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Battle of Yongyu
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1950 battle of the Korean War
|
[
"Battles and operations of the Korean War in 1950",
"Battles of the Korean War",
"Battles of the Korean War involving Australia",
"Battles of the Korean War involving North Korea",
"Battles of the Korean War involving the United Kingdom",
"Battles of the Korean War involving the United States",
"History of South Pyongan Province",
"October 1950 events in Asia"
] |
The Battle of Yongyu (영유永柔 전투), also known as the Battle of the Apple Orchard or the Battle of Yongju by the Australians who fought in it, took place between 21 and 22 October 1950 during the United Nations Command (UNC) offensive into North Korea against the Korean People's Army (KPA) that had invaded South Korea during the Korean War. The battle was fought between the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) of the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade and the KPA 239th Regiment.
On 20 October, the US 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (187 RCT) staged a parachute assault at Sukchon and Sunchon, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Pyongyang, with the objectives of cutting off KPA forces retreating ahead of the US Eighth Army general advance from the south, capturing important North Korean government officials evacuating Pyongyang, and liberating American prisoners of war (POWs) being moved out of Pyongyang. On 21 October, two 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment (187 ABN) combat teams started southwards in a reconnaissance-in-force to clear the Sukchon–Yongyu highway and rail line and to establish contact with the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade that was leading the Eighth Army advance northwards from Pyongyang. 187 ABN came under fire from the KPA 239th Regiment in the vicinity of Yongyu. As a result of the US airborne operation, the KPA 239th Regiment found itself caught between the Eighth Army advance and the 187 ABN attack in its rear. The KPA 239th Regiment attempted a breakout to the north just after midnight on 21–22 October. Facing determined attacks, the American paratroopers at Yongyu requested armoured assistance from the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade on the Pyongyang–Sukchon road just south of Yongyu.
The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade had departed from Pyongyang at noon on 21 October, headed north on the Sukchon highway, tasked with reaching the Chongchon River. The 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highland Regiment (1 ASHR), leading the brigade advance, pushed up the highway until fired upon by KPA in the hills south of Yongyu. By nightfall, the hills were cleared by the Highlanders and the brigade halted for the night. The British could hear the sounds of a heavy battle taking place to the north. 3 RAR was directed to take the lead when the brigade moved out the following morning. C Company, 3 RAR, was selected to lead the Australian advance. C Company, with elements mounted on US tanks and the rest of the company following in motorised transport, was to pass through Yongyu as rapidly as possible and effect a relief of the 187 ABN defenders to the north. At first light on 22 October, 1 ASHR and the 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (1 MR) advanced into Yongyu to clear the town of KPA. 3 RAR, with C Company on point, passed through 1 ASHR and 1 MR and moved through Yongyu, headed north on the Yongyu–Sukchon road.
C Company, 3 RAR, came under fire from a KPA 239th Regiment rearguard force entrenched in a hillside apple orchard north of Yongyu and aggressively counterattacked off the line of march into the orchard, routing the KPA from the high ground. The KPA 239th Regiment, now on open ground between 3 RAR and 187 ABN, was forced to withdraw westwards with heavy casualties. 3 RAR then relieved the American paratroopers in their defensive positions. By midday, after three hours of fighting, the battle was mostly over. Many KPA soldiers who had been unable to escape hid or feigned death until captured or killed. With the linkup completed, the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade relieved 187 RCT at Sukchon and passed through for the continuation of its drive to the Chongchon River. The Australians had distinguished themselves in their first major battle in the Korean War, and the battalion was later praised for its performance.
## Background
On 26 July, the Australian government announced that it would commit the under-strength and poorly equipped 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) then in Japan to South Korea, following a period of preparation. Training and re-equipment began immediately, while hundreds of reinforcements were hastily recruited in Australia as part of K Force; they soon began arriving to fill out the battalion. The battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Floyd Walsh, was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Green. An officer with extensive operational experience fighting the Japanese in New Guinea during the Second World War, Green took over from Walsh due to the latter's perceived inexperience.
On 23 September, 3 RAR embarked for Korea, arriving at Pusan on 28 September. There it joined the British 27th Infantry Brigade, a garrison formation hurriedly committed from Hong Kong by the British as the situation deteriorated around the Pusan Perimeter in late August to bolster the US Eighth Army under the command of Lieutenant General Walton Walker. Commanded by Brigadier Basil Coad, the brigade was renamed the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade and consisted of the 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highland Regiment (1 ASHR), the 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (1 MR) and 3 RAR. The two understrength British battalions had each mustered just 600 men of all ranks, while the brigade was also short on transport and heavy equipment, and had no integral artillery or armour support, for which it would rely entirely on the Americans until the 16th Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery arrived in January 1951. As such, with a strength of nearly 1,000 men, the addition of 3 RAR gave the brigade increased tactical weight as well as expediently allowing the Australians to work within a familiar organisational environment, rather than being attached to a US formation. Also under the command of the brigade were a number of US Army units, including 155 mm howitzers from the US 90th Field Artillery Battalion, M4 Sherman tanks from the US 89th Tank Battalion and a company of US combat engineers.
## Prelude
### Opposing forces
By the time 3 RAR arrived in the theatre, the North Koreans had been broken and were in rapid retreat, with General Douglas MacArthur's UNC forces conducting a successful amphibious assault at Inchon and breakout from the Pusan Perimeter on the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. A steady advance began, driving the North Koreans northwards towards the 38th Parallel. The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade was airlifted from Taegu to Kimpo Airfield north of Seoul on 5 October. However, its vehicles had to move by road, driving 420 kilometres (260 mi) and did not arrive until 9 October. It was attached to the US 1st Cavalry Division under the command of Major General Hobart R. Gay. The brigade would function as a separate task force at a considerable distance from, and without physical contact with, that division or other friendly units. On 16 October, the brigade took over from the US 7th Cavalry Regiment as the vanguard of the UNC advance into North Korea, its axis intended to take it through Kaesong, Kumchon and Hungsu-ri to Sariwon, then through Hwangju to Pyongyang. Although the North Koreans had suffered heavily in the preceding weeks, they continued to resist strongly, while a lack of accurate maps and the narrowness of the roads made rapid movement difficult for the advancing UNC forces. During this time, 3 RAR had a platoon of US M4 Sherman tanks attached and a battery of field guns in direct support.
The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade moved 70 kilometres (43 mi) from Kumchon, with the Argylls capturing Sariwon, an industrial town 54 kilometres (34 mi) south of Pyongyang, on 17 October. Supported by 3 RAR and US tanks, the Highlanders killed 215 KPA and took several thousand prisoners for the loss of one man killed and three wounded in a one-sided action. Prior to the attack, the Australians had moved through the town to establish a blocking position 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the north. During the evening, 3 RAR encountered a KPA force withdrawing north. Using the same road and moving in the same direction, the KPA mistook the Australians and Argylls for Russians in the poor light and were bluffed into surrendering, with the Australians capturing thousands of KPA and their weapons and equipment following a brief exchange. Mounted on a tank, the 3 RAR second-in-command, Major Ian Ferguson, captured over 1,600 KPA soldiers with just an interpreter. Australian involvement had been limited, however, and they regarded their first exposure to the fighting in Korea as a relatively minor incident. Pyongyang fell to US and South Korean troops on 19 October. On 21 October, the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade passed to the command of the US 24th Infantry Division under the overall command of Major General John H. Church, while the US 1st Cavalry Division remained in Pyongyang to complete its capture. Coad had hoped to rest his men at Pyongyang; however, the advance continued north with little respite and the brigade moved through the village of Samgapo. The British and Australians were ordered to seize Chongju.
The previous day, Colonel Frank S. Bowen's US 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (187 RCT) had parachuted into drop zones around Sukchon and Sunchon. 187 RCT was tasked with cutting off retreating KPA forces withdrawing up the west coast of the Korean Peninsula and releasing US and South Korean POWs. The 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment's 1st and 3rd Battalions (1/187 and 3/187 ABN) dropped southeast of Sukchon to seize the town, hold the high ground to the north and block the highway and rail line south of Sukchon, cutting off the main supply route and line of communication that led north from Pyongyang; the 2nd Battalion (2/187 ABN) was dropped near Sunchon, 24 kilometres (15 mi) east of Sukchon to seize the town, block another highway and rail line, and intercept a POW train that US intelligence indicated was moving northwards by night from Pyongyang. The US paratroopers were to hold their positions until relieved by the US Eighth Army push northwards to link up with them, a task that was expected to be completed within two days. After observing the airdrop, General MacArthur flew to Pyongyang where he announced to the press that the airborne operation was a brilliant tactical maneuver that seemed to have been a complete surprise to the North Koreans. Estimating that 30,000 KPA, perhaps half of those remaining in North Korea, had been caught between 187 RCT in the north and the US 1st Cavalry Division and ROK 1st Infantry Division to the south at Pyongyang, he predicted that they would soon be destroyed or captured. He termed the airdrop an “expert performance” and said, “This closes the trap on the enemy.” MacArthur's optimism would not be supported by events. Anxious not to expose the lightly armed and lightly equipped paratroopers by projecting them too far forward of the Eighth Army advance, MacArthur had kept them back too long. The operation came too late to intercept any significant KPA elements. By this time, most of the KPA remnants had already succeeded in withdrawing north, and had crossed safely behind the Chongchon River, or were in the process of doing so, while Premier Kim Il Sung's government and most important officials had moved to Kanggye in the mountains 32 kilometres (20 mi) southeast of Manpojin on the Yalu River. Through no fault of their own, the paratroopers were less successful on one other score, that of rescuing POWs who were being moved northwards from Pyongyang; most of the American POWs had been moved to more remote parts of North Korea and were unable to be rescued. Although sound in concept, the US airborne operation may have had more chance of success had a complete airborne division been employed.
Only the KPA 239th Regiment remained, having been ordered to delay the UNC forces as they attempted to follow up. With a strength of 2,500 men, the regiment occupied positions on the high ground astride the road and rail lines east of Yongyu, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of the US drop zone at Sukchon.
## Battle
### KPA 239th Regiment is encircled, 21 October 1950
The most important action growing out of the 187 RCT airdrop occurred in the 3/187 ABN sector, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of Sukchon in the vicinity of Op'a-ri and Yongyu. At 02:30 on 21 October, K Company repulsed an attack on its Sukchon–Pyongyang highway roadblock by an estimated company-sized KPA force that attempted to break through to the north. At 09:00, the 3/187 ABN command post (CP) advanced two combat teams from the roadblock position in a reconnaissance-in-force to clear the Sukchon–Yongyu road towards Pyongyang and establish contact with the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade that was leading the 24th Infantry Division northwards from Pyongyang. I Company was assigned to clear the rail line and K Company was given the mission of clearing the highway. I Company reached Op'a-ri at 13:00, where it was attacked by an estimated battalion-strength KPA force equipped with heavy mortars and automatic antiaircraft guns. After a two-and-a-half-hour firefight, I Company, with two rifle platoons overrun by the KPA and 90 men missing, was forced to withdraw west of the rail line to Hill 281. Failing to exploit the advantage, the KPA withdrew to defensive positions on the high ground around Op'a-ri. Meanwhile, K Company, receiving harassing fire during its advance along the highway, proceeded to a point about 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) north of Yongyu, where it encountered a KPA force of about three companies. After a heavy firefight, the Americans forced the KPA to withdraw to defensive positions on the high ground to the south and east of the town. K Company continued into Yongyu, taking up defensive positions in the town and on Hill 163 to the north of the town.
I and K Companies now occupied defensive positions roughly opposite each other—at Op'a-ri (Hill 281) overlooking the rail line and at Yongyu (Hill 163) overlooking the highway—yet these positions were now almost 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) apart and unable to mutually support each other. The distance separating the highway and the railway which ran north either side of Yongyu was greater at that point than anywhere else between Sukchon and Pyongyang. Extending on a southwest–northeast axis, and cutting across both the highway and rail line at Yongyu and Op'a-ri, is a line of high hills offering the best defensible ground between Pyongyang and the Chongchon River. Here, the KPA 239th Regiment had taken up defensive positions, deploying a battalion in each locality. The last organised KPA unit to leave Pyongyang, its mission was to fight a delaying action against the expected UNC advance from Pyongyang. Now, as a result of the unexpected US airborne operation, it was encircled and found itself attacked from two separate points in its rear. The KPA 239th Regiment, by this time convinced that both routes to the north had been blocked by the US airborne forces, would attempt one last push to regain contact with the other KPA forces that had infiltrated northwards.
### British and Australians advance to Yongyu, 21–22 October 1950
In the days prior, the US I Corps had continued its movement northwards as part of the general advance of the US Eighth Army. Following the capture of Pyongyang, the corps commander, Major General Frank W. Milburn, ordered the advance to continue to the MacArthur Line, running approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of the Yalu River. The US 24th Infantry Division, to which the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade was now attached, was ordered to lead this attack. On the division's right flank three ROK divisions, the ROK 1st Infantry Division, under the US I Corps, and the ROK 6th and 8th Infantry Divisions under control of the ROK II Corps, were deployed to the east and would also be committed to the attack northwards. The British and Australians had covered 122 kilometres (76 mi) in the previous two days, advancing rapidly until slowed by rain. A Company, 3 RAR, was engaged by snipers from a nearby village without suffering casualties. The Sherman tanks proceeded to heavily engage the KPA positions in the village, which was then cleared by the Australian infantry who killed five KPA and took three prisoners. As the rain ceased a KPA T-34 tank, which had remained concealed during the earlier fighting, engaged D Company, 3 RAR, and was knocked out by the US tanks. An unmanned SU-76 self-propelled gun was also located nearby and neither it nor the tank were found to have any fuel.
Now the vanguard of the Eighth Army, the British and Australians crossed the Taedong River using a sandbag bridge at Pyongyang at noon on 21 October, moving north on the main highway to Sukchon with the task of reaching the Chongchon River. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Nielson, 1 ASHR pushed up the road until fired upon by KPA forces in the hills to the south of the town, with snipers engaging the column as it turned west out of the river valley around 16:00. Encountering only light resistance from a small KPA force of approximately 75 men which was then scattered by tank fire, the Argylls successfully cleared the foothills by last light on 21 October. Approaching Yongyu, Coad decided to halt for the night. The Argylls sent a patrol into the town, establishing initial contact with 3/187 ABN, marrying up with K Company which was established in a number of houses on the northern edge of Yongyu and on Hill 163 immediately above their position. A strong KPA force was believed to be nearby, with at least 300 men thought to remain in the town.
### KPA 239th Regiment breakout, 22 October 1950
At 00:15, the KPA 239th Regiment attempted a breakout to the north, launching multiple attacks against K Company, 187 ABN, at Yongyu. During the first attack, K Company's positions in the town and at its roadblock on the northern outskirts of town were assaulted by a large KPA force estimated at two battalions. Nearby, the British and Australians could hear the sounds of heavy fighting between the Americans and KPA 1.6 to 3.2 kilometres (1 to 2 mi) to the north. Half an hour later, a small KPA force attacked A Company, 1 ASHR, with grenades, killing two men and wounding two more before being repulsed, having suffered one killed and one wounded. Following two more KPA attacks, the Americans abandoned the roadblock after running out of ammunition and withdrew to 3/187 ABN's main defensive position 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) to the north. Detecting the withdrawal, the KPA attacked again at 04:00, leaving a small blocking force to hold the remnants of K Company in place in Yongyu, and concentrated the majority of its forces on the road to Sukchon. To the south, the British and Australians began to fear that the Americans had been overrun. A short time after the KPA 239th Regiment's main body passed through, the remaining elements withdrew from Yongyu and moved to join the main body. The KPA 239th Regiment moved north along the road, arriving at a point 910 metres (1,000 yd) south of the 3/187 ABN CP at around 05:00. The KPA stopped to reform, not realizing that 3/187 ABN's Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) and L Company, 187 ABN were dug in along the road.
At 05:45, the KPA 239th Regiment started moving north again and ran blindly into 3/187 ABN's HHC and L Company's perimeter elements. They were immediately engaged with heavy losses, not only by direct fire from the HHC but also by enfilading fire from L Company. Stunned by the volume and severity of the fire, it took the KPA 239th Regiment about an hour to reorganize and deliver an attack. A group of about 300–350 KPA engaged L Company and attempted to flank and envelop its positions. Another group of about 450 KPA engaged the HHC. The KPA fire became exceedingly accurate as the firefight progressed. Hard-pressed, the 3/187 ABN CP radioed the 187 RCT CP at Sukchon describing the situation and requesting reinforcement. 187 RCT's request for armoured reinforcement was received by the 24th Infantry Division's headquarters in Pyongyang. Yet, with the US division still well to the rear, the Sherman tanks of the US 89th Tank Battalion encamped with the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade on the Pyongyang-Sukchon road just south of Yongyu was the closest formation, and they were ordered forward to assist 3/187 ABN.
By dawn, the North Koreans and Americans had fought each other to a standstill after heavy fighting overnight and the previous day; the KPA 239th Regiment was almost exhausted, yet, in danger of being destroyed, it prepared for a final attempt to break out.
### Fighting in the apple orchard, 22 October 1950
Overnight, Brigadier Coad had directed Lieutenant Colonel Green's 3 RAR to take the lead when the brigade moved out the following morning and Green decided to send Captain Archer P. Denness' C Company through Yongyu to advance as rapidly as possible to effect the relief of 3/187 ABN to the north.
At first light on 22 October, A and C Company, 1 ASHR, advanced into Yongyu to clear the town of any remaining KPA before the Australians passed through. Elsewhere, 1 MR took up defensive positions to the north of Yongyu. The Argylls moved through the town, using high-explosive and white phosphorus hand grenades to flush out the KPA, setting fire to many of the buildings. As planned, at 07:00, 3 RAR was ordered to move through Yongyu towards Sukchon to link up with 187 RCT and close the gap between the two forces. C Company, 3 RAR, passed through the burning town mounted on the Sherman tanks of D Company, US 89th Tank Battalion, and headed north on the Yongyu–Sukchon road.
At 09:00, the Australian column was stopped by small arms and light mortar fire from a hillside apple orchard about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) north of Yongyu. Lieutenant Colonel Green, traveling with the 3 RAR headquarters group, proceeded forward to Captain Denness' location. C Company had driven into the rearguard of the KPA 239th Regiment as it was forming up for a final assault on 3/187 ABN. The strong KPA force of approximately 1,000 men allowed C Company, 3 RAR and the battalion's tactical headquarters group to pass before engaging them. Denness did not have a lot of information; there had been no contact with the Americans who were believed to be located nearby. The KPA-held apple orchard lay between the advancing Australians and the US paratroopers, blocking any relief attempt. Brigadier Coad's order citing the urgent need to link up with the Americans dictated Green's decision. Rather than preparing a deliberate attack and potentially allowing the KPA time to organise their defences, Green chose to force his leading company through at once in order to seize the initiative and continue the pursuit. An encounter battle developed as 3 RAR carried out an aggressive quick attack from the road, with US tanks in support.
Preparing for the assault, Lieutenant Colonel Green informed brigade headquarters of his plans and was advised that 3/187 ABN was believed to be about 1,500 metres (1,600 yd) further north; however, as the exact location of the Americans was unclear, the indirect fire available to support the attack would be limited. The US tanks were also initially under orders not to fire for fear of hitting their own men. With mortars and artillery unavailable, the Australians proceeded to attack regardless, with the tanks carrying C Company turning east towards the KPA positions in the apple orchard. At 09:30, Captain Denness dismounted 7 and 8 Platoons and aggressively counterattacked off the line of march into the apple orchard, while 9 Platoon, commanded by Lieutenant David Butler, was left near the road to protect the Australian flank. Supported by the Sherman tanks' cannons and coaxial machine guns, the Australians charged the KPA positions with bayonets, Bren guns, Owen guns, Lee–Enfields, and hand grenades. In the face of this determined attack, many of the KPA left their pits in an attempt to move to safety, only to suffer heavy casualties after exposing themselves to the fire of the two assaulting platoons, the flanking platoon and the US tanks in support. The speed and ferocity of the attack surprised the defenders, and the Australians quickly overran the KPA outposts despite the lack of indirect fire. The KPA, many of whom were recently trained conscripts, were then forced to withdraw for the loss of only four Australians wounded. For his leadership in coordinating the assault, Denness was later awarded the Military Cross, while Private Charles McMurray received the Military Medal for bravery.
More than 70 KPA were killed in the initial attack, while a further eight or nine were killed as the Australians cleared the position, setting fire to the KPA dug-outs and forcing the remaining defenders to flee. As the KPA broke, Lieutenant Colonel Green pushed A and B Company onto the higher ground to the right of C Company with the intention of clearing the ridge overlooking the highway, while D Company moved forward on the left of the road towards 9 Platoon. Meanwhile, the battalion tactical headquarters, which had followed closely behind C Company as they assaulted, came under attack in the apple orchard east of the road and was forced to fight off a group of KPA, with the regimental police and the battalion signallers fighting back-to-back to defend themselves. Withstanding the attack, the Australians eventually killed 34 KPA for the loss of three men wounded. Despite becoming personally involved in the heavy fighting, Green continued to skilfully control the battle throughout. D Company was ordered to clear the KPA threatening battalion headquarters, as well as sending a platoon forward to establish contact with the Americans. Running low on ammunition, 3/187 ABN had been in contact throughout the morning and continued to suffer casualties. However, having been forced off the high ground, the KPA were now caught between the advancing Australians and the US paratroopers to the north.
Unable to move north, the KPA attempted to escape across the open rice fields to the west, through the gap between the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade and 3/187 ABN. The KPA again suffered heavy casualties, with many cut down by tank and rifle fire from C Company, 3 RAR. Some of the survivors took refuge among a number of haystacks and rice stooks in front of 9 Platoon, from where they engaged the Australians with sniper fire. Others fled east, escaping to the higher ground where they dispersed. D Company, 3 RAR, was ordered to clear pockets of resistance remaining within the battalion position. Meanwhile, 1 MR passed through the Australians and with the tanks linked up with 3/187 ABN at 11:00. Following three hours of fighting the battle was largely over by midday; however, many of the KPA that had been unable to escape continued to refuse to surrender, hiding or feigning death until individually flushed out. After clearing their objectives 7 and 8 Platoon had moved forward towards 9 Platoon, which then clashed with a number of KPA stragglers in the paddy fields. C Company, 3 RAR, deployed in an extended line and a substantial action soon developed. In a scene Coad later likened to driving snipe, the Australians proceeded to sweep the area, kicking over stacks of straw and shooting the KPA soldiers they found hiding in them as they attempted to flee. For his leadership, Lieutenant Butler was awarded the US Silver Star, while Private John Cousins received the US Bronze Star for his role in the action.
## Aftermath
### Casualties
Despite the uncertain situation and the lack of indirect support, Lieutenant Colonel Green's tactical handling of the Australian battalion had been bold, and his decision to move quickly through Yongyu and to attack off the line of march proved decisive. Preoccupied with fighting the Americans to their north, the KPA were unprepared for the Australians to attack from the rear. Caught between the US paratroopers and the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, the KPA 239th Regiment was practically destroyed. KPA casualties in the apple orchard were 150 killed, 239 wounded and 200 captured, while Australian casualties numbered just seven men wounded. Including those engaged by the Argylls, total KPA losses during the fighting with the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade exceeded 200 killed and 500 captured. The survivors fled westwards. In their first major battle in Korea, the Australians had distinguished themselves, and the battalion was later praised for its performance. The action became known as the "Battle of the Apple Orchard", while the Royal Australian Regiment was later granted the battle honour "Yongju". Boosting their confidence, the success prepared the Australians for the battles which they were to face in the months that followed. Meanwhile, 3/187 ABN reported killing 805 KPA and capturing 681 in the fighting around Yongyu. Altogether, US casualties during the Sukchon-Sunchon operation were 48 killed in action and 80 wounded and a further one killed and 56 injured in the jump.
The Middlesex Battalion was ordered to push on to Sukchon, and after successfully relieving the Americans in place by nightfall, the battalion occupied a defensive position 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) north. The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade and US 24th Infantry Division continued their advance up the highway. Intending to defeat the KPA and bring the war to a close, the UNC forces pushed towards the Yalu River, on the Chinese border. However, resistance continued to be met as the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade crossed the Chongchon River, and they now moved towards Pakchon. On 24 October, General MacArthur had removed all restrictions on the movement of his forces south of the Yalu River and prepared for the final phase of the UNC advance, defying a directive of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and risking Chinese intervention on behalf of North Korea. An intense period of fighting followed and the Australians were involved in a number of major battles over the coming days.
### Subsequent operations
On the afternoon of 25 October, a platoon from 3 RAR was fired on by two companies of KPA as they crossed the Taeryong River to conduct a reconnaissance of the west bank, and although they were forced to withdraw, the Australians took 10 prisoners with them. Acting as the forward elements of the brigade, that evening Lieutenant Colonel Green sent two companies across the river to establish defensive positions and they broke up a frontal assault on their positions with mortars while the KPA were in the process of forming up. Sixty KPA supported by a T-34 tank then attacked the forward Australian companies at Kujin early the following morning, resulting in Australian losses of eight killed and 22 wounded. However, the KPA suffered heavy casualties including over 100 killed and 350 captured, and the Australians succeeded in defending the bridgehead after the KPA withdrew. Intelligence indicated that the British and Australians were facing the KPA 17th Tank Brigade, which was preparing a last line of defence at Chongju, 70 kilometres (43 mi) away. With the war considered all but over, the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade continued to pursue the KPA towards Chongju; however, the advance increasingly encountered strong resistance as they approached the Manchurian border.
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4,278,905 |
Jupiter in fiction
| 1,172,329,574 |
Depictions of the planet
|
[
"Fiction about gas giants",
"Fiction set on Jupiter",
"Fiction set on Jupiter's moons",
"Jupiter"
] |
Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, has appeared in works of fiction across several centuries. The way the planet has been depicted has evolved as more has become known about its composition; it was initially portrayed as being entirely solid, later as having a high-pressure atmosphere with a solid surface underneath, and finally as being entirely gaseous. It was a popular setting during the pulp era of science fiction. Life on the planet has variously been depicted as identical to humans, larger versions of humans, and non-human. Non-human life on Jupiter has been portrayed as primitive in some works and more advanced than humans in others.
The moons of Jupiter have also been featured in a large number of stories, especially the four Galilean moons—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Common themes include terraforming and colonizing these worlds.
## Jupiter
### Early depictions
Jupiter was long believed, incorrectly, to be a solid planet onto which it would be possible to make a landing. It has made appearances in fiction since at least the 1752 novel Micromégas by Voltaire, wherein an alien from Sirius and another from Saturn pass Jupiter's satellites and land on the planet itself. In the 1800s, writers typically assumed that Jupiter was not only solid but also an Earth-like world and depicted it accordingly. In the 1886 novel Aleriel, or A Voyage to Other Worlds by W. S. Lach-Szyrma, the planet is covered in an ocean with a few islands and primitive aquatic humanoids living there. Jupiter resembles prehistoric Earth with a rich fauna full of lifeforms such as dinosaurs and mastodons in the 1894 novel A Journey in Other Worlds by John Jacob Astor IV. A few utopian works of fiction of the early 1900s are set on Jupiter, including the anonymously published 1908 novel To Jupiter Via Hell and the 1922 novel The Perfect World by Ella Scrymsour.
### Jovians
Most writers portrayed the inhabitants of Jupiter as being human, including Marie Corelli in the 1886 novel A Romance of Two Worlds and Cornelius Shea in the 1905 novel Mystic Island; Or, the Tale of a Hidden Treasure. In the anonymously published 1873 novel A Narrative of the Travels and Adventures of Paul Aermont among the Planets, the human inhabitants of Jupiter have heavier-than-air aircraft. Some portrayed Jovians as giant humans, including Albert Waldo Howard in the c. 1895 novel The Milltillionaire and William Shuler Harris in the 1905 novel Life in a Thousand Worlds. In the satirical 1886 novel A Fortnight in Heaven by Harold A. Brydges, an Earthling who visits Jupiter finds a futuristic version of America and discovers that the planet is populated by giant counterparts of Earth persons. Others took different approaches to portraying the natives, such as Fred H. Brown in the 1893 short story "A Message from the Stars", where the planet is inhabited by the spirits of the dead, and Homer Eon Flint in the 1918 short story "The King of Conserve Island", where Jovians are winged.
### Pulp era
Jupiter made appearances in several pulp science fiction stories, including the final John Carter story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the 1943 short story "Skeleton Men of Jupiter". The 1932 short story "A Conquest of Two Worlds" by Edmond Hamilton depicts a human invasion of a peaceable civilization on Jupiter, which leads an Earthling to rebel against the humans and side with the Jovians. In the 1933 short story "The Essence of Life" by Festus Pragnell, a social scientist is visited by human-looking beings from Jupiter who reveal that they have a kind of elixir of life that they are willing to share, but also that they are ruled by octopus-like beings who keep them as pets. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is imagined as a landmass of shifting solidity which is mined for radioactive deposits in the 1936 short story "Red Storm on Jupiter" by Frank Belknap Long, and it leaves Jupiter entirely in the 1937 short story "Life Disinherited" by Eando Binder.
### Surface
As the conditions of Jupiter became better understood in the 1930s and onward, several stories emerged where the planet was portrayed as having a solid surface underneath a high-pressure atmosphere. Some writers proposed that native lifeforms would have adaptations to the expected high surface gravity in the form of a low stature as in the 1939 short story "Heavy Planet" by Milton A. Rothman or a large number of legs to distribute their weight on as in the 1931 novel Spacehounds of IPC by E. E. Smith. Similarly, James Blish posited in The Seedling Stars (a 1957 collection of earlier short stories) that human survival on Jupiter would necessitate pantropy, i.e. modifying the humans to adapt them to the alien environment. In the 1944 short story "Desertion" by Clifford D. Simak (later included in the 1952 fix-up novel City), humans who have been thus transformed find Jupiter a preferable place to live and refuse to leave. Other writers resolved the issue of the presumed-harsh conditions of Jupiter by only having robots go there; in the 1942 short story "Victory Unintentional" by Isaac Asimov such robots encounter hostile aliens who mistake them for living beings, and in the 1957 short story "Call Me Joe" by Poul Anderson, a remotely controlled artificial creature explores the Jovian surface.
### Atmosphere
By the late 1950s, it was generally accepted that the atmosphere of Jupiter was for all practical purposes bottomless and the idea of a solid surface beneath it fell into disuse. Some works portray alien lifeforms living in the atmosphere, including the 1971 short story "A Meeting with Medusa" by Arthur C. Clarke. In the 2002 novel Manta's Gift by Timothy Zahn, humanity makes contact with intelligent life in the Jovian atmosphere, and in the 2000 novel Wheelers by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, it is discovered that there are entire floating cities there. Descents into the atmosphere are commonplace, seen in such works as the 1960 short story "The Way to Amalthea" by Soviet science fiction authors Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, the 1972 novel As on a Darkling Plain by Ben Bova, and the 1977 novel If the Stars are Gods by Gregory Benford and Gordon Eklund. The Jovian atmosphere also becomes a location for racing in the 1996 short story "Primrose and Thorn" by Bud Sparhawk.
### Modern depictions
Jupiter is the destination of an expedition in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, whereas the book version by Arthur C. Clarke from the same year instead uses Saturn. The planet is transformed into a star in the 1982 sequel novel 2010: Odyssey Two by Clarke and the 1984 film adaptation 2010: The Year We Make Contact as well as the 1982 novel Sayonara Jupiter by Sakyo Komatsu and its 1984 film adaptation Bye-Bye Jupiter, an idea that was later reused by other authors such as Charles L. Harness in the 1991 novel Lunar Justice and John C. Wright in the 2002 novel The Golden Age. The 2015 film Jupiter Ascending is a space opera set partially on the planet.
## Moons
Once it was understood that Jupiter itself is a gaseous planet, its moons became more popular settings for stories featuring human or alien life. Occasionally, the entire satellite system has been the focus collectively, such as in the 1984 short story "Promises to Keep" by Jack McDevitt. The four Galilean moons—Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—have all been colonized in the 1956 novel The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester.
### Io
Io has a tropical climate in the 1935 short story "The Mad Moon" by Stanley G. Weinbaum. The satellite is mined for resources in the 1981 film Outland, a science-fiction version of the 1952 Western High Noon. In the 1998 short story "The Very Pulse of the Machine" by Michael Swanwick, Io is implied to be sentient. The 2019 film Io depicts the satellite as humanity's refuge after Earth has become near-uninhabitable due to pollution.
### Europa
Europa is depicted as having a breathable atmosphere and native lifeforms on the side of the planet tidally locked towards Jupiter in the 1936 short story "Redemption Cairn" by Stanley G. Weinbaum. The 1992 novel Cold as Ice by Charles Sheffield focuses on a conflict about whether or not Europa should be terraformed. Colonization of Europa without terraforming is portrayed in the 2017 video game Destiny 2. Since scientists started hypothesizing that Europa may have water oceans that could harbour life under its surface of ice, several stories have explored the idea, including the 2008 novel The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley, the 2013 film Europa Report, and the 2016 novel Europa's Lost Expedition: A Scientific Novel by Michael Carroll.
### Ganymede
Ganymede has domed cities in the 1901 novel A Honeymoon in Space by George Griffith. It is terraformed in the 1950 novel Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein. The 1950 short story "The Dancing Girl of Ganymede" by Leigh Brackett is another early work set on the satellite. The colonization of Ganymede has been depicted in numerous works, including the 1964 novel Three Worlds to Conquer by Poul Anderson, the 1975 novel Jupiter Project by Gregory Benford, and the 1997 short story "The Flag in Gorbachev Crater" by Charles L. Harness.
### Callisto
Callisto is colonized in the 1950 short story "U-Turn" by Eric Frank Russell. The 1970s Callisto series by Lin Carter, starting with the 1972 novel Jandar of Callisto, is a planetary romance set on the satellite and an homage to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
### Other moons
Amalthea is a derelict extraterrestrial spaceship in the 1953 short story "Jupiter Five" by Arthur C. Clarke. The 1957 novel Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter by Isaac Asimov takes place on another minor moon of Jupiter, variously referred to as Jupiter IX and Adrastea.
## See also
- Sun in fiction
|
31,708,798 |
2011 Guerrero earthquake
| 1,118,261,468 |
2011 earthquake of moment magnitude of 5.7 in southern Mexico
|
[
"2011 disasters in Mexico",
"2011 earthquakes",
"2011 in Mexico",
"Earthquakes in Mexico",
"May 2011 events in Mexico"
] |
The 2011 Guerrero earthquake struck with a moment magnitude of 5.7 in southern Mexico at on 5 May. It was positioned west of Ometepec, Guerrero, with a focal depth of 24 km (14.9 mi), and was lightly felt in many adjacent areas.
Buildings swayed with the tremor in Mexico City, prompting evacuations and causing panic among many. Following the quake, police patrolled city streets for safety reasons and damage assessments were carried out across the affected region. There were no casualties, though two local police stations suffered slight damage. A number of light aftershocks succeeded the main event, of which the strongest measured a magnitude of 4.1 (M<sub>L</sub>).
## Geology
The magnitude 5.7 (M<sub>w</sub>) earthquake occurred inland near the southern coast of Mexico at a depth of 24 km (14.9 mi), with a duration of nearly one minute and an epicenter about 55 km (34 mi) west of Ometepec, Guerrero. In the region, the Cocos, North American, and Caribbean Plates converge and create a tectonic zone of continuous seismic activity. The quake struck near the eastern periphery of the Guerrero seismic gap, which extends from Acapulco to Ixtapa–Zihuatanejo and contains enough seismic energy to generate an earthquake of up to magnitude 7.5, but it did not cause the gap to rupture. Initial estimates from the USGS placed its intensity at a magnitude of 5.8 (M<sub>w</sub>); the National Seismological Service registered the earthquake at magnitude 5.5 (M<sub>L</sub>).
Owing to the moderate magnitude of the quake, significant shaking was felt only in localized parts of Costa Chica, registering strongest at VI (strong) on the Mercalli scale in Azoyú and V (moderate) in populous areas around the epicenter. Lighter ground motions (MM IV–III) were perceived in much of Guerrero, including Acapulco and Chilpancingo, with weak tremors (MM II) reported as far away as in Mexico City, about 300 km (187 mi) from the epicenter. The capital city rests on a former lakebed of largely unconsolidated sedimentary layers, so earthquake shaking in its vicinity is generally amplified.
## Aftershocks
By 6 May, a total of five light aftershocks had occurred near the earthquake's epicenter. Of the five, the first registered a magnitude of 3.7 (M<sub>L</sub>) and struck about 15 minutes after the main shock, and was succeeded by a magnitude 3.9 (M<sub>L</sub>) tremor at 10:09 local time. Two similar quakes of minor intensity struck the region the next day; however, the strongest and final aftershock registered a magnitude of 4.1 (M<sub>L</sub>) and occurred at 04:00 in the morning.
## Impact and response
Despite relatively strong ground motions, damage to the area was very limited; structures around the epicenter were a mix of fairly vulnerable and resistant to earthquake shaking. Buildings swayed with the tremor in Mexico City, causing panic among many citizens and prompting some to evacuate. Several schools in Guerrero were evacuated as a safety precaution. The earthquake and its aftershock sequence contributed to intermittent power outages in Acapulco; more than 40,000 residences in some 40 districts remained without power by the next day. There were no reports of major losses or fatalities in the wake of the tremor, though two police stations located in Acapulco and Marquelia suffered light damage. Elsewhere, some fallen roof tiles and small landslides occurred east of the epicenter in Cuautepec.
Prior to the arrival of seismic waves in Mexico City, seven of twelve earthquake sensors near the coast of Guerrero detected a "potentially significant quake". Alert systems were subsequently activated in the area, giving locals at least 50 seconds to secure themselves. Shortly after impact, authorities dispatched five helicopters to ascertain any damage in the wake of the quake. SSP officials, along with over 3,000 police officers, patrolled the city streets as a safety measure. In response to the earthquake's occurrence, the Federal District announced the installation of 50,000 seismic alarms in local schools, hospitals, and offices. Reassessments of structural conditions—particularly in earthquake-prone parts of the state—were scheduled, and about 1,817,000 government workers partook in an earthquake simulation exercise the following day.
### Scientific reaction
Although the intensity of the quake was fairly significant, specialists reported that earthquakes of such magnitude do not release nearly enough seismic energy to prevent a major earthquake from occurring in the region. In reality, roughly 900 earthquakes of similar intensities to that of the Guerrero earthquake are required per year to total the energy unleashed by a magnitude 7.5 event. Many locals perceived an apparent increase in recent earthquake occurrences, though at the time seismologists registered normal levels of seismic activity in the area. In 2009, a similar magnitude 5.8 M<sub>w</sub> earthquake struck Guerrero near Acapulco at a depth of 35 km (22 mi), killing at least two people.
## See also
- List of earthquakes in 2011
- List of earthquakes in Mexico
- Seismicity in Mexico
|
21,620,350 |
Norman Biggs
| 1,149,351,599 |
Wales international rugby union player
|
[
"1870 births",
"1908 deaths",
"Alumni of Cardiff University",
"Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge",
"Barbarian F.C. players",
"Bath Rugby players",
"British Army personnel of the Second Boer War",
"British Yeomanry soldiers",
"British colonial police officers",
"British people in British Nigeria",
"British police officers killed in the line of duty",
"Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players",
"Cardiff RFC players",
"Deaths by poisoning",
"Glamorgan County RFC players",
"Glamorgan Yeomanry officers",
"Glamorgan Yeomanry soldiers",
"Glamorgan cricketers",
"Imperial Yeomanry officers",
"London Welsh RFC players",
"Military personnel from Cardiff",
"People from colonial Nigeria",
"Richmond F.C. players",
"Rugby union players from Cardiff",
"Rugby union wings",
"Wales international rugby union players",
"Welch Regiment officers",
"Welsh rugby union players"
] |
Norman Witchell Biggs (3 November 1870 – 27 February 1908) was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Both Biggs and his brother Selwyn played international rugby for Wales, though they never played together in the same match for Wales. Biggs also played cricket for Glamorgan and in 1893 was part of a team that took on Cardiff in a two-day match; he faced his brother Selwyn, who was a member of the Cardiff team.
Biggs is notable for being a member of the 1893 Triple Crown winning Wales team, being the youngest capped player to represent the Wales international team, a record he held for over a century, and the unusual circumstances of his death by poison arrow.
## Early history
Norman Biggs was born in Cardiff to John and Emily Biggs. His father, who lived at Park Place in the centre of the city, was a brewer by trade who owned businesses in Cardiff and Bristol. Biggs was privately educated at several proprietary schools including Lewinsdale School in Weston-super-Mare, before matriculating to University College Cardiff and later Trinity Hall, Cambridge, playing rugby for both university teams. It was reported that Biggs should have won a sporting 'Blue' while at Cambridge, but an injury to his ribs ruled him out. As well as playing rugby, Biggs was a keen sprinter and he was able to run 100 yards in even time, and was able to beat world sprint champion Charlton Monypenny at this distance. On returning to Cardiff he joined his father's brewing business. In 1887, Biggs played his first senior game for Cardiff RFC, in a match against Penarth. Biggs came from a large sporting family and was one of six brothers to play rugby for Cardiff. His most notable brothers were Selwyn, who also played for Wales, and Cecil, who captained Cardiff during their 1904/05 season.
## Rugby career
### International debut
Biggs gained his first cap for Wales when he was selected to play against the touring New Zealand Natives in 1888 at St. Helen's Ground. At the time Biggs was 18 years and 49 days old, making him the youngest Wales international, a record that would last for more than a century before being broken by Tom Prydie in 2010. The New Zealanders were the first touring team from the Southern Hemisphere and brought with them a reputation for over-vigorous play. Biggs himself was described by the press as "palpably nervous" before the kick-off, though many of the backs appeared withdrawn, apart from William Stadden and James Webb appearing calm. Not only did Biggs have the Māori opposition to contend with, the Swansea crowd were also hostile towards their own team, as they felt the Swansea backs should have been selected instead. Biggs, as an inexperienced new cap from rivals Cardiff, was picked out by the crowd as one of those players unworthy of his place and was heckled. Nonetheless, the Welsh team were victorious, with tries from Thomas, Towers and Hannan and a single conversion from Webb. A week later on 29 December, Biggs faced the same tourists, this time as part of the Cardiff team. Biggs had been disappointing in his international debut, but regained his form on the pitch at the Cardiff Arms Park. Within 90 seconds of the start of the match, Biggs scored a "sparkling try". Biggs should have scored again, but dropped the ball after crossing the line in the slippery conditions. Cardiff won by a goal and a try to one try.
### Home Nations Championship matches
Later in the 1888–89 season, Biggs was reselected for the Welsh team as part of the 1889 Home Nations Championship. He was not chosen for the first game of the season against Scotland, but was accepted for the second and final game to Ireland. Under the captaincy of Arthur Gould, Biggs was partnered on the wing by Abel Davies of London Welsh. Wales lost to Ireland by two tries to nil, the first time the Irish had won on Welsh soil. Biggs and Davies were both dropped for the next season.
It took Biggs until the 1892 Home Nations Championship to regain his place in the national team, again he was chosen for the final game of the tournament against Ireland. Although the Welsh backs contained the talents of Billy Bancroft, brothers Evan and David James and Arthur and Bert Gould, the Welsh team were outclassed by Victor Le Fanu's Ireland. It was the first time Wales had lost all three games in the Championship. Despite the loss Biggs was reselected for all three games of the 1893 tournament, all under the captaincy of "Monkey" Gould. In a reversal of fortunes from the previous season, Wales managed to win all three matches, lifting the Triple Crown for the first time in the country's history. Biggs played an important role during the Triple Crown winning season, scoring two tries, one each in the games against England and Scotland. The 1893 away game against Scotland is described as Biggs' best international match and 'his speed and general play were the main factors in securing the first victory of the Principality over Scotland at Scotland'.
Biggs played in two more internationals for Wales, both in the 1894 Championship and both resulted in losses. The first game of the 1894 Championship was against England, and Wales suffered a heavy defeat, losing 24–3. In an after match interview Biggs was asked why he had failed to tackle Harry Bradshaw, who scored the first try; Biggs responded "Tackle him? It was as much as I could do to get out of his way!". In his final game against Ireland, Biggs was part of an all Cardiff three-quarters, along with Tom Pearson, Dai Fitzgerald and Jack Elliott. The very next international saw Biggs' younger brother Selwyn selected for the first time, the brothers missing each other by just one match.
### International matches played
Wales
- 1893, 1894
- 1889, 1892, 1893, 1894
- 1888
- 1893
### Club and county
Biggs played for Cardiff from the 1886–87 season through to 1898–99, though not continuously, spending some time in the early 1890s in London. He played in 166 matches for Cardiff, was one of the highest scoring players the club had produced. He scored five or more try conversions in a single match on seven occasions, six in the same season (1893–94), against Gloucester, Bristol, London Welsh, Penygraig, Exeter and Cardiff & D.R.U. The 1893–94 season saw Biggs score 58 conversions, 25 tries and two dropped goals bringing his points tally to 199 points. This remained a club record until the 1972–73 season when it was surpassed by John Davies. Biggs ended his Cardiff career with 107 tries, four less than his brother Cecil.
Biggs played for several club teams throughout his career, including England's Richmond and Welsh exile club London Welsh. On 24 December 1890, Biggs played for London Welsh in a match against his longterm club Cardiff. The London Welsh team produced a 'devastating display' to beat Cardiff by a single try. At county level he represented Glamorgan where he played alongside his brother, and later turned out for Somerset. During the 1893/94 season Biggs was made club captain of Cardiff, and in the same season he led Cardiff against the invitational team the Barbarians, not only winning the game but also scoring two tries and kicking a successful conversion. The same season as he faced the Barbarians with Cardiff, Biggs was invited to join the tourists; one of four of the Biggs brothers to play for the team. The last notable club Biggs represented was Bath, captaining the senior team during the 1899–1900 season.
In 1894 Biggs was invited to play for the Barbarians, and on 2 April, he faced Rockcliff, playing alongside his brother Selwyn, who was also making his Barbarian's debut. Biggs played twice more for the Barbarians, both matches against Bath Rugby. In the 1894 encounter Biggs converted a try in a 14–0 victory, while the 1896 match saw Biggs score a try and two conversions in a 13–13 draw.
## Later life and military career
After the outbreak of the Second Boer War, Biggs volunteered for active service and was posted as a private to the Glamorgan Yeomanry, which formed 4 Company, 1st Battalion Imperial Yeomanry for service in South Africa. Biggs later reflected how life in the Yeomanry was a constant struggle, and he engaged in 57 skirmishes with his unit coming under daily sniper fire. He was wounded near Vrede on 11 October 1900, when he was shot through the thigh whilst patrolling. He was returned to England on the hospital ship Simla which left Cape Town 26 November and arrived at Southampton on 18 December. He was then commissioned as a second lieutenant on 16 February 1901. On 17 April he was promoted lieutenant and attached to 4th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry. Later in the year he either received a further wound, or fell ill, since The Times reported on 26 September that he had been discharged from hospital and returned to duty in the week ending 8 September. He returned home on the steamship Goorkha, which left Cape Town on 19 July. He relinquished his commission on 12 September, and was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant, and permission to continue wearing his uniform.
Biggs was then commissioned as a lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion Welsh Regiment on 13 June 1903. He was appointed an Instructor of Musketry on 10 May 1905, He was then seconded to the Colonial Office and posted to Northern Nigeria as a superintendent of police in a military area on 10 February 1906, by that time he had also been promoted captain. He was killed in 1908 when he was struck by a poison arrow, while on patrol in Kebbi State, Nigeria.
|
169,410 |
Destiny's Child
| 1,172,703,579 |
American girl group (1990–2006)
|
[
"African-American girl groups",
"American contemporary R&B musical groups",
"American girl groups",
"American musical trios",
"American pop girl groups",
"Brit Award winners",
"Destiny's Child",
"Feminist musicians",
"Gold Star Records artists",
"Grammy Award winners",
"Musical groups disestablished in 2006",
"Musical groups established in 1997",
"Musical groups from Houston",
"Teen pop groups",
"Vitamin Records artists",
"Vocal quartets",
"Vocal trios",
"World Music Awards winners"
] |
Destiny's Child was an American musical girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited success, the original quartet comprising Knowles, Rowland, LaTavia Roberson, and LeToya Luckett were signed in 1997 to Columbia Records as Destiny's Child. The group was launched into mainstream recognition following the release of the song "No, No, No" and their best-selling second album, The Writing's on the Wall (1999), which contained the number-one singles "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name". Despite critical and commercial success, the group was plagued by internal conflict and legal turmoil, as Roberson and Luckett attempted to split from the group's manager Mathew Knowles, citing favoritism of Knowles and Rowland.
In early 2000, both Roberson and Luckett were replaced with Williams and Farrah Franklin; however, Franklin quit after a few months, leaving the group as a trio. Their third album, Survivor (2001), whose themes the public interpreted as a channel to the group's experience, produced the worldwide hits "Independent Women", "Survivor" and "Bootylicious". In 2001, they announced a hiatus to pursue solo careers. The trio reunited two years later for the release of their fifth and final studio album, Destiny Fulfilled (2004), which spawned the international hits "Lose My Breath" and "Soldier". Since the group's official disbandment in 2006, Knowles, Rowland, and Williams have reunited several times, including at the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show and 2018 Coachella festival.
Destiny's Child has sold more than 60 million records as of 2013. Billboard ranks the group as one of the greatest musical trios of all time, the ninth most successful artist/band of the 2000s, placed the group 68th in its All-Time Hot 100 Artists list in 2008 and in December 2016, the magazine ranked them as the 90th most successful dance club artist of all time. The group was nominated for 14 Grammy Awards, winning twice for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and once for Best R&B Song.
## History
### 1990–1997: Early beginnings and Girl's Tyme
In 1990, Beyoncé Knowles met LaTavia Roberson at an audition for a girl group. Based in Houston, Texas, they were joined to a group that performed rapping and dancing. Kelly Rowland, who relocated to Knowles' house because of family issues, joined them in 1992. Originally named Girl's Tyme, they were eventually cut down to six members including Támar Davis and sisters Nikki and Nina Taylor. With Knowles and Rowland, Girl's Tyme attracted nationwide attention: west-coast R&B producer Arne Frager flew to Houston to see them. He brought them to his studio, The Plant Recording Studios, in Northern California, with focus on Knowles' vocals because Frager thought she had personality and the ability to sing. With efforts to sign Girl's Tyme to a major record deal, Frager's strategy was to debut the group in Star Search, the biggest talent show on national TV at the time. However, they lost the competition because, according to Knowles, their choice of song was wrong; they were actually rapping instead of singing.
Because of the group's defeat, Knowles' father, Mathew, voluntarily dedicated his time to manage them. He decided to cut the original lineup to four, with the removal of Davis and the Taylor sisters and the inclusion of LeToya Luckett in 1993. Aside from spending time at their church in Houston, Girl's Tyme practiced in their backyards and at the Headliners Salon, owned by Knowles' mother, Tina. The group would test routines in the salon, when it was on Montrose Boulevard in Houston, and sometimes would collect tips from the customers. Their try-out would be critiqued by the people inside. During their school days, Girl's Tyme performed at local gigs. When summer came, Mathew Knowles established a "boot camp" to train them in dance and vocal lessons. After rigorous training, they began performing as opening acts for established R&B groups of that time such as SWV, Dru Hill and Immature. Tina Knowles designed the group's stage attire.
Over the course of the early years in their career, Girl's Tyme changed their name to Somethin' Fresh, Cliché, The Dolls, and to Destiny. The group signed with Elektra Records with the name Destiny, but were dropped several months later before they could release an album. The pursuit of a record deal affected the Knowles family: in 1995, Mathew Knowles resigned from his job as a medical-equipment salesman, a move that reduced Knowles' family's income by half, and her parents briefly separated due to the pressure. In 1996, they changed their name to Destiny's Child. Group members have claimed that the name was taken from a passage in the Bible: "We got the word destiny out of the Bible, but we couldn't trademark the name, so we added child, which is like a rebirth of destiny," said Knowles. The word Destiny was stated to have been chosen from the Book of Isaiah, by Tina Knowles.
Mathew Knowles helped in negotiating a record deal with Columbia Records at the behest of Columbia scout Teresa LaBarbera Whites, which signed the group that same year. Prior to signing with Columbia, the group had recorded several tracks in Oakland, California produced by D'wayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Toné!. Upon the label's recognition that Destiny's Child had a "unique quality", the track "Killing Time" was included in the soundtrack to the 1997 film Men in Black.
### 1997–2000: Breakthrough and lineup changes
Destiny's Child first charted in November 1997 with "No, No, No", the lead single from their self-titled debut album, which was released in the United States on February 17, 1998, featuring productions by Tim & Bob, Rob Fusari, Jermaine Dupri, Wyclef Jean, Dwayne Wiggins and Corey Rooney. Destiny's Child peaked at number sixty-seven on the Billboard 200 and number fourteen on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It managed to sell over one million copies in the United States, earning a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The remix version to "No, No, No", reached number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Its follow-up single, "With Me Part 1" failed to reproduce the success of "No, No, No". Meanwhile, the group featured on a song from the soundtrack album of the romantic drama Why Do Fools Fall in Love and "Get on the Bus" had a limited release in Europe and other markets. In 1998, Destiny's Child garnered three Soul Train Lady of Soul awards including Best New Artist for "No, No, No". Later that year, the group was featured in an episode of the TV sitcom Smart Guy. Knowles considered their debut successful but not huge, claiming as a neo soul record it was too mature for the group at the time.
After the success of their debut album, Destiny's Child re-entered the studio quickly, bringing in a new lineup of producers, including Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs and Rodney Jerkins. Coming up with The Writing's on the Wall, they released it on July 27, 1999, and it eventually became their breakthrough album. The Writing's on the Wall peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and number two on R&B chart in early 2000. "Bills, Bills, Bills" was released in 1999 as the album's lead single and reached the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their first US number-one single. The Writing's on the Wall has been credited as Destiny's Child's breakthrough album, spurring their career and introducing them to a wider audience.
On December 14, 1999, Luckett and Roberson attempted to split with their manager, claiming that he kept a disproportionate share of the group's profits and unfairly favored Knowles and Rowland. While they never intended to leave the group, when the video for "Say My Name", the third single from The Writing's on the Wall, surfaced in February 2000, Roberson and Luckett found out that two new members were joining Knowles and Rowland. Prior to the video premiere, Knowles announced on TRL that original members Luckett and Roberson had left the group. They were replaced by Michelle Williams, a former backup singer to Monica, and Farrah Franklin, an aspiring singer-actress. Shortly after her stint with Monica, Williams was introduced to Destiny's Child by a choreographer friend, and was flown to Houston where she stayed with the Knowles family.
On March 21, 2000, Roberson and Luckett filed a lawsuit against Mathew Knowles and their former bandmates for breach of partnership and fiduciary duties. Following the suit, both sides were disparaging towards each other in the media. Five months after joining, Franklin left the group. The remaining members claimed that this was due to missed promotional appearances and concerts. According to Williams, Franklin could not handle stress. Franklin, however, disclosed that she left because of the negativity surrounding the strife and her inability to assert any control in the decision-making. Her departure was seen as less controversial. Williams, on the other hand, disclosed that her inclusion in the group resulted in her "battling insecurity": "I was comparing myself to the other members, and the pressure was on me."
Towards the end of 2000, Roberson and Luckett dropped the portion of their lawsuit aimed at Rowland and Knowles in exchange for a settlement, though they continued the action against their manager. As part of the agreement, both sides were prohibited from speaking about each other publicly. Roberson and Luckett formed another girl group named Anjel but also left it due to issues with the record company. Although band members were affected by the turmoil, the publicity made Destiny's Child's success even bigger and they became a pop culture phenomenon. "Say My Name" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks, while the fourth single, "Jumpin', Jumpin'", also became a top-ten hit. The Writing's on the Wall eventually sold over eight million copies in the United States, gaining eight-time platinum certification by the RIAA. The album sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and was one of the top-selling albums of 2000. During this time, Destiny's Child began performing as an opening act at the concerts of pop singers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
With Williams in the new lineup, Destiny's Child released a theme song for the soundtrack to the 2000 film Charlie's Angels. Released as a single in October 2000, "Independent Women Part 1" spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 from November 2000 to January 2001, the longest-running number-one single of Destiny's Child's career and of that year in the United States. The successful release of the single boosted the sales of the soundtrack album to Charlie's Angels to 1.5 million by 2001. In 2000, Destiny's Child won Soul Train's Sammy Davis Jr. Entertainer of the Year award.
### 2000–2003: Survivor, subsequent releases, hiatus and side projects
At the 2001 Billboard Music Awards, Destiny's Child won several accolades, including Artist of the Year and Duo/Group of the Year, and again won Artist of the Year among five awards they snagged in 2001. In September 2000, the group took home two at the sixth annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, including R&B/Soul Album of the Year, Group for The Writing's on the Wall. Destiny's Child recorded their third album, Survivor, from mid-2000 until early 2001. In the production process, Knowles assumed more control in co-producing and co-writing almost the entire album. Survivor hit record stores in the spring of 2001 and entered the Billboard 200 at number one, selling over 663,000 copies in its first week sales. The first three singles, "Independent Women Part I", "Survivor" and "Bootylicious" reached the top three in the United States and were also successful in other countries; the first two were consecutive number-one singles in the United Kingdom. The album was certified four-time platinum in the United States and double platinum in Australia. It sold 6 million copies as of July 27, 2001.
In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Destiny's Child canceled a European tour and performed in a concert benefit for the survivors. In October 2001, the group released a holiday album, 8 Days of Christmas, which contained updated versions of several Christmas songs. The album managed to reach number thirty-four on the Billboard 200. In February 2001, Destiny's Child won two Grammy awards for "Say My Name": Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and Best R&B Song. They also earned an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo. Also in 2001, Destiny's Child sang backup vocals for Solange Knowles, who was the lead, on the theme song to the animated Disney Channel series The Proud Family. In March 2002, a remix compilation titled This Is the Remix was released to win fans over before a new studio album would be released. The remix album reached number 29 in the United States. The lead single "Survivor" was by some interpreted as a response to the strife between the band members, although Knowles claimed it was not directed at anybody. Seeing it as a breach of the agreement that barred each party from public disparagement, Roberson and Luckett once again filed a lawsuit against Destiny's Child and Sony Music, shortly following the release of This Is the Remix. In June 2002, remaining cases were settled in court.
In late 2000, Destiny's Child announced their plan to embark on individual side projects, including releases of solo albums, an idea by their manager. In 2002, Williams released her solo album, Heart to Yours, a contemporary gospel collection. The album reached number one on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. In the same date Heart to Yours hit stores, Destiny's Child released their official autobiography, Soul Survivors. Rowland collaborated with hip hop artist Nelly on "Dilemma", which became a worldwide hit and earned Rowland a Grammy; she became the first member of Destiny's Child to have achieved a US number-one single. In the same year, Knowles co-starred with Mike Myers in the box-office hit Austin Powers in Goldmember. She recorded her first solo single, "Work It Out", for the film's soundtrack. To capitalize on the success of "Dilemma", Rowland's solo debut album Simply Deep was brought forward from its early 2003 release to September 2002. Rowland's career took off internationally when Simply Deep hit number one on the UK Albums Chart. In the same year, she made her feature film debut in the horror film Freddy vs. Jason. Meanwhile, Knowles made her second film, The Fighting Temptations, and appeared as featured vocalist on her then-boyfriend Jay-Z's single "'03 Bonnie & Clyde", which paved the way for the release of her debut solo album.
As an upshot from the success of "Dilemma", Knowles' debut album, Dangerously in Love, was postponed many times until June 2003. Knowles was considered the most successful among the three solo releases. Dangerously in Love debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 317,000 copies. It yielded the number-one hits "Crazy in Love", and "Baby Boy"; and the top-five singles "Me, Myself and I" and "Naughty Girl". The album was certified 4× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It remains as Knowles' best-selling album to date, with sales of 5 million copies in the United States, as of June 2016. Worldwide, the album has sold more than eleven million copies. Knowles' solo debut was well received by critics, earning five Grammy awards in one night for Dangerously in Love, tying the likes of Norah Jones, Lauryn Hill, and Alicia Keys for most Grammys received in one night by a female artist. In November 2003, Williams appeared as Aida on Broadway. In January 2004, she released her second gospel album, Do You Know.
D'wayne Wiggins, who had produced their first recordings as Destiny's Child, filed suit in 2002 against his former counsel (Bloom, Hergott, Diemer & Cook LLP) seeking \$15 million in damages for lessening his contractual agreement with the group without his consent, effectively nullifying his original contract that offered Sony Music/Columbia Destiny's Child's exclusive recording services for an initial seven years, in exchange for "certain royalties", instead of royalties only from the first three albums. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount. In June 2003, Mathew Knowles announced that Destiny's Child would expand back to a quartet, revealing Knowles' younger sister, Solange, as the latest addition to the group. Destiny's Child had previously recorded songs with Solange and shared the stage when she temporarily replaced Rowland after she broke her toes while performing. Their manager, however, said the idea was used to test reactions from the public. In August 2003, Knowles herself confirmed that her sister would not be joining in the group, and instead promoted Solange's debut album, Solo Star, released in January 2003.
### 2003–2006: Destiny Fulfilled and \#1's
Three years after the hiatus, members of Destiny's Child reunited to record their fourth and final studio album, Destiny Fulfilled. The album introduces the trio to a harder, "urban" sound, and songs featured are conceptually interrelated. Destiny Fulfilled saw equality in the trio: each member contributed to writing on the majority songs, as well as becoming executive producers aside from their manager. Released on November 15, 2004, Destiny Fulfilled failed to top Survivor; the album reached number two the following week, selling 497,000 copies in its first week, compared to 663,000 for the previous album. Certified three-time platinum in the United States, it was still one of the best-selling albums of 2005, selling over eight million copies worldwide; it pushed the group back into the position of the best-selling female group and American group of the year. Four singles were released from the album: the lead "Lose My Breath", "Soldier", "Cater 2 U" and "Girl"; the first two reached number three in the United States. "Soldier" "Cater 2 U" were certified platinum by the RIAA in 2006.
To promote the album, Destiny's Child embarked on their worldwide concert tour, Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It Tour. On June 11, 2005, while at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain, the group announced to the audience of 16,000 people that they planned to officially break up once the tour concluded. Knowles stated that the album's title Destiny Fulfilled was not a coincidence and reflected the fact that the breakup was already being planned when the album was being recorded. While making the album, they planned to part ways after their fourteen-year career as a group to facilitate their continued pursuit in individual aspirations. Knowles stated that their destinies were already fulfilled. The group sent a letter to MTV about the decision, saying:
> We have been working together as Destiny's Child since we were 9 and touring together since we were 14. After a lot of discussions and some deep soul searching, we realized that our current tour has given us the opportunity to leave Destiny's Child on a high note, united in our friendship and filled with overwhelming gratitude for our music, our fans, and each other. After all these wonderful years working together, we realized that now is the time to pursue our personal goals and solo efforts in earnest...No matter what happens, we will always love each other as friends and sisters and will always support each other as artists. We want to thank all of our fans for their incredible love and support and hope to see you all again as we continue fulfilling our destinies.
> —Destiny's Child, MTV
Destiny's Child released their greatest hits album, \#1's, on October 25, 2005. The compilation includes their number-one hits including "Independent Woman Part 1", "Say My Name" and "Bootylicious". Three new tracks were recorded for the compilation including "Stand Up for Love", which was recorded for the theme song to the World Children's Day, and "Check on It", a song Knowles recorded for The Pink Panther's soundtrack. Record producer David Foster, his daughter Amy Foster-Gillies and Knowles wrote "Stand Up for Love" as the anthem to the World Children's Day, an annual worldwide event to raise awareness and funds for children causes. Over the past three years, more than \$50 million have been raised to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities and other children's organizations. Destiny's Child lent their voices and support as global ambassadors for the 2005 program. \#1's was also released as a DualDisc, featuring the same track listing, seven videos of selected songs and a trailer of the concert DVD Live in Atlanta. The DVD was filmed during the Atlanta visit of the Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It tour, and was released on March 28, 2006. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA, denoting shipments of over one million units. Notwithstanding the album title, only five of the album's 16 tracks had reached \#1 on either the Billboard Hot 100 or the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart; writer Keith Caulfield of Billboard magazine suggested that the title was "a marketing angle". Despite this, journalist Chris Harris of MTV said that the album "lives up to its name".
## Disbandment and aftermath
Destiny's Child reunited for a farewell performance at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game on February 19, 2006, in Houston, Texas; however, Knowles commented, "It's the last album, but it's not the last show." Their final televised performance was at the Fashion Rocks benefit concert in New York a few days later. On March 28, 2006, Destiny's Child was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the 2,035th recipient of the coveted recognition. At the 2006 BET Awards, Destiny's Child won Best Group, a category they also earned in 2005 and 2001.
After their formal disbandment, all members resumed their solo careers and have each experienced different levels of success. Since then, Knowles, Rowland, and Williams have continued to collaborate on each other's solo projects through song features, music video appearances, and live performances. Both Rowland and Williams, along with Knowles' sister Solange, appeared in Knowles' music video for her single "Get Me Bodied" (2007). On June 26, 2007, the group made a mini-reunion at the 2007 BET Awards, where Knowles performed "Get Me Bodied" with Williams and Solange as her back-up dancers. After her performance, Knowles introduced Rowland who performed her single "Like This" (2007) with Eve. On the September 2, 2007 Los Angeles stop of The Beyoncé Experience tour, Knowles sang a snippet of "Survivor" with Rowland and Williams, and the latter two rendered a "Happy Birthday" song to Knowles. The performance was featured in Knowles' tour DVD, The Beyoncé Experience Live. In 2008, Knowles recorded a cover of Billy Joel's "Honesty" for Destiny's Child's compilation album Mathew Knowles & Music World Present Vol.1: Love Destiny, which was released only in Japan to celebrate the group's tenth anniversary.
Rowland made a cameo appearance in Knowles' music video for her single "Party" (2011), and the group's third compilation album, Playlist: The Very Best of Destiny's Child, was released in 2012 to mark the fifteenth anniversary since their formation. The fourth compilation album, Love Songs, was released on January 29, 2013, and included the newly recorded song "Nuclear", produced by Pharrell Williams. "Nuclear" marked the first original music from Destiny's Child in eight years. The following month, Rowland and Williams appeared as special guests for Knowles' Super Bowl XLVII halftime show, where they performed "Bootylicious", "Independent Women" and Knowles' own song "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". A video album titled Destiny's Child Video Anthology was released in May 2013 and featured sixteen of the group's music videos. Knowles and Williams were then featured on Rowland's song "You Changed" from her fourth solo album Talk a Good Game (2013). Later that year, Rowland and Williams made cameo appearances in the music videos for Knowles' songs "Superpower" and "Grown Woman", which were both included on her self-titled fifth solo visual album. Williams released the single "Say Yes" in June 2014, featuring Knowles and Rowland. They performed "Say Yes" together during the 2015 Stellar Awards, and the live version of the song was mastered for iTunes in April 2015. On November 7, 2016, the group reunited in a video to try the Mannequin Challenge, which was posted on Rowland's official Instagram account. The group reunited for Beyoncé's headline performance at Coachella in April 2018 which was released as the Homecoming documentary and homonymous live album.
## Artistry
### Musical style and themes
Destiny's Child recorded R&B songs with styles that encompass urban, contemporary, and dance-pop. In the group's original lineup, Knowles was the lead vocalist, Rowland was the second lead vocalist, Luckett was on soprano, and Roberson was on alto. Knowles remained as the lead vocalist in the group's final lineup as a trio, however, Rowland and Williams also took turns in singing lead for the majority of their songs. Destiny's Child has cited R&B singer Janet Jackson, En Vogue and TLC as their influences. Ann Powers of The New York Times described Destiny's Child music as "fresh and emotional ... these ladies have the best mixes, the savviest samples and especially the most happening beats." In the same publication, Jon Pareles noted that the sound that defines Destiny's Child, aside from Knowles' voice, "is the way its melodies jump in and out of double-time. Above brittle, syncopated rhythm tracks, quickly articulated verses alternate with smoother choruses." The group usually harmonize their vocals in their songs, especially on the ballads. In most instances of their songs, each member sings one verse and chimes in at the chorus. In their third album Survivor (2001), each member sings lead in the majority of the songs. Knowles said, "... everybody is a part of the music ... Everybody is singing lead on every song, and it's so great—because now Destiny's Child is at the point vocally and mentally that it should be at." Knowles, however, completely led songs like "Brown Eyes" and "Dangerously in Love 2". The group explored themes of sisterhood and female empowerment in songs such as "Independent Women" and "Survivor", but have also been criticized for the anti-feminist message of songs such as "Cater 2 U" and "Nasty Girl".
Survivor contains themes interpreted by the public as a reference to the group's internal conflict. The title track, "Survivor", which set the theme used throughout the album, features the lyrics "I'm not gonna blast you on the radio ... I'm not gonna lie on you or your family ... I'm not gonna hate you in the magazine" caused Roberson and Luckett to file a lawsuit against the group; the lyrics were perceived to be a violation over their agreement following a settlement in court. In an interview, Knowles commented: "The lyrics to the single 'Survivor' are Destiny's Child's story because we've been through a lot, ... We went through our drama with the members ... Any complications we've had in our 10-year period of time have made us closer and tighter and better." In another song called "Fancy", which contains the lyrics "You always tried to compete with me, girl ... find your own identity", was interpreted by critic David Browne, in his review of the album for Entertainment Weekly magazine, as a response to the lawsuit. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic summarized Survivor as "a determined, bullheaded record, intent on proving Destiny's Child has artistic merit largely because the group survived internal strife. ... It's a record that tries to be a bold statement of purpose, but winds up feeling forced and artificial." Despite the album's receiving critical praise, Knowles' close involvement has occasionally generated criticism. Knowles wrote and co-produced the bulk of Survivor. Browne suggested that her help made Survivor a "premature, but inevitable, growing pains album". In the majority of the songs on their final studio album Destiny Fulfilled (2004), the verses are divided into three sections, with Knowles singing first, followed by Rowland, then Williams; the three harmonize together during the choruses.
### Public image
Destiny's Child were compared to The Supremes, a 1960s American female singing group, with Knowles being compared to Supremes frontwoman Diana Ross; Knowles, however, has dismissed the notion. Coincidentally, Knowles starred in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls as Deena Jones, the frontwoman of the Dreams, a female singing group based on the Supremes. With Knowles' wide role assumed in the production of Survivor, Gil Kaufman of MTV noted that "it became clear that Beyoncé was emerging as DC's unequivocal musical leader and public face". Her dominance to the creative input in the album made the album "very much her work". For Lola Ogunnaike of The New York Times, "It's been a long-held belief in the music industry that Destiny's Child was little more than a launching pad for Beyoncé Knowles' inevitable solo career."
In the wake of Knowles' debut solo album Dangerously in Love (2003), rumors spread about a possible split of Destiny's Child after each member had experienced solo success and had ongoing projects. Comparisons were drawn to Justin Timberlake, who did not return to band NSYNC after his breakthrough debut solo album, Justified. Rowland responded to such rumors, announcing they were back in the studio together. The group claimed that the reunion was destined to happen and that their affinity to each other kept them cohesive. Margeaux Watson, arts editor at Suede magazine, suggested that Knowles "does not want to appear disloyal to her former partners," and called her decision to return to the group "a charitable one". Knowles' mother, Tina, wrote a 2002-published book, titled Destiny's Style: Bootylicious Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Secrets From Destiny's Child, an account of how fashion influenced Destiny's Child's success.
## Legacy
Destiny's Child have been referred to as R&B icons, and have sold more than 60 million records worldwide. Following the disbandment of Destiny's Child, MTV's James Montgomery noted that "they have left a fairly sizable legacy behind" as "one of the best-selling female pop vocal groups in history." Billboard observed that Destiny's Child were "defined by a combination of feisty female empowerment anthems, killer dance moves and an enviable fashion sense," while Essence noted that they "set trends with their harmonious music and cutting-edge style." In 2015, Daisy Jones of Dazed Digital published an article on how the group made a significant impact in R&B music, writing "Without a hint of rose tint, Destiny's Child legitimately transformed the sound of R&B forever... their distinct influence can be found peppered all over today's pop landscape, from Tinashe to Ariana Grande." Nicole Marrow of The Cut magazine believed that R&B music in the 1990s and early 2000s "was virtually redefined by the success of powerhouse performers like TLC and Destiny's Child, who preached a powerful litany of embracing womanhood and celebrating individuality." Hugh McIntyre of Forbes wrote that before The Pussycat Dolls and Danity Kane burst onto the music scene in the mid-2000s, Destiny's Child were "the reigning queens" of the girl group genre.
Writing for Pitchfork, Katherine St. Asaph noticed how Destiny's Child defined the revival of girl groups similar to The Supremes in the early-to-mid-'90s, saying:
> There is no better microcosm of what happened to Top 40 music between 1993 and 1999 than this. Bands like the “Star Search” winner were buried in a landfill of post-grunge, while R&B groups built out from soul and quiet storm to create a sound innovative enough to earn the “futuristic” label almost everything got in that pre-Y2K time. This bore itself out in the revival in the early-to-mid-’90s of excellent girl groups vaguely in the Supremes mold—TLC, En Vogue, SWV—but it would be Destiny’s Child who would become their true successors.
Destiny's Child's final lineup as a trio has been widely noted as the group's most recognizable and successful lineup. Billboard recognized them as one of the greatest musical trios of all time; they were also ranked as the third most successful girl group of all time on the Billboard charts, behind TLC and The Supremes. The group's single "Independent Women" (2000) ranked second on Billboard's list of the "Top 40 Biggest Girl Group Songs of All Time on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart". "Independent Women" was also acknowledged by the Guinness World Records as the longest-running number-one song on the Hot 100 by a girl group. The term "Bootylicious" (a combination of the words booty and delicious) became popularized by Destiny's Child's single of the same and was later added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2006. The term was also used to describe Beyoncé during the 2000s decade due to her curvaceous figure. VH1 included "Bootylicious" on their "100 Greatest Songs of the '00s" list in 2011, and Destiny's Child on their "100 Greatest Women in Music" list the following year. Additionally, "Independent Women" was ranked as one of NME's "100 Best Songs of the 00s". Destiny's Child was honored at the 2005 World Music Awards with the World's Best Selling Female Group of All Time Award, which included a 17-minute tribute performance by Patti LaBelle, Usher, Babyface, Rihanna, Amerie and Teairra Mari. In 2006, the group was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Destiny's Child has been credited as a musical influence or inspiration by several artists including Rihanna, Meghan Trainor, Fifth Harmony, Little Mix, Girls Aloud, Haim, Jess Glynne, Katy B, and RichGirl. Ciara was inspired to pursue a career in music after seeing Destiny's Child perform on television. Ariana Grande cited Destiny's Child as one of her vocal inspirations, saying that listening to the group's music is how she discovered her range and "learned about harmonies and runs and ad-libs." Meghan Trainor stated that her single "No" (2016) was inspired by the late 1990s and early 2000s sounds of Destiny's Child, NSYNC, and Britney Spears. Fifth Harmony cited Destiny's Child as their biggest inspiration, and even paid tribute to the group by performing a medley of "Say My Name", "Independent Women", "Bootylicious" and "Survivor" on the television show Greatest Hits. Fifth Harmony also incorporated elements of the intro from "Bootylicious" for the intro to their own song "Brave, Honest, Beautiful" (2015).
## Discography
- Destiny's Child (1998)
- The Writing's on the Wall (1999)
- Survivor (2001)
- 8 Days of Christmas (2001)
- Destiny Fulfilled (2004)
## Members
## Tours
Headlining
- 1999 European Tour (1999)
- 2002 World Tour (2002)
- Destiny Fulfilled World Tour (2005)
Co-headlining
- Total Request Live Tour (with 3LW, Dream, Jessica Simpson, City High, Eve and Nelly with the St. Lunatics) (2001)
Opening act
- SWV World Tour (opened for SWV) (1996)
- Evolution Tour (opened for Boyz II Men) (1998)
- FanMail Tour (opened for TLC) (1999)
- Introducing IMx Tour (opened for IMx) (2000)
- Christina Aguilera in Concert (opened for Christina Aguilera) (2000)
- (You Drive Me) Crazy Tour (opened for Britney Spears) (2000)
## Awards and nominations
Destiny's Child has won three Grammy Awards from fourteen nominations. The group has also won five American Music Awards, two BET Awards, a BRIT Award, a Guinness World Record, and two MTV Video Music Awards.
## See also
- List of best-selling girl groups
|
38,849,140 |
Sierk Coolsma
| 1,173,786,992 |
Dutch missionary
|
[
"1840 births",
"1926 deaths",
"Dutch Protestant missionaries",
"Missionary linguists",
"People from Leeuwarden",
"People from the Dutch East Indies",
"Protestant missionaries in Indonesia"
] |
Sierk Coolsma (; 26 January 1840 – 20 March 1926) was a Dutch Protestant missionary who wrote extensively on the Sundanese language. Born in the Netherlands, he became a missionary in his early twenties and arrived in the Dutch East Indies in 1865. First tasked to Cianjur, he studied Sundanese in more detail than his contemporaries, gaining an appreciation for the language. Further missionary activities in Bogor, begun in 1869, were a failure, and in 1873 he was tasked with translating the New Testament into Sundanese. Although the Sundanese people highly valued poetry, he did the translation in prose hoping that it would help readers entertain new ideas.
In 1876, Coolsma returned to the Netherlands and became the leader of the Netherlands Missionary Union, promoting further missionary activity in the predominantly Muslim western portion of the East Indies. He also wrote extensively on Sundanese, including a grammar and two dictionaries. Although his Bible translation had little lasting impact, these later works have remained in use.
## Early life and missionary work
Sierk Coolsma was born in Leeuwarden in the Netherlands, on 26 January 1840, as son of worker Foppe Coolsma and Maaike Nauta.
Coolsma first worked in a printer's office, but began training to be a missionary in Rotterdam in 1861, after having studied several months under Rev. Witteveen in Ermelo in the previous year. He finished his training on 5 May 1864; that December he left for Batavia (now Jakarta), the capital of the Dutch colony in the East Indies.
Upon arrival in April 1865, Coolsma was sent by the Netherlands Missionary Union (Netherlandsche Zendingsvereeniging, NZV) to the town of Cianjur. There, on 5 April 1866, he married Maria Johanna Gerretson, six years his younger. He also baptised the NZV's first Sundanese Christians, a husband and wife named Ismael and Moerti. Ismael continued to treat Coolsma as his teacher and help the missionaries spread Christianity until his death in 1872.
While in Cianjur, Coolsma began to study the language used by the Sundanese people who inhabited the area. Eventually, according to Mikihiro Moriyama of Nanzan University, he "had a sharper insight and deeper knowledge" than contemporary missionaries and government workers. Later missionaries would not study the language in such detail.
Coolsma left Cianjur in 1869 and went to Bogor, also a majority-Sundanese city. He found little success in preaching to the European citizens of the city or converting the Sundanese. On 31 May 1869, he opened a school at his home, which provided a free education in both secular and religious studies. The first class had ten students, a total which grew quickly; at its peak, the school had 111 students. After a government-funded school was opened in 1872, most of the Sundanese students moved there to avoid the Christian teachings. The remaining students were mostly ethnic Chinese, few of whom converted.
## Bible translation
In 1873, Coolsma published a grammar of the Sundanese language, titled Handleiding bij de beoefening der Soendaneesche taal (Manual for the Writing of the Sundanese Language). He reluctantly used a transcription method developed by K.F. Holle and proscribed by the colonial government. That year he was tasked with translating the New Testament into Sundanese. He left his school in the hands of fellow missionary D. J. van der Linden and went to Sumedang; there he worked on his translation over a period of three years.
Coolsma found that Sundanese literature consisted predominantly of poetry, including the narrative wawacan, and thought that prose needed to be developed as well so that the people would embrace modernity. He considered that they rarely read, instead preferring to listen to more educated persons sing in verse. As such, the contents of written prose would not be conveyed. This is not to say that he disliked Sundanese poetry; he was appreciative of the dangding verse forms – derived from Javanese literary tradition – which were used to write wawacan, and considered an existing translation of the Gospel of Matthew in dangding to be the best Sundanese-language book in print.
Ultimately, Coolsma chose to translate the Gospel of John and Acts of the Apostles using prose, believing that dangding was "too traditional to convey new ideas" and hoping to promote a "new spirit". However, for accessibility's sake he published using the Jawi script; most literate Sundanese could read it, unlike the Javanese or Latin scripts also used in the area. The translation grew to include much of the New Testament, and by the 1890s the whole Bible. It was, however, little read.
## Later life
Coolsma returned to the Netherlands with his wife in 1876 and became the leader of the NZV, holding the office until 1908. He disputed the idea that missionary work should be focused on the non-Islamicised eastern portion of the colony. He believed instead that missionary work should be prioritsed in the western portion, where Islam had already become entrenched.
Coolsma continued to write about both missionary work and the Sundanese language. In 1881, he wrote a series of condemnatory reviews of Sundanese-language schoolbooks offered by the colonial government, arguing that the content had little value and the language was mostly artificial. He published a Sundanese-Dutch dictionary in 1884, consulting various works of Sundanese literature for his lexemes. In 1901, he published a history of the mission in the East Indies, titled De zendingseeuw voor Nederlandsche Oost-Indiës (The Century of the Mission in the Dutch East Indies). It described the 19th century as time of extensive growth.
In 1904, Coolsma published a revised version of his grammar. Working with fellow missionary Christiaan Albers, who had also preached in Cianjur, Coolsma published a Dutch-Sundanese dictionary in 1911; this was followed by a revised version of his Sundanese-Dutch dictionary in 1913. Coolsma's wife died on 27 September 1917. Her death led him to reduce his workload, although he found time to publish his memoirs, Terugblik op mijn levensweg, 1840–1924 (Looking Back on my Life, 1840–1924), in 1924. He died two years later, on 20 March 1926.
## Legacy
Coolsma was recognised as a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau before his death. Moriyama writes that Coolsma's "unrivaled" dictionary and grammar had a much greater impact than his Bible translations, serving as a basis for the standardisation of written Sundanese. The grammar remains an authoritative source on Sundanese syntax, and despite the colonial government limiting its distribution – afraid the publication of a work by Christian missionaries would provoke the majority-Muslim Sundanese – it was used in various Sundanese educational institutions. In 1985, the grammar was translated into Indonesian and republished by Djambatan.
## See also
- Lie Kim Hok, one of Coolsma's students
- Phoa Keng Hek Sia, another of Coolsma's students
|
47,742 |
Brooklyn Bridge
| 1,172,799,372 |
Bridge in New York City
|
[
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"Brooklyn Bridge",
"Brooklyn Heights",
"Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation",
"Civic Center, Manhattan",
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"National Register of Historic Places in Brooklyn",
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"Railroad bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City",
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"Suspension bridges in New York City",
"Symbols of New York City",
"Tourist attractions in Brooklyn",
"Tourist attractions in Manhattan"
] |
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) and a deck 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water. The span was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge or the East River Bridge but was officially renamed the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915.
Proposals for a bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn were first made in the early 19th century, which eventually led to the construction of the current span, designed by John A. Roebling. The project's chief engineer, his son Washington Roebling, contributed further design work, assisted by the latter's wife, Emily Warren Roebling. Construction started in 1870, with the Tammany Hall-controlled New York Bridge Company overseeing construction, although numerous controversies and the novelty of the design prolonged the project over thirteen years. Since opening, the Brooklyn Bridge has undergone several reconfigurations, having carried horse-drawn vehicles and elevated railway lines until 1950. To alleviate increasing traffic flows, additional bridges and tunnels were built across the East River. Following gradual deterioration, the Brooklyn Bridge has been renovated several times, including in the 1950s, 1980s, and 2010s.
The Brooklyn Bridge is the southernmost of the four toll-free vehicular bridges connecting Manhattan Island and Long Island, with the Manhattan Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the Queensboro Bridge to the north. Only passenger vehicles and pedestrian and bicycle traffic are permitted. A major tourist attraction since its opening, the Brooklyn Bridge has become an icon of New York City. Over the years, the bridge has been used as the location of various stunts and performances, as well as several crimes and attacks. The Brooklyn Bridge has been designated a National Historic Landmark, a New York City landmark, and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
## Description
The Brooklyn Bridge, an early example of a steel-wire suspension bridge, uses a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge design, with both vertical and diagonal suspender cables. Its stone towers are neo-Gothic, with characteristic pointed arches. The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), which maintains the bridge, says that its original paint scheme was "Brooklyn Bridge Tan" and "Silver", although a writer for The New York Post states that it was originally entirely "Rawlins Red".
### Deck
To provide sufficient clearance for shipping in the East River, the Brooklyn Bridge incorporates long approach viaducts on either end to raise it from low ground on both shores. Including approaches, the Brooklyn Bridge is a total of 6,016 feet (1,834 m) long when measured between the curbs at Park Row in Manhattan and Sands Street in Brooklyn. A separate measurement of 5,989 feet (1,825 m) is sometimes given; this is the distance from the curb at Centre Street in Manhattan.
#### Suspension span
The main span between the two suspension towers is 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) long and 85 feet (26 m) wide. The bridge "elongates and contracts between the extremes of temperature from 14 to 16 inches". Navigational clearance is 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water (MHW). A 1909 Engineering Magazine article said that, at the center of the span, the height above MHW could fluctuate by more than 9 feet (2.7 m) due to temperature and traffic loads, while more rigid spans had a lower maximum deflection.
The side spans, between each suspension tower and each side's suspension anchorages, are 930 feet (280 m) long. At the time of construction, engineers had not yet discovered the aerodynamics of bridge construction, and bridge designs were not tested in wind tunnels. It was coincidental that the open truss structure supporting the deck is, by its nature, subject to fewer aerodynamic problems. This is because John Roebling designed the Brooklyn Bridge's truss system to be six to eight times as strong as he thought it needed to be. However, due to a supplier's fraudulent substitution of inferior-quality cable in the initial construction, the bridge was reappraised at the time as being only four times as strong as necessary.
The main span and side spans are supported by a structure containing six trusses running parallel to the roadway, each of which is 33 feet (10 m) deep. The trusses allow the Brooklyn Bridge to hold a total load of 18,700 short tons (16,700 long tons), a design consideration from when it originally carried heavier elevated trains. These trusses are held up by suspender ropes, which hang downward from each of the four main cables. Crossbeams run between the trusses at the top, and diagonal and vertical stiffening beams run on the outside and inside of each roadway.
An elevated pedestrian-only promenade runs in between the two roadways and 18 feet (5.5 m) above them. It typically runs 4 feet (1.2 m) below the level of the crossbeams, except at the areas surrounding each tower. Here, the promenade rises to just above the level of the crossbeams, connecting to a balcony that slightly overhangs the two roadways. The path is generally 10 to 17 feet (3.0 to 5.2 m) wide. The iron railings were produced by Janes & Kirtland, a Bronx iron foundry that also made the United States Capitol dome and the Bow Bridge in Central Park.
#### Approaches
Each of the side spans is reached by an approach ramp. The 971-foot (296 m) approach ramp from the Brooklyn side is shorter than the 1,567-foot (478 m) approach ramp from the Manhattan side. The approaches are supported by Renaissance-style arches made of masonry; the arch openings themselves were filled with brick walls, with small windows within. The approach ramp contains nine arch or iron-girder bridges across side streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Underneath the Manhattan approach, a series of brick slopes or "banks" was developed into a skate park, the Brooklyn Banks, in the late 1980s. The park uses the approach's support pillars as obstacles. In the mid-2010s, the Brooklyn Banks were closed to the public because the area was being used as a storage site during the bridge's renovation. The skateboarding community has attempted to save the banks on multiple occasions; after the city destroyed the smaller banks in the 2000s, the city government agreed to keep the larger banks for skateboarding. When the NYCDOT removed the bricks from the banks in 2020, skateboarders started an online petition.
### Cables
The Brooklyn Bridge contains four main cables, which descend from the tops of the suspension towers and help support the deck. Two are located to the outside of the bridge's roadways, while two are in the median of the roadways. Each main cable measures 15.75 inches (40.0 cm) in diameter and contains 5,282 parallel, galvanized steel wires wrapped closely together in a cylindrical shape. These wires are bundled in 19 individual strands, with 278 wires to a strand. This was the first use of bundling in a suspension bridge and took several months for workers to tie together. Since the 2000s, the main cables have also supported a series of 24-watt LED lighting fixtures, referred to as "necklace lights" due to their shape.
In addition, 1,520 galvanized steel wire suspender cables hang downward from the main cables, and another 400 cable stays extend diagonally from the towers. These wires hold up the truss structure around the bridge deck.
#### Anchorages
Each side of the bridge contains an anchorage for the main cables. The anchorages are trapezoidal limestone structures located slightly inland of the shore, measuring 129 by 119 feet (39 by 36 m) at the base and 117 by 104 feet (36 by 32 m) at the top. Each anchorage weighs 60,000 short tons (54,000 long tons; 54,000 t). The Manhattan anchorage rests on a foundation of bedrock while the Brooklyn anchorage rests on clay.
The anchorages both have four anchor plates, one for each of the main cables, which are located near ground level and parallel to the ground. The anchor plates measure 16 by 17.5 feet (4.9 by 5.3 m), with a thickness of 2.5 feet (0.76 m) and weigh 46,000 pounds (21,000 kg) each. Each anchor plate is connected to the respective main cable by two sets of nine eyebars, each of which is about 12.5 feet (3.8 m) long and up to 9 by 3 inches (229 by 76 mm) thick. The chains of eyebars curve downward from the cables toward the anchor plates, and the eyebars vary in size depending on their position.
The anchorages also contain numerous passageways and compartments. Starting in 1876, in order to fund the bridge's maintenance, the New York City government made the large vaults under the bridge's Manhattan anchorage available for rent, and they were in constant use during the early 20th century. The vaults were used to store wine, as they were kept at a consistent 60 °F (16 °C) temperature due to a lack of air circulation. The Manhattan vault was called the "Blue Grotto" because of a shrine to the Virgin Mary next to an opening at the entrance. The vaults were closed for public use in the late 1910s and 1920s during World War I and Prohibition but were reopened thereafter. When New York magazine visited one of the cellars in 1978, it discovered a "fading inscription" on a wall reading: "Who loveth not wine, women and song, he remaineth a fool his whole life long." Leaks found within the vault's spaces necessitated repairs during the late 1980s and early 1990s. By the late 1990s, the chambers were being used to store maintenance equipment.
### Towers
The bridge's two suspension towers are 278 feet (85 m) tall with a footprint of 140 by 59 feet (43 by 18 m) at the high water line. They are built of limestone, granite, and Rosendale cement. The limestone was quarried at the Clark Quarry in Essex County, New York. The granite blocks were quarried and shaped on Vinalhaven Island, Maine, under a contract with the Bodwell Granite Company, and delivered from Maine to New York by schooner. The Manhattan tower contains 46,945 cubic yards (35,892 m<sup>3</sup>) of masonry, while the Brooklyn tower has 38,214 cubic yards (29,217 m<sup>3</sup>) of masonry.
Each tower contains a pair of Gothic Revival pointed arches, through which the roadways run. The arch openings are 117 feet (36 m) tall and 33.75 feet (10.29 m) wide. The tops of the towers are located 159 feet (48 m) above the floor of each arch opening, while the floors of the openings are 119.25 feet (36.35 m) above mean water level, giving the towers a total height of 278.25 feet (84.81 m) above mean high water.
#### Caissons
The towers rest on underwater caissons made of southern yellow pine. Both caissons contain interior spaces that were used by construction workers. The Manhattan side's caisson is slightly larger, measuring 172 by 102 feet (52 by 31 m) and located 78.5 feet (23.9 m) below high water, while the Brooklyn side's caisson measures 168 by 102 feet (51 by 31 m) and is located 44.5 feet (13.6 m) below high water. The caissons were designed to hold at least the weight of the towers which would exert a pressure of 5 short tons per square foot (49 t/m<sup>2</sup>) when fully built, but the caissons were over-engineered for safety. During an accident on the Brooklyn side, when air pressure was lost and the partially-built towers dropped full-force down, the caisson sustained an estimated pressure of 23 short tons per square foot (220 t/m<sup>2</sup>) with only minor damage. Most of the timber used in the bridge's construction, including in the caissons, came from mills at Gascoigne Bluff on St. Simons Island, Georgia.
The Brooklyn side's caisson, which was built first, originally had a height of 9.5 feet (2.9 m) and a ceiling composed of five layers of timber, each layer 1 foot (0.30 m) tall. Ten more layers of timber were later added atop the ceiling, and the entire caisson was wrapped in tin and wood for further protection against flooding. The thickness of the caisson's sides was 8 feet (2.4 m) at both the bottom and the top. The caisson had six chambers: two each for dredging, supply shafts, and airlocks.
The caisson on the Manhattan side was slightly different because it had to be installed at a greater depth. To protect against the increased air pressure at that depth, the Manhattan caisson had 22 layers of timber on its roof, seven more than its Brooklyn counterpart had. The Manhattan caisson also had fifty 4-inch-diameter (10 cm) pipes for sand removal, a fireproof iron-boilerplate interior, and different airlocks and communication systems.
## History
### Planning
Proposals for a bridge between the then-separate cities of Brooklyn and New York had been suggested as early as 1800. At the time, the only travel between the two cities was by a number of ferry lines. Engineers presented various designs, such as chain or link bridges, though these were never built because of the difficulties of constructing a high enough fixed-span bridge across the extremely busy East River. There were also proposals for tunnels under the East River, but these were considered prohibitively expensive. German immigrant engineer John Augustus Roebling proposed building a suspension bridge over the East River in 1857. He had previously designed and constructed shorter suspension bridges, such as Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, and the Niagara Suspension Bridge. In 1867, Roebling erected what became the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge over the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky.
In February 1867, the New York State Senate passed a bill that allowed the construction of a suspension bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Two months later, the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Company was incorporated with a board of directors (later converted to a board of trustees). There were twenty trustees in total: eight each appointed by the mayors of New York and Brooklyn, as well as the mayors of each city and the auditor and comptroller of Brooklyn. The company was tasked with constructing what was then known as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge. Alternatively, the span was just referred to as the "Brooklyn Bridge", a name originating in a January 25, 1867, letter to the editor sent to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. The act of incorporation, which became law on April 16, 1867, authorized the cities of New York (now Manhattan) and Brooklyn to subscribe to \$5 million in capital stock, which would fund the bridge's construction.
Roebling was subsequently named the chief engineer of the work and, by September 1867, had presented a master plan. According to the plan, the bridge would be longer and taller than any suspension bridge previously built. It would incorporate roadways and elevated rail tracks, whose tolls and fares would provide the means to pay for the bridge's construction. It would also include a raised promenade that served as a leisurely pathway. The proposal received much acclaim in both cities, and residents predicted that the New York and Brooklyn Bridge's opening would have as much of an impact as the Suez Canal, the first transatlantic telegraph cable or the first transcontinental railroad. By early 1869, however, some individuals started to criticize the project, saying either that the bridge was too expensive, or that the construction process was too difficult.
To allay concerns about the design of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, Roebling set up a "Bridge Party" in March 1869, where he invited engineers and members of U.S. Congress to see his other spans. Following the bridge party in April, Roebling and several engineers conducted final surveys. During the process, it was determined that the main span would have to be raised from 130 to 135 feet (40 to 41 m) above MHW, requiring several changes to the overall design. In June 1869, while conducting these surveys, Roebling sustained a crush injury to his foot when a ferry pinned it against a piling. After amputation of his crushed toes, he developed a tetanus infection that left him incapacitated and resulted in his death the following month. Washington Roebling, John Roebling's 32-year-old son, was then hired to fill his father's role. Tammany Hall leader William M. Tweed also became involved in the bridge's construction because, as a major landowner in New York City, he had an interest in the project's completion. The New York and Brooklyn Bridge Company—later known simply as the New York Bridge Company—was actually overseen by Tammany Hall, and it approved Roebling's plans and designated him as chief engineer of the project.
### Construction
#### Caissons
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge began on January 2, 1870. The first work entailed the construction of two caissons, upon which the suspension towers would be built. The Brooklyn side's caisson was built at the Webb & Bell shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and was launched into the river on March 19, 1870. Compressed air was pumped into the caisson, and workers entered the space to dig the sediment until it sank to the bedrock. As one sixteen-year-old from Ireland, Frank Harris, described the fearful experience:
> The six of us were working naked to the waist in the small iron chamber with the temperature of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit: In five minutes the sweat was pouring from us, and all the while we were standing in icy water that was only kept from rising by the terrific pressure. No wonder the headaches were blinding.
Once the caisson had reached the desired depth, it was to be filled in with vertical brick piers and concrete. However, due to the unexpectedly high concentration of large boulders atop the riverbed, the Brooklyn caisson took several months to sink to the desired depth. Furthermore, in December 1870, its timber roof caught fire, delaying construction further. The "Great Blowout", as the fire was called, delayed construction for several months, since the holes in the caisson had to be repaired. On March 6, 1871, the repairs were finished, and the caisson had reached its final depth of 44.5 feet (13.6 m); it was filled with concrete five days later. Overall, about 264 individuals were estimated to have worked in the caisson every day, but because of high worker turnover, the final total was thought to be about 2,500 men in total. In spite of this, only a few workers were paralyzed. At its final depth, the caisson's air pressure was 21 pounds per square inch (140 kPa).
The Manhattan side's caisson was the next structure to be built. To ensure that it would not catch fire like its counterpart had, the Manhattan caisson was lined with fireproof plate iron. It was launched from Webb & Bell's shipyard on May 11, 1871, and maneuvered into place that September. Due to the extreme underwater air pressure inside the much deeper Manhattan caisson, many workers became sick with "the bends"—decompression sickness—during this work, despite the incorporation of airlocks (which were believed to help with decompression sickness at the time). This condition was unknown at the time and was first called "caisson disease" by the project physician, Andrew Smith. Between January 25 and May 31, 1872, Smith treated 110 cases of decompression sickness, while three workers died from the disease. When iron probes underneath the Manhattan caisson found the bedrock to be even deeper than expected, Washington Roebling halted construction due to the increased risk of decompression sickness. After the Manhattan caisson reached a depth of 78.5 feet (23.9 m) with an air pressure of 35 pounds per square inch (240 kPa), Washington deemed the sandy subsoil overlying the bedrock 30 feet (9.1 m) beneath to be sufficiently firm, and subsequently infilled the caisson with concrete in July 1872.
Washington Roebling himself suffered a paralyzing injury as a result of caisson disease shortly after ground was broken for the Brooklyn tower foundation. His debilitating condition left him unable to supervise the construction in person, so he designed the caissons and other equipment from his apartment, directing "the completion of the bridge through a telescope from his bedroom." His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, not only provided written communications between her husband and the engineers on site, but also understood mathematics, calculations of catenary curves, strengths of materials, bridge specifications, and the intricacies of cable construction. She spent the next 11 years helping supervise the bridge's construction, taking over much of the chief engineer's duties, including day-to-day supervision and project management.
#### Towers
After the caissons were completed, piers were constructed on top of each of them upon which masonry towers would be built. The towers' construction was a complex process that took four years. Since the masonry blocks were heavy, the builders transported them to the base of the towers using a pulley system with a continuous 1.5-inch (3.8 cm)-diameter steel wire rope, operated by steam engines at ground level. The blocks were then carried up on a timber track alongside each tower and maneuvered into the proper position using a derrick atop the towers. The blocks sometimes vibrated the ropes because of their weight, but only once did a block fall.
Construction on the suspension towers started in mid-1872, and by the time work was halted for the winter in late 1872, parts of each tower had already been built. By mid-1873, there was substantial progress on the towers' construction. The Brooklyn side's tower had reached a height of 164 feet (50 m) above mean high water, while the tower on the Manhattan side had reached 88 feet (27 m) above MHW. The arches of the Brooklyn tower were completed by August 1874. The tower was substantially finished by December 1874 with the erection of saddle plates for the main cables at the top of the tower. However, the ornamentation on the Brooklyn tower could not be completed until the Manhattan tower was finished. The last stone on the Brooklyn tower was raised in June 1875 and the Manhattan tower was completed in July 1876. The saddle plates atop both towers were also raised in July 1876. The work was dangerous: by 1876, three workers had died having fallen from the towers, while nine other workers were killed in other accidents.
In 1875, while the towers were being constructed, the project had depleted its original \$5 million budget. Two bridge commissioners, one each from Brooklyn and Manhattan, petitioned New York state lawmakers to allot another \$8 million for construction. Ultimately, the legislators passed a law authorizing the allotment with the condition that the cities would buy the stock of Brooklyn Bridge's private stockholders.
Work proceeded concurrently on the anchorages on each side. The Brooklyn anchorage broke ground in January 1873 and was subsequently substantially completed in August 1875. The Manhattan anchorage was built in less time, having started in May 1875, it was mostly completed in July 1876. The anchorages could not be fully completed until the main cables were spun, at which point another 6 feet (1.8 m) would be added to the height of each 80-foot (24 m) anchorage.
#### Cables
The first temporary wire was stretched between the towers on August 15, 1876, using chrome steel provided by the Chrome Steel Company of Brooklyn. The wire was then stretched back across the river, and the two ends were spliced to form a traveler, a lengthy loop of wire connecting the towers, which was driven by a 30 horsepower (22 kW) steam hoisting engine at ground level. The wire was one of two that were used to create a temporary footbridge for workers while cable spinning was ongoing. The next step was to send an engineer across the completed traveler wire in a boatswain's chair slung from the wire, to ensure it was safe enough. The bridge's master mechanic, E.F. Farrington, was selected for this task, and an estimated crowd of 10,000 people on both shores watched him cross. A second traveler wire was then stretched across the span, a task that was completed by August 30. The temporary footbridge, located some 60 feet (18 m) above the elevation of the future deck, was completed in February 1877.
By December 1876, a steel contract for the permanent cables still had not been awarded. There was disagreement over whether the bridge's cables should use the as-yet-untested Bessemer steel or the well-proven crucible steel. Until a permanent contract was awarded, the builders ordered 30 short tons (27 long tons) of wire in the interim, 10 tons each from three companies, including Washington Roebling's own steel mill in Brooklyn. In the end, it was decided to use number 8 Birmingham gauge (approximately 4 mm or 0.165 inches in diameter) crucible steel, and a request for bids was distributed, to which eight companies responded. In January 1877, a contract for crucible steel was awarded to J. Lloyd Haigh, who was associated with bridge trustee Abram Hewitt, whom Roebling distrusted.
The spinning of the wires required the manufacture of large coils of it which were galvanized but not oiled when they left the factory. The coils were delivered to a yard near the Brooklyn anchorage. There they were dipped in linseed oil, hoisted to the top of the anchorage, dried out and spliced into a single wire, and finally coated with red zinc for further galvanizing. There were thirty-two drums at the anchorage yard, eight for each of the four main cables. Each drum had a capacity of 60,000 feet (18,000 m) of wire. The first experimental wire for the main cables was stretched between the towers on May 29, 1877, and spinning began two weeks later. All four main cables were being strung by that July. During that time, the temporary footbridge was unofficially opened to members of the public, who could receive a visitor's pass; by August 1877 several thousand visitors from around the world had used the footbridge. The visitor passes ceased that September after a visitor had an epileptic seizure and nearly fell off.
As the wires were being spun, work also commenced on the demolition of buildings on either side of the river for the Brooklyn Bridge's approaches; this work was mostly complete by September 1877. The following month, initial contracts were awarded for the suspender wires, which would hang down from the main cables and support the deck. By May 1878, the main cables were more than two-thirds complete. However, the following month, one of the wires slipped, killing two people and injuring three others. In 1877, Hewitt wrote a letter urging against the use of Bessemer steel in the bridge's construction. Bids had been submitted for both crucible steel and Bessemer steel; John A. Roebling's Sons submitted the lowest bid for Bessemer steel, but at Hewitt's direction, the contract was awarded to Haigh.
A subsequent investigation discovered that Haigh had substituted inferior quality wire in the cables. Of eighty rings of wire that were tested, only five met standards, and it was estimated that Haigh had earned \$300,000 from the deception. At this point, it was too late to replace the cables that had already been constructed. Roebling determined that the poorer wire would leave the bridge only four times as strong as necessary, rather than six to eight times as strong. The inferior-quality wire was allowed to remain and 150 extra wires were added to each cable. To avoid public controversy, Haigh was not fired, but instead was required to personally pay for higher-quality wire. The contract for the remaining wire was awarded to the John A. Roebling's Sons, and by October 5, 1878, the last of the main cables' wires went over the river.
#### Nearing completion
After the suspender wires had been placed, workers began erecting steel crossbeams to support the roadway as part of the bridge's overall superstructure. Construction on the bridge's superstructure started in March 1879, but, as with the cables, the trustees initially disagreed on whether the steel superstructure should be made of Bessemer or crucible steel. That July, the trustees decided to award a contract for 500 short tons (450 long tons) of Bessemer steel to the Edgemoor (or Edge Moor) Iron Works, based in Philadelphia, to be delivered by 1880. The trustees later passed another resolution for another 500 short tons (450 long tons) of Bessemer steel. However, by February 1880 the steel deliveries had not started. That October, the bridge trustees questioned Edgemoor's president about the delay in steel deliveries. Despite Edgemoor's assurances that the contract would be fulfilled, the deliveries still had not been completed by November 1881. Brooklyn mayor Seth Low, who became part of the board of trustees in 1882, became the chairman of a committee tasked to investigate Edgemoor's failure to fulfill the contract. When questioned, Edgemoor's president stated that the delays were the fault of another contractor, the Cambria Iron Company, who was manufacturing the eyebars for the bridge trusses; at that point, the contract was supposed to be complete by October 1882.
Further complicating the situation, Washington Roebling had failed to appear at the trustees' meeting in June 1882, since he had gone to Newport, Rhode Island. After the news media discovered this, most of the newspapers called for Roebling to be fired as chief engineer, except for the Daily State Gazette of Trenton, New Jersey, and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Some of the longstanding trustees, including Henry C. Murphy, James S. T. Stranahan, and William C. Kingsley, were willing to vouch for Roebling, since construction progress on the Brooklyn Bridge was still ongoing. However, Roebling's behavior was considered suspect among the younger trustees who had joined the board more recently.
Construction on the bridge itself was noted in formal reports that Murphy presented each month to the mayors of New York and Brooklyn. For example, Murphy's report in August 1882 noted that the month's progress included 114 intermediate cords erected within a week, as well as 72 diagonal stays, 60 posts, and numerous floor beams, bridging trusses, and stay bars. By early 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was considered mostly completed and was projected to open that June. Contracts for bridge lighting were awarded by February 1883, and a toll scheme was approved that March.
#### Opposition
There was substantial opposition to the bridge's construction from shipbuilders and merchants located to the north, who argued that the bridge would not provide sufficient clearance underneath for ships. In May 1876, these groups, led by Abraham Miller, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the cities of New York and Brooklyn.
In 1879, an Assembly Sub-Committee on Commerce and Navigation began an investigation into the Brooklyn Bridge. A seaman who had been hired to determine the height of the span, testified to the committee about the difficulties that ship masters would experience in bringing their ships under the bridge when it was completed. Another witness, Edward Wellman Serrell, a civil engineer, said that the calculations of the bridge's assumed strength were incorrect. The Supreme Court decided in 1883 that the Brooklyn Bridge was a lawful structure.
### Opening
The New York and Brooklyn Bridge was opened for use on May 24, 1883. Thousands of people attended the opening ceremony, and many ships were present in the East River for the occasion. Officially, Emily Warren Roebling was the first to cross the bridge. The bridge opening was also attended by U.S. president Chester A. Arthur and New York mayor Franklin Edson, who crossed the bridge and shook hands with Brooklyn mayor Seth Low at the Brooklyn end. Abram Hewitt gave the principal address.
> It is not the work of any one man or of any one age. It is the result of the study, of the experience, and of the knowledge of many men in many ages. It is not merely a creation; it is a growth. It stands before us today as the sum and epitome of human knowledge; as the very heir of the ages; as the latest glory of centuries of patient observation, profound study and accumulated skill, gained, step by step, in the never-ending struggle of man to subdue the forces of nature to his control and use.
Though Washington Roebling was unable to attend the ceremony (and rarely visited the site again), he held a celebratory banquet at his house on the day of the bridge opening. Further festivity included the performance by a band, gunfire from ships, and a fireworks display. On that first day, a total of 1,800 vehicles and 150,300 people crossed the span. Less than a week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, ferry crews reported a sharp drop in patronage, while the bridge's toll operators were processing over a hundred people a minute. However, cross-river ferries continued to operate until 1942.
The bridge had cost US\$15.5 million in 1883 dollars (about US\$ in ) to build, of which Brooklyn paid two-thirds. The bonds to fund the construction would not be paid off until 1956. An estimated 27 men died during its construction. Since the New York and Brooklyn Bridge was the only bridge across the East River at that time, it was also called the East River Bridge. Until the construction of the nearby Williamsburg Bridge in 1903, the New York and Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, 20% longer than any built previously.
At the time of opening, the Brooklyn Bridge was not complete; the proposed public transit across the bridge was still being tested, while the Brooklyn approach was being completed. On May 30, 1883, six days after the opening, a woman falling down a stairway at the Brooklyn approach caused a stampede which resulted in at least twelve people being crushed and killed. In subsequent lawsuits, the Brooklyn Bridge Company was acquitted of negligence. However, the company did install emergency phone boxes and additional railings, and the trustees approved a fireproofing plan for the bridge. Public transit service began with the opening of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway, a cable car service, on September 25, 1883. On May 17, 1884, one of the circus master P. T. Barnum's most famous attractions, Jumbo the elephant, led a parade of 21 elephants over the Brooklyn Bridge. This helped to lessen doubts about the bridge's stability while also promoting Barnum's circus.
### Late 19th through early 20th centuries
Patronage across the Brooklyn Bridge increased in the years after it opened; a million people paid to cross in the six first months. The bridge carried 8.5 million people in 1884, its first full year of operation; this number doubled to 17 million in 1885 and again to 34 million in 1889. Many of these people were cable car passengers. Additionally, about 4.5 million pedestrians a year were crossing the bridge for free by 1892.
The first proposal to make changes to the bridge was sent in only two and a half years after it opened, when Linda Gilbert suggested glass steam-powered elevators and an observatory be added to the bridge and a fee charged for use, which would in part fund the bridge's upkeep and in part fund her prison reform charity. This proposal was considered but not acted upon. Numerous other proposals were made during the first fifty years of the bridge's life.
Trolley tracks were added in the center lanes of both roadways in 1898, allowing trolleys to use the bridge as well. That year, the formerly separate City of Brooklyn was unified with New York City, and the Brooklyn Bridge fell under city control.
Concerns about the Brooklyn Bridge's safety were raised during the turn of the century. In 1898, traffic backups due to a dead horse caused one of the truss cords to buckle. There were more significant worries after twelve suspender cables snapped in 1901, though a thorough investigation found no other defects. After the 1901 incident, five inspectors were hired to examine the bridge each day, a service that cost \$250,000 a year. The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, which operated routes across the Brooklyn Bridge, issued a notice in 1905 saying that the bridge had reached its transit capacity.
By 1890, due to the popularity of the Brooklyn Bridge, there were proposals to construct other bridges across the East River between Manhattan and Long Island. Although a second deck for the Brooklyn Bridge was proposed, it was thought to be infeasible because doing so would overload the bridge's structural capacity. The first new bridge across the East River, the Williamsburg Bridge, opened upstream in 1903 and connected Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with the Lower East Side of Manhattan. This was followed by the Queensboro Bridge between Queens and Manhattan in March 1909, and the Manhattan Bridge between Brooklyn and Manhattan in December 1909. Several subway, railroad, and road tunnels were also constructed, which helped to accelerate the development of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.
Though tolls had been instituted for carriages and cable-car customers since the bridge's opening, pedestrians were spared from the tolls originally. However, by the first decade of the 20th century, pedestrians were also paying tolls. Tolls on all four bridges across the East River—the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as the Manhattan, Williamsburg, and Queensboro bridges to the north—were abolished in July 1911 as part of a populist policy initiative headed by New York City mayor William Jay Gaynor. The city government passed a bill to officially name the structure the "Brooklyn Bridge" in January 1915. Ostensibly in an attempt to reduce traffic on nearby city streets, Grover Whalen, the commissioner of Plant and Structures, banned motor vehicles from the Brooklyn Bridge in 1922. The real reason for the ban was an incident the same year where two cables slipped due to high traffic loads. Both Whalen and Roebling called for the renovation of the Brooklyn Bridge and the construction of a parallel bridge, though the parallel bridge was never built.
### Mid- to late 20th century
#### Upgrades
The first major upgrade to the Brooklyn Bridge commenced in 1948, when a contract for redesigning the roadways was awarded to David B. Steinman. The renovation was expected to double the capacity of the bridge's roadways to nearly 6,000 cars per hour, at a projected cost of \$7 million. The renovation included the demolition of both the elevated and the trolley tracks on the roadways, the removal of trusses separating the inner elevated tracks from the existing vehicle lanes and the widening of each roadway from two to three lanes, as well as the construction of a new steel-and-concrete floor. In addition, new ramps were added to Adams Street, Cadman Plaza, and the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) on the Brooklyn side, and to Park Row on the Manhattan side. The trolley tracks closed in March 1950 to allow for the widening work to occur. During the construction project, one roadway at a time was closed, allowing reduced traffic flows to cross the bridge in one direction only. The widened south roadway was completed in May 1951, followed by the north roadway in October 1953. The restoration was finished in May 1954 with the completion of the reconstructed elevated promenade.
While the rebuilding of the span was ongoing, a fallout shelter was constructed beneath the Manhattan approach in anticipation of the Cold War. The abandoned space in one of the masonry arches was stocked with emergency survival supplies for a potential nuclear attack by the Soviet Union; these supplies remained in place half a century later. In addition, defensive barriers were added to the bridge as a safeguard against sabotage.
Simultaneous with the rebuilding of the Brooklyn Bridge, a double-decked viaduct for the BQE was being built through an existing steel overpass of the bridge's Brooklyn approach ramp. The segment of the BQE from Brooklyn Bridge south to Atlantic Avenue opened in June 1954, but the direct ramp from the northbound BQE to the Manhattan-bound Brooklyn Bridge did not open until 1959. The city also widened the Adams Street approach in Brooklyn, between the bridge and Fulton Street, from 60 to 160 feet (18 to 49 m) between 1954 and 1955. Subsequently, Boerum Place from Fulton Street south to Atlantic Avenue was also widened. This required the demolition of the old Kings County courthouse. The towers were cleaned in 1958 and the Brooklyn anchorage was repaired the next year.
On the Manhattan side, the city approved a controversial rebuilding of the Manhattan entrance plaza in 1953. The project, which would add a grade-separated junction over Park Row, was hotly contested because it would require the demolition of 21 structures, including the old New York World Building. The reconstruction also necessitated the relocation of 410 families on Park Row. In December 1956, the city started a two-year renovation of the plaza. This required the closure of one roadway at a time, as was done during the rebuilding of the bridge itself. Work on redeveloping the area around the Manhattan approach started in the mid-1960s. At the same time, plans were announced for direct ramps to the FDR Drive elevated highway to alleviate congestion at the approach. The ramp from the FDR Drive to the Brooklyn Bridge was opened in 1968, followed by the ramp from the bridge to the FDR Drive the next year. A single ramp from the Manhattan-bound Brooklyn Bridge to northbound Park Row was constructed in 1970. A repainting of the bridge was announced two years later in advance of its 90th anniversary.
#### Deterioration and late-20th century repair
The Brooklyn Bridge gradually deteriorated due to age and neglect. While it had 200 full-time dedicated maintenance workers before World War II, that number dropped to five by the late 20th century, and the city as a whole only had 160 bridge maintenance workers. In 1974, heavy vehicles such as vans and buses were banned from the bridge to prevent further erosion of the concrete roadway. A report in The New York Times four years later noted that the cables were visibly fraying and the pedestrian promenade had holes in it. The city began planning to replace all the Brooklyn Bridge's cables at a cost of \$115 million, as part of a larger project to renovate all four toll-free East River spans. By 1980, the Brooklyn Bridge was in such dire condition that it faced imminent closure. In some places, half of the strands in the cables were broken.
In June 1981, two of the diagonal stay cables snapped, seriously injuring a pedestrian who later died. Subsequently, the anchorages were found to have developed rust, and an emergency cable repair was necessitated less than a month later after another cable developed slack. Following the incident, the city accelerated the timetable of its proposed cable replacement, and it commenced a \$153 million rehabilitation of the Brooklyn Bridge in advance of the 100th anniversary. As part of the project, the bridge's original suspender cables installed by J. Lloyd Haigh were replaced by Bethlehem Steel in 1986, marking the cables' first replacement since construction. In addition, the staircase at Washington Street in Brooklyn was renovated, the stairs from Tillary and Adams Streets were replaced with a ramp, and the short flights of steps from the promenade to each tower's balcony were removed. In a smaller project, the bridge was floodlit at night starting in 1982 to highlight its architectural features.
Additional problems persisted, and in 1993, high levels of lead were discovered near the bridge's towers. Further emergency repairs were undertaken in mid-1999 after small concrete shards began falling from the bridge into the East River. The concrete deck had been installed during the 1950s renovations and had a lifespan of about 60 years. The Park Row exit from the bridge's westbound lanes was closed as a safety measure after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the nearby World Trade Center. That section of Park Row had been closed off since it ran right underneath 1 Police Plaza, the headquarters of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). In early 2003, to save money on electricity, the NYCDOT turned off the bridge's "necklace lights" at night. They were turned back on later that year after several private entities made donations to fund the lights.
### 21st century
After the 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, public attention focused on the condition of bridges across the U.S. The New York Times reported that the Brooklyn Bridge approach ramps had received a "poor" rating during an inspection in 2007. However, a NYCDOT spokesman said that the poor rating did not indicate a dangerous state but rather implied it required renovation. In 2010, the NYCDOT began renovating the approaches and deck, as well as repainting the suspension span. Work included widening two approach ramps from one to two lanes by re-striping a new prefabricated ramp; raising clearance over the eastbound BQE at York Street; seismic retrofitting; replacement of rusted railings and safety barriers; and road deck resurfacing. The work necessitated detours for four years. At the time, the project was scheduled to be completed in 2014; but completion was later delayed to 2015, then again to 2017. The project's cost also increased from \$508 million in 2010 to \$811 million in 2016.
In August 2016, after the renovation had been completed, the NYCDOT announced that it would conduct a seven-month, \$370,000 study to verify if the bridge could support a heavier upper deck that consisted of an expanded bicycle and pedestrian path. As of 2016, about 10,000 pedestrians and 3,500 cyclists use the pathway on an average weekday. Work on the pedestrian entrance on the Brooklyn side was underway by 2017.
The NYCDOT also indicated in 2016 that it planned to reinforce the Brooklyn Bridge's foundations to prevent it from sinking, as well as repair the masonry arches on the approach ramps, which had been damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. In July 2018, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a further renovation of the Brooklyn Bridge's suspension towers and approach ramps. That December, the federal government gave the city \$25 million in funding, which would pay for a \$337 million rehabilitation of the bridge approaches and the suspension towers. Work started in late 2019 and was scheduled to be completed in 2023. This restoration included removing bricks from the arches and putting fresh concrete behind them, using mortar from the same upstate quarries as the original mortar. The granite arches were also cleaned, showing off the colors of the stone, which had long been hidden by grime.
In early 2020, City Council speaker Corey Johnson and the nonprofit Van Alen Institute hosted an international contest to solicit plans for the redesign of the bridge's walkway. Ultimately, in January 2021, the city decided to install a two-way protected bike path on the Manhattan-bound roadway, replacing the leftmost vehicular lane. The bike lane would allow the existing promenade to be used exclusively by pedestrians. Work on the bike lane started in June 2021, and the new path was completed on September 14, 2021. Despite the addition of the bike path, the bridge's walkway was still frequently overcrowded, prompting the city to propose in mid-2023 that street vendors be banned from the bridge.
## Usage
### Vehicular traffic
Horse-drawn carriages have been allowed to use the Brooklyn Bridge's roadways since its opening. Originally, each of the two roadways carried two lanes of a different direction of traffic. The lanes were relatively narrow at only 8 feet (2.4 m) wide. In 1922, motor vehicles were banned from the bridge, while horse-drawn carriages were restricted from the Manhattan Bridge. Thereafter, the only vehicles allowed on the Brooklyn Bridge were horse-drawn.
After 1950, the main roadway carried six lanes of automobile traffic, three in each direction. It was then reduced to five lanes with the addition of a two-way bike lane on the Manhattan-bound side in 2021. Because of the roadway's height (11 ft (3.4 m) posted) and weight (6,000 lb (2,700 kg) posted) restrictions, commercial vehicles and buses are prohibited from using the Brooklyn Bridge. The weight restrictions prohibit heavy passenger vehicles such as pickup trucks and SUVs from using the bridge, though this is not often enforced in practice.
On the Brooklyn side, vehicles can enter the bridge from Tillary/Adams Streets to the south, Sands/Pearl Streets to the west, and exit 28B of the eastbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. In Manhattan, cars can enter from both the northbound and southbound FDR Drive, as well as Park Row to the west, Chambers/Centre Streets to the north, and Pearl Street to the south. However, the exit from the bridge to northbound Park Row was closed after the September 11 attacks because of increased security concerns: that section of Park Row ran under One Police Plaza, the NYPD headquarters.
#### Exits and entrances
Vehicular access to the bridge is provided by a complex series of ramps on both sides of the bridge. There are two entrances to the bridge's pedestrian promenade on either side.
### Rail traffic
Formerly, rail traffic operated on the Brooklyn Bridge as well. Cable cars and elevated railroads used the bridge until 1944, while trolleys ran until 1950.
#### Cable cars and elevated railroads
The New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway, a cable car service, began operating on September 25, 1883; it ran on the inner lanes of the bridge, between terminals at the Manhattan and Brooklyn ends. Since Washington Roebling believed that steam locomotives would put excessive loads upon the structure of the Brooklyn Bridge, the cable car line was designed as a steam/cable-hauled hybrid. They were powered from a generating station under the Brooklyn approach. The cable cars could not only regulate their speed on the 3+3⁄4% upward and downward approaches, but also maintain a constant interval between each other. There were 24 cable cars in total.
Initially, the service ran with single-car trains, but patronage soon grew so much that by October 1883, two-car trains were in use. The line carried three million people in the first six months, nine million in 1884, and nearly 20 million in 1885 following the opening of the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad. Accordingly, the track layout was rearranged and more trains were ordered. At the same time, there were highly controversial plans to extend the elevated railroads onto the Brooklyn Bridge, under the pretext of extending the bridge itself. After disputes, the trustees agreed to build two elevated routes to the bridge on the Brooklyn side. Patronage continued to increase, and in 1888, the tracks were lengthened and even more cars were constructed to allow for four-car cable car trains. Electric wires for the trolleys were added by 1895, allowing for the potential future decommissioning of the steam/cable system. The terminals were rebuilt once more in July 1895, and, following the implementation of new electric cars in late 1896, the steam engines were dismantled and sold.
Following the unification of the cities of New York and Brooklyn in 1898, the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway ceased to be a separate entity that June and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) assumed control of the line. The BRT started running through-services of elevated trains, which ran from Park Row Terminal in Manhattan to points in Brooklyn via the Sands Street station on the Brooklyn side. Before reaching Sands Street (at Tillary Street for Fulton Street Line trains, and at Bridge Street for Fifth Avenue Line and Myrtle Avenue Line trains), elevated trains bound for Manhattan were uncoupled from their steam locomotives. The elevated trains were then coupled to the cable cars, which would pull the passenger carriages across the bridge.
The BRT did not run any elevated train through services from 1899 to 1901. Due to increased patronage after the opening of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT)'s first subway line, the Park Row station was rebuilt in 1906. In the early 20th century, there were plans for Brooklyn Bridge elevated trains to run underground to the BRT's proposed Chambers Street station in Manhattan, though the connection was never opened. The overpass across William Street was closed in 1913 to make way for the proposed connection. In 1929, the overpass was reopened after it became clear that the connection would not be built.
After the IRT's Joralemon Street Tunnel and the Williamsburg Bridge tracks opened in 1908, the Brooklyn Bridge no longer held a monopoly on rail service between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and cable service ceased. New subway lines from the IRT and from the BRT's successor Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), built in the 1910s and 1920s, posed significant competition to the Brooklyn Bridge rail services. With the opening of the Independent Subway System in 1932 and the subsequent unification of all three companies into a single entity in 1940, the elevated services started to decline, and the Park Row and Sands Street stations were greatly reduced in size. The Fifth Avenue and Fulton Street services across the Brooklyn Bridge were discontinued in 1940 and 1941 respectively, and the elevated tracks were abandoned permanently with the withdrawal of Myrtle Avenue services in 1944.
#### Trolleys
A plan for trolley service across the Brooklyn Bridge was presented in 1895. Two years later, the Brooklyn Bridge trustees agreed to a plan where trolleys could run across the bridge under ten-year contracts. Trolley service, which began in 1898, ran on what are now the two middle lanes of each roadway (shared with other traffic). When cable service was withdrawn in 1908, the trolley tracks on the Brooklyn side were rebuilt to alleviate congestion. Trolley service on the middle lanes continued until the elevated lines stopped using the bridge in 1944, when they moved to the protected center tracks. On March 5, 1950, the streetcars also stopped running, and the bridge was redesigned exclusively for automobile traffic.
### Walkway
The Brooklyn Bridge has an elevated promenade open to pedestrians in the center of the bridge, located 18 feet (5.5 m) above the automobile lanes. The promenade is usually located 4 feet (1.2 m) below the height of the girders, except at the approach ramps leading to each tower's balcony. The path is generally 10 to 17 feet (3.0 to 5.2 m) wide, though this is constrained by obstacles such as protruding cables, benches, and stairways, which create "pinch points" at certain locations. The path narrows to 10 feet (3.0 m) at the locations where the main cables descend to the level of the promenade. Further exacerbating the situation, these "pinch points" are some of the most popular places to take pictures. As a result, in 2016, the NYCDOT announced that it planned to double the promenade's width.
A center line was painted to separate cyclists from pedestrians in 1971, creating one of the city's first dedicated bike lanes. Initially, the northern side of the promenade was used by pedestrians and the southern side by cyclists. In 2000, these were swapped, with cyclists taking the northern side and pedestrians taking the southern side. On September 14, 2021, the DOT closed off the inner-most car lane on the Manhattan-bound side with protective barriers and fencing to create a new bike path. Cyclists are now prohibited from the upper pedestrian lane.
Pedestrian access to the bridge from the Brooklyn side is from either the median of Adams Street at its intersection with Tillary Street or a staircase near Prospect Street between Cadman Plaza East and West. In Manhattan, the pedestrian walkway is accessible from crosswalks at the intersection of the bridge and Centre Street, or through a staircase leading to Park Row.
#### Emergency use
While the bridge has always permitted the passage of pedestrians, the promenade facilitates movement when other means of crossing the East River have become unavailable. During transit strikes by the Transport Workers Union in 1980 and 2005, people commuting to work used the bridge; they were joined by Mayors Ed Koch and Michael Bloomberg, who crossed as a gesture to the affected public. Pedestrians also walked across the bridge as an alternative to suspended subway services following the 1965, 1977, and 2003 blackouts, and after the September 11 attacks.
During the 2003 blackouts, many crossing the bridge reported a swaying motion. The higher-than-usual pedestrian load caused this swaying, which was amplified by the tendency of pedestrians to synchronize their footfalls with a sway. Several engineers expressed concern about how this would affect the bridge, although others noted that the bridge did withstand the event and that the redundancies in its design—the inclusion of the three support systems (suspension system, diagonal stay system, and stiffening truss)—make it "probably the best secured bridge against such movements going out of control". In designing the bridge, John Roebling had stated that the bridge would sag but not fall, even if one of these structural systems were to fail altogether.
## Notable events
### Stunts
There have been several notable jumpers from the Brooklyn Bridge. The first person was Robert Emmet Odlum, brother of women's rights activist Charlotte Odlum Smith, on May 19, 1885. He struck the water at an angle and died shortly afterwards from internal injuries. Steve Brodie supposedly dropped from underneath the bridge in July 1886 and was briefly arrested for it, though there is some doubt about whether he actually jumped. Larry Donovan made a slightly higher jump from the railing a month afterward. The first person to jump from the bridge with the intention of suicide was Francis McCarey in 1892. A lesser known early jumper was James Duffy of County Cavan, Ireland, who on April 15, 1895, asked several men to watch him jump from the bridge. Duffy jumped and was not seen again. Additionally, the cartoonist Otto Eppers jumped and survived in 1910, and was then tried and acquitted for attempted suicide. The Brooklyn Bridge has since developed a reputation as a suicide bridge due to the number of jumpers who do so intending to kill themselves, though exact statistics are difficult to find.
Other notable feats have taken place on or near the bridge. In 1919, Giorgio Pessi piloted what was then one of the world's largest airplanes, the Caproni Ca.5, under the bridge. In 1993, bridge jumper Thierry Devaux illegally performed eight acrobatic bungee jumps above the East River close to the Brooklyn tower.
### Crimes and terrorism
On March 1, 1994, Lebanese-born Rashid Baz opened fire on a van carrying members of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish Movement, striking 16-year-old student Ari Halberstam and three others traveling on the bridge. Halberstam died five days later from his wounds, and Baz was later convicted of murder. He was apparently acting out of revenge for the Hebron massacre of Palestinian Muslims a few days prior to the incident. After initially classifying the killing as one committed out of road rage, the Justice Department reclassified the case in 2000 as a terrorist attack. The entrance ramp to the bridge on the Manhattan side was subsequently dedicated as the Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp.
Several potential attacks or disasters have also been averted. In 1979, police disarmed a stick of dynamite placed under the Brooklyn approach, and an artist in Manhattan was later arrested for the act. In 2003, truck driver Iyman Faris was sentenced to about 20 years in prison for providing material support to Al-Qaeda, after an earlier plot to destroy the bridge by cutting through its support wires with blowtorches was thwarted.
### Arrests
At 9:00 a.m. on May 19, 1977, artist Jack Bashkow climbed one of the towers for Bridging, a "media sculpture" by the performance group Art Corporation of America Inc. Seven artists climbed the largest bridges connected to Manhattan "to replace violence and fear in mass media for one day". When each of the artists had reached the tops of the bridges, they ignited bright-yellow flares at the same moment, resulting in rush hour traffic disruption, media attention, and the arrest of the climbers, though the charges were later dropped. Called "the first social-sculpture to use mass-media as art" by conceptual artist Joseph Beuys, the event was on the cover of the New York Post, received international attention, and received ABC Eyewitness News' 1977 Best News of the Year award. John Halpern documented the incident in the film Bridging, 1977. Halpern attempted another "bridging" "social sculpture" in 1979, when he planted a radio receiver, gunpowder and fireworks in a bucket atop one of the towers. The piece was later discovered by police, leading to his arrest for possessing a bomb.
On October 1, 2011, more than 700 protesters with the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested while attempting to march across the bridge on the roadway. Protesters disputed the police account of the events and claimed that the arrests were the result of being trapped on the bridge by the NYPD. The majority of the arrests were subsequently dismissed.
On July 22, 2014, the two American flags on the flagpoles atop each tower were found to have been replaced by bleached-white American flags. Initially, cannabis activism was suspected as a motive, but on August 12, 2014, two Berlin artists claimed responsibility for hoisting the two white flags, having switched out the original flags with their replicas. The artists said that the flags were meant to celebrate "the beauty of public space" and the anniversary of the death of German-born John Roebling, and they denied that it was an "anti-American statement".
### Anniversary celebrations
The 50th-anniversary celebrations on May 24, 1933, included a ceremony featuring an airplane show, ships, and fireworks, as well as a banquet. During the centennial celebrations on May 24, 1983, President Ronald Reagan led a cavalcade of cars across the bridge. A flotilla of ships visited the harbor, officials held parades, and Grucci Fireworks held a fireworks display that evening. For the centennial, the Brooklyn Museum exhibited a selection of the original drawings made for the bridge's construction, including those by Washington Roebling. Media coverage of the centennial was declared "the public relations triumph of 1983" by Inc.
The 125th anniversary of the bridge's opening was celebrated by a five-day event on May 22–26, 2008, which included a live performance by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, a special lighting of the bridge's towers, and a fireworks display. Other events included a film series, historical walking tours, information tents, a series of lectures and readings, a bicycle tour of Brooklyn, a miniature golf course featuring Brooklyn icons, and other musical and dance performances. Just before the anniversary celebrations, artist Paul St George installed the Telectroscope, a video link on the Brooklyn side of the bridge that connected to a matching device on London's Tower Bridge. A renovated pedestrian connection to Dumbo, Brooklyn, was also reopened before the anniversary celebrations.
## Impact
At the time of construction, contemporaries marveled at what technology was capable of, and the bridge became a symbol of the era's optimism. John Perry Barlow wrote in the late 20th century of the "literal and genuinely religious leap of faith" embodied in the bridge's construction, saying that the "Brooklyn Bridge required of its builders faith in their ability to control technology".
### Historical designations and plaques
The Brooklyn Bridge has been listed as a National Historic Landmark since January 29, 1964, and was subsequently added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. The bridge has also been a New York City designated landmark since August 24, 1967, and was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1972. In addition, it was placed on UNESCO's list of tentative World Heritage Sites in 2017.
A bronze plaque is attached to the Manhattan anchorage, which was constructed on the site of the Samuel Osgood House at 1 Cherry Street in Manhattan. Named after Samuel Osgood, a Massachusetts politician and lawyer, it was built in 1770 and served as the first U.S. presidential mansion. The Osgood House was demolished in 1856.
Another plaque on the Manhattan side of the pedestrian promenade, installed by the city in 1975, indicates the bridge's status as a city landmark.
### Culture
The Brooklyn Bridge has had an impact on idiomatic American English. For example, references to "selling the Brooklyn Bridge" abound in American culture, sometimes as examples of rural gullibility but more often in connection with an idea that strains credulity. George C. Parker and William McCloundy were two early 20th-century con men who may have perpetrated this scam successfully on unwitting tourists, although the author of The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural History wrote, "No evidence exists that the bridge has ever been sold to a 'gullible outlander'".
As a tourist attraction, the Brooklyn Bridge is a popular site for clusters of love locks, wherein a couple inscribes a date and their initials onto a lock, attach it to the bridge, and throw the key into the water as a sign of their love. The practice is officially illegal in New York City and the NYPD can give violators a \$100 fine. NYCDOT workers periodically remove the love locks from the bridge at a cost of \$100,000 per year.
To highlight the Brooklyn Bridge's cultural status, the city proposed building a Brooklyn Bridge museum near the bridge's Brooklyn end in the 1970s. Though the museum was ultimately not constructed, the plans had been established after numerous original planning documents were found in Williamsburg. These documents were given to the New York City Municipal Archives, where they are normally located, though the documents were briefly displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1976.
### Media
The bridge is often featured in wide shots of the New York City skyline in television and film and has been depicted in numerous works of art. Fictional works have used the Brooklyn Bridge as a setting; for instance, the dedication of a portion of the bridge, and the bridge itself, were key components in the 2001 film Kate & Leopold. Furthermore, the Brooklyn Bridge has also served as an icon of America, with mentions in numerous songs, books, and poems. Among the most notable of these works is that of American Modernist poet Hart Crane, who used the Brooklyn Bridge as a central metaphor and organizing structure for his second book of poetry, The Bridge (1930).
The Brooklyn Bridge has also been lauded for its architecture. One of the first positive reviews was "The Bridge As A Monument", a Harper's Weekly piece written by architecture critic Montgomery Schuyler and published a week after the bridge's opening. In the piece, Schuyler wrote: "It so happens that the work which is likely to be our most durable monument, and to convey some knowledge of us to the most remote posterity, is a work of bare utility; not a shrine, not a fortress, not a palace, but a bridge." Architecture critic Lewis Mumford cited the piece as the impetus for serious architectural criticism in the U.S. He wrote that in the 1920s the bridge was a source of "joy and inspiration" in his childhood, and that it was a profound influence in his adolescence. Later critics would regard the Brooklyn Bridge as a work of art, as opposed to an engineering feat or a means of transport. Not all critics appreciated the bridge, however. Henry James, writing in the early 20th century, cited the bridge as an ominous symbol of the city's transformation into a "steel-souled machine room".
The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge is detailed in numerous media sources, including David McCullough's 1972 book The Great Bridge and Ken Burns's 1981 documentary Brooklyn Bridge. It is also described in Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, a BBC docudrama series with an accompanying book, as well as Chief Engineer: Washington Roebling, The Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge, a biography published in 2017.
## See also
- Brooklyn Bridge Park
- Brooklyn Bridge trolleys
- List of tallest structures built before the 20th century
|
9,879,287 |
Jean Keene
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Known as the "Eagle Lady" of Homer, Alaska
|
[
"1923 births",
"2009 deaths",
"American activists",
"People from Aitkin, Minnesota",
"People from Homer, Alaska"
] |
Jean Keene (October 20, 1923 – January 13, 2009), also known as the Eagle Lady, was a former rodeo trick rider who became the subject of national attention due to her feeding of wild bald eagles on the Homer Spit in Homer, Alaska. Although she had many supporters for the feedings, she was also criticized for drawing a large population of eagles to the area. After her death, the city of Homer passed a law prohibiting the feeding of predatory birds.
## Early life
Jean Marie Hodgdon was born on October 20, 1923 in Aitkin County, Minnesota. The eldest of three sisters and one brother, she grew up on a dairy farm in Aitkin, where she helped with farm chores including herding, feeding, and milking cows. She learned to ride horses and became a talented horse breaker and trainer.
In 1952, she was recruited by the traveling rodeo outfit Red River Rodeo as a trick rider, and by the mid-1950s was anticipating an upcoming appearance with Red River at Madison Square Garden. However, her rodeo career was abruptly cut short in a riding accident during a performance at Olympia Arena in Detroit, Michigan. While performing a trick called the "death drag", she missed a handhold after leaning back too far in her saddle. She fell from her horse and was knocked unconscious when her head hit the arena wall. Her foot was still caught in the stirrup, and she was dragged around the arena, tangled in the horse's legs, until other rodeo personnel were able to stop the horse. She suffered 15 fractures in her left knee. After surgery to repair her knee, she spent several months in recovery encased from the waist down in a plaster cast. After the cast was removed, she was still able to walk and ride, but not with the facility needed to perform in the rodeo.
For a time she worked as a professional truck driver hauling cattle. In the late 1950s she married, and gave birth to a son, Lonnie, before divorcing. By the early 1960s she was a single mother. She opened up a dog and cat grooming business and also raised and bred cocker spaniels. She later became the owner and operator of Jolly Chef Truck Stop in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Keene came to Alaska for the first time in the early 1970s to attend a cousin's wedding. Attracted by the state's beauty, she returned for several visits before making the decision in 1977 to move there — alone. Her son Lonnie was deemed old enough to make his own decisions, and he chose to remain in Minnesota. Keene took a week to drive from Minnesota to Alaska in a secondhand motorhome, ending in Homer, where she parked the motorhome at the end of Homer Spit in the Homer Spit Campground, where it remained for many years. She took a job at a fish processing facility on the Spit, the Icicle Seafoods subsidiary Seward Fisheries, in the spring of 1977, where she later became a foreman.
## Feeding the eagles
Keene's career as the "Eagle Lady" began shortly after her arrival in Homer, when one morning she noticed two bald eagles on the beach near her motorhome. Keene saw offering food to the eagles as a natural extension of her practice of keeping bird feeders filled with sunflower seeds for wild songbirds. She began to bring home surplus fish in a bucket from her job, and each morning would throw some fish to the eagles over the short driftwood fence she had made around her motorhome. By the end of that spring, a half-dozen eagles were showing up for breakfast. The eagles departed with the arrival of summer, when the Spit became more active with human visitors, but they returned in the winter when tourist season had ended, and Keene resumed the daily feeding.
Within ten years, over 200 bald eagles were visiting during winter and early spring each day, and the job of feeding them became more involved. To have enough fish to last through the winter, she would begin in August to stockpile fish scraps and freezer burned fish donated by her employer and by other local companies. The fish was sometimes supplemented by moose meat that Keene salvaged when she heard of a road-killed moose on the highway. She began feeding the eagles at about December 1 of each year, a job that took up to three hours' work each morning. Keene obtained permission from her employer to use a company forklift to move the large containers of stockpiled fish scraps and freezer-burned salmon, halibut, rockfish, cod, and herring out of the company's large freezers. She then transferred the fish by hand into barrels or garbage cans, which she loaded up in her pickup truck. Then she would drive the load to her motorhome, about 100 yards (91 m) from the Seward Fisheries plant, and cut the fish into fist-sized pieces to be thrown out to the eagles. If the fish was fully frozen, she would use an axe, chainsaw, or blowtorch to break the fish down into smaller chunks, or might even have to lug the large garbage cans into her motorhome to thaw. "I don't know if anyone else would do this," she told a reporter in 1986. "My motorhome smells like fish. My yard is fish. My truck is fish. I am fish. It gets kind of gross sometimes, especially when you're handling a lot of slimy carcasses."
Keene had been persistent in her efforts. In 1985 she broke her leg, but managed to keep to the feeding schedule even on crutches. In the winter of 1994 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and on her doctor's advice underwent a mastectomy. She hired a friend to conduct feeding operations in her absence, but was back to do it herself three days after surgery.
On July 1, 1998, an ammonia leak and explosion at the Seward Fisheries plant caused a fire that led to the evacuation of Homer Spit and the ultimate destruction of the facility, which until then had been the major supplier of fish remains for Keene's feeding operation. But Keene was able to report when winter came that she had found other sources and was ready for the eagles when they returned.
Although the number of visiting eagles fluctuated, about 200 to 300 eagles would show up each day during the months of winter and early spring. Crows and gulls were also attracted to the area. Keene fed them an estimated 500 pounds (227 kg) of fish per day, about 50,000 pounds (22,680 kg) per year. Her fish supply included surplus and freezer-burned fish from fish processing facilities still on the Spit, her own purchases using her limited funds from Social Security or retirement benefits, or fish contributed by her supporters. Visitors could come and watch the eagles Keene fed on the Spit at no cost, but were asked to stay in their cars for their own safety and for the safety of the eagles.
## Public attention
Keene's work has been publicized in Reader's Digest, National Geographic, The Washington Post, People, Life, "Ripley's Believe It or Not!", and on The Rush Limbaugh Show. A 2004 book, The Eagle Lady by Alaska author and photographer Cary Anderson, documents Keene's life and her relationship with the eagles. Keene received the 2004 Lifetime Meritorious Service Award from the Bald Eagle Foundation. Many of Keene's strongest supporters were local hotel owners who got extra business in the normally sluggish winter season, and photographers who were able to use clever framing of shots in order to make it appear they were photographing eagles in the wild. These photographers made enough money from these works that they bought Keene a new house with some of the profits. The news satire program The Daily Show reported on its April 17, 2006 edition that Homer had been overpopulated by bald eagles due in large part to Keene's activities. A crew from the show spent two days in March 2006 shooting footage for the show, including a feeding session and interview with Keene and interviews with other Homer residents about Keene and the controversy then in progress about feeding eagles.
## Criticism
Some environmentalists were concerned with the large population of eagles drawn to Homer by Keene. They believed some eagles have been harmed due to their familiarity with people. Others were worried about the spread of disease or the change in the birds' natural migrations. Allegedly, some other bird populations in the area, such as sandhill cranes, loons, and kittiwakes, have been driven out or killed by eagles, though there is no direct evidence. In fact, kittiwakes have increased in the area to the degree of founding a new colony close to Keene's home. According to an ABC News broadcast, many Homer residents now consider the birds a "menace", as they have been known to cause car accidents and steal pets. In a few cases, the birds have been shot at. An ordinance passed by the Homer City Council in 2006 prohibits the feeding of eagles within the city limits; however, the city council granted Keene an exemption, giving her special permission to continue feeding bald eagles within city limits until April 2010, at which time Keene would have been 86.
## Death
Keene died at home on January 13, 2009, aged 85, from a respiratory condition. After her death, the Homer city council passed a new resolution banning the feeding of eagles, crows, ravens and other predatory and scavenger birds by any person, effective March 19, 2009. The resolution's effective date was delayed until spring out of concern that the birds would either die of starvation or become highly aggressive if the feeding ended in the middle of winter.
|
52,994,518 |
Woman's club movement in the United States
| 1,138,713,921 |
Women's social movement
|
[
"African-American women's organizations",
"Progressive Era in the United States",
"Women's clubs",
"Women's clubs in the United States",
"Women's organizations based in the United States"
] |
The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a part of United States history, it was not until the Progressive era that it came to be considered a movement. The first wave of the club movement during the progressive era was started by white, middle-class, Protestant women, and a second phase was led by African-American women.
These clubs, most of which had started out as social and literary gatherings, eventually became a source of reform for various issues in the U.S. Both African-American and white women's clubs were involved with issues surrounding education, temperance, child labor, juvenile justice, legal reform, environmental protection, library creation and more. Women's clubs helped start many initiatives such as kindergartens and juvenile court systems. Later, women's clubs tackled issues like women's suffrage, lynching and family planning. The clubs allowed women, who had little political standing at the time, to gain greater influence in their communities. As women gained more rights, the need for clubs to exercise political and social influence became less important. Over time, participation in women's clubs has waned in the United States. However, many clubs still continue to operate and influence their communities.
## About
The woman's club movement became part of Progressive era social reform, which was reflected by many of the reforms and issues addressed by club members. According to Maureen A. Flanagan, many women's clubs focused on the welfare of their community because of their shared experiences in tending to the well-being of home-life. Tending to the community was often called "municipal housekeeping" during the Progressive era and reflected a shared belief by many club members that home and city life were linked through city hall. By constructing the idea of municipal housekeeping, women were also able to justify their involvement in government. Later, in 1921, Alice Ames Winter describes how women had begun to see "their homes as the units out of which society was built", and that home life and public life were linked. Women's clubs "established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform, define and shape public policy". Women's clubs were also "training schools" for women who wanted to get involved in the public sphere. They helped women attain both social and political power.
Many women's clubs increased their memberships by having other members sponsor or nominate new members to the group. Clubs often organized themselves by committee, or division. Many women's clubs created and occupied their own clubhouses. Today these clubhouses have continued to be the site of women's meetings and other gatherings. Some women's clubs created and continue to publish their own journals and newsletters.
## History
Prior to the founding of the first Progressive era women's clubs, Sorosis and the New England Women's Club, most organizations for women were auxiliaries of groups for men or were church-related. Jane Cunningham Croly of the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) wrote in 1898 that women were first able to reach out of their homes through religious institutions.
By becoming involved in church or charitable groups, women were able to find companionship and a way to facilitate change in their communities. It was also one of the few ways that women were initially allowed to contribute outside of the home. Some of the earliest women-led organizations were started as religious groups in the early part of the nineteenth century. White women were involved in church charity groups as early as the 1790s.
Later, women also started to become involved in antislavery groups, temperance groups and women's suffrage organizations starting in the 1840s. African-American women helped organize many anti-slavery groups, the earliest founded in 1832, and white women followed black women's lead in creating abolition groups.
As women began to have more leisure time, they started woman's clubs. Initially, most women's clubs focused on literary endeavors, self-improvement and created social opportunities for white middle-class women. These clubs allowed women to share ideas and helped them realize that their thoughts were important, and that together they could act on them. Literary women's clubs in pioneer areas gave women an outlet to explore reading and make friends. Many women’s clubs maintained book collections for use by club members. Instead of forming a literary club, women in Galveston created a scientific club, which also focused on learning.
Croly notes that women's clubs were not created to copy men's groups; instead, they were often created to give women a space to share ideas as equals; these ideas often developed into practical action. As Mary I. Wood and Anna J. H. (Mrs. Percy V.) Pennybacker described it: "Very early the club women became unwilling to discuss Dante and Browning over the teacups, at meetings of their peers in some lady's drawing room, while unsightly heaps of rubbish flanked the paths over which they had passed in their journeys thither." Women justified their movement into social reform by using the Victorian idea that women were naturally morally superior to men. As clubs moved from self-improvement to community improvement, women's clubs in the Western U.S. lagged somewhat behind clubs formed in more developed parts of the country. Woman's clubs in the late 1800s described themselves as attempting to "exert a refining and ennobling influence" on their communities. They also saw woman's clubs as an intellectual and practical good which would create better women and a better country.
Sorosis and the GFWC saw large increases in membership in 1889 and 1890. The GFWC grew to around a million women by 1910, and to a million and a half by 1914. The creation of an umbrella organization for the many women's clubs allowed them to work together in a more coordinated fashion. However, the GFWC excluded African-American clubs from its membership, and many white clubs during the late 1800s excluded black women as well as Jewish women from membership. White women's clubs ignored racial inequalities because of the controversy surrounding the issue, and even if they addressed racial inequalities, they did so "tactfully in order to gain members and support". Some white women's clubs were frankly unconcerned with issues relating to African Americans because they "supported the racist ideology and practices of their era".
Women's clubs were very active in women's suffrage (see below) and helped support the war effort during World War I. Women in clubs raised money, worked with the Red Cross, financed the Home Guard and set up communications within the community to share information quickly. Woman's clubs also knitted socks, rolled bandages for soldiers and sold war bonds. In Texas, the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs (TFWC) helped create recreational canteens for soldiers. During the 1930s, women's clubs hosted programs in concert with the Works Progress Administration. When World War II broke out, women's clubs were involved in volunteering. In the 1960s, during the civil rights movement, women's clubs again grew in size.
While there were many organizations that encouraged change around child labor, the GFWC became advocates for some of the first child labor laws. Children were hired because they were cheaper and more manageable than adults. During the early 1900s, women’s labor organizations were formed to protect their rights. Among them, was Lenora O’Reilly who helped develop the WTUL that supported wage requests and promoted the end of child labor.
### African-American club movement
Even before African Americans were freed from slavery, black women had started to come together to create organizations which looked after their community's welfare. Black women were very quick to "organize themselves for self-help". One of the first African-American women's club was the Female Benevolent Society of St. Thomas, in Philadelphia, which was started in 1793. At the time, Philadelphia had numerous black organizations. After the African Benevolent Society in Newport, Rhode Island, would not allow women to be officers or vote, women created their own group. Another group, the Colored Female Religious and Moral Society in Salem, Massachusetts was created in 1818. Black women's clubs helped raise money for the anti-slavery newspaper The North Star. Many black churches owed their existence to the dedicated work of African-American women organizing in their communities. Black women's literary clubs began to show up as early as 1831, with the Female Literary Society of Philadelphia.
After slavery was ended in the United States with the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865, black women continued to organize and often worked with churches to ensure their communities were taken care of. Many of these organizations were "so resilient that they were able to survive the twin disasters of bank failure and yellow fever". In 1868, black women's clubs were formed in Harris County, Texas. Between 1880 and 1920, black women in Indianapolis, Indiana had created more than 500 clubs addressing various issues.
During the Progressive era, many black women migrated to the Northern United States and into more urban areas. The club movement for black women in the 1890s began to focus on "social and political reform" and were more secular. Black women had to face the same issues as white women during this period but were often excluded from services and help that benefited whites only. Black women were not only excluded from white clubs but also from clubs created by black men. In addition, many black women felt as though they were defying stereotypes for their community. Woman's clubs allowed black women to combat the period's stereotypes which "portrayed African American women as devoid of morality, sexually wanton and incapable of upholding marital and family responsibilities". Being a member of a woman's club also helped give black women greater social standing in their communities.
Black colleges helped the creation of African-American women's clubs. Ida B. Wells was an important figure in the growth of these clubs during the Progressive Era. A number of clubs, named after her, were created in large cities across the country. In Chicago, the wealthy former abolitionist Mary Jane Richardson Jones supported the development of several clubs, serving as the first chair of Wells's. Other influential woman's club organizers were Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and Mary Church Terrell. In 1896, the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) was founded. The NACW grew out of anti-lynching campaigns spearheaded by Wells. Wells's anti-lynching campaign provoked the president of the Missouri Press Association who viciously attacked black women in a letter that was widely circulated among women's clubs by Ruffin. Ruffin eventually helped bring together the NACW, using the letter as a "call to action".
Both black and white women were involved in creating the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 and were often involved in much of the organization's local work. By 1900, almost every black community had a women's club. By 1910, in proportion to population size, African-American women's clubs outpaced white women's clubs in the number of clubs created. By 1914, the NACW had fifty-thousand members and over a thousand clubs participating in the umbrella organization. Black women wanted to be visible and NACW helped them organize to improve conditions in their communities. There were also many African-American versions of the WCTU and the YWCA.
The NACW raised more than \$5 million in war bonds during World War I. The Woman's Club of Norfolk wrote letters and sent care packages to the segregated black units sent to fight overseas. During the Great Depression, black women's clubs began to move towards "structural change and electoral politics". The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) became a dominant group in the women's club movement in African-American circles. After World War II, working class and poor black women took the place of upper-class black women in organizing communities.
### Faculty Wives clubs
Faculty Wives clubs began to be formed in many American universities in the early 20th century. They were brought together through the careers of the members' spouses. The clubs were localized around their particular affiliation and geographically restricted, thus most of their clubs did not receive the same volume of members nor the publicity of some of the earlier groups. However, their existence can still be seen in various archives at universities across the United States such as University of Washington, Kent State University, Emporia State University, and Ball State University.
These Faculty Wives clubs were formed during the Progressive era and served the same functions of community, cultural education, and service that characterized larger groups. One of the clubs' primary functions was fostering community among those affiliated with the university. The wives at Ball State University held regular dinners for their husbands, both to relieve stress and build relationships. At University of Washington the wives formed a "Newcomers club" to ensure that the new faculty wives felt welcome and included at the university.
Along with fostering relations, the various clubs volunteered their time and skills to benefit their wider community. At Emporia State University the Faculty Wives club made bandages for the Red Cross during World War I, and sewed regularly for the Red Cross during World War II. At Ball State University the club sewed regularly at the local hospital.
The Faculty Wives clubs were prominent throughout much of the 20th century. During the latter half, some of the clubs merged with other groups to form University Women's club, reflecting the change in faculty diversity and gender roles in the United States. Other wives clubs have remained independent and vibrant in their community, like the one at the University of Washington.
### Decline of woman's clubs
African-American women's clubs began to decline in the 1920s. By the 1960s, interest and membership in white women's clubs started to decline. As women had more opportunities to socialize, many clubs found their members were aging and were unable to recruit newer members.
Woman's clubs began to turn over their work to city entities and became less influential. In addition, more women began to enter the workforce during the 1960s and had less spare time to devote to club work.
Many women today are working long hours or spending time with their children's extracurricular activities. By 2010, the number of women's clubs had significantly decreased across the country. This reflects a trend in all club memberships in the United States: most clubs are losing members because there is a lack of leisure time for younger people.
### Woman's clubs today
Some clubs are still active. The Houston Heights Woman's Club and The Women's Club of Forest Hills have found ways to reach out to younger residents in the community as recently as 2007 with the creation of an evening group. Some clubs have had success with creating programs that are meant to be attractive to younger women. The Des Moines Women's Club established in 1885, continues to support the community today with scholarships, an annual art exhibition, and continued support to its historic club house and museum, Hoyt Sherman Place. Shrilee Haizlip, president of the Ebell Club in Los Angeles, emphasizes what makes women's clubs unique: "It is a wondrous thing to be constantly surrounded by three generations of women."
Women's clubs continue their original missions of concern for the welfare of their communities. The GFWC gives out the Croly Award for excellence in journalism on topics relating to women. The GFWC also provides scholarships for women, especially those who have survived domestic violence. The NACWC continues to be one of the top ten non-profit organizations in the United States. It has adopted modern issues to tackle, such as fighting AIDS and violence against women. Many of today's women's clubs also provide cultural opportunities for their communities. Other groups continue to support their original missions, such as the Alpha Home, which provides care for elderly black people. Women's clubs that exist today were adaptable in response to societal changes over time.
## Impact
Women's clubs, especially during the Progressive era, helped shape their communities and the country. Many progressive ideals were pressed into action through the resources of women's clubs, including kindergartens, juvenile courts, and park conservation. Women's clubs, many with their literary backgrounds, helped promote and raise money for schools, universities and libraries. Women's clubs were often at the forefront of various civil rights issues, denouncing lynching, promoting women's rights and voting rights.
### Civil rights
Women's clubs helped promote civil rights, as well as improving conditions for black women in the country. A woman's club in California, the Fannie Jackson Coppin Club, was created by African Americans to "provide hospitality and housing services to African-American visitors who were not welcomed in the segregated hotels and other businesses" in the state. Some white woman's clubs promoted desegregation early on, though these efforts were small in scope. The Chicago Woman's Club admitted a black member, Fannie Barrier Williams, only after a long approval process, which included the club deciding not to exclude anyone based on race. Few clubs worked together across racial boundaries, although the YWCA and the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching (ASWPL) did sometimes welcome bi-racial collaboration.
The Woman's Missionary Council for the southern Methodist church spoke out against lynching. Women's clubs, like the Texas Association of Women's Clubs also denounced lynching. The purpose of the ASWPL was to end lynching in the United States.
Women's groups, like the NACWC, began to support desegregation in the 1950s. The Montana Federation of Colored Women's Clubs led campaigns for civil rights between 1949 and 1955. They also helped draft anti-segregation legislation. The initial organizer of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 was the Woman's Political Council of Montgomery.
Some women's clubs also worked to understand people's fear of immigrants during the late 1900s. Settlement houses, created by woman's clubs, helped settle and integrate European immigrants.
### Education
Women's clubs were noted for promoting educational efforts around the country by their contemporaries. Putting women onto school boards was part of many women's club agendas in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Women's groups also influenced discussions about classroom size; the Chicago Woman's City Club asking that there be no more than thirty children per class. Chicago clubs also helped sponsor school lunches for students. Clubwomen have also protested cuts in teacher's salaries. Black women's clubs worked to create educational opportunities for their communities when these areas were ignored by white people.
Kindergartens and nursery schools in the United States were the creation of women's clubs. The first nursery school in the United States was created through women's clubs and club members in Chicago. The Woman's Club of El Paso started the first kindergarten in the state of Texas in 1893. Women's clubs were often involved with creating schools for delinquent boys and girls. The Texas Association of Women's Clubs (TAWC) worked for several decades to create what would later become the Crockett State School which was originally meant to help "delinquent" black girls.
Women's clubs were involved in vocational training and pushing for additional educational options for all young people. The Woman's City Club worked with the Chicago Woman's Club and the Association of Collegiate Alumnae to create a Bureau of Vocational Supervision which could take a "personal interest in schoolchildren, working directly to place them in appropriate jobs when they left school". The Bureau also created scholarships for needy students. The Chicago Woman's Club raised \$40,000 to create an industrial school for boys in Glenwood, Illinois. Hester C. Jeffrey established woman's clubs which helped raise the funds for young black women to take classes at what would later become the Rochester Institute of Technology. Clubs, like the Chicago Woman's Club, taught the blind and provided job skills.
Many women's clubs believed that compulsory education for young people would help solve many child labor issues. In Chicago, the Woman's City Club worked with other clubs in order to help students stay in school past age 14. The Illinois Collegiate Alumnae association helped the government draw up a law in 1897 to ensure that children between the ages of seven and fourteen were in school for sixteen weeks of the year.
Women's clubs helped support and influence the creation of higher education. The Texas Federation of Women's Clubs "was a significant force behind the establishment of Texas Woman's University." Women's clubs helped raise money for new college buildings. Other clubs created scholarship funds for their communities. These organizations also helped produce research showing that higher education benefited women. Women's clubs today continue to sponsor scholarships for higher education.
#### Art and music
Women's club activities were seen by contemporaries as helping to spread art appreciation across the country. Clubwomen would often donate art to schools. Other clubs created traveling art collections and art libraries for communities. Clubs also hosted arts exhibits. The FFWC promoted Old Folks at Home by Stephen Foster as the state song.
African-American women promoted the arts, focusing on "celebrating African American traditions and culture." These included African-American music, theater and dance. Clubwomen saw themselves as carrying on both art and tradition of their lives in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The Chicago and Northern District Association of Colored Women's Clubs (CNDA) hosted well-known singers such as Etta Moten. CNDA also hosted an exhibit of African art, literature, and music called The Negro in Art Week in 1927.
### Environment and conservation
Women's clubs were involved in protecting natural resources. Many women's clubs started out by beautifying their cities and states. Clubs would sponsor and maintain playgrounds, and dedicate and maintain cemeteries. Later, clubs, like a Michigan women's club, would work to reforest parts of the state. In Idaho, women's clubs helped prevent logging in national forests. GFWC had been active since 1890 in areas related to forestry and had a forestry committee. This committee also disseminated information about conservation to the 800,000 members of the group. The GFWC later sponsored "a natural scenic area survey" of the United States in 1915 in order to discover areas that needed conservation. As women saw environmentally fragile areas start to be developed, many objected. Women worked within existing clubs, and also formed new conservation-based clubs, to protect the environment.
Women's clubs helped in the creation of the Mesa Verde National Park. Under the direction of Virginia McClurg, women's organizations in Colorado supported the creation of the park. The Colorado Federation of Women's Clubs (CFWC) helped McClurg, and created a committee that would eventually become the Colorado Cliff Dwellings Association. In California, women's clubs helped preserve Sequoia trees and protested against "the environmentally destructive Hetch Hetchy Dam". May Mann Jennings and the Florida Federation of Women's Clubs campaigned to create Florida's first state park in 1916, Royal Palm State Park which became the nucleus of Everglades National Park". Idaho women's clubs also helped establish some of the first national parks; and in Utah, women's clubs "were instrumental in preserving Monument Valley". Pennsylvanian women's clubs successfully lobbied for the creation of the Pennsylvania Department of Forestry. In 1916, the GFWC supported the creation of the National Park Service.
In the 1930s, clubwomen involved in the PEO Sisterhood, protected the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. In New Mexico, the Valley of Fires Recreation Area was created through the work of the Carrizozo Woman's Club.
Women's clubs also helped preserve historical areas. As early as 1856, a women's organization, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, began the process of restoring and preserving Mount Vernon. In addition to their preservation and conservation efforts, women's clubs in the United States (especially women in the African American Club movement) pioneered environmental activism strategies that laid the foundation for later environmental justice organizing. In fact, many black women created "redemptive spaces" for black immigrants from the rural south in northern cities in the United States where they repurposed abandoned buildings as "community centers, settlement houses, parks and playgrounds."
#### Sanitation
The Woman's City Club and the City Club of Chicago both worked on issues relating to waste disposal. The Woman's City Club was, in contrast, more interested in the health and safety of the city as opposed to the men's group who were more interested in making money from sanitation. The Carrizozo Woman's Club of New Mexico helped bring sanitation to their city.
### Health
Women's club members were involved in hospital reform and the creation of hospitals. In Seattle, Anna Herr Clise created what later became the Seattle Children's Hospital. Other clubs helped set up health centers and clinics.
Women's clubs were involved with improving public hygiene and food and drug safety. The Ladies' Health Protective Association was established in New York City in November 1884 to address unsanitary conditions in the abattoir district, and by 1897 had become a national organization. Women in The Pure Foods Movement, including the Pure Food Committee of the GFWC, were lobbied for a Federal bill known as the Pure Food and Drug Act. In Indiana, clubwomen "secured a state laboratory of hygiene under the control of the board of health, charged with the duty of examining food and drugs and aiding in the enforcement of health laws". Other clubs, like the Plymouth Woman's Club, undertook restaurant inspections on their own when there were no laws in place to regulate sanitary conditions. Women were also involved in promoting clean and safe drinking water in their communities.
Many women's clubs were involved in the birth control movement and promoted sex education. Women's clubs promoted talks from experts on birth control. The Chicago Women's Club helped organize the Illinois Birth Control League, which later set up clinics around Chicago. In Reading, Pennsylvania in 1937, Margaret Sanger was a sponsored speaker on a radio program sponsored by the Woman's Club.
### Libraries
The GFWC developed a national agenda for libraries across the country. Clubwomen believed that having access to books made people's lives better. Women’s clubs helped establish many public libraries by contributing their book collections, raising money for building construction through a variety of activities for years, acting as librarians, cataloguing early collections, enlisting male leaders for public funding, and other management activities. After the public libraries were established, women’s clubs lobbied on behalf of the public libraries in state legislatures and also for funding from the Carnegie Library Endowment. According to the American Library Association (ALA) and GFWC, women’s clubs are estimated to have started between 75 and 80 percent of the public libraries in the United States. In New York, Melvil Dewey found clubwomen in his state to "be staunch allies".
Often, women's clubs had created their own private libraries, and from this experience wished to create community libraries for everyone to use. Many women's clubs made the creation of public libraries an important part of their mission. The Woman's Club of Bala Cynwyd was formed with the main initial purpose of creating of a public library in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. In Colorado, women's clubs established "traveling libraries" in conjunction with the state government. They were well-received and very popular in the early 1900s around the country. In Georgia, clubwomen used their traveling libraries to help combat illiteracy in both the white and black communities. In South Carolina, the traveling libraries belonged to woman's clubs, but were available to the public.
Cherokee County, Texas saw the creation of its first public library with the founding of the Bachelor Girl's Literary Club. The El Paso Public Library was created largely by members of the Woman's Club of El Paso. In Texas, the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs (TFWC) helped influence the creation of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and the Texas Historical Commission. Around seventy percent of all libraries in Texas were brought into existence because of TFWC. Clubwomen in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, helped secure taxes to support their public library. Other clubs, like those in Kentucky and Tennessee, taxed club memberships to support their libraries. When libraries were threatened with elimination, clubs like the Woman's Club of Norfolk protested.
### Reform
#### Labor
Women's clubs were involved in tracking and investigating child labor and working conditions of all workers in the United States in the late nineteenth century. Clubwomen worked to reduce the number of hours children were allowed to work in the state of Indiana.
Some women's clubs became active in labor strikes. The Woman's City Club of Chicago became involved in strike resolution. The Woman's City Club also demanded that picketers be protected by policewomen. The Woman's Club of Chicago helped form the Illinois Woman's Alliance (IWA) in order to "prevent the exploitation of women in sweatshops". Women-led organizations, like the National Consumers League (NCL), developed a "white label" for stores that met the organization's standards for minimum wages and decent working hours.
#### Legal reform
Women's clubs helped establish juvenile courts. The first juvenile court was established in Chicago in 1899 through the urging of the Chicago Woman's Club whose members felt that children should not be treated as adults by the court. Clubwomen from the Chicago Woman's Club went to court with many of the children in order to ensure they were being treated fairly. The Chicago Woman's Club also established a Protective Agency for Women and Children in 1886.
Juvenile law in Chicago also recognized children who were without legal guardians and who should be dependent on the state. By 1906, there were juvenile courts in twenty-five states. These courts were praised by contemporaries, like Mrs. John Dickinson Sherman, who wrote in 1906 of the establishment of the juvenile courts, "If the whole club movement of the six states in the last ten years had accomplished nothing else it would still be well worth while." Woman's clubs helped pass Juvenile court laws in Ohio, Missouri, and in Los Angeles.
Women's clubs helped work towards marriage reforms which would benefit women. An act passed on March 2, 1907, called the Expatriation Act, required that when a woman married, she took on the citizenship of her husband. For women to attain a civic or legal identity, such as the right to vote, they needed to have independence from their husbands' citizenship. Marriage laws in 1921 still had separate standards for married women's citizenship status depending on her state of residence. Finally, in 1922, the United States Congress passed the Married Women's Act, granting married women their own nationality in the United States. In 1936, Congress created a provision for women who had lost their citizenship due to marriage, and were no longer married, to re-swear allegiance to the United States.
Women's clubs also looked at issues of consent. The Chicago Woman's Club, which created the Protective Agency for Women and Children, presented bills to the legislature which later passed. One raised the age of consent from 14 to 18. Women's clubs helped assert the right of women to refuse to have sex with their husbands if they chose.
#### Prison reform
The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) of Washington state was involved in urging the city of Spokane to hire a female jail matron for women prisoners in 1902. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn helped expose sexual abuse of women prisoners in the jails during the Free Speech Movement of 1909, and helped to push the city to finally install a female jail matron in Spokane. The Chicago Woman's Club advocated for a female jail matron in 1884. In Los Angeles, clubwomen were able to influence the city to appoint female police officers.
#### Fashion
Women's clubs were also interested in reforming fashion. Some reform centered around corsets and how tight clothing was starting to be considered unhealthy. Women's clubs also spoke out against the use of bird feathers in women's fashion.
Besides reform, women's clubs also used fashion as a way to showcase creative arts. Fashion shows put on by the CNDA in the 1930s and 1940s featured recitals of music and dance, which were held at the Savoy Ballroom.
### Suffrage
Women's clubs became very active in women's suffrage. Before women had the right to vote, women's clubs needed to partner with sympathetic organizations run by men. The focus on women's suffrage began during the last half of the nineteenth century. In 1868, Kate Newell Doggett, a botanist, helped set up a chapter of Sorosis, which became the first women's group in Chicago to focus on suffrage. Later, the Chicago Woman's Club would help promote suffrage.
Other organizations, dedicated especially to suffrage began to be formed after the Civil War. As women's clubs grew, so did suffrage organizations.
African-American women's clubs like the NACW not only fought for women's suffrage but also for the right of black men to vote. Many black women were involved in groups like the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). Women involved in the National Baptist Woman's Convention also supported suffrage.
Women's clubs hosted talks about suffrage and invited suffrage leaders to speak. After women won the right to vote, women's clubs continued in helping women exercise their rights and how to best use their votes. However, another factor in earning the right to vote was a decline in membership until the Great Depression, when women got together again for charitable work.
### Temperance
Women's clubs such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) were involved with advocating the prohibition of alcohol. The Florida Federation of Women's Clubs (FFWC) also supported temperance in that state. Numerous women involved with the temperance movement felt that limiting alcohol access would decrease "social ills" such as gambling, prostitution and domestic violence. Many women involved in the temperance movement felt that securing women's right to vote would help promote prohibition of alcohol. Both black and white temperance groups promoted women's suffrage.
## Notable clubs
## See also
- List of women's clubs
- Feminism in the United States
- Gentlemen's clubs
- Women-only space
- Woman's Christian Temperance Union
- Membership discrimination in California social clubs
- History of antisemitism in the United States
- Racial segregation in the United States
|
2,430,762 |
Joint custody (United States)
| 1,161,827,781 |
Court order in U.S. family law
|
[
"Child custody",
"Children's rights in the United States",
"Family law in the United States",
"Fathers' rights movement",
"Gender equality",
"Intimate relationships in the United States",
"Maternity in the United States",
"Mothers' rights",
"Parenting in the United States",
"Paternity in the United States"
] |
Joint custody is a court order whereby custody of a child is awarded to both parties. In the United States, there are two forms of joint custody, joint physical custody (called also "shared parenting" or "shared custody") and joint legal custody. In joint physical custody, the lodging and care of the child is shared according to a court-ordered parenting schedule with equal or close to equal parenting time. In joint legal custody, both parents share the ability to make decisions about the child, regarding e.g. education, medical care and religion, and both can access their children's educational and health records.
It is possible for a court to make separate determinations of legal and physical custody. It is common to combine joint legal custody with sole physical custody and visitation, but the opposite is rare. In joint physical custody both parents are custodial parents and neither parent is a non-custodial parent.
Joint custody is distinct from sole custody. In sole physical custody, the child's lives primarily in the home of one parent while the children may have visitation with the other parent. In sole legal custody, one parent is assigned the exclusive right to make decisions concerning the children's important life activities, such as choice of school or doctor, and authorization of medical treatment or counseling. Joint custody is different from split custody, an arrangement in which one parent has sole custody over some of the parents' children, and the other parent has sole custody over the other children.
## History
In England, prior to the nineteenth century, common law considered children to be the property of their father. However, the economic and social changes that occurred during the nineteenth century lead to a shift in ideas about the dynamics of the family. Industrialization separated the home and the workplace, keeping fathers away from their children in order to earn wages and provide for their family. Conversely, mothers were expected to stay in the home and care for the household and the children. Important social changes such as women's suffrage and child development theories allowed for ideas surrounding the importance of maternal care.
There has been a major shift which is favoring joint custody in the United States court system, which began in the mid-1980s. This change has shifted the emphasis from having the need for the child to have an attachment to one "psychological" parent to the need to have an ongoing relationship between both parents.
Originally, joint legal custody meant joint custody. In this joint legal custody arrangement, the child's parents shared responsibility over discussing issues related to the child-rearing. In these arrangements with joint legal custody, one of the parents was awarded physical custody, which designated them as the primary parent, or one of the parents was allowed to determine the primary residence of the children. Though this implied that both parents had a "significant period" of time with the children, it did nothing to ensure this factor, which meant that the parent without primary custody of the child could end up having little opportunity to see his or her children.
In many U.S. states, joint custody is increasingly used with the presumption of equal shared parenting, however, in most states, it is still viewed as creating a necessity to provide each of the parents with "significant periods" of physical custody to ensure the children "frequent and continuing contact" with both parents.
### Shared parenting legislation
A number of states have considered or passed laws that create a rebuttable legal presumption in favor of shared parenting in a custody case.
## Joint legal custody
Joint legal custody grants parents joint decision-making rights for important decisions that affect their minor children. The parents jointly decide how to raise their children in matters of schooling, spirituality, social events, sports religion, medical concerns, and other important decisions. Both parents have equal decision-making status where the welfare and safety of the children is concerned. This generally means that both parents must be involved for major legal matters concerning their children, but that ordinary "day-to-day" matters and issues are left to the discretion of the parent who is providing physical care for the children at the time the decision is made. Also, with joint legal custody, both parents share the ability to access to their children's records, including educational records, health records, and other records.
Joint legal custody can be combined with either joint physical custody or with sole physical custody and visitation rights. In a custody order, it's common for one parent to have physical custody and the other parent to have some sort of visitation rights, but legal custody is awarded separately. Thus, even when one parent is the primary custodian, joint legal custody may be awarded to both parents.
### Advantages
When parents have joint legal custody to share important decision-making that affect their child, both parents may be more proactive in their child's upbringing, and the parents may experience less animosity and negativity in their co-parenting relationship. Parents may also communicate more effectively with each other, and they may exhibit feelings of well-being as a result of their working together to make decisions based on their child's needs. Proponents argue that it is good for children to see that their parents can work together, and over time joint legal custody has the potential to reverse some of the emotional effects of divorce on the children.
### Disadvantages
Joint legal custody arrangements may be problematic when one parent attempts to control the majority of decisions in the child's life without regard to the other parent. Attempts to share decision-making may then cause one or both parents to become combative and argue over every decision that needs to be made about their children, resulting in significant stress to the parents and their children.
## Joint physical custody
In joint physical custody, also known as shared parenting, the child has a legal residence or domicile in both parents' homes, and the lodging and care of the child is shared according to a court-ordered "parenting plan" or "parenting schedule"). In some states joint physical custody means equal or close to equal shared parenting time, while other states define it as an obligation to provide each of the parents with "significant periods" of parenting time so as to assure the child of "frequent and continuing contact" with both parents. For example, states such as Alabama, California, and Texas do not necessarily require joint physical custody orders to result in substantially equal parenting time, whereas states such as Arizona, Georgia, and Louisiana do require joint custody orders to result in substantially equal parenting time where feasible. Courts generally have not clearly defined what "significant periods" and "frequent and continuous contact" mean, which requires parents to litigate to find out. In some states, however, courts have provided a clear definition, for instance, in Nevada, the Supreme Court has defined joint physical custody as an arrangement where each parent has at least 40% of the parenting time on a yearly basis.
### Frequency
In 2005/06, about 5 percent of American children ages 11 to 15 lived in a joint physical custody arrangement versus sole physical custody.
### Laws
States tend to have one of three approaches to joint physical custody.
1. A rebuttable presumption in favor of shared parenting as being in the best interest of the child, so that this is the default option with exceptions made when there is child abuse or neglect. In 2018, Kentucky became the first state to enact a shared parenting presumption law.
2. Specification of joint physical custody as an option on par with sole custody, without a legal presumption either way. As examples, Arizona passed such a law in 2012, Missouri in 2016 and Virginia in 2018.
3. No mention of joint physical custody as a suitable option, although a judge may still grant it if both parents agree or if the judge consider it to be in the best interest of the child.
### Parenting schedules
There are many different parenting schedules that gives the child equal time with each parent. Some common examples are:
- The 2-2-5-5 schedule, where the child spends every Monday and Tuesday with one parent, every Wednesday and Thursday with the other parent, and then every other weekend, as follows:
- The 2-2-3 schedule, where the child spends e.g. Monday and Tuesday with parent \#1, Wednesday and Thursday with parent \#2, Friday to Sunday with parent \#1, the next Monday and Tuesday with parent \#2, the next Wednesday and Thursday with parent \#1, and the following weekend Friday to Sunday with parent \#2, and so on.
- The 3-4-4-3 schedule, where the child always spends the same three days with one parent, such as Sunday through Tuesday, and another three days with the other parent, such as Wednesday through Friday, and every other Saturday with each parent.
- Alternating every 2 days
- Every other week.
- Splitting longer periods of time between the parents, such as two weeks or a month. If the periods are very long, such as a year, it is typically called alternating custody.
- Children may spend all weekends and some holidays with one parent, but most weekdays with the other parent. This can be useful if the parents live far from each other, or, if one parent always work on weekends.
### Bird's nest custody
Bird's nest custody is an uncommon form of joint physical custody in which, rather than having the children go from one parent's house to the other parent's house, the parents move in and out of the house in which the children constantly reside. The goal of this arrangement is to shift the burden of upheaval and moving between homes onto the parents rather than the children. However, due to the high cost of maintaining three households, one for each parent and one for the children, it's rarely a viable option in a custody case.
### Advantages
Unless one of the parents is abusive, neglectful and/or mentally ill, the children tend to fare better in a joint physical custody arrangement.
Children benefit from having both parents involved in their upbringing, and joint physical custody facilitate that. Children in a joint custody arrangement are more likely to have outcomes similar to children from intact families, and to fare better than children in sole custody arrangements. It allows for children to be exposed to both parents as role-models, something that is not necessarily ensured by other custody arrangements.
Children in joint physical custody report higher self-esteem and lower levels of behavioral issues and greater overall post-divorce adjustment as opposed to children in sole custody arrangements. They also report greater levels of satisfaction with the division of time between their parents and children, feeling less torn between their parents, and feeling closer to both parents. Children that have easygoing, adaptable temperaments are more likely to benefit from the transitions that they experience with a shared parenting arrangement.
Even when there is conflict between the parents, children benefit from joint physical custody. Parents in joint physical custody arrangements report lower levels of conflict with one another, as compared to those in sole custody arrangements. Joint physical custody is associated with more positive parental relationships, effective parenting, and lower inter-parental conflict; key factors that ensure a child's well-being following divorce.
Children in joint physical custody arrangements are more likely to have better relationships with their families, better performance in their schools, higher levels of self-esteem, and fewer conduct and emotional issues.
### Disadvantages
Joint physical custody is harmful when there is a parent with major deficits in how they care for their children, such as parents who neglect or abuse their children, and those from whom children would need protection and distance even in intact families.
Joint physical custody is not suitable when a child has a relationship with only one of the parents and no prior relationship with the other parent, or only a peripheral relationship. Different parenting plans will then better serve the goal of establishing and building the new parent-child relationship.
If the parents live far from each other, joint physical custody means more traveling time for the child compared to sole physical custody, both between the parents and between one of their homes and their school.
Some commentators believe that infants and preschoolers do not benefit from joint custody arrangements due to the importance of a consistent routine and the security of a primary attachment figure at that age. However, a consensus report published in an American Psychological Association journal that was endorsed by experts on attachment, early child development, and divorce, has rejected that perspective.
Another concern that may be raised by joint physical custody is that the children's parents are in frequent contact with each other than in other custodial arrangements, and that contact may increase conflict and thereby negatively impact all parties involved, including the children. However, numerous studies have found that joint physical custody reduces the levels of conflict.
Some critics of joint physical custody express concern that frequent ping-pong moves back and forth between their parents' homes will have a negative emotional impact on children, and that the children may develop the feeling that there is "Mom's House" and "Dad's House", and no residence that a child may consider to be "my home".
## Advocates
Based on scientific research, there are many advocates for joint physical custody as being in the best interest of children, with exceptions for child abuse and neglect. These advocates include non-custodial mothers and fathers; grandparents, step-parents and other family members of non-custodial parents; children's rights advocates; family court reform advocates who see sole custody as a disruptive practice pitting one parent against the other; mental health professionals who consider joint physical custody as the best prevention against parental alienation; women who view it as a gender equality issue; father's rights advocates; domestic violence experts; academic scientists who have conducted studies and found that children with shared parenting have better on physical health, mental health and social relationships; and psychologists, therapists, politicians and others who are familiar with those studies.
In 2014, a group of 110 scientists endorsed a consensus report supporting the view that shared parenting should be the norm for parenting plans for children of all ages, including very young children. In 2018, scientists and practitioners at the conference of the International Council on Shared Parenting called upon governments and professional associations to identify shared parenting as a fundamental right of the child.
In the United States, the oldest shared parenting advocacy organization is the Children's Rights Council, founded in 1985. The leading national organization is the National Parents Organization, with state affiliates in California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and Virginia. To dispel the myth that it is only fathers that advocate for joint physical custody, Leading Women for Shared Parenting is a one-issue organization with a diverse membership of scientists, lawyers, psychologists, domestic violence experts, children's rights advocates, politicians and others.
## Opponents
While many women and women's organizations are in favor of legislation making shared parenting the default option when there are two loving and competent parent, there are also some that are against it. For example, the National Organization for Women, the League of Women Voters, the Breastfeeding Coalition, the National Council of Jewish Women and UniteWomen were all opposed to the 2016 shared parenting bill in Florida, successfully urging governor Rick Scott to veto it.
Family lawyers and bar associations have lobbied hard against shared parenting legislation, They have succeeded in preventing such legislation in North Dakota, Florida, Hawaii and Minnesota., convincing the governors to veto such legislation in the three latter states. When Australia implemented its shared parenting law, child custody litigation dropped by 72%, and there is fear that the same could happen in the United States.
## See also
|
28,988,003 |
Brittany Pierce
| 1,171,419,512 |
Fictional character from the Fox series Glee
|
[
"American female characters in television",
"Fictional LGBT characters in television",
"Fictional Massachusetts Institute of Technology people",
"Fictional bisexual women",
"Fictional characters from Ohio",
"Fictional cheerleaders",
"Fictional dancers",
"Fictional singers",
"Glee (TV series) characters",
"Television characters introduced in 2009"
] |
Brittany Susan Pierce is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Heather Morris, and first appeared in the show's second episode, "Showmance". Brittany was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan. In Glee, Brittany is a ditzy cheerleader, or "Cheerio", for the fictional William McKinley High School, and a member of the school's glee club led by Will Schuester. Morris was originally hired to teach Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" dance to the Glee cast. At that time, the series was looking for a third cheerleader, and Morris landed the role. Morris was upgraded to a series regular in the series' second season, in which Brittany is given a larger storyline, solos and dance routines to perform.
Morris plays Brittany as unconventional, often scatterbrained, but also entirely well-meaning and goodhearted. She has said that Brittany "love[s] everybody, no matter who they are"; she is frequently smiling and being nice to people. Brittany's character traits include her finding recipes confusing, mistaking her nipples for pepperoni, thinking her cat, Lord Tubbington, is reading her diary, and not knowing her right hand from her left. These facts are often presented in one-liners delivered by Morris, many of which she has ad-libbed. Brittany's one-liners are regularly celebrated in reviews of Glee. The character's perceived lack of intelligence, well-intentioned cluelessness, and entirely forthright manner of speaking mean, as Morris puts it, that "Brittany is used by the series' writers to say things no other character would". The character has also received positive reviews related to her romantic storyline with her closeted best friend Santana (Naya Rivera). While Brittany is bisexual, and is unashamed of that, Santana had trouble accepting her homosexuality. However, Brittany always supported Santana and urged her to be true to herself.
The character has been received favorably with television critics. Snarker called Brittany and Santana her "new favourite Glee pairing", and commented: "While Heather Morris (Brittany) and Naya Rivera (Santana) have had minimal screen time, they’ve made it count. Heather in particular has brought the laughs as the Cheerio least likely to get a Mensa invitation." Brittany has attracted comparison to Amanda Seyfried's character from the 2004 hit teen comedy Mean Girls. Morris also received acclaim for her dancing and her portrayal as Brittany.
## Storylines
### Season 1
Brittany first appears in Glee during the show's second episode, as a member of William McKinley High's cheerleading team, the Cheerios. She joins the glee club, New Directions, with her friends and fellow cheerleaders Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) and Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera). Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) then enlists the three of them to help her destroy the club from the inside. When the club is due to compete at the sectionals round of show choir competition, Brittany unknowingly leaks their set list to Sue, who leaks the routines to competing glee clubs. New Directions put a new set list together at the last minute, and go on to win the competition regardless. Brittany also reveals that she and Santana have had sex, but are not dating. Following the club's victory at sectionals, Sue renews her effort to bring them down, and enlists Brittany and Santana to break up co-captains Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith). They invite Finn on a date with the both of them, but ignore him throughout the evening and ultimately request that he sit in the car and leave them to finish their meal alone. She mentions in the episode "Bad Reputation" that she has made out with almost everyone in the school – guys and girls alike, and the school janitor. She also briefly dates Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) in the episode "Laryngitis" as he wants to appear more masculine to impress his father and he is the only guy she has not made out with in the school.
### Season 2
In the second season episode "Duets", she asks Santana to be her partner for the duet competition while they are making out. Santana rejects her, so Brittany attempts to make her jealous by dating fellow glee club member Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale). She sleeps with Artie, but Santana tells him that Brittany was just using him for his voice, so he breaks up with her, to Brittany's dismay. Brittany's relationship with Artie continues to develop; in "Never Been Kissed", he gets her to go out with him again. As of "Furt", they are officially dating. In "Sexy", following her performance of "Landslide" with Santana and Holly Holliday (Gwyneth Paltrow), Santana admits her true feelings for Brittany. Although Santana fears being ostracized by the McKinley High student body for being in a same-sex relationship, she confesses her romantic love to Brittany, feelings which are reciprocated. However, Brittany states that she loves Artie too, and would never do anything to hurt him, even if it means not being able to be with Santana. She says that if she and Artie ever break up, she would be Santana's, proudly so.
### Season 3
Brittany runs for senior class president in the third season, starting in "I Am Unicorn", and wins the election in "I Kissed a Girl", defeating Kurt in the balloting. She and Santana join the Troubletones, a rival all-girls show choir at McKinley, and formally begin dating; after Santana is outed by Finn, they are open about their relationship. The two rejoin New Directions after the Troubletones lose to them at Sectionals. Santana sends Brittany a singing valentine in "Heart", and the two publicly kiss afterward. In "Saturday Night Glee-ver", concerned about Santana's future plans, Brittany gets the idea to ask Sue to arrange for Santana to get a full scholarship to the top college cheerleading program in the country. After a year of being a do-nothing class president, Brittany puts on a dinosaur-themed senior prom. In the season finale, Brittany reveals that she has a 0.0 GPA, has gotten into the Purdue Chicken Factory, and will have to repeat her senior year.
### Season 4
In the first episode of the fourth season, Brittany competes to become the lead singer of New Directions, but loses to Blaine (Darren Criss). She then loses to him again when she runs to be a second-term senior class president. Santana formally breaks up with Brittany because she feels that their long-distance relationship is not working, though the two remain friends. She then becomes 'blonde buddies' with Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet), and then starts to date him. Santana comes back to try and break them up, however fails. Brittany visits MIT, where she is dubbed a mathematical genius. Returning to Lima, she becomes arrogant, refuses to perform at Regionals, leaves the Cheerios, and breaks up with Sam. After Will and Sue fail to get Brittany to change her attitude, Sam gets Santana to return to Lima to intervene. After talking with Santana, Brittany decides to perform at Regionals. Brittany reveals to the glee club she has been offered early admission to MIT and delivers an emotional goodbye, as she will be leaving after Regionals.
### Season 5
Brittany returns to McKinley in "100" along with other New Directions alumni following the closure of the Glee club. Brittany states her unhappiness at being a math genius and kisses her ex-girlfriend Santana. In "New Directions", Brittany agrees to dropping out of MIT before going on a trip to Lesbos with Santana. Santana asks Brittany to go with her to New York after their trip, and Brittany accepts. Brittany finally graduates in the episode, one year late. Brittany returns to New York in the last episode of the season "The Untitled Rachel Berry Project" but she finds out that Santana is out of town shooting another Yeast-I-Stat commercial.
### Season 6
At the beginning of season six, Brittany returns with Santana and the rest of Glee club alumni to McKinley High School in "Homecoming" to help Rachel and Kurt recruit for New Directions. In "Jagged Little Tapestry", while the alumni stick around for another week, Brittany is surprised by Santana's marriage proposal and gladly accepts. Brittany and Santana then return in "What The World Needs Now" to deal with Santana's disapproving grandmother Alma – with whom she hasn’t spoken since coming out as a lesbian. Brittany takes matters into her own hands and tries to invite Alma to the wedding, but Alma's prejudice is too strong and she rejects their engagement, and Brittany tells her off for doing so. Later the New Directions serenade them in an attempt to be invited to their upcoming wedding. Brittany and Santana are wed in a double ceremony with Kurt and Blaine in the eighth episode "A Wedding". Before the ceremony, Sue arrives with Alma, who she has helped to realize that although she may not believe females should marry each other, family is the most important thing, leading her and Santana to reconcile. Brittany and Santana return briefly in the last minutes of the series finale "Dreams Come True" for a last performance with the rest of the Glee Cast to take a bow.
## Creation and casting
Brittany first appears as a guest character in the second episode of the first season of Glee. She was brought in as a member of William McKinley High's cheerleading team, the Cheerios. Brittany is regularly played by actress Heather Morris. Morris grew up with a strong background in choreography. She was taking acting classes and actively pursuing an acting career when she was offered a spot on recording artist Beyoncé world tour as a dancer. Morris, however, turned down the job. Shortly thereafter, she was asked by Glee's choreographer Zach Woodlee to teach the choreography for Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" dance to the Glee actors. At the same time, the show was looking for a third cheerleader, they originally wanted to have the third be African American, but Morris ended up landing the role of Brittany Pierce. Initially a background character who hardly ever spoke, the role grew as writers discovered Morris had a gift for delivering one-liners. In an interview with Brandon Voss of The Advocate, Morris said of her casting:
> "About six months after I first moved to L.A., I got a job doing Beyoncé's tour. After I finished the tour, I started working with choreographer Zach Woodlee, who started hiring me to do things like Fired Up! and Eli Stone. Prior to the Single Ladies tour I was supposed to move to New York to do West Side Story, but then I dropped dancing and started acting classes because I didn't want to dance anymore and I really wanted to fulfill my lifelong dream of acting. Zach called me and was like, 'Are you in New York?' I was like, 'No, I'm still here in L.A. and I'm acting.' He was like, 'OK, I need you to come in and teach the 'Single Ladies' dance to Chris Colfer and Jenna Ushkowitz for this TV show I'm doing, Glee. Since you're acting now, I know Ryan Murphy would love to consider you for a part. Look as cute as you can so he'll love you even more.' So I went in to teach the kids with a full-on outfit. I was scheduled to read with Ryan Murphy twice, but he canceled both times. After that, Zach called me and said they might not hire me anyway because they wanted the third cheerleader to be black, so my hopes were shot. But then my agent called a week later and said, 'You're now cast as Brittany in Glee.' So it was nuts."
Brittany's role in the show was initially intended to be minor, but grew towards the end of the first season. She does not have any solo musical performances during season one, but Morris hoped she would have one in the second season. On April 27, 2010, Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly reported that Morris would be upgraded to a series regular for season two. Speaking to E!, Morris commented: "It's so fun. I literally just stand there and doze off and then I'm like, 'Oh yeah, I have to speak now!'" At the 2010 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, Murphy stated that Brittany would have "big storylines" in the new season, as viewers want to know more about her.
## Characterization
Some of Brittany's most memorable lines are unscripted, and are instead devised by Murphy during filming, or improvised by Morris. Morris portrays Brittany as being "literally insane". She is used by the series' writers to say things no other character would, to the point that Morris considers some of her lines nonsensical. Brittany's character traits include her finding recipes confusing, cheating off intellectually disabled classmates, thinking her cat is reading her diary, and not knowing her right hand from her left. She is friendly towards all the other characters, and Morris has explained that Brittany "love[s] everybody, no matter who they are", so she is frequently smiling and being nice to people. Morris bases her portrayal of Brittany on the character Karen Smith from the film Mean Girls. She plays Brittany as being very innocent, rather than stupid. In the episode "A Night of Neglect", Brittany participates in an academic decathlon as a seat warmer, but surprisingly ends up contributing to the win due to the fact that she is somewhat of an idiot savant on the topic of cat diseases. It is also revealed in "Britney/Brittany" that Brittany is also "Britney Spears" as her middle initial is "S" making her "Brittany S. Pierce".
At the Paley Festival Glee panel in March 2010, Murphy stated that Brittany and Santana would be seen to make out during the show's first season. Morris and Rivera only became aware of this after reading a Paley Festival report online. When they asked Murphy about the development, he claimed to have made the statement "to get a kick" out of the "dirty guy" asking about them. Murphy told Morris and Rivera that Glee would not push relationships to appease the show's fans, but would only pursue those which were "organic and natural." While there are moments on the show which depict Brittany and Santana as being very close to one another, Morris attributes these to her close relationship with Rivera: "that is just Naya and I joking around with each other and being really close. It's always her and I just messing around and they end up using it."
Later in 2010, when interviewed by After Ellen and discussing the large lesbian audience of Glee, Ryan Murphy confirmed that season two would contain at least one kiss between Brittany and Santana. In January 2011, several months after Brittany and Santana are seen in bed together, Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk further confirmed that "Brittana is on. Brittana was always on."
## Musical performances
Brittany performs in many of the series' musical numbers, though she does not have a solo line until the second season. In that season's second episode "Britney/Brittany", Brittany performs "I'm a Slave 4 U" as a solo and "Me Against the Music" as a duet with Santana. Songs by Morris as Brittany have been released as singles, available for digital download, and have also featured on the show's soundtrack albums. Brittany sings lead for Kesha's "Tik-Tok" in the episode "Blame It on the Alcohol". Candace Bulter of ScreenCrave praised the New Directions performance of the song and wrote, "Ke\$ha might be able to out-drink the Glee members, but their cover of her song was phenomenal." She went on to praise Brittany's choreography and voice, calling it "mad" and "awesome". Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly praised all of the musical performances and covers of that episode. In the season finale, she sings solo lines in the glee club's Nationals performance of the original song "Light Up the World". In the third season, Brittany's first major performance was in the third episode "Asian F", where she sings lead on Beyoncé's "Run the World (Girls)", which garnered superlatives from many reviewers including Kevin Fallon of The Atlantic, who wrote, "Brittany's performance of 'Run the World (Girls)' was thrilling. It was the most adrenaline-pumping musical number the series has produced: intricately choreographed, expertly shot and edited, perfectly woven into the story, and performed exquisitely by Heather Morris." She also performs a duet with Santana on "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" in the Whitney Houston tribute episode "Dance With Somebody".
## Critical reception
E! Online's Megan Masters has compared Brittany to Sue, and stated that Brittany's one-liners "easily rival" Sue's. She deemed Brittany "brainlessly brilliant", and thanked the Glee producers for creating her: "Never before have we had the pleasure of enjoying such a ridiculously dumb—yet always loveable—character on television." When a promotional clip for the episode "Sectionals" indicated that Brittany and Santana had slept together, Dorothy Snarker, when writing for lesbian entertainment website AfterEllen, praised the pairing and referred to it by the portmanteau "Brittana". Snarker called the two her "new favourite Glee pairing", and commented: "While Heather Morris (Brittany) and Naya Rivera (Santana) have had minimal screen time, they’ve made it count. Heather in particular has brought the laughs as the Cheerio least likely to get a Mensa invitation. Never mind Finn and Rachel – I’m on Team Brittana now."
Morris' performance in "Britney/Brittany" attracted critical praise; Lisa de Moraes called "Britney/Brittany" a "great showcase" for the actress, and praised her "spectacular dance moves" and "deadpan flare". In her otherwise negative review, Emily VanDerWerff deemed Morris "hysterical throughout" and the cast's best dancer. She stated, "Murphy seems intent on running this character into the ground, but Morris isn't going to have her stop being funny without a fight." Jenna Mullins of E! Online observed, "When Ryan Murphy said this episode was a celebration of Heather, he wasn't kidding", and commended her musical performances. Robert Canning of IGN was initially concerned that the episode would diminish Morris' appeal by elevating her from a background role, but was ultimately pleased that it managed to retain her "fan favorite" secondary character status. While Poniewozik asked "have we gotten to the point as a society where it's unremarkable that the most popular scripted TV show in the 18 to 49 demographic is also—almost without comment or controversy—the gayest show on broadcast TV?", Ann Oldenburg of USA Today questioned whether Glee had gone too far by its depiction of Brittany and Santana kissing and their reference to the sexual act called "scissoring". Christie Keith, in writing for the lesbian and bisexual media website AfterEllen, suggested that "Duets" was the "queerest episode of any series that's ever been on television", and stated that she was moved to tears by the final scene of Brittany forlorn without Santana. AfterEllen.com also listed her in their Top 50 Favorite Female TV Characters.
Robert Canning praised Morris for her performance in "A Very Glee Christmas", and wrote: "The heart of "A Very Glee Christmas" was found in Artie Abrams attempt to keep Brittany's belief in Santa Claus alive. Heather Morris perfectly played up Brittany's innocence and joy surrounding everything Santa. Her interaction with the black mall Santa was a highlight. Watching Artie, and eventually the rest of the club, work to keep Brittany's belief intact was truly in the spirit of Christmas and should have been made into a fuller part of the episode. Also shining in this storyline was Dot Jones as Coach Bieste. Her scene as Santa, and then her knowing expression as she watched Artie walk, were the best moments of the episode." In January 2010, Morris and her co-stars won the "Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Later that year, Brittany and Santana were nominated for the "Favorite Fictional Lesbian Couple" award at the AfterEllen.com Visibility Awards.
|
1,205,242 |
Edward Colston
| 1,162,266,614 |
English merchant, politician, philanthropist and slave trader (1636–1721)
|
[
"1636 births",
"1721 deaths",
"17th-century English businesspeople",
"17th-century philanthropists",
"18th-century British philanthropists",
"British MPs 1710–1713",
"Businesspeople from Bristol",
"English Anglicans",
"English philanthropists",
"English slave traders",
"Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bristol",
"Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers",
"Patrons of schools",
"People educated at Christ's Hospital",
"Tory MPs (pre-1834)"
] |
Edward Colston (2 November 1636 – 11 October 1721) was an English merchant, slave trader, philanthropist, and Tory Member of Parliament.
Colston followed his father in the family business becoming a sea merchant, initially trading in wine, fruits and textiles, mainly in Spain, Portugal and other European ports. By 1680, he became involved in the slave trade as a senior executive of the Royal African Company, which held a monopoly on the English trade in African slaves. He was deputy governor of the company in 1689–90.
Colston supported and endowed schools and other public institutions in Bristol, London and elsewhere. His name was widely commemorated in Bristol landmarks, and a statue of him was erected in 1895.
With growing awareness in the late 20th century of his involvement in Britain's slave trade, there were protests and petitions for name changes, culminating in June 2020, when the statue was toppled and pushed into Bristol Harbour during protests in support of Black Lives Matter. The city's concert venue, Colston Hall was renamed Bristol Beacon along with several other locations that held his name.
## Early life
Colston was born on 2 November 1636 in Temple Street, Bristol, and baptised in the Temple Church, Bristol. His parents were William Colston (1608–1681), a prosperous Royalist merchant who was High Sheriff of Bristol in 1643, and his wife Sarah Batten (d. 1701), daughter of Edward Batten; he was the eldest of at least 11 and possibly as many as 15 children. The Colston family had lived in the city since the late 13th century. Colston was brought up in Bristol until the time of the English Civil War, when he probably lived for a while on his father's estate in Winterbourne, just north of the city. The family then moved to London, and Colston was educated at the Christ's Hospital school. The English Civil War shaped Colston's lifelong support for order and stability in the form of monarchy and High Anglicanism.
## Career
In 1654, Colston was apprenticed to the Mercers Company for eight years, and in 1673 he was enrolled into it. By 1672, he had become a merchant in London. Like his father, Colston exported in textiles from London while importing oils, wine and sherry from Spain and Portugal. He also traded silk with Virginia and was a regular trader of Newfoundland cod to Naples. He had built up a successful business trading with Spain, Portugal, Italy and Africa.
In 1680, Colston became a member of the Royal African Company, which had held the monopoly in England on trading along the west coast of Africa in gold, silver, ivory and slaves from 1662. Colston was deputy governor of the company from 1689 to 1690. His association with the company ended in 1692. The company was established by King Charles II, together with his brother the Duke of York (later King James II) as the governor of the company, City of London merchants and other investors.
During Colston's involvement with the Royal African Company from 1680 to 1692, it is estimated that the company transported over 84,000 African men, women and children to the Caribbean and the rest of the Americas, of whom as many as 19,000 may have died on the journey. The slaves were sold for labour on tobacco, and (increasingly) sugar plantations.
In 1681 he probably began to take an active interest in the affairs of Bristol, where about this time he embarked in a sugar refinery. In 1682, he made a loan of £1,800 to the Bristol Corporation and the following year, became a member of the Society of Merchant Venturers. By 1685 he appears as the city's creditor for about £2,000.
Although a Tory High Churchman and often in conflict with the Whig corporation of Bristol, Colston transferred a large segment of his original shareholding to William III at the beginning of 1689, securing the new regime's favour for the African Company. The value of Colston's shares increased and being without heirs he began to donate large sums to charities (see below).
Colston used his money and power to promote order in the form of High Anglicanism in the Church of England and oppose Anglican Latitudinarians, Roman Catholics, and dissenter Protestants. He withdrew from the African Company in 1692, but continued working on his private businesses until he retired in 1708. Colston was then an MP for Bristol from 1710 to 1713.
## Death
Colston died on 11 October 1721, aged 84, at his home, (old) Cromwell House (demolished 1857), in Mortlake, south west London, where he had lived since about 1689. His will stated that he wished to be buried simply without pomp, but this instruction was ignored. His body was carried to Bristol and was buried at All Saints' Church. His monument was designed by James Gibbs with an effigy carved by John Michael Rysbrack.
Colston never married, and settled a "considerable fortune in land" on his nephew Edward Colston (MP for Wells), when Edward married in 1704.
## Philanthropic works
Colston supported and endowed schools, houses for the poor, almshouses, hospitals and Anglican churches in Bristol, London and elsewhere. His name features widely on Bristol buildings and landmarks.
In 1681, the date of his father's death, he appears as a governor of Christ's Hospital, to which he afterwards gave frequently. During the remainder of his life he seems to have divided his attention pretty equally between the city of his birth and that of his adoption.
In 1691, on St Michael's Hill, Bristol, at a cost of £8,000 (), he founded Colstons Almshouses for the reception of 24 poor men and women, and endowed with accommodation for "Six Saylors", at a cost of £600, the merchant's almshouses in King Street. He also endowed Queen Elizabeth's Hospital school. In 1696, at a cost of £8,000, he endowed a foundation for clothing and teaching 40 boys (the books employed were to have in them "no tincture of Whiggism"); and six years afterwards he expended a further sum of £1,500 in rebuilding the schoolhouse. In 1708, at a cost of £41,200 (), he built and endowed his great foundation on Saint Augustine’s Back, for the instruction, clothing, maintaining and apprenticing of 100 boys; and in time of scarcity, during this and next year, he transmitted some £20,000 () to the London committee, to be managed by the Society of Merchant Venturers for its upkeep. He gave money to schools in Temple (one of which went on to become St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School) and other parts of Bristol, and to several churches and the cathedral.
The Colston Society, which had operated for 275 years commemorating Colston, latterly as a charity, decided to disband in 2020.
## Memorials
Buildings in Bristol formerly named in memory of Colston included the Colston Tower and Colston Hall (now Beacon Tower and Bristol Beacon, respectively). Colston Avenue and Colston Street are named after him, as is a regional bread bun, the Colston bun. A statue of Colston is on the exterior of Bristol Guildhall, built 1843–46. There was an 1870 stained-glass window of the Good Samaritan by Clayton and Bell dedicated to Colston's memory in the north transept of St Mary Redcliffe, which was removed in June 2020, following the toppling of his outdoor statue. The largest window in Bristol Cathedral is also dedicated to Colston's memory; the Bishop of Bristol announced in June 2020 that the Anglican Diocese of Bristol would remove prominent references to Colston from the window.
### City-centre memorial statue
In 1895, 174 years after Colston's death, a statue designed by John Cassidy was erected in the centre of Bristol, to commemorate Colston's philanthropy. Colston's slave-trading activities were subsequently uncovered in a biography of his life and work written by H.J. Wilkins in 1920, and from the 1990s onwards, there were growing calls for the statue to be marked with a plaque stating that he was a slave trader, or taken down. In July 2018, Bristol City Council, which was responsible for the statue, made a planning application to add a second plaque which would "add to the public knowledge about Colston" including his philanthropy and his involvement in slave trading, though the initial wording suggested came in for significant criticism from members of the public and a Bristol Conservative councillor, with the result being that the plaque was reworded. This wording was edited by a former curator at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, creating a third proposal which was backed by other members of the public, though it was criticised by the academic behind the first two versions, who claimed it "sanitised" history, minimising Colston's role, omitting the number of child slaves, and focussing on West Africans as the original enslavers. Nevertheless, a wording was subsequently agreed upon and the bronze plaque was cast. After the plaque was physically produced, its installation was vetoed in March 2019 by the Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, who criticised the Society of Merchant Venturers for the rewording. A statement from the mayor's office called it "unacceptable", claimed that Rees had not been consulted, and promised to continue work on a second plaque.
On 7 June 2020, the statue was toppled and pushed into Bristol Harbour by demonstrators during the George Floyd protests. The statue was retrieved from the harbour four days later by Bristol City Council, and taken to a secure location. After the statue was toppled, the Merchant Venturers said that it had been "inappropriate" for them to have become involved in the rewording of the plaque in 2018, and that the removal of the statue was "right for Bristol".
From 4 June 2021, the statue was put on display in its damaged condition by Bristol's M Shed museum, which stated "this temporary display is the start of a conversation, not a complete exhibition".
## Modern reappraisal
In the biography of Colston written by H.J. Wilkins in 1920, the author commented that "we cannot picture him justly except against his historical background". Colston's involvement in the slave trade predated the abolition movement in Britain, and was during the time when "slavery was generally condoned in England—indeed, throughout Europe—by churchmen, intellectuals and the educated classes".
Since at least the 1990s, with increasing recognition of Colston's role in the slave trade, there has been growing criticism of his commemoration. The Dolphin Society, which was formed to continue Colston's philanthropy, as of 2015 referred to "the evils of slavery" and recognised that "black citizens in Bristol today can suffer disadvantage in terms of education, employment and housing for reasons that connect back to the days of the trans-Atlantic slave trade".
The proportion of Colston's wealth that came from his involvement in the slave trade and slave-produced sugar is unknown, and can only be the subject of conjecture. He also made money from trading in commodities and interest from money lending.
In April 2017, the charity that runs the venue known at the time as "Colston Hall", the Bristol Music Trust, announced that it would drop the name of Colston when it reopened after refurbishment in 2020. There had been protests and petitions calling for a name change and some concertgoers and artists had boycotted the venue because of the Colston name. Following the decision, petitions to retain the name of Colston reached almost 10,000 signatures, though the charity confirmed that the name change would go ahead. The hall was renamed as the Bristol Beacon in September 2020, after three years of consultation.
In November 2017, the then Colston's Girls' School, funded by the Society of Merchant Venturers, announced that it would not drop the name of Colston, because it was of "no benefit" to the school to do so. Later consultations in 2020 with staff and pupils resulted in the school changing its name to Montpelier High School.
In summer 2018, Colston Primary School renamed itself Cotham Gardens Primary School after consultation with pupils and parents.
In February 2019, St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School announced that it would rename its former Colston school house after the American mathematician Katherine Johnson.
In June 2020, the pub formerly known as the Colston Arms temporarily changed its name to Ye Olde Pubby Mcdrunkface (a reference to the name chosen by the public during a poll to name a new research vessel in 2016), inviting suggestions from the public for a new name. In December 2021, the pub was renamed the Open Arms.
In April 2018, the Lord Mayor of Bristol ordered that a portrait of Colston be removed from her office, saying that she would not "be comfortable sharing it with the portrait". She said that it is planned that the portrait will be hung in the proposed Museum of Abolition in the city at a future date.
In 2020, at the sight of the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol, a member of the organisational team for the event "was adamant that Colston’s charitable deeds in no way made up for the transportation of thousands of Africans into slavery. 'The statue was glorifying the acts of a slave trader. He gave some money to schools and good causes but it was blood money', she said".
## See also
|
28,347,650 |
David Morrow (sports)
| 1,160,884,693 |
Lacrosse player
|
[
"American lacrosse players",
"Lacrosse defenders",
"Living people",
"People from Troy, Michigan",
"Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse players",
"Sportspeople from Oakland County, Michigan",
"Year of birth missing (living people)"
] |
David K. Morrow is an entrepreneur, businessman, and former lacrosse defenseman. He starred as a member of the Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team from 1990 through 1993. He was a three-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American (two-time first team). He is a co-founder of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) and an innovator of the titanium lacrosse stick and hockey stick.
He is the most recent defenseman to earn the NCAA Lacrosse player of the year award and a two-time NCAA Lacrosse defenseman of the year. He was a three-time first team All-Ivy League selection. In his four-year college career, Princeton won the school's first NCAA tournament Championship, two Ivy League Championships and earned the school's first four NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament invitations. Following college, he represented Team USA in the 1994 and 1998 World Lacrosse Championships and was named to the 1998 All-World Team.
His equipment company, Warrior Sports, is a leading equipment provider to professional, collegiate and interscholastic teams and players. It provides a variety of equipment and has propagated the interest in titanium material for use in lacrosse and ice hockey equipment. He has expanded professional lacrosse from box lacrosse to field lacrosse by co-founding the MLL.
## Background
Morrow was raised in Troy, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, where his father operated a tubing shop. He was a defenseman in both lacrosse and hockey. He attended Brother Rice High School in the nearby Bloomfield Township in Oakland County.
## College career
In his first year at Princeton, he nearly quit the lacrosse team when he realized that, because of his background, he was behind the other players in his understanding of the game. He felt he might be better off focusing on ice hockey. Princeton head coach Bill Tierney convinced him to use his speed to run with the offensive players and to keep his stick in front of them, which encouraged him to adapt his natural speed to the sport. He earned his first start as a sophomore in 1991.
In one season, Morrow broke or bent 25 aluminum lacrosse sticks. After tinkering with the lacrosse stick design at his father's shop, Morrow introduced a titanium version of the stick in the 1992 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Morrow scored two goals in the 16–14 semifinals victory over North Carolina in the first game using the titanium stick. Princeton went on to win the tournament, its first NCAA national championship. During the 1993 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament, Morrow shut down Loyola's Kevin Beach, who had 6 goals in the first round game. He was selected to the All-tournament team that year. During his four years, Princeton earned its first four berths in the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship. The 1992 and 1993 teams were undefeated 6–0 outright Ivy League champions.
Morrow was a first team USILA All-American Team selection in 1992 and 1993 and a third team selection in 1991. He was a three-time first team All-Ivy League selection (1991, 1992 and 1993). Morrow is one of only two and the most recent defenseman to earn the Lt. Raymond Enners Award as the NCAA Lacrosse player of the year award. He twice earned the Schmeisser Award (1992, 1993) as the NCAA Lacrosse defenseman of the year. Morrow was selected to the NCAA Lacrosse Silver Anniversary team in 1995. Morrow was drafted by the Philadelphia Wings during the 1994 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft. He won gold medals at the 1994 and 1998 World Lacrosse Championships and was named to the 1998 World Lacrosse Championship All-World team.
## Professional career
In 1991, one of his father's customers was attempting to modernize the snowshoe with experimental materials such as titanium. At the time, lacrosse sticks were made of aluminum that could get bent during the game. Morrow was breaking and bending sticks at a rapid rate. Morrow noticed titanium was lighter and more durable than aluminum. Thus, at his father's suggestion, he incorporated it into the lacrosse stick the following year. A year later, he began his own business, selling his first sticks in February 1993. In 1993, he was affiliated with the Philadelphia Wings but became a free agent. Morrow was selected for Team USA that would compete at the 1994 World Lacrosse Championship. After being named to the 1998 All World team following the 1998 World Lacrosse Championship, he retired from competitive lacrosse to focus on the business.
Today, lacrosse sticks by all manufacturers use titanium, and players at all levels use titanium sticks. Morrow's idea led to his own business venture, Warrior Lacrosse, which is named after the Brother Rice High School Warriors whom he played for in high school. Morrow sold controlling interest of his company to New Balance in January 2004 but continues to be the President and CEO of Warrior Sports. As of 2001, Warrior and its 50 employees were the official equipment supplier of the U.S. Men's National Teams program and the MLL. As of 2007, Warrior Sports held a 40% market share in the lacrosse industry. The company had several divisions including Warrior Lacrosse, Brine Sports, and Warrior Sports Canada. In 2005 Warrior sports acquired Innovative Hockey and As of 2007, it had 600 employees and over 150 National Hockey League players using their composite hockey sticks. Warrior sports sponsors over 200 youth programs, tournaments, and camps each year. It also sponsors professional and intercollegiate teams. In addition, the company puts on clinics and demonstrations around the world.
Morrow founded MLL along with Jake Steinfeld. He originally served on the prospective league's advisory committee. In 2001, Morrow's newly opened six-team MLL opened as a professional field lacrosse complement to the box lacrosse National Lacrosse League. It opened on June 7 at Homewood Field in Baltimore near the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The league has been successful and has been televised on ESPN2 since 2003. It is under contract to be televised on the network until 2016. In 2018, he was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
## Personal
As of March 2007, he and his wife Christine, who is also a Princeton alumna, had three young children: three-year-old Samantha, two-year-old Kevin and newborn Jessica. Christine Schluter, a member of Princeton's Class of 1992, was a geochemist in Boulder, Colorado when she moved to Detroit to work for Morrow.
|
9,108,077 |
1884 FA Cup final
| 1,154,814,954 |
Football match between Blackburn Rovers and Queen's Park 1884
|
[
"1883–84 in English football",
"1883–84 in Scottish football",
"1884 in sports",
"1884 sports events in London",
"Blackburn Rovers F.C. matches",
"FA Cup finals",
"March 1884 events",
"Queen's Park F.C. matches"
] |
The 1884 FA Cup final was a football match between Blackburn Rovers and Queen's Park contested on 29 March 1884 at the Kennington Oval. It was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup), it was the 13th Cup final. It was the first time that a Scottish team reached the final of the tournament, with Queen's Park knocking out the previous holders of the trophy en route.
Both teams received protests from the defeated teams following the semi-final matches, but each were turned down by the Football Association. By the time the match was played, Queen's Park had already been awarded the Scottish Cup after Vale of Leven declined to participate in the final. Prior to the match there were temporary stands built at the Oval as the Pavilion was reserved for members of the Surrey County Cricket Club. There was a record breaking attendance at the match, with between 10,000 and 12,000 fans attending making it the most attended match in London; special trains were laid on by the railways to transport spectators from Lancashire.
The final coincided with a Scotland v Wales international match which took place in Glasgow on the same day, with the many Scottish internationals in the Queen's Park team opting play for their club team rather than their country. In the event, Scotland won the international comfortably by a scoreline of 4 goals to 1.
Despite Queen's Park entering the match as favourites, it was Blackburn Rovers who won the game by two goals to one with goals from Jimmy Douglas and Jimmy Forrest; Robert M Christie scored for Queen's Park. The Scottish team had a goal disallowed during play, and the referee later said that they had scored once more but as the players did not attempt to claim it, he had not bothered to award it. The two teams met once more in the final of the following FA Cup final in 1885.
## Route to the final
### Queen's Park
Queen's Park were invited to compete in the 1883–84 FA Cup, despite being from Scotland. They had previously been invited on several occasions from the 1871–72 competition onwards, but ultimately withdrew on each occasion. Their most successful runs had been in both 1871–72 and 1872–73 when they reached the semi-final each time before withdrawing. On each occasion since, they had withdrawn from the cup without playing any matches. Queen's 1883–84 FA Cup campaign began on 6 October 1883 with a 10–0 victory over Crewe Alexandra in the first round in front of a crowd of 2,000 spectators. The second round saw their first home game, and a 15–0 victory against Manchester F.C. on 1 December. It was the first time that an English cup match had been played in Scotland, and drew 6,000 fans. However the match was a one-sided affair, with Queen's Park dominating throughout to the extent that their goalkeeper was never required to handle the ball.
They defeated the Welsh team from Oswestry in the third round, 7–1. They were drawn at home against Aston Villa in the fourth round, but the match was called into doubt when it was scheduled to take place on the same date and location as Queen's Park's match against Hibernian F.C. in the Scottish Cup. But Queen's and their Scottish opponents agreed to postpone the match for two weeks. There was a great deal of interest by the spectators from Birmingham, and three special trains were laid on to transport them to Glasgow for the game with more than 1200 of them travelling north of the border. Around 10,000 fans filled the ground where they watched Queen's Park defeat Aston Villa 6–1. The fifth round was their lowest scoring game of the campaign, where they won away to Old Westminsters 1–0 at the Kennington Oval in London. In the semi-final they defeated Blackburn Olympic 4–1 to set up a final against the other Blackburn-based team; the match was played at a neutral venue in Nottingham. Olympic subsequently complained to The Football Association as the crowd invaded the pitch to cause disruption for their team; the complaint was not upheld.
### Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers also started their campaign in the first round, where they won their first game at home against Southport Central 7–1. The second round saw them drawn away to South Shore at Blackpool resulting in a further victory by a margin of 7–0. They defeated Padiham 3–0 in the third round, once again at their home ground of Leamington Street, and in the fourth round against Staveley 5–1 in a match which was dominated by Rovers and in front of a crowd of 3000 spectators.
Rovers won once again in an away game against Upton Park at West Ham Park by a scoreline of 3–0 in the fifth round. The match was more competitive than the scoreline might suggest, as Blackburn were a goal down at half time but won the game after a goal by John Inglis and two by Joe Lofthouse in the second half. At Birmingham in a neutral venue, they defeated Notts County in the semi-final 1–0. As with Olympic against Queen's Park, Notts also complained of events that took place during their semi-final. They argued that Rovers had illegally fielded Inglis, a player from Glasgow who had played for Glasgow Rangers and was only drafted it to the Blackburn team to improve their cup performance. A letter was produced by Rovers to show that he had been expelled from Rangers because he continued to play for the English team instead. Notts wanted the match to be replayed without Inglis, but the FA did not uphold the complaint.
## Pre-match
Prior to the match, Queen's Park and Blackburn Rovers had met on three occasions; each time the game ended in a draw. Queen's went into the match as the favourites, being the most successful club in Scotland at that point and having developed a style of play involving short passing which was not in use in England. They had been awarded the Scottish Cup earlier in the season after Vale of Leven declined to participate in the final due to illnesses suffered by a number of their players.
Blackburn Rovers were seeking to emulate the success of rivals Blackburn Olympic, who were the current holders of the trophy, and the team that Queen's Park defeated in the semi-final. Rovers had previously reached the FA Cup final, in 1882, where they were defeated by Old Etonians. Blackburn trained during the week prior to the game by conducting practise games and going for walks. They departed for the London area by train on the day before the final; a large crowd of local supporters gathered at the train station in Blackburn to wish them well as they left. The team stayed in Richmond the night before the match and made their way into the city at lunchtime on the Saturday.
For the second year in succession, special trains were laid on for the final to transport fans down from Blackburn. However, due to issues with the Olympic fans from the previous year destroying tea-rooms at stations on the route, the railway instead closed all refreshment rooms on the line on the day of the match. Additional stands were built at the Oval for the match at both the Gasometre end and on the west side, as the Pavilion was reserved for members of the Surrey County Cricket Club.
## Match
The match was refereed by Major Francis Marindin of the Royal Engineers, who was also President of the Football Association. His two umpires were Charles Wollaston of Wanderers and C. Crump of the Birmingham Football Association. According to initial estimates, there were around 10,000 to 12,000 spectators, breaking previous records for attendances in London. This was unexpected, and so there was not enough staff at the stadium to prevent the crowd from rushing through the turnstiles without paying. The weather was described as "bright and seasonable". Queen's won the coin toss and chose to defend the gasometer end. Rovers kicked off, but play quickly turned in the Scottish team's favour and they made the first two attacks. The work of Inglis and Sowerbutts saw Rovers take control of the match briefly, but Queen's Park were awarded an indirect free kick for handball inside the Blackburn half. The ball was shot straight into the Blackburn net without touching another player, and so no goal was awarded. Rovers quickly gained a corner kick but failed to score.
Queen's went on the attack once again, with Christie going on a run but losing possession to Hargreaves. After around 30 minutes of play, Hargreaves passed the ball to his teammate Douglas who went on to score Rovers' first goal. Queen's Park then committed the second handball of the game, giving Rovers a free kick. Brown took the ball up the wing, and centred it towards Forrest, who turned the ball into the back of the Queen's Park goal and put Blackburn two ahead. In response, Queen's Park's attacks on the Blackburn defence increased, and they scored through Christie before half time.
Queen's Park took the advantage early on in the second half, and a series of rapid attacks followed the break. The Scottish team were only prevented from scoring in one goal mouth scramble by the teamwork of Arthur and Suter. Rovers appeared to have switched to a defensive posture, and conceded a further corner kick, but nothing came of it as Gow kicked it behind the goal. A further handball just inside the Queen's Park half resulted in a solitary attack for Blackburn, ending in Brown sending the ball over the crossbar. Further attacks Queen's Park followed, but one further attack from Blackburn led to a shot from Brown which many in the crowd thought crossed the line before Gillespie cleared it. Blackburn dominated the final five minutes of the game, and the match ended 2–1; all three goals were scored in the first half. The medals and trophy had been expected to be awarded by Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, however due to his death on the day before the final, they were not presented publicly. Instead, Major Marindin handed them over in the dressing rooms.
### Match details
## Post-match
Following the match, the referee admitted that at one point during the game the ball had passed the Blackburn goal line, but as Queen's Park did not attempt to claim the goal, it was not awarded. Queen's Park would ultimately become the only Scottish club to reach the final of the FA Cup, although they returned the following year where they again faced Blackburn Rovers.
Following their victory in the FA Cup final, Blackburn Rovers played Blackburn Olympic in the final of the Lancashire Association Cup where Rovers won once again 2–1. The 1884 FA Cup was the first of a winning streak for Rovers, with the team retaining the trophy for the following two seasons, by first defeating Queen's Park again in 1885 and then West Bromwich Albion following a replay in 1886. This run was ended in the second round of the 1886-87 FA Cup when Rovers played another Scottish team, Renton. After an initial 2–2 draw played at Queen's Park's ground at Hampden Park, Renton were victorious in the replay.
|
34,604,632 |
Benjamin Hardin Helm
| 1,097,031,823 |
Confederate Army general
|
[
"1831 births",
"1863 deaths",
"19th-century American politicians",
"Confederate States Army brigadier generals",
"Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War",
"Harvard Law School alumni",
"LaRue family",
"Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives",
"Orphan Brigade",
"People from Bardstown, Kentucky",
"People of Kentucky in the American Civil War",
"United States Army officers",
"United States Military Academy alumni",
"University of Louisville alumni"
] |
Benjamin Hardin Helm (June 2, 1831 – September 21, 1863) was an American politician, attorney, and Confederate brigadier general. A son of Kentucky governor John L. Helm, he was born in Bardstown, Kentucky. He attended the Kentucky Military Institute and the West Point Military Academy and then studied law at the University of Louisville and Harvard University. He served as a state legislator and the state's attorney in Kentucky. Helm was offered the position of Union Army paymaster by his brother-in-law, President Abraham Lincoln (Helm was married to Emilie Todd, the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln), a position which he declined. Helm joined the Confederate States Army. As a brigadier general, Helm commanded the 1st Kentucky Brigade, more commonly known as The Orphan Brigade. He died on the battlefield during the Battle of Chickamauga.
## Early life
The son of lawyer and politician John L. Helm and Lucinda Barbour Hardin, Benjamin Hardin Helm was born in Bardstown, Kentucky on June 2, 1831. In the winter of 1846, at age 15, Helm enrolled at the Kentucky Military Institute, where he remained for three months. He left on his 16th birthday to accept an appointment at West Point the same day. Helm graduated in 1851 near his 20th birthday, ranked 9th in a class of 42 cadets. He became a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Dragoons. He served at a cavalry school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and at Fort Lincoln, Texas, but resigned his commission after a year, when he was diagnosed with inflammatory rheumatism.
Helm then studied law at the University of Louisville and Harvard University, graduating in 1853 and practicing law with his father. In 1855, he was elected to the House of Representatives of Kentucky from Hardin County, and was the state's attorney for the 3rd district of Kentucky from 1856 to 1858. In 1856, Helm married Emilie Todd, a half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln.
In 1860, he was appointed assistant inspector-general of the Kentucky State Guard, which he was active in organizing. Kentucky remained officially neutral during the American Civil War, but his brother-in-law, now President Abraham Lincoln, offered him the position of paymaster of the Union Army. Helm declined the offer, and returned to Kentucky to raise the 1st Kentucky Cavalry Regiment for the Confederate Army.
## Military career
Helm was commissioned a colonel on October 19, 1861, and served under Brigadier General Simon B. Buckner in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Helm and the 1st Kentucky were then ordered south. He was promoted to brigadier general on March 14, 1862 and, three weeks later, received a new assignment to raise the 3rd Kentucky Brigade, in the division of Major General John C. Breckinridge. During the Battle of Shiloh, Helm used his brigade to guard the Confederate flanks. In 1862, he was also sent to protect the Arkansas, an ironclad warship of the Confederate Navy under construction in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Serving under Breckinridge in January 1863, he was given command of the First Kentucky Brigade, commonly known as the "Orphan Brigade". Helm's brigade was assigned to the Army of Tennessee, where it participated in the 1863 Tullahoma and Chickamauga campaigns. Near the end of the spring of 1863, Breckinridge ordered Helm to deploy the brigade to Vicksburg, Mississippi to participate in General Joseph E. Johnston's unsuccessful attempt to break the siege. Helm called it "the most unpleasant and trying [campaign] of his career".
## Battle of Chickamauga and death
In the fall of 1863, the 1st Kentucky Brigade formed a part of General Braxton Bragg's counteroffensive against Union Major General William Rosecrans in Chattanooga, Tennessee. At 9:30 am on September 20, 1863, the divisions of Generals Breckinridge and Patrick Cleburne were ordered to move forward. Helm's brigade and the others in Breckinridge's division drove into the Federals' left. General Cleburne's division, which was intended to strike near the center of the line, was delayed by heavy fire from Union soldiers, leaving the left flank unguarded. Repeated attempts to overwhelm the Federals were in vain, though some of Helm's Kentuckians and Alabamians managed to reach within 39 yards (36 m) of the Federal line. In less than an hour of the order given to advance, fully one third of the Orphan Brigade had been lost. While the remainder of Helm's men clashed with the Union line, a sharpshooter from the 15th Kentucky Union Infantry shot Helm in the chest. Bleeding profusely, he remained in the saddle a few moments before toppling to the ground. After being carried off the battlefield, Helm's surgeons concluded that his wounds would be fatal. Helm clung to life for several hours. Knowing that his health was deteriorating, he asked who had won the battle. When assured that the Confederates had carried the day, he muttered: "Victory!, Victory!, Victory!". On September 21, 1863, Gen. Helm succumbed to his wounds.
Following his death, Abraham Lincoln and his wife went into private mourning at the White House. Mary Lincoln's niece recalled: "She knew that a single tear shed for a dead enemy would bring torrents of scorn and bitter abuse on both her husband and herself." However, the widowed Emilie Todd Helm was granted safe passage to the White House in December 1863.
In an official report of the Battle of Chickamauga, General Daniel Harvey Hill stated that Benjamin Helm's "gallantry and loveliness of character endeared him to everyone." In a letter to Emilie Todd Helm, General Breckinridge said, "Your husband commanded them [the men of the Orphan brigade] like a thorough soldier. He loved them, they loved him, and he died at their head, a patriot and a hero."
## See also
- List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)
|
13,570,315 |
German submarine U-301
| 1,172,016,786 |
German World War II submarine
|
[
"1942 ships",
"German Type VIIC submarines",
"Maritime incidents in January 1943",
"Ships built in Lübeck",
"U-boats commissioned in 1942",
"U-boats sunk by British submarines",
"U-boats sunk in 1943",
"World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea",
"World War II submarines of Germany"
] |
German submarine U-301 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 12 February 1941 at the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck, launched on 25 March 1942, and commissioned on 9 May 1942. During her short career the U-boat sailed on three combat patrols, without sinking or damaging any ships, before she was sunk on 21 January 1943 by a British submarine in the Mediterranean Sea.
## Design and description
German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. Type VIIC U-boats had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) on the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged. U-301 had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). U-301's power was produced by two Germaniawerft F46 six-cylinder, four-stroke supercharged diesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, and two Garbe, Lahmeyer & Co. RP 137/c double-acting electric motors producing 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) total for use while submerged. The submarine had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft) propellers. U-301 could submerge to up to 230 metres (750 ft) underwater.
U-301 had a maximum speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) while surfaced and a maximum speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) when submerged. The submarine had a range of 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) while underwater; on the surface, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-301 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four in the bow and one in the stern), fourteen torpedoes or 26 TMA mines, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun with 220 rounds, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The submarine had a complement of between 44 and 60 men.
## Construction and career
Ordered on 6 August 1940, U-301 was laid down on 12 February 1941 at the Flender Werke yard at Lübeck, Northern Germany. The submarine was launched on 25 March 1942, and commissioned on 9 May 1942 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Willy-Roderich Körner.
Between 9 May 1942 and 30 September 1942, U-301 conducted training with the 5th U-boat Flotilla.
### First patrol
After completing her training, U-301 was transferred to the 1st U-boat Flotilla based at Brest in France, for front-line service on 1 October 1942. On that day, U-301 departed Kiel and sailed out into the Atlantic Ocean, operating as part of wolfpack 'Panther' from 11 to 16 October, 'Puma' from 16 to 26, and 'Südwärts' from 24 to 26. U-301 attempted to attack the US-bound convoy ON 139 along with several U-boats on 23 and 24 October, but their attacks were repelled by the escorting ships. The submarine arrived in Brest on 7 November. U-301 did not sink any ship during this patrol.
### Second patrol
U-301 sailed from Brest on 3 December 1942, then passed through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea and on to the U-boat base at La Spezia in northern Italy, arriving on 14 December. The patrol was also unsuccessful.
### Third patrol
Transferred to the 29th U-boat Flotilla on 1 January 1943, U-301 sailed on her third and final patrol on 20 January. The next day at 8:48 in the morning, U-301 was sunk west of Bonifacio, Corsica, in position by torpedoes from the British submarine HMS Sahib. According to Sahib's log the U-boat was first spotted proceeding on the surface early that morning at a distance of 4.5 miles (7.2 km). Sahib then closed to 2.6 miles (4.2 km) and into a more favourable position before firing a full salvo of six torpedoes at five second intervals. Three minutes later three explosions were heard, a large cloud of smoke was seen and it was noted that radio transmissions stopped. Sahib closed and recovered the only survivor from the 46 crew, 19-year-old Wilhelm Rahn.
## See also
- Mediterranean U-boat Campaign (World War II)
|
4,826,989 |
So Under Pressure
| 1,145,347,184 |
2006 single by Dannii Minogue
|
[
"2006 singles",
"2006 songs",
"Central Station Records singles",
"Dannii Minogue songs",
"Songs written by Dannii Minogue",
"Songs written by Terry Ronald"
] |
"So Under Pressure" is a dance-pop song performed by Australian singer Dannii Minogue. The song was written by Minogue, Terry Ronald and LMC, and produced by Lee Monteverde for Minogue's fifth album Club Disco (2007) and was also used as the lead single for her greatest hits compilation The Hits & Beyond (2006). The song's lyrics discuss the cancer diagnoses of Minogue's sister Kylie and an unnamed friend.
The song was released as a single on 12 June 2006 in the United Kingdom. It entered the top forty in Australia, Ireland and the UK and became Minogue's tenth consecutive Upfront Club Chart number one. The song's music video, directed by Phil Griffin, features Minogue in a variety of high pressure situations. She has described it as "the hardest video I've ever done".
## Background and reception
In 2005, Minogue began writing and recording material with longtime collaborator Terry Ronald and British dance group LMC. During one of their sessions, they penned "So Under Pressure", which was inspired by the cancer diagnoses of her sister Kylie as well as that of an unnamed friend. Minogue has described the recording of "So Under Pressure" as a "real achievement" as she was "brave enough to put all [her feelings] into words". Allmusic reviewer John Lucas called the track one of "Minogue's more inventive moments".
## Chart performance
"So Under Pressure" was officially released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 12 June 2006. The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart on 19 June 2006 at number 20. The following week, "So Under Pressure" fell to number sixty and exited the chart in its third week of release. The track became Minogue's tenth consecutive Upfront Club Chart number one in the UK. In Ireland, the song reached number 31, remaining on the singles chart for one week. "So Under Pressure" proved popular in Irish dance clubs where it reached number six on the Dance Singles Chart.
The track was released in Australia on 29 July 2006. It debuted on 8 August 2006 at number 16 and became Minogue's eighth top-20 single. The song remained on the ARIA Singles Chart for five weeks, exiting on 5 September 2006. It was the 30th-highest-selling dance single in Australia for 2006.
## Music video
The music video was directed by Phil Griffin in mid-2006. Minogue described the video:
> "I tried to put different things in the video that made me feel under pressure and it really did! It was the hardest video I\`ve ever done so I kept thinking, why on earth did I come up with this concept? People don’t realise but I definitely have that Australian tomboy side to me. I love snakes and sharks and jumping out of planes and stuff. Growing up it never occurred to me that it wasn’t a girly thing to ride a bike, covered in mud holding frogs and collecting lizards!".
The music video's crew did not believe that Minogue could work with the python, but she said that it did not bother her at all. The music video was released commercially on The Hits & Beyond special edition companion DVD, released in June 2006.
The video opens with a scene of Minogue in a white room dressed in a black swimsuit. She is then shown lying on top of a white platform with a python wrapped around her body. Scenes of Minogue and her three dancers walking a catwalk, posing for photographs and dancing are intercut throughout the music video. The video concludes with Minogue trapped inside a spinning perspex box.
## Formats and track listings
UK CD single 1
1. "So Under Pressure" (radio edit) – 3:20
2. "So Under Pressure" (Soulseekerz remix) – 7:48
3. "So Under Pressure" (extended mix) – 6:43
4. "So Under Pressure" (Steve Pitron remix) – 7:13
5. "So Under Pressure" (Riffs & Rays remix) – 8:05
6. "So Under Pressure" (Thriller Jill remix) – 8:19
7. "So Under Pressure" music video
UK CD single 2
1. "So Under Pressure" (radio edit) – 3:20
2. "Feel Like I Do" (Danni Minogue, Jean-Claude Ades, Hannah Robinson) – 3:48
UK 12-inch vinyl single
1. "So Under Pressure" (extended mix) – 6:43
2. "So Under Pressure" (Soulseekerz remix) – 7:48
Australian CD single 1
1. "So Under Pressure" (radio edit) – 3:22
2. "So Under Pressure" (Soul Seekerz remix / Soul Seekerz extended) – 7:47
3. "So Under Pressure" (extended mix / LMC extended mix) – 6:42
4. "So Under Pressure" (Steve Pitron remix) – 7:12
5. "So Under Pressure" (Riffs & Rays remix) – 6:47
6. "So Under Pressure" (Thriller Jill remix) – 8:02
Australian CD single 2
1. "So Under Pressure" (Soul Seekerz extended / Soul Seekerz remix) – 7:48
2. "So Under Pressure" (LMC extended mix / extended mix) – 6:42
3. "So Under Pressure" (Express Theory mix) – 5:52
4. "So Under Pressure" (Soul Seekerz dub) – 7:48
5. "So Under Pressure" (radio edit) – 3:22
6. "Feel Like I Do" – 3:49
7. "So Under Pressure" music video
## Personnel
The following people contributed to "So Under Pressure":
- Dannii Minogue – lead vocals
- Justine Riddock – backing vocals
- Lee Monteverde – keyboards
- Chris Martin – guitar
- Terry Ronald – backing vocals, additional vocal production
- Recorded and mixed at AATW Studios
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
|
39,150,324 |
Solomon Butcher
| 1,170,521,600 |
American photographer
|
[
"1856 births",
"1927 deaths",
"People from Broken Bow, Nebraska",
"People from Greeley, Colorado",
"People from Kearney, Nebraska",
"People from LaSalle County, Illinois",
"People from Wetzel County, West Virginia",
"Photographers from Nebraska",
"Photographers from West Virginia"
] |
Solomon D. Butcher (January 24, 1856 – March 18, 1927) was an itinerant photographer who spent most of his life in central Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. A settler under the Homestead Act, he began in 1886 to produce a photographic record of the history of white settlement in the region. Over 3,000 of his negatives survive; more than 1,000 of these depict sod houses. Butcher wrote two books incorporating his photographs: Pioneer History of Custer County and Short Sketches of Early Days in Nebraska (1901), and Sod Houses, or the Development of the Great American Plains (1904).
Butcher was unable to achieve financial success as a farmer, as a photographer, or in a number of other schemes later in his life, and at the time of his death felt that he had been a failure. However, the number and scope of his photographs of Nebraska pioneer life have made them a valuable resource to students of that period of history, and they have become a staple of historical texts and popular works alike. His oeuvre has been described as "the most important chronicle of the saga of homesteading in America".
## Early life
Solomon D. Butcher was born on January 24, 1856, the oldest child of Thomas Jefferson Butcher and Esther (Ullom) Butcher, in Burton in Wetzel County, in what was then the state of Virginia but later became part of West Virginia. In 1860, his family moved to LaSalle County, Illinois, where his father worked for the Illinois Central Railroad. The family remained there for nearly twenty years. Butcher finished high school in 1874 and was briefly apprenticed to a tintypist, who taught him the business of photography. In the winter term of 1875–76, he attended the Henry Military School in Henry, Illinois. He then worked as a travelling salesman for a firm in Clyde, Ohio until 1880.
In 1880, Thomas Jefferson Butcher announced that he was leaving his secure job with the railroad and moving west, to establish a homestead in Custer County, Nebraska. Although Solomon Butcher had a good job, he had grown tired of his work, and "had already thought seriously of seeking my fortune in the great west". In March 1880, a party consisting of Butcher, his father, his brother George, and his brother-in-law J. R. Wabel started westward in two covered wagons. After seven weeks, they arrived in northeastern Custer County, where they occupied homesteads near the north bank of the Middle Loup River, west-northwest of present-day Sargent.
The party began construction of a sod house, and Butcher quickly came to rue his decision to go west: "I soon came to the conclusion that any man that would leave the luxuries of a boarding house, where they had hash every day, and a salary of \$125 a month to lay Nebraska sod for 75 cents a day... was a fool." Upon the completion of the house, Butcher and his father returned to Illinois to bring his mother and his youngest brother to Nebraska. However, Butcher did not return with them: he stayed in Illinois for several months, returning to Nebraska with only three days left to construct a dwelling on his homestead; failure to do so would mean forfeiting his claim. Butcher, his father, and two of his brothers built and occupied a dugout, saving the claim. Two weeks later, however, he once again went back east, moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and abandoning his homestead. "I would not have remained and kept batch for five years for the whole of Custer county," he declared.
Butcher attended medical college in Minneapolis in the winter and spring of 1881–2. There, he met Lillie M. (Barber) Hamilton, a young widow working as a nurse at the hospital. The two were married in May 1882.
Soon thereafter, Butcher once again decided that the West was the place for him. "I had just seen enough of the wild west to unfit me for living contentedly in the East", he wrote. In October 1882, the couple returned to Custer County, where they moved in with his father. During that winter, he worked as a schoolteacher.
## Photographer on the Plains
Butcher was able to save some of his teacher's salary, and to borrow enough more to open the first photography studio in Custer County. The studio was housed in a lath-and-adobe building, measuring 18 by 28 feet (5.5 m × 8.5 m), with a dirt floor and with cotton sheeting in lieu of glass to cover the windows and the skylights. As a backdrop for the photos, he used an old cloth wagon cover. The cloth had been gnawed by rats and was full of holes, which Lillie patched. To keep the patches from showing up in photographs, Butcher attached two coil springs from an old bed to the ceiling, then hung the backdrop from them. Before taking a picture, he plucked the backdrop so that it oscillated on the springs; the motion, combined with the long exposure time required, blurred the backdrop so that the patches would not be visible in the photograph.
Photography alone was not enough to pay the bills. Butcher opened a post office in his studio, which he named "Jefferson" after his father. This proved less than lucrative: his postal income came from stamp cancellations, and in the first three months amounted to 68 cents. He also did farm work for his father, at a wage of 50 to 75 cents per day.
In December 1884, the town of Walworth was established near Butcher's homestead. Butcher, his wife, and their two children moved there and built a sod house. In Walworth, Butcher found a business partner, A. W. Darling, who supplied the money to put up a frame building for a studio. However, Walworth did not last: it had been established at a time when rains had been unusually good, and the resumption of normal dry conditions led to the town's demise. Butcher's family had to leave their sod house after six weeks of residence. He and Darling were forced to sell their building, which was moved to the town of West Union; there, they rented it for five years.
## Pioneer History
In the spring of 1886, Butcher conceived the idea of writing an illustrated history of Custer County. This, he thought, would be the key to fame and riches. "At last, Eureka! Eureka! I had found it. I was so elated that I lost all desire for rest and had to take morphine to make me sleep." To embark upon this project, he needed financing. Unlike Butcher, his father had succeeded as a farmer, running a gristmill and a freighting business as well; it was to him that Butcher turned for assistance. Thomas Jefferson Butcher was initially skeptical; but after his son had arranged to photograph 75 homesteads, he agreed to provide a team and wagon for the project.
In June 1886, Butcher took the first photograph for the book. He met a certain amount of skepticism—"Some called me a fool, others a crank..." He began his work only thirteen years after the establishment of the first homestead in the county, when it could hardly be said to have a history. He persevered: from 1886 to 1892, he took over 1,500 photographs and recorded over 1,500 narratives.
Hard times struck Custer County in the early 1890s. Crops failed in 1890; good crops in the following two years were offset by low prices. The harvest was small in 1893, and the spring and summer of 1894 were almost entirely devoid of rain. The county also partook of the nationwide depression that began with the Panic of 1893. Butcher was an early victim of this agricultural and economic collapse: in 1892, he lost his farm, and was forced to suspend his history project.
The Populist Party and its predecessor, the Farmers' Alliance, were strong in Custer County in the 1890s, carrying elections for a decade beginning in 1889. Butcher attached himself to the movement and, in 1896, was elected Justice of the Peace and Clerk of the Election for West Union. Rising farm prices and a generally improving economy allowed him to secure a home and to get himself nearly out of debt, and in 1899 he was about to resume work on the history.
In 1899, however, Butcher's house burned down, destroying its entire contents, including the pioneer narratives and the photographic prints. Fortunately for the history project, the glass negatives were stored in a granary, and escaped the fire. The house had carried no insurance, however, and Butcher was once again left penniless.
Butcher persevered, again setting himself to the task of compiling pioneer narratives. He secured the assistance of George B. Mair, the editor of the Callaway Chronicle, in editing these accounts and in preparing the manuscript. To cover the cost of engraving, typesetting, and publishing, he recruited Ephraim Swain Finch, an early settler of Custer County and now a wealthy rancher. Finch, whom Butcher knew through his Populist activities, agreed to underwrite these expenses; moreover, he placed an advertisement in the Custer County Chief, assuring readers that orders for Butcher's forthcoming book would be filled.
Orders for the book began flowing in. The first edition of 1000 copies sold out before its delivery date, in the summer of 1901; a second printing, of either 500 or 1000 copies, was issued before Christmas of that year. The book, titled Pioneer History of Custer County and Short Sketches of Early Days in Nebraska, included 200 engravings in its more than 400 pages.
## Later career
Encouraged by the success of Pioneer History, Butcher began planning similar photographic histories of Buffalo and Dawson counties, which border Custer County on the south. He moved to Kearney, the county seat of Buffalo County, in 1902; there, he opened a photography studio together with his son Lynn. He roamed more widely still, through Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming; carrying his equipment in a wagon, he made negatives on the site, then shipped these to Kearney, where Lynn and several women employees made the prints and mailed them back to the customers. Butcher pere et fils also ran a postcard business, making over 2 million cards for the local trade. In 1904, he published a second book, Sod Houses; or, The Development of the Great American Plains, at the urging of a lawyer who hoped to use Butcher's photographs and accounts to sell land in Nebraska. In 1909, he visited Yellowstone National Park and produced a set of 100 stereographic postcards.
Butcher abandoned the history of Buffalo and Dawson counties after spending more than a thousand dollars on the project. Discontented with his profession as photographer, which had failed to make him a fortune or even to put him on a sound financial footing, he turned his efforts elsewhere. In 1911, he turned the Kearney studio over to his son and began work as an agent for the Standard Land Company. He gave stereopticon lectures throughout Buffalo and Dawson counties promoting the company's irrigated lands in south Texas, and made plans to move there himself.
Before he could move, however, he had to dispose of his thousands of 6.5-by-8.5-inch (170 mm × 220 mm) glass-plate negatives. He also had to get himself out of debt once again. In an attempt to accomplish both of these at once, he offered his collection of negatives to the Nebraska State Historical Society. To Addison Sheldon, head of the Society's Legislative Reference Bureau, he wrote, "Now is the time to buy me cheap, when I need the money so badly." In November 1911, he and Sheldon signed a contract for the sale of the negatives for \$1000. Butcher was to receive \$100 down; the rest would be paid after the Nebraska legislature passed a bill appropriating funds for the purchase.
Unfortunately for Butcher, a feud was raging between Sheldon and Clarence S. Paine, secretary of the Historical Society. Sheldon was an ardent Populist; Paine, a follower of conservative Democrat J. Sterling Morton. Sheldon believed that Paine had used underhanded tactics to displace his predecessor as secretary; Paine believed that Sheldon was scheming to bring the Society under control of the University of Nebraska regents. At the legislature's next biennial session, in 1913, Sheldon had an appropriations bill introduced to pay for the Butcher purchase. The bill passed the House unanimously, but ran into stiff opposition in the Senate, probably at Paine's instigation. In the end, Butcher was forced to accept a compromise payment of only \$600.
Butcher's Texas land deals came to nothing. In 1915, he moved to Broken Bow, back in Custer County. In December of that year, Lillie Butcher, who had suffered ill health for many years, died. For a short time in early 1916, Butcher worked for Sheldon, annotating his collection of negatives and adding narratives that had not been included in Pioneer History. In 1917, he married Mrs. Laura M. (Brachear) Nation.
Butcher briefly worked as a travelling salesman for a grain and flour mill. However, he abandoned this for less practical schemes. He invented what he described as an "electromagnetic oil detector", applying the principles of dowsing to the discovery of oil. In 1921, he planned a photographic expedition to Central America to produce material for a series of travelogue lectures, and tried to interest Sheldon in it; Sheldon was skeptical, and the expedition was never launched. In about 1924, he began marketing a patent medicine, consisting chiefly of alcohol, dubbed "Butcher's Wonder of the Age".
In 1926, the Butchers moved to Greeley, Colorado; Butcher died there on March 18, 1927.
## Works
Butcher's work received little notice outside of Nebraska during his lifetime. Although there was a market for photos depicting the romance of the Wild West, the public preferred mountains and canyons to open prairie. Later in his life, popular taste inclined toward the modern and the sophisticated; images of rustics gathered around sod houses were out of fashion. His photographs had little to recommend them from an artistic standpoint. Biographer John Carter describes him as unconcerned with aesthetics, and with no more than adequate technical abilities. "Unquestionably he was not a prairie Stieglitz."
Recognition of Butcher's work came only later, when the history of the settlement of the Plains began to be written. His photographs became staples of textbooks and popular works dealing with the homestead era. According to Carter, "They are the images that we conjure up when we think of plains settlement."
Butcher has been compared to painter George Catlin, who painted Native Americans in the 1830s, and to Nebraska writer and photographer Wright Morris, who depicted rural Nebraska in the 1930s and 1940s. Like them, Butcher recognized that an era in Plains history was passing, and tried to document it visually before it was gone. Even during his short career, the face of Nebraska changed; the sod houses of his earlier photographs are increasingly supplanted by frame buildings in his later ones.
Butcher did not confine himself to recording events that took place when he was present. He was not above re-enacting historical events for a photo: for example, the 1878 lynching of two Custer County homesteaders at the behest of rancher Print Olive, or the cutting of another rancher's fences by homesteaders. The latter photograph has been uncritically accepted by many historians as documentation of the actual event, although a closer examination reveals that the wire-cutters are made out of wood. Butcher also did not hesitate to retouch photos. He photographed a hill in Cherry County that had been important to early settlers because of its cedar trees; since the trees had been cut long before he got there with his camera, he scratched trees on the bare hill on his negative. To illustrate Ephraim Swain Finch's account of how he had battled an 1876 infestation of grasshoppers, he posed Finch in his cornfield, then incised scores of dots and specks into the negative to depict the flying insects. When he sought to illustrate a large flock of ducks, but realized that the birds were flying too fast for his camera to record, he photographed the scene without the waterfowl and then scratched dozens of ducks into the negative.
Butcher retouched for his own purposes as well. On one occasion, he damaged a spot on a negative, producing a hole in a photograph of a sod house. Rather than undertaking a round trip of sixty miles (100 km) to re-shoot the scene, he concealed the damage by inking a crudely drawn turkey on the negative. Upon seeing the finished product, the homesteader expressed wonderment, declaring that he owned no white turkeys; but he was persuaded to put aside his doubts, since the camera was incapable of lying.
Butcher's determination to record a vanishing era led him to photograph every detail of life in the homestead era. According to the editor of a 1965 edition of Pioneer History, "There was nothing too inconsequential for him to direct his camera upon." The Butcher collection at the Nebraska State Historical Society consists of nearly 3,500 negatives; nearly 1,500 were taken in Custer County, and more than 1,000 show sod houses.
The number and scope of Butcher's photographs has made them a valuable resource to the historian of the period. Nebraska folklorist Roger Welsch conducted a detailed analysis of Butcher's sod-house photos, including furnishings, farm equipment, animals, etc., for his 1968 Sod Walls, which initiated present-day investigations of sod-house construction and living. Studies based on the photographs continue: in the 21st century, digital image processing enabled researchers to see details inside doors and windows, which appeared as nothing more than dark oblongs in the original prints.
Although Butcher never achieved financial success or artistic recognition, and died believing himself a failure, his work has endured. According to one writer, "No other photographer captured settlement in the Great Plains with such insight into the experience of homesteading."
|
18,579,790 |
Samia Yusuf Omar
| 1,156,436,149 |
Somalian sprinter
|
[
"1991 births",
"2012 deaths",
"Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics",
"Deaths by drowning",
"Migrants of the European migrant crisis",
"Olympic athletes for Somalia",
"Olympic female sprinters",
"Prisoners and detainees of Libya",
"Somalian female sprinters",
"Somalian people imprisoned abroad",
"Sportspeople from Mogadishu"
] |
Samia Yusuf Omar or Samiyo Omar (Somali: Saamiya Yuusuf Cumar; Arabic: سامية يوسف عمر; 25 March 1991 – April 2012) was a sprinter from Somalia. She was one of two Somali athletes who competed for their nation at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Omar had grown up in Mogadishu, and trained there during the Somali Civil War despite receiving harassment from local militia groups. Her story at the Olympics was covered by the media, and her performance was well received by the crowd.
Following the Games, she hid away from athletics following threats by militant group Al-Shabaab. She ended up in a Hizbul-Islam displacement camp, and in pursuit of competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics, she crossed the border to Ethiopia looking for a safe place to train. She was trafficked north into Libya, where she was imprisoned. During the 2012 Games, it was revealed that Omar had drowned off the coast of Libya while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy.
## Early life
Samia Yusuf Omar was born in Somalia on 25 March 1991, to Omar Yusuf and Dahabo Ali and was the oldest of six children. Her mother was an athlete who competed at a national level within Somalia. The family came from one of the country's minority ethnic groups.
Both Omar's father and uncle were killed following a mortar attack on Bakaara Market, where they worked. Omar was in the eighth grade at the time, and she dropped out of school in response to look after her siblings while her mother sold produce to provide for the family. Following the encouragement of her mother, she decided to take up running. She would train at Mogadishu Stadium, as the family lived nearby in a hovel. The stadium had a gravel running track, pitted with mortar craters from the ongoing Somali Civil War. When not running at the stadium, she would run on the streets of Mogadishu, facing harassment from local militants who did not believe that Muslim women should participate in sporting activities.
## Sporting competitions
In April 2008, at the 2008 African Championships in Athletics in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, she finished last in her heat. Omar was selected by the Somali Olympic Committee to compete in the 200 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, between 8 and 24 August 2008. She said the call-up was unexpected, both because of her young age at the time, and because she was from a minority ethnic group.
Because of a lack of funding, Omar competed in equipment donated by the Sudanese team, lining up in a heat which included eventual gold medallist Veronica Campbell-Brown from Jamaica. Omar finished some nine seconds adrift of the other runners, with a time of 32.16. The crowd in the stadium gave a huge level of support to Omar, with journalist Charles Robinson saying "I literally got goosebumps. They were just sort of pushing her." and The Guardian suggesting that she received a louder cheer than Campbell-Brown. The story of the Somali girl was picked up by the media prior to the race, but afterwards the interest died down due to the language barrier between Omar and the interviewers and because of her lack of interest in publicising herself.
## Post Olympics
Her competition at the Olympics received little coverage in Somalia. Her heat took place at midnight in the East Africa Time zone, and no television or radio broadcasts of it were made locally. As such, none of her family had seen her compete. After a confrontation with the militant group Al-Shabaab, she was left shaken and no longer admitted to others that she was an athlete. By December 2009, she and her family were living in a displacement camp organised by the Islamic insurgent group Hizbul-Islam, located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) outside Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab had banned all women from participating in or watching sports.
In 2011, Omar fled the fighting of the civil war and moved to Addis Abeba, leaving her family behind, partly to pursue her dream of competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. Now a middle-distance athlete, she was due to begin training with former Olympian Eshetu Tura, who was recommended to her by the prominent Qatar-based Somali track coach Jama Aden and the Olympic medalist Mohamed Suleiman. She was allowed to train with the middle distance Ethiopian team once approval from the Ethiopian Olympic Committee was received. Her personal best time when first meeting with the Ethiopian team was 5 minutes for the 1500 metres; it was made clear that she would need to meet 4:20 to be competitive.
She built up a friendship with Al Jazeera journalist Teresa Krug, who covered her story both at the Olympics and afterwards. Krug later reported that in a desire to find a coach, Omar travelled north towards Europe, crossing the Sudans and entering Libya. Both Omar's family and Krug attempted to talk her out of it, and to remain in Ethiopia where the Somali Olympic Committee were hoping to set up a training camp. Instead, she had paid people smugglers to take her to Libya, where she was imprisoned for a period.
## Death and legacy
On 19 August 2012, the Corriere della Sera reported that Samia had died while on her way to Italy on a boat from Libya. The information came from her compatriot and fellow runner Abdi Bile, and was "difficult to verify" according to the newspaper. The story came to light during the 2012 Summer Olympics, although Omar's death had occurred earlier that year in April.
On 21 August, the BBC reported that it had received confirmation of Omar's death from Somalia's National Olympic Committee. The Huffington Post reported that Qadijo Aden Dahir, the Deputy Chairman for Somalia's athletics federation, had confirmed that Omar had drowned off the Libyan seaboard while trying to reach Italy from her home in Ethiopia. Qadijo added that "it's a sad death... She was our favourite for the London Olympics".
Exact details of her death eventually came to light; she boarded a packed boat with 70 other people in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea and reach Italy. The boat soon ran out of petrol and was adrift off the coast of Libya. When an Italian Navy vessel arrived to offer assistance, it threw ropes over the side to the refugees. In the chaos that ensued as people attempting to grab the ropes, Omar was knocked into the sea, where witnesses saw her treading water for a while, but eventually drowned.
Her story has been described in the book Non dirmi che hai paura ("Never say you are afraid") by Italian writer and journalist Giuseppe Catozzella. The rights for the English language version of the novel was acquired by Penguin Books, and there was interest in turning the work into a film. In 2015, German graphic novelist Reinhard Kleist published his graphic novel Der Traum von Olympia – Die Geschichte von Samia Yusuf Omar ("An Olympic Dream – The Story of Samia Yusuf Omar") at Carlsen Verlag. It was named the Luchs book of the year for 2015. The graphic novel was translated into English and published by SelfMadeHero in 2016.
|
10,451,460 |
The Century (apartment building)
| 1,173,618,007 |
Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York
|
[
"1931 establishments in New York City",
"Apartment buildings in New York City",
"Art Deco architecture in Manhattan",
"Art Deco skyscrapers",
"Central Park West Historic District",
"Condominiums and housing cooperatives in Manhattan",
"Historic district contributing properties in Manhattan",
"New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan",
"Residential buildings completed in 1931",
"Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan",
"Residential skyscrapers in Manhattan",
"Twin towers",
"Upper West Side"
] |
The Century is an apartment building at 25 Central Park West, between 62nd and 63rd Streets, adjacent to Central Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was constructed from 1930 to 1931 at a cost of \$6.5 million and designed by the firm of Irwin S. Chanin in the Art Deco style. The Century is 30 stories tall, with twin towers rising from a 19-story base. The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places–listed district, and is a New York City designated landmark.
The lowest 19 stories surround an interior courtyard to the west, and two towers rise from the eastern portion of the base above that level. There are several cantilevered terraces with Art Deco balustrades. The ground story, and much of the second story, is clad with an ochre-colored stone facade and contains a water table of pink granite. The remainder of the facade is largely made of tan brick, with multi-paned windows, though some portions of the facade are clad with brown brick. There are shallow bow windows on Central Park West, as well as enclosed solariums at the northeast and southeast corners. When the building opened, it operated much like a short-term hotel with housekeeping and catering services, and it had 417 apartments and 1,688 rooms.
The Century was officially completed at the end of December 1931. Numerous entertainment and business tenants have lived in the building over the years, and Irwin Chanin lived in the building for over a half-century. The Century was purchased in 1982 by a consortium that proposed the next year to convert the building into a housing cooperative; the consortium withdrew the plan and a tenant–landlord dispute continued for several years. Most of the building was converted to condominiums in 1989, and the Century remained a luxury residential apartment building through the beginning of the 21st century.
## Site
The Century is at 25 Central Park West in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The building occupies the western sidewalk of Central Park West (formerly Eighth Avenue) between 62nd Street to the south and 63rd Street to the north. The Century Apartments occupies a rectangular land lot with an area of 50,208 square feet (4,664.5 m<sup>2</sup>). The land lot has a frontage of 200 feet (61 m) along Central Park West and 250 feet (76 m) each along 62nd and 63rd Streets. 15 Central Park West is immediately to the south,the Society for Ethical Culture School and 5 West 63rd Street are to the north, and Central Park is to the east.
The current apartment building replaced the Century Theatre (originally the New Theatre) at 25 Central Park West. The New Theatre, which had opened in 1909 to designs by Carrère and Hastings, was initially backed by many wealthy New Yorkers but it quickly became unprofitable. The theater had an ornate gray-and-gold interior with carvings and marble surfaces, as well as a large stairway and foyer. While the Century Theatre was architecturally acclaimed, its production history was marked by failures. The theater's original tenant had moved out within two years of the theater's opening, and the theater hosted flops and revivals for most of its history. By the 1920s, high-rise apartment buildings were being developed on Central Park West in anticipation of the construction of the New York City Subway's Eighth Avenue Line.
## Architecture
The building was designed and developed by Irwin Chanin, who worked with his firm's architectural director Jacques Delamarre. It is 30 stories tall. The Century Apartments was Chanin's second Art Deco residential building; he also developed the Majestic several blocks north in the same style. The Century, 55 Central Park West, the Majestic, the El Dorado, 241 Central Park West, and the Ardsley constitute a major grouping of Art Deco buildings on Central Park West. The Art Deco structures contrast with the Beaux-Arts buildings that surround them. The modernistic Art Deco design was intended to appeal to "new money" residents, as opposed to the classical designs of the Beresford and the San Remo, where many residents were of "old money" wealth. The Century's original design survives almost in its entirety, except for some modifications to the upper stories.
### Form
At the Century's 19-story base, the building's massing, or shape, fills its lot line on the north, east, and south, and there is an interior courtyard. Two wings on the western section of the site, one each on 62nd and 63rd Street, flank the interior courtyard. The wings step down, as required by the 1916 Zoning Resolution and the Multiple Dwelling Act, and are arranged in four tiers. The inner courtyard measures 80 feet (24 m) wide from west to east. Above the 19th story, two towers rise from the eastern portion of the base. The towers are approximately 300 feet (91 m) tall. The Century is one of four buildings on Central Park West with a twin-towered form; the others are the Majestic, the San Remo, and the El Dorado. By splitting the upper stories into twin towers, as opposed to a single bulky tower, the developers could increase the amount of space that was near a window.
The massing of the Century, and those of similar buildings, was shaped primarily by the Multiple Dwelling Act of 1929. Under this legislation, the "street walls" of apartment buildings could rise one and a half times the width of the adjacent street before they had to set back. On lots of more than 25,000 square feet (2,300 m<sup>2</sup>), the street walls could rise three times the width of the adjacent street. In practice, this meant that buildings on Central Park West could rise 19 stories before setting back. The legislation also mandated courtyards in large apartment buildings.
### Facade
The ground story contains an ochre facade of stone above a water table of pink granite. Much of the second story, except for the section directly above the main entrance on Central Park West, is also faced in stone. Above the ground story, the building is largely clad with tan brick, which was intended to be similar to the color of limestone. The building contains a limited amount of ornamentation, which is mostly concentrated around major design elements such as the entrances, the setbacks, and the tops of the towers.
#### Lower section
The main entrance is in the middle of the Central Park West elevation and is surrounded by a pink granite doorway with vertical quoins and horizontal molded blocks. The main doors contain Art Deco grilles made of white metal, surrounded by a metal frame. The rest of the ground story contains doorways to individual ground-floor offices. The southeast and northeast corners of the building contain doorways that lead to storefronts; the doorways are part of the original design, but the storefronts were added after the building opened. The storefront entrance from the southeast corner, facing Central Park West and 62nd Street, is chamfered; the apartments are cantilevered above it.
Above the second story, there are six bays of shallow bow windows on the Central Park West elevation. The six bays are arranged in a 1-2-2-1 pattern, dividing the Central Park West elevation vertically into five "pavilions". Metal mullions divide each bow window vertically into five sections with movable casements. The bow windows on different floors are separated horizontally by rust-colored spandrels, which contain angled bricks that roughly correspond with the metal mullions in each window. There are concrete sills beneath each window, as well as brick lintel bands above. The bow windows are slightly below the other windows on each floor, since the living rooms behind them were sunken below the rest of the apartments.
In the three middle pavilions on Central Park West, the windows on each floor are separated vertically by darker brown brick (except for the bow windows on either end of the facade, which are flanked by light brick). On the 2nd through 15th stories, the central pavilion has two double-casement windows on each floor, which share a concrete sill. On the 3rd through 15th stories, the second-from-center pavilions (on either side of the central pavilion) have one double casement window and two single-casement windows on each floor. The corners of the building are clad entirely in tan brick. The corners are outfitted with windows wrapping around the edge at a 90-degree angle, which Chanin referred to as solariums. The corner windows rise to the 17th story.
The 62nd and 63rd Street wings are shorter than the main section of the building. Where the wings step down, the roofline contains cantilevered terraces with Art Deco chevron designs on their balustrades. The 62nd and 63rd Street elevations are largely faced in tan brick. On each elevation, there are three groups of two bays that contain rust-colored brick spandrels. There are secondary entrances to the residential wings on either street. Service entrances with Art Deco designs are placed on the westernmost section of either frontage. The facade of the inner courtyard is visible from a private plaza to the west and is faced in tan brick similar to the rest of the facade. Chanin believed that, since the courtyard and street facades were in the same style, residents would not experience the sensation of living around a dark courtyard.
#### Upper stories
The 16th through 19th stories are designed as "transitional stories" and contain cantilevered terraces with Art Deco chevron designs on their balustrades. Above the 19th story rise the towers, which are mostly clad in tan brick. The corners of each tower contain light-brown bands, while the four center windows on each of the towers' elevations contain geometric brick patterns. The windows in the towers are similar to those on the lower floors. On Central Park West, some of the original ornamentation has been removed at the 20th and 21st stories.
Above the 30th story of each of the apartment towers is a water tower with vertical buttresses. There are concrete slabs with vertical grooves on each side of either water tower. The northern tower's northwest corner and the southern tower's southwest corner also contain horizontal grooves. The southern tower's groves were removed at some point and subsequently restored. Promotional materials for the Century proclaimed: "Towers, roofs and terraces make the building as interesting from the air as from the street".
### Features
When the building opened, it operated much like a short-term hotel with housekeeping and catering services. The Century also had a valet service; a laundry; a private restaurant; and storage spaces for fur, silverware, and jewelry. The vestibules, foyers, and elevator lobbies were decorated in the Art Deco style. The lobby also contained a painting by Frank Stella, which was commissioned in 1970 and installed on the suggestion of Irwin Chanin's daughter Doris Freedman. About 8,500 short tons (7,600 long tons; 7,700 t) of steel was used in the Century's structural frame. The floor slabs were cantilevered from heavy central columns. The cantilevered floor slabs allowed the inclusion of the solariums at each corner, since there were no corner columns like in typical buildings.
As of 2022, according to the New York City Department of City Planning, the Century is divided into 438 ownership condominiums, of which 422 are residential apartments. Upon completion, the Century had 417 apartments and 1,688 rooms. Apartments ranged from one to ten rooms but typically had either three, four, or six rooms each. There were also several duplex units with three rooms. Some of the apartments contained terraces and had one to seven rooms, while corner apartments contained four to seven rooms. Duplex layouts and terraces had previously been common only in the highest-end apartment buildings. At the Century, these features were included to counterbalance the sizes of the living spaces, which were smaller than in older apartment houses. By the 1980s, the building contained 410 apartments, ranging in size from one to eight bedrooms, and 52 of the apartments had large terraces.
Most apartments' living rooms were depressed below the rest of the apartment, and all of these living rooms had fireplaces. Each apartment also had hardwood floors, which Chanin hoped would decrease creaking. On the ground floor are the main lobby and 13 offices.
## History
Irwin Chanin was an American architect and real estate developer who designed several Art Deco towers and Broadway theaters. He and his brother Henry designed their first Manhattan buildings in 1924. They then built and operated a number of theaters and other structures related to the entertainment industry, including the Roxy Theatre and the Hotel Lincoln, as well as office buildings such as the Chanin Building. Among the Chanins' Broadway theaters were the Majestic Theatre, the Royale Theatre, and the Theatre Masque. The Century Apartments was the second Art Deco building that Chanin developed on Central Park West, after the Majestic. Both developments were named after the buildings that had formerly occupied their respective sites.
### Development
#### Land acquisition and plans
Over an eight-month period in 1928 and 1929, the Chanins made contracts to buy the Century Theatre, the Daly's 63rd Street Theatre, an apartment house, and two low-rise buildings for \$12 million. This gave them a site of 90,000 square feet (8,400 m<sup>2</sup>). In May 1929, the Chanin brothers announced plans for a 65-story building on the site at a cost of \$50 million. That July, the Shubert brothers bought the Chanin brothers' ownership stakes in the Majestic, Masque, and Royale theaters for a combined \$1.8 million. In exchange, the Shuberts agreed to sell a parcel on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets to the Chanins, who thus controlled the entire block.
In August 1929, Irwin Chanin announced that the 65-story building would be developed jointly with a subsidiary of the French government. The skyscraper would have been called the "Palais de France" and would have contained a three-story exhibition space as well as a consulate, tourist bureau, and a French cultural academy, The section of the building along Central Park West would have included a 1,200-room hotel. Above were to be 35 stories of offices, leased out to various companies, including American tenants. The Chanins took title to the land in October 1929 and immediately resold it to the Palais de France Corporation. The project languished for the next year, in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, as no French banks were willing to fund the project.
#### Development as apartment building
On October 23, 1930, Irwin Chanin dropped plans to build the Palais de France and started demolishing the Century Theatre. He planned to build a 30-story apartment building on the site. His firm obtained a \$6.5 million construction loan from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and a \$1.25 million second-mortgage bond issue from the Shubert brothers. At the time, it was predicted that the building would be complete within a year. By that November, construction had not started, but Irwin announced that he would hire 3,000 workers to construct the Majestic and Century. In so doing, Irwin planned to take advantage of low material and construction costs. In January 1931, with demolition of the site nearly complete, a time capsule was retrieved from the cornerstone of the Century Theatre.
The Chanin Construction Company constructed the building. Construction of the steel frame began in April 1931. By the end of the next month, the frame had been built to the 15th floor. Within thirty days the entire steel structure was complete. The rapid progress was made possible by "coordination and overlapping of various trades employed", as Irwin Chanin described it. A June 1931 newspaper article reported that the average number of workers since the beginning of construction was 1,050, with up to 1,400 employed at one time. By contrast, Irwin had estimated that an average of 1,500 men would be employed every day for a year.
According to Irwin Chanin, a "vast amount of interior equipment" was required for apartment buildings, particularly in comparison to office buildings. Construction would require over 3 million feet (910,000 m) of electrical wiring, three times what was required for the 56-story Chanin Building. Nonetheless, Irwin predicted that both the Majestic and the Century would be completed on schedule. By September 1931, work on the Century was nearing completion and apartments were already being offered for rent.
### Completion and mid-20th century
The building was officially completed at the end of December 1931. The Century had 417 suites, a little more than double the number at the Majestic, but the buildings had a similar number of rooms: 1,688 at the Century and 1,544 at the Majestic. The apartments at the Century tended to have fewer rooms than those in the Majestic. According to Irwin, this was because larger apartments in the brothers' previous projects had proved to be hard to rent. Mansion Estates Inc., a group headed by Irwin Chanin, transferred the building to Century Apartments Inc. (also headed by Irwin) in May 1932. Century Apartments then secured a \$1.35 million mortgage on the property, which was subordinate to Metropolitan Life's first mortgage and the Shuberts' second mortgage.
Henry Chanin was in charge of leasing, and he often leased out multiple apartments at once. The Century soon became popular due to its proximity to the New York City Subway and other modes of transportation. The building's proximity to Central Park, as well as the conversion of Central Park West into a two-way street, were also cited as factors in the high number of tenants. By October 1932, Irwin Chanin said the duplexes, solarium apartments, and the three-to-six-room apartments were being leased quickly. Though Irwin lost control of the building in 1933, he had his own apartment there, which he occupied until his death in 1988.
By 1940, nearly 70 percent of the building's tenants had lived there since shortly after the building opened. One of the storefronts was supposed to have been a bank, but the storefront was left vacant during the Great Depression. Gristedes leased one of the storefronts in 1965 with the intention of opening a supermarket there. The companies that respectively owned the Century, the Chanin Building, and the Nelson Tower, along with the Chanins' longtime lawyer Samuel Kramer, were charged with real estate tax fraud in 1974. The Century's owners were estimated to have evaded \$35,730 in real estate taxes.
### Condo conversion
The building was purchased in January 1982 by investment group Century Apartments Associates, in which businessman Daniele Bodini was a partner. The firm paid \$36 million and planned to renovate the building. In addition, CAA wished to convert the building into a cooperative and submitted a preliminary co-op offering plan to the New York Attorney General's office. Thirteen months after the purchase, CAA proposed selling the building to the tenants for \$110 million. An official of the tenants' association said that they felt residents should be willing to comment on the threats posed by the offering plan. The official pointed out that notices in the lobby, about the popular TV series Nicholas Nickleby, implied that residents "would rather not protect their homes and see 'Nicholas Nickleby' instead". The tenant organization then solicited opinions from tenants, 90 percent of whom were against the co-op plan as originally structured. At the time, all apartments were either vacant or subject to rent regulation; of the non-vacant units, 125 apartments were rent-controlled and 275 apartments were rent-stabilized.
The dispute led to a long-running "kill or be killed relationship" between CAA and the tenants, according to The New York Times, which described relations between the owner and tenants as acrimonious. Some tenants were worried about being evicted, since they could not pay for their apartments; others wanted to keep their rent-stabilized units; and yet others actually supported the plan, as they wanted to sell their apartments. The state attorney general's office vetoed the co-op proposal on the grounds that CAA did not disclose about 140 building-code violations. Subsequently, in mid-1983, some of the tenants sued to place the building into receivership. The building was covered in scaffolding at the time while the facade was being renovated. According to The New York Times, the tenants alleged that there were "crumbling walls both inside and out, vermin infestation, extensive leaks, and virtually everything else that can go wrong with a structure". CAA separately sued the attorney general's office over its rejection of the co-op offering. The tenants failed to secure a receiver for the building, and CAA's lawsuit against the attorney general's office was settled out of court.
In 1987, CAA proposed converting the building into condominiums. Under the proposal, the conversion would not take effect until at least 45 units had been purchased by tenants who had lived there since 1982. In addition, a reserve fund would be provided for the building. The condominium offering went into effect in February 1989, allowing tenants in 229 of the 410 apartments to purchase their apartments for about one-third or one-half of market rates. Another 117 tenants were protected by a non-eviction plan that enabled them to keep their rent-regulated units. Several condominium owners had sold their individual properties at profits exceeding \$1 million. The value of CAA's investment had risen to around \$140 million. In an article describing "the Battle of the Century", The New York Times called the dispute "one of the longest, bitterest conversion fights in Manhattan apartment house history".
### 1990s to present
A writer for The Wall Street Journal observed in 1992 that the building was covered in scaffolding and that "one of the period double doors has been replaced by a wooden frame with a dirty piece of glass in it". At that time, Daniele Bodini still owned one-quarter of the Century's units. In the mid-1990s, preservationist and resident Roberta Brandes Gratz raised \$600,000 to restore the Century Apartments' lobby to its original appearance. Arthur Simons, a member of the condominium board, expressed his belief that the renovation would be wasteful unless mechanical issues, such as plumbing and electrical wires, were also repaired. The tenants consequently waited until the reserve fund had grown enough to fund a renovation of both the mechanical systems and the lobby, which Simons called "the best of both worlds".
In the 2000s, the Mayflower Apartments across 62nd Street were demolished to make way for the luxury high-rise skyscraper at 15 Central Park West. The Gristedes supermarket at the building's base, which had been operating continuously for 42 years, closed in 2007. Following the completion of 15 Central Park West in the late 2000s, condo prices at the Century began to increase, and some condominiums were placed for sale at rates of more than \$3,000 per square foot (\$32,000/m<sup>2</sup>). For example, in 2010, six-bedroom apartments in the Century sold for around \$19 million with one bedrooms selling for between \$875,000 and \$1.675 million. Also in 2010, a bar called the Central Park West Cafe was proposed for the former Gristedes space, prompting opposition from residents. Manhattan Community Board 7 granted a liquor permit for the planned bar, despite concerns that the bar would generate excessive noise.
## Notable residents
The Century's proximity to the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan made it attractive to many tenants in the entertainment industry. Notable residents have included:
- Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon (as a pied-à-terre)
- Leo Buerger, physician
- Henry Busse, orchestra leader
- Jack Dempsey, boxer
- Nanette Fabray, actress
- Doris Chanin Freedman, artist; Irwin Chanin's daughter
- Al Goodman, orchestra leader
- Joe Gould, boxing manager
- Robert Goulet, actor
- Joey Heatherton, actress
- Ted Husing, sportscaster
- Herbert J. Krapp, architect
- Carol Lawrence, actress
- Ethel Merman, actress and singer
- Carmen Miranda, actress
- Graham McNamee, broadcaster
- Tommy Mottola, music executive
- Ernö Rapée, composer
- Laurence Schwab, theatrical producer
- Lee Shubert, theatrical producer
- Robert A. M. Stern, architect
- Malcolm Turnbull, former Australian Prime Minister
## Impact
When the building was completed, architectural critic Lewis Mumford regarded the modernist designs of the Century and Majestic apartment buildings as "merely a thin veneer" with their corner windows, terraces, and water towers. According to Mumford, "even the relatively plain facades do not authenticate these structures". Conversely, in 1982, New York Times architectural critic Paul Goldberger called the Century and Majestic "two of the city's most beloved Art Moderne apartment houses". A member of the Art Deco Society of New York described the Century, El Dorado, and Majestic as "distinguished" Art Deco buildings in 1984. According to architectural historian Anthony W. Robins, "The comparison of Chanin's Century and Majestic with Emery Roth's San Remo is stunning."
The architecture of the Century inspired that of at least one other building nearby. The design for what is now Deutsche Bank Center was inspired by those of the Century and the Majestic. In addition, the New York-New York Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, contains a replica of the Century, which at 41 stories is taller than the Century itself. A portion of the New York-New York's interior was also themed to the Century's architecture.
Irwin Chanin lived long enough to see the Century be protected as an official landmark at both the national and municipal levels. The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, which was recognized by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places when its nomination was accepted on November 9, 1982. In 1984, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) hosted hearings to determine whether the Century, Majestic, San Remo, Beresford, and El Dorado should be designated as city landmarks. Manhattan Community Board 7 supported all five designations, and the Century's owners supported designation of their own building. The LPC designated the Century as a city landmark on July 9, 1985, calling the Century a "sophisticated essay in Art Deco design exhibiting a complex balance of horizontal and vertical elements". The Century is also part of the Upper West Side Historic District, which became a New York City historic district in 1990.
## See also
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
|
65,648,411 |
Fever (Dua Lipa and Angèle song)
| 1,163,993,454 |
2020 single by Dua Lipa and Angèle
|
[
"2020 singles",
"2020 songs",
"Dua Lipa songs",
"Female vocal duets",
"Macaronic songs",
"Number-one singles in France",
"Song recordings produced by Ian Kirkpatrick (record producer)",
"Songs written by Caroline Ailin",
"Songs written by Dua Lipa",
"Songs written by Ian Kirkpatrick (record producer)",
"Songs written by Jacob Kasher",
"Songs written by Julia Michaels",
"Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles",
"Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles",
"Warner Records singles"
] |
"Fever" is a song by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa and Belgian singer Angèle from the French edition of the former's second studio album, Future Nostalgia (2020). The song was written by the singers alongside Caroline Ailin, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Julia Michaels and the sole producer Ian Kirkpatrick. It was originally intended to be placed on the standard edition of the album as a solo version by Lipa. The song was released for digital download and streaming on 29 October 2020, through Warner Records as a single. It is a dance-pop, deep house and nu-disco song with 2000s Eurodance elements and a disco-pop production that features Afrobeat-tinged synth-pop beats. Lyrically, the song uses a metaphor of infatuation to demonstrate a sickness and addresses the excitement of being with someone where one almost develops a fever, with the two singers acting as counterpoints to one and other.
The sultriness of "Fever" was complimented by music critics, as well the blend of Lipa and Angèle's vocals. The song topped both the Ultratop Flanders and Wallonia charts of Belgium, while also reaching the summit of France's SNEP singles chart. It tied "Hello" by Adele as the longest running number one single in the Wallonia region of Belgium. It further reached the top 10 of charts in Hungary, Romania and Switzerland as well as peaking at number 79 on the UK Singles Chart and number 69 on the Billboard Global 200 chart. The song was awarded a triple platinum certification from the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) and a diamond certification from the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) in Belgium and France, respectively.
The music video for "Fever" was directed by We are from L.A. and filmed in London. It was built around a concept that women need to avoid danger in the streets by being home at a certain time, but have safety when around other women. The video features Lipa and Angèle spending the night exploring the streets of the city following a night out at a club. Several critics commended the visual for being an escape for viewers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Lipa and Angèle promoted the song with performances at the former's Studio 2054 livestream concert and at the 2020 NRJ Music Awards. Remixes by Oklou, Feder, Myd and Vantage were released for further promotion.
## Background and development
"Fever" was written by Dua Lipa, Angèle, Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick, Jacob Kasher Hindlin and Julia Michaels, while the production was handled solely by Kirkpatrick. Lipa originally intended to place a solo version of the song on Future Nostalgia, but thought that its "lithe" tropical beat did not fit the album's sound. She decided to save the song for a later release. Following Future Nostalgia's March 2020 release, Lipa decided to contact Angèle's manager via email to send "Fever" to her and arrange a collaboration. Angèle was surprised when Lipa contacted her as she was a big fan of her work; she decided to respond saying that she was up to do the collaboration. Lipa discovered Angèle after her manager showed her the singer's music video for "Balance ton quoi" (2019), which she adored, while Angèle discovered Lipa through the internet and her single "New Rules" (2017). The two also had used the same choreographer.
The singers had been friends on social media prior to the collaboration and often sent one and other dog videos. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lipa and Angèle were unable to meet in person, but worked from a distance while Lipa was in the United States and Angèle was between Belgium and Paris. They communicated through SMS to talk about ideas for the song and Angèle also proposed changes, including incorporating a keyboard. Angèle worked with Tristan Salvati and added French lyrics, and even got Lipa to sing in the language. The artists both described "Fever" as a blend of their styles. The song marks Angèle's first participation in an international song. "Fever" was recorded at Zenseven Studios in Los Angeles and Studio La Vague in Paris with the vocals being recorded at TaP Studio in London. Josh Gudwin mixed the song at Henson Studios in Hollywood while Chris Gehringer mastered it at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey.
## Music and lyrics
Musically, "Fever" is a "sultry" dance-pop, deep house and nu-disco song with elements of 2000s Eurodance. The song is composed in time and the key of F minor with a tempo of 115 beats per minute. It has a structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, middle eight, bridge. The verses follow a Fm–E–Bm chord progression, while an additional D chord is added to the sequence everywhere else. The song features a "slinky" disco-pop production, that includes Afrobeat-tinged synth-pop beats, digital melodies and dynamic percussion that contains hand claps and a snap sound. The song opens with tropical synths, while it as a whole features airy instrumentation and off-kilter melodies.
Lipa and Angèle both sing in English and French, with their vocals ranging from F<sub>3</sub> to C<sub>5</sub>. Lipa begins the song using confident vocals before stretching her voice to perform a "dramatic" falsetto in the chorus. Following a drop in a tropical house beat, Angèle "whisper-sings" the second verse using a "breathy" vocal style and singing in French. Angèle sings in iambic pentameter as the rhythm speeds up and the two sing together after the second verse. Lyrically, "Fever" deals with febrile and inevitably doomed lust themes, with the singers using the metaphor of sickness as a crush. They sing about the excitement of being with someone where they almost give one a fever due to the infatuation, being hot and flustered, as well as what comes with the feeling. Lipa and Angèle act as counterpoints to one and other, where Lipa is "strong, seductive, and playful" using bold vocals, while Angèle is "softer, pleading, almost despondent", using "airy, sensitive" vocals.
## Release and promotion
Rumours of a collaboration between Lipa and Angèle began in October 2020 after the two were spotted filming its music video in London. They began teasing the release of their collaboration via social media on 23 October 2020, exchanging the thermometer emoji back and forth. On 26 October 2020, Lipa formally announced that the collaboration would be titled "Fever" and that it was scheduled for a release four days later. The song was released for digital download and streaming on 29 October 2020 as a single. Simultaneously, it was added to the digital edition of Future Nostalgia. The following day, a lyric video was released. The song was included on the physical French edition of Future Nostalgia, released 20 November 2020.
Lipa and Angèle performed "Fever" for the first time at the former's 27 November 2020 livestream concert Studio 2054 as the 12th track. In the performance, the two danced around a pink and gold boudoir while wearing matching Versace outfits. On 5 December 2020, the singers performed the song at the 2020 NRJ Music Awards. A remix of the song by Oklou was released on 18 December 2020. Remixes by Feder, Myd and Vantage followed on 8 January 2021. The song was also included as the twelfth track on the album's 2021 reissue, Future Nostalgia: The Moonlight Edition, released 11 February. Angèle performed a solo rendition of "Fever" for RFM in September 2021. It was included on the setlist of Lipa's 2022 Future Nostalgia Tour. Angèle joined Lipa on the tour to perform the song for numerous tour dates. It was also included on the setlist of Angèle's 2022 Nonante-Cinq Tour.
## Critical reception
In Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos and Althea Legaspi complimented the song's sultriness and how Lipa and Angèle's vocal intertwine with one another. They additionally noted how their vocals complement the song's "steamy sentiment" and "seductive" beat. Chris Murphy of Vulture also commended the song's sultriness. Writing for the Evening Standard, Jochan Embley noted Lipa's departure from the disco-pop of Future Nostalgia, calling the song a "tantalising taste" of Lipa's future work. Mike Wass of Idolator viewed "Fever" as a "bilingual bop" and commended the "catchy" chorus and "elegant" middle eight. The staff of Wonderland noted Lipa's Kylie Minogue, Elvis Presley and Peggy Lee influences, seeing the song as a "slow burner" that is "all things sultry, hot and utterly atmospheric at the same time". In his review of Angèle's second studio album Nonante-Cinq (2021), Edward Pomykaj of Pitchfork named the song an "anxiety-ridden love song" that is driven home by the two singer's "brief but necessary" counterpoint to one and other while also mentioning that "it encapsulated the emotional breadth possible within nu-disco".
For Jenesaispop, Jordi Bardají compared "Fever" to "Look at Her Now" (2019) by Selena Gomez, another song produced by Kirkpatrick. In Billboard, Jason Lipshutz thought the song "happily prolongs" Future Nostalgia's "great era" and stated it "slows down the thump" of the album and simmers "instead of boiling over". He additionally complimented Lipa's vocals for encapsulating her "yearning" particularly on the hook, also calling Angèle's appearance a "satisfying assist". Stereogum's staff viewed "Fever" as "conventional" and praised the beat, which they called "fleet" and "efficient", as well as stating it "bubbles and twinkles". The staff additionally praised Lipa's pronunciation of "usually" saying it gives the song "shape and dimension" and sounds like a "bird call" sound effect. Têtu's staff thought that "Fever" will help everyone pass the time while in the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Frenchly's Catherine Rickman commended the song for being "upbeat, sexy, and undeniably catchy".
Isabella Vega of Euphoria Magazine labelled "Fever" a "smoky, melodic, low-key symphony of intoxicating lust" and noted its blend of Lipa's "new wave of nostalgia pop" and Angèle's "sophistication, flirtiness, and je ne sais quoi" vocals. The staff of The Face labelled the song a "smooth dance pop tune", while Nina Corcoran of Consequence called it a "quick but infectio[us] pop song", and Derrick Rossignol for Uproxx labelled the song a "infectious and thumping pop tune". iHeartRadio's Eliot Hill named "Fever" one of 2020's most underrated songs. Atwood Magazine placed the song on its list of the year's best songs, with Nicole Almeida of the magazine complimenting the blend of Lipa's "undeniable swagger" and Angèle's "innocent poise" vocals and how "genuine" it is. She concluded by naming the song an "achievement" for putting forward the best of the two singers without "dimming" their personalities. Popjustice ranked the song at number 25 on their year-end, best songs of 2020 list. "Fever" won Hit of the Year for 2021 at the 2022 Music Industry Awards in Belgium.
## Commercial performance
In its first tracking week, "Fever" received 14,400,000 streams and 9,000 digital downloads worldwide. This resulted in a debut at number 84 on the Billboard Global 200 chart dated 14 November 2020. The following week, the song reached a peak of number 69, and departed the chart two weeks later. It reached number seven on the Euro Digital Song Sales chart. In November 2020, "Fever" spent two weeks on the UK Singles Chart and Canadian Hot 100, peaking at number 79 on both charts. It additionally reached number 3 in Hungary, 4 in Romania and 9 in Switzerland. In France, "Fever" debuted at number two. In its sixth week, the song rose to the chart's summit, becoming Angèle's second number one single in the country following "Tout oublier" in 2018 and Lipa's first. It spent six non-consecutive weeks in the position. The Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) awarded the song a diamond certification for 333,333 track-equivalent sales in France.
In the Flanders region of Belgium, "Fever" debuted at number three on the Ultratop chart dated 6 November 2020. The following week, it rose to the chart's summit, becoming Angèle's first number one single in Flanders and Lipa's fourth following "Be the One" in 2016, "New Rules" in 2017 and "One Kiss" in 2018. The song spent a total of eight non-consecutive weeks in the position. In the Wallonia region of the country, the song became Angèle's third number one single following "Tout oublier" and "Balance ton quoi" in 2019, and Lipa's second following "One Kiss" as it debuted at the chart's summit. The song spent 18 non-consecutive weeks in the position, tying Adele's 2015 single "Hello" for longest running number one single in the region. In May 2021, the song was awarded a triple platinum certification from the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) for selling 120,000 track-equivalent units in Belgium. "Fever" was the eighth most streamed song worldwide on Deezer in 2021.
## Music video
### Background
The music video for "Fever" was directed by We are from L.A. and filmed in London during October 2020. The video was shot over the course of three days, all night shoots, and filming the video was first time Lipa and Angèle met in person. Its concept is built on the stereotype of how women have to be home at a certain time to avoid the dangers of the street, but having a safety element when surrounded by other women. The visual has an all women cast. On 15 October 2020, British tabloid The Sun reported that Lipa had "flout[ed]" national rules associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that the set was interrupted by the police after noise complaints. Lipa later denounced this by threatening to take legal action against the tabloid, who she did not mention by name. The Sun later issued an official apology to Lipa for any distress they caused her. They confirmed that no COVID-19 rules were broken and that the police were called due to an unrelated noise complaint. The music video premiered via YouTube on 6 November 2020. It was prefaced by a live chat with both Lipa and Angèle on the platform.
### Synopsis
The video opens with a point-of-view shot of Lipa running out of a club, followed by Angèle, from the perspective of a taxi's backseat. Lipa wears a red leather jacket with blue jeans and black boots, while Angèle sports a red and black plaid jacket with a matching tank and black pants. Lipa calls out "taxi" before running up to the cab and requesting to be taken to Camden. The driver accepts and Lipa hops in the backseat, but Angèle asks Lipa to walk around with her instead of going home. Lipa is suspecting at first but eventually agrees to and apologizes to the taxi driver. The two begin walking and dancing around the rain-soaked London streets. Lipa then calls out Angèle's name and the two go into a takeaway restaurant, where they order chips and eat them with ketchup. The other people in the restaurant dance as Lipa and Angèle sing towards the camera. The two head back onto the streets, with Lipa hanging from a street pole at one point. They are passed by a police car which features another point-of-view shot from its backseat. As Lipa attempts to make a call, both Angèle and the cop give one and other dirty looks and the police cars' blue lights flash on Lipa and Angèle. They are then seen running beside graffitied walls.
In the next scene, Lipa and Angèle are at a train station waiting for a train. Angèle asks Lipa how her dog Dexter is, to which she responds that he had to stay in America due to the fact that her boyfriend Anwar Hadid had to work and that he needed to be neutered. Lipa then asks Angèle how to say "neutered" in French and Angèle responds with the word "castré". As this is happening, the song is playing over the speakers. The singers then dance on the deserted platform, with clips of them on the camera system. Lipa and Angèle make their way to a quiet neighborhood where an old woman gives them a dirty look. As the two progress through the neighborhood, they are invited by two girls to a party in the apartment of some unknown people. While on their way there, Lipa, Angèle and the two girls sing the latter's French lyrics of the song live in a hallway, before a woman comes out of her apartment and yells at them for not being residents of the building they are in and being too loud. The fellow party-goers sit in the room looking at a computer, smoking and drinking as Lipa and Angèle dance in the middle of the room. When the party is over the two leave the apartment in a dazed trance with their arms around one and other. The video closes with the singers entering a fish market singing Angèle's French lyrics live.
### Reception
Writing for Vogue, Manon Garrigues viewed the "Fever" music video as "lively and cheerful", while also assuring that it will "warm the hearts" of fans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The staff of L'Officiel praised the visual for being "four minutes of freedom to escape" and thought it represents what everyone wants to do while stuck in the pandemic lockdowns. In his review for Billboard, Gil Kaufman wrote that the video reminded him of "the good ol' days" where people could go to bars, walk the streets and figure out their messy lives until morning. Rolling Stone's Angie Martoccio noted that the visual features Lipa and Angèle "immersing themselves in London nightlife", while Rhian Daly of NME saw the plot as a "journey" between the two artists, and The Fader's Sajae Elder said they variate between each "after-hours stop" and named the apartment party a "lively house jam". The "Fever" music video was nominated for Best Color Grading in a Video at the 2021 UK Music Video Awards.
## Track listings
- Digital download and streaming
1. "Fever" – 2:36
- Digital download and streaming – Oklou remix
1. "Fever" (Oklou remix) – 3:00
- Digital download and streaming – Feder remix
1. "Fever" (Feder remix) – 3:03
- Digital download and streaming – Myd remix
1. "Fever" (Myd remix) – 3:43
- Digital download and streaming – Vantage remix
1. "Fever" (Vantage remix) – 2:34
## Personnel
- Dua Lipa – vocals
- Angèle – vocals
- Ian Kirkpatrick – production, engineering, programming
- Tristan Salvati – additional production, vocal production, additional programming, engineering, keyboards, percussion
- Josh Gudwin – mixing
- Heidi Wang – assistant mixing
- Chris Gehringer – mastering
- Will Quinnell – assistant mastering
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications
## Release history
## See also
- List of number-one hits of 2020 (France)
- List of number-one hits of 2021 (France)
- List of top 10 singles in 2020 (France)
- List of Ultratop 50 number-one singles of 2020
- List of Ultratop 50 number-one singles of 2021
|
2,235,303 |
Love Profusion
| 1,173,884,246 |
2003 single by Madonna
|
[
"2000s ballads",
"2003 singles",
"2003 songs",
"2004 singles",
"American folk songs",
"Electronica songs",
"Folk ballads",
"Madonna songs",
"Music videos directed by Luc Besson",
"Number-one singles in Spain",
"Song recordings produced by Madonna",
"Song recordings produced by Mirwais Ahmadzaï",
"Songs written by Madonna",
"Songs written by Mirwais Ahmadzaï"
] |
"Love Profusion" is a song by American singer and songwriter Madonna for her ninth studio album, American Life (2003). Written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï, it was released as the fourth and final single from the album on December 8, 2003, by Maverick Records. "Love Profusion" was first premiered during the release of the album on AOL. It later received a number of remixes, which were also released alongside the single. The song contains rhythm from a four piece bass drum, with acoustic guitar riffs and Madonna's voice backed by a male vocal during the chorus. Ahmadzaï used the stutter edit to create a new groove. Dedicated to Madonna's then-husband, Guy Ritchie, the song's lyrics deal with Madonna's confusion regarding American culture.
After its release, "Love Profusion" received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Reviewers called it the highlight of American Life, complimenting its fusion of dance beats and acoustic guitar, although some thought that it was too similar to other songs from the album. "Love Profusion" failed to chart in the US Billboard Hot 100 like its predecessors from American Life, but it reached number one on the singles sales chart and the dance chart. Internationally, the single reached number one in Spain as well as the top five in Canada and Italy.
The accompanying music video of the song was directed by Luc Besson and was shot at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. It featured Madonna in front of a greenscreen effect with her walking through a city, until walking into a surreal background, filled with red flowers, sea and fairies. "Love Profusion" also appeared on Estée Lauder "Beyond Paradise" fragrance television commercial, which was similar to the music video and was directed by Besson, but featured supermodel Carolyn Murphy. The advertisement debuted in more than 10,000 cinemas across the country. Madonna did not perform the song during any promotional appearances or on any of her tours; she rehearsed it for 2004's Re-Invention World Tour but it was dropped from the setlist.
## Background and remixes
According to biographer Lucy O'Brien, nothingness is the main theme of American Life; it appears in the titles of songs like "Nobody Knows Me" and "Nothing Fails" and in the repetition of the word "no" in "Love Profusion". Madonna's negative tone in this song and throughout the album allowed her to be sarcastic about people's assumptions about her and to emphasize her knowledge of romantic love. The tracks from American Life were released to AOL for digital download. Since Madonna was the "Artist of the Month" at AOL website, "Love Profusion" was premiered there on April 14, 2003, as part of AOL's First Listen program. Several remixes of the song, done by DJs such as The Passengerz, Craig J., Blow-Up and Ralphi Rosario, were included on physical releases of the single around the world, released on December 8, 2003, in the United Kingdom and March 16, 2004, in the United States.
The remixes were premiered by Warner Bros. Records at the 2003 Winter Music Conference in Miami, where Peter Rauhofer, Rosario and Blow-Up played their remixes of "Love Profusion". Blow-Up also debuted their own version of "Good Boys" (2003) by Blondie, and remixes of Madonna's previous single, "Hollywood". An extended version of the "Love Profusion" remix, titled "Headcleanr Rock Mix", was also included on Madonna's remix album Remixed & Revisited (2003). Michael Paoletta of Billboard named the remix (along with the "Mount Sims Old School Mix" of "Nobody Knows Me") as the highlight of Remixed and Revisited, calling it "a new-wave-styled-rock tune", a "blast of fresh air" and an "essential listening experience". John Payne from LA Weekly compares the lyrics of the song ("Only you make me feel good") with the cautionary lyrics of "X-Static Process", in which the protagonist loses herself in her lover's ego. The "Headcleanr Rock Mix" was included on the setlist during the rehearsals of Madonna's 2004 Re-Invention World Tour, but it was ultimately not included in the show.
## Recording and composition
"Love Profusion" was composed and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï. The song is dedicated to Madonna's then-husband, director Guy Ritchie. The recording sessions for American Life started in late 2001, but was put on hold as Madonna filmed Swept Away in Malta and starred in the West End play Up for Grabs. She returned to the Olympic Recording Studios in late 2002 and finished the sessions.
The mixing for the track was done by Mark "Spike" Stent at the Westlake Recording Studios at West Hollywood, California, and Tim Young did the mastering of the song at Metropolis Studios in London. Tom Hannen and Simon Changer served as assistant engineers during the recording. Ahmadzaï played the guitars and provided its backing vocals. According to the sheet music published at Sheetmusicplus.com, "Love Profusion" is written in common time with a moderately fast tempo of 120 beats per minute. According to a writer from The Arizona Republic, it is an electronica-meets-folk song and is composed in the key of B minor with Madonna's voice spanning from B<sub>3</sub> to F<sub>5</sub>.
Ahmadzai used the technique of making the music freeze midrhythm throughout American Life, including "Love Profusion". One technique was the stutter edit, which Ahmadzaï clarified was not characteristic of his production and recording. "People get upset because they think it is not natural to skip and stutter the music. But I do it because it is natural. The stuttering can help you create a new groove", he said. The track starts with a "strummy" acoustic guitar introduction, as described by Michael Paoletta from Billboard, on the four-chord progression of Bm–Fm–A–E sequence. The folk rock inspired song has elements of electronica and folk at its core. Its rhythm is produced by a four piece bass drum—which fades in and out abruptly—and atmospheric synth-strings, which are added later in the song.
Madonna sings in the first verse: "There are too many options/There is no consolation/I have lost my illusions/What I want is an explanation." According to Rolling Stone, although not explicitly stated, the lines confirm Madonna's belief that American culture will not "give her an explanation", so she had rejected American values, and along with them her own values. She repeats the line "I got you under my skin" while a male voice acts as the backing for the track. The song ends with Madonna singing the words "feel good" a capella. The lyrics of the song deals with questions, solutions, resurrections, confusions and other broad topics of a neo-philosophical nature. Edna Gundersen of USA Today compared its composition and Madonna's performance with a love letter. The Advocate called it "a plaintive love letter to her husband".
## Critical reception
"Love Profusion" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Michael Paoletta from Billboard described the song as a "sparse number" and said that it was a "good fit" for the radio. Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly called it "lovely". Ian Youngs of BBC News commented that "Love Profusion" is one of the highlights from the album, with layers of dance beats and acoustic guitar that made it a more complete song. A writer for Daily Record described it as a "stunningly beautiful ballad" and considered it as one of the many highlights from American Life.
Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine called it "dull" and wrote that "it was reinvented into a vibrant piece of guitar-driven pop-rock by Ray Carroll." Ben Ratliff from Rolling Stone deduced that with lyrics like "I got you under my skin", Madonna conveyed the theme of gaining transcendence through detachment, "but finally American Life comes across as defeatist more than anything else". Dan Aquilante from New York Post was dismissive of the track, saying that although there was nothing wrong with the guitar-driven composition of the track, it was not different from the strings and orchestration of other tracks from American Life, like "Nothing Fails" or "Easy Ride". Robert Hilburn, while reviewing American Life for The Press of Atlantic City, listed the track as one of the songs that could "save" the album from being a "profound fail". Ross Raihala, writing for The Olympian listed the track as a standout on American Life, in contrast to the "dreary, directionless dance numbers and plodding ballads" on the album.
Caroline Bansal from musicOMH gave a mixed review for the song, feeling that the singer's vocals over the Spanish guitar was monotonous. She felt that the chorus was more melodic but it was the lyrics and the dance beats which did not complete the track. Bansal said that "Love Profusion" could have been composed better. Ed Howard from Stylus Magazine wrote that "Love Profusion", along with the song "Intervention", "address Madonna's marriage to director Guy Ritchie", and "find the once-cynical pop star surprisingly open and emotional, which prompts her to spit out cliché after cliché as she tells us how happy she is". Alan Braidwood from BBC Music felt that the song was the most straight forward dance track on the album. He added that "this is one of those [songs] which could become a favorite and it feels like a classic upbeat Madonna song. It fuses the message behind the song American Life with Mirwais' beats and acoustic elements really well". Sean O'Brien from The People complimented the song for its "great melody and acoustic guitar flavor to it", and deduced that it would be a hit in the night clubs. Dan Gennoe from Dotmusic website gave a positive review of the track, calling "Love Profusion", along with "Intervention" and "X-Static Process" from American Life, "gracious" and "beautiful" songs. In 2012, website AfterElton.com listed "Love Profusion" at number 91 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Madonna Songs". Writing for The Guardian, Jude Rogers placed "Love Profusion" at number 58 on her ranking of Madonna's singles, in honor of her 60th birthday, writing that "the tune begins labouredly, but digs in". Chuck Arnold from Entertainment Weekly listed "Love Profusion" as the singer's 58th best single; "this ray of sunshine from American Life is one of Madonna’s finest folktronica moments".
## Chart performance
"Love Profusion" did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 or the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, making it the third consecutive single from American Life to fail to chart in the US. However, the song peaked at number 41 and "The Passengers Mix" topped on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The song reached No. 4 on the Hot Singles Sales and topped the Hot Dance Singles Sales charts for five weeks. At the year-end Hot Dance Singles Sales recap, "Love Profusion" was at number three position, while "Me Against the Music" was at number one and "Nothing Fails" was at number two. Billboard reported that Madonna was the first artist in its chart history to have the top three Dance Sales songs. The song also ranked at number 24 on the year-end Dance Club Play tally. In Canada, the song peaked at number three on the Canadian Singles Chart.
In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at its peak of number eleven on December 20, 2003, with sales of 15,361 copies, becoming Madonna's first song to miss the top ten since "One More Chance" (1996). The following week, it dropped to number 33 on the chart, ultimately remaining there for six weeks. "Love Profusion" reached a peak of number 33 on the UK Airplay Chart in five weeks, but quickly descended. As of August 2008, the song had sold 41,025 copies according to the Official Charts Company. In Australia, the song debuted at its peak of number 25 on December 28, 2003. It remained on the chart for another seven weeks. "Love Profusion" debuted at number 27 on the French Singles Chart on November 30, 2003. In its second week, it reached its peak of number 25. The song was popular in Italy, peaking at number five on the Italian Singles Chart, staying on the chart for a total of twenty weeks. The song also achieved commercial success in Spain, debuting at number one on its singles chart. On the Swiss Singles Chart, the song peaked at number 31, falling out of the chart after a total of eleven weeks.
## Music video
A few weeks before the official music video's release in November 2003, Madonna's manager Caresse Henry confirmed video plans for "Love Profusion". It was directed by Luc Besson and shot in September 2003, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California and EuropaCorp in Paris, France. Besson later directed Madonna in the 2007 animated film Arthur and the Invisibles. "There are a lot of special effects. I talked to things that weren't there – which is what you do when you're doing green-screen or blue-screen stuff. There's going to be a lot of fairies dancing around me. Isn't that exciting? I always have a lot of fairies dancing around me", Madonna commented about the music video. The video premiered in the US on February 11, 2004, on AOL's First View. After the premiere, it was streamed on Yahoo!, MSN, Windows Media, Apple, MTV, VH1, iFilm and Madonna.com. In 2009, the video was included on Madonna's compilation, Celebration: The Video Collection.
The video begins with Madonna walking at night in the middle of the street of an American city surrounded by skyscrapers and wind. Then she finds herself in another dimension, as moving flowers surround her. As the video advances, Madonna walks on other different kinds of roads. She walks on a path of red flowers in the sky, and then walks on her knees on a deep, blue colored sea, as she is followed by little white fairies. At the end of the video, when there is destruction in the real dimension, Madonna finds peace and is surrounded by the fairies. When they go away, Madonna disappears altogether.
## Usage in media
"Love Profusion" was used on the Estée Lauder "Beyond Paradise" fragrance television advertisement. It was also directed by Luc Besson and shot the same day than the official music video. The Estée Lauder advertisement featured supermodel Carolyn Murphy wandering through a world full of water, and surrounded by flowers and fairies while "Love Profusion" played in the background. The 30 second commercial debuted in more than 10,000 cinemas in September, while the television version of the advertisement aired on MTV, VH1, E! and Style Network. Estée Lauder group president Patrick Bousquet-Chauvanne explained that they "wanted the advertising to be groundbreaking for Estée Lauder... The association of Luc Besson, Madonna and Carolyn Murphy will make for an exceptional visual and acoustic experience for movie and television audiences around the world." The Olympian's Ross Raihala wrote that it made sense that "Love Profusion" was used as the soundtrack for the commercial, and felt like it was another attempt by Madonna to "salvage her career" following the commercial disappointment of American Life.
## Track listings and formats
- Australian CD single
1. "Love Profusion" (Album Version) – 3:38
2. "Love Profusion" (Ralphi Rosario House Vocal Mix) – 6:02
3. "Nobody Knows Me" (Above & Beyond 12" Mix) – 8:46
- French CD single
1. "Love Profusion" (Album Version) – 3:38
2. "Love Profusion" (Headcleanr Rock Mix) – 3:16
- UK vinyl single
1. "Love Profusion" (Passengerz Club Mix) – 9:34
2. "Nobody Knows Me" (Above & Beyond 12" Mix) – 8:46
- UK CD1 single
1. "Love Profusion" (Album Version) – 3:38
2. "Nothing Fails" (Radio Edit) – 3:48
3. "Love Profusion" (Passengerz Club Mix) – 7:01
- UK CD2 single
1. "Love Profusion" (Album Version) – 3:38
2. "Love Profusion" (Ralphi Rosario House Vocal Mix edit) – 6:02
3. "Nobody Knows Me" (Above & Beyond 12" Mix) – 8:46
- US maxi CD single
1. "Love Profusion" (Blow-Up Mix) – 6:11
2. "Love Profusion" (The Passengerz Club Profusion) – 9:34
3. "Love Profusion" (Ralphi Rosario House Vocal Extended) – 7:29
4. "Love Profusion" (Craig J.'s "Good Vibe" Mix) – 7:14
5. "Love Profusion" (Ralphi Rosario Big Room Vox Extended) – 10:01
6. "Love Profusion" (Ralphi Rosario Big Room Dub) – 8:57
7. "Nothing Fails" (Peter's Lost In Space Mix) – 8:36
- US vinyl single
1. "Love Profusion" (The Passengerz Club Profusion) – 9:34
2. "Love Profusion" (Blow-Up Mix) – 6:11
3. "Love Profusion" (Ralphi Rosario House Vocal Extended) – 7:29
4. "Love Profusion" (Ralphi Rosario Big Room Dub) – 8:57
5. "Love Profusion" (The Passengerz Dub Profusion) – 6:23
6. "Love Profusion" (Craig J.'s "Good Vibe" Mix) – 7:14
7. "Love Profusion" (Ralphi Rosario Big Room Vox Extended) – 10:01
## Credits and personnel
Credits and personnel are adapted from American Life album liner notes.
- Madonna – vocals, songwriter, producer
- Mirwais Ahmadzaï – backing vocals, producer, programming, guitar
- Mike "Spike" Stent – mixing
- Tim Young – mastering
- Tom Hannen – assistant engineer
- Simon Changer – assistant engineer
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Sales
## Release history
## See also
- List of number-one dance singles of 2004 (U.S.)
|
24,431,453 |
Xerocomellus zelleri
| 1,127,214,051 |
Species of fungus
|
[
"Boletaceae",
"Edible fungi",
"Fungi described in 1912",
"Fungi of North America",
"Taxa named by William Alphonso Murrill"
] |
Xerocomellus zelleri, commonly known as Zeller's bolete, is an edible species of mushroom in the family Boletaceae. First described scientifically by American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill in 1912, the species has been juggled by various authors to several genera, including Boletus, Boletellus, and Xerocomus. Found solely in western North America from British Columbia south to Mexico, the fruit bodies are distinguished by their dark reddish brown to nearly black caps with uneven surfaces, the yellow pores on the underside of the caps, and the red-streaked yellow stems. The fungus grows in summer and autumn on the ground, often in Douglas fir forests or on their margins. The development of the fruit bodies is gymnocarpic, meaning that the hymenium appears and develops to maturity in an exposed state, not enclosed by any protective membrane.
## Taxonomy
Xerocomellus zelleri was first described by American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill in 1912, based on specimens he found on the campus of the University of Washington. Murrill named it Ceriomyces zelleri before switching the genus later that year to Boletus. In 1944, Walter Henry Snell thought the taxon would be more appropriate in the genus Xerocomus. In 1959, mycologists Rolf Singer, Snell and Esther A. Dick transferred the species to Boletellus, explaining that the microstructure of the trama and the faint ornamentation of the spores were inconsistent with placement in Xerocomus. American mycologist Harry D. Thiers, in his 1976 monograph on North American boletes, claimed that he failed to consistently find ornamentation on the spores of material he collected, and preferred to retain the species in Boletus. In 2011, it was moved to the genus Xerocomellus.
The specific epithet zelleri was chosen by Murrill to honor Professor Sanford Myron Zeller, mycologist at Oregon State University. Zeller accompanied Murrill in his Seattle expedition, and discovered the first specimens of the mushroom.
## Description
The cap is typically between 4–12 cm (1+5⁄8–4+3⁄4 in) in diameter, initially convex but flattening somewhat in maturity. It is fleshy, with an uneven velvety surface, and dark brown to nearly black; the margin of the cap is a pale cream color. Young specimens are covered by a grayish bloom.
The tubes that comprise the undersurface of the cap (the hymenium) are up to 1.5 cm (5⁄8 in) long and angular, yellow, becoming dirty yellow and finally greenish-yellow; there are 1–2 pores per millimeter on the hymenium surface. They do not change color when bruised, although they may turn slightly brownish when exposed to the air for a time. The flesh is yellow to dirty yellow, up to 1.5 cm (5⁄8 in) thick, and inconsistently bruises blue when cut or broken. The stem is up to 12 cm (4+3⁄4 in) tall, 1–3 cm (3⁄8–1+1⁄8 in) thick, and swollen toward the base. The stem surface is red or yellowish with red lines, often white or yellow at the base, and solid (that is, not hollow), with fibrous flesh; in maturity the stem ages to yellowish-red to dark red. The spore print is olive-brown; one source notes that creating a spore print may result in "a lot of yellow juice on the paper".
The spores are ellipsoid in shape, smooth, and have dimensions of 12–16 by 4–6 μm, although occasionally there will be some "giant spores" with lengths of up to 24 μm. The basidia, the spore-bearing cells, are 26–35 by 9.5–12 μm, and four-spored. The cystidia are roughly cylindrical and thin-walled, with dimensions of 38–77 by 5.5–14.8 μm. There are no clamp connections present in the hyphae. The fruit body tissue stains a greenish color when a drop of ammonia solution is applied.
### Edibility
Xerocomellus zelleri is an edible species, although care should be taken to ensure that specimens collected for consumption are free of fly larvae. In his book 100 Edible Mushrooms, Michael Kuo gave the mushroom an edibility rating of "mediocre". There is no distinguishable odor, and the taste is alternately described as pleasant, mild, or "slightly acidic". The original species description noted that the texture was "slightly mucilaginous". The mushroom is suitable for preserving or drying, or as a "filler" to add bulk to a dish. It is harvested and sold commercially in local markets in British Columbia, Canada.
### Similar species
The red-cracked bolete (Xerocomellus chrysenteron) has an olive-brown cap that cracks, exposing flesh that ages to pinkish red. Boletellus chrysenteroides, found only in eastern North America, has a velvety to smooth, dark reddish brown, cracked cap with pale exposed flesh. Also similar is Boletus mirabilis.
## Fruit body development
In 1914, Zeller published a study of the development of the mushroom, made possible by the prolific fruiting of the fungus in Seattle in the fall of 1912. Development was studied by examining thin sections of tissues in different stages of development, and the differentiation of tissues and structures followed by using histological stains. The growth form of Xerocomellus zelleri is called gymnocarpic, meaning that the hymenium appears and develops to maturity in an exposed state, not enclosed by any protective membrane. In this type of development, the cap is formed from hyphae at the top of the stem and subsequently expands by growth along the margins; the hymenium forms later beneath the cap in a direction away from the center.
The mushrooms originate as minute fruit bodies (called "pins" due to their shape) from a yellow mycelium that forms a mat and tends to engulf pine needles. The pins, typically 1–2 mm in diameter, lengthen vertically until they are roughly three or four times longer than they are thick. Until this point, the fruit body is a homogenous mass of tissue. It differentiates simultaneously into cap and stem along a cleavage plane (an axis along which any cell division occurs) from the outside inward, which gives rise to deep furrow encircling the fruit body. The hymenium is formed in the roof of this furrow, growing inward and upward from the outside edge. The cap develops from the upper section of this division, the stem from the lower.
## Habitat and distribution
This species grows solitarily or in small groups on the ground or in forest duff in mature coniferous forests, occasionally abundant on grassy edges of the forest, rarely on badly decayed conifer logs. It is an ectomycorrhizal mushroom, meaning that the fungal hyphae form sheaths around the rootlets of certain trees, exchanging nutrients with them in a mutualistic relationship. The fungus associates with alder, poplar and other hardwoods, and has been shown in laboratory culture to form ectomycorrhizae with Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). However, the fungus may have saprobic tendencies, as it has been noted to grow under California Redwood (sometimes in the rotted wood of old trunks), a tree not known to form mycorrizhae. It is known to form long rhizomorphs (aggregations of hyphae that resemble roots), and has been noted to be more abundant in sites with buried wood than without. In British Columbia, it occurs from summer to early winter, although it also appears infrequently in early spring. In California, the mushroom often fruits after the rainy period in autumn through to March or April. The dark coloring of the cap make this species difficult to notice, "unless a glimpse of the yellow hymenium is obtained". Fruit bodies are eaten by the American shrew-mole.
Xerocomellus zelleri is distributed in North America in the Pacific Northwest south to California and Mexico. In Mexico, it has been reported in high-altitude cloud forests of Mexican Beech (Fagus mexicana), a rare and endangered habitat. It has also been reported from Tibet, but this may be based on a misidentification.
## Chemistry
Xerocomellus zelleri has been shown to contain the phenethylamine alkaloid compounds tyramine, N''-methyltyramine, and hordenine, although the chemotaxonomic significance of this is not clear.
## See also
- List of North American boletes
|
8,183,643 |
Hurricane Isaac (2006)
| 1,171,663,834 |
Category 1 Atlantic hurricane in 2006
|
[
"2006 Atlantic hurricane season",
"Category 1 Atlantic hurricanes",
"Hurricanes in Canada",
"Tropical cyclones in 2006"
] |
Hurricane Isaac was a strong tropical cyclone that affected Newfoundland in early October 2006. Isaac was the tenth and final tropical cyclone and fifth hurricane of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Isaac originated in a tropical wave that entered the Atlantic Ocean on September 18. An associated area of disturbed weather eventually organized sufficiently to be declared a tropical depression on September 27, while located 930 mi (1,500 km) southeast of Bermuda. The depression was upgraded to a tropical storm just 12 hours later, though unfavorable atmospheric conditions, including high wind shear and cool water temperatures, initially inhibited further intensification. Isaac ultimately peaked as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, and brushed Newfoundland as a tropical storm. Effects from the storm were minimal and limited to gusty winds, rough surf, and sporadic rainfall.
## Meteorological history
A tropical wave emerged from the western coast of Africa and entered the Atlantic Ocean on September 18, 2006. On September 23, an associated area of disturbed weather began to exhibit indications of organization; in response, Dvorak classifications were initiated. Influenced by moderate to strong wind shear, the system moved west-northwestward for several days. Once environmental conditions became more favorable for tropical cyclone development, the storm had sufficiently organized to be designated a tropical depression on September 27. At this time, the depression was located about 930 mi (1,500 km) southeast of Bermuda. Despite being upgraded, deep convection had not wrapped around the entire center of circulation. Although the depression was approaching tropical storm status by later on September 27, wind shear continued to affect the cyclone. On September 28—about 12 hours after the storm's formation—it became the tenth tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, and received the name Isaac.
Initially, the storm was tracking towards the northwest, between another low pressure system to its west and a low- to mid-level ridge to its east. Throughout the day, thunderstorm activity remained unstable, possibly as a result of cooler waters churned up by previous storms. In addition, mid- to upper-level dry air had become entrained into the circulation, and the storm contained some subtropical characteristics with a baroclinic-type cloud pattern. By early September 29, Isaac had slowed and turned towards the west. Convection began to intensify and consolidate later that day; outflow had also improved, and became more symmetric in nature. Moving into warmer waters, Isaac continued to strengthen, and attained hurricane status on September 30. However, this period of intensification was short-lived, and the cyclone reached its peak intensity with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) at around 0000 UTC on October 1. Around that time, a ragged eye feature appeared on satellite imagery.
"A fairly well-defined hurricane", Isaac began to recurve around the periphery of a subtropical ridge while accelerating in forward speed. While tracking towards the north-northeast, the storm began to gradually weaken as a result of increasing southwesterly wind shear and colder sea surface temperatures. At about 1200 UTC on September 2, Isaac was downgraded to a tropical storm. The storm passed about 40 mi (64 km) to the southeast of the Avalon Peninsula on October 2, spawning tropical storm-force winds on land. After passing Newfoundland Isaac transitioned into an extratropical storm, and subsequently merged with a larger storm on October 3.
## Preparations and impact
A tropical storm watch was issued in response to Isaac on October 1 for the Avalon Peninsula. The watch was upgraded to a tropical storm warning the next day, while a separate watch was posted for the Burin and Bonavista peninsulas, though it was quickly discontinued. By 2100 UTC on October 2, all tropical cyclone watches and warnings were lifted. Heavy rainfall and gusty winds were expected, prompting the issuance of rainfall warnings for parts of southeastern Newfoundland, while wind and gale advisories were declared offshore.
On October 2, the Elektra (call sign SIWB) reported winds of 52 mph (84 km/h) while located about 170 mi (270 km) to the east of the storm's center. Two other ships, several buoys, and several oil platforms also recorded tropical storm-force winds. Waves offshore reached 16 ft (4.9 m) in height.
Impacts on land were generally insignificant; no damages or fatalities were reported. However, parts of the Avalon Peninsula experienced tropical storm conditions. At Cape Race, sustained winds peaked at 46 mph (74 km/h), with gusts of up to 60 mph (97 km/h). The most intense winds remained offshore. Due to the storm's rapid passage, rainfall was primarily light and amounted to less than 1 in (25 mm).
## See also
- List of Atlantic hurricanes
- Timeline of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season
- List of Canada hurricanes
- Other storms of the same name
|
45,188,615 |
Privy Garden of the Palace of Whitehall
| 1,163,911,467 |
Part of the Palace of Whitehall, London
|
[
"Burned buildings and structures in the United Kingdom",
"Former buildings and structures in the City of Westminster",
"Gardens in London"
] |
The Privy Garden of the Palace of Whitehall was a large enclosed space in Westminster, London, that was originally a pleasure garden used by the late Tudor and Stuart monarchs of England. It was created under Henry VIII and was expanded and improved under his successors, but lost its royal patronage after the Palace of Whitehall was almost totally destroyed by fire in 1698.
From the start of the 18th century onwards, the garden went through major changes as it fell into neglect. It was painted in 1747 by Canaletto during a period of transition, as Westminster was being transformed by the construction of new buildings and roads. By the start of the 19th century it had been redeveloped as the site for a row of townhouses, some of which were occupied by prime ministers seeking homes near the government buildings nearby. The last remnants of the Privy Garden were destroyed in 1938 during the construction of government offices on the site of the present Ministry of Defence Main Building.
## Origins and layout
The Privy Garden originated in the 16th century as part of the estate of York Place; Cardinal Wolsey's London residence. The estate already had a privy, or private, garden that was located behind what is now the Banqueting House. An orchard, which was part of the estate, adjoined it to the south. When Henry VIII seized York Place, he bought more land to the south of the orchard to expand the estate. The old privy garden was cobbled over and later became known as the Pebble Court, while the orchard was converted into a new and much larger Privy Garden, known at first as the "great garden". At the time, Westminster was not heavily built up as it is now, and York Place – later renamed Whitehall Palace – lay within a suburban area dominated by parks and gardens. St. James's Park, across the other side of Whitehall, was a royal hunting ground.
Henry's garden was very ornately decorated, as 16th-century visitors noted. The Spanish 3rd Duke of Nájera wrote of a visit in 1544 in which he saw "a very pleasant garden with great walks and avenues in all directions, containing many sculptures of men and women, children and birds and monsters, and other strange figures in low and high relief." Von Wedel recorded in 1584 that in the garden were "thirty-four high columns, covered with various fine paintings; also different animals carved in wood, with their horns gilt, are set on the top of the columns, together with flags bearing the queen's arms. In the middle of the garden is a nice fountain with a remarkable sun-dial, showing the time in thirty different ways. Between the spaces that are planted in the garden there are fine walks grown with grass, and the spaces are planted very artistically, surrounded by plants in the shape of seats."
The earliest surviving depiction of the garden, from 1670, shows a very different layout. By this time the garden had been redesigned in a grid pattern with sixteen squares of grass separated by paths. The relentless expansion of the Palace of Whitehall, which was by now a sprawling jumble of structures, had hemmed in the Privy Garden behind walls and buildings on all sides. A high wall to the west separated it from The Street, the main thoroughfare at the south end of Whitehall that bisected the palace in a north-south direction. To the north, a range of buildings occupied by high-ranking courtiers separated it from the Pebble Court that lay behind the Banqueting House, while to the east the Stone Gallery and state apartments, used by the king's closest courtiers, blocked it off from the River Thames. The royal apartments were off the Stone Gallery and had a view of the Privy Garden, with a screen in place to prevent passers-by from seeing the naked king in his 7 by 7 feet (2.1 by 2.1 m) bathtub. A row of trees on the south side screened it from the Bowling Green, which had been an orchard in Henry VIII's time but was converted for leisure use after the Restoration. A terrace also separated the Privy Garden from the Bowling Green, but this was removed in 1673–4 and part of the Bowling Green was added to the garden.
The Privy Garden was originally created as a private royal pleasure garden and continued to serve a similar purpose during the Interregnum (1649–1660), when the English Council of State put considerable effort and money into repairing and improving the garden. They appear to have reserved it exclusively for their own use, with their own individual keys for access. By Samuel Pepys' time, after the Stuart Restoration, it had become "a through-passage, and common." The wall that enclosed the garden was often used by ballad-sellers to display their wares to passers-by, and courtiers used it to air their laundry. Pepys recorded his titillation at the sight of the underwear of Charles II's mistress, Lady Castlemaine, hanging out to dry in the Privy Garden. A century later, James Boswell wrote in his diary that he had taken a prostitute into the garden and "indulged sensuality", but he was shocked to find when he got home that she had stolen his handkerchief.
## Sculptures and other features
For a time, each of the grass squares in the garden had a statue in its centre, standing on its own pedestal. They were probably moved there from St James's Palace in the 1650s but became the target of Puritan zealotry during the Interregnum, due to the perception that they were biblically prohibited "graven images". A woman named Mary Netherway wrote to Oliver Cromwell to demand that they be taken down, demanding that he "demolish those monsters which are set up as ornaments in [the] privy garden, for whilst they stand, though you see no evil in them, yet there is much evil in it, for whilst the crosses and altars of the idols remained untaken away in Jerusalem, the wrath of God continued against Israel." One man took more direct action; it was recorded in 1659 that "about this time there was a cook that lived by the Palace Gate, Westminster, that in Sermon time went into Whitehall Garden, and with him carried a smith's great hammer; he broke there those goodly statue of brass and marble, which report said they were the neatest made and the best workmanship in Europe, in half an hour's time [he] did above £500 worth of hurt."
The statues were eventually taken down when Charles II came to the throne and were either repaired or replaced. The bronze statue of James II by Peter van Dievoet, depicting the king wearing the robes of a Roman emperor, stood just outside the garden in the Pebble Court from 1686 to 1898 (with a short interruption during the Glorious Revolution). It now occupies a spot in Trafalgar Square outside the National Gallery.
A large sundial, set up on the orders of James I, stood in the middle of the garden from 1624. The dial was designed by Edmund Gunter, professor of astronomy at Gresham College. It consisted of a large stone pedestal with four dials at the four corners and "the great horizontal concave" in the centre, with east, west, north and south dials at the sides. It was subsequently vandalised, allegedly by an intoxicated courtier, and fell into ruin in Charles II's reign. Andrew Marvell lamented that
> > This place for a dial was too insecure Since a guard and a garden could not it defend; For so near to the Court they will never endure Any witness to show how their time they misspend.
In 1669 a new King's Sun Dial was erected for Charles II, designed by Father Francis Hall, a Jesuit priest. It was an extremely elaborate construction that Hall detailed in a book, Explication of the Diall, that he published in 1673 to explain how it operated. It stood 3 metres (9.8 ft) high and was constructed of stone, brass and wood, with gilded ironwork and painted glass panels to accompany its 270 component dials. It resembled "a fountain of glass spheres, or a giant candelabrum with tiered, branching arms ending in crystal globes", which showed not only the hours of the day but "many things also belonging to geography, astrology, and astronomy, by the sun's shadow made visible to the eye."
The King was fascinated by astronomy; his personal association with the science was illustrated by the fact that the sundial was not only his personal pride and joy but was also designed to serve as a symbol of the Stuart family. It had glass portraits mounted on it, depicting Charles, Queen Catherine, the Duke of York, the Queen Mother and Prince Rupert. A watchman was posted to guard it against the kind of vandalism that had wrecked the earlier sundial, but in June 1675 it was severely damaged when it was attacked by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, much to the king's fury. The fate of the ruined dial is unknown; it was last recorded standing at Buckingham House (later Buckingham Palace) in 1710.
## From Privy Garden to Whitehall Gardens
After the destruction by fire of the Palace of Whitehall in 1698, the surroundings of the Privy Garden changed dramatically. Most of the palace buildings had been burned down in the 1698 fire; others were torn down as the last vestiges of the old Tudor and Stuart Palace were removed. With the demise of the Privy Gallery, the Privy Garden was extended north to include the Pebble Court behind the Banqueting House.
The garden remained in Crown ownership but it became neglected and filthy with the departure of the monarchy from Whitehall. In 1733 the Duke of Richmond and other residents of the surviving properties adjoining the garden petitioned that they be allowed to lease the "void ground" of the garden. The Crown agreed, and in 1734 most of the garden was leased to the Dukes of Richmond and Montagu, the Earl of Loudon and Sir Conyers Darcy.
When Canaletto painted a view of the garden looking north from the Duke of Richmond's dining room in Richmond House in 1747, it was a last view of a prospect that was soon to disappear with the demolition of the old palace's Holbein Gate adjoining the garden. Parliament Street was driven through the western side of the garden in 1750 to connect Whitehall to the Palace of Westminster. At the start of the 19th century the garden's "decayed wall, long fringed by pamphlets, ballads, and ragged advertisements" was removed and replaced by an iron railing and newly planted trees. Its north side remained "most confused and unpleasant", terminating in a maze of "fifty narrow passages, formed by sheds, blank walls, the residences of the nobility, and the workshops of the tradesmen."
A house in Privy Gardens was occupied by Margaret, Dowager Duchess of Portland. She died on 17 February 1785. Upon her death the contents of the Portland Museum were sold off starting on 24 April 1786 and continued over a 37 day period. This museum is not to be confused with the current Portland Museum, Dorset, this one was in Bulstrode Park and featured the art collection of the Duke and Duchess. The auction was conducted by Mr Skinner and Co, of Aldersgate Street. Lot number 4155 was the Portland Vase.
The area was ripe for redevelopment by the landholding elite, who wished to have suitably grand townhouses to occupy while attending Parliament and the court. The vestiges of the Privy Garden became the site of a new street. In 1808 a row of houses called Whitehall Gardens was constructed on the site. Behind each house, long grassy gardens planted with rows of trees led directly down to the river, until they were cut off by the construction of the Victoria Embankment along the river bank between 1865 and 1870.
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli lived in one of the houses between 1873 and 1875, while Sir Robert Peel lived in another (and died there in 1850 after falling from his horse on Constitution Hill). The trees outside the front entrance to Whitehall Gardens were the last survivors of the original Privy Garden, and stood until as recently as the late 1930s.
Among the houses in Whitehall Gardens were Montagu House and Pembroke House, a Palladian riverside villa with elaborate interiors. The houses were demolished along with the rest of Whitehall Gardens in 1938, in what the architectural historian John Harris described as "a monstrous act of vandalism", to make way for the construction of the new offices of the Board of Trade and Air Ministry. The interior decorations of four of Pembroke House's rooms were saved after its demolition and were reinstalled in the new government offices, now the Ministry of Defence Main Building.
|
58,278,118 |
Stratford Dialectical and Radical Club
| 1,121,740,448 |
Radical 19th-century London political society
|
[
"1880 establishments in England",
"Anarchist communities",
"Anarchist organisations in the United Kingdom",
"Anarchist publishing companies",
"English socialists",
"Publishing companies based in London",
"Radical parties",
"Socialist organisations in the United Kingdom"
] |
The Stratford Dialectical and Radical Club was a late nineteenth-century radical club based in Stratford, East London. Founded in 1880 by disaffected members of the National Secular Society who wished their organisation would involve itself in the social and political issues of the day rather than merely argue against the existence of God, it became one of the first openly socialist societies in London. Although it only existed for a few years, the club attracted high-profile lecturers, including Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin, and is considered by scholars to illustrate a shift in popular perspective from religious dissent to socialist political theory.
## Background and formation
The Stratford Dialectical and Radical Club was formed in 1880 when members of the National Secular Society decided to become more active in politics and the burgeoning social reform movement and less constrained by the NSS' focus on antitheism. By 1878, NSS members of the Stratford Branch—"looking for a more political outlet for its energies"—attempted to form themselves into a new Radical Party. They passed a resolution calling upon "men of advanced political opinions" to join them in the new endeavour. They began booking socialist, rather than secularist, speakers for their public lectures from July 1878, and the agitator Jesse Cocks also "ably and earnestly advocated" the branch take on socialist principles in 1878. However, it would take another two years for the branch to finally secede into the SDRC.
The break with the NSS was formally instigated in 1880 by Captain Tom Lemon, the landlord of "The Telegraph" pub, in Leyton Road, Stratford, where the fledgeling group made its headquarters. With Lemon was Ambrose Barker. Barker later explained they were motivated specifically by the NSS' willingness to adopt a policy of what Barker termed "this worldism", or, the material conditions people were living under in contemporary society rather than the possibility or otherwise of an afterlife. Martin Crick has suggested that this phenomenon was the result of "impatience with established methods of Secularist activity and anger at the movement's reluctance to commit itself to a definitive political creed", and general dissatisfaction with the leadership of Charles Bradlaugh in the NSS, who personally opposed socialist ideas.
The SDRC was one of many politically radical societies based in London in the late nineteenth century. Others included the Rose Street Club in Soho, supported by London's immigrant community; the Labour Emancipation League, formed a few years later by a faction within the SDRC; the Manhood Suffrage Club; and the Marylebone Central Democratic Association.
## Organisation and activities
The SDRC's strategy for expansion was summed up by Joseph Lane as "take a room, pay a quarter's rent in advance then arrange a list of lecturers... paste-up bills in the streets all around...and [having] got a few members, get them to take it over and manage it as a branch". They also wanted to introduce elements of amusement and education for their members: both were seen as tools in the class struggle.
The SDRC took political positions that were radical even compared with other radical clubs. For example, it supported the Pervomartovtsy assassins of Alexander II of Russia in 1881; and it was instrumental, with other radical London clubs, in the creation of the Social Democratic Federation, Britain's first socialist party, the same year. It was the only London club to support Irish Home Rule and oppose the Coercion Acts against the Irish following the 1882 Phoenix Park murders. when support for Irish Home Rule was at a low ebb. The Club also helped found the defence committee for Johann Most, whose Rose Street Club newspaper, Freiheit had also praised the assassination, resulting in his arrest. The Club also organised mass-meetings on Mile End Waste, following one in 1881 the Labour Emancipation League was founded. Speakers at the SDRC included Peter Kropotkin in 1882, whom Barker had met at the Patriotic Club, and who "cordially" accepted the invitation to Stratford. The club took part in popular national campaigns of the day, for example against the House of Lords in 1884. Alongside high-profile activities, local campaigns took place around East London issues, such as the threatened closure of Spitalfields Market.
## Legacy
Although it only existed for a short duration, clubs such as the Stratford Dialectic and Radical have been identified as the origins of the anarchist movement in Britain, due to its early espousal of an "anti-state, anti-capitalist" political program. It was, Brian Simon, suggested, the first radical London Club with an outrightly socialist political philosophy, and one of the major impetuses for the spread and popularisation of socialist ideas in London during the early 1880s. According to Stan Shipley, the reasons for the Stratford NSS' split may seem trivial in hindsight, but at the time the relationship between secularism and socialism was a fundamental, and difficult, question. The formation and history of the Stratford Dialectic and Radical Club illustrates the gradual shift in popular politics from the former to the latter.
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Westminster Abbey
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Church in London, England
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Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs, and a burial site for 18 English, Scottish, and British monarchs. At least 16 royal weddings have occurred at the abbey since 1100.
Although the origins of the church are obscure, there was certainly an abbey operating on the site by the mid-10th century, housing Benedictine monks. The church got its first grand building in the 1060s under the auspices of the English king Edward the Confessor, who is buried inside. Construction of the present church began in 1245 on the orders of Henry III. The monastery was dissolved in 1559 and the church was made a royal peculiar—a Church of England church responsible directly to the sovereign—by Elizabeth I. In 1987, the abbey, together with the Palace of Westminster and St. Margaret's Church, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its historic and symbolic significance.
The Gothic architecture of the church is chiefly inspired by French and English styles from the 13th century, although some sections of the church show earlier Romanesque styles, or later Baroque, and modern styles. The Henry VII Chapel at the east end of the church is a typical example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture; the antiquarian John Leland said of it that it was orbis miraculum ("the wonder of the world").
The abbey is the burial site of more than 3,300 people, many of prominence in British history: monarchs, prime ministers, poets laureate, actors, scientists, military leaders, and the Unknown Warrior. Describing the fame of the figures buried there, author William Morris described the abbey in 1900 as a "National Valhalla".
## History
Although historians agree that there was a monastery dedicated to St. Peter on the site prior to the 11th century, its exact origin is somewhat obscure. One legend claims that it was founded by the Saxon King of Essex Sæberht, and another that its founder was the fictional 2nd-century British king Lucius. One tradition claims that a young fisherman on the River Thames had a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to have been quoted as the origin of the salmon that Thames fishermen offered to the abbey, a custom still observed annually by the Fishmongers' Company. The recorded origins of the abbey date to the 960s or early 970s, when Saint Dunstan and King Edgar installed a community of Benedictine monks on the site. At that time, the location was an island in the middle of the River Thames called Thorn Ey. The buildings from this time would have been wooden, and have not survived.
### 11th century: Edward the Confessor's abbey
Between 1042 and 1052, Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St. Peter's Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was built in the Romanesque style and was the first church in England built on a cruciform floorplan. The master stonemason for the project was Leofsi Duddason, with Godwin and Wendelburh Gretsyd (meaning "fat purse") as patrons, and Teinfrith as "churchwright", probably meaning someone who worked on the carpentry and roof. Endowments supported a community that increased from a dozen monks, during Dunstan's time, up to as many as eighty. The building was completed around 1060 and was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week before Edward's death on 5 January 1066. A week later, he was buried in the church; nine years later, his wife Edith was buried alongside him. His successor, Harold Godwinson, was probably crowned here, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later that year.
The only extant depiction of Edward's abbey is in the Bayeux Tapestry. The foundations still survive under the present church, and above ground, some of the lower parts of the monastic dormitory survive in the undercroft, including a door said to come from the previous Saxon abbey. It was a little smaller than the current church, with a central tower.
In 1103, thirty-seven years after his death, Edward's tomb was re-opened by Abbot Gilbert Crispin and Henry I, who discovered that his body was still in perfect condition. This was considered proof of his saintliness, and he was canonised in 1161. Two years later he was moved to a new shrine, during which time his ring was removed and placed in the abbey's collection.
### 13th–14th centuries: Construction of the present church
The abbot and monks, being adjacent to the Palace of Westminster (the seat of government from the late 13th century), became a powerful force in the centuries after the Norman Conquest, with the Abbot of Westminster taking a seat in the House of Lords. The abbot was also the lord of the manor in Westminster as a town of two to three thousand people grew around the abbey. As a consumer and employer on a grand scale, the abbey helped fuel the town's economy, and relations with the town remained unusually cordial, but no enfranchising charter was issued during the Middle Ages.
Westminster Abbey continued to be used as a coronation site, but after Edward the Confessor, no monarchs were buried there until Henry III began to rebuild it in the Gothic style incorporating Cosmatesque and Anglo Saxon derived elements as a shrine to venerate Edward, as a competitor to match the great French churches such as Rheims Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle, and as a burial place for himself and his family. Edward's shrine subsequently played a great part in his canonisation. Construction began on 6 July 1245 under Henry's master mason, Henry of Reynes. The first building stage included the entire eastern end, the transepts, and the easternmost bay of the nave. The Lady chapel, built from around 1220 at the extreme eastern end, was incorporated into the chevet of the new building, but has since been replaced by the Henry VII Chapel. Around 1253, Henry of Reynes was replaced by John of Gloucester, who was replaced by Robert of Beverley around 1260. During the summer, there were up to 400 workers on the site at a time, including stonecutters, marblers, stone-layers, carpenters, painters and their assistants, marble polishers, smiths, glaziers, plumbers, and general labourers. From 1257, Henry III held assemblies of local representatives in Westminster Abbey's chapter house, which were a precursor to the House of Commons. Henry III also commissioned the Cosmati pavement in front of the High Altar. Further building work carried the nave an additional five bays, bringing it to one bay west of the choir. Here, construction stopped in about 1269. By 1261 alone Henry had spent £29,345 19s 8d on the abbey, and the final sum may have been in the region of £50,000. A consecration ceremony was held on 13 October 1269, during which the remains of Edward the Confessor were moved to their present location at the shrine behind the main altar, but after Henry's death and burial in the abbey in 1272, construction did not resume and Edward the Confessor's old Romanesque nave remained attached to the new building for over a century.
In 1296, Edward I captured the Scottish coronation stone, the Stone of Scone, and had a Coronation Chair made to hold it, which he entrusted to the abbot at Westminster Abbey. In 1303, the small crypt underneath the chapter house was broken into and a great deal of the king's treasure stolen. It was thought that the thieves must have been helped by the abbey monks, fifty of whom were subsequently imprisoned in the Tower of London.
From 1376, Abbot Nicholas Litlyngton and Richard II donated large sums to finish the church, and the remainder of the old nave was pulled down and rebuilding recommenced, with his mason, Henry Yevele, closely following the original (and by then outdated) design. During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, Richard prayed at Edward the Confessor's shrine for "divine aid when human counsel was altogether wanting" before meeting the rebels at Smithfield. To this day, the abbey holds his full-length portrait, the earliest of an English king, on display near the west door. However, building work was not to be fully completed for many years. Henry V, disappointed with the abbey's unfinished state, gave extra funds towards the rebuilding, and in his will left instructions for a chantry chapel to be built over his tomb, which can be viewed from ground level today. Building work finally reached the end of the nave, finishing with the west window, in 1495.
Under Henry VII, the 13th-century Lady Chapel (known as the "Henry VII Chapel" or the "Lady Chapel") was demolished and rebuilt in a Perpendicular Gothic style. Work was begun in 1503 and the chapel was finished c.1519. Henry's original reason for building such a grand chapel was to have a place suitable for the burial of another saint alongside the Confessor, as he planned on having Henry VI canonised. The Pope asked Henry VII for a large sum of money to achieve sainthood for his predecessor, which he was not willing to hand over, and so instead Henry VII is buried in the centre of the chapel with his wife, Elizabeth of York.
A view of the abbey dated 1532 shows a lantern tower above the crossing, but it is not shown in any later depiction. It is unlikely that the loss of this feature was caused by any catastrophic event, but structural failure seems more likely. However, other sources maintain that a lantern tower was never built. The current squat pyramid dates from the 18th century; the painted wooden ceiling below it was installed during repairs to wartime bomb damage.
In the early 16th century, a project began under Abbot John Islip to add two towers to the western end of the church. These were partially built up to the roof level of the church when building work stopped because of the uncertainty caused by the English Reformation.
### 16th–17th centuries: Dissolution and Reformation
In the 1530s, Henry VIII broke away from the authority of the Catholic Church in Rome and seized control of England's monasteries, including Westminster Abbey, beginning the English Reformation. In 1535, when the king's officers assessed the abbey's funds, their annual income was £3,000. Henry's agents removed many relics, saints' images, and treasures from the abbey: the golden feretory that housed the coffin of Edward the Confessor was melted down, and the monks even hid his bones to save them from destruction. Henry VIII assumed direct control of the abbey in 1539 and granted it the status of a cathedral by charter in 1540, simultaneously issuing letters patent establishing the Diocese of Westminster. By granting the abbey cathedral status, Henry VIII gained an excuse to spare it from the destruction or dissolution which he inflicted on most English abbeys during this period. The abbot, William Benson, instead became dean of the cathedral, while the prior and five of the monks were among the twelve newly created canons.
The Westminster diocese was dissolved in 1550, but the abbey was recognised (in 1552, retroactively to 1550) as a second cathedral of the Diocese of London until 1556. The already-old expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul" may have been given a new lease of life when money meant for the abbey, which is dedicated to Saint Peter, was diverted to the treasury of St. Paul's Cathedral.
The abbey saw the return of Benedictine monks under the Catholic Mary I, but they were again ejected under Elizabeth I in 1559. In 1560, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a "royal peculiar" – a church of the Church of England responsible directly to the sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop – and made it the Collegiate Church of St. Peter (that is, a non-cathedral church with an attached chapter of canons, headed by a dean). From this date onwards, although the building is still called an abbey, it is, strictly speaking, simply a church. Elizabeth also re-founded Westminster School, providing for 40 students known as the King's (or Queen's) Scholars and their schoolmasters. The King's Scholars have the duty of shouting Vivat Rex or Vivat Regina ("Long live the King/Queen") during the coronation of a new monarch. To this day, the Dean of Westminster Abbey remains the chair of the school governors.
In the early 17th century, the abbey hosted two of the six companies of churchmen, led by Lancelot Andrewes, Dean of Westminster, who translated the King James Version of the Bible.
In 1642, the English Civil War broke out between Charles I and his own Parliament. The Dean and Chapter fled the abbey at the outbreak of war, and were replaced by priests loyal to Parliament. The abbey itself suffered damage during the war, when altars, stained glass, the organ and the crown jewels were damaged or destroyed. Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell was given an elaborate funeral there in 1658, only for a body thought to be Cromwell's to be disinterred in January 1661 and posthumously hanged from a gibbet at Tyburn. In 1669, the abbey was visited by the diarist Samuel Pepys, who saw the body of the 15th-century queen Catherine de Valois. She had been buried in the 13th-century Lady Chapel in 1437, but was exhumed during building work for the Henry VII Chapel and not reburied in the intervening 150 years. Pepys leaned into the coffin and kissed her on the mouth, writing "This was my birthday, thirty-six years old and I did first kiss a queen." She has since been re-interred close to her husband, Henry V. In 1685, during preparations for the coronation of James II, a workman accidentally put a scaffolding pole through the coffin of Edward the Confessor. A chorister, Charles Taylour, pulled a cross on a chain out of the coffin and gave it to the king, who then gave it to the Pope. Its whereabouts today are unknown.
### 18th–19th centuries: Western towers constructed
At the end of the 17th century, the architect Sir Christopher Wren was appointed the abbey's first Surveyor of the Fabric, and began a project to restore the exterior of the church, which was continued by his successor, William Dickinson. After over two hundred years, the abbey's two western towers were finally built between 1722 and 1745 by Nicholas Hawksmoor and John James, constructed from Portland stone to an early example of a Gothic Revival design. Purbeck Marble was used for the walls and the floors, although the various tombstones are made of different types of marble.
During an earthquake in 1750, the top of one of the piers on the north side fell, with the iron and lead that had fastened it. Several houses fell in, and many chimneys were damaged. Another shock had been felt during the preceding month.
On 11 November 1760, the funeral of George II was held at the abbey and the king was interred next to his late wife, Caroline of Ansbach. He left instructions for the sides of his and his wife's coffins to be removed so that their remains could mingle. He was the last monarch to be buried in the abbey. Similarly, during this period the tomb of Richard II had developed a hole through which visitors could put their hand. Several of his bones went missing, including a jawbone, which was taken by a boy from Westminster School and kept in the family until 1906, when it was returned to the abbey.
In the 1830s, the previous screen dividing the nave from the choir, which had been designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, was replaced by one designed by Edward Blore. The screen contains the monuments for the scientist Isaac Newton and the military general James Stanhope.
Further rebuilding and restoration occurred in the 19th century under the architect George Gilbert Scott, who rebuilt the façade of the north transept, changing the rose window and porches on that side, and designed a new altar and reredos for the crossing. A narthex (a portico or entrance hall) for the west front was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in the mid-20th century but was not built.
### 20th century
The abbey saw "Prayers For Prisoners" suffragette protests in 1913 and 1914. Protesters attended services and interrupted proceedings by chanting "God Save Mrs. Pankhurst" and praying for suffragette prisoners. In one protest, a woman chained herself to her chair during a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury. On 11 June 1914, a bomb planted by suffragettes of the Women's Social and Political Union exploded inside the abbey. The abbey was busy with visitors, with around 80–100 people in the building at the time of the explosion. Some were as close as 20 yards (18 m) from the bomb and the explosion caused a panic for the exits, but no serious injuries were reported. The bomb blew off a corner of the Coronation Chair. It also caused the Stone of Scone to break in half, although this was not discovered until 1950, when four Scottish nationalists broke into the church to steal the stone and return it to Scotland. The bomb had been packed with nuts and bolts to act as shrapnel. The event was part of a campaign of bombing and arson attacks carried out by suffragettes nationwide between 1912 and 1914. Churches were a particular target, as it was believed that the Church of England was complicit in reinforcing opposition to women's suffrage – 32 churches were attacked nationwide between 1913 and 1914. Coincidentally, at the time of the explosion, the House of Commons only 100 yards (90 m) away was debating how to deal with the violent tactics of the suffragettes. Many in the Commons heard the explosion and rushed to the scene. Two days after the Westminster Abbey bombing, a second suffragette bomb was discovered before it could explode in St. Paul's Cathedral.
Westminster suffered minor damage during the Blitz on 15 November 1940. On 10/11 May 1941, the Westminster Abbey precincts and roof were hit by incendiary bombs. Although the Auxiliary Fire Service and the abbey's own fire-watchers were able to stop the fire spreading to the whole of the church, the deanery and three residences of abbey clergy and staff were badly damaged, and the lantern tower above the crossing collapsed, leaving the abbey open to the sky. The cost of the damage was estimated at £135,000. Some damage can still be seen in the RAF Chapel, where a small hole in the wall was created by a bomb that fell outside the chapel.
Because of its outstanding universal value, the abbey was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, together with the nearby Palace of Westminster and St. Margaret's Church.
In 1997, the abbey, which was then receiving approximately 1.75 million visitors each year, began charging admission fees to visitors at the door (although a fee for entering the eastern half of the church had existed prior to 1600).
### 21st century
In June 2009 the first major building work in 250 years was proposed. A corona – a crown-like architectural feature – was suggested to be built around the lantern over the central crossing, replacing an existing pyramidal structure dating from the 1950s. This was part of a wider £23m development of the abbey completed in 2013. On 4 August 2010, the Dean and Chapter announced that, "[a]fter a considerable amount of preliminary and exploratory work", efforts toward the construction of a corona would not be continued.
The Cosmati pavement was re-dedicated by the Dean at a service on 21 May 2010 after undergoing a major cleaning and conservation programme. On 17 September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to set foot in the abbey, and on 29 April 2011, the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place at the abbey.
In 2018, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries were created in the medieval triforium. This is a display area for the abbey's treasures in the galleries high up around the sanctuary. A new Gothic access tower with lift was designed by the abbey architect and Surveyor of the Fabric, Ptolemy Dean.
In 2020, a 13th-century sacristy was uncovered in the grounds of the abbey as part of an archaeological excavation. The sacristy was used by the monks of the abbey to store objects used in the Mass, such as vestments and chalices. Also on the site were hundreds of burials, mostly of abbey monks.
On 10 March 2021, a vaccination centre opened in Poets' Corner to administer doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
## Architecture
The building is chiefly Reigate Stone, and is mostly built in a Geometric Gothic style. The church has an eleven-bay nave with aisles, transepts, and a chancel with ambulatory and radiating chapels. The height of the building is supported with two tiers of flying buttresses. The western end of the nave and the west front were designed by Henry Yevele in a Perpendicular Gothic style. The Henry VII Chapel was built in a late Perpendicular style, probably by Robert and William Vertue. The west towers were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and blend Gothic with Baroque style.
The present Westminster Abbey is largely based on French Gothic styles, especially those found at Reims Cathedral, rather than the contemporaneous English Gothic styles. For example, the English Gothic style favours large and elaborate towers, while Westminster Abbey did not have any towers until the 18th century. It is also more similar to French churches than English ones in terms of its ratio of height to width: Westminster Abbey has the highest nave of any Gothic church in England, and the nave is much narrower than any medieval English church of a similar height. Instead of a short, square, eastern end, as was the English fashion, Westminster Abbey has a long, rounded apse, and it also has chapels radiating from the ambulatory, which is typical of a French Gothic style. However, there are also distinctively English elements, such as the use of materials of contrasting colours, like Purbeck marble and white stone in the crossing.
The northern door features an elaborately-carved tympanum, leading it to acquire the nickname "Solomon's porch" as a reference to the legendary temple in Jerusalem.
The abbey retains its 13th- and 14th-century cloisters, which would have been one of the busiest parts of the church when it was a monastery. The west cloister was used for the teaching of novice monks; the north for private study. The south cloister led to the refectory, and the east to the chapter house and dormitory. In the south-west corner of the cloisters is a cellarium used by the monks to store food and wine, which is today the abbey café. The abbey also contains a Little Cloister, on the site of the monks' infirmary. The Little Cloister dates from the end of the 17th century and contains a small garden with a fountain in the centre. A passageway from the Little Cloister leads to College Garden, which has been in continuous use for 900 years, beginning as the medicine garden for the monks of the abbey and now overlooked by canon's houses and the dormitory for Westminster School.
The newest part of the abbey is the Weston Tower, finished in 2018 and designed by Ptolemy Dean. It sits between the chapter house and the Henry VII Chapel, and contains a lift shaft and spiral staircase to allow public access to the triforium, which contains the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries. The tower has a star-shaped floorplan and leaded windows with an elaborate crown rooftop. The lift shaft inside is faced with 16 kinds of stone from the abbey's history, including Purbeck marble, Reigate stone, and Portland stone. The project took five years and cost £22.9m. The galleries were designed by McInnes Usher McKnight.
### Interior
Inside, the church has Purbeck marble piers and shafting. The vaulting of the roof is quadripartite, with ridge ribs and bosses, and at 102 feet (31 m), it is one of the highest church vaults in Britain. To fit in as many guests as possible during coronations, the transepts were designed to be unusually long and the choir placed to the east of the crossing rather than to the west; a feature also seen in Rheims Cathedral.
The nave was built slowly over the course of many centuries from the east end to the west end, and yet, because generations of builders stuck to the original design, it has a unified style. The only marker to show the long gap in building work between 1269 and 1376 is on the spandrels above the arches, which towards the earlier east end are decorated with diaper-work, and towards the west end, built later, are plain. Above the crossing, in the centre of the church, is a roof lantern, destroyed by a bomb in 1941 and restored by the architect Stephen Dykes Bower in 1958. In the choir aisles, shields of donors to the 13th- and 14th-century rebuilding are carved and painted in the spandrels of the arcade. At the eastern end of the nave is a large screen separating the nave from the choir, made of 13th-century stone but totally reworked by the architect Edward Blore in 1834 and with paintwork and gilding by Bower in the 1960s.
Behind the main altar, in the holiest part of the church, lies the shrine and tomb of Edward the Confessor. Saints' shrines were once common in English medieval churches, but most were destroyed during the English Reformation, and Edward is the only major English saint whose body still occupies his shrine. Arranged around him in a horseshoe shape are a series of tombs of medieval kings and their queens: Henry III, Eleanor of Castile, Edward I, Philippa of Hainault, Edward III, Anne of Bohemia, Richard II, and finally, Henry V in the centre of the horseshoe, at the eastern end. Henry III's tomb was originally covered in gold mosaic and coloured stone, but these have since been picked off by generations of tourists below the level of hand height. Above Henry V's tomb, at a mezzanine level hanging over the ambulatory, is a chantry chapel built by the mason John Thirske, decorated with many sculpted figures, including Henry V riding a horse, and being crowned in the abbey. At the western end, the shrine is separated from the main church by a stone reredos, closing off the shrine as a semi-private space. The screen depicts episodes from the saint's life, including his birth and the building of the abbey. The shrine is closed to the public except for special events.
The abbey includes side chapels radiating from the ambulatory. Many were originally included in the 13th-century rebuilding as special altars dedicated to individual saints, and many of the chapels still bear saints' names, e.g. St. Nicholas, St. Paul, etc. From the time of the English Reformation, saints' cults were no longer orthodox, and so instead the chapels were repurposed as places for extra burials and monuments. In the north ambulatory are the Islip Chapel, the Nurses' Memorial Chapel (sometimes called the "Nightingale Chapel"), the Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew, the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, and St. Paul's Chapel. The Islip Chapel is named after Abbot John Islip, who commissioned it in the 16th century. The screen inside is decorated with a visual pun on his name, showing an eye and a boy falling from a tree (eye-slip). There are further chapels within the eastern aisle of the north transept, named after (from south to north) St. John the Evangelist, St. Michael, and St. Andrew. In the south ambulatory are the chapels of St. Nicholas, St. Edmund, and St. Benedict.
The footprint of the south transept is by necessity smaller than the northern one, because the 13th-century builders butted against the pre-existing 11th-century cloisters. To make the transepts match, the south transept is built hanging over the western cloister. This allowed the creation of a room above the cloisters used to store the abbey muniments. In the south transept is the chapel of St. Faith, built c.1250 to serve as the vestry for the abbey monks. On the east wall is a painting of her, made c.1290–1310, showing her holding the grid-iron she was roasted to death on.
### Chapter house and Pyx Chamber
The chapter house was used by the abbey monks for daily meetings where they would hear a chapter of the Rule of St. Benedict and be given their instructions for the day from the abbot. It was also used by the King's Great Council and the House of Commons as a meeting chamber during the 14th century. The chapter house was built concurrently with the eastern parts of the abbey under Henry III, between about 1245 and 1253, and is one of the largest in Britain, measuring nearly 60 feet (18 m) across. For 300 years after the English Reformation, it was used to store state records, until these were moved to the Public Record Office in 1863. It was restored by George Gilbert Scott in 1872. The entrance is approached from the east cloister and includes a double doorway with a large tympanum above. Inner and outer vestibules lead to the octagonal chapter house. It is built in a Geometrical Gothic style with an octagonal crypt below and a pier of eight shafts carrying the vaulted ceiling. Around the sides are blind arcading and numerous stone benches, above which are large, four-light, quatre-foiled windows. The exterior includes flying buttresses added in the 14th century and a leaded tent-lantern roof on an iron frame designed by Scott.
The walls of the chapter house are decorated with 14th- and 15th-century paintings representing the Apocalypse, the Last Judgement, and birds and animals. The depiction of the Apocalypse is the only example in England. The chapter house also has an original mid-13th-century tiled floor. A wooden door within the vestibule was made with a tree felled 1032–1064 and is one of the oldest in Britain. It may have been the door to the 11th-century chapter house in Edward the Confessor's abbey, and was re-used as the door to the Pyx Chamber in the 13th century. Today it leads to an office.
The adjoining Pyx Chamber formed the undercroft of the monks' dormitory. It dates to the late 11th century and was used as a monastic and royal treasury. The outer walls and circular piers date from the 11th-century; several of the capitals were enriched in the 12th century, and the stone altar added in the 13th century. The term pyx refers to the boxwood chest in which coins were held and presented to a jury during the Trial of the Pyx, in which newly minted coins were presented to ensure they conformed to the required standards.
The chapter house and Pyx Chamber at Westminster Abbey are in the guardianship of English Heritage, but under the care and management of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster.
### Henry VII Chapel
The Henry VII Lady Chapel, also known simply as the Henry VII Chapel, is a large Lady chapel at the far eastern end of Westminster Abbey, paid for by the will of King Henry VII. The chapel is built in a very late Perpendicular Gothic style, the magnificence of which caused the English poet John Leland to call it the orbis miraculum (the wonder of the world). The tombs of several monarchs, including Edward V, Henry VII, Edward VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I, James I, Charles II, George II and Mary, Queen of Scots, are found in the chapel.
The chapel is noted for its pendant and fan vault ceiling, probably designed by William Vertue, which the writer Washington Irving said was "achieved with the wonderful minuteness and airy security of a cobweb". The interior walls are densely decorated with carvings, including 95 statues of saints. Many statues of saints in England were destroyed in the 17th century, so these are a rare survival. From the outside, the chapel is surrounded by flying buttresses, each taking the form of a polygonal tower topped with a cupola. At the centre of the chapel is the tomb of Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, made by the sculptor Pietro Torrigiano, who fled to England from Italy after getting into a fight with the artist Michaelangelo and breaking his nose.
The chapel has within it further sub-chapels radiating from the main structure. One of these to the north contains the tombs of Mary I and Elizabeth I, both coffins being within Elizabeth's monument; and another to the south contains the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots. Both monuments were commissioned by James I, the successor of Elizabeth to the English throne and the son of Mary, Queen of Scots. At the far eastern end is the RAF Chapel, with a stained-glass window dedicated to those who died in the Battle of Britain in 1940.
The chapel has also been the mother church of the Order of the Bath since 1725, and the banners of members hang above the stalls. The stalls themselves retain their medieval misericords – small ledges for monks to perch on during services, often decorated with varied and humorous carvings.
### Monastic buildings
Many of the rooms used by the monks still exist, only repurposed. The dormitory was turned into a library and a school room, and their offices have been converted into houses for the clergy. The abbot had his own lodgings and ate separately from the rest of the monks. The abbot's lodgings still exist but are now used by the Dean of Westminster, and are probably the oldest continuously occupied residence in London. They include the Jericho Parlour, built c.1520 and covered in wooden linenfold panelling, and the Jerusalem Chamber, which was the abbot's drawing room. The windows in the Jerusalem Chamber are stained glass and may have come from the original Lady Chapel which existed prior to the building of the Henry VII Chapel. The abbot also had a grand dining hall complete with minstrels' gallery, now used by Westminster School. The prior also had his own household separate from the monks, the remains of which form the core of Ashburnham House in Little Dean's Yard, now also part of Westminster School.
## Artworks and treasures
In the nave and transepts are sixteen crystal chandeliers made of handblown Waterford glass. They were designed by A. B. Read and Stephen Dykes Bower, and donated by the Guinness family in 1965 to commemorate the abbey's 900th anniversary. The choir stalls were designed by Edward Blore in 1848. Some stalls are assigned to high commissioners of countries in the Commonwealth of Nations.
Beyond the crossing to the west is the sacrarium, which contains the high altar. The abbey holds the 13th-century Westminster Retable, which is thought to be the altarpiece from Henry III's 13th-century church, in its collections. The present high altar and screen were designed by George Gilbert Scott between 1867 and 1873, and contain sculptures of Moses, St. Peter, St. Paul and King David made by the sculptor H. H. Armistead, and a mosaic of the Last Supper by the designer J. R. Clayton and the mosaic-maker Antonio Salviati.
The south transept contains wall paintings, made c.1300, which Richard Jenkyns calls "the grandest of their time remaining in England". They depict the apostle Thomas viewing Christ's stigmata and St. Christopher carrying the Christ child, and were discovered in 1934 behind two monuments. 14th-century paintings were also discovered during cleaning in 1923 on the backs of the sedilia, or seats used by priests on either side of the high altar. On the south side, there are three figures: Edward the Confessor, the angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary; and on the north side there are two kings, possibly Henry III and Edward I. They were walled off during the Commonwealth period by order of Parliament.
Over the Great West Door are ten statues of 20th-century Christian martyrs of various denominations, made by the abbey's craftsmen in 1998. Those commemorated are Maximilian Kolbe, Manche Masemola, Janani Luwum, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Martin Luther King Jr., Óscar Romero, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Esther John, Lucian Tapiedi, and Wang Zhiming.
From the chapter house is a doorway leading to the abbey's library, built as a dormitory for the monks and used as a library since the 16th century. The collection consists of around 16,000 volumes. Next to the library is the Muniment Room, where the abbey's store of historic archives is kept.
### Cosmati pavement
At the crossing, in front of Edward the Confessor's shrine and the main altar, is the Cosmati pavement, a 700-year-old tiled floor made of almost 90,000 pieces of coloured glass and stone. It is unique among all Cosmati floors in Europe for its use of dark Purbeck marble trays forming bold borders in place of the more typical white marble.
This is used as the coronation theatre for the monarchs of England.
It measures 24 feet and 10 inches square. As opposed to traditional mosaic work, the pieces are not cut to a uniform size, being instead made with a technique known as opus sectile ("cut work").
The floor is named after the Cosmati family in Rome who were known for such work. It was commissioned by Richard Ware, who travelled to Rome in 1258 when he became Abbot, and returned with stone and artists. The porphyry used was originally quarried as far away as Egypt, and was presumably brought to Italy during the days of the Roman Empire. When it was made, it was surrounded by an inscription in brass letters, since lost, written in Latin, giving the name of the artist as Odericus, probably referring to designer Pietro di Oderisio or his son.
The Cosmati Pavement's design has multiple layers of symbolism, and has been linked to the Classical philosophy and geometry of Plato and particularly the geometry of the rhombic dodecahedron, serving as a geometric allegory for diversity, society, kingship and good governance. Together with the spiral columns of the nearby shrine of Edward the Confessor also installed by Henry III, its resemblance to the floorplan and dimensions of the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon Mercian royal baptistry and mausoleum at Repton has also been noted.
The inscription also predicts the end of the world 19,863 years after the creation of the world. The pavement is depicted in the 16th-century painting The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein. The Cosmati Pavement influenced later floor treatments at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, and the stately architecture of later buildings including Banqueting House and Soulton Hall.
### Stained glass
The 13th-century abbey's windows would have been filled with stained glass, but much of this was destroyed in the English Civil War and The Blitz and replaced with clear, plain glass. Since the 19th century, new stained glass has replaced clear glass, designed by artists such as Ninian Comper (on the north side of the nave), Hugh Easton and Alan Younger (in the Henry VII Chapel).
The north rose window was designed by James Thornhill and made by Joshua Price in 1722 and shows Christ, the apostles (not including Judas Iscariot), and the Four Evangelists. In the centre is the Bible. The window was restored by J. L. Pearson in the 19th century, during which the figures of the feet were cut off. Thornhill also designed the great west window, which shows the Biblical figures of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with representatives of the Twelve Tribes of Israel underneath.
In the Henry VII Chapel, the west window was designed by John Lawson and unveiled in 1995. It depicts coats of arms and cyphers of Westminster Abbey's benefactors, in particular John Templeton, whose coat of arms is depicted prominently in the lower panel. In the centre are shown the arms of Elizabeth II. The central east window is designed by Alan Younger and was unveiled in 2000. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It depicts the Hale Bopp comet, which was passing over the artist's house at the time, as the star of Bethlehem. The donors of the window, Lord and Lady Harris of Peckham, are shown kneeling at the bottom.
In 2018, the artist David Hockney unveiled a new stained-glass window for the north transept, designed to celebrate the reign of Elizabeth II. It shows a countryside scene inspired by his native Yorkshire, with hawthorn blossoms and blue skies. Hockney used an iPad to design the window to replicate the backlight that comes through stained glass.
## Burials and memorials
From the death of Henry III in 1272 until the death of George II in 1760, most kings and queens were buried in the abbey. Monarchs buried there include Edward the Confessor, Henry III, Edward I, Edward III, Richard II, Henry V, Edward V, Henry VII, Edward VI, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, James I, Charles II, Mary II, William III, Queen Anne, and George II. Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots were the last monarchs to be buried with full tomb effigies; monarchs buried after them are commemorated in the abbey with simple inscriptions. Most monarchs after George II have been buried either in St. George's Chapel, Windsor or at the Frogmore Royal Burial Ground to the east of Windsor Castle.
For much of the abbey's history, most of the people buried there besides monarchs were people with a connection to the church – either ordinary locals or the monks of the abbey itself, who were generally buried without surviving markers. Since the 18th century, it has become one of Britain's most significant honours to be buried or commemorated in the abbey. The practice of burying national figures in the abbey began under Oliver Cromwell with the burial of Admiral Robert Blake in 1657 (although he was subsequently reburied outside), and spread to include generals, admirals, politicians, doctors and scientists. It was much boosted by the lavish funeral and monument of Isaac Newton, who died in 1727.
In 1864, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley was appointed dean of the abbey, and was very influential in turning it into a "national church". He invited popular preachers to draw in large congregations, and attracted crowds by arranging for celebrities of the day to be buried in the abbey, such as the writer Charles Dickens, the explorer David Livingstone, and the scientist Charles Darwin — even when those people had expressed wishes to be buried elsewhere.
Politicians buried in the abbey include Pitt the Elder, Charles James Fox, Pitt the Younger, William Gladstone, and Clement Attlee. A cluster of scientists surrounds the tomb of Isaac Newton, including Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking. Actors include David Garrick, Henry Irving, and Laurence Olivier. Musicians tend to be buried in the north aisle of the nave, and include Muzio Clementi, Henry Purcell, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. George Frideric Handel is buried in Poets' Corner.
During the early 20th century, it became increasingly common to bury cremated remains rather than coffins in the abbey. In 1905, the actor Sir Henry Irving was cremated and his ashes buried in Westminster Abbey, thereby becoming the first person to be cremated before interment at the abbey. The majority of modern interments are of cremated remains, but some burials still take place, such as that of Frances Challen, wife of Sebastian Charles, Canon of Westminster, who was buried alongside her husband in the south choir aisle in 2014. Members of the Percy family have a family vault, the Northumberland Vault, in St Nicholas' Chapel within the abbey.
### Poets' Corner
The south transept of the church is nicknamed Poets' Corner because of its high concentration of burials and memorials to poets and writers. The first was Geoffrey Chaucer, buried around 1400, who was employed as master of the King's Works and had apartments in the abbey. Nearly 200 years later in 1599, a second poet, Edmund Spenser, who was local to the abbey, was buried nearby. However, the idea of a poets' corner did not fully crystallise until the 18th century, when memorials were established to writers buried elsewhere, such as William Shakespeare and John Milton. Since then, writers buried in Poets' Corner include John Dryden, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Charles Dickens, and Rudyard Kipling. However, not all writers buried in the abbey are in the south transept: Ben Jonson is buried standing upright in the north aisle of the nave, and Aphra Behn in the cloisters.
### The Unknown Warrior
On the floor, just inside the Great West Door, in the centre of the nave, is the grave of The Unknown Warrior, an unidentified soldier killed on a European battlefield during the First World War. Although many countries have adopted the tradition of a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Warrior, the one in Westminster Abbey was the first, and came about as a response to the unprecedented death rate of the war. The idea came from army chaplain David Railton, who suggested the idea in 1920. The funeral was held on the second anniversary of the end of the war, 11 November 1920. The Unknown Warrior lay in state for a week afterwards, and an estimated 1.25 million people viewed him in that time. This grave is the only one in the abbey on which it is forbidden to walk, and every visit by a foreign head of state begins with a visit to the tomb.
## Royal occasions
The abbey has strong connections with the royal family, being patronised by various monarchs; as the location for coronations, royal weddings and funerals; and where several monarchs have attended services. In addition, one monarch was born and one died at Westminster Abbey. In 1413, Henry IV collapsed while praying at the shrine of Edward the Confessor. He was moved into the Jerusalem Chamber and died shortly afterwards. Between 1470 and 1471, because of fallout from the Wars of the Roses, Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of Edward IV, took sanctuary at Westminster Abbey while her husband was deposed, and gave birth to the future Edward V in the abbot's house. The first jubilee celebration held at the abbey was for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. Rather than wearing the full regalia that she had worn at her coronation, instead she wore her ordinary black mourning clothes topped with the insignia of the Order of the Garter and a miniature crown. She sat in the Coronation Chair, which was given a coat of dark varnish for the occasion which afterwards had to be painstakingly removed, making her the only monarch to have sat in the chair twice. Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, also marked their silver, gold, and diamond wedding anniversaries with services at the abbey, and regularly attended annual observances there for Commonwealth Day.
The monarch participates in the Office of the Royal Maundy on Maundy Thursday each year, during which selected elderly people receive alms consisting of coins, given out to as many people of each sex as the monarch has years of their life. Since 1952, the service moved to various churches around the country, returning to the abbey every 10 years.
### Coronations
Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, a total of 40 English and British monarchs (not counting Edward V, Lady Jane Grey, and Edward VIII, who were never crowned) have been crowned in Westminster Abbey. In 1216, Henry III could not be crowned in the abbey, as London was captured by hostile forces at the time. He was crowned in Gloucester Cathedral and later had a second coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1220. When he had the abbey rebuilt in the 13th century, it was designed with future coronations in mind, with long transepts to accommodate many guests.
The area of the church used is the crossing, known in the abbey as the theatre because of its particular suitability for such grand events. Rather than being filled with immovable pews as in many similar churches, the space in the crossing is clear, allowing for temporary seating to be installed in the transepts.
The Coronation Chair, the throne on which English and British sovereigns have been seated at the moment of crowning, is housed within the abbey in St. George's Chapel near the west door, and has been used at coronations since the 14th century. From 1301 to 1996 (except for a short time in 1950 when the stone was temporarily stolen by Scottish nationalists), the chair also housed the Stone of Scone upon which the kings of Scots were crowned. Although it has been kept in Scotland, at Edinburgh Castle, since 1996, it is intended that the stone will be returned temporarily to the Coronation Chair for use during coronation ceremonies. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the chair was freely accessible to the public, who were able to sit in it, leading to some even carving initials into the woodwork.
Much of the order of service still derives from an illuminated manuscript called the Liber Regalis, made in 1377 for the coronation of Richard II and held in the abbey's collections.
Prior to the 17th century, when a king married after his coronation, he would hold a separate coronation for his new queen. The last of these to take place in the abbey was the coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533, after her marriage to Henry VIII. There have been a total of 15 separate coronations for queen consorts in the abbey. A coronation for Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, was planned, but she died before it took place, and no coronations were planned for his subsequent wives. Mary I's husband, Philip of Spain, was not given a separate coronation for fear that he would attempt to rule alone after Mary's death. Since then, there have been few opportunities for a second coronation, as monarchs have generally come to the throne already married. In 1170, Henry II held a separate coronation at Westminster Abbey for his son, known as Henry the Young King, while he, Henry II, was still alive, in an attempt to secure the succession. However, the Young King died before his father, so never took the throne.
Many new monarchs have presented the abbey with a gift of fine fabric at their coronation. Some have given as little as a symbolic scrap, but some give more: George V donated new altar cloths, and George VI and Elizabeth II each gave enough to make new vestments for the abbey clergy.
On 6 May 2023, the coronation of Charles III took place at the abbey.
### Royal weddings
Prior to the 20th century, royal weddings at the abbey were relatively rare, with royals often being married in a Chapel Royal or at Windsor Castle. This changed with the 1922 wedding of Princess Mary at the abbey, which successfully started a trend. In 1923, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became the first royal bride to leave her bouquet on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, a practice continued by many royal brides since.
Royal weddings have included:
### Royal funerals
Many royal funerals have taken place at the abbey, dating to that of Edward the Confessor in 1066. Until the 18th century, many English and British monarchs were buried here.
In 1290, Eleanor of Castile, queen of Edward I, died in Nottinghamshire. Over the course of several days, the body was brought to Westminster Abbey, and at each of the places the cortège rested, an Eleanor cross was erected in memory. The most famous of these is Charing Cross, the last stop before the funeral. Eleanor of Castile is buried in the abbey alongside her husband.
In 1483, the boy king Edward V and his brother, Richard (known collectively as the Princes in the Tower), disappeared while preparing for Edward's coronation at the Tower of London. Although it is not known for sure what happened to the boys, historians have suspected their uncle, who became Richard III, of having them murdered. In 1674, the remains of two children were discovered at the Tower, and were buried in Westminster Abbey with royal honours. In 1933, the bones were studied by an anatomist who suggested that they might indeed be the remains of the two princes. Requests to test the DNA of the bones to determine their provenance have been refused, both by the abbey and Queen Elizabeth II, with a spokesperson for the abbey saying, "the mortal remains of two young children [...] should not be disturbed".
Although not a royal funeral, the burial of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell took place at the abbey in 1658 with full honours normally only given to monarchs. On top of the coffin lay an effigy of Cromwell complete with crown. After the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the body of Cromwell was dug up and thrown in a pit.
In 1926, the body of Queen Alexandra lay in state in the abbey. On 6 September 1997 the formal, though not state funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, was held at the abbey. It was a royal ceremonial funeral including royal pageantry and Anglican funeral liturgy. In the run-up to the funeral, the railings of the abbey were swamped with flowers and tributes, and the event was more widely witnessed than any previous occasion in the abbey's history, with 2 billion television viewers worldwide. A second public service was held on the following Sunday. The burial occurred privately on 6 September in the grounds of her family estate, Althorp, on a private island.
On 19 September 2022, the state funeral of Elizabeth II took place at the abbey before her burial at St George's Chapel, Windsor. It was the first funeral of a monarch at Westminster Abbey for more than 260 years.
## Dean and Chapter
Westminster Abbey is a collegiate church governed by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, as established by royal charter of Elizabeth I dated 21 May 1560, which created it as the Collegiate Church of St. Peter Westminster, a royal peculiar under the personal jurisdiction of the sovereign. The members of the Chapter are the dean and four canons residentiary; they are assisted by the Receiver General and Chapter Clerk. One of the canons is also Rector of the adjoining St Margaret's Church, Westminster, and often also holds the post of Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons. In addition to the dean and canons, there are at present three full-time minor canons: the precentor, the sacrist and the chaplain. A series of priests vicar assist the minor canons.
## King's Almsmen
An establishment of six King's (or Queen's) Almsmen and women is supported by the abbey; they are appointed by royal warrant on the recommendation of the dean and the Home Secretary, attend Matins and Evensong on Sundays and do such duties as may be requested (in return for which they receive a small stipend); when on duty they wear a distinctive red gown with a crowned rose badge on the left shoulder. From the late 18th until the late 20th century the almsmen were usually ex-servicemen, but today they are mostly retired employees of the abbey. Historically, the King's Almsmen and women were retired Crown servants residing in the Royal Almshouse at which existed at Westminster. These were established by Henry VII in connection with his building of the new Lady Chapel, to support the priests of his chantry by offering daily prayer. The Royal Almshouse survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but was demolished for road-widening in 1779.
## Schools
Westminster School is located in the precincts of the abbey. Teaching certainly took place from the fourteenth century, alongside the monks of the abbey, but the school regards its founder as Elizabeth I, who dissolved the monastery for the final time and provided for the establishment of the school alongside a dean of the abbey, canons, and assistant clergy and lay officers. The schoolboys have added to the history of the abbey, often with their rambunctiousness: Westminster boys have defaced the Coronation Chair, disrupted services, and once interrupted a consecration of four bishops by starting a bare-knuckle fight in the cloisters. One schoolboy carved upon the Coronation Chair that he had slept in overnight, making him probably its longest inhabitant. In 1868, Westminster School became independent of the abbey Dean and Chapter, although the two institutions are still closely connected.
Separately, Westminster Abbey Choir School is also located within the abbey grounds and exclusively educates the choirboys who sing for abbey services.
## Music
Andrew Nethsingha has served as Organist and Master of the Choristers since 2023. Peter Holder is the sub-organist, Matthew Jorysz is the assistant organist and Dewi Rees is the current organ scholar.
### Choir
Since its foundation in the fourteenth century, the primary role of the Westminster Abbey choir has been to sing for daily services while also playing a central role in many state occasions, including royal weddings and funerals, coronations and memorial services for national and international figures. The choir also pursues a varied programme of recordings, concerts and tours, both nationally and internationally.
### Organ
The first record of an organ at Westminster Abbey was a gift of three marks from Henry III in 1240 for the repair of one or more organs. Unum parem organorum ("a pair of organs") was recorded in the Lady Chapel in 1304. An inventory compiled for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540 shows a pair of organs in the quire and another pair in the Jesus Chapel. During the Commonwealth, a Royalist source claimed that soldiers who were billeted in the abbey, "brake downe the Organ, and pawned the pipes at severall Ale-houses for pots of Ale"; however, an organ was played at the Restoration in 1660, suggesting that it was not completely destroyed. In 1720, an organ gifted by George II and built by Christopher Shrider was installed over the quire screen; organs had previously been hidden in the north of the quire. This instrument was fully rebuilt by William Hill & Son in 1848.
A new organ was built by Harrison & Harrison in 1937, with four manuals and 84 speaking stops, and was used publicly for the first time at the coronation of George VI and Elizabeth that year. Some pipework from the previous Hill organ of 1848 was revoiced and incorporated into the new scheme. The two organ cases, designed and built in the late 19th century by J. L. Pearson, were reinstated and coloured in 1959.
In 1982 and 1987 Harrison & Harrison enlarged the organ at the direction of Simon Preston to include an additional lower choir organ and a bombarde organ. The full instrument has five manuals and 109 speaking stops. In 2006 the console of the organ was refurbished by Harrison & Harrison, and space was prepared for two additional 16 ft stops on both the lower choir organ and the bombarde organ.
### Bells
The current bells at the Abbey were installed in the north-west tower in 1971. The ring is made up of ten bells, hung for change ringing, that were cast in 1971 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry and tuned to the notes F#, E, D, C#, B, A, G, F#, E and D. The tenor bell in D (588.5 Hz) has a weight of 30 cwt, 1 qtr, 15 lb (3403 lb or 1544 kg).
In addition, there are two service bells cast by Robert Mot in 1585 and 1598, a sanctus bell cast in 1738 by Richard Phelps and Thomas Lester, and two unused bells — one cast about 1320, and a second cast in 1742 by Thomas Lester. The two service bells and the 1320 bell, along with a fourth small silver "dish bell", kept in the refectory, have been noted as being of historical importance by the Church Buildings Council of the Church of England.
In 1255, the Brethren of the Guild of Westminster had the duty of ringing the bells for a fee of one hundred shillings per annum. A voluntary group, the Westminster Abbey Company of Ringers, was founded in 1921 to continue the tradition.
## Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry whose spiritual home is the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one of its elements. Members are given stalls, complete with their banner, crest and stallplate, at installation ceremonies at the abbey every four years. The order was founded by George I in 1725. There are far many more members than stalls, and so some members wait many years for their installation.
The Order consists of the monarch, the Great Master, and three Classes of members:
- Knight Grand Cross (GCB) or Dame Grand Cross (GCB)
- Knight Commander (KCB) or Dame Commander (DCB)
- Companion (CB)
The Order of the Bath is the fourth-most senior of the British Orders of Chivalry, after The Most Noble Order of the Garter, The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, and The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick (dormant).
## The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries
The Westminster Abbey Museum was located in the 11th-century vaulted undercroft beneath the former monks' dormitory. This is one of the oldest areas of the abbey, dating almost to the foundation of the church by Edward the Confessor in 1065. This space had been used as a museum since 1908 but was closed to the public in June 2018, when it was replaced as a museum by the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, high up in the abbey's triforium, and accessed by the new Weston Tower, enclosing a lift and stairs.
The exhibits include a set of life-size effigies of English and British monarchs and their consorts, originally made to lie on the coffin in the funeral procession or to be displayed over the tomb. The effigies date from the 14th to the 18th century, and some include original clothes.
On display in the galleries is a portrait of the Queen called The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, painted by the artist Ralph Heimans, depicting the monarch standing on the Cosmati pavement of Westminster Abbey, where she was crowned in 1953. Other exhibits include a model of an unbuilt tower, designed by architect Christopher Wren; a paper model of the abbey showing Queen Victoria's 1837 coronation; and the wedding licence of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, who were married in the abbey in 2011.
## In popular culture
Westminster Abbey is mentioned in the play Henry VIII written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, when a gentleman describes the scene of Anne Boleyn's coronation.
The abbey has been mentioned in poetry as early as 1598, in a sonnet by the clergyman Thomas Bastard, which begins "When I behold, with deep astonishment/ To famous Westminster how there restort/ Living in brass or stony monument/ The princes and the worthies of all sort". Poetry about the abbey has also been written by Francis Beaumont and John Betjeman.
The building has appeared in paintings by artists such as Canaletto, Wenceslaus Hollar, William Bruce Ellis Ranken, and J. M. W. Turner.
Key scenes in the book and film The Da Vinci Code take place in Westminster Abbey. In 2005, the abbey refused filming permission to the producers of the film, calling the book "theologically unsound". Instead, the film uses Lincoln Cathedral as a stand-in for the abbey. The abbey issued a factsheet to their staff to allow them to answer questions from fans that debunked several claims made in the book.
In 2022, it was announced that the abbey had given rare permission for filming inside the church for the film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.
## See also
- Coronation of Charles III and Camilla
- Coronation of the British monarch
- Archdeacon of Westminster
- Dean of Westminster
- List of churches in London
- The Abbey (a three-part BBC TV documentary written and hosted by playwright Alan Bennett)
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3,436,857 |
Aksumite currency
| 1,171,620,528 |
Coinage produced and used in the Kingdom of Aksum
|
[
"Aksumite Empire",
"Currencies of ancient Africa",
"Numismatics"
] |
Aksumite currency was coinage produced and used within the Kingdom of Aksum (or Axum) centered in present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia. Its mintages were issued and circulated from the reign of King Endubis around AD 270 until it began its decline in the first half of the 7th century. During the succeeding medieval period, Mogadishu currency, minted by the Sultanate of Mogadishu, was the most widely circulated currency in the Horn of Africa.
Aksum's currency serves as an indicator of the kindom's contemporary cultural influences and religious climate (first polytheistic and later Oriental Christianity). It also facilitated the Red Sea trade on which it thrived. The coinage has also proved invaluable in providing a reliable chronology of Aksumite kings due to the lack of extensive archaeological work in the area.
## Origins
### Pre-coinage period
Though the issuing of minted coins didn't begin until around 270, metal coins may have been used in Aksum centuries prior to centralized minting. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions that the Aksumite state imported brass (Greek: ορείχαλκος, romanized: orikhalkos), "which they use[d] for ornaments and for cutting as money", and they imported "a little money (denarion) for [use by] foreigners who live there." It can be inferred, therefore, that early Aksumite kings, located on the international trading waters of the Red Sea, recognized the utility of a standardized currency for facilitating both domestic and international trade.
### Influences
Though Aksumite coins are indigenous in design and creation, some outside influences encouraging the use of coins is undeniable. By the time coins were first minted in Aksum, there was widespread trade with Romans on the Red Sea; Kushana or Persian influence also cannot be ruled out. Roman, Himyarite, and Kushana coins have all been found in major Aksumite cities, however, only very small quantities have been attested and the circulation of foreign currency seems to have been limited. Though South Arabian kingdoms had also minted coins, they had already gone out of use by the time of certain Aksumite involvement in South Arabia under GDRT, and only very rarely produced electrum or gold denominations (silver mainly in Saba' and Himyar, while bronze in Hadhramaut), making influence unlikely. The major impetus, however, was not emulation but economical; the Red Sea and its coasts had always been an international trade area and coins would greatly facilitate trade and wealth in the now "world power." Despite these influences, the coins were of genuinely indigenous design, and foreign influences were relatively weak and few in number.
## Pre-Christian period
Aksumite currency were first minted in the later stages of the growth of the empire, when its Golden Age had already begun. The minting of coins began around 270, beginning with the reign of Endubis.
## Source of materials
### Gold
Gold seems to have been acquired from a number of sources. Gold probably came from Sasu (southern Sudan), as well as more nearby Ethiopian sources, though the latter isn't well documented for the north. A gold trade from the southern areas of Ethiopia such as the medieval province/kingdom of Innarya has been attested from the 6th century (i.e. from the writings of Cosmas Indicopleustes) and continued through James Bruce's day (18th century). Ethiopian Trade with modern Zimbabwe for gold was also a source.Gold also came from more northerly sources such as Gojjam, Beja lands, and what is now Eritrea, though the latter two are less certain. However, a recent gold exploration assay in Eritrea has found significant gold deposits at Emba Derho, and deposits are also attested at Zara in central-western Eritrea.
### Silver and others
While local sources of gold are attested during the Aksumite era, silver seems to have been rarer in Aksum. No mention of silver mines in the region exist until the 15th and 16th centuries. Though silver was imported as attested by the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, given the preponderance of silver coins, it could not have been the only source of silver in Aksum. Furthermore, a significant number of the silver coins contain gold inlays (presumably to increase the value), which would have been unnecessary if silver were so rare that it had to be mainly imported. Silver may have been obtained from the refinement of gold, which sometimes occurs naturally with silver in an alloy called electrum. Copper and bronze do not seem to have existed locally in the Aksumite empire, though they were noted as imports in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
## Value
Though the gold coins were certainly the most valuable issue, followed by the silver one, the exact relationship between the three issues (gold, silver, and bronze) is not known. The supply of gold was closely controlled by the Aksumite state, as noted by Cosmas Indicopleustes, and other precious metals were undoubtedly also closely controlled, allowing the Aksumite state to ensure the usage of its currency.
The quality of the Aksumite coins were also closely controlled, usually of high purity. For example, the lowest purity of gold recorded thus far for Aphilas is 90 percent. Early issues were often very close to their theoretical weights, and some were even over.) However, the weight of the coins tended to decrease over time (though not continuously or uniformly). This may have reflected a desire to conform to the Diocletian monetary reform of 301, when the aureus was decreased from 1⁄60 of a Roman pound to 1⁄72. Despite decreases in weight, the purity of the gold was largely maintained, even by later kings. The relative abundance of Aksumite coins as well as the many that have yet to be found indicate that Aksum must have had access to large quantities of gold.
## Design
The coins were often inscribed in Greek, as much of its trade was with the "Graecised Orient." Later inscriptions made more use of Ge'ez, the language of the Aksumites, perhaps indicating a decline in its use for more international trade (i.e. with Rome and India). The obverse of the coins would always feature an image of the king (almost always in profile) wearing either a crown or helmet/regnal headcloth. The headcloth had some image perhaps representing pleats, rays, or sunburst in the front, as well as the tied end of a cloth or fillet to hold the helmet or headcloth in place. Most coins also included an inscription (usually in Greek) meaning "King of Aksum" or King of the Aksumites" (Basileus AXWMITW). However, many coins were also minted anonymously (or even posthumously), especially during the 5th century. Inscriptions on the coins could include a bisi name ("man of," Ge'ez: bə'əsyä ብእስየ) or an epithet (beginning with Əllä, Ge'ez: እለ "he who") in addition to the king's personal name. Bisi names were used more often in conjuncture with personal names on earlier coins, while the epithets were more common in later years, being the only inscribed name in a few sources. Greek text was used in conjunction with Ge'ez script inscriptions, but was the only language used on the gold coins, with the exception of the Ge'ez language coins of Wazeba and MHDYS. Over time, the Greek used on the coins (gold, silver and bronze) deteriorated, indicative of Aksum's decline. Moreover, beginning with MHDYS for bronze coins and Wazeba for silver coins, Ge'ez gradually replaced Greek on the legends.
### Mottoes
Aksumite coins used a number of mottoes throughout the period in which they were minted, beginning in the early 4th century. Around this time, numerous anonymous bronze coins with simply Βασιλεύς (Basileus, "King") on the obverse were minted by either King Ezana or one of his successors. The coins bore the first example of an Aksumite motto on the reverse, "May this please the people" (Greek: ΤΟΥΤΟΑΡΕΣΗΤΗΧΩΡΑ). It was later written in unvocalized Ge'ez as "ለሐዘበ ፡ ዘየደአ" LʾḤZB ZYDʾ and under King Kaleb also "ለሀገረ ፡ ዘየደአ" LHGR ZYDʾ, "may this please the city [country]." Similar mottoes were used by other kings. Coins of the early 7th-century Emperor Armah had inscribed on the back "ፈሰሐ ፡ ለየከነ ፡ ለአዘሐበ" FŚḤ LYKN LʾḤZB (vocalization: ፍሥሓ ፡ ለይኲን ፡ ለአሕዛብ ፡ fiśśiḥā la-yikwin la-'aḥzāb, "Let the people be glad," lit. "Gladness let there be to the peoples").
## Kings
Coins were made in the name of eighteen Aksumite kings from c. 295 until c. 620: Endybis, Aphilas, Ousanas I, WZB, Ezana, Ouazebas, Eon, MHDYS, Ebana, Nezana, Ousanas II, Kaleb, Armah, Ella Gabaz, Israel, Gersem, Joel, and Hethasas.
### Endybis
Endubis, the first known Aksumite king to mint coins, focused almost entirely on his image on both the obverse and reverse. The images were of his head and upper half of his chest in profile, wearing a regnal headcloth or helmet and abundant jewelry. In addition to inscribing his regnal name, Endybis also noted his "bisi name, a practice continued by his early successors, but often missing in later coins. The bisi name was a sort of tribal affiliation or "ethnikon" (i.e. a reference to the king's lineage) that was different for every king. Endybis also emphasized his religion through the pre-Christian symbol of the disk and crescent as a propaganda method (a purpose which the coins already served). A second motif used by Enybis and continued by following coins was that of two (though sometimes one in later years) ears of barley or wheat around the image of his head in profile. Though no inscriptional evidence exists, given its prominent position around the image of the king, the two ears of barley (or wheat) may have been representative symbols of the Aksumite state. Though later coins would be smaller, Endybis chose the Roman aureus to standardize Aksumite coin weights against, with gold issues at half-aureus around 2.70 grams (more precisely, the theoretical weight may have been 2.725g).
### Aphilas
Whereas all of Endubis's coins feature the king with a headcloth or helmet, Aphilas's coins show the king wearing an impressive high crown on top of the headcloth. The crown featured colonnades of arches supporting high spikes, on top of which rested large discs of unidentified composition. In addition to the crown and headcloth, Aphilas's coins included further images of regalia, such as a spear, a branch with berries, the depiction of the arms, the addition of tassels with fringes to the imperial robe, and more jewelry, such as amulets and bracelets. Despite this innovation, Aphilas continued to use the image of himself in the regnal headcloth in some coins, sometimes as the reverse, while his crowned image is only found on the obverse.
One of his issues included his frontal image on the obverse, which ended with his reign and was only revived by the late kings. Two other minting features of Aphilas were also abandoned by later rulers. One of these was the use of just the inscription "King Aphilas" as the reverse of a coin, the only purely epigraphical side ever used on an Aksumite coin. The other was his use of a single ear of barley or wheat as a reverse, though his use of two ears circling around the king's image continued.
Aphilas introduced a number of different standards for all three metals, some of which lasted through to the 7th century, while the use of others ended with his reign. His new gold coins (issued in conjunction with the older) of a quarter aureus and eighth aureus were soon abandoned (each are known from only one specimen), and 1/16 aureus coins have been found, though these are more likely to be deliberate debasements to increase profit (Aksumite gold was generally very pure, however). Aphilas's silver coin, however, issued at half the weight of the former, became the new Aksumite standard for silver up until the end of coinage. The older coin was presumably more valuable than needed, and the new coin remedied the problem. Aphilas's bronze issue, however, was instead doubled to 4.83 grams. The coin's rarity may attest to its quick withdrawal from the market, as is assumed with his quarter-aureus. These two issues are the only one of Aphilas's issues to portray him frontally, rather than in profile.
### Ezana
During Ezana's reign a major change in both the Aksumite kingdom and its coinage took place as a result of the change of the official religion to Christianity, one of the first states ever to do so. While Ezana's coins in the first half of his reign are almost identical to those of Aphilas, barring minimal weight reductions, those of his second half employ revolutionary designs. With his conversion to Christianity, Ezana began to feature the Cross on his coins, the first time the Christian cross had ever been featured in coinage in the world. Some of his gold Christian coins are of the weight before Constantine I's weight reform in 324, indicating a conversion before this date or perhaps a few years after, as the Aksumite coinage may not have changed weights immediately. Along with the adoption of the Cross on his coins came, of course, the abandonment of the star and crescent symbol on the coins. Later Christian coins reflect the adoptment of the 4.54 g standard by Constantine, with theoretical weights in Aksumite coins likewise dropping to 1.70 g for the gold coins.
Coins of Ezana without any symbol at all have also been found, along with similar symbolless coins of his father, Ousanas. These may reflect a transition in the religion in Aksum when Frumentius was influencing Ezana's father and gathering Christians in the country, giving weight to the writings of Rufinus. The lack of symbol altogether may reflect an uncertainty as how best to exhibit the change in religion of the Aksumite state.
## Weight standards
### Gold coins
The gold coin weighed on average 2.5-2.8 grams and was 15–21 mm in diameter at the start of issue, in 270-300. This would make it half an Aureus which weighed 4.62-6.51 grams at the time of Probus. The issue of Israel (570-600) weighed 1.5 grams and was 17 mm in diameter. The Roman solidus of Maurice Tiberius was 4.36-4.47 grams. A majority of these coins were found in South Arabia and not Aksum. The name is unknown so it is referred to as an AU Unit.
### Silver coinage
Also starting with Endubis these coins were 2.11-2.5 grams in weight which is half the weight of a Roman antoninianus of 3.5-4.5 grams. A Denarius in the early 3rd century was 2.5-3.00 grams of 52 percent or less of silver, but the Aksum coins were almost pure silver at first later debased. The name is unknown so it is referred to as an AR Unit.
### Base coinage
Most bronze and silver coins have mainly been found in Aksum territory, with very few pieces found in Judea, Meroë and Egypt. They are based roughly on the size of older Roman As and Sestertius in shape and thickness. The design also developed like Roman coins in first being good but then the pictures turn archaic and non recognisable. The name is unknown so it is referred to as an Æ diameter in mm Unit, like Æ17 for a coin of 17 mm.
## Trade
At the time of Aksum's minting of currency, the state already had a long trade history with Greece, Rome, the Persian Empire, and India. That coinage began so late is in fact a little surprising. The late use of coinage may be attributed to the lack of a developed economy, required for coinage to be accepted. Most Aksumite coins were found in the large trade centres with very few in remote villages, where trade would be more through barter and not coinage based. In fact, the motivation for Aksum's initial minting of coins was for foreign trade and markets, as evidenced by the use of Greek on most of its coins. Moreover, gold coins seem to have been intended primarily for external trade, while copper and silver coins probably mainly circulated within the Aksumite empire, as the gold issues generally specified "king of the Aksumites" as title of the Aksumite king, whereas the title of silver and copper issues generally only read "king." International use of Aksumite coins seems to have begun early on, as coins of King Ezana and even of King Aphilas (the second Aksumite ruler to issue coins) have been found in India.
## Decline
During the 7th century, Aksumite power began to fail, and Ethiopian society began to withdraw further into the highland hinterlands, with the coastal areas becoming peripheral areas. The coins continued circulation, but were restricted to more local areas such as Nubia, South Arabia and the Horn of Africa.
## Archaeology
Due to the nature of the coins (e.g. providing kings' names), they have proved essential in constructing a chronology of the Kings of Aksum. An estimated 98 percent of the city of Aksum remains unexcavated, and other areas even more so. Through analysis of the number of coins produced and the style of coins, archaeologists have been able to construct a rough chronology, generally agreed upon until the late 6th- and 7th-century kings. Of the 20 Aksumite Kings attested by their coins, inscriptions corroborate the existence of only two, who happen to be the most famous kings: Ezana and Kaleb, both of whose reigns were periods of exceptional prosperity during the height of the Aksumite kingdom.
Many coins have been found in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, the central region of Aksum, though Aksumite coins are reported to have been found in Arato and Lalibela. Many coins have been also found further afield. Numerous hoards of coins (always gold save one silver coin) have been found in Southern Arabia, much more than in Aksum itself, attesting perhaps to an Aksumite presence in parts of the region (perhaps supporting the use of titles claiming control over parts of South Arabia from GDRT's time). The hoards may be the remnants of hoards left in Kaleb's time (perhaps used to pay soldiers), when it was under an Aksumite governor. Outside of the Horn of Africa and Arabian Peninsula, coins have been found as far as Israel, Meroe, Egypt, and India. Silver and copper coins are mainly found in Aksum, though some can be traced to Palestinian pilgrim centers.
In addition to historical evidence, the coins' use of Ge'ez provides valuable linguistic information. Though rarely used, the vocalization of Ge'ez sometimes employed on Aksumite coins allows linguists to analyze vowel changes and shifts that cannot be represented in the older Semitic abjads such as Hebrew, Arabic, South Arabian, and earlier, unvocalized Ge'ez.
## See also
- History of Ethiopia
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2009 Royal Mail industrial disputes
| 1,054,412,762 |
None
|
[
"2009 in the United Kingdom",
"2009 labor disputes and strikes",
"Labour disputes in the United Kingdom",
"Postal strikes",
"Royal Mail labour relations"
] |
The 2009 Royal Mail industrial disputes is an industrial dispute in the United Kingdom involving Royal Mail and members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which began in the summer of 2009. It was the country's first industrial action involving postal workers since 2007 and came about after the Communication Workers Union accused Royal Mail of refusing to enter into dialogue regarding how the implementation of modernisation plans would affect the job security of postal workers.
The strike action began on a local level after postal workers at Royal Mail offices in London and Edinburgh accused their bosses of cutting jobs and services, which they claimed broke the 2007 Pay and Modernisation Agreement, the agreement that was struck to end the 2007 strikes, and accused Royal Mail of threatening modernisation of the service. After a series of localised walkouts over the summer months, and after failing to reach an agreement, the CWU opened a national ballot for industrial action in September 2009.
On 8 October, it was announced that postal workers had voted three to one in favour of taking strike action over job security and working conditions. It was later announced that a national strike would be held on Thursday 22 October and Friday 23 October. After further talks failed, more strikes were announced to take place on Thursday 29 October, Friday 30 October and Saturday 31 October. Discussions continued throughout the second wave of strikes with proposals being put to both sides, but these were overshadowed by the announcement of a third walkout on Friday 6 November and Monday 9 November. However, on 5 November it was announced that strikes had been called off until the New Year to allow time for fresh talks to take place. A resolution to the dispute was finally reached following lengthy discussions on 8 March 2010, and on 27 April it was reported that postal workers voted to accept the deal.
## Background
Central to the 2009 dispute was the agreement that ended the 2007 round of strikes. The 2007 Pay and Modernisation Agreement saw the parties involved agree to a four-phase plan, which would be implemented with dialogue between both sides at each stage of the process. However, the Communication Workers Union said that although Royal Mail had carried out three of the phases in this way, it had refused to discuss the final phase, which concerned the government's plans for modernisation, and how these would affect the job security of Royal Mail employees.
One of the key aspects of Royal Mail's modernisation drive involved the introduction of the walk sequencing machine that organises mail into the order the postman will deliver them on his round. The union feared that a national introduction of this equipment would lead to thousands of full-time workers being made redundant and a significant increase in the number of part-time staff. The Communication Workers Union argued that although it had signed up to this part of the agreement in 2007 and that the plans would make it necessary for some jobs to be lost, it had not understood the exact nature of Royal Mail's plan. Furthermore, the union said that when Royal Mail stopped talking to staff about the long-term effects of job security, there had been no choice other than to threaten a strike to restart discussions. Royal Mail, on the other hand, said that it had not stopped talking to the union and continued to involve it in its modernisation strategy.
## Localised strike action
Localised strike action began in June 2009 when workers at Royal Mail offices in London and Edinburgh staged a 24-hour strike on 19 June over concerns about the impact that modernisation would have on postal workers. This was followed the next day by a similar walkout in parts of Scotland. Speaking about the situation at the time Dave Ward, the CWU's deputy general secretary said, "We are now seeing cuts but not modernisation in the postal industry and there's only so long before this is going have a major impact on services. The CWU does not and has not blocked change. Once again we are seeing Royal Mail working against the union and failing to engage the workforce." Ward also said that his union would offer Royal Mail and the government a three-month no-strike deal if Royal Mail fulfilled its part of the 2007 agreement.
However, talks between the Communication Workers Union and Royal Mail failed to broker a deal. The CWU criticised Royal Mail's business policy as "chaos management" and in August and September the localised strike intensified. By September it was estimated that there was a backlog of 20 million undelivered letters. On 10 September the CWU announced plans to hold a national ballot on strike action, the results of which were expected to be announced on 30 September during the Labour Party Conference. Royal Mail responded to the announcement by saying that the decision to go ahead with the ballot was "wholly irresponsible" as talks were still ongoing.
## Strike ballot and national action
Ballot papers proposing a national strike were sent out to union members on 17 September. On 8 October it was announced that postal workers had voted three to one in favour of taking strike action over job security and working conditions. The first round of strikes were later scheduled for Thursday 22 October and Friday 23 October. These would consist of two 24-hour stoppages, with mail centre staff and drivers striking on 22 October and delivery and collection staff doing likewise the following day.
Talks between Royal Mail and the CWU continued, but relations were strained by the emergence of a leaked document suggesting that Royal Mail would achieve its reforms "with or without union engagement". CWU general secretary Billy Hayes called the document's contents "an organised attempt to sideline the union" and expressed his concern that Business Secretary Peter Mandelson appeared to be familiar with it. Furthermore, following the first round of strikes, it emerged that both sides had been "tantalisingly close" to brokering a deal on the evening of 20 October, but that Royal Mail had backed away from this the following morning. Consequently, the strikes went ahead as planned.
New talks were announced on 24 October, which would be brokered by the TUC and chaired by its general secretary Brendan Barber. Peter Mandelson welcomed the talks, describing them as "an opportunity to break the deadlock". Further strikes were also announced for the last three days of October, which would involve mail centre staff on 29 and 30 October and delivery staff on 31 October. Three days of negotiations aimed at ending the dispute began on 26 October, but although they were described by Barber as having been useful, they ended without agreement and the second wave of strikes went ahead. Royal Mail later blamed a hard core element of London postal union leaders for refusing to endorse a proposal that both sides had agreed to.
Discussions were held during the second wave of strikes, when Brendan Barber announced on the afternoon of Friday 30 October that proposals had been put to both Royal Mail and the CWU for them to consider over the weekend. Talks resumed on the Monday, however this news was overshadowed by the announcement that a further two days of strikes would be held on Friday 6 November and Monday 9 November. It was also announced that these would be all out strikes with everybody walking out at the same time rather than the rolling strike action that had been adopted previously, thus leading to a complete stoppage throughout the course of the action. These were later called off in order for further talks to take place.
### Effects
The strike action led to a backlog of tens of millions of items of undelivered mail, with an estimated 30 million letters and parcels affected after the first wave of walkouts, and rising to in excess of 50 million following the second.
On Tuesday 3 November a YouGov poll conducted for The Daily Telegraph appeared to show that public support for the industrial action had dropped in comparison to a similar poll conducted two weeks earlier.
It was also reported that the CWU had started a fighting fund to help support postal workers who were experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the strike. Postmen lose a day's pay for each day they strike, and although most workers had lost just two days pay so far, many in the London area who had taken part in previous industrial action earlier in the year had lost as much as 18 days of wages. There was also speculation that the CWU lacked the funds for a lengthy dispute and donations to the union's fighting fund were pledged by other unions, including UNISON and Unite.
## Suspension of strike action
On 5 November, the eve of the first planned all out strike it was announced that strike action had been called off until at least the New Year to allow for what Brendan Barber described as "a period of calm" in which both Royal Mail and the CWU could reach a long term agreement. But he added that although the postal service would be free from disruption over the Christmas period, a long term deal was still some distance away. The CWU also announced on the same day that it would not press ahead with a legal challenge to Royal Mail's employment of temporary workers to clear the backlog, which had been due to begin at the High Court the following day.
## Resolution
Following lengthy discussions between Royal Mail managers and union representatives a deal to settle the dispute was finally agreed to on 8 March 2010. This would see Royal Mail workers receiving a 6.9% pay rise over three years (worth 2% in 2010, 1.4% in 2011 and 3.5% in 2012), while extra payments worth up to £1,400 would be made to full-time workers once all the agreed changes have been made. These will take the form of a £400 payment following the agreement of union members and a further £1,000 to be paid once the planned changes have been implemented. In addition the Royal Mail agreed to keep 75% of the workforce as full-time, rather than part-time staff, and to reduce working hours from 40 to 39 hours a week. In exchange, the CWU agreed to Royal Mail's modernisation strategy which include plans to introduce the automated walk sequencing machinery.
Welcoming the deal, the deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, Dave Ward said, "It's been a long time coming, but this deal delivers on the major issues that postal workers have fought for. There's a balance of pay and operational changes that will help to offset job losses and ensure our members are fairly rewarded for change." Royal Mail's outgoing chief executive, Adam Crozier said that the resolution was "a good deal for our customers as it ensures stability over the next three years," and allowed Royal Mail to proceed with modernisation. On 27 April the Communication Workers Union announced that its members had voted two to one in favour of the deal, thus ending the dispute.
## See also
- 1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike
- 1988 United Kingdom postal workers strike
- 2007 Royal Mail industrial disputes
|
8,167,955 |
The English Roses
| 1,165,890,765 |
Book by Madonna
|
[
"2003 children's books",
"American picture books",
"Books by Madonna",
"Children's fiction books"
] |
The English Roses is a children's picture book written by American entertainer Madonna, released on September 15, 2003, by Callaway Arts & Entertainment. Jeffrey Fulvimari illustrated the book with line drawings. A moral tale, it tells the story of four friends who are jealous of a girl called Binah. However, they come to know that Binah's life is not easy and decide to include her in their group.
The book was released simultaneously in more than 100 countries worldwide and translated into 42 languages. Promotional activities included Madonna hosting a tea party at London's Kensington Roof Gardens, as well as appearances on television talk shows and at book signings. Commercially, The English Roses debuted atop The New York Times Children's Bestseller list and sold over a million copies worldwide. It received moderate reviews from book critics who did not find the story interesting and panned the characterizations and its moralistic tone. Fulvimari's illustrations also received a mixed response. Madonna went on to release merchandise associated with The English Roses and further sequels to the book.
## Synopsis
The English Roses are four girls—Charlotte, Amy, Grace, and Nicole—who attend the same school in London. They live in the same neighborhood and participate in the same activities together, including attending summer picnics and ice-skating in winter. They are jealous of a girl named Binah, who lives nearby, since they believe her life is perfect. The girls detest her beauty and popularity at school. They enjoy ignoring Binah while concocting naughty plans against her.
One day, the mother of one of the Roses lectures the girls about judging people on the basis of their looks. That night, as the English Roses are at a picnic sleepover, they have the same dream. They are visited by a pumpernickel fairy godmother who sprinkles them with magic dust and transports them to see Binah's life at her home. The girls find that contrary to their belief Binah is actually lonely. Her mother died when she was young, and she lives with her father in a small house where she spends a majority of her time cooking and cleaning. The fairy godmother admonishes the English Roses and asks them to think more kindly of someone in future, rather than complain about their life.
The English Roses feel bad for their behavior towards Binah and invite her to join their group. Soon they strike up a good friendship with her and go on picnics, and to dances and parties together. The girls share all that they like with Binah, and the story ends with there being five English Roses as she joins them.
## Background and writing
Madonna's first release as an author was the coffee table book Sex, published by her company Maverick and Callaway Arts & Entertainment in 1992. It consisted of photographer Steven Meisel's sexually provocative and explicit images. The book received a negative reaction from the media and the public but quickly sold 1.5 million copies. With the release of Sex, Callaway became a well-known publisher, and its owner Nicholas Callaway looked for opportunities to expand the business further. He believed he had "a certain ability to see ahead ... I do have a sense of what would interest people – even before they sense that interest." He remembered watching Madonna read a book he published, David Kirk's Miss Spider's Tea Party, during an event in March 1995 at New York's Webster Hall, for the release of the music video of her single, "Bedtime Story". Calling it a pajama party, Madonna read the story to an audience of teenagers, with the event being aired on MTV.
Callaway found the singer's ability to tell a story enticing, and he got the idea to ask her about writing children's books. The publisher believed that Madonna's worldwide name recognition and cross-cultural appeal would attract an audience to a book written by her. He knew from experience that children's book critics can be fussy, but he was persistent with his idea. At the time Madonna had other commitments. It was only after her marriage to director Guy Ritchie and becoming a mother again (in 2000), she decided to take up the idea of writing children's books. Madonna's Kabbalah teacher had asked her to share the wisdom she had gained through her studies of Jewish mysticism in the form of stories meant for children. The singer felt this was a "cool challenge", although it was an "out-left-field" idea completely different from her musical endeavors. While reading stories to her children at bedtime, Madonna found the books lacked spiritual messages. She also felt that the stories' fairy-tale characters, like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, appeared passive and were moved around according to the princes' wishes. Madonna, who was inspired by stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Flannery O'Connor, was galvanized to write something new by herself. She wrote five stories and sent the manuscripts at the same time to Callaway, suggesting they be published together, but he wanted each story to be developed and released separately.
## Development and inspiration
In March 2003, it was announced that Madonna and Callaway Arts & Entertainment had signed a deal with Penguin Group to publish an original series of five illustrated storybooks for children. The first release under this deal was The English Roses. The book and its characters were named after Madonna's daughter Lourdes' school friends at Lycée Franco-Libanais Tripoli. One of the teachers there had described the girls as "The English Roses" which Madonna found "funny". She had already progressed with a few other stories but wanted to write about girls who always felt they did not have "enough". The death of Madonna's mother at an early age had always affected her, and her musical endeavors. So while developing Binah, she drew from her own experience of dealing with her mother's death. Like her, Binah kept a picture of her mother beside her bed. It was Madonna's "own personal experience and I needed to come up with things for her character where kids would stop and go, 'Wow! What would that be like?'" Binah's character was also influenced by Lourdes since Madonna felt she was often ostracized for being her daughter at school. Finally, The English Roses became a moral story with messages from Kabbalah, deduced from tales that Madonna had heard from her teacher. She also included messages about the perils of envy, ostracization, and assumption of other's lives.
For The English Roses, Madonna worked with illustrator Jeffrey Fulvimari, whose work on the book was described by Ginny Dougary of The Sunday Times Magazine as "Madeleine meets David Hockney style." Fulvimari described his work for the book as "expressive" and "light-hearted". He felt "free to have fun in a way that is not as acceptable in work targeted to grown-ups." He first created rough drawings and then transferred them to computer, where he could tweak them. The net result made the images appear like "spontaneous" line drawings. The artist first painted the four The English Roses with their characters "fully fleshed out". Fulvimari exchanged the rough sketches with Madonna and Callaway, who provided their opinions many times before the final selections.
## Publication and promotion
The English language rights for the book were acquired by Penguin Group UK. Puffin Books, Penguin's children's imprint, published the books. The joint press release announcing the deal explained that each story book would involve Madonna working with a different illustrator. Madonna confirmed that all profits from sales of the book were to be donated to charity.
She partnered with Amazon and recorded an exclusive audio message about the book for Amazon's customers. The message was available from September 3 and was the first opportunity for customers to hear the singer talking about The English Roses. The book was not available to the press and media in advance of publication. Puffin employed Coleman Getty Public Relations to handle the book's launch They faced difficulty promoting the book since details of the storyline were not allowed press releases. Nicky Stonehill of Coleman Getty—who had only an hour to discuss the PR strategy with Madonna—used the media hype surrounding the release and struck up an exclusive deal with The Times of London to publish excerpts from the book.
The day before the book's publication Madonna threw a promotional tea party at London's Kensington Roof Gardens, inviting friends and celebrities. A pink, sparkling carpet flanked by fences adorned with roses and butterfly figurines welcomed the guests. At the party, Madonna—dressed in a white satin frock—read from the book to a crowd consisting of teenagers and young children and later gave them gift baskets. Coleman Getty's idea was to have the literary press read the book for the first time at the party and write about the reaction it generated among the children. Only one photographer was allowed to take pictures of the event, and only the film crew from the BBC's children's news program, Newsround, was allowed to film it. On September 15, 2003, Callaway released the picture book simultaneously in 100 countries translated into 42 languages. On the same day, courier services delivered copies of the book to UK television talk shows like GMTV and RI:SE, so it could be discussed during the program.
The singer appeared at multiple promotional events, reading aloud from the book to children. In the United States, Madonna appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and book signing events at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York City's Rockefeller Center. She also appeared at a news conference in Paris promoting the release.
## Commercial reception
The initial print run for The English Roses in the United States grew from a projected 400,000 copies to 750,000 copies with a total of one million copies released worldwide, one of the biggest picture book releases ever. The book was available at over 50,000 bookstores, record stores and other retail outlets in the United States, with initial sales on websites like Amazon being reported as "impressive". It was sold at clothing chain Gap Inc. Profits from the sales were sent to the Spirituality for Kids Foundation. One week after its release the book's print run in the United States reached 900,000 copies with 1.4 million copies printed worldwide. A number of publishers were reprinting the book. Borders Group advised Diane Roback of Publishers Weekly that sales were "very good"; Barnes & Noble advised her they did not have sales figures but expected the book "to be a big hit." Worldwide, the print run of The English Roses in Italy were 20,000 units, while in Denmark the amount was 3,000 copies. In the latter country, those figures were considered a high number for a Danish picture book according to Berlingske.
The book debuted atop The New York Times Children's Bestseller list, selling 57,369 copies in its first week according to Nielsen BookScan. It was placed at number five in the overall ranking for all releases. The book appeared on the list for a total of 18 weeks and had sold 321,000 copies by October 2004 accounting for 70% of all tracked sales across the United States. In the United Kingdom, The English Roses debuted with 8,270 copies according to BookScan and was ranked number 17 on the top-selling list. It was the second best-selling children's book, with 220 fewer sales than author J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
In Russia, The English Roses sold 9,000 copies in the first-week, of which half of those copies were sold in its first-day alone. In Brazil, the book sold-out the first print of 25,000 units upon its first-week of release, while in Turkey, it managed to sell 5,000 copies in the first-week. After its release, the book has sold 10,000 units in Canada, 4,000 in Estonia, 52,000 in France, 20,000 in the Netherlands, and between 65,000 to 80,000 copies in Germany. In summary, The English Roses topped the book lists in Brazil, France, Slovenia and Taiwan. In its first-month, the book reached the half-million mark sold worldwide, and went on to sell a million copies by April 2005. It became the fastest-selling picture book by a debutant children's author.
## Critical response
The English Roses received moderate reviews after its release. Ayelet Waldman from Tablet questioned whether Rabbi Baal Shem Tov, whose morals were the inspiration behind Madonna's writing endeavors, did really ask "to be nice to pretty girls because their lives might be harder than ours." The reviewer noted Jewish influences in the story with the name Binah, and the character calling her father "papa" and wearing a "shmatte" on her head. Kate Kellaway of The Observer described the story as "written in language that veers between Hilaire Belloc and breakfast TV", finding the tone arch and strained but containing charm. She felt Fulvimari's illustrations made the book look like "a party invitation with his pictures of a garlanded, girly existence: each English rose a fashion-plate, with a doe-eyed stare, caught up in a whirl of blue butterflies, yellow clouds and fairydust." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly compared Fulvimari's illustrations to the images in Vogue while saying the story was preaching in nature.
David Sexton from the London Evening Standard criticized Madonna's decision to write the story, including making the character of Binah a beautiful looking girl, since he believed that in reality "the children who suffer wounding rejection from their peers are not the beautiful, the clever and the sporty, but the ugly, the dull and the awkward". The images were described as "sub-Warholian" and "distinctly perverse", with Sexton panning the characters for looking anorexic. Writing for The Guardian, poet and novelist Michael Rosen found The English Roses to be heavier on the moralistic side rather than being ironic, which he felt was the norm for children's books. In the same article, author Francesca Simon felt the book "has no characters, no story and there is no tension, which is a problem." Both criticized Fulvimari's illustrations with Rosen describing them as "odious pictures". Emily Nussbaum of New York magazine found Binah's character was "the blandest, most passive good-girl on Earth, the opposite of Madonna" and felt that by writing the book, the singer was in a way admonishing her older provocative self.
Madonna's narration was described by Ginny Dougary as "bossy". She also found parallels with the singer's childhood in The English Roses. Slate's Polly Shulman found the book to be "charmless, didactic" and egoistic since she felt it revolved around Madonna and her daughter. Shulman added that "The English Roses is a dull little thing, though not incompetent. Madonna does understand the basic structure of storytelling—perhaps too well", with multiple cliches present while making the titular characters "so passive that they might as well be good." David Kipen of the San Francisco Chronicle humorously said that the "last time a five-book series launched with such a bang, the first installment was called Genesis." Kipen found Madonna's characterization of Binah as a beautiful girl to be redundant, and her "inexplicable ostracism is exactly the kind of storytelling gaffe an inexperienced writer runs into when patching together an alter ego out of different, not altogether compatible phases in that writer's life." The reviewer described Fulvimari's drawings as a "witty, busy style that recalls the celebrated filigree of Ronald Searle, and the almond-eyed womanhood of the I Dream of Jeannie (1965) credit sequence."
## Aftermath and sequels
Madonna partnered with Signatures Network Inc. (SNI) and launched a series of merchandise and products related to The English Roses series available in the United States at Nordstrom department stores and boutiques. It included footwear, clothing apparel, rainwear, collectible dolls, tea sets, jewelry boxes, and calendars. From October 2004, Nordstrom created in-store programs themed around the books, including tea parties and fashion shows. Madonna also launched a website dedicated to the series, where the merchandise was available. The website was filled it with interactive games, downloadable wallpapers, character lists and feedback pages.
In September 2006, Madonna announced plans to release a sequel to the story, titled The English Roses: Too Good to be True. Another picture book, it was illustrated this time by Stacey Peterson. The hardcover first edition was published by Callaway on October 24, 2006. Madonna felt compelled to write the sequel at the suggestion of her daughter Lourdes. The story continues with the girls encountering their first romantic crush and the reader again learns a valuable lesson. The English Roses: Too Good to be True sold only 9,000 copies in the month following its release according to BookScan. Its lack of sales was attributed to Madonna being embroiled in a controversy over the adoption of her son David from Malawi. She continued publishing chapter books in the series, with another 12 books published from 2007 to 2008.
## See also
- List of literary works by number of translations
|
5,441,983 |
Don't Wake Me Up (album)
| 1,167,215,229 | null |
[
"1999 debut albums",
"K Records albums",
"Lo-fi music albums",
"The Microphones albums"
] |
Don't Wake Me Up is the debut studio album by American musical project the Microphones. It was released by K Records on August 24, 1999, and reissued on vinyl via P.W. Elverum & Sun on April 16, 2013. The album was recorded between April 25, 1998, and March 1, 1999, in studios in Olympia and Anacortes, Washington.
Don't Wake Me Up is a lo-fi rock and indie rock album that uses metaphorical and sometimes cryptic lyricism. The album also includes field recordings, as well as elements of pop and noise rock. It received positive reviews from AllMusic, Pitchfork, and Sputnikmusic. Don't Wake Me Up gave Phil Elverum a small following, and "set a new precedent" for K Records, due to Elverum's production being perceived as high-quality despite recording limitations.
## Background
After gaining presence in Anacortes, Washington's independent music scene, Phil Elverum joined the band D+, comprised of himself, Karl Blau, and Bret Lunsford at the time of his joining. He became associated with K Records with the release of D+'s debut album. After Elverum toured with D+, K Records founder Calvin Johnson gave Elverum access to the Dub Narcotic Studio, where he experimented with recording; Elverum lacked concern for the studio's modest equipment. Elverum began the Microphones initially as a solo project, releasing cassette tapes of tests and experiments.
## Recording and composition
Don't Wake Me Up was recorded between April 25, 1998, and March 1, 1999, in Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia, Washington, and the Business in Anacortes, Washington. The album was primarily written and composed by Elverum. The studios in which Don't Wake Me Up was recorded lacked high-fidelity recording equipment. Johnson said, "[Elverum] didn't have the attitude that this wasn't a real studio. He was more like, 'Hey, this is fun.'" Elverum described the studio as a "huge empty warehouse".
Elverum was 21 at the time of the album's release, and 20 during its recording. During an interview with Impose, he said that "much of [the album] was recorded [...] at the same place where I did my high school recording experiments, so it was still very connected to adolescence." The album was partially recorded in Elverum's hometown, Anacortes, Washington, although he was living in Olympia, at the time of recording. As he described, he had "newly moved away from home for the first time". Elverum stated he recorded the album "living nocturnally ... [d]rinking pots of black tea all night" to stay up.
## Music and lyrics
Don't Wake Me Up has been described primarily as a lo-fi rock and indie rock album, which includes elements of pop, and noise rock. Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork called the mix of genres an "incredible balance" between noise rock and ambience, combining to become "distinctly indie rock". Nitsuh Abebe of AllMusic wrote, "Don't Wake Me Up moves between gritty lo-fi rock and droning, spacy constructions; a delicate pop melodicism lies beneath the surface noise of both".
According to AsleepInTheBack of Sputnikmusic, the album's lyrics portray "various universal human experiences", told mostly using metaphors and quasi-stories. Many lines in the album are cryptic, although themes are recognizable; AsleepInTheBack wrote, "whilst general themes seep through his elusive ramblings, it's hard to feel confident that one has truly grasped the precise messages Phil wishes to convey."
The opener, "Ocean 1, 2, 3", begins with a field recording of waves, which are replaced by vocal harmonies and crescendo of bass and keyboards. Then—described by Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork as "when you least expect it"—a section of lo-fi rock continues until the song's end. "Florida Beach" uses a short snippet of "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys. "Here with Summer" uses the Mellotron, which Schreiber called "relaxed" and "sighing". The track transitions into "Where It's Hotter (Part 3)". Both tracks use organs and layered vocals; their textures are "dense", but not "claustrophobic", according to AsleepInTheBack.
## Legacy
The release of Don't Wake Me Up gave Phil Elverum a small following, and according to Ian Gormely of Exclaim!, was the "first time Elverum [was] able to connect with an audience". According to Love Rock Revolution by Mark Baumgarten, the release of the album "set a new precedent for [K Records]" since Elverum's production was perceived as high-quality despite the studio's recording limitations. Baumgarten wrote that Don't Wake Me up was "praised for its production rather than accepted despite it". The album gave K Records a greater trust in Elverum's musical abilities.
## Critical reception
Don't Wake Me Up received positive reviews from AllMusic, Pitchfork, and Sputnikmusic.
Nitsuh Abebe of AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars, and praised its composition and textures. Abebe compared the album's sound to Stereolab's Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements and Grandaddy's early music, and Elverum's vocals to His Name Is Alive.
Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork, who gave the album 8.2 out of 10, praised the album's pop culture references, "muddy production" and lack of high fidelity. Schreiber also praised the album's cohesiveness: "its 15 tracks blend seamlessly together, creating a whole vision instead of just compiling a handful of pop songs".
In AsleepInTheBack's 2017 review for Sputnikmusic, they rated the album 4.0 out of 5. They described the album as containing a "loose patchwork of sounds and textures" which invoke isolation. AsleepInTheBack called the album a "journey," since according to them, like other art, the album's underlying meanings are difficult to interpret.
## Track listing
1. "Ocean 1, 2, 3" – 2:59
2. "Florida Beach" – 2:17
3. "Here with Summer" – 3:59
4. "Where It's Hotter Pt. 3" – 2:58
5. "I'm Getting Cold" – 1:20
6. "I'll Be in the Air" – 2:25
7. "Tonight There'll Be Clouds" – 4:04
8. "You Were in the Air" – 3:20
9. "What Happened to You?" – 2:25
10. "It Wouldn't" – 2:23
11. "I'm in Hell" – 2:02
12. "Don't Wake Me Up" – 3:13
13. "Sweetheart Sleep Tight" – 2:15
14. "Instrumental" – 1:53
15. "I Felt You" – 2:01
## Personnel
Adapted from the album's liner notes.
- Phil Elverum – Recording, composition
- Mirah – Additional vocals
- Khaela Maricich – Additional vocals
- Bronwyn Holm – Additional vocals
- Calvin Johnson – Additional vocals
## Release history
|
46,312,021 |
Shirou Emiya
| 1,173,865,694 |
Fictional character from the Fate series
|
[
"Adoptee characters in anime and manga",
"Adoptee characters in video games",
"Anime and manga characters who use magic",
"Anime and manga characters with accelerated healing",
"Fate/stay night characters",
"Fictional Japanese people in anime and manga",
"Fictional Japanese people in video games",
"Fictional amputees",
"Fictional characters with post-traumatic stress disorder",
"Fictional chefs",
"Fictional kyūjutsuka",
"Fictional philanthropists",
"Fictional swordfighters in anime and manga",
"Fictional swordfighters in video games",
"Male characters in anime and manga",
"Male characters in video games",
"Orphan characters in anime and manga",
"Orphan characters in video games",
"Video game characters introduced in 2004",
"Video game characters who use magic",
"Video game characters with accelerated healing",
"Video game protagonists"
] |
Shirou Emiya (Japanese: 衛宮 士郎, Hepburn: Emiya Shirō), also written as "Shiro Emiya" in Fate/unlimited codes, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the 2004 visual novel Fate/stay night, published by Type-Moon. Shirou is a teenager who accidentally participates in the "Holy Grail War" alongside six other mages looking for the eponymous treasure, an all-powerful, wish-granting relic. Shirou was the sole survivor of a fire in a city and was saved by a man named Kiritsugu Emiya who inspired him to become a hero and avoid killing people during fights. While fighting alongside the servant Saber, Shirou develops his own magical skills and, depending on the player's choices; he forms relationships with the novel's other characters. He also appears in the visual novel sequel Fate/hollow ataraxia, the prequel light novel Fate/Zero, and printed and animated adaptations of the original game.
Writer Kinoko Nasu created Shirou and Saber in stories he had written as a teenager. Nasu was worried that the story would not work as a bishōjo game because the main character was a girl. Artist Takashi Takeuchi suggested switching the genders of the protagonist and Saber to fit into the game market. For the anime adaptations following Fate/Zero, the staff wanted to make the character more serious in his interactions with the other characters while giving him a more cheerful personality in contrast to the original visual novel. Shirou is regularly voiced in Japanese by Noriaki Sugiyama as a teenager and Junko Noda as a child; multiple voice actors have voiced him in the English releases of the anime adaptations.
Critics have commented on Shirou's different characterizations; his role in each part of the original Fate/stay night visual novel has received positive reaction due to his character development and relationship with the character Archer. Shirou's appearance in Studio Deen's first Fate/stay night-based anime received a mixed response; critics initially disliked Shirou but praised how his relationship with Saber evolved. In Ufotable's anime series, based on the visual novel's route Unlimited Blade Works, the character was praised for how he dealt with questions about his ideals. Shirou has also appeared in multiple polls related to Fate and anime in general.
## Creation and conception
Shirou's role in the story was meant to highlight parts of his personality and growth based on the paths the player picks. The first Fate storyline shows his slanted mind; the next, Unlimited Blade Works, presents his resolve, and in the last storyline, Heaven's Feel, he becomes Sakura Matou's ally and abandons his life-long passion of becoming a hero. Shirou was created with the idea of being a stubborn man with ideals that would change the way his role in the story based on the different routes, something the Type-Moon originally wanted to make with the protagonist of Tsukihime. Furthermore, Nasu wanted to portray him as a typical teenager while artist Takashi Takeuchi did not want him to have too much individuality in order to make players project themselves into him. By the end of the making of the visual novel, Nasu described Shirou as a joyless hero disinterested in the war, denying himself personal happiness in order to save as many people as possible. Shirou's character theme, "Emiya", while remixes and other themes were created to focus on important scenes related to his character.
### Design
Before writing Fate/stay night, Kinoko Nasu wrote the Fate route of the visual novel in his spare time as a high school student. Nasu originally imagined Shirou Emiya as a female character named Ayaka Sajyou (沙条綾香) who wore glasses and Saber as male. Nasu swapped their sexes due to his experience writing the novel Tsukihime and because Type-Moon believed a male protagonist would better fit the target demographic. There have been only small changes to Shirou's physical design since its inception. With red hair and stubborn eyes, Takeuchi aimed for a typical design of a straightforward shōnen manga genre character. He felt that it was too standard, however, so he added more circles in his eyes. Takeuchi has trouble bringing out Shirou's expressions because of his unique eyebrows; as a result, Shirou remains the most difficult Fate/stay night character for him to draw. Their goal of creating "a protagonist without a face" to comply with the nature of bishōjo games in the initial release of Fate/stay night is another reason Takeuchi had trouble drawing Shirou, who only appeared in a handful of scenes. In the re-released Réalta Nua version of the visual novel aimed at teenagers rather than just adults, the importance to show non-adult content was increased. So Takeuchi had to draw Shirou more often. Producer Tomonori Sudou felt that the staff had to draw Shirou more appealingly to bring more success to the anime. New clothing was also given to him.
While Shirou retains his usual appearance in the spin-off manga Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya 3rei!! by author Hiroshi Hiroyama, during parts of his story, Shirou uses a magical card that dresses him in Archer's clothes. Hiroyama originally drew Shirou half-naked but felt this was ridiculous, mostly because the events depicted in the series take place in winter. In his final design, most of Shirou's torso is covered, giving him an appearance like that of his future heroic persona, with the exception of his right arm remaining uncovered. Already experienced in drawing Shirou before he started working on Illya's spin-off manga, Hiroyama had no problems with this version of Shirou, whom he referred to as one of the manga's protagonists due to the focus he gave him during the flashbacks about his past; Similar to the original visual novel, Hiroyama wanted to make Shirou select a route during his flashback chapters as he embarks on a quest to protect his sister, Miyu.
### Personality
Nasu believes Shirou and Ryougi Shiki in The Garden of Sinners light novels are characters who face personal problems with narrow perspectives. Shirou was conceived as an amateur magician to create a strong contrast with the skilled heroes from the visual novel. Nevertheless, Nasu stated that Shirou was a weaker fighter in the Fate route, but the character's magical skills developed significantly in the Unlimited Blade Works storyline beyond the capability of an average person. Nasu said it is difficult to call Shirou's relationship with Saber a relationship between a man and a woman because after ruling Britain under the pretenses of being a male, she "turned into a girl all of a sudden and fell in love with Shirou". To foreshadow Shirou and Saber's first meeting, the team of writers included a dream sequence in which the latter's sword, Excalibur, is seen by the former. Since Shirou possessed the scabbard, Avalon, from Excalibur, Nasu wrote this to explain how the two became Master and Servant. Nasu originally had an idea to extend the Fate route’s, involving an alternative Fifth Holy Grail War where Shirou fought alongside Saber, but the two did not have a romantic relationship; following their separation, Shirou would bond with Rin in a similar way to how it happened in Unlimited Blade Works's "True Ending".
Takeuchi described Shirou as a strange character based on his personality. Nasu wrote the younger Shirou as a shy child, whom he deemed fun as he grows up and becomes more straightforward. While the Ufotable Unlimited Blade Works series generated multiple questions regarding Shirou becoming his future self, the warrior Archer. Originally, Shirou's future persona would turn out to be the antagonist Gilgamesh but the staff changed him to Archer Nasu said that Shirou still has potential to become a Heroic Spirit. Nevertheless, Nasu still intended from the beginning of the making of the novel that both Shirou and Gilgamesh would oppose one another. In the Heaven's Feel route from the original visual novel, he did not specify whether Shirou would become the same Archer. In another interview, Nasu stated that the Unlimited Blade Works kept sending hints that Shirou might become Archer and Rin would be with him to support him emotionally. Shirou's fate in the Heaven's Feel route was left up to the players' interpretation because of Shirou's apparent resurrection.
### Handling by Ufotable
During the production of the anime series Unlimited Blade Works, Ufotable said that they wished to develop Shirou to better fit with other characters in Fate/Zero and the anime's darker tone. Nasu explained that Shirou was made more comical to become a more enjoyable character; this proved to be difficult as his interactions with the other characters were modified, making Nasu feel pressure during the creation of the series. Nevertheless, Ufotable kept the idea of Shirou not being able to smile too much due to his harsh past, with characters telling Shirou that he rarely expresses joy in some episodes. The staff, including series director Takahiro Miura, found this idea fitting. Still, his interactions with Rin Tohsaka were created to bring the former more joy. Miura wished the staff to make this Shirou's coming-of-age story; despite this, Nasu stated Shirou does not go through a character arc in the story, which left Miura with a different opinion regarding the character's writing. Miura pointed out that in future work he would prefer to focus more on revealing the character of Shirou as a character rather than women associated with him, which is why the producer Aniplex was firmly established in his choice since the mainline of the arch with Archer based on following the ideals of his father. The CEO of Type-Moon believed that only Nasu himself could convey all the ideas he put into Shirou, help them reflect on the screen correctly and deepen the public perception of the hero.
According to the scriptwriter, the main problem of adaptation was the transfer of the culminating battle between Shirou and Archer, which, due to the great emphasis on the inner thoughts of the heroes, could not be transmitted as clearly as in the source and, according to the creators, would be boring for the audience. For this reason, Nasu independently rewrote the entire course of the battle. In addition, since the format of the visual novel did not set the task to demonstrate the mimic expression of the protagonist's emotions, only during this scene did Nasu realize and prescribe the necessary range of feelings of the protagonist to reflect it during animation. According to Takeuchi, the final meeting between Nasu and Miura for the approval of the scenario of this battle lasted more than five hours. The choice of the epilogue was delayed for three months, and as a result, Nasu decided to write a script for a separate series telling about the future of Shirou and Rin, who went to study in London.
For the release of the first Heaven's Feel film, director Tomonori Sudou said he wanted to explore Shirou and Sakura Matou's past further because he believes their relationship is the most important part of the story. Producer Yuma Takahashi had a similar opinion, feeling some scenes that symbolized the romance between Shirou and Sakura were needed. Ufotable mostly included these scenes; Takahashi believes people might want to watch the film again due to the significance it makes in early scenes. Sakura's Japanese voice actor, Noriko Shitaya, stated that the staff's biggest desire was to show the audience the scenes between Shirou and Sakura, with Sudou wishing to explore how the two met and became close. Aimer's theme song "I Beg You" was written to explore the relationship between these characters as Aimer wants to show Sakura's dark personality as she aims to be loved by Shirou but does not want him to know about her secrets. The author of the printed adaptation of Heaven's Feel noted that for the serialization of the manga he wanted to start the story between Shirou and Sakura with the first time the latter met the former and fell for him in contrast to the original visual novel which left this scene until some scenes more in the route.
For the film Oath Under Snow, singer ChouCho made two songs that focused on the relationship between Shirou and Miyu, who are the center of the plot describing it as heartwarming due to the close bond the siblings have. The song "Kaleidoscope" primarily focuses on Shirou's point of view when first meeting Miyu, and she becomes one of the most important people he has ever met. However, due to the film's plot, the lyrics were written to show darker tone in regards to the development of what happens to the two siblings. While not being a song about Shirou, Choucho states that viewers will find a bigger standing to the character by listening to it.
### Voice actors
Shirou is voiced in Japanese by Noriaki Sugiyama, who was surprised by the length of the Fate franchise. Sugiyama noted that they had a certain tension before the beginning of the recording process, since they had not been involved in the Fate series since 2010, they played the same characters only in the comedy works - the series Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya and Carnival Phantasm. According to Sugiyama, this forced them to rethink the images of their heroes, although he was glad to return to the "standard Shirou". Sugiyama, on the contrary, stated that recording director Yoshikazu Ivanami forced him for a long time to maintain emotional arousal in his voice. Both actors, Sugiyama and Junichi Suwabe (Archer), since they played the role of the same person, but of different age, in the final season of the series consciously copied the manner and timbre of each other's speech (Sugiyama - bass, Suvabe - baritone) for greater identification of the characters by the audience. During the Unlimited Blade Works, Sugiyama enjoyed his character's confrontations with Archer, mainly because Shirou might become Archer in the future.
Sugiyama once again returned to voice the character in the spin-off movie Oath Under Snow. Kaori Nazuka, who voices Miyu, said her character has a noticeable character arc in these spin-offs due to her growing relationship with Shirou. When asked about his favorite scene from the film, Sugiyama said he preferred the final scene due to Shirou's appealing characterization resulting from the impact Shirou's final line has on Miyu. Hiroyama felt that Shirou's voice contains in this film a bigger sense of security compared to his manga.
Once the Heaven's Feel films started being promoted, Sugiyama said Shirou acted differently due to the different routes the films were taken based on the visual novel. As the films were released, Sugiyama believed Shirou's characterization was far darker compared to the other routes from the visual novel. He found it sad that Shirou loses Saber but is still determined to protect Sakura. He expressed understanding of how Shirou's character was treated in the film, aiming for most of his lines to be done in a cool state. As a child, Shirou is voiced by Junko Noda, who refers to her character as "Chibi Shirou" due to his appearance and like her work in Today's Menu for the Emiya Family when Shirou starts cooking hamburgers.
Sam Riegel was Shirou's first English voice actor, and Mona Marshall voiced Shirou as a child. Patrick Poole voiced the two incarnations of Shirou appearing in Illya's spin-off anime series. English voice actor Bryce Papenbrook felt honored to take Riegel's place for the Unlimited Blade Works series. He stated Riegel's work is "awesome". Papenbrook felt that the story took a "different path in Unlimited Blade Works" and that the creators "wanted a different take on Shirou". He was surprised that series director Tony Oliver chose him to play Shirou. Papenbrook stated that there were moments when Oliver "would explain ... why Shirou was making a certain action or what had been happening surrounding Shirou". Oliver "added so much detail" to Papenbrook's performance; the actor enjoyed "watching it back after" and felt it was "really, really cool to actually see those things that [Oliver] described". He said Oliver wanted him to play Shirou in a "real" way and wished to perceive "the feelings behind" Papenbrook's words. As a result, Papenbrook had to get himself into a "deep mindset".
Papenbrook had watched the first Heaven's Feel film in Japanese before he was told he would work on it. He said he had been "lucky enough to be at a convention with the Japanese actors". He added that while one moment in the film had made the whole audience laugh, he had not understood the reason behind their laughter until it had been explained to him; he comprehended that scene when he viewed it in English. After watching the film in Japanese, he "understood how Shirou should act in that scene". During the recording, he was asked to give Shirou more emotion; he found this challenging because he wanted to avoid expanding Shirou's tone. Papenbrook looked forward to Shirou's role in the Heaven's Feel film because of Shirou being different from the other series, mainly when it came to his relationship with Sakura.
## Characterization and themes
Shirou Emiya is a red-haired Japanese high school student. Before the events of the visual novel Fate/stay night, Shirou's parents died in a fire caused by a war between mages known as the Fourth Holy Grail War. Shirou is saved by Kiritsugu Emiya, who then adopts him and teaches basic magic. Before his adoptive father's death, Shirou is informed that Kiritsugu failed to become an "ally of justice," someone who saves as many people as possible. Shirou promises to become one in his stead. Shirou has the desire to fulfill Kiritsugu's goal (referred to as an ideal) becomes his way of life. Through the three routes of Fate/stay night, his opinion of that ideal shifts. He suffers from extreme survivor's guilt and feels disrespectful to the deceased to prioritize his own needs before those of others. He has a distorted sense of values and can only find self-worth in helping others without compensation. Shirou takes Kiritsugu's values of being a hero regardless of being mocked by others who find him hypocritical for not caring about his own life; different routes of the novel make him choose different paths as he interacts with others. While Shirou is only able to perform fundamental magic for his daily life, he later develops the power to project weapons, such as two small twin swords and replicas of other weapons. He is connected with the servant Archer as both can wield the same powers, most notably the extra-dimensional weapons known as Unlimited Blade Works (無限の剣製, Mugen no Kensei), from a dimension in the future, allowing to reach the strength of other servants in a short moment in different routes of the novel's stories. Sugiyama said that "Shirou is a philanthropist in any world. He is a young boy who is wishing for the happiness of those around him." Hiroyama felt that Shirou's voice contains in this film a greater sense of security compared to his manga. For the spin-off Today's Menu for the Emiya Family, Sugiyama was surprised and delighted with Shirou's personality, finding him gentler than in the original series. He tried giving the character a different tone than the ones he used previously.
Japanese pop singer Aimer composed the theme song "Last Stardust", which explores Shirou as the music is displayed in his fight against Archer. The vocals focus on the fire that destroyed Shirou's city while dealing with his acceptance of Kiritsugu's death as he decided to follow his dreams regardless of any regrets he took in his life. This connects with Shirou's future self, Archer, who faced multiple tragedies after becoming a warrior, but Shirou still embraced the pain he would endure in his life instead. Aimer also researched the relationship between Jesus and his disciple Judas Iscariot while handling the relationship between Shirou and Archer with the latter often showing intentions to kill the former, believing he should have never been born; similar words are said between Jesus and Judas.
## Appearances
### In Fate/stay night
As the visual novel opens, Shirou lives in a Japanese household from the city of Fuyuki under the guidance of school teacher Taiga Fujimura, years after his father Kiritsugu died. One night at school, he witnesses a duel between warriors Archer and Lancer; the latter ambushes and kills Shirou. Using her magic, Archer's master, Rin Tohsaka, manages to revive Shirou. When Lancer attacks him again, Shirou accidentally summons the servant Saber who drives Lancer away. Saber swears to protect him from any danger. After allying with Rin, Shirou learns of the Fifth Holy Grail War, a conflict between multiple servants and masters who seek to obtain the Holy Grail. Shirou agrees to join the conflict to prevent further catastrophes being caused by other masters.
#### Fate route
In the Fate route, Shirou learns that Saber is a female King Arthur. King Arthur blames herself for the fall of Britain. This unwavering ideal serves as a juxtaposition to Shirou's; although they believe that their respective goals are unreachable, both continue along their journey. While fighting a servant named Berserker, Shirou passes all of his energy to Saber to create a replica of Caliburn, the sword in the stone which chooses the rightful king of England which the pair wield together to kill their enemy. Shirou then adopts Berserker's master, Illyasviel von Einzbern, who is revealed to be Kiritsugu's daughter. Shirou learns that Kiritsugu was Saber's previous master, and that Excalibur's scabbard, Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia (全て遠き理想郷, Subete Tōki Risōkyō), was hidden inside his body to protect him from enemies. Shirou and Saber prepare for final fight against Kirei Kotomine and his servant, Gilgamesh, who intend to sacrifice Illya to create the Grail. Before this, Shirou returns Avalon to Saber so that she can fight with Excalibur's full strength. Shirou and Saber win their fights by accessing Avalon's full power together, after which Saber returns to a past version of Camelot, where she passes away. In the PlayStation 2 remake, an extra ending was added, in which Shirou and Saber reunite on Avalon Island following their deaths.
#### Unlimited Blade Works route
In the Unlimited Blade Works route, Rin chastises Shirou for his ideal of becoming an ally of justice. Her servant is a future version of Shirou – Archer – who has suffered greatly from this ideal. Archer seeks to kill his younger self in the hope of erasing his own existence or at least erasing the idea of being an ally of justice from Shirou's world. During a battle, Shirou learns of Archer's true identity. The two are also locked in an ideological conflict, with Archer criticizing Shirou for borrowing his ideal from his adoptive father and Shirou vowing never to become Archer. Although he refuses to give up his ideal entirely, Shirou works toward a compromise in which he will strive for fulfilling it despite knowing that it is borrowed. After Shirou wins his fight against Archer, he faces and defeats Gilgamesh, while Rin and Saber destroy the Grail created from the late Illya. In the Good ending, Saber does not fade away after destroying the Grail, and Shirou stays with Saber and Rin in the Emiya household. In the True ending, Shirou travels to London to live with Rin and study magic in the Mage's Association at the Clock Tower.
#### Heaven's Feel route
In the Heaven's Feel route, Shirou realizes that his schoolmate Sakura Matou is a mage who unwillingly turns into a black shadow every night to kill townspeople. He faces a dilemma: he can either uphold his ideal by killing Sakura, saving lives in the process, or he can forsake his ideal to save her. He chooses to abandon his ideal and become Sakura's ally, also becoming Rider's master. During a fight, Shirou's left arm is cut off and replaced with Archer's. It is too powerful for an ordinary human to wield; its use would eventually result in Shirou's death. While fighting corrupted versions of Saber and Berserker created by Sakura's Shadow, Shirou absorbs the arm's power, beginning the process of his mind and body breaking down. He then projects Berserker's own axe-sword to his self-made technique, Nine Lives Blade Works: The Shooting Hundred Heads (是・射殺す百頭(ナインライブズ・ブレイドワークス, Nain Raibuzu Bureido Wākusu), and kill Berserker. With Rider's aid, Shirou defeats Saber, and he and Rin purge the Shadow from Sakura. He stays behind to destroy the Greater Grail but is confronted by Kirei, whom Shirou defeats. In the Normal ending, Shirou sacrifices himself to destroy the Greater Grail. In the True ending, Illya sacrifices herself to close the Greater Grail and save Shirou from dying to his arm's effects. He then lives peacefully with Sakura.
### In Fate/hollow ataraxia
In the sequel Fate/hollow ataraxia, Shirou meets Bazett Fraga McRemitz, a member of the Mages' Association and a master in the Fifth Holy Grail War. Both Shirou and Bazett find themselves in a four-day time loop that begins on the fourth day of the Fifth Holy Grail War. Each time they die or survive four days, they awaken on the first day of the loop, aware of what has happened to them since the first time since it began. Determined to end the sequence, Shirou, Bazett, and Avenger fight to discover the truth behind the endless four days. Shirou experiences changes in personality and momentary memory lapses. It is later revealed that Shirou is connected to Avenger, causing them to switch places when the night falls, implying that Avenger is either hiding in Shirou's body. Once Shirou discovers the truth, he becomes conflicted; he wants to end the loop, while Avenger wants to live out his days. It is revealed that Avenger created and possessed a replica of Shirou to fulfil his desires, trapping that replica in the four-day time loop. Meanwhile, the real Shirou was still present in the real world. More than half a year had passed after the events of the Fifth Holy Grail War. Once Avenger ends the loop, he discovers the anomaly in spacetime continuum which caused the endless four-day cycle; it was caused by Rin's use of a copy of Zelretch's Jeweled Sword, which Rin had obtained with the help of Shirou and Illya six months after the War. Avenger then erases the memories of all the present people in the time loop world, including Shirou. The only people who know what occurred are Bazett, Caren, Illya, and Caster. In the epilogue, the true Shirou is tricked into allowing Bazett and Caren stay at the Emiya household.
### Appearances in other media
#### Manga and anime
Shirou has appeared in the anime and manga versions of Fate/stay night, the film Unlimited Blade Works (2010), and the Heaven's Feel films. Scenes from the original visual novel that show Shirou having sexual intercourse with the heroines are commonly censored. The Unlimited Blade Works anime series added a new scene where a person is seen walking in Archer's dimension following the final credits. This generated many questions from fans in regards to Shirou's destiny but Kinoko Nasu remained ambiguous about whether that person was Shirou or not.
Shirou is a minor character in the spin-off manga series Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, in which he lives as a normal teenager with Illya's mother, Irisviel von Einzbern. An alternate version of the character from a parallel world appears in the sequel Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya 3rei!!; Shirou is imprisoned by the Ainsworth family. He asks Illya to look after his sister, Miyu Edelfelt. Shirou is later freed from the prison by Gilgamesh and joins the fight against Miyu's enemies, the Ainsworths, using his magic techniques that weaken his body. Shirou is able to defeat Angelica Ainsworths but is nearly killed by a doll of Sakura Matou controlled by Julian Ainsworth. Following his recovery, Shirou reunites with Miyu, and they go back to their home while explaining to their allies what they know about the enemies.
The manga and the anime film Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Vow in the Snow (2017) show the origins of the parallel world's Shirou; the adopted son of Kiritsugu and the foster brother of Miyu, Shirou decided to take care of Miyu following Kiritsugu's death. As the two grew closer as siblings, Julian kidnaps Miyu. Guided by Kirei Kotomine, Shirou decides to take part in the Holy Grail War to protect Miyu from being used as a sacrifice by the Ainsworths. When Shinji Matou's reanimated corpse kills Sakura for trying to protect Shirou, she leaves an "Archer card" that grants Shirou the powers of his future heroic persona, Archer. After avenging Sakura, Shirou fights the enemies that threaten his sister during the Holy Grail War and wins the conflict. Using the cards, Shirou transports Miyu to another world and then confronts Angelica. Although Shirou loses the final fight which leads to his imprisonment, he is satisfied with his sister's safety. After Shirou tells Illya his and Miyu's past, he makes peace with Angelica who becomes whom he becomes attracted. However, he is forced to abandon the battlefield when Illya and Miyu note that Archer's powers as they are consuming his spirit. However, when Sakura's doll is about to kill Rin, Shirou returns to fight, using his last magic attack to take her down and restore her mind.
Shirou briefly appears in the light novel Fate/Zero, the prequel of Fate/stay night, in which he is saved by Kiritsugu at the end of the series from a fire. After Kiritsugu's death, Shirou decides to follow his guardian's dreams of being a hero. Shirou also makes minor appearances in the novel Fate/Apocrypha, in which his hometown was not destroyed by the fire of the Fourth Holy Grail War. He, along with other characters from Type-Moon, appears in the 2011 anime Carnival Phantasm. He is also the main character of the manga Today's Menu for the Emiya Family, in which Shirou's peaceful life is shown alongside those of the other characters.
#### Video games and CD dramas
In the role-playing game Fate/Grand Order, Shirou appears as a "pseudo" Servant under the name Senji Muramasa (千子村正), a spirit that wonders about his vessel's persona. Muramasa wields demonic swords, including Tsumugari Muramasa (都牟刈村正) and Myoujingiri Muramasa (明神切村正, lit. "cutting gods and demons Muramasa"), but is not certain about their success. This incarnation of Shirou reappears in the manga adaptation by Wataru Rei.
Shirou appears in the fighting games Fate/unlimited codes, and Fate/tiger colosseum. Besides Type-Moon's works and adaptations, Shirou also appears in the video game Divine Gate. He is also present alongside Rin as a playable character in the side game Capsule Servant, as well as in the mobile phone game Hortensia Saga to promote the anime adaptations. A character CD focused on Shirou was released in 2007. A drama CD exploring Shirou's life with Kiritsugu and Fujimura as he deals with his trauma resulting from the fire and Kiritsugu's tutelage in basic magic was released. In promoting the animated adaptations of the routes, Shirou was added to the games Summons Board, Red Stone, and Puzzle & Dragons.
## Cultural impact
### Popularity
Merchandise, including rubber straps and figures, have been modeled after Shirou, including replicas of his twin swords. In 2017, a café based on Fate characters including Shirou was opened in Osaka, Japan. To promote the film Vow in the Snow, Takashi Takeuchi created a poster of Hiroshi Hiroyama's take on Shirou, which was offered to viewers in Japan. Hiroyama responded to this promotion enthusiastically. In promoting the Heaven's Feel films, Shirou's school uniform was recreated for the usage of cosplayers, while his image was later used as part of a Valentine's Day event.
Shirou has been popular with fans of the series, often ranking in polls from Type Moon and Newtype. Outside of the franchise, Shirou has appeared in other anime polls. He took eighth place in the category "best male character" from a 2015 preliminary poll conducted by the magazine Newtype. In March 2018, he took fourth spot for his role in the first Heaven's Feel film. In a poll containing male anime characters conducted by Anime News Network, he took both the 9th and 10th spots. In a poll by Gakuen Babysitters, Shirou was voted as one of the male character fans wanted to have as their younger brother. In a Newtype poll, Shirou was voted the eighth-most-popular male anime character from the 2010s. In the March 2019 issue from the magazine, Shirou took the first spot for his role in the second Heaven's Feel film. In a Manga.Tokyo poll from 2018, Shirou was voted as the second most popular Fate character behind Saber. Anime News Network cited Shirou and Archer's fight scene from the Unlimited Blade Works television series as one of the best sword fights in anime due to handling of both characters in terms of similarities and how they use similar techniques. Shirou's Muramasa persona from Fate Grand Order is also popular within Japanese player.
### Critical reception
Shirou's characterization has attracted critical commentary. Reviewers considered Shirou's behavior and his attitude to his own ideals as the most interesting and well-developed part of the whole novel. Gamasutra and Manga.Tokyo said his childish ideals of becoming a hero and the continuation of this goal while growing up make him an interesting protagonist. Writer Gen Urobuchi wrote that the relationship between Shirou and Rin is more appealing than his relationship with Saber, describing them as a more realistic couple. Urobuchi enjoyed the way Shirou and Sakura's romantic relationship is handled due to the emotional support Shirou offers to the lonely Sakura. Rice Digital claimed the sexual scenes were given a deep theme, as Shirou was not aggressive towards his love interest in neither route and remains as a more mature character instead. According to Anime News Network, in the visual novel's first animated series, Shirou demonstrates depth because he is less pacifistic and has become a more philosophical fighter than in previous appearances. THEM Anime Reviews was more critical of Shirou's personality, calling him a "complete idiot" due to the number of times he is placed in danger. Makoto Kuroda of Wayo Women's University describes Shirou's actions towards Saber as neglect of a person's primordial survival instincts and as encompassing "selfless philanthropism and a purely boundless sense of moralism". Some reviewers commented on Shirou's relationship with Saber and on his growth in Studio Deen's anime that improves their personalities and adds romance to their relationship as the plot progresses.
Reviewers' comments on Shirou's role in the Unlimited Blade Works film and television series have been mostly positive. The Fandom Post and Blu-ray enjoyed Shirou's characterization in the film, in which his ideals contrast with those of Archer and Kiritsugu, making him notably mature in the story. Both voice actor Kana Ueda and ReelRundown said Unlimited Blade Works makes him interesting as the character's depths are further explored. Sequart Organization noted that while Archer hates his past self because of the regrets he had when he was Shirou, he makes peace with his decisions. An Anime News Network reviewer praised his fights in the film. Blu-Ray enjoyed the way Shirou and Rin begin as enemies and become closer as the story progresses. The same reviewer also praised the development of the relationship between Shirou and Archer during the film. Chris Beveridge of The Fandom Post praised the protagonist's battle against Gilgamesh because of Gilgamesh's antagonistic role in Fate/Zero giving the narrative closure. Josh Tolentino of Japanator found Shirou's decision to become a tragic warrior despite his knowledge about this future uncommon in storytelling.
Shirou's characterization was changed for the Heaven's Feel movies. Anime News Network said he shows facial expressions that give his scenes a bigger impact on viewers rather than relying of dialogue. Two writers from The Fandom Post were divided on whether Shirou is as engaging in these films as in Unlimited Blade Works, although his posttraumatic stress disorder was noted to explore a deeper part of his past. Martin Butler of UK Anime Network found Shirou "rather bland". Some reviewers praised his interactions with Sakura and called their relationship one of the most enjoyable romances in the franchise. The second film was noticed for making Shirou take one of the hardest decisions he ever could as it protecting Sakura would contradict his dreams of becoming a hero he took from Kiritsugu.
Beside the main Fate series, critics focused on his spin-off incarnations. During his debut in Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya 3rei!!, Shirou earned praise from Thanasis Karavasilis of MANGA.TOKYO, who said his heroic actions make his first appearance the highlight of the episode. His role in the fighting scenes in the series were well received by Karavasilis, but he received criticism for being overpowered. For the film Oath Under Snow, response to Shirou's protection over Miyu were received positive response, while his characterization also earned praise despite similarities with previous incarnations. Otaku USA praised him in Today's Menu for the Emiya Family because the character's cooking is presented in a positive way despite his similarities with the archetypes of action series in the previous works. In another review, the writer enjoyed the way this original net animation (ONA) handled the relationship between Shirou and Kiritsugu, which is only briefly shown in other works from the franchise.
The main character in each of the story arches was placed in different conditions, which allowed readers to understand the circumstances of the setting ("Fate"), to conduct a theoretical understanding of the ideals of the character ("Unlimited Blade Works"), to face the problems of their implementation ("Heaven's Feel") and, having combined this, to understand the details of his image. Gamsutra added that the player's in-game choices dramatically alter Shirou's character arcs and allow Nasu to convey a different aspect of his ideal. In his analysis of the magical system and details of the personalities of the characters, Makoto Kuroda sees in the idea of Shirou to become a “champion of justice” a direct analogy with the traditional view of the life of bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism, seeking to save other people at the cost of their own efforts and suffering. In Kuroda's view, Buddhist concepts are opposed to the elements of Christian ethics contained in the plot through the opposition of Shirou and Kirei Kotomine in the form of the main character's rejection of the interpretation of Angra Mainyu as a creature who accepted the sins of others in the name of salvation. Similarly, novelist Shūsei Sakagami praised the way the player can witness Shirou's "gradual change from a robot to becoming a human" through the three routes. Uno Tsunehiro from Kyoto University compared his traumatic background to survivors from the September 11 attacks while also showing different ways the Japanese society used to take care of their lives in such time. As a result, Tsunehiro views Shirou's change in each route as a way to recover from the trauma, grow up and become an independent person.
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12,601,835 |
Sources of ancient Tamil history
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Literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic sources of ancient Tamil history
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[
"Ancient Tamil Nadu",
"Historiography of India",
"Tamil-language literature"
] |
There are literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic sources of ancient Tamil history. The foremost among these sources is the Sangam literature, generally dated to 5th century BCE to 3rd century CE. The poems in Sangam literature contain vivid descriptions of the different aspects of life and society in Tamilakam during this age; scholars agree that, for the most part, these are reliable accounts. Greek and Roman literature, around the dawn of the Christian era, give details of the maritime trade between Tamilakam and the Roman empire, including the names and locations of many ports on both coasts of the Tamil country. There are evidences as could be seen comparing standard forms of Sumerian literature and those recovered through present form of Tamil, for example the word for father in Sumerian transliteration is given as, "a-ia" that could easily be compared with Tamil word, "ayya". This also places ancient form of Tamil to early Sumerian period, say as ancient as 3500 BC.
Archaeological excavations of several sites in Tamil Nadu and Kerala have yielded remnants from the Sangam era, such as different kinds of pottery, pottery with inscriptions, imported ceramic ware, industrial objects, brick structures and spinning whorls. Techniques such as stratigraphy and paleography have helped establish the date of these items to the Sangam era. The excavated artifacts have provided evidence for existence of different economic activities mentioned in Sangam literature such as agriculture, weaving, smithy, gem cutting, building construction, pearl fishing and painting.
Inscriptions found on caves and pottery are another source for studying the history of Tamilakam. Writings in Tamil-Brahmi script have been found in many locations in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and also in Egypt and Thailand. mostly recording grants made by the kings and chieftains. References are also made to other aspects of the Sangam society. Coins issued by the Tamil kings of this age have been recovered from river beds and urban centers of their kingdoms. Most of the coins carry the emblem of the corresponding dynasty on their reverse, such as the bow and arrow of the Cheras; some of them contain portraits and written legends helping numismatists assign them to a certain period.
## Literary sources in Tamil
By far, the most important source of ancient Tamil history is the corpus of Tamil poems, referred to as Sangam literature, generally dated from the last centuries of the pre-Christian era to the early centuries of the Christian era. It consists of 2,381 known poems, with a total of over 50,000 lines, written by 473 poets. Each poem belongs to one of two types: Akam (inside) and Puram (outside). The akam poems deal with inner human emotions such as love and the puram poems deal with outer experiences such as society, culture and warfare. They contain descriptions of various aspects of life in the ancient Tamil country. The Maduraikkanci by Mankudi Maruthanaar contains a full-length description of Madurai and the Pandyan country under the rule of Nedunj Cheliyan III. The Netunalvatai by Nakkirar contains a description of the king’s palace. The Purananuru and Akanaṉūṟu collections contain poems sung in praise of various kings and also poems that were composed by the kings themselves. The Sangam age anthology Pathirruppaththu provides the genealogy of two collateral lines for three or four generations of the Cheras, along with describing the Chera country, in general. The poems in Ainkurnuru, written by numerous authors, were compiled by Kudalur Kizhar at the instance of Chera King Yanaikkatcey Mantaran Ceral Irumporai.The Chera kings are also mentioned in other works such as Akanaṉūṟu, Kuruntokai, Natṟiṇai and Purananuru. The Pattinappaalai describes the Chola port city of Kaveripumpattinam in great detail. It mentions Eelattu-unavu – food from Eelam – arriving at the port. One of the prominent Sangam Tamil poets is known as Eelattu Poothanthevanar meaning Poothan-thevan (proper name) hailing from Eelam mentioned in Akanaṉūṟu: 88, 231, 307; Kurunthokai: 189, 360, 343 and Naṟṟiṇai: 88, 366.
The historical value of the Sangam poems has been critically analysed by scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries. Sivaraja Pillay, a 20th-century historian, while constructing the genealogy of ancient Tamil kings from Sangam literature, insists that the Sangam poems show no similarities with ancient Puranic literature and medieval Tamil literature, both of which contain, according to him, fanciful myths and impossible legends. He feels that the Sangam literature is, for the most part, a plain unvarnished tale of the happenings of a by-gone age. Scholars like Dr. Venkata Subramanian, Dr. N. Subrahmanian, Dr. Sundararajan and J.K. Pillay concur with this view. Noted historian K.A.N. Sastri dates the presently available Sangam corpus to the early centuries of the Christian Era. He asserts that the picture drawn by the poets is in obedience to literary tradition and must have been based on solid foundation in the facts of contemporary life; he proceeds to use the Sangam literature to describe the government, culture and society of the early Pandyan kingdom. Kanakalatha Mukund, while describing the mercantile history of Tamilakam, points out that the heroic poetry in Sangam literature often described an ideal world rather than reality, but the basic facts are reliable and an important source of Tamil history. Her reasoning is that they have been supported by archaeological and numismatic evidence and the fact that similar vivid descriptions are found in works by different poets. Dr. Husaini relies on Sangam literature to describe the early Pandyan society and justifies his source by saying that some of the poetical works contain really trustworthy accounts of early Pandyan kings and present facts as they occurred, though they never throw much light about the chronology of their rule.
Among the critics of using Sangam literature for historical studies is Herman Tieken, who maintains that the Sangam poems were composed in the 8th or 9th century and that they attempt to describe a period much earlier than when they were written. Tieken's methodology of dating Sangam works has been criticized by Hart, Ferro-Luzzi, and Monius. Robert Caldwell, a 19th-century linguist, dates the Sangam works to a period that he calls the Jaina cycle which was not earlier than the 8th century; he does not offer an opinion on the historical value of the poems. Kamil Zvelebil, a Czech indologist, considers this date quite impossible and says that Caldwell's choice of works are whimsical. Champakalakshmi states that since the Sangam period is often stretched from 300 BCE to 300 CE and beyond, it would be hazardous to use the Sangam works as a single corpus of source for the entire period.
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the Sangam poems were created between the 1st century BCE and 4th century CE and many of them are free from literary conceits. The Macropaedia mentions that the historical authenticity of sections of Sangam literature has been confirmed by archaeological evidence.
## Literary sources in other languages
Kautilya (c. 370–283 BCE), in his Sanskrit work Arthashastra, mentions the "easy to travel" trade route to the South and the products of the Pandya kingdom, including some special varieties of pearls. He refers to the city of Madurai and the river Tamaraparani in the Pandya kingdom. The Sinhalese chronicle Mahawamsa claims that King Vijaya (c. 543 BCE) married a daughter of the Pandyan king Kulasekaran, to whom he was sending rich presents every year. Using the references to king Gajabahu I in the Mahawamsa and the Uraiperu katturai of the Tamil epic Cilappatikaram, historians have arrived at a literary chronological device referred to as the Gajabahu synchronism to date the events mentioned in the Tamil epic to the 2nd century CE. The famous Greek traveler Megasthenes (c. 302 BCE) mentions the "Pandae" kingdom and refers to it as "that portion of India which lies to the southward and extends to the sea". The Roman historian Strabo (c. 1st century BCE) mentions the embassies sent by the Pandyas to the court of Augustus, along with a description of the ambassadors from Dramira. He also gives various details about the trading relationship between the Tamil kingdoms and Rome. Pliny the Elder (c. 77 CE) refers to many Tamil ports in his work The Natural History. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c. 60–100 CE) gives an elaborate description of the Tamil country and describes the riches of a 'Pandian Kingdom':
""Then come Naura and Tyndis, the first markets of Damirica (Limyrike), and then Muziris and Nelcynda, which are now of leading importance. Tyndisis of the Kingdom of Cerobothra; it is a village in plain sight by the sea. Muziris, of the same Kingdom, abounds in ships sent there with cargoes from Ariake, and by the Greeks; it is located on a river, distant from Tyndis by river and sea five hundred stadia, and up the river from the shore twenty stadia...Nelcynda is distant from Muziris by river and sea about five hundred stadia, and is of another Kingdom, the Pandian. This place also is situated on a river, about one hundred and twenty stadia from the sea...."
One such port, Kudiramalai is mentioned in Greek as Hippuros, a famous port of the Malabar country in Ceylon to the ancient Greeks. Pliny states that in the reign of the Emperor Claudius in 47 CE:
"Annius Plocamus, a freedman, having farmed the customs of the Red Sea, was, while sailing along the coast of Arabia over fifteen days, driven by contrary winds into Hippuros, a port of Taprobane, where he was entertained with kindly hospitality by the king. In six months' time he acquired a thorough knowledge of the Tamil language."
An embassy of four envoys were sent from the island to Rome, including ambassador-in-chief Rasaiah from the King of Kudiramalai. To the Romans, the Kudiramalai envoys related particulars about their kingdom's inhabitants, including their common life expectancy of 100 years, their government, a council of thirty persons, free civil liberties and laws pertaining to abuse of sovereign power, their trade with the Seres (Chera), their festivals surrounding "the chase", and their delights in the elephant and the tiger. The ambassadors felt their kingdom to be richer than Rome's, although in their eyes Rome put its wealth to much better use. The Peutingerian tables which speak of a temple of Augustus in the west coast of Tamilakam were composed in 222 CE. The Roman emperor Julian received an embassy from a Pandya about 361. A Roman trading centre was located on the Pandyan coast (Alagankulam—at the mouth of the Vaigai river, southeast of Madurai). The Pandyas also had trade contacts with Ptolemaic Egypt and, through Egypt, with Rome by the 1st century, and with China by the 3rd century. The 1st century Greek historian Nicolaus of Damascus met, at Damascus, the ambassador sent by an Indian King "named Pandion or, according to others, Porus" to Caesar Augustus around 13 CE (Strabo XV.1–4, and Strabo XV.1–73).
The Buddhist Jataka story known as Akiti Jataka refers to the Damila-rattha (Tamil country) including the region of Kaveripattinam. In the Petavatthu commentary, the Damila country encompasses the Dakhinapátha.
The Chinese writer Pan Kou, who lived before the 1st century CE, refers to the city of Kanchipuram in his work Tsien han chou. The Chinese historian Yu Huan in his 3rd century text, the Weilüe, mentions The Kingdom of Panyue:
"...The kingdom of Panyue is also called Hanyuewang. It is several thousand li to the southeast of Tianzhu (Northern India)...The inhabitants are small; they are the same height as the Chinese..."
## Archeological sources
According to Abraham, the Sangam era corresponds roughly to the period 300 BCE–300 CE, based on archaeology. Many historical sites have been excavated in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, many of them in the second half of the 20th century. One of the most important archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu is Arikamedu, located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Pondicherry. According to Wheeler, it was an Indo-Roman trading station that flourished during the first two centuries CE. It has been suggested that Arikamedu was first established as a settlement c. 250 BCE and lasted until 200 CE. Kodumanal and Perur, villages on the banks of the Noyyal river in Coimbatore district, were situated on the ancient trade route between Karur and the west coast, across the Palghat gap on the Western Ghats. Both sites have yielded remains belonging to the Sangam age. Kaveripumpattinam, also known as Puhar or Poompuhar, is located near the Kaveri delta and played a vital role in the brisk maritime history of ancient Tamilakam. Excavations have been carried out both on-shore and off-shore at Puhar and the findings have brought to light the historicity of the region. The artefacts excavated date between 300 BCE and early centuries CE. Some of the off-shore findings indicate that parts of the ancient city may have submerged under the advancing sea or tsunami, as alluded to by the Sangam literature. Korkai, a port of the early Pandyas at the Tamraparani basin, is now located 7 km inland due to the retreating shoreline caused by sediment deposition. Alagankulam, near the Vaigai delta, was another port city of the Pandyas and an archaeological site that has been excavated in the recent years. Both the Pandyan ports have provided clues about local occupations, such as pearl fishing. Other sites that have yielded remnants from the Sangam age include Kanchipuram, Kunnattur, Malayampattu and Vasavasamudram along the Palar river; Sengamedu and Karaikadu along the Pennar river; Perur, Tirukkampuliyur, Alagarai and Urayur along the Kaveri river. These excavations have yielded different varieties of ceramics such as black and red ware, rouletted ware and Russet coated ware, both locally made and imported kinds. Many of the pottery sherds contain Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions on them, which have provided additional evidence for the archaeologist to date them. Other artifacts such as brick walls, ring wells, pits, industrial items, remains of seeds and shells provide clues about the nature of the settlements and the other aspects of life during the Sangam age. Archaeologists agree that activities best illustrated in the material records of Tamilakam are trade, hunting, agriculture and crafts.
### Evidence for economic activities
Archeological evidence for agriculture in the Sangam age has been retrieved from sites such as Mangudi, Kodumanal and Perur, which have yielded charred remains of seeds of crops like rice, millets including pearl millets, pulses and cotton. It has been deduced that agriculture most likely involved dry farming, with additional irrigation for cotton and rice; mixed cropping seems to have been undertaken to replenish the nitrogen in the soil—this also suggests a spread of labour and knowledge of different sowing and harvesting techniques. The presence of cotton seeds indicates the production of a crop aimed at craft production, which is also attested by finds of cotton and spindle whorls at Kodumanal. Remains of structures that resemble an artificial water reservoir have been located at different sites. In Arikamedu, a few terracotta ring-wells were found at the bottom of the reservoir; it has been suggested that the ring wells were to assure the supply of water during the dry season.
A research survey at Kodumanal has unearthed the remains of an ancient blast furnace, its circular base distinguishable by its white colour, probably the result of high temperature. Around the base, many iron slags, some with embedded burnt clay, vitrified brick-bats, many terracotta pipes with vitrified mouths and a granite slab, which may have been the anvil, have been recovered. Absence of potsherds and other antiquities has suggested that the smelting place was located outside the boundary of habitation. More furnaces were discovered at the same site with burnt clay pieces with rectangular holes. The pieces were part of the furnace wall, the holes designed to allow a natural draught of air to pass through evenly into the furnace. Many vitrified crucibles were also recovered from this site; one of them notable because it was found in an in situ position. Evidence of steel making is also found in the crucibles excavated at this site. In addition to iron and steel, the metallurgy seems to have possibly extended to copper, bronze, lead, silver and gold objects. At Arikamedu, there were indications of small-scale workshops containing the remains of working in metal, glass, semiprecious stones, ivory and shell. Kodumanal has yielded evidence for the practice of weaving, in the form of a number of intact terracotta spindle whorls pierced at the centre by means of an iron rod, indicating the knowledge of cotton spinning and weaving. To further strengthen this theory, a well preserved piece of woven cotton cloth was also recovered from this site. Dyeing vats were spotted at Arikamedu.
Many brick structures have been located at Kaveripumpattinam during on-shore, near shore and off-shore explorations; these provide proof for building construction during Sangam age. The on-shore structure include an I-shaped wharf and a structure that looks like a reservoir. The wharf has a number of wooden poles planted in its structure to enable anchorage of boats and to facilitate the handling of cargo. Among other structures, there is a Buddhist vihara with parts of it decorated using moulded bricks and stucco. Near shore excavations yielded a brick structure and a few terracotta ring wells. Off-shore explorations located a fifteen course brick structure, three courses of dressed stone blocks, brick bats and pottery. At Arikamedu, there were indications of a structure built substantially of timber, possibly a wharf. Conical jars that could have been used for storing wine and oil have been found near structures that could have been shops or storage areas. Evidence of continued building activity are present at this site, with the most distinctive structures being those of a possible warehouse, dyeing tanks and lined pits.
Kodumanal was popular for the gem-cutting industry and manufacture of jewels. Sites bearing natural reserves of semi-precious stones such as beryls, sapphire and quartz are located in the vicinity of Kodumanal. Beads of sapphire, beryl, agate, carnelian, amethyst, lapis lazulli, jasper, garnet, soapstone and quartz were unearthed from here. The samples were in different manufacturing stages – finished, semi-finished, drilled and undrilled, polished and unpolished and in the form of raw material. Chips and stone slabs, one with a few grooved beads, clearly demonstrate that these were manufactured locally at Kodumanal. Excavations at Korkai have yielded a large number of pearl oyesters at different levels, indicating the practice of the trade in this region. Some of the objects excavated from Kodumanal show a lot of artistic features such as paintings on the pottery, engravings on the beads, hexagonal designs on beads, inlay work in a tiger figurine and engraved shell bangles. More than ten designs are noticed in the paintings and bead etchings.
There are remnants of many of the items imported from and exported to the Roman empire, at Arikamedu. Imported items recovered from here include ceramics such as amphorae and sherds of Arretine ware, glass bowls, Roman lamps, a crystal gem and an object resembling a stylus. Artifacts that may have been meant for export include jewellery, worked ivory, textiles and perhaps leather or leather-related products. Similar looking ornaments have been recovered from Arikamedu and Palatine Hill in Rome, further confirming that this site was a leading trade center. The Pandyan port city Alagankulam has yielded a rouletted pottery ware that bears the figure of a ship on the shoulder portion. This figure is very similar to a finding reported from Ostia, an ancient port of the Romans. Wharf-like structures found at many port cities indicate that they might have been used as docks. Based on marine explorations of various port-sites, it has been suggested that stone anchors may have been used since as early as the 3rd century BCE.
## Epigraphical sources
During the later half of the 20th century, several inscriptions of the Sangam age have been discovered in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Most of them are written in Tamil-Brahmi script and are found in rocks or on pottery. The information obtained from such inscriptions have been used to corroborate some of the details provided by the Sangam literature.
### Cave inscriptions
The 2nd and 13th rock edicts of Ashoka (273–232 BCE) refers to the Pandyas, Cholas, Cheras and the Satiyaputras. According to the edicts, these kingdoms lay outside the southern boundary of the Mauryan Empire. The Hathigumpha inscription of the Kalinga King, Kharavela, (c. 150 BCE) refers to the arrival of a tribute of jewels and elephants from the Pandyan king. It also talks about a league of Tamil kingdoms that had been in existence 113 years before then. The earliest epigraphic records of the Tamil country in Tamil Nadu were found in Mangulam village near Madurai. The cave inscriptions, deciphered in 1966, have been dated to the 2nd century BC and record the gift of a monastery by Pandyan king Nedunj Cheliyan to a Jain monk. These inscriptions are also the oldest Jain inscriptions in South India and among the oldest in all of India. References to Sangam age Chera dynasty are found in Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions of 3rd century CE found on rocks in Edakal hill in Wynad district of Kerala. The ancient port city of Thondi is mentioned in inscriptions found in Kilavalavu village near Madurai. The early part of the 20th century saw the discovery of about 39 inscriptions in a dozen locations, all near Madurai. The most significant of these were the ones at Alagarmalai and Sittannavasal. The Alagarmalai inscriptions, dated to the 1st century BCE, record the endowments made by a group of merchants from Madurai. Another set of inscriptions from the 2nd century CE, found at Pugalur village near Karur, document the construction of a rock shelter by a Chera king of the Irumporai line for a Jain monk, Cenkayapan. Cave inscriptions at Arachalur, dated to the 4th century, provide evidence for the cultivation of music and dance in the Tamil country. One of the earliest inscriptional evidence of the chieftains of the Sangam age was found at Jambai, a village near the town of Tirukkoyilur in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. These inscriptions belonging to the 1st century CE record the grants made by the chieftain Atiyaman Netuman Anci who ruled from Takatur. According to epigraphist I. Mahadevan, there were some reservations initially, about the linguistic details in the inscriptions, but further investigations have confirmed their authenticity. Inscriptions from the 2nd century CE found at Mannarkoil village in Tirunelveli district contain a reference to a katikai, which could mean an assembly of learned persons or an institution of higher learning. An inscription belonging to the early Cholas has been discovered near Tiruchirappalli and has been dated between the 2nd and 4th century. An analysis of the geographical sites of these cave inscriptions points to the possibility of the Tamil-Brahmi script having been created at Madurai around the 3rd century BCE and its disseminations to other parts of Tamil country thereafter.
### Pottery inscriptions
Inscriptions on pottery, written in Tamil-Brahmi, have been found from about 20 archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu. Using methods such as stratigraphy and palaeography, these have been dated between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE. Also found in present-day Andhra Pradesh and Sri Lanka, similar inscriptions in Tamil-Brahmi have been found outside the ancient Tamil country in Thailand and the Red Sea coast in Egypt. Arikamedu, the ancient port city of the Cholas, and Urayur and Puhar, their early capitals, have yielded several fragmentary pottery inscriptions, all dated to the Sangam age. Kodumanal, a major industrial center known for the manufacture of gems during this period, had remains of pottery with inscriptions in Tamil, Prakrit and Sinhala-Prakrit. Alagankulam, a thriving sea port of the early Pandyas, has yielded pottery inscriptions that mention several personal names including the name of a Chera prince. One of the pottery sherds contained the depiction of a large Roman ship. Many other ancient sites such as Kanchipuram, Karur, Korkai and Puhar have all yielded pottery with inscriptions on them. Outside of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, inscriptions in Tamil-Brahmi have been found in Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, Jaffna in modern Sri Lanka, ancient Roman ports of Qusier al-Qadim and Berenike in Egypt. The 2nd century BCE potsherds found in excavations in Poonagari, Jaffna, bear Tamil inscriptions of a clan name – vēḷāṉ, related to velirs of the ancient Tamil country. The inscriptions at Berenike refer to a Tamil chieftain Korran.
### Other inscriptions
The Thiruparankundram inscription found near Madurai in Tamil Nadu and dated on palaeographical grounds to the 1st century BCE, refers to a person as a householder from Eelam (Eela-kudumpikan). It reads: erukatur eelakutumpikan polalaiyan – "Polalaiyan, (resident of) Erukatur, the husbandman (householder) from Eelam. Apart from caverns and pottery, Tamil-Brahmi writings are also found in coins, seals and rings of the Sangam age. Many of them have been picked up from the Amaravathi river bed near Karur. A smaller number of inscribed objects have been picked up from the beds of other rivers like South Pennar and Vaigai. An oblong piece of polished stone with Tamil-Brahmi inscription has been located in a museum in the ancient port city of Khuan Luk Pat in southern Thailand. Based on the inscription, the object has been identified as a touchstone (uraikal) used for testing the fitness of gold. The inscription is dated to 3rd or 4th century.
### Polity from inscriptions
Epigraphy provides an account of various aspects of Sangam polity and has been used to verify some of the information provided by sources such as literature and numismatics. The names of various kings and chieftains occurring in the inscriptions include Nedunj Cheliyan, Peruvaluthi, Cheras of the Irumporai family, Tittan, Nedunkilli, Adiyaman, Pittan and Korrantai. References to administration includes the chiefs, superintendents, titles of ministers, palace of merchants and the village assembly. Religious references to Buddhist and Jain monks are found frequently, which have provided valuable information explaining the spread of those religions in Tamilakam. Brief mentions of various aspects of the Sangam society such as agriculture, trade, commodities, occupations, the social stratification, flora, fauna, music and dance, names of cities and names of individuals are also found in the inscriptions.
## Numismatic sources
Another important source of studying ancient Tamil history are the coins that have been found in recent years in the excavations, megaliths, hoards and surface. The coins belonging to the Sangam age, found in Tamil Nadu are generally classified into three categories. The first category consists of punch-marked coins from Magadha (400 BCE–187 BCE) and the Satavahanas (200 BCE–200 CE). The second category is made up of coins from the Roman Empire dated from 31 BCE to 217 CE, coins of Phoenicians and Seleucids and coins from the Mediterranean region (c. 300 BCE). The third category of Sangam age Tamil coins are the punch-marked silver, copper and lead coins dated 200 BCE–200 CE and assigned to the Sangam age Tamil kings. The coins belonging to the first two categories mostly attest to the trading relationships that the Tamil people had with the kingdoms of northern India and the outside world. But they do not offer much information regarding the Sangam age Tamil polity. The third category of coins, however, have provided direct testimony to the existence of ancient Tamil kingdoms and have been used to establish their period to coincide with that of the Sangam literature.
### Pandiya coin
Among the many coins attributed to the early Pandyas, are a series of punch-marked coins made of silver and copper, that are considered to belong to the earliest period. Six groups of silver punch-marked coins and one group of copper coins have been analysed so far. All of these punch-marked coins have a stylised fish symbol on their reverse, which is considered the royal emblem of the Pandyas. On the obverse of these coins are a variety symbols such as the sun, the sadarachakra, the trishul, a dog, stupa etc. The first group of silver coins was found at Bodinayakanur, in a hoard containing 1124 coins all belonging to the same type. The remaining coins in the five silver group and the copper group were all found in the Vaigai river bed near Madurai. Four of the six silver groups have been assigned a date close to the end of the Mauryan rule, c. 187 BCE. Since Tamilakam was deficient in metallic silver and since Roman silver did not become available in abundance until later, around 44 BCE, it has been postulated that the Pandyan kings melted silver from the coins brought in by trade with Magadha or some foreign location other than Rome. The names of the Pandyan kings who issued this series of coins is not clear. Another series of coins, all made of copper and found near Madurai, have the fish symbol on the reverse and among other symbols on the obverse, have the legend Peruvaluthi written in the Tamil-Brahmi script. They have been assigned a date of around 200 BCE and are considered to have been issued by the Pandyan king Peruvaluthi. These coins are represent some of the few instances where the names of Sangam kings appear in non-literary sources. Sangam literature mentions the importance attached to Vedic sacrifices by Tamil kings including the Pandyan Mudukudumi Peruvaludhi. This fact is also corroborated by the discovery of several Pandyan coins that are referred to as the Vedic sacrifice series. These coins have symbols on their obverse that depict the sacrifices, such as a horse tied to the yuba-stambha, a yagna kunta and a nandhipada. More coins with animal symbols such as the tortoise, the elephant and the bull have been found and assigned to the Pandyan kings. Some of them even have a human portrait, possibly of the king who issued those coins, on their obverse. There are also Pandyan coins belonging to the 1st century BCE, that have symbols depicting pearls, signifying the importance of pearl fishery to the Pandyan kingdom. The excavations at Algankulam, near Madurai, recovered two copper coins of the early Pandyas along with Northern Black Polished Ware. These coins have been assigned a broad time period ranging from 200 BCE to 200 CE.
### Chera coins
Many of the coins assigned to the Chera kings of Sangam age with a portrait and the legends "Makkotai" or "Kuttuvan Kotai" have been found near the Amaravathi River bed in Karur and elsewhere in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu state. They depict the royal emblem of the Cheras, the bow and arrow symbol, on the reverse. It was generally believed that the Satavahanas were the first indigenous monarchs to issue silver portrait coins. That has been disproved by the discovery of Makkotai and Kuttuvan Kotai coins belonging to the 1st century AD or a little later. Silver coins issued by Augustus and Tiberius have over a period of time been discovered in large numbers from the Coimbatore-Karur region.
Among the Chera coins, the "Makkotai series" bears a unique pattern not found in other Tamil coins of its age. They contain both the portrait of a king (facing right) and a written legend, in this case the word "Makkotai" written in Tamil-Brahmi script. These coins exhibit similarities with the Roman coins of emperors Augustus and Tiberius; like the Roman coins, the portraits on the Makkotai series do not show any jewellery on the king. They are thought to be made of two separate pieces joined by lead, a practice prevalent elsewhere in India at that time. Official seals of the bearing the name "Makkotai" have also been recovered from the river bed; these seals contain the portrait facing left and the legend "Makkotai" written backwards (right-to-left). The reverse of the seals is blank. The Makkotai coins and the seals have been assigned a date range of 100 BC to end of 100 AD.
Another aspect of the portraits on the Makkotai coins are that they do not have identical head sizes and some facial features also vary from one coin to another, even though they all have the same written legend. Such an observation has been made of coins assigned to the Western Kshatrapas of Gujarat, which are thought to be another inspiration for the Chera coins. Scholars who analyzed the varying portraiture on the Kshatrapa coins have advanced several theories to explain the phenomenon: that the coins could be of different kings who chose to keep the name of an ancestor on their coins or the coins all belong to one king with portraits depicting him at his different ages. Based on such theories, the Chera coins could either belong to a series of rulers or to a single king called Cheraman Makkotai.
Another series of Chera coins depicts various animals along with symbols on its obverse and the Chera emblem on its reverse. Elephant, horse, bull, tortoise and lion are the animals depicted in this series, along with snake and fish. Symbols of inanimate objects include arched hills, battle axe, conch, river, swastika, trident, flowers and the sun.
A few other coins that contain a portrait and a legend have been unearthed; a coin assigned to certain Kuttuvan Kotai with his portrait and the legend "Kuttuvan Kotai" is notable for the occurrence of the "pulli" in the legend. Based on paleography of the script, it has been assigned a date of the late 1st century to early 2nd century AD. A coin belonging to 100 AD with the legend "Kollipurai" and a full-body portrait of a warrior has been assigned to the king Kopperum Cheral Irumporai, as he was known as the victor of Kolli in literature. Another coin of roughly the same period of 100 AD with the legend "Kolirumporaiy" and a warrior portrait has been found; it has not been assigned to a single king, but based on the legend, there are at least six Chera kings who could be associated with it.
A Chera coin with the portrait of a king wearing a Roman helmet was discovered from Karur. The obverse side of the silver coin has the portrait of a king, facing left, wearing a Roman-type bristled-crown helmet. This coin maybelong to the 1st century BC and may be earlier to Makkotai and Kuttuvan Kotai coins. With a flat nose and protruding lips, he has a wide and thick ear lobe but wears no ear-ring. The person depicted appears to be elderly. Unlike other Chera silver portrait coins, the king's portrait on this coin faces left. The coin points to Romans having had trade contacts with the Chera kings and establishes that the Roman soldiers had landed in the Chera country to give protection to the Roman traders who had come there to buy materials.
Archaeological investigations conducted unearthed square or circular Chera coins made of copper from near Cochin. This was for the first time, from a stratographic context, coins of Sangam Chera period have been found in Kerala. The coin, which is almost a square in shape, has an elephant facing to the right and some symbols towards the top of the coin. The symbols could not be identified as the upper part of the coin was partially corroded. A drawn bow and arrow was visible on the other side. Below the arrow is an elephant goad (a prod used to control elephants). These coins bear a striking resemblance to the ones excavated from Karur in Tamil Nadu, said the archaeologists.
### Chola coins
The number of Chola coins discovered so far are not as many as those of Pandyas; most of them have been found from archeological excavations at Puhar and Arikamedu, and also beds of rivers Amaravathi near Karur and South Pennar near Tirukkoilur. An early Chola coin has also been found in Thailand. The Chola coins do not contain a portrait or a legend and all of them depict symbols of animals and other inanimate objects like the animal series of the Cheras. But, all of them carry the symbol of a tiger, the Chola emblem, on their reverse. One of the coins has been assigned a date earlier than 200 BCE and some others to about the time of Roman influence, which is around the dawn of the Christian era.
### Coins of Chieftains
Parts of the Sangam age Tamil country were ruled over by several independent chieftains, alongside the three crowned monarchs. Among them, coins belonging to the chieftains of the Malayaman clan have been found in Tamil Nadu. Many of them contain a written legend on the obverse and all of them have the image of a flowing river on their obverse. Based on the legends some of these coins have been assigned to specific rulers such as Tirukkannan, also known as Malaiyan Choliya Enadi Tirukkannan, and Tirumudi Kari. A series of coins without a legend but with a horse as the principal motif on the obverse have been assigned to the Malayaman chieftains, because of the river symbol on the obverse. Numismatist R. Krishnamurthy, dates these coins to the period between 100 BCE and 100 CE.
### Coin of Sri Lanka
Excavations in the area of Tissamaharama in southern Sri Lanka have unearthed locally issued coins produced between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, some of which carry Tamil personal names written in early Tamil characters, which suggest that Tamil merchants and Sri Lankan Tamils were present and actively involved in trade along the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
|
3,158,479 |
Septimus Heap
| 1,167,597,524 |
Series of fantasy novels
|
[
"2010s fantasy novels",
"Bloomsbury Publishing books",
"Fantasy books by series",
"Fantasy novel series",
"Heptalogies",
"Juvenile series",
"Katherine Tegen Books books",
"Novels about families",
"Novels about magic",
"Septimus Heap",
"Series of children's books"
] |
Septimus Heap is a series of fantasy novels featuring a protagonist of the same name written by English author Angie Sage. In all, it features seven novels, entitled Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren, Darke, and Fyre. The first, (Magyk), was published in 2005 and the final, (Fyre), in 2013. A full colour supplement to the series, entitled The Magykal Papers, was published in June 2009, and an online novella titled The Darke Toad is also available. A sequel trilogy, The TodHunter Moon Series, set seven years after the events of Fyre, began in October 2014.
The series follows the adventures of Septimus Heap who, as a seventh son of a seventh son, has extraordinary magical powers. After he becomes an apprentice to the ("ExtraOrdinary") wizard of the series, Marcia Overstrand, he must study for seven years and a day until his apprenticeship ends. In the first book, he is known as Young Army Expendable Boy 412, until his great-aunt, Zelda Zanuba Heap reveals his true identity. His adventures are placed in the context of the warmth and strength of his family, and developed alongside those of Jenna, his adoptive sister, who is heir to the throne of the Castle, the community where they live. The novels, set in an elaborate fantastic world, describe the many challenges that Septimus and his friends must overcome.
The books have appeared on national bestsellers lists and received worldwide critical acclaim; Warner Bros. acquired the rights to produce a movie based on the first book. The series has been noted for the realism and richness of its characters, the compelling nature of their adventures, and its humour. It has been compared with Harry Potter and other works within the genre.
## Development
Author Angie Sage has said that the character of Septimus Heap, his ultimate fate, and the world he inhabits, were fully formed in her imagination from the beginning, but she had not decided on the intermediate steps on his journey, nor on the characters he would meet. Sage described Septimus Heap's world as a place where numerous creatures and people suddenly appear and become involved in events. Commenting on the development of the Septimus Heap character, Sage has described him as someone in a strange and hostile world who has no idea of his real identity. The series gained momentum with the development of the character of Marcia Overstrand, which Sage credits as an inspiration. Septimus Heap is centred on the warmth and strength of the Heap family. In an interview Sage said:
> I like their chaotic acceptance of life, and the fact that they don't do what they are told by authority if they think it is wrong. Stuff happens to them that makes their life difficult at times but they don't moan about things, they just get on and sort it out as best they can. They are remarkably accepting of other people, I think because they are so strong as a unit. They are also a family which becomes separated by circumstances- and I wanted to show that families can still be close to each other and care for each other even though they live apart. The family relationships develop as the books progress, and are central to the story.
Sage keeps a boat (called Muriel) in real life, as does the character Sally Mullin in Magyk. Other inspirations for the series included Sage's love of history and the misty landscape of Cornwall, where she lived before starting the series. Another factor in the development of the series was her love of daydreaming: "Slowly ... lots of thinking, and daydreaming. I am a big fan of daydreaming and staring out of the window. Then keeping all my thoughts and ideas in a dog-eared old envelope for ages." With The Wilton Villager, Sage further expanded her inspiration behind the series. "It was an idea I had had for a very long time, and I waited a long time while it grew and developed. [...] I try and write the books I would have loved to have read as a child and teenager. [...] It all started with the spelling of the first title, 'Magyk.' I felt the way that magic is normally spelled makes people think of conjuring tricks and stage magicians and I wanted to avoid that, but in the past, before spelling became standardized, people would spell words how they chose to, sometimes in different ways in the same sentence. Magic was often spelled magyck, so all I did was to change that a little. After that I carried on using archaic spelling for words associated with magic and the supernatural. It makes them look a little different, gives a different flavor to them.
## The series and related books
### Septimus Heap Heptalogy
#### Magyk
The plot of the first book, entitled Magyk (published in March 2005), revolves around the pauper Heap family: Silas, Sarah and their seven children. The story begins when Silas finds Jenna in the snow. Septimus is born on the same day, but is declared dead by the midwife, who steals the baby and brings him to DomDaniel, an evil wizard. However, he is confused with the midwife's own son and is sent to the Supreme Custodian to help start a boy army. On her tenth birthday, Jenna learns from ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand that she is a princess, but that she—and the Heap family—are in danger. Jenna and Nicko Heap escape to their Aunt Zelda's cottage. They are accompanied by a member of the Young Army called Boy 412, who discovers his magic powers and a legendary ring while at Zelda's. Marcia is imprisoned in DomDaniel's boat, Vengeance, and nearly dies, but is rescued by Boy 412, Jenna and Nicko after they find a flying Dragon Boat in a secret cavern by Zelda's cottage where Jenna finds a beautiful stone. At the end of the novel, Boy 412 is revealed to be Septimus, and his family hears of his past.
#### Flyte
The second book, Flyte (published in March 2006), begins with Septimus (now the apprentice to ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand) witnessing the kidnapping of Jenna by her older brother Simon Heap. After seeking help from Nicko and a friend from the Young Army (boy 409/Wolf boy), Septimus finds Jenna at The Port, but they are followed by Simon. They fly to The Castle in the Dragon Boat, engaging in aerial combat with Simon on the way. Marcia's life is threatened by the reassembled bones of DomDaniel, but with Septimus's help, she destroys him. The novel also features the discovery of the lost Flyte charm, which gives the book its title, and the stone that Jenna gives to a Septimus turns out to be an egg that hatches into a dragon who Septimus names Spit Fyre.
#### Physik
The antagonist of the third book, Physik (published in March 2007), is the 500-year-old spirit of Queen Etheldredda, who is accidentally released by Silas Heap. She sends Septimus to her immortal son Marcellus Pye. He is transported back in time to become the apprentice of the young Marcellus Pye, an alchemist who teaches him about Physik. In the present timeline of the novel, the Castle is infected by a deadly plague created by a rat like creature owned by Queen Etheldredda who has the plan to acquire eternal life. Jenna and Nicko meet a young trader, Snorri Snorrelssen with whom they travel in time to bring Septimus back though Nicko and Snorri couldn't escape. There, Jenna is taken to the living Queen Etheldredda as princess Esmerelda Queen Etheldredda's daughter who had disappeared, but she escapes with Septimus and they return to the present Castle. Marcia then destroys the substantial spirit of Etheldredda and Septimus brews an antidote to the plague (Sicknesse) using his knowledge of Physik. when Etheldredda is destroyed the true crown lost to Queen Etheldredda appears and is taken by Jenna for when she becomes queen.
#### Queste
The quest of the fourth book, Queste (published in April 2008), is a journey to the House of Foryx, in which "all times meet", to bring back Nicko and Snorri, who were trapped there after the events of the third book. Septimus is sent on this mission to Darken his Destiny for Merrin Meredith, who now holds the Two- Faced Ring by a ghost called Tertius Fume. Assisted by Jenna and his friend Beetle, among others, he pieces together a map to the House of Foryx. When they reach the house, Septimus meets Hotep-Ra, the first ExtraOrdinary Wizard, while Jenna and Beetle find Nicko and Snorri. Marcia and Sarah Heap arrive outside the house on Spit Fyre, and they return together to their own time.
#### Syren
The fifth book, Syren (published in September 2009), continues from where Queste ended. Septimus brings his friends to the Port, a place beside the sea where ships come and go, and when he brings back his friends back he, Jenna and Beetle get trapped on a mysterious island. There he meets a mysterious girl called Syrah Syara who tells him that she is possessed by the Syren (hence the name of the book) an evil spirit, and she also tells him about a dangerous plot by Tertius Fume to destroy The Castle. Together with the help of the others and a safe-charm jinnee sent to him by Aunt Zelda, Septimus stops the invasion of The Castle by Fume and his jinnee warriors (stolen from Milo Banda, the dead queen's husband and Jenna's father) and saves Syrah from the Syren.
#### Darke
The sixth book, Darke (published in America in June 2011 and England in October 2011), sees Septimus and his friends battling the Darke domain which has engulfed the Castle and everything and everyone in it. The only thing that is standing in between is Merrin Meredith who created the darke domaine and his gang of Things and Darke Dragon. Alther Mella has been accidentally Banished by Marcia when she was trying to banish Tertius Fume (who fortunately, she also banished) and Septimus wants to release him from the Darke Halls thinking he could help in undoing the Darke. When Marcia Overstrand, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard undoes the Darke spell with the help of the Paired Codes, all is well. Beetle becomes Chief Hermetic Scribe; Simon is reunited with his family after leaving his past behind and Princess Jenna is happy that the Palace and Castle are back to normal.
#### Fyre
Fyre (published in April 2013), sees the cast featuring the toughest challenges yet as Septimus nears the end of his ExtraOrdinary Wizard training. When the Darke wizards in the Two-Faced ring, Shamandrigger Saarn and Dramindonnor Naarn escape and Inhabit Silas Heap's brothers Ernold and Edmund they try to destroy Marcellous Pye's Alchemical Fyre but they are defeated and returned to the two faced ring which is then destroyed in the Fyre.
### Spin-offs
Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papers (published in June 2009) is a supplement to the series in a full-colour larger format with illustrations by Mark Zug. Angie Sage said in an interview that she is enjoying the process of developing this guidebook and thinking about the book's structure and all its characters. Bloomsbury said that this Septimus Heap encyclopedia is a dazzling cornucopia of information on every aspect of Septimus's world and the creatures that inhabit it, including the secret files, the journal excerpts, charm theory, the seven basic spells, dispatches from the Message Rat Office, the history, and the maps.
The Darke Toad is an eBook novella for Amazon Kindle (published in February 2013). The novella features the return of DomDaniel as well as the Port Witch Coven, and is set between Magyk and Flyte. The eBook includes two chapters of Fyre, the final book in the series.
The TodHunter Moon trilogy starts seven years after Fyre, and revolves around Alice Todhunter Moon, the apprentice of Septimus, now ExtraOrdinary Wizard. First in the TodHunter Moon trilogy, Pathfinder (published in October 2014) picks up the world of Septimus Heap seven years after the events of Fyre, followed by SandRider (published in October 2015) and StarChaser (published in October 2016).
## Film adaptation
Warner Bros. bought the rights to produce a film version of the first book, Magyk. Karen Rosenfelt would produce the film, with Sage serving as an executive producer. According to Cinematical.com, the making of the movie would not start before the final Harry Potter movie was completed. Sage said that the screenplay would be developed after the writer's strike was over.
It was announced on 17 July 2009 that the movie would be live action, with computer-animated effects, and David Frankel as director and Rob Lieber to adapt Magyk. As of 2009, a re-write of the script was being done with screenwriter Mulroney while Warner Brothers were working with a studio to create some early conceptual design/look development. Sage commented: "It is very exciting to know that others are putting their creative input into my work—quite amazing really. [...] I'm really looking forward to seeing the whole Septimus world up there on the big screen coming to life."
On the Septimus Heap official Facebook page it is stated that 'Warner Brothers decided not to proceed with it, sadly. We then had to wait 8 years to get the rights back, which we managed to do in May. So now Septimus Heap is out there again, hoping to find a TV series. But things are complicated as there are financial hangovers from the WBs contract. But I promise you, we are working really hard to get Septimus Heap onto the screen!'
## Characters
The eponymous protagonist of the series is Septimus Heap. As the seventh son of a seventh son, the aptly named Septimus has exceptional magical powers. He shares his birthday with Jenna, his adoptive sister, but is presumed dead at birth by his family. For most of the first novel he appears as Boy 412, a child from the Young Army, where he has spent the first ten years of his life after DomDaniel attempted to abduct him. Thereafter he is apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand. He has a mop of curly hair, wears green apprentice robes and has a Dragon Ring on his right hand. In the second novel, he acquires a dragon called Spit Fyre as a pet. According to a review in the Manila Standard Today, the contrast between the caution he has learned from an early age and his longing for the love and affection of a family makes him an intriguing character.
Adopted by the Heap family as a baby in place of Septimus, Jenna Heap is the daughter of the assassinated queen of the castle. She is a small girl, with deep violet eyes, dark hair (both of which all queens and princesses have had) and fair complexion; she wears a deep red cloak and the gold circlet of the princess on her head. She is portrayed as loving and caring at heart, but sometimes very stubborn. In the first novel she has a pet rock called Petroc Trelawney (presumably named after, which she loses when the Marram Marshes are flooded; she later acquires a pet duck called Ethel who becomes Sarah Heaps's pet. The ambiguity of Jenna's characterization has been questioned, with one critic commenting: "[A]s the Princess or Queenling, she comes from a turbulent past and is thrust into the anonymous world of ordinary society without any inkling of her royal background. The reader is therefore left guessing whether or not she has it in her to rise to the tenets of her position as ruler of the Castle."
Marcia Overstrand is the powerful, ambitious and wilful ExtraOrdinary Wizard of the series. She is characterized as stern, bad-tempered and intimidating, but with a good heart beneath. Her affection towards her apprentice Septimus is manifest in the novels, as is the responsibility she feels to protect him and his sister, even with her own life. She is described as a tall woman, with long, dark curly hair and deep-green eyes, and generally wears a deep purple tunic with purple python-skin boots. Her symbol and source of power, an Akhu-Amulet, which makes her ExtraOrdinary Wizard, hangs around her neck. Her haughty and vain characterization has been praised as a "well-written stand-alone".
The main antagonist of the first two novels is DomDaniel, a Necromancer and ex-ExtraOrdinary Wizard who wants to regain control of the Wizard Tower from Marcia Overstrand. The antagonist of the third novel, is Queen Etheldredda. In the fifth book the antagonists are the Syren and Tertius Fume and in the sixth book Merrin Merridith and his darke domaine. In the seventh it is the two Darke ring wizards. Several other characters appear regularly in the novels, including Septimus's parents Silas and Sarah Heap, Septimus's friend Beetle, and a trader called Snorri Snorrelssen.
## Fictional setting
Like other fantasy novels, the Septimus Heap series is set in an imaginary world. Maps are provided in all of the books. Magyk contains a map of the Castle and its surroundings to the Port in the south. An enlarged map of the Castle is also included. Flyte has a map showing the Badlands and the Borderlands in the north. Physik has an enlarged map of the Castle with more details showing the Alchemie chambers. Queste has a map for the House of Foryx, drawn by Snorri for Marcellus. Syren keeps the past maps but adds the isles of Syren. The map in Syren also mentions that the country that Septimus lives in is called "The Small Wet Country Across the Sea". Darke has a map similar to that in Magyk, however, instead of including Marram Marshes which are south of the castle, it includes a map of the Darke Halls, bleak creek and the bottomless whirlpool. It also includes an enlarged map of the castle. At the end of Fyre, Septimus writes in the snow that the date is 4 July 12,004. The book ends with a quote from Arthur C. Clarke: "Any Sufficiently Advanced Technology is Indistinguishable from Magyk," hinting that the series is set in the far future. This also hinted at by a dialogue between Lucy Gringe and Wolf Boy in Syren about the Red Tube. Wolf Boy says he has heard stories that people used to travel to the moon in things like that. Lucy dismisses this; however, it is apparent they are talking about Apollo moon missions. Hints that the story is set in the future also reveal themselves when Septimus and the possessed Syrah enter a chamber that goes up and down with the press of a button, indicating that they used an elevator.
### The Castle
The Castle is the main location in the series. It is situated by a river on a piece of land, circular in shape, which has been cut off from the surrounding forest by an artificial moat. The Wizard Tower, the Palace and the Ramblings are in the Castle. Sage based the structure on that of ancient walled cities which were completely self-sufficient, like little nations in their own right.
The Wizard Tower is the place where the ExtraOrdinary Wizard (Marcia Overstrand) resides along with Ordinary Wizards and their apprentices and the ExtraOrdinary Apprentice (Septimus Heap). Built by the first ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Hotep-Ra, it is a purple 21-floor tower with a gold pyramid at the top, surrounded by an aura of magyk. The Palace is the royal residence, home to Jenna, Sarah and Silas. It is much older than the Wizard Tower with secret places, such as the Queen's room, which is accessible only to the Queen or the Princess, and has a secret passage to the Marram Marshes.
### Lands around the Castle
#### Marram Marshes
To the south of the Castle are the Marram Marshes, a long stretch of marshland near the mouth of the river, which is inhabited by many creatures, such as Brownies, Quake Oozes, Boggarts and pythons. Zelda Heap's cottage is on Draggen Island, in the middle of the marshes. It is built above the secret temple where Septimus finds the Dragon Boat. Septimus also found the egg (which he thought was a rock) from which spit Fyre hatched in this temple. Sage has stated that the marshes are based on boggy areas at the end of a creek near her home, and that the tides and the phases of the moon in the novels are based on those for Falmouth, Cornwall.
#### The Forest
The Forest lies to the north-west of the Castle, and is feared by the Castle's inhabitants as a dark and dangerous area. The Wendron Witches and the witch community live there, as does Galen, Sarah Heap's mentor in Physik. The Forest has many mysterious aspects, and is dominated by shape-shifting or carnivorous trees, including Benjamin Heap, wolverines, and secrets. The Forest has a secret way to transport a character to the path leading to the House of Foryx. Sage based the Forest on medieval forests, which were huge and a law unto themselves, free from the authority of the outside world.
#### The House of Foryx
The House of Foryx is a magical house situated somewhere deep in another forest, surrounded by perpetual winter. It is an octagonal building flanked by four octagonal pillars. Here all times meet, and characters can go from one time to another. Characters can come into the building from any time, but can leave it in their own time only if another from that time stands outside the main door; otherwise they are lost in time, and may even end up in a time when the House of Foryx did not exist, giving them no chance of ever returning. The house is named after Foryx, a huge elephantine creature in the Septimus Heap universe.
### Other locations
#### The Port
The Port lies in the extreme south near the sea, and is portrayed as a place full of strangers. Here ships load their cargo, which is verified by the customs officer, Alice Nettles (deceased). A dangerous coven called the Port Witch Coven can lure strangers into a trap or turn them into toads. There is a short cut from the Port to Zelda's house in the Marram Marshes. The author created the Port because of her love of the hubbub accompanying the arrival of boats. According to Sage, she sees the Port as full of "beginnings and adventures—and endings too."
#### The Badlands
The Badlands are a rocky and hilly valley on the northern borders of the Septimus Heap world, where Dom Daniel once practised his dark magic in an observatory atop a hill. They are inhabited by Land Wurms, giant carnivorous snakelike animals, making them a dangerous place, where Simon Heap also used to live.
## Reception
The Septimus Heap novels have been published in 28 languages worldwide and have sold over one million copies in the United States, with each of the books appearing on national bestsellers lists. Published in March 2005, the first book, Magyk, became an international bestseller after it appeared at number one on the New York Times Best Sellers List.
### Critical reception
The series has received mostly positive reviews.
The Independent newspaper's review of the audio books stated that the chapters are short enough to keep children of seven-plus interested but, as there are ghosts, rats, soldiers and dragon boats to help Septimus and the young Princess fight the evil necromancer DomDaniel, there is enough to keep the whole family amused.
### Comparisons with other fantasy novels
Some critics have noted similarities between names in Septimus Heap and those in Harry Potter, such as Petroc Trelawney (Jenna's pet rock) and Sybill Trelawney (a professor in Harry Potter); also both series feature Boggarts (which are intelligent Marsh creatures in Septimus Heap and shape-shifters in Harry Potter). In response, British author Phil Knight has commented:
> The Petroc Trelawney in the Septimus Heap books is nothing at all to do with Professor Trelawney. He is a Radio 3 presenter who may well be known to Angie Sage personally, but otherwise will be known over the air. Think: why would Jenna call a pet rock 'Trelawney'? To a Radio 3 listener like me, it's perfectly logical ... And as for Boggarts, they've been around here in the North of England for a long time. Manchester has Boggart Hole Clough, for example. They're not really like either Sage's or Rowling's creatures, but pre-exist either of them.
The series has also been compared to other fantasy novels: for instance, Hotep-Ra's magical ring evokes The Lord of the Rings, and the journeys in the series are "somewhat Narnia-esque in how they play out"; similarly the concept of a remarkably powerful seventh son of a seventh son was previously employed in the Alvin Maker series of Orson Scott Card. The sprinkling of borrowed ideas has not necessarily been regarded as a negative trait: these ideas play a part in developing the flavour of the series and "don't necessarily deviate it from its originality".
|
43,430,111 |
The Boat Race 1863
| 1,168,402,088 | null |
[
"1863 in English sport",
"1863 in sports",
"March 1863 events",
"The Boat Race"
] |
The 20th Boat Race between crews from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge took place on the River Thames on 28 March 1863. Oxford won by 15 lengths in a time of 23 minutes 6 seconds. It took the overall record to ten wins each, the first time since the 1836 race that the scores were level. The race was the third to be held on the ebb tide, along the Championship Course in reverse, from Mortlake to Putney. It was the first time since the race was held in the fashion since the 1856 race.
## 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"). The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities, and since the 21st century, is followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1862 race by ten lengths, with Cambridge leading overall with ten victories to Oxford's nine.
According to Drinkwater, neither boat club president was "sensible of their duty to posterity, for they kept no records of the training of the crews". Both crews arrived at Putney on 21 March, one week before the race, and each put in four practice sessions in the run-up to the main event. Cambridge's boat was built by Searle. The race was umpired by Joseph William Chitty who had rowed for Oxford twice in 1849 (in the March and December races) and the 1852 race.
## Crews
The Oxford crew averaged over 6 feet (1.83 m) in height, and weighed an average of 11 st 8.5 lb (73.5 kg), 2.75 pounds (1.2 kg) per rower more than their Light Blue opposition. Six of the Oxford crew had represented their university in the previous year's race, including W. M. Hoare who was rowing at stroke for the third time. The Cambridge boat contained two members of the 1862 crew, including William Cecil Smyly and John Graham Chambers.
## Race
Oxford, who were clear pre-race favourites, won the toss and elected to start from the Middlesex station, handing the Surrey side of the river to Cambridge. Like the 1856 race, the race was conducted on the ebb tide, and the start was moved to Barker's Rails, to "give the steamers room between the Aqueduct and the crews". The start of the race was delayed for around half an hour as a result of a number of steamers impinging upon the course. The future British King, Edward VII, was in attendance. At the time of the race, there was a mild breeze and the water was "perfect, but for the steamers."
Cambridge made the better start, but Oxford's steady rowing brought them level and within 300 yards (270 m) of the start, they were nearly half-a-length up on the Light Blues. By Craven Steps, they were clear and two lengths up by the Mile Post. Oxford crossed over to row directly in front of Cambridge, and according to MacMichael, "it was evident here that the race was over, barring accidents." The Dark Blues were three lengths up as they shot Barnes Bridge and won by fifteen lengths. It was Oxford's third consecutive victory and took the overall total to ten wins each, the first time since the 1856 race that the scores were tied.
|
39,215,179 |
Disgraced
| 1,172,847,940 |
One-act play
|
[
"2012 plays",
"One-act plays",
"Pakistani-American culture",
"Plays about race and ethnicity",
"Pulitzer Prize for Drama-winning works"
] |
Disgraced (2012) is the first stage play by playwright, novelist, and screenwriter Ayad Akhtar. It premiered in Chicago and has had Off-Broadway and Off West End engagements. The play, which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater October 23, 2014. Disgraced has also been recognized with a 2012 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work – Play or Musical and a 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting. The 2014 Broadway transfer earned a nomination for Tony Award for Best Play in 2015.
The 90-minute, one-act play is centered on sociopolitical themes such as Islamophobia and the self-identity of Muslim-American citizens. It explores a dinner party among four people with very different backgrounds. As discussion turns to politics and religion, the mood quickly becomes heated. Described as a "combustible powder keg of identity politics," the play depicts racial and ethnic prejudices that "secretly persist in even the most progressive cultural circles." It is also depicts the challenge for upwardly mobile Muslim Americans in post-9/11 America. Productions have included performances by Aasif Mandvi and Erik Jensen.
## Plot
Lawyer Amir Kapoor and his wife Emily host a dinner in their Upper East Side apartment in New York. Amir is an American-born, Muslim-raised lawyer, who works on Manhattan mergers and acquisitions. Emily is an up-and-coming artist who focuses on Islamic themes in her art. Amir has cast aside much of his Muslim heritage for the sake of his career and serves as Emily's muse. She has an affinity for Islamic artistic traditions.
Prior to the dinner, Amir, who is on the partner track, has become involved in a controversial case. Amir's assimilated nephew, Abe (born Hussein Malik), has concerns regarding the propriety of the arrest of a local imam who is imprisoned on charges that may be trumped-up of financing terrorist-supporting groups. Amir questions whether it is religious persecution. Emily encourages the reluctant Amir to appear in court in support of the imam; although he is in an unofficial capacity, his name is mentioned in The New York Times.
The case becomes dinner conversation when Amir hosts Jory, a colleague from work, and her Jewish husband, Isaac, who is Emily's art dealer. In all, the dinner table assembly includes an ex-Muslim, an African American, a Jew and a WASP discussing the topic of religious faith. The conversation touches upon "Islamic and Judaic tradition, the Quran and the Talmud, racial profiling and September 11 and the Taliban and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Benjamin Netanyahu" as tensions mount.
When Amir admits he felt a "blush of pride" on September 11, and holds secret animosity toward Israel, his friends are disgusted. Jory and Amir leave the apartment to get a bottle of champagne. It is revealed that Isaac and Emily have had an affair in the past, and that he is secretly in love with her. Jory and Amir return just as Isaac is about to kiss Emily.
It is revealed that Jory has been selected as partner in the law firm over Amir, in part because he attended the imam's trial. Enraged, Amir discredits Jory using an ethnic slur. Jory and Isaac depart, with the status of their relationship uncertain following the revelation of Isaac's infidelity. When Emily confesses her affair with Isaac, Amir beats her. Abe stumbles into the apartment and finds his uncle standing over her.
The play jumps ahead a period of time. Amir is packing his belongings and preparing to leave the apartment. Emily brings Abe over for legal advice. He was questioned by the FBI after his friend expressed a jihadist sentiment at a Starbucks cafe. Amir warns Abe to be more cautious, but Abe blows up, saying that the West has "disgraced" Islam, but that they will take it all back one day. He storms out. Amir tries to reconcile with Emily, but she leaves.
## Cast
On November 2, 2011, the Chicago cast was announced. Usman Ally played Amir, Alana Arenas played Jory, Behzad Dabu played Abe, Benim Foster played Isaac, and Lee Stark played Emily. Previews started on January 27, 2012, and the official debut was on January 30. The Chicago production creative team included set designer Jack Magaw, lighting designer Christine Binder, costume designer Janice Pytel, prop designer Nick Heggestad, sound designer Kevin O’Donnell, fight choreographer David Woolley, and production stage manager Katie Klemme.
On July 26, 2012, the Off-Broadway cast was announced: Aasif Mandvi, Heidi Armbruster, Adam Dannheisser, Omar Maskati and Karen Pittman. At the time, Mandvi was a correspondent for Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Other creative team members were sets designer Lauren Helpern, costume designer Dane Laffrey, lighting designer Tyler Micoleau, and sound designer Jill BC DuBoff. The show began previews with Dannheisser on October 7, but Erik Jensen replaced him on October 10 after an illness, with opening night scheduled for October 22. Kimberly Senior directed both productions at the American Theater Company in Chicago and at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater in New York. She was also set to direct the Broadway run in 2014.
The New York production opened at the Claire Tow Theater at Lincoln Center in New York on October 22, 2012, with the following cast: Heidi Armbruster as Emily, Erik Jensen as Isaac, Aasif Mandvi as Amir, Omar Maskati as Abe, and Karen Pittman as Jory. The Off West End cast, which was directed by Nadia Fall, consisted of Danny Ashok, Kirsty Bushell, Hari Dhillon, Sara Powell and Nigel Whitmey.
The Broadway production was originated by Hari Dhillon and Danny Ashok reprising their Off West End roles as Amir and Abe, respectively, Karen Pittman reprising her Off-Broadway role as Jory, and Josh Radnor reprising as Isaac and Gretchen Mol as Emily. Kimberly Senior, who directed the Chicago and Off-Broadway productions signed on to direct. She was joined on the creative team by John Lee Beatty (set), Jennifer von Mayrhauser (costumes), Ken Posner (lighting) and Jill DuBoff (sound).
The following tables show the casts of the principal original productions:
## Production history
## About the author
Akhtar is a first generation Pakistani-American born in New York City and raised in Milwaukee. He had previously written and starred in the film The War Within (2005), in which he portrayed a Pakistani engineering student who became a terrorist. He studied at Brown University and Columbia University. His debut novel was American Dervish (2012), which studies "the Muslim religious experience in America".
The son of immigrant doctors, Akhtar had spent a decade exploring dual identity before writing this play. Akhtar decided to write from his own experiences. He said that, at a metaphorical level, in order to write this play he had to "turn and look over my shoulder at what I was running away from. And at that moment there was an explosion of creativity."
## Productions
Disgraced was originally scheduled at the American Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois, to run February 3 – March 4, 2012, with an official debut of February 6. The run was moved forward one week to January 27 – February 26, 2012, with an official January 30 debut. On February 21, its run was extended in Chicago until March 11, 2012.
It made its New York debut of its Off-Broadway run at LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater with an October 22, 2012, premiere and was scheduled to run until November 18 before being extended until December 2. Hurricane Sandy caused the cancellation of the October 28 and 29 evening performances but not the October 28 matinee. On November 1, it was extended again until December 23.
On February 6, 2013, the London premiere of the play was announced as an Off West End opening at the Bush Theatre, beginning in May 2013 under the direction of Nadia Fall. Its previews were scheduled to begin on May 17 before opening on May 22 and running until June 15. On March 15, Disgraced was extended until June 22. The play opened as scheduled on May 22. That July, the producer Matthew Rego announced that the show was being considered for a Broadway run during the 2013–14 season. On June 10, 2014, was announced to have a Broadway run starting on October 23, following previews beginning September 27 at the Lyceum Theatre.
## On Broadway
Disgraced began its limited run on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre with preview performances on September 27, 2014. Opening night was October 23 with an original announced run lasting until February 15, 2015. In January, the closure of the engagement was announced for March 1. Direction was by Kimberly Senior, sets by John Lee Beatty, costumes by Jennifer von Mayrhauser and lighting by Ken Posner. The cast included Danny Ashok, Hari Dhillon, Gretchen Mol, Karen Pittman, and Josh Radnor.
## Reception
Charles Isherwood of The New York Times, who saw the 2012 Off-Broadway production, said it was "a continuously engaging, vitally engaged play" that "bristles with wit and intelligence" and "puts contemporary attitudes toward religion under a microscope, revealing how tenuous self-image can be for people born into one way of being who have embraced another." Isherwood selected the play as one of his year-end Ten Best Plays of 2012. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter also selected it as among his Ten Best in New York Theater 2012, writing that Akhtar "staked a claim as one of the boldest voices to appear on the playwriting scene in recent years with this stinging swipe at the fallacy of the post-racial nation."
Of the Chicago production at American Theater company, Chicago Tribune theatre critic Chris Jones praised the show as "intensely arresting." Time Out Chicago's Kris Vire called the play "a compact, stunning gut punch addressing the cultural affinities some of us are allowed to escape and those we aren't." However, Chicago Sun-Times critic Hedy Weiss noted that the play's five characters were all "identity-warped", and the show was a "minefield... that feels all too deliberately booby-trapped by the playwright." The play won the Jeff Award—honoring excellence in Chicago Theater—for Best New Play in Chicago 2012.
Entertainment Weekly critic Thom Geier suggested that the ending was underdeveloped, but that the play was well-executed: "Akhtar packs a lot into his scenes, in terms of both coincidence-heavy personal drama and talky disquisitions on religion and politics, but he usually manages to pull back from the edge of too-muchness. There is an admirable restraint to director Kimberly Senior's well-paced scenes. Mandvi, best known for his comedy, has a surprisingly commanding stage presence and captures the full range of his character's internal conflicts."
## Themes
National Public Radio describes the play thematically as one that "tackles Islamophobia and questions of Muslim-American identity". Isherwood noted: "As two couples exchange observations about faith and politics in the modern world, the intellectual thickets they find themselves in become increasingly tangled." More specifically he said, it is a play "about thorny questions of identity and religion in the contemporary world, with an accent on the incendiary topic of how radical Islam and the terrorism it inspires have affected the public discourse." Kapoor has "rejected his Muslim upbringing (and even his surname) to better assimilate into his law firm, but he still feels the occasional tug of Islam". Geier wrote: "Disgraced offers an engaging snapshot of the challenge for upwardly mobile Islamic Americans in the post-9/11 age." According to The Guardian 's Stephen Moss, the play comes to a head as the protagonist "tries to come to terms with his multiple identity – American v Asian, Muslim v secularist, passive observer of injustice v activist". Although Amir has an affinity for \$600 shirts with obscenely high thread counts, his home dinner party is set in his apartment which is "spare and tasteful with subtle flourishes of the Orient".
During interviews following the Pulitzer announcement, Akhtar said that the play's title has both a literal and a metaphorical meaning. Literally, Amir plays out his disgrace in almost real time before the audience. Metaphorically, Akhtar says "There are ways that the colonial history of the West is still playing out in the Muslim world. The events that comprise that history — a disgrace of native peoples, as it were — is still very much a part of our contemporary moment."
## Awards and nominations
The Chicago production received four Joseph Jefferson Awards nominations for the August 1, 2011, and July 31, 2012, theatrical productions season on August 21. Disgraced was recognized as the Best New Work – Play or Musical on October 15, 2012.
In its description of the play, the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama committee described it as "a moving play that depicts a successful corporate lawyer painfully forced to consider why he has for so long camouflaged his Pakistani Muslim heritage." The Pulitzer jury was headed by The Washington Post's theater critic Peter Marks. Playwright Donald Margulies, Princeton University professor Jill Dolan, critic John Fleming and critic Alexis Soloski were also on the jury.
On April 3, Aasif Mandvi earned a 2013 Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor. On April 22 Ayad Akhtar received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for the John Gassner Award. Akhtar won a 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting on May 20. On May 8, the production was nominated for a 2013 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Play. It lost to Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike on May 21.
On April 28, 2015, the Broadway production was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play at the 69th Tony Awards.
### Chicago production
### Off-Broadway production
Disgraced's Off-Broadway premiere competed in the 2012-13 season for Off-Broadway awards such as Drama Desk, leaving only new actors and technical staff eligible in the Broadway transfer in 2015.
### Broadway production
|
2,379,861 |
Irresistible (Jessica Simpson song)
| 1,171,337,200 |
2001 single by Jessica Simpson
|
[
"2000 songs",
"2001 singles",
"Dance-pop songs",
"Jessica Simpson songs",
"Music videos directed by Simon Brand",
"Songs with feminist themes",
"Songs written by Anders Bagge",
"Songs written by Arnthor Birgisson",
"Songs written by Pam Sheyne"
] |
"Irresistible" is a song by American recording artist Jessica Simpson that Sony Music released in 2001, as the lead single from her second studio album of the same name. Its title and concept were proposed by singer-songwriter Pamela Sheyne, while Arnthor Birgisson, an acquaintance of Sony chief executive officer Tommy Mottola, and his partner Anders Bagge developed the melody and co-wrote the verses with Sheyne. It is more sexually suggestive than Simpson's previous songs.
The song, composed in the key of G sharp minor, is a mid-tempo R&B number with dance-pop, teen pop and funk influences. Instruments featured in the song include strings, synthesizers, percussion, and acoustic piano. The lyrics center on the tension between a young woman's sexual desires and her inhibitions. A So So Def remix of the piece features Lil' Bow Wow and Jermaine Dupri, and incorporates samples of Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" (1973).
The accompanying music video, directed by Simon Brand, has a James Bond theme and features scenes of Simpson dressed as a spy. A music video for the So So Def remix was also filmed, featuring appearances by Dupri and Lil' Bow Wow inter-cut with scenes of Simpson. She performed the song as part of the set list of her DreamChaser Tour (2001) and Reality Tour (2004). The single was also promoted with live performances on various televised appearances and the MTV Total Request Live Tour (2001). "Irresistible" was featured on the Disney Channel Original Series Lizzie McGuire (2001).
Critics gave "Irresistible" mostly mixed reviews. Although a few praised the song for its theme and production, most criticized Simpson's singing style, the sexual nature of the song's lyrics, and the over-use of digital sound enhancers. The song reached number two on Poland, number eleven on the UK Singles Chart and number fifteen on the United States Billboard Hot 100, while peaking within the top twenty in twelve other countries. Despite not charting within the top twenty in Australia, it was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of more than 35,000 copies within the country. The song ranked on the Billboard Hot 100 and Australian year-end charts at numbers sixty-three and fifty, respectively.
## Writing and recording
"Irresistible" (also registered as "Irresistable" with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) was written specifically for Simpson by Swedish composers Anders Bagge and Arnthor Birgisson, in collaboration with English singer-songwriter Pamela Sheyne, who also contributed vocals for the demo. Initial recording of the song was done at the Murlyn Studios, Stockholm, for which Sheyne provided the background vocals with the final recording being done at Sony Music Studios, New York City. In an interview, Birgisson commented on the collaboration with Sheyne saying that:
> "Pam came up with the title 'Irresistible', and as she started talking about the whole concept we immediately became inspired and began working on the music. You know, when we hear a concept or a title that we like—no matter if it's ours or somebody else's—both Anders and I get a feel for the song's vibe; a feel for whether a keyboard or guitar should be used to give it a certain character, be it upbeat or melancholic. So, when Pam mentioned the title, we immediately came up with the tempo and the whole feeling of the song, and then she came up with the lyrics. There was a really good flow to that song. We played around with the melody, put down the demo, and it was done."
Vocals were recorded and engineered by Robert Williams using a Sony C-800G Studio Tube condenser microphone while post-recording editing, via the Pro Tools software, was done by Peter Wade Keusch. Mats Berntoft played the guitar on the track, while Bagge mixed the song. Ted Jensen mastered it at Sterling Sound, New York City.
## Composition
"Irresistible" is a moderately paced R&B song composed in the verse–chorus–bridge form with a play time of three minutes and thirteen seconds. The song draws influence mostly from the dance-pop genre while infusing elements of funk music, and Latin rhythms. The song is written in common time, in the key of G sharp minor. The tempo is ninety-four beats per minute, with a chord progression of G#m–C#m<sub>7</sub>–E–D#<sub>7</sub>. Simpson's vocals in the song span over two octaves from the low note of E<sub>3</sub> to the high note of D#<sub>5</sub>. Cashbox Canada commented that Simpson adopts "breathy vocals" for the song, and it has a "gently danceable backing", while Chuck Taylor of Billboard noted that Simpson's vocals in the song were "funk-fortified". The Dallas Morning News' Teresa Gubbins observed that the track possesses a rat-a-tat-tat beat, similar to "There You Go" (2000) by singer Pink. The song features a string section by Stockholm Session Strings as well as spoken passages by Simpson and a midsection breakdown.
"Irresistible" is a groove-laden song, following a musical setting that is beat-oriented. In an interview with Associated Press, Simpson said that "Irresistible" is "very sexy, more grown-up. I think you're going to see a new side of Jessica Simpson." Lyrically, according to Birgisson, the song carries some feminine viewpoints that Sheyne had managed to incorporate through her contribution. Ben Graham, the author of Maximum Jessica Simpson, noted that the lyrics suggest that Simpson finds it hard to keep her famous virginity image intact. This can be inferred from the lines "I know that I'm supposed to make him wait / Let him think I like the chase / But I can't stop fanning the fire / I know I meant to say no... / But he’s irresistible," Bob Waliszewski of Plugged In pointed out that the verses "I can't stop fanning the fire [...] Now inescapable" refer to an "imminent sexual compromise". "She knows she shouldn't give in, but seems past the point of no return," he explained. However, Taylor stated that lyrically, the song demands for "total fulfillment". The version featured on Lizzie McGuire soundtrack replaces the lyric "When he makes me weak with desire" with "When he makes me want to move closer" and "But I can't stop fanning the fire / I know I meant to say no" with "But it's time to stop this emotion / Right now I'm gonna say no."
## Remixes and release
"Irresistible" was commissioned for remixes from So So Def Recordings, Hex Hector, and Dezrok. The So So Def remix of the song, produced by Jermaine Dupri, features American rapper Lil' Bow Wow and Dupri himself. It samples the Kool & the Gang's song, "Jungle Boogie" (1973). Another remix of the song was produced by American producer Hex Hector. According to Slant Magazine, the Hex Hector remix of the song uses full-throated vocals by Simpson, and includes disco-influenced string arrangement, which is comparable to the musical style of Giorgio Moroder, and utilizes beats from a Roland TR-808. Ron Thal, the current lead guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, plays guitar on the remix tracks. Both of the remixes are included on Simpson's remix extended play (EP) This Is the Remix (2002). Brendan Frederick of Complex wrote that while the remix could not do anything to complement the original track's chart performance, it helped achieve a "gimmicky redemption". He also noted that although the samples were used in the song "Satisfy You" by Puff Daddy about one and a half year ago, the remix of "Irresistible" sounded "kinda [sic] sweet".
Sony Music Entertainment released "Irresistible" in the United Kingdom and Ireland on April 12, 2001. In the United States, "Irresistible" was first commissioned as a radio-only single, on April 17, 2001. Later, a promotional CD single was issued, containing the album version of the song. A vinyl was also released, on June 26, 2001, which includes the remixes of the song. In France, the single was released on April 27, 2001, as a maxi-single and vinyl. The pressing contains the album version as the A-side, and the So So Def remix as the B-side. Sony Music released a CD single of "Irresistible" in Germany, on June 25, 2001. Sony Music Holland released the song as a single in the Netherlands on June 23, 2001. In Australia, "Irresistible" was released on July 2, 2001, as a CD single. The same day, it was released in Sweden through Sony Music. The song is also included on the Italian compilation album Festivalbar (2001).
## Critical reception
"Irresistible" was received with mostly mixed reviews by music critics. Although a few critics called the song a "peppy" number, others commented that they did not like the song, and criticized the sexuality of its lyrics and the over-usage of digital sound manipulators. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic stated that the song and "A Little Bit", the second single released from the parent album, were a "double-punch" and picked the former song as a standout from the album. Cashbox Canada, ranking the song at number ten on "Top 10 Love Songs: The Crush", praised it as "an ode to love at step one". Similarly, Chuck Taylor of Billboard reviewed "Irresistible" favorably, calling it "a sexy, uptempo romp about new found love that proves Simpson's pop intuition." In another review, Taylor complimented the contemporary appeal of the track and felt that it would be a staple at radios. He also noticed that the breakdown and spoken passages of the song gave it a "street edge", something not previously heard from Simpson. Teresa Gubbins of The Dallas Morning News had mixed feelings towards the song in her review, writing that its sound might help Simpson get attention on urban radios, but did nothing to demonstrate her voice. Larry Printz of The Morning Call also expressed a similar view of the song, stating that the song "is loaded with platitudes, but [it's] easy on the ears."
However, Siobhan Grogan of NME magazine stated "to the delight of lonely men everywhere, she tells us she's 'weak with desire' and knows 'I'm meant to say no'—and the mind boggles at how she'd have turned out if she'd spent her teens glugging cider on a street corner." Chuck Campbell of Daily News viewed the song as "gurgling" and noted that Simpson was singing it breathlessly. An editor of The Advocate remarked that the track sounded more manufactured than composed. Craig Seymour of The Buffalo News wrote that he felt "Irresistible" was a "limp seduction tune". Similarly, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the single could have been easily reprocessed for a "new virginity ad campaign." The Northern Echo's Hayley Gyllenspetz dismissed the song, elaborating that it sounded similar to the works of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. She added, "If only this 21- year-old songbird had done something original she may indeed have been irresistible." An editor of The Malay Mail echoed Gyllenspetz's comment, writing that the track sounded like a typical Aguilera pop-Latino piece. Simon P. Ward from Dotmusic compared the song to the work of Britney , Christina, and Jennifer Lopez and felt that "Irresistible' will doubtless further Simpson's cause as the next poster girl for all discerning adolescents. The pop conveyor belt rolls on...". In 2003, "Irresistible" won a Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) "Pop Music Award". Irresistible ranked at number 87 on Top 100 Pop Songs of 2001 by About.com.
## Chart performance
### North America
"Irresistible" experienced moderate commercial success worldwide, reaching the top forty of the charts in eleven countries. In the United States, the song initially debuted at number five on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, on the issue dated May 5, 2001. Three weeks later, it debuted at number sixty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100. In mid-July the single reached its peak position of number fifteen on the Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for twenty weeks. Its peak position in the chart was thanks to the airplay, largely due to its release as a radio-only single rather than the traditional CD single. "Irresistible" became Simpson's second top-twenty single in the US, following "I Wanna Love You Forever" (1999). The song also reached number three on Billboard Pop Songs chart, her highest peak at the time, and her second single to reach the top five. Although it did not chart on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, "Irresistible" reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, on the issue dated July 14, 2001. On the 2001 Billboard year-end charts, the song was ranked at number sixty-three on the Hot 100 Singles. In Canada, "Irresistible" debuted at number sixteen on the Canadian Singles Chart, on the issue of August 4, 2001, and stayed on the Top 100 for fifteen weeks . The song also reached number fifteen on the Canadian Nielsen BDS Airplay chart. As the date, "Irresistible" has sold 45,000 physical copies and 450,000 paid digital downloads according to Nielsen Soundscan. It is her fifth best-selling digital single in the United States.
### Europe and Oceania
Abroad, in the United Kingdom, "Irresistible" debuted at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart for the week of July 14, 2001, and stayed on the chart for six weeks. It became her third top-twenty single there. In Ireland, the song made its first appearance on the chart at number eighteen during the week of July 5, 2001, a position which became its peak in that country. During the week of July 15, 2001, the single debuted at number twenty-one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and stayed on the chart for eleven weeks. It was later certified gold by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of 35,000 units within the country. It reached number fifty on the ARIA year-end singles chart. In New Zealand, the single debuted at number forty-five, however dropping to number fifty the following week. It eventually peaked at number forty-one.
In Norway, "Irresistible" debuted at number eighteen on the VG-lista charts. It descended to number twenty-one the next week, before reaching its peak position of number sixteen during the fourth week on the chart. The song reached number two on the Ultratip chart of Belgium's Wallonia region, and number forty-six on the Belgium Flanders Ultratop 50 chart. It also reached number fifty in Austria, thirty-three in Germany and seventeen in Sweden. In Switzerland, the single debuted at number twenty-three, on the issue dated July 1, 2001. The next week peaked at number twenty and stayed on the chart for fourteen weeks. In the Netherlands, "Irresistible" reached a peak of number fifty-four on the Mega Single Top 100 chart. In Romania, the song reached number seventeen on the Romanian Singles Chart, and stayed on the chart for twenty-six weeks. It made number fifty-three on the country's year-end charts. Due to its appearance on several European charts, the song peaked at number nineteen on the European Hot 100 Singles chart, as compiled by Billboard.
## Music video
Fraser Middleton of The Evening Times wrote that Simpson captured a "girl next door" image with her previous album and the music videos for its accompanying singles. Although the album was successful, Columbia Records felt it was far from the successes of her contemporaries, Aguilera and Spears and that Simpson needed to make some changes to her image. As a part of the change, she lost weight, dressed in a more sexy style and learned dance. Simpson said the video is a kind of "comic strip girl come to life" further explaining that the video was something she had never done before.
The music video was directed by Colombian film director Simon Brand, in Los Angeles, and was choreographed by Dan Karaty. Shot in a set with futuristic backdrops, Simpson assumes the role of a spy on a mission in the video. It begins with Simpson exiting a helicopter then entering a building to compromise evidence in a laboratory there. Simpson takes the elevator which opens onto a pathway. While she is walking, a gadget appears on the floor followed by a small explosion. In the next scene, Simpson walks through a water tunnel, out of which she is pulled by a robotic hand. As the video progresses, Simpson is shown dancing in a room full of mirrors. Scenes of ninjas climbing up a rope hanging from top of the building are inter-cut with scenes of Simpson dancing until the laboratory explodes. Simpson is next shown dancing on the rooftop alongside the ninjas before a helicopter arrives and Simpson boards it.
The video premiered on MTV's Total Request Live on May 9, 2001. Upon the premiere, critics gave the music video mixed reviews. People magazine called the video "humptastic", referring to Simpson's progressive sexual image from her previous videos, while an editor for The Irish Independent wrote that Simpson looked "incredibly sexy" in the video. Billboard's Chuck Taylor also reviewed the video positively, writing the video will "add to the allure" of Simpson becoming a "sex-symbol". Similarly, Melissa Ruggeri of The Richmond Times-Dispatch also gave a positive review, writing that the term "Irresistible" fitted the video. However, Siobhan Grogan of NME magazine wrote that Simpson has no apprehension "about 'forgetting' most of her clothes for the video". Craig Seymour of The Buffalo News criticized Simpson's ungraceful performance on the video, which was echoed by Jon Bream and Chris Riemenschneider of The Star Tribune who felt Simpson was trying too hard to be a sexpot in the video. The video reached number two on MTV's Total Request Live (TRL) countdown, and number seventeen on MuchMusic Canada's Top 30 Countdown. In the So So Def remix music video, which featured additional direction from Cameron Casey and followed the same plot as the unmixed version, scenes of Lil' Bow Wow and Dupri rapping are intercut with scenes of Simpson performing the song. The So So Def remix version of the video premiered on BET's 106 & Park in July 2001.
## Live performances
"Irresistible" was included on the setlist of her DreamChaser Tour (2001) and Reality Tour (2004). In the book People in the News: Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, Terri Dougherty wrote that Simpson wanted the DreamChaser Tour to feature her as a singer and dancer, following the model laid down by performers like Britney Spears. Therefore, Simpson made the choreography more risqué by adding backup dancers and performing dance moves in revealing outfits. The song was also performed on MTV's Total Request Live Tour in which she was supported by six backup dancers. Her performance was commended by The Richmond Times-Dispatch, who wrote that her voice "soared," but criticised by The Buffalo News' Andrea Kibler and St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Kevin C. Johnson, both of whom opined that Simpson was lip-syncing the whole song.
Simpson performed the song on The Rosie O'Donnell Show on May 11, 2001. On June 1, she performed at the summer concert Zootopia, organized by Radio Z100. Six days later, she performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On June 11, she appeared on an episode of MuchMusic in Canada, and sang "Irresistible". On June 16, she performed it at Wango Tango, an annual all-day concert organized by KIIS-FM, in California. On July 4, 2001, it was performed at the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, for the celebration of Independence Day. In December 2001, Simpson joined the cast of KBKS-FM's Jingle Bell Bash in Seattle.
In late 2001, Simpson sang the song as part of MTV's Spring Break program, held in Cancún, Mexico. She later performed the song at The Monkey Club in Paris, France. "Irresistible" was sung during the 2001 Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, along with "A Little Bit". In 2002, Simpson sang "Irresistible" at Rockin' for the USA, a music special honoring the United States Armed Forces. In 2004, Simpson went out on her second headlining tour, the Reality Tour, to promote her third studio album In This Skin (2003). The tour, unlike the DreamChaser Tour, had no dance production. On the Houston stop of the North American leg of the tour, Simpson performed "Irresistible" at the end of the show, before singing "With You", a song from In This Skin, as the encore. However, on the Ohio stop, she performed the song after "Underneath", another song from In This Skin. Her performance was approved by Dustin J. Seibert of The Cincinnati Enquirer, who wrote that "Simpson's reliance on her high-octane voice and bubbly personality set her apart from some of her pop counterparts."
## Track listings
- Australian maxi-CD
1. "Irresistible" – 3:13
2. "Irresistible" (So So Def Remix) – 3:34
3. "Irresistible" (Riprock 'N' Alex G Remix Deluxe) – 3:05
4. "Irresistible" (Hex Hector Club Mix) – 8:53
- European and Swedish maxi single
1. "Irresistible" – 3:13
2. "Irresistible" (So So Def Remix) – 3:34
3. "Irresistible" (Hex Hector Club Mix) – 3:31
4. "Irresistible" (Music Video) – 3:09
- UK vinyl 12-inch
1. "Irresistible" (So So Def Remix) – 3:34
2. "Irresistible" (Riprock 'N' Alex G Remix Deluxe) – 3:05
3. "Irresistible" (Album Version) – 3:14
- US vinyl 12-inch
1. "Irresistible" (Hex Hector Club Mix) – 8:53
2. "Irresistible" (So So Def Remix) – 3:34
3. "Irresistible" (Riprock 'N' Alex G Remix Deluxe) – 3:05
4. "Irresistible" (Kupper Club Mix) – 7:04
5. "Irresistible" (Kupper Club Mix Instrumental) – 7:04
6. "Irresistible" (So So Def Remix Instrumental) – 3:34
## Credits and personnel
Album version
- Anders Bagge – writer, producer, mixer
- Arnthor Birgisson – writer, producer
- Pamela Sheyne – writer, background vocals
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Peter Wade Keusch – pro tools editing, Engineering
- Jessica Simpson – lead vocals, background vocals
- Jeanette Olsson – background vocals
- Mats Berntoft – guitar
- Stockholm Session Strings – strings
Remixes
- Jermaine Dupri – re-mixer, vocals, mixer
- Lil' Bow Wow – vocals
- Phil Tan – mixer
- Vic Anesini – mastering
- Hex Hector – producer, re-mixer
- Dezrok – producer, re-mixer
- Riprock – re-mixer
- Ron Thal – guitar
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications
## Release history
|
58,896,472 |
Vietnam and the World Bank
| 1,129,002,566 |
Vietnam's relationship with the World Bank
|
[
"Economy of Vietnam",
"World Bank Group relations"
] |
Vietnam joined the World Bank Group (WBG) on 21 September 1956. Before the mid-1980s, Vietnam was one of the world's least developed countries. A series of economic and political reforms launched in 1986, known as Đổi Mới, caused Vietnam to experience rapid economic growth and development, becoming a lower middle-income country. The World Bank (WB) has maintained a development partnership with Vietnam since 1993. As of 25 March 2019, it has committed a total of in loans, credits, and grants to Vietnam through 165 operations and projects, 44 of which are active as of 2019 and comprise . With an estimated extreme poverty rate below 3% and a GDP growth rate of 7.1% in 2018, Vietnam's economy continues to show fundamental strength and is supported by robust domestic demand and export-oriented manufacturing.
In an effort to support the reforms in Vietnam and foster the country's shift from a centrally planned to a market-based economy, the WB's partnership with Vietnam has witnessed more than 270 projects or advisory and analytic activities conducted through strategic partnerships with four of the WBG's five organizations, covering areas including poverty reduction, education, rural and urban services, infrastructure, new energy, and environmental protection. The WB and the government of Vietnam have made joint efforts to improve Vietnam's development, including strengthening competitiveness, improving sustainability, and increasing opportunities for the poor.
In terms of future planning, Vietnam and the WB are prioritizing "inclusive growth, investment in people, environmental sustainability and good governance", as illustrated in the new Country Partnership Framework (CPF), which was approved and endorsed by the WBG in May 2017. Based on analyses from two previous reports, the CPF introduced several strategic shifts, including strengthening private sector development, supporting financial sustainability and poverty reduction, improving education, and promoting low carbon energy generation.
## Background
Founded in the 1940s, the World Bank (WB) is an international financial institution. The WB has evolved into the World Bank Group (WBG), which consists of five closely related institutions: the International Development Association (IDA), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). According to the WB website, the term "World Bank" refers only to the IBRD and IDA, which "provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit, and grants to developing countries".
Vietnam joined the WBG on 21 September 1956. Before the mid-1980s, Vietnam was one of the world's least developed countries. Under Đổi Mới, which were a series of economic and political reforms launched in 1986, Vietnam experienced rapid economic growth and development, becoming a lower middle-income country. The WB has maintained a development partnership with Vietnam since 1993. As of 25 March 2019, it has committed a total of in loans, credits, and grants to Vietnam through 165 operations and projects, 44 of which are active as of 2019 and comprise . With an estimated extreme poverty rate below 3% and a GDP growth rate of 7.1% in 2018, Vietnam's economy continues to show fundamental strength and is supported by robust domestic demand and export-oriented manufacturing.
## Strategic partnerships
In an effort to support the reforms in Vietnam and foster the country's shift from a centrally planned economy to market-based economy, the WB's partnership with Vietnam has witnessed more than 270 projects or advisory and analytic activities conducted through strategic partnerships with four of the WBG's five organizations, covering areas including poverty reduction, education, rural and urban services, infrastructure, new energy, and environmental protection. The WB and the government of Vietnam have made joint efforts to improve Vietnam's development, including strengthening competitiveness, improving sustainability, and increasing opportunities for the poor.
Vietnam joined the IDA on 24 September 1960, the IBRD on 21 September 1956, the IFC on 4 August 1967, and the MIGA on 5 October 1994.
### IDA
As of 31 July 2019, the IDA has provided Vietnam with credits totaling about and grants totaling , which supported more than 160 projects covering sectors such as public administration, water supply and sanitation, waste management, health, social protection, agriculture, education, and transportation. Of the 169 projects, 43 are active (as of 2019) and 7 have been dropped. In 2018, the Dynamic City Integrated Development project was approved to further improve urban infrastructure and urban management.
The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) evaluates the development effectiveness of the WBG and over the past decade has assessed IDA projects in Vietnam as generally positive; most project ratings were moderately satisfactory or better. However, due to more complicated project designs, deficient performance evaluation, and the postponement of remedy measures, a tendency for outcome ratings to decline has been seen in more recent years.
### IBRD
In 2009, the IBRD approved its first loan, of , to Vietnam "to support public investment reforms". As of 31 July 2019, the IBRD had financed 16 projects in Vietnam, with a total lending portfolio of about . The projects funded cover sectors including public administration, sanitation, energy transmission and distribution, energy and extractives, industry, trade and services, transportation, and rural and inter-urban roads.
### IFC
As of 13 June 2019, the IFC has invested about in 50 projects in Vietnam and budgeted a total of in advisory services to 16 projects. Since establishing its office in Vietnam in 1997, the IFC has worked to improve the private sector's access to finance, encourage structural reforms, promote international standards, and improve Vietnam's business climate.
#### Vietnamese Business Forum
In December 1997 in Tokyo, Japan, a Consultative Group Meeting was held between the Vietnamese government and its community of donors. The IFC suggested that there be dialogue between the government and private sector, which led to the establishment of the Vietnamese Business Forum (VBF). According to the VBF website, "the initiative was made in the context that government, donors, and foreign investors were looking for improvements to accelerate investment in Vietnam. Meanwhile, there had been numerous free-flowing unstructured meetings between the government leaders and individual foreign investors, leading contradictory recommendations."
With the guidance of the IFC, the VBF has saved an estimated \$200 million for the private sector through "reforms that reduced barriers and increased transparency in business development processes". The VBF has continued efforts to ensure fair implementation of laws and to promote open and clear communications between the Vietnamese government and the private sector in all aspects of the Vietnamese economy. At the 2019 semiannual VBF, the chambers of multiple countries, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam (JCCI), Korean Chamber of Business in Vietnam (KoCham), and British Business Group in Vietnam (BBGV), reported on and discussed a multitude of topics ranging from Vietnam's high levels of investment into infrastructural developments to large scale progress in renewable energy. In the closing statements by Ousmane Dione, the World Bank Country Director for Vietnam, it was noted there was a need for Vietnam be more adaptive and not just smarter or more conservative.
### MIGA
As of 19 July 2019, the MIGA has guaranteed a total of for three projects, collaborating with the IBRD and the IFC to enhance infrastructure, manufacturing development, and private sector growth in Vietnam. In 2013, MIGA guaranteed of the loan supporting the expansion of the Masan Group's consumer products business; this, alongside the IFC's investment, increased food security, boosted job creation, created significant tax revenues, and improved the development of local small and medium enterprises. On 7 March 2014, MIGA guaranteed to cover the loan financing the BT20 National Highway 20 Project, which aimed to rehabilitate and upgrade the critical connector road for the Ho Chi Minh City–Da Lat corridor and was expected to boost the economic development of Vietnam's poorest areas. On 31 December 2015, MIGA guaranteed for the Hoi Xuan Hydropower Project, which supported the development and improvement of renewable energy and energy infrastructure in Vietnam.
## Significant projects
### Poverty reduction
A series of projects have been implemented to reduce poverty and improve living conditions in Vietnam. Launched in 2001, the First Northern Mountains Poverty Reduction Project aimed to improve infrastructure and rural services, covering broad sectors such as rural roads, irrigation systems, water supply, education, and health systems. The project, alongside the Second Project launched in 2010 with similar goals, resulted in a 15% increase in per-capita income among project beneficiaries in the poorest region of Vietnam.
Other projects, including ten Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) projects starting from 2001 and three Rural Financial Projects, also benefited rural private enterprises and households through improved access to finance. The percentage of people living under the national poverty line decreased from nearly 60% in 1993 to 13.5% in 2014. During the implementation of the PRSC projects, problems—including inadequate local knowledge and inefficient cooperation—delayed the project's operations and raised concerns about the program's quality; both the overall project and Vietnam's performance were rated unsatisfactory by the Project Performance Assessment Report.
### Education
The WB has funded numerous education projects that aimed to increase the accessibility, quality, and equality of education in Vietnam. In 1993, the first education project, the Primary Education Project, was launched in Vietnam. According to the WB, the project "provided more and better school books, built classrooms and improved school management in five rural provinces." It increased the enrollment rate (the rate of children attending school) from 86% in 1993 to 95% in 2002. From 2013 to 2017, the Vietnam School Readiness Promotion Project was launched to "raise school readiness" for 5-year-old children. The project raised the enrollment rate of preschool children from 73.7% in 2012 to 87.6% in 2017. From 2009 to 2014, three projects under the Higher Education Development Policy Program supported and implemented a higher-education reform to improve quality, accountability, and transparency in education.
### Infrastructure and rural services
Out of over 200 WB-supported projects, 53 projects were related to "rural services and infrastructure", the most of any area. According to the IEG, the Third Rural Transport Project (2006–2014) aimed to "reduce travel costs and improve access" in rural areas through rehabilitating and maintaining rural roads. People living within 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) of an all-weather road increased from 76% in 2011 to 87% in 2014. The Red River Delta Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project aimed to establish and improve water supply and sanitation infrastructure. The project was expected to benefit 800,000 people living in four provinces in the Red River Delta. Implemented from 2004 to 2014, the Vietnam Urban Upgrading Project aimed to improve infrastructure for 7.5 million urban residents, through improving homes, roads, canals, and bridges.
### Energy
Since 2000, Vietnam's annual GDP growth rate has been between 5% and 7.6%. The country's energy demand and consumption have grown in accordance. On 26 April 2011, the WB approved the Trung Son Hydropower Project, which aimed to generate renewable energy in the form of hydroelectricity. With a loan of \$330 million from the IBRD, the Trung Son Hydropower Company constructed the dam while the WB provided facilitation and technical support. By 31 July 2017, the project had generated an accumulated energy output of 955 GWh (3,440 terajoules) and in revenue. Previous projects, such as the Second Rural Energy Project from 2004 to 2014, have also benefited households in rural areas through providing more electricity and increasing accessibility.
## Future goals and strategy shifts
### Country Partnership Framework
The new Country Partnership Framework (CPF)—for Vietnam from 2018 to 2022—was endorsed by the WBG's Board of Executive Directors on 5 May 2017. In the partnership, Vietnam and the WBG are prioritizing "inclusive growth, investment in people, environmental sustainability and good governance". The CPF was "based on analysis in the Vietnam 2035: Toward Prosperity, Creativity, Equity, and Democracy and the 2016 Vietnam Systematic Country Diagnostic" and introduced several strategic shifts, including strengthening private sector development, supporting financial sustainability and poverty reduction, improving education, and promoting low carbon energy generation.
The WB planned to further promote private sector development, support public services and transfers, reduce poverty among ethnic minorities, reconcile the education and labor markets, and encourage more low-carbon energy generation.
### Vietnam 2035: Toward Prosperity, Creativity, Equity, and Democracy
Experts from the WB and Vietnam have made joint efforts to construct a blueprint for the country's future development, which were expressed in Vietnam 2035: Toward Prosperity, Creativity, Equity, and Democracy. According to the report, Vietnam plans to complete its transition into a modern, industrialized country by 2035. Three pillars were proposed to achieve the goal: "Economic Prosperity with Environmental Sustainability", "Equity and Social Inclusion", and "A Capable and Accountable State".
## Controversies
While the WB has made significant commitments to Vietnam, the extent of the WB's contributions to Vietnam's development has been debated. Although the WB presented Vietnam as the successful model of its market-oriented policies, critics have argued that the role of the WB in fostering Vietnam's reforms was exaggerated because the reforms were more internal than external. In the 1990s, the WB made several proposals for structural adjustments in Vietnam. However, the Vietnamese government refused to adopt these proposals, and it has since been reluctant to liberalize trade, leading some scholars to conclude that the WB had limited influence on Vietnam's development.
|
404,399 |
Augustin Pyramus de Candolle
| 1,167,069,574 |
Swiss botanist noted for contributions to taxonomy (1778–1841)
|
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Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (UK: /kænˈdɒl/, US: /kɒ̃ˈdɔːl/, ; 4 February 1778 – 9 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle had established a new genus, and he went on to document hundreds of plant families and create a new natural plant classification system. Although de Candolle's main focus was botany, he also contributed to related fields such as phytogeography, agronomy, paleontology, medical botany, and economic botany.
De Candolle originated the idea of "Nature's war", which influenced Charles Darwin and the principle of natural selection. de Candolle recognized that multiple species may develop similar characteristics that did not appear in a common evolutionary ancestor; a phenomenon now known as convergent evolution. During his work with plants, de Candolle noticed that plant leaf movements follow a near-24-hour cycle in constant light, suggesting that an internal biological clock exists. Though many scientists doubted de Candolle's findings, experiments over a century later demonstrated that "the internal biological clock" indeed exists.
De Candolle's descendants continued his work on plant classification; son Alphonse and grandson Casimir de Candolle contributed to the Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, a catalog of plants begun by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle.
## Early life
Augustin Pyramus de Candolle was born on 4 February 1778 in Geneva, Republic of Geneva, to Augustin de Candolle, a former official, and his wife, Louise Eléonore Brière. His family descended from one of the ancient families of Provence in France, but relocated to Geneva at the end of the 16th century to escape religious persecution.
At age seven de Candolle contracted a severe case of hydrocephalus, which significantly affected his childhood. Nevertheless, he is said to have had great aptitude for learning, distinguishing himself in school with his rapid acquisition of knowledge in classical and general literature and his ability to write fine poetry. In 1794, he began his scientific studies at the Collège de Genève, where he studied under Jean Pierre Étienne Vaucher, who later inspired de Candolle to make botanical science the chief pursuit of his life.
## Career in botany
He spent four years at the Geneva Academy, studying science and law according to his father's wishes. In 1798, he moved to Paris after Geneva had been annexed to the French Republic. His botanical career formally began with the help of René Louiche Desfontaines, who recommended de Candolle for work in the herbarium of Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle during the summer of 1798. The position elevated de Candolle's reputation and also led to valuable instruction from Desfontaines himself. de Candolle established his first genus, Senebiera, in 1799.
De Candolle's first books, Plantarum historia succulentarum (4 vols., 1799) and Astragalogia (1802), brought him to the notice of Georges Cuvier and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. de Candolle, with Cuvier's approval, acted as deputy at the Collège de France in 1802. Lamarck entrusted him with the publication of the third edition of the Flore française (1805–1815), and in the introduction entitled Principes élémentaires de botanique, de Candolle proposed a natural method of plant classification as opposed to the artificial Linnaean method. The premise of de Candolle's method is that taxa do not fall along a linear scale; they are discrete, not continuous. Lamarck had originally published this work in 1778, with a second edition in 1795. The third edition, which bears the name of both Lamarck and de Candolle, was in reality the work of the latter, the former having only lent his name and access to his collection.
In 1804, de Candolle published his Essai sur les propriétés médicales des plantes and was granted a doctor of medicine degree by the medical faculty of Paris. Two years later, he published Synopsis plantarum in flora Gallica descriptarum. de Candolle then spent the next six summers making a botanical and agricultural survey of France at the request of the French government, which was published in 1813. In 1807 he was appointed professor of botany in the medical faculty of the University of Montpellier, where he would later become the first chair of botany in 1810. His teaching at the University of Montpellier consisted of field classes attended by 200–300 students, starting at 5:00 am and finishing at 7:00 pm.
During this period, de Candolle became a close acquaintance of the Portuguese polymath, José Correia da Serra, who was Portuguese ambassador to Paris and who circulated in an international network of thinkers ranging from the Briton Joseph Banks to the Americans Thomas Jefferson and William Bartram, and the French scholars Antoine Laurent de Jussieu and Georges Cuvier. Correia's endorsement of the idea of emphasizing similarity and symmetry in classifying plants influenced de Candolle, who acknowledged as much in his writing.
While in Montpellier, de Candolle published his Théorie élémentaire de la botanique (Elementary Theory of Botany, 1813), which introduced a new classification system and the word taxonomy. Candolle moved back to Geneva in 1816 and in the following year was invited by the government of the Canton of Geneva to fill the newly created chair of natural history.
De Candolle spent the rest of his life in an attempt to elaborate and complete his natural system of botanical classification. de Candolle published initial work in his Regni vegetabillis systema naturale, but after two volumes he realized he could not complete the project on such a large scale. Consequently, he began his less extensive Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis in 1824. However, he was able to finish only seven volumes, or two-thirds of the whole. Even so, he was able to characterize over one hundred families of plants, helping to lay the empirical basis of general botany. Although de Candolle's main focus was botany, throughout his career he also dabbled in fields related to botany, such as phytogeography, agronomy, paleontology, medical botany, and economic botany.
In 1827 he was elected an associated member of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands.
## Later life
Augustin de Candolle was the first of four generations of botanists in the de Candolle dynasty. He married Mademoiselle Torras and their son, Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle, eventually succeeded to his father's chair in botany and continued the Prodromus. Casimir de Candolle, Augustin de Candolle's grandson, also contributed to the Prodromus through his detailed, extensive research and characterization of the plant family Piperaceae. Augustin de Candolle's great-grandson, Richard Émile Augustin de Candolle, was also a botanist. Augustin de Candolle died on 9 September 1841 in Geneva, after being sick for many years. That same year, he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society.
In 2017, a book was written in French about his life and one of his greatest contributions, the Botanical Garden of Geneva.
## Legacy
He is remembered in the plant genera Candollea and Candolleodendron, several plant species like Eugenia candolleana or Diospyros candolleana and the mushroom Psathyrella candolleana. Candollea, a scientific journal that publishes papers on systematic botany and phylotaxonomy, was named after de Candolle and his descendants in honor of their contribution to the field of botany. He was a mentor to the French-Mexican botanist Jean-Louis Berlandier and is credited with encouraging Marie-Anne Libert to investigate cryptogamic flora.
de Candolle also had the unexpected distinction of triggering the adoption of pre-paid postage in the Canton and City of Geneva, in a long address which he gave to the governing council in 1843. This led to them issuing Switzerland's second postage stamp, the famous Double Geneva later in that year (see also postage stamps and postal history of Switzerland).
### Classification system
De Candolle was the first to put forward the idea of "Nature's war", writing of plants being "at war one with another" with the meaning of different species fighting each other for space and resources. Charles Darwin studied de Candolle's "natural system" of classification in 1826 when at the University of Edinburgh, and in the inception of Darwin's theory in 1838 he considered "the warring of the species", adding that it was even more strongly conveyed by Thomas Malthus, producing the pressures that Darwin later called natural selection. In 1839 de Candolle visited Britain and Darwin invited him to dinner, allowing the two scientists the opportunity to discuss the idea.
De Candolle was also among the first to recognize the difference between the morphological and physiological characteristics of organs. He ascribed plant morphology as being related to the number of organs and their positions relative to each other rather than to their various physiological properties. Consequently, this made him the first to attempt to attribute specific reasons for structural and numerical relationships amongst organs, and thus to distinguish between major and minor aspects of plant symmetry. To account for modifications of symmetry in parts of different plants, an occurrence that could hinder the discovery of an evolutionary relationship, de Candolle introduced the concept of homology.
### Chronobiology
De Candolle also made contributions to the field of chronobiology. Building upon earlier work on plant circadian leaf movements contributed by such scientists as Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan and Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau, de Candolle observed in 1832 that the plant Mimosa pudica had a free-running period of leaf opening and closing of approximately 22–23 hours in constant light, significantly less than the approximate 24-hour period of the Earth's light-dark cycles. Since the period was shorter than 24 hours, he hypothesized that a different clock had to be responsible for the rhythm; the shortened period was not entrained—coordinated—by environmental cues, thus the clock appeared to be endogenous. Despite these findings, a number of scientists continued to search for "factor X", an unknown exogenous factor associated with the earth's rotation that was driving circadian oscillations in the absence of a light dark schedule, until the mid-twentieth century. In the mid-1920s, Erwin Bunning repeated Candolle's findings and came to similar conclusions, and studies that showed the persistence of circadian rhythm in the South Pole and in a space lab further confirmed the existence of oscillations in the absence of environmental cues.
## See also
- :Category:Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle
|
2,378,050 |
Lunar Jetman
| 1,161,939,149 |
1983 video game
|
[
"1983 video games",
"BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games",
"Horizontally scrolling shooters",
"Rare (company) games",
"Science fiction video games",
"Single-player video games",
"Video game sequels",
"Video games about extraterrestrial life",
"Video games developed in the United Kingdom",
"Video games set on fictional moons",
"ZX Spectrum games"
] |
Lunar Jetman is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983 and later on the BBC Micro. In this sequel to Jetpac, the second instalment of the Jetman series, Jetman has to destroy alien bases whilst simultaneously defending himself, along with Earth, from a hostile alien race.
It was met with critical acclaim upon release for its addictive gameplay and range of colours. The game was followed by a third episode, Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship, released for the NES in 1990. It was later included in Rare's 2015 Xbox One retrospective compilation, Rare Replay.
## Gameplay
Once again taking on the role of Jetman, players find themselves on the surface of a small purple moon. Similarly to its predecessor, the player can move around slowly on foot, or use a jetpack to leave the ground and navigate the moon faster. However, unlike Jetpac, Jetman's jetpack has limited fuel and must be topped up regularly. In addition to the jetpack, the player has a moon rover for ground travel, inside of which they are invulnerable to damage. However, the moon rover can only negotiate smooth terrain, and Jetman may need to use bridging kits obtained from the rover to fill in craters on the moon's surface. The moon rover doubles as a refuelling point for Jetman's jetpack.
Aside from the rover and its bridging kits, Jetman has access to three other pieces of equipment, all of which can be carried on the rear of the rover, albeit one at a time. Bombs must be used to destroy alien bases when they are encountered, which can only be accomplished when Jetman is flying above them. Another piece of equipment is a cannon that may be mounted onto the rear side of the moon rover. The final piece of equipment is a pair of teleporters which can be used to instantaneously transport the player to the teleporter's twin, thus allowing rapid transport around the moon.
Gameplay itself requires Jetman to locate and destroy a series of alien bases on the surface of the moon. Each new base appears with the destruction of the previous one. To accomplish this task, Jetman must take the bomb to the alien base—either in his space suit or using the rover—and then fly over the base and drop the bomb. After several bases have been destroyed in succession, new and increasingly hazardous varieties of flying aliens assault the player. Each base must be destroyed within a strict time limit. If this limit expires before the base is destroyed, two missiles are launched from the base—one for Earth, the other for Jetman's rover. The player will be given a limited time to intercept and destroy the missile aimed at the rover, thus preventing a game over.
## Background and release
Ultimate Play the Game was founded by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper, along with Tim's wife, Carol, from their headquarters in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in 1982. They began producing video games for the ZX Spectrum throughout the early 1980s. The company were known for their reluctance to reveal details about their operations and then-upcoming projects. Little was known about their development process except that they used to work in "separate teams": one team would work on development whilst the other would concentrate on other aspects such as sound or graphics.
Lunar Jetman was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1983 and later on the BBC Micro. It was re-released in August 2015 as part of the Xbox One compilation of 30 Rare titles, Rare Replay.
## Reception
Similar to its predecessor, the game was critically acclaimed upon release. Crash praised the graphics and wide spectrum of colours, noting that whilst the presentation did not differ much from its predecessor, the graphics were "every bit as good" as superior arcade machines. Home Computing Weekly also praised the presentation, stating that the colour and animation were "superb", whilst expressing the gameplay as "disgustingly addictive".
When Crash revisited the game in their "Crashback" section of a 1984 issue, the game was still praised, with one reviewer stating that he would not change any of the original scores. Brian Buckley of ZX Computing praised the game's advanced graphics and effects, stating that extraordinary attention had been paid to detail and that every usage of sound and colour was "excellent". Buckley also asserted that Lunar Jetman was "the best computer game of all time".
The game entered the video game charts at number one in November 1983, replacing Ocean Software's Kong. The game was also voted number 31 in the Your Sinclair Official Top 100 Games of All Time. Home Computing Weekly placed Lunar Jetman third in their "Top 10 programs for the ZX Spectrum" in a later 1983 issue.
|
61,797,406 |
John B. Creeden
| 1,166,084,984 |
20th-century American Jesuit educator
|
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John Berchmans Creeden SJ (September 12, 1871 – February 26, 1948) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit, who served in many senior positions at Jesuit universities in the United States. Born in Massachusetts, he attended Boston College, and studied for the priesthood in Maryland and Austria. He taught at Fordham University and then at Georgetown University, where he was made Dean of Georgetown College in 1909, and simultaneously served as principal of Georgetown Preparatory School.
Creeden became president of Georgetown University in 1918. Largely shaped by the First World War, during his presidency, the School of Foreign Service was founded, for which he was awarded the Medal of Public Instruction from the President of Venezuela. In order to support the post-war enrollment boom, he also expanded the size of the campus, and established the university's first endowment, to support major campus improvements. He proposed a transformation of the campus that would involve building a new quadrangle of neo-Gothic buildings, but this vision was thwarted by the Depression of 1921. Creeden undertook a major reform of the university's organization, which included relocating Georgetown Preparatory School to a new campus, installing Jesuit regents to oversee each of the professional schools, and placing the Law School under his direct control, where he initiated a drastic improvement in the school's curriculum and admissions standards.
Following the end of his presidency in 1924, he returned to Boston College, where he briefly became Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, before founding Boston College Law School in 1926 and serving as its first regent until 1939. At the same time, he served as regent of Georgetown Law School from 1929 to 1939. In his final years, he was a spiritual counselor at Jesuit schools in Western Massachusetts, and then became Dean of Boston College's Evening Division, which later became the Woods College of Advancing Studies.
## Early life
John Berchmans Creeden was born on September 12, 1871, in Arlington, Massachusetts, to Irish immigrant parents. He attended Boston College, before entering the novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Frederick, Maryland, on August 14, 1890. He taught at Georgetown from 1897 to 1902, and then returned to Woodstock College to study philosophy and theology; he also spent time studying in Linz, Austria. At Woodstock, he was ordained a priest by Cardinal James Gibbons in 1905.
He then spent two years teaching at Fordham University in New York City. In 1909, he was made athletic director and prefect of studies at Georgetown, before being appointed as Dean of Georgetown College later that year. During part of his tenure as dean, he also served as principal of Georgetown Preparatory School. On February 2, 1910, he was conferred the rank of gradus in the Society of Jesus. Upon being named president of the university, he was succeeded as dean by Edmund A. Walsh.
## President of Georgetown University
Creeden was named president of Georgetown University in May 1918, succeeding Alphonsus J. Donlon. In 1918, with the Spanish flu making its way toward Washington, Creeden resurrected the St. Joseph's Lamp Association, which was responsible for keeping a lamp burning in front of a statue of St. Joseph in a garden between Gervase Hall, Mulledy Hall, and Old South. Creeden received Ferdinand Foch, the French marshal and Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies, on November 20, 1921, and presented him with an honorary Doctor of Civil and Canon Laws degree, as well as a golden sword on behalf of the American Jesuits.
He voiced his opposition in 1921 to the Smith–Towner Bill, which was an unsuccessful attempt to create the U.S. Department of Education, because he believed it was both unconstitutional and unwise for the federal government to assert control over education. In the summer of 1923, Creeden developed phlebitis, which severely impacted his ability to discharge the office. By early 1924, he felt that he was no longer able to fulfill his duties, and Charles W. Lyons was named as his successor in late October 1924.
### Campus improvements
Following the end of the First World War, enrollment in all of Georgetown's schools increased greatly, especially in the Medical, Dental, and Law Schools. This put the existing facilities under significant strain. Creeden responded by buying up property bounded by 35th, 37th, P, and N Streets, adjacent to the main campus. He also sought to enhance the national reputation of the university by creating a Georgetown Publicity Bureau. Together with these concrete improvements, he established an endowment association, whose goal was to raise \$5 million in two years, equivalent to \$ million in . This represented the first time in Georgetown's history that an endowment was sought.
The most ambitious of Creeden's visions was a vast expansion of the built campus known as the "Greater Georgetown Plan". This would involve constructing a new neo-Gothic quadrangle composed of several buildings on the site of the existing athletic field next to Healy Hall. This quadrangle would be a new home for the Medical and Dental Schools, a dormitory, a classroom building, and a science building. Creeden also planned to build a stadium nearby that could hold twenty thousand spectators. This grand plan never came to fruition because the Depression in 1921 made funding unavailable.
### Separation of Georgetown Preparatory School
At the commencement ceremony of 1919, Creeden announced that Georgetown Preparatory School would move to a separate campus at the start of the following academic year. Construction of the North Bethesda, Maryland campus was begun under his predecessor, Donlon. The purpose of this relocation was to remove the younger students from what the Jesuits viewed as the indecent temptations of the city. It was also part of the larger movement among Jesuit institutions in the United States, facing pressure from the Association of American Universities, to create separate four-year high school programs and four-year college programs, instead of combined seven-year programs. Despite the move away from Georgetown's collegiate campus, Creeden continued to take an active interest in the administration of the preparatory school, frequently visiting and meeting with the headmaster to set policies.
### School of Foreign Service established
Following the renaming of Georgetown's School of Foreign Service for Edmund A. Walsh in 1958, Henri Wiesel, a Jesuit contemporary and acquaintance of both Creeden and Walsh, wrote to the archivist of Georgetown University that, though Walsh was instrumental in the creation of the school, the true founder of the School of Foreign Service was Creeden. He said that Creeden envisioned the establishment of such a school and frequently discussed the subject, at a time when Walsh was still studying theology as part of his Jesuit formation. His motivation for the creation of the school was to bring the Society of Jesus into contact with prominent men in government and finance.
Creeden sought to establish the school at the start of his presidency, but this goal was delayed by the First World War. Another Jesuit contemporary verified that Creeden worked closely with Fr. Constantine McGuire to present the plan for the School of Foreign service to the board of regents in June 1918. Opening in 1919, the school quickly became well received in government circles in Washington, and Creeden sought to establish an endowment for it. He recruited Walsh, whose personality was more suited to public life, to recruit faculty and students and to be the face of the school, and appointed him as the first regent of the school. In recognition of Creeden's role in the founding of the School of Foreign Service, the President of Venezuela, Victorino Márquez Bustillos, awarded him the Medal of Public Instruction in 1920, the highest educational honor bestowed by Venezuela on a foreign citizen. He was presented with the award during the Venezuelan Minister of Public Education's visit to Washington.
### Law School reform
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) gave Georgetown Law School a quality rating of B, prompting Creeden to undertake a major reorganization of the governance of the school. In the spring of 1920, he obtained the consent of the board of regents to effectively terminate the semi-autonomous status of the law school, bringing it under closer control of the university leadership. This involved appointing a Jesuit regent to ensure the school was conforming to the tradition and mission of the university (a reform Creeden and a later president, Coleman Nevils, implemented at all of the university's professional schools), and creating an executive faculty that consisted of the president, the dean of the law school, and six professors chosen by the president.
In order to improve the quality of the school, he also had new bylaws adopted, which significantly raised the standards for admission to the law school. Applicants were required to have at least completed four years of high school. By 1925, this standard was raised to require at least two years of college, with courses in history, economics, political science, ethics, logic, and rhetoric. With the support of Dean George E. Hamilton, in October 1921, day classes were offered for the first time (while until then, there were evening classes designed for part-time students), and several full-time professors were hired to supplement the part-time faculty that maintained active law practices. Evening students were required to study for four years, instead of the previous three. These reforms resulted in the AALS upgrading Georgetown's rating to an A in 1925. Creeden and other administrators anticipated a decrease in enrollment due to these heightened standards, but this decrease was smaller than expected, and returned to previous levels within several years.
## Later years
Creeden then went to Boston College, where he taught philosophy from 1924 to 1926. In 1926, he was appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. He then founded the Boston College Law School, and served as its first regent from 1926 to 1939. At the same time, he became the regent of Georgetown Law School in 1929, and held this position for ten years. Following his law school deanships, he served as spiritual counselor from 1939 to 1942 at Cranwell Preparatory School in Lenox, Massachusetts, and from 1942 to 1947 at Shadowbrook, the Jesuit novitiate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He also became the first Dean of the Boston College Evening Division, which later became the Woods College of Advancing Studies. On February 26, 1948, Creeden died in Boston.
|
2,132,926 |
Jeremy Soule
| 1,169,842,447 |
American composer
|
[
"1975 births",
"21st-century American composers",
"21st-century American male musicians",
"American male composers",
"American music arrangers",
"BAFTA winners (people)",
"Living people",
"MTV Video Music Award winners",
"People from Keokuk, Iowa",
"Square Enix people",
"Video game composers"
] |
Jeremy Soule (/ˈsoʊl/; born December 19, 1975) is an American composer of soundtracks for film, television, and video games. He has composed soundtracks for over 60 games and over a dozen other works during his career, including The Elder Scrolls, Guild Wars, Icewind Dale, and the Harry Potter series.
He became an employee of Square in 1994 after several years of private composition studies. After finishing the soundtrack to Secret of Evermore in 1995, he left to join Humongous Entertainment, where he composed for several children's games as well as Total Annihilation, his first award-winning score. In 2000, he left to form his own music production company, Soule Media, now called Artistry Entertainment. In 2005, he founded DirectSong, a record label that published digital versions of his soundtracks as well as those of classical composers. DirectSong was subject to a class action lawsuit in 2015 but remained active until 2019.
Soule's works have been played in several live concerts such as the Symphonic Game Music Concert in Germany and the international Play! A Video Game Symphony concert series. While many of his works are orchestral, he considers himself someone who creates more than just one type of music. Several of Soule's soundtracks were created with the help of his brother, Julian.
## Early life
Soule was born in 1975 in Keokuk, Iowa to a public school music teacher father and a graphic designer mother. He became interested in music and symphony orchestras at the age of five. Soule began taking piano lessons at an early age and became entranced with music, even writing music notation in the margins of his math homework; after his teachers and his father realized his talent, he began taking private lessons with professors from Western Illinois University when he was in sixth grade. He claims to have earned the equivalent of a master's degree in composition before completing high school; however, as he never enrolled in the school, he did not earn a degree. He was split between trying to become a concert pianist and a composer when he grew up; he ended up deciding to become a composer once he realized how difficult it would be to do both.
While playing video games as a child, Soule came to believe that the experience they created could be greatly enhanced by having a better musical score. After completing high school, he took a year to create a portfolio showcasing what he felt video game scores should sound like. Soule sent the tape to LucasArts and Square. Square very much appreciated the portfolio; he does not believe that LucasArts ever listened to his tapes as they had a "no unsolicited package" policy. Soule began working at Square in Seattle only two weeks after first submitting his demo tapes.
## Career
### 1990s
Soule was promptly given the task by Square to score Secret of Evermore. The finished game features an untraditional score incorporating ambient background sounds (like wind blowing and ocean waves) into the music and utilizing a more mellow orchestral sound. Part of the reason for this was that the sound program used in Evermore was not up to the technical challenge of what Soule wanted to do with it, forcing him to work creatively within his limitations. When Ron Gilbert of LucasArts left to form his own company, Humongous Entertainment, and Square moved from Seattle to Los Angeles, Soule quit Square to score Gilbert's children's adventure game series, Putt-Putt; he was the company's third employee. Soule composed the soundtracks to eleven children's games over the next three years, with multiple titles in the Putt-Putt, Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish and Spy Fox series.
While working at Humongous, Soule met fellow employee and video game designer Chris Taylor, and signed on to compose the soundtrack to his major project, Total Annihilation. Soule convinced Taylor that, given the large number of other real-time strategy games coming out at the same time as Total Annihilation with techno scores, that to separate themselves they needed to do a large orchestral score. He went so far as to bet a year's worth of reduced pay that it would pay off; Gilbert felt that it did after the first sentence of the first review of the game he read was about the music. Given the software limitations at the time, to make the sound work correctly required a full live orchestra, the first that Soule had ever worked with; the orchestral tracks in Evermore had been performed by Soule and his brother by themselves, two instruments at a time. The soundtrack earned Soule his first award, that of "Best Music" of 1997 from GameSpot in their year-end awards. Soule spent the next two years composing music for the game's two expansion packs and for children's games.
### 2000s
In February 2000, Jeremy and his brother, Julian, formed Soule Media as an independent music production company; its name has since been changed to Artistry Entertainment. Julian works as a sound engineer and composer for the company, and has assisted Jeremy in several projects throughout his career, both credited and uncredited. The first large project that Jeremy Soule worked on through the company was 2000's Icewind Dale, which won the best music of the year award from both IGN and GameSpot.
In 2001, Soule scored the first of five Harry Potter games that he would work on between then and 2005. His first game, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was nominated for an Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences award for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition, while Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban won and were nominated, respectively, for a British Academy of Film & Television Arts award for Best Score in the Game Music Category. The other games he composed for that year include Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Azurik: Rise of Perathia, which he later described as a bad game lifted up in the eyes of testers and reviewers by good music. He was responsible for composing the soundtracks to three top-selling role-playing games in 2002, those of Dungeon Siege, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and Neverwinter Nights; Morrowind earned him his second Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences award nomination.
Soule was in a major car accident in the mid 2000s, during which he had a momentary realisation that life is precious. In interview, he described a vision of "Native American warriors" that he saw during the crash. The highway patrolman who arrived at the scene also invited him to meet a chief of the nearby Lummi Nation reservation who composed music. Soule stated that the experience provided inspiration during his subsequent compositions.
Artistry Entertainment scored a string of highly successful games through the remainder of the decade, including the Guild Wars series, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Oblivion was an award-winning soundtrack by Soule. It was nominated for the 2006 British Academy of Film & Television Arts and Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awards, and won the MTV Video Music Awards and Official Xbox Magazine soundtrack awards. Soule also worked on another of Chris Taylor's real-time strategy titles in 2007, with the launch of Supreme Commander.
In 2005, Jeremy and Julian Soule founded DirectSong, a company which sold DRM-free downloads of compositions as well as works by dozens of classical composers. By 2007 the company had grown to over one million registered customers, though Soule noted that not all of those customers resulted in a sale of a non-free product. Soule says that the traffic numbers for DirectSong had surpassed some major record labels at times. Soule also used DirectSong to sell "expansion packs" of music for games such as Guild Wars that could be played in game like the rest of the soundtrack. He estimates that at least 10% of the players of Guild Wars bought his musical expansion for the game, Battle Pak 1. DirectSong struggled to fulfill orders or provide timely support, resulting in an "F" rating by the Better Business Bureau.
### 2010s
Soule worked on several major titles in the early 2010s, including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Guild Wars 2. The Skyrim soundtrack in particular is among Soule's most critically acclaimed pieces of work, receiving a BAFTA nomination as well as numerous other awards from organizations such as the Game Audio Network Guild. Soule would also go on to compose the music for two of the official DLC packs for the game, Dragonborn and Dawnguard, both released in 2012. The Guild Wars 2 soundtrack was released a four-disc box set collection and well received. Soule was replaced as lead composer on the project later that year, with subsequent releases (such as expansions) being composed by Maclaine Diemer.
In March 2013, Soule launched a Kickstarter project to fund a classical music album called The Northerner: Soule Symphony No. 1, seeking \$10,000 for the album. The campaign ultimately raised a total of \$121,227. The project features vocals in Old Norse, with Soule citing the successful use of the similar Icelandic language by Malukah in one of her own projects during development. For the project, Soule indicated that his company were developing new audio technology. An album of sketches was ultimately released in 2017, though not the full symphony.
In 2014, Soule signed an MMO exclusivity deal with Sony Online Entertainment, in order to compose music for EverQuest Next and Landmark. EverQuest Next was cancelled in March 2016; Landmark was released but shut down in February 2017, less than a year after launch. In 2015, Soule composed a Dota 2 music pack, along with his brother Julian. The soundtrack was available as part of the Compendium, a pack of digitally-distributed content that funded the prize pool for The International 2015 tournament, which took place in August 2015 and ultimately featured the largest prize-pool in e-sports history at the time, with over \$18,000,000 in total.
Soule faced several controversies in the late 2010s, during which he primarily worked on indie titles. In 2015 Soule's DirectSong service was targeted by a class-action lawsuit, brought by members of the Guild Wars 2 community, due to long wait times- with some users waiting four years for albums to arrive after purchase. Soule began accepting refunds for the unreleased symphony The Northerner in 2016. In January 2019, Soule indicated he was not involved with The Elder Scrolls VI. That August, he was accused of rape by game designer Nathalie Lawhead. He was also accused of sexual harassment by vocalist Aeralie Brighton. He denied the accusations. Materia Collective ended their work with Soule on his symphony The Northerner in response, and Soule's official social media pages were taken down. Soule's music distribution platform DirectSong, and his Bandcamp page were also seemingly taken offline around this time. A 2022 article in Journal of Sound and Music in Games analysed the accusations in the wider context of the \#MeToo movement and sexism in the games industry, commenting simply that "not much has been heard of Soule since".
## Performances
Soule's music has been played in several live concerts. His music from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was performed on August 20, 2003, at the first Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany, and his music from Morrowind was performed at the third Symphonic Game Music Concert on August 17, 2005. Selections of his pieces from Morrowind and Oblivion are played in the international concert series Play! A Video Game Symphony. Jeremy Soule attended the world-premiere of Play! on May 27, 2006 in Chicago. Music from Oblivion has also been played at the Press Start 2007 -Symphony of Games- concerts in September 2007 in Japan. The first live orchestral concert dedicated to Soule's music for "Skyrim" took place on November 16, 2016 at London's Palladium theater.
## Legacy
Soule's music has been featured in numerous top-selling games; he once estimated in an interview that around 10 million games with his music in them were sold in 2006 alone.
Selections of remixes of Soule's work appear on English remixing websites such as OverClocked ReMix. Soule is a supporter of the game music arrangement community, even going so far as to submit his own arrangement to OverClocked ReMix. He did so to help promote and inspire younger and newer composers. The track, "Squaresoft Variation", arranges the Final Fantasy VI piece "Terra"; Soule has said that he chose the piece to remix because when he first started at Square he spent some time debugging the game before his composition duties for Evermore started.
## Musical style and influences
Soule rarely gets to see the game he is composing for in any sort of completed state before he begins work; as a result he bases many of his musical decisions on the company's previous games. He credits his success with this strategy to the fact that many of the games he works on come from studios that have created several successful games in the past. He finds it much easier to compose a soundtrack to a game that is very visual in nature, such as a role-playing game. He also likes to see the storyboards and concept art for the game, as he considers them a good provider of "pure emotional intent" for the game. When composing a soundtrack, the first thing that he decides is the tempo and the amount of energy the music will have; this decision is as much based on the genre of the game as it is the artistic style of the game. After that, Soule starts composing smaller tracks in the soundtrack, to make sure that they match up with the vision of the game before he starts on the major themes. Soule tries to compose all of a game's soundtrack himself rather than in a team, though he sometimes collaborates with his brother.
Although many of his works are orchestral in nature, Soule has denied that it is his "style", as he feels that the term boxes him into only creating one type of music. He prefers to call himself a "music practitioner", or someone who creates music in general rather than just one type of music as he is capable of many styles, such as Japanese pop, which he has written along with Jeff Miyahara. Soule considers music to be like a language, which can be arranged in many different ways if you understand the structure. He does not have a favorite genre of game to compose for, preferring instead to compose for "ambitious" games by people with "new ideas".
Soule's greatest musical influences are "Debussy's exploration of harmony", "Wagner's grand operas", and "Mozart's form and composition". While many of his orchestral works are based on movie scores in terms of scope, he does not often listen to movie scores, though he names his favorite composer as John Williams. The influence has been noted by critics, who have termed Soule "the John Williams of video game music". Among video game music influences, he has cited Square for providing him "with the education for what quality means to this business" and Nobuo Uematsu in particular. His favorite style of music to listen to is British pop and rock music, while his favorite video games are the ones that he has written scores to, especially the ones made by Chris Taylor, though one of his all-time favorites is The Legend of Zelda. He has said that the games he would most like to work on that he has not already are ones by Shigeru Miyamoto, a Final Fantasy game, and a Metroid game.
## Works
### Video games
- Final Fantasy VI (1994) – testing only
- Secret of Evermore (1995) – with Julian Soule
- Freddi Fish & Luther's Maze Madness (1996)
- Freddi Fish & Luther's Water Worries (1996)
- Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside (1996)
- Putt-Putt and Pep's Dog On a Stick (1996)
- Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (1997)
- Total Annihilation (1997)
- Pajama Sam's SockWorks (1997)
- Young Dilbert Hi-Tech Hijinks (1997)
- Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal" (1997)
- Total Annihilation: Core Contingency (1998)
- Pajama Sam: Lost and Found (1998)
- Spy Fox in Cheese Chase (1998)
- Total Annihilation: Kingdoms (1999)
- Icewind Dale (2000)
- Giants: Citizen Kabuto (2000)
- Rugrats: Totally Angelica Boredom Buster (2000)
- Amen: The Awakening (cancelled in 2000)
- Beauty and the Beast (2000)
- Total Annihilation: Kingdoms- The Iron Plague (2000)
- Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000)
- Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (2001)
- Azurik: Rise of Perathia (2001)
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (2001)
- Final Four 2002 (2001)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
- Dungeon Siege (2002)
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002)
- Natural Selection (2002)
- Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals (2002)
- Neverwinter Nights (2002)
- SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs (2002)
- Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (2002)
- EverQuest Online Adventures (2003)
- Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (2003)
- Sovereign (canceled in 2003)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)
- Unreal II (2003)
- Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna (2003)
- Impossible Creatures (2003)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2003)
- Armies of Exigo (2004)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (2004)
- Kohan II: Kings of War (2004)
- Guild Wars (2005)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
- Dungeon Siege II (2005)
- Company of Heroes (2006)
- Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts (2006)
- Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor (2006)
- Warhammer: Mark of Chaos (2006)
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006)
- Prey (2006) – with Julian Soule
- Guild Wars Factions (2006)
- Guild Wars Nightfall (2006) – with Julian Soule
- Guild Wars: Eye of the North (2007) – with Julian Soule
- Supreme Commander (2007)
- Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance (2007)
- IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey (2009)
- Order of War (2009)
- zOMG! (2009) (music later reused in Monster Galaxy)
- Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010) – with many others
- Dead Rising 2 (2010) – with Oleksa Lozowchuk, The Humble Brothers, and Julian Soule
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
- Deep Black (2012)
- Otomedius Excellent (2011) – with many others
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dawnguard (2012)
- Guild Wars 2 (2012)
- World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (2012) – with many others
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dragonborn (2012)
- War Thunder (2013) – main theme only
- Dead Rising 3 (2013) – one song with Julian Soule
- Consortium (2014)
- The Elder Scrolls Online (2014) – title theme and cinematics
- Dota 2: The International 2015 Music Pack (2015) – with Julian Soule
- The Gallery: Call of the Starseed (2016)
- Landmark (2016)
- The Gallery: Heart of the Emberstone (2017)
- Consortium: The Tower (2018)
### Film and television
- Journey Toward Creation (2003) – documentary
- 2003 MTV Movie Awards (2003) – awards show
- C.S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia (2005) – television movie (co-credited with Julian Soule)
- Beyond the Yellow Brick Road: The Making of Tin Man (2007) – documentary short
- Florence Nightingale (2008) – television movie
- The Offering (2009) – short film
- Dracula's Stoker (2009) – documentary
- Witch Creek (2010) – feature
- KJB – The Book That Changed The World (2010) – documentary
- War for Peace (2011) – documentary series
- The Burdens of Shaohao: Prelude "The Vision" (2013)
- The Perfect Wave (2014) – feature
- Walk of Fame (2017) – feature
- Ice on Fire (2019) – documentary
### Albums
- The Northerner Diaries (2017)
### Theater
- Storyeum (2000)
- Ecstasy'' (2003)
## Awards
|
9,411,806 |
Papa's Cabin
| 1,126,885,276 | null |
[
"2007 American television episodes",
"Veronica Mars (season 3) episodes"
] |
"Papa's Cabin" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars, and the fifty-ninth episode overall. Written by John Enbom and directed by Michael Fields, the episode premiered on The CW on February 27, 2007. The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) as she deals with life as a college student while moonlighting as a private detective.
In this episode, Veronica and her father Keith (Enrico Colantoni) investigate more suspects in the murder of Dean O'Dell (Ed Begley, Jr.), particularly his wife Mindy (Jaime Ray Newman) and her lover Hank Landry (Patrick Fabian). Both of them become particularly suspicious when they disappear, and Hank is implied as the killer when Mindy's dead body washes onshore. However, Veronica later deduces that teaching assistant Tim Foyle (James Jordan) committed the murder to frame Hank.
"Papa's Cabin", the final episode of the Dean O'Dell story arc, marks the final appearances of Fabian, Newman, and Jordan in their respective roles. Series creator Rob Thomas enjoyed Fabian and Jordan's performances in the episode, while filming of scenes on the ocean contained some production troubles. Upon its initial airing, the episode received 2.66 million viewers and mixed reviews from television critics; many considered this episode to be a solid conclusion to the story arc but one that was less exciting than previous mystery-ending episodes. Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club believed that the episode was intellectually satisfying, while Jon Lachonis of BuddyTV opined that the decision to make Tim the murderer was not appropriate.
## Plot synopsis
Despite the fact that Hank Landry is a prime suspect for Keith, Landry reassures Veronica that she can still be his protégé. Keith continues to question Mindy O'Dell, citing inconsistencies in her testimony. Mindy says that the other man arguing in her room was the Dean. She also says that Hank could have been the murderer, as she was not in the area at the time of the murder. Keith enters Veronica's criminology class and arrests Hank. Keith questions him as well, and he says that Mindy set him up with the blood on his clothes, noting that he went to a convenience store before driving home. However, Keith puts him in a cell, where he is visited by Tim Foyle, and Hank tells him to find the bug that was placed on his phone. Later, Veronica sees Tim breaking into Mars Investigations, trying to find the bug, and Tim effectively enlists Veronica's help. They visit the convenience store with no luck for the time being. Wallace (Percy Daggs III) sees Logan (Jason Dohring) and Parker (Julie Gonzalo) having lunch together and tells Veronica, but she doesn't seem upset. Mindy buys a boat at the local pier. Keith and Veronica receive news that Mindy has left town.
Veronica and Tim investigate Hank's alibi further, and it checks out, leading to his release. Veronica and Tim find secret phone recordings kept by Hank. Veronica brings Keith the CD, but he informs her that Hank has disappeared as well. We see Hank showing up on Mindy's boat. While listening to the phone calls, Veronica notices Mindy and Hank talking about a place named "Papa's cabin". They investigate the most recent phone calls made by Hank, and find that his alibi was faked—he was helping the witness's son escape foster care. Keith comes up with the idea that Papa's cabin has something to do with Ernest Hemingway. Keith visits the cabin, a retreat in Mexico, before boarding the motorboat. He finds Hank, who says that he was working with her to kill the Dean. He says that he and Mindy had a fight, and Mindy fell overboard. We see Mindy's body washed up on a beach.
With Landry arrested, Tim takes over the criminology class. The class starts to discuss the Dean O'Dell case, with Tim giving a broad overview of the subject. However, Veronica asks several questions to him which he does not answer very well. Veronica suddenly connects the dots and says that Tim committed the murder in order to frame Hank, who denied him a job opportunity. Tim is arrested and confesses to the murder, while Hank is being tried for manslaughter in the death of Mindy. Keith and Veronica share dinner after solving their cases.
## Production
"Papa's Cabin" was written by John Enbom and directed by Michael Fields, marking Enbom's sixteenth and penultimate writing credit and Fields's seventh and penultimate directing credit for the series. "Papa's Cabin" features the final appearance of Hank Landry, played by Patrick Fabian, making it the closing installment of an eight-episode arc. The episode reveals that Tim Foyle (James Jordan) was the actual killer of Dean O'Dell, a mystery which had been the focus of the show for six episodes. Jordan had previously played a janitor named Lucky in season two; his new character was always meant to act as a foil to Veronica. In fact, scripts had initially named Tim Foyle as simply "Foil" for this reason. The nickname stuck, and his full name was chosen as a pun on tin foil. The episode was the final installment of the series to air before a two-month hiatus, temporarily losing its time slot to Pussycat Dolls Present. Ain't It Cool News considered the CW's short description of the episode to be evidence that Veronica and Keith would continue working together, despite the fact that he recently became interim Sheriff.
Thomas enjoyed Fabian's performance in the episode, arguing that it was an example of the actor's scene stealer quality that led Thomas to initially cast him after his appearance in an episode of his earlier series Cupid. The scene in which Keith boards the ship on which Hank is located was difficult to film because there were limited daylight filming hours. The crew thought it was important for the audience to see the waves and the ocean. However, they were unable to finish filming the scene within the course of one day, so the crew made a quick decision to place a makeshift blue screen as part of the background for the interior of the boat. It was intended that the blue screen be edited in post-production in order to represent the ocean, but upon learning that this change would cost millions of dollars, the crew decided to forgo the alteration and instead pass off the blue screen as a tarpaulin.
Jordan had to wear a wig and a fake goatee for the episode. Thomas described Jordan's one-word response to the question "Do we look like we smoke?" as the best quip of the season. Thomas was also laudatory towards Jordan's character's reactions towards Veronica about events he secretly already knew, such as when he hears a voicemail from Hank not recommending him for an internship. He thought that he played the lie realistically but that one could see through his façade upon a repeat viewing. Because the Dean O'Dell storyline was six episodes instead of the initially scheduled seven, some plot strands had to be removed from the final episode and story arc.
## Reception
### Ratings
In its original broadcast, "Papa's Cabin" received 2.66 million viewers, ranking 95th of 102 in the weekly rankings. This marked an increase in nearly 400,000 viewers from the previous episode, "Mars, Bars", which earned 2.27 million viewers.
### Reviews
The episode received mixed reviews from critics, with reviewers generally calling "Papa's Cabin" a solid finale to the Dean O'Dell mystery but one that was less entertaining than previous mystery-ending episodes. Eric Goldman of IGN rated the episode an 8.2 out of 10, indicating that it was "great". He wrote that it was "an interesting episode that went against the grain as far as what the show has done with similar reveals in the past." While stating that Tim being the actual murderer was not very surprising, the reviewer felt satisfied with the scene in which Veronica pieces the clues together to implicate Tim. He also commented on how "Papa's Cabin" differed from previous mystery-ending episodes by having lower stakes, a characteristic he felt was appropriate. He thought it was similar to a traditional detective story model, meaning that it "fell in line with the feel of the show." However, he did not enjoy the fact that Fabian's character was being written out of the show. Rowan Kaiser, writing for The A.V. Club, lauded the episode. She referred to the conclusion of the Dean O'Dell story arc as the closure to a conventional mystery in the sense that Veronica and Keith slowly built up evidence instead of stumbling on one incriminating object by chance. The reviewer also thought that the episode provided an intellectually satisfying conclusion to the mystery and that it "maintains that level of involvement."
Jon Lachonis of BuddyTV sharply criticized the episode, opining that it was predictable, contrived, and unsatisfying. Calling the Dean O'Dell storyline "Veronica Mars's weakest mystery," the reviewer thought that "Papa's Cabin" spent too much time on Mindy and Hank, arguing that it was obvious they were not the culprits. In addition, he derided the decision to make Tim the murderer, stating that it was not true to his character. Television Without Pity graded the episode a "B". Alan Sepinwall, on his blog What's Alan Watching?, was mixed towards the episode, stating that it was "a solid resolution to the Dean O'Dell mystery", he thought more highly of the last several episodes. However, he criticized the fact that the mystery only lasted for six episodes, arguing that these smaller story arcs were not working well for the show, referring to this episode as feeling "rushed" due to the limited time to advance the mystery.
|
1,578,711 |
Lakeshore East
| 1,135,401,488 |
Human settlement in Chicago, Illinois
|
[
"2002 establishments in Illinois",
"Lakeshore East",
"Multi-building developments in Chicago",
"Neighborhoods in Chicago",
"Populated places established in 2002"
] |
Lakeshore East is a master-planned mixed use urban development being built by the Magellan Development Group in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the northeastern part of the Loop, which, along with Illinois Center, is called the New Eastside. The development is bordered by Wacker Drive to the north, Columbus Drive to the west, Lake Shore Drive to the east, and East Randolph Street to the south. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill created the master plan for the area. The development, which had been scheduled for completion in 2011, was set for completion in 2013 by 2008. Development continued with revised plans for more buildings in 2018 and continuing construction of the Vista Tower in 2019.
Although the majority of the buildings in the neighborhood will be 21st century constructions resulting from the master plan, some of the current buildings were built as early as the 1960s and 1970s decades. Thus, the term "Lakeshore East" refers only to the components of the new master plan, while the term New Eastside refers to the greater neighborhood surrounding Lakeshore East that extends westward to Michigan Avenue. In the 1960s, Illinois Center near Michigan Avenue was developed. There is little formal distinction between buildings in the masterplan and other buildings in the neighborhood because the pre-existing buildings are referred to as being located in the Lakeshore East area.
Lakeshore East features several of the tallest buildings in Chicago and may include a few of the tallest buildings in the United States. The overall planned development, the park, and several of the individual buildings have won awards for architecture and/or urban planning. The buildings are planned for various types of residential use (condominiums, apartments, or hotels). Due to the neighborhood's proximity to both Lake Michigan to the east and the Chicago River to the north, many of the buildings are named with aquatic or nautical themes. As of August 2008, 1,500 condominiums have been sold and 1,200 apartments have been completed.
## History
Previous to this urban development, the Lakeshore East area had been used by Illinois Central Railroad yards. After World War II, the railroads sold airspace rights north of Randolph Street. For several years after the rail yards were vacated, the site was used as a 9-hole golf course. Pete Dye designed the course, known as Metro Golf at Illinois Center, which was completed in 1994 and closed in 2001. The area was originally planned for development as part of the Illinois Center, and one of the challenges to the new development was to integrate itself into the inherited triple-level street system while creating a visually appealing and pedestrian friendly neighborhood. The solution was to stagger ground-level amenities and building entrances from the upper level at the perimeter to the lower level at the interior. Thus the multilevel street grid is utilized around the edges, with large parking structures in the podiums, while a large park at the lowest level forms the core of the development. When the redevelopment was planned in 2001 and commenced in 2002, completion was anticipated to happen in 2013.
The following buildings pre-existed the 21st century master plan for the neighborhood: Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower, Three Illinois Center, Swissôtel Chicago, Buckingham Plaza, The Parkshore, North Harbor Tower, 400 East Randolph Street Condominiums and Harbor Point. A 27-floor vertical expansion of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower was completed in 2010. When Harbor Point and 400 East Randolph were built, Lake Shore Drive ran through this neighborhood to the west of these buildings, but it has since been rerouted to the east of these buildings.
Buildings in the development have featured new segments of pedway. These have been integrated into the Chicago Pedway system, segments of which have formally existed since 1951. The pedway system provides connections between public and private buildings, Chicago Transit Authority stations and Metra commuter rail facilities. The pedway has generated controversy among Lakeshore East residents due to segments of promised pedway which have not been constructed. The archives available on the NewEastside.org website show numerous plans and unfulfilled promise regarding connecting the pedway to most of the New Eastside. Among developers' unfulfilled promises regarding the pedway is promises dating as far back as the 1990s that the development would feature the construction of a full pedway link to Buckingham Plaza and North Harbor Tower.
The 4, 6 and 60 CTA bus routes run along the borders of the Lakeshore East area, and the 60 makes a turnaround within it on Harbor Drive.
## Overview
This \$4 billion lifestyle center spans 28 acres (0.044 sq mi; 0.113 km<sup>2</sup>), and will include 4,950 residences, 2,200,000 square feet (200,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of gross commercial space, 1,500 hotel rooms, 770,000 square feet (72,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of retail space and a planned elementary school surrounding a magnificent 6-acre (24,000 m<sup>2</sup>) botanical park. The plan, which had Adrian Smith as the design partner, calls for fourteen high-rise condominiums and two commercial officespace superstructures. Lakeshore East is within walking distance to the Chicago River, Lake Michigan, DuSable Harbor, Michigan Avenue, Grant Park, and Millennium Park.
The park, named Lakeshore East Park, opened in 2005 and is supported by a mixture of public funds from the Chicago Park District and private funds from the neighboring Lakeshore East condominium buildings. It is the city's first and currently only free wireless park. The park features several fountains. The park is dog friendly and also home to a dog park where dogs can be let off leash.
The Lancaster (completed in 2005) was Lakeshore East's first new completed building. The Shoreham (2005) was Lakeshore East's first completed apartment building. 340 on the Park (2007) was briefly the tallest all-residential building in Chicago, but was surpassed by One Museum Park. Aqua (2009) is the first skyscraper in Chicago to combine condominium residences, luxury rentals, deluxe hotel and retail spaces in the same structure and it is believed to be the tallest building in the United States designed by a female-run architectural firm. The development has its own village center, named Village Market Center, which includes a full service supermarket. The other buildings completed in the first phase of development were The Regatta (2007), The Chandler (2008) and The Tides (2008) as well as the Benton Place Parkhomes townhouses (2009).
In 2011, construction began on Coast at Lakeshore East. Lease occupancies began in February 2013.
The St. Regis Chicago, a condominium/hotel combination that is now the third tallest building in Chicago, began construction in August 2016 and was completed in 2020.
Lakeshore East is a venture of Magellan Development Group LLC, a recently formed corporate partnership culminating a long-term collaboration between Magellan Development Group and NNP Residential & Development.
In 2017 revised plans were unveiled for remaining construction in the masterplan, but 42nd ward Alderman Brendan Reilly rejected them because of concerns about landscaping, security, minor traffic issues and building setbacks. They were revised in August 2018 to include buildings of 40, 50 and 80 storeys. The newly proposed plan would update and replace the 2001 masterplan. On mid-October 2018, the Chicago Plan Commission approved the plans that included a 950-foot (290 m) tower as one of four new towers. Chicago City Council approved the plans in an October 31 meeting.
All of the buildings in Lakeshore East are luxury condos and high-end apartment highrises. Many of them are named with an aquatic theme. In addition to the luxury skyscrapers, the development will include 24 ultra-luxury town homes in the \$2 million price range.
## Awards
The master plan won the 2002 American Institute of Architects National Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design. The park was honored as the Best New Park in Chicago by Chicago magazine and the city’s Best New Open Space by the Friends of Downtown. The master plan, the park and several individual buildings have won numerous other awards.
In 2008, the International Real Estate Federation declared the Lakeshore East master plan the recipient of the FIABCI Prix D'Excellence international award. Lakeshore was the only United States winner for international design excellence.
## Buildings
|
6,721,973 |
Dive Coaster
| 1,171,435,344 |
Roller coaster model
|
[
"Dive Coasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard",
"Types of roller coaster"
] |
The Dive Coaster is a steel roller coaster model developed and engineered by Bolliger & Mabillard. The design features one or more near-vertical drops that are approximately 90 degrees, which provide a moment of free-falling for passengers. The experience is enhanced by unique trains that seat up to ten riders per row, spanning only two or three rows total. Unlike traditional train design, this distinguishing aspect gives all passengers virtually the same experience throughout the course of the ride. Another defining characteristic of Dive Coasters is the holding brake at the top of the lift hill that holds the train momentarily right as it enters the first drop, suspending some passengers with a view looking straight down and releasing suddenly moments later.
Development of the Dive Coaster began between 1994 and 1995 with Oblivion at Alton Towers opening on March 14, 1998, making it the world's first Dive Coaster. The trains for this type of coaster are relatively short consisting of two to three cars. B&M also uses floorless trains on this model to enhance the experience. As of July 30, 2022, sixteen Dive Coasters have been built, with the newest being Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger at Six Flags Fiesta Texas which features a drop of 150 feet or 46 meters. Featuring a height of 68 m (223 ft), a length of 1,105 m (3,625 ft), and a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph), Yukon Striker, as of 2019, was the world's tallest, longest, and fastest Dive Coaster.
## History
According to Walter Bolliger, development of the Dive Coaster began between 1994 and 1995. On March 14, 1998, the world's first Dive Coaster, Oblivion, opened at Alton Towers. Though Oblivion is classified as a Dive Coaster, it does not have a true vertical drop as the drop angle is 87-degrees. Two years later, the second Dive Coaster built, Diving Machine G5, opened at Janfusun Fancyworld and also does not have a vertical drop. In 2005, SheiKra opened at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and was the first Dive Coaster to feature a 90-degree drop and a splashdown element. In 2007, Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced that Griffon would be the first ever Dive Coaster to feature floorless trains and SheiKra would have its trains replaced with floorless ones. In 2011, the first 'mini' Dive Coaster opened at Heide Park Resort, named Krake. Unlike other Dive Coasters, Krake has smaller trains consisting of three rows of six riders. In 2019, Yukon Striker at Canada's Wonderland was the first Dive Coaster to feature a vertical loop, allowing it to have the most inversions on a Dive Coaster with four in total. On July 30 2022, Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger at Six Flags Fiesta Texas is the first B&M Dive Coaster to feature a beyond vertical (95°) drop and 7-across seating.
## Design
The design of a Dive Coaster can vary slightly from one to another. Depending on the amusement park's request, one row on the train can seat anywhere from 6 to 10 riders. Stadium seating is also used to give every rider a clear view. Next, compared to standard Bolliger & Mabillard 4 abreast cars, because of the extra weight of each train on a Dive Coaster, the size of the track must be larger than other B&M models (such as the Hyper Coaster) to support the weight. At the top of the primary vertical drop, a braking system holds the train for 3 to 5 seconds, giving riders a view of the drop ahead before being released into the drop.
In the station, Dive Coasters that use non-floorless trains simply use a standard station. With Dive Coasters that use floorless trains, in order to allow riders to load and unload the train, a movable floor is necessary. Because the front row has nothing in front of it to stop riders from walking over the edge of the station, a gate is placed in front of the train to prevent this from happening. Once all the over-the-shoulder restraints are locked, the gate opens and the floor separates into several pieces and moves underneath the station. When the next train enters the station, the gate is closed and the floors are brought back up where the next riders board.
## Installations
Bolliger & Mabillard has built sixteen Dive Coasters as of 2023, with only one no longer being in operation.
## Similar coasters
HangTime, a Gerstlauer roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, has been marketed as "the first dive coaster on the West Coast".
In 2018, Golden Horse, a Chinese amusement ride manufacturer infamous for creating knock-off coasters and rides, installed a Dive Coaster at Great Xingdong Tourist World. The trains contain four cars, each seating 6 riders per row, compared to B&M dive coasters, which have two or three cars per train.
## See also
- Floorless Coaster, a type of roller coaster also designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, that features floorless trains.
|
17,003,767 |
Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City
| 1,147,418,882 |
NBA franchise relocation
|
[
"2008 in Oklahoma",
"2008 in sports in Washington (state)",
"2008–09 NBA season",
"Basketball in Oklahoma City",
"National Basketball Association controversies",
"Oklahoma City Thunder",
"Relocated National Basketball Association teams",
"Seattle SuperSonics"
] |
The Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City was a successful effort by the ownership group of the Seattle SuperSonics to relocate the team from Seattle, Washington to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The team began play as the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2008–09 NBA season, after becoming the third National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise to relocate in the 2000s.
After failed efforts to persuade Washington state government officials to provide \$220 million in public funding to update KeyArena, the SuperSonics' ownership group, led by Howard Schultz, sold the team to the Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), an investment group headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett. A condition of the sale was that PBC execute a "good faith effort" to secure a suitable arena in the Seattle area for the team. After failing to persuade local governments to pay for a new \$500 million arena complex, Bennett's group notified the NBA that it intended to move the team to Oklahoma City and requested arbitration with the city of Seattle to be released from its lease with KeyArena. When the request was rejected by a judge, Seattle sued Bennett's group to enforce the lease that required the team to play in KeyArena through 2010. On July 2, 2008, a settlement was reached where PBC would pay \$45 million in exchange for breaking the lease, and an additional \$30 million if Seattle was not given a replacement team in five years, among other conditions.
In months prior to the settlement, Seattle publicly released email conversations that took place within Bennett's ownership group alleging they indicated that some members of the group had a desire to move the team to Oklahoma City prior to its purchase in 2006. The city used these conversations to argue that ownership failed to negotiate in good faith and as a result, Schultz filed a lawsuit seeking to rescind the sale of the team and transfer the ownership to a court-appointed receiver. The NBA claimed the lawsuit was void because Schultz signed a release forbidding himself to sue Bennett's group but also argued that the proposal would have violated league ownership rules. Schultz dropped the case before the start of the 2008–09 NBA season. Ten years later, in 2019, Schultz accepted full responsibility for the sale. "Selling the Sonics as I did is one of the biggest regrets of my professional life. I should have been willing to lose money until a local buyer emerged. I am forever sorry."
## Sale of team
In 2001, ownership of the Seattle SuperSonics transferred from Barry Ackerley to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. In the five years Schultz owned the SuperSonics, the team suffered heavy financial losses due to Schultz's plan to sell, which led Schultz to seek funding from the Washington State Legislature for a newer, more modern arena in the Puget Sound region as a replacement for KeyArena at Seattle Center. On July 18, 2006, the Basketball Club of Seattle, led by Schultz, sold the SuperSonics and its sister team, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s Seattle Storm, after failing to reach an agreement with the city of Seattle over a publicly funded \$220 million expansion of KeyArena. KeyArena was remodeled in 1995 and was the NBA's smallest venue, with a seating capacity of 17,072. After failing to find a local ownership group to sell the team to, Schultz talked to ownership groups from Kansas City, St. Louis, Las Vegas, San Jose and Anaheim before agreeing to sell the team to an ownership group from Oklahoma City, which pursued an NBA franchise after hosting the New Orleans Hornets franchise successfully for two seasons as the city of New Orleans rebuilt from Hurricane Katrina. The sale to Clay Bennett's ownership group for \$350 million was approved by NBA owners on October 24, 2006. Terms of the sale required the new ownership group to "use good faith best efforts" for a term of 12 months in securing a new arena lease or venue in the Seattle metropolitan area. Further complicating matters, the voters of Seattle passed Initiative 91, a measure that virtually prohibited the use of public money on sporting arenas. This lack of taxpayer or government financial support for the team, combined with earlier losses under recent ownership groups, "likely doomed the Sonics' future in the city".
On February 12, 2007, Bennett proposed using tax money to pay for a new \$500 million arena in Renton, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. After failing to reach a deal by the end of the legislative session, Bennett gave up his attempt in April 2007. On November 2, 2007 the team announced it would move to Oklahoma City as soon as it could get out of its KeyArena lease. Seattle's mayor, Greg Nickels, maintained a stance that the Sonics were expected to stay in Seattle until their lease expired in 2010 and said the city did not intend to make it easy for Bennett to move the team early. Over concerns the city would accept a buyout of the lease, a grassroots group filed a citywide initiative that sought to prevent the city from accepting such an offer from Bennett's group. The Seattle City Council later unanimously passed an ordinance modeled after the initiative.
On August 13, 2007, Aubrey McClendon, a minor partner of Bennett's ownership group, said in an interview with The Journal Record (an Oklahoma City newspaper) that the team was not purchased to keep it in Seattle but to relocate it to Oklahoma City. Bennett later denied such intentions, saying McClendon "was not speaking on behalf of the ownership group". Due to his comments, McClendon was fined \$250,000 by the NBA. More than ten years later, in 2019, Schultz accepted responsibility for the sale. "Selling the Sonics as I did is one of the biggest regrets of my professional life. I should have been willing to lose money until a local buyer emerged."
## Relocation effort
On September 21, 2007, Bennett applied for arbitration on the issue of whether the team could break its lease in 2008. Arguing that the lease does not allow for arbitration on the issue of occupancy, the city of Seattle filed for declaratory relief on September 24. The motion asked the King County Superior court to reject the arbitration request and enforce the Specific Performance Clause of the Sonics' lease, which required the team to play at KeyArena through 2010. United States District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez denied the request for arbitration on October 29, saying that the "arguments ignore the clear language of Article II, which states that PBC’s use and occupancy rights with respect to the Premises and the Term of this Agreement shall end on September 30, 2010.”
Two days after Bennett's October 31, 2007 deadline passed for public financing of a new arena, he informed NBA commissioner David Stern that the ownership group intended to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City as soon as it was legally possible. The timing of the announcement, one day after the Sonics' home opener, drew critical comments from Tom Carr, Seattle's attorney, who said "Mr. Bennett's announcement today is a transparent attempt to alienate the Seattle fan base and follow through on his plan to move the team to Oklahoma City ... Making this move now continues the current ownership's insulting behavior toward the Sonics' dedicated fans and the citizens of the city." Bennett also reiterated that the team was not for sale and dismissed attempts by local groups to repurchase the team.
On February 15, 2008, the Sonics' ownership group gave the city of Seattle a one-day deadline to accept a \$26.5 million offer that would buy out the Sonics' lease in KeyArena and pay off what the ownership group claimed was the value of debts on the arena. The city rejected the offer.
The prospect of expanding KeyArena resurfaced on March 6, 2008, when Microsoft CEO at that time Steve Ballmer, promised that his investor group would pay half of the \$300 million needed for an extensive renovation; the rest was to be provided by the city and county. However, when the state legislature did not give approval for the county to provide funds by an April 10 deadline, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said that the effort had failed and the city's hopes rested in its lawsuit.
### Oklahoma City's preparations
In anticipation of an NBA team, and led by Mayor Mick Cornett, who had successfully lobbied for the previous temporary relocation of the New Orleans Hornets to Oklahoma City, the voters of that city approved a \$120 million renovation of the Ford Center on March 3, 2008, including construction of a new NBA practice facility. After a tour of downtown Oklahoma City, a subcommittee of three NBA owners recommended that the league approve the move. On March 14, Bennett reached a preliminary agreement with Oklahoma City on a 15-year lease of the Ford Center that was finalized by the Oklahoma City Council and the Sonics’ ownership group two weeks later. The Oklahoma State Legislature later approved a bill to provide tax breaks and other incentives if the team relocated.
NBA owners gave approval of a potential SuperSonics' relocation to Oklahoma City on April 18 in a 28–2 vote by the league's Board of Governors; only Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks and Paul Allen of the Portland Trail Blazers voted against the move. The approval meant the Sonics would be allowed to move to Oklahoma City's Ford Center for the 2008–2009 season after reaching a settlement with the city of Seattle.
### Popular opposition in Seattle
In 2006, a group of Seattle residents created Save Our Sonics and Storm ("SOS") to rally support for a permanent professional basketball presence in Seattle. The "and Storm" portion of the name was dropped when the WNBA Storm was sold to local ownership. On June 16, 2008, the group organized a well-publicized rally, which reportedly drew over 3,000 participants, at the U.S. District Courthouse in Seattle to protest the proposed relocation of the team. The rally was held on the first day of the city of Seattle's lawsuit against the PBC to enforce the remaining two years on the KeyArena lease.
## Lawsuits
### City of Seattle v. Professional Basketball Club LLC
Seattle filed a lawsuit on September 23, 2007 in an attempt to keep the Sonics from leaving before the end of their lease in 2010. The trial was set for June 16, 2008. On April 10, 2008, Seattle asked the Federal District Court to order the NBA to release documents related to the financial situation of each team, the claim that the SuperSonics' lease with KeyArena was financially unworkable, and the league's involvement in requiring PBC to make a good-faith effort to stay in Seattle. On April 28, the trial's presiding judge, Loretta Preska, ruled that the NBA must supply the internal documents about the possible relocation of the Sonics that the city of Seattle had requested. In addition, the judge said that Stern could be deposed at a later day should the need arise. The city hoped the documents would aid in building its legal case, and cited an email conversation among members of the ownership group that suggested they were privately discussing intent to move the team while publicly insisting that they would not attempt to do so.
The ownership group filed a motion saying that the lawsuit and the release of the emails by the city were meant to drive up the cost of leaving Seattle and force the ownership group to sell the team. The motion requested that all emails and other records be released to the team. Slade Gorton, lead attorney for the city, responded by pointing out that it was PBC that started the fight that led to the lawsuit when they filed for arbitration to break the lease. The motion was denied by the presiding judge, who said the team failed to make a "good-faith effort" to resolve the dispute and that it failed to show that trial preparations were hindered by the records not being made public. However, the ruling also said the team could bring up the issue again if it could prove the relevance or the confidentiality of the records.
On April 21, 2008, Gorton said he would be open to a settlement if the league promised a replacement team for Seattle. He said it was "highly unlikely" that the Sonics would stay and indicated the city should instead focus on gaining a replacement team, but noted that local governments would need to be willing to fund an expansion of KeyArena first.
When Bennett's group requested that the trial also decide the team's financial obligations to KeyArena should its lease be broken, Seattle's lawyers requested a six-month delay in the trial date in order to prepare for the additional issues, arguing that the ownership group's request would "dramatically change the scope" of the case and would require considerable preparation time to determine damages. The trial's presiding judge denied the motion by Bennett's group on March 6, noting that the team would have needed to make the request at the scheduling conference. A second trial would therefore need to have been held to determine the team's financial obligations.
Attorneys made their closing arguments in the city's case on June 26 and Judge Marsha J. Pechman announced that she would issue her ruling on the following Wednesday. On July 2, hours before Judge Pechman was to release her ruling, it was announced that the team and the city had reached a settlement where PBC would pay the city \$45 million immediately in exchange for breaking the lease, and an additional \$30 million if Seattle was not given a replacement team in five years. According to the conditions of the settlement, the Sonics' name and colors could not be used by the team in Oklahoma City, but could be taken by a future team in Seattle, although no promises for a replacement team were given. The Oklahoma City team would retain the franchise history of the SuperSonics, which could be "shared" with any future NBA team in Seattle. The team moved to Oklahoma City immediately and announced it would begin play in the 2008–09 season.
### Basketball Club of Seattle LLC v. Professional Basketball Club LLC
The release of email conversations between members of Bennett's group prompted former Sonics' owner Howard Schultz to file a lawsuit that sought to rescind the sale of the team and alleged that Bennett's group used fraud and misrepresentation to purchase the Sonics without making a "good faith best effort" to keep them in Seattle as mandated by the original sales contract. Bennett said the emails were misinterpreted and that he had spent millions of dollars in attempting to keep the team in Seattle.
The lawsuit was filed on April 22, 2008 at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. It sought, among other things, an injunction to prevent the Sonics from being relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City. The suit further requested that the franchise be placed in a constructive trust and no longer in the ownership of PBC. On May 20, 2008, Schultz's attorney added alleged a breach of contract as a third cause of action against Bennett. Chicago-based attorney and ESPN senior writer Lester Munson said that while the remedies Schultz sought were "without precedent in the sports industry", he did believe that both the Schultz case and Seattle's lease case presented "serious problems" for Bennett.
On May 9, 2008, Oklahoma City officials declared intent to sue for damages and a forced relocation of the SuperSonics if Schultz's lawsuit succeeded and the subsequent ownership did not relocate. In a legal letter to Schultz, Oklahoma City's attorney said that the Sonics were legally bound to relocate to Oklahoma City at the end of the KeyArena lease regardless of who owned the team. The letter stated that the city had "valid and enforceable agreements with the Team requiring it relocate to Oklahoma City at the end of the current lease with the city of Seattle." Schultz's attorney replied to the letter saying the lease agreement was with PBC, not BCOS, and that the city began improvements on Ford Center at their own risk prior to conclusion of the pending litigation.
The NBA filed a motion to intervene with Seattle's federal court on July 9, 2008, claiming that Schultz's lawsuit would interfere with the stable operation of the franchise and the transfer of ownership would violate NBA regulations unless the team was put under control of NBA Commissioner David Stern. The league also claimed that Schultz signed a release forbidding him to sue Bennett's ownership group as a condition of the NBA's approval of the original sale. Weeks later, Schultz requested that two separate trials be used to determine whether Bennett's group committed fraud and subsequently determine a remedy. On August 29, 2008, shortly after the court denied his request and ruled that the NBA could intervene in the case, Schultz said his legal team no longer believed the case could be won. He announced he would drop the lawsuit, saying in a prepared statement, "The prevailing wisdom of many in the Seattle community and the advice of key members of the BCOS is that Seattle's best chance for a professional basketball franchise is to end this litigation and allow the City, State Legislature and other parties to begin the necessary fence mending with the NBA."
## Distribution of assets
According to the terms detailed in the settlement agreement, items associated with the SuperSonics' history in Seattle, including trophies, banners, and retired jerseys, stayed in the city and were placed in the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI). Other items such as televisions, radios, headphones, CDs, chairs, and equipment were shipped to Oklahoma City after the Seattle Storm finished the 2008 WNBA season.
## Chronicles
In 2009, Seattle-based filmmakers released Sonicsgate, a documentary chronicling the history of the SuperSonics, especially including the team's relocation to Oklahoma City.
In 2012, the book Big League City: Oklahoma City's Rise to the NBA by now mayor David Holt chronicled the story from Oklahoma City's perspective.
## See also
- Relocation of professional sports teams
- List of relocated National Basketball Association teams
|
472,628 |
Mormon Trail
| 1,166,225,873 |
Migrant route from Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah
|
[
"History of the Rocky Mountains",
"Jefferson Territory",
"Mormon Trail",
"Mormon migration to Utah",
"National Historic Trails of the United States",
"Pilgrimage routes",
"Politically motivated migrations",
"Protected areas established in 1978",
"Units of the National Landscape Conservation System"
] |
The Mormon Trail is the 1,300-mile (2,100 km) long route from Illinois to Utah on which Mormon pioneers (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) traveled from 1846–47. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.
The Mormon Trail extends from Nauvoo, Illinois, which was the principal settlement of the Latter Day Saints from 1839 to 1846, to Salt Lake City, Utah, which was settled by Brigham Young and his followers beginning in 1847. From Council Bluffs, Iowa to Fort Bridger in Wyoming, the trail follows much the same route as the Oregon Trail and the California Trail; these trails are collectively known as the Emigrant Trail.
The Mormon pioneer run began in 1846, when Young and his followers were driven from Nauvoo. After leaving, they aimed to establish a new home for the church in the Great Basin and crossed Iowa. Along their way, some were assigned to establish settlements and to plant and harvest crops for later emigrants. During the winter of 1846–47, the emigrants wintered in Iowa, other nearby states, and the unorganized territory that later became Nebraska, with the largest group residing in Winter Quarters, Nebraska. In the spring of 1847, Young led the vanguard company to the Salt Lake Valley, which was then outside the boundaries of the United States and later became Utah.
During the first few years, the emigrants were mostly former occupants of Nauvoo who were following Young to Utah. Later, the emigrants increasingly included converts from the British Isles and Europe.
The trail was used for more than 20 years, until the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Among the emigrants were the Mormon handcart pioneers of 1856–60. Two of the handcart companies, led by James G. Willie and Edward Martin, met disaster on the trail when they departed late and were caught by heavy snowstorms in Wyoming.
## Background
Under the leadership of Joseph Smith, Latter Day Saints established several communities throughout the United States between 1830 and 1844, most notably in Kirtland, Ohio; Independence, Missouri; and Nauvoo, Illinois. However, the Saints were driven out of each of them in turn, due to conflicts with other settlers (see history of the Latter Day Saint movement). This included the actions of Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs, who issued Missouri Executive Order 44, which called for the "extermination" of all Mormons in Missouri. Latter-day Saints were finally forced to abandon Nauvoo in 1846.
Although the movement had split into several denominations after Smith's death in 1844, most members aligned themselves with Brigham Young. Under Young's leadership, about 14,000 Mormon citizens of Nauvoo set out to find a new home in the West.
## The Trek West
Following the succession crisis, Young insisted the Mormons should settle in a place no one else wanted and felt the isolated Great Basin would provide the Saints with many advantages.
Young reviewed information on the Great Salt Lake Valley and the Great Basin, consulted with mountain men and trappers, and met with Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, a Jesuit missionary familiar with the region. Young also organized a vanguard company to break trail to the Rocky Mountains, evaluate trail conditions, find sources of water, and select a central gathering point in the Great Basin. A new route on the north side of the Platte and North Platte rivers was chosen to avoid potential conflicts over grazing rights, water access, and campsites with travelers using the established Oregon Trail on the river's south side.
The Quincy Convention of October 1845 passed resolutions demanding that the Latter-day Saints withdraw from Nauvoo by May 1846. A few days later, the Carthage Convention called for establishment of a militia that would force them out if they failed to meet the May deadline. To try to meet this deadline and to get an early start on the trek to the Great Basin, the Latter-day Saints began leaving Nauvoo in February 1846.
### Trek of 1846
The departure from Nauvoo began on February 4, 1846, under the leadership of Brigham Young. This early departure exposed them to the elements in the worst of winter. After crossing the Mississippi River, the journey across Iowa Territory followed primitive territorial roads and Native American trails.
Young originally planned to lead an express company of about 300 men to the Great Basin during the summer of 1846. He believed they could cross Iowa and reach the Missouri River in approximately four to six weeks. However, the actual trip across Iowa was slowed by rain, mud, swollen rivers, and poor preparation, and it required 16 weeks – nearly three times longer than planned.
Heavy rains turned the rolling plains of southern Iowa into a quagmire of axle-deep mud. Furthermore, few people carried adequate provisions for the trip. The weather, general unpreparedness, and lack of experience in moving such a large group of people all contributed to the difficulties they endured.
The initial party reached the Missouri River on June 14. It was apparent that the Latter-day Saints could not make it to the Great Basin that season and would have to winter on the Missouri River.
Some of the emigrants established a settlement called Kanesville (present-day Council Bluffs) on the Iowa side of the river. Others moved across the river into the area of present-day Omaha, Nebraska, and built a camp called Winter Quarters.
### The Vanguard Company of 1847
In April 1847, chosen members of the vanguard company gathered, final supplies were packed, and the group was organized into 14 military companies. A militia and night guard were formed. The company consisted of 143 men, including three black people and eight members of the Quorum of the Twelve, three women, and two children. The train contained 73 wagons, draft animals, and livestock, and carried enough supplies to provision the group for one year. On April 5, the wagon train moved west from Winter Quarters toward the Great Basin.
The journey from Winter Quarters to Fort Laramie took six weeks; the company arrived at the fort on June 1. While at Fort Laramie, the vanguard company was joined by members of the Mormon Battalion, who had been excused due to illness and sent to winter in Pueblo, Colorado, and a group of Church members from Mississippi. At this point, the now larger company took the established Oregon Trail toward the trading post at Fort Bridger.
Young met mountain man Jim Bridger on June 28. They discussed routes into the Salt Lake Valley and the feasibility of viable settlements in the mountain valleys of the Great Basin. The company pushed on through South Pass, rafted across the Green River, and arrived at Fort Bridger on July 7. About the same time, they were joined by 12 more members of the sick detachment of the Mormon Battalion.
Now facing a more rugged and hazardous trek, Young chose to follow the trail used by the Donner–Reed party on their journey to California the previous year. As the vanguard company traveled through the rugged mountains, they divided into three sections. Young and several other members of the party suffered from a fever, generally accepted as a "mountain fever" induced by wood ticks. The small sick detachment lagged behind the larger group, and a scouting division was created to move farther ahead on the designated route.
### Arrival and settlement
Scouts Erastus Snow and Orson Pratt entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 21. On July 23, Pratt offered a prayer dedicating the land to the Lord. Ground was broken, irrigation ditches were dug, and the first fields of potatoes and turnips were planted. On July 24, Young first saw the valley from a "sick" wagon driven by his friend Wilford Woodruff. According to Woodruff, Young expressed his satisfaction in the appearance of the valley and declared, "This is the right place, drive on."
In August 1847, Young and selected members of the vanguard company returned to Winter Quarters to organize the companies scheduled for following years. By December 1847, more than 2,000 Mormons had completed the journey to the Salt Lake Valley, then in Mexican territory.
Farming the uncultivated land was initially difficult, as the shares broke when they tried to plow the dry ground. Therefore, an irrigation system was designed and the land was flooded before plowing, and the resulting system provided supplemental moisture during the year.
Salt Lake City was laid out and designated as Church headquarters. Hard work produced a prosperous community. In their new settlement, entertainment was also important, and the first public building was a theater.
It did not take long, however, until the United States caught up with them, and in 1848, after the end of the war with Mexico, the land in which they settled became part of the United States.
### Ongoing migration
Each year during the Mormon migration, people continued to be organized into "companies", each company bearing the name of its leader and subdivided into groups of 10 and 50. The Saints traveled the trail broken by the vanguard company, splitting the journey into two sections. The first segment began in Nauvoo and ended in Winter Quarters, near modern-day Omaha, Nebraska. The second half of the journey took the Saints through the area that later became Nebraska and Wyoming, before finishing their journey in the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. The earlier groups used covered wagons pulled by oxen to carry their supplies across the country. Some later companies used handcarts and traveled by foot. William Clayton, a member of the vanguard company, published the popular The Latter-Day Saints' Emigrants' Guide to help guide travelers on the way.
By 1849, many of the Latter-day Saints who remained in Iowa or Missouri were poor and unable to afford the costs of the wagon, teams of oxen, and supplies that would be required for the trip. Therefore, the LDS Church established a revolving fund, known as the Perpetual Emigration Fund, to enable the poor to emigrate. By 1852, most of the Latter-day Saints from Nauvoo who wished to emigrate had done so, and the church abandoned its settlements in Iowa. However, many church members from the eastern states and from Europe continued to emigrate to Utah, often assisted by the Perpetual Emigration Fund.
### Handcarts: 1856–60
In 1856, the church inaugurated a system of handcart companies in order to enable poor European emigrants to make the trek more cheaply. Handcarts, two-wheeled carts that were pulled by emigrants instead of draft animals, were sometimes used as an alternate means of transportation from 1856 to 1860. They were seen as a faster, easier, and cheaper way to bring European converts to Salt Lake City. Almost 3,000 Mormons, with 653 carts and 50 supply wagons, traveling in 10 different companies, made the trip over the trail to Salt Lake City. While not the first to use handcarts, they were the only group to use them extensively.
The handcarts were modeled after carts used by street sweepers and were made almost entirely of wood. They were generally six to seven feet (183 to 213 cm) long, wide enough to span a narrow wagon track, and could be alternately pushed or pulled. The small boxes affixed to the carts were three to four feet (91 to 122 cm) long and eight inches (20 cm) high. They could carry about 500 pounds (227 kg), most of this weight consisting of trail provisions and a few personal possessions.
All but two of the handcart companies successfully completed the rugged journey, with relatively few problems and only a few deaths. However, the fourth and fifth companies, known as the Willie and Martin Companies, respectively, had serious problems. The companies left Iowa City, Iowa, in July 1856, very late to begin the trip across the plains. They met severe winter weather west of present-day Casper, Wyoming, and continued to cope with deep snow and storms for the remainder of the journey. Food supplies were soon exhausted. Young organized a rescue effort that brought the companies in, but more than 210 of the 980 emigrants in the two parties died.
The handcart companies continued with more success until 1860, and traditional ox-and-wagon companies also continued for those who could afford the higher cost. After 1860, the church began sending wagon companies east each spring, to return to Utah in the summer with the emigrating Latter-day Saints. Finally, with the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, future emigrants were able to travel by rail, and the era of the Mormon pioneer trail came to an end.
## Sites along the trail
The following are major points along the trail at which the early Mormon pioneers stopped, established temporary camps, or used as landmarks and meeting places. The sites are categorized by their location in respect to modern-day US states.
### Illinois
- Nauvoo – Nauvoo was the starting point for the Mormon trail. Since 1839, it had been the headquarters for the church. During the 1840s, Nauvoo rivaled Chicago in size. Tensions rose between the Latter-day Saints and other locals culminating with the expulsion of the Saints. Brigham Young led his followers to Utah, not part of the United States at the time
### Iowa
- Sugar Creek (7 miles (11 km) west of Nauvoo) – Beginning with their first ferry crossing of the Mississippi River on February 4, 1846, months before many of them were ready, the Latter-day Saints started gathering at the frozen banks of Sugar Creek. More refugees continued to cross into Iowa for a number of months many taking advantage of the freezing Mississippi River a few weeks later. The poorly prepared emigrants suffered from severe winter weather while camped there. Sugar Creek was the staging area for the westward trek across Iowa. Ultimately about 2,500 refugees and 500 wagons started west on March 1, 1846. Several thousand more would follow on later as they sold their property for what they could get and continued to leave Nauvoo, Illinois.
- Richardson's Point (35 miles (56 km) west) – The emigrants made their way past Croton and Farmington to ford the Des Moines River at Bonaparte. In early March 1846 the party was halted for 10 days by heavy rain at a wooded area known as Richardson's Point. Some of the first deaths of the pioneers occurred at this location.
- Chariton River Crossing (80 miles (129 km) west) – The trail continues past the modern towns of Troy, Drakesville, and West Grove to reach the Chariton River. At this crossing, on March 27, Young organized the lead group of the migration, forming three camps of 100 families, each led by a captain. This military-style organization would be used for all subsequent Mormon emigrant companies.
- Locust Creek (103 miles (166 km) west) – The trail proceeds past Cincinnati to Locust Creek. There on April 13 William Clayton, scribe for Brigham Young, composed "Come, Come Ye Saints," the most famous and enduring hymn from the Mormon Trail.
- Garden Grove (128 miles (206 km) west) – On April 23 the emigrants arrived at the location of their first semi-permanent settlement, which they named Garden Grove. They enclosed and planted 715 acres (2.89 km<sup>2</sup>) to supply food for later emigrants and established a village that is still in existence today. About 600 Latter-day Saints settled at Garden Grove. By 1852 they had moved on to Utah.
- Mount Pisgah (153 miles (246 km) west) – As they entered Potawatomi territory, the emigrants established another semi-permanent settlement that they named Mount Pisgah. Several thousand acres were cultivated and a settlement of about 700 Latter-day Saints thrived there from 1846 to 1852. Now the site is marked by a 9-acre (36,000 m<sup>2</sup>) park, which contains exhibits, historical markers, and a reconstructed log cabin. However, little remains from the 19th century except a cemetery memorializing the 300 to 800 emigrants who died there.
- Nishnabotna River Crossing (232 miles (373 km) west) – From Mount Pisgah the trail proceeds past the modern towns of Orient, Bridgewater, Massena and Lewis. Just west of Lewis, the 1846 emigrants passed a Potawatomi encampment on the Nishnabotna River. The Potawatomis were also refugees; 1846 was their last year in the area.
- Grand Encampment (255 miles (410 km) west) – From the Nishnabotna River, the trail proceeds past present-day Macedonia to Mosquito Creek on the eastern outskirts of present-day Council Bluffs. The first emigrant company arrived on June 13, 1846. At this open area, where the Iowa School for the Deaf is now located, the LDS emigrant companies paused and camped, forming what was called the Grand Encampment. From this site on July 20, the Mormon Battalion departed for the Mexican–American War.
- Kanesville (later Council Bluffs) (265 miles (426 km) west) – The emigrants established an important settlement and outfitting point at this site on the Missouri River, originally known as Miller's Hollow. The emigrants renamed the settlement as Kanesville, honoring Thomas L. Kane, a non-LDS attorney who was politically well connected and used his influence to assist the Latter-day Saints. From 1846 to 1852, it was an important LDS settlement and the outfitting point for companies traveling to present-day Utah. Orson Hyde, an Apostle and ecclesiastical leader of the settlement, published a newspaper called the Frontier Guardian. In 1852 the major LDS settlements at Kanesville, Mount Pisgah, and Garden Grove were closed as the settlers moved on to Utah. After 1852, however, the Church continued to outfit and supply emigrant companies (mostly LDS converts coming from the British Isles and mainland Europe) at this community, now renamed Council Bluffs, until the mid-1860s, when the terminus of the First Transcontinental Railroad was extended to the west.
### Nebraska
- Winter Quarters (266 miles (428 km) west) – Although Brigham Young had originally planned to travel all the way to the Salt Lake Valley in 1846, the emigrants' lack of preparation had become apparent during their difficult crossing of Iowa. Furthermore, the departure of the Mormon Battalion left the emigrants short on manpower. Young decided to settle for the winter along the Missouri River. The emigrants were located on both sides of the river, but their settlement at Winter Quarters on the west side was the largest. There they built 700 dwellings where an estimated 3,500 Latter-day Saints spent the winter of 1846–47; many would also reside there during the winter of 1847–48. Conditions such as scurvy, consumption, chills and fever were common; the settlement recorded 359 deaths between September 1846 and May 1848. However, while at Winter Quarters the LDS emigrants were able to save or trade for the equipment and supplies that they would need to continue the westward trek. The settlement was later renamed Florence and is now located in Omaha.
- Elkhorn River (293 miles (472 km) west)
- Platte River (305 miles (491 km) west) – All emigrants leaving Missouri traveled along the Great Platte River Road for hundreds of miles. There was a prevailing opinion that the North side of the river was healthier, so most Latter-day Saints generally stuck to that side, which also separated them from unpleasant encounters with potential former enemies, like emigrants from Missouri or Illinois. In 1849, 1850 and 1852, traffic was so heavy along the Platte that virtually all feed was stripped from both sides of the river. The lack of food and the threat of disease made the journey along the Platte a deadly gamble.
- Loup Fork (352 miles (566 km) west) – Crossing the Loup Fork was, like the Elkhorn, one of the early and very difficult crossings during the trek west from Council Bluffs.
- Fort Kearny (469 miles (755 km) west) – This fort, named after Stephen Watts Kearny, was established in June 1848. Another fort named after Kearny was established in May 1846, but was abandoned in May 1848. Due to this, the second Fort Kearny is sometimes called New Fort Kearny. The site for the fort was purchased from the Pawnee Indians for \$2,000 in goods.
- Confluence Point (563 miles (906 km) west) – On May 11, 1847, 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) north of the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers, a "roadometer" was attached to Heber C. Kimball's wagon driven by Philo Johnson. Although they did not invent the device, the measurements of the version they used were accurate enough to be used by William Clayton in his famous Latter-day Saints' Emigrants' Guide.
- Ash Hollow (646 miles (1,040 km) west) – Many passing diarists noted the beauty of Ash Hollow, although this was ruined by thousands of passing emigrants. The Sioux Indians were often on location and were at the site and General William S. Harney's troops won a battle over the Sioux there in September 1855 – the Battle of Ash Hollow. The site is also the burial ground of many who died of cholera during the gold rush years.
- Chimney Rock (718 miles (1,156 km) west) – Chimney Rock is perhaps the most significant landmark on the Mormon Trail. Emigrants commented in their diaries that the landmark appeared closer than it actually was, and many sketched or painted it in their journals and carved their names into it.
- Scotts Bluff (738 miles (1,188 km) west) – Hiram Scott was a Rocky Mountain Fur Company trapper abandoned on the bluff that now bears his name by his companions when he became ill. Accounts of his death are noted by almost all those who kept journals that traveled on the north side of the Platte. The grave of Rebecca Winters, a Latter-day Saint mother who fell victim to cholera in 1852, is also located near this site, although it has since been moved and rededicated.
### Wyoming
- Fort Laramie (788 miles (1,268 km) west) – This old trading and military post served as a place for the emigrants to rest and restock provisions. The 1856 Willie Handcart Company was unable to obtain provisions at Fort Laramie, contributing to their subsequent tragedy when they ran out of food while encountering blizzard conditions along the Sweetwater River.
- Upper Platte/Mormon Ferry (914 miles (1,471 km) west) – The last crossing of the Platte River took place near modern Casper. For several years the Latter-day Saints operated a commercial ferry at the site, earning revenue from the Oregon- and California-bound emigrants. The ferry was discontinued in 1853 after a competing toll bridge was constructed. On October 19, 1856, the Martin Handcart Company forded the freezing river in mid-October, leading to exposure that would prove fatal to many members of the company.
- Red Butte (940 miles (1,513 km) west) – Red Butte was the most tragic site of the Mormon Trail. After crossing the Platte River, the Martin Handcart Company camped near Red Butte as heavy snow fell. Snow continued to fall for three days, and the company came to a halt as many emigrants died. For nine days the company remained there, while 56 persons died from cold or disease. Finally, on October 28, an advance team of three men from the Utah rescue party reached them. The rescuers encouraged them that help was on the way and urged the company to start moving on.
- Sweetwater River (964 miles (1,551 km) west) – From the last crossing of the Platte, the trail heads directly southwest toward Independence Rock, where it meets and follows the Sweetwater River to South Pass. To shorten the journey by avoiding the twists and turns of the river, the trail includes nine river crossings.
- Independence Rock (965 miles (1,553 km) west) – Independence Rock was one of the trail's best known and most anticipated landmarks. Many emigrants carved their names on the rock; many of these carvings are still visible today. The emigrants sometimes also celebrated their arrival at this landmark with a dance.
- Devil's Gate (970 miles (1,561 km) west) – Devil's Gate was a narrow gorge cut through the rocks by the Sweetwater River. A small fort was located at Devil's Gate, which was unoccupied in 1856 when the Martin Handcart Company was rescued. The rescuers unloaded unnecessary equipment from the wagons so the weaker handcart emigrants could ride. A group of 19 men, led by Daniel W. Jones, stayed at the fort over the winter to protect the property.
- Martin's Cove (993 miles (1,598 km) west) – On November 4, 1856, the Martin Handcart Company set up camp in Martin's Cove as another blizzard halted their progress. They remained there for five days until the weather abated and they could proceed toward Salt Lake City. Today, a visitor center is located on the site.
- Rocky Ridge (1,038 miles (1,670 km) west) – Between the fifth and sixth crossings of the Sweetwater, on October 19, 1856, the Willie Handcart Company was halted by the same snowstorm that stopped the Martin Handcart Company near Red Butte. At the same time, the members of the Willie Company reached the end of their supplies of flour. A small advance team from the rescue party found their camp and gave them a small amount of flour, but then pushed on to the east to try to locate the Martin Company. Captain James Willie and Joseph Elder went ahead through the snow to find the main rescue party and inform them of the Willie Company's peril. On October 23, with the help of the rescue party, the Willie Company pushed ahead through the biting wind and snow up Rocky Ridge, a rough 5-mile (8.0 km) section of the trail that ascends to a ridge in order to bypass a section of the Sweetwater River valley that is impassable.
- Rock Creek (1,048 miles (1,687 km) west) – After their grueling 18-hour trek up Rocky Ridge, the Willie Handcart Company camped at the crossing of Rock Creek. That night 13 emigrants died; the next morning their bodies were buried in a shallow grave.
- South Pass (Continental Divide) (1,065 miles (1,714 km) west) – South Pass, a 20-mile (32 km) wide pass across the Continental Divide, is located between the modern towns of Atlantic City and Farson. At an elevation of 7,550 feet (2,300 m) above sea level, it was one of the most important landmarks of the Mormon Trail. Near South Pass is Pacific Springs, which received its name because its waters ran to the Pacific Ocean.
- Green River/Lombard Ferry (1,128 miles (1,815 km) west) – The trail crosses the Green River between the modern towns of Farson and Granger. The Latter-day Saints operated a ferry at this location to assist the church's emigrants and to earn money from other emigrants traveling to Oregon and California.
- Ft. Bridger (1,183 miles (1,904 km) west) – Fort Bridger was established in 1842 by famous mountain man Jim Bridger. This was the site where the paths of the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, and the Mormon Trail separated; the three trails ran in parallel from Missouri River to Fort Bridger. In 1855, the LDS Church bought the fort from Jim Bridger and Louis Vazquez for \$8,000. During the Utah War in 1857, the Utah militia burned down the fort so that it would not fall into the hands of the advancing U.S. Army under General A.S. Johnston.
- Bear River Crossing (1,216 miles (1,957 km) west) – At this, one of the last river crossings on the Mormon Trail, Lansford Hastings and his company turned north, while the Reed–Donner Company turned south. Also at this site, the vanguard company met mountaineer Miles Goodyear on July 10, 1847, who attempted to persuade them to take the northern track toward his trading post.
- The Needles (1,236 miles (1,989 km) west) – Near this very prominent rock formation, close to the Utah–Wyoming border, Brigham Young became ill with what was probably Rocky Mountain spotted fever during the advance push into the Salt Lake Valley.
### Utah
- Echo Canyon (1,246 miles (2,005 km) west) – One of the last canyons through which the emigrants descended, this deep and narrow canyon made it a veritable, and frequently noted, echo chamber.
- Big Mountain (1,279 miles (2,058 km) west) – Although dwarfed by the surrounding Wasatch mountain peaks, this was the highest elevation of the entire Mormon trail at 8,400 feet (2560 m).
- Golden Pass Road (1,281 miles (2,062 km) west) – Although unsuccessful in a petition to Salt Lake City for funding, Parley P. Pratt obtained the deed to the canyon and began the construction of a road through Big Canyon Creek in the Wasatch Mountains just south of Emigration Canyon in July 1849. The canyon became known as Parley's Canyon and the road he built as the "Golden Pass Road," due to the large number of gold miners who used it on their way to California. A cutoff was constructed through Silver Creek Canyon by 1862, diverting much of the traffic on what is today the route of I-80.
- Emigration Canyon (Donner Hill) (1,283 miles (2,065 km) west) – About a year before the Latter-day Saint emigrants, the Reed–Donner wagon train carved the first road through the final geographic obstacle between Big Mountain and the Salt Lake Valley. About halfway through, the group changed course and went up and around the final constriction near the valley's mouth. The resulting exhaustingly brutal climb over rock and sage most likely contributed to the historic tragedy that befell the travelers three months and 600 miles (970 km) to the west. When an advance team from the Latter-day Saint vanguard company came through, it chose to stick to the valley floor and hacked its way through to the bench overlooking the Great Salt Lake basin in less than four hours.
- Salt Lake Valley (1,297 miles (2,087 km) west) – Although the Salt Lake Valley had a special meaning to each emigrant, signifying the end of more than a year of crossing the plains, not all of the pioneering Saints settled in the Salt Lake Valley. Settlement outside the Salt Lake Valley began as early as 1848, with a number of communities planted in the Weber valley to the north. Additional townsites were carefully chosen, with settlements placed near canyon mouths with access to dependable streams and stands of timber. Latter-day Saints founded more than 600 communities from Canada down into Mexico. As historian Wallace Stegner stated, the Latter-day Saints "were one of the principal forces in the settlement of the West."
## See also
- Landmarks of the Nebraska Territory
- Mormon handcart pioneers
- Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area
- Mormon Trail (Canada)
- Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters
- Mormonism
- National Historic Trails Interpretive Center
- Martin's Cove
- Oregon-California Trails Association
- Pioneer Day in Utah on July 24
- This Is The Place Heritage Park
|
63,999,904 |
A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien
| 1,169,539,501 |
2014 scholarly book edited by Stuart D. Lee
|
[
"2014 non-fiction books",
"Books about Middle-earth",
"English-language books",
"Reference works",
"Tolkien studies",
"Wiley-Blackwell books"
] |
A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien is a 2014 book edited by Stuart D. Lee and published by Wiley-Blackwell. It is a part of the Blackwell Companions to Literature series, which have been described as prestigious reference works, and features authors well-known in the field of Tolkien studies.
Reviewers praised the book as a careful work and a valuable guide to the topic area. Andrew Higgins writing for the Journal of Tolkien Research noted the distinguished line-up of scholarly contributors, and called it "joyous indeed" that Tolkien had finally attained acceptance by the literary establishment as measured by having a Blackwell Companion to his name.
## Context
Wiley Blackwell has published some 90 titles in its Companions to Literature and Culture series. These cover topics such as medieval poetry, the American short story, or the British and Irish novel; and major authors such as Mark Twain, T. S. Eliot, Thomas Hardy, James Joyce, John Milton, Geoffrey Chaucer, and William Shakespeare.
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) was an English Roman Catholic writer, poet, philologist, and academic, best known as the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
## Book
Wiley Blackwell published the Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien in hardback in 2014, and in paperback in 2020. A second edition appeared in 2022.
The volume begins with a 12-page chronological table of Tolkien's life and works, and an editorial introduction by Stuart D. Lee. The rest of the book is divided into five main thematic areas: Life, The Academic, The Legendarium, Context and Critical Approaches. The first part, a single chapter, is a brief biography by John Garth, summarising the diverse elements of Tolkien's life from the youthful Tea Club and Barrovian Society and wartime experience to lexicography, Oxford, The Hobbit, and his other writings. The second part has three essays by scholars including Tom Shippey who writes about "Tolkien as editor", looking at a writing career with many false starts. The third part contains fourteen contributions, by Gergely Nagy, John D. Rateliff, Verlyn Flieger and others on the complex body of stories, many times rewritten, that make up his Middle-earth corpus. The fourth part consists of ten essays, including those by Elizabeth Solopova on Middle English, David Bratman on Tolkien's place among the Inklings, and Dimitra Fimi's look at his impact on fantasy fiction. The final part is of twelve essays, examining the varied and sometimes hostile response to Tolkien, and the key elements such as Catholicism, war (by Janet Brennan Croft), the role of women, fantasy artists' responses to Middle-earth, and music in his fiction.
The work is illustrated with a few tables in the text, and in the "Art" essay by Christopher Tuthill, present in the final section, nine monochrome reproductions of fantasy artworks by major Tolkien artists such as Alan Lee, John Howe, and Ted Nasmith.
## Reception
The Tolkien scholar Jason Fisher, reviewing the book for Mythlore, called it a "sign of the growing maturity of Tolkien studies". Observing that Lee had felt it necessary to apologise for a literary study of Tolkien; in response, Fisher commented it was time to "shake off this defensive note fifty years on" and ignore "those stodgy keepers of the canon who still dismiss Tolkien". He stated that the book's "careful organization" means less repetition than in most works with many contributors, while its use of established experts "immediately conveys authority and confidence in the quality of the work". He then reviewed each essay, remarking among many other things that Shippey both "gently reproaches the dilatory Tolkien on the one hand and praises his meticulous academic exertion". He praises Nagy for his "thought-provoking conclusions" on The Silmarillion, such as that Tolkien's failure to complete it actually made literal his "conception of his fiction as a philological corpus". He found Rateliff's summary of his own The History of the Hobbit excellent, even if he perhaps over-apologised to "film firsters" for how slowly the book built up to the action. He questions whether many readers would need five chapters on the languages such as Old Norse, Finnish, and "Celtic" [Welsh and Irish] that influenced Tolkien, but welcomed the "extended explorations". He found Bratman's coverage of the Inklings and Tolkien's wider milieu valuable, and likewise Fimi's analysis of Tolkien's legacy among writers, both imitators and those such as Alan Garner, Ursula Le Guin, Philip Pullman, and J. K. Rowling who recognised their debt to him while finding "their own distinct storytelling expression".
The scholar Jorge Luis Bueno-Alonso, reviewing A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien for Tolkien Studies, described Lee as "one of the outstanding names of recent Tolkien critical scholarship and co-author of one of the most imaginative books on the relationships between Tolkien's fiction and medieval English literature". Of the book, he wrote that it brought order to the morass of publications on Tolkien, and noted that it finally brought Tolkien into the canon of Anglo-American studies as it was one of the "prestigious" Blackwell Companion series. He called the challenge of making a brief 25-page overview of Tolkien's life, undertaken by John Garth in the volume, "an enta geweorc", ("a work of giants").
Andrew Higgins, a Tolkien scholar, reviewing the book for the Journal of Tolkien Research, welcomed the "eminent line-up" of authors (naming among others Shippey, Flieger, Fimi, Rateliff and Nagy) who contributed to the work, and called it "joyous indeed that after many years of polite (and not so polite) disdain and dismissal by establishment 'academics' and the 'cultural intelligentsia'", Tolkien had reached the "academic pantheon" of Blackwell Companions. Higgins provided his own detailed reviews of all of the work's 36 articles, and applauded Lee for "the overall thematic structuring of this volume, which offers a progressive profile of Tolkien the man, the student and scholar, and the mythopoeist", and said that he "found Lee's ordering of these papers most helpful". He nonetheless observed that there are a few minor gaps in the coverage of the volume, such as no discussion of the foreign language adaptations of Tolkien's work or the significance of Beowulf as an influence on Tolkien, plus the need to update the volume with the analysis of Tolkien's The Fall of Arthur, a poem published only in 2013.
The scholar of literature and curator of rare books Cait Coker, in her review for Extrapolation, wrote that the discipline of Tolkien studies had come of age, from being the "bad boy" of academic inquiry into science fiction and fantasy. In her view, this Blackwell volume "aptly illustrates the singular author's claim on greatness".
|
13,410,111 |
Hutchinson Letters affair
| 1,161,186,680 |
1773 publication that increased tension between Massachusetts and the British
|
[
"1773 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay",
"1773 in the Thirteen Colonies",
"18th-century scandals",
"History of Boston",
"Massachusetts in the American Revolution",
"Whistleblowing"
] |
The Hutchinson Letters affair was an incident that increased tensions between the colonists of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and the British government prior to the American Revolution.
In June 1773, letters written several years earlier by Thomas Hutchinson and Andrew Oliver, who were governor and lieutenant governor of the province at the time of their publication, were published in a Boston newspaper. The content of the letters was propagandistically claimed by Massachusetts radical politicians to call for the abridgement of colonial rights, and a duel was fought in England over the matter.
The affair served to inflame tensions in Massachusetts, where the implementation of the 1773 Tea Act was met with resistance that culminated in the Boston Tea Party in December 1773. The response of the British government to the publication of the letters served to turn Benjamin Franklin, one of the principal figures in the affair, into a committed Patriot.
## Background
During the 1760s, relations between Great Britain and some of its North American colonies became strained by a series of parliamentary laws, including the 1765 Stamp Act and the 1767 Townshend Acts, which were intended to raise revenue for the crown and to assert the British Parliament's authority to pass such legislation despite the lack of colonial representation. The laws had sparked strong protests in the Thirteen Colonies. In particular, first New York City and later the Province of Massachusetts Bay saw significant unrest and direct action against crown officials. The introduction of British Army troops into Boston in 1768 further raised, tensions, which escalated to the Boston Massacre in 1770.
In the years after the enactment of the Townshend Acts, Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson and his colonial secretary and brother-in-law, Andrew Oliver, wrote a series of letters concerning the acts, the protests against them, and suggestions on how to respond to Thomas Whately, an assistant to British Prime Minister George Grenville. Whately died in 1772, and his papers were turned over to his brother William.
Whately, at one point, gave access to his brother's papers to John Temple, another colonial official who sought to recover letters of his own from those papers.
Hutchinson was appointed governor of Massachusetts in 1770 after the critical publication by opposition politicians of letters that had been written by his predecessor, Francis Bernard. Over the next two years, Hutchinson engaged in an extended and rancorous written debate with the provincial assembly and the governor's council, both of which were dominated by radical leadership, which was hostile to parliamentary authority. The debate centered on the arbitrariness of executive prerogative and the role of Parliament in colonial governance, and it greatly deepened divisions in the province.
The Massachusetts debate reached a pitch in England when the colonial secretary, Lord Dartmouth, insisted for Benjamin Franklin, who was acting as agent for Massachusetts in London, to demand for the Massachusetts assembly to retract its response to a speech that the governor had given early in 1772 as part of the ongoing debate.
Franklin had acquired a packet of about twenty letters, which had been written to Whately.
Upon reading them, Franklin concluded that Hutchinson and Oliver had mischaracterized the situation in the colonies and thus had misled Parliament. He felt that wider knowledge of the letters would then focus colonial anger away from Parliament and towards those who had written the misleading letters.
Franklin sent the letters to Thomas Cushing, the speaker of the Massachusetts assembly, in December 1772. He insisted to Cushing for them not be published or widely circulated. Franklin specifically wrote that they should be seen only by a few people and that Cushing was not "at liberty to make the letters public."
The letters arrived in Massachusetts in March 1773 and came into the hands of Samuel Adams, who was serving as the clerk of the Massachusetts assembly. By Franklin's instructions, only a select few people, including the Massachusetts Committee of Correspondence, were to see the letters.
Alarmed at what they read, Cushing wrote Franklin to ask if the restrictions on their circulation could be eased. In a response received by Cushing in early June, Franklin reiterated that they were not to be copied or published, but they could be shown to anyone.
## Publication
A longtime opponent of Hutchinson's, Samuel Adams narrowly followed Franklin's request, but managed to orchestrate a propaganda campaign against Hutchinson without immediately disclosing the letters. He informed the assembly of the existence of the letters, after which it designated a committee to analyze them. Strategic leaks suggestive of their content made their way into the press and political discussions, causing Hutchinson much discomfort. The assembly eventually concluded, according to John Hancock, that in the letters Hutchinson sought to "overthrow the Constitution of this Government, and to introduce arbitrary Power into the Province", and called for the removal of Hutchinson and Oliver. Hutchinson complained that Adams and the opposition were misrepresenting what he had written, and that nothing he had written in them on the subject of Parliamentary supremacy went beyond other statements he had made. The letters were finally published in the Boston Gazette in mid-June 1773, causing a political firestorm in Massachusetts and raising significant questions in England.
## Content
The letters were written primarily in 1768 and 1769, principally by Hutchinson and Oliver, but the published letters also included some written by Charles Paxton, a customs official and Hutchinson supporter, and Hutchinson's nephew Nathaniel Rogers. The letters written by Oliver (who became lieutenant governor when Hutchinson became governor) proposed a significant revamping of the Massachusetts government to strengthen the executive, and those of Hutchinson were ruminations on the difficult state of affairs in the province. The historian Bernard Bailyn confirms Hutchinson's own assertion that much of the content of his letters expressed relatively little that had not already been publicly stated.
According to Bailyn, Hutchinson's ruminations included the observation that it was impossible for colonists have the full rights they would have in the home country, essentially requiring an "abridgement of what are called English liberties". Hutchinson, unlike Oliver, made no specific proposals on how the colonial government should be reformed and wrote in a letter that was not among those published, "I can think of nothing but what will produce as great an evil as that which it may remove or will be of a very uncertain event." Oliver's letters, in contrast, specifically proposed for the governor's council, whose members were then elected by the assembly with the governor's consent, to be changed to one whose members were appointed by the crown.
## Consequences
In England, speculation ran rampant over the source of the leak. William Whately accused John Temple of taking the letters, which Temple denied, challenging Whately to a duel. Whately was wounded in the encounter in early December 1773, but neither participant was satisfied, and a second duel was planned. In order to forestall that event, Franklin on Christmas Day published a letter admitting that he was responsible for the acquisition and transmission of the letters, to prevent "further mischief". He justified his actions by pointing out that the letters had been written between public officials for the purpose of influencing public policy.
When Hutchinson's opponents in Massachusetts read the letters, they seized on key phrases (including the "abridgement" phrase) to argue that Hutchinson was in fact lobbying the London government to make changes that would effect such an abridgement. Combined with Oliver's explicit recommendations for reform, they presented this as a clear indication that the provincial leaders were working against the interests of the people and not for them.
Bostonians were outraged at the content of the published letters, burning Hutchinson and Oliver in effigy on Boston Common. The letters were widely reprinted throughout the British North American colonies, and acts of protest took place as far away as Philadelphia. The Massachusetts assembly and governor's council petitioned the Board of Trade for Hutchinson's removal. In the Privy Council hearing concerning Hutchinson's fate, in which the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party was also discussed, Franklin stood silently while he was lambasted by Solicitor General Alexander Wedderburn for his role in the affair. He was accused of thievery and dishonor, and called the prime mover in England on behalf of Boston's radical Committee of Correspondence. The Board of Trade dismissed Franklin from his post as colonial Postmaster General, and dismissed the petition for Hutchinson's removal as "groundless" and "vexatious". Parliament then passed the so-called "Coercive Acts", a package of measures designed to punish Massachusetts for the tea party. Hutchinson was recalled, and the Massachusetts governorship was given to the commander of British forces in North America, Lieutenant General Thomas Gage. Hutchinson left Massachusetts in May 1774, never to return. Andrew Oliver suffered a stroke and died in March 1774.
Gage's implementation of the Coercive Acts further raised tensions that led to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in April 1775. Franklin, who had been politically neutral with respect to the colonial radicals prior to his appearance before the Board of Trade, returned to America in early 1775, committed to independence. He went on to serve in the Second Continental Congress and became a leading figure in the American Revolution.
## Franklin's source
A number of candidates have been proposed as the means by which Franklin obtained the letters. John Temple, despite his political differences with Hutchinson, apparently managed to convince the latter in 1774 that he was not involved in their acquisition. He, however, claimed to know who was involved but refused to name him because that would "prove the ruin of the guilty party."
Several historians (including Bernard Bailyn and Bernard Knollenberg) have concluded that Thomas Pownall was the probable source of the letters. Pownall was Massachusetts governor before Francis Bernard, had similar views to Franklin on colonial matters and had access to centers of colonial administration through his brother John, the colonial under-secretary.
Other individuals have also been suggested, but all appear to have an only tenuous connection to Franklin or to the situation. The historian Kenneth Penegar believes the question will remain unanswerable unless new documents emerge to shed light on the episode.
|
639,747 |
Singapura cat
| 1,167,601,166 |
Breed of cat
|
[
"Cat breeds",
"Cat breeds originating in Singapore"
] |
The Singapura is the smallest breed of cat, noted for its large eyes and ears, ticked coat, and blunt tail. Reportedly established from three "drain cats" imported from Singapore in the 1970s, it was later revealed that the cats were originally sent to Singapore from the United States before being exported back to the US. Investigations by the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) concluded that no wrongdoing had occurred and the Singapura kept its status as a natural breed.
## History
### Foundation
In 1975, after working in Singapore, Tommy and Hal Meadow returned to the US with what they say were three local brown-ticked cats. These three cats, a pair of male and female kittens from the same litter and another young female, were the foundation used to establish the Singapura. The breed takes its name from the Malay name for Singapore. In 1981 a breeder visited Singapore and chanced upon a cat fitting the profile of the Singapura (with the exception of the tail) in the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The cat was imported to the US and adopted into the breeding program.
The Singapura was accepted for registration by the TICA in 1979 for championship competition and by CFA in 1982 and granted championship status in 1988. During this period, breeders found that the occasional litter would have a solid colored kitten, caused by the recessive gene for solid color. In a desire for the Singapura to breed true, many breeders chose to do test matings to pinpoint and remove from their breeding programs individuals with the recessive gene. It was discovered that two of the three foundation cats carried this gene.
### Controversy
In 1987, while on a cat finding trip to Singapore, American breeder Jerry Mayes discovered importation papers which revealed that the three foundation cats were actually taken into Singapore from the US in 1974. Lucy Koh, a friend of Mayes, made efforts to correct the history of the Singapura presented by the Meadows but that went relatively unnoticed until 1990, when the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (currently Singapore Tourism Board) started a campaign to use the Singapura as a national mascot. Reporter Sandra Davie was informed of the discrepancy and published an article about it in the national broadsheet The Straits Times.
Because the cats were registered as Abyssinians in the import certificates, and because the Meadows had been breeders of Abyssinian, Burmese, and Siamese, some have speculated that the Singapura is a Burmese/Abyssinian cross and it has even been described as such by CFA Judges. The resemblance of some Burmese/Abyssinian cross to the Singapura, as well as the Singapura's small litter size, which is uncommon in natural breeds, added more doubts to the Meadows' story.
The CFA investigated the incident at the request of a Singapura breed club. In the investigation, Hal Meadow told the investigation board that the three cats were grandchildren of four local cats he sent back to the US during a previous sensitive business trip to Singapore in 1971, contradicting the Meadows' earlier claim of the foundation cats' origin. Apparently Tommy Meadow lied about it to conceal the secret trip. The CFA found no wrongdoing and kept the Singapura's status as a natural breed. CFA's Joan Miller said that "Whether they mated on the streets of Singapore or whether they mated in Michigan, it doesn't really matter." Referring to the cat picked up from the SPCA in 1981, she said that "In addition, there is at least one documented cat that is behind many Singapura pedigrees and it was picked up at the pound. Even with none of the cats the Meadows brought in we still have a legitimate cat from Singapore behind our Singapuras."
Recent studies in 2007 based on feline DNA showed that there are very few genetic differences between the Singapura and Burmese, adding support to the claim that the Singapura is not a natural breed.
Random-bred cats have higher overall genetic diversity than pure-bred cats, Singapura has one of the lowest heterozygosity values in pure-bred cats. The Southeast Asian breeds, including Singapura, form a distinct grouping and at the opposite end of the genetic spectrum from the Western breeds, as depicted by the FCA.
### Singapuras in Singapore
The Singapore Tourist and Promotion Board (STPB) proceeded with the decision to use the breed (advertised under the name Kucinta) as a tourism mascot after CFA concluded its investigation. The name Kucinta is an amalgamation of the Malay words kucing (cat) and cinta (love) and taken from the winning entry in a naming competition. Incidentally, Kucinta also means "The one I love" in Malay. Sculptures of the Singapura can be found by the Singapore River.
While brown cats with ticked coats can occasionally be seen, few if any resemble the Singapura, with the majority of cats being bobtailed tabbies, tortoiseshells or bicolor, and the move by the STPB is seen by locals to be an advertising move based on the popularity of the breed among tourists at that time.
In 2004, the Singapore Zoo hosted a temporary exhibit of Singapura cats in celebration of the nation's 39th National Day. Four Singapura cats were loaned by their owners for the event.
## Description
### Size
The Singapura is moderately stocky and muscular and is the world's smallest cats, and is best kept as an indoor cat, with a very short and fine coat. A full-grown female usually weighs 1.8 kilograms (4.0 lb) while the male weighs 2.7 kilograms (6.0 lb). The large, slightly pointed, and deep cupped ears together with the large almond-shaped eyes are characteristics of the breed. The tail is slender, slightly shorter than the length of the body and has a blunt tip.
### Markings
The breed's coat pattern is that of a ticked tabby. That is, individual hair strands have alternating sections of dark and light color, typically two dark bands separated by two light bands, with a dark color at the tip. The underside, including the chest, muzzle and chin, takes the color of the light bands. The Singapura is recognized by cat registries in only one color, the sepia agouti, described as "dark brown ticking on a warm old ivory ground color".
### Personality
The Singapura is described by the CFA as active, curious and playful. They are affectionate and desire human interaction. They have a tendency to perch on high places, to allow them a better view of their surrounding. The Singapura is playful and smart, and enjoys dog-like games such as fetch.
### Price
In 2006, a pet-quality Singapura in the UK cost £1000-1500 while a show specimen can cost upwards of £2000.
### Health
Of concern to breeders is the condition known as uterine inertia, an inability to expel the foetus due to weak muscles. This condition was present in one of the foundation cats and appears in some Singapura females today. Individuals with uterine inertia may require deliveries to be made by Caesarean section. Another issue that affects the breed is Pyruvate kinase deficiency, which leads to hemolytic anemia. Typical symptoms includes lethargy, diarrhea, lack of appetite, poor coat quality, weight loss and jaundice. A test is available that can determine whether a cat is affected, a carrier, or clear of the disease. Singapuras with PKD can usually live a normal life.
Some breeders have shown concern regarding the lack of genetic diversity in the breed due to inbreeding caused by a small gene pool. Researchers who completed the 2007 DNA study found that the Singapura (along with the Burmese) have the least genetic diversity among the 22 breeds studied. The possibility of outcrossing with another breed to increase the genetic diversity had been raised among CFA breeders, but not many were receptive to the idea, preferring to use Singapuras from around the world that are not so closely related to the CFA line. In April 2013, UK's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy started allowing outcrossing for the breed. Individuals chosen have to meet certain health and appearance requirements.
|
23,551,131 |
2009 Astana season
| 1,152,379,598 |
2009 season for the Astana cycling team
|
[
"2009 in Kazakhstani sport",
"2009 road cycling season by team",
"Astana Qazaqstan Team"
] |
The 2009 season for the cycling team began in January with the Tour Down Under and ended in October with the Giro di Lombardia. As a UCI ProTour team, they were automatically invited to and obliged to attend every UCI ProTour event, and were invited to every event in the inaugural UCI World Calendar as well.
With a strong identity as a stage racing team, Astana's leaders in 2009 were Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer, and Lance Armstrong, who returned to competitive cycling in 2009 after a four-year absence. The team's manager up through the Tour de France was Johan Bruyneel.
The team's biggest success in 2009 was Contador's overall victory in the Tour de France. Elsewhere, their main successes in 2009 were in small stage races, with Contador winning the Volta ao Algarve and the Vuelta al País Vasco as well as two stages in Paris–Nice, and Leipheimer winning the Tour of California and the Vuelta a Castilla y León. The team also won the team classification at numerous events. The team failed to live up to lofty expectations in the Giro d'Italia; Leipheimer was widely considered a favorite for victory, as was Armstrong before a collarbone injury sustained weeks before, but Leipheimer finished sixth overall and the team did not win any stage.
Away from competition, the team's season was marked by financial troubles with their sponsors in the Kazakhstani government, which threatened the team's makeup and very existence for a time. The return of Alexander Vinokourov from retirement and a ban for doping, which ended just as the 2009 Tour de France did, changed the team's makeup for 2010.
## 2009 team roster
Ages as of January 1, 2009
Riders who joined the team for the 2009 season
Riders who left the team during or after the 2008 season
## One-day races
### Spring classics
By their own admission, Astana did not aim for the classics. Astana's first one-day race of the season was Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Their best-placed rider was Michael Schär in 35th. Aside from their one podium finish, with Maxim Iglinsky in E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, the seventh place attained by Daniel Navarro in the Gran Premio di Lugano was the team's best result in a one-day race in the spring season. Through Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, Milan–San Remo (which saw the participation of Armstrong), the Tour of Flanders, Gent–Wevelgem, Paris–Roubaix, the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège–Bastogne–Liège they did not have a rider finish higher than 16th (Assan Bazayev in Milan – San Remo)
### Fall races
Astana raced a light schedule in the fall, with the pinnacle of their season having come at the Tour de France. The team sent squads to the Clásica de San Sebastián, Vattenfall Cyclassics, the GP Ouest-France, the Giro dell'Emilia, the GP Beghelli, the Giro del Piemonte, and the Giro di Lombardia. Their best results from this crop of races came from Alexander Vinokourov, who finished seventh in Lombardy and fifth in the Giro dell'Emilia.
## Stage races
The first event in which the team participated in 2009 was the Tour Down Under. As it was Armstrong's first event back after four years of retirement, he made many headlines and was even specially promoted on the event's webpage, though neither he nor the team were especially competitive in the event. Armstrong finished 29th overall, with the same time as Jesús Hernández in 28th as the best-placed Astana riders. The team did not finish in the top ten in any stage. In February, the team competed in the Tour of California, where Leipheimer won the individual time trial in Solvang and the Tour itself for the third straight year. The team also won the teams classification. While the Tour of California was ongoing, the team sent another eight-man squad including Contador and Andreas Klöden to the Volta ao Algarve. Contador and Klöden were first and third, respectively, in the time trial in Stage 4, giving Contador the overall lead which he retained through the conclusion of the race the next day.
At Paris–Nice in March, Contador appeared well in line to repeat his victory there from two years prior, winning the opening individual time trial and the mountainous sixth stage. He dramatically faltered in Stage 7, however, losing the yellow jersey and three minutes to Luis León Sánchez, and ultimately finishing fourth. He was unable to chase down Sánchez because of what was later blamed on dietary problems. The team experienced both success and hardship in the Vuelta a Castilla y León later in the month. Leipheimer won the event overall, with Contador having ridden the event in support for him. The first day, however, Armstrong was involved in a crash and taken to the hospital with was later revealed as a fractured clavicle. The injury was thought to take away from Armstrong's previously high odds to win the Giro d'Italia, and there was briefly speculation that he would even pull out of the Giro because of the injury.
In April, Contador claimed a convincing victory in the Vuelta al País Vasco, taking the race lead by winning the mountainous Stage 3 and dominating the final time trial. Though they did not race as Astana due to UCI rules, Armstrong, Leipheimer, and Chris Horner took part in the Tour of the Gila at the end of April and early May in what was Armstrong's first race back from the collarbone injury, with Leipheimer and Armstrong finishing in the top two places. With a squad made up of riders that normally ride in support for others, the team took a stage win (Klöden) and second overall (Janez Brajkovič) in the Giro del Trentino, also in April.
Astana participated in the Volta a Catalunya in May, while the Giro d'Italia was ongoing. The team did not win any stage, but Haimar Zubeldia took third overall in the event, and the team won the teams classification. In the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in June, Contador was thought to be a favorite for victory, but he did not seem to try his hardest to win, not attacking or taking any pulls on the mountainous Stage 5 and seeming to work for Alejandro Valverde on the race's last two days. The team next took part in the Tour de Suisse, with Klöden in fourth their highest-placed rider.
Astana sent squads to the Brixia Tour, the Tour de Pologne, the Tour of Ireland, the Eneco Tour, the Tour of Missouri, and Franco–Belge, but did not obtain a stage win, podium finish, or classification victory in any of them. The squad sent to the Tour de l'Ain was more successful. Chris Horner obtained the race lead after the individual time trial in stage 3B, which was won by Alexander Vinokourov riding for the Kazakh national team. Though Horner fell to second behind Tour de l'Ain champion Rein Taaramäe the next day as the race concluded, he did win the points classification.
## Grand Tours
### Giro d'Italia
Astana was one of 22 teams which participated in the Giro d'Italia. Contador chose to skip the Giro, despite his status as reigning champion, in order to concentrate on the Tour de France. The squad Astana sent to the Giro included Armstrong, in his first Grand Tour since the 2005 Tour de France and first ever Giro, and Leipheimer, who was considered to be a favorite to win the event. Support riders on the squad included Yaroslav Popovych, Chris Horner, and Janez Brajkovič.
The team started well, coming in third place in the team time trial in Stage 1, putting Leipheimer and Armstrong 13 seconds off the race lead. In the first mountain stage three days later, Leipheimer finished with Popovych and Horner with the same time as stage winner Danilo Di Luca, while Armstrong lost 15 seconds. The next day, Armstrong lost nearly three minutes and effectively lost any chance in the General Classification, while Leipheimer remained within ten seconds of stage winner Denis Menchov. Leipheimer was fourth overall after that stage and remained there until Stage 12, the very long and irregular individual time trial in Cinque Terre, where he was the only rider within a minute of the winning time put up by Menchov and moved to third overall. Horner withdrew from the race after Stage 10, after sustaining a leg injury that for a time prevented him from even being able to stand.
Leipheimer would fall from a podium position days later, though. After stages won by sprinters and breakaways, Stage 16, with a summit finish at Monte Petrano, was the next real test for riders aiming for the General Classification. Leipheimer was dropped by other leading riders on the climb and wound up losing almost three minutes on the stage, to fall to sixth overall. With their GC hopes all but dashed, Astana decided to try for stage wins on the remaining mountain days in the Giro. Armstrong attacked on Stage 17 and got clear of the leading group, but was unable to bridge to the man in first position on the road, Franco Pellizotti, who went on to win the stage. Ultimately, Astana did not win any stage at the Giro, but they did win the Trofeo Fast Team, beating by over 24 minutes.
### Tour de France
The team was one of 20 to receive an invitation to the Tour de France. Contador, Leipheimer, and Armstrong were all named to the team. There was much speculation and controversy, which began when Armstrong first signed with the team, over who would be the team's protected rider in the Tour. Though Armstrong's express goal in returning from retirement was to win an eighth Tour de France, Contador had won his last three Grand Tours and insisted that he deserved leadership of the team and hinted that he might leave if forced to support Armstrong. Bruyneel assured Contador that he would be the leader before the season began. Contador was also publicly named team leader shortly before the Tour began.
The team showed well in the Stage 1 individual time trial, with Contador, Klöden, Leipheimer, and Armstrong all finishing in the top ten, and Contador just 19 seconds off the time put up by stage winner Fabian Cancellara. Two days later, a surprising move made by resulted in the field being split, as eight members of that team pushed a 28-man breakaway toward the finish line ahead of the main peloton. Armstrong, Popovych, and Zubeldia were in the first group, as Popovych and Zubeldia had helped to drive the break, while Leipheimer, Contador, and the other members of the team were in the second group 41 seconds back. This resulted in Armstrong rising to third overall and displacing Contador as the team's best-placed rider. Speculation ensued that this move was meant to firmly install Armstrong as the team's leader, and Contador was visibly stunned by the stage result when interviewed afterward.
Astana won the Stage 4 team time trial the next day, putting Armstrong a mere 22/100ths of a second off the race lead and Contador, Klöden, and Leipheimer behind him third through fifth, with Zubeldia also in the top ten at seventh. After a couple of sprinter-friendly stages where the main contenders stuck together out of trouble, the high mountain Stage 7 shook the standings, and Astana, again. Coming to the finish line, a group of overall contenders was in ninth position on the road, as remnants of the morning's breakaway were scattered ahead of them. Instead of finishing as a cohesive group, Contador attacked from this group and gained 21 seconds, putting him ahead of Armstrong as Astana's best-placed rider again, though both were within 8 seconds of new race leader Rinaldo Nocentini. Armstrong said of Contador's attack that it "wasn't really the plan", but that he was nonetheless unsurprised by it. The team was dealt a major blow in Stage 12, when Leipheimer, after crashing with Cadel Evans in the final kilometers of the stage, was forced to leave the Tour with a broken wrist.
Stage 15 proved to be a crucial one, as the Tour entered Switzerland in a stage with many high mountain climbs. With about three kilometers gone by in an 8.8 km final climb to Verbier, Contador attacked and got free of the leading group, that included Klöden and Armstrong, soloing to the line for the stage win and the yellow jersey. Armstrong said after the stage that he had given it everything he had in the climb and Contador was simply the stronger rider; it was seen as settling any lingering controversy over the squad's leader and protected rider. Contador all but cemented the Tour title by winning the time trial in Annecy in Stage 18, just beating out Cancellara to post the day's best time. Armstrong gained a little over a minute on Fränk Schleck by finishing 16th, and climbed back into a podium position, third, with the result. The two finished the Tour in those positions after holding them on Mont Ventoux, and then riding home safely in the Tour's largely ceremonial finale in Stage 21.
### Vuelta a España
The team was one of 22 to receive an invite to the Vuelta a España. After having first been named only as a reserve, the returning Alexander Vinokourov was named to the squad five days before the race began.
Astana's Vuelta was a quiet one. Vinokourov placed in the top ten of the opening individual time trial but he fell out of the top ten of the overall standings the next day due to a crash. Haimar Zubeldia's 18th-place finish on stage 8, which was the Vuelta's first high mountain stage, propelled him into eighth overall until the next day, when he lost time and fell to ninth. In stage 10, Vinokourov figured in a winning breakaway, but his poor positioning in the four-man sprint finish meant the stage victory went to 's Simon Gerrans. Before stage 12, Astana held ninth overall. They continued to hold it after the stage, but the rider in that position changed; Zubeldia had been in the top ten, but finished further behind stage winner Ryder Hesjedal than Daniel Navarro, so it was Navarro who was the team's highest-placed rider after the stage. After the next two stages, Navarro also fell from the top ten, and the team did not achieve anything further, with Navarro in 13th their highest-placed rider in the race's final standings.
## Away from competition
### Financial troubles
Shortly before the beginning of the Giro d'Italia, it was reported that many of the team's sponsors in Kazakhstan had not paid their full obligations to the team, and that most of the riders had been underpaid to that point in the season as a result. One sponsor, the Kazkhstani state carrier Air Astana, dropped its sponsorship entirely. There was concern that the team itself may fold, as UCI ProTour teams must meet certain financial parameters to stay active, or risk losing their UCI license.
In protest to the underpayment by the team's sponsors, the team decided to change their jersey a week into the Giro. The new jersey was revealed on May 15, the date of Stage 7 when the Giro returned to Italy from Austria, as having the names of the underpaying sponsors faded out to the point of being unreadable. Of the nine Astana riders in the Giro, eight wore the new jerseys – Andrey Zeits, who is from Kazakhstan, was the only one to stay with the original jersey. The squad at the concurrent Volta a Catalunya did not wear the faded jerseys.
It was announced on June 19 that the situation had been resolved, with the Kazakh Cycling Federation agreeing to pay what the sponsors were indebted to the team. The team reverted to its normal jerseys in the Tour de France, with nothing faded out.
Shortly after this announcement, rumors circulated that had been close to signing Contador away from the team, should the Kazakhstani government have failed to pay its obligations and the team defaulted to the ownership of Armstrong or Bruyneel. Other unspecified Spanish Astana riders were also said to be close to jumping to the American team to follow Contador. Garmin team manager Jonathan Vaughters refused to address the rumors, saying that all negotiations are confidential until finalized, but Contador himself commented in September that he had been close to switching before the 2009 Tour began.
### Return of Alexander Vinokourov and departure of Johan Bruyneel
While riding for Astana in the 2007 Tour de France, Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for blood doping, causing the entire team to be removed from the race and Vinokourov to retire after being banned from the sport by his national federation and the UCI. After confirming in October 2008 his intention to return to competitive cycling, Vinokourov stated on the eve of the 2009 Tour de France that he would rejoin Astana, the team he believes was created expressly for him, at the expiration of his two-year ban on July 24. He indicated that Astana manager Johan Bruyneel will be bound by the team's sponsors to accept him, or else Bruyneel would be forced from the team. Bruyneel publicly stated in April 2008 that he did not want Vinokourov on a team he ran.
The next day, it was further revealed that not only Bruyneel stood to be forced from the team according to Vinokourov, but also Armstrong and other riders from the former Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. The team would be built around Vinokourov and Contador, who would be able to choose which riders he wanted his teammates. It would contain almost exclusively Kazakhstani and Spanish riders, in the image of the former Liberty Seguros team, for which Contador previously rode. The matter was even addressed by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. The new team organization would be in place by the Vuelta a España, which Vinokourov would ride.
On 21 July, with Contador, Armstrong and Klöden holding three of the top four places in the Tour de France, Bruyneel told Belgian channel VRT that Astana as currently constituted was "finished" and that he would be leaving the team, as Vinokourov and the Kazakh federation had discussed, after the season.
#### Disposition of riders for 2010
In the wake of Bruyneel's announcement about leaving Astana during the Tour, Contador said that he would not consider his future until after the race was over. On 23 July, Lance Armstrong announced the formation of a new U.S. cycling team, Team RadioShack, for 2010. Whether Bruyneel would take part in this venture was not addressed at the time, but Armstrong then announced Bruyneel's participation on 25 August.
On 31 July, Contador's agent announced that Contador had turned down an offer to remain with Astana under a new four-year contract because he had felt uncomfortable being caught between the Kazakhs on one side and Bruyneel on the other, and he was hoping to leave Astana before his contract expired in 2010. However, on 11 August, Contador's close friend Sergio Paulinho accepted a two-year contract with Team RadioShack, indicating that Contador might not be able to leave Astana as he and his agent wished. This was confirmed on 15 August, when a spokesperson for the Kazakh sponsors of Astana said that they intended to sponsor the Astana team on the UCI ProTour through 2013 and that they intended to enforce the last year of Contador's contract with Astana in 2010.
Once Bruyneel's move to Team RadioShack was confirmed, the squad began filling with transfers from the 2009 Astana team. In addition to Armstrong and Paulinho, Tomas Vaitkus and Grégory Rast joined Team RadioShack as one-day classics specialists, and Jose Luis "Chechu" Rubiera joined for Grand Tour support. On September 1, Levi Leipheimer's move to Team RadioShack was confirmed and on October 2, Andreas Klöden's move was confirmed. On October 4, Chris Horner also signed with Team RadioShack for two years. On October 15, Yaroslav Popovich's move was also confirmed. It was also reported that Haimar Zubeldia was to remain with Astana, on order from Contandor, though for unclear reasons this changed, as Zubeldia's transfer to Team RadioShack was confirmed weeks later. With Dimitry Muravyev's transfer, Astana's entire 2009 Tour de France squad, Contador aside, had moved to Armstrong's new team.
Two other Astana riders moved with former Discovery Channel rider George Hincapie to team BMC for 2010: Steve Morabito and Michael Schär.
## Season victories
|
3,711,080 |
Mega Man Powered Up
| 1,158,982,527 |
2006 video game
|
[
"2006 video games",
"Mega Man games",
"PlayStation Portable games",
"PlayStation Portable-only games",
"Single-player video games",
"Video game remakes",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Video games with 2.5D graphics"
] |
Mega Man Powered Up is a side-scrolling platform video game developed and published by Capcom. It was released for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld game console in March 2006. It is a remake of the original Mega Man game released in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Players control the eponymous star Mega Man who must stop Dr. Wily from conquering the world using eight robots called Robot Masters. Unlike the original game, players can control these eight Robot Masters under the right circumstances. Other new features include a level creator mode and a challenge mode.
First revealed in 2005, Powered Up was produced by series mainstay Keiji Inafune. It was released in a bundle alongside Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X (also for PSP) and was slated for release on the PSP's PlayStation Network (PSN). It was released for the PSN service in Japan, but a US release did not occur due to technical difficulties. The game uses a chibi-style that was intended for the original game but was not possible at the time. The designers intended to keep this design faithful to the way the characters worked and looked in the original. While it received generally positive reviews, the game sold poorly, and plans for a remake of Mega Man 2 titled Mega Man Powered Up 2 fell through.
## Plot
The robot creator Doctor Light created two human-like robots with advanced artificial intelligence named Rock and Roll. Following this, he created eight more robots intended for industrial use: Cut Man, Guts Man, Ice Man, Bomb Man, Fire Man, Elec Man, Time Man, and Oil Man. He received a Nobel Prize for Physics, and his old colleague and rival Doctor Wily has grown bitter for not being acknowledged for his work on the project. Wily discovered a prototype robot made by Doctor Light before Rock and Roll called Proto Man, who is in danger of having his energy generator go critical. Wily gave him a nuclear energy supply to extend his life. He later steals and reprograms the eight industrial robots to attempt world domination. Rock volunteered to stop Wily and rescue his friends, and Dr. Light converted him into a fighting robot, giving him a new name: Mega Man. After defeating all eight Robot Masters and returning them to normal, Mega Man goes through Dr. Wily's fortress and challenges him. After beating Wily, the mad scientist surrenders and asks Mega Man to spare him. Mega Man then returns home, where he's greeted by Dr. Light, Roll, and his friends.
## Gameplay
The game is a remake of the original NES Mega Man title and has similar gameplay and level designs. The game moves on a 2D plane and players are given control of the game's eponymous hero Mega Man. Unlike the original's 8-bit graphics, the game uses 3D character models with super deformed designs. Mega Man's primary abilities include jumping and shooting, and when certain conditions are met, can also use a sliding maneuver to dodge obstacles, or charge his Mega Buster for a more powerful shot. Mega Man can lose health by touching enemies or their projectiles, while lives will be lost when Mega Man touches spikes, or falls into a pit. Lives and health can be found either dropped by enemies or in fixed locations.
At the beginning of the game, players are given an introductory level and boss to overcome. Afterward, they are given access to eight different stages, each representing one of the above-mentioned Robot Masters. At the end of each stage, players must battle the Robot Master of that stage. When a Robot Master is defeated, he will relinquish to Mega Man their respective weapon, which can be used against other Robot Masters or enemies but has limited ammunition. If Mega Man defeats the Robot Master using his Mega Buster, the Robot Master will instead be brought back to his senses. This allows players to play through stages as one of the Robot Masters. In lieu of the missing Robot Master, an evil clone of Mega Man will be added to their respective spots and stages as a boss instead.
It features two styles of gameplay: "Old Style" is comparable to the NES version aside from the updated presentation, and "New Style" uses the PSP's entire widescreen and contains storyline cutscenes with voice acting, altered stage layouts, remixed music, and three difficulty modes for each stage. Additionally, the remake lets players unlock and play through the game as the eight Robot Masters, Roll, and Protoman. The New Style stages differ in structure from that of Old Style, with some pathways only accessible to specific Robot Masters. Mega Man Powered Up also features a Challenge Mode with 100 challenges to complete, a level editor for creating custom stages, and an option to distribute fan-made levels to the PlayStation Network online service.
## Development
Mega Man Powered Up was developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation Portable handheld game console. It was produced by Keiji Inafune. Mega Man Powered Up was first seen on a list of games that would have demos at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show titled Rockman Rockman. It was later revealed to be a remake of the NES Mega Man. It was announced for a US release on November 8, 2005 under the title Mega Man Powered Up. A European release was also announced. It was bundled with Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X on UMD. It was slated to be released on the PSP's PlayStation Network service along with other Capcom PSP titles. While it was released for the Japanese PSN, a US release of Powered Up never occurred due to technical difficulties that neither Sony nor Capcom could resolve.
Inafune had originally planned to use this chibi-style in the original Mega Man, but could not due to the hardware constraints of the NES. Producer Tetsuya Kitabayashi stated that redesigning the character models was a result of the PSP's 16:9 widescreen ratio. The larger heads on the characters allowed the development team to create visible facial expressions. Character designer Tatsuya Yoshikawa explained the concept of the design was "toys" and be "Geared towards little kids ... the kinds of characters that you'd see hanging off of keychains and such". He added that the design team made sure proportions and movements were accurately reflected on the models. As the size of the remake's stages are not proportional to those of the original, the widescreen ratio also presented the developers with more space to fill. The Robot Master Oil Man originally had black skin and pink lips, which GamesRadar identified as a "1920s caricature." The design was changed for the US release to blue skin and yellow lips to avoid controversy.
## Reception
### Pre-release
Mega Man Powered Up received generally positive reception after it was revealed. It was perceived initially as a "straight port" of the NES game with graphical enhancements. IGN writer Nix felt that the graphical update as seen at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show was well-designed. He noted that its biggest hang-up was the fact that the original Mega Man was improved upon by its sequels and that the original lacked functions such as the charge shot, the slide, and Rush. Jeff Gerstmann felt the game was promising and praised its take on the original levels as well as its level editor. Juan Castro felt that it would appeal to Mega Man fans and those looking for an "oldschool platformer."
### Post-release
Sales of Mega Man Powered Up in Japan were considered very poor, though it sold better in the US. Speculation existed for the low sales which included the possibility that it came out too early in the PSP's life and a "lack of overlap between Mega Man gamers and PSP owners." Fan lamentation also existed for the fact that it was not available for the Nintendo DS (which featured several other Mega Man titles). Inafune expressed an interest in making a Mega Man Powered Up 2, though he noted that it would take time to get to. Due to the poor sales of the game, further remakes have been put on hold.
Despite poor sales, it received generally positive reviews, currently holding aggregate scores of 83% on GameRankings and 82 out of 100 on Metacritic respectively. It received positive attention from the Mega Man fanbase. Game Revolution's Mike Reily praised the game' variety of challenges, playable bosses, level editor, and the gameplay variety but criticized its "trial and error" gameplay and graphical slowdown. Gamasutra writer Connor Cleary praised its improvements of the original Mega Man and noted that those who do not love the art style would be able to get over it after playing. David Oxford, from 1UP.com felt that it was the most notable remake of the original Mega Man. In his review, Jeremy Parish, also from 1UP.com, called it "one of the most addictive PSP games to date" and felt that it reminded players of Mega Man's greatness. He also praised its level editor, which he noted came before future Sony titles that featured a level editor such as LittleBigPlanet and Sound Shapes. He later included it in his list of games to play on a short flight due to its quick levels and auto-save feature. GameSpot's Alex Navarro called it the best remake of the original Mega Man due to a combination of the original game's quality and the quality of the additional features, while IGN's Juan Castro felt that the quality and polish of the game would appeal to veteran Mega Man fans and newcomers to the franchise. Detroit Free Press called it "a must-buy for fans of the long-running series, despite its super cute-ified new look." Matt Keller from PALGN called the original an "all-time classic" and felt that Powered Up was "the remake it deserves."
GameSpy placed Powered Up as the seventh best handheld game of 2006, as well as the fifth best PSP game. IGN ranked it the ninth best PSP game ever made. It was also nominated for "Best Action Game" for the "2006 1UP Awards", losing to another Capcom game Dead Rising.
|
39,054,194 |
Typhoon Hester
| 1,132,955,481 |
Pacific typhoon in 1971
|
[
"1971 Pacific typhoon season",
"1971 disasters in Asia",
"1971 in Laos",
"1971 in Vietnam",
"1971 in the Philippines",
"Typhoons in Laos",
"Typhoons in Vietnam",
"Typhoons in the Philippines"
] |
Typhoon Hester of October 1971 was regarded as one of the most destructive storms to strike Vietnam since 1944. Developing as a tropical depression on October 18 near Palau, Hester gradually intensified as it moved westward towards the Philippines. Across the Philippines, Hester was responsible for six deaths and ₱5 million in damage. After passing over Mindanao and the Visayas as a tropical storm between October 20 and 21, the storm intensified into a typhoon before striking Palawan. Once over the South China Sea, Hester further strengthened and ultimately attained peak winds of 165 km/h (105 mph). On October 23, the storm made landfall near Huế, South Vietnam. Once onshore, Hester rapidly weakened and dissipated on October 24 over Laos.
The most significant impact from Typhoon Hester was felt in South Vietnam, where winds in excess of 155 km/h (95 mph) caused extensive damage to several United States Army bases. The hardest hit base was in Chu Lai where three Americans were killed. At least 75 percent of the structures in the base sustained damage and 123 aircraft were damaged or destroyed. Newspaper reports indicated that 100 Vietnamese lost their lives due to the storm, including 33 following a plane crash near Quy Nhơn. In the wake of the storm, the South Vietnamese government provided the hardest hit areas with relief funds and supplies.
## Meteorological history
On October 18, a tropical depression formed just west of Palau. Tracking westward, the system attained tropical storm-force winds the following day and was assigned the name Hester. At this time, Hester was located approximately 400 km (250 mi) east of northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Due to the cyclone's proximity to the country, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration also monitored the storm and assigned it with the local name Goying. Early on October 20, Hester brushed northern Mindanao before crossing the Visayas. The storm passed approximately 75 km (45 mi) south of Cebu City later that day before moving into the South China Sea. Early on October 21, Hester intensified into a typhoon hours before crossing Palawan.
Once over the South China Sea, a strong ridge built over southern China resulting in Hester turning northwestward and accelerating. It reached a forward speed of 33 km/h (20 mph), twice the climatological average for typhoons in that region during October. Between October 22 and 23, the storm developed an eye before reaching its peak intensity as a Category 2-equivalent typhoon. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated peak winds to have reached 165 km/h (105 mph) along with a central pressure of 967 mb (hPa; 28.56 inHg). Hester subsequently made landfall near Huế, South Vietnam. Once onshore, the storm's structure rapidly degraded as it weakened. The storm later dissipated over central Laos on October 24.
## Impact and aftermath
### South Vietnam
Regarded as one of the most destructive storms to strike Vietnam since 1944, Typhoon Hester caused considerable damage in the country and disrupted the Vietnam War. Making landfall directly over the United States military installation in Chu Lai, Hester damaged or destroyed 75 percent of the structures in the base. Sustained winds and gusts in the base were estimated to have reached 130 km/h (80 mph) and 160 km/h (100 mph) respectively. Four hangars collapsed in the Chu Lai airbase, with total aircraft losses amounting to 36 destroyed and 87 damaged. Losses from the destroyed helicopters exceeded \$3.6 million (1971 USD). Dozens of barracks were damaged in Chu Lai and communications were hampered. The 91st Evacuation Hospital was mostly destroyed and was forced to transfer patients to Quy Nhơn. Nearly 50 percent of the structures at the Marble Mountain Air Facility were damaged by the storm's high winds.
Heavy rains accompanying the storm, peaking at 5.44 in (138 mm) at Camp Eagle, caused considerable flooding in the country. Approximately 370 km (230 mi) of coastline between Quảng Trị and Đà Nẵng were inundated. About 90 percent of homes in Đà Nẵng were damaged. Flooding from the storm washed out a bridge between Fire Support Base Birmingham and Camp Eagle, temporarily isolating two units within the 94th Field Artillery Regiment.
Extensive losses to agriculture also took place, with major crop losses reported and 900 cattle killed. According to government officials, the entire banana, rice, and sugar cane crop was destroyed and harvests could not be made until the following spring. Offshore, nearly 500 vessels sank or were destroyed by the storm and the 1,000 ton Union Pacific ran aground.
According to newspaper reports, 100 Vietnamese perished during Hester. Thirty-three fatalities took place after a Republic of Vietnam Air Force transport crashed near Quy Nhơn. Thee Americans were killed due to flying debris during the storm and twenty-one others were injured. On October 25, thunderstorms associated with Hester were blamed on a helicopter crash Nha Trang that killed ten Americans. Roughly 550,000 homes were destroyed across the country, leaving an estimated 200,000 people homeless.
On October 25, Premier Tran Thien Khiem toured some of the storm-ravaged areas and made on-the-spot grants of \$19,000 to each province and \$3,500 to Đà Nẵng. He also promised that 50,000 sheets of tin roofing would be sent to aid in reconstruction. Later that day, President Nguyen Van Thieu ordered \$725,000 be made available for disaster relief in the northern provinces following an emergency meeting. The Social Welfare Ministry estimated that \$1.5 million would be needed for civilian relief.
### Elsewhere
Tracking over the southern Philippines as a tropical storm, Hester caused some damage in the country. Winds of 95 km/h (60 mph) were reported in Cebu City as the storm passed by. A total of six people were killed while twenty-two sustained injuries and another two were reported missing. Damage amounted to ₱5 million. In North Vietnam, the Viet Cong was reportedly taking "urgent measures" to cope with the aftermath of the typhoon. A Chinese news broadcast stated that 100 million piastres had been allocated for relief efforts.
## See also
- 1971 Pacific typhoon season
- Vietnam War
- Typhoon Tembin
- Typhoon Molave
|
44,873,673 |
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
| 1,172,460,331 |
Council of Indian Muslim theologians
|
[
"1919 establishments in India",
"Deobandi good articles",
"Deobandi organisations",
"Islam in India",
"Islamic organisations based in India",
"Islamic organizations established in 1919",
"Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind",
"Organisations based in Delhi"
] |
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind () is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari Firangi Mahali, Kifayatullah Dehlawi, Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti and Sanaullah Amritsari.
The Jamiat was an active participant in the Khilafat Movement in collaboration with the Indian National Congress. It also opposed the partition of India, taking the position of composite nationalism: that Muslims and non-Muslims form one nation. As a result, this organisation had a small break-away faction known as the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, which decided to support the Pakistan movement.
The constitution of the Jamiat was drafted by Kifayatullah Dehlawi. As of 2021, it is spread over various states of India and has established institutions and wings such as the Idara Mabahith-e-Fiqhiyyah, the Jamiat National Open School, the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Halal Trust, the Legal Cell Institute and the Jamiat Youth Club. Arshad Madani succeeded his brother Asad Madani as the president in February 2006, however the organization split into the Arshad group and Mahmood group in March 2008. Usman Mansoorpuri became the president of the Mahmood group and continued to serve the position until his death in May 2021. Mahmood Madani succeeded him as the interim president before being appointed the president on 18 September 2021. Arshad Madani serves as the president of Arshad group.
## History
### Inception and development
On 23 November 1919, the Khilafat Committee held its first conference in Delhi which was attended by Muslim scholars from all over the India. Afterward, a group of twenty-five Muslim scholars from among them held a separate conference in the hall of Krishna Theatre, in Delhi, and formed the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. These scholars included Abdul Bari Firangi Mahali, Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi, Kifayatullah Dihlawi, Muniruzzaman Khan, Mohammad Akram Khan, Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti and Sanaullah Amritsari. Other scholars included Abdul Haleem Gayawi, Azad Subhani, Bakhsh Amritsari, Ibrahim Darbhangawi, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Imam Sindhi, Muhammad Asadullah Sindhi, Muhammad Fakhir, Muhammad Anees, Muhammad Sadiq, Khuda Bakhsh Muzaffarpuri, Khwaja Ghulam Nizamuddin, Qadeer Bakhsh, Salamatullah, Sayyid Ismail, Sayyid Kamaluddin, Sayyid Muhammad Dawood, and Taj Muhammad.
Jamiat, also romanised as "jam'iyyat", is a term in an Islamic context referring to an assembly, league or other organisation. The word originated from the Arabic word for gathering (جمع), and is used in Urdu as a noun.
The first general meeting of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind was held at Amritsar on 28 December 1919, at the request of Sanaullah Amritsari, in which Kifayatullah Dehlawi presented a draft of its constitution. Abul Muhasin Sajjad and Mazharuddin are also mentioned among the key founders. A common misconception exists that the Jamiat was founded by Mahmud Hasan Deobandi and his other colleagues including Hussain Ahmad Madani, however this is not true as they were jailed in Malta at the time the organisation was founded.
When the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind was founded, Kifayatullah Dehlawi was appointed interim president and Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi was made an interim secretary. The Jamiat formed its first governing body at its first general meeting, which was held at Amritsar. The second general meeting of the Jamiat was held during November 1920 in Delhi, where Mahmud Hasan Deobandi was appointed the president and Kifayatullah Dehlawi the vice-president. Hasan died several days after (on 30 November) and Kifayatullah continued to serve as the vice-president whilst concurrently serving as interim-president, until he was permanently appointed president on 6 September 1921. The scholars of the Darul Uloom Deoband associated with the Jamiat only after Mahmud Hasan Deobandi was released, and they had no substantial role in its establishment. It is now considered a major organisation belonging to the scholars of Deoband.
### Governance
The earliest principles and constitution of the Jamiat were written by Kifayatullah Dehlawi. In the first general meeting in Amritsar it was decreed that these be published and opinions gathered from a group of scholars in attendance, and that it then be discussed again at the next meeting. The principles and constitution were ratified in the second meeting, held in Delhi and presided over by Mahmud Hasan Deobandi. There it was decided that the organisation would be called the "Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind", its headquarters located in Delhi, and its stamp state, "Al-Jamiat al-Markaziyyah li al-Ulama il-Hind" (). It aimed to defend Islam from any external or alien threat; to guide common folk in politics through the lens of Islamic precepts; and to establish an Islamic court, the Darul Qadha.
The first governing body of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind was formed in Amritsar. Its members included Abdul Majid Badayuni, Abul Muhasin Sajjad, Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Hasrat Mohani, Khuda Bakhsh, Mazharuddin, Muhammad Abdullah Sindhi, Muhammad Fakhir Allahabadi, Muniruzzaman Khan, Mohammad Akram Khan, Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti, Muhammad Sadiq Karachivi, Ruknuddin Dāna, Salamatullah Farangimahali, Sanaullah Amritsari, Sayyid Muhammad Dawood Ghaznawi and Turab Ali Sindhi.
The first working committee was formed over the 9th and 10th of February 1922, in Delhi. It consisted of nine people; Abdul Haleem Siddiqi, Abdul Majid Qadri Badayuni, Abdul Qadir Qusoori, Ahmadullah Panipati, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Hasrat Mohani, Kifayatullah Dehlawi, Mazharuddin and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. In March 1922 the number was increased to twelve, and Abdul Qadeer Badayuni, Azad Subhani and Ibrahim Sialkoti were added to the working body. The Jamiat elected Murtaza Hasan Chandpuri and Nisar Ahmad Kanpuri as the vice-presidents on 15 January 1925.
The Jamiat has an organisational network which is spread across India. It also has an Urdu daily newspaper, the Al-Jamiyat. The newspaper was banned by the British government of India in 1938, but was restarted on 23 December 1947 with Muhammad Miyan Deobandi appointed its editor. The Jamiat propounds a theological basis for its nationalistic philosophy, which is that Muslims and non-Muslims have entered upon a mutual contract in India, since independence, to establish a secular state. The Constitution of India represents this contract. This is known in Urdu as a mu'ahadah. Accordingly, as the Muslim community's elected representatives support and swear allegiance to this mu'ahadah, so too is it the responsibility of Indian Muslims to support the Indian Constitution. This mu'ahadah is similar to a previous similar contract signed between the Muslims and the Jews in Medina.
### Independence movement
On 8 September 1920, the Jamiat issued a religious edict, called Fatwa Tark-e-Mawalat, boycotting British goods. This was authored by Abul Muhasin Sajjad and signed by 500 scholars. During the British Raj, the Jamiat opposed British rule in India and participated in the Quit India Movement. Since its inception in 1919 it aimed for a "British-free India". It formed an institution called "Idārah Harbiyyah" () during the civil disobedience movement.
The Jamiat's scholars were arrested frequently, and its general secretary Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi spent fifteen years of his life in jail. The Jamiat secured pledges from the Muslim community that they would avoid using British cloth and enrolled about fifteen thousand volunteers to participate in the Salt March. Kifayatullah Dehlawi, the co-founder of the Jamiat, was imprisoned in Gujarat jail for six months in 1930 for participating in the civil disobedience movement. On 31 March 1932, he was arrested for leading a procession of over a hundred thousand people and imprisoned in Multan jail for eighteen months. The general secretary of the Jamiat, Muhammad Miyan Deobandi, was arrested five times and his book Ulama-e-Hind ka Shāndār Māzī (transl. The Glorious Past of Indian Scholars) was seized for discussing the struggles of Muslim scholars against the ruling people, including the British Raj. Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi, another scholar of the Jamiat, was arrested multiple times for campaigning against British colonialism. He spent eight years in incarceration.
### Partition of India
Hussain Ahmad Madani, the principal of the Darul Uloom Deoband (from 1927 to 1957) and the leading Deobandi scholar of the day, held that Muslims were unquestionably part of a united India and that Hindu-Muslim unity was necessary for the country's freedom. He worked closely with the Indian National Congress until the Partition of India was carried out. In 1945, a faction emerged within Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind that supported the creation of Pakistan and the All Indian Muslim League. This faction was led by a founding member of the Jamiat, Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind was a member of the All India Azad Muslim Conference, which included several Islamic organisations standing for a united India.
Ishtiaq Ahmed states that, in return for their support, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind obtained a pledge from the Indian leadership that the state would not interfere with the Muslim Personal Law. The former Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru agreed with the pledge, however, he believed that Muslims should first reform these laws. Despite these concessions, during the Partition of India, there erupted riots all over the country which resulted in wholesale carnage and numerous Muslims were killed; Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind played a key role in securing the life and safety of Muslims. Syed Mehboob Rizwi says that the general secretary of the Jamiat, Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi, "faced the grave conditions with unusual spirit, daring, resolution, and exerted pressure on the leaders and officials, and accomplished the great exploit of restoring peace and order, and dispelled fear and apprehension from the hearts of terror-stricken Muslims."
### Split into JUH-A and JUH-M
In March 2008, after the death of its former president Asad Madni, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind split into two factions. The division was caused by differences between Arshad Madani and his nephew Mahmood Madani after Arshad Madani was accused of being involved in anti-Jamiat activities. A contemporaneous report by the Hindustan Times alleged that Arshad "had dissolved elected units and disintegrated its democratic structure to establish his personal rule." Consequently, on 5 March 2006, Arshad was dismissed as the president of the united Jamiat, leading him to form a new executive committee which he claimed to be the true Jamiat. The existing Jamiat was led by Mahmood Madani, and on the 5 April 2008 this faction appointed Usman Mansoorpuri as their first president. The first general secretary of the Arshad faction was Abdul Aleem Farooqi, who also served as the tenth general secretary of the united Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind from 1995 to 2001.
### Centenary
The Jamiat celebrated its centenary in November 2019. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) held the centenary celebrations in Azakhel over two days starting on 7 April 2017. It was attended by Saleh bin Abdul-Aziz Al ash-Sheikh.
### Anti-terror edict
In November 2008, 6000 scholars endorsed an anti-terror edict in the 29th general body meeting of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, held at Hyderabad. The edict was issued by the Darul Uloom Deoband and signed by its Grand Mufti, Habibur Rahman Khairabadi, in May 2008. In the general meeting, Mahmood Madani said that, "it is a demonstration of the faith the Muslim scholars are reposing in the importance and timeliness of the edict. When these delegates go back to their homes they would take the signed Hyderabad Declaration that endorses the stand taken by Darul Uloom against terrorism." This meeting was attended by Ravi Sankar and Swami Agnivesh. The fatwa stated that "Islam rejects all kinds of unwarranted violence, breach of peace, bloodshed, killing and plunder and does not allow it in any form. It is the basic principle of Islam that you assist each other in pursuit of good righteous causes and do not co-operate with anyone for committing sin or oppression. It is evident in the clear cut guidelines given in the Holy Quran that the allegation of terrorism against a religion like Islam which enjoins world peace is nothing but a lie. In fact Islam was born to wipe off all kinds of terrorism and to spread the message of global peace".
### Hindu relations
In 2009, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind said that Hindus should not be called kafirs (infidels) because, even though the term only means a "Non-Muslim," its use may cause misunderstanding between communities. The Jamiat passed a resolution in November 2009 describing Vande Mataram as an anti-Islamic song and received opposition from Muslim Rashtriya Manch national convener, Mohammed Afzal stating "Our Muslim brothers should not follow the fatwa as Vande Mataram is the national song of the country and every Indian citizen should respect and recite it."
In 1934, a few sections of the Babri Masjid mosque were vandalised and pictures of Hindu deities with Ram inscribed upon them were placed inside the mosque. The president of the Jamiat, Kifayatullah Dehlawi, visited Ayodhya and later presented a report to the Jamiat's working committee. The working committee followed the Babri Masjid case and during a February 1952 meeting, presided over by Hussain Ahmad Madani and attended by Abul Kalam Azad and Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi, it was decided that the issue should be pursued through legal channels. Subsequently, in February 1986, the district sessions judge of Faizabad, Krishna Mohan Pandey, ordered the removal of locks on the Babri Masjid gates to allow Hindus to worship. The Jamiat scholars Asad Madani and Asrarul Haq Qasmi appealed to the Indian government to take action against the judge and simultaneously raised a petition against this order. A memorandum was presented to Rajiv Gandhi on 3 March 1986, and he was asked to take a personal interest in the case and help resolve the matter. The Jamiat formed a committee on 22 February 1986 to follow-up the Babri Masjid case. It included Jalil Ahmad Seoharwi, Muhammad Matin, and advocates Zafaryab Jilani and Muhammad Raa'iq. In 2019, when the Supreme court of India ordered that the Babri Masjid be given up for the construction of the Ram Mandir and 5 acres of land be given to Muslims for the construction of a new mosque to replace it, the Jamiat described it as "the darkest spot in the history of free India." Arshad Madani said that although Muslim organisations lost the Babri Masjid, the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind would continue fighting for the safety and protection of other places of worship.
In an interview with the Economic Times, Arshad Madani said that "We are citizens of this country and we have the rights over our places. We will continue to protect them till we die. Fate of one case is not fate of all cases. We still have faith in the judiciary of our country." The position of the Jamiat was that no alternate site was acceptable for the Babri Masjid and Muslim organisations should not accept any offered replacement land or money.
### National Register of Citizens
The Mahmood faction of the Jamiat defended the Assam Accord during May 2017 under the leadership of Usman Mansoorpuri in the Supreme Court of India. They also passed a resolution in support of the National Register of Citizens. The Arshad faction's president Arshad Madani, however, said that, "the NPR-NRC project is part of the Central government's communal agenda to transform India into a Hindu nation." He also holds that it is a "big threat to Muslims and also some other communities, including Dalits." Consequently, in December 2019, the Mahmood faction filed a challenge to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in the Supreme Court of India on the grounds that "the law classified immigrants without any “intelligible differentia” and ignored several religiously persecuted minorities." The faction also held Kashmir as an integral part of India.
On the 2020 Delhi riots, Arshad Madani said in October 2020 that "it is not possible to control riots in the country without making the district administration accountable." According to an October 2020 Ummid report, the Jamiat under his leadership was fighting the cases of Muslims accused in the Delhi riots and sixteen bail petitions were accepted by the Delhi High Court.
### Dowries
After a young woman named Ayesha committed suicide and her video went viral, the Pune circle of the Jamiat launched a campaign against dowry practices in March 2021. Scholars of the Jamiat said that they would use Friday prayers as a platform to make people aware of the issue.
### Implementation of population policy
JUH's Assam faction stated on 5 July 2021 that "the Jamiat will not support the [Indian government's population policy] if the government forcefully implements it". Secretary Fazlul Karim Kasimi said that "birth control policies cannot be imposed upon minorities and population policy should be applicable to the majority. There should be a law on birth control for the majority."
### COVID-19 vaccinations
In June 2021, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind's Gujarat unit held camps to raise awareness of COVID-19 vaccines. A group of sixty scholars participated in this drive from areas such as Bhavnagar and Palanpur. A local scholar associated with the Jamiat, Imran Dheriwala, said that, "the community has a deep sense of mistrust towards the government concerning vaccines, but it is because of the faith of the people as well, that it is Allah who decides one's time of death and He protects even if one does not take a vaccine." He also said that, "we are trying to remove this misconception from people, as the teachings of Islam make it necessary for a person to go through medication in order to protect his life and thus vaccinations was necessary, and we are trying to spread this message." The president of Jamiat's Arshad faction, Arshad Madani said that, "Whatever saves human lives is permissible. We should take the vaccine and protect ourselves and everybody around us from Covid-19."
### Merger process
The Times of India reported on 22 June 2022 that the two factions of the Jamiat have begun a merger process which might be materialised very soon. The Hindu reported on 16 July 2022 that "the faction of the younger Madani is said to be agreeable to work under the senior Madani as Jamiat president." On 28 May 2022, the Jamiat's M faction had invited its rival Arshad Madani to attend its general body meeting in Deoband, which he accepted. His acceptance of the invitation has been seen as his first step towards reconciliation. In the Deoband meet, Arshad Madani expressed that "the Jamiat needs to come together so our voice can be stronger."
## Institutions
### Idara Mabahith-e-Fiqhiyyah
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind established the Idara Mabahith-e-Fiqhiyyah (Institute of Juristic Discussions) in 1970 and Muhammad Miyan Deobandi was appointed its first director. The institute organized its fifteenth juristic seminar in March 2019. The seminar discussed whether Google AdSense, Paytm cash and other things related with mobile and internet were allowed under Islamic law. It was attended by Muslim jurists including Saeed Ahmad Palanpuri and Shabbir Ahmad Qasmi.
### Jamiat Youth Club
The Jamiat Youth Club was established in July 2018. It aims to provide youth with training in different self-defense techniques to deal with community crises. It was called a "pilot project" and it was reported that the Jamiat expects to train about 1.25 million youngsters every year and about 12.5 million youth in over a hundred Indian districts are expected to join the Jamiat Youth Club by 2028. Mahmood Madani said that the club will train the youth like the Scouts and Guides, with an emphasis on physical training and different ways to strengthen their mental ability.
### Halal trust
The Jamiat has a halal-declaring agency known as the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Halal Trust. It was set up in 2009 and was recognised by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia in 2011 as "a reliable and authoritative institution for issuing Halal Certificates to meat, meat products and slaughter houses." As of April 2020, its secretary is Niaz Ahmad Farooqi.
### Jamiat National Open School
Jamiat National Open School was established in February 2021. It is similar to the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), and provides trained staff and infrastructure to students through which they can study computers, mathematics, sciences, language and other subjects offered under the NIOS. The school was established to provide students with high quality and contemporary academic learning, in part because thousands of students graduate from Islamic madrasas every year, but often lack adequate contemporary secular education abilities and skills.
The Jamiat provides scholarships to students undertaking professional courses such as B.Tech, M.Tech, BCA, and other medical and engineering courses. Since 2012 the scholarships are offered to financially weak students through the Taleemi Imdadi Fund.
### Legal Cell Institute
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind also has the Legal Cell institute, through which it helps Muslims accused of terrorism to fight legal battles. It was set up by Arshad Madani in 2007 and, as of May 2019, has aided in 192 acquittals across India. Madani stated he started the institute when he saw that innocent people are picked up and incarcerated regularly on different charges in India and their families spend their savings and sell their assets and homes to fight the legal battle in order to prove their innocence. According to a May 2019 report of The New Indian Express, "the first three cases that the legal cell took up were the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts, the 2006 Malegaon blasts and the Aurangabad Arms haul case in September 2007." The people accused in these were represented by Shahid Azmi, who later defended Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin, both accused of the 2008 Mumbai Attacks. Azmi was however assassinated on 11 February 2010; and the Institute assisted both of them in the trial court and then in the high court. The high court upheld their acquittal, and both were freed of the conspiracy charges. The Institute defended nine Muslim youth who were accused of the 2006 Malegaon blasts; and all of them were acquitted in 2016.
Other cases where the institute has provided legal aid in defense of the accused include those in the Mulund blast case, the Gateway of India blasts case, and the 13/7 Mumbai triple blasts. The institute's support is not limited to Muslims, as they aided a Hindu man in 2012 who was given a death sentence, and he was later acquitted. In March 2019, aided by the institute, eleven Muslims who had been booked under TADA were acquitted by the Special TADA Court after spending 25 years in jail. In June 2021, two men were cleared of the UAPA charges after they spent nine years in jail, and they were seen thanking Gulzar Azmi of the Legal Cell for aiding them in the long legal battle.
The head of the Legal Cell Institute, Gulzar Azmi, maintains that "We do not have any issues if terrorists are hanged, but what hurts us is when innocent people are falsely booked in terror cases." In a more recent case, the institute has been reported to be helping two people accused of terror activities who have been arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad in July 2021. Arshad Madani was quoted as saying about this case that "the process of using terrorism as a weapon to destroy the lives of Muslim youth continues. Out legal struggle will continue till the honourable release of innocent Muslims."
### Publications division
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind also has a publications division through which it has published books such as Islam mai Imamat awr Imarat ka Tasawwur (The Concept of Leadership and Emirate in Islam), Hindustan aur Masla-e-Imarat (India and the Issue of Emirate) and Islam The Benevolent for all Constructive Programs of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind.
## Administration
Kifayatullah Dehlawi was the first president of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and Hussain Ahmad Madani became the president in 1940. Asad Madni served as the fifth president until February 2006 and was succeeded by his brother Arshad Madani on 8 February 2006. The Jamiat split into Arshad and Mahmood faction in March 2008. Mahmood Madani became the interim president of Mahmood faction on 27 May 2021 after the death of its former president Usman Mansoorpuri, and Arshad Madani serves as the president of the Arshad faction. Mahmood Madani was appointed the president of Mahmood faction on 18 September 2021.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind has a general secretary; the first was Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi and the last general secretary of the united Jamiat was Mahmood Madani, who later on became the first general secretary of its Mahmood faction. The current general secretary of the Mahmood faction is Hakeemuddin Qasmi. In December 2020, Masoom Saqib Qasmi was appointed the general secretary of the Arshad faction.
During 1920, Muhammad Sadiq Karachivi, a co-founder of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, established a state-unit of the Jamait in Karachi, and remained its president throughout his life. The Jamiat now has state units throughout India. These include Jamiat Ulama Assam, Jamiat Ulama Bihar, Jamiat Ulama Jharkhand, Jamiat Ulama Karnataka, Jamiat Ulama Madhya Pradesh, Jamiat Ulama Maharashtra, Jamiat Ulama Odisha, Jamiat Ulama Rajasthan, Jamiat Ulama Uttar Pradesh, Jamiat Ulama Uttarakhand, Jamiat Ulama Telangana, and Jamiat Ulama West Bengal. Islamic scholar and the founder of All India United Democratic Front, Badruddin Ajmal, is the state-president for the Assam unit.
## See also
- All India Muslim Personal Law Board
- Anjuman-i-Ulama-i-Bangala
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Criminal law in the Marshall Court
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[
"Criminal cases in the Marshall Court",
"Marshall Court",
"United States Supreme Court criminal cases by Chief Justice"
] |
The Marshall Court (1801–1835) heard forty-one criminal law cases, slightly more than one per year. Among such cases are United States v. Simms (1803), United States v. More (1805), Ex parte Bollman (1807), United States v. Hudson (1812), Cohens v. Virginia (1821), United States v. Perez (1824), Worcester v. Georgia (1832), and United States v. Wilson (1833).
During Marshall's tenure, the Supreme Court had no general appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases. The Court could review criminal convictions from the state courts, but not the lower federal courts, via writs of error. It only did so twice. The Court could hear original habeas petitions, but disclaimed the authority to grant the writ post-conviction unless the sentence had already been completed. Thus, the majority of the Marshall Court's opinions on criminal law were issued in response to questions certified by divided panels of the circuit courts by a certificate of division.
Most of the Marshall Court's criminal opinions involved defining the elements of federal crimes. Criminal statutes considered by the Court during this period involved assimilative crimes, counterfeiting, embargoes, insurance fraud, piracy, and slave trading. But, the Court twice disclaimed the authority to define common law crimes not proscribed by Congressional statute.
The Marshall Court also issued important opinions regarding criminal procedure. Although the Court did not explicitly cite or quote constitutional provisions, its opinions remain influential in interpreting the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment and venue provision of Article Three. The Court also laid down the common law rules of evidence in federal courts, including the hearsay exception for party admissions and the narrowing of the best evidence rule.
## Background
Under the Articles of Confederation, there were no general federal courts or crimes. Although the Articles authorized a federal court to punish "piracies and felonies committed on the high seas," and the Congress of the Confederation in 1775 created the Court of Appeals in Prize Cases, Congress soon devolved this power to the states. Rather than creating additional crimes, the Congress merely recommended to the states that they criminalize acts like piracy and counterfeiting.
Criminal law was considered in the framing of the Constitution. In addition to the criminal procedure provisions of Article Three, the Constitutional Convention discussed piracy, crimes against the law of nations, treason, and counterfeiting. As Alexander Hamilton noted in Federalist No. 21, a "most palpable defect of the subsisting Confederation, is the total want of a sanction to its laws. The United States, as now composed, have no powers to exact obedience, or punish disobedience to their resolutions . . . ."
One of the first statutes passed by the First Congress, the Judiciary Act of 1789, divided original jurisdiction for the trial of federal crimes between the district courts and the circuit courts. The district courts were given jurisdiction over all federal crimes "where no other punishment than whipping, not exceeding thirty stripes, a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, is to be inflicted." The circuit courts were given concurrent jurisdiction over these crimes, and exclusive jurisdiction over all other federal crimes. The circuit courts also exercised appellate jurisdiction over the district courts, but only in civil cases. In capital cases, the Act provided that "the trial shall be had in the county where the offence, was committed, or where that cannot be done without great inconvenience, twelve petit jurors at least shall be summoned from thence." "No other procedural provisions were included, probably because the legislators were simultaneously considering amendments which would provide such security."
The Act of 1789 also placed the responsibility for prosecuting federal crimes in the United States Attorney for each federal judicial district. The Act provided that "there shall be appointed in each district" a "person learned in the law to act as attorney for the United States in such district, who shall be sworn or affirmed to the faithful execution of his office, whose duty it shall be to prosecute in such district all delinquents for crimes and offences, cognizable under the authority of the United States." The Act authorized judges, justices, justices of the peace, and magistrates to issue arrest warrants. The Act provided a right to bail in non-capital cases, and authorized bail in capital cases—by the district courts, circuit courts, and Supreme Court, or any individual judge of them—issued on an "exercise their discretion therein, regarding the nature and circumstances of the offence, and of the evidence, and the usages of law." The 1789 act did not create federal prisons, but it did provide for the imprisonment of federal prisoners (presumably in state prisons) "at the expense of the United States."
Many of the substantive federal crimes during this period were created by two omnibus pieces of legislation: the Crimes Act of 1790 (authored and introduced by Senator and future Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth) and the Crimes Act of 1825 (authored by Justice Joseph Story and introduced by Representative Daniel Webster). Congress also passed a variety of single-subject criminal statutes, which were not centrally codified in any official publication.
Between 1790 and 1797, only 143 or 147 criminal cases were brought in the circuit courts, and 56 of those cases were brought in the Pennsylvania circuit court concerning the Whiskey Rebellion. And, between 1790 and 1801, only 426 criminal cases were brought in all federal courts (the district courts and the circuit courts combined). Between 1801 and 1828, a total of 2,718 criminal indictments were returned in the circuit courts: 596 resulted in guilty verdicts by juries; 479, not guilty verdicts by juries; 902, nolle prosequi; and 741, other (either no disposition recorded, abated, quashed, discharged, discontinued, or prison break).
Prior to Chief Justice Marshall's tenure, the Supreme Court had heard only two criminal cases—both by prerogative writ. First, in United States v. Hamilton (1795), the Court granted bail to a capital defendant charged with treason—as it was authorized to do by § 33 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 and § 4 of the Judiciary Act of 1793—on an original writ of habeas corpus. The greater portion of the decision was dedicated to the Court's refusal to order the case tried by a special circuit court, as was provided for by § 3 of the Judiciary Act of 1793. Second, in United States v. Lawrence (1795), the Court declined to issue a writ of mandamus to compel a district judge to order the arrest of a deserter of the French navy, as the French government argued to be required by the consular convention between the United States and France.
## Sources of jurisdiction
### Writs of error
The Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized the Supreme Court to hear writs of error from the circuit courts and writs of error from the highest state courts in cases that involved the validity or construction of federal law. Either a judge of the lower court or a justice of the Supreme Court would have to sign the writ of error (which was drafted and signed by counsel) before the Supreme Court could hear the case. Signing the writ of error was not a mere formality, but rather a preliminary assessment of the merits of the arguments in the writ.
#### Circuit courts
Section 22 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized writs of error from the circuit courts only in civil cases. The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801—which created the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia and granted it jurisdiction over crimes committed within the federal district—did not explicitly limit writs of error from the D.C. circuit court to civil cases, except insofar as it required an amount in controversy. Although the Court reached the merits of a criminal writ of error from the D.C. circuit court in United States v. Simms (1803), without any discussion of the jurisdictional issue, in United States v. More (1805), the Court held that it had no such jurisdiction. More held that Congress's piecemeal statutory grants of appellate jurisdiction to the Court operated as an exercise of Congress's power under the Exceptions Clause, eliminating all jurisdiction not explicitly granted.
More also rejected the argument that criminal writs of error were authorized by § 14 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 (the "All Writs Act"). That section provided, in relevant part, that "all the before-mentioned courts of the United States shall have power to issue . . . all other writs, not specially provided for by statute, which may be necessary for the exercise of their respective jurisdictions, and agreeable to the principles and usages of law." Following More, the Court did not hear writs of error from federal criminal trials in the circuit courts for 84 years. In 1889, Congress created a right of appeal by writ of error in capital cases. The Judiciary Act of 1891 (the "Evarts Act") extended this right to serious crimes. And, the Judicial Code of 1911—which abolished the circuit courts and placed original jurisdiction for the trial of all federal crime in the district courts—granted general appellate jurisdiction.
#### State courts
Section 25 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized the Supreme Court to hear writs of error from state courts in cases
> where is drawn in question the vaildity of a treaty or statute of, or at, authority exercised under the United States, and the decision is against their validity; or where is drawn in question the validity of a statute of, or an authority exercised under any State, on the ground of their being repugnant to the constitution, treaties or laws of the United States, and the decision is in favour of such their validity, or where is drawn in question the construction of any clause of the constitution, or of a treaty, or statute of, or commission held under the United States, and the decision is against the title, right, privilege or exemption specially set up or claimed by either party, under such clause of the said Constitution. treaty, statute or commission . . . .
Only twice did the Marshall Court hear criminal cases under § 25. In Cohens v. Virginia (1821), the Court upheld a state lottery law conviction because the federal lottery was authorized only in the District of Columbia. In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), the Court reversed Worcester's conviction for being present in Cherokee country as inconsistent with federal law.
Section 25 was not a more significant source of criminal appeals in large part because—as Barron v. Baltimore (1833) held—the Bill of Rights (including its criminal procedure provisions) was viewed as inapplicable to the state governments. This continued until the incorporation of the Bill of Rights after the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.
### Original habeas
Section 14 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 provided, in relevant part, that
> all the before-mentioned courts of the United States shall have power to issue writs of . . . habeas corpus . . . . And that either of the justices of the supreme court . . . shall have the power to grant writs of habeas corpus for the purpose of an inquiry into the cause of commitment.—Provided, That writs of habeas corpus shall in no case extend to prisoners in gaol, unless where they are in custody, under or by colour of the authority of the United States, or are committed for trial before some court of the same, or are necessary to be brought into court to testify.
The Marshall Court heard six original habeas cases of a criminal nature. All of the cases involved detention in the District of Columbia and prior proceedings in the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. Because the D.C. circuit court did not utilize the practice of riding circuit, certificates of division could not have been granted in these cases. In the first two cases, the Court held that it had jurisdiction to issue the writ in pre-conviction situations. In the next two cases, the Court held that it did not have jurisdiction to issue the writ in post-conviction cases.
Ex parte Burford
In Ex parte Burford (1806), the Court granted the writ of habeas corpus in a case of preventative detention. Eleven justices of the peace of Alexandria County, D.C. had issued a warrant for Burford's arrest on the grounds that he was "not of good name and fame, nor of honest conversation, but an evil doer and disturber of the peace of the United States, so that murder, homicide, strifes, discords, and other grievances and damages, amongst the citizens of the United States, concerning their bodies and property, are likely to arise thereby." The D.C. circuit court initially granted Burford the writ of habeas corpus, but remanded him until he posted \$1,000 bail.
The Court held that the "warrant of commitment was illegal, for want of stating some good cause certain, supported by oath." In his dissent in Bollman, Johnson indicated that he also wished to have dissented in Burford:
> In the case of Burford I was one of the members who constituted the court. I owe it to my own consistency to declare that the court were then apprized of my objections to the issuing of the writ of habeas corpus. I did not then comment at large on the reasons which influenced my opinion, and the cause was this: The gentleman who argued that cause confined himself strictly to those considerations which ought alone to influence the decisions of this court. No popular observations on the necessity of protecting the citizen from executive oppression, no animated address calculated to enlist the passions or prejudices of an audience in defence of his motion, imposed on me the necessity of vindicating my opinion. I submitted in silent deference to the decision of my brethren.
Ex parte Bollman
In Ex parte Bollman (1807), the Court granted the writ to two members of the Burr conspiracy. Dr. Erick Bollman and Samuel Swartwout, having been apprehended in New Orleans, were transported to Charleston and then Baltimore on a navy vessel—notwithstanding the writs of habeas corpus issued by a territorial judge in New Orleans and a district judge in Charlestown. The United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia issued an arrest warrant for Bollman and Swartwout (who were already in military custody), slated the case for trial in D.C., and denied the prisoners bail; Judge William Cranch (also the Supreme Court's reporter of decisions) dissented in part on the ground that there was no probable cause for the arrest warrant as required by the Fourth Amendment. The Senate passed, but the House rejected, legislation that would have suspended the writ for three months and legalized Bollman and Swartwout's arrests. Nearly every member of Congress attended the oral arguments in the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Marshall's two opinions for the Court in Bollman addressed several issues. On February 13, Marshall held that the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to issue the writ under Article Three and § 14. First, he held that the restrictive phrase "necessary for the exercise of their respective jurisdictions" applied only to "all other writs, not specially provided for by statute," not habeas corpus. Next, he held that the proviso applies both to the power of courts and individual justices to issue the writ, and that the scope of the writ was to be determined by reference to common law. Then, he held that original habeas was not preempted by the decision of a lower court to deny bail. Finally, he reaffirmed the holding of Burford that original habeas was a constitutional exercise of appellate jurisdiction.
Justice Johnson dissented. Johnson stated that his dissent was "supported by the opinion of one of my brethren, who is prevented by indisposition from attending." Scholars are divided on whether Johnson referred to Justice Chase or Justice Cushing.
Prof. Freedman has argued that Bollman erred in applying § 14's proviso to both courts and individual judges (as opposed to only individual judges) and thus that the Judiciary Act of 1789 did confer federal courts the power to grant writs of habeas corpus to state prisoners. The Reconstruction-era Congress granted federal courts this power in 1867.
Ex parte Kearney
In Ex parte Kearney (1822), the Court denied the writ to a prisoner who was imprisoned for criminal contempt. In an opinion by Justice Story, the Court's reasoning reached far further:
> [T]his Court has no appellate jurisdiction confided to it in criminal cases, by the laws of the United States. It cannot entertain a writ of error, to revise the judgment of the Circuit Court, in any case where a party has been convicted of a public offence. And undoubtedly the denial of this authority proceeded upon great principles of public policy and convenience. If every party had a right to bring before this Court every case, in which judgment had passed against him, for a crime or misdemeanor or felony, the course of justice might be materially delayed and obstructed, and, in some cases, totally frustrated. If, then, this Court cannot directly revise a judgment of the Circuit Court in a criminal case, what reason is there to suppose, that it was intended to vest it with the authority to do it indirectly?
Story explained:
> The only objection is, not that the Court acted beyond its jurisdiction, but that it erred in its judgment of the law applicable to the case. If, then, we are to give any relief in this case, it is by a revision of the opinion of the Court, given in the course of a criminal trial, and thus asserting a right to control its proceedings, and take from them the conclusive effect which the law intended to give them. If this were an application for a habeas corpus, after judgment on an indictment for an offence within the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court, it could hardly be maintained, that this court could revise such a judgment, or the proceedings which led to it, or set it aside, and discharge the prisoner.
Ex parte Watkins
In Ex parte Watkins (1830), the Court held that the writ did not lie after a federal criminal conviction even if the indictment failed to state an offense. Three years later, with the same petitioner, in Ex parte Watkins (1833), the Court did issue the writ because the petitioner was detained beyond his authorized sentence for non-payment of a fine; although the Court held that such detention would be permissible under the writ of capias pro fine (generally, a writ ordering the imprisonment of a defendant until a criminal fine is paid), it held that it was not under the writ of capias ad satisfaciendum (a civil law analog). After further proceedings in the D.C. circuit court, Tobias Watkins was discharged.
Ex parte Milburn
In Ex parte Milburn (1835), the Court denied an original habeas petition concerning pretrial detention holding that the forfeiture of bail for failure to appear did not satisfy a criminal indictment and that a prior granting of the writ of habeas corpus was no bar to a subsequent arrest warrant.
### Certificates of division
Under the Judiciary Act of 1789, the United States circuit courts were composed of a stationary United States district court judge and any two Supreme Court justices riding circuit. If one judge or justice disagreed with the other two, the majority prevailed. If only one Supreme Court justice could attend (as was authorized by the Judiciary Act of 1793), and a division arose between the district judge and the Supreme Court justice, the practice was to hold the case over until the next term. If a one-to-one division persisted with a different circuit riding justice, the opinion of the previous circuit rider broke the tie. Following a brief intermezzo with the soon-repealed Midnight Judges Act of 1801 (which briefly abolished circuit riding), under the Judiciary Act of 1802, the circuit courts were composed of a stationary district judge and one Supreme Court justice assigned to the circuit. But, a single judge (either the district judge or the circuit rider) could preside alone. In cases where both judges sat, though, one-to-one divisions were less likely to be resolved by continuing the case until the next term because the circuit riding justice would be the same (barring a change in membership on the Court).
Accordingly, § 6 of the Judiciary Act of 1802 provided that the circuit courts could certify questions of law to the Supreme Court if the judges were divided on that question. Several scholars have argued that certificates of division were pro forma, and that the judge and justice would merely agree to disagree, often without writing opposing opinions. For example, with the circuit court decision leading up to United States v. Marchant (1827), the reporter records that "[t]he district judge concurred in this opinion; but as it was a matter of not infrequent occurrence, and important to the practice of the court, the judges afterwards divided in opinion for the purpose of obtaining a solemn decision of the superior court." Similarly, the United States v. Ortega (1826) circuit court opinion notes that the "point was taken to the supreme court upon a proforma certificate of a division of opinion in this court."
Chief Justice Marshall and Justice Story in particular were known for making use of certificates of division while riding circuit. For example, Justice Marshall was one of the divided judges in United States v. Klintock (1820), United States v. Smith (1820), United States v. Amedy (1826), United States v. Turner (1833), and United States v. Mills (1833); and Justice Story played the role in United States v. Coolidge (1816), United States v. Bevans (1818), United States v. Palmer (1818), United States v. Holmes (1820), and Marchant. But, Justice Story—in his opinions for the Court—cautioned against the too frequent use of certificates of division in criminal cases. In United States v. Gooding (1827), for the Court, Justice Story wrote:
> We take this opportunity of expressing our anxiety, least, by too great indulgence to the wishes of counsel, questions of this sort should be frequently brought before this Court, and thus, in effect, an appeal in criminal cases become an ordinary proceeding to the manifest obstruction of public justice, and against the plain intendment of the acts of Congress.
The Judiciary Act of 1802 plainly did contemplate that certificates of division would issue in criminal cases. Section 6 provided that "imprisonment shall not be allowed, nor punishment in any case be inflicted, where judges of the said court are divided in opinion upon the question touching the said imprisonment or punishment." And, while the statute provided only for the certification of "the point upon which the disagreement shall happen," the justices sometimes took the liberty of enlarging the question. For example, in United States v. Hudson (1812), the question certified was "whether the Circuit Court of the United States had a common law jurisdiction in cases of libel?" but the question answered was "whether the Circuit Courts of the United States can exercise a common law jurisdiction in criminal cases?" And, in United States v. Bevans (1818), the Court noted that "[i]t may be deemed within the scope of the question certified to this court" to inquire whether the murder was cognizable under § 3 of the Crimes Act of 1790, even though the defendant had only been indicted under § 8.
But not every question or every case was eligible for a certificate of division. In United States v. Daniel (1821), the Court held that a motion for a new trial—as authorized by the § 17 of the Judiciary Act of 1789—could not be the subject of a certificate of division; rather, the division would operate a rejection of the motion. Similarly, in United States v. Bailey (1835), the Court held that the question of whether the evidence was legally sufficient to support the offense charged could not be certified. And, certificates of division began to fall into disuse as it became increasingly common for the circuit courts to sit with a single judge. As Chief Justice Marshall wrote, he did not have "the privilege of dividing the court when alone."
## Defining federal crimes
### Assimilative crimes
Section 3 of the Crimes Act of 1825 enacted the first federal assimilative crimes statute, criminalizing conduct in violation of state law within areas under federal jurisdiction. Section 3 provided that:
> [I]f any offence shall be committed in any [fort, dock-yard, navy-yard, arsenal, armory, magazine, lighthouse, or other needful building under the jurisdiction of the United States], the punishment of which offence is not specifically provided for by any law of the United States, such offense shall, upon conviction in any court of the United States having cognisance thereof, be liable to, and receive the same punishment as the laws of the state in which such [place aforesaid], is situated, provide for the like offence when committed within the body of any county of such state.
In United States v. Paul (1832)—involving a criminal burglary at West Point, prosecuted via an 1829 New York statute defining burglary in the third degree—the Court held that the assimilative crimes provision was limited to state crimes in force at the time of the federal statute's enactment. The 1866, 1874, 1898, 1909, 1933, 1935, and 1940 re-enactments of the assimilative crimes offense explicitly incorporated this interpretation of Paul.
But, in 1948, Congress amended the Assimilative Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 13, to incorporate changes in state criminal law, as they occur, up until the commission of the charged conduct. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the revision in United States v. Sharpnack (1958). Sharpnack held that: "There is nothing in [Paul] to show that the issue was decided as anything more than one of statutory construction falling within the doctrine calling for the narrow construction of a penal statute. So interpreted, the decision did not reach the issue that is before us."
### Common law crimes
In United States v. Hudson (1812), without oral argument from either the defendants or Attorney General William Pinkney, the Court held that an indictment for a common law crime must be dismissed because all federal crimes (with the exception of contempt of court) must be established by statute. Justice Johnson, for the Court, wrote:
> Although this question is brought up now for the first time to be decided by this Court, we consider it as having been long since settled in public opinion. In no other case for many years has this jurisdiction been asserted, and the general acquiescence of legal men shows the prevalence of opinion in favor of the negative of the proposition.
While riding circuit in Massachusetts, Justice Story—in addition to distinguishing Hudson under admiralty jurisdiction—argued for the overruling of Hudson:
> [Hudson] having been made without argument, and by a majority only of the court, I hope that it is not an improper course to bring the subject again in review for a more solemn decision, as it is not a question of mere ordinary import, but vitally affects the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States; a jurisdiction which they cannot lawfully enlarge or diminish. I shall submit, with the utmost cheerfulness, to the judgment of my brethren, and if I have hazarded a rash opinion, I have the consolation to know, that their superior learning and ability will save the public from an injury by my error.
On the certificate of division, in United States v. Coolidge (1816), three justices—Washington and Livingston in addition to Story—indicated their willingness to depart from Hudson, but since no counsel appeared for Coolidge, and since Attorney General Richard Rush refused to argue the point, Hudson was reaffirmed.
According to Prof. Rowe, "[f]ew major controversies have ended with as slight a whimper as the battle over federal common law crimes that raged in the first two decades of the American republic." Rowe argues that "without acknowledging it, the Hudson Court disapproved at least eight circuit court cases, brushed off the views of all but one Justice who sat on the Court prior to 1804, and departed from what was arguably the original understanding of those who framed the Constitution and penned the Judiciary Act of 1789." Rowe views Hudson as a codification of an issue decided by public opinion, including during the 1800 presidential election: "Hudson set onto tablets the principles that guided the Jeffersonians during their wanderings in the desert."
### Counterfeiting
First Bank
When it created the First Bank of the United States, Congress criminalized counterfeiting the bills of the bank. "Read literally," the statute required both that the bill be counterfeit and that the bill be signed by the President of the Bank of the United States. In United States v. Cantril (1807), without oral argument, the Court arrested a judgment of conviction under the counterfeiting statute, finding the statute invalid "for the reasons assigned in the record" (without further elaboration). By the time Cantril was decided, Congress had already passed a new statute to correct the apparent drafting error.
According to Prof. Whittington, Cantril was the first challenge to a federal statute under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to be considered by the Court. In later cases, the Court has noted the several possible holdings that could have been intended in Cantril.
Second Bank
Congress passed a new counterfeiting statute in 1816 when it created the Second Bank of the United States. In United States v. Turner (1833), interpreting the new act, the Court held that the offense of counterfeiting was committed even if the signatures forged were those of the wrong bank officers. But, in United States v. Brewster (1833), the Court held that the crime applied only to counterfeit bills, not counterfeit notes.
### Embargos
War of 1812
In June 1812, during the War of 1812, Congress passed a statute prohibiting the transportation "over land or otherwise, in any wagon, cart, sleigh, boat, or otherwise, naval or military stores, arms or the munitions of war, or any article of provision, from any place of the United States, to" Canada. In United States v. Barber (1815), the Court held "fat cattle" to be "provisions, or munitions of war, within the true intent and meaning of the act." In United States v. Sheldon (1817), decided after the war had ended, Barber was distinguished on the grounds that driving cattle on foot was not "transportation" within the meaning of the act.
Neutrality Act of 1818
The Neutrality Act of 1818 provided the arming of a vessel with the intention that it be employed against a people at peace with the United States. In United States v. Quincy (1832), the Court decided several questions concerning the interpretation of the Neutrality Act. First, the Court held that the elements of the offense did not require that the vessel be fitted out within the United States, but rather than an intention to fit the vessel out in an intermediary port was sufficient. Second, the Court held that a conditional intention (for example, an intention to so arm the vessel only if sufficient funds could be obtained) was insufficient to satisfy the elements of the offense. Third, the Court held that, if the defendant had a fixed intention to so arm the vessel upon leaving the United States, the frustration of that intention at the intermediate port was irrelevant. Fourth, the Court refused to distinguish between the statutory term of "people" and the concept of a "state."
### False statements
United States v. Bailey (1835) upheld an indictment for false swearing relating to a claim against the United States (as provided for by an 1823 statute) even though the officer administering the oath had been a state justice of the peace. Justice McLean dissented.
### Maritime insurance fraud
An 1804 criminal insurance fraud statute provided:
> [I]f any person shall, on the high seas, wilfully and corruptly cast away, burn, or otherwise destroy, any ship or vessel of which he is owner in part or in whole, or in anywise direct or procure the same to be done, with intent or design to prejudice any person or persons that hath underwritten, or shall underwrite, any policy or policies of insurance thereon or of any merchant or merchants that shall load goods thereon, or of any other owner or owners of such ship or vessel, the person or persons offending therein, being thereof lawfully convicted, shall be deemed and adjudged guilty of felony, and shall suffer death.
In United States v. Amedy (1826), the Court held that the federal criminal insurance fraud statute was no subjected to the same formalities as civil insurance fraud claims. First, the Court held that the state statute of incorporation of the insurance company required no more than the state's seal to be authenticated. Second, there was no need to prove the existence of the insurance company (i.e., that its stock had actually been subscribed) because it was not a party. Nor was it necessary to prove that the policy would have been binding against the insurance company. Nor did it matter whether the policy would have paid out under the circumstances of the fraud. Finally, it was held that an insurance corporation was a person within the meaning of the statute.
### Piracy and the high seas
The piracy cases considered by the Marshall Court arose under two Congressional statutes: the Crimes Act of 1790 and the Act of March 3, 1819. Article One provides that Congress shall have the power "[t]o define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas." Five sections in the Crimes Act "were devoted to the subject," but "[t]he principal provisions with respect to piracy were incorporated in section 8." According to Prof. White, "from 1815 to 1823, piracy cases were among the most numerous and controversial of those decided by the Court."
Crimes Act of 1790, § 8
Section 8 of the Crimes Act of 1790 provided:
> [I]f any person or persons shall commit upon the high seas, or in any river, haven, basin or bay, out of the jurisdiction of any particular state, murder or robbery, or any other offence which if committed within the body of a county, would by thelaws of the United States be punishable with death; or if any captain or mariner of any ship or other vessel, shall piratically and feloniously run away with such ship or vessel, or any goods or merchandise to the value of fifty dollars, or yield up such ship or vessel voluntarily to any pirate; or if any seaman shall lay violent hands upon his commander, thereby to hinder and prevent his fighting in defence of his ship or goods committed to his trust, or shall make a revolt in the ship; every such offender shall be deemed, taken and adjudged to be a pirate and felon, and being thereof convicted, shall suffer death; and the trial of crimes committed on the high seas, or in any place out of the jurisdiction of any particular state, shall be in the district where the offender is apprehended, or into which he may first be brought.
The first two decisions to interpret § 8 construed it not to apply to the crimes charged. In United States v. Bevans (1818), the Court held that the § 8 of the Act did not extend to a murder committed on a navy vessel within state waters. In United States v. Palmer (1818), the Court held that the § 8 of the Act did not extend to piracy by U.S. citizen defendants, in the employ of a South American government at war with Spain, committed against Spanish ships and citizens. President John Quincy Adams was a harsh critic of the decision in Palmer. He wrote in his diary that the Court had "cast away the jurisdiction which a law of congress had given, that its "reasoning [was] a sample of judicial logic—disingenuous, false, and hollow," and that it gave him "an early disgust for the practice of law, and led me to the unalterable determination never to accept judicial office."
Following the Act of 1819, in 1820 the Court began to distinguish Palmer. In United States v. Klintock (1820), the Court distinguished Palmer—in a case involving piracy by a U.S. citizen, claiming to act under the authority of the Mexican Republic, committed against a Danish ship and citizens, under the fraudulent claim that the Danes were Spanish (Spain being at war with the Mexican Republic)—on the grounds that the victims in Palmer were not subjects of a nation recognized by the United States. In United States v. Furlong (1820), sometimes referred to as United States v. Pirates, authored by Justice Johnson (a dissenter in Palmer), the Court distinguished Palmer again, primarily on the ground that the pirate vessel had no nationality (it was an American ship prior to being hijacked). United States v. Holmes (1820) distinguished Palmer on the same ground, further holding that the burden was on the defendant to prove that his vessel flew a lawful flag.
Crimes Act of 1790, § 12
Section 12 of the Act provided:
> [I]f any seaman or other person shall commit manslaughter upon the high seas, or confederate, or attempt or endeavour to corrupt any commander, master, officer or mariner, to yield up or to run away with any ship or vessel, or with any goods, wares, or merchandise, or to turn pirate, or to go over to or confederate with pirates, or in any wise trade with any pirate knowing him to be such, or shall furnish such pirate with any ammunition, stores or provisions of any kind, or shall fit out any vessel knowingly and with a design to trade with or suppJy or correspond with any pirate or robber upon the seas; or if any person or persons shall any ways consult, combine, confederate or correspond with any pirate or robber on the seas, knowing him to be guilty of any such piracy or robbery; or if any seaman shall confine the master of any ship or other vessel, or endeavour to make a revolt in such ship . . . such person or persons so offending, and being thereof convicted, shall be imprisoned not exceeding three years, and fined not exceeding one thousand dollars.
In United States v. Wiltberger (1820), the Court held that § 12 of the Act did not extend to a manslaughter committed "in a river such as the river Tigris" because such was not on the "high seas." (Justice Washington had delivered an unrelated jury charge below.) In United States v. Kelly (1826), the Court interpreted the phrase "endeavour to make a revolt" to refer to "the endeavour of the crew of a vessel, or any one or more of them, to overthrow the legitimate authority of her commander, with intent to remove him from his command, or against his will to take possession of the vessel by assuming the government and navigation of her, or by transferring their obedience from the lawful commander to some other person." Justice Washington, the author of the opinion of the Court, had written a slightly longer opinion below.
Act of March 3, 1819, § 5
In 1819, Congress enacted a new anti-piracy statute: Act to Protect the Commerce of the United States and Punish the Crime of Piracy. Section 5 of that Act provided:
> [I]f any person or persons whatsoever, shall, on the high seas, commit the crime of piracy, as defined by the law of nations, and such offender or offenders shall afterwards be brought into, or found in, the United States, every such offender or offenders shall, upon conviction thereof, before the Circuit Court of the United States for the District into which he or they may be brought, or in which he or they shall be found, be punished with death.
In United States v. Smith (1820), in an opinion by Justice Story, the Court upheld a conviction under the 1819 statute, holding that Congress could leave the definition of piracy to the law of nations. After reviewing the history of foreign (primarily English) law, Justice Story declared: "We have, therefore, no hesitation in declaring, that piracy, by the law of nations, is robbery upon the sea, and that it is sufficiently and constitutionally defined by the fifth section of the act of 1819." In a rare dissent, Justice Livingston argued that Article One, Section Eight, Clause Ten obliged Congress to define piracy with more specificity. The facts in Smith were almost identical to those which Palmer had held could not be reached under the Crimes Act of 1790: a U.S. citizen pirate, commissioned by a government in Buenos Aires, had led a mutiny, seized a new ship, and then robbed a Spanish ship.
Section 5 of the 1819 act was set to sunset at the end of the next session of Congress. Before that time, Congress made the provision permanent in an 1820 omnibus piracy bill that also defined additional offenses. Section 8 of the Crimes Act of 1790, § 5 of the 1819 act, and § 3 of the 1820 act were all separately codified in the Revised Statutes in 1874. Section 8 of the Crimes Act of 1790 was repealed by the Criminal Code of 1909.
### Slave trading
The Slave Trade Act of 1818 prohibited the importation of slaves into the United States. The "fitting out" offense provided that:
> [N]o citizen or citizens of the United States, or any other person or persons, shall, after the passing of this act, as aforesaid, for himself, themselves, or any other person or persons whatsoever, either as master, factor, or owner, build, fit, equip, load, or otherwise prepare, any ship or vessel, in any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States, nor cause any such ship or vessel to sail from any port or place whatscever, within the jurisdiction of the same, for the purpose of procuring any negro, mulatto, or person of colour, from any foreign kingdom, place, or country, to be transported to any port or place whatsoever, to be held, sold, or otherwise disposed of, as slaves, or to be held to service or labour; and if any ship or vessel shall be so built, fitted out, equipped, laden, or otherwise prepared, for the purpose aforesaid, every such ship or vessel, her tackle, apparel, furniture, and lading, shall be forfeited, one moiety to the use of the United Slates, and the other to the use of the person, or persons who shall sue for said forfeiture, and prosecute the same to effect; and such ship or vessel shall be liable to be seized, prosecuted, and condemned, in any court of the United States having competent jurisdiction.
and that:
> [E]very person or persons so building, fitting out, equipping, loading, or otherwise preparing, or sending away, or causing any of the acts aforesaid to be done, with intent to employ such ship or vessel in such trade or business, after the passing of this act, contrary to the true intent and meaning thereof or who shall, in any wise, be aiding or abetting therein, shall, severally, on conviction thereof, by due course of law, forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding five thousand dollars, nor less than one thousand dollars, one moiety to the use of the United States, and the other to the use of the person or persons who shall sue for such forfeiture and prosecute the same to effect, and shall moreover be imprisoned for a term not exceeding seven years, nor less than three years.
In United States v. Gooding (1827), the Court construed the elements of the fitting out offense. First, the Court held that the offense of fitting out a vessel for slave trading could be committed even if the owner of the vessel did not personally fit it out. Second, the Court held that the statute could be violated by a partial fitting out (as opposed to a complete fitting out) of a vessel for that purpose. Third, the Court held that—since slave trading was a misdemeanor—there was no distinction between principal and accessory. Fourth, the Court held that, for the statute to be violated, the fitting out must have occurred within the United States. Finally, the Court held that the statute's mens rea required that the owner intend to cause the vessel to be used for slave trading, as opposed to intending that the vessel be used for slave trading (by some third party).
### Treason
Article Three, Section Three, Clause One of the Constitution provides that:
> Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
Section 1 of the Crimes Act of 1790 provided that
> if any person or persons, owing allegiance to the United States of America, shall levy war against them, or shall adhere to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, and shall be thereof convicted, on confession in open court, or on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act of treason whereof he or they shall stand indicted, such person or persons shall be adjudged guilty of treason against the United States, and shall suffer death.
In Ex parte Bollman (1807), the Court held that conspiracy to wage war on the United States was not treason. Further, Bollman held that the evidence against both Bollman and Swartwout was insufficient to justify pre-trial detention.
## Criminal procedure
### Constitutional issues
Venue
While Ex parte Bollman (1807) is more famous for its holding that the Burr conspirators had not committed treason, the Court could not have ordered the release of the prisoners without also addressing the Neutrality Act of 1794, under which the conspirators were also charged. With regard to these charges, the Court conceded, "those who admit the affidavit of General Wilkinson cannot doubt."
But, Bollman held that venue for the Neutrality Act charges was improper in the District of Columbia. First, the Court rejected locus delicti venue (without reaching the question of whether such could exist outside of a U.S. state). "[T]hat no part of this crime was committed in the district of Columbia is apparent. It is therefore the unanimous opinion of the court that they cannot be tried in this district." Second, the Court rejected statutory venue under section 8 the Crimes Act of 1790 (as permitted by Article Three for crimes not committed within a state). The Court held that the Territory of Orleans was not a place that triggered the alternative venue provisions of the Crimes Act. The Court held that the statutory term "any place out of the jurisdiction of any particular state" applied only to "any river, haven, bason or bay, not within the jurisdiction of any particular state," and only in "those cases there is no court which has particular cognizance of the crime."
Double jeopardy
In three opinions, the Marshall Court considered questions of double jeopardy, without ever clearly referring to the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment. First, in United States v. Perez (1824), the Court held that there was no bar to a second prosecution after a mistrial was declared for "manifest necessity." (Justice Story authored the opinion of the Court, espousing the position taken by Justice Thompson below.) Next, in United States v. Wilson (1833), the Court held that the protection of prior jeopardy extended to lesser included offenses; "[a]fter the judgment [of conviction], no subsequent prosecution could be maintained for the same offence, nor for any part of it." But, Wilson held that, in order to receive the protection of a pardon, a defendant must accept the pardon and affirmatively plead its existence in court. And, finally, in United States v. Randenbush (1834)—where the defendant had first been acquitted of counterfeiting one note, and then convicted of counterfeiting a different note (which had been introduced as evidence at the first trial)—the Court held that double jeopardy did not run from the use of the same evidence for "entirely a distinct offence."
Original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
In United States v. Ortega (1826), the Court held that it was not unconstitutional to vest original jurisdiction for the criminal trial of assaults on ambassadors in the circuit courts. The Court did not reach the question of whether the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court could be made concurrent with a lower court, instead holding that the criminal trial of an assault on an ambassador was not a "Case[] affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls" within the meaning of Article Three. Justice Washington, the author of the Court's opinion, had also delivered the jury charge below.
Two Supreme Court justices had previously disagreed on this question while riding circuit. In United States v. Ravara (C.C.D. Pa. 1793), an indictment for sending anonymous and threatening letters to a foreign minister with a view to extort money, Justice James Wilson argued that the circuit court could be given concurrent jurisdiction; Justice James Iredell argued that it could not; Judge Richard Peters, of the District of Pennsylvania, sided with Wilson, and the case continued.
### Evidence
Burden of proof
In United States v. Gooding (1827), the Court held that the government must bear the burden of proof in criminal cases "unless a different provision is made by some statute."
Hearsay
Also in Gooding, the Court approved of a hearsay exception for the statement of an agent of the defendant, holding that the doctrine should be the same in civil and criminal cases.
Best evidence
In United States v. Reyburn (1832), the Court again held that civil rules of evidence should be applied in criminal cases, recognizing an exception to the best evidence rule where "non production of the written instrument is satisfactorily accounted for."
### Other
Facts found by a jury
In United States v. Tyler (1812), without oral argument, the Court held that an error in a verdict sheet—referring to the goods in violation of the embargo as "pot-ashes" rather than "pearl-ashes"—was harmless because the jury need not find the value to be forfeited.
Sufficiency of an indictment
In United States v. Gooding (1827), the Court held that, in general, it is sufficient for a criminal indictment to merely repeat the text of the statute. Further, the Court held that—"under circumstances of an extraordinary nature," "on very urgent occasions"—a challenge to the sufficiency of an indictment could be made post-conviction. In United States v. Mills (1833), the Court again embraced the general rule that a sufficient indictment need only follow the terms of the statute.
Separate trials of co-defendants
In United States v. Marchant (1827), the Court held that—even though a trial court has the discretion to sever the trials of co-defendants—a defendant has no right to insist upon being tried alone. The Court recounted the history of criminal severance in English law, and concluded that the practice merely arose to prevent co-defendants from each using their peremptory challenges to deplete the venire such that too few jurors remained for trial. Justice Story was the author of the opinion of the Court, as well as a substantially similar opinion in the Massachusetts circuit court below.
Nol pros
In United States v. Phillips (1832), the Court dismissed a criminal action, on the motion of the Attorney General, pursuant to the district prosecutor's filing of a nolle prosequi motion (a motion by the prosecutor to dismiss the case) in the trial court, even though the nolle prosequi motion was filed after the writ of error issued from the Supreme Court. Phillips has been cited as an early example of judicial recognition of the norm of prosecutorial enforcement discretion and as an example of mootness (although the Phillips Court did not use that term). The underlying case had involved the prosecution of Zalegman Phillips, a prominent Philadelphia attorney, for interfering with diplomatic immunity, as protected by the Crimes Act of 1790, by filing a lawsuit against a former diplomat. The question certified was whether the provision extended to former diplomats.
|
41,401,887 |
Ishaq ibn Kundaj
| 1,171,433,376 |
Abbasid Commander and Governor of Jazira
|
[
"891 deaths",
"9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate",
"Abbasid governors of Mosul",
"Generals of the Abbasid Caliphate",
"Year of birth unknown"
] |
Ishaq ibn Kundaj (Arabic: إسحاق بن كنداج) or Kundajiq, was a Turkic military leader who played a prominent role in the turbulent politics of the Abbasid Caliphate in the late 9th century. Initially active in lower Iraq in the early 870s, he came to be appointed governor of Mosul in the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia, in modern northern Iraq) in 879/80. He ruled Mosul and much of the Jazira almost continuously until his death in 891, despite becoming involved in constant quarrels with local chieftains, as well as in the Abbasid government's rivalry with the Tulunids of Egypt. On his death he was succeeded by his son, Muhammad, but in 892 the Abbasid government under Caliph al-Mu'tadid re-asserted its authority in the region, and Muhammad went to serve in the caliphal court.
## Life
Ishaq ibn Kundaj is first mentioned in the histories of al-Tabari and Ibn al-Athir in 873, during the Abbasid campaigns to suppress the Zanj Rebellion. He was tasked with holding Basra against the Zanj rebels, and cutting off supplies to them. In 878/9, along with other senior Turkic generals (Musa ibn Utamish, al-Fadl ibn Musa ibn Bugha, Yanghajur ibn Urkhuz) he secured from the regent al-Muwaffaq, the Caliphate's de facto ruler, the recognition of their power and status as the main military leaders of the Caliphate.
### Seizure of Mosul
With the power he had acquired, he turned his gaze in 879 on Mosul in the Jazira (in what is now northern Iraq), an area plagued by rivalries among the Arab tribal chiefs—primarily the various Taghlibi leaders, who succeeded one another as rulers of Mosul—and an ongoing Kharijite rebellion. Ibn Kundaj succeeded in defeating the ruler of Mosul, Ali ibn Dawud, and taking the city. To the local Arab tribes of Taghlib and Bakr, who had been accustomed to wide autonomy from the central government during the "Anarchy at Samarra", the appearance of Ibn Kundaj and his occupation of Mosul represented an unacceptable intrusion. Ibn Kundaj defeated one of them, Ishaq ibn Ayyub, and seized the latter's stronghold of Nisibis, but Ibn Ayyub appealed for aid to the Shaybanid Isa ibn al-Shaykh of Amid and Abu'l-Maghra ibn Musa ibn Zurara of Arzen. The coalition prepared to strike against Ibn Kundaj, but the arrival of emissaries from Baghdad confirming him as governor over Mosul, Diyar Rabi'a and Armenia forced them to back down and agree to pay a tribute of 200,000 gold dinars.
The coalition was soon reformed, however, consisting of Ishaq ibn Ayyub, Isa ibn al-Shayh, Abu al-Maghra, Hamdan ibn Hamdun "and the tribes of Rabi'ah, Taghlib, Bakr and Yaman that were connected with them", according to al-Tabari. Ishaq scored a decisive victory over them in April/May 881, pursuing their remnants to Nisibis and Amid. Many of the defeated leaders, including Hamdan ibn Hamdun, who continued to oppose him, now went over the Kharijite rebels.
### Arrest of Caliph al-Mu'tamid
In 882, the Caliph al-Mu'tamid tried to escape the control of his brother al-Muwaffaq and made contact with Ahmad ibn Tulun, the powerful Turkic general who controlled Egypt, Syria and parts of the southeastern Jazira as well. Although nominally recognizing Abbasid suzerainty, Ibn Tulun was an autonomous ruler, and a rival to al-Muwaffaq. Trusting in Ibn Tulun's pledge of assistance, the Caliph, accompanied by a few trusted aides, left the capital Samarra and went to the Jazira, hoping from there to cross over into Tulunid territory. Ibn Kundaj, who had already received letters from al-Muwaffaq ordering the arrest of the Caliph and his followers, at first presented himself as sympathizing with the Caliph's plight and willing to aid them, but at an opportune moment seized the caliph and his attendants, throwing the latter in chains. After reproaching the Caliph for abandoning his brother who was struggling to save the dynasty and the empire, he sent the caliphal party back to Samarra. Ibn Kundaj was greatly rewarded for this: not only were the estates of the Caliph's companions confiscated and granted to him, but four days after delivering his prisoners to Samarra, on 22 January 883, he was given robes of honour and two ceremonial swords, receiving the title of Dhu al-Sayfayn ("He of the Two Swords"), followed later by more rich gifts and lunches with the grandees of the Abbasid court. At the insistence of al-Muwaffaq, the powerless Caliph was now forced to order the name of Ibn Tulun publicly cursed from the mosques, with all the offices of the latter conferred on Ibn Kundaj. This meant little in practice, as neither the Abbasid government nor Ibn Kundaj possessed the force to wrest Ibn Tulun's territories from him, but, along with his appointment to command the Caliph's private guard (shurtat al-khassa), it made Ibn Kundaj nominally one of the most powerful men of the Caliphate.
### Wars with the Tulunids and Ibn Abu'l-Saj
Ibn Tulun's death in 884 seemed to present an opportunity to capture some of his territories in Syria from his inexperienced son and heir, Khumarawayh. Ibn Kundaj allied himself with the Abbasid general Ibn Abu'l-Saj, and received authorization and some troops from al-Muwaffaq. Ibn Kundaj clashed with the Tulunid governor of Raqqa in April 884, and soon after, the Tulunid governor of Damascus defected, bringing with him Antioch, Aleppo and Hims. Khumarawayh responded by sending troops to Syria, who soon succeeded in recovering the lost cities, before both sides settled into winter quarters. In the spring, al-Muwaffaq's son, Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad (the future Caliph al-Mu'tadid), arrived to take control. Ahmad and Ibn Kundaj defeated the Tulunids, who were driven back to Palestine, but Ahmad quarrelled with Ibn Kundaj and Ibn Abu'l-Saj, who departed with their troops, and at the Battle of the Mills on 6 April Khumarawayh's general Sa'd al-Aysar routed the Abbasid army. This signalled the end of the alliance between Ibn Kundaj and Ibn Abu'l-Saj: the latter now turned to Khumarawayh, and persuaded him to invade the Jazira. With Egyptian aid, Ibn Abu'l-Saj crossed the Euphrates, defeated Ibn Kundaj's forces in a number of battles in 886–887, and forced him to recognize Tulunid control. The entire Jazira now became a Tulunid province, a fact recognized by the Abbasid government in a treaty in the December 886 that confirmed Khumarawayh in his old and new possessions.
Ibn Kundaj remained as governor of Mosul under Tulunid authority. In 887/8 he tried to rebel but was defeated. Although he re-acknowledged Tulunid suzerainty, he was now stripped of Mosul in favour of Ibn Abu'l-Saj. Ibn Kundaj now concentrated his attentions on defeating his rival, and soon managed to secure the favour and support of Khumarawayh: in 888–889, it was Ibn Kundaj who, at the head of a Tulunid army, defeated and ousted Ibn Abu'l-Saj, who fled to al-Muwaffaq. Ibn Kundaj now returned to his old post at Mosul, which he kept until his death in 891. He was succeeded by his son, Muhammad. The latter soon lost Mosul and the rest of his domains in the Jazira to the resurgent Abbasids under al-Mu'tadid. After a brief stay in the Tulunid court, he entered Abbasid service and rose to become a distinguished general in the caliphal army.
|
40,521,574 |
Raemer Schreiber
| 1,120,773,619 |
American nuclear physicist (1910–1998)
|
[
"1910 births",
"1998 deaths",
"20th-century American physicists",
"Fellows of the American Physical Society",
"Linfield University alumni",
"Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel",
"Manhattan Project people",
"People from Española, New Mexico",
"People from McMinnville, Oregon",
"Purdue University alumni",
"University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences alumni"
] |
Raemer Edgar Schreiber (November 11, 1910 – December 24, 1998) was an American physicist from McMinnville, Oregon who served Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II, participating in the development of the atomic bomb. He saw the first one detonated in the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945, and prepared the Fat Man bomb that was used in the bombing of Nagasaki. After the war, he served at Los Alamos as a group leader, and was involved in the design of the hydrogen bomb. In 1955, he became the head of its Nuclear Rocket Propulsion (N) Division, which developed the first nuclear-powered rockets. He served as deputy director of the laboratory from 1972 until his retirement in 1974.
## Early life
Raemer Edgar Schreiber was born in McMinnville, Oregon on November 11, 1910, the son of Bertha (née Raemer) and Michael Schreiber. He was educated at Masonville Grade School and McMinnville High School. In 1927 he entered Linfield College in McMinnville, where he majored in physics and mathematics, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1931. He then earned his Master of Arts degree from the University of Oregon in 1932. He married Marguerite Elizabeth Doak, a Linfield College French major in 1933. They had two daughters, Paula and Sara.
Schreiber was a graduate assistant at Oregon State College from 1932 to 1935, when he became an instructor at Purdue University. He was awarded his Ph.D. from Purdue in 1941, writing a thesis on an "Investigation of Nuclear Reactions and Scattering Produced by Neutrons". For his thesis, he constructed a neutron generator, and originally intended to discuss the possibilities of studying neutron diffraction in crystals, but this really only became possible with the development of nuclear reactors that produced large quantities of high energy neutrons. After the discovery of nuclear fission in 1939, he became interested in the phenomenon, and re-oriented his thesis to the study of neutrons emitted by fission.
## Manhattan Project
From 1942 to 1943, Schreiber was a researcher with the Purdue Research Foundation. He participated in early work for the Manhattan Project there using the university's cyclotron. In 1943, he joined the Los Alamos Laboratory, and moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico with his wife and 16-month-old daughter. At Los Alamos, he worked on the Water Boiler, an aqueous homogeneous reactor. The Water Boiler group was headed by Donald W. Kerst from the University of Illinois, and consisted mainly of people from Purdue who had been working on calculations for Edward Teller's thermonuclear "Super" bomb. The group designed and built the Water Boiler, which commenced operation in May 1944. It was intended as a laboratory instrument to test critical mass calculations and the effect of various tamper materials. It was the first reactor to use enriched uranium as a fuel, and the first to use liquid fuel in the form of soluble uranium sulfate dissolved in water.
Schreiber worked on improved reactor designs until April 1945, when he was transferred to Robert Bacher's Gadget (G) Division as a member of the pit assembly team for the Trinity nuclear test. He observed the explosion from the Base Camp on July 16. Nine days later, Lieutenant Colonel Peer de Silva, the official courier, and Schreiber collected another plutonium pit, which Schreiber carried in a magnesium case. They took it to Kirtland Army Air Field, where they boarded a C-54 transport plane on July 26. Two days later, they arrived on the Pacific island of Tinian, where Schreiber helped assemble the Fat Man bomb that was used in the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9. Comparing it with the firebombing of Tokyo by B-29 bombers that killed 100,000 people in one night in March 1945, Schreiber noted that:
> Just the fact you could do the same thing with one airplane and one bomb proved the efficiency, but it didn’t change the effect very much. But the firebombing, the saturation bombing of the B-29s, was not bringing Japan to its knees, and the shock effect of one airplane being able to wipe out a city, I think, is what finally convinced the Japanese military they had to give up.
## Later career
After the war, Schreiber remained at Los Alamos, where he became a group leader in the Weapon (W) Division. His first assignment was to ready bombs for the Operation Crossroads nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. During the preparations, he witnessed the accident in which Louis Slotin was exposed to a fatal dose of neutron radiation when a screwdriver Slotin was using during a criticality experiment with one of the plutonium pits for Operation Crossroads slipped and the core went critical. Slotin would die from radiation poisoning nine days later but his quick reaction saved the lives of Schreiber and the others in the room. Schreiber became an exponent of remote handling of dangerous substances, and designed remote-control machines to perform such experiments with all personnel at a quarter-mile distance.
He went on to lead the pit teams on Bikini Atoll in June and July 1946.
Schreiber became the associate leader of W Division in 1947, and then the head of the division in 1951. During this time, W Division worked on the development of the hydrogen bomb. He was once again in charge of the pit crew for the Ivy Mike nuclear test on Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific, the first test of a thermonuclear device. Even the veteran Schreiber was impressed by the 10-megaton-of-TNT (42 PJ) explosion. "It really filled up the sky," he recalled, "It was awesome. It just went on and on."
In 1955, Schreiber became the head of the Nuclear Rocket Propulsion (N) Division, which was responsible for Project Rover and NERVA. N Division developed nuclear rocket engines required for deep space exploration. He oversaw the first successful test of a nuclear rocket engine in 1959, In this capacity, he greeted President John F. Kennedy during the president's visit to Los Alamos in 1962. That year, he became Technical Associate Director, with responsibility for the entire nuclear rocket propulsion program. He became Deputy Director of Los Alamos in 1972, and served as a member of the United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and NASA's Advisory Committee on Nuclear Systems.
## Retirement
Schreiber retired in 1974, but remained as a consultant until 1995. He served as a member of the Laboratory's History Advisory Council in the late 1980s, and assisted in the publication of Critical Assembly: A Technical History of Los Alamos during the Oppenheimer Years, 1943-1945 (1993). He also helped the Human Studies Project Team by reviewing its history of medical studies at the Laboratory.
Schreiber and Marguerite bought a property at Pajarito Village in the Española Valley in the late 1940s, where they built an adobe home on the weekends. They lived there from 1955 until 1972, when they returned to Los Alamos. He died at his home there on December 24, 1998. He was survived by his wife Marguerite, daughters Paula and Sara, and his sister Anna. The Laboratory's Advanced Nuclear Technology Group (NIS-6) named its conference room the Raemer E. Schreiber Room in his honor.
|
73,306,458 |
All of the Girls You Loved Before
| 1,172,782,979 |
2023 song by Taylor Swift
|
[
"2023 songs",
"American synth-pop songs",
"Song recordings produced by Frank Dukes",
"Song recordings produced by Louis Bell",
"Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift",
"Songs written by Frank Dukes",
"Songs written by Louis Bell",
"Songs written by Taylor Swift",
"Taylor Swift songs"
] |
"All of the Girls You Loved Before" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is an outtake from her seventh studio album, Lover (2019). After its demo version was leaked online and went viral on TikTok, "All of the Girls You Loved Before" was surprise-released on March 17, 2023, ahead of Swift's sixth concert tour, the Eras Tour. Swift wrote and produced the song with Frank Dukes and Louis Bell.
A synth-pop love song, "All of the Girls You Loved Before" has lyrics about a narrator's gratitude to the women in her boyfriend's life, including his former girlfriends, for shaping his experiences which led him to her. Music critics complimented the song for its affectionate lyrics and dreamy production. The track charted within the top 25 in several countries and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Global 200.
## Background and release
Taylor Swift released her seventh studio album, Lover, on August 23, 2019. The album received positive critical reviews and was the global best-selling album by a solo artist of 2019. Swift planned to embark on a concert tour to support Lover in summer 2020 but canceled the plan due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the lockdowns in 2020, she released the indie folk albums Folklore and Evermore. After that, she released two re-recorded albums, Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version), in 2021, and another studio album, Midnights, in 2022.
To support Midnights and all of her discography up until that point, Swift embarked on her sixth headlining concert tour and her first in five years, the Eras Tour, on March 18, 2023. A day prior to the tour's kickoff, she released four songs: three re-recordings of previously-released songs ("Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)", "Safe & Sound (Taylor's Version)", and "If This Was a Movie (Taylor's Version)") and a previously-unreleased track ("All of the Girls You Loved Before"). "All of the Girls You Loved Before" is a song Swift had written and intended to include on Lover but did not make the final tracklist. Prior to the song's release, a demo titled "All of the Girls" was leaked online and went viral on TikTok in February 2023. "All of the Girls You Loved Before" was also included on The More Lover Chapter, a streaming-exclusive compilation that also includes select Lover tracks. On July 29, Swift performed the track as a "surprise song" at the Eras Tour show in Santa Clara, California.
## Composition
"All of the Girls You Loved Before" was written and produced by Swift, Frank Dukes, and Louis Bell. Dukes is credited under his birthname, Adam King Feeney, as writer. Musicians who played instruments on the track include Dukes (keyboard and guitar) and Matthew Tavares (guitar). Bell and Dukes programmed the song, which was mixed by Serban Ghenea and mastered by Randy Merrill.
"All of the Girls You Loved Before" is a synth-pop song that incorporates a doo-wop progression and soft synths, which bring forth a soundscape that critics described as "dreamy" and "ethereal". The track is a love song and media publications interpreted it as a message to her then-boyfriend, English actor Joe Alwyn, although Swift did not confirm the inspiration. In the lyrics, a female narrator reflects on her past loves before meeting her current lover ("Crying in the bathroom for some dude whose name I cannot remember now"); some critics interpreted this lyric as a reference to the events described in Swift's 2021 song "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)". She discusses her romantic partner's past love life and expresses gratitude to his ex-girlfriends for making him the righteous man he is now. In the bridge, she appreciates his mother ("Your mother brought you up loyal and kind") and all the women in his life and promises to love him forever.
## Reception
In The New York Times, critic Jon Pareles described the track's lyrics as "Swift at her most forgiving". Jake Viswanath of Bustle opined that "All of the Girls You Loved Before" would have "fit perfectly" on Lover and lauded it as a "spellbound yet self-assured" love song. The Straits Times described it as a catchy tune that has all of the characteristics of a "Swift bop": a memorable, catchy melody and lyrical storytelling. The Independent's Annabel Nugent complimented the production as "dreamy and ethereal pop gold" and the lyrics as "breezy", and The Times' Will Hodgkinson picked the track as an example of "what Taylor Swift does best: to feel things deeply, then present those feelings in a way that anyone, whatever their situation, can relate to". Writing for the Philippine newspaper The Freeman, Januar Junior Aguja lauded the song as both refreshing and familiar, and he wrote that it could have been included as a bonus track on Lover.
"All of the Girls You Loved Before" debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Global 200 and was Swift's 14th top-10 entry on the chart, a record among women. In the United States, the song opened at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It extended three of Swift's all-time records: the song marked the 189th Hot 100 entry of her career (the most among women), her 80th top-10 entry on the Digital Songs chart (the most for any act), and her first new Hot 100 entry in 2023 (Swift holds the longest streak on the Hot 100 as the first artist with an uninterrupted 18-year run on the chart, having charted a song every year since her debut with "Tim McGraw" in 2006). Elsewhere, "All of the Girls You Loved Before" debuted on the charts of several countries: it peaked within the top 25 in the Philippines (6), Ireland (9), the United Kingdom (11), Canada (12), New Zealand (13), Singapore (13), Australia (15), Malaysia (17), and Hungary (22).
## Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal
- Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter, producer
- Louis Bell – producer, songwriter, recording engineer, programming
- Frank Dukes – producer, songwriter, programming, keyboards, guitar
- Matthew Tavares – guitar
- Serban Ghenea – mixer
- Bryce Bordone – mix engineer
- Randy Merrill – mastering
## Charts
|
22,719,621 |
Bacon: A Love Story
| 1,100,667,239 |
Book by Heather Lauer
|
[
"2009 non-fiction books",
"Books about bacon",
"Cookbooks"
] |
Bacon: A Love Story, A Salty Survey of Everybody's Favorite Meat is a 2009 non-fiction book about bacon, written by American writer Heather Lauer. It describes curing and cooking bacon, gives over 20 bacon recipes, and analyzes the impact of bacon on popular culture. The text is interspersed with facts about bacon and bacon-related quips from comedian Jim Gaffigan.
## Background
Before the book's publication, Heather Lauer was a public affairs consultant in Arizona. She got the idea to write a book about bacon after going out for cocktails with her two brothers in 2005. Lauer explained to The Arizona Republic: "I was out drinking with my brothers one night, and the topic of bacon came up. We had eaten bacon as kids, and bacon was a special thing on Sunday mornings. Somehow, the idea came up about how funny it would be to start a blog about bacon ... I took it and ran with it." She began the blog Bacon Unwrapped, at www.baconunwrapped.com, and a social networking site about bacon at baconnation.ning.com in 2005. She began the blog as a joke, but said, "I started to realize there is something about bacon that gets people incredibly excited, and that was fascinating to me." She completed a cross-country bacon tour of America.
Lauer thought that the surge in interest in bacon products prior to the book's publication was "media driven". She noted that a response to political correctness as related to cooking and food consumption may have driven interest in the product. Lauer said that bacon seems to be "the one thing that people are unwilling to give up". In a post of her blog in March 2009, Lauer lamented those that were willing to posit an end to the trend of interest in bacon. She commented, "Bacon is something that everybody is familiar with and most people grew up eating. It has a comfort aspect to it and a familiarity. It's also got an addictive aspect to it — that sweet and salty combination of flavors." She asserted that interest in the product is as much due to the culture surrounding it as to bacon itself. "Current food trends focus on eating real and eating local, and there's nothing more real than a delicious strip of bacon. In many U.S. cities, local producers and chefs are making a name for themselves because of bacon," said Lauer. She stated that "most chefs would admit that bacon has long been one of their secret weapons in the kitchen."
## Book
Bacon: A Love Story contains information on cooking and curing bacon, including "time-honored methods and traditions". The book analyzes how bacon has affected popular culture. Lauer includes information on chefs who love bacon and venues that serve the product throughout the United States. The book contains over 20 recipes for dishes made with bacon, including Bacon Bloody Mary, Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tots, Bacon Bleu Salad, and bacon brownies. Another recipe is Bristol Bacon by chef Duncan Bristol, who owns the restaurant Brick 29 in Nampa, Idaho. Interspersed throughout the book are bits about bacon from comedian Jim Gaffigan, and random information such as that "Cracker Barrel serves 124 million slices of bacon per year". Lauer notes, "Speck is the direct German translation of the word 'bacon'", and observes that the word "creates cross-cultural confusion". The book's "Bacon 411" section provides further information on the product.
Bacon: A Love Story features a tour of country-style bacon outfits, profiles bacon-loving chefs, includes a "Bacon 411" resource section, has cooking tips and has 20 bacon recipes.
The book was marketed as the "most comprehensive book about bacon to date". Lauer promoted her book in a September 2009 appearance as a co-host at the Blue Ribbon Bacon Tour in Pennsylvania, hosted by fellow bacon blogger Jason Mosley (Mr. Baconpants, at mrbaconpants.com).
## Reception
Writing for The Sacramento Bee, Allen Pierleoni recommended the book as a gift for Father's Day, and called the work "entertaining and informational, full of anecdotes, history, recipes and explanations of what pork belly has brought to the popular culture". Rita Zekas of the Toronto Star also recommended the book as a Father's Day gift.
Kerry J. Byrne noted that the book covers "everything from bacon-curing methods to bacon blogs" and includes "easy recipes". Rachel Forrest of The Portsmouth Herald recommended the book in her "Annual Summer Reading List for Foodies". "Another of my favorites this year is 'Bacon: A Love Story: A Salty Survey of Everybody's Favorite Meat' by Heather Lauer. A book all about bacon... she profiles chefs that use it, odd finds across the nation and plenty of recipes," commented Forrest. The Arizona Republic highlighted the book among its selection of "Books to help turn pages of summer".
Publishers Weekly reviewed called the book a "voluminous look at all things bacon"; the review concluded, "Readers who, like Lauer, possess a borderline-obsessive love for bacon are likely to embrace this as their new Bible, but anyone else will quickly get their fill."
## See also
- Bacon mania
- Joanna Pruess
- List of books about bacon
- National Pig Day
|
1,139,187 |
Hurricane Faith
| 1,167,118,760 |
Category 3 Atlantic hurricane in 1966
|
[
"1966 Atlantic hurricane season",
"1966 in Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla",
"Cape Verde hurricanes",
"Category 3 Atlantic hurricanes",
"History of British Antigua and Barbuda",
"Hurricanes in Anguilla",
"Hurricanes in Antigua and Barbuda",
"Hurricanes in Bermuda",
"Hurricanes in Europe",
"Hurricanes in Puerto Rico",
"Hurricanes in Saba (island)",
"Hurricanes in Saint Barthélemy",
"Hurricanes in Saint Kitts and Nevis",
"Hurricanes in Saint Martin (island)",
"Hurricanes in the British Virgin Islands",
"Hurricanes in the Leeward Islands",
"Hurricanes in the Turks and Caicos Islands",
"Hurricanes in the United States Virgin Islands"
] |
Hurricane Faith was a long-lived Cape Verde hurricane and was the sixth named storm and fifth hurricane of the 1966 Atlantic hurricane season. Faith developed from an area of disturbed weather between Cape Verde and the west coast of Africa on August 21. Tracking westward, the depression gradually intensified and became Tropical Storm Faith on the following day. Moving westward across the Atlantic Ocean, it continued to slowly strengthen, reaching hurricane status early on August 23. About 42 hours later, Faith reached an initial peak with winds of 105 mph (169 km/h), before weakening slightly on August 26. Located near the Lesser Antilles, the outer bands of Faith produced gale-force winds in the region, especially Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Antigua. Minor coastal damage occurred as far south as Trinidad and Tobago.
By August 28, the storm began to re-intensify, after curving north-northwestward near The Bahamas. At 0000 UTC on the following day, Faith peaked as a 120 mph (190 km/h) Category 3 hurricane Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. Eventually, the storm weakened back to a Category 2 hurricane and re-curved to the northeast. One person drowned in the western Atlantic after his ship sank. Heavy rainfall and strong winds pelted Bermuda, though no damage occurred. The storm maintained nearly the same intensity as a Category 2 hurricane for several days, while tracking northeastward into the far North Atlantic Ocean. Faith finally weakened while north of Great Britain and became extratropical near the Faroe Islands on September 6. Three other drowning deaths occurred in the North Sea near Denmark. A fifth death occurred after a man succumbed to injuries sustained during a boating incident related to the storm.
## Meteorological history
Television Infrared Observation Satellite XI (TIROS XI) imagery indicated the presence of an area of disturbed weather over Ivory Coast on August 18. The system moved slowly westward and eventually reached the Atlantic Ocean. It is estimated that a tropical depression developed at 0000 UTC on August 21, while located about 240 miles (390 km) southeast of Cape Verde. Continuing westward, the depression intensified, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Faith on the following day. Gradual intensification persisted as Tropical Storm Faith headed nearly due westward at 17 to 23 mph (27 to 37 km/h). By August 23, Faith was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane. Curving slightly west-northwestward, the storm reached Category 2 intensity and briefly peaked at sustained winds of 105 mph (169 km/h). Hurricane Faith curved to the northwest and weakened back to a Category 1 hurricane while approaching the northeastern Leeward Islands on August 25. Initially, Faith was scheduled to be seeded as part of Project Stormfury. However, the scheduled seeding was cancelled as Faith was approaching The Bahamas. Bypassing the Leeward Islands, Faith remained at nearly the same intensity, until re-strengthening into Category 2 hurricane on August 28, near Turks and Caicos Islands. The storm quickly intensified further into a Category 3 hurricane only six hours later.
At 00:00 UTC on August 29, Faith attained its maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (201 km/h). After reaching maximum sustained winds late on August 29, Faith began to gradually weaken and decreased to Category 2 hurricane intensity early on August 30. By that time, the storm turned to the northeast around the periphery of an Atlantic subtropical anticyclone while located about midway between Bermuda and Florida. Faith remained well offshore of the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada, after veering eastward on September 1. Thereafter, it began to accelerate and eventually curved northeastward. While approaching Europe, Faith's forward speed increased to as much as 50 mph (80 km/h). At 0600 UTC on September 3, a minimum barometric pressure of 950 mbar (28 inHg) was recorded – the lowest in relation to the storm. After remaining a Category 2 hurricane since August 29, Faith weakened slightly to a Category 1 hurricane early on September 6, as it neared the Faroe Islands. Crossing the North Sea, Faith finally transitioned into an extratropical storm at 1200 UTC later that day, while centered about 125 miles (201 km) east-northeast of Tórshavn. The extratropical remnants of Faith headed eastward and affected Norway with winds as high as 60 mph (97 km/h). Tracking over Scandinavia, the extratropical storm weakened to the equivalent of a tropical depression before entering the Soviet Union (present day Russia). Eventually, the storm degenerated into an extratropical low pressure area, curved northward, and retained its identity until September 15, when it was over Franz Josef Land, which is roughly 600 miles (970 km) from the North Pole.
## Impact
In the Leeward Islands, the approach of Faith caused the tracking station on Antigua – which was monitoring an unmanned rocket launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – to shut down 45 minutes after the rocket lifted off. Faith also produced gale-force winds across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, though only minor damage and no fatalities or injuries were reported. Further south, Faith brought rough seas to Trinidad and Tobago, with waves ranging from 10 to 15 feet (3.0 to 4.6 m). These conditions inflicted minor damage to small boats and jetties. In the Turks and Caicos Islands, sea defenses suffered some damage as Faith passed about 65 miles (105 km) to the east-northeast. Along the East Coast of the United States, the storm produced rough seas and high tides from Cape Canaveral (then Cape Kennedy), Florida, to the Virginia Capes. Additionally, the Weather Bureau warned of possible gale-force winds in The Carolinas and Virginia, but also noted that the area would only experience fringe effects from the storm. In Bermuda, the outer rainbands of Hurricane Faith produced heavy rainfall and wind gusts up to 62 mph (100 km/h).
Five people died as a result of the storm, though only one of them on land. Rough seas in the western Atlantic battered the Alberto Benati, pitching one man overboard. Two others drowned near Denmark while attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a rowboat. Another man was missing and presumed dead after heavy seas forced him and his shipmates to abandon their boat off the northern coast of Denmark. Property damage was minimal, mainly because the areas impacted by Faith were sparsely populated. A 2,726 ton Norwegian car ferry known as Skagerak began to sink as it headed for Hirtshals in Region Nordjylland of Denmark. Waves pounded the side hatches, which flooded in the engine room, causing the ship to become disabled. A large-scale search operation was conducted to rescue the 144 passengers aboard. All passengers were rescued and treated for their injuries in Hjørring, Denmark. However, one person later died in the hospital. In Norway, the remnants of Faith impacted areas between Ryfylke and Sunnfjord. The storm brought heavy rainfall and resulted in glacier melting, which in turn caused rampant flooding in some locations. Discharge from the Folgefonna, Fjærland, and Sunnfjord glaciers reached a record high melt due to the remnants of Faith.
## See also
- Tropical cyclone effects in Europe
- List of Bermuda hurricanes
- Atlantic hurricane records
|
2,932,229 |
Laserblast
| 1,161,482,083 |
1978 science fiction movie produced by Charles Band
|
[
"1970s American films",
"1970s English-language films",
"1970s science fiction films",
"1978 directorial debut films",
"1978 films",
"1978 independent films",
"American independent films",
"American science fiction films",
"English-language science fiction films",
"Films about extraterrestrial life",
"Films scored by Joel Goldsmith",
"Films scored by Richard Band",
"Films using stop-motion animation"
] |
Laserblast is a 1978 American independent science fiction film directed by Michael Rae and produced by Charles Band, widely known for producing B movies. Starring Kim Milford, Cheryl Smith and Gianni Russo, featuring Keenan Wynn and Roddy McDowall, and marking the screen debut of Eddie Deezen, the plot follows an unhappy teenage loner who discovers an alien laser cannon and goes on a murderous rampage, seeking revenge against those who he feels have wronged him.
The reptilian alien creatures in the film were works of stop motion animation by animator David W. Allen, marking the first chapter in a decades-long history of collaboration between Allen and Band. The featured alien spacecraft model was designed and built by Greg Jein in two weeks, and the musical score was written in five days by Joel Goldsmith and Richard Band, the first film score for both composers.
Laserblast has received overwhelmingly negative reviews and consistently ranks among the Bottom 100 list of films on the Internet Movie Database. Many critical reviews, however, cited Allen's stop motion animation as one of its only redeeming qualities. A sequel was planned for 1988, but was ultimately abandoned due to financial difficulties. Laserblast was featured in the seventh season finale of the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, marking the show's final episode on Comedy Central before the series moved to the Sci-Fi Channel.
## Plot
The film opens with a green-skinned man (Steve Neill) wandering aimlessly through the desert with a mysterious laser cannon attached to his arm. Nearby, an alien spacecraft lands and two reptilian creatures carrying weapons emerge. After a brief firefight, the aliens disintegrate the man, then return to their spacecraft and fly away, leaving behind the laser cannon and a metallic pendant the man was wearing. Elsewhere, teenager Billy Duncan (Kim Milford) wakes up in his bed, seemingly disturbed. He goes outside to find his mother (Janet Dey) has been invited to a trip to Acapulco and, despite her son's protests, she leaves her son behind. A dejected Billy goes to visit his girlfriend Kathy (Cheryl Smith), but her grandfather Colonel Farley (Keenan Wynn), a disheveled military veteran, spouts wild conspiracy theories and paranoid rants at Billy until he goes away. It becomes clear Billy despises the town he lives in and everybody around him, and for good reason; he is soon harassed both by a teenage bully named Chuck Boran (Mike Bobenko) and his nerdy friend Froggy (Eddie Deezen), and by two police deputies (Dennis Burkley and Barry Cutler), who give him a speeding ticket.
Billy wanders into the desert alone and discovers the laser cannon and pendant. He starts playing with the cannon, making "pow, pow, pow" noises and pretending to shoot things. However, while wearing the pendant and using the cannon simultaneously, the weapon actually fires, and Billy starts firing randomly at things in the desert. Meanwhile, on the alien spacecraft, the two aliens converse (in an unsubtitled alien language) with their leader, who orders them to return to Earth and recover the cannon: it is implied that the aliens left the cannon and pendant behind under the presumption that no other human would be able to use them as the green-skinned man had. Meanwhile, Billy and Kathy attend a pool party with other teens, where Chuck makes an unwanted advance on Kathy, resulting in Billy fighting with Chuck and Froggy. That night, from a hidden vantage point, Billy fires at Chuck's car with the laser cannon, resulting in a huge explosion that Chuck and Froggy barely escape. A government official named Tony Craig (Gianni Russo) arrives to investigate both the explosion and the desert where Billy found the cannon. Tony informs the local sheriff (Ron Masak) that the town must be sealed off due to his investigation.
Meanwhile, Billy feels sick due to an unusual growth on his chest. At Kathy's urging, he visits Doctor Mellon (Roddy McDowall), who surgically removes a metallic disc from Billy's chest. He calls the police laboratory technician Mike London (Rick Walters) to arrange for the disc to be investigated. However, later that night, a green-skinned and seemingly crazed Billy opens fire on Mellon's car, killing him in an explosion. The next day, Tony investigates the wreckage and recovers unusual material, which he brings to Mike London. After some experiments, Mike concludes it is an alien material and cannot be destroyed. Later that night, Billy, once again appearing deranged and grotesque, attacks and kills the two police deputies who harassed him earlier. Elsewhere, Billy and Kathy lay together outside next to Billy's van. While he is sleeping, Kathy discovers his alien pendant and puts it on Billy's chest, which turns his skin green and his eyes and teeth hideously deformed. Billy attacks the horrified Kathy, but she escapes.
Billy goes on a rampage, shooting things at random with the laser cannon. A small airplane with law enforcement officials opens fire on Billy, but he destroys the plane. Next, he comes across Chuck and Froggy and kills them by destroying their new car with the cannon. Meanwhile, Tony Craig questions Colonel Farley and Kathy about Billy, while elsewhere the two aliens land on Earth and begin searching for Billy themselves. After killing a hippie (Michael Bryar) and stealing his van, Billy travels to a city block where he fires indiscriminately at his surroundings, screaming like an animal. Kathy and Tony arrive in their car and find Billy in an alley. Before they can speak to him, however, one of the aliens shoots him from atop one of the nearby buildings. Billy is killed, the laser cannon and the pendant are destroyed and the alien departs in the spacecraft. The film ends with Kathy crying over Billy's corpse as Tony looks on.
## Cast
## Background
### Writing
Laserblast was produced by Charles Band, who is widely known as a writer, producer, and director of B movies. Band described the film as a "revenge story" with a simple premise that he thought would be fun for the audience. It was Band who conceived the title of the film with the hopes that it would grab the attention of audiences.
Band said, "Most of the films that I made, that I conceived, that I was very involved with and in some cases directed, definitely started with the title and usually a piece of artwork that made sense. Then I would work back to the script and the story and make the movie."
The script was written by Frank Ray Perilli and Franne Schacht. Elements of the story were inspired by science fiction films, such as Star Wars (1977), and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), while the characteristics of protagonist Billy Duncan – a disenchanted middle-class teen from a suburban setting – mirror those of James Dean's character in Rebel Without a Cause (1955).
Band wanted Laserblast to be a "mini-Star Wars", and at one point in the film, a disparaging reference is made when Billy fires his laser gun at a Star Wars billboard, resulting in a tremendous explosion. During another scene, a police officer is confronted by a frightened teenager, who the officer dismisses as crazy by saying "He's seen Star Wars five times!"
Billy is ignored and abandoned by his mother early in the film, demonstrating the dangers that can result from uncaring parents, one of the major themes of the script. The film also highlights the hypocrisy of police officers, particularly during a scene in which the two deputies smoke marijuana that they obtained from teenagers. Commentators have pointed out several inaccuracies and plot-holes in the Laserblast script. John Kenneth Muir raised several of these issues in his book, Horror Films of the 1970s: "How does Kathy's dad know Craig, the government agent? Why do the aliens leave behind the rifle and the pendant in the first place? Why does the weapon turn its owner into a monstrous green-skinned brute?" Band explained in a 2006 interview that the more Billy uses the gun, "the more it sort of takes over his soul". Janet Maslin, film critic with The New York Times, pointed out that originally, when Billy wakes up immediately after the aliens kill the man with the laser cannon, it appears that the incident was a dream. Later, however, it turns out to have actually happened after all.
### Casting
Kim Milford, who had previously appeared in the original Broadway theatre production of Hair and the first production of The Rocky Horror Show, starred in the leading role of Laserblast, marking his first major motion picture appearance. Cheryl Smith, who later received greater recognition for her appearances in B movies and exploitation films, appeared in the lead female role of Kathy Farley. Smith disliked the role because she felt it was poorly written and that she did not receive enough rehearsal time. Gianni Russo, best known for playing Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather (1972), was cast as government investigator Tony Craig.
Laserblast marks the screen debut of Eddie Deezen, who went on to play other archetypal nerd roles in films like Grease (1978), which was filmed before Laserblast started production, 1941 (1979), Grease 2 (1982), and Midnight Madness (1980). During a 2009 interview, Deezen remembered little about Laserblast, other than that it was a "shoddy production". Roddy McDowall portrays Dr. Mellon in the film, and his name is misspelled "McDowell" in the end credits. Keenan Wynn, a long-time character actor and a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player during the 1940s, portrayed Colonel Farley, who provides comic relief as Kathy's crazed, paranoid, delusional grandfather and a former military man. The filming for Wynn's small role was finished in one day. Screenwriter Franne Schacht made a cameo appearance as the sheriff's secretary in the film.
### Production
Laserblast was directed by Michael Rae, marking his only directorial credit. Filming took place over three weekends and was made "for virtually no money", according to producer Band. The makeup effects in the film, including the gradual discoloration and degeneration of Kim Milford, were handled by makeup artist Steve Neill, who had previously worked with Band on the science fiction film End of the World (1977). Neill makes a cameo appearance in Laserblast as the mutated man who was killed by the aliens in the opening scene. Neill introduced Band to David W. Allen, the film animator who created the stop motion alien creatures in Laserblast. When Band and Neill met, the former was working full-time on his fantasy film The Primevals, which was ultimately never completed. Band had developed an interest and familiarity with animation, particularly the works of Ray Harryhausen, and wanted Allen to animate the reptilian creatures for his film. Although eager to work on The Primevals, Allen said he was not yet "sufficiently mature professionally" to undertake a project of that size, and he felt Laserblast was "something that was more manageable". Band and Allen would go on to work together on several other films and projects over the next 20 years.
The alien creatures were featured in 39 cuts of the film through five scenes. The first scene was in the beginning of the film where the aliens emerge from their spacecraft into the desert to shoot Neill's character. Two matte set-ups were used for effects, including one used to create the illusion of depth with Neill's character in the foreground and the aliens in the background. The sequence where Neill's character shoots the gun out of the hand of one of the aliens was done through wire-supported animation. In the second and third sequences, the two aliens are on board their spaceship, which is a miniature set designed by Dave Carson. The aliens speak with their commander through a monitor in the second sequence, and animations of the alien commander were shot separately and implemented into the scene using a rear projection effect. Both sequences also used rear projection to show footage of Billy and his destruction on Earth. The fourth sequence shows the aliens on Earth, looking at a burnt-out car destroyed by Billy. Footage of the car was rear projected behind the alien models; however, the projected footage was shot at night and the scene took place between two daytime live-action scenes, thus creating a continuity error in the film. The final scene is the shortest, and features a confrontation between the aliens and Billy. Matting was again used for the sequence where Billy is shot with a gun by one of the aliens from the top of a building. The aliens then fly off in their spaceship at the end of the scene through a cutout animation effect.
Randall William Cook, an animator who worked with Allen on the horror film The Crater Lake Monster (1977), provided uncredited animation work on Laserblast. Sculptor Jon Berg, who built the alien creature puppets based on Allen's design, was also uncredited for his work. Allen said in a 1993 article that he and Berg created more shots in the film "than originally bargained for". Special effects were assisted by Harry Woolman, and laser effects were provided by Paul Gentry. Greg Jein, the special effects model-maker who also worked on The Crater Lake Monster, designed and built the spacecraft featured in Laserblast. Jein had recently completed his work on the Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) when Allen approached him to work on Laserblast, which was the first time that Jein designed a project himself. He prepared several concept sketches and, after one was selected, he constructed the 18-inch model (46 cm) in two weeks. Allen ultimately felt his animation sequences in Laserblast were not properly integrated with the rest of the film.
Joel Goldsmith and Richard Band, the brother of film producer Charles Band, composed the music for Laserblast, marking the first film score for both composers. The score was written in five days, and makes heavy use of synthesizer, particularly synthesized brass instruments, as well as electronic music. The music was also used in the Charles Band-produced film Auditions, released the same year, the 1986 science fiction film Robot Holocaust and the 1983 horror film The House on Sorority Row. The company Echo Film Services handled the sound effects. The alien language chatter between the aliens in Laserblast was later used for sound effects in the metal band Static-X's song "A Dios Alma Perdida", which is featured in their 2001 album Machine. Several times when something explodes after it is shot by the laser gun, the scene is edited so that multiple shots of the same explosion are shown in succession. This type of editing became a trademark of Charles Band's films, and was done previously in his 1977 films Crash! and End of the World.
## Release
The film was distributed by the Irwin Yablans Company, and released on March 1, 1978. Irwin Yablans, who later produced the first three Halloween films, specialized primarily in distributing B movies and low-budget horror films. Laserblast was advertised in conjunction with End of the World, which had been released the previous year and was still playing in theaters at the time. At the time that Laserblast was released, audience interest in science fiction films was particularly high due to the release of Star Wars and the long wait until the release of its sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
### Reception
Laserblast has received largely negative reviews, and consistently ranks among the Bottom 100 list of films on the Internet Movie Database. A 1978 critique in The Review of the News said, "The only thing eerie about Laserblast is the thought that the people who made this loser are still running around loose." In the review, Laserblast was described as "an incomprehensible blending" of popular recent films like Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with a script that was "so disordered we could not be certain that the reels were being run in proper sequence". It also criticized the props, particularly the laser gun, which they compared to a cereal box prize. A review by Variety magazine said that the special effects were decent, but that the script "has more holes than the laser-ravaged landscape." Janet Maslin of The New York Times said that Kim Milford's performance was dull and that the script included plot-holes and inconsistencies. The Los Angeles Times critic Linda Gross said that the script lacked "credibility, psychological motivation and narrative cohesiveness", although she praised Terry Bowen's cinematography, saying it "effectively captures the ambience of desert small-town life." It was described as one of the worst films of the year in the book The Golden Turkey Awards.
Literary critic John Kenneth Muir thought that the script had many plot holes which left many unanswered questions, and that there was "little effort to forge a coherent story out of the mix". New York Daily News writer David Bianculli described Laserblast as "numbingly bad". In The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Movies, Phil Hardy describes it as "a wholly unimaginative film", adding, "Even the non-stop series of exploding cars becomes monotonous in the hands of director Rae." The Time Out Film Guide described Laserblast as a rip-off of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and said that Billy's reign of destruction seemed random and senseless, rather than driven by plot or characterization. The review called the film "the epitome of what Frank Zappa once hymned as 'cheapness.'" The Globe and Mail writer Robert Martin called the script inept, said that Steve Neill's make-up effects were "frightful rather than frightening", and said that Cheryl Smith could "barely talk, let alone act". Martin also stated that the film was pulled from a Toronto theater after showing for one week.
Not all of the reviews were negative. Blockbuster Entertainment gave the film three out of five stars, and film critic Leonard Maltin gave it two-and-a-half out of four stars. In their book about science fiction films, writers James Robert Parish and Michael R. Pitts called Laserblast "an stimulating, unpretentious little film in the same vein as I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Parish and Pitts praised the stop motion animation and the performance of Cheryl Smith. Laserblast was among several films universally considered terrible that film reviewer Michael Adams watched as part of a book about his quest to find the worst film of all time. However, Adams said he enjoyed watching it on a B movie level. Monthly Film Bulletin said that Laserblast was "Band's first major box-office success on the exploitation circuit". According to Space.com, Laserblast has achieved cult film status. During a 2005 interview, Charles Band called the film "hilarious" and stated that "it had its charm" like many films from its time. He also said that the film would have been made differently and would have had less critical reactions if it had been produced with a larger budget.
Several critical reviews cited the stop motion animation as one of the film's only redeeming qualities. Richard Meyers, a novelist who also wrote about science-fiction films, described Laserblast as "basically repetitive and predictable", but included some redemptive qualities in the animation of Dave Allen and the makeup effects of Steve Neill. Science fiction literary scholar Peter Nicholls called it the worst of Charles Band's films, calling it "badly scripted, badly paced rubbish", describing Allen's "o.k. aliens" as "the only plus". Likewise, film essayist Dennis Fischer said that Allen's stop motion animation provides the film's "sole moments of interest", and Cinefex publisher Don Shay called it the film's "only viable selling points". In their book DVD & Video Guide, Mick Martin and Marsha Porter called it a "dreadful low-budget film with some excellent special effects by David Allen". Doug Pratt, who criticized the poor acting and dull dialogue, said that the special effects and stop motion animation "are well executed, but the sequences without effects are fairly dumb". The authors of The DVD-Laser Disc Newsletter called the film "a dull and padded revenge-against-bullies tale", but said that the stop motion animation sequences were enjoyable enough that "fans are likely to be pleased with the low-budget film's positive attributes and willing to ignore the rest".
### Home media
Laserblast was initially released on home video in 1981 from Media Home Entertainment. It was released on LaserDisc on June 30, 1993, by Shadow Entertainment, and was re-released on VHS on November 25, 1997, by Full Moon Entertainment, a distribution company started by Charles Band. It had a second VHS re-release on October 9, 1998, by United American Home Video. Laserblast was released on DVD on July 6, 1999, again by Full Moon Entertainment. The picture was presented with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and stereophonic sound. The disc included no captions and no special features, except for cast profiles and trailers for other Full Moon films. Doug Pratt, a DVD reviewer and Rolling Stone contributor, said the visual presentation was better than most films from its time, with fresh colors and only a few speckles, as well as a decent sound transfer. In August 2018, a Blu-Ray disc of the film was released by Full Moon Pictures. The disc presented a newly made high-definition video scan from an interpositive film element. On the commentary track, Band states that the film's original negative has been lost.
### Soundtrack
The original motion picture soundtrack was released as a limited edition CD by BSX Records on August 1, 2005. It consisted of about 46 minutes of music over 25 tracks. SoundtrackNet reviewer Mike Brennan said that it was "actually quite enjoyable in parts", but not the type of music meant to be listened to without the film. Brennan claimed that it resembled some of the later and better-known works of Joel Goldsmith, like the scores of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Joe Sikoryak of Film Score Monthly gave the soundtrack one-and-a-half stars out of five, claiming that about one-third of the album sounded like "generic rock 'n' roll cues for a production unable to afford licensing existing songs".
### Sequel
Band originally planned to produce a sequel called Laserblast II, with production work to begin in August 1986 and a theatrical release expected to follow shortly thereafter. A tagline released for the film read "The ultimate alien weapon is back." When plans for the sequel were announced, Atlanta-based film critic Scott Journal wrote "I am one of the few people in the world who saw the original and, believe me, it did not merit a followup." However, Charles Band Productions fell into financial difficulties shortly after the production of Laserblast, and the project was eventually scrapped. However, the premise and elements of the abandoned sequel were later used in the 1988 Charles Band film Deadly Weapon, which, like Laserblast, was about a bullied teenager who finds a powerful weapon and uses it to seek revenge against his enemies. Band continued to make films and eventually formed Empire Pictures.
## Mystery Science Theater 3000
Laserblast was featured in the seventh-season finale episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a comedy television series. In the show, the human character Mike Nelson and his two robot friends, Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo, are trapped in a satellite and forced to watch bad films as part of an ongoing scientific experiment. Laserblast was the sixth episode of the seventh season, which was broadcast on Comedy Central May 18, 1996. It marked the final original episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on that network, before the series moved to the Sci-Fi Channel for its eighth season. At the time of broadcast, the MST3K creators did not even know that the show would eventually be renewed at a different network. Mary Jo Pehl, an actress and writer with the show, felt that Laserblast was a particularly bad film: "The lead guy, Kim Somebody, is another sterling example of how filmmaking is not a meritocracy. The fact that this film was even made proves that 'anybody can do it.' You can find this either inspiring or depressing."
During the riffing of the film, the robot character Crow T. Robot claims the film "was run through a highly technical process called 'tension extraction'", and the other robot Tom Servo calls it so dull, "There's a point where it stops being a movie". Mike and the robots make particular note of film critic Leonard Maltin's relatively high two-and-a-half star rating of the original film. The episode also makes several references to McDowall's performances in the Planet of the Apes films, and makes several jokes at the expense of Deezen and his stereotypically nerdy character, at one point dubbing him the "heir to the Arnold Stang fortune". Mike and the robots repeatedly sang "Are You Ready for Some Football?" whenever Deputy Ungar appeared on screen due to actor Dennis Burkley's resemblance to country singer Hank Williams Jr.
Dan Cziraky of Cinefantastique wrote, "If you've never seen Laserblast, this is perfect MST3K viewing! It typifies everything wrong with the late '70s." During a 2009 interview, Eddie Deezen said he loved the show's parody of Laserblast.
## Merchandise
On October 13, 2017, Eibon Press published a comic book adaptation of Laserblast. Under their VHS Comics sub-imprint, it was released alongside an adaptation of the 1980 slasher film Maniac.
An action figure was released based on the alien from the film, available on Full Moon Direct and Amazon.
|
74,161,305 |
Lotta Dempsey
| 1,173,153,218 |
Canadian journalist, editor and television personality (1905–1988)
|
[
"1905 births",
"1988 deaths",
"20th-century Canadian journalists",
"20th-century Canadian women writers",
"20th-century women journalists",
"Activists from Alberta",
"Canadian anti-war activists",
"Canadian feminists",
"Canadian women activists",
"Canadian women columnists",
"Canadian women television journalists",
"Journalists from Alberta",
"Toronto Star people",
"Writers from Edmonton"
] |
Lotta Dempsey (12 January 1905 – 19 December 1988) was an award-winning Canadian journalist, editor and television personality. She grew up in Alberta, Canada, and began her journalism career in 1923 at the Edmonton Journal. She wrote for the women's page, as only male journalists were allowed to cover wide-interest topics or hard news. Four years later, she moved to the Edmonton Bulletin and stayed there through the worst of the Great Depression. In 1935, Dempsey moved to Toronto, briefly working at the Star Weekly, before being hired by Chatelaine Magazine as assistant editor.
After her marriage and the birth of her son, she took two years away from the office, but continued writing for Chatelaine from home. She also submitted freelance articles to Maclean's. Returning to the work force in 1940, she worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a news editor, radio quiz show host, and interviewer. During the war, she did public relations work for the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, before returning to journalism at The Globe and Mail. She briefly returned as editor-in-chief of Chatelaine in 1952, but after eight months resumed her work at The Globe and Mail. From 1958 she worked as a columnist and features writer for the Toronto Star and hosted a television program for seniors on CBC Television.
In 1948, she won an award from the Canadian Women's Press Club for best article and was recognized by them again in 1959, 1960, and 1967 with awards for her columns. Dempsey was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame in 1975.
## Early life and education
Lotta Caldwell Dempsey was born on 12 January 1905, in Edmonton, North-Western Territory (now Alberta) Canada, to Eveline Louise "Eva" (née Hering) and Alexander C. "Alex" Dempsey. She had a younger brother, Ardis, who died as an infant; afterwards, her cousin, Phil Damon Dempsey came to live with the family and was raised as Lotta's brother. Her father was the owner of the Bon Ton Store, an upscale grocery with an ice-cream parlour in front of his fruit stand. Her mother was a homemaker, who spent time knitting and sewing clothes and bed covers for her family. The store eventually grew into a full grocery and Lotta worked with her father assisting customers, washing fruits and vegetables, stocking shelves, and sometimes making deliveries.
Dempsey attended MacKay Avenue Public School and then enrolled at Victoria High School, where she played basketball. Her height and her name resulted in bullying from her peers, who poked fun at her tallness by distorting her name into "a lotta Dempsey". In later life, she preferred to be called Lotie by friends. From a young age, she wanted to be a journalist, but her father insisted that she should study to become a teacher because it was more respectable. After graduating from high school, she earned a first-class teaching certificate from the Edmonton Normal School, studying with Donalda Dickie. When she graduated in April 1923, she worked for eight weeks in a one-room school house called Four Corners Rural School, close to Ferintosh, Alberta. Deciding she was not compatible with teaching, she ended her employment and in May married the accountant Sid Richardson. The marriage lasted six months and ended when the prospect of a newspaper job was presented.
## Career
### Edmonton (1923–1935)
In September 1923, Dempsey was hired as a cub reporter making CA\$ 17.50 per week, at the Edmonton Journal. She was assigned to the women's page and worked under editor Edna Wells, the only other woman employed by the paper. At the time, it was unusual for newsrooms to even have washrooms for their women employees and they were only allowed to interview national figures if a male reporter was not available. The women's section typically covered social and charity events, household tips, recipes, clothing, and prominent personalities. Despite not being allowed to write hard news stories, Dempsey was happy to be working as a reporter, but after four years, she was offered CA\$40 per week at the Edmonton Bulletin. The salary was very high, particularly for a woman at that time, and she was offered the opportunity to cover more newsworthy events and travel, prompting her to change jobs. She was assigned to cover Vancouver and Winnipeg, and wrote stories about education, trappers and traders, First Nations reserves, and Mennonite settlements.
Wanting to improve her skill, in 1929, Dempsey asked Charlie Campbell, her publisher, for six weeks off to take a journalism class at Columbia University. He declined, seeing no value in it, instead proposing that she take six-weeks paid leave learning from American journalists. He set up an itinerary from among his friends which included stops at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Oregonian in Portland, The San Francisco News and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. She asked for, and was granted, two more weeks to visit Hollywood for the first time. Returning home on 24 October, she had not crossed into Canada before the stock market crashed, ushering in the Great Depression. Although Dempsey was not laid off, her salary was reduced to CA\$28 per week. Most of her income went to help her parents, as her father lost his store, and their home, after he mortgaged it in an attempt to save his business. Her mother began a catering business and her father became a door-to-door salesman for vacuum cleaners. They moved into an apartment above a tailoring shop and cleaned the shop in exchange for rent. As there was no bathroom in the living quarters, they had to use the toilet in the shop and shower at the local YMCA.
Dempsey joined the Edmonton branch of the feminist-leaning Canadian Women's Press Club in the 1930s. Activists like Henrietta Edwards, Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, and Irene Parlby taught her that covering issues like addiction, child abuse, and domestic violence were necessary for her to become a "good reporter, and more important, a worthwhile human being". Alongside reporting, Dempsey also wrote poetry, winning prizes in 1930 and 1932 in the Alberta Poetry Contest (organized by the Edmonton branch of the Canadian Authors Association). Given a CA\$500 bonus by Campbell for staying with the paper during the worst of the depression, Dempsey made plans to move to Toronto. Two friends, Jeannie Alexander and Mahon Cord, formerly of the Calgary Herald had already made the move and offered to let her room with them. Tommy Wheeler, editor of the Star Weekly had purchased articles from Dempsey and Byrne Hope Sanders, editor of Chatelaine Magazine had expressed interest in her work. Feeling that she had little to lose, and with a promise that she could come back if Toronto didn't work out, Dempsey finalized her plans and moved in 1935.
### Toronto (1935–1958)
Dempsey moved into the apartment at 89 Breadalbane Street in the Queens' Park area. She was hired by Wheeler to do freelance work and within three weeks, Sanders offered her a position as an assistant editor at Chatelaine. She wrote for the magazine under numerous pseudonyms, using John Alexander for features, Carolyn Damon for fashion, and Annabel Lee for beauty pieces. Within a few months, she met the architect Richard "Dick" Fisher, a young father of two boys, and they married on 5 December 1936 at Hart House chapel at the University of Toronto. After their marriage the family first lived in Bennington Heights. Although Dempsey was neither domestic nor particularly maternal, two and a half years later when the couple's son Donald was born, she left the office, writing her beauty column from home for two years. She also submitted freelance articles to Maclean's. When Fisher was drafted, Dempsey and the boys moved to a small duplex on Avenue Road. On deciding to return to work, Dempsey hired a gay houseman named Stanley Burrows, who bought and cooked the meals, decorated their home with flowers, and did the chores and gardening. Burrows lived with the family for twenty-two years.
In 1940, Dempsey began working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a news editor. In 1943, she wrote an article in Maclean's observing that women entering the work force during the war marked the start of Canadian women's equality. She also did radio commentating, interviews, and broadcast as a quiz show host. During the war, she worked for the Wartime Prices and Trade Board in public relations. Dempsey returned to Chatelaine in 1944, as the women's page editor, and the family moved to a new home on Woodlawn Avenue near her office. Her style of editing went beyond the usual sphere of the home and encouraged Canadian women to learn about and be involved in the broader issues affecting the country. Aware that balancing work and home duties was causing many women to experience supermom syndrome, she suggested to her readers that they did not have to limit themselves to the home if they focused on only their most important tasks. Her positions outside of the newsroom during the war protected her from the mass layoffs of women journalists that occurred when the war ended.
Dempsey was honoured by the Canadian Women's Press Club in 1948, for an article on child predators. The award recognized the "best handling of a news event or public issue of significance" and came with a gold medal and a CA\$ 100 prize. Taking a break from the magazine, Dempsey worked as a columnist for The Globe and Mail from 1948 through the end of 1951. She also authored a profile of Katherine Hale for the 1948 book Leading Canadian Poets. When Sanders resigned as editor of Chatelaine, Dempsey took over as editor-in-chief of the magazine between February and September 1952. She explained her abrupt departure by saying that she preferred to write her own stories, but fellow journalist Doris Anderson said there were other issues. The managing editor had wanted to be editor-in-chief and frequently undermined Dempsey, who did not enjoy all the administrative tasks associated with the top editorial post at the magazine. By February 1953, she was back at The Globe and Mail, where she remained until 1958. Some of her regular columns included "Private Line", in which she covered humanitarians and their projects and "Person to Person", in which she covered influential and famous people. She wrote often about the challenges of families, including writing articles on prisoners and their families. She was the first Canadian woman to interview the sexologist Alfred Kinsey, who rarely spoke with the press.
### Toronto Star (1958–1981)
In 1958, Dempsey went to work for the Toronto Star, as a features writer and columnist. She was regularly assigned to cover stories on royal tours, and visiting heads of state. In one instance, in 1959, she managed to get a headline story by speaking to the partner of Nikita Khrushchev, Nina Kukharchuk, who had refused to speak to reporters. She also met and wrote about Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, and Pierre Trudeau, as well as celebrities like Humphrey Bogart, Noël Coward, and Lorne Greene. In 1959 and 1960, Dempsey again had her work recognized by the Canadian Women's Press Club, this time with awards for her columns. She was in three episodes of Bonanza with Greene, whom she had known from her earlier radio work in the 1960s. Around the same time, Dempsey used a situation, which occurred when her managing editor Charles Templeton asked her to take his daughter to the restroom, to drive the point home that women's washrooms were still not available on the floor where the editorial staff worked. She took the child through the advertising and circulation departments and down to the business office and suggested that the child tell her father how far they had had to go. Shortly afterward, a woman's toilet facility was installed in the editorial department, the first for any of the newspapers where Dempsey had been employed.
Dempsey continued to write about humanitarian topics. When the East-West Summit, planned between Dwight Eisenhower and Khrushchev was cancelled in 1960 after a US U-2 plane was shot down in Soviet air space, Dempsey wrote a series of columns about what women could do to calm Cold War tensions. She met with Abraham Feinberg, chair of the Toronto Committee for Disarmament, and other activists to explain her ideas. Her columns attracted both average homemakers and activists, who decided to formally organize into the Women's Committee for Peace. Shortly after its founding, the group changed the name to Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, known as VOW. Dempsey was a founding member of the organization, supporting its efforts and those of other activists to ban nuclear weapons and prevent war. One of VOW's campaigns opposed creating and promoting war toys, because of their potential to normalize violence and militarism. Dempsey not only participated in the drive, but in 1975 wrote an article about using toys to break down gender divides. She suggested that encouraging boys to play with Barbie and girls to play with Big Jim might help children to grasp that girls could be spies and boys could play house.
In the late 1960s when all of their sons had moved out, Dempsey, Fisher, and Burrows moved to a smaller home on York Mills Road. Fisher died from a heart attack in 1967 and two years later, Burrows also died. Despite her years of writing, Dempsey was never promoted to a more prestigious reporting position than her general interest column and never became a senior manager for a newspaper. She won best columnist from the Canadian Women's Press Club in 1967, for an article addressing suicide and loneliness of middle-aged women. When she reached retirement age, Dempsey had a byline on the column "Age of Reason", which addressed issues impacting elders. In 1975, she was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame, where she was cited as "one of the most admired and respected women journalists still active".
Dempsey's autobiography, No Life for a Lady was published in 1976. She told journalist Kay Alsop that after writing an obituary for a friend who was ill, she wrote her own obituary and gave it to her editor to keep on file. After reading it, he encouraged her to turn it into a book. The title was based on her father's advice when she wanted to become a journalist; he said that prying into the lives of others was "no life for a lady". The book told her life story with her typical humour, relaying missteps she had made, encounters with royalty and celebrities, and memorable world events that occurred during her career. Reviews by journalists Alsop of The Province Eleanor Callaghan of the Montreal Star, and Judy Creighton of The Canadian Press, all commented on Dempsey's ability to laugh at herself, her honesty about the notables she liked and disliked, and her portrayal of journalism as a career in her era. Dempsey began broadcasting with Gordon Jocelyn, the television show From Now On in 1978. It ran for a year, and was shown on CBC Television and geared towards senior citizens. The hosts presented information on useful topics like cooking, pensions, and staying active, but also practical issues like loneliness and loss. She retired from the Toronto Star officially in 1980, but continued working as a freelance journalist for at least five years.
## Later life, death, and legacy
In 1980, Dempsey moved to Markham, and the following year married Arthur Ham, a retired University of Toronto professor. Unwilling to stop writing, she wrote a bi-monthly column for the Markham Economic & Sun newspaper. After a few years, the couple left the country and returned to Toronto, where she remained active until shortly before her death. Dempsey died on 19 December 1988, at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, from cancer. She is remembered as one of Canada's early women journalists, who though she did not write about the discrimination she faced in the industry, pushed against the boundaries placed upon her to expand the opportunities available to women. She was often portrayed as a glamorous reporter and was famous for her hats and cigarette holder. In her career of more than five decades, she rallied her women readers to be politically involved, and to challenge restrictions placed upon them because of their gender.
|
7,291,274 |
Single skating
| 1,142,986,146 |
Discipline of figure skating
|
[
"Figure skating disciplines",
"Single skating"
] |
Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport contested at the Olympics, with men's and women's single skating appearing as two of the four figure skating events at the London Games in 1908.
Single skaters are required to perform two segments in all international competitions, the short program and the free skating program. Nathan Chen from the United States holds both the highest single men's short program and free skating scores; Russian skater Kamila Valieva holds the both highest single women's short program and free skating scores. Compulsory figures, from which the sport of figure skating gets its name, were a crucial part of the sport for most of its history until the ISU voted to remove them in 1990.
Single skating has required elements that skaters must perform during a competition and that make up a well-balanced skating program. They include jumps (and jump combinations), spins, step sequences, and choreographic sequences. The ISU defines a jump element as "an individual jump, a jump combination or a jump sequence". The six most common jumps can be divided into two groups: toe jumps (the toe loop, the flip, and the Lutz) and edge jumps (the Salchow, the loop, and the Axel). A jump combination, defined as "two (or more) jumps performed in immediate succession". There are three basic positions in spins: the camel, the sit spin, and the upright spin. Step sequences have been defined as "steps and turns in a pattern on the ice". A choreographic sequence, which occurs during the free skating program in singles skating, "consists of any kind of movements like steps, turns, spirals, arabesques, spread eagles, Ina Bauers, hydroblading, any jumps with maximum of 2 revolutions, spins, etc.".
The required elements must be performed in specific ways, as described by published communications by the ISU, unless otherwise specified. The ISU publishes violations and their points values yearly. Deductions in singles skating include violations in time, music, and clothing. The ISU also describes regulations regarding falls and interruptions.
## History
The first international figure skating competition was in Vienna in 1882. Skaters were required to perform 23 compulsory figures, as well as a four-minute free skating program, and a section called "special figures", in which they had to perform moves or combinations of moves that highlighted their advanced skills. The first World Championships, hosted by the newly formed International Skating Union (ISU), occurred in 1896, and consisted of four competitors, all men. Figure skating is the oldest winter sport contested at the Olympics, starting at the London Games in 1908.
## Competition segments
### Short program
The short program is the first segment of single skating, pair skating, and synchronized skating in international competitions, including all ISU championships. The short program must be skated before the free skate, the second component in competitions. The short program lasts, for both senior and junior singles and pairs, two minutes and 40 seconds. Music with lyrics has been allowed in single skating and in all disciplines since the 2014–2015 season.
Nathan Chen from the United States holds the highest single men's short program score of 113.97 points, which he earned at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Russian skater Kamila Valieva holds the highest single women's short program score of 90.45 points, which she earned at the 2022 European Figure Skating Championship in Tallinn, Estonia.
Both male and female senior single skaters must perform seven elements in their short program. They both must include a double or triple Axel; one triple jump; a jump combination consisting of either a double jump and a triple jump, or two triple jumps; a spin combination with just one change of foot; and a step sequence using the entire ice surface. Additionally, men may substitute the one triple jump for a quadruple jump; have a quadruple jump as part of their jump combination; and must also have a camel spin or sit spin with just one change of foot. Women must also have either a layback or sideways leaning spin or a sit or camel spin without a change of foot. Junior single skaters also have seven required elements. Junior men and women single skaters are not allowed to perform quadruple jumps in their short programs, and junior women single skaters cannot include triple Axels in both their short and free skating programs.
### Free skating
Free skating, also called the free skate or long program, is the second segment in single skating, pair skating, and synchronized skating. Its duration, across all disciplines, is four minutes for senior skaters and teams, and three-and-one-half minutes for junior skaters. American skater Nathan Chen holds the highest single men's free skating program score of 224.92 points, which he earned at the 2020 ISU Grand Prix Final. Kamila Valieva from Russia holds the highest single women's free skating score of 185.29 points, which she earned at 2021 Rostelecom Cup.
According to the ISU, free skating "consists of a well balanced program of Free Skating elements, such as jumps, spins, steps and other linking movements". A well-balanced free skate for both senior men and women single skaters must consist of the following: up to seven jump elements, one of which has to be an Axel jump; up to three spins, one of which has to be a spin combination (one a spin with just one position, and one flying spin with a flying entrance); only one step sequence; and only one choreographic sequence. A well-balanced free skate for junior men and junior women single skaters must consist of the same requirements for senior skaters but with the exception of the step sequence requirement.
### Compulsory figures
Compulsory figures, also called school figures, are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". Until 1947, for approximately the first half of the existence of figure skating as a sport, compulsory figures made up 60 percent of the total score at most competitions around the world. After World War II, the number of figures skaters had to perform during competitions decreased, and after 1968, they began to be progressively devalued, until the ISU voted to remove them from all international competitions in 1990. Despite the apparent demise of compulsory figures from the sport of figure skating, coaches continued to teach figures and skaters continued to practice them because figures gave skaters an advantage in developing alignment, core strength, body control, and discipline. Championships and festivals focusing on compulsory figures have occurred since 2015.
## Competition requirements
### Jumps
The ISU defines a jump element as "an individual jump, a jump combination or a jump sequence". The six most common jumps can be divided into two groups: toe jumps (the toe loop, the flip, and the Lutz) and edge jumps (the Salchow, the loop, and the Axel). Jumps must have the following characteristics to earn the most points, according to the ISU: they must have "very good height and very good length"; they must be executed effortlessly, including the rhythm demonstrated during jump combinations; and they must have good take-offs and landings. The following are not required, but also taken into consideration: there must be steps executed before the beginning of the jump, or it must have either a creative or unexpected entry; the jump must match the music; and the skater must have, from the jump's take-off to its landing, a "very good body position". Somersault-type jumps, like the back flip, are not allowed. The back flip has been banned by the ISU since 1976 because it was deemed too dangerous and lacked "aesthetic value".
A jump combination, defined as "two (or more) jumps performed in immediate succession", is executed when a skater's landing foot of the first jump is also the take-off foot of the following jump. If a skater executes one complete revolution between the jumps, the element is still a combination. The free foot can touch the ice, but there must be no weight transfer on it. The skater can also perform an Euler between jumps. If the first jump of a two-jump combination is not completed successfully, it is still counted as a jump combination. A jump sequence is executed when a skater completes two or three jumps, with no limits on the number of revolutions. The first jump, which can be any type allowed by the ISU; the second and/or third jumps must be an Axel-type jump "with a direct step from the landing curve of the first jump to the take-off curve" of the Axel. Skaters can also complete one full revolution on the ice between the jumps and their free foot can touch the ice, although without transferring their weight onto it.
All jumps are considered in the order that they are completed. If an extra jump or jumps are completed, only the first jump will be counted; jumps done later in the program will have no value. The limitation on the number of jumps skaters can perform in their programs, called the "Zayak Rule" after American skater Elaine Zayak, whom TV sports producer David Michaels called a true transitional figure who changed everything" because of her jumping skills, has been in effect since 1983, after Zayak performed six triple jumps, four toe loop jumps, and two Salchows in her free skating program at the 1982 World Championships. Writer Ellyn Kestnbaum stated that the ISU established the rule "in order to encourage variety and balance rather than allowing a skater to rack up credit for demonstrating the same skill over and over". Sports writer Dvora Meyers calls the rule change "an institutional response" because it was made even though male skaters had also performed repetitive jumps in the same program during the same time period. Kestnbaum also stated that as rotations in jumps for both men and women have increased, skaters have increased the difficulty of jumps by adding more difficult combinations and by adding difficult steps immediately before or after their jumps, resulting in "integrating the jumps more seamlessly into the flow of the program".
In both the short program and free skating, any jump, jump combination, or jump sequence begun during the second half of the program earns extra points "in order to give credit for even distribution of difficulties in the program". As of the 2018–2019 season, however, only the last jump element performed during the short program and the final three jump elements performed during the free skate, counted in a skater's final score. International Skating Magazine called this regulation the "Zagitova Rule", named for Russian skater Alina Zagitova, who won the gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics by "backloading" her free skating program. She placed all her jumps in the second half of the program in order to take advantage of the rule in place at the time that awarded a 10% bonus to jumps performed during the second half of the program. Also starting in 2018, single skaters could only repeat the same two triple or quadruple jumps in their free skating programs. They could repeat four-revolution jumps only once, and the base value of the triple Axel and quadruple jumps were "reduced dramatically". As of 2022, jump sequences consisted of two or three jumps, but the second or third jump had to be an Axel. Jump sequences began to be counted for their full value and skaters could include single jumps in their step sequences as choreographic elements without incurring a penalty.
### Spins
There are three basic positions in spins: the camel, the sit spin, and the upright spin. Spins must have the following characteristics to earn the most points: spins must have good speed and/or acceleration; they must be executed effortlessly; and they must have good control and clear position(s), even for flying spins, which must have a good amount of height and air/landing position. Also important but not required are the following characteristics: the spin must maintain a center; the spin must be original and creative; and the element must match the music. The New York Times says, when comparing spins and the more exciting jumps for single skaters, "While jumps look like sport, spins look more like art. While jumps provide the suspense, spins provide the scenery, but there is so much more to the scenery than most viewers have time or means to grasp".
If a skater performs a spin that has no basic position with only two revolutions, or with less than two revolutions, they do not fulfill the position requirement for the spin and receives no points for it. A spin with less than three revolutions is not considered a spin; rather, it is considered a skating movement. The flying spin and any spin that only has one position must have six revolutions; spin combinations must have 10 revolutions. Required revolutions are counted from when the skater enters the spin until they exit out of it, except for flying spins and the spins in which the final wind-up is in one position. Skaters increase the difficulty of camel spins by grabbing their leg or blade while performing the spin.
A skater earns points for a spin change of edge only if they complete the spin in a basic position. Fluctuations in speed and variations in the positions of a skater's arms, head, and free leg are permitted. A skater must execute at least three revolutions before and after a change of foot. If a skater tries to perform a spin and their change of foot is too far apart (thus creating two spins instead of one), only the part executed before the change of foot is included in the skater's score. The change of foot is optional for spin combinations and for single-position spins. If they fall while entering a spin, or while executing any failed spin, the skater can fill the time lost by executing a spin or spinning movement immediately after the fall or failed spin; however, this movement will not be counted as an element. If the spinning centers, which should occur before and after the change of foot, are too far apart "and the criteria of 'two spins' is fulfilled (there is a curve of exit after the first part and the curve of entry into the second part)", only the part of the spin before the skater's change of foot will be counted.
A spin combination must have at least "two different basic positions" and each position must have two revolutions, anywhere within the spin. Skaters earn the full value of a spin combination when they include all three basic positions. The number of revolutions in non-basic positions is included in the total number of revolutions, but changing to a non-basic position is not considered a change of position. The change of foot and change of position can be made at the same time or separately and can be performed as a jump or as a step-over movement. Non-basic positions are allowed during spins executed in one position or, for single skaters, during a flying spin.
Single skaters earn more points for performing difficult entrances into and exits out of their spins. An entrance is defined as "the preparation immediately preceding a spin", and can include the spin's beginning phase. All entrances must have a "significant impact" on the spin's execution, balance, and control, and must be completed on the first spinning foot. The intended spin position must be achieved within the skater's first two revolutions and can be non-basic in spin combinations only. A regular backward entry is not considered a difficult entry. An exit is defined as "the last phase of the spin" and includes the phase immediately performed after the spin. A difficult exit is defined as any jump or movement that makes the exit significantly more difficult. It can include the phase immediately following the spin and must have a "significant impact" on the spin's execution, balance, and control. There are 11 categories of difficult solo spin variations.
### Step sequences
Step sequences have been defined as "steps and turns in a pattern on the ice". The ISU requires that all step sequences are performed "according to the character of the music". A step sequence must have the following characteristics to earn the most points: the sequence must match the music; it must be performed effortlessly throughout the sequence, and have good energy, flow, and execution; and it must have deep edges and clean turns and steps. Also important but not required are the following characteristics: a sequence must have originality and creativity; the skater must have "excellent commitment and control" of his or her entire body; and the skater must have good acceleration and deceleration during the sequence. As of 2022, skaters could include single jumps as choreographic elements into their step sequences without incurring a penalty.
Skaters can make short stops during a step sequence, but they must be performed in accordance with the music. Skaters must also perform steps and turns that are balanced throughout the sequence, which includes turning in all directions, the use of both feet, and up and down movements. Skaters can choose any kind of step sequence they wish, and can include jumps, but they must fully use the ice surface. If a step sequence is barely visible or too short, it does not fulfill step sequence requirements. As of 2022, junior skaters were no longer required to perform a step sequence during their free skate programs; instead, they had to include a choreographic sequence because ISU officials wanted them to focus more on their program components.
### Choreographic sequences
According to the ISU, a choreographic sequence, which occurs during the free skating program in singles skating, "consists of at least two different movements like steps, turns, spirals, arabesques, spread eagles, Ina Bauers, hydroblading, any jumps with maximum of 2 revolutions, spins, etc.". Skaters can use steps and turns to connect the two or more movements together. Judges do not evaluate individual elements in a choreographic segment; rather, they note that it was accomplished. For example, any spin or any single and double jumps included in a choreographic sequence are not included in the final score. If a skater performs a jump with more than two revolutions, the sequence is considered ended. There are no restrictions, but the sequence must be clearly visible.The technical panel identifies when a choreographic sequence begins, at its first movement, and ends, which occurs when the skater prepares to perform the next element if it is not the last element of the program. It can be executed before or after the step sequence.
Single skaters must include the following in order to earn the highest points possible during a choreographic sequence: it must have originality and creativity, the sequence must match the music; and their performance must be effortless throughout the entire sequence, with good energy, execution, and flow. They must also have the following: good precision and clarity; skaters must use the entire ice surface; and skaters must demonstrate "excellent commitment" and control of their whole body while performing their choreographic sequences.
## Rules and regulations
Skaters must only execute the prescribed elements; if they do not, the extra or unprescribed elements will not be counted in their score. Only the first attempt of an element will be included. The ISU published a judges' handbook describing what judges needed to look for during men's and women's single skating competitions in 1965. Violations in single skating include time, music, clothing, and falls and interruptions.
### Time
Judges penalize single junior and senior skaters one point up to every five seconds for ending their programs too early or too late. If they start their programs between one and 30 seconds late, they can lose one point. Skaters are allowed complete their short programs and free skates within plus or minus 10 seconds of the required times; if they cannot, judges can deduct points if they finish up to five seconds too early or too late. If they begin skating any element after their required time (plus the required 10 seconds they have to begin), they earn no points for those elements. If the program's duration is 30 or more seconds under the required time range, skaters will receive no marks.
### Music
All programs must be skated to music of the competitor's choosing. The use of music with lyrics was expanded to singles skating, as well as to pair skating, starting in 2014; the first Olympics affected by this change was in 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea. The ISU's decision, done to increase the sport's audience, to encourage more participation, and to give skaters and choreographers more choice in constructing their programs, had divided support among skaters, coaches, and choreographers. The first senior singles skater who used music with lyrics during a major international competition was Artur Gachinski from Russia, during his short program at Skate America in 2014.
### Clothing
The clothing worn by single skaters at ISU Championships, the Olympics, and international competitions must be "modest, dignified and appropriate for athletic competition—not garish or theatrical in design". Props and accessories are not allowed. Clothing can reflect the character of the skaters' chosen music and must not "give the effect of excessive nudity inappropriate for the discipline".
All men must wear full-length trousers, a rule that has been in effect since the 1994–1995 season. Since 1988, the ISU required that women skaters wear skirts during competition, a rule dubbed "the Katarina Rule", after East German skater Katarina Witt, who "skated her tapdance-based short program in a showgirl-style light blue sequined leotard with high-cut legs, low-cut chest, and similarly colored feathers on her headdress and sleeves and around the hips as the only perfunctionary gesture in the way of a skirt". Decorations on costumes must be "non-detachable"; judges can deduct one point per program if part of the competitors' costumes or decorations fall on the ice. If there is a costume or prop violation, the judges can deduct one point per program.
If competitors do not adhere to these guidelines, they "will be penalized by a deduction". However, costume deductions are rare. Juliet Newcomer from U.S. Figure Skating states that by the time skaters get to a national or world championship, they have received enough feedback about their costumes and are no longer willing to take any more risks of losing points. Former competitive skater and designer Braden Overett told the New York Post that there is "an informal review process before major competitions such as the Olympics, during which judges communicate their preferences".
Also according to the New York Post, one of the goals of skaters and designers is to ensure that a costume's design, which can "make or break a performance", does not affect the skaters' scores. Former competitive skater and fashion writer Shalayne Pulia states that figure skating costume designers are part of a skater's "support team". Designers collaborate with skaters and their coaches to help them design costumes that fit the themes and requirements of their programs for months before the start of each season. There have been calls to require figure skaters to wear uniforms like other competitive sports, in order to make the sport less expensive and more inclusive, and to emphasize its athletic side.
### Falls and interruptions
The ISU defines a fall as the "loss of control by a Skater with the result that the majority of his/her own body weight is on the ice supported by any other part of the body other than the blades; e.g. hand(s), knee(s), back, buttock(s) or any part of the arm". For senior single skaters, one point is deducted for the first and second fall, two points are deducted for the third and fourth fall, and three points are deducted for the fifth fall and any falls after that. Junior single skaters are penalized one point for every fall.
The Boston Globe and other media outlets stated that, as of 2018, the ISU Judging System (IJS) was structured to reward difficult elements, so skaters earned more points despite falling on multi-rotational, complicated jumps than their competitors who skated "clean" programs with less difficult elements and did not lose points from falling. According to former American figure skater Katrina Hacker, falls during jumps occur for the following reasons: the skater makes an error during their takeoff; their jump is under-rotated, or not fully rotated while the skater is in the air; they execute a tilted jump and is unable to land upright on their feet; and they make an error during the first jump of a combination jump, resulting in not having enough smoothness, speed, and flow to complete the second jump.
Injuries to the lower body (the knee, ankle, and back) are the most common for both single skaters and ice dancers. Single skaters experience 0.97 injuries per athlete, over the course of their careers. Single skaters also tend to have more injuries caused by chronic overuse of their lower limbs or backs. Researchers Jason Vescovi and Jaci VanHeest state that 50–75% of injuries can be prevented because they are caused from "training and/or performance issues".
If there is an interruption while performing their program, skaters can lose one point if it lasts more than 10 seconds but not over 20 seconds. They can lose two points if the interruption lasts 20 seconds but not over 30 seconds, and three points if it lasts 30 seconds but not more than 40 seconds. They can lose five points if they do not resume their program until three minutes after the interruption begins. They can also lose five points if the interruption is caused by an "adverse condition" up to three minutes before the start of their program.
If the quality or tempo of the music the skater is using in their program is deficient, or if there is a stop or interruption in their music, no matter the reason, they must stop skating when they become aware of the problem or when signaled to stop by a skating official, whichever occurs first. If any problems with the music happen within 20 seconds after they have begun their program, the skater can choose to either restart their program or to continue from the point where they have stopped performing. If they decide to continue from the point where they stopped, they are continued to happen at that point onward, as well as their performance up to that point. If they decide to restart their program, they are judged from the beginning of their restart and what they had done previously must be disregarded. If the music interruption occurs more than 20 seconds after they have begun their program, or if it occurred during an element or at the entrance of an element, they must resume their program from the point of the interruption. If the element was identified before the interruption, the element must be deleted from the list of performed elements, and the skater is allowed to repeat the element when they resume their program. No deductions are counted for interruptions due to music deficiencies.
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15,187,235 |
Fredmans epistlar
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Book of songs by Carl Michael Bellman
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[
"1790 books",
"Fredmans epistlar",
"Swedish poetry",
"Swedish songs",
"Works by Carl Michael Bellman"
] |
Fredmans epistlar (English: Fredman's Epistles) is a collection of 82 poems set to music by Carl Michael Bellman, a major figure in Swedish 18th century song. Though first published in 1790, it was created over a period of twenty years from 1768 onwards. A companion volume, Fredmans sånger (Fredman's Songs) was published the following year.
The Epistles vary widely in style and effect, from Rococo-themed pastorale with a cast of gods and demigods from classical antiquity to laments for the effects of Brännvin-drinking, tavern-scenes, and apparent improvisations. The lyrics, based on the lives of Bellman's contemporaries in Gustavian-age Sweden, describe a gallery of fictional and semi-fictional characters and events in Stockholm. Jean Fredman, an alcoholic former watchmaker, is the central character and fictional narrator. The "soliloquy" of Epistle 23, a description of Fredman lying drunk in the gutter and then recovering in the Crawl-In Tavern, was described by Oscar Levertin as "the to-be-or-not-to-be of Swedish literature". Ulla Winblad, based on one of Bellman's friends, is the chief of the fictional "nymphs". She is half goddess, half prostitute, a key figure among the demimonde characters of Fredman's Epistles.
The Epistles are admired for the way that their poetry and music fit so well together. Bellman chose not to compose the tunes, instead borrowing and adapting existing melodies, most likely to exploit the humour of contrasting the associations of well-known tunes with the meanings he gave them. This may also have been intended to provide historical depth to his work; he sometimes devoted considerable energy to adapting melodies to fit an Epistle's needs.
Many of the Epistles have remained culturally significant in Scandinavia, especially in Sweden. They are widely sung and recorded: by choirs such as the Orphei Drängar, by professional solo singers such as Fred Åkerström and Cornelis Vreeswijk, and by ensemble singers such as Sven-Bertil Taube and William Clauson. The Epistles have been translated into German, French, English, Russian, Polish, Finnish, Italian and Dutch.
## Overview
Bellman wrote a total of 82 Fredman's Epistles, starting in 1768. The overall theme of the Epistles is, on the surface, drinking, and its effects, but the Epistles are very far from being drinking songs. Instead, they are a diverse collection of songs, often telling stories. They are sometimes romantically pastoral, sometimes serious, even mournful, but always dramatic, full of life. Together, they "paint in words and music a canvas of their age". They are populated by a lengthy cast of characters, and set firmly in Bellman's time and place, eighteenth century Stockholm, but are simultaneously decorated, for romantic or humorous effect, in Rococo style. As a result, listeners are confronted with both striking realism and classical imagery. Within these general themes, the Epistles follow no discernible pattern, and do not join together to tell any single story. Their tunes, too, are borrowed from a variety of sources, often French. The words that are fitted to the tunes are often in parodic contrast to their original themes, very likely achieving humorous effects on their eighteenth-century audiences. Fredman's Epistles are thus not easy to categorise; the critic Johan Henric Kellgren stated that Bellman's songs "had no model and can have no successors".
Bellman was a skilful and entertaining performer of his songs, accompanying himself on the cittern, putting on different voices, and imitating the sounds made by a crowd of people. He is unusual, even unique, among major poets in that almost all of his work was "conceived to music". His achievement has been compared to Shakespeare, Beethoven, Mozart, and Hogarth. Bellman, however, was no great playwright, nor a major classical composer. His biographer, Paul Britten Austin, suggests that the comparison with Hogarth is closer to the mark. Bellman had a gift for using elegant classical references in comic contrast to the sordid realities of drinking and prostitution. The way he does this, at once regretting and celebrating these excesses in song, achieves something of what Hogarth achieved in engravings and paint. The art historian Axel Romdahl describes Bellman's sensibility as if he had been a painter: "An unusual swiftness of apprehension, both optical and aural, must have distinguished him." Britten Austin agrees with this, noting that "When [Bellman's] words and music have faded into silence it is the visual image which remains." Jan Sjåvik comments in the Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Literature and Theater that "Bellman's achievement consists in taking this humble and unrecognized literary form [the drinking song] and raising it to a genre that became impossible to ignore, while in the process creating songs and characters that have become an indispensable part of Sweden's literary and cultural heritage."
## The Epistles
Many of the 82 Fredman's Epistles remain popular in Sweden. Their diverse styles and themes may be illustrated with examples of some of the best-known songs. To begin with No. 23, Ack du min Moder! (Alas, thou my mother), which has been described as "the to-be-or-not-to-be of Swedish literature", tells, in realist style, the story of a drunk who wakes in a Stockholm gutter outside the Crawl-In Tavern. He curses his parents for conceiving him "perhaps upon a table" as he looks at his torn clothes. Then the tavern door opens, and he goes in and has his first drink. The song ends with loud thanks to the drunk's mother and father. In contrast, the Rococo No. 28, I går såg jag ditt barn, min Fröja (Yesterday I saw thy child, my Freya), tells the tale of an attempt to arrest the "nymph" Ulla Winblad, based on a real event. Bellman here combines realism – Ulla wearing a black embroidered bodice, and losing her watch in a named street (Yxsmedsgränd) in Stockholm's Gamla stan – with images from classical mythology, such as a myrtle crown and an allusion to the goddess Aphrodite.
Quite a different tone is set in No. 40, Ge rum i Bröllops-gåln din hund! (Make room in the wedding-hall, you dog!), as some unruly soldiers interfere in a chaotic wedding, mixing roughly with the musicians and the wedding-party. Shouts of "Shoulder arms!" and panic at a chimney fire combine with a complex rhyming pattern to create a humorous picture of the disastrous event. The story ends with the priest pocketing some of the collection money. A later Epistle, No. 48, Solen glimmar blank och trind (The sun gleams smooth and round), narrates the relaxed and peaceful journey of a boat bringing Ulla Winblad home to Stockholm across Lake Mälaren on a lovely spring morning, after a night of carousing. The boatmen call to each other, apparently haphazardly, but each detail helps to create a pastoral vision as "Gradually the wind blows up / In the fallen sails; / The pennant stretches, and with an oar / Olle stands on a hayboat;". The song is "one of Bellman's greatest", creating "an incomparable panorama of that eighteenth-century Stockholm which meets us in Elias Martin's canvasses."
Bellman had stopped composing Epistles by 1781; he started again by the end of the decade, composing seven of his finest works around 1789 to 1790: Epistles 70, 71, 77, 80, 81, 82, and revising Epistle 72 which he had written in 1772. The musicologist James Massengale calls this "an impressive group, containing several of the [most] popular Bellman favorites of all time, as well as some of his most complex and intriguing works of art". He adds that the sources of their melodies are mostly unknown, leading some to suggest that Bellman composed the melodies rather than following his usual habit of modifying well-known existing tunes.
No. 71, Ulla! min Ulla! säj får jag dig bjuda (Ulla! My Ulla! Say, may I offer thee) is another of the best-loved pastoral Epistles, and the melody may well be by Bellman himself. It imagines how Fredman, sitting on horseback outside Ulla's window at Fiskartorpet on a summer's day, invites her to come and dine with him on "reddest strawberries in milk and wine". The following Epistle, No. 72, Glimmande nymf (Gleaming nymph), is a night-piece, set to an Andante melody from a French opéra comique. It describes in erotic detail the "nymph" asleep in her bed. To create the desired mood of rising excitement, Bellman creates a rainbow — after sunset. Britten Austin comments that the audience "does not even notice". Meanwhile, No. 80, Liksom en Herdinna, högtids klädd (Like a shepherdess in her best dress), is a pastorale, almost paraphrasing Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux's French guide to the construction of pastoral verse, starting with "As a Shepherdess splendidly dressed / By the spring one day in June / gathers from the grass's rosy bed / adornments and accents for her dress". The effect is of an "almost religious invocation".
The final Epistle, No. 82, Hvila vid denna källa (Rest by this spring), is both pastoral and Rococo, depicting a "little breakfast" in the Stockholm countryside. Red wine flows; there is roast chicken, and an almond tart. Flowers "of a thousand kinds" are all around; a stallion parades in a field "with his mare and foal"; a bull roars; a cockerel hops on the roof, and a magpie chatters. Meanwhile, the musicians are exhorted to blow along with the wind god Eol, small love-sprites are asked to sing, and Ulla is called a nymph. The final chorus asks everyone to drink their dram of brandy.
## Cast of characters
The lyrics of the Epistles describe a gallery of fictional and semi-fictional characters who take part in more or less real events in and around the Stockholm of Bellman's time. This cast includes some 44 named personages, many of whom appear only once or twice. Some, like the principal characters Jean Fredman and Ulla Winblad, are based on real people, and in Fredman's case his real name was used. The Fredman of the Epistles is an alcoholic former watchmaker, and is the central character and fictional narrator. He is thus supposedly present in all the Epistles, but is only named in a few of them. The backdrop of many of the Epistles, Stockholm's taverns, is also frequented by musicians including Christian Wingmark on flute, Father Berg on various instruments, Father Movitz, and the dance master Corporal Mollberg.
A particular group is the Order of Bacchus (Bacchi Orden): to become a member, one must be seen lying in a drunken stupor in a Stockholm gutter at least twice. Among the more minor characters is the brandy-distiller Lundholm. Another is Norström, Ulla Winblad's husband; the real Eric Nordström did in fact marry the "real Ulla Winblad", Maria Kristina Kiellström, a silk-spinner and fallen woman made pregnant by a passing nobleman. In the Epistles, Ulla Winblad is the chief of the "nymphs". She is half goddess, half prostitute, chief among the demimonde characters of the Epistles.
## Rococo theme
Many of the Epistles have a Rococo theme, especially the pastorale pieces with a cast of gods and demigods from classical mythology. Thus, Epistle 25, "Blåsen nu alla (All blow now!)", a short crossing of the Stockholm waterway to Djurgården, is peopled with billowing waves, thunder, Venus, Neptune, tritons, postillions, angels, dolphins, zephyrs "and Paphos's whole might", as well as water-nymphs splashing about the "nymph" – in other words, Ulla Winblad.
The principal figures, given that the Epistles focus on drinking and its effects, along with "nymphs", are Bacchus and Venus / Fröja, but the cast is wider, including:
- Amaryllis – a nymph of the countryside (from Virgil's Eclogues)
- Bacchus – god of wine and drinking
- Charon – the ferryman of Hades, carrying souls to the place of the dead
- Chloris / Flora – the nymph or goddess of springtime, flowers and growth
- Clotho – one of the three fates, spinning the thread of human life (which is suddenly cut off)
- Cupid / Astrild – god of desire and erotic love, Astrild being a late Nordic invention
- Jupiter/Jofur – king of the gods on Mount Olympus, god of thunder
- Morpheus – god of sleep
- Neptune – god of the sea, accompanying the birth of Venus from the waves
- Nymph – a (beautiful) female nature deity
- Pan – god of wildness and rough countryside
- Themis – Titaness of divine law and justice
- Triton – messenger of the sea, accompanying Neptune
- Venus / Fröja / Aphrodite at Paphos – goddesses of love
## Realism
Alongside the frankly mythological, Fredman's Epistles have a convincing realism, painting pictures of moments of low life in Bellman's contemporary Stockholm. Bellman himself provided a list of descriptions of his characters, giving a brief pen-portrait of each one, like "Anders Wingmark, a former clothier in Urvädersgränd, very cheerful and full of commonsense". Different characters appear in different Epistles, making them realistically episodic. There is a fire in Epistle 34; a funeral is busily prepared in Epistles 46 and 47; and a fight breaks out in Epistle 53. Many of the songs are about the effects of strong drink, from the damage to the Gröna Lund Tavern in Epistle 12 to the masterly portrait of a drunkard lying in the gutter of Epistle 23, described by Oscar Levertin as "the to-be-or-not-to-be of Swedish literature".
The pastoral Epistles, too, give the impression of being in real places, with flesh-and-blood people, at specific times of day. Epistle 48 tells how the friends return to Stockholm by boat after a night out on Lake Mälaren, one summer morning in 1769. Each of its twenty-one verses paints a picture of a moment in the peaceful journey, from the wind stirring the fallen sails, the skipper's daughter coming out of her cabin, the cockerel crowing, the church clock striking four in the morning, the sun glimmering on the calm water. The effects may seem to be haphazard, but "each stanza is a little picture, framed by its melody. We remember it all, seem to have lived through it, like a morning in our own lives." Britten Austin calls it "a new vision of the natural and urban scene. Fresh as Martin's. Detailed as Hogarth's. Frail and ethereal as Watteau's."
Britten Austin tempers his praise for Bellman's realism with the observation that the effects are chosen to work in song, rather than to be strictly correct or even possible. Thus in Epistle 72, "Glimmande Nymf", the memorable rainbow with its glowing colours "of purple, gold and green" is seen after nightfall. He comments "Never mind. It is a beautiful scene, even if its chronology calls for much poetic license." Or in Epistle 80, "Liksom en herdinna", the farmer is for some reason going to or coming from market on a Sunday, when the market would be closed; and his cart "heavy on staggering wheel" must have been absurdly full if it contained chickens, lambs, and calves all at once. But it had to be a Sunday to allow Ulla Winblad to step out of her swaying chaise, on an outing from the city. Britten Austin remarks that "until such solecisms are actually pointed out, one does not even notice them." It is the same with the meals, which would cause "terrible indigestion" if the listener actually had to eat them, but "as a feast for mind, eye and ear they are highly satisfactory", the imagination filled with "all the poetic wealth" that Bellman provides.
The literary historian Lars Warme observes that Bellman's sharp eye for detail has brought him praise for being the first Swedish realist, but at once balances this by saying that
> his particular brand of 'realism' carries with it a heaping measure of pure fantasy, grotesque humor, and—not least—an elegant veneer of classical mythology.
Warme credits Bellman with a good knowledge of a literary craftsman's tools, using rhetoric and classical knowledge "to provide a theatrical backdrop for his tavern folk." The result is an "astonishing mixture of realism and wild mythological fantasy", set to complicated musical structures:
> marches and contradances, operatic ariettes, and graceful minuets. The result is related to a drinking song only by derivation. As an artistic achievement it stands alone in the history of Swedish poetry.
## Fitted to music
The critic Johan Henric Kellgren, in his introduction to the first edition, found that the songs could not be known fully only as poems. Never before, he stated, had the art of poetry and the art of music been more fraternally united. They were not, Kellgren argued, verse that had been set to music; not music, set to verse; but the two were so thoroughly melted together into One beauty that it was impossible to see which would most miss the other for its fulfilment. Quoting this in the final paragraph of his thesis, Massengale commented "That is how it ought to be said!"
Massengale argues that, given that music is so important in the Epistles, and that Bellman had more than enough musical skill to write a tune, it is remarkable that all or almost all the tunes are borrowed. He suggests that this "seems to indicate that Bellman wanted to preserve some vestige of the borrowing." That the borrowing was not just about saving effort or making up for absent skill, Massengale argues, is demonstrated by the fact that the amount of work Bellman had to put into the melodies for Epistles 12 ("Gråt Fader Berg och spela") and 24 ("Kära syster") was "surely tantamount to the production of new melodies." Borrowing was accepted, even encouraged at the time, but that does not explain why Bellman would have done it so consistently. The "poetic possibility", Massengale suggests, is that Bellman wished to exploit the humorous contrast between a melody of one type and a story of another, or between an existing image associated with the melody, and a fresh one presented in an Epistle. In addition, Bellman was able to use what his audience knew to be borrowed music to reinforce the historical flavour of the Epistles, introducing exactly the kind of ambiguity that he was seeking.
Massengale points out that in the Epistles, Bellman employs a variety of methods to make the poetry work. For example, in Epistle 35, Bröderna fara väl vilse ibland, Bellman uses a panoply of metrical devices to counteract the "metrically plodding melody". He uses the rhetorical figure anadiplosis (repeating the last word of a clause at the start of the next) in verse 3 with "...skaffa jag barnet; barnet det dog,..." (...got I the child; the child died...) and again in verse 4. He uses epanalepsis (repeating the first word of a clause at its end) in verse 3, with "Men, min Anna Greta, men!" (But, my Anna Greta, but!), and again in verse 5. And he uses anaphora (repeating a word at the starts of neighbouring clauses) in verse 4, "häll den på hjärtat, häll man fyra!" (pour ... pour out four!), and again in verse 5. Massengale observes that good musical poetry, like this Epistle, is always a compromise, as it has both to fit its music or be no good as a musical setting, and to contrast with its music, or be no good as poetry. The final verse, containing all three metrical devices, is not, argues Massengale, an example of "decay", but shows Bellman's freedom, change of focus (from lament to acceptance), and the closure of the Epistle.
## Improvisation
King Gustav III called Bellman "Il signor improvisatore" (The master improviser). Scholars have debated the question of how far the Epistles are in fact improvisations. Carol J. Clover writes that while many of the Epistles give the impression of having been improvised during performance, there is plentiful evidence to the contrary. She notes Milman Parry's identification of the poetic formula, a metrical phrase for a particular idea, as the hallmark of improvised, orally composed, poetry; and that Bellman certainly had "regular usages" in the Epistles. These include hundreds of repetitions of phrases like "Kära syster" (among other occurrences, the title of Epistle 24), "Kära bror", "Kära vänner" and so forth for various persons. She notes, too, that while vin (wine) often appears without kärlek (love), "kärlek, in keeping with Fredman's program, is rarely mentioned apart from vin", giving instances like Epistle 24's Sjung om kärlek, vin och lycka alongside Epistle 11's Sjungom om kärlek, ropa på vin and phrases from Epistles 4, 13, 17, 21, and 64. She writes that the early Epistles have the rough-and-ready, but also quick and verbally clever, quality of krogspoesi (tavern verse). In contrast, a late one like Liksom en Herdinna, högtids klädd (Epistle 80) is evidently a "highly conscious literary composition" with "longer lines and a more relaxed rhyme pattern" which permits more complex content, in that case a rococo pastorale. She notes Anton Blanck [sv]'s identification of 1772 as the turning point, from Bellman's early years in the relaxed 18th century frihetstiden to the Gustavian era's "poised rococo consciousness". In her view, the early Epistles are close to the improvisatory tradition, while the later ones are undoubtedly more literary.
## Impact
### In Bellman's lifetime
Bellman is said to have had an "enormous reputation" in his lifetime. The critic Kellgren had earlier objected both to Bellman's fame and to his flouting of the rules of good literary taste. Kellgren put his objections into verse:
> Anacreon! Where is thy fame?
> Thy lyre another's hand has seized
> Whose wit, with drunken sallies pleas'd,
> Priapus' court delights; the same
> Grows wild apace as e'er Chrysippos,
> And full as rich his learnéd vein.
In other words, Bellman was a "tavern rhymester", admittedly with a wonderful gift of improvisation, who wildly ignored the rules of literary genres. For example, within the classical tradition odes and satires were supposed to have different metres and different use of language. Kellgren did not mind the amoral attitude: "indeed he shared it". But an Epistle like No. 28 traversed all moods, "from lyrical to humorous, tragic, descriptive and dramatic." It was too much for critics such as Kellgren. By the time of publication however, Kellgren had changed his mind, and helped in the publication of the epistles and wrote a foreword praising Bellman's verse.
### In later times
Bellman was sung "with delight" by students and schoolchildren from the start of the 19th century. The Romantic movement treated Bellman as an inspired genius, whereas later he was admired more for his artistic skill and literary innovation. Research into Bellman's work began in the 19th century; the Bellman Society formalised Bellman studies with their standard edition and their Bellmansstudier publications in the 20th century. Towards the end of the 20th century, an increasing number of doctoral theses have been written on Bellman's life and work.
Many of the songs have remained culturally significant in Scandinavia, especially in Sweden, where Bellman remains "widely popular to this day". In 1989, the Swedish government subsided an edition of Bellman's Epistles and Songs, with illustrations by Peter Dahl, to bring the texts to a wide audience.
Bellman has been compared with poets and musicians as diverse as Shakespeare and Beethoven. Åse Kleveland notes that he has been called "Swedish poetry's Mozart, and Hogarth", observing that
> The comparison with Hogarth was no accident. Like the English portrait painter, Bellman drew detailed pictures of his time in his songs, not so much of life at court as of ordinary people's everyday.
Britten Austin says instead simply that:
> Bellman is unique among great poets, I think, in that virtually his entire opus is conceived to music. Other poets, of course, notably our Elizabethans, have written songs. But song was only one branch of their art. They did not leave behind, as Bellman did, a great musical-literary work nor paint in words and music a canvas of their age. Nor are their songs dramatic.
Charles Wharton Stork commented in his 1917 anthology of Swedish verse that "The anthologist finds little to pause over until he comes to the poetry of Karl Mikael Bellman (1740-1795), but here he must linger long." Describing him as a "master of improvisation", he wrote:
> Like all great masters, Bellman reconciles the opposing elements of style and substance, of form and fire. His content reminds one somewhat of the pictures of Rome in Horace's Epistles. Fredman, who is the poet himself, introduces his readers to an intimate circle of friends: to Movitz, to Mollberg, to Amaryllis, to Ulla Vinblad, and the rest. With them we witness the life of Stockholm : the world awakening at daybreak after rain, a funeral, a concert, a visit to a sick friend, and various idyllic excursions into the neighboring parks and villages. The little world lives and we live in it. Considering this phase of Bellman's genius, the critic will pronounce him a realist of the first order. But when one notes his dazzling mastery of form, his prodigal variety of meter and stanza, his ease and spontaneity, one is equally tempted to call him a virtuoso of lyric style."
### Performance and recordings
The Epistles are widely sung and recorded by amateur choirs and professional singers alike. The Orphei Drängar (Orpheus's farmhands) are a choir named for a phrase in Epistle 14, and set up to perform Bellman's works; they give concerts (of music by many composers) around the world.
Several professional solo singers in the Swedish ballad tradition largely made their name in the 1960s singing Bellman, while accompanying themselves in Bellmanesque style with a guitar. They were the members of the "Storks" artistic community ("Vispråmen Storken") in Stockholm, and they include Fred Åkerström (1937–1985) with his albums Fred sjunger Bellman, Glimmande nymf and Vila vid denna källa, and Cornelis Vreeswijk with his albums Spring mot Ulla, spring! and Movitz! Movitz! Other singers, such as Sven-Bertil Taube and William Clauson, used the less authentic accompaniment of an ensemble; Clauson was also the first to release a recording of Bellman in English, alongside his Swedish recordings.
Singers from other traditions sometimes sing Bellman; for example, the folk singer Sofia Karlsson and the rock musician Kajsa Grytt.
## Editions
The 1790 edition was the only one to appear in Bellman's lifetime. It was published by Olof Åhlström, by royal privilege; he held a monopoly on the printing of sheet music in Sweden. Åhlström arranged the songs for piano, and Kellgren edited the song texts and wrote an introduction, but the extent of their influence on the shape of Fredman's Epistles cannot be fully determined. The edition was illustrated with a frontispiece by the leading Swedish artist Johan Tobias Sergel, engraved by Johan Fredrik Martin.
The corpus of published Epistles did not change after Bellman's death. Many minor selections from the Epistles have been published, sometimes with illustrations and introductions. The Epistles have been translated, at least partially, into Danish, German, French, English, Russian, Polish, Finnish, Norwegian, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch, as shown below.
The English edition by Britten Austin is a selection of the Epistles, and is in rhyming verse in the original metre. Britten Austin describes the challenge of translation as difficult or impossible, and admits that in one way his translations are inevitably "a little faint." He explains this is because "Bellman's colloquialisms which offended his contemporaries still strike Swedish ears as the language of everyday speech. My renderings, therefore, may seem a trifle too antique in flavour; but to have jumbled up, as Bellman brilliantly does, modern-sounding slang with the graces of Rococo diction, would have produced a horrid effect.
Editions and selections of the Epistles, some with illustrations, some with music, some printed together with Fredman's Songs, include:
- 1790: Fredmans epistlar, Stockholm: Olof Åhlström, by Royal Privilege.
: --- facsimile reprint, 1976: Uddevalla.
- 1816: Fredmans epistlar, Stockholm: Rumstedt.
- 1844: Fredmans epistlar, Copenhagen: Jaeger. With 24 coloured lithographs.
- 1858: Fredmans epistlar, Text och musik, Copenhagen: J. Erslev. (In Danish)
- 1869: Fredmans epistlar och sånger, Stockholm: Elkan and Schildknecht.
- 1889: Fredmans epistlar, Stockholm: Bonniers. Arranged for piano solo.
- 1899: Fredmans epistlar af Carl Michael Bellman, Stockholm: Ljus. Intro. by Oscar Levertin. Illus. by Alf Wallander.
- 1909: Fredmans Episteln, Jena: E. Diederichs. (In German)
- 1920: Fredmans epistlar, Ord och musik, Stockholm: Bonniers.
- 1927: Carl Michael Bellmans skrifter. 1. Fredmans Epistlar, Stockholm: Bellmanssällskapet. ("Standard Edition")
- 1953: Les Épîtres de Fredman, Stockholm: Norstedt. (In French) 28 Epistles trans. Nils Afzelius and Pierre Volboudt. Illus. by Elias Martin.
: --- reprinted, 1984: La Ferté-Milon.
- 1958: Das trunkene Lied, Munich: Desch. (In German). trans. Hanns von Gumppenberg, Felix Niedner, Georg Schwarz.
- 1977: Fredman's Epistles and Songs, Stockholm: Reuter and Reuter. (In English) trans. Paul Britten Austin.
- 1982: Pesni Fredmana; Poslaniia Fredmana, Leningrad: Khudozh. (In Russian)
- 1991: Fredmanowe posłania i pieśni, Kraków: Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne. (In Polish)
- 1991: Lauluja ja epistoloita, Helsinki: Yliopistopaino. (In Finnish)
- 1994: Fredmans epistlar, Stockholm: Proprius.
- 2002: Ulla, mia Ulla: antologia poetica in italiano cantabile, Rome: Istituti editoriali e poligrafici internazionali. (In Italian). A selection.
- 2003: Sterven van liefde en leven van wijn : een bloemlezing uit de Epistels & Zangen van Fredman, 's-Hertogenbosch : Voltaire. (In Dutch). A selection.
|
33,496,541 |
You Are the Apple of My Eye
| 1,152,075,778 |
2011 Taiwanese film directed by Giddens Ko
|
[
"2010s Mandarin-language films",
"2010s coming-of-age films",
"2010s teen romance films",
"2011 directorial debut films",
"2011 films",
"Films based on Taiwanese novels",
"Films directed by Giddens Ko",
"Taiwanese romance films",
"Taiwanese teen films"
] |
You Are the Apple of My Eye (Chinese: 那些年,我們一起追的女孩, lit. 'Those Years, The Girl We Went After Together') is a 2011 Taiwanese coming of age romance film. It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Taiwanese author Giddens Ko, who also made his directorial debut with the film. The film stars Ko Chen-tung as Ko Ching-teng, a prankster and a mischievous student who eventually becomes a writer. Michelle Chen stars as Shen Chia-yi, an honor student who is very popular amongst the boys in her class.
You Are the Apple of My Eye was filmed almost entirely on location in Changhua County, including at the high school which Giddens attended. The lyrics of "Those Years", the film's main theme, were written by Giddens. The song, which was well received by the public, was nominated for Best Original Film Song at the 48th Golden Horse Awards.
The film's world premiere was at the 13th Taipei Film Festival on 25 June 2011, and it was subsequently released in Taiwanese cinemas on 19 August. Well received by film critics, the movie set box-office records in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Ko Chen-tung won the Best New Performer award at the Golden Horse Awards for his role in the film.
## Plot
The story begins in 1994. An outstanding student, Shen Chia-yi, is popular among her teachers and classmates. Ko Ching-teng, a mischievous and poor student, claims that he has no interest in her, despite being her classmate since junior high school. One day, Ching-teng is caught masturbating during class, and the principal reseats him, placing him in front of Chia-yi.
One day, Chia-yi forgets her English textbook. Ching-teng slips her his own book and tells their teacher he forgot his own textbook; he then endures a long lecture and is punished. Chia-yi, touched by Ching-teng's generosity, prepares a practice exam for him in return, to encourage him to study. She also convinces him to stay after school to study with her. Their relationship grows, and Ching-teng's grades gradually improve.
On graduation, Ching-teng enrolls at the National Chiao Tung University. Chia-Yi, who did not do well on the admission exam because she was ill on that day, only manages to enter the National Taipei University of Education with her mediocre test results. Depressed and upset, she is consoled by Ching-teng, who calls her long-distance almost every night from the university. During the winter holiday season that year, the two go on their first "date", during which Ching-teng asks Chia-yi if she loves him. However, fearing she would say no, he decides that he would rather not hear her answer (it is revealed later that her reply would have been "yes"). Ching-teng later organizes a fight night and invites Chia-yi to watch, hoping to impress her with his "strength". On the contrary, Chia-yi finds it childish for Ching-teng to injure himself for no reason. This upsets Ching-teng, sparking a quarrel that causes the two to break up.
During the two years after their breakup, Ching-teng has no contact with Chia-yi. He qualifies for a graduate research course at Tunghai University, where he begins writing stories online. Ching-teng only regains contact with Chia-yi after the 1999 Jiji earthquake, when he calls to see if she is okay. During their long conversation with each other, they both lament the fact that they were not fated to become a couple.
Years later, in 2005, Chia-yi suddenly calls Ching-teng to tell him that she is getting married. All of her old friends gather at the wedding, making jokes and trying to embarrass her somewhat-older husband. They are surprised that their past emotions have transformed into deep friendship and serenity. Ching-teng begins to work on a web novel about his experiences with Chia-yi.
Later, when they gather to congratulate the bride and groom, the friends joke that they should be able to kiss the bride. The husband says that anybody who wants to kiss the bride has to kiss him like that first. Ching-teng grabs the groom and pushes him onto the table, kissing him like he would kiss Chia-yi. During their kiss, he remembers how he regrets their fight from years ago, and what could have happened had he apologized for being childish.
## Cast
- Kai Ko as Ko Ching-teng (nicknamed "Ko-teng"), a mischievous schoolboy who later becomes a writer (Ko Ching-teng is the real name of the director, Giddens).
- Michelle Chen as Shen Chia-yi, an outgoing student who consistently scores well in tests. Although she disdains boys less intelligent than herself, she decides to help Ching-teng improve his grades. In the process, she falls in love with him.
- Owodog as Tsao Kuo-sheng (nicknamed "Lao Tsao"), one of Ching-teng's friends. He had a crush on Chia-yi, and once asked Ching-teng to deliver a love letter he had written for her.
- Steven Hao as Hsieh Ming-ho (nicknamed "A-he"), one of Ching-teng's friends. He loves to eat, and is the butt of his friends' jokes due to this. He is the only person in the group who has dated Chia-yi.
- Emerson Tsai as Liao Ying-hung, one of Ching-teng's best friends. He likes to crack jokes and perform magic tricks, and later becomes a librarian.
- Yen Sheng-yu as Hsu Bo-chun (nicknamed "Boner"), one of Ching-teng's friends
- Wan Wan as Hu Chia-wei, Chia-yi's best friend. She likes to draw pictures, and after graduating from school becomes a manga artist known as "The Queen of Blogs".
## Production
### Development
You Are the Apple of My Eye is based on Giddens' semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. He changed some details of the story to make the film more dramatic; for example, Ching-teng and Chia-yi's fight actually took place over the phone, not in the rain as depicted. Giddens said, "although some of the reasons for the events in the film were changed, the main storyline remained unchanged". Asked if he was pressured by the recent success of Taiwanese films at the box office, he replied "No, I am more pressured by whether the film is nice to watch, whether it will succeed in the box office, and whether it will become an embarrassment for me. Also, if the film is not nice, it will be a letdown to Chen-tung and Michelle, who have been working so hard".
At first, the film was on a tight budget; Giddens used his entire savings and mortgaged his house to raise money, saying that he did it to impress ex-girlfriend, who provided the inspiration for this film's female protagonist, Shen Chia-yi. Executive producer Angie Chai also played a key role in raising money for the film.
### Casting
Michelle Chen was the first cast member confirmed by the director. Mypaper reported that Giddens was attracted to her during their first meeting, saying that she resembled the real Shen Chia-yi. Chen had previously starred in Taiwanese television drama series such as Why Why Love and Miss No Good, although she was better known for her 2009 film Hear Me. Chen went on a diet to lose weight for the role, saying she wished to "not disappoint the director". Giddens later used her as a basis to select the other cast members.
The selection process for the male lead was the longest, and a series of auditions attracted several celebrities. Giddens chose first-time actor Ko Chen-tung because he felt he showed great improvement in his acting skills in each successive audition. Giddens liked his attitude, having seen Ko Chen-tung hiding in a corner, frantically studying the script just before his audition.
The director chose Ao-chuan, Yen Sheng-yu, Hao Shao-wen, and Tsai Chang-hsien to play the roles of his high school friends. He described Hao Shao-wen as being a persuasive speaker, Tsai Chang-hsien as being a very good prankster, and Ao-chuan as self-confident. Hu Chia-wei played herself as a teenager. Giddens describes the two of them as "the Jay Chou and Jolin Tsai of the [Chinese] publishing world".
Giddens' mother told him that she would like either Lotus Wang or Phoebe Huang to play her in the film. In the end, Giddens settled on Lotus Wang, because she did not have any other work commitments at that time. Ko Chen-tung's real father plays the father in the film.
### Filming
You Are the Apple of My Eye was primarily filmed at Ching Cheng High School (精誠中學), the school Giddens and Shen Chia-yi attended. The director said he chose the school because "he wanted so badly to see Ko Chen-tung and Michelle Chen in the school uniform that he remembered vividly". The filming of the school scenes could only be done during the Taiwanese school holidays. Because the main location was at the school, it was decided to film the remainder of the film on location throughout Changhua County. The filming had a reported budget of NT\$50 million (approx. US\$1.67M in January 2012).
### Theme song
"Childish" (孩子氣), a song from the film, was written and sung by Michelle Chen. Giddens was so touched by the song that he shed tears "on the spot" after first hearing it; in particular, he liked the song's lyrics. He also praised Michelle's dedication to her role, saying "I believe that the reason that she managed to get inspiration to write this song is because she likes her role [in this film]".
Giddens was also involved in some of this film's theme songs, including "Those Years" (那些年). At first Giddens could not decide on the closing theme for this film; however, after hearing one of Japanese composer Mitsutoshi Kimura's new compositions he chose it and added lyrics. "The Lonely Caffeine" (寂寞的咖啡因) had been composed by Giddens for Shen Chia-Yi when the two were in a relationship. He asked the male lead actor to sing the song in the film, because he felt this would convey the song's original meaning.
"Those Years" was an instant hit. The music video on YouTube logged its ten millionth viewer on 11 November 2011, leading Giddens to note that the song "broke every notable viewership record set by a Chinese-language video on Youtube". In the Taiwanese KKBOX singles daily charts, "Those Years" remained at the top for 64 consecutive days, from 22 August to 22 October 2011, breaking the previous record of 45 consecutive days. The song was nominated for the Best Original Film Soundtrack award at the 48th Golden Horse Awards.
### Editing
You Are the Apple of My Eye was edited over for its various releases due to its controversial content. In Taiwan, the film was initially given a "Restricted" film classification. Giddens was extremely upset by this, and even personally went to Government Information Office to appeal. The film had to be edited 4 times in order to lower its classification. In the end, the film received a "Guidance" classification, meaning that children above 12 are able to watch it. In Malaysia, the scene where the students masturbated in the classroom was deleted. In Singapore, the film remained unedited, but it received a NC-16 rating, thus restricting the film to viewers above 16.
The film was heavily edited for its Mainland China release. The scene where a flag-raising ceremony was taking place was edited away, as were the scenes involving masturbation. In total, six scenes involving "negative sexual and pro-Taiwan content" were either edited away or changed. The director also had to add new scenes in order to make the story flow more smoothly after editing.
## Soundtrack
The original soundtrack album for You Are the Apple of My Eye was released by Sony Music Entertainment Taiwan on 5 August 2011. It contains six songs with vocals and nine instrumental pieces that were used in this film.
## Release
You Are the Apple of My Eye made its debut in competition at the 13th Taipei Film Festival on 25 June 2011. The film made its international debut as the opening film for the sixth Summer International Film Festival in Hong Kong. It then had its general release in Taiwan on 19 August 2011.
The film was screened at the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival on 24 October 2011, where the director and cast were present. It was well-received, with audiences reportedly squeezing into the cinema to the extent that people had to sit in the aisles. Internationally, the film was released in Hong Kong and Macau on 20 October and in Singapore and Malaysia on 10 November 2011.
On 21 December, Giddens announced on his blog that the film passed the censorship board in China and would debut in that country on 6 January 2012. Giddens had previously expressed a wish for the film to be screened in China so Shen Chia-Yi, for whom he had made the film, could see it and comment. Giddens was unhappy when Chinese censors cut much of the film's "negative sexual and pro-Taiwan content". He apologized to viewers in China for being unable to deliver on his promise to show the full story, saying that he "blamed only himself". He added that he "did not think that the China's version was better [than the other overseas versions]."
Giddens revealed that negotiations were ongoing for the film's release in Europe and the United States. The film subsequently made its North American debut at the New York Asian Film Festival on 2 July 2012. It was later screened at the 2012 Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal. Giddens also announced that a sequel will be produced; it will begin production in 2013, and is expected to be released in cinemas in 2014.
You Are the Apple of My Eye was first aired on television on 24 March 2012 on the STAR Chinese Movies network. It became the most-watched film on television in Taiwan, having attracted an audience of almost 3 million people. In the 15 to 44 years old audience, it had an average rating of 7.14, with the rating peaking at 9.27 during the screening. It was also the most-watched television program on both cable and free-to-air networks in Taiwan. STAR Chinese Movies reportedly purchased the rights to the film for the price of NT\$2 million (approx. US\$69,000).
## Reception
### Box office
You Are the Apple of My Eye grossed more than NT\$\$20 million at the Taiwanese box office during its soft launch. This makes it the first Taiwanese film to gross over NT\$\$20 million before its official release date. The film crossed the NT\$200 million mark ten days after its official opening. In total, the film earned over NT\$420 million at the Taiwanese box office, making it the third-highest-grossing film of 2011 in Taiwan.
In Hong Kong, You Are the Apple of My Eye grossed a total of HK\$1,397,571 during its premiere (representing 50.6 percent of Hong Kong box-office earnings) on 20 October 2011. Four days after its release the film had earned a total of HK\$11,525,621, breaking the record for the highest-grossing film debuting in the month of October. It also set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a Taiwanese film at the Hong Kong box office, previously held by Lust, Caution in 2007 with a gross of \$11,441,946. The film recorded the highest Hong Kong opening-four-day attendance in 2011 with 211,163 attending, breaking 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy's previous record of 143,222. The film also has the highest four-day gross of a 2D film in 2011, and remained the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong cinemas for four consecutive weekends. During the final hours of 2011, it was announced that You Are the Apple of My Eye had grossed over HK\$61.28 million, making it the all-time highest-grossing Taiwanese film at the Hong Kong box office. At the Macau box office, You Are the Apple of My Eye earned more than HK\$100,000 in its opening weekend, with nearly 100-percent attendance.
In Singapore You Are the Apple of My Eye earned a total of SGD\$675,000, making it the second-highest-grossing film in Singapore that weekend despite the film's NC-16 rating (which meant that only viewers over age 16 were admitted); this surprised the film's distributor, 20th Century Fox. The film broke the record for highest opening weekend for a Taiwanese film in Singapore, previously held by the 2007 film Secret. It surpassed the performance of other Taiwanese films such as Monga, Cape No. 7 and Lust, Caution. You Are the Apple of My Eye was the highest-grossing Asian film of 2011 at the Singapore box office, with earnings of SGD\$2.93 million.
At the Chinese box office, You Are the Apple of My Eye became the most popular Taiwanese film, surpassing the previous record set by Cape No. 7 in 2008. It was the third-highest-earning film on its debut weekend, grossing about 27 million yuan. The film subsequently crossed the 50-million-yuan-gross mark on 13 January 2012.
### Critical response
Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as a "larky retro coming-of-age confection". She praised the film, saying that it "injects a fresh, tart edge to the genre with a constantly self-mocking boys' angle", which she described as an "alternative to Asian teen movies that tend to be syrupy". She said that "the youthful cast has a limited register but offer enough self-conscious blasé posing." She described the film's texture as "slightly over-bright". Russell Edwards, reviewing for Variety, criticized the second part of this film, which he says is "unable to maintain the outlandish phallocentric humor of its first hour". He further criticized the last quarter of the film, which Edwards says "sees Giddens overestimating the charm of his own story". Edwards praised the film's cast which, he said, were the film's "greatest asset". He also praised the film as "a much more robust production than many similar youth-skewing Taiwanese romancers over the past decade".
Serene Lim, a reviewer for Today, labelled the film a "gentle tale of a teenage romance". She said that "Ko's talents as a novelist are evident", although his "attention to detail can get indulgently long-winded at times". Lim singled out Ko Chen-tung for praise, saying that "[he] thoroughly deserves his Golden Horse nomination for Best Newcomer, given his turn as the impetuous rebel made good"; overall, she gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5. Yong Shu Hoong, writing for Singapore-based Mypaper, said that the "flashback sequences can reek of oversentimentality", although the reviewer added that "the thrills, rivalries and heartbreak associated with high school romance are well depicted with nostalgia and humour" and gave it a rating of 3 out of 5. The film was rated by Mtimes Movies as the "2nd Best Chinese Film of 2011".
Film Business Asia gave the film a rating of 7/10, with Derek Elley describing it as "a confident feature" and "slickly packaged in every department", the latter making it "easy to miss the fact there's nothing at all original here". He praised the cast as "well-chosen individually and relaxed as an ensemble". He added, "apart from a slightly draggy second half, the material sustains itself at almost two hours, with generally trim editing by co-executive director Liao [zh]." He concluded by summarizing the film's plot as a "simple teenage rom-com, a will-they/won't-they between two opposites, but capped by a neat finale that does deliver some real emotion".
## Accolades
|
34,609,223 |
Bionicle: Matoran Adventures
| 1,146,582,338 |
2002 video game
|
[
"2002 video games",
"Argonaut Games games",
"Bionicle video games",
"Electronic Arts games",
"Game Boy Advance games",
"Game Boy Advance-only games",
"Lego video games",
"Platform games",
"Single-player video games",
"Video games developed in the United Kingdom"
] |
Bionicle: Matoran Adventures is a 2002 platform game based on Lego's Bionicle line of constructible action figures. It was developed by Argonaut Games and co-published by Electronic Arts and Lego Interactive for the Game Boy Advance. The player controls Matoran and Turaga characters, who must work together to repel the invasion of Bohrok, insect-like robots that threaten the island of Mata Nui.
The game features six levels and three boss battles. Matoran can jump higher and throw discs, while Turaga can activate switches and destroy obstacles; players can switch between the two during gameplay depending on need, similar to the 1993 video game The Lost Vikings. Additional characters can be unlocked by collecting mask pieces scattered throughout levels. Matoran Adventures received mixed reviews from critics. The gameplay and charm were praised by some, with some comparing it favorably to The Lost Vikings, while its short length and lack of creativity were more poorly received.
## Story and gameplay
Matoran Adventures is set on the fictional island of Mata Nui, a "tropical paradise" with six elementally-themed regions. Each region (the aquatic region of Ga-Wahi, the jungle region of Le-Wahi, the icy and mountainous region of Ko-Wahi, the subterranean region of Onu-Wahi, the desert region of Po-Wahi, and the volcanic region of Ta-Wahi) makes up one of the game's six levels. The game follows a Matoran as they attempt to repel the invasion of the insect-like Bohrok swarm. In the official Bionicle story, the Bohrok are instead defeated by the Toa.
Matoran Adventures is a side-scrolling platform game with puzzle elements. The player can choose from three difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, and Hard). The game utilizes a character-swapping mechanic similar to The Lost Vikings (1993). As needed, the player can swap between Matoran and Turaga to advance past obstacles. The Matoran character can jump and throw discs to combat enemies, while the Turaga character can break obstacles using their elemental power and activate switches. The Turaga character cannot jump as high as the Matoran. The game features six levels and three boss encounters. The Matoran character's disc is upgraded as the game progresses. Pieces of masks are scattered throughout each level. By gathering all of the pieces of a particular mask, they gain the ability to play as a different Matoran character. One Matoran character, Kongu, is available from the start; the other five Matoran characters must be unlocked.
## Development and release
Matoran Adventures was developed by UK-based Argonaut Games, previously known for their work on Star Fox (1993). It marked the second Game Boy Advance game based on the Bionicle line to be developed, following 2001's Lego Bionicle: Quest for the Toa. In addition to Matoran Adventures, Argonaut was also slated to produce a separate Bionicle game for home consoles to be released in 2003. Matoran Adventures was published jointly by Electronic Arts and Lego Interactive, along with two other Lego-themed titles (Drome Racers and Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension). By partnering with EA, Lego hoped to gain a foothold with young gamers in the 6-12 year old demographic.
The game's first screenshots were unveiled at E3 2002, and the game itself was slated for release in late 2002. The game was one of five EA games for the Game Boy Advance to be showcased at the event. Matoran Adventures was showcased in July 2002 at EA's Camp EA event; Craig Harris of IGN felt this early version, which he described as "barely alpha", was already "much better" than Quest for the Toa. Additional screenshots were released in August, with the final release date still pending. The game was released in North America on October 28, 2002, and in Europe on November 1, 2002.
## Reception
Matoran Adventures received mixed reviews from critics. Its gameplay and charm were praised, while its short length and creativity were criticized. Matt Helgeson called Matoran Adventures "surprisingly tight" and "as good a non-Nintendo GBA title I've seen in a long time", praising the variety of gameplay and comparing it favorably to The Lost Vikings. Total Advance reviewer Jem Roberts offered high praise for the gameplay as "surprisingly addictive" and "bursting with charm", citing it as superior to Quest for the Toa. However, Roberts felt the game's six levels and completion time of "roughly three hours" were "inexcusable". Michael Lafferty of GameZone called Matoran Adventures a "solid and a pleasant diversion", praising the game for incorporating the "charm and innovative ideas" of the Bionicle story, but felt it otherwise was simply an "average arcade-adventure".
Planet Gameboy criticized Matoran Adventures as "uncreative" and "listless" and suggested readers play with Lego toys instead. Adam Tierney of IGN dubbed the game "bland and glitchy" and a "less-than-average platformer". He also criticized the game's visuals, jittery camera, short length, and the abundance of "leaps of faith" that resulted in deaths in bottomless pits.
## See also
- List of Lego video games
|
8,560,225 |
Harpya
| 1,170,849,879 |
1979 film by Raoul Servais
|
[
"1970s animated short films",
"1970s comedy horror films",
"1970s monster movies",
"1970s parody films",
"1979 animated films",
"1979 films",
"Animated films based on classical mythology",
"Animated films without speech",
"Belgian animated short films",
"Belgian comedy horror films",
"Cultural depictions of Harpies",
"Films directed by Raoul Servais",
"Short Film Palme d'Or winners",
"Short films with live action and animation"
] |
Harpya is a 1979 Belgian short comedy horror film written and directed by Raoul Servais, which tells the story of a man (portrayed by Will Spoor [nl]) who tries to live with a harpy (portrayed by Fran Waller Zeper), a mythical being that is half woman and half bird of prey with an insatiable appetite. The nine-minutes-long film, which has no spoken dialogue, explores authority and domination, themes Servais had earlier addressed on a larger, societal level but here applied to a personal relationship.
Servais, who began to make animated short films in the 1950s, wanted to move away from the cartoon format and invented a new technique for combining animation and live action specifically for Harpya. The film was positively received by critics, won the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival and gained international renown for its director. Servais abandoned the technique he used in Harpya because it was too time consuming but continued to combine actors and animation in his later films.
## Plot
One night, in a city during the Belle Époque, a man with a moustache is walking down a street when he hears the cries of a woman. He rushes towards the noise and finds a man strangling the woman in a fountain. The moustachioed man knocks out the assailant and discovers the woman is a harpy, a large, white bird of prey with the bald head and naked breasts of a woman. The man takes her to his home, where he lives with his parrot, to shelter and feed her.
During dinner, the man discovers the harpy's insatiable appetite: she flies to his table and eats all of his food, starving him. When he searches for something to eat, the harpy appears to have eaten his parrot and immediately flies up behind him, stealing any food he finds. When he attempts to leave the house, she overwhelms him and eats the lower part of his body, forcing him to move around on his arms.
The man plays music. When the record player gets stuck, the harpy is absorbed by the repetitive noise, giving him a chance to escape. He becomes attentive to sounds and briefly scared by a gargoyle, then finds a snack bar named Friture Gargantua. At the same time in the house, the record player stops. As the man eats chips in a park, the harpy finds him and eats his snack. The man is enraged and begins to strangle the harpy but a police officer hears her cries and knocks the man to the ground with his baton. The harpy looks at the officer in glee.
## Themes
Harpya explores authority, domination and oppression, themes that recur in the films of Raoul Servais. These themes are reflected in the story about the harpy who dominates the simple, middle-class protagonist, and in the film's atmosphere and dark colour scheme. Unlike the director's earlier films, which discuss domination in relation to society at large, Harpya approaches the theme on an individual level through a personal relationship. The film marks the beginning of a period during which self-exploration became central in Servais' filmmaking.
Together with Chromophobia [fr] (1966), Harpya stands out in Servais' filmography for its pessimistic tone. In interviews, Servais downplays its seriousness and describes it as a parody of the vampire genre, with no big, philosophical idea behind its story about a gentle, bourgeois man who invites a monster that devours him to his home. The film has been interpreted as misogynist but according to Servais, its target is domineering people in general rather than women in particular. Philippe Moins, a journalist and festival organiser who has written several books about Servais' works, says Servais is not a misogynist but the film can leave such an impression.
In an academic paper about Servais, Manuela Rosignoli says a theme of duality appears in many of the director's films, including Harpya. The harpy shares her partially human form with the mermaid in Servais' Siren (1968) and the motif of the half-human is emphasised when the protagonist in Harpya loses the bottom half of his body. Rosignoli traces this theme to Belgium's division between Dutch-language Flemish culture and French-language Walloon culture, and to the fact that Servais grew up speaking Dutch but has a French name and parents of Walloon origin.
## Production
Servais was established as a central figure in Belgian animation before he made Harpya. He made his first animated short film in 1959 and taught animation at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent from 1966. In 1969, he co-founded the animation studio Pen-Film and in 1976, he co-created the Belgisch Animatiefilmcentrum (lit. 'Belgian Animation Film Centre'). Internationally, he had won festival awards including a prize at the 1966 Venice International Film Festival for Chromophobia and the Special Jury Prize at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival for Operation X-70.
Servais came up with the story for Harpya after repeatedly waking up from nightmares one night. He envisioned it as a comedy horror film about a harpy. Harpies are for example known from the Greek poem Argonautica, which tells the story of Phineus, a cursed king tormented by harpies who stole his food and brought him to near starvation. Harpya is the third film, following Siren and Pegasus (1973), for which Servais drew material from mythology. Harpya was produced by Absolon Films and received support from the Flemish Government's Ministry of Culture.
Harpya marked a new technical development in Servais' career because it was the first time he combined animation with live actors. There are three actors in the film: Will Spoor [nl] as the man, Fran Waller Zeper as the harpy and Sjoert Schwibethus as the assailant. Servais said he had exhausted the possibilities of the traditional cartoon, having used drawing styles ranging from the simple to the complex, the spontaneous to visuals close to expressionist paintings from the interwar period, and he thought it was necessary to try something different. The process of finding a technique that suited the new vision took several months. Servais travelled to London to study special effects techniques used in contemporary commercial cinema but these were too expensive so he had to invent his own process.
Servais and the cinematographer Walter Smets filmed the actors at 24 frames per second against a black velvet background. The scene in which characters appear to move without using their legs was created by digging a ditch. For the animation part of the production, Servais created silhouette shapes made of Scotchlite corresponding to each frame of the actors. He placed the silhouettes on a layer in a multiplane camera setup and used a semi-transparent mirror in front of the camera to front-project the characters onto the plane. Through this process, which demanded high precision, he could use different planes for characters and surroundings, and film them frame by frame together. The process was very time consuming, partially because Servais was the only person who knew how to use it and therefore had no help from assistants.
Servais says Harpya was visually influenced by the works of Flemish expressionist painters. Others have described it as being influenced by surrealist paintings, especially those of René Magritte, for whom Servais had worked in the 1950s. According to the journalist Wim de Poorter of Ons Erfdeel [nl], the influence from Magritte is apparent in Harpya's sober scenery, soft colours and shadows in moonlight. The film historian Cinzia Bottini says the imagery of hats and an apple is reminiscent of Magritte's paintings. Servais says he has been influenced by surrealism and owes his understanding of the movement to Magritte but he feels closer to magic realist painters such as Paul Delvaux. Lucien Goethals created the electronic music score for Harpya.
## Release
Harpya competed at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, which was held from 10 to 24 May. With a running time of nine minutes, it was the third time one of Servais' short films was selected for the festival; he had previously participated with Goldframe in 1969 and Operation X-70 in 1972. Harpya was subsequently shown out of competition at a series of other festivals, including the 1979 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. In March 1980, it was released in French cinemas as part of Mondocartoon, a programme of ten animated short films that were selected by Paul Dopff [fr] and Gabriel Cotto [fr] and distributed by Pink Splash with the tagline Palmarès du dessin animé mondial (). Harpya was shown in the United States as part of the 1981 International Tournée of Animation.
Harpya has been available on home media since 1996, when Servais' short films were released on VHS. Servais' short films have been released on several DVDs; the earliest that includes Harpya was released by a Japanese company. In Europe, his short films have been collected on DVDs including one released by Folioscope and SFSL in 2004, and one released by Belgium's Cinematek in 2019.
## Reception
### Critical response
Derek Hill of Sight & Sound and Poorter compared Harpya to Servais' previous films. Hill called it "by far the most complex" work Servais had done and Poorter wrote its pessimistic tone makes it stand out although its music contributes to an ironic and less serious side. Gilles Colpart [fr] of La Revue du cinéma [fr] wrote Harpya should be regarded as a masterpiece of animation, even by people who are uninterested in its "phantasmagoric universe". Le Monde's Jacques Siclier [fr] said it was the showpiece of Mondocartoon and called its painted scenery "astonishing". Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called it the "most astonishing" entry at the International Tournée of Animation, praised the tension it creates and said it successfully expresses a fear that "life will eat you alive".
Several reviews written in the 1970s and 1980s complimented the technical achievement that allowed Harpya to integrate animation and live action. John Halas described it as the director's most unique film because of its approach to technique and storytelling. According to Colpart, Harpya avoids becoming a technical demonstration while pushing the limits of the medium. Colpart also said Servais is one of a few people in animation who constantly question, replace or complicate their techniques, and that in Harpya he turned disparate elements into a fascinating whole.
Daniel Walber, writing for IndieWire in 2011 and MTV.com in 2013, called Harpya one of the best short films from the Cannes Film Festival's history. He highlighted the film's atmosphere, its resistance to interpretation and the character design of the harpy, describing the film as "haunting, a bit deranged, and entirely unforgettable". In 2017, David Cairns of Mubi's Notebook said the story in Harpya is reminiscent of "Jenifer" (2005), an episode of the television series Masters of Horror. He wrote although Harpya can be viewed as a misogynist fable, it does not strike him as offensive because it remains open to interpretation, uses dark humour and conveys a sense of confidence.
### Accolades
Harpya won the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival. At the 1979 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, an international group of critics voted Harpya one of the twelve best animated films ever made. Servais described it as being awarded twice; first by the festival jury in Cannes and then by the critics. Harpya received the 1980 Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Short Film from the Catalan branch of Radio Nacional de España. In 1984, Harpya finished in 22nd place in the Olympiad of Animation, a poll to determine the greatest animated films of all time that was organised by ASIFA-Hollywood and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Olympic Arts Festival. In 2006, an international jury of 30 animation experts voted Harpya the 14th best animated film of all time. It was voted one of the ten best animated films of the 20th century in a 2010 poll organised by the Etiuda&Anima International Film Festival to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Animated Film Association.
## Legacy
Harpya's positive reception and its Palme d'Or win gave Servais international renown, and prompted more film festivals to invite him onto their competition juries. Several film schools invited him to teach at their animation departments. Although Servais did not reuse the animation technique from Harpya, responses to the film encouraged him to continue combining animation and live action, notably in his only feature film Taxandria (1994). He describes the technique from Harpya as the precursor to a quicker process he developed soon afterwards and patented as servaisgraphy [fr], which he intended to use in Taxandria but producers and financiers chose a more conventional combination of live action and animated special effects. Servaisgraphy was later used in the short film Nocturnal Butterflies [fr] (1997). Moins describes Harpya as a transitional film because it points out the direction Servais would take in his later works but is based on gag humour like his early films. It was selected for the Cannes Classics section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, one of seven films in a programme about the history of short films at the festival.
## See also
- Jenifer
- List of films based on classical mythology
- List of films with live action and animation
|
7,594,164 |
Battle of Loc Ninh
| 1,086,916,312 |
1972 battle of the Vietnam War
|
[
"1972 in Vietnam",
"April 1972 events in Asia",
"Battles and operations of the Vietnam War",
"Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1972",
"Battles involving Vietnam",
"Battles involving the United States",
"Conflicts in 1972",
"History of Bình Phước Province"
] |
The Battle of Lộc Ninh was a major battle fought during the Easter Offensive during the Vietnam War, which took place in Bình Long Province, South Vietnam between 4 and 7 April 1972. Towards the end of 1971, North Vietnamese leaders decided to launch a major offensive against South Vietnam, with the objective of destroying Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) units and capturing as much territory as possible, in order to strengthen their bargaining position in the Paris Peace Accords. On 30 March 1972, two People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) divisions smashed through the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, marking the commencement of the Easter Offensive. They quickly overwhelmed South Vietnamese units in the I Corps Tactical Zone. With the rapid collapse of South Vietnamese forces in the northern provinces of South Vietnam, PAVN and Viet Cong (VC) forces began preparing for their next offensive, targeting Bình Long Province in the rubber plantation region north of Saigon. On 4 April, the VC 5th Division opened their attack on Lộc Ninh, defended by the ARVN 9th Infantry Regiment. After three days of fighting, the vastly outnumbered ARVN forces, though well supported by American air power, were forced to abandon their positions in Lộc Ninh.
## Background
In December 1971, following the defeat of South Vietnamese forces during Operation Lam Son 719, North Vietnamese leadership in Hanoi decided to launch a major military offensive against South Vietnam. In what became known as the Easter Offensive, the combined PAVN and VC forces employed combined arms tactics using heavy weapons that were a radical departure from the low-intensity guerrilla warfare of previous years. Although North Vietnam eventually used the equivalent of 14 army divisions, its leaders did not seek to win the war outright. Rather, their objective was to gain as much territory and destroy as many units of the South Vietnamese military as possible, in order to strengthen their bargaining position at the Paris Peace Talks.
The Easter Offensive began on 30 March 1972, when the PAVN 304th and 308th Divisions drove across the Demilitarized Zone and attacked ARVN positions in the I Corps Tactical Zone, which consisted of South Vietnam's northernmost provinces. Caught by surprise, ARVN General Vũ Văn Giai ordered his newly created 3rd Infantry Division to withdraw towards the Cua Viet River, where it could reorganize.
On 2 April, ARVN Colonel Pham Van Dinh surrendered his 56th Infantry Regiment at Camp Carroll, which enabled the PAVN to take the former American fire base without a fight. Quảng Trị City was captured by the PAVN on 28 April, following several counterattacks by ARVN units around Đông Hà.
With the northern provinces of South Vietnam under their control, PAVN forces turned their attention to the Cambodian border region north of Saigon, which formed part of the ARVN III Corps Tactical Zone. During the offensive, the objective of the PAVN/VC in the zone was the capture of An Lộc, capital of Bình Long Province. The VC committed three infantry divisions to the mission (5th, 7th and 9th Divisions). PAVN forces comprised one artillery formation (69th Artillery Command), one armored regiment (203rd Armored Regiment), two independent regiments (205th and 101st Regiment), and one sapper unit (429th Sapper Group). The VC 5th Division was to initiate the offensive by taking Lộc Ninh, while the 9th Division was assigned to An Lộc. The 7th Division was ordered to block National Highway 13 to prevent reinforcements from reaching An Lộc.
## Prelude
In late December 1971, ARVN intelligence in the III Corps had detected the buildup of PAVN/VC formations across the border in neighbouring Cambodia. Even though it was obvious that preparations for a major offensive were under way, ARVN commanders were unable to predict the PAVN/VC's intentions. In January 1972, the VC 5th Division was reported to have taken up positions in Snuol, a Cambodian city located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Lộc Ninh. South Vietnamese intelligence also detected the presence of the VC 7th and 9th Divisions in Dambe and Chup respectively. Between January and May 1971, the ARVN mounted Operation Toan Thang TT02, with the aim of destroying VC main force divisions based in Cambodia, specifically in the Snuol area. But due to the death of General Đỗ Cao Trí, the commander of III Corps, in a helicopter accident, the ARVN were forced to retreat from Snuol without achieving their objective.
In February and March 1972, ARVN units patrolling the border with Cambodia detected increased PAVN/VC activity in the Fishhook area, most notably the presence of the VC 5th Division in an area north of Bình Long Province. On 13 March, an ARVN mechanized task force operating in Cambodia discovered a huge depot that contained large quantities of assault rifles, machine guns, rockets, anti-aircraft guns and ammunition in Base Area 354 (Svay Rieng Province) and Base Area 708 (Kampong Cham Province). On 27 March, a VC deserter from a reconnaissance company of the 7th Division revealed that his unit was surveying a portion of road between Tây Ninh and Bình Long in preparation for its next move. Between 27 March and 1 April, more enemy prisoners and documents were captured by the ARVN, which revealed that the VC 7th and 9th Divisions were coordinating their efforts against an unidentified target.
The movements of PAVN/VC forces near the Cambodian-South Vietnamese border during the first three months of 1972 clearly indicated that a major offensive was in the making. However, the whereabouts of the next thrust was the topic that concerned South Vietnamese and U.S. intelligence officers the most. In previous offensives, the PAVN/VC had used Tây Ninh as an invasion route, as it was surrounded by VC bases in War zone C, the Iron Triangle and the Parrot's Beak, Cambodia. South Vietnamese and U.S. military intelligence reached a consensus that Tây Ninh would be the next target for the Easter Offensive. To reinforce that perception, on 2 April, the VC 24th Independent Regiment overran Fire Support Base Lac Long, defended by elements of the ARVN 49th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northwest of Tây Ninh.
The attacks on Lac Long and other outposts in Tây Ninh were a diversion designed to cover the main thrust into Bình Long Province. To initiate the campaign in Bình Long, the VC 5th Division (numbering about 9,230 soldiers) was ordered to take Lộc Ninh, Bình Long's northernmost town. The VC were supported by the PAVN 69th Artillery Command (3,830 soldiers) and the 203rd Armored Regiment (800 soldiers). In 1972, Lộc Ninh was a small district town situated on Route 13, home to about 4,000 people, mostly members of the various Montagnard tribes. The task of defending Lộc Ninh was entrusted to the ARVN 9th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, commanded by Colonel Nguyễn Công Vinh. It was supported by the 1st Cavalry Squadron, 1st Regional Force Battalion and elements of the 74th Ranger Battalion.
Prior to the battle, the 9th Infantry Regiment had occupied the former U.S. Special Forces compound at the south end of the airfield, which was about 0.8 kilometres (0.50 mi) west of the district center. The district headquarters was defended by more than 200 Regional Forces soldiers, who operated from a Japanese-built fortified bunker system located north of the airfield. To assist the 9th Infantry Regiment, the U.S. military provided seven advisers. The U.S. advisory team at 9th Regimental Headquarters was led by Lieutenant Colonel Richard R. Schott, who was assisted by Major Albert E. Carlson and Captain Mark A. Smith, and two communication specialists, Sergeant First Class Howard B. Hull and Sergeant Kenneth Wallingford. Additionally, Captain George Wanat and Major Thomas Davidson operated from the north end of the airfield, attached to the district headquarters.
## Fall of Lộc Ninh
From the beginning of April, there was a sharp increase in VC activity along National Highway 13, which connects Bình Long Province with Saigon. Between 3–4 April, Regional Force units clashed several times with the VC, resulting in more than twenty VC fatalities. Also, the French owner of the Cexso Rubber Plantation in Lộc Ninh reported to the ARVN that the VC had established field telephone lines northwest of the district. However, ARVN Colonel Colonel Nguyễn Công Vinh was reluctant to send reconnaissance patrols to that area. On 4 April, the ARVN 9th Reconnaissance Company operating west of Lộc Ninh was destroyed when it came into contact with elements of the VC main force units. On the same evening, the 3rd Battalion, ARVN 9th Infantry Regiment captured two soldiers during an ambush operation. The prisoners revealed that they were from the 272nd Regiment, 9th Division, and that their unit was moving south to prepare for an assault on An Lộc.
At around 06:50 on 5 April, the VC 5th Division moved across the Cambodian border to stage the main attack on Lộc Ninh. The VC assault opened with a heavy barrage of artillery, rocket and mortar fire targeting the headquarters of the ARVN 9th Infantry Regiment and the Lộc Ninh district compound. The VC simultaneously mounted other attacks throughout the ARVN 5th Infantry Division's areas of operations in Lai Khê and Quần Lợi. There was also indirect fire on ARVN positions in Phước Long Province, mainly targeting Phước Vinh, Sông Bé, and Bo Duc. Following the artillery barrage, VC infantry, supported by about 25 tanks, attacked Lộc Ninh from the west. In the initial assault, they tried to overrun the ARVN regimental compound located at the south end of the airstrip. Despite the ferocity of the onslaught, ARVN soldiers held their ground and fought desperately to hold the enemy at bay; ARVN artillerymen lowered the muzzles of their 105mm howitzers and fired directly at enemy infantry formations moving through the rubber trees.
Even though the situation was stabilized, the ARVN were forced to retreat into small compounds at the north and south ends of the town. The intensity of the attack on Lộc Ninh revealed the true intentions of the PAVN/VC; ARVN Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Minh, commander of the III Corps and his American advisor Major General James F. Hollingsworth realized that Bình Long, not Tây Ninh, would be the focus of the offensive. In order to halt the advance, Minh and Hollingsworth directed all available tactical support aircraft towards Lộc Ninh. Almost immediately, Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) F-5 and A-1 fighter-bombers, United States Air Force (USAF) A-37s from the 8th Special Operations Squadron based at Bien Hoa Air Base, attack aircraft from the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, and USAF F-4 and AC-130 aircraft from Thailand began flying over the skies of Lộc Ninh. U.S. and South Vietnamese tactical support aircraft were directed against VC and PAVN formations by American advisers on the ground. As the fighting intensified, Colonel Nguyễn Công Vinh ordered the 1st Cavalry Squadron—commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Duong—to withdraw from Fire Support Base Alpha to reinforce Lộc Ninh. However, Duong refused, saying he would surrender his unit to the VC instead. Angered, Captain Mark A. Smith reportedly threatened to destroy the 1st Cavalry Squadron with American air power if the squadron didn't fight. From that point on, Smith virtually controlled the ARVN forces. A few moments later, elements of the ARVN 74th Ranger Battalion and the 3rd Battalion, ARVN 9th Infantry Regiment notified the regimental command post that they had broken out and were fighting their way back towards Lộc Ninh. Meanwhile, the 1st Cavalry Squadron began moving west towards the Cambodian border to engage the VC.
On the afternoon of 5 April, the VC 5th Division launched another major ground assault on Lộc Ninh from the west to try to break through the defenses of the southern compound. American AC-130 and AH-1 Cobra gunships stopped the VC formations in their tracks, as supporting PAVN tanks were either destroyed or forced to pull back. Despite having suffered many casualties as a result of U.S. air strikes, the VC continued their assaults well into the evening. In order to deal with the onslaught, Smith continued to direct the AC-130 against targets around Lộc Ninh. Vinh, on the other hand, was either planning to surrender or desert when he ordered two of his soldiers to open the gates of the command compound at around 22:00. Throughout the night, the PAVN 69th Artillery Command continued bombarding ARVN positions around Lộc Ninh, as the VC massed for another assault.
On the morning of 6 April, ARVN forces reported hearing the sound of tanks moving toward the southern end of the district airfield. At about 05:30, the VC launched another attack from southern Lộc Ninh, with the support of about 25 T-54 and PT-76 tanks. VC infantry initially managed to breach the ARVN lines, but the attack soon stalled, and neither side gained a clear advantage. In the afternoon, elements of the VC E6 Regiment forced their way through the compound gates, but air strikes from U.S. AC-130s stopped them from advancing any further. By that stage, however, the ARVN 9th Infantry Regiment had absorbed a significant number of casualties; it only had 50 soldiers left, while another 150 wounded were in the hospital bunker. The defenders in Lộc Ninh were cut off from outside help since heavy-calibre PAVN anti-aircraft guns effectively prevented resupply and medevac flights into the area.
In an attempt to save Lộc Ninh, Brigadier General Lê Văn Hưng—commander of the ARVN 5th Infantry Division—ordered Task Force 52 to move north to reinforce the beleaguered 9th Infantry Regiment. Task Force 52 consisted of the 2nd Battalion, 52nd Infantry Regiment and the 1st Battalion, 48th Infantry Regiment; both units had been transferred from the ARVN 18th Infantry Division in late March to serve as a border screen for General Hưng's forces. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Bá Thinh—commander of Task Force 52—ordered the 2nd Battalion to advance towards Lộc Ninh. The unit was ambushed at the junction of National Highway 13 and Route 17. Unable to withstand the VC's superior firepower, it was forced to withdraw. To prevent Task Force 52 from evacuating to either Lộc Ninh or An Lộc, the VC pursued Task Force 52 and bombarded their bases with heavy artillery throughout the day.
Meanwhile, on the afternoon of 6 April, the ARVN inside Lộc Ninh were slightly reinforced by the 3rd Battalion, ARVN 9th Infantry Regiment, along with the men of the 1st Cavalry Squadron at FSB Alpha who had refused to surrender. Furthermore, wounded ARVN soldiers who were still able to fight made their way back to the defensive perimeter to await the next wave of attacks. During the night, the compound descended into chaos when PAVN artillery scored a direct hit on the hospital bunker, killing a large number of wounded men. Later on, another round of rockets struck the artillery compound, striking the ammunition storage bunker, which exploded. From the eastern side of the district, the VC tried to penetrate the defense line at Lộc Ninh, but were beaten off. Realizing that the situation had become hopeless, Vinh took off his uniform and told his troops to surrender.
At 07:00 on 7 April, the VC massed for another ground assault from the north and west of Lộc Ninh, with support from heavy artillery, tanks and armored personnel carriers. As the VC closed in, Vinh and his bodyguards ran out the opened gate and surrendered. Several ARVN soldiers also tried to surrender, but they all returned to their positions after Smith stopped an ARVN officer from raising a white T-shirt up the flagpole. By 08:00 the ARVN 9th Infantry Regiment was completely overwhelmed when the VC overran the southern compound with their superior numbers. At around 10:00, all tactical air support was called off in order to clear the way for B-52 strikes against VC formations west of Lộc Ninh. However, the B-52 strikes could not prevent the VC from overrunning Lộc Ninh. By 16:30, the VC were in complete control of Lộc Ninh District.
## Aftermath
The fight cost both sides dearly. The true extent of PAVN/VC casualties is largely unknown, but due to their exposure to American firepower, they undoubtedly suffered heavy losses. Nonetheless, the successful capture of Lộc Ninh exceeded their expectations, as they had thought that the South Vietnamese would hold out longer. Lộc Ninh became the seat of the Provisional Revolutionary Government, the capital of "liberated" territories in South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese, in their efforts to hold the district, lost more than three thousand soldiers killed or captured; only about fifty soldiers actually reached An Lộc. The VC also captured all seven American advisers and an embedded French journalist, Yves-Michel Dumond, in Lộc Ninh; they were taken to a prison camp in Kratié Province, Cambodia. Dumond was released on 14 July 1972. On 12 February 1973, the Americans were released in accordance with the Paris Peace Accords.
As Lộc Ninh was succumbing, other PAVN/VC formations turned their attention to the provincial capital of An Lộc. At 09:00 on 7 April, Brigadier General Lê Văn Hưng ordered Task Force 52 to abandon its bases, destroy all heavy weapons and vehicles, and withdraw to An Lộc, following their failed attempt at reinforcing the 9th Infantry Regiment. As Task Force 52 tried to break through National Highway 13, they ran into another large VC ambush. It would take the soldiers of Task Force 52 about a week to reach An Lộc, infiltrating through PAVN/VC positions along the main road. Late on 7 April, the VC 9th Division attacked Quần Lợi Base Camp, just 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of An Lộc. Elements of the ARVN 7th Infantry Regiment defending the area were unable to hold off the VC, so they were ordered to destroy their equipment and join other ARVN units in the provincial capital. The next step in the offensive was the Battle of An Lộc.
|
27,709,203 |
Ramsay Weston Phipps
| 1,158,525,982 |
Irish Military historian, officer
|
[
"1838 births",
"1923 deaths",
"British Army personnel of the Crimean War",
"British military historians",
"Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich",
"Knights of the Order of the Crescent",
"People from Clonmel",
"People of the Fenian raids",
"Royal Artillery officers"
] |
Ramsay Weston Phipps (10 April 1838 – 24 June 1923) was an Irish-born military historian and officer in Queen Victoria's Royal Artillery. The son of Pownoll Phipps, an officer of the British East India Company's army, he was descended from the early settlers of the West Indies; many generations had served in the British, and the English military. Phipps served in the Crimean War, had a stint of duty at Malta, and helped to repress the Fenian uprising in Canada in 1866.
Phipps is known for his study of The Armies of the First French Republic and the Rise of the Marshals of Napoleon I, a five-volume set published posthumously from 1926–1939 by Oxford University Press. He also edited L.A. Fauvelet de Bourrienne's Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, a three-volume work published in 1885 and Madame Campan's The private life of Marie Antoinette, queen of France and Navarre; with sketches and anecdotes of the courts of Louis XVI, published in 1889.
## Background
Ramsay Weston Phipps descended from generations of military and political men. Colonel William Phipps, a Yeoman of Lincolnshire, raised a regiment of horse for Charles I. Another of his ancestors was Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the reign of Queen Anne. Captain James Phipps settled the Island of St. Christopher, in the West Indies in 1676. The family was rewarded for its loyalty with titles and lands in Ireland. Ramsay Phipps was also a cousin of the Earls of Mulgrave.
In 1791, Phipps' grandfather, Constantine (1746–1797), rented the Hotel d'Harcourt in Caen, France, from the Duke of Harcourt; in 1793, he returned briefly to England in 1793 for the wedding of one of his daughters, leaving eight of his children in France. When War of the First Coalition broke out in 1793, the children were separated from their parents. Ramsay Phipps' father, Pownoll Phipps (1780–1858) and his siblings grew up in the French city during the French revolution, and lived under the threat of anti-English violence. Only after the Treaty of Campo Formio could the children return to England, arriving on 2 October 1798, all of them fluent in French; Pownoll Phipps reportedly spoke with French-accented English for the rest of his life. By the end of October, Pownoll had a commission as a lieutenant and joined the Bengal Army of the East India Company. The following June, he embarked for India on the Bombay-built ship Britannica.
Upon arrival in India, Pownoll Phipps joined the force under command of Colonel Arthur Wellesley. He participated in Sir David Baird's expedition from India to Egypt in 1801, for which participation he eventually became a Knight of the Crescent. Phipps married Henrietta Beaunpaire; orphaned by the French Revolution, she had taken refuge with him and his siblings at the Hotel d'Harcourt, on 10 August 1802, in Calcutta. Pownoll Phipps' second wife, Sophia Matilda Arnold, was Benedict Arnold's daughter. Phipps retired from the East India Company service on 1 July 1825, with the rank of colonel. Living for a time in London, he was a popular regular at Exeter Hall events. A well-versed, informed and articulate speaker and storyteller, Phipps was a gallant gentleman, readily at ease in all society, and very friendly: "a tall, stout, officer-like person, about 60-years of age, with white hair, short, sharp features, and a pleasant cast of countenance." He also had a strict sense of honor. In 1857, a year before his death, he wrote a letter to the Editor of The Times, in which he asserted his belief in the good character and quality of the Sepoys, despite the popular outrage against them during the Indian Mutiny. Pownoll Phipps developed bronchitis after presiding over the closing of an art exhibit in Clonmel, Ireland; he died in November 1858. His funeral was attended by Protestant and Catholics, and the procession was over a mile long.
Ramsay Weston Phipps was the second son of Pownoll Phipps and his third wife, the Irish-born Anna Charlotte Smith. Born at the family estate, Oaklands, in Tipperary, Ireland, he was named Ramsay in honor of an uncle who pioneered slave emancipation in the West Indies, and Weston after another uncle, a scientific clergyman. By 1841, his father had returned to England, to reside in Kent, where the family lived in Yalding. They lodged at the "Parsonage" with a local farmer, Ramsey Warde; Ramsey Warde was also a relative of Phipps' mother. The family of four included three-year-old Ramsay, his older brother, Pownoll (age five), his mother (age 30) and his father. Eventually, two more children joined the family: Henrietta Sophia and Robert Constantine, twins born 23 September 1841. The boy died 9 October, but Henrietta lived into adulthood, marrying Lieutenant-Colonel William Smith. After suffering a bout of measles in spring 1847, Ramsay Phipps attended Mr. Barron's School at Stanmore with his older brother, Pownoll, with the intent to following his brother in a year or two to Rugby in Warwickshire.
## Military career
Before he could enter Rugby, Phipps was offered instead a cadetship and entered the government preparatory school at Carshalton in Surrey. In 1849, at the age of 11, he put on a uniform, and he wore it, or a variation of it, until his retirement in 1887. Phipps later attended the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. After his graduation, he expected a commission in the Royal Artillery, and while awaiting it, he lived for a few months with his uncle at Carragh, Ireland; his lieutenant's commission arrived, dated 1 August 1855, and with it instructions him to join his Royal Artillery unit at Woolwich, for service in the Crimean War. He reached the Crimea in November 1855, and participated in the siege of Sevastopol. Assigned to the Matthew Dixon's 5th Company, 9th Battalion, he was part of the right siege train, and his chief occupation was blowing up the Sevastapol docks. He was still small for his age, and looked very young, which drew teasing from his company. The siege work was difficult and the living conditions were brutal; he recounted to his brother that the soldiers were plagued not only by the Russian fire, but by dysentery, bad food, and wintering in tents. He returned to England the following year on the Imperatrice, arriving in March 1856. Although he was given a medal to wear when Queen Victoria reviewed the troops, it was later collected from him; the decision was made at higher commands that only those who had landed in the Crimea prior to September 1855 would be awarded the Crimea Medal.
After his return to England, Ramsay Phipps was quartered at the Tower of London. After this assignment, he was sent to Plymouth, serving at the Prince of Wales Redoubt. In 1861, Phipps was stationed in South Shoebury, Essex. He was promoted to the Royal Artillery's unique rank of second captain on 7 April 1864, and appointed brigade adjutant on 14 October 1868. The brigade adjutant functioned as the staff officer for the brigade commander: he supervised all brigade books and records, monitored the execution of orders, supervised the education and training of subalterns, prosecuted in all courts-martial proceedings, and accepted and transmitted all orders.
Ramsay Phipps married Anne Bampfylde, the daughter of a Bath physician, in September 1864. With a few exceptions, most of Phipps' posts included garrison duty in southern England in the vicinity of the Royal Artillery barracks at Woolwich. Phipps traveled to the United States, arriving in Boston on 30 April 1866; he went to Canada to participate in operations against the Fenian uprising. In 1869, his brother and a friend sought to climb the Zermatt and the Schreckhorn, during which climb the friend fell over 1,000 feet (300 m) to bottom of the Lauteraar glacier. In the emergency, Ramsay Phipps joined his brother in Grindelwald while guides recovered the body.
In 1881, Phipps was stationed in Ireland; his wife remained in Bath, living in the prestigious Royal Crescent (No. 19), with her three children, a female cousin, and several servants. Phipps was promoted to major on 12 April 1873, to brevet lieutenant-colonel on 1 July 1881, and substantive lieutenant-colonel on 26 April 1882.
Phipps had little tolerance for foolishness and retained a professional soldier's dislike of civilian interference in military affairs, and ineffective administration, whether from civilians or government. In 1887, shortly after his retirement, he wrote a letter to the editor of The Times addressing some of the highly publicized problems of desertions from the ranks. "War Office civilians", he wrote, "like the plan of indiscriminate enlist, as it swells their list of recruits. Then, when the list of deserters grows, they put on long faces, and say, 'it must be those wicked officers.' The officers would stop this plan in a day if they were allowed." The problem with recruiters, Phipps maintained, lay in the need for quantity, not quality. "What fools you civilians are to pay for these blackguards", he wrote. "If you would let the officers select their men, for the first year or so, you would have fewer men on paper, fewer men in prison, and just as many men for service....I will then give you another hint for saving money...why not do away with the Inspector-General of Recruiting, and spend his pay in horse artillery, who would be very ornamental and very serviceable? What use is the Inspector General?" He had retired from active service in 1883, and Phipps fully retired in 1887, after attaining the rank of colonel.
Phipps and his wife had seven children, five of whom survived into adulthood. The first son, Edmund, born 1867, died less than two months later while the family was stationed at Plymouth. During a short stint on Malta in 1869, a daughter Mary was born and died immediately. Edmund Bampfylde was born in 1869, and followed a career in education; he attended New College, Oxford, and became a Deputy Secretary on the Board of Education. In 1906, he married Margaret Percy Phipps, who was Mayor of Chelsea for two terms. In 1916, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath, followed by a knighthood in 1917; he served in the Ministry of Munitions during the latter part of World War I. Charles Fossett, born in 1872, and Henry, the youngest son, pursued military careers. Charles and Henry were awarded the Distinguished Service Order for their roles in the British Expeditionary Force in 1914. Charles attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Garrison Artillery during World War I, assigned to the VI Corps Heavy Artillery, and in 1918 moved to Parkgate, in Dublin. Henry married Lorna Campbell in 1906, and they had three children. Henry eventually attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Artillery, and died on 24 August 1949. The youngest, Gertrude Annie, was born on 13 December 1876. She married in 1907 to Lieutenant Colonel E.C. Sandars, CMG, also a Royal Artillery officer; the couple had a daughter, Elizabeth.
Phipps' wife died in October 1885. In 1888, Phipps settled with his three youngest children at Chalfont St Giles. The 1891 Buckingham census shows Phipps on the Royal Artillery retired list and living at a country manor house, The Stone, with his sons, 21-year-old Edmund, a student at the University of Oxford, and 16-year-old Henry, a student at Wellington, and 14-year-old Gertrude. Four servants supported this small family, including a cook, a lady's maid for Gertrude, a housemaid, and a scullery maid. In 1901, Henry had left the family household, but Edmund and Gertrude still lived with their father in St. Giles. Phipps remained at The Stone until 1920.
## Career as military historian
Chalfont St Giles lies 25 miles (40 km) from London, and about the same distance to Oxford, maintained a foot in the social world of London and the academic world of Oxford. Phipps was chairman of the magistrates for the Burnham division, sitting at Beaconsfield, and was a member of the County Standing Joint Committee and the County Licensing Committee. He also attended annual Diocesan Conferences at Oxford.
Phipps pursued his life-long interest in the Napoleonic Wars. In 1885, he edited a revised edition of what was then the standard authority on Napoleon, Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne's Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte. He also wrote the revision's chapters XXIV and XXVI. Subsequently, he edited a new edition of the surgeon Barry Edward O'Meara's Napoleon at Saint Helena, another Napoleonic Wars classic, to which he wrote a new introduction: O'Meara had been Napoleon's doctor on Helena. Historians praised Phipps' introduction as a convincing exposition against the treatment of Napoleon on Helena. In 1889, he edited a revised edition of Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Campan's The private life of Marie Antoinette, queen of France and Navarre; with sketches and anecdotes of the courts of Louis XVI, which was also well received.
### Creation of the magnum opus
Initially interested in the ministers of the Empire, Phipps was diverted to a deeper interest in Napoleon's marshals, primarily by the difficulty of obtaining facts about them. He capitalized on the growing interest of both Britons and the French in the Napoleonic period by purchasing, as they came out, the many personal memoirs published by the descendants of the participants. Indeed, by 1920, he had acquired over 2,000 volumes, plus sundry maps and letters. That year, in failing health, he moved to the house of his son, Charles, in Carlyle Square (21), Chelsea, London. There was no room for the books at his son's house, so Phipps gave them to All Souls College, Oxford; the majority of them were placed in the Codrington Library. He selected All Souls for its established reputation in military history, and for the Codrington's collection left to it by Sir Foster Cunliffe, who had been killed in action in 1916. The collection, called the Phipps Collection, numbered more than 2,000 volumes, and includes Napoleon's published correspondence, that of the marshals, and has been kept up to date with modern works issued by the Historical Department of the French General Staff.
By the 1920s, there was still little published in English about the French marshals. Phipps's work was complicated by the regular appearance of new material. The French field armies of the Revolutionary Wars (1793–1800) formed the military education of the future marshals, but little had been published in either French or English about their early military experience. Phipps called these revolutionary armies the Schools for Marshals. Furthermore, he postulated, "the Consulate and the Empire cannot be judged until the Revolutionary period has been studied in detail."
Published works were inconsistent, and French sources frequently misinterpreted the English sources, and vice versa. Phipps wrote both an introduction to his work and a summary of the histories of the armies of the Republic and the Consulate, from 1791 to 1804, and at certain points in his narrative, he paused to review the positions of the various future marshals and other well-known generals. He reflected on the development of their experience, the characteristics of their leadership, and the relationships to one another and to Napoleon. Critically, he posited that generals rarely improved with practice.
A massive typescript remained unfinished on Phipps's death in June 1923. It included an introduction, a summary of the armies, a detailed history of the armies and the coup d'état in Paris, a complete history of the French armies in Spain 1808–1814, accounts of Napoleon's 1814 campaign and of the marshals during the First and Second Restorations. It also included biographical material on the marshals and notes on the ministers of the Empire. Phipps hoped that his children might be able to prepare it all for publication, and he made some provision for that. After Phipps's death, with the support of Charles Oman, his son Charles F. Phipps supervised the publication of the first three volumes. Charles died in June 1932 before proofing the final galleys of volume three. Volumes four and five were left in the hands of Phipps's "very capable granddaughter" and literary executor, Elizabeth Sandars.
### Reception
Phipps' effort, and that of his literary executors, was well received as both interesting and informative. "The narrative is that of a gallant gentleman whose life was spent as a 'soldier of the Queen' and in contributing to the greatness of the British Empire, who narrates to his listeners the facts which he has gathered, after his retirement from the army, in the pursuit of his favorite hobby." The narrative itself is informal and charming, not only full of analysis, but also relaying interesting stories and anecdotes about the marshals themselves. Other reviewers found the narrative clear, but undistinguished and "fatigued."
In the first volume, Phipps' analysis covers a categorization of the marshals, although the narrative itself is largely confined to the Armée du Nord. In the beginning, he points out, the French army was well disciplined and the class of non-commissioned officers was "especially good." As the integration of the so-called volunteers—the revolutionary conscripts—into the units of regular troops undermined morale, discipline, and conditions, the army's cohesion fell apart. Phipps highlighted in particular the problems of armies moving without magazines or supplies. His analysis of the classes of marshals—citizen, soldier, officer—offers a noteworthy and solid refutation of the marshals as a class of leadership rising from the rough soldiery; his criticism of the French Revolutionary army system resulting from the two amalgamations is acute, targeted and well-documented. However, by limiting his sources to only those in English or French, in which he also was fluent, Phipps necessarily restricted his details, ignoring the actions of the Austrians and the Russians. The evidence, though, is always well assembled, even though, by volume three, it becomes much more sparse.
Of the five volumes, the second may be the most interesting: it dealt with more interesting times, and more consistent military operations. The army of the north was a "bad army", and the story of its command is one of "honest and brave men hurried in turn to the guillotine, or of less honest men going over to the enemy." Some of Phipps' own eccentricities also appear in volume two; he frequently lapses into sarcasm, revealing his disdain for civilian administration of military affairs, and there are points at which he fails to follow through fully on his criticism; for example, he holds back on his critique of Jean Victor Moreau despite his assertion that he wanted to demolish once and for all the myth that Moreau was as great a soldier as Napoleon. Phipps adeptly describes the game of cat and mouse that Moreau, Jean Baptiste Jourdan, and the Archduke Charles played with one another in the summer of 1796 as their armies criss-crossed south-western Germany; neither general came to grips with the other until October, and even then, after the Battle of Schliengen, Charles was content to chase Moreau and Jourdan over the Rhine, not to demolish the French army. They were lacking, Phipps postulated, the instinct and nerves of Napoleon.
The problems associated with Phipps' lack of professional training as an historian become clear by the third volume. Despite his reading of newly published works, Phipps' idea of what constituted new material included the publications of memoirs and journals of the participants, not the extensive secondary literature and array of historiographical material in the periodic literature written by professional historians seeking to understand the French revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Consequently, Phipps' perceptions of the French revolution remained rooted in the outdated theories of Archibald Alison, Adolphe Thiers, and others, while ignoring some of the new theories of Albert Sorel, François Victor Alphonse Aulard and Albert Mathiez. His military background emerged clearly in his hostility to the meddling of the French government in the affairs of soldiers.
Despite his amateur standing, Phipps plowed through an alarmingly confusing mass of material, especially that covering the 1796–1797 campaigns in Ireland and the Pyrenees. He hacked through a tangle of French material to provide a path for the English language reader. This feat in itself made volume three a useful tool; furthermore, Phipps offered an even-handed treatment of the suppression of Lyon and Toulon, two French cities whose revolts alarmed the Revolutionary government. Despite his lack of professional training, Phipps provided a valuable assessment to these widely studied revolts.
Reviewers also gave credit to Elizabeth Sanders, Phipps' granddaughter and literary executor, for her skillful handling of the last two volumes. The purpose of the work becomes even more apparent and direct under her management and editing of the material. The role of the future marshals becomes more clear in the campaigns of 1797, and especially in the Italian campaign; her handling of the material kept it fully focused on the future marshals Massena, Augereau, Berthier, and Brune.
By the time of the publication of the final volume, Phipps' work had established for itself a place in the pantheon of Napoleonic literature. It "will always be regarded as a valuable source", well-known to students of the Napoleonic era, and the last volume, critics maintained, was "as interesting as its predecessors." Not only did Phipps achieve his goal of creating a record of the development of the marshals, but his volumes have become a useful history of the progress of the wars themselves, from 1792 to 1799. The true value of the first volume, and indeed the subsequent four, lies in its repeated use as a reference work.
## Publications
- Ramsay Weston Phipps. The Armies of the First French Republic and the Rise of the Marshals of Napoleon I, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1926–39.
### Edited works
- Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Campan, The private life of Marie Antoinette, queen of France and Navarre; with sketches and anecdotes of the courts of Louis XVI, Revised edition edited by R.W. Phipps, London, Bentley, 1889.
- Barry Edward O'Meara, Napoleon on Saint Helena. Revised edition edited by R.W. Phipps, 2 volumes, London: Bentley, 1888.
- Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne, Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, revised edition edited by R. W. Phipps, 3 volumes, London, Bentley, 1885.
## Archives
Three photograph albums and a photographic print by Ramsay Weston Phipps are held in the British Empire and Commonwealth Collection at Bristol Archives. The albums include photos from 1874–1927, from Phipps' time in India (including parts of the North East frontier which is now Pakistan), Egypt, Aden, Burma, South Africa, and Ceylon. There are also images from Shoeburyness, Plymouth, Chalfont St Giles, Charterhouse and Canterbury Cathedral, as well as family photographs from England and abroad. (Ref. 2005/047) (online catalogue).
|
30,018,759 |
Battle of El Herri
| 1,169,884,936 |
1914 battle of the Zaian War
|
[
"1914 in Morocco",
"Battles involving France",
"Battles involving Morocco",
"Berber history",
"Conflicts in 1914"
] |
The Battle of El Herri (also known as Elhri) was fought between France and the Berber Zaian Confederation on 13 November 1914. It took place at the small settlement of El Herri, near Khénifra in the French protectorate in Morocco. The battle was part of the Zaian War, in which the confederation of tribes sought to oppose continued French expansion into the interior of Morocco. Having captured the strategic town of Khénifra earlier in the year, the French, under General Hubert Lyautey, entered negotiations with Mouha ou Hammou Zayani, who led the Zaian. Lyautey thought that peace could be achieved and ordered Lieutenant-Colonel René Laverdure, who commanded the garrison in Khénifra, not to launch any offensives.
Laverdure became frustrated with the lack of action and, on 13 November, led almost his entire garrison in an attack on the Zaian encampment at El Herri. The attack initially went well, with his artillery and cavalry clearing the tribesmen from the camp, looting the Zaian tents and capturing two of Hammou's wives. However, the French encountered a significant Zaian force during its withdrawal to Khénifra. This force engaged the French with harassing fire, forcing them to move only under the cover of their artillery. Laverdure then ordered his wounded back to Khénifra with a guard of a company of infantry, which were joined by large numbers of other troops who broke ranks to join the column. Whilst making a river crossing, Laverdure's rear guard and artillery were overrun and annihilated. Laverdure's remaining troops then formed a square and fought a desperate last stand against several thousand tribesmen before they were also overrun and killed.
The French losses were significant: some 623 North African, Senegalese and French soldiers (including Laverdure) were killed and 176 wounded. The Zaian lost at least 182 men killed. The column of wounded reached Khénifra just ahead of pursuing Zaian forces and the town came under siege. Lyautey was dismayed at Laverdure's actions and was briefly of the opinion that he had cost him the war. However, a relief force reached Khénifra within a few days and the situation stabilised. The Zaian War lasted until 1921 when negotiations secured the submission of much of the confederation to French rule and a military offensive pushed the remainder into the High Atlas mountains.
## Background
France's protectorate of Morocco was established after French intervention in the Agadir Crisis of 1911. Resident General Louis-Hubert Lyautey served as the head of government and one of his main aims was to secure the "Taza corridor" in the Middle Atlas mountains linking Tunis to the Moroccan Atlantic coast. He was opposed by the Berber tribes in the area, amongst them the Zaian confederation led by Mouha ou Hammou Zayani. Hammou had opposed the French intervention since 1877 and led between 4,000 and 4,200 tents (the tribal unit of measurement) of people.
French attempts to persuade Hammou to submit had failed and in May 1914 Lyautey authorised General Paul Prosper Henrys to take command of all French troops in the area and launch an attack on Taza and Khénifra, vital parts of the corridor. Despite some fierce engagements with the Zaian in the Khénifra area, Henrys secured the two towns by the middle of June and inflicted substantial losses on the tribes. As part of the defence of the area, Henrys established three Groupes Mobile, mobile columns of troops who could react quickly to threats. A Groupe Mobile was established at Khénifra under Lieutenant-Colonel René Laverdure, another to the west under Lieutenant-Colonel Henri Claudel and a third to the east under Colonel Noël Garnier-Duplessix. July saw increasing attacks on Laverdure's command and the outbreak of the First World War which significantly reduced the number of French forces based in Morocco. Lyautey was determined to hold Khénifra to use as a bridgehead for further expansion of French territory and referred to it as a bastion against the "hostile Berber masses" upon which the "maintenance of [his] occupation" depended.
Successfully repulsing additional attacks on Khénifra, Henrys thought he had the upper hand, having proven that the reduced French forces could resist the tribesmen. The Zaian were now contained within a triangle formed by the Oum er Rbia, the Serrou river and the Atlas mountains and were already in dispute with neighbouring tribes over the best wintering land.
## Battle
### Laverdure's attack
Laverdure had been in Khénifra for five months when Hammou set up camp at El Herri, a small village 15 km (9.3 mi) away, for the winter. Hammou had been promised peace talks and had just lost control over five tribes who began negotiations for submission to French rule. Henrys believed that Zaian resistance was near its end and that the war would soon be over. Lyautey wished to keep the situation calm and twice refused Laverdure permission to attack the camp at El Herri, for fear that it would affect the peace talks and that Laverdure had insufficient forces available for the assault. He was instead ordered to keep to the French bank of the Oum er Rbia and had permission only to send troops out for convoy protection, wood gathering and road building.
However Laverdure decided to disobey his orders to remain in Khénifra and marched on El Herri with almost the entire garrison. He was said to be frustrated with the lack of action on the front and may have been persuaded by a Makhzen soldier eager to avenge a personal affront he had received from Hammou. Laverdure's column consisted of six infantry companies of Algerian and Senegalese Tirailleurs, a French detachment of colonial infantry, a party of irregular Goumiers, two batteries of 65mm and 75mm (the famous Soixante-Quinze) cannon and a squadron of Tunisian Spahi cavalry: numbering 43 officers and 1,187 men in total. This amounted to less than half the troops he had had in September when he was first denied permission to launch an attack. Laverdure marched at 2.30 am on the morning of 13 November 1914 without informing his superiors, only leaving behind a note saying he was going to "annihilate" Hammou's camp.
Laverdure's column reached El Herri at dawn and found the encampment of 100 tents. Most of the Zaian men were out of camp at the time, leaving behind the non-combatants, and Laverdure achieved complete surprise. The first that many of the Zaian knew of the attack was when his artillery shells began exploding amongst the tents. This was followed up by a cavalry charge which cleared the camp but was halted by a group of tribesmen who had rallied on a hilltop to the south and inflicted "numerous losses" on the horsemen. Laverdure had to send in his infantry to remove these Zaians, before looting the encampment. Hammou escaped in time but two of his wives were captured before the French headed back to Khénifra at around 8.30 am, leaving the looting to tribesmen of the Aït Ichkern, formerly Hammou's allies, who assumed he was now beaten.
### Zaian counterattack
The return to Khénifra was initially hampered by attacks by small groups of tribesmen who were beaten off, but discovered the relatively small number of troops in the French column. Word was passed to others and soon a force, estimated at 5,000 by the French, was assembled. These men consisted of almost the entire Zaian tribe and elements of the Mrabtin, Aït Harkat, Aït Ischak and Aït Ichkern (the latter, seeing the French falling back, had changed allegiance once more). Zaian tactics were to harass the flanks and rear of the column and to occupy any convenient high ground for sniping attacks. The French found they could not move in safety without heavy covering fire from the artillery, which was reduced in effectiveness by the dispersed positions of the Zaian tribesmen and their use of cover. Hammou's nephew, Moha ou Akka, led a force of several thousand tribesmen around the French to cut off their route back to Khénifra.
At this point Laverdure ordered one company of his Senegalese infantry to leave the column to accompany a convoy of wounded soldiers to Khénifra. Many of his other troops, seeing the Senegalese leaving, broke ranks and followed in panic. Laverdure attempted to continue his withdrawal but, just having crossed the Chbouka river, his rearguard was surrounded and attacked repeatedly from all sides, being quickly overrun. The gun batteries soon suffered the same fate, their crews also being killed. The Zaian assembled on the ridges surrounding the remaining French troops, who had formed a defensive square, before launching a final attack with "several thousand" men. This attack lasted just a few minutes and, after a desperate struggle, the square was broken and the remainder of the column was wiped out. The Zaian chased down and killed any of the survivors who attempted to hide in the scrub.
The wounded and their escort struggled into Khénifra at about noon, narrowly outpacing the Zaian who had stopped to loot the bodies of the French dead. These men, numbering 171 men and five officers wounded and 426 men and five officers able bodied, were the only French survivors of the battle. A total of 623 French troops had died, along with at least 182 of the Zaian. French losses amounted to 218 Algerian or Tunisian Tirailleurs, 210 French soldiers and 33 French officers, 125 Senegalese Tirailleurs and 37 Moroccan Goums killed. The French officers suffered the highest casualty rate of any group with 90% of them being killed or wounded (including Laverdure who died in the final attack); four of the five unwounded officers belonged to the cavalry. Around 65% of the entire force had been killed or wounded and the French were forced to abandon 4 machine guns, 630 small arms, 62 horses, 56 mules, and all of their artillery; plus camping equipment and personal belongings. Hammou took much of this with him when he escaped to the mountains of the Middle Atlas.
## Aftermath
The disaster left Captain Pierre Kroll as the senior officer of the remnants of the Khénifra garrison, some three companies of tirailleurs (one of which was an ad hoc unit made up from the partially equipped and badly shaken survivors of the battle). Having secured the defences he immediately telegraphed Lyautey and Henrys to inform them of events, the first they had heard of Laverdure's foray. Lyautey was briefly of the opinion that the event would cause the loss of the whole of Morocco. The next morning Zaian horsemen appeared on the hilltops to the south and east of the city. Khénifra soon came under constant siege from the tribes.
Henrys left Fez for Meknes from which he telegraphed Lyautey promising to "strike hard and fast" so that the "Laverdure disaster" did not threaten the French position in Morocco. He said that "everyone, everywhere must be aware of the fact that our forces are numerous, that strong columns are already on their way to Khenifra, and that the repression will be swift". Henrys dispatched Garnier-Duplessix's Groupe Mobile to Khénifra from El Graar and ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Dérigoin to form another Groupe at Ito for mobile support. Garnier-Duplessix was forced to fight his way through groups of Zaian tribesmen and did not reach the town until 16 November. Henrys joined Dérigoin and entered the town himself two days later, encountering no resistance on the way. Another part of the Khénifra relief force was the 6th battalion of the 2nd French Foreign Legion who marched from Mrirt and saw action at El Hammam and along the Oum er Rbia. By the end of the month, the French garrison had swelled to 7,000 troops, an all-time high. Henrys, Garnier-Duplessix and Kroll were all promoted shortly after the battle in recognition of their actions to prevent the loss of Khénifra.
As a show of force, Henrys led excursions from Khénifra to El Herri on 19 and 20 November. He observed many campfires and some groups of tribesmen but on the whole the Zaian, who had moved their main camps away from the area, kept their distance. Henrys observed the field of battle and ordered the burial of the French dead, finding many stripped of their clothing and some mutilated or decapitated by post-mortem dagger wounds. Laverdure's body and those of six of his officers were missing, having been removed by Hammou for use as trophies but were later exchanged for Hammou's captured wives. The Zaian leader displayed these trophies and captured weapons to nearby tribes to encourage them to support him, a tactic that proved particularly successful with the tribes to the north. Although French forces subsequently fought several successful actions against the Zaian and recovered the captured weapons, El Herri showed that they could be beaten. The battle, along with the siding of the Ottoman Empire with the Central Powers in the First World War and slow French progress on the Western Front, led to increasing numbers of recruits for Hammou.
The Zaian war continued for many years after El Herri with Henrys changing tactics from negotiation and bribery to "submit or starve". Subsequent victories in the Middle Atlas restored the French image of superiority in force and led to increasing submissions and the withdrawal of the Zaian deeper into the mountains. By 1917, the French had managed to establish a military road straight through the Middle Atlas, limiting the free movement of the Zaian. The end of the war came through political rather than military means with Hammou's sons submitting, on his advice, to the French in June 1920. Their submission persuaded 3,000 tents of Zaian to follow and within six weeks just 2,500 tents remained opposed to French rule. Hammou was killed in Spring 1921 by a Berber war party led by Hassan and soon after a combined French and Berber attack on Bekrit defeated the last remaining Zaian force, ending the seven-year-long war. After the war, French expansion in the area continued and they brought almost the entire Middle Atlas under their control by June 1922.
## Reasons for French defeat
Though they had previously held him in high regard, Lyautey and Henrys blamed Laverdure for this major defeat, with the latter describing the Lieutenant-Colonel's march from Khénifra as a "poorly prepared and poorly executed" "act of indiscipline". Laverdure, whose previous service had been mainly in Indochina (see above), was thought to have underestimated the ability of the Berbers to operate offensively in mountainous terrain against his column. His motive for the "inexcusable imprudence" of disobeying orders is thought to have been for personal glory and to bring the war to an early conclusion. One of the survivors of the battle, Jean Pichon, said that Laverdure was "haunted by the obsessive temptation" of defeating Hammou. Lyautey stated, in a letter to Minister of War Alexandre Millerand, that Laverdure, had he not died on the field, would have deserved "the most severe punishment" at the hands of a military tribunal.
It is thought that Laverdure's actions may have been influenced by a school of thought advocated by General Charles Mangin; that bold movements would intimidate the North African tribes into submission. This school of thought was critical of Lyautey's campaign of negotiation backed up by the threat of military power, arguing that it cost too many casualties and that a bolder commander should be appointed instead. Mangin's opinions had many advocates among the French officers of the colonial forces in Morocco, keen to end the war quickly and transfer to the Western Front. His views were praised by newspapers, books and journal articles in France, and had the support of part of the Chamber of Deputies. Lyautey believed that he had to constantly oppose this mind-set, concluding that officers advocating it were "self-satisfied with its infallibility and convinced of the pitiful inferiority of those who do not submit to it blindly".
## Legacy
The battle was a shock to the French who had not expected the tribes to get the better of a well-armed column. Lyautey himself said that "in our entire colonial history there has never been a case of the destruction of such an important force, of the loss of [almost] all its officers ..., of the disappearance of so much materiel and booty of war". The battle has been described variously as the worst ever defeat of French forces in Morocco, the worst in North Africa and one of the worst in the French colonies. The heavy losses suffered at El Herri overshadowed the planning of French military policy for Morocco during the First World War.
Today the battle is celebrated by the Moroccan press as a major event in Moroccan history, alongside other instances of resistance against French and Spanish occupation. An obelisk was erected near to the battlefield in 1991 and was unveiled by two Moroccan ministers, Moulay Ahmad Alawi and Muhammad El-Ansar, listing the names of the 182 Moroccan dead. Hammou is recorded on the obelisk as being a "proud champion" of "national resistance". The monument's Arabic text contains some mistakes, recording the French dead at 700 in number (Henrys recorded 623) and giving the year of the battle as 1912.
## See also
- The Battle of Annual, a similar battle but on a much larger scale during the Rif War in which a Spanish colonial force was defeated by Moroccan irregulars.
|
3,342,527 |
Dog of Death
| 1,154,799,454 | null |
[
"1992 American television episodes",
"Television episodes about mammals",
"Television shows written by John Swartzwelder",
"The Simpsons (season 3) episodes"
] |
"Dog of Death" is the nineteenth episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 12, 1992. In the episode, Santa's Little Helper falls ill and the family must make budget cuts to pay for his operation. Although the dog's life is saved, the family begins to feel the strain of their sacrifices and starts treating him badly, causing him to run away. Santa's Little Helper ends up in the possession of Mr. Burns, who trains him to become a vicious attack dog. Several days later, Bart stumbles upon the trained Santa's Little Helper and is attacked, but the dog eventually recognizes his old friend and stops.
The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Jim Reardon. The writers enjoyed the previous episodes centered on Santa's Little Helper and decided to create another one, which resulted in "Dog of Death".
Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 14.2 and was the highest-rated show on Fox the week it aired.
## Plot
The Simpson family rushes Santa's Little Helper to the animal hospital, where they learn that he has a twisted stomach and needs a \$750 operation. Homer tells Bart and Lisa that the family cannot afford the operation, but after seeing how much they love the dog, decides he will find a way to pay for it.
To save money for the operation, the Simpsons must make sacrifices: Homer stops buying beer and Bart gets his hair cut at a barber school. Marge must cook with lower-quality food and forgo her weekly lottery ticket. Lisa can no longer afford volumes of Encyclopedia Generica, and Maggie's tattered clothes must be repaired instead of replaced. The family saves enough money for the operation, which is a success.
The Simpsons are glad that their dog survives, but soon they start to feel the strain of their sacrifices. The family's morale suffers, and they direct their anger at Santa's Little Helper. Feeling unwanted, he runs away from home on an adventure, only to be captured, taken to the dog pound and adopted by Mr. Burns, who trains him to be one of his vicious attack hounds. After a brutal brainwashing process, Santa's Little Helper is turned into a bloodthirsty killer.
When Bart arrives at Mr. Burns' mansion, Santa's Little Helper starts to attack him. After recalling all the good times he had with Bart, Santa's Little Helper reverts to his friendly nature toward him. He protects Bart from Burns's pack of snarling hounds and returns to the Simpson family, who shower him with love as apologies for their foolishness.
## Production
"Dog of Death" was written by long-time writer John Swartzwelder and directed by Jim Reardon. The producers decided to create another episode centered on Santa's Little Helper, as they enjoyed the previous ones, particularly season one's "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which the Simpson family receives him. Reardon commented that one of the hardest feats with the episode was to make Santa's Little Helper not express any human expressions, as the staff preferred animals on the show to behave exactly the way they do in real life. The plot of "Dog of Death" was based on an experience Swartzwelder had with his own dog. The Gold Coast Bulletin's Ryan Ellem commented that the Simpson family's dilemma with the cost of the veterinary procedure is a "very real" dilemma which many families "who normally don't budget for a pooch's bung knee" face.
## Cultural references
"Dog of Death" features a number of references to popular culture and famous dogs. Santa's Little Helper's adventure resembles the plot of the 1963 film The Incredible Journey. The scene in which Mr. Burns brainwashes Santa's Little Helper with the Ludovico technique is a parody of Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange, including the way Santa's Little Helper's eyes are held open while he is forced to watch a film featuring dog abuse, such as dogs being physically assaulted and getting their heads slammed by falling toilet lids. Ludwig van Beethoven's ninth symphony is heard during the sequence. In another scene, the dog Lassie is referenced when Santa's Little Helper rescues a child from a burning building. Homer claims that Santa's Little Helper will be going to Doggie Heaven, while Richard Nixon's dog Checkers and Adolf Hitler's dog Blondi will be going to Doggie Hell. The doctor who performs the surgery on Santa's Little Helper is based on Vince Edwards's titular character from the Ben Casey television series.
"Dog of Death" also parodies lottery advertisements. In one commercial featured in the episode, an announcement states: "The state lottery, where everybody wins," while a tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the screen can be seen saying: "Actual odds of winning, one in 380,000,000". During the peak of the lottery fever in Springfield, news anchor Kent Brockman announces on television that people hoping to get tips on how to win the jackpot have borrowed every available copy of Shirley Jackson's book The Lottery at the local library. One of them is Homer, who throws the book into the fireplace after Kent reveals that "Of course, the book does not contain any hints on how to win the lottery. It is, rather, a chilling tale of conformity gone mad." In her book Shirley Jackson: Essays on the Literary Legacy, Bernice Murphy comments that this scene displays some of the most contradictory things about Jackson: "It says a lot about the visibility of Jackson's most notorious tale that more than 50 years after its initial creation it is still famous enough to warrant a mention in the world's most famous sitcom. The fact that Springfield's citizenry also miss the point of Jackson's story completely [...] can perhaps be seen as an indication of a more general misrepresentation of Jackson and her work."
The episode contains several references to previous episodes of The Simpsons. For instance, Santa's Little Helper gets picked up by a car on a street called "Michael Jackson Expressway", a reference to the season-three premiere episode "Stark Raving Dad", in which Mayor Quimby had the expressway renamed in honor of an expected visit by Michael Jackson. In another scene, Ned Flanders is seen wearing his "Assassin" running shoes from the season-two episode "Bart's Dog Gets an "F". The flyer Homer replaces with the "lost pet" notice is Principal Skinner's "Have you seen my body?" flyer from "Bart the Murderer". Lisa references Richard Nixon's dog Checkers. Also, among the books that end up in the Simpsons' fireplace are The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Fatherhood by Bill Cosby, and a book entitled Canine Surgery. Fatherhood was heavily referenced in the episode "Saturdays of Thunder" earlier this season. The scene in which Mr. Burns and Smithers brainwash Santa's Little Helper is a parody of A Clockwork Orange with Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". The film uses footage of a kind that would aggravate a dog: a dog being hit with a rolled-up newspaper, a shoe kicking a water dish, a kitten playing with a ball of string, a tank running over a doghouse, a dog being hit on the head by a falling toilet seat, and finally "footage" of Lyndon Johnson holding his dog up in the air by the ears (which really happened). Music from Peter and the Wolf, a children's story composed by Sergei Prokofiev, is played over the wanderings of Santa's Little Helper through Springfield's outer domains. This episode also references several controversies about Michael Jackson; for example, Kent Brockman's butler tells Kent that his pet llama bit Ted Kennedy, and Mr. Burns is sleeping in an iron lung as part of his longevity treatment. This episode shows the first time someone other than Homer says "D'oh!" – Lisa, when she is assigned to do a report on Nicolaus Copernicus and realizes she does not have any reference books. One of the places to where Santa's Little Helper voyages, Swartzwelder County, where he rescues a baby from a burning house, is a reference to the writer of this episode, John Swartzwelder.
## Reception
"Dog of Death" first aired on Fox in the United States on March 12, 1992. The episode finished 19th in the ratings that week, and beat its main competitor, The Cosby Show (NBC), which finished 28th. "Dog of Death" acquired a Nielsen rating of 14.2, equivalent to about 13.1 million viewing households, which made The Simpsons the highest-rated show on Fox the week the episode aired.
Since airing, "Dog of Death" has received positive reviews from television critics. Tom Adair of The Scotsman considers it to be a classic episode of the show, and Mark Zlotnick of UGO's DVDFanatic named it one of his personal favorites from season three. The episode's reference to A Clockwork Orange was named the 10th-greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film's Nathan Ditum. Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed rated "Dog of Death" a 3 (of 5) and commented that people who like dogs will enjoy the episode, in part because of Mr. Burns' attack-dog training program, which Meyers called a "brilliant reference to A Clockwork Orange". He added that the episode is unlikely to satisfy devoted fans, and the relationship between the family and Santa's Little Helper will not "register" to casual viewers; "Still, there are enough laughs (especially in the animal hospital) to keep the audience entertained."
DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson also praised the parody of A Clockwork Orange, describing it as "possibly the funniest Clockwork Orange parody I've ever seen". Jacobson added that the episode as a whole offers "a terrific program. [...] From the cracks about the lottery and public hysteria that open the program to the calamities that befall the family when Santa's Little Helper gets sick to the bizarre escapades that greet the pooch when he splits, 'Dog of Death' provides a hilarious piece."
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, praised several scenes from the episode, including Homer's dream of winning the lottery, Mr. Burns' brainwashing of Santa's Little Helper, and the closing line of the episode that "No dogs were harmed in the filming of this episode. A cat got sick, and someone shot a duck. But that's it."
Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict commented that Santa's Little Helper's "twisted stomach means the family must budget themselves to pay for the surgery, and the results are some of the best lines in the history of the show. From 'lousy chub night' to 'mmmm, snouts,' the hard knock life seems to enliven Homer into one sarcastic bastard." In 2007, Mikey Cahill of the Herald Sun named this episode's chalkboard gag, "I saw nothing unusual in the teacher's lounge", the third-best chalkboard gag in the show's history.
While reviewing the episode in 2011, Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club noted, "perhaps because he's a fucking dog, Santa's Little Helper is never developed as fully as the other characters, so the requisite episode-ending orgy of sentimentality when Santa's Little Helper is joyously reunited with Bart feels a little cheap and unearned."
|
62,963,256 |
Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)
| 1,155,261,079 | null |
[
"2007 debut albums",
"Albums free for download by copyright owner",
"Albums produced by Jay Electronica",
"Albums produced by Jon Brion",
"Jay Electronica albums",
"Self-released albums"
] |
Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) is the debut mixtape by American rapper Jay Electronica, self-published onto MySpace on July 2, 2007. The mixtape plays as one 15-minute track, sampling five different tracks of American record producer Jon Brion's 2004 film score, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The mixtape covers a range of themes and subjects, including hip hop, Islam, and unidentified flying objects. It is notable for its lack of drums.
The mixtape features a spoken word opening from Jay Electronica's frequent collaborators Just Blaze and Erykah Badu. Jay Electronica began recording Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) with his built-in laptop microphone before completing it in Detroit. It has received critical acclaim for its experimentation and has since been described as Jay Electronica's breakout project. A follow-up album titled Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn) leaked on October 4, 2020, but his debut album, A Written Testimony was released instead in 2020, nearly thirteen years later.
## Background and recording
Jay Electronica said he was motivated to create the mixtape due to the influence of films on him and his art. After watching the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, he felt inspired by its story and its score, composed by Jon Brion. He singled out a scene in which Jim Carrey's character Joel is excited for the first time in the film when meeting Kate Winslet's character Clementine, noting the contrapuntal nature of the low-key score when played underneath what appears to be a highly pivotal scene. Jay Electronica stated he "just wanted to do something that felt like that".
That night, he looped Brion's music and recorded a 32-bar verse on GarageBand with his built-in laptop microphone. He uploaded the demo onto his Myspace as "Eternal Sunshine". After the "Eternal Sunshine" demo received positive reception, Jay Electronica went to Detroit to record the rest of the mixtape over Brion's score. In a 2007 interview, Jay Electronica stated the movements were listed in order of creation and mood change, as he rapped about what he "was dealing with mentally at the time". He "decided to have it as one piece so that whoever heard it could experience it the way it was intended".
## Music and composition
Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) is a hip hop record. Built on samples from Jon Brion's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind film score, the mixtape contains no drums. The sampled score was described as a "dreamlike melancholy" by Adam Isaac Itkoff of Okayplayer and includes pianos. The score samples several films, including 1971 American film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Sweeney Kovar of The Boombox described the final movement as the only part of Brion's score "that can be described as optimistic or otherwise cheerful.". New York Post's Rob Bailey-Millado characterized Jay Electronica's rapping as trippy.
## Themes and lyrics
Sweeney Kovar of The Boombox described Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) as "a dissection of society through a hip-hop lens". In the mixtape, Jay Electronica references Islam, which became consistent with his discography. The mixtape's opening is a spoken word piece performed by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu and American producer Just Blaze. Badu describes her first encounter with Jay Electronica and Just Blaze describes the nature of the mixtape. Jay Electronica does not appear on the mixtape until six minutes in.
On the second movement "Eternal Sunshine", he frames Act 1 by setting his role as a metaphysician. He proclaims his genre to be "God-hop" and denounces traditional hip-hop, but admits that its rewards are tempting. The third movement, "...Because He Broke the Rules", begins with a Willy Wonka sample where the title character yells at a boy for stealing Fizzy Lifting Drinks, thus preventing the boy from receiving his prize. This sample serves as a metaphor for the high demands that a romantic relationship can impose on each person as Jay Electronica raps about being emotionally broken and lonely. He evokes the duality of good and evil with the left-and-right sides of his brain.
On the fourth movement "Voodoo Man", the title character has three different incarnations for each verse. In the first incarnation, the Voodoo Man is a rapper "who can turn nothing into something." In the second incarnation, the Voodoo Man becomes the "Asiatic Black Man of East Asia", derived from Nation of Islam theology, who uses an unidentified flying object to travel to New Orleans, Japan, and Tepoztlán. The final incarnation is the same Voodoo Man but with no regard for humanity. He compares colonialism to modern hip-hop. Jay Electronica also praises Elijah Muhammad, former leader of the Nation of Islam. The fifth and final movement, "FYI", opens with a sampled speech from Muhammad. Jay Electronica reflects on man's relatively short time on Earth and contrasts a rapper's obsession with jewelry to the larger-scale declassification of UFO files by CNES. "Lucifer" is described as the condition that humankind battles with.
## Release and promotion
Jay Electronica released Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) onto his Myspace on July 2, 2007, while he was still a relatively unknown rapper. It had no formal promotion, but garnered over 50,000 downloads within the first 30 days of its posting. Thus, the mixtape has been described as Jay Electronica's breakout project. He previously released the second movement as a demo track onto MySpace and received positive reception. The mixtape was rereleased onto the streaming service Tidal on July 2, 2016.
## Critical reception
In 2010, Matt Diehl of Interview described Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) as "a 15-minute musique concrete surreal symphony". That same year, The Guardian's Paul Lester compared parts of the mixtape to American musician Ariel Pink. In 2013, Ryan Bassil from Vice noted the mixtape's lack of drums and called it "a timeless classic". In 2017, Adam Isaac Itkoff, writing for Okayplayer, revisited the mixtape for its ten-year anniversary and described it as "one of the most fearlessly experimental rap releases to ever dawn upon the digital age". In 2020, Dhruva Balram from NME wrote that the mixtape was "a change of pace in an age where everything was auto-tuned." That same year, Brendan Klinkenberg of Rolling Stone described it as weird and dense but praised the rapping, stating that it allowed Jay Electronica to be "quickly hailed as the genre's next great hope."
## Track listing
The mixtape plays as one singular track, but has five separate movements:
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13,368,627 |
Nettlecombe Court
| 1,057,655,965 |
Grade I listed building in Somerset, UK
|
[
"Country houses in Somerset",
"Exmoor",
"Field studies centres in the United Kingdom",
"Gardens in Somerset",
"Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset",
"Grade I listed houses in Somerset",
"Grade II listed parks and gardens in Somerset",
"Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset",
"Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1990",
"Tourist attractions in Somerset"
] |
Nettlecombe Court and park is an old estate on the northern fringes of the Brendon Hills, within the Exmoor National Park. They are within the civil parish of Nettlecombe, named after the house, and are approximately 3.6 miles (5.8 km) from the village of Williton, in the English county of Somerset. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.
The 16th-century Elizabethan, Tudor and Medieval architecture with Georgian refinements includes a mansion, Medieval hall, church, monumental oak grove, and a farm. It is surrounded by 60 hectares (150 acres) of estate parkland situated within the Exmoor National Park, once a part of the estate. It lays sheltered at the northeast incline of the Brendon Hills. The park surrounding the house is Grade II listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Nettlecombe Park blends into woodlands, with the house serving as the Leonard Wills Field Centre run by Field Studies Council and offering residential and non-residential fieldwork for schools, colleges and universities, holiday accommodation and professional and leisure courses in natural history and arts. Today, nearby hills and woodlands, including Exmoor National Park, have provided opportunities for general scientific introductory field courses on environmental themes and botany. Habitats include marine, freshwater and heather moorland and the surrounding settlements range from hamlets to villages to the country town of Taunton. An archaeological excavation on the edge of the property, near the sea coast, has revealed the remains of Danish Vikings who were defeated there circa 900.
## History
Nettlecombe was originally spelled Netelcumbe and by 1245 Nettelcumbe meaning the place or valley where the nettles grow.
Nettlecombe has never been bought or sold. It was held before the Norman Conquest by Prince Godwine, son of King Harold. William the Conqueror assumed possession of Nettlecombe after defeating King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. In 1160, Henry II granted it to Hugh de Raleigh, and to his heirs in perpetuity. It passed to Warine de Raleigh, and on through direct blood heirs until the 19th century, a claim strengthened by marriages between deep ancestral cousins. The estate became a seat of the Trevelyan baronets (previously spelled as Trevilian), who also held another manor at Basil, by the marriage of Sir John Trevilian in 1481 to Lady Whalesborough, heiress of Nettlecombe via her Raleigh maternal line. Nettlecombe was held in continuity by Trevilian successors until the 20th century following the death of Joan Trevelyan and her husband Garnet Ruskin Wolseley.
It became a boarding school for girls (St. Audries Junior School) in the late 1950s. Since 1967 it has been the home of the Leonard Wills Field Centre run by the Field Studies Council an educational charity. The house is surrounded by Nettlecombe Park, a 90.4 hectares (223 acres) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
## House
Nettlecombe Court is an Elizabethan country mansion, in addition to earlier-built structures including a late Medieval hall, entrance front, porch, a great hall, and church. A Tudor parlour was added in 1599. In the 1640s there were further additions to the rear of the great hall following a fire started by roundheads opposed to George Trevelyns support of the monarchy during the English Civil War.
During the reign of George I, between 1703 and 1707, the South West front was extended. The south west wing was decorated in the 1780s and the north east service range was added in the early 19th century. The house contains plaster work from each of these eras.
In the 17th century, an organ built by John Loosemore was installed, at a cost of £100. This was converted from a single-manual to two-manual operation in the 1830s. In the 1980s, this was partly dismantled and the original parts removed to the John Loosemore Centre in Buckfastleigh, where they are still located, awaiting restoration.
## Family
As stated in Nettlecombe Court, compiled by R. J. E. Bush, "Nettlecombe is first mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086, when it was stated to be held by William the Conqueror, and in the charge of his Sheriff for Somerset, William de Mohun."
Ralegh-Raleigh: In the mid-12th century John, son of William the Marshall, gifted the manor of Nettlecombe to Hugh de Ralegh, a Norman knight; and the gift was confirmed by a charter of Henry II in 1156. Later in the 12th century Warrin de Ralegh, Hugh's nephew, built a manor house on the site now occupied by Nettlecombe Court. The Court's kitchen may have formed the original 12th-century Great Hall. Ralegh also built a small church beside the manor house. Generations of the Ralegh family are commemorated inside the church. The earliest memorial is an effigy of Sir Simon de Ralegh, labelled 1260. There is no written record found at Nettlecombe for Sir Simon de Ralegh in the family history. Sir Simon's effigy is dated 1260, which predates the first recorded rector of Nettlecombe by 37 years, owing to the gap in recording the earliest Ralegh names at the church of Nettlecombe Court. That rector was Will de Locombe (presumably a native of Luccombe, on the edge of Exmoor). A later generation of Raleghs are commemorated by the effigies of Sir John de Ralegh and his first wife, Maud, dated to 1360.
The last Ralegh owner of Nettlecombe Court was another Sir Simon, who died in 1440 and left the estate to his nephew Thomas Whalesborough. Sir Simon left money in his will to build a chantry chapel in St Mary's Church, including a perpetual fund for a priest to pray for the souls of the Ralegh family past and present. Work began on the chantry chapel in 1443. (The chantry chapel is now the south aisle.) The first priest was appointed a decade later in 1453. The job description for the priest retained to pray for the souls of the Raleigh family required the following moral virtues; "with owt the company of women and suspect persons' and that he not be 'lecherous or perjured, a theaff, a murderer or with any other vices corrupt." Sir Walter Raleigh, who descends from the Ralegh men of Nettlecombe, wrote of visiting Nettlecombe Court to visit his cousins and pay respect to his Ralegh ancestors in Nettlecomb's church.
Trevillian-Trevelyan: A family lineage published in Nettlecombe Court shows that the estate passed into the Trevillian family in 1452, when the heiress of the estate, Elizabeth Whalesburgh, upon her marriage, gave Nettlecombe Court as a wedding present to her bridegroom, a knight companion of the king: Sir John Trevilian, Esquire of the Kynge's Body to Henry VI, Gentleman Usher of the King's Chamber. He also served as a Member of Parliament representing Somerset and as High Sheriff of Cornwall. In the 17th century, the spelling of Trevilian became variably spelt as Trevelyan.
Oldest British hallmarked church plate: Sir John Trevillian was active in the Tudor courts of King Henry VI and Henry VII and had to be pardoned four times by the two different monarchs. In gratitude for the first three of these royal pardons, Trevillian gave a chalice and patten to Nettlecombe's St Mary's Church. These gifts are the oldest examples of British hallmarked church plate in the United Kingdom, and today are preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
During Trevillian's lifetime, probably in 1458, the octagonal Tudor font was beautifully carved for the church at Nettlecombe. Around 1500, a later John Trevillian built the west bell tower. At the west end of the nave is a carved wooden screen bearing his arms and the arms of the family of his wife Jane.
In 1530 Trevillian renovated and built the present Nettlecombe Court, as it generally appears now, incorporating favorite parts of the earlier medieval manor house. Around the same time, the church porch and north aisle were built, followed by the Trevillian Chapel; with the font carvings plastered around 1548.
Nettlecombe set on fire: Nettlecombe Court endured turbulent times during the Reformation and English Civil War. The Trevillian family remained Catholic and loyal to King Charles I, even after the king was beheaded. The family's Royalist stance led to Nettlecombe Court being set on fire in 1645 by the rector of Nettlecombe Court's St Mary's Church. Nettlecombe's rector and parishioners objected to Trevillian's refusal to convert to the Church of England. The rector was joined by his parishioners in setting Nettlecombe ablaze whereby the fire severely damaged the Great Hall of Nettlecombe Court. Nonetheless, Trevillian remained a loyalist, and instead of converting he built a private chapel at Nettlecombe Court with a secret priest's hiding place to provide sanctuary for visiting Catholic priests.
Nettlecombe Court's hidden treasure during the English Civil War: Colonel George Trevelyan then took up arms and fought for the Royalist cause in defense of the king, but eventually was captured and imprisoned by Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell's roundheads came to Nettlecombe to seize whatever property they could: crops, horses, farm animals, wagons, tools, weapons, house goods, etc. In an attempt to protect the family fortune; George's wife, Margaret, hid the family silver and other valuables under floorboards at Nettlecombe, but she died before she could reveal the fortune's whereabouts to her husband. The hidden treasure was not rediscovered until the 1790s. When Cromwell's Parliament demanded excessive war reparations of royalist Catholics, Lady Margaret Trevillian (née Strode) bravely journeyed to London. Lady Trevillian petitioned Parliament, asking them to reduce the too-great burden of war reparations Parliament had assessed upon Nettlecombe Court due to the royalist loyalties of the Tevillian family. Parliament refused Lady Trevillian's request. On her journey home, Lady Trevillian died en route, after catching smallpox whilst in London, leaving her 9 children motherless. Thus the whereabouts of the family jewels and silver lay hidden for more than a century under floorboards at Nettlecombe until by serendipity a maidservant dropped a half-gold needle through a loose floor plank which had to be pulled up to retrieve it, revealing the long hidden valuables.
Baronet: The surviving Trevillian family remained royalists at Nettlecombe; and upon the Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II, George Trevillian was awarded a second baronet by the king for his loyalty with the spelling of the family name changed to Trevelyan to distinguish from their earlier ancestral baronet name of Trevillian. However, the Church of England later became the fixed faith of the land and Catholicism banned. A later generation of Trevillian-Trevelyans headed off further turmoil at Nettlecombe Court by converting to the Church of England in 1787.
Nettlecombe's St Mary's Church: The story of the Court and its church and families, continued to go hand in hand. The church was restored from 1858 when a clerestory was inserted. In 1935 the 13th-century marble altar stone was discovered buried in the churchyard. It was returned to its place inside the church. Other historical highlights of Nettlecombe include an ancient medieval parish chest and several heraldic medieval tiles. There is a marble wall tablet to one Lady Trevillan, who died in 1697, and a tomb slab in the south aisle to a Sir John Trevelyan (d. 1623). Under the west tower is a grave slab to Richard Musgrave (d 1686). The rood screen dates to the late 15th century, with Victorian restoration, and there are several 16th-century carved bench ends. The beautifully carved pulpit dates to the late 17th century, and there is some very good 17th-century glass including several heraldic panels.
## Intellectual salon
In the 19th century, Lady Trevelyan made use of the family estates Wallington and Nettlecombe with its great house and 20,000 acres of land, to host a sophisticated intellectual and artistic salon of the day, renowned for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The sister of Lord Thomas Macaulay, eminent British historian as author of the History of England, Hannah Macaulay, married into the Trevelyan family resulting in another eminent historian George Macaulay Trevelyan, whose ancestors lived at Nettlecombe.
## Arms and legend
Nettlecombe Court has several emblems and carvings bearing the image of a horse rising from the sea, which are the Trevilian family arms, found throughout the house. The source story of the arms is the Lyonesse legend of Trevilian, as follows: Lyonesse were the lands, now submerged, on the west coast that was said to be the lands of Camelot of King Arthur and the site of the final mortal battle between King Arthur and Mordred. Tennyson's Idylls of the King claims Lyonesse as the final resting place of King Arthur himself. Perhaps this is why the grave of the king cannot be found, as it lies beneath the sea. Roman writings also speak of a Leonis, now submerged off the coast. Lyonesse was also the home of Tristan and Isolde. Legend relates that when Lyonesse suddenly sank, it was inundated as sea levels rushed in. The sole surviving knight of King Arthur's Lyonesse was said to be only one knight, Trevilian, who escaped by riding his white horse through the rising waters to higher ground before Lyonesse was submerged. Trevilian urged the other knights to join him in his attempt to escape, who counter-urged Trevilian to stay put and wait for the floodwaters to pass. The sedentary knights jovially bet wagers amongst themselves around the supper table, as to whether or not Trevilian and his white horse could survive swimming through the incoming flooding and make it to higher ground. None of the other Arthurian knights of Lyonesse, except Trevilian, was said to have survived the great sinking and inundation of Lyonesse. Submerged Medieval church bells of the lost land of Lyonesse were later said to be heard ringing, muffled under the water, when turbulent storms created rough seas. The surviving Trevilian became the founder of the current British Trevilian-Trevelyan family, whose coat of arms still bears a white horse issuing forth from the sea. In some cases the Trevilian white horse arms may be seen combined at Nettlecombe with other related family arms, indicating marriages to Raleigh, Luttrell, Wyndham, Chichester and Strode.
## Park
Nettlecombe Park is important for its lichen flora. Records suggest this site has been wood pasture or parkland for at least 400 years. There are some very old oak pollards which may be of this age or older. The oldest standard trees are over 200 years of age. The continuity of open woodland and parkland, with large mature and over-mature timber, has enabled characteristic species of epiphytic lichens and beetles to become established and persist. Many of the species in the park are now nationally scarce because this type of habitat has been eliminated over large areas of Great Britain. The park was notified as an SSSI in 1990.
Nettlecombe is known to have had a deer park by 1532. In 1556 it covered 80 acres (32 ha) and in 1619 70 acres (28 ha). In the 1690s large areas of parkland were enclosed and four new gardens created, including a water garden, which has now disappeared but is remembered in the name 'Canal Field'. The park was extended in the 18th century which included the removal of the houses that made up the village. In 1792 Thomas Veitch laid out the landscape in the style of Capability Brown including the construction of a Ha-ha between the deer park and the meadows. This included the removal of cottages and relocation of the residents. The parkland is now listed, Grade II, on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.
Within the grounds is the Church of St Mary the Virgin which is also a Grade I listed building.
### Oak trees
Nettlecombe Park is 223 acres (90 ha) of undulating parkland boasting monumental solitary trees and treegroups. It was probably once an oak forest in the main. Today, among these, oaks and sweet chestnuts are still the most common. Several sessile oaks are outstandingly large and were famous from ancient accounts for their great size. Nettlecombe oaks once provided tall strong trees for shipbuilding. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, timber hewn from the oaks of Nettlecombe were hand-selected to help build the ships of the English fleet commanded by Sir Walter Raleigh that defeated the Spanish Armada. A number of other English ships that sailed the world to establish British colonies, its navy, and trading empire were built making use of prime Nettlecombe oaks. In the 19th century very good prices were offered to the Trevelyan baronet to cut down and sell the great oaks, but the owner left them standing and the trees have been protected ever since. Some have now grown to a girth of 23 feet (7.0 m). Today, Nettlecombe acorns are sold to nurseries to begin new sapling oak trees.
## See also
- List of Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset
|
6,994,453 |
Honky Tonk Heroes
| 1,171,037,090 | null |
[
"1973 albums",
"RCA Records albums",
"Waylon Jennings albums"
] |
Honky Tonk Heroes is a country music album by Waylon Jennings, released in 1973 on RCA Victor. With the exception of "We Had It All", all of the songs on the album were written or co-written by Billy Joe Shaver. The album is considered an important piece in the development of the outlaw sub-genre in country music as it revived the honky tonk music of Nashville and added elements of rock and roll to it.
Jennings had invited the then unknown Shaver to Nashville to write the songs for Jenning's next album after hearing him sing "Willy the Wandering Gypsy and Me" before the 1972 Dripping Springs Reunion. When Shaver arrived in Nashville, he spent six months pursuing Jennings before again convincing him to make an album of his songs. Jennings had recently renegotiated his contract with RCA Records. The label granted him creative control over his work to avoid losing him to Atlantic Records. As his usual producer, Chet Atkins, was reluctant to release a record consisting of songs written by an unknown songwriter, Jennings replaced him with Tompall Glaser. Jennings replaced the Nashville session musicians with his own band, The Waylors.
The executives of RCA Records were reluctant to release the album, and delayed it until July 1973. Honky Tonk Heroes had a good reception by the critics on release. It reached number 14 in Billboard's Top Country albums chart. The singles "You Asked Me To" and "We Had It All" did well, reaching number 8 and 28, respectively. The album was listed in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
## Background
Waylon Jennings and his manager Neil Reshen had renegotiated the singer's contract with RCA Records in 1972, which gave him creative control over his work. By 1973, Atlantic Records was attempting to sign Jennings who, with fellow country singer Willie Nelson, had become dissatisfied with RCA because of the company's conservative influence upon their music. Nelson, who had signed with Atlantic, was becoming more popular, and this persuaded RCA to renegotiate with Jennings before it lost another potential success.
Jennings' creative input in the recording process had increased on the releases of Good Hearted Woman (1972), Ladies Love Outlaws (1972) and Lonesome, On'ry and Mean (1973). Jennings attempted to duplicate the sound of his live performances in the recording studio. He used his backing band, The Waylors and his own choice of material.
## Recording and composition
Jennings met Billy Joe Shaver at the 1972 Dripping Springs Reunion in Dripping Springs, Texas. As Shaver took part on a guitar pull with other songwriters, he interpreted his original "Willy the Wondering Gypsy and Me". Jennings, who was resting at the back of the trailer, heard Shaver and asked him if he had written "any more of them 'ol cowboy songs". Impressed by Shaver's originals, Jennings offered him to record an entire album of his songs. Shaver then travelled to Nashville, Tennessee, where he tried to unsuccessfully locate Jennings, who avoided him for six months. With the help of local D.J. Roger "Captain Midnight" Schutt, Shaver found Jennings at a RCA recording session with producer Chet Atkins. He tried to confront the singer, who offered Shaver \$100. Shaver refused the money and told Jennings that he was willing to fight him if he would not listen to his songs.
Jennings offered to record "Willy the Wandering Gypsy and Me" and told Shaver to sing another song – if Jennings liked it he would record it and Shaver could sing another; but if he did not like it, Shaver would have to leave. Shaver sang "Ain't No God in Mexico", followed by "Honky Tonk Heroes" and "Old Five and Dimers and Me". Jennings was impressed, and he decided to record an entire album of Shaver's songs.
Atkins was reluctant to record the material of an unknown writer, but since he had creative control, Jennings decided to record the album. Jennings later recalled, "His songs were of a piece, and the only way you could ever understand Billy Joe was to hear his whole body of work. That was how the concept of Honky Tonk Heroes came about. Billy Joe talked the way a modern cowboy would speak, if he stepped out of the West and lived today. He had a command of the Texas lingo, his world as down to earth and real as the day was long, and he wore his lone Star birthright like a badge." Jennings was also spending more of his time at Tompall Glaser's "Hillbilly Central" studio in Nashville. Jennings was attracted by the loose atmosphere of the studio in comparison to RCA Record's. Jennings brought Glaser with him to RCA Victor Studios to co-produce Honky Tonk Heroes. "Tompall and I were best friends," Jennings reminisced in his autobiography Waylon. "We met at about the time he broke up with his brothers, and I kind of took their place in his life." Jennings and Shaver worked on the songs for several weeks, with Shaver believing that Jennings was not closely following the phrasing of the tunes, and in some cases he played the songs repeatedly so that Jennings would understand them. The title cut was especially problematic, as Jennings and Shaver clashed over the arrangement. Jennings's drummer, Richie Albright, later recalled: "We were doing the album and Billy Joe was around, and we began 'Honky Tonk Heroes,' so we cut the first part of the song and we stopped, and Waylon said, 'This is the way we're going to do it.' And Billy Joe had been sitting in the back and he come walking up, saying, 'What are you doing? You're fucking up my song. That ain't the way it goes.' Pretty soon Waylon and Billy Joe are just hollering at one another. Billy Joe didn't understand the way we were putting it together...then we put it together and he said, 'Yeah. That's good. That's the way it goes."
Jennings and Shaver co-wrote the song "You Asked Me To" at Bobby Bare's office. Atkins' only input was his suggestion to add the song "We Had it All", which had previously been a top ten single. "We Had It All" had been written by Kris Kristofferson's keyboardist "Funky" Donnie Fritts. RCA requested Jennings to add a song not written by Shaver to improve the chances of commercial success for the album's single. Jennings initially considered Steve Young's "Seven Bridges Road," Jimmie Rodgers' "T for Texas," and Shel Silverstein's "The Leaving Coming On".
## Release and critical reception
Initially, the executives of RCA Records, and Chet Atkins, tried to avoid releasing the album. "We Had it All" was released as a single and it peaked at number 28 in Billboard'''s Country Singles. Also released as a single, "You Asked Me To" peaked at number eight. Honky Tonk Heroes was released in July 1973 to good critical reception. It reached number 14 in Billboard's Top Country Albums, while it peaked at number 185 in the Billboard 200.
Rolling Stone wrote: "After many years of overproduction on record, Waylon Jennings' new album offers an opportunity to hear the crisp, robust no-nonsense sound which has been his trademark since his early days with Buddy Holly's Crickets." The Music Journal described the album as "certainly brash, lively and down-to-earth. Thoroughly infectious too." Regarding the composition of the songs, Stereo Review wrote: "Billy Joe Shaver songs have [Jennings] in a corral if not in a box...This is like picking Kris Kristofferson up by the literary ankles, shaking him vigorously, and using every damn nugget that tumbles out."
The Chicago Tribune opened its review by discussing Jennings's recent performances at The Troubadour and the Shower of Stars Concert, and his change of looks. The publication remarked that the singer appeared "raising his country consciousness but good: longish straggly hair, beginnings of a beard, black leather, laid back". For the reviewer Honky Tonk Heroes signified a "testimony to Jennings' directional attitude", as she considered the album "a pretty powerful example of both the old and 'new' Waylon", as the reviewers noted the change of looks reflected on the cover and the "music typical of the 'old' talent". Jennings was considered to be a "strong, vaguely sensitive singer " with a style "capable of crossing country lines to find wider acceptance". The piece opined that Shaver "deserves more recognition that he's so far received". It called his songs "simple, sometimes reminiscent of Mickey Newbury's in their gentle regret or dont-give-a-damn exuberance", as the review concluded that "They are songs of contemporary cowboys looking for a freedom they're never going to find".
For the Austin American-Statesman reviewer Townsend Miller deemed the album a combination of his "favorite singer" in Jennings and the what he previously considered the "album of the year" on Shaver's release Old Five and Dimers Like Me. The reviewer recommended the readers to purchase both albums. El Paso Times opined that Honky Tonk Heroes "holds some of the best poetic humor and downright country sounds". The Baltimore Sun declared it "country music at its best". For The Kansas City Star, it offered "straight C&W minus the show biz pretension". The review called the songs "dusty, gritty and above all, honest", as it concluded that they were "like that first beer after a long day in the saddle".
## Legacy
Honky Tonk Heroes helped add to the "outlaw" image of Jennings, and the album is considered an important piece in the development of the outlaw subgenre in country music. Shaver, who was regarded as a major contributor to the subgenre considered that the album was "the touchstone of the Outlaw movement".
The album was reissued on CD in 1994 by RCA Records. Buddah Records released an issue on CD in 1999, while RCA records later reissued the album on LP, CD and digital download through Fat Possum Records in 2013.
### Retrospective reviews
Stephen Thomas Erlewine in a retrospective review in Allmusic felt that Jennings had been looking for a musical approach which had roots in country and rock, and Shaver's songs – "sketching an outlaw stance with near defiance and borrowing rock attitude to create the hardest country tunes imaginable" – provided that common ground. Erlewine believed that the album arrived at the right moment to revive the honky tonk music of Nashville by injecting a rock and roll attitude that would produce outlaw country.
Kenneth Burns, in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, says that Honky Tonk Heroes'' is "one of country music's landmark albums", and points out Jennings' rock and roll roots as bass player for Buddy Holly. In 2013 author Michael Streissguth wrote, "The album christened country music's outlaw era...and bathed in risk, having gambled on the work of an untested songwriter."
## Track listing
Bonus tracks
1. "Slow Rollin' Low" – 2:44
2. "You Asked Me To" (Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Jennings) – 2:38
## Personnel
Musicians
- Waylon Jennings – vocals, rhythm guitar
- Bee Spears, Henry Strzelecki – bass guitar
- Joe Allen – bass guitar, string bass
- Byron Bach, Martha McCrory – cello
- Richie Albright, Buddy Harman, Willie Ackerman – drums
- Billy Sanford, Dale Sellers, Reggie Young – electric guitar
- Tommy Williams – fiddle
- Don Brooks – harmonica
- Andy McMahon – organ
- David Briggs – piano
- Jerry Gropp, Larry Whitmore, Billy Reynolds, David Kirby, Eddie Hinton, Randy Scruggs, Steve Young – rhythm guitar
- Ralph Mooney – steel guitar
- Marvin Chantry – viola
- Brenton Banks, Larry Herzberg, Lennie Haight, Sheldon Kurland, Steven Maxwell Smith, Stephanie Woolf – violin
Production
- Tompall Glaser – producer
- Waylon Jennings – producer
- Ronny Light – producer on "Low Down Freedom" and "Black Rose"
- Al Pachucki, Tom Pick – recording engineer
- Chuck Seitz, Mike Shockley, Ray Butts, Roy Shockley – recording technicians
- Roger "Capt. Midnite" Schutt – liner notes
- Glen Spreen – string arrangement on "We Had It All"
## Chart positions
Album
Singles
|
55,610,051 |
Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing
| 1,165,717,877 | null |
[
"1966 debut singles",
"1966 songs",
"Buffalo Springfield songs",
"Songs written by Neil Young"
] |
"Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" is a song by the Canadian-American folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, released as the group's debut single in 1966. Neil Young wrote the song in Yorkville in 1965 shortly after returning from a series of performances in Toronto, during a period when his bid at a solo career had been met with little positive response. The lyrics reflect metaphorically on Young's frustration toward his stalled career in music, and was inspired by Ross "Clancy" Smith, an aberrant classmate who incited awe in his school. Commentators recognize "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" as one of Buffalo Springfield's signature songs, as well as a milestone in Young's progression as a songwriter.
The song was the lead single to Buffalo Springfield's self-titled debut album, bubbling under the Billboard Hot 100 at number 110, and peaking at number 75 on the Canadian RPM 100 singles chart. Buffalo Springfield played "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" at many concerts during their stay in Los Angeles where it found regional success.
Young's original demo recording for Elektra Records was included on the compilation album The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972 (2009), and a live version, from his 1968 solo tour, appears on Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968 (2008). The band's rendition appears on Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo Springfield (1969) and Buffalo Springfield (1973). In 1968, Fever Tree arguably was the earliest artist to cover a Young song with their orchestrated pop interpretation of "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing"; another version was recorded by the Carpenters.
## Background and recording
Buffalo Springfield biographer John Einarson has written of Neil Young experiencing a phase of creativity following his time spent performing as a solo musician in Toronto in 1965. While his former Squires bandmate Ken Koblun found immediate success as an in-demand bass guitarist, Young's career stalled amid stinging criticism of his concerts and material. A resigned Young recalled Toronto as a "very humbling experience", one, out of frustration, which galvanized him to write a string of introspective songs. The Toronto episode inspired the Young compositions "Runaround Babe", "The Ballad of Peggy Grover", and "I Ain't Got the Blues", among others.
Young wrote "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" within the same timeframe under the working title "Baby That Don't Mean a Thing", partially as a rebuttal to critics of his performances. In the book For What It's Worth, Young identified "Clancy" as his former Winnipeg high school classmate Ross "Clancy" Smith. Young described Smith as a "strange cat"—an aberrant figure tormented by others for singing hymns blithely. The theme "not to the loner but to the individualist", in Paul Williams' words, is most evident throughout the song; "That's who Neil Young is [an individualist]", Williams adds.
Richie Furay first heard "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" late in 1965 while Young was visiting his apartment in New York City. "I thought the song was really unique", Furay recalled of his first hearing, noting the quality already evident in Young's material. Furay performed the song as a solo singer during auditions at the Bitter End nightclub and committed it to tape. Fellow folk musician Jean Gurney commented "All things being equal, Richie was the preferred provider for that song. Neil's voice didn't lend itself well to such a complicate tune like that". Young recorded demos of "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" and six other originals in January 1966 at a session for Elektra Records in hopes the tapes would jumpstart his career, only to have them rejected. Once back in Toronto, Young had a chance encounter with Bruce Palmer, who offered him membership in the Mynah Birds. In April 1966, Young and Palmer moved to Los Angeles where they found creative fulfillment with another group -- Buffalo Springfield.
The group's rendition of "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" was stylized as a folk rock song. Young contributed on guitar and played harmonica, and provided backing vocals to Buffalo Springfield's recording of the song at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood, featuring Furay singing lead. This song is done in an Irish form, with the verses in 2/4 rhythm, while the choruses were done in 3/4 rhythm. The style was influenced by the Irish folk singing group, the Clancy Brothers.
## Release and reception
Originally, the intention had been to release "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" as the B-side of the lead single from Buffalo Springfield, until Atco Records persuaded the band Young's song was the most obvious choice. The song was therefore issued on the A-side in August 1966 in Southern California with Stephen Stills' "Go and Say Goodbye", followed by national distribution a month later. The release was accompanied by a series of concerts in which Buffalo Springfield opened for the Byrds and shared bills with Johnny Rivers among others; at the Hollywood Bowl, the group opened for the Rolling Stones. In addition, Charlie Greene and Brian Stone, Buffalo Springfield's management team, bartered an advance tape of the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" to KHJ radio; in exchange, the station became the first to give "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" substantial airplay.
The single was successful in Los Angeles but achieved little attention elsewhere. "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" debuted on Billboard'''s Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart at number 130 on August 20, peaked at number 110 on September 10, and disappeared from the chart one week later. In Canada, it reached number 75 on the RPM 100 chart around September 5, 1966. On the single's lackluster commercial performance, Furay later suggested "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" was "too deep" and "too ambitious" of a choice for the A-side, and considered "Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It" and "Sit Down I Think I Love You" as songs better suited for pop radio. The song was issued on Buffalo Springfield in December 1966, providing evidence, in music historian Richie Unterberger's words, of Young already arriving as "a songwriter of great talent and enigmatic lyricism".
Cash Box said that it is a "pulsating, folk-ish item with some inventive unexpected melodic changes." Record World said it has "a different sound and a different and intriguing lyric." David V. Moskowitz in his book The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time calls the song one of the "gems" of the band's debut album and "the original Buffalo Springfield song", while Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic declared: "Young has written 100 other songs that are probably 'better' than this, but he's never written anything else quite like it". Paul Williams praises the "beauty" of Young's melody and unique use of lyrical fragments to express "his evident sincerity". To Williams, "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" is "the breakthrough" song—the point where Young "asserted his power as a songwriter".
Young's original demo recording of "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" was officially released on the box set The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972, in 2009. A live version of the song by Young, recorded at the Canterbury House in 1968 shortly after Buffalo Springfield disbanded, was included on the album Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968. Buffalo Springfield's rendition was compiled on Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo Springfield (1969) and Buffalo Springfield (1973).
## Other renditions
The psychedelic rock band Fever Tree recorded the song for their 1968 self-titled album. The song was produced by Scott and Vivian Holtzman, and arranged by David Angel who also worked on Love's Forever Changes (1967). Unterberger, who described the song as highly orchestrated, attests Fever Tree's rendition "must count as one of the earliest covers of a Neil Young composition". On Uni Records, "Clancy" was also released as a single in 1969 but failed to chart. Also in 1969, the Carpenters included their own take of the song on their album Ticket to Ride''.
|
56,645,241 |
Gainsborough Studios (Manhattan)
| 1,154,799,637 |
Residential building in Manhattan, New York
|
[
"1908 establishments in New York City",
"59th Street (Manhattan)",
"Apartment buildings in New York City",
"Artist colonies",
"Midtown Manhattan",
"New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan",
"Residential buildings completed in 1908",
"Residential buildings in Manhattan"
] |
The Gainsborough Studios, also known as 222 Central Park South, is a residential building on Central Park South, just east of Columbus Circle, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Designed by Charles W. Buckham, the building is 16 stories tall with 34 apartments. Named after English painter Thomas Gainsborough, the building is one of several in Manhattan that were built in the early 20th century as both studios and residences for artists.
The Gainsborough Studios' name and design indicated its artistic connotations. The facade contains a bust of Gainsborough above the main entrance; a bas-relief across the third floor, designed by Isidore Konti; and tile murals by Henry Chapman Mercer's Moravian Pottery and Tile Works at the top stories. Some studios have 18-foot (5.5 m) ceilings with double-height spaces, while others are smaller units that occupy part of a single floor. Artists generally rented the studios as a combination residence and working space.
The Gainsborough Studios corporation built the structure between 1907 and 1908 as artists' cooperative housing, although it gradually became a standard residential development. The lobby was restored in the 1950s and in 1981, and a full renovation of the building commenced in 1988. The building was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1988.
## Site
The Gainsborough Studios is in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, just east of Columbus Circle. It is on the southern side of Central Park South between Seventh Avenue and Broadway, across from Central Park to the north. The Gainsborough Studios occupies a lot measuring 50 feet (15 m) on Central Park South and 88 feet (27 m) deep. Nearby buildings include 200 and 220 Central Park South to the east, 240 Central Park South to the west, and 1790 Broadway and the Central Park Tower to the south.
## Architecture
The Gainsborough Studios is 177.21 feet (54 m) tall and has 16 stories. Charles W. Buckham was the architect, while Wells Bros. Company was the general contractor. The artist August Franzen [sv] was the founding president of the Gainsborough Studios corporation, which developed the building. Franzen was a significant figure in the building's planning, and may have influenced the decision to name the building after English painter Thomas Gainsborough. The Gainsborough Studios' exterior design reflects both its interior furnishings and its purpose as an artists' studio, with numerous allusions to art in both its name and facade. It is one of a few artists' housing cooperatives remaining in Manhattan.
### Facade
The first and second floors are faced with limestone. The entrance is set within a square doorway under a portico with the words gainsborough studios, which in turn is supported by a pair of white terracotta and granite Ionic columns. There is a double-height window to each side of the main entrance, with two stone mullions and a thick stone muntin in each window. A staircase to the basement is west of the entrance. Running across the third story is a bas-relief frieze by Isidore Konti called Procession of the Arts. The frieze depicts various people delivering gifts to an altar representing the arts, and contains two small windows. A plinth sits atop the entrance portico, supporting a bust of Thomas Gainsborough outside the fourth and fifth stories.
Above the second story, the building's facade is split into two vertical bays, flanked by three brick piers with stone reveals. The facade generally contains double-height windows facing Central Park South, which break up the facade into several double-story sections between the second and fifteenth floors. The lower portion of each double-story section features a quatrefoil panel and a small pediment at the center, flanked by a glass pane on each side. The upper portion of each double-story section, as well as the fourth floor, contains a large window divided into several sections by narrow mullions. The lower and upper portions of each double-height story are separated by narrow spandrel panels. An arch runs above each bay over the twelfth story.
Above the twelfth story, the piers are ornamented with tile mosaics by Henry Chapman Mercer's Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. The mosaics contain geometric patterns in red, yellow, green, and gray hues; the central pier contains more elaborate decoration compared to the outer piers. Atop the building is a corbel table with shell designs, as well as acroteria atop each pier.
### Features
The Gainsborough Studios contains 34 units, which were marketed to artists as a studio that could be used as living space. The building has a shared kitchen, laundry, and dining room, although individual units contain reception areas for clients. When completed, the building contained 14 duplex apartments and 25 single-floor apartments, for a total of 39 units.
The Gainsborough Studios was legally classified as a hotel to circumvent zoning restrictions that prevented new apartment buildings from being taller than 150 percent of the width of the adjacent street. As a result, there was a communal kitchen area at ground level, while individual apartments lacked full kitchens. There are two elevators and an emergency stair, flanking enclosure at the center of the building. As designed, the elevator at the northern end of the hall was the main passenger elevator, and the elevator at the southern end was used for freight.
Only the northern facade had natural light overlooking Central Park. Accordingly, the units on the building's northern side were equipped with 18-foot (5.5 m) ceilings and double-height windows, and thus contained the duplex suites. The other apartments were single-story units. On each floor pairing, there was two double-height duplex units on the north side and four single-story units on the south side, arranged around a central hallway with a fire staircase and two elevators. The duplex units contain a mezzanine overlooking the double-height studios along Central Park South. The second and third floors are irregular, in that the front sections of these floors contain duplex apartments, while the rear had restaurant space.
## History
Cooperative apartment housing in New York City became popular in the late 19th century because of overcrowded housing conditions in the city's dense urban areas. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were some co-ops in the city that catered specifically to artists, including at 130 and 140 West 57th Street, as well as on 67th Street near Central Park. However, these were almost always fully occupied. Some of the artists' co-ops contained features such as double-height ceilings, while others like Gainsborough Studios contained large working areas illuminated by light from the north.
In 1907, businessman Barron Collier and artists Colin Campbell Cooper, Elliott Daingerfield, and August Franzen formed the Gainsborough Studios corporation, headquartered at 307 Fifth Avenue. The corporation would plan and develop an artists' cooperative apartment on Central Park South. The corporation bought tenements at 222 and 224 Central Park South in April 1907. Buckham was hired as architect, and that May, he filed plans with the New York City Department of Buildings for an eight-story fireproof artists' studio on the site, to cost \$300,000. Wells Bros. Company was awarded the general construction contract in August 1907. Work started on November 3, 1907, after the existing building had been demolished. The new building officially opened on October 31, 1908.
At various points in the building's history, residents included artist Montague Flagg, sculptor William Ordway Partridge, and travel writer Thomas Allibone Janvier, as well as artist Enrico Donati. One resident of the Gainsborough Studios in the 1910s, John Hemming Fry, became a vice president of the Gainsborough Studios corporation and subsequently developed the nearby Rodin Studios using his experience from the Gainsborough Studios. During the 1950s, another resident, Donald Deskey, led a renovation of the building's lobby. As part of the project, the ornate iron doors from the original design were replaced with aluminum doors.
In 1981, the Gainsborough Studios Corporation spent \$100,000 on renovating the lobby to its original condition, using historical photographs to create replicas of the original doors. The terracotta and tile facade degraded over time, and starting in 1988, the building was renovated for \$1 million. The colored ceramic tiles were reproduced by hand, the terracotta was partially replaced, and the frieze was recast in concrete. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission also made the building an official city landmark in 1988, after the renovation had commenced. By 2004, the Gainsborough Studios had almost entirely become a standard residential suite, and Donati was the last artist remaining in the building. In the early 21st century, philanthropist Blaine Trump moved into the building as well.
## Critical reception
Upon its completion, the Gainsborough Studios' design was described as "a credit to the ingenuity of the designer". In 1977, architectural writer Paul Goldberger wrote for The New York Times that the facade of the Gainsborough Studios was "far more interesting than anything on 67th Street", praising the Ionic columns at the base and the mosaics at the top. Christopher Gray wrote for the same paper in 2013 that the building "constitute[d] the first recognition I have seen that the vista north to 110th Street was beginning to be considered special", reflecting on the development boom along Central Park South when the building was completed.
## See also
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets
|
1,407,632 |
Six moments musicaux (Rachmaninoff)
| 1,144,533,713 |
Solo piano pieces by Sergei Rachmaninoff
|
[
"1896 compositions",
"Compositions for solo piano",
"Piano music by Sergei Rachmaninoff"
] |
Six moments musicaux (French for "Six Musical Moments"; Russian: Шесть музыкальных моментов, romanized: Shest’ muzykál’nykh moméntov), Op. 16, is a set of solo piano pieces composed by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff between October and December 1896. Each Moment musical reproduces a musical form characteristic of a previous musical era. The forms that appear in Rachmaninoff's incarnation are the nocturne, song without words, barcarolle, virtuoso étude, and theme and variations.
The individual pieces have been described as "true concert works, being best served on a stage and with a concert grand." Although composed as part of a set, each piece stands on its own as a concert solo with individual themes and moods. The pieces span a variety of themes ranging from the funeral march of number three to the canon of number six, the Moments musicaux are both Rachmaninoff's return to and revolution of solo piano composition. A typical performance lasts 30 minutes.
In an interview in 1941, Rachmaninoff said, "What I try to do, when writing down my music, is to make it say simply and directly that which is in my heart when I am composing." Even though Moments musicaux were written because he was short of money, the pieces summarize his knowledge of piano composition up to that point. Andantino opens the set with a long, reflective melody that develops into a rapid climax. The second piece, Allegretto, is the first of the few in the set that reveal his mastery of piano technique. Andante cantabile is a contrast to its two surrounding pieces, explicitly named "funeral march" and "lament." Presto draws inspiration from several sources, including the Preludes of Frédéric Chopin, to synthesize an explosion of melodic intensity. The fifth, Adagio sostenuto is a respite in barcarolle form, before the finale Maestoso, which closes the set in a thick three-part texture.
## Background
By the fall of 1896, 23-year old Rachmaninoff's financial status was precarious, not helped by his being robbed of money on an earlier train trip. Pressed for time, both financially and by those expecting a symphony, he "rushed into production." On December 7, he wrote to Aleksandr Zatayevich, a Russian composer he had met before he had composed the work, saying, "I hurry in order to get money I need by a certain date ... This perpetual financial pressure is, on the one hand, quite beneficial ... by the 20th of this month I have to write six piano pieces." Rachmaninoff completed all six during October and December 1896, and dedicated all to Zatayevich. Despite the hasty circumstances, the work evidences his early virtuosity, and sets an example for the quality of his future works.
Six moments musicaux is a sophisticated work that is of longer duration, thicker textures, and greater virtuosic demands on the performer than any of Rachmaninoff's previous solo piano works. It is similar to Alexander Scriabin's momentous Étude in D minor (Op. 8, No. 12)—in both compositions, detail is more functional than ornamentative in their musical argument. It is here, rather than in Morceaux de fantaisie (Op. 3, 1892) or Morceaux de salon (Op. 10, 1894), that Rachmaninoff places specific qualities of his own playing into his music. There is passionate lyricism in numbers three and five, but the others require a pianist with virtuoso technique and musical perception. These were composed during the middle of Rachmaninoff's career, and created a foundation of inner voices that he would elaborate on in his Preludes (Op. 23) and Études-Tableaux (Op. 33). Although he usually gave the première of his own piano works, he was not the first to perform these, and the date of the first public performance has not yet been determined.
The set's name is inspired by Franz Schubert's collection of six short piano pieces, also called Six moments musicaux (Op. 94, 1828).
## Composition
### 1. Andantino, B minor
The first piece has an andantino (moderate) tempo, is 113 measures long, and is marked at = 72. It is divided into three distinct sections. The first presents a theme in common time () with a typical nocturne figure for the left hand. A mid-piece pause at roughly the same area in Schubert's first Moments musicaux further emphasizes the influence of Schubert. The second part is marked con moto (with motion), at = 76, and is a variation of the first theme in the unusual configuration of seven quarter notes per measure (). This part ends in a cadenza. The third section presents the last variation of the theme, again in common time, but in the fastest tempo yet, Andantino con moto, at = 84. The piece ends in a coda that returns to the first tempo, and repeats portions of the previous three parts. It ends with a perfect authentic cadence into B minor.
Andantino is the longest in the set by playing time (about eight and a half minutes). It is described as a "generic hybrid", combining elements of the nocturne and theme and variation genres. The melody is chromatic, syncopated, and long, all idiosyncratic elements Rachmaninoff often includes in his works. Because of this, the Andantino is sometimes called an extension of his Nocturne in A minor of the Morceaux de Salon set (Op. 10, No. 1, 1894). However, Andantino stands on its own with difficulties, such as the sections with multiple phrases in a single hand.
### 2. Allegretto, E minor
The second piece, referred to as a "glittering showpiece", is positioned in contrast to the lyrical and "atmospheric" melody of the first piece. The piece is in the quick tempo allegretto (quickly), at = 92. It is 131 measures long, the most of all six pieces, but the second shortest in terms of playing time, usually no longer than three and a half minutes (the shortest is number four). This piece represents a typical nineteenth-century étude, similar in style to Frédéric Chopin's Études (Opp. 10, 25), with a melody interspersed between rapid sextuplet figures. It is in strict ternary form with a coda: identical beginning and ending sections beginning on measures 1 and 85, and a contrasting middle section starting on measure 45. The second section radically changes dynamics, constantly changing from piano to fortissimo and even sforzando. It is, throughout, a relentless torrent of descending half steps and a cascading left hand figure reminiscent of Chopin's Revolutionary Étude (Op. 10, No. 12, 1831). Ending the piece is a slow coda in Adagio (at ease) which closes with a plagal cadence in E minor.
Rachmaninoff revised this piece in March 1940, changing the melody but leaving the constant sextuplets, proving that the rushing figures are not simple bravura or flair.
### 3. Andante cantabile, B minor
The continual gauntlets of number two are relieved by the third piece in the set, an "introspective rêverie [daydream]." Drawing on the previous illustration of a "generic hybrid", this piece is described as a mixture between the song without words and funeral march genres, to create what is called the "most Russian" piece of the set, containing both sonorous bass and a solid melody, characteristics of Russian music.
Comprising only 55 measures, this piece is one of the shortest but has one of the longer playing times of about seven minutes (four and a half if the repeat is not taken). The piece is structured as a three-part form. The theme of the first and second sections are played entirely in minor thirds, accompanied by a left hand figure of open fifths and octaves. The third section has the melody in minor sixths, alongside a staccato octave bass. The lament of the opening theme transforms into an explicit funeral march as the left-hand octaves become regular.
### 4. Presto, E minor
The fourth piece is similar to the second in the quality of its performance. The fourth piece reveals resemblance to Chopin's Revolutionary étude in the taxing left hand figure place throughout. The piece is 67 measures long, with a duration of about three minutes, and has the fastest tempo of the set, Presto (quick) at = 104, and is the shortest work in terms of playing time.
Presto is in ternary form with a coda. The piece begins with a fortissimo introduction with a thick texture in the left hand consisting of chromatic sextuplets. The melody is a "rising quasi-military" idea, interspersed between replications of the left hand figure, the mostly two-note melody being a strong unifying element. The middle section is a brief period of pianissimo falling figures in the right hand and rising scales in the left. The third section is marked Più vivo (more life) and is played even faster than the intro, = 112. At this point the piece develops a very thick texture, with the original left hand figure played in both hands in varying registers. The technique of rapidly changing the octave in which a melody is played, sometimes called "registral displacement", is used to present the figure in a more dramatic form that increases the intensity of the ending. The ending, a coda in Prestissimo (very quick), = 116, is a final, sweeping reiteration of the theme that closes in a heavy E minor chord, which revisits Rachmaninoff's preoccupation with bell sounds, prominent in his Piano Concerto No. 2 and Prelude in C minor (Op. 3, No. 2).
The piece is a major exercise in endurance and accuracy: the introduction opens in a left hand figure requiring span of a tenth interval. Additionally, octave intervals invariably appear before fast sextuplet runs, making quick wrists and arm action necessary. The double melodies Rachmaninoff uses in this work exists purposely to "keep both hands occupied," obscuring the melody and making it difficult for the right hand to project. This is the only piece in the set with indicated pedal markings.
### 5. Adagio sostenuto, D major
The piece is similar to the form of a barcarolle, a folk song with a rhythmic tuplet accompaniment. Playing it takes approximately five minutes, and it is 53 measures long, the shortest in terms of measures. It is an adagio sostenuto (sustained at ease) at = 54, with a simple melody presented in ternary form.
Lacking any prodigious figures or difficult runs, the piece displays Rachmaninoff's capability for musical lyricism. Although the piece seems simple, the mood must be sustained by playing simultaneously restrained but dynamic triplet figures in the left hand. The melody, a chordal texture with frequent suspended tones, creates a difficult task in voicing, and placing the correct emphasis on the correct notes. Its relatively short melody lines are a direct contrast to Rachmaninoff's characteristically long lines, giving a shorter time to bring out the phrases.
### 6. Maestoso, C major
The last piece in the set is a quintessential nineteenth-century work, and has been described as an "apotheosis or completion of struggle." It appears to be inspired by the texture in the Präludium from Schumann's Bunte Blätter. The piece was once summarized as:
> The final piece or movement of a cycle that is virtuosic and brilliant, employing the entire range of dynamics and sonorities available to the piano, bringing a set of pieces to a glorious conclusion.
This "stormy, agitated" work contains a "vehemently triple-dotted main theme and only some brief midsection hazy sunshine [that lightens] the storm before fortississimo thunders return and finally dominate." Despite the dark imagery presented to describe the piece, the work is in C major, and the end result is more light-hearted than dark, but not as triumphal as the Maestoso would make it sound.
Like the second and fourth pieces, number six is written in the form of an étude, with a repetitive but technically challenging chordal melody that is doubled in both hands. In all, the work has three distinct elements played simultaneously: the main melody, the continuous thirty-second note broken chord figures, and a descending eighth note motif. Dynamics play a large part in this piece: the fortissimo marked at the beginning is maintained all throughout the first section, with only brief respites to mezzo forte. The middle section is wholly softer, and contains two areas with significant mounting tension, creating the aforementioned "apotheosis effect" with dramatic "false starts." Here, Rachmaninoff manipulates the theme contrapuntally to develop a canonic effect. This "triple counterpoint... is titanic both in size and impact, and in potential for disaster," referring to the tension, waiting for the final climax, in this "continuing explosion." Immediately before the coda, the thick texture and canon suddenly disappear and the piece becomes piano. Upon entering the coda, the work resumes the forte theme and amalgamates to a majestic ending played fortississimo.
Maestoso is one of the most difficult pieces in the set. Stamina and strength are required to sustain a full resonant sound, while the continuous thirty-second figure can be tiring for the pianist. Consistent tempo is a problem for this piece, due to the melody being interspersed with two other elements. Additionally, the dynamics, mostly forte and fortissimo, indicate that an accurate vision of relative volume is necessary. Maintaining this accuracy while managing every other element of the piece and successfully presenting a musically solid performance continues to be the ultimate challenge of all.
## Reception
The Six moments musicaux were well received by critics. During the writing of his Symphony No. 1, Rachmaninoff was distracted from solo piano work, and the Moments were regarded as his return to mature composition. Although revolutionary and grand in style, they retain the charm of his early works, as mentioned by pianist Elizabeth Wolff: "They are typical of his early works, dense, rich in counterpoint, highly chromatic, poignantly nationalistic, deeply felt, and of course, exceptionally challenging to the pianist." Later performances of this work would reveal that Rachmaninoff had hidden a subtle rhythm and vitality that emerged under the long, melodic phrases, furthering his acclaim as an incredibly complex musician. The Moments go as far as to "confirm the inexplicable inherent in genius", with "exquisite melody, wondrous harmonic changes, 'heavenly brevity'," while maintaining "a sense of contrast and variety that allows each miniature to stand alone while complementing the work on either side of it." Although it is unknown whether the financial reaction of this composition recouped his stolen money, the emotional reaction to it would be overshadowed for the following years by the catastrophic premiere in 1897 of his two-years' labor: the Symphony No. 1, Op. 13, 1895.
|
1,645,657 |
Eazy-Duz-It
| 1,170,552,218 |
1988 studio album by Eazy-E
|
[
"1988 debut albums",
"Albums produced by Dr. Dre",
"Eazy-E albums",
"Ruthless Records albums"
] |
Eazy-Duz-It is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 23, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite very little promotion by radio and television. Three singles were released from the album, each charting in the US. The remastered version contains tracks from the extended play (EP), 5150: Home 4 tha Sick (1992). The 25th anniversary (2013) contains two bonus tracks which are 12" remixes of "We Want Eazy" and "Still Talkin.'"
Eazy-Duz-It is the only full-length solo album Eazy-E released in his lifetime; for the remaining seven years of his life, he would continue recording with N.W.A until their break up in 1991, release two solo EPs and continue running his label Ruthless. His second and last solo album, Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton (1996), was not released until roughly a year after his death.
## Recording and production
Eazy-Duz-It was recorded at Audio Achievements in Torrance, California in 1988. Marcus Reeves, author of Somebody Scream!: Rap Music's Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power (2009) , described MC Ren's writing style as "elaborate storytelling and acrobatic verbiage", while the D.O.C.'s included "syllabically punchy boasts" and Ice Cube wrote, "masterfully insightful first-person narratives." Ice Cube's writing was often inspired by comedians like Richard Pryor and Rudy Ray Moore.
The album's production, almost solely done by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, was praised by several critics. Jason Birchmeier from Allmusic gave a considerable amount of attention to the album's production, saying that "Dr. Dre and Yella meld together P-Funk, Def Jam-style hip hop, and the leftover electro sounds of mid-[19]80s Los Angeles, creating a dense, funky, and thoroughly unique style of their own." Birchmeier would also write that some songs—"Eazy Duz It", "We Want Eazy", "Eazy-er Said Than Dunn", and "Radio"—are all heavily produced and have "layers upon layers of samples and beats competing with Eazy-E's rhymes for attention." Rapper and producer Kanye West also touted Dr. Dre's production on the album.
## Composition
Glen Boyd of Blogcritics said that the album has "Deep-ass bass lines, old-school funk samples, and plenty of street smart ghetto attitude are what powers this record." Jerry Heller wrote that Eazy raps more up front on the album than he does on Straight Outta Compton, and insists that the album's lyrics contain more sexual humor than gangsta vibe.
The album's title track and lead single "Eazy-Duz-It", written by MC Ren, opens with a woman acclaiming Eazy-E's style. Eazy then interrupts saying "Bitch shut the fuck up, get the fuck outta here." This is followed by a bass line provided by Dr. Dre. Soon, Eazy begins to rap about himself and things that he does. The song declares that Eazy is a "hardcore villain" who collects money from his prostitutes, and feels great when his "pockets are fat." The chorus, repeated three times, states that he "is a gangsta having fun". The piece is laden with the aural mainstays of gangsta rap, including gunshots, and references to several drugs.
"Boyz n the Hood" was written by Ice Cube, with some contribution by Eazy-E. The song is about growing up in Compton, California, and describes the gangster lifestyle. It conceives the "ghetto landscape as a generalized abstract construct... [and] also introduces a localized nuance that conveys a certain proximity, effectively capturing a narrowed sense of place through which young thugs and their potential crime victims move in tandem," as put by cultural historian Murray Forman.
"No More ?'s" is similar to "Boyz n the Hood" in its theme. The piece begins with an interview between Eazy and a female journalist, who asks about his childhood. Eazy explains (in verse) that he was ruthless, in a gang, "specialized in gankin," (loosely, to steal from) and had no respect for rules. He is then asked if he has ever been in an armed robbery. He responds, "You mean a 211?" The following verses tell of Eazy's exploits as a thief and thug.
## Critical reception
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Spin Alternative Record Guide'
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AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier praised the album, awarding the album four out of five stars. Birchmeier noted that "the album plays like a humorous, self-centered twist on Straight Outta Compton with Eazy-E, the most charismatic member of N.W.A, front and center while his associates are busy behind the scenes, producing the beats and writing the songs." He compared it to N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton, which Eazy also performs on, saying that Straight Outta Compton is "more revolutionary," but claimed Eazy-Duz-It to be Straight Outta Compton's "great companion" and to have showcased N.W.A's style. Spin Alternative Record Guide (1995) gave the album a seven out of ten rating, referring to it as "comparatively forgotten" compared to Straight Outta Compton, while noting it was a more funny, with "scraps of dialogue and mock interviews, more thoroughly cinematic" while that the albums attempts to promote Eazy-E as a major gangster was "nonsense"
Music journalist Robert Christgau gave the album a C+, criticizing the thin beats and lyrics like "I might be a woman beater but I'm not a pussy eater" Soren Baker from the Los Angeles Times called it a "landmark albums brimming with violence, profanity, sexually explicit content and antigovernment themes," and said that it established Eazy as a "major player in the rap industry" Daniel Kreps of the Los Angeles Times called it a "solo masterpiece," and said that it was evidence that Eazy was one of the best rappers ever. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly described the album as "an obscenity-littered depiction of violent, hollowed-out life in Compton."
Shan Fowler from PopMatters said that it received "underground success." Glen Boyd reviewed the album on the online newspaper Seattle Post-Intelligencer, noting that it "paved the way for all of the groundbreaking music which came later." Boyd also said that songs like "Boyz In The Hood" and "Radio" would establish "the street buzz that N.W.A would later ride to platinum selling success as the first true West Coast rap superstars." Jon Wiederhorn from MTV wrote that it "demonstrated Eazy's knack for provocative lyrics," and also said that it paved the way to Straight Outta Compton.
In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked the album 153rd in their list of The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time.
## Commercial performance
Eazy-Duz-It was released on November 23, 1988. The album received very little attention from radio and television stations, but got support from Los Angeles's hip-hop underground. On May 20, 1989, it peaked at \#41 on the Billboard 200, and since 1989, was in various places on the chart for over 90 weeks. It peaked at \#12 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on March 11, 1989. Since the album's release, it has been on the chart during 51 different weeks. On February 15, 1989, the album was certified Gold (500,000 sales) by the Recording Industry Association of America, and on June 1, 1989, it was certified Platinum (1,000,000 sales). It received its peak certification by the RIAA of Double Platinum (2,000,000 sales) on September 1, 1992. In 1989, it had sold over 650,000 copies, and by early 1995, Eazy-Duz-It had sold 2.5 million copies. On February 11, 1989, "We Want Eazy" charted on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 43. It stayed on the chart for over 15 weeks. The song also charted at number seven on the Hot Rap Songs chart. "Eazy-er Said Than Dunn", the album's 3rd single, peaked at number 84 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts on May 6, 1989, where it would maintain some lower position on the chart for six weeks. "Eazy-Duz-It" charted on the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart at number 39. In August 2015, a couple weeks after the release of the N.W.A. biopic film, Straight Outta Compton'', the album re-entered the chart at \#32 on the Billboard 200, out-peaking its original peak position in 1989 when it charted at \#41 on the Billboard 200.
## Track listing
- All songs produced by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella
## Personnel
The following personnel can be verified by both Allmusic and the album's notes.
- Eazy-E - Executive Producer and performer
- Dr. Dre - Producer and performer
- Yella - Producer
- MC Ren - Writer and performer
- The D.O.C. - Writer and performer
- Ice Cube - Writer and performer
- Stan the Guitarman - Guitar/Bass
- Big Bass Brian - Mastering
- Eric Poppleton - Photography
- Donovan 'tha dirt biker' Smith - Sound Engineer
## Charts
### Chart positions
### Year-end charts
### Chart positions
## Certifications
## Release history
|
7,843,320 |
1949 Pacific hurricane season
| 1,139,641,626 |
Hurricane season in the Pacific Ocean
|
[
"1940s Pacific hurricane seasons",
"Pacific hurricane seasons"
] |
The 1949 Pacific hurricane season was the first hurricane season in the Eastern Pacific hurricane database. Six tropical cyclones were known to have existed during the season, of which the first formed on June 11 and the final dissipated on September 30. Another tropical cyclone had formed within the basin in 1949, but was included in the Atlantic hurricane database, had it been classified operationally in the Eastern Pacific basin, would have tallied the overall season to seven tropical cyclones. In addition, there were two tropical cyclones that attained hurricane status, but none of them reached major hurricane intensity (Category 3 or higher on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale). Tropical Storm Three threatened the Baja California Peninsula, while an unnumbered hurricane crossed into the Atlantic, later becoming the 1949 Texas hurricane.
## Season summary
Tropical cyclones were recorded in the Eastern Pacific best track database for the first time in 1949. Although official records began in the Eastern Pacific during this year, the season saw the first officially recorded Atlantic-Pacific crossover tropical cyclone. This season was also beginning of a cool phase for the Pacific decadal oscillation.
Only six tropical cyclones were observed in the Eastern Pacific during this season, which is well below the 1949–2006 average of 13 per year. Of the six tropical cyclones, two only attained hurricane status. In addition, none of the tropical cyclones became a major hurricane, which is Category 3 or greater on Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. Although it is an oddity for no major hurricanes to occur during a season since the satellite era began, nearly all hurricane seasons during this time period lacked a major hurricane. However, it is likely that other tropical cyclones in the Eastern Pacific basin in 1949 went operationally unnoticed, due to lack of modern technology such as satellite imagery. In addition to the six tropical cyclones, another tropical cyclone developed in the Eastern Pacific basin, but was included in the Atlantic basin hurricane database, rather than the Eastern Pacific. Most of the seven tropical cyclones did not differentiate in intensity during the duration, with the exception of Hurricane Six. The first two tropical cyclones of the season formed in quick succession during mid-June, however, the months of July and August went dormant in terms of tropical cyclogenesis. The last five tropical cyclones, including the additional storm, also developed in a quick sequence, all of which forming from in a span of 17 days. By October 1, all tropical cyclonic activity had completely ceased.
## Systems
### Tropical Storm One
The first tropical storm of the season formed 75 mi (120 km) south-southwest of Puerto Vallarta on June 11. Tropical Storm One headed out to sea without intensifying further than 50 mph (80 km/h). Heading west-northwestward, the storm dissipated on July 12, centered roughly halfway between Socorro Island and Cabo San Lucas.
### Tropical Storm Two
Tropical Storm Two was first observed 440 mi (705 km) southwest of Zihuatanejo on June 16. While remaining far west of the Mexican coast, Two peaked as a 50 mph (80 km/h) tropical storm. No change in intensity occurred, and the tropical storm dissipated southwest of Baja California at 1200 UTC June 23.
### Tropical Storm Three
After no tropical cyclone activity in July and August, the third tropical storm formed offshore of southwestern Mexico on September 3. Like the previous two tropical cyclone, this storm had a peak of 50 mph (80 km/h), and did not intensify further. Tropical Storm Three headed northwestward, and began paralleling the coast of Baja California. On September 8, Tropical Storm Three turned abruptly south-southwestward, and dissipated by the next day. The outer rainbands of this system were expected to bring squally weather over the Baja California Peninsula; instead, this storm turned away without causing any impact.
### Hurricane Four
The first hurricane of the season developed on September 9 while located 160 mi (260 km) east-southeast of Socorro Island, and tied Hurricane Six as the strongest tropical cyclone of the season. The hurricane slowly turned northward, and made landfall in Baja California Sur with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) on September 11. Hurricane Six dissipated over Baja California about 10 hours later. Since Four was expected to bring high waves and rough seas to Southern California, all marine operates and other interests in the region were alerted.
### Tropical Storm Five
The fifth tropical storm was observed offshore of Mexico, on September 17. Tropical Storm Five had no change in intensity past a 50 mph (85 km/h) tropical storm, similar to Tropical Storms One, Two, and Three. While paralleling the coast of Mexico, Tropical Storm Five passed only 75 mi (120 km) southwest of Manzanillo. The tropical storm curved northwestward on September 18, and headed out to sea. The system dissipated 135 mi (215 km) west-southwest of Islas Marías on September 19.
### Unnumbered tropical depression
In addition to the six tropical cyclones in the basin, another system September 27, although it was not included with the records in the East Pacific, the storm had been listed as Hurricane Ten in the Atlantic basin. Forming south of El Salvador, the tropical depression traveled slowly north. Failing to intensify past a beyond depression status, the system made landfall near the border of Guatemala and El Salvador on September 28. Moving inland, the storm did not weaken as it crossed through Guatemala and Mexico. The system quickly strengthened once over the Bay of Campeche, becoming a tropical storm. After entering the bay, the storm intensified into a hurricane, and eventually made landfall in Texas as a Category 2 hurricane. This hurricane was the first officially recorded Atlantic-Pacific crossover tropical cyclone. Overall, monetary losses totaled \$10 million (1949 USD) and two deaths were attributed to the storm.
### Hurricane Six
A tropical depression was first observed 300 mi (485 km) southeast of Socorro Island on September 29. The depression rapidly intensified, and was a Category 1 hurricane only twelve hours after being first observed. Peaking as an 85 mph (140 km/h) Category 1 hurricane, Hurricane Six tied Hurricane Four as the strongest tropical cyclone of the season. After reaching its peak intensity, Hurricane Six rapidly weakened, and passed 70 mi (125 km) southeast of Socorro Island with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h). Further weakening occurred, and the storm had dissipated on September 30.
## See also
- List of Pacific hurricanes
- 1949 Atlantic hurricane season
- 1949 Pacific typhoon season
- 1949 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Australian region cyclone seasons: 1948–49 1949–50
- South Pacific cyclone seasons: 1948–49 1949–50
- South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 1948–49 1949–50
|
990,423 |
Sibu
| 1,173,880,660 | null |
[
"1862 establishments in Sarawak",
"Populated places established in 1862",
"Ports and harbours of Malaysia",
"Sibu"
] |
Sibu /ˈsiːbuː/ (simplified Chinese: 诗巫; traditional Chinese: 詩巫; pinyin: Shīwū; Jyutping: Si1 Mou4; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Si-bû; Foochow Romanized: Sĭ-bŭ) is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers an area of 129.5 square kilometres (50.0 sq mi). It is located at the confluence of the Rajang and Igan Rivers, some 60 kilometres from the South China Sea and approximately 191.5 kilometres (119 mi) north-east of the state capital Kuching. Sibu is mainly populated by people of Chinese descent, mainly from Fuzhou. Other ethnic groups such as Iban, Malay and Melanau are also present, but unlike other regions of Sarawak, they are not as significant. The cities population as of 2010 is 162,676.
Sibu was founded by James Brooke in 1862 when he built a fort in the town to fend off attacks by the indigenous Dayak people. Following this, a small group of Chinese Hokkien people settled around the fort to carry out business activities safely in the town. In 1901, Wong Nai Siong led a large scale migration of 1,118 Fuzhou Chinese people from Fujian, China into Sibu. The first hospital in Sibu, as well as the Sibu bazaars, were built by the Brooke government. The Lau King Howe Hospital and a number of Methodist schools and churches were built in the 1930s. However, the town of Sibu was burnt to the ground twice, in 1889 and in 1928, but it was rebuilt after that. During the Japanese occupation of Sarawak, the Japanese installed a new Resident in Sibu in June 1942 and Sibu was renamed to "Sibu-shu" in August 1942. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, Sarawak was ceded to the British as a Crown Colony. This had caused dissatisfaction amongst young Melanau people in Sibu who were pro-independence. As a result, the second British Governor of Sarawak, Sir Duncan George Stewart, was assassinated by Rosli Dhoby when he visited Sibu in December 1949. Rosli was later hanged to death at Kuching Central Prison in 1950. Sibu and the Rajang basin also became the centre of communist activities from 1950, which continued even after the Sarawak independence in 1963. A Rajang Security Command (RASCOM) was then established to curb communist activities in the area. Communist insurgency in Sarawak was significantly impaired in 1973 and later ended in 1990. Sibu was upgraded to municipality status in 1981. The city received a royal visit in September 2001. The city is also a gateway to the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) since 2008. In 2011, the 110th anniversary of Fuzhou settlement was celebrated in Sibu.
Sibu is the main tourist gateway to the Upper Rajang River, with its small riverine towns and its many Iban and Orang Ulu longhouses. Among notable landmarks in Sibu are Wisma Sanyan, the tallest building in Sarawak, Lanang Bridge (one of the longest river bridges in Sarawak) and the biggest town square in Malaysia, near Wisma Sanyan. The Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum is the first and the only medical museum in Malaysia. Sibu Central Market is the biggest indoor market in Sarawak. Some tourists attractions in Sibu are the Sibu Heritage Centre, Tua Pek Kong Temple, Bawang Assan longhouses, Sibu Old Mosque, Jade Dragon Temple, Bukit Aup Jubilee Park, Bukit Lima Forest Park, Sibu Night Market, Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF), and Sibu International Dance Festival (SIDF). Timber and shipbuilding industries are the two major economic activities in Sibu.
## Etymology
Before 1873, Sibu was called "Maling", which was named after a bend of the Rajang river called "Tanjung Maling" opposite the present day town of Sibu near the confluence of Igan and Rajang rivers. On 1 June 1873, the third division of Sarawak (present day Sibu Division) was created under the Brooke administration. The division was later named after the native Pulasan fruit which can be found abundantly at the region ("Pulasan" is known as "Buah Sibau" in the Iban language).
## History
### Bruneian Empire
In the 15th century, the Malays living in southern Sarawak displaced the immigrant Iban people towards the present-day Sibu region. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Rajang basin was rife with tribal wars between the Ibans and indigenous people in the Rajang basin. The Ibans would occasionally form a loose alliance with the Malays to attack the Kayan tribes and perform raids on Chinese and Indonesian ships passing through the region.
### Kingdom of Sarawak (Brooke administration)
James Brooke began his rule of Sarawak (present day Kuching) in 1841 after he obtained the territory from the Bruneian Empire. In 1853, Sarawak has expanded its territory to include the Sibu region. Sibu was a small village with several shop-houses. Such shophouses were built with atap roofs with wooden walls and floors. The earliest inhabitants of Sibu were the Melanau people, followed by the Iban and Malay people in the 1850s. Sibu Fort (Fort Brooke), which was built by Rajah Brooke in 1862, was located at the present day Channel Road in Sibu. It served as an administrative centre for the Brooke government in Sibu. However, it was demolished in 1936. It was common for the White Rajah to build such forts to stake his territorial claim as well as means of protection. The existence of Sibu Fort is proven by historical writings:
> There is a fort in Sibu, as indeed there is at most of the river places in Sarawak...
>
> The fort at Sibu was close to the Resident Dr. Hose's house and was attacked by Dayaks only a few years ago. Johnson, one of Dr. Hose's assistants, showed me a very long Dayak canoe capable of seating over one hundred men...
>
> The river at Sibu was of great width, over a mile across, in fact, and close to the bank is a Malay village, and a bazaar where the wily Chinaman does a thriving trade in the wild produce of the country, and makes huge profits out of the Dayaks and other natives on this river.
On 13 May 1870, the fort was attacked by 3,000 Kanowit Dayaks under the leadership of a Dayak chief named Lintong (Mua-ri). The Dayaks tried to cut through the door of the fort by using axes but they were later defeated by the Brooke administration. According to Sarawak Gazette, on 24 January 1871, there were 60 wooden shops in Sibu. In 1873, the third division of Sarawak was created which included the town of Sibu.
The first Chinese arrival in Sibu was in the 1860s. A group of Hokkien people built two rows of 40 shophouses around Sibu Fort (Fort Brooke). The Hokkien Chinese were a minority at that time, mostly consisting of Kekhs and Min Nan people who were doing business. A small number of Chiang Chuan and Amoy people later arrived at Sibu mostly due to commercial interests. By 1893, Munan Anak Minggat and his followers arrived in Sibu. They built a longhouse at Pulau Kerto, an island at the bend of Rajang River opposite Sibu near the Rajang and Igan rivers. He was a loyal war-leader to the Brooke government and helped to quash Iban rebellions around Upper Katibas and Lupar rivers in the 1860s and 1880s. In 1903, he was the first Iban to operate a rubber plantation in Kuching. He later invested the profits of his rubber plantation to shop-houses and lands in Sibu.
On 10 February 1889, the town of Sibu was burnt to the ground, which caused a developmental delay. The first hospital in Sibu was built by the Brooke government in 1912. It was a wooden single-storey building measuring 50 to 60 feet long, with an outpatient department, male and female wards. On 8 March 1928, Sibu was again consumed by a great fire. However, the Tua Pek Kong Temple remained intact. The locals considered this a miracle.
### Fuzhounese settlement
Wong Nai Siong, a Christian scholar from Gutian County, Fujian, China, learnt about Sarawak and the White Rajahs through his son-in-law, Dr Lim Boon Keng. Disillusioned with the Qing dynasty's heavyhanded approach during the Boxer Rebellion, where Chinese Christians were specially targeted for murder, Wong decided to search for a new settlement overseas, focusing on areas in South East Asia. Before arriving in Sarawak, Wong had looked for other areas in Malaya and Indonesia to settle, albeit unsuccessfully.
Wong got an approval from Charles Brooke to look for a new settlement in the Rajang basin. In April 1900, Wong travelled 13 days up the Rajang River before he decided to choose Sibu as the new settlement for his Fuzhounese clansmen, due to the area near Rajang delta being suitable for growing crops. An agreement was signed on 9 July 1900 between Wong Nai Siong and the Brooke government in Kuching to allow Chinese settlers into the area.
On 21 January 1901, the first batch of 72 settlers arrived at Sibu and settled at the Sungai Merah area from Fuzhou, Fujian, about 6 km from the town of Sibu. On 16 March 1901, the second batch of 535 settlers arrived - the day that they settled is now known as "New Fuzhou Resettlement Day". In June 1901, a final batch of 511 settlers arrived in Sibu, which brought the total number of Fuzhounese settlers to 1,118. Wong Nai Siong was appointed as "Kang Choo" (港主, "port master") for the Fuzhounese settlement in Sibu. The settlers planted sweet potatoes, fruits, sugar cane, vegetables, and coarse grains at high grounds and rice in wetlands. Following their work in Sibu, most settlers choose to stay and called the place their new home. Together with an American pastor, Reverend James Matthew Hoover, Wong became involved in the building of schools and churches in Sibu, including the Methodist church in 1902 and Ying Hua Methodist school at Sungai Merah in 1903. From 1903 to 1935, James Hoover helped to build 41 churches and 40 schools in Sibu. Between 1902 and 1917, 676 Cantonese people arrived in Sibu.
In 1904, Wong opposed the sale of opium and the building of a casino in the Sibu area, proposed by the Brooke government. He was later expelled by the Sarawak government due to a failure to repay debt. Wong and his family left Sibu in July 1904. Rev. James Hoover took over Wong's role of managing the Sibu settlement and introduced the first rubber seedlings to Sibu in 1904. He built a Methodist church in 1905, which was later renamed to Masland Methodist church in 1925. Hoover stayed at the Rajang basin for another 31 years until his death from malaria in 1935 at the Kuching General Hospital. The construction of Lau King Howe Hospital was completed in 1936 to accommodate the growing population of Sibu. The hospital served the people of Sibu for 58 years until 1994 when a new hospital was constructed in Sibu.
By 1919, the influence of Chinese Civil War had spread to Sarawak when the Kuomintang set up its first branches in Sibu and Kuching. The Rajah at the time, Charles Brooke opposed such political activity by the local Chinese and had expelled several local Kuomintang leaders. However, his son, Charles Vyner Brooke, was more receptive of such activities by the local Chinese people, who had also participated in a donation drive to aid the Kuomintang in its fight against Japanese invasion on the Chinese mainland. After World War II ended, local Kuomintang leaders supported the cessation of Sarawak to the British as a Crown Colony, which was met with opposition from the local communist leaders. Clashes between the communists and Kuomintang supporters were common. The Kuomintang branches in Sarawak were finally dissolved in 1949 when the party lost the Chinese Civil War to the Communist Party and retreated to Taiwan. However, clashes between the two sides continued until 1955 when the Kuomintang's newspaper was banned by the colonial British government in May 1951; while the communists' newspaper ceased to exist in 1955 due to financial difficulties.
### Japanese occupation
Japanese forces first landed in Miri on 16 December 1941, and conquered Kuching on 24 December. On 25 December, Sibu was bombed by 9 Japanese warplanes flown from Kuching. The Resident of the Third Division, Andrew MacPherson, believed that the Japanese would start to invade Sibu following the air attack. He and his officer later fled Sibu to the upstream of Rajang River. They planned to pass through Batang Ai and trek through the forests to reach Dutch Borneo. However, they were caught and killed by the Japanese at Ulu Moyan, Sarawak.
In the evening of 26 December 1941, Sibu people started to ransack an unguarded government rice storeroom. Some villagers staying along the Rajang River also came to steal for daily necessities. The situation soon got out of control. British Sime Darby company, Borneo Company Limited, and Chinese businessmen became the victims of the riots. The Chinese businessman decided to form a security alliance to calm down the chaos. On 29 January 1942, a Japanese advance team was invited from Kuching to restore order in Sibu, who then later fled from Sibu back to Kuching. The power vacuum continued to exist in the third division until 23 June 1942, when the Japanese headquarters in Kuching sent Senda Nijiro to become the new Resident of the Third Division of Sarawak. After he took office, he immediately declared that Imperial Japanese Army would take total control of people's lives and property. On 8 August 1942, Sibu was renamed to "Sibu-shu".
The Japanese started to impose expensive taxes on Chinese people. They also started a Sook Ching operation on suspected anti-Japanese individuals. Under extreme torture, some Chinese individuals gave a false list of names of anti-Japanese groups. These lists would later lead to the death of innocent individuals at the Bukit Lima execution ground, while some individuals were sent to a prison at Kapit.
### British Crown Colony
After the Japanese occupation of Sarawak ended in 1945, the last Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Vyner Brooke, decided to cede the state as part of the British crown colony of Sarawak. This proposal was met with fierce opposition from the locals, which later developed into the anti-cession movement of Sarawak. Rosli Dhobi was a Sarawak nationalist from Sibu and a member of the Malay Youth Movement (Gerakan Pemuda Melayu), where the main objective of the movement was to achieve Sarawak independence from British rule. At the age of 17, he assassinated Sir Duncan George Stewart, the second governor of colonial Sarawak on 3 December 1949. He and three of his accomplices (Awang Ramli Amit, Bujang Suntong, and Morshidi Sidek) were then sentenced to death by hanging and were buried at the Kuching Central Prison on 2 March 1950.
His remains was moved from the Kuching Central Prison and buried at the Sarawak Heroes Mausoleum near Sibu Town Mosque on 2 March 1996. To honour his involvement in the anti-colonial movement against the British, he and his associates who were involved in the assassination were later given a full state funeral by Sarawak state government.
### Communist insurgency
Encouraged by the establishment of People's Republic of China in 1949, Sibu communist members started to establish themselves in Sarawak in the early 1950s. Huang Sheng Zi (黄声梓) from Bintangor became the president of Borneo Communist Party (BCP). BCP activities mostly concentrated in Sibu, Sarikei, and Bintangor. His brother, Huang Zeng Ting (黄增霆), who was also a communist, played an important role in the formation of first political party in Sarawak, Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP) and became the party's first executive secretary. Sarawak Liberation League (SLL) was formed in 1954 following the consolidation of BCP with several other communist organisations.
The expansion of communism in Sibu relied heavily on student movements in several schools such as Chung Hua Secondary School (中华中学), Catholic High school (公教中学), and Wong Nai Siong High School (黄乃裳中学). Some of the communist strong points in Sibu were at Oya road and Queensway (now Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg). The movement was also supported by the intelligentsia and workers in Sibu. For example, Dr Wong Soon Kai supported the movement by supplying free medication. Kampung Tanjung Kunyit villagers were among those being harassed into providing food and medical supplies to the communists. On 30 March 1971, the communists launched an anti-porn movement. In early 1973, they launched another campaign which opposed tax increase and inflation of prices while endorsing an increase in workers' wages. Some of the communist volunteers would start to distribute pamphlets at shophouses, schools, and the wharf terminal. The group also started military operation against police stations and naval bases. Communist guerillas would behead anyone who was suspected of being a government informant. The town was put under on-and-off 24-hour curfews for several months.
On 25 March 1973, the Sarawak government, led by chief minister Abdul Rahman Ya'kub started to clamp down on communist activities at the Rajang basin by setting up "Rajang Special Security Area". A day later, Rajang Security Command (RASCOM) was formed as a result of co-operation of civil, military, and police command headquarters. By August 1973, several communist members were captured by the government. The captured members provided crucial details for the government to further impair the communist movement. On 22 September 1973, Abdul Rahman started "Operation Judas". A total of 29 people from the town of Sibu were captured. Among those captured were doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers, and one former member of parliament. Following the surrender of a communist movement in Sri Aman on 21 October 1973, the communist activities at Rajang basin began to subside and would not be able to recover to its previous strength. Communist movement of Sarawak finally ended in 1990.
### Recent developments
On 1 November 1981, the local council which administered the town of Sibu (Sibu Urban District Council) was upgraded to Sibu Municipal Council. The area of administration of Sibu expanded from 50 km<sup>2</sup> to 129.5 km<sup>2</sup>. In 1994, Sibu Airport and Sibu Hospital were constructed. In 2001, Wisma Sanyan construction was completed. Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah visited Sibu from 16 to 17 September 2001 to close a month-long Malaysian Independence Day Celebration at Sibu Town Square.
Between 1999 and 2004, Sibu Municipal Council decided to adopt the swan as a symbol of Sibu to inspire the people to work towards the goal of becoming a city in the future. Since then, a Swan statue has been erected near the Sibu wharf terminal and another statue is located in the town centre. Sibu is also nicknamed as "Swan City". This came from a legend where famine in Sibu ended when a flock of swans flew through the skies of Sibu. There is another story where the Sibu Chinese immigrants regarded Sibu Melanau people as "Go" people because a staple food of Melanau staple food was "Sago".
In 2006, the Lanang Bridge connecting Sibu to Sarikei was opened. Sibu also functions as the gateway to Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE). The town of Sibu and its surrounding areas has been the subject of several developmental projects since 2008. In 2011, the 110th anniversary of Fuzhou settlement was celebrated in Sibu. However, Sibu's population growth and economic development is relatively slow when compared to Miri and Bintulu.
## Government
Sibu has two members of parliament representing the two parliamentary constituencies of the town: Lanang (constituency no: P.211) and Sibu (constituency no: P.212). The town also elects five representatives into the Sarawak State Assembly: Bukit Assek, Dudong, Bawang Assan, Pelawan, and Nangka.
### Local authorities
A local council was first set up in Sibu on 31 January 1925 during the era of Brooke administration. It was later upgraded to Sibu Urban District Council (SUDC) in 1952. After 29 years of administration, SUDC was upgraded to Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) on 1 November 1981. SMC administers the town with a jurisdiction area of 129.5 km<sup>2</sup> from the banks of Rajang River to Salim road uptown. SUDC and SMC headquarters were housed inside the Sibu Town Hall for 38 years from 1962 to 2000. SMC headquarters was later relocated to Wisma Sanyan in 2001. The chairman of SMC is Tiong Thai King. The outskirts of Sibu such as Sibu Jaya and Selangau District are administered by Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) covering a total area of 6,000 km<sup>2</sup>. SRDC headquarters is also located inside the Wisma Sanyan tower.
Sibu Islamic Complex opened in September 2014. It houses Sibu Resident Office, Sibu District Office, State Treasury Office, Social Welfare Department, and State Islamic Religious Department (JAIS).
### International relations
As of 2015, Sibu is twinned to fifteen places in China:
## Geography
Sibu is located near the Rajang delta at the confluence of Rajang and Igan rivers. Peat swamp forests and alluvial plains are particularly prevalent in the Sibu Division. Sibu is located on a deep peat soil, which has caused problems in infrastructure development because buildings and roads slowly sink into the ground after its completion. The location of Sibu in lowland peat swamps have subjected it to frequent floods, about 1 to 3 times per year. Because of these factors, the Sibu Flood Mitigation project was started to relieve the area from the floods. The highest elevation in Sibu is at Bukit Aup Jubilee Park, measuring 59 m above sea level.
### Climate
Sibu has a tropical rainforest climate according to the Köppen climate classification. The Sibu town has high temperatures of 30–33 °C (86–91 °F) and low temperatures of 22.5–23 °C (72.5–73.4 °F). Annual rainfall is approximately 3,200 millimetres (130 in), with relative humidity between 80 and 87%. Sibu receives between 4 and 5 hours of sunlight per day with yearly average daily values of global solar radiation of 15.2 MJ/m<sup>2</sup>. Cloud cover over Sibu reduces during the months of June and July (6.75 Oktas) but increases from November to February (7 Oktas).
## Demographics
The change in Sibu's population since 1947 is shown below:
{\| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Year \| 1947 \|\| 1960 \|\|1970 \|\| 1980 \|\| 1991 \|\| 2000 \|\| 2010 \|- ! Total
population \| 9,983 \|\| 29,630 \|\| 49,298 \|\| 85,231 \|\| 133,479 \|\| 166,322 \|\| 162,676 \|-
### Ethnicity
According to the 2010 Malaysian census, the town of Sibu (excluding suburban area) has total population of 162,676. Chinese (52.1%, 82,019) is the largest ethnic group in the town, followed by indigenous people (35.01%, 56,949), non-Malaysians (1.99%, 3,236), and Indians (0.37%, 598). Among the indigenous tribes, there are Iban (28,777), Malays (24,646), Melanau (16,028), Bidayuh (3,337), and other indigenous tribes (1874). A majority of the non-Malaysians are Indonesian workers employed at plywood and sawmills factories. There are also a number of illegal workers employed by syndicates to tap rubber. A number of foreign Chinese nationals and Indonesians are also working in massage parlours.
### Languages
Since the majority of the town population is made up of Fuzhounese, Hokkien and Hakka Chinese, Mandarin Chinese being the lingua franca of all three dialect groups and usage of dialects such as the Fuzhou dialect, Hakka and Hokkien are commonly spoken amongst the Chinese community. The majority of Sibu Chinese are multilingual and are able to speak both Sarawak Malay and English. Indigenous languages such as Sarawak Malay, Melanau, Bidayuh and Iban are also spoken.
### Religion
Unlike the other towns in Malaysia, the majority of the Chinese population in Sibu are Christians while other Chinese practice Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Some of the Iban in Sibu are Christians. Malays and Melanaus are Muslims. Respective religious groups are free to hold their processions in the town. Several notable religious buildings in the town are Sacred Heart Cathedral, Masland Methodist Church, Tua Pek Kong Temple, and An-Nur Mosque. Yu Lung San Tien En Si or Jade Dragon Temple is located at KM26 Sibu-Bintulu Road. The temple combined Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism under one roof. It is claimed to be the largest temple in South East Asia.
## Economy
In the early days, Fuzhounese settlers in Sibu tried to convert the town into a rice cultivation centre. However, this vision did not materialise because the soil was not suitable for rice cultivation. In August 1909, Charles Brooke agreed to grant land titles to Sibu Chinese farmers and encouraged them to cultivate rubber plantations. The rise of rubber prices from 1909 to 1911 had encouraged another 2,000 Fuzhounese settlers to come to Sibu. The demand for rubber rose again during Korean War between 1950 and 1953 and has benefited Sibu rubber plantations. Local farmers later used the profits from rubber plantations into setting up shops at Sungai Merah and Durin bazaars and involve in more profitable timber industry. During the Sarawak Communist Insurgency in the 1970s, rural farmers had to abandon their rubber plantations because of martial law declared by the state government which forbade them for helping the communists operating in the jungles.
The timber industry in Sibu flourished during the 1940s and 1950s and its economic importance surpassed rubber plantations in the 1960s. Several global timber conglomerates such as the Rimbunan Hijau Group, Ta Ann Holdings Berhad, Sanyan Group, WTK, The Sarawak Company, and Asia Plywood Company set up their headquarters in Sibu. Timber processing and exports become the main economic driving force in Sibu. Development of the timber industry in Sibu has been supported by loans given by the earliest Chinese banks in Sibu such as Wah Tat Bank (1929), Hock Hua Bank (1952), and Kong Ming Bank (1965). Following the introduction of "Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1989" (BAFIA) by the Malaysian federal government, Kong Ming Bank was acquired by EON Bank in 1992, followed by the merger of Wah Tat Bank with Hong Leong Bank and the merger of Hock Hua Bank with Public Bank Berhad in the year 2000. In 1958, HSBC started its banking operation in Kuching, followed by Sibu in 1959. It was responsible for supporting several timber conglomerates in Sibu such as WTK and Ta Ann Holdings Berhad. In November 2013, HSBC decided to close down all its commercial banking sectors in Sarawak after the bank was alleged for supporting non-sustainable logging operations in Sarawak.
Shipbuilding business in Sibu started in the 1930s to supply wooden boats for river and coastal navigation. It flourished in 1970s and 1980s along with increase in exports of tropical timber from Sarawak. It later shifted its focus into steel boat building. Some of the vessels in demand are tug boats for towing logs, barges for carrying logs, anchor handlers, Offshore Support Vessels (OSV), ferries, and express boats for carrying passengers. Most of the boats built are of small and medium in size. There are a total of 40 shipyards in Sibu. A majority of the workers are welders. In 2003, 17 of the shipyards were relocated to Rantau Panjang Integrated Shipyard Shipbuilding Industrial Zone, Sibu. This included Yong Chin Kui, Far East, and TuongAik. The boats built in Sibu are often exported to neighbouring state of Sabah, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and United Arab Emirates. In the year 1991, a total of US\$50 million was earned for shipbuilding business in Sibu. In 2011, Sibu ship exports stood at RM 525 million. Sibu is also the only city in Sarawak to possess a vehicle assembly plant. The plant is operated by N.B. Heavy Industries Sdn. Bhd., and it has been assembling Ankai, BeiBen, Golden Dragon, Huanghai Bus and JAC commercial vehicles since 2010. Sibu has two industrial areas: Upper Lanang Industrial estate (Mixed Light Industries) and Rantau Panjang Ship Building Industrial Zone.
There are two river ports at Sibu: Sibu port and Sungai Merah port, located at 113 km and 116 km along from the mouth of the Rajang river, respectively. Sibu port has maximum gross tonnage (GT) of 10,000 tonnes while Sungai Merah port has a maximum GT of 2,500 tonnes. Sibu port is used mainly for handling timber and agricultural products while Sungai Merah port is used for handling fuel oil products. Rajang Port Authority (RPA) is located at Sibu port operation centre. RPA has earned a total revenue of RM 30.1 million and profit of RM 5 million in the year 2012.
## Transport
### Land
Roads in Sibu are under the jurisdiction of Sibu Municipal Council (SMC). Some of the notable roads in Sibu are Brooke Drive, Archer Street, and Wong Nai Siong Street. Kwong Ann roundabout is located near Brooke Drive in town centre while Bukit Lima roundabout is located near Wong King Huo Street in the uptown area. Sibu is also connected to other major towns and cities in Sarawak such as Kuching by Pan Borneo Highway. In early 2011, Sibu-Tanjung Manis Highway was opened. In April 2006, Lanang Bridge connecting Sibu to Sarikei and Bintangor across the Rajang River was opened. Toll-free Durin Bridge was opened in October 2006 connecting Sibu to other places such as Julau. The Durin bridge is located near the satellite township of Sibu Jaya.
#### Public transport
##### Local Bus
##### Local Bus or Bus Express remain unclear
The town of Sibu has two bus stations. The local bus station is located at the waterfront near the Sibu wharf terminal. The long-distance bus station is located at Pahlawan Street, near the Sungai Antu region. Jaya Li Hua Commercial Centre and Medan Hotel are located next to the long-distance bus station. The local bus station at the waterfront serves the town area, Sibu Airport, Sibu Jaya, Kanowit, and Sarikei. Lanang Bus serves the connection between the local bus station and the long-distance bus station while Panduan Hemat buses serves Sibu Airport and satellite township of Sibu Jaya. On the other hand, the long-distance bus station serves Kuching, Bintulu, and Miri via the Pan Borneo Highway. Some of the buses serving at the long-distance bus station are Biaramas, Suria Bus, and Borneo Highway Express.
Taxis in Sibu operates 24 hours a day. Taxis can be found at the airport, big hotels, taxi stands at the wharf terminal, and at Lintang Street. Taxi services are also offered for travel to nearby regions such as Mukah, Bawang Assan, Sarikei, and Bintangor. Kong Teck car rental is available at the airport.
In May 2017, ride-sharing service company GrabCar was launched in Sibu.
### Water
Sibu wharf terminal is located at Kho Peng Long Street near the Rajang river waterfront. It provides an alternative means of transport for the people living along the Rajang River. Among the destinations that can be reached by express boats from Sibu includes Belaga, Dalat, Daro, Kapit, Kanowit, Kuching, Sarikei, and Song. Sibu floating market which is made up of several large boats can also be seen from the wharf terminal. The boats are responsible to carry groceries to rural communities living along the river and do not have access to roads. There used to be a Pandaw River Cruise which operated along the Rajang River from Sibu to Pelagus Rapids Resort but its operation was terminated in 2012 due to logistical and operational difficulties.
### Air
Sibu Airport was built in 1994, located at 25 km from the town of Sibu and 1 km from the satellite township of Sibu Jaya. In 2008, the airport handled 831,772 passengers on 14,672 flights and 735 metric tonnes of cargo. In April 2010, the airport was allocated RM130 million by the Malaysian federal government for the upgrade of the terminal building. The airport terminal building is the second largest in Sarawak after the Kuching International Airport. The airport has a 2.75 km runway and it serves Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia, and MASWings with direct flights to all major towns in Sarawak, such as Miri, Bintulu, Kuching and national destinations such as Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor Bahru. In October 2011, Firefly airline terminated its services in Sarawak while Malindo Air terminated its services to Sibu Airport in June 2014 due to low number of passengers.
## Other utilities
### Courts of law, legal enforcement, and crime
The court complex is located at Tun Abang Haji Openg Street, Sibu. It contains the High Court, Sessions Court, and the Magistrate Court. The Sibu town also has a Syariah Court located at Kampung Nyabor Street with jurisdictions in Sibu, Kanowit and Selangau districts. There is one district police headquarters at Tun Abang Haji Openg Street. The Sibu central police station is located at Kampung Nyabor Street. Sungai Merah police station and Lanang police station are also located in Sibu town area. There is also a prison in Sibu.
Tiong King Sing, an MP from Bintulu, has voiced concerns about gangsterism in Sarawak especially the Sibu town back in 2007. As a result, "Operation Cantas Kenyalang" was started in 2008 to clamp down gangsterism in Sarawak. In September 2013, Sibu police chief announced that "Lee Long", "Sungai Merah", and "Tua Chak Lee" gangs ceased to exist and Sibu town is free from organised gangsterism. There were 25 gangster groups in Sibu back in 2007; there are 7 groups as of 9 October 2013. In September 2014, Royal Malaysian Police headquarter at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur, stated that 16 local gangster groups are still active in Sarawak especially in Sibu but they do not pose any serious security threats. This raised new concerns that such groups still pose a serious security risk in Sibu town and Sarawak in general.
### Healthcare
Sibu Hospital is the second largest hospital in Sarawak and the secondary referral hospital for the central region of Sarawak which includes 5 divisions: Sibu, Kapit, Mukah, Sarikei, and Betong. There are 8 district hospitals in these divisions that are referred to Sibu. Sibu Hospital is also a teaching hospital for undergraduates from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and SEGi University. There are also two private medical centres in Sibu: KPJ Sibu Specialist Medical Centre and Rejang Medical Centre.
Lanang and Oya Polyclinics are located in Sibu. There are also five 1Malaysia clinics in Sibu. The Bandong 1Malaysia clinic became the first 1Malaysia Clinic nationwide to offer echocardiography screening. There are also several pharmacy outlets in Sibu: B Y Chan pharmacy, Central Pharmacy, Lot 9 Pharmacy near by Delta Mall and Cosway Pharmacy.
### Education
Sibu has about 85 primary schools and 23 secondary schools. The Sibu primary and secondary schools under the National Education System are managed by Sibu District Education Office located at Brooke Drive, Sibu. The oldest school in Sibu is Sacred Heart High School which was formed in 1902 by Rev. Father Hopfgarther. This was followed by Rev James Hoover where he formed Methodist Anglo-Chinese School in 1903. The school later evolved into Methodist primary and secondary schools in 1947. Uk Daik primary school, built in 1926, is one of the oldest Chinese primary schools in Sibu. Built in 1954, St Mary primary school is the oldest English stream school in Sibu Division. Sibu also has five Chinese independent schools. The most notable ones are Catholic High School (1961) and Wong Nai Siong High School (1967). All the Chinese independent schools in Sibu are under the purview of The United Association of Private Chinese Secondary School, Sibu Division. In 2013, Woodlands International School opened in Sibu offering Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) course.
In 1997, United College Sarawak (UCS) was established in Sibu at Teku Street. It was renamed to Kolej Laila Taib (KLT) in 2010. This college offers business, accounting, civil engineering, architecture, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and quantity surveying courses. University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS), located just opposite the KLT, commenced its maiden intake of new undergraduate students in September 2013. This university is established to provide human capital for the development of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE). In 1967, Pilley Memorial Secondary School was established in Sibu. In April 1991, the school was upgraded to Methodist Pilley Institute (MPI) and it started to offer accounting, business management, and computer science courses.
Sarawak Maritime Academy was formed under the Shin Yang Group of Companies. It offers Diploma in Nautical (DNS) and Diploma in Marine Engineering courses. Sacred Heart College started to offer Diploma in Hotel Management courses in 2010. Rimbunan Hijau (RH) Academy was established in 2005 and it started to offer training in automotive, oil palm plantations, hospitality, and business management in 2007. Sibu Nursing College and ITA college offers nursing-related programmes. In 1954, the Methodist Theological School was established in Sibu. It is affiliated with Methodist Church in Malaysia and is accredited by the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA).
Long distance study centres (Pendidikan Jarak Jauh, PJJ) in Sibu are opened by Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) at Lanang and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) at Sibu Jaya. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) opened its Centre for Academic Information Services (CAIS) - Integrated Learning Facilities (ILF) at Sibu for undergraduate medical students undergoing their training at Sibu Hospital. Open University Malaysia (OUM) also opens a Sibu Learning Centre. SEGi University has established its Clinical Campus in Sibu Hospital in 2014. This campus houses its Faculty of Medicine which offers a 5-year programme leading to a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). The first 2 years of the programme is conducted at the main SEGi University Campus in Kota Damansara. Located in the Sibu Hospital complex Sibu Clinical Campus offers clinical training for the Third, Fourth and Final Year students.Besides Sibu Hospital clinical training are also conducted at Sarikei Hospital, government clinics and selected private clinics.
### Libraries
The first public library in Sibu was started as Methodist Missionary Library in the 1950s. It was taken over by Sibu Urban District Council (SUDC) in 1955. It was moved to the present location at Keranji road in 1986 as SMC public library. The library underwent a major upgrade in 2014. Another public library named "Ling Zi Ming Cultural centre" (林子明文化館) was established by the local Chinese community under the Sibu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI, 詩巫中華總商會) in 1980. It houses Chinese books collections. Another library named Sibu Jaya public library is located at the satellite township of Sibu Jaya, 26 km from the town of Sibu.
## Culture and leisure
### Attractions and recreational spots
#### Cultural
Since 2005, Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF) is held by Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) in July every year at Sibu Town Square, for a period of 10 days. It is a celebration of traditional music, dances, contests, beauty pageant, food stalls, fun fairs, and product exhibitions. There are 3 separate stages for Iban, Chinese, and Malay performances. It draws around 20,000 people every year. BCF was stopped briefly in 2011 before it was resumed in 2012. Sibu has hosted the National Chinese Cultural Festival (全國華人文化節) twice: in 2001 (18th Festival) and 2009 (26th Festival) which lasted for 3 days. Among the activities organised during this festival were cultural village (a venue designated to showcase cultural heritages from various ethnicity), lantern riddles, cultural dances, Chinese songs, dragon dances, and Chinese calligraphy. Sibu International Dance Festival (SIDF) was started in 2012. It is usually held between June and September every year, which lasted for 5 days. It attracted around 14 to 18 international dance troupes for performances in Sibu. It includes activities such as workshops, conferences, outdoor performances, and a dance concert.
There are 9 Bawang Assan Iban longhouses which are 40 minutes away from the town of Sibu. The longhouses can be dated back from 18th century traditional longhouses to present day modern longhouses. Visitors can enjoy traditional rice wine tuak and other delicacies such as sarang semut, kain kebat, and pansuh. These Iban longhouses showcase their lifestyles, customs, traditional dance, and music. Homestays are also available at these longhouses. There are 3 ceramic factories in Sibu. Ceramic designs mainly depicts traditional culture of the natives.
#### Historical
Sibu Heritage Trail was launched in 2012 to include 9 landmarks in Sibu, which are: Sibu Heritage Centre, Sibu Old Mosque (Masjid Al-Qadim, built in 1883), Warriors Memorial Site (present burial site of Rosli Dhobi, near An-Nur Mosque), oldest Muslim cemetery, Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum, Hoover Memorial Square, Tua Pek Kong Temple, and Sibu Central Market. All the 9 landmarks can be reached by 2 kilometres of walking distance from each other. Sibu Heritage Centre is housed in a former Sibu Town Hall. It displays the early beginnings of Sibu, Iban and Malay cultures, with Chinese porcelain and clay vases which can be dated back to the era of Imperial China. Tua Pek Kong Temple is a Buddhist and Taoist Temple which was established in 1870. The 7-storey Guanyin Pagoda (Goddess of Mercy) was built in the 1980s. The Lau King Howe Hospital Memorial Museum is the only medical museum in Malaysia. It displays dental, surgical, and obstetric services offered by the hospital from the 1950s to 1990s. Sungai Merah (Red River) Heritage Walk is the landmark of the earliest settlement of Fuzhounese in Sibu in 1901. There is a walking trail at the Sungai Merah river front leading up to Wong Nai Siong Memorial Garden. James Hoover Memorial Garden is also located near the Sungai Merah Heritage Walk.
#### Leisure and conservation areas
Bukit Aup Jubilee Park was opened in March 1993. It is located 10 km away from the town of Sibu. It has a total undulating land of 24 acres (0.097 km<sup>2</sup>). The park was the two consecutive winner of National Landscaping Competition Award in 1997 and 1998. The highest peak in the park, Bukit Aup (59 m above sea level) was originally a traditional burial ground for Iban warriors. The burial ground has since been relocated to a nearby village for the development of the park. However, the Iban community still regarded the peak as a sacred place and frequently brought offerings for the benevolent spirit named Nanga Bari.
Bukit Lima peat swamp forest reserve, covering 390 hectares (3.9 km<sup>2</sup>), was gazetted as protected area since October 1929. In January 2001, Bukit Lima Forest Park covering 219 hectares (2.19 km<sup>2</sup>) was constructed in the peat swamp forest and opened to the public. It has two separate trails of wooden planks of 3.5 km and 2.5 km long respectively. The park also has a 3-storey concrete watchtower for sightseeing. The park is managed by Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC).
Sibu has other urban and suburban parks such as Kutien Memorial Garden, Hin Hua Memorial Park, and Permai Lake Garden. The Kutien Memorial Garden located at Lanang Street is managed by Sibu Kutien Association. The Kutien Garden showcase the association's history and events. The Hin Hua Memorial Park is established by Sibu Heng Hua community where their earliest arrival in Sibu was in 1911. YMCA Camp Resort is located away from the town. It provides facilities for camping and retreat.
#### Sports
Sibu has three stadiums: Tun Zaidi Stadium, Sibu Indoor Stadium and Sibu Prudential Volleyball Association Stadium.
Sibu BASE jump is an annual event that is held in September every year since 2009, which lasts for 3 days. Night jumps are also performed if the weather is fair. The BASE jumping usually takes place from the top of Wisma Sanyan which is 126m high and is the tallest building in Sarawak. The number of jumpers has increased from 11 jumpers in 2009 to 45 jumpers in 2014. In 2013, world's first tandem BASE jumping from a building (Wisma Sanyan in Sibu) was done by Sean Chuma (world-renowned BASE jumper), carrying Rudy Anoi (chief executive of Sarawak Tourism Board, Sibu branch) with him.
Since 2001, Sarawak Health Marathon is held every year at Bukit Aup Jubilee Park, Sibu. The run can be divided into 6 categories, including 21 km Men's and Ladies’ Open, 7km Men's Fun Run and Boys’ Junior, 2.5km Girls’ Junior, and 2.5km Ladies Fun Run.
#### Other sights
Sibu Gateway is a landmark at the downtown area which includes an illuminated fountain, a garden, and a Swan statue surrounded by 12 Chinese zodiac signs. Rajang Esplanade is one of the 22 community parks in Sibu, mostly donated by Chinese clan associations. Rajang Esplanade has a walkway along the Rajang riverfront from Sibu wharf terminal to Kingwood Hotel with Hii's association playground along the way. It offers a scene of muddy river with timber barges, express boats, and fishing boats commuting on the river. Several mural paintings depicting historical lifestyles and local cuisines are found at various locations in Sibu.
#### Other events
Sibu Bike Week is an event that is held in December every year since 2011. It is a 3-day event aimed to bring all the enthusiasts of motorcyclists, cars, audio systems, BMX, Zumba, and paintball to share their hobbies and experiences. It has attracted about 2,000 bikers around the world. Among the activities held during Sibu Bike Week are Miss Sibu Bike Week Pageant, Tattoo queen and King competition. Borneo Talent Award (BTA) is held every year in Sibu since 2011 at Sibu Civic Centre. It showcases performances of singing, dancing, acrobatics, mimicry, playing musical instruments, magic show, and art performances.
#### Shopping
Sibu features a number of shopping malls: Wisma Sanyan, Medan Mall, Sing Kwong Shopping Complex, Farley Departmental Store, Delta Mall, Star Mega Mall, Everwin and Giant Hypermarket.
The Sibu Night Market was established in 1973. It was situated in the town centre. Local traders will usually set up their mobile stalls from 5pm to 10pm every day. The stalls offer household goods, footwear, fashion items, and varieties of food. In August 2012, the market was relocated to Butterfly Garden at Cross Road near the Tua Pek Kong Temple to ease traffic jams.
The Sibu Central Market is the largest indoor market in Malaysia. It is located at Channel Street, opposite the Sibu wharf terminal. The central market has food stalls on top floor with dry and wet market on the ground floor. Among the items on sale in this market are exotic fruits, jungle produce, handicrafts, Bario rice, and poultry. There are 1,100 stalls in the market on weekdays and 400-500 additional stalls on weekends when the indigenous people from the interior brought their jungle produce to the market.
## Cuisine
Sibu is well-known for its wide variety of ethnic dishes, especially indigenous food from the Dayaks community and also food inspired from Fuzhou community. The "Bandong walk" project was started in 2012 and was scheduled to be completed in 2015. This project is set to make the Bandong area a halal food hub of local delicacies for the locals and the tourists. Common dishes that can be found all over Sibu include:
- Kampua noodle (also known as 干盘面 'dry plate noodles') — a dish introduced by early Chinese migrants from Foochow city (Fuzhou) who settled in Sibu, is a simple and filling noodle dish. It consists of homemade noodles mixed with locally available ingredients like pork lard, shallots, and seasonings. The noodles, made from wheat flour, eggs, salt, and water, are boiled, strained, and then tossed with fragrant pork lard, sauces, and seasonings. Slices of pork are added for flavour, and today, Kampua comes in various versions, including plain, dark, and red, with different sauces for distinct flavour profiles. It is available at almost all coffee shops and food stalls. Halal kampua noodles are available too.
- Dian Mian Hu (also known as Duëng Mian Ngu or Ding Bian Hu 鼎边糊) — a unique noodle soup from Sibu, has roots in the migration of Fuzhou settlers. Its name translates to "wok edge paste" in Chinese, alluding to its distinctive preparation method. The star of the dish is the flat noodles made from a rice flour batter. This batter is poured along the edge of a hot wok, forming thin dough upon contact. Skilled hands scrape this into the soup, creating the distinct noodles. The soup is a masterpiece, usually featuring a blend of pork and cuttlefish stock, enhanced with local ingredients like Sarawakian white pepper. Diners can add extra flavor with a dash of this aromatic pepper. Some variations even offer a curry-based soup, showcasing local influence. Dian Mian Hu is a sought-after delicacy, primarily enjoyed in eateries due to its specialized preparation techniques. It is available at several stalls as a hefty breakfast or a late night supper.
- Kompia (also known as Guang Bing, Kompyang or Gom bian 光饼) — often referred to as "Foochow bagels," is a delightful bread akin to bagels with its origins in Fuzhou, China. It made its way to Malaysian towns with a thriving Fuzhou Chinese community, becoming a culinary gem. Legend has it that Kompia was invented by Qi Jiguang, who designed it with a hole in the center for easy portability during military campaigns. The dough is prepared from wheat flour, baking soda, yeast, salt, and water, then shaped into balls with a hole in the center. Traditionally baked in clay ovens, modern versions use conventional ovens. Kompia can be enjoyed plain or with sesame seeds, and regional variations abound. In Sibu, it's often served with stewed pork mince, but creative adaptations include Kompia with donut icing, rojak sauce, and even as a cheeseburger, showcasing its versatility. Traditional soft kompia dipped in pork mince sauce can be sought from Chung Hua road, the Sunday Market at Pedada road, and Sibu Central Market. There are deep fried variations available throughout the town of Sibu.
- Bian Nyuk (also known as 扁肉) — meaning 'flattened meat' in the Foochow dialect, is a cherished dish in Sibu, celebrated for its rich Foochow culinary heritage. This delightful wonton-type dish features a thin and translucent skin called yanpi, which is meticulously crafted without the use of alkaline water, giving it a unique ability to melt in your mouth. Unlike traditional wontons, Bian Nyuk boasts thinner skin and a lighter, less greasy texture. It is typically filled with lean and finely minced pork, resulting in a delicate texture and exquisite taste. Often enjoyed alongside another Sibu breakfast staple, Kampua noodles, Bian Nyuk comes in both soup and dry-tossed variations. Served in various flavours, including the classic white and savoury black with dark soy sauce.
- Bazhen Soup (also known as 八珍汤/八珍药 or Bek Ding Yuok or Eight Rarity Soup) — one of the well-known herbal soups in Sibu. Many people love to drink it since young. It is made up of two recipes of soup, Sijunzi Soup (Four Gentlemen Soup) and Siwu Soup (Four Substance Soup). The Codonopsis, Atractylodes, Poria and Licorice in the recipe are the ingredients from Sijunzi Soup. While the Shudi, Baishao, Angelica and Chuanxiong are the ingredients from Siwu Soup. These eight types of Chinese herbs add up to become Bazhen Tang, which traditionally help to nourish qi and blood, strengthen the spleen and stomach, and relieve fatigue. Bazhen Soup should be evenly proportioned with sufficient ingredients to make the taste authentic. When paired with Fuzhou longevity noodles, it turns into a delicious dish. Bazhen soup packed could be purchased easily from traditional Chinese herbal shops in Sibu town like Poh Guan Hong and Chew Hock Choon.
- Sarawak Laksa — a renowned soup noodle dish originating from Sarawak, is celebrated for its distinctive shrimp-based broth and complex laksa spice paste. This paste, comprising various aromatic ingredients, is sautéed to perfection before being combined with chicken and prawn broth and coconut milk. The broth is seasoned with soy sauce, vinegar, or fish sauce for a balanced flavor. Typically served with thin rice vermicelli noodles and a variety of garnishes including spring onions, prawns, chicken, and egg omelette, Sarawak Laksa is enhanced with a side of shrimp paste and chilli sambal belacan. A halved kalamansi lime is also provided to brighten the dish with a citrusy touch. Renowned chef Anthony Bourdain hailed it as the "breakfast of the gods," making it a must-try for food enthusiasts worldwide.
- Tebaloi (also known as Tabaloi) — is a traditional Melanau snack closely linked to the Sarawak region, particularly the Mukah and Dalat districts. It's made from sago flour, desiccated coconut, eggs, and sugar, which are mixed to create a dough. This dough is then flattened on a banana leaf and cooked over a wood fire stove, giving it a unique smoky flavor. Once cooked, the dough is cut into squares, flattened further, and dried to achieve its signature crispiness. Tebaloi comes in various flavors today but maintains its historic ties to the Melanau people's culture and traditions. You can find it in Sibu Central Market and enjoy its delightful textures and tastes during tea time.
- Kek Lapis Sarawak — is a popular layered cake in Sarawak, known for its vibrant colors and intricate designs. Originating from Indonesia, it was introduced in the 1970s and 1980s and later adapted by Sarawakians with unique flavors and colors. This cake is made using Western cake-making techniques, with a batter of flour, eggs, milk, butter, and various flavorings and colors baked in thin layers. These layers are carefully assembled and bound with condensed milk or jam. The cake's cross-section reveals its kaleidoscopic beauty, showcasing the skill and attention to detail in its creation. Kek Lapis Sarawak is a protected geographical indication of Sarawak since 2010, ensuring its authenticity and quality. Kek Lapis Sarawak can be found easily at Sibu Central Market.
- Manok Pansoh (also known as Manuk Pansuhi) — a cherished dish among the Dayak community in Sarawak, involves cooking marinated chicken inside a bamboo stalk, infusing it with a unique flavor. The chicken is prepared with a mix of aromatic ingredients, including ginger, lemongrass, and more. This marinated chicken is then stuffed into bamboo, sealed with tapioca leaves, and roasted over an open fire, creating a delightful and aromatic dish. Manok Pansoh's exact origin remains a mystery, but its ingenuity and simplicity make it a beloved tradition, initially served during the Gawai Dayak festival but now enjoyed widely at various occasions.
- Terung Asam (also known as Terung Dayak) — is a unique and sour-tasting fruit cherished by Sarawak's Dayak community. Unlike regular aubergines, it has a round shape, dark green skin turning yellow when ripe, and firm, bright yellow flesh with small seeds in the center. Terung Asam is not only distinct in appearance but also offers impressive nutrition, including vitamin C, calcium, fiber, phosphorus, and potassium. It's commonly used in Sarawak-style sour and spicy soups, where it's combined with lemongrass, chili, ginger, and various proteins like fish, poultry, or meat. Grilling Terung Asam and making it into a spicy sambal is another popular approach. Some even use it to create unique Terung Asam-flavored ice cream.
- Empurau — known as the "King of the River," is Malaysia's priciest fish, inhabiting clear, swift rivers with a unique taste influenced by its diet of native fruits. Its slow growth contributes to its high cost, with larger specimens fetching prices up to RM2000 per kg. Typically steamed or eaten raw, it offers a delicate flavor and edible scales that chefs transform into crispy snacks. However, wild Empurau populations are dwindling due to overfishing and habitat loss, prompting conservation efforts.
- Rojak Kassim — Indian-style rojak (also known as pasembur or Mamak Rojak).
- You Zhar Gui (also known as 油炸桧, 油條, Yau Char Kway, or Kueh Cakoi in Malay) — deep fried twin dough batter often dipped in soup or chili sauce. It is often eaten together with porridge or Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶).
## Notable people
### Politics
- Tun Pehin Sri Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng, 3rd and 6th Governor of Sarawak.
- Tun Datuk Patinggi Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, 5th Governor of Sarawak.
- Tun Datuk Patinggi Tuanku Bujang Tuanku Othman, 2nd Governor of Sarawak.
- YBhg. Tan Sri Dr. Wong Soon Kai, former Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak and former President of Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP).
- Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew, former Member of Parliament for Sibu and former Malaysian Deputy Minister of Transport.
- Datuk Tiong Thai King, former Member of Parliament for Lanang and former chairman of Sibu Municipal Council (SMC).
- Wong Ho Leng, former Member of Parliament for Sibu, Sarawak State Legislative Member for Bukit Assek and former Chairman of Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP).
- YB Dato' Sri Fadillah Yusof, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, and Minister of Plantation and Commodities since 2022. He is currently the member of Parliament for Petra Jaya, Kuching and former Senior Minister of Malaysia (Works).
- YBhg. Dato' Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah, former Sarawak State Legislative Member for Nangka, Legal Adviser of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Sarawak and Chairman of Kuching Port Authority.
- YBhg. Vincent Goh Chung Siong, former Sarawak State Legislative Member for Pelawan and Chairman of Rajang Port Authority.
- YB Dr. Annuar Rapaee, Assistant Minister for Education, Science and Technology Research & Assistant Minister for Housing and Public Health and Sarawak State Legislative Member for Nangka.
### Business
- Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong Hiew King, Chairman of Rimbunan Hijau Group and elder brother of Datuk Tiong Thai King. He was listed as one of the 10 richest Malaysians and also one of the Malaysians receiving the knighthood from the British Government.
- Datuk Lau Hui Siong, Founder of See Hua Group which publishes See Hua Daily News, The Borneo Post, and Utusan Borneo.
### Others
- Andrew Cheng, US-based musician. He has also been working on concerts with Hong Kong singers/actors William So, Fred Cheng and Stephanie Ho as well as Matt Sallee of Pentatonix, and Shereen Cheong of the Victory Boyd band.
- Edwin Ong Wee Kee, photographer who became the first Malaysian to win the grand prize of the 8th Hamdan International Photography Award (Hipa) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- Gloria Ting Mei Ru, Miss Malaysia World 2004.
- Datuk Dr. Matnor Daim, former Director of Education, Malaysia and recipient of National Education Leadership 2011 Award in conjunction of National Level Teachers Day 2011 in Kuching.
- Ting Ming Siong, a food stall operator, known as the Guinness World Record Holder for the "Most weddings attended by a best man". He attended 1,393 weddings from September 1975 to 2 February 2006)
- Ting Ung Kee, a famous traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in Sibu who created the well-known herbal tincture in 1950 known as Ubat Sakit Perut Cap Rusa Sing Kong Chui (鹿标申功水). There is a wall mural in Sibu town, dedicated to his contribution to Sibu.
## See also
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Sibu, a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia
- Sibu by-election, 2010
|
60,846,193 |
Piaggio Stella P.IX
| 1,126,586,549 |
Italian nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine
|
[
"1930s aircraft piston engines",
"Air-cooled aircraft piston engines",
"Piaggio aircraft engines"
] |
The Piaggio P.IX, or Piaggio Stella P.IX, was an Italian nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine produced by Rinaldo Piaggio S.p.A. Based on the Gnome-Rhône 9K, the engine was rated at 600 hp (447 kW). Production was used to power a number of other aircraft developed in Italy. The main users were the Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 transport and the IMAM Ro.37bis, the main reconnaissance aircraft in the Regia Aeronautica during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Spanish Civil War and Second World War, but the engine was also used by other designs, including the prototype Savoia-Marchetti SM.79.
## Design and development
Piaggio acquired a license from Gnome et Rhône in 1925 for their engines derived from the Bristol Jupiter and, in 1933, brought out a developed version, created under the direction of engineer Renzo Spolti. The engine had nine cylinders and was therefore named P.IX. It was one of a range of Piaggio radial engines named Stella, or Star, all based on the same radial design.
The engine had cylinders that had steel barrels and aluminium heads. Aluminium alloy pistons were connected to a split crankshaft via articulated connecting rods. The valves were enclosed. Each cylinder retained the same bore and stroke as the Gnome-Rhône 9K, 146 millimetres (5.7 in) and 165 mm (6.5 in) respectively. However, it was more powerful and was rated at 600 horsepower (447 kW) when fitted with a supercharger.
The engine was used to power aircraft that served during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Spanish Civil War and Second World War, including one hundred and forty Savoia-Marchetti SM.81s, a Regia Aeronautica transport, and the majority of the production of the IMAM Ro.37bis reconnaissance aircraft. Most had retired by 1943.
## Variants
P.IX R.: Normally aspirated and geared.
P.IX R.C.: Supercharged and geared.
P.IX R.C.10: Supercharged and geared, rated at 1,000 m (3,300 ft).
P.IX R.C.40: Supercharged and geared, rated at 4,000 m (13,000 ft).
## Applications
- CANT Z.504
- CANT Z.506 prototype
- Caproni Ca.131
- Caproni Ca.132
- Caproni Ca.301
- Caproni Ca.305
- Caproni CH.1
- IMAM Ro.37bis
- IMAM Ro.43 prototype
- Piaggio P.10bis
- Piaggio P.16
- Savoia-Marchetti S.73
- Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 prototype
- Savoia-Marchetti SM.81
## Specifications (R.C.40)
## See also
|
23,967,698 |
Kim Little
| 1,173,426,001 |
Scottish association football player (born 1990)
|
[
"1990 births",
"2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players",
"A-League Women players",
"Alumni of the University of Hertfordshire",
"Arsenal W.F.C. players",
"Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia",
"Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States",
"FA Women's National League players",
"FIFA Women's Century Club",
"Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics",
"Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics",
"Footballers from Aberdeenshire",
"Hibernian W.F.C. players",
"Living people",
"Melbourne City FC (A-League Women) players",
"Members of the Order of the British Empire",
"National Women's Soccer League players",
"OL Reign players",
"Olympic footballers for Great Britain",
"People from Mintlaw",
"Scotland women's international footballers",
"Scotland women's youth international footballers",
"Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia",
"Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States",
"Scottish expatriate women's footballers",
"Scottish women's footballers",
"Women's Super League players",
"Women's association football midfielders"
] |
Kim Alison Little MBE (born 29 June 1990) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains Arsenal of the English FA WSL. Before her retirement from international duty in 2021, Little was vice-captain of the Scotland women's national team.
Little began representing Scotland at the senior international level at age 16, and helped them qualify for Euro 2017 and the 2019 World Cup. She was one of two Scots selected for the Great Britain squad that reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 London Olympics, and again at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In 2010, she was named the FA's Women's Player of the Year. In 2013, she became the first recipient of the PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year award. In 2016, she was named BBC Women's Footballer of the Year after being nominated for the second consecutive year.
## Early life
Born in Aberdeen, Scotland and raised in Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, Little began playing football at a young age with her father and brother. She played football for her primary school, Mintlaw Primary School and Mintlaw Boys Club as a youth. From age 10 to 14, she played at the youth level for Buchan Girls before joining the Hibernian Girls in 2005. At age 13, she attended and played for Mintlaw Academy. During her time with Hibernian Girls, Little would travel about three and half hours each way from Aberdeenshire to Edinburgh for training. Of her youth, Little said, "Football gave me opportunities from a young age. Having the chance to travel, to play in different environments and to come up against really good players from all over Europe was fantastic and made me more determined to keep playing." Little attended the University of Hertfordshire, where she obtained a degree in Sports Studies while playing for Arsenal L.F.C.
## Club career
### Hibernian L.F.C., 2006–2008
At the age of 16, Little made her debut for Hibernian L.F.C. of the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) during a UEFA Women's Champions League match against RCD Espanyol at Almondvale Stadium on 8 August 2006. Hibs had signed Little and other players from their youth team to replace veterans Pauline Hamill, Nicky Grant and Debbie McWhinnie who all left the club that summer. In her SWPL league debut, she scored a hat trick against Hutchison Vale L.F.C. During her time with Hibernian, Little helped the club win the SWPL championship title, Scottish Cup, and the Premier League Cup. She competed with the team in the UEFA Women's Champions League twice. During the 2006–07 season, Hibernian won every match with Little scoring 55 goals in her 30 appearances for the club. The following season, she scored 33 goals in 18 appearances with the club.
### Arsenal, 2008–2013
#### FA Women's Premier League, 2008–2010
In March 2008 at the age of 17, Little joined Arsenal in the FA Women's Premier League National Division. She scored her first goal for the club in April, during a 4–1 win over Chelsea before 5,000 fans at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal manager Vic Akers told reporters: "Make a note of this kid, she's going to be a big player." She was not eligible to play in Arsenal's 4–1 FA Women's Cup Final victory over Leeds United on 5 May 2008.
Little played in every league match during the 2008–09 season bar one, scoring 24 goals. Arsenal finished at the top of the regular season table with a 20–1–1 record. She also played in the 5–0 Premier League Cup Final victory over Doncaster Rovers Belles and scored in the FA Women's Cup Final as Arsenal beat Sunderland 2–1 before almost 25,000 fans at Pride Park in Derby. Little later described 2008–09 as her most memorable season, as Arsenal won a treble despite the departure of several leading players to Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) in America.
The following season Little's prolific goal scoring from the midfield helped Arsenal overcome the departure of Kelly Smith. After 47 goals in all competitions, the team finished the regular season in first place with a 20–1–1 record. Little was the league's leading scorer with 22 goals. She was named FA Players' Player of the Year in June 2010. Arsenal entered the 2010 FA Women's Cup Final hoping to lift the trophy for a fifth consecutive year. Despite Little's first half penalty, they were eventually upset 3–2 by Everton, after extra time.
#### FA WSL, 2011–2013
In 2011, the FA WSL was formed replacing the FA Women's Premier League as the top division of women's football in England. During the 2011 season, Little was the second-leading scorer in the league with nine goals. She scored a brace during a match against Doncaster Belles on 7 May 2011. Arsenal finished at the top of the league table with a 10–2–2 record. At the 2011 FA Women's Cup Final, Little was named Player of the Match and scored the opening goal in Arsenal's 2–0 win over Bristol Academy. After the game Arsenal manager Laura Harvey described Little as "world class."
During the 2012 season, Little was the league's top scorer with 11 goals. Arsenal clinched the regular season title with an undefeated 10–4–0 record and claimed their ninth consecutive English title. During a match against Chelsea L.F.C. on 26 April, she scored a brace with goals in the 47th and 90th minutes helping Arsenal win 3–1. She scored another brace during a 2–0 win against Liverpool L.F.C. on 6 May. Little was voted Women's Players' Player of the Year for 2012–13 by the Professional Footballers' Association, in the first year that the award was given to women. Upon receiving the award, Little said, "For years, I have watched this event on television, so to come here and win the first award is fantastic."
Prior to the 2013 season, Arsenal's head coach Laura Harvey left for Seattle Reign FC in the United States. Under new head coach Shelley Kerr, the Arsenal finished third in the regular season standings with a 10–3–1 record. In her 14 appearances for the club, Little scored three goals.
### Seattle Reign FC, 2014–2016
In November 2013, Little left deposed champions Arsenal after six years for American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Seattle Reign FC. Laura Harvey had departed Arsenal to coach Seattle Reign the previous year and had made Little her top transfer target. Of the signing, Harvey said, "Kim is world-class. Her talent and proven experience will be a huge asset for our team in the coming seasons. Having coached Kim for nearly four years, I have no doubt that her creativity and goal-scoring ability will prove an exciting proposition for the NWSL."
During her first appearance for the Reign, she scored a brace against the Boston Breakers helping Seattle win 3–0. After scoring a league-high four goals during the month of April helping the Reign go undefeated in four games, she was named NWSL Player of the Month. She became the first player in the history of the league to be named Player of the Month twice after earning the honour for the month of May. Her five consecutive games with goals scored during the month tied the league record previously set by Abby Wambach during the previous season. She was named Player of the Month for a third time for the month of July after her three goals and four assists in six games helped Seattle secure a 4–1–1 record and clinch the 2014 NWSL Shield (regular season title) several weeks before the end of the season. The Reign finished the regular season with a 16–2–6 record and 54 points – 13 points ahead of the second place team, FC Kansas City. During the team's playoff semi-final match against Washington Spirit, Little scored one goal helping the Reign win 2–1 and advance to the championship final against FC Kansas City. The team was defeated by Kansas City 2–1. Little was named league MVP in her first season with the club. Her 16 goals during the regular season also earned her the league's Golden Boot award. Her seven assists tied for second highest in the league.
After returning to the Reign for the 2015 season, Little was the team's leading scorer with 10 goals (second in the league following Crystal Dunn with 15). Her seven assists ranked first in the league. The Reign finished the regular season in first place clinching the NWSL Shield for the second consecutive time. After advancing to the playoffs, Seattle faced fourth-place team Washington Spirit and won 3–0, advancing to the championship final. Seattle was ultimately defeated 1–0 by FC Kansas City during the championship final in Portland. Little, along with teammates Lauren Barnes, Beverly Yanez, and Jess Fishlock, were named to the NWSL Best XI team.
During the first few months of the 2016 season, a number of offensive players became unavailable due to injury including Manon Melis, Jess Fishlock and Megan Rapinoe. During the team's second game of the season, Little served two assists and scored a goal in the 79th minute to secure a 3–0 win against the Boston Breakers. The following week, she scored the lone goal of the match against FC Kansas City. Little finished the regular season with six goals and two assists. Seattle finished the regular season in fifth place with a record, narrowly missing a playoff spot by two points.
On 17 October 2016, Little announced that she would return to Arsenal L.F.C ahead of the 2017–18 FA WSL season. Harvey said Little was given an "incredible offer" of a multi-year contract, though no other details were disclosed.
#### Melbourne City FC (loan), 2015–2016
In October 2015, it was announced that Little had signed with Australian W-League team Melbourne City along with Seattle Reign FC teammate Jess Fishlock on loan for the 2015–16 season. On 9 November, she was named the league's Player of the Match after her first start for the club following international duty for Scotland. On 6 December, she served an assist to the first goal of the match by Scottish national teammate Jen Beattie and then scored a goal in the 80th minute against Melbourne Victory solidifying City's 4–0 win over their rival and extending City's regular season record to . Little ended the season having played 12 games for Melbourne City and scoring 9 goals, ranking only behind Larissa Crummer. Melbourne City won both the regular season and Grand Final. Little earned Player of the Match Award honours in the grand final.
On 4 February, Little announced that she would not return to Melbourne City for the 2016–2017 season, saying her time in the W-League was "a one year thing for me" and citing other priorities in October 2016, which she later announced as her transfer from Seattle Reign FC to Arsenal L.F.C.
### Return to Arsenal, 2017–present
In May 2017, Little sustained a rupture to her cruciate ligament during training with Arsenal, missing the better part of the season. On 14 March 2018, in the FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup final, Arsenal defeated Manchester City 1–0 to claim their fifth title.
Little suffered a fracture to a fibula during a 5–0 win against Chelsea in October 2018. The match officials were criticised for failing to send off Chelsea's Drew Spence, whose "heavy tackle" had injured Little. It was estimated that the injury would prevent her from playing for 10 weeks. Arsenal won the 2018–19 Super League, their first league championship in seven years.
Little signed a new contract with Arsenal in August 2019. She underwent surgery on an injured foot in February 2020.
#### OL Reign (loan), 2022
Little returned to former club OL Reign on a short-term loan in June 2022.
## International career
### Scotland
Little made her debut for the Scotland women's national football team in February 2007 at the age of 16 in a match against Japan, coming in as a second-half substitute for Megan Sneddon. National coach Anna Signeul had no hesitation in promoting Little into the senior team at 16: "Kim is an exceptional talent. There's no limit to how far she can progress. She has technique, speed and power, and she reads the game extremely well." She scored her first international goal as Scotland lost to Russia in March 2008.
During her 50th cap, Little scored the game-opening goal in Scotland's 2–0 victory against rival England at the Cyprus Cup in March 2011. It was only the second time Scotland had ever defeated their rivals, and was the first time since 1977 – 13 years before Little was born.
On 16 June 2012, Little scored Scotland's first hat trick during the team's 8–0 win against Israel. In October 2012, she scored in both legs of Scotland's UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying play-off against Spain. In the second leg Verónica Boquete scored in injury time of extra time to make the score 3–2 to Spain and eliminate the Scots, who were left "utterly disconsolate" at missing out on qualification for their first ever final tournament.
In February 2013, Little scored Scotland's only goal during a friendly match against the United States in which the U.S. won 4–1. During the 2013 Cyprus Cup, Little scored a goal and served an assist in Scotland's 4–4 draw against England during the group stage of the tournament. She scored another goal in the 11th minute of the team's fifth place match against the Netherlands resulting in a 1–0 win for Scotland.
Little missed UEFA Women's Euro 2017 due to her serious injury. After recovering from the injury, she helped Scotland qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, their first appearance in a world finals. Little scored one of the goals in a key win against Switzerland during qualification.
During the build-up to the 2019 World Cup, Little scored in a 1–0 friendly win against Brazil. At 2019 World Cup, she scored the opening goal of the 3–3 draw with Argentina. Scotland
In their first game after the World Cup, a Euro 2021 qualifying match with Cyprus, Little scored five goals in an 8–0 win for Scotland.
On 1 September 2021, Little announced her retirement from the Scottish national team. She made a total of 140 appearances and scored 59 goals for Scotland.
### Great Britain Olympic team
Despite opposition from Scottish Football Association with regard to Scottish players playing on a British team, Little was in favour of participating in the Great Britain team at the 2012 London Olympics: "I don't see why anyone would want to stop a player from playing at a massive tournament like the Olympics, it's the biggest sporting event ever. If I get the opportunity I'll grab it with both hands – I would definitely play."
Little was called up to the 18-player squad, one of only two non-English players chosen by team manager Hope Powell, the other being fellow Scot Ifeoma Dieke. Little chose not to sing the national anthem of the United Kingdom before the team's first competitive game, a 1–0 win against New Zealand. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that the British Olympic Association were angered by this. Hope Powell said she was not concerned, as some players prefer not to interrupt their pre-match preparation by singing the anthem. Two male Welsh footballers also made personal decisions to not sing the anthem.
Little provided two assists in the team's second group stage match, a 3–0 win against Cameroon. After winning all three matches and finishing at the top of the table for Group E in the group stage of the tournament, Great Britain advanced to the quarter finals where they faced Canada in front of 28,828 spectators at City of Coventry Stadium. Little started the match and played for 82 minutes, but Great Britain lost 2–0 and were knocked out of the tournament.
Little was one of two Scots selected by Great Britain for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which were delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Great Britain again reached the quarter-final of the Olympic tournament, where they lost 4–3 to Australia.
## Style of play
Little typically plays as the advanced midfielder in Laura Harvey's 4–3–3 formation, but occupies a deeper role when playing for Scotland. In an interview with FIFA.com in July 2012, Little said: "Nearly all my goals come from midfield. That's my natural position. But I'm a player who always tries to make forward runs, be positive and to create and score goals."
## Personal life
Little confirmed in an interview in 2014 that she had been in a long-term relationship with professional footballer Tom Pett. In 2016, she appeared in a national campaign for Athlete Ally.
## Career statistics
### Club
### International
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Little goal.
## Honours
Little was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to association football.
Hibernian L.F.C.
- SWPL championship: 2006–07
- Scottish Women's Cup: 2006–07
- Premier League Cup: 2006–07
Arsenal W.F.C.
- Premier League championship: 2008–09, 2009–10
- FA Women's Super League: 2011, 2012, 2018–19
- FA Cup: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13; runners-up: 2017–18, 2020–21
- Premier League Cup: 2008–09
- WSL Cup / FA Women's League Cup: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017–18, 2022–23; runners-up: 2018–19, 2019–20
Seattle Reign FC
- NWSL Championship Runners Up: 2014, 2015
- NWSL Shield (regular season winners): 2014, 2015
Melbourne City FC
- W-League Champions (Grand Final winners): 2015–16
- W-League Premiers (regular season winners): 2015–16
Individual
- BBC Women's Footballer of the Year: 2016 (winner), 2015 (nominee)
- PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year: 2013
- PFA Team of the Year: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22
- FA Women's Player of the Year: 2010
- FA Women's Cup Final Player of the Match: 2011
- NWSL Most Valuable Player: 2014
- NWSL Golden Boot: 2014
- NWSL Best XI: 2014, 2015
- NWSL Second XI: 2016
- NWSL Player of the Month: April 2014, May 2014, June 2014, June 2015
- NWSL Player of the Week: Week 19 (2015), Week 2 (2016), Week 3 (2016)
- W-League Player of Grand Final award: 2016
## See also
- List of women's footballers with 100 or more caps
- Scottish FA Women's International Roll of Honour
- List of Seattle Reign FC players
|
30,833,250 |
Charles Blackader
| 1,150,345,915 |
British Army general
|
[
"1869 births",
"1921 deaths",
"British Army generals of World War I",
"British Army major generals",
"British Army personnel of the Second Boer War",
"Burials at Putney Vale Cemetery",
"Companions of the Distinguished Service Order",
"Companions of the Order of the Bath",
"Military personnel from Surrey",
"People from the British Empire",
"People of the Easter Rising",
"Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)",
"Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)",
"Royal Leicestershire Regiment officers",
"Royal West African Frontier Force officers"
] |
Major-General Charles Guinand Blackader CB DSO (20 September 1869 – 2 April 1921) was a British Army officer of the First World War. He commanded an Indian brigade on the Western Front in 1915, and a Territorial brigade in Dublin during the Easter Rising of 1916, before being appointed to command the 38th (Welsh) Division on the Western Front, a position he held until retiring due to ill-health in May 1918.
Originally joining the Army in 1888 as a junior officer in the Leicestershire Regiment, Blackader's first active posting was in the late 1890s, when he served on attachment to the West African Frontier Force, closely followed by service during the Boer War, where he commanded a company at the defence of Ladysmith. An efficient and well-regarded administrator, he commanded a series of detached stations in addition to his regimental duties for the next ten years, eventually rising to take command of the 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment, in 1912. On the outbreak of the First World War, he commanded his battalion on the Western Front as part of an Indian Army formation; when his superior officer was promoted in early 1915, Blackader succeeded him as commander of the brigade, and led it through the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and the Battle of Loos.
After the Indian Army was withdrawn from France, Blackader was posted to a second-line Territorial Force brigade training in the United Kingdom. In 1916, it was sent to Dublin during the Easter Rising; following the Rising, Blackader presided over a number of the resulting courts-martial, including those of several of the signatories to the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Later that year, he was ordered to France to take over command of the 38th (Welsh) Division, a New Army formation which had suffered heavy losses in the Battle of the Somme. He remained with the division for almost two years, helping retrain and reorganise it as an efficient fighting unit. The division would see significant successes in the Hundred Days Offensive of late 1918, but by this point Blackader was no longer in command; he had been invalided home earlier in the year. He died shortly after the war, in 1921, aged 51.
## Early life
Charles Guinand Blackader was born in Richmond, Surrey on 20 September 1869. His father, Charles George Blackader, was a teacher to a small number of boarding pupils; he had come from an Army family, and taught at Cheltenham College and Clifton College, Bristol, before moving to private tuition. His mother, Charlotte Guinand, was born in Germany; her family may have come from Alsace-Lorraine, as Blackader would later describe himself as half-French. During his childhood, the Blackaders moved from Richmond to Southampton, where his father headed the education department at the Hartley Institute, and then to Boulogne in France, where he taught at Beaurepaire School.
Returning from France in 1887, Blackader studied at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, where he was regarded as a generally promising pupil; his marks were highest in administrative and academic subjects, but lower in drawing and physical education. He left Sandhurst in August 1888, and joined the 1st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment, as a second lieutenant. The battalion sailed for a posting in Bermuda two weeks after his arrival; his departure was delayed, however, by remaining in London to marry. The ceremony took place on 2 October, at a registry office in Marylebone, and his biographer notes that it was "clearly in haste" - their first child was born six and a half months after the wedding. Such an early wedding was very unusual for a junior officer at this period; on average, army officers did not marry until their mid-thirties.
Blackader and his wife spent a year and a half in Bermuda, where their daughter Dorothy was born in April 1889, and moved to Nova Scotia in Canada when the battalion was transferred there in 1890; shortly after arrival, on 21 March, he was promoted to lieutenant on 21 March. Their second daughter Joan was born in April 1892, and a year later the battalion transferred again, this time to the West Indies; Blackader was appointed adjutant - the officer responsible for administration - to one wing of the battalion, a force of three companies stationed at Jamaica. In late 1895, the battalion moved to South Africa, but shortly after arrival Blackader returned to England; he was promoted to captain on 6 December.
## West Africa and the Boer War
In late 1897, Blackader was seconded for service in West Africa, as one of the officers recruited by Frederick Lugard for the newly raised West African Frontier Force. Blackader was attached to the 1st Battalion, under Thomas Pilcher, who described him as always "cheery and anxious to do his work"; he threw himself fully into the organisation of the force, and within six months of his arrival the battalion was able to be deployed successfully on operations against local slave-traders. This was Blackader's first active service, and saw his first mention in despatches; it also saw an early appearance of his skill for administration and management, which would mark much of his later career.
He left West Africa in January 1899, after a successful posting, but in ill-health; a third of the officers sent with him had died while on secondment, and Blackader had contracted malaria as well as suffering an attack of dysentery. He spent six months on leave to recover, and then sailed to take command of a company of the 1st Leicesters, still stationed in South Africa.
Blackader joined his company in Natal in early October 1899. It saw action with the battalion within a few days of the outbreak of the Second Boer War, at the Battle of Talana Hill on 20 October, and again at the Battle of Ladysmith on the 30th. Boer forces surrounded Ladysmith after the battle, and began a four-month siege.
The battalion remained in the town, with the monotony broken by an occasional skirmish with the besiegers, until the relief column arrived at the end of February. Following the advance into Natal, they were stationed in Middelburg in October, for a second prolonged period of garrison duty broken by occasional raids in the Transvaal. The battalion's area of responsibility was extended in April 1901 to take in Witbank, and Blackader was appointed commandant of the railway station and its associated collieries, with over 1,500 staff.
Following the battalion's move up the railway line in July, Blackader was transferred to a new post at Balmoral; as well as the railway station, he was made responsible for a civilian concentration camp outside the town. These camps were frequently crowded, unhealthy, and badly supplied; few reports have survived on the Balmoral camp, however, and it is not clear how efficient or otherwise Blackader's administration was.
Blackader had applied for a home posting in December 1900, as adjutant to a battalion of volunteers; this had been approved in August 1901, subject to his being released from duties in South Africa. However, the transfer was delayed, and he did not leave for home until June 1902, when he sailed on board the SS Bavarian with troops returning for the Coronation of Edward VII. He had been twice mentioned in despatches during the war, received the Queen's South Africa Medal, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).
## Home service and India
In August 1902, Blackader took up his appointment as adjutant of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment, where he would spend the next two years. This was primarily an administrative post - he was the senior regular officer attached to the battalion, and responsible for its organisation and training. At the end of his tenure he was promoted to major in September 1904, and left for India a few months later to join the regular 1st Battalion. Shortly after his arrival, he was appointed to command the cantonment at the Purandhar Sanatorium, his fourth administrative posting in five years. He returned to England with the battalion at the end of 1906, when it moved into camp at Shorncliffe.
In the summer of 1907, he applied to become Chief Constable of Leicester - a move which would have meant leaving the Army - but did not succeed; the job went to John Hall-Dalwood, a lawyer and ex-Army officer who had made a career in the police. He settled into the undemanding life of a home posting, with an active social as well as sporting calendar; he and Edward Challenor, a fellow officer in the battalion, won the garrison tennis cup two years running, and Blackader was recorded to have made a good showing at sports as diverse as billiards and soccer. Blackader had passed the exams for "tactical fitness for command" of a battalion in 1908, and was given command of a battalion and promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1912.
## First World War
In August 1914, on the outbreak of the First World War, Blackader was in India, commanding the 2nd Battalion of the Leicesters, which was mobilised for service as part of the 20th (Garhwal) Brigade of the 7th (Meerut) Division. The division was sent to France as part of Indian Expeditionary Force A, seeing its first action in the trenches on 29 October. On 19 December a force under Blackader's command staged a successful attack on the German trenches, though the attack was overshadowed by the beginning of the German attack on Givenchy the following day, through which the Leicesters remained in reserve.
### Garhwal Brigade
Brigadier Keary, commanding the Garhwals, was promoted to command the Lahore Division in January 1915, and on 8 January Blackader was given the temporary rank of Brigadier-General, assuming command of the Garhwal Brigade in his stead. The Garhwals led the first wave of the Indian Corps' attack at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle on 10 March, Three of the attacking battalions reached their objectives, but one was delayed by strong resistance; after clearing the last German trenches, the brigade halted to let the second wave pass through. In the attack, two men were awarded the Victoria Cross, and nine the Indian Order of Merit, and Blackader was commended by his corps commander, General Willcocks, who wrote that "I had learned to respect him and to trust in his judgement. The manner in which he handled his brigade at Neuve Chapelle was good to see, and his report ... is written as brave and modest men write". His force had taken heavy losses, however; the trailing battalion on the flank, the 2/39th Garhwal Rifles, lost over half its men and all its officers.
The brigade repulsed a heavy attack on the morning of 12 March, but settled into a relatively static position thereafter. On 9 May, the Garhwal Brigade was used as a second wave in the first attacks of the Battle of Aubers Ridge, without success; they saw action again on the night of 15 May, where the leading battalions met heavy resistance and Blackader was forced to call off the attack.
After Aubers Ridge, the corps was then rested in a quiet sector until September, when it deployed for the Battle of Loos. The initial attack was to be made by three divisions, with the Meerut Division leading the attack on the Indian front; Blackader's brigade, with two Gurkha battalions and the 2nd Leicesters, was on its right flank. Whilst the attack successfully crossed no-man's land under cover of the barrage, the right flank of the brigade was caught up in defensive wire, and only one battalion successfully made their way into the German trenches; the brigade lost momentum and dug in.
The Indian Corps was withdrawn after Loos, and as a result this was Blackader's last major action in command of Indian troops; by the end of November, the Meerut Division had left France.
### Ireland
He was transferred to command of the 177th (2/1st Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade, part of the 59th (2nd North Midland) Division in January 1916. The 59th was a second-line Territorial Force division, formed from those Territorials and new volunteers who had not volunteered for overseas service. As a result, it was generally undermanned and underequipped, with priority given to equipping its first-line counterpart, and tasked mostly with home defence duties. The 177th Brigade had been formed as the duplicate of the 138th (Lincoln and Leicester) Brigade, with two second-line battalions of the Lincolnshire Regiment and two of the Leicestershire Regiment.
The 59th Division was rushed to Ireland in response to the Easter Rising of April 1916, where Blackader's new brigade saw its first active service. Following the Rising, many of those believed by the British authorities to be responsible were tried by military courts; ninety were sentenced to death, of whom fifteen were eventually executed. Blackader, as a senior officer, chaired a number of courts-martial, including those of Éamonn Ceannt, Thomas Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh, Patrick Pearse, and Joseph Plunkett, five of the seven signatories to the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. It appears that Blackader found this task difficult; after Pearse's trial, he is reported to have commented that "I have just done one of the hardest tasks I have ever had to do. I have had to condemn to death one of the finest characters I have ever come across. There must be something very wrong in the state of things that makes a man like that a rebel. I don't wonder that his pupils adored him."
### 38th (Welsh) Division
On 21 June, Blackader was ordered to leave the brigade and go to France; he described the news of the unexpected posting as "like a bombshell". On 9 July, when Ivor Philipps was removed from command of 38th (Welsh) Division, due to the failure of its hitherto limited attacks against Mametz Wood during the early stages of the Battle of the Somme as well as the poor communication between the division and Corps headquarters, Blackader was named as the preferred replacement by Henry Horne, the Corps commander. Horne was overruled, and the command was temporarily given to Herbert Watts. Under Watts, the division successfully took its objective, Mametz Wood, though with severe losses; within a week, Watts was back in command of 7th Division and Blackader had taken permanent command, with the temporary rank of major-general from 12 July.
The division had been raised in the New Armies in 1914 with a strong sense of Liberal patronage, and many of its officers had been personally appointed by Lloyd George; as a result, political convenience had often taken priority over military competence when selecting officers. Under Blackader, a new officer from outside the Welsh Liberal milieu and able to sack his subordinates as he saw fit, the division's standard improved significantly. It saw service at Pilckem Ridge in the early stages of the Third Battle of Ypres, but from September 1917 onwards it was kept on relatively quiet defensive sectors. The division trained through this period, and in April 1918 was able to mount a limited brigade-size attack, which whilst it involved heavy losses was a clear success in a way that would not have been possible two years earlier.
In late May 1918, Blackader was relieved of command and replaced by Thomas Cubitt, a younger officer. This was not apparently due to incompetence or age – Douglas Haig had described Blackader's achievements with 38th Division as "excellent" – but due to illness; according to Gary Sheffield, he had fallen ill after "being licked by a rabid dog". Under Cubitt's command, the 38th Division would build on its past training and fight through the Hundred Days Offensive with great success. On 21 November 1918, Blackader was appointed to command the Southern District in Ireland, serving until 1 February 1920.
For his service in the war, he was appointed an aide-de-camp to the King in 1916, and made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1917. He was also made a Commander of the Belgian Order of Leopold, and awarded both the Belgian and French Croix de Guerre.
Blackader died, of liver cancer and heart failure on 2 April 1921, at Queen Alexandra Military Hospital, survived by his wife and two daughters, and leaving a small estate of just under £450. There is a memorial to him in the regimental chapel in Leicester Cathedral.
On 1 March 2013, as a result of research into the circumstances of his death by the In From The Cold Project, he was accepted for commemoration by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in their United Kingdom Book of Remembrance, until June when his grave had been belatedly found at Putney Vale Cemetery (Section K).
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3,020,178 |
Van Cortlandt Park
| 1,171,652,085 |
Large public park in the Bronx, New York
|
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Van Cortlandt Park is a 1,146-acre (464 ha) park located in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance. The park, the city's third-largest, was named for the Van Cortlandt family, which was prominent in the area during the Dutch and English colonial periods.
Van Cortlandt Park's sports facilities include golf courses and several miles of paths for running, as well as facilities for baseball, basketball, cricket, cross-country running, football, horseback riding, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis and track and field. The park also contains five major hiking trails and other walking trails. Its natural features include Tibbetts Brook; Van Cortlandt Lake, the largest freshwater lake in the Bronx; old-growth forests; and outcrops of Fordham gneiss and Inwood marble. Contained within the park is the Van Cortlandt House Museum, the oldest surviving building in the Bronx, and the Van Cortlandt Golf Course, the oldest public golf course in the country.
The land that Van Cortlandt Park now occupies was purchased by Jacobus Van Cortlandt from John Barrett around 1691. His son Frederick built the Van Cortlandt House on the property, but died before its completion. Later, the land was used during the Revolutionary War when the Stockbridge militia was destroyed by the Queen's Rangers. In 1888, the family property was sold to the City of New York and made into a public parkland. The Van Cortlandt House, which would later be designated as a historic landmark, was converted into a public museum, and new paths were created across the property to make it more passable.
In the 1930s, the Robert Moses-directed construction of the Henry Hudson Parkway and Mosholu Parkway fragmented Van Cortlandt Park into its six discontinuous pieces. The last remaining freshwater marsh in New York State, Tibbetts Brook, was dredged and landscaped to accommodate construction, causing large-scale ecological disruption within the park.
The 1975 New York City fiscal crisis caused much of the park to fall into disrepair. Gradual improvements began taking place from the late 1980s on including the addition of new pathways, signage, and security. In 2014, the "Van Cortlandt Park Master Plan 2034" was published, providing a concrete blueprint of the park's proposed redevelopment in the following years.
## History
### Settlement and colonization
The forest in what is now Van Cortlandt Park has been around for 17,000 years, since the end of the Wisconsin glaciation. The Wiechquaskeck, a Wappinger people, were among the first recorded people to inhabit in the area now referred to as Van Cortlandt Park. They settled in the area around the 14th or 15th centuries. The Lenapes used the geographic features of the area to support their community; for instance, they used the Tibbetts Brook, Spuyten Duyvil Creek, or Hudson River for fishing, and flatland areas for farming. They formed a village named Keskeskick, whose name roughly translates to "sharp grass or sedge marsh" in the Unami language.
The strip of land on the Hudson River's east bank, between the current-day Spuyten Duyvil Creek and Yonkers, was sold to the Dutch West India Company in the early 17th century. Adriaen van der Donck, a Dutch settler, bought the land from the company in 1646. Van der Donck also paid the Indian chief Tacharew, whose tribe used to live on the land, as a friendly gesture. He named the land "Colen Donck" and built a house upon the land. The house was built between current-day Van Cortlandt Lake and Broadway. It faced south, probably because this was the location of a natural marshland. What is now the parade ground was used by van der Donck for farming.
Van der Donck died in 1655. That year another in a series of wars and bloody skirmishes with the local Native Americans, the Indians launched a retaliatory attack on the colony, now known as the Peach War. This forced the settlers, including van der Donck's widow, to flee to Manhattan. Following the takeover of the New Netherland colony by the British in 1664, the claim to the estate was awarded to Hugh O'Neale, the new husband of van der Donck's widow. Owing to the O'Neales living far away from the land, the claim was awarded to O'Neale's brother-in-law and van der Donck's widow's brother, Elias Doughty, who proceeded to sell off the portions of the property. In 1668, a portion of the land was sold to William Betts, an English turner, and his son-in-law George Tippett, whom Tibbetts Brook would later be named for. This property included the modern park parade grounds. Next, Doughty sold a 2,000-acre (810 ha) tract of land, including the current site of the Van Cortlandt House, to Frederick Philipse, Thomas Delavall, and Thomas Lewis. Philipse bought out Delavall's and Lewis's land shares, making the land part of the Philipsburg Manor, which extended from Spuyten Duyvil Creek to the Croton River in modern Westchester County. Philipse's wife died, and he remarried Olof Stevense Van Cortlandt's daughter, herself a widow. Philipse's daughter Eva later married Jacobus Van Cortlandt, who was Mrs. Philipse's brother.
The land that Van Cortlandt Park now occupies was acquired by Van Cortlandt from Philipse in the mid-to-late 1690s. In 1699, Van Cortlandt dammed Tibbetts Brook in order to power a sawmill (and later, a gristmill,), creating Van Cortlandt Lake as a mill pond in the process. In 1732, Van Cortlandt acquired an additional parcel from the Tippett family. The estate was then passed on to Jacobus's son Frederick Van Cortlandt (1699–1749) and family in 1739; it was once a vast grain plantation. In 1748, Frederick built the Van Cortlandt House on the former Tippett property, but died before its completion. The Van Cortlandts did not primarily live in that house, instead staying in Manhattan most of the time. A family burial ground was created in 1749, later to be known as "Vault Hill." Frederick, who was buried in Vault Hill, had willed the massive home and surrounding lands to his son, James Van Cortlandt (1727–1787).
The Van Cortlandt family land was used during the American Revolution by both the Loyalists and Patriots, owing to James's leadership role early on in the revolution. On May 30, 1775, the New York Provincial Congress placed James on a committee to create a report on whether it was feasible to build a fort near his family's house. British General William Howe made the house his headquarters on November 13, 1776, thus placing it behind British-held ground. The Van Cortlandts wished to stay neutral in the war, however. Later, the grounds were used by Patriot militia leaders Comte de Rochambeau, Marquis de Lafayette, and George Washington. The house itself was Washington's headquarters after his troops were defeated in the 1776 Battle of Long Island. That same year, Augustus Van Cortlandt hid city records under Vault Hill to protect them during the war, turning them over to the new American government after the war. It was in "Indian Field," at the present-day intersection of Van Cortlandt Park East and 233rd Street, that the Stockbridge militia was destroyed by the Queen's Rangers, and 38 Indians from the militia were killed in 1778. In 1781, Washington returned to the house to strategize with Rochambeau while their troops waited outside on what is now the Parade Ground and Vault Hill. He later lit campfires outside the house to deceive the British into thinking that his troops were still on the grounds. Washington used the house one final time in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris. The British had just withdrawn their troops from Manhattan, and Washington and George Clinton were getting ready to enter the island, stopping over at the house before doing so.
In the 1830s, officials in a rapidly expanding New York City saw a need for a larger water supply. Major David Bates Douglass was appointed to perform engineering studies on the future Old Croton Aqueduct in March 1833. Douglass made estimates for the new aqueduct in 1833–1834 and John Martineau performed a separate study in 1834. Both found the proposed route, which ran through the present-day park, to be okay. Thus, in 1837, construction started on the Aqueduct, which ran 41 miles (66 km) from the Croton River upstate to the New York Public Library Main Branch and Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan. The project was built by 3,000–4,000 laborers who completed the entire aqueduct in five years. The aqueduct's builders constructed a gatehouse within the present-day park to provide access to the aqueduct's interior. The old aqueduct was supplemented by the New Croton Aqueduct in 1890, which also ran through the park. The Old Croton Aqueduct was in use until 1955, though the part that ran through the park was closed down in 1897 after the new aqueduct was connected to the Jerome Park Reservoir.
### Planning
In 1876, Frederick Law Olmsted was hired to survey the Bronx and map out streets based on the local geography. Olmsted noted the natural beauty of the Van Cortlandt estate, comparing it to Central Park which he designed, and recommended the city purchase the property. Around the same time, New York Herald editor John Mullaly pushed for the creation of parks in New York City, particularly lauding the Van Cortlandt and Pell families' properties in the western and eastern Bronx respectively. He formed the New York Park Association in November 1881. There were objections to the system, which would apparently be too far from Manhattan, in addition to precluding development on the site. However, newspapers and prominent lobbyists, who supported such a park system, were able to petition the bill into the New York State Senate, and later, the New York State Assembly (the legislature's lower house). In June 1884, Governor Grover Cleveland signed the New Parks Act into law, authorizing the creation of the park system.
Legal disputes carried on for years, exacerbated by the fact that Luther R. Marsh, vice president of the New York Park Association, owned land near Van Cortlandt Park in particular. Opponents argued that building a park system would divert funds from more important infrastructure like schools and docks; that everyone in the city, instead of just the property owners near the proposed park, was required to pay taxes to pay for the parks' construction; and that since Marsh was trying to parcel off some of his land to developers, the park's size should be reduced in order to prevent him from profiting off park usage. However, most of this opposition was directed at the construction of Pelham Bay Park, which was then in Westchester. Supporters argued that the parks were for the benefit of all the city's citizens, thus justifying the citywide park tax; that the value of properties near the parks would appreciate greatly over time; that the Commission had only chosen property that could easily be converted into a park; and that Pelham Bay Park would soon be annexed to the city. Ultimately, the parks were established despite the objections of major figures like Mayors William Russell Grace and Abram Hewitt; Comptroller Edward V. Loew; and Assemblymen Henry Bergh and Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1880 while the new park was being planned, the New York City & Northern Railroad, later the New York and Putnam Railroad, was built through the center of the park. It had two stops in the Bronx: one inside the park, and another to the south at Kingsbridge. South of Kingsbridge, the railroad merged with the present-day Hudson Line of the Metro-North Railroad. The tracks were used for passenger traffic until 1958, and by freight trains until 1981. A shuttle train was operated by Yonkers Rapid Transit Railway between Kingsbridge and Yonkers. It ran off the main New York and Putnam Railroad line immediately north of the Van Cortlandt station. Service began in March 1888 and ran until 1942 (see ).
### Creation
The family property was sold to the City of New York and made into a public parkland in 1888. The majority of the grain fields were converted into a sprawling lawn dubbed the "Parade Ground," while the Van Cortlandt House was converted into a public museum. The construction of the Parade Ground required demolition of a few old buildings and cornfields. The Parade Ground was immediately used by the National Guard for brigade practice, replacing the parade ground of Prospect Park. The ground received unspecified "improvements" in 1893–1894. With the city's approval, particularly overgrown areas of the property were made passable. Wide walking paths were built over original walkways, including the thin paths that led to the Van Cortlandt family cemetery, high on the nearby bluffs. "Certain lands" around the house were then filled in for the purpose of creating a "Colonial Garden," which was proposed in 1897. During excavation of the grounds, Indian artifacts and graves were found, corresponding to the old village of Keskeskick.
The nine-hole Van Cortlandt Golf Course opened on July 6, 1895, as the country's first and oldest public golf course. The 2,561-yard (2,342 m) course comprised current holes 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, and 14. The first eight holes were easier and less than 200 yards (180 m) apart, but the last one had a fairway 700 yards (640 m) in length. The ninth hole, which spanned two stone walls and two small brooks, was among the country's hardest holes. Four years after the course opened, the city hired Tom Bendelow, nicknamed the "Johnny Appleseed of Golf", to expand it to 18 holes. The course added a clubhouse in 1902, which also doubled as an ice-skating house.
At first, the park was sparsely used for sports. In 1899, there were 10, 7, and 5 permits issued for lawn tennis, baseball, and football, respectively. The Parade Ground was converted to recreational use starting in 1902, when the National Guard added fields for polo. In 1907, due to overcrowding, Dr. William Hornaday transferred 15 of the Bronx Zoo's then-rare bison to the Parade Ground, where they stayed until they were shipped to prairie land in Oklahoma later that year.
The Colonial Garden, designed by landscape architect Samuel Parsons, started construction in 1902 and opened the following June. Besides plants, the garden had rustic wooden bridges and wooden stairs and a "handsome fountain and central court." A "Shakespeare Garden" was also opened that year, with a grand stairway leading down to it. The next year, park officials realized that the Colonial Garden's construction was of poor quality and hard to cultivate. The garden had to be raised 3.5 feet (1.1 m), and a nursery needed to be built to transport the plants during the garden's reconstruction. The rustic wooden bridges were to be replaced with stone bridges, while the wooden stairs were to be superseded by stone stairs. Not only did many plants die during the process, but the actual rebuilding was delayed until 1911. Two years later, the Parks Commissioner for the Bronx refused to allocate reconstruction funds because, he stated, the garden looked just fine. Under threat of tearing the garden down, the city had to find money to fill and drain the ground. The rebuilding contract was awarded in 1909 and completed by 1911.
### Early years
Various adjustments were made over succeeding years. A network of roads through the park was built soon after, allowing the construction of picnic areas and hiking trails as well as making the forests more accessible to visitors. A stone memorial was placed at Indian Field in 1906, with a plaque misspelling the name of the Indian chief, Abraham Ninham, as "Abraham Nimham." One particular concern was the threat of the wetlands serving as breeding grounds for malaria-borne mosquitoes, which had drawn the ire of local residents and property owners as they believed the wetlands to be "unsightly and unsanitary." The marshlands were filled in between 1906 and 1922. The marsh to the southwest of the Van Cortlandt Station was converted to a lake. An "outlet sewer" under Broadway was built in 1907. From 1903 to 1911, NYC Parks cleaned the 13-foot-deep (4.0 m) Van Cortlandt Lake, removed the original earthen dam, and emptied the lake in order to dredge the lake bed to a lower depth. A new dam was installed to reform the lake. The former marshland was filled in.
During a 1910s excavation for a sewer pipe, stones were unearthed that were suspected to be from the old van der Donck estate. During World War I, the Parade Ground was used to train soldiers. Eight tennis courts opened in 1914 with admission being \$1 per person, and owing to the Van Cortlandt Golf Course's immense popularity, the Mosholu Links also opened that year. By 1917, the Parade Ground contained 10 out of the park's baseball diamonds. The park's recreational facilities were quite popular, with more than 10,000 people using them on a busy day. However, during and following World War I, the Parade Ground was used for war training. Until 1926, the baseball fields did not contain backstops, and had to be vacated by July 4 of every year, so the National Guard could use the field.
The 6.2-mile (10.0 km) cross-country running course was inaugurated in 1914. The track started out as a flat path, became hilly, turned onto a "little spell of road work," went into the forest, and crossed a water before turning back. A year later, it hosted the Metropolitan Association of the Amateur Athletic Union's Junior and Senior Cross Country championships. A modified 3.1-mile (5.0 km) cross-country course opened on November 5, 1921, with runners simply changing direction at the city border. The new course, which started at the original polo fields, did not conflict with either of the golf courses.
In 1922, there was a proposal to acquire land for the future Saw Mill River Parkway, which would connect the park to 424 acres (172 ha) of open space in Westchester when completed. Through the 1930s, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation kept adding new recreational facilities in the park. The Colonial and Shakespeare Gardens had a combined 250,000 flowers by 1931, but both were demolished by the end of the decade due to bad drainage.
In 1934, Robert Moses became the New York City Parks Commissioner, and during his 16-year tenure as commissioner, altered almost every aspect of the park. His job partially entailed balancing the needs of area residents, whose numbers had grown in the past decade, with transit users who traveled to the park from the north and south. Moses's development plans in the 1930s called for the construction of the Henry Hudson Parkway and Mosholu Parkway to bisect Van Cortlandt Park and meet at a trumpet interchange about half a mile north of the center, merging into the Saw Mill River Parkway. Due to objections over the construction of roads inside the park, the width of the parkways' lanes was reduced. Tibbetts Brook was dredged and landscaped in 1938 to accommodate construction. Such construction continued until 1955, during which the Major Deegan Expressway (current Interstate 87) was also built, bisecting the Mosholu Parkway. This conflicted with Moses's plans for the park as a "rural oasis", as highway construction ultimately separated the park into six pieces and demolished most of the remaining marsh in the park. This construction also induced siltation of the brook, leading to further creation of marshes.
Moses also made improvements to the park itself, building new walkways, paving dirt roads, creating playgrounds, and installing lights. Baseball, soccer, and cricket fields were added in 1938. The Van Cortlandt Stadium was added in 1939 on the site of a former swamp, and a pool followed in 1970. Moses also landscaped the areas near the Woodlawn and 242nd Street subway stations to attract park visitors from other neighborhoods. During his tenure as Parks Commissioner, Moses took aggressive approach to preserving the park's quality. For instance, six mothers were issued court summonses in 1942 after letting their children dig in the park, and two airplane pilots were fined in 1947 for unauthorized airplane landings.
Around 1939, the old aqueduct, which was now a popular hiking trail, started becoming a popular route with cyclists. Soon after, there was a proposal to redevelop the trail as a bike path. This proposal never came to fruition, although in the mid-1970s, the city built a separate bike path along Mosholu Parkway, the Bronx River Parkway, and Pelham Parkway between Jerome Avenue and Pelham Bay Park.
### Decline
By the 1960s, large portions of the park, such as Tibbetts Brook, were being polluted by human activity; in addition, the brook now flowed into the Broadway sewer at the south end of Van Cortlandt Lake. Pollution from upstream and the highways, and spillover of chemicals used in the golf course, killed fish in the lake. This problem was first noticed in May 1961 when thousands of dead bass, pickerel, catfish, perch, and carp floated up at the edge of the lake. The mass-death of fish was blamed on siltation, Three years later, fish were still being killed by siltation. City investigators took water samples from the lake and found that they contained large amounts of weeds and sediment. About 22,000 square feet (2,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of the lake's surface area was being lost to sedimentation every year. In addition, an algal bloom caused the lake to be in a low-oxygen condition, endangering plants and animals in and around the lake. "Unpleasant odors" in the summer also reduced recreational opportunities on the lake, and these conditions combined made it virtually impossible to come into contact with the lake's water without getting sick. By 1976, there was a moratorium on all boating activities on the lake.
The Van Cortlandt Golf Course was used as a ski slope during the winters starting in 1961, and up to 3,000 visitors would use the slopes each weekend. By 1964, with the use of artificial snow, it was also possible to ski during warmer days. The seasonal ski slope was closed in the late 1960s when the city decided to allow golfers to use the Van Cortlandt Course during winters. Also in the late 1960s, the city decided to build a series of public pools on the site of the Colonial Garden, consisting of a diving, a swimming, and a wading pool. Construction on the \$1.5 million pools started in early 1969 and was completed by 1970. Because of the swampy nature of the ground underneath it, the pools soon began to crackle and set. By 1979, the locker rooms were heavily vandalized and the diving pool had been closed.
The city's fiscal crisis in the 1970s caused the rest of the park to fall into disrepair. A dearth of funds exacerbated the pollution of the park. Hands-on education programs at the park were reduced to passive observations of flora and fauna. Elsewhere in the park, excessive foot traffic was eroding the soil in the forests. The stock of younger, replacement trees in the old-growth forest had relatively little diversity compared to other natural forests.
In 1979, New York City Councilwoman June Eisland released a report on Van Cortlandt Park. The report noted that pollutants from the Major Deegan Expressway were entering Van Cortlandt Lake, and that the park ecosystem was also being harmed by inadequate drainage, soil sterilants that were used on the Putnam Branch tracks, and a fungicide with 8.5% cadmium content that was being sprayed on the golf course. A year later, a private landscaping firm estimated that it would cost \$4–7 million to restore the Van Cortlandt Lake. By this point, the lake was so dirty that a small boat could not float on it, even though the lake was 15 feet (4.6 m) deep. Catfish were the only fish that could survive in the lake water. The city of Yonkers eventually attributed the cause of the Van Cortlandt Lake's pollution to four storm sewers that were found to be illegally connected to Tibbetts Brook upstream.
The utter disrepair in the park prompted some informal rules at the park's golf courses. For instance, the Los Angeles Times noted that "a player was allowed to drop his ball a club length away if it rolled up against an abandoned auto, or, in one case, a boat. To thwart robbers, besieged golfers quit playing in traditional foursomes and instead ventured forth in football-team-sized units. Some players added an extra club—a night stick—or tucked tear gas spray into their golf bags." Years later, one writer recalled that dozens of the course's trees died, and "flagsticks were reduced to broken bamboo poles stuck into the ground." Weeds overgrew the course, and golfers would wear long-sleeved shirts to ward off against the city's insufficient mosquito repellents. Homeless squatters moved into the park, while courses fell into disrepair, replaced by dirt tracks and "huts and forts" built by neighborhood kids. In 1985, the city licensed control of the courses to Los Angeles-based American Golf Corporation for 60 years, leading to their restoration.
Other parts of the park also fell into disrepair, such as Vault Hill, whose headstones and crypts were vandalized in the 1960s. As early as 1962, a New York Times reader wrote of vandalism on Vault Hill. A lack of annual maintenance of the park's jogging tracks and bridle paths had caused them to erode and become overgrown at some places. In 1978–1979, NYC Parks performed a wholesale renovation of the park's eroded and dilapidated bridle paths and jogging tracks. The Parade Ground remained popular, and the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera performed in the field during the summer. However, it too had deteriorated because of intensive use: the grounds' topsoil had eroded away and the sidewalks started to buckle. In 1978, the Perrier Company donated a fitness trail consisting of 12 exercise machines to the park; there were originally supposed to be 18 machines, but the extra six machines were deemed unnecessary. Two shuffleboard courts were also installed in the Parade Grounds the same year, but went unused because of a lack of playing equipment.
### Improvements
In response to studies and accounts that showed the bad condition of the lake, the state restored the fish population of the lake in 1978. In 1977, the Bronx Borough Board created a special committee to oversee and develop plans for improving Van Cortlandt Park. The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park soon came up with its own suggestions to improve the park. After the parcourse for the parade grounds was approved in 1978, the New York City Department of Parks promised to cooperate on the Van Cortlandt Park improvement plans. The 1979 Eisland plan also detailed suggestions for park improvements. This culminated in the 1980 appointment of a park coordinator who would start devising details of a "master plan" for the park.
In 1985, a study recommended ecological restoration of the lake and forest, which had been overtaken by invasive species introduced during highway construction. Since then, there have been seven plans for restoring natural elements of the park, as well as three plans for park restoration. Gradual improvements began taking place in the late 1980s, including the addition of new pathways, signage, and security, as well as the restoration of playgrounds and other recreational facilities. In January 1988, NYC Parks conducted a study to determine the specific elements of the park that needed restoration. Highway structures were also reconfigured to clean runoff from these structures. An excavation in the 1990s yielded over 2,500 artifacts.
The city built the Croton Water Filtration Plant, a drinking water treatment facility, under the park's Mosholu Golf Course. Plant operations began in 2015. The plant was needed in order to filter contaminants from urban runoff pollution in the Croton River watershed and protect the public from Giardia and Cryptosporidium, microorganisms which can cause serious health problems.
The Croton plant was built after a lawsuit was filed in 1997 against the city by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of New York. The city settled the suit and a consent decree was issued with the condition that the city would build the plant by 2006. The project experienced delays and ballooning costs due to objections from the local community, which required the city to propose alternate sites for the plant. The plant was built 160 feet (49 m) below the Mosholu Golf Course, at a cost of \$3.2 billion.
To lessen the disruption caused by the plant's construction, in 2010 the city used mitigation funds from the construction budget to restore the Van Cortlandt Park Parade Ground. The Sachkerah Woods Playground, located at the park's southeast corner near the Mosholu Golf Course, was also built using Croton mitigation funds.
As part of the "Van Cortlandt Park Master Plan 2034", critical ecological elements of the park, such as the forest, the rural landscape, and Tibbetts Brook, would be restored, and the brook would be diverted. As of March 2014 when the report was written, the lack of natural drainage points within Van Cortlandt Park led to the flooding of recreational areas within the park during heavy rains. The park's paths would also be restored with the addition of three new pedestrian bridges; a playground; four activity centers, of which two would be outdoors and two would be indoors; a skate park; an athletic field; and three basketball courts built within the park. "Comfort stations" and food concessions would also be added. The Van Cortlandt Golf Course was renovated in 2016. The skate park, new playground, and path improvements were completed in 2020. NYC Parks started renovating the Woodlawn Playground in 2021 for \$1 million. One of the pedestrian bridges, which would have crossed the Major Deegan Expressway, was postponed in 2020 after its cost had increased to \$23 million; the bridge was canceled in 2023.
## Geography
At 1,146 acres (464 ha), Van Cortlandt Park is the third-largest park in New York City, behind the Staten Island Greenbelt (1,778 acres (720 ha)) and Pelham Bay Park (2,772 acres (1,122 ha)). It has numerous attractions and features that are both recreational and educational.
### Geology
The different parts of Van Cortlandt Park have a varied geology. The Northwest Woods and Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway have a steep terrain dotted with Fordham gneiss, a metamorphic rock that is very hard to weather. The Tibbetts Brook valley is set in Inwood marble, which weathers more easily. The east side of the park near Indian Field contains Yonkers granite, an igneous rock that mixed with Fordham gneiss as a hot magma before later cooling.
### Watercourses
Van Cortlandt Park contains the Bronx's largest freshwater lake, the eponymous Van Cortlandt Lake. The lake is 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 m) deep at various times of year, and has an area of 18 acres (7.3 ha). The lake is used for recreational fishing, as it includes species such as largemouth bass, black crappie, brown bullhead, bluegill, pumpkinseed, golden shiner, common carp, white sucker, and yellow perch. It is fed by Tibbetts Brook, a stream originating in Yonkers, which runs through a series of culverts before draining into the south edge of the lake at approximately West 242nd Street. There are efforts to daylight this south end into the former New York and Putnam Railroad right-of-way that runs through the park as part of the park's faster plan.
There is no surviving documentation for the creation of Van Cortlandt Lake. In 1699, Jacobus Van Cortlandt dammed Tibbetts Brook to power a sawmill, creating a mill pond at the site where the lake is. Later, he also added a gristmill. The sawmill was relocated around 1823 and stayed in operation until 1889. The gristmill was destroyed by lightning in 1901.
By the time the park was created, Van Cortlandt Lake needed to be cleaned, as cesspools in Yonkers had leaked sewage into Tibbetts Brook, which fed into the lake. A 1903 annual report from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation mentioned that the lake had probably not been cleaned since the mid-18th century, and now contained a layer of "refuse and vegetation on top, and an ooze two to three feet deep on the bottom," with qualities more like a "semi-bog." Cleaning of the lake started in 1903. The lake's original earthen dam was removed, the lake was emptied, and 30,000 cubic yards (23,000 m<sup>3</sup>) of deposits were dredged from the lake bed. A new 2,270-foot (690 m) retaining wall was then erected along the lake's eastern shore, and a new dam was installed to reform the lake and to allow future cleaning of the lake without having to dredge it. After the opening of an overflow drain in 1911–1912, which connected to the sewer under Broadway completed in 1907, Tibbetts Brook was directed into the new sewer, The construction of the Van Cortlandt Golf Course compounded the lake's dirty condition, and by 1912, the lake and brook contained significant sedimentation.
Nearby residents also disliked the wetlands near the lake, as they could be used to breed malaria-borne mosquitoes, and were thus seen as "unsightly and unsanitary." In 1896, they proposed to fill the wetlands in, and the infill proposal was funded by the New York City Board of Estimate in 1899. Subsequently, the Parks Department proposed to dredge the swamp and create a lake in its stead, but despite this plan receiving \$70,000 in funding in 1906, it was deemed "not feasible" to drain the swamp directly into the Broadway sewer. Another plan to remove the swamps in the park's southwest was approved in 1904. The plan was to build an athletic field in the southwest swamp's place, but all swamp-infill proposals for this sector were rejected in 1917. By 1922, there were 23 acres (9.3 ha) of swampland left in the park, and the Parks Department hoped to convert parts of it for some athletic purpose, but this required the New York Central Railroad to raise one of its bridges first so the swampland could be accessed. However, there are no records of that bridge being raised or of the swamp being converted.
In its early years, the lake was used for boating, canoeing, curling, and ice skating. By 1899, the lake was used by up to 3,000 skaters on weekdays and 10,000 on weekends. The ice-skating house, shared with the golf course, was added in 1902. By 1935, the lake was used by approximately 20,000 skaters daily.
## Wildlife
There are several old-growth forests with tree species and genera such as black oak, hickory, beech, cherry birch, sweetgum, red maple, and tuliptree. The forests also contain wild turkeys, red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, bats, Eastern chipmunks, Eastern gray squirrels, groundhogs, gypsy moths, Eastern cottontail rabbits, striped skunks, North American raccoons, Virginia opossums, white-tailed deer and Eastern coyotes. In addition, over 130 species of butterflies can be found in the park. In 1937, it was noted that the marshlands had fauna such as red-winged blackbirds, yellowthroats, green bottle flies, beetles, dragonflies, tadpoles, herons, kingfishers, and ospreys. Its flora included cattail, skunk cabbage, and moss. Its avian population during the winters has exceeded that of either Central or Prospect Parks; a total of 301 bird species have been seen in the park since 1875, when records were first kept. Amphibians present include American bullfrogs, red-backed salamanders, and spring peepers. Also present in and around the park's waterways and wetlands are common snapping turtles and Eastern painted turtles, as well as red-eared sliders that were introduced to the region.
## Landmarks and structures
### Trails
There are five major hiking trails in the park.
The Putnam Trail (1.5 miles (2.4 km), easy), runs north through the woods to the east of this lawn and west of Van Cortlandt Lake, through the golf course and along Tibbetts Brook and the former New York and Putnam Railroad line into Yonkers, where it connects to Westchester County's paved South County Trailway. Previously unpaved, the Putnam Trail underwent a reconstruction project starting in August 2019 and was reopened in October 2020 as a paved pedestrian and bicycle path.
The rails themselves were overrun with weeds, but they were no longer usable by trains. The remains of the former Van Cortlandt Park station can be seen along the trail. As part of the park's 2034 master plan, NYC Parks undertook a project to pave the entirety of the trail through Van Cortlandt Park as well as a short extension to the south, making it usable for both pedestrians and bicyclists. A construction contract for the paving project was awarded in October 2018 to Grace Industries, and it was completed in October 2020.
The Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway (1.1 miles (1.8 km), easy/moderate), was created in 1968 when the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation had bought a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) stretch of the Old Croton Aqueduct, for use as a walking trail. It starts in Van Cortlandt Park as a grass-and-dirt trail and runs north along the route of the old aqueduct. The trail features vestiges of an old, disused brick tunnel that brought water to Manhattan, as well as a gatehouse for the aqueduct. Within the park, the Old Croton Aqueduct trail borders Mosholu Golf Center and Driving Range, as well as the Allen Shandler Recreation Area. Its southern end is cut off by the Major Deegan Expressway in the southwestern end of the park. As part of the Croton Water Filtration Plant project, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection was given \$200 million to mitigate the effects of constructing the plant. A feasibility study in 2009 found that a bridge near the location of 233rd Street was the most feasible, and would connect the two sections of the trail. This bridge was deferred over lack of funding in 2014 before planning resumed in 2015.
The John Kieran Nature Trail (1.25 miles (2.01 km), easy), which connects to the Putnam Trail, opened in 1987 and is named after local writer and naturalist John Kieran. The path features 13 stone pillars, each made of a different variety of stone, that were tested for the facade of Grand Central Terminal during the terminal's construction. The variety eventually chosen was Indiana limestone because it was cheap. The trail hugs the edge of the Van Cortlandt Lake and Tibbetts Brook marsh.
The John Muir Trail (1.5 miles (2.4 km), moderate) is the park's only east–west trail that connects the three northern forested areas. It was established in 1997. Various species of trees and flowering plants can be seen along the trail, such as northern red oak, sweetgum, and tulips. There is a large, steep hill in the center of the trail.
The Cass Gallagher Nature Trail (1.4 miles (2.3 km), moderate/difficult) is the hardest trail in the park. It was given its current name in 1984, named after a local resident who was a fervent advocate of preserving the park's environment. Shaped as a loop, it extends through the rocky forests of the park's northwestern portion. It was once a "self-guided interpretive nature trail" where hikers could observe natural elements along the trail. Along this trail, there is a "thick undergrowth" beneath a "canopy" of deciduous trees that date back centuries. However, logging and forest fires have killed some of these trees. Pioneer species, which inhabit the plots of the forest destroyed by logging and fire, include sumac and black locusts. There is also an outcropping of Fordham gneiss, the last vestige of a giant mountain chain that used to run through this area until the Wisconsin glaciation. The exposed rocks also contain mica and quartz. There have been many sightings of bird species along this trail, such as those of woodpeckers, owls, quail and pheasants. This trail repeatedly crosses a 3-mile (4.8 km) cross-country trail.
A bikeway runs east from the golf course's clubhouse to connect to the Mosholu Parkway bike path. Some trail sections are a part of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile-long (4,800 km) trail system connecting Maine to Florida.
### Landmarks
The Van Cortlandt House in the southern part of Van Cortlandt Park was erected by Frederick Van Cortlandt in 1748. This house still stands, making it the oldest surviving building in the Bronx. The estate the house sits on was of major importance during the American Revolution. Troops from both the British and Colonial American armies rested in this house during the time of war. The Van Cortlandt family owned the property until they decided to sell both the house and land to the City of New York in 1886. Ten years later, the house was restored as a museum displaying the culture and lifestyle of 18th-century families. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1967 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
Near the museum is a 15-mile marker for the old Albany Post Road, which was relocated to its current position in 1934 after the road was rerouted. In 1938, officials at San Francisco's Golden Gate International Exposition gave a 4.5-foot (1.4 m) walnut tree to the City of New York, who then planted the tree outside the museum in the place of another tree that had died.
Vault Hill, the family burial ground, still exists. Located 169 feet (52 m) above sea level, it is northeast of the Parade Ground and west of Tibbetts Brook and the Van Cortlandt Golf Course.
The Memorial Grove honors Bronxites who served in World War II and the Korean War. It is located by the road to the Van Cortlandt House, close to Broadway. Created in 1949, the grove contained a tree and a bronze plaque for each of the 39 soldiers who were memorialized. By the time the grove was renovated in 2011, there were only 18 plaques left. Restoration was completed in 2012.
### Other structures
Van Cortlandt Park contains Citywide Nursery, one of three greenhouses operated by NYC Parks. It grows about 200,000 plants each year.
## Recreation
The Parade Ground is north of the museum, in the western part of the park. When the park was originally built, there was a law dictating that the Parade Ground should be vacated for National Guard use if required. The field was originally used by the National Guard for brigade practice, but this use was decommissioned by the 1930s, and the land near Broadway was converted to 17 multipurpose baseball, football or soccer fields and two additional fields solely for cricket. Today, it contains 10 of the borough's 19 total cricket fields and a Gaelic football field. The cricket fields were renovated from 2010 to 2013 for \$13 million. During the renovation, the fields were relocated such that they did not overlap with each other or with the soccer and baseball fields. The Parade Ground also has other areas dedicated to various sports, including six baseball fields, four football fields, five soccer fields, and a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) course for cross-country running. The Rolling Stones commenced their Licks Tour here in 2002, getting into a blimp from the Parade Ground.
The park is home to a free public pool, along with numerous playgrounds for children and areas dedicated for barbecuing. The pool was added in 1970, though proposals for such a pool date back to 1907. It was designed by Heery & Heery architects and cost \$1.6 million. The pool contains a 17,280-US-gallon (65,400 L; 14,390 imp gal) wading pool, a diving pool, and a 380,000-US-gallon (1,400,000 L; 320,000 imp gal) Olympic-sized pool.
The Van Cortlandt Stadium was built by Parks Commissioner Moses and Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia during the Great Depression, and was funded by Works Progress Administration. It is located north of Van Cortlandt Park South near Broadway in the park's southwest corner. The stadium opened on September 22, 1939, to a day of track events and a football game between Manhattan College and Fordham University. It had 18 tennis courts, five basketball courts, six handball courts, three baseball fields, three football fields (including one in the stadium itself), three horseshoe pitching fields, a running track, and a bowling green, as well as water fountains and lockers. In 1994, Mayor Giuliani funded a \$415,000 project for concrete repairs to the stadium, and in 1998, the 0.25-mile (0.40 km) running track was rebuilt for nearly a million dollars. The park is the home of the Manhattan College Jaspers college baseball team. In 2015, the Jaspers moved to Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, New York, but in 2021, the Jaspers moved back to Van Cortlandt Park.
Riverdale Stables, located on 21 acres (8.5 ha) of the park, offers horseback riding. In 1934, there were two stables: a larger one east of the Putnam Division near Van Cortlandt Avenue and 242nd Street, and a smaller one to the Van Cortlandt Course clubhouse's east.
The Indian Field has baseball and softball fields, a sandbox, picnic tables, tennis courts, horseshoes courts, and shuffleboard courts. The Allen Shandler Recreation Area, renamed from the Holly Park Recreation Area in 1966 after a neighborhood boy who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the 1960s and died at age 15, has baseball fields, benches, picnic tables, barbecue grills, and a comfort station. Other activities available at the park include basketball, ice skating, and fishing.
### Golf
The Van Cortlandt Golf Course, which opened on July 6, 1895, with nine holes, is located centrally on the park grounds. Within a year, the course became very crowded and disorganized, with crowds behaving poorly. Rules were set in 1896, with golfers paying caddies 15 cents per round or 25 cents per two rounds. Only caddies with badges could be hired, and bicycles, baby strollers, horse-riding, and horse-drawn carriages were banned from the course.
The course was upgraded to 18 holes in 1899, and the grounds gained a new clubhouse by 1902. The new Van Cortlandt Golf Course was supposed to be "experimental," and if the course was successful, similar courses would be laid around the country. Other American cities were interested in building such courses. The 1899 Bendelow reconstruction had rebuilt the course so that it now spanned 120 acres (49 ha), compared to the 55 acres (22 ha) of the previous course. The new course was now 6,060 yards (5,540 m) long, or about 3.44 miles (5.54 km). NYC Parks reconfigured the course again the following year so that "congestion would be prevented and accidents avoided." Boulders were relocated, greens were enlarged, and hazards were built in order to space out the holes. A clubhouse was added two years later. Plans to extend the clubhouse were rejected in 1917.
On July 13, 1905, Isaac Mackie won an Open Tournament at the Van Cortlandt Park course, shooting 152 and holding off joint second-place finishers Willie Anderson and Bernard Nicholls who finished at 157. It was the first ever professional tournament held on a public golf course in the United States.
In 1914, a second golf course, the Mosholu Golf Course, opened adjacent to the existing Van Cortlandt Park course. It is located at the southeast end of the park. By the 1930s, both courses were being intensively used, with restaurants located near both clubhouses. Around this time, six holes of the Van Cortlandt course were rebuilt as part of the Henry Hudson Parkway's construction. Due to the Major Deegan Expressway's construction in 1949, there were plans to fill in 7 acres (2.8 ha) of the nearby marshlands so new holes could be built. A third of the way into the filling-in project, conservationists and residents called for the rest of the marsh to be preserved. Two greens were eventually placed on the filled-in marshland.
In 2002, a First Tee course, for young golfers, opened at the Mosholu course. The Van Cortlandt Golf Course and its attached clubhouse were renovated from 2007 to 2014 for \$5 million. Prior to the renovation, there was poor management, dirty grounds, and "a proliferation of prostitutes and drug dealers operating much too close for comfort plagued the grounds." The renovation overhauled the course with such improvements as seven new greens and a new drainage system. The clubhouse received an infusion of historic golf artifacts from NYC Parks, including "vintage photographs" and an exhibit about the history of the golf ball.
### Running
Van Cortlandt Park is a popular site for cross-country running, owing to its miles of cinder trails and hills as well as its steep terrain. One legend has it that a cross-country coach thought that Van Cortlandt Park's tracks were too hard and instead went to the New Jersey Meadowlands to train. Its courses are some of the most utilized cross-country courses in the United States.
Around the Parade Ground, known to runners as "the flats," there is a track that circles for 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Another 1.25-mile (2.01 km) rubber trail and the 3.1-mile (5.0 km) cross-country trail supplement each other between 241st Street and the city border. Runners on the cross-country course typically run 6.2 miles (10.0 km). They start at the Parade Ground and passing through "the cowpath," "the runners' bridge," Cemetery Hill, and "the back hills," using the back hills to turn back at the city border. This trail, built in 1913 out of parts of existing trails, was renovated in 1997 for \$2 million, receiving a new layer of asphalt and stone to cover a tangle of "muddy ruts and jutting roots and rocks" that were breaking runners' ankles. However, by 2013, the trail was starting to show signs of deterioration.
The park is used for the Northeast regional championships of the Foot Locker Cross-Country Championships. The cross-country trail is used for the Manhattan College Invitational, one of the largest high school cross-country meets in the nation. In 2006, the USA Cross-Country Championships were held at Van Cortlandt and organized by USATF and New York Road Runners.
The tracks are used not only by local high schools, but also for many college races. It is the home course for Fordham University; Iona College; New York University; and Manhattan College, located across the street. The college course is five miles (8.0 km) long, crossing the Henry Hudson Parkway at one point. This course was renovated in 1997 for almost \$1 million. The 1968 and 1969 NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship was hosted by Manhattan College at the park. The events were attended by about 10,000 people, and the championship race was 6 miles (9.7 km) long. In addition, Van Cortlandt is the venue for the annual IC4A or Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (ICAAAA) cross country championships.
### City's only Canadian football game
On December 11, 1909, the Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders (later of the Canadian Football League), played an exhibition game at Van Cortlandt Park. Sponsored by the New York Herald, the game garnered between 5,000 and 30,000 spectators as Hamilton defeated Ottawa, 11-6. The Canadian Football League's influence in the U.S. did not change after the match, and no subsequent exhibition games were played in the city. However, it was notable for being the first elite Canadian football game to be played in the U.S.
## Management
Before 1992, there was no private maintenance of the park. The earliest efforts for such a thing date to 1983, when an administrator was appointed to oversee both Van Cortlandt and Pelham Bay Parks.
Though NYC Parks owns and operates the park, until 2019 maintenance was handled by two separate nonprofit organizations. Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy, a private nonprofit organization founded in 2009, managed educational and cultural programs, and maintains the recreational areas. The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, an independent nonprofit established in 1992, provided educational programs and assists in the upkeep of the park's natural areas. However, the two organizations have not had the same amount of funding as similar private organizations who manage parks in wealthier areas of the city. In 2013, Friends of Van Cortlandt Park only raised \$416,612—as opposed to the Central Park Conservancy, which in 2016 had an \$81 million endowment to maintain Central Park, or the Four Freedoms Parks Conservancy, which raised \$8 million in 2011 alone for the construction of the Four Freedoms Park. In 2019, it was announced that the two organizations would merge that June. The combined organization, the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, would continue the programming and activities offered by the two organizations.
## Transportation
### Roads
Early in the park's history, there were calls for a direct route between Woodlawn and Riverdale. Property owners in Woodlawn were calling for such a route by 1893. A preliminary plan for the road was submitted to NYC Parks in 1894. The Woodland Path, built in the late 1890s, was linked in 1902 to a new 2,100-foot (640 m) path on the Van Cortlandt Golf Course's eastern perimeter that stretched east to Jerome Avenue. Another road was built in 1902, extending 5,960 feet (1,820 m) north from West Gun Hill Road to the city line on the park's north side (later Mosholu Avenue; now Mosholu Parkway). It was completed and planted with trees in 1905. A third, 1,800-foot-long (550 m) road linked Jerome Avenue and East 237th Street to give Woodlawn residents direct access to Jerome Avenue Line streetcars. There were also preparations for a fourth road, which would run north from Mosholu Avenue and then fork into two roads before entering Yonkers. This fourth road, a "driveway" called Rockwood Drive that ran from Mosholu Avenue to the city line at Yonkers, was completed in 1903. An additional spur from Rockwood Drive diverged from the intersection with Mosholu Avenue, terminating at the train station. A pedestrian passage from Jerome Avenue to Gun Hill Road, opened in 1905, also allowed more direct access into the park from Jerome Avenue. These roads allowed park visitors to access more of the park via automobile, but also had the effect of separating existing amenities, such as the golf course and Parade Ground, from each other.
By 1906, increased automotive traffic necessitated the widening of Grand Avenue, which adjoined the golf course. A year later in 1907, NYC Parks wanted permission to build a road from the Yonkers shuttle's Caryl Station to Broadway in order to alleviate traffic there. In addition, Rockwood Drive, needed to be rebuilt. There was also a third proposal to pave a trail along the Old Croton aqueduct, which had already received a coating of fill from the Jerome Park Reservoir five years beforehand. The New York City Board of Estimate received a proposal to connect Manhattan's Riverside Drive to the park in 1909, providing a direct route to the Upper West Side along what is now the Henry Hudson Parkway. No new roads were built until 1929. In the NYC Parks annual report for 1912, it was noted that the park's roads "stood the strain well," but that constant maintenance was needed to keep the roads in good shape.
In 1929, Bronx Borough President Harry Bruckner put forth plans for the Grand Concourse to be extended through the park as part of a proposed parkway system. The extension would go under Van Cortlandt Avenue, Jerome Avenue, and Gun Hill Road, going around Mosholu Avenue before taking the route of the Old Croton Aqueduct until it reached East 233rd Street. It would then turn northwest along Mosholu Avenue, crossing Tibbetts Brook and the Putnam Division before ending at the Saw Mill River Parkway. There was pushback from the New York Park Association, the Regional Plan of New York, environmentalists, city planners, and other figures such as former senator Nathan Straus, Jr. These parties' opinions on the proposed extension ranged from rerouting it elsewhere to canceling it completely. The New York State Legislature passed a law that would allow the Grand Concourse to be extended through the park. Following this, there were calls for Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt to veto the bill. Roosevelt vetoed the bill on April 17, 1929. However, there were some influential supporters of the bill, including the Bronx Board of Trade and the Bronx Chamber of Commerce. In 1931 they managed to get the extension built, albeit with a reduction in width from 182 to 80 feet (55 to 24 m).
By 1934, there was a large system of interconnected bridle paths along trails and park roads. One bridle path ran close by to the lake, intersecting with Mosholu Avenue, before looping around the Parade Ground and diverging in the Northwest Woods. The Van Cortlandt Golf Course also had trails, as did the Old Croton Aqueduct and near Jerome Avenue and Holly Lane. However, as the primary roads through the park such as Jerome, Grand, and Mosholu Avenues were constantly maintained and upgraded, secondary roads fell into a state of neglect. One such road was Rockwood Drive, which was closed in 1936 and became a bridle path.
Highway construction in the mid-1930s further altered the park. The first of these proposals was the Grand Concourse Extension, later the Mosholu Parkway Extension, which was already being paved in 1934, when Robert Moses became Parks Commissioner. Moses immediately started planning for the Henry Hudson Parkway, which was originally envisioned as an extension of Riverside Drive. As proposed, the parkway would have only skirted the park's northwest corner in order to connect with the Saw Mill River Parkway in Westchester. However, due to that plan's high cost, the route was amended and the Henry Hudson Parkway became an extension of the West Side Elevated Highway, cutting straight through the park to intersect with the Saw Mill River Parkway. Unlike the Concourse extension, the Henry Hudson Parkway was minimally opposed by the community, as it was widely seen as an improvement. Work on the parkway began in 1935.
Simultaneously, work progressed on the Mosholu Parkway Extension, and Mosholu Avenue within the park was being modified so that it would be bisected by Henry Hudson Parkway. A bridge was constructed over the railroad in 1940, and a road linking the avenue and the new Mosholu Parkway was opened the next year. Mosholu Parkway was then extended to the Henry Hudson Parkway via a partial cloverleaf interchange built near the park's sole freshwater marsh. When biology teachers who used the marsh for their classes raised concerns about construction, an assistant to Moses said that the marsh would get a landscaping so that it looked like a series of lagoons surrounded by shrubbery.
World War II halted all highway construction. By the time the war ended, Moses had become a Construction Coordinator for the city, and in 1947, proposed the Major Deegan Expressway through the park. Since community leaders had some objections to the proposal, Moses held a public hearing to discuss it. Opponents of the plan stated that the expressway would carry heavy truck traffic, as opposed to the existing parkways, where trucks were banned. In response, Moses promised to place landscaping on the new expressway so it would fit with the park's character. This revised plan garnered the support of three prominent Bronx politicians. The expressway itself was widely endorsed, but there were five proposed routings for the highway through Van Cortlandt Park, most of which called for using the old Putnam railroad's right-of-way. The city ultimately selected Moses's plan in 1947. The 1-mile (1.6 km) link was projected to cost \$30 million at the time (). Environmentalists protested the plan after finding out that this construction would demolish 32 acres (13 ha) of the marsh. Eventually, all except 7 acres (2.8 ha) were preserved, with the remaining 7 acres set aside for the Van Cortlandt golf course (see ). The Major Deegan Expressway was finally opened through the park in 1955. The new expressway ran along the rights-of-way of Grand Avenue and Mosholu Avenue, causing these two roads to be demapped.
Since then, there has not been much alteration to the park's roads. As of 2014, there are five pedestrian crossings over the Major Deegan Expressway, mostly in the northern section. A sixth bridge near 233rd Street was proposed in a 2009 feasibility study, However, in 2014, plans to build the \$7.5 million pedestrian bridge were deferred due to a lack of money. The next year, the city announced its intent to begin building the bridge at a cost of \$12 million.
### Former railroads
The New York City & Northern Railroad (later the Putnam Division of the New York Central Railroad) was built in 1880, effectively separating the park site into two parts. Its two stops in the Bronx were in the park itself, and at Kingsbridge to the south; after Kingsbridge, the railroad merged with the present-day Hudson Line of the Metro-North Railroad. The line had two tracks between the Hudson Line junction and the Van Cortlandt station, north of which the tracks merged into one. The company foreclosed in 1887, and the line went under the control of the New York and Northern Railroad Company.
Beginning in 1888, another railroad, a 2-mile (3.2 km) shuttle service operated by Yonkers Rapid Transit Railway, was built to connect Kingsbridge and Yonkers. It ran off the main New York and Putnam Railroad line immediately north of the Van Cortlandt station. There was an additional stop called Mosholu located in the northwest quadrant of the park site at Mosholu Avenue (now Mosholu Parkway). The Mosholu stop was designated as a request stop, wherein trains only stopped upon a passenger's request. A railroad crossing next to the Putnam Division's Van Cortlandt Station was replaced with an underground pedestrian passageway in 1904 to allow safe pedestrian travel in the park.
By 1942, the railroad was already seeing signs of decreased ridership: there were 600 daily riders on the Yonkers branch, down from 2,000 daily riders sixteen years prior. The Interstate Commerce Commission gave New York Central Railroad permission to abandon the branch on November 12, 1942. Subsequently, riders filed a lawsuit to keep the line open, and the federal lawsuit was heard by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, who ruled in favor of the railroad on June 21, 1943. Nine days later, the railroad abandoned the line. By December 1944, the rails were being removed. The main line also saw fewer riders as the years passed, and on March B, 1958, with daily ridership numbering between 400 and 500 commuters, the New York State Public Service Commission gave its approval for the railroad to stop passenger service on the line. The last day of service was June 1, 1958, and the station was abandoned, the line now only being used for freight. Conrail continued to operate the line for freight use, though by 1979 trains only ran twice a day, and hikers often utilized the underused train tracks.
### Modern mass transit
There are two nearby New York City Subway stations. The eastern side of the park is served by Woodlawn (), and the western side by 242nd Street (). The 242nd Street station was part of the first subway line of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, running along the current IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to City Hall and later South Ferry. The station, serving as the line's northern terminal, opened in 1908. The Woodlawn station was built later as part of the IRT Jerome Avenue Line, opening in April 1918 as the line's northern terminus.
Bus service is provided by New York City Bus's Bx9, Bx10, Bx16, and Bx34 local routes and its BxM3 and BxM4 express routes. Bee-Line Bus System's 1, 2, 3, 4, 20, and 21 routes also provide service to Westchester.
## In popular culture
Van Cortlandt Park appears in the Nero Wolfe detective stories by Rex Stout. It is where the bodies of several murder victims are found - Joan Wellman in Murder by the Book (1951) and Simon Jacobs in Plot It Yourself (1959). The park is also where the climactic scene of the 1944 novella Booby Trap takes place. The guilty Congressman Shattuck kills himself with a hand grenade after Nero Wolfe convinces him there is no chance of escaping justice.
In Sol Yurick's 1965 novel The Warriors, the meeting between New York street gangs called by Ismael Rivera, leader of the Delancey Thrones, takes place in Van Cortlandt Park. In the 1979 film adaptation of Yurick's novel, one of the gangs is called "The Van Cortlandt Rangers."
The park is also the place of many happy memories of Horse Badorties, protagonist of William Kotzwinkle's 1974 book The Fan Man. In Philip Kaufman's 1979 film The Wanderers, a football game between The Wanderers and rivals the Del Bombers occurs at Van Cortlandt Park. However, none of the scenes were filmed in the Bronx. Van Cortlandt Park was referenced in José Rivera's play Marisol as a place where neo-Nazis burn homeless people alive in the apocalyptic world of the play.
## See also
- List of NCAA Division I baseball venues
- Delaware Tribe of Indians
|
72,483,897 |
Andrew Leake
| 1,134,752,242 |
British naval officer (died 1704)
|
[
"1704 deaths",
"Knights Bachelor",
"People from Lowestoft",
"Royal Navy officers",
"Year of birth unknown"
] |
Captain Sir Andrew Leake (died 13 August 1704) was a Royal Navy officer of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, who distinguished himself at the Battle of Vigo Bay, during the War of the Spanish Succession. From Lowestoft, Leake joined the navy in 1688 under the patronage of John Ashby. Promoted to commander, Leake fought under Ashby as a supernumerary at the Action at La Hogue in 1692. His services at La Hogue brought him promotion to captain, and a series of commands that culminated in 1702 with Leake joining HMS Torbay. At Vigo Bay later that year Torbay broke the boom protecting a Franco-Spanish treasure fleet, resulting in the capture or destruction of the entire fleet. Leake was knighted for this, and went on to command HMS Grafton at the Capture of Gibraltar in 1704. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Málaga later the same year.
## Early life
Andrew Leake was the son of the Lowestoft merchant Andrew Leake (died 1675) and his wife Deborah (died 1704). His date of birth is not recorded. One of Leake's sisters, Margaret, married Captain John Ashby of the Royal Navy. Under Ashby's influence, Leake also joined the navy.
## Naval career
### Initial service
Leake became a midshipman in 1688, joining Ashby's command, the 48-gun ship of the line HMS Mordaunt. Leake then followed Ashby on board the 64-gun ship of the line HMS Defiance on 11 September. He was promoted to master's mate while serving in Defiance on 1 December of the same year, and subsequently fought at the Battle of Bantry Bay on 1 May 1689. With Ashby then promoted to flag rank, on 16 June Leake was appointed the second lieutenant of his brother-in-law's new flagship, the 70-gun ship of the line HMS Berwick. When Ashby moved to the 90-gun ship of the line HMS Sandwich, Leake moved with him, becoming Sandwich's first lieutenant on 1 May 1690. As such he fought at the Battle of Beachy Head on 30 June.
On 7 August 1690 Leake was promoted to commander. As his first command he was given the 8-gun fireship HMS Roebuck on 17 August. He stayed with Roebuck until 9 January 1691 when he was translated into the 8-gun fireship HMS Fox, which he commanded through the following summer. Around this time Leake was noted in a list of captains by Admiral Edward Russell as:
> A young man but good, know little of him ... a good seaman but query whether well affected to the government.
Having left his command of Fox, Leake was not appointed to a new position in 1692. Instead he returned to service with Ashby aboard the latter's flagship, the 100-gun ship of the line HMS Victory. As such Leake was present at the Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue, where at the Action at La Hogue on 23 May he commanded one of the boats sent in to destroy the French fleet that had been beached there. The historians John Knox Laughton and Peter Le Fevre suggest that it was Leake's actions as a supernumerary at La Hogue that brought him to the attention of the Admiralty; because of this he was recommended to several admirals in April 1693, and on 25 June was promoted to post-captain.
### Post-captain
Leake's promotion came with the appointment to take command of HMS James Galley. He stayed in that ship only briefly, moving to the 54-gun ship of the line HMS Greenwich in July 1693. Greenwich returned to port for the winter, and was subsequently sent to serve with several other ships of the line in the entrance to the English Channel. Leake commanded Greenwich until 29 May 1694, when he was moved into the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Lancaster. His string of ship commands continued after this, and on 9 June 1695 he left Lancaster to join the 60-gun ship of the line HMS Canterbury. Leake stayed in Canterbury for his longest period of command yet, leaving her only in January 1698.
With the Peace of Ryswick having come into effect, ending the Nine Years' War, Leake spent the first ten months of 1698 on land. He returned to Lowestoft and spent his time raising funds to help rebuild the almost ruined Lowestoft Church. He was brought back to service on 18 November the same year, with command of the 50-gun ship of the line HMS Hampshire. Appointed a commodore, he was given command of a squadron based at Newfoundland to protect the fisheries there; he commanded it until January 1701, when he sailed home. Hampshire reached the Downs later in the month. There, Leake discovered that his crew had written a round-robin letter to the Admiralty in which they accused him of ill-using them. Leake denounced the claims of his crew, saying that he "always took care to do the sailors justice". He argued that the true motivation of his crew was to avoid having to pay large bills they had accrued to their landladies ashore; if they proved Leake had been abusing them they could be turned over into another ship that would take them away before they were forced to pay up.
### Vigo Bay and knighthood
The Admiralty sided with Leake against the accusations of his crew. After a brief period serving in the Baltic Sea, in January 1702 he was appointed to command the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Torbay in Admiral Sir George Rooke's fleet. After the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession Rooke's force was ordered to attack Cádiz in a plan originally created by William III. Having joined with a squadron of Dutch warships and embarked a force of soldiers, the fleet left England on 19 June. The unsuccessful Battle of Cádiz was fought on 12 August, during which Torbay was a supporting ship to Rear-Admiral John Graydon's 90-gun ship of the line HMS Triumph.
Rooke subsequently learned from Captain Thomas Hardy that a Franco-Spanish treasure fleet was at Vigo. On 12 October 1702 they fought the Battle of Vigo Bay, for which Vice-Admiral Thomas Hopsonn transferred his command to Torbay. The treasure fleet was protected by a boom, and Torbay was the lead ship in the attack on it. Advancing towards the fleet while receiving fire from eight French warships, Torbay used a brief strengthening of the wind to break through the boom. The ship became tangled in the broken remnants of the boom, and the two French ships that had been posted as guards at the boom engaged Torbay on either side of her. One of them, the 70-gun Espérance d'Angleterre, cut herself loose from her moorings and Torbay almost ran into the drifting ship, but used an anchor to stop and begin firing from close range into the French ship.
While Torbay engaged the French warship she was also attacked by the fireship Favori, which grappled onto her. Torbay's quarterdeck was set on fire and the deck became so hot that Hopsonn left in his boat to go on board a different ship. Soon after this Favori exploded and sank. She had been carrying aboard her a large amount of snuff, and in the explosion this powder served to put out most of the fire on Torbay, and Leake extinguished the rest, for which action he was especially congratulated. Torbay beat off the attack of Espérance d'Angleterre but then had little fighting left to do, as the remaining warships scuttled themselves or surrendered as more of the Anglo-Dutch fleet made its way past the boom. Torbay was badly damaged in the fight, having 115 men killed or drowned, her sails and rigging mostly destroyed by fire, several gun ports blown off their hinges, and the entire larboard side of the ship heavily scorched. Leake and Hopsonn were both rewarded with knighthoods immediately after the fleet returned to Britain. In February 1703 Leake was translated into the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Ranelagh, serving at the Nore, because Torbay needed to undergo repairs. Some time after this he moved to command Lancaster for a second stint, and then on 3 May he was appointed to command the 70-gun ship of the line HMS Grafton.
### Gibraltar and Málaga
In Grafton Leake was sent to serve in the Mediterranean Sea under Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell. Shovell's fleet left Britain on 1 July 1703, too late in the year to be effective, and it returned in early November. Just before this, on 30 September, Shovell detached Leake from his command with orders to protect British trade sailing from Portugal. For this, Leake was given command over two third rate ships of the line, as well as a fourth rate and two other warships. He first sailed to Lisbon before collecting further merchant traffic from Oporto, at which point his force returned home, arriving in the Downs on 17 November and thus just missing the great storm of 1703.
In the following year Leake returned to the Mediterranean in a fleet commanded by Rooke. On 8 May the fleet encountered six French warships off Cartagena; Rooke ordered eight of his ships, including Grafton, to chase them. As this force went after the French ships two of the British began to lag behind and, seeing this, one of the leading British ships began to leave off the chase, believing the odds were now too unfavourable. Grafton was further behind in the chase, and Leake then fired a signal gun for the captains of the other ships to come aboard his ship, despite him not being the senior officer. This ended the chase of the French warships, as the British stopped to heed Leake. Leake was subsequently accused of disobeying his orders and was court martialled, but honourably acquitted. He was subsequently detached to Morocco where he assisted in concluding a peace treaty with that nation.
By July 1704 Leake had returned to the fleet, and on 22 July Grafton formed part of Rear-Admiral George Byng's squadron that attacked and captured Gibraltar. The ships were used to bombard the Gibraltar defences during the attack, diverting fire from the land forces, and Grafton used up much of her ammunition fulfilling this role. The fleet then sailed to Tetuan to replenish its stocks of food and water, and subsequently returned to Gibraltar where a French fleet was then spotted. Rooke initially failed to engage the enemy, but after pursuing them for several days on 13 August they fought the Battle of Málaga. Grafton led the attack of the vanguard red squadron in the engagement, despite the ship having very limited ammunition left. Soon after 10 am. Leake was mortally wounded; he was carried down to the ship's surgeon where his wound was dressed. He then had a table cloth wrapped around his body and, sitting in an armchair, was carried back up to his quarterdeck. Severely weakened by his injury, Leake continued to sit in the chair and died on his quarterdeck soon afterwards. Grafton had thirty-one men killed and a further sixty-six wounded in the victorious battle.
It is not known whether Leake ever married. His will of March 1703 left his estate to his mother, who had remarried after the death of his father, while his brothers and sisters received varying amounts of money.
## Notes and citations
|
36,378,753 |
3rd Ranger Infantry Company (United States)
| 1,147,045,990 | null |
[
"Military units and formations disestablished in 1951",
"Military units and formations established in 1950",
"Ranger companies of the United States Army",
"United States Army units and formations in the Korean War"
] |
The 3rd Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne) was a Ranger light infantry company of the United States Army active during the Korean War. As a small special forces unit, it specialized in irregular warfare.
Four Airborne Ranger Companies were formed in the fall of 1950. They were trained and graduated on November 15. By the end of 1950, the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Companies had deployed early for combat in Korea. The 3rd Ranger Company had been drawn upon heavily to replace training losses of the deploying companies. It received 80 trainees and completed a second cycle of Ranger training at the Ranger Training Center at Fort Benning, Georgia. The company deployed to South Korea in March 1951 and was assigned to the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division for four months, where it was used as a reconnaissance and scouting unit, probing North Korean People's Volunteer Army positions. The company is known for its "Battle of Bloody Ridge" on 11 April where, on its first mission, it was able to push back the opposing force. The company later supported the 3rd Infantry Division at the Battle of the Imjin River.
Later in the summer, the company was used as a stealth "target acquisition" force, infiltrating Chinese positions and spotting concentrations of troops and equipment for artillery attack. The company was deactivated on 1 August 1951, and was merged with the U.S. 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team alongside all other Ranger units.
## Origins
With the 25 June 1950 outbreak of the Korean War, the North Korean People's Army had invaded the Republic of Korea (ROK) with 90,000 well-trained and equipped troops who had easily overrun the smaller and more poorly equipped Republic of Korea Army. The United States (U.S.) and United Nations (UN) began an intervention campaign to prevent South Korea from collapsing. The U.S. troops engaged the North Koreans first at the Battle of Osan, being badly defeated on 5 July by the better-trained North Koreans. From then on, the U.S. and UN saw a steady stream of defeats until they had been pushed back to the tip of the peninsula, into a 140-mile (230 km)-long fortification dubbed Pusan Perimeter by August. At the same time, North Korean agents began to infiltrate behind UN lines and attack military targets and cities.
UN units, spread out along the Pusan Perimeter, were having a difficult time repelling these units as they were untrained in combating guerrilla warfare. North Korean special forces units such as the NK 766th Independent Infantry Regiment had defeated ROK troops and used irregular warfare tactics effectively, prompting Army Chief of Staff General J. Lawton Collins to order the creation of an elite force which could "infiltrate through enemy lines and attack command posts, artillery, tank parks, and key communications centers or facilities." All U.S. Army Ranger units had been disbanded after World War II because they required time-consuming training, specialization, and expensive equipment.
With the defeat of the NK 766th Regiment at the Battle of P'ohang-dong, and the strength of U.S. infantry units in question, U.S. commanders felt recreating Ranger units was essential. In early August, as the Battle of Pusan Perimeter was beginning, the Eighth United States Army, in command of all US forces in Korea, ordered Lieutenant Colonel John H. McGee, the head of its G-3 Operations miscellaneous division, to create a new experimental Army Ranger unit, the Eighth Army Ranger Company. In the meantime, the Ranger Training Center was established at Fort Benning, Georgia.
### Organization
With the successful development of the Eighth Army Ranger Company as a "test" unit for the United States Army to bring back Army Ranger units, additional Ranger companies were ordered. The companies were small light infantry special forces units which specialized in infiltration and irregular warfare.
The new 3rd Army Ranger Infantry Company was formulated based on the Table of Organization and Equipment documents of Ranger units in World War II, all of which had been deactivated. The 3rd Ranger Infantry Company was organized into three platoons. A headquarters element of five men oversaw the platoons. However, due to lack of battalion support for clerical, transportation, supply and mess kitchen support, 3rd company had to acquire the personnel, vehicles, and other equipment needed to support their operations. This resulted in the involvement of considerably more highly trained personnel than the five called for by the TOE. Each platoon had three squads of ten men each, with a platoon sergeant and assistant platoon sergeant (a.k.a. platoon guide). Each squad had two fireteams of five men each and one man in each fireteam carried a M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle. The BAR was the largest weapon in the platoon. The 60mm M2 mortars, the 57mm recoilless rifles, and the M20 Super Bazookas were carried on the company M35 21⁄2 ton cargo truck but seldom used. The company was authorized two vehicles; an M38 Jeep and an M35 21⁄2 ton cargo truck. The company was more heavily armed than the Eighth Army Ranger Company but less in strength and fire power than standard infantry companies. Like the other numbered Ranger companies, its organization called for five officers and 107 enlisted men in three platoons.
The troops for the Ranger company were to be Airborne qualified, so the Ranger Training Center heavily recruited troops from the 82nd Airborne Division and 11th Airborne Division who had already completed United States Army Airborne School. In spite of this, only one Ranger operation in the conflict ever required an airborne landing. At the first Airborne Ranger graduation in November 1950, each Ranger was given a black and gold Ranger Tab as a shoulder sleeve insignia. A few days later, each Ranger was issued a blue and white tab and instructed to sew it above the Ranger Tab. The Airborne Ranger Companies then in Korea were deactivated on August 1, 1951. They were merged into the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team to bring them back up to strength with airborne-qualified combat-experienced replacements. The 187th had been moved to Kyushu, Japan’s southern island to take on a (then Top Secret) mission to save the UN negotiators at Kaesong, North Korea. All of the Ranger officers and top NCO’s met in a mess hall at Camp Chickamauga, Beppu, Kyushu, Japan. Some of the senior NCOs had been World War II Rangers. At this meeting, they designed a scroll-type patch similar to the World War II Ranger patches. In the center, was Ranger on top and Airborne underneath. On the left was the company number. On the right was “Co.”. At a later date, back in the states, more patches were made with Airborne on top and Ranger underneath.
## History
### Formation and training
Of a pool of 5,000 applicants, the Ranger Training School selected 22 officers and 314 enlisted men for the first three Ranger companies on 2 October, which were entirely white. A fourth, all African-American company was organized several days later. The 3rd Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne) was organized on 9 October 1950, assuming the lineage of A Company of the 3rd Ranger Battalion. It had an initial strength of 135 enlisted men and five officers. The unit was formally activated on 25 October 1950 at Fort Benning. It was placed under command of Captain Jesse Tidwell and Bob Channon, who would be later promoted to captain and in December, 1950, to executive officer.
The Rangers trained extensively in reconnaissance, long-range patrols, setting up roadblocks, land navigation, camouflage, concealment, and adjusting indirect fire. They undertook frequent live fire exercises, many at night, simulating raids, ambushes and infiltrations. The Rangers trained 60 hours per week and ran 5 miles (8.0 km) each day and frequently held 20 miles (32 km) speed marches, which were considered traditions for Ranger training from World War II. The training for the numbered companies included much of the program used by second lieutenant Ralph Puckett to train the Eighth Army Ranger Company. In spite of a 30 percent dropout rate, most of the men completed the course and graduated 15 November 1950.
While the 1st, 2nd and 4th Ranger Company each embarked for Korea shortly after their training was complete, the 3rd Ranger Company was retained at Fort Benning, to train the next cycle of Rangers along with the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Ranger Company. After providing fillers to 1st and 4th companies to cover their training losses, the 3rd had 40 men left. In mid-December, they took an additional 80 men from 7th Company and completed a second cycle of Ranger training. This proved beneficial to the 3rd Company, as it was given cold-weather training alongside the 5th and 8th companies at Fort Carson, Colorado. After the first training cycle was complete; the Ranger units already in Korea had not received this training and were thus unprepared for the Korean winter. The 3rd Company also received additional training which better prepared it for combat, including tactics of the People's Volunteer Army, which the other companies had learned in battle and tracer designation of targets during night attacks. They also received 57mm M18 Recoilless Rifles, however, these were kept on the cargo truck due to the necessity to break up a rifle team to man a crew-served weapon, which didn't happen. The entire company was trained to be their own forward observers for artillery. In March 1951, the 3rd, 5th, and 8th Companies sailed for Korea, a trip which was fraught with frequent discipline problems as the Rangers continuously got into fights with U.S. Marines on board the troopship while en route. After spending one night in Kobe, Japan, the next morning they sailed for Pusan, South Korea.
### Bloody Nose Ridge
The Rangers arrived in Korea on 24 March. They disembarked from the Army Transport Ship at Pusan. After spending a night or two there, all three companies continued on to Inchon on an LST Landing Ship, Tank, arriving at Inchon on 31 March. There, 3rd Airborne Ranger Company separated from its sister companies and was attached to the US 3rd Infantry Division near the Imjin River, where the division was engaged in an intense battle with Chinese forces, attempting to push them further north.
The 3rd Ranger Company entered action on 11 April, part of a tank-infantry task force conducting aggressive reconnaissance in a wide valley near the river. Encountering a village, the 3rd Platoon cleared the village and killed two Chinese stragglers. After the lead elements of the tank company and the 3rd Platoon had taken the Kantongyon village, the tank company commander wanted to move his company west into the center of the valley before continuing north. Captain and now Executive Officer, Bob Channon was near the rear of the company column. CO, Jess Tidwell, riding with the tank Co, called Channon on the radio and instructed him to come up and take control of the 1st and 2nd Platoons. By the time Channon reached the two platoons, they were crossing over two small hills just north of Kantongyon. As they crossed over one of the hills, Channon and his radio operator were wounded by Chinese mortar rounds. Channon took the radio from Walker, who was now incapacitated, and joined the two platoons at the bottom of the hill. Channon then called Jess Tidwell for instructions, who responded, “move out when the tanks move out.” Two tanks had passed through a gap in the hills and were in front of them. Soon, the two tanks moved out at high speed to join their company in the center of the valley. As the Rangers started to move forward, toward the nose of a ridge from which the fire was coming about 700-800 yards ahead, they began taking casualties from machine gun and rifle fire. About 100 yards out from the ridge, they received a heavy mortar barrage, resulting in a number of them being wounded. Channon also received a couple of burp gun rounds to his lower left leg. Shortly after, a couple of light tanks arrived. Pete Hamilton (1st Plt Ldr) and Channon crawled up on the tanks, bore-sighted the guns on the machine guns and blew them away. About 30 yards out from a Chinese trench at the base of the ridge nose, they received a heavy volley of grenades. Abandoning protocol (once you start a charge, you are not supposed to hit the ground), Channon, knowing that he’d have no trouble getting his Rangers up again, had them hit the ground. When they got up, the Rangers took the ridge nose in a bayonet and grenade fight. When their position was secure, Platoon Sergeant Barber reported that they only had eight Rangers capable of continuing on. Pete Hamilton had been too seriously wounded to continue. Channon called Tidwell for instructions and was instructed to join the tanks and the 3rd Platoon in the center of the valley. The 2nd Platoon had been supporting the 1st Platoon with enfilade fire on the hill from their left flank. Channon put the 2nd Platoon in the lead, followed by the remnant of the 1st Platoon. The tanks and the 3rd Platoon had moved up the center of the wide valley and were more than a thousand yards to the northwest. Fortunately, after about 300 yards of sniper fire from higher on the ridge to their right, they were able to gain cover from a 3–4 foot field dyke, and then joined the 3rd Platoon in the center of the valley. Channon moved the company up around the tanks on a small hill ahead. The tank company commander then moved the tanks up to the final objective for the day about 300-400 yards ahead. Jess Tidwell was with him, so Channon brought the company up to that small hill and got it organized. Bob Scully, Channon's third radio operator for the day, was wounded when a mortar round hit. Jess Tidwell had Channon get on a tank with other wounded for the trip back to clearing station. On the way back Channon noticed that there was more than a two thousand yard gap before they saw any fighting elements. So before continuing on, he had a jeep take him to the tank battalion CP. He strongly suggested the gap be closed before dark, which was done and 3rd Company was replaced on line. In addition to those wounded who were able to continue on, four Rangers were killed along with 25 wounded and evacuated in this first engagement.
The company then advanced up the valley under sniper and artillery fire until it located and destroyed a Chinese communications and supply center at the end, before returning to 3rd Infantry Division lines. In all, they had killed over 100 Chinese in this fight, and the division commanders considered the mission a success in spite of the high casualty count. In this action, the Rangers adopted a new motto, "Die Bastard, die!" [1] They also picked up the nickname “Cold Steel Third”, when division commander Major General Seoul, who was observing the action with other senior officers, was heard to say, “There go my Rangers. They like that cold steel.”
### Imjin River missions
Despite suffering over 50 percent casualties by this time and with few reinforcements, 3rd Ranger Company remained on the line, and was used as a reconnaissance element for the division. As the 3rd Infantry Division advanced, pressing gains from the Chinese, the company was used to guard a vital bridge over the Hantan River. It then massed with several combat engineers and other division elements to form Task Force Rogers. The task force then probed north searching for Chinese concentrations, but did not encounter any Chinese troops.
On 19 April, the Chinese conducted a counteroffensive in the 3rd Infantry Division sector, first striking to the east, followed by a feint that struck near the Rangers' position. The task force was assigned to rescue a group of five 3rd Division tanks that had been disabled 8 miles (13 km) inside Chinese territory. Advancing, they suppressed a Chinese ambush before the Chinese could attack, and advanced under mortar attack and took the hills surrounding the tanks. They then returned the stranded tanks to UN lines at a cost of two wounded.
On 22 April, the Rangers, tanks and engineers conducted another probe of the Chinese positions, to ensure they could not launch a surprise attack on nearby Republic of Korea Army formations. Encountering two Chinese companies dug in at a hill with one route of attack, Tidwell ordered a surprise attack on the hill, which was successful in pushing Chinese forces off the outlying fortifications.
It then moved to reinforce the British 29th Infantry Brigade, which was cut off on Hill 235 after ROK troops folded under attack. After two days of intense fighting and foot marching, the Rangers moved to relieve the British troops, despite itself being at only 67 percent strength. Encountering heavy resistance, they were initially unable to break through Chinese formations to relieve the British.
Chinese forces counterattacked, destroying a 3rd Infantry Division tank column sent to assist the Rangers and attacking the 3rd Ranger Company from three sides, as they dug into a hill. Though the Rangers eventually were forced to withdraw, the defense of the Rangers, the US 3rd Division and the British 29th Brigade had broken the momentum of the Chinese offensive.
### Target acquisition unit
The 3rd Infantry Division then moved to the offensive, in early May 1951 they were used to scout for Chinese concentrations and then call in artillery to destroy them. These actions have been viewed by historians as one of few instances where Rangers in Korea were effectively employed, used as a stealthy infiltration force for terrain too difficult for conventional units.
On 11 May, with Chinese forces slackening their offensive, 3rd Ranger Company was recalled to Kimpo Airfield for parachute proficiency training, above the objections of the 3rd Infantry Division commanders who considered the company invaluable. The company spent several weeks in division reserve, and undertook various missions such as convoy security and guarding command posts, as well as surveillance and visiting patrols behind the front lines. In one of these rearguard actions, the Rangers evacuated a rundown village only to have one member of the unit, Corporal David Rawls, captured by three Chinese infiltrators.
By 17 June, the company was returned to the front and operated again as a target acquisition unit. Paired with 3rd Infantry Division's reconnaissance company, an artillery battery and a forward air control party, they became known as "Task Force Ferret." Positioned 6 miles (9.7 km) ahead of the main division positions, the unit was also placed to warn the rest of the lines should the Chinese attack. By this time, however, the front lines in the battle had begun to largely stabilize, and as both armies fortified stationary positions, the Rangers infiltration abilities became unusable.
### Final mission and disbandment
In July, the division was holding on the "Iron Triangle," strategically important and defensible ground. In an attempt to strengthen its forces, the 3rd Infantry Division evacuated hills 682 and 717 at the southern base of the triangle, positioning the Rangers to appear as if they were still manned the hills. After eight days of patrols, Tidwell ordered an aggressive patrol to strike Chinese positions. Over three nights, they ambushed four Chinese patrols, causing several casualties and suffering few of their own.
On 10 July, the U.S. Army ordered the deactivation of all of its Ranger companies. The Army noted that the Ranger companies were only an exercise directed by The Pentagon which was complete. The 3rd Ranger Company was deactivated on 1 August 1951 in Korea. Like many of the other Ranger units, most of the Ranger veterans were folded into the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, where their airborne skills could be used. Still, Operation Tomahawk was the last airborne jump of the war.
## Awards and decorations
The 3rd Ranger Infantry Company was awarded three campaign streamers and two unit citations for its service in the Korean War. In 1953, the unit was again designated A Company of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment; that unit carries on the 3rd Ranger Company's lineage.
|
570,135 |
Battle of Kapyong
| 1,173,561,391 |
1951 battle of the Korean War
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[
"Australia–Canada relations",
"Battles and operations of the Korean War in 1951",
"Battles of the Korean War",
"Battles of the Korean War involving Australia",
"Battles of the Korean War involving Canada",
"Battles of the Korean War involving China",
"Battles of the Korean War involving New Zealand",
"Battles of the Korean War involving North Korea",
"Battles of the Korean War involving South Korea",
"Battles of the Korean War involving the United Kingdom",
"Battles of the Korean War involving the United States",
"Gapyeong County",
"History of Gyeonggi Province",
"Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry"
] |
The Battle of Kapyong (or Gapyeong) (Korean: 가평전투, 22–27 April 1951), also known as the Battle of Jiaping (Chinese: 加平战斗; pinyin: Jiā Píng Zhàn Dòu), was fought during the Korean War between United Nations Command (UN) forces—primarily Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand—and the 118th and 60th Divisions of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA). The fighting occurred during the Chinese Spring Offensive and saw the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade establish blocking positions in the Kapyong Valley, on a key route south to the capital, Seoul. The two forward battalions—the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) and 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI), both battalions consisting of about 700 men each—were supported by guns from the 16th Field Regiment (16 Fd Regt) of the Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery along with two companies of US mortars, fifteen Sherman tanks from US 72nd Heavy Tank Battalion, two companies of the US 74th Engineer Combat Battalion and 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. These forces occupied positions astride the valley with hastily developed defences. As thousands of soldiers from the Republic of Korea Army (ROK) began to withdraw through the valley, the PVA infiltrated the brigade position under the cover of darkness, and assaulted the 3 RAR on Hill 504 during the evening and into the following day. Five companies of the US and UK forces attached to 27th British Commonwealth Brigade fled the battlefield without orders, expecting an imminent PVA breakthrough at the Kapyong Valley.
Although heavily outnumbered, the 3 RAR and U.S. tanks held their positions into the afternoon of April 24 before they retreated from the battlefield to a reserve position near brigade headquarters, with both sides having suffered heavy casualties. The PVA then turned their attention to the surrounded 2 PPCLI on Hill 677, whose encirclement prevented any resupply or reinforcements from entering. The 2 PPCLI were ordered to make a last stand on Hill 677. During a fierce night battle on April 24/25 the PVA forces were unable to dislodge the 2 PPCLI and sustained enormous losses. The next day, the PVA withdrew back up the valley in order to regroup, and the 2 PPCLI were relieved late on April 26. The fighting helped blunt the PVA Spring Offensive and the actions of the 2 PPCLI and 3 RAR at Kapyong were critical in preventing a breakthrough against the UN central front, the encirclement of U.S. forces in Korea, which were at that point in general retreat, and ultimately, the capture of Seoul. The 2 PPCLI and 3 RAR battalions bore the brunt of the assault and stopped PVA divisional forces estimated at 10,000–20,000 in strength during the hard-fought defensive battle. Today, the battle is regarded as the most famous and significant action fought by the Canadian and Australian armies in Korea, and the most famous battle fought by the Canadian Armed Forces since WWII.
## Background
### Military situation
The UN counter offensive between February and April 1951 had been largely successful, with the US Eighth Army pushing the PVA north of the Han River during Operation Killer, while Seoul was recaptured in mid-March during Operation Ripper and UN forces once again approached the 38th Parallel. Regardless, the strained relationship between UN commander General Douglas MacArthur and US President Harry S. Truman led to MacArthur's dismissal as Commander-in-Chief, and his replacement by General Matthew B. Ridgway. Consequently, on 14 April 1951, General James Van Fleet replaced Ridgway as commander of the US Eighth Army and the UN forces in Korea. Ridgway flew to Tokyo the same day to replace MacArthur. Meanwhile, the offensive continued with a series of short thrusts. Operation Courageous, in late March, pushed forward to the Benton Line, 8 km (5 mi) south of the 38th Parallel, while Operation Rugged in early April pushed just north of the 38th Parallel to the Kansas Line. Finally, in mid-April a further advance moved the US Eighth Army to the Utah Line.
Following the Battle of Maehwa-San, the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade had enjoyed a period in US IX Corps reserve as the UN forces had continued to push steadily northwards. By April 1951, the brigade consisted of four infantry battalions, one Australian, one Canadian and two British, including: the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment; 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry; 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment; and 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Brigadier Basil Coad had departed for Hong Kong on compassionate leave on 23 March and the brigade was now under the command of Brigadier Brian Burke. In direct support was the 16th Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery (16 RNZA) with its 3.45 in (88 mm) 25-pounder field guns. 3 RAR was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Ferguson. 2 PPCLI was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Stone. Deployed in the central sector, the brigade was part of US IX Corps which also included the US 24th Infantry Division, ROK 2nd Infantry Division, US 7th Infantry Division and the ROK 6th Infantry Division, under the overall command of Major General William M. Hoge.
During this time, 27th Brigade was attached to the US 24th Division, advancing north through the Chojong valley in late March, reaching the Benton Line on 31 March. The brigade was then released, advancing with IX Corps up the deep and narrow valley of the Kapyong River, 10 km (6.2 mi) to the east. From 3 April, the 27th Brigade moved further up the river, advancing 30 km (19 mi) over the next twelve days as part of Operation Rugged. Although the valley was not held in strength by the PVA, it was skilfully defended by small groups of infantry dug-in on the hilltops that overlooked it. Advancing along the flanking hills and ridges, the brigade captured successive positions, while encountering heavy resistance before reaching the Kansas Line on 8 April. Following a brief operational pause, the advance 5 km (3.1 mi) to the Utah Line began on 11 April, the day after MacArthur's dismissal. PVA resistance strengthened noticeably; as a result, the brigade's initial objectives were not captured until 13 April.
The approach to the Utah Line was dominated by two 900 m (3,000 ft) hills—the 'Sardine' feature 1 km (0.62 mi) north, and 'Salmon', a further 800 m (870 yd) north. A Middlesex company was repulsed twice in attempts to capture Sardine on 14 April, before the task was allocated to 3 RAR. A Company, 3 RAR subsequently captured the crest, killing 10 PVA and wounding another 20 for the loss of eight 3 RAR wounded. The following morning, Salmon was captured by C Company without firing a shot, amidst light resistance. PVA shelling after its capture resulted in two men wounded, while airstrikes then broke up an attempted PVA counter-attack. Meanwhile, 2 PPCLI continued their advance on the right flank, capturing the 'Turbot' feature (Hill 795) on 15 April. Facing a spirited PVA delaying action on successive positions, the 2 PPCLI did not capture their final objective—the 'Trout' feature (Hill 826)—until the following morning.
## Chinese Spring Offensive
### Preparations
After reaching the Utah Line, 27th Brigade was withdrawn from the front on 17 April, handing over its positions to the ROK 6th Division. Burke subsequently ordered his battalions into reserve positions north of the previously destroyed village of Kapyong, on the main road from Seoul to the east coast. Intelligence indicated that a new PVA offensive was imminent, and while the brigade settled in to rest, it remained on three hours' notice to move to support IX Corps. Having been on operations continuously for the past seven months, the 27th Brigade intended to relieve the bulk of its forces during its period in reserve. Two of the battalions—the Argylls and the Middlesex—would be replaced by two fresh battalions from Hong Kong. Advance parties from Brigade Headquarters and the Argylls departed for Seoul en route for Hong Kong on 19 April, while the remaining battalions were scheduled to depart two weeks later. 3 RAR would not be rotated and remained a part of the brigade for the entire war, operating on an individual reinforcement system instead.
Meanwhile, planning began for Operation Dauntless, a drive 30 km (19 mi) into the Iron Triangle—a key PVA/KPA concentration area and communications junction in the central sector between Chorwon and Kumwha in the south and Pyonggang in the north. Contingency planning also included precautions against a new major PVA offensive, in which the US Eighth Army would conduct a delaying defence on successive positions. Further indications of an imminent communist offensive—including the visible strengthening of PVA/KPA artillery and logistic systems—led Ridgway to order Van Fleet not to exploit any opportunities beyond the Wyoming Line. Confident nonetheless, Ridgway widened the scope of the offensive, designating a secondary objective line in the eastern sector known as the Alabama Line. Fate would intervene, however, and Van Fleet launched his offensive on 21 April only to be met by a much stronger PVA/KPA offensive the following night.
### Launch of Chinese Spring Offensive
The Chinese Spring Offensive—also known as the Chinese Fifth Phase Campaign, First Impulse—envisioned the total destruction of US I and IX Corps above the Han River, involving three PVA Army Groups—the 3rd, 9th, and 19th Army Groups—and three KPA Corps—the I, III, and V Corps—under the overall command of Peng Dehuai. With the immediate objective of capturing Seoul, the offensive commenced on 22 April on two broad fronts: the main thrust across the Imjin River in the western sector held by the US I Corps, involving 337,000 troops driving towards Seoul, and the secondary effort involving 149,000 troops attacking further east across the Soyang River in the central and eastern sectors, falling primarily on US IX Corps, and to a lesser extent, on US X Corps' sector. A further 214,000 PVA troops supported the offensive; in total more than 700,000 men. As part of the preparation, the battle-hardened 39th and 40th Armies of the 13th Army Group were transferred to the 9th Army Group under the overall command of Song Shi-Lun, and Commander Wen Yuchen of the 40th Army was given the mission of destroying the ROK 6th Division while blocking any UN reinforcements towards the Imjin River at Kapyong.
Facing the offensive were 418,000 UN troops, including 152,000 ROK, 245,000 Americans, 11,500 British Commonwealth, and 10,000 troops from other UN countries. However, with the US Eighth Army not strong enough to prevent large penetrations along its line, masses of PVA infantry soon swept around its flanks, surrounding entire formations in an attempt to cut off their withdrawal. Standing directly in the path of the main PVA attack towards Seoul in the I Corps sector was the 29th British Brigade. The brigade's stand on the Imjin River held off two PVA divisions for two days and ultimately helped prevent the capture of Seoul, but resulted in heavy casualties in one of the bloodiest British engagements of the war. During the fighting, most of the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment were killed or captured during a stubborn resistance at the Battle of the Imjin River that saw the commanding officer—Lieutenant Colonel James Carne—awarded the Victoria Cross after his battalion was surrounded and ultimately surrendered. The 29th Brigade suffered 1,091 casualties in their defence of the Kansas Line, and although they destroyed a large portion of the PVA 63rd Army and inflicted nearly 10,000 casualties, the loss of the Glosters caused a controversy in Britain and within UN Command. Meanwhile, further east, in the IX Corps sector, the PVA 118th Division, 40th Army and the 60th Division, 20th Army prepared to attack the ROK 6th Division on the night of 22 April.
### South Korean withdrawal, 22–23 April 1951
The ROK were holding positions at the northern end of the Kapyong Valley, having advanced 10 km (6.2 mi) since relieving the 27th Brigade. However, anticipating a PVA attack, the divisional commander—General Chang Do Yong—had halted his advance at 16:00 and ordered his two forward regiments—the 19th and the 2nd Infantry Regiments—to tie-in and develop defensive positions. Meanwhile, the 7th Infantry Regiment occupied reserve positions immediately behind the forward regiments. The ROK 6th Division had been bolstered by the attachment of the 16th NZ Field Regiment and a battery of 105 mm (4.1 in) M101 howitzers from the US 213th Field Artillery Battalion. Regardless, left with only one hour to halt its advance and step up defences, the forward ROK units were only able to occupy a series of hill-top positions while leaving the valleys and flanks exposed. Two PVA divisions—the 118th and the 60th Division—struck at 17:00, easily infiltrating through numerous gaps between the badly organised defensive positions. Under pressure all along the front, the defenders gave ground almost immediately and soon broke. Abandoning their weapons, equipment, and vehicles, they disintegrated and began to stream south out of the mountains and through the valley, and by 23:00, Chang was forced to admit that he had lost all communication with his units. At 04:00, the decision was made to withdraw the 16th NZ Field Regiment to prevent their loss. However, following reports that the ROK were making a stand, they were ordered back up the valley the next morning with the Middlesex accompanying them as protection. By dusk, it was clear that the ROK units had collapsed, and the guns were withdrawn again.
Meanwhile, the US 1st Marine Division was holding firm against the PVA 39th Army to the east, and the withdrawal of the ROK had left their flank exposed. However, with the PVA 39th and 40th Armies only tasked with protecting the eastern flank of the 9th Army Group against possible counterattacks from the 1st Marine Division, the PVA did not exploit this opportunity and the U.S. forces remained relatively unmolested. Yet with the forward UN positions in both the US I Corps and US IX Corps sectors increasingly untenable as the PVA exploited gaps between formations, Van Fleet ordered a withdrawal to the Kansas Line in the mid-morning. Hoge subsequently ordered the US Marines to form a new defensive position beyond the Pukhan River, between the Hwachon Reservoir and the new position to be occupied by the ROK 6th Division. Hoge's plan relied on the ROK reforming and offering some resistance, and although a rearguard of 2,500 men was belatedly established, it was in no condition to fight. Fearing a breakthrough, Hoge ordered the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, as the corps' reserve, to establish defensive positions north of Kapyong on the afternoon of 23 April as a precaution in the event the ROK were unable to hold, tasking them with blocking the two approaches to the village and to prevent the PVA from cutting Route 17, a key route south to Seoul and an important main supply route.
The brigade was by now reduced to three battalions, as the Argylls had been withdrawn to Pusan just prior to the battle, in preparation for their embarkation. The Middlesex were also on stand-by for embarkation, and were kept in reserve. As such, with the width of the valley precluding the establishment of a continuous linear defensive line, Burke was forced to place his two available battalions on the high points on either side of it, with 3 RAR occupying Hill 504 to the east of the river and 2 PPCLI occupying Hill 677 to the west. Meanwhile, Sudok San (Hill 794) to the north-west—a massive hill nearly 800 m (2,600 ft) high—was left undefended by necessity. Together, these three hills formed a naturally strong defensive position, well-suited to blocking a major advance. Regardless, the brigade position suffered from a number of deficiencies, being exposed without flank protection, while the central sector was not occupied because the Middlesex were away to the north with the guns. Likewise, until the return of the 16th NZ Field Regiment, the Brigade would have little artillery support. As such, if large PVA forces arrived before these two units returned, the forward companies would be without support and would have to accept the probability that they would be cut-off. 3 RAR—whose line of communications ran 4 km (2.5 mi) through the exposed central sector of the valley—would be particularly exposed.
Each of the battalions were deployed across the summits and slopes in separate company-sized defensive positions, creating a series of strong-points across a 7 km (4.3 mi) front. Due to the large amount of ground to be defended, each of the companies were spread widely, and were unable to offer mutual support. Instead, each platoon would support each other, with each company adopting all-round defence. Brigade Headquarters remained in the valley, 4 km (2.5 mi) to the south. With the 16th NZ Field Regiment still forward supporting the ROK, US IX Corps placed a battery of 105 mm (4.1 in) howitzers from the US 213th Field Artillery Battalion and the twelve 4.2 in (110 mm) M2 mortars of B Company, 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion, under the command of 27th Brigade. Fifteen Sherman tanks from A Company, US 72nd Heavy Tank Battalion, were also in support. Also attached to 27th Brigade were two companies of the US 74th Engineer Combat Battalion who bivouacked on the hills nearby the 3 RAR positions.
The 2 PPCLI subsequently occupied Hill 677 and began digging-in, deploying their six Vickers machine guns in sections to add depth, and using defensive fire tasks to cover the gaps in their positions. Meanwhile, the 3 RAR occupied Hill 504, with D Company holding the summit itself, A Company the spur-line which ran down to the north-west, and B Company the small hill by the river, while C Company was in reserve on the rear spur. In response to US IX Corps' requirements, Burke directed Ferguson to site his headquarters in the low ground of the valley in the vicinity of the hamlet of Chuktun-ni, so as to control the withdrawing ROK. However, this would limit Ferguson's situational awareness and his ability to control the battle, while also leaving them exposed to infiltration. The afternoon was spent on the lightly scrub-covered slopes digging-in and building sangars where the rocky ground proved too hard. In only a few hours, the 3 RAR managed to prepare hasty defensive positions, although defensive fire tasks were unable to be registered as the artillery forward observers were unable to reach the company positions until after dark.
The U.S. tank company commander—Lieutenant Kenneth W. Koch—deployed his platoons in support of the 3 RAR. The road skirted the eastern flank of Hill 504, and it offered the best area for the employment of armour. One platoon of five tanks occupied a northern outpost position forward of B Company to prevent the PVA using the road; another platoon occupied the high ground to the west, with B Company; while the final platoon and Koch's command tank was deployed near battalion headquarters, covering a ford by which the road crossed the Kapyong River, approximately 800 m (870 yd) south of B Company. The tanks were deployed without infantry support. The command relationship between the 3 RAR and their armoured support was also complicated, as the U.S. tanks were not under command as they might normally have been. Rather, Koch was free to conduct his own battle. Regardless, armed with a 76 mm (3 in) cannon and one .50 caliber and two 30 caliber machine guns, the M4 Sherman tanks were formidable assets and bolstered the defence considerably. In contrast, the PVA had no tanks at Kapyong, while their infantry had only a few 3.5 in (89 mm) anti-tank rockets with which to counter them.
By 20:00 that evening, a large number of ROK were retreating in disarray through a gap in the line held by the brigade, the majority of them moving through the 3 RAR positions. The ROK 6th Division later regrouped in positions behind 27th Brigade, but was now reduced to less than half its original strength. Meanwhile, as the 20th Army veered to the west as part of the PVA main effort against Seoul, the PVA 118th Division and 60th Division continued a secondary advance down the Kapyong Valley, closely pursuing the retreating ROK. Racing down the north-east-running valley, the 354th Regiment reached the 3 RAR positions by about 22:00. Intent on capturing the important crossroads of Route 17 south of Kapyong, and most likely unaware of the location of the Australian blocking position, the PVA vanguard remained in the low ground, splitting as they approached a long, low north–south running ridge that rose like an island in the mouth of the valley.
## Australian 3 RAR Defence of Hill 504, 23–24 April 1951
### Night battle
Having successfully prevented the US 1st Marine Division from reinforcing the Imjin River front, the PVA 40th Army turned its attention towards the 27th Brigade on 23 April. The battle started during the night of 23/24 April, and continued until late in the day on 25 April, as the PVA 118th Division and 60th Division, totaling perhaps 10,000–20,000 men under the command of Deng Yue—engaged the two forward battalions of 27th Brigade. The initial PVA attack at Kapyong engaged the 700 men of 3 RAR on Hill 504, while in the early part of the battle, the Middlesex and the 16th NZ Field Regiment gunners were all but cut off. However, the resistance of the 3 RAR ultimately allowed them to safely withdraw from the battlefield and the Middlesex then moved into a reserve position astride the western bank of the river. The PVA 60th Division and two battalions of the PVA 354th Regiment launched repeated attacks on the two forward 3 RAR companies on the north-west spur of Hill 504. Assaults of massed PVA troops kept up the attack throughout the night, but the defence of the 3 RAR on the brigade's right flank held them back until the 3 RAR was forced to retreat to Brigade HQ on the 24th. The PVA would then turn their attention to the 700 soldiers of the 2 PPCLI the following day.
Using the retreating ROK troops to cover their movements, the PVA had infiltrated the brigade position in the initial stages of the battle, penetrating between A and B Companies, 3 RAR astride the road, and largely surrounding the latter before moving into the rear positions. The 3 RAR soldiers struggled to distinguish the PVA from the ROK in the dark, although the Korean Service Corps porters attached to the battalion were able to provide valuable assistance to the defenders distinguishing the PVA by the sounds of their voices. At 21:30, the PVA launched their first attack on the forward platoon of U.S. tanks, which had been posted on the road without infantry support. The initial moves were easily repelled. However, a stronger attack an hour later forced the tanks to withdraw after two of the tank commanders were killed, including the platoon commander. The PVA then proceeded to assault the 3 RAR on two different axes: one against the two forward companies in front of Hill 504, and the other through the valley astride the road around battalion headquarters. Finally, by 23:00, the 16th NZ Field Regiment artillery had returned to the brigade, although they provided only limited support throughout the rest of the night.
Probes began on the A and B Company positions, and a number of assaults occurred during the night. Utilising indirect fires, the PVA charged forward in waves, only to be beaten back by the 3 RAR's Bren light machine guns, Owen submachine guns, rifle fire, and grenades, before again regrouping and attacking again. B Company—under the command of Captain Darcy Laughlin—supported by tanks, drove off each assault, inflicting heavy casualties while emerging almost unscathed. Laughlin's command post was fired upon by a number of PVA that had infiltrated the company position, but they were swiftly driven out. An outpost on the northern knoll reported PVA massing on their flanks at 23:00, and although heavy artillery was directed against the attackers, the section was forced to break contact and withdraw to the main defensive position. The main PVA assault began at 00:50, falling on 4 Platoon but was broken up after an hour of heavy fighting. A second assault was mounted on 6 Platoon at 03:30, following a feint against 5 Platoon. With determination, the PVA swept forward, penetrating the 6 Platoon perimeter before being ejected by an equally determined counter-attack by 6 Platoon with Sherman tanks in support. At 04:00, a small outpost to the rear of the company position was attacked by more than 50 PVA. Held by just four men under the command of Lance Corporal Ray Parry, the 3 RAR fought off four separate attacks, killing more than 25 and wounding many more over the space of twenty minutes. Parry was later awarded the Military Medal for his actions. A final assault on B Company was made just at dawn at 04:45 by about 70 PVA, and was again repulsed.
Further up the ridge, A Company—under Major Ben O'Dowd—faced a tougher task, and came under heavy attack. The first probes began at 21:30, targeting 1 Platoon, which was the lowest of the three platoons on the west flank. The initial moves were then followed up by major PVA assaults from three sides over the next three hours. Despite suffering many casualties, the PVA continued their attack, closing in and attacking 1 Platoon with hand grenades. 1 Platoon also suffered numerous casualties, with more than half the platoon killed or wounded, including all three Bren gunners. Fighting back with small arms fire, they held against repeated assaults, which increased in frequency and strength as the PVA assaulted. By 01:00, O'Dowd ordered the survivors of 1 Platoon to withdraw through Company Headquarters into a new position in-between 2 and 3 Platoons. For his leadership, Lieutenant Frederick Gardner was later Mentioned in Despatches. The PVA attacks then continued against 3 Platoon, lasting until 04:30, although they were not made with the same weight as the previous assaults.
Meanwhile, the 16th NZ Field Regiment gunline had also been probed during the early morning and the 16th NZ Field Regiment was forced to redeploy at 03:00 to a position 4 mi. away, behind 27th Brigade HQ. The two US mortar companies simply fled on foot before midnight without firing a single round, abandoning their mortars, weapons, and 50 trucks full of ammunition and supplies to the enemy. These US units found a minor road and hiked ten miles east to Chunchon before resting.
By dawn, it was clear that the PVA had succeeded in penetrating the perimeter through a gap between the 3 RAR platoons, and they began to engage them with machine guns from a defilade position covered from fire by a steep dip in the ridgeline, and concealed by thick scrub. In the growing light, 1 and 3 Platoon were soon pinned down and suffered a number of casualties as they attempted to gain better fire positions with which to engage their attackers. At 06:00, a fighting patrol was dispatched to make contact with Company Headquarters, and as the section passed over a false crest on their way down the spur line, they encountered the PVA positions by chance. Attacking immediately, six PVA were killed for the loss of one 3 RAR, and the threat to A Company was eliminated. O'Dowd then launched a counter-attack with 3 Platoon, assaulting the PVA occupying the original 1 Platoon position. By 07:00, they had regained the feature and the PVA were forced to withdraw under heavy fire from the 3 RAR platoons on the high ground, who again exacted a heavy toll. The night's fighting had cost A Company dearly, however, and among the dead were the two NZ Field Regiment forward observers. In total, they suffered more than 50 casualties—half their original strength. Meanwhile, on the right flank, D Company—under Captain Norm Gravener—held the summit of Hill 504 and was not heavily engaged during the night, while C Company—commanded by Captain Reg Saunders—was attacked only once.
Located 1,500 m (1,600 yd) to the rear, Battalion Headquarters found itself heavily pressed, however. Protected by a section of Vickers machine guns, two 17-pounder anti-tank guns, the Assault Pioneer Platoon, and the Regimental Police under the Headquarters Company commander—Captain Jack Gerke, plus Koch's own commanding tank platoon—the fighting flared around 22:00 as the PVA infiltrated the position among the retreating ROK. They bypassed the headquarters and the U.S. tanks nearby, surrounding the defenders and establishing blocking positions on the road to the south. During the night, the PVA attempted to mount the tanks and destroy them with grenades and satchel charges, but were driven off by fire. Later, one of the tanks received a direct hit from a 3.5 inch rocket, while the forward perimeter was struck heavily by attacking waves of PVA, and was forced back with heavy casualties. Receiving fire from PVA soldiers occupying several houses in the village of Chuktun-ni, the Shermans engaged the roadblock and several houses, killing more than 40 PVA in one house alone.
There was a sudden and fundamental restructuring among the 3 RAR command personnel at this point in the battle. At dawn of 24 April, the PVA intensified their attack on the 3 RAR battalion headquarters' perimeter, killing and wounding the bulk of the Medium Machine Gun section and the Assault Pioneer Platoon and driving them off the higher ground they had been occupying, although A Company remained in full command of the hill. At this point, Ferguson requested further reinforcements from Burke, and at 04:00 Burke ordered a Middlesex company forward in support of Ferguson's battalion HQ. However, on encountering some PVA resistance in the hills edging the Kapyong road, the Middlesex company suddenly decided to abandon their ordered assignment. They then turned east and escaped the battlefield using the same minor road discovered earlier by the US mortar companies during their escape. By 05:00, following the inexplicable disappearance of the Middlesex company, Ferguson was concerned that the PVA from the direction of the hill could eventually develop the potential to fire towards battalion headquarters. Ferguson made the decision to withdraw 5 km (3.1 mi) away from the battlefield to a new position to the rear, inside the Middlesex perimeter. However, Ferguson did not communicate with his company commanders regarding his decision to relocate, and O'Dowd and other officers were surprised in the morning to find that Ferguson had apparently disappeared. With Ferguson's departure from his field HQ, O'Dowd, as the senior company commander, assumed field command of 3 RAR, which Ferguson confirmed to O'Dowd by radio communication. Ferguson's absence from the battlefield and the intermittent nature of communications with his field officers made it increasingly difficult for him to communicate, monitor, and control his units on the battlefield.
Ferguson led his battalion HQ staff in the departure between 05:15 and 06:00, escorted by some of the US tanks. However, difficulties ensued with Ferguson's personal vehicles. A PVA mortar round blew the wheel off of Ferguson's own jeep, which was abandoned, while the tanks opened fire and drove off the attackers. Ferguson's subsequent vehicle, a converted two-and-a-half tonne truck, became bogged down during the withdrawal and had to be destroyed.
The two companies of the US 74th Engineer Combat Battalion encamped adjacent to 3 RAR on the hillside had witnessed Ferguson's departure. Mistaking his movement as a general retreat, they fled the battlefield on foot, abandoning their trucks and equipment.
During Ferguson's withdrawal, two of the 3 RAR were left behind and were subsequently captured by the PVA: Private Robert Parker, the battalion despatch rider, who was not informed of Ferguson's withdrawal and attempted to catch up with the HQ staff by solo motorcycle before being captured, and Private Horace Madden, one of the signalers. For his conduct while in captivity, Madden was posthumously awarded the George Cross, following his death from malnutrition and ill-treatment.
Cpt. Gerke, in charge of 3 RAR battalion HQ defence, was unaware that Ferguson had removed himself and his staff from the battlefield, and was searching for Ferguson around the battlefield area, concerned about his disappearance. At 06:00, Gerke was approached by a jeep from Ferguson's new HQ location, who announced, "Bug-out! Battalion HQ is back down the road." Gerke ordered his men to withdraw gradually, moving one vehicle at a time back along the road, as those that remained provided covering fire. The departure was successfully completed, and with 3 RAR Headquarters Company finally assembled inside the Middlesex perimeter, Gerke was then ordered to secure a key ford across the Kapyong River, 2 km (1.2 mi) east, as a possible withdrawal route for the battalion should it later have to retire from Hill 504.
Communications between Ferguson's 3 RAR Headquarters and Burke's 27th Brigade Headquarters had failed early, while communications between Ferguson's HQ and the 3 RAR forward companies were also poor. This was mostly due to the large number of ROK retreating through their position, tearing out the line from the 3 RAR HQ, as well the effect of heavy vehicle traffic and gunfire on the exposed line. Likewise, direct radio communication with the forward companies on the 3 RAR command net with the new Type 31 VHF radios was obstructed by the rugged terrain due to the siting of 3 RAR headquarters in low ground relative to the forward companies and the requirement for line-of-sight. The forward companies were able to maintain communications with each other, but not with Ferguson's headquarters, while the company level nets also functioned well. Ultimately, contact was maintained between Ferguson and Burke through a radio set in the Middlesex Battalion Headquarters, while messages to O'Dowd and the forward companies engaged on the battlefield relied on line and a slow relay through C Company. These issues had only further complicated the conduct of the defence on the first night, with the co-ordination of the battlefield arrangements falling to O'Dowd, who had now assumed field command of 3 RAR. The next morning, O'Dowd finally managed to get through on a radio phone to a general in the US 1st Marine Division. The officer was incredulous, thinking it was a PVA agent speaking. He told O'Dowd that the 3 RAR no longer existed and that it had been wiped out the night before. O'Dowd replied, "I've got news for you. We're still here and we're staying here."
The PVA attacks had been launched quickly and aggressively, placing their light machine guns on the flank in support and attempting to close to attack the 3 RAR perimeter with grenades. Contrary to some contemporary western accounts, the PVA did not use human wave tactics. Rather, using a tactic known as 'one-point-two sides', they used massed forces and infiltration to achieve local numerical superiority and to penetrate the gaps between the forward companies, before attempting to envelop the 3 RAR while drawing their fire to the front, away from their threatened flanks. They would normally attempt to close with UN defensive positions using darkness or poor visibility to cover their movement and to counter US air superiority, before attacking using massed force, coordinated with close fire support. However, although normally well-planned and closely supported by machine-gun, mortar, and artillery fire, PVA attacks in Korea were often inflexible in execution once launched. This was mostly due to the lack of radio communications below battalion-level, with the PVA instead relying on whistle blasts, bugle calls, and runners for command and control, and although their 60 mm (2.4 in) and 81 mm (3.2 in) mortars had provided particularly effective indirect fire support, these problems were again evident during the fighting at Kapyong. Later, it was estimated that more than 500 PVA were killed by the 3 RAR and the U.S. tanks that supported them.
### Day battle
As daylight broke, the 16th NZ Field Regiment were now in place to offer artillery support and the PVA found themselves highly exposed in the open ground in front of the 3 RAR. A and B Company, supported by artillery, mortars, and tanks, directed heavy fire towards the PVA positions, forcing them to withdraw, leaving hundreds of casualties behind on the slopes. With the 3 RAR remaining in possession of their original defensive locations, the immediate situation had stabilised, although they were now effectively cut-off 4 km (2.5 mi) behind the front. Ammunition, food, and medical supplies were now extremely low throughout the forward area, and with casualty evacuation increasingly difficult, the battalion was at risk of being overrun unless it could be concentrated, resupplied, and supported. As such, in order to avoid each company being isolated and overwhelmed in a series of PVA attacks, at 07:15 B Company was ordered to leave its position and join the other companies on the high ground to form a defendable battalion position. B Company subsequently withdrew as instructed, taking several dozen PVA prisoners with them that had been captured earlier by a standing patrol. The 16th NZ Field Regiment covered their movement across the open valley, laying a smoke screen to conceal the withdrawal, while the US tanks also provided support. As they moved across the valley, B Company exchanged a number of shots with small groups of PVA who were still hiding in dead ground and in the riverbed, and saw numerous dead from the fighting the previous night. One hundred and seventy-three dead PVA were counted on the B Company perimeter by the 3 RAR before they departed.
With B Company successfully occupying its new positions, Ferguson returned forward to the hillside below his forward companies as a passenger inside a Sherman tank, which afforded protection from small arms fire. During the drive back from his new battalion HQ position, Ferguson found himself assisting in the loading of the tank machine guns when necessary to return fire at the enemy. Just after 09:00, a group of PVA launched an attack at the top of the spur held by C Company. The attack was repulsed, and no further assaults were made against C Company during the day, although they endured sniper fire and mortar bombardment for several hours.
With Burke now realising the importance of B Company's previous position to a planned counter-offensive, two hours after their withdrawal, Ferguson ordered Laughlin to re-occupy the position which they had just vacated. Ferguson summoned O'Dowd to meet him at the former battalion HQ area and advised him that Burke had ordered B Company to return to the hill they had vacated. 27th Brigade was now expecting to be reinforced by 5th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, and their move forward would possibly be facilitated if the PVA were cleared from the small hill that commanded the road through the valley. Likewise, the defence of this position the previous evening had prevented a PVA assault on the western flank of Hill 504. As such, at 09:30 the order to withdraw was rescinded and B Company was tasked to re-occupy the position. In preparation for the company assault on the summit, Laughlin tasked 5 Platoon to assault a small knoll halfway between C Company and the old B Company position. A frontal assault was launched at 10:30, with two sections attacking and one in fire support. Strongly held by a PVA platoon well dug-in in bunkers, the defenders allowed the 5 Platoon to approach to within 15 m (16 yd) before opening fire with machine guns, rifles, and grenades. 5 Platoon suffered seven casualties, including the platoon commander, and they were forced to withdraw under the cover of machine-gun and mortar fire.
4 Platoon, under Lieutenant Leonard Montgomerie, took over the attack, while a number of US tanks moved in to provide further support. Conducting a right flanking attack, 4 Platoon suffered a number of casualties as they moved across the open ground. Advancing to within 30 m (33 yd) of the forward trenches, the PVA fire increased. Montgomerie launched a desperate bayonet charge, while a section under Corporal Donald Davie broke in on the right. Amid fierce hand-to-hand fighting, 4 Platoon cleared the PVA from the trenches, losing three men. Davie's section was then heavily engaged by machine guns from the rear trenches, and he moved quickly to assault these with his remaining men. Montgomerie reorganised the platoon, and they fought from trench to trench using bayonets and grenades. 4 Platoon then began taking fire from another knoll to their front and, leaving his rear sections to clear the first position, Montgomerie led Davie's section onto the second knoll. Against such aggression the PVA were unable to hold and, although the majority bravely fought to the death, others fled across the open ground. By 12:30, the knoll had been captured by 4 Platoon, with 57 PVA dead counted on the first position and another 24 on the second. A large PVA force was now detected occupying the old B Company position and 4 Platoon was effectively halted halfway to the objective. Before Laughlin could prepare his next move, he was ordered to withdraw by Ferguson, who was relaying orders from Burke pursuant to a new appraisal of the situation, and the attempted assault to dislodge the PVA and recover the hill was abandoned. O'Dowd attributed the failure of the assault to Ferguson's plan of attack, which had neglected to include artillery support for the infantry. Ferguson then withdrew from the area in the US tank and returned to his new HQ to the rear of the battlefield. During the fighting, the tanks had provided invaluable support, moving ammunition forward to B Company, and helping to evacuate the wounded. The entire operation had cost the 3 RAR three killed and nine wounded. For his actions, Montgomerie was awarded the Military Cross, while Davie received the Military Medal.
Meanwhile, the PVA shifted their attention to D Company, launching a series of relentless assaults against the summit. D Company's position was vital to the defence of Hill 504, commanding the high ground and protecting the 3 RAR right flank. Commencing at 07:00, the PVA assaulted the forward platoon—12 Platoon, launching attacks at thirty-minute intervals until 10:30. Using mortars to cover their movement, they attacked on a narrow front up the steep slope using grenades. However, 12 Platoon beat the PVA back, killing more than 30 for the loss of seven wounded during six attacks. The 16th NZ Field Regiment again played a key role in defeating the PVA attempts, bringing down accurate fire within 50 m (55 yd) of the 12 Platoon positions. However, throughout the fighting, the supply of ammunition for the guns had caused severe problems, as the PVA offensive had depleted the stock of 25-pounder rounds available forward of the airhead in Seoul. Despite improvements, problems with the logistic system remained and each round had to be used effectively in response to the directions of the artillery forward observers who controlled their fire. Although badly wounded, Corporal William Rowlinson was later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his leadership, while Private Ronald Smith was awarded the Military Medal. Lance Corporal Henry Richey was posthumously mentioned in dispatches after being fatally wounded attempting to evacuate the last of the 12 Platoon casualties.
Despite their previous failures, the PVA launched another series of attacks from 11:30 and these attacks continued for the next two hours, again targeting 12 Platoon under the command of Lieutenant John Ward. Failing to break through again, the PVA suffered heavy casualties before the assault ended. From 13:30, there was another lull in the fighting for an hour and a half, although D Company continued to endure PVA mortar, machine-gun, and rifle fire. Believing that the battle may continue into the night, Gravener made the decision to pull 12 Platoon back in order to adopt a tighter company perimeter, lest his forward platoon be overrun and destroyed. The movement was completed without incident and, shortly after, the newly-vacated position was assaulted by a large PVA force which had failed to detect the withdrawal. The PVA moved quickly as they attempted to establish their position on the northern end of the ridge, only to be heavily engaged by 3 RAR machine-gun and rifle fire, and artillery.
Burke's 27th Brigade HQ was reinforced on the afternoon of 24 April by the arrival of two battalions of the 5th US Cavalry Regiment. These had been dispatched earlier in the day to assist 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, and one of the battalions was subsequently deployed to the southwest of Hill 677 in order to cover the Brigade HQ left flank. A second US battalion occupied a position across the river, southeast of the Middlesex, providing cover for Brigade HQ right flank. Likewise, despite heavy casualties in one of the 3 RAR companies and battalion headquarters, 3 RAR would emerge from the intense battle largely intact and would successfully withdraw to Brigade HQ. Meanwhile, one of the replacement British battalions, the 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers, had also arrived during the 24th and it took up positions with the 3 RAR around Brigade Headquarters. However, these forces collected near Brigade HQ would not attempt to engage the enemy or to form a relief column to attempt to break the PVA control of access to the supply trail from Tungmudae for the embattled and surrounded Hill 677, as Burke would inform the 2 PCCLI on the evening of 24 April.
### 3 RAR withdraws
Although originally intent on holding until the 3 RAR could be relieved by the US 5th Cavalry Regiment, Burke had decided during the morning to withdraw 3 RAR from Hill 504 and retreat to 27th Brigade HQ. This decision had prompted Burke to cancel B Company's assault. With the 3 RAR facing encirclement, and mindful of the fate that had befallen the Glosters, Burke had ordered a withdrawal back to the Middlesex area to new defensive positions in the rear of the brigade. Indeed, despite holding the PVA at bay throughout the morning and afternoon, the increasing difficulty of resupply and casualty evacuation made it clear that the 3 RAR would be unable to hold Hill 504 for another night in its exposed and isolated positions. O'Dowd began planning for the withdrawal as the PVA renewed their assault on D Company around 11:30, and after Ferguson ordered O'Dowd to plan and lead the withdrawal by radio at 12:30. Stone on Hill 677 overheard on the radio net Ferguson order O'Dowd, "..withdraw as best you can to the Middlesex positions, I can no longer keep control." With the PVA dominating the road south, O'Dowd ordered his companies to withdraw along a ridge running 3 km (1.9 mi) south-west from Hill 504, just east of the Kapyong River. The Middlesex position lay a further one km (0.62 mi) south-west of the foot of the ridge and could be reached by the ford secured earlier by Gerke, which would act as the battalion check point for the withdrawal. Ferguson saw his role as representing 3 RAR at 27th Brigade HQ, and had, as such, decided to not move forward to lead the withdrawal himself.
Command of A Company was temporarily handed over to the second-in-command, Captain Bob Murdoch. Present at the Battle of Pakchon in November 1950, O'Dowd understood first-hand the dangers of withdrawing while in contact. The challenge was to protect the forward platoons as they withdrew from being followed up by the PVA occupying the old B Company positions and from D Company's position after they broke contact. The 3 RAR would also have to clear the withdrawal route of any blocking forces, while at the same time, the evacuation of a large number of wounded and PVA prisoners would hamper their movement. As such, the timing of the withdrawal would be critical to its success. Consequently, the lead company would not move until mid-afternoon so that the rearguard would be able to use the protection of darkness to break contact, while at the same time offering good observation and fields of fire during the daylight to support the initial moves. Orders were delivered at 14:30. B Company would lead the withdrawal down the ridge line, carrying any wounded that still required evacuation, as well as clearing the route and securing the ford near the Middlesex position. C Company would wait for the artillery to neutralise the PVA on the old B Company position, before moving to establish a blocking position behind D Company. A Company would then withdraw to a blocking position behind C Company, in order to allow Gravener and Saunders to establish a clean break. Finally, D Company would withdraw through both C and A Company and set up a blocking position to delay any follow up and allow those companies to withdraw.
After 15:00, an airstrike was called in to dislodge the surviving PVA in front of D Company. However, the attack by two US Marine Corps F4U Corsairs was mistakenly directed at D Company themselves after their positions were wrongly marked by the spotter plane. Two men were killed and several badly burnt by napalm before the attack was broken off after the company second-in-command—Captain Michael Ryan—ran out under PVA fire waving a marker panel. The company medical orderly—Private Ronald Dunque—was subsequently awarded the Military Medal for his efforts assisting the wounded despite his own injuries. The PVA quickly attempted to exploit the chaos, moving against D Company's long exposed eastern flank. 11 Platoon on the main ridge forward of the summit was subjected to a frontal assault. However, unaffected by the napalm, they broke up the PVA attack and inflicted heavy casualties on them. Regardless, further PVA attempts to infiltrate the 3 RAR positions continued into the afternoon.
The withdrawal was scheduled to begin shortly following the misdirected airstrike, and was to be preceded by an artillery bombardment with high explosive and smoke at 16:00. The US tanks were subsequently moved forward to provide cover, and when the 16th NZ Field Regiment artillery failed to fire at the appointed hour, they provided direct fire support. Still in contact, the 3 RAR began to pull back, fighting a number of well-disciplined rearguard actions as the companies leapfrogged each other. Meanwhile, the 16th NZ Field Regiment kept the PVA at bay, after it finally commenced firing. B Company had taken 39 PVA prisoners during the earlier fighting, and unable to leave these behind, they were used to carry many of the 3 RAR wounded and much of their equipment as well. O'Dowd's fear that the PVA might have blocked the withdrawal route was not realised, and B Company moved back along the ridge and down to the ford without incident, reaching the Middlesex area after dark. C Company was the next to withdraw, departing at 16:30, just after suffering another casualty from sniper fire. Saunders led his company up the spur and then south down the main ridge without incident, followed by A Company during the next hour with the PVA in close pursuit.
Murdoch had been concerned lest he and his men should be engaged when they reached the Kapyong River in an exhausted condition and with little ammunition. The 3 RAR were fortunate, and due to difficulties of communication and navigation along the ridge line in the dark, elements of A Company had become separated and the last two platoons descended to the river too early to strike the ford. However, reaching a deserted part of the bank, they realised their mistake and immediately turned west again, following the river-bank to the ford. The PVA did not follow this sudden final turn and plunged on into the river, giving A Company an unexpected opportunity to break free. The pursuing PVA soldiers were subsequently detected by Stone and 2 PPCLI B Company on Hill 677 and were fired on. Fortunately for the 3 RAR, the 2 PPCLI heavy machine gun fire was accurately directed onto the PVA pursuers and did not hit them. The possibility of 2 PPCLI supporting fire had been foreseen earlier; however, problems with the radio relay between the 3 RAR and 2 PPCLI meant that there had been no guarantee that the withdrawing force would not be mistaken for PVA as they crossed the river.
Only D Company—which had been holding the summit and had withdrawn last—was heavily engaged and was unable to move at the scheduled time. The PVA launched a determined assault, preceding it with heavy machine-gun and mortar fire, before attempting to overrun the forward pits. D Company repelled the PVA assault and Gravener decided to begin to thin out his position before the situation deteriorated further. With one platoon covering their movement, D Company subsequently withdrew, closely pursued by the PVA. During the rapid withdrawal after the final PVA attack, Private Keith Gwyther was accidentally left behind after being knocked unconscious and buried in a forward pit by a mortar round. He regained consciousness some hours later and was subsequently captured by the PVA, who had by then occupied Hill 504 and were digging in. Finally, D Company succeeded in achieving a clean break after dark, and D Company was able to safely withdraw. By 23:30, the battalion was clear, completing its withdrawal at full speed, and suffering only minimal casualties. Regardless, the previous 24 hours of fighting had been costly for the 3 RAR, resulting in 32 killed, 59 wounded, and three captured; the bulk of them in A Company and battalion headquarters. Yet, they had temporarily delayed the assault on the brigade's right flank, and had inflicted far heavier casualties on the PVA before being withdrawn. Significantly for the 3 RAR and 16th NZ Field Regiment, 25 April was Anzac Day. Following their successful conquest of Hill 504, the PVA turned their attention to the encircled 2 PPCLI on the left flank.
## Canadian 2 PPCLI Last Stand on Hill 677, 24–25 April 1951
### Preparations
On 23 April, Stone, battalion commander of the 2 PPCLI, had personally reconnoitred the Kapyong battlefield and the approaches to Hill 677, discerning which routes of assault the PVA could possibly choose. Stone then directed his Pioneer Platoon to widen and reconstruct a narrow, winding trail which ascended Hill 677 on the south slopes from the village of Tungmudae. This provided Stone with an essential supply route and the ability to maneouvre twelve half-tracks carrying heavy machine guns and mortars up to the summit of Hill 677, which he then positioned adjacent to his battalion headquarters. These engineering assignments were completed just before major PVA forces arrived on the battlefield.
Now assembled on the summit of Hill 677, the 700 soldiers of 2 PPCLI spent the night of 23/24 April in their shallow pits listening to the sounds of the fighting on the 3 RAR front. However, by early morning PVA activity to encircle Hill 677 increased and, with the situation deteriorating on Hill 504 on the Patricia's right flank, Stone withdrew B Company from their position on the north edge of the Hill 677 summit to strengthen this eastern flank if the 3 RAR were forced to withdraw. Under the command of Major Vince Lilley, B company subsequently moved to occupy positions east of battalion headquarters on the high ground overlooking the valley road. Stone's intuitions were proven to be sound when this position, which protected not only his 2 PPCLI battalion headquarters but the battalion's major concentrations of heavy machine guns and mortars, would prove crucial during the fierce climax of the upcoming night battle.
With increasing fears that the 3 RAR would be overcome and leave his right flank exposed to attack, Stone had redeployed B Company to cover the area overlooking the valley of the Kapyong. B Company, 2 PPCLI completed its redeployment by 11:00 hours, just in time. However, a company of American tanks from US 72nd Tank Battalion supporting 3 RAR noticed the B Company adjustment and mistook the movement for enemy troops. The US tanks opened fire on the 2 PPCLI, wounding one man, and then continued their retreat from the battlefield. The 2 PPCLI battalion now occupied a northward-facing arc curving from the summit of Hill 677 in the west to the high ground on the east closest to the river. D Company defended the left flank of the battalion, removed at a substantial distance from the main positions of 2 PPCLI which were over on the battalion's centre and right, C Company the central forward slope, while A and B Company held the right flank. The high grass and severe terrain of Hill 677 limited the ability of each company to provide mutual support. At the same time, the numerous ravines on the edge of the 2000-ft. high hill afforded the attacking forces hidden avenues of approach to the summit of Hill 677 to within a short distance of the 2 PPCLI positions.
During the retreat of 3 RAR from Hill 504, Stone ordered 2 PPCLI B Company to provide covering fire to assist the 3 RAR escape on the run, clearly visible from Hill 677. With the PVA chasing the 3 RAR in fast pursuit, B Company opened continuous heavy machine gun fire for about a ten minute period, exacting heavy PVA losses and enabling the 3 RAR to make good their escape. O'Dowd, the 3 RAR field commander, requested an end to the supporting fire, fearful of the possibility of unintended 3 RAR casualties.
Stone would later complain of the sudden disappearance of the U.S. artillery support, "when the battle got hot on the Australian front, the Forward Observation Officer for the US mortars on my front walked out and never a pop did we get from his company." The two U.S. artillery companies had fled on foot, leaving their mortars, guns, supplies, and 50 loaded trucks plus other vehicles behind on the battlefield. The two U.S. mortar companies then hiked and traversed 10 mi (16 km) to the east before resting, apparently convinced that a major PVA breakthrough was imminent at Kapyong. Stone later bitterly observed that among some of the UN forces, "bug-outs were the accepted manner of withdrawing." With the departure of the U.S. tanks and artillery support, and the forced retreat of the 3 RAR battalion, Stone's command was now surrounded and cut off from their possible supply routes and would be reliant upon existing supplies and ammunition. Each of the four 2 PPCLI companies was allocated two Vickers medium machine guns, as well as three 60 mm (2.4 in) mortars. Defensive fire tasks were registered, while additional ammunition was pushed out to the forward companies in the afternoon.
As darkness descended on 24 April, Burke, commanding officer of the 27th Commonwealth Brigade, decided not to utilize radio contacts with 2 PPCLI headquarters on the summit of Hill 677. Burke ordered a Douglas Dakota aircraft equipped with loudspeakers and personally flew over the 2 PPCLI positions on Hill 677. He announced to the soldiers below that they were now on their own, cut off from any support and would have to fight the coming battle alone. He wished them good luck and encouraged them to fight bravely. He then flew back to Brigade HQ, amidst derisive response from the unsettled soldiers. Burke's brief appearance over the battlefield served to cause further apprehension among the 2 PPCLI. Many of the less experienced 2 PPCLI soldiers voiced a desire to run and abandon the position. Veteran war hero Tommy Prince played a central role in steadying and motivating the frightened men. Stone and 2 PPCLI could no longer expect that 27th Brigade HQ forces would continue to engage the enemy or would assemble a relief column to break through the PVA stranglehold on the supply road at Tungmudae. Stone was never in any doubt as to the essential strategic significance of Hill 677 for the UN forces and he issued a straightforward order to his battalion, "No retreat, no surrender."
### Night Battle
To prepare and plan their initial assaults on Hill 677, the PVA command were not able to pinpoint the 2 PPCLI defensive positions, having had no opportunity to carry out a thorough reconnaissance prior to the attack. However, the severe terrain and numerous ravines on the sides of Hill 677 provided the PVA with hidden access routes to the summit near the 2 PPCLI positions where the PVA formations would gather. The PVA formations were visible during the final mass assaults against the 2 PPCLI entrenchments. However, in the darkness, the 2 PPCLI rifle fire would prove to be ineffective, forcing them to resort to using large amounts of grenades followed by bayonets in hand-to-hand combat. The front lines of the PVA attackers were equipped with light machine guns, which, in close quarters fighting, were markedly superior to the 2 PPCLI rifles. The 2 PPCLI were issued Enfield Mark III single-shot manual bolt-action rifles of WWI vintage design, requiring a manual reload after each shot. A few 2 PPCLI soldiers possessed privately-acquired Bren guns of their own to provide close quarters machine gun capability, and this factor would be crucial in the outcome of the Company B defence of battalion HQ and main artillery positions. The PVA mortars and artillery were largely ineffective in the first assaults, and very few rounds fell on the 2 PPCLI positions during the initial assaults of the evening. However, in the later climactic mass attacks against Company D, the PVA artillery and mortars were important in leading the assaults, then being directed with accurate observer information from the summit. In their haste to follow up the collapse of the ROK 6th Division, the PVA 118th and 60th Divisions had left the bulk of their slow-moving heavy artillery and supplies well to the north.
Having dislodged the defenders from Hill 504, the PVA 60th Division and 118th Division would attempt to capture the dominating heights of Hill 677 held by the 2 PPCLI. The PVA had earlier detected the redeployment of B Company, 2 PPCLI and at 22:00 that evening, they commenced an assault on the defenders' right flank, the first of four attacks directed at 6 Platoon of B Company. Although the initial moves were beaten back by medium machine gun fire and mortars, a second PVA assault an hour later succeeded in overrunning the right forward section of 6 Platoon. The platoon successfully withdrew in small groups back to the company main defensive position, where they eventually halted the PVA advance. In this first wave of mass assaults of the PVA, the 2 PPCLI 60 mm (2.4 in) mortars had proven vital, their stability allowing for rapid fire out to 1,800 m (2,000 yd) with an ability to accurately hit narrow ridgelines at maximum range. The PVA had telegraphed their intentions prior to the assault by using tracer fire for direction, and had used bugles to co-ordinate troops in their forming up positions. Such inflexibility had allowed the 2 PPCLI to co-ordinate indirect fires and took a heavy toll on the attackers in the forming up positions.
During the successive attacks on 6 Platoon of B Company, Private W. R. Mitchell of 6 Platoon became prominent, possessing his own Bren gun with which he launched single-handed counter-attacks against PVA formations, firing on the run and dispersing the enemy. Despite being twice wounded by PVA shrapnel and a bullet, he persisted with his personal Bren gun forays, and later refused to leave combat for medical treatment, remaining in his position throughout the night. By the morning, he could barely stand for loss of blood. Mitchell was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the highest award for achievement in combat. The next morning, 51 PVA dead were counted around the B Company perimeter.
Meanwhile, Lt. Hub Gray of B Company detected a full battalion sized PVA force of about 500 men climbing silently through the ravine access south of the B Company position. This force assembled quietly without the usual PVA bugle and sound signals, and then moved en masse toward Stone's battalion headquarters, apparently according to a preconceived plan of attack. Lilley of B Company warned Stone of the impending assault, and Stone himself assumed command of the HQ combat forces for this engagement. Twelve M3 Half-tracks from Mortar Platoon had already been positioned there by Stone before the battle, each armed with a .50-calibre and a .30-calibre machine gun. Stone held fire until the PVA broke through the tree-line just 180 m (200 yd) from their front. The assembled defenders opened fire with machine guns and with mortars at their minimum engagement distance. The PVA suffered severe casualties and the assault was beaten off. During the height of this battle for the 2 PPCLI HQ, the rear platoon of A Company to the north of B Company opened fire with their Vickers medium machine guns in support of Stone's position. Stone contacted the A Company second-in-command and rejoined, "Stop your firing...we can take care of ourselves. Save your ammunition, you're going to need it." The PVA's next plan of attack would focus on areas where the 2 PPCLI heavy machine guns were not a factor in defence.
Shortly after the second major assault on B Company was repelled, another large PVA assault force was detected fording the Kapyong Valley river in the bright moonlight, some 2000 feet beneath the Kapyong summit height and about 800 metres distant. The 2 PCCLI .50 calibre Browning heavy machine guns were concentrated on this body of soldiers, and 71 bodies were counted on the banks of the river the following day.
The PVA now turned their attention to D Company, holding a portion of the summit of Hill 677, separated from the bulk of 2 PPCLI by a long distance on the battalion's left flank and beyond the range of the concentrated group of 2 PPCLI medium and heavy machine gun defensive fire. PVA success on this flank was intended to provide a spacious staging area to assemble an overwhelmingly large force for a final assault against the 2 PPCLI battalion HQ and principal machine gun/mortar positions. At 01:10, a large PVA force was detected forming up on a spur to the west towards Hill 865 and they were engaged by defensive fire. The huge PVA formation assaulted 10 Platoon of D Company, commanded by Lt. Michael George Levy, with supporting fire from PVA medium machine-guns and artillery now directed and employed to better effect than previously. The PVA attackers were soon effectively engaged by Vickers machine guns from 12 Platoon firing in mutual support. Switching their axis of assault to 12 Platoon, the PVA succeeded in overrunning one of the 12 Platoon sections and a medium machine gun, killing two of its crew who had remained at their post firing until they were overcome. However, the attackers made no attempt to use the Vickers gun for their own advantage or to disable or damage the weapon. With the supporting artillery of the 16th NZ Field Regiment's 25-pound guns now fully engaged, firing at the 'very slow' rate to conserve ammunition, the weight of the PVA assaults soon prompted Stone to request it be increased to the 'slow' rate of two rounds per gun per minute, so that 24 rounds fell every 30 seconds within a target area of 180 m (200 yd).
Despite the determined resistance from D Company, the PVA attack succeeded in infiltrating the D Company perimeter through the gaps between platoons, and D Company was surrounded on three sides. The forward platoons of D company were completely overrun by PVA infantry. The company commander, Captain J.G.W. Mills, acting on a request from 10 Platoon leader Levy, in turn requested from Stone a supporting artillery barrage on two separate occasions targeted directly onto Levy's position. Levy had commanded his men to seek whatever cover they could in the shallow trenches which had been scraped out of the rocky ground. Stone approved the request, after first asking Mills, "Do you know what you are asking?", and receiving an affirmative response. Stone then immediately contacted the 16th NZ Field Regiment and arranged for barrages of shrapnel shells from the NZ Field Regiment's mobile 25-pounder guns, now located some 4.5 mi (7.2 km) distant. The barrages onto Levy's platoon occurred on the two occasions during the early morning of 25 April after 10 Platoon was overrun by PVA mass attacks, each barrage consisting of about twenty minutes duration, forty minutes in total. The shrapnel shells were fused to explode several metres or yards above ground. This bold tactic succeeded and the massed PVA soldiers were devastated by the shrapnel fire, while D Company in their dug-out holes escaped unharmed. The number of PVA soldiers killed by the artillery barrages fired by the 16th NZ Field Regiment in support of the D company location and the approaches to D Company during the climax of this assault is estimated at several thousand. The 16th NZ Field Regiment and their 25-pound guns fired an estimated 10,000 rounds in the course of the night battle in support of 2 PPCLI. The PVA persisted, however, launching a number of smaller attacks against D company during the rest of the night, but these were again repulsed by artillery and small arms fire.
By dawn, the attacks on the 2 PPCLI positions had abated, and with D Company remaining in control of the left flank, they were able to recover the previously abandoned machine gun at first light in daring fashion. Private Kenneth Barwise, who had personally killed six enemy soldiers during the mass assaults on D Company, ran down through no-man's-land to the abandoned Vickers medium machine gun, snatched the heavy load in his arms, and raced back to his own lines, in full view of the enemy. Barwise was awarded the Military Medal for his deeds. Meanwhile, on the right flank, B Company was able to re-occupy the platoon position it had been forced to relinquish earlier the previous evening. The PVA had suffered enormous casualties during the night assaults, with perhaps 300 or even more than 1,000 killed by the Patricia's, and there were also a great many more killed by the heavy artillery barrages from the 16th NZ Field Regiment. The PVA, following their usual procedure, had removed most of their battlefield dead during the night, and 2 PPCLI soldiers did not venture out to count the dead until after the battle. Gray found the bodies of a 2 PPCLI corporal and his PVA opponent lying together after a bayonet combat, mute testimony to the intensity of the fighting. However, with the 2 PPCLI now completely exhausted of its ammunition and medical and food supplies, another full-scale PVA assault during that night would have been difficult for the 2 PPCLI to resist. Fortunately for the Patricia's, such an assault did not materialize.
### Final Operations
Although the PVA continued to mount small attacks, 2 PPCLI were now in control of the summit. Following the retreat of the 3 RAR battalion on the previous day, the PVA had established blocking positions on the supply road from the rear slope of Hill 677 to the village of Tungmudae. This was the trail which had been improved by Stone on 23 April just prior to the PVA assaults. PVA control of the rear slopes of Hill 677 had cut the 2 PPCLI off from resupply and prevented any form of military reinforcements or relief from reaching them. Anticipating that the battle would continue into the evening of the 25th or be renewed with intensity by another major assault by the PVA 118th and 60th Division forces, Stone made a request at 4:00 that food, ammunition, and water be airdropped directly onto Hill 677 and by 10:00, six hours later, the required supplies—including 81 mm (3.2 in) mortar ammunition—were dropped by four American C-119 Flying Boxcars flying from an airbase in Japan. The 2 PPCLI continued to improve their defensive position and trenches. The Middlesex from the reserve positions deployed in front of 27th Commonwealth Brigade HQ sent out patrols during the morning in order to reconnoitre the PVA forces that had occupied the rear areas behind Hill 677 and surrounded the 2 PPCLI positions during the previous day. It was not until 14:00 on 25 April that patrols from B Company, 2 PPCLI reported that the supply trail was now clear, and that the PVA 118th and 60th Divisions had apparently withdrawn to the north. Stone subsequently requested that further supplies be sent forward by vehicle as rapidly as feasible while the supply route through Tungmudae remained open, and before the enemy divisions could return. Having left their supplies of food and ammunition far behind during the advance two days earlier, the PVA 118th and 60th Divisions had withdrawn back up the Kapyong Valley in the late afternoon of 25 April in order to regroup and replenish following the extremely heavy casualties incurred during the fighting. The principal enemy formations had thus retreated prior to any UN relief forces reaching the 2 PPCLI positions, fulfilling the grim assessment given by Burke to the encircled 2 PPCLI when he flew over them on the evening of 24 April.
The remainder of 25 April was relatively quiet for 2 PPCLI, although they were subjected to periodic harassing fire from the PVA. D Company received heavy machine-gun fire from Hill 865 to the west, in particular. Regardless, the PVA made no further attempts to attack, and confined themselves to limited patrolling activities across the front. Burke had been removed from command on the morning of 25 April and replaced by Brigadier George Taylor. The 5th US Cavalry Regiment then launched an assault to recover Hill 504 on the afternoon of 25 April and sustained substantial casualties. The remaining PVA soldiers on that hill position offered some resistance until about 16:00. The following day on 26 April the Patricia's launched an assault against the remaining PVA entrenched on the northern slopes of Hill 677, while several PVA concentrations were again broken up by heavy artillery fire and airstrikes. The 2 PPCLI were finally relieved on Hill 677 by a battalion of the 5th US Cavalry Regiment on the evening of 26 April. US patrols north of the feature met no resistance, while the US forces were also able to patrol east along Route 17 to Chunchon without contacting the enemy. By last light on 27 April, the situation had been stabilised on the Kapyong Valley front. The 2 PPCLI now formed the rear guard of the 27th (renamed the 28th) Commonwealth Brigade as they moved out of the Kapyong sector towards the Seoul region of the UN front on 28 April. This rear guard was given the sobriquet of "the Stone force", after their commander.
Stone himself offered an assessment of the lesson emerging from the Battle of Kapyong, "Kapyong demonstrated that morale, spirit of the troops, is probably the most important factor in battle." At the 2 PPCLI last stand at Hill 677, in addition to the five high level medals awarded, there were eleven Mentioned in Dispatches, indicating a widespread combat response from the 2 PPCLI. Most importantly, Stone had devised, and had insisted upon over the objections of his superior generals, a rigorous six-week training course in mountain combat at the Miryang mountains in southern South Korea immediately prior to the Kapyong assignment, which prepared his men for the confused and isolated night combats at Kapyong. Stone's final assessment of his battalion's performance at Kapyong was that "with [UN] units buckling all around them, the Patricia's did not give up an inch of ground." Stone claimed, "The front broke everywhere and we were the only battalion holding in the whole of Korea on our side at the time."
## Aftermath
### Summary and Casualties
With vastly superior numbers, the PVA had attacked on a broad front, and had overrun a number of the UN positions. After a fierce fire-fight the PVA had pushed the ROK 6th Division, 3 RAR, and U.S. tank and artillery forces at Kapyong off the battlefield. In addition, five companies (two U.S. mortar companies, two companies of the US 74th Engineer Combat Battalion and a company of the Middlesex) had fled the battlefield by foot east to Chunchon in anticipation of a PVA breakthrough. All of these UN units withdrew from combat into a reserve position, and did not engage the PVA further in the battle. The 2 PPCLI, supported by long distance artillery fire from the 16th NZ Field Regiment, managed to survive a two-day encirclement and resisted full assaults of the PVA 118th and 60th Divisions, causing the enemy to withdraw before the arrival of UN relief forces. The UN allies ultimately prevailed, albeit through a last stand by the 2 PPCLI, despite being outnumbered on the field of battle by a factor of five to one, or by a factor of greater than ten to one.
Indeed, despite their numerical advantage and possession of light machine guns, which gave the PVA the advantage in small arms fire, the PVA had been outgunned in heavy artillery capacity. This edge in artillery fire allowed the 2 PPCLI to survive and succeed at Kapyong. And yet, despite their eventual defeat, the battle once again demonstrated that the PVA were tough and skillful soldiers capable of inflicting heavy casualties on the 3 RAR and US tanks and forcing their retreat off the field of battle.
As a result of the fighting, 3 RAR losses were 32 killed (two by friendly fire from the US air strike), 59 wounded, and three captured, while 2 PPCLI casualties on 24/25 April included 10 killed and 23 wounded, later amended to 12 killed and 35 wounded (one by friendly fire from US tanks). U.S. casualties included three men killed, 12 wounded, and two tanks destroyed, all from A Company, 72nd Heavy Tank Battalion. The 16th NZ Field Regiment lost two killed and five wounded. The US 5th Cavalry Regiment suffered 10 killed and more wounded on 25 and 26 April at Hill 504 and other locations at Kapyong. Total UN casualties in the Battle of Kapyong were 59 killed and more than 111 wounded.
In contrast, the PVA losses were far heavier, and may have included 1,000-5,000 killed and many more wounded.
In the battle at Hill 677, there were no reports of any 2 PPCLI soldier surrendering or being taken captive, nor of any PVA soldiers surrendering or being taken captive.
### Awards
2 PPCLI, 3 RAR, and A Company, US 72nd Heavy Tank Battalion were all subsequently awarded the US Presidential Unit Citation in June of 1951 for their actions during the Battle of Kapyong. The New Zealand 16th Field Regiment, RNZA—without whom the 3 RAR and 2 PPCLI might have suffered a similar fate of annihilation to that of the Glosters at the Imjin River—were awarded the South Korean Presidential Unit Citation in November of 1951. Although the 2 PPCLI and 3 RAR had borne the brunt of the fighting, the Middlesex had also been briefly engaged in action early in the battle but were not awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
Burke, who commanded the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade at Kapyong, had been awarded a Distinguished Service Order in Italy in April 1945. Burke was not awarded for the Battle of Kapyong. Burke had withdrawn his Brigade forces into a reserve position during the battle. Burke was removed from command on the morning of 25 April while the battle was still in progress and was immediately transported to Hong Kong. He was later assigned to Malaya.
Stone was not nominated by Burke for an award for the Battle of Kapyong. However eight months later, in December of 1951, Stone was nominated by Brigadier Rockingham for his third Distinguished Service Order for Stone's period of command of 2 PPCLI throughout the year of 1951, and the award was made in February of 1952. Stone had remained in the front line of combat leading his men, which was a necessary requirement for the DSO award. He had won the Military Cross at the Battle of Ortona in Italy in 1943, one of the toughest battles of WWII, when, as a Major and company commander, he single-handedly and on foot assaulted a German anti-tank gun which was blocking his company's advance and silenced it with an accurately thrown grenade. As a Lt. Col. regimental commander, he had won a DSO at the Battle of San Fortunato in Italy in 1944, where his actions hauling heavy guns up a steep mountain caused the German Gothic Line to withdraw at a strategic position. He was awarded another DSO in the Netherlands for actions against well-entrenched German forces in March 1945. Stone's insistence on creating a special mountain combat training course in Korea for the 2 PPCLI just prior to the Kapyong assignment, obtained by Stone over the objections of the U.S. generals commanding U.S. Eighth Army, was vindicated, and Stone's previous experiences with mountain battles in Italy were employed to construct the 2 PPCLI defensive arrangements at Kapyong. In December 2016, Stone was posthumously (Stone died in 2005) designated as an official Korean War Hero by the Government of South Korea Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. The citation stated that the 2 PPCLI battalion had "achieved a milestone victory when they won the Battle of Gapyeong (Kapyong) against formidable attacks from Chinese troops" and that "with their victory in the Battle of Gapyeong (Kapyong), Stone and his soldiers are remembered as the Legends of Gapyeong to this day."
Mills, commander of D Company of 2 PPCLI, was awarded the Military Cross for endorsing and forwarding 10 Platoon commander Levy's requests for artillery fire to be directed upon Levy's own position, an act which may have been responsible for the 2 PPCLI survival and success at Kapyong. Levy himself was not awarded a medal, which later became a point of controversy. However, in 2004 the Governor General of Canada awarded Levy an official grant of arms, flag and badge, with a personal coat of arms in recognition of his central role in the battle. In 2017, Levy was posthumously (Levy died in 2007) awarded the Ambassador of Peace Medal by the South Korean government.
Ferguson was nominated by Burke and awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Burke claimed that Ferguson had displayed bravery under fire. Ferguson did not nominate O'Dowd for an award. O'Dowd had assumed field command of the battalion and had designed and executed the 3 RAR escape. Ferguson was removed from command in July and was assigned to training duties in Australia.
Koch was awarded both the American Distinguished Service Cross and the British Military Cross for the essential role his tanks had played in the fighting around Hill 504.
The Royal Australian Regiment, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and the Middlesex Regiment were subsequently granted the battle honour "Kapyong". Today, the battle is regarded as the most famous action fought by the Canadian and Australian armies in Korea, and the most famous action fought by the Canadian Armed Forces since WWII. On the Battle of Kapyong battlefield itself in South Korea, a major park and memorial to the Canadian Army was built and dedicated in 1983, the (Kapyong) Gapyeong Canada Monument. There is also a major park and monument dedicated to the Australian Army participation in the Battle of Kapyong, 1.3 kilometres distant from the Canadian monument in the same area.
### Subsequent operations
By 29 April, the PVA Spring Offensive was halted by UN forces at a defensive line north of Seoul, known as the No-Name Line. In total, it was a withdrawal of 56 km (35 mi) in the US I and IX Corps sectors, and 32 km (20 mi) in the US X Corps and ROK III Corps sectors. Although the main blow had fallen on US I Corps, the resistance by British Commonwealth forces in the battles at the Imjin River and at Kapyong had helped to blunt its impetus and prevented a potential encirclement of the U.S. forces in Korea, which were then in full retreat across the Korean front lines. The defence mounted by the 27th Brigade stopped the PVA from isolating US I Corps from US IX Corps, and prevented a potential surrounding of the UN forces. This also halted the PVA advance on Seoul and prevented its capture. The PVA had now nearly exhausted their resources of men and material, and were approaching the limit of their supply lines. Some PVA soldiers were now tired, hungry, and short of equipment and during the fighting at Hill 504 they had demonstrated a greater willingness to surrender than in previous encounters, with 3 RAR taking 39 prisoners, only eight of them wounded. There were no reports of PVA soldiers surrendering or being taken captive in the battle at Hill 677. Contingent on the rapid attainment of its objectives, the attempted PVA coup de main ultimately failed amid heavy casualties and they had little recourse but to abandon their attacks against US I and IX Corps. The PVA had suffered at least 30,000 casualties during the period 22–29 April. In contrast, US casualties during the same period numbered just 314 killed and 1,600 wounded, while Commonwealth, ROK, and other UN contingents brought the total to 547 killed, 2,024 wounded and 2,170 captured, the disparity highlighting the devastating effect of enormous UN artillery firepower against massed infantry. Undeterred by these setbacks, the Second Phase of the Spring Offensive began on 16 May to the east of Kapyong, which ended in the UN success at the Battle of the Soyang River.
27th Brigade was reformed and renamed as the 28th British Commonwealth Brigade. Burke was removed from command during the battle, with Brigadier George Taylor taking over command of the new formation on 25 April. The new Commonwealth formation was pulled back into IX Corps reserve to the southwest of Kapyong, near the junction of the Pukhan and Chojon rivers, with the 2 PPCLI forming the rearguard of the manoeuvre. 3 RAR was transferred to 28th Brigade, while the 1st Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers and the 1st Battalion, The King's Shropshire Light Infantry replaced the Argylls and Middlesex regiments. Later, the Patricias were transferred to the newly arrived 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade on 27 May. After protracted negotiations between the governments of Australia, Britain, Canada, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, an agreement had been reached to establish an integrated formation with the aim of increasing the political significance of their contribution, as well as facilitating the solution of the logistic and operational problems faced by the various Commonwealth contingents. The 1st Commonwealth Division was formed on 28 July 1951, with the division including the 25th Canadian, 28th British Commonwealth, and 29th British Infantry Brigades under the command of Major General James Cassels, and was attached to US I Corps. For many of the 3 RAR, Kapyong was to be their last major battle before completing their period of duty and being replaced, having endured much hard fighting, appalling weather, and the chaos and confusion of a campaign that had ranged up and down the length of the Korean Peninsula. Most had served in the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) during the Second World War and this combat experience had proven vital. Regardless, casualties had been heavy, and since the battalion's arrival from Japan in September 1950, the 3 RAR had lost 87 killed, 291 wounded, and five captured.
Both 2 PPCLI and 3 RAR would participate in the 1st Commonwealth Division offensive as part of Operation Commando from 3-12 October 1951. On October 12, 2 PPCLI was attacked by a large PVA force of at least one battalion but repulsed the enemy and exacted heavy PVA losses. Stone's citation for the DSO in December 1951 included mention of Operation Commando. Stone continued to command 2 PPCLI throughout the remainder of the Korean War in a combat role, his battalion assigned to pursue enemy formations operating in mountain regions. In early 1952, Stone and 2 PPCLI were retrained as an elite special operations unit and parachute strike force, and Stone passed his parachute training.
## See also
- List of last stands
- Military victories against the odds
- Gapyeong Canada Monument
- Kapyong (2011) – documentary about the battle
- United Nations Memorial Cemetery, Busan, South Korea – where many of the Australian and Canadian casualties are buried
|
3,430,865 |
Clive Everton
| 1,166,075,890 |
British cue sports player, author and broadcaster
|
[
"1937 births",
"British sports broadcasters",
"English players of English billiards",
"Living people",
"Members of the Order of the British Empire",
"People educated at King's School, Worcester",
"Snooker writers and broadcasters",
"Sportspeople from Worcester, England",
"Welsh snooker players"
] |
Clive Harold Everton MBE (born 7 September 1937) is a sports commentator, journalist, author and former professional snooker and English billiards player. He founded Snooker Scene magazine, which was first published (as World Snooker) in 1971, and continued as editor until September 2022. He has authored over twenty books about cue sports since 1972.
He began commentating on snooker for BBC radio in 1972, and for BBC Television from 1978 until 2010. In the snooker boom years of the 1980s, he commentated alongside Ted Lowe and Jack Karnehm, and became the leading commentator in the 1990s. As an amateur player, he won junior titles in English billiards, and the Welsh billiards title several times. He was five-times runner up in the English amateur billiards championship, and twice a semi-finalist at the world amateur championship. In snooker, he partnered Roger Bales as they won the United Kingdom National Pairs Championship. Everton turned professional in 1981, achieving a highest ranking of 47th in the world in ten years as a snooker professional. He reached a peak of ninth place in the professional billiards rankings, and remained in the top 20 ranked players even into his sixties.
Everton played county-level tennis for Worcestershire for 13 years, and once managed Jonah Barrington, the former world number one squash player. In 2017, he was inducted into the Snooker Hall of Fame, and he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to snooker. In 2022 the British Open tournament trophy was renamed the "Clive Everton Trophy".
## Early life
Clive Harold Everton was born in Worcester on 7 September 1937. He was educated at King's School, Worcester, City of Birmingham College of Commerce, and later at Cardiff University, where he obtained a B.A. in English. After graduating, he taught English and Liberal Studies at Halesowen College of Further Education, before a career change into freelance journalism.
## Cue sports career
Everton became interested in playing English billiards after his father took him to a match at Leicester Square Hall where Sidney Smith was playing. He started playing on a friend's quarter-size billiard table, before having his own bought for him, and then began to play on a full-size table several months later. He entered the British Boys (under-16) English billiards Championship for the first time in 1951, when he was 14, and lost in the first round to Brian Brooking by 147 points to 201. He won the 1953 under-16 billiards championship by defeating John Lambert by 401–197 in the final. The following year, he was runner-up in the under-19 Championship, losing 360–538 to Donald Scott. He reached the under-19 final again in 1956, and claimed the title with a 429–277 victory against Granville Hampson. He took the Welsh Amateur billiards championship title in 1960, 1972, 1973 and 1976, and was four-times runner up in the English Amateur billiards championship from 1967 to 1980.
He reached both the 1975 and 1977 world amateur billiards semi-finals, and won the 1980 Canadian Open, making a of 141 after trailing Steve Davis 195–400 in the 500-up final. During the 1977 world championship he experienced a back injury which eventually required discs in his spine to be fused, and Everton felt that his game never quite recovered. Despite this he would reach a high ranking in the professional billiards game of ninth, and remained in the top 20 ranked players even into his sixties. At the 2005 World Billiards championship he was one of 17 participants, and lost all three of his qualifying group matches. He resigned his membership of the WPBSA in April 2006 during a dispute with the Association, which was seeking to take action against him through the Sports Dispute Resolution Panel as a result of criticism of it that he had published in Snooker Scene. Re-instated as an amateur, he won the Midlands amateur billiards title for the 14th time in 2008, having first taken the title in 1962.
In snooker, he reached the southern area final of the 1977 English Amateur Championship where he lost 1–8 to Terry Griffiths. A couple of months later, Everton and his playing partner Roger Bales won the 1977 National (UK) Pairs Championship after a 3–0 victory against Dickie Laws and John Pike in the final. He was accepted by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) as a professional in 1981. In his professional debut, at the qualifying tournament for the 1981 International Open, he won his first match 5–4 against Kingsley Kennerley. In Everton's second match, Mike Watterson, who was also the tournament promoter, arrived 15 minutes late after not realising that the official start time was thirty minutes earlier than on publicity and tickets for the event, and therefore conceded a frame to Everton as per the tournament rules. Watterson won the match 5–4.
Everton's most notable win as a professional snooker player was a 5–2 defeat of Patsy Fagan in the last 64 of the 1982 Professional Players Tournament, representing the furthest that he ever reached in a major tournament. He lost to Cliff Thorburn by the same score in the last 32. He played in the Welsh Professional Championship on seven occasions, being seeded to the quarter-finals on four of these and the first round three times, but never won a match in the competition. His last match in professional snooker before retiring from competition was a 3–5 defeat by Mark Wildman at the 1991 British Open. He achieved a highest ranking of 47th in the world in ten years as a snooker professional.
## Writing and television
After leaving Halesowen College, Everton worked as a freelance sports reporter, covering sports including hockey, tennis, badminton and squash for Birmingham Post, Birmingham Evening Mail, The Guardian, The Sunday Telegraph and other publications. He also commentated on snooker for BBC radio from 1972, and BBC television from the 1978 World Snooker Championship.
He was the editor of the magazine Billiards and Snooker, owned by the Billiards Association and Control Council, from the December 1966 issue until the February 1971 issue. According to Everton, he was sacked at the instigation of Jack Karnehm, the Chairman of the Billiards and Snooker Control Council (as the Billiards Association and Control Council had renamed itself) for "giving professionals publicity". In Everton's account, this followed him including pictures of four professional players on the cover of Billiards and Snooker at a time when the Billiards and Snooker Control Council and the professional players were in dispute over the World Billiards Championship. This dispute led to the Professional Billiards Players Association renaming itself as the WPBSA and splitting from the Billiards and Snooker Control Council (B&SCC). Following his sacking, Everton established his own magazine, World Snooker.
In 1972, the B&SCC approached Everton to take over Billiards and Snooker and paid him £1,000 to do so. Everton merged Billiards and Snooker and World Snooker into Snooker Scene, which published its first issue in April 1972. Snooker Scene has sometimes featured criticisms of the WPBSA which have led to legal disputes. As of August 2021, he remains as editor of Snooker Scene. Everton has said of Snooker Scene: "I had started this as a simple journal of record of what was happening on the table, but it became a crusading vehicle ... Taking Wisden and Private Eye as our models we sometimes made our point through hard reporting, sometimes through satire."
Everton has authored over twenty books about cue sports. As a snooker commentator, during the hey-day of the game in the 1980s, he worked alongside Ted Lowe and Karnehm, and became the leading commentator in the 1990s. In September 2007 he published Black Farce and Cueball Wizards: The Inside Story of the Snooker World, which has a history of snooker as well as being autobiographical. The Independent on Sunday praised the book at "Revelatory stuff, masterfully written." Nick Harris of The Independent, noting that Everton was a correspondent for the publication's Sunday sister publication but saying that "nepotism is not required to recommend this book", wrote that it was a "terrific memoir-cum-history of the game." A review for his 2013 book A History of Billiards in The Independent on Sunday stated that "his affection for and encyclopaedic knowledge of the three-ball game shines through"
In 2009, it was announced that Everton would effectively lose his position as the BBC's primary snooker commentator; he did not commentate on the Masters, and only commentated on the World Championship until the quarter-final stages. This has variously been attributed to his criticism of the game's governing body, World Snooker, his age and old-fashioned style, and his lack of fame relative to the former players on the BBC's commentary roster. Everton commented, "I'm hurt and angry, because I find the reasons presented to me incomprehensible."
During the 2009–10 season, Everton's role at the BBC was reduced still further. He only commentated on two matches during the Grand Prix, and was not heard at all during the Masters. He commentated on days one to four of the 2010 World Snooker Championship and was heard again on day six, but that was his final commentary work of the tournament. According to Everton, the understanding for the 2010–11 season was that he would commentate if Steve Davis and Ken Doherty were not available due to them still participating in particular tournaments. Everton said that he was offered four days' work at the 2011 World Snooker Championship, but that this was rescinded when Stephen Hendry was eliminated from the competition and became available for commentary. Everton was later told that his work for the following season would depend on Hendry's availability, and decided that this was the end of his relationship with the BBC. Since his departure from the BBC, Everton has continued commentating for ITV.
In the September 2022 issue of Snooker Scene, Everton announced that he would not be continuing as editor. From November 2022, Snooker Scene was revived under the ownership of Curtis Sport. Everton continues to work for the magazine as an editorial consultant. He also contributes feature articles and reports on billiards events.
## Personal life
Everton played county-level tennis for Worcestershire for 13 years, and has managed Jonah Barrington, the former world number one squash player. In 2017, he was inducted into the Snooker Hall of Fame at the annual Snooker Awards. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to snooker.
## Snooker performance and rankings timeline
## Career finals
## Publications
Everton has authored, or-co-authored, the following books:
|
440,836 |
Stephen Lynch (politician)
| 1,166,713,625 |
American politician (born 1955)
|
[
"1955 births",
"21st-century American politicians",
"American Roman Catholics",
"American builders",
"American trade union leaders",
"Boston College Law School alumni",
"Catholic politicians from Massachusetts",
"Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators",
"Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives",
"Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts",
"Harvard Kennedy School alumni",
"Ironworkers",
"Living people",
"Massachusetts lawyers",
"People from South Boston",
"Politicians from Boston",
"South Boston High School alumni",
"University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni",
"Wentworth Institute of Technology alumni"
] |
Stephen Francis Lynch (born March 31, 1955) is an American businessman, attorney and politician who has served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts since 2001. A Democrat, he represents Massachusetts's 8th congressional district, which includes the southern fourth of Boston and many of its southern suburbs. Lynch was previously an ironworker and lawyer, and served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court.
Born and raised in South Boston, Lynch is the son of an ironworker. He went into the trade after high school, working in an apprenticeship and later joining his father's union. He became the union's youngest president, at age 30, while attending the Wentworth Institute of Technology. He received his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1991. For several years, he worked as a lawyer, primarily representing housing project residents and labor unions. In 1994, Lynch was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. During his tenure, his progressive views and advocacy for South Boston helped propel him to the Massachusetts Senate in 1995, when he won a special election to succeed state senator William Bulger.
Lynch won a special election to represent the state's 9th district in the United States House of Representatives in 2001, and has been reelected ever since. His district was redrawn into the 8th district in 2013. He sits on the Financial Services and Oversight and Government Reform Committees. Lynch ran for the Democratic nomination in the 2013 special election for the U.S. Senate, losing to Ed Markey.
## Early life, education, and business career
The fourth of six children, Lynch was born on March 31, 1955, in the neighborhood of South Boston. He was raised with his five sisters in the Old Colony Housing Project. His father, Francis Lynch, was an ironworker who dropped out of school in eighth grade. His mother, Anne (née Havlin), was a night-shift post office worker. Both parents came from fourth-generation South Boston families. He attended St. Augustine Elementary School and South Boston High School. During high school vacations he began working in construction alongside his father. After graduating from high school in 1973, Lynch became an apprentice ironworker. For the next six years he worked on high-altitude structural ironwork throughout the country for various companies, including General Motors and U.S. Steel.
In 1977 Lynch was arrested for smoking marijuana at a Willie Nelson concert at the Illinois State Fair, leading to a \$50 misdemeanor fine. In 1979 he was arrested for assault and battery of six Iranian students attending an anti-American protest in Boston, a charge that was later dropped. Around this time, he developed "a problem with alcohol", leading him to join Alcoholics Anonymous. (He reportedly left AA after meeting his future wife several years later, but continued to attend occasional meetings through the 2000s.)
Having personal experience with worker safety concerns, Lynch developed aspirations beyond his trade. When a 1979 blizzard forced his project in Wisconsin to shut down, he spent the extra time taking courses at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Shortly thereafter, his father was diagnosed with cancer, and so Lynch returned to Boston. In the early 1980s, he was elected to the executive board of the Iron Workers Local 7 union. At age 30, he was elected president of the board, the youngest in the local's history. During this time he spent his nights and weekends attending the Wentworth Institute of Technology, from which he graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in construction management in 1988.
That year Lynch led a three-week labor strike, refusing to sign a contract with the Associated General Contractors despite pressure from within his union. The union international ultimately signed the contract without Lynch's approval, causing him to file suit against them. He later remarked, "Nothing I ever do will be as volatile as being union president during those times." This debacle forced him to miss the first three weeks of classes at Boston College Law School, where he had enrolled. Nevertheless, he graduated with a J.D. in 1991. After graduating he joined the law office of Gabriel O. Dumont, Jr., representing labor unions and unemployed workers.
Throughout law school and the following years, he often worked pro bono, representing housing project residents at Boston Housing Authority (BHA) hearings. In one high-profile 1994 case, Lynch provided free legal services to 14 teenagers, all white, who were accused of physically attacking a Hispanic teenager and harassing the family of his white girlfriend over a period of six months. Lynch claimed the youths had been "overcharged" and helped some of them avoid criminal charges and eviction by the BHA.
Lynch was a onetime tax delinquent. In the mid-1980s the city of Boston placed liens on four properties he owned due to several thousand dollars of unpaid property taxes. He owed Massachusetts \$2,000 in overdue taxes from 1985 to 1988, and for several years owed the IRS \$4,000.
## Massachusetts House of Representatives
With numerous cases under his belt, Lynch developed a reputation in his community, and friends encouraged him to run for office. In early 1994 he phoned Paul J. Gannon, the Democratic state representative from the 4th Suffolk district, to announce a run against him. While both candidates were labor advocates with similar backgrounds, Lynch called himself "the conservative candidate". He criticized Gannon for not supporting the Veterans Council, which had prevented a gay rights group from marching in the local St. Patrick's Day Parade. Lynch's base of supporters in the projects allowed him to win the Democratic primary by 600 votes, and he continued to victory in the general election.
As a state representative, Lynch was a vocal advocate for his neighborhood. He opposed a plan by Governor Bill Weld and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to construct a \$200 million football stadium by the publicly owned South Boston waterfront. He led the opposition to a proposed asphalt plant in South Bay, and sponsored an amendment to a state bond bill that banned its construction.
## Massachusetts Senate
When President of the Massachusetts Senate William Bulger announced his resignation from his 1st Suffolk seat in late 1995, Lynch filed nomination papers for the special election to replace him. Bulger's son, attorney William M. Bulger, Jr., also ran for the seat, as did another lawyer, Patrick Loftus. The race grew from the grassroots of South Boston, with neighborhood issues such as development, crime, and education ruling the debate. The candidates declared their mutual respect. Lynch won the March 1996 primary, defeating Bulger Jr. and Loftus 56%–35%–9%. In April, he defeated Republican Richard William Czubinski 96%–4%, and he was inaugurated on May 1, 1996. He was reelected unopposed in 1996, 1998, and 2000.
As a state senator, Lynch continued to lead opposition to the proposed football stadium and vocally opposed a proposal to sell the publicly owned Marine Industrial Park. He opposed a hate-crimes bill that would have made racially charged language a felony, and hearkened back to the 1994 racial violence case as an example, arguing that the bill "attacks merely words" and "prosecutes young people who, in my opinion, haven't developed the responsibility and wisdom to measure their words." On the Senate Transportation Committee, Lynch cosponsored a bill in June 1996 to allow certain Boston residents unlimited access to the Ted Williams Tunnel. In 1997 he was named Senate Chairman of the Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor. In response to a budget crisis in the state's nursing homes, due primarily to Medicaid shortfalls, Lynch filed an unsuccessful bill in April 2001 to increase Medicaid funding by \$200 million. While in the Senate, he enrolled at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, from which he graduated with a master's degree in 1999. Massachusetts law prohibits any elected official from holding more than one office, so Lynch resigned on October 16, 2001, and was sworn in as a member of Congress on the same day.
## U.S. House of Representatives
### Elections
#### 2001
Lynch announced his candidacy for the 9th district seat in 2001, when longtime incumbent U.S. Representative Joe Moakley, stricken with leukemia, decided not to seek a 17th term. This was a departure from Lynch's previous plan to run for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. Moakley died in May 2001, before his term ended, and Lynch announced a run for the special election to succeed him. The early front-runner in the race was lawyer Max Kennedy, son of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Political missteps dragged Kennedy down in the polls, and his abrupt departure in June 2001 put Lynch in the lead. The remaining candidates included eight Democrats and two Republicans, all with similar political positions; according to The Boston Globe, the candidates "struggled to find areas of conflict" when debating.
In the September Democratic primary, Lynch's main opponents were State Senators Cheryl Jacques, Brian A. Joyce and Marc R. Pacheco. During the campaign, Lynch faced criticism as his past improprieties were uncovered, including two arrests, defaulting on student loans, and a history of tax delinquency. Gay rights advocates attacked him for "a history of supporting anti-gay legislation." Still, Lynch maintained strong local support going into the primary. As he pulled ahead in polls and fundraising, Jacques and Joyce attacked his 1994 racial violence case and subsequent positions on hate crime as evidence that he was not supportive of civil rights.
On September 11, 2001, Lynch won the Democratic primary with 39% of the vote to Jacques's 29%. The same day, the September 11 attacks took place, which dampened the ensuing general election race between Lynch and the Republican nominee, state Senator Jo Ann Sprague. On October 16, he defeated Sprague, 65%-33%.
### Tenure
Lynch was sworn into the 107th Congress on October 23, 2001. The ceremony had been delayed for a weekend, as the 2001 anthrax attacks had led to a shutdown of Congressional office buildings. In a press conference after his swearing-in, Lynch remarked on the unlikelihood of his career path, comparing himself to Jed Clampett of The Beverly Hillbillies. He is a moderate Democrat by Massachusetts standards, but a fairly liberal one by national standards. He generally votes more moderate on social issues and liberal on economic and environmental issues. "Calling me the least liberal member from Massachusetts is like calling me the slowest Kenyan in the Boston Marathon", he said in 2010. "It's all relative." He is strongly pro-labor and has focused on bringing manufacturing jobs to his district. He is a co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus.
### Committee assignments
- Committee on Financial Services
- Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion
- Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy
- Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
- Subcommittee on National Security (Chair)
- Subcommittee on Government Operations
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Aviation
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
- Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials
### Caucus memberships
- Congressional Arts Caucus
- Afterschool Caucuses
- Climate Solutions Caucus
- Blue Collar Caucus
### Political positions
#### Economy and finance
Lynch has been a member of the House Financial Services Committee since his first term. According to CQ, Lynch supported President George W. Bush's agenda one-third of the time, which was average for Democratic House members. For instance, he supported the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which addressed the subprime mortgage crisis, but opposed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which created the Troubled Asset Relief Program. He supported President Barack Obama's economic agenda, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Lynch has focused on trade policy as a congressman. In 2002 he voted against fast track bills that gave the president the authority to negotiate trade deals without amendments by Congress. In 2007 he voted in favor of the Peru–United States Trade Promotion Agreement despite some Democratic opposition.
#### Domestic policy
Lynch has sat on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, formerly called the Government Reform Committee, throughout his House career. He chaired the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2010. On this subcommittee he has dealt with federal employee recruitment, salary, and benefits.
Lynch advocates health care reform but split with his party on Obama's health care reform efforts. He voted in November 2009 to pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act (AHCAA), the House's health care reform bill. This bill was scrapped by Congressional leaders in favor of the Senate's bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Despite pressure from Obama and Democratic leaders, Lynch said he would oppose the PPACA until "they put reform back in the health reform bill." He described the Senate bill as a "surrender" to insurance companies, putting too little pressure on them to reduce costs. He explained, "There's a difference between compromise and surrender, right? And this is a complete surrender of all the things that people thought were important to health care reform." When the PPACA came to a House vote in March 2010, he was the only U.S. representative from New England to vote against it.
On social issues, Lynch was considered a conservative to moderate Democrat in the 2000s. He was anti-abortion, once condemned by the pro-choice group NARAL. He sided with conservatives in the 2005 Terri Schiavo case, voting for federal court intervention. In more recent years, he has advocated and defended funding for Planned Parenthood. In 2021, Lynch voted for the Women's Health Protection Act, signifying a significant shift in his position on the issue.
Lynch has mostly sided with Democratic leaders on gay rights issues, opposing a Federal Marriage Amendment and supporting granting medical benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. He supports same-sex marriage. Lynch's 2022 reelection campaign touted his support for the Equality Act; he is also a member of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.
In September 2016, Lynch announced on WBUR that he would vote for the November 2016 ballot question that sought to expand the number of charter schools in the state.
On January 3, 2021, the beginning of the 117th Congress, Lynch became the last remaining incumbent House Democrat to have voted against the Affordable Care Act.
#### 2020 coronavirus response efforts
During an April 2020 House Oversight Committee Hearing that included testimony from Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Lynch grew angry over federal miscommunications about the availability of coronavirus testing, and said that cases of COVID-19 had doubled in his district just the day before. Earlier that month, he co-signed a letter with the Massachusetts congressional delegation asking FEMA to release enough ventilators from the Strategic National Stockpile to Massachusetts hospitals, as the state was bracing for a surge of COVID-19 cases at that time.
Lynch has also been interested in improving the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). On April 23, 2020, he introduced the Strategic National Stockpile Enhancement and Transparency Act (HR 6607). The bill would create a new initiative, the National Emergency Biodefense Network, that would work to ensure, at a state level and with state partners, that each state had enough supplies for emergencies such as pandemics.
#### Foreign policy and veterans
In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee had oversight of airport security and some elements of the War in Afghanistan. Lynch sat on the Veterans' Affairs Committee for his first term. He has several Veterans's Affairs (VA) hospitals in his district, and sponsored legislation to increase nurse staffing and allow private physician prescriptions to be filled at VA hospitals.
A supporter of American intervention in the Middle East, Lynch has made 12 trips to Iraq and ten to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Part of these visits' purpose was to ensure accountability in reconstruction projects. He voted for the Iraq War authorization in 2002, against the Democratic House leadership, and later voted to continue funding the war. He supported Obama's drawdown of troops in Iraq throughout 2010 and 2011 and Obama's renewal of the War in Afghanistan, the only Massachusetts representative to vote for funding for Obama's Afghanistan initiative. Lynch voted for increased foreign aid to Pakistan in 2009, but, along with Oversight Chairman John F. Tierney, pushed for strict oversight of the aid's distribution.
Lynch supports lifting the United States' economic sanctions on Cuba. Moakley, his predecessor, was heavily involved in Latin American affairs, and Lynch has made an effort to continue this work. He joined five other congressmen on a 2002 visit to Cuba, where they met with President Fidel Castro.
#### John Adams Memorial
Lynch supports the creation of a national memorial to John Adams in Washington, D.C., and in 2017 sponsored legislation to create an Adams Memorial Commission to develop and build such a memorial.
## U.S. Senate campaigns
Upon the death of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, Massachusetts state law triggered a special election to be held in January 2010. On September 4, 2009, a representative for Lynch took out nomination papers to run in the special election. After speaking with his family and citing the short time frame in which to conduct a campaign, Lynch decided not to seek the Democratic nomination for the seat.
Lynch announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on January 31, 2013, seeking to fill the seat then held by John Kerry, who had resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State. Lynch's candidacy in the 2013 special election had been portrayed as an uphill battle against Representative Ed Markey, who had a larger war chest and several major party endorsements. A Politico profile compared Lynch's "common-man touch" and moderate views to that of Republican Scott Brown, who won the 2010 special Senate election by connecting with independent voters. Lynch lost to Markey in the April 30 Democratic primary.
## Personal life
Lynch dated Margaret Shaughnessy for 10 years before the two married in 1992. An aide to state Senator Marian Walsh, Shaughnessy was from another South Boston family, one of seven children, and majored in graphic design at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She went to high school with Lynch's sisters, and she and Lynch were members of the South Boston Residents Group. As of 2010, the Lynches live in South Boston with their daughter and a niece. For most of his career, Lynch has been listed in the member's roll as "D-South Boston".
He is first cousins with Boston-based restaurateur Barbara Lynch.
|
966,691 |
JFK/UMass station
| 1,173,051,981 |
Transit station in Boston, Massachusetts, US
|
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"1927 establishments in Massachusetts",
"Dorchester, Boston",
"Former Old Colony Railroad stations",
"MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Boston",
"Railway stations in Boston",
"Railway stations in the United States opened in 1927",
"Red Line (MBTA) stations"
] |
JFK/UMass station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transfer station, located adjacent to the Columbia Point area of Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by the rapid transit Red Line; the Greenbush Line, Kingston/Plymouth Line, and Middleborough/Lakeville Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, and three MBTA bus routes. The station is named for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the University of Massachusetts Boston, both located nearby on Columbia Point.
JFK/UMass station has four tracks and two island platforms for the Ashmont and Braintree branches of the Red Line, with one track and one side platform for Commuter Rail. A waiting room and fare lobby over the Red Line platforms is connected to Columbia Road, Sydney Street, and the busway on the east side of the station by footbridge. The station is fully accessible. North of the station, the complex Columbia Junction connects the two Red Line branches with the downtown tunnel and Cabot Yard lead tracks.
The Old Colony Railroad first opened through the area in 1845, with Crescent Avenue serving as a flag stop by 1848. A station building opened in 1868 and was rebuilt in 1883. The Boston Elevated Railway began construction of Columbia station on the Dorchester Extension of the Cambridge–Dorchester Tunnel in 1925. Crescent Avenue station closed in July 1927; Columbia station opened on November 5, with an additional footbridge added in 1929. Columbia station was modernized in 1970, though without a platform for South Shore (Braintree Branch) service, which started in 1971. UMass Boston moved to Columbia Point in 1974, while the Kennedy Library opened in 1979; the station was renamed JFK/UMass in 1982. A 1987–88 renovation added a platform for the Braintree Branch. Commuter Rail service on the former Old Colony, last operated in 1959, resumed in 1997. However, the platform at JFK/UMass did not open until 2001.
## History
### Old Colony Railroad and BERy
In 1845, the Old Colony Railroad opened between Boston and Plymouth, Massachusetts. Crescent Avenue was a flag stop for South Braintree and Dorchester and Milton Branch trains by 1848. A station building was opened at Crescent Avenue on November 2, 1868, and replaced in 1883.
In the early 1920s, the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) began planning an extension of the Cambridge–Dorchester Tunnel over the Shawmut Branch to . The New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, which had succeeded the Old Colony, sold the Shawmut Branch to the BERy, with service ending on September 6, 1926. The mainline stations at Crescent Avenue and were kept open during construction. Crescent Avenue station was closed on July 15, 1927, for final construction and demolished shortly thereafter.
Crescent Avenue was replaced with Columbia station, which primarily served the residential areas to the west. The station had a single island platform, 300 feet (91 m) long and varying 20–25 feet (6.1–7.6 m) wide, covered with a full-length reinforced concrete canopy. It was designed to be extended southwards if future ridership required six-car trains. The entrance to the station was from the Columbia Road overpass; like other stations on the Dorchester Extension, it was a rectangular red brick structure with red sandstone and Concord granite trim. The roofs of the headhouse, the stairway to the platform, and the canopy were all flashed with copper. Fare control was in the headhouse, with a waiting room on the platform. The station was designed by William D. Austin.
Construction of the station began in 1925 with the reconstruction of the Columbia Road bridge. The station platform was built in mid-1926. Construction was completed in May 1927; the station was finished during the next several months under the possibility it would open before Savin Hill and . The three stations ultimately opened together on November 5, 1927.
In November 1928, the BERy began construction of a second station entrance from Sydney Street at Crescent Avenue. A footbridge was built over the southbound track at the south end of the station, with fare control located on a short extension of the platform. The new entrance opened on March 18, 1929; by May, it was used by 42% of passengers at the station. In late 1938, the footbridge was extended east over the other tracks to serve a parking area.
### MBTA era
The New Haven Railroad ended commuter service on the Old Colony lines in 1959, but subway service to Ashmont via Columbia continued. On July 28, 1965, the MBTA signed an agreement with the New Haven Railroad to purchase 11 miles (18 km) of the former Old Colony mainline from Fort Point Channel to South Braintree in order to construct a new rapid transit line along the corridor. The line was expected to be completed within two years. On August 26, 1965, the Cambridge–Dorchester line was renamed as the Red Line as part of a rebranding by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which had taken over the system in 1964.
In 1967, the MBTA began a station modernization program; modifications to Columbia took place in 1970. A southward extension made the platform long enough for six-car trains (which were not run until 1987). The original brick headhouse was replaced with a plain concrete headhouse, which opened on February 20, 1970, and the platform waiting room was removed. The footbridge was also replaced. The South Shore Branch (later the Braintree Branch) opened in 1971. Trains used two new tracks on the east side of Columbia; they did not stop in order to speed travel time between Quincy and Boston.
#### 1980s
The Columbia Point Development opened to the southeast of the station in 1954; residents of the housing development secured the 1962 closure of the city dump, which opened the peninsula to development. Ridership at Columbia station grew quickly despite the MBTA's refusal to have the South Shore Branch stop. Three major developments opening on Columbia Point in the 1970s—the UMass Boston campus in 1974, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in 1979, and the Bayside Expo Center—increased the importance of the station. On December 2, 1982, the station was renamed as JFK/UMass after the campus and library. Columbia was re-added as a secondary name in 1985 as part of a series of station name changes. Repairs to the Columbia Road bridge closed the north entrance from early 1982 until January 10, 1983.
In January 1980, the MBTA indicated that a \$1 million renovation of the station, including a second platform, would be completed in 1982. However, the project proved controversial; residents near Savin Hill station instead wanted a flyover there so that Braintree Branch trains would stop at both Savin Hill and JFK/UMass. State officials insisted that the flyover would be significantly more expensive than the second platform, and that five times as many South Shore riders were riding to JFK/UMass as to Savin Hill.
The MBTA awarded a \$13.5 million construction contract on February 4, 1987, and work began that June. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 16. A large waiting room and fare control lobby was built over the center of the platforms, with footbridges to Sydney Street on the west and a new busway on the east. The 1970s Columbia Road entrance became exit-only; an adjacent footbridge to the lobby was added. The south footbridge was modified with a connection to the new platform, and became exit-only. The east part of the footbridge was removed and an employee building constructed in its place. The platform for the Braintree Branch opened on December 14, 1988, allowing all Red Line trains to stop at the renovated station. The renovation included elevators to both platforms, making the station accessible.
#### 2000s
Commuter rail service on the Middleborough/Lakeville and Plymouth/Kingston lines was restored in September 1997. The MBTA initially did not plan to include a stop at JFK/UMass; not until November 1996 did the agency agree to built the platform. Construction began in 2000, and trains began stopping on April 30, 2001. This was the first time that mainline commuter trains stopped at the station since 1927. Several rush-hour Greenbush Line trains began to stop concurrent with that line's restoration in 2007. Not all weekday commuter trains on the lines stop, however, because the station is in a single-tracked bottleneck section of the otherwise double-tracked route. All weekend trains, which operate on more limited schedules, stop at the station.
JFK/UMass station was a proposed stop on the MBTA's planned Urban Ring Project. The Urban Ring was to be a bus rapid transit (BRT) line designed to connect the current MBTA lines to reduce strain on the downtown stations. Under 2008 plans, the Urban Ring would access the station via Columbia Road, with a one-bay dedicated BRT platform in the existing busway. The project was cancelled in January 2010. In 2012 and 2013, the MBTA installed over 50 security cameras in the station—in addition to over ten already present—in response to an increase of crime in nearby areas. Improvements to the station were proposed in 2014 as part of the city's bid for the 2024 Olympics, which was withdrawn in 2015.
On June 11, 2019, a Red Line train derailed just north of JFK/UMass station, damaging three sheds of signal equipment that control the nearby Columbia Junction. The Red Line was limited to 10 trains per hour (instead of the usual 13–14) for three months while repairs were made. Full service resumed on September 25, 2019.
Structural deterioration affected the station entrances in the early 2020s. On January 29, 2020, the stairs between Columbia Road and the east side of the station were taken out of service for repairs. Boston University professor David K. Jones was killed when he fell through a missing section of the still-closed stairs (owned by the Department of Conservation and Recreation) on September 11, 2021. The stairs from the east footbridge to the busway were closed from May to September 2022, and the southern stairs to Sydney Street were indefinitely closed in mid-2022. In November 2022, the MBTA closed the Columbia Road entrance, with repairs initially expected to take at least a month. Part of the Red Line was closed for a weekend in January 2023 to accommodate repairs. The Columbia Road entrance reopened that month. The MBTA included \$2.3 million in its draft fiscal year 2024–2028 capital plan for a planning study to redesign the station.
## Station layout
JFK/UMass station is located south of Columbia Road near Kosciuszko Circle, with the Interstate 93 viaduct to the south and west and Morrissey Boulevard to the east. The Red Line has four tracks and two island platforms at the station; the west platform is served by the Ashmont branch, and the east platform by the Braintree branch. (This unusual configuration is the result of the decision to not originally have the Braintree Branch stop at the station.) East of the Red Line is a single track used by the three commuter rail lines, with a high-level side platform on its east side. A two-lane busway, drop-off lane, and plaza are located east of the tracks.
A waiting room and fare lobby is located over the middle of the Red Line platforms, with elevators and stairs to both platforms. Footbridges connect the lobby to the Columbia Road bridge to the north, Sydney Street to the west, and the east plaza via a ramp structure. Exit-only stairs also lead from the north ends of the Red Line platforms to Columbia Road, and from the south ends to Sydney Street at Crescent Avenue. Because northbound Red Line trains arrive on two different platforms, an automatic illuminated sign in the lobby indicates which platform the next northbound train will arrive at.
North of the station is a complex Red Line interlocking called Columbia Junction. The two track line from downtown Boston exits the tunnel under Dorchester Avenue about 0.4 miles (0.6 km) north of JFK/UMass station and splits into the four tracks with a flying junction. The junction also connects two yard leads from Cabot Yard, the main Red Line maintenance facility, which is located on the surface near . South of the station, the Braintree Branch tracks cross over the commuter rail tracks via a lengthy flyover. The flyover is dedicated to Milton DeVaughn, an MBTA track worker, who died in December 1993 when he fell under the wheels of an MBTA work train.
### Bus connections
Columbia was not built as a transfer station; streetcar—and later, bus—routes mostly served Andrew and Fields Corner. Bus service to the station began in 1954 when the Columbia Point Development was constructed, and increased in 1974 when the UMass campus opened. The 1988 renovations added a dedicated two-lane busway on the east side of the station. The station is served by MBTA bus routes . During service disruptions – both planned track work and unplanned incidents – JFK/UMass is often used as the terminus of busing on either Red Line branch. A privately operated shuttle bus also connects the station with the UMass campus and the John F. Kennedy Library.
|
98,648 |
The Byrds
| 1,173,894,606 |
American rock band
|
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"1964 establishments in California",
"1991 disestablishments in California",
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"Musical groups disestablished in 1991",
"Musical groups disestablished in 2000",
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"Musical groups from Los Angeles",
"Musical groups reestablished in 1989",
"Musical groups reestablished in 2000",
"Proto-prog groups",
"Psychedelic rock music groups from California",
"The Byrds"
] |
The Byrds (/bɜːrdz/) were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole consistent member. Although their time as one of the most popular groups in the world only lasted for a short period in the mid-1960s, the Byrds are today considered by critics to be among the most influential rock acts of their era. Their signature blend of clear harmony singing and McGuinn's jangly 12-string Rickenbacker guitar was "absorbed into the vocabulary of rock" and has continued to be influential.
Initially, the Byrds pioneered the musical genre of folk rock as a popular format in 1965, by melding the influence of the Beatles and other British Invasion bands with contemporary and traditional folk music on their first and second albums and the hit singles "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!". As the 1960s progressed, the band was influential in originating psychedelic rock and raga rock, with their song "Eight Miles High" and the albums Fifth Dimension (1966), Younger Than Yesterday (1967), and The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968). The band also played a pioneering role in the development of country rock, with the 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo representing their fullest immersion into the genre.
The original five-piece lineup of the band consisted of McGuinn (lead guitar, vocals), Gene Clark (tambourine, vocals), David Crosby (rhythm guitar, vocals), Chris Hillman (bass guitar, vocals), and Michael Clarke (drums). This version of the band was relatively short-lived and by early 1966 Clark had left due to problems associated with anxiety and his increasing isolation within the group. The Byrds continued as a quartet until late 1967, when Crosby and Clarke also departed. McGuinn and Hillman decided to recruit new members, including country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, but by late 1968, Hillman and Parsons had also exited the band. McGuinn elected to rebuild the band's membership; between 1968 and 1973, he helmed a new incarnation of the Byrds that featured guitarist Clarence White, among others. McGuinn disbanded the then-current version of the band in early 1973 to make way for a reunion of the original quintet. The Byrds' final album was released in March 1973, with the reunited group disbanding later that year.
Several former members of the Byrds went on to successful careers of their own, either as solo artists or as members of such groups as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Flying Burrito Brothers, McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, and the Desert Rose Band. In 1991, the Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an occasion that saw the five original members performing together for the last time. Gene Clark died of a heart attack later that year, while Michael Clarke died of liver failure in 1993. Crosby died in 2023. McGuinn and Hillman remain active.
## History
### Formation (1964)
The nucleus of the Byrds formed in early 1964, when Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark, and David Crosby came together as a trio. All three musicians had a background rooted in folk music, with each one having worked as a folk singer on the acoustic coffeehouse circuit during the early 1960s. In addition, they had all served time, independently of each other, as sidemen in various "collegiate folk" groups: McGuinn with the Limeliters and the Chad Mitchell Trio, Clark with the New Christy Minstrels, and Crosby with Les Baxter's Balladeers. McGuinn had also spent time as a professional songwriter at the Brill Building in New York City, under the tutelage of Bobby Darin. By early 1964, McGuinn had become enamored with the music of the Beatles, and had begun to intersperse his solo folk repertoire with acoustic versions of Beatles' songs. While performing at the Troubadour folk club in Los Angeles, McGuinn was approached by fellow Beatles fan Gene Clark, and the pair soon formed a Peter and Gordon-style duo, playing Beatles' covers, Beatlesque renditions of traditional folk songs, and some self-penned material. Soon after, David Crosby introduced himself to the duo at The Troubadour and began harmonizing with them on some of their songs. Impressed by the blend of their voices, the three musicians formed a trio and named themselves the Jet Set, a moniker inspired by McGuinn's love of aeronautics.
Crosby introduced McGuinn and Clark to his associate Jim Dickson, who had access to World Pacific Studios, where he had been recording demos of Crosby. Sensing the trio's potential, Dickson quickly took on management duties for the group, while his business partner, Eddie Tickner, became the group's accountant and financial manager. Dickson began utilizing World Pacific Studios to record the trio as they honed their craft and perfected their blend of Beatles pop and Bob Dylan-style folk. It was during the rehearsals at World Pacific that the band's folk rock sound—an amalgam of their own Beatles-influenced material, their folk music roots and their Beatlesque covers of contemporary folk songs—began to coalesce. Initially, this blend arose organically, but as rehearsals continued, the band began to actively attempt to bridge the gap between folk music and rock. Demo recordings made by the Jet Set at World Pacific Studios would later be collected on the compilation albums Preflyte, In the Beginning, The Preflyte Sessions, and Preflyte Plus.
Drummer Michael Clarke was added to the Jet Set in mid-1964. Clarke was recruited largely due to his good looks and Brian Jones-esque hairstyle, rather than for his musical experience, which was limited to having played congas in a semi-professional capacity in and around San Francisco and L.A. Clarke did not even own his own drum kit and initially had to play on a makeshift setup consisting of cardboard boxes and a tambourine. As the band continued to rehearse, Dickson arranged a one-off single deal for the group with Elektra Records' founder Jac Holzman. The single, which coupled the band originals "Please Let Me Love You" and "Don't Be Long", featured McGuinn, Clark, and Crosby, augmented by session musicians Ray Pohlman on bass and Earl Palmer on drums. In an attempt to cash in on the British Invasion craze that was dominating the American charts at the time, the band's name was changed for the single release to the suitably British-sounding the Beefeaters. "Please Let Me Love You" was issued by Elektra Records on October 7, 1964, but it failed to chart.
In August 1964, Dickson managed to acquire an acetate disc of the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song "Mr. Tambourine Man", which he felt would make an effective cover for the Jet Set. Although the band was initially unimpressed with the song, they began rehearsing it with a rock band arrangement, changing the time signature from to a rockier configuration in the process. In an attempt to bolster the group's confidence in the song, Dickson invited Dylan himself to World Pacific to hear the band perform "Mr. Tambourine Man". Impressed by the group's rendition, Dylan enthusiastically commented, "Wow, man! You can dance to that!" His ringing endorsement erased any lingering doubts that the band had over the song's suitability.
Soon after, inspired by the Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night, the band decided to equip themselves with similar instruments to the Fab Four: a Rickenbacker twelve-string guitar for McGuinn, a Ludwig drum kit for Clarke, and a Gretsch Tennessean guitar for Clark (although Crosby commandeered it soon after, resulting in Clark switching to tambourine). In October 1964, Dickson recruited mandolin player Chris Hillman as the Jet Set's bassist. Hillman's background was more oriented towards country music than folk or rock, having been a member of the bluegrass groups the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers, the Hillmen (also known as the Golden State Boys), and, concurrently with his recruitment into the Jet Set, the Green Grass Group.
Through connections that Dickson had with impresario Benny Shapiro, and with a helpful recommendation from jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, the group signed a recording contract with Columbia Records on November 10, 1964. Two weeks later, during a Thanksgiving dinner at Tickner's house, the Jet Set decided to rename themselves as "The Byrds", a moniker that retained the theme of flight and also echoed the deliberate misspelling of the Beatles.
### Folk rock (1965)
On January 20, 1965, the Byrds entered Columbia Studios in Hollywood to record "Mr. Tambourine Man" for release as their debut single on Columbia. Since the band had not yet completely gelled musically, McGuinn was the only Byrd to play on "Mr. Tambourine Man" and its Clark-penned B-side, "I Knew I'd Want You". Rather than using band members, producer Terry Melcher hired a collection of top session musicians, retroactively known as the Wrecking Crew, including Hal Blaine (drums), Larry Knechtel (bass), Jerry Cole (guitar), and Leon Russell (electric piano), who (along with McGuinn on guitar) provided the instrumental backing track over which McGuinn, Crosby and Clark sang. By the time the sessions for their debut album began in March 1965, Melcher was satisfied that the band was competent enough to record its own musical backing. However, the use of outside musicians on the Byrds' debut single has given rise to the persistent misconception that all of the playing on their debut album was done by session musicians.
While the band waited for "Mr. Tambourine Man" to be released, they began a residency at Ciro's Le Disc nightclub on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. The band's regular appearances at Ciro's during March and April 1965 allowed them to hone their ensemble playing, perfect their aloof stage persona, and expand their repertoire. In addition, it was during their residency at the nightclub that the band first began to accrue a dedicated following among L.A.'s youth culture and hip Hollywood fraternity, with scenesters like Kim Fowley, Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Arthur Lee, and Sonny & Cher regularly attending the band's performances. On March 26, 1965, the author of the band's forthcoming debut single, Bob Dylan, made an impromptu visit to the club and joined the Byrds on stage for a rendition of Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do". The excitement generated by the Byrds at Ciro's quickly made them a must-see fixture on L.A.'s nightclub scene and resulted in hordes of teenagers filling the sidewalks outside the club, desperate to see the band perform. A number of noted music historians and authors, including Richie Unterberger, Ric Menck, and Peter Buckley, have suggested that the crowds of young Bohemians and hipsters that gathered at Ciro's to see the Byrds perform represented the first stirrings of the West Coast hippie counterculture.
Columbia Records eventually released the "Mr. Tambourine Man" single on April 12, 1965. The full, electric rock band treatment that the Byrds and producer Terry Melcher had given the song effectively created the template for the musical subgenre of folk rock. McGuinn's melodic, jangling 12-string Rickenbacker guitar playing—which was heavily compressed to produce an extremely bright and sustained tone—was immediately influential and has remained so to the present day. The single also featured another major characteristic of the band's sound: their clear harmony singing, which usually featured McGuinn and Clark in unison, with Crosby providing the high harmony. Additionally, Richie Unterberger has stated that the song's abstract lyrics took rock and pop songwriting to new heights; never before had such intellectual and literary wordplay been combined with rock instrumentation by a popular music group.
Within three months "Mr. Tambourine Man" had become the first folk rock smash hit, reaching number one on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK Singles Chart. The single's success initiated the folk rock boom of 1965 and 1966, during which a number of Byrds-influenced acts had hits on the American and British charts. The term "folk rock" was itself coined by the American music press to describe the band's sound in June 1965, at roughly the same time as "Mr. Tambourine Man" peaked at number 1 in the U.S.
The Mr. Tambourine Man album followed on June 21, 1965, peaking at number six on the Billboard Top LPs chart and number seven on the UK Albums Chart. The album mixed reworkings of folk songs, including Pete Seeger's musical adaptation of the Idris Davies' poem "The Bells of Rhymney", with a number of other Dylan covers and the band's own compositions, the majority of which were written by Clark. In particular, Clark's "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" has gone on to become a rock music standard, with many critics considering it one of the band's and Clark's best songs. Upon release, the Mr. Tambourine Man album, like the single of the same name, was influential in popularizing folk rock and served to establish the band as an internationally successful rock act, representing the first effective American challenge to the dominance of the Beatles and the British Invasion.
The Byrds' next single was "All I Really Want to Do", another interpretation of a Dylan song. Despite the success of "Mr. Tambourine Man", the Byrds were reluctant to release another Dylan-penned single, feeling that it was too formulaic, but Columbia Records were insistent, believing that another Dylan cover would result in an instant hit for the group. The Byrds' rendition of "All I Really Want to Do" is noticeably different in structure to Dylan's original: it features an ascending melody progression in the chorus and utilizes a completely new melody for one of the song's verses, to turn it into a Beatlesque, minor-key bridge. Issued on June 14, 1965, while "Mr. Tambourine Man" was still climbing the U.S. charts, the single was rush-released by Columbia in an attempt to bury a rival cover version that Cher had released simultaneously on Imperial Records. A chart battle ensued, but the Byrds' rendition stalled at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, while Cher's version reached number 15. The reverse was true in the UK, however, where the Byrds' version reached number four, while Cher's peaked at number nine.
Author John Einarson has written that during this period of their career, the Byrds enjoyed tremendous popularity among teenage pop fans, with their music receiving widespread airplay on Top 40 radio and their faces adorning countless teen magazines. Much was made at the time of the Byrds' unconventional dress sense, with their casual attire strikingly at odds with the prevailing trend for uniformity among contemporary beat groups. With all five members sporting Beatlesque moptop haircuts, Crosby dressed in a striking green suede cape, and McGuinn wearing a pair of distinctive rectangular "granny glasses", the band exuded California cool, while also looking suitably non-conformist. In particular, McGuinn's distinctive rectangular spectacles would go on to become popular among members of the burgeoning hippie counterculture in the United States.
Although McGuinn was widely regarded as the Byrds' bandleader by this point, the band actually had multiple frontmen, with McGuinn, Clark, and later Crosby and Hillman all taking turns to sing lead vocals in roughly equal measures across the group's repertoire. Despite the dizzying array of personnel changes that the group underwent in later years, this lack of a dedicated lead singer would remain a stylistic trait of the Byrds' music throughout the majority of the band's existence. A further distinctive aspect of the Byrds' image was their unsmiling air of detachment, both on stage and in front of the camera. This natural aloofness was compounded by the large amounts of marijuana that the band smoked and often resulted in moody and erratic live performances. Indeed, the contemporary music press was extremely critical of the Byrds' abilities as a live act during the mid-1960s, with the reaction from the British media during the band's August 1965 tour of England being particularly scathing.
This 1965 English tour was largely orchestrated by the group's publicist Derek Taylor, in an attempt to capitalize on the number 1 chart success of the "Mr. Tambourine Man" single. The tour was overhyped from the start, with the band being touted as "America's answer to the Beatles", a label that proved impossible for the Byrds to live up to. During concert performances, a combination of poor sound, group illness, ragged musicianship, and the band's notoriously lackluster stage presence, all combined to alienate audiences and served to provoke a merciless castigating of the band in the British press.
The tour enabled the band to meet and socialize with a number of top English groups, including the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. In particular, the band's relationship with the Beatles would prove important for both acts, with the two groups again meeting in Los Angeles some weeks later, upon the Byrds' return to America. During this period of fraternization, the Beatles were vocal in their support of the Byrds, publicly acknowledging them as creative competitors and naming them as their favorite American group. A number of authors, including Ian MacDonald, Richie Unterberger, and Bud Scoppa, have commented on the Byrds influence on the Beatles' late 1965 album Rubber Soul, most notably on the songs "Nowhere Man" and "If I Needed Someone", the latter of which utilizes a guitar riff similar to that in the Byrds' cover of "The Bells of Rhymney".
For their third Columbia single, the Byrds initially intended to release a cover of Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (it was even premiered on the California radio station KRLA), but instead they decided to record "Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)", a Pete Seeger composition with lyrics adapted almost entirely from the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. The song was brought to the group by McGuinn, who had previously arranged it in a chamber-folk style while working on folksinger Judy Collins' 1963 album, Judy Collins 3. The Byrds' cover of "Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)" was issued on October 1, 1965 and became the band's second U.S. number 1 single, as well as the title track for their second album. The single represented the high-water mark of folk rock as a chart trend and has been described by music historian Richie Unterberger as "folk rock's highest possible grace note". In addition, music critic William Ruhlmann has written that the song's lyrical message of peace and tolerance struck a nerve with the American record buying public as the Vietnam War continued to escalate.
The Byrds' second album, Turn! Turn! Turn!, was released in December 1965 and while it received a mostly positive reception, critical consensus deemed it to be inferior to the band's debut. Nonetheless, it was a commercial success, peaking at number 17 on the U.S. charts and number 11 in the UK. Author Scott Schinder has stated that Turn! Turn! Turn!, along with Mr. Tambourine Man, served to establish the Byrds as one of rock music's most important creative forces, on a par with the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. Like their debut, the album comprised a mixture of group originals, folk songs, and Bob Dylan covers, all characterized by the group's clear harmonies and McGuinn's distinctive guitar sound. However, the album featured more of the band's own compositions than its predecessor, with Clark in particular coming to the fore as a songwriter. His songs from this period, including "She Don't Care About Time", "The World Turns All Around Her", and "Set You Free This Time", are widely regarded by critics as among the best of the folk rock genre. The latter song was even chosen for release as a single in January 1966, but its densely worded lyrics, melancholy melody, and ballad-like tempo contributed to it stalling at number 63 on the Billboard chart and failing to reach the UK chart altogether.
While the Byrds outwardly seemed to be riding the crest of a wave during the latter half of 1965, the recording sessions for their second album had not been without tension. One source of conflict was the power struggle that had begun to develop between producer Melcher and the band's manager, Jim Dickson, with the latter harboring aspirations to produce the band himself, causing him to be overly critical of the former's work. Within a month of Turn! Turn! Turn! being released, Dickson and the Byrds approached Columbia Records and requested that Melcher be replaced, despite the fact that he had successfully steered the band through the recording of two number 1 singles and two hit albums. Any hopes that Dickson had of being allowed to produce the band himself, however, were dashed when Columbia assigned their West Coast head of A&R, Allen Stanton, to the band.
### Psychedelia (1965–1967)
On December 22, 1965, the Byrds recorded a new, self-penned composition titled "Eight Miles High" at RCA Studios in Hollywood. However, Columbia Records refused to release this version because it had been recorded at another record company's facility. As a result, the band was forced to re-record the song at Columbia Studios in Los Angeles on January 24 and 25, 1966, and it was this re-recorded version that would be released as a single and included on the group's third album. The song represented a creative leap forward for the band and is often considered the first full-blown psychedelic rock recording by critics, although other contemporaneous acts, such as Donovan and the Yardbirds, were also exploring similar musical territory. It was also pivotal in transmuting folk rock into the new musical forms of psychedelia and raga rock.
"Eight Miles High" is marked by McGuinn's groundbreaking lead guitar playing, which saw the guitarist attempting to emulate the free form jazz saxophone playing of John Coltrane, and in particular, Coltrane's playing on the song "India" from his Impressions album. It also exhibits the influence of the Indian classical music of Ravi Shankar in the droning quality of the song's vocal melody and in McGuinn's guitar playing. The song's subtle use of Indian influences resulted in it being labeled as "raga rock" by the music press, but in fact, it was the single's B-side, "Why", that drew more directly on Indian ragas.
Upon release, "Eight Miles High" was banned by many U.S. radio stations, following allegations made by the broadcasting trade journal the Gavin Report, that its lyrics advocated recreational drug use. The band and their management strenuously denied these allegations, stating that the song's lyrics actually described an airplane flight to London and the band's subsequent concert tour of England. The relatively modest chart success of "Eight Miles High" (number 14 in the U.S. and number 24 in the UK) has been largely attributed to the broadcasting ban, although the challenging and slightly uncommercial nature of the track is another possible reason for its failure to reach the Top 10.
In February 1966, just prior to the release of "Eight Miles High", Gene Clark left the band. His departure was partly due to his fear of flying, which made it impossible for him to keep up with the Byrds' itinerary, and partly due to his increasing isolation within the band. Clark, who had witnessed a fatal airplane crash as a youth, had a panic attack on a plane bound for New York and as a result, he disembarked and refused to take the flight. In effect, Clark's exit from the plane represented his exit from the Byrds, with McGuinn telling him, "If you can't fly, you can't be a Byrd." However, it has become known in the years since the incident that there were other stress and anxiety-related factors at work, as well as resentment within the band that Gene's songwriting income had made him the wealthiest member of the group. Clark was subsequently signed by Columbia Records as a solo artist and went on to produce a critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful body of work. He died on May 24, 1991, at the age of 46, from heart failure brought on by a bleeding stomach ulcer, although years of alcohol abuse and a heavy cigarette habit were also contributing factors.
The Byrds' third album, Fifth Dimension, was released in July 1966. Much of the album's material continued to build on the band's new psychedelic sound, with McGuinn extending his exploration of jazz and raga styles on tracks such as "I See You" and the Crosby-penned "What's Happening?!?!". The album also saw Hillman coming forward as the band's third vocalist, in order to fill the hole in the group's harmonies that Clark's departure had left. The title track, "5D (Fifth Dimension)", was released as a single ahead of the album and was, like "Eight Miles High" before it, banned by a number of U.S. radio stations for supposedly featuring lyrics that advocated drug use. The album's front cover artwork featured the first appearance of the Byrds' colorful, psychedelic mosaic logo, variations of which would subsequently appear on a number of the band's compilation albums, as well as on their 1967 release, Younger Than Yesterday.
The Fifth Dimension album received a mixed critical reception upon release and was less commercially successful than its predecessors, peaking at number 24 in the U.S. and number 27 in the UK. Band biographer Bud Scoppa has remarked that with the album's lackluster chart performance, its lukewarm critical reception, and the high-profile loss of Clark from the group, the Byrds' popularity began to wane at this point and by late 1966, the group had been all but forgotten by the mainstream pop audience. Nonetheless, the band were considered forefathers of the emerging rock underground, with many of the new L.A. and San Francisco groups of the day, including Love, Jefferson Airplane, and the Buffalo Springfield, publicly naming the Byrds as a primary influence.
The band returned to the studio between November 28 and December 8, 1966, to record their fourth album, Younger Than Yesterday. With Allen Stanton having recently departed Columbia Records to work for A&M, the band chose to bring in producer Gary Usher to help guide them through the album sessions. Usher, who had a wealth of production experience and a love of innovative studio experimentation, would prove invaluable to the Byrds as they entered their most creatively adventurous phase. The first song to be recorded for the album was the McGuinn and Hillman-penned "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star", a satirical and heavily sarcastic jibe at the manufactured nature of groups like the Monkees. The song features the trumpet playing of South African musician Hugh Masekela and as such, marks the first appearance of brass on a Byrds' recording. "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" was issued as a single in January 1967 and peaked at number 29 in America but failed to chart in the UK. Despite this relatively poor chart showing, "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" has become one of the Byrds' best-known songs in the years since its initial release, inspiring cover versions by the likes of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and the Patti Smith Group amongst others.
Released on February 6, 1967, the Byrds' fourth album, Younger Than Yesterday, was more varied than its predecessor and saw the band successfully mixing psychedelia with folk rock and country and western influences. Although it received generally positive reviews upon its release, the album was, to a degree, overlooked by the record-buying public and consequently peaked at number 24 on the Billboard chart and number 37 on the UK Albums Chart. Music expert Peter Buckley has pointed out that although the album may have passed the Byrds' rapidly shrinking teen audience by, it found favor with "a new underground following who disdained hit singles, but were coming to regard albums as major artistic statements".
In addition to "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star", Younger Than Yesterday also includes the evocative Crosby and McGuinn penned song "Renaissance Fair", a cover of Dylan's "My Back Pages" (which was later released as a single), and a quartet of Chris Hillman songs, which found the bassist emerging fully formed as an accomplished songwriter. Two of Hillman's country-oriented compositions on the album, "Time Between" and "The Girl with No Name", can be seen as early indicators of the country rock direction that the band would pursue on later albums. Younger Than Yesterday also features the jazz-tinged Crosby ballad "Everybody's Been Burned", which critic Thomas Ward has described as "one of the most haunting songs in the Byrds' catalogue, and one of David Crosby's finest compositions".
By mid-1967, McGuinn had changed his first name from Jim to Roger as a result of his interest in the Indonesian religion Subud, into which he had been initiated in January 1965. The adoption of a new name was common among followers of the religion and served to signify a spiritual rebirth for the participant. Shortly after McGuinn's name change, the band entered the studio to record the Crosby-penned, non-album single "Lady Friend", which was released on July 13, 1967. The Byrds' biographer Johnny Rogan has described "Lady Friend" as "a work of great maturity" and "the loudest, fastest and rockiest Byrds' single to date". Regardless of its artistic merits, the single stalled at a disappointing number 82 on the Billboard chart, despite the band making a number of high-profile television appearances to promote the record. Crosby, who had closely overseen the recording of the song, was bitterly disappointed by the single's lack of success and blamed Gary Usher's mixing of the song as a factor in its commercial failure.
The poor sales suffered by "Lady Friend" were in stark contrast to the chart success of the band's first compilation album, The Byrds' Greatest Hits, which was released on August 7, 1967. Sanctioned by Columbia Records in the wake of the Top 10 success of Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, the album was a critical and commercial triumph, peaking at number six on the Billboard Top LPs chart and giving the band their highest-charting album in America since their 1965 debut, Mr. Tambourine Man. Within a year, the compilation would be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, eventually going platinum on November 21, 1986, and is today the biggest-selling album in the Byrds' discography.
Prior to the release of The Byrds' Greatest Hits, the band decided to dispense with the services of their co-managers Jim Dickson and Eddie Tickner. The relationship between Dickson and the band had soured over recent months, and he and Tickner's business arrangement with the Byrds was officially dissolved on June 30, 1967. At Crosby's recommendation, Larry Spector was brought in to handle the Byrds' business affairs, with the group electing to manage themselves to a large extent.
Between June and December 1967, the Byrds worked on completing their fifth album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers. The lead single from the album was a cover of the Gerry Goffin and Carole King song "Goin' Back", which was released in October 1967 and peaked at number 89 on the Billboard chart. Despite this lack of commercial success, the Byrds' rendition of "Goin' Back" featured a band performance that author Ric Menck has described as "a beautiful recording", while music critic Richie Unterberger has called it "a magnificent and melodic cover ... that should have been a big hit". The song found the Byrds successfully blending their signature harmonies and chiming 12-string guitar playing with the sound of the pedal steel guitar for the first time, foreshadowing their extensive use of the instrument on their next album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
Released in January 1968, The Notorious Byrd Brothers saw the band taking their psychedelic experimentation to its furthest extremes by mixing folk rock, country music, jazz, and psychedelia (often within a single song), while utilizing innovative studio production techniques such as phasing and flanging. The album featured contributions from a number of noted session musicians, including bluegrass guitarist and future Byrd, Clarence White. White, who had also played on Younger Than Yesterday, contributed country-influenced guitar to the tracks "Natural Harmony", "Wasn't Born to Follow", and "Change Is Now". Upon release, the album was almost universally praised by music critics but it was only moderately successful commercially, particularly in the United States where it peaked at number 47. However, the album's reputation has grown over the years and today it is widely regarded by critics and fans as one of the Byrds' best album releases.
### Lineup changes (1967–1968)
While the band worked on The Notorious Byrd Brothers album throughout late 1967, there was increasing tension and acrimony among the members of the group, which eventually resulted in the dismissals of Crosby and Clarke. McGuinn and Hillman became increasingly irritated by what they saw as Crosby's overbearing egotism and his attempts to dictate the band's musical direction. In addition, during the Byrds' performance at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 17, 1967, Crosby gave lengthy in-between-song speeches on controversial subjects, including the JFK assassination and the benefits of giving LSD to "all the statesmen and politicians in the world", to the intense annoyance of the other band members. He further irritated his bandmates by performing with rival group Buffalo Springfield at Monterey, filling in for ex-member Neil Young. His reputation within the band deteriorated even more following the commercial failure of "Lady Friend", the first Byrds' single to feature a song penned solely by Crosby on its A-side.
Tensions within the band finally erupted in August 1967, during recording sessions for The Notorious Byrd Brothers album, when Michael Clarke quit the sessions over disputes with his bandmates and his dissatisfaction with the material that the songwriting members of the band were providing. Session drummers Jim Gordon and Hal Blaine were brought in to replace Clarke temporarily in the studio, although he continued to honor his live concert commitments with the group. Then, in September, Crosby refused to participate in the recording of the Goffin–King song "Goin' Back", considering it to be inferior to his own "Triad", a controversial song about a ménage à trois that was in direct competition with "Goin' Back" for a place on the album. Crosby felt that the band should rely on self-penned material for their albums, rather than cover songs by other artists and writers. He would eventually give "Triad" to the San Francisco band Jefferson Airplane, who included a recording of it on their 1968 album, Crown of Creation.
When tensions reached a breaking point during October 1967, McGuinn and Hillman drove to Crosby's home and fired him, stating that they would be better off without him. Crosby subsequently received a cash settlement, with which he bought a sailboat and soon after, he began working with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash in the successful supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash. In the years after his exit from the Byrds, Crosby enjoyed an influential and commercially successful career as a part of Crosby, Stills & Nash (sometimes augmented by Neil Young), Crosby & Nash, CPR, and as a solo artist. During the 1980s, he fought against crippling drug addiction and eventually served a year in prison on drug-related charges. He emerged from jail free of his drug habit and remained musically active up to his death in 2023.
Following Crosby's departure, Gene Clark briefly rejoined the band, but left just three weeks later, after again refusing to board an aircraft while on tour. There is some disagreement among biographers and band historians as to whether Clark actually participated in the recording sessions for The Notorious Byrd Brothers, but there is evidence to suggest that he sang backing vocals on the songs "Goin' Back" and "Space Odyssey". Michael Clarke also returned to the recording studio briefly, towards the end of the album sessions, before being informed by McGuinn and Hillman that they were dismissing him from the band.
Now reduced to a duo, McGuinn and Hillman elected to hire new band members. Hillman's cousin Kevin Kelley was quickly recruited as the band's new drummer and the trio embarked on an early 1968 college tour in support of The Notorious Byrd Brothers. It soon became apparent, however, that recreating the band's studio recordings with a three-piece line-up wasn't going to be possible and so, McGuinn and Hillman, in a fateful decision for their future career direction, hired Gram Parsons as a keyboard player, although he quickly moved to guitar. Although Parsons and Kelley were both considered full members of the Byrds, they actually received a salary from McGuinn and Hillman, and did not sign with Columbia Records when the Byrds' recording contract was renewed on February 29, 1968.
### Country rock (1968–1973)
#### Gram Parsons era
Following his induction into the band, Gram Parsons began to assert his own musical agenda in which he intended to marry his love of country and western music with youth culture's passion for rock and, in doing so, make country music fashionable for a young audience. He found a kindred spirit in Hillman, who had played mandolin in a number of notable bluegrass bands before joining the Byrds. In addition, Hillman had also persuaded the Byrds to incorporate subtle country influences into their music in the past, beginning with the song "Satisfied Mind" on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album. Although McGuinn had some reservations about the band's proposed new direction, Parsons convinced him that a move towards country music could theoretically expand the group's declining audience. Thus, McGuinn was persuaded to change direction and abandon his original concept for the group's next album, which had been to record a history of 20th century American popular music, and instead explore country rock.
On March 9, 1968, the band decamped to Columbia's recording studios in Nashville, Tennessee, with Clarence White in tow, to begin the recording sessions for the Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. While in Nashville, the Byrds also appeared at the Grand Ole Opry on March 15, 1968, where they performed the Merle Haggard song "Sing Me Back Home" and Parsons' own "Hickory Wind" (although they were actually scheduled to play a second Haggard song, "Life in Prison"). Being the first group of hippie "longhairs" ever to play at the venerable country music institution, the band was met with heckling, booing, and mocking calls of "tweet, tweet" from the conservative Opry audience.
The band also incurred the wrath of renowned country music DJ Ralph Emery, when they appeared on his Nashville-based WSM radio program. Emery mocked the band throughout their interview and made no secret of his dislike for their newly recorded country rock single, "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere". Parsons and McGuinn would later write the pointedly sarcastic song "Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man" about Emery and their appearance on his show. Journalist David Fricke has described the reactions of Emery and the Grand Ole Opry audience as indicative of the resistance and hostility that the Byrds' venture into country music provoked from the Nashville old guard.
Following their stay in Nashville, the band returned to Los Angeles and throughout April and May 1968, they worked on completing their new country-oriented album. During this period, Parsons attempted to exert a controlling influence over the group by pressuring McGuinn to recruit either JayDee Maness or Sneaky Pete Kleinow as the band's permanent pedal steel guitar player. When McGuinn refused, Parsons next began to push for a higher salary, while also demanding that the group be billed as "Gram Parsons and the Byrds" on their forthcoming album. Even Hillman, who had previously been Parsons' biggest supporter in the band, began to grow weary of his forceful demands. Ultimately, Parsons' behavior led to a power struggle for control of the group, with McGuinn finding his position as band leader challenged. However, biographer Johnny Rogan has pointed out that the April 1968 release of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" served to strengthen McGuinn's position as head Byrd, with the guitarist's familiar drawl occupying the lead vocal spot and negligible input from Parsons, despite the single's obvious country leanings.
Parsons' dominance over the band waned still further during post-production for Sweetheart of the Rodeo, when his appearance on the album was contested by music business impresario Lee Hazlewood, who alleged that the singer was still under contract to his LHI record label, creating legal complications for Columbia Records. As a result of this, McGuinn and Hillman replaced Parsons' lead vocals on the songs "You Don't Miss Your Water", "The Christian Life", and "One Hundred Years from Now" before the legal problems could be resolved. However, album producer Gary Usher would later put a different slant on the events surrounding the removal of Parsons' vocals by telling his biographer Stephen J. McParland that the alterations to the album arose out of creative concerns, not legal ones; Usher and the band were both worried that Parsons' contributions were dominating the record so his vocals were excised in an attempt to increase McGuinn and Hillman's presence on the album. In the album's final running order, Parsons is still featured as lead vocalist on the songs "You're Still on My Mind", "Life in Prison", and "Hickory Wind".
With their new album now completed, the Byrds flew to England for an appearance at a charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall on July 7, 1968. Following the concert, just prior to a tour of South Africa, Parsons quit the Byrds on the grounds that he did not want to perform in a racially segregated country (apartheid did not end in South Africa until 1994). Hillman doubted the sincerity of Parsons' gesture, believing that the singer had in fact left the band in order to remain in England with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, whom he had recently befriended. Parsons stayed at Richards' house in West Sussex immediately after leaving the Byrds, and the pair developed a close friendship over the next few years. After leaving the Byrds, Parsons would go on to produce an influential but commercially unsuccessful body of work, both as a solo artist and with the band the Flying Burrito Brothers (which also featured Hillman). He died on September 19, 1973, at the age of 26, following an accidental overdose of morphine and alcohol in his room at the Joshua Tree Inn.
With Parsons gone from the band and their tour of South Africa due to begin in two days time, the Byrds were forced to draft in their roadie Carlos Bernal as a substitute rhythm guitar player. The ensuing South African tour was a disaster, with the band finding themselves having to play to segregated audiences—something that they had been assured by promoters they would not have to do. The under-rehearsed band gave ramshackle performances to audiences that were largely unimpressed with their lack of professionalism and their antagonistic, anti-apartheid stance. The Byrds left South Africa amid a storm of bad publicity and death threats, while the liberal press in the U.S. and the UK attacked the band for undertaking the tour and questioned their political integrity. McGuinn attempted to counter this criticism by asserting that the tour of South Africa had, in some small way, been an attempt to challenge the country's political status quo and protest against apartheid.
After returning to California, the Byrds' released the Sweetheart of the Rodeo album on August 30, 1968, almost eight weeks after Parsons had left the band. It comprised a mixture of country music standards and contemporary country material, along with a country reworking of William Bell's soul hit "You Don't Miss Your Water". The album also included the Parsons originals "Hickory Wind" and "One Hundred Years from Now", along with the Bob Dylan-penned songs "Nothing Was Delivered" and "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", the latter of which had been a moderately successful single. Although it was not the first country rock album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo was the first album widely labeled as country rock to be released by an internationally successful rock act, pre-dating Dylan's Nashville Skyline by over six months.
However, the stylistic shift away from psychedelia towards country rock that Sweetheart of the Rodeo represented served to alienate much of the Byrds' counterculture following, while at the same time, eliciting hostility from the ultra-conservative Nashville country music establishment. As a result, the album peaked at number 77 on the U.S. charts and was the least commercially successful Byrds' album to date upon its initial release. Today, however, it is considered a seminal and highly influential album, serving as a blueprint for the entire 1970s country rock movement, the outlaw country scene, and the alternative country genre of the 1990s and early 21st century.
#### Clarence White era
After Gram Parsons' departure, McGuinn and Hillman decided to recruit noted session guitarist Clarence White as a full-time member of the band in late July 1968. White, who had contributed countrified guitar playing to every Byrds' album since 1967's Younger Than Yesterday, was brought in at Hillman's suggestion as someone who could handle the band's older rock repertoire and their newer country-oriented material. Shortly after his induction into the band, White began to express dissatisfaction with drummer Kevin Kelley and soon persuaded McGuinn and Hillman to replace him with Gene Parsons (no relation to Gram), who White had previously played with in the country rock band Nashville West.
The McGuinn–Hillman–White–Parsons line-up was together for less than a month before Hillman quit to join Gram Parsons in forming the Flying Burrito Brothers. Hillman had become increasingly disenchanted with the Byrds since the South African débâcle, and was also frustrated by business manager Larry Spector's mishandling of the group's finances. Things came to a head on September 15, 1968, following a band performance at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, when Hillman and Spector came to blows backstage. In a fit of rage, Hillman threw down his bass in disgust and walked out of the group. Following his exit, Hillman would have a successful career both as a solo artist and with bands such as the Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas, the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band, and the Desert Rose Band. He remains active, releasing albums and touring, often with ex-Desert Rose Band member Herb Pedersen.
As the only original band member left, McGuinn elected to hire bassist John York as Hillman's replacement. York had previously been a member of the Sir Douglas Quintet and had also worked as a session musician with Johnny Rivers and the Mamas & the Papas. In October 1968, the new line-up entered Columbia Studios in Hollywood to begin recording the Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde album with producer Bob Johnston. The sessions saw the band juxtaposing their new country rock sound with more psychedelic-oriented material, giving the resulting album a stylistic split personality that was alluded to in its title. In the wake of the recent changes in band personnel, McGuinn decided that it would be too confusing for fans of the group to hear the unfamiliar voices of White, Parsons and York coming forward at this stage, and so they were relegated to backing vocals on the album. As a result, Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde is unique in the Byrds' back catalogue as McGuinn sings lead on every track.
The album was released on March 5, 1969 to generally positive reviews, but in America became the lowest-charting album of the Byrds' career, peaking at number 153 on the Billboard album charts. However, the album fared much better in the UK, where it attracted glowing reviews and reached number 15. A number of tracks on Dr Byrds & Mr. Hyde, including the instrumental "Nashville West" and the traditional song "Old Blue", featured the sound of the Parsons and White designed StringBender (also known as the B-Bender), an invention that allowed White to duplicate the sound of a pedal steel guitar on his Fender Telecaster. The distinctive sound of the StringBender became characteristic of the Byrds' music during White's tenure.
Following the release of Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde the band issued a version of Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" as a single in May 1969, which failed to reverse the group's commercial fortunes in the U.S., reaching number 132. The Byrds' producer Bob Johnston took it upon himself to overdub a female choir onto the record, something the group only became aware of after the single was issued, leaving them incensed by what they saw as an embarrassing and incongruous addition. As a result, the band dispensed with Johnston and re-enlisted Terry Melcher, who had produced the band's first two albums, to produce their next LP. Although he was happy to accept the band's invitation, Melcher insisted that he also manage the group to avoid a repeat of the conflict he had experienced in 1965 with Jim Dickson.
Prior to the release of the Byrds' next studio album, however, the band's former producer Gary Usher managed to acquire a number of demo recordings from Dickson, dating from the group's 1964 rehearsal sessions at World Pacific Studios. These recordings were subsequently issued as the Preflyte album on Usher's own Together Records imprint in July 1969. Although the material on Preflyte was five years old at the time of its release, the album actually managed to outperform Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde in America, garnering moderately enthusiastic reviews and peaking at number 84 on the Billboard album chart.
Between June and August 1969, the Byrds worked with Melcher to complete the Ballad of Easy Rider album. Musically, the album represented a consolidation and streamlining the band's country rock sound, and mostly consisted of cover versions and traditional material, along with three self-penned originals. The first single to be released from the album was the title track, issued in October 1969 in America and reaching number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Composed primarily by McGuinn, with some input from Bob Dylan (although not credited), "Ballad of Easy Rider" was written as the theme tune for the 1969 counterculture film Easy Rider. However, the Byrds' recording of the song does not appear in the film and an acoustic version credited to McGuinn alone was used instead. The Byrds' song "Wasn't Born to Follow" from The Notorious Byrd Brothers album was featured in the film and also included on the Easy Rider soundtrack album in August 1969. The Byrds' association with the film heightened their public profile and when the Ballad of Easy Rider album was released in November 1969, it peaked at number 36 in the U.S. and number 41 in the UK, becoming the band's highest-charting album for two years in America. A second single taken from the album, "Jesus Is Just Alright", was released in December 1969, but it only managed to reach number 97. Despite this lack of commercial success, the Doobie Brothers' later hit version of "Jesus Is Just Alright" features an arrangement that was heavily influenced by the Byrds' recording.
Just prior to the release of Ballad of Easy Rider, the Byrds underwent yet another change in personnel when bassist John York was asked to leave the band in September 1969. York had become disenchanted with his role in the Byrds and had voiced his reluctance to perform material that had been written and recorded by the group before he had joined. The rest of the band had begun to doubt his commitment and so, a consensus was reached among the other three members that York should be fired. He was replaced, at the suggestion of Parsons and White, by Skip Battin, a freelance session musician and one-time member of the duo Skip & Flip. Battin's recruitment marked the last personnel change to the group for almost three years and as a result, the McGuinn-White-Parsons-Battin line-up became the most stable and longest-lived of any configuration of the Byrds.
The latter-day, post-Sweetheart of the Rodeo version of the band, featuring McGuinn and White's dual lead guitar work, toured relentlessly between 1969 and 1972 and was regarded by critics and audiences as much more accomplished in concert than any previous configuration of the Byrds had been. As a result of this, it was decided in early 1970 that the time was right for the group to issue a live album. However, it was also felt that the band had a sufficient backlog of new compositions to warrant the recording of a new studio album. It was therefore suggested by Melcher that the band should release a double album, featuring one LP of concert recordings and another LP of new studio material. To help with the editing of the live recordings, the band's ex-manager Jim Dickson, who had been fired by the group in June 1967, was invited back into the Byrds' camp. At around this same time, former business manager Eddie Tickner also returned to the group's employ as a replacement for Larry Spector, who had quit the management business and relocated to Big Sur.
The two-record (Untitled) album was released by the Byrds on September 14, 1970, to positive reviews and strong sales, with many critics and fans regarding the album as a return to form for the band. Peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and number 11 in the UK, the album's success continued the upward trend in the band's commercial fortunes and popularity that had begun with the release of the Ballad of Easy Rider album. The live half of (Untitled) included both new material and new renditions of previous hit singles, including "Mr. Tambourine Man", "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" and a 16-minute version of "Eight Miles High", which comprised the whole of one side of the original LP release. Band biographer Johnny Rogan has suggested that the inclusion of these newly recorded live versions of older songs served to forge a spiritual and musical link between the Byrds' current line-up and the original mid-1960s incarnation of the band.
The studio recordings featured on (Untitled) mostly consisted of newly written, self-penned material, including a number of songs that had been composed by McGuinn and Broadway theatre impresario Jacques Levy for a planned country rock musical titled Gene Tryp that the pair were developing. Plans for the musical had fallen through and as a result, McGuinn decided to record some of the material originally intended for the production with the Byrds. Among the Gene Tryp songs included on (Untitled) was "Chestnut Mare", which had originally been written for a scene in which the musical's eponymous hero attempts to catch and tame a wild horse. The song was issued as a single in the U.S. on October 23, 1970, but it only managed to climb to number 121 on the Billboard chart. Nonetheless, the song went on to become a staple of FM radio programming in America during the 1970s. "Chestnut Mare" did much better in the UK, however, when it was released as a single on January 1, 1971, reaching number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and giving the Byrds their first UK Top 20 hit since their cover of Bob Dylan's "All I Really Want to Do" had peaked at number 4 in September 1965.
The Byrds returned to the recording studio with Melcher sporadically between October 1970 and early March 1971, in order to complete the follow-up to (Untitled), which would be released in June 1971 as Byrdmaniax. Unfortunately, the grueling pace of the band's touring schedule at the time meant that they were not fully prepared for the sessions and much of the material they recorded was under-developed. Following completion of the album recording sessions, the Byrds once again headed out on tour, leaving Melcher and engineer Chris Hinshaw to finish mixing the album in their absence. Controversially, Melcher and Hinshaw elected to bring in arranger Paul Polena to assist in the overdubbing of strings, horns, and a gospel choir onto many of the songs, allegedly without the band's consent. Drummer Gene Parsons recalled in a 1997 interview that when the band heard Melcher's additions they campaigned to have the album remixed and the orchestration removed, but Columbia Records refused, citing budget restrictions, and so the record was duly pressed up and released.
In May 1971, just prior to the release of the Byrdmaniax album, the Byrds undertook a sell-out tour of England and Europe, which included a performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London that was released for the first time in 2008 as Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971. The British and European press were unanimous in their praise of the Byrds' live performances during the tour, reinforcing their reputation as a formidable live act during this period. Over the course of the tour, the band chose to expand their ranks, with roadie Jimmi Seiter joining the group on stage to provide additional percussion as an unofficial member. Seiter would continue to sit in with the Byrds during their live performances until August 1971, when he decided to leave the group's employ.
When the Byrdmaniax album was released on June 23, 1971 it was received poorly by most critics and did much to undermine the new-found popularity that the Byrds had enjoyed since the release of Ballad of Easy Rider. The response to the album from the American music press was particularly scathing, with a review in the August 1971 edition of Rolling Stone magazine describing the Byrds as "a boring dead group" and memorably dismissing the entire album as "increments of pus". The consensus among most reviewers was that Byrdmaniax was hampered by Melcher's inappropriate orchestration and by being an album almost totally bereft of the Byrds' signature sound. The band themselves were publicly critical of the album upon its release, with Gene Parsons referring to it as "Melcher's folly". For his part, Melcher later stated that he felt that the band's performances in the studio during the making of Byrdmaniax were lackluster and he therefore employed the orchestration in order to cover up the album's musical shortcomings. Regardless, by the time of the album's release, Melcher had resigned as the Byrds' manager and producer. Despite the band's dissatisfaction with the finished product and its poor critical reception, Byrdmaniax made a respectable showing on the U.S. charts, peaking at number 46. However, the album failed to sell in sufficient quantities to reach the UK charts. Author Christopher Hjort has remarked that in the years since its release, Byrdmaniax has become arguably "the least-liked album in the Byrds catalogue" among the group's fanbase.
The Byrds moved quickly to record a self-produced follow-up to Byrdmaniax, in an attempt to stem the criticism that the album was receiving in the music press and as a reaction to their own dislike of Melcher's overproduction. Rogan has speculated that the Byrds' decision to produce their next album themselves was an attempt on the band's part to prove that they could do a better job than Melcher had done on their previous record. While in England for an appearance at the Lincoln Folk Festival, the Byrds decamped to CBS Studios in London with engineer Mike Ross and between July 22 and 28, 1971, they recorded an album's worth of new material.
In October 1971, CBS Records in the UK issued The Byrds' Greatest Hits Volume II to capitalize on the group's recent appearance at the Lincoln Folk Festival and perhaps as a reaction to the chart failure suffered by Byrdmaniax. Unfortunately, the compilation album also failed to reach the UK charts, while contemporary reviews made note of its misleading and inaccurate title, since among its twelve tracks, only "Chestnut Mare" had been a genuine hit in the United Kingdom. An equivalent compilation wasn't released in the U.S. until November 1972, when The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II was issued.
On November 17, 1971, less than five months after the release of Byrdmaniax, the Byrds issued their eleventh studio album, Farther Along. The album was met with slightly more enthusiastic reviews than its predecessor but nevertheless, only managed to climb to number 152 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, while failing to reach the charts in the United Kingdom altogether. Musically, the album found the Byrds beginning to move away from their country rock sound—although at least half the album still bore a strong country influence—and instead, embrace a style indebted to 1950s rock 'n' roll music. The Skip Battin and Kim Fowley penned song "America's Great National Pastime" was taken from the album and released as a single in late November, but it failed to chart on either side of the Atlantic. Rogan has concluded that, ultimately, the rapidity with which the Byrds planned and recorded Farther Along resulted in an album that was just as flawed as Byrdmaniax and as a result, it failed to rehabilitate the band's ailing commercial fortunes or increase their declining audience. The album's title track, sung by White with the rest of the group harmonizing, would later become a poignant and prophetic epitaph for the guitarist when it was sung by ex-Byrd Gram Parsons and the Eagles' Bernie Leadon at White's funeral in July 1973.
#### Breakup
Following the release of Farther Along, the Byrds continued to tour throughout 1972, but no new album or single release was forthcoming. Gene Parsons was fired from the group in July 1972 for a number of reasons, including McGuinn's growing dissatisfaction with his drumming, disagreements that he and McGuinn were having over band members' pay, and his own discontent over the band's lack of morale during this period.
Parsons was quickly replaced with L.A. session drummer John Guerin, who remained with the Byrds until January 1973, when he decided to return to studio work. Although Guerin participated in recording sessions with the band and appeared on stage with them from September 1972, he was never an official member of the Byrds and instead received a standard session musician's wage, while continuing to undertake work for other artists as an in-demand studio player. Three officially released Byrds recordings exist of the McGuinn-White-Battin-Guerin lineup: live versions of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Roll Over Beethoven" that were recorded for the soundtrack of the Earl Scruggs' film Banjoman, and a studio recording of "Bag Full of Money" that was included as a bonus track on the remastered reissue of Farther Along in 2000.
Following Guerin's departure, he was temporarily replaced for live performances by session drummers Dennis Dragon and Jim Moon. The band underwent a further personnel change following a show on February 10, 1973, in Ithaca, New York, when Skip Battin was dismissed by McGuinn, who had capriciously decided that the bassist's playing abilities were no longer of a sufficient standard. McGuinn turned to ex-Byrd Chris Hillman – who at that time was a member of the band Manassas – and asked him to step in as Battin's replacement for two upcoming shows on February 23 and 24. Hillman agreed to play both concerts for the sum of \$2,000 and also brought in Manassas percussionist Joe Lala to fill the vacant spot behind the drum kit. Following a shambolic, underrehearsed performance at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, on February 24, 1973, McGuinn cancelled the band's remaining concert commitments and disbanded the touring version of the Byrds, in order to make way for a reunion of the original five-piece line-up of the band.
Five months later, guitarist Clarence White was killed by a drunk driver in the early hours of July 15, 1973, while he loaded guitar equipment into the back of a van after a concert appearance in Palmdale, California.
### Reunions
#### 1972–1973 reunion
The five original members of the Byrds reunited briefly during late 1972, while McGuinn was still undertaking selected concerts with the touring version of the group. Discussions regarding a reunion between Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke had taken place as early as July 1971, around the same time as the then current line-up of the band were recording the Farther Along album. Plans for a reunion accelerated in mid-1972, however, when the founder of Asylum Records, David Geffen, offered each of the original band members a sizable amount of money to reform and record an album for his label. The reunion actually took place in early October 1972, beginning with a rehearsal at McGuinn's house, where the group began selecting suitable material for a new album. The five original Byrds booked into Wally Heider's Studio 3 in Hollywood from October 16 until November 15, 1972, recording their first album together in seven years.
Following completion of the album, Crosby persuaded McGuinn to dissolve the Columbia version of the Byrds, who were still touring at that time. Crosby had long been vocal regarding his displeasure over McGuinn's decision to recruit new band members following his dismissal from the group in 1967, and had stated in a number of interviews that in his opinion "there were only ever five Byrds". In keeping with the new spirit of reconciliation that the reunion fostered, McGuinn permanently disbanded the Columbia lineup of the group in February 1973.
The reunion album, titled simply Byrds, was released on March 7, 1973, to mixed reviews. As a result, a planned tour in support of the album failed to materialize. Among the album's shortcomings, critics made note of a lack of sonic unity and the absence of the Byrds' signature jangly guitar sound. Nonetheless, the album managed to climb to number 20 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and number 31 in the UK. In the United States, the album became the band's highest charting LP of new material since 1965's Turn! Turn! Turn!, which had also been the last Byrds' album to feature Gene Clark as a full member. Among the tracks included on the album were McGuinn's folk-flavored "Sweet Mary", the Joni Mitchell cover "For Free", a re-recording of Crosby's song "Laughing" (which had originally appeared on his 1971 solo album, If I Could Only Remember My Name), and a pair of Neil Young songs. The album also featured the Gene Clark compositions "Changing Heart" and "Full Circle", the latter of which had provided the reunion album with its working title and was subsequently released as a single, although it failed to chart.
The negative critical reception that Byrds received in the music press resulted in the band losing faith in the idea of an ongoing series of reunions. In the years following its release, all five band members were openly critical of the album, with the general consensus being that the material included on it was weak and that the recording sessions had been rushed and ill-thought out. In addition, McGuinn and Hillman have both suggested that with the exception of Gene Clark, the songwriting members of the band were reluctant to bring their strongest compositions to the recording sessions, preferring instead to hold those songs back for their own solo projects. In the wake of the reunion, the five original Byrds quietly returned to their own careers, with the June 1973 release of McGuinn's eponymously titled solo album serving to effectively mark the end of the Byrds.
Following the reunion of 1972/1973, the Byrds remained disbanded throughout the rest of the decade. Roger McGuinn turned his attention to establishing his own career, releasing a series of solo albums between 1973 and 1977, and making a high-profile appearance with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue. Chris Hillman worked as part of the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band following the Byrds reunion and released a pair of solo albums entitled Slippin' Away and Clear Sailin in 1976 and 1977 respectively. David Crosby returned to the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young for their 1974 tour and subsequently continued to produce albums with Graham Nash. He also took part in a 1977 reunion of Crosby, Stills & Nash, which saw the group release their multi-platinum selling CSN album. Michael Clarke also found success following the Byrds reunion as the drummer for soft rock group Firefall, while Gene Clark returned to his solo career, producing the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful albums No Other (1974) and Two Sides to Every Story (1977).
#### McGuinn, Clark & Hillman (1977–1981)
Between 1977 and 1980, McGuinn, Clark and Hillman worked on and off together as a trio, modeled after Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and, to a lesser extent, the Eagles. This supergroup made up of former Byrds was reasonably successful commercially and managed to score a Top 40 hit with the single "Don't You Write Her Off" in March 1979. The trio toured internationally and recorded the albums McGuinn, Clark & Hillman and City. Clark departed the group in late 1979, resulting in a third and final album being billed as McGuinn-Hillman. The two former Byrds continued to play low-key gigs after the release of the McGuinn/Hillman album, but they split up in early 1981.
#### Ersatz Byrds and further reunions (1989–1991; 2000)
In 1984, Gene Clark approached McGuinn, Crosby, and Hillman in an attempt to reform the Byrds in time for the 20th anniversary of the release of the "Mr. Tambourine Man" single in 1985. None of these three original members were interested in the venture and so Clark instead assembled a group of musicians and friends, including Rick Roberts, Blondie Chaplin, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and the ex-Byrds Michael Clarke and John York, under the banner of "The 20th Anniversary Tribute to the Byrds". This tribute act began performing on the lucrative nostalgia circuit in early 1985, but a number of concert promoters began to shorten the band's name to the Byrds in advertisements and promotional material. As the band continued to tour throughout 1985, they eventually decided to shorten their name to the Byrds themselves, prompting McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman to berate the tribute group in interviews, with McGuinn deriding the act as "a cheap show".
After the tour wound down in late 1985, Clark returned to his solo career, leaving Michael Clarke to soldier on with a band that was now billed as "A Tribute to the Byrds" (although again, it was often shortened to the Byrds by promoters). Gene Clark returned to the group following the release of his and Carla Olson's So Rebellious a Lover album, and the tribute band continued to work on and off in 1987 and 1988. Author Johnny Rogan has stated that most die-hard fans of the Byrds were mortified by the existence of this ersatz version of the group, while Byrds expert Tim Connors has commented that "no chapter in the history of the Byrds caused as much consternation and controversy among fans".
In June 1988, McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman appeared at a concert celebrating the reopening of the Ash Grove folk club in Los Angeles. Although they were billed as solo artists, the three musicians came together for an on-stage reunion during the show, performing a string of Byrds hits including "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Eight Miles High". Although Clark and Clarke's Byrds tribute group was inactive at the time of this high-profile get-together of McGuinn, Crosby, and Hillman, Michael Clarke did mount another tribute tour shortly afterwards, this time featuring former Byrd Skip Battin and newcomers Terry Jones Rogers and Jerry Sorn, under the banner of "The Byrds featuring Michael Clarke". In addition, the drummer also sought to trademark the name "The Byrds" for his own use.
In retaliation against Clarke's trademark application, McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman submitted their own counter-claim to gain ownership of the band's name. McGuinn had actually attempted to trademark the Byrds name himself during the 1970s, in order to prevent its misuse, but his application had been turned down. To strengthen their case, the three musicians announced in December 1988 that they would be performing a series of concerts in January 1989 as the Byrds. Although he was no longer connected with Clarke's tribute act, Gene Clark was not invited to participate in these official Byrds reunion concerts due to residual ill-feeling stemming from his earlier "20th Anniversary Tribute to the Byrds".
The reunion concerts were a resounding success, but with Michael Clarke continuing to tour with his Byrds tribute, McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman filed a lawsuit against the drummer in the spring of 1989, suing him for allegedly false advertising, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices, as well as seeking a preliminary injunction against Clarke's use of the name. At the court hearing in May 1989, the judge denied the injunction, ruling that McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman had failed to show that they would be irreparably damaged by Clarke's actions. As a result, Clarke gained full legal ownership of the name the Byrds. In the wake of this ruling, McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman dropped their lawsuit, but to demonstrate that they had not wholly surrendered the Byrds name to Clarke, the three musicians appeared under the banner of "The Original Byrds" at a Roy Orbison tribute concert on February 24, 1990, where they were joined on-stage by Bob Dylan for a rendition of "Mr. Tambourine Man". Later that year, McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman entered Treasure Isle Recorders in Nashville to record four new Byrds tracks for inclusion on the forthcoming The Byrds box set.
On January 16, 1991, the five original members of the Byrds put aside their differences to appear together at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The ceremony honored the original line-up of Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke, while later configurations of the group featuring such key personnel as Gram Parsons and Clarence White were quietly passed over. The occasion, which saw the band come together on stage to perform the songs "Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)", "Mr. Tambourine Man", and "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better", represented the first time that all five original Byrds had stood together since 1973. Unfortunately, it would also represent the last time that the five original members were gathered together. Clark died later that year of heart failure, and on December 19, 1993, Clarke succumbed to liver disease brought on by alcoholism.
Following Clarke's death, Terry Jones Rogers resurrected the Byrds tribute act, with guitarist Scott Nienhaus and former Byrds Skip Battin and Gene Parsons on bass and drums respectively. Performing under the banner of The Byrds Celebration, the tribute group toured extensively throughout the remainder of the 1990s, although Parsons was replaced by session drummer Vince Barranco in 1995 and Battin was forced to retire due to ill-health in 1997. Since 2002, Rogers and Nienhaus have continued to tour as part of the band Younger Than Yesterday: A Tribute to the Byrds, along with bassist Michael Curtis and drummer Tim Politte.
McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman all returned to their individual solo careers following the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. However, the Byrds did reunite for a third time on August 8, 2000, to give an impromptu, one-off performance at a tribute concert for Fred Walecki, the owner of a Los Angeles music equipment store who was suffering from throat cancer. Crosby and Hillman were booked to appear at the event separately, but McGuinn, who was not listed on the bill, made a surprise appearance and joined his two former partners on stage. McGuinn introduced the hastily reformed trio with the words, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the Byrds", as the group launched into renditions of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)". According to contemporary press reports, the reunion was an unmitigated success, with the audience giving the band multiple standing ovations and shouting for more as they left the stage.
During the 2000s, two more ex-members of the Byrds died when drummer Kevin Kelley succumbed of natural causes in 2002 and bassist Skip Battin, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, died at his home in 2003. Former members Gene Parsons and John York both remain active and continue to perform and record various musical projects.
Perhaps the most surprising development in the Byrds' story during the 2000s, however, was the acquisition by David Crosby of the rights to the band's name in 2002. Ownership of the Byrds' name had reverted to Clarke's estate upon his death in 1993 and Crosby's purchase served to effectively bring the convoluted battle for control of the group's name to an end.
To date, the Fred Walecki tribute concert appearance in 2000 was the last performance by the Byrds. However, Hillman and Crosby have both expressed an interest in working with McGuinn again on future Byrds projects, but the lead guitarist and head Byrd remains adamant that he is not interested in another full reunion. During an interview with music journalist John Nork, McGuinn replied "absolutely not", when asked if he had any plans to revive the Byrds, explaining, "No, I don't want to do that. I just want to be a solo artist. The Byrds are well documented. I don't think we need anymore from the Byrds."
In spite of McGuinn's comments, he and Hillman undertook a series of concerts together in 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. Though not billed as the Byrds, the duo, together with backing band Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, played some earlier Byrds' material before performing all of the songs from the album and telling stories about its creation.
### Legacy
Since the band's 1960s heyday, the influence of the Byrds on successive generations of rock and pop musicians has grown steadily, with acts such as the Eagles, Big Star, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, R.E.M., the Bangles, the Smiths, and innumerable alternative rock bands of the post-punk era all exhibiting signs of their influence. Musician and author Peter Lavezzoli described the Byrds in 2007 as "one of the few bands to exert a decisive influence on the Beatles", while also noting that they helped to persuade Bob Dylan to begin recording with electric instrumentation. Lavezzoli concluded that "like it or not, terms like 'folk rock', 'raga rock' and 'country rock' were coined for a reason: the Byrds did it first, and then kept moving, never staying in the 'raga' or 'country' mode for very long. This is precisely what made the Byrds such a rewarding band to follow from one record to the next".
In their book Beyond and Before: Progressive Rock Since the 1960s, academics Paul Hegarty and Martin Halliwell placed the Byrds among a list of bands that they included in the book "not merely as precursors of prog but as essential developments of progressiveness in its early days". In The Great Rock Discography, music researcher Martin C. Strong describes the Byrds' cover of "Mr. Tambourine Man" as "a timeless slice of hypnotic, bittersweet pop" and a record that "did nothing less than change the course of pop/rock history". Author and musician Bob Stanley, writing in his 2013 book Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop, has called the Byrds' music "a phenomenon, a drone, genuinely hair-raising and totally American".
Music historian Domenic Priore attempted to sum up the band's influence in his book Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock 'n' Roll's Last Stand in 60s Hollywood, by stating: "Few of The Byrds' contemporaries can claim to have made such a subversive impact on popular culture. The band had a much larger, more positive impact on the world at large than any Billboard chart position or album sales or concert attendance figure could possibly measure."
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Byrds at number 45 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2006, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
## Members
Original members
- Roger McGuinn – lead guitar, banjo, Moog synthesizer, vocals (1964–1973, 1989–1991, 2000)
- Gene Clark – tambourine, rhythm guitar, harmonica, vocals (1964–1966, 1967, 1972–1973, 1991; died 1991)
- David Crosby – rhythm guitar, vocals (1964–1967, 1972–1973, 1989–1991, 2000; died 2023)
- Michael Clarke – drums (1964–1967, 1972–1973, 1991; died 1993)
- Chris Hillman – bass guitar, rhythm guitar, mandolin, vocals (1964–1968, 1972–1973, 1989–1991, 2000)
Subsequent members
- Kevin Kelley – drums (1968; died 2002)
- Gram Parsons – rhythm guitar, piano, organ, vocals (1968; died 1973)
- Clarence White – lead guitar, mandolin, vocals (1968–1973; died 1973)
- Gene Parsons – drums, banjo, harmonica, pedal steel guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals (1968–1972)
- John York – bass guitar, vocals (1968–1969)
- Skip Battin – bass guitar, piano, vocals (1969–1973; died 2003)
Membership timeline (1964–1973)'''
## Discography
- Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)
- Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965)
- Fifth Dimension (1966)
- Younger Than Yesterday (1967)
- The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)
- Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968)
- Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde (1969)
- Ballad of Easy Rider (1969)
- (Untitled) (1970)
- Byrdmaniax (1971)
- Farther Along (1971)
- Byrds'' (1973)
|
32,907,845 |
Jyles Coggins
| 1,128,997,968 |
American politician
|
[
"1921 births",
"2011 deaths",
"Businesspeople from North Carolina",
"Democratic Party North Carolina state senators",
"Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives",
"Mayors of Raleigh, North Carolina",
"Military personnel from North Carolina",
"People from Iredell County, North Carolina",
"United States Marine Corps bomber pilots of World War II",
"United States Marine Corps officers",
"United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II"
] |
Jyles Jackson Coggins (January 10, 1921 – August 25, 2011) was an American real estate developer and politician who served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate. He served as the Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from 1975 until 1977.
Coggins was born to a poor family in 1921 in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. He moved to Chapel Hill in 1939 to pursue a university education, but dropped out due to ill health and took up various jobs. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1942 and fought in World War II as a bomber pilot. Following his discharge in 1946, Coggins moved to Raleigh to resume his education. He shortly thereafter abandoned his studies to start his own construction company. Over time the business grew and completed projects across the southeastern United States, and Coggins became a millionaire. In 1963 he, a conservative Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives. Two years later he was elected to the North Carolina Senate. Over the course of his legislative career he advocated for the disabled and opposed liquor, pornography, and coed dormitories on state university campuses. He also frequently disregarded the wishes of state Democratic leaders, earning a reputation as a maverick. Coggins left the Senate in 1971 and unsuccessfully sought a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives the following year.
Coggins was elected Mayor of Raleigh in 1975. During his tenure, the Raleigh City Council was split evenly between members aligned with community and environmental activists who wanted to limit the city's growth and others who represented business interests and sought to promote development. The division brought about frequent clashing between Coggins—who had an abrasive, uncompromising style and supported further development in Raleigh—and members of the council. He was challenged in his 1977 reelection bid by Isabella Cannon, who ran at the behest of a coalition of community activists. Coggins frequently attacked the coalition throughout the campaign. Despite having the endorsement of Raleigh's two newspapers and outspending his opponent, he lost the election. He died on August 25, 2011.
## Early life
Jyles Coggins was born on January 10, 1921, in Mooresville, Iredell County, North Carolina, United States to James Lee Coggins and Jeanette Arney. He was the third of five children in a poor family. Both of his parents worked at the Kannapolis Cotton Mill. When Coggins was thirteen years old his father died, and he moved to Statesville to work on a farm, sending a portion of his income back to his family to support it. He graduated from Iredell County's Central High School in 1939.
Coggins hitchhiked from his family's farm to Chapel Hill to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He studied at the school from 1939 until 1940, when he was forced to drop out due to ill health. He then worked a variety of jobs before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps in June 1942. Seeking to become an aviator, he undertook training courses in Chapel Hill; Anacostia, Maryland; and Pensacola, Florida, and was commissioned as a lieutenant on August 17. He completed his operational flight training on November 6 and was subsequently sent to San Diego to join American forces moving out for deployment in World War II. Coggins served as a bomber pilot and fought in the South Pacific, earning ten military awards, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses. Coggins became known as "Bomber Jack" to his fellow Marines during the war and garnered the rank of First Lieutenant before he was discharged in 1946. Coggins returned to North Carolina and enrolled in North Carolina State College in Raleigh, building his own duplex to reside in while he pursued his studies. Anticipating a post-war construction boom, he dropped out in 1947 to pursue a career in contracting.
Coggins married Frances Katherine Lyon on September 24, 1943 in Jacksonville, Florida. They had five daughters together. Coggins was a Presbyterian Christian, and was a member of a masonic lodge, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the American Legion, and the Raleigh Civitan Club.
## Commercial career
Coggins founded the Coggins Construction Company. His first projects were small duplexes. Over time Coggins gradually expanded his building work to include apartment complexes and government buildings. His construction company completed projects across the southeastern United States, including development at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and the erection of Beckanna Apartments, an eight-story, 250-unit housing complex on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh which he named for two of his daughters. Coggins later engaged in real estate speculation. Believing that U.S. Route 70 would become an important channel of commercial activity between Raleigh and Durham, he began to purchase land along the highway, eventually amassing over 250 acres. He leased some of the land in the area and oversaw a significant amount of real estate development along the road, sometimes provoking the ire of local residents. He also founded the Lyon Equipment Company and Dob's, Inc.
Coggins frequently attended to his business, and he had little spare time to interact with friends and family or engage in leisurely activities. Over the course of his career he became a millionaire. His newfound wealth allowed him to purchase a large home and 16-acres of land in western Raleigh. He founded Raleigh Memorial Park, a cemetery. His last development project was the erection of a large mausoleum in the cemetery. Coggins had wanted to build such a structure since the 1950s but never had any commercial support to do so, and decided to personally construct it in the early 1990s. He dedicated it to his wife.
Coggins served as chairman of the board of Textile Research Services, Inc.. He was also a member of the National Association of Cemeteries, North Carolina Cemetery Association, Raleigh Merchants Bureau, Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, North Carolina Association of Quality Restaurants, North Carolina Motel Association, Association of General Contractors, Raleigh Board of Realtors, and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.
## Legislative career
In 1963 Coggins sought a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Affiliating with the Democratic Party, he styled himself as a conservative and won election. Coggins was then elected to the 12th district seat in North Carolina Senate, representing Wake County, in 1965. He won re-election to the Senate in 1967 and 1969, serving until 1971. In the 1969–1970 legislative session, he served as Chairman of both the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutional Care, and the Senate Committee on Libraries. Over the course of his time in the legislature, he advocated for the disabled and opposed liquor, pornography, and coed dormitories on state university campuses. In 1971 he introduced a bill that would prohibit students from visiting opposite sex dormitories on state university campuses, but it was defeated in committee. Throughout his tenure he gained a reputation as a maverick, frequently ignoring the wishes of state Democratic leaders. Speaking about his legislative career in 1975, he said, "I was not a special-interest legislator. I was never bothered by lobbyists much in the legislature."
In 1972 Coggins sought the U.S. House of Representatives seat from North Carolina's 4th congressional district. He lost the Democratic Party's nomination to Ike Franklin Andrews in a primary election.
## Mayoral career
### 1975 campaign
In the 1970s citizens of Raleigh became increasingly concerned about the city's rapid population growth and the consequences of unchecked real estate development. These people formed civic and neighborhood associations which unified as a collective political bloc, the Community Coalition, that supported a more managed process for dealing with Raleigh's expansion. The coalition's electoral strength contributed to the election of Clarence Lightner as Mayor of Raleigh in 1973.
In 1975, Coggins sought the office of Mayor, challenging Lightner, whose reputation had suffered from family legal troubles, though Coggins did not openly discuss them. He emphasized during his campaign that he had never maintained a campaigning organization on his behalf or accepted a political donation, noting that his "loner" status in politics made him less suspicious than other candidates with potential ties to real estate developers. He placed first in the October mayoral primary election, earning 10,201 votes. Lightner placed third. He withdrew from the race and endorsed Coggins. Coggins faced City Councilman J. Oliver Williams in the November 4 election, who had the support of the Community Coalition. According to some reports, Coggins initially sought the support of some coalition members, but failed. He resorted to criticizing the bloc, accusing it of trying to take over the municipal government. Two local black voters' groups, the Raleigh Wake Citizens Association and the Wake County Black Democratic Political Caucus, endorsed him. Coggins won the election with 55 percent of the votes cast in his favor.
### Tenure
Coggins assumed office on December 9, 1975. During his tenure, the eight-member Raleigh City Council was split evenly between members aligned with community and environmental activists who wanted to limit the city's growth and others who represented business interests and sought to promote development. The division brought about frequent clashing between Coggins—who had an abrasive, uncompromising style and supported further development in Raleigh—and members of the council. The disagreement emerged during the City Council's first meeting in December when Coggins called for a vote on the reelection of a returning member as mayor pro tempore. The four city council members supported by the Community Coalition asked that the vote be postponed until a later meeting when they could consider assigning all other leadership roles on the council. Coggins' disregarded their wish and proceeded with the vote, which tied among the councilmen. After breaking the tie with his own vote, Coggins angrily declared "If we're going to have division, let's bring it to a head right now." He then told the four councilmen backed by the coalition, "I refuse to be intimidated. I refuse to be coerced. And I will not be dictated to by any group regardless of who supports it." He later clarified that the "group" he alluded to was the Community Coalition. Relations between Coggins and the council remained tense throughout the rest of his term. The councilmen hotly debated whether the mayor should be empowered to refer proposals to committees without the council's consent. Coggins disagreed with the council about revisions to Raleigh's city charter, pushing for the abolition of the Community Advisory Council, a board which represented neighborhood civic associations. During his tenure the city council also failed to produce a plan for addressing Raleigh's development and growth. The frequent disagreement between Coggins and the council greatly contributed to the eventual resignation of one city councilman and the decision of two others to not seek reelection. While mayor, he also defeated a strike undertaken by black sanitation workers attempting to unionize and established a committee to examine the city's housing inspections department. On July 31, 1976 he was awarded an honorary doctor of law from Shaw University.
### 1977 reelection campaign
Coggins sought reelection in 1977. He was challenged by a grassroots candidate, Isabella Cannon, who ran for the mayoral office at the behest of the Raleigh Coalition, a successor group to the Community Coalition. On September 13 Coggins, Cannon, and other candidates for municipal offices attended a forum hosted by the coalition. In his opening statement Coggins declared that he was not pursuing the coalition's endorsement, and characterized the group as "a self-appointed, self-anointed group of people serving as an ad hoc city council in exile." At the forum's end he dismissed the event as a "farce". Cannon and the other candidates used their time to discuss local issues, and on September 20 the coalition endorsed Cannon.
In the early weeks of the campaign, Coggins discussed Raleigh's need for jobs and his experience in business. Throughout its duration, he emphasized his political experience as mayor and as a legislator. He also frequently criticized the Raleigh Coalition for being "anti-growth". Some observers believed that Coggins attacked the coalition instead of Cannon directly because he was hesitant to speak poorly of an elderly woman. Coggins initially denied that this was the case, but later said, "I still think a gentleman should treat a lady as a lady."
Coggins spent \$12,000 of his own money on his campaign effort, the most of any candidate for Raleigh municipal office in the 1977 election. He received the endorsement of the city's two daily newspapers, The Raleigh News and Observer and The Raleigh Times, as well as the support of the Raleigh Wake Citizens Association. The Wake County Black Democratic Political Caucus endorsed Cannon. During the final week of the campaign, Coggins spent \$9,000 on newspaper advertisements, including \$4,000 on four full-page ads. In an upset, Cannon defeated Coggins in the November 8 election, 14,508 votes to 13,315. Coggins won only 15 of Raleigh's 43 precincts, performing best in the wealthier neighborhood constituencies as well as the working-class areas of the eastern part of the city. Various theories were offered as to why Coggins lost. G. Wesley Williams, director of the Raleigh Merchants Bureau, believed that Coggins "blew it" by repeatably delivering "vitriolic statements" throughout his tenure. Journalists believed the split of the black vote—which had previously unified behind Coggins—contributed to his defeat. Coggins attributed his failure to the campaigning done by the Raleigh Coalition as well as negative press coverage of himself. His term ended in December. Reflecting on his political career in 1998, Coggins said, "I never looked at politics as a profession. It was more of a hobby, my chance to give something back to the community since I had no talent for volunteering [for civic groups]."
## Later life
Coggins flew aircraft as a hobby after World War II, and continued doing so into his 70s. On February 8, 1978 Governor Jim Hunt appointed him to the North Carolina Cemetery Commission. Coggins' wife died in 1995 and he subsequently developed insomnia. He sold Raleigh Memorial Park in 1996. Coggins died at his home in western Raleigh on the evening of August 25, 2011. He was survived by his five daughters, 15 grandchildren, and one great-grandson.
|
36,910,741 |
John Van Antwerp MacMurray
| 1,145,092,901 |
American diplomat (1881–1960)
|
[
"1881 births",
"1960 deaths",
"20th-century American diplomats",
"Ambassadors of the United States to China",
"Ambassadors of the United States to Estonia",
"Ambassadors of the United States to Turkey",
"Columbia Law School alumni",
"New York (state) lawyers",
"Princeton University alumni",
"United States Foreign Service personnel",
"Writers from Schenectady, New York"
] |
John Van Antwerp MacMurray (October 6, 1881 – September 25, 1960) was an American attorney, author and diplomat best known as one of the leading China experts in the U.S. government. He served as Assistant Secretary of State from November 1924 to May 1925, and was subsequently appointed Minister to China in 1925. Although MacMurray had coveted the China post, he soon fell into disagreement with the State Department over U.S. policy towards the ruling Kuomintang government. He resigned the position in 1929 and briefly left the foreign service. Following several years in academia, MacMurray returned to the State Department to become Minister to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from 1933 to 1936. He later served as ambassador to Turkey from 1936 to 1941, and then was made a special assistant to the Secretary of State until his retirement in 1944.
In 1935, MacMurray was commissioned to write a memorandum on the conflict between China and Japan. In it, he suggested that the United States, China, and Great Britain were partly to blame for Japan's invasion of China, and argued that unless the United States stopped opposing Japanese domination of China, a war between the two powers was likely. Japan later attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, drawing the US into World War II.
## Early life
MacMurray was born in Schenectady, New York to Junius Wilson MacMurray and Henrietta MacMurray (née Van Antwerp). His father was a career soldier, serving as a captain in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and later joining the regular army. MacMurray's father also taught military tactics at the University of Missouri and Cornell University, and was the author of several books. His mother, Henrietta Wiswall Van Antwerp, was the daughter of a bank president.
In 1892, at the age of eleven, MacMurray attended his father's boarding school near Princeton, New Jersey. Later, while he was attending the nearby Lawrenceville School, his father's death dealt a "deep emotional blow", according to historian Arthur Waldron. After graduating in 1898, MacMurray enrolled at Princeton University. The school's president, Woodrow Wilson, encouraged him to pursue a career in academia, noting his aptitude for language and literature. MacMurray was also said to display an independent nature, declining to participate in eating clubs or attend chapel.
In 1903, MacMurray was admitted to the Columbia University Law School, and gained admission to the New York State Bar Association in 1906. He concurrently pursued a master of arts degree in Elizabethan drama at Princeton University, which he received in 1907.
## Career
Following his admission to the New York Bar, MacMurray sought a career in government. A letter of commendation from Woodrow Wilson helped MacMurray secure an opportunity to take the foreign service examination. In 1907, he was appointed as Consul-General and Secretary of Legation in Bangkok, Siam, and then became second secretary at the U.S. embassy in St. Petersburg. There he worked under ambassador William Woodville Rockhill, who was credited with helping to shape the United States' open door policy towards China.
Upon returning to Washington in 1911, MacMurray was made chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs, a position he held until 1913. He then had several appointments in East Asia: from 1913 to 1917, he was secretary of Legation in Peking, China, and from 1917 to 1919, he was counselor of the embassy in Tokyo. He had been offered a post as Minister to Siam in 1913, but declined in order to pursue the position in Peking. He again returned to the State Department in 1919 to serve as Chief of Division for Far Eastern Affairs from 1919 to 1924. During that time, MacMurray was involved as an observer to negotiations between China and Japan concerning the status of the Shandong Peninsula, and authored a book titled Treaties and Agreements with and Concerning China. The book was a compilation of all treaties and agreements with China from 1894 to 1919, and was published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
MacMurray briefly served as Assistant Secretary of State from 1924 to 1925. In 1925, he was appointed Minister to China under President Calvin Coolidge, who described him as "our top China expert". He assumed the post in July 1925. MacMurray was well regarded within the diplomatic community in Peking; Sir Ronald Macleay with the British delegation described him as friendly and agreeable, and relatively unburdened by the preconceived ideas and sentimentality towards China that afflicted several of his predecessors. Macleay noted that MacMurray could express himself well and forcefully in diplomatic meetings, but that he was "rather academic", and may have lacked confidence in himself. "I imagine that he allows himself very little freedom of action and refers to Washington on every possible occasion," wrote Macleay. Another British diplomat, Sir Miles W. Lampson, recorded MacMurray's complaints that Washington allowed him little initiative, and seldom adopted his proposals.
Soon after arriving in China, MacMurray fell into disagreement with Washington over U.S. policy towards the ruling Kuomintang (Nationalist) government, which had been demanding immediate revisions to or a cessation of the treaty system in place between the two countries. Whereas Washington wished to make concessions to the Nationalist government, MacMurray favored the enforcement of existing treaties. These differences of opinion led him to resign in November 1929, whereupon he became a professor of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University. In 1930, he became the first director of that university's Walter Hines Page School of International Relations.
In 1933, MacMurray returned to the foreign service. On September 9 of that year, he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania—a position he held until 1936. From 1936 to 1941, MacMurray served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Turkey. He returned to Washington in 1942 and worked as a special assistant to the Secretary of State until his retirement in 1944.
### 1935 Memorandum
In 1935, as tensions in East Asia were mounting, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs, Stanley Hornbeck, commissioned MacMurray to write a memorandum on the situation. The memorandum, "Developments Affecting American Policy in the Far East", challenged many of the underlying assumptions of U.S. policy towards Japan. The conventional wisdom held that Japan was the unprovoked aggressor in the brewing conflict with China. However, MacMurray posited that Chinese and American policies were partly to blame for Japan's actions; whereas Japan had closely adhered to the treaties and agreements brokered during the Washington Disarmament Conference, the United States, Great Britain and China frequently undermined them. Up until the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the "Japanese Government ... was endeavoring in unimpeachable good faith to live up to its undertakings", wrote MacMurray. "The issue of success or failure for the policies evolved at the Washington Conference was actually in the hands of China herself, of Great Britain, and of the United States."
According to Arthur Waldron, MacMurray found that China in particular "systematically flouted the legal framework that alone guaranteed her international position, and by so doing invited Japan's wrath." MacMurray believed that the United States should have valued Japan's efforts to comply with the treaty agreements, and suggested that the United States should accept Japanese aggression against China, rather than aligning ever more closely with China. Barring that, he wrote, an American war with Japan was likely:
> To oppose the Japanese domination of China and actively take all available means and occasions to frustrate it ... would, if pursued consistently and determinedly, almost inevitably mean war with Japan ... Such a war would be a major misfortune for us, even assuming our victory ... It would be a hideously long and costly process ... Even the elimination of Japan, if it were possible, would be no blessing to the Far East or to the world. It would merely create a new set of stresses, and substitute for Japan the USSR as the successor of Imperial Russia as a contestant (and at least an equally unscrupulous and dangerous one) for mastery of the East. Nobody except perhaps Russia would gain from our victory in such a war.
MacMurray's classified memorandum was immediately shelved by the State Department. Following the Second World War, it was available only in select archives. In 1992, the memorandum was published for first time with an introduction by University of Pennsylvania historian Arthur Waldron.
## Films and photography
Throughout his diplomatic tours in China, MacMurray captured thousands of photographs and recorded hours of footage of everyday life. A collection consisting of more than 1,600 of MacMurray's photographs taken in rural China between 1913 and 1917 is held by the Princeton University library.
In 1925, just two years after the advent of the Cine-Kodak motion picture camera, MacMurray began making amateur films of life and travels in China, such as his trips to the Great Wall of China and a journey down the Yangtze River. One film depicted the procession of Sun Yat-sen's body from its original burial place in Peking to a new mausoleum in Nanking. Another film recorded in April 1928 captured scenes of daily life in Kalgan, north of Peking. MacMurray, along with his wife and sister, had traveled to Kalgan and Changpeh with Roy Chapman Andrews, an American explorer and naturalist who made multiple expeditions to the Gobi desert. During the civil war in 1928, however, rogue brigands and soldiers had made travel difficult in the region. To secure passage between Kalgan and Changpeh, MacMurray enlisted the aid of local warlord Zhang Zuolin, who provided an escort of 50 cavalry, 8 cars, and 150 camels.
## Family
In 1916, MacMurray married Lois R. Goodnow, the daughter of Frank Johnson Goodnow—a legal scholar, president of Johns Hopkins University, and a former advisor to the government of the Republic of China. Goodnow had been one of MacMurray's professors at Columbia University. The couple had three children: Joan Goodnow MacMurray, Frank Goodnow MacMurray, and Lois Van Antwerp MacMurray.
## Later life
MacMurray died in September 1960, in Norfolk, Connecticut.
## Works
- Treaties and Agreements with and Concerning China, 1894-1919: Manchu period (1894-1911)
|
43,433,839 |
Talvar (film)
| 1,164,267,320 |
2015 film by Meghna Gulzar
|
[
"2010s Hindi-language films",
"2015 films",
"Central Bureau of Investigation in fiction",
"Fictional portrayals of the Uttar Pradesh Police",
"Films scored by Vishal Bhardwaj",
"Films set in Delhi",
"Films set in Uttar Pradesh",
"Films shot in Delhi",
"Films shot in Mumbai",
"Films shot in Uttar Pradesh",
"Films that won the Best Audiography National Film Award",
"Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay National Film Award",
"Hindi-language films based on actual events",
"Indian films based on actual events",
"Thriller films based on actual events"
] |
Talvar (), released internationally as Guilty, is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language thriller drama film directed by Meghna Gulzar and written by Vishal Bhardwaj. Produced by Bhardwaj and Vineet Jain, the film is loosely based on the 2008 Noida double murder case involving a teenage girl and her family's servant. Starring Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma and Neeraj Kabi, the film follows the investigation of a case from three different perspectives in which her parents are either guilty or innocent of the murder charges by the police investigation, the first Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and an investigation by a different CBI team.
It was conceived by Bhardwaj after he met some of the police officials who were investigating the case. He later met Meghna, and expressed his desire to produce a film with her; they then came up with the idea of making a film about the real-life case. They researched the case for two years and found several contradictions, with each view having some validity. Bhardwaj's script was an example of the Rashomon effect. Pankaj Kumar was the film's director of photography, and A. Sreekar Prasad was its editor.
Talvar premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival in the special-presentation section, and was screened at the 2015 BFI London Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival. It was released theatrically in India on 2 October 2015 to mostly-positive reviews, with particular praise for its writing and performances; however, many of the critics felt that the film was very biased towards the parents. The film was a moderate box-office success, grossing ₹302 million (US\$3.8 million). Bhardwaj received the Best Adapted Screenplay Award for Talvar at the 63rd National Film Awards, and Prasad received the Award for Best Editing at the 61st Filmfare Awards.
## Plot
Fourteen-year-old Shruti Tandon has been found dead at her home in Sameer Vihar in Noida by her parents, Ramesh and Nutan, during the night of 15–16 March 2008. The local police initially look for Khempal, the missing servant but his decomposed body is later found on the terrace of the building where the Tandons live. The police question Kanhaiya, Khempal's close friend and the Tandons' assistant who says that Khempal might have been involved in a sexual relationship with Shruti. They begin to suspect the Tandons, and declare the murders a clear case of honour killing.
On 25 March, the Noida police arrest Ramesh for the murders. The police chief organises a press conference, at which he says that Ramesh murdered Shruti and Khempal after he found them in a compromising position attributing this to honour killing. The victim blaming of Shruti leads to public outrage, and the case is given to Joint Director Ashwin Kumar of the Central Department of Investigation (CDI) and ACP Vedant. Kumar is contemptuous of the sloppy first responders, who botched the initial crime-scene investigation. He believes that the parents are innocent, and methodically builds a case against the father's resentful assistant. His team uses narco tests in their attempt to prove that the assistant (and two accomplices) committed the murders.
Kumar exonerates the parents on 22 June 2008, and Ramesh is released from jail. As Kumar is about to conclude his investigation, his senior officer retires and is replaced by a new CDI chief. ACP Vedant, eager to receive a promotion, begins working against Kumar. This leads to an altercation between the two officers, which results in Kumar's suspension. The CDI gives the case to a new investigative team led by Kumar's former superior, Paul, who concludes that the parents committed the murders. Both investigative teams, with opposing hypotheses, make their cases to the CDI chief. The CDI files a closure report in the Ghaziabad court naming the parents as prime suspects, but the evidence is insufficient to prosecute. The Tandons file a protest plea against the CDI report. The judge rejects the closure report, and accuses the parents in the case. The trial begins on 8 June 2012, and the Tandons are convicted of the murders several months later.
## Cast
- Irrfan Khan as Ashwin Kumar, Joint-Director of CDI
- Konkona Sen Sharma as Nutan Tandon
- Neeraj Kabi as Ramesh Tandon
- Sohum Shah as Vedant Chaudhary
- Alisha Parveen as Shruti Tandon
- Gajraj Rao as Inspector Dhaniram Chaurasia
- Atul Kumar as Paul
- Sumit Gulati as Kanhaiya
- Jaspal Sharma as Rajpal
- Neyha Sharma as a youngster providing a sound bite (cameo)
- Prakash Belawadi as Ramshankar Pillai
- Shishir Sharma as J. K. Dixit
- Tabu as Reema Kumar, wife of Ashwin Kumar
## Production
### Development
Filmmaker and composer Vishal Bhardwaj was impressed by director Meghna Gulzar after seeing the 2007 anthology film, Dus Kahaniyaan (in which she directed one segment), and expressed his wish to produce a film with her. Meghna said that she was "beginning to wonder what to do next" when she had the conversation with Bhardwaj, and they came up with the idea of making a film about the 2008 Noida double murder case. Bhardwaj and Meghna researched the case for nearly two years and found "several bizarre contradictions and each view had their own conviction". They decided to present three perspectives in the story: the police investigation, the first CBI probe and an investigation by a different CBI team. Bhardwaj and Meghna did not yet obtain permission from the Talwar family for the film. Meghna was fascinated by the idea of exploring the "unfinished-ness" of the case. In January 2015, it was announced that the Talwar couple (who were in prison) had approved the film. Bhardwaj, who wrote and produced the film, said that he was influenced by the Rashomon effect (in which the same event is given different interpretations by the individuals involved). According to Meghna, she tried to keep the narrative as objective as possible to let the viewer interpret it on their own.
The names of individuals and organisations were changed in the film to avoid legal issues. At a screening, lawyer and politician Ram Jethmalani, said that the trial depicted in the film was inaccurate. Meghna responded, "[The film] is more about the investigation than about the trial. In fact, the trial is not part of the film at all. It tracks the many investigations." The first draft of the screenplay was written in a year, and it took more time to convince those involved in the investigation to participate. Aarushi's aunt, Vandana Talwar (who began a campaign to prove the parents' innocence), provided some material to Bhardwaj. Some of the documents provided to Bhardwaj were firsthand accounts by Rajesh and Nupur Talwar. Earlier entitled Nyodda, the film was renamed Talvar. The title was initially registered with Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC), but was purchased by Bhardwaj. PNC was the film's initial co-producer, but the company withdrew from the project. About the film's title, Meghna said that it referred to justice: "Talvar alludes to the sword that is held in the hand of the lady of justice." She also said that the film would serve its purpose if it begins a debate about re-examining the case.
Bhardwaj was driven to write the script after an encounter with the case's first investigating officer: "There was a kind of black humour that was coming out of this tragedy. I am a great fan of Rashomon. I found the best way to write the script in it". He was troubled by the fact that people talked about Aarushi's death, but paid little attention to her parents. Meghna and Bhardwaj began researching the case in mid-2012, during the trial. Bhardwaj said that although he took "some liberties with the script", he did not meddle with the story. About the film's purpose, Meghna said that a number of people "knew something about the case, but they didn't know everything about it or remember it". She said that the film brings out the different aspects of the case. Research continued while the film was being shot because of changes on the set or in a scene. Meghna obtained the Talwars' side of the story from a meeting with Rajesh Talwar's brother and sister-in-law, Dinesh Talwar and his wife Vandana; afterwards, she said that she "did not feel the need to meet the Talwars".
### Casting and filming
Alisha Parvin played Shruti Tandon, a role based on Arushi Talwar. Konkona Sen Sharma was approached by Talvar's casting director, who told her about a role based on Nupur Talwar which attracted her. She said she enjoyed the script, and agreed to do the film after meeting Meghna. Sharma did not research her role (she felt that the script was "well researched"), and said that her character was about "portraying guilt and innocence according to perceptions." In November 2013, it was announced that Irrfan Khan was cast in the film. Khan did not know about the case in detail before the film. His character was based on CBI officer Arun Kumar, whom he met in preparation for the film, and he was the only actor approached to play the role. Khan agreed to do the film because he considered the story "near and frightening", and the film was not sensationalised: "It is an important case, and whatever you may think about the verdict, the film gives us a chance to look at our system and how different departments deal with a crisis." Neeraj Kabi, who played Aarushi's father (Rajesh Talwar) in the film, said: "You are making a film about people who are alive and are suffering, you have to be extremely sensitive". Tabu made a three-minute appearance in the film as Khan's wife.
Principal photography began a year later (in June 2014) on location in Mumbai, Delhi and Noida, and lasted almost a year. According to Meghna, filming was a "hugely draining" experience. The script was based on material in the public domain, and she called it her "most fragile film". Several scenes were filmed in a house identical to the Talwars', a few blocks away. Meghna said that the most difficult part for her was filming the murder scenes; although there were different weapons and different killers from different perspectives, the "one[s] to die w[ere] always the girl and the man, which did not change". Pankaj Kumar was Talvar's director of photography, and A. Sreekar Prasad edited the film.
## Soundtrack
The film's music was composed by Vishal Bhardwaj, with lyrics by Gulzar. The album consisted of four songs, with vocals by Arooj Aftab, Rekha Bhardwaj, Sukhwinder Singh and Arijit Singh. It was released on 16 September 2015 on the T-Series label. The score was composed by Ketan Sodha.
The album received generally-positive reviews. Mohar Basu of The Times of India wrote, "With Gulzar saab's work at the pen joining Vishal's formidable sense of melody, Talvar's album [has] a heady quality". Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama said that the film "has a situational soundtrack which has a couple of heartfelt numbers connecting one to the film's theme", praising "Insaaf" for its "uniqueness quotient" and the "haunting appeal". Ruchi Kaushal wrote that "Zinda Hai" "painfully highlights the agony of the parents who have lost their daughter in a twin murder case, for which they themselves are accused."
## Release
Talvar premiered under the title Guilty at 2015 Toronto International Film Festival's special presentation on 14 September 2015, and was screened at the 2015 BFI London Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival. The film's trailer was released on 22 August 2015, followed by two posters featuring Lady Justice and Khan. The film was released on 625 screens throughout India on 2 October 2015. Paid previews were organized a day before its public release. A special screening for celebrities was presented several days after its release. Talvar, the second 2015 film based on the case (the first was Rahasya), was released on DVD on 24 November 2015 and is also available on Netflix.
## Reception
Talvar received a positive critical reception. Rajyasree Sen of Firstpost called the film a "must see whodunnit" with a "gritty documentary feel". Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV praised its writing and performances, calling it a "gripping, genre-defying and non-exploitative cinematic examination" of the murder case. Srijana Mitra Das of The Times of India wrote, " ... Talvar is super-sharp, a sword swipe at Bollywood's song-and-dance, mehendi-fuelled escapism." Rajeev Masand called the film a "gripping, then baffling, and ultimately disturbing account" of the murder, "deliberately unsentimental and melodrama-free". Sneha May Francis of Emirates 24/7 praised Sharma and Kabi, expressing that they "play the parents impressively, with restrained perfection".
Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters noted that it is a "well-constructed, gripping film", but the filmmakers' bias about the case left a "bitter aftertaste". Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in felt the film was a "slickly produced, tightly written and beautifully performed true crime documentary"; she also called Talvar a "legal petition disguised as a movie", whose sole purpose was to request the authorities to reconsider the case. Aseem Chhabra of Rediff.com observed: "very uncomfortable film to watch": "A good film should be able to get into our skin, challenge us, shake us up and Talvar does all of that." Jai Arjun Singh praising Khan's performance, said that his character's "commitment and comic timing" were rare in Hindi films.
Namrata Joshi of Outlook described its "solid writing, sharp dialogue and the spot-on performances" as the strengths. She praised its humour in the face of a serious investigation, which gave the film a "nice touch". Sarit Ray of Hindustan Times mentioned Talvar "shakes you up and forces you to think". He praised the "believable and flawed" character of Ashwini, who "drinks on the sly, out of bottles wrapped in paper bags, and distractedly plays Snakes on his phone while a parent sobs" instead of being a "punchline-spewing hero figure". Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express thought that it was "a brave film that devastates, and despite its flaws, makes for a compelling watch."
Raja Sen wrote in his review: "A tightly-coiled procedural made with such dryness that it seems, in parts, documentarian – resembling a reenactment more than a feature film". Deepanjana Pal said that Talvar was more of a "much-needed social document than a film", and its "direction lacks imagination". Anuj Kumar of The Hindu reviewed, "Its intentions might be blunt but as a piece of cinema Talvar is a sharp procedural." Uday Bhatia of Mint praised its performances and Bhardwaj's screenplay: "A taut film on the Noida double homicide, built around an exceptional screenplay". According to Sonia Chopra of Sify, the film was a "perfect balance of sobriety and cruelly dark humour."
Among overseas reviewers, Joe Leydon of Variety labelled the screenplay "solidly constructed" and the film's narrative flow "satisfyingly brisk". J. Hurtado of Screen Anarchy wrote, "Talvar makes for gripping, infuriating, and at times illuminating viewing, and it's a film that will translate just as well to those ignorant with the case as to those intimately involved." Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, naming it "gripping from start to finish." Rachel Saltz of The New York Times noted Khan's performance as the "movie's best weapon": "Playing a familiar character type, the world-weary detective, he gives a performance, full of small, sly details, that doesn't seem familiar at all."
### Box office
Talvar was filmed on a budget of ₹150 million (US\$1.9 million). Released with Singh Is Bliing and Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon, the film grossed ₹25 million (US\$310,000) at the box office and earned ₹5 million (US\$63,000) from the paid preview before its theatrical release. It earned ₹27.5 million (US\$340,000) and ₹35 million (US\$440,000) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, for a total of ₹92.5 million (US\$1.2 million) on its opening weekend. Talvar grossed ₹226 million (US\$2.8 million) during its first ten days and, by the end of its theatrical run, earned ₹302 million (US\$3.8 million).
## Awards
At the 63rd National Film Awards, Bhardwaj received the Best Adapted Screenplay Award and Sanjay Kurian the Best Audiography award. At the 61st Filmfare Awards, A. Sreekar Prasad received the Best Editing award and Shajith Koyeri the Best Sound Design award.
## See also
- Rashomon effect
|
30,907,312 |
Santa-Fe (Bob Dylan song)
| 1,139,734,382 | null |
[
"1967 songs",
"Bob Dylan songs",
"Songs written by Bob Dylan"
] |
"Santa-Fe" (sometimes spelled "Santa Fe" or "Santa Fé") is a song that was recorded by Bob Dylan and the Band in the summer or fall of 1967 in West Saugerties, New York. It was recorded during the sessions that would in 1975 be released on The Basement Tapes but was not included on that album. These sessions took place in three phases throughout the year, at a trio of houses, and "Santa-Fe" was likely put on tape in the second of these, at a home of some of the Band members, known as Big Pink. The composition, which has been characterized as a "nonsense" song, was copyrighted in 1973 with lyrics that differ noticeably from those on the recording itself.
In the decades following this collaboration, the over 100 tracks recorded at these sessions were at different stages obtained by collectors and released on bootlegs. The first batch of these leaked to the public beginning in the late 1960s; the second in 1986; the third, which included "Santa-Fe", in the early 1990s; and a fourth batch of Basement Tape tracks became public in 2014. The song was released officially on the Columbia album The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. It has been subject to mixed opinions by critics and biographers, with some praising it for its expressiveness, and others regarding it unmemorable, while criticizing its inclusion on The Bootleg Series at the expense of more worthy candidates.
## Background
### Recording near Woodstock
In 1965 and 1966, Dylan was touring with the Hawks—Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm, although Helm quit the group in late November or early December 1965. In July 1966, Dylan suffered a motorcycle accident and spent several months recuperating at his house in Byrdcliffe, near Woodstock, New York. By spring 1967, all of the members of the Hawks, except Helm, had joined Dylan in the Woodstock area, with Danko, Manuel and Hudson living in nearby West Saugerties in a house nicknamed Big Pink. Dylan and the four Hawks began recording informal music sessions, first at Dylan's house in what was known as "the Red Room", followed by the basement of Big Pink. Earlier on they recorded mostly covers and traditional music, but later moved onto original material written largely by Dylan. In total, over 100 songs and alternate takes were put on tape. Helm returned to the group in October 1967 and performed on some final Woodstock-area collaborations between Dylan and the Hawks, these ones at a different house that some group members had moved to. In the fall of that year, the Hawks, who soon renamed themselves the Band, continued writing and rehearsing songs for their debut album, Music From Big Pink.
Dylan biographer Sid Griffin has noted that, because no written records were kept of these 1967 recording sessions, "the world will have to live with the fact that it will never know exactly which Basement Tapes tune was recorded when and where". Nonetheless, using clues such as the sound quality of different batches of songs, and where they appear on the original reels of tapes, attempts have been made to place the songs into a rough chronology and guess the locations at which they were likely recorded. Biographer Clinton Heylin places "Santa-Fe" in the summer of 1967 at Big Pink. The liner notes of The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 date it in the fall of that year. Griffin lists it among the probable Big Pink recordings, and in a group of songs from around July, but concedes it is also "unlikely [but] possible" it came from the Red Room.
### Circulation of Basement Tape songs
In late 1967, an acetate of fourteen of Dylan's compositions was made, from which demos circulated among music groups who might be interested in recording some of the songs. Artists including Peter, Paul and Mary, Manfred Mann and the Byrds eventually did. Dylan's demo tapes were soon heard by music journalists, including Rolling Stone'''s Jann Wenner, who wrote a front-page story in that magazine entitled "Dylan's Basement Tape Should Be Released". This made the general public hungry to hear the music, and in July 1969 a bootleg called Great White Wonder, which included some of the Big Pink songs, came out. Other Basement Tape bootlegs followed.
In 1975, the Columbia album The Basement Tapes was compiled, mainly by Robertson and engineer Rob Fraboni. Robertson and Fraboni put thirty-five of the songs onto composite reels of tape, and Heylin believes these represented a short list of candidates for the album. "Santa-Fe" was included on these composite reels, but was not ultimately chosen for the album. The Basement Tapes included sixteen Dylan songs recorded at Big Pink in 1967, as well as eight Band demos from various times and locations between 1967 and 1975. One Dylan song on the album, "Goin' to Acapulco", had not appeared on his 1967 fourteen-song acetate or on bootlegs, and this alerted the world to the possibility that there might be more Basement Tape songs in existence. In 1986, at least twenty-five previously unknown 1967 songs by Dylan and the Band passed into collectors' hands by way of a former roadie of the Band's. In the early 1990s, a third batch of songs, these ones from Garth Hudson's archives, came to light around the time Columbia was preparing The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3; "Santa-Fe" comes from this group. In his liner notes for The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3, John Bauldie commented on these second and third stages in which groups of Big Pink songs had come to light: "Despite the ... emergence [in 1986] in collectors' circles of a further couple of hours of Basement Tapes, it seems as though there's a good deal left unheard. 'Santa-Fe' is just one example of a batch of previously unsuspected Basement tracks". By 1992, the "Santa-Fe" batch of songs had been obtained by bootleggers, and almost all known Dylan Basement Tape songs were assembled onto the 5-CD bootleg The Genuine Basement Tapes. "Santa-Fe" was also included on the 2014 compilations The Basement Tapes Raw and The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete; the latter album officially released a fourth batch of previously uncirculating Basement Tape songs.
## Personnel
The liner notes for The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 list the song's personnel as Dylan, guitar and vocals; Robertson, guitar; Hudson, organ; Manuel, piano; Danko, bass; and Helm, drums. However, Griffin argues that Helm did not arrive in Woodstock until after the song is believed to have been recorded. Furthermore, the drumming sounds to Griffin more like Manuel's style. Heylin and biographer Greil Marcus similarly do not include "Santa-Fe" among the songs they believe were recorded after Helm's arrival. Griffin also argues that no organ is audible on the track and proposes the following musician line-up as being more likely: Dylan, acoustic guitar and vocals; Robertson, electric guitar; Hudson, piano; Danko, bass; Manuel, drums.
## Copyright and lyrics
Different Basement Tapes songs were copyrighted in stages between 1967 and 1975, with "Santa-Fe" being registered in September 1973; still other songs from the sessions were not copyrighted until the 1980s. Researcher Tim Dunn indicates that in the original 1973 copyright the song was registered as "Santa-Fe" with a hyphen, but that some later documents relating to the renewal of the copyright omit the hyphen. The liner notes of The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 print the title as "Santa-Fe", while Dylan's official website, Bobdylan.com, spells it without the hyphen but with an accent on the e: "Santa Fé".
Heylin has noted that, as is the case with a number of other of Basement Tapes tracks, Dylan's copyrighted, published "Santa-Fe" lyrics differ from what can be heard on the song. Heylin speculates that the "dramatic reworking" in the later version arose from Dylan's "1973 musing in Malibu", where Dylan had moved to, and that new lines like "build a geodesic dome and sail away" and "My shrimp boat's in the bay" sound like the work of "someone sitting on the dock of the bay, not up on Meads Mountain [in Woodstock]". Heylin also notes that the website maintained by Olof Björner, Words Fill My Head, contains a transcription of the song as Dylan performed it. The 1973 copyrighted lyrics are printed on Bobdylan.com.
In his notes for The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3, Bauldie describes the song as "a typical combination of nonsense and fun, just for the hell of it, really ..."; author Oliver Trager likewise describes it as a "nonsense" song. Heylin writes that the lyrics "revolve around 'dear, dear, dear, dear, Santa Fe'—intended to be both a woman's name and the town in New Mexico. After five verses of rolling said words around, he moves on."
## Appraisal
Opinions about the song have been mixed. AllMusic critic Thomas Ward calls it "one of the great good-time songs in Dylan's canon". Ward comments that "Dylan sings it as if he is having the time of his life", adding that "rarely has he sung with such expressiveness". Anthony Varesi, author of The Bob Dylan Albums, similarly praises the song's "breadth of feeling" and "unparalleled expressiveness", noting that "it appears Dylan simply improvised the song on the spot, and the passion within him allows the song to flow forth naturally". Biographer John Nagowski has described the song as "delightful", while a New York Times review rates it one of the highlights of Volume 2 of The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3, commenting that it is one of only a couple of mid-60s songs on the compilation that "live up to their vintage". Griffin describes it as "catchy but slight" and "a slight if charming little ditty", but criticizes the decision to include it on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 rather than the "masterpiece" composition "Sign on the Cross". Heylin concurs, characterizing "Santa-Fe" in 1995 as a "pleasant enough throwaway" but suggesting that "Sign on the Cross" or another 1967 composition, "I'm Not There", would have been much better choices ("I'm Not There" was eventually released in 2007 on the I'm Not There soundtrack, and both it and "Sign on the Cross" were included on The Basement Tapes Raw and The Basement Tapes Complete in 2014). By 2009, Heylin's opinion had changed little and he writes that "of all the 'missing' basement-tape originals that appear on that three-CD set, 'Santa Fe' hardly represented an A-list candidate. Just another discarded ditty, it relies on the usual wordplay and slurred diction to obscure any pretense to a deeper meaning". Marcus dismisses it as no more than "a riff", while a review in Stereophile magazine calls it "the most lightweight tune on all three CDs, with indecipherable lyrics". Author Peter James, referring to Dylan and the Band's Woodstock output, writes that "many great songs were written and recorded in [Big Pink's] basement in 1967, unfortunately 'Santa-Fe' is not one of them." He goes on to describe the song's inclusion on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 as "little more than a joke".
## Cover versions
The song has been covered by Howard Fishman on his album Performs Bob Dylan & The Band's The Basement Tapes Live at Joe's Pub. Fishman played more than sixty songs from Dylan and the Band's Basement Tapes sessions over three nights, of which selected tracks were included on the CD and an accompanying DVD. "Santa-Fe" has also been covered by Steve Gibbons. On November 7, 2007 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, J Mascis and the Million Dollar Bashers performed the song at a special concert featuring numerous music artists celebrating the release of Todd Haynes's film I'm Not There''. Thomas Ward notes that Dylan himself has never played the song live.
|
2,113,926 |
They Don't Care About Us
| 1,170,834,631 |
1996 single by Michael Jackson
|
[
"1995 songs",
"1996 singles",
"African American–Jewish relations",
"American pop rock songs",
"Antisemitism in the United States",
"Blues songs",
"Dancehall songs",
"Epic Records singles",
"Michael Jackson songs",
"Music videos directed by Spike Lee",
"Music videos shot in Brazil",
"Number-one singles in Germany",
"Number-one singles in Italy",
"Number-one singles in the Czech Republic",
"Obscenity controversies in music",
"Protest songs",
"Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson",
"Songs against racism and xenophobia",
"Songs written by Michael Jackson"
] |
"They Don't Care About Us" is a song by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released in April 16, 1996, as the fifth single from his ninth album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). It is a protest song and remains one of the most controversial pieces Jackson ever composed. In the US, media scrutiny surrounding allegations of antisemitic lyrics were the catalyst for Jackson issuing multiple clarifications, an apology, defense from director Spike Lee and re-releasing the song with a new vocal featuring altered lyrics. The singer countered allegations of antisemitism, arguing that reviews had misinterpreted the context of the song, either unintentionally or deliberately.
"They Don't Care About Us" was accompanied by two music videos directed by Lee. The first was shot in two locations in Brazil: in Pelourinho, the historic city center of Salvador; and in Santa Marta, a favela of Rio de Janeiro. State authorities tried to ban production over fears the video would damage their image, the area and prospects of Rio de Janeiro staging the 2004 Olympics. Still, the residents of the area were happy to see the singer, hoping their problems would be made visible to a wider audience. The second video was shot in a prison and contained video footage of multiple references to human rights abuses.
Commercially, "They Don't Care About Us" became a top ten hit in European countries and number one in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Italy. In the US, the song peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"They Don't Care About Us" was performed as part of a medley with "Scream" and "In the Closet" during Jackson's third and final concert series, the HIStory World Tour, which ran from 1996 to 1997. The song was set to be performed on Jackson's This Is It comeback concert series at The O2 Arena in London from July 2009 to March 2010, but the shows were cancelled due to his sudden death in June 2009. "They Don't Care About Us" was remixed with parts of songs such as "Privacy" (from the album Invincible) and "Tabloid Junkie" (from HIStory), and released on the Immortal album, in November 2011.
The song gained renewed attention and relevance due to its use during Black Lives Matter protests in 2014 and 2015, and again in 2020.
## Music and composition
The song begins with a group of children singing the chorus, "All I wanna say is that they don't really care about us". In between the chorus lines, one child chants, "Don't worry what people say, we know the truth", after which another child says, "Enough is enough of this garbage!" It is played in the key of D minor and the track's time signature is common time. The song, which is cited as being a pop song, has a moderately slow tempo of 90 beats per minute. Instruments used include synthesizers, percussion and guitar.
## Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard noted that the song's much-documented offending words were obscured by sound effects. He wrote, "With or without those words, this song comes across as less an intended indictment of the world's oppressive forces and more as lightly shrouded ramblings of personal paranoia. There is nothing wrong with an artist pouring personal experience into a song, of course, but the range of emotion displayed in Jackson's snarling vocal would be far more affecting within a more direct lyrical context." A reviewer from Music Week rated "They Don't Care About Us" four out of five, adding, "With echoes of Bad, Jackson's next single from HIStory sees him in tougher mode, with some real raucous guitar backing his soaring vocals." The magazine's Alan Jones described it as "a slim, sylph-like tirade, economical and angry." He concluded, "The quality of the song is there however, and Jacko's on a roll. Number one?" Jim Farber of New York Daily News said that Jackson "snarled" while singing, that the song "clicked" and has an "original clattering rhythm".
Jon Pareles from The New York Times stated that Jackson was calling himself "a victim of police brutality" and a "victim of hate". He continued, "A listener might wonder just who 'Us' is supposed to be ... To make the songs lodge in the ear, Jackson uses elementary singsong melodies – a 'nyah, nyah' two-note motif in 'They Don't Care About Us' ... and he comes up with all kinds of surprises in the arrangements". James Hunter of Rolling Stone magazine noted that, musically, Jackson was no longer trying to hide any eccentricities he had and added that, with "They Don't Care About Us", the pop musician sounded more embattled than ever. The review of HIStory in The Washington Times noted of "They Don't Care About Us": "[it] follows fast, inviting more pathos – and more controversy. With haunting clapping and a police scanner in the background". The Sacramento Bee described it as a "looped reggae-lite dance beat".
## Chart performance
In the United Kingdom, "They Don't Care About Us" peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and stayed on the chart for three months.
The song found particular success in the rest of Europe, peaking within the top ten in all countries, except in Spain, where it peaked at number 11 and remained in the chart for just one week. European highlights came in Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Sweden, where the song became a top five hit and stayed in each country's respective charts for a minimum of 21 weeks. The song reached the top of the charts for three weeks in Germany and stayed a full 30 weeks in the survey, marking the longest consecutive chart run of a Michael Jackson song in the German charts.
The lyrical controversy surrounding "They Don't Care About Us" brought partial commercial disappointment in the US. It peaked at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, falling short of the record breaking success of the two previous singles, "Scream/Childhood" and "You Are Not Alone", yet the song peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart.
## Music videos
Producing the first music video for "They Don't Care About Us" proved to be a difficult task for Jackson. State authorities unsuccessfully tried to ban the singer filming in Salvador (Pelourinho) and in Rio de Janeiro. Officials in the state of Rio feared images of poverty might affect tourism and accused Jackson of exploiting the poor. Ronaldo Cezar Coelho, the state secretary for Industry, Commerce and Tourism, demanded editing rights over the finished product, stating, "I don't see why we should have to facilitate films that will contribute nothing to all our efforts to rehabilitate Rio's image". Some were concerned that scenes of poverty and human rights abuses would affect their chances of hosting the Olympics in 2004. Others supported Jackson's wish to highlight the problems of the region, arguing that the government were embarrassed by their own failings.
A judge banned all filming but this ruling was overturned by an injunction. Although officials were angry, the residents were not and Jackson was surrounded by crowds of enthusiastic onlookers during filming. One woman managed to push through security to hug Jackson who continued dancing while hugging her. Another woman appeared and hugged him from behind. He then fell to the ground as police pulled the two women off him and escorted them away. After the director helped Jackson get up off the street, he continued to sing and dance. This incident made it into the music video. 1,500 policemen and 50 residents acting as security guards effectively sealed off the Santa Marta favela. Some residents and officials found it offensive that Jackson's production team had negotiated with drug dealers in order to gain permission to film in one of the city's shantytowns.
The music video was directed by Spike Lee. Asked why he chose Lee to direct the video, Jackson responded, "'They Don't Care About Us' has an edge, and Spike Lee had approached me. It's a public awareness song and that's what he is all about. It's a protest kind of song ... and I think he was perfect for it".
Jackson also collaborated with 200 members of the cultural group Olodum, who "swayed to the heavy beat of Salvador's 'samba-reggae' music". The media interest surrounding the music video exposed Olodum to 140 countries around the world, bringing them worldwide fame and increased credibility in Brazil. At the beginning of the video, a Brazilian woman says, "Michael, eles não ligam pra gente" (Portuguese for "Michael, they don't care about us"), recorded by Angélica Vieira, producer of Manhattan Connection.
Speaking of the music video, in The New Brazilian Cinema, Lúcia Nagib observed:
> When Michael Jackson decided to shoot his new music video in a favela of Rio de Janeiro ... he used the favela people as extras in a visual super-spectacle ... All the while there is a vaguely political appeal in there ... The interesting aspect of Michael Jackson's strategy is the efficiency with which it gives visibility to poverty and social problems in countries like Brazil without resorting to traditional political discourse. The problematic aspect is that it does not entail a real intervention in that poverty.
In 2009, Billboard described the area as "now a model for social development" and claimed that Jackson's influence was partially responsible for this improvement.
As of April 2023, the music video has received over 1 billion views. It became Jackson's second music video (after Billie Jean) to achieve this feat, Making Jackson the first male solo artist from the 20th century to have two music videos achieve one billion views.
For the first time in his career, Jackson made a second music video for a single. This second version was filmed in a prison with cell mates; in the video Jackson is seen handcuffed. It also contains real footage of police attacking African Americans (including the beating of Rodney King), the military crackdown of the protests in the Tiananmen Square, the Ku Klux Klan, war crimes, genocide, execution, martial law, and other human rights abuses. This version is rarely to never played on television and has less than a tenth of the views of the Rio video on YouTube.
The first music video of the song appears on the box set Visionary: The Video Singles, as well as on the video albums HIStory on Film, Volume II and Vision; the latter additionally includes the prison version.
In 2020, Spike Lee put together a third music video that incorporates pieces of both the Brazil and prison versions, as well as footage from various Black Lives Matter protests occurring around the world at that time.
## Live performances
"They Don't Care About Us" was only performed as part of the opening medley for the HIStory World Tour, along with "Scream" and "In the Closet". The segment for "They Don't Care About Us" began with a short, military-style dance sequence and contained an excerpt of "HIStory". A short unedited video clip released after Jackson's death of the June 23, 2009, rehearsal for the This Is It concert series shows Jackson performing the song as the main song in a medley with parts of "HIStory," as well as "Why You Wanna Trip On Me" and "She Drives Me Wild" from Dangerous. The song was later remixed and featured as part of Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour.
## Lyric dispute and context
On June 15, 1995, a day before the release of HIStory, The New York Times reported that "They Don't Care About Us" contained racist and anti-Semitic content. The publication highlighted the lyrics, "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me." Jackson responded directly to the publication, stating:
> "The idea that these lyrics could be deemed objectionable is extremely hurtful to me, and misleading. The song in fact is about the pain of prejudice and hate and is a way to draw attention to social and political problems. I am the voice of the accused and the attacked. I am the voice of everyone. I am the skinhead, I am the Jew, I am the black man, I am the white man. I am not the one who was attacking. It is about the injustices to young people and how the system can wrongfully accuse them. I am angry and outraged that I could be so misinterpreted."
When questioned further about the lyrics on the ABC News program Prime Time Live, Jackson stated, "It's not anti-Semitic because I'm not a racist person ... I could never be a racist. I love all races." The singer also said that some of his closest employees and friends were Jewish. That same day, Jackson received support from his manager and record label, who described the lyrics as "brilliant", that they were about opposition to prejudice and taken out of context. The following day, two leading members of the Jewish community stated that Jackson's attempt to make a song critical of discrimination had backfired. They expressed the opinion that the lyrics used were unsuitable for a teenage audience that might not understand the song's context, adding that the song was too ambiguous for some listeners to understand. They accepted that Jackson meant well and suggested that the entertainer write an explanation in the album booklet.
On June 17, Jackson issued another public apology for his choice of words. He promised that future copies of the album would include an apology. By this point, however, two million copies of the record had already been shipped. The singer concluded, "I just want you all to know how strongly I am committed to tolerance, peace and love, and I apologize to anyone who might have been hurt." The next day, in his review of HIStory, Jon Pareles of The New York Times alleged, "In ... 'They Don't Care About Us', he gives the lie to his entire catalogue of brotherhood anthems with a burst of anti-Semitism."
On June 21, Patrick Macdonald of The Seattle Times criticized Jackson, stating, "He may have lived a sheltered life, but there really is no excuse for using terms like 'Jew me' and 'kike' in a pop song, unless you make it clear you are denouncing such terms, and do so in an artful way." Two days later, Jackson decided, despite the cost incurred, he would return to the studio and alter the offending wording on future copies of the album; "Jew me" and "Kike me" would be substituted with "do me" and "strike me". The music video and some copies of the album still carry the original words, but with loud, abstract noises partially drowning them out. He reiterated his acceptance that the song was offensive to some. Spike Lee defended Jackson's use of the word, by mentioning the double standard from the media. "While The New York Times asserted the use of racial slurs in 'They Don't Care About Us', they were silent on other racial slurs in the album. The Notorious B.I.G. says 'nigga' on "This Time Around," another song on the HIStory album, but it did not attract media attention, as well as, many years before, use in lyrics of word 'nigger' by John Lennon."
## Track listings
- Europe CD single
1. "They Don't Care About Us" – 4:43
2. "They Don't Care About Us (Track Masters Remix)" – 4:07
3. "They Don't Care About Us (Charles' Full Joint Remix)" – 4:56
4. "Beat It (Moby's Sub Mix)" – 6:11
- US CD single
1. "They Don't Care About Us" – 4:43
2. "They Don't Care About Us (Charles' Full Joint Mix)" – 4:56
3. "They Don't Care About Us (Dallas Main Mix)" – 5:20
4. "They Don't Care About Us (Love to Infinity's Walk in the Park Radio Mix)" – 4:46
5. "They Don't Care About Us (Love to Infinity's Classic Paradise Radio Mix)" – 4:14
6. "They Don't Care About Us (Track Masters Radio Edit)" – 3:41
7. "Rock With You (Frankie's Favorite Club Mix)" – 7:45
8. "Earth Song (Hani's Club Experience)" – 7:55
## Personnel
- Michael Jackson – lead vocals, backing vocals, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, producer, synthesizer programming, vocal arrangements, rhythm arrangements, string arrangements
- Los Angeles Children's Choir – backing vocals
- Trevor Rabin – guitar
- Slash – additional guitar
- Brad Buxer – percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, synthesizer programming
- Chuck Wild – keyboards, synthesizers, synthesizer programming
- Jeff Bova, Jason Miles – keyboards, synthesizers
- Bruce Swedien – recording engineer, mixing
- Eddie De Lena – assistant recording engineer, mixing
- Matt Forger, Rob Hoffman – assistant recording engineers
- Annette Sander – choral arrangements
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications
|
3,703,138 |
Wressle Castle
| 1,171,540,433 |
Late 14th-century quadrangular castle in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England
|
[
"Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century",
"Castles in the East Riding of Yorkshire",
"Grade I listed buildings in the East Riding of Yorkshire",
"Grade I listed castles",
"Percy family residences",
"Ruins in the East Riding of Yorkshire",
"Scheduled monuments in the East Riding of Yorkshire"
] |
Wressle Castle is a ruined palace-fortress in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, built for Thomas Percy in the 1390s. It is privately owned and it is usually open to the public for a few days each year. Wressle Castle originally consisted of four ranges built around a central courtyard; there was a tower at each corner, and the structure was entered through a gatehouse in the east wall, facing the village.
After Thomas Percy was executed for rebelling against Henry IV, Wressle Castle was confiscated by the Crown. With occasional periods when it was granted to other people, the castle was mostly under royal control until 1471 when it was returned to the Percy family. Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, refurbished the castle and gardens, bringing them to the standard of royal properties.
The castle was embedded within an ornamental landscape, with two gardens laid out at the same time as the castle was founded and a third created later. Wressle was intended as a high-status residence rather than a fortress and was never besieged. However, it was held by Parliament during the English Civil War and partly demolished in 1646–50, leaving the south range still standing. Nearly 150 years later, it was further damaged by a fire that struck the house. In the 21st century, Historic England, Natural England and the Country Houses Foundation funded repairs to the castle ruins.
## History
In the later Middle Ages, the Percy family was one of four major land-owning dynasties in Yorkshire. The 14th century saw their properties spread into Northumberland, though Yorkshire remained important. The Percys held the manor of Wressle from the early 14th century, and it was granted to Thomas Percy in 1364. Wressle Castle was first documented in 1402, but was probably built in the 1390s. By 1390, Thomas Percy had spent nearly ten years abroad as either a soldier or on diplomatic errands. From then on he was active in the royal sphere and friends of both Richard II and Henry IV. According to archaeologist and architectural historian Anthony Emery Wressle Castle was built “as a residence reflecting [the Earl’s] pedigree and distinguished state service”.
Though Henry IV gave Thomas Percy influence in south Wales, relations between the two deteriorated due partly to delays in payment. Thomas’ nephew, Henry Percy, rose in armed rebellion in July 1403 and Thomas joined him. The rebellion culminated in the battle of Shrewsbury in which Thomas Percy was captured. Two days later, on 23 July, he was beheaded and his property – including Wressle Castle – was subsequently confiscated by the crown. Between 1403 and 1471 ownership of the castle swapped between the crown and those the reigning monarch chose to grant it to, though only for short periods. In 1471, Wressle Castle was given to Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, returning it to the Percy family. His son, Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, undertook an extensive programme of refurbishment at Wressle Castle, refurbishing the interior and updating the gardens. At the time he was one of the richest men in England. The Northumberland Household Book was compiled around this time and details day-to-day domestic activities at the castles of Wressle and Leconfield, and is used by historians to study the late medieval household.
Percy died at Wressle in 1527 and was succeeded by his son, Henry Algernon Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland. The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt against the rule of Henry VIII in 1536 partly in response to the dissolution of the monasteries. The rebels in Yorkshire were led by Robert Aske and in October he sought the support of the Percy family. Aske travelled to Wressle Castle and tried to persuade Henry Algernon Percy, who at the time was suffering from illness, to join the rebellion. Though initially opposed to Aske, Percy eventually gave him control of Wressle Castle. Percy had fallen out with his younger brothers, and when he died in 1537 his one surviving brother did not inherit because he was imprisoned for his role in the Pilgrimage of Grace. In 1537, the crown again resumed control of Wressle Castle, and Henry VIII visited for three nights in 1541.
Antiquarian John Leland visited Wressle Castle in about 1540. He wrote in his Itinerary that the castle was "one of the most proper beyond the Trent, and seemeth as newly made ...The castle is all of very fair and great squared stone, both within and without". He also gave the first surviving description of the castle gardens, noting that they were "exceedingly fair" and with orchards beyond the moat. The Scottish nobleman Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox was lodged at Wressle in January 1545.
The castle was garrisoned by parliamentarians during the English Civil War during which time it was badly damaged. At the time it was estimated that the damaged to the castle and surrounding area would take £1,000 to repair. Wressle Castle was slighted (partially demolished) on several occasions in 1646–50. The 1648 demolition work was focused on the castle's battlements, with a contemporary letter noting that “[Parliament’s] agents would show no care in preserving any of the materials, but pitched of[f] the stones from the battlements to the ground” Destruction was more extensive two years later, when Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, was ordered to demolish everything that remain except the south range of the castle. The earl would be allowed to use the surviving range as a manor house. The damage was not confined to the castle buildings, and probably affected the ornamental landscape.
The castle remained with the Percy family until the mid-18th century when it passed to the earls of Egremont. The lands and castle were then inherited by Elizabeth Seymour who assumed the name Percy and was later Duchess of Northumberland. Wressle Castle was occupied by a tenant farmer who on 19 February 1796 caused a fire which gutted the castle's remaining wing. He had been trying to clear the chimney. A report three months later in The Gentleman's Magazine noted that “This loss was of truly national significance". The farm continued to be leased to tenants, and the farmhouse which still stands was built c. 1810. By 1880 the castle was partially covered in ivy. In 1957 the castle and farm were sold to the Falkingham family who own the site today.
Wressle Castle is now a Grade I listed ruin and a scheduled monument. The remains include earthworks indicating the moat, and some parts of the castle: the remains of the two towers of the south range; and a building fragment, thought to have been a bakehouse. According to Historic England, the site was first investigated archaeologically in 1993, when Humberside Archaeology Unit held a watching brief. The state of the site deteriorated to the point at which in 1999 Wressle Castle was included on the Heritage at Risk Register. Historic England, Natural England and the Country Houses Foundation invested £500,000 in repairing the castle and in 2015 Wressle was no longer considered ‘at risk’ and was removed from the register. This included architectural and landscape surveys carried out by Ed Dennison Archaeological Services, with funding from the Castle Studies Trust for the landscape survey.
## Architecture
A quadrangular castle, Wressle Castle was laid out with four ranges in a square around a courtyard. At each corner was a tower, and in the centre of the east side was a five-storey gatehouse. Clockwise from north east the corner towers were named the Constable Tower (where the constable who ran the castle on a daily basis lived), the Chapel Tower, the Lord's Tower, and the Kitchen Tower. Opposite the gatehouse, in the castle's west range, was the great hall and the Lord's Tower in the south west contained the owner's accommodation and private rooms.
Based on architectural similarities with the castles of Sheriff Hutton, Bolton, and Lumley, historian Eric John Fisher suggested that Wressle Castle was built in the last quarter of the 14th century. This coincides with the career of John Lewyn, who designed the great tower at Warkworth Castle and worked at Lumley, both Percy properties. Archaeologist Malcolm Hislop suggests that Lewyn also designed Wressle, and that "it is difficult to believe that [Lumley and Wressle] were designed independently of each other."
## Landscape
The village of Wressle pre-dates the castle, and was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. The castle was built at the west end of the settlement on one of the two main roads through Wressle. It is unclear whether this was a manorial centre before the castle was built, or whether it was an entirely new site. The castle was given multiple gardens which likely resulted in some parts of the village being built over. The River Derwent flows north–south about 590 feet (180 m) west of the castle.
The gardens at Wressle Castle were probably created at the same time as the castle was built. Documentary evidence indicates that by the late-15th century Wressle Castle had two gardens, both located to the south of the castle. One was probably between the south moat and the castle (the Moat Garden) and the other was south of the moat (the Old Garden). A third garden (the New Garden) was laid out north of the castle around 1472–1517. The Old and New Gardens covered about 1 acre (4,000 m<sup>2</sup>) each; the former had a brick wall while the later was enclosed by a wet moat. The Old Garden contained an orchard and alleys for bowling and walking, popular pastimes of the nobility from the 16th century onwards. It also contained a two-storey 15th-century building known as the ‘School House’ where Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, would read.
A banqueting house was built just inside the south-west corner of the moat. Though it was probably built in the 16th century, it was in a dilapidated state by 1577. A base court (an enclosed area) was added in front of the castle's gatehouse after the main complex was built, but it unclear when. Wetland areas south and east of the castle may have been used to emulate a mere, a type of broad shallow lake. As well as this, there were two fishponds, but their dating is uncertain. During Wressle Castle's heyday in the 16th century, the quality of the gardens and ornamental landscape would have paralleled the interior of the renovated buildings, possibly even rivalling gardens at royal properties.
## See also
- Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
- List of castles in England
|
32,932,316 |
Cyclone Geralda
| 1,165,436,685 |
South-West Indian cyclone in 1994
|
[
"1993–94 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season",
"Cyclones in Madagascar",
"Intense Tropical Cyclones"
] |
Intense Tropical Cyclone Geralda was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused catastrophic damage in Madagascar in late January 1994, among the strongest to hit the country. It was also the most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 1994. Cyclone Geralda originated from an area of low pressure over the Indian Ocean on 25 January. Over the following few days, the depression underwent gradual intensification, reaching its peak intensity with ten-minute sustained winds of 200 km/h (120 mph) on 31 January. It eventually made landfall near Toamasina, Madagascar after weakening from its peak intensity, and substantially weakened within hours of moving onshore. By 5 February, Geralda had degenerated into a land depression, and became extratropical three days later. Geralda's remnants dissipated on 12 February.
Geralda was the second cyclone in as many months to strike eastern Madagascar, after Daisy in January. Geralda produced wind gusts as strong as 350 km/h (220 mph), which were the highest worldwide for several decades. The cyclone also dropped heavy rainfall that caused flooding, particularly in valleys. About 80% of the city of Toamasina was destroyed, including most schools, homes, and churches. The cyclone heavily damaged roads and rail lines, which later disrupted relief efforts. In the capital Antananarivo, Geralda killed 43 people after flooding many houses. Overall, more than 40,000 homes were destroyed, leaving 356,000 people homeless. Nationwide, the cyclone killed 231 people and caused over \$10 million in damage (1994 USD). Relief work in the storm's aftermath was hampered by lack of coordination, and the Malagasy military were deployed to help storm victims. Few stocks were pre-positioned, causing food prices to rise greatly. Several countries and departments of the United Nations donated money or supplies to the country.
## Meteorological history
In late January 1994, the south Indian Ocean Intertropical Convergence Zone produced widespread convection from the eastern coast of Africa to Indonesia. Late on 25January, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began monitoring a low-pressure area about halfway between Madagascar and Indonesia, later giving it the designation 13S. The following day, the Météo-France on Réunion (MFR) classified the system as a tropical disturbance. By that time, the system had developed an organized area of convection with curved rainbands and was strengthening quickly; early on 28 January, it developed a central dense overcast. In response, MFR upgraded the system to a moderate tropical storm and named it Geralda. At that time, the storm was moving generally west-southwestward due to a ridge extending from Madagascar to the Mascarene Islands. High water temperatures fueled further development, first into a moderate tropical storm late on 28 January and then into a tropical cyclone 24 hours later. By then, the JTWC had upgraded Geralda to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane.
Continuing generally to the west-southwest, Geralda intensified further, and MFR upgraded it to intense tropical cyclone status on 30 January. The cyclone developed a well-defined eye 35 km (22 mi) in diameter and grew to a size of 1,000 km (620 mi) in diameter. At 0600 UTC on 31 January, the JTWC estimated peak 1–minute sustained winds of 270 km/h (165 mph), equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Six hours later, Geralda's appearance on satellite imagery warranted a Dvorak rating of 7.0. Based on this, MFR estimated a minimum barometric pressure of 905 mbar (26.7 inHg) and peak 10–minute winds of 205 km/h (125 mph), just shy of very intense tropical cyclone status. At that time, gusts were estimated at over 300 km/h (190 mph). Geralda had intensified from a tropical disturbance to its peak intensity in only five days, which was described by MFR as "an exceptional phenomenon". Near peak intensity, the center of Geralda passed about 45 km (28 mi) northwest of Tromelin Island, offshore eastern Madagascar.
After maintaining its peak winds for about 18 hours, Geralda weakened slightly while approaching eastern Madagascar. At 0600 UTC on 2 February, MFR estimated the winds were around 175 km/h (110 mph). At about 1100 UTC that day, the cyclone made landfall just north of Toamasina as an intense tropical cyclone, where a pressure of 943 mbar (27.8 inHg) was reported. Officials considered Geralda the strongest storm to hit the country since a cyclone in March 1927. Geralda weakened rapidly over the mountainous terrain of Madagascar, passing over the capital Antananarivo late on 2 February; both the JTWC and MFR had downgraded the cyclone to tropical depression status by the next day. About 30 hours after its first landfall, Geralda briefly emerged into the Mozambique Channel late on 3 February. However, a trough soon turned it to the south, and Geralda crossed over western Madagascar, reaching open waters on 5 February. By that time, the winds had decreased to 45 km/h (30 mph). An approaching polar trough turned Geralda to the southeast on 6 February, and the cyclone became extratropical two days later. However, MFR continued tracking the remnants of Geralda until 12 February.
## Impact and aftermath
Tromelin Island was the first landmass affected by Geralda. The island was just outside the eyewall, and experienced wind gusts of 180 km/h (110 mph).
Cyclone Geralda struck Madagascar just weeks after Tropical Cyclone Daisy affected the same general area. While Geralda was approaching the country, officials declared Emergency Phase 3 for Toamasina Province, indicating immediate danger, and Emergency Phase 1 for Antananarivo, which is a general alert.
As Geralda moved ashore, the cyclone produced wind gusts as strong as 350 km/h (220 mph), among the strongest gusts worldwide in several decades. The storm also dropped heavy rainfall that caused landslides and severe flooding, mostly in Toamasina Province. About 80% of the city of Toamasina was destroyed, including the country's only petroleum refinery at the time. Damage to the refinery alone was estimated at \$800,000.
An early estimate indicated that 95% of schools, homes, and churches sustained severe damage to complete destruction in the city, leaving 50,000 people homeless. In the harbor at Toamasina, Geralda sank seven ships, and throughout the city, power outages and road damage were commonplace. Elsewhere in Madagascar, Geralda wrecked houses and bridges in Fénérive. On Île Sainte-Marie, all power lines and 90% of plantations were destroyed. Brickaville, to the south of Toamasina, experienced severe flooding up to 3 m (9.8 ft) deep. Lack of basic repairs before the storm contributed to roads and bridges being washed away there. The cyclone killed 43 people when it flooded large portions of Antananarivo, leaving 60,000 people homeless. High rainfall damaged houses in the city and cut off roads outside of the city. Damage was heavy in valleys where flash flooding occurred. Across Madagascar, flooding wrecked over 300,000 ha (740,000 acres) of crop fields, affecting 70% of the rice crop, and killed more than 13,000 cattle. The combined impact of Geralda and earlier Cyclone Daisy damaged or destroyed more than 40,000 homes, leaving at least 356,000 people homeless. The storms also left severe damage to roads and rail systems. A total of 20 national roads and several secondary roads were disrupted. The rail line between Moramanga near the capital and Brickaville near the coast was damaged. Overall, Cyclone Geralda killed at least 231 people, with 73 missing as of MFR's annual cyclone report on the season; the storm also injured 267 people and caused over \$10 million in damage (1994 USD).
In the aftermath, there was no pre-existing method of dealing with a storm of such magnitude, and most local governments failed to respond immediately due to lack of coordination. As a result, agencies spent much time in dealing with the logistics of the aftermath. There were few food supplies that were pre-positioned. The Malagasy government worked with the United Nations to create a committee, which met weekly and addressed various facets of the recovery. Malagasy officials deployed members of the military to help storm victims, although damaged roads initially hampered relief efforts. Due to crop damage, the price of rice increased by 300% in the country, and there were food shortages in Antananarivo, along with fuel shortages elsewhere. In Toamasina, industrial activity was expected to take six months to resume production. Médecins Sans Frontières helped assure the cleanliness of shelters in Antananarivo, while CARE delivered food to residents in Brickaville. There were health issues related to the widespread flooding, prompting the government to distribute medical supplies for 60,000 people. Shortly after Geralda struck, the Malagasy government requested international assistance. The United Nations Department of Human Services provided an emergency \$30,000 relief grant, and UNICEF later provided about \$2.3 million in assistance. The European Union provided about \$560,000 worth of medicine and relief. The French government sent \$5 million worth of supplies via airplane from Réunion, including food and medicine. Eight other countries sent assistance in the form of money or relief items.
By about two weeks after the storm's landfall, water and power service were being restored in Toamasina, although by that time, 40% of the communications network remained offline. By 16 February, the road from Antananrivo and Toamasina had been reopened. The Malagasy government imported oil for several months while its refinery was out of order. Non-government organizations provided rice to stabilize prices. The damaged rail line between Antananarivo and the coast was rebuilt in 2003. Schools that were repaired following Geralda were later successfully used as shelters.
## See also
- Cyclone Honorinina – Powerful cyclone in 1984 that took a similar track, killing 99 people
- Cyclone Gafilo – Powerful cyclone in 2004 that took a similar track, killing 237 people
- Cyclone Batsirai – Powerful cyclone in 2022
|
4,871,507 |
Mythodea
| 1,166,128,896 |
Album by Vangelis
|
[
"2001 albums",
"Choral symphonies",
"Concerts",
"Vangelis albums"
] |
Mythodea — Music for the NASA Mission: 2001 Mars Odyssey is a choral symphony by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis. It premiered as a single concert in Athens, Greece, in 1993 but a recording was only released in 2001 by Vangelis' then new record label Sony Classical, which also set up the NASA connection and promoted a new concert, this time with a worldwide audience.
For the 2001 version of Mythodea, Vangelis expanded and reorchestrated the original composition. It was first recorded and then played live on-stage by: Vangelis on synthesizers and keyboards, the London Metropolitan Orchestra augmented by two harpists, sopranos Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman, the chorus of the Greek National Opera, and, for the concert only, the Seistron and Typana percussion ensembles. The concert was held in Athens, Greece on June 28, 2001, but the record was officially released only on October 23, 2001, to coincide with the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft entering the orbit of planet Mars. The CD, and later the DVD, achieved a number of sales accolades around the world.
## First concert: 1993
The world premiere of Mythodia (original spelling) took place on July 13, 1993 as a public performance at the Herodes Atticus Theater, in Athens, Greece, for charity purposes. On stage were: Vangelis, who provided the full musical score accompanied by two harpists; mezzo-soprano Markella Hatziano, soprano Lucienne Deval, and the chorus and percussion of the Greek National Lyric Stage, conducted by Yvan Cassar.
Mythodia was then a piece in seven movements. Vangelis not only composed the music, he also wrote the lyrics in Ancient Greek. In a 2001 interview with KLEMblad magazine, Vangelis stated,
"This piece was composed in an hour. Yes, it took me an hour. [...] I'm not using the technology in the conventional way. I'm not using computers."
For the encore, Vangelis played a selection of his repertoire, including "La Petite Fille de la Mer" (from the album L'Apocalypse des Animaux), "Chariots of Fire", "Pulstar" (from the album Albedo 0.39), three tracks from the soundtrack of the film Conquest of Paradise ("Hispañola", "City of Isabel" and "Conquest of Paradise"), and finished with a performance of the Greek national anthem.
## Second concert: 2001
Mythodea would remain unheard in public for the next eight years, but Vangelis kept a recording of the 1993 concert for himself. Around the year 2000, Peter Gelb was the head of Sony Classical and was steering the record company in the direction of crossover music rather than mainstream classical repertoire. He had just signed with Vangelis and was in the process of selecting their first release together. Gelb was listening to some tapes that Vangelis had sent to him when he came upon Mythodea. He described the event in an interview: "When I first heard Mythodea I was in ecstasy with its rhythm and power themes, and with no further hesitation I suggested it was recorded immediately."
With the approval of Vangelis to record Mythodea with a full orchestra as Gelb had suggested, Sony Classical developed a marketing plan of Mythodea that with the help of Vangelis' friend and colleague, Dr. Scott Bolton, grew to include a promotional tie-in with NASA, a dedicated website, an audio CD and a live concert that involved the Greek Government and was broadcast on TV and published on video. The deal with NASA made Mythodea the official music of the mission involving the spacecraft 2001 Mars Odyssey. This mission took the spacecraft to the orbit of Mars on October 23, 2001, and the audio CD of Mythodea was scheduled to be officially released on the same day. Vangelis described the connection he felt between the music and the mission on the 2001 Mars Odyssey official website:
> I made up the name Mythodea from the words myth and ode. And I felt in it a kind of shared or common path with NASA's current exploration of the planet [Mars]. Whatever we use as a key — music, mythology, science, mathematics, astronomy — we are all working to decode the mystery of creation, searching for our deepest roots.
The premiere of the new version of Mythodea was held on June 28, 2001. By this date, the album had already been recorded and was finished. The concert was a live performance of the album, with everyone involved in the recording reprising their roles plus additional performers. The setting was the ancient (6th century BC) Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, Greece, featured on the album and video covers. Vangelis commented on the selection of location in an interview: "The record company wanted to promote this work and asked me 'where [...]?' and I thought that [...] Greece was really appropriate. And at the same time I had a proposition from the Minister of Culture [...] and this is what happened."
The concert was filmed by a 20-person camera crew. It was broadcast on TV from November 2001, and it was released on DVD in 2002. The budget for the spectacle was set at US \$7 million, split in half between the record company, Sony Classical, and the Greek government, which considered the concert a good promotion for Greece abroad and had it included in the Greek Cultural Olympiad leading to the 2004 Summer Olympics. There were some objections raised, mainly by fellow musician Mikis Theodorakis, over the use of both public money and an archaeological site. Vangelis himself, like in 1993, waived payment for his performance.
The spectacle involved 224 musicians on stage: Vangelis, the 75-person London Metropolitan Orchestra augmented by two harpists, soprano artists Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman, the 123-person chorus of the Greek National Opera, and Greek percussion ensembles Seistron and Typana, that provided 24 timpani. Except for both percussion ensembles, all the other artists had participated in the recording of the album. In the back, a projection screen measuring 180 m (590 ft) in length and 24 m (79 ft) in height showed images of Mars supplied by NASA, combined with elements of ancient Greek mythology.
The number of attending spectators to the ticket-paid event was between 2,000, 2,500, and 3,000 with another 30,000 people watching for free on a giant screen at the nearby Panathinaiko Stadium. The concert lasted just over one hour, after which three encores were played: Chariots of Fire, Conquest of Paradise, and a combination of Movements 9 and 10. Mars itself made a special appearance at the concert as an announcer told the spectators to look for an orange spot shining in the clear sky above the orchestra. The concert was repeated the following day without an audience, to get extra camera angles. Despite not having been announced, around 50 people who showed up at the venue were admitted for free, authorized by Vangelis himself.
Mythodea was expected to be performed by other orchestras, without Vangelis' participation, but as of 2019 that had not happened.
## Album
The album was recorded at the Athens Concert Hall (Athens Μέγαρο Μουσικής - Megaro Moussikis), chosen for its excellent acoustics. For the recording, Vangelis expanded the original composition of 1993 by adding two movements, extending two more and inserting some new cues throughout. The chorus parts were also touched upon, with lyrics and melodic changes.
Except for Vangelis, none of the performers of the 1993 concert reprised their roles. Instead, Vangelis was accompanied by the London Metropolitan Orchestra augmented with two harpists, sopranos Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman (both Sony Classical artists as well), and the Greek National Opera Choir and percussion ensemble. Vangelis asked musician Blake Neely to make the instrument transcriptions and conduct the orchestra as well.
Although the album was finished by the date of the concert in June 2001, its release was held back until October 23, 2001 to coincide with the entry of the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft in the orbit of Mars. A promotional CD-audio was nevertheless given to the press at the date of the concert and a CD-audio in a blue velvet box was given to guests of a private dinner that took place after the concert. In 2004, two of these boxes were auctioned off online for charity purposes, fetching a total of US \$2,435.
Vangelis noted that "it's really the music that manages to speak to all. In Mythodea, everyone can find something to identify with, because it's in this shared language".
### Track listing
1. "Introduction" – 2:43
2. "Movement 1" – 5:41
3. "Movement 2" – 5:39
4. "Movement 3" – 5:51
5. "Movement 4" – 13:42
6. "Movement 5" – 6:35
7. "Movement 6" – 6:27
8. "Movement 7" – 4:58
9. "Movement 8" – 3:07
10. "Movement 9" – 5:00
11. "Movement 10" – 3:03
Two CD-singles were also released, both featuring a track called "Mythodea Special Edit" (3:57) which combined parts of "Movement 9" and "Movement 1", plus either "Movement 1" or "Movement 7". They were not widely available, so their original purpose may have been purely promotional, as were specifically a number of other CD-single releases.
There were variations on the track listing: some releases of the album carried alternative titles "Movement 1" through "Movement 11", and "Mythodea Special Edit" was sometimes included either as a bonus or as a hidden track.
The audio CD is CD-Text-enhanced, with the following header appearing on compatible players: Mythodea - Music for the NASA Mission: 2001 Mars Odyssey - Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, Vangelis. Text for tracks appears like this one for track 4: Movement 3 / Vangelis - London Metropolitan Orchestra - Athens Opera Choir - K.Battle - J.Norman.
### Sales and awards
The album reached \#1 in the sales charts of Greece, where it attained platinum certification and was nominated for the 2002 "Arion" Greek music awards, in the category "Best instrumental music". In Portugal, the album reached \#2 in the charts and attained silver certification for over 10,000 sales. The album reached \#39 in Italy, \#46 in Germany and \#75 in Switzerland. At the Billboard Classical Albums chart peaked at \#12 position, charting 22 weeks, while \#4 position on Top Classical Albums chart.
### Other appearances
A remixed version of "Movement 1" is included in the Vangelis compilation Odyssey: The Definitive Collection (2003). The opening march starts with less sound effects, instruments join in one by one more clearly, and an initial spoken countdown is absent. The same "Movement 1" was used as the title theme of reality TV series Der Maulwurf (lit. The Mole), which was broadcast by German station Pro7 in 2001. It was also used in the soundtracks of the trailers for the Hollywood films X-Men (2000) and The Scorpion King (2002). Finally, "Movement 9" is included in the compilation album Classic Kathleen Battle /A Portrait.
## Video
A one-hour condensed edit of the concert was made available for broadcast by TV stations and later released on video, cutting the intervals and leaving just the first encore, for a total running time of 76 minutes. More significantly, the live playing and singing were replaced by the album version mixed with live applause, except the encore which retained the original full-live recording. The synchronization of the live performance with the album recording was achieved with a click track being played to the performers.
The DVD-Video and VHS were released on February 17, 2002. The DVD featured PCM stereo and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, 16:9 non-anamorphic image, and had as extras: artist biographies, "Making of Mythodea", music video, an introduction by NASA, and written notes by Vangelis. The DVD-video reached gold status in Portugal, for over 14,000 sales.
## Personnel
### 1993
Music composed, arranged and produced by Vangelis
Concert conceived, designed and directed by Vangelis
- Vangelis: synthesizers, keyboards
- Markella Hatziano, mezzo-soprano
- Lucienne Deval, soprano
- Choir and percussion of the National Lyric Stage, Yvan Cassar: conductor
### 2001
Album composed, arranged and produced by Vangelis
Concert conceived, designed and directed by Vangelis
- Vangelis: synthesizers, keyboards
- Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman: sopranos
- London Metropolitan Orchestra, Blake Neely: conductor
- Greek National Opera Choir, Fani Palamidi: conductor
- Greek National Opera percussion emsemble (album only)
- Seistron, Typana: percussion ensembles (concert only)
- Frederick Rousseau: sound engineer and coordinator
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61,466,102 |
Love Island (American season 1)
| 1,172,027,499 |
Season of American reality television series
|
[
"2019 American television seasons",
"Television shows filmed in Fiji"
] |
The first season of the American version of the television reality program Love Island began airing on July 9, 2019, and concluded on August 7, 2019. The 22-episode series was broadcast on CBS in the United States and CTV in Canada. Arielle Vandenberg hosted the series while Matthew Hoffman provided voice-over narration. On August 7, 2019, having received the largest quantity of votes from the public, Zac Mirabelli and Elizabeth Weber were crowned the winners and split the prize. Dylan Curry and Alexandra Stewart were named the runners-up.
The show's first season generally received mixed reviews from critics and its ratings were not as high as CBS's expectations. The series was renewed for a second season before the first had finished airing.
## Format
Love Island is a reality television program in which a group of contestants, who are referred to as "Islanders", are living in a villa in Fiji. The Islanders are cut off from the outside world and are under constant video surveillance. To survive in the villa, the Islanders must be in a relationship with another Islander. The Islanders couple up for the first time on first impressions but they are later forced to "re-couple" at special ceremonies in which they can choose to remain with their current partners or to switch partners. At the villa, the couples must share a bed for sleeping and are permitted to talk with other Islanders at any time, allowing them to get to know everyone. While in the villa, each Islander has his or her own telephone, with which they can contact other Islanders via text and can receive text messages informing them of the latest challenges, dumpings, and re-couplings. While the Islanders might appear to have unmediated access to the outside world, they are limited in both their alcohol consumption and communication with the outside world.
The Islanders are presented with many games and challenges that are designed to test their physical and mental abilities, after which the winners are sometimes presented with special prizes, such as a night at the Hideaway or a special date.
Islanders can be eliminated, or "dumped", for several reasons; these include remaining single after a re-coupling and by public vote through the Love Island mobile app. During the show's final week, members of the public vote to decide which couple should win the series; the couple who receive the most votes win.
At the envelope ceremony on finale night, the couple who received the highest number of votes from the public receive two envelopes, one for each partner. One envelope contains and the other contains nothing. The partner with the envelope may choose whether to share the money with his or her partner as a test of trust and commitment.
## Islanders
On June 30, 2019, the initial Islanders were revealed. These Islanders entered the villa on July 7. All of the other Islanders were revealed as the series progressed. At the envelope ceremony, Elizabeth drew the envelope containing the \$100,000 and decided to split the money with her partner, Zac.
### Future appearances
Kyra Green appeared on the new MTV dating series Match Me If You Can in 2021. Ray Gantt & Caro Viehweg competed as a team on The Amazing Race 33, prior to the suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic and they did not return for the resumption of that season. Cormac Murphy briefly appeared on the 10th series of Celebs Go Dating. Gantt, Viehweg and Green appeared on the fifth season of MTV's Ex on the Beach along with Emily Salch. In 2022, Green competed on The Challenge: USA along with Cashel Barnett.
## Episodes
## Production
### Development
On February 22, 2006, it was announced an American version of Celebrity Love Island was in development at My Network TV but the program was never produced. On August 8, 2018, it was reported CBS had acquired from ITV Studios and Motion Content Group the rights to produce an American non-celebrity version of the show with David George, Adam Sher, and David Eilenberg serving as executive producers. Simon Thomas, Mandy Morris, Ben Thursby, Richard Foster, and Chet Fenster later joined the series as executive producers in addition to the original three. It was also announced Arielle Vandenberg would be hosting the series. Matthew Hoffman was selected as the narrator for the series; his narrative style involved leveling sarcastic comments at the contestants in voice-overs. CBS budgeted \$30 million to produce the season.
On August 1, 2019, CBS renewed the series for a second season.
### Filming
Filming started on July 7, 2019, two days before the Islanders entered the villa. Filming took 32 days and ended on August 7 during the live-to-tape finale. Rather than using a villa on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca as the UK series does, the American Love Island is filmed in a custom-built villa on an island in Fiji. Series producers chose Fiji as a location because "it 'meant something to Americans' and 'feels like a place you would want to come and fall in love'."
#### Villa
The villa features a two-story house in which the Islanders live; it has a communal bedroom and an outdoor kitchen downstairs. The outdoor area has a pool, hot tub, gymnasium, outdoor bar, shower, and lounge areas, and also a fire pit where most re-couplings take place. There are seven queen-sized beds in the communal bedroom, which the couples share throughout the season. The second floor of the villa has a bathroom containing an infinity bathtub, dressing area, balcony, and a toilet, which the Islanders shared. Also upstairs is a room with four vanities and a balcony where the women could get ready. Areas of the villa, including its garden, collectively contain 3,000 locally sourced plants. Over a mile of neon lights are strung around parts of the villa.
The Hideaway, designed by Jonathan Adler, is a secluded bedroom and outdoor area. Couples could earn the privilege of spending a night at the Hideaway by winning one of the games that are regularly played in the villa during the season.
### Broadcast
The series opened with a 90-minute premiere on July 9, 2019. From July 9 to August 7, 2019, 22 episodes were aired, each lasting around 60 minutes. The series was simulcast on CTV in Canada. On Saturday, July 27, 2019, American television channel Pop broadcast a 14-hour marathon of the first fourteen episodes of the series.
### Prize
As part of the Love Island format, after the winning couple was announced, they were presented with two envelopes, one of which contained the prize; the other envelope contained nothing. They both chose an envelope and announced what was inside. The Islander who chose the envelope containing the prize money decided whether to share the money with the partner or take it all.
### Reunion
On October 17, 2019, starting at 7 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, the contestants of the first series of Love Island, including host Arielle Vandenberg and narrator Matthew Hoffman, attended a reunion party. The reunion would have been the first time the entire cast of the series was together but Mallory Santic, Cormac Murphy, Marli Tyndall, Winston Hines, Kelsey Jurewicz, and Anton Morrow did not attend. Viewers could ask questions of the cast through social media.
## Coupling and elimination history
## Reception
### Critical response
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the first American series of Love Island 50%, holding an average rating of 5.25 out of 10 with the consensus being "Crude, rude, but without that charming British attitude, Love Island fails to make a splash across the pond—though fans may still find comfort in its cynically familiar formula". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gives the series a metascore of 56 indicating "mixed or average reviews". After watching the pilot, Yohana Desta of Vanity Fair said the series "was a charmer in its first episode" but noted the differences between host Arielle Vandenberg and narrator Matthew Hoffman from their British counterparts Caroline Flack and Iain Stirling, respectively, stating Vanderberg is much more of a joker than Flack and that Hoffman had not captured the "snarky energy" of Stirling. Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club called the series "pure chaotic evil" and said, "Love Island is about a bunch of hot people sitting by a pool bonding over the fact that they have nothing to do". Thurm also said the pacing is too quick, with Islanders doing nothing and everything in the same episode. Reviewing the first five episodes, Kathryn VanArendonk of Vulture stated "Love Island is boring, but hard to escape", but Ben Travers of IndieWire opined that the contestants were bland.
### Viewing figures
CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl told The Hollywood Reporter it was targeting a young, mostly female audience for the series. It also said the average Love Island viewer is eight years younger than CBS' wider average audience. Kahl also said there was a large, social-media-based engagement with the series, noting it has created a large amount of enthusiasm at the network. Despite regularly having generally poor viewing figures, CBS revealed Love Island was the most-streamed show on CBS All Access during the summer television schedule, outpacing other summer series Big Brother as well as other popular CBS series including Survivor and The Big Bang Theory. On August 29, 2019, Love Island averaged a 3.7% share in the 18-49 demographic and 2.7 million viewers per episode.
Despite the first season receiving mixed reviews from critics and less-than-ideal viewing figures, the series was renewed for a second season.
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