially sanctioned "patriotic" religious associations of Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism. Groups falling outside the state-administered religions, including "underground" or "house church" Christians, are subject to varying degrees of repression and persecution. Although there are no definitive figures on the number of underground Christians in China, some estimates have put their total number in excess of 70 million. At least 40 Catholic bishops operate independently of official sanction, and some are under surveillance, house arrest, detention, or have disappeared. Several leaders and members of underground Protestant churches have also been detained and sentenced to reeducation through labor or prison terms. Violent raids and demolitions have been carried out on underground churches, sometimes resulting in injury to congregants inside. Chinese officials have labelled several underground Protestant churches as a xie jiao (translated literally as "evil religion"), or cult, thus providing a pretext for harsher punishment of members. Several prominent Weiquan lawyers themselves identify with the underground Protestant movement, and have sought to defend church members and leaders facing imprisonment. These include Zhang Kai, Li Heping, and Gao Zhisheng. Former house church leader Bob Fu's US-based organization ChinaAid has sponsored legal cases, and provided "rule-of-law training" and legal help for distressed clients in China. ### Other initiatives A number of specific events have attracted the help and attention of Weiquan activists. In the March 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province, shoddy school construction resulted in the collapse of several schools full of students. A number of Weiquan lawyers, including Tan Zuoren, were involved in advocating for the rights of parents, and in investigating allegations that corrupt officials were responsible for the poor construction. Parents and lawyers met with reprisals from Chinese officials for their activism. Later the same year, it was revealed that large quantities of infant formula had been tainted with melamine, causing 300,000 infants to fall ill and resulting in several deaths. A group of parents of the victims were reportedly detained for attempting to draw media attention to their plight. Dozens of lawyers—particularly from the provinces of Hebei, Henan and Shandong—offered pro-bono legal services to victims, but their efforts were obstructed by authorities. Individual human rights cases, such as the Deng Yujiao incident and the death of Qian Yunhui, have also drawn help from rights defenders such as Wu Gan. In 2003, a group of legal scholars, including Teng Biao and Xu Zhiyong, formed the Open Constitution Initiative (Chinese: 公盟) to advocate for greater rule of law. The organization was involved in the Sun Zhigang case, and has advocated for petitioners, labor rights, freedom of expression, HIV/AIDS victims, Tibetans, land rights, and protection of public health, among other issues. ## Government response ### Retrenchment on rule of law In response to the emergence of the Weiquan movement, which often makes use of the official language about "rule of law" to justify its work, in April 2006 a political campaign was launched to solidify the CCP's leadership over judicial work, combat the idea of greater independence for judges and lawyers, and educate people and judicial authorities about the "socialist concept of rule of law." The campaign was announced by Luo Gan, then the head of the CCP Central Committee's Political and Legislative Affairs Committee. Luo urged that in order to protect political stability, "forceful measures" be adopted "against those who, under the pretext of rights-protection (weiquan), carry out sabotage." The launch of the campaign coincided with a crackdown on Weiquan lawyers. Shortly after the campaign's launch, CCP Committees provided instruction to judges reminding them of the political goals that their work must uphold. According to one document issued to judges in Zhejiang and quoted by Human Rights Watch, "Recently, some judges have started to believe that to be a judge you just have to strictly apply the law in a case. In fact, this kind of concept is erroneous [...] all the legal formulations have a clear political background and direction [...] We must stamp out the kind of narrow viewpoint that thinks that you can also do court work by having judicial independence." During a December 2007 conference on political-legal work, CCP general secretary Hu Jintao articulated the theory of the "Three Supremes," which emphasized again that legal work should regard as supreme the concerns and interests of the CCP. In March 2008, Wang Shengjun was confirmed as the new head of the Supreme People's Court. Wang, who has no formal legal training himself, abandoned the efforts of his predecessors to improve judicial competence, training, and autonomy, and instead placed primary importance on the ideological implications of the "Three Supremes" theory and upholding the leadership of the CCP. In 2010, China's Ministry of Justice issued two new regulations intended to "strengthen the supervision and management of lawyers and law firms". According to the Associated Press, the new regulations would serve to "allow authorities to punish lawyers ... for actions such as talking to the media or even causing 'traffic troubles.'" In March 2012, China's Ministry of Justice issued a new directive requiring lawyers first obtaining their license or renewing an existing license to swear an oath of loyalty to the CCP. According to the Ministry's website, a section of oath includes the following: “I swear to faithfully fulfill the sacred mission of legal workers in socialism with Chinese characteristics. I swear my loyalty to the motherland, to the people, to uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system, and to protect the dignity of the Constitution and laws." ### Suppression of lawyers and coercive measures Weiquan lawyers have faced various challenges to their work from the Chinese government, including disbarment or suspension, violence, threats, surveillance, arbitrary detention, and prosecution. This is particularly true for lawyers who take up politically sensitive cases. Reports of harassment, intimidation, and violence against Weiquan lawyers increased in 2006 following the launch of the campaign to promote the "socialist concept of the rule of law." Authorities have refused to renew the licenses of several dozen Weiquan lawyers, and several have effectively been banned for life from the legal profession. In 2009, for instance, at least 17 Weiquan lawyers were not permitted to renew their legal licenses after taking on politically sensitive cases. Several Weiquan lawyers have themselves been sentenced to prison in response to their activism. A selection of notable instances of suppression are listed here: - Gao Zhisheng, once recognized as one of China's ten most promising lawyers, was an advocate for a range of disenfranchised individuals and minorities. In 2006, after he wrote a series of letters to the Chinese leadership concerning the torture of Falun Gong adherents, Gao had his legal license revoked and his law firm was shut down. His family was placed under house arrest, and he was detained for six months. Gao was sentenced, with a five-year reprieve, to four years in prison. He has been the subject of several prolonged disappearances into custody, during which he has reportedly been tortured. - On 27 December 2007, AIDS and pro-democracy activist Hu Jia was detained as part of a crackdown on dissents during the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A well known rights advocate who had advocated on behalf of AIDS victims, peasants, victims of land requisitions, Hu had also been critical of the lack of human rights progress that had been made ahead of the Olympic games. Hu pleaded not guilty at his trial in March 2008. On 3 April 2008, he was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power." He had previously been under house arrest, and has reportedly been beaten by police. - In response to his work to bring a class action lawsuit against family planning authorities in Linyi, Shandong Province in 2005, Chen Guangcheng was put under house arrest, threatened, detained, and beaten. Three other Weiquan activists – Li Fangping, Li Subin, and Xu Zhiyong— visited him to offer support, but were themselves beaten and interrogated. On 24 August 2006, he was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for "damaging property and gathering crowds to disturb transport order." Following his release, he remains under house arrest. - On 22 April 2010, Beijing lawyers Liu Wei and Tang Jitian were permanently disbarred for defending Falun Gong practitioners. - On 13 May 2009, lawyers Zhang Kai and Li Chunfu are violently beaten and detained in Chongqing for investigating the death of Jiang Xiqing, a 66-year-old Falun Gong practitioner killed in a labor camp. One month earlier, Beijing lawyer Cheng Hai was similarly beaten by police in Sichuan province for seeking to defend a Falun Gong adherent. - Yang Chunlin was arrested in July 2007 and charged with "inciting subversion of state power". His trial began in February 2008 in the city of Jiamusi. Yang was sentenced to five years in prison on 24 March 2008. He maintained his innocence throughout the trial. During and after the hearing at which he was sentenced, Yang was reportedly beaten with an electric rod on at least two occasions. - On 4 July 2009, around 20 security agents broke into the home of Wang Yonghang. Wang, a Weiquan lawyer from Dalian City, had defended Falun Gong adherents. He was taken into custody for interrogation and was reportedly beaten severely. Wang's lawyers were not permitted to contact him. In November 2009, Wang was sentenced in a closed court to seven years in prison for his advocacy on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners. When his lawyers were permitted to see him in January 2010, they reported that he had been tortured. - On 17 July 2009, authorities in Beijing raided and shuttered the Open Constitution Initiative, an NGO established by legal scholars Teng Biao and Xu Zhiyong. - On 20 February 2011, several Weiquan activists were detained following online calls for pro-democracy protests in China, including Chen Wei, Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jitian, and Teng Biao. - In May 2014, as multiple Chinese activists began preparing for the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, a number of lawyers were arrested for planning or being suspected of planning demonstrations. Among those arrested was Pu Zhiqiang, a lawyer who was involved in organising the demonstrations in 1989. ## International response Although there is relatively little awareness of the Weiquan phenomenon as a movement outside of China, Western governments and human rights organizations have consistently expressed concern over the treatment of individual Weiquan lawyers in China, some of whom have faced disbarment, imprisonment, prolonged disappearance, sentencing and alleged torture for their work in promoting civil rights and speaking out against the CCP's one-party rule. In October 2010, a bipartisan group of 29 members of the U.S. House of Representatives pressed President Obama to raise the cases of Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng with the Chinese leadership, writing of Gao Zhizheng's prolonged detention: "If lawyers are hauled away for the "crime" of defending their clients, then even the pretense of rule of law in China has failed." The U.S. State Department claims to have raised the cases of these two individuals with their Chinese counterparts. In 2008, Hu Jia was awarded the Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament recognizing his human rights advocacy. The same year, Hu and Gao Zhisheng received nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, and were considered to be favorites for the award. Two years later, seven members of the U.S. House of Representatives nominated imprisoned lawyers Gao Zhisheng and Chen Guangcheng, along with fellow dissident Liu Xiaobo for the prize. The letter noted that these individuals have sought to "raise the Chinese people's awareness of their dignity and rights, and to call their government to govern within its constitution, its laws, and the international human rights agreements it has signed," and thereby made a significant contribution to peace. The Nobel Prize Committee awarded the honor to Liu in absentia in December 2010. ## See also - Human rights in the People's Republic of China - Protest and dissent in the People's Republic of China - Deng Yujiao incident
64,034,184
Kamil Tolon
1,173,352,964
Turkish industrialist (1912–1978)
[ "1912 births", "1978 deaths", "20th-century Turkish businesspeople", "20th-century Turkish engineers", "20th-century people from the Ottoman Empire", "Turkish inventors", "Turks from the Ottoman Empire" ]
Kamil Özdemir Tolon (29 February 1912 – 23 July 1978) was a Turkish businessperson, industrialist and inventor, known for the first manufacture of an electric engine in Turkey. Tolon was born in 1912 in Istanbul. He had his secondary and university education in Ankara. He wanted to become an engineer, but went to the Ankara University Faculty of Law instead due to the lack of engineering schools. He graduated in 1935, and started working as a Posta ve Telgraf Teşkilatı ( Post and Telegraph Agency: PTT) inspector after university, but left the job not long after. After moving to Bursa, he founded Tolon Makina in 1937, where he started to produce several machines. In 1944, he was drafted into the army, where he continued working on new inventions to be used for the army. After returning from the army, Tolon started producing combine harvesters, water pumps, washing machines and dishwashers. While initially using imported engines, he was later compelled to build his own engine by Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and made the first indigenously manufactured electric engine in Turkey. Tolon moved to a new factory after a fire damaged his workshop in 1958. The factory started production in 1960 and resulted in an increase of sales. He was a founding member of the Justice Party and became a chairman at the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Regarded as one of the most important figures in Turkish industrialism, Kamil Tolon died in 1978 in Geneva, Switzerland, from an embolism. ## Early and personal life Kamil Tolon was born on 29 February 1912 in the Beylerbeyi neighborhood of Istanbul. He was the second child of six children in the Saatçioğulları family. He was known as Muhittin oğlu Kamil ( Muhittin's son Kamil) as surnames in Turkey were not mandatory at the time. His primary education took place in several different provinces of Turkey. Tolon attended high school at a boarding school in Ankara, and graduated in September 1935. During his time in high school, he was interested in engineering: he designed a music box while still being a student. However, due to the lack of engineering faculties at the time, Tolon instead had to attend the Ankara University Faculty of Law for higher education. At the faculty of law, he met several future politicians, including Adnan Menderes, the 9th prime minister of Turkey. Tolon graduated from university on 4 July 1935. In 1935, with the new Surname Law requiring every Turkish citizen to assume a hereditary surname, he took the surname Tolonçok, meaning "very talented". He changed it to simply Tolon later in 1944. In 1936, Tolon married Müeyyet Bulut, with whom he had two daughters, born in 1936 and 1942. Tolon and Bulut divorced in 1942. The older daughter, Abatun, stayed with Tolon, while his younger daughter, Barkın, stayed with her mother. In February 1943, Tolon married his second wife, Muzaffer Biliktü. They also had two children: a son, Dara (born 1944), and a daughter, Cana (born 1949). Despite the divorce, Tolon and Müeyyet Bulut still held family reunions, with Cana referring to Bulut as her aunt. ## Career ### PTT inspector and return to engineering After graduating from university, Tolon started to work at Posta ve Telgraf Teşkilatı ( Post and Telegraph Agency: PTT) as an inspector. He was sent to Anatolia for his first inspection, though he resigned almost immediately after an encounter with an extremely poor villager. He went to an engineering school in France for a brief period, before opening a shop in Bursa in 1937, which he named Tolon Makina. In 1942, Tolon met Fahri Batıca. The two started a workshop together on Cumhuriyet Street, where they manufactured wheel hubs for cars and Jacquard machines. They split up two years later in 1944 after Batıca said that engineering was a thing for Tolon and not for him. Following this, Tolon started to work at the workshop with his wife. In 1944, Tolon was drafted into the army and was sent to Nara, Çanakkale. He continued his work during the army; most importantly producing machines to cut mines, which were used to neutralize naval mines in the Dardanelles left over from World War I. He spent 5 months cleaning mines and assisting soldiers in the use of his machine. Following regular electricity outages in his military squad, he made an electricity generator, as well as a portable washing machine for soldiers who were traveling. The washing machine was assembled in the back of a truck and was used in the army for several years. ### Return from military and first electric engine Tolon returned to Bursa from the military in 1945. That same year he made power looms, sawing machines and drills in his workshop. In 1948 and 1949, Tolon manufactured a combine harvester and water pumps for farmers. The government decided to buy the harvester, but needed to test the machine. A European manufacturer also joined the testing, but secretly installed iron bars on the farm land where the test took place, causing the harvester to break. Tolon also manufactured washing machines and dishwashers in his workhop, which were the first manufactured in the country. He received the patents for these products in 1953. Washing machines at the time were only owned by the wealthy, as the need to import them made them expensive. Tolon's machine allowed many more families to acquire one. The copper wires needed for the machines were processed in his own workshop and everything apart from the engines were built by Tolon. The engines were imported from abroad and had an import quota. Tolon had trouble selling the dishwasher, as locals at the time thought that washing dishes by hand was cleaner: as a result, he stopped production. While visiting Bursa, then–prime minister Adnan Menderes told Tolon that he was not allowed to import engines anymore, and forced him to manufacture his own engine. This led to the manufacture of the first electric engine of Turkey, which were used for Tolon's machines. The first engine had a power of 0.35 kilowatts (0.47 hp). The improved version that went into mass production had a power of 30–40 kilowatts (40–54 hp). The machines were considered to be of high quality, with Hürriyet reporting that "these domestic washing machines are the same as, or even more durable and practical than European goods." ### Relocation due to fire In December 1957, Tolon bought a 14-acre (5.7 ha) field near the village of Soğukpınarlı. On 24 August 1958, a major fire destroyed 1130 shops at the bazaar (kapalıçarşı) and Cumhuriyet Street in Bursa, including Tolon's shop. Taking advantage of the chaos, several of his machines were looted by people. Despite the fire completely burning down his workshop, he temporarily continued his work in tents of the Turkish Red Crescent. Tolon was one of the first to resume production among those manufacturers who were affected by the fire. Following the fire, Tolon started to plan a factory at the field near Soğukpınarlı. Construction began in 1959, with Tolon himself making the drawings and being the architect. Production of machines at the factory started in 1960. Sales increased with the new factory, with Tolon opening stores in 64 of the 67 provinces in Turkey. ## Later ventures Kamil Tolon was the chairman of the executive board of Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry from 1963 to 1965 and played a vital role in the founding of the first organized industrial zone of Turkey. He was one of the founding members of the Justice Party. He considered becoming a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, but was not able to due to an uneasy atmosphere within the party. Tolon was one of the 28 people allowed to vote to select the chairman of the party in 1964. He died on 23 July 1978 in Geneva, Switzerland after suffering from an embolism following a heart surgery at the age of 66. He is buried in the Emir Sultan Cemetery, Bursa, next to the Emir Sultan Mosque. His son Dara moved the factory to İzmir after his death. The old factory in Bursa was demolished in 2017 as part of an urban renewal project. ## Legacy Kamil Tolon is thought to be an important figure in Turkish industrialism. Turkish president and Justice Party leader Süleyman Demirel considered Kamil Tolon to be one of the people who initiated industrialization movements in Bursa and across the country. He added that Tolon had made "great contributions" for him to become the leader of the party. According to a 2004 article in the Turkish newspaper Sabah, when mothers were asked to name a company from their era, many first named Tolon Makina. The newspaper joked that "even Greeks were using the machines of Tolon." An arts and science school in Osmangazi, Bursa, is named after Tolon.
19,981,037
The Wizard of Oz (1993 video game)
1,152,727,480
1993 video game
[ "1993 video games", "Cancelled Nintendo Entertainment System games", "Fantasy video games", "North America-exclusive video games", "Platform games", "SETA Corporation games", "Single-player video games", "Super Nintendo Entertainment System-only games", "The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)", "Video games about witchcraft", "Video games based on Oz (franchise)", "Video games based on adaptations", "Video games based on films", "Video games developed in the United States", "Video games featuring female protagonists" ]
The Wizard of Oz is a 1993 platform video game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and loosely based on the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Developed by Manley & Associates, it was published by SETA Corporation and released in North America in 1993 and in Europe in 1994. The player assumes the role of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, or the Cowardly Lion in a series of levels containing hidden areas, mazes, and puzzles to bring Glinda's magic ruby slippers to the Wizard of Oz. Upon its release, it received generally positive reviews, for its graphics, challenge, and playable female heroine. Retrospective coverage, however, has been negative including ranking on lists of the worst games of all time. Criticisms include poor collision detection, controls, weak character attacks, and mishandling of the source material. ## Gameplay The Wizard of Oz is a side-scrolling platformer that mixes action, adventure, and puzzle video game styles. It consists of four worlds, each having levels that contain warp zones, mazes, secret areas, and puzzles. It includes many of the settings from the 1990 Wizard of Oz animated series by DIC Entertainment. In a total of 31 levels, the player obtains six tickets from each country to open the Emerald City's four gates and complete the game. Bricks are collected to fill gaps with bridges to enter the next country. The warp zones contain special items that are harder to obtain in other areas. To enter a puzzle stage, the player collects Toto's snack bones throughout a level. Puzzle levels include "Scrambled Concentration" where Toto must match three icons; "Toto vs" where Toto has to get to the "End" emerald while dodging enemies like mice and lobsters; "Follow the Path" where the player is forced to move on set arrow tiles to get Toto to the "End" emerald; "Lemon Drop Elimination", where Toto rolls two dice and must choose a number tile that is the sum of the numbers on the dice; and a word game where Toto has to enter out a phrase. Jewel icons can be collected to give any character the ability to shoot three jewels per icon in an upward or downward angle, and characters can be changed during gameplay by pressing the select button. Players can assume the role of any of the four characters with different abilities; the game starts the player with Dorothy, who must rescue the other characters along the way. Each character has a different attack; Dorothy has a kick and a wand that can be powered up with bubbles and shooting stars; the Scarecrow strikes with a pitchfork and scares away crow enemies; the Tin Man has a low-kick and a high ax chop; and the Cowardly Lion attacks with his claws. Each protagonist also have special methods of maneuvering through levels, as Dorothy can float in the air for a limited amount of time through obtaining "flying slippers"; the straw-made Scarecrow can trudge through mud and stand on thin branches; the Lion can climb objects; and the Tin Man can walk safely in swamp liquid. For collecting extra lives and health points, there are icons that only serve specific characters: Glinda's bubble and a blue bow for Dorothy's health points and lives, respectively; a haystack for the Scarecrow's health and a graduation cap to increase his lives; oil cans and hearts for the Tin Man's health points and lives, respectively; and tofus and medals for the vegetarian Cowardly Lion. ## Development and release GamePro announced in June 1992 that SETA U.S.A. was planning to release a set of games based on the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, with one for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System reported to be released in early 1993. The magazine revealed that Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion were playable characters; a rendition of "Over the Rainbow" would be included in the soundtrack; and that anybody could submit ideas for the game by contacting the SETA's Las Vegas address. Another version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was announced in September 1992, and was reported to be in development by Electronic Gaming Monthly from December 1992 to July 1993; however, there were no reports about it afterward. SETA first presented the SNES game at the 1993 winter Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and the finished version at the 1993 summer CES and 1994 winter CES. Just before its North American release, it was previewed in VideoGames & Computer Entertainment and GamePro. Its sprites were featured as "Stamp Out Famous Faces" in the stamp feature section of the Nintendo Player's Guide for Mario Paint (1993). In North America, the "early 1993" release date was moved to September 1993 in April. In Europe, the game was originally planned to be released in early 1994 and was moved to April. ## Reception ### Contemporaneous The Wizard of Oz garnered generally good reviews upon its release, with the Associated Press calling it the best film-to-video-game adaptation ever. The graphics were especially highlighted and some liked the music. The Associated Press praised its "excellent" animation, "detailed original background graphics, and big character graphics". Data Carvey of GamePro admired the colorfulness, Mode 7 effects, multi-layered scrolling backgrounds, and the "distinctive details" and personality of the "somewhat stiff-moving" character sprites. Sam Hickman of Super Pro opined that more detail was needed in the "fairly well drawn" backgrounds. Carvey and Nintendo Power praised the challenging gameplay; Nintendo Power highlighted the use of secret items and places, and Carvey commended its "imaginative enemies and some big bad bosses". Reviewers liked the playable female protagonist, with the Los Angeles Times recommending it for girl players to practice problem-solving and hand-eye coordination "in a setting they know and love". The film license was criticized; Billy R. Moon of Game Players criticized "real action scenes" like the tornado sequence and Dorothy's visit to Munchkinland being reduced to either brief cutscenes or levels featuring elements not from the film. Hickman noted the munchkins and "jolly singing" was replaced by enemies like "a few dumb looking cats" and that Dorothy looked more like Ma Larkin from The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993) than the "dainly young" teenager in the film. Moon said The Wizard of Oz left the SNES's capabilities unfulfilled, and Hickman assumed it would fail to attract its young demographic due to its scarcity of short-term rewards, its high difficulty, and its lack of appealing details. Nintendo Power's positive review admitted hit detection problems and the top screen display blocking the view of enemies. Carvey suggested the game could have used more sound effects and playable characters that were "speedy and versatile". Other criticisms included the gameplay, for its lack of variety and being reminiscent of THQ's video game adaptation of Home Alone (1990); and the "annoying" and "muddy" music making the famous songs difficult to identify. ### Retrospective Wizard of Oz was far less well-received in later years, ranking on several lists of the worst games of all time. This includes The Verge naming it one of the top five worst film adaptations on the Super NES, Screen Rant ranking it the tenth worst film-based video game of all time, The Gamer ranking it the fourth worst, The Things placing it number six on its list of worst games based on children's properties, and Gambit magazine ranking it the fifth worst Super NES game. Frequent criticisms include the controls, poor collision and hit detection, weak character attacks (except for the Tin-Man), and addition of elements unrelated to the film. Johnny Reynolds of The Things and Brett Alan Weiss of AllGame were baffled by Tin-Man's inability to jump in a platform game, and Weiss also criticized Dorothy's ineffective kick. Regarding changes from the source material, Gambit magazine's J. Luis bashed the inclusion of settings from the 1990 animated series in a game that was marketed as based on the 1939 film. Thomas Dennett of The Gamer wrote, "We don't remember Dorothy leaping across tree tops collecting fruit, kicking woodland creatures in the head, and carrying around a magic wand." Weiss dismissed the "poor level design that invites ridicule for being both too easy and too frustrating", and its audio that consists of "sparse" sound effects and "butchered" rendition of songs from the film. Positive comments have been sparse, with Paste magazine claiming in 2015 that the game was "pretty good by 1993 license tie-in standards". Weiss called the visuals "decent"; and Screen Rant's Stuart JA saw potential in some of the gameplay concepts, such as where it "arms Dorothy with a laser-blasting magic wand, Prince of Persia-style jumping prowess and the power to brutally kick her enemies to death". In a July 2011 feature for Retro Gamer, Richard Burton labeled it "A playable and enjoyable arcade adventure" with "sickly sweet graphics" that were "pleasant and attractive enough"; however, he also said that the game would be forgotten if not for the Oz license.
2,554,834
1744 English cricket season
1,152,967,689
Cricket season review
[ "1744 in England", "1744 in sports", "English cricket seasons in the 18th century", "Frederick, Prince of Wales", "Prince William, Duke of Cumberland" ]
The 1744 cricket season in England is remembered for the earliest known codification of the Laws of Cricket. This was drafted by members of several cricket clubs, though the code was not published until 1755. Much of its terminology such as no ball, over, toss, umpire and wicket remain in current use. The season is also notable for the two earliest known surviving match scorecards. The second of those matches, played on Monday, 18 June, was a celebrated event in which a Kent county team challenged an England team at the Artillery Ground, Kent winning by one wicket. In September, Slindon Cricket Club defeated London Cricket Club and then issued a challenge to play "any parish in England". The challenge was accepted by the Addington and Bromley clubs, but there is no record of either challenge match having been completed. The single wicket form of the sport was popular and reports have survived of four top-class matches played at the Artillery Ground. Several eleven-a-side matches are the subject of surviving pre-match announcements or post-match summaries. Some reports mention crowd disturbances and efforts were made to implement control by means of admission charges and limitations on the sale of alcohol. Wagering on cricket was common and some matches are known to have been played for high stakes. ## The Laws of Cricket The earliest known coded issue of the Laws of Cricket was drafted by members of several clubs including London, of which Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, was president. Representatives of the clubs met at the Star and Garter tavern on Pall Mall, London. The heading of the printed version, published in 1755, reads: "The Game at Cricket, As settled by the Several Cricket-Clubs, Particularly that of the Star and Garter in Pall-Mall". According to Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 1965, these Laws were undoubtedly a recension of a much earlier code. No earlier code has been found. However, there were cases of Articles of Agreement being drawn up, as for the matches in 1727 between Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, and Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton. Some of the main points in the 1744 code: - the toss of a coin determines who bats first; - the length of the pitch must be 22 yards (20 metres); - the bowling and popping creases must be cut with the popping crease exactly 3 feet ten inches before the bowling crease; - the stumps must be 22 inches (560 mm) high with a six-inch (152 mm) bail; - the ball must weigh between five and six ounces (141.75 and 170.10 grams); - overs last four balls; - the no ball is the penalty for overstepping, which means the hind foot going in front of the bowling crease (i.e., in direct line of the wicket); - various means of "it is out" are specified – they include hitting the ball twice and obstructing the field; - the wicket-keeper is required to be still and quiet until the ball is bowled; - umpires must allow two minutes for a new batsman to arrive and ten minutes between innings; - the umpire cannot give a batsman out if the fielders do not appeal; - the umpire is allowed a certain amount of discretion and it is made clear that the umpire is the "sole judge" and that "his determination shall be absolute". There are four Laws for bowlers but they do not say he must roll the ball and there is no mention of prescribed arm action, only that he must "deliver the ball" with one foot behind the bowling crease. Rowland Bowen, writing in the 1965 edition of Wisden, asserts that the ball was bowled in the true sense (all along the ground) through the first half of the 18th century and that this was the rule prior to the 1750s, though it was largely forsaken by the 1770s after bowlers began pitching the ball. ## Earliest known scorecards The season is also notable for the two earliest known surviving match scorecards. It is not until the 1772 season that more scorecards of top-class matches have survived, although a handful of cards from minor matches have been found. ### London v Surrey and Sussex, Artillery Ground, 2 June The first, containing individual scores but no details of dismissals, is from a match between the London Cricket Club and a combined Surrey and Sussex team at the Artillery Ground on 2 June. No titles were given to the teams at the time and various titles, including London v Slindon, have been applied retrospectively by modern authors. London, whose team included given men, was the host club and their opponents were all from the counties of Surrey and Sussex. The scorecard was kept by the 2nd Duke of Richmond at Goodwood House. The card gives the scores by each player and their surnames only, although it does differentiate between the two pairs of brothers (the Harrises and Newlands) who were playing. The Daily Advertiser carried the names of players expected to play in the match on 1–2 June and reported the same names on 3 June although some of them do not appear on the scorecard. Surrey and Sussex scored 102 runs in the first of their two innings, and 102 for 6 wickets in their second. London scored 79 in their first innings and 70 in their second so that Surrey and Sussex won by 55 runs. The highest individual score in the match was 47 by John Harris of Surrey and Sussex in the second innings. This was the first game at which tickets for readmission are known to have been issued to the spectators. ### England v Kent, Artillery Ground, 18 June Just over a fortnight later, on 18 June, the scorecard has also survived from a match at the Artillery Ground between an England team and the Kent county team. The match was arranged by Lord John Sackville who captained the Kent team. England, batting first, totalled 40 and 70 in their two innings; Kent responded with 53 and 58 for 9 to win by one wicket. Richard Newland of England made the two highest individual scores in the match with 18 not out and 15. Details of the dismissals are only partially complete; it is known that Kent bowler William Hodsoll took at least eight wickets. It is the first match for which a scorecard has survived that includes some dismissals. It became the first entry in Arthur Haygarth's Scores & Biographies, although he gave the year as 1746 instead of 1744. The match was described by the London Daily Advertiser as the "greatest cricket match ever known". It was a noted social occasion as the spectators included the Prince of Wales and his brother, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. Also present were the 2nd Duke of Richmond and Admiral Vernon. The poet James Love (1722–1774) commemorated it in his Cricket: An Heroic Poem (1745), written in rhyming couplets. According to cricket historian H. S. Altham, it "should be in every cricket lover's library" and "his description of the game goes with a rare swing". The poem is one of the first substantial pieces of literature about cricket – in More Than A Game, former prime minister John Major says it is the earliest-known cricket poem. Love was himself a cricketer and a member of Richmond Cricket Club in Surrey. There was crowd disorder at the match. The Daily Advertiser reported on Saturday, 30 June that it was "with difficulty the match was played out". A decision was taken to charge sixpence admission at future matches on the Artillery Ground. Also, the field would be surrounded by a ring of benches to hold over 800 people and no one without prior authorisation would be allowed within the ring. ## Slindon challenge matches On Monday, 10 September, the London club hosted a match against Slindon Cricket Club at the Artillery Ground. Play continued into the Tuesday and, after winning the match by an unknown margin, Slindon issued a challenge to play "any parish in England" and received immediate acceptances from the Addington and Bromley clubs. These matches were arranged to take place at the Artillery Ground over the next few days and it is known that Slindon v Addington began on Wednesday, 12 September. It was impacted by bad weather and Slindon led by two runs at close of play. There are no surviving reports of play on the 13th. Slindon's match against Bromley was scheduled for Friday, 14 September, but there are no surviving reports of it taking place. ## Single wicket matches Reports have survived of four top-class matches played at the Artillery Ground under single wicket rules. This form of cricket was popular through the 1740s. On Wednesday, 13 June, there was a one-a-side match between two unnamed players "for a considerable sum of money, in order to determine finally who is the best player". On Monday, 20 August, there was another one-a-side match "for a large sum" between a Sevenoaks player and a London player. On Monday, 17 September, a three-a-side match was billed as "Long Robin's Side v R. Newland's Side". The participants were described as the six best players in England. The teams were Robert Colchin ("Long Robin"), Val Romney and John Bryant against Richard Newland, Edward Aburrow senior and Joseph Harris. Aburrow replaced John Mills, called the "famous Kent bowler", who was originally chosen. The stake was two hundred guineas. There was another "threes" match on Monday, 1 October, again "for a considerable sum" – Robert Colchin, James Bryant and Joseph Harris played against John Bryant, Val Romney and Thomas Waymark. ## Other eleven-a-side matches Reports have survived of three earlier matches between teams called England and Kent. Two of these took place in May at unknown venues and both were won by Kent. They later became the subject of a 1748 court case over unpaid gambling debts. The famous match on 18 June was the return to one on Friday, 15 June at Coxheath Common. Details of this match, including the result, are unknown. The Kent team challenged "eleven pick'd from any part of England". Also in May, an England team was twice matched against Surrey. The first was played at Moulsey Hurst on Monday, 14 May, and Surrey won by four runs. The return on the 21st was played at the Artillery Ground but no details, including the result, have been found. A newspaper announcement before the second match warned spectators against encroaching onto the field of play and bringing dogs into the ground. During the season, there were three matches which modern sources have labelled Two Elevens as each involved unnamed teams. The first of these matches took place at the Artillery Ground on Thursday, 5 July. It is known that spectators had to pay sixpence – the earliest recorded admission charge. The second match began at Moulsey Hurst on Friday, 6 July, and was unfinished. Overnight, one team led by 31 runs with two second innings wickets standing. Play continued at the Artillery Ground on the 7th with admission reduced to the "usual" twopence. Near the end of the season on Wednesday, 19 September, the Artillery Ground staged "a great match between 22 of the best players from Kent, Surrey, Sussex and London". The prominent Addington and Bromley clubs, who accepted the Slindon challenge in September, were scheduled to play a match against each other on Friday, 13 July. No post-match reports have survived. The venue was Bromley Common where, as stated in a pre-match announcement, no person was allowed to sell liquor "but who belong to the Parish". On the previous Monday, a combined Addington and Bromley team were due to play a team called Surrey and the Rest of Kent at Duppas Hill in Croydon. A similar pre-match announcement warned that no person would be allowed to bring liquor into the ground "that don't live in the Parish". In other surviving announcements, London were to host matches at the Artillery Ground against Addington on Monday, 30 July; and against Bromley on Monday, 3 September. No post-match reports have been found. Reports or announcements have been found of five other eleven-a-side matches which all involved London. On Monday, 9 July, they were due to play Richmond on Kennington Common but no match details have survived. London arranged a match against Woburn Cricket Club at the Artillery Ground for Thursday, 19 July, but it had to be postponed for two days because the Honourable Artillery Company required the ground. No post-match report has been found. The other three London matches were against Surrey. They first met at Moulsey Hurst on Friday, 24 August, and London won. Robert Colchin of Bromley and Val Romney of Sevenoaks played as given men for London. The stakes for this match were reported to be "£50 a side". There was a return match the following Monday, 27th, at the Artillery Ground and London with Colchin and Romney were again the winners. A third match was scheduled at the Artillery Ground for Friday, 7 September with Romney playing for London but no post-match details are known.
1,825,874
Development of Doom
1,173,230,547
1993 video game creation
[ "Development of specific video games", "Doom (franchise)" ]
Doom, a first-person shooter game by id Software, was released in December 1993 and is considered one of the most significant and influential video games in history. Development began in November 1992, with programmers John Carmack and John Romero, artists Adrian Carmack and Kevin Cloud, and designer Tom Hall. Late in development, Hall was replaced by Sandy Petersen and programmer Dave Taylor joined. The music and sound effects were created by Bobby Prince. The Doom concept was proposed in late 1992, after the release of Wolfenstein 3D and its sequel Spear of Destiny. John Carmack was working on an improved 3D game engine from those games, and the team wanted to have their next game take advantage of his designs. Several ideas were proposed, including a new game in their Commander Keen series, but John proposed a game about using technology to fight demons inspired by the Dungeons & Dragons campaigns the team played. The initial months of development were spent building prototypes, while Hall created the Doom Bible, a design document for his vision of the game and its story; after id released a grandiose press release touting features that the team had not yet begun working on, the Doom Bible was rejected in favor of a plotless game with no design document at all. Over the next six months, Hall designed levels based on real military bases, Romero built features, and artists Adrian and Cloud created textures and demons based on clay models they built. Hall's level designs, however, were deemed uninteresting and Romero began designing his own levels; Hall, increasingly frustrated with his limited influence, was fired in July. He was replaced by Petersen in September, and the team worked increasingly long hours until the game was completed in December 1993. Doom was self-published by id on December 10, 1993, and immediately downloaded by thousands of players. ## Design ### Concept In May 1992, id Software released Wolfenstein 3D. It is often referred to as the "grandfather" of first-person shooters, setting expectations for fast-paced action and new technology, and greatly increased the genre's popularity. Immediately following its release, most of the team began work on a set of new Wolfenstein episodes, Spear of Destiny. As the episodes used the same game engine as the original game, id co-founder and lead programmer John Carmack instead focused on technology research for the company's next game, just as he had experimented with creating a 3D game engine prior to the development of Wolfenstein 3D. Between May and Spear of Destiny's release in September 1992, he created several experimental engines, including one for a racing game, before working on an enhanced version of the Wolfenstein engine to be licensed to Raven Software for their game ShadowCaster. For this engine, he developed several enhancements to the Wolfenstein engine, including sloped floors, textures on the floors and ceilings in addition to the walls, and fading visibility over a distance. The resulting engine was much slower than the Wolfenstein one, but was deemed acceptable for an adventure game like ShadowCaster. Following the release of Spear of Destiny and the completion of the ShadowCaster engine, id Software discussed what their next game would be. They wanted to create another 3D game using Carmack's new engine as a starting point, but were largely tired of Wolfenstein. Lead designer Tom Hall was especially weary of it, and pushed for the team to make another game in the Commander Keen series; the team had created seven episodes in the series in 1990–91 as their first games, but the planned third set of episodes had been dropped in favor of Wolfenstein 3D. While Carmack was initially interested in the idea, the rest of the team was not. They collectively felt that the platforming gameplay of the series was a poor fit for Carmack's fast-paced 3D engines, and especially after the success of Wolfenstein were interested in pursuing more games of that type. Additionally, the other two co-founders of id were not interested in creating another Keen game: John Romero, the designer of Wolfenstein, was not interested in doing another "cutesy" game, and lead artist Adrian Carmack preferred to create art in a darker style than the Keen games. John Carmack soon lost interest in Keen idea as well, instead coming up with his own concept: a game about using technology to fight demons, inspired by the Dungeons & Dragons campaigns the team played, combining the styles of Evil Dead II and Aliens. The concept originally had a working title of "Green and Pissed", which was also the name of a concept Hall had proposed prior to Wolfenstein, but Carmack soon named the proposed game after a line in the film The Color of Money: "'What's in the case?' / 'In here? Doom.'" The team agreed to pursue the Doom concept, and development began in November 1992. The initial development team was composed of five people: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, artists Adrian Carmack and Kevin Cloud, and designer Tom Hall. They moved offices to a dark office building, which they named "Suite 666", and drew inspiration from the noises coming from the dentist's office next door. They also cut ties with Apogee Software, who had given them the initial advance money for creating their first game, Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons, and through which they had published the shareware versions of their games to date. While they had a good personal relationship with owner Scott Miller, they felt that they were outgrowing the publisher. Cloud, who was involved in id's business dealings, pushed for id to take over shareware publishing duties themselves after investigating and finding that Apogee was unable to reliably handle the volume of customers buying id's games through Apogee. He convinced the others that the increased sales revenue would make up for the problems of handling their own publishing. The two companies parted amicably, and Doom was set to be self-published. ### Development Early in development, rifts in the team began to appear. Hall, who despite having wanted to develop a different game remained the lead designer and creative director for the company, did not want Doom to have the same lack of plot as Wolfenstein 3D. At the end of November he delivered a design document, which he named the Doom Bible, that described the plot, backstory, and design goals for the project. His design was a science fiction horror concept wherein scientists on the Moon open a portal from which aliens emerge. Over a series of levels the player discovers that the aliens are demons; Hell also steadily infects the level design as the atmosphere becomes darker and more terrifying. While Romero initially liked the idea, John Carmack not only disliked it but dismissed the idea of having a story at all: "Story in a game is like story in a porn movie; it's expected to be there, but it's not that important." Rather than a deep story, John Carmack wanted to focus on the technological innovations, dropping the levels and episodes of Wolfenstein in favor of a fast, continuous world. Hall disliked the idea, but Romero sided with Carmack. Although John Carmack was the lead programmer rather than a designer, he was becoming seen in the company as the most important source of ideas; the company considered taking out key person insurance on Carmack but no one else. Hall spent the next few weeks reworking the Doom Bible to work with Carmack's technological ideas, while the rest of the team planned how they could implement them. His adjusted vision for the plot had the player character assigned to a large military base on an alien planet, Tei Tenga. At the start of the game, as the first of four player character soldiers, named Buddy, played cards with the others, scientists on the base accidentally open a portal to Hell, through which demons poured through, killing the other soldiers. He envisioned a six episode structure with a storyline involving traveling to Hell and back through the gates which the demons used, and the destruction of the planet, for which the players would be sent to jail. Buddy was named after Hall's character in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign run by John Carmack that had featured a demonic invasion. Hall was forced to rework the Doom Bible again in December, however, after John Carmack and the rest of the team had decided that they were unable to create a single, seamless world with the hardware limitations of the time, which contradicted much of the new document. At the start of 1993, id put out a press release by Hall, touting Buddy's story about fighting off demons while "knee-deep in the dead", trying to eliminate the demons and find out what caused them to appear. The press release proclaimed the new game features that John Carmack had created, as well as other features, including multiplayer gaming features, that had not yet been started on by the team or even designed. The company told Computer Gaming World that Doom would be "Wolfenstein times a million!" Early versions were built to match the Doom Bible; a "pre-alpha" version of the first level included the other characters at a table and movable rolling chairs based on ones at the id office. Initial versions also retained "arcade" elements present in Wolfenstein 3D, like score points and score items, but those were removed early in development as they felt unrealistic and not in keeping with the tone. Other elements, such as a complex user interface, an inventory system, a secondary shield protection, and lives were modified and slowly removed over the course of development. Soon, however, the Doom Bible as a whole was rejected: Romero wanted a game even "more brutal and fast" than Wolfenstein, which did not leave room for the character-driven plot Hall had created. Additionally, the team did not feel that they needed a design document at all, as they had not created one for prior games; the Doom Bible was discarded altogether. Several ideas were retained, including starting off in a military base, as well as some locations, items, and monsters, but the story was dropped and most of the design was removed as the team felt it emphasized realism over entertaining gameplay. Some elements, such as weapons, a hub system of maps, and monorails later appeared in later Doom or id games. Work continued, and a demo was shown to Computer Gaming World in early 1993, who raved about it. John Carmack and Romero, however, disliked Hall's military base-inspired level design. Romero especially felt that while John Carmack had originally asked for realistic levels as they would make the engine run quickly, that Hall's level designs were uninspiring. He felt that the boxy, flat levels were too similar to Wolfenstein's design, and did not show off everything the engine could do. He began to create his own, more abstract levels, beginning with a curving staircase into a large open area in what became the second level of the final game, which the rest of the team felt was much better. Hall was upset with the reception to his designs and how little impact he was having as the lead designer; Romero has since claimed that Hall was also still uninterested in the Doom concept at all. Hall was also upset with how much he was having to fight with John Carmack in order to get what he saw as obvious gameplay improvements, such as flying enemies. The other developers, however, felt that Hall was not in sync with the team's vision for the game and was becoming a problem. He began to spend less time working in the office, and in response John Carmack proposed that he be fired from id. Romero initially resisted, as it would mean that Hall would not receive any proceeds, but in July he and the other founders of id fired Hall, who went to work for Apogee. Hall was replaced in September, ten weeks before Doom was released, by game designer Sandy Petersen, despite misgivings over his relatively high age of 37 compared to the other early-20s employees and his religious background. Petersen later recalled that John Carmack and Romero wanted to hire other artists instead, but Cloud and Adrian disagreed, saying that a designer was required to help build a cohesive gameplay experience. They relented and Petersen was hired. The team also added a third programmer, Dave Taylor. Romero directed Petersen to revise Hall's levels with as many changes as he saw fit in order to meet his guidelines for what made for interesting levels. Petersen and Romero designed the rest of the levels for Doom, with different aims: the team felt that Petersen's designs were more technically interesting and varied, while Romero's were more aesthetically interesting. Romero's level design process was to build a level or part of a level, starting at the beginning, then play through it and iterate on the design, so that by the time he was satisfied with the flow and playability of the level he had played it "a thousand times". The first level, made by Romero, was the last created, intended to show off the new elements of the engine. The ending screen of each level, like in Wolfenstein 3D, displays a "par time" for the level, as set by Romero. In late 1993, a month before release, John Carmack began to add multiplayer to the game, first teaching himself computer networking from a book. After the multiplayer component was coded, the development team began playing four-player multiplayer games matches, which Romero termed "deathmatch"; he proposed adding a cooperative multiplayer mode as well. Cloud named the act of killing other players "fragging". According to Romero, the deathmatch mode was inspired by fighting games. The team frequently played Street Fighter II, Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting during breaks, while developing elaborate rules involving trash-talk and smashing furniture or equipment. Romero later stated that "you could say that Japanese fighting games fueled the creative impulse to create deathmatch in our shooters". ## Programming Doom was programmed largely in the ANSI C language, with a few elements in assembly language, on NeXT computers running the NeXTSTEP operating system. The data, including level designs and graphics files, is stored in WAD files, short for "Where's All the Data?". This allows for any part of the design to be changed without needing to adjust the engine code. Carmack had been impressed by the modifications made by fans of Wolfenstein 3D, and wanted to support that with an easily swappable file structure, and released the map editor online. Romero and Carmack spent the early stage of development focusing on engine features instead of the game concept. Wolfenstein had required levels to be a flat plane, with walls at the same height and at right angles; while the Doom world was still a variation on a flat plane, in that two traversable areas could not be on top of each other, it could have walls and floors at any angle or height, allowing greater level design variety. The fading visibility in ShadowCaster was improved by adjusting the color palette by distance, darkening far surfaces and creating a grimmer, more realistic appearance. This concept was also used for the lighting system: rather than calculating how light traveled from light sources to surfaces using ray tracing, the engine calculates the "light level" of a section of a level, which can be as small as a single stair step, based on its distance from light sources. It then darkens the color palette of that section's surface textures accordingly. Romero used the map editing tool he developed to build grandiose areas with these new possibilities, and came up with new ways to use Carmack's lighting engine such as strobe lights. He also programmed engine features such as switches and movable stairs and platforms. In the first half of 1993, Carmack worked on improving the graphics engine. After Romero's level designs started to cause engine problems, he researched and began to use binary space partitioning to quickly select the portion of a level that the player could see at any given time. In March 1993, the team stopped work on Doom to spend three weeks building a Super Nintendo Entertainment System port of Wolfenstein 3D, after the contractor hired for the port had made no progress. Taylor, along with programming other features, added cheat codes; some, such as "idspispopd", were based on ideas their fans had come up with while eagerly awaiting the game that the team found amusing. By late 1993, Doom was nearing completion and player anticipation was high, spurred on by a leaked press demo. John Carmack began to work on the multiplayer component; within two weeks he had two computers playing the same game over the internal office network. ## Graphics and sound Adrian Carmack was the lead artist for Doom, with Kevin Cloud as an additional artist. Additionally, Don Ivan Punchatz was hired to create the package art and logo, and his son Gregor Punchatz created some of the monsters. Doom was the style of game that Adrian Carmack had wanted to create since id was founded, one with a dark style and demons. He and Cloud designed the monsters to be "nightmarish", and developed a new technique for animating them. The intent was to have graphics that were realistic and dark as opposed to staged or rendered, so a mixed media approach was taken to the artwork. Unlike Wolfenstein, where Carmack had drawn every frame of animation for the Nazi enemy sprites, for Doom the artists sculpted models of some of the enemies out of clay, and took pictures of them in stop motion from five to eight different angles so that they could be rotated realistically in-game; the images were then digitized and converted to 2D characters with a program written by John Carmack. Adrian Carmack made clay models for the player character, the Cyberdemon and the Baron of Hell, before deciding that the problems of keeping the clay consistent under lighting while moving the models through animations was too great. Later, he had practical effects specialist Gregor Punchatz build a latex and metal sculpture of the Spider Mastermind. Punchatz got the materials from hardware and hobby stores and used what he called "rubber band and chewing gum effects". The weapons were toys, with parts combined from different toys to make more guns. They scanned themselves as well, using Cloud's arm as the model for the player character's arm holding a gun, and Adrian's snakeskin boots and wounded knee for in-game textures. Romero was the body model used for cover; while trying to work with a male model to get a reference photograph for Don Ivan Punchatz to work from, Romero became frustrated while trying to convey to him how to pose as if "the Marine was going to be attacked by an infinite amount of demons". Romero posed shirtless as a demonstration of the look he was trying for, and that photograph was the one used by Punchatz. Electronic Arts's Deluxe Paint II was used in the creation of the sprites. Like they had for Wolfenstein 3D, id hired Bobby Prince to create the music and sound effects. Romero directed Prince to make the music in techno and metal styles; many of the songs were directly inspired by songs from popular metal bands such as Alice in Chains and Pantera. Prince felt that more ambient music would work better, especially given the hardware limitations of the time on what sounds he could produce, and produced numerous tracks in both styles in the hopes of convincing Romero; Romero, however, still liked the metal tracks and added both styles. Prince did not make music for specific levels; most of the music was composed before the levels they were eventually assigned to were completed. Instead, Romero assigned each track to each level late in development. Unlike the music, the sound effects for the enemies and weapons were created by Prince for specific purposes; Prince designed them based on short descriptions or concept art of a monster or weapon, and then adjusted the sound effects to match the completed animations. The sound effects for the monsters were created from animal noises, and Prince designed all the sound effects to be distinct on the limited sound hardware of the time, even when many sound effects were playing at once. ## Release Id Software planned to self-publish the game for DOS-based computers and set up a distribution system leading up to the release. Jay Wilbur, who had been brought on as CEO and sole member of the business team, planned the marketing and distribution of Doom. He felt that the mainstream press was uninterested, and as id would make the most money off of copies they sold directly to customers—up to 85 percent of the planned US\$40 price—he decided to leverage the shareware market as much as possible, buying only a single ad in any gaming magazine. Instead, he reached out directly to software retailers, offering them copies of the first Doom episode for free, allowing them to charge any price for it, in order to spur customer interest in buying the full game directly from id. Doom's original release date was the third quarter of 1993, which the team did not meet. By December 1993, the team was working non-stop, with several employees sleeping at the office; programmer Dave Taylor claimed that the work gave him such a rush that he would pass out from the intensity. Id only gave a single press preview, to Computer Gaming World in June, to a glowing response, but had also released development updates to the public continuously throughout development on the nascent internet. Id began receiving calls from people interested in the game or angry that it had missed its planned release date, as anticipation built over the year. At midnight on Friday, December 10, 1993, after working for 30 straight hours testing the game, the team uploaded the first episode to the internet, letting interested players distribute it for them. So many users were connected to the first network that they planned to upload the game to—the University of Wisconsin–Parkside FTP network—that even after the network administrator increased the number of connections while on the phone with Wilbur, id was unable to connect, forcing them to kick all other users off to allow id to upload the game. When the upload finished thirty minutes later, 10,000 people attempted to download it at once, crashing the university's network. Within hours, other university networks were banning Doom multiplayer games, as a rush of players overwhelmed their systems. ## Development release versions While Doom was in development, five pre-release versions were given names or numbers and shown to testers or the press.
88,750
G-spot
1,170,053,843
Factitious anatomical detail
[ "Clitoris", "Sexual arousal", "Vagina" ]
The G-spot, also called the Gräfenberg spot (for German gynecologist Ernst Gräfenberg), is characterized as an erogenous area of the vagina that, when stimulated, may lead to strong sexual arousal, powerful orgasms and potential female ejaculation. It is typically reported to be located 5–8 cm (2–3 in) up the front (anterior) vaginal wall between the vaginal opening and the urethra and is a sensitive area that may be part of the female prostate. The existence of the G-spot has not been proven, nor has the source of female ejaculation. Although the G-spot has been studied since the 1940s, disagreement persists over its existence as a distinct structure, definition and location. The G-spot may be an extension of the clitoris, which together may be the cause of orgasms experienced vaginally. Sexologists and other researchers are concerned that women may consider themselves to be dysfunctional if they do not experience G-spot stimulation, and emphasize that not experiencing it is normal. ## Theorized structure ### Location Two primary methods have been used to define and locate the G-spot as a sensitive area in the vagina: self-reported levels of arousal during stimulation, and stimulation of the G-spot leading to female ejaculation. Ultrasound technology has also been used to identify physiological differences between women, and changes to the G-spot region during sexual activity. The location of the G-spot is typically reported as being about 50 to 80 mm (2 to 3 in) inside the vagina, on the front wall. For some women, stimulating this area creates a more intense orgasm than clitoral stimulation. The G-spot area has been described as needing direct stimulation, such as two fingers pressed deeply into it. Attempting to stimulate the area through sexual penetration, especially in the missionary position, is difficult because of the particular angle of penetration required. ### Vagina and clitoris Women usually need direct clitoral stimulation in order to orgasm, and G-spot stimulation may be best achieved by using both manual stimulation and vaginal penetration. A yoni massage also includes manual stimulation of the G-spot. Sex toys are available for G-spot stimulation. One common sex toy is the specially-designed G-spot vibrator, which is a phallus-like vibrator that has a curved tip and attempts to make G-spot stimulation easy. G-spot vibrators are made from the same materials as regular vibrators, ranging from hard plastic, rubber, silicone, jelly, or any combination of them. The level of vaginal penetration when using a G-spot vibrator depends on the woman, because women's physiology is not always the same. The effects of G-spot stimulation when using the penis or a G-spot vibrator may be enhanced by additionally stimulating other erogenous zones on a woman's body, such as the clitoris or vulva as a whole. When using a G-spot vibrator, this may be done by manually stimulating the clitoris, including by using the vibrator as a clitoral vibrator, or, if the vibrator is designed for it, by applying it so that it stimulates the head of the clitoris, the rest of the vulva and the vagina simultaneously. A 1981 case study reported that stimulation of the anterior vaginal wall made the area grow by fifty percent and that self-reported levels of arousal/orgasm were deeper when the G-spot was stimulated. Another study, in 1983, examined eleven women by palpating the entire vagina in a clockwise fashion, and reported a specific response to stimulation of the anterior vaginal wall in four of the women, concluding that the area is the G-spot. In a 1990 study, an anonymous questionnaire was distributed to 2,350 professional women in the United States and Canada with a subsequent 55% return rate. Of these respondents, 40% reported having a fluid release (ejaculation) at the moment of orgasm, and 82% of the women who reported the sensitive area (Gräfenberg spot) also reported ejaculation with their orgasms. Several variables were associated with this perceived existence of female ejaculation. Some research suggests that G-spot and clitoral orgasms are of the same origin. Masters and Johnson were the first to determine that the clitoral structures surround and extend along and within the labia. Upon studying women's sexual response cycle to different stimulation, they observed that both clitoral and vaginal orgasms had the same stages of physical response, and found that the majority of their subjects could only achieve clitoral orgasms, while a minority achieved vaginal orgasms. On this basis, Masters and Johnson argued that clitoral stimulation is the source of both kinds of orgasms, reasoning that the clitoris is stimulated during penetration by friction against its hood. Researchers at the University of L'Aquila, using ultrasonography, presented evidence that women who experience vaginal orgasms are statistically more likely to have thicker tissue in the anterior vaginal wall. The researchers believe these findings make it possible for women to have a rapid test to confirm whether or not they have a G-spot. Professor of genetic epidemiology, Tim Spector, who co-authored research questioning the existence of the G-spot and finalized it in 2009, also hypothesizes thicker tissue in the G-spot area; he states that this tissue may be part of the clitoris and is not a separate erogenous zone. Supporting Spector's conclusion is a study published in 2005 which investigates the size of the clitoris – it suggests that clitoral tissue extends into the anterior wall of the vagina. The main researcher of the studies, Australian urologist Helen O'Connell, asserts that this interconnected relationship is the physiological explanation for the conjectured G-spot and experience of vaginal orgasms, taking into account the stimulation of the internal parts of the clitoris during vaginal penetration. While using MRI technology, O'Connell noted a direct relationship between the legs or roots of the clitoris and the erectile tissue of the "clitoral bulbs" and corpora, and the distal urethra and vagina. "The vaginal wall is, in fact, the clitoris," said O'Connell. "If you lift the skin off the vagina on the side walls, you get the bulbs of the clitoris – triangular, crescental masses of erectile tissue." O'Connell et al., who performed dissections on the female genitals of cadavers and used photography to map the structure of nerves in the clitoris, were already aware that the clitoris is more than just its glans and asserted in 1998 that there is more erectile tissue associated with the clitoris than is generally described in anatomical textbooks. They concluded that some females have more extensive clitoral tissues and nerves than others, especially having observed this in young cadavers as compared to elderly ones, and therefore whereas the majority of females can only achieve orgasm by direct stimulation of the external parts of the clitoris, the stimulation of the more generalized tissues of the clitoris via intercourse may be sufficient for others. French researchers Odile Buisson and Pierre Foldès reported similar findings to those of O'Connell's. In 2008, they published the first complete 3D sonography of the stimulated clitoris, and republished it in 2009 with new research, demonstrating the ways in which erectile tissue of the clitoris engorges and surrounds the vagina. On the basis of this research, they argued that women may be able to achieve vaginal orgasm via stimulation of the G-spot because the highly innervated clitoris is pulled closely to the anterior wall of the vagina when the woman is sexually aroused and during vaginal penetration. They assert that since the front wall of the vagina is inextricably linked with the internal parts of the clitoris, stimulating the vagina without activating the clitoris may be next to impossible. In their 2009 published study, the "coronal planes during perineal contraction and finger penetration demonstrated a close relationship between the root of the clitoris and the anterior vaginal wall". Buisson and Foldès suggested "that the special sensitivity of the lower anterior vaginal wall could be explained by pressure and movement of clitoris's root during a vaginal penetration and subsequent perineal contraction". ### Female prostate In 2001, the Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology accepted female prostate as a second term for the Skene's gland, which is believed to be found in the G-spot area along the walls of the urethra. The male prostate is biologically homologous to the Skene's gland; it has been unofficially called the male G-spot because it can also be used as an erogenous zone. Regnier de Graaf, in 1672, observed that the secretions (female ejaculation) by the erogenous zone in the vagina lubricate "in agreeable fashion during coitus". Modern scientific hypotheses linking G-spot sensitivity with female ejaculation led to the idea that non-urine female ejaculate may originate from the Skene's gland, with the Skene's gland and male prostate acting similarly in terms of prostate-specific antigen and prostate-specific acid phosphatase studies, which led to a trend of calling the Skene's glands the female prostate. Additionally, the enzyme PDE5 (involved with erectile dysfunction) has additionally been associated with the G-spot area. Because of these factors, it has been argued that the G-spot is a system of glands and ducts located within the anterior (front) wall of the vagina. A similar approach has linked the G-spot with the urethral sponge. ## Clinical significance G-spot amplification (also called G-spot augmentation or the G-Shot) is a procedure intended to temporarily increase pleasure in sexually active women with normal sexual function, focusing on increasing the size and sensitivity of the G-spot. G-spot amplification is performed by attempting to locate the G-spot and noting measurements for future reference. After numbing the area with a local anesthetic, human engineered collagen is then injected directly under the mucosa in the area the G-spot is concluded to be in. A position paper published by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in 2007 warns that there is no valid medical reason to perform the procedure, which is not considered routine or accepted by the College; and it has not been proven to be safe or effective. The potential risks include sexual dysfunction, infection, altered sensation, dyspareunia, adhesions and scarring. The College position is that it is untenable to recommend the procedure. The procedure is also not approved by the Food and Drug Administration or the American Medical Association, and no peer-reviewed studies have been accepted to account for either safety or effectiveness of this treatment. ## Society and culture ### General skepticism In addition to general skepticism among gynecologists, sexologists and other researchers that the G-spot exists, a team at King's College London in late 2009 suggested that its existence is subjective. They acquired the largest sample size of women to date – 1,800 – who are pairs of twins, and found that the twins did not report a similar G-spot in their questionnaires. The research, headed by Tim Spector, documents a 15-year study of the twins, identical and non-identical. According to the researchers, if one identical twin reported having a G-spot, it was more likely that the other would too, but this pattern did not materialize. Study co-author Andrea Burri believes: "It is rather irresponsible to claim the existence of an entity that has never been proven and pressurise women and men too." She stated that one of the reasons for the research was to remove feelings of "inadequacy or underachievement" for women who feared they lacked a G-spot. Researcher Beverly Whipple dismissed the findings, commenting that twins have different sexual partners and techniques, and that the study did not properly account for lesbian or bisexual women. Petra Boynton, a British scientist who has written extensively on the G-spot debate, is also concerned about the promotion of the G-spot leading women to feel "dysfunctional" if they do not experience it. "We're all different. Some women will have a certain area within the vagina which will be very sensitive, and some won't — but they won't necessarily be in the area called the G spot," she stated. "If a woman spends all her time worrying about whether she is normal, or has a G spot or not, she will focus on just one area, and ignore everything else. It's telling people that there is a single, best way to have sex, which isn't the right thing to do." ### Nerve endings G-spot proponents are criticized for giving too much credence to anecdotal evidence, and for questionable investigative methods; for instance, the studies which have yielded positive evidence for a precisely located G-spot involve small participant samples. While the existence of a greater concentration of nerve endings at the lower third (near the entrance) of the vagina is commonly cited, some scientific examinations of vaginal wall innervation have shown no single area with a greater density of nerve endings. Several researchers also consider the connection between the Skene's gland and the G-spot to be weak. The urethral sponge, however, which is also hypothesized as the G-spot, contains sensitive nerve endings and erectile tissue. Sensitivity is not determined by neuron density alone: other factors include the branching patterns of neuron terminals and cross or collateral innervation of neurons. While G-spot opponents argue that because there are very few tactile nerve endings in the vagina and that therefore the G-spot cannot exist, G-spot proponents argue that vaginal orgasms rely on pressure-sensitive nerves. ### Clitoral and other anatomical debates The G-spot having an anatomical relationship with the clitoris has been challenged by Vincenzo Puppo, who, while agreeing that the clitoris is the center of female sexual pleasure, disagrees with Helen O'Connell and other researchers' terminological and anatomical descriptions of the clitoris. He stated, "Clitoral bulbs is an incorrect term from an embryological and anatomical viewpoint, in fact the bulbs do not develop from the phallus, and they do not belong to the clitoris." He says that clitoral bulbs "is not a term used in human anatomy" and that vestibular bulbs is the correct term, adding that gynecologists and sexual experts should inform the public with facts instead of hypotheses or personal opinions. "[C]litoral/vaginal/uterine orgasm, G/A/C/U spot orgasm, and female ejaculation, are terms that should not be used by sexologists, women, and mass media," he said, further commenting that the "anterior vaginal wall is separated from the posterior urethral wall by the urethrovaginal septum (its thickness is 10–12 mm)" and that the "inner clitoris" does not exist. "The female perineal urethra, which is located in front of the anterior vaginal wall, is about one centimeter in length and the G-spot is located in the pelvic wall of the urethra, 2–3 cm into the vagina," Puppo stated. He believes that the penis cannot come in contact with the congregation of multiple nerves/veins situated until the angle of the clitoris, detailed by Georg Ludwig Kobelt, or with the roots of the clitoris, which do not have sensory receptors or erogenous sensitivity, during vaginal intercourse. He did, however, dismiss the orgasmic definition of the G-spot that emerged after Ernst Gräfenberg, stating that "there is no anatomical evidence of the vaginal orgasm which was invented by Freud in 1905, without any scientific basis". Puppo's belief that there is no anatomical relationship between the vagina and clitoris is contrasted by the general belief among researchers that vaginal orgasms are the result of clitoral stimulation; they maintain that clitoral tissue extends, or is at least likely stimulated by the clitoral bulbs, even in the area most commonly reported to be the G-spot. "My view is that the G-spot is really just the extension of the clitoris on the inside of the vagina, analogous to the base of the male penis," said researcher Amichai Kilchevsky. Because female fetal development is the "default" direction of fetal development in the absence of substantial exposure to male hormones and therefore the penis is essentially a clitoris enlarged by such hormones, Kilchevsky believes that there is no evolutionary reason why females would have two separate structures capable of producing orgasms and blames the porn industry and "G-spot promoters" for "encouraging the myth" of a distinct G-spot. The general difficulty of achieving vaginal orgasms, which is a predicament that is likely due to nature easing the process of childbearing by drastically reducing the number of vaginal nerve endings, challenge arguments that vaginal orgasms help encourage sexual intercourse in order to facilitate reproduction. O'Connell stated that focusing on the G-spot to the exclusion of the rest of a woman's body is "a bit like stimulating a guy's testicles without touching the penis and expecting an orgasm to occur just because love is present". She stated that it "is best to think of the clitoris, urethra, and vagina as one unit because they are intimately related". Ian Kerner stated that the G-spot may be "nothing more than the roots of the clitoris crisscrossing the urethral sponge". A Rutgers University study, published in 2011, was the first to map the female genitals onto the sensory portion of the brain, and supports the possibility of a distinct G-spot. When the research team asked several women to stimulate themselves in a functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) machine, brain scans showed stimulating the clitoris, vagina and cervix lit up distinct areas of the women's sensory cortex, which means the brain registered distinct feelings between stimulating the clitoris, the cervix and the vaginal wall – where the G-spot is reported to be. "I think that the bulk of the evidence shows that the G-spot is not a particular thing," stated Barry Komisaruk, head of the research findings. "It's not like saying, 'What is the thyroid gland?' The G-spot is more of a thing like New York City is a thing. It's a region, it's a convergence of many different structures." In 2009, The Journal of Sexual Medicine held a debate for both sides of the G-spot issue, concluding that further evidence is needed to validate the existence of the G-spot. In 2012, scholars Kilchevsky, Vardi, Lowenstein and Gruenwald stated in the journal, "Reports in the public media would lead one to believe the G-spot is a well-characterized entity capable of providing extreme sexual stimulation, yet this is far from the truth." The authors cited that dozens of trials have attempted to confirm the existence of a G-spot using surveys, pathologic specimens, various imaging modalities, and biochemical markers, and concluded: > The surveys found that a majority of women believe a G-spot actually exists, although not all of the women who believed in it were able to locate it. Attempts to characterize vaginal innervation have shown some differences in nerve distribution across the vagina, although the findings have not proven to be universally reproducible. Furthermore, radiographic studies have been unable to demonstrate a unique entity, other than the clitoris, whose direct stimulation leads to vaginal orgasm. Objective measures have failed to provide strong and consistent evidence for the existence of an anatomical site that could be related to the famed G-spot. However, reliable reports and anecdotal testimonials of the existence of a highly sensitive area in the distal anterior vaginal wall raise the question of whether enough investigative modalities have been implemented in the search of the G-spot. A 2014 review from Nature Reviews Urology reported that "no single structure consistent with a distinct G-spot has been identified." ## History The release of fluids had been seen by medical practitioners as beneficial to health. Within this context, various methods were used over the centuries to release "female seed" (via vaginal lubrication or female ejaculation) as a treatment for suffocation ex semine retento (suffocation of the womb), female hysteria or green sickness. Methods included a midwife rubbing the walls of the vagina or insertion of the penis or penis-shaped objects into the vagina. In the book History of V, Catherine Blackledge [pl] lists old terms for what she believes refer to the female prostate (the Skene's gland), including the little stream, the black pearl and palace of yin in China, the skin of the earthworm in Japan, and saspanda nadi in the India sex manual Ananga Ranga. The 17th-century Dutch physician Regnier de Graaf described female ejaculation and referred to an erogenous zone in the vagina that he linked as homologous with the male prostate; this zone was later reported by the German gynecologist Ernst Gräfenberg. Coinage of the term G-spot has been credited to Addiego et al. in 1981, named after Gräfenberg, and to Alice Kahn Ladas and Beverly Whipple et al. in 1982. Gräfenberg's 1940s research, however, was dedicated to urethral stimulation; Gräfenberg stated, "An erotic zone always could be demonstrated on the anterior wall of the vagina along the course of the urethra". The concept of the G-spot entered popular culture with the 1982 publication of The G Spot and Other Recent Discoveries About Human Sexuality by Ladas, Whipple and Perry, but it was criticized immediately by gynecologists: some of them denied its existence as the absence of arousal made it less likely to observe, and autopsy studies did not report it. ## See also - A-spot - Human female sexuality - Human sexuality - Labiaplasty - Vaginoplasty
29,113,705
East Kirkton Quarry
1,173,194,617
Geological site in Scotland
[ "Carboniferous Scotland", "Geology of Scotland", "Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Edinburgh and West Lothian", "Viséan" ]
East Kirkton Quarry, or simply East Kirkton, is a former limestone quarry in West Lothian, Scotland, now a renowned fossil site. The quarry is known for terrestrial and freshwater fossils about 335 million years old, from the late Viséan stage of the Mississippian subperiod (Early Carboniferous Period). The quarry is a 200 meter-long (\~650 ft) depression located in the town of Bathgate. Geographically, it sits at the Bathgate Hills near the center of the Midland Valley, a fossil-rich region of southeast Scotland. The site is dominated by volcanic tuff, limestone, and silica deposits of large freshwater lakes associated with hot springs and local basaltic (high-iron) volcanism. Three geological intervals are exposed: the East Kirkton Limestone (oldest), Little Cliff Shale (middle), and Geikie Tuff (youngest). The East Kirkton Limestone in particular has produced numerous well-preserved fossils of tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates) and arthropods (multi-legged chitinous invertebrates like millipedes and arachnids). East Kirkton had been ignored by paleontologists since the 1840s, but Scottish fossil collector Stan Wood managed to procure the land in 1985, sparking a rush of scientific interest. New species from East Kirkton have been named on a regular basis since 1990, and nearly all of these species have been found nowhere else. Notable discoveries include Westlothiana (one of the most reptile-like Mississippian tetrapods), Balanerpeton (a common early representative of amphibians in the group Temnospondyli), and Pulmonoscorpius (the largest known terrestrial scorpion). The East Kirkton area represents an unconventional environment: dry woodlands and mineral-rich lakes nestled among volcanic cinder cones. Aquatic animals, though not uncommon, are less diverse than those found in the swampy coal forests and coastal sediments prevalent at other Scottish Carboniferous fossil sites. The prevalence of terrestrial organisms represents a broader trend of decreasing reliance on an amphibious lifestyle during the Carboniferous Period. ## History ### Early history (1825 – 1983) As early as the 1820s, East Kirkton was noted to be an enigmatic site, relevant to broad debates on the nature of geological processes. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, petrologists (geologists who study the formation of rocks) were split into two camps. Neptunists argued that most rocks precipitated out of mineral-rich waters, while plutonists identified magma as the medium from which most rocks originate. Experiments on carbonate-based rocks (such as limestone) supported neptunist interpretations of petrology, while evidence from silica-based rocks (such as granite) favored plutonist views. East Kirkton presented a contradiction: thick layers of carbonate (limestone) intermingled alongside rarer siliceous (chert) beds, emphasizing how both rock types can occur in close succession. The first geologist to study the site was John Fleming (1825), a Scottish neptunist who considered both the carbonate and chert to be derived from heated groundwater. During the 1830s and 1840s, the quarry yielded some interesting fossils of Carboniferous plants and eurypterids ("sea scorpions", a type of extinct arthropod), though this was not uncommon for quarries in the area. English geologist Samuel Hibbert (1836) discussed Fleming's interpretation, identifying the limestone as freshwater due to the prevalence of plant fossils and the absence of marine fossils. He drew attention to the occurrence of volcanic tuff at the site, and attributed the silica and carbonate to hot spring mineralization. When the quarry ceased operations in 1844, the site was, for the most part, forgotten as a geological footnote. Scottish geologist Archibald Geikie (1861) determined that the limestone of "Kirkton" was not a single unit, but instead two distinct sequences, one at the nearby West Kirkton quarry and the other at East Kirkton. He supported Hibbert's interpretation, considering the Kirkton quarries to represent large lakes influenced by hot springs on an ancient volcanic plain. East Kirkton saw little attention in the following decades, as neptunism diminished in most applications while plutonism established itself as a robust scientific theory. The land south of the quarry was developed for housing while the quarry sat abandoned. The prevailing view was that, with the exception of rare freshwater eurypterids, East Kirkton's fossil content was comparatively unremarkable. One notable study in the century since Geikie's paper was by Muir and Walton (1957), who reviewed previous research and investigated the carbonate's microscopic texture and origin in more detail. ### Stan Wood's fossil discoveries (1984 – present) East Kirkton's decades of obscurity ended in 1984, when Scottish fossil collector Stan Wood discovered a fragmentary tetrapod skull among the limestone slabs of the quarry's spoil heap. According to popular accounts, he became aware of the spoil heap while refereeing a football match in a nearby field. Wood purchased the abandoned quarry from the West Lothian District Council the following summer. Wood and University of Cambridge paleontologist Timothy R. Smithson began systematic fossil collection from the quarry from 1985–1990. With news of the discovery, a team of National Museums of Scotland geologists (headed by W.D. Ian Rolfe) initiated a stratigraphic investigation in 1987–1992. Fossils discovered by Wood include an expansive sample of both terrestrial and freshwater fossil arthropods and early amphibians from the East Kirkton Limestone. A smaller sample of fish and plant fossils were found in younger strata a few years later. Wood and his colleagues published on their initial finds in a 1985 Nature letter. Two notable taxa mentioned in the 1985 letter were the oldest known harvestman (a "daddy longleg", dubbed Brigantibunum in 2005) and the oldest known temnospondyl amphibian (described as Balanerpeton in 1993). East Kirkton is perhaps most famous for Westlothiana, a small tetrapod discovered in 1988 and initially reported to be the oldest known reptile in 1989. Wood's excavations at East Kirkton, and then-unnamed Westlothiana, were featured in the first episode of Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives, a 1989 BBC documentary hosted by Sir David Attenborough. Westlothiana has subsequently been reinterpreted as a stem-amniote reptiliomorph. In other words, it was an amphibian closely related to amniotes (the group containing dry-adapted tetrapods like reptiles and mammals, with reinforced eggs and thickened skin). Thanks to its degree of completeness, Westlothiana is still among the best paradigms of the amphibian-amniote transition. East Kirkton was the main subject of a conference hosted by the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1992. The conference produced a series of over 20 papers published in 1993–94 as "Volcanism and early terrestrial biotas" (volume 84, issues 3–4 of Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh). New species have continued to be described from Wood's collections and other expeditions up to the present day. In 2011, Cambridge paleontologist Jennifer A. Clack named a new species of East Kirkton microsaur, Kirktonecta milnerae, in honour of the site. East Kirkton Quarry has been designated as both a Local Geodiversity Site (LGS) of West Lothian and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). ## Geology The East Kirkton Quarry preserves up to 19 m (62 ft) of strata from the mid-lower part of the Bathgate Hills Volcanic Formation. It is equivalent in time to rocks from the upper part (Hopetoun Member) of the West Lothian Oil-Shale Formation, exposed north of Linlithgow. Both formations are part of the broader Strathclyde Group (informally termed the Oil-Shale Group) found throughout the Midland Valley of Scotland. By comparison to equivalent oil shale strata, the East Kirkton is estimated to belong to the Brigantian (uppermost Viséan global stage) of the Mississippian Subperiod (the lower part of the Carboniferous Period). This would place it near the end of the regional Dinantian stage. In numerical terms, the site may be 330 to 338 million years old, with 335 million years as a common estimate. East Kirkton is one of many geographically restricted limestone deposits cropping out on a north-south tangent between Bathgate and Linlithgow. The nearby West Kirkton Quarry is a slightly younger marine limestone deposit. West Kirkton failed to produce any significant fossils, as it had been filled in and redeveloped by the time Stan Wood began his excavations in 1985. The rocks of East Kirkton dip (decline) into the west wall of the quarry. Magnetometer and resistivity surveys reveal a small north-south fault just west of the quarry. Vertical displacement of strata along the fault would have been responsible for bringing fine-grained sediments to the surface. The fault indicates that the localized nature of the site is a consequence of modern tectonic processes rather than ancient restricted deposition. Three distinctive geological intervals can be found at the quarry: the Geikie Tuff (youngest / highest), Little Cliff Shale (middle), and East Kirkton Limestone (oldest / lowest). The most well-exposed area is a 15 m (49 ft) thick outcrop at the northwest edge of the quarry. Here, the three intervals are subdivided further into a series of thin units, labelled 1 to 88 from the top of the outcrop (the youngest point) to the bottom of the outcrop (the oldest point). ### Geikie Tuff The Geikie Tuff (units 1–31), as the name implies, consists mainly of yellowish-green volcaniclastic tuff. Fossils, though abundant in a few layers, are limited in diversity and preservation. They mainly include fish scales, plant fragments, and shells of ostracods (tiny bivalved crustaceans). Ironstone nodules are also present. The Geikie Tuff is more than 4 m (13 ft) thick at the main outcrop, though it can reach 8 m (26 ft) thick in exploratory boreholes. Stratigraphic sections acquired via boreholes have demonstrated that the tuff is overlain by basalt. Pseudomorphs of olivine and plagioclase crystals indicate that the tuff is basaltic in nature. The volcanic grains are coarse and rounded, sorted into discontinuous lenticular layers with graded bedding. This suggests that the volcanic material was not directly supplied by a pyroclastic flow, base surge, or ash fall. Rather, it was washed down as debris from older ash deposits, settling underwater alongside wood and other non-volcanic fragments. The area most likely experienced small intermittent cinder cone eruptions, providing basaltic ash or lava as a predecessor to the tuff material. ### Little Cliff Shale The Little Cliff Shale (units 21–36) is the thinnest interval exposed at the site. It reaches its greatest thickness (about 1.85 m or 6.07 ft) near the middle of the quarry's west wall. The sediments of the Little Cliff Shale include blue-gray shale interspersed with greenish tuff. Fossils and ironstone are more common than in the Geikie Tuff, with the addition of scorpion cuticle and a greater diversity of plant and fish remains. ### East Kirkton Limestone The East Kirkton Limestone (units 36–88) is by far the thickest, most fossiliferous, and most geologically diverse sequence in the quarry. Most layers are laminated (thinly layered) limestone, with a fine-grained texture of calcareous spherulites (bead-like grains). Black shale, coarse tuffaceous limestone, silica (chert and chalcedony), pyrite, gypsum, and tuff beds may occur in some layers. Tetrapod, arthropod, and plant fossils are abundant throughout the limestone. Conversely, fish are absent beyond unit 36 and ostracods are mostly restricted to black shale-bearing horizons. Many laminated beds are deformed or warped, and stromatolitic crusts and algal filaments are common. Small slumping features can be seen in some layers, likely corresponding to the slope between shallow and deep parts of a lake bed. The lake bed was probably oxygen-deprived, according to trace metal geochemical markers and an absence of bioturbation (animal-mediated disturbance). The true thickness of the limestone is unknown, but about 9 m (30 ft) are exposed on the main outcrop. Stable isotope data help to pin down the origin of minerals like silica and pyrite in the limestone. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios indicate that the chert beds precipitated from meteoric water heated to around 60°C (140°F), with a minor amount of mineral recycling after deposition. Sulfur molecules in pyrite are rather lightweight, arguing that crystal formation was mediated by bacterial activity. Yet the pyrite was also heavy enough to imply a constant supply of sulfur-34, likely from older gypsum beds heated by magmatic activity. Both the silica and pyrite support historical interpretations of a hydrothermal influence on the East Kirkton Limestone. Another hypothesis, based on strontium isotope trends, is that heat and alkaline groundwater are byproducts of chemical reactions between tuff minerals and carbon dioxide molecules seeping in via meteoric water (such as rain). Contrary to earlier suggestions, the calcareous minerals of East Kirkton Limestone (mostly calcite) are probably not directly hydrothermal in origin. Nevertheless, East Kirkton is a useful model for the formation of spherulite-rich freshwater limestone in volcanic settings. Most limestones with spherulites are dependent on a high proportion of clay particles, but clay makes up only a small portion of the East Kirkton Limestone. The prevailing interpretation is that spherulite formation at East Kirkton follows a complex mineralization pathway. In the reconstructed sequence of spherulite formation, freshwater lakes are supplied with high concentrations of dissolved alkaline minerals and microbial acids. These conditions encourage the precipitation of fibrous calcite, which accumulates on strands of organic material such as algae or cyanobacteria In the shallow part of a lake. The fibrous calcite acts as a base for radiating balls of botryoidal (lumpy) calcite. Even once the algae die and settle, the calcite continues stacking up into crusts and domes on the lake bed. Fluctuating mineral concentrations lead to constant corrosion and reprecipitation of the calcite. Wave action breaks up the calcite crusts into smaller grains, which are periodically washed into deeper parts of the lake. This periodic supply of spherulite grains is responsible for the laminated appearance of the limestone, alternating between microscopic bands of dark clay and organic material, and thicker (though still narrow) bands of calcite. Diagenesis (underground heat and pressure) fractures and warms the calcite after deposition, introducing voids and further reprecipitation within the molds of algal strands. ## Palaeoenvironment During the Dinantian, the Midland Valley would have been a subtropical lowland rift zone. Faults and cooled lava flows would have contributed to the landscape by diverting rivers and damming lakes, as would the progradation of deltaic systems further east. Some of the lakes may have filled in volcanic craters, forming low crater lakes (also known as maars). Most individual volcanoes were small but numerous, emphasizing basaltic and phreatic eruptions alongside hot springs. Modern equivalent environments include the system of volcanoes around the Mozambique Channel and the Chaîne des Puys in France. Towards the north and east was a large lake or estuary system known to geologists as Lake Cadell. It was responsible for the deposition of most sediments comprising the West Lothian Oil-Shale Formation. An expanse of dry volcanic uplands were located west of East Kirkton. These uplands, formally known as the Clyde Plateau, completely lacked any form of limestone deposition. The East Kirkton Limestone was deposited at a time and place at the intersection between these two environments, as the expanding dry plateau began to displace the brackish lake, enabling the development of a riparian ecosystem in the Bathgate area. East Kirkton was located close to the equator in the Viséan. The climate was warm and semi-arid, gradually becoming wetter as the Carboniferous progressed. Rainfall was prevalent enough to support woodlands and lake ecosystems, but infrequent enough to dissuade coal forests and allow gypsum deposition. The more humid conditions of the Geikie Tuff may correspond to the expansion of a larger lake into the East Kirkton area. Chert and pyrite, alongside permineralized plant fossils, may indicate that hot springs were prevalent during the deposition of the East Kirkton Limestone. ## Paleobiota and paleoecology ### Tetrapods East Kirkton tetrapod fossils have all been preserved in aquatic sediments of the East Kirkton Limestone. A majority of the fossils come from laminated spherulitic limestone slabs (units 70 and below), though the best-preserved specimens come from a thin black shale layer (unit 82). Fish fossils do not occur alongside tetrapod fossils, suggesting that the tetrapods lived in or around shallower bodies of water than those supporting the local freshwater fish. The tetrapod species of East Kirkton are all endemic, though some broader groups (dendrerpetontids, aistopods, "anthracosaurs", etc.) can be found at other Carboniferous locales. Notably absent are adelogyrinids, Crassigyrinus, Doragnathus, and lysorophians, all of which are considered fully aquatic. The absence of lysorophians could be explained by the age of East Kirkton, which is much older than the known aquatic members of the group. True amniotes are also absent, and only a single microsaur fossil has been discovered. The rarity of microsaurs may be due to geographic rather than environmental factors, since few fossils of the group are known from other British sites. Overall, East Kirkton has a more terrestrial character than other Scottish fossil sites, though a few aquatic or semi-aquatic species certainly inhabited the area as well. ### Fish Though few of East Kirkton's fish species have been formally described, available information suggests that the East Kirkton lake hosted a diverse freshwater ecosystem. Body types seen in East Kirkton fish include fusiform (tuna-shaped) generalist predators and deep-bodied durophages (Eurynotus). The fish fauna is comparable to other sites in the Mississippian Oil Shales of Scotland. Only the Granton shrimp bed, a fully marine environment, lacks freshwater fish and tetrapods. Beside direct body fossils of fish, coprolites are also found in several layers near the Little Cliff Shale-East Kirkton Limestone transition. Small pellet- bullet- and cigar-shaped coprolites are common, often containing ostracod shells, and in one case, bone fragments. One irregular mass, containing ostracods and plant fragments, may be a regurgitate. Elongated spiralling coprolites are rarer and would have been produced by elasmobranchs akin to modern sharks. Irregular or strand-like coprolites may have been produced by tetrapods, though fish cannot be excluded. Massive clusters of phosphatized grains were probably produced by large omnivorous eurypterids like Hibbertopterus, or less likely large rhizodont fish. #### Bony fish #### Cartilaginous fish ### Invertebrates Apart from arthropods, other identified invertebrates include freshwater ostracods (Carbonita) and bivalves (Curvirimula?). Ostracods likely formed the base of the aquatic food chain, since they have been found as stomach contents in several fish and tetrapod fossils. ### Plants The plant fossils of East Kirkton are fragmentary but diverse, and small fragments of fusain (fossilized charcoal) are common in the East Kirkton Limestone. The area was likely forest or open woodland frequented by wildfires. There are few aquatic plants apart from algal laminations, and lycopsid fragments (an indicator of swamp forests) are only common in the Geikie Tuff. The surrounding woods were probably drier during the deposition of the Little Cliff Shale and East Kirkton Limestone. The East Kirkton flora is fairly typical among Viséan Scotland, most species found here have been reported previously from the Midland Valley. Gymnosperm wood and fern leaves (particularly Spathulopteris and Sphenopteridium) are the most common plant fossils at East Kirkton. These plants are also abundant at Weaklaw, a Viséan-age volcanic ash deposit in East Lothian. It is uncertain whether this similarity betrays a preference for volcanic areas or simply broader biostratigraphy. Plant fossils have been fossilized through several different chemical pathways. In the East Kirkton Limestone, robust plant parts such as gymnosperm branches and Stigmaria roots are often preserved by permineralization (petrification). During permineralization, the original organic material is sequentially replaced with silica and/or carbonate carried by alkaline groundwater. More commonly, heat and pressure compresses organic matter into carbonaceous films. These coalified compressions of wood and foliage can be found in practically every layer of the site. Some fossils are both compressed and permineralized, particularly in the upper layers (units 44–48) of the East Kirkton Limestone. #### Gymnosperms #### Lycopsids #### Ferns #### Horsetails ## See also - List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Edinburgh and West Lothian - Ballagan Formation - Stan Wood
14,232,966
2008 Bahrain Grand Prix
1,168,162,086
null
[ "2008 Formula One races", "2008 in Bahraini motorsport", "April 2008 sports events in Asia", "Bahrain Grand Prix" ]
The 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally the 2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 6 April 2008 at the Bahrain International Circuit, in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the third race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team won the 57-lap race. Kimi Räikkönen was second in the other Ferrari, and BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica was third. The race began with Kubica in pole position alongside Massa; this was the only time in his career that the Pole would be on pole. Lewis Hamilton, the eventual Drivers' Champion, started from third, alongside Räikkönen. Kubica was passed by Massa into the first corner, and then by Räikkönen on the third lap. The Ferraris dominated at the front of the race, leading to their 1–2 finish. Hamilton had a slow start after almost stalling on the grid, and dropped back to ninth. The McLaren driver ran into the back of Fernando Alonso's Renault a lap later, breaking off the McLaren's front wing and dropping Hamilton to the back of the field. Kubica's strong finish promoted BMW Sauber to the lead in the Constructors' Championship, after BMW driver Nick Heidfeld finished fourth. Ferrari and McLaren trailed, one and two points behind, respectively. Räikkönen took the lead in the Drivers' Championship, with 19 points, three points ahead of Heidfeld and five ahead of Hamilton, Kubica and Kovalainen, with 15 races remaining in the season. ## Background The Grand Prix was contested by 22 drivers, in 11 teams of two. The teams, also known as "constructors", were Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, Honda, Force India, BMW Sauber, Toyota, Red Bull Racing, Williams, Toro Rosso and Super Aguri. Tyre supplier Bridgestone brought two different tyre compounds to the race; the softer of the two marked by a single white stripe down one of the grooves. Prior to the race, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship with 14 points, and Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen was second with 11 points. Behind Hamilton and Räikkönen in the Drivers' Championship, Nick Heidfeld was third, also with 11 points, in a BMW Sauber, and Hamilton's McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen was fourth with 10 points. Heidfeld's teammate Robert Kubica was fifth with eight points. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren–Mercedes were leading with 24 points, five points ahead of BMW Sauber. Ferrari were third with 11 points. Ferrari dominated the previous round in Malaysia, where Felipe Massa had claimed pole position, and led his teammate Räikkönen in second place through the opening stages of the race, before spinning off and retiring midway through. Räikkönen went on to win the race, and expressed his optimism about Bahrain: "I have finished third in three successive Grands Prix in Bahrain. Time and again something has gone wrong. Sakhir is one of those circuits where I really want to win. Finally." In the opening two races, Massa came under fire from the press for two errors that left him without points: a collision with Red Bull driver David Coulthard in Australia and his spin at Malaysia. Massa promised that the first two races would not be indicative of the rest of the season: "It was not the start to the season that I wanted, but there are still 16 races to go and 160 points up for grabs. In the next few races I plan to get back all the points I have lost in the opening two rounds." Hamilton won the opening race in Australia, but managed to finish only fifth after a qualifying penalty and a botched pit stop in Malaysia. The season began well for Kubica, as he qualified second in Australia and finished second in Malaysia. Kubica predicted his team could maintain their momentum into the third race: "I'm confident that we can be very competitive here as well." A week before the start of the Grand Prix weekend, the News of the World alleged that Max Mosley, the president of Formula One's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), had engaged in sexual acts with five prostitutes. While Mosley denied the allegations, he cancelled his scheduled appearance at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Several teams condemned Mosley's alleged actions and asked for his resignation, and while for a time the controversy threatened to overshadow the race, Mosley eventually retained his position and successfully sued the News of the World for the report. ## Practice Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—two on Friday, and a third on Saturday. The Friday morning and afternoon sessions each lasted 90 minutes. The third session was held on Saturday morning and lasted an hour. The Ferraris outpaced the other teams in the first session on a dusty track surrounded by the sand dune desert of Sakhir. Massa's time of 1:32.233 was quicker than Räikkönen's, who was slowed down by an early excursion across the sand, requiring a pit stop. Nico Rosberg of Williams, Hamilton, McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen, Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima and Kubica rounded out the top seven. In the second session, Hamilton lost control of his car and slid sideways into a wall. Hamilton emerged unharmed from the collision, but his McLaren suffered significant damage. Except for the crash, the second session ended like the first: once again, Massa led Räikkönen to Ferrari 1–2, ahead of Kovalainen, Hamilton and Kubica. The third session was again held on a dusty track, where Rosberg was quickest with a time of 1:32.521. Massa took second, ahead of Red Bull driver Mark Webber, Toyota driver Jarno Trulli, David Coulthard of Red Bull, Nakajima and Kubica. Räikkönen was ninth quickest, and Hamilton 18th. ## Qualifying The qualifying session on Saturday afternoon was split into three parts. The first part ran for 20 minutes, and cars that finished the session 17th position or lower were eliminated from qualifying. The second part of the qualifying session lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 16. The final part of the qualifying session determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided pole position. Cars which failed to make the final session could refuel before the race, so ran lighter in those sessions. Cars which competed in the final session of qualifying were not allowed to refuel before the race, and as such carried more fuel than in the previous sessions. Kubica clinched the first pole position of his career with a time of 1:33.096. Massa qualified less than 0.03 seconds behind the BMW and joined Kubica on the front row of the grid. Hamilton took third place, using his team's spare chassis; Räikkönen was next quickest, and despite being critical of his car's set-up was confident in its racing ability. Kovalainen would line up fifth on the grid alongside Heidfeld, who had trouble maximising performance from his tyres. Trulli took seventh place, ahead of Rosberg and Honda driver Jenson Button. Renault driver Fernando Alonso was the last driver to make the third session; Webber missed out on the top ten by 0.009 seconds and would start the race in 11th position. Button's teammate Rubens Barrichello took 12th place after a gearbox problem interrupted his second session laps, ahead of Timo Glock of Toyota, Nelson Piquet of Renault and Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Bourdais. Nakajima was the slowest of the second session drivers, and took 16th. Coulthard qualified 17th, ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India. Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel took 19th, and blamed his set-up: "I felt it was more a case of the car driving me than me driving the car." Fisichella's teammate Adrian Sutil qualified 20th, ahead of Anthony Davidson of Super Aguri. Davidson's teammate Takuma Sato spun out and crashed into the barriers. Sato's accident damaged his rear wing and suspension and left him unable to continue in the session. ### Qualifying classification ## Race The weather and conditions on the grid were before dry for the race. The air temperature was 29 °C (84 °F) with signs of a breeze which could blow sand onto the track and impede the cars' grip. Massa got the best start of the frontrunners off the line, as he passed Kubica into the first corner to take the lead. Hamilton's poor start caused his anti-stall system to kick in, and he was passed by six drivers to fall back to ninth. Räikkönen benefited from Hamilton's start by moving up to third, ahead of Kovalainen, Trulli and Heidfeld. As Massa extended his lead at the front of the race, Hamilton, who trailed Alonso, collided with the back of the Renault, knocking the McLaren's front wing off the car. Suffering handling difficulties, Hamilton returned to the pit-lane for a new nose section, and rejoined in 18th place. Räikkönen took second place when he passed Kubica on lap three; Heidfeld took fourth when he passed Trulli and Kovalainen in separate manoeuvres. Further down the field, Vettel retired from the race on the first lap after twice colliding with other cars; Button, Sutil and Coulthard pitted to repair early damage. By lap 10, Massa had opened his lead over Räikkönen to 4.4 seconds, ahead of Kubica, Heidfeld, Kovalainen and Trulli. Kubica was the first of the frontrunners to pit, on lap 17. Räikkönen and Trulli followed on lap 20; Massa pitted from the lead one lap later. Following the first round of pit stops, the gap between the Ferraris was 5.4 seconds, however by lap 31 Räikkönen had closed to within four seconds of his teammate. Massa held a 3.6 second lead over Räikkönen when the two Ferraris pitted for the final time on laps 39 and 38, respectively, and Massa retained his lead into the final stint. Kubica pitted on lap 41, Heidfeld on lap 45, and Kovalainen on lap 47. Coulthard and Button collided on lap 18 when Button attempted to pass the Red Bull on the inside at turn eight; the Honda lost its front wing and retired a lap later after two pit stops. Hamilton continued his climb back through the field; he moved from 18th, passing Piquet, Davidson, Sutil and Bourdais in separate manoeuvres, to sit in 14th by the time he pitted on lap 31. Piquet retired on lap 42 with transmission failure, requiring a gearbox change before the next race. Massa took his first win of the season when he crossed the line at the end of the 57th lap, 3.3 seconds ahead of the second-placed Räikkönen. Kubica took third, ahead of his teammate Heidfeld, and Kovalainen, who set the fastest lap of the race on lap 49, with a time of 1:33.193, despite being slower than the frontrunners for much of the race. Trulli, Webber, Glock and Alonso rounded out the top ten, after Glock's Toyota held off a quick Alonso late in the race. Barrichello and Fisichella finished strongly, ahead of Hamilton, who managed only 13th. Nakajima, Bourdais, Davidson and Sato took the next four places; Coulthard and Sutil finished last on track after their respective crashes demoted them to the back of the field. Vettel, Button and Piquet were the three retirements from the race. ### Post-race The top three finishers appeared on the podium and in the subsequent press conference, where Massa appeared relieved: "For sure the race was pretty difficult because I didn't want to make any mistakes. I didn't push as much either, just tried to bring the car home and just controlling the pace as well." Massa said that he struggled with grip early, owing to oil in the middle sector of the course. Räikkönen's second place promoted him to the lead in the Drivers' Championship, and he expressed his optimism about future races: > The whole weekend has been pretty difficult, one of those things when we cannot really get the car right ... We are leading the Championship which is the main thing and we know that we have the speed once we get everything right. The race was quite difficult but anyhow I am happy with second. Kubica said that his poor start was due to wheelspin off the line, and the presence of oil on the track impeded the performance of his car, leading to Räikkönen's pass: "But anyway I think it was a good result: third and fourth for the team and leading the Constructors' Championship, so it was good weekend." Hamilton accepted responsibility for his near stall on the grid: "I hadn't hit the switch early enough and therefore we were not in the launch map and went straight into anti-stall, and when everyone else was in their launch mode, I wasn't." Renault dismissed suggestions that Alonso had brake tested Hamilton in the incident that led to the McLaren's wing breaking off. Pat Symonds, Renault's head of engineering, said his team's telemetry indicated Alonso was on full throttle down the straight, and had not touched the brakes: "I think all I can say from our side is that there is no blame attributable to Fernando, which is what some of the speculation might be." McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh said that Hamilton's front wing had broken seconds before the impact, and that the resulting downforce reduction had sucked Hamilton into Alonso's slipstream faster than expected. However, photos indicate that the front wing on the McLaren could have broken even earlier when Hamilton nudged a car (believed to be Alonso) on the opening lap. The later incident left Alonso with damage to the back of the car, impairing his attempts to pass Glock late in the race. Räikkönen's second-placed finish gave him a three-point lead over Heidfeld in the Drivers' Championship, with 19 points, ahead of Heidfeld with 16, followed by Hamilton, Kubica and Kovalainen, each with 14 points. BMW Sauber's strong performance gave them the lead in the Constructors' Championship, with 30 points, ahead of Ferrari with 29 points and McLaren with 28 points. ### Race classification ## Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Constructors' Championship standings - Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. ## See also - 2008 Bahrain GP2 Asia Series round - 2008 Bahrain Speedcar Series round
41,536,565
Ontario Highway 74
1,015,363,286
Former Ontario provincial highway
[ "Ontario provincial highways" ]
King's Highway 74, commonly referred to as Highway 74, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that travelled north from Highway 3 at New Sarum to Middlesex County Road 29 (Hamilton Road) on the outskirts of London. The 22.4-kilometre-long (13.9 mi) was assumed by the province in September 1937. Aside from paving and the construction of an interchange with Highway 401, it remained generally unchanged for the next six decades until it was decommissioned in 1997 and transferred to Elgin County and Middlesex County. The road has since been redesignated as Elgin County Road 74 and Middlsex County Road 74. ## Route description Highway 74 began at an intersection with Highway 3 in the community of New Sarum, midway between the city of St. Thomas to the west, and the town of Aylmer to the east. It crossed the St. Thomas and Eastern Railway just north of Highway 3 before curving to cross the West Catfish Creek, which it meandered alongside into Mapleton. Immediately north of that community, the route curved to the north and was straight for the remainder of its route. The highway continued, entering the village of Belmont, where it intersected a Canadian Pacific Railway line. North of there it crossed the boundary between Elgin County to the south and Middlesex County to the north. North of the county line, Highway 74 continued into the community of Derwent. Shortly thereafter, it crossed and interchanged with Highway 401 at Exit 195. The highway ended just north of Highway 401 in Nilestown at an intersection with Middlesex County Road 29 (Hamilton Road). ## History Highway 74 was established in mid-1937 when the New Sarum to Dorchester Road was designated by the Department of Highways (DHO), the predecessor to the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO). The section within Elgin County was assumed by the DHO on August 25, 1937, while the section within Middlesex County was assumed one week later on September 1. Originally an unpaved gravel road, the route was paved between Belmont and its northern terminus by 1938. The remainder of the route was paved in 1952. Otherwise, the route remained generally unchanged for six decades until March 31, 1997, when it was decommissioned in its entirety and transferred to Elgin County and Middlesex County. It has since been known as Elgin County Road 74 and Middlesex County Road 74. ## Major intersections
32,625,145
1700 papal conclave
1,094,411,515
Conclave
[ "1700 in Europe", "1700 in politics", "1700 in the Papal States", "17th-century Catholicism", "17th-century elections in Europe", "Charles II of Spain", "Papal conclaves" ]
The 1700 papal conclave was convened following the death of Pope Innocent XII. It ended in the election of Cardinal Giovanni Albani as Pope Clement XI. The conclave saw a rise in the dominance of the zelanti faction College of Cardinals. It remained deadlocked for a month until the death of the childless Charles II of Spain. The cardinal electors anticipated that his death without a clear heir would cause a political crisis, and moved to elect a pope that was seen as non-partisan. ## Background During his pontificate Innocent XII worked to improve relations with Louis XIV of France. He reached a compromise with the French king by agreeing to the confirmation of all bishops that Louis had created since 1682 in return for the king's promise not to make them abide by the Declaration of the Clergy of France. The Habsburg Charles II of Spain was dying at this time and had no children. At Charles' request, Innocent advised that the throne pass to Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France, due to the close kinship between Louis and Charles. Philip succeeding to the Spanish throne was seen as a threat to the balance of power by other European nations, leading to the War of the Spanish Succession upon Charles' death, which took place six weeks after Innocent's own. Innocent XII's age and health had been a topic of conversation among European courts and cardinals, and when he became sick in November 1699 speculation as to the next conclave became more ernest. Despite this, France was the only great power to have a clear policy regarding the next papal conclave. Both Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were bogged down in extensive conversations in their capitals that caused a delay in their ambassadors receiving orders. ## Conclave Fifty-eight cardinals were present on 9 October when the conclave began. Since Charles II was dying at this time, Spain's cardinal electors were unsure of how they should vote, and they did not work closely with electors that were loyal to the Holy Roman Emperor. From the beginning, it was clear that the impending death of Charles II was likely to cause a lengthy conclave, because the next pope would be expected to respond to the anticipated political crisis in Spain following Charles' imminent death. Of the Fifty-eight cardinals present at the conclave, thirty-one were considered to be a part of the zelanti, with Innocent XII having created eighteen members of the College of Cardinals who were counted as part of this faction. The other two main factions were those loyal to the Holy Roman Emperor, who originally had only two cardinals, but eventually increased to four, and the French, who had five cardinals in their camp. Galeazzo Marescotti, a member of the zelanti, was the first serious candidate proposed two weeks in to the conclave. He was acceptable to the Spanish, but was opposed by the French because they wanted the new pope who was not strong. Bandino Panciatici was suggested by Pietro Ottoboni, but he was not supported by secular monarchs because he had supported giving benefices to nominees who were independent of the secular authorities. Giacomo Antonio Morigia was acceptable to the secular rulers, but was opposed by the zelanti for lacking governing experience in addition to not being firm or having the energy required. Following the proposal of these candidates, others came up as well, but were quickly rejected. ## Election of Clement XI The conclave remained deadlocked until the electors were informed of Charles II's death in November. The electors present understood that with Charles' death, the next pope would need to be politically impartial, so a member of the zelanti was preferred. Giovanni Albani, who had drafted the bull outlawing nepotism, soon became the leading candidate for the papacy. The French were initially opposed to Albani's election, but they quickly dropped their opposition to him. He was elected unanimously on 23 November 1700. He was unsure whether he should accept the papacy due to the fact that he had nephews who he suspected would be angry if he followed the bull on nepotism. He was eventually convinced to accept the papacy by theologians who told him that not accepting a unanimous election would not be following the Holy Spirit. Albani was created a cardinal deacon in 1690 by Alexander VIII, but he did not receive ordination to the priesthood until shortly before the conclave began. Albani was not a bishop, and had to receive episcopal consecration after his election before he could be crowned pope. Albani had been elected on the feast day of Pope Clement I, and took the name of Clement XI to honour the saint. At fifty-one, Albani was younger than any other pope who had been elected in almost two centuries. Albani was the candidate of the zelanti in this conclave, and his election represented a success for them.
383,899
Seth MacFarlane
1,173,270,745
American actor, animator, filmmaker, and singer (born 1973)
[ "1973 births", "20th-century American comedians", "20th-century American male actors", "20th-century American male artists", "20th-century American male singers", "20th-century American male writers", "20th-century American screenwriters", "21st-century American comedians", "21st-century American male actors", "21st-century American male artists", "21st-century American male singers", "21st-century American male writers", "21st-century American screenwriters", "American LGBT rights activists", "American animators", "American atheists", "American baritones", "American cannabis activists", "American cartoonists", "American comedy musicians", "American comedy writers", "American crooners", "American film directors", "American film producers", "American illustrators", "American impressionists (entertainers)", "American jazz singers", "American male comedians", "American male comedy actors", "American male film actors", "American male jazz musicians", "American male screenwriters", "American male singer-songwriters", "American male television actors", "American male television writers", "American male video game actors", "American male voice actors", "American parodists", "American people of English descent", "American people of Irish descent", "American people of Scottish descent", "American people of Welsh descent", "American political activists", "American satirists", "American stand-up comedians", "American storyboard artists", "American surrealist artists", "American television directors", "American television producers", "American television writers", "Animators from Connecticut", "Animators from Rhode Island", "Annie Award winners", "Comedians from Connecticut", "Comedians from Rhode Island", "Comedy film directors", "Connecticut Democrats", "Critics of religions", "Film directors from Connecticut", "Film directors from Rhode Island", "Film producers from Connecticut", "Film producers from Rhode Island", "Former Roman Catholics", "Hanna-Barbera people", "Kent School alumni", "Living people", "Male actors from Connecticut", "Male actors from Providence, Rhode Island", "Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island", "Peabody Award winners", "People from Kent, Connecticut", "Primetime Emmy Award winners", "Republic Records artists", "Rhode Island Democrats", "Rhode Island School of Design alumni", "Rhode Island School of Design alumni in music", "Screenwriters from Connecticut", "Screenwriters from Rhode Island", "Showrunners", "Singer-songwriters from Connecticut", "Singer-songwriters from Rhode Island", "Swing singers", "Television producers from Connecticut", "Traditional pop music singers", "Universal Records artists", "Verve Records artists", "Writers from Connecticut", "Writers from Providence, Rhode Island" ]
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (/məkˈfɑːrlɪn/; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. MacFarlane is the creator and star of the television series Family Guy (since 1999) and The Orville (since 2017), and co-creator of the television series American Dad! (since 2005) and The Cleveland Show (2009–2013). He also wrote, directed, and starred in the films Ted (2012), its sequel Ted 2 (2015), and A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014). MacFarlane is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied animation. Recruited to Hollywood, he was an animator and writer for Hanna-Barbera for television series including Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Dexter's Laboratory, and the animated short Larry & Steve for What A Cartoon!. MacFarlane made guest appearances as an actor on television series such as Gilmore Girls, The War at Home, Star Trek: Enterprise, and FlashForward. In 2008, he created the online series Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. He won several awards for his work on Family Guy, including five Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2009, he won the Webby Award for Film & Video Person of the Year. MacFarlane has performed as a singer at Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Royal Albert Hall in London. He has released seven studio albums, in the vein of Frank Sinatra, with influences from jazz orchestrations, and Hollywood musicals beginning with Music Is Better Than Words in 2011. MacFarlane has received five Grammy Award nominations for his work. He has frequently collaborated with artists such as Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, and Elizabeth Gillies on his albums, and has also performed with singers Gwen Stefani, Meghan Trainor, Ariana Grande, Barbra Streisand, and rapper Logic. He hosted the 85th Academy Awards in 2013 and was nominated for Best Original Song for "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from Ted. MacFarlane was executive producer of the Neil deGrasse Tyson-hosted Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, an update of the 1980s Cosmos series hosted by Carl Sagan. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2020. ## Early life and education MacFarlane was born and raised in Kent, Connecticut. His parents, Ronald Milton MacFarlane and Ann Perry (née Sager), were born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His younger sister Rachael is also a voice actress. He has roots in New England going back to the 1600s, and is a descendant of Mayflower passenger William Brewster. His maternal grandfather, Arthur Sager, competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. MacFarlane's parents met in 1970 when they lived and worked in Boston, Massachusetts, and married later that year. They moved to Kent in 1972, where Ann began working in the admissions office at South Kent School. She later worked in the college guidance and admissions offices at the Kent School, a selective college preparatory school, where Ronald was a teacher. As a child, MacFarlane developed an interest in illustration, and at the age of two he began drawing cartoon characters such as Fred Flintstone and Woody Woodpecker. By age five, he knew he wanted to pursue a career in animation, and began by creating flip books after his parents found a book on the subject for him. Four years later, at nine, he began publishing a weekly comic strip, Walter Crouton, for The Kent Good Times Dispatch, the local newspaper; it paid him five dollars per week. MacFarlane said in an October 2011 interview that as a child he was always "weirdly fascinated by the Communion ceremony". He created a strip with a character kneeling at the altar taking Communion and asking "Can I have fries with that?" The paper printed it and he got an "angry letter" from the local priest; it led to "sort of a little mini-controversy" in the town. MacFarlane received his high school diploma in 1991 from the Kent School. While there, he continued experimenting with animation, and his parents gave him an 8 mm camera. He went on to study film, video, and animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. As a student, he intended to work for Disney but changed his mind after graduating. At RISD, MacFarlane created a series of independent films, meeting future Family Guy cast member Mike Henry, whose brother Patrick was MacFarlane's classmate. During his time at RISD, he performed stand-up comedy. In his senior year, he made a thesis film, The Life of Larry, which became the inspiration for Family Guy. A professor submitted his film to the animation studio Hanna-Barbera, where he was later hired. ## Career ### Television career #### Hanna-Barbera years MacFarlane was recruited during the senior film festival by development executive Ellen Cockrill and President Fred Seibert. He went to work at Hanna-Barbera (then Hanna-Barbera Cartoons) based on the writing content of The Life of Larry, rather than on his drawing abilities. He was one of only a few people hired by the company solely based on writing talent. He worked as an animator and writer for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoons series. He created a sequel to The Life of Larry entitled Larry & Steve, featuring a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. The short was broadcast as one of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons. He described the atmosphere at Hanna-Barbera as resembling an "old-fashioned Hollywood structure, where you move from one show to another or you jump from a writing job on one show to a storyboard job on another". MacFarlane worked on three television series during his tenure at the studio: Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, and Johnny Bravo. Working as both a writer and storyboard artist, MacFarlane spent the most time on Johnny Bravo. He found it easier to develop his own style at Johnny Bravo through the show's process of scriptwriting, which Dexter's Laboratory and Cow and Chicken did not use. As a part of the Johnny Bravo crew, he met actors and voiceover artists such as Adam West and Jack Sheldon of Schoolhouse Rock! fame. These meetings later became significant to the production and success of his Family Guy series. He also did freelance work for Walt Disney Television Animation, writing for Jungle Cubs, and for Nelvana, where he wrote for Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Through strict observation of writing elements such as story progression, character stakes and plot points, MacFarlane found the work for Disney was, from a writing standpoint, very valuable in preparation for his career (particularly on Ace Ventura). He also created and wrote a short titled Zoomates for Frederator Studios' Oh Yeah! Cartoons on Nickelodeon. Executives at the Fox Broadcasting Company saw both Larry shorts and negotiations soon began for a prime-time animated series. #### Family Guy Although MacFarlane enjoyed working at Hanna-Barbera, he felt his real calling was for prime-time animation, which would allow a much edgier style of humor. He first pitched Family Guy to Fox during his tenure at Hanna-Barbera. A development executive there, who was trying to get back into prime-time business, introduced MacFarlane to Leslie Kolins and Mike Darnell, heads of the alternative comedy department at Fox. After the success of King of the Hill in 1997, MacFarlane called Kolins once more to ask about a possible second pitch for the series. Fox offered the young writer a strange deal: They gave him a budget of US\$50,000 to produce a pilot that could lead to a series (most episodes of animated prime-time productions cost at least US\$1 million). Recalling the experience in an interview with The New York Times, MacFarlane said, "I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot". After six months, MacFarlane returned to Fox with a "very, very simply, crudely animated film—with just enough to get the tone of the show across" to present to the executives, who loved the pilot and immediately ordered the series. In July 1998, they announced the purchase of Family Guy for a January 1999 debut. Family Guy was originally intended to be a series of shorts on MADtv, much in the same way The Simpsons had begun on The Tracey Ullman Show a decade earlier. Negotiations for the show's MADtv connection fell through early on as a result of budgetary concerns. At age 24, MacFarlane was television's youngest executive producer. Family Guy first aired January 31, 1999. MacFarlane's work in animating Family Guy was influenced by Jackie Gleason and Hanna-Barbera along with examples from The Simpsons and All in the Family. In addition to writing three episodes, "Death Has a Shadow", "Family Guy Viewer Mail 1" and "North by North Quahog", MacFarlane voices Family Guy's main male characters of Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin and Glenn Quagmire, as well as Tom Tucker, his son Jake Tucker, and other characters. Bolstered by high DVD sales and fan loyalty, Family Guy developed into a US\$1-billion franchise. On May 4, 2008, after approximately two and a half years of negotiations, MacFarlane reached a US\$100-million agreement with Fox to keep Family Guy and American Dad! until 2012. It made him the world's highest paid television writer. MacFarlane's success with Family Guy opened doors to other ventures relating to the show. On April 26, 2005, he and composer Walter Murphy created Family Guy: Live in Vegas. The soundtrack features a Broadway show tune theme, and MacFarlane voiced Stewie in the track "Stewie's Sexy Party". A fan of Broadway musicals, MacFarlane comments on using musicals as a component of Family Guy: > I love the lush orchestration and old-fashioned melody writing ... it just gets you excited, that kind of music", he said. "It's very optimistic. And it's fun. The one thing that's missing for me from popular music today is fun. Guys like [Bing] Crosby, or [Frank] Sinatra, or Dean Martin, or Mel Tormé [...] these are guys who sounded like they were having a great time. A Family Guy video game was released in 2006. Two years later, in August 2007, MacFarlane closed a digital content production deal with AdSense. He takes cast members on the road to voice characters in front of live audiences. Family Guy Live provides fans with the opportunity to hear future scripts. In mid-2007, Chicago fans had the opportunity to hear the then upcoming sixth-season premiere "Blue Harvest". Shows have played in Montreal, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. On July 22, 2007, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane announced that he might start work on a feature film, although "nothing's official". In September 2007, Ricky Blitt gave TV.com an interview confirming that he had already started working on the script. Then in TV Week on July 18, 2008, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a theatrically released Family Guy feature film sometime "within the next year". He came up with an idea for the story, "something that you could not do on the show, which [to him] is the only reason to do a movie". He later went on to say he imagines the film to be "an old-style musical with dialogue" similar to The Sound of Music, saying that he would "really be trying to capture, musically, that feel". On October 13, 2011, MacFarlane confirmed that a deal for a Family Guy film had been made, and that he would write it with series co-producer Ricky Blitt. On November 30, 2012, he confirmed plans for the project. The project was put on hold while MacFarlane worked on Ted 2. In 2018, Fox announced that a live-action/animated film based on the series is in development. MacFarlane stepped away from the series in 2011 to work on Ted and other projects, and has only been associated with the show as a voice actor since then. Despite its popularity, Family Guy has often been criticized. The Parents Television Council has been a frequent critic. It organized a letter-writing campaign to remove it from Fox's lineup, and filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission alleging that some of its episodes contained indecent content. MacFarlane has responded to the PTC's criticism by saying, among other things, "That's like getting hate mail from Hitler. They're literally terrible human beings." Family Guy has been cancelled twice, although strong fan support and DVD sales have caused Fox to reconsider. MacFarlane mentioned how these cancellations affected the lineup of writers: "One of the positive aspects of Family Guy constantly being pulled off [the air] is that we were always having to restaff writers". During its sixth season, episodes of Family Guy and American Dad! were delayed from regular broadcast due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. MacFarlane participated in the strike to support the writers, and Fox aired three Family Guy episodes without his permission. The strike ended on February 12, 2008, and the series resumed airing regularly, beginning with "Back to the Woods". #### American Dad! MacFarlane has a second long-running, successful adult animated series in American Dad! which has been in production since early 2005. To date, it is his only animated series that has never been cancelled, though it did undergo a network relocation from Fox to TBS on October 20, 2014, following its 11th season. TBS announced on July 16, 2013 that they had picked up the series for a 15-episode 12th season. The purpose of the network relocation was originally to make room for new animated broadcasts, such as Mulaney and another animated series from Seth MacFarlane called Bordertown, on Fox's now-defunct "Animation Domination". While MacFarlane does extensive voice acting work for American Dad!, he has left much of its creative direction up to Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker, feeling it helps give the series its own voice and identity. It was announced on November 4, 2013 that Barker would depart American Dad! after 10 seasons as producer/co-showrunner, due to creative differences as production for season 11 on TBS began. American Dad! was first shown after Super Bowl XXXIX, debuting with the episode "Pilot", which MacFarlane co-wrote. This February 6, 2005, series premiere was somewhat of an early sneak preview as the program did not begin airing regularly until May 1, 2005. Because of atypical scheduling of the show's first 7 episodes, American Dad! has a controversial season number discrepancy in which many are divided as to how many seasons the program has had. Beyond division between media journalists and fans, there have been conflicting reports as to what season the show is in even between American Dad! creators and the show's official website—both from its original Fox website and now from TBS website. At San Diego Comic-Con in 2013, Barker hinted that an American Dad! movie—centering on the Roger character and set from his birth planet—is in the works and partially written. However, at San Diego Comic-Con in 2022, Weitzman revealed plans for the film were scrapped. MacFarlane has described the initial seasons of American Dad! as being similar to All in the Family, likening title character Stan Smith's originally bigoted persona to Archie Bunker. MacFarlane has also stated that his inspiration to create American Dad! derived from his and Weitzman's exasperation with George W. Bush's policies as former United States President. After the early couple of seasons however, the series discontinued using these elements of political satire and began to serve up its own brand of entertainment and humor. MacFarlane was described as having difficulty understanding the series in its early going; however, he heavily warmed up to the series after its early seasons once he felt the show truly came into its own. His fellow co-creators have sensed this through MacFarlane's greatly increased attention to the series after its early seasons. MacFarlane has also revealed he is an American Dad! fan himself. He has taken note of the positive reaction to the "Roger" character by fans via his Twitter. The show focuses on the Smith family: Stan Smith, the endangering, dog-eat-dog, rash and inconsiderate head of the household. He has an exaggeratedly large chin and masculine manner about him. As the family's breadwinner, he works as a CIA officer and was initially portrayed in the series as an old-fashioned conservative bigot but has since grown out of these traits (the show is known for its story arc elements and other distinguishing plot techniques); Stan's paradoxically moralistic yet simultaneously inappropriate, corrupt wife, Francine; and their two children, new-age hippie daughter Hayley and nerdy son Steve. Accompanying the Smith family are three additional main characters, two of which belong to non-human species: zany, shocking, blithely cruel and rascally alien Roger, who's full of disguises/alter egos and has few if any limits on his behaviors. He was rescued by Stan from Area 51; Klaus, the man-in-a-fish-body pet. Klaus's unenviable situation came about from the brain of an East German Olympic skier being shrunk and transplanted into a fish body; and Jeff Fischer, Hayley's boyfriend turned "whipped" husband, known for his infatuation with Hayley's mom, Francine. Together, the Smiths and their three housemates run what is only at a first glance the typical middle-class American lifestyle, but is anything but. MacFarlane provides the voices of Stan and Roger, basing Roger's voice on Paul Lynde (who played Uncle Arthur in Bewitched). His sister Rachael MacFarlane provides the voice of Hayley. #### The Cleveland Show MacFarlane developed a Family Guy spin-off called The Cleveland Show, which focuses on the character of Cleveland Brown and his family. The idea for the show originated from a suggestion by Family Guy writer and voice of Cleveland, Mike Henry. Fox ordered 22 episodes and the series first aired on September 27, 2009. The show, which was picked up to air a first season consisting of 22 episodes, was picked up by Fox for a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, bringing the total number to 35 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009, before the first season even premiered. Due to strong ratings, Fox picked up the back nine episodes of season 2, making a 22-episode season and bringing the total episode count of the show to 44. The series ended on May 19, 2013, with a total of 4 seasons and 88 episodes. The character of Cleveland and his family returned to Family Guy in the episode "He's Bla-ack!". This is the only animated series created by MacFarlane that does not have him voicing the main character. MacFarlane did, however, play the character Tim the Bear until season 3 episode 10. Jess Harnell voiced Tim from season 3 episode 11 onwards. #### Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy In 2008, MacFarlane released a series of webisodes known as Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy with its animated shorts sponsored by Burger King and released weekly. #### The Orville In 2016, MacFarlane began producing the sci-fi comedy-drama series The Orville, in which he also stars as Captain Edward "Ed" Mercer. MacFarlane originally wrote The Orville as a spec script, which was given a 13-episode order by Fox in May 2016, making it the first live-action television series created by MacFarlane. The series premiered on September 10, 2017. Despite the first season receiving negative reviews, it was renewed for a second season. The second season premiered on December 30, 2018 and received better reviews. The series was renewed for a third season by Fox, however the series would move over to Hulu. This season is the show's first on Hulu, after airing its previous two seasons on Fox, as well as the first to premiere since The Walt Disney Company's March 2019 acquisition of 20th Century Fox. The season was originally scheduled to premiere in 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The third season titled as The Orville: New Horizons premiered on June 2, 2022. Due to the pandemic, an episode of third season was scrapped, which MacFarlane turned it into a novel, titled The Orville: Sympathy for the Devil. #### Television producing MacFarlane was the executive producer of a live-action sitcom starring Rob Corddry called The Winner. The plot has a man named Glen discussing the time he matured at 32 and has him pursuing his only love after she moves in next door. Glen meets her son and both become good friends. The show ran on Fox for six episodes in Spring 2007. In August 2011, Fox ordered a 13-part updated series of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. MacFarlane co-produced the series with Ann Druyan and Steven Soter. The new series is hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson and began airing on the channel in March 2014, with repeats airing on the National Geographic Channel on the next night. In addition to serving as one of the executive producers, MacFarlane provided voices for characters during the animated portions of the series. MacFarlane returned to executive produce and provide voices to its sequel series, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, which aired in 2020. In 2013 and 2014, MacFarlane produced one season of a live-action sitcom called Dads. The series, revolves around Eli, played by Seth Green, and Warner, played by Giovanni Ribisi, two successful guys in their 30s whose world is turned upside down when their dads move in with them. MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild executive-produced the series, with Sulkin and Wild writing. In 2014, MacFarlane executive produced a two-season, 20-episode series called Blunt Talk for Starz. The series followed an English newscaster who moves to Los Angeles with his alcoholic manservant and the baggage of several failed marriages to host a sanctimonious talk show. In 2009, MacFarlane began work on the animated series Bordertown. The series is set in Texas and follows a border patrol agent and a Mexican immigrant, satirizing America's changing cultural landscape. It ran for 13 episodes in the first half of 2016, on Fox. #### Television hosting MacFarlane often participates as one of the "roasters" in the annual Comedy Central Roasts. MacFarlane is the only person to serve as roastmaster for more than one Comedy Central roast. In 2010, he filled this role for The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff. The following year he was roastmaster of Comedy Central roasts of Donald Trump and Charlie Sheen. On October 1, 2012, it was announced that MacFarlane would host the 85th Academy Awards on February 24, 2013. He also presented the nominees with actress Emma Stone, on January 10, 2013. In addition to hosting, MacFarlane was also nominated in the Academy Award for Best Original Song category for co-writing the theme song "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" for his film Ted with Walter Murphy. Critical response to MacFarlane's performance was mixed. Columnist Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly commented "By calling constant attention to the naughty factor," MacFarlane created "an echo chamber of outrage, working a little too hard to top himself with faux-scandalous gags about race, Jews in Hollywood, and the killing of Abraham Lincoln." Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter praised MacFarlane's performance saying that he did "impressively better than one would have wagered." He also noted that he added "plenty of niceties with a little bit of the Ricky Gervais bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you thing and worked the juxtaposition rather nicely." He stirred up controversy in the form of a musical number titled "We Saw Your Boobs". On October 29, 2014, it was announced that MacFarlane would host the Breakthrough Prize ceremony. The event was held in Silicon Valley and televised on November 15, 2014, on Discovery Channel and Science, and globally on November 22, 2014, on BBC World News. He returned to host the following year. ### Film career #### Ted MacFarlane made his directorial live-action film debut with the release of Ted in 2012. He announced that he was directing it on an episode of Conan that aired on February 10, 2011. Along with directing the film, he also wrote the screenplay, served as producer, and starred as the title character. Ted tells the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and his talking teddy bear (MacFarlane) who keeps John and his girlfriend Lori Collins (Mila Kunis) from moving on with their lives. The film received generally favorable reviews from both critics and audiences, and was a box office success, opening with the highest weekend gross of all time for an original R-rated comedy. Internationally, the movie is currently the highest-grossing original R-rated comedy of all time, beating The Hangover. A sequel, Ted 2, was released on June 26, 2015. It was announced in June 2021 that Peacock had given a straight to series order for a prequel series. In addition to serving as executive producer for the series, MacFarlane reprises his role as the titular character Ted. Due to the prequel nature of the series, film stars Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis are not expected to reprise their roles. #### A Million Ways to Die in the West MacFarlane co-wrote and starred in his second film, A Million Ways to Die in the West. Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild were also co-writers for the film. The film follows a cowardly sheep farmer (MacFarlane) who loses a gunfight and sees his girlfriend leave him for another man. When a mysterious woman rides into town, she helps him find his courage. But when her outlaw husband arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test. The film was met with mixed to negative reviews from critics. On January 27, 2014, MacFarlane announced that he wrote a companion novel based on the film's script, which was released on March 4, 2014. An audio-book version was also made available, narrated by Jonathan Frakes. MacFarlane wrote the book on weekends during shooting for the film, partially due to boredom. ### Music career #### Record deal and albums In 2010, MacFarlane signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records. He released his debut album, Music Is Better Than Words, in 2011. The album is a big band/standards album drawing on his training in and attraction to "the Great American Songbook and particularly the early- to late-'50s era of orchestration". It was nominated in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical categories at the 54th Grammy Awards. It received a score of 52 out of 100 on Metacritic's compilation of music critic reviews. He was featured on Calabria Foti's 2013 single "Let's Fall in Love". In 2014, he released his second studio album Holiday for Swing, a Christmas album including collaborations with Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles. It received mostly positive reviews. In 2015, his third studio album No One Ever Tells You was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In 2016, he was honored by Barbara Sinatra at the 28th annual Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational, and recorded the song "Pure Imagination" as a duet with Barbra Streisand for her album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. He released his fourth studio album, In Full Swing, in 2017, again featuring songs composed by Joel McNeely. Three singles were released from it: "That Face", "Almost Like Being in Love", and "Have You Met Miss Jones?" The album was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals. In 2019, for his fifth studio album Once in a While, MacFarlane worked with composer Andrew Cottee. In 2020, MacFarlane released his sixth studio album, Great Songs From Stage & Screen, with composer Bruce Broughton, who he works with on The Orville, to compose the album. Like his previous four albums, he recorded a majority of the songs at Abbey Road Studios. However, much of the albums post-production work was done at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, he released his seventh studio album, Blue Skies. #### Collaborations MacFarlane collaborated with Sara Bareilles on two of his albums, Music Is Better Than Words (2011), and Holiday for Swing (2014) singing "Love Won't Let You Get Away" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" respectively. Together they performed the song "Love You Let You Get Away" in his 2011 Epix concert Seth MacFarlane: Swingin' in Concert in 2011. He also collaborated with Norah Jones on three of his albums, Music is Better Than Words (2011), Holiday for Swing (2014), and In Full Swing (2017) singing "Two Sleepy People", "Little Jack Frost Get Lost", and " "If I Had a Talking Picture of You" respectively. She also sang his Academy Award nominated song "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from Ted which she performed at the 85th Academy Awards. During the COVID-19 pandemic, MacFarlane and Elizabeth Gillies collaborated on a series of songs, eight in total, on a playlist entitled, Songs from Home on Spotify. MacFarlane sang numerous show tunes with Ariana Grande on an episode of Carpool Karaoke: The Series in 2017. ### Other projects MacFarlane was executive producer of a 2020 feature film adapting Clive Barker’s novel Books of Blood for Hulu, directed by Brannon Braga. In 2020, he signed a \$200 million deal with NBCUniversal to develop television projects for both internal and external networks, including the company’s then-developing streaming service Peacock. Among these projects is The End is Nye, hosted by Bill Nye, a six episode series exploring and explaining six apocalyptic scenarios. MacFarlane is executive producer and will make small appearances in each episode. It premiered on the service on August 25, 2022. In January 2021, it was announced that MacFarlane had been hired to develop a reboot of The Naked Gun. After MacFarlane had previously expressed interest in casting Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. in 2015, the filmmaker was hired by the studio. Neeson revealed that the filmmaker alongside Paramount Pictures had approached him with a pitch to star in the movie. In June of the same year, Neeson stated that MacFarlane was working on a new draft of the script, with the studio additionally negotiating the filmmaker's potential role as director. He expressed excitement for the project and the opportunity to explore a more comedic role, should he decide to star in the movie; while stating that development on the project is ongoing. In October 2022, the film was officially greenlit with Neeson in the lead role. The film will be directed by Akiva Schaffer, Dan Gregor and Doug Mand were hired to write a new draft of the script, from a previous draft with contributions from Mark Hentemann, Alec Sulkin, and MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane and Erica Huggins will serve as producers. ### Guest appearances MacFarlane has appeared in sitcoms, comedy and news programs, independent films, and other animated shows. In 2002, MacFarlane appeared in the Gilmore Girls episode "Lorelai's Graduation Day". Four years later on November 5, 2006, MacFarlane guest starred on Fox's The War at Home as "Hillary's Date", an unnamed 33-year-old man who secretly dates teenaged Hillary in the episode "I Wash My Hands of You". MacFarlane also appeared as the engineer Ensign Rivers on Star Trek: Enterprise in the third-season episode "The Forgotten" and the fourth-season episode "Affliction". During 2006, MacFarlane had a role in the independent film Life is Short. He has been a frequent guest on the radio talkshow Loveline, hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky. MacFarlane appeared on the November 11, 2006, episode of Fox's comedy show MADtv. MacFarlane has also appeared on news shows and late night television shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Show with David Letterman. Three months later on March 24, 2007, MacFarlane was interviewed on Fox's Talkshow with Spike Feresten, and closed the show by singing the Frank Sinatra song "You Make Me Feel So Young". He also provided Stewie's voice when he appeared as a brain tumor-induced hallucination to Seeley Booth in an episode of Bones, writing his own dialogue for the episode. On May 8, 2009, MacFarlane was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher. Other than Family Guy and American Dad!, MacFarlane voices characters in other cartoon shows and films. He voiced Wayne "The Brain" McClain in an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He has also voiced various characters on Adult Swim's Robot Chicken, including a parody of Lion-O and Emperor Palpatine as well as Peter Griffin in the Season 2 premiere – he even parodied himself in the Season 4 premiere, in which he renewed the show simply by mentioning it in a Family Guy-like cutaway after its fictitious cancellation at the end of Season 3. He also played the villain "The Manotaur" in Bob Boyle's animated kids series Yin Yang Yo!. In addition, MacFarlane voiced Johann Kraus in the 2008 film Hellboy II: The Golden Army. He also had a guest appearance in the animated film Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder where he sings "That Was Then (And This is Too)", the opening theme. He had also starred in a commercial for Hulu in which he plays an alien presenting Hulu as an "evil plot to destroy the world", progressively as his famous Family Guy and American Dad! characters. He also lent his voice to the series finale movie of the Comedy Central series, Drawn Together. MacFarlane played Ziggy in the 2010 film Tooth Fairy. In August 2010, he appeared as a guest voice-over in a sci-fi themed episode of Disney's Phineas and Ferb entitled "Nerds of a Feather". On September 15, 2012, MacFarlane hosted the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Frank Ocean. The episode was MacFarlane's first appearance on the show. MacFarlane had a cameo in the 2013 film Movie 43. MacFarlane collaborated with Matt Groening on an episode of The Simpsons and Futurama. In 2016, he had a voice role in the animated film Sing, as well as serving as a major performer on the film's soundtrack. In 2017, he appeared in Steven Soderbergh's heist comedy Logan Lucky, alongside Channing Tatum and Adam Driver. In 2019, MacFarlane appeared in the Showtime limited series The Loudest Voice. ## Artistry ### Musical style MacFarlane has a baritone voice. He is a pianist and singer who, in his early years, trained with Lee and Sally Sweetland, the vocal coaches of Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra. In an interview with NPR, he commented on their training style: "They really drill you. They teach you the old-style way of singing, back when you had no electronic help ... [They teach you to] show your teeth. If you look at old photos of Sinatra while he's singing, there's a lot of very exposed teeth. That was something Lee Sweetland hit on day in and day out, and correctly so, because it just brightens the whole performance." In 2009, MacFarlane appeared as a vocalist at the BBC Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra in Prom 22, A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals. In 2010, he reappeared at the Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra in a Christmas concert special. In 2012, it was announced he would again appear at the Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra in a concert celebrating Broadway musicals. In 2015, MacFarlane again appeared at The Proms as a vocalist with the John Wilson Orchestra, this time in a Sinatra program. Regarding his musical passion, MacFarlane has said, "I love and am fascinated by exciting orchestration—what you can do with a band that size—and I think in many ways it's a lost art." His music is predominantly vocal jazz, show tunes, and swing. He also uses musical comedy in his shows and movies. ### Influences MacFarlane has said that his comedy influences include Woody Allen, Jackie Gleason, Bill Maher, Mel Brooks, and Monty Python; while his musical influences include Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Vic Damone, Johnny Mercer, Bing Crosby, Bobby Darin, Gordon MacRae, and the Rat Pack. ## Activism ### Political views MacFarlane is a supporter of the Democratic Party. He has donated over US\$200,000 to various Democratic congressional committees and to the 2008 presidential campaign of then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama. He has stated that he supports the legalization of cannabis. In 2015, MacFarlane revealed support for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and he introduced Sanders onstage at a Los Angeles rally. After the primaries, he supported Hillary Clinton for president during the general election. In 2019, he supported Pete Buttigieg in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. After the primaries, he endorsed Joe Biden for president during the general election. ### LGBT advocacy MacFarlane is a supporter of the LGBT rights. In 2008, prior to the holding of the Obergefell v. Hodges case by the United States Supreme Court, MacFarlane called it "infuriating and idiotic" that two gay partners "have to go through this fucking dog and pony act when they stop at a hotel and the guy behind the counter says, 'You want one room or two?'" He went on to say, "I'm incredibly passionate about my support for the gay community and what they're dealing with at this current point in time". In recognition of "his active, passionate commitment to humanist values, and his fearless support of equal marriage rights and other social justice issues", MacFarlane was named the Harvard Humanist of the Year in 2011. MacFarlane was criticized for his portrayal of transsexuals in the Family Guy episode "Quagmire's Dad". Brent Hartinger found the episode's inclusion of transphobic remarks from Peter and Lois Griffin—as well as a scene of Brian vomiting profusely upon discovering his new girlfriend to be Glenn Quagmire's father—to be "shockingly insensitive". Hartinger continued, "Frankly, it's literally impossible for me to reconcile last night's episode with MacFarlane's words, unless I come to the conclusion that the man is pretty much a complete idiot". The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an LGBT media watchdog organization, shared "serious concerns being voiced from members of the community" about the episode. MacFarlane said he was "surprised" by the negative reaction to "Quagmire's Dad", saying that "it seemed that [gay commentators] were not picking up on the fact that it was a very sympathetic portrayal of a transsexual character". He further added, "Look, Brian happens to be a heterosexual character, as I am. If I found out that I had slept with a transsexual, I might throw up in the same way that a gay guy looks at a vagina and goes, 'Oh, my God, that's disgusting.'" ### Speaking engagements MacFarlane is a frequent speaking guest on college campuses. On April 16, 2006, he was invited by Stanford University's ASSU Speakers' Bureau to address an audience of over 1,000 at Memorial Auditorium. He was invited by Harvard University's class of 2006 to deliver the "class day" address on June 7, 2006. He spoke as himself, and also as Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin and Glenn Quagmire. He has also spoken at George Washington University, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Missouri, University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, and Loyola Marymount University. ### 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, MacFarlane publicly sided with the Writers Guild, and fully participated in the strike. Official production of Family Guy was halted for most of December 2007 and various periods afterwards. Fox continued producing episodes without MacFarlane's final approval, and although he refused to work on the show during the strike, his contract with Fox required him to contribute to any episodes it subsequently produced. Rumors of continued production on Family Guy prompted the statement from MacFarlane that ".....it would just be a colossal dick move if they did that". During the strike, MacFarlane wrote an inside joke into an episode of Family Guy about Jon Stewart's choice to return to the air and undermine the writers of The Daily Show, causing Stewart to respond with an angry phone-call, harassing MacFarlane and arguing his point. The strike ended on February 12, 2008. ### 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike During the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, MacFarlane donated \$1 Million to The Entertainment Community Fund to Support Film and Television Workers During Strikes. The Entertainment Community, formerly The Actors Fund, is there to help provide financial assistance for industry workers during the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. ### The Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan Archive MacFarlane donated money to create The Seth MacFarlane Collection of the Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan Archive at the Library of Congress. MacFarlane said, "The work of Carl Sagan has been a profound influence in my life, and the life of every individual who recognizes the importance of humanity's ongoing commitment to the exploration of our universe [...] The continuance of our journey outward into space should always occupy some part of our collective attention, regardless of whatever Snooki did last week." ## Personal life MacFarlane lives in Beverly Hills, California. He is not married nor does he have any children. In a 2004 interview with The Daily Princetonian, he noted his similarities to Brian Griffin from Family Guy: "I have some Brian type issues from time to time—looking for the right person—but I date as much as the next guy." The morning after his speech at his alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design, on September 10, 2001, MacFarlane was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11, one of the planes hijacked in the September 11 attacks. Due to a hangover after the previous night's celebrations and an incorrect departure time (8:15 a.m. instead of 7:45 a.m.) from his travel agent, he arrived at Logan International Airport about ten minutes too late to board the flight, as the gates had been closed. Speaking of his experience of missing the fatal trip, MacFarlane said: > The only reason it hasn't really affected me as it maybe could have is I didn't really know that I was in any danger until after it was over, so I never had that panic moment. After the fact, it was sobering, but people have a lot of close calls; you're crossing the street and you almost get hit by a car... This one just happened to be related to something massive. I really can't let it affect me because I'm a comedy writer. I have to put that in the back of my head. The Family Guy episode "Boy (Dog) Meets Girl (Dog)" references the incident. On July 16, 2010, MacFarlane's mother, Ann Perry Sager, died from cancer. Her death was reported by Larry King on his show Larry King Live, who acknowledged a conversation he had with her during an interview with MacFarlane in May 2010. From 2012 to 2013, MacFarlane was in a relationship with Emilia Clarke. MacFarlane is an atheist, explaining his beliefs, "I do not believe in God. I'm an atheist. I consider myself a critical thinker, and it fascinates me that in the 21st century most people still believe in, as George Carlin puts it, 'the invisible man living in the sky'." ## Lawsuits On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing Family Guy of infringing its copyright on the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", through a parody song titled "I Need a Jew" appearing in the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Bourne Co., which holds the copyright, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit were MacFarlane, 20th Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network, and Walter Murphy; the suit sought to stop the program's distribution and asked for unspecified damages. Bourne argued that "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody of "When You Wish Upon a Star" without commenting on that song, and that it was therefore not a First Amendment-protected parody per the ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. On March 16, 2009, United States District Judge Deborah Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed the song for comical use in an episode. In December 2007, Family Guy was again accused of copyright infringement when actor Art Metrano filed a lawsuit regarding a scene in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, in which Jesus performs Metrano's signature magic parody act, involving absurd faux magical hand gestures while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy". MacFarlane, 20th Century Fox, Steve Callaghan, and Alex Borstein were all named in the suit. In July 2009, a federal district court judge rejected Fox's motion to dismiss, saying that the first three fair use factors involved—"purpose and character of the use", "nature of the infringed work", and "amount and substantiality of the taking"—counted in Metrano's favor, while the fourth—"economic impact"—had to await more fact-finding. In denying the dismissal, the court held that the reference in the scene made light of Jesus and his followers—not Metrano or his act. The case was settled out of court in 2010 with undisclosed terms. On July 16, 2014, MacFarlane was served with a lawsuit from the production company of a series of Internet videos called Charlie the Abusive Teddy Bear claiming that Ted infringes on the copyright of its videos due to the Ted bear largely matching the background story, persona, voice tone, attitude, and dialogue of the Charlie bear. The suit was dismissed with prejudice on March 23, 2015, after the plaintiffs conceded Ted was independently created and withdrew the suit. ## Awards and nominations MacFarlane has been nominated for twenty-four Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on Family Guy and has won five times, in 2000, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2019. He has been nominated for five Grammy Awards for his work in Family Guy: Live in Vegas, Music Is Better Than Words, Family Guy, No One Ever Tells You, and In Full Swing. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for co-writing the opening song, "Everybody Needs a Best Friend", from his film Ted with the film's composer Walter Murphy. He has received numerous awards from other organizations, including the Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production and the Saturn Award for Best Television Presentation for the Family Guy episode titled "Blue Harvest", the MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo and the Empire Award for Best Comedy for Ted. In 2019, MacFarlane received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6259 Hollywood Blvd. In 2020, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. In 2022, a new species of Hyloscirtus frog (Hyloscirtus sethmacfarlanei) was described from Ecuador and named after MacFarlane. ## Filmography - Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005) - Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) - Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009) - The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! (2010) - Tooth Fairy (2010) - Ted (2012) - Movie 43 (2013) - A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) - Ted 2 (2015) - Sing (2016) - Logan Lucky (2017) ## Discography ### Albums #### Studio albums #### Soundtrack albums ### Extended plays ### Singles #### As main artist #### As featuring artist ### Other charted songs ### Guest appearances ## Written works
64,843,244
Kitty da Costa
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18th century breach of contract defendant
[ "1710 births", "1747 deaths", "18th-century Sephardi Jews", "Burials in Nottinghamshire", "Da Costa family", "People from the City of London" ]
Kitty da Costa (born Catherine Rachel da Costa; 1710–1747), also known by the names Kitty Villareal and Kitty Mellish after her marriages, was an English Sephardi Jew who converted to Christianity. She was sued by her suitor and first cousin Philip Jacob Mendes da Costa for breach of contract, in a court case which caused controversy at the time. She had four children, three of whom survived into adulthood. ## Early life Catherine (Kitty) Rachel da Costa was born in London in 1710 to Joseph da Costa and Leonora Sara Mendes. Her father was a wealthy Sephardi Jew who traded in gold and coral. In 1690, there were approximately 800 Sephardis in England and by 1720 there were 1,000; most had moved in order to avoid the Spanish Inquisition. Kitty da Costa lived on Budge Row in the City of London and at the family's country retreat, the Manor of Copped Hall in Totteridge, Hertfordshire. The Budge Row house belonged to her grandfather until his death in 1716, whereupon it was inherited by her father. ## Life Around 1724, the possibility of marriage between Kitty da Costa and her first cousin Philip Jacob Mendes da Costa was raised; however, her parents forbade the match. In 1727 she was instead married to Joseph Isaac Villareal, the son of the comptroller of the Portuguese Army, who had been forced to flee Lisbon after being accused of Judaizing. She was almost 17 and he was 54. The couple had two children, Sarah (born 1728) and Abraham (born 1729), then Joseph Villareal died on 27 December 1730. Earlier that year in April, Villareal had altered his will to make his wife and children the sole heirs; this meant that Kitty da Costa Villareal became a rich young widow. Kitty da Costa Villareal spent winters at Budge Row, living there with her eight servants. She also had a house of her own at College Hill in London. Her confidante Anna Webb claimed that on 18 January 1731 (just three weeks after the death of her husband), Kitty da Costa Villareal had invited her former suitor Philip Jacob Mendes da Costa for breakfast, telling him they should be married after the mourning period and giving him a kiss. Kitty and Philip exchanged passionate letters and attempted to elope, but her father would not permit the marriage. Angered, Philip da Costa decided to sue Kitty da Costa for breach of promise at the Arches Court in 1732 (De Costa v. Villareal), arguing that a contract had been broken and he was entitled to damages of £100,000 (). The case caused a scandal at the time. Evidence was not heard in court but affidavits were supplied. On 25 June 1733, Doctor Bettesworth handed down the judgement that Philip was not entitled to damages since even if Kitty had wanted to marry, her father's agreement had not been given. Philip da Costa then published his score-settling account of what had happened under the pseudonym Philalethes as The proceedings at large in the Arches Court of Canterbury, between Mr. Jacob Mendes Da Costa, and Mrs. Catherine Da Costa Villa Real: Both of the Jewish religion and cousin Germans, relating to a marriage contract. Having failed in the ecclesiastical court, Philip da Costa claimed for the same damages at the Court of King's Bench, only to lose again. Lord Chief Justice Hardwicke threw the case out without hearing any evidence and Philip da Costa had to pay £180 in costs (). In 1735, Kitty da Costa married for a second time, to William Mellish. She then converted to Christianity and had two more children, Joseph (died as an infant) and Charles Mellish (born 1737). Her children from her first marriage were living with her father and after another legal battle (Villareal v. Mellish) she regained custody of them. It helped her case that she was now Christian and followed the religion of the land. Hardwicke, now Lord Chancellor, commented that he gave judgement with reluctance but there was no reason to keep the children away from their mother. They were subsequently baptised in April 1738 at St Anne's Church, Soho, with Sarah becoming Elizabeth and Abraham becoming William. Elizabeth later married William Monckton-Arundell, who became 2nd Viscount Galway, making her Lady Galway; she was the first peer to have been born Jewish. The Mellishes lived in Nottinghamshire. William Mellish used his wife's money to become a Member of Parliament for East Retford in 1741. Kitty Mellish died on 19 March 1747 in Blyth, Nottinghamshire. She left her entire estate to her husband.
3,117,709
Monifieth
1,171,196,856
Town in Angus, Scotland
[ "Burghs", "Towns in Angus, Scotland" ]
Monifieth /ˈmɒnifiːθ/ (Scottish Gaelic: Monadh Fotha) is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated on the north bank of the Firth of Tay on the east coast. In 2016, the population of Monifieth was estimated at 8,110, making it the fifth largest town in Angus. The presence of a number of class II and III Pictish stones points to Monifieth having had some importance as an ecclesiastical centre in the early medieval period. The lands were a possession of the Céli Dé monastic order until they were granted to the Tironensian monks of Arbroath Abbey in the early 13th century. Until the early 19th century, Monifieth remained a small village but grew rapidly due to the expansion of the local textile industry. Monifieth is considered a commuter town and suburb of its closest city, Dundee, which it is physically attached to. Politically, Monifieth can be seen to be a stronghold of the Scottish National Party, being represented at local, national and European levels by SNP politicians. The town falls within the boundaries of Angus Council but was part of Dundee City Council from 1975 to 1996. The local constituency boundary and whether Monifieth should fall within Angus or Dundee council areas continues to be a source of debate. Public transport consists mainly of bus services operated by Stagecoach Buses. The town is served by Monifieth railway station, with hourly trains to Dundee & Edinburgh and North to Arbroath. Its nearest major road is the A92 and the town is connected to Dundee by the A930. ## History ### Toponymy The name "Monifieth" likely derives from the Gaelic "Moine Feith" , "Bogstream of the marsh/moss". Previous suggestions that it comes from "Monadh Fieth" meaning "hill of the deer" make little sense. "Monadh" would mean a large upland mountainous area , which(given that the town is many miles from the highlands) is the exact opposite of Monifieths topography. An alternative etymology Monaich Fother, 'Monks' Land' has been suggested, which holds some appeal due to Monifieth's early status as a possession of the Céli Dé monastic order. 'Monifieth' has been given various spellings over the years, including 'Monifođ'/'Monifod', 'Monifoth', 'Munifođ', 'Monyfuthe', 'Monyfuthie', 'Monyfaith', 'Monyfuth', 'Monifuth', 'Monifeith', 'Monyfeith', and 'Monyfieth', before becoming standardised as 'Monifieth' on publication of the first edition of the Ordnance Survey maps. ### Early history The earliest evidence for occupation of the area surrounding Monifieth dates to the Mesolithic period. Midden pits of that age have been found nearby at Stannergate, and worked flints apparently of that age have been found at Balmossie. More tangible evidence for settlement can be found from the Neolithic period, for example with the Cursus monument, identified from cropmarks near Woodhill, between Monifieth and Carnoustie. This cursus is of a similar scale to the well characterised, mid 4th century BC enclosure found nearby at Douglasmuir near Friockheim. Numerous stones incised with cup and ring marks have also been found in the surrounding area. Approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north of Monifieth lies Laws hill, on which lies the Iron Age ruins of a broch and vitrified fort. These ruins are much reduced as the stone from their walls has been used on the estate for construction of dykes and drains, well into the 19th century, and while very little remains of the structure today, tradition recorded in 1842 attests to the walls being 5 foot (1.5 m) tall at the beginning of the 19th century. Artefacts found at and around the site include a quantity of gold coins, iron spear heads and a stone lamp. One artefact found near Laws Hill (but now lost and only known from an illustration) is that of a Pictish crescent plate, found in a cist grave which incorporated a later Norse Younger Futhark runic inscription (MKITIL:THA[...]). This find is particularly intriguing in light of the paucity of Viking archaeology in this part of Scotland. Domestic remains from the late Prehistoric period can also be found in abundance in the area. Perhaps most well known are the souterrains at Carlungie and Ardestie, but cropmarks point to other settlements of that age, for instance at Woodhill. ### Medieval history Prior to the thirteenth century, the church and lands of Monifieth were possessions of the Céli Dé monastic order. The church was endowed to the recently founded Tironensian abbey of Arbroath by Gille Críst, Mormaer of Angus, around 1201–1207, and the lands to the south of the Church (now much reduced in size due to erosion) in 1242–1243 by Matilda, Countess of Angus. A hoard of 700 coins dating to the reigns of Edward I and Edward II were found in this area in 1854. The present building of St Rule's Church (built 1812) originally incorporated three Class II and Class III Pictish/Early Medieval sculpted stones, recycled as building stones, including one that had previously been used in the pre-reformation building it replaced. These stones were removed in the mid 19th century and, along with a fourth stone found in an adjoining garden, were donated to the National Museums of Scotland in 1871. They represent some of the latest Pictish era monuments and can be confidently dated to the late 9th/early 10th centuries. In January 1550, during the war now known as the Rough Wooing, Regent Arran and his French allies established a camp at Monifieth as a base to assault Broughty Castle. Some timber was sent from Dudhope Castle. Guns were shipped from the fort at Luffness. ### Modern history Monifieth remained a small village, comprising a number of turf huts until the early 19th century. In the eighteenth century, the economy of the parish was mainly dependent on agriculture. Other industries included quarrying, weaving within the home and the start of manufacturing of linseed oil at a water-powered mill by the Dighty burn, supporting a small community, 'Milltown', later named as 'Milton of Monifieth'. Although Monifieth had no harbour, cargo was off-loaded from vessels on Monifieth Sands (in the relatively sheltered Firth of Tay) at low tide and horse-drawn vehicles would move the cargo to nearby destinations. During the 19th century, the village gradually expanded following the introduction of larger scale industries to the area, including manufacture of machinery for flax mills in 1811. James Low and Robert Fairweather had set up their foundry in the village at the start of the nineteenth century and in 1815 developed the first carding machine for flax tow in the area. With the growth of the textile industry in Dundee and Angus the business grew rapidly, and, by the late nineteenth century, James F Low & Co Ltd was producing a wide range of machines used for the processing and spinning of jute, flax and similar fibres. As well as building machinery for local use, the firm attracted orders from across the world and by the 1880s the Monifieth Foundry employed about 300 workers. The business eventually passed to James Low's son William, but the Low family sold their interests in the business in 1924. Despite this the James Low name survived until the 1980s. The expansion of Monifieth's industrial economy was aided by the opening of the Dundee and Arbroath Railway on 6 October 1838. This railway, which was originally intended only as a local line, was constructed with an unusual gauge of (shared only with the Arbroath and Forfar Railway), later being converted to standard gauge when it was incorporated into the national Rail system. Between 1861 and 1901, Monifieth's population more than tripled; from 558 to 2,134 and in 1895, Monifieth was registered at Forfar Sheriff Court as a burgh. A tramway service was introduced in 1905, with cars journeying into Dundee City centre at regular intervals. This service was welcomed by the many who travelled daily either from the Burgh into the city on business, or the many hundreds who commuted daily to work in the factories and mills. In 1905 Monifieth gained a Cottage Hospital via a provision made in the will of the Reverend James Gerard Young DD. The Reverend Young had been Minister of Monifieth Parish Church from 1855 until his death in 1899. The funds he left were used to establish the Gerard Trust which managed the Gerard Cottage Hospital from its opening until it passed into the control of the new National Health Service in 1948. The hospital closed in 1969 and subsequently became Mary's Residential Home for the elderly. In the First World War, Monifieth was the site of a Red Cross Hospital, which was one of seven hospitals in the Dundee area that treated wounded servicemen. During the Second World War the Monifieth Foundry was used for the production of war supplies including bombs and aircraft parts, which helped to revive it after a period of financial difficulties. By the 1950s the demand for textile machinery had contracted and James F Low & Co (India) Ltd, who now owned the foundry diversified into other areas of production, including the manufacture of building equipment such cement mixers. ## Governance Monifieth is represented within Angus Council by the Monifieth & Sidlaw Ward, from which four councillors are elected. The members elected from this ward are, as of 2017: Craig Fotheringham (Scottish Conservative and Unionist), Sheila Hands (Scottish National Party), Ben Lawrie (Liberal Democrats) and Beth Whiteside (Scottish National Party). The town is part of the Dundee East constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which returns a Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons, at Westminster. The constituency's MP is currently Stewart Hosie of the Scottish National Party. Monifieth is also part of the Angus South constituency of the Scottish Parliament, which has significantly different boundaries to the Westminster constituency. The constituency returns a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) to Holyrood directly, and is part of the North East Scotland electoral region with regards to additional Members of the Scottish Parliament. The constituency's MSP is currently Graeme Dey of the Scottish National Party. Monifieth's status in Angus Council has long been the subject of debate, with Dundee City councillors arguing that it should be part of Dundee Council in order to rebalance Dundee City Council Tax revenues. Initial moves were made by the council of Dundee to annex the burgh into Dundee's boundaries nearly a hundred years ago. In 1913 a petition signed by the residents of Monifieth was presented before Parliament in London and successfully retained Monifieth's independence. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 redrew the council boundaries and Monifieth became part of Dundee City Council in 1975. In 1996, after Local government reorganisation, Monifieth became part of the Angus council area, after being part of Dundee District in the Tayside region for 21 years. ## Geography Monifieth occupies a position on the north bank of the Firth of Tay on the east coast of Scotland, on land immediately to the west of the Buddon Ness, 6 miles (10 km) E of Dundee, 10.3 miles (17 km) WSW of Arbroath, and 11.3 miles (18 km) S of Forfar. The town lies 38.4 miles (62 km) NNE of Edinburgh, and 360.3 miles (580 km) NNW of London. The built-up area occupies a roughly rectangular shape 1.2 miles (2 km) long by 0.7 miles (1 km) wide, aligned in an ENE direction. The land is relatively flat, rising gradually to around 50m elevation to the North of the town at South Grange. The town occupies the southern part of the Parish of Monifieth, at the South westernmost corner of the county of Angus, and incorporates a number of former villages and Hamlets, including Ashludie, Milton and South Grange. Contiguous to the town, on the West side of the county boundary, is Barnhill and Panmurefield Village and the Dundee conurbation. To the East is a 2.7 miles (4 km) expanse of rural land between the town and the village of Barry and town of Carnoustie. This rural area includes a number of farmsteads and hamlets, including Lucknow, West Cotside, Ardestie, Balhungie and Woodhill, as well as the Monifieth golf courses and Panmure golf course. To the south of this, on the southern side of the railway, is the peninsula of the Buddon Ness, on which lies the Ministry of Defence owned Barry Buddon training camp. This land is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation. The Buddon Ness is a triangle of land around 11 km<sup>2</sup>. Its position at the estuary of the River Tay makes it prone to erosion, and the position of both the West and East facing shores have changed considerably over the years. Comparison of Ordnance Survey maps from the mid-19th century with present-day maps show the shoreline retreating on the West shore and advancing on the East shore. To the north of the town runs the A92, between Dundee and Arbroath. Beyond this lies the farms of North Grange, Balmossie and Ardownie and Ethiebeaton retail and leisure park, as well as Roman Hill, Gallow Hill and Laws Hill. The Edinburgh to Aberdeen railway line runs along the South of the town, separating the built-up area from the Blue Seaway leisure area and the two caravan sites. The A930 runs through the town east to west from Barry to Barnhill. The western political boundary of the town is marked by West Grange Road, leading south from the West Grange roundabout on the A92, the cycle track that goes from West Grange Road over the Seven Arches viaduct over the Dighty Burn (once part of the Dundee to Forfar Railway), around Monifieth High School grounds, between Inchkeith Avenue and Balmossie Place, and down North and South Balmossie Street to the river bank. ## Demography Accurate demographic information for Monifieth is complicated by the town's inclusion in the Dundee locality in the 2001 census. Estimates from 2008 put the population at 8,220. Almost 2,400 Monifieth residents (approximately 29% of the population) travel to work or study in Dundee. Assuming that the figure of 73% in Angus being between the ages of 16 and 65, holds for Monifieth then this represents a figure of 40% of people of working age. ## Economy Monifieth's proximity to Dundee is a key feature of its economy. Approximately 40% of working age residents commute to Dundee for work or to study. Monifieth has a small retail and leisure complex to the north of the town at Ethiebeaton, which comprises a garden centre, a gym and a fast food outlet. There is also a shopping area centred around the high street, which has a variety of businesses. Tourism plays a small but significant role in Monifieth's economy and has benefited from the area's associations with golf. Monifieth Golf Links is used as a qualifying course for the Open Championship, which returned to nearby Carnoustie in 2007. The golf links is included in the Carnoustie Country golf marketing campaign, which is funded by Angus Council to promote golf in the area. Monifieth is served by a number of small hotels within the town, as well as larger hotels at Monifieth Farm at the Ethiebeaton retail park and at Forbes of Kingennie to the north of the town. ## Landmarks To the west side of the town there is the Dighty Water. It begins in the Sidlaw Hills and runs 15 miles east-southeast where it meets the Firth of Tay. At least two mills are known to have existed beside the burn: the Milton Mill and the Balmossie Mill. The Milton Mill, which opened in 1788 as a flax spinning mill, was part of the Milton industrial area. It was the oldest water-powered flax mill in Angus. The mill, which was a category B listed building, suffered significant fire damage in June 2006. Initially, the mill was not permitted to be demolished but, in April 2010, it was agreed by the Angus Development Standards Committee that the building was "beyond saving" and demolition was permitted. Demolition of surrounding buildings was already under way, clearing the way for a housing development. The Balmossie Mill, the smaller of the two mills, was a water mill. Remains of a water wheel and machinery is evident. The exact date of the building is unknown but in 1692 two local men were recorded by local newspapers for poaching. The Balmossie Mill is a category B listed building. Continuing eastwards from the Milton Mill, along Ferry Road and Maule Street towards the town centre, Monifieth's war memorial is situated. The memorial was dedicated in 1921 and was built by Charles Soutar. The design includes a sculpture of an angel warrior figure with a sword and laurel wreath. Invertay House, located further along Maule Street on the south side of the road, was built in 1878 and opened as Monifieth Public School. Today, the building houses offices. Opposite Invertay House, on the north side of the road, is the Gerard Hall. The hall was built in 1882 for Sunday School pupils of the adjacent St Rule's Parish Church. ## Transport The A92 runs between Arbroath and Dundee immediately to the north of Monifieth. There are several ways to reach the A92, including: the B962, which links to the A92 at the Ardestie junction; Victoria Street, which links to the A92 at the Ethiebeaton Park roundabout; and via the West Grange Road roundabout. The other main road route from Monifieth is the A930, which leads westwards to Dundee via Barnhill and Broughty Ferry and eastwards to Carnoustie, and is named Ferry Road, Maule Street, High Street and Panmure Street. Trains are operated by ScotRail on the Edinburgh to Aberdeen line. From 2018, Transport Scotland have funded an increased, hourly service from the station to Edinburgh (via Dundee) & Arbroath. Buses are operated by Stagecoach on their Arbroath/Carnoustie or Ethiebeaton/Ashludie to Dundee routes, including the number 73, 73A, 73B and 73C buses. They operate on a regular basis, with most stopping at bus stops along the main A930 road. The less frequent Moffat & Williamson 78 and 79 services go on towards Monikie or Dundee from Monifieth. There is also a one-bus-a-day service 181/A which runs from Carnoustie to Forfar on weekdays. ## Education There are currently two primary schools located in Monifieth and one secondary school. The schools are Grange Primary School, Seaview Primary School and Monifieth High School. In the 1950s, Monifieth High School, then known affectionately as "The Big School" was located at the crossover from Maul St to the High St. It presently houses the offices of the Invertay School Board/District. Between them, they have approximately 1700 pupils. Seaview Primary School was initially located in a mansion that was donated to the County of Angus and through the 1950s was the only primary school in Monifieth. The headmistress at that time was a Miss Booth. The old mansion (as of September 2011) has yet to be torn down and sits derelict in a position just east of the existing Seaview Primary School with all its windows boarded up. The once well manicured grounds where pupils used to play now lie overgrown with weeds. The old school had 342 pupils and 19 teachers (as of September 2007). Monifieth High School was founded in 1976 and has a catchment area of Monifieth, Birkhill and other rural areas of Angus including Newbigging. During the school's thirty-three years, there have only been three headteachers. Many of the school's facilities have just recently been renovated, including new windows and several extensions. A new "community wing" has been planned for the school to allow the local community to become more involved in school life. ## Sport and leisure Monifieth has two golf courses, The Medal and The Ashludie. The Medal course was used as a qualifying course for the Open Championship in 2007. There are four golf clubs in the area – Broughty Golf Club, Grange, the Ladies Panmure, and Monifieth. Monifieth Athletic is a football club that plays in the Dundee and District Youth Football Association with players up to the age of 16. They play at Riverside Park in Monifieth. Monifieth Tayside FC are an amateur football club that play their home matches at Riverview in Monifieth. The club has both a 1st and a 2nd team that are affiliated to the Midlands Amateur Football Association. The teams play in yellow shirts and green shorts, or alternatively green shirts and black shorts. The club is sponsored by local Monifieth pub, The Vault. Monifieth Triathlon Club, known as M3 is an amateur club based in the Monifieth area. It was established in 2010 and is affiliated to Triathlon Scotland. It hosts the annual Monikie Open Water Sprint Triathlon at Monikie Country Park. The Blue Seaway is a development on the seafront that was opened in 2003 at a cost of £800,000. It incorporates an adventure playground, skate park, putting green and tennis courts. ## Public services Monifieth and the surrounding area is supplied with water by Scottish Water. Water was supplied from Crombie reservoir until 1981. Since then, along with Dundee and parts of Perthshire, Angus has been supplied from Lintrathen and Backwater reservoirs in Glen Isla. Electricity distribution is by Scottish Hydro Electric plc, part of the Scottish and Southern Energy group. Waste management is handled by Angus Council. There is a kerbside recycling scheme that has been in operation since May 2006. Cans, glass, paper and plastic bottles are collected on a weekly basis. Compostable material and non-recyclable material are collected on alternate weeks. Roughly two-thirds of non-recyclable material is sent to landfill at Angus Council's site at Lochhead, Forfar and the remainder sent for incineration (with energy recovery) outside the council area. A recycling centre is located at Riverview Drive. Items accepted include, steel and aluminium cans, cardboard, paper, electrical equipment, engine oil, fridges and freezers, garden waste, gas bottles, glass, liquid food and drinks cartons, plastic bottles, plastic carrier bags, rubble, scrap metal, shoes and handbags, spectacles, textiles, tin foil, wood and yellow pages. Angus Council publishes details of where and how each product is processed. There is also a glass bank at the Tesco car park. The Angus Council area had a recycling rate of 34.7% in 2007/08. Healthcare is supplied in the area by NHS Tayside. The nearest hospitals with accident and emergency departments are Arbroath Infirmary and Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. Primary Health Care in Monifieth is supplied by Monifieth Medical Practice which is based at the Health Centre on Victoria Street; Monifieth along with the rest of Scotland is served by the Scottish Ambulance Service. Law enforcement is provided by Tayside Police, and Monifieth is served by Tayside Fire and Rescue Service. ## People from Monifieth - Prof William Fisher Cassie (1905–1985) - Tom Simpson (musician) – Snow Patrol ## Twin town - Soyaux, France (1994)
189,832
USS Nebraska (BB-14)
1,136,538,325
Pre-dreadnought battleship of the United States Navy
[ "1904 ships", "Ships built in Seattle", "Virginia-class battleships", "World War I battleships of the United States" ]
USS Nebraska (BB-14) was a Virginia-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the United States Navy, the second of five members of the class, and the first ship to carry her name. She was built by the Moran Brothers shipyard in Seattle, Washington, with her keel laying in July 1902 and her launching in October 1904. The completed ship was commissioned into the US Navy in July 1907. The ship was armed with an offensive battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns, and she was capable of a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Nebraska joined the Great White Fleet after it reached the west coast of the United States in 1908 and continued with it during its circumnavigation of the globe. From 1909 to 1914, the ship conducted normal training and ceremonial duties with the Atlantic Fleet. She was deployed twice to Mexico during the Mexican Revolution, in mid-1914 and mid-1916, before being decommissioned briefly in 1916. She was reactivated shortly before the United States entered World War I in April 1917, and was thereafter used as a training ship and later as a convoy escort. After the war, she transported American soldiers back from France, and in 1919 she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet, though she remained in service for less than a year, being decommissioned in July 1920. The 1922 Washington Naval Treaty mandated her disposal, which was effected in November 1923, when she was broken up for scrap. ## Design Design work on the Virginia class began in 1899, after the United States' victory in the Spanish–American War, which had demonstrated the need for sea-going battleships suitable for operations abroad, finally resolving the debate between proponents of that type and those who favored low-freeboard types useful for coastal defense. The designers included a superposed arrangement of the main and some of the secondary guns, which proved to be a significant disappointment in service, as firing either set of guns interfered with the others, slowing the rate of fire. Nebraska was 441 feet 3 inches (134.49 m) long overall and had a beam of 76 ft 3 in (23.24 m) and a draft of 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m). She displaced 14,948 long tons (15,188 t) as designed and up to 16,094 long tons (16,352 t) at full load. The ship was powered by two-shaft triple-expansion steam engines rated at 19,000 indicated horsepower (14,000 kW), with steam provided by twelve coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The propulsion system generated a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). As built, she was fitted with heavy military masts, but these were quickly replaced by cage masts in 1909. She had a crew of 812 officers and enlisted men. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 12 in (305 mm) /40 caliber Mark 4 guns in two twin gun turrets on the centerline, one forward and aft. The secondary battery consisted of eight 8 in (203 mm) /45 caliber guns and twelve 6 in (152 mm) /50 caliber Mark 6 guns. The 8-inch guns were mounted in four twin turrets; two of these were superposed atop the main battery turrets, with the other two turrets abreast the forward funnel. The 6-inch guns were placed in casemates in the hull. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried twelve 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber guns, mounted in casemates along the side of the hull, and twelve 3-pounder guns. As was standard for capital ships of the period, Nebraska carried four 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, submerged in her hull on the broadside. Nebraska's main armored belt was 11 in (279 mm) thick over the magazines and the machinery spaces and 6 in (152 mm) elsewhere. The faces of the main battery gun turrets (and the secondary turrets on top of them) were 12-inch (305 mm) thick. Each turret rested on a supporting barbettes that had 10 in (254 mm) of armor plating. The conning tower had 9 in (229 mm) thick sides. ## Service history ### Pre-World War I The keel for Nebraska was laid down at the Moran Brother's Shipyard in Seattle, Washington on 4 July 1902. She was launched on 7 October 1904 and was commissioned into the fleet on 1 July 1907, the last member of the class to enter service. Her first commander was Captain Reginald F. Nicholson. After entering service, she conducted shakedown cruises and had minor alterations made. In May 1908, she steamed to San Francisco, arriving on the 6th. There, she joined the Great White Fleet, which had departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, the previous year on the first leg of its global cruise. Nebraska replaced the battleship USS Alabama (BB-8), and the fleet departed San Francisco on 7 July. The cruise of the Great White Fleet was conceived as a way to demonstrate American military power, particularly to Japan. Tensions had begun to rise between the United States and Japan after the latter's victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, particularly over racist opposition to Japanese immigration to the United States. The press in both countries began to call for war, and Roosevelt hoped to use the demonstration of naval might to deter Japanese aggression. The Great White Fleet then began its crossing of the Pacific, with a visit to Hawaii on the way. Stops in the South Pacific included Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland. After leaving Australia, the fleet turned north for the Philippines, stopping in Manila, before continuing on to Japan where a welcoming ceremony was held in Yokohama. Three weeks of exercises followed in Subic Bay in the Philippines in November. The ships passed Singapore on 6 December and entered the Indian Ocean; they coaled in Colombo before proceeding to the Suez Canal and coaling again at Port Said, Egypt. The fleet called in several Mediterranean ports before stopping in Gibraltar, where an international fleet of British, Russian, French, and Dutch warships greeted the Americans. The ships then crossed the Atlantic to return to Hampton Roads on 22 February 1909, having traveled 46,729 nautical miles (86,542 km; 53,775 mi). There, they conducted a naval review for President Theodore Roosevelt. After the conclusion of the ceremonies, Nebraska remained in service with the Atlantic Fleet. In late 1909 she took part in the Hudson–Fulton Celebration in New York. The celebration saw an international fleet of warships from Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and other countries join the Atlantic Fleet to commemorate Henry Hudson's discovery of the Hudson River. In 1912, Nebraska took part in a ceremony for the centennial anniversary of Louisiana's entrance into the United States. The ship was deployed to Mexico twice to protect American interests during the Mexican Revolution, the first from 1 May to 21 June 1914, and the second from 1 June to 13 October 1916. For these actions, the ship was awarded the Mexican Service Medal. The ship was briefly decommissioned in 1916, but returned to service on 3 April 1917. ### World War I Three days after Nebraska was recommissioned, the United States declared war on Germany over the latter's unrestricted submarine warfare campaign, thereby joining World War I. The ship was assigned to the 3rd Division, Battleship Force of the Atlantic Fleet, and on 13 April, she joined the rest of the fleet for battle training in the Chesapeake Bay. She remained on the eastern coast of the United States and was tasked with training guard crews for transport ships. On 15 April 1918, she entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for periodic maintenance. On 16 May, Nebraska embarked the remains of the recently deceased Uruguayan ambassador, Carlos DePena, at Hampton Roads. She departed that day with the armored cruiser Pittsburgh—the flagship of the Pacific Fleet—and arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay on 10 June. The commander of the Pacific Fleet came aboard Nebraska for the transfer ceremonies. The two ships left Montevideo on 15 June and reached Hampton Roads on 26 July. Starting in September, Nebraska began to be employed as an escort for convoys to Europe. On the 17th, she departed New York with convoy HX 49, a group of eighteen ships; the rest of the escort included the destroyer Dent and the armed merchant cruiser (AMC) Rochester, and the British AMC HMS Arlanza. At a rendezvous point in the eastern Atlantic, she handed the convoy off to other escorts that would take the ships to France. Nebraska arrived back in Hampton Roads on 3 October. She escorted another two convoys before the war ended in November 1918. In December, she was equipped to carry American soldiers back from France. She made four such trips to Brest, France, and carried some 4,540 men back to the United States. The first trip began on 30 December; she reached Brest on 11 January 1919 and after embarking a contingent of soldiers, departed for Newport News, Virginia, where they arrived on 28 January. The fourth trip concluded on 21 June 1919, also in Newport News. On 22 June 1919, Nebraska was transferred from the Cruiser and Transport Force to the Pacific Fleet. She departed the east coast shortly thereafter, bound for the Pacific. On 2 July 1920, the ship was decommissioned, and on the 15th she was reclassified as BB-14. She remained out of service until 12 July 1922 when she was stricken from the naval register in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty signed earlier that year. The terms of the treaty mandated significant reductions in naval strength, and on 9 November 1923, Nebraska was declared to have been rendered unfit for further warlike service in accordance with the treaty. She was then sold to ship breakers.
22,523,172
49 Chambers
1,168,442,643
Residential building in Manhattan, New York
[ "1912 establishments in New York City", "Bank buildings in Manhattan", "Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City", "Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City", "Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan", "Civic Center, Manhattan", "Commercial buildings completed in 1912", "New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan", "New York City interior landmarks", "Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan" ]
49 Chambers, formerly known as the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank Building and 51 Chambers Street, is a residential building at 49–51 Chambers Street in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was built between 1909 and 1912 and was designed by Raymond F. Almirall in the Beaux-Arts style. The building occupies a slightly irregular lot bounded by Chambers Street to the south, Elk Street to the east, and Reade Street to the north. 49 Chambers was the largest bank building in the United States upon its completion. It was the first skyscraper to use the "H" layout, which provided light and air to more parts of the building. The basement through second floor fill the entire lot, while the third through fifteenth floors contain the "H" layout and are designed to resemble a pair of towers. The facade is made largely of Indiana Limestone, as well as some brick and granite. Inside, the first and second floors constitute a former banking hall, used as an event space. The upper floors were used as offices before being converted to 99 residential condominiums. The current building is the third built by the Emigrant Savings Bank on the same site; the bank had previously erected structures in 1858 and 1885–1887. 49 Chambers' banking hall was occupied by the bank until 1969, while office tenants occupied the upper floors. The building was subsequently owned by the government of New York City until 2013, and it was converted to condominiums in 2017. 49 Chambers was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and both the exterior and the first floor interior were designated New York City landmarks in 1985. ## Site 49 Chambers is in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan, just north of City Hall Park. It has frontage along Chambers Street to the south and Reade Street to the north; in addition, 49 Chambers faces a parking lot and Elk Street to the east, and 280 Broadway to the west. Other nearby buildings and locations include the Broadway–Chambers Building and 287 Broadway to the west; the Ted Weiss Federal Building and African Burial Ground National Monument to the north; the Surrogate's Courthouse to the east; and the Tweed Courthouse and New York City Hall, within City Hall Park, to the south. The site measures 123 feet (37 m) on Chambers Street and 125 feet (38 m) on Reade Street, with a depth of 151 feet (46 m). The ground slopes downward from north to south; the original ground elevation was below Reade Street and close to sea level. The surrounding area contains evidence of the interment of individuals, mostly of African descent, and some of these corpses may remain under the Emigrant Savings Bank Building site. Within the area, a frame church at 47 Chambers Street was built in 1801 by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. The frame church was replaced with a brick church in 1818. The current building is the third erected by the bank on the site of the churches and burial ground. ## Architecture 49 Chambers was built from 1909 to 1912 and was designed by Raymond F. Almirall in the Beaux-Arts style. It was built by contractor Charles T. Wills Inc. The 5,300 short tons (4,700 long tons; 4,800 t) of steel was supplied by Post and McCord; the foundations were made by the O'Rourke Engineering and Construction Company; and the brick was supplied by the Harbison Walker Refractories Company. The building is 188.29 feet (57.39 m) tall with 17 above-ground stories. At the time of completion, it was the largest bank building in the United States. The Emigrant Building's exterior is made mostly of Indiana Limestone, with granite at the lowest stories. The first three stories fill the whole lot, while the remaining stories utilize an "H" layout, creating "light courts" to increase natural light exposure. At the time the Emigrant Savings Bank Building was constructed, skyscraper developers in New York City were generally looking for layouts that could maximize naturally-lit floor space. Before the Emigrant Savings Bank Building's completion, developers frequently bought surrounding low-rise buildings to preserve their structures' views; alternatively, architects would design the upper floors to be smaller than the lower floors to compensate for large rooftop cornices. ### Facade The facade is set atop a raised basement containing a stone course. On the Chambers Street elevation, at the first and second floors, rusticated granite piers and engaged columns subdivide the facade into nine bays. There is a double-height window in each bay; on the six outermost bays, there are swags beneath the windows and a stylized keystone above them. The primary entrance is in the central bay and contains a granite surround underneath an ornate arched pediment with the word entrance. The secondary entrances on both ends contain a simpler granite surround, with the street address above the door. There is an entablature above the second floor, which is interrupted by a plaque of the bank's name in the three center bays. A stepped pediment runs above the second floor, and a large coat of arms sits atop the pediment in the central bay. There are also three entrances on Reade Street. The center entrance contains a granite surround topped by the word bank, while the smaller entrances on either end are topped by their street addresses. The first and second floors of the Reade Street side are divided by brick pilasters into seven bays, with the central bay being wider than the others. The piers support a plain frieze above the second floor, with the bank's name in the center. A small pediment protrudes above the central bay. The upper floors contain the "H"-shaped plan and are designed to resemble a pair of three-bay-wide towers on both the Chambers and Reade Street sides. The windows facing the streets are rectangular, while the windows facing the light courts are progressively rounded and angled toward the interior of the light courts. There are nine bays facing the light court on Chambers Street and seven facing the Reade Street light court. The third floor is treated as a "transitional" story and contains windows connected by geometric designs. The following ten floors, between the fourth and the thirteenth stories, consist of square-headed, copper-framed windows set back slightly between limestone piers. The fourteenth floor, another "transitional" story, sits atop a small cornice, and the windows are flanked by brackets supporting a much larger cornice. The fifteenth floor is designed as an attic with dormers. Heavy pediments atop the ends of both towers contain bee motifs evocative of the Barberini mercantile family, as well as large stone carvings of eagles and urns. The western and eastern walls are relatively plain brick walls with few windows. These walls contain painted signs with the bank's name, which date from the 1960s. ### Interior 49 Chambers initially had a banking hall on the first and second floors, and was split up into office space above the second floor. Since its 2017 residential conversion, the building has had 99 condominium apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms. Each unit contains at least 1,000 square feet (93 m<sup>2</sup>). Entrances to the building's residential condominiums are on Chambers and Reade Streets. 49 Chambers' foundation is carried upon caissons, extending to the layer of gravel 60 to 65 feet (18 to 20 m) below the curb. The cellars extend 36 feet (11 m) deep. The floors carry a load of 150 pounds per square foot (7.2 kPa) at the ground floor and basement, and 75 pounds per square foot (3.6 kPa) on the upper floors. The floors are made of segmental terracotta, while the ceilings are hung below the floor slabs. All columns below the first floor, except for the side wall columns, are filled with concrete. Each interior column is fireproofed with 2 to 3 inches (51 to 76 mm) of concrete held in place by 2 to 4 inches (51 to 102 mm) of brickwork. The basement contains several resident amenities, such as a residents' lounge, swimming pool, gym, steam room, sauna, and virtual golf simulator. The basement also has a "speakeasy style" dining room in a former vault. As built, 49 Chambers had three vaults, but two were removed during the building's residential conversion. There is also a residents' rooftop deck, covering 7,000 square feet (650 m<sup>2</sup>). As built, the Emigrant Savings Bank Building contained ornamental bronze staircases. #### Banking hall The first floor, formerly the banking hall, contains ceilings 40 feet (12 m) high, marble floors and walls, and floor-to-ceiling windows. It is aligned on a largely north–south axis; anterooms, originally used as officers' quarters, extend west and east from the southern end of the banking room. The interior of the banking hall is made of Arena Pola limestone blocks brought from Istria. Since conversion, the banking hall has contained a three-bedroom "model apartment" as well as a separate event space. The banking hall is accessed from the central doorway on Chambers Street, which leads to a foyer with marble geometric-patterned floors. A curved marble screen, containing three sets of revolving doors, separates the foyer and the banking hall, and is faced with polished limestone on the banking hall side. Anterooms extend west and east, while the main banking hall extends north, nearly the whole length of the buildings. The walls of the anterooms contain panels with Greek fret designs, as well as bronze plaques with the bank's name and the dates of the bank's founding and the building's year of completion. The northern end of the banking room contains a marble staircase descending to the central doorway on Reade Street. The main section of the banking hall is rectangular in plan. On the western and eastern walls, the banking hall had marble-and-iron cages for bank tellers. Two mezzanines, enclosed within frosted glass and ornamental bronze, run atop the tellers' cages. The tops of the walls contain an elaborate cornice, which is interrupted at some places by pilasters within the walls. The ceiling is supported by six pairs of large piers, as well as several minor piers on each side; all the piers are attached to the walls, except for the four freestanding piers in the center. At the tops of the piers, arched ribs divide the ceiling into three main parts. The ceiling contains large oval skylights made of stained glass, which depict allegorical figures in various industries. On either side of the banking hall, there are smaller plain-vaulted ceiling sections with rosettes and overhanging chandeliers. The large girders spanning the first floor are enclosed with concrete averaging 3 inches (76 mm) thick. ## History ### Previous structures The Emigrant Bank was organized in 1850 by Roman Catholic Archbishop John Hughes and the Irish Emigrant Society, with the purpose of protecting the savings of Irish immigrants newly arrived in the city. The bank initially occupied a leased property at 51 Chambers Street. In 1858, the Emigrant Bank demolished the structure to create its first new building on the site. The bank survived the Panic of 1873 and grew rapidly in the subsequent decade, purchasing an adjacent building at 49 Chambers Street in 1882. Three years after the purchase, the bank commissioned William H. Hume and Little & O'Conner to build an eight-story building at the same location. The second bank building, opened in April 1887, was described as being fireproof, with brick floors, iron structural beams, fire-clay partitions, and marble ceilings and walls. The granite facade, rusticated at the base, was topped by a mansard roof. ### Construction In September 1907, the Century Realty Company and Alliance Realty Company sold the lots between 43 and 47 Chambers Street for about \$1 million in cash. These lots contained a five-story building that the Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company had occupied "for many years"; the company had sold their structure to the real-estate companies in 1906 and was planning to move elsewhere. Emigrant Bank was announced as the buyer in October 1907. Almirall was hired to design the new bank building, and started devising plans in 1908. The bank intended to hold the building as an investment. The start of the project was delayed due to uncertainty over the site of the Manhattan Municipal Building. The site bounded by Broadway and Reade, Centre, and Chambers Streets had periodically been proposed for the Municipal Building's site. By 1908, the city decided to erect the Municipal Building one block east of the Emigrant Bank site. Construction on the new Emigrant Savings Bank Building started by August 1909. During construction, large cracks developed in the old structure, which was subsequently shored up. The building was completed by 1912. ### Bank and office use #### Bank ownership Emigrant Savings Bank initially took up the banking hall, while the other floors were rented out. The New York Supreme Court announced in March 1912 that it would take up the 13th floor and half of the 12th floor at the Emigrant Savings Bank Building. The Supreme Court, which had a shortage of space in the Tweed Courthouse (then known as the New York County Courthouse), would have chambers measuring 15 by 25 feet (4.6 by 7.6 m) in the Emigrant Savings Bank Building, as well as a judicial library. Another early tenant was the Associated Press, which moved from the Western Union Telegraph Building in 1914. Meanwhile, Emigrant Savings Bank had seen an increase in deposits in the years after its new building was completed. In 1931, the bank started a safe-deposit service, adding new vaults in the building's basement. In 1964, the government of New York City received authorization to buy the Emigrant Savings Bank Building and several surrounding plots, which would be demolished to make way for a new Civic Center municipal building. Three years later, the city government notified Emigrant Savings Bank that the building was to be demolished. The bank closed its Chambers Street location in 1969, moving to a temporary location on Broadway. The redevelopment plans were ultimately scrapped due to the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis, but the city retained ownership of the Emigrant Savings Bank Building. #### City government ownership After the city government took over the Emigrant Savings Bank Building, the upper floors were used by several city agencies. An off-track betting booth opened at the building in 1971, after off-track betting in New York was legalized. The banking hall became the quarters of the New York City Parking Violations Bureau starting in 1973. The building also housed the Satellite Academy High School for two decades until 1999, when the city government forced the school to move elsewhere. The Municipal Service Administration requested \$3.25 million in 1974 to renovate the Emigrant Savings Bank Building. The city agencies in the building lacked sufficient space, but the Emigrant Savings Bank Building was not renovated at the time because the Civic Center development was considered to be on hold, rather than formally canceled. By 1978, the New York City Department of Buildings planned to renovate the main banking hall, removing much decorative detail in the process. Paul Goldberger, architecture writer for The New York Times, criticized the plans, calling the banking hall "irreplaceable" and "the one real asset that this near-bankrupt city has". Following opposition to the proposal, the city subsequently dropped the renovation plans. By 1994, the building was described as dilapidated. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, an aid center was opened in the Emigrant Savings Bank Building in 2002, moving from Pier 94 on the Hudson River. The bank building was used for the filming of movies such as Spike Lee's 2008 film Miracle at St. Anna, and also hosted New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2006 inaugural gala. During a 2010 renovation of City Hall, the New York City Council convened some meetings in the Emigrant Savings Bank Building. ### Condominium conversion The Chetrit Group bought the Emigrant Savings Bank Building from the city for \$89 million in 2013; this was part of a \$250 million deal that also involved the sale of 346 Broadway to the Peebles Corporation. The New York City government sold the buildings in an attempt to reduce the amount of office space that it owned. Chetrit converted the Emigrant Savings Bank Building into condominiums and renamed the building to 49 Chambers. In 2016, the developer received a \$194 million loan for the conversion from SL Green Realty and Acore Capital, who also took over an existing \$85 million loan that MSD Capital had given to the project. In an offering plan filed with the New York Attorney General the same year, the developers indicated that they planned to offer 81 apartments. Woods Bagot was hired to renovate the space, as well as to restore decorative elements and other historic motifs in the building. The interiors were converted by Gabellini Sheppard Associates. Chetrit also commissioned architectural historian Thomas Mellins, who wrote an essay about 49 Chambers' architecture and history. Chetrit launched sales of the units in April 2017. However, because of a lack of demand for the condominiums, Chetrit offered to give buyers' agents half of their commission upon the signing of a contract. The owner retired its \$194 million loan in January 2019, and SL Green gave Chetrit a \$204 million loan. In July 2020, French museum operator Culturespaces announced that a digital art museum named Hall des Lumières would open within 49 Chambers' banking hall. Hall des Lumières's opening was postponed, and the museum ultimately opened on September 14, 2022, with a Gustav Klimt art installation. ## Landmark designations The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 25, 1982. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated 49 Chambers' exterior and first-floor interior as city landmarks on July 9, 1985. The interior-landmark designation was slightly modified in 1996 after chandeliers in the banking hall were restored. 49 Chambers is also located within two historic districts. It is part of the African Burial Ground and the Commons Historic District, which was designated a city landmark district in 1993. The building is also part of the African Burial Ground Historic District, a National Historic Landmark District. ## See also - List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street - National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street
22,486,367
Fatbeard
1,140,033,022
null
[ "Piracy in Somalia", "Piracy in fiction", "Somalia in fiction", "South Park (season 13) episodes" ]
"Fatbeard" is the seventh episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 188th overall episode of the series, it originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 22, 2009 and in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2009. It was the mid-season finale, marking the final South Park episode for six months. In the episode, Cartman misinterprets news reports about piracy in the Indian Ocean to mean the return of the classic era of swashbuckling pirates, and misleads a handful of South Park boys to voyage to Mogadishu to start a pirate crew. The episode was written and directed by series co-founder Trey Parker, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States for strong to extreme language. "Fatbeard" was a reference to increasing international media attention to piracy in the Indian Ocean, and the script depicted the pirates in a sympathetic light. The crew of the USS Bainbridge, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer which participated in the rescue of the hijacked MV Maersk Alabama, contacted the South Park creators to praise them for the episode. "Fatbeard" received generally positive reviews and was seen by 2.59 million households in its original broadcast, making it the most-watched Comedy Central production the week it aired. ## Plot Having misunderstood the news about an upsurge of piracy in the Indian Ocean, Cartman excitedly tells his friends the classic era of piracy has returned, and asks the boys to join him in becoming a pirate in what he describes as a responsibility-free life in a warm tropical paradise. Sensing an opportunity to get rid of Cartman once and for all, Kyle encourages him to go, even offering to help pay for his plane ticket. Although Butters, Ike, Clyde and Kevin are the only students who agree to join his crew (alongside Gordon, whom Cartman kicks out due to being ginger), an undaunted Cartman uses his mother's credit card to book a trip to Somalia via Expedia. After a long flight from Denver International Airport to Cairo and a 49-hour bus ride across Africa, the boys arrive in Mogadishu dressed as stereotypical pirates. Once there, however, they are shocked to find themselves in a desolate land, the complete opposite of their expectations. They quickly find the pirates, who are shocked that anyone would knowingly venture into their base. The pirates decide to ransom the boys to the first European vessel they find, although Cartman and the boys do not understand because the pirates are speaking Somali. The boys confidently go with them, believing they are being taken to a pirate ship, but are once again disappointed when they are taken to a small motorboat. Eventually, the pirates find a French cruise ship and demand a ransom of five thousand euros in exchange for the boys' lives. Meanwhile in South Park, Kyle happily claims partial credit for sending Cartman to Somalia and expects things will be better without Cartman around. But when his parents discover a farewell letter from Ike, Kyle realizes his brother has run off with Cartman to Somalia, and he sets off for Mogadishu to bring his brother home. Back in Somalia, the ransom is paid and the boys are surrendered. Once on board, however, Cartman assumes control of the schooner and orders the crew to get onto the lifeboat. Although the captain initially refuses, Kevin brandishes a toy lightsaber, frightening the French crew into abandoning ship. Cartman and the boys return to Mogadishu with the captured vessel, giving several bundles of euros to the pirates. The pirates are initially shocked, but begin to respect Cartman. Unimpressed by their lack of "pirate" traits, he in turn leads them in raiding ships via a traditional sea shanty called "Somalian Pirates, We", and starts fashioning them into a stereotypical pirate crew. Meanwhile, the French crew is rescued by an oil tanker, and the U.S. Navy is deployed by NATO and the United Nations after getting word from the cargo ship captain that the pirates now have "advanced weaponry" (which was really just Kevin's toy lightsaber, that the French crew thought was real). Kyle arrives in Mogadishu but is immediately taken captive by the pirates and held hostage. He pleads with Cartman to let him and his brother leave, but Cartman refuses, believing that Kyle is simply jealous of his new pirate life. Meanwhile, an English-speaking pirate named Guleed asks Butters and Ike why they decided to become pirates. When they say that they left because they were tired of things like school, chores, homework, and being yelled at by adults, Guleed responds by telling them that he doesn't want to be a pirate, and only became one because he is desperately poor: he dreamed of going to school and his mother was suffering from AIDS that could not be treated, while his father was killed attempting to find food for his family. Butters and Ike end up realizing how close-minded and complacent they've been and that a life of piracy is one of hardship and suffering rather than fun and adventure like normal life can be. They then tell Cartman that they want to return home, but he refuses to give up his delusions of grandeur and threatens the boys with death by calling the real pirates to hold them at gunpoint. However, Cartman's vision is quickly disrupted when a U.S. Navy ship hired by NATO appears off the coast carrying snipers, who kill all of the Somali pirates, with its commander stating 'do not hit the white ones' within seconds. This leaves Cartman dumbfounded and annoyed, as he quips, "The fuck?". ## Production "Fatbeard" was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 22, 2009 and was the mid-season finale, marking the final South Park episode until October 2009. "Fatbeard" is based on real-life piracy in the Indian Ocean, which began receiving increasing international media attention in 2008 until its demise in 2012/2013. The episode began production two weeks before its airdate, with the intention to broadcast it on April 15, 2009. The writing team had developed the idea for Cartman mistaking Somali piracy for classic piracy amid the pirate hijacking of the MV Maersk Alabama at the time. Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage in the event, and Parker and Stone decided to hold the episode indefinitely, although animation had begun. Realizing the severity of the situation — if Phillips were killed and the South Park episode seemed to mock the situation — they decided to resume work on the episode "Pinewood Derby", which had been in production for a while, as the creators had no idea to where to go with its story. When Phillips was rescued over the weekend, they wanted to resume work on "Fatbeard", but as animation work on the episode proved difficult, including new sets depicting Somalia, it was decided it would be unfeasible. The episode's ending was unusual, as many episodes of South Park tend to resolve the episode's events; in "Fatbeard", the main characters don't return home and are shown at the end still in Somalia. An alternate ending made it to the animatic stage, in which Cartman, in a self-referential manner, congratulates the show on the conclusion of the season and invites the season's celebrity parodies (among those the Jonas Brothers and Kanye West). The ending, which Parker likened to that of a variety show, was something he felt was funny in writing but didn't succeed visually. While most South Park episodes feature Parker and Stone providing almost all the voice acting, "Fatbeard" included several French-speaking actors providing the lines of the cruise ship crew. Outside voice actors were also brought in for the role of the Somali pirates, including Abdi Fatah Adawe, Dahir Ali, Abdullahi Prime, and Julien Zeitouni. The week after its original broadcast, in response to requests by fans, the full 90-second version of episode's sea shanty song, "Somalian Pirates, We" was made available for download on South Park Studios, the official South Park website. Shortly after "Fatbeard" was originally broadcast, the site also featured six different types of T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts based on the episode. ## Themes The ending, in which the pirates are each shot to death by American snipers, reflects the resolution of the pirate hijacking of the MV Maersk Alabama in April 2009, where U.S. Navy SEALs rescued the captain after three snipers simultaneously killed three pirates with one shot each. They are portrayed in a particularly sympathetic light when they are killed during the ending. Travis Fickett of IGN said, "It's one of those moments where South Park feels the need to give voice to a side the media is ignoring—and points out that things aren't quite as cut and dry [sic] as we might like." The episode has also been described as a commentary on the way in which Americans tend to take their relative wealth and comfort for granted. A U.S. Navy SEAL ordering another to "not hit the white ones" has also been described as an indictment of the American approach to foreign policy. ## Cultural references Ike indicates he will "puke my balls out through my mouth" if he has to hear anything more about Susan Boyle, the Scottish amateur singer who gained worldwide attention around the time of the episode's airing for her performance of the song "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables on the show Britain's Got Talent. The Boyle reference in particular received a great deal of media attention the week "Fatbeard" first aired. Cartman says that Jewish people, Mexicans, and ginger-haired people are not allowed to be pirates. The French schooner crew members are portrayed as pretentious cowards, a stereotype of the French based on the government's surrender during World War II. The schooner itself strongly resembles the French luxury yacht Le Ponant, which was seized by Somali pirates in April 2008. Cartman refers to Blackbeard, the famous English pirate from the 17th and 18th centuries, from whom the episode derives its name. Much of the décor and music in the episode is influenced by the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride and associated film franchise. Kevin wields a toy lightsaber, the Jedi weapon from the Star Wars films; this is also a reference to the sixth season episode "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers", in which he dresses as an Imperial stormtrooper while the rest of the boys are in The Lord of the Rings attire. ## Reception In its original American broadcast, "Fatbeard" was watched by 2.59 million overall households, according to the Nielsen ratings, making it the most-watched Comedy Central production of the week. The episode received generally positive reviews. Carlos Delgado of If magazine, who gave the episode an A− grade, particularly praised the Cartman and Ike characters and called the ending "perfect". Delgado said of the show's creators, "These guys see episode potential in nearly everything that passes through the news desk. And because South Park can be made in like a week—and I’m talking start to finish, from concept to finished product—they end up being the most socially conscious and timely show on television today." Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly praised the episode and the Somali pirate song, and complimented the show for presenting the pirates as sympathetic human beings. Sean O'Neal of The A.V. Club said the portrayal of Somali pirates was a predictable storyline, but said he enjoyed the episode because of the pacing: "Rather than a cobbled-together collection of gags, everything progressed very organically." IGN writer Travis Fickett said the episode was amusing but not exceptional. Fickett enjoyed the takeover of the French vessel and the extent to which Cartman's delusion about pirates takes him, but he said the pirate plot "isn't entirely in good taste (and) it never really gathers a full head of steam". The crew of the USS Bainbridge, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer which participated in the rescue of Richard Phillips from the hijacked MV Maersk Alabama, contacted the creators of South Park to commend them on the episode. Ensign Jonathan Sieg, the Bainbridge public relations officer, wrote: "Pretty much everyone onboard our ship — from Captain to seaman — is a huge fan of South Park, and when we heard about the episode Fatbeard, as you can imagine, we were thrilled and very interested to watch." Sieg requested copies of the episode because the streaming online video was difficult to watch on the ship, and the South Park staff in return sent them a care package including several copies of the episode. On the official South Park Studios FAQ, they wrote back, "No, sir, thank you. We were honored to read that, and making an episode about you kicking pirate booty was our pleasure." ## Home release "Fatbeard", along with the thirteen other episodes from South Park*'s thirteenth season, were released on a three-disc DVD set and two-disc Blu-ray set in the United States on March 16, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode, a collection of deleted scenes, and a special mini-feature Inside Xbox: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of South Park Studios, which discussed the process behind animating the show with Inside Xbox* host Major Nelson.
53,014,476
Raid on Constanța
1,150,139,919
Attack by the Soviet Black Sea Fleet on the Romanian port of Constanța in 1941
[ "1941 in Romania", "Black Sea naval operations of World War II", "June 1941 events", "Naval battles and operations of the European theatre of World War II", "Naval battles of World War II involving Germany", "Naval battles of World War II involving Romania", "Naval battles of World War II involving the Soviet Union", "World War II raids" ]
The Raid on Constanța was an attack by the Soviet Black Sea Fleet on the Romanian port of Constanța on 26 June 1941, shortly after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, and resulted in the only encounter between major warships in the Black Sea during World War II. The attack was intended to be a coordinated effort between the fleet's ships and aircraft to split the attention of the defenders, but the bombers did not attack at the designated times. Two destroyer leaders were ordered to bombard the port in the early morning, covered by a cruiser and a destroyer. They caused some damage, but they were engaged by Axis coastal artillery and several Romanian ships. The two destroyer leaders were slightly damaged and withdrew under fire, steaming into a Romanian minefield; one of the destroyer leaders was sunk and the cruiser was damaged by the mines as they departed the area. Several groups of bombers later bombed the city that day and the following night, but caused no damage to their targets. Nine bombers were shot down by anti-aircraft fire and Axis fighters. The defeat caused the Soviets to be much more cautious in using their ships within range of Axis defenses. ## Background After Romania joined the Tripartite Pact in November 1940, the Germans agreed to construct coastal artillery batteries to bolster obsolete Romanian coastal defences, including the Tirpitz battery south of Constanța, armed with three World War I-era 28 cm (11 in) SK L/45 guns. The battery was operated by 700 Kriegsmarine personnel, although it was nominally under Romanian control like all Axis forces in Romania. Forewarned by Adolf Hitler about the scheduled date for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa, on 22 June 1941, the Romanian minelayers Amiral Murgescu, Regele Carol I and Aurora laid 1,000 mines between Cape Midia and Tuzla to protect Constanța between 16 and 19 June. On 22 June the Royal Romanian Air Force launched attacks against Soviet airfields in Bessarabia, destroying 37 Soviet aircraft on the ground. In retaliation four Tupolev SB light bombers of the Black Sea Fleet's 40th Bomber Aviation Regiment and four Ilyushin DB-3 bombers from the 2nd Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment unsuccessfully attacked Constanța during the afternoon. Two SBs failed to return; the Romanian fighter pilot Horia Agarici was credited with shooting down three SB bombers down during the raid and was celebrated as a national hero in a propaganda song. Three other DB-3s later bombed Constanța that night with neither effect nor loss. With the failure of the initial air attacks, Vice Admiral Filipp Oktyabrsky, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, decided to launch a combined aerial and naval attack on Constanța and a seaborne assault on the Danube Delta. ## Bombardment Two Leningrad-class destroyer leaders, Moskva and Kharkov, covered by the cruiser Voroshilov, and the destroyers Soobrazitelny and Smyshleny, were organized into a task force for the attack. The latter destroyer, however, ran aground en route and had to return to port. The Soviets also had the battleship Pariskaya Komuna kept 100 miles (160 km) offshore to exploit any initial success, and Soviet bombers also joined in the attack. The Voroshilov task force approached and shelled Constanța in the early hours of 26 June 1941, setting ablaze some oil tanks and warehouses, and damaging port infrastructure. The Romanians were expecting a Soviet raid and their defences, consisting of the destroyers Regina Maria, Mărăști and the German coastal battery Tirpitz, were prepared to engage the Soviet ships. In ten minutes, starting from 03:58, Moskva and Kharkov fired no less than 350 shells from their 130 mm (5.1 in) guns. The two Romanian warships opened fire with their 120 mm (4.7 in) guns from a distance of 14 miles (23 km) at 04:12, hitting Kharkov at 04:20. The Tirpitz battery also opened fire at 04:22. Moskva was also damaged by the Romanian warships, her mainmast being brought down by a 120 mm shell while Kharkov was further damaged by Tirpitz. The surprised Soviets began to withdraw, but sailed into a Romanian minefield. Moskva struck a mine and sank, with 268 sailors killed and 69 survivors captured by the Romanians. According to most sources, she was sunk by Romanian mines, although shells from Regina Maria and the Tirpitz coastal battery or an unintentional friendly fire torpedo attack by Soviet submarine Shch-206 have also been suggested as causes. Voroshilov was also damaged by a mine that exploded when Soobrazitelny's paravanes triggered it. Long-Range Aviation and the Black Sea Fleet's 63rd Soviet Naval Aviation Brigade coordinated their attacks against targets in Bucharest, Sulina, Constanța and the Danube River on the morning of 26 June. Seventeen DB-3s from the 21st Long-Range Bomber Regiment took off from their airfield in Saky, Crimea. Anti-aircraft fire from the ships in Constanța harbor was heavy and at least one bomber deliberately dropped its bombs into the sea. They were intercepted by Axis fighters after bombing Constanța and one bomber was shot down, although the bomber gunners claimed to have shot down two fighters. The regiment lost seven aircraft that morning to all causes, and an additional pair returned home with one engine knocked out. Afterwards, the Long-Range Aviation commanders decided that their bombers would only fly over Romania at night. The 63rd Naval Aviation Brigade's operations were more closely integrated into the navy's bombardment with attacks on Constanța in three waves. The first was intended to be before the ships opened fire, the second wave was to be during the bombardment and the last was to distract the Axis forces as the ships withdrew. The pair of Ilyushin Il-4 twin-engined bombers from the 2nd Mine-Torpedo Aviation Regiment that comprised the first wave had to return because of mechanical problems before reaching their target. Of the two SB fast bombers of the second wave, one returned because of a malfunction and the other failed to return. The third wave was intercepted by a squadron (staffel) of Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters from the 3rd Group of Fighter Wing 52 (Jagdgeschwader 52), well after Moskva had sunk, which claimed to have shot down 11 DB-3s and 7 SBs. Seven SBs did get through to attack Constanța. The Romanians claimed to have shot down nine Tupolev SB bombers during the battle, two of them claimed by Amiral Murgescu and one by Mărăşti. The remaining six aircraft were shot down by a Romanian AA battery of 102 mm (4 in) Ansaldo guns. The failure of the raid, together with other losses suffered by the Black Sea Fleet, caused Oktyabrsky to be much more cautious in his use of surface warships.
37,322,106
Jab Tak Hai Jaan
1,173,037,302
2012 Indian film directed by Yash Chopra
[ "2012 films", "2012 romantic drama films", "Films about amnesia", "Films directed by Yash Chopra", "Films scored by A. R. Rahman", "Films set in Jammu and Kashmir", "Films set in London", "Indian Army in films", "Indian romantic drama films", "Yash Raj Films films" ]
Jab Tak Hai Jaan (), also simply known as JTHJ, is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra and written and produced by his son Aditya Chopra under their banner Yash Raj Films. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. The story revolves around Samar Anand (Khan) a bomb disposal expert whose diary falls into the hands of an intern Akira Rai (Sharma); the diary recounts his time as a struggling immigrant in London, and later details his whirlwind romance with Meera Thapar (Kaif). Becoming Chopra's fourth film to feature Khan in the lead role, Jab Tak Hai Jaan marked the second collaboration between Khan and Sharma as they previously featured in Yash Raj Films' Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), which was the latter's debut whereas this film was the first between Khan and Kaif. Chopra returned to direction 8 years after Veer-Zaara (2004), and Jab Tak Hai Jaan was his final film before his death in October 2012. Released during the six-day Diwali weekend beginning on 13 November 2012, Jab Tak Hai Jaan received positive reviews from critics who praised Chopra's direction, performances of Khan and Sharma but criticised the predictable plot. The movie earned ₹2,350,000,000 (US\$29 million) worldwide and emerged as one of the year's top-earning films. It became the 3rd highest-grossing Bollywood film overseas at that time after 3 Idiots (2009) and My Name Is Khan (2010). At the 58th Filmfare Awards, the film received 7 nominations, including Best Actor (Khan), and won 4 awards, including Best Supporting Actress (Sharma) and Best Lyricist (Gulzar for "Challa"). ## Plot Samar Anand, a major in the Indian Army, defuses a bomb without fear or regard for his safety. Akira Rai, a Discovery Channel filmmaker, later dives into Pangong Lake in Ladakh and is rescued by him. Samar gives her his jacket and leaves before retrieving it. Akira finds his diary in the jacket pocket and begins reading. The diary recounts Samar's earlier years as a struggling immigrant in London, working as a street musician who performs other menial jobs to support himself and his roommate Zain. Samar is working part-time as a waiter when he meets Meera at her and her fiancé Roger's engagement party. Meera grew up, motherless, in an affluent Punjabi Indian family; her mother left for another man when she was twelve. The dominant person in her life is her father, for whose company she works. Samar notices that Meera often prays when he sees her at the church. Samar and Meera befriend one another but Meera promises to God not to fall in love with Samar and tells Samar about it. As time passes by, Samar and Meera begin to fall in love after a night of wild street dancing. To face her past, Samar takes Meera to visit her estranged mother and they reconcile. Some days later Meera decides to confess to her father about her relationship with Samar and break her engagement, Samar has a serious accident on his motorbike. Meera makes another promise that since she went back on her previous words, she will never see Samar again, but prays to save his life. Samar recovers and Meera admits her vow to him. Angry, he leaves her and London. Samar challenges God to keep him alive while he risks his life every day because he believes his death is the only way to make Meera lose her faith in God. He goes to India and enlists in the army, becoming a bomb-disposal expert. When Akira finishes reading the diary, she obtains permission to make a documentary about a bomb-disposal squad. She asks Samar for help to make her film and becomes acquainted with him and his team. Akira develops a crush on Samar; however, he does not reciprocate because of his unresolved love for Meera. Akira makes a successful film and leaves for London. She wants Samar to visit the city to help her publicise the film; after he reluctantly agrees to come to London, he is struck by a van. Samar is diagnosed with retrograde amnesia, and he remembers only the events before his first accident that took place in London 10 years ago. Concerned, Akira tracks Meera down and persuades her to aid in Samar's recovery. Meera agrees, pretending to be Samar's wife. In the meantime, Akira realises that Major Samar is only a fragment of the young Samar; he used to be happy and sociable but is now bitter and lonely. One day Samar finds a bomb planted in the London Underground and helps defuse it. The event jogs his memory, and he realises that Meera was lying to him. Samar confronts Meera with a choice: to be with him, or see him keep risking his life until he is dead. He then leaves for Kashmir, where he continues defusing bombs. During a conversation with Akira, Meera tells her that she never married her fiancé and realises that her beliefs and prayers subjected Samar to a fate worse than death, and as God only wants his people to be happy and spread love, he won't snatch his people's loved ones due to a broken promise or deal. Meera bids farewell to Akira and goes to Kashmir to reunite with Samar. Samar defuses his last bomb and then proposes to her. ## Cast ## Production ### Development In June 2011, Yash Raj Films released a statement announcing a new directorial venture by Yash Chopra coinciding with the 50th anniversary of his Bollywood career. The producers also announced that the film would be released during the Diwali 2012 weekend. Chopra said the film was untitled at that time, similar to previous project Veer-Zaara (2004) (which was named on the day of its submission to the Central Board of Film Certification). The producers considered a number of titles but were not satisfied with any of them. In September 2012, it was announced that the title of the film was Jab Tak Hai Jaan. It was inspired by a similarly titled song from the 1975 film, Sholay. Aditya Chopra wanted his father to make another film and approached him with the concept for Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Shah Rukh Khan was their first choice for the role of Samar Anand, due to his long-standing relationship with the production house and the Chopra family, thus making it Chopra's fourth consecutive movie to feature Khan as a lead. Khan, who was working on other projects at that time, was unavailable for the shooting schedule so it was changed. As in his previous productions, Yash wanted to introduce a fresh pairing in JTHJ and chose Katrina Kaif to star with Khan. Anushka Sharma was cast in a supporting role by YRF, with whom she had previously worked on Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), Badmaash Company, Band Baaja Baaraat (both 2010) and Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011). Though casting was quickly completed, shooting was delayed because the lead actors were busy with other projects. Khan's role spans two ages: one (age 28) as a London-based street musician and the other (ten years later) as an introverted, composed and dutiful army officer in Kashmir. In an interview, Khan revealed details about his character: "[Samar] is angry, unforgiving, with loads of emotional baggage. I play him sweet when he needs to be. Actually, he is a lot like I am. Samar is a combination of angst, tenderness, anger, and yeah, he's pretty unforgiving." Kaif's role was described as "the archetypal Yash Chopra seductress, an unattainable beauty". Sharma's character, Akira, was described as a "21-year-old who works for the Discovery Channel and makes documentaries. She is on a quest to discover the truth behind the story of The Man Who Cannot Die (Samar Anand) in the film. She is extremely ambitious and will do anything to make it big and realize her dreams." ### Filming The film's principal photography was expected to begin in November 2011, but was delayed because Khan wanted to take a break after his two previous films, Ra.One and Don 2 (both 2011). Principal photography began on 9 January 2012 at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai, where a significant part of movie was shot. After filming in India, the crew began a 35-day shooting schedule in London on 22 February 2012. It was shot under the working title Production 45. Khan arrived in London on 21 February 2012, and finished filming on 26 March 2012. During the filming, photos of the actors on-set were leaked on the Internet, triggering a camera ban by the producers and increased security. A number of locations throughout the city featured in JTHJ, including the Borough Market, Jubilee Walkway, the Great Conservatory, the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Bridge, Trafalgar Square, the Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges, the O2 Arena, the Tower Bridge, and Canary Wharf. A dance sequence was filmed next to King's College London law school in Somerset House. A car-crash scene was filmed at Shepherd's Bush by closing four streets in the area. Filming was completed on 27 March 2012 at an indoor location in East London. The romantic scenes were directed by Chopra's son, Aditya, to give them a more contemporary feel. The "Ishq Shava" dance scene was shot with the leading duo and freestyle dancers in an underground club and aboard a boat on the River Thames. The film's climax, initially planned by Chopra to be shot in the mountains of Kashmir, was moved to Ladakh. This was reportedly suggested by Khan, whose Dil Se.. (1998) was shot in the area many years earlier. Portions of Jab Tak Hai Jaan were filmed in three Kashmiri cities: Srinagar, Pahalgam, and Gulmarg. Yash wanted to add scenes from the Swiss Alps to the title song; however, the scheduled shoot was cancelled after his death. Aditya wanted to keep the film as it was because he felt that doing otherwise would "tamper" with his father's vision. ## Music The music for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman, who teamed up with Yash for the first time. He signed to compose the soundtrack in May 2011. The first song of the soundtrack was completed in December 2011. By February 2012, Rahman said in an interview with The Times of India that he had completed three songs for the film. He summarized the soundtrack album: "It's a combination. They wanted to do my kind of songs at the same time they wanted the old charm and soul of music that Indian audience would love and which I wanted to do for a long time." The soundtrack features nine songs, with eight lyrics by Gulzar and the title track written by Aditya. It was released by YRF Music on 10 October 2012. JTHJ's music proved to be popular with the songs "Ishq Shava", "Saans", "Heer" and "Jiya Re" becoming the most popular songs of the soundtrack. ## Release ### Legal issues Two weeks before Jab Tak Hai Jaan's release, Ajay Devgn FFilms sent a notice to the Competition Commission of India accusing Yash Raj Films of monopolistic business practices; the notice contended that they used "their dominant position in the Bollywood film market" to secure many desirable single-screen theatres for their release. Yash Raj Films responded by saying that they were "shocked" and questioned Devgn's "motives". The studio denied Devgn's claim that high-quality single-screens were unavailable, pointing out that they had only booked 1,500 single-screens for Jab Tak Hai Jaan out of the 10,500 available in India. After the rebuttal by Yash Raj Films, Devgn said he only managed to book 600 single-screens for Son of Sardaar (2012) and would take legal action if not allotted more. He accused Yash Raj Films of signing tie-in agreements for Ek Tha Tiger with exhibitors, requiring them to show Jab Tak Hai Jaan on Diwali and keep it in cinemas for at least two weeks thereafter. A week before the release of Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Son of Sardaar, the commission dismissed Devgn's claim. In an interview a commission spokesperson said: "We considered the plea application. We have not found any merit in the case as there is no case of abuse of dominant position. There is no violation." After his notice was rejected, Devgn appealed the decision; the Appellate Tribunal refused Devgn's request to nullify agreements made with single-screen exhibitors for the release of Jab Tak Hai Jaan, but agreed to reexamine the case to determine if Yash Raj Films had engaged in monopolistic practices. Both films were released on 13 November 2012 in the number of single-screens originally contracted. ### Theatrical release Jab Tak Hai Jaan was released on 600 screens in overseas markets; the estimated number of release screens in India was about 2,500. Yash Raj Films distributed the film to 1,000 multiplexes and 1,500 single-screen cinemas. It was selected for the Doha Tribeca Film Festival and the Marrakech International Film Festival. It was chosen to "honour the legacy" of Yash Chopra, since it was his last project. ### Home media Yash Raj Films launched Jab Tak Hai Jaan in VCD, DVD and region-free high-definition Blu-ray Disc formats on 3 January 2013. The Blu-ray Disc edition featured Dolby TrueHD 96k upsampling, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby Surround 5.1 sound and two additional DVDs. Four hours of extra footage were included on the discs, including the making of the film and songs, an interview with Chopra and Khan, deleted scenes, videos of Khan learning to play the guitar and ride a bicycle, and a preview from the film's premiere held in a specially constructed vintage theatre at Yash Raj Studios. The film was made available on Amazon Prime Video. ## Reception ### Critical response #### India Jab Tak Hai Jaan received positive reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4 (out of 5) stars, saying that it was "attention-grabbing from inception till conclusion. The drama only soars higher and the complex love story gets more and more gripping as the conflict between the characters come to the fore." Rachit Gupta of Filmfare gave it 4 (out of 5) stars: "At a gracious 3 hours runtime, JTHJ feels like an epic love story. And it is just that. JTHJ is the perfect adieu to a hallmark career. It is the best romantic film made in this generation." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave it 3.5 (out of 5) stars: "Despite the lovey-dovey nothingness that drives the plot, Jab Tak Hai Jaan has more substance than most romantic films that come out of Bollywood." Meena Iyer of The Times of India rated it 3.5 (out of 5) stars, saying: "Every frame is picture-perfect, the emotions are well nuanced. But there is one inherent flaw – the story by Aditya Chopra is hackneyed." Subhash Jha (also from The Times of India) said, "Jab Tak Hai Jaan makes you fall in love with love all over again." Anupama Chopra of the Hindustan Times gave the film 3 (out of 5) stars: "Jab Tak Hai Jaan is too tangled to transport you. But I recommend that you see it. Because only Yash Chopra could make heartache so attractive and ennobling that his characters wear it like a badge of honor." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave it 3 (out of 5) stars: "I'm going with three out of five for the late Yash Chopra's Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Despite its many script problems, it's a consistently watchable film that oozes with feeling and real emotion. A fitting swan song!" OPEN magazine gave the film 3 (out of 5) stars, praising Yash Chopra's direction. Ajit Duara called it "a deeply-felt cinematic perspective from 80 years of living."Raja Sen of Rediff.com gave it 3 (out of 5) stars, saying: "As a swan-song for the master director, Jab Tak Hai Jaan might only be a middling effort. But then, sometimes, all we need is a Khan-song." Shabana Ansari of Daily News and Analysis gave the film 3 (out of 5) stars: "If you must, watch Jab Tak Hai Jaan for Khan, who can still convey love and passion in a fleeting look or a dimpled smile; and for Yash Chopra who gave us some of the most enduring romances of all times." Some reviews were more polarized. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 2.5 (out of 5) stars, saying "watch this one for Khan, who can still do the dimpled boy wonder and the older, mature lover with a wry smile and wounded wink and sexy nudge." Sukanya Verma (also from Rediff.com) described it as an "elegant, harmless entertainer for [the] most part", praising the visuals, acting and music. She criticised the screenplay, contending that the film could have been "snappier", and gave it 2.5 (out of 5) stars. Piyasree Dasgupta of First Post wrote: "You have seen everything Jab Tak Hai Jaan has many times before, just in other films. And probably with far better music than A. R. Rahman threw into this one." #### Overseas Jab Tak Hai Jaan received mixed reviews from critics overseas. Priya Joshi of the website Digital Spy gave it 3 (out of 5) stars: "The film is invested with a healthy dose of Khan, the very heart and saans of Yash Chopra, and the message which he lived and breathed through his films: that love is eternal." Simon Foster of Australia's Special Broadcasting Service also gave it 3 (out of 5) stars, calling it "a grand cinematic work boasting all the pros and cons of the genre." He observed: "Yash Chopra fans will not hear complaints that the great producer-director had become mired in a rut, or that his films are rote melodramas reliant on boisterous music (here, a typically string-heavy work from the omnipresent A. R. Rahman) and over-active camerawork. One could argue that it's their very vivid cinematic nature that makes them particularly noteworthy, even when the dialogue (at times, awful) and plotting (rarely based in logical realism) can test one's patience." Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "The film has a freshness that would never lead one to think it was directed by an 80-year-old while at the same time it has a sureness of tone, a certainty about itself even at its most audacious, that only comes from the hand of a seasoned master... Jab Tak Hai Jaan serves as a fitting tribute to the career of Yash Chopra." Lisa Tsering of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Director-producer Yash Chopra's film, his final project before he died, delivers not only the romance and human touch, but also reflects a modern sensibility." Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times wrote, "Even though the film drags, the magic of Bollywood is that this story's muddle of twists only clarifies the urgency behind the undying desires of all concerned parties." Mazhar Farooqui of Dubai's the Gulf News wrote: "Despite its inherent flaws, JTHJ comes across as a beguiling romantic film that takes you on a roller coaster ride of high emotions set amidst picture postcard locales but more than anyone the movie belongs to Yash Chopra. In his swan song, the celebrated director once again proved why his legacy will be hard to match." ### Box office Jab Tak Hai Jaan grossed ₹2.36 billion (US\$30 million) worldwide. #### Domestic Jab Tak Hai Jaan had 95-100% occupancy at multiplexes and single screens across India on its opening day. It earned about ₹125.0 million (US\$1.6 million) on its first day. Jab Tak Hai Jaan showed 50-percent growth and earned ₹195.4 million (US\$2.4 million) on its second day, netting ₹448.4 million (US\$5.6 million) during its first three days. The film earned ₹736.8 million (US\$9.2 million) over its long six-day weekend. Earnings dropped the following Monday to ₹48.1 million (US\$600,000), bringing the total to ₹780 million (US\$9.8 million) for its first week of release. The film continued to do well at the box office after its first week, netting ₹822.4 million (US\$10 million) in ten days. It faltered during its second week (netting only ₹157.9 million (US\$2.0 million)), and crossed the ₹1 billion (US\$13 million) mark 20 days after release. After three weeks, Jab Tak Hai Jaan earned ₹1.02 billion (US\$13 million). The distributor share was ₹570 million (US\$7.1 million), and Box Office India declared it a hit in India. #### Overseas Jab Tak Hai Jaan earned US\$1.3 million on its first day and \$3.50 million at the end of three days in overseas markets. After the first weekend, the film earned \$7.58 million in six days. Jab Tak Hai Jaan grossed about \$11 million overseas in thirteen days before the number of screens decreased. At the end of its theatrical run, it is estimated to have earned US\$12.5 million. #### Records At the time of release, Jab Tak Hai Jaan set records for the highest opening-day earnings in Singapore and Pakistan by grossing \$100,000. Jab Tak Hai Jaan became the highest-grossing Bollywood film in Bahrain and the Middle East, earning more than \$4 million. It was the highest-grossing Bollywood film overseas for 2012, and the third-highest-grossing Bollywood film that year, after Ek Tha Tiger and Dabangg 2. ## Accolades The film won four Filmfare Awards, five Zee Cine Awards and two Colors Screen Awards. Jab Tak Hai Jaan received several marketing and business awards for its overseas performance, promotions, distribution, and music. However, Kaif and Sharma were nominated for Golden Kela and Ghanta awards; some critics felt that their acting was less than stellar. Sharma and Shreya Ghoshal were the main award recipients.
39,807,346
Black Skinhead
1,171,954,808
null
[ "2013 singles", "2013 songs", "American punk rock songs", "Animated music videos", "Black-and-white music videos", "Def Jam Recordings singles", "Industrial hip hop songs", "Internet leaks", "Kanye West songs", "Ku Klux Klan in popular culture", "Song recordings produced by Daft Punk", "Song recordings produced by Gesaffelstein", "Song recordings produced by Kanye West", "Songs written by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo", "Songs written by Kanye West", "Songs written by Lupe Fiasco", "Songs written by Malik Yusef", "Songs written by Thomas Bangalter" ]
"Black Skinhead" (also stylized as "BLKKK SKKKN HEAD") is a song by American rapper Kanye West, from his sixth studio album Yeezus (2013). It was produced by West and Daft Punk. The song's lyrics center on racial tensions and the crumbling mental state of the character West portrays on the album. The song premiered on Saturday Night Live in May 2013, with West performing it in front of a projected backdrop. He has since performed the song live on various occasions, including at the Glastonbury Festival and the Billboard Music Awards in 2015. It was universally praised by music critics and ranked by numerous sites, including Rolling Stone and NME, as one of the best tracks of 2013. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Nick Knight and features computer-generated imagery of West, with interactive options including "screen grabbing" and adjusting the speed of his vocals. The video was released in July 2013 and has received positive reviews from critics. Although West initially said Yeezus would have no singles, "Black Skinhead" became the first single released from the album. It was serviced to contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom one day after the album's release. On July 2, 2013, the single was sent to urban contemporary radio stations in the United States. The song charted in the United States, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Ireland, France, Canada, Belgium and Australia in 2013 and 2014. It has since been certified platinum in the United States, the United Kingdom and Denmark. American singer Jack White covered the song in June 2014. A remix featuring Miley Cyrus and Travis Scott, recorded shortly after the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, leaked online in January 2016. ## Background and development "Black Skinhead" features production by French duo Daft Punk (Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter) the album's major producers, who had worked with West on "On Sight", "I Am a God" and "Send It Up". West first became involved with the duo when he sampled their track "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" in 2007 for his chart-topping single "Stronger". Bangalter revealed in an April 2013 interview discussing their album Random Access Memories that they had found time during the recording sessions in Paris to work with West on material for his next album. The duo laid down a combination of live and programmed drums over West's initial vocals. Bangalter described the process as "very raw." He later said Daft Punk "were the first people that Kanye came to" for his album. "Black Skinhead" was the first song recorded by the duo for Yeezus. The drums originated from unused material that had been recorded for Random Access Memories. Daft Punk described using the drums as "a great twist of pushing the envelope." Before the album's liner notes confirmed otherwise, many speculated that the song's beat was sampled from "The Beautiful People" by American rock band Marilyn Manson. The song's title uses "skinhead", which originated as a description of a 1960s British working-class male subculture whose members often had closely cropped hair. It revolved around fashion and music and went on to inspire the punk rock scene. Despite attracting young males across the political spectrum, the term had come to be popularly associated with neo-Nazis at the time of single's release. Travis Scott said of his initial reaction to the song: "I jumped off the stairs onto the couch. I was going HAM. That was when I heard the 'na na na na' part for the first time, I lost my fucking mind. That's some soccer anthem-type shit." According to co-producer Mike Dean, the song was almost left off Yeezus for sounding "too much like a soccer song." In November 2013, co-writer Lupe Fiasco still felt unsure what the song was supposed to be about. He described it as "a lot of emotional, a lot of this, a lot of cliché, a lot of kinda stuff balled in together, and it's just supposed to be presented as a package and you digest it." West and Miley Cyrus skipped the after party for the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, 2013, to record her remix of the song. The pair also worked on other tracks during the recording session—possibly for use on her then-upcoming album Bangerz. Producer Mike Will Made It took part in the session, having added some production to the remix of "Black Skinhead". The remix leaked on January 21, 2016, and was revealed to feature Lupe Fiasco and Travis Scott as well as Miley Cyrus. The track heavily samples Tears for Fears' 1985 song, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" from their album Songs from the Big Chair and features Cyrus singing a rendition of the hook. West uploaded a slightly different version of "Black Skinhead" exclusively on Apple Music in April 2016. The song's opening lines were changed to retain more distorted vocals. ## Composition "Black Skinhead" has an industrial-sounding beat, and is part of the Yeezus character's opening segment of gnarled electro and pounding industrial rap. West begins the song with the lines: "For my theme song/My leather black jeans on/My by-any-means on" a reference to "Good Morning", the opening track of his third studio album Graduation. These lines use a "simple aesthetic touch"—leather black jeans—to envelope Yeezus, the character West portrays, in black, rugged gear. This reflects his awareness, expressed on his 2005 single "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", that money and possessions are often equated with self-worth by young black men. The old West is gone. "Black Skinhead" is "now his theme music. This grimy, grungy tone that doesn't require just any jeans, but leather black jeans." The song's lyrics do not mention Malcolm X or the Civil Rights Movement. "But when we make the connections between 'by any means necessary' (Malcolm’s famous phrase) and the jeans call-back to "Good Morning," and the reference to a cultural movement associated with rebellion, the ghost of Malcolm X and the Civil Rights Movement of the ’50s and ’60s comes alive." Yeezus views himself as not only a political leader for the Black community, but a superhero. West raps: "Pardon, I'm getting my scream on" in the fourth line and screams in frustration throughout the song. The rest of song sees Yeezus discussing "racial tensions and his own crumbling mental state." The "manic repetition" of "Black" shows there is "so much more at stake" for him. West ends the song by repeating "God!" in an exasperated way. Yeezus is a "leader frustrated by the inaction of his people: 'These niggas ain't doin' shit'." He "mutates the external idea of God into an internal one", which leads into the next track "I Am a God" where he "hypes himself up." ## Release and promotion Before the album's release, West performed "Black Skinhead" on the May 18, 2013, broadcast of the American sketch comedy television series Saturday Night Live, where he also performed "New Slaves". He performed the song in front of a projected backdrop, which alternated between abstractly disturbing black-and-white imagery with colorful vintage price tags and the declaration "Not for sale." His performance was met with positive critical reviews. Chris Martins of Spin described it as providing "the sort of aplomb and production value that the show hasn't felt since ... well, probably the last time West visited", noting "'Black Skinhead' documents Ye's dynamic transition from rap champ to rock star." Stereogum's Liz Pelly branded the song an "aggressive new track" and claimed that "West's stage presence on SNL was full of rage." Philip Cosores of Paste commented on the performance, writing: "The song comes from somewhere usually only seen in small clubs or basements, and the images of vicious dogs adds to the focal point, the angriest dog in a sense." After the performance, Daft Punk were revealed as the song's composers and West shared a photo of the handwritten lyrics via Twitter. Although West initially said no singles would be released from the album, "Black Skinhead" was released on June 18, 2013. It is the second track on West's sixth studio album Yeezus, and was sent to UK contemporary hit radio stations on June 19. West had previously spoken about avoiding a full-court press roll-out for his album, saying at a listening session in New York: "I have this new strategy, it's called no strategy." On June 28, 2013, Def Jam Recordings confirmed the song would be serviced to US radio stations as the first single from Yeezus at the same time as a clean version was released to DJs. The label also revealed that a music video for the song was in production. Following the announcement, "Black Skinhead" was released officially on July 2 to US urban contemporary radio stations. West was set to perform the song at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, 2013, but ended up performing "Blood on the Leaves" instead. ## Critical reception "Black Skinhead" received universal acclaim from music critics. Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly cited it as one of the album's best songs, describing it as "a galloping punk-rap manifesto". The staff of Popdust rated the song five out of five, describing it as what "would've sounded at home on Top 40 in the late-'00s, at least if you stripped away all the growling bass and the background yelps and turned the drums down in the mix considerably". The Guardian's Alexis Petridis pointed out "the battering bovver-glam drum and sampled screaming of 'Black Skinhead'" is an example on the album where, "West appears to be operating under the influence of industrial music". This song and "Hold My Liquor" were classified by Phil Witmer of Noisey as "rock anthems from the 25th century" not rap. He described "Black Skinhead" as "soundtracking a mosh pit of cyborgs". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described West as "angry" as he snarls "over a track that switches between a blunt glam-rock drumbeat and a distorted synthesizer line." Digital Spy's Robert Copsey felt with "Black Skinhead" West is "erratically accusing middle America of racism ('You see a black man with a white woman at the top floor/ they gon' come to kill King Kong') over a rumbling tribal beat". Copsey claims this is an example of how Yeezus's lyrics range from "insightful [and] irritatingly arrogant, to the plain bonkers." ### Accolades Rolling Stone named "Black Skinhead" the third-best song of 2013, saying: "'Ye rapping rabid over an industrial glitter-rock stomp pumped with heavy breathing and Tarzan screams. Next time someone says America is post-race, play 'em this, and watch their head explode." It was chosen as Billboard sixth-best song of the year, with the staff describing it as "raw, unadulterated and unstoppable." NME named it the tenth-best song of 2013, writing: "There isn't a more fascinating pop star in the world than Kanye West right now. 'Black Skinhead' was a microcosm of why that's the case: three breathless and almost-punk minutes that covered the central complexes – ego, messiah and persecution – of his dark and twisted psyche." Ranked 43rd by Spin, their staff said that "Our Lord and Savior Yeezus Christ blacks out about mass incarceration and never-not-mutating racism atop a vaporous mountain of Louis Vuitton pipedreams." The song earned a nomination at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards for Impact Track, and World's Best Song at the 2013 World Music Awards. ## Music video For the five months leading up to the single's announcement, West worked on a music video for "Black Skinhead" with photographer Nick Knight. The music video was leaked to the Internet on July 8, 2013. Shortly afterwards, West stated via Twitter that the leaked version of the video was incomplete and released without his approval; the song's title was stylized as "BLKKK SKKKN HD" in the tweet. On July 21, 2013, the final version was officially released as an interactive video on West's website. Its interactive portion allows users to control the video's speed down to almost one-sixteenth the normal rate, as well as take screenshots for use on social media platforms. The user's cursor changes to that of a black hand giving the finger when interacting with the video. Pitchfork Media noted that apart from interactivity, the video itself is identical to the version that was leaked ahead of the single's release. The video opens with three figures wearing black conical hoods, reminiscent of those worn by the Ku Klux Klan; the hoods form a black border that envelops most of the screen, while the silhouettes of the outlying cones stay on each end. The music video has a blurred black-and-white background within it. The primary action takes place in the middle portion of the screen occupied by a shirtless, computer-generated version of West, wearing a long chain and leather pants It raps the song's lyrics and dances. West appears in various forms: a rough, spiky animatic; a silhouetted model; one whose upper torso save the face is covered in talc; a heavily muscled version; and a nude version with rows of subdermal implants on the shoulders and chest. Interspersed with his figure are several brief flashes of snarling dobermanns and other predatory animals. ### Reception The music video for "Black Skinhead" received praise from critics. Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian described it as "demand[ing] your attention, and so it should", calling it "a startling vision of West's most ferocious track". Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly viewed the music video as something that "looks pretty awesome", writing: "It's impressive, though honestly it's not nearly as good a promotional clip for 'Black Skinhead' as the trailer for The Wolf of Wall Street." Consequence of Sound placed it 11th on its list of the 25 best music videos of 2013. Rolling Stone named it the ninth best music video of 2013. At the 2013 Antville Music Video Awards, it was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Video. It was also a nominee for Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. ## Commercial performance After its release as a single in the United States, "Black Skinhead" entered charts in North America. The track debuted at number 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In the same week as its Hot 100 debut, the track also entered at number 21 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On the Canadian Hot 100, the song reached number 66. The track charted in several countries worldwide. After being released as a single in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2013, "Black Skinhead" debuted at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart and eventually peaked at number 34. It remained there for a total of 16 weeks and ranked as the 197th best-selling single of 2013 in the United Kingdom. In Scotland, the track also reached the top 40, charting at number 31 on the Scottish Singles Chart. The track reached number 55 on the Irish Singles Chart and charted at number 58 and 59 on the ARIA Singles Chart and the Belgium Ultratip Flanders chart respectively. Its lowest chart position was in France at number 105 on the SNEP chart. On October 17, 2014, "Black Skinhead" was certified Platinum in Denmark, and in the United States by the RIAA on October 13, 2015. "Black Skinhead" went Platinum in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2018. As of 2017, "Black Skinhead" is the 89th best-selling hip-hop song of all-time in the UK. ## Live performances In addition to his pre-release performance on Saturday Night Live on May 18, 2013, West performed a version live in black-and-white, with a new intro and outro, on the French TV show Le Grand Journal on September 23. It ended with West collapsing on stage. Canadian rapper Drake brought West out at the fourth annual OVO Fest, where he performed the song while Drake stood beside him and waved his arm. As the opener for his set at the 2014 Wireless Festival, West ended the performance lying on his back. He also performed it in a surprise live gig at KOKO in March 2015. At the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, West segued into "Black Skinhead" from a performance of "All Day". He was censored at intervals during his performance, with lyrics such as "My leather black jeans on" muted. West was audible to home viewers for only four minutes and 16 seconds of his five-minute, 18 second performance. During his headline set at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival, his performance was restarted after it was interrupted by comedian Lee Nelson wearing a "Leezus" T-shirt. West performed the song live on the opening show of his Saint Pablo Tour in Indianapolis on August 25, 2016. He would perform it again with added instrumentation from an electric guitar for the "Free Larry Hoover" benefit concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 9, 2021. ## In popular culture Since its release, "Black Skinhead" has appeared in various media. The song was first featured in a trailer for the 2013 crime film The Wolf of Wall Street. A mashup of it with "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson was played by American DJ Girl Talk at a North Carolina show in July 2013. American rapper Angel Haze freestyled over the song in October 2013 as part of their 30 Gold series. In June 2014, a cover version was performed by American singer Jack White as the opener to his live concert in Dublin, Ireland. A mashup of "Black Skinhead" and "Shoot the Runner" by Kasabian was performed by indie rock band Catfish and the Bottlemen on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in February 2015. The song was used in a 2015 television advert for Sky Bet. It was used in the opening scene for the 2016 period drama TV series Underground, and a cover by Jacques Slade, THURZ & El Prez was featured in the 2016 American comedy film Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. The song was used in the 2016 American superhero film Suicide Squad, and in the trailer for the 2017 American action thriller spy film Atomic Blonde as part of a mashup with "Personal Jesus" by English electronic band Depeche Mode. The track is part of the soundtrack for the 2017 video game WWE 2K18. Jaden Smith sampled the song on "Watch Me" from his debut album Syre (2017). The track appeared in a 2018 car commercial for the Toyota Camry. The song was used in a trailer for the Android smartphone Motorola Moto X in 2013. "Black Skinhead" is one of the penalty kill songs that NHL team Colorado Avalanche use. The Toronto Marlies of the AHL has used it as its goal song since the 2015 - 2016 season. Billie Eilish revealed that "Black Skinhead" inspired her single "Bury a Friend". In 2020, Bono included the song on a list of 60 songs that "saved his life". Why Don't We sampled "Black Skinhead" in their 2020 single "Fallin' (Adrenaline)". ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the Yeezus liner notes. - Songwriter – Kanye West, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Thomas Bangalter, Malik Jones, Cydel Young, Elon Rutberg, Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, Sakiya Sandifer, Mike Dean and Derrick Watkins - Producer – Kanye West and Daft Punk - Additional production – Gesaffelstein, Brodinski, Mike Dean, Lupe Fiasco, Jack Donoghue, and Noah Goldstein - Engineer – Noah Goldstein, Anthony Kilhoffer, and Mike Dean - Mix – Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios, Los Angeles, CA - Mix assisted – Delbert Bowers and Chris Galland - Mastering – Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound & Vlado Meller at Masterdisk, NYC ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## Certifications ## Release history
3,927,051
Weapons of Class Destruction
1,173,276,572
null
[ "2005 American television episodes", "Veronica Mars (season 1) episodes" ]
"Weapons of Class Destruction" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars. Written by Jed Seidel and directed by John Kretchmer, the episode premiered on UPN on April 12, 2005. The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) as she deals with life as a high school student while moonlighting as a private detective. In this episode, Veronica investigates the persistent bomb threats at her school. Meanwhile, Keith (Enrico Colantoni) begins dating Alicia Fennel (Erica Gimpel), and Veronica's relationship with Logan (Jason Dohring) progresses. "Weapons of Class Destruction" introduces the romantic relationship between Veronica and Logan, a romance that would continue on-and-off throughout the series and its subsequent film adaptation. Series creator Rob Thomas did not originally envision this relationship, but he changed his mind when he saw the chemistry between the two actors and characters. The episode received positive reviews, with discussion focusing on Veronica and Logan's first kiss. The episode has been frequently cited as one of the best in the series. ## Synopsis Veronica is kissing Leo D'Amato (Max Greenfield) outside her house. After Veronica goes back into her house, Keith announces that he has begun dating Wallace's (Percy Daggs III) mother, Alicia, making things awkward between Veronica and Wallace. Veronica notices a sign outside which says "KillemAll.net". In class, there is a fire drill, and Duncan (Teddy Dunn) says that it is the third one this week. Veronica talks to Principal Clemmons about the fire drill issue, but he doesn't give anything up to her. Later, she notices police officers with service dogs going through the building. Veronica, posing as the superintendent, calls Principal Clemmons, who reveals that the school has experienced several bomb threats. She prints the story in the school newspaper, causing chaos at school the next day. Principal Clemmons calls her in again and tells her to stop printing stories. Veronica and Wallace talk to each other while Keith and Alicia watch a movie. Alicia tries to convince Wallace to accept their relationship to no avail. After talking to Mac (Tina Majorino), another student, Pete (Michael McMillian) approaches Veronica to say that he saw two students, Ben (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and Norris (Theo Rossi) with exploding tennis balls. Wallace places the two students under more suspicion when he tells Veronica about them, and Veronica sees a mysterious timer. Duncan and Meg (Alona Tal) approach Veronica, and she tells Meg the general overview of a case where someone has been evading capture and all the tactics they used to do so before Duncan suddenly leaves. Wallace gives Veronica the student file on one of the two students, but his high school records are clean after bullying in junior high. The other student doesn't have a file. Veronica talks to Duncan, who says he knows about her investigation. Duncan scoffs at her findings before he realizes that she suspects him in the murder, reacting with extreme rage before dashing out of the room. Ben and Norris talk about guns and bombs, leading Veronica to track Ben, eventually seeing him buying fertilizer and taking out a rifle. Ben gets into the car and orders her to drive to the Camelot motel. There, Logan appears and beats him up before it is revealed that the "suspect" is actually an ATF agent. Ben says that he is investigating Norris, but needs her help: Norris has a crush on Veronica, and Ben asks her to get close to him. As she leaves the motel, Veronica and Logan kiss unexpectedly. Veronica gets an invitation to Norris's house, but she doesn't find any weapons. Veronica calls Mac to help her break into the WiFi before she sees Pete in front of the house. The ATF searches Norris's vehicle and finds fertilizer and a rifle, despite Veronica's convictions that he is not the perpetrator. However, Veronica recognizes them as being the same ones Ben was loading into his car earlier. Veronica calls Pete, and she tells him that she knows he falsely implicated Norris (with the help of the ATF agent) because of terrible bullying in junior high. Meg tells Veronica that Duncan has disappeared after removing \$10,000 from the bank. The story involving Norris is published in the newspaper, and, although it leads to all charges against Norris being dropped, it also results in the new journalism teacher's (Joey Lauren Adams) termination. ## Production The episode was written by Jed Seidel and directed by John Kretchmer. This episode mark's Seidel's fifth and final writing credit for the series, after "Meet John Smith", "The Girl Next Door", "Silence of the Lamb", and "Mars vs. Mars". In addition, this episode is the second directing credit for Kretchmer, after "Silence of the Lamb." The episode also explains the departure of journalism teacher Mallory Dent (Sydney Tamiia Poitier), who made her last appearance in "The Girl Next Door", also introducing Dent's replacement, Geena Stafford, who is subsequently fired in the same episode. The episode introduces a romantic relationship between Veronica and Logan through their first kiss. Originally, Veronica and Logan were not intended to be a couple. At PaleyFest 2014, series creator Rob Thomas stated that "The truth is, we never had any intention at all for Logan to end up with Veronica. [Dohring] was hired to be the obligatory psychotic jackass. In the writers' room, sitting around watching dailies, we would all gather around, and it was like, 'We want to watch that. We want to watch those two onscreen together.'" However, Dohring and Bell found out the plan for the two characters around the filming of "Return of the Kane" or "The Girl Next Door". On the reveal, Dohring said in an interview: "I’m actually glad, Rob told us about episode six or seven that we would get together. We were like, ‘No way!’ But there was something going on there. We could feel it as actors. It was damn cool – these characters had some kind of connection. So we had to start to soften it up a little bit and break the ice somewhat [between the characters]. I’m glad he gave us that heads up." Lead actress Kristen Bell expressed surprise over the initial decision by saying, "I love working with Jason and he's such a great actor to work opposite, but sometimes, I feel it's really just weird luck. Somehow people get magic dust sprinkled on them and you don't know why. You look like you have boatloads of chemistry with someone else." On the kiss itself, Dohring noted, "It was so funny, as an actor, to kiss this girl. I was all nervous beforehand. But you have to just let it go for the scene. It was so fun to watch [later when it aired]," adding that "a lot of that emotion was real for me." The song "Momentary Thing" by band Something Happens plays during Veronica and Logan's first kiss. Series creator Rob Thomas, was not content with the kiss scene, writing that it was not how he envisioned it. "I wasn't actually pleased with the first Veronica/Logan kiss. Now, I may have been wrong on this front, but it wasn't what I imagined, or really what I think was described in the script. The line of description called for Logan to "devour" Veronica. I wanted it to be—I don't know if sexual is the right word, but—hungry, or a release, or mixed with some self-loathing and confusion. Instead, it came off as singularly romantic." ## Reception ### Ratings In its original broadcast, the episode received 2.30 million viewers, ranking 114th of 120 in the weekly rankings. ### Reviews The episode received primarily positive reviews, with critical attention mostly going to Veronica and Logan's relationship. Price Peterson of TV.com gave the episode a positive review, noting that "[o]bviously the most notable aspect of this episode was the Logan-Veronica hookup. Again, it seemed really sudden, but in the sense that they are both mercurial teenagers it seemed right, particularly when they didn't know how to handle themselves afterward." Television Without Pity gave the episode a "B+", writing that "[Veronica] kisses Logan! You heard me! How could you not, with all the exclamation points!" Rowan Kaiser, writing for The A.V. Club, gave a mixed review. While calling the case-of-the-week "predictable", the reviewer also called Keith and Alicia's new relationship "perhaps the most fun" part of the episode. In addition, Kaiser commented on Veronica and Logan's relationship. "I'm not entirely sold on the relationship, either from a character point of view or a quality point of view. Obviously it's just a kiss in the heat of the moment...but it doesn't seem to have much motivation beyond [that]." IGN placed the episode 2nd in its list of the top ten Veronica Mars episodes, second to only "Leave It to Beaver". The publication praised the new Logan-Veronica dynamic and said "The few episodes just before this one showed the softer, vulnerable side of Logan and just when you wonder if he's really so bad, he saves the day and an innocent peck turned into a passionate embrace." E! reacted to the scene by writing, "We seemed to experience the same whirlwind of emotions they did: The hesitance, the shock, the elation, the weirdness of how right it felt, and then, of course, the inevitable 'Oh crap, what did we just do and what does this mean?' awkwardness of it all. They, and the show, would never be the same. In the best way possible." BuzzFeed ranked the episode as the 4th best Veronica Mars episode, behind "A Trip to the Dentist", "Leave It to Beaver", and "Not Pictured." TVLine ranked the episode 6th on a similar list. Give Me My Remote ranked "Weapons of Class Destruction" as the fifth best episode of Veronica Mars, particularly noting the kiss scene between Logan and Veronica. "Veronica kisses Logan in a scene that was full of so much chemistry that it gave me chills. The episode ends with Veronica figuring out that Ben was setting Norris up, but, honestly, who was really paying attention at that point? Veronica and Logan had finally realized that their chemistry was undeniable!" Kimberly Roots, writing for TVLine, responded to the kiss scene by stating, "What got me – and still gets me – about this kiss is how much fire it has. This isn’t a drunken, convenient hook-up. This isn’t a let’s-see-how-this-goes peck. This is two people acting on years of something unacknowledged between them. We get a long moment of LoVe in action before they break apart and realize what just happened." Entertainment Weekly called "Weapons of Class Destruction" one of the "10 essential episodes of Veronica Mars".
793,911
Arab Christians
1,173,561,425
Arabs who follow Christianity
[ "Arab Christians", "Christian groups in the Middle East", "Ethnic groups in Iraq", "Ethnic groups in Israel", "Ethnic groups in Jordan", "Ethnic groups in Lebanon", "Ethnic groups in Morocco", "Ethnic groups in Syria", "Ethnic groups in Turkey", "Ethnic groups in the Middle East", "Ethnic groups in the State of Palestine", "Middle Eastern Christians", "Semitic-speaking peoples" ]
Arab Christians (Arabic: الْمَسِيحِيُّون الْعَرَب, romanized: el-Mesîhîyyûn el-Arab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East is estimated to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, but are concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of the Levant and Egypt, with smaller communities present throughout the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. The history of Arab Christians coincides with the history of Eastern Christianity and the history of the Arabic language; Arab Christian communities either result from pre-existing Christian communities adopting the Arabic language, or from pre-existing Arabic-speaking communities adopting Christianity. The jurisdictions of three of the five patriarchates of the Pentarchy primarily became Arabic-speaking after the early Muslim conquests – the Church of Alexandria, the Church of Antioch and the Church of Jerusalem – and over time many of their adherents adopted the Arabic language and culture. Separately, a number of early Arab kingdoms and tribes adopted Christianity, including the Nabataeans, Lakhmids, Salihids, Tanukhids, ʿIbādī of al-Hira, and the Ghassanids. In modern times, Arab Christians have played important roles in the Nahda movement, and they have significantly influenced and contributed to the fields of literature, politics, business, philosophy, music, theatre and cinema, medicine, and science. Today Arab Christians still play important roles in the Arab world, and are relatively wealthy, well educated, and politically moderate. Emigrants from Arab Christian communities also make up a significant proportion of the Middle Eastern diaspora, with sizable population concentrations across the Americas, most notably in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and the US. However those emigrants to the Americas, especially from the first wave of emigration, have often not passed the Arabic language to their descendants. The concept of an Arab Christian identity remains contentious, with some Arabic-speaking Christian groups in the Middle East, such as Assyrians, Armenians, Greeks and others, rejecting an Arab identity. Individuals from Egypt's Coptic community and Lebanon's Maronite community sometimes assume a non-Arab identity. ## History The history of Arab Christians coincides with the history of Christianity and the history of the Arabic language; Arab Christian communities result either from pre-existing Christian communities adopting the Arabic language, or from pre-existing Arabic-speaking communities adopting Christianity. Arab Christians include the indigenous Christian communities of Western Asia who became majority Arabic-speaking after the consequent seventh-century Muslim conquests in the Fertile Crescent. The Christian Arab presence predates the early Muslim conquests, and there were many Arab tribes that converted to Christianity, beginning in the 1st century. The interests of the Arabs before the 9th century A.D. were focused primarily on the recording and translating of pre-Islamic poetry. The early Arab Christians recorded Syriac hymns, Arabic poetry, ecclesiastical melodies, proverbs, and ḥikam (rules of governance). They did not otherwise record religion, which gave way to conflicting accounts and sparse evidence for specific practices over several centuries. From classical antiquity to modern times, Arab Christians have played important roles contributing to the culture of the Mashriq, in particular those in the Levant, Egypt and Iraq. ### Pre-Islamic period The New Testament has a biblical account of Arab conversion to Christianity recorded in the Book of Acts. When Saint Peter preaches to the people of Jerusalem, they ask, > And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? > [...] Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. (Acts 2:8, 11 KJV) The first mention of Christianity in Arabia occurs in the New Testament as the Apostle Paul references his journey to Arabia following his conversion (Galatians 1: 15–17). Later, Eusebius discusses a bishop named Beryllus in the see of Bostra, the site of a synod c. 240 AD and two Councils of Arabia. The New Testament signals an early entry of Christianity among the Arabs; in addition to what was narrated by al-Tabari, Abu al-Fida, al-Maqrizi, Ibn Khaldun and al-Masoudi, the disciples of Christ (including Matthew, Bartholomew and Thaddeus) were the ones who went to Arabia as preachers of the religion. Sozomen of Gaza said that the Arabs converted to Christianity through the efforts of priests and monks who spread to Arab regions, and the strength of Christianity increased with the conversion of the major tribes. The religion was organised in many dioceses controlled by bishops and archbishops. The Arab bishops were divided into types: urban bishops residing in cities, and “tent bishops” who resided in tents and moved with their tribes from one place to another. The number of Arab bishops among the Nabataeans alone reached forty according to Ibn Duraid. The first Arab bishop of the Arabs, Saint Moses, spent many years in the 4th century as a hermit between Syria and Egypt. His piety impressed Mavia, Arab warrior-queen of the Tanukhids, and she made his consecration as a bishop over her people a condition to any truce with Rome. The Jordan Valley and the Balqa was under Arab Christian rule by the second century AD. The Nabataeans, natives of the southern Levant, also converted to Christianity in the Late Roman Period. In Palmyra and near al-Qaryatayn there are Christian monuments and the remains of churches and inscriptions that indicate the spread of the religion into Syria proper. The administration of Jordan under Roman rule was given to the Quda'a tribe. This tribe had embraced Christianity according to Ya'qubi, and were later succeeded by the Christian Salihids and Ghassanid Kingdom. There are poetic verses by the pre-Islamic poet al-Nabigha in which he praises the kings of Ghassan, congratulating them on Palm Sunday. Bordering Syria, the Sinai was administratively affiliated with the Egyptian Church based in Alexandria. There are documents from the late third century of Dionysius, Pope of Alexandria, in which he mentions his Arab Christian subjects in the Sinai and the persecution they faced during the days of the pagan Roman emperor Diocletian. Later, forty martyrs fell in 309 in Mount Sinai during a raid by pagan Arabs on their hermitages. The monks fortified their new monasteries, and the most fortified is still in use today, Saint Catherine's Monastery, built by the commission of Roman emperor Justinian in 565. It has hosted a number of Church bishops and theologians, Ghassanid and Lakhmid kings, and pre-Islamic poets. The southern Arabian city of Najran was made famous by the religious persecution of Christians by one of the kings of Yemen, Dhu Nuwas, who was an enthusiastic convert to Judaism. The leader of the Arabs of Najran during the period, al-Ḥārith, was canonized by the Catholic Church as Arethas. Aretas was the leader of the Christians of Najran in the early 6th century and was executed during the massacre of Christians by the king in 523. Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Hisham and Yaqut al-Hamawi mentioned that Najran was entirely Christian when Dhu al-Nawas converted to Judaism, and that the people of Najran refused to convert to his faith, so he massacred them. The victims were mentioned by Ibn Ishaq and named in the Quran as the "People of the Ditch". The Byzantine emperor Justin I was enraged and encouraged Kaleb of Axum to occupy Yemen and eliminate the Jewish king. Dhu al-Nawas was later deposed and killed, prompting Kaleb to appoint a native Christian Himyarite, Sumyafa Ashwa, as his viceroy. The Aksumites thus conquered Himyar and their rule lasted until 575. The Abyssinians spread Christianity and their rulers built an extravagant building in honor of the Martyrs of Najran. It was known by its contemporaries for its beauty, adorned with ornaments, jewels, and prominent archways. Arabs called it the “Kaaba of Najran”. The Yemenis later rebelled against the Abyssinians and demanded independence. History records Christian influence from Ethiopia to Arab lands in pre-Islamic times, and some Ethiopian Christians may have lived in Mecca. Yemen had an important share in ancient Christianity. In the second century, the Greek theologian Pantaenus left Alexandria and headed towards Yemen as a missionary after his conversion. Historians such as Rufinus and Orosius mentioned that Matthew the Apostle was the missionary of Yemen and Abyssinia. A special relationship developed between the people of Yemen and the Syrian Church, as inferred by the works of Ephrem the Syrian, the biography of Simeon Stylites, and the historian Philostorgius, who said that some villages and settlements established in Yemen were Syriac-speaking. The famous Al-Qalis Church in Sana'a was built to serve aderents and to attract pilgrims travelling to the Kaaba of Mecca and Ghamdan Palace. On the organizational level, the Archbishop of Yemen held the title "Catholicos" which follows the "Patriarch" in rank. The spread of Christianity amongst Arabs reached Upper Mesopotamia, where Banu Bakr and Banu Mudar lived, both famous for their staunch Christian beliefs and for honoring Sergius the Military Saint. Ibn Khallikan mentioned that all the Yemeni Arabs in Iraq converted to Christianity, including Taym al-Lat, Kalb, Lakhm and Tanukh, and many had moved towards Bahrain by the fourth century. In Medina there was a Christian sect that was rejected by the official church and considered heretical. They deified the Virgin Mary and gave her offerings. This sect was mentioned by a number of historians, including Epiphanius and Ibn Taymiyyah, who called them "The Marians" (Al-Maryamiyyun). Likewise, al-Zamakhshari and al-Baydawi referred to this sect in their interpretation of the Qur’an. Another sect called "The Davidians" (Al-Dāwudiyyūn) were known for their exaggerations in honoring King David. Some contemporary historians classified it as a Judeo-Christian heresy. In Mecca, the Banu Jurhum embraced Christianity at the hands of their sixth king, Abd al-Masih ibn Baqia, and supervised the service of the Haram for a period of time. Banu Azd and Banu Khuza’a became Christians with them according to Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani. The earliest indications of Christianity in Mecca is the Christian cemetery outside the Medina towards the well of 'Anbasa, confirmed by al-Maqdisi, as well as the conversion to Christianity by some members of the Quraish. ### Islamic Era Following the fall of large portions of former Byzantine and Sasanian provinces to the Arab armies, a large indigenous Christian population of varying ethnicities came under Arab Muslim dominance. Historically, a number of minority Christian sects were persecuted as heretic under Byzantine rule (such as non-Chalcedonians). The Islamic conquests set forth two processes affecting these Christian communities: the process of Arabization, causing them gradually to adopt Arabic as a spoken, literary, and liturgical language (often alongside their ancestral tongues), and the much slower, yet persistent process of Islamization. As Muslim army commanders expanded their empire and attacked countries in Asia, North Africa and southern Europe, they would offer three conditions to their enemies: convert to Islam, pay jizya (tax) every year, or face war to death. Those who refused war and refused to convert were deemed to have agreed to pay jizya. As "People of the Book", Christians in the region were accorded certain rights under Islamic law to practice their religion (including having Christian law used for rulings, settlements or sentences in court). In contrast to Muslims, who paid the zakat tax, they paid the jizya, an obligatory tax. The jizya was not levied on slaves, women, children, monks, the old, the sick, hermits, or the poor. In return, non-Muslim citizens were permitted to practice their faith, to enjoy a measure of communal autonomy, to be entitled to Muslim state's protection from outside aggression, to be exempted from military service, and to be exempted from the zakat. Like Arab Muslims, Arab Christians refer to God as "Allah". As with the Christians of Malta, this practice is distinguished from the Islamic use of the word "Allah" which refers to the personal name of God in that faith. The use of the term Allah in Arab churches predates Islam. During the Islamic Golden Age, Christians contributed to the Islamic civilization in various fields, and the institution known as the House of Wisdom employed Christian scholars to translate works into Arabic and to develop new knowledge. ### Modern Era Arab Christians have always been the go-between the Islamic world and the Christian West, mainly down to mutual religious affinity. The Greek Orthodox share Orthodox ties with Russia and Greece; whilst Melkites and Maronites share Catholic bonds with Italy, Vatican and France. Scholars and intellectuals agree Christians in the Arab world have made significant contributions to Arab civilization since the introduction of Islam, and they have had a notable impact contributing the culture of the Mashriq. Many Arab Christians today are physicians, entertainers, philosophers, government officials and people of literature. #### Academia Arab Christians throughout history have been noted for their impact on academia and literature. Arabic-speaking Christian scholars wrote extensive theological and philosophical works and treatises in Arabic in which they not only responded to the polemics of their Muslim adversaries, but also provided systematic apologetic discussions of the Christian faith and practice. Notable Lebanese academics in the modern era include Carmelite linguist Anastas al-Karmal, novelist Tawfiq Yusuf 'Awwad, and philologist Ibrahim al-Yaziji, whose Bible translations were among the first in the modern Arabic language. There are many New Testament translations or portions into regional colloquial forms of Arabic. Noted Palestinian physician and ethnographer Tawfiq Canaan's academic work serves as valuable resources to researchers of Palestinian history. Jordanian historian Suleiman Mousa was the only author to write about Lawrence of Arabia and show the Arab perspective. Mousa noted that were many books written to praise Lawrence, and all of them exaggerated his part in the Arab Revolt and failed to do justice to the Arabs themselves. Syrian writers include scholar Francis Marrash and writer Hanna Mina, described in Literature from the "Axis of Evil" as the country's most prominent. #### Politics Arab Christians were among the first Arab nationalists. As early as 1877, Maronite leader Youssef Bey Karam proposed to Emir Abdelkader the separation of the Arabic-speaking provinces from the Ottoman Empire using the terms al-gins al-'arabi ("Arab race") and gaba'il al-arabiya ("Arab tribes"). In the early 20th century, many prominent Arab nationalists were Christians, like the Syrian intellectual Constantin Zureiq, Ba'athism proponent Michel Aflaq, and Jurji Zaydan, who was reputed to be the first Arab nationalist. Khalil al-Sakakini, a prominent Palestinian Jerusalemite, was Arab Orthodox, as was George Antonius, Lebanese author of The Arab Awakening. The first Syrian nationalists were also Christian. Although both Lebanese, Antoun Saadeh was the founder behind the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and Butrus al-Bustani is considered to be the first Syrian nationalist. Sa'adeh rejected Pan-Arabism and argued instead for the creation of a "United Syrian Nation" or "Natural Syria". George Habash, founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was Arab Orthodox, and so was Wadie Haddad, the leader of the PFLP's armed wing. Influential Palestinian Christians such as Tawfik Toubi, Daud Turki, Emile Touma and Emile Habibi became leaders of the Israeli and Palestinian communist party. Nayif Hawatmeh is the founder and leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Kamal Nasser and Hanan Ashrawi were members of the PLO Executive Committee. In Lebanon, Maronites and Melkites looked to France and the Mediterranean world, whereas most Muslims and Greek Orthodox Christians looked to the Arab hinterland as their political lodestar. #### Media Christians developed Arabic-speaking Christian media, including various newspapers, radio stations, and television networks such as Télé Lumière, Aghapy TV, CTV, and SAT-7, which is a Christian broadcasting network that was founded in 1995; it targets primarily Arab Christians in North Africa and the Middle East. These media networks produce dozens of Arabic-language Christian films, musical works, as well as radio and television programmes. Syro-Lebanese Melkite Saleem Takla and his brother Beshara founded the Al-Ahram newspaper in 1875 in Alexandria; now the most widely circulated Egyptian daily newspaper. Similarly, Lebanese Protestant Faris Nimr co-founded Al Muqattam in 1888, a leading Cairo-based newspaper in circulation until 1954. In Palestine, Najib Nassar's newspaper Al-Karmil was the first anti-Zionist weekly newspaper. It appeared in Haifa in 1908 and was shut down by the British in the 1940s. Likewise, the Arab Orthodox El-Issa family from Jaffa founded the Falastin newspaper in 1911. The paper was Palestine's most consistent critic of the early Zionist movement. In Lebanon, the influential Greek Orthodox Tueni family founded the An-Nahar newspaper in 1933, also one of the leading newspapers today. Shireen Abu Akleh worked as a reporter for the Arabic-language channel Al Jazeera for 25 years. Popular Lebanese singer Fairuz has over 150 million records sold worldwide, making her the highest selling Middle-Eastern artist of all time. Other Lebanese singers include Majida El Roumi, legendary folk veteran Wadih El Safi, 'Queen of Arab pop' Nancy Ajram, and Lydia Canaan. Syrian notables include George Wassouf and Nassif Zeytoun. Palestinians include Lina Makhul, Fadee Andrawos, and Israeli singer Mira Awad. #### Role in Al-Nahda The Nahda (meaning "the Awakening" or "the Renaissance") was a cultural renaissance that began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It began in the wake of the exit of Muhammad Ali of Egypt from the Levant in 1840. Beirut, Cairo, Damascus and Aleppo were the main centers of the renaissance and this led to the establishment of schools, universities, theater and printing presses. This awakening led to the emergence of a politically active movement known as the "association" that was accompanied by the birth of Arab nationalism and the demand for reformation in the Ottoman Empire. This led to the calling of the establishment of modern states based on Europe. It was during this stage that the first compound of the Arabic language was introduced along with the printing of it in letters, and later the movement influenced the fields of music, sculpture, history, humanities, economics and human rights. This cultural renaissance during the late Ottoman rule was a quantum leap for Arabs in the post-industrial revolution, and is not limited to the individual fields of cultural renaissance in the nineteenth century, as the Nahda only extended to include the spectrum of society and the fields as a whole. Christian colleges (accepting of all faiths) like Saint Joseph University, American University of Beirut (Syrian Protestant College until 1920) and Al-Hikma University in Baghdad amongst others played a prominent role in the development of Arab culture. It is agreed amongst historians the importance the roles played by the Arab Christians in this renaissance, and their role in the prosperity through participation in the diaspora. Given this role in politics and culture, Ottoman ministers began to include them in their governments. In the economic sphere, a number of Christian families like the Greek Orthodox Sursock family became prominent. Thus, the Nahda led the Muslims and Christians to a cultural renaissance and national general despotism. This solidified Arab Christians as one of the pillars of the region and not a minority on the fringes. #### Religious Persecution The Massacre of Aleppo of 1850 often referred to simply as The Events was a riot perpetrated by Muslim residents of Aleppo, largely from the eastern quarters of the city, against Christian residents, largely located in the northern suburbs of the predominantly Christian neighbourhood Judayde (Jdeideh) and Salibeh. The Events are considered by historians to be particularly important in Aleppian history, for they represent the first time disturbances pitted Muslims against Christians in the region. The patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church Peter VII Jarweh was fatally wounded in the attacks and died a year later. 20–70 people died from rioting and 5,000 died as a result of bombardment. The relationship between the Druze and Christians has been characterized by harmony and peaceful coexistence, with amicable relations between the two groups prevailing throughout history, with the exception of some periods. The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus was a civil conflict and later massacre started in Mount Lebanon during Ottoman rule in 1860–1861. Following decisive Druze victories and massacres against the Christians, the conflict spilled over into other parts of Ottoman Syria, particularly Damascus, where thousands of Christian residents were killed by Druze and Muslim militiamen. With the connivance of the military authorities and Turkish soldiers, Druze and Muslim paramilitary groups organised pogroms in Damascus which lasted three days (9–11 July). By the war's end, around 20,000 Christians had been killed in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, and many villages and churches were destroyed. Historian Mikhail Mishaqas' memoir of the massacre is valuable to historians, as it is the only account written by a survivor from Damascus. Melkite Greek Catholic and Maronite Christians suffered negligence from the Ottoman authorities and a naval blockade from France and Britain, resulting in the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon (1915–1918) during World War I, which ran in conjunction with the Armenian genocide, the Assyrian genocide and the Greek genocide. The Mount Lebanon famine caused the highest fatality rate by population during World War I. Around 200,000 people starved to death when the population of Mount Lebanon was estimated to be 400,000 people. The Lebanese diaspora in Egypt funded the shipping of food supplies to Mount Lebanon, sent via the Syrian Island town of Arwad. On 26 May 1916, Lebanese-American writer Khalil Gibran wrote a letter to Mary Haskell that read: > "The famine in Mount Lebanon has been planned and instigated by the Turkish government. Already 80,000 have succumbed to starvation and thousands are dying every single day. The same process happened with the Christian Armenians and applied to the Christians in Mount Lebanon." #### Regional Conflicts During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, a number of Palestinian Greek Orthodox and Melkite communities were ethnically cleansed and driven out of their towns, including al-Bassa, Ramla, Lod, Safed, Kafr Bir'im, Iqrit, Tarbikha, Eilabun and Haifa. Many Christian towns or neighborhoods were ethnically cleansed and destroyed during the period between 1948 and 1953. All the Christian residents of Safed, Beisan, Tiberias were removed, and a big percentage displaced in Haifa, Jaffa, Lydda and Ramleh. Arab Christian Constantin Zureiq was the first to coin the term "Nakba" in reference to the 1948 Palestinian exodus. In 1975, the Lebanese Civil War occurred between two broad camps, the mainly Christian 'rightist' Lebanese Front consisting of Maronites and Melkites, and the mainly Muslim and Arab nationalist 'leftist' National Movement, supported by the Druze, Greek Orthodox and the Palestinian community. The war was characterized by the kidnap, rape and massacre of those caught in the wrong place as each side eliminated 'enemy' enclaves – mainly Christian or Muslim low-income areas. In 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon with the aim of destroying the PLO, which it besieged in West Beirut. Israel was later obliged to withdraw as a result of multiple guerrilla attacks by the Lebanese National Resistance Front and increasing hostility across all forces in Lebanon to their presence. With the events of the Arab Spring, the Syrian Arab Christian community was heavily hit in line with other Christian communities of Syria, being victimized by the war and specifically targeted as a minority by Jihadist forces. Many Christians, including Arab Christians, were displaced or fled Syria over the course of the Syrian Civil War, however the majority stayed and continue to fight with the Syrian Armed Forces and the allied Eagles of the Whirlwind (armed wing of the SSNP) against insurgents today. When the conflict in Syria began, it was reported that Christians were cautious and avoided taking sides, but that due to the increased violence in Syria and ISIL's growth, Arab Christians have shown support for Assad, fearing that if Assad is overthrown, they will be targeted. Christians support the Assad regime based on fear that the end of the current government could lead to instability. The Carnegie Middle East Center stated that the majority of Christians are more in support of the regime because they fear a chaotic situation or to be under the control of the Islamist Western and Turkish backed armed groups. ### Arab Diaspora Millions of people are descended from Arab Christians and they live outside the Middle East, in the Arab diaspora. They mainly reside in the Americas, but many people of Arab Christian descent also reside in Europe, Africa and Oceania. Among them, one million Palestinian Christians live in the Palestinian diaspora and 6–7 million Brazilians are estimated to have Lebanese ancestry. Mass Arab immigration started in the 1890s as Lebanese and Syrian people fled from the political and economic instability which was caused by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. These early immigrants were known as Syro-Lebanese, Lebanese and Palestinians, or Turks. The majority of Arab Americans are Christians. According to the 2000 United States census, there were at least 3.5 million Arabs living in the United States, with around 40% of them originating from Lebanon. The majority of them are members of the Christian faith, making up 63% of the overall Arab American population. Historical events that caused the mass-emigration of Arab Christians include: 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, 1915–1918 Great Famine of Mount Lebanon, 1948 Palestinian exodus, 1956–57 exodus and expulsions from Egypt, Lebanese civil war, and the Iraq war. #### Role in Al-Mahjar The Mahjar (one of its more literal meanings being "the Arab diaspora") was a literary movement that succeeded the Nahda movement. It was started by Christian Arabic-speaking writers who had emigrated to America from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine at the turn of the 20th century. The writers of the Mahjar movement were stimulated by their personal encounter with the Western world and participated in the renewal of Arabic literature, hence their proponents referred to as writers of the "late Nahda". The Pen League was the first Arabic-language literary society in North America, formed initially by Syrians Nasib Arida and Abd al-Masih Haddad. Members of the Pen League included: Kahlil Gibran, Elia Abu Madi, Mikhail Naimy, and Ameen Rihani. Eight out of the ten members were Greek Orthodox and two were Maronite Christians. The league dissolved following Gibran's death in 1931 and Mikhail Naimy's return to Lebanon in 1932. Naimy was made famous internationally for his spiritual writings, most notably The Book of Mirdad. #### Notables Notable diaspora figures include Swiss businessman of Lebanese Greek Orthodox descent Nicolas Hayek, and Mexican business magnate of Maronite descent, Carlos Slim. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by the Forbes magazine. Figures in entertainment include actors Omar Sharif (Melkite-born), Salma Hayek, Tony Shalhoub, Vince Vaughn, Danny Thomas, Oscar award winner F. Murray Abraham and film director Youssef Chahine. Figures in academics include plant biologist Joanne Chory, scholar Nassim Nicholas Taleb, cardiac and vascular surgeon Michael DeBakey, inventor of the iPod and co-inventor of the iPhone Tony Fadell, mathematician Michael Atiyah, professor Charles Elachi, intellectual Edward Said, and Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry Elias James Corey and Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine Peter Medawar. Other notables include legendary White House reporter Helen Thomas, activist and presidential candidate Ralph Nader, judge Rosemary Barkett, and US governor and academic administrator Mitch Daniels. ## Identity ### Denominations The "Arab Christian" label largely belongs to followers of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Maronite Church, and Oriental Orthodox Churches, though there are also members of other churches, including the Catholic Latin Church and Protestant Churches. ### Self-identification The issue of self-identification arises regarding specific Christian communities across the Arab world. A significant proportion of Maronites claim descent from the Phoenicians, whilst a significant proportion of Copts claim that they descend from the Ancient Egyptians. #### Arab The designation "Greek" in the Greek Orthodox Church and Melkite Greek Catholic Church refers to the use of Koine Greek in liturgy, used today alongside Arabic. As a result, the Greek dominated clergy was commonplace serving the Arabic speaking Christians, the majority who couldn't speak Greek. Some viewed Greek rule as cultural imperialism and demanded emancipation from Greek control, as well as the abolishment of the centralized structure of the institution via Arab inclusion in decision-making processes.The struggle for the Arabization of the Eastern Orthodox Church against the Greek clerical hegemony in Palestine led Orthodox Christian intellectuals to rebel against the Church's Greek dominated hierarchy. The rebellion was divided between those who sought a common Ottoman cause against European intrusions and those who identified with Arab nationalism against pan-Turkic (Ottoman) nationalism. Its main advocates were well known community leaders and writers in Palestine, such as Ya'qub Farraj, Khalil al-Sakakini, Yusuf al-Bandak (publisher of Sawtal-Sha'b) and cousins Yousef and Issa El-Issa (founders of Falastin). The cousins were among the first to elucidate the Arab struggle against the Greek clerical hegemony of the Church of Jerusalem. Both Sakakini and El-Issa argued that the Palestinian and the Syrian (Antiochian) community constituted an oppressed majority, controlled and manipulated by a minority Greek clergy. There have been numerous disputes between the Arab and the Greek leadership of the church in Jerusalem from the Mandate onwards. Jordan encouraged the Greeks to open the Brotherhood to Arab members of the community between 1948 and 1967 when the West Bank was under Jordanian rule. Land and political disputes have been common since 1967, with the Greek priests portrayed as collaborators with Israel. Land disputes include the sale of St. John's property in the Christian quarter, the transfer of fifty dunams near Mar Elias Monastery, and the sale of two hotels and twenty-seven stores on Omar Bin Al-Khattab square near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A dispute between the Palestinian Authority and the Greek Patriarch Irenaios led to the Patriarch being dismissed and demoted because of accusations of a real estate deal with Israel. It was later ruled uncanonical by Patriarch Bartholomew. #### Rūm The homeland of the Antiochian Greek Christians, known as the Diocese of the East, was one of the major commercial, agricultural, religious, and intellectual areas of the Roman Empire, and its strategic location facing the Persian Sassanid Empire gave it exceptional military importance. They are either members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch or the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, and they have ancient roots in the Levant; more specifically, the territories of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Hatay, which includes the city of Antakya (ancient Antioch). Antiochian Greeks constitute a multi-national group of people and thus construct their identity in relation to specific historical moments. Analyzing cultural identity as a conscious construction is more helpful than a simple labelling of ethnicity, thus the identity is assumed to accentuate the separate origin unique to the Christian Rūm (literally "Eastern Romans") of the Levant. Some members of the community also call themselves Melkite, which means "monarchists" or "supporters of the emperor" (a reference to their past allegiance to Macedonian and Roman imperial rule) although in the modern era, that term tends to be more commonly used by followers of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. The Orthodox Christian congregation was included in an ethno-religious community, Rum Millet ("Roman nation"), during the Ottoman Empire. Its name was derived from the former Eastern Roman (Byzantine) subjects of the Ottoman Empire, but all Orthodox Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians, Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians and Serbs, as well as Georgians and Middle Eastern Christians, were considered part of the same millet in spite of their differences in ethnicity and language. Belonging to this Orthodox commonwealth became more important to the common people than their ethnic origins. #### Chaldean The former Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Emmanuel III Delly, made the following comment in a 2006 interview: > "Any Chaldean who calls himself an Assyrian is a traitor and any Assyrian who calls himself Chaldean is a traitor." The Chaldean Church—which had been part of the Nestorian Church, or Church of the East, until 1552–3—began in earnest to distance itself from the Nestorians who were now seen as the 'uncouth Assyrians'. During this period, many Chaldeans began identifying themselves solely by their religious community, and later as Iraqis, Iraqi Christians, or Arab Christians, rather than with the Assyrian community as a whole. The first split for the two groups came in 431, when they broke away from what was to become the Roman Catholic church over a theological dispute. The reverberation of religious animosity between these communities still continues today, a testament to the machinations of power politics in the nation-building of the Middle East. The Iraqi Chaldeans positioned themselves deliberately as a religious group within the Arab Iraqi nation. The Arab identity of the state was not only acceptable to them, but was even staunchly endorsed. The Arab nationalism they supported did not discriminate according to religion and was therefore also acceptable to them. Today, due to both forced and accepted Arabization, many Chaldeans identify themselves situationally as Arabs. The Assyrians/Syriacs (including Chaldeans) form the majority of Christians in Iraq, northeast Syria, south-east Turkey and north-west Iran. They are specifically defined as non-Arab indigenous ethnic group, including by the governments of Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Israel, and Turkey. ## Culture Christianity in the Middle East represents a large part of the region's diverse culture mosaic. The region includes the oldest Christian monuments in addition to the liturgy and hymns that have spread since the second century AD throughout the region. Christian Arabs celebrate various holy days, including the Feast of the Cross, Eid il-Burbara, Christmas, the Feast of St. George, and the Feast of the Prophet Elijah. In Christian traditions, Sergius and Bacchus are considered the patron saints of Arabs. There are no major cultural differences between Christian Arabs and the general Arab environment. Some differences arise from religious differences, for example, customs and traditions related to marriage or burial. Also, in social events in which the participants are Christians, alcoholic beverages are often served (apart from those denominations that encourage teetotalism), unlike what is prevalent in most Arab societies because Islamic law forbids strong drink. Christian cuisine is similar to other Middle Eastern cuisines; unlike in Jewish cuisine and Islamic cuisines in the region, pork is allowed among Arab Christians, though it is not widely consumed. Male circumcision is near-universal among Christian Arabs, and they practice it shortly after birth as part of a rite of passage, though the practice of circumcision was dropped in the New Testament, meaning that the mainstream Churches do not oblige their followers to do so. In some Eastern Christian denominations, such as Coptic Christianity, male circumcision is an established practice, and require that their male members undergo circumcision shortly after birth as part of a rite of passage. ## Demographics Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world. ### Algeria Christianity came to Algeria in the Roman era, and declined after the arrival of Islam in the 7th century. A notable Berber Christian of Algeria was Saint Augustine (and his mother Saint Monica), important saints in Christianity. Prior to independence from France in 1962, Algeria was home to 1.4 million pieds-noirs (ethnic French who were mostly Catholic). Arguably, many more Maghrebi Christians live in France than in North Africa, due to the exodus of the pieds-noirs in the 1960s. In 2009, the percentage of Christians in Algeria was less than 2%. In this same survey, the United Nations counted 100,000 Catholics and 45,000 Protestants in the country. A 2015 study estimates 380,000 Muslims converted to Christianity in Algeria. Conversions have been most common in the Kabylie. Charles de Foucauld was renowned for his missions in Algeria among Muslims, including Arabs. ### Bahrain Native Christians who hold Bahraini citizenship number approximately 1,000 persons. The majority of Christians are originally from Iraq, Palestine and Jordan, with a small minority having lived in Bahrain for many centuries; the majority have been living as Bahraini citizens for less than a century. There are also smaller numbers of native Christians who originally hail from Lebanon, Syria, and India. The majority of Christian Bahraini citizens tend to be Orthodox Christians, with the largest church by membership being the Greek Orthodox Church. They enjoy many equal religious and social freedoms. Bahrain has Christian members in the Bahraini government. ### Egypt The Copts in Egypt constitute the largest Christian community in the Middle East, as well as the largest religious minority in the region, accounting for an estimated 10% of Egyptian population. Since antiquity, there has always been a Levantine presence in Egypt, however they started becoming a distinctive minority in Egypt around the early 18th century. The Syro-Lebanese Christians of Egypt were highly influenced by European culture and established churches, printing houses and businesses across Egypt. Their aggregate wealth was reckoned at one and a half billion francs, 10% of the Egyptian GDP at the end of the 20th century. They took advantage of the Egyptian constitution that established the juridical equality of all citizens and granted the Syro-Lebanese Christians the fullness of civil rights, prior to the Nasser reforms. ### Iraq The Arab Christian community in Iraq is relatively small, and further dwindled due to the Iraq War to just several thousand. Most Arab Christians in Iraq belong traditionally to Greek Orthodox and Catholic Churches and are concentrated in major cities such as Baghdad, Basra and Mosul. The vast majority of the remaining 450,000 to 900,000 Christians in Iraq are Assyrian people. Significant persecution of Iraqi Christians in Mosul and other areas held by ISIS occurred from 2014 onwards, with Christian houses identified as "N" for "Nasrani" (Christian). ### Israel In December 2009, 122,000 Arab Christians lived in Israel, as Arab citizens of Israel, out of a total of 151,700 Christian citizens. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, on the eve of Christmas 2013, there were approximately 161,000 Christians in Israel, about 2 percent of the general population in Israel. 80% of the Christians are Arab with smaller Christian communities of ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians/Syriacs. As of 2014 the Melkite Greek Catholic Church was the largest Christian community in Israel, where about 60% of Israeli Christians belonged to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, while around 30% of Israeli Christians belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. The Christian communities in Israel run numerous schools, colleges, hospitals, clinics, orphanages, homes for the elderly, dormitories, family and youth centers, hotels, and guesthouses.The city of Nazareth has the largest Arab Christian community in Israel, followed by the cities of Haifa, Jerusalem and Shefa-Amr. The Christian Arab communities in Nazareth and Haifa tend to be wealthier and better educated compared to other Arabs elsewhere in Israel. Christians live in a number of other towns in Galilee either singly or mixed with Muslims and Druze, such as Abu Snan, Arraba, Bi'ina, Daliyat al-Karmel, Deir Hanna, Eilabun, Hurfeish, I'billin, Isfiya, Jadeidi-Makr, Jish, Kafr Kanna, Kafr Yasif, Kisra-Sumei, Maghar, Mazra'a, Muqeible, Peki'in, Rameh, Ras al-Ein, Reineh, Sakhnin, Shefa-Amr, Tur'an, Yafa an-Naseriyye and others have a presence of Arab Christian communities too as do other mixed cities, especially Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Ramleh, Lod, Acre, Nof HaGalil, and Ma'alot Tarshiha. It is reported that all the inhabitants of Fassuta and Mi'ilya are Melkite Christians. Arab Christians are one of the most educated groups in Israel. Maariv has described the Christian Arabs sectors as "the most successful in education system". Statistically, Christian Arabs in Israel have the highest rates of educational attainment among all religious communities. According to a data by Israel Central Bureau of Statistics in 2010, 63% of Israeli Christian Arabs have had college or postgraduate education, the highest of any religious and ethno-religious group. Christian Arabs also have one of the highest rates of success in the matriculation examinations per capita, (73.9%) in 2016 both in comparison to Muslims, Druze, Jews and all students in the Israeli education system as a group. Arab Christians were also the vanguard in terms of eligibility for higher education. They have attained a bachelor's degree and academic degree more than Jewish, Muslims and Druze per capita. The rate of students studying in the field of medicine was also higher among the Christian Arab students, compared with all the students from other sectors. Despite the fact that Arab Christians only represent 2.1% of the total Israeli population, in 2014 they accounted for 17.0% of the country's university students, and for 14.4% of its college students. Socio-economically, Arab Christians are closer to the Jewish population than to the Muslim population. They have the lowest incidence of poverty and the lowest percentage of unemployment which is 4.9% compared to 6.5% among Jewish men and women. They have also the highest median household income among Arab citizens of Israel and second highest median household income among the Israeli ethno-religious groups. According to study the majority of Christians in Israel (68.2 per cent) are employed in the service sector, i.e. banks, insurance companies, schools, tourism, hospitals etc. Among Arab Christians in Israel, some emphasize pan-Arabism, whilst a small minority enlists in the Israel Defense Forces. ### Jordan Jordan contains some of the oldest Christian communities in the world, their presence dating back to the first century AD. Today, Christians make up about 4% of the population, down from 20% in 1930. This is due to high immigration rates of Muslims into Jordan, higher emigration rates of Christians to the west and higher birth rates for Muslims. Christians in Jordan are exceptionally well integrated in the Jordanian society and enjoy a high level of freedom. Christians are allotted nine out of a total of 130 seats in the Parliament of Jordan, and also hold important ministerial portfolios, ambassadorial appointments, and positions of high military rank. All Christian religious ceremonies are publicly celebrated in Jordan. Jordanian Arab Christians (some have Palestinian roots since 1948) number around 221,000, according to a 2014 estimate by the Orthodox Church. The study excluded minority Christian groups and the thousands of western, Iraqi and Syrian Christians residing in Jordan. Another estimate suggests the Orthodox number 125–300,000, Catholics at 114,000 and Protestants at 30,000 for a total 270–450,000. Most native Christians in Jordan identify themselves as Arab, though there are also significant Assyrian and Armenian populations in the country. There has also been an influx of Christian refugees escaping Daesh, mainly from Mosul, Iraq, numbering about 7000 and 20,000 from Syria. King Abdullah II of Jordan has made firm statements about Arab Christians: > "Let me say once again: Arab Christians are an integral part of my region's past, present, and future." ### Kuwait Kuwait's native Christian population exists, though is essentially small. There are between 259 and 400 Christian Kuwaiti citizens. Christian Kuwaitis can be divided into two groups. The first group includes the earliest Kuwaiti Christians, who originated from Iraq and Turkey. They have assimilated into Kuwaiti society, like their Muslim counterparts, and tend to speak Arabic with a Kuwaiti dialect; their food and culture are also predominantly Kuwaiti. They makeup roughly a quarter of Kuwait's Christian population. The rest (roughly three-quarters) of Christian Kuwaitis make up the second group. They are more recent arrivals in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly Kuwaitis of Palestinian ancestry who were forced out of Palestine after 1948. There are also smaller numbers who originally hail from Syria and Lebanon. This second group is not as assimilated as the first group, as their food, culture, and Arabic dialect still retain a Levant feel. However, they are just as patriotic as the former group, and tend to be proud of their adopted homeland, with many serving in the army, police, civil, and foreign service. Most of Kuwait's citizen Christians belong to 12 large families, with the Shammas (from Turkey) and the Shuhaibar (from Palestine) families being some of the more prominent ones. ### Lebanon Lebanon holds the largest number of Christians in the Arab world proportionally and falls just behind Egypt in absolute numbers. About 350,000-450,000 of Christians in Lebanon are Orthodox and Melkites, while the most dominant group are Maronites with about 1 million population, whose Arab identity is contentiously disputed. Lebanese Christians are the only Christians in the Middle East with a sizable political role in the country. In accordance with the National Pact, the President of Lebanon must be a Maronite Christian, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and Deputy Prime Minister a Greek Orthodox Christian and Melkites and Protestants have nine reserved seats in the Parliament of Lebanon. The Maronites and the Druze founded modern Lebanon in the early eighteenth century, through the ruling and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" in Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate. Christians constituted 60% of the population of Lebanon in 1932. The exact number of Christians in modern Lebanon is uncertain because no official census has been made in Lebanon since 1932. Lebanese Christians belong mostly to the Maronite and Greek Orthodox Churches, with sizable minorities belonging to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and Armenian Apostolic Church. The community of Armenians in Lebanon is politically and demographically significant. ### Libya Christianity had a presence in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica in Roman times. The Coptic population in Libya is estimated to number 60,000. A 2015 estimates some 1,500 Christian believers from a Muslim background residing in the country. ### Morocco Christianity in Morocco appeared during the Roman times, when it was practiced by Christian Berbers in Roman Mauretania Tingitana, although it disappeared after the Islamic conquests. Morocco was home to half a million Christian Europeans (mostly of Spanish and French ancestry) prior to Moroccan independence. The U.S. State Department estimates the number of Arab and Berber Christians in Morocco as more than 40,000. Pew-Templeton estimates the number of Moroccan Christians at 20,000. The number of the Moroccans who converted to Christianity (most of them secret worshippers) are estimated between 8,000 and 50,000. ### Oman ### Palestine Most of the Palestinian Christians claim descent from the first Christian converts, Arameans, Ghassanid Arabs and Greeks who settled in the region. Between 36,000 and 50,000 Christians live in Palestine, most of whom belong to the Orthodox (Including Greek, Syriac and Armenian Orthodox), Catholic (Roman and Melchite) churches and Evangelical communities. The majority of Palestinian Christians live in the Bethlehem and Ramallah areas with a less number in other places. In 2007, just before the Hamas takeover of Gaza, there were 3,200 Christians living in the Gaza Strip. Half the Christian community in Gaza fled to the West Bank and abroad after the Hamas take-over in 2007. However, Palestinian Christians in Gaza face restrictions on their freedom of movement by the Israeli blockade, which has been cited as one of the reasons contributing to their dwindling numbers. Many Palestinian Christians hold high-ranking positions in Palestinian society, particularly at the political and social levels. They manage the high ranking schools, universities, cultural centers and hospitals, however, Christian communities in the Palestinian Authority and the Gaza Strip have greatly dwindled over the last two decades. The causes of the Palestinian Christian exodus are widely debated and it started since the Ottoman times. Reuters reports that many Palestinian Christians emigrate in pursuit of better living standards. The Vatican saw the Israeli occupation and the general conflict in the Holy Land as the principal reasons for the Christian exodus from the territories. The decline of the Christian community in Palestine follows the trend of Christian emigration from the Muslim-dominated Middle East. Some churches have attempted to ameliorate the rate of emigration of young Christians by building subsidized housing for them and expanding efforts at job training. ### Saudi Arabia Jubail Church is a 4th-century church building near Jubail. Some parts of modern Saudi Arabia, such as Najran, were predominantly Christian until the 7th to 10th century, when most Christians were expelled or converted to Islam or left the region via the Sea route to Asia, with which merchant trade already existed, others migrated north to Jordan and Syria. Some Arab Christians who remained living as crypto-Christians. Some Arabian tribes, such as Banu Taghlib and Banu Tamim, followed Christianity. Today, Saudi Arabia's Arab Christian population consists mostly of Lebanese and Syrians living in diaspora. ### Sudan There were approximately 1.1 million Catholics in Sudan, about 3.2 percent of the total population. Sudan forms one ecclesiastical province, consisting of one archdiocese (the Archdiocese of Khartoum) and one suffragan diocese (the diocese of El Obeid). The vast majority of Sudan's Catholics ended up in South Sudan after the partition. ### Syria The Arab Christians of Syria are Greek Orthodox and Melkite Greek Catholic, as well as some Latin Church Catholics. Non-Arab Syrian Christians include Assyrians/Syriacs (mainly in the northeast), Greeks and Armenians. Assyrian Iraqi Christian refugees fled to Syria after massacres in Turkey and Iraq during and after WWI and then post-2003. Due to the Syrian civil war, a large number of Christians fled the country to Lebanon, Jordan, and Europe, though the major share of the population still resides in Syria (some being internally displaced). Western Aramaic is spoken by Arab Christians and Muslims alike in remote villages in Syria, including Maaloula, Jubb'adin and Bakhah. The largest Christian denomination in Syria is the Greek Orthodox church, most of whom are Arab Christians, followed in second place by the Syriac Orthodox, many of whose followers espouse an Assyrian identity. The combined population of Syria and Lebanon in 1910 was estimated at 30% in a population of 3.5 million. According to the 1960 census in Syria which recorded just over 4.5 million inhabitants, Christians formed just under 15% of the population (or 675,000). Since 1960 the population of Syria has increased five-fold, but the Christian population only 3.5 times. Due to political reasons, no newer census has been taken since. Most recent estimates prior to the Syrian civil war suggested that overall Christians were about 10% of the overall population of Syrian 23 million citizens, due to having lower birth rates and higher emigration rates than their Muslim compatriots. Although religious freedom is allowed in the Syrian Arab Republic, all citizens of Syria including Christians, are subject to the Shari'a-based personal status laws regulating child custody, inheritance, and adoption. For example, in the case of divorce, a woman loses the right to custody of her sons when they reach the age of thirteen and her daughters when they reach the age of fifteen, regardless of religion. ### Tunisia Christianity came in Tunisia during Roman rule. However, after the arrival of Islam, the population of Christians decreased in the country. Prior to Tunisian independence, Tunisia was home to 255,000 Christian Europeans (mostly of Italian and Maltese ancestry). The International Religious Freedom Report of 2007 reported that the Christian community numbered 50,000 people, 20,000 of whom were Catholics. In the Annuario Pontificio of 2018, the number of Catholics is estimated to have risen to 30,700. However, the number of Tunisian Christians is estimated to be around 23,500. The Roman Catholic Church in Tunisia operates 12 churches, 9 schools and several libraries throughout the country. In addition to holding religious services, the Catholic Church opened a monastery, freely organized cultural activities, and performed charitable work throughout Tunisia. According to church leaders, there are 2,000 practicing Protestant Christians, most of them are Tunisians who converted to Christianity. There is also a small community of Jehovaha's Witnesses numbering around 50, only half of which identify as Arab. ### Turkey Today, there are more than 120,000–320,000 people of various Christian denominations in Turkey. Antiochian Greeks who mostly live in Hatay Province, are one of the Arabic-speaking communities in Turkey, their number approximately 18,000. They are Greek Orthodox. However, they are sometimes known as Arab Christians, primarily because of their language. Antioch (capital of Hatay Province) is also the historical capital of Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. Turkey is also home to a number of non-Arab Armenians (who number around 70,000), Greeks (who number around 5,000 not including Antiochian Greeks) and Assyrian Christians in the southeast (who number more than 25,000). The village of Tokaçlı in Altınözü District has an entirely Arab Christian population and is one of the few Christian villages in Turkey. ### Yemen Christianity was a widespread religion on the territory of contemporary Yemen as early as in 6th century before arrival of Islam in Yemen. Today it is a minority religion in Yemen with only a few thousand followers which has greatly been reduced amid the Yemeni Civil War. ## See also - Christianity and Islam - Christianity in the Middle East - Christian influences on the Islamic world - List of Christian terms in Arabic - Bible translations (Arabic) - Arab Orthodox Society - John of Damascus
36,348,125
Meica Horsburgh
1,158,620,409
Australian goalball player
[ "1989 births", "Goalball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics", "Goalball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics", "Goalball players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics", "Living people", "Paralympic goalball players for Australia", "People from Redland City" ]
Meica Jayne Horsburgh (née Christensen; born 24 February 1989) is an Australian goalball player. She began playing the sport in 2004, the same year she made her national team debut. After the national team took a three-year break, she was named the captain in 2010 and played in the Goalball World Championships. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and was at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics. ## Personal Horsburgh was born in Wynnum North, Queensland, on 24 February 1989. She has a visual disability, with partial sight. She attended Cavendish Road State High School, and played in a goalball demonstration game there in 2004. Other sports she participates in include skiing. In 2005, she lived in Birkdale, Queensland, but was living in Wellington Point again by 2011. In 2011, she worked at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital as an administrator. She is married to Australian goalball player Jon Horsburgh. ## Goalball Horsburgh is a goalball player, and is classified as a B3 competitor. She started playing the sport in 2004, when she was 15-years-old. In 2005, she played in the New Zealand Goalball Nationals for the Queensland women's goalball team. Horsburgh made her national team debut in 2004, the same year she started playing the sport, when she played in a game against Sweden women's national goalball team in Malmö, Sweden, as part of a ten-team Malmö Women's International Cup that included seven teams that had qualified for the 2004 Summer Paralympics. She was coached in the competition by Robyn Stephens. In late 2004, she had a goal of making the Paralympic team for the 2008 Summer Paralympics, but the Australian team did not qualify. She was named the national team captain in 2010. In her role as captain, she plays the song "The Final Countdown" before competitions. Going into the 2010 Goalball World Championships with the national team not having played a match in three years, her team finished eighth. She was the national team captain again in 2011, and was with the team during the 2011 IBSA Africa Oceania Goalball Regional Champions, which served as the Paralympic qualifying tournament. In her first game against New Zealand, her team won 11-4 after leading 7–1 at the half. She scored seven goals in the team's victory. She also played in the final match against New Zealand women's national goalball team. Australia won the game against New Zealand by a score of 6–2, Horsburgh scored three goals, the second one from a penalty shot. She finished the competition as the fifth highest scorer, and her team finished sixth overall. Horsburgh was named to the Aussie Belles team going to the 2012 Summer Paralympics. She was the team's longest serving member going into the Games, and the team's captain. That the team qualified for the Games came as a surprise, as the Australian Paralympic Committee had been working on player development with an idea of the team qualifying for the 2016 Summer Paralympics, and an Australian team had not participated since the 2000 Summer Paralympics, when they earned an automatic selection as hosts, and the team finished last in the competition. The country has not medalled in the event since 1976. Going into the Paralympic Games, her team was ranked eighth in the world. In the 2012 Summer Paralympics tournament, the Belles played games against Japan, Canada, the United States and Sweden. They lost every game, and did not advance to the finals. She scored three goals. The Belles originally failed to qualify for the 2016 Paralympic Games after finishing third at the IBSA Goalball Asia Pacific Championships in Hangzhou, China. They were displaced to allow for an African team, Algeria as it turned out, to compete in goalball for the first time. But following the re-allocation of Russia's spot, the Belles found themselves getting a last-minute invite to Rio de Janeiro. They entered the tournament ranked ninth in the world. They performed better this time, fighting Uzbekistan to a draw, but they needed a win or draw in their final game against Canada to progress to the quarter finals, but lost 6–0, ending their second Paralympic campaign. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, Horsburgh and the other members of the Belles team comprising Raissa Martin, Jennifer Blow, Amy Ridley, Brodie Smith, and Tyan Taylor won two group stage games out of four and qualified for the quarterfinals. The team lost to Turkey 10-6 and failed to win a medal. Horsburgh was the leading goal scorer, scoring in every game she played, except for the loss to China where Australia were beaten 6–0. ## See also - Australia women's national goalball team
4,132,958
Thailand at the 2002 Winter Olympics
997,857,278
null
[ "2002 in Thai sport", "Nations at the 2002 Winter Olympics", "Thailand at the Winter Olympics by year" ]
Thailand sent a delegation to compete at the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States from 8–24 February 2002. The delegation consisted of a single representative, cross-country skier Prawat Nagvajara. He failed to finish the 30 kilometre freestyle mass start and placed 67th in the sprint ## Background Thailand first joined Olympic competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and, except for the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics, has participated in every Summer Olympics since. Prawat Nagvajara qualified for the 2002 Winter Olympics, marking the first time Thailand had a participant in any Winter Olympic Games. As the only participant for Thailand, he was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. ## Cross-country skiing Prawat Nagvajara was 43 years old at the time of the Salt Lake City Olympics, and was serving as an associate professor of computer and electrical engineering at Drexel University in the United States. After training on roller skis, he hired a coach, former Bulgarian bi-athlete Pepa Miloucheva, in the run-up to the Olympics. On 9 February, Nagvajara took part in the 30 kilometre freestyle mass start, where any competitor lapped by the leader was eliminated, and he failed to finish the race. On 19 February, Nagvajara was a competitor in the sprint and finished the qualification race in a time of 4 minutes and 14 seconds, which was good for 67th place. Only the top 16 from the qualifying round were allowed to proceed to the next stage, meaning he was eliminated. He would later go on to represent Thailand at the 2006 Winter Olympics in the 15 kilometres classical event. ## See also - Thailand at the 2002 Asian Games
53,784,778
Third Eye Shoppe
1,161,172,620
Defunct head shop in Portland, Oregon
[ "1987 establishments in Oregon", "2017 disestablishments in Oregon", "Cannabis in Oregon", "Companies based in Portland, Oregon", "Defunct retail companies of the United States", "Retail companies disestablished in 2017", "Retail companies established in 1987", "Richmond, Portland, Oregon" ]
Third Eye Shoppe, commonly known as The Third Eye, was a head shop in Portland, Oregon's Hawthorne district and Richmond neighborhood, in the United States. The shop was founded in 1987 and owned by cannabis and counterculture activist Jack Herer. His son, Mark Herer, took over as the shop's owner in 2001. The Third Eye closed on March 31, 2017, as a result of declining sales, development of the surrounding neighborhood, increasing health care costs, and increased competition. The shop was associated with Portland's cannabis culture and recreational drug tourism, and was included in Willamette Week's annual "Best of Portland" reader's poll several times. ## Description The Third Eye was a head shop on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, near its intersection with Southeast Cesar Chavez Boulevard, in southeast Portland's Richmond neighborhood. The store sold common head shop paraphernalia, including: bongs, books, bumper stickers, clothing, crystals, Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia memorabilia, hookahs, incense, posters, rolling papers, tie-dyed shirts, and vaporizers. According to The Oregonian, The Third Eye was also a "link to the city's lively and long history with marijuana activism". The store was owned by cannabis and counterculture activist Jack Herer (1939–2010). Herer's son, Mark, who later owned the shop, described The Third Eye as "a hippie, Grateful Dead department store". Cannabis activist Russ Belville compared the establishment to a "Prohibition-era speakeasy". Images of Garcia and Herer were displayed to "keep watch over the shop". ## History In the late 1980s, Jack Herer and his friend "Captain" Ed Adair purchased the "funky" building that would house The Third Eye, which formerly served as a two-story house, for around \$100,000. The shop opened on July 1, 1987, and became known for its "eye-catching" exterior. Madeline Martinez recalls drafting Oregon Ballot Measure 67—which modified state law to allow the cultivation, possession, and use of cannabis by doctor recommendation for patients with certain medical conditions, after passing in 1998—on the shop's second floor, alongside other cannabis activists. She has said, "A lot of the beginnings of the movement itself took place in that building." In 2001, Mark Herer, took over as owner of The Third Eye. The store thrived during the 2000s, and employed as many as a dozen employees, each of whom received health insurance benefits. However, business declined sharply in 2016, and Herer estimates a loss of \$500,000 in sales compared to 2015 because of competition from local cannabis stores and head shops, as well as online retail outlets. In March 2017, The Third Eye announced its closing at the end of the month (March 31). Herer said the decision to close the shop was difficult, but "necessary as sales have steeply declined in recent years". In addition to lower sales, road construction, the development of the surrounding neighborhood, increasing health care costs, and "changing tastes and preferences of the modern cannabis consumer" were cited as reasons for the closure. Russ Belville called the closure "a natural evolution" of the cannabis movement which, according to The Oregonian, "in recent years has tried to shed its counterculture associations to appeal to a more mainstream audience". Belville said, "[The store is] just a relic from another era where those of us in the cannabis community were always outlaws." The Third Eye hosted a farewell party during its last days to show its gratitude to customers. The business was one of Portland's oldest head shops before its closure, operating for nearly thirty years. According to Herer, the building which housed The Third Eye was sold to a commercial developer for \$1 million cash, two hours after being listed. He anticipated the building's demolition, and told The Oregonian that he left the business \$60,000 in debt. ## Reception The Third Eye was associated with Portland's cannabis culture and recreational drug tourism. The shop was included in Pedal Bike Tours' popular Pot Tour, an educational and recreational tour of the city's marijuana-friendly sites, established in 2015. Zoe Wilder described the shop as a "funky counterculture boutique" in her Merry Jane article, "5 Stoner-Friendly Things to Do When Visiting Portland, Oregon". The shop was included in Willamette Week's annual "Best of Portland" reader's poll several times. In 2005, The Third Eye won in the Best Head Shop category. In 2015 readers named it Best Head Shop, Best Vape Shop, and runner-up for Best Smoke Shop, and in 2016 Best Head Shop and runner-up for Best Smoke Shop.
35,809,619
Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury
1,149,614,174
Cancelled Star Trek video game
[ "1997 in video gaming", "Action-adventure games", "Cancelled Windows games", "Single-player video games", "Video games based on Star Trek: The Original Series" ]
Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury is a cancelled action-adventure game, in development by Interplay Entertainment from 1997 until its cancellation in 1999. Based on the Star Trek: The Original Series license, the game would have followed Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise through a series of adventures regarding the Vulcan and Romulan races. Secret of Vulcan Fury was to have been the latest in a series of games produced by Interplay based on the license. It would have featured a control method similar to those seen in LucasArts games of that period, and nearly seven hours of full motion video capture using clay models. The storyline was written by former Star Trek writer D.C. Fontana, while the script was created by John Meredyth Lucas. A promotional cereal competition was run in conjunction with Quaker Oats. Despite this promotion, the game was cancelled with estimates placing it at only 5% completion. The cast of The Original Series had already recorded their voices. Lead engineer Thom Robertson later explained the studio had underestimated the cost of the game and the difficulties in filming the clay models. ## Overview The game was to be set in the 23rd century and across four independent stories which would have revolved around ancient secrets in the history of the Vulcan and Romulan races. The episodes allow the player to assume the roles of Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. Leonard McCoy, Lt. Hikaru Sulu, Ensign Pavel Chekov, and Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott. The first episode was to involve the murder of a Romulan ambassador who was seeking to reunite the races, placing the player in control of Dr. McCoy initially. The character that the player controlled would change as they progressed through the game. The creators sought to have the player control Spock during one of the Vulcan's mind melds. The ending of the game would have seen the player control Kirk, Spock and Chekov in an attempt to stop the titular superweapon. The interface for the game revolved around a menu which appears after the mouse button is held down while the cursor is hovering over an object. This was to prevent the need for controls to be shown on screen at all times, in a manner similar to LucasArts games of that period. ## Development The game was announced by Interplay Entertainment on June 19, 1997, and was initially scheduled to be released on CD-ROM for Windows 95 in November 1997. Interplay had previously produced a number of Star Trek games, including Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Judgment Rites. The game was developed by Tribal Dreams, an in-house division of Interplay. The storyline was written by D. C. Fontana, who was a writer on both Star Trek: The Original Series and season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the script was directed by John Meredyth Lucas who had previously written and directed episodes of The Original Series. Fontana and Lucas had previously collaborated on the episodes "The Enterprise Incident" and "The Ultimate Computer". In writing the storyline, Fontana wrote dialogue for more puzzle branches than were planned by the developers. The entire main cast of The Original Series recorded their voices for the project. Brian Murray, who was hired to storyboard the game, suggested spinning the camera around the Enterprise crew as they used the transporter to merge their original location into their destination. The game was expensive to create, and used motion capture techniques of clay models for the on-screen 3-D animation. The game used the same graphics engine both for normal gameplay and for cutscenes. The quality of the footage was described as similar to the cutscenes in Blade Runner (1997), but Tribal Dreams intended to remove the "robotlike stare" of the characters as seen in that game. Quaker Oats signed a promotional deal to feature the game on cereal boxes in a promotion beginning in April 1998, which featured both a competition to win a visit to the one of the series sets and a \$10 rebate for either Secret of Vulcan Fury or Starfleet Academy. Secret of Vulcan Fury was cancelled in February 1999, following the continued departure of staff and because of financial problems at Interplay. During the production, three separate producers and the lead artist quit. At the time the project was shut down, it was estimated that less than 5% of the game had been completed. Lead engineer Thom Robertson later explained that the company had massively underestimated the cost of production, having expected to produce nearly seven hours of full motion video for 5% of the budget of a computer generated film such as Toy Story. They also had problems with the filming of the stop motion, as one three-day shoot was ruined when the director had red dots painted across the green screen in the hope that it would help with camera tracking. Further issues arose with the shoot as they had used a painted screen, which faded during the shoot causing problems in merging the video. Additional artists were then taken from other projects in order to mitigate those issues. The graphics designed for a Vulcan character were later used by artist Scott Bieser as a basis for the Klingon captain Klunk for the video game Star Trek: New Worlds.
4,369,910
Peterotica
1,142,721,240
null
[ "2006 American television episodes", "Family Guy (season 4) episodes" ]
"Peterotica" is the 24th episode from season four of the animated comedy series Family Guy. The episode was originally broadcast on April 23, 2006, and was written by Patrick Meighan and directed by Kurt Dumas. The title of the episode is a portmanteau of "Peter" and "Erotica". The plot follows Peter's brief career writing erotic novels. After Peter asks Carter Pewterschmidt for publishing money, Carter is sued by a man who has a car accident while listening to an audiobook of one of Peter's novels; the settlement forces Carter into bankruptcy. Peter attempts to help Carter accept life as a middle-class citizen, then decides to work with Carter so they can both become wealthy, but gives up after multiple failed attempts. Carter soon gets his fortune back when his wife returns to him, and he resumes hating Peter. Meanwhile, Stewie attempts to train for the Olympics, despite discouraging comments from Brian. ## Plot Peter, Joe, and Cleveland accompany Quagmire to a sex shop called Pornoslavia. Peter buys an erotic book entitled Much Ado About Humping and finds it disappointing. Peter writes a letter to the author including an example of what he would consider a better writing style for an erotic novel, which impresses his friends when he reads it to them. Encouraged by their enthusiasm, Peter decides to write his own erotic novel, which is received well by all who read it. The novels he authors are converted into audio books read by Betty White, and "published" by Peter's father-in-law, Carter Pewterschmidt, who only gave Peter \$5 for photocopies. While listening to one of Peter's audio books, an aroused driver tries to take off his shirt while driving and crashes his car into the Kool-Aid Man's house. The man sues Carter, who is liable as the publisher. Carter immediately loses his fortune. Blaming Peter for his penniless state, Carter arrives at the Griffin house intending to shoot Peter. Lois persuades Carter to spare him, and Peter agrees to let Carter live with them until he has income. Barbara divorces Carter and marries Ted Turner. Peter attempts to teach Carter how to live as a "regular person", but Carter does not acclimate well. Peter and Carter attempt to make money, robbing a train after several other failed attempts, but the robbery is unsuccessful also. Carter punches Peter into the Kool Aid Guy's house after many repairs. As Peter and Carter begin to accept that they will never be rich, Barbara returns and informs Carter that they are rich again, because she has divorced Ted Turner and taken half his assets. Despite Peter's help, Carter abandons him. Lois informs Peter she refused \$10 million that her parents offered her 10 years ago as she believed that the family didn't need money; as she explains this, Peter fantasizes about killing her. Meanwhile, Stewie trains in gymnastics to participate in the Olympics. ## Production "Peterotica" was written by Patrick Meighan and directed by Kurt Dumas. The episode ran into multiple objections from broadcasting standards and the show's producers. For instance, the original title of the episode was "A Connecticut Yankee and King Arthur's Butt", but broadcasting standards objected. A sequence showing all of the different erotic novels written by Peter was edited for the television version; one entitled Catcher in the Eye was removed from the television version as broadcasting standards disliked the cover, which implied her eye was a target for semen during ejaculation. The scene of Peter reading his new erotic novel to Lois was never cut from airing, although the producers of Family Guy had some trouble with it, as it is the second semen joke of the episode. When Lois's father, Carter, sits down at the breakfast table, Lois states: "Daddy, did you remember to clean up?" Originally, she was meant to say, "Daddy, did you remember to wipe yourself?", but broadcasting standards objected, so it was modified to "Daddy, did you remember to clean yourself?" However, standards still objected, so it was changed to its current version. Stewie is seen practicing for the Olympics and is disturbed by Chris; this scene was originally meant to be the start of a subplot in which Stewie would build a machine to make Chris intelligent. Although it would be successful, Chris would become more clever than Stewie. The subplot was scrapped because it was deemed not funny enough. The gag in which Peter is a landlord over a rat family in the Griffin family basement was removed from television broadcasting for timing purposes. The "thinking grenade" sketch, in which Peter uses live grenades to help him think, was originally intended to be used in "PTV" in a scene in The Drunken Clam, but there were no windows in the Clam nearby for Peter to throw the grenades through, so instead of adding windows to the building's design for that episode, the gag was moved to this episode. The "naughty flapper girl" gag was included in the original draft of the episode. ## Cultural references The episode features multiple references to popular culture. The song Quagmire sings in the sex shop is a part of "Make 'Em Laugh" from the 1952 musical film Singin' in the Rain. The erotic book Peter buys at the sex shop is Much Ado About Humping, a parody of the William Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. The four porn books shown on screen are references to works of literature: Angela's Asses to Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, Catcher in the Eye to Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Shaved New World to Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Harry Potter and the Half Black Chick to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling. After returning from the porn shop, Peter is shown watching an episode of Blind Justice. The lawyer who attempts to sue Carter is forced into a battle with a rancor in a scene that mirrors Luke Skywalker's fight with the Rancor in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi. When Peter and Carter are trying to make money, they start their own sitcom called Quahog Creek, a ripoff of The WB's Dawson's Creek. The theme song "I Don't Want to Wait" uses misinterpreted lyrics of the actual theme song performed by Paula Cole. While Peter and Carter try to steal money from Lois's purse, Peter balances on a unicycle and hums Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance". When waiting in line at the movies, Peter tells Carter about a new movie, The Picnic, starring Jude Law and Renée Zellweger. The song used is "Roll to Me", by Del Amitri. A reference to The Simpsons' appearance in The Tracey Ullman Show is made when the Griffins are shown as characters in the show. Family Guy producer David A. Goodman comments that, contrary to what some think, the show was not trying to criticize The Simpsons, but, rather, trying to show the differences in voices and character appearance. ## Reception In a review of the Family Guy, Volume Four DVD collection, Mike Drucker of IGN singled out "Peterotica" and "PTV" as "new classics." In a review of the episode, Bob Sassone of TV Squad commented on the scene where Peter acts as a landlord over a rat, writing, "to be honest, I'm not even sure what the hell was going on there, it was so disturbing." Geoffrey D. Roberts of Real Talk Reviews criticized the episode, writing that "the story is thin and the laughter absent." The episode sparked controversy over a depiction of the Charwoman cleaning character, a character used by Carol Burnett in The Carol Burnett Show that was used in the episode without her consent. Burnett sued, but the case was later dismissed.
12,743,987
History of Lima
1,134,433,772
History of Lima, Peru
[ "History of Lima" ]
The history of Lima, the capital of Peru, began with its foundation by Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535. The city was established on the valley of the Rímac River in an area populated by the Ichma polity. It became the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and site of a Real Audiencia in 1543. In the 17th century, the city prospered as the center of an extensive trade network despite damage from earthquakes and the threat of pirates. However, prosperity came to an end in the 18th century due to an economic downturn and the Bourbon Reforms. The population of Lima played an ambivalent role in the 1821–1824 Peruvian War of Independence; the city suffered exactions from Royalist and Patriot armies alike. After independence, Lima became the capital of the Republic of Peru. It enjoyed a short period of prosperity in the mid-19th century until the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific when it was looted and occupied by Chilean troops. After the war, the city went through a period of demographic expansion and urban renewal. Population growth accelerated in the 1940s spurred by immigration from the Andean regions of Peru. This gave rise to the proliferation of shanty towns as public services failed to keep up with the city expansion. ## Foundation In the pre-Columbian era, the location of what is now the city of Lima was inhabited by several Amerindian groups. Prior to the arrival of the Inca Empire, the valleys of the Rímac and Lurín rivers were grouped under the Ichma polity. Their presence left a mark in the form of some 40 pyramids associated to the irrigation system of the valleys. In 1532, a group of Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro ambushed the Inca ruler Atahualpa and searched for a suitable place to establish his capital. His first choice was the city of Jauja, located amid the Andes, however this location was regarded as inconvenient for its high altitude and being far from the sea. Spanish scouts reported a better site in the valley of the Rímac, which was close to the Pacific Ocean, had ample water and wood provisions, extensive fields and fair weather. Pizarro thus founded the city of Lima in Peru's central coast on January 18, 1535. Carlos Huerta writes in his Chronology of the conquest of the kingdoms of Peru – Cronología de la conquista de los Reinos del Perú: > Foundation of Lima. The city capital of Peru was founded on 18 January and was called Ciudad de los Reyes (City of Kings) in honor of the feast of the holy kings who was celebrated. Began in the church, the foundation and the plane of the city, where Pizarro put the first stone. In August 1536, the new city was besieged by the troops of Manco Inca, the leader of an Inca rebellion against Spanish rule. The Spaniards and their native allies, headed by Pizarro himself, defeated the rebels after heavy fighting in the city streets and its surroundings. On November 3, 1536, the Spanish Crown confirmed the founding and, on December 7, 1537, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor granted a coat of arms to the city. ## Colonial period Over the next few years, Lima shared the turmoil caused by struggles between different factions of Spaniards. At the same time it gained prestige as it was designated capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and site of a Real Audiencia in 1543. Latin America and Lima's first university, the National University of San Marcos was established in 1551 and its first printing press in 1584. Lima also became an important religious center, a Roman Catholic diocese was established in 1541 and converted to an archdiocese five years later. In 1609, the city held celebrations for the beatification of Ignatius of Loyola. Lima flourished during the 17th century as the center of an extensive trade network which integrated the Viceroyalty of Peru with the Americas, Europe and the Far East. Its merchants channeled Peruvian silver through the nearby port of Callao and exchanged it for imported goods at the trade fair of Portobelo in modern-day Panama. This practice was sanctioned by law as all trade from the Viceroyalty was required to go through Callao on its way to and from overseas markets. The resulting economic prosperity of the city was reflected in its rapid growth, population expanded from about 25,000 in 1619 to an estimated 80,000 in 1687. However, Lima was not free from dangers. On October 20 and December 2, 1687, powerful earthquakes destroyed most of the city and its surroundings. The outbreaks of disease and food shortages which followed the disaster caused a reduction of the population to under 40,000 by 1692. A second threat was the presence of pirates and privateers in the Pacific Ocean. A Dutch naval expedition led by Jacques l'Hermite attacked the port of Callao in 1624 but was repelled by Viceroy Diego Fernández de Córdoba. In the 1680s, English buccaneers proliferated in the waters of the Pacific until they were routed by Lima merchants in 1690. As a precautionary measure, Viceroy Melchor de Navarra y Rocafull built the Lima City Walls between 1684 and 1687. The 1687 earthquake marked a turning point in the history of Lima as it coincided with a recession in trade, a reduction of silver production and economic competition by other cities such as Buenos Aires. To add to these problems, on October 28, 1746, a powerful earthquake severely damaged the city and destroyed Callao, forcing a massive rebuilding effort under Viceroy José Antonio Manso de Velasco. This disaster led to an intense devotion for an image of Christ called The Lord of the Miracles, which has been taken out in procession every October since 1746. During the late colonial period, under the rule of the House of Bourbon, the ideas of the Enlightenment on public health and social control shaped the development of Lima. New buildings undertaken during this period include a cockfighting coliseum and a bullring, the Plaza de toros de Acho, as well as the General Cemetery. The first two were built to regulate these popular activities by centralizing them at a single venue, while the cemetery put an end to the practice of burials at churches which public authorities had come to realize were unhealthy. ## Independence During the second half of the 18th century, Lima was adversely affected by the Bourbon Reforms as it lost its monopoly on overseas trade and the important mining region of Upper Peru was transferred to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This economic decline made the city's elite dependent on royal and ecclesiastical appointment and thus, reluctant to advocate independence. In the 1810s, the city became a Royalist stronghold during the South American wars of independence led by a strong viceroy, José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa. A combined expedition of Argentinian and Chilean patriots under General José de San Martín managed to land south of Lima on September 7, 1820 but did not attack the city. Faced with a naval blockade and the action of guerrillas on land, Viceroy José de la Serna was forced to evacuate the city in July 1821 to save the Royalist army. Fearing a popular uprising and lacking any means to impose order, the city council invited San Martín to enter Lima and signed a Declaration of Independence at his request. However, the war was not over; in the next two years the city changed hands several times and suffered exactions from both sides. By the time the war was decided, at the Battle of Ayacucho on December 9, 1824, Lima was considerably impoverished. ## Republican period After the war of independence, Lima became the capital of the Republic of Peru but economic stagnation and political turmoil brought its urban development to a halt. This hiatus ended in the 1850s, when increased public and private revenues from guano exports led to a rapid expansion of the city. In the next two decades, the State funded the construction of large size public buildings to replace colonial establishments; these included the Central Market, the General Slaughterhouse, the Mental Asylum, the Penitentiary, and the Dos de Mayo Hospital. There were also improvements in communications; a railroad line between Lima and Callao was completed in 1850 and an iron bridge across the Rímac River, the Balta Bridge, was opened in 1870. The city walls were torn down in 1872 as further urban growth was expected. However, the export-led economic expansion also widened the gap between rich and poor, fostering social unrest. During the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific, Chilean troops occupied Lima after defeating Peruvian resistance in the battles of San Juan and Miraflores. The city suffered the depredations of the invaders, who looted public museums, libraries and educational institutions. At the same time, angry mobs attacked wealthy citizens and the Asian population, sacking their properties and businesses. After the war, the city underwent a process of urban renewal and expansion from the 1890s up to the 1920s. As downtown Lima had become overcrowded, the La Victoria residential area was established in 1896 as a working-class neighborhood. During this period the urban layout was modified by the construction of big avenues which crisscrossed the city and connected it with neighboring towns such as Miraflores. In the 1920s and 1930s, several buildings of the historic centre were rebuilt including the Government Palace and the Municipal Palace. On May 24, 1940, an earthquake hit the city, which at that time was mostly built out of adobe and quincha. In the 1940s, Lima started a period of rapid growth spurred by immigration from the Andean regions of Peru. Population, estimated at 600,000 in 1940, reached 1.9 million by 1960 and 4.8 million by 1980. At the start of this period, the urban area was confined to a triangular area bounded by the city's historic center, Callao and Chorrillos; in the following decades settlements spread to the north, beyond the Rímac River, to the east, along the Central Highway, and to the south. Immigrants, at first confined to slums in downtown Lima, led this expansion through large-scale land invasions which gave rise to the proliferation of shanty towns, known as barriadas, renamed as pueblos jóvenes in the 1980s and latter called "Human Settlements" during the 1990s. Major public works were carried out throughout this period, mainly under the governments of Manuel A. Odría (1948–1956) and Juan Velasco Alvarado (1968–1975). Brutalism dominated in the 1970s as exemplified in the massive headquarters built for Petroperú, the state-owned petroleum company. According to the 1993 census, the city population had reached 6.4 million, 28.4% of the total population of Peru compared to just 9.4% in 1940. ## See also - Historic Centre of Lima - History of Peru - List of mayors of Lima - Timeline of Lima
13,298,928
Cöln-class cruiser
1,167,731,486
Class of light cruisers of the German Imperial Navy
[ "Cruiser classes", "Cöln-class cruisers", "World War I cruisers of Germany" ]
The Cöln class of light cruisers was Germany's last class commissioned before her defeat in World War I. Originally planned to comprise ten ships, only two were completed; Cöln and Dresden. Five more were launched, but not completed: Wiesbaden, Magdeburg, Leipzig, Rostock and Frauenlob, while another three were laid down but not launched: Ersatz Cöln, Ersatz Emden and Ersatz Karlsruhe (for the last three, the names quoted were only provisional titles to be used during construction, and the three would have received other names at their launch if that had taken place). The design was a slightly modified version of the preceding Königsberg class. Cöln and Dresden joined the High Seas Fleet in 1918, which limited their service careers. They were assigned to the II Scouting Group, and participated in an abortive fleet operation to Norway to attack British convoys. They were to have led attacks on British merchant traffic designed to lure out the British Grand Fleet and force a climactic fleet battle in the final days of the war, but the Wilhelmshaven Mutiny forced the cancellation of the plan. The two ships were interned and eventually scuttled in Scapa Flow in June 1919. Both Dresden and Cöln remain on the bottom of Scapa Flow. ## Design By 1916, thirteen German light cruisers had been lost in the course of World War I. To replace them, the Kaiserliche Marine ordered ten new cruisers built to a modified Königsberg-class design. All ten ships were laid down in 1915 and 1916. Cöln was built by the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Bremen. Wiesbaden and Rostock were built at AG Vulcan in Stettin, and Leipzig, Ersatz Cöln, and Ersatz Emden were ordered from the AG Weser dockyard in Bremen. Dresden and Magdeburg were built at the Howaldtswerke shipyard in Kiel, while Frauenlob and Ersatz Karlsruhe were built by the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel. Cöln and Dresden, the only two ships to be completed, were launched on 5 October 1916 and 25 April 1917, respectively. Wiesbaden was launched on 3 March 1917 and was five months away from completion when she was canceled in December 1918. Magdeburg followed on 17 November 1917; she was nine months from being finished when she was canceled. Leipzig was launched on 28 January 1918 and canceled seven months from completion. Rostock followed on 6 April, and also was seven months away from being finished. Frauenlob, the last ship of the class to be launched, on 16 September, was about thirteen months away from completion when she was canceled. The last three ships were canceled while still on the slipway. ### General characteristics and machinery The ships of the class were 149.80 meters (491 ft 6 in) long at the waterline and 155.50 m (510 ft 2 in) long overall. They had a beam of 14.20 m (46 ft 7 in) and a draft of 6.01 m (19 ft 9 in) forward and 6.43 m (21 ft 1 in) aft. The ships had a designed displacement of 5,620 metric tons (5,530 long tons), and at full load, they displaced 7,486 t (7,368 long tons). Their hulls were built with longitudinal steel frames. The hulls were divided into twenty-four watertight compartments and incorporated a double bottom that extended for forty-five per cent of the length of the keel. The ships had a complement of 17 officers and 542 enlisted men. They carried several smaller vessels, including one picket boat, one barge, one cutter, two yawls, and two dinghies. The German Navy regarded the ships as good sea boats, having gentle motion. The ships were highly maneuverable and had a tight turning radius, but lost speed going into a turn; in hard turns, they lost up to sixty percent of their speed. They were stern-heavy. Their propulsion systems consisted of two sets of steam turbines, which drove a pair of screw propellers that were 3.50 m (11 ft 6 in) in diameter. Steam was provided by eight coal-fired and six oil-fired Marine-type water-tube boilers. The boilers were ducted into three funnels amidships. Electrical power was provided by two turbo generators and one diesel generator, which had a total output of 300 kilowatts at 220 volts. Steering was controlled by a single, large rudder. The engines were rated to produce 31,000 shaft horsepower (23,000 kW) for a top speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph). On trials, Cöln reached 48,708 shp (36,322 kW) and a top speed of 29.3 kn (54.3 km/h; 33.7 mph), while Dresden made 49,428 shp (36,858 kW) and 27.8 kn (51.5 km/h; 32.0 mph). Coal storage was 300 t (300 long tons; 330 short tons) as designed, though up to 1,100 t (1,100 long tons; 1,200 short tons) could be carried. Fuel oil was initially 200 t (200 long tons; 220 short tons), and could be similarly increased to 1,050 t (1,030 long tons; 1,160 short tons). At a cruising speed of 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph), Cöln could steam for approximately 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi), while Dresden could steam for 5,400 nmi (10,000 km; 6,200 mi) at the same speed. At a higher speed of 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph), the range fell considerably, to 1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi). ### Armament and armor The ship was armed with eight 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns in single pedestal mounts. Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle, four were located amidships, two on either side, and two were arranged in a super firing pair aft. Aboard Cöln, the forward pair of amidships guns were placed on the forecastle deck, while on the rest of the ships in the class, they were placed one deck lower, on the upper deck. These guns fired a 45.3-kilogram (100 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 840 meters per second (2,800 ft/s). The guns had a maximum elevation of 30 degrees, which allowed them to engage targets out to 17,600 m (57,700 ft). They were supplied with 1,040 rounds of ammunition, for 130 shells per gun. The ships also carried three 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns mounted on the centerline astern of the funnels, though one was removed in 1918. These guns fired a 10 kg (22 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of 750 to 770 m/s (2,500 to 2,500 ft/s). She was also equipped with four 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes with eight torpedoes in deck-mounted swivel launchers amidships. The ships were also outfitted to carry up to 200 mines. The Cöln class ships were protected by an armor belt composed of Krupp cemented steel. It was 60 mm (2.4 in) thick amidships and 18 mm (0.71 in) forward. The stern was not protected by armor. The armored deck was 20 mm (0.79 in) thick in the stern, 40 mm (1.6 in) thick amidships, and 60 mm thick forward. Sloped armor 40 mm thick connected the deck and belt armor. The conning tower had 100 mm (3.9 in) thick sides and a 20 mm thick roof. The main battery guns were protected with 50 mm (2.0 in) thick gun shields. ## Ships of the class ## Service history After their commissioning, Cöln and Dresden joined the High Seas Fleet. They were assigned to the II Scouting Group, alongside the cruisers Königsberg, Pillau, Graudenz, Nürnberg, and Karlsruhe. The ships were in service in time for the major fleet operation to Norway in 23–24 April 1918. The I Scouting Group and II Scouting Group, along with the Second Torpedo-Boat Flotilla were to attack a heavily guarded British convoy to Norway, with the rest of the High Seas Fleet steaming in support. The Germans failed to locate the convoy, which had in fact sailed the day before the fleet left port. As a result, Admiral Reinhard Scheer broke off the operation and returned to port. In October 1918, the two ships and the rest of the II Scouting Group were to lead a final attack on the British navy. Cöln, Dresden, Pillau, and Königsberg were to attack merchant shipping in the Thames estuary while the rest of the Group were to bombard targets in Flanders, to draw out the British Grand Fleet. Scheer intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy, in order to secure a better bargaining position for Germany, whatever the cost to the fleet. On the morning of 29 October 1918, the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day. Starting on the night of 29 October, sailors on Thüringen and then on several other battleships mutinied. During the sailors' revolt, the crew of the battleship Markgraf refused to move out of Dresden's way; she aimed one of her 30.5 cm (12.0 in) gun turrets at Dresden, but then backed down and let Dresden leave the port. The ship then went to Swinemünde, where she was partially scuttled and subsequently re-floated and returned to seaworthy condition. The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation. When informed of the situation, the Kaiser stated, "I no longer have a navy." Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918, most of the High Seas Fleet's ships, under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow. Cöln and Dresden were among the ships interned. ### Postwar fates The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Versailles Treaty. Von Reuter believed that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June 1919, which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty. Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd, Reuter ordered the ships to be sunk at the next opportunity. On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers, and at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships. Cöln sank at 13:50 and was never raised for scrapping. Dresden also remains at the bottom of Scapa Flow. The eight ships that were not completed by the end of the war were formally stricken from the naval register on 17 November 1919. The navy considered selling the vessels for conversion into cargo ships, even those like Ersatz Karlsruhe that had had little work done; according to the proposals, they would have received diesel engines from unfinished U-boats. By 1920, the Deutsches Petroleumgesellschaft had acquired the rights to the ships, planning to convert them into oil tankers, and this plan was approved by the Naval Inter-Allied Commission of Control, which specified that any military features in the ships (to include side and deck armor and torpedo bulkheads) were to be removed and destroyed by 31 July 1921. By this time, Wiesbaden and Rostock had been towed to Lübeck, where conversion work had started. Their old machinery had been removed by November 1920 and their military features had been cut away by the NIACC deadline. Magdeburg had been similarly demilitarized at Howaldtswerke. The conversion program eventually fell apart, however, and all of the vessels were broken up. Magdeburg was sold on 28 October 1921 and broken up the next year at Kiel-Nordmole. Leipzig and Rostock were sold in 1921 and scrapped in Hamburg. Frauenlob was towed to the Deutsche Werke shipyard in 1921 and broken up. Ersatz Karlsruhe was dismantled on the slipway in 1920, and Ersatz Cöln and Ersatz Emden were sold on 21 and 25 June 1921, respectively. Both vessels had been launched at some point to clear the slipway, and by August 1920, Ersatz Emden had been towed to Bremen. Both ships were scrapped in 1921 in Hamburg.
48,975,579
1 November 1944 reconnaissance sortie over Japan
1,089,168,282
Sortie by US F-13 Superfortress aircraft
[ "1944 in Japan", "History of Tokyo", "November 1944 events", "World War II aerial operations and battles of the Pacific theatre", "World War II strategic bombing of Japan" ]
On 1 November 1944, a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) F-13 Superfortress conducted the first flight by an Allied aircraft over the Tokyo region of Japan since the Doolittle Raid in April 1942. This photo reconnaissance sortie returned with 7000 photographs which helped with planning air raids on Japan during the last months of World War II. Attempts by Japanese air units and anti-aircraft gun batteries to shoot down the F-13 failed, as the available fighter aircraft and guns could not reach the high altitude at which it operated. ## Background In late 1944 the United States Twentieth Air Force's XXI Bomber Command prepared to conduct strategic bombing raids on the Japanese home islands from bases in the Mariana Islands. These attacks were to replace the largely unsuccessful Operation Matterhorn raids which had been conducted by XX Bomber Command aircraft based in India and staging through bases in China since June 1944. While XX Bomber Command conducted photo reconnaissance sorties over Japan as part of this effort, the aircraft flying from China lacked the range to reach Japan's main industrial centers. Without photographic intelligence XXI Bomber Command was unable to develop detailed plans for raids against its intended targets. On 10 October 1944 the Committee of Operations Analysts, which provided advice to USAAF commanders on suitable strategic bombardment targets, recommended that photo reconnaissance flights be conducted over Japan's main industrial areas as soon as possible to provide intelligence which could be used to direct raids from the Mariana Islands. These operations were to be conducted by the 3d Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron (3d PRS), which was the only photo reconnaissance unit in the XXI Bomber Command. The 3d PRS had been formed on 10 June 1941. After conducting flights over the Americas, it was deployed to the China-Burma-India Theater. The unit flew mapping missions over the region from 10 December 1943 until it was disbanded and re-formed in the United States during April 1944 to be equipped with the new F-13 photo reconnaissance variant of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber. Due to delays to the development of the F-13, the 3d PRS was unable to commence training on the type until 24 August, and began to receive its first operational F-13s on 4 October. 3d PRS F-13s began to depart for Saipan in the Mariana Islands on 19 October, where they would be supported by the unit's ground echelon which had arrived on 18 September. ## Photo reconnaissance sortie The first two 3d PRS F-13s arrived at Saipan on 30 October after a 33-hour flight from Mather Field in California via Oahu and Kwajalein. While the commander of the XXI Bomber Command, Brigadier General Haywood S. Hansell, encouraged the exhausted airmen to rest, they insisted on conducting a flight over Japan as soon as possible. At 5.55 am on 1 November an F-13 whose crew was led by Captain Ralph D. Steakley took off from Saipan bound for Japan. Weather conditions over Tokyo were perfect for photo reconnaissance, with the skies free of clouds. Flying at 32,000 feet (9,800 m), Steakley's aircraft repeatedly passed over a complex of aircraft and engine plants to the west of Tokyo, before moving on to photograph a similar facility near the city of Nagoya. Overall, the American airmen took 7,000 photos during the mission. While most of the photos of Tokyo were of industrial areas, the aircraft also photographed the densely populated urban areas of the city which were firebombed later in the war. Steakley was surprised to encounter strong winds, and reported that his ground speed over Tokyo was sometimes only about 70 miles per hour (110 km/h). The jet stream over this region was not known to the USAAF at the time, and greatly complicated XXI Bomber Command's later air raids. The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service's 47th Sentai provided fighter cover for Tokyo on 1 November. The unit's Nakajima Ki-44 fighters began to take off from Narimasu airfield to intercept the F-13 at 1 pm. These aircraft were not designed to be used at high altitudes, and the Japanese airmen were unable to get closer than about 3,300 feet (1,000 m) from Steakley's aircraft. Two formations of fighters fired machine guns at the F-13, but did not hit it. Several batteries of Japanese anti-aircraft guns also unsuccessfully fired on the American aircraft. The F-13 was the first American aircraft to fly over Tokyo since the Doolittle Raid in April 1942, and was seen by many Japanese civilians. Its presence over the city and the failure of the military to shoot it down increased the concerns many had over the course of the war. ## Aftermath The F-13 returned to Saipan after a 14-hour flight. By the next day the crew had named the aircraft "Tokyo Rose" in reference to the propaganda broadcaster. Steakley received the Distinguished Flying Cross for the flight, and the other members of the crew were also later decorated. It took weeks to process all of the photographs and months to fully analyse them. The photographs taken during the sortie were an important source of intelligence for the Twentieth Air Force and other American units, especially as 1 November proved to be the only day of the air campaign against Japan in which weather conditions over the home islands were entirely clear of cloud. Hansell later said the sortie had been probably the greatest single contribution to the air war with Japan. The 3d PRS flew 16 more sorties over Japan before XXI Bomber Command's first raid against Tokyo on 24 November, but several of these missions were frustrated by bad weather. One F-13 was lost during a mission to Nagoya on 21 November, but the squadron had nine aircraft at Saipan by the end of the month. The 3d PRS continued to fly reconnaissance sorties over Japan until the end of the war.
57,840,616
Hurricane Beryl
1,171,419,946
Category 1 Atlantic hurricane in 2018
[ "2018 Atlantic hurricane season", "2018 in Puerto Rico", "Cape Verde hurricanes", "Category 1 Atlantic hurricanes", "July 2018 events in North America", "Tropical cyclones in 2018" ]
Hurricane Beryl was a fast-moving and long-lived tropical cyclone that formed in the main development region. The second named storm and first hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Beryl formed from a vigorous tropical wave that moved off the west coast of Africa on July 1. The wave quickly organized into a tropical depression over the central Atlantic Ocean on July 4. Rapid intensification took place and the depression quickly became a tropical storm at 00:00 UTC the next day. Just less than 15 hours later, on July 6, Beryl strengthened into the first hurricane of the season, reaching its peak intensity on July 6. Increasingly unfavorable conditions caused a rapid deterioration of the cyclone shortly after its peak, with Beryl falling to tropical storm status on the next day, as it began to accelerate towards the Caribbean. Late on July 8, it degenerated into a tropical wave shortly before reaching the Lesser Antilles. The remnants were monitored for several days, although they failed to organize significantly until July 14, when it regenerated into a subtropical storm, six days after it lost tropical characteristics. However, the newly reformed storm quickly lost convection, and it degenerated into a remnant low early on July 16, while situated over the Gulf Stream. Beryl subsequently dissipated on the next day. Many places in Beryl's track were still recovering from hurricanes Irma and Maria, which hit the Eastern Caribbean in September 2017; structures were let deficient to strong winds. Beryl prompted multiple islands in the Lesser Antilles to issue warnings and watches, including a hurricane watch as it was initially expected to pass through the islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe as a hurricane. The storm weakened faster than expected and Beryl degenerated into a tropical wave before it reached the islands, though minimal effects were still felt across the eastern Caribbean. Beryl's remnants caused flash flooding and landslides across the island of Puerto Rico, and several people were trapped in their houses by floodwaters; approximately 47,000 lost power on the island. In the Dominican Republic, 9 in (230 mm) of rain caused rivers to overflow, and more than 130,000 customers lost power. Minor impacts were reported in the Lucayan Archipelago, Bermuda, and Atlantic Canada. Overall damage was estimated to be in the millions, and no fatalities were reported. ## Meteorological history A vigorous tropical wave with a large amount of convection, or thunderstorms, moved off the coast of Africa on July 1. However, most of the convective activity diminished as it moved west-southwestwards. Late on July 3, the NHC began tracking this disturbance while it was over the eastern tropical Atlantic for tropical cyclogenesis. The wave quickly organized over the next two days, with a concentrated area of thunderstorms over the low-level center and rainbands developing over the southern side of the disturbance. At 12:00 UTC on July 4, the wave organized into a tropical depression about 1,500 miles (1,300 nautical miles) west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. At 00:00 UTC on July 5, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Beryl while located at ; this was farther southeast than any other Atlantic cyclone on record so early in the calendar year. Due to its very small size, Beryl was prone to very quick changes in intensity, as the storm's tiny inner core could quickly spin up or spin down, depending on the atmospheric conditions. A mid-level eye becoming apparent as the system was consolidating on July 5. Despite relatively cool waters, Beryl began a period of rapid intensification late on July 5. The storm developed a 5 nmi (9.3 km) pinhole eye under a central dense overcast. Beryl strengthened into a hurricane at 06:00 UTC on July 6, becoming the third-earliest hurricane to form in the tropical Atlantic Ocean, behind the 1933 Trinidad hurricane and Hurricane Elsa of 2021, and the easternmost Atlantic hurricane to form from a tropical wave prior to the month of August since reliable records began in 1850. Simultaneously, the small cyclone's pinhole eye became visible. Throughout the day, the strengthening trend leveled off, and Beryl's eye became cloud-filled. By 21:00 UTC on July 6, Beryl lost its pinhole eye as it tracked towards an environment of higher wind shear. The storm began to gain latitude on July 7, as the storm began losing organization. Dry air began to infiltrate the core of the hurricane, causing its center to become exposed, and Beryl soon weakened back to a tropical storm at 12:00 UTC on July 7. Beryl continued to quickly weaken as it accelerated towards the west-northwest. This trend of rapid weakening continued as wind shear increased upon the system, reducing the storm's structure into a swirl of mid- and low-level clouds. An Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft found no evidence of a closed circulation center, and radar from Martinique found no little to no circulation within the bursts of convection. Thus, at 12:00 UTC on July 8, Beryl degenerated into an open trough while located just 60 miles northeast of Martinique. The NHC opted to continue advisories, however, as it was impacting Dominica, discontinuing them afterwards. The National Hurricane Center noted that Beryl had a chance to redevelop near The Bahamas after wind shear decreased. The remnants continued moving westward into the eastern Caribbean while continuing to have tropical storm-force winds, due to a vigorous mid-level circulation. After passing south of Puerto Rico, the remnants eventually moved ashore in the Dominican Republic with gale-force winds, early on July 10. Strong upper-level winds prevented any redevelopment of the remnants of Beryl for several days as it moved across the island, and as it passed through the Bahamas into the Western Atlantic. The remnants moved northward and then northeastward around a subtropical ridge. As Beryl's remnants were located over the Bahamas, they became elongated and stretched several hundred miles across. By July 13, however, conditions became slightly more favorable for redevelopment, and the remnants of Beryl spawned a new circulation near the associated thunderstorms, though the remnants remained too disorganized for redevelopment at the time. The circulation became well-defined early on July 14, and due to influence from a baroclinic trough, thunderstorms developed and persisted near the storm's center, with gale-force winds detected east of the center. `After continued reorganization, Beryl was re-designated as a subtropical storm at 12:00 UTC that day, while located well off the East Coast of the United States. While convection and the strongest winds were near the center, the storm was deemed subtropical due it interacting with the upper-level trough. Convection decreased somewhat after Beryl was redesignated, though the remaining convection organized into a curved rainband. Beryl's center possibly reformed to the north into the rainband. Beryl reached its secondary peak intensity soon afterward, at 00:00 UTC on July 15, with maximum winds of 40 mph (64 km/h) and a pressure of 1,005 mbar (29.7 inHg). However, the rejuvenated storm soon began to weaken as nearby dry air intruded and weakened showers and thunderstorms associated with the storm, and impinging northwesterly shear further served to remove thunderstorm activity. Early on July 15, water vapor imagery indicated that Beryl had become fully intertwined` with and embedded within a cold-core low, causing the subtropical cyclone to slow down drastically over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. This incited thunderstorm formation, with an eye-like feature forming, surrounded by a "small donut ring" of convection. Later that day, however, Beryl degraded to a low to mid-level swirl of shallow clouds, while continuing on a northeastward course. After lacking thunderstorm activity near the center for twelve hours, Beryl degenerated into a remnant low at 03:00 UTC on July 16. Beryl's remnant low subsequently degenerated into a trough just south of Newfoundland on the next day. ## Preparations and impact The remnants of Beryl damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 structures. Total damage from the storm was estimated to be in the millions (2018 USD). ### Lesser Antilles On July 6, the Government of France issued a tropical storm watch for its overseas collective Saint Barthélemy. On July 7, the Government of France issued a tropical storm watch for Guadeloupe and its overseas collective Saint Martin in the Leeward Islands. In preparation for the hurricane's arrival, the Government of Barbados issued a hurricane watch for Dominica in the Windward Islands and a tropical storm watch for Barbados in the Lesser Antilles on July 6. At the same time, the Government of St. Lucia issued a tropical storm watch for St. Lucia. Earlier, France had issued a tropical storm watch for Martinique, also in the Windward Islands. The next day, the Government of Barbados replaced the hurricane watch with a tropical storm warning as Beryl weakened before making landfall. On July 8, the Government of Dominica ordered a curfew and declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm's passage. Dominican prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit told people to store water since the government shut down the water system as a protective measure. Skerrit said in a public address, "We have to continue to take the situation very seriously.[...]Move now. Go to your relatives.[...]Go to the shelters." Workmen at a resort in Dominica fortified the roofs on the cottages that survived Hurricane Maria. Beryl brought heavy rain and thunderstorms to Guadeloupe. Thunderstorms began on the evening of July 9 and lasted throughout the night. Localized amounts of 3.9 in (100 mm) were reported throughout the island. Rainfall peaked at 7.8 in (199 mm) in Saint-Claude; wind gusts averaged 50 to 56 mph (80 to 90 km/h) island-wide with a peak of 62 mph (99 km/h) in Le Moule. The resulting damage was limited, with some trees and power lines downed and localized flooding from runoff. The island remained on an Orange Warning until July 10, after the bulk of the rain passed due to a threat for isolated squally weather. Impacts in Dominica was minimal, with no flooding reported. ### U.S. Caribbean territories Flash flood watches and warnings were issued for most of the island of Puerto Rico by the National Weather Service in San Juan. On July 6, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, issued a state of emergency for the island, amid concerns that enhanced rainfall from Beryl or its remnants could lead to flash floods and mudslides, damaging infrastructure that was still recovering from hurricanes Irma and Maria from the previous season. Governor Rosselló reported that work will be suspended on July 9 for public employees. The governor and the Emergency Management and Disaster Administration met with mayors of cities and towns to discuss preparations ahead of the storm. The government opened 42 shelters for citizens to obtain relief from Beryl due to the demand of mayors around the territory. Long lines were reported at supermarkets as people shopped for food and water. Puerto Rican residents were filled with anxiety leading up to the storm. A government mental-health hotline recorded a spike in calls in the days leading up to the storm. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and FEMA staff monitored Beryl in case it made landfall in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). The EPA and FEMA worked with the government of Puerto Rico and the USVI to rebuild structures damaged by Hurricane Maria and prepare residents for Beryl and future storms. The EPA stationed approximately 60 employees in Puerto Rico and the USVI. Mass power outages were reported on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix, and officials ordered closures of schools and government offices. Due to the effects of previous Hurricanes Irma and Maria, over 60,000 people in Puerto Rico had blue tarps provided by FEMA as temporary roofs. However, tarps were easily blown off due to strong wind gusts from Beryl's remnants. Lieutenant Governor Luis Rivera Marín reported that some rivers began flooding by noon local time on July 9. Rainfall was the heaviest in Eastern Puerto Rico, where over 8 inches of rain fell. The enhanced rainfall also triggered flash flooding that closed several roadways and downed several trees. A landslide was reported in the town of Naranjito, although there were no reports of fatalities or injuries. A tree was blown down onto a road in Guayama. Floodwaters entered a residence in Las Piedras, trapping three people. The Fajardo River overflowed its banks, causing a road to be impassable. Vehicles were trapped on Puerto Rico Highway 909 near Humacao after the road was inundated by floodwaters. By the time the storm passed, approximately 47,000 Puerto Ricans lost power on the island as a result of gusty winds from squalls. ### Dominican Republic On July 10, the Dominican Republic Emergency Operations Center issued a red alert for the provinces of San Cristóbal, Greater Santo Domingo, and San Jose de Ocoa and a yellow alert for ten additional provinces. 104 people were evacuated and moved to the homes of relatives. More than 5,000 government workers were put on standby to respond to flooding. Heavy rainfall caused by the remnants of Beryl flooded hundreds of homes in the Dominican Republic. Countrywide, the Emergency Operations Center reported that the floods left around 11,740 people displaced. In addition, 19 communities were reported isolated due to flooding; 1,586 homes were damaged with four destroyed. Three bridges were damaged. The National Institute of Potable Waters and Sewers reported that 75 aqueducts were out of service due to the floods. Electrical companies reported that 138,948 customers were affected, mostly in Greater Santo Domingo and San Pedro de Macorís. A peak rainfall amount of 9.2 in (230 mm) fell in the country, far exceeding the 4 in (100 mm) forecast by the National Meteorological Office (Onamet). The floods left 130,000 people in the capital city of Santo Domingo without power. The National District received 9.1 in (230 mm) of rain in the first eight hours. Several sectors of the capital were flooded, and deficiencies in the drainage system in Greater Santo Domingo led major roadways and highways to be inundated. In San Cristóbal Province, the worst hit areas included the Municipality of Villa Altagracia, and other areas near the Haina River. A peak rainfall amount of 4.2 in (106 mm) was recorded. The Haina River overflowed, causing flooding up to roof height in some areas such as Manoguayabo, where emergency rescues were carried out. The governor of the province reported that 700 homes were flooded and the walls of two schools collapsed amid heavy rains and winds. The floods left 900 people displaced and floodwaters at a police station were knee-high. The winds and downpours caused the diversion of two flights coming from South America to the Las Américas International Airport as well as the delay of the departure of several flights to the United States. ### Elsewhere The remnants of Beryl caused locally heavy rainfall in The Bahamas. NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement mission core satellite found scattered thunderstorms causing torrential rainfall on some of the islands. The satellite estimated rainfall at a rate of more than 1.6 in (41 mm) on Crooked Island. As Beryl was redeveloping near Bermuda, a peak rainfall amount of 0.24 in (6.1 mm) was recorded, along with a peak wind gust of 37 mph (60 km/h). Post-Tropical Storm Beryl had little impact on Canada, as it mainly affected marine areas with winds below gale-force. No precipitation directly related to Beryl affected southeastern Newfoundland. ## See also - Other tropical cyclones named Beryl - List of Category 1 Atlantic hurricanes - Hurricanes in Hispaniola - Hurricane Joyce (2000) – low-latitude Category 1 hurricane that threatened similar areas. - Tropical Storm Erika (2009) – affected similar areas also as a tropical wave. - Hurricane Danny (2015) – another small tropical cyclone that rapidly developed. - Hurricane Elsa – another early-season hurricane that impacted the Antilles.
39,031
R. J. Mitchell
1,171,719,046
British aircraft designer (1895–1937)
[ "1895 births", "1937 deaths", "Aircraft designers", "Commanders of the Order of the British Empire", "Engineers from Southampton", "English aerospace engineers", "Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society", "People from Butt Lane", "Supermarine Spitfire" ]
Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE FRAeS (20 May 1895 – 11 June 1937) was a British aircraft designer who worked for the Southampton aviation company Supermarine from 1916 until 1936. He is best known for designing racing seaplanes such as the Supermarine S.6B, and for leading the team that designed the Supermarine Spitfire. Born in Butt Lane, Staffordshire, Mitchell attended Hanley High School and afterwards worked as an apprentice at a locomotive engineering works, whilst also studying engineering and mathematics at night. In 1917 he moved to Southampton to join Supermarine. He was appointed Chief Engineer in 1920 and Technical Director in 1927. Between 1920 and 1936 he designed 24 aircraft, which included flying boats and racing seaplanes, light aircraft, fighters, and bombers. From 1925 to 1929 he worked on a series of racing seaplanes, built by Supermarine to compete in the Schneider Trophy competition, the final entry in the series being the Supermarine S.6B. The S.6B won the trophy in 1931. Mitchell was authorised by Supermarine to proceed with a new design, the Type 300, which went on to become the Spitfire. In 1933, Mitchell underwent surgery to treat rectal cancer. He continued to work and earned his pilot's licence in 1934, but in early 1937, he was forced by a recurrence of the cancer to give up work. After his death that year, he was succeeded as chief designer at Supermarine by Joseph Smith. ## Family and education Reginald Joseph Mitchell was born on 20 May 1895 at 115 Congleton Road, Butt Lane, in Staffordshire, England. He was the second eldest of five children, and the eldest of three brothers. His father Herbert Mitchell was a Yorkshireman who became headmaster of three Staffordshire schools in the Stoke-on-Trent area, before he retired from teaching. He then helped to establish a printing business, Wood, Mitchell and C. Ltd, in Hanley. Herbert Mitchell's wife Eliza Jane Brain was the daughter of a cooper. When Reginald was a child, the family lived in Normacot, now a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent. Reginald (known to his family as "Reg") attended Queensberry Road Higher Elementary School from the age of eight, before moving on to Hanley High School. There he developed an interest in making and flying model aircraft. In 1911, after leaving school at the age of 16, he worked as an apprentice for Kerr Stuart & Co. of Fenton, a railway engineering works. After completing his apprenticeship he worked in the drawing office at Kerr Stuart, whilst studying engineering and mathematics at a local technical college, where he displayed a talent for mathematics. After leaving Kerr Stuart in 1916, Mitchell worked for a period as a part-time teacher. He applied to join the armed forces on two occasions, but was on each occasion rejected because of his training as an engineer. ## Career at Supermarine ### Early career and promotion In 1916, Mitchell joined the Supermarine Aviation Works at Southampton, possibly for a probationary period. Since its formation in 1912, the company had specialised in building flying boats, producing its first aircraft, the Pemberton-Billing P.B.1, in 1914. During the First World War, Supermarine was taken over by the British Government, and during this period the company produced the first British single-seat flying boat fighter, the Supermarine Baby. On joining the company, Mitchell was given the opportunity to develop skills in a number of roles, so as to gain experience of the aircraft industry. His basic engineering training would have helped him to become established, as he adjusted from working with locomotives to understanding aeroplanes. A competent mathematician, Mitchell's ability to think creatively and use his intuition when looking at a design was soon recognised. The earliest record of his work at Supermarine is as a draughtsman, and dates from 1916. By 1917, he had become assistant to the company's owner and designer, Hubert Scott-Paine. He is likely to have played a role in the development of the Baby when in 1919 it was adapted for racing for the Schneider Trophy, and was renamed the Supermarine Sea Lion. In 1918, Mitchell was promoted to become the works manager's assistant. When Supermarine's chief designer William Hargreaves left the company in the summer of 1919, he was replaced by Mitchell, who took up his new duties later that year, leading a team that had in 1918 consisted of six draughtsmen and a secretary. Following his promotion, the 19-year-old returned to Staffordshire and married his fiancée Florence Dayson, an infant school headmistress, who was 11 years his senior. By 1921 he had become Supermarine's chief engineer. Following the departure of Scott-Paine in November 1923, Mitchell was able to negotiate a new contract, which led to greater influence in the company. The 10-year contract was a sign of his indispensability to Supermarine. It is unclear how Mitchell came about to become so quickly promoted when he was still a young man, as few documents relating to his early career have survived. However, his early promotion was not usual at that time; other men of Mitchell's age held similar positions in other aircraft companies. Decades after his death, when approached for information about him, those surviving Supermarine colleagues who had known Mitchell were reluctant to recall their personal memories. ### 1920s civilian and military aircraft designs Between 1920 and 1936, Mitchell designed 24 aeroplanes. His early projects often involved adapting Supermarine's earlier aircraft; in June 1920 the Air Ministry announced a civilian aircraft competition, and Supermarine's entry for the competition was the Commercial Amphibian, an adaptation by Mitchell of the company's Supermarine Channel. The Amphibian finished second, but was judged the best of the three entrants in terms of design and reliability. His redesigned Supermarine Baby, renamed the Supermarine Sea King, was exhibited the Olympia International Aero Exhibition in 1920, the first international exhibition to be held in the UK since the end of World War I. In 1922, the Chilean government bought a Channel, modified by Mitchell. That year he redesigned a version of the Commercial Amphibian, the Supermarine Sea Eagle. Mitchell produced new designs for aircraft early in his career; he designed the Supermarine Seal II in 1920, and the triplane Flying Boat Torpedo Carrier the following year. The historian Ralph Pegram notes that the unbuilt Torpedo Carrier reveals the "first true indication of Mitchell's thoughts as a designer". In 1921 work began on the Supermarine Swan, a commercial carrier, but only the prototype was built. The Supermarine Seagull II—later used as the basis for future designs—began to receive production orders in 1922. The Amphibian Service Bomber was designed by Mitchell in 1924. Renamed the Supermarine Scarab, 12 aircraft were bought by the Spanish Navy; they remained in service until 1928. Supermarine's first design for a land aircraft, the Supermarine Sparrow, competed unsuccessfully during the Air Ministry's Light Air Competition of 1924, and subsequently failed to gain orders. A variant, the Supermarine Sparrow II, was used by Mitchell to test his different airfoil designs. Work on the Supermarine Southampton started in March 1924. It flew for the first time the following March, and entered service in July 1925. By the end of 1925, Mitchell's team had designed the Southampton II—the Southampton but with a metal hull. The plane, more powerful, lighter, and more durable than its predecessor, flew for the first time in 1927. A paper by Mitchell on the use of the Southampton appeared in the March 1926 edition of Flight magazine. In 1928, a flight of Supermarine Southampton IIs left Felixstowe on 14 October for Australia, and returned to the UK on 11 December. The expedition provided Mitchell's design team with valuable information about operating aircraft in the tropics. The Southampton was one of the most successful flying boats of the between-war period, and established Britain as a leading developer of maritime aircraft. It was used to equip six RAF squadrons up to 1936. In 1926, the Air Ministry issued specification 21/26 as a way to address the need for new fighter aircraft, and Mitchell's design team, which he had re-organised that year into separate drawing and technical offices, responded with a number of designs, including the Single Seat Fighter. By this time, Supermarine was moving away from wooden amphibious aircraft. The company concentrated instead on designing larger metal flying boats, such as the 3-Engined Biplane Flying Boat, designed in November 1927. The Supermarine Air Yacht, and a new design, the Southampton X (not related to other planes with the same name), was ordered in June 1928. Mitchell dispensed with the complicated curved surfaces for the wings and the hulls of the Air Yacht and the Southampton X, and as a result these aircraft appeared "boxy". Specification R.6/28, issued in 1928, resulted in a series of designs by Supermarine for a six-engined flying boat, with one of designs being a radical departure for Mitchell—it had a newly-designed 140 feet (43 m) cantilever wing with a large surface area and cross section. The aircraft was never built. From 1929 to 1931, he continued to design aircraft based on the Southampton and the Southampton X, such as the Supermarine Sea Hawk and its variant the Sea Hawk II, the Type 179, the Nanok and the Seamew. ### New designs, production orders and patents (1929–1934) In February 1929, Mitchell submitted patent GB 329411 A, "Improvements in the Cooling System of Engines for Automotive Vehicles", a condenser to be placed within the wings of an aircraft. The Air Ministry rejected Supermarine's proposal for such a wing-cooled aircraft, but in May 1929 a new specification allowed Mitchell to use his ideas again. A similar patent was submitted in 1931. The condenser was used in the Type 232, produced in April 1934, which was never put up for tender. During the early 1930s, many of Mitchell's ideas never went past the early design stages. Attempts by the company to sell a 5-engined flying boat failed when a contract was cancelled in early 1932, leading to job losses and wage cuts at Supermarine. However in 1933 the company's fortunes were revived when it received an order for 12 Scarpas (previously the Southampton IV) under the specification R.19/33, the first contract for a new design by Mitchell since 1924. This order was followed by orders for the Supermarine Stranraer, which went into production in 1937. After the first Seagull V flew in June 1933, the Royal Australian Air Force showed an interest, and 24 planes were ordered. The same year the RAF made an initial order of 12 aircraft, now renamed the Supermarine Walrus. Following the issuance of Air Ministry specification 5/36, Mitchell worked on a redesigned version of the Walrus, which was given the name Sea Otter. Work on the Sea Otter was completed after Mitchell's death in 1937, and it first flew in September 1938. In October 1934, Mitchell published an article in the Daily Mirror, 'What is happening now in Air Transport?', in which he predicted that air transport would prove to be the safest form of transport. ### Schneider trophy races (1922–1931) Mitchell and his design team worked on a series of racing seaplanes, built to compete in the Schneider Trophy competition. His team included Alan Clifton (later head of the Technical Office), Arthur Shirvall, and Joseph Smith. These men were fundamental to Supermarine's success, as was the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), which provided invaluable support, guidance and scientific expertise in the form of detailed reports. The competition helped to place Mitchell at the forefront of aviation design. #### Sea Lion series (early 1920s) Mitchell developed the Supermarine Sea King II to become the Sea Lion II, which competed for the 1922 Schneider Trophy in Naples. The Sea Lion II won the race, flying at an average speed of 145.7 miles per hour (234.5 km/h). There was not enough time for Supermarine to design a new flying boat for the 1923 competition, so the Sea Lion II was borrowed back from the Air Ministry to allow Mitchell to adapt it. He increased its maximum speed by 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), achieved with the assistance of D. Napier & Son, who supplied the 525 horsepower (391 kW) Lion III engine. To reduce the effects of drag forces, Mitchell reduced the wingspan from 32 to 28 feet (9.8 to 8.5 m), modified the struts, floats and hull, and changed the way the engines were fitted. For the 1923 contest, two of the three British entrants were irreparably damaged before the race, leaving the Sea Lion III to compete alone. The United States team, flying Curtiss seaplanes, dominated the competition, with the winning pilot, David Rittenhouse, managing to reach a top speed of 177.27 miles per hour (285.29 km/h). #### Supermarine S.4 (1925) Even whilst the Sea Lion II was being modified at the Woolston works, Mitchell was working on a new plane, as Supermarine knew the American monoplane was the best design then available. The Supermarine S.4—the name was designated by Mitchell, with "S" standing for Schneider—was a joint Napier/Supermarine venture. The Supermarine team was backed by the Air Ministry, and had greater freedom than was given by the US government to their designers. The S.4 was described after Mitchell's death as "his first outstanding success". He used the practical experience gained when he designed its successor, the Supermarine S.5. Mitchell was fully aware of the need to reduce drag to increase speed. His new design for was a mid-wing, cantilever floatplane. It was comparable to a French monoplane, the Bernard SIMB V.2, which broken the flight airspeed record in December 1924. The S.4 lacked the newly-designed surface radiators, at that time still unavailable, but it was aerodynamic and aesthetically pleasing. Trial speeds reached 226.742 miles per hour (364.906 km/h) and created a sensation in the press. The S.4 crashed before the 1925 race, for reasons that were never clearly established. On the day of the navigation trials it stalled before falling flat into the sea from 100 feet (30 m). When the pilot Louis Baird was rescued by a launch, Mitchell, who was on board the rescue launch, jokingly asked the injured man: "Is the water warm?" #### 1926 and 1927 competitions The Air Ministry, the Society of British Aircraft Constructors and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) decided against challenging for the Schneider Trophy in 1926, but Mitchell was able to confirm that Supermarine would be ready for the race. His work at the NPL started in November that year. From wind tunnel tests at the NPL he learned that the S.4's radiators had created a third of the aircraft's total drag, and without this it would have been the most streamlined aircraft in the world. British aircraft companies intended to produce entries for the 1926 race, but the nature of the specifications issued by the Air Ministry meant that no aircraft could be completed and tested in time to be entered. Two Supermarine S.5 seaplanes were entered for the 1927 contest, which was held in Venice. Mitchell understood that a monoplane on twin floats produced lower drag than any other aircraft type of its day, and was convinced by wind tunnel tests at the NPL that the cantilever wing design was too heavy and should be abandoned. The NPL had demonstrated that flat-surfaced skin radiators reduced drag better than the corrugated variety preferred by American designers, so Mitchell used them to improve the S.5. He reduced the fuselage cross section area so that it was 35 per cent less than the area of the S.4—and complained about the RAF's pilots being too large to fit into the resulting S.5's cockpit. The fuselage skin thickness was decreased by using duralumin. Witnessed by the Italian dictator Mussolini, along with a huge crowd gathered along Venice's Lido, the two Supermarine S.5's alone finished the race, coming first and second. The third British entrant, a Gloster IV, along with the three Italian competitors flying Macchi M.52s, were forced to drop out of the race. Mitchell had been elected to the RAeS in 1918. In 1927 he was awarded the society's Silver Medal. At the end of the year, he became the Technical Director at Supermarine. When the company was taken over by Vickers Ltd in 1928, he remained as Supermarine's chief designer—one of the conditions of the takeover was that he stay as a designer for the next five years. #### Supermarine S.6 (1929) Interest in the competition waned after the 1927 race. There was no competition the following year, as the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale was persuaded by the Royal Aero Club to hold races every two years in the future. Mitchell was among those who could see a more powerful engine than the Napier Lion was required for any aircraft that competed in future contests. The Air Ministry invited Rolls-Royce Ltd to design a new engine specifically for Supermarine's new seaplane, now designated the S.6. Rolls-Royce, under pressure to produce an engine in time and that matched S.6's streamlined shape, adopted the partially-developed 825 horsepower (615 kW) Buzzard. Mitchell in turn had to amend some of his design to accommodate the increase in total weight caused by introducing a larger engine, for instance by repositioning the forward float struts, and redesigning the engine cowling. The Air Ministry ordered two S.6 seaplanes, both of which were built by August 1929. Modifications to the seaplanes were made by Mitchell so the engines could be used at maximum power, as issues were discovered: the radiators were found to be inadequate; high engine torque made the S.6 move in a circle; and the centre of gravity was incorrectly positioned. The 1929 race at Calshot was won by Supermarine with the S.6 attaining an average speed of 528.89 km/h (328.64 mph). Three of the four new aircraft were entered by the UK. The older Italian Macchi M.52R came second and Supermarine's backup, an S.5, took third place. #### Supermarine S.6B (1931) Britain's final entry in the series, the Supermarine S.6B, marked the culmination of Mitchell's quest to "perfect the design of the racing seaplane". It was sponsored by a wealthy philanthropist, Lady Houston, who donated after the British Government decided not to enter an RAF team for the 1931 contest. Mitchell opted to design an improved version of the S.6, whilst making as few changes as possible. The improvements that were made included a more powerful engine, and provision was made for such effects as the increase in engine-produced heat and extra torque, and the greater quantities of cooling oil and fuel required. The S.6B was a larger seaplane than the S.6, and had to be given a more efficient cooling system, and a stronger frame. The S.6B competed the course successfully, and won the 1931 race. As the Schneider Trophy rules included the stipulation that the contest would end when any one country managed to win the trophy three times in five years, the S.6B's victory won the contest outright for Britain. The aircraft went on to break the world air speed record when it reached a speed of 407.5 miles per hour (655.8 km/h) that year. Mitchell was awarded the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 29 December 1931 for services in connection with the Schneider Trophy contest. ### Type 224 In 1930, specification F7/30 was issued for a fighter aircraft able to be used by both day and night squadrons. Mitchell's proposed design, the Type 224, was one of three monoplane designs made into prototypes for the Air Ministry. The final design incorporated an open cockpit, four Vickers machine guns, and a 660 horsepower (490 kW) Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine, along with a fixed undercarriage. Also included was an inverted gull wing, needed due to the demands of the engine's cooling system. The wing lacked flaps, a requirement for the aircraft to land at safe speeds. Unofficially named the Spitfire, the Type 224 first flew on February 1934. The aircraft looked clumsy, and was inefficient, in part because the cooling system failed to prevent the engine from overheating. The RAF decided that the Type 224's performance was unsatisfactory, and selected the Gloster Gladiator in preference. ### Supermarine Spitfire Whilst the Type 224 was still being built in 1933, Mitchell was proceeding with the design of the Type 300. This was to become his masterpiece, the Supermarine Spitfire. He cleaned up the design of the Type 224, using the same engine but incorporating a shorter wing and a retractable undercarriage. The Air Ministry rejected Mitchell's design, but he modified it, for instance by making the wing thinner and shorter, by including the newly-designed Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, and by making use of an innovative new cooling system—the latter being an example of his willingness to accept ideas from other people. For a short period, design work continued using private funding, but in December 1934 the Air Ministry contracted Supermarine to construct a prototype that was based on Mitchell's design. Mitchell objected to the Air Ministry's insistence that the Spitfire be modified to have a tail wheel. At the time he was not told that, in preparation for a future war, the government had decided to build hard surface runways for the RAF, a decision that meant the modification to the Spitfire was necessary. The prototype, given the serial K5054, first flew on 6 March 1936, at Eastleigh, Hampshire. Mitchell witnessed the flight. Despite being ill, he travelled to Eastleigh during the flight tests for K5054. In June 1936, before the prototype had completed being trialled, the Air Ministry placed an order for 310 Spitfires. Many of the technical advances in the Spitfire were made by people other than Mitchell: the thin elliptical wings were designed by the Canadian aerodynamicist Beverley Shenstone, and the Spitfire shared similarities with the Heinkel He 70 Blitz. The under-wing radiators had been designed by the Royal Aircraft Establishment, and monocoque construction had been first developed in the United States. Mitchell's achievement lay in the merger of these different influences into a single design, originating from his "unparalleled expertise in high-speed flight... and a brilliant practical engineering ability, exemplified in this instance by the incorporation of vital lessons learned from Supermarine's unsuccessful type 224 fighter". The quality of the design enabled the Spitfire to be continually improved throughout World War II. ## Illness and final years In 1933, Mitchell underwent a permanent colostomy to treat rectal cancer, which left him permanently disabled. Despite this, he continued to work on the Spitfire and a four-engined bomber, the Type 317. Unusually for an aircraft designer in those days, he took flying lessons. He obtained his pilot's licence and made his first solo flight in July 1934. In 1936 Mitchell was diagnosed again with cancer, and early the following year was forced by his illness to give up work. In his absence, his assistant Harold Payn led the design team at Supermarine. Mitchell flew to Vienna for specialist treatment, and remained there for a month, but returned home after the treatment proved to be ineffective. He died at home in Portswood, Southampton, on 11 June 1937 at the age of 42. The quality of the flying boats designed by Mitchell for the RAF established him as the foremost aircraft designer in Britain. His obituary published in The Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1937 described him as "brilliant" and "one of the leading designers in the world". The Society paid tribute to their colleague, describing him as being "a quiet, subtle, not obvious genius" who had "an intuitive capacity for grasping the essentials, getting to the point and staying there". Smith, became Chief Designer at Supermarine after Mitchell's death, said of him that "He was an inveterate drawer on drawings, particularly general arrangements,... [which were] usually accepted when the thing was redrawn." ## Posthumous recognition Mitchell's career was dramatised in the British 1942 film The First of the Few. He was portrayed by Leslie Howard, who also produced and directed the film. The Mitchell Memorial Youth Theatre, now known as Mitchell Arts Centre, was opened in Stoke-on-Trent in 1957 after was raised by public subscription. Butt Lane Junior School, was renamed as the Reginald Mitchell County Primary School in 1959, and Hanley High School was renamed Mitchell High School in 1989. The R J Mitchell Primary School at Hornchurch, originally named the Mitchell Junior School when it opened on 2 December 1968, is also named in his honour. Supermarine Spitfires piloted by Commonwealth and European airmen flew from RAF Hornchurch. In 1986 Mitchell was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. The American philanthropist Sidney Frank unveiled a statue of Mitchell at the Science Museum, London in 2005. The slate drawing board's surface depicts the drawing of the prototype Spitfire from June 1936. The stone sculpture was created by Stephen Kettle and given to the museum by the Sidney E. Frank Foundation. There are plaques dedicated to Mitchell at his Southampton home, and his birthplace in Butt Lane. Papers relating to his work at Supermarine are preserved at the archives of the Royal Air Force Museum London. A bronze statue of Mitchell was unveiled in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, on 21 May 1995. The statue, by Colin Melbourne, was commissioned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and stands outside The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery. The statue depicts Mitchell wearing a suit, holding a pen in his right hand and a book in his left. The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, is home to a Mark XVI Spitfire (RW388), which was donated to Stoke-on-Trent in 1972 by the RAF, to honour the city's connection to Reginald Mitchell. Southampton City Art Gallery holds an oil painting of Mitchell, painted in 1942 by Frank Ernest Beresford. ## Personality Mitchell was by nature a reserved and modest man. He was a reticent public speaker who disliked presenting papers. According to one member of his department, "he said nothing unless there was something worth saying". He avoided publicity, and was not widely known to the general public until after his death. According to his son Gordon, Mitchell was resentful of authority being imposed on him or of the routines of the workplace, and was short-tempered and "a difficult man to live with sometimes". Often given full scope at Supermarine, he was a strict taskmaster who nevertheless struggled with the level of organisation needed for a company such as Supermarine. When the engineer Barnes Wallis was employed to improve the efficiency of Mitchell's department in 1930, Wallis had to be recalled after their personalities clashed. The ODNB describes Mitchell as being highly gifted and intelligent, but someone who was "often stern and irascible towards those less gifted than himself". He was devoted to his staff at Supermarine, to whom he showed kindness and humanity, and they in turn repaid him with loyalty and affection.
3,646,034
Piel Castle
1,164,276,745
Grade I listed building in Cumbria, UK
[ "1327 establishments in England", "14th-century fortifications", "Barrow-in-Furness", "Buildings and structures completed in 1327", "Buildings and structures in Barrow-in-Furness", "Castles in Cumbria", "English Heritage sites in Cumbria", "Furness", "Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria", "Morecambe Bay", "Ruins in Cumbria", "Tourist attractions in Barrow-in-Furness" ]
Piel Castle, also known as Fouldry Castle or the Pile of Fouldray, is a castle situated on the south-eastern point of Piel Island, off the coast of the Furness Peninsula in north-west England. Built in the early-14th century by John Cockerham, the Abbot of neighbouring Furness Abbey, it was intended to oversee the trade through the local harbour and to protect against Scottish raids. The castle was built using stones from the local beach, and featured a large keep with surrounding inner and outer baileys. It was used as a base by the Yorkist pretender Lambert Simnel in 1487, but by 1534 it had fallen into ruin and passed into the hands of the Crown. Sea erosion began to cause significant damage to the castle in the early 19th century. In the 1870s the castle's owner, the Duke of Buccleuch, carried out extensive restoration work and erected outworks to protect it against further damage from the sea. In 1920 the castle was given to the town of Barrow-in-Furness and is now in the care of English Heritage. The castle is at threat from continued coastal erosion exacerbated by climate change. ## History Piel Castle was built on Piel Island, overlooking the deep water port of Piel Harbour outside of Barrow Haven, now called Barrow-in-Furness. There may have been an earlier 12th-century fortification on the island, possibly built by the local monks in the reign of King Stephen, but this is uncertain. The castle was built by John Cockerham, the Abbot of Furness Abbey around 1327, when Edward III gave the abbey a licence to crenellate on the site. Comprising a keep with an inner and outer bailey, the castle was intended to oversee the trade through the harbour, and to provide defence, as the Abbey had faced raids from Scotland in 1316 and 1322. Architectural historian Anthony Emery argues that the castle was built in three phases, starting with the central keep, which he believes was intended as a largely unfortified summer residence for the Abbot. With the increased threat from Scotland and the granting of the licence to crenellate, Emery suggests that the inner bailey wall was then constructed to better defend the keep, followed by the outer bailey wall in a final phase of work. In 1408, the Abbot John Bolton decided that the cost of maintaining the castle was excessive, and attempted to pull down the defences, but was prevented from doing so by Henry IV; this was followed by a period of rebuilding around 1429. The castle was used for smuggling by the Abbey, leading to complaints from merchants in English-controlled Calais that they were illegally trafficking wool, which in this period could only legally be sold through the French port. In 1487 the Yorkist pretender Lambert Simnel landed on Piel Island. He sought help from potential local supporters and held court at the castle, before advancing inland and ultimately being defeated at the Battle of Stoke Field. By 1534 the castle had fallen in ruin and was described in a report as "sore decayed". In 1537, on the dissolution of the Abbey, it became the property of the Crown, and after 1660, was given to the Duke of Albemarle. By the late 18th century, the island had become used as a base for maritime pilots, and the castle passed into the possession of the Dukes of Buccleuch. In 1811, the poet William Wordsworth visited the area and wrote a poem entitled "Peele Castle" describing the site. The sea caused significant erosion during this period, and one side of the keep collapsed in the early 19th century. Walter Scott, the Duke of Buccleuch, purchased the rest of the island and carried out an extensive and expensive restoration of the castle between 1877 and 1878, destroying most traces of the medieval occupation of the site in the process. The restoration involved constructing outworks to prevent further sea erosion, replacing damage to the ashlar stone features of the castle and protecting the tops of the stone walls. ### Conservation and investigation In 1919 John Scott decided to sell the island and castle; the local mayor, Alfred Barrow, intervened and the following the year the Duke instead agreed to give the castle and island to the local authorities as a memorial to those who had lost their life in World War I. The castle passed into the care of central government in 1973, and is now controlled by English Heritage, who operate the site as a tourist attraction. An archaeological survey was commissioned by English Heritage in 1984, carried out by Rachel Newman of Lancaster University; the findings of the survey led to a program of restoration work, completed in 1991. It is protected by law as a grade I listed building. By 2022, much of the low-lying island the castle sits on has been lost to the sea, and the keep of Piel Castle itself is at risk of destruction due to coastal erosion worsened by global warming. In response, English Heritage launched a fundraising campaign in September 2022 to protect and strengthen Piel Castle (and five other at-risk castles). ## Architecture The castle is built to an Edwardian concentric design, with a keep in the south-eastern corner, protected by an inner and outer bailey with stone curtain walls extending out to the north-west. The castle is built using stones from the local beach bonded with a liquid mortar, with the finer stonework, such as the doorways and windows, made from red ashlar sandstone imported from the mainland. Much of the surrounding island has been eroded by the sea and some of the castle has been lost, with fallen stone fragments still visible on the beach below. The three-storey keep stands on a low mound of clay, similar to that making up the base of the rest of the castle, and is 45-foot (14 m) high, 76 feet (23 m) by 74 feet (23 m) across, reinforced with protruding buttresses, and a tower on the south-eastern corner. The original entrance would have been at ground level, but a gatehouse, 25 feet (7.6 m) by 16 feet (4.9 m), was then built along on the north side, raising this to the first floor. A carved female figure can be seen above the entrance arch, which may have been a representation of Salome. The keep had large windows on the first and second floors, although the lower level of these was later blocked up, and was unusually divided into three sections, creating a central hallway on each level. The eastern side of the keep has collapsed as a consequence of land erosion. Anthony Emery argues that the term "keep" is inappropriate for the building, which should be seen more as a residential tower house, similar to that at Langley Castle. The inner and outer bailey walls have also been damaged by sea erosion, but they originally formed concentric squares around the keep and were protected by ditches. The outer bailey wall, 8-foot (2.4 m) thick in places, is no longer very substantial, but even when first built it may have been quite weak; it is protected by a moat, up to 13 metres (43 ft) wide and 3 metres (9.8 ft) deep. Both the baileys are protected by towers; the outer bailey towers are each 15.5-foot (4.7 m) wide. The inner bailey wall is 8-foot (2.4 m) thick, protected by a 25-foot (7.6 m) wide moat. Its towers were a later addition to the original design, and a gatehouse in the inner bailey wall was also built shortly after the construction of the castle. The fortifications would have been slightly old fashioned for the period. The outer bailey holds a stone building called "the chapel," 31 feet (9.4 m) by 15 feet (4.6 m) in size. Its original use is unknown and it appears to have been built late in the castle's history, possibly after it became ruinous. Local legends exist of a tunnel between the castle and Furness Abbey, allegedly used by the monks as escape route from the mainland. No such passageway exists. ## In the Arts and Literature William Wordsworth's poem "Peele Castle" is recorded under History above. A poetic illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon, in which she refers to the castle's 'half-forgotten name', is to an engraving of a painting by G. Pickering entitled "Pile of Fouldrey Castle". This was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832. ## See also - Castles in Great Britain and Ireland - List of castles in England - List of English Heritage properties
32,081,973
Oliver Valentine
1,163,896,345
Fictional character from Holby City
[ "Fictional physicians", "Holby City characters", "Male characters in television", "Television characters introduced in 2009" ]
Oliver "Ollie" Valentine is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actor James Anderson. He first appeared in the eleventh series episode "Proceed With Caution", broadcast on 9 June 2009. Oliver was introduced alongside his older sister, Penny (Emma Catherwood), as a Foundation House Officer 1 (F1) on rotation at Holby City Hospital. Series producer Diana Kyle intended their inclusion to have an "instant impact on the wards." Anderson was selected to play Oliver; he spent time with a real F1 doctor and trained with the programme's medical advisors to prepare for the part. It took him around six months to ease into the role, and a further six to feel comfortable in it. Oliver was initially portrayed as "the golden boy" compared to his sister. Boyishly charming and medically talented, he nonetheless lacked confidence in his ability. When Oliver reached his F2 training, the series formed an on-screen duo by pairing him with registrar Greg Douglas (Edward MacLiam). Oliver's lack of competency was highlighted – he endangered patients and landed his colleagues in trouble. In a prominent storyline, Oliver made a series of medical errors, which forced him to admit that he cheated on an exam at medical school. He began a downward spiral, and reached "rock bottom" when Penny was killed off. He was then central to a special flashback episode, which depicted his battle to cope with her death. Though he confessed to Director of Surgery Henrik Hanssen (Guy Henry) that he was not truly qualified, Hanssen allowed Oliver to continue practising medicine. Branded a Lothario-type character, Oliver has been involved in several romantic storylines during his tenure; Anderson has called him "the hospital bike". In a toy boy storyline with ward sister Chrissie Williams (Tina Hobley), Oliver was seen to compromise his career. He went on to date ward sister Daisha Anderson (Rebecca Grant), kiss registrar Jac Naylor (Rosie Marcel), and earn the unreciprocated affection of ward sister Frieda Petrenko (Olga Fedori), and marry F1 doctor Tara Lo (Jing Lusi). Anderson decided to leave the series in 2012 and filmed his final scenes in March 2013. Oliver departed in the episode "Mens Sana In Corpore Sano", dated 9 July 2013. He returned on 23 December 2014, for one episode, before making a full-time return on 5 May 2015. Anderson opted to leave the series again in 2017 and Oliver departed in the episode "No Matter Where You Go, There You Are – Part Two", broadcast on 27 March 2018. Anderson returned for a two-month stint in 2021. Responses to the character have generally been negative, with particular criticism for his poor treatment of Penny. Bree Treacy of RTÉ Ten disliked both Valentines. Many have questioned Oliver's medical skills and labelled him an incompetent doctor – as Daniel Maier of The Guardian put it, he is "a doctor with the blue eyes of Fonda and the medical competence of fondue". ## Storylines Oliver arrives at Holby City Hospital as an F1 doctor, alongside his sister Penny (Emma Catherwood). He acquires Penny's preferred rotation on the Acute Assessment Unit (AAU), where he develops a flirtatious relationship with ward sister Chrissie Williams (Tina Hobley). Within weeks, their relationship becomes sexual. Chrissie becomes pregnant, but later miscarries. They break up, and Oliver moves on to date ward sister Daisha Anderson (Rebecca Grant). A transfer to the cardiothoracic surgery ward has him working under registrar Jac Naylor (Rosie Marcel). While Daisha spends Christmas with her family in the Philippines, Oliver kisses Jac. Upon her return, Daisha learns of the tryst. Soon thereafter, she is shot during a hostage situation and Oliver struggles to cope. Although she recovers, she opts to leave Holby and move back to the Philippines. Oliver discovers that Penny has been having a relationship with a patient, Scott (Joshua Bowman), endangering her career. She plans to move to Spain with him and abandon her training, but Oliver convinces Scott to leave without her. Keen to earn praise from his consultants, Connie Beauchamp (Amanda Mealing) and Elliot Hope (Paul Bradley), Oliver claims Penny's research as his own, and is awarded her place in an operation. He is promoted to F2 level, and betrays Penny further by revealing her affair with Scott, which results in her failing her cardiothoracic rotation and being moved to the AAU. A rivalry develops between them, but they are forced to call a truce when a series of pranks endanger a patient. Registrar Greg Douglas (Edward MacLiam) shirks his responsibilities by excessively delegating to Oliver; to his dismay, Connie appoints him as Oliver's mentor. Oliver pushes himself too far in an attempt to impress Greg, which earns the senior doctor a reprimand for leaving him unsupervised. Oliver tries to earn back Greg's respect, but panics while attempting to insert a chest drain, and has to be rescued by ward sister Frieda Petrenko (Olga Fedori). He invites her for a drink as thanks, but when Penny discovers that Frieda has romantic feelings for him, Oliver cancels as he does not reciprocate them. Oliver's confidence is further damaged when he mishandles a case, which results in a mother leaving her son to die alone. He moves back to the AAU, where he is shaken by an encounter with the boy's mother, which causes him to panic and embarrass himself in theatre. Penny's career begins to improve, and Oliver resents her when she is given registrar duties for a shift. Having realised that he is close to failing his F2 year, Oliver implicates Penny in a serious surgical error of his own doing, but is caught by registrar Antoine Malick (Jimmy Akingbola). When a patient unexpectedly dies in his care, Oliver breaks down. He confesses to Penny that he cheated in medical school by swapping one of their exam papers, so he passed on her merit while she was forced to repeat a year. Furious, Penny tells Oliver that he must confess to Director of Surgery Henrik Hanssen (Guy Henry). He writes a letter of resignation, but deletes it after a positive day working alongside Frieda, who encourages him to repeat his F2 year. After giving Oliver a final chance to confess, Penny is called away to the site of a train crash. Oliver is left alone on AAU, where he successfully performs a difficult procedure. Hopeful that Penny will forgive him, Oliver is devastated to learn that she has been killed in an accident at the crash site. Unable to cope in the aftermath of her death, Oliver turns to drugs and alcohol. He sends Hanssen a letter of resignation, which includes a full confession. His father Tony (Simon Shepherd) offers him money to choose a new career, and claims that Oliver always had more potential than Penny. This angers Oliver, who endangers his own life to save a patient and feels reinvigorated. Hanssen is impressed by Oliver's patient treatment, and overlooks his cheating to allow him a fresh start. Oliver continues and succeeds in his second F2 year under Elliot, who is his mentor. He begins a relationship with F1 Tara Lo (Jing Lusi). He learns she has a brain tumor and becomes fixated on finding a cure. She learns to accept it. Oliver begins spending more time at Tara's flat and later moves in. Oliver and Tara marry the day before she has a major operation. Oliver and Tara prepare for her operation, but there are complications in surgery and she dies. Anderson returns as Oliver in the episode "I Will Honour Christmas in My Heart" - Series 17, Episode 11, for just one episode. He makes a full return from Series 17, Episode 30 and onwards, as the new registrar on Darwin. In season 19 Ollie and Zosia get back together. After numerous troubles and storylines including an abortion and box of antiques. Ollie finally proposes with a haribo ring in the episode "Unbreakable." Furthermore, in the episode "Project Aurous," they make their engagement official after Ollie gives Zosia a proper engagement ring. In "Group Animal, Part 2" Ollie, as well as others, are shot in a dramatic two-part special by Fredrik Johannson who was later shot dead by police. Ollie was shot through the head and Roxanna Macmillan operated on him. He goes up to ITU after the hospital is taken off lockdown. Ollie is placed into a coma. Zosia returns and Ollie wakes up from his coma, and is transferred to AAU, and then Keller. Roxanna becomes obsessed with Ollie and is constantly checking up on him and getting emotionally involved. When Ollie diagnoses a stroke, Roxanna is filled with joy. ## Development ### Creation and characterisation > Careless and cocksure, Oliver Valentine has always been something of a golden boy, leaving sister Penny in his shadow. But Ollie's big, blue eyes belie darker truths that lead to his deceptive and sometimes devious nature. Yet what Ollie lacks in confidence he makes up for with his natural talent in theatre and boyish charm. But how far that will get him remains to be seen. The impending arrival of sibling trainee doctors Oliver and Penny was announced in May 2009, by executive producer Tony McHale and series producer Diana Kyle. The latter described them both as "full of energy and enthusiasm", and asserted that they would have an "instant impact on the wards at every level." They were deemed talented physicians with the desire to achieve by McHale, who noted that "one is more naturally gifted than the other", and suggested that their personal lives would cause conflict with their professional ones, as they attempted to progress at work. Actor James Anderson was cast as Oliver. Before assuming the role, he shadowed a real F1 doctor on ward rounds – an experience he found difficult. "We were approaching beds in which people were waking up from heart attacks and coming around quite distressed sometimes. It was really difficult to be there with a patient. It's harder than you think and I got quite emotional." Anderson underwent such extensive training with the programme's medical advisors that he jested in June 2009, "If I started medical training now, I could probably graduate as a doctor coming out of the show!" The actor experienced "an extended period of anxiety" upon joining the series, and recalls: "It took me about six months to have any sense of what was going on and then the second six months to feel comfortable [...] but only because it's such a well-oiled machine. You're coming in as a little cog, so you have to discover how to work in that and that takes a while." BBC Online described Oliver's positive qualities as being his "boyishly charming" manner and his general determination. Jane Simon of the Daily Mirror deemed him a "soft touch" when he went to great lengths to help a young patient. Oliver is flawed by a lack of confidence and his deceptive nature. He has a tendency to land his colleagues in trouble, which has been conveyed through storylines with Daisha and Greg. What's on TV highlighted Oliver's "lack of competence" and called him petulant for betraying Penny after his promotion to F2 level. When his career began to deteriorate, the publication deemed him reckless, then found him hapless in the aftermath of her death, in reference to the way he "[sank] into despair, finding comfort in drink, drugs and his dead sister's flatmate." The Sunday Mirror's Kevin O'Sullivan reflected on Oliver's development since his arrival, with the observation, "Once he was the strutting ladies' man of the wards, a veritable medical Casanova who exuded confidence and charm. But time has taken its toll on Oliver Valentine – and now he is just a shadow of his former self" – a devastated and broken man, "tormented by the memory of his sibling and his guilty conscience." ### Relationships Introduced as a Lothario-type character, according to Anderson, Oliver "had a reputation for being the hospital bike." His first relationship developed when he attracted the attention of ward sisters Chrissie Williams and Daisha Anderson. Daisha showed less interest in him than Chrissie, of whose attentiveness Anderson said, "I think any hot-blooded male would find that attractive". Oliver appeared to ruin his chances with Daisha when he encouraged a patient to complain about her diagnosis – though Anderson noted, "he does apologise to Daisha, and sweetly gives her a cupcake". This left Chrissie free to pursue Oliver. Before their relationship began, Anderson opined "She's gorgeous, and Oliver would be a fool not to go out with her." He thought that Oliver and Chrissie's "unflappable" natures made them a good fit for one another, though wondered if they were too alike. As an older woman, their relationship was described as a "toyboy storyline" for Chrissie. Hobley admitted to having fun with the storyline due to the real age gap between herself and Anderson. She described Chrissie's feelings for Oliver, stating: "Chrissie is having a lot of fun with him. But deep down she's really hoping to find true love – she's been quite unlucky so far. She's not getting any younger and she's worried about missing out on kids." Producers Kyle and McHale revealed that the pair could have been a "perfect match", however said the romance would not run smoothly. Anderson believed it was a bad idea for his character to get involved with a colleague. Oliver began to doubt the relationship, and on Penny's advice, convinced Chrissie to break up with him without ruining his career. Chrissie took the break up well, and Hobley told What's on TV that her character did not mind, as "it was only a bit of fun. She never planned on settling down with him." It was then announced Chrissie would become pregnant with Oliver's child. Hobley assessed that Chrissie was surprised to learn that she was pregnant, but pleased, as she had lost a baby five years previously and did not think that she was capable of conceiving another. Oliver was displeased by the news, but Chrissie had no expectations that he should provide for her. Her father, nursing consultant Mark Williams (Robert Powell), urged him to "stand up to the mark and be a proper man". However, soon after, Chrissie miscarried their unborn baby. Oliver went on to share a kiss with Jac, a photograph of which was spread around the hospital by Penny, prompting Oliver to try and hide it from Daisha. Ward sister Frieda Petrenko developed a crush on him, and was pleased when he invited her for a drink, however Oliver did not reciprocate her feelings and later cancelled. Fedori commented in January 2011 that she and Anderson had had little "juicy" material, more "little scenes here and there". Asked about the future of Frieda and Oliver's relationship, she was unwilling to divulge potential plots, but noted, "There's been talk about things heading in all sorts of directions". Oliver initially had a "friendly rivalry" with sister Penny. Catherwood believes they always had "a really good relationship". She characterised the siblings' relationship as "one of constant rivalry but ultimately unconditional support", and noted, "Everything always comes more easily to Oliver than Penny – she has spent her life playing catch up". When Penny considered giving her career up over a patient she was romantically involved with, in order to protect her, Oliver ruined the romance. Their relationship remained unaffected by this: Catherwood revealed, "Well they are brother and sister, so you forgive your family for enormous amounts. So it doesn't affect their relationship, if anything he is there as soon as she breaks down he's there to catch her, full of apologies and support." She said the situation would bring them closer together, because it is a typical scenario siblings go through. When Catherwood quit the series, Penny was killed whilst attempting to rescue a patient from a train crash. Her death was not shown on-screen: a conscious decision made by the production team to fully focus on Oliver's story. Series producer Myar Craig Brown revealed that the big focus would be on the effect it had on Oliver. Forced to come to terms with her death, he faced an "emotional rollercoaster of feeling that he was second best to her". ### Career Having arrived at Holby as an F1, Oliver quickly progressed onto his F2 training. This resulted in "professional jealousy" forming with Penny, and in retaliation to their disagreements, he put her career in jeopardy by revealing her affair. Registrar Greg Douglas was appointed as Oliver's mentor. The fast-paced storyline saw Greg initially "kick[ing] against his newfound responsibility", before realising that Oliver could be beneficial to his own career, which resulted in an "unlikely friendship" forming between them. Though a "fairly light, buddy-buddy" storyline to begin with, Anderson felt that filming their scenes was "intensive". Speaking of their friendship, Anderson explained: "We start off on the wrong foot with each other and we're competitive, which is unhelpful to the patients and (initially) we're not out to help one another at all. But they have similarities... in terms of dropping people in it." The pace of the storyline had to be changed when Anderson injured his knee upon falling down a ten-foot cellar. The pair clashed over conflicting medical opinions on patient care, and their friendship soon created a negative effect over Oliver's work ethic. Greg's jokes at his expense left Oliver unable to carry out simple procedures correctly. Oliver's career further deteriorated in early 2011, when it transpired he was not a qualified doctor. A series of setbacks – failing the exam to progress on to his CT1 training, blaming a surgical error on Penny, and the death of a patient in his care – prompted him to admit that he swapped his own exam paper with Penny's in his final year of medical school. Anderson explained that Oliver could no longer cope with the mounting pressure, hence his confession. Contrasting the siblings, he assessed "[Oliver] was seen as the golden boy when he arrived at Holby – but he was trading on his sister's success." Issued with the ultimatum of confessing to Director of Surgery Henrik Hanssen, Oliver realised that "he must take responsibility", lest he "lose the one person who loves him unconditionally." Believing himself to be in an "impossible dilemma", Anderson said that Oliver was trying to make good on what he had done by repeating his F2 exams. "By exposing the lie he'll end his career, Oliver can't understand why Penny won't stand by him." He added that since Oliver made a serious surgical error, his colleagues had lost trust in his medical capability. When a train crash occurred, he was forced to take control of AAU. Anderson explained: "He's not fully qualified and that's all he can think about. He's struggling." When he saved a patients life, Oliver thought he should keep his job. However, he was then told that Penny had died, news that would "change Oliver's life forever." Following Penny's death, Craig-Brown stated that "whether he's good enough to stay in medicine will be [Oliver's] big storyline." The series explored how Oliver coped with her death through a flashback episode. Henry, who plays Hanssen, observed that Oliver's return to work saw him make multiple mistakes and "hit rock bottom". Oliver tried to resign from Holby, though before he left he responded to a dangerous RTA call and saved a patient's life. When he was summoned by Hanssen about his resignation, he was given "fatherly advice", and the senior doctor "turned a blind eye" to Oliver's confession. Henry explained that Hanssen "doesn’t think a good doctor should lose his chance at a career in medicine", after learning Oliver risked his own life on the job. ### Departure and return The character left the show in the episode titled "Mens Sana In Corpore Sano", which aired on 9 July 2013. Anderson told producers of his intention to leave one year prior to his departure. They wanted Oliver to leave the show on a positive note and began planning his final storyline. Anderson filmed his final scenes in March 2013. Producers kept his departure a secret until transmission to surprise viewers. Anderson told Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy that Oliver survived the bereavement over the deaths of his sister and wife. Oliver was given redemption in his final scenes so that his fans could believe that he has a future. Oliver resigns and in his final scene tells Elliot that he will return to the hospital. Anderson was pleased that his character has the option of returning in the future. On 30 October 2014, it was announced that Anderson had reprised his role. Anderson expressed his pleasure at returning to Holby City saying he was "thrilled to be given the opportunity to bring Ollie back". He said there would be "lots of surprises in store" for his character, who he dubbed "Oliver 2.0" due to him being older and wiser. Anderson had been approached to return numerous times but only agreed mid 2014. Oliver's return was planned to last one episode but Anderson was persuaded to return permanently. The BBC later released a promotional video publicising the character's return. Oliver's return storyline will see him admitted to the hospital suffering from a serious heart condition. Anderson explained that in the fourteen months since his departure from Holby, Oliver has been working abroad in South America, drinking heavily and self-medicating with several drugs. As he was not taking proper care of himself, he contracted a virus which has affected his heart. Ric Griffin (Hugh Quarshie) discovers a "bloodied and badly bruised" Oliver near the hospital entrance, and admits him immediately. When it emerges that Oliver's condition is potentially fatal, he asks Elliot to fit him with his new surgical device. However, Jac refuses to let the surgery go ahead as the device is only in the experimental stage. Anderson said "Oliver knows that the operation shouldn't go ahead. It's legally, ethically and morally not a procedure that he should have, but when Jac says no, he's disappointed and angry." However, Elliot refuses to give up on Oliver and makes sure the operation goes ahead. ### Second departure and return Anderson decided to leave the series again in 2017 and Oliver departed in the twentieth series episode "No Matter Where You Go, There You Are – Part Two", broadcast on 27 March 2018. Oliver's exit was not announced before transmission and Anderson confirmed the news on Twitter, commenting, "It's with a full, heavy heart that I now move on to adventures new." On 5 October 2021, it was announced that Anderson had reprised the role once again. The character returns in episode 1080, originally broadcast on 12 October 2021. His return story features Oliver returning to the hospital seeking a mentorship with Henrik. Henrik meets with Russ Faber (Simon Slater) and reluctantly agrees to take on one of his mentees. Henrik is shocked to discover that it is Oliver but agrees to help. Oliver wants to retrain as a surgeon following his brain injury. Henrik begins to worry that Oliver is not ready to return as he lets his emotions compromise his work. Anderson's return is only temporary and his departure coincides with the show's final festive episodes. He departs in episode 1089, originally broadcast on 14 December 2021. His exit story features Oliver deciding not to return to medicine and to join Zosia and his son, Arthur, in America. ## Reception Reviewers' interpretations of Oliver have generally been negative. Early in his tenure, he received positive commentary from Inside Soap, who said, "he may be a whizz-kid trainee doctor, but new Holby recruit Oliver Valentine isn't all work and no play! He's certainly got an eye for the ladies." Maeve Quigley, writing for the Daily Mirror, opined that Chrissie was more than a match for Oliver. She added that he soon learnt "you underestimate the female staff of Holby at your peril", after he thought his flirting had Chrissie "wrapped around his little finger." Also writing for the Daily Mirror, Simon called Oliver and Penny a "medical tag-team". She found it odd they did not get along professionally because she thought "a brother-sister relationship would be one of the least troublesome at Holby." A Liverpool Daily Post review said that Oliver made Penny feel about "two inches tall" when he was promoted to F2, and supported her question "Who needs enemies when I've got a brother like you?" Bree Treacy of RTÉ Ten found both of the Valentines annoying. In June 2010 she preferred Penny, "with Oliver definitely getting the award for the most annoying sibling in the hospital"; the following month she called them irritating and recommended they "get [their] acts together". On the day Oliver admitted to stealing Penny's exam paper, Daily Mirror critic Jim Shelley featured him in his negative "Down" column and branded him a "weasel". Oliver's lack of medical ability drew several negative reviews. Referring to his "cack-handedness", Simon described him as "screwing up just about everything he touches" upon his return to the AAU, a sentiment she repeated after Penny's death. Simon was left baffled when a professor of cardiology was offered the "very best care possible" – which resulted in Oliver treating him. She concluded by asking: "What's he doing at Holby being looked after by an F2?" The Guardian's Daniel Maier ridiculed Oliver's supposed talents, and jested that he was "a doctor with the blue eyes of Fonda and the medical competence of fondue". One Daily Record columnist said that Oliver "hoped to complete his training on the strength of his nice eyes and pretty". A special flashback episode, centered on Oliver dealing with the aftermath of Penny's death, was selected as recommended viewing by What's on TV, the Liverpool Daily Post, and the Daily Mirror. The Sunday Mirror's O'Sullivan called it poignant, and Rachel Mainwaring of the Western Mail wrote, "It's easy viewing (apart from the odd gooey scene) and full of moral as well as medical issues that leaves you shouting at the screen, 'Do the right thing Oliver, tell them the truth.'"
10,592,654
Gan Eng Seng
1,166,709,131
Chinese businessman and philanthropist
[ "1844 births", "1899 deaths", "19th-century philanthropists", "Founders of Singaporean schools and colleges", "People from Malacca", "Peranakan people in Malaysia", "Singaporean businesspeople", "Singaporean people of Hokkien descent", "Singaporean philanthropists" ]
Gan Eng Seng (simplified Chinese: 颜永成; traditional Chinese: 顏永成; pinyin: Yán Yǒngchéng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gân Íng-sîng; 1844–1899) was a Chinese businessman and philanthropist who was one of the early pioneers of Singapore. He is known for his generosity to many charitable causes in Malaya and Singapore during the British colonial era. Some of his most recognised contributions were the setting up of Gan Eng Seng School, the Thong Chai Medical Institution, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and the Ee Hoe Hean Club. ## Biography Gan was of Hokkien Chinese descent, born and educated in Melaka, and the eldest son of five in his family. His forefathers immigrated from Fujian, China, to Malaya. Owing to poor circumstances, he had an elementary school education in which he learnt to read and write in simple English and keep accounts. After his father's death, Gan, then 16 years old, was involved in the nutmeg business on a very small scale. Gan was later taken as an apprentice by Guthrie and Company. He was diligent and capable, and his ability won him the recognition and keen interest of Thomas Scott, one of the partners in the company. Scott was one of the early British pioneers responsible for developing Tanjung Pagar and the port of Singapore. Gan was subsequently promoted to the post of Assistant Storekeeper and then Chief Storekeeper of the company. In 1874, he became the company's Chief Compradore, a position which he held for the next 25 years. Scott later helped to finance some of Gan's early business ventures, one of which was to supply labour and transport to the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company which helped Gan make most of his personal fortunes. In 1895, Gan was one of the co-founders of the Ee Hoe Hean Club, a social-cum-business club where like-minded Chinese businessmen could mingle and exchange ideas. Its members included notable Chinese pioneers such as Lim Boon Keng, Tan Kah Kee, Lim Nee Soon etc. It was originally located on Duxton Hill but moved to Bukit Pasoh Road in 1925. The club plays an active role in community services and charity work to this day. ## Philanthropy ### Education #### Gan Eng Seng School Although Gan had little education, he realised its value as he prospered and became wealthy. His dream to build a school for the poor which taught both English and Chinese (Hokkien, as Mandarin was not commonly used in Southeast Asia then) was fulfilled in 1885, when he built the Anglo-Chinese Free School for boys in some shophouses in Telok Ayer Street (not related to the Anglo-Chinese School founded a year later by Bishop W.F. Oldham). In 1923, it was renamed to Gan Eng Seng School (GESS) in his honour. Gan Eng Seng School is unique among the schools in Singapore being the only one initiated, established and maintained by a local citizen with a gift of freehold property, buildings and adequate funds until his demise. Most other schools of the time were established by missionary or communal organisations. Before it became a government school in 1938, it had on its board of trustees fellow Chinese pioneers such as Tan Keong Saik, Ho Yang Peng, Wee Theam Tew, Lee Cheng Yan, S.J. Chan, Wee Swee Teow, Song Ong Siang, and Lim Boon Keng. Under their management, Gan Eng Seng School was able to serve the local community as a self-funded school for nearly forty years without interference. #### Other countries Gan also founded a school for the poor in the village of Sam-toh in Fujian, China, where his forefathers were born, and helped to finance and maintain the Tranquerah Chinese Free School in Melaka. He also enabled young men of promise to realise their potential by paying for their university education. ### Public health #### Thong Chai Medical Institution The Thong Chai Medical Institution was another major charity which Gan strongly backed and financed. It was established in 1867 and is the oldest charitable institution in Singapore. It began treating the poor of all races and religions in a rented shophouse at 31 Upper Pickering Street. In 1975, it was relocated to 50 Chin Swee Road and till today, the institution continues to provide free medical consultation and herbal medicines to all. #### Tan Tock Seng Hospital Gan was always among the first to respond to pleas for donations, giving thousands of dollars to local hospitals. He also helped to pay for coffins to bury the poor. The 1892 annual report of Tan Tock Seng Hospital mentioned that Gan donated a freehold property at Rochor to the hospital. The hospital is still serving the public and came into the international spotlight when it was designated as the sole treatment centre for the SARS epidemic which struck Singapore in 2003. ## Personal life Gan married his first wife, Ho Chwee Neo, at the age of 18, and in 1859 adopted his first son, Gan Tiang Tock, who was an important partner in the building of his fortune. He had a total of five wives, seven sons and two daughters. However, only two of his children were born by his wives; his other children were adopted, a customary practice which was then considered auspicious. ## Death On 9 September 1899, Gan died at the age of 55 in his house at No. 87 Amoy Street. His total assets were worth an estimated S\$550,000. He was buried at Leng Kee Sua somewhere on the hill by the side where Leng Kee Road runs today. Due to redevelopment of the area, his body was disinterred and reburied in a family grave at Bukit Brown Cemetery. After the death of his father, Gan Tiang Tok continued the family business for three years, though by the turn of century it was no longer so lucrative. Gan Tiang Tok was dogged by ill health from 1903 until his death in 1927 at the age of 68. ## Legacy In April 2008, Gan's life and generosity to many charitable causes are currently being showcased in a permanent gallery of the Peranakan Museum (former Tao Nan School building) at Armenian Street. The gallery titled Public Life: Making a difference (Level 3) honours Peranakans (Straits Chinese), who were prominent public figures and philanthropists such as Gan, Singapore pioneer Tan Kim Seng and former Cabinet Minister Lim Kim San. The Peranakan Museum presents a Southeast Asian-wide view of Peranakan culture and houses a comprehensive collection of Peranakan artefacts. The museum is the latest addition to the National Heritage Board's family of museums and is managed by the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM). The ACM staff consulted academics and collaborated with members of the Peranakan community to bring the museum to life. ## See also - Tan Tock Seng - Lee Choon Seng
5,886,588
L.A.P.D. (band)
1,143,258,060
American funk metal band
[ "1989 establishments in California", "1992 disestablishments in California", "American funk metal musical groups", "Anti- (record label) artists", "Heavy metal musical groups from California", "Musical groups disestablished in 1992", "Musical groups established in 1989", "Musical groups from Bakersfield, California" ]
L.A.P.D. (Love and Peace Dude, later Laughing as People Die) was an American funk metal band formed in 1989 in Bakersfield, California. From 1989 to 1992, the member line-up was James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, David Silveria and Richard Morrill. The group has released one studio album, one extended play, and one compilation album. The band was originally formed by Shaffer, Arvizu, and Morrill. Still in need for a drummer, the band placed an advertisement in a local newspaper which was answered by Silveria. Shortly after this, the band recorded a demo album which was meant to be sent out to record companies. Realizing they would have to continue the band in a more populated area in order for them to expand, all of the members but Shaffer left Bakersfield and resided in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (Shaffer later moved to Hollywood as well). In late 1989, the band hired a man named Arthur as their manager, resulting in them getting signed to Triple X Records. The band recorded and released their first extended play in 1989, but it suffered from poor distribution. In 1991, they released Who's Laughing Now, their first full-length studio album. After the release of their debut album, Morrill quit the band, and the rest of the group set out to form the band Korn. Several of the band's former members have formed solo projects. In 1997, a compilation album consisting of fourteen tracks was released. The band takes its name from the initials of the Los Angeles Police Department. ## History ### Formation and early days (1989) L.A.P.D. formed in Bakersfield, California, in 1989. The band was started with Richard Morrill, James Shaffer, and Reginald Arvizu. With both guitarist and bass guitar positions filled, there was still a need for a lead vocalist, as well as a percussionist. Richard Morrill was the only credited vocalist for L.A.P.D. The band still needed a drummer, so they put an ad in a local newspaper. The ad description stated that they were a "funk, thrash, metal groove band looking for a drummer." This resulted in David Silveria auditioning for the band. Although at the time Silveria was only fifteen, he was still recruited to the band, filling the percussionist position. L.A.P.D. recorded a demo album consisting of four songs, "James Brown", "Stinging Like a Bee", "Jesus", and "Don't Label Me", which were all ready to be sent out to various record labels. The group left Bakersfield and set out for Los Angeles, California. Shaffer was the only band member that was not in favor of the act. He was the only one to stay in Bakersfield, while all the other band members left. Silveria dropped out of high school to leave Bakersfield. Richard's mother Donna allowed the entire band plus 2 roadies to live with her in a 2 bedroom apartment in Burbank CA. L.A.P.D. began rehearsing at a space located in Hollywood, California, near Western Avenue. Shaffer decided to return to the band when he and his girlfriend broke up. Brian Welch, a guitarist who knew Shaffer and Arvizu when they were in high school (and who later joined the band when they reformed as Korn), would occasionally "check out the [band's] music scene." At the time, Welch was a member of the band Creep. ### Releases and break-up (1989–1990) L.A.P.D. was performing at several gigs in Hollywood throughout their self-titled EP era. After one of their shows, a local and drumming protege of Gene Krupa known as Arthur Von Blomberg was positioned as manager. After the group was kicked out of their original studio for not paying the rent on time, they quickly found another practice space in Santa Monica, California. In 1990, their manager introduced them to Triple X Records, an independent Los Angeles based record company that has signed artists such as Dr. Dre, Social Distortion, Jane's Addiction, and The Vandals. The company offered them a contract after seeing them in concert. Bassist Arvizu described the contract as "pitiful", but L.A.P.D. still signed and began recording their album. According to Arvizu, the record company did not distribute the album properly. In 1989, the group released their first EP Love and Peace Dude through Triple X Records. In 1991, L.A.P.D. recorded their second album, Who's Laughing Now. Released on May 3, 1991, it was their first full-length studio album, and consisted of eleven tracks. After they recorded the album, the group's lead vocalist, Richard Morrill, left L.A.P.D. and Bassist Arvizu wrote: "Richard Morrill quit L.A.P.D when he met his wife (m. 1993) Rania. So Munky [Shaffer], David [Silveria], and I had to start all over again." While looking for a new singer, they heard Jonathan Davis singing for the alternative metal band Sexart. After the show, the remaining band members of L.A.P.D. asked him to join their band. Shortly after this, the band changed their name to Korn and added Brian Welch to the line-up. ### Post–breakup and subsequent projects (1992–2010) The band continued on through Shaffer, Arvizu, and Silveria, who soon added Jonathan Davis as lead singer and Brian Welch as another guitarist. Bassist Reginald Arvizu, (now known better as "Fieldy") released a solo album entitled Rock'n Roll Gangster on January 22, 2002. In 2006, Fieldy formed the band StillWell with Q-Unique and P.O.D. drummer Noah "Wuv" Bernardo. Fear and the Nervous System is currently one of James Shaffer's (now known by band members as "Munky") side projects, formed in 2008. Aside from projects by the members of L.A.P.D., in 1997 a compilation album was also released. The album featured songs from both their EP, Love and Peace Dude, and their full–length studio album, Who's Laughing Now. In 2010, L.A.P.D. had a short revival, when Morrill began playing with a new line-up that included Derek Campbell (guitar), Jason Torres (drums), Troy Sandoval (bass) & Kevin Guariglia (dj) in Denver, CO. The group recorded a 5 track demo, that was never officially released, but was posted on the band's social media pages. The group split in early 2011. ## Style and influence The group considered themselves to be a "funk, thrash metal groove band" when they posted an ad in a Bakersfield newspaper. Bradley Torreano from AllMusic noted that the band was "a far different beast than what its members would move on to," while also saying it incorporated "elements of funk into their thrashy stew." Bassist Reginald Arvizu described L.A.P.D.'s music as being "very heavy", and also said that "audiences loved [them]." L.A.P.D.'s art and visual imagery complemented the themes of their music and performance. The band members adopted a "baggy hip-hop street way of dressing". Bassist Arvizu had dreadlocks, and said that there "was absolutely nothing femme about [the band]." When the band was first started, their lead vocalist introduced them to bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More, and the group has since cited them as major influences to their musical style. The group is considered to have launched the careers of three members of the nu metal band Korn. Drummer David Silveria said that "L.A.P.D. really was good for us because we learned about the industry and how things work." Korn has influenced bands such as Slipknot, Saliva, Breaking Benjamin, Cold, and Flyleaf. ## Discography ## Members ## See also - List of Korn member solo projects - List of funk rock bands
26,279,931
No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School RAAF
1,147,372,564
null
[ "Military units and formations disestablished in 1942", "Military units and formations established in 1940", "RAAF training units" ]
No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School (No. 4 EFTS) was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilot training unit that operated during World War II. It was one of twelve elementary flying training schools employed by the RAAF to provide introductory flight instruction to new pilots as part of Australia's contribution to the Empire Air Training Scheme. No. 4 EFTS was established in January 1940 at Mascot, New South Wales, and initially operated in conjunction with civilian flying organisations based at Mascot and Newcastle. The school was disbanded in April 1942, and its operations transferred to No. 6 Elementary Flying School at Tamworth. ## History Flying instruction in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) underwent major changes following the outbreak of World War II, in response to a vast increase in the number of aircrew volunteers and the commencement of Australia's participation in the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS). The Air Force's pre-war pilot training facility, No. 1 Flying Training School at RAAF Station Point Cook, Victoria, was supplanted in 1940–41 by twelve elementary flying training schools (EFTS) and eight service flying training schools (SFTS). The EFTS provided a twelve-week introductory flying course to personnel who had graduated from one of the RAAF's initial training schools. Flying training was undertaken in two stages: the first involved four weeks of instruction (including ten hours of flying) to determine trainees' suitability to become pilots. Those that passed this grading process then received a further eight weeks of training (including sixty-five hours of flying) at the EFTS. Pilots who successfully completed this course were posted to an SFTS in either Australia or Canada for the next stage of their instruction as military aviators. No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School (No. 4 EFTS) was formed at Kingsford Smith Aerodrome, Mascot, New South Wales, on 2 January 1940, and came under the control of No. 2 Group. Its inaugural commanding officer was Squadron Leader A.W.L. Ellis. Mascot had been Sydney's civil airport since 1920, and was home to several private aviation organisations. It was the airfield's position as the hub of civilian flight instruction in New South Wales that led to it becoming the base for the fourth flying school the RAAF raised during World War II. The same principle was followed in basing No. 1 EFTS at Parafield, South Australia, No. 2 EFTS at Archerfield, Queensland, and No. 3 EFTS at Essendon, Victoria. The first training courses at No. 4 EFTS were not conducted under the auspices of EATS but by civil organisations under government contract. The instructors from these organisations were commissioned as officers in the RAAF. The flying school was divided into four flights: "A" (training conducted by the Royal Aero Club of New South Wales), "B" (conducted by Kingsford Smith Air Services Pty Ltd), "C" (conducted by Airflite Pty Ltd), and "D" (conducted at Newcastle by the Newcastle Aero Club). The training aircraft were de Havilland Tiger Moths and Gipsy Moths. All air cadets were subject to RAAF discipline, and the school's training program was directed by the commanding officer. The initial intake of twenty-four students arrived on 8 January 1940. Accommodation was severely limited at the new flying school: No. 4 EFTS headquarters was housed in the clubhouse of the Royal Aero Club, the base sick quarters utilised the Department of Civil Aviation's casualty room, and cadets had to pay for their own rooms at the nearby Brighton-Le-Sands Hotel. No. 4 EFTS's strength as at 1 February 1940 was four officers, twenty-one airmen, one civilian, and twenty-four cadets. The second intake of twenty-four cadets arrived four days later. The school's inaugural EATS course commenced on 29 April. The government's contracts with the civilian organisations for flying instruction at Mascot and Newcastle were terminated during August 1940, and their aircraft—fifteen Tiger Moths and eight Gipsy Moths—were impressed by the RAAF. Airflite was engaged to provide maintenance. On 18 November, an instructor was killed when he fell into a Randwick street from a Tiger Moth performing a slow roll after his safety harness broke; neither he nor his student, who though badly shaken was able to land the plane, were wearing parachutes. One Tiger Moth landed on top of another on 27 December; both planes were badly damaged but no-one was killed. No. 4 EFTS's strength as at 1 February 1941 was twenty officers, 101 airmen, and sixty-two aircrew trainees. Two Tiger Moths collided over the Lakes Golf Club on 6 April, killing the instructor and his pupil in one of the aircraft; the pilots of the other plane survived after crash-landing on the golf course. Owing to urgent requirements to house elements of the United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), No. 4 EFTS was disbanded on 24 April 1942, and its operations transferred to No. 6 Elementary Flying School at Tamworth, New South Wales. No. 4 EFTS's graduates included Clive Caldwell, who became Australia's top-scoring fighter ace of World War II. ## Commanding officers No. 4 EFTS was commanded by the following officers:
43,461,570
Honor to Us All
1,173,521,021
null
[ "1998 songs", "Disney Renaissance songs", "Songs from Mulan (franchise)", "Songs with lyrics by David Zippel", "Songs written by Matthew Wilder" ]
"Honor to Us All" is a song written by composer Matthew Wilder and lyricist David Zippel for Walt Disney Pictures' 36th animated feature film Mulan (1998). Recorded by singers Beth Fowler, Marni Nixon and Lea Salonga, the latter two of whom provide the singing voices of Grandmother Fa and Fa Mulan, respectively, the song is a character number performed by several older Chinese women and female members of Mulan's family as they prepare the main character to be evaluated by the Matchmaker in the scene towards the beginning of the film. Songwriter Stephen Schwartz was originally enlisted to write the songs for Mulan, and had written a song called "China Doll" intended for the scene in which Mulan prepares to meet the Matchmaker. After the songwriter resigned from Mulan in favor of writing songs for rival studio DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt (1998), Schwartz was ultimately replaced with Wilder and Zippel, who wrote "Honor to Us All" with which to replace "China Doll". Nixon's casting as Grandmother Fa's singing voice ultimately influenced Disney to recast the voice actress who had originally been hired to supply Grandmother Fa's speaking voice with actress June Foray due to closer similarities between Nixon's and Foray's voices. Intended to be ironic, "Honor to Us All" features lyrics that instruct Mulan on how to become an ideal bride by emphasizing her physical appearance, remaining obedient to her prospective husband and eventually bearing children. Parodying traditional gender roles and cultural expectations of women, "Honor to Us All" has been identified as an East Asian-influenced song that heavily incorporates Asian instrumentation, more-so than any other musical number in the film. The song's use of pentatonic scales and Chinese flutes also help establish the film's setting, as does referencing the Chinese tradition of praying to one's ancestors. "Honor to Us All" has received mixed reviews from film and music critics, who were divided over both the song's quality and intended message. ## Background and recording `Songwriter Stephen Schwartz had originally been slated to write both the music and lyrics for Mulan. He ultimately left the project to write songs for rival studio DreamWorks' animated film The Prince of Egypt (1998) after Disney executives forced him to choose between the two. Schwartz had completed only two songs for Mulan before his resignation, one of which was entitled "China Doll" which, according to Schwartz, "more or less corresponds to the scene in the film in which Mulan goes to the Matchmaker". Schwartz was eventually replaced by composer Matthew Wilder and lyricist David Zippel, who wrote "Honor to Us All" to replace "China Doll". Disney cast American singer and actress Marni Nixon, one of Hollywood's best known ghost singers, as the singing voice of Grandmother Fa, Mulan's paternal grandmother. Nixon received the sheet music for "Honor to Us All" to review prior to auditioning for the role. The filmmakers then showed Nixon a drawing of the character, by whose comedic appearance the singer was immediately "enchanted", telling herself "you've just got to give her a voice ... or, in this case, an unvoice." Nixon decided to make the character sound as though she was merely attempting to sing, rather than actually singing, keeping in mind that the elderly character is toothless. Nixon made no effort to sound like the actress who had been cast as Grandmother Fa's speaking voice, at the time, and almost reconsidered auditioning for the role upon realizing how different she sounded from Grandmother Fa's speaking voice actress.` Nixon's approach impressed the studio, and her recording, which took the singer only thirty-two minutes to complete, was ultimately kept. In the score of Mulan, Nixon performs only one verse in the song. Her musical contribution to "Honor to Us All" marked the singer's return to film roles following a lengthy hiatus. Mulan was also Nixon's first Disney film in 10 years; she had previously performed in the musical film Mary Poppins (1964). Nixon was eventually joined by Broadway performers Beth Fowler and Lea Salonga, although the three singers never recorded together. The studio enjoyed Nixon's performance so much that they ultimately decided to recast the actress who had been providing Grandmother Fa's speaking voice at the time with someone who sounded more like Nixon, hiring June Foray to provide the speaking voice for the role. Disney had been considered hiring actresses Lauren Bacall and June Havoc to record "Honor to Us All" prior to hearing Nixon. The songwriters first based "Honor to Us All" on a rough cut they had seen of the scene; the animators eventually synced the animated characters with the singers' voices. Author Jennifer Fleeger wrote in her book Mismatched Women: The Siren's Song Through the Machine (2014) that the studio's decision to cast Nixon, an American who had previously done similar work as the singing voices of a Puerto Rican and Englishwoman in the musical films West Side Story (1961) and My Fair Lady (1964), respectively, as an elderly Chinese woman "speaks volumes about the desired singing voices of these supposedly diverse new characters." "Honor to Us All" was one of Nixon's final film performances before her death in 2016. ## Context ### Use in Mulan The film's use of "Honor to Us All" has been described as "expository" by Billboard's Andrew Unterberger. Within the context of Mulan, the song both introduces audiences to the title character while demonstrating some Chinese traditions, revealing that Mulan must initially rely on marriage to "settle her fate" at the beginning of the film. A character piece, "Honor to Us All" is performed by several older Chinese women, including Mulan's mother and grandmother Fa Li and Grandmother Fa, respectively, to Mulan as they prepare to the character to present her to the Matchmaker, hoping that she will be paired with a suitable husband and ultimately uphold their family's heritage. Before Mulan is introduced, the character can be heard reciting the "Final Admonition": "Quiet and demure. Graceful. Polite. Delicate. Refined. Poised. Punctual", values that are later visualized during "Honor to Us All". The musical number is preceded by a scene in which Mulan's father, Fa Zhou, asks his ancestors to help his daughter impress the Matchmaker, and decides that more prayer is required upon realizing that Mulan is already late for her appointment. Meanwhile, Fa Li is growing impatient waiting for her daughter to arrive at the village bathhouse, regretting not having prayed to her ancestors herself earlier that morning, to which Grandmother Fa responds "How lucky can they be? They're dead." Preparations begin once Mulan arrives on horseback. Throughout the musical sequence, Mulan is taken to various shops and stores in the village, in which several women take turns painstakingly bathing, dressing and applying makeup to the character, one of whom compares her to a "sow's ear". Mulan tries her best to remain calm and demure throughout the entire process while learning about the requirements for being a girl who honors her family, as her mother and grandmother give her a makeover. The women advise Mulan that she will successfully find a husband by focusing on her physical appearance and striving to be an obedient housewife, instructing her that primping is a key ingredient in their "recipe for instant bride" and teaching her that marrying well is the only way for a girl to honor her family. She is told that maintaining her manners and physical appearance will assist her with finding a husband and ultimately bringing honor to her family. The song also reinforces the idea that the best way for Mulan to impress her future in-laws is by serving them tea and eventually giving birth to a son, teaching Mulan that men want a wife who is calm while boasting an attractive hairstyle and waistline. At times Mulan does resist her transformation, appearing to look uncomfortable in her own body. Salon's Jenn Shreve described Mulan as "clumsy in her woman's body, caught in that awkward limbo where the body belongs to an adult but the child inside hasn't quite caught up." In an effort to make her granddaughter even more appealing, Grandmother Fa bestows traditional Chinese gifts upon her. The sequence also features a prayer from Mulan to her ancestors, during which she asks that they help her not disappoint them or herself, reminding herself that failure to conform to society's expectations of her as a young woman will ultimately result in "uproot[ing] her family tree." Towards the end of the scene after her makeover has finally been completed, Mulan stumbles through the marketplace to join a line of several young women, nearly identical to each other, who are also waiting to be evaluated by the Matchmaker; Mulan struggles to accept the idea that she is expected look and behave exactly like them. In the song, the girls demonstrate their understanding of the consequences should they fail to impress the Matchmaker by equating the character to an undertaker, meaning they believe disappointing her is "more powerful than death itself". A "playful rendition" of "Honor to Us All" can be heard during composer Jerry Goldsmith's "Suite from Mulan" score, which was released as a track on the film's soundtrack. ### Interpretations Similar to Disney's Aladdin (1992) and Pocahontas (1995) before it, Mulan begins with an opening song that establishes the film's location, setting and cultural characteristics, in this case "Honor to Us All". According to RogerEbert.com's Soren Hough, the song "establish[es] a gendered social hierarchy for its title character to rebel against." "Honor to Us All" attempts to deconstruct the idea that women are only good for looking attractive and getting married. According to Diversity in Disney Films: Critical Essays on Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality and Disability (2013) author Johnson Cheu, the power of the Matchmaker's decision "emphasizes the necessity of heterosexual approbation in order to secure a place in society." The musical number highlights Mulan's greatest dilemma; her own individuality constantly contradicts against society's expectations of young women. Consequence of Sound's Dominick Suzanne-Mayer cited "Honor to Us All" as an example of Mulan spending a significant portion of the film at the mercy of other characters, framing "her preparation rituals for courtship as a gauntlet of demands from ... her entire village" while "instructing her about how important it is for her to be complacent and attentive." Tim Brayton, writing for the film review website Alternate Ending, believes that the song is intended to demonstrate "the idea that Imperial China was founded on unusually strong patriarchal principles". Author Phyllis Frus, writing in her book Beyond Adaptation: Essays on Radical Transformations of Original Works (2010), observed that the musical number offers examples of women and men occupying different roles in society: "a man fights for his country, whereas a woman gives birth to sons." The New York Times's Janet Maslin believes that scene's images of girls playing with dolls while boys play swords are used to show viewers "how wrongly and repressively [Mulan] is being treated" during "Honor to Us All". According to Sputnikmusic's Irving Tan, the song "opens and recounts the massive struggle that girls in the Han Dynasty had to face due to the repressive cultural norms of that age." Writing in his book Diversity in Disney Films: Critical Essays on Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality and Disability, author Johnson Cheu observed that every ideal characteristic of femininity described by the characters during the scene are "fabricated rather than natural", none of which are naturally associated with Mulan's gender but instead resemble "culturally constructed markers of femininity" that girls are forced to assume once they transition into womanhood. According to the book East-West Identities: Globalization, Localization, and Hybridization (2007), "Honor to Us All" helps establish Mulan as a tomboy. Hough Believes that "feminine-centric songs" that appear during the beginning of the film, such as "Honor to Us All", are eventually abandoned and replaced by more masculine numbers to indicate that Mulan "has become, as far as the audience is concerned, 'a man.'" ## Music and lyrics According to the song's official sheet music, "Honor to Us All" was written in common time in the key of C major. It is performed at a "very quick" tempo of 168 beats per minute, lasting a total duration of three minutes and three seconds. The singers' vocals span nearly two octaves, from A<sub>3</sub> to E<sub>5</sub>. More similar in style to songs usually featured in Broadway musicals than animated films, "Honor to Us All" makes the most use of "ethnic instrumentation" out of all of the songs on the film's soundtrack, remaining distinctive in terms of its style, instrumentation, themes discussing cultural expectations of women, and vocal arrangements. The performance is influenced by traditional East Asian music. The Disney Song Encyclopedia author Thomas S. Hischak identified "Honor to Us All" as an "Oriental-flavored number" that features "a trace of Asian sound" courtesy of Wilder and Zippel's songwriting and Fowler and Nixon's performances, the latter of whom sings using a "lilting soprano". In Nixon's verse, Grandma Fa bestows traditional Chinese gifts upon Mulan that are intended to make her more appealing to a man, which is followed by a prayer performed solo by Salonga. Instrumentally, "Honor to Us All" is intended to represent the cultural characteristics of China by incorporating pentatonic scales and a Chinese flute. According to the book Heroism and Gender in War Films (2014), the lyrics of "Honor to Us All" outline the "perfect woman". The phrase "Honor to us all" is constantly reiterated throughout the song. Identified by Hough as an "ultra-feminine satirical number", its "witty" lyrics are intended to be highly ironic, expressing that a daughter can only honor herself and her family by marrying, stating: Beginning with the line "This is what you give me to work with", the performers offer an extensive list of examples and qualities required to create an ideal bride, including the lyrics "Wait and see, when we're through, boys will gladly go to war for you" and "With good breeding and a tiny waist you'll bring honor to us all." According to Hough, "A Girl Worth Fighting For" references "the superficial traits discussed in 'Honor to Us All',", such as a woman's physical appearance and cooking ability. The line "scarier than the undertaker, we are meeting our Matchmaker" appears towards the end of the song. Lyrically, "Honor to Us All" also makes heavy use of the literary device alliteration, as heard during its final verse "Destiny, guard our girls/And our future as it fast unfurls/Please look kindly on these cultured pearls/Each a perfect porcelain doll". Thought Catalog contributor Chelsea Fagan felt that the song's lyrics make it appropriate for single women whose loved ones are constantly pressuring them to pursue romantic relationships despite the fact that they would much rather remain single: "the kind of girl who doesn't need to be put into a tight-waisted outfit to go find herself a husband and pop out a bunch of sword-wielding sons. You’ve got other plans". ## Critical reception "Honor to Us All" has received mixed reviews from music critics, who shared differing opinions about the song's intended message. Irving Tan of Sputnikmusic reviewed "Honor to Us All" as "peerless in creating an atmosphere of burdening expectations, and just by listening to it you know that Mulan is on the verge of single-handedly chopping down ten generations' worth of family tree honor." Soundtrack.Net's Dan Goldwasser described "Honor to Us All" as a "nice" song but felt that it was more appropriate for a Broadway musical than an animated film. Jamie Meun of Medium appreciated the song for "expos[ing] sexism instead of promoting it" and "expos[ing] the ridiculous expectations of women in China during the Han Dynasty." Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers' Schemes Sharon Lamb was concerned that younger listeners would not understand the irony intended by the song's lyrics about women and take them seriously. The New York Times film critic Janet Maslin disagreed with Lamb, writing, "Even the tiniest viewers should see how wrongly and repressively she is being treated." Kristyn Burtt of SheKnows accused the song of perpetuating "stereotype[s] that women are a prize in marriage", finding it difficult "not to cringe when listening to the song" despite the fact that Mulan refutes these stereotypes and traditions. Burtt also criticized its lyrics, questioning "why these lyrics are in a family film. It’s even more shocking to think we didn’t blink twice at this 20 years ago." "Honor to Us All" has not particularly enjoyed a reputation as one of Disney's "classic" songs. On Billboard's ranking of "Every Song From the Disney Renaissance (1989–'99)", "Honor to Us All" was placed at number 41. Billboard music critic Andrew Unterberger described the song as "too expository to be all that catchy" while "the traditional Eastern musical influence feels well-intentioned but clumsy." However, he highlighted the song's second verse as "a nice touch". Bustle's Kadeen Griffiths considers "Honor to Us All" one of "14 Disney Songs You Only Know The Chorus Of" despite its catchiness, selecting "scarier than the undertaker, we are meeting our Matchmaker" as the only lyrics she remembers. Consequence of Sound ranked "Honor to Us All" one of Disney's worst songs, at number 214. In a more positive opinion, The Odyssey Online ranked "Honor to Us All" one of "The Best Disney Songs From The 90s", at number seven, while BuzzFeed ranked it the 63rd greatest animated Disney song, out of 102. ## Cover versions and parodies In January 2017, a group of Chinese children garnered significant attention when a video of them reenacting the "Honor to Us All" musical sequence in their native language was released to the Internet and went viral. First shared by the Facebook page Disney Power, the video was eventually identified as a segment from a Chinese television show that features children reenacting scenes from popular films. The child actress who portrays Grandmother Fa in the reenactment has been widely commended for her performance, who Oh My Disney described as "in it to win it." Boing Boing's Caroline Siede wrote that the actress "perfectly captures Mulan's grandmother". Praising the children's accuracy upon reviewing a video that compares the live-action reenactment to the animated original side-by-side, Refinery29s Michael Hafford wrote that the children "remind how ridiculous it is that Hollywood more or less refuses to cast non-white actors in lead roles", specifically referring to the whitewashing controversy surrounding American actors Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson's casting in the films The Great Wall (2016) and Ghost in the Shell (2017), respectively. Hafford continued, "if literal children can be great in a scene from Mulan, why can't movie studios give roles to, like, adults?"
2,595,099
Everything in Transit
1,171,866,325
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[ "2005 debut albums", "Albums produced by Andrew McMahon", "Concept albums", "Jack's Mannequin albums", "Maverick Records albums" ]
Everything in Transit is the debut studio album by American rock band Jack's Mannequin. Amid rising tensions within Something Corporate, the band went on a break; returning to his home in Orange County, California, frontman Andrew McMahon began working on a new project with producer Jim Wirt. Tracking commenced at 4th Street Studios in California, with additional recording done at other studios. Towards the end of the sessions, McMahon signed with major label Maverick Records; tracking was presumed finished in late 2004. McMahon began playing shows with Jack's Mannequin in early 2005; the group embarked on six-week tour, which coincided with the single release of "Holiday from Real". With the recording and inclusion of "Dark Blue", the album was pushed back to early August. McMahon began suffering from chronic fatigue and laryngitis; in the following days, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Over the next two months, McMahon was admitted to hospital, underwent two rounds of chemotherapy (in between which he contracted pneumonia), and had a bone marrow/stem-cell transplant from his sister Katie. "The Mixed Tape" was released as a single in mid-July; an animated music video was made later that month. After two delays, Everything in Transit was eventually released on August 23. McMahon spent the next two months recovering at his parents' house before going in remission in October and played his first show since his diagnosis in December. He started promoting the album with a few late-night talk show appearances, before supporting O.A.R. on their US tour; "Dark Blue" was released as a radio single in June to coincide with the trek. They embarked on a headlining US trek in September and October, followed by a supporting slot for Panic! at the Disco on their US arena tour, which was promoted with the release of "La La Lie". Another headlining US tour followed in February and March 2007, leading to a performance at The Bamboozle festival. Everything in Transit is a concept album centred around McMahon's return to California and the demise of a long-standing relationship. Removed from the musical style of Something Corporate, it is a pop rock and power pop record, influenced by pop albums from the 1960s and 1970s, specifically the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966). Everything in Transit received a positive reception from critics, with a few praising McMahon's lyrics. It sold over 22,000 copies in its first week, charting at number 37 on the Billboard 200 as a result. As of August 2008, it had sold over 250,000 copies. Celebratory reissues were released on the album's 5th and 10th anniversaries; the latter was supported with a tour. ## Background In the early 2000s, Andrew McMahon was the frontman for pop punk act Something Corporate. He had recorded and toured with the band since high school, releasing three albums. As a result, he spent little time at home. During some downtime in December 2003, McMahon wrote "Locked Doors", a track that differed from the group's usual style. He recorded it himself in a studio, which he found an enlightening experience. McMahon tracked 17 demos at The Jungle Room, with most of their themes centered around his family and his upbringing. McMahon sent them to Something Corporate collaborator Jim Wirt, who singled out "Holiday for Real". The pair spent two days in a studio working on that and "Locked Doors". Something Corporate went on a co-headlining US tour with Yellowcard in March and April 2004 and supported the Offspring on an Australian tour in June. Unable to work together, the band members' relationships became strained. They discussed recording another album. Despite having a batch of songs already written, McMahon thought the idea sounded "terrifying". The group was also facing pressure from the music industry, and a number of things were disrupting the otherwise friendly atmosphere between band members. Concerned that a new album would feel forced, and they had reached the point of burning out, the band decided to take a break to recuperate. After returning home to Orange County, McMahon spent some time with his friends and family, and frequented local eateries. McMahon wrote material on his Something Corporate touring piano that he had moved into his bedroom. He would often wake up in the middle of the night and write songs. McMahon and Wirt began working on a project ultimately titled Jack's Mannequin, with McMahon handling the writing, and the pair playing all the instruments. McMahon toyed with the idea of calling it The Mannequins, but was tired of bands beginning with "the". He got the word "mannequin" from a random conversation, and at the same time he had finished a song entitled "Dear Jack"; he joined the two names. McMahon threw himself into the project, claiming he worked harder on it than he did with Something Corporate. He rarely slept or ate, and was typically wasted for over half a day at a time. Within a few months, he stockpiled dozens of songs, which were influenced by Southern California's landscape and atmosphere. Though he had no plan to release the songs, he intended to record them. ## Production The main tracking occurred at 4th Street Studios in Santa Monica, California, with engineer CJ Eiriksson. McMahon financed the recording sessions with over \$40,000 of his own funds, and co-produced the album with Wirt. Eiriksson and Neil Couser, who served as an additional engineer and engineered "La La Lie", handled Pro Tools. McMahon felt protective of the recording environment and was cautious about how many people were in the studio. He wanted to "do and say exactly what was on [his] mind", and only brought in people after the tracks were mostly completed. A few of McMahon's friends contributed to the recordings: Wirt (vocals, bass and guitar), Something Corporate guitarist Bobby Anderson (guitar), session musician Patrick Warren (organ, strings and arrangements) and Mötley Crüe member Tommy Lee (drums). During this time, McMahon did session work for Hidden in Plain View and Lee. McMahon heard through mutual business associates that Lee enjoyed North. One night Lee invited McMahon to work with him. The drum tracks were made up of samples by Eiriksson, recorded by Scott Humphrey and Chris Baseford at The Chop Shop. When McMahon realized he need an actual drummer, Lee was brought in and tracked drums in a single day. The samples were then mixed with Lee's drums; Eiriksson and Jay McMillian also played drums during the sessions. Additional recording was done at three studios with extra engineers: Rock Central Studios with engineer Josey Alcantar; NRG Studios with Eiriksson and assistant engineer Dave Colvin; and Sound City Studios with assistant engineer Peter Martinez. Terry Wilson and Brian Coffman contributed to the recordings, the former playing sitar on "Kill the Messenger", and the latter with guitar on "MFEO" and "Into the Airwaves". After tracking six songs, McMahon felt it formed an entity separate from Something Corporate and became determined to release it. McMahon was talking to manager, expressing concern that he didn't want to release the project with major label Geffen Records, who Something Corporate was signed to. His manager got him out of his contract with Geffen; the pair later met with two record labels. He approached major label Maverick Records three quarters of the way through the recording process and signed with them. They gave him a handheld video camera to videotape the remaining sessions intending to use clips for online promotion. Initially, he simply said what he intended to do in the studio on the given day, but it evolved into a dialogue on how his day went. After finishing the initial track listing, McMahon showed the album to his label. An A&R representative suggested adding one more song; instead, he went back and reworked the track listing, adding two songs in the process: "La La Lie" and "Into the Airwaves". Apart from a brief two-week tour with Something Corporate in November 2004, recording was reportedly finished in December, until "Dark Blue" was recorded in May 2005. The recordings were then mixed by Chris Lord-Alge. An outtake from the sessions, "Cell Phone", was later recorded for The Glass Passenger (2008). ## Composition ### Themes and music Everything in Transit is a concept album that details McMahon's return to his hometown, which he left to pursue a career in music. McMahon wrote the material during a dark period of self-exploration in his life impacted by Something Corporate's hiatus and the ending of a long relationship with Kelly Hansch caused in part by his career pursuit. (The pair would later reconcile and marry.) Throughout the album, there are references to becoming sick and being hospitalized. McMahon mentioned the lyrics are about recovering from his frequent touring with Something Corporate, which he compared to recovering from an illness of sorts. He realized the best way to get the material out of himself was to put the lyrics against an ideology of hope. Much of Something Corporate's material was written when McMahon was 16–17 years old during various make-up-and-break-ups. For Everything in Transit, he thought he found real love, and had decided to put the relationship on hold in an attempt to find himself. Musically, the album has been classed as pop rock and power pop, abandoning the pop punk style of Something Corporate. When working in a band, decisions are often made democratically as a collective. Working on the project alone allowed McMahon to write the song he could hear in his head. He tried shaping the album after some of his favorite records—the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, Weezer's Weezer and Tom Petty's Wildflowers. He also listened to electronic pop acts such as the Killers, the Faint and TV on the Radio, as well as David Bowie and Madman Across the Water (1971) by Elton John. Many elements of the Beach Boys are found on the album, including the booklet featuring an autobiographical tale in the form of a storybook inspired by Pet Sounds. It reignited McMahon's love of pop music and his interest in crafting a record that was unashamedly pop. He subsequently began listening to a lot of pop albums from the 1960s and 1970s that he considered better than his own material. After partially reconnecting with Southern California, he used the landscape's sounds as a backdrop for a few of the tracks. There are audio clips throughout the album that McMahon captured during the recording sessions on his handheld camera. ### Songs "Holiday from Real" opens with barely audible sounds of seagulls, beaches and traffic, before moving into a bass slide. McMahon talks about arriving home and being viewed as a visitor in his own world against the backdrop of Los Angeles. He wrote "The Mixed Tape" about making the perfect mixtape for his girlfriend. The track starts with a chord progression being played by partial distorted guitar, before McMahon's vocals come in. "Bruised" includes a drum machine, and was compared to Straylight Run with McMahon's upbeat vocal take; it talks about handling the loss of leaving a partner. "I'm Ready" opens with a spoken-word introduction, prior to full-band instrumentation kicking in. A crescendo starts after the first verse, but instead of building to a chorus, it goes to the next verse. It talks about accepting real life and being willing to move on in the face of adversity. The song features a tongue-in-cheek monologue, sounding like a journal entry, about the annoyance of putting on new clothes every day. It was one of the earliest tracks written for the project, written about guitarist William Tell leaving Something Corporate and McMahon's break up with Hansch. During the choruses sections of "La La Lie", McMahon is accompanied by backing vocals singing the track's title. The bridge section features McMahon yelling "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!", followed by harmonica and guitar solos. "Dark Blue" was written on a college campus stage and out of all the songs, it had the most similarity to Something Corporate; it became the last song recorded for the album. The song's lyrics were completely re-written from the original draft, which included the placeholder lyric "I'm black and blue". As it was the last song, McMahon was initially unsure what to talk about. It then became the album's centrepiece, with McMahon explaining: "...all of a sudden I knew what the story was, and I was having these crazy dreams about tidal waves and the characters ... became this story about this massive storm coming and sweeping us off into the water." "Miss Delaney" is about a girl based in Seattle, Washington that helped McMahon through a rough period in his life; it has a theremin reminiscent of the one heard on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations". "Kill the Messenger" talks about leaving someone you care about as it's for the better. "MFEO" is a two-part track—part one is "Made for Each Other"; the second part is "You Can Breathe". The first part is a piano-and-synth-centred track about McMahon analyzing his place in the world; the second part eventually fades out and concludes with his commentary about the making of the album and his need to purchase more videotape. McMahon said he put the track as the closer "because it spells out an over all philosophy. It definitely is in line with who I am, and what I believe". "Into the Airwaves" was compared to "The Astronaut" from Something Corporate's Leaving Through the Window. ## Release ### Initial promotion and McMahon's leukemia After touring with Something Corporate in January and February 2005, McMahon began playing shows with Jack's Mannequin in March and debuted material from the project. McMahon's backing band, named the Mannequins, consisted of Anderson and Jacques Brautbar on guitar, Jon Sullivan on bass and Jay McMillan on drums. Anderson studied music with Sullivan at Virginia Commonwealth University; Sullivan had been friends with McMillan for a few years. Promotion started when the band performed at South by Southwest, around which time they began releasing music. On April 17, Jack's Mannequin's debut album was announced for release in the coming summer through Maverick Records. Another announcement followed four days later, revealing the album's title, Everything in Transit, and the release date of July 12. In May, the group embarked on a six-week tour to build up hype for the album. On May 10, "Holiday from Real" was released as a 7" vinyl single, featuring two versions of "Kill the Messenger" (the album version and an acoustic version) as B-sides. On May 20, two songs were made available for streaming through the band's Myspace account. Two days later, it was announced the album's release date was pushed back to August 9 as "Dark Blue" was written and recorded for inclusion on it. Around this time, McMahon started feeling sick while on tour, suffering from chronic fatigue and laryngitis. On May 25, he contacted his doctor, who said he should cancel the following night's show as he could face permanent damage to his voice. He met with his doctor who ran some blood tests after seeing McMahon's pale complexion. Two days later, during a mastering session for the album, McMahon received a phone call. His doctor said he needed a blood transfusion. He checked in to the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, where he was sent directly to the leukemia ward. McMahon spent the next few days waiting for the results of a bone marrow sample taken from his hip. On June 1, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. All upcoming tour dates with both Jack's Mannequin and Something Corporate were postponed indefinitely. He flew to Los Angeles and was admitted to the UCLA Medical Center and underwent a first round of chemotherapy. With a lot of time in hospital, McMahon listened to the album and decided to re-sequence it. As he was at an unusual age to get cancer, there was a debate whether to put him on an adult regimen or a vigorous pediatric treatment. He decided on the adult regimen as the hospital was part of a clinical trial that was testing it. McMahon contacted the label and advised them while he would be unable to promote the album until he was completely healthy, they should go ahead with its August 9 release date. As a result of multiple rounds of chemotherapy, his white blood cell count was almost at zero, and coupled with a weak immune system he contracted pneumonia. His white blood cell count eventually increased, and he decided to undergo a stem-cell transplant, rather than the longer and painful process of bone-marrow grafting. The chemotherapy could have potentially lasted several years if he had been unable to receive a transplant. McMahon said the prospect of "waiting three years to put out a record that was so personal and immediate to me ... was just not an option to me." On July 3, McMahon was released from hospital and returned home to Los Angeles. On July 8, the album's release date was pushed back a further two weeks to August 23 in an attempt to give the album more traction prior to its release. "The Mixed Tape" was released as a single on July 19. In late July, a music video was filmed for "The Mixed Tape". On August 3, McMahon began preparations for a bone marrow transplant. On August 18, the animated music video for "The Mixed Tape" was released. It was directed by Michael Perlmutter and Full Tank, and was filmed while McMahon was being treated in hospital. Watercolour-esque paintings are seen throughout the clip, changing from a pastoral countryside to a dense forest to a city and then outer space. Shots of McMahon were interlaced over the animation. After finding out his sister Katie was an eligible donor, he went through a second round of chemotherapy before receiving the stem-cell transplant on the same day the album was released. The transplant revitalized his immune system. The iTunes version of the album included "Lonely for Her" as a bonus track. ### Recovery and later promotion McMahon spent the following months recovering at his parents' house. He met with his doctor weekly to check his blood count, and had to use testosterone patches because the chemotherapy had reduced his testosterone levels. "The Mixed Tape" was released to radio on September 20. McMahon contracted a prolonged bout of shingles, before eventually going into remission in October. The shingles subsided by December; he played his first two concerts since his diagnosis later that month. By January 2006, he was still on some medication, but was almost completely healthy. During that month, McMahon performed "The Mixed Tape" on an episode of One Tree Hill, where Hilarie Burton's character holds a benefit concert. While filming the episode in Wilmington, North Carolina, a second music video was filmed for "The Mixed Tape" with director Jay Martin. In the clip, McMahon delivers a package to Burton's house containing a mixtape and a flier for a Jack's Mannequin show. Burton's character finally listens to the tape and goes to the show. The band eventually played "The Mixed Tape" and "Dark Blue". Following this, he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Last Call with Carson Daly. He slowly started performing one-off shows with his backing band in California, before eventually going on a short five-date tour out of the state in March. "Dark Blue" was released to radio on June 27. Between June and August, Jack's Mannequin supported O.A.R. on their headlining US tour. In early July, he finished taking the last of his prescribed medicine. Later that month, filming for a music video for "Dark Blue" began, before wrapping in August. The video, directed Brett Simon, was released on September 21. Inspired by They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, the clip features a dance marathon in 1950s Venice. In September and October, the band went on the Tour for a Cure, with support from Copeland, the Hush Sound and Daphne Loves Derby. Proceeds of the tour went to cancer research for the 15–22 age group. Following this, they appeared at the Bamboozle Left festival. Everything in Transit was re-released on November 7, featuring a DVD of live performances, music videos for "The Mixed Tape" and "Dark Blue", and interviews. In November and December, the band supported Panic! at the Disco on their US arena tour. To promote Jack's Mannequin's appearance on the tour, "La La Lie" was released as a single. In February 2007, the band went on their first headlining tour, dubbed The West Coast Winter Tour. They toured the US with support from Head Automatica and The Audition. They extended this tour into March, with support from The Audition and We Are the Fury. Following this, the band appeared at The Bamboozle festival. McMahon contributed an acoustic version of "Bruised" to Punk Goes Acoustic 2, and an early version of "La La Lie", dubbed the West Coast Winter version, to Punk the Clock Volume Three. The constant touring over the preceding 14 months resulted in McMahon suffering mental exhaustion and physical fatigue. His management said: "The extensive travel has taken a toll on his mind and body ... [we believe] that it is in his, and his fans', best interest for him to be home so that he can regain his strength." As a result, tour dates in October were cancelled. ## Reception and legacy ### Critical response Everything in Transit received positive response from music critics. AbsolutePunk staff member Rohan Kohli wrote that the album explored the "complete emotional spectrum, taking you along on a journey that will make you both smile and cry," in some cases on the same track. He said McMahon's "impassioned" lyrics "really take the songs to an entirely different level." Sputnikmusic staff member SowingSeason considered the release perfect for "lazy, sunny afternoons when the sky is blue [and] the seagulls are flying around in a frenzy." Despite finding "nothing completely out of the ordinary," there was an "endearing sense of personality that permeates" every track so that listeners might find themselves gravitating to them immediately. Ultimate Guitar said McMahon's phenomenal "meaningful" lyrics help the listener to create "a set of vivid pictures and moods in [their] head." Overall, they wrote that it had "three ingredients" that make a good record: "very well-crafted music, intelligent lyrics with sense and emotions. Plus it's very well put together." AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that while it was not far removed from what McMahon was doing with Something Corporate, the album "sounds truer to his artistic inclinations" than any of that band's releases. Though he added it "really shouldn't work ... [an album] delivered by an emo songwriter, backed by an aging metalhead, and co-produced by a guy who gave Hoobastank hits." JR of IGN viewed the record as "mature, studied, delicate, and memorable," but felt it "drags, at times ... both sonically and thematically." Melodic reviewer Kaj Roth also found it similar to Something Corporate, and called it "very catchy and infectious." The Morning Call's John J. Moser considered it "a heck of a record ... The disc is so intelligent and complex ... it well may be beyond mass acceptance." PopMatters writer David Bernard viewed the album's melodies as being its strongest trait, "sav[ing] it from mediocrity"; he felt "the album could achieve much more." He added that around a third of the tracks were "in need of revisions, [but] perhaps the most troubling aspect ... is that a collection of songs about such a personal episode can sound so blandly general." ### Commercial performance, subsequent events and releases Everything in Transit debuted at number 37 of the Billboard 200, selling over 22,000 copies in its first week of release. By August 2008, it had sold over 250,000 copies. The Orange County Register ranked the album number one on their best local releases of 2005 list, and number 28 on the best albums of the 2000s list. Rock Sound ranked it at number 116 on the list of best albums in their lifetime. After going through his illness McMahon became aware of the effects cancer was having on young adults and founded The Dear Jack Foundation in July 2006. It acts as a non-profit charity to raise funds for cancer research. Footage of the recording sessions, and McMahon's diagnosis and subsequent recovery was released as part of the documentary film Dear Jack in November 2009. Everything in Transit was re-pressed on vinyl in December 2010 and included an a cappella version of "Holiday from Real" and the West Coast Winter version of "La La Lie" as bonus tracks. McMahon performed the record in its entirety in 2014 as part of the Cultivate Festival. A 10th anniversary edition of the album, which includes bonus tracks, was released in October 2015. This version charted at number six on the Vinyl Albums and number 40 on the Catalog Albums charts. Following this, the group performed the album in its entirety on tour in December 2015 and January 2016. "Dark Blue" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in January 2016; Everything in Transit was certified Gold in August 2021. ## Track listing All songs written by Andrew McMahon. ## Personnel Personnel per booklet. Jack's Mannequin - Andrew McMahon – piano, lead vocals, organ (tracks 2, 4 and 9), bells (track 2), harmonica (track 5), keyboards (tracks 6 and 8), hand percussion (track 6), Wurlitzer (track 10) Additional musicians - Jim Wirt – guitar (tracks 1, 7 and 9), bass (tracks 1–11), backing vocals (track 3) - Patrick Warren – Chamberlin (tracks 1–3 and 9–10), Moog (tracks 4–5 and 7), Melodica (track 5), accordion (track 5), samples (track 9), organ (track 10) string and horn samples (track 10) - CJ Eiriksson – programming (tracks 1–3, 5 and 7–11), drums (track 9) - Bobby "Raw" Anderson – guitar (tracks 2–10), backing vocals (tracks 3 and 5–6) - Tommy Lee – drums (tracks 2–4, 8, 10 and 11) - Jay McMillian – drums (tracks 5–6) - Terry Wilson – sitar (track 8) - Brian Coffman – guitar (tracks 10 and 11) Production - Jim Wirt – producer - Andrew McMahon – producer, art direction, photos - CJ Eiriksson – engineer (except track 5), Pro Tools - Neil Couser – engineer (track 5), Pro Tools, additional engineering - Scott Humphrey – drums recording (except tracks 1, 5, 6 and 9) - Chris Baseford – drums recording (except tracks 1, 5, 6 and 9) - Chris Lord-Alge – mixing - Josey Alcantar – engineer - Dave Colvin – assistant engineer - Brian Reeves – recording, engineer - Peter Martinez – assistant engineer - Frank Maddocks – art direction - Katherine Reka O'Connell – illustrations - Wayne Robins – photos ## Charts ## Certifications
4,457,536
Bob Harlan
1,172,058,769
American football executive (born 1936)
[ "1936 births", "Green Bay Packers presidents", "Living people", "Marquette University alumni", "National Football League team presidents", "Sportspeople from Des Moines, Iowa", "United States Army soldiers" ]
Robert Ernest Harlan (born September 9, 1936) is a former American football executive who served as the president of the Green Bay Packers for 19 years. Harlan also held the titles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer for the Packers. He was a graduate of Marquette University, where he later served as the Sports Information Director for six years. After his tenure at Marquette, Harlan worked for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team for five years in community and public relations. In 1971, he was hired by the Packers as assistant general manager. For the next 18 years, Harlan worked in different positions in the front office for the Packers before being promoted to executive vice president in 1988. In 1989, after the retirement of Robert J. Parins, Harlan was elected as the Packers' ninth president, a position he held until 2008. Harlan became the first team president whose background was primarily in football; all previous presidents of the Packers were local civic leaders or businessmen in the Green Bay, Wisconsin-area. During his tenure as president, the Packers achieved a number of successes both on and off the field. Harlan led a stock sale and advocated for a county sales tax to raise funds for renovations to Lambeau Field, oversaw the construction of the Don Hutson Center, a new training area next to Lambeau Field, and moved all Packers home games back to Green Bay (from 1933 to 1994, the Packers split their home games between Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin). On the field, Harlan hired Ron Wolf to be the team's new general manager. Wolf led a renaissance of the Packers' on-field performance with an instrumental trade for quarterback Brett Favre and the signing of free agent Reggie White. These successes culminated in the Packers winning Super Bowl XXXI, the team's first championship since Super Bowl II. In 2008, Harlan resigned the position of president and CEO and was succeeded by Mark Murphy. As of 2023, he still sits on the Packers' board of directors and holds the title of Chairman Emeritus. ## Early life Bob Harlan was born on September 9, 1936, in Des Moines, Iowa. Harlan's father, Sy Harlan, was president of the Bruce Motor Freight Co. As a child, Harlan had a noted interest in the Green Bay Packers. At the age 17, he won a junior golf championship in his hometown. He was a graduate of Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines in 1954 and then attended Marquette University where he graduated in 1958 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. Almost 40 years later, he also received an honorary degree from Marquette. After graduation, Harlan served a six-month tour in the United States Army. ## Career ### United Press After college and the Army, Harlan desired to become a sportswriter. He briefly took a position with the United Press service in Milwaukee. He wrote about a number of topics ranging from sports to current events. ### Marquette University Harlan accepted a position as sports information director for his alma mater, Marquette University, in 1959. He served in that capacity until 1965, although the years at Marquette were challenging. During his tenure, the football and track and field were removed from the university's sports program, and the basketball team was not very successful. ### St Louis Cardinals In 1966, Harlan accepted a job with the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team as the director of community relations. Two years later, he was promoted to director of public relations. In those roles, he gave many speeches and during the offseason took part in "The Cardinal Caravan", a tour across six states focused on increasing support for the club. The Cardinals won the 1967 World Series against the Boston Red Sox in Harlan's second full season in his role. ### Green Bay Packers Harlan started his career with the Green Bay Packers in 1971 as an assistant general manager. Over the next 18 years he was promoted three times, first as corporate general manager in 1975, then as assistant to the president in 1981, and finally as executive vice president of administration in 1988. During this time, Harlan took on additional responsibilities, including representing the Packers at NFL decision-making meetings, negotiating contracts with players and expanding the Packers marketing department. He also at various times coordinated team travel, negotiated media contracts, ran ticket operations, managed front office personnel and scheduled preseason games. When president Robert J. Parins announced his upcoming retirement from the presidency, Harlan was immediately identified as a leading candidate. Parins formed a nominating committee and over a five month process interviewed about 20 candidates for the job. The team received numerous applications and many names were identified as contenders, including Tom Olejniczak (the son of former Packers president Dominic Olejniczak), Jerry Vainisi (brother of former Packers scout Jack Vainisi), Ernie Accorsi, Jim Schaaf and Eddie Jones. Parins ultimately recommended Harlan for the job to the board of directors. The board unanimously and without discussion elected Harlan as president, making him the first Packers president without roots in the Green Bay community. Sportswriter Don Langenkamp noted that the election was significant because "Harlan was a product of the system [football] and not a product of the sometimes archaic structure that has served as the Packers' governing body". The Packers record during Harlan's time prior to his tenure as president was 106–152–8. On June 5, 1989, Harlan was introduced as the ninth president of the Packers. Immediately, Harlan noted his preference to be hands-on in his approach to the job, so much so that instead of backfilling his old position, he had all department heads just report directly to him. Harlan, who had always been viewed as nice and professional, also cultivated a reputation for being approachable as president. He had no secretary and answered his own phone calls; he also corresponded with fans and Packers shareholders directly. In 1989, Harlan oversaw a small renovation to Lambeau Field. The changes included adding 32 seats and improving working conditions in the press box, changing the tunnel access to the field from the visitor locker room and opening the first store selling Packers merchandise, which would later become the Packers Pro Shop. A few years into the job, he made the decision to remove the executive committee of the board of directors from taking part in football decisions, which they historically had done. Instead, Harlan hired Ron Wolf and gave him full control over all football decisions. Wolf would go on to make a number of key moves that led to increased success on the field. This included hiring head coach Mike Holmgren, trading a first round draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons for quarterback Brett Favre, and making one of the first major free agency signings in 1996 by bringing in defensive end Reggie White (who would also go on to be inducted into the Hall of Fame). These moves culminated in the Packers winning Super Bowl XXXI, their first championship since 1967. In reflecting on his move to Green Bay, Wolf noted that he would not have taken the job without Harlan giving him full control. This decision to split up football and business decisions has also been recognized as moving the Packers into a more professional and modern administration of a professional sports franchise. The Packers during Harlan's tenure saw continued success, with 13 straight seasons with a winning record, the aforementioned Super Bowl victory, another Super Bowl appearance and numerous playoff appearances. From a business perspective, Harlan oversaw significant changes to the Packers organization. One of the biggest decisions occurred in 1994, when the Packers stopped playing a few games a year in Milwaukee. Since 1933, the Packers played at least one home game in Milwaukee each year, with the remaining games occurring at Lambeau Field. Originally this was done to generate more interest and revenue in a larger market. However, by the early 1990s, the Packers were losing millions of dollars each year by playing in Milwaukee. In order to pacify fans in each market, the Packers created a new season ticket structure that allowed season ticket holders in Milwaukee to retain their season tickets by giving them seats for a few games a year in Lambeau Field. 1994 also saw the completion of the Don Hutson Center, a state-of-the-art indoor practice facility adjacent to Lambeau Field. The largest business improvement of Harlan's tenure was the renovation of Lambeau Field. Over a two-year period from 2001 to 2003, Lambeau Field was completely renovated. This included an additional 11,625 seats, bringing total capacity up to 72,515, the addition of more box suites, upgraded facilities, a new atrium that would house a new Packers Pro Shop and a new Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. The goal of the renovation was to improve gameday experience, bring additional revenue in for the Packers and make Lambeau Field a year-around destination. Harlan was instrumental in helping to raise the necessary \$295 million dollars for the project. First, Harlan gained permission from the NFL to host the Packers' fourth ever stock sale, the first since 1950. In 1997 and 1998, 120,000 new shares of stock were sold raising over \$24 million, all of which was going towards the future renovation of Lambeau Field. Additionally, Harlan strongly advocated for the authorization of a new half-cent sales tax for Brown County to help raise the remaining funds. Harlan, without threatening to move the Packers from Green Bay, conveyed to elected officials, Brown County residents and Packers fans the necessity of the renovations for the Packers to remain financially competitive in the modern NFL environment. Authorization to go to the voters was approved by the Wisconsin legislature and then Brown County voters approved the measure in September 2000. The tax lasted until 2015 and provided the necessary funds to complete the renovation. Harlan's later years of his presidency saw the continued on-field success of the Packers, with the Packers making a deep playoff run in his last year. Harlan hired Mike Sherman to succeed Ray Rhodes as head coach in 2000. A year later, Ron Wolf retired and Harlan named Sherman to a dual role as the general manager and head coach. Although Sherman saw some on-field success, Harlan noted that the combination of the two roles was ultimately a failure. Harlan hired Ted Thompson in 2004 as the new general manager, with Sherman staying on as head coach for one more season, after which Mike McCarthy was hired as head coach. In December 2006, Harlan announced his intended retirement the following May. For years, Harlan identified John Jones as a possible successor to the Packers presidency. Jones was elected as the next president of the organization, but in May 2007, the organization announced that he would take an indefinite leave of absence. The announcement was made just days before Jones was set to begin his tenure. In late July 2007, the Packers and Jones officially cut ties, with health reasons and concerns about performance cited as the reasons. A new search for the Packers President and CEO commenced, with Harlan retaining his position as CEO throughout the search, although the President position officially remained vacant. On December 3, 2007, the Green Bay Packers announced Mark Murphy, the Northwestern University Athletics Director and a former football player for the Washington Redskins, as its new President and CEO effective January 28, 2008. Harlan was named as Chairman Emeritus and as of 2023 still sits on the Packers board of directors as a Director Emeritus. During Harlan's presidency, the Packers record was 181–123, which was better then every other team during that period except the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos. His tenure was marked with "some of the largest moves in franchise history" that made him one of the "most influential—and successful—president[s] in franchise history". ## Personal life Harlan married Madeline Keiler and they had three sons, including sports announcer Kevin Harlan. Harlan's granddaughter through Kevin, Olivia Harlan, is also a sports announcer. In 2003, Harlan was diagnosed with melanoma on his neck and shoulder, which was successfully removed by surgery. His diagnosis and subsequent treatment inspired him and his wife to create the Madeline and Robert Harlan Humanitarian Fund, which provides funding for cancer patients without insurance to cover ancillary costs to their treatment, such as gas, lodging, and babysitters. Harlan and his wife, who worked as a registered nurse, served on various boards and commissions for Green Bay-area hospitals, supported the Green Bay Libertas Treatment Center (a children's drug and alcohol abuse center) and remained active in the Boys & Girls Club of Door County, Wisconsin. Harlan was an avid golfer for much of his life, although after his treatment for melanoma he mostly abandoned it. ## Legacy Harlan's impact on the Green Bay Packers organization was substantial. His tenure saw a significant turnaround in the team's on-field performance and a continued strengthening of the team's institutional and financial security. Harlan is credited with hiring key personnel, such as Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson, and giving them the authority and freedom necessary to do their jobs successfully. Harlan's advocacy for the redevelopment and expansion of Lambeau Field and campaigning for the necessary funding through 2000 Brown County referendum and 1997–98 stock sale were identified as essential steps in improving the Packers ability to be a financially competitive and a successful organization in the modern NFL. Combined with an improved Lambeau field, the construction of the Don Hutson Center and moving all games to Lambeau Field, Harlan was able to consolidate the Packers organization and operations into one location. During Harlan's tenure, the Packers won their first Super Bowl in 30 years, were perennial playoff contenders and became a model organization. Harlan has been well recognized for his contributions to the Packers. In 2003, the Packers dedicated the northeast corner of Lambeau Field as Robert E. Harlan Plaza. A year later, in 2004, he was elected to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and in 2008 he was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. He was also given the 2008 Vincent Lombardi Award for Distinction in Sports from the Wisconsin Historical Society. Two years later, in 2010, he was elected to the Wisconsin Business Hall of Fame. In 2019, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame created the Bob Harlan Leadership Award, which is awarded annually in recognition of "exceptional leadership qualities above the call of duty during or after the recipient's career or association with the Packers". ## Publications
72,423,540
Mansour Ali Haseeb
1,173,689,395
Sudanese professor of microbiology and parasitology (1910–1973)
[ "1913 births", "2005 deaths", "Dr A.T. Shousha Foundation Prize and Fellowship laureates", "Fellows of the Royal College of Pathologists", "Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians", "Gordon Memorial College alumni", "Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Ethiopia", "Recipients of the Order of Merit (Egypt)", "Sudanese physicians", "Sudanese scientists", "University of Khartoum alumni" ]
Mansour Ali Haseeb FRCP FRCPh (Arabic: منصور علي حسيب; 1 January 1910 – 29 September 1973) was a Sudanese professor of microbiology and parasitology. Haseeb was born into a family of scholars. He graduated with a diploma from the Kitchener School of Medicine and continued his studies in the United Kingdom, obtaining a Diploma in Bacteriology. Haseeb worked in different medical institutions in Sudan before being appointed Director of the Stack Medical Research Laboratories. Further, he became the first Sudanese Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Khartoum and chairman of the Sudan Medical Research Council. Haseeb made valuable contributions through his services in vaccine production and implementation programs. In addition, he championed medical research in Sudan to the extent that he is remembered as the "Godfather Of Sudan's Laboratory Medicine". Haseeb also was the Mayor of Omdurman and died suddenly aged 63, shortly after receiving the Shousha Prize from the World Health Organization. ## Life and career ### Early life and education Mansour Ali Haseeb was born on 1 January 1910 in al-Gitaina, Sudan, to Sheikh Ali Haseeb, the judge of al-Gitana, and Fatma Mohamed. Haseeb’s family is originally from Berber, Sudan and is known for several members who were renowned scholars. Haseeb attended primary schools in Berber, Atbara and Port Sudan, before moving to Khartoum to first attend Gordon Memorial College and then to pursue his medical education at Kitchener School of Medicine (now the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum) and Khartoum Civil Hospital. He graduated with the Diploma of the Kitchener School of Medicine in 1937. He focused on bacteriology and parasitology, and then went to the United Kingdom to obtain a Diploma in Bacteriology in 1943. ### Medical career and research Haseeb did his medical training at Khartoum, Dongola, Wadi Halfa, Singa and Geneina Hospitals, before being appointed Director of the Stack Medical Research Laboratories (1952–1962). In 1963, Haseeb left Stack to become a professor of Microbiology and Parasitology, and the first Sudanese Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Khartoum until 1969. At Stack, he was succeeded by Mohamed Hamad Satti. He later became an examiner of the Royal Society of Health in Khartoum, and, in 1973, he was appointed Chairman of the Sudan Medical Research Council. Bacteriology and parasitology were to be Haseeb's major focus. He made valuable contributions through his services in the vaccine production and implementation programs, most notably in combating smallpox, rabies and epidemic meningitis, He wrote several papers on diseases common to Sudan, like parasitic infections and contagious. In 1954, Haseeb accompanied Telford H. Work and Richard Moreland Taylor in an expedition to research yellow fever with Baggara tribespeople, Nuba villages, and the Dinka people. The expedition was documented in a film, Reconnaissance for Yellow Fever in the Nuba Mountains, Southern Sudan. Hasseb contributed to 40 scientific papers, published in Nature, The Lancet, the British Medical Journal, and the Journal of Hygiene. Hasseb was editor-in-chief of the Sudan Medical Journal from 1948 to 1958. Haseeb dedicated his book A Monograph on Biomedical Research in Sudan (1970) to the National Council of Research to benefit young researchers. He is considered the "Godfather Of Sudan's Laboratory Medicine". In May 1973, renowned American entomologist and parasitologist Harry Hoogstraal stated, "Professor Mansour Haseeb has been more intimately associated than any other living person with adding to Sudanese biomedical knowledge and sharing the vast experience with younger generations of physicians and scientists." ### Mayor of Omdurman Haseeb was the Mayor of Omdurman and was invited by Willy Brandt, then Mayor of West Berlin, to visit this city in 1963. He represented Omdurman in welcoming Queen Elizabeth II when she visited in February 1965. ### Personal life and death Haseeb married Fatma El Bereir in 1944, and they had five children. He enjoyed playing tennis, and translating from English to Arabic. Haseeb died suddenly on 29 September 1973, aged 63, a few months after receiving the Shousha Medal and Prize from the World Health Organization. Following his death, the Sudanese Medical Student Association organised a commemorative event and photography exhibition to honour his memory. The exhibition, which took place at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, was inaugurated by the Sudanese neurologist Daoud Mustafa. The event was held at the Al Baghdadi Lecture Theatre, named after philanthropist Hashim Bey Al Baghdadi, who greatly supported Sudanese medical students. The obituary ceremony featured speeches, including ones by the Dean and President of the Medical Students Association. Hashem Erwa, Haseeb's student, delivered an elegy, followed by Mohammed Hamad Satti, who was unable to finish his eulogy due to overwhelming emotions. Abdullah El Tayib, then the President of the University of Khartoum, highlighted Haseeb's humility and humanity, and Haseeb family's eulogy was given by his son. ## Awards and honours Haseeb was awarded the Order of the Star of Ethiopia by Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, in 1960. In 1962, he received the Order of Merit from the United Arab Republic. Haseeb was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists in 1965 and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1969. Haseeb received the Shousha Medal and Prize from the World Health Organization on 24 January 1973, in recognition of his contribution to public health and medical education. The University of Khartoum named several buildings after him in recognition of his memory, including the Haseeb Dormitory.
30,704,617
Fenian (horse)
1,101,840,523
19th-century American Thoroughbred racehorse
[ "1866 racehorse births", "Belmont Stakes winners", "Racehorses bred in New York (state)", "Racehorses trained in the United States", "Thoroughbred family 1-a" ]
Fenian (foaled 1866) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1869 Belmont Stakes. Bred by August Belmont, Fenian raced as a two-year-old, winning two races, placing second twice, and third once from five starts. As a three-year-old he only raced once, in the Belmont, which he won. He suffered from bad legs and some accounts state that he never raced again after the Belmont, although he appears to have raced later as a gelding, and eventually ended up in England where he did some steeplechase races. His likeness is atop the trophy for the Belmont Stakes. ## Breeding Fenian was bred by August Belmont and was a chestnut stallion. His sire was Mickey Free. His dam was the imported mare Spiletta by Stockwell, and his second dam was Olivia Augusta by Cowl. Fenian was Spiletta's only stakes winning foal. Mickey Free was an imported stallion, sired by Irish Birdcatcher and out of the mare Annie by Wanderer. Fenian was his only stakes winning foal. The American Stud Book gives his original name as "Leonardo". ## Racing career Fenian raced as a two-year-old and was held to be a good racehorse then. He started five times and won twice. On June 10, 1868, he placed third in the Hopeful Stakes, a 5 furlongs (1.0 kilometer) race for two-year-olds. Seven days later, he placed second in a 1⁄2 mile (1 kilometer) sweepstakes race for two-year-olds. He was again second in a two-year-old sweepstakes race on July 1, this time at a distance of 5 furlongs. On October 7 he won a match race against Inveruglass at a distance of 3⁄4 mile (1.2 kilometers). In his last race as a two-year-old, he won a handicap sweepstakes on October 10 at a distance of 1 mile (1.6 kilometers). His record as a two-year-old was two wins, two seconds, and a third from five races. Fenian won the third running of the Belmont Stakes in 1869 for his owner August Belmont. His trainer was Jacob Pincus and he won the race in a time of 3 minutes and 4.25 seconds. The track was rated as heavy, and the race was at a distance of 1+5⁄8 miles (i.e. 13 furlongs (2,600 metres)) on June 5. The race was worth \$3500 to the winner, who was ridden by Charlie Miller. Although there is no official record of the margin of victory, contemporary accounts noted that Fenian won the race easily, and finished the race while being pulled up. The race was run at Jerome Park. His stablemate, Glenelg, was also entered in the race, and there is some indication that Glenelg was held back to allow Fenian to win. Glenelg, also owned by Belmont, came in second in the race. Fenian, however, had been bred by Belmont, and Glenelg, who was imported to the United States in his mother's womb, had not, so Belmont preferred for a horse he had bred to win. There were 6 other horses in the race, but none of them came close to beating either Fenian or Glenelg. This was Fenian's only race as a three-year-old. Fenian reportedly never raced again, due to bad legs. This was a fault of all of his dam's foals. However, Belmont sold Fenian in October 1870 to Dr. D. Kerwin for \$70. He later raced under Kerwin's name as a gelding until 1872 when he was sent to England. Retrained for steeplechasing and owned by J.B. Burstall, Fenian was second in the Military and Navy Stakes run at Emsworth in April 1872. Fenian won no other stakes races, and sired no stakes winners. His claim to fame is that he is the horse that appears on top of the Belmont Stakes trophy. ## Pedigree
1,202,988
Darrell Evans
1,162,602,781
American baseball player (born 1947)
[ "1947 births", "American League home run champions", "Arizona Instructional League Braves players", "Atlanta Braves players", "Baseball players from Pasadena, California", "Basketball players from Pasadena, California", "Birmingham A's players", "Detroit Tigers players", "Gulf Coast Athletics players", "John Muir High School alumni", "Leesburg A's players", "Living people", "Major League Baseball designated hitters", "Major League Baseball first basemen", "Major League Baseball third basemen", "National League All-Stars", "New York Yankees coaches", "Pasadena City Lancers baseball players", "Peninsula Grays players", "Richmond Braves players", "San Francisco Giants players", "Shreveport Braves players" ]
Darrell Wayne Evans (born May 26, 1947) is a former American baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves (1969–1976, 1989), alternating between first and third base with the San Francisco Giants (1976–1983), and playing much of his later career as a first baseman and then a designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers (1984–1988). He won a World Series championship with the Tigers in 1984. Evans had most of his success in the early and late stages of his career. He was a two-time All-Star, first with the Braves in 1973 and then with the Giants in 1983. He led MLB in home runs in 1985 with the Tigers, and walks in 1973 and 1974 with the Braves. Born in Pasadena, California, Evans was the son of a professional fast pitch softball player. He attended Pasadena City College and helped lead the baseball and basketball teams to California junior college championships. In the majors, Evans had a breakout season in 1973, finishing third in MLB with 41 home runs and leading the league in runs created and walks. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants in the middle of his lackluster 1976 season. His best season with the Giants was his 1983 All-Star season when he hit 30 home runs and compiled a .378 on-base percentage in his last year with the team. Evans signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers prior to the 1984 season, winning the World Series in his first year with the team. He led MLB in home runs in 1985 at age 38, becoming the oldest player in history to accomplish the feat. By hitting his home runs in the American League, he also became the first in MLB history to have a 40-homer season in both the American and the National Leagues. Evans concluded his playing career with a return to the Braves in 1989. Baseball historian Bill James rated Evans as "the most underrated player in baseball history." He was the 22nd player in MLB history to hit 400 home runs and the second to hit at least 100 home runs with three different teams. His 1,605 walks ranked eighth in MLB history at the time of his retirement, and he drew 90 or more walks in eight separate seasons (reaching 100+ walks five times). His skill in drawing walks contributed to a .361 career on-base percentage despite a .248 career batting average. After retiring as a player, Evans served as a manager and coach in Minor League Baseball and independent leagues from 1990 to 2010. His career as a manager included stints with the Wilmington Blue Rocks and the Huntsville Stars in the minors. ## Early years Evans was born in 1947 in Pasadena, California, to Eleanor (née Salazar, 1923–2013) and Richard Evans, both of whom came from baseball families. His mother and her sister Margaret played professional fast pitch softball together for a national championship team in Southern California, and his aunt in particular was selected as an All-American outfielder. Evans attended his mother's softball games as an infant and later served as the team's bat boy. His father was a sheet metal mechanic who had played college baseball. Both of Evans' parents had relatives in professional baseball. His maternal grandfather Dave Salazar was a pitcher in the Chicago White Sox organization and played for the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League. His uncle Bob Evans had also played minor league ball in the St. Louis Cardinals' organization. Evans attended John Muir High School in Pasadena. He played baseball at Muir as a right-handed throwing pitcher and third baseman who batted left handed. In March 1965, he threw a no-hitter for Muir. In the fall of 1965, Evans enrolled at Pasadena City College (PCC). As a freshman during the 1965–66 academic year, he was the leading scorer for PCC's basketball team and led the baseball team with a .423 batting average. In December 1965, he scored 12 points in a losing effort against a UCLA team featuring Lew Alcindor. During the 1966–67 academic year, he hit .451 for the PCC baseball team and led both the baseball and basketball teams to California junior college championships. His basketball coach during the 1966–67 season was Jerry Tarkanian. Evans received the school's athlete of the year award in 1967, and he was later inducted into the PCC Hall of Fame as "the ultimate in Pasadena City College legends." ## Professional baseball player ### Minor leagues Evans was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1965, the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers in 1966, and the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Athletics in 1967. He originally didn't sign with the Cubs out of high school because he was planning to play baseball on full scholarship at the University of Southern California, but that did not materialize. In June 1967, he finally signed a pro contract with the Athletics, receiving a \$15,000 signing bonus. Evans played for three different minor league clubs during the 1967 season: Leesburg in the Florida State League, Peninsula in the Carolina League, and Bradenton of the Gulf Coast League. He compiled a .326 batting average with a .402 on-base percentage in 61 minor league games during the 1967 season. In his time at Bradenton, he hit .489. He was named 1967 player of the year in the Gulf Coast League. He spent the 1968 season with Birmingham in the Southern League. Evans's playing time was limited in 1967 and 1968 by his service in the United States Marine Corps. Evans later recalled that his arm was "sore and gone" after his discharge from the Marines, resulting in a poor performance in 1968. Evans compiled a .248 batting average and .299 on-base percentage in 56 games for Birmingham. Alf Van Hoose, sports editor of The Birmingham News recalled Evans as "a terrible infielder" with a "smooth swing." ### Atlanta Braves #### 1969 to 1972 seasons In December 1968, after the A's chose not to include Evans on their list of protected minor league players, Evans was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the Rule 5 draft for \$25,000. Evans began the 1969 season with the Braves but was limited to pinch-hitting. In late April 1969, he was sent down to the Shreveport Braves in Double-A ball. He was then promoted to the Richmond Braves of the Triple-A International League where he hit .360 with a .433 on-base percentage in 59 games. He was recalled to Atlanta in late August 1969, but hit only .231 in 26 at bats. Evans spent most of the 1970 season at Richmond where he hit .300 with 47 extra base hits and 83 RBIs in 120 games. He hit .318 in 44 at bats for Atlanta in 1970, but Atlanta manager Lum Harris continued to relegate Evans to the minors due to his "mediocre fielding". Evans received the nickname "Clank" due to his fielding difficulties. He also acquired the nickname "Howdy Doody" due to his resemblance to the popular television puppet of the same name. Evans began the 1971 season with Richmond where he was moved to the outfield and batted .307 with a .437 on-base percentage. In late May, Evans received an opportunity to become the Braves' starting third baseman when the team released Clete Boyer following Boyer's open criticism of the team's general manager. Evans appeared in 72 games at the third base for the 1971 Braves; he hit .242 in 260 at bats in his rookie season. Atlanta hitting coach (and later manager) Eddie Mathews worked with Evans on his fielding. Evans later recalled: "Eddie was not only my manager, he was my friend. He used to talk to me, pump into me that I had to do it." In 1972, Evans was the Braves' regular third baseman, appearing in 125 games. He demonstrated his control of the strike zone, drawing 90 walks (fifth in the National League) and compiling a .384 on-base percentage (seventh in the league). Although his 25 errors ranked second among National League third basemen, he improved defensively, leading the league's third basemen with a range factor of 3.24 per game and ranking high among the league's third basemen with 126 putouts (second), 273 assists (fourth), and 20 double plays (fourth). #### 1973 breakout season Evans had a breakout season in 1973. He was selected as the reserve third baseman (behind starter Ron Santo) on the 1973 National League All-Star team, ultimately finishing the year with 41 home runs (third in MLB behind Willie Stargell and teammate Davey Johnson) and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of .959 (third in MLB behind teammate Hank Aaron and Stargell). Evans also led the major leagues in walks with 125 and runs created with 143. With his high walk rate, he reached base 294 times, second only to Pete Rose, and had a .403 on-base percentage. Additionally, he was third in extra-base hits with 74, and also finished fourth in runs scored with 114 and fifth in RBIs with 105. This was the only season of Evans's career where he had over 100 runs or 100 RBIs. He also ranked among the best defensive third basemen in the National League with a 3.08 range factor per game (first in NL), 124 putouts (second in NL), and 325 assists (second in NL). Evans told reporters in July 1973 that his defensive improvement "has meant more to me than the home runs." Evans' 1973 accomplishments were overshadowed by teammate Hank Aaron's pursuit of Babe Ruth's career home run record. Evans responded to the lack of attention to his accomplishments, telling reporters in August 1973: "I can't say it bothers me. Hell, I enjoy reading about Hank, just like everyone else." Evans hit before Aaron in the Braves' batting order, and in April the following season, he was on first base when Aaron hit his historic 715th home run. The 1973 Braves were the first team in major league history to have three players – Evans, Aaron, and Davey Johnson – hit at least 40 home runs. Despite the surge in power, the 1973 Braves finished fifth in the National League West with a 76–85 record due to a pitching staff that allowed the most runs in the National League. #### 1974 to 1976 seasons Prior to the 1974 season, Evans pursued salary arbitration, where he was awarded a \$52,500 salary. Evans appeared in 160 games at third base for the Braves. For the second consecutive year, he led the majors in walks, tallying a career-high 126 bases on balls. In a remarkable turn-around, the player formerly known as "Clank" had a 3.45 range factor and led all National League third basemen with a 2.7 Defensive Wins Above Replacement rating. He also ranked among the National League's leaders with 269 times on base (fourth), 25 home runs (tied for sixth), 99 runs scored (seventh), and a 7.2 overall Wins Above Replacement rating (seventh). His 1974 performance was nevertheless considered disappointing in light of a 41-point drop in his batting average and expectations created by his 1973 season. Evans attributed his less impressive performance in part to "personal problems, some private things that were bothering me." The 1975 season was Evans' final full season with the Braves. Following the trade of Hank Aaron, Evans took over Aaron's third spot in the batting over. After a strong start in April, Evans' output slowed. He ended up batting .243 in 156 games. His power output also declined, as he totaled just 22 home runs and 73 RBIs to go along with a .406 slugging percentage. Evans' output declined further at the start of the 1976 season. With Jerry Royster taking over at third base, Evans was moved to first base. After 44 games, Evans' batting average stood at .173 with only one home run. He sought to remedy the slump by switching from contact lenses to glasses. Evans later recalled: "It was the one time in my career when I really doubted myself. I couldn't seem to do anything right. I couldn't see the ball very well and I wasn't being patient at the plate. Then I'd take a pitch and it would be right down the middle." ### San Francisco Giants On June 13, 1976, the Braves traded Evans with Marty Perez to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Willie Montañez, Craig Robinson, and two other players. He promptly became the Giants' starting first baseman. In his first season in San Francisco, Evans compiled a .222 batting average with 10 home runs in 92 games. In his early years with the Giants, Evans shifted between left field, third base, and first base. In 1978, he settled in at third base, starting 612 games at that position from 1978 to 1982. In 1983, Evans shifted back to first base and had his best season in San Francisco. He was named to the National League All-Star team as a reserve first baseman, hit 30 home runs and compiled a .378 on-base percentage and .516 slugging percentage. He won the team's 1983 Willie Mac Award for his spirit and leadership. Evans spent eight seasons with the Giants, appearing in 1,094 games, compiling a .255 batting average, .358 on-base percentage, and .422 slugging percentage with 142 home runs, 525 RBIs and 605 walks. ### Detroit Tigers #### 1984 season and World Series After the 1983 season, Evans entered the free agent market. He was selected by seventeen teams, more than any other player, in the November 1983 re-entry draft. The Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers were the big pursuers, but only the latter offered a three year deal. In December 1983, he became the first "big name" free agent to be signed by the Detroit Tigers. He signed a three-year contract worth approximately \$2.25 million. Playing for the World Series champion 1984 Detroit Tigers, Evans hit a three-run home run in his first regular season game in a Detroit uniform on the road against Minnesota. One week later, he hit another three-run home run with his first swing at Tiger Stadium. For the season, he appeared in 131 games, 62 as the designated hitter, 47 at first base, and 19 at third base. His .238 batting average was the lowest since 1976, but 77 walks (seventh in the American League) boosted his on-base percentage to .353. He also totaled 16 home runs and 63 RBIs for the 1984 Tigers. In the 1984 World Series, Evans managed only one hit in 15 at bats for a .067 batting average. Evans' father died at the end of July 1984 after a long battle with cancer, and Evans missed several games to attend the funeral in California. He later recalled that it was the greatest disappointment of his life that his father was not able to see him play in the World Series. #### 1985 season and home run title Despite his noted leadership as an elder presence in the clubhouse, owner Tom Monagahn tried to trade Evans to New York in the off season due to his contract. However, this plot failed. In 1985, Evans had one of the best offensive seasons of his career. He appeared in 151 games, 113 at first base, 33 as the designated hitter, and seven at third base. At age 38, he led the major leagues with 40 home runs, while driving in 94 runs. He became the oldest player to register 40 home runs in American League history, a feat not topped until Nelson Cruz hit 41 homers for the Minnesota Twins in 2019 at age 38/39. Evans was also the oldest player to lead the American League in home runs, and the first player to hit 40 home runs in both the National and American Leagues. He also registered a .356 on-base percentage (as a result of drawing 85 walks), and his .519 slugging percentage was his best since his breakout season in 1973. He was selected by both Detroit sports writers and fans for the 1985 Tiger of the Year award. #### 1986 to 1988 seasons At the start of the 1986 season, Detroit manager Sparky Anderson announced that Evans would not be the Tigers' first baseman and would instead be the team's designated hitter. Evans publicly expressed his frustration at losing his spot in the lineup after hitting 40 home runs. In the end, Anderson relented, and Evans played 105 games at first base and 42 as the designated hitter for the 1986 Tigers. He hit 29 home runs (part of a Tigers infield in which all four players hit at least 20 homers) and had 85 RBIs while compiling a .356 on-base percentage. Evans' three-year contract expired after the 1986 season, and the Tigers decided not to offer him a contract to avoid triggering Evans' arbitration rights. No other teams made offers to Evans, and in late February 1987, he signed a one-year contract with the Tigers; the contract cut his salary by \$200,000 to between \$500,000 and \$550,000. During the 1987 season, Evans appeared in 150 games for the Tigers, including 105 at first base and 44 as the designated hitter. He drew 100 walks in 1987, fourth most in the American League, pumping his on-base percentage to .379, his highest since 1974. He also hit 34 home runs, had 99 RBIs (second most in his career), and finished 12th in the voting for the American League Most Valuable Player Award. In the 1987 American League Championship Series, he compiled a .294 batting average and .455 on-base percentage. However, he was also picked off at third base in the fourth game of the ALCS, "hammering the final nail" into the Tigers' defeat. Evans returned to Detroit for one last season in 1988. He appeared in 144 games (72 at DH, 65 at 1B) and had 22 home runs, including his 400th career homer in September, but he saw his batting average drop precipitously to .208. At the end of the 1988 season, the Tigers announced that Evans, age 41, would not be offered a contract for the 1989 season. Evans appeared in 727 games in five years with the Tigers, hit 141 home runs, and compiled a .358 on-base percentage and .450 slugging percentage. ### Swan song with the Braves In December 1988, Evans signed to return to the Atlanta Braves for the 1989 season. He appeared in 109 games with the 1989 Braves, compiling a .207 batting average with 11 home runs. He appeared in his final major league game on October 1, 1989, at age 42. At the beginning of April 1990, the Braves released Evans, ending his playing career. At the time, Evans told the Associated Press: "It's happened to a lot of my friends and it's not easy. I guess when it slaps you in the face you don't know how to feel. I don't know what to expect because I've never been in this situation before." Evans appeared in 866 games in nine years with the Braves, hitting 131 home runs and compiling a .368 on-base percentage. ### Career highlights Evans played 21 seasons in the majors and appeared in 2,687 games. Evans compiled a .248 batting average (2,223-for-8,973) with 1,344 runs, 329 doubles, 36 triples, 414 home runs, 1,354 RBI, 98 stolen bases, 1,605 walks, 1,410 strikeouts, .361 on-base percentage and .431 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .973 fielding percentage. Evans was the 22nd player in baseball history to total 400 home runs. He was also the first player to hit 40 home runs in a season in both leagues. He hit over 20 home runs in 10 different seasons, and he was only the second player in major league history (after Reggie Jackson) to hit at least 100 home runs with three different clubs. Evans hit 60 home runs after reaching age 40, at the time a major league record. Evans averaged 97 walks per 162 games, and drew 100 or more walks five times (1973–1975, 1978, and 1987). His career total of 1,605 walks ranked eighth in major league history at the time of his retirement and remains 12th most in major league history. Evans has been described by author and pioneering sabremetrician Bill James as "the most underrated player in baseball history, absolutely number one on the list". In The Bill James Handbook 2019, James also rated Evans No. 7 on his list of "The 25 Best Players Who Are Not in the Hall of Fame." ## Managerial and coaching career In June 1990, two months after his release by the Braves, Evans was hired by the New York Yankees as the team's hitting instructor, amid rumors that he may eventually be asked to take over Stump Merrill's job as manager. Evans was credited with making a change in rookie Kevin Maas' swing, allowing him to more effectively reach Yankee Stadium's short right field fence. At the end of the 1990 season, the Yankees named Graig Nettles as its hitting coach and announced that Evans would not return in 1991. Evans later worked as a minor-league instructor. He was also the manager for several minor league teams, including stints with the Tyler Wildcatters of the independent Texas-Louisiana League in 1997, the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the South Atlantic League in 1998, the Huntsville Stars in the Double-A Southern League in 1999, the Aberdeen Arsenal of the independent Atlantic League in 2000, and the Allentown Ambassadors in the independent Northern League in 2002. From 2005 to 2007, Evans was the manager of the Long Beach Armada in the independent Golden Baseball League. He led Armada to the GBL championship in 2007. He then served in 2008 as the bench and hitting coach for the Orange County Flyers, a team managed by Gary Carter. The Flyers beat Calgary for the 2008 GBL championship. Evans was hired in November 2009 as the first manager and director of player personnel for the newly-organized Victoria Seals of the GBL. In March 2010, he was fired after the owner learned that Evans was seeking employment as a manager with another club. Evans also managed the Palm Springs Chill in 2009 in the California Winter League. After being fired by the Victoria club, Evans was hired in 2010 as the manager of the St. George RoadRunners in the GBL. ## Family and later years Evans and his wife LaDonna had four children. In 1984, Evans publicly revealed that, in the summer of 1982, he and his wife had seen a UFO from the porch of their home in Pleasanton, California. Evans described the UFO hovering over his neighbor's house as appearing "like a flying wing", triangular in shape with no wings and with green and red lights on the sides and white lights on the back. In the mid-2000s, Evans worked as a consultant for Netamin Corporation in the development of its Ultimate Baseball Online multiplayer online game. ## See also - List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders - List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders - List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders - List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders - List of Major League Baseball career bases on balls leaders - List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders
36,292,244
Amiga Mía
1,155,368,938
null
[ "1990s ballads", "1997 singles", "1997 songs", "Alejandro Sanz songs", "Natalia Jiménez songs", "Rock ballads", "Songs written by Alejandro Sanz", "Spanish-language songs", "Warner Music Latina singles" ]
"Amiga Mía" (transl. "My Friend") is a song by Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz from his fifth studio album, Más (1997). WEA Latina released it as the album's fourth single in the same year. The song was written by Sanz and produced by Miguel Angel Arenas and Emanuele Ruffinengo. The rock ballad carries a message of unrequited love and was inspired by a close friend of Sanz. The song received positive reactions from music critics who regarded it as one of his best songs. A music video for "Amiga Mía" features the artist performing on top of a building while the townspeople watch and his love interest leaves with her fiancé. The song was a recipient of an Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Latin Award in 1999. Commercially, the track at peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States, while also topping the Latin Pop Airplay chart in the US. "Amiga Mía" was included on the set list for the Más Tour and all subsequent tours. It has been covered by Natalia Jiménez and Joe King, with live renditions being performed by India Martínez and Luis Fonsi. ## Background and composition Since the release of his first album with WEA Latina, Viviendo Deprisa (1991), Alejandro Sanz has a maintained popular following in his native Spain. The album, along with its follow-ups, Si Tú Me Miras (1993), Básico (1994), and 3 (1995), were successful in the country having been certified multi-platinum. The tracks in the records are characterized as romantic ballads. On 12 July 1997, Sanz announced that he had finished recording his next project, Más, which was recorded and mixed in Italy under the direction of Emanuelle Ruffinengo and Miguel Angel Arenas, who handled its production. The album was recorded at Excalibur in Milan, Plastic in Rome, Sintonia and Red Led in Madrid, Spain and was released on 9 September 1997. Sanz penned over 30 compositions, of which ten made it to the final release including "Amiga Mía". "Amiga Mía" is a rock ballad that "treatises on loneliness, regrets and misery." The song narrates "the sad story of a person who was fixed on someone who did not correspond to his love". The composition was inspired by the experience of his close friend, Irene Chamorro, who was in love with Spanish musician Antonio Flores. Musically, it is accompanied by a flamenco guitar riff and "percussive beats". In the lyrics, he chants: "Amiga mía, lo sé, sólo vives por él que lo sabe también, pero él no te ve como yo" ("My friend, I know you only live for him, and he knows it too, but he doesn't see you like I do"). ## Promotion and reception "Amiga Mía" was released as the fourth single from Más in 1997. The music video for the song has Sanz singing on top of a building to a woman he loves as the townspeople watch and ends with the woman walking away with her fiancé. "Amiga Mía" was included on the artist's compilation albums Grandes Éxitos 1991–2004 (2004) and Colección Definitiva (2011). El Norte critic Devorah Davis regarded it as one of the album's two "sweeping ballads" along with "Y, ¿Si Fuera Ella?". Tarradell praised Sanz's "powderkeg" vocals and felt the instruments gave it an "exotic feel". The track was listed as one of the best Sanz's song by Esquire and Los 40. The track was recognized as one of the best-performing songs of the year at the 1999 BMI Latin Awards. Commercially, "Amiga Mía" became the singer's first number one on the Billboard Latin Pop Airplay chart and peaked at number two on the Hot Latin Songs chart in the US. ## Live performances and covers "Amiga Mía" was included on the set list for the Más (1998-99), El Alma Al Aire (2001-02), No Es Lo Mismo (2004), El Tren De Los Momentos (2007-08), Paraiso (2009-11), La Música No Se Toca (2012-14), and \#LaGira (2019) tours. An acoustic rendition of the song was performed for a live audience and recorded for the album, MTV Unplugged (2001). To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Más, Sanz held a concert at the Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid, Spain on 24 June 2017, where he presented the songs from the album live with musical guests, including "Amiga Mía" with Spanish musician India Martínez. Spanish singer Natalia Jiménez covered "Amiga Mía" on the album, ¿Y Si Fueran Ellas? (2013), a collection of Sanz's songs recorded by female artists. Puerto Rican artist Joe King recorded a salsa version of the track on his disc, Corazón Partío (1999), which AllMusic's Eugene Chadbourne described as "friendly if possessive". King's rendition peaked at number 33 and 16 on the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Airplay charts, respectively. As part of the Latin Recording Academy tribute to Sanz, who was presented with the Person of the Year accolade in 2017, Puerto Rican musician Luis Fonsi performed "Amiga Mía" live where he was accompanied by a violin section. ## Personnel Credits adapted from the Más liner notes. - Miguel Angel Arena – producer - Joan Bibiloni – acoustic guitar - Paolo Costa – bass guitar - Luca Jurman – chorus - Lele Melotti – drums - Saverio Porciello – acoustic guitar - Paola Repele – chorus - Elena Roggero – chorus - Emanuele Ruffinengo – piano, keyboards, programmer, producer - Alejandro Sanz – vocals, songwriting - Ludovico Vagnone – electric guitar ## Charts ## See also - List of Billboard Latin Pop Airplay number ones of 1998
62,898,189
Jermaine Samuels
1,169,073,424
American basketball player
[ "1998 births", "American men's basketball players", "Basketball players at the 2019 Pan American Games", "Basketball players from Middlesex County, Massachusetts", "Fort Wayne Mad Ants players", "Living people", "Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games", "Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States", "Pan American Games medalists in basketball", "Small forwards", "United States men's national basketball team players", "Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players" ]
Jermaine Samuels Jr. (born November 13, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats. ## Early life and high school career Samuels is the son of Taihish and Jermaine Samuels Sr. and grew up in Franklin, Massachusetts. He began dunking the basketball at age 13 after growing from 5'9 to 6'3. Samuels attended The Rivers School, where he was coached by Andrew Mirken, as well as playing basketball in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) for Expressions Elite. In his freshman season, he averaged 19 points per game for The Rivers School. As a sophomore, he had a knee injury which required surgery and six months recovery. Samuels averaged 17.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game as a senior and was named First team All-USA Massachusetts by USA Today. Samuels committed to playing college basketball for Villanova in November 2016, turning down offers from Indiana, Duke, Kansas, UConn, Georgetown, Arizona State and California. ESPN ranked him the 52nd best recruit in his class. He picked Villanova after visiting the campus in August 2016 and feeling very comfortable around the campus and coaches. ## College career Samuels had a season-high 11 points in a 103–85 win against DePaul on December 27, 2017. However, he fractured his left hand in the game and missed several weeks of playing time. He rejoined the rotation in February 2018 but struggled to receive consistent minutes and did not play in NCAA Tournament victories over West Virginia and Texas Tech. Samuels averaged 1.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game as a freshman on a team that won the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game. On February 27, 2019, Samuels scored a season-high 29 points in a 67–61 win against Marquette. He had 12 points and seven rebounds in an NCAA Tournament win over Saint Mary's. Samuels helped Villanova achieve a 26–10 record and win the Big East Conference. He averaged 6.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Coming into his junior season, Samuels was named to the Preseason Second Team All-Big East alongside teammate Collin Gillespie. Samuels scored 15 points in a 56–55 win against top-ranked Kansas on December 21, 2019, including a three-pointer with 20.5 seconds remaining. On January 18, Samuels scored 19 points including a crucial three-point play in a 61–55 win against UConn. He had 20 points in a 76–61 win over Butler on January 21. On January 28, 2020, Samuels missed a game against St. John's with a sprained foot. Samuels made the game winning three-point play in a 70–69 win over Georgetown on March 7, finishing with 13 points. As a junior, Samuels averaged 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He was named to the Second Team All-Big 5. During the 2020 offseason, Samuels worked on his decision-making and three-point shooting, while struggle to find practice space due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was named to the preseason Julius Erving Award watchlist. On February 7, 2021, Samuels scored a career-high 32 points and had six rebounds, five assists and three steals in an 84–74 win against Georgetown. As a senior, Samuels averaged 12 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, earning All-Big East Honorable Mention recognition. Following the season, he announced he was returning for a fifth season of eligibility. On December 21, 2021, Samuels surpassed the 1,000 point threshold in a 84–74 win against Xavier. ## Professional career ### Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2022–2023) After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, Samuels signed with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on October 24, 2022. ### Houston Rockets (2023–present) On August 2, 2023, Samuels signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets of the NBA and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. ## National team career In July and August 2019, Samuels was a part of the United States national team who competed at the Pan American Games in Peru. The team won the bronze medal, defeating the Dominican Republic with nine points from Samuels. He averaged 9.4 points per game during the tournament. ## Career statistics ### College \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2017–18 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Villanova \| 25 \|\| 0 \|\| 6.1 \|\| .250 \|\| .188 \|\| .625 \|\| 1.2 \|\| .3 \|\| .0 \|\| .1 \|\| 1.1 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2018–19 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Villanova \| 35 \|\| 22 \|\| 22.0 \|\| .448 \|\| .347 \|\| .622 \|\| 5.4 \|\| 1.0 \|\| .4 \|\| .8 \|\| 6.4 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2019–20 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Villanova \| 30 \|\| 30 \|\| 30.3 \|\| .464 \|\| .276 \|\| .727 \|\| 5.5 \|\| 2.0 \|\| .9 \|\| .7 \|\| 10.7 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2020–21 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Villanova \| 25 \|\| 24 \|\| 29.3 \|\| .481 \|\| .371 \|\| .828 \|\| 6.4 \|\| 2.5 \|\| .6 \|\| .3 \|\| 12.0 \|- \| style="text-align:left;"\| 2021–22 \| style="text-align:left;"\| Villanova \| 38 \|\| 37 \|\| 29.6 \|\| .472 \|\| .276 \|\| .770 \|\| 6.5 \|\| 1.4 \|\| .8 \|\| .7 \|\| 11.1 \|- class="sortbottom" \| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"\| Career \| 153 \|\| 113 \|\| 24.1 \|\| .461 \|\| .306 \|\| .740 \|\| 5.2 \|\| 1.4 \|\| .6 \|\| .5 \|\| 8.5
64,596,177
Iced Out Audemars
1,094,112,844
2020 song by Pop Smoke
[ "2020 songs", "Pop Smoke songs", "Songs released posthumously", "Songs written by Lil Wayne", "Songs written by Pop Smoke" ]
"Iced Out Audemars" is a song by American rapper Pop Smoke, featuring rapper Dafi Woo, from the deluxe version of the former's posthumous debut studio album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon (2020). The song was written by Pop Smoke, who is credited under his legal name of Bashar Jackson, alongside John Stevens, Khadafi Julio, and its lead producer Rico Beats. A drill track, the lyrics see Pop Smoke and Dafi Woo celebrating over the finer things and expressing their love for Dior, among other designer jewelry. A remix of the song that features Lil Wayne was released on October 15, 2020. For the lyrics of the remix, Lil Wayne replaces Dafi Woo and pays homage to Pop Smoke after he died in a home invasion on February 19, 2020. The remix of "Iced Out Audemars" received positive reviews from music critics, with a number of them praising Lil Wayne's verse. ## Background and release The song was written by Pop Smoke and Dafi Woo, known under their respective real names of Bashar Jackson and Khadafi Julio, alongside L3gion and Rico Beats. The latter of the four solely handled the song's production, while L3gion handled additional production. "Iced Out Audemars" was released on the deluxe version of Pop Smoke's posthumous debut studio album Shoot for the Star, Aim for the Moon, as the twenty-fourth track on July 20, 2020. A snippet of a remix featuring American rapper Lil Wayne surfaced online on October 5, 2020. The remix was later released on October 15, 2020. ## Music and lyrics Musically, "Iced Out Audemars" is a drill track. Jordan Darville of The Fader stated that Pop Smoke and Dafi Woo celebrate "the finer things over a beat that glitters with the exultant panache of dozens of champagne flutes being clinked together". Jessica McKinney of Complex commented that Pop Smoke is "aggressive and electric with familiar bars about Dior and other designer jewels". Lil Wayne replaces Dafi Woo on the song's remix and raps his verse during both the chorus and outro. Lil Wayne pays homage to Pop Smoke after he was shot and killed during a home invasion: "Iced out Audemars/Wait, I told you so / Blacked out all my cars/Rest in peace to Poppy/Here today, we gone tomorrow." He further raps: "Wu-Tang bean in the cranberry cream/And the cash ruled everything around me since/Cream, got the money, whole team got the money/Hoes dream they could fuck me, codeine got me muddy." Complex writer Joe Price wrote that Lil Wayne starts "with a melodic approach before effortlessly shifting to a rapid-fire flow". McKinney said Lil Wayne "switches up his flow midway through the verse, delivering rapid-fire bars with high-pitched vocals". ## Critical reception The remix of "Iced Out Audemars" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Alex Zidel of HotNewHipHop said that Lil Wayne brings "energy and sharp bars to the match-up" and "delivers a stand-out verse that the late [Pop Smoke] would have been proud of". McKinney opined that Lil Wayne "adds a nice contrast to the record", while Darville wrote the rapper contributes "breathless new bars". Jon Powell, for Revolt, commented that he "delivers a dope tribute" to Pop Smoke. Michael Saponara of HipHopDX deemed Lil Wayne's verse as "silky". Carl Lamarre, writing for Billboard magazine, described the song as "thunderous", and said that "New York's rap scene gets another sterling Pop Smoke track". ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from Tidal. - Pop Smoke – vocals, songwriter - Dafi Woo – vocals, featured artist, songwriter - Rico Beats – production, songwriter, programming - BigBroLGND – additional production, songwriter - Jess Jackson – mixing engineer, mastering engineer - Corey Nutile – engineer - Rose Adams – additional mixing engineer - Sage Skolfield – additional mixing engineer - Sean Solymar – additional mixing engineer
1,330,654
Joe Greene
1,173,888,604
American football player and coach (born 1946)
[ "1946 births", "20th-century African-American sportspeople", "21st-century African-American people", "African-American players of American football", "All-American college football players", "American Conference Pro Bowl players", "American football defensive tackles", "American male film actors", "American male television actors", "Arizona Cardinals coaches", "College Football Hall of Fame inductees", "Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players", "Living people", "Miami Dolphins coaches", "National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award winners", "National Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winners", "National Football League announcers", "National Football League players with retired numbers", "North Texas Mean Green football players", "Pittsburgh Steelers coaches", "Pittsburgh Steelers players", "Players of American football from Temple, Texas", "Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees", "Sportspeople from Duncanville, Texas" ]
Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1981. A recipient of two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, five first-team All-Pro selections, and ten Pro Bowl appearances, Greene is widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive linemen to play in the NFL. He was noted for his leadership, fierce competitiveness, and intimidating style of play for which he earned his nickname. Born and raised in Temple, Texas, Greene attended North Texas State University (now University of North Texas), where he earned consensus All-America honors as a senior playing for the North Texas State Mean Green football team. He was selected by the Steelers fourth overall in the 1969 NFL Draft and made an immediate impact with the team, as he was named the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year. Greene is credited with providing the foundation upon which Steelers coach Chuck Noll turned the dismal franchise into a sports dynasty. He was the centerpiece of the "Steel Curtain" defense that led Pittsburgh to four Super Bowl championships in a six-year span. Throughout his career, Greene was one of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL, able to overpower opposing offensive linemen with ease and disrupt blocking. Former teammate Andy Russell called Greene "unquestionably the NFL's best player in the seventies." He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame, and his number 75 jersey is one of only three retired by the Steelers. Greene is also well known for his appearance in the "Hey Kid, Catch!" Coca-Cola commercial, which aired during Super Bowl XIV and solidified his reputation as a "tough football player who's a nice guy." ## Early life and college Charles Edward Greene was born September 24, 1946, in Temple, Texas. He played high school football at Dunbar High School in Temple. Despite Greene's talents, the Dunbar Panthers had a mediocre record, and he was not heavily recruited by colleges. His options were limited further due to segregation of the Southwest Conference. He was eventually offered a scholarship to play college football at North Texas State University (now University of North Texas), where he played on the varsity team from 1966 to 1968. In the three seasons he coached the squad, they had a 23-15-1 record. With a per-carry average of less than two yards in his 39 games at defensive tackle, North Texas State limited the opposition to 2,507 yards on 1,276 rushes. Greene was a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection. In his junior season Greene married Agnes Craft, also a student at North Texas State and the daughter of a Dallas businessman. Tight on money, they were wed at Craft's sister's house in Dallas. Chuck Beatty, Greene's teammate at North Texas and later again in the NFL with the Steelers, served as best man. As a senior, Greene was a consensus pick as a defensive tackle for the 1968 All-America team, earning first-team honors from United Press International (UPI), the Newspaper Enterprise Association, and The Sporting News, among others. His college coach, Rod Rust, said of Greene: "There are two factors behind Joe's success. First, he has the ability to make the big defensive play and turn the tempo of a game around. Second, he has the speed to be an excellent pursuit player." A pro scout said, "He's tough and mean and comes to hit people. He has good killer instincts. He's mobile and hostile." ## Nickname While sources agree the name is a reference to North Texas' athletics teams, the Mean Green, there are conflicting accounts as to how, when, and why Greene received his "Mean Greene" nickname. When he first arrived at North Texas, the university's moniker was the Eagles. In 1966, Greene's first year on the varsity team, the team adopted the "Mean Green" moniker. Two possible origins of the nickname are two separate cheers that supposedly developed independently during North Texas' 1966 game against UTEP. One cheer was by Sidney Sue Graham, wife of the North Texas sports information director. In response to a tackle by Greene, she blurted out, "That's the way, Mean Greene!" Bill Mercer, former North Texas play-by-play announcer, states Graham's thought behind the nickname was the Mean Green defense. Meanwhile, in the student section, North Texas basketball players Willie Davis and Ira Daniels, unsatisfied with the unenthusiastic crowd, began to sing, "Mean Green, you look so good to me". The rest of the crowd soon followed. "After that we did it every game," Davis said. "A lot of people later on started associating it with Joe because his last name was Greene, but it actually started with that simple chant that Saturday night at Fouts Field. And that's the truth." Although it stuck with him throughout his professional career due to his playing style, Greene himself was not fond of the nickname, insisting it did not reflect his true character. "I just want people to remember me as being a good player and not really mean," he said. "I want to be remembered for playing 13 years and contributing to four championship teams. I would like to be remembered for maybe setting a standard for others to achieve." As for the “Joe” part of his nickname (since his given name was Charles, not Joseph), that came from one of his aunts. During a 2014 interview with NFL Films, Greene said that his aunt nicknamed him Joe due to his resemblance to boxing legend Joe Louis, who at the time of Greene's birth was in the middle of his 12-year reign as heavyweight champion. "She thought I was hefty and bulky enough to be called Joe Louis," Greene said. "She started calling me Joe, and it kind of stuck." ## Professional football career The Pittsburgh Steelers franchise was one of the most downtrodden in the NFL, having experienced many losing seasons before the hiring of Chuck Noll as head coach in 1969. Noll and the Rooney family, which had owned the franchise since its formation, agreed that building the defensive line was crucial to rebuilding the team. Thus, they decided on Greene with the fourth pick of the 1969 NFL Draft. The selection proved unpopular with fans and media, who were hoping for a player that would generate excitement; the relatively unknown Greene did not appear to meet their expectations. Meanwhile, Greene, who was highly competitive, was disappointed he was picked by a team that had such a reputation for losing. "I did not, did not want to be a Steeler," he admitted in a 2013 interview. Noll saw immense potential in Greene and insisted on drafting him. Ken Kortas, who had played in all 42 games as defensive tackle over the previous three seasons, was soon traded away to the Chicago Bears to accommodate him on the roster. In a matter of months he established himself as one of the most dominant players in the league at his position. Despite his team finishing 1969 with a 1–13 win–loss record, the Associated Press (AP) named Greene the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, and he was invited to his first Pro Bowl. Former teammate Andy Russell called Greene "unquestionably the NFL's best player in the seventies," saying "No player had a greater impact or did more for his team." Greene and coach Noll are widely credited with turning the Steelers franchise around. The Steelers finished 1970 with a 5–9 record and went 6–8 in 1971. Greene was invited to the Pro Bowl in both seasons. In 1972, Pittsburgh finished 11–3 and won its first division title and its first playoff game—the "Immaculate Reception" game against the Oakland Raiders. During the season, Greene tallied 11 quarterback sacks and 42 solo tackles, and he was recognized as the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula lauded Greene, saying, "He's just a super super star. It's hard to believe he isn't offside on every play. He makes the other team adjust to him." By this time, Noll had built a formidable defense. "We have maybe 10 guys now capable of making All-Pro," said Greene in 1972. "I'm just like all the other guys, doing my best in a team effort." With the drafting of defensive tackle Ernie Holmes in 1972, the Steelers assembled what became known as the "Steel Curtain" defensive line of Greene, Holmes, L. C. Greenwood, and Dwight White. Greene was invited to the Pro Bowl for 1973, joining White and Greenwood on the American Football Conference (AFC) roster. Greene won his second AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award after the 1974 season, becoming the first player to receive the award multiple times. That year, he developed a new tactic of lining up at a sharp angle between the guard and center to disrupt the opposition's blocking assignments. His coaches were at first skeptical of the tactic and did not allow him to try it during the regular season. He first implemented it against the Buffalo Bills in the division championship game. It proved to be highly effective, as it impeded Buffalo's blocking, and running back O. J. Simpson managed only 48 yards rushing. The following week, the Steelers faced the Oakland Raiders in the AFC championship game, with the defining match-up being Greene against All-Pro center Jim Otto. At one point Greene, consumed by emotions, kicked Otto in the groin. Later, on a third-down play, Greene threw Otto to the ground with one arm before leaping to sack quarterback Ken Stabler. Oakland was held to 29 rushing yards in the Steelers' 24–13 victory. On January 12, 1975, the Steelers won their first of four Super Bowl championships in a six-year span by defeating the Minnesota Vikings 16–6 in Super Bowl IX. In that game, lined up against center Mick Tingelhoff, Greene recorded an interception, forced fumble, and fumble recovery in what is considered one of the greatest individual defensive Super Bowl performances. Pittsburgh limited the Vikings to only 119 total yards of offense, 17 of which were gained on the ground. After the season, Greene was honored by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at its 39th Dapper Dan dinner as Pittsburgh's outstanding sports figure of the year. Greene missed four games in 1975 due to a pinched nerve, snapping a streak of 91 straight games started since he entered the league. In December 1975, he and the other members of the Steel Curtain appeared on the cover of Time magazine. After leading the Steelers to another Super Bowl win after the 1975 season over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X, Greene missed the first several games of the 1976 season with a back injury. The Steelers started off the season 1–4 and looked like they would not make the playoffs. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw was also injured and was replaced by rookie Mike Kruczek. Greene returned and the Steelers defense carried the team to nine-straight wins and the playoffs. With a defense considered one of the best in NFL history, the 1976 Steelers held opponents to an average of less than 10 points per game (138 points over 14 games). During their nine-game winning streak, the Steelers defense recorded five shutouts, including three straight, and surrendered a total of 28 points (roughly 3 points per game). The defense allowed only two touchdowns over those nine games. The Steelers were defeated by the Raiders in that year's AFC championship game. By 1977, Greene was the captain of the Steelers defense, although his reduced effectiveness over the previous two seasons due to injuries led to rumors that he was washed up. He was never again able to attain the same success as a pass rusher after his pinched nerve in 1975. Spurred by the rumors, he returned in 1978 to lead all Pittsburgh linemen in tackles, and he had four sacks and a career-high five fumble recoveries. The Steelers defense allowed a league-low 195 points during the season, en route to a 35–31 victory over the Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII. In that contest, Greene had one of Pittsburgh's five sacks of Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach. Pittsburgh finished the 1979 season with a 12–4 record, and ranked second in total defense and fifth in scoring defense. Greene was named a first-team All-Pro by the Pro Football Writers Association and Pro Football Weekly and was invited to his final Pro Bowl. He was also deemed the NFL's Man of the Year in recognition of his off-field contributions. In the AFC championship game against the Houston Oilers, the Steelers held NFL MVP Earl Campbell to just 15 rushing yards on 17 carries. Pittsburgh then defeated the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV for an unprecedented fourth Super Bowl title. With the fourth title came Greene's fourth Super Bowl ring, inspiring his famous phrase, "one for the thumb", an allusion to winning a fifth championship. His wish went unfulfilled, however, as the Steelers failed to reach the playoffs in each of his final two seasons. Greene retired as a player following the 1981 season. He finished his career having played in 181 out of a possible 190 games, and recorded 77.5 sacks (unofficially, as sacks were not an official statistic until 1982) and 16 fumble recoveries. His spot in the lineup was technically not replaced; the Steelers switched to a 3–4 defensive alignment for the 1982 season, which has only one nose tackle as opposed to two defensive tackles. The team has used the 3–4 as its base alignment continuously in the years since Greene's retirement, and more recently have used alignments that deploy only two true linemen. ## Attitude and playing style > He's tough and mean and comes to hit people. He has good killer instincts. He's mobile and hostile. Greene's nickname remained popular due to his exploits on the playing field, where he was described as ferocious and intimidating. He instilled fear in opponents with the intensity of his play. In a 1979 game against the Houston Oilers, with only seconds remaining and Houston leading 20–17, the Oilers lined up near the Pittsburgh goal line to run their final play. With victory already assured for the Oilers, Greene pointed angrily across the line of scrimmage at Houston quarterback Dan Pastorini, warning, "If you come into the end zone, I'll beat the crap out of you! I'm gonna kill you!" Pastorini responded by taking a knee, ending the game. Afterward, Greene laughed and said, "I knew you weren't going to do it." In his early years with the Steelers, Greene was at times uncontrollable, and often let his temper get the best of him. On one occasion during a 1975 game against the rival Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Greene repeatedly kicked Browns lineman Bob McKay in the groin while McKay was lying on the ground. He also punched Denver Broncos guard Paul Howard and spat at quarterback Fran Tarkenton, and he frequently clashed with officials. Greene and middle linebacker Jack Lambert became the emotional leaders of Pittsburgh's defensive squad. Greene was described as a huge presence both on and off the field. Joe Gordon of the Steelers front office recalled an instance in which a teammate was loudly voicing his discontent over the long and cold practice they had just gone through as he yanked off his equipment. At a nearby locker, Greene lifted his head and silently glared at him. "Believe me, that's all Joe did, he never even said anything," said Gordon. "I don't think the other players saw Joe glare at him. I think the other player just felt it, and then he sat down and never said another word." A natural leader, Greene was named the captain of the defense in 1977. His leadership was also channeled to the offense; Lynn Swann, a wide receiver, considered Greene a mentor. "If you were giving less than 100 percent, he let you know one way or the other," said Swann. ## Acting career ### Coca-Cola commercial Greene appeared in a famous commercial for Coca-Cola that debuted on October 1, 1979, and was aired during Super Bowl XIV on January 20, 1980. The ad won a Clio Award in 1980 for being one of the best commercials of 1979. It is widely considered to be one of the best television commercials of all time. The commercial helped shift the public's perception of Greene as hostile and unapproachable, to a soft-hearted "nice guy". ### Other roles While most well known for the Coca-Cola commercial, Greene has acted in other roles. One of his first acting roles was in The Black Six, a blaxploitation film starring other NFL players including fellow Hall of Famers Lem Barney, Willie Lanier, and Carl Eller. Greene also played himself in the movie ...All The Marbles, a TV movie on teammate Rocky Bleier, titled Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story, and in Smokey and the Bandit II. ## Coaching career and later life After retiring from the NFL, Greene spent one year, 1982, as a color analyst for NFL on CBS before becoming an assistant coach under Steelers' head coach Chuck Noll in 1987. He spent the next 16 years as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1987–1991), Miami Dolphins (1991–1995), and Arizona Cardinals (1996–2003). In 2004, he retired from coaching and was named the special assistant for player personnel for the Steelers. In this position, he earned his fifth Super Bowl ring after the Steelers won Super Bowl XL. When asked how it felt to finally win "one for the thumb", he replied, "That's all utter nonsense. It's one for the right hand. It's one for this group, for this team." He earned a sixth ring from Super Bowl XLIII. Greene is one of four people outside the Rooney family to have Super Bowl rings from the first six championship seasons. He retired from his position in the Steelers front office in 2013. In 2014, Greene was the subject of an episode of the NFL Network documentary series A Football Life, which chronicled his life and career. As of 2016, he resides in Flower Mound, Texas. His wife of 47 years, Agnes, with whom he had three children, died in 2015. He has since remarried to Charlotte Greene. Greene is known as "Papa Joe" to his seven grandchildren. In 2017, Greene released an autobiography entitled Mean Joe Greene: Built by Football. In 2018 Greene set up the Agnes Lucille Craft Greene Memorial Scholarship in honor of his late wife. The scholarships are presented annually to students from Texas, whose parents have battled cancer. ## Legacy Greene is recognized as one of the most dominant players to ever play in the NFL. He is widely considered one of the greatest defensive linemen in league history. His durability allowed him to play in 181 of a possible 190 games, including a streak of 91 straight to begin his career. The Steel Curtain defense is consistently ranked among the top defensive groups of all time. As of the death of L. C. Greenwood in September 2013, Greene is the last surviving member of the Steel Curtain. ### Post-career honors - In 1984, Greene was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. He is the only former UNT player so honored. - His number 75 jersey is retired by the North Texas football team, and he was inducted into the UNT Hall of Fame in 1981. - He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987, a class which also included Larry Csonka, Len Dawson, Jim Langer, Don Maynard, Gene Upshaw, and John Henry Johnson. - The Hall of Fame Selection Committee named Greene to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, honoring the best players of the decade. In 1994, he was selected by a 15-person panel of NFL and Pro Football Hall of Fame officials, former players, and media representatives to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 75 years. - In 1999, Greene was deemed the 14th greatest player of all time by The Sporting News. He was ranked 13th on The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players by the NFL Network in 2010. - Greene is regarded among the greatest players in Steelers franchise history. His number 75 jersey was officially retired at halftime during the Steelers' game against the rival Baltimore Ravens on November 2, 2014. Greene also briefly wore number 72 during his rookie season before switching to his more familiar 75 mid-season. He is only the third Steeler to have his jersey formally retired, the first being Ernie Stautner and the other being Franco Harris. However, the Steelers had not reissued No. 75 since Greene's retirement, and it had been understood long before 2014 that no Steeler would ever wear it again. - The University of North Texas, Greene's alma mater, unveiled a statue of him outside of Apogee Stadium in 2018. Greene is regarded as the most famous alum of UNT. - In 2015, the Mean Joe Greene Community Football Field was dedicated in Greene's honor in his hometown of Temple, Texas. - In 2019, Greene was named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the greatest players of the NFL's first 100 years.
2,384,812
Frank Worsley
1,152,952,775
New Zealand sailor and explorer (1872–1943)
[ "1872 births", "1943 deaths", "Companions of the Distinguished Service Order", "Deaths from lung cancer in England", "Explorers of Antarctica", "Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition", "New Zealand and the Antarctic", "New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom", "New Zealand explorers", "New Zealand military personnel", "New Zealand recipients of the Polar Medal", "Officers of the Order of the British Empire", "People from Akaroa", "Royal Naval Reserve personnel", "Royal Navy officers of World War I", "Royal Navy personnel of the Russian Civil War" ]
Frank Arthur Worsley DSO\* OBE RD (22 February 1872 – 1 February 1943) was a New Zealand sailor and explorer who served on Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1916, as captain of Endurance. He also served in the Royal Navy Reserve during the First World War. Born in Akaroa, New Zealand, Worsley joined the New Zealand Shipping Company in 1888. He served aboard several vessels running trade routes between New Zealand, England and the South Pacific. While on South Pacific service, he became renowned for his ability to navigate to tiny, remote islands. He joined the Royal Navy Reserve in 1902 and served on HMS Swiftsure for a year before returning to the Merchant navy. In 1914, he joined the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which aimed to cross the Antarctic continent. After the expedition's ship Endurance was trapped in pack ice and wrecked, he and the rest of the crew sailed three lifeboats to Elephant Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula. From there, Worsley, Shackleton and four others sailed the 6.9m (22.5-foot) lifeboat James Caird 1,300 km (800 miles) across the stormy South Atlantic Ocean to their intended destination, South Georgia. Worsley's navigation skills were crucial to the safe arrival of the James Caird. Shackleton, Worsley and seaman Tom Crean then trekked for 36 hours through snow, ice and mountains to fetch help from Stromness whaling station. In August, Worsley and Shackleton returned to Elephant Island aboard the Yelcho, a Chilean naval ship, to rescue the remaining members of the expedition, all of whom survived. During the First World War, Worsley captained the Q-ship PC.61 when it rammed and sank the German U-boat UC-33, killing all but one of its crew. For this action Worsley was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Later in the war he worked in transportation of supplies in Arctic Russia, and in the North Russia Intervention against the Bolsheviks, earning a bar to his DSO. He was later appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. From 1921 to 1922, he served on Shackleton's last expedition to the Antarctic as captain of the Quest. In between berths in the Merchant Navy, he led an expedition to the Arctic Circle and participated in a treasure hunt on Cocos Island. He wrote several books relating to his experiences in polar exploration and his sailing career. During the Second World War, Worsley initially served with the International Red Cross in France and Norway. In 1941, he falsified his age so he could rejoin the Merchant Navy. When officials discovered his actual age, he was released from duty. He died from lung cancer in England in 1943. ## Early life Frank Arthur Worsley was born on 22 February 1872 in Akaroa, New Zealand, one of three children of a farmer, Henry Worsley, and his wife Georgiana. His father arrived in New Zealand from England as a child; his grandfather, Henry Francis Worsley (1806–1876), migrated from Rugby, England aboard the Cornwall to Lyttelton, where he arrived with his large family, in December 1851. The family lived in Grehan Valley, high above Akaroa. Worsley's mother died while he was a toddler. He was sent to school in Akaroa but when his father moved his family to take up work clearing bush from land at Peraki, he was homeschooled for a time. From age 10, he helped with clearing land for sheep pasture and growing cocksfoot. When Frank was 11, his older brother, Harry, left to join the New Zealand Shipping Company as an apprentice and at about the same time, his father moved his family, which was now just Frank and his 13-year-old sister, to Christchurch. Frank attended Fendalton School and marked his final year of schooling by being made head boy. Like his brother, Frank was interested in a career at sea. In 1887, his application to join the New Zealand Shipping Company was declined because of his short stature, but he was successful six months later. He was signed on as a junior midshipman aboard the Wairoa, a three-masted clipper which transported wool to London. ## Maritime career Worsley served on a number of sailing ships of the company, running the trade route between New Zealand and England for several years. He became a third mate by 1891, and then a fifth officer the following year. In 1895, when a third officer, he left the New Zealand Shipping Company to join the New Zealand Government Steamer Service (NZGSS). His first posting was aboard the Tutanekai, an NZGSS steamer which served the Pacific Islands, as second mate. He was considered to be a good and experienced officer, but was not averse to mischief. On one voyage in 1899, the Tutanekai was anchored in the harbour at Apia, the capital city of German Samoa. At night, Worsley went ashore and stole the ensign that was flown from the flagpole of the German consulate on the harbour front. On discovering the theft, the consul suspected the culprit was from the crew of the Tutanekai, the only merchant vessel in the harbour at the time. With a party of sailors from SMS Falke, also anchored in the harbour, the consul boarded the Tutanekai looking for the ensign, but they left empty-handed after the ship's captain protested. Even when the captain later found out Worsley was responsible, it did not affect his career prospects. He was posted to the Hinemoa, another NZGSS steamer, as chief officer. In June 1900, Worsley sat the examination for a foreign master's certificate. He passed with good marks, and was one of two students commended for their efforts. He was now a qualified master and, as his first command, was given the Countess of Ranfurly. This was a three-masted schooner of the NZGSS which sailed trade routes in the South Pacific, mainly around the Cook Islands and Niue, both of which were New Zealand dependencies. Beatrice Grimshaw, a travel writer based in Papua New Guinea, said that "Any passenger he took had to work passage as well as pay" and that he encouraged her to learn practical seamanship, "to go aloft, to "hand, reef and steer", and to use the sixteen-foot oar in the whaleboat". ### Royal Navy Reserve While in command of the Countess of Ranfurly, Worsley joined the Royal Navy Reserve (RNR) and on 1 January 1902 was appointed a sub-lieutenant. In 1904, Countess of Ranfurly was sold, leaving Worsley without a command. Rather than stay in the employ of the New Zealand Government Steamer Service, he decided to look abroad for work. He travelled to Sydney and found a berth as chief officer on HMS Sparrow, which was on its delivery voyage to New Zealand, having been recently purchased by the New Zealand Government. When the Sparrow arrived in Wellington in March 1905, he was selected to command the ship while it was converted to a training vessel. The conversion was still incomplete when he left for England in early 1906. On arrival in England in March 1906, Worsley presented himself for further training in the RNR. He was posted to HMS Psyche and received specialist training in torpedoes, gunnery and navigation. He was promoted to lieutenant the following May. He served on a number of Royal Navy ships over the next two years, including 12 months on HMS Swiftsure. He then returned to the Merchant navy and found a position with Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers, which sailed regularly from England to Canada and South America. He would intermittently be called up for service in the RNR over the next several years. This included a month in 1911 spent aboard HMS New Zealand. ## Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition In 1914, the explorer Ernest Shackleton began preparing an expedition which had the goal of completing the first crossing of the Antarctic continent. The failure of Robert Falcon Scott to beat the Norwegian Roald Amundsen to the South Pole in 1911 was considered a blot on Britain's reputation in polar exploration. Shackleton's expedition was intended to return the country to the forefront of Antarctic endeavour. He set up his headquarters at Burlington Road in London and interviewed candidates for the expedition. One position was as captain for the expedition's vessel, the Endurance. Worsley, in London awaiting a new berth, joined the expedition as a result of a dream in which he navigated a ship around icebergs drifting down Burlington Street. He took it as a premonition and the next day hurried down to Burlington Street, where he noticed a sign on a building advertising what Shackleton called the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. He entered the building and met Shackleton. After a few minutes of conversation, Shackleton offered him the captaincy of the Endurance, which Worsley accepted. The Endurance left England on 8 August 1914 destined for Buenos Aires, where Shackleton, travelling separately, would later meet the expedition. The departure was troubled by the impending outbreak of the First World War. Some members, including Worsley, anticipating being called up for military service, proposed a postponement of the voyage. However, the Admiralty advised Shackleton to proceed with his plans even after Britain declared war on Imperial Germany on 4 August. Just prior to the departure of the Endurance, Worsley approached the authorities and was advised that RNR personnel were not being called up at the time. While steaming to South America, fuel ran low and wood intended for planned buildings at the expedition's base in Antarctica was used to keep the engine running. Worsley ran a relatively relaxed ship with little discipline or control of alcohol consumption. Four crew members got into a barroom brawl at a stopover in Madeira, a neutral port. While anchored in the harbour, a neighbouring German ship swung into the Endurance, damaging it. Worsley angrily boarded the German ship with some other members of the expedition and forced the crew to repair the damage. Shackleton, briefed on Worsley's handling of the voyage to date once he had caught up with the expedition at Buenos Aires, began to have concerns about his choice of captain. Worsley was to be in command of the resupply expedition for the party that was to winter over in Antarctica, but Shackleton began to doubt whether his leadership skills were sufficient to achieve this. After resupplying at Buenos Aires, the Endurance left for the remote island of South Georgia, in the South Atlantic, on 26 October. It duly arrived at Grytviken Station, a Norwegian whaling outpost, on 5 November. The Norwegians confirmed initial reports from Buenos Aires that the Antarctic pack ice was much further north than usual. Shackleton followed the Norwegians' advice to delay departure until later in the summer, and it was not until 5 December that the Endurance steamed south for the Weddell Sea. ### Icebound The Endurance encountered the pack ice three days after leaving South Georgia, and Worsley began working the ship through the various bergs. On occasion it was necessary to ram a path through the ice. Progress was intermittent; on some days little headway was made while on other days large stretches of open water allowed swift passage southwards. Worsley would often direct the helmsman from the crow's nest, from where he could see any breaks in the ice. During this time Shackleton came to think that Worsley was less suited to giving orders than to following them, which he would do with the utmost determination. On 18 January 1915, the ship became iced in. Within a few days, it was apparent that the Endurance was held fast and was likely to remain so for the upcoming winter. Trapped, the ship slowly drifted westwards with the ice, and the expedition settled in for the winter. The original plan had been to leave a shore party on the Antarctic mainland while Worsley took the Endurance northwards. There had been no expectation that the entire expedition would live aboard the ship in the long term. Worsley relished the challenge; he slept in the passageway rather than the cabins, and even in the depths of winter, would shock his companions by taking snow baths on the ice. With little to do since the Endurance became trapped, he occupied himself taking soundings of the ocean and collecting specimens. He later wrote a report titled Biological, Soundings and Magnetic Record, Weddell Sea, 1914–1916. By July, it was becoming obvious that the ice was likely to crush the Endurance, which creaked and trembled under the pressure, and Shackleton instructed Worsley to be prepared to quickly abandon ship if the need arose. Worsley was initially incredulous, asking Shackleton: "You seriously mean to tell me that the ship is doomed?" Shackleton responded, "The ship can't live in this, Skipper." Finally, on 24 October, the pressure of the ice caused the sternpost of the Endurance to twist and the ship began to quickly let in water. After desperate attempts to fix the leak and pump the ship dry, Shackleton gave the order to abandon ship three days later. Salvaging what essential supplies they could, the expedition set out on 30 October for Robertson Island, 320 km (200 miles) to the northeast. After just three days, it was clear that the condition of the ice was too rough for sledging. Having travelled only a 2.4 km (1.5 miles) from where the Endurance was sinking, they set up camp to wait for the ice to break up. Lumber and tents were salvaged from the crushed ship, which was still not fully submerged, and a reasonable camp, known as Ocean Camp, was established. The expedition stayed here for two months until 23 December, when they struck camp. The conditions underfoot were slushy during the day, as the temperature warmed up. Shackleton resolved to do most of the trekking at night, sledging the three lifeboats of the Endurance behind them. The sledging was hard work and after little more than a week, Shackleton and his men were forced to camp once more. Underneath, the ice continued to move northwards, and by April 1916, the floe they were on was nearly within sight of Elephant Island but beginning to break up. Shackleton ordered the expedition to the lifeboats, placing Worsley in charge of one of them, the Dudley Docker. It took a week to reach Elephant Island, the ice and currents inhibiting progress. The first few nights involved camping on nearby ice floes with the constant risk of them breaking up, but the last four nights were in the boats, with Worsley spending most of it at the tiller and going without sleep for 90 hours straight. His experience with open boats came to the fore in his sound handling of the Dudley Docker, while his navigation was exemplary, guiding the fleet of lifeboats unerringly to Elephant Island once they found favourable wind conditions. On the final night at sea, with Elephant Island having been sighted earlier in the day, heavy seas separated his boat from the other two lifeboats. His boat taking on water and caught in a rip, Worsley steered the Dudley Docker all through the night. Relieved early in the morning, he promptly fell asleep and could only be awoken by kicks to the head; it was only three years later that he found out the method used to wake him up. The Dudley Docker made shore on 15 April, landing on the same shingle beach of Elephant Island as the other lifeboats. It was the expedition's first landfall in almost 18 months. ### Voyage of the James Caird It quickly became apparent that Elephant Island, 32 km (20 miles) of rock and ice with little shelter, was not a welcoming environment with winter approaching and most of the expedition members weakened by their ordeal. Furthermore, the expedition could not be expected to be spotted by search parties or passing whalers. Within days of landing on Elephant Island, Shackleton decided to take a small party and sail the largest lifeboat, the James Caird, named for one of the expedition's sponsors, to South Georgia, 1300 km (800 miles) away. From there he would obtain a ship and return for the remainder of his men. Worsley, whose navigational skills had impressed Shackleton, volunteered to accompany him. The James Caird, originally built to Worsley's specifications, was about 6.7m (22 feet) long and the expedition's carpenter, Harry McNish, immediately set about improving its seaworthiness. On 24 April, the weather dawned clear and after being provisioned with 30 days of supplies, the boat left Elephant Island. Worsley was faced with the task of navigating the Southern Ocean to South Georgia. There was no margin for error as the James Caird would sail into the South Atlantic if he missed the island; this would mean almost certain death for those in the lifeboat, as well as for those remaining on Elephant Island. Fortuitously, the weather was fine on the day of departure from the island and this allowed Worsley to obtain a sun sighting to ensure that his chronometer was rated. Shortly after the start of the voyage, the James Caird, which, in addition to Shackleton and Worsley, also carried McNish, sailors John Vincent and Timothy McCarthy, as well as the experienced Tom Crean, encountered the ice but Worsley found a way through and into the open ocean. The crew set up two watches for the journey, which eventually took 16 days in heavy seas to reach South Georgia. For most of the voyage, the weather was so stormy and overcast Worsley was unable to take more than a few sightings with his sextant. He described one sighting as "...cuddling the mast with one arm and swinging fore and aft round the mast, sextant and all..." and he would "...catch the sun when the boat leaped her highest on the crest of a sea...". At times the sea conditions were so rough he was braced by the other crew members when taking his sightings. On occasion, the temperature was bitter and each man would spend one-minute shifts chipping away ice that coated the top surfaces of the James Caird, affecting its buoyancy. The heavy seas meant there was considerable risk that a man could go overboard. After two weeks, Worsley began to worry about the lack of sightings and advised Shackleton he could not calculate their position to less than 16 km (10 mile) accuracy. As a result, Shackleton opted to aim for the western side of South Georgia which meant that, with the prevailing winds, if they missed their target they would be carried onto the east coast of the island. The next day they began to see drifting seaweed and seabirds circulating overhead, indicating the presence of land. On 8 May, through mists and squalls, the crew sighted South Georgia's Cape Demidov, precisely in line with the course calculated by Worsley. He saw a "...towering black crag, with a lacework of snow around its flanks. One glimpse, and it was hidden again. We looked at each other with cheerful, foolish grins." Sea and wind conditions were such that they were unable to make their way to the Norwegian whaling stations 238 km (148 miles) away on the east coast. Instead they made for King Haakon Bay. Now out of drinking water, they were forced by the high seas to approach the rocky coast with care and heave-to for the night. A gale blew strongly the next day and, despite their best efforts, they stayed offshore for a further night. Conditions were much better on 10 May and, after adverse winds caused failure of his first few attempts, Worsley carefully sailed the James Caird through a rocky reef guarding King Haakon Bay and onto the beach. ### Trek After slaking their thirst from a nearby stream, the crew unloaded the James Caird and spent the first night on South Georgia in a cave. The next day, Shackleton announced his intention to walk 35 km (22 miles) across the island to the Norwegian whaling station at Stromness Bay. The crew were too exhausted, and the James Caird too battered, for Shackleton to consider sailing around the island. After resting more than a week, Shackleton, Worsley and Crean, set out on 19 May. The interior of South Georgia was mountainous and covered with glaciers. Their map of South Georgia showed only the coastline, and on several occasions, they were forced to backtrack when their route was found to be impassable. After a non-stop trek of 36 hours, the trio reached Stromness Bay and were taken to the manager of the whaling station. He was unable to recognise Shackleton, whom he had met during the expedition's stopover on the island nearly two years previously. After a hot bath and a large meal, Worsley set out on a whaler to collect the three men left behind at King Haakon Bay. That night a strong blizzard struck the island. Had it developed while Worsley and the others were on their trek, it would have likely killed them. They were fortunate the weather had been relatively good for their trek across the island. Later, all three trekkers would talk of a "fourth presence" that accompanied them. In his account of the walk, Worsley would write "...I again find myself counting our party—Shackleton, Crean, and I and—who was the other? Of course, there were only three, but it is strange that in mentally reviewing the crossing we should always think of a fourth, and then correct ourselves." The next day, McNish, McCarthy and Vincent were picked up. They were unable to recognise Worsley, freshly shaven, when he stepped ashore. The James Caird, which had been pulled up the beach and turned over to serve as a shelter, was also retrieved. ### Rescue Three days after McNish and the others were brought back to Stromness Bay, Shackleton, Crean and Worsley, along with a crew of volunteers from the whaling station, set out on a hired ship for Elephant Island. They got to within 97 km (60 miles) of the island before ice prevented any further passage south. Unable to break a passage through the ice, they steamed to the Falkland Islands to obtain a more suitable vessel. By now news of the fate of the expedition had reached Britain. Despite messages of goodwill and support, the only British vessel that could be found was the RRS Discovery, Robert Falcon Scott's old ship, but this would not be available until October. The war tied up all other available resources. Waiting for October was not acceptable to Shackleton who, desperately concerned for the men on Elephant Island, continued to search for a ship. The British Foreign Office prevailed on the governments of Uruguay, Chile and Argentina for a suitable vessel. The Uruguayans came forward with a small survey ship, and this was sailed to within sight of Elephant Island before it too had to turn back. An effort with an Argentinean vessel which set sail on 12 July also failed after three weeks of atrocious weather. Chile offered the use of the Yelcho, and on this steel-hulled steamer, Shackleton, Worsley and Crean set out with a crew on 25 August. Fortunately, in contrast to their previous attempt, the weather was mild and on 30 August, they reached Elephant Island where, to their great joy, they found all 22 men who had been left behind alive. Within an hour all were retrieved and, not wanting to risk being trapped by ice, the Yelcho quickly departed for Punta Arenas, where it was greeted with great fanfare. Worsley later wrote: "...I was always sorry for the twenty-two men who lived in that horrible place for four months of misery while we were away on the boat journey, and the four attempts at rescue ending with their joyful relief." While Worsley had been retrieving McNish and the others from King Haakon Bay, Shackleton was advised of the fate of his Ross Sea party, which had been tasked with laying depots on Shackleton's intended route across Antarctica. Ten men, forming a winter party, had set up a base at Hut Point, while their ship, the SY Aurora, owned by Shackleton, wintered at Cape Evans. In May 1915, the ship broke free from its moorings and became trapped in the ice. Badly damaged, it drifted with the ice for over six months before it broke free and its captain, Joseph Stenhouse, was able to sail it to New Zealand in March 1916. No one had heard from the stranded winter party at Hut Point for nearly two years. After journeying with the rest of the survivors of his own party to Argentina, Shackleton, along with Worsley, left for New Zealand. From here they hoped to find a ship to take them south to retrieve the Ross Sea party. Shackleton had brought Worsley along intending to use his services in the retrieval of the winter party. However, after their arrival in New Zealand in December 1916, they found themselves without a ship. They had expected to use the Aurora with Shackleton as its captain. In the meantime, the Australian, New Zealand and British governments had put forward funds for the rescue but, influenced by the explorer Douglas Mawson, who disliked Shackleton, the Australian government appointed its own captain. After protracted negotiations, Shackleton sailed on board the Aurora as a supernumerary officer. Worsley was left behind but was placated with a paid passage to Britain. The seven surviving members of the winter party were duly rescued. Worsley was later awarded the Polar Medal for his service on the expedition. ## First World War Shortly after Shackleton returned to New Zealand from the Ross Sea, having picked up the survivors of the winter party, Worsley travelled to England aboard the RMS Makura. As an RNR officer, he wanted to join in the fight against Imperial Germany. After arriving in Liverpool, he made his way to London and was quickly assigned to HMS Pembroke, the shore station at Chatham. Here, for three months, he learned about fighting U-boats, which were causing considerable damage to supply convoys crossing the Atlantic. Several tactics were deployed against the U-boats. One of these involved the use of Q-ships, small merchant vessels fitted out with hidden armament that could be deployed against any U-boats which surfaced and approached the seemingly unarmed ship. Another tactic was the use of P-boats, which were patrol boats that carried out convoy escort duties and anti-submarine work. The P-boats had a distinctive profile, and their effectiveness wore off as U-boat commanders began to recognise and avoid them. Later-built P-boats were designed with a more conventional profile approximating that of a merchant ship, and thus were similar to Q-ships. In July 1917, Worsley was appointed commander of the PC.61, one of the later P-boats, with Joseph Stenhouse as his first officer. The PC.61, commissioned on 31 July 1917, was equipped with a semi-automatic 4-inch (100 mm) gun that was hidden by a tarpaulin suspended from crane derricks when not in use. She also had a ram at her bow. Shortly after its commissioning, Worsley took his new command to sea on patrol. Most patrols were uneventful; sometimes U-boats were sighted and pursued, but they got away. Occasionally torpedoes were fired at his ship. Worsley felt the PC.61 was too easily identified as a Royal Navy vessel against which U-boats were too cautious to make a surface attack. The submarine would attack with torpedoes while submerged. On 26 September 1917, Worsley and the PC.61 were on patrol south of Ireland when a U-boat, UC-33, torpedoed a nearby tanker. Worsley gradually slowed his ship's propellers, hoping to deceive the U-boat's crew into thinking his P-boat was leaving the area and luring it to the surface. The deception was successful and the UC-33 surfaced, intending to sink the tanker with its deck gun. Worsley immediately ordered full speed ahead and, realising that he would lose time in manoeuvring his ship into a position in which she could use her guns, set a course to ram the U-boat. At high speeds the ship's ram lifted out of the water, and Worsley had to reduce speed at the right moment for it to be at the best height to hit the submarine. He timed it perfectly and hit UC-33 midships as it was submerging. The submarine rapidly sunk with all hands except the captain, who gave Worsley a silver whistle after being rescued. The damaged tanker was towed to Milford Haven in Wales, which took 12 hours in an area where other U-boats were known to be lurking. For his role in the sinking of the UC-33, Worsley was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and Shackleton sent him a telegram congratulating him on his success. Worsley conducted patrols with the PC.61 for several more months. In September 1918, he was given command of HMS Pangloss, a Q-ship operating in the Mediterranean and which had been commanded by Commander Gordon Campbell. With the war nearly over, Worsley did not anticipate much excitement in his new posting. ### Northern Russia Passing through London en route to Gibraltar, where the Pangloss was based, Worsley met Shackleton, recently assigned by the War Office to the International Contingent destined for Northern Russia to aid the White movement in its fight against the Bolsheviks. Shackleton's expertise in the polar regions had been recognised by the War Office, and with the temporary rank of major, he was preparing the contingent for a winter deployment to Murmansk. Shackleton had already recruited several veterans of the Endurance to serve with him and arranged for Worsley, keen for action, to be transferred to join the contingent. Worsley, by now a lieutenant commander, left for Murmansk the following month. After he arrived in Russia, Worsley was selected to go to Arkhangelsk where he organised equipment and supplies for the British forces stationed there. He provided extensive advice, derived from his polar experience, to soldiers on how to best make use of their resources and trained them in the use of skis. He participated in several patrols and, due to a shortage of officers, occasionally took command of platoons of British infantry. In April 1919, he was posted back to Murmansk, where he took command of the gunboat HMS Cricket. He took her up the Dvinia River and targeted Bolshevik gunboats and villages along the river. He also provided support to British and White Russian units moving along the banks of the river in operations to seize ground lost to the Bolsheviks in the winter months. Worsley commanded Cricket for two months before becoming the captain of HMS M24, a monitor and tender to HMS Fox. His time in command was short as he managed to attach himself to the Hampshire Regiment. In August, he participated in a raid behind Bolshevik lines. The raiding party of 25 men obtained useful intelligence by tapping telegraph lines and ambushing a Bolshevik convoy but their presence soon became known and they were pursued by a force of over 200 Bolsheviks. When the captain commanding the party became lost in a forest, he deferred navigation to Worsley, who successfully led all 25 men back to safety. For his efforts, he was awarded a bar to his DSO. The citation for his award read: > In recognition of the gallantry displayed by him at Pocha in North Russia between the 2nd and 5th August 1919. This officer formed one of a large patrol which in circumstances of great danger and difficulty penetrated many miles behind the enemy lines, and by his unfailingly cheery leadership he kept up the spirits of all under trying conditions. By his assistance in bridging an unfordable river behind the enemy lines, he greatly helped the success of the enterprise. When the Allied forces left Murmansk and Archangel in late 1919, Worsley returned to London. He was rewarded for his service in Russia by being appointed to the Order of St. Stanislaus. He was discharged from service on 2 January 1920 and placed on the RNR retired list. Later in the year, in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to Great Britain. ## Quest Worsley remained in near constant contact with Shackleton, who was attempting to put together an expedition to the Arctic, and was hopeful of securing a suitable position in the endeavour. However, the expedition was still some way off and in the meantime, Worsley set up a shipping company with his friend Stenhouse. The company, Stenhouse Worsley & Co, purchased a schooner, Annie, with the intention of trading with the Baltic states. This plan collapsed when the Baltic freight market fell on hard times and eventually, the company started shipping freight along the British coast. In late 1920, Worsley and Stenhouse went on a trading voyage to Iceland. The Annie carried cargo on the outward trip but was nearly wrecked when sailing around the coast of Iceland to pick up cargo from a remote port for the return trip to England. Poor weather and sea conditions kept the Annie in Iceland until February 1921, when Worsley was able to carry freight back to Britain. By then Shackleton was ready to proceed with his expedition and wanted Worsley as the captain of his ship, the Quest, an offer which he quickly accepted. After the Canadian government withdrew promised financial support for the expedition, the delay in finding replacement funding ate into the Arctic sailing season. Shackleton, not wanting to delay departure any longer than he had to, decided to go south instead and attempt a circumnavigation of the Antarctic continent. The expedition, known as the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition (John Rowett, an old friend of Shackleton's, was the main sponsor), would also attempt to discover sub-Antarctic islands and spend the southern winter in the Pacific islands. The expedition included several Endurance veterans in addition to Worsley; Frank Wild was again second in command, and Leonard Hussey was the meteorologist. Worsley was the master of the Quest, but would also be the expedition's hydrographer. The Quest, a 34 m (111-foot) two-masted sealing ship from Norway, set sail on 18 September 1921. The ship did not sail well and leaked. There were also problems with the engine. A week was spent in Portugal undergoing repairs and, after crossing the Atlantic, the Quest spent a month in the docks of Rio de Janeiro. While in Brazil, Shackleton, whose health had been poor for some time, suffered a heart attack. After he declined treatment for his condition, the expedition left for South Georgia on 18 December. The island was sighted on 4 January 1922 and both Worsley and Shackleton were "like a pair of excitable kids", pointing out landmarks from their walk across South Georgia back in 1916. The following day, Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack. Worsley described the loss of his friend as "...a terribly sad blow. I have lost a dear pal, one of the whitest men, in spite of his faults, that ever lived." Despite this setback, the expedition continued with Wild in command while Hussey returned to England with Shackleton's body. On 22 January, Worsley suffered a serious accident. Under sail, the Quest had been rolling heavily and ropes securing a lifeboat snapped. The lifeboat, full of stores, swung against the wheelhouse and crushed Worsley against the bridge. He broke several ribs and had to rest for several days. By the end of March, after being briefly trapped in ice in the Weddell Sea, the ship reached Elephant Island. The expedition then returned to South Georgia, where Hussey was waiting. Shackleton's widow had directed that he be buried on South Georgia and Hussey had returned to the island in late February to fulfil her request. Worsley and the rest of the expedition spent several weeks on South Georgia, and he assisted in the building of a memorial cairn to Shackleton in King Edward Cove. The expedition then sailed for Tristan da Cunha, where Worsley carried out some mapping work. Other stops were made at Cape Town, Ascension Island and Saint Helena before the expedition arrived back in England in September 1922. ## Arctic The Atlantic shipping trade occupied Worsley after his return to England. He was master of the George Cochran for a time in 1923, shipping rum to Montreal. The following year he was in command of the Kathleen Annie when it was wrecked in the Orkney Islands. He ensured the evacuation of his crew before leaving the stricken ship for the safety of the shore. During his time in Canada, Worsley had made the acquaintance of a young Canadian, Grettir Algarsson, who was of Icelandic descent and was preparing a ship for a voyage to the Arctic. Algarsson's voyage proved short-lived, as his ship collided with floating wreckage while in the North Sea. Undeterred, he set about preparing an expedition for the following year and invited Worsley, who had provided advice for his previous voyage, to join him. The plan was to sail to Spitzbergen, in the Arctic Circle, and Algarsson was to fly from there to the North Pole where he would crash the plane, and, with his pilot, sledge back. Worsley was to captain the ship that Algarsson had purchased for the expedition, a 30m (99 foot) diesel-engined brigantine called the Island. A lack of funds resulted in the cancellation of the planned flight as a suitable plane could not be found. However, the 15-man expedition, known as the Algarsson North Polar Expedition, went ahead with mapping and scientific objectives, among them a search for Gillis Land, northeast of Spitzbergen, which was not known to have been sighted since 1707, and sounding the continental shelf between Spitzbergen and Franz Josef Land. With the plane flight no longer viable, and the focus of the expedition now primarily on maritime matters, Algarsson offered Worsley co-leadership of the expedition, which he accepted. The Island sailed on 21 June 1925 from Liverpool. When sailing the western side of Spitzbergen, a blade of the propeller of the Island was damaged in a collision with an ice floe. When the engine was run, severe vibration was felt and this forced Worsley to continue northwards under sail, searching for Gillis Land until the ship reached the pack ice. While doing so, soundings were taken which confirmed the presence of a submarine plain between Spitzbergen and the island group of Franz Josef Land. Turning south and sailing along the northern coast of Spitzbergen, a previously uncharted harbour was found, which Algarsson named after Worsley. The ship then sailed north, still seeking Gillis Land, but became trapped in the ice. Worsley took the opportunity to create an ice dock to facilitate repairs to the rudder, which had become damaged. After two weeks beset in the ice, he used the engine to break free but the last blade of the propeller was lost in the process. The Island was now effectively without an engine, a prospect that did not daunt Worsley as he sailed for Franz Josef Land. He described it as "sail's last unaided battle with the polar pack [pack ice]". In August he landed on Cape Barents, one of the southern islands of Franz Josef Land, and planted a Union Jack. Together with the ship's engineer who was from Dunedin, he claimed to be the first New Zealander to set foot on Franz Josef Land. The expedition, which had been renamed the British Arctic Expedition with the consensus of the participants, made several attempts to find a way northwards through the pack ice, Worsley harbouring hopes of being the first sailing ship to sail through the island group to Gillis Land and then back to Spitzbergen, but was unsuccessful. In one attempt, the Island nearly collided with a large iceberg. Worsley ordered a rowboat to take to the water and the ship was towed out of harm's way. Finally, on 14 September, what was thought to be Gillis Land was spotted several miles away. The Island was unable to sail close enough to confirm the sighting, but Worsley noted that it was to the west of its charted position. If it was Gillis Land, it was the first sighting of the island for 200 years (Gillis Land no longer appears on modern charts). The ship then sailed to North-East Land, circumnavigating it and while doing so reaching the expedition's farthest north, 81°15′N. Worsley ensured the New Zealand flag was flown at the spot. The expedition then set sail for Spitzbergen, reaching the island's Green Harbour in mid-October. The ship's engine could not be repaired before Green Harbour was closed for winter and Worsley accepted a tow to Tromsø, the conclusion of which marked the end of the expedition. He later wrote a book of the voyage, Under Sail in the Frozen North, which was published in 1927. ## London life After the completion of his Arctic voyage, Worsley returned to life in London, where he had a reasonably high-profile due to his exploits with Shackleton and his wartime service. In 1926, he married Jean Cumming, whom he had met in 1920 at New Zealand House in London while collecting his mail. It was his second marriage; in 1907 he had married Theodora Blackden, but she had left him by the time of his return from Russia (the couple had no children). It took several years for Worsley to obtain a divorce to allow his marriage to Jean, nearly 30 years his junior, to take place. For income in between trading voyages, Worsley wrote books and articles. Two of these, Shackleton's Boat Journey and Crossing South Georgia were published as serials in the periodical Blue Peter in 1924, and were well received. These books were published together as a single volume in 1931. His book was considered superior to Shackleton's own account, published as South in 1919. In 1938, a fourth book, First Voyage in a Square-rigged Ship was published. When his financial circumstances required it, which was often, Worsley would write an article for money. His topics would range from the dogs used on the expedition to the pipe smoking habits of his Elephant Island cohabitants. Worsley also conducted lecturing tours for income, his profile enhanced by his publication record. As sailing commissions at this late stage of his life were in short supply, his lectures became more important as a source of income. He mainly lectured on his voyages with Shackleton, whose wife lent Worsley several of her late husband's slides to enhance his talks. In later years, he added talks on his own voyages to his repertoire. His lectures were well received with glowing reviews in local newspapers. His profile was boosted following his appearance in the film South, released in 1933, for which he provided an accent-free narration. The film was based on Frank Hurley's cine film of the Endurance expedition, intercut with photographic slides. He made an onscreen appearance in the film, showing the audience several artefacts from the expedition. Like his books, the film was very well received. In the 1930s, Worsley was part of a yacht and ship delivery company, Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Limited. His personal experience was a key selling point in the company's commercial literature. In 1937, the company completed over 50 delivery voyages. The longest delivery was that of a steamer destined for Hong Kong, which took three months. On many of these voyages he was accompanied by Jean, who also enjoyed sailing. ## Treasure hunting Even into his 60s, Worsley still sought adventure. In 1934, he was asked to join the Treasury Recovery Limited Expedition which was organised to locate treasure allegedly hidden at Cocos Island by pirates. In earlier times, the island had been used as a base by the pirates to attack Spanish ships transporting gold from South America back to Spain. At the time of mounting the expedition, it was believed that between £5 million and £25 million in gold and silver was buried on the island. Worsley sailed, with Jean for company, for Cocos Island in September 1934 aboard the Queen of Scots. On arrival at the island in October, he assisted in unloading stores to set up a village at Wafer Bay, the safest landing point on Cocos. The island, off the coast of Costa Rica, was heavily forested and hard labour was necessary to clear likely spots for searching. As the Queen of Scots was found to be too large for the expedition's needs, Worsley left with the ship to return to England via the Panama Canal. He was to source a replacement vessel and bring back supplies. En route, Worsley found that the government of Costa Rica, unhappy at not being informed of the expedition's plans, intended to forcibly remove the treasure hunters from Cocos Island. Despite Worsley's dispatch of a personal cable to the Costa Rican president, and ensuing publicity in England, some of the expedition's men were forcibly taken to Panama. The others remained on Cocos under guard. By this time, the leaders of the expedition had returned to England, leaving Worsley as controller of the remaining men. He funded supplies for the remaining men from his own pocket but eventually those remaining on Cocos were shipped to Panama and discharged. The expedition regathered, and after obtaining a concession from the Costa Rican government, returned to the island the following year. He sailed the expedition's new yacht, Veracity, from England to Cocos Island in a troubled voyage, again accompanied by Jean. The expedition was underfunded and supplies were lacking. Mechanical failure while en route also hampered the voyage. By the time of his arrival on Cocos, he had been appointed the controller of the expedition. Despite extensive searching with a crude metal detector, no trace of the treasure had been found by September. Worsley, with a lecture season beginning in London in October, left the island in early September. This was his last involvement with the expedition which, after nine more months, failed to locate the treasure hunt. The expedition ended when funding ran out. Despite the lack of success, Worsley still believed treasure was to be found on the island and hoped to return. He never did, although his treasure hunting exploits provided plenty of material for his lecture tours. ## Later life When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Worsley was keen to contribute to the war effort. His age of 67 prevented his recall to the Royal Navy Reserve. He eventually joined the International Red Cross and travelled to France where he lectured troops of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) during the Phoney War. He also sought support from the War Office to provide equipment to Swedish volunteers travelling to Finland to assist its countrymen in fighting the Russians during the brief Winter War. When another BEF was sent to Norway in April 1940 to help secure railway links to Sweden, the Red Cross, intending to have a unit in the country as well, appointed Worsley as its Advance Agent – Norway. He was to prepare the way for the unit but after the Germans captured Narvik, it became too dangerous for the Red Cross to be involved. After a brief visit to Norway, Worsley returned to Britain. Worsley became the commander of a Red Cross training depot in Balham, London, but it later closed down due to a lack of recruits. He repeatedly wrote to the War Office offering his services and proposing various schemes involving Norway, including one to land guns at Spitzbergen, an area he knew well from his Arctic expedition in 1925. Eventually, Worsley found a command in the Merchant Navy, and, giving his age as 64 (when he was actually 69), was appointed master of the Dalriada in August 1941. He worked to keep the harbour entrance at Sheerness clear of wrecked shipping and also carried out salvage work. His command lasted only for a few months; when the company that owned his vessel found out his true age, he was replaced. Unhappy at being put into the Merchant Navy Reserve Pool, he continued to advocate for a useful posting. In April 1942, Worsley was appointed to the staff at a training establishment for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, HMS King Alfred in Sussex, giving lectures on charts and pilotage. After two months he was transferred to the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. While in Sussex, his health began to deteriorate and he cut down on his pipe smoking. After a few months at Greenwich, he took ill and was hospitalised. Diagnosed with lung cancer, naval doctors found that they could do little for Worsley, and he was discharged. He opted to spend the last days of his life with his wife and the Bamford family, good friends who lived in Claygate, Surrey. He died in the Bamford house on 1 February 1943. He was cremated after a well-attended service held on 3 February at the chapel of the Royal Navy College. His casket was adorned with the New Zealand ensign and Worsley's personal standard that he had flown aboard the Quest in the 1921–22 expedition. His ashes were scattered at the mouth of the Thames River, near the Nore lightship. After Worsley's death, Jean Worsley donated his unpublished diaries to the Scott Polar Research Institute. She returned to Aberdeen, where she had spent much of the previous months, to live with her mother. Jean later moved to Claygate following the death of her mother, and lived with the Bamfords. Her final years were spent in relative financial comfort; several years before his death, Worsley had invested in shares in Venezuela Oil, which later became Shell Oil and provided good returns for Jean. She died at the Bamford home in 1978, at the age of 78, and in the same room that her husband had occupied at the time of his death. The couple were childless. ## Legacy A bust of Frank Worsley stands in his home town of Akaroa, New Zealand. The sculpture was created by artist Stephen Gleeson of Christchurch and unveiled in 2004. The town's museum also displays the ensign from Worsley's former command, the PC.61. Several geographical features are named for Worsley, including Mount Worsley on South Georgia, Cape Worsley in the British Antarctic Territory, the Worsley Icefalls in the Ross Dependency and Worsley Harbour at Spitzbergen. Worsleys Road in the Christchurch suburb of Cracroft is named for his grandfather; it was built by him as an access road for his farm. In 2015, 190 hectares (470 acres) of land at Akaroa, on which his childhood home stood, were purchased by the New Zealand Native Forest Restoration Trust. The land borders the Hinewai Reserve, with its staff managing the long process of native forest re-establishing itself and building walking tracks. The Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust, Akaroa Museum, and Hinewai staff have erected information panels at the house site. As a teenager, Worsley helped with clearing bush on Banks Peninsula that is now being restored, and he wrote later in life: > It was a mad waste. The colonists in their greed for more grass seed and sheep pasture burned millions of pounds worth of timber. They recklessly destroyed the wonderful beauty of the bush, baring the soil until it was carried away by landslides, and lowered the rainfall, and laid waste the homes of countless sweet songsters.
21,142,569
Australian contribution to the Allied Intervention in Russia 1918–1919
1,131,599,080
None
[ "Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War", "Australia–Soviet Union relations", "Wars involving Australia" ]
The Russian Civil War (1917–1921) began after the provisional government collapsed and the Bolshevik party assumed power in October 1917. The principal fighting occurred between the Bolshevik Red Army and the forces of the White Army, a group of loosely allied anti-Bolshevik forces. During the war several foreign armies took part, mostly fighting against the Red Army—including the Western allies—and many foreign volunteers fought for both sides. Other nationalist and regional political groups also participated in the war, including the Ukrainian nationalist Green Army, the Ukrainian anarchist Black Army and Black Guards, and warlords such as Ungern von Sternberg. Despite some pressure from Britain, the Australian Prime Minister, William Hughes, had refused to commit forces to Russia following the end of World War I in 1918. Although no Australian units were engaged in operations, many individuals did become involved through service with the British Army during the North Russia Campaign. They served in many roles, including as advisors to White Russian units as part of the North Russian Expeditionary Force (NREF). About 150 men of the Australian Imperial Force who were still in England awaiting repatriation following the end of World War I enlisted as infantry in the North Russia Relief Force (NRRF), where they were involved in several sharp battles. The Royal Australian Navy was also involved, the destroyer HMAS Swan being briefly engaged in an intelligence-gathering mission in the Black Sea in late 1918 on behalf of the British military mission then advising the White Russian general, Anton Denikin. Several Australians acted as advisers to this mission as well, and others served as advisers with Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak in Siberia. Later, another small group of Australian volunteers served on operations in Mesopotamia as part of Dunsterforce and the Malleson Mission, although these missions were mainly aimed at preventing Turkish access to the Middle East and India, and the men did little fighting. ## Background In 1917, Russia had been in political turmoil with support for the war and the Tsar dwindling. Under intense pressure Tsar Nicholas II abdicated in March and a provisional government formed under Alexander Kerensky, pledging to continue fighting the Germans on the Eastern Front. The Western allies had been shipping supplies to Russia since the beginning of the war, through the ports of Archangel Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and Vladivostok. Following the entry of the United States into World War I in 1917, the Americans also began providing support. Political and social unrest increased, and the revolutionary Bolsheviks gained widespread support. During the July Offensive, the Russian Army was soundly defeated by the German and Austro-Hungarians, leading to the collapse of the Eastern Front. The Russian Army was on the verge of mutiny and most soldiers had deserted the front lines. Kerensky's government was overthrown in October 1917, and the Bolsheviks assumed power. The Russian Civil War began in the wake of the collapse of the provisional government. The principal fighting occurred between the Bolshevik Red Army and the forces of the White Army, being a group of loosely allied anti-Bolshevik forces. Foreign armies also took part, mostly fighting against the Red Army, and many foreign volunteers fought for both sides. Other nationalist and regional political groups also participated in the war, including the Ukrainian nationalist Green Army, the Ukrainian anarchist Black Army and Black Guards, and warlords such as Ungern von Sternberg. Meanwhile, on 2 December 1917 an armistice was signed between Russia and the Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk and peace talks began. The newly formed Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Germans on 3 March 1918, formally ending the war on the Eastern Front and permitting the redeployment of German forces to the Western Front, altering the balance of power. The treaty also permitted the occupation of large areas of European Russia, and within these territories were large stocks of military equipment previously supplied by the allies. In particular, there were large stocks of such supplies in the northern ports of Murmansk and Archangel Arkhangelsk . The Allied intervention involved fourteen nations and was conducted over a vast expanse of territory. The initial goals of the Western powers had been to rescue the Czechoslovak Legion which had been fighting the Central Powers on the Eastern Front and had later fought the Bolsheviks, as well as to secure the supplies of munitions and armaments in Russian ports to prevent their capture by German forces, and possibly also to re-establish the Eastern Front. With the end of World War I and fearful of Bolshevism, the Allies openly, if only half-heartedly, intervened in the Russian Civil War, giving support to the pro-tsarist anti-Bolshevik White forces as part of the North Russia Campaign. Opposition for the ongoing campaign became widespread, mostly due to a combination of a lack of public support and war-weariness; while divided objectives and a lack of an overarching strategy also hampered the effort. These factors, together with the evacuation of the Czechoslovak Legion and the deteriorating military situation, compelled the Allies to withdraw by 1920. With the end of allied support, the Red Army soon defeated the remaining White government forces, leading to their eventual collapse. ## North Russian Expeditionary Force (NREF), 1918–1919 Following the collapse of the Russian war effort in the wake of the Revolution in 1917, the British raised and dispatched a force to Northern Russia, known as the North Russian Expeditionary Force (NREF), under the command of Major General Edmund Ironside. Its purpose was to train a White Russian force in preparation for the creation of a new Eastern Front against the Central Powers, as well as to ensure that large quantities of military supplies shipped there to equip the Russian Army under Tsar Nicholas did not fall into German hands. The NREF numbered 70 officers and 500 enlisted men, and was chosen from men who had volunteered in Britain for "a secret mission and were not told until their ship had left Newcastle where they were headed." The force was broken into two groups—Syren Force (Murmansk) and Elope Force (Archangel)—Murmansk was reached on 24 June 1918, while Elope Force subsequently sailed on to Archangel. Included were nine Australians—three officers and six sergeants—who had been selected by AIF Headquarters in April 1918. All were experienced soldiers, three having served at Gallipoli as well as in France. Sailing on the SS City of Marseilles on 17 June 1918 the Australians arrived in Murmansk and most were immediately sent out on patrol. Later they were switched to the Archangel section. The men were then broken into small advisory groups and attached to White Russian and White Finnish units, being engaged in a range of administrative, instructional and advisory tasks. Due to their isolation, it is difficult to make generalisations about the nature of service experienced by the Australians at this time. Captain P.F. Lohan served in a variety of administrative positions both in Murmansk and Archangel, whilst Sergeant R.L. Graham was commissioned in the field and became railway transport officer on the Archangel-Vologda railway. Several other sergeants were involved in training roles, while Captain Allan Brown was attached to the North Russian Rifles based at Onega—a White Russian battalion. Not only were the advisers in danger from the enemy, but also from the men they commanded or advised. On 20 July 1919, Brown was murdered by his men when they mutinied and went over to the Bolsheviks. He was the only Australian to be killed, but there was at least one other major mutiny among the White forces during this period, and several other Australians had narrow escapes. With these incidents becoming increasingly common, and with the ineffectiveness of such a small force in influencing the outcome of the civil war, in March 1919 the decision was made to withdraw the force. As all faith had been lost in the reliability of locally raised units, this could only be safely completed with the provision of a covering force, and until this could be raised the NREF was condemned to endure the harsh Russian winter. ## North Russia Relief Force (NRRF), 1919 Recruiting for the relief force began immediately in England on a voluntary basis and would ultimately include men from every regiment of the British Army, and all the dominions. The North Russian Relief Force (NRRF) subsequently formed two brigades—one under the command of Brigadier General Lionel Sadlier-Jackson, and the other under Brigadier General George Grogan, and both under the overall command of Major General Edmund Ironside. Sadlier-Jackson's brigade included over 4,000 men, including the 45th and 46th Battalions, the Royal Fusiliers, supporting machine gunners from the 201st Machine Gun Battalion, as well as artillery, signallers and engineers. Grogan's brigade was primarily drawn from battalions of the Worcestershire Regiment. Due to the high regard held for dominion troops as a result of their exploits in France during the war they were specifically targeted for recruitment. Indeed, some 400 to 500 men of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF)—who were in England awaiting repatriation to Australia following the end of the war—initially indicated a willingness to join, but nowhere near as many actually enlisted. All Australians who volunteered were discharged from the AIF and re-enlisted in the British army as private soldiers for a period of one year. This was necessary because the dominions had already indicated that they were not interested in providing forces for the intervention. Ultimately about 150 Australians enlisted to serve in the NRRF, most of them recruited by Major Harry Harcourt. The Australians mainly served in the 45th Battalion and the 201st Machine Gun Battalion under Sadlier-Jackson, although some may also have served in the 46th Battalion. Despite being enlisted in the British Army the Australians wore uniforms of the AIF and were formed into two mainly Australian companies in the 45th Battalion. The AIF relinquished control over the men and responsibility for them while they were part of the NRRF, but undertook to repatriate them to Australia after they returned from Russia. Their motivations for joining were diverse, although few seemed have been political. Some had arrived in Britain as reinforcements too late to see any fighting during the war, and wanted to experience active service before returning to Australia. Others were decorated veterans and may have been motivated by a desire to see Russia, whilst some may have been unable to settle down after their wartime experiences, and could have viewed service as a means of postponing their return to civilian life. ### Arrival and early deployments, June 1919 The NRRF arrived in Archangel on 5 June 1919 aboard the SS Porto and SS Stephen and almost immediately moved up the Dvina River to a camp at Osinova. There they began training for an offensive up the rail and river systems of the Dvina. This offensive was designed to push the Bolshevik forces of the Red Army back while the Allies withdrew without interference. A secondary aim was to leave the White Russian forces in a better military position, in the optimistic hope they could subsequently hold their own. Meanwhile, with the arrival of the NRRF, the survivors of the earlier NREF were subsequently evacuated. Activity during this period also included small-scale patrol and ambush operations around Troitska to the south in an attempt to keep the Bolsheviks off balance, as well as to provide the White Russian forces with the motivation to fight. Both sides had a small air arm, and the British established a makeshift airfield at Bakaritsa, near Archangel. Later in the campaign Sopwiths from France were used from a strip at Obozerskaya. The allies soon established air superiority, shooting down several Bolshevik aircraft. At least one Australian—Ira Jones—is known to have served with the Royal Air Force in North Russia. ### August offensives of 1919 In early August, Major General Ironside launched his offensive against the 6th Red Army, the British force subsequently inflicting heavy casualties and taking many prisoners for relatively little loss to themselves. The offensive was mainly fought through thick pine forest and swamp which provided little terrain for manoeuvre and although hugely successful, may have been unnecessary. Indeed, the Bolshevik forces in the region perhaps numbered only 6,000 men, and was probably engaged in holding operations only. It has been suggested that they probably had no intention of interrupting the Allied evacuation, and may have been caught unprepared by the sudden offensive. The main Red Army activity in early August was on the Siberian front, where Kolchak's White armies were falling back in disarray. During this time the Australians were prominent in several actions, taking part in at least four major actions—at Troitsa (Sergeevskaya) on 7 July, at Obozerskaya (Обозерский) between 20 and 23 July, at Seltsoe (Сельцо) on 10 August and at Emtsa (Емца) on 29 August. Meanwhile, the first significant engagement occurred on 23 July 1919 when Ironside had gone to investigate a meeting of White Russian forces at Obozerskaya. The Australian's subsequently repulsed a Bolshevik attack on a railway in the area surprising the enemy during a relief of their forward blockhouses. They attacked with their bayonets, perhaps killing 30 and wounding many more before setting fire to the blockhouses and withdrawing. On 10 August 1919, one of the largest engagements of the intervention occurred, taking place at Seltso and the surrounding villages along the Dvina. In a confused battle through the marshy swamps Sadlier-Jackson's brigade battled a large Bolshevik force, with the Fusiliers—including the two Australian companies of the 45th Battalion—fighting their way through with their bayonets and re-occupying Seltso. Perhaps as many as 1,000 prisoners were taken and 19 field guns captured. Due to the terrain the Fusiliers had been unable to manoeuvre their mountain guns through the swamp, whilst Sadlier-Jackson had to use an observation balloon for situational awareness. During this battle an Australian, Corporal Arthur Sullivan, won the Victoria Cross (VC) for saving a group of drowning men while under fire. On 29 August 1919, the last British offensive along the railway occurred at Emtsa. The assault on Emsta was a planned attack, in which a White Russian unit was to make a frontal attack on the positions of the 155th Regiment of the Red Army. Attached were the Australians, on their right, and before the assault they moved under the cover of darkness to within 70 yards (64 m) of the Bolshevik positions. During the ensuing fighting an Australian, Sergeant Samuel Pearse, cut his way through the barbed wire entanglements under heavy enemy fire, clearing a way for others to enter. With the fire from blockhouses causing casualties among the assaulting troops, Pearse then charged the blockhouses single-handedly with his Lewis gun, killing the occupants with bombs before being killed by machine-gun fire himself soon after. For his actions he was later awarded the second Victoria Cross of the campaign. The furious engagement then ended with the surrender of the Bolshevik forces. ### Withdrawal, September–October 1919 The victories of 10 and 29 August allowed the allies the space they needed to withdraw. Following the August offensive minor patrol activity continued throughout September to provide a screen whilst forward positions were evacuated and stores either removed or destroyed. By the night of 26–27 September the Allies had subsequently withdrawn from Archangel, and Murmansk was evacuated on 12 October aboard a flotilla of troopships and escorts which sailed for Britain. This thereby ended Australian involvement in North Russia. ## Other Australian involvement in the Russian Civil War As well as those who served in North Russia, Australians were involved on the periphery of the Russian Civil War. Vessels of the Royal Australian Navy briefly operated in the Black Sea in late 1918, and individuals served in Mesopotamia as part of Dunsterforce and the Malleson Mission. Some Australians also served as advisers with the British Military Mission to Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak in Siberia and others in South Russia supporting the White Russian General Anton Denikin. ### HMAS Swan in the Black Sea, 1918–1919 An Australian naval vessel, HMAS Swan, under the command of Commander Arthur Bond (RN), conducted a reconnaissance and intelligence gathering mission in the Black Sea and territory of the Don Cossacks in December 1918, in conjunction with the French destroyer Bisson. The mission, conducted on behalf of the British military mission then advising the White Russian forces under General Denikin, was detailed to report to the true state of the Cossack forces and was carefully circumscribed by the British Foreign Office. Indeed, although the Cossacks fêted Commander Bond as a comrade-in-arms he had to explain to them that they were purely on an information gathering mission with the Australian vessel in no way intended to render military or naval aid to the Cossacks. After inspecting anti-Bolshevik forces in the area, as well as military facilities and factories, Swan subsequently carried out anti-Bolshevik guard duties in Sevastopol, the ship's guns helping protect the railway station at the head of the Inkerman valley. These duties were completed without incident and Swan subsequently sailed for Plymouth on 3 January 1919. Further RAN involvement included HMAS Yarra and HMAS Torrens who were both also involved in the Black Sea area, being the first two destroyers on station at Novorossiisk and Batum. HMAS Parramatta carried despatches and mail between Constantinople and Sebastopol from the time of the Turkish surrender until early January 1919. Parramatta also escorted a group of Russian warships, which were handed over to the anti-Bolshevik forces at Sebastopol in late November 1918. All these operations appear to have been free of incident. Other Australian involvement in South Russia included several Australians acting as advisers with mission to assist General Denikin, including one of who commanded a company of the 7th Battalion, the Royal Berkshire Regiment. Ultimately the British Military Mission remained in South Russia and was only evacuated in March 1920 after Denikin's forces were routed by a Red Army offensive, and the collapse of the White cause seemed imminent. ### Dunsterforce and the Malleson Mission in Mesopotamia, 1918–1919 Dunsterforce fought in Mesopotamia in an attempt to keep the Turks and the Bolsheviks out of Persia and Transcaucasia by rearming and leading those elements of the old Russian imperial army that were still prepared to fight following its collapse. The mission was set up by Major General Lionel Dunsterville in 1918 with the purpose of organising the forces of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic comprising—Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia—to enable them to withstand a Turkish attack. Their task was often impeded by civil war, and in May 1918, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia separately declared their independence. Dunsterforce assumed a more direct military role when Baku was threatened by Turkish attack at the Battle of Baku. In August 1918 it was reinforced by about 1,000 British infantry and occupied the town to prevent the port and nearby oil-fields from falling. Despite initial success Baku was evacuated the following month, due to the vastly superior numbers of the Turkish force. The British returned after the armistice, and remained as an occupying force until September 1919. 48 Australian officers and NCOs were attached to Dunsterforce. Meanwhile, Australians were involved in the Malleson Mission under Major General (Sir) Wilfrid Malleson in Turkestan during 1918–1919, but they also saw little fighting. Malleson's aim was to block possible German-Turkish thrusts towards India and Afghanistan, but instead his soldiers became involved in fighting the Bolsheviks around Merv. The force withdrew by April 1919. ## Assessment Although the motivations of those Australians that volunteered to serve in Russia can really only be guessed at, they seem unlikely to have been political. Possibly, as one historian has suggested, "a few had not seen enough fighting, or perhaps had seen too much". They confirmed the Australians' reputation for audacity and courage, winning the only two Victoria Crosses of the land campaign. As the Australian government had refused flatly to supply forces for the intervention, their involvement was limited. Australia's participation was barely noticed at home. Ultimately it made no difference to the outcome of the Russian Civil War, perhaps other than to help confirm the Bolshevik's mistrust of the Western powers. Total Australian casualties included 10 killed and 40 wounded, most deaths being from disease during the Mesopotamian operations.
51,132,433
Packy mural
1,149,482,661
Former mural in Portland, Oregon
[ "1990 establishments in Oregon", "1990 paintings", "1990s murals", "2008 disestablishments in Oregon", "Elephants in art", "Lost paintings", "Murals in Oregon", "Old Town Chinatown", "Southwest Portland, Oregon" ]
The Packy mural was a public artwork depicting the elephant of the same name, painted on the Skidmore Fountain Building in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. The artwork was designed by Eric Larsen and painted in 1990 by North Pacific Sign and Design, but was destroyed during the building's 2008 renovation to become the new headquarters for Mercy Corps. The mural received a generally positive reception, though in 1997 the president of the company that owned the building expressed his desire to replace the artwork, which he considered a free advertisement for the Oregon Zoo. He wanted to replace it with an illustration that promoted the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. His search was met with resistance by building tenants, particularly employees of the advertising agency Young and Roehr, who began displaying "Save Packy" signs and campaigning for the art's preservation. ## Description and history The mural was designed by commercial artist Eric Larsen, who created the piece after winning a competition. It was painted on the north wall of the Skidmore Fountain Building (also known as the Reed Building and Packer-Scott Building) in 1990 by North Pacific Sign and Design. The artwork depicted Packy (born at the Oregon Zoo on April 14, 1962), an Asian elephant who was the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years. Co-sponsors of the artwork included Gango Gallery, the Oregon Zoo, and Security Pacific Bank. In 1997, Mike Hashem, who served as president of Skidmore Management Corporation—the owner of the Skidmore Fountain Building—expressed his desire to replace the mural. He said the artwork served as a free advertisement for the Oregon Zoo, and should be replaced with something that promoted the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. The Historic Preservation League of Oregon (now Restore Oregon) and the State Historic Preservation Office of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department raised no concerns about the mural's removal, since the artwork was not designated as an official city landmark or recognized as having historic significance. The league's development coordinator said, "We can't say that you can't do anything to a sign. Traditionally, people kept advertising new products. Who is to say the way it is today is the way it should be frozen?" A planner with the Portland Bureau of Planning, however, said that local sign regulations prevented the mural, which the agency considered a "painted wall decoration", from being replaced by a private advertisement of the same size, but that it could be replaced with another mural. Building tenants, particularly those who worked for the advertising agency Young and Roehr, began displaying "Save Packy" signs and campaigning for the mural's preservation. Young and Roehr reportedly offered to fund the artwork's refurbishment. Hashem said he also received offers from other potential advertisers, and claimed the 3,000-square-foot (280 m<sup>2</sup>) space was worth \$2,000 per month. Hashem estimated that repainting the mural would cost \$5,000–8,000. One owner of North Pacific Sign and Design, who had painted the mural with his father, brother, and two assistants, said the work could be cleaned and "touched up" for significantly less. Larsen was flattered by peoples' positive reaction to the artwork, but was indifferent about the mural's future. He told The Oregonian, "People usually look at my work for about five seconds. I'm not emotionally attached to any of it." In April 2002, citywide celebrations for Packy's fortieth birthday raised money to restore the faded mural. In addition, the mural has been used as an example of a decorative outdoor wall painting in articles about the city's sign regulations. ### Destruction In 2008, the mural was destroyed during the building's renovation to become the new headquarters for Mercy Corps. The top part of the artwork was painted on the building's uppermost floor, which had a stucco exterior and was removed to restore the building to its historic state. Windows were also installed along the wall on which the mural was painted. Mercy Corps planned to "pay tribute to the mural" in the updated building's ground floor. A spokesperson for the organization confirmed that they consulted with the mural's artist and the Oregon Zoo, the neighborhood association, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council. She said: > We understand that it is an important part of the neighborhood's history. ... We're renovating the Skidmore Fountain Building to its historic condition. That means that the mural begins to come down. And then additionally, we have to restore the condition of the brick, which is crumbling and disintegrating and eventually would become unstable. ... Historically, a lot of it had been warehouse space and didn't need windows, but we're going to utilize all the square footage for our offices. ... We have documents of the mural in its condition since we've taken ownership of the building and we've talked to the zoo, which has some of the original photographs. ## Reception The Oregonian's Sura Rubinstein said of the mural's public reception: "Some see a charming tribute to an elephant who's captivated the heart of the city since 1962. ... Some see a painting that's become an integral part of the city's landscape. ... " In 1997, when the mural's fate was uncertain, the Oregon Zoo's marketing manager said, "It was hoped the mural itself would become something of a landmark. A lot of people love it." ## See also - 1990 in art - Art destruction - Cultural depictions of elephants - Da Tung and Xi'an Bao Bao (2002), bronze sculpture in Portland's North Park Blocks - List of public art in Portland, Oregon
654,017
We'll Always Have Paris (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
1,146,092,403
null
[ "1988 American television episodes", "Holography in television", "Star Trek time travel episodes", "Star Trek: The Next Generation (season 1) episodes" ]
"We'll Always Have Paris" is the twenty-fourth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, first aired on May 2, 1988, in broadcast syndication. The story and script were both created by Deborah Dean Davis and Hannah Louise Shearer, and the episode was directed by Robert Becker. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, the crew respond to a distress call from Dr. Paul Manheim (Rod Loomis). While the crew must deal with the results of Manheim's haywire experiments with time, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) must deal with his former love Jenice (Michelle Phillips), who is also Manheim's wife. The story of the episode was influenced by the film Casablanca, and was affected by the timing of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike. Because of the strike, the script was written in five days and it was only when it was filmed that it was discovered to be incomplete. Shearer was not happy with the result and felt that the on-screen chemistry of Stewart and Phillips was lacking. ## Plot The Enterprise, along with other ships in the sector, experience a localized time-distortion and soon after receive a distress-call from Dr. Paul Manheim in a nearby system. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) recalls that Manheim was ejected from the Federation Science Institute for conducting unauthorized experiments. They find the distress signal coming from a facility on a planetoid surrounded by a force-field. When they make contact with the facility, a woman requests help to save her husband, Dr. Manheim and lowers the shields. The two are brought aboard and while Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) tends to Dr. Manheim, who is having convulsions, Picard discovers Manheim's wife is Jenice, Picard's former love. Jenice warns that her husband was working privately in his laboratory but that she didn't know what he was working on. She also alerts the crew to numerous security protocols that he has installed at the facilities. As the crew prepares to send an away-team to investigate the laboratory, they experience more time distortions, described by Data (Brent Spiner) as "Manheim effects". In one instance Picard, Riker and Data enter a turbolift only to see their past selves conversing outside of the lift. The crew find that they cannot complete a transporter beam to the facility due to the security measures in place there. Dr. Manheim recovers long enough to explain that he was doing experiments involving time, gravity and funnels to other universes and suspects his last experiment is running out of control. Manheim explains that he is trapped between two dimensions and Data determines that the experiment must be shut down during a time fluctuation or else it will simply grow larger. Manheim provides the crew with the correct coordinates to beam down to avoid the security fields. Picard admits to Jenice that he worried about losing her again after he left her in Paris and vows to correct Dr. Manheim's experiment. As he is affected less by the distortions, Data is sent down alone and disables the remaining security measures before entering Manheim's laboratory. He finds a column of energy emanating from a dimensional matrix, the source of the time distortions. Data, though briefly affected by the time distortions, is able to add anti-matter to the matrix, causing the matrix to stabilize and halt the time distortions. Dr. Manheim recovers and he and Jenice thank Picard and the crew for their help. Picard and Jenice use the holodeck to recreate one more encounter at a Paris café, before she returns with her husband to the planet. ## Production "We'll Always Have Paris" is named in reference to the Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman film Casablanca. As well as the title of the episode and the love triangle in the story, the Blue Parrot Café from the film is directly mentioned by Captain Picard. Casablanca was also the basis for the earlier Star Trek: The Original Series novel The Entropy Effect, and would be so again in the Deep Space Nine episode "Profit and Loss". The story was originally pitched by Hannah Louise Shearer and Deborah Dean Davis, who were also given the job of developing the script. The writing of the episode suffered from the timing of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, with Shearer and Dean Davis completing the script in five days. The premise of the story was a combination of their idea of a story "about a professor whose work wasn't appreciated and had to go off on his own" and that of Maurice Hurley who wanted a story with a time anomaly. The final draft was dated 22 February and featured numerous differences from the filmed version, including Jenice being called Laura, a number of different interactions for the crew, and Riker, Worf and Data being involved in shutting down Manheim's equipment. The script was completed a week before the episode was filmed but the writers strike caused further problems when it was discovered during filming that the scene where Data was to fix the time distortions had not been completed. Robert Legato and Rick Berman spent forty minutes on the telephone with Shearer during the strike. While she refused to write the lines during the strike, Berman suggested dialogue and Shearer would give opinions with Legato taking down handwritten notes. Legato decided on the directing notes himself and used a whip pan shot instead of an effects shot to film the three Datas as director Robert Becker had never used effects shots. Shearer was not happy with the final result, saying "we were writing the most romantic episode in the world" but that "it was toned down 75%". Shearer later complained of a lack of chemistry between Michelle Phillips and Patrick Stewart, which Phillips blamed on the conflicted nature of the character in that she was committed to her husband but also wanted to see Picard once more. Phillips, a Star Trek fan, is better known for being a member of the 1960s group The Mamas & the Papas. Rod Loomis's previous science fiction outing was in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure as Sigmund Freud. Lance Spellerberg would later return in "The Icarus Factor" where his transporter chief gained the name Ensign Herbert. The image of 24th-century Paris was a matte painting which was re-used in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, where it was hung outside the office of the Federation president. ## Reception "We'll Always Have Paris" aired in broadcast syndication during the week commencing May 5, 1988. It received Nielsen ratings of 9.7, reflecting the percentage of all households watching the episode during its timeslot. This was the same ratings received as the previous episode, "Skin of Evil". Several reviewers re-watched the episode after the end of the series. Michelle Erica Green reviewed the episode on behalf of TrekNation in September 2007, comparing certain elements of the episode to Casablanca and the series finale "All Good Things...". These included the ending where time distortions caused Data to be replicated three times in "We'll Always Have Paris" compared to the similar situation with three Picards in "All Good Things...". Overall she thought that the episode was better than she recalled previously. Jamahl Epsicokhan at his website "Jammer's Reviews" described the episode as too simple, especially the ending which he said was "they give Data a canister, which he sticks into a hall of mirrors; problem solved". Zack Handlen, reviewing the episode for The A.V. Club in May 2010, said that he enjoyed the "time blips" in the episode, but that he was not a fan of the romance between Jenice and Picard. He also felt that there was not much follow-up on Manheim's experiments and that he seemed to be left to cause a more serious accident in the future. Keith DeCandido watched the episode for Tor.com in July 2011. He thought that Michele Phillips was "incredibly radiant", and said, "there’s nothing I can point to at this episode and say is wrong, but it’s one of the more forgettable episodes", giving it a score of four out of ten. ## Home media release The first home media release of "We'll Always Have Paris" was on VHS cassette was on July 1, 1992 in the United States and Canada. The episode was later included on the Star Trek: The Next Generation season one DVD box set, released in March 2002, and was released as part of the season one Blu-ray set on July 24, 2012.
2,226,618
Slug and Lettuce
1,156,509,154
Chain of bars that operate in the United Kingdom
[ "1984 establishments in England", "Companies based in Luton", "Pub chains", "Restaurants established in 1984", "Stonegate Pub Company" ]
Slug and Lettuce is a chain of bars that operate in the United Kingdom, with a large number located in London and South East England. As of 2017, there are a total of 70 outlets. Hugh Corbett opened the first Slug and Lettuce in Islington in 1985. He attempted to enhance the public house environment, at a time when standards were often low. The bars are designed for a youthful clientele, and aim to attract an equal number of men and women with "female-friendly" designs. The chain has remained relevant by continually re-inventing itself for the contemporary marketplace. The chain has gone through a number of owners throughout its history, and is currently owned by the Stonegate Pub Company, based in Luton, Bedfordshire. ## History Hugh Corbett, an entrepreneur with a background in the hotel industry, opened The Slug and Lettuce pub on Islington Green, North London in 1985. At the time, Islington was becoming increasingly gentrified due to its proximity to the City of London financial district. Corbett owned a small number of pubs, which he rechristened with humorous or nonsensical names, with the effect of differentiating them from competitors. His pubs had the then notable differential of stripped out carpets and enlarged windows so that people could see inside from the street. Corbett listed his business in 1989 as Fast Forward, by which time it was a nine-strong chain. In 1990 Roger Protz identified the group as an imitation of David Bruce's Firkin chain pubs. In 1992, the David Bruce-controlled Grosvenor Inns acquired Fast Forward for £4.46 million, bringing Grosvenor's total number of pubs to thirty. By this time, Fast Forward owned thirteen pubs, all based around the London area, with seven under the Slug name. The decision was taken to appeal to customers in their 20s and 30s and make the bar "more contemporary", "more of a bar, less of a pub", "young and even rowdy" and "not blokey – not a very male environment", aiming for an equal proportion of both male and female clientele. Sheila McKenzie, who had founded the female-friendly Pitcher & Piano chain, was enlisted to enact these changes, and the Slug and Lettuce concept has been described as her "brainchild". Grosvenor felt that the pub chain had "lost its way", and concentrated on boosting its food operations. In 1995, Slug and Lettuce was rebranded again, this time as a "contemporary English bar", designed to occupy the middle ground between a continental café and a classic English pub. By this time, food constituted 30 per cent of total sales. In 1997 the chain identified its primary competitors as the All Bar One and Pitcher & Piano bar chains. In 1998 Grosvenor Inns changed its name to The Slug and Lettuce Group, reflecting the fact that the now 22-strong chain had become the company's sole focus. The chain also announced that it would not stock the amusement with prize machines common in many other pubs. In 1998, the chain encountered its first major setback after it expanded into the North of England with five outlets in Nottingham, York, Manchester, Harrogate and Leeds. These sites all made profit losses in their first six months of operation, which triggered the company's first profit warning. In 1999, the chain first entered the Scottish market, with an outlet in Glasgow. Meanwhile, the company board was criticised for a lack of dynamism and being too slow to expand its number of outlets. The chain launched a website in February 2000. All Slug and Lettuce outlets serve food throughout the day, and the meals are English inspired, with offerings including sandwiches, burgers, pasta and salads. Outlets sell a range of cocktails, beer and wine. Since 2011, outlets have opened early for breakfast. In mid-2000, SFI, the owner of the Litten Tree bar chain, announced a £31.6 million takeover of Slug and Lettuce, paid for in shares, and McKenzie left the chain to pursue new challenges. By this time the chain had 32 outlets. According to analysts, the chain was too small and had too much debt to survive alone. SFI refurbished a number of their existing pubs under the Slug and Lettuce concept, and by 2004 the chain had 56 outlets. In 2005, SFI attempted to reposition the chain as an upmarket place to eat, in anticipation of the forthcoming smoking ban. In June 2005 SFI went into administration, and sold 98 of its 150 outlets to the Laurel Pub Company, controlled by Robert Tchenguiz, for £80 million. In 2008 Laurel itself collapsed, and the Slug chain became a part of the Bay Restaurant Group, later Town & City Pub Company. The chain has withdrawn from a number of locations, including Glasgow and Cardiff, leaving it with only one location in Scotland, and no presence in Wales. In 2010, Town & City began to refurbish the outlets, switching from a brown colour scheme to aubergine and updating upholstery and lighting. In June 2011 Town & City merged with the Stonegate Pub Company. Since 2011 outlets have opened early to serve breakfast. In September 2012 the Stonegate company chairman Ian Payne announced plans to expand the chain, which he claimed had outperformed the high street for the past three years, and was enjoying double digit growth. As of 2012, outlets are being refurbished with a colour scheme of gold, purple, green and plum. ## Operations The menu largely comprises traditional English inspired cuisine, and includes such items as burgers, curries, pasta and salads. In drinks, the chain focuses on beer, wine and spirits based cocktails such as the Long Island Ice Tea and mojitos. Some outlets sell cask ale. In 2006 the chain switched to selling exclusively fair trade coffee. In 2000, average annual turnover of each site was just below £900,000. Outlets typically occupy around 2,000 square feet in area, and include converted banks and churches. ## Reception In 1994 The Times described the chain as "a modish hang-out for the stripped pine brigade". The chain's interior layout has been described as "minimalist". The chain has been criticised by some, such as the writer Will Self, for spreading a bland uniformity throughout British high streets, and for removing individual elements from the pubs that it converts. In 1997, a Slug and Lettuce in a listed building in Islington Green illegally removed its old mahogany bar, which it was later forced to restore. The appeal of the Slug and Lettuce concept has seen it become widely imitated, with Zoe Williams of The Guardian commenting in 2012, "Does anybody remember in the 90s, when the Slug and Lettuce pub chain deliberately fancied itself up to appeal to the lady drinker? And wham, two seconds later, that's where all the men wanted to drink as well, so that all pubs had to become more like Slugs and Lettuces just to survive?"
39,804,619
TowerFall
1,165,177,158
2013 action video game
[ "2013 video games", "Action games", "Game jam video games", "Indie games", "Linux games", "MacOS games", "Multiplayer and single-player video games", "Nintendo Switch games", "Ouya games", "Platform fighters", "PlayStation 4 games", "PlayStation Network games", "PlayStation Vita games", "Retro-style video games", "Video games designed by Maddy Thorson", "Video games developed in Canada", "Video games scored by Alec Holowka", "Video games with Steam Workshop support", "Windows games", "Xbox One games" ]
TowerFall is an action indie video game created by Maddy Thorson through her company Maddy Makes Games. In the game, players control up to four archers in a multiplayer platform fighter. It was released on the Ouya microconsole in June 2013 and was later ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, OS X, and Windows as TowerFall Ascension and to the Nintendo Switch under its original title of TowerFall. TowerFall was Thorson's first commercial game. It followed from a June 2012 game jam single-player prototype. Thorson tested the game on her indie developer colleagues with whom she lived, and developed its capacity as a party game. Its mechanics were inspired by games of Thorson's youth, such as Bushido Blade and GoldenEye 007, and influenced by demo feedback at the Evolution Championship Series fighting game tournament. TowerFall was known as the standout title for the Ouya at the console's launch. In its first year, the game sold around 7,000 copies on Ouya, resulting in a gross revenue of about \$105,000. When the Ouya exclusivity expired, Thorson signed another exclusivity agreement for the PlayStation 4, where Ascension received an expanded single-player mode, and new levels, weapons, and gameplay variants. A PlayStation Vita release followed in 2015, and Xbox One and Switch versions have been released as well. A standalone eight-player edition for Windows released in 2016. Ascension was met with generally favorable reception. Critics recommended it as a party game reminiscent of Super Smash Bros. and praised its balance. However, some felt that its single-player mode was a low point, and lamented the lack of an online multiplayer mode. ## Gameplay TowerFall is an archery combat arena game where players kill each other with arrows and head-stomps until only one player remains. It is also possible to play in cooperative mode. In multiplayer, up to four players fight in an arena using a limited supply of arrows. Players replenish their arrow supply from those shot about the arena. The players can also catch other players' arrows. "Treasure" power-ups give players shields, wings, and arrows with increased power. The game's rules can be customized and saved for future use. Kotaku's Chris Person described the gameplay as "[Super] Smash Bros. bred with games like Spelunky or Nidhogg". There are four game modes. In single-player, the player must hit targets around the arena before a timer runs out. The developer compared this mode to "Break the Targets" in the Super Smash Bros. series. Ascension adds a remodeled version of the target levels as a Trials mode, which requires the players to use power-ups to break all targets within several seconds. Ascension also adds a Quest mode, where one or two players attempt to survive against enemy waves of increasing difficulty. As a single-player event, Quest functions as a score attack mode. The new Ascension improvements were also released for the Ouya version. The Ouya release supports the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 controllers. Ascension uses the DualShock 4 controller's built-in speaker to play sound effects. The game does not have online multiplayer. ## Development The game was developed and produced by Maddy Thorson, who previously made Planet Punch and browser games. TowerFall was her first full commercial game. The idea came from a visit with Alec Holowka as they worked at a game jam, the 48-hour June 2012 Vancouver Full Indie Game Jam. The team iterated through a Legend of Zelda-inspired multiplayer mode that became a single-player platformer Flash game where the player was a "skilled archer out of an ancient legend". She intended to add multiple weapons, but chose to keep the first one—the bow and arrow—due to its feel. The arrow was designed to fire without charging and to bias towards targets so as to give the player "more leeway". Thorson also chose to limit the aim direction to the eight ordinal directions rather than affording complex 360 degree controls. She also added levels, items, a store, and a story based on ascending a tower. Along with in-game progress, players would gain new items and skills. Thorson originally intended to send the game to Adult Swim for "easy money", but changed her mind upon developing a multiplayer version after the jam. Holowka credits the multiplayer's party game feel to the many hours of local multiplayer testing it received in Thorson's homes in Vancouver. Thorson lived with a developer she met through Game Maker's community, and the two eventually moved in with Holowka in "Indie House", a Vancouver house whose occupants are all indie developers. The close community of indie gamers and their interest in trying new game ideas was both a product and generator of their living arrangements. Though Holowka dropped back from the project shortly after the game jam, leaving the project to Thorson, he stepped in to demo the game at the 2013 Game Developers Conference at the last minute when Thorson's passport had expired. With an increase in press attention following an exhibition at PAX East, Thorson entered an agreement with Ouya's Kellee Santiago to release exclusively on the microconsole. Critics saw this as being the action the new console needed to compete with existing consoles, and Thorson felt the release for Ouya to be less "intimidating" than releasing for the PlayStation 3. The game also fit Ouya's emphasis on couch co-op gaming. Thorson originally did the artwork herself but was not satisfied with the results and hired MiniBoss to finish the graphics. Holowka composed the music, and Thorson hired Power Up Audio to make the sound effects. Thorson said that the game started to come together about six months into its development. They tested the game on close friends once every few weeks, and the friends would ask Thorson when they could play it again. Thorson brought the game to the 2013 Evolution Championship Series fighting games tournament, where they unexpectedly received more praise than criticism. The game mechanics were inspired by games from Thorson's youth. Upon reflection, they felt that the game had the item-catching mechanics of Super Smash Bros., the one-hit kills and tension of Bushido Blade, the playfulness of Goldeneye 007, the shooting mechanics of Yoshi's Island, and the positioning strategy of Team Fortress 2. They described their development process as tweaking Super Smash Bros. Melee to their tastes. The limited arrow design was intended to slow the gameplay and encourage player strategy. She considered adding online multiplayer, a popular request, but lacked the programming skills herself. The game's medieval scenery came from their contemporary interest in the Game of Thrones book series and their pairing of the arrow mechanic with "stone-walled castles and lava-filled dungeons". The player-characters also have individual personalities and backstories that Thorson intended to elaborate in a "lore" section of an instruction manual. ## Release TowerFall was released June 25, 2013 as an Ouya exclusive. The game sold well, minding the Ouya's newness, which allowed Thorson to develop the game into a fuller package. Thorson stated her plans to extend the single-player, and signed a new exclusivity agreement to release TowerFall Ascension on PlayStation 4 and Steam with new levels, weapons, and gameplay variants after the Ouya exclusivity agreement ended six months later. Sony actively pursued the game, and a majority of the porting work was handled by Dallas-based Sickhead Games by two people over the course of eight weeks using MonoGame, "an open-source rewrite" of Microsoft XNA. Thorson thought that the DualShock 4's directional pad was "perfect for TowerFall and that the PlayStation 4 was "the natural next step" for the game. They received a letter from George Broussard before Ascension's launch with pre-congratulations on Thorson's becoming a millionaire. The main additions to Ascension were its single-player and cooperative gameplay modes. A level editor is planned for a future update, and Thorson has expressed interest in six controller support for three-on-three matches. Ports for Linux and OS X platforms were released on May 29, 2014, with updated game variants. TowerFall was selected for the July 2014 Evolution Championship Series fighting game tournament's Indie Showcase, and as a free game with PlayStation Plus for the same month. Towerfall: Ascension was eventually released as a sequel to the original Towerfall for the OUYA console in November 2016. ### Updates In February 2015 a "Blue Archer" was revealed as a new playable character for the expansion "Dark World", developers stated his appearance was based on that of Anita Sarkeesian. An expansion pack, Dark World, was released in North America on May 12, 2015, for the PlayStation 4 and PC (Linux, OS X, and Windows) via Steam, the Humble Store, and GOG.com. The European PlayStation release followed several days later. The pack includes a four-player multiplayer campaign mode where players fight boss battles together and can resuscitate each other. It also adds a power-up that makes arrows explode by remote-detonation. The pack began as a set of new levels and became four sets, ten new characters, procedurally generated levels, and the aforementioned power-up, co-op, and boss battles. A PlayStation Vita version was released on December 15, 2015. An Xbox One version, including both Ascension and Dark World, was released on January 18, 2018. A Nintendo Switch version was released on September 27, 2018, and includes Madeline and her dark reflection Badeline from the game Celeste, which was also made by Matt Makes Games. Thorson also created an additional, standalone Windows game that modifies the versus mode for five to eight simultaneous players. TowerFall 8-Player was released in August 2016. ### Physical Editions In September 2015, Matt Makes Games partnered with the subscription box company IndieBox, a monthly subscription box service, to offer an exclusive, individually-numbered physical release of TowerFall. This limited edition box included a flash-drive with a DRM-free game file, official soundtrack, instruction manual, Steam key, and various custom-designed collectibles. In November 2020, a limited physical release of the Nintendo Switch version was announced through Limited Run Games. ## Reception Multiple reviewers cited TowerFall as the standout game for the Ouya microconsole at the time of its launch. The Penny Arcade Report'''s Ben Kuchera called the game "the Ouya's killer app", Polygon's Russ Frushtick and Chris Plante said that TowerFall was the reason to purchase an Ouya. Destructoid's Spencer Hayes said that he did not consider purchasing the Ouya until he played TowerFall. He added that the game had a "deceptive level of depth". Eurogamer described its reputation as "the only thing worth playing on Ouya". The added cost of additional controllers (for four-player local multiplayer) exceeded the cost of the new console itself, and was cited as a negative for the game, though later offset by its support for Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers. Plante later described the original release as "critically beloved, humbly sold", "punching way above its weight class" with recognition on the yearend lists of Ars Technica and Polygon. By April 2014, Thorson told Eurogamer that the game had grossed a half of a million dollars, with the most sales from Ascension on the PlayStation 4. At the time, a fifth of the games sales came from Ouya, a comparatively smaller platform with a smaller install base than PlayStation and Steam. The game was a nominee for the 2014 Independent Games Festival's Excellence in Design award, but lost to Papers, Please. TowerFall Ascension received "generally favorable" reviews, according to game review aggregator Metacritic. At the 2013 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR) awards the game won Game, Original Fighting. Reviewers praised the game's balance, compared it favorably with Super Smash Bros., and recommended it as a party game. Critics felt that the single-player mode was a nadir, and lamented that there was no online multiplayer mode, with Jon Denton of Eurogamer calling the lack "painful" and "a crying shame". Griffin McElroy of Polygon found the game joyful and called it "a powerful distillery of childlike glee". IGN's Jose Otero thought highly of its visuals. He considered the single-player mode a low point of the game, that it was only useful as practice. Eurogamer's Denton called it "an afterthought", and that Trials was "a tertiary mode at best". Edge wrote that the boundaries of the game's play area were confusing, and that it was difficult to watch both the area around the player-character as well as the boundaries, which worked against what they deemed to be TowerFall's "greatest strength": close range combat. Denton praised the arrow catching mechanic, which he compared to the "hooks" of other "great multiplayer games", like the Ultra counter in Street Fighter IV. He further compared the multiplayer to the battle modes of Bomberman, Mario, and Super Smash Bros., the Trials mode to 10 Second Ninja, and the game's "immediacy" to Nidhogg and Samurai Gunn. Polygon'' named the game among the decade's top 25 games. ## See also - List of Ouya software
1,500,490
Warwick Armstrong
1,160,963,953
Australian cricketer (1879–1947)
[ "1879 births", "1947 deaths", "Australia Test cricket captains", "Australia Test cricketers", "Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees", "Australian Rules footballers: place kick exponents", "Australian cricketers", "Australian rules footballers from Melbourne", "Cricketers from Melbourne", "Melbourne Cricket Club cricketers", "People from Caulfield, Victoria", "People from Kyneton", "South Melbourne cricketers", "Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees", "Sydney Swans players", "Victoria cricketers", "Wisden Cricketers of the Year" ]
Warwick Windridge Armstrong (22 May 1879 – 13 July 1947) was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921, and was undefeated, winning eight Tests and drawing two. Armstrong was captain of the 1920–21 Australian team which defeated the touring English 5–0: one of only three teams to win an Ashes series in a whitewash. In a Test career interrupted by the First World War, he scored 2,863 runs at an average of 38.68, including six centuries, and took 87 wickets. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2000. Armstrong was a large man (6 foot 3 inches – 1.9 m tall and 21 stone – 133 kg or 294 lb) and was known as the "Big Ship". He was not a stylish batsman but his strokeplay was effective, with a sound defence and temperament. He bowled leg spin with a gentle action and while not a big turner of the ball, he relied on accuracy to dismiss opponents. He made his Test debut in 1902 against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and was selected to tour England later that year where he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. That was the first of four tours of England. He was involved in several altercations with cricket administrators and was one of the "Big Six" who boycotted the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England after a dispute with the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket. A talented Australian rules footballer, Armstrong briefly represented South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League before playing Test cricket. For much of his cricket career he was employed as a pavilion clerk by the Melbourne Cricket Club, who allowed him time off to play cricket. Following his retirement from Test and first-class cricket after the successful 1921 tour of England, Armstrong took a position as an agent for a scotch whisky distributor and wrote on cricket for the Sydney Evening News. ## Early life Armstrong was born in the rural Victorian town of Kyneton in 1879, the eldest son of John and his wife Amelia (née Flynn). The marriage was across the sectarian divide, then strong in Australia: John was an Anglican; Amelia was a Catholic. The Armstrong family moved to Melbourne in 1880, settling in the inner suburb of Emerald Hill, Victoria. An inheritance enabled the family to move to a larger house, "Arra Glen" in North Caulfield, Victoria in 1888. Armstrong attended Cumloden School, a respected sporting member of the Schools Association, a group of smaller private schools in Melbourne. By 1893, he had found himself a spot in the school XI and came to the attention of the press, catching the eye of journalists Reginald Wilmot and Tom Horan. Armstrong joined the nearby Caulfield Cricket Club and played in a senior premiership with the club at the age of 15. The next year the St Kilda Cricket Club, one of the leading clubs in Melbourne's pennant competition, gave the youthful Armstrong a trial. In the 1896–97 season, Armstrong fell out with St Kilda and returned to Caulfield. His last years of school were at University College. Leaving school at 19, Armstrong joined his father's former club, South Melbourne, captained by Australian Test captain Harry Trott. Armstrong was an immediate success, scoring 101 runs against University and 173 against his former club, St Kilda. He was selected to represent Victoria against Tasmania in Hobart in January 1899, as one of seven in the squad making their first-class cricket débuts. Armstrong's performance was promising, scoring six and 33 and taking four for 78 in 27 overs. Armstrong began regular Sheffield Shield cricket in the 1899–1900 season. In his first match against New South Wales in January 1900, he dismissed Syd Gregory with his second delivery and scored 45 runs in the second innings. In the Pennant season for South Melbourne, Armstrong scored 665 runs at an average of 95; this included 145 and six for nineteen against the Melbourne Cricket Club, the largest club in Melbourne whose team included many Test and first-class cricketers. ## Representative cricket ### Early career Following his feats against it in 1899–1900, Armstrong was recruited for the next season by the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC). For the next twenty years, on and off the pitch, Armstrong's fortunes were tied to the club, a leading cricketing light in Australia and a bastion of the city's rich and powerful. He scored his maiden first-class century, 118, against South Australia, facing the very fast and physically dangerous bowling of Ernie Jones, and by the end of the 1900–01 season he was a permanent member of the Victorian team. The England cricket team, organised and captained by Archie MacLaren, toured Australia to compete for the Ashes in the summer of 1901–02. The English were considered a poor and undermanned team, but it surprised all by winning the first Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground by an innings and 124 runs. Before the second Test, Armstrong had an excellent all-round performance against New South Wales, dismissing Test players Victor Trumper and Syd Gregory, and then scoring 137 in reply. When the team for the Melbourne Test was announced, Armstrong was selected, making his début with Reggie Duff from New South Wales. Armstrong made a steady start to Test cricket. Batting at No. 9 on a sticky wicket, he made four not out in the first innings, in an Australian total of 116. In reply, England could only score 61. With the wicket still treacherous, Australia rearranged their batting order to save the better batsmen until conditions improved. The two debutants, Duff and Armstrong, were positioned at 10 and 11, and shared a 120-run partnership for the last wicket, Duff scoring 104 and Armstrong 45 not out. Australia won the Test by 229 runs. Armstrong played in the remaining Tests in the series, narrowly heading the averages with 159 runs at an average of 53, and Australia went on to win comfortably by four matches to one. Armstrong was selected as part of the Australian cricket team to tour England in 1902. He started the tour well, taking eight for 47 in the second innings against Nottinghamshire, his best bowling figures to that date. The first Test, at Edgbaston was rain-affected and the Australians were lucky to come away with a draw, being dismissed for 36 in their first innings. The rest of the close-fought series was followed with interest by the English public. The second Test at Lord's was rained off, and Australia won the third at Bramall Lane by 143 runs. The final two Tests were nail-biters—Australia winning the fourth at Old Trafford by only three runs and England earning a consolation victory in the fifth Test at the Oval by one wicket, when last-wicket pair George Hirst and Wilfred Rhodes eked out the final runs. Armstrong had a good tour, making 1,075 runs at 27.56 and taking 72 wickets at an average of 17.90, but the star for the Australians was Victor Trumper, who made 2,570 runs at an average of 48.49 including eleven centuries. On the return trip to Australia, the touring team stopped in South Africa to play three Tests, the first between the two nations. In the second Test at Johannesburg, Armstrong scored 159, just over half the Australian score of 309 and carried his bat through the innings as Australia won the Test by 159 runs. Australia won the Test series two–nil. On return to Australia for the 1902–03 season, he made 580 runs at an average of 58 and 23 wickets at an average of just over 19. The highlights of his season included 145 against Queensland and a hat-trick against New South Wales. Plum Warner's English team toured Australia in 1903–04, the first to do so under the auspices of the Marylebone Cricket Club. The strong English team defeated Australia three–two, retrieving the Ashes. Armstrong did not have a good series. He was tormented by Rhodes, who dismissed him eight times in ten meetings for Victoria and Australia that summer. As a result, he was dropped from the Australian XI after the Third Test. Returning to club cricket, Armstrong found form, scoring 438 in only 455 minutes for Melbourne against University, from a total score of 699 for eight. In the 1904–05 season, Armstrong scored 460 runs at 57.5 for Victoria to secure selection for the 1905 tour of England. ### Consolidation and conflict The 1905 Australians left for England, leaving behind the beginnings of a conflict between players and administrators over control of cricket that would poison the sport in Australia for the next ten years. While previous tours of England had been underwritten by the Melbourne Cricket Club and organised by the players, the new Australian Board of Control was asserting its right to control Australian cricket. Armstrong, finding himself promoted to number five in the batting order, started the tour well with 112 against Nottinghamshire and 248 against Gentlemen of England at Lord's. In the first Test at Trent Bridge, Australia's lack of effective bowling options had Armstrong forced to bowl wide outside the leg stump in an early form of leg theory bowling to prevent the England batsmen from scoring quickly. Bumbling and taciturn, Armstrong maintained an accurate line and length, and put a strangle on both England's run-scoring and the crowd's entertainment. It was a recurrent pattern for the rest of the series, and lead to what was seen by spectators and the press as dull cricket. Batsmen like the imperial Archie MacLaren would kick the ball away contemptuously, but lissome Johnny Tyldesley proved that runs could still made if a batsman employed more enterprise. Hopping away to leg to make room for himself, Tyldesley cut and drove the leg-spinner to great effect in a strategy later used by Don Bradman against the bodyline menace. Armstrong's tactics were ultimately futile, a Stanley Jackson-inspired England winning the series by two Tests to none. For the season, he scored 1,902 runs at an average of fifty. Regarding his batting, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack said, "The great batsman of the eleven was Armstrong. In form nearly all through the tour, he struck the happy medium, being brilliant without recklessness." The highlight of his tour was a triple century (303 not out) at the Recreation Ground in Bath against Somerset. When the team returned to Australia, the rift between the players and the Board of Control widened. The dispute saw the English postpone their tour, scheduled for 1906–07. In the midst of all this turmoil, Armstrong continued to impress: on tour with Melbourne Cricket Club in New Zealand, he was described by that country's Herald newspaper as a "team almost in himself". He made 868 runs at an average of 124 to complement his 83 wickets at under ten. He was elected captain of Victoria by his teammates for the match against New South Wales, commencing on New Year's Eve, responding with six for 68 with the ball and then scoring 168 in the second innings as part of a sturdy rearguard effort. Armstrong found employment with the Department of Home Affairs and, as a result, declared himself unavailable for the next match against South Australia. He was mortified when he found that he had been included in the team and that the Victorian Cricket Association (VCA) had approached his employer to ask for leave on his behalf, despite his having explicitly instructed the VCA secretary otherwise. Armstrong refused to play and was called to face a disciplinary hearing at the Young and Jackson Hotel. Rightly indignant, he was left unpunished. The scheduled tour postponed from the previous season kicked off with the arrival of an English team weakened by the withdrawals of a number of leading players. The first Test saw an Australian victory, Armstrong bowling 53 overs and taking four for 92. More squabbling, this time over expenses, followed between Armstrong and the VCA, and the former withdrew from the Boxing Day match against New South Wales. Armstrong sought a £1 per diem, but the VCA held fast at ten shillings. It then mounted a campaign in the Melbourne press, attempting to portray Armstrong as avaricious and once again called him to front a disciplinary commission. Following threats of suspension, Armstrong was forced to apologise to the VCA. The fracas did not affect his form, however: the second Test, starting on New Year's Day, saw Armstrong score 31 and 77 and take five wickets for 89. Despite his efforts, England won a hard-fought Test by one wicket. Australia took the third Test in Adelaide, and a patient 133 in 289 minutes from Armstrong in the fourth saw Australia clinch the series and win back the Ashes. The margin was four–one, but both teams were criticised by reporters for slow scoring and negative cricket. Once again, the selection and management of the Australian team to tour England in 1909 caused friction between leading players and the Board of Control. Clem Hill, unwilling to tour on the terms offered by the Board, withdrew his name from consideration. Regardless, the tour was a success, both for the Australians, who won the series two-one, and for Armstrong, who made 1,451 runs at an average of just under 44 and took 133 wickets at an average of 16.40 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack described his role in the tour as "to keep the side together by means of his impregnable defence, and he did exactly what was required, only on rare occasions giving free play to his hitting power. When he likes to let himself loose there is no harder driver in the world". Armstrong, along with Monty Noble, Tibby Cotter and Bert Hopkins returned home via Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), Penang and Singapore, where they were lavishly entertained and comfortably billeted by the elite of the Colony. Their hosts took the cricketers on a trip to the British protectorate of Perak for a shooting expedition where Armstrong contracted malaria. He would suffer relapses throughout the rest of his life. ### Rebellion Armstrong was appointed captain of an Australian side that toured New Zealand from February to April 1910, partly as recognition of his accomplishments and partly due to the unavailability of other candidates, such as Trumper. Suspicions still ran high between the Board and the players and Trumper, tiring of what he perceived as persecution, retired from first-class cricket. The tour did not include any Test matches, although a match was played against a representative New Zealand team. Australia won every game, save a draw against Canterbury. Armstrong, more diplomatic as captain than some commenters had been expecting, turned down a lucrative offer to coach the Auckland team. The Melbourne Cricket Club found Armstrong a job as "pavilion clerk". His duties were broadly defined in order to allow him to meet his representative cricket obligations. These included matches against the touring South Africans, scheduled to play five Tests in 1910–11. The first Test saw Australia win by an innings and 114 runs thanks mainly to an innings on 191 from Hill and eight wickets to Bill Whitty. Armstrong nearly missed the second Test in Melbourne with a case of mumps. He recovered, and although still unwell managed to score 75 and take 4–134 from 48 overs. In the fourth Test, Armstrong compiled another century, 132 including a partnership of 154 with Hill. Australia won the series comfortably, winning four of the five Test matches with their only loss at Adelaide by 38 runs. Returning to cricket after his self-imposed exile, Victor Trumper was the leading player for the Australians during the series scoring 661 runs at an average of 94. The English team returned to Australia the following season to compete for the Ashes with Pelham Warner once again captain of a very strong English team that included bowlers Sydney Barnes and Frank Foster. Warner suffered from an illness early in the tour and handed the captaincy to Johnny Douglas. After losing the first Test, England won the remaining four Tests comfortably. In the second Test at Melbourne, Armstrong played one of his best Test innings. Facing exceptional bowling from Foster and Barnes, he made a nerveless 90, including 14 boundaries, before being dismissed by Foster. While this series took place, the Board of Control made plans to usurp the commonly accepted rights of the players to appoint a manager when touring England. The hostility between the players and the board saw a fist fight break out between Clem Hill and Peter McAlister at a selection meeting. When the Board announced that George Crouch would be manager of the Australian team for the 1912 Triangular Tournament in England, rather than the player's choice, Frank Laver, outright rebellion ensued. Armstrong, Hill and Trumper, along with Hanson Carter, Tibby Cotter and Vernon Ransford (known as the "Big Six") announced that they would be unavailable to join the touring party. The team, under the captaincy of Syd Gregory, left without these players. The tour was not a success on any front: the Australians winning only eight games and losing nine in a wet season and Crouch on return to Australia reported to the Board that "some of the players had conducted themselves so badly in England as to lead to the team being socially ostracised." International cricket was placed on hold as a result of the outbreak of the Great War. Armstrong had been named captain of the Australian team to tour South Africa in 1914–15, however the tour was unable to take place. Armstrong chose not to enlist in the military during the war and kept his own counsel on the subject. He continued to work and play cricket for Melbourne Cricket Club, participating in the occasional fund-raising fixture. ### Captain When international cricket resumed after the Great War, Armstrong, now over forty years of age, was appointed captain of a strong Australian team boosted by the inclusion of players such as Jack Gregory and Herbie Collins who had starred in the Australian Imperial Forces cricket team. Armstrong was much older than many of his teammates and was the subject of some awe; Gregory describing him as "my ideal cricketer". The touring English team, captained once again by Johnny Douglas was no match for the Australians, who won all five Tests in the 1920–21 series, completing the first and only Ashes whitewash for 86 years on 1 March. Armstrong was masterful throughout the Test series. He scored 474 runs at an average of over 77 including three centuries; 158 in Sydney, 121 in Adelaide and 123 not out in Melbourne. Before going out to bat in the second innings at Sydney, he was seen, "padded up, [drinking] whisky with his mates at the members' bar". Armstrong remained unpopular with the Board of Control. Despite Armstrong's triumphs, it was reported that he was only appointed captain of the 1921 Australian team to tour England by "the narrowest possible margin". On the voyage to England, Armstrong attempted to lose some weight by spending some time each day in the stokehold of the ship. On arrival, however, he weighed in 4 pounds (2 kg) heavier. Against English teams badly affected by the Great War, the Australians dominated the series. Armstrong marshalled his troops well, utilising Gregory and Ted McDonald to devastating effect. Australia won the first Test in two days, the second Test by lunch on the third day and the third Test and the Ashes by 5.00 pm on the third day. Throughout the tour, Armstrong fought a series of running battles against the Board appointed manager, Syd Smith, on behalf of his men. Smith, looking to cut overheads, had suggested boarding with wealthy cricket devotees; Armstrong dismissed the idea. The fourth Test at Old Trafford was famous for two events, both involving Armstrong. The first day's play was washed out and England commenced their innings the following day, the match now a two-day affair. Lionel Tennyson, the English captain, declared his innings closed with twenty minutes of play left in the day. The Australian wicket-keeper, Sammy Carter pointed out to Armstrong that a declaration at that time in a two-day match was against the laws of cricket as they stood at that time. Armstrong protested to the umpires and England were forced to continue batting. In the commotion, Armstrong managed to bowl two overs in succession, an action also against the laws of cricket. By the fifth Test, the Australian team was in sight of being the first Australian team to remain unbeaten throughout a tour of England. Once again, much of the first day was lost to rain. Determined not to lose, Armstrong attempted to delay commencement after the rain and was heckled by English supporters. He told his three main bowlers, "I won't ask you not to get a man out, but as long as Mead (a notoriously slow scoring batsman) remains at the wicket we can't be beaten". In the last three hours of the Test, Armstrong decided to rest his key bowlers and allowed his part-time bowlers to rotate as they pleased and fielders to configure themselves. During this time, Armstrong picked up a newspaper that had been blown across the field and began to read. When asked about this later, Armstrong was said to have replied, "I wanted to see who we were playing", although this is claimed to be apocryphal. The Australians drew the Test and won the series three–nil, however they could not maintain their unbeaten record, losing by 28 runs to an English XI at Eastbourne and again to C. I. Thornton's XI at Scarborough. Despite the two losses, the tour was a triumph for Armstrong. Personally, he achieved the 1,000 runs and 100 wickets milestone for the third time in an English summer. About his captaincy, former rival Frank Foster said, "I honestly think that Australia have got to thank one man, one man only for their success. That man is Warwick Armstrong, probably one of the best captains ever sent to England from Australia". On return to Australia, Armstrong was greeted by large enthusiastic crowds and acclaimed at many public receptions. At one reception, he was presented with a £2,500 cheque by the Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes. > If ever there was a man singled out as a king of sport it was Mr. Armstrong, who had gone out to give the people of England a chance to regain the Ashes and who had returned, like Imperial Caesar, who came, saw and conquered. ## Outside cricket The 1921 tour was Armstrong's swan song in first-class cricket. On the journey back to Australia, he suffered a relapse of the malaria that had plagued him since his earlier visit to Malaya. This kept him from taking part in any of the matches in South Africa, allowing Herbie Collins to captain Australia for the first time. Armstrong resigned from his job with Melbourne Cricket Club and drawing on contacts he had made while on tour took a role as an agent for Dawson's Scotch Whisky. He remained in the liquor trade until his retirement in 1946. Armstrong also applied his cricket background acting as a cricket journalist for the Sydney Evening News. His copy was promoted as "frank and fearless" and was generally contemptuous of much of the cricket and cricketers he saw, especially of what he saw as dull cricket. In 1922 he wrote a primer on cricket titled The Art of Cricket published by Methuen & Co, London. In July 1913 he married Aileen O'Donnell, the daughter of a wealthy Irish Australian pastoralist with large land holdings in the Riverina region of New South Wales. The couple met while Armstrong was representing the Melbourne Cricket Club in a match against a Wagga Wagga XV. Armstrong and his new wife settled in Melbourne, moving to the Sydney suburb of Edgecliff for business reasons in 1935. Aileen died of a thrombosis in 1940. Armstrong, following illness that saw him lose much of the weight that he was known for, died on 13 July 1947, leaving an estate to the value of £90,000. His funeral was held at St Joseph's Catholic Church in Edgecliff and proceeded to the South Head Cemetery. He was survived by his son, Warwick Geoffrey. Armstrong was an all-round sportsman, playing Australian rules football in the winter for South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL), the premier competition in the state, from 1898 to 1900. A slim utility, he played 16 games for the club, scoring 18 goals. He played in South Melbourne's losing 1899 VFL Grand Final team defeated by Fitzroy by one point. ## Style and personality Although slim as a young man, Armstrong grew into a big man, weighing 133 kilograms (293 lb) and being 190 centimetres (6 foot 3 inches) tall. As a result, he acquired the nickname "The Big Ship". His oversize shirt, measuring 26 centimetres (10 in) by 85 centimetres (33 in) and his shoes, 32 centimetres (13 in) long by 18 centimetres (7 in) wide are on display at the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. A story told of Armstrong had a young boy following him around at a tour match in Southampton. Armstrong, thinking it a manifestation of hero worship, offered to sign the boy's autograph book. The boy turned to Armstrong and said, "Please, sir, you are the only bit of decent shade in the place." As a batsman, Armstrong was not a stylist. The Times, in describing Armstrong's batting after he scored his maiden century against Sussex in 1902 said, "Mr. Armstrong's methods were not attractive". > His pose at the wickets gives an impression of awkwardness which is not dispelled when he shapes to play the ball and his strokeplay is essentially laboured ... His methods, however, are remarkably effective; they show a most admirable blend of aggression and caution, backed by the right temperament. His defence is very sound, watchful and painstaking, his strokeplay is limited in its variety, but very sound in its execution. Armstrong was tireless as a leg break bowler and was known for his ability to land the ball on any point of the pitch he liked. His action imparted as much topspin as leg spin, making it difficult for batsman to detect his "straight-breaks". Early in his career, he bowled negative leg theory but later used his accuracy to great effect, bowling an over or two of leg breaks and then the straight one in the hope of bowling the batsman or receiving a leg before wicket dismissal. His action consisted of an easy amble and a gentle arc and was described in the Sporting Life as "rather like a fat uncle, not altogether unlike a fat aunt." It was effective, however, with the Daily Telegraph stating after the first Test in 1921, "there is not a single batsman in England who faces with any appearance of confidence his innocuous slows." Armstrong was renowned for his gamesmanship and was willing to push the boundaries of what was considered acceptable behaviour in order to obtain an advantage for his team. In 1909, the English all-rounder Frank Woolley was making his Test début against the Australians at the Oval. Taking advantage of a rule that allowed bowlers to bowl trial balls or "looseners", Armstrong kept Woolley waiting nervously for more than fifteen minutes while he bowled trial balls alongside the pitch. In a club game against St Kilda, Armstrong claimed a catch in the slips, only to have the umpire refuse the dismissal. It was the last ball of the over and as the field changed, Armstrong brusquely inquired why this was so. Informed that the ball had struck the batsman's pads, Armstrong then appealed for a leg before wicket dismissal, which the umpire then upheld. Armstrong was not a "walker"; he believed in waiting for the umpire to make a decision, once telling the English cricketer Arthur Gilligan, "The more you play this game, the more you will find out that you will be given out many times when you are not out and vice versa". English professional cricketers took a dim view of Armstrong's approach to the game. Jack Hobbs, describing one instance said, > The chief offender was Warwick Armstrong, who got very nasty and unsportsmanlike, refusing to accept the umpire's decision. That upset me. I did not know if I was standing on my head or my heels with the consequence that two balls later I let one go, never even attempting to play it; and it bowled me. I still bear this incident in mind against Armstrong.
53,540,938
Morse Building
1,154,798,128
Residential building in Manhattan, New York
[ "1880 establishments in New York (state)", "Brick buildings and structures", "Civic Center, Manhattan", "Commercial buildings completed in 1880", "Edwardian architecture", "Financial District, Manhattan", "Gothic Revival architecture in New York City", "Historic district contributing properties in Manhattan", "Neoclassical architecture in New York City", "New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan", "Residential buildings completed in 1880", "Romanesque Revival architecture in New York City", "Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan" ]
The Morse Building, also known as the Nassau–Beekman Building and 140 Nassau Street, is a residential building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, at the northeast corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets. The Morse Building, designed by Benjamin Silliman Jr. and James M. Farnsworth, contains elements of the Victorian Gothic, Neo-Grec, and Rundbogenstil style. The Morse Building uses polychrome brickwork and terracotta cladding to highlight its fenestration. Its interior structure consists of a steel frame placed upon a foundation that descends to an underlying layer of sand. The Morse Building was developed by G. Livingston and Sidney E. Morse, nephews of telegraph inventor Samuel F. B. Morse and sons of the site's previous owners. It was constructed from June 1878 to March 1880 and was one of the tallest buildings in New York City when completed, standing at 140 feet (43 m) with ten stories. As completed, the building had 175 offices and modern amenities such as steam heat and gas lighting. Bannister & Schell altered the building significantly in 1901–1902 to an Edwardian Neo-Classical style, bringing the building to 14 stories and 180 feet (55 m). Around 1965, the base was modified again and the balcony and cornice were removed. After a failed redevelopment attempt in the 1970s, it became a residential building in 1980, with 39 apartments. The building was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2006. The Morse Building is also a contributing property to the Fulton–Nassau Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places district created in 2005. ## Site The Morse Building is in the Financial District of Manhattan, just east of New York City Hall, City Hall Park, and the Civic Center. It is bounded on the west by Nassau Street, on the south by Beekman Street, on the east by 8 Spruce Street, and on the north by 150 Nassau Street. 5 Beekman Street is diagonally across the intersection of Nassau and Beekman streets, while the Potter Building and 41 Park Row are directly across Nassau Street. The Morse Building occupies a plot measuring 85.25 feet (25.98 m) on Nassau Street and 69.58 feet (21.21 m) on Beekman Street. ## Architecture The Morse Building stands 180 feet (55 m) tall with 14 stories and is one of the oldest remaining fireproof skyscrapers in New York City. Benjamin Silliman Jr. and James M. Farnsworth designed the Morse Building's lowest eight stories, built between 1878 and 1880. The structure was the firm's first major project in New York City; the firm had designed the Morse Building as a 10-story structure, but the top two stories were subsequently rebuilt. The upper six stories were designed by William P. Bannister and Richard Montgomery Schell and built from 1901 and 1902. The building's original design was inspired by the Victorian Gothic, Neo-Grec, and Rundbogenstil styles. The Morse Building's corner location allowed it to have two full facades: the southern elevation on Beekman Street and the western elevation on Nassau Street. The design of the Morse Building contrasts with that of the Temple Court Building (now 5 Beekman Street) and Potter Building, from the same architects. Silliman and Farnsworth's choice of building materials was influenced by the then-recent "Great Fires" of Boston and Chicago. Brick and terracotta were used as a fireproof material. The terracotta was sourced from a Chicago firm while the brick was made by the Peerless Brick Company of Philadelphia. The project also involved Smith & Prodgers as plasterers, Morton & Chesley as carpenters, and Steward & Vanhorn as the decorators and painters. Numerous other contractors provided various materials for the building. The 1901–1902 expansion employed Charles Ward Hall, the building's then-owner, as chief engineer, and Hall & Grant Construction as general contractor. The building was originally 140 feet (43 m) tall, making it one of New York City's tallest buildings upon its completion. According to a 1879 count, the former New York Tribune Building and Western Union Telegraph Building were the tallest at 170 feet (52 m), excluding their ornamental clock towers. The completed building was said to be the tallest straight-walled building in the city, or even in the world. Taller structures, including the Tribune and Western Union buildings, had setbacks partway up their facades. The Morse Building was cited as the first structure to use raised vertical terracotta joints, which in turn were credited with preventing rain from washing out the mortar. It was also one of the first structures to use ornamental terracotta. ### Facade The current facade is divided into three horizontal sections: a two-story base, a six-story midsection from the original design, and a six-story upper section. The building's exterior walls are 4 feet (1.2 m) thick in the cellar and 3.5 feet (1.1 m) thick at the first floor, narrowing to 20 inches (510 mm) at the eighth floor. The facade was initially divided into four horizontal sections: a two-story base; two midsections of three stories; and an upper section of one full story, one attic story, and a cornice with a parapet. The current first floor was originally a raised basement. Prominent vertical pilasters subdivide the facade into three segments on Nassau Street and two on Beekman Street; these were designed to emphasize the horizontal lines as much as possible, in order to temper the perceived excessive height of the building. There are five bays facing Nassau Street, divided by the pilasters into a 2-1-2 pattern, and four bays facing Beekman Street, divided by the pilasters into two groups of two. The eastern facade is bare and contains arched windows. During the reconstruction, the lowest 40 feet (12 m) of the facade was refaced with 4-inch (100 mm) blocks of stone, while the rest of the original exterior was unchanged to a height of 122 feet (37 m). The first floor contains four storefront openings each facing Nassau and Beekman Streets, as well as an entrance to the residential units in the center bay on Nassau Street. The second floor has five rectangular windows on Nassau Street and four facing Beekman Street. The third- through eighth-story windows are set in brick and terracotta. On the current third and sixth stories (and in the original eighth story), each bay has two semicircular arched windows, while on the fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth stories, each bay has two flat-arched windows within a segmental arch. The segmental arches were evocative of those of the Tribune Building, and the red and black brick added emphasis to the facade. A fiberglass cornice runs above the eighth story. The ninth through thirteenth stories are set within brick. The pilasters from the lower stories continue upward, and each bay contains a single three-part window on each floor. A fiberglass cornice runs above the thirteenth story. There is a space between the tenth and eleventh story, between which was a balcony and cornice. The fourteenth story serves as an attic with another cornice above it. On the roof is an elevator room. ### Foundation At the bottom, the walls were offset to 6 feet (1.8 m), where they rested on 8-foot (2.4 m) continuous concrete footings, each of which was 2 feet (0.61 m) thick. The walls exert a pressure of 8,000 pounds per square foot (39,000 kg/m<sup>2</sup>) on the foundation, which descends to a layer of sand 25 feet (7.6 m) below curb level. The Morse Building's northern wall abuts 150 Nassau Street and was underpinned with brick and concrete during the construction of that building. The foundations of 150 Nassau Street descended to 35 feet (11 m) below ground level; the new footings installed during that project were only 6 feet (1.8 m) thick and were flush with the original wall. During the 1901–1902 expansion of the building, these footings were found to be insufficient to support the weight of the extra stories. A force of 12,000 pounds per square foot (578,200 Newtons per square meter) would have been exerted on these footings, causing unequal settlement. As a result, a trench was dug along the north wall below the sub-basement level. Four longitudinal distributing beams were installed, serving as grillages for short vertical center posts that rose to horizontal transverse girders; these transverse girders served as cantilevers, more evenly distributing the force placed on each footing. ### Features The floors were constructed of 15-inch-thick (380 mm) iron I-beams placed at intervals of 7 feet (2.1 m) and supported at both ends by brickwork. These beams were spanned by fireproof corrugated arches infilled with concrete. Two transverse partition walls, whose centers were 17 feet (5.2 m) apart, separate the building into three unequal sections from north to south. These partitions, along with the exterior walls, carry all of the iron beams. The partitions were also fireproof, since Smith & Prodgers covered them with laths of iron and layers of plaster. Post & McCord installed the iron beams in the frame with a steam derrick, marking the contractor's first use of that tool. The original building did not need to use any interior columns because its entire weight was supported on the exterior piers. When the upper six stories were constructed, the exterior walls were moved slightly and steel beams were installed to provide support for the frame. A "cap" of 36-inch (910 mm) beams was installed above the eighth floor, from which these steel beams descended to the lower stories. On the upper stories, eighteen steel beams were installed on the outer walls and five interior columns were placed atop grillage beams. The wall girders were concealed by the projecting eighth-floor belt course. Originally, the building had an iron stairway with marble and slate treads at its center. There were also two hydraulic elevators made by Otis and a dumbwaiter for items. There were water tanks with 4,500 U.S. gallons (17,000 L) of capacity. Fireplaces in each room connected to a steam-heating system, with a boiler and smokestack. The windows were glazed with plate glass while the hardware was made of bronze; the floors were made of wood. The original basement was 2 feet (0.61 m) below street level with a 12-foot (3.7 m) ceiling, and a flight of stairs connected to the original first story, which had a 18-foot (5.5 m) ceiling. During the 1901–1902 reconstruction, the lowest two floors were raised several feet, and a new staircase and three elevators made by the Portland Company were installed, replacing the old staircase and elevators. The original oil lamps and gas pipes were replaced with electric lighting and steam heating; the plumbing was replaced; and the boiler was brought to the top of the new roof. The Morse Building housed offices when it was completed, but in 1980, it was converted to 39 apartments with three units on each floor, ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 square feet (110 to 190 m<sup>2</sup>) in size. ## History ### Construction During the late 19th century, the surrounding area had grown into the city's "Newspaper Row". Several newspaper headquarters had been built on the adjacent Park Row, including the New York Times Building, the Potter Building, the Park Row Building, the New York Tribune Building, and the New York World Building. Meanwhile, printing was centered around Beekman Street. The previous building on the Morse Building's site was occupied by the religious newspaper The New-York Observer between 1840 and 1859. Richard Cary Morse and Sidney Edwards Morse were the Observer's founders; they were the brothers of Samuel Morse, who had invented Morse code and the electrical telegraph, and had used one of the Observer building's rooms to experiment with his invention. Richard and Sidney had an ownership stake in the land by 1845. The Observer moved across Nassau Street to the Old Brick Church site (now 41 Park Row) in 1859. The building was shared by other newspapers, which moved out during the mid-19th century. Savery's Temperance House was formed in one section of the building; it later became the Park Hotel, which was losing patronage by the 1870s because of bad management. In 1878, the Morse brothers transferred land ownership to their respective sons, Gilbert Livingston Morse and Sidney Edwards Morse Jr., who subsequently planned a speculative office building to replace the hotel. Plans for the demolition of the Park Hotel were announced in April, with work to commence the following month. Silliman and Farnsworth had been hired to design the speculative office building, containing banking quarters on the lower floors and offices on the upper floors. By June, work had started on the new building, to cost \$175,000. The Real Estate Record and Guide noted in 1879 that the "immense pile of masonry far overtopping adjoining structures" had thousands of bystanders. At the time, the top three floors had already been rented. Construction was completed in March 1880, at an ultimate cost of \$200,000. The original structure was 140 feet (43 m) when completed, and contained 175 offices. ### Early use Upon the Morse Building's completion, office buildings were being erected in Lower Manhattan, as part of a development trend that had started after the Panic of 1873. The Real Estate Record and Guide stated in 1882 that the Tribune, Times, Morse, and Temple Court buildings were close to the courts of the Civic Center, making these buildings ideal for lawyers. When the old New York World building across Nassau Street burned in January 1882, the lower floors of the Morse Building suffered minor damage. Some of the decorative elements and windows were damaged, and one of the Morse cousins characterized the responding firefighters' actions as vandalism, blaming them for allowing part of the World building to fall onto the Morse Building. Nonetheless, in an 1883 article, the Morses said that they were receiving a 10% return on the building. The Morse Building was reportedly constantly occupied by merchants and lawyers during the late 19th century. The building contained the office and rooftop studio of the Vitagraph Company of America, which became the first motion-picture company in America; the company filmed Burglar on the Roof, their "first posed picture", at the building in 1897 or 1898. Other establishments such as the New York Canoe Club and the Multiple Speed and Traction Company were also housed in the Morse Building. Gilbert Livingston Morse died in 1891, and a mortgage in his half-interest was given to Matilda C. McVicker. The next year, Sidney Jr. sold Gilbert's share of the building to lawyer Nathaniel Niles, who purchased the building as an investment. In 1894, when a crack appeared in the facade during construction of the adjacent 150 Nassau Street, there were fears that the Morse Building was structurally unstable, though engineers said it was not serious. The American Tract Society, who was constructing 150 Nassau Street, was held liable for damages. Sidney Jr. sold his own share to Niles in 1895, though Sidney Jr. kept an office there until he died in 1908. The Washington Life Insurance Company started foreclosure proceedings against Niles in 1898 for failure to pay the mortgage. Early next year, the Morse Building was placed for sale at a foreclosure auction, and after a three-week adjournment of the auction, Washington Life Insurance bought the building for \$601,000. In November 1900, Washington Life Insurance signed a contract with Charles Ward Hall to exchange the Morse Building with Hall's Hamilton Building at 125th Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem. At the time of the transaction, the buildings were worth \$1.5 million in total. The property title was transferred the next month. Hall planned to rename the Morse Building to the Hall Building and remodel the interior, which included lowering the entrance to street level. The Morse Building instead became known as the Nassau–Beekman Building, a move possibly inspired by the naming of 277 Broadway at Chambers Street as the Broadway–Chambers Building. The Nassau–Beekman Building was already seen as "small and old-fashioned", especially when compared with the adjacent 23-story building at 150 Nassau Street, despite having been completed only twenty years prior. ### Expansion Bannister and Schell filed plans for the expansion in December 1900, at which point work was estimated to cost \$150,000. Work started the following April. The expansion converted the former basement into a full story, increasing by one the floor number of all other stories. The lowest two stories were refaced in rusticated stone. The attic and the walls of the former eighth story were dismantled, and a temporary wooden roof and walls were built around the eighth story (which was slated to become the new ninth story). A new tenth story was built, and four additional brick-clad stories were erected to make the Nassau–Beekman Building a fourteen-story building. A cornice with large scroll brackets was built above the tenth story, supporting a balcony. The architects had to work around existing tenants with minimal interruption in operations. For instance, foundation work had to be done in two phases since the cellar tenant could only make half of the cellar available at any given time. Elevator service was also maintained throughout the project, and so work on the new elevators was done one floor at a time. The project faced several legal issues. A cafe owner at the Morse Building's ground level unsuccessfully tried to file an injunction to stop construction after Hall built a temporary bridge in front of the cafe to protect pedestrians; this decision was affirmed by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division. Another tenant refused to pay rent, claiming that he was being harassed due to construction, and Hall unsuccessfully tried to evict him. The project was completed by March 1902. ### Later history Several incidents involving the building's elevators occurred after the building's expansion. An elevator dropped two stories in 1904, leaving its occupants unharmed, and two people died in the elevator shafts in separate accidents in 1905 and 1907. Another incident in 1910 involved an elevator cab dropping 30 feet (9.1 m) and injuring six people. In addition, the building was damaged in 1916 by a fire at a nearby low-rise building on Beekman Street. Metropolitan Life Insurance foreclosed on the Nassau–Beekman Building in 1918 after Hall failed to pay the mortgage of \$600,000. The next year, the building was sold to William E. Harmon; at the time, the building was valued at \$1 million. Harmon's company, the United Cities Realty Corporation, renamed the building to the United Cities Realty Building. Ownership was later passed to Metropolitan Life in 1942; Nassau Offices Inc. in 1945; Peter I. Kenmore in 1951; and Clarendon Building Inc. in 1952. Around 1965, the base was remodeled in the neo-Classical style and the 10th-story cornice was removed, based on plans by John J. Tudda and Richard R. Scherer. Chatham Associates bought the property in 1968, a year after the Morse Building's tax lot was combined with an adjacent lot to the east. The New York World and Tribune buildings immediately to the north had been demolished in the 1950s and 1960s, and Pace College (later Pace University) built 1 Pace Plaza on the site of the latter. Pace also acquired the Morse Building and other nearby buildings in 1972, with plans to destroy them and build an office tower. These plans did not proceed and Pace University sold the Morse Building in 1979 to a joint venture composed of Martin Raynes and the East River Savings Bank. The building was converted the next year to a housing cooperative with 39 apartments. Minor modifications were made to the facade in 1995, with some pressed-metal elements being replaced with fiberglass. The pressed-metal cornice over the eighth floor was replaced around 2004 with a fiberglass cornice. Residents commenced an effort to give the Morse Building city landmark status in the 1990s, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as such on September 19, 2006. Additionally, on September 7, 2005, the Morse Building was designated as a contributing property to the Fulton–Nassau Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places district. ## Critical reception While Lower Manhattan's late-19th century skyscrapers generally received mixed reception, the building was mostly praised during its construction. American Architect and Building said in January 1879 that "the construction seems to have been carefully studied and well carried out". The same magazine said in July 1879 that "Many who watched the uprising walls wondered whether they would ever cease growing sky-wards", and applauded the building for exhibiting "contrast, diversity, and change". Another publication, The Manufacturer & Builder, said in June 1879 that the design was "decidedly agreeable in its general appearance as well as in its details". The Manufacturer and Builder mentioned the flat roof as a minor criticism, but that it was better than having a roof proportional to the building's height, which would be "extravagantly high" like the Tribune Building's "abominable roof". Upon the Morse Building's completion, several publications lauded the relatively simple design of the facade as well as the usage of brick and terracotta. Carpentry and Building magazine said, "Although there have been many tall buildings erected in New York of late years, this one outstrips them all". The Building News said that the Morse Building was "a very quiet and pleasing structure", rather than being gaudy. The Century Magazine stated in 1884 that the building's design was "not without evidence of effort in the right direction", especially when compared with nearby office structures, which were described as either "hideous" or "commonplace". Moses King, in his 1893 Handbook of New York, praised the use of brick and terracotta in the Morse Building, "a solid handsome structure". Architectural critic Montgomery Schuyler likewise said that the design was "impressive and dignified in the mass, and in many places exceedingly agreeable in detail", even though he had preferred the building to be five stories. When the building was expanded in the 1900s, Schuyler called it among the "last" and "best" of New York City's Gothic Revival buildings, but said that the new owner was spending "good money in spoiling what it would have cost him no money at all to leave alone". Modern architectural critics also discussed the effect of the building's articulation on its overall appearance. In 2006, Christopher Gray of The New York Times said "the completed Morse Building looked like two or three warehouses stacked on top of one another." Architectural writers Sarah Landau and Carl Condit said that the piers and articulation of the facade "imparted a quality of wholeness not typical of early skyscrapers." Architectural historian Robert A. M. Stern contrasted the Morse Building with the Boreel Building on Broadway, saying that the Morse Building's frontage on two narrow streets "robb[ed] it of a perspective". ## See also - List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
73,339,253
Basic Medicine
1,165,568,634
North Korean general medical journal
[ "1969 establishments in North Korea", "Academic journals established in 1969", "Academic journals of North Korea", "Education in Pyongyang", "General medical journals", "Quarterly journals" ]
Basic Medicine () is a North Korean quarterly general medical journal established in 1969 and published by the Science and Encyclopedia Publishing House (). The journal is subject to widespread publication bias and is far from international standard, lacking peer review, in-line citations, or an ethical code. Basic Medicine is produced primarily for domestic distribution, although it is one of ten North Korean medical journals available in South Korea. ## Format North Korean medical journals, including Basic Medicine, are broadly far from international standard. Each issue of Basic Medicine begins with a quotation from the ruling Kim family, a table of contents, and two to three unsigned editorials that reflect the government's positions. The following section, titled "Research Results", consists of articles filed under "General Remarks and Data", "Original Idea", "News", and "Legal Commentary". Articles for the journal include the names of the authors, but fail to include any other biographical information like institutional affiliation. Articles published in the journal rarely exceed two pages, lack abstracts, and rarely make use of tables, graphs, or images, which are commonly drawn by hand. The journal's rear cover includes various publication information, though the journal has sometimes omitted this information. Like other North Korean scientific journals, the journal does not mention any submission guidelines, an ethical code, a peer review process (though it does indicate that there is an editorial committee), or a subscription model. ## Research The journal covers topics relating to "the basic structure and functions of the human body", including diseases, the human body, and diagnostic technologies. Research published in the journal sometimes cites Chinese or Western authors, including from the British Journal of Cancer and Human Pathology, though the journal lacks up-to-date references. While articles published in the journal include some statistics, including p-values, they largely lack any specific statistical methods and lack epidemiological indices. North Korean propaganda is a consistent feature of the journal, which is subject to widespread publication bias. The journal also lacks in-line citations and articles rarely cite more than six references. Research published in Basic Medicine in 2013 suggested that malaria prevention efforts in the country were hurt by the rise of drug-resistant variants. Yonsei University public health professor Lee Hoon-sang noted that reports published in the journal demonstrated that the country had the ability to conduct PCR testing. ## Readership Basic Medicine is primarily published for domestic distribution. According to North Korea's Great Korean Encyclopedia, the journal's main readership comprises medical researchers, professionals, and educators. Basic Medicine is one of ten North Korean medical journals available in South Korea. ## See also - Health in North Korea - Education in North Korea
13,220,545
SMS Vineta (1897)
1,173,513,824
Protected cruiser of the German Imperial Navy
[ "1897 ships", "Ships built in Danzig", "Victoria Louise-class cruisers", "World War I cruisers of Germany" ]
SMS Vineta was a protected cruiser of the Victoria Louise class, built for the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) in the 1890s. Vineta was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in 1895, launched in April 1897, and commissioned into the Navy in July 1898. The ship, named for the semi-legendary medieval town of Vineta, was armed with a battery of two 21 cm guns and eight 15 cm guns and had a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Vineta served abroad in the American Station for the first several years of her career. While on station in the Americas, she participated in the Venezuela Crisis of 1902–1903 and bombarded several Venezuelan fortresses. She returned to Germany in 1905 and was used as a torpedo training ship in 1908. She was modernized in 1909–1911, after which she was used as a school ship for naval cadets. In November 1912, she participated in an international naval protest of the First Balkan War. At the outbreak of World War I, Vineta was mobilized into V Scouting Group, but served in front-line duty only briefly. She was used as a barracks ship after 1915, and ultimately sold for scrapping in 1920. ## Design In the early 1890s, elements in the German naval command structure grappled with what type of cruiser ought to be built to fulfill the various needs of the fleet. The Reichsmarineamt (RMA—Imperial Navy Office) preferred to build a combination of large cruisers of around 6,000 t (5,900 long tons) along the lines of SMS Kaiserin Augusta and significantly smaller vessels of about 1,500 t (1,476 long tons) to support them, while the Oberkommando der Marine (Naval High Command) argued that a uniform force of 3,000 t (2,953 long tons) cruisers was preferable. In the event, the RMA carried the day and three 6,000-ton cruisers were authorized in 1895. They resembled the larger Kaiser Friedrich III-class battleships, designed at the same time, albeit at reduced scale. The new cruisers proved to be unsatisfactory as fleet cruisers, because they were too slow and they lacked sufficient armor protection. They nevertheless provided good service as overseas cruisers and later as training ships. Vineta was 110.5 meters (362 ft 6 in) long overall and had a beam of 17.6 m (57 ft 9 in) and a draft of 7.08 m (23 ft 3 in) forward. As designed, she displaced 5,885 t (5,792 long tons), and at full load, her displacement rose to 6,705 t (6,599 long tons). Her propulsion system consisted of three vertical 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single screw propeller, with steam provided by twelve coal-fired Dürr boilers. Her engines were rated for 10,000 metric horsepower (9,900 ihp), and provided a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). The ship had a range of approximately 3,412 nautical miles (6,319 km; 3,926 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). She had a crew of 31 officers and 446 enlisted men. The ship was armed with a main battery of two 21 cm (8.3 in) SK L/40 guns in single gun turrets, one forward and one aft. The guns were supplied with 58 rounds of ammunition each. They had a range of 16,300 m (53,500 ft). Vineta also carried a secondary battery of eight 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/40 guns. Four were mounted in turrets amidships and the other four were placed in casemates, two abreast the conning tower and the others abreast the mainmast. These guns had a range of 13,700 m (44,900 ft). She also carried ten 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/35 guns for defense against torpedo boats. The gun armament was rounded out by ten 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Maxim machine cannon. She was also equipped with three 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes with eight torpedoes, two launchers were mounted on the broadside and the third was in the bow, all below the waterline. The ship was protected with Krupp armor; their deck was 4 cm (1.6 in) on the horizontal with sloped sides that were 10 cm (3.9 in) thick. Her main and secondary battery turrets had 10 cm thick sides and the secondary casemates had the same level of protection. The conning tower had 15 cm thick sides. ## Service history Vineta was ordered under the contract name "M" and was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Danzig in mid-1896. She was launched on 9 December 1897, and Admiral Friedrich von Hollmann gave a speech at the ceremony. After completing fitting-out work, which included installing facilities for a divisional staff, she was commissioned into the German navy on 13 September 1899. Under the command of Kapitän zur See (KzS–Captain at Sea) Hermann da Fonseca-Wollheim, the ship then began sea trials, which lasted until 24 March 1900; following these, she was sent back to the shipyard for repairs. In April, KzS von der Groeben relieved Fonseca-Wollheim, but he then died of a stroke on 19 May before Vineta could embark on her first major cruise abroad. As a result, Fonseca-Wollheim resumed command of the vessel. The ship then moved to Kiel to make preparations for the cruise, which began with Vineta's departure from Kiel on 26 May, bound for South America. ### American Station The ship reached Saint Lucia in the Lesser Antilles on 14 June, where she joined the American Station, which had been disbanded for several years; the previous station ship, the unprotected cruiser Geier, had been transferred away in 1898. Vineta then began a cruise along the coast of Venezuela and then through the Caribbean Sea. She visited New Orleans, United States, and then several ports in Mexico through January and February 1901 before returning to the Venezuelan coast. The ship arrived in Trinidad on 6 April, and from there, began a voyage south to visit the eastern coast of South America. In May, Vineta inspected Margarita Island off the coast of Venezuela for its potential as a naval base, but the Germans determined the port was insufficient for their purposes. The ship proceeded further southward, steaming as far as La Plata, Argentina, before returning north. She arrived back in Venezuelan waters by 1 August, stopping in La Guaira. While there, she received orders to remain in the area to protect German nationals and business interests during the Thousand Days' War that involved Venezuela and Colombia. The German naval command sent the unprotected cruiser Falke and the old screw corvettes Stein and Moltke. In addition to protecting Germans in the area, the deployment was intended as a show of force to compel the Venezuelan government to make reparations for grievances related to internal conflicts in the 1890s. On 6 October, two sailors from Vineta were arrested in Caracas, Venezuela, prompting the cruiser to send a landing party ashore in La Guaira to demand their release, which was quickly granted. Also that month, a German merchant vessel was fired upon off the coast of Venezuela; both of these incidents were resolved diplomatically. As the threat to German interests in the region proved to be less than expected, Vineta was sent to Newport News, United States, for periodic maintenance that lasted from 26 November to 17 December. While Vineta was under repair, KzS Oskar Stiege arrived to replace Fonseca-Wollheim. During that period, the Germans left Falke and Stein in La Guaira, but at the end of the year, Stein and Moltke left for home, though they were replaced by the light cruiser Gazelle, which arrived in February 1902. Vineta returned to Newport News for another overhaul from 19 May to 25 September. While the ship was in dry dock in June, Stiege fell ill and the ship's executive officer, Kapitänleutnant (Captain Lieutenant) Peter Lengerke, temporarily took command until KzS Georg Scheder arrived in August. After emerging from dry dock in September, Vineta steamed to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Earlier that month, in the middle of the civil war, the German gunboat Panther had sunk the Haitian gunboat Crête-à-Pierrot over the Markomannia incident. Falke arrived later, allowing Vineta to return to Venezuelan waters. #### Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 By this time, tensions between Venezuela and Britain, Germany, and Italy had risen significantly over measures that the Venezuelan president, Cipriano Castro, had imposed to try to suppress a rebellion, including a blockade of several coastal cities. Castro also suspended payments toward foreign debts. The German naval command instructed their ships in the region to free any German merchant vessels that were seized by the Venezuelan Navy by force if necessary. No incidents involving German ships materialized, however, but the European powers concluded an agreement on 1 December to put an end to the blockade. By that time, Germany had assembled a cruiser division led by Vineta, and including Falke, Gazelle, and Panther, along with the training ships Stein and Charlotte. The unit was formally organized as the East American Cruiser Division, and Scheder was given the title of Kommodore (Commodore). On 7 December, the Europeans gave Castro an ultimatum, which he ignored. Scheder then began to seize or neutralize Venezuelan warships, along with the British protected cruiser HMS Retribution and the destroyer HMS Quail, which were placed under his command. The ships carried out operations against the Venezuelan Navy between 10 and 14 December. Scheder sent Gazelle to capture the gunboat Restaurador while Vineta responded to a request for assistance from the German consul in La Guaira. She and Retribution send landing parties ashore to defend the consulate and then to protect British nationals in the area. On the 13th, the British merchant ship SS Topaze had been boarded and its crew arrested by Venezuelan forces. In response, the British protected cruiser HMS Charybdis bombarded the forts at Puerto Cabello, and enlisted Vineta in the attack. The ships shelled the fortresses Libertador and Vigia, destroying both, before freeing Topaze and her crew. The brazenness of the Anglo-German attack on the port convinced Castro to order the release of all British and German nationals who had been arrested. Because Castro refused to give into German and British demands, those countries declared a blockade of the Venezuelan coast on 20 December, which Italy also joined. At that time, the Germans had at their disposal Vineta, Falke, Gazelle, Panther, Charlotte, Stosch, and Restaurador, which had been put in service with a German crew. The HAPAG steamer SS Sibiria served as the division's collier. By that time, the British Vice Admiral Archibald Douglas had arrived aboard his flagship, the protected cruiser Ariadne; as the most senior naval officer in the area, he relieved Scheder as the commander of the international squadron. On 4 January 1903, the German landing party was sent to occupy Puerto Cabello and seize the ships in the harbor. On 17 January, Panther attacked Fort San Carlos in Maracaibo, but was repulsed after her bow 10.5 cm (4.1 in) gun jammed and could not be returned to action; she could not maneuver in the confined waters to bring her other guns to bear. Vineta therefore was sent to silence the guns on 21 January. During the bombardment of the fort, Vineta fired a total of twenty 21 cm and eighty-six 15 cm shells, setting it afire and destroying the fortress. The Venezuelan gunners had already evacuated and suffered no casualties. The United States, which viewed itself as the protector of South America under the Monroe Doctrine, had initially ignored the European intervention but took an increasingly hostile view toward the Europeans as they became more aggressive, particularly after the attack on Fort San Carlos. The Europeans nevertheless requested the United States to arbitrate a settlement, which resulted in an agreement that Venezuela would receive all of the naval and civilian vessels that had been seized in return for resuming debt payments. #### Subsequent activity The East American Cruiser Division remained in existence after the conclusion of operations against Venezuela. Vineta embarked on a tour of ports in the West Indies, including Santo Domingo, Haiti, where civil unrest had broken out. At some point during this period, one of Vineta's 15 cm ammunition magazines exploded, but did not cause major damage to the ship. The accident had significant long-term consequences, however, as it exposed the volatility of German propellant charges. The Germans therefore reworked the composition of the propellant, which was in service by 1914. This new, more stable propellant saved several German battlecruisers from destruction when their magazines were penetrated by British shells during World War I. She then steamed north to Halifax, Canada, for another overhaul that lasted from 27 June to 2 September. The other vessels of the division also dispersed to other ports for repairs, before rendezvousing in Saint Thomas in October. While Vineta lay there on 15 November, KzS Ludwig von Schröder arrived to replace Scheder as the commander of both the vessel and the division. Vineta cruised with the rest of the division through the West Indies in December 1903 and January 1904; this included a stop in New Orleans with the rest of the division in January. Vineta then visited Veracruz from 4 to 13 February before returning to various ports in the West Indies. She made another visit to New Orleans from 20 May to 11 July, during which time the ship was visited by President Theodore Roosevelt. Vineta next steamed to Charlotte Amalie, the capital of Saint Thomas. At that time, the island belonged to Denmark, but due to the country's weak economy, the Danish government was interested in selling Saint Thomas. Germany considered acquiring the island as a coaling station, but negotiations ultimately came to nothing. Vineta departed for a tour of the eastern coast of South America, stopping in several Brazilian ports before reaching Rio de Janeiro by October. While there on the 5th, Vineta received orders to cross the Atlantic to German South West Africa, which was then embroiled in a Herero rebellion against German colonial rule. The situation in the region was tense, as the neighboring Portuguese colony of Angola was delivering arms to the Herero rebels, and at the same time, the Russian Second Pacific Squadron had stopped to coal at Lüderitz Bay in German South West Africa, en route to its ultimate destruction at the Battle of Tsushima of the Russo-Japanese War. Vineta was not directly involved in any action in the colony, instead only assisting the steamer SS Gertrud Woermann in unloading soldiers, horses, and supplies, which had arrived on the night of 19–20 November. While she was in the area, Vineta was shadowed by the British cruiser HMS Barrosa and the Portuguese gunboat Cacongo. Vineta steamed north to Duala in the German colony of Kamerun in January 1905, where she received orders to return home. She arrived in Wilhelmshaven on 14 March, and the East American Cruiser Division was disbanded the following day. ### Later career Vineta was then assigned to the Torpedo Inspectorate on 30 March and was moved to Kiel, where she entered the Kaiserliche Werft there for conversion into a torpedo test ship. While the work was being carried out, the ship's crew was reduced. On 3 January 1906, she returned to service with the Torpedo Testing Command, along with the light cruiser München. The latter was initially the flagship of the unit, but Vineta replaced her in that role on 3 March. In June, Korvettenkapitän (KK—Corvette Captain) Eberhard von Mantey took command of the ship, though he served in the position for just a month before being replaced by KzS Schäfer. He was in turn relieved by Fregattenkapitän (FK—Frigate Captain) Friedrich Schultz in October. In 1907, the ship was used to test wireless telegraphy equipment from 21 March to 5 April. After completing the tests, she joined the ships of the Training and Testing Unit for a cruise to visit Vigo, Spain, that lasted from 15 April to 4 May. Vineta trained with the main fleet during its annual maneuvers, held from 25 August to 7 September; she served with the fleet's reconnaissance screen for the exercises. Vineta cruised with the Training and Testing Unit from 30 March to 25 April 1908. She then went into dry-dock for periodic maintenance from 6 July to 5 September, by which time the new armored cruiser Friedrich Carl had replaced her in the Torpedo Testing Command. Vineta was accordingly decommissioned in Danzig. The naval command then made the decision to convert Vineta into a training ship for naval cadets and apprentice seamen. She went to dry dock at the Kaiserliche Werft in Danzig for an extensive refit. The ship was re-boilered with Marine-type water-tube boilers. Vineta originally had three funnels, and during the modernization they were reduced to two. The refit was finished by early 1911, and Vineta was recommissioned for the third time on 29 March, under the command of KzS Karl Sievers. She embarked a contingent of naval cadets for a cruise to Norway that lasted from 7 June to 25 July, followed by a longer cruise back to the West Indies that began on 4 August and concluded with her return to Germany on 9 March 1912. After exchanging her cadets for another cohort for the 1912–1913 training year, she made a short cruise in July to visit Stockholm, Sweden, and Libau, Russia. That year's long-distance cruise went to the Mediterranean Sea that year, and began on 6 August 1912. The ship cruised in the western Mediterranean later that year, along with her sister Hertha. The old cruiser Geier was also in the region. As the Bulgarian army was poised to march on Constantinople during the First Balkan War, the Great Powers deployed a naval force to ensure the safety of foreign nationals in the Ottoman Empire. Vineta and the battlecruiser Goeben were sent to Constantinople as part of this force, Goeben arriving there on 15 November and Vineta joining her on 9 December. At that time, the Germans created the Mediterranean Division, which included both ships. The international fleet sent ashore a force of around 3,000 officers and men. The force was withdrawn to Crete after a ceasefire seemed imminent, but by February 1913 fighting again broke out, and the island was seized by Greece. In the meantime, Vineta had gone to Alexandria, Egypt, on 2 January, where she began the voyage back to Germany, arriving in Kiel on 5 March. FK Wilhelm Adelung relieved Sievers; he served as the ship's final captain. She took another group of cadets on a voyage in the Baltic Sea shortly thereafter. On 11 August, Vineta began her last overseas cruise, again to South American and West Indian waters. Another period of domestic unrest had broken out in Haiti in January 1914, leading Vineta to steam to Port-au-Prince to protect German nationals in the city. There, she met the US dreadnought battleship USS South Carolina and the armored cruiser USS Montana. All three ships sent landing parties ashore to protect their respective nationals. At that time, the Haitian president, Michel Oreste abdicated, and he and his family came aboard Vineta to be carried into exile. She later transferred Oreste and his family to the steamer SS Prinz Eitel Friedrich, which took them to Colombia, where they went into exile. Vineta returned to Kiel on 16 March. She went on a tour of Swedish ports, including Stockholm, Visby, and Gothenburg, along with Glücksburg, Germany, over the summer of 1914, shortly before the outbreak of World War I. Vineta had a short career during World War I. At the outbreak of hostilities, she was in the Kaiserliche Werft in Wilhelmshaven, undergoing periodic maintenance. She was briefly mobilized into V Scouting Group, and from 27 August, was stationed in the western Baltic on patrol duty. She participated in a sweep eastward as far as Bornholm, but encountered no enemy vessels. Another sortie followed on 20 October, which advanced as far as Lyserort, Russia, but again, met no resistance from the Russian Baltic Fleet. By November 1914, the naval command decided to withdraw the ships from service, owing to their weak armor protection. Initially left unused in Kiel, she was reduced to a barracks ship for U-boat crews. She served in that capacity through the end of the war in November 1918. She was stricken from the naval register on 6 December 1919 and sold to ship breakers in Harburg. She was scrapped the following year. ## See also - Vineta provisional, a famous stamp issued on SMS Vineta in 1901.
1,346,921
Royal Rumble (2005)
1,165,138,025
World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event
[ "2005 WWE pay-per-view events", "2005 in California", "Events in California", "January 2005 events in the United States", "Professional wrestling in California", "Royal Rumble" ]
The 2005 Royal Rumble was the 18th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on January 30, 2005, at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For the 2005 event, the winner received their choice to challenge for either Raw's World Heavyweight Championship or SmackDown!'s WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. Five professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The main event was the 2005 Royal Rumble match, which featured wrestlers from both brands. Raw's Batista, the 28th entrant, won the match by last eliminating SmackDown!'s John Cena, the 25th entrant. The primary match on the Raw brand was Triple H versus Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Triple H won by pinfall to retain the title. The primary match on the SmackDown! brand was a triple threat match for the WWE Championship between reigning champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), Kurt Angle, and Big Show, which JBL won by pinning Angle. No tag team match was featured on the card, which made this the first PPV since The Wrestling Classic in 1985 to not include one. ## Production ### Background The Royal Rumble is an annual gimmick pay-per-view (PPV) produced every January by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four". It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. The 2005 event was the 18th Royal Rumble and was scheduled to be held on January 30, 2005, at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. It featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown! brands. The Royal Rumble match generally features 30 wrestlers. Traditionally, the winner of the match earns a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For 2005, the winner could choose to challenge for either Raw's World Heavyweight Championship or SmackDown!'s WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. ### Storylines The event comprised five matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, with storylines produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown. The main feud heading into the Royal Rumble on the Raw brand was between Triple H and Randy Orton over the World Heavyweight Championship. Their feud started on the August 16 episode of Raw, when Orton was kicked out of Evolution by Triple H. At Unforgiven, Triple H defeated Orton to win the World Heavyweight Championship after interference from Evolution members Batista and Ric Flair. At Survivor Series, Team Orton (Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Maven) defeated Team Triple H (Triple H, Edge, Batista, and Snitsky) in a traditional Survivor Series elimination match to earn control of Raw after Orton last eliminated Triple H. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H won an Elimination Chamber match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship by last eliminating Orton after interference from Batista and Flair. On the January 10 episode of Raw, Orton defeated Batista to become the number one contender for the title at the Royal Rumble. On the January 17 episode of Raw, after a verbal confrontation between the two in the arena, Triple H ambushed Orton backstage. They fought until Orton tried to use a steel chair, and Triple H fled. On the January 24 episode of Raw, Orton defeated Flair, despite interference from Triple H. The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), The Big Show, and Kurt Angle, with the three feuding over the WWE Championship. On the December 16 episode of SmackDown!, Angle challenged JBL to a match for the WWE Championship. The Cabinet (Orlando Jordan, Doug, and Danny Basham) interfered and attacked Angle, causing the match to end via disqualification. They continued to attack Angle after the match until Big Show came out, beat down everyone, and signaled to JBL that he wanted the title. On the December 30 episode of SmackDown!, a triple threat match for the title between the three was booked for the Royal Rumble. Following this, JBL set up Angle to anger Big Show, but Angle angered JBL in response. After realizing this, on the January 20 episode of SmackDown!, JBL aligned himself with Big Show and confronted Angle; however, JBL turned on Big Show and beat him down with Angle. On the January 27 episode of SmackDown!, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long booked a Last Man Standing match between JBL and Angle for later that night. The two eventually turned on each other, and the match ended in a no contest. It was later revealed that the match was Big Show's idea. Another feud heading into the event from SmackDown! was between The Undertaker and Heidenreich. Their feud first started at No Mercy when Heidenreich helped John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) defeat The Undertaker in a Last Ride match by attacking The Undertaker and putting him in the hearse. At Survivor Series, The Undertaker defeated Heidenreich after executing a Tombstone Piledriver. At Armageddon, Heidenreich once again cost The Undertaker the WWE Championship against JBL after interfering in a fatal four-way match that involved Booker T and Eddie Guerrero, allowing JBL to pin Booker T to retain. SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long let The Undertaker name the stipulation for his match against Heidenreich at the Royal Rumble. As Heidenreich mentioned his fear of caskets, The Undertaker chose to face him in a casket match for the Royal Rumble their first casket match at the event since the 1998 event involved with Shawn Michaels and the third occurrence the other was in the 1994 event involved with Yokozuna. A preliminary Raw brand feud was between Shawn Michaels and Edge. Their feud started at Taboo Tuesday when Michaels was voted over Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship while Edge and Benoit were put into a World Tag Team Championship match against La Résistance. During the tag team title match, an angry Edge abandoned Benoit, which Benoit eventually won for his team, and instead interfered in the World Heavyweight Championship match, costing Michaels the championship. At New Year's Revolution, Edge competed in an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship with Michaels as the special guest referee. During the match, Edge accidentally speared Michaels, resulting in Michaels performing Sweet Chin Music on Edge, who would be eliminated by Chris Jericho. On the January 10 episode of Raw, a confrontation between Edge and Michaels ended in the two men brawling around the arena. A match between the two was then booked for the Royal Rumble. ## Event ### Preliminary matches Before the event went live on pay-per-view, Maven defeated Rhyno in a match taped for Sunday Night Heat. The first match was between Edge and Shawn Michaels. Edge mocked Michaels by performing some of Michaels' signature taunts. Edge gained the advantage after an Edge-O-Matic on the floor. Edge performed a spear on the floor on Michaels; in the ring, Edge executed another spear on Michaels for a near-fall. After countering Edge, Michaels executed a diving elbow drop on Edge. Edge countered Sweet Chin Music into an electric chair drop for a near-fall. Edge applied the Edgecator on Michaels, but Michaels broke the hold. Michaels attempted a roll-up, but Edge pinned Michaels with a roll-up using the ropes to win the match. The second match was a Casket match between The Undertaker and Heidenreich. The match started back and forth until Heidenreich sent Undertaker into the casket. Undertaker applied the triangle choke until Gene Snitsky interfered and attacked Undertaker. Snitsky and Heidenreich attacked The Undertaker and called for the casket to be opened but Kane was revealed to be inside the casket. He attacked Snitsky and Heidenreich and fought Snitsky throughout the arena. Heidenreich sent Undertaker into the steel steps and pushed the casket into him. Heidenreich put Undertaker in the casket after applying the cobra clutch but Undertaker stopped the lid from closing. Heidenreich put Undertaker in the casket again but Undertaker countered. Undertaker executed a chokeslam and a Tombstone Piledriver and put Heidenreich in the casket to win the match. The third match was a triple threat match for the WWE Championship between John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), The Big Show, and Kurt Angle. Angle stayed on the outside of the ring as Big Show and JBL fought. After Angle broke up a pinfall attempt, Big Show attacked both men. Angle hit Big Show with a television monitor, causing him to fall through a broadcast announce table. Later, Big Show executed a chokeslam on JBL but JBL placed his foot on the ropes to void the pinfall. Big Show tackled JBL through the barricade and performed a flapjack to Angle onto a chair. Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak and Doug and Danny Basham attacked Big Show as Orlando Jordan helped JBL back into the ring. JBL executed a Clothesline from Hell on Angle to retain the title. The fourth match was between Triple H and Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship. Before the match, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff banned Evolution (Batista and Ric Flair) from ringside. Orton had the advantage until Triple H countered an RKO by throwing Orton out of the ring. Triple H kept the advantage and targeted Orton's left knee until Orton knocked him into a broadcast table. Orton kept the advantage until he missed a DDT. Triple H knocked both Orton and the referee down with a clothesline and tried to hit Orton with a sledgehammer but Orton pulled him into the ringpost. Triple H performed another clothesline and a Pedigree to retain the title. ### Main event match The main event was the Royal Rumble match. Before the match, Kurt Angle stole Nunzio's entrance number and replaced him in the match. The participants divided into their brands and fought against each other, working together to eliminate Muhammad Hassan, the thirteen entrant (who had garnered heat at the time). Scotty 2 Hotty, the fifteenth entrant, was attacked by Hassan during his entrance and never entered the match. Angle, the twentieth entrant, dominated upon entering until Shawn Michaels eliminated him. Angle came back to eliminate Michaels and attacked him. The final four participants remaining were Batista, John Cena, Edge, and Rey Mysterio. Edge fought with Mysterio, executing a spear to eliminate Mysterio. Cena and Batista then eliminated Edge as he was attacking them. Cena tried to perform an FU on Batista but Batista countered. Batista then attempted a Batista Bomb, but was countered with a headscissors takedown by Cena, sending both over the top rope and touching the floor at the same time. The referees for the Raw brand believed Batista to be the winner while the SmackDown! referees believed Cena to be winner. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon came to the ring, in the process legitimately tearing both his quadriceps muscles when his knees were caught on the apron, with the planned finish and attempt to restart the match botched, and ordered the match to be restarted with the final two participants. Batista eliminated Cena following a spinebuster to win the match. ## Aftermath The following weeks on Raw surrounded Batista's choice of which champion to face at WrestleMania 21. Triple H devised a scheme to have Batista almost run over by a limousine resembling John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL)'s, so Batista would challenge JBL instead of himself. Batista became aware of the scheme and chose to face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, thus leaving the Evolution stable in the process. He won the title, and their feud continued until he was drafted to SmackDown! on June 30. Batista remained champion until the January 13, 2006, episode of SmackDown! when he vacated the title due to injury. John Cena went on to win a tournament to become the number one contender to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. The tournament concluded in a match between him and Kurt Angle at No Way Out, which Cena won after performing an FU. Following this, he began an angle with JBL. Cena defeated JBL to win the title at WrestleMania, and their feud ended after Cena retained the title in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day. Cena would then go to hold on to the title until New Year's Revolution 2006 when Edge cashed in the Money in the Bank contract he won at Wrestlemania 21 and defeat Cena after an Elimination Chamber match. Following the Royal Rumble, Randy Orton and Kurt Angle began feuding with The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, respectively. The Big Show faced JBL in the first ever barbed wire Steel Cage match for the title at No Way Out, which JBL won to retain the title. Orton briefly feuded with Christian before moving on to feud with The Undertaker, which spanned nine months. After losing his title match at No Way Out, The Big Show faced Akebono in a sumo match at WrestleMania, and he briefly feuded with Carlito afterwards. During the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery in June, the World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship switched brands. ## Results ### Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations – Raw – SmackDown! – Winner Scotty was attacked by Hassan before he made it to the ring, and therefore was unable to compete and never officially entered the match. Kurt Angle had been eliminated by Shawn Michaels and then returned to the ring, and eliminated Michaels in retaliation.
11,030,679
U.S. Route 13 Business (Wilmington, Delaware)
1,165,104,061
Business route in Wilmington, Delaware
[ "Special routes of the United States Numbered Highway System", "Transportation in New Castle County, Delaware", "U.S. Highways in Delaware", "U.S. Route 13", "Wilmington, Delaware" ]
U.S. Route 13 Business (US 13 Bus.) is an 8.19-mile (13.18 km) business route of US 13 that runs through the heart of the city of Wilmington in New Castle County, Delaware, where US 13 bypasses downtown Wilmington to the east, running near Interstate 495 (I-495) and the Delaware River. US 13 Bus. begins at I-495 and US 13 at the southern border of Wilmington and heads north toward the downtown area, where it splits into a one-way pair. Past downtown, the business route heads through the northeastern part of the city on North Market Street before continuing through suburban Brandywine Hundred on Philadelphia Pike. US 13 Bus. reaches its northern terminus at US 13 in Claymont. US 13 Bus. is a four-lane road for much of its length. The Philadelphia Pike was built as a turnpike in the 1820s and improved to a state highway by 1920. US 13 was designated to run through downtown Wilmington and along Philadelphia Pike in 1926. During the 1930s, US 13 was shifted from Market Street to a one-way pair on Market and French streets before both directions were moved onto French Street through downtown Wilmington. In the 1950s, the route was shifted to Walnut and French streets in the downtown area. The Walnut Street extension south of downtown, which included a new bridge over the Christina River, opened in 1957. US 13 Bus. was designated in 1970 when US 13 was routed to bypass Wilmington along the former US 13 Alternate (US 13 Alt.) The business route was moved to its current one-way pairing on Walnut and King street in the 1970s. ## Route description US 13 Bus. branches off of US 13 at the southern edge of the city of Wilmington, just north of I-495. From here, the business route heads north on four-lane divided South Walnut Street. Immediately after beginning, the route has a southbound ramp to southbound I-495 and intersects Rogers Road. US 13 Bus. heads through commercial areas, becoming undivided as it comes to a bridge over Norfolk Southern Railway's Shellpot Secondary railroad line. The route splits into a one-way pair, with the northbound direction following South Walnut Street and the southbound direction following South Market Street, with three northbound lanes and four southbound lanes. The route heads west of Chase Fieldhouse, which is home to the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. The road passes businesses, a few homes, and the Christina Landing condominium complex (which includes the River Tower at Christina Landing, the tallest residential building in Delaware) before the business route crosses the Christina River on the Walnut Street Bridge northbound and the South Market Street Bridge southbound, both of which are drawbridges. US 13 Bus. heads into downtown Wilmington and crosses under Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad line at Wilmington station that serves Amtrak and SEPTA's Wilmington/Newark Line. Immediately after, the business route intersects the eastern terminus of Delaware Route 48 (DE 48), which follows Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/Front Street eastbound and 2nd Street westbound, while the northbound direction passes west of the Wilmington Transit Center serving DART First State busses. At this point, US 13 Bus. continues north to follow North Walnut Street northbound and North King Street southbound, with four northbound lanes and three southbound lanes. The road passes downtown businesses and intersects DE 9 (4th Street) south of the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center (the county courthouse for New Castle County). Continuing through the downtown, the business route carries three lanes in each direction and runs near high-rise buildings, with southbound US 13 Bus. passing to the east of Delaware College of Art and Design north of 6th Street. Further north, the southbound direction passes east of Rodney Square between 10th and 11th streets before the route comes to a junction with the southern terminus of DE 52, which follows 11th Street eastbound (southbound) and 12th Street westbound (northbound). At the north end of downtown, northbound US 13 Bus. turns west on 16th Street to rejoin the southbound direction. From here, US 13 Bus. heads north on four-lane undivided North Market Street and crosses Brandywine Creek. After the bridge, the road curves northeast and becomes a three-lane road with one northbound lane and two southbound lanes, passing urban residential and commercial development as it comes to an intersection with the southern terminus of DE 202 (Concord Avenue). The route becomes a two-lane road and passes more urban areas along with a couple cemeteries. US 13 Bus. widens to four lanes again as it heads out of Wilmington and into suburban Brandywine Hundred, with the name of the road changing to Philadelphia Pike. Here, the business route crosses Shellpot Creek and intersects DE 3 and Shipley Road, forming a concurrency with DE 3. The two routes pass suburban homes and businesses, crossing Marsh Road before DE 3 splits from US 13 Bus. by heading to the northwest. US 13 Bus. runs along the northwestern edge of the town of Bellefonte before it passes to the southeast of Bellevue State Park. The business route crosses Stoney Creek as it continues northeast through residential neighborhoods with scattered businesses, heading through Holly Oak and intersecting Silverside Road before it crosses Perkins Run and reaches Claymont. At Harvey Road, the road narrows to two travel lanes and a center turn lane until the business route intersects US 13 and reaches its northern terminus, with Philadelphia Pike continuing northeast as part of US 13. The portion of the route between A Street and DE 9 (4th Street) in Wilmington is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, a Delaware Byway. The section of US 13 Bus. between DE 9 in Wilmington and US 13 in Claymont is part of the Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, a National Historic Trail. US 13 Bus. has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 31,480 vehicles at DE 48 in Wilmington to a low of 7,684 vehicles at the DE 3 intersection near Bellefonte. US 13 Bus. is a part of the National Highway System between the southern terminus and DE 202 in Wilmington. ## History In 1813, the Wilmington and Philadelphia Turnpike Company was chartered to build a turnpike running from the Brandywine Bridge in Wilmington northeast to the Pennsylvania border, where the roadway would continue to Philadelphia. A 3.75-mile (6.04 km) long portion of the road near Wilmington was finished in 1816 with the remainder completed in 1823. With the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, the Philadelphia Pike was to be improved by the state. The Philadelphia Pike was upgraded to a state highway by 1920. The Philadelphia Pike was designated part of a branch of the Lincoln Highway and part of the Capitol Trail in the 1910s, which continued west of Wilmington to Newark and the Maryland border along the present-day DE 2 corridor, then south to Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. In 1925, recommendations were made to improve the South Market Street Causeway over the Christina River in Wilmington, which included a new bridge over the river. Construction on the drawbridge began in May 1926. In 1927, the new drawbridge, the four-lane South Market Street Bridge, opened over the Christina River on South Market Street in Wilmington, replacing a previous drawbridge that was only two lanes wide. With the creation of the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926, US 13 was routed to head through Wilmington along Market Street and to the northeast of Wilmington along Philadelphia Pike. In 1926, the Delaware State Highway Department suggested the Philadelphia Pike be widened. US 13 was widened along the Philadelphia Pike between Shellpot Park and Bellevue Quarry in 1927. In 1928, the widening of Philadelphia Pike was completed. By 1932, US 13 was split into the one-way pair of French Street northbound and Market Street southbound in the downtown area. Both directions of the route was shifted to use French Street by 1936. On July 18, 1938, the grade crossing with the Reading Railroad (now abandoned) and the Pennsylvania Railroad (now Norfolk Southern Railway's Shellpot Secondary) on South Market Street in Wilmington was eliminated with the opening of a bridge over the railroad tracks. In 1952, a new bridge over the Christina River, the Walnut Street Bridge, was proposed to link Walnut Street in the downtown area with the Dupont Parkway section of US 13 south of the city. Under this plan, the Walnut Street Bridge would be used for northbound traffic while the South Market Street Bridge would be used for southbound traffic. By this time, US 13 was routed on a one-way pair in the downtown area, using Walnut Street northbound and French Street southbound. A year later, the Walnut Street Bridge project was under contract. Construction on the project began in 1955. Construction of the Walnut Street Extension, which included the drawbridge, approach roads, and a new bridge under the Pennsylvania Railroad (now Amtrak's Northeast Corridor), was completed in 1957. As a result, US 13 was split into the one-way pair of South Walnut Street northbound and South Market Street southbound between the south end of the city and downtown. Plans were made to widen the Philadelphia Pike to a four-lane road between Bellevue Road and Claymont in 1954. The widening project was completed in 1956. US 13 Bus. was established in 1970, replacing the former alignment of US 13 through Wilmington that was shifted to bypass the city along the former US 13 Alt. By 1976, southbound US 13 Bus. was shifted to use King Street instead of French Street through downtown Wilmington. ## Major intersections ## See also
71,872,804
2022 New York City Marathon
1,150,354,057
51st running of the marathon
[ "2022 in American sports", "2022 in sports in New York City", "2022 marathons", "New York City Marathon", "November 2022 sports events in the United States" ]
The 2022 New York City Marathon, the 51st running of that city's premier long-distance race, was held on November 6, 2022. The race followed its traditional route, which passes through all five boroughs of New York City. 47,839 people finished the event. It was the warmest New York City Marathon on record, with peak temperatures of 75 °F (24 °C). The elite races were won by Evans Chebet and Sharon Lokedi, both from Kenya, in 2:08:41 and 2:23:23 respectively. The wheelchair competitions were won by Marcel Hug of Switzerland and Susannah Scaroni of the United States, in course record times of 1:25:26 and 1:42:43 respectively. ## Background After the 2021 event was limited to 33,000 competitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 edition was expected to have up to 50,000 competitors. All competitors were required to wear face coverings in the race start area. The 2022 New York City Marathon was sponsored by Indian company Tata Consultancy Services. The prize money for the winners of the elite men and women's event was \$100,000. The winners of the wheelchair races received \$25,000 each, and there were prizes of \$50,000 for breaking the course record. The total prize fund was \$870,000. For the first time, the event awarded prize money for non-binary athletes, with a top prize of \$5,000 for the fastest non-binary finisher. The prize money for the non-binary category was awarded by New York Road Runners, whereas the World Marathon Majors awarded prize money for athletes in the male and female gender categories. ### Course The marathon distance is 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi) long as sanctioned by World Athletics. The New York City Marathon starts at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. The runners cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into mostly-flat Brooklyn where for the next 12 miles (19.3 km) they pass through Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Park Slope, Fort Greene, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Williamsburg. The course then enters Queens by crossing over the Pulaski Bridge; the mid-point of the race is on that bridge. After a short time in Queens, the race crosses the Queensboro Bridge at mile 14 (22.5 km), and enters Manhattan where competitors run north on First Avenue for 3 miles (4.8 km). The runners cross the Willis Avenue Bridge, where they enter The Bronx for 2 miles (3.2 km) from mile 19 (30.6 km). The course then re-enters Manhattan via the Madison Avenue Bridge for the final 6.2 miles (10.0 km). After running through Harlem, there is a slight uphill section along Fifth Avenue before it flattens out and runs parallel to Central Park. The course then enters the park around mile 24 (38.6 km), passes Columbus Circle at mile 25 (40.2 km) and re-enters the park for the finish. ## Field The elite men's competition featured 2021 winner Albert Korir, although over 10 athletes at the event had a faster personal best time than Korir. Other favorites included Evans Chebet, who won the 2022 Boston Marathon and had the fastest personal best time of any competitor at this event, Abdi Nageeye, who came second in the marathon event at the 2020 Summer Olympics and was the Dutch record holder, and Shura Kitata, who won the 2020 London Marathon. South American record holder Daniel Ferreira do Nascimento also competed. American athletes in the event included 36-year old Galen Rupp in his final marathon event, Jared Ward, Scott Fauble and Leonard Korir. Elkanah Kibet, the best finishing American at the 2021 event, withdrew after being called up by the US Army to serve abroad. The elite women's event featured Gotytom Gebreslase, who won the marathon event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and the 2021 Berlin Marathon. Other competitors included Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, who won a medal at the 2022 World Championships, Edna Kiplagat, a former double World Champion, Senbere Teferi and Jess Piasecki. Hellen Obiri made her marathon debut at this race. She had previously won World Championship medals in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters events. Americans in the race included Aliphine Tuliamuk, who won the US trial event prior to the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sara Hall, Emma Bates and Keira D'Amato. Peres Jepchirchir, who won the 2021 race, was originally scheduled to compete, but withdrew in October 2022. The men's wheelchair event featured 2021 winner Marcel Hug, as well as Daniel Romanchuk, who won the 2018 and 2019 races. Other competitors included twice former winner Ernst van Dyk, Aaron Pike, who came second at the 2022 Boston Marathon, Johnboy Smith, who came second at the 2017 New York City Marathon and American Hermin Garic. The women's wheelchair race featured 2021 winner Madison de Rozario, who also won the marathon event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Other competitors included five-time former winner Tatyana McFadden, three-time champion Manuela Schär and American Susannah Scaroni. ## Race summary The wheelchair races commenced at 08:00 EST (13:00 UTC), the handcycle event started at 08:22 EST, the elite women's race began at 08:40 EST and the elite men's competition commenced at 09:05 EST. The events took place in record warm temperatures, as the high in New York City set a daily record at 75 °F (24 °C). The temperatures inhibited fast times in the elite races. The elite men's event was won by Kenyan Evans Chebet, in his first New York City Marathon. He was the first man since 2013 to win the New York City and Boston Marathons in the same year, and his victory also meant that Kenyan men had won all of the six World Marathon Majors in 2022. Brazilian Daniel do Nascimento led for much of the race, and at the halfway point, he had a lead of over two minutes on the chasing group. Chebet broke away from the chasing group as the race first entered into Manhattan. After 18 miles (29 km), do Nascimento had to take an unscheduled toilet break, and he collapsed after 20 miles (32 km), requiring medical attention. In the aftermath of do Nascimento's collapse, the lead vehicle almost crashed into Evans Chebet as he was overtaking do Nascimento. Chebet finished in a time of 2:08:41, which was a few seconds ahead of Shura Kitata, who finished second. Dutchman Abdi Nageeye finished third overall, whilst 2021 winner Albert Korir was seventh. Scott Fauble was the best finishing American athlete in ninth place overall; Galen Rupp had been ahead of Fauble, but dropped out after 30 kilometres (19 mi). The elite women's event was won by marathon debutante Sharon Lokedi in a time of 2:23:23. After 16 miles (26 km), Gotytom Gebreslase, Viola Cheptoo and Hellen Obiri broke away from the main field, but were caught by Lokedi and Lonah Chemtai Salpeter after 21 miles (34 km). As the race entered Central Park, Lokedi, Salpeter and Gebreslase were leading the race, and Lokedi took the lead in the final 1 mile (1.6 km) of the race, finishing seven seconds ahead of Salpeter. Gebreslase finished third overall. Lokedi was an unexpected race winner, and after the race, it was revealed that due to her low profile, she had not been on the Athletics Integrity Unit's list of athletes who had to take drug tests before competing. Lokedi did take a drug test after her victory. The highest placed American was seventh-placed Aliphine Tuliamuk, who was one place ahead of Emma Bates. The men's wheelchair competition was won by Marcel Hug of Switzerland in a course record time of 1:25:26, nearly four minutes faster than Kurt Fearnley's previous record which had been set in 2006. Hug took the lead on the exit of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and at the halfway point, he had a lead of 79 seconds over second-placed Daniel Romanchuk. Hug finished over two minutes ahead of Romanchuk, who came second, with Jetze Plat third. It was Hug's fifth New York City Marathon victory, tying him for most wins with Fearnley and Tatyana McFadden. Hug received \$50,000 for breaking the course record, and confirmed his World Marathon Majors title with the win. Hug had won five of the six World Marathon Majors in 2022, three of them in course record times. The women's wheelchair event was won by American Susannah Scaroni in a course record time of 1:42:43; her time was 21 seconds better than the previous record, which had been set by Tatyana McFadden in 2015. It was Scaroni's first New York City Marathon victory. Scaroni took the lead within the first 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of the race, and had a lead of 2 minutes 44 seconds at halfway. Manuela Schär finished two and a half minutes behind in second and Madison de Rozario was third overall. ### Non-elite race The mass participation event began in five waves between 09:10 and 11:30 EST. In total, there were 47,839 finishers, of whom 26,608 were male, 21,186 were female and 45 were non-binary. New York City resident Jacob Caswell was the fastest non-binary finisher. They were also the second fastest non-binary finisher in 2021, though no prize money was awarded that year in the non-binary division. Sportspeople who raced included Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen, Olympic ice hockey gold medalist Meghan Duggan, former tennis player Monica Puig, IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe, former American footballer Tiki Barber, 800 meters runner Alysia Montaño and sportscaster Nicole Briscoe. Non-sporting celebrities who competed included actors Ashton Kutcher, Claire Holt, Lauren Ridloff, Ellie Kemper and Sierra Boggess, Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former US President Bill Clinton, TV presenters Amy Robach and Nev Schulman, YouTuber Casey Neistat, television personality Matt James and Oz Pearlman, who finished third in season 10 of America's Got Talent. ## Results ### Men ### Women ### Wheelchair men ### Wheelchair women ### Handcycle men ### Handcycle women
18,250,970
Tony King (EastEnders)
1,173,790,259
Fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders
[ "British male characters in television", "EastEnders characters", "Fictional criminals in soap operas", "Fictional people from Manchester", "Fictional prisoners and detainees", "Fictional rapists", "Fictional suicides", "Male villains", "Television characters introduced in 2008" ]
Tony King is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Chris Coghill. He was the partner of established character Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer), and a father-figure to her four children. Tony sexually abused Bianca's stepdaughter, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), and began grooming her school-friend Lauren Branning (Madeline Duggan), before his predatory nature was uncovered and he was arrested for his crimes. Tony appeared between 12 September and 12 December 2008 and returned in December 2009 to stand trial. The child sexual abuse storyline marked the first time the subject matter had been broached in a UK soap opera, and was researched and developed with advice and approval from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The abusive nature of Tony and Whitney's relationship resulted in over 200 complaints being made to the BBC and television regulatory body Ofcom by members of the public, with the storyline deemed "one of the darkest and most disturbing storylines EastEnders has ever attempted" by The Mirror's Beth Neil. The NSPCC however praised the storyline for "helping to raise awareness of the hidden nature of sexual abuse". The storyline also gained EastEnders a Royal Television Society Programme Award in March 2009 in the Soap and Continuing Drama category. ## Storylines After being released from prison for assaulting a teenage boy who propositioned Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), Tony joins his partner Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer) and her family in Walford, including her son Morgan Jackson-King, whom he has adopted. It is revealed that he is a predatory hebephile who has been grooming and sexually abusing Whitney, Bianca's adopted daughter, since she was 12. He immediately resumes his sexual relationship with Whitney, despite his displeasure at her more adult appearance, insisting she remove her make-up and jewellery. When Whitney gets a role in the school play, Tony is angry about having less time with her, becoming jealous of her co-star Peter Beale (Thomas Law). Tony deceives Whitney into believing they will run away and start a new life together when she turns sixteen. Whitney gives him money she has been keeping for his return, which he gives Bianca as a deposit for a flat. Tony assaults Peter as a result of his growing jealousy, and is nearly reported to the police by Peter's sister Lucy Beale (Melissa Suffield). Whitney convinces Lucy not to go to the police, but not before Lucy tells Bianca what happened. When Bianca angrily tells Tony that Whitney is not a child anymore, he realizes he is no longer attracted to her. Tony begins grooming fourteen-year-old Lauren Branning, supporting her when her mother Tanya Branning (Jo Joyner) is arrested for the attempted murder of her father. He plans to take her to a concert, but Lauren's father Max Branning (Jake Wood) uncovers her hidden clothes and refuses her permission to attend. When Whitney's sixteenth birthday arrives, she books flights so they can run away together. Attempting to foil her plan, Tony steals her passport but it is found and returned. On her birthday, Whitney tells Bianca about her relationship with Tony, believing that they are going to leave together. Horrified, Bianca calls the police, and Tony is arrested. He is later released on bail and visits their home in an attempt to convince Whitney not to give a statement to the police. He is attacked by Bianca's ex-husband Ricky (Sid Owen) and re-arrested for breaking his bail conditions. Before his trial, Tony attempts suicide. Whitney tries to visit but is refused, and Bianca sees it as a form of manipulation. Tony repeatedly attempts to contact Whitney by phone, but after the first day of the trial, he flushes the SIM card down the toilet in his cell. When Whitney's brother Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott) tries to attack Tony in court, Whitney says she will refuse to testify, claiming her witness statement was a lie and she was forced to say it. Bianca explains to Whitney that Tony will be set free and that he will target other children. Tony's barrister, Mrs Taylor (Jacqueline Defferary), cross-examines Whitney, trying to imply that she pursued him for several years, saying she refused to take 'no' for an answer and lied about the accusations. Tony shouts out that he is innocent but Whitney says she trusted him and he abused her, revealing the truth about the relationship. After leaving the courtroom, Whitney gives her barrister, Vivien Easley QC (Geraldine Alexander), a mobile phone with messages from Tony on it. A week later Tony is found guilty of all charges and sentenced to 13 years in custody. He smirks as the verdict is being read out but is taken away with his head in his hands. Over three years later, Whitney receives a note from Tony via one of his former prison friends, saying that he always loved her. Whitney attempts to visit Tony in prison, but she is told that he killed himself in his cell. ## Creation Tony was first mentioned in EastEnders in April 2008, when Palmer returned as Bianca Jackson following a nine-year absence from the show. It was established that although Tony was currently in prison, he and Bianca were in a relationship, and that he acted as a father-figure to her children Whitney Dean, Liam Butcher (James Forde) and Tiffany Dean (Maisie Smith). It was originally stated that Tony was the biological father of Bianca's youngest son, mixed-race Morgan Jackson-King (Devon Higgs), which raised confusion with viewers when it was later announced that Coghill, who is white, had been cast in the role. The show's producers explained that Tony was not really Morgan's father, and that the reason behind this deception would be revealed soon after his arrival. Although Tony did not appear in the show until September 2008, his arrival was anticipated from April of that year, when EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer commented that the series was building a picture of his character, and that it would be interesting to see him on-screen. It was reported on 2 July 2008 that Tony would be arriving in the serial as part of a child sexual abuse storyline involving Whitney. BBC News described the plot as an ongoing "predatory paedophile storyline", noting that this was the first time this subject matter had been tackled by a UK soap opera. An EastEnders spokesperson stated that programme-makers were working in close conjunction with the NSPCC in order to portray the subject matter accurately and sensitively, commenting that the show aims to raise awareness of real-life issues, and has in the past similarly drawn attention to issues such as domestic violence, rape and HIV. John Grounds, the NSPCC's director of communications, praised the soap for raising awareness of the issue. The storyline was first conceived when EastEnders series consultant Simon Ashdown viewed a documentary about homelessness, featuring a mother and child at a bus stop with nowhere to go. Ashdown questioned what might happen if a child sex offender were to befriend the mother in order to grow closer to the child, and related the scenario to Bianca's return to the soap. BBC Head of Drama John Yorke explained that the idea when presented "drew a sharp intake of breath. Most EastEnders stories that have been good and successful have been the ones that caused the sharp intake of breath, so they're always the kind of stories you look for." Final approval for the storyline was sought from BBC Head of Fiction Jane Tranter on 2 June 2008. Tranter explained that: "I thought it was a fantastically good idea. The big moments in EastEnders, those iconic pieces of television history, tend to be the things that are incredibly near the knuckle, and are actually quite difficult subjects to raise in the context of a family sitting room. [...] Soaps are meant to hold up a mirror to our lives, and sometimes that mirror will show ugly bits, difficult bits, taboo bits. But if a soap doesn't hold up that mirror, then actually, what is it? It will have no depth." ## Development Coghill was cast as Tony on 20 June 2008. He deemed the role the most challenging he had ever played, but hoped that it would help to raise public awareness of child abuse. Of his off-screen relationship with McGarty, Coghill explained that it helped that she does not look or act like a young child, deeming her "fantastic to work with", as well as "very natural, very instinctive and a natural actress", commenting: "There isn't any uncomfortable feeling at all." Having undergone a thorough characterisation session, Coghill began shooting on 30 June 2008, and first appeared on-screen on 12 September 2008. Tony began grooming Whitney as soon as he met Bianca, ingratiating himself so as to become the family's "hero figure" and "saviour". Coghill elucidated: "The lie that Tony has spun to Whitney is that as soon as she's 16 they'll run away together and start a new life. But Tony's the type of paedophile who preys on younger children. Whitney is beginning to pass her sell-by date with him. [...] He feels like he's losing his little girl but needs to keep Whitney under his control and not speak out." As Tony began to lose interest in Whitney, he started grooming her 14-year-old school-friend Lauren Branning. A show-insider commented that Tony had been getting away with abusing Whitney for years, but was escalating as one young girl was no longer enough to satisfy him. Tony left the soap on 12 December 2008, after his true nature was exposed. It was announced on 7 September 2009 that he would return to EastEnders to be put on trial. Coghill was pleased to return, believing it right that Tony's story arc should conclude realistically, giving closure to the storyline and continuing to raise awareness of the issue. Santer commented: "One of the unique things about EastEnders is its ability to play stories over months and years. Chris agreeing to come back for these episodes will enable us to continue showing the long-term consequences of Tony's abuse of Whitney and – I hope – continue to do justice to the issue of child sex abuse." Grounds praised Tony's trial, stating that it demonstrated the importance for children of having their abusers brought to justice. Palmer felt that: "If one person out there who's been abused saw that [the legal system] go out of their way to make it easier on the victim – Whitney's evidence is given by video link – it will be worth it." ## Reception The BBC and television regulatory body Ofcom received upward of 90 complaints after Whitney's first scenes with Tony aired. However, they ruled that scenes the were not in breach of broadcasting rules. The Guardian's Aida Edemariam said of the beginning of the storyline: "what is most disturbing, watching [Tony and Whitney's] first scenes together, is not the sexuality of the situation per se, though that is uncomfortable - it's the subtle blackmail with which he keeps her in line. As it's combined with the emotional manipulation native to soaps, the viewer starts to feel a bit bullied, too". Numbers of viewer complaints rose within days to over 200. New Statesman journalist Jeremy Sare commented on the public outrage and defended EastEnders decision to air the storyline, writing: > There may be some justification for the hundreds complaining about these distressing issues being presented in prime time: equally it is courageous for the Beeb to include a scenario which challenges the public’s perception of what is a ‘typical paedophile’. The repellent Tony’s grooming and seduction of his stepdaughter, Whitney, is a much more familiar pattern of abuse than the more commonly held image of predators lurking in parks. [...] The producers of Eastenders, labouring under a welter of tabloid protest and viewers’ complaints, are attempting to make people get past the initial revulsion of the act of abuse and accept the grim fact that ‘paedophiles’ are very often members of the same family. Sare quoted a BBC spokeswoman as saying: "we appreciate that for some viewers this storyline will have particular resonance and significance. In running it, it's certainly not our intention to cause distress or upset, either to those who've suffered from sexual abuse or their families. Our aim is instead to raise awareness of this very sensitive issue", concluding his article with the summation: "The producers’ dilemma is instructive to children's charities and Ministers alike on how to confront the issue in a digestible manner which can stimulate an objective debate." The Mirror's Beth Neil branded the plot strand "one of the darkest and most disturbing storylines EastEnders has ever attempted", with critic Jim Shelley deeming it to be a "new low" for EastEnders. Shelley wrote of Whitney's abuse: "You've really got to hand it to EastEnders. Just when you thought the show couldn't get any more miserable, the writers come up trumps and produce a new way of making us depressed - a paedophile storyline. Thanks for that! I realise now this is what the family meal has been missing three nights a week: gathering the telly to watch a grubby, greasyhaired thug drooling over a 15-year-old girl who (as luck would have it) spends her entire life in her school uniform even when she's not at school. And they say family entertainment's dead." Shelley refuted the BBC's claims that the storyline had educational value as "totally bogus", observing that "At 7.30 or 8pm, the "action" has to be so coded as to be pointless". Deborah Orr, writing for The Independent, similarly disagreed with the BBC's statement that the storyline was part of EastEnders' "rich heritage of tackling difficult social issues", writing that: > Actually, it's part of its rich heritage of leaping in to some horrific subject without any background or build-up at all. The implication is that Tony, the villain, had been grooming the child for some time before he went to prison, when she was only 12. But such a thing really would be too real, and too controversial, so the viewer only gets to see the result of those hinted-at dark machinations. > > It might be a public service to dramatise the manner in which a sex offender might worm his way into a vulnerable family. But such a storyline would have to be explored carefully and over a long period. All that this little adventure in broadcasting can possibly deliver is the message that a paedophile in the heart of the home is not a good thing. Who needs to be educated about this? The Guardian's Julie Raeside has questioned: "Is this latest sexual abuse storyline a good thing to position in a pre-watershed soap opera, or should the EastEnders storyliners stick to a less controversial brand of misery?" However, in contrast to public and media dissent, the NSPCC's director of communications, John Grounds, has praised the storyline for "helping to raise awareness of the hidden nature of sexual abuse", deeming it to be "vital in persuading people to take action to stop it and encouraging children to speak out." Episodes from the storyline were submitted to the Royal Television Society Programme Awards 2008 for a panel to judge in the category Soap and Continuing Drama. EastEnders was presented with the award in March 2009, beating Coronation Street and The Bill. Members of the judging panel described the submitted episodes as "the culmination of a particularly challenging and controversial storyline which the production team, writers and cast pulled off triumphantly." In addition, the storyline was nominated for Best Storyline at the 2009 Inside Soap Awards and the character was nominated for the Villain of the Year award at the 2009 British Soap Awards. ## See also - List of soap opera villains - List of EastEnders characters (2008)
50,998,388
Emma Kaili Metcalf Beckley Nakuina
1,169,183,621
Hawaiian judge, curator and writer (1847–1929)
[ "1847 births", "1929 deaths", "American curators", "American women curators", "American women writers", "Hawaii suffragists", "Hawaiian Kingdom politicians", "Hawaiian ladies-in-waiting", "Hawaiian nobility", "Native Hawaiian politicians", "Native Hawaiian women in politics", "Native Hawaiian writers", "People from Honolulu", "Punahou School alumni", "Republic of Hawaii politicians", "Women judges", "Writers from Hawaii" ]
Emma Kailikapuolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina (March 5, 1847 – April 27, 1929) was an early Hawaiian female judge, curator and cultural writer. Descended from an American sugar planter and a Hawaiian high chiefess, she was educated in Hawaii and California. She served as curator of the Hawaiian National Museum from 1882 to 1887 and as Commissioner of Private Ways and Water Rights from 1892 to 1907. In her role as a government commissioner, she is often regarded as Hawaii's first female judge. During the early 1900s, she became a supporter of the women's suffrage movement in the Territory of Hawaii. Nakuina was also a prolific writer on the topic of Hawaiian culture and folklore and her many literary works include Hawaii, Its People, Their Legends (1904). ## Early life and family Nakuina was born March 5, 1847, at her family's homestead in Kauaʻala in the Manoa Valley, at what is now the campus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her father Theophilus Metcalf, originally from Ontario County, New York, arrived in Hawaii on May 19, 1842, and was naturalized as a citizen on March 9, 1846. He worked as a sugar planter and government land surveyor during the Great Mahele. Her mother, Kailikapuolono, was a descendant of the aliʻi lineages of Oahu, which was traditionally associated with the Kūkaniloko Birthstones, where the highest-ranking chiefs of the islands were once born. Her maternal great-grandfather was Nahili, a chief from the island of Hawaii and one of the generals of King Kamehameha I during his conquest of the Hawaiian Islands. Her maternal family was considered to be of the Hawaiian kaukau aliʻi class, or lower ranking chiefs in service to the royal family. Nakuina was educated at Sacred Hearts Academy and Punahou School in Honolulu. She was also privately tutored in many languages by her father including Greek, Latin, Hebrew, French, German, English, and Hawaiian. In 1866, she was preparing to attend the Young Ladies Seminary (modern day Mills College) in Benicia, California. No records exist of her attendance in the Mills College archives. Her father died on August 6, 1866, while visiting Oakland, possibly in order to settle her into her new school, and she decided to stay in Hawaii instead. At a young age, King Kamehameha IV ordered her to be trained in traditional water rights and customs. On December 3, 1867, she married Frederick William Beckley Sr. (1845–1881), a part-Hawaiian noble like herself. She served as the lady-in-waiting of Queen Kapiʻolani, the wife of King Kalākaua, while her husband served as the Chamberlain of the Royal Household and in the Hawaiian government as a member of the House of Representatives and as the Royal Governor of Kauai. They had seven children, including son Frederick William Beckley Jr. (1874–1943) and daughter Sabina Beckley Hutchinson (1868–1935). Beckley Sr. died in 1881, leaving Nakuina a widow. In 1887, she remarried to the Reverend Moses Kuaea Nakuina (1867–1911). A nephew of Minister of Finance Moses Kuaea, he was twenty years her junior and also a descendant of Hawaiian nobility. They had two children: a short-lived son named Irving Metcalf Nakuina, who was born and died in 1888, and a daughter who contracted leprosy and was sent to the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement. A newspaper article in the October 16, 1916, issue of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin claimed Emma was godmother to Princess Kaʻiulani, the niece of Kalākaua and last heir to the Hawaiian throne. ## Career After her first husband's death, Walter Murray Gibson, possibly at the suggestion of King Kalākaua, appointed Nakuina as the female curator of the Hawaiian National Museum and Government Library. She used the title curatrix in official documents. The salary from this governmental post helped her support her children. During her tenure as the governmental curatrix, Nakuina helped expand the collection of the museum, which was located on the upper floor of Aliiolani Hale, the governmental building, and also established herself as an authority on traditional Hawaiian legends and history with a number of publications. She assisted the writers Thomas G. Thrum and William DeWitt Alexander in many of their works, serving as a cultural advisor and translator. After the downfall of the Gibson administration in 1887, funding to the museum was cut and the collections were later incorporated into the Bishop Museum. In 1892, she was appointed Commissioner of Private Ways and Water Rights for the district of Kona, on the island of Oahu, corresponding to the capital city of Honolulu and its surrounding areas. Nakuina was chosen for this post specifically because of her knowledge of traditional water rights, and she was tasked with the duties of resolving water usage and rights issues. She held this position from 1892 to 1907, at which point the powers were reassigned to the circuit courts. During her tenure, she worked under the monarchy until the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. In order to remain in her governmental post, she took the oath of allegiance to the subsequent regimes of the Provisional Government, the Republic and the Territory of Hawaii. Although she never held the formal title, she is often regarded as Hawaii's first female judge. In March 1893, she became a member of Hui Aloha ʻĀina o Na Wahine (Hawaiian Women's Patriotic League) or Hui Aloha ʻĀina for Women. This patriotic group was founded shortly after its male counterpart the Hui Aloha ʻĀina for Men to oppose the overthrow and plans to annex the islands to the United States and to support the deposed queen. Nakuina served as interpreter of the organization for a month until a dispute arose between two factions of the group. The rift centered on the wordings to a memorial seeking the restoration of the monarchy to be presented to the United States Commissioner James Henderson Blount who was sent by President Grover Cleveland to investigate the overthrow. The original memorial used the word “Queen” leaving out Liliʻuokalani’s name and was opposed by the small faction consisting of elderly, full-blood Hawaiian women who suspected that it was a ploy by the younger, educated part-Hawaiians to put either Kapiʻolani or Kaʻiulani on the throne instead. A second memorial was drafted including Liliʻuokalani’s name and the original architects of the first memorial including Nakuina either resigned or were replaced. Nakuina was replaced by Mary Ann Kaulalani Parker Stillman. In 1895, Nakuina helped founded the Hawaiian Relief Society in her office to assist the victims of a cholera epidemic in the islands. She co-founded the organization with other leading Hawaiian women including Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau, Abigail Kuaihelani Campbell and Emilie Widemann Macfarlane, who had all been members of Hui Aloha ʻĀina for Women. In 1897, Nakuina was mentioned in an article by Janet Jennings, of the Chicago Times-Herald, about the important role and status of part-Hawaiian women in the Hawaiian nation, which described her as "a clever and accomplished woman, whose scholarly attainments make her a unique figure in political and social circles of Honolulu." ## Later life In later life, Nakuina returned to writing. She became one of the first female members of the Hawaiian Historical Society and joined the civic organization Daughters of Hawaii. In 1904, she wrote her only book, Hawaii, Its People, Their Legends, published by the Hawaiian Promotion Committee. It was meant to introduce tourists to the culture of Hawaii, but was also imbued with her own sense of pride for her Hawaiian heritage and bitterness at the negative effects of foreign influence in the islands. According to Cristina Bacchilega, this publication was a covert example of feminine defiance against the Western world. In 1917, Nakuina hosted a party for Almira Hollander Pitman, a leading suffragist from the mainland United States, and her husband Banjamin Franklin Pitman. The gathering attracted many upper-class Honolulu suffragists including Wilhelmine Widemann Dowsett, president of the National Women's Equal Suffrage Association of Hawaii, and Emma Ahuena Taylor, who asked Almira Pitman to espouse the cause of the women of the Territory of Hawaii. This meeting and subsequent meetings with the Honolulu Women's Club prompted Almira Pitman to write to her connections back home, which helped push a bill through Congress authorizing the Hawaii Territorial Legislature with the power to legislate on the issue of women's suffrage. A local bill was planned in 1919 to enfranchise the women of Hawaii. It was superseded before it could be adopted when, in the following year, Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment, granting all women in the United States the right to vote. Nakuina died on April 27, 1929, in her son's house, at the age of eighty-two. She was buried at the Oahu Cemetery with her second husband, Moses Nakuina. In 2017, Hawaiʻi Magazine listed Nakuina among the most influential women in Hawaiian history. ## Publications and works List below are the known works of Emma Kaili Metcalf Beckley Nakuina in chronological order: ## See also - List of first women lawyers and judges in Hawaii
43,102,246
James Balfour (died 1845)
1,172,513,814
Scottish businessman, landowner and Tory politician
[ "1770s births", "1845 deaths", "19th-century Scottish businesspeople", "19th-century Scottish landowners", "19th-century Scottish people", "19th-century Scottish politicians", "Balfour family of Whittingehame", "British East India Company civil servants", "Deputy Lieutenants of East Lothian", "Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies", "People from Glenrothes", "People from Haddington, East Lothian", "Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912)", "Scottish expatriates in India", "Scottish merchants", "Tory MPs (pre-1834)", "UK MPs 1826–1830", "UK MPs 1830–1831", "UK MPs 1831–1832", "UK MPs 1832–1835", "Year of birth uncertain" ]
James Balfour (c. 1775 – 19 April 1845) was a Scottish nabob who became a landowner and politician. The son of a prosperous and influential Scottish gentry family, he became a trader in India. Having made a fortune supplying the Royal Navy, he returned to Scotland to buy several landed estates, including Whittingehame in East Lothian where he built a classical mansion. Balfour became a Tory Member of Parliament (MP) from 1826 to 1834, but never achieved ministerial office. However, many of his descendants found fame and success, including his grandson Arthur Balfour, who served as prime minister from 1902 to 1905. At his death, Balfour's estates in Scotland alone were estimated to be worth over £1 million (equivalent to £ in 2023). ## Family and early life Balfour was born about 1775. He was the second son of John Balfour (1739–1813), an advocate who owned Balbirnie House, near the town of Glenrothes in Fife. His elder brother Robert Balfour, who inherited Balbirnie, became a Lieutenant-General in the British Army. His ancestor George Balfour had purchased Balbirnie in the late 16th or early 17th century, and by the late 18th century its land included profitable mines in the Fife Coalfield. ## Career ### India After studying book-keeping and accountancy in Edinburgh, Balfour went to Madras in March 1795 as a writer (junior clerk) for the British East India Company. He held several posts in the following years, before being sent back to Britain after a disciplinary issue. Balfour returned to India in 1802, where he became a merchant in partnership with James Baker. His breakthrough came in 1806, when the partners obtained the contract with the Victualling Commissioners of the Royal Navy to supply their needs throughout the East Indies. The contract had been held since 1796 by the Hon. Basil Cochrane, who had built his own flour mills and bakeries in Madras. Cochrane returned to England in 1806 due to ill-health, and had intended to appoint Balfour and Baker as his agents. However, before leaving, Cochrane was notified that the Navy was reviewing his accounts dating back to 1794, and that the Navy had lost much of the paperwork. He then returned to England permanently to settle the accounts, which took until 1820. Instead of engaging agents, Cochrane passed the contract to Balfour and Baker, who held it until at least 1815. At some point the partnership was dissolved, and the contract held by Balfour alone. When he left India, he had accumulated a fortune of £300,000 (equivalent to £ in 2023). The Indian business did not end with Balfour's return home. It was run on his behalf by agents, and within a few decades the family's assets had grown ten-fold to £3 million (equivalent to £ in 2023). ### Scotland On his return to Scotland in 1815, Balfour married Lady Eleanor Maitland (1790–1869), daughter of the Tory politician James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale. They had seven children, three of whom predeceased their parents. The eldest son was killed by a fire in 1822. Within two years of their marriage, Balfour had bought two large county estates. The first was a sporting estate with shooting lodge in the Highlands, at Strathconan in Ross-shire. In 1817, he purchased the 10,000-acre (4,000 ha; 16 sq mi) Whittingehame estate in Haddingtonshire from Colonel William Hay of Duns Castle, which provided a net rental income of £11,000 per year (equivalent to £,000 in 2023). He also bought a town house in London, No. 3 Grosvenor Square. In the 1820s the Balfours employed the architect Robert Smirke, designer of the British Museum, to build a large classical mansion at Whittingehame, along with a stable block and gate lodges. They equipped their home with French furniture and Sèvres china. Built of pale cullalo stone, the house was expanded and altered in 1827 to the designs of William Burn, which were not entirely successful. Colin McWilliam and Christopher Wilson describe them as having changed "a dry composition into a boring one". They then rebuilt the local church, and created a new model village to the north-west of the old one. Built in about 1840 of red sandstone, it consists of a row of cottages and a school. Established as a country gentleman, though known locally as "the nabob", Balfour became a justice of the peace, and in 1822 was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire. In about 1823 or 1824 he paid £104,000 (equivalent to £ in 2023) to buy from the 10th Earl of Leven a large estate in his native Fife, including Balgonie Castle. Adjacent to his native Balbirnie, the Balgonie estate included coal mines which worked seams described as "inexhaustible" and iron workings. ### Parliament In November 1820, the death of Henry St Paul MP triggered a by-election for the borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed, where Balfour's father-in-law Lord Lauderdale had great influence. Balfour was also supported by Admiral Sir David Milne, who had defeated St Paul at the general election in March 1820 but was unseated on petition in July. However, Lauderdale was disliked for his opposition to the popular Queen Caroline, which became a significant issue in the campaign. His agents claimed that Balfour would have opposed her trial for alleged adultery, but he was portrayed as too close to Liverpool's Tory ministry to properly represent interests of the borough. After four days of polling, Balfour lost by 9 votes (374—363) to the Whig baronet Sir Francis Blake. A further vacancy occurred in Berwick in 1822, but Balfour did not contest the seat. Instead, he turned his attentions to the Anstruther Burghs, a set of five burghs which were located only 15 miles from his newly purchased estate at Balgonie in Fife. At the 1826 general election he won the support of three burghs of Pittenweem, Anstruther Easter and Crail, whereas the sitting MP and Lord Advocate of Scotland Sir William Rae won only Anstruther Wester and Kilrenny. With three out of five votes Balfour was declared elected, and a petition lodged by Rae was rejected in March 1827. In 1829, several groups of his constituents submitted petitions against the Roman Catholic Relief Bill. Balfour presented all the petitions to Parliament, but in April he voted with the majority in favour of the Bill. Balfour was opposed at the 1830 general election by Robert Marsham, the Warden of Merton College, Oxford. However, he won the seat, taking three of the four boroughs remaining after Kilrenny's disenfranchisement in 1829. At the 1831 general election, Balfour was drafted to stand instead in the county seat of Haddingtonshire, the area which included Whittingehame. The sitting MP Lord John Hay had been an advocate of Parliamentary reform, a view which was supported by the county's voteless tenant farmers but opposed by the existing voters. Lord John's position looked untenable, so Balfour was drafted by Lord Lauderdale and Hay's brother Lord Tweeddale. Describing himself as an opponent of the current reform proposals, but a supporter of a "wise and prudent amendment to the representative system", he won the seat by a margin of 40 votes to the 11 of his opponent Sir David Baird, Bt. However, a crowd of non-voting residents of Haddington shouted down his attempts to make a speech of thanks. The new Parliament was dominated by the Reform Bills, and in the last Parliament of the Unreformed House of Commons Balfour voted against them at most opportunities. At the general election in December 1832, with the franchise expanded under the Scottish Reform Act, Balfour was re-elected but with a much narrower majority of 271 votes to 232. His health had been declining, and he cited that as his reason for retiring at the dissolution of Parliament in December 1834. At the general election in January 1835, the Haddingtonshire seat was won by the Whig Robert Ferguson. ## Death and legacy Balfour died at Whittingehame in April 1845, aged about 70. He was survived by his wife, Lady Eleanor, two sons, and two daughters. Another two daughters and a son predeceased him. The surviving children were: - James Maitland Balfour (1820–1856), MP for Haddington Burghs 1841–47, father of five sons and three daughters - Charles Balfour (1823–1872), who married Adelaide Barrington, daughter and 8th child of the 6th Viscount Barrington. - Mary Balfour (1817–1893), a noted watercolour artist who married Henry Arthur Herbert, owner of the Muckross estate in County Kerry, and Chief Secretary for Ireland 1857–58 - Anna Balfour (1825–1857), who married Lord Augustus Fitzroy, later 7th Duke of Grafton On his death, Balfour's estate was valued at over £1 million. His widow Eleanor (who survived him by 24 years) was left a legacy of £31,000 and a life annuity of £3,760. The rest was divided between his children. The estates at Whittingehame and Strathconan were left to his eldest son, along with a house in Grosvenor Square, London. His property in Fife, including Balgonie Castle, was left to his second son Charles, while his daughters Mary and Anna had each been given a dowry of £40,000 (equivalent to £ in 2023). Until the Reform Act in 1832, political power in Britain had been dominated for centuries by a land-owning oligarchy, and for another century they shared power with the rising bourgeoisie. The Balfour family straddled both groups. James Balfour's new wealth brought new vigour to the ancient family, with many of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren achieving notability. They include: - James Maitland Balfour's children: - Arthur Balfour, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905 - Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick (1845–1936), Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge - Alice Blanche Balfour (1850–1936), amateur entomologist - Francis Maitland Balfour (1851–1882), one of the greatest biologists of his day - Gerald Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour (1853–1945), a cabinet minister from 1895 to 1905. His daughter Lady Eve Balfour (1899–1990) was an early advocate of organic farming, and co-founder of the Soil Association - Colonel Eustace James Anthony Balfour (1854–1911), an architect who served as ADC to King Edward VII. - Charles Balfour's son Charles Barrington Balfour became an army officer and an MP. One of his sons was knighted for his work as a diplomat - Mary's son Henry Arthur Herbert, was MP for Kerry from 1866 to 1880 - Two of Anna's sons became Dukes of Grafton As with many other estate houses in Scotland, Balfour family ownership of Whittingehame House ended in the 20th century. Arthur and Gerald lost a lot of money in a series of poor investments, particularly in their efforts to develop peat processing as a green alternative to coal-mining. In the 1930s, death duties forced the mothballing of the house and sale of its contents. The building was leased for various purposes before being sold in 1963 to become a residential school, and has since been converted into apartments. The older Whittingehame Tower has been restored and remains the residence of the Earls of Balfour, descendants of James Balfour.
7,782,104
Fiji at the 1994 Winter Olympics
1,145,883,519
null
[ "1994 in Fijian sport", "Fiji at the Winter Olympics by year", "Nations at the 1994 Winter Olympics" ]
Fiji sent a delegation to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway from 12–27 February 1994. This was Fiji's second time appearing at a Winter Olympic Games after their debut in the 1988 Winter Olympics. The country's sole representative was Rusiate Rogoyawa, in cross-country skiing. In the 10 kilometer classical he finished in 88th place. ## Background The Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee was recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 31 December 1954. They made their first Olympic appearance at the 1956 Summer Olympics, and with two exceptions, have appeared at every Summer Olympic Games since; they missed the 1964 edition, and boycotted the 1980 Games. Fiji had appeared at the Winter Olympics only once before, in the 1988 Winter Olympics. The country's sole representative to Lillehammer was Rusiate Rogoyawa, a cross-country skier. He was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. ## Competitors The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games. ## Cross-country skiing Rusiate Rogoyawa was 32 years old at the time of the Lillehammer Olympics, and was living in Norway. He had previously represented Fiji at the 1988 Winter Olympics. On 17 February he competed in the 10 kilometer classical, finishing in a time of 38 minutes and 30.7 seconds, which put him 88th and last among the finishers of the race. The gold medal was won by Bjørn Dæhlie of Norway in a time of 24 minutes and 20.1 seconds.
592,295
Industrial metal
1,171,817,132
Music genre; fusion of heavy metal and industrial music
[ "Electronic music genres", "Fusion music genres", "Heavy metal genres", "Industrial metal", "Industrial music" ]
Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, Godflesh, and Fear Factory. Industrial metal developed in the late 1980s, as industrial and metal began to fuse into a common genre. Industrial metal did well in the early 1990s, particularly in North America, with the success of groups such as Nine Inch Nails, but its popularity began to fade in the latter half of the 1990s. ## History ### Early innovators Though electric guitars had been used by industrial artists since the early days of the genre, archetypal industrial groups such as Throbbing Gristle displayed a strong anti-rock stance. British post-punk band Killing Joke pioneered the crossing over between styles and was an influence on major acts associated with industrial metal such as Ministry, Godflesh, and Nine Inch Nails. Another pioneer industrial rock group, Big Black, also impacted some later groups. By the late 1980s industrial and heavy metal began to fuse into a common genre, with Godflesh's self-titled EP and Ministry's The Land of Rape and Honey at the forefront. Godflesh was founded by former Napalm Death guitarist Justin Broadrick. Drawing from a wide array of influences—power electronics forefathers Whitehouse, noise rock band Swans, ambient music creator Brian Eno and fellow Birmingham hard rockers Black Sabbath—the Godflesh sound was once described as "Pornography-era The Cure on Quaaludes". Though not a top seller, Godflesh nonetheless became an influential act, their name mentioned by Korn, Metallica, Danzig, Faith No More, and Fear Factory. Ministry emerged from the scene surrounding Wax Trax! Records, a Chicago indie label dedicated to industrial music. Ministry's initial foray into guitar rock happened during a recording session of The Land of Rape and Honey on Southern Studios, in London. The band's frontman, the Cuban-born Al Jourgensen, explained this transition: > Rediscovering the guitar on this record was almost like the first day I got my Fairlight. The possibilities just seemed endless on something that had seemed so limiting before. That's really funny. I started out as a guitarist, but I hadn't really touched a guitar in five years. Then I heard that first feedback come out of the Marshall stack and all of a sudden it was like there was a whole new parameter within guitar playing itself – especially in combination with sounds that you get out of a keyboard. Jourgensen seemed particularly fond of thrash metal. After the release of Land, he recruited guitarist Mike Scaccia from Texas thrashers Rigor Mortis. On one occasion, Jourgensen told the press that Sepultura was his favorite band. He also expressed the desire to produce a Metallica album. Jourgensen's interest in dance-oriented electronic music did not entirely fade, however; he also formed the side-project Revolting Cocks, a more electronic body music-inflected collaboration with Richard23 of Front 242. German band KMFDM was another seminal industrial metal group. Although not a metal fan, KMFDM leader Sascha Konietzko's "infatuation with ripping off metal licks" stemmed from his experiments with E-mu's Emax sampler in late 1986. He told Guitar World that, > It was just interesting to use it as a kind of white noise reinforcement for our music. All of a sudden heavy metal was free from all those tempo changes and boring attitudes it always had. What I always hated most about heavy metal was that the best riffs came only once and were never repeated. So the fascination, actually, was to sample a great riff, loop it, and play it over and over again. A Swiss trio, The Young Gods, brushed with the style on their second album, L'Eau Rouge (1989). Prior to its release, singer Franz Treichler declared: > We just wanted to hear guitars. We missed the attack of 'Envoyé'. That's what we want to hear right now, pure power. A metal sound that isn't revivalist, isn't biker style, speed metal style, any style, just WHAP! Canadian thrash metal band Malhavoc became one of the earlier acts of the genre when they began to mix extreme metal with industrial music in the late 1980s. Pigface, formed by Martin Atkins and including Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin, emerged as an industrial metal collective of sorts, participating with many figures from the noise rock and industrial worlds. Nine Inch Nails, the "one-man-band" formed by Trent Reznor, brought the genre to mainstream audiences with albums such as the Grammy-winning Broken and the best-selling The Downward Spiral, accompanied by their groundbreaking performance at Woodstock '94. The rivethead subculture also developed at this time, along with the so-called "coldwave" subgenre, which encompassed Chemlab, 16 Volt, and Acumen Nation. Some electro-industrial groups adopted industrial metal techniques in this period, including Skinny Puppy (on their Rabies, co-produced by Jourgensen), and Front Line Assembly. British band Pitchshifter, formed in 1989 by brothers Jon and Mark Clayden, also started as an industrial metal band. The band later included elements of drum and bass. Frontman JS mentions: > [...]In the early days we were inspired by bands like Head of David and Swans and the like... coming out of punk into the weird, angry, total noise, kind of pre-industrial music. It gets called industrial but I don't know if it really is. ### Industrial thrash and death metal Industrial metal's popularity led a number of successful thrash metal groups, including Megadeth, Sepultura, and Anthrax, to request remixes by "industrial" artists. Some musicians emerging from the death metal scene, such as Fear Factory, Nailbomb, Autokrator and Meathook Seed, also began to experiment with industrial. Fear Factory, from Los Angeles, were initially influenced by the Earache roster (namely Godflesh, Napalm Death and Bolt Thrower). The German band Oomph! after their second album Sperm started to play industrial metal combined with elements of death metal and groove metal until the album Plastik. Sepultura singer Max Cavalera's Nailbomb, a collaboration with Alex Newport, also practiced a combination of extreme metal and industrial production techniques. A lesser-known example of industrial death metal is Meathook Seed, made up of members of Napalm Death and the Florida death metal group Obituary. An industrial music fan, Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres suggested drum machines for The End Complete, Obituary's most successful album. The other band members' refusal led him to form Meathook Seed. ### Industrial black metal In the early years of the 21st century, groups from the black metal scene began to incorporate elements of industrial music. Mysticum, formed in 1991, was the first of these groups. DHG (Dødheimsgard), Thorns from Norway and Blut Aus Nord, N.K.V.D. and Blacklodge from France, have been acclaimed for their incorporation of industrial elements. Other industrial black metal musicians include Samael, The Axis of Perdition, Aborym, and ...And Oceans. In addition, The Kovenant, Mortiis and Ulver emerged from the Norwegian black metal scene, but later chose to experiment with industrial music. ### Progressive industrial metal Several artists with their roots in progressive music, though not often associated with industrial metal scene, also incorporated industrial textures into their music. Later-era King Crimson, whose 2000s albums were referred as "industrial art metal", and OSI can be named as examples of progressive industrial metal. Several acts associated with extreme metal subgenres also mix progressive and avant-garde metal with industrial, those include the Hungarian experimental metal act Thy Catafalque, Blut aus Nord and Norwegian band Shining with their critically acclaimed Blackjazz album, which blended progressive rock, black metal, free jazz and industrial. Canadian artist Devin Townsend, the founder of industrial thrash metal band Strapping Young Lad, later fused industrial with progressive metal during his prolific solo career. ### Coldwave Coldwave is a sub-genre of industrial metal originating in the 1990s. It has its roots in acts like Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. The style focuses on heavier, punk-based guitars, sampled hard rock-like guitars, synthesizer accompaniment, and acid house elements. Lyrical content is typically cyberpunk-oriented with pop music sensibilities, although it can vary. Chemlab's 1993 album Burn Out at the Hydrogen Bar is often considered the album that defined the coldwave style. Artists like the aforementioned Chemlab, 16 Volt and Acumen Nation exemplified this genre. The coldwave style began to wane rapidly when industrial music in general started to lose popularity in the latter half of the 1990s-early 2000's. Many artists within the genre moved on to different styles that included; Hard rock, heavy metal, nu metal, synth-metal, synth-rock, and synth-pop among other genres. Coldwave today is a small, niche scene within industrial music. Very few bands today describe themselves or are described as coldwave. Bands like Cyanotic and Medicant Downline are perhaps the exception. Despite the same name as the French genre, it is otherwise unrelated. ### Commercial rise Industrial metal blossomed in the early 1990s, particularly in North America, where it would eventually sell close to 35 million units. It first became a commercial force in 1992 when Nine Inch Nails' Broken and Ministry's Psalm 69 went platinum in America, though the latter took three years to reach that status. Both groups were nominated for the Best Metal Performance in the 1992 Grammy Awards, with Nine Inch Nails winning. Two years later, Nine Inch Nails released The Downward Spiral, which debuted at No. 2, and would eventually go quadruple-platinum. This record is considered by AllMusic as "one of the bleakest multi-platinum albums ever". > Overall, popular heavy rock music has changed to become more "industrialized". This robbed the industrial hardcore movement of any hopes of establishing a new identity of its own. The style is dead (or at least dying); the elements of the style continue on in new musical settings. Following Nine Inch Nails' success, Marilyn Manson, led by a protégé of Reznor's, came to prominence. The group's live performance and its transgressive appeal was often more commented on than their music. Industrial metal reached its commercial zenith in the latter half of the 1990s – according to the RIAA databases, its top-selling artists sold around 17.5 million units combined. Records by major industrial metal artists routinely debuted on the top spots of the Billboard 200 chart: Rob Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe (No. 5), Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar (No. 3), and Nine Inch Nails' The Fragile (No. 1). A number of industrial metal albums performed well on Billboard's Heatseekers chart: Filter's Short Bus (No. 3), Stabbing Westward's Wither Blister Burn + Peel (No. 1), Rammstein's Sehnsucht (No. 2), Orgy's Candyass (No. 1), and Static-X's Wisconsin Death Trip (No. 1). During this era, Trent Reznor was chosen by Time as one of the most influential Americans of 1997. The genre's popularity was such that established glam metal groups, including Guns N' Roses and Mötley Crüe, began to dabble in the style. Figures from the hip hop scene also began to seek out collaborations with and remixes from industrial metal musicians. When industrial metal climbed the charts of the late 1990s, its sudden popularity was met with negative reactions from the early innovators of industrial music. Peter Christopherson told The Wire that he no longer felt any kinship with the industrial scene: "this is not me, this is not what I'm about". Lustmord, a prominent early industrial musician, declared that "Ministry just doesn't interest [him]" and "[he has] no time for all this rock and roll shit they're doing now." Skinny Puppy frontman Nivek Ogre dismissed Nine Inch Nails as "cock rock" but have since patched things up and have even performed on stage together. Industrial metal suffered a critical backlash at the turn of the millennium. In an April 2000 review for the Chicago Sun Times, Jim DeRogatis dismissed Nine Inch Nails' new music as a "generic brand of industrial thrash" and accused Ministry of repeating an act that "was old by 1992". Although The Fragile reached the top spot of the Billboard 200 and went on to earn double platinum status, DeRogatis considered it a "flop" nonetheless. Around this time, veteran industrial metal artists (Ministry, Godflesh, and White Zombie) began to repudiate the industrial label. Sales remained high throughout 2000–2005; at least 10 million records were sold during that time frame. Many groups began to take influence from hip hop and electronic music, in addition to industrial metal. As a result, acts like Powerman 5000 are often described as industrial metal as well as nu metal. ## Film and video Several industrial metal groups have produced eye-catching videos. These include Godflesh's collaboration with Andres Serrano, Aidan Hughes's graphics for KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails' work with Mark Romanek, Rob Zombie's visual work for White Zombie (for which he received the MTV Video Music Award for Best Hard Rock Video), and Marilyn Manson's output with Richard Kern and Floria Sigismondi. NIN later collaborated with Bill Viola for live accompaniment. Trent Reznor also produced the soundtracks for the films Natural Born Killers and Lost Highway, and served as "musical consultant" for Man on Fire. Rob Zombie has directed three films. In 2009, Marilyn Manson was in the process of directing Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll. The movie has since languished in development hell. Other films that have included prominent contributions from industrial metal artists include The Crow, Johnny Mnemonic, Mortal Kombat, The Matrix, Blair Witch, and A.I. Artificial Intelligence. ## Controversy Its emphasis on transgressive themes has made a few industrial metal groups vulnerable to attack from American social conservatives. For example, Sen. Bob Dole, then head of the Republican Party, sharply criticized Time Warner after a meeting between Michael J. Fuchs (head of the Warner Music Group), William Bennett, and C. Delores Tucker, at which Tucker and Bennett demanded that Fuchs read lyrics from NIN's "Big Man with a Gun". A year later, Bennett, Tucker, and Joseph Lieberman launched a similar campaign against MCA Records for their distribution of Marilyn Manson's music. Many of his concerts were cancelled by authorities after this uproar. In addition, Dennis Cooper cited Ministry's video for "Just One Fix", which featured footage of William S. Burroughs, as an early example of heroin chic. Some initial reports claimed that Columbine High School shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were Marilyn Manson fans. In fact, they preferred KMFDM and Rammstein. Asa Coon, another school shooter, was a Manson fan. Manson, a former journalist, published a detailed response to the controversy following the Columbine shootings in an article published in Rolling Stone. It concluded: > I think that the National Rifle Association is far too powerful to take on, so most people choose Doom, The Basketball Diaries or yours truly. This kind of controversy does not help me sell records or tickets, and I wouldn't want it to. I'm a controversial artist, one who dares to have an opinion and bothers to create music and videos that challenge people's ideas in a world that is watered-down and hollow. In my work I examine the America we live in, and I've always tried to show people that the devil we blame our atrocities on is really just each one of us. [...] Sascha Konietzko reported that KMFDM was "sick and appalled" by the shootings, issuing a statement the following day saying: > First and foremost, KMFDM would like to express their deep and heartfelt sympathy for the parents, families and friends of the murdered and injured children in Littleton. We are sick and appalled, as is the rest of the nation, by what took place in Colorado yesterday. > > KMFDM are an art form – not a political party. From the beginning, our music has been a statement against war, oppression, fascism and violence against others. While some of the former band members are German as reported in the media, none of us condone any Nazi beliefs whatsoever. Rammstein stated that they "have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behavior". Rammstein have also been controversial for their use of Nazi imagery, including footage shot by Leni Riefenstahl for Olympia in their video for "Stripped". Alec Empire, a German digital hardcore musician, declared that "[Rammstein is] successful for all the wrong reasons. I think they're not a fascist band at all, but I think in Germany there's a lot of misunderstanding and that's why they sell records and I think that's dangerous." In response to the controversy, Rammstein stated that "We are not Nazis, Neo-Nazis, or any other kind of Nazi. We are against racism, bigotry or any other type of discrimination." The band went on to create the song "Links 2-3-4", released in 2001, which responded to the Nazi allegations by insinuating that they reside left on the political spectrum. ## See also - List of industrial metal bands - Heavy metal music - List of industrial music festivals - List of heavy metal festivals
67,461,003
KRI Nanggala (402)
1,171,103,030
Indonesian submarine sunk in 2021
[ "1980 ships", "2021 disasters in Indonesia", "April 2021 events in Indonesia", "Cakra-class submarines", "Indonesian submarine accidents", "Lost submarines of Indonesia", "Maritime incidents in 2021", "Ships built in Kiel", "Shipwrecks of Indonesia", "Submarines lost with all hands", "Submarines of Indonesia" ]
KRI Nanggala (402), also known as Nanggala II, was one of two Cakra-class Type 209/1300 diesel-electric attack submarines of the Indonesian Navy. Ordered in 1977, Nanggala was launched in 1980 and commissioned in 1981. It conducted intelligence gathering operations in the Indian Ocean and around East Timor and North Kalimantan. It was a participant of the international Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training naval exercise and conducted a passing exercise with USS Oklahoma City. The vessel underwent major refits by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in 2012 and Indonesian state-owned shipyard PT PAL in 2020. On 21 April 2021, the ship went missing during a routine exercise in the Bali Sea. It was commanded by Colonel Harry Setyawan, and had 49 crewmembers and 3 weapon specialists on board. The Indonesian Navy, assisted by other countries, conducted a search, and three days later debris was discovered 19 kilometres (12 mi) from the point of last contact, and Nanggala was declared sunk. There were no survivors; all 53 people on board the ship perished. On 26 April, the Indonesian government awarded posthumous promotions to everyone aboard the ship. The cause of the sinking is presumed to be a power outage. Nanggala had experienced outages before but recovered successfully. Lt. Col. Heri Oktavian, who was killed in the incident, had previously voiced his frustrations about the maintenance of the ship; he claimed that the workmanship quality and maintenance services performed by state-owned naval dockyard PT PAL were unsatisfactory. ## Name The submarine was named after the Nanggala, a powerful, divine short spear wielded by Prabhu Baladewa, a Hindu god mentioned in the Mahabharata and a character in wayang puppet theatre. Legend states that the spear is capable of melting mountains and splitting oceans. The vessel was also known as Nanggala II in order to differentiate it from RI Nanggala (S-02), an older Whiskey-class submarine sharing the same name. ## Design and construction KRI Nanggala was ordered on 2 April 1977 and was financed as part of a US\$625 million loan by the West German government to the Indonesian government. About \$100 million was spent on the submarine and its sister vessel, KRI Cakra. The vessel was designed by Ingenieurkontor Lübeck of Lübeck, constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft of Kiel, and sold by Ferrostaal of Essen – all acting together as a West German consortium. Nanggala was laid down on 14 March 1978 and launched on 10 September 1980. It was tested in West German waters before it was handed over to Indonesia on 6 July 1981. Nanggala left West Germany in early August 1981 with 38 crew members under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Armand Aksyah. The submarine was first presented to the public on the 36th anniversary of the Indonesian National Armed Forces on 5 October 1981. Sixteen days later, it was commissioned by the Minister of Defense and Security, General M. Jusuf. ## Historical context During the 1960s, Indonesia was known as one of the largest Asian naval powers, with 12 Soviet-made Whiskey-class submarines in its fleet. However, by 1981, during the New Order, when Cakra and Nanggala arrived in Indonesia to reinforce the country's naval defenses, only one of the 12 Whiskey-class submarines had still retained the ability to dive. The Indonesian government had planned to purchase a Type 206A submarine from Germany in the late 1990s, but was unable to do so due to funding issues. During the beginning of the Reform Era, an embargo on military equipment imposed by the U.S., as well as continuing financial problems experienced as a result of the Asian financial crisis, meant that the Indonesian Navy was unable to procure any additional submarines until 2017. As a result, Cakra and Nanggala were the only active submarines in the Indonesian Navy between the decommissioning of in 1994 and the commissioning of in 2017. By 2020, Indonesia had made plans to own and operate eight submarines by 2024. ## Service history Nanggala participated in several naval exercises, including the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercises in 2002 and 2015. In 2004, the boat participated in the Joint Marine Operations Exercise held in the Indian Ocean, during which it sank the decommissioned KRI Rakata. In August 2012, the boat conducted a passing exercise with USS Oklahoma City, accompanied by KRI Diponegoro and a Bölkow-Blohm helicopter. The submarine conducted a number of intelligence-gathering operations in the waters around Indonesia, including one in the Indian Ocean from April to May 1992, and another around East Timor from August to October 1999, in which the boat tracked the movements of the International Force East Timor as it landed in the region. During May 2005, the submarine was tasked with scouting, infiltrating, and hunting down strategic targets around Ambalat, after Indonesian KRI Tedong Naga [id] and Malaysian KD Rencong were involved in a minor collision near the area. Nanggala underwent a refit at Howaldtswerke that was completed in 1989. Roughly two decades later, the boat underwent a full refit for two years in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) that was completed in January 2012. The refit cost US\$63.7 million, replaced much of the submarine's upper structure, and upgraded its weaponry, sonar, radar, combat control and propulsion systems. After the refit, Nanggala became capable of firing four torpedoes simultaneously at four different targets and launching anti-ship missiles such as Exocet or Harpoon. Its safe diving depth was increased to 257 metres (843 ft), and its top speed was increased from 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h) to 25 knots (46 km/h). In November 2016, the submarine was equipped with an ASELSAN KULAÇ echosounder system. In 2012, three crew members of the Nanggala died in a failed torpedo launch exercise. The submarine was then sent to South Korea for repair. ## Sinking On 21 April 2021, Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, reported that Nanggala was believed to have disappeared in waters about 95 km (51 nautical miles) north of Bali. Indonesian Navy spokesperson First Admiral Julius Widjojono [id] stated that Nanggala had been conducting a torpedo drill, but failed to report its results as expected. Further details emerged that Nanggala had requested permission to dive to fire an SUT torpedo at 03:00 WIB (20:00 UTC, ). At around 04:00, Nanggala should have been flooding its torpedo tubes in preparation for the firing of the torpedo. The last communication with Nanggala was at 04:25, when the commanding officer of the training task force would have authorized the firing of torpedo number 8. Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy Yudo Margono reported that Nanggala had fired a live torpedo and a practice torpedo before contact was lost. The navy sent a distress call to the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office at around 09:37 to report the boat as missing and presumably sunk. The navy stated that it was possible that Nanggala experienced a power outage before falling to a depth of 600–700 m (2,000–2,300 ft). Widjojono stated that Nanggala was able to dive to a depth of 500 m (1,600 ft). The deepest areas of the Bali Sea are over 1,500 m (4,900 ft) below sea level. It was also reported that the underwater telephone (UWT) of the submarine was defective during the drill, hampering communications between the boat and rescue vessels in the area. At the time it went missing, Nanggala had 53 people on board: 49 crew members, 1 commander, and 3 weapons specialists. The highest-ranking naval officer in the submarine was Colonel Harry Setyawan, the commander of the submarine unit of the 2nd Fleet Command. Subordinates with him were Lieutenant Colonel Heri Oktavian, the commander of the submarine, and Lieutenant Colonel Irfan Suri, an officer from the Weapons Materials and Electronics Service. At noon on 22 April, Yudo Margono stated that the oxygen reserves on Nanggala would be sufficient for the entire crew and passengers for three days after it had submerged, noting that the oxygen would run out on Saturday, 24 April, at 03:00 (20:00 UTC, 23 April). Submarine experts stated that submarines have backup systems that may provide sufficient oxygen for some time depending on the state of the equipment. A crisis center equipped with an ambulance and a mobile hyperbaric chamber was established at the 2nd Fleet Command [id] headquarters in Surabaya. The center was also a source of information for the media and families of the submarine crew members. Indonesian president Joko Widodo stated that the safety of the crew of Nanggala was of top priority and invited everyone to pray for the crew's safety. ## Rescue efforts On around 07:00, an aerial search revealed traces of an oil spill on the surface of the water near the location where the submarine was believed to have dived. Indonesian Navy deployed three warships—, , and —to search for Nanggala. Widjojono stated that a team of divers was searching for the boat. Janes Defence News also reported that the navy had sent a number of other warships to the area. The governments of Australia, Singapore, and India had responded to Indonesian requests for assistance. On , the Indonesian Navy reported that an oil slick had been observed at multiple locations. Indonesian frigate Raden Eddy Martadinata had detected movement underwater at a speed of 2.5 knots (4.6 km/h) but was unable to obtain enough information to identify the contact before it disappeared. Admiral Yudo Margono, Chief Staff of Indonesian Navy, also reported that an Indonesian naval vessel had detected an object that was magnetic at a depth of 50 to 100 metres (160 to 330 feet). The Indonesian Navy had deployed six additional ships to the area: , , KRI Karel Satsuitubun, , and . Yudo Margono also noted on Thursday that three submarines, five airplanes, and 21 warships had been deployed in the search effort. Submarine KRI Alugoro had also joined the search. , a warship with more powerful sonar equipment, was expected to arrive on . The Republic of Singapore Navy deployed its submarine rescue vessels, and Royal Malaysian Navy sent its respectively, to the scene. Indian Navy announced that their deep-submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV) had departed naval facilities at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, en route to the search area. U.S. Department of Defense press secretary John Kirby stated that the department was sending airborne assets to assist in the search. These included a P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. On 23 April, the Indonesian National Police also sent four police ships equipped with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and sonar devices. Fleet Commander Australia, Rear Admiral Mark Hammond announced that HMAS Ballarat and HMAS Sirius would join the search operation. Other nations, including Germany, France, Russia, Turkey, and Thailand, offered assistance. ### Discovery On 24 April 2021, the Indonesian Navy announced the finding of debris, including a part associated with torpedo tubes, a coolant pipe insulator, a bottle of periscope grease, and prayer rugs. Because the debris was found within 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) of the point of last contact and no other vessels were believed to be in the area, the debris was believed to have come from the submarine, and Nanggala was declared sunk. Yudo Margono stated that a sonar scan had shown the submarine at a depth of 850 m (2,800 ft), and its crush depth was presumed to be 500 m (1,600 ft). Due to the maximum operational depth limitation of 800 m (2,600 ft) of Rigel's two underwater ROVs, Rigel was unable to launch them and was assisted by the submarine rescue ship MV Swift Rescue of the Republic of Singapore Navy, which launched its 1,000-metre (3,300 ft) depth-capable drone and located and made visual contact with Nanggala at 09:04. On 25 April 2021, the Indonesian Navy confirmed that the Nanggala had imploded and that all 53 personnel on board were lost. Underwater scans identified parts of the submarine, including the rudder, diving plane, anchor, and external parts of the pressure hull, as well as items such as an MK11 submarine escape suit. The ROV Super Spartan from MV Swift Rescue of the Singapore Navy first made visual contact with the wreck and determined that the submarine had split into three parts. Using a multibeam echosounder, KRI Rigel confirmed the final position of Nanggala at a depth of 838 m (2,749 ft) at the coordinates , roughly 1,400 m (1,500 yd) from where Nanggala had dived. ## Analysis ### Cause The Navy said Nanggala might have had a power outage. The boat had experienced a power outage before because of a blown electrical fuse, but the boat successfully recovered after the ship executed an emergency main ballast tank blow. After the finding of debris from Nanggala, Yudo Margono said the submarine might have cracked instead of exploded, as an explosion would have been detected by sonar. Indonesian legislator and retired Major General Tubagus Hasanuddin suspected the refit, performed by the South Korean firm DSME in 2012, may not have been performed properly. He said that after the refit, the submarine had failed a torpedo firing test, which resulted in three deaths. Hasanuddin also said Nanggala had exceeded its design capacity of 38 with 53 people on board when it sank. Yudo Margono said the vessel was combat ready, had received a letter of acceptance, and had a history of successful firing exercises. Hasanuddin also questioned why 53 people were allowed on board the Nanggala when it sunk despite the ship only being designed for 34 crew. ### Alleged poor maintenance Nanggala commander Lt. Col. Heri Oktavian, who died in the incident, had voiced his frustration with the maintenance status of the Nanggala to Edna C. Pattisna, a close friend, who is also a reporter with local news media Kompas, for which she published an article titled Message from KRI Nanggala-402 Commander. Oktavian claimed that the workmanship quality and maintenance services performed by state-owned shipyard PT PAL Indonesia were unsatisfactory and suffered from frequent delays. He lamented that an officer encountered criticism from his superiors for reporting the poor workmanship by PT PAL on the KRI Alugoro, a Changbogo-class submarine assembled by PT PAL's Surabaya yard and launched on 11 April 2019. Oktavian was also quoted as saying: "This submarine (the Alugoro) by PT PAL, there's nothing good about it". Nanggala was last serviced by PT PAL in 2020. No further refitting of Nanggala was requested to DSME after the 2012 refit despite the need for submarines to undergo maintenance at least once every six years. ## Aftermath After the Indonesian Navy declared Nanggala lost with all hands, the People's Consultative Assembly recommended a posthumous promotion for all personnel on board. Hadi Tjahjanto stated that he would propose the promotions to Indonesian President Joko Widodo. A day later, on 26 April, Joko Widodo announced that the government would award a posthumous promotion and confer posthumously the Bintang Jalasena (Navy Meritorious Service Star) to everyone on board Nanggala. The ceremony conferring the awards and promotions was held on 29 April, attended by Joko Widodo, Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto, Hadi Tjahjanto, and Yudo Margono. Tubagus Hasanuddin recommended that the Indonesian Navy's remaining Cakra-class submarine be taken out of service. Parliamentarian Utut Adianto stated that Indonesia's defences required modernization. Frans Wuwung, former head of the engine room of Nanggala, stated that despite the submarine's age, its equipment was still in good condition due to proper maintenance and did not consider such a modernization necessary. Two days after the sub had been declared sunk, Rahmat Eko Rahardjo, the commander of the 2nd Fleet Naval Combat Squad who had given permission for Nanggala to dive, and ING Sudihartawan, the commander of the 2nd Fleet, were relieved of their commands by Hadi Tjahjanto. Hadi appointed Iwan Isnurwanto, a former Nanggala crew member and chief of staff, to replace the latter. Iwan later appointed Wirawan Ady Prasetya — another Nanggala commander — to replace the position that Harry had left posthumously. ### Reactions Condolences were expressed by the King of Malaysia, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the South Korean Ministry of Defense, Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, the UK's Minister of State for Asia, Nigel Adams, and ambassador to Indonesia, Owen Jenkins. United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed his "heartfelt concern" in a call with Prabowo Subianto. During the search, use of the hashtag \#PrayForKRINanggala402 and \#KRINanggala402 became popular on Twitter. After Nanggala had been declared sunk, the phrases "On Eternal Patrol" and "Rest In Peace", and the motto Wira Ananta Rudira (Sanskrit: Steadfast to the End), used by the submarine unit to which Nanggala belonged, saw increased usage. ## Salvage On , two Chinese navy ships, ocean tug Nantuo (195) and ocean salvage and rescue ship Yongxingdao (863), arrived to assist with the recovery of the wreck. Scientific research vessel Explorer 2 was scheduled to arrive the next day. There have also been discussions between the Indonesian Navy and state-owned oil regulator SKK Migas to raise the submarine. By , the team had successfully recovered two life rafts that weighed approximately 700 kg (1,500 lb) each. However, they had yet to locate the submarine's pressure hull, and gave up on lifting the bridge after a sling was broken during a failed attempt, as the bridge likely weighed over 20 tonnes (20,000 kg; 44,000 lb). ## Government housing assistance for families On 20 April 2022, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto gave keys to housing built by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing to 53 families of the deceased crew. ## Notable former crew members - Rear Admiral Frans Wuwung, former head of engine room, member of the People's Representative Council (2001–2002) ## See also - Chinese submarine 361 – 2003 submarine disaster - List of submarine incidents since 2000
24,038,861
Soviet cruiser Kaganovich
1,124,795,407
Soviet Navy's Kirov-class cruiser
[ "1944 ships", "Cold War cruisers of the Soviet Union", "Kirov-class cruisers", "Maritime incidents in 1958", "Ships built in the Soviet Union", "World War II cruisers of the Soviet Union" ]
Kaganovich (Russian: Каганович) was a Project 26bis2 Kirov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy that was built during World War II. She was built in Siberia from components shipped from European Russia. She saw no action during the war and served into the Cold War. She was renamed Lazar Kaganovich in 1945 to distinguish her from Lazar's disgraced brother Mikhail Kaganovich. Her post-war career was generally uneventful, although her superstructure was badly damaged by a Force 12 typhoon in 1957. She was renamed Petropavlovsk (Russian: Петропавловск) in 1957. Sources disagree on her fate; some say that she was converted into a floating barracks in 1960 and later sold for scrap while another says that she was simply sold for scrap in 1960. ## Description Kaganovich was 187 m (613 ft 6 in) long at the waterline, and 191.2 m (627 ft 4 in) long overall. She had a beam of 17.66 m (57 ft 11 in) and had a draft between 5.88 to 6.3 m (19 ft 3 in to 20 ft 8 in). Kaganovich displaced 8,400 tonnes (8,267 long tons) at standard load and 10,040 tonnes (9,881 long tons) at full load. Her geared steam turbines produced a total of 126,900 shaft horsepower (94,629 kW) on trials, but she fell somewhat short of her designed speed of 37 knots, only reaching 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph), on trials, because she was over 1,200 tonnes (1,181 long tons) overweight. She normally carried 650 tonnes (640 long tons) of fuel oil, 1,331 tonnes (1,310 long tons) at full load and 1,714 tonnes (1,687 long tons) at overload. This gave her an endurance of 5,590 nautical miles (10,350 km; 6,430 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) with overload fuel. Kaganovich carried nine 180 mm (7.1 in) 57-caliber B-1-P guns in three electrically powered MK-3-180 triple turrets. The turrets were very small; they were designed to fit into the limited hull space available and were so cramped that their rate of fire was much lower than designed—only two rounds per minute instead of six. The guns were mounted in a single cradle to minimize space and were so close together that their shot dispersion was very high because the muzzle blast from adjacent barrels affected each gun. Unlike her half-sisters built in European Russia, her secondary armament initially consisted of eight single 85 mm (3.3 in) 90-K dual-purpose anti-aircraft guns. Kaganovich's initial light AA armament is unknown, although her sister ship Kalinin's initially consisted of six semi-automatic 45 mm (1.8 in) 21-K AA guns with 600 rounds per gun, ten fully automatic 37 mm (1.5 in) 70-K AA guns with a thousand rounds per gun, and six DK 12.7 mm (0.50 in) machine guns with 12,500 rounds per gun. During the 1950s her light anti-aircraft armament was replaced by nine powered 37 mm V-11 mounts. Six 533-millimeter (21 in) 39-Yu torpedo tubes were fitted in two triple mountings, one on each side. She received the Lend-Lease ASDIC-132 sonar system, which the Soviets called Drakon-132, as well as the experimental Soviet Mars-72 system. Kaganovich's radar suite is unknown, but it is likely she was equipped with a mix of Soviet and British and American Lend-Lease radars. At some point during the 1950s her radars were replaced by modern Soviet-built radars; Gyuys for air search, Rif for surface search, Zalp for main-armament gunnery and Yakor' for anti-aircraft gunnery. ## Service Kaganovich was one of the Project 26bis2 cruisers, the third pair of the Kirov-class cruisers. She was larger and had a more powerful anti-aircraft armament than her half-sisters. She was assembled at Shipyard 199, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, from components built at the Shipyard 198 (Marti South) in Nikolayev. She was laid down on 12 August 1938, launched from drydock on 7 May 1944 and was officially accepted into the Pacific Fleet on 6 December 1944 after being towed down the Amur River to Vladivostok. She was still incomplete on this date and the official report of all work completed was not signed until 29 January 1947. Her construction was prolonged by late deliveries from western factories. For example, her propellers had to be shipped from Leningrad after it had been surrounded by the Germans in September 1941 and her propeller shafts had to be removed from the Barrikady factory in Stalingrad before it was destroyed by the Germans in 1942. Another problem was the collapse of nine girders supporting the roof of Dock 8 onto the ship in early December 1942. She was renamed Lazar Kaganovich in 1945 to disassociate her from Lazar's disgraced brother Mikhail Kaganovich. She remained inactive during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945. She spent the post-war period on routine training missions. She was renamed Petropavlovsk on 3 August 1957 after Lazar Kaganovich was purged from the government after an unsuccessful coup against Nikita Khrushchev that same year. Her superstructure was badly damaged by a Force 12 typhoon on 19 September 1957. Sources disagree on her fate; one says that she was converted into a floating barracks on 6 February 1960 and later sold for scrap while another says that she was simply sold for scrap on 6 February 1960.
4,179,907
Matt Leto
1,157,949,825
American professional esports player
[ "1980s births", "American esports players", "American people of Italian descent", "American real estate brokers", "Halo (franchise) players", "Living people", "Str8 Rippin players" ]
Matt Leto, known by the gamer tag Zyos, is a former American professional player of the first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. Zyos spent a year in his late teens accumulating video game records, and for a while was the holder of the most records. After dropping out of DigiPen Institute of Technology, Leto pursued a career in professional gaming. Leto won the 2003 and 2004 World Cyber Games, and was signed to become a professional game player that same year. He remained champion until he was defeated in 2005, and was known for his quiet, patient style of play, and his skill in one-on-one matches. In 2006 he retired from professional gaming. He is currently working as a real estate agent in Texas. ## Early life and career Leto played his first video game at the age of five, playing Super Mario Bros. In his early teens he played and won local video game competitions. At the age of 17, he broke the world record for points scored in the video game Crazy Taxi, and when Twin Galaxies, which records video game records, wanted more proof, he recorded a video of beating his own record. He then spent the next year focused on breaking video game records and eventually broke 742 of them. He had the highest number of records ever achieved until Tom Duncan surpassed him. Originally Zyos was interested in going to DigiPen Institute of Technology to learn how to create video games, but found it intense and that it was not his passion. Having dropped out of college, he later left his job at an ice cream shop at age 19 and began pursuing a career in professional gaming. In late 2002 Leto competed at AGP1, his first video game tournament, and though his team placed fifth, he ranked second individually out of three hundred players. ## Professional career ### 2003 In the fall of 2003, Leto was recruited to play professionally for Major League Gaming (MLG) at the age of 19. That year, he was part of the four-man team "Dream Team". He won the top prize at the World Cyber Games 2003 held in Seoul, South Korea, winning \$20,000. It was at that point that Zyos decided he could play video games as his career. That year, Zyos earned \$30,000 from professional gaming. He also signed an endorsement deal with ActiVision that placed an endorsing quote on an Xbox shooter game titled Greg Hasting's Tournament Paintball. ### 2004 In 2004, GameSpot described Leto as the "number one Halo player in the United States". Leto came in second at the 2004 Dallas Midwestern Regional Tournament in the "Halo Free For All" category, and first in the N-Gage Competition playing Tony Hawk. As part of Team FFA competing in Major League Gaming tournaments, he helped defeat Shoot to Kill in an upset victory in Chicago, and then also Atlanta. Later in the MLG tournament series he was part of the Florida Jackalopes and were defeated in New York by Team Domination. At the MLG San Francisco tournament, Zyos agreed to split the prize money with his final competitor "Mighty" before the final game, and claimed to do so in order to make his opponent less hungry for victory. Leto participated in the World Cyber Games 2004 in San Francisco. In preparation for the World Cyber Games, Zyos traveled for the two weeks prior to practice playing against his competitors. At the opening ceremony of the games, Leto was player representative, having been the previous year's champion, and called on players to have good sportsmanship. In the final game, Leto led early 13–5, but his opponent rallied to 13–10 before Zyos was able to also rally and defeat him. `Zyos thus won the gold medal for the second year in a row, defeating Canadian Nelson Triana 2–0 in the "best out of three" format. He said that his second victory was more important than his first since he is now the third person to win two years in a row.` ### 2005 At the Game Riot Conference in 2005, amateur players had a chance to play against Zyos to win prizes; Leto viewed the touring gaming exposition as a chance to build his reputation. In 2005, Zyos was paid for endorsements and had a managing team. He also came in third at the Major League Games Competition as part of the team Str8 Rippin. That team went on to defeat rivals "Team3D" in Philadelphia. Later that summer, he joined Team "Trademark Gamers", and later the "IGS Monglers". On September 13, 2005, Zyos was defeated by the Ogre twins in the third game of the World Cyber Games' United States Finals. Leto attributed his loss to his weakness in two-on-two play and stated his desire to continue playing one on one. In October 2005, Zyos competed and won the DigitalLife Tournament Series Halo 2 tournament, defeating "PdgfProxa" in the final match. ### 2006 Leto competed professionally in Halo 2 and Project Gotham Racing 3 at the World Series of Video Games in July 2006 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center. He was also invited to attend the Championship Gaming Series that year. Following his defeat, he considered playing another first-person shooter or a future Halo game. In September of that year he visited the Cyber World Games and attendees had the opportunity to be taught how to play Halo 2. He was a part of team XiT Woundz, thought to be one of the top four Major League Gaming teams in 2006. The team was defeated by teams "eX" and MoBDeep, and ultimately placed seventh. Following the defeats, Zyos exited his hotel where he was staying for the tournament and has not returned to professional gaming. His retirement was called the ninth most important event in professional gaming that year by Major League Gaming. ## Technique Zyos studied his opponent's style of play in order to find weaknesses. He also practiced four to five hours to day, and the week before a tournament for ten. He stated that most of the stress of competing is mental, though physical fitness helps in tournaments that can last 16 hours per day. Talents he has suggested players need include quick reflexes, concentration, and the ability to play under pressure. The transition from Halo to Halo 2 was a mixed bag for Zyos, since he called it an "easier game", but tournaments started being more focused on two-on-two. Once Halo 2 was released, Leto began to focus almost exclusively on it and did not play the original at all. While on Team Str8 Rippin in 2005, Leto stated that their style was unique, since any team member might take on any role in their attack formation. They were also patient, content to wait for their enemies out and force the opposing team to attack when Str8 Rippin is ahead. Zyos insisted upon his teammates being silent and not trash-talking during matches in order to maintain focus. ## Tournament results - 1st - 2003 World Cyber Games - 1st - 2004 World Cyber Games
416,391
Margaret Taylor
1,170,681,282
First Lady of the United States from 1849 to 1850
[ "1788 births", "1852 deaths", "18th-century American Episcopalians", "18th-century American women", "19th-century American Episcopalians", "19th-century American women", "First ladies of the United States", "People from Calvert County, Maryland", "People from Jefferson County, Mississippi", "Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century", "Zachary Taylor family" ]
Margaret "Peggy" Mackall Taylor (née Smith; September 21, 1788 – August 14, 1852) was the first lady of the United States from 1849 to 1850 as the wife of President Zachary Taylor. She married Zachary in 1810 and lived as an army wife, accompanying her husband to his postings in the American frontier. She had six children, two of whom died in childhood while the remaining four were sent to boarding schools in the eastern United States. After a brief period of stable domestic life in the 1840s, her husband was elected President of the United States to her dismay in 1848. She managed the White House from the upstairs residence while she delegated her responsibilities as White House hostess to her daughter. She was highly reclusive throughout her tenure as first lady, which ended abruptly with her husband's death in 1850. She lived in obscurity until her death two years later. ## Early life and education Margaret Mackall Smith was born on September 21, 1788, in Calvert County, Maryland. Her father was Walter Smith, a prosperous Maryland planter from a prominent family and a veteran officer of the American Revolution. Her mother was Ann Mackall Smith. Smith was homeschooled, learning skills that would allow her to fulfill a domestic role. These included reading and writing, arithmetic, music, embroidery, dancing, and riding. When Smith was ten years old, her mother died. She would thereafter live with her mother's parents. As an adult, Smith was educated at a finishing school in New York City. When her father died in 1804, she moved in with her sister in Louisville, Kentucky. She met Lieutenant Zachary Taylor while in Kentucky in 1809, and after a seven month long courtship, she married him on June 21, 1810 in her sister's log house. ## Frontier life The Taylors lived on the American frontier, regularly moving to different camps and barracks. Margaret was one of the few military wives that accompanied their husbands into the frontier, though there were also long periods of separation when Margaret was unable to travel with Zachary. While in the frontier, they had six children: Ann Mackall in 1811, Sarah Knox in 1814, Octavia Pannill in 1816, Margaret Smith in 1819, Mary Elizabeth in 1824, and their only son Richard in 1826. She was forced to raise them in the sub-optimal conditions of military camps. When they came of school age, they were sent to the Eastern United States with relatives. Margaret and Zachary wished to give their children educational opportunities that they themselves never had. Their children spent many years in boarding schools, sometimes going years without seeing their parents. Taylor was a devout lifelong Episcopalian, and her faith gave her reassurance while she endured the burdens of frontier life. While they were in Bayou Sara, Louisiana, in 1820, the Taylors were afflicted by what was then diagnosed as bilious fever. Their children Octavia and Margaret died that year. Taylor herself came close to death, and she was devastated by the loss of her children. In 1828, the Taylors found residence in a house where Zachary was stationed at Fort Snelling. In 1832, they had access to a larger house while Zachary was in command of Fort Crawford, where they lived until 1836. At this home, Taylor held two slaves that did farm work with her. ## War and presidential election Taylor was beset by another tragedy in 1835 when her daughter Sarah died of malarial fever at the age of 21, only three months after marrying Jefferson Davis. Taylor was involved in the war effort during the Second Seminole War after her husband was stationed in Florida in 1837. She assisted in treating the wounded and promoting morale among the soldiers. She was able to return to domestic life after her husband was given leave in 1840 and they collected their daughter Betty from her boarding school. It was only then that they had their own home together in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Taylor declined one of the larger homes that were available in favor of a small cottage. Zachary was called to serve in the Mexican–American War in 1845. This separation was particularly difficult for Margaret, and one rumor suggests that she swore to give up public life if her husband returned from the war alive. During the war, she saw to the establishment of a chapel for military wives in Baton Rouge that would eventually become the St. James Episcopal Church. Though she had never been a healthy person, her health degraded more severely around this time, and she had only limited mobility by the time of her husband's return. Her husband's success in the war won him national acclaim, and he was nominated by the Whig Party in the 1848 presidential election. She strongly opposed his presidential run, insisting it would "shorten both our lives." Taylor prayed nightly that he would lose the election, but to her disappointment, he was elected president. One week before her husband's inauguration, she declined an invitation to dinner from the incumbent president and first lady, allowing her daughter to accept the invitation instead. Despite her strong reservations, however, she was happy for her husband's success. Though she attended her husband's inauguration, rumors spread that she had not. ## First Lady of the United States Like many first ladies of her generation, Taylor rejected the position's traditional duties. Her experience in high society had long since been overshadowed by frontier life, and she had no desire to fulfill the role of White House hostess. She remained in seclusion on the second floor of the White House, citing her health, limiting her hosting to that of family and friends. She delegated her remaining responsibilities to her daughter Mary Elizabeth Bliss. Very few political visitors were invited to meet Taylor, though she did once meet Daniel Webster. Though Taylor was not active in her husband's administration, she would regularly engage in political discussion with guests or knit silently and listen while others discussed politics. She may have influenced her husband's decision to appoint Reverdy Johnson as Attorney General due to her relationship with his wife. Taylor's limited public appearances and lack of experience in Washington social life inspired rumors and political attacks, often suggesting that she was unintelligent or unladylike. The Taylors maintained a relationship with their widower son-in-law Jefferson Davis, and his second wife Varina Davis became a close friend of Taylor during her tenure as first lady. Taylor retained the private aspects of the first lady's duties, serving as head of the White House residence. She managed the White House staff, which included 15 slaves. Slavery had become highly controversial by the time the Taylors entered the White House, and the slaves were typically kept upstairs so as not to draw attention to them. Much of her time in the White House was spent knitting. She also attended St. John's Episcopal Church every day, and she was a member of the American Sunday School Union. She was often accompanied in the White House by her children and grandchildren, who visited regularly. Taylor's tenure as first lady ended with the death of her husband on July 9, 1850. ## Later life and death Though Taylor was invited to stay in the White House as long as necessary, she left the evening of her husband's state funeral, and she left Washington a week later. She stayed with her daughter Ann in Baltimore for three months before taking up residence with her daughter Betty in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She lived away from the public eye for the rest of her life, never talking about the White House. It is believed that she spent her final years teaching Sunday school. Taylor died of a fever on August 14, 1852, and was buried beside her husband at what is now the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. At the time of her death, she had the shortest post White House life of any first lady at two years and 36 days, but she would only briefly hold this record, as her successor Abigail Fillmore died the following year mere weeks after leaving the White House. ## Legacy Taylor is described as "mysterious" due to her relative obscurity. Many contemporary reports erroneously described her as a heavy pipe smoker, though she detested tobacco. Contemporary biographers of Zachary Taylor during his time as a general gave little acknowledgement of his wife, with one merely portraying her as ill and frail and another neglecting to mention her at all outside of a footnote. Her performance as first lady is regarded poorly by historians, and she is typically placed in the bottom five of first ladies in polling of historians by the Siena Research Institute. None of her letters are known to have survived, and she is regarded as having played no role in her husband's administration. For many years no portraits or photographs of Taylor could be fully authenticated, and none were known to exist. In portrait galleries of the first ladies, Taylor's portrait was typically substituted with that of her daughter Elizabeth. In 2010 a tinted ambrotype portrait of Taylor surfaced. This particular image seems to have been the model for most depictions of her. For many years, the only known image of Taylor was an engraving issued by the U.S. Government in 1902. Heritage Auctions offered a ninth plate daguerreotype of the First Lady, a Taylor family heirloom, in November 2010, identifying it then as one of only two known photographs. This is the one loaned by her daughter, White House Hostess Betty Taylor Bliss Dandridge, to be used as the model for the engraving.
2,262,983
Who Is It (Michael Jackson song)
1,172,363,496
null
[ "1991 songs", "1992 singles", "1993 singles", "Epic Records singles", "Michael Jackson songs", "Music videos directed by David Fincher", "Song recordings produced by Bill Bottrell", "Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson", "Songs written by Michael Jackson" ]
"Who Is It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on July 13, 1992, as the fifth single from Jackson's eighth studio album, Dangerous (1991). The song was written and composed by Jackson, and produced by Jackson and Bill Bottrell. The song's lyrics pertain to despair over being left by someone you love; some critics noted a comparison to the lyrics of the song to Jackson's single "Billie Jean" from the album Thriller. As part of the promotion for the song, two music videos were released in 1992. The song was not performed by Jackson on any of his world concert tours. He did, however, perform a small segment of the song in his interview with Oprah Winfrey in early 1993. ## Background and composition "Who Is It" was recorded by Michael Jackson for his eighth studio album, Dangerous. Jackson wrote and composed the track, and produced it with Bill Bottrell. It was released as the fifth single from Dangerous on July 13, 1992, in the UK by Jackson's record label, Epic Records. The lyrics of the song tell of a man who is left in despair when his lover suddenly leaves him. He learns that she was unfaithful to him and wants to know with whom she cheated. ## Reception ### Critical reception Several music critics compared "Who Is It" to Jackson's 1983 single "Billie Jean". Chris Lacy from Albumism described the song as a "haunting masterpiece" that "finds Jackson teeming with rage and regret when his lover leaves him unexpectedly." Larry Flick from Billboard called it a "stellar jam", adding that "minor-key synths and rigid rhythms underscore a white-knuckled vocal and a hook reminiscent of "Billie Jean"." Chris Willman of the Los Angeles Times claimed that it "recaptures some of the slinky, insinuating feel of 'Billie Jean.'" Jon Pareles, a writer for The New York Times, said the song is an "imitation" of "Billie Jean". Alan Light of Rolling Stone noted that unlike his previous efforts, it is about betrayal. Jonathan Bernstein, a writer for Spin, wrote that "Who Is It" was "close skin to "Billie Jean". ### Commercial reception "Who Is It" was commercially successful worldwide, generally peaking within the top 30 positions on national music charts. The song peaked at number 14 on the United States' Billboard Hot 100 chart, while peaking at number six on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, as well as topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play. Internationally, "Who Is It" reached the top 20 in several countries. The song debuted on the United Kingdom music chart at number 12 on July 25, 1992, and the following week reached its peak position, number 10. It remained within the top 100 positions for seven consecutive weeks from July to September 1992. In France, the track peaked at number eight on August 29. "Who Is It" reached its lowest peak position at number 34 in Australia. In Austria, the track debuted at its peak position, number five; the song remained within the top 30 chart positions from August to October. "Who Is It" debuted in Switzerland on August 2, at number 40, and peaked at number 14 two weeks later. The song debuted at number 94 in the Netherlands, and the following week moved up 60 positions, eventually peaking at number 13. In Sweden, the track entered the country's music chart at its peak position, number 24 and, after four weeks, fell out of the top 50. In Norway, the track debuted at its peak position, number 10 on the 30th week of 1992; the song charted at its peak position for two weeks before falling off the chart. The song also peaked at number 16 in New Zealand. After Jackson's death in June 2009, his music experienced a surge in popularity. "Who Is It" re-entered the Switzerland music charts for the first time in over 17 years, hitting number 49 on July 12, 2009. ## Music video Directed by David Fincher, the accompanying music video for "Who Is It" was released in 1992. The music video was filmed in Los Angeles, California and the helicopter scene in the video was filmed at the Neverland Ranch. It begins with Jackson in what seems to be a hotel, singing about his girlfriend portrayed by English model Yasmin Le Bon. He is distressed because he found a silver card with the name "Alex" on it. It implies that his girlfriend is cheating on him with someone else. As the story in the video unfolds, the girl takes on different identities (i.e. Eve, Diana, etc.) for her job as a high class call girl. "Alex" (which is also a girl's name) just happens to be one of them. The video alternates scenes from where Jackson is singing about his pain, to where the girl is being changed into her different identities and taking care of her jobs (mostly meeting with other men and even some women, and sleeping with them). Towards the end of the video, Jackson has packed up his bags to leave town, because of his distress. A helicopter comes to pick him up from his house. The girl comes to Jackson's house and she asks his assistant (who knows the situation and aided Jackson in his departure) to let her in. It is likely she quit the job for him and wants to stay. The assistant shakes his head, implying that he left. When she asks why, he drops a flutter of silver nameplates (including the one that said "Alex") from a slot in the door. After that scene, Jackson is seen sleeping and smoke floats out the side of the screen. Having lost her love and without any alternative, the girl turns to her profession as a call girl again. Her employer (portrayed by actress Lois Chiles) slaps her in the face and the video ends as the girl is seen being prepared for a new identity. This version did not initially air in the USA but was included on the video albums: Dangerous: The Short Films and Michael Jackson's Vision. Another version of the video features footage from past music videos and live performances. This is the version that first aired in the USA. ## Track listings - CD-maxi (658179 2) 1. "Who Is It" (7-inch edit with intro) – 4:10 2. "Who Is It" (The Most Patient Mix) – 7:44 3. "Who Is It" (IHS Mix) – 7:58 4. "Who Is It" (P-Man Dub) – 7:31 5. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (Roger's Underground Solution Mix) – 6:22 - 7-inch single (658179 7) 1. "Who Is It" (7-inch edit with intro) – 4:10 2. "Rock with You" (Masters at Work Remix) – 5:29 - The Remixes – 12-inch maxi (658179 6) 1. "Who Is It" (Patience Mix) – 7:44 2. "Who Is It" (The Most Patient Mix) – 7:44 3. "Who Is It" (IHS Mix) – 7:58 4. "Who Is It" (P-Man Dub) – 7:31 - CD single (658179 5) 1. "Who Is It" (The Most Patient Mix) – 7:44 2. "Who Is It" (IHS Mix) – 7:58 3. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (Roger's Underground Club Solution) – 6:22 - The Remixes – CD-maxi (ESCA 5652) 1. "Who Is It" (Patience Mix) – 7:44 2. "Who Is It" (The Most Patient Mix) – 7:44 3. "Who Is It" (IHS Mix) – 7:58 4. "Who Is It" (P-Man Dub) – 7:31 5. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (Roger's Underground Club Solution) – 6:22 - CD-maxi (49K 74420) 1. "Who Is It" (The Oprah Winfrey Special Intro) – 4:00 2. "Who Is It" (Patience Edit) – 4:01 3. "Who Is It" (House 7-inch) – 3:55 4. "Who Is It" (Brother's In Rhythm House Mix) – 7:13 5. "Beat It" (Moby's Sub Mix) – 6:11 - 12-inch maxi (49 74420) 1. "Who Is It" (Brothers in Rhythm House Mix) – 7:11 2. "Who Is It" (Tribal Version) – 7:39 3. "Who Is It" (Brothers Cool Dub) – 5:47 4. "Who Is It" (Lakeside Dub) – 7:36 5. "Beat It" (Moby's Sub Mix) – 6:18 ## Credits and personnel - Written, composed, arrangement, soprano voice, solo and background vocals by Michael Jackson - Produced by Michael Jackson and Bill Bottrell - Recorded, mixed and synthesizer by Bill Bottrell - Bryan Loren, Bill Bottrell: Drums - Louis Johnson: Bass (bass guitar) - Keyboard arrangements by Brad Buxer and David Paich - Keyboard performance and programming: Brad Buxer, Michael Boddicker, David Paich, Steve Porcaro and Jai Winding - String arrangement by George del Barrio - Concertmaster: Endre Grant - Solo cello: Larry Corbett ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## See also - List of number-one dance singles of 1993 (U.S.)
4,312
Bethlehem
1,172,861,786
City in the West Bank, Palestine
[ "Bethlehem", "Books of Samuel", "Christian holy places", "Cities in the West Bank", "David", "Historic Jewish communities", "Holy cities", "Municipalities of the State of Palestine", "Nativity of Jesus in the New Testament", "New Testament cities", "Palestinian Christian communities", "Torah cities" ]
Bethlehem (/ˈbɛθlɪhɛm/; Arabic: بيت لحم ; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם Bēṯ Leḥem) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus. At the northern entrance of the city is Rachel's Tomb, the burial place of biblical matriarch Rachel. Movement around the city is limited due to the Israeli West Bank barrier. The earliest-known mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of ancient Egypt, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, when the town was inhabited by the Canaanites. In the Hebrew Bible, the period of the Israelites is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of David as well as the city where he was anointed as the third monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel, and also states that it was built up as a fortified city by Rehoboam, the first monarch of the Kingdom of Judah. In the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke identify the city as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Under the Roman Empire, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by Hadrian, who was in the process of defeating Jews involved in the Bar Kokhba revolt. However, Bethlehem's rebuilding was later promoted by Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great; Constantine expanded on his mother's project by commissioning the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by Samaritans involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the Byzantine Empire, it was rebuilt a century later by Justinian I. Amidst the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin in 637. Muslims continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the Crusaders, who replaced the local Christian clergy—composed of representatives from the Greek Orthodox Church—with representatives from the Catholic Church. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the Mamluk Sultanate. However, they were rebuilt by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War. At the end of World War I, the defeated Ottomans lost control of Bethlehem to the British Empire. It was governed under the British Mandate for Palestine until 1948, when it was captured by Jordan during the First Arab–Israeli War (see Jordanian annexation of the West Bank). In 1967, the city was captured by Israel during the Third Arab–Israeli War. Since the Oslo Accords, which comprise a series of agreements between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under full Palestinian control. While it was historically a city of Arab Christians, Bethlehem now has a majority of Arab Muslims; it is still home to a significant community of Palestinian Christians, however. Presently, Bethlehem has become encircled by dozens of Israeli settlements, which effectively separate Palestinians in the city from being able to openly access their land and livelihoods, and has likewise triggered their steady exodus. ## Etymology The current name for Bethlehem in local languages is in Arabic (Arabic: بيت لحم), literally meaning "house of meat", and Bet Leḥem in Hebrew (Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם), literally "house of bread" or "house of food." The city was called in Ancient Greek: Βηθλεέμ and in Latin: Bethleem. The earliest mention of Bethlehem as a place appears in the Amarna correspondence (c. 1400 BCE), in which it is referred to as Bit-Laḫmi, a name for which the origins remain unknown. One longstanding suggestion in scholarship is that it derives from the Mesopotamian or Canaanite fertility god Laḫmu and his consort sister Lahamu, lahmo being the Chaldean word for "fertility". Biblical scholar William F. Albright believed that this hypothesis, first put forth by Otto Schroeder, was "certainly accurate". Albright noted that the pronunciation of the name had remained essentially the same for 3,500 years, even if the perceived meaning had shifted over time: "'Temple of the God Lakhmu' in Canaanite, 'House of Bread' in Hebrew and Aramaic, 'House of Meat' in Arabic." While Schroeder's theory is not widely accepted, it continues to find favour in academic literature over the later literal translations. Another suggestion is an association with the root l-h-m "to fight", but this is thought unlikely. ## History ### Canaanite period The earliest reference to Bethlehem appears in the Amarna correspondence (c. 1400 BCE). In one of his six letters to Pharaoh, Abdi-Heba, the Egyptian-appointed governor of Jerusalem, appeals for aid in retaking Bit-Laḫmi in the wake of disturbances by Apiru mercenaries: "Now even a town near Jerusalem, Bit-Lahmi by name, a village which once belonged to the king, has fallen to the enemy... Let the king hear the words of your servant Abdi-Heba, and send archers to restore the imperial lands of the king!" It is thought that the similarity of this name to its modern forms indicates that it was originally a settlement of Canaanites who shared a Semitic cultural and linguistic heritage with the later arrivals. Laḫmu was the Akkadian god of fertility, worshipped by the Canaanites as Leḥem. Some time in the third millennium BCE, Canaanites erected a temple on the hill now known as the Hill of the Nativity, probably dedicated to Laḫmu. The temple, and subsequently the town that formed around it, was then known as Beit Lahama, "House (Temple) of Lahmu". By 1200 BC, the area of Bethlehem, as well as much of the region, was conquered by the Philistines, which led the region to be known to the Greeks as "Philistia", later corrupted to "Palestine". A burial ground discovered in spring 2013, and surveyed in 2015 by a joint Italian–Palestinian team found that the necropolis covered 3 hectares (more than 7 acres) and originally contained more than 100 tombs in use between roughly 2200 BCE and 650 BCE. The archaeologists were able to identify at least 30 tombs. ### Israelite and Judean period Archaeological confirmation of Bethlehem as a city in the Kingdom of Judah was uncovered in 2012 at the archaeological dig at the City of David in the form of a bulla (seal impression in dried clay) in ancient Hebrew script that reads "From the town of Bethlehem to the King." According to the excavators, it was used to seal the string closing a shipment of grain, wine, or other goods sent as a tax payment in the 8th or 7th century BCE. Biblical scholars believe Bethlehem, located in the "hill country" of Judea, may be the same as the Biblical Ephrath, which means "fertile", as there is a reference to it in the Book of Micah as Bethlehem Ephratah. The Hebrew Bible also calls it Beth-Lehem Judah, and the New Testament describes it as the "City of David". It is first mentioned in the Bible as the place where the matriarch Rachel died and was buried "by the wayside" (Genesis 48:7). Rachel's Tomb, the traditional grave site, stands at the entrance to Bethlehem. According to the Book of Ruth, the valley to the east is where Ruth of Moab gleaned the fields and returned to town with Naomi. In the Books of Samuel, Bethlehem is mentioned as the home of Jesse, father of King David of Israel, and the site of David's anointment by the prophet Samuel. It was from the well of Bethlehem that three of his warriors brought him water when he was hiding in the cave of Adullam. Writing in the 4th century, the Pilgrim of Bordeaux reported that the sepulchers of David, Ezekiel, Asaph, Job, Jesse, and Solomon were located near Bethlehem. There has been no corroboration of this. ### Classical period The Gospel of Matthew Matthew 1:18–2:23 and the Gospel of Luke Luke 2:1–39 represent Jesus as having been born in Bethlehem. Modern scholars, however, regard the two accounts as contradictory and the Gospel of Mark, the earliest gospel, mentions nothing about Jesus having been born in Bethlehem, saying only that he came from Nazareth. Current scholars are divided on the actual birthplace of Jesus: some believe he was actually born in Nazareth, while others still hold that he was born in Bethlehem. Nonetheless, the tradition that Jesus was born in Bethlehem was prominent in the early church. In around 155, the apologist Justin Martyr recommended that those who doubted Jesus was really born in Bethlehem could go there and visit the very cave where he was supposed to have been born. The same cave is also referenced by the apocryphal Gospel of James and the fourth-century church historian Eusebius. After the Bar Kokhba revolt (c. 132–136 CE) was crushed, the Roman emperor Hadrian converted the Christian site above the Grotto into a shrine dedicated to the Greek god Adonis, to honour his favourite, the Greek youth Antinous. In around 395 CE, the Church Father Jerome wrote in a letter: "Bethlehem... belonging now to us... was overshadowed by a grove of Tammuz, that is to say, Adonis, and in the cave where once the infant Christ cried, the lover of Venus was lamented." Many scholars have taken this letter as evidence that the cave of the nativity over which the Church of the Nativity was later built had at one point been a shrine to the ancient Near Eastern fertility god Tammuz. Eusebius, however, mentions nothing about the cave having been associated with Tammuz and there are no other Patristic sources that suggest Tammuz had a shrine in Bethlehem. Peter Welten has argued that the cave was never dedicated to Tammuz and that Jerome misinterpreted Christian mourning over the Massacre of the Innocents as a pagan ritual over Tammuz's death. Joan E. Taylor has countered this contention by arguing that Jerome, as an educated man, could not have been so naïve as to mistake Christian mourning over the Massacre of the Innocents as a pagan ritual for Tammuz. In 326–328, the empress Helena, consort of the emperor Constantius Chlorus, and mother of the emperor Constantine the Great, made a pilgrimage to Syra-Palaestina, in the course of which she visited the ruins of Bethlehem. The Church of the Nativity was built at her initiative over the cave where Jesus was purported to have been born. During the Samaritan revolt of 529, Bethlehem was sacked and its walls and the Church of the Nativity destroyed; they were rebuilt on the orders of the Emperor Justinian I. In 614, the Persian Sassanid Empire, supported by Jewish rebels, invaded Palestina Prima and captured Bethlehem. A story recounted in later sources holds that they refrained from destroying the church on seeing the magi depicted in Persian clothing in a mosaic. ### Middle Ages In 637, shortly after Jerusalem was captured by the Muslim armies, 'Umar ibn al-Khattāb, the second Caliph, promised that the Church of the Nativity would be preserved for Christian use. A mosque dedicated to Umar was built upon the place in the city where he prayed, next to the church. Bethlehem then passed through the control of the Islamic caliphates of the Umayyads in the 8th century, then the Abbasids in the 9th century. A Persian geographer recorded in the mid-9th century that a well preserved and much venerated church existed in the town. In 985, the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi visited Bethlehem, and referred to its church as the "Basilica of Constantine, the equal of which does not exist anywhere in the country-round." In 1009, during the reign of the sixth Fatimid Caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Church of the Nativity was ordered to be demolished, but was spared by local Muslims, because they had been permitted to worship in the structure's southern transept. In 1099, Bethlehem was captured by the Crusaders, who fortified it and built a new monastery and cloister on the north side of the Church of the Nativity. The Greek Orthodox clergy were removed from their sees and replaced with Latin clerics. Up until that point the official Christian presence in the region was Greek Orthodox. On Christmas Day 1100, Baldwin I, first king of the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem, was crowned in Bethlehem, and that year a Latin episcopate was also established in the town. In 1187, Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria who led the Muslim Ayyubids, captured Bethlehem from the Crusaders. The Latin clerics were forced to leave, allowing the Greek Orthodox clergy to return. Saladin agreed to the return of two Latin priests and two deacons in 1192. However, Bethlehem suffered from the loss of the pilgrim trade, as there was a sharp decrease of European pilgrims. William IV, Count of Nevers had promised the Christian bishops of Bethlehem that if Bethlehem should fall under Muslim control, he would welcome them in the small town of Clamecy in present-day Burgundy, France. As a result, the Bishop of Bethlehem duly took up residence in the hospital of Panthenor, Clamecy, in 1223. Clamecy remained the continuous 'in partibus infidelium' seat of the Bishopric of Bethlehem for almost 600 years, until the French Revolution in 1789. Bethlehem, along with Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Sidon, was briefly ceded to the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem by a treaty between Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Ayyubid Sultan al-Kamil in 1229, in return for a ten-year truce between the Ayyubids and the Crusaders. The treaty expired in 1239, and Bethlehem was recaptured by the Muslims in 1244. In 1250, with the coming to power of the Mamluks under Rukn al-Din Baibars, tolerance of Christianity declined. Members of the clergy left the city, and in 1263 the town walls were demolished. The Latin clergy returned to Bethlehem the following century, establishing themselves in the monastery adjoining the Basilica of the Nativity. The Greek Orthodox were given control of the basilica and shared control of the Milk Grotto with the Latins and the Armenians. ### Ottoman era From 1517, during the years of Ottoman control, custody of the Basilica was bitterly disputed between the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. By the end of the 16th century, Bethlehem had become one of the largest villages in the District of Jerusalem, and was subdivided into seven quarters. The Basbus family served as the heads of Bethlehem among other leaders during this period. The Ottoman tax record and census from 1596 indicates that Bethlehem had a population of 1,435, making it the 13th largest village in Palestine at the time. Its total revenue amounted to 30,000 akce. Bethlehem paid taxes on wheat, barley and grapes. The Muslims and Christians were organized into separate communities, each having its own leader. Five leaders represented the village in the mid-16th century, three of whom were Muslims. Ottoman tax records suggest that the Christian population was slightly more prosperous or grew more grain than grapes (the former being a more valuable commodity). From 1831 to 1841, Palestine was under the rule of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty of Egypt. During this period, the town suffered an earthquake as well as the destruction of the Muslim quarter in 1834 by Egyptian troops, apparently as a reprisal for the murder of a favored loyalist of Ibrahim Pasha. In 1841, Bethlehem came under Ottoman rule once again and remained so until the end of World War I. Under the Ottomans, Bethlehem's inhabitants faced unemployment, compulsory military service, and heavy taxes, resulting in mass emigration, particularly to South America. An American missionary in the 1850s reported a population of under 4,000, nearly all of whom belonged to the Greek Church. He also noted that a lack of water limited the town's growth. Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about 1870 that Bethlehem had a population of 179 Muslims in 59 houses, 979 "Latins" in 256 houses, 824 "Greeks" in 213 houses, and 41 Armenians in 11 houses, a total of 539 houses. The population count only included men. Hartmann found that Bethlehem had 520 houses. ### Modern era Bethlehem was administered by the British Mandate from 1920 to 1948. In the United Nations General Assembly's 1947 resolution to partition Palestine, Bethlehem was included in the international enclave of Jerusalem to be administered by the United Nations. Jordan captured the city during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Many refugees from areas captured by Israeli forces in 1947–48 fled to the Bethlehem area, primarily settling in what became the official refugee camps of 'Azza (Beit Jibrin) and 'Aida in the north and Dheisheh in the south. The influx of refugees significantly transformed Bethlehem's Christian majority into a Muslim one. Jordan retained control of the city until the Six-Day War in 1967, when Bethlehem was captured by Israel, along with the rest of the West Bank. Following the Six-Day War, Israel took control of the city. During the early months of First Intifada, on 5 May 1989, Milad Anton Shahin, aged 12, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers. Replying to a Member of Knesset in August 1990 Defence Minister Yitzak Rabin stated that a group of reservists in an observation post had come under attack by stone throwers. The commander of the post, a senior non-commissioned officer, fired two plastic bullets in deviation of operational rules. No evidence was found that this caused the boy's death. The officer was found guilty of illegal use of a weapon and sentenced to 5 months imprisonment, two of them actually in prison doing public service. He was also demoted. On December 21, 1995, Israeli troops withdrew from Bethlehem, and three days later the city came under the administration and military control of the Palestinian National Authority in accordance with the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. During the Second Palestinian Intifada in 2000–2005, Bethlehem's infrastructure and tourism industry were damaged. In 2002, it was a primary combat zone in Operation Defensive Shield, a major military counteroffensive by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF besieged the Church of the Nativity, where dozens of Palestinian militants had sought refuge. The siege lasted 39 days. Several militants were killed. It ended with an agreement to exile 13 of the militants to foreign countries. Today, the city is surrounded by two bypass roads for Israeli settlers, leaving the inhabitants squeezed between thirty-seven Jewish enclaves, where a quarter of all West Bank settlers, roughly 170,000, live; the gap between the two roads is closed by the 8-metre high Israeli West Bank barrier, which cuts Bethlehem off from its sister city Jerusalem. Christian families that have lived in Bethlehem for hundreds of years are being forced to leave as land in Bethlehem is seized, and homes bulldozed, for construction of thousands of new Israeli homes. Land seizures for Israeli settlements have also prevented construction of a new hospital for the inhabitants of Bethlehem, as well as the barrier separating dozens of Palestinian families from their farmland and Christian communities from their places of worship. ## Geography Bethlehem is located at an elevation of about 775 meters (2,543 ft) above sea level, 30 meters (98 ft) higher than nearby Jerusalem. Bethlehem is situated on the Judean Mountains. The city is located 73 kilometers (45 mi) northeast of Gaza City and the Mediterranean Sea, 75 kilometers (47 mi) west of Amman, Jordan, 59 kilometers (37 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv, Israel and 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) south of Jerusalem. Nearby cities and towns include Beit Safafa and Jerusalem to the north, Beit Jala to the northwest, Husan to the west, al-Khadr and Artas to the southwest, and Beit Sahour to the east. Beit Jala and the latter form an agglomeration with Bethlehem. The Aida and Azza refugee camps are located within the city limits. In the center of Bethlehem is its old city. The old city consists of eight quarters, laid out in a mosaic style, forming the area around the Manger Square. The quarters include the Christian an-Najajreh, al-Farahiyeh, al-Anatreh, al-Tarajmeh, al-Qawawsa and Hreizat quarters and al-Fawaghreh—the only Muslim quarter. Most of the Christian quarters are named after the Arab Ghassanid clans that settled there. Al-Qawawsa Quarter was formed by Arab Christian emigrants from the nearby town of Tuqu' in the 18th century. There is also a Syriac quarter outside of the old city, whose inhabitants originate from Midyat and Ma'asarte in Turkey. The total population of the old city is about 5,000. ### Climate Bethlehem has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), with hot and dry summers and mild, wetter winters. Winter temperatures (mid-December to mid-March) can be cool and rainy. January is the coldest month, with temperatures ranging from 1 to 13 degree Celsius (33–55 °F). From May through September, the weather is warm and sunny. August is the hottest month, with a high of 30 degrees Celsius (86 °F). Bethlehem receives an average of 700 millimeters (28 in) of rainfall annually, 70% between November and January. Bethlehem's average annual relative humidity is 60% and reaches its highest rates between January and February. Humidity levels are at their lowest in May. Night dew may occur in up to 180 days per year. The city is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea breeze that occurs around mid-day. However, Bethlehem is affected also by annual waves of hot, dry, sandy and dust Khamaseen winds from the Arabian Desert, during April, May and mid-June. ## Demographics ### Population According to Ottoman tax records, Christians made up roughly 60% of the population in the early 16th century, while the Christian and Muslim population became equal by the mid-16th century. However, there were no Muslim inhabitants counted by the end of the century, with a recorded population of 287 adult male tax-payers. Christians, like all non-Muslims throughout the Ottoman Empire, were required to pay the jizya tax. In 1867, an American visitor describes the town as having a population of 3,000 to 4,000; of whom about 100 were Protestants, 300 were Muslims and "the remainder belonging to the Latin and Greek Churches with a few Armenians." Another report from the same year puts the Christian population at 3,000, with an additional 50 Muslims. An 1885 source put the population at approximately 6,000 of "principally Christians, Latins and Greeks" with no Jewish inhabitants. The census of 1922 lists Bethlehem as having 6,658 residents (5,838 Christians, 818 Muslims, and two Jews), increasing in 1931 to 6,804 (5,588 Christians, 1,219 Muslims, five with no religion, and two Jews) with 506 in the suburbs (251 Muslims, 216 Christians, and 39 Jews). In 1948, the religious makeup of the city was 85% Christian, mostly of the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic denominations, and 13% Muslim. In the 1967 census taken by Israel authorities, the town of Bethlehem proper numbered 14,439 inhabitants, its 7,790 Muslim inhabitants represented 53.9% of the population, while the Christians of various denominations numbered 6,231 or 46.1%. In the PCBS's 1997 census, the city had a population of 21,670, including a total of 6,570 refugees, accounting for 30.3% of the city's population. In 1997, the age distribution of Bethlehem's inhabitants was 27.4% under the age of 10, 20% from 10 to 19, 17.3% from 20 to 29, 17.7% from 30 to 44, 12.1% from 45 to 64 and 5.3% above the age of 65. There were 11,079 males and 10,594 females. In the 2007 PCBS census, Bethlehem had a population of 25,266, of which 12,753 were males and 12,513 were females. There were 6,709 housing units, of which 5,211 were households. The average household consisted of 4.8 family members. ### Christian population After the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s, the local Christians were Arabized even though large numbers were ethnically Arabs of the Ghassanid clans. Bethlehem's two largest Arab Christian clans trace their ancestry to the Ghassanids, including al-Farahiyyah and an-Najajreh. The former have descended from the Ghassanids who migrated from Yemen and from the Wadi Musa area in present-day Jordan and an-Najajreh descend from Najran. Another Bethlehem clan, al-Anatreh, also trace their ancestry to the Ghassanids. The percentage of Christians in the town has been in a steady decline since the mid-twentieth century. In 1947, Christians made up 85% of the population, but by 1998, the figure had declined to 40%. In 2005, the mayor of Bethlehem, Victor Batarseh, explained that "due to the stress, either physical or psychological, and the bad economic situation, many people are emigrating, either Christians or Muslims, but it is more apparent among Christians, because they already are a minority." The Palestinian Authority is officially committed to equality for Christians, although there have been incidents of violence against them by the Preventive Security Service and militant factions. In 2006, the Palestinian Centre for Research and Cultural Dialogue conducted a poll among the city's Christians according to which 90% said they had had Muslim friends, 73.3% agreed that the PNA treated Christian heritage in the city with respect and 78% attributed the exodus of Christians to the Israeli blockade. The only mosque in the Old City is the Mosque of Omar, located in the Manger Square. By 2016, the Christian population of Bethlehem had declined to only 16%. A study by Pew Research Center concluded that the decline in the Arab Christian population of the area was partially a result of a lower birth rate among Christians than among Muslims, but also partially due to the fact that Christians were more likely to emigrate from the region than any other religious group. Amon Ramnon, a researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, stated that the reason why more Christians were emigrating than Muslims is because it is easier for Arab Christians to integrate into western communities than for Arab Muslims, since many of them attend church-affiliated schools, where they are taught European languages. A higher percentage of Christians in the region are urban-dwellers, which also makes it easier for them to emigrate and assimilate into western populations. A statistical analysis of the Christian exodus cited lack of economic and educational opportunity, especially due to the Christians' middle-class status and higher education. Since the Second Intifada, 10% of the Christian population have left the city. However, it is likely that there are many other factors, most of which are shared with the Palestinian population as a whole. ## Economy Shopping is a major attraction, especially during the Christmas season. The city's main streets and old markets are lined with shops selling Palestinian handicrafts, Middle Eastern spices, jewelry and oriental sweets such as baklawa. Olive wood carvings are the item most purchased by tourists visiting Bethlehem. Religious handicrafts include ornaments handmade from mother-of-pearl, as well as olive wood statues, boxes, and crosses. Other industries include stone and marble-cutting, textiles, furniture and furnishings. Bethlehem factories also produce paints, plastics, synthetic rubber, pharmaceuticals, construction materials and food products, mainly pasta and confectionery. Cremisan Wine, founded in 1885, is a winery run by monks in the Monastery of Cremisan. The grapes are grown mainly in the al-Khader district. In 2007, the monastery's wine production was around 700,000 liters per year. In 2008, Bethlehem hosted the largest economic conference to date in the Palestinian territories. It was initiated by Palestinian Prime Minister and former Finance Minister Salam Fayyad to convince more than a thousand businessmen, bankers and government officials from throughout the Middle East to invest in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A total of 1.4 billion US dollars was secured for business investments in the Palestinian territories. ### Tourism Tourism is Bethlehem's main industry. Unlike other Palestinian localities prior to 2000, the majority of the employed residents did not have jobs in Israel. More than 20% of the working population is employed in the industry. Tourism accounts for approximately 65% of the city's economy and 11% of the Palestinian National Authority. The city has more than two million visitors every year. Tourism in Bethlehem ground to a halt for over a decade after the Second Intifada, but gradually began to pick back up in the early 2010s. The Church of the Nativity is one of Bethlehem's major tourist attractions and a magnet for Christian pilgrims. It stands in the center of the city — a part of the Manger Square — over a grotto or cave called the Holy Crypt, where Jesus is believed to have been born. Nearby is the Milk Grotto where the Holy Family took refuge on their Flight to Egypt and next door is the cave where St. Jerome spent thirty years creating the Vulgate, the dominant Latin version of the Bible until the Reformation. There are over thirty hotels in Bethlehem. Jacir Palace, built in 1910 near the church, is one of Bethlehem's most successful hotels and its oldest. It was closed down in 2000 due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but reopened in 2005 as the Jacir Palace InterContinental at Bethlehem. ## Religious significance and commemoration ### Birthplace of Jesus In the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke says that Jesus' parents traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. The Gospel of Matthew mentions Bethlehem as the place of birth, and adds that King Herod was told that a 'King of the Jews' had been born in the town, prompting Herod to order the killing of all the boys who were two years old or under in the town and surrounding area. Joseph, warned of Herod's impending action by an angel of the Lord, decided to flee to Egypt with his family and then later settled in Nazareth after Herod's death. Early Christian traditions describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem: in one account, a verse in the Book of Micah is interpreted as a prophecy that the Messiah would be born there. The second century Christian apologist Justin Martyr stated in his Dialogue with Trypho (written c. 155–161) that the Holy Family had taken refuge in a cave outside of the town and then placed Jesus in a manger. Origen of Alexandria, writing around the year 247, referred to a cave in the town of Bethlehem which local people believed was the birthplace of Jesus. This cave was possibly one which had previously been a site of the cult of Tammuz. The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John do not include a nativity narrative, but refer to him only as being from Nazareth. In a 2005 article in Archaeology magazine, archaeologist Aviram Oshri points to an absence of evidence for the settlement of Bethlehem near Jerusalem at the time when Jesus was born, and postulates that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Galilee. In a 2011 article in Biblical Archaeology Review magazine, Jerome Murphy-O'Connor argues for the traditional position that Jesus was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem. ### Christmas celebrations Christmas rites are held in Bethlehem on three different dates: December 25 is the traditional date by the Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations, but Greek, Coptic and Syrian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6 and Armenian Orthodox Christians on January 19. Most Christmas processions pass through Manger Square, the plaza outside the Basilica of the Nativity. Roman Catholic services take place in St. Catherine's Church and Protestants often hold services at Shepherds' Fields. ### Other religious festivals Bethlehem celebrates festivals related to saints and prophets associated with Palestinian folklore. One such festival is the annual Feast of Saint George (al-Khadr) on May 5–6. During the celebrations, Greek Orthodox Christians from the city march in procession to the nearby town of al-Khader to baptize newborns in the waters around the Monastery of St. George and sacrifice a sheep in ritual. The Feast of St. Elijah is commemorated by a procession to Mar Elias, a Greek Orthodox monastery north of Bethlehem. ## Culture ### Embroidery The women embroiderers of Bethlehem were known for their bridalwear. Bethlehem embroidery was renowned for its "strong overall effect of colors and metallic brilliance." Less formal dresses were made of indigo fabric with a sleeveless coat (bisht) from locally woven wool worn over top. Dresses for special occasions were made of striped silk with winged sleeves with a short taqsireh jacket known as the Bethlehem jacket. The taqsireh was made of velvet or broadcloth, usually with heavy embroidery. Bethlehem work was unique in its use of couched gold or silver cord, or silk cord onto the silk, wool, felt or velvet used for the garment, to create stylized floral patterns with free or rounded lines. This technique was used for "royal" wedding dresses (thob malak), taqsirehs and the shatwehs worn by married women. It has been traced by some to Byzantium, and by others to the formal costumes of the Ottoman Empire's elite. As a Christian village, local women were also exposed to the detailing on church vestments with their heavy embroidery and silver brocade. ### Mother-of-pearl carving The art of mother-of-pearl carving is said to have been a Bethlehem tradition since the 15th century when it was introduced by Franciscan friars from Italy. A constant stream of pilgrims generated a demand for these items, which also provided jobs for women. The industry was noted by Richard Pococke, who visited Bethlehem in 1727. ### Cultural centers and museums Bethlehem is home to the Palestinian Heritage Center, established in 1991. The center aims to preserve and promote Palestinian embroidery, art and folklore. The International Center of Bethlehem is another cultural center that concentrates primarily on the culture of Bethlehem. It provides language and guide training, woman's studies and arts and crafts displays, and training. The Bethlehem branch of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music has about 500 students. Its primary goals are to teach children music, train teachers for other schools, sponsor music research, and the study of Palestinian folklore music. Bethlehem has four museums: The Crib of the Nativity Theatre and Museum offers visitors 31 three-dimensional models depicting the significant stages of the life of Jesus. Its theater presents a 20-minute animated show. The Badd Giacaman Museum, located in the Old City of Bethlehem, dates back to the 18th century and is primarily dedicated to the history and process of olive oil production. Baituna al-Talhami Museum, established in 1972, contains displays of Bethlehem culture. The International Museum of Nativity was built by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to exhibit "high artistic quality in an evocative atmosphere". ## Local government Bethlehem is the muhfaza (seat) or district capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. Bethlehem held its first municipal elections in 1876, after the mukhtars ("heads") of the quarters of Bethlehem's Old City (excluding the Syriac Quarter) made the decision to elect a local council of seven members to represent each clan in the town. A Basic Law was established so that if the victor for mayor was a Catholic, his deputy should be of the Greek Orthodox community. Throughout, Bethlehem's rule by the British and Jordan, the Syriac Quarter was allowed to participate in the election, as were the Ta'amrah Bedouins and Palestinian refugees, hence ratifying the number of municipal members in the council to 11. In 1976, an amendment was passed to allow women to vote and become council members and later the voting age was increased from 21 to 25. There are several branches of political parties on the council, including Communist, Islamist, and secular. The leftist factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) usually dominate the reserved seats. Hamas gained the majority of the open seats in the 2005 Palestinian municipal elections. ### Mayors In the October 2012 municipal elections, Fatah member Vera Baboun won, becoming the first female mayor of Bethlehem. ## Education According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in 1997, approximately 84% of Bethlehem's population over the age of 10 was literate. Of the city's population, 10,414 were enrolled in schools (4,015 in primary school, 3,578 in secondary and 2,821 in high school). About 14.1% of high school students received diplomas. There were 135 schools in the Bethlehem Governorate in 2006; 100 run the Education Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority, seven by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and 28 were private. Bethlehem is home to Bethlehem University, a Catholic Christian co-educational institution of higher learning founded in 1973 in the Lasallian tradition, open to students of all faiths. Bethlehem University is the first university established in the West Bank, and can trace its roots to 1893 when the De La Salle Christian Brothers opened schools throughout Palestine and Egypt. ## Transportation Bethlehem has three bus stations owned by private companies which offer service to Jerusalem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, Hebron, Nahalin, Battir, al-Khader, al-Ubeidiya and Beit Fajjar. There are two taxi stations that make trips to Beit Sahour, Beit Jala, Jerusalem, Tuqu' and Herodium. There are also two car rental departments: Murad and 'Orabi. Buses and taxis with West Bank licenses are not allowed to enter Israel, including Jerusalem, without a permit. The Israeli construction of the West Bank barrier has affected Bethlehem politically, socially, and economically. The barrier is located along the northern side of the town's built-up area, within distance of houses in the Aida refugee camp on one side, and the Jerusalem municipality on the other. Most entrances and exits from the Bethlehem agglomeration to the rest of the West Bank are currently subjected to Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks. The level of access varies based on Israeli security directives. Travel for Bethlehem's Palestinian residents from the West Bank into Jerusalem is regulated by a permit-system. Palestinians require a permit to enter the Jewish holy site of Rachel's Tomb. Israeli citizens are barred from entering Bethlehem and the nearby biblical Solomon's Pools. ## Twin towns – sister cities Bethlehem is twinned with: - Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. - Assisi, Italy - Athens, Greece - Barranquilla, Colombia - Brescia, Italy - Burlington, USA - Capri, Italy - Catanzaro, Italy - Chartres, France - Chivasso, Italy - Civitavecchia, Italy - Cologne, Germany - Concepción, Chile - Cori, Italy - Creil, France - Cusco, Peru - Częstochowa, Poland - Dakhla, Western Sahara - Este, Italy - Faggiano, Italy - Florence, Italy - Gallipoli, Italy - Għajnsielem, Malta - Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. - Greccio, Italy - Grenoble, France - Lourdes, France - Monterrey, Mexico - Montevarchi, Italy - Montpellier, France - Natal, Brazil - Pratovecchio Stia, Italy - Saint Petersburg, Russia - Sarpsborg, Norway - Steyr, Austria - Villa Alemana, Chile - Zaragoza, Spain ## See also - Bethlehem of Galilee - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania - Bethlehem, Wales - Star of Bethlehem
4,904,449
Gran Paradiso National Park
1,143,373,522
Italian national park
[ "National parks of Italy", "Parks in Aosta Valley", "Parks in Piedmont", "Protected areas established in 1922", "Protected areas of the Alps" ]
Gran Paradiso National Park (Italian: Parco nazionale del Gran Paradiso; French: Parc national du Grand Paradis), is an Italian national park in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. The park is named after Gran Paradiso mountain, which is located in the park; it is contiguous with the French Vanoise National Park. The land the park encompasses was initially protected in order to protect the Alpine ibex from poachers, as it was a personal hunting ground for King Victor Emmanuel II, but now also protects other species. ## History In the early 19th century, due to hunting, the Alpine ibex survived in the Gran Paradiso and Vanoise area. Approximately 60 individual ibex survived, here. Ibex were intensively hunted, partly for sport, but also because their body parts were thought to have therapeutic properties: talismans were made from a small cross-shaped bone near the ibex's heart in order to protect against violent death. Due to the alarming decrease in the ibex population, Victor Emmanuel, soon to be King of Italy, declared the Royal Hunting Reserve of the Gran Paradiso in 1856. A protective guard was created for the ibex. Paths laid out for the ibex are still used today as part of 724 kilometres (450 miles) of marked trails and mule tracks. In 1920 Victor Emmanuel II's grandson King Victor Emmanuel III donated the park's original 21 square kilometres (5,189 acres), and the park was established in 1922. It was Italy's first national park. There were approximately 3,000 ibex in the park when it was instituted. The institution of the park led to an increase in the ibex population, which reached 4,000 by 1933. In the following decade, despite the presence of the park, a worsening of the quality of surveillance under Fascist rule, poaching, and World War II led to a steady decrease of the ibex population. By 1945 only 419 remained. Their protection was re-established after the war, and there were 4,000 in the park in 2005. ## Geography The park is located in the Graian Alps in the regions of Piedmont (in the Metropolitan City of Turin) and Aosta Valley in north-west Italy. It encompasses 703 square kilometres (174,000 acres) of alpine terrain. 10% of the park's surface area is wooded. 16.5% is used for agriculture and pasture, 24% is uncultivated, and 40% is classified as sterile. 9.5% of the park's surface area is occupied by 57 glaciers. The park's mountains and valleys were sculpted by glaciers and streams. Altitudes in the park range from 800–4,061 metres (2,625–13,323 ft), with an average altitude of 2,000 metres (6,600 feet). Valley floors in the park are forested. There are alpine meadows at higher altitudes. There are rocks and glaciers at altitudes higher than the meadows. Gran Paradiso is the only mountain entirely within the boundaries of Italy that is over 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) high. Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn can be seen from its summit. In 1860, John Cowell became the first person to reach the summit. To the west, the park shares a boundary with France's Vanoise National Park. They co-operate in managing the ibex population, which moves across their shared boundary seasonally. ## Flora The park's woods are important because they provide shelter for a large number of animals. They are a natural defence against landslides, avalanches, and flooding. The two main types of woods found in the park are coniferous and deciduous woods. The deciduous European beech forests are common on the Piedmont side of the park, and are not found on the dryer Valle d'Aosta side. These forests are thick with dense foliage that lets in very little light during the summer. The beech leaves take a long time to decompose, and they form a thick layer on the woodland floor that impedes the development of other plants and trees. Larches are the most common trees in the forests on the valley floors. They are mixed with spruces, Swiss stone pines, and more rarely silver firs. Maple and lime forests are found in gulleys. These forests are only present in isolated areas and are at risk of extinction. Downy oak woods are more common in the Aosta Valley area than in the Piedmont area because of its higher temperatures and lower precipitation. Oak is not a typical species in the park and it is often found mixed with Scots pine. The park's chestnut groves have been affected by human cultivation for wood and fruit. It rarely grows above 1,000 metres (3,300 feet), and the most important chestnut forests are in the park's Piedmontese side. The park's conifer woods include Scots pine groves, spruce forests dominated by the Norway spruce, often mixed with larch. Larch and Swiss stone pine woods are found up to the highest sub-alpine level (2,200–2,300 metres (7,200–7,500 ft)). At higher altitudes the trees gradually thin out and there are alpine pastures. These pastures are rich in flowers in the late spring. The wildflowers in the park's high meadows include wild pansies, gentians, martagon lilies, and alpenroses. The park has many rocky habitats. They are mostly located above the timberline and alpine pastures. These areas have rock and detritus on their surface. Alpine plants have adapted to these habitats by assuming characteristics like dwarfism, hairiness, bright coloured flowers, and highly developed roots. About 1,500 plant species can be seen at Paradisia Alpine Botanical Garden near Cogne inside the park. ## Fauna Alpine ibex graze in the abundant mountain pastures in summer, and descend to lower elevations in winter. Gran Paradiso's pairing with Vanoise National Park provides year-round protection to the ibex. Along with the ibex, the animal species found in the park include ermine, weasel, hare, Eurasian badger, alpine chamois, wolf (recently arrived from Central Italy) and maybe even lynx. The ibex and chamois spend most of the year above the tree line. They descend to the valleys in the winter and spring. Alpine marmot forage on plants along the snow line. There are more than 100 bird species in the park, including Eurasian eagle-owl, rock ptarmigan, alpine accentor, and chough. Golden eagles nest on rocky ledges, and sometimes in trees. Wallcreeper are found on steep cliffs. There are black woodpeckers and nutcrackers in the park's woodlands. The park supports many species of butterflies including apollos, peak whites, and southern white admirals.
1,094,840
First Battle of Newbury
1,173,801,180
A Battle that took place during the First English Civil War
[ "1643 in England", "17th century in Berkshire", "Battles of the English Civil Wars", "Conflicts in 1643", "Military history of Berkshire", "Newbury, Berkshire", "Registered historic battlefields in England", "West Berkshire District" ]
The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex. Following a year of Royalist successes in which they took Banbury, Oxford and Reading without conflict before storming Bristol, the Parliamentarians were left without an effective army in the west of England. When Charles laid siege to Gloucester, Parliament was forced to muster a force under Essex with which to beat Charles' forces off. After a long march, Essex surprised the Royalists and forced them away from Gloucester before beginning a retreat to London. Charles rallied his forces and pursued Essex, overtaking the Parliamentarian army at Newbury and forcing them to march past the Royalist force to continue their retreat. Essex reacted by making a surprise attack on the Royalist lines at dawn, capturing several pieces of high ground and leaving Charles on the back foot. A series of Royalist attacks led to a large number of casualties and the slow retreat of Essex's force, which was driven from the central hill and almost encircled; Essex succeeded in rallying his infantry, however, and pushed forward in a counter-attack. The slowing of this counter-attack in the face of the Royalist cavalry forced Essex to send for reinforcements, who, while marching to him, were attacked and forced to retreat. This left a hole in the Parliamentarian line, dividing the army into two wings through which the Royalists hoped to pass, splitting the Parliamentarians and allowing Charles's troops to encircle and defeat them. In line with this, the Royalists moved forward to press the attack, but were forced to halt by the London Trained Bands. With night falling, the battle ended, and both exhausted armies disengaged. The next morning, low on ammunition, the Royalists were forced to allow Essex to pass and continue his retreat to London. Reasons for the Royalist failure to defeat the Parliamentarians include shortage of ammunition, the relative lack of professionalism of their soldiers and the tactics of Essex, who compensated "for his much lamented paucity of cavalry by tactical ingenuity and firepower", countering Prince Rupert's cavalry by driving them off with mass infantry formations. Although the numbers of casualties were relatively small (1,300 Royalists and 1,200 Parliamentarians), historians who have studied the battle consider it to be one of the most crucial of the First English Civil War, marking the high point of the Royalist advance and leading to the signing of the Solemn League and Covenant, which brought the Scottish Covenanters into the war on the side of Parliament and led to the eventual victory of the Parliamentarian cause. ## Background When the war started, both sides expected it to be settled by one battle; by the end of 1642, it was clear this was not the case. After the inconclusive Battle of Edgehill in October, the Royalists advanced on London; after they were halted at the Turnham Green in November, Charles established his capital at Oxford. The Earl of Essex, commander of the main Parliamentarian army, was ordered to take Oxford, and on 27 April, captured Reading. Here he remained until mid May, claiming he was unable to advance further without additional supplies, and money. Despite the stalemate outside Oxford, Royalist success elsewhere provided an opportunity for a decisive victory. In the south-west, Royalist commander Sir Ralph Hopton secured Cornwall with victory at Braddock Down in January, before inflicting a serious defeat on Waller's 'Army of the Southern Association' at Roundway Down on 13 July. Arguably the most comprehensive Royalist victory of the war, it isolated Parliament's garrisons in the west; reinforced by troops from Oxford under Prince Rupert, on 26 July they captured Bristol, gaining the second largest city in Britain. ### Bristol Despite this, Royalist forces were significantly depleted by the battle at Bristol. Suffering over 1,000 men dead, and having exhausted their supplies, the armies were forced to regroup. Even considering this, the capture of Bristol is considered the high-water mark for the Royalist cause during the First English Civil War. With the city captured, however, an immediate dispute occurred over who was to govern it, and this led to Charles travelling there on 1 August to take personal command of the Royalist forces. Upon arriving he called his council of war together to discuss their next move, the primary questions at hand being "first, whether the armies should be united, and march in one upon the next design. And then, what the design should be". The western army, although still strong, refused to advance further to the east due to the presence of Parliamentarian forces within Dorset and Cornwall; the army's commanders felt that, if they tried to push for such a move, their forces would either mutiny or simply desert. Because of this unrest, it was quickly resolved that the western army would remain an independent fighting force and remain in Dorset and Cornwall to "mop up" the remaining Parliamentarians. Accordingly, the western army, commanded by Lord Carnarvon, remained in the region, capturing Dorchester in a bloodless victory on 2 August. Prince Maurice left 1,200 infantry and approximately 200 cavalry to garrison Bristol before marching to Dorchester and personally taking command. The greater issues were what to do with the Oxford army and what the "next design" of the Royalist campaign would be. Rupert's strategy was to advance through the Severn Valley and capture Gloucester, which would allow Royalist forces in south Wales to reinforce Charles's army and thus allow for an assault on London. Another faction, however, argued that London could be captured with the army as it was, and that Gloucester would serve as a distraction from the main goal of the campaign. By 6 August, it was clear that Rupert's strategy would be abandoned; instead, an alternate means of capturing the city was considered. During the early stages of the war, the loyalty of combatants on both sides, particularly that of professional soldiers, had been flexible. Gloucester was led by Edward Massie, a non-partisan mercenary who only took a job with the Parliamentarians after he was refused a significant Royalist command. At the same time, it was felt that there was "a strong if so far silent party of Royalist sympathisers in the city", while the governor of Sudeley Castle was reporting that Gloucester's soldiers had stated they would not resist a Royalist advance. Given this, the council of war decided to march on Gloucester – not to besiege it or capture it by force, but to capture it by having the governor betray the city beforehand. William Legge, who had served with Massie in the Bishops' Wars, contacted him and asked him to "surrender Gloucester to his lawful sovereign". Although this message was rebuffed, Legge's messenger reported that he had met Massie a second time in secret, and had been asked to tell Legge that Massie was willing to surrender the town to the King. As a result of this, on 7 August Charles and the Oxford army marched to Gloucester. ### Gloucester Charles's main force began marching on 7 August and reached the village of Painswick a day later; however, Rupert's cavalry screen had already advanced and taken the village. Charles himself did not accompany the force, but instead rode across the Cotswolds to Rendcomb, where he met reinforcements from Oxford on 9 August. On the morning of 10 August, the Royalist army marched to Gloucester itself and besieged the city with approximately 6,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry. With the force assembled, Charles sent a group of heralds, escorted by 1,000 musketeers, forward at approximately 2:00 pm, at which point they read out the King's demands to a meeting of 26 local council and garrison officers, including Massie. The King's announcement was that if the officers submitted, he would pardon all the officers, prohibit his army from causing any damage to the city, and leave only a small garrison behind. If they did not, he would take the city by force, and the inhabitants would be responsible "for all the calamities and miseries that must befall them". Despite earlier claims that Massie would surrender, he did not; a short time later, a refusal of the offer was drawn up and unanimously signed by the officers. The reasons for Massie's failure to surrender the city, despite the feelers he put out to Royalist contacts, are unknown. At this point, Charles called another council of war to discuss the situation. It was resolved that it was crucial that Gloucester was still to be taken; if it was left in Parliamentarian hands, it would act as a break in lines of communication should the Royalists advance further east towards London. In addition, Charles's personal reputation had been sullied – travelling so far and yet not taking Gloucester would affect the respect and prestige accorded to him, about which he was "notoriously sensitive". Based on reconnaissance, Charles's officers were confident that the garrison's food and ammunition would not last long; they argued that the city could be taken in less than 10 days, with Parliament lacking an effective army to relieve the city. If Essex's forces did not attack, the Royalists would take the city. If they did attack, they would be exhausted and, according to Royalist intelligence, far weaker than the Oxford army, allowing Charles to destroy Parliament's one remaining significant force. Under the direct command of the Earl of Forth, the Royalists laid siege to the city; Rupert had suggested a direct assault, but this proposal was not adopted due to fears of high casualties. By 11 August, the Royalist trenches were dug and the artillery prepared, despite Massie's attempts to disrupt work with musket fire. With this work done, there was no way out for the Parliamentarians; the only hope was to delay the Royalists long enough for a relief army to arrive. To this end, Massie ordered raids under the cover of darkness, with James Harcus, his second-in-command, leading a raid on the artillery trenches. In revenge the Royalists attacked the east of the city, but were driven off by cannon fire. 12 August saw more raids, this time during the day, which cost the Royalists 10 men and a supply depot, with no Parliamentarian losses. Despite this, the assaults did not disrupt Royalist preparations and by the evening they were able to start bombarding the town. By 24 August, the Royalists, suffering from shortfalls in their stocks of gunpowder and cannonballs, remained unable to breach the walls. Essex, in the meantime, had been urgently preparing his army, which thanks to disease, indiscipline and desertion numbered less than 6,000 infantry and 3,500 cavalry. This was not a force strong enough to defeat the Royalists, and so he demanded an extra 5,000 soldiers; Parliamentarians in London responded by mobilising a brigade of the London Trained Bands, which provided an additional 6,000 men. Taking into account additional problems and desertions, the eventual force was 9,000-foot soldiers and 5,000 cavalry. After being mustered on Hounslow Heath, the army began marching towards Aylesbury, arriving on 28 August. This force was formally mustered on 30 August, and after being reinforced by Lord Grey on 1 September at Brackley, marched to Gloucester. On 5 September, with heavy rain falling, the Parliamentarian army reached the town and camped on Prestbury Hill, immediately outside it; their presence forced the Royalists to abandon the siege given that neither army, wet and exhausted, was in a state to seek battle. ### Pursuit Charles's cautious failure to directly assault the town, putting a higher priority on minimising losses than on victory, had cost the Royalists dearly; while claims for their number of dead and wounded men ranged from 1,000 to 1,500, only around 50 people inside the city were killed. Essex's force, on the other hand, was in relatively good shape; its one issue was the lack of supplies. If he stayed in the Severn Valley, Essex would be unable to get reinforcements or outside aid, the London elements of the army would demand to go home, and the one remaining significant Parliamentarian force would find itself pinned down, while Charles, with secure bases at Oxford and Bristol, would be able to starve them into surrender while other Royalist armies ran rampant through Britain. Because of this, Essex had no choice but to try to return to London. Travelling back across the Cotswolds, as he had done to reach Gloucester initially, would expose the Parliamentarians to Charles's cavalry on open ground. The first alternative was to march southeast to the River Kennet and cross it, going through Newbury and returning to Reading's fortifications, thus evading the Royalists and allowing for a safe retreat to London. The disadvantage to this was the time it would take to cross the relatively open land between Essex's position and the Kennet. The second, and the option Essex initially took, was to go north, either to make battle in more advantageous circumstances or to evade the Royalists. If Essex was able to cross to the west bank of the River Avon, he could secure the bridges across it and prevent the Royalists from crossing it and confronting his army. His cavalry advanced to Upton to screen the main force from Royalist interference on 11 September, with the rest of the soldiers quickly following. The Royalists were left wrong-footed; Charles did not discover Essex's retreat for another 24 hours, during which the gap between the armies widened. The Royalists finally began to march on 16 September, with Rupert's cavalry streaming ahead to try to disrupt the Parliamentarian retreat. By 18 September, Rupert's force had caught up to the Parliamentarians outside Aldbourne, Wiltshire. Essex had lost his advantage; Parliamentarian intelligence reports had convinced him that Charles was heading towards Oxford and had given up the campaign. In fact Charles was barely 14 miles (23 km) away, but the complacency such reports induced meant that one contemporary source stated the Parliamentarians were marching barely 5 miles (8.0 km) a day, allowing the Royalists to quickly catch up. Suitably chastened by the discovery of his error, Essex increased the pace of his retreat, with the Royalists pursuing closely. Both sides were heading for Newbury, on roughly parallel routes; the Royalists' route took them through Faringdon and Wantage, increasing the distance they would have to travel to 30 miles (48 km) while the Parliamentarians had to travel only 20. Charles reacted by dispatching Rupert and 7,000 cavalry in a flying column to disrupt and harass the Parliamentary retreat. Encountering Essex's forces at Aldbourne Chase, Rupert made battle; however, lacking enough troops to engage the Parliamentarians directly, he instead attacked a section of their army, causing chaos and crucially delaying Essex's march just enough for Charles's forces to close the gap. The effect of Rupert's actions, even after his forces disengaged, was to force another delay in the Parliamentarian retreat; Essex spent much of 19 September looking after wounded soldiers and, when he finally managed to begin moving again, he was confronted with swampland and bog which further delayed him while the Royalists marched across the relatively open chalk downs above the Kennet. These hardships meant that the Royalists arrived at Newbury before Essex, with both armies settling down for the night outside the town, too exhausted to immediately fight. ## Newbury ### Landscape The landscape of the area around Newbury was a significant factor in the tactics of both sides during the resulting battle. Though the land was mostly open country, a crescent-shaped escarpment known as Biggs Hill sat between the Royalist and Parliamentarian forces. To either side of Essex's army lay open fields, while the battlefield was bracketed by the River Kennet on one side and the River Enborne on the other, which neither side attempted to cross on foot. Essex's most obvious route of advance was to push past the Royalist forces, secure the bridge and return to London. Unfortunately, the open area approaching the bridge was a "killing ground"; soldiers would be entirely in the open and forced to march no more than six abreast, which would prevent Essex effectively deploying against a Royalist attack and leave the Parliamentarian's forces bunched up and subject to artillery fire. Even if Essex managed to cross the bridge, the other side of the river featured several hundred metres of waterlogged ground, which would slow his soldiers and leave them open to attack while necessitating the abandonment of the Parliamentarian artillery, a "major humiliation for a seventeenth-century army". The only alternative to a bridge-based retreat would be to bypass Newbury completely by marching around the Royalists, but this would again involve moving through open fields and subjecting Essex's soldiers to the attacks of Royalist cavalry, who were described as greatly outnumbering the Parliamentarian cavalry. Confronting the Royalists directly would involve moving into ground described as containing "dense copses and innumerable banked hedges with ditches flanking fields and lining sunken lanes"; while this would allow the troops to move in a concealed fashion, it would also make deployment difficult, and the numerous lanes would restrict movement in the heat of battle. ### Order of battle There are no definitive orders of battle for Newbury, as official contemporary evidence is thin; it is possible to glean some information from both later official reports and contemporary accounts, which allow for a reconstruction of the likely disposition of each force. The Royalists were led by Charles I personally, with William Vavasour commanding the right wing, Prince Rupert the left, and Sir John Byron the centre. Artillery support consisted of 20 cannons in total: 6 heavy, 6 medium and 8 light. Initial Royalist and Parliamentarian estimates were of a force of around 17,000 men; modern estimates are of around 7,500 infantry, and 7,000 cavalry. Essex led the Parliamentarians, commanding both the entire force and, separately, the right wing; the left wing was commanded by Philip Stapleton. Artillery support was provided by two heavy cannons and around 20 light cannons; most of the heavy artillery was left at Gloucester to help defend the city. Estimates as to the total number of men vary between 7,000 and 15,000; John Barratt, noting the losses at Gloucester, estimates that Essex's force totalled around 14,000 men, with 6,000 cavalry and dragoons and 8,000 infantry. ## Battle ### Essex attacks The battle began on 20 September; Essex's army was roused before dawn, and initial reports stated he had gone "from regiment to regiment...[putting] the question of a battle unto them". After consultation, the army advanced with "most cheerful and courageous spirits" at around 7 am. Divided into "three bodies of Foot, both lined and flanked with bodies of Horse", with a reserve behind them, the army was preceded by Stapleton's cavalry, which quickly cleared the Royalist pickets and allowed Essex's advance to Wash Common, a patch of open ground between the two forces. This march took approximately an hour due to the heavy clay soil being soaked from the previous night's rain; the open space before Biggs Hill, the objective of their march, allowed for a much welcome chance to regroup. Rupert had established a cavalry guard on Biggs Hill; while the size is unknown, it was large enough to attack the Parliamentarian horse head-on. Stapleton waited until the Royalists were close before firing, leading to the faltering of their charge and the advance of the Parliamentarian cavalry to drive them off with swords. The cavalry were unable to make further gains, having engaged only a small part of the Royalist horse and being unwilling to press their attack against the larger body. Led by Philip Skippon, the Parliamentarian right flank attacked their main objective, nearby Round Hill; their account reported they "charged so fiercely that [they] beat [the Royalists] from the hill", but makes no mention of casualties or what happened to the Royalist guns which were allegedly deployed on the hill. The Royalists claimed the hill was undefended; the facts suggest this was closer to the truth and "the king and his generals had been caught napping". Its capture allowed Skippon to position 1,000 musketeers on top, who could fire down into any Royalist advance. ### Royalist counter-attack As a result of this quick advance, Charles found his army in chaos, with Skippon's force organised and flanking them. The Royalist council of war reconvened to discuss the events, and accounts suggest the meeting was acrimonious, with the fall of Round Hill described as "a most gross and absurd error". Rupert decided to try to contain both Essex and Skippon. Leaving two regiments of horse with Byron, he led the remainder of the cavalry to Essex's position on the left flank. Byron, in the meantime, was commanded to support an attack by the Royalist musketeers on Skippon's force, drawing his regiments up behind the infantry "ready to second them in case the enemy's horse should advance towards them". Rupert's advance has been criticised by both Parliamentarian and Royalist sources; instead of a small engagement, the stubbornness of the Parliamentary resistance forced Rupert to commit more and more forces to the fray, eventually turning a series of small engagements into a full-scale battle, with reinforcements gradually being drawn in. The terrain limited the localised advantage Rupert's forces had in numbers, but after three attacks Stapleton's brigade crumbled, allowing Rupert to hook around Essex's left flank, stop his advance and capture five pieces of artillery. This came at a cost; the Royalists took heavy casualties, and failed to completely break Essex's infantry. The infantry instead stubbornly retreated, allowing the Parliamentary cavalry to reorganise behind them. Even though his advance had been stopped, Essex was not yet beaten. Byron's attack on Skippon's musketeers in the centre also went poorly. Pushing three regiments of foot forward, the force suffered similarly high casualties in an attempt to take Round Hill; after the attack stalled, the cavalry had to be called in to force it forward. Despite heavy losses due to the only avenue of advance being a narrow lane lined with Parliamentarian musketeers, this move succeeded in allowing Byron to take Round Hill, forcing the Parliamentarian infantry back to a hedge on the far side. The attack eventually lost momentum, and although Round Hill was taken, Byron was unable to advance any further. On the right flank, William Vavasour attempted to overwhelm the Parliamentary flank with a substantial brigade of foot, which included a small amount of cavalry support. His initial attack was repulsed thanks to the Parliamentarian artillery opening fire, but a subsequent head-on attack forced Skippon's beleaguered force in the centre to send several regiments over to assist, with the fight turning into a bloody melee. Vavasour's force was eventually forced to retire, with the Parliamentarians failing to give ground. ### Crisis and stalemate After heavy fighting, the Royalists had succeeded only in pushing Essex's forces briefly back; they had given ground but not retreated from the battle, and his main force of infantry remained strong. In an attempt to proceed, Essex waved his infantry and light artillery forward. Rupert's cavalry was too weak to defend against this advance due to its large firepower, and he instead ordered two regiments of foot commanded by John Belasyse to halt Essex. The Parliamentarian records report they were "hotly charged by the enemies' horse and foot", who succeeded in forcing Essex slowly back, although the fight took four hours. In response, Essex called for Skippon to send him reinforcements; Skippon obliged by ordering a Mainwaring's Regiment of infantry to remove themselves from his line and march to replace some of Essex's exhausted soldiers. As soon as they arrived, they were charged by two bodies of cavalry and a regiment of infantry under John Byron, who forced the regiment to retreat; the Royalists hacked down the fleeing Parliamentarians and, according to Byron, his force "had not left a man of them unkilled, but that the hedges were so high the horse could not pursue them". Although the Royalists failed to press this attack due to the difficulty of manoeuvring cavalry in the field, and Essex briefly retook the ground, the loss of this infantry regiment opened a gap in the Parliamentarian line. If Rupert was able to drive through this gap, he would break Essex's army into two wings and be able to encircle them. Recognizing this possibility, he began redeploying the Royalist force: two regiments of cavalry and a regiment of infantry under his command would occupy Essex, while two regiments under Charles Gerard would push through the gap in the Parliamentarian line. Luckily for the Parliamentarians, Skippon saw this opening and ordered the Red and Blue Regiments of the London Trained Bands to close the gap. Although they succeeded in bridging the gap between the two wings of Essex's force, there was no cover, and a Royalist battery of eight heavy guns drawn up on high ground began firing on them. Unable to move because of the necessity of their position, they were left enduring close-range fire "when men's bowels and brains flew in [their] faces", resisting two attacks by Royalist cavalry and infantry led by Jacob Astley. Historian John Day notes that records show most Trained Band casualties were hit in the head, while a survivor boasted that the artillery "did us no harm, only the shot broke our pikes"; evidently, in the heat of battle, the Royalist artillery were firing too high. Despite this, the Royalist artillery fire had taken its toll, and the Trained Band regiments were forced to retreat. The Royalists pursued, and only close-quarters musket fire allowed the militia to regroup without substantial losses. After regrouping, the militia was again attacked by two regiments of foot and two of cavalry, who despite surrounding the Londoners and dragging away a cannon were unable to break them. At this point, both armies began to draw apart; although sporadic fighting continued as night fell, by midnight both forces had disengaged completely. Both army councils met; Essex's plan to force his way past the Royalists seemed feasible, and many Parliamentarians, loathe to give up the ground they had taken, fully expected the battle to continue. The Royalists, on the other hand, were plagued by poor morale, heavy losses and a lack of supplies, having used 80 of their 90 barrels of gunpowder. Although Rupert argued for the battle to continue, he was out-voted, and the next morning Essex was allowed to bypass the Royalist force without issue and continue his retreat towards London. ## Aftermath The Parliamentarian force, now free of Charles's army, retreated towards Aldermaston as quickly as possible and eventually made it to Reading and then London, where Essex received a hero's welcome. The Royalists, on the other hand, were forced to spend the next day recovering their casualties, finding more than a thousand injured soldiers who were sent back to Oxford. After they finished recovering their dead and wounded men, the Royalists left 200 infantry, 25 cavalry and 4 guns in Donnington Castle to defend their rear and then marched to Oxford, having buried their dead senior officers in Newbury Guildhall. Casualties at Newbury eventually came to approximately 1,300 losses for the Royalists, and 1,200 for the Parliamentarians. The loss at Newbury was due to a multitude of factors; Day gives credit to the greater ability of Essex to conserve his force through the campaign, which put the Royalists at a numerical disadvantage by Newbury, and notes the Royalist over-reliance on cavalry, with Essex "[compensating] for his much lamented paucity of cavalry by tactical ingenuity and firepower", countering Rupert's cavalry by driving them off with mass infantry formations. The Royalists' infantry were also outperformed, Essex's force retaining a high level of cohesiveness while the Royalists were described as relatively unprofessional; both Day and Blair Worden also give the paucity of ammunition and gunpowder as an important (and endemic) deciding factor in the success or failure of Charles' campaign. Although the attention of historians is normally on the larger battles such as Edgehill and Marston Moor, several historians who have studied the period consider the First Battle of Newbury to be the defining moment of the First English Civil War, both as the high point of the Royalist advance and as the "one bright period of [Essex's] generalship". John Day writes that "Militarily and politically, Parliament's position at the beginning of October 1643 was demonstrably far stronger than in late July. With hindsight, the capture of Bristol was the high tide of King Charles' war, his best and only chance of ending the conflict on his own terms". John Barratt noted that the Royalists had failed in "what might prove to have been their best chance to destroy the principle field army of their opponents, and hopes of a crushing victory which would bring down the Parliamentarian 'war party' lay in ruins". The high Parliamentarian feelings after Newbury led to the signing of the Solemn League and Covenant, bringing a powerful Scottish army down to assault the Royalists. "Thanks to the failure...to win a decisive victory there, the English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish subjects of all of King Charles' Three Kingdoms would henceforth play a bloody price in a steadily widening and deepening war". ### Sources and historiography Malcolm Wanklyn has described the First Battle of Newbury as being "both the longest battle of the English Civil War and the one that historians have found the greatest difficulty in describing", because there is no contemporary plan of the battlefield or record of the plans of each side while, conversely, there are diverse and contradictory accounts from both sides of the battle. An official Royalist account was written by Lord Digby on 22 September, which suffered from defects due to Digby's position away from the main fighting, and because it was designed "as a reflection on the battle's outcome, not a blow-by-blow description of what happened". Conversely, those written by officers who actively fought in the main arenas of the battle are very narrow in focus, for example, the accounts of Joshua Moone and John Gwyn, commoners who fought on Wash Common, and an anonymous tract from the perspective of a soldier who assaulted Round Hill. On the Parliamentarian side, an official source was published a month after the battle; due to the circumstances of its publication and the high Parliamentarian morale after Newbury, it made no attempt to gloss over errors and was designed to "explain to a lay readership what had happened on the battlefield". A more narrow view was taken by Sergeant Henry Foster, who fought with the London Trained Band in their attempt to prevent the Royalists splitting Essex's army. The diary of Walter Yonge of Colyton also contains two reports written for the House of Commons by Essex's generals, including Stapleton, although the originals have been lost.
8,511,378
Philippine nationality law
1,145,109,077
Overview of Philippine citizenship
[ "History of nationality", "Law of the Philippines", "Nationality law" ]
Philippine nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of the Philippines. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines and the 1939 Revised Naturalization Law. Any person born to at least one Filipino parent receives Philippine citizenship at birth. Foreign nationals may naturalize as Philippine citizens after meeting a minimum residence requirement (usually 10 years), acquiring real estate, demonstrating proficiency in either English or Spanish as well as a Philippine language, and fulfilling a good character requirement. The Philippines was previously a territory of the United States and local residents were non-citizen U.S. nationals in addition to their status as Philippine citizens. During American rule, any person born in the country automatically received Philippine citizenship by birth regardless of the nationalities of their parents. Since independence, citizenship is generally acquired only by descent from Filipino parents. ## Terminology The distinction between the meaning of the terms citizenship and nationality is not always clear in the English language and differs by country. Generally, nationality refers to a status given to an individual indicating the state which exercises jurisdiction over that particular person and is the common term used in international treaties when referring to members of a state; citizenship refers to the set of rights and duties a person has in that nation. When the Philippines was governed as a United States territory, Philippine citizens held non-citizen U.S. nationality. As American nationals, Filipinos were considered to owe allegiance to the U.S. and held some rights and protections from the federal government, but were excluded from political participation and could be treated as foreigners in some circumstances at the discretion of the United States Congress. In the modern post-independence Philippine context, there is no legal distinction between citizenship and nationality and the two terms are used interchangeably. ## History ### Spanish rule and American conquest The Philippine islands were incorporated into the Spanish Empire during the mid-16th century. Accordingly, Spanish nationality law applied to the colony. No definitive nationality legislation for Philippine residents existed for almost the entire period of Spanish rule until the Civil Code of Spain became applicable in the Philippines on December 8, 1889. Under this law, any person born in a Spanish territory (including the Philippines) or born overseas to a Spanish parent was automatically a Spanish subject at birth. A child under the age of majority held the nationality of their parents unless the parents made a declaration choosing Spanish nationality for the child and had it recorded in the local civil registry. If such a declaration was not made on their behalf, the child could do so within one year of reaching adult age. However, these registries had not been created in the Philippines by 1898, which later became consequential in Philippine law. Spain governed the islands for over 300 years until they were ceded to the United States in 1898 following the Spanish–American War. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, the U.S. Congress held authority to determine the future citizenship of native residents in the Philippines and its other newly acquired territories. Any person born on the Iberian Peninsula who remained resident in the ceded territories could opt to remain Spanish subjects. ### United States territory Pursuant to the Treaty of Paris, the U.S. Congress enacted the Philippine Organic Act and established separate Philippine citizenship in 1902. Spanish subjects ordinarily resident in the Philippines on April 11, 1899, who remained living there at the time of the Act's passage, and their descendants, became Philippine citizens. Native Filipinos who departed from the Philippines before this Act's enactment remained Spanish subjects. Foreign nationals could naturalize as Philippine citizens under requirements detailed in the 1939 Revised Naturalization Law, which largely remains unchanged. Under this law, individuals intending to become citizens are required to file a petition for naturalization with the Court of First Instance in the province where they had resided for at least the previous year. Filipinas who married foreign men and gained their husbands' nationalities on their marriage automatically lost Philippine citizenship. Due to American fears that the new territory could be used by Chinese migrants as a way to circumvent immigration restrictions in the U.S. mainland, the Chinese Exclusion Act was extended to the Philippines in 1902. All persons of Chinese origin and other than former Philippine residents and those in approved occupational classes were barred from entering the territory. Chinese immigration was restricted until the Act's repeal in all U.S. territories in 1943. #### Non-citizen U.S. nationality The U.S. governed the Philippines as an unincorporated territory that was not considered an integral part of the country and where the Constitution of the United States did not fully apply. Philippine citizens were treated as non-citizen U.S. nationals, rather than full citizens. Consequently, they were ineligible to vote in federal, state, and local elections and were excluded from exercising constitutional civil rights. Despite this, they were not considered aliens under U.S. law and were generally exempt from immigration restrictions when entering the U.S. during a time when virtually all other Asians were excluded from entry into the country. However, this was not an unrestricted right, and Filipinos with Chinese ancestry were barred from entering the U.S. mainland under the Chinese Exclusion Act in spite of their non-alien status. Philippine citizens living in the U.S. also had no pathway to full U.S. citizenship during this time unless they served in the United States Armed Forces; contemporary legislation only allowed "white persons, persons of African nativity or descent, and descendants of races indigenous to the Western Hemisphere" the ability to naturalize, with an exception for military personnel and veterans. While only fewer than 3,000 Filipinos were living in the U.S. in 1910, this number had increased substantially to 110,000 residents by 1930. As U.S. nationals, Philippine citizens were eligible for United States passports and afforded the same consular protection as full U.S. citizens when traveling outside of American territory. After the passage of the 1934 Tydings–McDuffie Act, which began a transition period until the territory became independent, Philippine citizens entering the U.S. became subject to an entry quota of only 50 people per year and would thereafter be regarded as aliens for immigration purposes. This drastically decreased the number of Filipinos migrating to the U.S. from over 36,000 in 1931 to just 72 in 1937. Conversely, Philippine citizens who had successfully entered the U.S. could not be subject to deportation nor were they restricted from acquiring property by alien land laws. Filipinos who migrated to the U.S. while the Philippines were a U.S. territory continued to be protected from deportation orders even after Philippine independence in 1946 and the consequent loss of their non-citizen U.S. nationality because they had not entered the U.S. from a foreign place at the time of their entry. #### Birthright citizenship The lack of clarity in Spanish law applicable in the Philippines before 1898 was tested in Roa v. Collector of Customs, a 1912 case heard by the Supreme Court of the Philippines in which a person born to a Chinese father and Filipina mother prior to the application of the Civil Code was ruled to be a Philippine citizen. Although contemporary law before 1889 was unclear on whether all persons born in the colony were automatically Spanish subjects, the Civil Code was retroactively applied to all births prior to its enactment for the purposes of determining Philippine citizenship. Despite the fact that the child would have been regarded as Chinese had the Civil Code been in force at the time of their birth, they would have had a right to make a declaration to become a Spanish subject within one year of reaching the age of majority but lacked the ability to do so because of the 1898 change in sovereignty. Acknowledging this, the court decided that the circumstantial changes caused by the U.S. conquest should not prevent anyone from becoming a Philippine citizen. Furthermore, the court determined that prevailing conventions for citizenship in the U.S. had become applicable in the territory after the Philippine Organic Act came into force, specifically birthright citizenship in the United States. Subsequently, all children born in the Philippines during this time were considered to have acquired Philippine citizenship by birth. Furthermore, local legislation enacted by the Philippine Legislature ambiguously described "those who acquire the status of citizens of the Philippine Islands by birth", which was interpreted by the Governor-General of the Philippines and the local judiciary as having established birthright citizenship in the same way as the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. As the U.S. prepared to grant the Philippines independence, a constitutional convention was held to draft the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. This document contained a new definition for who held Philippine citizenship which included any individual who was a citizen at the time of the constitution's adoption, any person born in the country to non-citizen parents but had been elected to public office, someone whose father was a citizen, or a person whose mother was a citizen and who had elected to be a Philippine citizen after reaching the age of majority. When these provisions were adopted, the drafters overlooked the effect of judicial rulings on conferring birthright citizenship and assumed that birth in the Philippines alone was not enough to make a person a Philippine citizen. Although the citizenship definition chosen by the constitutional convention showed a clear preference for citizenship transmission by descent rather than unrestricted birthright citizenship, subsequent court rulings determined that the convention had not decided to overturn the precedent established by the Roa case and upheld the status quo for the time being. ### Post-independence policies Following Philippine independence in 1946, the Supreme Court changed its position on birthright citizenship in the 1947 case Tam Chong v. Secretary of Labor, in which it overturned the Roa decision and reversed earlier policies granting citizenship by birth to any person born in the Philippines. The court determined that the doctrine of birthright citizenship had not been fully extended to the country either by new supporting legislation since the 1935 Constitution or by extension of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to the Philippines. Since this ruling, Philippine citizenship has primarily been acquired by descent from a Filipino parent. Although legal statutes governing the requirements for naturalization were largely straightforward and seldom changed, Supreme Court rulings in the immediate post-independence period created a changing landscape of procedural barriers for foreign nationals attempting to acquire citizenship. While the Court had determined in 1948 that a declaration of intention to naturalize was not required of naturalization candidates on the assumption that any such documents were destroyed during the Second World War, it reinforced this prerequisite in a subsequent 1961 decision in which the only exemptions for this requirement were granted to persons who were born and educated in the Philippines and whose children have also been educated in both domestic primary and secondary schools. Further judicial decisions in the 1950s also dictated that the domestic education requirement for children of naturalization candidates could not be waived for circumstances that made enrollment in a Philippine school impossible, including where a child was withdrawn from school due to marriage or where a child could not be enrolled due to their wartime imprisonment. After martial law was declared in 1972, a new constitution was enacted in 1973 that entrenched dictatorial rule led by Ferdinand Marcos. The citizenship provisions of the new constitution remained almost identical to those in the 1935 version, but removed the requirement for children of Filipina mothers and foreign fathers to formally elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching legal age. Since the 1987 Constitution came into force, persons born to Filipina mothers before January 17, 1973 have again been subject to this formal election requirement. The 1973 constitution also allowed Filipina women who married foreign men to retain Philippine citizenship on their marriage even if they had acquired their husbands' nationalities. Beginning in the late 1980s, concessions were granted to overseas Filipinos as part of a wider effort to more closely tie migrant Filipino populations with the home country. Over the following decade, former natural-born Philippine citizens were granted visa-free entry, expanded ability to invest, and property purchase rights. These efforts culminated with the passage of the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003, which allowed any person who had lost Philippine citizenship due to naturalization in a foreign country to reacquire citizenship and halted further revocations in such cases. #### Facilitated naturalization pathways By the 1950s, large numbers of ethnic Chinese had been born and raised in the Philippines who treated the country as their home. Encouraged by the newly established People's Republic of China, which directed overseas Chinese populations to naturalize in their chosen places of residence, these local-born Chinese began to apply for naturalization. However, they found the requirements for acquiring citizenship too onerous and expensive and many chose not to complete the process. Ethnic Chinese residents aligned with the Republic of China largely declined to voluntarily become Philippine citizens during this time, adhering to the Kuomintang's policy that overseas Chinese should remain Chinese citizens. The naturalization process was temporarily streamlined in 1975, allowing individuals who wanted to acquire citizenship to apply through an administrative application procedure rather than through the usually required court petition. Applicants indicated their interest in becoming Philippine citizens to a review committee which would then make recommendations to the president who issued presidential decrees naturalizing successful candidates. Female spouses and minor children of men who naturalized also became Philippine citizens by the same process. Naturalization applications under this facilitated process were required to have been submitted by June 30, 1975. The deadline was extended twice, first to September 30, 1975, and again to April 1, 1976. This expedited process was intended to quickly naturalize a large number of the Chinese Filipino population as part of the Marcos regime's preparations to recognize the People's Republic of China and to minimize potential future problems with that government, though it was not limited to that ethnic group and was open to any foreign nationals. Since June 8, 2001, naturalization under this simplified process was made available to any person born in the Philippines aged at least 18 and who has been resident in the country since birth. ## Acquisition and loss of citizenship Any person born to at least one parent who is a Philippine citizen automatically receives Philippine citizenship at birth. Abandoned children found in the country are presumed to have been born to Philippine citizens and are considered natural-born citizens. Foreign nationals aged 21 or older may naturalize as Philippine citizens after residing in the country for 10 years, acquiring real estate valued at least ₱5,000 or otherwise gainfully employed in a profitable occupation, demonstrating proficiency in English or Spanish as well as a Philippine language, and fulfilling a good character requirement. Additionally, any minor children they may have must be enrolled in a Philippine school. The residency requirement is reduced to five years if an applicant is employed by the Government of the Philippines, has made significant economic or scientific contributions to the state, married to a Filipina woman, has taught in a Philippine school for at least two years, or was born in the country. Individuals wishing to acquire Philippine citizenship must normally petition the Regional Trial Court in the province where they have resided in the preceding 12 months, but those who were born in the country and aged 18 or older may acquire citizenship by application rather than by judicial process. Any person who falls under one of the following scenarios is barred from naturalizing as a Philippine citizen: they are opposed to organized government, actively promote violence, practice polygamy, have been convicted of a crime constituting moral turpitude, diagnosed with a mental or incurable contagious disease, have not become socially integrated into Filipino society, or hold citizenship of a country that the Philippines is at war with or that does not allow Philippine citizens to naturalize. Philippine citizenship can be relinquished by making a declaration of renunciation. It is also automatically revoked when a citizen serves in another country's armed forces, swears an oath of allegiance to another country, or deserts the Armed Forces of the Philippines during a time of war. However, voluntary renunciations are prohibited while the country is at war. Natural-born Philippine citizens who previously lost citizenship after naturalization in a foreign country before 2003 may subsequently reacquire Philippine citizenship by taking an oath of allegiance to the Philippines. Filipina women who had lost Philippine citizenship on their marriage to a foreigner or any former Philippine citizen who lost their citizenship due to political or economic reasons before October 23, 1995 may also reacquire Philippine citizenship after taking the oath of allegiance. Any dependents of an individual who naturalize or reacquire Philippine citizenship are also granted citizenship.
28,910
Shōnen manga
1,171,541,208
Manga aimed at adolescent boys
[ "Anime and manga terminology", "Boys", "Men in Japan", "Men's entertainment", "Shōnen manga" ]
Shōnen manga (少年漫画, lit. "boys' comics", also romanized as shonen, shounen or syônen) is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent boys. It is, along with shōjo manga (targeting adolescent girls and young women), seinen manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and josei manga (targeting adult women), one of the primary editorial categories of manga. Shōnen manga is traditionally published in dedicated manga magazines that exclusively target the shōnen demographic group. Of the four primary demographic categories of manga, shōnen is the most popular category in the Japanese market. While shōnen manga ostensibly targets an audience of young males, its actual readership extends significantly beyond this target group to include all ages and genders. The category originated from Japanese children's magazines at the turn of the 20th century and gained significant popularity by the 1920s. The editorial focus of shōnen manga is primarily on action, adventure, and the fighting of monsters or other forces of evil. Though action narratives dominate the category, there is deep editorial diversity and a significant number of genres and subgenres within shōnen manga, especially when compared to other comic cultures outside of Japan, including comedy, crime, romance, slice of life, and sports. ## Terminology and etymology ### Shōnen The Japanese word shōnen (少年 /ɕoːnen/) translates literally to "few years". Shōnen historically referred to juveniles in a general sense, and was used by the Japanese publishing industry to designate publications aimed at children and young people until the end of the 19th century. The word shifted to its current usage of referring specifically to media aimed at adolescent boys beginning with the practice of segmenting periodicals (especially manga magazines) by sex and age-specific target groups, which was established at the beginning of the 20th century and accelerated starting in the 1960s. This system of segmentation is now openly used as a categorization system by manga publishers and extends into works that are adapted from manga, such as anime. ### Shōnen manga Shōnen manga refers to manga aimed at an audience of adolescent boys, with the primary target audience alternately defined as 9 to 18 years old and as 12 to 18 years old. Of the four primary demographic categories of manga (shōnen, shōjo, seinen, and josei), it is the most popular category in the Japanese market. The actual readership of shōnen manga, as is the case for all demographic categories of manga, extends significantly beyond this adolescent male target group to include all ages and genders. For example, a 2006 survey of female manga readers found that Weekly Shōnen Jump was the most popular manga magazine among this demographic, placing ahead of magazines that specifically target a female readership. The target group orientation of shōnen manga is particularly evident in the non-manga content of shōnen manga magazines, which include advertising and articles on topics tailored to the interests of young males, such as video games. Non-manga content often corresponds to a major manga series in a given magazine, for example, advertisements for a video game adaptation of the series, or articles about an animated film adaptation of the series. ## History ### Pre-war and wartime era Children's magazines with sex-segregated readerships have existed in Japan since the early 1900s. While early youth magazines were ostensibly unisex – Shōnen Sekai was the first youth magazine in Japan in 1895, targeting a readership of both boys and girls – in practice, the editorial content of these publications largely concerned topics that were thought to be of interest to boys. This provoked the emergence of first exclusively shōjo (girls) magazines in 1902, and shōnen magazines subsequently began to exclusively target a male audience. Initially, these magazines did not publish manga; the first shōnen magazine to do so was Shōnen Pakku, first published in 1907. This was followed by Shōnen Club in 1914 and later Yōnen Club. Among the most successful and influential manga series in these early shōnen magazines were Norakuro by Suihō Tagawa, which follows the life of an anthropomorphic dog soldier, and Tank Tankuro by Gajo Sakamoto, about a robot-like character who can change his appearance. Shōnen magazine enjoyed significant popularity during the 1920s and 1930s, with Yōnen Club selling over 950,000 copies. During the Second Sino-Japanese War and Second World War, magazine sales declined and publications were used increasingly for wartime propaganda purposes. The manga content in these publications was reduced, and the series that remained typically focused on patriotic and militaristic themes, such as stories about samurai. In other stories, robots were depicted as fighting in the war against the Allied forces, as analogous to western superhero comics that depicted superheroes fighting the Axis powers during this same period. ### Post-war era During the post-war occupation of Japan, the Japanese publishing industry was rebuilt under initially strict guidelines. Stories focused on war, combat, and most competitive sports were banned with the aim of discouraging belligerence and hindering the use of manga for pro-Imperial propaganda. Manga developed during this period under the influence of artist Osamu Tezuka, with series such as Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. Tezuka was inspired by American cartoons, and pioneered the so-called "story manga": long-running manga series with a cinematic style and continuity across multiple chapters, contrasting what had previously been a medium defined by one-off comic strips. Science fiction stories about robots, space travel, and heroic space-faring adventures enjoyed popularity during this period; many sci-fi stories took themes and concepts from war comics and re-imagined them with pacifist ideals, such as Tetsujin 28-go by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. One of the first new shōnen manga magazines of the post-war period was Manga Shōnen, which launched in 1947 and published works by Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, and Shōtarō Ishinomori. As post-war censorship codes were repealed and Japan entered a period of significant economic development in the 1950s, sales of manga and the number of manga magazines increased significantly, and shōnen and shōjo manga came to further establish themselves as distinct categories. The first works of sports manga also emerged from shōnen manga during this time; notable early works include Igaguri-kun [jp] by Eiichi Fukui as the first manga series in the genre, and Ashita no Joe by Asao Takamori and Tetsuya Chiba, which became one of the most commercially successful works in the genre. 1959 saw the launch of Shōnen Sunday and Weekly Shōnen Magazine, the first weekly shōnen manga magazines. Other weeklies, such as Shōnen Champion, Shōnen King, and Shōnen Ace, emerged in the 1960s. Weekly Shōnen Jump was first published in 1968, and would establish itself as the best-selling manga magazine across demographic categories, a position it holds to this day. Many of the most popular and commercially successful shōnen series originated in Weekly Shōnen Jump, including Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama, Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, Bleach by Tite Kubo, One Piece by Eiichiro Oda, and Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue. ### Modern era Seinen manga became formalized as a category of manga aimed at an older male audience in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and many shōnen artists associated with the realist gekiga movement migrated to seinen manga. The demise of the kashi-hon (rental manga) market led many kashi-hon artists to move into magazine publishing, including shōnen manga, bringing their distinct themes and style with them. As a result, shōnen manga came to deal with more serious and political themes, and saw an increase in depictions of violent and explicit subjects, as well as an increase in profanity. Significant artists of this era include Shigeru Mizuki, creator of the horror series GeGeGe no Kitarō; and George Akiyama, whose shōnen manga series Ashura depicts cannibalism, child abuse, and mass murder. Although this provoked a public backlash, it did not lead to the decline for the industry: series with anarchic, offensive humor became popular in shōnen and seinen manga alike, with Crayon Shin-Chan by Yoshito Usui becoming an internationally famous example of this phenomenon. Manga artist Go Nagai originated the sexually-charged ecchi genre with Harenchi Gakuen, which was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump. The stylistic and thematic differences between shōnen and shōjo began to narrow considerably beginning in the 1980s, with widespread exchange of stylistic devices and themes. For example, the characteristic large eyes of shōjo manga became common in shōnen manga to convey the emotions of characters, and female characters have enjoyed greater prominence as both supporting and primary characters in shōnen manga. Other graphic storytelling techniques that originated in shōjo manga, such as montages of multiple panels, were imported into shōnen manga and have become common stylistic devices. In the 1980s, combat-focused "battle manga" stories became popular, with Dragon Ball and Fist of the North Star emerging as representative works of this development. Manga critic Jason Thompson credits the success of Dragon Ball, first published in 1984, as originating a trend that has persisted to contemporary shōnen manga of favoring cartoonish art styles over the more mature art styles of shōnen titles such as City Hunter and Fist of the North Star. Female manga artists also began to enjoy increasing critical and commercial success as shōnen manga creators. As a result of the combined influence of ecchi and the rise of female artists, romance emerged as a subgenre of shōnen manga, especially romantic comedy. When manga began to emerge in the Western world in the early 1990s, the shōnen category was so dominant in these new markets that it came to shape the image of manga as a whole. While shōjo made gains in popularity by the 2000s, shōnen remains the most popular category of manga, both in Japan and internationally. ## Characteristics ### Themes and genres This thematic orientation of shōnen manga is readily inferred from the formal values or slogans that shōnen manga magazines assign themselves: for example, "friendship, perseverance, and victory" for Weekly Shōnen Jump, and "courage, friendship and fighting spirit" for CoroCoro Comic. The editorial focus of shōnen manga is primarily on action, adventure, and the fighting of monsters or other forces of evil. Action stories are so dominant in shōnen manga that some manga and non-manga works are occasionally designated as shōnen not because of their ostensible target group, but because of their content focus on action and adventure. Though action narratives dominate the category, there is deep editorial diversity and a significant number of genres and subgenres within shōnen manga, especially when compared to other comic cultures outside of Japan. This includes but is not limited to comedy, crime, romance, slice of life, and stories about activities such as sports and the lives of different types of working professionals. The action genre is itself is expressed through a variety of subgenres, from historical and contemporary drama to science fiction and fantasy. Shōnen war fiction has been alternately jingoistic or critical of militarism and violence, with Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa as a notable example of the latter. Samurai appeared frequently as idealized role models for boy readers in early shōnen, analogous to representations of cowboys in western comics; samurai stories shifted to comedy and sportsmanship in the post-war period, before returning to themes of idealized themes of good versus evil. Though shōnen manga typically attempts to convey a message of peace, the category has been criticized by individuals such as director Hayao Miyazaki for promoting overly simple good/evil dichotomies. ### Narrative conventions A shōnen protagonist is often characterized by contradictory qualities: short-tempered and cool, mischievous and rebellious, serious and cynical, clumsy and infallible, or who appears as a good-for-nothing but possesses hidden abilities. In some cases, the contradiction takes on a literal form in the form of henshin (変身, lit. 'transformation'), where the hero is able to switch between two personas with different appearances and personalities; examples of this device include Yu-Gi-Oh by Kazuki Takahashi and Samurai Deeper Kyo by Akimine Kamijyo. Transformation abilities are often linked with bonds to a spirit, monster or robot. A major narrative device in shōnen manga is rivalry between the protagonist and his opponent, with a fight or a quest often appearing as a central element; Dragon Ball is among the most popular and commercially successful examples of this archetypal story. Typically, a shōnen protagonist is an outsider, or in some way disadvantaged compared to others, but who through training, perseverance, and willpower eventually succeeds against all odds. Plots typically follow the basic structure of the hero's journey, with much of the story focused on the protagonist's training and transformation into a hero, and on characters who earn their status as heroes through effort and tenacity rather than by virtue of birth or assignment. For long-running series, the hero's journey repeats itself; as a new story arc begins, the enemy becomes more powerful and the danger to be overcome becomes greater. In addition to these external conflicts, a shōnen protagonist often also faces internal conflicts, typically focused around maturity and growing older. In contrast to shōjo manga, which often focuses on the thoughts and interior monologue of the hero, shōnen typically advances plot through dialogue and action. Happy endings are common in shōnen manga, but are not obligatory, with writers expressing the happy ending fitting for the demography even if it not comes up as a suitable. ### Visual style Comics theorist Neil Cohn regards the art style of shōnen as generally "edgier" than that of shōjo manga, and notes how most regular manga readers are able to easily distinguish between shōnen and shōjo based on visual appearance alone. Visually, a shōnen protagonist often possesses what manga critic Jason Thompson describes as "insanely spiky hair" that distinguishes the protagonist's silhouette from that of other characters. The eyes of shōnen characters in the post-war period are significantly smaller than those of characters in shōjo manga; large eyes are used in shōjo manga to better convey the emotions of the characters, an aspect which has historically been given less focus in shōnen manga. A common visual device in shōnen action scenes is to depict the contours of figures with rough, coarse motion lines to give the appearance of movement. ### Role of women Historically, the protagonists of shōnen manga were almost exclusively men and boys; women and girls appeared primarily in supporting roles as sisters, mothers, or girlfriends, if at all. This was especially true of ecchi stories that developed out of shōnen manga beginning in the 1970s, with The Abashiri Family by Go Nagai as one of the earliest representative works of this development, as well as an early example of a shōnen manga with a female protagonist. Since the 1980s, women and girls have played a more active role in shōnen manga, fighting alongside male characters and not merely as passive support. Dr. Slump by Akira Toriyama was an early representative work of this development, with its mischievous child protagonist Arale Norimaki being among the first shōnen manga to depict this type of archetypal character as a girl rather than a boy. The 1980s also saw female shōnen manga artists rise to greater prominence: notably horror manga artist Kei Kusunoki, and Rumiko Takahashi with her romantic comedies Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1⁄2. Especially in shōnen series that are aimed at an older audience, female characters are often presented in a manner that is attractive to the male target audience as so-called bishōjos (literally "beautiful young girls"). They exist as objects of romantic or sexual desire not merely for the male characters, but also for the ostensibly heterosexual male reader as a form of fan service. While these objectifying tropes have persisted in shōnen manga, women have also developed more active roles in these fan service-oriented stories. A common romantic comedy trope in shōnen manga since the 1980s has been to pair a weak male protagonist with a strong female love interest who is not only the target of his romantic and sexual desire, but also his good friend and confidante. In the harem genre, which originated from shōnen manga, a male protagonist is surrounded by several female characters who desire him, and who are often more confident and assertive than he is; examples include Negima! Magister Negi Magi by Ken Akamatsu and Hanaukyo Maid Team by Morishige. In other cases, the male protagonist is unsuccessful in his attempts to woo the female character, or the story is focused around the originally naïve and infantile male protagonist maturing and learning how to develop healthy relationships with women. For certain shōnen series, a female readership who read in or interpret subtextual homoerotic relationships between canonically heterosexual male characters constitute a significant proportion of the series' audience; this is especially true of series featuring male characters who are bishōnen (literally "beautiful boys"), or who are perceived as such by readers. This reading of shōnen manga is expressed in the form of fan works such as dōjinshi (self-published amateur manga) and the yaoi (male-male romance) genre of manga and anime, which includes both original and derivative works. Manga scholar Yukari Fujimoto notes in her analysis of the female readership of the shōnen titles One Piece, Naruto, and The Prince of Tennis that homoerotic interpretations of shōnen manga tend to be most common among titles that do not include prominent female characters that a female readership is able to identify with. ## Magazines Shōnen manga is traditionally published in dedicated manga magazines that specifically target an audience of shōnen. At the industry's peak in the mid-1990s, there were 23 total shōnen magazines, which collectively sold 662 million copies in 1995. The total manga magazine market that year included 265 magazines, with a total of 1.595 billion copies sold. A manga magazine is typically several hundred pages long, and contains over a dozen series or one-shots. The largest Japanese shōnen magazines in terms of circulation are Weekly Shōnen Jump by Shueisha, Weekly Shōnen Magazine by Kodansha, and Weekly Shōnen Sunday by Shogakukan; these publishers are also the largest publishers of manga generally. The fourth largest magazine, albeit by a significant margin, is Weekly Shōnen Champion by Akita Shoten, which was among the most popular manga magazines in the 1970s and 1980s. The magazines CoroCoro Comic and the now-defunct Comic BomBom technically belong to the kodomo (children's manga) demographic, but are often counted as shōnen magazines as they target an audience of school-aged boys. A list of the top shōnen magazines by circulation as of 2015 are listed below:
15,641
Joseph Stalin
1,173,790,464
Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953
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Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician, political theorist and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953, ruling as a dictator after consolidating power in the late 1920s. He served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1952, and Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1941 to 1953. Ideologically adhering to the Leninist interpretation of Marxism, Stalin formalised the state ideology of Marxism–Leninism, while his policies are called Stalinism. Born to a poor ethnic Georgian family in Gori in the Russian Empire (now Georgia), Stalin initially trained to become a Russian Orthodox priest before abandoning his studies in 1899 and joining the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. He raised funds for Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction via robberies, ransom kidnappings, and extortion, and edited its newspaper, Pravda. Repeatedly arrested, he underwent several internal exiles to Siberia. After the Bolsheviks seized power in the October Revolution of 1917 and created a one-party state under the renamed Communist Party, Stalin joined its governing Politburo. He served in the Russian Civil War and the Polish–Soviet War before overseeing the Soviet Union's establishment in 1922 as general secretary, a position which he used to appoint loyalists from the party's growing bureaucracy. During Lenin's illness and after his death in 1924, Stalin formed a ruling triumvirate with Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev, which broke apart in 1925. Under Stalin, "socialism in one country" became central to the party's ideology, and his rivals (including Leon Trotsky) were expelled or capitulated. In 1928, Stalin broke with the New Economic Policy and launched the first five-year plan, which saw rapid industrialisation and created a highly-centralised command economy. Forced agricultural collectivisation and dekulakisation contributed to severe disruptions in grain production and a famine in 1930–1933 which killed millions. In 1936–1938, Stalin orchestrated the Great Purge, in which more than a million were imprisoned, largely in the Gulag system of forced labour camps, and at least 700,000 executed, including many Old Bolsheviks and Red Army officers. Stalin promoted Marxism–Leninism abroad through the Communist International and supported European anti-fascist movements during the 1930s, particularly in the Spanish Civil War. In 1939, his regime signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, enabling the Soviet invasion of Poland. Germany ended the pact by invading the Soviet Union in 1941, after which Stalin joined the Allies of World War II as one of the Big Three. Despite initial catastrophes, the Soviet military repelled the German invasion and captured Berlin in 1945, ending World War II in Europe. The Soviet Union, which had annexed the Baltic states and gained territories from Finland and Romania during the war, established Soviet-aligned governments in Central and Eastern Europe, emerging as a global superpower and entering the Cold War with the United States. Stalin presided over post-war reconstruction, another major famine in 1946–1947, the first test of a Soviet atomic bomb in 1949, and an antisemitic campaign culminating in the "doctors' plot" in 1952. After Stalin's death in 1953, he was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev, who denounced his rule and began de-Stalinisation of Soviet society. Widely considered one of the 20th century's most significant figures, Stalin was the subject of a pervasive personality cult within the international Marxist–Leninist movement, which revered him as a champion of the working class and socialism. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Stalin has retained some popularity (particularly in Russia and his native Georgia) as an economic moderniser and wartime leader who cemented the Soviet Union's status as a superpower. Nevertheless, his regime has been widely described as totalitarian and is condemned by many for overseeing mass political repression, forced labour, resettlements and deportations of ethnic minorities, hundreds of thousands of executions, and famines which killed millions. ## Early life ### 1878–1899: Childhood to young adulthood Stalin was born in Georgia in the town of Gori, then part of the Tiflis Governorate of the Russian Empire and home to a mix of Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Russians, and Jews. He was born on and baptised on 29 December. His birth name was Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili, and he was nicknamed "Soso", a diminutive of "Ioseb". His parents were Besarion Jughashvili and Ekaterine Geladze. He was their only child to survive past infancy. Besarion was a cobbler who was employed in a workshop owned by another man; it was initially a financial success but later fell into decline, and the family found itself living in poverty. Besarion became an alcoholic and drunkenly beat his wife and son. Ekaterine and Stalin left the home by 1883 and began a wandering life, moving through nine different rented rooms over the next decade. In 1886, they moved into the house of a family friend, Father Christopher Charkviani. Ekaterine worked as a house cleaner and launderer and was determined to send her son to school. In September 1888, Stalin enrolled at the Orthodox Gori Church School, a place secured by Charkviani. Although he got into many fights, Stalin excelled academically, displaying talent in painting and drama classes, writing his own poetry, and singing as a choirboy. Stalin faced several severe health problems: An 1884 smallpox infection left him with facial scars; and at age 12 he was seriously injured when he was hit by a phaeton, probably the cause of a lifelong disability in his left arm. In August 1894, Stalin enrolled in the Russian Orthodox Theological Seminary in Tiflis, enabled by a scholarship that allowed him to study at a reduced rate. He joined 600 trainee priests who boarded there, and he achieved high grades. He continued writing poetry; five of his poems, on themes such as nature, land and patriotism, were published under the pseudonym of "Soselo" in Ilia Chavchavadze's newspaper Iveria (Georgia). According to Stalin's biographer Simon Sebag Montefiore, they became "minor Georgian classics" and were included in various anthologies of Georgian poetry over the coming years. As he grew older, Stalin lost interest in priestly studies, his grades dropped, and he was repeatedly confined to a cell for his rebellious behaviour. The seminary's journal noted that he declared himself an atheist, stalked out of prayers and refused to doff his hat to monks. Stalin joined a forbidden book club at the school; he was particularly influenced by Nikolay Chernyshevsky's 1863 pro-revolutionary novel What Is To Be Done? Another influential text was Alexander Kazbegi's The Patricide, with Stalin adopting the nickname "Koba" from that of the book's bandit protagonist. The pseudonym may also have been a tribute to his wealthy benefactor, Yakobi "Koba" Egnatashvili, who paid for his schooling at the Tiflis seminary. ("Koba" is the Georgian diminutive of Yakobi, or Jacob, and Stalin later named his first-born son in Egnatashvili's honour.) He also read Das Kapital, the 1867 book by German sociological theorist Karl Marx. Stalin devoted himself to Marx's socio-political theory, Marxism, which was then on the rise in Georgia, one of various forms of socialism opposed to the Tsarist empire's authorities. At night, he attended secret workers' meetings and was introduced to Silibistro "Silva" Jibladze, the Marxist founder of Mesame Dasi ("Third Group"), a Georgian socialist group. Stalin left the seminary in April 1899 and never returned. ### 1899–1904: Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party In October 1899, Stalin began work as a meteorologist at the Tiflis observatory. He had a light workload and therefore had plenty of time for revolutionary activity. He attracted a group of supporters through his classes in socialist theory and co-organised a secret workers' mass meeting for May Day 1900, at which he successfully encouraged many of the men to take strike action. By this point, the empire's secret police, the Okhrana, were aware of Stalin's activities in Tiflis' revolutionary milieu. They attempted to arrest him in March 1901, but he escaped and went into hiding, living off the donations of friends and sympathisers. Remaining underground, he helped plan a demonstration for May Day 1901, in which 3,000 marchers clashed with the authorities. He continued to evade arrest by using aliases and sleeping in different apartments. In November 1901, he was elected to the Tiflis Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), a Marxist party founded in 1898. That month, Stalin travelled to the port city of Batumi. His militant rhetoric proved divisive among the city's Marxists, some of whom suspected that he might be an agent provocateur working for the government. He found employment at the Rothschild refinery storehouse, where he co-organised two workers' strikes. After several strike leaders were arrested, he co-organised a mass public demonstration which led to the storming of the prison; troops fired upon the demonstrators, 13 of whom were killed. Stalin organised another mass demonstration on the day of their funeral, before being arrested in April 1902. Held first in Batumi Prison and then Kutaisi Prison, in mid-1903 he was sentenced to three years of exile in eastern Siberia. Stalin left Batumi in October, arriving at the small Siberian town of Novaya Uda in late November 1903. There, he lived in a two-room peasant's house, sleeping in the building's larder. He made two escape attempts: On the first, he made it to Balagansk before returning due to frostbite. His second attempt, in January 1904, was successful and he made it to Tiflis. There, he co-edited a Georgian Marxist newspaper, Proletariatis Brdzola ("Proletarian Struggle"), with Filipp Makharadze. He called for the Georgian Marxist movement to split from its Russian counterpart, resulting in several RSDLP members accusing him of holding views contrary to the ethos of Marxist internationalism and calling for his expulsion from the party; he soon recanted his opinions. During his exile, the RSDLP had split between Vladimir Lenin's "Bolsheviks" and Julius Martov's "Mensheviks". Stalin detested many of the Mensheviks in Georgia and aligned himself with the Bolsheviks. Although he established a Bolshevik stronghold in the mining town of Chiatura, Bolshevism remained a minority force in the Menshevik-dominated Georgian revolutionary scene. ### 1905–1912: Revolution of 1905 and its aftermath In January 1905, government troops massacred protesters in Saint Petersburg. Unrest soon spread across the Russian Empire in what came to be known as the Revolution of 1905. Georgia was particularly affected. Stalin was in Baku in February when ethnic violence broke out between Armenians and Azeris; at least 2,000 were killed. He publicly lambasted the "pogroms against Jews and Armenians" as being part of Tsar Nicholas II's attempts to "buttress his despicable throne". Stalin formed a Bolshevik Battle Squad which he used to try to keep Baku's warring ethnic factions apart; he also used the unrest as a cover for stealing printing equipment. Amid the growing violence throughout Georgia he formed further Battle Squads, with the Mensheviks doing the same. Stalin's squads disarmed local police and troops, raided government arsenals, and raised funds through protection rackets on large local businesses and mines. They launched attacks on the government's Cossack troops and pro-Tsarist Black Hundreds, co-ordinating some of their operations with the Menshevik militia. In November 1905, the Georgian Bolsheviks elected Stalin as one of their delegates to a Bolshevik conference in Saint Petersburg. On arrival, he met Lenin's wife Nadezhda Krupskaya, who informed him that the venue had been moved to Tampere in the Grand Duchy of Finland. At the conference Stalin met Lenin for the first time. Although Stalin held Lenin in deep respect, he was vocal in his disagreement with Lenin's view that the Bolsheviks should field candidates for the forthcoming election to the State Duma; Stalin saw the parliamentary process as a waste of time. In April 1906, Stalin attended the RSDLP Fourth Congress in Stockholm; this was his first trip outside the Russian Empire. At the conference, the RSDLP — then led by its Menshevik majority — agreed that it would not raise funds using armed robbery. Lenin and Stalin disagreed with this decision and later privately discussed how they could continue the robberies for the Bolshevik cause. Stalin married Kato Svanidze in an Orthodox church ceremony at Senaki in July 1906. In March 1907 she bore a son, Yakov. By that year — according to the historian Robert Service — Stalin had established himself as "Georgia's leading Bolshevik". He attended the Fifth RSDLP Congress, held at the Brotherhood Church in London in May–June 1907. After returning to Tiflis, Stalin organised the robbing of a large delivery of money to the Imperial Bank in June 1907. His gang ambushed the armed convoy in Erivansky Square with gunfire and home-made bombs. Around 40 people were killed, but all of his gang escaped alive. After the heist, Stalin settled in Baku with his wife and son. There, Mensheviks confronted Stalin about the robbery and voted to expel him from the RSDLP, but he took no notice of them. In Baku, Stalin secured Bolshevik domination of the local RSDLP branch and edited two Bolshevik newspapers, Bakinsky Proletary and Gudok ("Whistle"). In August 1907, he attended the Seventh Congress of the Second International — an international socialist organisation — in Stuttgart, German Empire. In November 1907, his wife died of typhus, and he left his son with her family in Tiflis. In Baku he had reassembled his gang, the Outfit, which continued to attack Black Hundreds and raised finances by running protection rackets, counterfeiting currency, and carrying out robberies. They also kidnapped the children of several wealthy figures to extract ransom money. In early 1908, he travelled to the Swiss city of Geneva to meet with Lenin and the prominent Russian Marxist Georgi Plekhanov, although the latter exasperated him. In March 1908, Stalin was arrested and interned in Bailov Prison in Baku. There he led the imprisoned Bolsheviks, organised discussion groups, and ordered the killing of suspected informants. He was eventually sentenced to two years exile in the village of Solvychegodsk, Vologda Province, arriving there in February 1909. In June, he escaped the village and made it to Kotlas disguised as a woman and from there to Saint Petersburg. In March 1910, he was arrested again and sent back to Solvychegodsk. There he had affairs with at least two women; his landlady, Maria Kuzakova, later gave birth to his second son, Konstantin. In June 1911, Stalin was given permission to move to Vologda, where he stayed for two months, having a relationship with Pelageya Onufrieva. He escaped to Saint Petersburg, where he was arrested in September 1911 and sentenced to a further three-year exile in Vologda. ### 1912–1917: Rise to the Central Committee and editorship of Pravda In January 1912, while Stalin was in exile, the first Bolshevik Central Committee was elected at the Prague Conference. Shortly after the conference, Lenin and Grigory Zinoviev decided to co-opt Stalin to the committee. Still in Vologda, Stalin agreed, remaining a Central Committee member for the rest of his life. Lenin believed that Stalin, as a Georgian, would help secure support for the Bolsheviks from the empire's minority ethnicities. In February 1912, Stalin again escaped to Saint Petersburg, tasked with converting the Bolshevik weekly newspaper, Zvezda ("Star") into a daily, Pravda ("Truth"). The new newspaper was launched in April 1912, although Stalin's role as editor was kept secret. In May 1912, he was arrested again and imprisoned in the Shpalerhy Prison, before being sentenced to three years exile in Siberia. In July, he arrived at the Siberian village of Narym, where he shared a room with a fellow Bolshevik Yakov Sverdlov. After two months, Stalin and Sverdlov escaped back to Saint Petersburg. During a brief period back in Tiflis, Stalin and the Outfit planned the ambush of a mail coach, during which most of the group — although not Stalin — were apprehended by the authorities. Stalin returned to Saint Petersburg, where he continued editing and writing articles for Pravda. After the October 1912 Duma elections, where six Bolsheviks and six Mensheviks were elected, Stalin wrote articles calling for reconciliation between the two Marxist factions, for which Lenin criticised him. In late 1912, Stalin twice crossed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire to visit Lenin in Cracow, eventually bowing to Lenin's opposition to reunification with the Mensheviks. In January 1913, Stalin travelled to Vienna, where he researched the "national question" of how the Bolsheviks should deal with the Russian Empire's national and ethnic minorities. Lenin, who encouraged Stalin to write an article on the subject, wanted to attract those groups to the Bolshevik cause by offering them the right of secession from the Russian state, but also hoped they would remain part of a future Bolshevik-governed Russia. Stalin's article Marxism and the National Question was first published in the March, April, and May 1913 issues of the Bolshevik journal Prosveshcheniye; Lenin was pleased with it. According to Montefiore, this was "Stalin's most famous work". The article was published under the pseudonym "K. Stalin", a name he had used since 1912. Derived from the Russian word for steel (stal), this has been translated as "Man of Steel"; Stalin may have intended it to imitate Lenin's pseudonym. Stalin retained the name for the rest of his life, possibly because it was used on the article that established his reputation among the Bolsheviks. In February 1913, Stalin was arrested while back in Saint Petersburg. He was sentenced to four years exile in Turukhansk, a remote part of Siberia from which escape was particularly difficult. In August, he arrived in the village of Monastyrskoe, although after four weeks was relocated to the hamlet of Kostino. In March 1914, concerned over a potential escape attempt, the authorities moved Stalin to the hamlet of Kureika on the edge of the Arctic Circle. In the hamlet, Stalin had a relationship with Lidia Pereprygina, who was fourteen at the time but within the legal age of consent in Tsarist Russia. In or about December 1914, their child was born but the infant soon died. Their second child, Alexander, was born circa April 1917. In Kureika, Stalin lived among the indigenous Tunguses and Ostyak peoples, and spent much of his time fishing. ### 1917: Russian Revolution While Stalin was in exile, Russia entered the First World War, and in October 1916 Stalin and other exiled Bolsheviks were conscripted into the Russian Army, leaving for Monastyrskoe. They arrived in Krasnoyarsk in February 1917, where a medical examiner ruled Stalin unfit for military service because of his crippled arm. Stalin was required to serve four more months of his exile, and he successfully requested that he serve it in nearby Achinsk. Stalin was in the city when the February Revolution took place; uprisings broke out in Petrograd — as Saint Petersburg had been renamed — and Tsar Nicholas II abdicated to escape being violently overthrown. The Russian Empire became a de facto republic, headed by a Provisional Government dominated by liberals. In a celebratory mood, Stalin travelled by train to Petrograd in March. There, Stalin and a fellow Bolshevik Lev Kamenev assumed control of Pravda, and Stalin was appointed the Bolshevik representative to the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, an influential council of the city's workers. In April, Stalin came third in the Bolshevik elections for the party's Central Committee; Lenin came first and Zinoviev came second. This reflected his senior standing in the party at the time. Stalin helped organise the July Days uprising, an armed display of strength by Bolshevik supporters. After the demonstration was suppressed, the Provisional Government initiated a crackdown on the Bolsheviks, raiding Pravda. During this raid, Stalin smuggled Lenin out of the newspaper's office and took charge of the Bolshevik leader's safety, moving him between Petrograd safe houses before smuggling him to Razliv. In Lenin's absence, Stalin continued editing Pravda and served as acting leader of the Bolsheviks, overseeing the party's Sixth Congress, which was held covertly. Lenin began calling for the Bolsheviks to seize power by toppling the Provisional Government in a coup d'état. Stalin and a fellow senior Bolshevik Leon Trotsky both endorsed Lenin's plan of action, but it was initially opposed by Kamenev and other party members. Lenin returned to Petrograd and secured a majority in favour of a coup at a meeting of the Central Committee on 10 October. On 24 October, police raided the Bolshevik newspaper offices, smashing machinery and presses; Stalin salvaged some of this equipment to continue his activities. In the early hours of 25 October, Stalin joined Lenin in a Central Committee meeting in the Smolny Institute, from where the Bolshevik coup — the October Revolution — was directed. Bolshevik militia seized Petrograd's electric power station, main post office, state bank, telephone exchange, and several bridges. A Bolshevik-controlled ship, the Aurora, opened fire on the Winter Palace; the Provisional Government's assembled delegates surrendered and were arrested by the Bolsheviks. Although he had been tasked with briefing the Bolshevik delegates of the Second Congress of Soviets about the developing situation, Stalin's role in the coup had not been publicly visible. Trotsky and other later Bolshevik opponents of Stalin used this as evidence that his role in the coup had been insignificant, although later historians reject this. According to the historian Oleg Khlevniuk, Stalin "filled an important role [in the October Revolution]... as a senior Bolshevik, member of the party's Central Committee, and editor of its main newspaper"; the historian Stephen Kotkin similarly noted that Stalin had been "in the thick of events" in the build-up to the coup. ## In Lenin's government ### 1917–1918: Consolidating power On 26 October 1917, Lenin declared himself chairman of a new government, the Council of People's Commissars ("Sovnarkom"). Stalin backed Lenin's decision not to form a coalition with the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionary Party, although they did form a coalition government with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries. Stalin became part of an informal foursome leading the government, alongside Lenin, Trotsky, and Sverdlov; of these, Sverdlov was regularly absent and died in March 1919. Stalin's office was based near to Lenin's in the Smolny Institute, and he and Trotsky were the only individuals allowed access to Lenin's study without an appointment. Although not so publicly well known as Lenin or Trotsky, Stalin's importance among the Bolsheviks grew. He co-signed Lenin's decrees shutting down hostile newspapers, and along with Sverdlov, he chaired the sessions of the committee drafting a constitution for the new Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. He strongly supported Lenin's formation of the Cheka security service and the subsequent Red Terror that it initiated; noting that state violence had proved an effective tool for capitalist powers, he believed that it would prove the same for the Soviet government. Unlike senior Bolsheviks like Kamenev and Nikolai Bukharin, Stalin never expressed concern about the rapid growth and expansion of the Cheka and Red Terror. Having dropped his editorship of Pravda, Stalin was appointed the People's Commissar for Nationalities. He took Nadezhda Alliluyeva as his secretary and at some point married her, although the wedding date is unknown. In November 1917, he signed the Decree on Nationality, according ethnic and national minorities living in Russia the right of secession and self-determination. The decree's purpose was primarily strategic; the Bolsheviks wanted to gain favour among ethnic minorities but hoped that the latter would not actually desire independence. That month, he travelled to Helsingfors to talk with the Finnish Social Democrats, granting Finland's request for independence in December. His department allocated funds for establishment of presses and schools in the languages of various ethnic minorities. Socialist revolutionaries accused Stalin's talk of federalism and national self-determination as a front for Sovnarkom's centralising and imperialist policies. Because of the ongoing First World War, in which Russia was fighting the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary, Lenin's government relocated from Petrograd to Moscow in March 1918. Stalin, Trotsky, Sverdlov, and Lenin lived at the Kremlin. Stalin supported Lenin's desire to sign an armistice with the Central Powers regardless of the cost in territory. Stalin thought it necessary because — unlike Lenin — he was unconvinced that Europe was on the verge of proletarian revolution. Lenin eventually convinced the other senior Bolsheviks of his viewpoint, resulting in the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. The treaty gave vast areas of land and resources to the Central Powers and angered many in Russia; the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries withdrew from the coalition government over the issue. The governing RSDLP party was soon renamed, becoming the Russian Communist Party. ### 1918–1921: Military command After the Bolsheviks seized power, both right and left-wing armies rallied against them, generating the Russian Civil War. In May 1918, amid a diwndling food supply, Sovnarkom sent Stalin to Tsaritsyn to take charge of food procurement in Southern Russia. Eager to prove himself as a commander, once there he took control of regional military operations. He befriended two military figures, Kliment Voroshilov and Semyon Budyonny, who would form the nucleus of his military and political support base. Believing that victory was assured by numerical superiority, he sent large numbers of Red Army troops into battle against the region's anti-Bolshevik White armies, resulting in heavy losses; Lenin was concerned by this costly tactic. In Tsaritsyn, Stalin commanded the local Cheka branch to execute suspected counter-revolutionaries, sometimes without trial and — in contravention of government orders — purged the military and food collection agencies of middle-class specialists, some of whom he also executed. His use of state violence and terror was at a greater scale than most Bolshevik leaders approved of; for instance, he ordered several villages to be torched to ensure compliance with his food procurement program. In December 1918, Stalin was sent to Perm to lead an inquiry into how Alexander Kolchak's White forces had been able to decimate Red troops based there. He returned to Moscow between January and March 1919, before being assigned to the Western Front at Petrograd. When the Red Third Regiment defected, he ordered the public execution of captured defectors. In September, he was returned to the Southern Front. During the war, he proved his worth to the Central Committee, displaying decisiveness, determination, and willingness to take on responsibility in conflict situations. At the same time, he disregarded orders and repeatedly threatened to resign when affronted. He was reprimanded by Lenin at the 8th Party Congress for employing tactics which resulted in far too many deaths of Red Army soldiers. In November 1919, the government nonetheless awarded him the Order of the Red Banner for his wartime service. The Bolsheviks won the Russian Civil War by the end of 1919. By that time, Sovnarkom had turned its attention to spreading proletarian revolution abroad, to this end forming the Communist International in March 1919; Stalin attended its inaugural ceremony. Although Stalin did not share Lenin's belief that Europe's proletariat were on the verge of revolution, he acknowledged that as long as it stood alone, Soviet Russia remained vulnerable. In December 1918, he drew up decrees recognising Marxist-governed Soviet republics in Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia; during the civil war these Marxist governments were overthrown and the Baltic countries became fully independent of Russia, an act Stalin regarded as illegitimate. In February 1920, he was appointed to head the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate; that same month he was also transferred to the Caucasian Front. Following earlier clashes between Polish and Russian troops, the Polish–Soviet War broke out in early 1920, with the Poles invading Ukraine and taking Kiev on 7 May. On 26 May, Stalin was moved to Ukraine, on the Southwest Front. The Red Army retook Kiev on 10 June and soon forced the Polish troops back into Poland. On 16 July, the Central Committee decided to take the war into Polish territory. Lenin believed that the Polish proletariat would rise up to support the Russians against Józef Piłsudski's Polish government. Stalin had cautioned against this; he believed that nationalism would lead the Polish working-classes to support their government's war effort. He also believed that the Red Army was ill-prepared to conduct an offensive war and that it would give White armies a chance to resurface in Crimea, potentially reigniting the civil war. Stalin lost the argument, after which he accepted Lenin's decision and supported it. Along the Southwest Front, he became determined to conquer Lvov; in focusing on this goal he disobeyed orders in early August to transfer his troops to assist Mikhail Tukhachevsky's forces that were attacking Warsaw. In mid-August 1920, the Poles repulsed the Russian advance, and Stalin returned to Moscow to attend the Politburo meeting. Tukhachevsky blamed Stalin for his defeat at the Battle of Warsaw. In Moscow, Lenin and Trotsky also blamed him for his behaviour in the Polish–Soviet War. Stalin felt humiliated and under-appreciated; on 17 August, he demanded demission from the military, which was granted on 1 September. At the 9th Bolshevik Conference in late September, Trotsky accused Stalin of "strategic mistakes" in his handling of the war. Trotsky claimed that Stalin sabotaged the campaign by disobeying troop transfer orders. Lenin joined Trotsky in criticising him, and nobody spoke on his behalf at the conference. Stalin felt disgraced and his antipathy toward Trotsky increased. The Polish–Soviet War ended on 18 March 1921, when a peace treaty was signed in Riga. ### 1921–1923: Lenin's final years The Soviet government sought to bring neighbouring states under its domination; in February 1921 it invaded the Menshevik-governed Georgia, while in April 1921, Stalin ordered the Red Army into Turkestan to reassert Russian state control. As People's Commissar for Nationalities, Stalin believed that each national and ethnic group should have the right to self-expression, facilitated through "autonomous republics" within the Russian state in which they could oversee various regional affairs. In taking this view, some Marxists accused him of bending too much to bourgeois nationalism, while others accused him of remaining too Russocentric by seeking to retain these nations within the Russian state. Stalin's native Caucasus posed a particular problem because of its highly multi-ethnic mix. Stalin opposed the idea of separate Georgian, Armenian, and Azeri autonomous republics, arguing that these would likely oppress ethnic minorities within their respective territories; instead he called for a Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. The Georgian Communist Party opposed the idea, resulting in the Georgian affair. In mid-1921, Stalin returned to the South Caucasus, there calling on Georgian communists to avoid the chauvinistic Georgian nationalism which marginalised the Abkhazian, Ossetian, and Adjarian minorities in Georgia. On this trip, Stalin met with his son Yakov, and brought him back to Moscow; Nadezhda had given birth to another of Stalin's sons, Vasily, in March 1921. After the civil war, workers' strikes and peasant uprisings broke out across Russia, largely in opposition to Sovnarkom's food requisitioning project; as an antidote, Lenin introduced market-oriented reforms: the New Economic Policy (NEP). There was also internal turmoil in the Communist Party, as Trotsky led a faction calling for abolition of trade unions; Lenin opposed this, and Stalin helped rally opposition to Trotsky's position. Stalin also agreed to supervise the Department of Agitation and Propaganda in the Central Committee Secretariat. At the 11th Party Congress in 1922, Lenin nominated Stalin as the party's new General Secretary. Although concerns were expressed that adopting this new post on top of his others would overstretch his workload and give him too much power, Stalin was appointed to the position. For Lenin, it was advantageous to have a key ally in this crucial post. In May 1922, a massive stroke left Lenin partially paralysed. Residing at his Gorki dacha, Lenin's main connection to Sovnarkom was through Stalin, who was a regular visitor. Lenin twice asked Stalin to procure poison so that he could commit suicide, but Stalin never did so. Despite this comradeship, Lenin disliked what he referred to as Stalin's "Asiatic" manner and told his sister Maria that Stalin was "not intelligent". Lenin and Stalin argued on the issue of foreign trade; Lenin believed that the Soviet state should have a monopoly on foreign trade, but Stalin supported Grigori Sokolnikov's view that doing so was impractical at that stage. Another disagreement came over the Georgian affair, with Lenin backing the Georgian Central Committee's desire for a Georgian Soviet Republic over Stalin's idea of a Transcaucasian one. They also disagreed on the nature of the Soviet state. Lenin called for establishment of a new federation named the "Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia", reflecting his desire for expansion across the two continents and insisted that the Russian state should join this union on equal terms with the other Soviet states. Stalin believed this would encourage independence sentiment among non-Russians, instead arguing that ethnic minorities would be content as "autonomous republics" within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Lenin accused Stalin of "Great Russian chauvinism"; Stalin accused Lenin of "national liberalism". A compromise was reached, in which the federation would be renamed the "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" (USSR). The USSR's formation was ratified in December 1922; although officially a federal system, all major decisions were taken by the governing Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow. Their differences also became personal; Lenin was particularly angered when Stalin was rude to his wife Krupskaya during a telephone conversation. In the final years of his life, Krupskaya provided governing figures with Lenin's Testament, a series of increasingly disparaging notes about Stalin. These criticised Stalin's rude manners and excessive power, suggesting that Stalin should be removed from the position of general secretary. Some historians have questioned whether Lenin ever produced these, suggesting instead that they may have been written by Krupskaya, who had personal differences with Stalin; Stalin, however, never publicly voiced concerns about their authenticity. Most historians consider the document to be an accurate reflection of Lenin's views. According to Stalin’s secretary, Boris Bazhanov, Lenin “in general leaned towards a collegial leadership, with Trotsky in the first position”. ## Consolidation of power ### 1924–1927: Succeeding Lenin Lenin died in January 1924. Stalin took charge of the funeral and was one of its pallbearers; against the wishes of Lenin's widow, the Politburo embalmed his corpse and placed it within a mausoleum in Moscow's Red Square. It was incorporated into a growing personality cult devoted to Lenin, with Petrograd being renamed "Leningrad" that year. To bolster his image as a devoted Leninist, Stalin gave nine lectures at Sverdlov University on the Foundations of Leninism, later published in book form. During the 13th Party Congress in May 1924, Lenin's Testament was read only to the leaders of the provincial delegations. Embarrassed by its contents, Stalin offered his resignation as General Secretary; this act of humility saved him and he was retained in the position. According to Stalin's secretary, Boris Bazhanov, Stalin was jubilant over Lenin's death while "publicly putting on the mask of grief". As General Secretary, Stalin had a free hand in making appointments to his own staff, implanting his loyalists throughout the party and administration. Favouring new Communist Party members from proletarian backgrounds, to the "Old Bolsheviks" who tended to be middle class university graduates, he ensured he had loyalists dispersed across the country's regions. Stalin had much contact with young party functionaries, and the desire for promotion led many provincial figures to seek to impress Stalin and gain his favour. Stalin also developed close relations with the trio at the heart of the secret police (first the Cheka and then its replacement, the State Political Directorate): Felix Dzerzhinsky, Genrikh Yagoda, and Vyacheslav Menzhinsky. In his private life, he divided his time between his Kremlin apartment and a dacha at Zubalova; his wife gave birth to a daughter, Svetlana, in February 1926. In the wake of Lenin's death, various protagonists emerged in the struggle to become his successor: alongside Stalin was Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin, Alexei Rykov, and Mikhail Tomsky. Stalin saw Trotsky — whom he personally despised — as the main obstacle to his dominance within the party. While Lenin had been ill Stalin had forged an anti-Trotsky alliance with Kamenev and Zinoviev. Although Zinoviev was concerned about Stalin's growing authority, he rallied behind him at the 13th Congress as a counterweight to Trotsky, who now led a party faction known as the Left Opposition. The Left Opposition believed the NEP conceded too much to capitalism; Stalin was called a "rightist" for his support of the policy. Stalin built up a retinue of his supporters in the Central Committee, while the Left Opposition were gradually removed from their positions of influence. He was supported in this by Bukharin, who, like Stalin, believed that the Left Opposition's proposals would plunge the Soviet Union into instability. In late 1924, Stalin moved against Kamenev and Zinoviev, removing their supporters from key positions. In 1925, the two moved into open opposition to Stalin and Bukharin. At the 14th Party Congress in December, they launched an attack against Stalin's faction, but it was unsuccessful. Stalin in turn accused Kamenev and Zinoviev of reintroducing factionalism — and thus instability — into the party. In mid-1926, Kamenev and Zinoviev joined with Trotsky's supporters to form the United Opposition against Stalin; in October they agreed to stop factional activity under threat of expulsion, and later publicly recanted their views under Stalin's command. The factionalist arguments continued, with Stalin threatening to resign in October and then December 1926 and again in December 1927. In October 1927, Zinoviev and Trotsky were removed from the Central Committee; the latter was exiled to Kazakhstan and later deported from the country in 1929. Some of those United Opposition members who were repentant were later rehabilitated and returned to government. Stalin was now the party's supreme leader, although he was not the head of government, a task he entrusted to his key ally Vyacheslav Molotov. Other important supporters on the Politburo were Voroshilov, Lazar Kaganovich, and Sergo Ordzhonikidze, with Stalin ensuring his allies ran the various state institutions. According to Montefiore, at this point "Stalin was the leader of the oligarchs but he was far from a dictator". His growing influence was reflected in naming of various locations after him; in June 1924 the Ukrainian mining town of Yuzovka became Stalino, and in April 1925, Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad on the order of Mikhail Kalinin and Avel Enukidze. In 1926, Stalin published On Questions of Leninism. Here, he argued for the concept of "socialism in one country", which he presented as an orthodox Leninist perspective. It nevertheless clashed with established Bolshevik views that socialism could not be established in one country but could only be achieved globally through the process of world revolution. ### 1927–1931: Dekulakisation, collectivisation, and industrialisation #### Economic policy The Soviet Union lagged behind the industrial development of Western countries, and there had been a shortfall of grain; 1927 produced only 70% of grain produced in 1926. Stalin's government feared attack from Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Romania. Many communists, including in Komsomol, OGPU, and the Red Army, were eager to be rid of the NEP and its market-oriented approach; they had concerns about those who profited from the policy: affluent peasants known as "kulaks" and small business owners or "NEPmen". At this point, Stalin turned against the NEP, which put him on a course to the "left" even of Trotsky or Zinoviev. In early 1928, Stalin travelled to Novosibirsk, where he alleged that kulaks were hoarding their grain and ordered that the kulaks be arrested and their grain confiscated, with Stalin bringing much of the area's grain back to Moscow with him in February. At his command, grain procurement squads surfaced across Western Siberia and the Urals, with violence breaking out between these squads and the peasantry. Stalin announced that both kulaks and the "middle peasants" must be coerced into releasing their harvest. Bukharin and several other Central Committee members were angry that they had not been consulted about this measure, which they deemed rash. In January 1930, the Politburo approved the liquidation of the kulak class; accused kulaks were rounded up and exiled to other parts of the country or to concentration camps. Large numbers died during the journey. By July 1930, over 320,000 households had been affected by the de-kulakisation policy. According to Stalin biographer Dmitri Volkogonov, de-kulakisation was "the first mass terror applied by Stalin in his own country." In 1929, the Politburo announced the mass collectivisation of agriculture, establishing both kolkhozy collective farms and sovkhoz state farms. Stalin barred kulaks from joining these collectives. Although officially voluntary, many peasants joined the collectives out of fear they would face the fate of the kulaks; others joined amid intimidation and violence from party loyalists. By 1932, about 62% of households involved in agriculture were part of collectives, and by 1936 this had risen to 90%. Many of the collectivised peasants resented the loss of their private farmland, and productivity slumped. Famine broke out in many areas, with the Politburo frequently ordering distribution of emergency food relief to these regions. Armed peasant uprisings against dekulakisation and collectivisation broke out in Ukraine, the North Caucasus, Southern Russia, and Central Asia, reaching their apex in March 1930; these were suppressed by the Red Army. Stalin responded to the uprisings with an article insisting that collectivisation was voluntary and blaming any violence and other excesses on local officials. Although he and Stalin had been close for many years, Bukharin expressed concerns about these policies; he regarded them as a return to Lenin's old "war communism" policy and believed that it would fail. By mid-1928 he was unable to rally sufficient support in the party to oppose the reforms. In November 1929 Stalin removed him from the Politburo. Officially, the Soviet Union had replaced the "irrationality" and "wastefulness" of a market economy with a planned economy organised along a long-term, precise, and scientific framework; in reality, Soviet economics were based on ad hoc commandments issued from the centre, often to make short-term targets. In 1928, the first five-year plan was launched, its main focus on boosting heavy industry; it was finished a year ahead of schedule, in 1932. The USSR underwent a massive economic transformation. New mines were opened, new cities like Magnitogorsk constructed, and work on the White Sea-Baltic Canal began. Millions of peasants moved to the cities, although urban house building could not keep up with the demand. Large debts were accrued purchasing foreign-made machinery. Many of major construction projects, including the White Sea-Baltic Canal and the Moscow Metro, were constructed largely through forced labour. The last elements of workers' control over industry were removed, with factory managers increasing their authority and receiving privileges and perks; Stalin defended wage disparity by pointing to Marx's argument that it was necessary during the lower stages of socialism. To promote intensification of labour, a series of medals and awards as well as the Stakhanovite movement were introduced. Stalin's message was that socialism was being established in the USSR while capitalism was crumbling amid the Wall Street crash. His speeches and articles reflected his utopian vision of the Soviet Union rising to unparalleled heights of human development, creating a "new Soviet person". #### Cultural and foreign policy In 1928, Stalin declared that class war between the proletariat and their enemies would intensify as socialism developed. He warned of a "danger from the right", including in the Communist Party itself. The first major show trial in the USSR was the Shakhty Trial of 1928, in which several middle-class "industrial specialists" were convicted of sabotage. From 1929 to 1930, further show trials were held to intimidate opposition: these included the Industrial Party Trial, Menshevik Trial, and Metro-Vickers Trial. Aware that the ethnic Russian majority may have concerns about being ruled by a Georgian, he promoted ethnic Russians throughout the state hierarchy and made the Russian language compulsory throughout schools and offices, albeit to be used in tandem with local languages in areas with non-Russian majorities. Nationalist sentiment among ethnic minorities was suppressed. Conservative social policies were promoted to enhance social discipline and boost population growth; this included a focus on strong family units and motherhood, re-criminalisation of homosexuality, restrictions placed on abortion and divorce, and abolition of the Zhenotdel women's department. Stalin desired a "cultural revolution", entailing both creation of a culture for the "masses" and wider dissemination of previously elite culture. He oversaw proliferation of schools, newspapers, and libraries, as well as advancement of literacy and numeracy. Socialist realism was promoted throughout arts, while Stalin personally wooed prominent writers, namely Maxim Gorky, Mikhail Sholokhov, and Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy. He also expressed patronage for scientists whose research fitted within his preconceived interpretation of Marxism; for instance, he endorsed research of an agrobiologist Trofim Lysenko despite the fact that it was rejected by the majority of Lysenko's scientific peers as pseudo-scientific. The government's anti-religious campaign was re-intensified, with increased funding given to the League of Militant Atheists. Priests, imams, and Buddhist monks faced persecution. Many religious buildings were demolished, most notably Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, destroyed in 1931 to make way for the (never completed) Palace of the Soviets. Religion retained an influence over much of the population; in the 1937 census, 57% of respondents were willing to admit to being religious. Throughout the 1920s and beyond, Stalin placed a high priority on foreign policy. He personally met with a range of Western visitors, including George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells, both of whom were impressed with him. Through the Communist International, Stalin's government exerted a strong influence over Marxist parties elsewhere in the world; initially, Stalin left the running of the organisation largely to Bukharin. At its 6th Congress in July 1928, Stalin informed delegates that the main threat to socialism came not from the right but from non-Marxist socialists and social democrats, whom he called "social fascists"; Stalin recognised that in many countries, the social democrats were the Marxist-Leninists' main rivals for working-class support. This preoccupation with opposing rival leftists concerned Bukharin, who regarded the growth of fascism and the far right across Europe as a far greater threat. After Bukharin's departure, Stalin placed the Communist International under the administration of Dmitry Manuilsky and Osip Piatnitsky. Stalin faced problems in his family life. In 1929, his son Yakov unsuccessfully attempted suicide; his failure earned Stalin's contempt. His relationship with Nadezhda was also strained amid their arguments and her mental health problems. In November 1932, after a group dinner in the Kremlin in which Stalin flirted with other women, Nadezhda shot herself. Publicly, the cause of death was given as appendicitis; Stalin also concealed the real cause of death from his children. Stalin's friends noted that he underwent a significant change following her suicide, becoming emotionally harder. ### 1932–1939: Major crises #### Famine Within the Soviet Union, there was widespread civic disgruntlement against Stalin's government. Social unrest, previously restricted largely to the countryside, was increasingly evident in urban areas, prompting Stalin to ease on some of his economic policies in 1932. In May 1932, he introduced a system of kolkhoz markets where peasants could trade their surplus produce. At the same time, penal sanctions became more severe; at Stalin's instigation, in August 1932 a decree was introduced wherein the theft of even a handful of grain could be a capital offence. The second five-year plan had its production quotas reduced from that of the first, with the main emphasis now being on improving living conditions. It therefore emphasised the expansion of housing space and the production of consumer goods. Like its predecessor, this plan was repeatedly amended to meet changing situations; there was for instance an increasing emphasis placed on armament production after Adolf Hitler became German chancellor in 1933. The Soviet Union experienced a major famine which peaked in the winter of 1932–33; between five and seven million people died. The worst affected areas were Ukraine and the North Caucasus, although the famine also affected Kazakhstan and several Russian provinces. Historians have long debated whether Stalin's government had intended the famine to occur or not; there are no known documents in which Stalin or his government explicitly called for starvation to be used against the population. The 1931 and 1932 harvests had been poor ones because of weather conditions and had followed several years in which lower productivity had resulted in a gradual decline in output. Government policies—including the focus on rapid industrialisation, the socialisation of livestock, and the emphasis on sown areas over crop rotation—exacerbated the problem; the state had also failed to build reserve grain stocks for such an emergency. Stalin blamed the famine on hostile elements and sabotage within the peasantry; his government provided small amounts of food to famine-struck rural areas, although this was wholly insufficient to deal with the levels of starvation. The Soviet government believed that food supplies should be prioritised for the urban workforce; for Stalin, the fate of Soviet industrialisation was far more important than the lives of the peasantry. Grain exports, which were a major means of Soviet payment for machinery, declined heavily. Stalin would not acknowledge that his policies had contributed to the famine, the existence of which was kept secret from foreign observers. #### Ideological and foreign affairs In 1935–36, Stalin oversaw a new constitution; its dramatic liberal features were designed as propaganda weapons, for all power rested in the hands of Stalin and his Politburo. He declared that "socialism, which is the first phase of communism, has basically been achieved in this country". In 1938, The History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks), colloquially known as the Short Course, was released; biographer Robert Conquest later referred to it as the "central text of Stalinism". A number of authorised Stalin biographies were also published, although Stalin generally wanted to be portrayed as the embodiment of the Communist Party rather than have his life story explored. During the later 1930s, Stalin placed "a few limits on the worship of his own greatness". By 1938, Stalin's inner circle had gained a degree of stability, containing the personalities who would remain there until Stalin's death. Seeking improved international relations, in 1934 the Soviet Union secured membership of the League of Nations, from which it had previously been excluded. Stalin initiated confidential communications with Hitler in October 1933, shortly after the latter came to power in Germany. Stalin admired Hitler, particularly his manoeuvres to remove rivals within the Nazi Party in the Night of the Long Knives. Stalin nevertheless recognised the threat posed by fascism and sought to establish better links with the liberal democracies of Western Europe; in May 1935, the Soviets signed a treaty of mutual assistance with France and Czechoslovakia. At the Communist International's 7th Congress, held in July–August 1935, the Soviet government encouraged Marxist-Leninists to unite with other leftists as part of a popular front against fascism. In turn, the anti-communist governments of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1936. When the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936, the Soviets sent 648 aircraft and 407 tanks to the left-wing Republican faction; these were accompanied by 3,000 Soviet troops and 42,000 members of the International Brigades set up by the Communist International. Stalin took a strong personal involvement in the Spanish situation. Germany and Italy backed the Nationalist faction, which was ultimately victorious in March 1939. With the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in July 1937, the Soviet Union and China signed a non-aggression pact the following August. Stalin aided the Chinese as the Kuomintang (KMT) nationalists and the Chinese Communist Party had suspended their civil war and formed the desired United Front. #### The Great Terror Stalin often gave conflicting signals regarding state repression. In May 1933, he released from prison many convicted of minor offences, ordering the security services not to enact further mass arrests and deportations. In September 1934, he launched a commission to investigate false imprisonments; that same month he called for the execution of workers at the Stalin Metallurgical Factory accused of spying for Japan. This mixed approach began to change in December 1934, after prominent party member Sergey Kirov was murdered. After the murder, Stalin became increasingly concerned by the threat of assassination, improved his personal security, and rarely went out in public. State repression intensified after Kirov's death; Stalin instigated this, reflecting his prioritisation of security above other considerations. Stalin issued a decree establishing NKVD troikas which could mete out rulings without involving the courts. In 1935, he ordered the NKVD to expel suspected counter-revolutionaries from urban areas; in early 1935, over 11,000 were expelled from Leningrad. In 1936, Nikolai Yezhov became head of the NKVD. Stalin orchestrated the arrest of many former opponents in the Communist Party as well as sitting members of the Central Committee: denounced as Western-backed mercenaries, many were imprisoned or exiled internally. The first Moscow Trial took place in August 1936; Kamenev and Zinoviev were among those accused of plotting assassinations, found guilty in a show trial, and executed. The second Moscow Show Trial took place in January 1937, and the third in March 1938, in which Bukharin and Rykov were accused of involvement in the alleged Trotskyite-Zinovievite terrorist plot and sentenced to death. By late 1937, all remnants of collective leadership were gone from the Politburo, which was controlled entirely by Stalin. There were mass expulsions from the party, with Stalin commanding foreign communist parties to also purge anti-Stalinist elements. Repressions further intensified in December 1936 and remained at a high level until November 1938, a period known as the Great Purge. In May 1937, this was followed by the arrest of most members of the military Supreme Command and mass arrests throughout the military, often on fabricated charges. By the latter part of 1937, the purges had moved beyond the party and were affecting the wider population. In July 1937, the Politburo ordered a purge of "anti-Soviet elements" in society, targeting anti-Stalin Bolsheviks, former Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries, priests, ex-White Army soldiers, and common criminals. That month, Stalin and Yezhov signed Order No. 00447, listing 268,950 people for arrest, of whom 75,950 were executed. He also initiated "national operations", the ethnic cleansing of non-Soviet ethnic groups—among them Poles, Germans, Latvians, Finns, Greeks, Koreans, and Chinese—through internal or external exile. During these years, approximately 1.6 million people were arrested, 700,000 were shot, and an unknown number died under NKVD torture. During the 1930s and 1940s, NKVD groups assassinated defectors and opponents abroad; in August 1940, Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico, eliminating the last of Stalin's opponents among the former Party leadership. These purges replaced most of the party's old guard with younger officials who did not remember a time before Stalin's leadership and who were regarded as more personally loyal to him. Party functionaries readily carried out their commands and sought to ingratiate themselves with Stalin to avoid becoming the victim of the purge. Such functionaries often carried out a greater number of arrests and executions than their quotas set by Stalin's central government. Stalin initiated all key decisions during the Terror, personally directing many of its operations and taking an interest in their implementation. His motives in doing so have been much debated by historians. His personal writings from the period were — according to Khlevniuk — "unusually convoluted and incoherent", filled with claims about enemies encircling him. He was particularly concerned at the success that right-wing forces had in overthrowing the leftist Spanish government, fearing a domestic fifth column in the event of future war with Japan and Germany. The Great Terror ended when Yezhov was removed as the head of the NKVD, to be replaced by Lavrentiy Beria, a man totally devoted to Stalin. Yezhov was arrested in April 1939 and executed in 1940. The Terror damaged the Soviet Union's reputation abroad, particularly among sympathetic leftists. As it wound down, Stalin sought to deflect responsibility from himself, blaming its "excesses" and "violations of law" on Yezhov. According to historian James Harris, contemporary archival research shows that the motivation behind the purges was not Stalin attempting to establish his own personal dictatorship; evidence suggests he was committed to building the socialist state envisioned by Lenin. The real motivation for the terror, according to Harris, was an excessive fear of counterrevolution. ## World War II ### 1939–1941: Pact with Nazi Germany As a Marxist–Leninist, Stalin considered conflict between competing capitalist powers inevitable; after Nazi Germany annexed Austria and then part of Czechoslovakia in 1938, he recognised a war was looming. He sought to maintain Soviet neutrality, hoping that a German war against France and Britain would lead to Soviet dominance in Europe. Militarily, the Soviets also faced a threat from the east, with Soviet troops clashing with the expansionist Japanese in the latter part of the 1930s. Stalin initiated a military build-up, with the Red Army more than doubling between January 1939 and June 1941, although in its haste to expand many of its officers were poorly trained. Between 1940 and 1941 he also purged the military, leaving it with a severe shortage of trained officers when war broke out. As Britain and France seemed unwilling to commit to an alliance with the Soviet Union, Stalin saw a better deal with the Germans. On 3 May 1939, Stalin replaced his western-oriented foreign minister Maxim Litvinov with Vyacheslav Molotov. Germany began negotiations with the Soviets, proposing that Eastern Europe be divided between the two powers. Stalin saw this as an opportunity both for territorial expansion and temporary peace with Germany. In August 1939, the Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact with Germany, a non-aggression pact negotiated by Molotov and German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. A week later, Germany invaded Poland, sparking the UK and France to declare war on Germany. On 17 September, the Red Army entered eastern Poland, officially to restore order amid the collapse of the Polish state. On 28 September, Germany and the Soviet Union exchanged some of their newly conquered territories; Germany gained the linguistically Polish-dominated areas of Lublin Province and part of Warsaw Province while the Soviets gained Lithuania. A German–Soviet Frontier Treaty was signed shortly after, in Stalin's presence. The two states continued trading, undermining the British blockade of Germany. The Soviets further demanded parts of eastern Finland, but the Finnish government refused. The Soviets invaded Finland in November 1939, yet despite numerical inferiority, the Finns kept the Red Army at bay. International opinion backed Finland, with the Soviets being expelled from the League of Nations. Embarrassed by their inability to defeat the Finns, the Soviets signed an interim peace treaty, in which they received territorial concessions from Finland. In June 1940, the Red Army occupied the Baltic states, which were forcibly merged into the Soviet Union in August; they also invaded and annexed Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, parts of Romania. The Soviets sought to forestall dissent in these new East European territories with mass repressions. One of the most noted instances was the Katyn massacre of April and May 1940, in which around 22,000 members of the Polish armed forces, police, and intelligentsia were executed. The speed of the German victory over and occupation of France in mid-1940 took Stalin by surprise. He increasingly focused on appeasement with the Germans to delay any conflict with them. After the Tripartite Pact was signed by Axis Powers Germany, Japan, and Italy in October 1940, Stalin proposed that the USSR also join the Axis alliance. To demonstrate peaceful intentions toward Germany, in April 1941 the Soviets signed a neutrality pact with Japan. Although de facto head of government for a decade and a half, Stalin concluded that relations with Germany had deteriorated to such an extent that he needed to deal with the problem as de jure head of government as well: on 6 May, Stalin replaced Molotov as Premier of the Soviet Union. ### 1941–1942: German invasion In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, initiating the war on the Eastern Front. Despite intelligence agencies repeatedly warning him of Germany's intentions, Stalin was taken by surprise. He formed a State Defense Committee, which he headed as Supreme Commander, as well as a military Supreme Command (Stavka), with Georgy Zhukov as its Chief of Staff. The German tactic of blitzkrieg was initially highly effective; the Soviet air force in the western borderlands was destroyed within two days. The German Wehrmacht pushed deep into Soviet territory; soon, Ukraine, Byelorussia, and the Baltic states were under German occupation, and Leningrad was under siege; and Soviet refugees were flooding into Moscow and surrounding cities. By July, Germany's Luftwaffe was bombing Moscow, and by October the Wehrmacht was amassing for a full assault on the capital. Plans were made for the Soviet government to evacuate to Kuibyshev, although Stalin decided to remain in Moscow, believing his flight would damage troop morale. The German advance on Moscow was halted after two months of battle in increasingly harsh weather conditions. Going against the advice of Zhukov and other generals, Stalin emphasised attack over defence. In June 1941, he ordered a scorched earth policy of destroying infrastructure and food supplies before the Germans could seize them, also commanding the NKVD to kill around 100,000 political prisoners in areas the Wehrmacht approached. He purged the military command; several high-ranking figures were demoted or reassigned and others were arrested and executed. With Order No. 270, Stalin commanded soldiers risking capture to fight to the death describing the captured as traitors; among those taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans was Stalin's son Yakov, who died in their custody. Stalin issued Order No. 227 in July 1942, which directed that those retreating unauthorised would be placed in "penal battalions" used as cannon fodder on the front lines. Amid the fighting, both the German and Soviet armies disregarded the law of war set forth in the Geneva Conventions; the Soviets heavily publicised Nazi massacres of communists, Jews, and Romani. Stalin exploited Nazi anti-Semitism, and in April 1942 he sponsored the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (JAC) to garner global Jewish support for the Soviet war effort. The Soviets allied with the United Kingdom and United States; although the U.S. joined the war against Germany in 1941, little direct American assistance reached the Soviets until late 1942. Responding to the invasion, the Soviets intensified their industrial enterprises in central Russia, focusing almost entirely on production for the military. They achieved high levels of industrial productivity, outstripping that of Germany. During the war, Stalin was more tolerant of the Russian Orthodox Church, allowing it to resume some of its activities and meeting with Patriarch Sergius in September 1943. He also permitted a wider range of cultural expression, notably permitting formerly suppressed writers and artists like Anna Akhmatova and Dmitri Shostakovich to disperse their work more widely. The Internationale was dropped as the country's national anthem, to be replaced with a more patriotic song. The government increasingly promoted Pan-Slavist sentiment, while encouraging increased criticism of cosmopolitanism, particularly the idea of "rootless cosmopolitanism", an approach with particular repercussions for Soviet Jews. Comintern was dissolved in 1943, and Stalin encouraged foreign Marxist–Leninist parties to emphasise nationalism over internationalism to broaden their domestic appeal. In April 1942, Stalin overrode Stavka by ordering the Soviets' first serious counter-attack, an attempt to seize German-held Kharkov in eastern Ukraine. This attack proved unsuccessful. That year, Hitler shifted his primary goal from an overall victory on the Eastern Front, to the goal of securing the oil fields in the southern Soviet Union crucial to a long-term German war effort. While Red Army generals saw evidence that Hitler would shift efforts south, Stalin considered this to be a flanking move in a renewed effort to take Moscow. In June 1942, the German Army began a major offensive in Southern Russia, threatening Stalingrad; Stalin ordered the Red Army to hold the city at all costs. This resulted in the protracted Battle of Stalingrad. In December 1942, he placed Konstantin Rokossovski in charge of holding the city. In February 1943, the German troops attacking Stalingrad surrendered. The Soviet victory there marked a major turning point in the war; in commemoration, Stalin declared himself Marshal of the Soviet Union. ### 1942–1945: Soviet counter-attack By November 1942, the Soviets had begun to repulse the important German strategic southern campaign and, although there were 2.5 million Soviet casualties in that effort, it permitted the Soviets to take the offensive for most of the rest of the war on the Eastern Front. Germany attempted an encirclement attack at Kursk, which was successfully repulsed by the Soviets. By the end of 1943, the Soviets occupied half of the territory taken by the Germans from 1941 to 1942. Soviet military industrial output also had increased substantially from late 1941 to early 1943 after Stalin had moved factories well to the east of the front, safe from German invasion and aerial assault. In Allied countries, Stalin was increasingly depicted in a positive light over the course of the war. In 1941, the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed a concert to celebrate his birthday, and in 1942, Time magazine named him "Man of the Year". When Stalin learned that people in Western countries affectionately called him "Uncle Joe" he was initially offended, regarding it as undignified. There remained mutual suspicions between Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who were together known as the "Big Three". Churchill flew to Moscow to visit Stalin in August 1942 and again in October 1944. Stalin scarcely left Moscow throughout the war, with Roosevelt and Churchill frustrated with his reluctance to travel to meet them. In November 1943, Stalin met with Churchill and Roosevelt in Tehran, a location of Stalin's choosing. There, Stalin and Roosevelt got on well, with both desiring the post-war dismantling of the British Empire. At Tehran, the trio agreed that to prevent Germany rising to military prowess yet again, the German state should be broken up. Roosevelt and Churchill also agreed to Stalin's demand that the German city of Königsberg be declared Soviet territory. Stalin was impatient for the UK and U.S. to open up a Western Front to take the pressure off of the East; they eventually did so in mid-1944. Stalin insisted that, after the war, the Soviet Union should incorporate the portions of Poland it occupied pursuant to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Germany, which Churchill opposed. Discussing the fate of the Balkans, later in 1944 Churchill agreed to Stalin's suggestion that after the war, Bulgaria, Rumania, Hungary, and Yugoslavia would come under the Soviet sphere of influence while Greece would come under that of the West. In 1944, the Soviet Union made significant advances across Eastern Europe toward Germany, including Operation Bagration, a massive offensive in the Byelorussian SSR against the German Army Group Centre. In 1944, the German armies were pushed out of the Baltic states (with the exception of the Ostland), which were then re-annexed into the Soviet Union. As the Red Army reconquered the Caucasus and Crimea, various ethnic groups living in the region—the Kalmyks, Chechens, Ingushi, Karachai, Balkars, and Crimean Tatars—were accused of having collaborated with the Germans. Using the idea of collective responsibility as a basis, Stalin's government abolished their autonomous republics and between late 1943 and 1944 deported the majority of their populations to Central Asia and Siberia. Over one million people were deported as a result of the policy. In February 1945, the three leaders met at the Yalta Conference. Roosevelt and Churchill conceded to Stalin's demand that Germany pay the Soviet Union 20 billion dollars in reparations, and that his country be permitted to annex Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in exchange for entering the war against Japan. An agreement was also made that a post-war Polish government should be a coalition consisting of both communist and conservative elements. Privately, Stalin sought to ensure that Poland would come fully under Soviet influence. The Red Army withheld assistance to Polish resistance fighters battling the Germans in the Warsaw Uprising, with Stalin believing that any victorious Polish militants could interfere with his aspirations to dominate Poland through a future Marxist government. Although concealing his desires from the other Allied leaders, Stalin placed great emphasis on capturing Berlin first, believing that this would enable him to bring more of Europe under long-term Soviet control. Churchill was concerned that this was the case and unsuccessfully tried to convince the U.S. that the Western Allies should pursue the same goal. ### 1945: Victory In April 1945, the Red Army seized Berlin, Hitler committed suicide, and Germany surrendered in May. Stalin had wanted Hitler captured alive; he had his remains brought to Moscow to prevent them becoming a relic for Nazi sympathisers. As the Red Army had conquered German territory, they discovered the extermination camps that the Nazi administration had run. Many Soviet soldiers engaged in looting, pillaging, and rape, both in Germany and parts of Eastern Europe. Stalin refused to punish the offenders. After receiving a complaint about this from Yugoslav communist Milovan Djilas, Stalin asked how after experiencing the traumas of war a soldier could "react normally? And what is so awful in his having fun with a woman, after such horrors?" With Germany defeated, Stalin switched focus to the war with Japan, transferring half a million troops to the Far East. Stalin was pressed by his allies to enter the war and wanted to cement the Soviet Union's strategic position in Asia. On 8 August, in between the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet army invaded Japanese-occupied Manchuria and defeated the Kwantung Army. These events led to the Japanese surrender and the war's end. Soviet forces continued to expand until they occupied all their territorial concessions, but the U.S. rebuffed Stalin's desire for the Red Army to take a role in the Allied occupation of Japan. Stalin attended the Potsdam Conference in July–August 1945, alongside his new British and U.S. counterparts, Prime Minister Clement Attlee and President Harry Truman. At the conference, Stalin repeated previous promises to Churchill that he would refrain from a "Sovietization" of Eastern Europe. Stalin pushed for reparations from Germany without regard to the base minimum supply for German citizens' survival, which worried Truman and Churchill who thought that Germany would become a financial burden for Western powers. He also pushed for "war booty", which would permit the Soviet Union to directly seize property from conquered nations without quantitative or qualitative limitation, and a clause was added permitting this to occur with some limitations. Germany was divided into four zones: Soviet, U.S., British, and French, with Berlin itself—located within the Soviet area—also subdivided thusly. ## Post-war era ### 1945–1947: Post-war reconstruction and famine After the war, Stalin was—according to Service—at the "apex of his career". Within the Soviet Union he was widely regarded as the embodiment of victory and patriotism. His armies controlled Central and Eastern Europe up to the River Elbe. In June 1945, Stalin adopted the title of Generalissimus, and stood atop Lenin's Mausoleum to watch a celebratory parade led by Zhukov through Red Square. At a banquet held for army commanders, he described the Russian people as "the outstanding nation" and "leading force" within the Soviet Union, the first time that he had unequivocally endorsed the Russians over other Soviet nationalities. In 1946, the state published Stalin's Collected Works. In 1947, it brought out a second edition of his official biography, which eulogised him to a greater extent than its predecessor. He was quoted in Pravda on a daily basis and pictures of him remained pervasive on the walls of workplaces and homes. Despite his strengthened international position, Stalin was cautious about internal dissent and desire for change among the population. He was also concerned about his returning armies, who had been exposed to a wide range of consumer goods in Germany, much of which they had looted and brought back with them. In this he recalled the 1825 Decembrist Revolt by Russian soldiers returning from having defeated France in the Napoleonic Wars. He ensured that returning Soviet prisoners of war went through "filtration" camps as they arrived in the Soviet Union, in which 2,775,700 were interrogated to determine if they were traitors. About half were then imprisoned in labour camps. In the Baltic states, where there was much opposition to Soviet rule, de-kulakisation and de-clericalisation programs were initiated, resulting in 142,000 deportations between 1945 and 1949. The Gulag system of forced labour camps was expanded further. By January 1953, three per cent of the Soviet population was imprisoned or in internal exile, with 2.8 million in "special settlements" in isolated areas and another 2.5 million in camps, penal colonies, and prisons. The NKVD were ordered to catalogue the scale of destruction during the war. It was established that 1,710 Soviet towns and 70,000 villages had been destroyed. The NKVD recorded that between 26 and 27 million Soviet citizens had been killed, with millions more being wounded, malnourished, or orphaned. In the war's aftermath, some of Stalin's associates suggested modifications to government policy. Post-war Soviet society was more tolerant than its pre-war phase in various respects. Stalin allowed the Russian Orthodox Church to retain the churches it had opened during the war. Academia and the arts were also allowed greater freedom than they had prior to 1941. Recognising the need for drastic steps to be taken to combat inflation and promote economic regeneration, in December 1947 Stalin's government devalued the rouble and abolished the ration-book system. Capital punishment was abolished in 1947 but re-instituted in 1950. Stalin's health was deteriorating, and heart problems forced a two-month vacation in the latter part of 1945. He grew increasingly concerned that senior political and military figures might try to oust him; he prevented any of them from becoming powerful enough to rival him and had their apartments bugged with listening devices. He demoted Molotov, and increasingly favoured Beria and Malenkov for key positions. In 1949, he brought Nikita Khrushchev from Ukraine to Moscow, appointing him a Central Committee secretary and the head of the city's party branch. In the Leningrad Affair, the city's leadership was purged amid accusations of treachery; executions of many of the accused took place in 1950. In the post-war period there were often food shortages in Soviet cities, and the USSR experienced a major famine from 1946 to 1947. Sparked by a drought and ensuing bad harvest in 1946, it was exacerbated by government policy towards food procurement, including the state's decision to build up stocks and export food internationally rather than distributing it to famine-hit areas. Current estimates indicate that between one million and 1.5 million people died from malnutrition or disease as a result. While agricultural production stagnated, Stalin focused on a series of major infrastructure projects, including the construction of hydroelectric plants, canals, and railway lines running to the polar north. Much of this was constructed by prison labour. ### 1947–1950: Cold War policy In the aftermath of the Second World War, the British Empire declined, leaving the U.S. and USSR as the dominant world powers. Tensions among these former Allies grew, resulting in the Cold War. Although Stalin publicly described the British and U.S. governments as aggressive, he thought it unlikely that a war with them would be imminent, believing that several decades of peace was likely. He nevertheless secretly intensified Soviet research into nuclear weaponry, intent on creating an atom bomb. Still, Stalin foresaw the undesirability of a nuclear conflict, saying in 1949 that "atomic weapons can hardly be used without spelling the end of the world." He personally took a keen interest in the development of the weapon. In August 1949, the bomb was successfully tested in the deserts outside Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. Stalin also initiated a new military build-up; the Soviet army was expanded from 2.9 million soldiers, as it stood in 1949, to 5.8 million by 1953. The U.S. began pushing its interests on every continent, acquiring air force bases in Africa and Asia and ensuring pro-U.S. regimes took power across Latin America. It launched the Marshall Plan in June 1947, with which it sought to undermine Soviet hegemony throughout Eastern Europe. The U.S. also offered financial assistance to countries as part of the Marshall Plan on the condition that they opened their markets to trade, aware that the Soviets would never agree. The Allies demanded that Stalin withdraw the Red Army from northern Iran. He initially refused, leading to an international crisis in 1946, but one year later Stalin finally relented and moved the Soviet troops out. Stalin also tried to maximise Soviet influence on the world stage, unsuccessfully pushing for Libya—recently liberated from Italian occupation—to become a Soviet protectorate. He sent Molotov as his representative to San Francisco to take part in negotiations to form the United Nations, insisting that the Soviets have a place on the Security Council. In April 1949, the Western powers established the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), an international military alliance of capitalist countries. Within Western countries, Stalin was increasingly portrayed as the "most evil dictator alive" and compared to Hitler. According to his daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva she “remembered her father saying after [the war]: Together with the Germans we would have been invincible” In 1948, Stalin edited and rewrote sections of Falsifiers of History, published as a series of Pravda articles in February 1948 and then in book form. Written in response to public revelations of the 1939 Soviet alliance with Germany, it focused on blaming the Western powers for the war. He also erroneously claimed that the initial German advance in the early part of the war, during Operation Barbarossa, was not a result of Soviet military weakness, but rather a deliberate Soviet strategic retreat. In 1949, celebrations took place to mark Stalin's seventieth birthday (although he was 71 at the time,) at which Stalin attended an event in the Bolshoi Theatre alongside Marxist–Leninist leaders from across Europe and Asia. #### Eastern Bloc After the war, Stalin sought to retain Soviet dominance across Eastern Europe while expanding its influence in Asia. Cautiously regarding the responses from the Western Allies, Stalin avoided immediately installing Communist Party governments across Eastern Europe, instead initially ensuring that Marxist-Leninists were placed in coalition ministries. In contrast to his approach to the Baltic states, he rejected the proposal of merging the new communist states into the Soviet Union, rather recognising them as independent nation-states. He was faced with the problem that there were few Marxists left in Eastern Europe, with most having been killed by the Nazis. He demanded that war reparations be paid by Germany and its Axis allies Hungary, Romania, and the Slovak Republic. Aware that these countries had been pushed toward socialism through invasion rather than by proletarian revolution, Stalin referred to them not as "dictatorships of the proletariat" but as "people's democracies", suggesting that in these countries there was a pro-socialist alliance combining the proletariat, peasantry, and lower middle-class. Churchill observed that an "Iron Curtain" had been drawn across Europe, separating the east from the west. In September 1947, a meeting of East European communist leaders was held in Szklarska Poręba, Poland, from which was formed Cominform to co-ordinate the Communist Parties across Eastern Europe and also in France and Italy. Stalin did not personally attend the meeting, sending Zhdanov in his place. Various East European communists also visited Stalin in Moscow. There, he offered advice on their ideas; for instance he cautioned against the Yugoslav idea for a Balkan Federation incorporating Bulgaria and Albania. Stalin had a particularly strained relationship with Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito due to the latter's continued calls for a Balkan federation and for Soviet aid for the communist forces in the ongoing Greek Civil War. In March 1948, Stalin launched an anti-Tito campaign, accusing the Yugoslav communists of adventurism and deviating from Marxist–Leninist doctrine. At the second Cominform conference, held in Bucharest in June 1948, East European communist leaders all denounced Tito's government, accusing them of being fascists and agents of Western capitalism. Stalin ordered several assassination attempts on Tito's life and contemplated invading Yugoslavia. Stalin suggested that a unified, but demilitarised, German state be established, hoping that it would either come under Soviet influence or remain neutral. When the U.S. and UK remained opposed to this, Stalin sought to force their hand by blockading Berlin in June 1948. He gambled that the Western powers would not risk war, but they airlifted supplies into West Berlin until May 1949, when Stalin relented and ended the blockade. In September 1949 the Western powers transformed Western Germany into an independent Federal Republic of Germany; in response the Soviets formed East Germany into the German Democratic Republic in October. In accordance with their earlier agreements, the Western powers expected Poland to become an independent state with free democratic elections. In Poland, the Soviets merged various socialist parties into the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), and vote rigging was used to ensure that the PZPR secured office. The 1947 Hungarian elections were also rigged by Stalin, with the Hungarian Working People's Party taking control. In Czechoslovakia, where the communists did have a level of popular support, they were elected the largest party in 1946. Monarchy was abolished in Bulgaria and Romania. Across Eastern Europe, the Soviet model was enforced, with a termination of political pluralism, agricultural collectivisation, and investment in heavy industry. It was aimed at establishing economic autarky within the Eastern Bloc. #### Asia In October 1949, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong took power in China. With this accomplished, Marxist governments now controlled a third of the world's land mass. Privately, Stalin revealed that he had underestimated the Chinese Communists and their ability to win the civil war, instead encouraging them to make another peace with the KMT. In December 1949, Mao visited Stalin. Initially Stalin refused to repeal the Sino-Soviet Treaty of 1945, which significantly benefited the Soviet Union over China, although in January 1950 he relented and agreed to sign a new treaty between the two countries. Stalin was concerned that Mao might follow Tito's example by pursuing a course independent of Soviet influence, and made it known that if displeased he would withdraw assistance from China; the Chinese desperately needed said assistance after decades of civil war. At the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union and the United States divided up the Korean Peninsula, formerly a Japanese colonial possession, along the 38th parallel, setting up a communist government in the north and a pro-Western, anti-communist government in the south. North Korean leader Kim Il Sung visited Stalin in March 1949 and again in March 1950; he wanted to invade the south and although Stalin was initially reluctant to provide support, he eventually agreed by May 1950. The North Korean Army launched the Korean War by invading South Korea in June 1950, making swift gains and capturing Seoul. Both Stalin and Mao believed that a swift victory would ensue. The U.S. went to the UN Security Council—which the Soviets were boycotting over its refusal to recognise Mao's government—and secured international military support for the South Koreans. U.S. led forces pushed the North Koreans back. Stalin wanted to avoid direct Soviet conflict with the U.S., convincing the Chinese to aid the North. The Soviet Union was one of the first nations to extend diplomatic recognition to the newly created state of Israel in 1948, in hopes of obtaining an ally in the Middle East. When the Israeli ambassador Golda Meir arrived in the USSR, Stalin was angered by the Jewish crowds who gathered to greet her. He was further angered by Israel's growing alliance with the U.S. After Stalin fell out with Israel, he launched an anti-Jewish campaign within the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. In November 1948, he abolished the JAC, and show trials took place for some of its members. The Soviet press engaged in vituperative attacks on Zionism, Jewish culture, and "rootless cosmopolitanism", with growing levels of anti-Semitism being expressed across Soviet society. Stalin's increasing tolerance of anti-Semitism may have stemmed from his increasing Russian nationalism or from the recognition that anti-Semitism had proved a useful mobilising tool for Hitler and that he could do the same; he may have increasingly viewed the Jewish people as a "counter-revolutionary" nation whose members were loyal to the U.S. There were rumours, although they have never been substantiated, that Stalin was planning on deporting all Soviet Jews to the Jewish Autonomous Region in Birobidzhan, eastern Siberia. ### 1950–1953: Final years In his later years, Stalin was in poor health. He took increasingly long holidays; in 1950 and again in 1951 he spent almost five months on holiday at his Abkhazian dacha. Stalin nevertheless mistrusted his doctors; in January 1952 he had one imprisoned after they suggested that he should retire to improve his health. In September 1952, several Kremlin doctors were arrested for allegedly plotting to kill senior politicians in what came to be known as the Doctors' Plot; the majority of the accused were Jewish. He instructed the arrested doctors to be tortured to ensure confession. In November, the Slánský trial took place in Czechoslovakia as 13 senior Communist Party figures, 11 of them Jewish, were accused and convicted of being part of a vast Zionist-American conspiracy to subvert Eastern Bloc governments. That same month, a much publicised trial of accused Jewish industrial wreckers took place in Ukraine. In 1951, he initiated the Mingrelian affair, a purge of the Georgian branch of the Communist Party which resulted in over 11,000 deportations. From 1946 until his death, Stalin only gave three public speeches, two of which lasted only a few minutes. The amount of written material that he produced also declined. In 1950, Stalin issued the article "Marxism and Problems of Linguistics", which reflected his interest in questions of Russian nationhood. In 1952, Stalin's last book, Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR, was published. It sought to provide a guide to leading the country after his death. In October 1952, Stalin gave an hour and a half speech at the Central Committee plenum. There, he emphasised what he regarded as leadership qualities necessary in the future and highlighted the weaknesses of various potential successors, particularly Molotov and Mikoyan. In 1952, he also eliminated the Politburo and replaced it with a larger version which he called the Presidium. #### Death, funeral and aftermath On 1 March 1953, Stalin's staff found him semi-conscious on the bedroom floor of his Kuntsevo Dacha. He had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. He was moved onto a couch and remained there for three days. He was hand-fed using a spoon, given various medicines and injections, and leeches were applied to him. Svetlana and Vasily were called to the dacha on 2 March; the latter was drunk and angrily shouted at the doctors, as a result of which he was sent home. Stalin died on 5 March 1953. According to Svetlana, it had been "a difficult and terrible death". An autopsy revealed that he had died of a cerebral haemorrhage and also that his cerebral arteries were severely damaged by atherosclerosis. It has been conjectured that Stalin was murdered; Beria has been suspected of murdering him, but no firm evidence has ever appeared. According to a report published in The New York Times, Stalin was poisoned with warfarin by his own Politburo members. Stalin's death was announced on 6 March. His body was embalmed, and then placed on display in Moscow's House of Unions for three days. The crowds of people coming to view the body were so large and disorganised that many people were killed in a crowd crush. At the funeral on 9 March, Stalin’s body was laid to rest in Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square; hundreds of thousands attended. That month featured a surge in arrests for "anti-Soviet agitation," as those celebrating Stalin's death came to police attention. The Chinese government instituted a period of official mourning for Stalin's death. A memorial service in his honour was also held at St George the Martyr, Holborn in London. Stalin left neither a designated successor nor a framework within which a peaceful transfer of power could take place. The Central Committee met on the day of his death, after which Malenkov, Beria, and Khrushchev emerged as the party's dominant figures. The system of collective leadership was restored, and measures introduced to prevent any one member from attaining autocratic domination. The collective leadership included the following eight senior members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, listed according to the order of precedence presented formally on 5 March 1953: Georgy Malenkov, Lavrentiy Beria, Vyacheslav Molotov, Kliment Voroshilov, Nikita Khrushchev, Nikolai Bulganin, Lazar Kaganovich and Anastas Mikoyan. Reforms to the Soviet system were immediately implemented. Economic reform scaled back the mass construction projects, placed a new emphasis on house building, and eased the levels of taxation on the peasantry to stimulate production. The new leaders sought rapprochement with Yugoslavia and a less hostile relationship with the U.S., pursuing a negotiated end to the Korean War in July 1953. The doctors who had been imprisoned were released and the anti-Semitic purges ceased. A mass amnesty for certain categories of convicts was issued, halving the country's inmate population, while the state security and Gulag systems were reformed, with torture being banned in April 1953. ## Political ideology Stalin claimed to have embraced Marxism at the age of fifteen, and it served as the guiding philosophy throughout his adult life; according to Kotkin, Stalin held "zealous Marxist convictions", while Montefiore suggested that Marxism held a "quasi-religious" value for Stalin. Although he never became a Georgian nationalist, during his early life elements from Georgian nationalist thought blended with Marxism in his outlook. The historian Alfred J. Rieber noted that he had been raised in "a society where rebellion was deeply rooted in folklore and popular rituals". Stalin believed in the need to adapt Marxism to changing circumstances; in 1917, he declared that "there is dogmatic Marxism and there is creative Marxism. I stand on the ground of the latter". Volkogonov believed that Stalin's Marxism was shaped by his "dogmatic turn of mind", suggesting that this had been instilled in the Soviet leader during his education in religious institutions. According to scholar Robert Service, Stalin's "few innovations in ideology were crude, dubious developments of Marxism". Some of these derived from political expediency rather than any sincere intellectual commitment; Stalin would often turn to ideology post hoc to justify his decisions. Stalin referred to himself as a praktik, meaning that he was more of a practical revolutionary than a theoretician. As a Marxist and an anti-capitalist, Stalin believed in an inevitable "class war" between the world's proletariat and bourgeoisie. He believed that the working classes would prove successful in this struggle and would establish a dictatorship of the proletariat, regarding the Soviet Union as an example of such a state. He also believed that this proletarian state would need to introduce repressive measures against foreign and domestic "enemies" to ensure the full crushing of the propertied classes, and thus the class war would intensify with the advance of socialism. As a propaganda tool, the shaming of "enemies" explained all inadequate economic and political outcomes, the hardships endured by the populace, and military failures. The new state would then be able to ensure that all citizens had access to work, food, shelter, healthcare, and education, with the wastefulness of capitalism eliminated by a new, standardised economic system. According to Sandle, Stalin was "committed to the creation of a society that was industrialised, collectivised, centrally planned and technologically advanced." Stalin adhered to the Leninist variant of Marxism. In his book, Foundations of Leninism, he stated that "Leninism is the Marxism of the epoch of imperialism and of the proletarian revolution". He claimed to be a loyal Leninist, although was—according to Service—"not a blindly obedient Leninist". Stalin respected Lenin, but not uncritically, and spoke out when he believed that Lenin was wrong. During the period of his revolutionary activity, Stalin regarded some of Lenin's views and actions as being the self-indulgent activities of a spoiled émigré, deeming them counterproductive for those Bolshevik activists based within the Russian Empire itself. After the October Revolution, they continued to have differences. Whereas Lenin believed that all countries across Europe and Asia would readily unite as a single state following proletariat revolution, Stalin argued that national pride would prevent this, and that different socialist states would have to be formed; in his view, a country like Germany would not readily submit to being part of a Russian-dominated federal state. Khlevniuk nevertheless believed that the pair developed a "strong bond" over the years, while Kotkin suggested that Stalin's friendship with Lenin was "the single most important relationship in Stalin's life". After Lenin's death, Stalin relied heavily on Lenin's writings—far more so than those of Marx and Engels—to guide him in the affairs of state. Stalin adopted the Leninist view on the need for a revolutionary vanguard who could lead the proletariat rather than being led by them. Leading this vanguard, he believed that the Soviet peoples needed a strong, central figure—akin to a Tsar—whom they could rally around. In his words, "the people need a Tsar, whom they can worship and for whom they can live and work". He read about, and admired, two Tsars in particular: Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great. In the personality cult constructed around him, he was known as the vozhd, an equivalent to the Italian duce and German führer. Stalinism was a development of Leninism, and while Stalin avoided using the term "Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism", he allowed others to do so. Following Lenin's death, Stalin contributed to the theoretical debates within the Communist Party, namely by developing the idea of "Socialism in One Country". This concept was intricately linked to factional struggles within the party, particularly against Trotsky. He first developed the idea in December 1924 and elaborated upon in his writings of 1925–26. Stalin's doctrine held that socialism could be completed in Russia but that its final victory there could not be guaranteed because of the threat from capitalist intervention. For this reason, he retained the Leninist view that world revolution was still a necessity to ensure the ultimate victory of socialism. Although retaining the Marxist belief that the state would wither away as socialism transformed into pure communism, he believed that the Soviet state would remain until the final defeat of international capitalism. This concept synthesised Marxist and Leninist ideas with nationalist ideals, and served to discredit Trotsky—who promoted the idea of "permanent revolution"—by presenting the latter as a defeatist with little faith in Russian workers' abilities to construct socialism. Stalin viewed nations as contingent entities which were formed by capitalism and could merge into others. Ultimately he believed that all nations would merge into a single, global human community, and regarded all nations as inherently equal. In his work, he stated that "the right of secession" should be offered to the ethnic-minorities of the Russian Empire, but that they should not be encouraged to take that option. He was of the view that if they became fully autonomous, then they would end up being controlled by the most reactionary elements of their community; as an example he cited the largely illiterate Tatars, whom he claimed would end up dominated by their mullahs. Stalin argued that the Jews possessed a "national character" but were not a "nation" and were thus unassimilable. He argued that Jewish nationalism, particularly Zionism, was hostile to socialism. According to Khlevniuk, Stalin reconciled Marxism with great-power imperialism and therefore expansion of the empire makes him a worthy to the Russian tsars. Service argued that Stalin's Marxism was imbued with a great deal of Russian nationalism. According to Montefiore, Stalin's embrace of the Russian nation was pragmatic, as the Russians were the core of the population of the USSR; it was not a rejection of his Georgian origins. Stalin's push for Soviet westward expansion into eastern Europe resulted in accusations of Russian imperialism. ## Personal life and characteristics Ethnically Georgian, Stalin grew up speaking the Georgian language, and did not begin learning Russian until the age of eight or nine. It has been argued that his ancestry was Ossetian, because his genetic haplotype (G2a-Z6653) is considered typical of the Ossetians, but he never acknowledged an Ossetian identity. He remained proud of his Georgian identity, and throughout his life retained a heavy Georgian accent when speaking Russian. According to Montefiore, despite Stalin's affinity for Russia and Russians, he remained profoundly Georgian in his lifestyle and personality. Some of Stalin's colleagues described him as "Asiatic", and he supposedly once told a Japanese journalist that "I am not a European man, but an Asian, a Russified Georgian". Service also noted that Stalin "would never be Russian", could not credibly pass as one, and never tried to pretend that he was. Montefiore was of the view that "after 1917, [Stalin] became quadri-national: Georgian by nationality, Russian by loyalty, internationalist by ideology, Soviet by citizenship." Stalin had a soft voice, and when speaking Russian did so slowly, carefully choosing his phrasing. In private he often used coarse language and profanity, although avoided doing so in public. Described as a poor orator, according to Volkogonov, Stalin's speaking style was "simple and clear, without flights of fancy, catchy phrases or platform histrionics". He rarely spoke before large audiences, and preferred to express himself in written form. His writing style was similar, being characterised by its simplicity, clarity, and conciseness. Throughout his life, he used various nicknames and pseudonyms, including "Koba", "Soselo", and "Ivanov", adopting "Stalin" in 1912; it was based on the Russian word for "steel" and has often been translated as "Man of Steel". In adulthood, Stalin measured 1.70 m (5 feet 7 inches). His mustached face was pock-marked from smallpox during childhood; this was airbrushed from published photographs. He was born with a webbed left foot, and his left arm had been permanently injured in childhood which left it shorter than his right and lacking in flexibility, which was probably the result of being hit, at the age of 12, by a horse-drawn carriage. During his youth, Stalin cultivated a scruffy appearance in rejection of middle-class aesthetic values. By 1907, he grew his hair long and often wore a beard; for clothing, he often wore a traditional Georgian chokha or a red satin shirt with a grey coat and black fedora. From mid-1918 until his death he favoured military-style clothing, in particular long black boots, light-coloured collarless tunics, and a gun. He was a lifelong smoker, who smoked both a pipe and cigarettes. He had few material demands and lived plainly, with simple and inexpensive clothing and furniture; his interest was in power rather than wealth. Stalin founded the Outfit, a criminal gang that were involved with armed robberies, racketeering, assassinations, arms procurement and child couriering. According to Montefiore, Stalin socialised with hitmen “Kamo and Tsintsadze" but issued formal commands to the rest of the Outfit members through his bodyguard. Montefiore also described Stalin during this formative period as a "terrorist-gangster". As leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin typically awoke around 11 am, with lunch being served between 3 and 5 pm and dinner no earlier than 9 pm; he then worked late into the evening. He often dined with other Politburo members and their families. As leader, he rarely left Moscow unless to go to one of his dachas for holiday; he disliked travel, and refused to travel by plane. His choice of favoured holiday house changed over the years, although he holidayed in southern parts of the USSR every year from 1925 to 1936 and again from 1945 to 1951. Along with other senior figures, he had a dacha at Zubalova, 35 km outside Moscow, although ceased using it after Nadezhda's 1932 suicide. After 1932, he favoured holidays in Abkhazia, being a friend of its leader, Nestor Lakoba. In 1934, his new Kuntsevo Dacha was built; 9 km from the Kremlin, it became his primary residence. In 1935, he began using a new dacha provided for him by Lakoba at Novy Afon; in 1936, he had the Kholodnaya Rechka dacha built on the Abkhazian coast, designed by Miron Merzhanov. ### Personality Trotsky and several other Soviet figures promoted the idea that Stalin was a mediocrity. This gained widespread acceptance outside the Soviet Union during his lifetime but was misleading. According to Montefiore, "it is clear from hostile and friendly witnesses alike that Stalin was always exceptional, even from childhood". Stalin had a complex mind, great self-control, and an excellent memory. He was a hard worker, and displayed a keen desire to learn; when in power, he scrutinised many details of Soviet life, from film scripts to architectural plans and military hardware. According to Volkogonov, "Stalin's private life and working life were one and the same"; he did not take days off from political activities. Although, Bazhanov described Stalin as having little education and making limited contributions to various matters of state which were discussed at Politburo sessions. Similarly, historian Robert William Davies viewed Stalin as being liable to fall under the sway of persuasive charlatans such as the pseudo-scientific, agronomist Trofim Lysenko due in part to his lack of education. According to Lenin’s sister, Maria Ilyinichna Ulyanova, Lenin stated that “Stalin is not intelligent at all", but "valued Stalin as a practical type". Stalin could play different roles to different audiences, and was adept at deception, often deceiving others as to his true motives and aims. According to Bolshevik historian, Vladimir Nevsky, Stalin was appointed the General Secretary because he used false rumours to convince Lenin that the party faced a split. Nesky also claimed that Lenin would later deeply regret trusting Stalin and strove to correct this mistake with his “Testament”. Several historians have seen it as appropriate to follow Lazar Kaganovich's description of there being "several Stalins" as a means of understanding his multi-faceted personality. He was a good organiser, with a strategic mind, and judged others according to their inner strength, practicality, and cleverness. He acknowledged that he could be rude and insulting, but he rarely raised his voice in anger; as his health deteriorated in later life he became increasingly unpredictable and bad-tempered. Despite his tough-talking attitude, he could be very charming; when relaxed, he cracked jokes and mimicked others. Montefiore suggested that this charm was "the foundation of Stalin's power in the Party". According Service he was "decisive, competent, confident, and ambitious". Stalin was ruthless, temperamentally cruel, and had a propensity for violence high even among the Bolsheviks. He lacked compassion, something Volkogonov suggested might have been accentuated by his many years in prison and exile, although he was capable of acts of kindness to strangers, even amid the Great Terror. He was capable of self-righteous indignation, and was resentful, and vindictive, holding on to grudges for many years. By the 1920s, he was also suspicious and conspiratorial, prone to believing that people were plotting against him and that there were vast international conspiracies behind acts of dissent. He never attended torture sessions or executions, although Service thought Stalin "derived deep satisfaction" from degrading and humiliating people and enjoyed keeping even close associates in a state of "unrelieved fear". Montefiore thought Stalin's brutality marked him out as a "natural extremist"; Service suggested he had tendencies toward a paranoid and sociopathic personality disorder. According to historian Geoffrey Roberts, Stalin wasn't a psychopath. He was instead an emotionally intelligent and feeling intellectual. Other historians linked his brutality not to any personality trait, but to his unwavering commitment to the survival of the Soviet Union and the international Marxist–Leninist cause. Conversely, historian E.A. Rees believed that there was a strong argument in the case of Stalin "that it was psychopathy that breed tyranny". Rees cited a diagnosis performed by neuropathologist Vladimir Bekhterev on Stalin in 1927 and who had described him as a "typical case of severe paranoia". Keenly interested in the arts, Stalin admired artistic talent. He protected several Soviet writers from arrest and prosecution, such as Mikhail Bulgakov, even when their work was labelled harmful to his regime. He enjoyed listening to classical music, owning around 2,700 records, and frequently attending the Bolshoi Theatre during the 1930s and 1940s. His taste in music and theatre was conservative, favouring classical drama, opera, and ballet over what he dismissed as experimental "formalism". He also favoured classical forms in the visual arts, disliking avant-garde styles like cubism and futurism. He was a voracious reader and kept a personal library of over 20,000 books. Little of this was fiction, although he could cite passages from Alexander Pushkin, Nikolay Nekrasov, and Walt Whitman by heart. Stalin's favourite subject was history, closely followed by Marxist theory and then fiction. Stalin knew Marxist theory well and according to Bullock was an "effective debater" who would quote Marx and Engels in his arguments. He favoured historical studies, keeping up with debates in the study of Russian, Mesopotamian, ancient Roman, and Byzantine history. He was very interested in the reigns of Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. An autodidact, he claimed to read as many as 500 pages a day, with Montefiore regarding him as an intellectual. Lenin was his favourite author but he also read, and sometimes appreciated, a great deal of writing by Leon Trotsky and other arch-enemies. Like all Bolshevik leaders, Stalin believed that reading could help transform not just people's ideas and consciousness, but human nature itself. Stalin also enjoyed watching films late at night at cinemas installed in the Kremlin and his dachas. He liked the Western genre, although his favourite films were Volga Volga and Circus (both directed by Grigori Alexandrov and starring Lyubov Orlova). Stalin was a keen and accomplished billiards player, and collected watches. He also enjoyed practical jokes; for instance, he would place a tomato on the seat of Politburo members and wait for them to sit on it. When at social events, he encouraged singing, as well as alcohol consumption; he hoped that others would drunkenly reveal their secrets to him. As an infant, Stalin displayed a love of flowers, and later in life he became a keen gardener. His Volynskoe suburb had a 20-hectare (50-acre) park, with Stalin devoting much attention to its agricultural activities. Stalin publicly condemned anti-Semitism, although he was repeatedly accused of it. People who knew him, such as Khrushchev, suggested he long harboured negative sentiments toward Jews, and it has been argued that anti-Semitic trends in his policies were further fuelled by Stalin's struggle against Trotsky. After Stalin's death, Khrushchev claimed that Stalin encouraged him to incite anti-Semitism in Ukraine, allegedly telling him that "the good workers at the factory should be given clubs so they can beat the hell out of those Jews." In 1946, Stalin allegedly said privately that "every Jew is a potential spy." Conquest stated that although Stalin had Jewish associates, he promoted anti-Semitism. Service cautioned that there was "no irrefutable evidence" of anti-Semitism in Stalin's published work, although his private statements and public actions were "undeniably reminiscent of crude antagonism towards Jews"; he added that throughout Stalin's lifetime, the Georgian "would be the friend, associate or leader of countless individual Jews". Additionally, according to Beria, Stalin had affairs with several Jewish women. His ability to assume absolute power has remained a subject of historical debate. Some historians have attributed his success to his personal qualities. Contrarily, certain political theorists such as Trotsky have emphasised the role of external conditions in facilitating the growth of a Soviet bureaucracy which served as a power base for Stalin. Other historians have regarded the premature deaths of prominent Bolsheviks such as Vladimir Lenin and Yakov Sverdlov to have been key factors in his elevation to the position of leadership in the Soviet Union. In part, because Sverdlov served as the original chairman of the party secretariat and was considered a natural candidate for the position of General Secretary. Historian Peter Kenez believed that Trotsky could probably have removed Stalin with the use of Lenin’s testament but he acquiesced to the collective decision not to publish the document. ### Relationships and family Friendship was important to Stalin, and he used it to gain and maintain power. Kotkin observed that Stalin "generally gravitated to people like himself: parvenu intelligentsia of humble background". He gave nicknames to his favourites, for instance referring to Yezhov as "my blackberry". Stalin was sociable and enjoyed a joke. According to Montefiore, Stalin's friendships "meandered between love, admiration, and venomous jealousy". While head of the Soviet Union he remained in contact with many of his old friends in Georgia, sending them letters and gifts of money. Stalin was no womaniser. According to Boris Bazhanov, Stalin's one-time secretary, "Women didn't interest him. His own woman [Alliluyeva] was enough for him, and he paid scant attention to her." However, Montefiore noted that in his early life Stalin "rarely seems to have been without a girlfriend." Montefiore described Stalin's favoured types as "young, malleable teenagers or buxom peasant women," who would be supportive and unchallenging toward him. According to Service, Stalin "regarded women as a resource for sexual gratification and domestic comfort." Stalin married twice and had several children. Stalin married his first wife, Ekaterina Svanidze, in 1906. According to Montefiore, theirs was "a true love match"; Volkogonov suggested that she was "probably the one human being he had really loved". When she died, Stalin allegedly said: "This creature softened my heart of stone." However, Russian historian Anton Antonov-Ovseenko wrote that Stalin was physically abusive to his first wife Kato in Baku with “his boots that Koba knocked his pregnant wife, Keto, around”. They had a son, Yakov, who often frustrated and annoyed Stalin. Yakov had a daughter, Galina, before fighting for the Red Army in the Second World War. He was captured by the German Army and then committed suicide. In 1914, Stalin, circa age 35, had a relationship with Lidia Pereprygina, then 14-years-old, who subsequently fell pregnant with Stalin's child. Circa December 1914, Pereprygia gave birth to Stalin's child, although the infant died soon after. In 1916, Lidia – now 15-years-old – was pregnant again. \She gave birth to a son, named Alexander , in around April 1917. Stalin, then absent, later came to know of the child's existence but showed no apparent interest in him. Stalin's second wife was Nadezhda Alliluyeva; theirs was not an easy relationship, and they often fought. They had two biological children—a son, Vasily, and a daughter, Svetlana, and adopted another son, Artyom Sergeev, in 1921. It is unclear if Stalin ever had a mistress during or after his marriage to Alliluyeva. In any event, she suspected that he was unfaithful with other women, and committed suicide in 1932. Stalin regarded Vasily as spoiled and often chastised his behaviour; as Stalin's son, Vasily nevertheless was swiftly promoted through the ranks of the Red Army and allowed a lavish lifestyle. Conversely, Stalin had an affectionate relationship with Svetlana during her childhood, and was also very fond of Artyom. In later life, he disapproved of Svetlana's various suitors and husbands, putting a strain on his relationship with her. After the Second World War, he made little time for his children and his family played a decreasingly important role in his life. After Stalin's death, Svetlana changed her surname from Stalin to Alliluyeva, and defected to the U.S. After Nadezhda's death, Stalin became increasingly close to his sister-in-law Zhenya Alliluyeva; Montefiore believed that they were lovers. There are unproven rumours that from 1934 onward he had a relationship with his housekeeper Valentina Istomina. Montefiore also claimed that Stalin had at least two illegitimate children, although he never recognised them as being his. One of them, Konstantin Kuzakov, later taught philosophy at the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute, but never met Stalin. The other, Alexander, was the son of Lidia Pereprygina; he was raised as the son of a peasant fisherman and the Soviet authorities made him swear never to reveal that Stalin was his biological father. Stalin was also complicit with the persecution of several relatives of his former wives such as Maria and Alexander Svanidze who were arrested and eliminated during the Great Purge. ## Legacy The historian Robert Conquest stated that Stalin perhaps "determined the course of the twentieth century" more than any other individual. Biographers like Service and Volkogonov have considered him an outstanding and exceptional politician; Montefiore labelled Stalin as "that rare combination: both 'intellectual' and killer", a man who was "the ultimate politician" and "the most elusive and fascinating of the twentieth-century titans". According to historian Kevin McDermott, interpretations of Stalin range from "the sycophantic and adulatory to the vitriolic and condemnatory." For most Westerners and anti-communist Russians, he is viewed overwhelmingly negatively as a mass murderer; for significant numbers of Russians and Georgians, he is regarded as a great statesman and state-builder. According to Service, Stalin strengthened and stabilised the Soviet Union. Service suggested that the country might have collapsed long before 1991 without Stalin. In under three decades, Stalin transformed the Soviet Union into a major industrial world power, one which could "claim impressive achievements" in terms of urbanisation, military strength, education and Soviet pride. Under his rule, the average Soviet life expectancy grew due to improved living conditions, nutrition and medical care as mortality rates also declined. Although millions of Soviet citizens despised him, support for Stalin was nevertheless widespread throughout Soviet society. Conversely, the historian Vadim Rogovin argued that the Great Terror which had gained traction in 1937 “caused losses to the communist movement both in the USSR and throughout the world from which the movement has not recovered to this very day”. Similarly, Khrushchev believed his widespread purges of the "most advanced nucleus of people" among the Old Bolsheviks and leading figures in the military and scientific fields had "undoubtedly" weakened the nation. Stalin's necessity for the Soviet Union's economic development has been questioned, and it has been argued that Stalin's policies from 1928 onwards may have only been a limiting factor. Stalin's Soviet Union has been characterised as a totalitarian state, with Stalin its authoritarian leader. Various biographers have described him as a dictator, an autocrat, or accused him of practising Caesarism. He has also been labelled a "red fascist". Montefiore argued that while Stalin initially ruled as part of a Communist Party oligarchy, the Soviet government transformed from this oligarchy into a personal dictatorship in 1934, with Stalin only becoming "absolute dictator" between March and June 1937, when senior military and NKVD figures were eliminated. According to Kotkin, Stalin "built a personal dictatorship within the Bolshevik dictatorship." In both the Soviet Union and elsewhere he came to be portrayed as an "Oriental despot". Dmitri Volkogonov characterised him as "one of the most powerful figures in human history." McDermott stated that Stalin had "concentrated unprecedented political authority in his hands." Service stated that Stalin "had come closer to personal despotism than almost any monarch in history" by the late 1930s. McDermott nevertheless cautioned against "over-simplistic stereotypes"—promoted in the fiction of writers like Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Vasily Grossman, and Anatoly Rybakov—that portrayed Stalin as an omnipotent and omnipresent tyrant who controlled every aspect of Soviet life through repression and totalitarianism. Service similarly warned of the portrayal of Stalin as an "unimpeded despot", noting that "powerful though he was, his powers were not limitless", and his rule depended on his willingness to conserve the Soviet structure he had inherited. Kotkin observed that Stalin's ability to remain in power relied on him having a majority in the Politburo at all times. Khlevniuk noted that at various points, particularly when Stalin was old and frail, there were "periodic manifestations" in which the party oligarchy threatened his autocratic control. Stalin denied to foreign visitors that he was a dictator, stating that those who labelled him such did not understand the Soviet governance structure. A vast literature devoted to Stalin has been produced. During Stalin's lifetime, his approved biographies were largely hagiographic in content. Stalin ensured that these works gave very little attention to his early life, particularly because he did not wish to emphasise his Georgian origins in a state numerically dominated by Russians. Since his death many more biographies have been written, although until the 1980s these relied largely on the same sources of information. Under Mikhail Gorbachev's Soviet administration various previously classified files on Stalin's life were made available to historians, at which point Stalin became "one of the most urgent and vital issues on the public agenda" in the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of the Union in 1991, the rest of the archives were opened to historians, resulting in much new information about Stalin coming to light, and producing a flood of new research. Leninists remain divided in their views on Stalin; some view him as Lenin's authentic successor, while others believe he betrayed Lenin's ideas by deviating from them. The socio-economic nature of Stalin's Soviet Union has also been much debated, varyingly being labelled a form of state socialism, state capitalism, bureaucratic collectivism, or a totally unique mode of production. Socialist writers like Volkogonov have acknowledged that Stalin's actions damaged "the enormous appeal of socialism generated by the October Revolution". ### Death toll With a high number of excess deaths occurring under his rule, Stalin has been labelled "one of the most notorious figures in history." These deaths occurred as a result of collectivisation, famine, terror campaigns, disease, war and mortality rates in the Gulag. As the majority of excess deaths under Stalin were not direct killings, the exact number of victims of Stalinism is difficult to calculate due to lack of consensus among scholars on which deaths can be attributed to the regime. Stalin has also been accused of genocide in the cases of forced population transfer of ethnic minorities in the Soviet Union and the famine in Ukraine. Official records reveal 799,455 documented executions in the Soviet Union between 1921 and 1953; 681,692 of these were carried out between 1937 and 1938, the years of the Great Purge. According to Michael Ellman, the best modern estimate for the number of repression deaths during the Great Purge is 950,000–1.2 million, which includes executions, deaths in detention, or soon after their release. In addition, while archival data shows that 1,053,829 perished in the Gulag from 1934 to 1953, the current historical consensus is that of the 18 million people who passed through the Gulag system from 1930 to 1953, between 1.5 and 1.7 million died as a result of their incarceration. Historian and archival researcher Stephen G. Wheatcroft and Michael Ellman attribute roughly 3 million deaths to the Stalinist regime, including executions and deaths from criminal negligence. Wheatcroft and historian R. W. Davies estimate famine deaths at 5.5–6.5 million while scholar Steven Rosefielde gives a number of 8.7 million. In 2011, historian Timothy D. Snyder summarised modern data made after the opening of the Soviet archives in the 1990s and states that Stalin's regime was responsible for 9 million deaths, with 6 million of these being deliberate killings. He further states that estimates of 20 million or above, which were made before access to the archives, are not credible. According to Rogovin, 80–90% of the members of the Central Committee elected at the Sixth through to the Seventeenth Congresses were physically annihilated. ### In the Soviet Union and post-Soviet states Shortly after his death, the Soviet Union went through a period of de-Stalinization. Malenkov denounced the Stalin personality cult, which was subsequently criticised in Pravda. In 1956, Khrushchev gave his "Secret Speech", titled "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences", to a closed session of the Party's 20th Congress. There, Khrushchev denounced Stalin for both his mass repression and his personality cult. He repeated these denunciations at the 22nd Party Congress in October 1962. In October 1961, Stalin's body was removed from the mausoleum and buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis, the location marked by a bust. Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd. Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation process in Soviet society ended when he was replaced as leader by Leonid Brezhnev in 1964; the latter introduced a level of re-Stalinisation within the Soviet Union. In 1969 and again in 1979, plans were proposed for a full rehabilitation of Stalin's legacy but on both occasions were halted due to fears of damaging the USSR's public image. Gorbachev saw the total denunciation of Stalin as necessary for the regeneration of Soviet society. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the first president of the new Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, continued Gorbachev's denunciation of Stalin but added to it a denunciation of Lenin. His successor Vladimir Putin did not seek to rehabilitate Stalin but emphasised the celebration of Soviet achievements under Stalin's leadership rather than the Stalinist repressions. In October 2017, Putin opened the Wall of Grief memorial in Moscow, noting that the "terrible past" would neither be "justified by anything" nor "erased from the national memory." In a 2017 interview, Putin added that while "we should not forget the horrors of Stalinism", the excessive demonization of Stalin "is a means to attack [the] Soviet Union and Russia". In recent years, the government and general public of Russia has been accused of rehabilitating Stalin. Amid the social and economic turmoil of the post-Soviet period, many Russians viewed Stalin as having overseen an era of order, predictability, and pride. He remains a revered figure among many Russian nationalists, who feel nostalgic about the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, and he is regularly invoked approvingly within both Russia's far-left and far-right. Polling by the Levada Center suggest Stalin's popularity has grown since 2015, with 46% of Russians expressing a favourable view of him in 2017 and 51% in 2019. In a 2021 poll, a record 70% of Russians indicated they had a mostly/very favourable view of Stalin. The same year, a survey by the Center showed that Joseph Stalin was named by 39% of Russians as the "most outstanding national figure of all time" and, while nobody received an absolute majority, Stalin was very clearly in first place, followed by another Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin with 30% and Russian poet Alexander Pushkin with 23%. At the same time, there was a growth in pro-Stalinist literature in Russia, much relying upon the misrepresentation or fabrication of source material. In this literature, Stalin's repressions are regarded either as a necessary measure to defeat "enemies of the people" or the result of lower-level officials acting without Stalin's knowledge. The only other part of the former Soviet Union other than Russia where admiration for Stalin has remained consistently widespread is Georgia, although Georgian attitudes have been very divided. A number of Georgians resent criticism of Stalin, the most famous figure from their nation's modern history. A 2013 survey by Tbilisi State University found 45% of Georgians expressing "a positive attitude" to him. A 2017 Pew Research survey had 57% of Georgians saying he played a positive role in history, compared to 18% of those expressing the same for Mikhail Gorbachev. Some positive sentiment can also be found elsewhere in the former Soviet Union. A 2012 survey commissioned by the Carnegie Endowment found 38% of Armenians concurring that their country "will always have need of a leader like Stalin." In early 2010, a new monument to Stalin was erected in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. In December 2010, unknown persons decapitated it and it was destroyed in a bomb attack in 2011. In a 2016 Kyiv International Institute of Sociology poll, 38% of respondents had a negative attitude to Stalin, 26% a neutral one and 17% a positive, with 19% refusing to answer. ## See also - Anti-Stalinist left - Bibliography of Stalinism and the Soviet Union - European interwar dictatorships - List of places named after Joseph Stalin - List of statues of Joseph Stalin ## Explanatory notes
12,298,953
TAM Airlines Flight 3054
1,172,668,952
2007 plane crash in São Paulo, Brazil
[ "2007 disasters in Brazil", "21st century in São Paulo", "Accidents and incidents involving the Airbus A320", "Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error", "Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather", "Airliner accidents and incidents involving runway overruns", "Articles containing video clips", "Aviation accidents and incidents in 2007", "Aviation accidents and incidents in Brazil", "July 2007 events in South America", "TAM Airlines accidents and incidents" ]
TAM Airlines Flight 3054 (JJ3054/TAM3054) was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by TAM Airlines from Porto Alegre to São Paulo, Brazil. On the evening of July 17, 2007, the Airbus A320-233 serving the flight overran runway 35L at São Paulo during moderate rain and crashed into a nearby TAM Express warehouse adjacent to a Shell gas station. The plane exploded on impact, resulting in the death of all 187 passengers and crew on board, as well as 12 people on the ground. This crash surpassed Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 as the deadliest aviation accident in Brazilian territory and in South American history. The accident was investigated by the Brazilian Air Force's Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (Portuguese: Centro de Investigação e Prevenção de Acidentes Aeronáuticos; CENIPA), and a final report was issued in September 2009. CENIPA concluded that the accident was caused by errors committed by the pilots during the landing at São Paulo. ## Background ### Congonhas runway refit On both of Congonhas Airport's runways (35L/17R and 35R/17L), a slope prevented the drainage of accumulated water on the asphalt. The surface was already smooth due to the excess rubber caused by tire pressure during landing. There were no runway end safety areas, as Avenida Washington Luís (a busy avenue), as well as several buildings and houses, were located at the end of runways 35L and 35R. On July 24, 2006, less than a year before the accident, a Boeing 737 of BRA Transportes Aéreos had difficulty stopping on runway 35L, but the pilots were able to bring the aircraft to a stop safely by performing a ground loop. Due to delays and flight cancellations caused by rains in early 2007, Infraero (the company that manages Congonhas Airport) decided to resurface the airport's main runway. The installation of channeling grooves was planned to reduce the risk of hydroplaning. The resurfacing works were completed on June 29, but the grooves were not added. Infraero stated that adding the grooves would require an additional 30 days. Despite the incomplete refit, the Congonhas runway remained open for use during the 2006–07 Brazilian aviation crisis. ### Landing difficulties On July 16, the day before the crash, four pilots who landed at the airport reported poor braking conditions, including a TAM pilot who managed to stop his aircraft just a few meters before the end of the runway. Between 12:25 pm and 12:28 pm, Infraero suspended operations at the airport to assess the runway conditions and subsequently cleared it for use, reporting "no puddles and water slides." However, at 12:42 local time on the same day, Pantanal Linhas Aéreas Flight 4763, an ATR 42-300, hydroplaned after touching down on runway 17R. The aircraft veered to the left, striking a concrete box and a small light pole before coming to rest on the grass between the runway and taxiway. Fortunately, all 25 people on board survived with no injuries, but the aircraft was severely damaged and deemed beyond repair. Despite this incident, landings continued to be conducted normally at the airport. ## Aircraft and crew The aircraft operating as Flight 3054 was a twin turbofan Airbus A320-233, serial number 789, registration PR-MBK; it was powered by two IAE V2500 engines. It was built in 1998 and had been operated by other airlines before entering service with TAM in January 2007, six months before the accident. The aircraft was owned by Pegasus Aviation and had flown more than 21,000 hours over 10,000 cycles before the crash. The aircraft was dispatched with the thrust reverser on the starboard engine deactivated, as it had jammed. TAM said in a statement a fault in a reverser "does not jeopardize landings" and no mechanical problem had been recorded on July 16, the day before the accident. The aircraft had no difficulty braking on the same runway a day before the fatal accident. There were six crew members and 181 passengers on board. All 6 crew members as well as 171 of the passengers were Brazilian; the 10 remaining passengers were of various other nationalities. The flight crew consisted of two captains (rather than the usual captain and first officer): Captain Henrique Stefanini Di Sacco (53), and Captain Kleyber Aguiar Lima (54). There were also four flight attendants, with an additional 13 deadheading. Both pilots had been flying for over 30 years. Stefanini had logged 13,654 flight hours in his career (including 2,236 hours on the Airbus A320), and Lima 14,760 hours, with 237 of them on the Airbus A320. ## Flight chronology Several players and coaches from the Grêmio football club were initially booked on Flight 3054, intending to catch a connecting flight in Congonhas and fly to Goiânia, for a game scheduled against the Goiás Esporte Clube. However, the club's management rescheduled the trip to the next day. The plane departed from Salgado Filho International Airport in Porto Alegre at 17:18 Brazilian Standard Time (BRT) (20:18 UTC). It climbed to flight level (FL) 340 (34,000 feet (10,000 m)). At 18:48 BRT (21:48 UTC), the flight made its landing at Congonhas-São Paulo Regional Airport. ## Crash Flight 3054 was cleared to land at Congonhas's Runway 35L. Reviews by government officials of the surveillance videos showed that despite the aircraft touching down without incident, it did not slow down normally, veering to the left as it departed the far end at around 90 knots (170 km/h; 100 mph). The runway is elevated above the surrounding area, and the aircraft's momentum carried it over traffic on the adjacent Avenida Washington Luís, a major thoroughfare, and crushed a four-story TAM Express facility, resulting in a large fire. The TAM Express facility contained offices and a warehouse, and was located adjacent to a Shell gas station. All 187 passengers and crew aboard died and the aircraft was destroyed. The runway had recently been resurfaced, and did not yet have water-channeling grooves cut into it to reduce the danger of hydroplaning. Flight Data Recorder (FDR) information recovered after the crash and released by Brazilian authorities showed that immediately prior to touchdown, both thrust levers were in CL (or "climb") position, with engine power being governed by the flight computer's autothrottle system. Two seconds prior to touchdown, an aural warning, "retard, retard", was issued by the flight's computer system, advising the pilots to retard the thrust lever to the recommended idle lever position. This would disengage the autothrottle, with engine power then governed directly by the thrust levers. At the moment of touchdown, the spoiler lever was in the "ARMED" position. According to the system logic of the A320's flight controls, in order for the spoilers to automatically deploy upon touchdown, not only must the spoiler lever be in the "ARMED" position, but both thrust levers must be at or close to the "idle" position. The FDR transcript shows that immediately after the warning, the flight computer recorded the left thrust lever being retarded to the rear-most position, activating the thrust reverser on the left engine, while the right thrust lever (controlling the engine with the disabled thrust reverser) remained in the CL position. One theory put forth by CENIPA is that the pilots may not have noticed that the right engine remained at CL because the Airbus autothrottle system, unlike other aircraft manufacturers, does not automatically move the levers when the autothrust controller changes engine settings. Therefore, the pilots may have thought that the right engine was at idle power without realizing that Airbus autothrust logic dictates that, when one or more of the thrust levers is pulled to the idle position, the autothrust is automatically disengaged. Thus, when the pilot pulled the left engine thrust lever to idle, it disconnected the autothrust system and the computer did not retard the right engine power to idle. The A320's spoilers did not deploy during the landing run, as the right thrust lever was above the "idle" setting required for automatic spoiler deployment. Since the right engine thrust lever was still in the "climb" detent at that time, the right engine accelerated to climb power while the left engine deployed its thrust reverser. The resulting asymmetric thrust condition resulted in a loss of control and a crash ensued. ### Timeline Source: ## Congonhas Aviation safety in Brazil had been under increased scrutiny following the mid-air collision in September 2006 over the Amazon of Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 and an Embraer Legacy 600 (see Brazil's 2006-2007 aviation crisis). Congonhas was singled out for having safety issues relating to operations in wet weather due to its location and runway characteristics for the traffic it serves. The 35L runway at Congonhas is 1,940 metres (6,360 ft) long. Congonhas's counterpart in Rio de Janeiro, the Santos Dumont Airport, has an even shorter runway, at 1,323 m (4,341 ft). Both airports receive the same type of traffic — ranging from small private planes to Boeing 737s and A320s. Many variables affect the landing distance of an aircraft, such as approach speed, weight and the presence of either a tailwind or a headwind. For an Airbus A320, a landing speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) higher than normal can result in as much as a 25% increase in the runway length needed to stop an aircraft. Wet weather can also significantly reduce the braking performance of aircraft, leading to an increase in the minimum runway length requirement. Pilots have called Congonhas airport the "aircraft carrier," because of the runway's short length and because pilots are told to go-around if they overshoot the first 1,000 feet (300 m) of runway. In June 2007, a Brazilian judge briefly banned flights using Fokker 100, Boeing 737-700 and Boeing 737-800 aircraft in and out of the airport. The Airbus A320 was not among the aircraft banned, due to its manufacturer-stated braking distance being shorter than those of the banned aircraft. Pilots had complained that water had been accumulating on the runway, reducing aircraft braking performance and occasionally causing planes to hydroplane. The judge claimed the runway needed to be 388 metres (1,273 ft) longer for these aircraft to operate safely. At the time, a spokeswoman from Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency claimed "The safety conditions of the runway and the airport as a whole are adequate." TAM also objected to the decision, with a spokesman stating "If the injunction stands, it will cause total chaos," claiming over 10,000 passengers per day would be inconvenienced. ### Aftermath The airport reopened on July 19, 2007, using an alternative runway. Many flights, including all OceanAir and BRA Transportes Aéreos, were transferred to Guarulhos International Airport, the major airport in São Paulo, due to the closure of the main runway at Congonhas and the ongoing investigation of the accident. On July 20, Presidency Chief of Staff Dilma Rousseff announced plans to significantly reduce the number of flights operating at Congonhas. The plan included banning, within 60 days, all connection, stopover, charter, and international flights and the reduction in the number of private jets. The airport would only operate direct flights to certain cities in Brazil. The plan also called for a study of the expansion of São Paulo's two current airports and the construction of a third airport in the metropolitan area. State crime scene investigators terminated the search for remains on July 28, 2007; as of that date, 114 bodies recovered from the site had been identified by the São Paulo Medical Examiner's Office as those of passengers. ## Investigation The investigation was carried out by Brazil's Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (Portuguese: Centro de Investigação e Prevenção de Acidentes Aeronáuticos, CENIPA). Data from the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) were downloaded by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States commencing July 20 and 23 respectively. Based on preliminary data from the FDR, on July 25 Airbus cautioned A320 operators to ensure that both thrust levers are set to idle during flare. The transcript of the CVR was released on August 1. It shows that the pilots were aware of the wet runway conditions and the deactivated thrust reverser. The pilots' comments suggest that the spoilers did not deploy and that they were unable to slow the aircraft. Crew error had not been ruled out. An investigation by the Brazilian Public Safety Ministry released in November 2008 concluded that the pilots mistakenly left the lever for the right engine to climb upon landing, due to a mistake in landing procedures with the right thrust reverser being disabled from a prior maintenance, when in fact it was necessary to retard both engines in order for the spoilers to work. They also said that the National Civil Aviation Agency should have closed the airport on the night the plane landed because of heavy rains; that Congonhas airport authorities shared the blame because its runway had not been properly constructed with grooves to drain away excess rainwater, contributing to the crash; that the plane's manufacturer, Airbus, should have provided alarms warning the pilots that the braking system was failing; and that TAM failed to properly train its pilots, who did not act correctly in the emergency. ### Final report In September 2009, more than two years after the accident, CENIPA announced the results of official investigations. The report shows that one of the thrust levers, which control engines, was in position to accelerate when it should be in idle, but it was not proved if there was mechanical or human failure as the cause of the accident. The report suggests two hypotheses for the accident. In the first, there was a flaw in the power control of the plane's engines, which would have kept one of the thrust levers into acceleration, regardless of their actual position. This scenario would implicate mechanical failure of the aircraft as the cause of the accident. The likelihood of this failure occurring is calculated at once per 400 billion flight hours, and therefore highly improbable. In the second hypothesis, the pilot has performed a procedure different from that provided in the manual, and put the thrust lever in an irregular position. This scenario would implicate human error as the cause of the accident. In addition to the positions of the thrust levers, the report points to several factors that may have contributed to the accident, such as a high volume of rain on the day, with the formation of puddles on the runway, as well as the absence of grooving. The report does not blame the length of the runway for the accident. The BEA also cleared Airbus of any misdoing because they had proposed a system warning modification regarding the incorrect thrust lever positions that TAM had rejected. ## Response After the crash, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ordered three days of national mourning. During the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian athletes wore a black armband in remembrance of the victims. The flags of all participating countries were flown at half mast on July 18. Matches involving a Brazilian athlete or team started with a minute of silence. All matches of the Campeonato Brasileiro 2007 started with a minute of silence, while all players wore black armbands. Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa had a black stripe on top of his helmet during the 2007 European Grand Prix, to commemorate the victims. Rubens Barrichello also had stripes on his helmet, and the two Red Bull Racing drivers David Coulthard and Mark Webber had small Brazilian flags on their helmets referring to the accident. More than 5,000 Brazilians marched to the crash site on July 29, 2007, blaming their government's failure to invest in airport infrastructure for the crash. Many of the protesters also demanded the ousting of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. ### International reactions - Argentina: President Néstor Kirchner called president Lula to express condolences. - Chile: President Michelle Bachelet called president Lula to offer her condolences. - China: President Hu Jintao expressed his condolences to the Brazilian government as well as the friends and families of the victims. - Germany: President Horst Köhler sent a telegram to President Lula expressing his condolences to the families of the victims. According to a statement at the German embassy in Brasilia reported, Germany would join the three-day mourning by lowering the flag at half-mast at the embassy. - Mexico: Former president Vicente Fox expressed his condolences. - Peru: President Alan Garcia expressed his condolences and requested to talk with president Lula. - Spain: Felipe VI of Spain was in Brazil at the time of the accident and expressed condolences. - United States: President George W. Bush, his spokesman Sean McCormack, and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice all expressed their condolences. Rice also called Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim to express additional condolences. - Vatican: Odilo Scherer, the Archbishop of São Paulo, received a telegram from Pope Benedict XVI signed by the Vatican's secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone, expressing condolences as well as a mass for the victims. - Venezuela: Foreign minister Nicolás Maduro expressed his condolences to Brazil's government and citizens. ### Memorial On July 17, 2012, the fifth anniversary of the accident, a plaza named Memorial Square was opened. Memorial Square was built on the site of the TAM express warehouse (demolished on August 5, 2007), which is 8,318 square metres (89,530 sq ft) in area. There is a memorial with the names of the victims engraved as well as a mulberry tree that survived the crash. There is another memorial in Porto Alegre called "Largo da Vida," where 199 trees have been planted. The memorial is located near Salgado Filho International Airport (the airport from which Flight 3054 departed). ## Legal action On November 19, 2008, the 13,600-page police investigation was completed, which took 16 months of research to produce, during which 336 people were heard. Federal prosecutors were of the opinion that the former director of the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), Denise Abreu (who had taken up the post in March 2006), and the flight safety officer of the airline, Marco Aurelio dos Santos de Miranda, should both be convicted of attempt on air transport security in willful mode. In 2011, the Brazilian Federal Public Ministry (Ministério Público Federal—MPF) laid criminal charges against Denise Abreu, the director of the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) at the time of the disaster, as well as two former TAM directors—Marco Aurélio dos Santos de Miranda, director of flight safety, and Alberto Fajerman, vice president of operations. They were accused of neglecting air transport safety by allowing the aircraft to land in heavy rain on the notoriously short, recently resurfaced runway before cutting of grooves to channel away excess rainwater. The trial began in São Paulo in 2013. In 2014, MPF withdrew the charges against Fajerman, for lack of evidence. A second charge against Abreu of "documentary falsehood" was dismissed in November, 2014. As of March 2015, no judgement had been handed down on the other charges. In 2014, TAM's insurer Itaú Seguros, the company responsible for paying compensation for the tragedy, launched a lawsuit in Brazil against Airbus for R\$350 million (US\$156.2 million), according to Folha de S. Paulo. Attorneys representing Airbus responded in a Brazilian court filing that Airbus accepts no responsibility, laying the blame for the disaster with the cockpit crew, the airline and the poor state of the runway. ## Notable victims Among the victims were: - Júlio Redecker (aged 51), a Brazilian Social Democracy Party federal politician, member and leader of the opposition in the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil. - Paulo Rogério Amoretty Souza (aged 61), former chairman of the football team Sport Club Internacional and attorney for Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. - Márcio Rogério de Andrade (aged 35), former football player and FIFA agent at the time of the crash. His spouse, his daughter and his brother-in-law also died in the disaster. ## Dramatization The documentary television series Mayday examines the crash and investigation in a Season 11 episode titled "Deadly Reputation" (and alternatively "Nightmare Runway" and "Disaster Runway"), which features interviews with investigators and a dramatic recreation of the accident. ## See also - Philippine Airlines Flight 137 – Another Airbus A320 that crashed nine years earlier under almost identical circumstances, with 3 fatalities - S7 Airlines Flight 778 – An Airbus A310 that crashed one year earlier also with a deactivated thrust reverser - TAP Air Portugal Flight 425 - Air India Express Flight 812
66,265,896
1920 Xalapa earthquake
1,168,135,152
Earthquake in Mexico
[ "1920 disasters in Mexico", "1920 earthquakes", "1920 in Mexico", "Buried rupture earthquakes", "History of Puebla", "History of Veracruz", "January 1920 events", "Landslides in North America", "Natural disasters in Mexico", "Xalapa" ]
The 1920 Xalapa earthquake was the deadliest in Mexico's history prior to 1985—killing at least 648 people. It occurred on January 3 at 22:25 local time, during a period of political unrest in the country. Mudflows and landslides triggered by the shock destroyed buildings in rural towns across the states of Veracruz and Puebla, causing most of the deaths. The earthquake was attributed to a shallow fault in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. It measured moment magnitude 6.3–6.4 and had a hypocenter depth of \<15 km (9.3 mi). The Mexican government took immediate action in the aftermath—providing assistance and establishing communication services. Severely damaged towns including Xalapa were rebuilt, while others had to be abandoned. Help to survivors also came from civil society groups, civilians, and the Catholic Church. The earthquake's aftershocks were studied by scientists to determine its seismological characteristics. ## Background Mexico underwent significant political, military and social conflicts during the early 20th century. In 1919 and early 1920, the revolution was anticipated to end with President Venustiano Carranza overthrown. Carranza's preference for Ignacio Bonillas and other officials to succeed him brought dissatisfaction within his government. This led to a rebellion against Carranza and the formation of the Plan of Agua Prieta to disregard Carranza's government. Carranza was assassinated in Puebla on May 21, 1920, during his escape to Veracruz. Between 1919 and 1920, Veracruz went through various governments and its political scene became stable after Adalberto Tejeda was elected as governor. Tejeda's government rarely made references to the earthquake in the early part of his term between October 1920 and May 1921. ## Tectonics Mexico is located at a junction where three tectonic plates converge. The Mexican landmass is situated atop the North American Plate which moves westwards. Off its Pacific coast, oceanic lithosphere from the Cocos and Rivera plates subducts in a northeasterly direction along the Middle America Trench. Earthquakes and tsunamis are generated on the subduction zone when seismic strain accumulated at the interface between the subducting and overriding plates is released, causing a rupture. Volcanism occurs when the subducting plates (known as slabs) undergo metamorphism, dehydrates, and melts the mantle into magma, which then rises through the overriding plate to form volcanoes. The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) stretches \>1,000 km (620 mi) from Mexico's Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico. The TMVB runs oblique to the trench where the Cocos and Rivera plates subduct due to the difference in subduction angle. In Jalisco, the Rivera Plate subducts at \~50°. From Michoacán to Guerrero (eastwards), the Cocos Plate subducts at a progressively decreasing angle. The slab is eventually subhorizontal, diaplaying flat slab subduction from Guerrero to Oaxaca for 250 km (160 mi). From Oaxaca to Central America, the subduction angle increases to \~50–60°. Most slabs undergo metamorphism at 100 km (62 mi) depth, which is \~100 km (62 mi) away from the trench. In Mexico, the slabs attain this depth \~300 km (190 mi) away. Due to the subduction geometry, the volcanic arc gradually migrates away from the trench and forms inland. Intraslab earthquakes within the subducting Cocos Plate beneath central Mexico cease abruptly 100 km (62 mi) south of the TMVB. These earthquakes occur at depths of 60–100 km (37–62 mi). Beneath the TMVB, the Cocos Plate plunge steeply into the mantle. Shallow intraplate earthquakes within the TMVB are located north of where these intraslab earthquakes occur. Crustal deformation in the TMVB is characterized by extension. Deformation occurs along east–west striking normal faults that displace Quaternary volcanic rocks of the belt. Normal faults northwest of Mexico City also display small (10 percent of total slip) left-lateral strike-slip movement. ## Geology Shallow crustal earthquakes in the TMVB have been recorded for 450 years. These earthquakes, although infrequent, are damaging in central Mexico. These have been estimated to be as large as 7.6 (in 1858). Xalapa was previously damaged by an earthquake in 1546. The earthquake destroyed the church of San Francisco and the nearby convent—the Catholic church was the first to be constructed in the Americas. Seismicity in the area is infrequent—the largest earthquake since 1964 was a 5.1 shock in 1979. The earthquakes of 1912 (6.9 ) and 1920 are examples of recent major earthquakes in the TMVB. The former caused significant destruction and killed at least 161 people. The National Seismological Service (NSS) operated three seismic instruments at the time of the earthquake; located in Mexico City, Oaxaca, and Mazatlán, respectively. Stations close to the epicenter (in Puebla and Veracruz) were inoperable due to the Mexican Revolution. An epicenter could not be instrumentally located due to the limited seismic data. The epicenter was likely between the towns of Chilchotla and Patlanalán, based on the seismic intensity, where the strongest shaking was observed. Foreshocks were observed in the same area in November 1919. The earthquake had a focal mechanism corresponding to normal (and some strike-slip) faulting along an east–west striking plane. Earthquakes in the volcanic belt display normal faulting mechanism at \<15 km (9.3 mi) depth. The fault had an estimated length of 25 km (16 mi), based on scaling laws regarding the seismic magnitude and rupture length. The fault length corresponded to the area of maximum damage and strongest shaking, and aligned parallel with the Huitzilapan River. In 1996, a 15 km (9.3 mi) lineament identified via satellite imaging was suggested as the source fault. The aftershock sequence was intense and lasted until April 1920. Several aftershocks were strong enough to be felt 220 km (140 mi) away in Mexico City. These aftershocks occurred at varying distances of 24–40 km (15–25 mi) from Xalapa. An 80 kg (180 lb) Wiechert vertical seismograph was transported by rail to the epicenter area to record the aftershocks. Aftershock data obtained by the seismograph demonstrated that the mainshock was a shallow-focus earthquake. Ground features initially interpreted to be surface faulting were documented in a 1922 field report. However, this has been attributed to probable soft soil slumping along the steep slopes of the volcanic region. The lack of observable faulting suggests rupture to the surface was insignificant or buried under debris and mud avalanches. The earthquake magnitude was previously listed as 7.8 (surface-wave magnitude). This has been considered a far-fetched and non-instrumental estimate biased by the reported effects of the earthquake. Instead, surface-wave and moment magnitude ( and ) 6.4 was estimated from available data. The International Seismological Centre catalogued the earthquake magnitude at 6.3. ## Damage and casualties There were at least 648 deaths from the earthquake, and the toll may be as high as 4,000. It was the deadliest earthquake in Mexico's history until 1985 (currently the second deadliest). Seismicity in Veracruz is moderate compared to Mexico's Pacific coast. Some earthquakes with epicenters in Veracruz have resulted in fatalities, such as those in 1959 and 1967. The 1973 earthquake had an epicenter outside the state and also resulted in many deaths and widespread destruction. Many deaths were associated with landslides and mudslides. Serious damage was reported in Xalapa, Coatepec, Teocelo, Cosautlán, Ixhuacán, Ayahualulco, Calcahualco, Coscomatepec, Alpatláhuac, Rinconada, Huatusco and Córdoba. Shaking was felt as far as Toluca in the State of Mexico and throughout the central part of Mexico. The towns of Chilchotla, Quimixtlán and Patlanalá were within the epicenter area—Modified Mercalli intensity XI–XII (Extreme) was evaluated. In Xalapa, the shaking intensity was not greater than VIII–IX (Severe–Violent). The towns of Ayahualulco, Cosautlán and Teocelo felt intensities IX–X (Violent–Extreme). Intensity XI (Extreme) occurred in Ixhuacán. In Mexico City, shaking was III–IV (Weak–Light). Shaking was felt as far as Oaxaca, where the intensity in Teotitlán, Cuicatlán and San Jerónimo was III (Weak). Landslides and mudslides were widely reported, triggered by factors including the orography, vegetation type and high humidity. The mudslides originated from landslides triggered along the steep valley slopes of the Huitzilapa River and tributaries between Chilchotla and Patlanalán. The mudflows traveled down the Huitzilapa and Pescado rivers, destroying towns and sweeping away up humans in the process. At least 419 deaths were caused by the mudslides. Only 10 people were injured in Patlanalá despite being the town with the most deaths (239). This was because most residents who were swept away perished. In Teocelo and Cosautlán, most deaths were caused by collapses. The mudslide traveled nearly 80 km (50 mi) before entering the Gulf of Mexico. The communities of Acuatlatipa, El Rincón, Mecatitla, and Petlacuacán were buried. In some places, the mudflow deposited sediments measuring 40–65 m (131–213 ft) thick. The earthquake only devastated poorly constructed buildings. Heavy destruction was attributed to building materials—most were constructed with heavy stone, brick and lime. These structures were not designed for areas with seismic vulnerability. Most fragile brick buildings were razed. Major towns including Xalapa, Teocelo, and Cosautlán experienced fewer casualties compared to those in the rural mountainous area. However, these localities reported heavier property losses in collapses. In Teocelo, offices, homes, schools, and official buildings were seriously affected. In Xalapa, only three people died. The Dos Corazones church partially collapsed and damaged nearby houses, injuring several. The streets of Leona Vicario, Ramos Arizpe, Allende, Abasolo, Libertad, Sayago, Enriquez, Zamora, and Colon were the most affected. Orphanages, government offices, palaces, and other public infrastructures were damaged. An official from Soledad de Doblado said water from the Jamapa River deposited mud which contaminated the water supply. Mudflows carrying bodies and debris continued to flow towards Jalcomulco. In Barranca Grande, 180 of its 300 residents died. Deaths in Patlanalá and Quimixtlán were mainly attributed to landslides, avalanches, and mudflows. A total of 167 were injured, including 85 in Teocelo and 60 in Cosautlán. Ten people were reported injured in Quimixtlán and Xalapa, respectively. Landslides in Orizaba damaged a few homes. ## Aftermath The disaster was sensationalized by the media—initial reports indicated several thousand deaths and dozens injured. Newspapers misinformed the public in the aftermath with exaggerated reports of destruction. Some newspapers also reported lava, flames, and gas emissions from a volcano outside Xalapa, Huaxcaleca, San Nicolás, and the Jacal and Tlacotiopan ranches. To drive sensationalism, reports later changed to volcanic activity occurring on Pico de Orizaba and Cofre de Perote which are considered inaccurate. Many newspapers became unreliable in reporting the number of dead. The only proper sources of information were commissions from the Geological Institute of Mexico. The Mexican government immediately established communication with the affected area by providing telegrams to be kept informed of the situation. Even so, very little information was conveyed by officials from major towns. Information from rural towns took several days to arrive due to cut telegraph lines and damaged roads. After sufficient information was obtained, the government created a relief board. The board consisted of government authorities and civilians. Boards were also formed to help in reconstruction. In the days following the earthquake, officials visited the area to provide relief. Some towns were inaccessible due to landslides. The civil hospital in Xalapa was overwhelmed by many injured patients and insufficient beds. The building was severely cracked and at risk of collapse. Several survivors in the hospital were traumatized and had to be restrained by nurses. Federal aid was immediately distributed to the worst-affected areas. Reconstruction work followed—the restoration of paintings and decorations was estimated at \$11,920, while \$1,445 was used to replace windows and doors. The cost of infrastructure damage was not specified. Xalapa, Coatepec, and Cosautlán were allocated \$60,000, each, for building reconstruction. Coscomatepec was allocated \$25,000, while \$20,000 was allocated to Patlanalá, Quimixtlan and Huatusco, respectively. About \$40,000 was allocated for survivors. The Governor of Sonora, Adolfo de la Huerta, donated \$4,078 for survivors. The municipal government of San Francisco de las Peñas began a donation drive, and state government employees offered to contribute a day of their pay for survivors. Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Bishop of Veracruz, visited the area to assist in recovery efforts. He arrived in Veracruz the day after the earthquake and together with state officials, coordinated in relief and donation drives. In the city of Veracruz, which was unaffected, \$20,000 in donation was contributed. Rafael Guízar also officiated a sermon in the affected town of Teocelo. While visiting the town, he handled out \$3,000 among residents. Rafael Guízar often conducted sermons in the outdoors because buildings were unsafe. He continued to tour the area until 1921. The Catholic Church spent about \$231,000 to reconstruct Xalapa by employing workers from other areas of Mexico. Civil societies including clubs, public administration, religious cults and Red Cross organizations also assisted survivors or participated in reconstruction works. Most of their contributions were indirect—raising money and lottery. Groups closer to the affected area kept in close contact with residents. Two American Red Cross members, including Harry Hopkins, visited the area in February to assess the damage and survivors needs. ## Future hazard Lying along the Ring of Fire, Mexico is one of the most seismically active regions of the world. Most of Mexico's large earthquakes originate along the subduction zone off its Pacific coast. A September 2021 earthquake near Acapulco, Guerrero sparked concerns among scientists due to its proximity to a seismic gap. Named the "Guerrero Gap", it is a 230 km (140 mi) section of the subduction zone that has not experienced an earthquake since 1911, despite one expected to happen every 30 to 50 years. Although the gap partially ruptured during an earthquake in 2014, the remaining unruptured segment may produce an earthquake of up to magnitude 7.8. Mexico City and its population of 20 million are vulnerable to an earthquake along the gap. Nearly 52 million people or 40 percent of Mexico's population live around the earthquake-prone TMVB. Due to the lack of instrumentally recorded large earthquakes in the TMVB, it was classified as a non-hazardous region by long-established studies of seismic hazard. The study of historical earthquakes dating back to the 16th century suggests the region is more vulnerable to earthquakes than previously thought. Due to their recurrence intervals spanning millenniums, they are a rare occurrence. These earthquakes, although moderate in size compared to their subduction zone counterparts, can be destructive when striking a densely populated area. Most residents in the volcanic belt do not have generational recollections of these earthquakes, and hence are unprepared for one. ## See also - Geography of Mexico - List of earthquakes in Mexico - List of earthquakes in 1920
37,180,337
Russian monitor Bronenosets
1,092,640,547
Russian Uragan-class monitor
[ "1864 ships", "Ships built at the Baltic Shipyard", "Uragan-class monitors" ]
Bronenosets (Russian: Броненосец) was a Uragan-class monitor built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the mid-1860s. The design was based on the American Passaic-class monitor, but was modified to suit Russian engines, guns and construction techniques. The ship was only active when the Gulf of Finland was not frozen, but very little is known about her service. She was stricken in 1900 from the Navy List, converted into a coal barge in 1903 and renamed Barzha No. 324. The ship was lost in a storm sometime during World War I. ## Description Bronenosets was 201 feet (61.3 m) long overall, with a beam of 46 feet (14.0 m) and a draft of 10.16–10.84 feet (3.1–3.3 m). She displaced 1,500–1,600 long tons (1,500–1,600 t) and her crew numbered eight officers and 88 enlisted men in 1865. They numbered 10 officers and 100 crewmen in 1877 The ship was fitted with a two-cylinder horizontal direct-acting steam engine built by Carr and MacPherson of Saint Petersburg. It drove a single propeller using steam that was provided by two rectangular boilers. Specific information on the output of the ship's engine has not survived, but it ranged between 340–500 indicated horsepower (254–373 kW) for all the ships of this class. During Bronenosets's sea trials on 21 October 1864, she reached a maximum speed of 7.75 knots (14.35 km/h; 8.92 mph) and she was the fastest ship in the class. The ship carried a maximum of 190 long tons (190 t) of coal, which gave her a theoretical endurance of 1,440 nmi (2,670 km; 1,660 mi) at 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph). Bronenosets was designed to be armed with a pair of 9-inch (229 mm) smoothbore muzzle-loading guns purchased from Krupp of Germany and rifled in Russia, but the rifling project was seriously delayed and the ship was completed with nine-inch smoothbores. These lacked the penetration power necessary to deal with ironclads and they were replaced by license-built 15-inch (380 mm) smoothbore muzzle-loading Rodman guns in 1867–68. The Rodman guns were replaced around 1876 with the originally intended nine-inch rifled guns. All of the wrought-iron armor that was used in the Uragan-class monitors was in 1-inch (25 mm) plates, just as in the Passaic-class ships. The side of the ship was entirely covered with three to five layers of armor plates, of which the three innermost plates extended 42 inches (1.1 m) below the waterline. This armor was backed by wooden beam that had a maximum thickness of 36 inches (914 mm). The gun turret was protected by eleven layers of armor and the pilothouse above it had eight layers of armor. Curved plates six layers thick protected the base of the funnel up to a height of 7 feet (2.1 m) above the deck. Unlike their predecessors, the Uragans were built without deck armor to save weight, but Bronenosets had 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) plates added after completion. ## Career Construction of the ship began on 17 June 1863 at the Carr and MacPherson Shipyard in Saint Petersburg. Bronenosets was laid down on 24 December 1863 and she was launched on 24 March 1864. She entered service on 6 June 1865 and cost a total of 1,148,000 rubles, almost double her contract cost of 600,000 rubles. The ship was assigned to the Baltic Fleet upon completion and she, and all of her sister ships except Latnik, made a port visit to Stockholm, Sweden in July–August 1865 while under the command of General Admiral Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Sometime after Bronenosets was completed, an armored ring, 5 inches (127 mm) thick and 15 inches (381 mm) tall, was fitted around the base of the turret to prevent splinters from jamming it. Later, an armored, outward-curving bulwark was fitted around the top of the turret to protect any crewmen there. Three sponsons were later added, probably during the 1870s, to the upper portion of the turret. Each sponson, one above the gun ports and one on each side of the turret, mounted a light gun, probably a 1.75-inch (44 mm) Engstrem gun, for defense against torpedo boats. A fourth gun was mounted on a platform aft of the funnel when a hurricane deck was built between the funnel and the turret, also probably during the 1870s. Little is known about the ship's career other than that she was laid up each winter when the Gulf of Finland froze. Bronenosets was reclassified as a coast defense ironclad on 13 February 1892 and turned over to the Port of Kronstadt for disposal on 6 July 1900, although she was not stricken until 17 August. During 1903, the ship was converted into a coal barge by the removal of her turret, her side armor, and its wooden backing, and by the division of her hull into three holds. She was redesignated as Barzha No. 34, Barzha No. 51 and, in 1914, Barzha No. 324. The ship sank in a storm in the Gulf of Finland sometime during World War I.
2,895,764
Dangun Feveron
1,170,846,032
1998 arcade game
[ "1998 video games", "Arcade video games", "Cancelled Xbox 360 games", "Cave (company) games", "Multiplayer and single-player video games", "PlayStation 4 games", "PlayStation Network games", "Vertically scrolling shooters", "Video games developed in Japan", "Xbox One games" ]
Dangun Feveron is a 1998 vertical-scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Cave and published by Nihon System in Japan. Players control a fighter craft and must destroy waves of enemies throughout a series of scrolling stages that increase in difficulty. The game's scoring system is designed to encourage players to destroy as many enemies possible, as points are subtracted based on how many enemies leave the screen. It is known for its elaborate disco-inspired presentation, soundtrack, and sassy voiceovers. Developed in conjunction with ESP Ra.De. (1998), Dangun Feveron began production as a more generic take on the scrolling shooter genre. The disco theme was chosen after Cave received negative feedback from location testing, and wanting the game to have its own unique ideas and mechanics. Critics praised the game's unique scoring system and absurdity, though some questioned the quality of the gameplay itself. Feveron did not see any contemporary home ports until it was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016 by M2. ## Gameplay Dangun Feveron is a vertical-scrolling shooter video game. Its plot involves an organization named the Great Gracce attempting to seize control of Earth as part of its plan to conquer the entire universe. The residents of a nearby planet named Fever are alerted of this, and deploy a group of starfighters to destroy the Great Gracce and its leader before they take Earth and its population captive. Players select one of three starfighters, which possess different shot types, speed, and power. These starfighters are tasked with completing each level by destroying formations of enemies and avoiding collision with them and their projectiles. The game features a disco-inspired presentation, which serves importance to the gameplay through "cyborg soldiers", miniature people that can be collected to increase the score multiplayer. Collecting cyborgs and destroying enemies is often accompanied by a sassy-toned announcer. The scoring system is designed to encourage players to destroy as many enemies as possible; points are subtracted from the player's score if any enemies leave the screen. Power-ups are dropped by certain enemies throughout each stage that enhances the player's abilities. There are also bombs that clear the screen of enemies when fired and other items that increase the score. Levels become more challenging as the player progresses, introducing new enemy types that react faster to the player's attacks and those that require more hits to destroy. The game contains a hidden time attack mode where players try to score as many points possible within three minutes. ## Development and release Dangun Feveron was developed by Cave, a company known for creating "bullet hell" shoot 'em ups such as the DonPachi series. The game was produced by Kenichi Takano, one of the founding members of Cave, and in development alongside the vertical shooter ESP Ra.De. (1998). Feveron was originally a more generic take on the shooter genre, however, the team wanted it to have its own unique presentation and mechanics after the game returned generally unfavorable results at location tests. Several meetings were held to discuss ideas, where one Cave employee suggested the disco theme. The game was revised multiple times, with the final revision focusing on gameplay centered around dodging fast-moving projectiles. In one of these revisions, the cyborg soldiers were originally the projectiles that were fired from the player's ship. Early names for Feveron included Fever SOS and Baro Fever; Fever SOS was re-used as the game's international title. Dangun Feveron's elaborate disco-themed soundtrack was originally heavy metal. Around the time the disco theme was considered, a member of the development staff believed the music should represent the game's fast-paced action. The soundtrack was then hurriedly changed to feature disco-inspired music tracks, though the boss battle theme retained the heavy metal sound. Feveron's music is reminiscent of music from artists such as the Bee Gees. Dangun Feveron was released in Japan in September 1998, published by Nihon System Inc. Unlike several of Cave's other releases, the game remained exclusive to arcades and hadn't seen a contemporary port for a home console. Cave considered releasing an Xbox Live Arcade downloadable version if the digital re-release of Guwange performed well. In 2016, M2, a company regarded for its high-quality video game re-releases, published a port of Feveron for the PlayStation 4 under its M2 ShotTriggers series. This version was released internationally in 2018 with full English translations, alongside an Xbox One conversion. Both versions feature multiple enhancements, such as achievements and border graphics. The title has since been re-released on the AntStream service. A physical edition of the PlayStation 4 version is planned to be published by Limited Run Games. ## Reception Game Machine claims Dangun Feveron was among Japan's most popular arcade games in November 1998. A reviewer for Game Criticism believed that outside its colorful visuals and disco-inspired presentation, Dangun Feveron was a generic vertical shooter that felt "half-finished" in comparison to similar titles, which they believed was most noticeable in its unremarkable enemy designs and level layouts. The reviewer was also critical of the game's lack of challenge, which they believed contradicted the Fever part of the title. Takehiko Hara, who previewed the game for ITmedia, claimed the low difficulty made Dangun Feveron more accessible to beginners, as most scrolling shooters at the time were known for their immense challenge. Hara commented on its addition of a time attack mode, which was a largely unheard-of idea for arcade games. Retrospective reviews for Dangun Feveron had identified its absurdity and fast-paced action. A PC Zone writer described it as being "a brilliant, over-the-top shooter", applauding its comical nature and addictive gameplay. Hardcore Gaming 101's Kurt Kalata agreed, and found it to be among Cave's more experimental and unusual creations. He was particularly fond of its scoring system for not ahdering to the usual standards of scrolling shooters. Famitsu reviewers generally enjoyed the PlayStation 4 version of Dangun Feveron for its vibrant graphics and fast-paced gameplay. One reviewer praised the addition of extra features as it made the game seem more worthy of its price point. Another questioned its difficulty level and claimed that, even at the lowest difficulty session, it was a difficult game and likely only suitable for advanced players.
24,697,600
Throwdown (Glee)
1,171,420,718
null
[ "2009 American television episodes", "Glee (season 1) episodes", "Television episodes written by Ryan Murphy (filmmaker)" ]
"Throwdown" is the seventh episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on October 14, 2009. It was directed by series creator Ryan Murphy and written by Brad Falchuk. The episode includes a clash between glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) and cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) when she is named co-director of the glee club. As Sue tries to divide the club by turning the students against Will, his wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) blackmails her OB/GYN into colluding with her over her fake pregnancy. The episode features covers of five songs. Studio recordings of four of the songs performed were released as singles, available for digital download, and were also included on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1. "Throwdown" was watched by 7.65 million US viewers and received mixed reviews from critics. The pregnancy storyline was criticized by both Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly and Shawna Malcom of the Los Angeles Times. Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal was unimpressed by Quinn's solo performance of The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On", though the group performance of "Keep Holding On" was generally better received by reviewers. Lynch as Sue in particular was widely praised, with Flandez and Zap2it's Liz Pardue both writing that Lynch gave an Emmy-worthy performance. ## Plot When cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) is named co-director of the McKinley High glee club, she divides the group in two, hoping to turn the students against director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison). Sue takes the minority students—Santana (Naya Rivera), Artie (Kevin McHale), Kurt (Chris Colfer), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Mike (Harry Shum, Jr.), Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Matt (Dijon Talton)—for her group but only calls one of them by their normal name: Santana, “Wheels”, “Gay Kid”, “Asian/Other Asian (Tina is Asian \#1, Mike is Asian \#2), “Aretha”, and “Shaft.” leaving Will with only Finn (Cory Monteith), Rachel (Lea Michele), Quinn (Dianna Agron), Puck (Mark Salling) and Brittany (Heather Morris) in his group. Sue names her part of the club "Sue's Kids" and manipulates them, saying Will is discriminating against the students by making them sing backup. Sue also steals the piano, and the band, and tells Will that she wants to take over McKinley because she has hatred of people with curly hair. Will retaliates by failing all of Sue's cheerleaders in Spanish, which only exacerbates their hostilities. Quinn and Finn go together for her ultrasound appointment, and they learn that she is expecting a girl. Finn, trying to be supportive, suggests they name the baby Drizzle, but Quinn is adamant she is having it adopted and is annoyed at his lack of understanding. Will, tired of his wife Terri's (Jessalyn Gilsig) refusal to let him participate in the pregnancy, sets up an appointment with Terri's OB/GYN so he can see their own baby on the ultrasound. With the help of her sister Kendra (Jennifer Aspen), Terri blackmails her doctor into faking the sonogram using Quinn's ultrasound DVD, in order to continue hiding the fact she isn't really pregnant. Meanwhile, Quinn jealously confronts Rachel about her relationship with Finn and threatens her. Rachel confronts Quinn about being a spy in the glee club for Sue and tells her that she will be kicked off the Cheerios once Sue finds out about her pregnancy. School reporter Jacob Ben Israel (Josh Sussman) uncovers news of Quinn's pregnancy, and sexually blackmails Rachel. To protect Quinn and ensure Jacob will not release the story, Rachel agrees to give him her underwear, thinking it will keep him quiet. When both sections of the glee club stage a walkout in protest against Sue and Will's constant arguing, the two make amends and Sue steps down as co-director. Sue discovers the underwear in Jacob's locker and the reason for it, and makes him run the story about Quinn's pregnancy. She reveals her knowledge of the pregnancy to the club, and tells them that the whole school will soon know. Quinn breaks down in tears in the hallway, and New Directions does a performance of "Keep Holding On" to show their support for her. ## Production The episode was written by series creator Brad Falchuk and directed by co-creator Ryan Murphy. Recurring characters who appear in "Throwdown" are Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba), Terri's sister Kendra Giardi, her OB/GYN Dr. Wu (Ken Choi), school reporter Jacob Ben Israel, and glee club members Santana Lopez, Brittany Pierce, Matt Rutherford and Mike Chang. Amy Hill guest stars as Dr. Wu's rival OB/GYN, Dr. Chin. "Throwdown" features cover versions of "Hate on Me" by Jill Scott, "No Air" by Jordin Sparks, "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes, "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne, and "Ride wit Me" by Nelly. Studio recordings of "Hate on Me", "No Air", "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "Keep Holding On" were released as singles, available for digital download, and are also included on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1. "No Air" charted at number 52 in Australia, and 65 in America and Canada, while "Keep Holding On" reached number 56 in Australia and America, and 58 in Canada. "Ride wit Me" was recorded live in the episode, as, according to Shum, Jr., Murphy wanted to get the chill vibe, that spur-of-the-moment singing. ## Reception "Throwdown" was watched by 7.65 million US viewers and attained a 3.4/9 rating/share in the 18-49 demographic. It was the 26th most watched show of the week in Canada, with 1.4 million viewers. In the UK, the episode was watched by 2.066 million viewers (1.674 million on E4, and 388,000 on E4+1), becoming the most-watched show on E4 and E4 +1 for the week, and the most-watched show on cable for the week, as well as the most-watched episode of the series at the time. The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Mike Hale of the New York Times felt that "Throwdown": "emphasized the show's increasingly dual nature" whereby "the students are in a pretty good musical, and the adults are in a below-average dramedy." Wendy Mitchell of Entertainment Weekly deemed the episode "welcome light relief", while Shawna Malcom of the Los Angeles Times called it "perhaps Glee's sharpest episode yet", describing it as "chock-full of standout scenes". Eric Goldman for IGN rated the episode 8.8/10, criticizing it for "overly earnest, saccharine moments" but commenting that it was a "great example" of Glee "just being damn funny". Lynch's performance as Sue attracted praise, with Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal and Liz Pardue of Zap2it both calling her portrayal Emmy-worthy. Entertainment Weekly writer Ken Tucker called her "the greatest Broadway-musical villain to ever co-star in a TV series", deeming "Throwdown" "possibly the best showcase yet for Jane Lynch", while Malcom praised the interaction between Lynch and Morrison, writing that their scenes "crackled with electric wit". The pregnancy storyline drew criticism, with Tucker opining that it "nearly derailed an otherwise-excellent episode" and writing: "there's got to be a better way to ground the series in a serious plot-line that doesn't make you wish the pregnancy plot was all just a non-musical dream sequence." Malcom also criticized the storyline, asking if it could "please just go away already?" and writing that her patience with it was running out. Musical performances received mixed reviews. Flandez deemed the cover of "Keep Holding On" an "emotionally satisfying showstopper", however was critical of Quinn's cover of "You Keep Me Hangin On", which he called "thin and jarring". Mitchell enjoyed the "No Air" duet, however felt it would be nice to see characters besides Finn and Rachel take the lead on the majority of songs. Reviewing musical performances in the series so far on October 21, 2009, Denise Martin for the Los Angeles Times rated "Hate On Me" the fourth best performance to date, writing that Riley: "blew [her] away." In December 2012, TV Guide also named the rendition one of Glee's best performances, describing it as "a real Beyoncé moment". Aly Semigran of MTV observed that Quinn spontaneously bursting into song brought Glee "dangerously close to High School Musical territory".
27,922,211
Hubert Brooks
1,156,747,913
Canadian ice hockey player
[ "1921 births", "1984 deaths", "Canadian ice hockey players", "Canadian military personnel of World War II", "Canadian recipients of the Military Cross", "Ice hockey players at the 1948 Winter Olympics", "Medalists at the 1948 Winter Olympics", "Olympic gold medalists for Canada", "Olympic ice hockey players for Canada" ]
Hubert Brooks MC (December 29, 1921 – February 1, 1984) was a Canadian RCAF officer and ice hockey player who won a gold medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. He joined the RCAF in 1940 and served during World War II, being shot down during his second mission over Germany in 1942. He was taken as a prisoner of war to Stalag VIII-B, from where he tried several unsuccessful escape attempts prior to making it to occupied Poland and joining the Polish Underground State as a guerrilla. He rose through the ranks of the rebel force, undertaking raids and assassinations against the Nazi occupation until the end of the conflict. He was one of only five RCAF members to receive the Military Cross for his actions and his award carried the longest citation of them all. Brooks returned to Canada by way of Russia in 1945, and worked for the Missing Research and Enquiry Service for two years. He was then selected to join the Ottawa RCAF Flyers, who represented Canada at the 1948 Winter Olympics and captured the gold medal in the ice hockey tournament. After a series of exhibition games in Europe, he returned to Canada and entered military intelligence, serving at various posts until 1971, at which point he retired to take up an administrative position at the University of Ottawa. He died in 1984 and one of the student dorms, the Brooks Residence, is named in his honour. ## Early life Brooks was born on December 29, 1921, in Bluesky, Alberta. During the Great Depression, his family moved out of the prairie provinces to Ottawa and Montreal, where he received an education in French and first learned to play ice hockey. In July 1940, he applied to join the Royal Canadian Air Force and was accepted that August into the special reserve at the rank of Air Craftsman 2. The "special reserve" was created at the onset of World War II as a section whose members could be terminated at any time, so that the force could easily return to its pre-conflict size at the end of hostilities. Brooks trained in Brandon, Manitoba through October prior to being sent to a Winnipeg equipment depot to serve as a guard. He then undertook several training phases across the country in Regina, Saskatchewan, London, Toronto, Malton, and Fingal, Ontario, and finally Rivers, Manitoba, prior to graduating in August 1941 as a navigator – bomb aimer. Arriving in Britain at the end of September, he was sent to RAF Kinloss the following month and trained there until February 1942, when he joined the RCAF's 419 Bomber Squadron. On April 8–9, during only his second mission, he was shot down during a bombing raid and landed near Oldenburg, Germany, where he was quickly taken as a prisoner of war and sent to Dulag Luft. ## Activities in Germany and Poland Brooks arrived in Stalag VIII-B in April 1942, and switched identities with a New Zealand army private, Frederick Cole, so that he would be available to be placed on work detail (members of the air force were not permitted to be part of working parties). In June he was able to escape from a coal-mining work camp with an Irish soldier, and fled to occupied Poland, but was soon captured in Kraków and returned to Stalag VIII-B by the end of the month. He was sentenced to two weeks of solitary confinement, but retained his secret identity. By September, Brooks was back at a work camp, this time in Svitavy in the Sudetenland. He escaped that month with five other men, this time making it to Lüneburg inside a coal train prior to his recapture. Sent to a prisoner of war camp near Wiener Neustadt, he once more tried to escape but failed, suffered a severe beating at the hands of the Germans, and was again sent back to Stalag VIII-B for two weeks of solitary confinement. Working as a truck helper from a saw mill in Toszek, he slowly acquired maps of Europe and the surrounding region as well as contact information for the Polish Underground State. Having escaped twice already, he risked transfer to a special punishment camp if caught again but, nevertheless, he fled his detention once more, this time with a Scottish soldier by the name of John Duncan, in May 1943. The duo was eventually smuggled into occupied Poland where they contacted the Polish Underground in Częstochowa and joined the guerrilla movement Armia Krajowa. Posing as a Polish laborer working in a jam factory, he served on patrols, raided food convoys, and assassinated members of the Gestapo during a probationary period. After the camp was attacked in December, which not only killed several resistance members but also caused a split in the group, the reduced force continued its operations until February 1944, when retaliation for a raid on a police garrison lowered their membership to a critical point. By March, however, Brooks' unit had grown to 110 men and he was promoted to second lieutenant and put in charge of a band of 40 soldiers, including Duncan. His guerrilla activities expanded to include larger raids, reprisal attacks, and the assassination of more important members of the Nazi regime. He would later earn the Polish Cross of Valor for helping lead over 100 of his men out of a German encirclement to safety without a single casualty. He made his way to the Russian front line in January 1945, and was eventually transferred from Lviv to Odessa, Port Said, Cairo, and finally London, where he arrived in March 1945. Promoted to the rank of warrant officer during his tenure as a prisoner of war, Brooks was informed upon his arrival that his father had died in May of the previous year. He returned to Canada in June. He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions during the conflict, as well several other campaign and achievement medals such as the 1967 Canadian Centennial Medal and the silver Polish Cross of Merit with Swords. He was one of only five RCAF members to receive the Military Cross during World War II (as it is primarily granted to soldiers serving in Army units) and his citation was the longest. ## MRES and 1948 Winter Olympics Competitor for Canada Eventually promoted to temporary flying officer, Brooks began working for the Missing Research and Enquiry Service (MRES), which was an initiative to locate individuals from the Commonwealth of Nations who were missing or killed in action during World War II over hostile territory. He worked with the service for nearly two years, from November 1945 through July 1947, as a Search Officer in Denmark, Norway, and as a Section Leader in the American Zone of Germany. Brooks and a colleague sailed a fishing smack around Cape Nordkinn in the Arctic Circle, the most northerly coastal point of the mainland of Europe, in the search for missing airmen. It was during his tenure with MRES that he met his wife Birthe. He also played ice hockey during his downtime in Scandinavia with the U.S. Army Allstars, and was selected to be a member of Canada's national delegation to the 1948 Winter Olympics. This squad, known as the Ottawa RCAF Flyers, consisted entirely of members of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The team's first exhibition game, a 7–0 defeat for the Flyers against the McGill Redmen, led to calls for the squad being scrapped and replaced with collegiate players. After a subsequent 6–2 loss against the Army, several players from the Ottawa New Edinburghs were added to the lineup and, by the time that the team was set to depart for St. Moritz, ten of the original eighteen members had been replaced, although Brooks remained. In the end the Canadians captured the gold medal at the Olympic tournament. Although Brooks remained a reserve player and did not see any time on the ice, he did receive a gold medal and was selected to be his nation's flag bearer during the opening ceremonies. On February 9, the day after the final, he was finally afforded the opportunity to marry his fiancée Birthe in a ceremony that included Barbara Ann Scott, a Canadian Olympic gold medalist in figure skating, as a bridesmaid. He then joined the rest of the squad on an exhibition series across Europe, winning thirty-four and drawing five of forty-four games prior to returning to Canada in April. Brooks, along with the rest of the Flyers, was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008. ## Later life Following the Olympics, Brooks returned to the RCAF to work in the field of military intelligence. He was first posted in the Maritimes in 1954, and stayed there for several years until heading to Paris, France to be a staff officer at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). He then returned to Canada to work at an RCAF station in Moisie, Quebec from 1965 through 1967, as the first fully bilingual RCAF officer. From there he served at the Canadian Armed Forces Headquarters in Ottawa from 1967 through 1971, during which time he was sent to assess the severity of Quebec's 1970 October Crisis. Following his 1971 retirement from the Armed Forces, he took up a position as an administrator at the University of Ottawa, eventually rising to the position of Housing Director. Brooks died on February 1, 1984, of a heart attack while sitting at his desk. Four years later, the university named one of the student residences in his honour.
34,024,405
Warfare in Medieval Scotland
1,173,146,046
Overview of warfare in Medieval Scotland
[ "Warfare in medieval Scotland" ]
Warfare in Medieval Scotland includes all military activity in the modern borders of Scotland, or by forces originating in the region, between the departure of the Romans in the fifth century and the adoption of the innovations of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. In this period conflict developed from minor raids to major conflicts, incorporating many of the innovations of continental warfare. In the Early Middle Ages war on land was characterised by the use of small war-bands of household troops often engaging in raids and low level warfare. The arrival of the Vikings brought a new scale of naval warfare, with rapid movement based around the Viking longship. The birlinn, which developed from the longship, became a major factor in warfare in the Highlands and Islands. By the High Middle Ages, the kings of Scotland could command forces of tens of thousands of men for short periods as part of the "common army", mainly of poorly armoured spearmen and bowmen. After the "Davidian Revolution" of the twelfth century, which introduced elements of feudalism to Scotland, these forces were augmented by small numbers of mounted and heavily armoured knights. Feudalism also introduced castles into the country, originally simple wooden motte-and-bailey constructions, but these were replaced in the thirteenth century with more formidable stone "enceinte" castles, with high encircling walls. In the thirteenth century the threat of Scandinavian naval power subsided and the kings of Scotland were able to use naval forces to help subdue the Highlands and Islands. Scottish field armies rarely managed to stand up to the usually larger and more professional armies produced by England, but they were used to good effect by Robert I of Scotland at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 to secure Scottish independence. He adopted a policy of slighting castles and made use of naval power to support his forces, beginning to develop a royal Scottish naval force. In the Late Middle Ages under the Stewart kings these forces were further augmented by specialist troops, particularly men-at-arms and archers, hired by bonds of manrent, similar to English indentures of the same period. New "livery and maintenance" castles were built to house these troops and castles began to be adapted to accommodate gunpowder weapons. The Stewarts also adopted major innovations in continental warfare, such as longer pikes, the extensive use of artillery, and they built up a formidable navy. However, one of the best armed and largest Scottish armies ever assembled still met with defeat at the hands of an English army at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, which saw the destruction of a large number of ordinary troops, a large section of the nobility and King James IV. ## Early Middle Ages ### Warriors In the politically divided world of early medieval Scotland the nucleus of most armed forces was a leader's bodyguard or war-band. In the Brittonic languages, this was called the teulu, as in teulu Dewr (the "War-band of Deira"). In Latin the most common word in this period is tutores, and derives from the Latin verb tueor, meaning "defend, preserve from danger". In peace-time, the war-band's activity was centred around the "Great Hall". Here, in both Germanic and Celtic cultures, the feasting, drinking and other forms of male bonding that kept up the war-band's integrity would take place. In the contemporaneous Old English epic poem Beowulf, the war-band was said to sleep in the Great Hall after the lord had retired to his adjacent bedchamber. It is not likely that any war-band in the period exceeded 120–150 men, as no hall structure having a capacity larger than this has been found by archaeologists in northern Britain. The war-band was the core of the larger armies that were mobilised from time to time for campaigns of significant size. These wider forces depended on the obligations to defend a province or kingdom by land and sea. Early sources from Dál Riata indicate an attempt to define this as an obligation based on landholding, with obligations to provide a specified number of men or ships based on the amount of land held by an individual. Pictish stones, like that at Aberlemno in Angus, show warriors with swords, spears, bows, helmets and shields. These images may show infantry in formation, or gathered together for protection, and they show mounted troops, sometimes heavily armoured, suggesting a mounted warrior elite. ### Hill forts Early fortifications in Scotland, particularly in the north and west, included modest stone built towers known as brochs and duns and, particularly in the south and east larger hill forts, There is evidence for about 1,000 Iron Age hillforts in Scotland, most located below the Clyde-Forth line. They appear to have been largely abandoned in the Roman period, but some seem to have been reoccupied after their departure. Most are circular, with a single palisade around an enclosure. Forts of the Early Medieval era were often smaller, more compact, "nucleated" constructions, sometimes utilising major geographical features, as at Dunadd and Dunbarton. The large number of hill forts in Scotland may have made open battle less important than it was in contemporaneous Anglo-Saxon England, and the relatively high proportion of kings who are recorded as dying in fires, suggest that sieges were a more important part of warfare in Northern Britain. ### Ships Sea power may also have been important. Irish annals record an attack by the Picts on Orkney in 682, which must have necessitated a large naval force, and also they lost 150 ships in a disaster in 729. Ships were also vital in the amphibious warfare in the Highlands and Islands and from the seventh century the Senchus fer n-Alban indicates that Dál Riata had a ship-muster system that obliged groups of households to produce a total of 177 ships and 2,478 men. The same source mentions the first recorded naval battle around the British Isles in 719 and eight naval expeditions between 568 and 733. The only vessels to survive form this period are dugout canoes, but images from the period suggest that there may have been skin boats (similar to the Irish currach) and larger oared vessels. The Viking raids and invasions of the British Isles were based on superior sea-power, which enabled the creation of the thalassocracies (sea-based lordships) of the north and west. The long-ship, the key to their success, was a graceful, long, narrow, light, wooden boat with a shallow draft hull designed for speed. This shallow draft allowed navigation in waters only 3 feet (1 m) deep and permitted beach landings, while its light weight enabled it to be carried over portages. Longships were also double-ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing the ship to reverse direction quickly without having to turn around. ## High Middle Ages ### Land forces By the twelfth century the ability to call on wider bodies of men for major campaigns had become formalised as the "common" (communis exercitus) or "Scottish army" (exercitus Scoticanus), based on a universal obligation linked to the holding of variously named units of land. This could be used to produce a regional army, as the future Robert I did when, from 1298 to 1302, as Earl of Carrick, he raised "my army of Carrick", but also a national Scottish army, as he did later in the Wars of Independence. Later decrees indicated that the common army was a levy of all able-bodied freemen aged between 16 and 60, with 8-days warning. It produced relatively large numbers of men serving for a limited period, usually as unarmoured or poorly armoured bowmen and spearmen. In this period it continued to be mustered by the earls and they often led their men in battle, as was the case in the Battle of the Standard in 1138. It would continue to provide the vast majority of Scottish national armies, potentially producing tens of thousands of men for short periods of conflict, into the early modern era. There also developed obligations that produced smaller numbers of feudal troops. The introduction of feudalism to Scotland is usually attributed to the Davidian Revolution of the twelfth century. When David I acceded to the Scottish throne in 1124 after spending much of his life living as a baron in England, he brought with him a number of Anglo-Norman vassals, to whom he distributed lands and titles, first in the lowlands and borders and then later in buffer zones in the North and West. Geoffrey Barrow wrote that among other changes this brought "fundamental innovations in military organization". These included the knight's fee, homage and fealty, as well as castle-building and the regular use of professional cavalry, as knights held castles and estates in exchange for service, providing troops on a 40-day basis. David's Norman followers and their retinues were able to provide a force of perhaps 200 mounted and armoured knights, but the vast majority of his forces were the "common army" of poorly armed infantry, capable of performing well in raiding and guerrilla warfare, but only infrequently able to stand up to the English in the field, as they managed to do critically in the wars of independence at Stirling Bridge in 1297 and Bannockburn in 1314. ### Castles Castles, in the sense of a fortified residence of a lord or noble, arrived in Scotland as part of David I's encouragement of Norman and French nobles to settle with feudal tenures, particularly in the south and east, and were a way of controlling the contested lowlands. These were primarily wooden motte-and-bailey constructions, of a raised mount or motte, surmounted by a wooden tower and a larger adjacent enclosure or bailey, both usually surrounded by a fosse (a ditch) and palisade, and connected by a wooden bridge. They varied in size from the very large such as the Bass of Inverurie, to more modest designs like Balmaclellan. In England many of these constructions were converted into stone "keep-and-bailey" castles in the twelfth century, but in Scotland most of those that were in continued occupation became stone castles of "enceinte", with a high embattled curtain wall. In addition to the baronial castles there were royal castles, often larger and providing defence, lodging for the itinerant Scottish court and a local administrative centre. By 1200 these included fortifications at Ayr and Berwick. In the wars of Scottish Independence Robert I adopted a policy of castle destruction, rather than allow fortresses to be easily taken or retaken by the English and held against him, beginning with his own castles at Ayr and Dumfries, and including Roxburgh and Edinburgh. ### Marine forces In the Highlands and Islands, the longship was gradually succeeded by (in ascending order of size) the birlinn, highland galley and lymphad, which, were clinker-built ships, usually with a centrally-stepped mast, but also with oars that allowed them to be rowed. Like the longship, they had a high stem and stern, and were still small and light enough to be dragged across portages, but they replaced the steering-board with a stern-rudder from the late twelfth century. They could fight at sea, but rarely were able to match armed ships of the Scottish or English navies. However, they could usually outrun larger vessels and were extremely useful in quick raids and in aiding escape. Forces of ships were raised through obligations of a ship-levy through the system of ouncelands and pennylands, which have been argued to date back to the muster system of Dál Riata, but were probably introduced by Scandinavian settlers. Later evidence suggests that the supply of ships for war became linked to feudal obligations, with Celtic-Scandinavian lords, who had previously contributed as a result of a general levy on landholding, coming to hold their lands in exchange for specified numbers and sizes of ships supplied to the king. This process probably began in the thirteenth century, but would be intensified under Robert I. The importance of these ships was underlined by their becoming common in depictions on grave markers and in heraldry throughout the Highlands and Islands. There are mentions in Medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings including William the Lion and Alexander II. The latter took personal command of a large naval force which sailed from the Firth of Clyde and anchored off the island of Kerrera in 1249, intended to transport his army in a campaign against the Kingdom of the Isles, but he died before the campaign could begin. Viking naval power was disrupted by conflicts between the Scandinavian kingdoms, but entered a period of resurgence in the thirteenth century when Norwegian kings began to build some of the largest ships seen in Northern European waters. These included king Hakon Hakonsson's Kristsúðin, built at Bergen from 1262–3, which was 260 feet (79 m) long, of 37 rooms. In 1263 Hakon responded to Alexander III's designs on the Hebrides by personally leading a major fleet of forty vessels, including the Kristsúðin, to the islands, where they were swelled by local allies to as many as 200 ships. Records indicate that Alexander had several large oared ships built at Ayr, but he avoided a sea battle. Defeat on land at the Battle of Largs and winter storms forced the Norwegian fleet to return home, leaving the Scottish crown as the major power in the region and leading to the ceding of the Western Isles to Alexander in 1266. ## Late Middle Ages ### Armies Scottish victories in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries have been seen as part of a wider "infantry revolution", that saw a decline in the primacy of the mounted knight on the battlefield. However, it has been pointed out that Scottish medieval armies had probably always been dependent on infantry forces. In the late medieval period Scottish men-at-arms often dismounted to fight beside the infantry, with perhaps a small mounted reserve, and it has been suggested that these tactics were copied and refined by the English, leading to their successes in the Hundred Years' War. Like the English, the Scots deployed mounted archers, and even spearmen, who were particularly useful in the mobile raids that characterised border warfare, but like the English they fought on foot. By the second half of the fourteenth century, in addition to forces raised on the basis of common service and feudal obligations, money contracts of bonds or bands of manrent, similar to English indentures of the same period, were being used to retain more professional troops, particular men-at-arms and archers. In practice, forms of service tended to blur and overlap, and several major Scottish lords brought contingents from their kindred. These systems produced relatively large numbers of poorly armoured infantry, usually armed with 12–14 foot (4 m) spears. They often formed the large close order defensive formations of shiltrons, able to counter mounted knights as they did at Bannockburn, or infantry assault as at Otterburn in 1388, but vulnerable to arrows (and later artillery fire) and relatively immobile, as they proved at Halidon Hill in 1333 and Humbleton Hill in 1402. There were attempts to replace spears with longer pikes of 15.5 feet (5 m) to 18.5 feet (6 m) in the later fifteenth century, in emulation of successes over mounted troops in the Netherlands and Switzerland, but this does not appear to have been successful until the eve of the Flodden campaign in early sixteenth century. There were smaller numbers of archers and men-at-arms, which were often outnumbered when facing the English on the battlefield. Scottish archers were mainly drawn from the border regions, with those from Selkirk Forest gaining a particularly reputation. They became much sought after as mercenaries in French armies of the fifteenth century, in order to help counter the English superiority in this arm, becoming a major element of the French royal guards as the Garde Écossaise. ### Fortification After the Wars of Independence, new castles began to be built, often on a grander scale as "livery and maintenance" castles, to house retained troops, like Tantallon, Lothian and Doune near Stirling, rebuilt for Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany in the fourteenth century. The largest number of Late Medieval fortifications in Scotland built by nobles, about 800, were of the tower house design. Smaller versions of tower houses in southern Scotland were known as peel towers, or pele houses. The defences of tower houses were primarily aimed to provide protection against smaller raiding parties and were not intended to put up significant opposition to an organised military assault, leading historian Stuart Reid to characterise them as "defensible rather than defensive". They were typically be a tall, square, stone-built, crenelated building; often also surrounded by a barmkyn or bawn, a walled courtyard designed to hold valuable animals securely, but not necessarily intended for serious defence. They were built extensively on both sides of the border with England, and James IV's forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isles in 1494 led to an immediate burst of castle building across the region. Gunpowder weaponry fundamentally altered the nature of castle architecture, with existing castles being adapted to allow the use of gunpowder weapons by the incorporation of "keyhole" gun ports, platforms to mount guns and walls being adapted to resist bombardment. Ravenscraig, Kirkcaldy, begun about 1460, is probably the first castle in the British Isles to be built as an artillery fort, incorporating "D-shape" bastions that would better resist cannon fire and on which artillery could be mounted. Towards the end of the period royal builders in Scotland adopted European Renaissance styles in castle design. The grandest buildings of this type were the royal palaces in this style at Linlithgow, Holyrood, Falkland and the remodelled Stirling Castle, begun by James IV. A strong influence from France and the Low Countries can be seen in the fashionable design of a quadrangular court with stair-turrets on each corner. However, these were adapted to Scottish idioms and materials (particularly stone and harl). ### Siege engines and artillery The Wars of Independence brought the first recorded instances of major mechanical artillery in Scotland. Edward I used a range of siege engines, which were carefully constructed, transported, deployed, dismantled and stored for reuse. This began with the siege of Caerlaverock Castle in 1300. Here, after the failure of an initial assault, a small rock-throwing engine was employed, while three large engines (probably trebuchet, using a counter-weight mechanism), were constructed. Their destruction of walls demoralised the garrison and forced a surrender. Edward's armies deployed several such engines, often named, with "Warwolf", one of 17 used in the capture of Stirling Castle in 1304, being the best known (currently considered the largest trebuchet ever built). They also deployed lighter bolt-shooting balistas, belfry siege towers and on one occasion a covered sow. Some of these were supplied by Robert Earl of Carrick, the future Robert I, who was present on the English side. Scottish armies, with more limited resources and expertise tended to rely on assault, blockade and subterfuge as siege tactics. Robert I is known to have employed siege engines against the English, but often with little success, as at Carlisle in 1315 where his siege tower floundered in mud. The disparity in siege technology has been seen as resulting in a policy of castle destruction by Robert I. Edward I had the major ingredients for gunpowder shipped to Stirling in 1304, probably to produce a form of Greek fire, to be shot into the town in earthenware pots by siege engines. The English probably had projectile gunpowder artillery in the 1320s and the Scots by the next decade. The first clear recorded use in Britain was when Edward III besieged Berwick in 1333, where it was used alongside mechanical siege engines. The first use by the Scots was probably against Stirling Castle in 1341. Gunpowder artillery began to fully replace mechanical engines in the late fourteenth century. The Stewarts attempted to follow the French and English crowns in building up an artillery train. The abortive siege of Roxburgh in 1436 under James I was probably the first conflict in which the Scots made serious use of artillery. James II had a royal gunner and received gifts of artillery from the continent, including two giant bombards made for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, one of which, Mons Meg, still survives. Although these were probably already outdated on the continent, they represented impressive military technology when they reached Scotland. James II enthusiasm for artillery cost him his life and demonstrated some of the dangers of early artillery, when a gun exploded at the siege of Roxburgh in 1460. James III also experienced ill-fortune, when artillery sent from Sigismund, Archduke of Austria sank in a storm en route to Scotland in 1481. James IV brought in experts from France, Germany and the Netherlands and established a foundry in 1511. Edinburgh Castle had a house of artillery where visitors could see cannon cast for what became a formidable train, allowing him to send cannon to France and Ireland and to quickly subdue Norham Castle in the Flodden campaign. However, his 18 heavy artillery pieces had to be drawn by 400 oxen and slowed the advancing Scots army, proving ineffective against the longer range and smaller calibre English guns at the Battle of Flodden. ### Navy English naval power was vital to Edward I's successful campaigns in Scotland from 1296, using largely merchant ships from England, Ireland and his allies in the Islands to transport and supply his armies. Part of the reason for Robert I's success was his ability to call on naval forces from the Islands. As a result of the expulsion of the Flemings from England in 1303, he gained the support of a major naval power in the North Sea. The development of naval power allowed Robert to successfully defeat English attempts to capture him in the Highlands and Islands and to blockade major English controlled fortresses at Perth and Stirling, the last forcing Edward II to attempt the relief that resulted at English defeat at Bannockburn in 1314. Scottish naval forces allowed invasions of the Isle of Man in 1313 and 1317 and Ireland in 1315. They were also crucial in the blockade of Berwick, which led to its fall in 1318. After the establishment of Scottish independence, Robert I turned his attention to building up a Scottish naval capacity. This was largely focused on the west coast, with the Exchequer Rolls of 1326 recording the feudal duties of his vassals in that region to aid him with their vessels and crews. Towards the end of his reign he supervised the building of at least one royal man-of-war near his palace at Cardross on the River Clyde. In the late fourteenth century naval warfare with England was conducted largely by hired Scots, Flemish and French merchantmen and privateers. James I took a greater interest in naval power. After his return to Scotland in 1424, he established a shipbuilding yard at Leith, a house for marine stores, and a workshop. King's ships were built and equipped there to be used for trade as well as war, one of which accompanied him on his expedition to the Islands in 1429. The office of Lord High Admiral was probably founded in this period. In his struggles with his nobles in 1488 James III received assistance from his two warships the Flower and the King's Carvel also known as the Yellow Carvel. James IV put the enterprise on a new footing, founding a harbour at Newhaven in May 1504, and two years later ordering the construction of a dockyard at the Pools of Airth. The upper reaches of the Forth were protected by new fortifications on Inchgarvie. The king acquired a total of 38 ships for the Royal Scottish Navy, including the Margaret, and the carrack Michael or Great Michael. The latter, built at great expense at Newhaven and launched in 1511, was 240 feet (73 m) in length, weighed 1,000 tons, had 24 cannon, and was, at that time, the largest ship in Europe. Scottish ships had some success against privateers, accompanied the king in his expeditions in the islands and intervened in conflicts Scandinavia and the Baltic. In the Flodden campaign the fleet consisted of 16 large and 10 smaller craft. After a raid on Carrickfergus in Ireland, it joined up with the French and had little impact on the war. After the disaster at Flodden the Great Michael, and perhaps other ships, were sold to the French and the king's ships disappeared from royal records after 1516. ## See also - Schiltron - List of battles between Scotland and England
19,455
Max Weber
1,173,846,737
German sociologist, jurist, and political economist (1864–1920)
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Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (/ˈveɪbər/; ; 21 April 1864 – 14 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profoundly influence social theory and research. While Weber did not see himself as a sociologist, he is recognized as one of the fathers of sociology, along with Karl Marx and Émile Durkheim. Born in Erfurt in 1864, Weber studied law and history at the universities of Berlin, Göttingen, and Heidelberg. After earning his doctorate in law and habilitation from the latter in 1889 and 1891, he married his distant cousin Marianne Schnitger and became a professor at the universities of Freiburg and Heidelberg. In 1897, he had a psychological breakdown after he had an argument with his father, who died shortly thereafter. He ceased teaching and travelled during the late 1890s and early 1900s. Shortly before his trip to the United States, he recovered and slowly resumed his scholarship. At that point, he wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. After the beginning of the First World War, he supported the German war effort and was in charge of the army hospitals in Heidelberg. Increasingly critical of the government's actions during the war, he supported the democratisation of Germany. He participated in the Lauenstein Conferences in 1917 and gave the lectures "Science as a Vocation" and "Politics as a Vocation" during the next few years. After the war ended, Weber was among the founders of the German Democratic Party, ran unsuccessfully for a seat in parliament, and advised the committee that drafted the Weimar Constitution in 1919. He became frustrated with politics and resumed teaching, this time at the universities of Vienna and Munich. After possibly contracting the Spanish flu, he died of pneumonia in 1920 at the age of 56. His Economy and Society, which he had been writing at the time, was left unfinished. Weber's main intellectual concern was in understanding the processes of rationalisation, secularisation, and the ensuing sense of disenchantment. He formulated a thesis arguing that such processes were associated with the rise of capitalism and modernity. Weber also argued that the cultural influences embedded in religion were driving factors in the creation of capitalism. Weber first elaborated this theory in his The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, where he included ascetic Protestantism among the major elective affinities that led to the rise of market-driven capitalism and the rational-legal systems in the Western world. Weber's The Protestant Ethic was the earliest part in his broader consideration of world religions, as he later examined the religions of China and India, as well as ancient Judaism. In another major work, "Politics as a Vocation", Weber argued that states were defined by their monopoly on violence and categorised social authority into three distinct forms: charismatic, traditional, and rational-legal. Weber was also a key proponent of methodological anti-positivism, arguing for the study of social action through interpretive rather than purely empiricist methods. Weber made a variety of other contributions in economic history, theory, and methodology. After his death, the rise of Weberian scholarship was slowed by the political instability of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazi Germany. After the Second World War, organised scholarship began to appear, led by Talcott Parsons, who used Weber's works to support his idea of structural functionalism. Over the course of the later twentieth century, Weber's reputation began to rise due to the publication of translations of his works and scholarly interpretations of his life and works. He began to be regarded as a founding father of sociology, alongside Marx and Durkheim. As a result of these works, Weber is commonly regarded as one of the central figures in the development of the social sciences. ## Personal life ### Early life Maximilian Karl Emil Weber was born on 21 April 1864 in Erfurt, Province of Saxony, Prussia, but his family moved to Berlin in 1869. He was the oldest of eight children to Max Weber Sr. and his wife Helene Fallenstein. Over the course of his life, Weber Sr. held posts as a lawyer, a civil servant, and a parliamentarian for the National Liberal Party in the Prussian Landtag and German Reichstag. Fallenstein partly descended from French Huguenot immigrants and came from a wealthy background. Over time, Weber Jr. would be affected by the marital and personality tensions between his father, "a man who enjoyed earthly pleasures" while overlooking religious and philanthropic causes, and his mother, a devout Calvinist "who sought to lead an ascetic life" and held moral absolutist ideas. Weber Sr.'s involvement in public life immersed his home in both politics and academia, as his salon welcomed scholars and public figures such as the philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey, the jurist Levin Goldschmidt, and the historian Theodor Mommsen. The young Max Weber and his brother Alfred, who also became a sociologist and economist, passed their formative years in this intellectual atmosphere. In 1870, Weber entered the Döbbelin private school in Charlottenburg. While in class, bored and unimpressed with teachers – who, in turn, resented what they perceived as a disrespectful attitude – Weber secretly read all forty volumes by writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and it has been argued that this was an important influence on his thought and methodology. Before entering university, he would read many other classical works, including those by the philosopher Immanuel Kant. For Christmas in 1877, a thirteen-year-old Max Weber gifted his parents two historical essays, entitled "About the Course of German history, with Special Reference to the Positions of the Emperor and the Pope", and "About the Roman Imperial Period from Constantine to the Migration Period". Two years later, at roughly the same time of the year, he wrote another historical essay, "Observations on the Ethnic Character, Development, and History of the Indo-European Nations". All of these essays were non-derivative contributions to the philosophy of history and were derived from Weber's reading of "numerous sources". ### Entering Academia In 1882, Weber enrolled in the University of Heidelberg as a law student, later transferring to Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin and then the University of Göttingen. Simultaneously with his studies, he practiced law and worked as a lecturer. In 1886, Weber passed the examination for Referendar, comparable to the bar association examination in the British and U.S. legal systems. Throughout the late 1880s, Weber continued his study of law and history. Under the tutelage of Levin Goldschmidt and Rudolf von Gneist, Weber earned his law doctorate in 1889 by writing a dissertation on legal history titled Development of the Principle of Joint Liability and a Separate Fund of the General Partnership out of the Household Communities and Commercial Associations in Italian Cities. This work would be used as part of a longer work, On the History of Commercial Partnerships in the Middle Ages, Based on Southern European Documents, published in the same year. Two years later, working with statistician August Meitzen, Weber completed his habilitation, a post-doctoral thesis titled Roman Agrarian History and Its Significance for Public and Private Law. Having thus become a privatdozent, Weber joined the faculty of Friedrich Wilhelm University, lecturing, doing research, and consulting for the government. Weber's years as a university student were dotted with several periods of military service, the longest of which lasted between October 1883 to September 1884. During this time, he was in Strasbourg and attended classes taught by his uncle, the historian Hermann Baumgarten. Weber befriended Baumgarten and he influenced Weber's growing liberalism and criticism of Otto von Bismarck's domination of German politics. During his first few years in university, he acted similarly to the other students, who were members of fraternities and placed emphasis on drinking beer and fencing. He was a member of the Burschenschaft Allemannia Heidelberg [de] and obtained several duelling scars on the left side of his face as the result of his duelling. His mother was displeased by his behaviour and slapped him when he came home after his third semester ended in 1883. However, Weber matured, increasingly began to take his mother's side in family arguments, and grew estranged from his father. ### Marriage Max Weber had a relationship and semi-engagement with Emmy Baumgarten, the daughter of Hermann Baumgarten, from 1887 until her declining mental health caused him to break off their relationship five years later. Afterwards, he entered a relationship with his distant cousin Marianne Schnitger in 1892 and married her a year later. Marianne was a feminist activist and author in her own right. She was instrumental in collecting and publishing Weber's journal articles as books after his death, while her biography of him is an important source for understanding Weber's life. They had no children. The marriage granted long-awaited financial independence to Weber, allowing him to finally leave his parents' household. In 1909, they befriended a former student of his, Else von Richthofen, and the pianist Mina Tobler. After a failed attempt to court Richthofen, Weber began an affair with Tobler in 1911. Eight years later, he began a sadomasochistic affair with Richthofen, who was also conducting an affair with his brother, Alfred. These affairs lasted until his death in 1920. ## Career and later life ### Early work In the years between the completion of his dissertation and habilitation, Weber took an interest in contemporary social policy. In 1888, he joined the Verein für Socialpolitik, a new professional association of German economists affiliated with the historical school, who saw the role of economics primarily as finding solutions to the social problems of the age and who pioneered large scale statistical studies of economic issues. He also involved himself in politics, joining the left-leaning Evangelical Social Congress. In 1890, the Verein established a research program to examine "the Polish question", or ostflucht: the influx of Polish farm workers into eastern Germany as local labourers migrated to Germany's rapidly industrialising cities. Weber was put in charge of the study and wrote a large part of the final report, which generated considerable attention and controversy, marking the beginning of Weber's renown as a social scientist. From 1893 to 1899, Weber was a member of the Pan-German League (Alldeutscher Verband), an organisation that campaigned against the influx of the Polish workers; the degree of Weber's support for the Germanisation of Poles and similar nationalist policies is still debated by modern scholars. In some of his work, in particular his provocative lecture on "The Nation State and Economic Policy" delivered in 1895, Weber criticised the immigration of Poles and blamed the Junker class for perpetuating Slavic immigration to serve their selfish interests. Weber and his wife, Marianne, moved to Freiburg in 1894, where Weber was appointed professor of economics at the Albert-Ludwigs University, before accepting the same position at the University of Heidelberg in 1896. There, they became the central figures in the eponymous "Weber Circle", which included Georg Jellinek, Ernst Troeltsch, and Werner Sombart. Younger scholars, such as György Lukács and Robert Michels, also joined it. ### Mental health concerns In 1897, Weber Sr. died two months after a severe quarrel with his son that was never resolved. After this, Weber became increasingly prone to depression, nervousness and insomnia, making it difficult for him to fulfill his duties as a professor. His condition forced him to reduce his teaching and eventually leave his course unfinished in the autumn of 1899. After spending the summer and autumn of 1900 in a sanatorium, Weber and his wife travelled to Italy at the end of the year, not returning to Heidelberg until April 1902. He would again withdraw from teaching in 1903 and would not return until 1919. Weber's ordeal with mental illness was carefully described in a personal chronology that was destroyed by his wife. This chronicle was supposedly destroyed because Marianne feared that Weber's work would be discredited by the Nazis if his experience with mental illness were widely known. ### Later work After Max Weber's breakdown, he was unable to engage in academic work between 1897 and 1902 due to exhaustion. As a result, he sought a dismissal from his professorship, which he acquired in late 1903. Once he had recovered from his illness, he accepted a position an as associate editor of the Archiv für Sozialwissenschaft und Sozialpolitik in the next year, where he worked with his colleagues Edgar Jaffé and Werner Sombart. It became one of the most prominent social science journals as a result of his efforts. The Archiv also facilitated his reintroduction to academia. In 1904, Weber began to publish some of his most seminal papers in this journal, notably his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, which became his most famous work and laid the foundations for his later research on the impact of cultures and religions on the development of economic systems. In it, Weber argued that the source for the "spirit of capitalism" was in the Protestant Reformation. More specifically, he traced it to the Puritan religions. They placed great importance on work, to a degree where other actions mattered less. They had a religious calling to work that caused them to systematically obtain wealth. The Puritans wished to prove that they were members of the elect who were destined to go to Heaven. Benjamin Franklin's personal ethic, as described in his "Advice to a Young Tradesman", was used as an example of the economic ethic that the Protestant sects had. The thesis also contained themes that Weber would later prove central to his scholarship: rationalisation and the ideal type. Rationalisation pertained to the increasing systemisation of life that ultimately caused religious influence to decline. Rationalisation also caused Western society to be caught in the "iron cage", or steel-hard casing, that was the economic order that modern capitalism created. The ideal types were representative figures, or case studies, that represented concepts. Also in 1904, Max Weber was invited to participate in the Congress of Arts and Sciences held in connection with the World's fair (Louisiana Purchase Exposition) in St. Louis, alongside his wife, Werner Sombart, Ernst Troeltsch, and other German scholars. Taking advantage of the fair, the Webers embarked on a trip that began and ended in New York City and lasted for almost three months. They travelled throughout the country, from New England to the Deep South. Different communities were visited, including German immigrant towns and African American communities. Among the places visited was North Carolina, where some of his relatives in the Fallenstein family had settled. Weber used the trip to learn more about America and this experience played a role in the development of the Protestant work ethic. He used the trip to find social and theological conditions that could contribute to his thesis. Weber also used the trip to further his knowledge of the United States' social and economic conditions more generally. After returning, Weber felt that he was unable to resume regular teaching at that time and continued on as a private scholar, helped by an inheritance in 1907. In 1909, disappointed with the Verein, he co-founded the German Sociological Association (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie, or DGS) and served as its first treasurer. He resigned from the position in 1912. ### Political involvements Later in 1912, Max Weber tried to organise a left-wing political party to combine social democrats and liberals. This attempt was unsuccessful, in part because many liberals feared social democratic revolutionary ideals. During the spring of 1913, Weber holidayed in the Monte Verità community in Ascona. During this time, he was advising Frieda Gross in her custody battle for her children. He opposed Erich Mühsam's involvement, arguing that the case needed to be dealt with by bourgeois reformers. A year later, also in spring, he again holidayed in Ascona. In the community, there were several different expressions of the radical political and lifestyle reform movements that were in existence at the time. They included naturism, free love, and Western esotericism, among others. Weber was critical of the anarchist and erotic movements in Ascona, as he viewed their fusion as having been politically absurd. #### World War I At the outbreak of World War I, Weber, aged 50, volunteered for service and was appointed as a reserve officer in charge of organising the army hospitals in Heidelberg, a role he fulfilled until the end of 1915. Weber's views on the war and the expansion of the German empire changed during the course of the conflict. Early on, he supported nationalist rhetoric and the war effort, though with some hesitation, viewing the war as a necessity to fulfill German duty as a leading state power. In time, however, Weber became one of the most prominent critics of German expansionism and of the Kaiser's war policies. Weber publicly attacked the Belgian annexation policy and unrestricted submarine warfare, later supporting calls for constitutional reform, democratisation, and universal suffrage. He and his wife also participated in the 1917 Lauenstein Conferences that were held at Lauenstein Castle in Thuringia. These conferences were planned by the publisher Eugen Diederichs for the purpose of bringing together intellectuals who would create a new age for Germany. Theodor Heuss, Ernst Toller, and Werner Sombart were among the other intellectuals who were invited. Weber's presence elevated his profile in Germany and served to dispel some of the romantic atmosphere of the event. After he spoke at the first one, he became involved in the planning for the second one, as Diederichs thought that the conferences needed someone who could serve as an oppositional figure. In this capacity, he argued against the political romanticism that was being espoused by Max Maurenbrecher, a former theologian. Weber also opposed what he saw as the excessive rhetoric of the youth groups and nationalists at Lauenstein, instead supporting the democratisation of Germany. For Weber and the younger participants, the romantic intent of the conferences was irrelevant to the determination of Germany's future. In November, shortly after the second conference, Weber gave a lecture titled "Science as a Vocation" in Munich in response to an invitation by the Free Student Youth, a student organisation. He described an inner calling as being necessary for one to enter scholarship. The potential for a lack of success and career advancement was also an aspect of the career path. Weber thought that only a particular type of person would be able to make a career in academia. He used his own career as an example of a person whose career was in academia. Recalling his arguments made regarding the Protestant ethic, he stated that the path forward in scholarship required the scholar to be self-denying and methodical in their research. The modern scholar was to be a specialist who would be able to avoid amateurism. A major aspect of his commentary on the role of the scholar in modernity related to disenchantment and intellectual rationalisation. These processes resulted in the nature of life itself being question, causing there to be a question of the role of scholarship in life. Weber argued that scholarship could provide certainty through the use of its starting presumptions, in spite of its inability to give absolute answers. #### Post-World War I Weber joined the worker and soldier council of Heidelberg in 1918. He then served in the German delegation to the Paris Peace Conference and as advisor to the Confidential Committee for Constitutional Reform, which drafted the Weimar Constitution. Motivated by his understanding of the American model, he advocated for a strong, popularly elected presidency as a constitutional counterbalance to the power of the professional bureaucracy. More controversially, he also defended the provisions for emergency presidential powers that became Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution. These provisions were later used by Adolf Hitler to subvert the rest of the constitution and institute rule by decree, allowing his regime to suppress opposition and gain dictatorial powers. Weber would also run, though unsuccessfully, for a parliamentary seat, as a member of the liberal German Democratic Party, which he had co-founded. He opposed both the leftist German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, principled positions that defied the political alignments in Germany at that time, and which may have prevented Friedrich Ebert, the new president of Germany and a member of the Social Democratic Party, from appointing Weber as a minister or ambassador. Overall, Weber's political efforts were largely unsuccessful, with the exception of his advocacy of a strong presidency that would be democratically elected. In Weber's critique of the left, he complained of the leaders of the leftist Spartacus League, led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, that controlled the city government of Berlin while Weber was campaigning for his party. He regarded the German Revolution as having been responsible for the inability of Germany to fight against Poland's claims on former German territory. Weber was, at the same time, critical of the Versailles Treaty, which he believed unjustly assigned war guilt to Germany when it came to the war, as Weber believed that many countries were guilty of starting it, not just Germany. In making this case, Weber argued that Russia was the only great power that actually desired the war. He regarded Germany as not having been culpable for the invasion of Belgium. In January 1919, after he and his party were electorally defeated, Weber delivered one of his greatest academic lectures, "Politics as a Vocation", which reflected on the inherent violence and dishonesty he saw among politicians – a profession in which only recently Weber was so personally active. About the nature of politicians, he concluded that, "in nine out of ten cases they are windbags puffed up with hot air about themselves. They are not in touch with reality, and they do not feel the burden they need to shoulder; they just intoxicate themselves with romantic sensations." His lecture was prompted by the political turmoil of the early Weimar Republic and was requested by the Free Student Youth. He defined politics as being divided into three aspects: passion, judgment, and responsibility. There was also a division between conviction and responsibility. These two concepts were sharply divided, but could be present in a single individual, particularly the ideal politician. The types of authority were themselves divided into traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal. Ultimately, Weber thought that the resolution to the political issues of his day required consistent effort, rather than the quick solutions that the students preferred. Shortly before he left to join the delegation in Versailles on 13 May 1919, Max Weber used his connections with the deputies of the German National People's Party to meet with Erich Ludendorff. He spent several hours unsuccessfully trying to convince Ludendorff to surrender himself to the Allies. This debate also shifted to other subjects, such as who was culpable for the failure of the war effort. Weber thought that the high command had failed while Ludendorff regarded Weber as a supporter of democracy and responsible for the revolution. Weber tried to disabuse him of that notion by arguing in favour of a democracy that would have a strong executive power. Since Weber held Ludendorff responsible for the failure of the German war effort and had sent many young Germans to die on the battlefield, he thought that he should surrender himself and assume the status of a political martyr. However, Ludendorff was not willing to do so and wished to simply live off of his pension. ### Last years Frustrated with politics, Weber resumed teaching during this time, first at the University of Vienna, then at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich after 1919. Some of his lectures from that period were collected into the General Economic History, which was published in 1923. In Munich, he headed the first German university institute of sociology, but never held a professorial position in the discipline. Many colleagues and students in Munich attacked his response to the German Revolution, while some right-wing students held protests in front of his home. In early 1920, Max Weber gave a seminar that contained a discussion of Oswald Spengler's The Decline of the West. Weber respected him and privately described him as having been "a very brilliant and scholarly dilettante". That seminar provoked some of his students, who knew Spengler personally, to suggest that he debate Spengler alongside other scholars. They met in the Munich town hall and debated for two days. The audience was primarily young Germans of different political perspectives, including communists. While neither Weber nor Spengler were able to convince the other of their points, Weber was more cautious and careful in his arguments against Spengler than the other debaters were. After the debate, the students did not feel that they had an answer to the question of what should be done to resolve the issues that Germany faced after the end of the First World War. Lili, one of Max Weber's sisters, committed suicide as a result of the end of her affair with Paul Geheeb in April 1920. Weber and his wife took in their four children and planned to raise them. He was uncomfortable with his newfound role as a father figure, but thought that Marianne had been fulfilled as a woman by this event. She later formally adopted them in 1928. Weber wished for her to stay with the children in Heidelberg or move closer to the Odenwaldschule, so that he could be alone in Munich with his mistress, Else von Richthofen. He left the decision to Marianne, who refused it. On 4 June 1920, Weber's students were informed that he needed to cancel classes due to a cold. By 14 June 1920, the cold had turned into influenza and he died of pneumonia in Munich. He had likely contracted the Spanish flu and been subjected to insufficient medical care. Else von Richthofen, who was present for his death alongside his wife, thought that he could have survived his illness if he had been given better treatment. His body was cremated and the ashes were buried in Heidelberg. At the time of his death, Weber had not finished writing his on sociological theory: Economy and Society. His widow, Marianne, helped prepare it for its publication in 1922. ## Methodology Sociology, for Max Weber, was "a science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social action in order thereby to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and effects". Made clear in his methodology, Weber distinguished himself from Durkheim, Marx, and other classical figures, in that his primary focus would be on individuals and culture. Whereas Durkheim focused on the society, Weber concentrated on the individual and their actions (i.e. structure and action). Compared to Marx, who argued for the primacy of the material world over the world of ideas, Weber valued ideas as motivating actions of individuals, at least in the big picture. He was open to the idea that social phenomena could have several different causes, which separated him from Marx's determinism. ### Verstehen Weber would primarily be concerned with the question of objectivity and subjectivity, going on to distinguish social action from social behavior, noting that social action must be understood through how individuals subjectively relate to one another. Study of social action through interpretive means or verstehen ("to understand") must be based upon understanding the subjective meaning and purpose that individuals attach to their actions. Social actions may have easily identifiable and objective means, but much more subjective ends. Weber noted that the importance of subjectivity in the social sciences made the creation of fool-proof, universal laws much more difficult than in the natural sciences and that the amount of objective knowledge that social sciences would be able to create was limited. Overall, Weber supported the goal of objective science as one worth striving for, though he noted that it is ultimately an unreachable goal. The principle of methodological individualism, which holds that social scientists should seek to understand collectivities (e.g. nations, cultures, governments, churches, corporations, etc.) solely as the result and the context of the actions of individual persons, can be traced to Weber, particularly to the first chapter of Economy and Society, in which he argues that only individuals "can be treated as agents in a course of subjectively understandable action". In other words, Weber contended that social phenomena can be understood scientifically only to the extent that they are captured by models of the behaviour of purposeful individuals – models that Weber called "ideal types" – from which actual historical events necessarily deviate due to accidental and irrational factors. The analytical constructs of an ideal type never exist in reality, but provide objective benchmarks against which real-life constructs can be measured. Weber's methodology was developed in the context of a wider debate about methodology of social sciences, the Methodenstreit ("method dispute"). Weber's position was close to historicism, as he understood social actions as being heavily tied to particular historical contexts and its analysis required the understanding of subjective motivations of individuals (social actors). Therefore, Weber's methodology emphasised the use of comparative historical analysis. As such, Weber was more interested in explaining how a certain outcome was the result of various historical processes rather than predicting an outcome of those processes in the future. ## Theories ### Rationalisation Many scholars have described rationalisation and the question of individual freedom in an increasingly rational society, as the main theme of Weber's work. This theme was situated in the larger context of the relationship between psychological motivations, cultural values and beliefs (primarily religion), and the structure of the society (usually determined by the economy). Weber understood rationalisation, first, as the individual cost-benefit calculation; second, as the wider bureaucratic organisation of the organisations; and finally, in the more general sense, as the opposite of understanding the reality through mystery and magic (i.e. disenchantment). Weber began his studies of the subject in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, in which he argued that the redefinition of the connection between work and piety in Protestantism and especially in ascetic Protestant denominations, particularly Calvinism, shifted human effort towards rational efforts aimed at achieving economic gain. In the Protestant religion, piety towards God was expressed through one's secular vocation (secularisation of calling). The rational roots of this doctrine, he argued, soon grew incompatible with and larger than the religious and so the latter were eventually discarded. Weber continued his investigation into this matter in later works, notably in his studies on bureaucracy and on the classification of legitimate authority into three types – rational-legal, traditional, and charismatic – of which the rational-legal (through bureaucracy) was the dominant one in the modern world. In these works, Weber described what he saw as society's movement towards rationalisation. Rationalisation could also be seen in the economy, with the development of highly rational and calculating capitalism. Bureaucracy in the state and capitalism served as the twin pillars of the developing rational society. The preexisting traditions that relied on the trades were eliminated as a result of those changes. Weber also saw rationalisation as one of the main factors setting the European West apart from the rest of the world. Features of rationalisation included increasing knowledge, growing impersonality and enhanced control of social and material life. Weber was ambivalent towards rationalisation; while admitting it was responsible for many advances, in particular, freeing humans from traditional, restrictive and illogical social guidelines, he also criticised it for dehumanising individuals as "cogs in the machine" and curtailing their freedom, trapping them in the bureaucratic iron cage of rationality and bureaucracy. Related to rationalisation was the process of disenchantment, in which the world was becoming more explained and less mystical, moving from polytheistic religions to monotheistic ones and finally to the Godless science of modernity. However, another interpretation of Weber's theory of disenchantment, advanced by the philosopher Jason Josephson Storm, claimed that Weber did not envision a binary between rationalisation and magical thinking, and that Weber actually referred to the sequestering and professionalisation of magic when he described disenchantment, not to the disappearances of magic. Regardless, for Weber the processes of rationalisation affected all of society, removing "sublime values... from public life" and making art less creative. ### Sociology of religion Weber's work in the field of sociology of religion began with the book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and continued with his analyses in The Religion of China, The Religion of India, and Ancient Judaism. His work on other religions, however, would be interrupted by his sudden death in 1920, which prevented him from following Ancient Judaism with studies of early Christianity and Islam. The three main themes within the books were: the effect of religious ideas on economic activities; the relation between social stratification and religious ideas; and the distinguishable characteristics of Western civilisation. Weber saw religion as one of the core forces in society. His goal was to find reasons for the different development paths of the cultures of the Occident and the Orient, although without judging or valuing them, like some of the contemporary thinkers who followed the social Darwinist paradigm; Weber wanted primarily to explain the distinctive elements of the Western civilisation. He maintained that Calvinist (and more widely, Protestant) religious ideas had a major impact on the social innovation and development of the economic system of the West, but noted that they were not the only factors in this development. Other notable factors mentioned by Weber included the rationalism of scientific pursuit, merging observation with mathematics, science of scholarship and jurisprudence, rational systematisation and bureaucratisation of government administration and economic enterprise. In the end, the study of the sociology of religion, according to Weber, focused on one distinguishing part of the Western culture, the decline of beliefs in magic, or what he referred to as the "disenchantment of the world". Weber also proposed a socio-evolutionary model of religious change, showing that in general, societies have moved from magic to polytheism, then to pantheism, monotheism and finally, ethical monotheism. According to Weber, this evolution occurred as the growing economic stability allowed professionalisation and the evolution of ever more sophisticated priesthood. As societies grew more complex and encompassed different groups, a hierarchy of gods developed and as power in the society became more centralised, the concept of a single, universal God became more popular and desirable. #### The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is Weber's most famous work. It has been argued that this work should not be viewed as a detailed study of Protestantism, but rather as an introduction into Weber's later works, especially his studies of interaction between various religious ideas and economic behaviour as part of the rationalisation of the economic sphere. In the book, Weber put forward the thesis that Calvinist ethic and ideas influenced the development of capitalism. He noted the post-Reformation shift of Europe's economic centre away from Catholic countries such as France, Spain and Italy, and towards Protestant countries such as the Netherlands, England, Scotland, and Germany. Weber also noted that societies having more Protestants were those with a more highly developed capitalist economy. Similarly, in societies with different religions, most successful business leaders were Protestant. Weber thus argued that Roman Catholicism impeded the development of the capitalist economy in the West, as did other religions such as Confucianism and Buddhism elsewhere in the world. Christian religious devotion had historically been accompanied by rejection of mundane affairs, including economic pursuit. Weber showed that certain types of Protestantism – notably Calvinism – were supportive of rational pursuit of economic gain and worldly activities dedicated to it, seeing them as endowed with moral and spiritual significance. Weber argued that there were many reasons to look for the origins of modern capitalism in the religious ideas of the Protestant Reformation. In particular, the Protestant ethic (or more specifically, Calvinist ethic) motivated the believers to work hard, be successful in business, and reinvest their profits in further development rather than frivolous pleasures. The notion of calling meant that each individual had to take action as an indication of their salvation; just being a member of the Church was not enough. Predestination also reduced agonising over economic inequality and further, it meant that a material wealth could be taken as a sign of salvation in the afterlife. The believers therefore justified pursuit of profit with religion, as instead of being fuelled by morally suspect greed or ambition, their actions were motivated by a highly moral and respected philosophy. Weber would call this the "spirit of capitalism": it was the Protestant religious ideology that was behind – and inevitably led to – the capitalist economic system. This theory is often viewed as a reversal of Karl Marx's thesis that the economic "base" of society determines all other aspects of it. #### The Religion of China The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism was Weber's second major work on the sociology of religion. Hans H. Gerth edited and translated this text into English. Weber focused on those aspects of Chinese society that were different from those of Western Europe, especially those aspects that contrasted with Puritanism. His work also questioned why capitalism did not develop in China. He focused on the issues of Chinese urban development, Chinese patrimonialism and officialdom and Chinese religion and philosophy (primarily, Confucianism and Taoism), as the areas in which Chinese development differed most distinctively from the European route. According to Weber, Confucianism and Puritanism were superficially similar, but were actually largely different from one another. Instead, they were mutually exclusive types of rational thought, each attempting to prescribe a way of life based on religious dogma. Notably, they both valued self-control and restraint and did not oppose accumulation of wealth. However, both of those qualities were simply means to different final goals. Confucianism's goal was "a cultured status position", while Puritanism's goal was to create individuals who are "tools of God". For Weber, Puritans sought rational control of the world and rejected its irrationality while Confucians sought rational acceptance of that state of affairs. Therefore, Weber stated that it was the difference in social attitudes and mentality, shaped by the respective dominant religions, that contributed to the development of capitalism in the West and the absence of it in China. #### The Religion of India The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism was Weber's third major work on the sociology of religion. In this work he deals with the structure of Indian society, with the orthodox doctrines of Hinduism and the heterodox doctrines of Buddhism, with modifications brought by the influence of popular religiosity and finally with the impact of religious beliefs on the secular ethic of Indian society. In Weber's view, Hinduism in India, like Confucianism in China, was a barrier for capitalism. The Indian caste system made it very difficult for individuals to advance in the society beyond their caste. Activity, including economic activity, was seen as unimportant in the context of the advancement of the soul. He noted, "Perhaps the most important gap in the ancient Veda is its lack of any reference to caste.... nowhere does it refer to the substantive content of the caste order in the meaning which it later assumed and which is characteristic only of Hinduism". Weber ended his research of society and religion in India by bringing in insights from his previous work on China to discuss similarities of the Asian belief systems. He noted that the believers saw the meaning of life as otherworldly mystical experience. The social world is fundamentally divided between the educated elite, following the guidance of a prophet or wise man and the uneducated masses whose beliefs are centered on magic. In Asia, there was no Messianic prophecy to give both educated and uneducated followers meaning in their regular lives. Weber juxtaposed such Messianic prophecies (also known as ethical prophecies), notably from the Near East region to the exemplary prophecies found on the Asiatic mainland, focused more on reaching to the educated elites and enlightening them on the proper ways to live one's life, usually with little emphasis on hard work and the material world. It was those differences that prevented the countries of the Occident from following the paths of the earlier Chinese and Indian civilisations. His next work, Ancient Judaism, was an attempt to prove this theory. #### Ancient Judaism In Ancient Judaism, his fourth major work on the sociology of religion, Weber attempted to explain the factors that resulted in the early differences between Oriental and Occidental religiosity. He contrasted the innerworldly asceticism developed by Western Christianity with mystical contemplation of the kind developed in India. Weber noted that some aspects of Christianity sought to conquer and change the world, rather than withdraw from its imperfections. This fundamental characteristic of Christianity (when compared to Far Eastern religions) originally stemmed from ancient Jewish prophecy. Weber classified Jewish people as having been a "pariah people", which meant that they were separated from the society that contained them. He examined the creation and social structure of the ancient Jewish people. In his view, the Israelites maintained order through a covenant with the war god Yahweh and the practice of warrior asceticism. Under Solomon, that changed into a more law-based and organised society than the old confederation was. Religiously, the priests replaced the previous charismatic religious leaders. Weber interpreted the rise of prophets from the shepherds as having begun with Elijah, who engaged in political prophesies and served as an opponent of the monarchy. #### Theodicy The concept of theodicy played a role in Max Weber's interpretation of theology and religion throughout his corpus. This related to both his scholarly and personal interests in the subject. Theodicy was central to Weber's conception of humanity, which he interpreted as having been connected with finding meaning. Theodicy was a popular subject of study amongst German scholars who sought to determine how a world created by an omnibenevolent and omnipotent being can contain suffering. As part of this tradition, Weber was careful in his study of the subject. Rather than interpreting it through a theological or ethical lens, Weber interpreted it through a social one. Furthermore, he incorporated Friedreich Nietzsche's concept of Ressentiment into his discussion of the topic. However, he disagreed with Nietzsche's his emotional discussion of the topic and his interpretation of it as having been a Jewish-derived expression of slave morality. Weber's own interpretation of theodicy was influenced by both his scholarship and his personal investment in the subject. He divided theodicy into three main types: 1. Persian dualism – God is not all powerful and misfortune comes from outside his power 2. Indian doctrine of karma – God is not all powerful and misfortune comes from inside oneself 3. Doctrine of predestination – Only a chosen few will be saved from damnation Weber defined the importance of societal class within religion by examining the difference between the theodicies of fortune and misfortune and to what class structures they apply. The concept of the work ethic was attached to the theodicy of fortune. Therefore, because of the Protestant work ethic, there was an increase of higher class outcomes and more education among Protestants. Those without the work ethic believed in the theodicy of misfortune, believing wealth and happiness were granted in the afterlife. Another example of how this belief of religious theodicy influences class, was that those of lower economic status the poor, tended towards deep religiousness and faith as a way to comfort themselves and provided hope for a more prosperous future, while those of higher economic status preferred the sacraments or actions that proved their right to possess greater wealth. ### The state, politics, and government In political sociology, one of Weber's most influential contributions is his essay "Politics as a Vocation", in which he defined "the state" as an entity that possessed a "monopoly on the legitimated use of physical force". Accordingly, Weber proposed that politics is the sharing of state power between various groups, whereas political leaders were those who wield this power. A politician needed to marry the oppositional gesinnungsethik and the verantwortungsethik (the "ethic of conviction" and the "ethic of responsibility"). An adherent of the verantwortungsethik would justify their actions based on their consequences. Meanwhile, an adherent of the gesinnungsethik would justify their actions based on their ideals. While Weber thought that they would ideally be present in a politician, he associated them with different types of people and mindsets. These different types of people and mindsets reflected the pacifists and those who wanted to undo Germany's loss in the First World War, respectively. Weber distinguished three ideal types of political leadership (also known as three types of domination, legitimisation or authority): 1. Charismatic authority – familial and religious 2. Traditional authority – patriarchs, patrimonialism, feudalism 3. Legal authority – modern law and state, bureaucracy In his view, every historical relation between rulers and ruled contained such elements, which could be analysed on the basis of this tripartite distinction. Weber noted that the instability of charismatic authority forces it to routinise into a more structured form of authority. In a pure type of traditional rule, sufficient resistance to a ruler would lead to a "traditional revolution". The move towards a rational-legal structure of authority, using a bureaucratic structure, is inevitable in the end. Therefore, this theory could sometimes be viewed as part of the sociocultural evolution theory. That was tied to his broader concept of rationalisation by suggesting the inevitability of a move in this direction. Weber described many ideal types of public administration and government in his masterpiece Economy and Society (1922). His critical study of the bureaucratisation of society became one of the most enduring parts of his work. It was Weber who began the studies of bureaucracy and whose works led to the popularisation of this term. Many aspects of modern public administration go back to him and a classic, hierarchically organised civil service of the Continental type is called "Weberian civil service". As the most efficient and rational way of organising, bureaucratisation for Weber was the key part of the rational-legal authority and furthermore, he saw it as the key process in the ongoing rationalisation of the Western society. Weber listed several preconditions for the emergence of the bureaucracy, which resulted in a need for a more efficient administrative system, including: 1. The growth in space and population being administered 2. The growth in complexity of the administrative tasks being carried out and the existence of a monetary economy Development of communication and transportation technologies made more efficient administration possible (and popularly requested) and democratisation and rationalisation of culture resulted in demands that the new system treat everybody equally. Weber's ideal bureaucracy is characterised by hierarchical organisation, by delineated lines of authority in a fixed area of activity, by action taken (and recorded) on the basis of written rules, by bureaucratic officials needing expert training, by rules being implemented neutrally and by career advancement depending on technical qualifications judged by organisations, not by individuals. While recognising bureaucracy as the most efficient form of organisation and even indispensable for the modern state, Weber also saw it as a threat to individual freedoms and the ongoing bureaucratisation as leading to a "polar night of icy darkness", in which increasing rationalisation of human life traps individuals in the aforementioned "iron cage" of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational control. To counteract bureaucrats, the system needed entrepreneurs and politicians. #### Social stratification Weber also formulated a three-component theory of stratification, with social class, social status and political party as conceptually distinct elements. The three-component theory of stratification is in contrast to Karl Marx simpler theory of social class that ties all social stratification to what people own. In Weber's theory, issues of honour and prestige are important. This distinction is most clearly described in Weber's essay "The Distribution of Power Within the Gemeinschaft: Classes, Stände, Parties", which was first published in his book Economy and Society. The three components of Weber's theory are: 1. Social class – Based on economically determined relationship to the market (owner, renter, employee, etc.) 2. Status (Stand) – Based on non-economic qualities like honour, prestige, and religion 3. Party – Affiliations in the political domain Weber scholars maintain a sharp distinction between the terms "status" and "class", although non-scholars tend to use them interchangeably in casual use. Status and its focus on honour emerged from the Gemeinschaft, which denoted the part of society where loyalty originated from. Class emerged from the Gesellschaft, a subdivision of the Gemeinschaft that included rationally driven markets and legal organisation. Party emerged from a combination of the two. Weber used the term "life chances" (opportunities to improve one's life) as a definitional aspect of class. It related to the differences in access to opportunities that different people might have. ### Study of the city As part of his overarching effort to understand the unique development of the Western world, Weber produced a detailed general study of the city as the characteristic locus of the social and economic relations, political arrangements, and ideas that eventually came to define the West. This resulted in a monograph, The City. According to Weber, the city as a politically autonomous organisation of people living in close proximity, employed in a variety of specialised trades, and physically separated from the surrounding countryside, only fully developed in the West and to a great extent shaped its cultural evolution. Weber argued that Judaism, early Christianity, theology, and later the political party and modern science, were only possible in the urban context that reached a full development in the West alone. He also saw in the history of medieval European cities the rise of a unique form of "non-legitimate domination" that successfully challenged the existing forms of legitimate domination (traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal) that had prevailed until then in the Medieval world. ### Economics Weber regarded himself primarily as an economist, and all his professorial appointments were in economics, though today his contributions in that field are largely overshadowed by his role as a founder of modern sociology. As a political economist and economic historian, Weber belonged to the "youngest" German historical school of economics, represented by academics such as Gustav von Schmoller and his student Werner Sombart. The great differences between that school's interests and methods on the one hand and those of the neoclassical school (from which modern mainstream economics largely derives) on the other, explain why Weber's influence on economics today is hard to discern. However, even though Weber's research interests were very much in line with this school, his views on methodology and marginal utility diverged significantly from those of other German historicists and were closer, in fact, to those of Carl Menger and the Austrian school, the traditional rivals of the historical school. #### Economy and Society Weber's magnum opus Economy and Society is a collection of his essays that he was working on at the time of his death in 1920. After his death, the final organisation and editing of the book fell to his widow Marianne. The final German form published in 1922 reflected very much Marianne's work and intellectual commitment. The composition includes a wide range of essays dealing with Weber's views regarding sociology, social philosophy, politics, social stratification, world religion, diplomacy, and other subjects. Beginning in 1956, the German jurist Johannes Winckelmann began editing and organising the German edition of Economy and Society based on his study of the papers that Weber left at his death. English versions of the work were published as a collected volume in 1968, as edited by Gunther Roth and Claus Wittich. As a result of the various editions in German and English, there are differences between the organisation of the different volumes. #### Methodological individualism While his research interests placed a strong emphasis on interpreting economic history, Weber's support of methodological individualism represented a break with the historical school and an agreement with the founder of the Austrian school of economics, Carl Menger, in the Methodenstreit ("debate over methods"). The phrase "methodological individualism", which came into common usage in modern debates regarding the connection between microeconomics and macroeconomics, was coined by the Austrian-American economist Joseph Schumpeter in 1908 as a way of referring to the views of Weber. According to Weber's theses, social research could not be fully inductive or descriptive, because understanding a phenomenon implied that the researcher needed to go beyond mere description and interpret it; interpretation required classification according to abstract ideal types. This, together with his antipositivistic argumentation (see Verstehen), can be taken as a methodological justification for the model of the "rational economic man" (homo economicus), which is at the heart of modern mainstream economics. #### Marginal utility Unlike other historicists, Weber accepted Marginal utility and taught it to his students. Weber's overall economic sociology was based on it. In 1908, Weber published an article, "Marginal Utility Theory and 'The Fundamental Law of Psychophysics'", in which he drew a sharp methodological distinction between psychology and economics and attacked the claims that the marginal theory of value in economics reflected the form of the psychological response to stimuli as described by the Weber–Fechner law. Max Weber's article was also a rejection of the dependence of the economic theory of value on the laws of psychophysics. Weber also included a similar discussion of marginal utility theory in the second chapter of Economy and Society. Both marginal utility theory and declining utility's roles in his writings were implied through his usage of instrumentally rational action that chapter. #### Economic history Weber's best known work in economics concerned the preconditions for capitalist development, particularly the relations between religion and capitalism, which he explored in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism as well as in his other works on the sociology of religion. He argued that bureaucratic political and economic systems emerging in the Middle Ages were essential in the rise of modern capitalism (including rational book-keeping and organisation of formally free labour), while they were a hindrance in the case of ancient capitalism, which had a different social and political structure based on conquest, slavery, and the coastal city-state. Other contributions include his early work on the economic history of Roman agrarian society (1891) and on the labour relations in Eastern Germany (1892), his analysis of the history of commercial partnerships in the Middle Ages (1889), his critique of Marxism, the discussion of the roles of idealism and materialism in the history of capitalism in his Economy and Society (1922) and his General Economic History (1923), a notable example of the kind of empirical work associated with the German Historical School. #### Economic calculation Weber, like his colleague Werner Sombart, regarded economic calculation and especially the double-entry bookkeeping method of business accounting, as one of the most important forms of rationalisation associated with the development of modern capitalism. Weber's preoccupation with the importance of economic calculation led him to critique socialism as a system that lacked a mechanism for allocating resources efficiently to satisfy human needs. Socialist intellectuals like Otto Neurath had realised that in a completely socialised economy, prices would not exist and central planners would have to resort to in-kind (rather than monetary) economic calculation. According to Weber, this type of coordination would be inefficient, especially because it would be incapable of solving the problem of imputation (i.e. of accurately determining the relative values of capital goods). Weber wrote that, under full socialism, the value of goods would have to be determined. However, there would be no clear method for doing so in that economic system. Planned economies were, therefore, irrational. This argument against socialism was made independently, at about the same time, by Ludwig von Mises. Weber himself had a significant influence on Mises, whom he had befriended when they were both at the University of Vienna in the spring of 1918. However, Mises ultimately regarded him as a historian, rather than an economist. ## Inspirations Weber's thinking was strongly influenced by German idealism, particularly by neo-Kantianism, which he had been exposed to through Heinrich Rickert, his professorial colleague at the University of Freiburg. Especially important to Weber's work is the neo-Kantian belief that reality is essentially chaotic and incomprehensible, with all rational order deriving from the way the human mind focuses attention on certain aspects of reality and organises the resulting perceptions. Weber's opinions regarding the methodology of the social sciences show parallels with the work of contemporary neo-Kantian philosopher and pioneering sociologist Georg Simmel. Weber was also influenced by Kantian ethics, which he nonetheless came to think of as obsolete in a modern age lacking in religious certainties. In this last respect, the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy is evident. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the "deep tension between the Kantian moral imperatives and a Nietzschean diagnosis of the modern cultural world is apparently what gives such a darkly tragic and agnostic shade to Weber's ethical worldview." Another major influence in Weber's life was the writings of Karl Marx and the workings of socialist thought in academia and active politics. While Weber shared some of Marx's consternation with bureaucratic systems and maligned them as having been capable of advancing their own logic to the detriment of human freedom and autonomy, Weber viewed conflict as perpetual and inevitable and did not host the spirit of a materially available utopia. Writing in 1932, Karl Löwith contrasted the work of Marx and Weber, arguing that both were interested in the causes and effects of Western capitalism but that Marx viewed capitalism through the lens of alienation while Weber used the concept of rationalisation. Research in the 2010s suggested that some of Weber's theories, including his interest in the sociology of Far Eastern religion and elements of his theory of disenchantment, were influenced by Weber's interaction with contemporary German occult figures. He is known to have visited the Ordo Templi Orientis at Monte Verità shortly before articulating his idea of disenchantment. He is known to have met the German poet and occultist Stefan George and developed some elements of his theory of charisma after observing George. However, Weber disagreed with many of George's views and never formally joined George's occult circle. Weber may have also had his first exposure to Taoism, albeit in a Westernized form, through Gustav Gräser at Monte Verità. ## Legacy Weber's most influential work was on economic sociology, political sociology, and the sociology of religion. Along with Karl Marx and Émile Durkheim, he is commonly regarded as one of the founders of modern sociology. But whereas Durkheim, following Comte, worked in the positivist tradition, Weber was instrumental in developing an antipositivist, hermeneutic, tradition in the social sciences. In this regard he belongs to a similar tradition as his German colleagues Werner Sombart, Georg Simmel, and Wilhelm Dilthey, who stressed the differences between the methodologies appropriate to the social and the natural sciences. Weber influenced many later social theorists, such as Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, György Lukács and Jürgen Habermas. His analysis of modernity and rationalisation significantly influenced the critical theory associated with the Frankfurt School. Different elements of his thought were emphasised by Carl Schmitt, Joseph Schumpeter, Leo Strauss, Hans Morgenthau, and Raymond Aron. The scholars who have examined his works philosophically, including Strauss, Hans Henrik Bruun, and Alfred Schütz, have traditionally looked at them through the lens of Continental philosophy. ### Weber studies Weberian scholarship's beginnings were delayed by the ongoing disruption of academic life in the Weimar Republic. Hyper-inflation caused Weber's support for parliamentary democracy to be countered by the decline the respect that professors had for it. The alienation that they experienced from politics caused many of them to become pessimistic and closer to the historical viewpoints espoused by Oswald Spengler in his The Decline of the West. Furthermore, universities were coming under increased state control and influence. After the Nazi Party took power, that process accelerated. The previously dominant style of sociology, that of Alfred Vierkandt and Leopold von Wiese, was largely replaced by a sociology that was dominated by support for the Nazis. Hans Freyer and Othmar Spann were representative of that movement, while Werner Sombart moved towards support for collectivism. The rise of the Nazi Party had relegated Weber's scholarship to a marginal position in the Germany academy. However, some Weberian scholars had left Germany while this process was going on, with most of them settling in the United States and the United Kingdom. These scholars began to involve themselves in American and British scholarship at a time when Weber's writings, such as the General Economic History, were beginning to be translated into English. Talcott Parsons, an American scholar, was influenced by his readings of Weber and Sombart as a student in Germany during the 1920s. He obtained permission from Marianne Weber to publish a translation of The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in his 1930 essay collection, the Collected Essays on the Sociology of Religion. This translated version, which was heavily edited by the publisher, was not initially successful. Parsons had been using this translation as part of his effort to create an academic sociology, which resulted in his 1937 book the Structure of Social Action. In it, Parson's argued that Weber and Durkheim were foundational figures in sociology. His book was not successful until after the Second World War. He then published a translation of Economy and Society as The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. His increasing prominence as a scholar led to this volume's own elevated influence. Other translations began to appear, including C. Wright Mills and Hans Gerth's [de] From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology in 1946. Their volume was a collection of excerpts from Weber's writings. In the last year of the decade, Edward Shils edited a translation of Weber's Collected Essays on Methodology, which was published as The Methodology of the Social Sciences. As the 1940s ended, Max Weber's reputation as a scholar had been rising through its interpretation through the lenses of Parsons's structural functionalism and Mills's conflict theory. Over the course of the next few decades, continued publications of translated versions of Weber's works began to appear, including ones on law, religion, music, and the city. Despite the flawed nature of many of the translations, it became possible to obtain a largely complete view of Weber's scholarship. That was still impeded by the unorganised way in which the translations were published, which prevented scholars from knowing the connections between the different texts. In 1968, a complete translation of Economy and Society in the way that it was prepared by Marianne Weber was published. While an interpretation of Weber that was separate from Parson's structural functionalism had begun with From Max Weber, a more political and historical interpretation was forwarded by Reinhard Bendix's 1948 Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait, Ralf Dahrendorf's 1957 Class and Conflict in an Industrial Society, and John Rex's 1962 Key Problems in Sociological Theory. Raymond Aron's interpretation of Weber in his 1965 text, Main Currents in Sociological Thought, gave an alternative to Parson's perspective on the history of sociology. Weber, while still integral to it, was being framed as one of the three foundational figures, the other two were Karl Marx and Émile Durkheim. Anthony Giddens solidified that interpretation of the three scholars with the publication of his Capitalism and Modern Social Theory in 1971. After the end of the 1970s, more of Weber's less prominent publications began to be published. That effort coincided with the continued writings of critical commentaries on his works and idea, including the creation of a scholarly journal in 2000, Max Weber Studies, that is devoted to such scholarship. ### Max Weber-Gesamtausgabe The idea of publishing a collected edition of Max Weber's complete works was pushed forward by Horst Baier in 1972. A year later, the Max Weber-Gesamtausgabe [de], a multi-volume set of all of Max Weber's writings, began to take shape. Wolfgang J. Mommsen, Wolfgang Schluchter, Johannes Winckelmann [de], M. Rainer Lepsius, and Horst Baier [de] were the initial editors. After Mommsen's death in 2004, Gangolf Hübinger [de] succeeded him. Winckelmann, Lepsius, and Baier also died before the completion of the project. The writings were organised in a combination of chronological order and by subject, with the material that was not intended to be published by Weber in purely chronological order. The final editions of each text were used, with the exception of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, which was published in both its first and final forms. Mohr Siebeck was selected to publish the volumes. The project was presented to the academic community in 1981 with the publication of a prospectus that was colloquially referred to as the "green brochure". It outlined the three sections of the series: "Writings and Speeches", "Letters", and "Lecture Manuscripts and Lecture Notes". Four years later, the project entered publication. It concluded in June 2020 and contains forty-seven volumes, including two index volumes. ## See also - Interpretations of Max Weber's liberalism - Robert Michels - Sociology of law - Speeches of Max Weber - Werturteilsstreit ## General and cited sources
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The Boat Race 1884
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[ "1884 in English sport", "1884 in sports", "April 1884 events", "The Boat Race" ]
The 41st Boat Race took place on 7 April 1884. The Boat Race is an annual side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The race, for which Robert Lewis-Lloyd acted as both umpire and starter for the first time, was won by Cambridge by margin of 2+1⁄2 lengths in a time of 21 minutes 39 seconds. The victory took the overall record in the event to 22–18 in Oxford's favour. ## Background The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). First held in 1829, the race takes place on the 4.2 miles (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and as of 2014, broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race by 3+1⁄2 lengths, and held the overall lead, with 22 victories to Cambridge's 17 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). Oxford were coached by Tom Edwards-Moss (who rowed for the Dark Blues four times between the 1875 and the 1878 races) and William Grenfell (who represented Oxford in the 1877 and 1878 races). Herbert Edward Rhodes was the Cambridge coach; he had rowed for the Light Blues four times between 1873 and 1876 and was Cambridge University Boat Club president in 1875. The umpire for the race was Robert Lewis-Lloyd (who had rowed for Cambridge four times between 1856 and 1859) and for the first time acted as starter. He replaced Edward Searle (who had acted in that capacity since at least 1840) after the previous year's chaotic start when one of the crews failed to hear his command to start. The race had been postponed by two days because of the funeral of the Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. The Cambridge crew took the unusual step of taking a two-week break from practice in late-January, after which they settled on a crew which, according to Drinkwater, was "considerably faster than Oxford on the day of the race." Conversely he noted that the Dark Blue crew "did not come on at all well and were somewhat stale by the day of the race". ## Crews The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 11 st 12.75 lb (75.5 kg), 0.25 pounds (0.1 kg) more than their opponents. Oxford saw two former Blues return to the crew, including A. R. Paterson who was rowing in his fourth consecutive Boat Race. The Cambridge crew contained four rowers with Boat Race experience, including Charles William Moore who was making his fourth appearance in the event. For the first time in three years, the race featured no non-British competitors. ## Race Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Cambridge. The Light Blues made the quicker start and held a clear water advantage by the time the crews passed the Crab Tree pub. Cambridge kept this advantage to Hammersmith Bridge at which point Oxford spurted and recovered some of the deficit, but the Cantabrigians increased their stroke rate to go clear once again by Corney Reach. Despite the efforts of the Oxford stroke W. D. B. Curry to push his crew, according to Drinkwater, "at Barnes Bridge they fell to pieces." Cambridge went on to win by 2+1⁄2 lengths in a time of 21 minutes 39 seconds, recording their first victory in six years, and took the overall record to 22–18 in Oxford's favour.
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Wheels (Glee)
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[ "2009 American television episodes", "Glee (season 1) episodes", "Television Academy Honors winners", "Television episodes directed by Paris Barclay", "Television episodes written by Ryan Murphy (filmmaker)" ]
"Wheels" is the ninth episode of the American television series Glee. Written by series co-creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Paris Barclay, the episode premiered on the Fox network on November 11, 2009. "Wheels" sees the glee club hold a bake sale to raise money for a handicap accessible bus, so that club member Artie (Kevin McHale) can travel with them to sectionals and Will (Matthew Morrison) challenges the students to experience life from a different point of view. Quinn (Dianna Agron) struggles with the medical expenses incurred by her pregnancy, and Puck (Mark Salling) renews his offer to support her. Sue (Jane Lynch) accepts a student with Down syndrome (Lauren Potter) onto the cheerleading squad, and Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Rachel (Lea Michele) compete for a solo performance. McHale called "Wheels" the "most serious" episode of Glee so far, while Murphy deemed it "the turning point for the show". The episode introduces two new characters, Lauren Potter as Becky Jackson and Robin Trocki as Jean Sylvester. It features covers of Nouvelle Vague's rendition of "Dancing with Myself", "Defying Gravity" from Wicked and Ike & Tina Turner's rendition of "Proud Mary". "Dancing With Myself" is McHale's first solo performance on the show. "Defying Gravity" was included as a reflection of Colfer's own high school experience, which saw his drama teacher refuse to allow him to sing the song because of his sex. "Proud Mary" is staged entirely in wheelchairs, and was described by series choreographer Zach Woodlee as the "scariest" number produced to date. "Wheels" was watched by 7.35 million US viewers, and saw Barclay nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing of a Comedy Series. It prompted criticism from a committee of performers with disabilities, who felt that it was inappropriate to cast a non-disabled actor in a disabled role. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, with Entertainment Weekly's Tim Stack and Aly Semigran of MTV both writing that it brought them to tears. Reviewers Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger and Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune both commented positively on the episode, despite formerly having given unfavorable reviews of the series as a whole. In contrast, The New York Times's Mike Hale deemed the episode problematic, and Eric Goldman of IGN described it as "very afterschool special". ## Plot Glee club director Will Schuester is informed that the school budget will not cover a handicap-accessible bus to transport the glee club to sectionals, which means that Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) will have to travel separately from the rest of the club. Will encourages the other club members to support Artie, not only by holding a bake sale to raise funds for a handicap bus, but also by spending time in wheelchairs to experience what life is like for him. Meanwhile, Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) is struggling to cover the medical expenses of her pregnancy, and threatens to break up with Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) if he cannot pay her ultrasound bill. Puck (Mark Salling) fights with Finn, whom he feels is not doing enough to support Quinn. By including cannabis in the cupcakes, Puck ensures the bake sale is a success and offers Quinn the money raised. She apologizes for previously calling him a loser, but refuses to accept the money, and is relieved when Finn is able to find a job. Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) compete for a solo on "Defying Gravity". The part, normally performed by a female, is initially offered to Rachel, but when Kurt's father Burt (Mike O'Malley) complains to Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) that his son is being discriminated against, Kurt is allowed to audition along with Rachel. Burt receives an anonymous abusive phone call about his son's sexual orientation, and Kurt deliberately sabotages his own audition to spare his father further harassment. Artie reveals the origin of his disability to Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), explaining that he was paralyzed in a car accident at the age of eight. He likens his wheelchair use to Tina's speech impediment. The two go on a date and kiss, but part on bad terms when Tina confesses that she has been faking her speech impediment since the sixth grade, in order to deflect attention from herself, but now feels she no longer needs to, having been given confidence by the glee club. Having previously removed Quinn from the cheerleading squad due to her pregnancy, coach Sue Sylvester is forced to hold open auditions to find a replacement. She accepts Becky Jackson (Lauren Potter), a sophomore with Down syndrome. Will is suspicious of her motives, increasingly so when Sue donates money to the school to fund three new handicap ramps for students with disabilities. Sue is later seen visiting her older sister, Jean (Robin Trocki), who also has Down syndrome, and lives in a residential home for people with disabilities. In the end, the glee club performs "Proud Mary", staging the entire routine in wheelchairs in support of Artie. ## Production Kevin McHale deemed "Wheels" the "most serious" episode of Glee so far. Of the burgeoning romance between Artie and Tina, McHale opined: "I think Tina and Artie will be together. I think they will be a couple for a long time." McHale and Ushkowitz hope that their characters will ultimately become a couple, as they are best friends in real life. Murphy called "Wheels" "the turning point for the show". He elaborated: "Certainly, after this, it remains a comedy, and it's fun. But writing this made me feel the responsibility of showing the truth of the pain that outcasts go through. It's not all razzle-dazzle show business. It's tough, and it's painful, and it was for me growing up, and it is for most people." Murphy commented that the episode caused him to realize that, as well as highlighting the "fun and glamour" of glee clubs, it is also occasionally "really great [...] to show the underbelly of what people who are different feel." Recurring characters who appear in the episode are Kurt's father Burt Hummel (O'Malley), glee club members Brittany (Heather Morris), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera), Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr.) and Matt Rutherford (Dijon Talton), school reporter Jacob Ben Israel (Josh Sussman), Principal Figgins (Theba) and former glee club director Sandy Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky). "Wheels" guest stars Cheryl Francis Harrington and Jeff Lewis as a nurse and manager at a local residential facility, and also introduces two characters with Down syndrome, Robin Trocki as Sue's sister Jean Sylvester, and Lauren Potter as Becky Jackson, a sophomore at William McKinley High School. Potter is a member of the Down's Syndrome Association of Los Angeles, and was contacted about auditioning through the association's in-house talent agency, Hearts and Hands. Fourteen actresses auditioned for the role, which Potter deemed "a great experience" to perform. ### Music and choreography The episode features cover versions of Nouvelle Vague rendition of "Dancing with Myself", "Defying Gravity" from Wicked and the Ike & Tina Turner rendition of "Proud Mary". Glee cast versions of the songs, including both Michele and Colfer's solo performances of "Defying Gravity", were all released as singles available for digital download. While "Proud Mary" and "Dancing With Myself" did not chart, "Defying Gravity" reached number 58 in Australia, 38 in Canada and 31 in America. A duet version of "Defying Gravity" appeared on the soundtrack album "Glee: The Music, Volume 1". Murphy selected "Defying Gravity" for the episode after Colfer relayed a story from his own high school days, whereby his drama teacher refused to let him sing the song because of his sex. Murphy explained: "I found a way to write it into the show because that's in a nutshell what this show is about: someone being told that they can't do something because of what the perception of them is as opposed to what their real ability is." Colfer stated that the opportunity to finally sing the song "really meant the world" to him, and that: "It's absolutely terrifying to watch yourself do something you've dreamed about for such a long time. I know I'm definitely not the best singer, but I think the message, the story behind the song about defying limits and borders placed by others, hopefully all that gets across with the performance. Although I do some very 'Kurtsy' things in the song, it's probably one of the most honest and close-to-heart scenes I've ever filmed or performed for that matter." "Dancing With Myself" is McHale's first solo performance on the show. Murphy commented that the performance is Artie's chance to "break away from being misunderstood by everyone" and express himself, explaining that although Artie is usually "a very secure guy" who does not care about others' opinions of him, "Wheels" sees his friends take his disability for granted: "So this performance is all about him saying, 'Look, this is who I am, and this is who I want to be.'" McHale has stated that performing as Artie has made him more aware of the challenges that people with disabilities face: "It's a completely different side of life. More than ever, I realize how grateful I am to be able to get up between each take and walk around. I'm glad that I can represent that kind of life on television so millions of people see it every week. And the whole point of it is to show that Artie can still do everything everyone else can that matters." Glee choreographer Zach Woodlee described "Proud Mary" as the "scariest" number produced to date, citing concerns with choreographing an entire routine in wheelchairs and problems building the correct staging. Woodlee explained the stage ramps were initially built too steeply, preventing the actors from ascending them in wheelchairs, and that the actors experienced problems learning to distribute their weight correctly, flipping the wheelchairs over backwards: "It was like roller derby. All of the actors would fall backwards and hit their heads—particularly Lea Michele. You lose your balance really quick when you try to go up a ramp in a wheelchair. Amber Riley caught an edge going down a ramp and fell off completely. There were pile-ups; there were crashes. Basically, everything that could go wrong, did." Murphy specified to Woodlee that cast members should not be able to leave their wheelchairs during the number, as: "Artie doesn't get to get up ever, so I didn't want anyone to get up." Woodlee agreed: "If it looked too fun and easy, it wouldn't read right. Ryan really wanted people to understand what Artie deals with." ## Reception "Wheels" was watched by 7.35 million US viewers, and attained a 3.3/8 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. It was the twenty-second most watched show in Canada for the week of broadcast, attaining 1.69 million viewers. In the UK, the episode was watched by 1.877 million viewers (1.463 million on E4, and 414,000 on E4+1), becoming the most-watched show on E4 and E4 +1 for the week, and the most-watched show on cable for the week. Director Paris Barclay was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing of a Comedy Series for his work on "Wheels", competing against Glee creator Ryan Murphy, who was nominated for his work on Glee's pilot episode. The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards again saw Barclay nominated for the "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series" award for "Wheels" against Murphy for "Pilot". O'Malley was also nominated for the "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series" award for his role in the episode as Burt Hummel. Production mixer Phillip W. Palmer and re-recording mixers Joseph H. Earle Jr. and Doug Andham were nominated for the "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Television Series" award at the 2009 Cinema Audio Society Awards for their work on "Wheels". The episode was honored at the 2010 Television Academy Honors for exemplifying "Television with a Conscience". The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences called it a "dynamic" episode, which "paint[s] a portrait of how we treat others—and how we can do it better." ### Critical reaction The episode attracted criticism from a committee of performers with disabilities, who felt that casting a non-disabled actor to play a disabled student was inappropriate. CSI star Robert David Hall commented: "I think there's a fear of litigation, that a person with disabilities might slow a production down, fear that viewers might be uncomfortable." Glee's executive producer Brad Falchuk responded that while he understood the concern and frustration of disability advocates, McHale had the singing and acting ability and charisma required for the role and: "it's hard to say no to someone that talented". McHale has stated that he is pleased to represent a character in a wheelchair, and that: "I think what's great about it is just because he's in a wheelchair, he can still do what everyone else does." Kristin Dos Santos of E! refuted criticism of the episode, opining that: Wheels' is all about empowering people with disabilities and sends out an uplifting message to the disabled community." Gerrick Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times expressed a similar sentiment, stating: "Here we have an episode bluntly addressing the complexities of disability and doing so with so much respect and dignity, and there are complaints about Artie not being wheelchair-bound [sic] in real life? Cooooome on, guys." Tim Stack for Entertainment Weekly called "Wheels" a "great, great episode", stating that it made him cry several times. MTV's Aly Semigran also commented that the episode brought her to tears, suggesting that Lynch's performance was Emmy-worthy and deeming "Wheels" "a truly standout hour of TV". Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal reviewed the episode positively, calling Artie's rendition of "Dancing With Myself" "catchy" and "upbeat" and praising Rachel's "Defying Gravity" audition, which he wrote: "leaves us wanting for more." Kennedy described the episode as "sheer perfection", and James Poniewozik of Time made the pun: "Glee's always been a pleasure, but if it raises its storytelling ambitions this way, it can really defy gravity." Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger wrote that while he generally finds Glee to be "a show with a serious identity crisis", he did not dislike "Wheels" as much as previous episodes. Sepinwall wrote that while Glee can be "broad and in-your-face and self-congratulatory", this episode was "much more human-scaled [and] much more interesting." Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune similarly commented that while other episodes of Glee lack "coherence and narrative drive", "Wheels" did not have this problem, describing it as "a case study of what Glee does right" and deeming Artie and Kurt's storylines "provocative and thoughtfully handled." Mike Hale of The New York Times felt that the episode was problematic. He thought that having Kurt sabotage his own audition sent out a "mixed message", and believed that actress Lauren Potter was "used as a prop in the continuing humanization of Sue Sylvester." Hale wrote that the storyline felt "smarmy and artificial", though praised Lynch for making the scene with Sue's sister "warm and real". Entertainment Weekly's Dan Snierson felt that the revelation about Sue's sister was "a little manipulative", though wrote that he "didn't care in that glorious moment." He hoped that Glee's writers would not humanize Sue too often, however, fearing that she would lose her "dictatorial swagger". Eric Goldman for IGN rated the episode 7.5/10, commenting: "I really hope that episode was about getting a lot of 'issue' storylines out of the way all at once, because that was a lot of overkill." He felt that, although the episode contained "the usual strong humor, warm character moments and catchy musical performances", overall it felt "very afterschool special".
4,750,585
In Excelsis Deo
1,171,284,856
null
[ "1999 American television episodes", "American Christmas television episodes", "Emmy Award-winning episodes", "Television episodes about funerals", "Television episodes directed by Alex Graves", "Television episodes written by Aaron Sorkin", "The West Wing (season 1) episodes" ]
"In Excelsis Deo" is the tenth episode of the first season of The West Wing. It originally aired on NBC on December 15, 1999, as the show's Christmas special. Events circle around Toby Ziegler getting involved in the fate of a dead Korean War veteran, reactions to a severe hate crime, and the ongoing controversy surrounding Leo's past alcohol and prescription drug abuse. Written by Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland and directed by Alex Graves, the episode contains guest appearances by Paul Austin and Raynor Scheine. It also earned Sorkin and Cleveland the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, as well as one for Richard Schiff. ## Plot As the episode begins, Toby gets called by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia to identify a dead homeless man. It turns out the man (a Korean War veteran from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines who received the Purple Heart) was wearing a coat that Toby donated to Goodwill, and Toby had left his business card in it. The event stays with him, and he tracks down the man's next of kin. The only relative he can find is a brother, also homeless. Using the influence of the president's office, he arranges a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. President Bartlet is informed about Toby’s transgression, but can only muster limited indignation and jocularly asks if the country is still in NATO. To the president's concern that this could create precedent for other veterans to come forward, Toby replies "I can only hope, sir." Mrs. Landingham, who has just told Charlie Young about losing her twin sons in the Vietnam War, joins Toby and the veteran's brother at the funeral. Meanwhile, Josh Lyman – who is worried that Rep. Peter Lillienfield (R) may disclose information the Congressman has about Leo McGarry's past treatment for alcohol and Valium abuse – approaches Sam Seaborn and proposes using Sam's prostitute friend to dig up dirt as leverage against Lillienfield's allies when the time comes. Leo objects strongly to the plan, calling it unethical. C. J. Cregg gets emotionally involved in a story about the deadly assault on a homosexual youth. She sees this as an opportunity to push hate crime legislation, but the suggestion finds little support among the others. Reporter Danny Concannon also disagrees, but this encourages her to finally accept his offer of a date, to have him convince her. Bartlet sneaks out to go shopping at a rare book store and refuses to take photographers along, much to Mandy Hampton's chagrin. Donna Moss has at this point been pestering Josh about her Christmas gift all day. While he doesn't follow the list submitted, he picks up a book for her at the shop and writes a message in it that leaves her tearful but happy. ## Production and real-life issues The episode's title is taken from the angels' song to the shepherds in Luke 2:14, announcing the birth of Jesus, and is in reference to the show's Christmas theme. The words also make up the beginning of the Great Doxology: Gloria in excelsis Deo (glory to God in the highest). It was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, credited to Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland. In the summer of 2001, a public argument broke out between the two on the internet forum mightybigtv.com (later known as Television Without Pity). Cleveland claimed to have had the original idea, based on the experiences of his father who was a Korean War veteran, and felt offended that Sorkin had not given him a chance to honor his father’s memory at the award ceremony. Sorkin responded that Cleveland had not contributed significantly, and that writing credits were simply rotated among the staff writers. The argument ended amicably, with Sorkin apologizing for belittling Cleveland's effort and the two writers expressing their admiration for each other. The scene at Arlington was made with the full co-operation of the United States Department of Defense, who liked the message of the script and wanted to do what they could to help. Originally, the president was to have been in the scene as well, but this was changed because it "took away the power of Mrs. Landingham and Ziegler"; it was felt that the scene would be more powerful without the looming presence of the chief executive. The fourth person attending the funeral is the superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery John C. Metzler Jr., appearing as himself. The funeral is accompanied by the song "The Little Drummer Boy", sung by the boys' choir. The story about the hate crime against the young homosexual man is based on the real-life case of Matthew Shepard. This was confirmed by Allison Janney in an interview with the gay magazine The Advocate. ## Reception Sorkin and Cleveland won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, and actor Richard Schiff (Toby Ziegler) was awarded the prize for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The episode was also nominated for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Series and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series. Cleveland and Sorkin also won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama at the 53rd Writers Guild of America Awards.
68,842,157
The Thing About Pam
1,173,753,032
2022 American crime drama television series
[ "2020s American comedy-drama television series", "2020s American drama television miniseries", "2022 American television series debuts", "2022 American television series endings", "NBC News", "NBC original programming", "Television series based on actual events", "Television series set in 2011", "Television shows about murder", "Television shows based on podcasts", "Television shows filmed in New Orleans", "Television shows set in Missouri", "True crime television series" ]
The Thing About Pam is an American true crime comedy-drama television miniseries detailing the involvement of Pam Hupp in the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria. It stars Renée Zellweger, Josh Duhamel, Judy Greer, Gideon Adlon, Sean Bridgers, Suanne Spoke, Mac Brandt, Katy Mixon, and Glenn Fleshler. Jenny Klein serves as showrunner for the series. After Peacock Productions was shut down, NBC News Studios was launched with the intention of creating documentary-style content. The series was announced in May 2020 when the company revealed a partnership with Blumhouse Television. It is based on coverage from Dateline NBC and is titled after a Dateline podcast of the same name. In February 2021, the series was given a six-episode order with Zellweger joining the cast and the production as an executive producer. Filming took place in New Orleans. The Thing About Pam premiered on NBC on March 8, 2022. It received mixed reviews from critics. Though some praised Zellweger's performance as Hupp in her network television debut, others criticized the comedic tone used to convey the story of a real murder. ## Premise The Thing About Pam details the murder of Betsy Faria, a cancer-stricken woman found dead in her home in Troy, Missouri, in December 2011. Betsy's friend, house-flipper Pam Hupp, told the police she was the last person to see her on the night of her death after insisting on driving her home. The police suspected Betsy's husband, Russ, as the culprit and arrested him, but when his conviction was overturned, holes appeared in Pam's testimony, revealing a diabolical scheme. Meanwhile, television producers sought to devote several episodes from Dateline NBC to Betsy's story, which uncovers Pam's past and makes her a suspect in the case. ## Cast ### Main - Renée Zellweger as Pam Hupp, a self-appointed "businesswoman" arrested for the murder of Betsy Faria. - Josh Duhamel as Joel Schwartz, the defense attorney for Russ Faria. - Judy Greer as Leah Askey, the Lincoln County prosecutor who tried Russ Faria twice for his wife's murder. - Gideon Adlon as Mariah Day, Betsy and Russ's 17-year-old daughter. - Sean Bridgers as Mark Hupp, Pam Hupp's husband. - Suanne Spoke as Janet, Betsy's mother and Mariah's grandmother. - Mac Brandt as Detective McCarrick, a detective assigned to Betsy's murder case. - Katy Mixon as Betsy Faria, Russ's wife, Mariah Day's mother, and the murder victim. - Glenn Fleshler as Russ Faria, Betsy's husband and Mariah's father. - Olivia Luccardi as Lily Day, Betsy and Russ's daughter and Mariah's sister. ### Guest - Patricia French as Minnie, Pam's neighbor. - Ben Chase as Nate Swanson, a defense attorney working with Joel. - Drew Scheid as Travis Hupp, the son of Pam and Mark. - Celia Weston as Shirley Neumann, Pam's mother. - Heather Magee as Chris Mennemeyer, the judge in Russ's trial. - Alice Barrett-Mitchell as Cathy Singer, a journalist and producer at Dateline. - Dane Davenport as Mike Wood, a candidate for Lincoln County prosecutor and Joel's friend. - Jeff Ryan Baker as Louis Gumpenberger, a Missouri resident who is shot and killed by Pam. Dateline journalist Keith Morrison provides the show's narration. ## Episodes ## Production ### Development On January 10, 2020, NBC announced its plans to shut down the unscripted production unit Peacock Productions. Variety reported that the decision was sparked by the rise of streaming services and a necessity for "higher-quality productions". In a statement, NBC said the company was "shifting its documentary strategy to an entirely new model" that would be "consistent with industry trends". Two weeks later, on January 23, NBC News Studios was launched. Liz Cole, executive producer of Dateline NBC and the then-president of Peacock Productions, announced she would also serve as president of the new company. The studio's intent is to produce content for emerging platforms, documentaries, docu-series, and select scripted programming. At the time of its announcement, NBC News Studios had already attained partnerships with Blumhouse Television and Focus Features, with the former revealing they were in negotiations to develop and produce scripted programs based on stories told on Dateline. In a statement, Cole said "the documentary business is certainly more robust than it ever has been. More and more people are seeking out that content". On May 19, 2020, it was reported that NBC News Studios and Blumhouse Television were developing an untitled scripted television series based on coverage from Dateline about the involvement of Pam Hupp in the murder of Betsy Faria as well as the sentencing and release of her husband, Russ Faria. Since 2014, Dateline has assigned multiple episodes to the story and created a podcast centered around the case in 2019 titled The Thing About Pam. In a statement, Cole said that "having been at the forefront of the true-crime genre for so long, we know better than anyone that truth is often stranger than fiction, and with the twists and turns in this case, we saw a real opportunity to present it in a scripted format". In addition to the series announcement, it was revealed Cole would executive produce alongside Jason Blum, Marci Wiseman, and Jeremy Gold. ### Casting The limited series was given a six-episode order and titled The Thing About Pam on February 4, 2021, with Renée Zellweger joining the cast to portray Hupp in her network television debut and attaching herself as an executive producer through her production company Big Picture Co. It was also reported that NBCUniversal Chairman of Entertainment Content Susan Rosner Rovner would oversee the series and that Jessika Borsiczky would write and serve as showrunner. In a statement, Borsiczky said the murder case she was adapting could be interpreted as both a whodunit and a character study. Additional executive producers included Carmella Casinelli, Borsiczky, Noah Oppenheim, and Chris McCumber. In May 2021, Jenny Klein signed a one-year first-look deal with Blumhouse Television and joined The Thing About Pam as a writer and executive producer. Marci Wiseman, following her resignation as Co-President of Blumhouse Television in October 2020, was later removed as an executive producer for the series. In June 2021, Josh Duhamel was added to the cast with Mary Margaret Kunze joining as an executive producer. By August 2021, The Thing About Pam was in the final stages of pre-production with casting still underway in New Orleans. On August 24, it was announced Borsiczky had exited the series as writer and showrunner due to creative differences but that she would remain an executive producer for the time being; Klein was appointed as the new showrunner. On August 27, it was reported that pre-production would be suspended for some time due to Hurricane Ida with a filming start date set for early September. On August 30, Judy Greer and Katy Mixon joined the cast. On September 24, Gideon Adlon, Sean Bridgers, Glenn Fleshler, Suanne Spoke, and Mac Brandt were added to the cast. ### Filming On September 28, 2021, Scott Winant was announced to be directing the first two episodes as well as executive producing. Filming was postponed until October 1, 2021. At the second annual BlumFest in October, Zellweger spoke with Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison about portraying Hupp, "Truth is stranger than fiction. She's notorious, not famous. It won't be the same as coming to understanding a person's life experiences within context. [I am] going to be researching and trying to understand just based on the limited information that's available. I'm going to play the person that you sort of illuminated in your podcast and try to understand what makes a person like that tick". Throughout October, Zellweger was photographed wearing face and body prosthetics to portray Hupp. Filming took place in New Orleans and Hammond, Louisiana. Makeup artist Arjen Tuiten said it took eighty minutes to apply prosthetics on Zellweger. "It was Arjen who did all of the work. Arjen and Benadryl. I'm allergic to adhesives, and so there was a lot of comedy in the preparation," the actress remarked. After adding the prosthetics, the makeup took between two and four hours to apply. Hair department head Lawrence Davis and makeup department head Carla Brenholtz said they added light touches to prosecutor Leah Askey (played by Greer), based on a look anchored in Troy, Missouri. Zellweger described her physical transformation as "pretty much head to toe". When asked why they did not cast an actress with a closer resemblance to Hupp's physical appearance, McCumber replied, "When a two-time Oscar winner calls and says, 'I'm obsessed with this story and I want to play Pam and I want to produce, you say, 'Yes, yes, yes, yes.' And our job at that point is to provide Renee and the rest of the cast with all the tools they need to embody these characters." ### Music The score was composed by Giona Ostinelli and Sonya Belousova. The theme implemented the use of an English horn, a prepared piano with coins between the strings, a harmonica, "ka-ching" sounds, a custom-made Italian instrument combining a waterphone and daxophone, and the sound of someone slurping. The slurping effect, which the duo came up with before filming began, was also used in the sound design. ## Release First-look images and a trailer were released in early February. Initial responses to the promotional material were negative; Libby Hall from IndieWire called Zellweger's use of prosthetics and a padded suit an example of fatphobia. The series held a premiere in Los Angeles on February 28, 2022, and premiered on NBC on March 8. ## Reception ### Critical response `Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".` Zellweger's performance divided critics. Kimberly Potts of TheWrap said it appeared Zellweger was "thoroughly enjoying her time" as Hupp. John Doyle of The Globe and Mail said the actress "brings an equal amount of vinegary exuberance to the work." IndieWire's Ben Travers, on the other hand, called her performance "exaggerated". From Vulture, Roxana Hadadi said "Zellweger is simultaneously broadly cartoonish and blandly nonspecific. She squints so much that her eyes lose whatever interiority they might have reflected; there is no real difference between her smile or her frown." Variety's Daniel D'Addario criticized the "uncanny" prosthetics and the appearance of a Dateline producer as a character, writing, "It'd be a shame if Zellweger's first acting gig after her Oscar-boosted return to Hollywood were, ultimately, little more than NBC cross-promotion." The show's comedic tone was criticized. Brian Lowry at CNN called it a failed attempt to be "the next Fargo". Liam Mathews at TVGuide said the "deliciously satisfying" tone was similar to that of the Coen brothers, but that its use to convey the story of a real murder would make "you feel [a] little queasy." Ciara Wardlow, writing for RogerEbert.com, categorized it as "a watchable if often underwhelming true crime docudrama that wants to both be weird and play it safe, ending up in a strange middle ground between the two." In a more positive review, The A.V. Club's Gwen Ihnat said "The Thing About Pam does an impressive job of translating an addictive tale to the small screen." ### Ratings The premiere episode increased its viewership by 205% after seven days, from 2.9 million viewers when it aired to 8.7 million viewers after a week with delayed viewing across linear and DVR, as well as Hulu, NBC.com, the NBC app, and Peacock. By the end of its run on April 12, 2022, The Thing About Pam had become NBC's highest-rated freshman series of the 2021–2022 television season. It also had a positive impact on Dateline, especially on the viewership of the episodes about Hupp that inspired the series. ### Accolades The series was one of 94 out of the 200 most-popular scripted television series that received the ReFrame Stamp for the years 2021 to 2022. The stamp is awarded by the gender equity coalition ReFrame and industry database IMDbPro for film and television projects that are proven to have gender-balanced hiring, with stamps being awarded to projects that hire female-identifying people, especially women of color, in four out of eight key roles for their production.
37,664,671
Two Black Cadillacs
1,117,175,302
null
[ "2011 songs", "2012 singles", "Arista Nashville singles", "Carrie Underwood songs", "Country ballads", "Murder ballads", "Song recordings produced by Mark Bright (record producer)", "Songs about infidelity", "Songs about revenge", "Songs with feminist themes", "Songs written by Carrie Underwood", "Songs written by Hillary Lindsey", "Songs written by Josh Kear" ]
"Two Black Cadillacs" is a song by American recording artist Carrie Underwood, taken from her fourth studio album, Blown Away. The song served as the album's third single on November 18, 2012, through Arista Nashville. Written by Underwood, Hillary Lindsey, and Josh Kear, "Two Black Cadillacs" is a country pop song with lyrics addressing the story of two women who, when they realize they are both involved with the same man, decide to kill him. It was produced by Mark Bright, and the instrumentation was compared to songs by Dixie Chicks and Miranda Lambert. Upon its release, "Two Black Cadillacs" was met with positive reviews from music critics, who praised its story and Underwood's versatility as an artist. Commercially, the song was successful. In the United States, it reached number two on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, and also reached number 41 on the Hot 100. As of July 2020, "Two Black Cadillacs" was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song also charted in Canada at number three on the Country chart and at number 52 on the Canadian Hot 100. The accompanying music video was directed by P.R. Brown, and filmed in Nashville, Tennessee. The video draws inspiration from Stephen King's novel Christine, and shows how the wife and mistress kill the cheating husband with a black Cadillac. It was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards. Underwood has performed "Two Black Cadillacs" in a number of live appearances, including at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, where various images were projected onto the singer's gown, and at the 2013 Country Music Association Awards, in a medley with "Good Girl", "See You Again", and "Blown Away". It was also performed during the Blown Away Tour. ## Writing and composition After Underwood's Play On Tour ended in December 2010, she started to work on her then-untitled fourth studio album. Sony Music Nashville chairman/CEO Gary Overton said that the singer "took nearly a year to compile and record the songs." Songwriters Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, who previously wrote "Before He Cheats" for Underwood's debut album, Some Hearts, worked on a track titled "Blown Away" and sent it to the singer. Underwood loved the song and recorded it, also naming her album Blown Away as it was the song that defined the album's darker direction. She then started writing material with several songwriters, including Hillary Lindsey and Kear. Together, the trio wrote "Two Black Cadillacs", which is about two women finding out that they both are involved in a relationship with the same man and set their differences aside to kill him. Underwood said that "it was so much fun to write and just be in that room" with Lindsey and Kear, as they "didn't really know what to expect or where we were headed or what we would end up with." Kear described the writing session: > Carrie had told me in an earlier writing appointment that she was expecting this album to have darker tones than any of her earlier records. So I remember sitting at the piano while writing the song thinking that if Carrie really wanted something dark, this was what she was after. Carrie really got into the story and making sure we didn't give away how the two women got rid of the man the song is about. This kind of song is really tricky because you need enough detail to tell the story and keep it interesting without it becoming so graphic that it's unpleasant to listen to more than once. I think we managed to pull that off. Either way, it was certainly fun choosing which elements of the story to put in and which ones to leave out. Melodically, "Two Black Cadillacs" is written in the key of F minor, and is set in the common time with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. Underwood's voice spans from the low note of A<sup>3</sup> to the high note of C<sup>5</sup>. Billy Dukes of Taste of Country noted that the lyrics of the song push "the normally plucky country superstar to the edge of evil. It's as far as she can go without falling off the cliff of believability." Dukes also described the song as a "mini-movie", in which Underwood sings: "And the preacher said he was a good man / And his brother said he was a good friend / But the women in the two black veils didn't bother to cry / Bye, bye / Yeah they took turns laying a rose down / Threw a handful of dirt into the deep ground / He's not the only one who had a secret to hide / Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye." The country pop instrumentation includes piano, brooding strings and a guitar, and has been compared to "Goodbye Earl" by the Dixie Chicks and "Gunpowder and Lead" by Miranda Lambert. ## Reception ### Critical response "Two Black Cadillacs" received positive reviews from music critics. Billy Dukes of Taste of Country stated that "vocally, Underwood is brilliant as always, and lyrically, she, Hillary Lindsey and Josh Kear have penned a tight story", but went on to say that "compared to Underwood's other hits, this song doesn't stand out after one digests the macabre storyline. So, maybe it'll only sell a million singles and reach No. 2", giving the song three-and-a-half stars. Daryl Addison of Great American Country praised the song, saying that "even with heavy thematic elements, the songs impressively maintain a pop/crossover shine and accessible sound, courtesy of Carrie's pristine voice and modern delivery." Writing for Country Universe, Kevin Coyne gave the song an A, complimenting the singer's versatility, saying that "it's a credit to her ambition as an artist. For someone so frequently accused of getting to the top without having to earn it, she continues to work harder than the rest of her peers just to stay there." ### Chart performance Following the release of the album, "Two Black Cadillacs" sold 8,000 units. After being released as a single, the song debuted at number 55 on the US Country Airplay chart on the dated week of November 24, 2012, and eventually reached its peak of number 2, spending a total of 21 weeks on the chart. "Two Black Cadillacs" became Underwood's 17th number one on Mediabase's Country Airplay charts. On the dated week of December 29, 2012, the song debuted at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching its peak of number 41 following the release of the video. By May 15, 2013, it had sold 762,000 in the United States. On September 30, 2013, "Two Black Cadillacs" was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and as of November 2015, it had sold 1,110,000 copies in the United States. In Canada, the song achieved moderate success, reaching number three on the Country component chart and 52 on the Canadian Hot 100. ### Television miniseries In September 2014, it was confirmed that Jerry Bruckheimer would be producing a six-hour event series based on the song, written by Ildy Modrovich, for Fox Broadcasting Company. ### Accolades ## Music video The accompanying music video for "Two Black Cadillacs" was directed by P.R. Brown and produced by Steve Lamar for Lamar Brothers. Filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, the video draws inspiration from Stephen King's novel Christine, which tells the story of a vintage automobile apparently possessed by supernatural forces. A trailer was released on November 26, 2012, showing Underwood as a widow done wrong, bringing the lyrics of the song to life. It premiered on January 23, 2013, on Entertainment Tonight and Vevo. The video shows Underwood driving her black 1964 Cadillac through the countryside, heading towards her destination. Elsewhere, two women are shown attending a funeral devoid of any emotion complete with matching black veils. Intercut are scenes of Underwood's car in a dark alleyway and the cheating husband in its headlights. The video ends with the car running over the man and repairing itself afterwards. ## Live performances Underwood performed "Two Black Cadillacs" at the 40th American Music Awards on November 18, 2012. Amy Sciaretto of Taste of Country summarized the performance, writing: > Underwood performed in a lacy, frilly black dress with a full skirt and black leather fingerless gloves, which she paired with smoky black eye makeup and black hoop earrings. The singer was the centerpiece of the performance, and her look was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. [...] There were bright lights above the stage and images of two black Cadillacs on the screens behind her, but that was about the extent of her production. And the simplicity worked for her. She performed an acoustic version of the song during the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. During the performance, the singer's gown became a screen on which images varying from roses to butterflies and fireworks were projected. Underwood also performed "Two Black Cadillacs" at the 2013 Country Music Association Awards, in a medley with "Good Girl", "See You Again" and "Blown Away". "Two Black Cadillacs" was the third song in the medley, and Coti Howell of Taste of Country noted that, in that part, "lighting ripped across the screen and everything went black, except Underwood and her sparkly microphone." The song was also performed at the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards and during the Blown Away Tour. ## Charts and certifications ### Weekly charts ### Certifications ### Year-end charts
30,679,201
Cyclone Alby
1,168,894,074
Category 5 Australian region cyclone in 1978
[ "1970s in Perth, Western Australia", "1978 in Australia", "Category 5 Australian region cyclones", "Retired Australian region cyclones", "Tropical cyclones in 1978", "Tropical cyclones in Western Australia" ]
Severe Tropical Cyclone Alby was regarded as the most devastating tropical cyclone to impact southwestern Western Australia on record. Forming out of an area of low pressure on 27 March 1978, Alby steadily developed as it tracked southwestward, parallel to Western Australia. Between 1 and 2 April, the storm quickly intensified and attained its peak intensity as a Category 5 cyclone on the Australian cyclone intensity scale. After turning to the southeast, the storm underwent an extratropical transition as it neared Cape Leeuwin. The storm brushed the cape on 4 April, bringing hurricane-force winds, before rapidly losing its identity the following day. In Western Australia, the combination of Alby's fast movement and hurricane-force winds caused widespread damage. Along the coast, large swells flooded low-lying areas and numerous homes lost their roofs from high winds. Further inland, bushfires were worsened by the storm as it brought little rain, generally less than 20 mm (0.79 in) along the coast. These fires burned roughly 114,000 hectares (281,700 acres) and destroyed two towns. Five fatalities are attributed to Alby and the associated brushfires. The resulting damage was extensive, with monetary losses reaching A\$50 million (US\$45 million). ## Meteorological history Severe Tropical Cyclone Alby was first identified on 27 March 1978 as a disorganized area of low pressure situated roughly 800 km (500 mi) north-northwest of Karratha. At this time, the system was characterised as a large cluster of convection converging around the low. Notable development took place over the following three days as the system drifted towards the southwest. Convection began wrapping around the storm, forming banding features. Early on 29 March, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), classified the system as a tropical storm. Shortly thereafter, the Bureau of Meteorology in Perth classified it as a tropical cyclone, assigning it with the name Alby. Gale-force winds were later confirmed on 30 March by the Martha Bakke, located 385 km (239 mi) west-northwest of the storm's centre. By then, a large ragged eye developed and Alby steadily intensified through 2 April. At the end of this strengthening, Cyclone Alby attained its peak intensity as a Category 5 on the Australian cyclone intensity scale; a barometric pressure of 930 mbar (hPa; 27.46 inHg) was measured at the time and peak winds were estimated to be 205 km/h (127 mph) based on the Dvorak technique. Additionally, the JTWC assessed the storm to have attained winds of 215 km/h (134 mph), a low-range Category 4 on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. Shortly after reaching this intensity, Alby slowed as it began turning towards the southeast. By 3 April, the storm rapidly accelerated and attained a forward speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). This rapid acceleration was due to the cyclone's interaction with a cold front to its south. Gradually weakening, Alby also underwent an extratropical transition as the storm's structure became asymmetrical. Around 1300 UTC on 4 April, the storm passed within 100 km (62 mi) of Cape Leeuwin as an extratropical storm. Due to the rapid movement of Alby, the system maintained winds of 120 km/h (75 mph) as it reached this point, making it one of the most intense storms to strike the region. By 5 April, the cyclone rapidly lost its identity as it became caught up in a northwesterly flow before merging with the cold front over the Great Australian Bight. ## Impact and aftermath Retaining winds in excess of 120 km/h (75 mph), Cyclone Alby brought damaging winds to much of the region in and around Cape Leeuwin. The highest winds reached 150 km/h (93 mph) in Albany. In Perth, a peak gust of 130 km/h (81 mph) was measured, the third-highest in the city's history. The intense winds, considered unprecedented for many in the region, were attributed to the fast movement of the storm and its location in relation to land. Moving at speeds up to 90 km/h (56 mph), winds along the northeastern edge of the storm were increased by that amount due to Alby's clockwise rotation. It also allowed for winds to cover a large area northeast of the centre, impacting many areas far from the storm. In general, rainfall was limited and generally less than 20 mm (0.79 in); this was due to the fast movement, as well as the asymmetrical structure with most of the thunderstorms south of the center. These winds resulted in widespread agricultural, environmental and structural damage. Hundreds of structures sustained severe damage, mostly consisting of roofs blowing off. The most severe losses took place in Albany where most homes had partial or complete roof failure. Air-borne debris also damaged buildings during the storm. Nearly 80% of the apple crop was lost in the Donnybrook–Manjimup area. A total of 154,400 m<sup>3</sup> (5.4 million ft<sup>3</sup>) of timber was lost as well as a potential 200,000 m<sup>3</sup> (7 million ft<sup>3</sup>) of future growth on established trees. Widespread dust storms also ruined crops and removed topsoil from many areas. Near the coast, the combined effects of strong, onshore winds and little rain led to significant inland sea spray. Numerous power lines and stations failed during the storm due to winds as well as dust and salt accretion. Large portions of the South-West Land Division were without electricity due to Cyclone Alby; Perth nearly sustained a complete breakdown of power services. This led to secondary losses attributable to the storm such as production failure. One person died in Toodyay after falling off his roof while trying to repair it. Newspapers connected the death of one person in a vehicle accident in Pemberton to the storm; however, the Bureau of Meteorology does not attribute it to Alby. The large expanse of gale-force winds without precipitation exacerbated 92 ongoing brush fires in the region. These fires erupted into full-fledged wildfires, expanding at a rate of 5 to 10 km/h (3.1 to 6.2 mph). A total of 114,000 hectares (281,700 acres) of land was burned throughout Western Australia as a result of the fires. Within this area, more than 10,000 sheep and 500 cattle and horses were killed. Over 100 structures, 1,300 km (810 mi) of fencing and tens of thousands of hay bales were destroyed. According to newspaper reports, the towns of Jarrahwood and Yornup were leveled by the wildfires. At least 50 individual fires were fanned by the storm across the region, prompting more than 1,000 firefighters to assist in putting them out. Containment efforts were successful after six days, with the fires put under control by 10 April. Two people were killed while trying to suppress the fires: one from a fallen tree in Mount Barker and the other in Manjiump when a bulldozer clearing a firebreak flipped over. Along the coast, large swells produced by the storm resulted in two fatalities in Albany Harbour as well as significant coastal damage. Tides across the region were expected to increase. Unexpectedly, all forecast values were exceeded by at least 0.3 m (0.98 ft). The highest storm tide was in Busselton at 2.5 m (8.2 ft), leading to a storm surge of 1.1 m (3.6 ft). Here, the surge penetrated roughly 200 m (660 ft) inland, forcing several evacuations. This led to significant coastal flooding that damaged dozens of structures, including Busselton Jetty. In Bunbury, water breached the sea wall, inundating 100 homes and prompting the evacuation of 130 residents. Throughout Western Australia, Cyclone Alby was responsible for five fatalities and A\$50 million (US\$45 million) in damage. There was also severe beach erosion associated with the storm, with some areas losing 30 m (98 ft) of land. Due to the extensive damage, the name Alby was retired from the list of Western Australian cyclone names following its usage. In the wake of Cyclone Alby, an appeal for relief in the affected region was made by The Lord Mayor's Distress Relief Fund. The unprecedented scale of damage prompted meteorologists to vastly improve forecasting in the region to be better prepared for a similar storm in the future. At the time, little to no warning was given to residents in the South-West Land Division; this was the result of Alby's abrupt acceleration along a cold front, a complex forecasting situation. It was also regarded as a "wake up call" for the region, reminding residents that they are not immune to the effects of tropical cyclones. Cyclone Alby has been used as a benchmark to compare future storms in the region to, such as Severe Tropical Cyclone Bianca in 2011. ## See also - List of cyclones in Western Australia - List of retired Australian cyclone names
914,183
Matagorda Bay
1,089,889,934
Bay on the Texas coast, United States of America
[ "Bays of Texas", "Bodies of water of Calhoun County, Texas", "Bodies of water of Matagorda County, Texas", "Colorado River (Texas)", "Estuaries of Texas" ]
Matagorda Bay (/ˌmætəˈɡɔːrdə/ ) is a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Corpus Christi, 143 miles (230 km) east-southeast of San Antonio, 108 miles (174 km) south-southwest of Houston, and 167 miles (269 km) south-southeast of Austin. It is one of seven major estuaries along the Gulf Coast of Texas and serves as the mouth of numerous streams, most notably the Lavaca and Colorado Rivers. The Texas seaport of Port Lavaca is located on the system's northwestern extension of Lavaca Bay. The city of Palacios is found on northeastern extension of Tres Palacios Bay, and Port O'Connor is located on the southwestern tip of the main bay's shore. The ghost town of Indianola, which was a major port before it was destroyed by two hurricanes in the late 19th century, is also found on the bay. The bay is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Matagorda Peninsula. Its shore, especially near the Colorado River delta, provides a habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. The wildlife serves as a basis for the birding and fishing tourism, and is an essential component of the production of seafood, specifically shrimp and blue crab, which are the specialties of the area. The fertile land near the bay is ideal for farming, especially for the propagation of rice. ## History Early European records suggest that the bay and the surrounding area went by the names Espíritu Santo and Costa y Bahía de San Bernardo. Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Pineda's map from the late 1510s appears to be the first documentation of the bay. In 1685, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established the colony of Fort St. Louis along the bay's shore after missing the entrance to the Mississippi River. Half of the colonists were killed by disease, and the other half, save for five children, were killed by Karankawa Indians. It was afterward referred to as a "lost colony." The Indians kept the children until they were rescued by the Spanish during the Alonso De León and Domingo Terán de los Ríos expeditions near the bay. In 1722 Spanish built a fort, Presidio La Bahia, and Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga on the site of Fort Saint Louis. The port of Linnville was established on Matagorda Bay in 1831, and served as a main port for the Republic of Texas. The Great Comanche Raid of 1840 destroyed the town and forced the inhabitants to flee to the nearby Labbacca, which would later become known as Port Lavaca. Lavaca or la vaca, Spanish for cow, was founded in the wake of the Comanche Raid in 1841. It replaced Linnville as the main port on Matagorda Bay. However, the sandbar-heavy Lavaca Bay caused some navigational problems for ships. As a result, Lavaca was surpassed by Indianola as the main port on Matagorda Bay in the 1850s, even though the sandbars were dredged later in the decade. Indianola had been founded in 1846 as a landing place for German immigrants. It rapidly developed into a major seaport, and became the second largest in the state (after Galveston) by the 1860s. The two ports, and strategic control of Matagorda Bay in particular, became important during the American Civil War. Control of the bay shifted between the Union and Confederate forces several times. The Union presence in the area ended in June 1864. After the war, Indianola continued its growth, and had a population of 5,000 in the 1870s. A hurricane in 1875 caused massive damage to the city. It was rebuilt on a smaller scale shortly thereafter, but a second and more intense hurricane made landfall in 1886 (the fifth most intense in U.S. history), causing even greater destruction. The following year, Indianola was completely abandoned. Although Lavaca was also significantly affected by the hurricanes, it survived as a port, and again became the largest on the bay. It continues to hold this distinction today. It was renamed Port Lavaca in the late 19th century. Palacios was established around 1901, and Port O'Connor was founded on the bay in 1909. Before 1900, East Matagorda Bay was a free flowing extension, which formed the eastern segment of Matagorda Bay. Flooding and drainage issues caused by the Colorado River, which at the time emptied into the bay, precipitated a massive dredging campaign in the 1920s. Flooding was not remedied by the dredging, as sediment deposited in the bay and formed a tidal marsh that grew at 500 acres (2.0 km<sup>2</sup>) a year. As a result, local citizens decided to change the course of the Colorado River in 1934 to bypass Matagorda Bay into the Gulf of Mexico, the dredging from this project causing the split and forming the isolated East Matagorda Bay. In 1992, the river was diverted back to the bay. ## Features The shoreline of the bay is included in the Texas Coastal Plain. At the eastern end, near the Colorado River delta, there is a swampy terrain, with an abundance of wetlands and tidal marshes. Extended coastal prairies supporting native grasses, can be found throughout the area. On average, the Matagorda Bay system is 2 meters (6.6 ft) deep, and covers approximately 1,093 square kilometers (422 sq mi). The main extensions include: Lavaca Bay, which extends westward to the mouth of the Lavaca River; Tres Palacios Bay, which extends northeast to the mouth of the Tres Palacios River and East Matagorda Bay, which is nearly isolated from the system by the Colorado River delta. Other inlets include Turtle Bay, Carancahua Bay, Keller Bay, and Cox Bay. Together with its extensions, Matagorda Bay forms one of seven major estuaries along the Gulf Coast of Texas, and the third largest estuarine system in Texas behind Galveston Bay and Laguna Madre. It receives the discharge from the Colorado River and the Lavaca River, as well as numerous smaller creeks. Every second, approximately 150 cubic meters (40,000 U.S. gal) of water flows into the bay. Water exchange with the Gulf of Mexico occurs at Pass Cavallo, Matagorda Ship Channel, Greens Bayou, the Colorado River Delta Complex and Brown Cedar Cut. As a result of the seawater exchange, the bay's salinity is 19 parts per thousand (ppt), which is lower than the seawater average of 35 ppt. ## Ecosystem A wide variety of wildlife can be found in and around Matagorda Bay. The Mad Island-Oyster Lake conservation area, located on the eastern shore of Matagorda Bay, is a habitat for over 300 species of birds including songbirds, shorebirds and waterfowl. More species of birds were found in the area than any other in the nation during the National Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count from 2000 to 2002. Other fauna located along the bay include bobcats, white-tailed deer, river otters, Texas horned lizards, reddish egret, white-tailed hawk, peregrine falcon, the piping plover and alligators. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the following fish have been caught in the bay: striped bass, gafftopsail catfish, Atlantic croaker, black drum, red drum, southern flounder, barred grunt, hake, skipjack herring, crevalle jack, ladyfish, Gulf menhaden, pigfish, smooth puffer, sand seatrout, spotted seatrout, blacktip shark, gray snapper, southern stingray, Gulf toadfish and tripletail. The bay serves as a nursery for finfish, shrimp and crabs. ## Industry The Matagorda Bay system is a renowned fishing location in the region, due to its status as a nutrient-rich estuary. The mainstays of the settlements on the bay include seafood processing, manufacturing, agriculture and tourism. Commercial fishermen specialize in oyster, blue crab, and shrimp. Port Lavaca is the national leader in the processing of shrimp, and passed four million tons of seafood through its port in 1985 alone. Palacios houses the largest blue crab processing plant in the United States, and is home to the only individually quick frozen shrimp plant in Texas. Recreational fishing also contributes to the local economies via tourism. Tourists often flock to the Port Lavaca State Fishing Pier, which is a major point of interest for fishermen. Other activities for visitors include hunting, oyster roasts, beach combing and birding. Several manufacturing complexes have been erected along the bay, which employ local residents. The Aluminum Company of America, Union Carbide, Du Pont, and Formosa Plastics all established plants in Point Comfort. The South Texas Nuclear Generating Station is found in nearby Bay City. Petroleum and natural gas were discovered in the bay in the 1930s. Maize, cotton, soybeans, turf, and rice grow well around the bay, especially in the fertile delta region.
49,512,882
SMS Erzherzog Ferdinand Max (1865)
1,148,961,860
Ironclad warship of the Austro-Hungarian Navy
[ "1865 ships", "Erzherzog Ferdinand Max-class ironclads" ]
SMS Erzherzog Ferdinand Max was the lead ship of the Erzherzog Ferdinand Max class of broadside ironclads built for the Austrian Navy in the 1860s. She was built by the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, with her keel laying in October 1863, launching in May 1865, and commissioning in June 1866 at the outbreak of the Third Italian War of Independence and the Austro-Prussian War, fought concurrently. The ship was armed with a main battery of sixteen 48-pounder guns, though the rifled guns originally intended, which had been ordered from Prussia, had to be replaced with old smoothbore guns until after the conflicts ended. Stationed in the Adriatic Sea, Erzherzog Ferdinand Max served as the flagship of the Austrian fleet under Rear Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff. She saw action at the Battle of Lissa in July 1866, where she rammed and sank the Italian ironclad Re d'Italia. Slightly damaged in the collision, Erzherzog Ferdinand Max had her bow repaired in Malta after the war. She remained in the Austro-Hungarian fleet for the next twenty years, but severely reduced naval budgets owing to Hungarian disinterest in naval matters led to an uneventful career. She was rearmed with newer guns in 1874 and again in 1882. Stricken from the naval register in May 1886, Erzherzog Ferdinand Max was employed as a tender to the gunnery training school from 1889 to 1908. She remained in the inventory until 1916 when she was broken up for scrap. ## Design Erzherzog Ferdinand Max was 83.75 meters (274 ft 9 in) long overall; she had a beam of 15.96 m (52 ft 4 in) and an average draft of 7.14 m (23 ft 5 in). She displaced 5,130 long tons (5,210 t). She had a crew of 511 officers and enlisted men. Her propulsion system consisted of one single-expansion steam engine, manufactured by the Stabilimento Tecnico shipyard in Fiume, that drove a single screw propeller. The number and type of her coal-fired boilers have not survived, but they were vented through a single funnel located amidships. Her engine produced a top speed of 12.54 knots (23.22 km/h; 14.43 mph) from 2,925 indicated horsepower (2,181 kW). Erzherzog Ferdinand Max was a broadside ironclad, and she was armed with a main battery of sixteen 48-pounder muzzle-loading guns, eight guns per broadside. She also carried several smaller guns, including four 8-pounder guns and two 3-pounders. The ship's hull was sheathed with wrought iron armor that was 123 mm (5 in) thick on the battery and reduced to 87 mm (3.4 in) at the bow and stern. ## Service history Erzherzog Ferdinand Max was laid down at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste on 6 May 1863. She was launched on 24 May 1865; the builders were forced to complete fitting-out work quickly, as tensions with neighboring Prussia and Italy erupted into the concurrent Austro-Prussian War and the Third Italian War of Independence in June 1866. Erzherzog Ferdinand Max's rifled heavy guns were still on order from Krupp, and they could not be delivered due to the conflict with Prussia. Instead, the ship was armed with old smooth-bore guns. Rear Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, the commander of the Austrian Fleet, immediately began to mobilize his fleet. As the ships became fully crewed, they began to conduct training exercises in Fasana. With his flag aboard Erzherzog Ferdinand Max, Tegetthoff brought the Austrian fleet to Ancona on 26 June in an attempt to draw out the Italians, but the Italian commander, Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano, refused to engage Tegetthoff. Tegetthoff made another sortie on 6 July, but again could not bring the Italian fleet to battle. ### Battle of Lissa On 16 July, Persano took the Italian fleet, with twelve ironclads, out of Ancona, bound for the island of Lissa, where they arrived on the 18th. With them, they brought troop transports carrying 3,000 soldiers. Persano then spent the next two days bombarding the Austrian defenses of the island and unsuccessfully attempting to force a landing. Tegetthoff received a series of telegrams between the 17 and 19 July notifying him of the Italian attack, which he initially believed to be a feint to draw the Austrian fleet away from its main bases at Pola and Venice. By the morning of the 19th, however, he was convinced that Lissa was in fact the Italian objective, and so he requested permission to attack. As Tegetthoff's fleet arrived off Lissa on the morning of 20 July, Persano's fleet was arrayed for another landing attempt. The latter's ships were divided into three groups, with only the first two able to concentrate in time to meet the Austrians. Tegetthoff had arranged his ironclad ships into a wedge-shaped formation, leading with Erzherzog Ferdinand Max at the center; the wooden warships of the second and third divisions followed behind in the same formation. While he was forming up his ships, Persano transferred from his flagship, Re d'Italia, to the turret ship Affondatore. This created a gap in the Italian line, and Tegetthoff seized the opportunity to divide the Italian fleet and create a melee. He made a pass through the gap, but failed to ram any of the Italian ships, forcing him to turn around and make another attempt. During the second attempt, Austrian gunfire had disabled Re d'Italia's rudder, leaving her incapable of maneuvering. Tegetthoff seized the opportunity to ram the Italian vessel, and ordered his ship to maximum speed. After two collisions that occurred at angles too oblique to inflict serious damage, Erzherzog Ferdinand Max struck the ship more directly. The Austrian ship's ram tore a gaping hole in Re d'Italia's hull on the port side, though Erzherzog Ferdinand Max sustained no significant damage herself. Tegetthoff reversed course, allowing the Italian ironclad to lurch back to port and quickly sink. Tegetthoff initially ordered his crew to lower boats to pick up the Italians struggling in the water, but the Italian ironclad San Martino was approaching, and he could not allow his ship to become a stationary target. Instead, he ordered the aviso Kaiserin Elizabeth to remain behind and pick up the survivors while Erzherzog Ferdinand Max engaged San Martino. The other Italian ships, however, did not realize Kaiserin Elizabeth was attempting to pick up the Italian survivors, and so opened fire on her, driving her away from the men in the water. By this time, the coastal defense ship Palestro was burning badly, soon to be destroyed by a magazine explosion. Persano broke off the engagement, having lost two ships, and though his squadron still outnumbered the Austrians, he refused to counter-attack with his badly demoralized forces. In addition, the fleet was low on coal and ammunition. The Italian fleet began to withdraw, followed by the Austrians; Tegetthoff, having gotten the better of the action, kept his distance so as not to risk his success. Additionally, the Austrian ships were slower than their Italian counterparts, and so they could not force a second engagement. As night began to fall, the opposing fleets disengaged completely, heading for Ancona and Pola, respectively. Erzherzog Ferdinand Max had fired 156 shells in the course of the battle. She had kept boarding parties on her deck, ready to attack Italian vessels, but the opportunity had not presented itself in the engagement; steam-powered ships could simply reverse course and disengage before a boarding party could cross over. Erzherzog Ferdinand Max was not significantly damaged by Italian fire or the ramming attempts. A few armor plates were slightly dislodged, the paint had been stripped from the hull where she had collided with Re d'Italia, and she had a minor leak from the concussion, but she was otherwise unscathed. ### Later career After returning to Pola, Tegetthoff kept his fleet in the northern Adriatic, where it patrolled against a possible Italian attack. The Italian ships never came, and on 12 August, the two countries signed the Armistice of Cormons; this ended the fighting and led to the Treaty of Vienna. Though Austria had defeated Italy at Lissa and on land at the Battle of Custoza, the Austrian army was decisively defeated by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz. With the war over, Erzherzog Ferdinand Max went into the British Royal Navy shipyard in Malta to have her bow repaired. As a result of Austria's defeat, Kaiser Franz Joseph was forced to accede to Hungarian demands for greater autonomy, and the country became Austria-Hungary in the Ausgleich of 1867. The two halves of the Dual Monarchy held veto power over the other, and Hungarian disinterest in naval expansion led to severely reduced budgets for the fleet. In the immediate aftermath of the war, the bulk of the Austrian fleet was decommissioned and disarmed. In 1869, Kaiser Franz Joseph took a tour of the Mediterranean Sea in his imperial yacht Greif; Erzherzog Ferdinand Max, her sister ship Habsburg, and a pair of paddle steamers escorted the Kaiser for the trip to Port Said at the mouth of the Suez Canal. The two ironclads remained in the Mediterranean while the other vessels passed through the Canal into the Red Sea in company with Empress Eugenie of France aboard her own yacht. The Austro-Hungarian ships eventually returned to Trieste in December. In 1874 she was rearmed with a battery of fourteen 7 in (180 mm) muzzle-loading Armstrong guns and four light guns. Her battery was revised again in 1882, with the addition of four 9 cm (3.5 in) breech-loader guns, two 7 cm (2.8 in) breech-loaders, a pair of 47 mm (1.9 in) quick-firing revolver guns, and three 25 mm (0.98 in) auto-cannons. Erzherzog Ferdinand Max was stricken from the naval register on 19 May 1886 and her armament was reduced to eight 10 cm (3.9 in) guns. The following year, these were removed and a single 26 cm (10 in) gun and a 24 cm (9.4 in) gun were installed. From 1889 to 1908, she served as a tender to the gunnery training school. The ship was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1916 during World War I.
38,305,847
TV Bahia
1,171,039,731
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[ "1985 establishments in Brazil", "Companies based in Bahia", "TV Globo affiliates", "Television channels and stations established in 1985" ]
TV Bahia (channel 11) is a television station in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, affiliated with TV Globo. Owned by Rede Bahia, TV Bahia is the principal station of Rede Bahia de Televisão, a statewide television network composed of another five owned-and-operated stations. TV Bahia's studios and transmitter are located on Prof. Aristídes Novis Street in the Federação district, in Salvador. Its terrestrial signal, through the station in Salvador and translators, reaches 133 cities in the state. Currently, besides being the leader in Salvador, it has the third largest ratings among Globo's stations in Brazil. The station signed on the air officialy on March 10, 1985, 10 months after receiving its license from the federal government, making it the fourth-oldest television station in Bahia. It was inaugurated as a Rede Manchete affiliate, having at the time the most modern equipment among Bahia's television stations and the highest transmission tower in the Northern and Northeast regions of Brazil. Its local programming initially featured the sports program Manchete Esportiva Bahia, hosted by Ivan Pedro, and the newscast Bahia em Manchete, which had Paulo Gil as anchor. It became a partner of Rede Globo in 1987, after a troubled transition process, marked by a long judicial and political dispute initiated by the owners of TV Aratu (channel 4). With the Globo affiliation, it made its first big expansion of local programming, premiering two editions of the now-traditional newscast BATV and Jornal da Manhã, its first morning newscast. The affiliation with the Rio de Janeiro network gave the station the ratings leadership in the state. It was a pioneer among the Globo affiliates in the production of telenovelas, producing Danada de Sabida, inspired by the work of João Ubaldo Ribeiro, 1997. TV Bahia was also the first to use a helicopter for news coverage in the state, premiering in February 1999 the BahiaCop. On December 1, 2008, on the first anniversary of digital terrestrial television in Brazil, it became the first television station in Brazil's Northern and Northeast regions to start broadcasting its programming in this format, making Salvador the seventh city in Brazil to receive digital television. Due to the shareholding participation of members of the Magalhães family (which has members participating in the political class, such as former senator Antônio Carlos Magalhães) in Rede Bahia, a conglomerate of which TV Bahia is part, the station's news department has been target of various controversies involving politicians in part of its history. During her mandate, Salvador mayor Lídice da Mata blamed TV Bahia for the unpopularity of her administration, accusing the coverage of the problems of the capital's administration of being made with the intention of harming her and thus, favoring her opponents. During the Salvador elections in 2012, candidate Nelson Pelegrino filed a lawsuit against TV Bahia due to the appearance of candidate ACM Neto in a report. The workers campaign's suit was denied by the Electoral Court. ## History ### Rede Manchete (1985–1987) On May 7, 1984, Televisão Bahia Ltda. received a concession to operate a television broadcasting service in Salvador in a decree issued by then-president João Figueiredo. Initially, the station's shareholders were the entrepreneurs Antônio Carlos Magalhães Júnior (ACM Júnior) and César Mata Pires. The company responsible for the license also had Luís Eduardo Magalhães and Oscar Maron as shareholders. In August of the same year, however, it was reported that the Federal Government was considering revoking the concession of the future station due to the adoption of a critical stance towards the regime by former governor Antônio Carlos Magalhães (a relative of part of the company's shareholders), which prejudiced affiliation negotiations with Rede Manchete. The license, however, was maintained, and the creation of TV Bahia was officially announced to the market on January 9, 1985, at a dinner held at the Bahiano Tennis Club. The new TV station in Salvador would be the first partner of Rede Manchete in Bahia. The event included a speech by Rubens Furtado, then-director general of the Rio de Janeiro network. TV Bahia was installed with the most modern equipment among television stations in the state of Bahia at the time. In its early days, the station had five editing islands, state-of-the-art VT equipment, a 300-kW transmitter, and the tallest TV antenna in northern and northeastern Brazil. On February 2, the day of the Iemanjá Festival, TV Bahia conducted its first experimental operations on VHF channel 11. Initially, TV Bahia was to start its activities on February 28, 1985, but the inauguration was delayed. The station finally signed on for the first time on March 10, 1985, at 6:45 pm, with the transmission of an inauguration ceremony presented by Xuxa Meneghel, then host of the children's program Clube da Criança on Rede Manchete, as well as Governor of Bahia João Durval Carneiro, former governor Antônio Carlos Magalhães and Catholic cardinal Avelar Brandão Vilela. After the ceremony, TV Bahia broadcast its inaugural program: Bahia de Todos os Santos, a documentary directed by filmmaker Nelson Pereira dos Santos. The first local program after the station's inauguration was the sports journalistic program Manchete Esportiva Bahia, a local version of the program with the same name from Rede Manchete, aired live at 12:30 pm on March 11, 1985 and hosted by Ivan Pedro. ### TV Globo (1987–present) On November 10, 1986, Rede Globo made official the non-renewal of its affiliation contract with TV Aratu (channel 4), which had been its affiliate since 1969, ordering that the station cease broadcasting the network's programming on January 20, 1987, after the end of the extension of the end of the partnership. Globo had already expressed to TV Aratu its intention not to renew the affiliation contract on February 24 of that year, alleging dissatisfaction existing since 1984 on the part of Globo regarding technical and commercial problems of the then Bahia affiliate. The station chosen to replace TV Aratu was TV Bahia. As Globo's final decision occurred shortly before Organizações Globo's purchase of NEC's Brazilian branch, in December of that year, opponents of ACM, to which TV Aratu was associated, raised suspicions that that Globo president Roberto Marinho's decision was a way to thank him for a the minister's alleged support of the transaction, in order to try to reverse the loss of affiliation. On January 13, 1987, congressman Luís Viana Neto, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), one of the shareholders of TV Aratu and member of the political group of then governor Waldir Pires, went to Brasília, along with 19 other deputies, to complain to president José Sarney regarding the situation. On January 15, Judge Luiz Fux of the 9th Civil Court of Rio de Janeiro granted TV Aratu an injunction preventing TV Bahia from retransmitting Globo's programming. The injunction was overturned on January 23, after TV Globo filed a writ of mandamus in the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro to ensure the transmission of its programming by TV Bahia. At 5:58 pm, TV Bahia began to broadcast Globo's programming, after airing a statement informing the viewers about the new affiliation, which was also officially announced in the day's edition of Globo's national newscast Jornal Nacional. TV Aratu, however, ignored the decision, which meant that viewers in Bahia had two channels broadcasting Globo for three days in a row across the state. By order of the regional directorate of National Department of Telecommunications (DENTEL), TV Aratu was forced to stop broadcasting Globo's programming on January 26. The station, then, began to broadcast the programming of Rede Manchete, and continued in court trying to nullify Globo's writ of mandamus. On March 31, judges Jorge Loretti, Narciso Pinto and Astrogildo Freitas of the 5th Civil Chamber of Rio de Janeiro, suspended Globo's writ of mandamus after judging that the network filed an appeal after the deadline. TV Aratu returned to rebroadcasting Globo programs, but TV Bahia did not immediately comply, resulting in both channels broadcasting the same programming until April 4, when TV Bahia resumed broadcasting Manchete programming. The court battle lasted for another three months until judge Nicolau Mary Júnior granted the injunction in favor of Globo on July 6; at that time, TV Bahia definitively resumed the affiliation with the network, becoming the state's highest rated TV station. In June 1990, with the approach of the electoral period in Bahia, several candidates for state and federal deputies were installing pirate satellite dish systems in cities in the interior of the state that did not have translator stations, in order to insert, during the breaks and local spaces of Rede Globo's national programming, irregular advertisements of their candidacies. The practice led TV Bahia to install a transcoding system that prevented the unauthorized retransmission of the Globo signal. With the repositioning of the Grupo TV Bahia, which took the Rede Bahia branding on July 2, 1998, TV Bahia became the network head of Rede Bahia de Televisão, officially leading the five Rede Globo affiliate stations in the countryside. Two months earlier, part of the shares of TV Subaé in Feira de Santana had been acquired by the conglomerate, which made the station no longer an affiliate and become a owned-and-operated station of the state network led by TV Bahia since 1988 (when TV Santa Cruz was inaugurated in Itabuna). On June 23, 2000, DTH operator Sky started to carry the station's programming, making making TV Bahia the fifth Globo station uplinked on the service, after the network's owned-and-operated stations in Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in addition to Rio Grande do Sul affiliate RBS TV. In 2001, TV Bahia didn't manage to record images of the coverage of a conflict between military police and students of the Federal University of Bahia that occurred during a protest against ACM. Although other local TV stations in Salvador also missed the first conflict, rumors circulated that TV Bahia would lose its affiliation with the Rio de Janeiro network, due to a supposed destabilization in the relationship between the groups that allegedly was generated from the lack of images.. The situation, however, was denied by Globo, which stated that TV Bahia was the best performing affiliate of the network. The contract with Rede Bahia was renewed on June 21. In 2008, a dispute among TV Bahia shareholders began, with parties vying for control of the business. ACM Júnior won out, and four years later, in June 2012, César Mata Pires sold his stake to Campinas, São Paulo-based Grupo EP, owner of EPTV, a network composed of Globo-affiliated stations serving cities in São Paulo state and one in of Minas Gerais. Amidst the internal conflicts, there was an investment of R\$9 million in a new transmitter, a new 160-meter (520 ft) antenna, and a new master control. In the 2014 edition of the National Programming Award, held by Rede Globo, TV Bahia was awarded as the station with the largest audience among the affiliates of the Rio de Janeiro network throughout Brazil. In the same award, it was recognized for the call for the broadcast of the match between Juazeirense and Juazeiro, considered the best of its kind among the network's partners, and for the entertainment program Mosaico Baiano, which was one of the three best regional online programs of the year. In May 2019, Rede Bahia carried out layoffs of several journalists and other employees of TV Bahia, after the company lost money in 2018. Documentation Center (CEDOC) and marketing team employees were fired, in addition to veteran newscaster Anna Valéria, who had been at the station for 31 years. That December, TV Bahia started to live broadcast its programming through Globoplay, Grupo Globo's streaming platform. On January 4, 2023, TV Bahia announced new changes in top management positions, which took effect on April 1. Eurico Meira da Costa left Rede Bahia after five years, and was replaced by news manager Ana Raquel Copetti, who became mews director. The sports sector is no longer linked to the news department, being now part of the programming area (responsible for the production of entertainment programs). Sports manager Alexandre Boyd became the Programming, Entertainment and Sports director, replacing Carlyle Ávila, who also left the station. In March 2023, already recovered from financial and audience problems caused by a good phase of competitor RecordTV Itapoan (channel 5), TV Bahia became one of the three most watched TV Globo stations in Brazil, according to the Kantar IBOPE Media measurement, reaching a 96% lead over the second-placed station in Salvador. The affiliate reached the third highest audience among affiliates and branches, behind only the network's main station, TV Globo Rio de Janeiro, and the affiliate RBS TV Porto Alegre. The local programs with the highest ratings shown by TV Bahia were the local newscasts Jornal da Manhã and Bahia Meio Dia, while the national programs were the rerun of O Rei do Gado on Vale a Pena Ver de Novo and the seven o'clock soap opera Vai na Fé, respectively. ## Programming ### Entertainment programming TV Bahia broadcasts two variety shows on Saturdays. Conexão Bahia deals with themes related to the culture and the daily life of Bahians, being hosted by playwright Aldri Anunciação. On Mosaico Baiano, presented by Luana Souza and Pablo Vasconcelos, curiosities, clips, documentaries, special series, and film reviews, among other features, are shown. Previous local non-news programs from TV Bahia have included The interview program, Michelle Marie Entrevista, an interview program hosted by Michelle Marie Magalhães (which featured reports by Wagner Moura); the variety show Arerê Geral (with Jackson Costa and Flávia Mendonça as presenters, which premiered on January 18, 2001; and Na Carona (hosted by Liliane Reis). On September 9, 2017, Aprovado, presented by Jackson Costa, was discontinued, and in its place, Conexão Bahia premiered on September 16, presented by Renata Menezes and Aldri Anunciação. Renata left the program and the station on February 18, 2019. TV Bahia was the first Rede Globo affiliate to locally produce a telenovela. The attraction, entitled Danada de Sabida, premiered on January 7, 1997. Broadcast exclusively in the state, the production was inspired by the book Já Podeis da Pátria Filhos, by João Ubaldo Ribeiro, having been filmed in the cities of Cachoeira, São Francisco do Conde and São Gonçalo dos Campos. Musical program Sente o Som, hosted by Camila Marinho and directed by Marcela Amorim, debuted on January 5, 2019. The seven episodes of the first season featured interviews with artists from Bahia and musical performances. Four episodes were broadcast in Portugal as part of programming for carnival on the Globo Now [pt] cable channel. During the June Festivals of 2020, the station was criticized for the choice of Léo Santana, a pagode singer, for the presentation in São João do Nordeste, the São João festivities special program from Globo's owned-and-operated flagship station for the Northeast of Brazil based in Recife, Pernambuco, TV Globo Nordeste. Artists from different musical genres criticized the decision of choosing an artist from a genre other than forró, which is the most traditional musical style of these festivities. In a statement, TV Bahia ratified that it gave space to several forró artists during its programming for the month of June, through "special programs, reports and interviews about the São João festivities". During 2020, TV Bahia produced several special attractions, aired on Saturdays. The station's first production was the special program Sessão Pet, presented by Pablo Vasconcelos and his pet dog, "Lilica", consisting in content about pet care, as well as stories of owners with their pets. Premiered on October 24, the attraction had three episodes. On November 28, Na Carona returned to the schedule after 13 years of its extinction, in a special edition format. Also hosted by Pablo Vasconcelos, the relaunch program was dedicated to the city of Porto Seguro. On December 11, 2020, the special program Conversa Preta, dedicated to debates on racism and representation and produced by black professionals from Rede Bahia, won the award for "best regional special program" among the attractions of this category produced by Rede Globo affiliates. The production was competing with programs from TV Sergipe [pt] (affiliate for the state of the same name) and Rede Amazônica [pt] (affiliate for the North Region). The first season of the program had aired in August of that year, and the second was shown between October and December 2021. ### Special programming TV Bahia annually covers the Carnival of Salvador in February or March, with the transmission of the special program Bahia Folia, preempting several TV Globo and local programs, in addition to participation in the national network shows. Since 1994, the station has been promoting the Bahia Folia Trophy, a award that elects the most successful hit of the Bahian Carnival by popular vote. Between 1999 and 2014, the station also live broadcast the Salvador Summer Festival, promoted by iContent, which is a subsidiary of Rede Bahia. In 2015, the event started to be broadcast by the Canais Globo's entertainment subscription channel Multishow, but TV Bahia still promotes the event in its schedule, in addition to airing highlights of the event. On February 16, 2023, TV Bahia supported the first broadcast of the Bahian Carnival by TV Globo. The performance of singer and presenter Ivete Sangalo was shown in the special program Trio Pipoca da Ivete, marking the opening of the festivities. The first 30 minutes of the parade on the Barra-Ondina circuit were broadcast nationally, while the affiliate continued to show the event until the beginning of the rerun of the soap opera O Rei do Gado on Vale a Pena Ver de Novo, as well as generating the broadcast for Globoplay. The recording of a scene from the soap opera Vai na Fé with Ivete and the character Lui Lorenzo, played by actor José Loreto, was also broadcast live on the station. ### Sports programming TV Bahia is currently responsible for locally produce part of the transmissions of the Bahia's soccer clubs' matches for the Brazil Cup and Brazilian Championship (A and B series), when Globo holds the broadcast rights of these competitions. The main sports broadcasting team of the network is composed of Thiago Mastroianni as sportscaster and commentary by Gustavo Castelucci, in addition to reports by Danilo Ribeiro, Renan Pinheiro, and Sérgio Pinheiro. In the early days, local sports broadcasts on TV Bahia were made sporadically, when the Manchete and Globo networks held the rights to the competitions in which the local matches took place. In 1997, the Football Association of Bahia signed a contract to broadcast the Campeonato Baiano with SporTV, Globosat's sports pay TV channel. With the agreement, some of the matches had free broadcasting rights for the Globo affiliate. The rights of the Baianão followed with SporTV until 2005, and consequently the punctual broadcasts of some matches by the station also followed until this year. In 2006, due to a lack of agreement between the association and Globosat, the championship had no official television broadcast. The championship's presence on TV was limited to the exhibition of some matches by TVE Bahia (channel 10, then TV Cultura-affiliated public television station), and TV Salvador (channel 28, defunct independent that was part of Rede Bahia's local duopoly with TV Bahia). TV Bahia acquired for the first time the broadcasting rights of the Campeonato Baiano in 2011, replacing TV Itapoan, which had been broadcasting it since 2007. In the first two months, the station registered a 30% increase in ratings in the time slot, where the Campeonato Paulista was shown. The stationcontinued to officially broadcast the competition until 2020, not having renewed the contract with the Football Association of Bahia for the following years. It was replaced by TVE Bahia, which became the official broadcasting station of the championship as of 2021. On March 2, 2022, it was announced that TV Bahia, as well as pay-TV channels and streaming platforms of Grupo Globo, would broadcast matches of Vitória in the Brazilian Championship's C series. The club used a clause from its contract with the Rio de Janeiro-based conglomerate, based on the Lei do Mandante [pt]. With this agreement, the matches played in the Barradão would be broadcast exclusively by Globo outlets, including the affiliated stations of Rede Bahia de Televisão, while the other matches would remain with the DAZN service, which has the rights of the competition for 2022. ## News operation TV Bahia currently broadcasts 23 hours, 20 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with 4 hours, 15 minutes each weekday and 2 hours, 5 minutes on Saturdays). The station also produces the 25-minute local sports show Globo Esporte Bahia, from Monday to Saturday, right after the newscast Bahia Meio Dia. TV Bahia's news operation began with Bahia em Manchete, a newscast shown at 7:15 pm, which premiered on March 11, 1985 and was presented by Paulo Gil. In sports, the first program was Manchete Esportiva Bahia, with Ivan Pedro. A new program entered the station's schedule three months later: Bahia Debate, hosted by the then Rede Manchete journalist Ney Gonçalves Dias. In the program, which was shown on Thursdays, he interviewed the candidates for mayor of Salvador in the municipal election of that year. In July 1986, TV Bahia hired journalist Kátia Guzzo, presenter of variety program Mulher Total on then-SBT affiliate TV Itapoan (channel 5, now RecordTV Itapoan), to co-anchor Bahia Agora, the station's first noon newscast, accompanying journalist Paulo Brandão. As a result of affiliating with Globo in January 1987, TV Bahia restructured its news operation to produce three daily newscasts. Paulo Gil remained host of the evening newscast, which was retitled BATV 2a Edição on January 23. The BATV 3a Edição premiered in the early morning, presented by Paulo Brandão. The noon newscast was rebranded BATV 1a Edição the next day, presented by Cristina Barude. On the same day, Manchete Esportiva Bahia was replaced by the local block of Globo Esporte, lasting 3 minutes. TV Bahia's first morning production, Jornal da Manhã, hosted by Kátia Guzzo, debuted on January 26. On January 27, 1989, a plane carrying a news team from TV Bahia, composed of reporter Anna Valéria, cameraman Robson Barros, and assistant Alberto Luciano Valente, crashed shortly after takeoff at the Bom Jesus da Lapa Airport, colliding with an abandoned house and a umbu tree, and caught fire. The team was returning to Salvador after covering, in Correntina, the burial of 18 victims of an accident between two trucks in Brasília. The aircraft was also carrying a team from the Correio da Bahia newspaper and state representative José Rocha. All eight occupants were injured, but none died. Jornal da Manhã suffered its first anchor change four years after its premiere, in 1991, when Kátia Guzzo was replaced by Regina Coeli. The morning show gained a double presentation in 1993, when Regina was joined by Casemiro Neto. Jornal da Manhã and BATV 1a Edição readopted the Bahia Agora name from 1993 to July 1995, when the title began to be used for a feature magazine hosted by Anna Valéria. In 1993, TV Bahia news teams were involved in at least two polemic episodes related to former governor Nilo Coelho, already owner of TV Aratu. On May 21, 1993, reporter Robson do Val and cameraman Carlos Eduardo de Oliveira were covering Nilo's testimony at the Federal Police headquarters in Salvador. The politician was accused of having slandered the then candidate for governor ACM during an interview to TV Aratu on August 4, 1990. As Nilo was entering the PF headquarters, his lawyer, the former Bahia justice secretary Marcelo Duarte, pushed Carlos Eduardo, who unbalanced and fell down a ladder with the camera. Also in the same day, while leaving the PF headquarters, Nilo Coelho ran over photographer Marcelo Tinoco, of Grupo TV Bahia-ownered newspaper Correio da Bahia. The former governor fled without giving any help. The incident was also recorded by the station, which dedicated a large part of that day's edition of BATV to the incident, including the repercussion of the case among members of the press and politicians in Bahia. On June 30, 1993, Nilo Coelho went to the 1st Police Station of Salvador to testify about the run over, and on that occasion three of Nilo's supporters - among them the mayor of Bom Jesus da Lapa Artur Maia and state deputy Calmito Fernandes - assaulted with kicks a TV Bahia crew, this time composed of Casemiro Neto, a cameraman and his assistant. In 1994, the news coverage of TV Bahia became involved in new controversies due to the control of the station by the Magalhães family. After polls indicated the unpopularity of Salvador's public administration, Mayor Lídice da Mata, an opponent of governor ACM, criticized the station for showing news reports on the problems of the city's administration, especially those related to the situation of public transportation in the capital. According to the mayor's accusations, the coverage of the city's problems on the news was aimed at damaging her popularity by "brainwashing" the population. In 2001, news director Carlos Libório denied that TV Bahia had treated the manager unfairly, mentioning occasions when she received space for clarifications at the station. Kátia Guzzo moved from BATV 1a Edição to BATV 2a Edição in 1996, when then-anchor Emmerson José opted to run for city council. On August 25, 1997, noon newscast Bahia Meio Dia premiered, replacing Bahia Agora and BATV 1a Edição. The new newscast merged the two programs, being hosted by Anna Valéria, Casemiro Neto and Cristina Barude. TV Bahia was the first television station in the state to use a helicopter for news coverage. The aircraft, which started to be used during the carnival coverage in February 1999, was called BahiaCop, and was used for live traffic bulletins, as well as reports and coverage that required aerial images. On August 29, 1999, TV Bahia premiered the information program Bahia Rural, with information about agribusiness and the interior of Bahia, presented by Valber Carvalho. After 23 years leading the TV Bahia news department, journalist Carlos Libório retired on March 13, 2008; he was replaced as news director by Roberto Appel, former journalism manager at RBS TV. In the wake of the change in leadership, several changes in format were made, most notably the introduction of a two-anchor format to BATV; Guzzo was paired with Jefferson Beltrão, who moved from TV Itapoan. The pairing continued until 2015, when Beltrão was dismissed and Guzzo, who shifted to producing special reports for TV Bahia, who left the newscast after 19 years and became a special reporter for the station 1 month later. was replaced with Camila Marinho. On July 21, 2012, Nelson Pelegrino, a candidate for mayor of Salvador, filed a lawsuit claiming that a report on the anniversary of Magalhães's death the previous's day featuring an interview with ACM Neto — his grandson, son of ACM Júnior, and a rival candidate — unfairly benefited Neto. On August 3, however, the Electoral Court of Brazil ruled the accusation as unfounded. According to Ângela Bacellar Batista, judge of the 18th Electoral Zone, there was no breach of equality before the law, as Mário Kertész, who was running for the same position, was also interviewed for the same report. > "The simple fact that the TV station is owned by the candidate's family does not imply an offense to the principle of isonomy and, in this case, the report is included within the freedom of the press, essential to the democratic rule of law, whose dissemination of the manifestation of those present at the ceremony, purpose of the report, cannot be confused with the prohibition of article 45 of Law 9,504/97". During the carnival of 2014, TV Bahia again debuted a helicopter for news coverage, debuting RedeCop. The aircraft provided services to the station until June 30, 2016, when TV Bahia's contract with the São Paulo-based company Time News, responsible for the equipment, was terminated. Like other affiliates that aired local programming right after Fantástico on Sundays, the last edition of Rede Bahia Revista, produced since 1998, was aired on January 18, 2015. The program left the schedule due to changes in Rede Globo's programming for the time slot. As a result of increased competition from RecordTV Itapoan during the exhibition of early afternoon program Balanço Geral BA, several changes were made. News director Appel retired and was replaced by Eurico Meira da Costa, who had held the same post at NSC TV, the Globo affiliate in Santa Catarina. In response, TV Bahia hired Jessica Senra from RecordTV Itapoan to host a revamped Bahia Meio Dia, which resulted in an immediate increase in ratings. Another action to improve the channel's midday ratings was taken on November 26, 2018, with the removal of Globo's health program Bem Estar from the weekly schedule to expand Bahia Meio Dia; as a result, it began airing 15 to 30 minutes earlier than similar newscasts on other Rede Globo affiliates. The station noted that low ratings for Globo network programming were harming its own local newscast. 2018 also saw the debut of a Saturday morning newscast, Bom Dia Sábado. On February 26, 2018, the station committed a gaffe when it accidentally showed the body of a dead man during a report on Jornal da Manhã, which station policy typically prohibits. It appeared in the background of a live report for 40 seconds until it was spotted and reporter Vanderson Nascimento was alerted to position himself to block the corpse. João Gomes, then executive director of television at Rede Bahia, classified the event as a "human error" and further stated that the incident was not an attempt to gain ratings, citing TV Bahia's number-one position in that timeslot. After two decades with the station hosting Bahia Rural, Valber Carvalho left TV Bahia in 2019, with Bahia Rural being hosted by two former reporters, Georgina Maynart and station veteran José Raimundo. Raimundo would leave TV Bahia in 2021 after 31 years. On December 12, 2021, Camila Marinho, accompanied by cameraman Cleriston Santana, was attacked by supporters and members of president Jair Bolsonaro's security team as she tried to cover his visit to the city of Itamaraju, in the far southern of Bahia, due to heavy rains that wreaked havoc in the city and in the region. Her microphone was damaged by the municipality's secretary of works, Antonio Charbel, and she was also the victim of an attempted rear naked choke hold by one of the security guards, in addition to having a fanny pack stolen. Reporters Xico Lopes and Dário Cerqueira, from TV Aratu, were with TV Bahia reporters and were also attacked. The events were reported on TV Globo's national news programs, and the network repudiated the attacks on both teams. Rede Bahia also released a statement denouncing the action. ### Notable on-air staff #### Current - Jessica Senra [pt] - Thiago Mastroianni [pt] #### Former - Carlos Viana - Casemiro Neto [pt] (now with TV Aratu) - Emmerson José [pt] - Giácomo Mancini [pt] - Ricardo Fontes Mendes [pt] - Paulo Gil [pt] (deceased) ## Technical information ### Subchannels ### Analog-to-digital conversion In November 2008, TV Bahia started its digital transmissions in high definition (HD) on an experimental basis on UHF channel 29. Digital broadcasts officially started on December 1, making the station a pioneer in terrestrial digital transmissions in the Northeast Region of Brazil and the capital of Bahia the seventh city to receive digital television in Brazil, exactly one year after the official launch in the country. On November 25, 2013, it began broadcasting its local newscasts in HDTV. TV Bahia shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 11, on September 27, 2017, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal remains on its pre-transition UHF channel 29, using virtual channel 11. The station did the local generation of the final match of the Copa do Brasil that year, narrated by Thiago Mastroianni, as well as live entries from the station's master control with reporter Giana Mattiazzi, who showed the signal being interrupted at 11:59 pm, after the end of the match, and began to broadcast a notice from the a notice from the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (Brazil) (MCTIC) and ANATEL about the switch-off. ## See also - Rede Bahia de Televisão - TV Globo
16,056,695
Debby Applegate
1,170,895,215
American historian and biographer
[ "1968 births", "21st-century American women writers", "American biographers", "American women academics", "American women biographers", "Amherst College alumni", "Living people", "People from Clackamas, Oregon", "Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography winners", "Wesleyan University faculty", "Women autobiographers", "Writers from Eugene, Oregon", "Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni" ]
Debby Applegate is an American historian and biographer. She is the author of Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age and The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher, for which she won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. Born in Eugene, Oregon, Applegate attended Amherst College as an undergraduate, where she began a two-decade fascination with famous alumnus Henry Ward Beecher, a 19th-century abolitionist minister who was later the subject of a widely publicized sex scandal. She made Beecher the subject of her dissertation in American Studies at Yale, where she received a Ph.D. After several more years of research, Applegate published The Most Famous Man in America, which was praised by critics and awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Her second book, Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age, an account of the life and times of the notorious Manhattan brothel-keeper Polly Adler, was published in November 2021 after thirteen years of extensive research. ## Biography Born in Eugene, Oregon, Applegate grew up in Clackamas, Oregon, graduating from Clackamas High School. She was raised in what she described as an "unusual religious environment": her mother, from a Mormon family, became a New Thought minister, while her father was an Irish Catholic. She graduated summa cum laude from Amherst College in 1989 and was a Sterling Fellow at Yale University, where she earned a Ph.D. in American Studies. Applegate has taught at Yale, Wesleyan University, and Marymount Manhattan College. Her contributions have appeared in The Journal of American History and The New York Times. Applegate was a founding member of Biographers International Organization (BIO), and served as its initial interim president in 2009. She currently serves as the Chair of BIO's Advisory Committee. She is married to Bruce Tulgan, a business writer whose books include It's Okay To Be The Boss. They live in New Haven, Connecticut. ## Works ### The Most Famous Man in America As an undergraduate student worker at Amherst College, Applegate was assigned to assemble an exhibit on a famous alumnus and selected Henry Ward Beecher, a 19th-century minister known for his abolitionist preaching and widely publicized sex scandal. Applegate described him as " unlike any religious figure I’d ever seen. I loved his very modern sense of humor, his irreverence, and his joyful, ecumenical approach to religion and life in general." She later made him the subject of her undergraduate senior thesis and her PhD dissertation at Yale University. After graduation, Applegate signed a publishing contract to write a biography of Beecher. "I had acquired an excellent education as an academic historian, but I’d never had a single lesson, formal or informal, in this new craft I had so blithely chosen," Applegate later recalled. Applegate's initial chapters were written in what she considered an overly academic voice, so to write a biography with popular appeal, she studied fiction writing, including techniques for suspense and pornographic writing. "I made my way through my first book by trial and error, using my cobbled-together collection of examples, borrowed exercises and jerry-rigged postulations, to navigate the enormous task of fashioning an intellectually and emotionally compelling account out of the scattered detritus of a person’s life," wrote Applegate in a 2016 essay on making the leap from academic historian to popular biographer. She structured the resulting book as a psychological thriller. Though she had originally hoped to publish the book during the 1998 Lewinsky scandal, in which US President Bill Clinton was discovered to have had a sexual relationship with a White House intern, the research took several years longer than she had initially planned. The book was finally released in 2006 by Doubleday. #### Reception The Most Famous Man in America was sold well and was praised by critics. NPR selected it as one of the year's best nonfiction books, stating that the book "convinces readers of the truth of that swaggering title". Kirkus Reviews called it a "beautifully written biography of America's one best-known preacher ... An exceptionally thorough and thoughtful account of a spectacular career that helped shape and reflect national preoccupations before, during and after the Civil War." Publishers Weekly wrote that "this assessment of Beecher is judicious and critical. Applegate gives an insightful account." In a review for The Boston Globe, Katherine A. Powers called the book a "fantastic story with novelistic flair and penetration into the ever-changing motives and expediencies of its many actors." Michael Kazin, reviewing the book for The New York Times, stated that Applegate's writing occasionally "loses its force in a thicket of personal details", but concluded that the book is "a biography worthy of its subject". On April 16, 2007, the book was announced as the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. Applegate said of her win, "Half of it is just good luck ... Had it come out four years ago, I don't think the climate was ready for it. The religious right intersection with politics is very important now." ### Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age Applegate's second book is a biography of Polly Adler, New York City's notorious Prohibition-era brothel-keeper whose 1953 memoir A House is Not a Home became a New York Times Bestseller and a 1963 film starring Shelley Winters. The decision to write the book came after a year of research into 1920s New York City cultural history, during which Applegate discovered Adler's memoir and grew fascinated by it. "Innocently strolling the library stacks, I stumbled upon yet another big, bewitching American character — a once infamous but now forgotten madam named Polly Adler," wrote Applegate in an essay honoring the centennial of the Pulitzer Prizes. "Before I knew it, I’d signed another contract and marched back into the swamp." Applegate worked on the book for thirteen years, relying in particular on Polly Adler's remaining personal papers and the notebooks of Adler's ghostwriter Virginia Faulkner. Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age was published by Doubleday in November, 2021, to glowing reviews. John Dickerson of CBS News Sunday Morning called Madam, “A biography that is also a story of America, bursting into the modern age, with new roles for women, new rules for couples, and parties that flowed into rooms down the hall.” In New York magazine Chris Bonanos called it, “a hugely digressive book in the best possible way: You meet a lot of gangsters and high rollers in Adler’s New York, and they cross paths with novelists, entertainers, professional boxers, and now and then a mayor or a Rockefeller.” In the New York Times, reviewer Paulina Bren wrote, "Replete with accounts of Polly’s many court battles, newspaper headlines, mobster dealings and society gossip, “Madam” is a breathless tale told through extraordinary research. Indeed, the galloping pace of Applegate’s book sometimes makes the reader want to pull out a white flag and wave in surrender — begging for her to slow down."
55,284,396
FAE grp
1,135,550,660
British entertainment company
[ "British record labels", "Companies based in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham", "Pop record labels", "Record labels based in London" ]
FAE grp (also known as First Access Entertainment Group) is an entertainment company founded by Sarah Stennett and owner of Access Industries and Len Blavatnik, with offices in London, New York City and Los Angeles. It launched in 2015 and is the successor to Stennett's first company Turn First Artists, which was absorbed into the new venture. Since then, the activities of the company have evolved to include a record label (Access Records), publishing (First Access Publishing), Sports Management (First Access Sports), and a seed funding venture called "Fund by First Access Entertainment". The company is most known for managing recording artists Iggy Azalea, Ellie Goulding, Jessie J, Rita Ora, and Madison Beer. Prior to his death in 2017, then upcoming-rapper Lil Peep was managed through a joint-venture with FAE. His music has since been released posthumously through the company and Peep's estate. Also in 2019, American burlesque-come-recording group the Pussycat Dolls reformed and released new music with Access Records. Later that year Blavatnik would resign as a director from the company. ## History First Access Entertainment's origins can be traced back to an earlier company, Turn First Artists, an artist management and development agency based out of West London, founded by music manager Sarah Stennett. With the agency, Stennett has been responsible for launching the careers of artists including Iggy Azalea, Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding, Zayn and Jessie J. Stennett also co-founded law firm SSB, which represents Adele, alongside setting up the Grammy Award-winning songwriting and production team the Invisible Men that includes her husband George Astasio. In October 2015, Turn First was absorbed into a new joint venture launched by Stennett and Len Blavatnik's Access Industries, a privately held industrial group with major holdings in the music, media and telecommunications sectors. The new venture would be called First Access Entertainment (FEA) and encompassed both artist management and label services. Founded in 2015, the company offers services across artist and model management, recorded music, music publishing, strategic brand partnerships, TV/film development and sports management. It has offices in London, Los Angeles and New York. In 2017, Oscar Scivier joined Access Records as their vice president of A&R from Ultra Records. Blavatnik would resign as a company director in October 2019 and was replaced with Stephen John Hendry. Upon announcing their reformation, American burlesque group-come recording group the Pussycat Dolls confirmed in 2020 that they would be releasing new music, including the song "React", through Access Records. "React" is their first independent release, as well as the group's first release in a decade. Scherzinger told Rap-Up that being "able to release our music independently at this moment in time feels incredibly empowering". In July 2022, A&R Executives Jesse Dixon and Jay Grey were promoted to the positions of Co-Vice Presidents of Music at FAE Group. Grey will lead on "publishing, records and management roster of talent" while Dixon will focus on growth and development of their roster of artists. ## Access Records and artist management services ### Roster As of 2021, First Access Entertainment is home to a range of acts including, but not limited to: - Algee Smith - Ashlee Simpson - Bebe Rexha - Brian D. Lee - Conor Maynard - Evan Ross - iLoveMakonnen - Jack & Jack - Kara Marni - Kiya Juliet - Lil Peep - Lion Babe - MadeinTYO - Madison Beer - Ray BLK - Rita Ora - The Invisible Men - Travis Mills - MJ Rodriguez ### Former clients - Charles Hamilton (from 2015-2017) - Nicole Scherzinger - The Pussycat Dolls (record label services, 2019-2020) - Zayn (from 2015-2018) ### Digital tours FEA has also worked on several digital tours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2020 feature in the Los Angeles Times covered senior VP of A&R at First Access Records, Le'Roy Benros, and how he oversaw "geofenced digital tours" for the artists Lion Babe and Kwamie Liv. Explaining the concept, Benros said "the economy has taken a big hit, and brands are trying to find creative and effective ways to reach their demographic. Brands also know that a main source of an independent artist's revenue stream has been depleted. I think it's a mutually beneficial partnership as long as it doesn't compromise the integrity and aesthetic of the artist." Benros explained that geofencing meant that free tickets available only to fans in the area where the artists would have performed anyway. Benros noted that in future, he would expect fans to pay for such opportunities. ## Other ventures ### First Access Publishing Following its first 18 months in service, FAE signed a joint agreement with publishing company Warner/Chappell to provide global support for FAE's "publishing roster for synchronization in film, TV, advertising, games and other media, as well as provide global copyright administration." Warner/Chappell CEO Jon Platt said of the venture, "we're very pleased to partner with the terrific team at First Access Entertainment." Platt noted that the venture would utilise skills at both companies and build "long, successful careers for diverse and accomplished songwriters, now and in the future." Stennett also commented on the venture during a press release, saying "I'm very much looking forward to working hand-in-hand with the incredible team at Warner/Chappell on developing and maximising the full scope of our artist's repertoire across a broad range of media and entertainment platforms." ### First Access Sports In 2018, FAE further diversified its operations, launching a sports management agency to represent sports stars from all fields. First Access Sports focusses on services aimed at young athletes. Stennett expanded on the company's purpose during an interview with Music Week, where she recognised youth athletes as "youth culture stars" and as being "powerful individuals", with "enormous cultural presence and influence." She said: "our mission is to create the foundations for exemplary performance within the scope of their core discipline and to enhance their visibility and ancillary value." Co-CEO Len Blavatnik agreed noting that FEA has foundations and previous successes in attracting, retaining and representing talent, he said: "FEA has a proven track record in talent discovery and representation. We have a team in place that can push the boundaries of traditional sports management." ### Fund by Access Entertainment Also in 2018, the company joined forces with Simon Tikhman to launch "Fund by Access Entertainment," a seed funding initiative for entrepreneurs launching ventures centred around youth culture. Of the venture, Tikhman said, "This is a natural next step – by seeding, incubating and giving aspiring companies access to the extensive global infrastructure of First Access Entertainment, they will have all the tools they need to take their ideas to the next level." ### The Qube First Access was also a founding investor in "The Qube", a "first of its kind venue and community for music professionals to connect and collaborate." The flagship West London venue is a 22,000 square-foot premise designed by Munro Acoustics, featuring 30 state of the art soundproofed recording studios, breakout spaces, and a tranquil garden terrace is due to open in January 2020. Other partners in the venture include; Riz Ahmed, Krept & Konan, Rudimental's Amir Amor, Mixcloud co-founder Nikhil Shah, and Concord Music. ## Controversies ### Death of Lil Peep In 2017, American rapper Lil Peep died of an accidental drug overdose; he was managed by FAE. The rapper's mother Liza Womack filed wrongful death charges against FAE in 2019, accusing them of "negligence and other breaches of contract which, the lawsuit alleges, contributed to his death in 2017 of an accidental drugs overdose." Among the claims in the lawsuit are that FAE was complicit in providing access to "illegal drugs" and "prescription medications", and that the company knowingly allowed drug use to take place during the rapper's tour "despite being aware of his addiction". At one point, the lawsuit charges that FAE encouraged the star to take drugs. In a responding statement, FAE expressed disappointment in the lawsuit: > "Lil Peep's death from an accidental drug overdose was a terrible tragedy. However, the claim that First Access Entertainment, any of its employees, or Chase Ortega, or anyone else under our auspices, was somehow responsible for, complicit in, or contributed to his death is categorically untrue. In fact, we consistently encouraged Peep to stop abusing drugs and to distance himself from the negative influence of the drug users and enablers with whom he chose to associate." FAE formally filed court documents at the Los Angeles County Superior Court on 23 December 2019 to dispute all claims, including claims of negligence, breach of contract, "and wrongful death". Stennett told Rolling Stone that "[she] felt very protective of Lil Peep from day one." In later documents and court filings, the company said that their work with Lil Peep was an "arm's length business arrangement", something disputed by the rapper's mother. Despite court filings, FAE supported the release of Peep's first posthumous album Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 2 (2019), which reached number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, a career-best for the rapper. At the start of 2020, the company released statements about their belief that they had no contractual responsibility for Lil Peep's personal life, and that a ruling to suggest so would damage management businesses, "Imposing a duty on FAE Ltd. or FAE LLC to prevent [Lil Peep's] drug overdose would extend the boundaries of legal obligations far beyond any precedent, and far beyond the contractual obligations and reasonable expectations of parties doing business. It would convert businesses engaged in the music and entertainment industries into full-time babysitters for artists. That clearly was not the parties' intent upon entering 'the JVA [(joint-venture agreement)].'" ### Adam Lublin Adam Lublin, a former executive of AEG, worked for FAE as a consultant. In 2019, he was charged with "two counts of burglary and one count of sexual abuse" at the Manhattan Criminal Court, before being charged "on a second count of sexual abuse and burglary against the first victim's roommate". The company subsequently terminated all business with Lublin.
24,207,411
Dongan Charter
1,145,045,217
1686 charter for Albany, New York
[ "17th-century documents", "History of Albany, New York", "Political charters", "Pre-statehood history of New York (state)", "Thirteen Colonies documents" ]
The Dongan Charter is the 1686 document incorporating Albany, New York, as a city. Albany's charter was issued by Governor Thomas Dongan of the Province of New York, a few months after Governor Dongan issued a similarly worded, but less detailed charter for the city of New York. The city of Albany was created three years after Albany County. The charter is the oldest existing city charter still in force in the United States. According to Stefan Bielinski, former senior historian of the New York State Museum, the charter is also "arguably the longest-running instrument of municipal government in the Western Hemisphere." In 1936 the United States Congress commemorated the charter's 250th anniversary by minting a half dollar coin. ## History After the city of New York received a municipal charter from Governor Dongan the governor came to Albany, at which time the village sent a delegation of prominent men to request a charter of their own. The Patroon, after being encouraged by the governor, finally released all claims to Albany and forfeited a strip of land 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and 16 miles (26 km) long to Albany. Albany at the time consisted of about 500 residents living in around 140 houses. In July 1686 a delegation led by Pieter Schuyler and Robert Livingston traveled to New York to receive the charter for Albany; the charter was signed on July 22, 1686, and was read aloud to the citizens of Albany on July 25. Due to England, and by extension Albany, using the Julian calendar at the time, the corrected date for the signing of the document under the Gregorian calendar is August 1, 1686. During Leisler's Rebellion Jacob Leisler demanded the charters of Albany and the city of New York be forfeited, and New York yielded but Albany's mayor, Pieter Schuyler, refused. Schuyler went on to become one of the major leaders in suppressing the rebellion. The next major threat to the charter government came during the American Revolution when the Common Council stopped meeting in 1775. The local Committee of Safety took over daily functions until 1778 when the Common Council began meeting again. A Dongan Charter Parade was held in 1936 for the 250th anniversary celebrations, and as part of the ceremonies the United States Congress authorized the minting of an Albany Charter half dollar coin. Tricentennial celebrations held in 1986 included a re-enactment of the signing and awarding of the charter by Governor Mario Cuomo playing Governor Dongan, and Mayor Thomas Whalen playing Mayor Schuyler. Other events during the tricentennial were fireworks, music, the unveiling of a tricentennial clock, a hot-air balloon lift-off from Lincoln Park, and a cake large enough to feed thousands. Mayors from other Albanys around the world were among the visiting dignitaries who were invited to the ceremonies and given a tour of the city by Mayor Whalen. ## Provisions The charter turned the village of Albany into a city under the name of "The Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the city of Albany";. This legally separated it from Rensselaerswyck, a nearby colonial estate. The charter also established Albany's boundaries and a municipal government, as well as specifically naming the first officers. Certain special rights were put into the charter as well, such as the exclusive right to negotiate with the Native Americans. It also established Albany as the sole market town in the upper Hudson region, with the right to purchase land at Tionnderoge and Schaghticoke. The mayor of Albany was the executive officer and selected by the Lieutenant Governor. He was also designated as the clerk of the marketplace and the coroner for both the city and Albany County. Two aldermen and two assistant aldermen were chosen from each ward and sat on the Common Council along with the mayor and recorder. The mayor, recorder, and aldermen were also justices, the assistants however did not have any judicial powers. The sole right to issue trading privileges anywhere in Albany County rested with the mayor and Common Council. Albany County encompassed all of Upstate New York north and west of Ulster County at that time, as well as the state of Vermont. All residents of New York, except those of Albany, were specifically banned from trading with any Iroquois nation, or with any other native tribe to the west, east, or north of the city of Albany, or with native tribes anywhere within Albany County. ## Amendments The Dongan Charter was first amended on March 21, 1787, to remove the mayor's powers to act as the city and county's sole coroner, and to regulate trade with Indians. It continued to be used with only minor changes until March 16, 1870, when it saw major changes by the state legislature in 1870 and 1883. In the 1870 revision, the city's official name was changed from "The Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the city of Albany" to the "City of Albany". In 1998, the charter was almost completely rewritten after a municipal referendum. Legally, however, the revised charter was reckoned as an amendment to the Dongan Charter. ## Commemorative coin The United States Congress authorized on June 16, 1936, the minting of 25,000 half dollar coins celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Dongan Charter.