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Kenneth Dewar
| 1,119,210,301 |
British Royal Navy officer (1879–1964)
|
[
"1879 births",
"1964 deaths",
"Commanders of the Order of the British Empire",
"Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College",
"Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates",
"Military personnel from Edinburgh",
"People from South Queensferry",
"Royal Navy officers of World War I",
"Royal Navy officers who were court-martialled",
"Royal Navy vice admirals"
] |
Vice-Admiral Kenneth Gilbert Balmain Dewar, CBE (21 September 1879 – 8 September 1964) was an officer of the Royal Navy. After specialising as a gunnery officer, Dewar became a staff officer and a controversial student of naval tactics before seeing extensive service during the First World War. He served in the Dardanelles Campaign and commanded a monitor in home waters before serving at the Admiralty for more than four years of staff duty. After the war ended he became embroiled in the controversy surrounding the consequences of the Battle of Jutland. Despite this, he held a variety of commands during the 1920s.
In 1928 he was at the heart of the "Royal Oak Mutiny", when as captain of the battleship Royal Oak he forwarded his executive officer's letter of complaint about their immediate superior, Rear-Admiral Collard, to a higher authority. This came in the wake of a series of incidents aboard ship. All three men were ordered back to Britain, and Dewar and his executive officer requested Courts-martial so that they might defend themselves. The trials were held in Gibraltar and garnered widespread media coverage.
Dewar, though found partially guilty, survived with a severe reprimand. His executive officer was found guilty and resigned, while Collard was compelled to resign his commission for provoking the situation. Having then commanded successively the two oldest capital ships in the fleet, Dewar retired on promotion to rear-admiral. His memoirs, published as The Navy from Within in 1939, were a vitriolic indictment of the Navy's practices.
## Early life and career
Dewar was born in Queensferry on 21 September 1879, the son of Dr. James and Mrs. Flora Dewar. In July, 1893 he was nominated as a naval cadet, passed the entrance examination and joined the training ship Britannia, where he studied for two years. Two of his brothers joined the navy; Alfred Charles (born 1876) who was promoted to Captain on the Retired List and was appointed Head of the Historical Section of the Naval Staff, and Alan Ramsay (born 1887) who achieved Flag Rank in 1938. Dewar performed so well in Britannia, that upon graduation, he was appointed Midshipman straight away, which normally required a year's service at sea and passing an examination. He joined the protected cruiser Hawke on 20 August 1895. The following year he was appointed to the battleship Magnificent on 30 October 1896. Promoted acting sub-lieutenant, Dewar was confirmed in that rank on 15 February 1899 and promoted to lieutenant on 15 February 1900. Following promotion he was posted to the Devonport destroyer Osprey on 15 March, and on 12 June that year he was appointed to the torpedo-boat destroyer Fervent.
### Gunnery officer
Following this period at sea, Lieutenant Dewar was selected to specialise in gunnery duties. His time training at HMS Excellent, the gunnery school at Portsmouth, coincided with that of the captaincy of Percy Scott, the renowned gunnery expert. His performance on the two-year course was so impressive that on graduation he was given command of a ship. From 21 July 1903, Dewar was Lieutenant and Commander of the Chatham-based destroyer Mermaid.
Dewar became the gunnery officer of the armoured cruiser Kent on 24 August 1905, where he remained until 1908. Dewar's dedication and standard of training became evident when his ship led the Fleet in battle practice firings and gunlayer's-test. He was reassigned to Excellent on 19 January 1908 for instruction duties. Soon he was sent to sea again, being made gunnery officer of the battleship Prince George on 8 February 1908. He rejoined Excellent on 22 December that year. On 11 June 1909 Dewar was "lent" as gunnery officer to the protected cruiser Spartiate for the annual fleet manœuvres. Once the manœuvres were finished, Dewar was made assistant to the Inspector of Target Practice, an important gunnery position at the Admiralty on 17 July. In the same year, he was asked to lecture on the Imperial Japanese Navy, which he had previously had experience of, at the Royal Naval War College at Portsmouth. During his talk, he exhibited an unpalatable forthrightness by saying that the Royal Navy needed more intellectual officers like Togo Heihachiro, implying that there was a dearth of such officers. The President of the College, Lewis Bayly, abruptly terminated his lecture.
On 1 January 1910, Dewar was once more given sea duty as first lieutenant and gunnery officer (referred to as "1st and G") of Dreadnought. Dreadnought was still one of the most prestigious postings in the fleet despite the growing number of newer dreadnought battleships and battle cruisers entering service. It was Dewar's misfortune during this service to be taken in by the Dreadnought hoax on 10 February, in which he escorted a party of practical jokers, that included Virginia Woolf, pretending to be Abyssinian royalty, on an official visit to the battleship. However, Dewar befriended the captain, Herbert Richmond, who acted both as a friend and a mentor to him in the following years. With Richmond's encouragement, Dewar began a thorough study of naval tactics and strategy which would later continue at the Royal Naval War College.
### Promotion to commander
Dewar was reappointed to Dreadnought on 28 March 1911, was promoted Commander on 22 June and on 14 December he was appointed for duty at the Royal Naval War College, Portsmouth as an instructor. The next year, he was selected to join the newly formed War Staff at the Admiralty, created on First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill's orders in 1912. He was consequently reappointed for duty at the War College on 2 April 1912. On 4 March 1913, it was announced that Commander Dewar had been awarded the Gold Medal and Trench-Gascoigne Prize by the Royal United Service Institution for his winning essay on the question "What is the war value of oversea commerce? How did it affect our naval policy in the past and how does it in the present day?" The final chapter of the paper was suppressed from publication by the Admiralty; in it Dewar advocated a "distant" blockade in a war with Germany at a time (1912) when the Royal Navy was still contemplating a "close" blockade of the German coastline. In the event, a distant blockade was imposed. Dewar was then and remained unsympathetic to the removal of his concluding chapter;
> In light of later events, the opposition aroused by my proposals may seem extraordinary, but they marked [in his opinion] a complete break with tradition and were far from obvious at the time.
Dewar's reputation as an intellectual within the Navy was confirmed when in 1912, he became one of the founder members of The Naval Review, an independent journal of Royal Navy officers. That year Richmond had formed a "Naval Society" with a dozen friends, Dewar among them. After Richmond went abroad on active service, Dewar decided that instead of being a society of purely discussion, it ought publish a journal, to which end he "raised subscriptions for the first issue from some forty or fifty officers of all ranks".
In 1914, Dewar was appointed commander (second-in-command) of the battleship Prince of Wales, then flagship of the 5th Battle Squadron in the 2nd Fleet (Home Fleets). On 28 July, Dewar married Gertrude Margaret Stapleton-Bretherton, the sister of Evelyn, Princess Blücher, in a service at St. Bartholomew's Church in Rainhill on Merseyside. The service was conducted by the Archbishop of Liverpool and the Bishop of Portsmouth. Dewar's best man was the Honourable Reginald Plunkett, who later became known as Reginald Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, and would go on to achieve high rank in the Navy. Dewar and Gertrude had one son together, Kenneth Malcolm J. Dewar.
## First World War
In August 1914, Britain went to war with Germany, and later that year with the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey). Prince of Wales remained in the 5th Battle Squadron until 1915, when with a number of other pre-dreadnoughts she was sent to the Eastern Mediterranean to support the Gallipoli landings, the goal of which was to capture the strategically important Dardanelles Straits, take Constantinople and knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war. As second-in-command of Prince of Wales, Dewar was present for part of the naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign against the Turkish positions. Following aborted attempts to lend heavy-gunfire support to the troops at ANZAC Cove, Dewar wrote an unofficial memo to the Rear-Admiral commanding the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron, with suggestions for the employment of indirect fire to attack Turkish targets. Dewar heard nothing of his proposals, and it was not until November 1915 that indirect fire was used with good effect by the bulged cruiser Edgar. Following the campaign, in October Dewar was given command of HM Gunnery School, Devonport. It was an important position as large numbers of Reserve and Volunteer Reserve officers either re-qualified or qualified in gunnery duties. After a year Dewar returned to sea in command of the Abercrombie class monitor Roberts, and joined the Dover Patrol in August, 1916.
In response to the German battle cruiser raids on the British coast, a visible response was called for to quell public anxiety. On 27 May 1916, Roberts arrived at Gorleston to act as a guard ship for the port of Yarmouth, in effect acting as a coastal defence battery. Roberts fulfilled such duties at Tyneside and in the Thames Estuary for the rest of the war. Once again, Dewar was rotated back to shore, and was appointed to the Operations Division of the Naval Staff under first the Jellicoe, and then the Wemyss Boards of Admiralty. Dewar was promoted to the rank of captain on 30 June 1918 in the Half-Yearly lists and then became Assistant Director of Plans in the Plans Division. On 17 October 1919, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for valuable services at the Peace Conference, Paris."
## Post-war commands
### Jutland controversy
While still at the Admiralty, Dewar became embroiled with the controversies surrounding the aftermath of the Battle of Jutland. The manner in which the battle had been fought had come under criticism, with a line drawn between those who supported Sir John Jellicoe, who had commanded the Grand Fleet at the battle; and those who fell-in behind his then-subordinate and successor, Sir David Beatty. Dewar followed the Beatty school of thought espoused by his former captain, Herbert Richmond, that the battle had been lost by the staid admirals of the battleship squadrons. In November 1920 he and his brother Captain Alfred Dewar (retired) were entrusted with compiling the Naval Staff Appreciation of the battle, which was completed in January 1922. The two brothers had produced a body of work which favoured Beatty, for whom the Dewars' "capacity for original thinking and literary talents always held an appeal." Even Richmond, who intensely disliked Jellicoe and was a confidant of Beatty, agreed with the Committee on Imperial Defence's official naval historian, Sir Julian Corbett who wrote that Dewar's "facts were, I found, very loose."
The Appreciation, which had originally been intended for distribution around the Royal Navy, was deemed so full of "far-reaching and astringent criticism of Jellicoe" and of a new and therefore irrelevant tactical theory that Beatty and his Board of Admiralty were compelled to decide against its publication. Indeed, Admirals Roger Keyes and Ernle Chatfield were moved to write to Beatty that if published the Appreciation "would rend the service to its foundations". The final straw had been the very public heckling of Dewar when he lectured from his Appreciation to the twenty students of the Senior Officers' War Course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. It was decided to expurgate the existing document, which had been removed from circulation and release it. It was published as The Narrative of the Battle of Jutland in 1924.
All copies of the original Appreciation were ordered destroyed in 1928 and before the "Narrative" had been published Dewar and his brother had already been barred access to the original. However, he continued to have a major impact on the historiography of the Battle of Jutland by serving throughout the 1920s as Winston Churchill's naval consultant on submarine-warfare. Churchill wrote an anti-Jellicoe tract in his World Crisis, Volume III which in large measure shared Dewar's views on tactics and even some diagrams. Although Dewar would later become a supporter of the Labour Party, after Churchill was passed over for a cabinet position in 1931 Dewar wrote to him on 16 November, "I am very sorry to see that you are not in the new Cabinet. I had hoped you would go to the Admiralty and do very necessary work for the Navy."
### Sea duty
After four years of duty at the Admiralty, Dewar returned to sea in 1922. He was fortunate after the "Geddes Axe" (the systematic contraction of the Naval Service to a size substantially smaller than its pre-war level) and his controversial tenure at the Admiralty that he was still considered worthy of sea duty, the qualification for promotion to flag rank. He was appointed on 9 May to command the C class cruiser Calcutta, flagship on the North America and West Indies Station. In 1923, Dewar was given command of Calcutta's sister-ship on the same station, HMS Cape Town. While on the station, he had occasion to act as Flag Captain to the Commander-in-Chief on the station, pay calls on cities as diverse as Halifax, Nova Scotia, Quebec City and Boston while cruising the Eastern Seaboard of North America. During the U.S. blockade of the Mexican port of Tampico in 1924, Dewar and Cape Town cancelled their planned cruise of the Caribbean to adequately represent the British government at Vera Cruz, proceeding there on 4 January.
On 15 May 1924, Dewar was relieved in command of Cape Town by Captain G.H. Knowles, DSO. On 2 May 1925, he returned to the Admiralty as Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence. After two years in the position, he was relieved in June 1927 and given from 15 October command of the battleship Royal Oak, flagship of the Rear-Admiral in the 1st Battle Squadron, Mediterranean Fleet. The Rear-Admiral, 1st Battle Squadron was Bernard St. George Collard.
## "The Royal Oak Mutiny"
As Flag Captain to Admiral Collard, Dewar was technically Collard's chief staff officer as well as captain of Royal Oak. A good working relationship between Dewar and the second-in-command of the battle squadron was necessary. Notwithstanding, Collard on occasion acted imperiously and tactlessly on his flagship, causing friction with Dewar and his executive officer, Commander Henry Martin Daniel, DSO. At a dance on the quarterdeck on 12 January 1928, Collard openly lambasted Royal Marine Bandmaster Percy Barnacle and allegedly said "I won't have a bugger like that in my ship" in the presence of ship's officers and guests. Dewar and Daniel accused Collard of "vindictive fault-finding" and openly humiliating and insulting them before their crew, referring to an incident involving Collard's disembarkation from the ship on 5 March where the admiral had openly said that he was "fed up with the ship"; Collard countercharged the two with failing to follow orders and treating him "worse than a midshipman".
Dewar and Daniel, feeling that morale was sinking due to these public displays, wrote letters of complaint which were given to Collard on 10 March, on the eve of a major exercise. Collard forwarded the letters to his superior, Vice-Admiral Sir John Kelly; he immediately passed them on to the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir Roger Keyes. On realising that the relationship between the two and their Flag Officer had irretrievably broken down, Keyes ordered the exercise postponed by fifteen hours and ordered a court of inquiry to be convened. As a consequence, Collard was ordered to strike his flag in Royal Oak and Dewar and Daniel were ordered back to Britain. The Admiralty was informed of the bare facts on 12 March and Keyes proceeded to sea with the Mediterranean Fleet for the exercise as planned. The press picked up on the story worldwide, describing the affair—with some hyperbole—as a "mutiny". Public attention reached such proportions as to raise the concerns of the King, who summoned William Bridgeman, the First Lord of the Admiralty, for an explanation.
Having arrived back in England, Dewar and Daniel gave their version of events at the Admiralty, and put in writing requests for reinstatement in their positions in Royal Oak, or trial by court-martial. Having received Keyes' full dispatch on 16 March, the Board of Admiralty resolved that Dewar and Daniel should undergo trial by court-martial as soon as possible at Gibraltar, where Royal Oak was due to be berthed. Consequently, Dewar and Commander Daniel departed Southampton in the P&O liner Malwa with their counsel, Mr. Day Kimball, and their wives, on 24 March and reached Gibraltar in the evening of 27 March. The two officers were immediately attached to the Gibraltar base ship, HMS Cormorant in accordance with naval custom. It was arranged that Daniel would face court-martial first, on 30 March, and Dewar's would follow at its conclusion.
The courts-martial were held publicly in hangar "A" of the aircraft carrier Eagle. Because ten captains from the fleet sat as members of the court, the departure of the Mediterranean Fleet was delayed until the end of the proceedings. Out of four charges which Daniel faced, two related to writing an allegedly subversive letter (the complaint) and the other two to publicly reading it out to officers of Royal Oak. Dewar consequently faced the charge of having forwarded said subversive letter. The court found Daniel "guilty" on all four charges in the afternoon of 3 April and dismissed him from his ship and ordered him to be severely reprimanded.
Dewar's own court-martial began on 4 April. The court trying him was composed of five rear-admirals and eight captains. Dewar pleaded "not guilty to two charges of accepting and forwarding a letter subversive of discipline and contrary to King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions". Dewar had the opportunity of cross-examining Rear-Admiral Collard over the incident of the dance and the disembarkation. Collard admitted to saying certain things, but refused to say that he had used improper words and not in earshot of anyone other than the captain.
In his defence, Dewar attacked one of the charges against him, namely that of contravening Article 11 of King's Regulations; he declared the charge invalid because his actions did not "bring him into contempt", and from witness testimony he portrayed himself as having acted in the best interests of his ships, his actions against Rear-Admiral Collard having been made out of a sense of duty and loyalty and not malice. Discounting one charge, he said, meant that the first had to fail as well.
The court reached its verdict on 5 April. The first charge was found proven, the second unproven, and Dewar was therefore acquitted of acting against regulations. However, despite his spotless record, when the court sentenced him to be dismissed from HMS Cormorant, and severely reprimanded—a potentially career-destroying result. However, there was some popular support for his continued service in the Navy. Questions were asked in the House of Commons as to whether Dewar or Daniel would be found new positions. The First Lord, Bridgeman, stated that they would be found positions in the Navy as soon as vacancies arose. Dewar's career was reprieved for the time being. Daniel, however, resigned from the service, and following an unsuccessful attempt at a career in journalism, disappeared into obscurity in South Africa.
## Post-Royal Oak
Dewar was once more given duty at sea. However, he was to be relegated to second-rate commands for a man of his seniority. Much to the surprise of many, on 25 September 1928 it was announced that from 5 November Dewar would be given command of the battle cruiser Tiger, the oldest of her type still in service and engaged primarily in training. However, it demonstrated the Admiralty's continued, albeit conditional, faith in him. He commanded Tiger until he was given command of HMS Iron Duke the following year. On 29 May 1929, he was made a naval aide-de-camp (ADC) to King George V. However, Dewar's time in the Navy was drawing to a close. On 4 August, he was finally promoted to rear-admiral, and the following day he was retired. Promotion to flag rank also saw the end of his duty as ADC to the King. On the day of his promotion he was also granted the Good Service pension of £150 per annum.
### Standing for Parliament
In the 1931 General Election, Dewar stood as a Labour party candidate in Portsmouth North, where he lost against the incumbent by 14,149 votes. Once more Dewar was unable to escape controversy, having put up posters around the naval city which raised indignation among many sailors and officers.
The posters, which Dewar himself called "propaganda sheets", were titled "Admiral Dewar's Election News", and carried the statement "The British Navy at Jutland in 1916 beat the ex-Kaiser; and at Invergordon in 1931 it beat Mr. Montagu Norman", and featured prominently a depiction of the former Kaiser of Germany in civilian clothing in front of a sea battle, with the Governor of the Bank of England, Montagu Norman, looking on. A notice beneath the picture read:
> The ex-Kaiser tried to force German Kultur on the world. This attempt cost millions of human lives. Mr. Montagu Norman is the British head of the international financial system which tried to impose the pre-War gold parity on Britain. The attempt devastated British industry and brought desolation into thousands of working-class homes.
Dewar was accused of comparing Jutland to the Invergordon Mutiny, which rankled many servicemen who had fought at Jutland, but had taken no part in the 1931 mutiny in Northern Scotland. He claimed in his defence–a statement issued to the press on 29 October 1931–that he had had nothing to do with the design or production of the poster, which had been published by the National Cooperative Publishing Society. Later Dewar wrote, "I deeply regret that this picture should ever have been associated with my name." At this point, he had already lost at the polls by a substantial margin, the election having taken place on 27 October.
### Later life
As part of Navy Week in 1933 on 5 August, Dewar was invited to open a naval paintings exhibition at the Ilford Galleries in London. He took the opportunity to praise the Washington Naval Conference and the London Naval Conference 1930, and to criticise the size of the Treaty battleship. On the retired list of the Royal Navy, he was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral (retd.) on 31 July 1934.
In early 1939, Dewar's memoirs were published. In The Navy from Within, he recounted his life story, while at the same time criticising severely the manner in which the Royal Navy trained its officers, blaming defects in said training for the naval failure at Gallipoli. However, his account was criticised as being far too harsh and at points hypocritical, for after condemning the naval system of training he then made many mentions of naval officers whom he himself considered to be excellent. In a letter to The Times, Dewar complained that their reviewer was taking far too much issue with the author, which as the reviewer pointed out, "a review of an autobiography must necessarily deal largely with the author himself". Responding to a review of The Navy from Within in The Naval Review which questioned the prominence of "The Royal Oak Affair" in the book, Dewar responded by stating;
> When the Royal Oak case demonstrated to the whole Navy that it was more than dangerous to make a complaint against a superior in accordance with the regulations, it paved the way to the Invergordon Mutiny and several minor incidents of the same kind, each of which might have been avoided if men had had faith in the statutory right of complaint.
Dewar, despite the attached stigma of the mutiny and criticism of his memoirs, was still held in high regard by many, and as war approached he wrote a number of letters to The Times criticising the cost of the Air Raid Precautions network, which attracted much support in the "Letters" pages in that newspaper.
During the Second World War, he returned to the Admiralty, working under his brother Alfred in the Historical Section of the Training and Staff Duties Division. After the war ended, Dewar would win one final victory when he sued the author and publisher of a book on Admiral Keyes for libel in 1953. In the book written by Brigadier-General Aspinall Oglander was a letter from Keyes to the King's private secretary, Lord Stamfordham, in which Keyes accused Dewar of having made contact with the press in his defence. Dewar denied this and the High Court of Justice agreed with him, finding in his favour. The solicitors acting on behalf of Aspinall-Oglander and the publishers, Hogarth Press Ltd., agreed to apologise in court and paid Dewar damages and expenses.
In 1957, he returned to his earlier theme on the failings of officer training, in a three-part exposition on the Dardanelles Campaign for The Naval Review, the journal he had helped found over forty years previously. In the concluding article, published in October 1957, Dewar wrote that the failure of the Navy to adequately support the Army at Gallipoli "is to be found in the system of training officers which consciously or unconsciously suppressed independent thought and suggestions from subordinates." Despite his later close association with Churchill, he criticised the former First Lord's unrealistic expectations and also Lord Fisher's inability to rein him in for want of a naval staff; and Admiral of the Fleet (at the time Commodore) Roger Keyes for actively trying to gain support for forcing the straits again instead of acting as chief of staff and only advising the Naval Commander at the Dardanelles.
Dewar was given the last rites on 8 September 1964 and died at his home in Worthing, Sussex. He was buried at St Bartholomew's Church, Rainhill, Merseyside on 12 September.
|
34,278,027 |
Attack of Mark's Clone
| 1,094,158,331 | null |
[
"2011 American television episodes",
"Television episodes about cloning",
"Ugly Americans (TV series) episodes"
] |
"Attack of Mark's Clone" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American animated television series Ugly Americans, which aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 4, 2011. In the episode, Callie creates a clone of Mark that will guarantee the Department of Integration's win in a bowling tournament, but the plan backfires when the clone frames her for murdering Twayne's new assistant, Tad.
The episode was written by Adam Stein and series developer David M. Stern, and directed by Richard Ferguson-Hull and series creator Devin Clark. The episode features guest performances by comedians Kate McKinnon and Jay Oakerson. According to Nielsen Media Research, "Attack of Mark's Clone" was watched by a season low of 730,000 viewers in its original airing. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who deemed it solid.
## Plot
Callie Maggotbone creates a clone of Mark Lilly to replace him in the Department of Integration's (D.O.I.) bowling tournament, as the real Mark is a "terrible bowler". The clone, who has blonde hair instead of brown, has a sadistic worldview and hides the real Mark in his closet. The following day, Twayne Boneraper hires a new assistant named Tad to do his dirty work. Tad's first action is to reassign Callie, whom he thinks is a saboteur, to a useless department in sub-basement 37. Tad also cuts Mark's department's budget by 80%, but is rather impressed by the Clone Mark's attitude. The next day at his group therapy session with Mark's students, Clone Mark turns it into a fight club to train them for the bowling tournament. Later, Clone Mark finds Callie's diary at her apartment and finds out that she plans to murder him after the tournament and then get the real Mark back. Infuriated, he decides to murder Tad and frames Callie for the crime by using a trident from her apartment as the weapon and leaving it at the scene. Callie gets hauled in by Frank Grimes and his crew, but Grimes finds Mark's behavior strange and decides to investigate further.
Grimes visits Callie at the prison, but she cannot reveal the truth because Clone Mark will kill the real Mark if she tells anyone that he framed her. Grimes goes to Mark's apartment and discovers the real Mark tied up in his own closet. However, Clone Mark appears behind him and shoots him in both his legs. Grimes, as he tries to fire back, ends up blinding himself. Clone Mark has grown tired of bowling and decides to leave the city. The next day, the real Mark tries to free Callie from prison, but he must find evidence to prove her innocence. Mark finds his clone at a tropical island, where he confesses that he killed Tad. The clone is then gassed to death and his body is scrapped for parts, which gives Grimes new legs and eyes. At the bowling tournament, Mark wonders where his clone came from, and Callie says that he "will never know".
## Production
Initially titled "The Clone Wars", the episode's title was later changed to "Attack of Mark's Clone". Series developer David M. Stern wrote the episode with Adam Stein, and Richard Ferguson-Hull and series creator Devin Clark directed it. Stein and Mick Kelly served as staff writers. In an interview with Kevin Fitzpatrick of UGO, Clark spoke of the episode and proclaimed that it was a "really fun opportunity" to see what Mark's clone would be like, calling him an "Agro-Mark". He said that Matt Oberg, the voice of Mark, voiced the clone as a "much more gruff individual". Clark elaborated, "It's really funny. It's like seeing Mark, since we kind of play him so neutered most of the time, it's like seeing him as like this jerk, it's hilarious, it's a very funny story." Executive producer Daniel Powell said that Clone Mark "glove slaps everyone [and smokes] a cigarette instead of putting it out before the office". "Attack of Mark's Clone" was the eighth episode to be produced for the second season. In addition to the regular cast, the episode features appearances by recurring guest voice actors Pete Holmes and Mike O'Gorman. Comedians Kate McKinnon and Jay Oakerson guest starred in the episode.
## Reception
The episode originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 4, 2011. The episode was viewed by an estimated 730,000 viewers and received a 0.3 rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that it was seen by 0.3% of all 18- to 49-year-olds. The episode marked a decrease in ratings from the previous episode, "The Ring of Powers", which scored a 0.4 rating and was watched by 870,000 viewers. The total viewership for "Attack of Mark's Clone" made it the season's least watched episode.
Critical reception of the episode was positive. Charles Webb of MTV Geek favored it over season one episodes, which emphasized "generating a gag a minute within a paper-thin plot". Webb wrote, "The Ugly Americans team has been on a roll much of this season, going three for three with this episode, last week's 'The Ring of Powers,' and the previous week's 'G.I. Twayne'." Ology writer Josh Harrison was also positive of the episode, rating it 7.7 out of 10 and writing: "'Attack of Mark's Clone' takes a pretty archetypal plotline—the evil duplicate—and translates it into the zany twisting storytelling we've come to know and love." Harrison praised the episode for giving viewers insight on the character Mark, and concluded: "This was a solid, if one-note, episode of Ugly Americans. The ongoing jokes ... helped shore up the limited scope of the situation."
|
70,696,438 |
Marvin Harrison Jr.
| 1,173,765,557 |
American football player (born 2002)
|
[
"2002 births",
"African-American players of American football",
"All-American college football players",
"American football wide receivers",
"Living people",
"Ohio State Buckeyes football players",
"Players of American football from Philadelphia",
"St. Joseph's Preparatory School alumni"
] |
Marvin Darnell Harrison Jr. (born August 11, 2002) is an American football wide receiver for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Following a record-setting high school career at St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia, Harrison committed to play college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He emerged as a star for the Buckeyes as a sophomore in 2022, being named a unanimous All-American and the Richter–Howard Receiver of the Year. He is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison.
## Early life and high school
Harrison was born on August 11, 2002, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the oldest of two sons to Dawne and Marvin Harrison. His father played wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts from 1996 to 2008 and was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Harrison grew up playing football and basketball, ultimately deciding to focus solely on football when he entered high school. He attended La Salle College High School as a freshman before transferring to St. Joseph's Preparatory School. At St. Joseph's Harrison would help lead the team to three consecutive state championships while setting Philadelphia Catholic League career records with 2,625 receiving yards and 37 receiving touchdowns. While at St. Joseph's, he played with Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord.
Coming out of high school Harrison was a four-star prospect ranked as the nation's 14th best receiver recruit. He committed to play college football at Ohio State University over offers from Florida, Michigan, Penn State, LSU, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M. Harrison cited wide receiver coach Brian Hartline as well as the school's atmosphere, facilities and his existing relationship with fellow Buckeyes commit Kyle McCord as being the reasons for his commitment to the school.
## College career
### 2021
Harrison enrolled at Ohio State in January 2021. As a freshman in 2021, he received limited playing time behind future first-round NFL draft picks Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Having only had five receptions for 68 yards in the regular season, he would make his first career start in the 2022 Rose Bowl after Wilson and Olave declared for the 2022 NFL Draft. In the Rose Bowl, he caught six passes for 71 yards and three touchdowns in a 48–45 victory over the Utah Utes.
### 2022
Harrison entered his sophomore season with high expectations following his breakout performance in the Rose Bowl. In the Buckeyes' season opener against Notre Dame, Harrison caught five passes for 76 yards. Following an injury to fellow receiver Smith-Njigba against Notre Dame, Harrison became the Buckeyes' \#1 receiver for the remainder of the season. In his first game as the team's top receiver, Harrison caught seven passes for a then career-high 184 yards and three touchdowns in a victory over Arkansas State. The following week he had his second consecutive 100-yard game with 102 yards on 6 catches and two touchdowns in a blowout win over Toledo. Following a relatively unimpressive first two conference games, Harrison returned to form against Michigan State, catching 7 passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns. His three touchdowns against Michigan State marked his third career three-touchdown game, the most of any Ohio State receiver.
Harrison set career highs in receptions (10) and yards (185) in a 44–31 victory over Penn State. Two weeks later he would once again have a 100-yard game, this time against Indiana. Against rival Michigan Harrison recorded his 6th 100-yard performance of the season in a 45–23 loss, the Buckeyes first of the season. Despite the loss to Michigan, Ohio State earned a bid to the College Football Playoff where they would play the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl. Leading up to the game, Harrison's matchup against corner Kelee Ringo was viewed by many as the potential key to the game. Harrison shone in the first half of the contest, catching five passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns, helping Ohio State gain a 35–24 lead. In the third quarter he was forced to leave the game with a concussion following a hard hit from Javon Bullard. In Harrison's absence Georgia mounted a comeback to win the game 42–41, ending Ohio State's season. At the conclusion of the season, Harrison was voted a unanimous All-American and named the Richter–Howard Receiver of the Year after recording 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns.
### 2023
At Ohio State's pro day for the 2023 NFL Draft, Harrison ran routes for quarterback C.J. Stroud. Despite being ineligible for the draft until 2024, Harrison's performance garnered significant media coverage, with some scouts reportedly paying more attention to Harrison than Ohio State's draft eligible prospects. One scout stated that watching Harrison was "Like window shopping at a Lamborghini dealership for the model that doesn't come out until next year". Entering the 2023 college football season, Harrison is widely considered to be the best receiver in the country.
|
33,409,740 |
IPhone 5s
| 1,169,558,227 |
Smartphone made by Apple (2013–2016)
|
[
"Active noise control mobile phones",
"Computer-related introductions in 2013",
"Discontinued flagship smartphones",
"Discontinued iPhones",
"IPhone",
"Mobile phones introduced in 2013",
"Products and services discontinued in 2019",
"Videotelephony"
] |
The iPhone 5s is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the seventh generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 5, and unveiled in September 2013, alongside the iPhone 5c.
The iPhone 5s maintained almost the same external design as its predecessor, the iPhone 5, although the 5s received a new white/gold color scheme in addition to white/silver and space gray/black. The 5s has vastly upgraded internal hardware, however. It introduced the A7 64-bit dual-core system-on-chip, the first 64-bit processor to be used on a smartphone, accompanied by the M7 "motion co-processor". A redesigned home button with Touch ID, a fingerprint recognition system which can be used to unlock the phone and authenticate App Store and iTunes Store purchases, was also introduced. The camera was also updated with a larger aperture and a dual-LED flash optimized for different color temperatures. Earphones known as EarPods were included with the 5s, and Apple released accessories including a case and a dock. It had a 4-inch display, similar to the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c.
The iPhone 5s originally shipped with iOS 7, which introduced a revamped visual appearance among other new features. Designed by Jony Ive, iOS 7 departed from skeuomorphic elements used in previous versions of iOS in favor of a flat, colorful design. Among new software features introduced to the iPhone 5s were AirDrop, an ad-hoc Wi-Fi sharing platform; Control Center, a control panel containing a number of commonly used functions; and iTunes Radio, an internet radio service. The 5s is the first iPhone to be supported through six major versions of iOS, from iOS 7 to iOS 12, along with the iPhone 6s and the first-generation iPhone SE which were supported from iOS 9 to iOS 15, and the second iOS device to support six major updates – the first being the iPad 2 which supported iOS versions 4 to 9.
Reception towards the device was positive, with some outlets considering it to be the best smartphone available on the market due to its upgraded hardware, Touch ID, and other changes introduced by iOS 7. Some criticized the iPhone 5s for keeping the design and small display of the iPhone 5, and others expressed security concerns about the Touch ID system. Nine million units of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c were sold on the weekend of their release, breaking Apple's sales record for iPhones. The iPhone 5s was the best selling phone on all major U.S. carriers in September 2013.
The iPhone 5s was succeeded as Apple's flagship smartphone by the larger iPhone 6 in September 2014. On March 21, 2016, the iPhone 5s was discontinued following the release of the iPhone SE, which incorporated internal hardware similar to the iPhone 6s while retaining the smaller form factor and design of the 5s.
## History
Before its official unveiling, media speculation primarily centered on reports that the next iPhone would include a fingerprint scanner; including Apple's 2013 acquisition of AuthenTec, a developer of mobile security products, references to a fingerprint sensor on the home button in the beta release of iOS 7 and leaked packaging for an iPhone 5s showing that the traditional home button now had a metallic "ring" around it. Similar ring-based imagery was seen on the official invitation to Apple's iPhone press event in September 2013, where the new device was unveiled. Shortly before its official unveiling, The Wall Street Journal also reported the rumor.
Apple announced the iPhone 5c and the iPhone 5s during a media event at its Cupertino headquarters on September 10, 2013. While the iPhone 5c became available for preorder on September 13, 2013, the iPhone 5s was not available for preorder. Both devices were released on September 20, 2013. While most of the promotion focused on Touch ID, the 64-bit Apple A7 processor was also a highlight during the event.
> This is the first-ever 64-bit processor in a phone of any kind. I don't think the other guys are even talking about it yet. Why go through all this? The benefits are huge. The A7 is up to twice as fast as the previous-generation system at CPU tasks, and up to twice as fast at graphics tasks, too.
Schiller then showed demos of Infinity Blade III to demonstrate the A7's processing power and the device's camera using untouched photographs. The release of iOS 7 on September 18, 2013 was also announced during the keynote.
The iPhone 5s was released on September 20, 2013, in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It was released in 25 additional countries on October 25, 2013, and in 12 countries on November 1, 2013. Indonesia was the last country to receive the iPhone 5s, on January 26, 2014. The iPhone 5s was succeeded as Apple's flagship smartphone by the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on September 19, 2014, but the older model remained available for purchase at a reduced price, while the 64 GB version was discontinued. The gold edition of the iPhone 5s was discontinued on September 9, 2015, when Apple revealed the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus
The iPhone 5s was discontinued on March 21, 2016, and succeeded by the first-generation iPhone SE, which continues the same form factor but features vastly upgraded internals similar to the flagship iPhone 6s. This was a break with Apple's product positioning trend (in North America and Western Europe), starting with iPhone 4s released in October 2011, which gave each newly released model one year as the flagship phone, then moving it to midrange for its second year of production, with the third and final year as the entry-level offering before discontinuation. While the iPhone 5s was expected to continue on sale until September 2016, replacing it and its A7 processor early meant that Apple "just reduced its long-term chip support window by a year" for iOS. In addition, a new iPhone launch was meant to stimulate demand, as sales of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus had not met expectations since their September 2015 release and the iPhone family was expected to suffer its first-ever negative growth quarter in 2016.
## Specifications
### Design
The iPhone 5s maintained a similar design to the iPhone 5, with a 4 in (10 cm) LCD multi-touch Retina display and a screen resolution of 640×1136 at 326 ppi. Its home button has been updated with a new flat design using a laser-cut sapphire cover surrounded by a metallic ring; the button is no longer concave, nor does it contain the familiar squircle icon seen on previous models. The phone itself is 0.30 in (7.6 mm) thick and weighs 112 grams (4.0 oz). The phone uses an aluminum composite frame. The device is available in three color finishes; "space gray" (replacing black with slate trim on the iPhone 5), white with silver trim, and white with gold trim. The iPhone 5s was the first iPhone to be available in a gold color; this decision was influenced by the fact that gold is seen as a popular sign of a luxury product among Chinese customers.
### Hardware
The iPhone 5s is powered by the Apple A7 system-on-chip, the first 64-bit processor ever used on a smartphone. The device's operating system and pre-loaded software were optimized to run in 64-bit mode, promising increased performance, although third-party app developers would need to optimize their apps to take advantage of these enhanced capabilities. The A7 processor was designed by Apple and manufactured by Samsung. The A7 processor is accompanied by the M7 "motion co-processor", a dedicated processor for processing motion data from the iPhone's accelerometer and gyroscopes without requiring the attention of the main processor, which integrates with iOS 7's new CoreMotion APIs. The same A7 SoC and M7 motion co-processor are also found in the iPad Air and iPad Mini 2, both of which were released in the same quarter as the iPhone 5s.
The phone includes a 1560 mAh battery, which provides 10 hours of talk time and 250 hours of standby time.
The home button on the iPhone 5s incorporates a fingerprint recognition system known as Touch ID, based on technology from AuthenTec, a company which Apple had acquired in 2012. The sensor uses a capacitive CMOS-based sensor which can detect the "sub-epidermal layers" of fingers at 500 pixels per inch, and uses a 360-degree design that can read the print at any angle. The sensor itself is activated by a touch-sensitive metallic ring surrounding the button. Touch ID can be used for various authentication activities within the operating system, such as unlocking the device or authenticating App Store and iTunes purchases instead of an Apple ID password. The sensor can be trained to recognize the fingerprints of multiple fingers and multiple users. Fingerprint data is stored in an encrypted format within a "secure enclave" of the A7 chip itself, and is not accessible to any other apps or servers (including iCloud).
### Camera
#### Camera hardware
While the camera is still 8 megapixels in resolution with the image capture size of 3264 × 2448 (4:3), the lens has a larger aperture (2.2, compared to 2.4 on the predecessor) and larger sized pixels in its image sensor than previous iPhone models. The flashlight has dual "True Tone" flashes, consisting of an amber LED and a white LED, which are variably used based on the color temperature of the photo to improve color balancing.
#### Camera software
The camera software includes automatic digital image stabilization, dynamic tone mapping, 10 fps burst mode and slow motion video at 120 fps.
Photos captured during the 1080p video recording have a resolution of 720p.
#### Slow-motion video
The iPhone 5s's camera was paired with a dual-LED flash, allowing for higher-quality nighttime photos. iOS 7 introduced a new camera app, allowing the iPhone 5s to capture fast continuous shots and record slow-motion videos with 720p at 120 frames per second and an audio track, making it the first iPhone to be able to record at any frame rate beyond 30 frames per second.
An analysis by GSM Arena suggests that the image quality of the supposedly 720p slow-motion footage resembles approximately 480p.
### Accessories
Earphones known as Apple EarPods were included with the iPhone 5s. According to technology commentators, the design of the earphones is aimed to improve sound quality by allowing air to travel in and out more freely. Apple states that the design of their earphones allows it to "rival high-end headphones that cost hundreds of dollars more". Reviews by Gizmodo and TechRadar reported that although the earphones sounded better than its predecessor, reviewers felt that quality of sound produced is poor. TechRadar further opined that the EarPods are inferior to other earphones of a similar price.
### Operating system and software
The iPhone 5s was initially supplied with iOS 7, released on September 20, 2013. Jonathan Ive, the designer of iOS 7's new elements, described the update as "bringing order to complexity", highlighting features such as refined typography, new icons, translucency, layering, physics, and gyroscope-driven parallaxing as some of the major changes to the design. The design of both iOS 7 and OS X Yosemite (version 10.10) noticeably departs from skeuomorphic elements such as green felt in Game Center, wood in Newsstand, and leather in Calendar, in favor of flat, colorful design.
iOS 7 adds AirDrop, an ad-hoc Wi-Fi sharing platform. Users can share files with the iPhone 5 onwards, the iPod Touch (5th generation), iPad (4th generation) onwards, or iPad Mini (1st generation) onwards. The operating system also adds Control Center, a control panel accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Control Center contains a number of commonly used functions, such as volume and brightness controls, along with toggles for enabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode, and for using the rear camera's flash LED as a flashlight.
iTunes Radio, an Internet radio service, was also included on the iPhone 5s. It was a free, ad-supported service available to all iTunes users, featuring Siri integration on iOS. Users were able to skip tracks, customize stations, and purchase the station's songs from the iTunes Store. Users could also search through their history of previous songs.
Apple announced in June 2018 that the iPhone 5s would support the iOS 12 update. This made it the second longest supported iOS device, having supported six major versions of the iOS operating system, on par with the iPad 2 which supported iOS 4 through iOS 9. The iPhone 5s would also receive major speed boosts of up to 70%, according to Apple. This included the camera, keyboard and other functions.
The iPhone 5s did not receive iOS 13, released in September 2019.
## Apple accessories
During the keynote, Apple announced a case for the iPhone 5s that was made of soft microfiber on the inside and leather on the outside. This case was announced along with iPhone 5c's case, both of which were the first cases Apple had announced since the iPhone 4 Bumpers.
Docks for both the iPhone 5s and 5c were found on the Apple online store after the announcement. Because of the casing difference between the iPhone 5s and 5c, they have separate docks, each made specifically for each respective phone.
## Reception
### Critical reception
The iPhone 5s received a positive reception from reviewers and commentators. Walt Mossberg of All Things Digital gave the phone a favorable review, saying that Touch ID "sounds like a gimmick, but it's a real advance, the biggest step ever in biometric authentication for everyday devices," and labeled it "the best smartphone on the market." David Pogue of The New York Times praised Touch ID, but said that the innovation of the smartphone market has been saturated, and "maybe the age of annual mega-leaps is over." He focused much of his review on iOS 7, which he believed was the biggest change of the device over previous generations, praising new Siri features, Control Center, and AirDrop. In an editorial, Pogue stated that iOS 7 was the biggest change in the iPhone series, citing utilitarian interface changes as the main contributor to this. Scott Stein of CNET criticized the lack of design change over iPhone 5 and said that although the iPhone 5s "is not a required upgrade, but it's easily the fastest and most advanced Apple smartphone to date." Although praised for its camera, 64-bit A7 chip, M7 motion-chip, and fingerprint scanning capabilities, some investors thought that the iPhone 5s, although a notable improvement over the iPhone 5, was still relatively unchanged from its predecessor, and worried that the iPhone line had become a stagnant, dull product. Apple's share price fell 5.4% after the launch to close at a month low of \$467.71 on the NASDAQ.
Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch who praised the iPhone 5s as the best smartphone available said "looks may not be different from the iPhone 5, but the internal components have a dramatic impact on day-to-day activities normal for a smartphone user," and went into detail explaining the impact of the improved camera and specifications on the phone. Etherington suggested that the 64-bit A7 processor will not reach its full potential until developers create applications supporting it. Myriam Joire of Engadget found that the iPhone 5s could benefit significantly from the A7 if developers created applications optimized for the 64-bit processor. Anand Lal Shimpi of AnandTech praised the phone's A7 processor, describing it as "seriously impressive", and stated that it was the most "futureproof of any iPhone ever launched. As much as it pains me to use the word futureproof if you are one of those people who likes to hold onto their device for a while – the iPhone 5s is as good a starting point as any." Scott Lowe of IGN also spoke highly of its 64-bit processor, "which has a substantial lead in processing power over the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, accounting for a graphics boost of up to 32% and 38% in CPU benchmarks." The debut of Apple's 64-bit A7 processor took rival Android smartphone makers by surprise, particularly Qualcomm whose own 64-bit system-on-chip was not released until 2015.
Most reviewers recommended the iPhone 5s over the iPhone 5c which was released at the same time. The 5c retained almost the same hardware as the discontinued iPhone 5, while the iPhone 5s featured substantially improved performance/features thanks to its new 64-bit A7 processor, as well as extra storage space, all for a relatively small additional upfront cost over the iPhone 5c (US\$650 versus US\$550 in March 2014). This was especially the case when iOS 8 was released and both iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c were moved to the mid and low end of the iPhone range, respectively; the iPhone 5s still had 16 or 32 GB (14.9 or 29.8 GiB) storage available while the iPhone 5c had to make do with 8 GB storage with only 4.9GB available to the user after installing iOS 8. Furthermore, the 5c's polycarbonate exterior received a mixed reception and was seen as a cost-cutting downgrade compared to the iPhone 5's aluminum/glass case; the 5s retained the latter design and looked even more premium due to its additional gold finish.
As of 2015–16, there were still a significant number of customers who preferred the 4-inch screen size of iPhone 5s, which remained the second-most popular iPhone after the iPhone 6 and ahead of the iPhone 6s. Apple stated in their event that they sold 30 million 4-inch iPhones in 2015, even as that form factor was succeeded as the flagship iPhone by the redesigned larger display 4.7/5.5-inch iPhone 6 and 6 Plus back in September 2014. Furthermore, the 5/5s design was regarded as "long been the golden child of Apple phone design and a benchmark for phones in general" (with the 5s's gold finish adding a premium touch to the 5's already well-regarded look), while the succeeding 6 and 6S design was less critically acclaimed as it "felt a little bit wrong, as though you were holding a slick \$650 bar of soap". The iPhone 5 was described as "elegance rooted in the way the aluminum and glass work together. It felt streamlined, yet substantial, which is different from iPhone 6, which feels substantial in size alone. Plus, unlike the ubiquitous rounded corners of the 6, iPhone 5 didn't really look like anything else on the market at the time". However, the iPhone 5/5s design was not suited to scaling up, in contrast to the iPhone 6/6S which could better accommodate the growing consumer trend towards larger screen sizes and indeed spawned the 6/6S Plus phablet models. When Apple discontinued the iPhone 5s, it was replaced by the first-generation iPhone SE which outwardly appears almost identical to the 5s even as the SE's internal hardware has been upgraded significantly.
### Commercial reception
The iPhone 5s and 5c sold over nine million units in the first three days, setting a record for first weekend smartphone sales, with the 5s selling three times more units than the 5c. After the first day of release, 1% of all iPhones in the US were iPhone 5Ss, while 0.3% were iPhone 5Cs. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray reported that the line at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store contained 1,417 people on release day, compared to 1,300 for the iPhone 4 in 2010, and 549 for the iPhone 3G in 2008 on their respective release days. This was the first time that Apple launched two models simultaneously. The first-day release in China also contributed to the record sales result.
On launch day, major in-stock shortages were reported in most stores, across all countries where the iPhone 5s initially went on sale. A great many customers in line outside Apple Stores worldwide were left disappointed due to severe shortages across all 5s models, with the gold model in particular being in highly limited supply. While this situation eased in the US in the days following the launch, other countries reported receiving few restocks. Some commentators questioned how Apple handled the initial release, as online pre-orders were not offered for the iPhone 5s, meaning large numbers of people queuing outside physical stores, with most in line not receiving a unit. In the US, Apple offered an online reservation system, so customers could keep checking for units available at their local Apple Stores, and order for pickup. Online orders were also in short supply on launch day, with the shipping date across all model sizes and colors changing from "7-10 working days" to "October" in all countries, within hours of online orders being taken.
The iPhone 5s was the best selling phone on AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile in September 2013 in the United States, outselling the iPhone 5c and Samsung Galaxy S4. According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, the iPhone 5s outsold the 5c by a two-to-one margin during its September release, confirming Apple CEO Tim Cook's view that the high-end smartphone market was not reaching a point of market saturation. While commentators viewed the 5c as a flop because of supply chain cuts signifying a decline in demand, the 5s was viewed as a massive success. Apple admitted that it had failed to anticipate the sales ratio, leading to an overstocking of the 5c and shortages of the 5s.
Six months after the release of the iPhone 5s, on March 25, 2014, Apple announced that sales of the iPhone brand had exceeded 500 million units. By May 2014, despite having been on the market for eight months, the iPhone 5s reportedly outsold the newly released Samsung Galaxy S5 by 40%, with 7 million iPhone 5s units versus 5 million Galaxy S5 units. The Galaxy S5's failure to oust the iPhone 5s from the top-selling spot was a major setback for Samsung Mobile, as the preceding Samsung Galaxy SIII and Samsung Galaxy S4, in the first quarter of their releases, had outsold the iPhone 4s and iPhone 5 respectively.
### Impact of Touch ID
A number of technology writers, including Adrian Kingsley-Hughes of ZDNet and Kevin Roose of New York believed that the fingerprint scanning functionality of the iPhone 5s could help spur the adoption of the technology as an alternative to passwords by mainstream users (especially in "bring your own device" scenarios), as fingerprint-based authentication systems have only enjoyed wider usage in enterprise environments. However, citing research by biometrics engineer Geppy Parziale, Roose suggested that the CMOS-based sensor could become inaccurate and wear out over time unless Apple had designed the sensor to prevent this from occurring. Brent Kennedy, a researcher of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, recommended that users not immediately rely on the technology, citing the uncertainty over whether the system could properly reject a spoofed fingerprint.
Following the release of the iPhone 5s, the German Chaos Computer Club announced on September 21, 2013 that they had bypassed Apple's new Touch ID fingerprint sensor by using "easy everyday means". The group explained that the security system had been defeated by photographing a fingerprint from a glass surface and using that captured image to make a latex model thumb which was then pressed against the sensor to gain access. The spokesman for the group stated, "We hope that this finally puts to rest the illusions people have about fingerprint biometrics. It is plain stupid to use something that you can't change and that you leave everywhere every day as a security token." However, in 2013, 39% of American smartphone users used no security measures at all to protect their smartphone. Others have also tried Chaos Computer Club's method, but concluded that it is not an easy process in either time or effort, given that the user has to use a high resolution photocopy of a complete fingerprint, special chemicals and expensive equipment, and because the spoofing process takes some time to achieve.
### Problems
Several problems were experienced with the iPhone 5s's hardware after its release. The most widely reported issue is that the angle reported by the phone's level sensor had drifted by several degrees, which caused the gyroscope, compass, and accelerometer to become inaccurate. Reports suggested that this is a hardware-induced problem. Some encountered other problems such as crashing with a blue screen and then restarting, the power button making a rattling noise when the phone was shaken, overheating, the microphone not working, and Touch ID not working for iTunes purchases. Some of these issues have since been fixed by software updates.
## See also
- List of iPhone models
- History of iPhone
- Comparison of smartphones
- Timeline of iPhone models
|
35,332,840 |
Noise in music
| 1,172,132,744 |
Unpitched, indeterminate, uncontrolled, loud, unmusical, or unwanted sound
|
[
"Electronic music",
"Noise",
"Sound recording",
"Unpitched percussion instruments"
] |
In music, "noise" has been variously described as unpitched, indeterminate, uncontrolled, convoluted, unmelodic, loud, otherwise unmusical, or unwanted sound, or simply as sound in general. The exact definition is often a matter of both cultural norms and personal tastes. Noise is an important component of the sound of the human voice and all musical instruments, particularly in unpitched percussion instruments and electric guitars (using distortion). Electronic instruments create various colours of noise. Traditional uses of noise are unrestricted, using all the frequencies associated with pitch and timbre, such as the white noise component of a drum roll on a snare drum, or the transients present in the prefix of the sounds of some organ pipes.
The influence of modernism in the early 20th century lead composers such as Edgard Varèse to explore the use of noise-based sonorities in an orchestral setting. In the same period the Italian Futurist Luigi Russolo created a "noise orchestra" using instruments he called intonarumori. Later in the 20th century the term noise music came to refer to works consisting primarily of noise-based sound.
In more general usage, noise is any unwanted sound or signal. In this sense, even sounds that would be perceived as musically ordinary in another context become noise if they interfere with the reception of a message desired by the receiver. Prevention and reduction of unwanted sound, from tape hiss to squeaking bass drum pedals, is important in many musical pursuits, but noise is also used creatively in many ways, and in some way in nearly all genres.
## Definition of noise
In conventional musical practices sounds that are considered unmusical tend to be treated as noise. Oscillations and Waves defines noise as irregular vibrations of an object, in contrast to the periodical, patterned structure of music. More broadly, electrical engineering professor Bart Kosko in the introductory chapter of his book Noise defines noise as a "signal we don't like." Paul Hegarty, a lecturer and noise musician, likewise assigns a subjective value to noise, writing that "noise is a judgment, a social one, based on unacceptability, the breaking of norms and a fear of violence." Composer and music educator R. Murray Schafer divided noise into four categories: Unwanted noise, unmusical sound, any loud system, and a disturbance in any signaling system.
In regard to what is noise as opposed to music, Robert Fink in The Origin of Music: A Theory of the Universal Development of Music claims that while cultural theories view the difference between noise and music as purely the result of social forces, habit, and custom, "everywhere in history we see man making some selections of some sounds as noise, certain other sounds as music, and in the overall development of all cultures, this distinction is made around the same sounds." However, musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez considers the difference between noise and music nebulous, explaining that "The border between music and noise is always culturally defined—which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus ... By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be."
## Noise as a feature of music
Musical tones produced by the human voice and all acoustical musical instruments incorporate noises in varying degrees. Most consonants in human speech (e.g., the sounds of f, v, s, z, both voiced and unvoiced th, Scottish and German ch) are characterised by distinctive noises, and even vowels are not entirely noise free. Wind instruments include the whizzing or hissing sounds of air breaking against the edges of the mouthpiece, while bowed instruments produce audible rubbing noises that contribute, when the instrument is poor or the player unskilful, to what is perceived as a poor tone. When they are not excessive, listeners "make themselves deaf" to these noises by ignoring them.
### Unpitched percussion
Many unpitched percussion instruments, such as the snare drum or maracas, make use of the presence of random sounds or noise to produce a sound without any perceived pitch. See timbre. Unpitched percussion is typically used to maintain a rhythm or to provide accents, and its sounds are unrelated to the melody and harmony of the music. Within the orchestra unpitched percussion is termed auxiliary percussion, and this subsection of the percussion section includes all unpitched instruments of the orchestra no matter how they are played, for example the pea whistle and siren.
### Traditional music
#### Antiquity
Although percussion instruments were generally rather unimportant in ancient Greek music, two exceptions were in dance music and ritual music of orgiastic cults. The former required instruments providing a sharply defined rhythm, particularly krotala (clappers with a dry, nonresonant sound) and kymbala (similar to finger-cymbals). The cult rituals required more exciting noises, such as those produced by drums, cymbals, jingles, and the rhombos (bull-roarer), which produced a demonic roaring noise particularly important to the ceremonies of the priests of Cybele. Athenaeus (The Deipnosophists xiv.38) quotes a passage from a now-lost play, Semele, by Diogenes the Tragedian, describing an all-percussion accompaniment to some of these rites:
> And now I hear the turban-wearing women, Votaries of th' Asiatic Cybele, The wealthy Phrygians' daughters, loudly sounding With drums, and rhombs, and brazen-clashing cymbals, Their hands in concert striking on each other, Pour forth a wise and healing hymn to the gods.
An altogether darker picture of the function of this noise music is painted by Livy in Ab urbe condita xxxix.8–10, written in the late first century BC. He describes "a Greek of mean condition ... a low operator in sacrifices, and a soothsayer ... a teacher of secret mysteries" who imported to Etruria and then to Rome a Dionysian cult which attracted a large following. All manner of debaucheries were practised by this cult, including rape and
> secret murders ... [where] the bodies could not even be found for burial. Many of their audacious deeds were brought about by treachery, but most of them by force, and this force was concealed by loud shouting, and the noise of drums and cymbals, so that none of the cries uttered by the persons suffering violation or murder could be heard abroad.
#### Polynesia
A Tahitian traditional dance genre dating back to before the first contact with European explorers is ʻōteʻa, danced by a group of men accompanied solely by a drum ensemble. The drums consist of a slit-log drum called tō‘ere (which provides the main rhythmic pattern), a single-headed upright drum called fa‘atete, a single-headed hand drum called pahu tupa‘i rima, and a double-headed bass drum called tariparau.
#### Asia
In Shaanxi in the north of China, drum ensembles accompany yangge dance, and in the Tianjin area there are ritual percussion ensembles such as the Fagu hui Dharma-drumming associations, often consisting of dozens of musicians. In Korea, a style of folk music called Nongak (farmers' music) or pungmul has been performed for many hundred years, both by local players and by professional touring bands at concerts and festivals. It is loud music meant for outdoor performance, played on percussion instruments such as the drums called janggu and puk, and the gongs ching and kkwaenggwari. It originated in simple work rhythms to assist repetitive tasks carried out by field workers.
South Asian music places a special emphasis on drumming, which is freed from the primary time-keeping function of drumming found in other part of the world. In North India, secular processional bands play an important role in civic festival parades and the bārāt processions leading a groom's wedding party to the bride's home or the hall where a wedding is held. These bands vary in makeup, depending on the means of the families employing them and according to changing fashions over time, but the core instrumentation is a small group of percussionists, usually playing a frame drum (ḍaphalā), a gong, and a pair of kettledrums (nagāṛā). Better-off families will add shawms (shehnai) to the percussion, while the most affluent who also prefer a more modern or fashionable image may replace the traditional ensemble with a brass band. The Karnatic music of southern India includes a tradition of instrumental temple music in the state of Kerala, called kṣētram vādyam. It includes three main genres, all focussed on rhythm and featuring unpitched percussion. Thayambaka in particular is a virtuoso genre for unpitched percussion only: a solo double-headed cylindrical drum called chenda, played with a pair of sticks, and accompanied by other chenda and elathalam (pairs of cymbals). The other two genres, panchavadyam and pandi melam add wind instruments to the ensemble, but only as accompaniment to the primary drums and cymbals. A panchavadyam piece typically lasts about an hour, while a pandi melam performance may be as long as four hours.
#### Turkey
The Turkish janissaries military corps had included since the 14th century bands called mehter or mehterân which, like many other earlier military bands in Asia featured a high proportion of drums, cymbals, and gongs, along with trumpets and shawms. The high level of noise was pertinent to their function of playing on the battlefield to inspire the soldiers. The focus in these bands was on percussion. A full mehterân could include several bass drums, multiple pairs of cymbals, small kettledrums, triangles, tambourines, and one or more Turkish crescents.
#### Europe
Through Turkish ambassadorial visits and other contacts, Europeans gained a fascination with the "barbarous", noisy sound of these bands, and a number of European courts established "Turkish" military ensembles in the late-17th and early 18th centuries. The music played by these ensembles, however, were not authentically Turkish music, but rather compositions in the prevalent European manner. The general enthusiasm quickly spread to opera and concert orchestras, where the combination of bass drum, cymbals, tambourines, and triangles were collectively referred to as "Turkish music". The best-known examples include Haydn's Symphony No. 100, which acquired its nickname, "The Military", from its use of these instruments, and three of Beethoven's works: the "alla marcia" section from the finale of his Symphony No. 9 (an early sketch reads: "end of the Symphony with Turkish music"), his "Wellington's Victory"—or Battle Symphony—with picturesque sound effects (the bass drums are designated as "cannons", side drums represent opposing troops of soldiers, and ratchets the sound of rifle fire), and the "Turkish March" (with the expected bass drum, cymbals, and triangle) and the "Chorus of Dervishes" from his incidental music to The Ruins of Athens, where he calls for the use of every available noisy instrument: castanets, cymbals, and so forth. By the end of the 18th century, the batterie turque had become so fashionable that keyboard instruments were fitted with devices to simulate the bass drum (a mallet with a padded head hitting the back of the sounding board), cymbals (strips of brass striking the lower strings), and the triangle and bells (small metal objects struck by rods). Even when percussion instruments were not actually employed, certain alla turca "tricks" were used to imitate these percussive effects. Examples include the "Rondo alla turca" from Mozart's Piano Sonata, K. 331, and part of the finale of his Violin Concerto, K. 219.
##### Harpsichord, piano, and organ
At about the same time that "Turkish music" was coming into vogue in Europe, a fashion for programmatic keyboard music opened the way for the introduction of another kind of noise in the form of the keyboard cluster, played with the fist, flat of the hand, forearm, or even an auxiliary object placed on the keyboard. On the harpsichord and piano, this device was found mainly in "battle" pieces, where it was used to represent cannon fire. The earliest instance was by Jean-François Dandrieu, in Les Caractères de la guerre (1724), and for the next hundred years it remained predominantly a French feature, with examples by Michel Corrette (La Victoire d'un combat naval, remportée par une frégate contre plusieurs corsaires réunis, 1780), Claude-Bénigne Balbastre (March des Marseillois, 1793), Pierre Antoine César (La Battaille de Gemmap, ou la prise de Mons, ca. 1794), and Jacques-Marie Beauvarlet-Charpentier (Bataille d'Austerlitz, 1805). In 1800, Bernard Viguerie introduced the sound to chamber music, in the keyboard part of a piano trio titled La Bataille de Maringo, pièce militaire et historique. The last time this pianistic "cannon" effect was used before the 20th century was in 1861, in a depiction of the then-recent The Battle of Manassas in a piece by the black American piano virtuoso "Blind Tom" Bethune, a piece that also feature vocalised sound-effect noises.
Clusters were also used on the organ, where they proved more versatile (or their composers more imaginative). Their most frequent use on this instrument was to evoke the sound of thunder, but also to portray sounds of battle, storms at sea, earthquakes, and Biblical scenes such as the fall of the walls of Jericho and visions of the apocalypse. The noisy sound nevertheless remained a special sound effect, and was not integrated into the general texture of the music. The earliest examples of "organ thunder" are from descriptions of improvisations by Abbé Vogler in the last quarter of the 18th century. His example was soon imitated by Justin Heinrich Knecht (Die durch ein Donerwetter [sic] unterbrochne Hirtenwonne, 1794), Michel Corrette (who employed a length of wood on the pedal board and his elbow on the lowest notes of the keyboard during some improvisations), and also in composed works by Guillaume Lasceux (Te Deum: "Judex crederis", 1786), Sigismond Neukomm (A Concert on a Lake, Interrupted by a Thunderstorm), Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély (Scène pastorale, 1867), Jacques Vogt (Fantaisie pastorale et orage dans les Alpes, ca. 1830), and Jules Blanc (La procession, 1859). The most notable 19th-composer to use such organ clusters was Giuseppe Verdi. The storm music which opens his opera Otello (1887) includes an organ cluster (C, C, D) that is also the longest notated duration of any scored musical texture.
##### Bowed strings
Percussive effects in imitation of drumming had been introduced to bowed-string instruments by early in the 17th century. The earliest known use of col legno (tapping on the strings with the back of the bow) is found in Tobias Hume's First Part of Ayres for unaccompanied viola da gamba (1605), in a piece titled Harke, Harke. Carlo Farina, an Italian violinist active in Germany, also used col legno to mimic the sound of a drum in his Capriccio stravagante for four stringed instruments (1627), where he also used devices such as glissando, tremolo, pizzicato, and sul ponticello to imitate the noises of barnyard animals (cat, dog, chicken). Later in the century, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, in certain movements of Battalia (1673), added to these effects the device of placing a sheet of paper under the A string of the double bass, in order to imitate the dry rattle of a snare drum, and in "Die liederliche Gesellschaft von allerley Humor" from the same programmatic battle piece, superimposed eight different melodies in different keys, producing in places dense orchestral clusters. He also uses the percussive snap of fortissimo pizzicato to represent gunshots.
An important aspect of all of these examples of noise in European keyboard and string music before the 19th century is that they are used as sound effects in programme music. Sounds that would likely cause offense in other musical contexts are made acceptable by their illustrative function. Over time, their evocative effect was weakened as at the same time they became incorporated more generally into abstract musical contexts.
##### Orchestras
Orchestras continued to use noise in the form of a percussion section, which expanded though the 19th century: Berlioz was perhaps the first composer to thoroughly investigate the effects of different mallets on the tone color of timpani. However, before the 20th century, percussion instruments played a very small role in orchestral music and mostly served for punctuation, to highlight passages, or for novelty. But by the 1940s, some composers were influenced by non-Western music as well as jazz and popular music, and began incorporating marimbas, vibraphones, xylophones, bells, gongs, cymbals, and drums.
##### Vocal music
In vocal music, noisy nonsense syllables were used to imitate battle drums and cannon fire long before Clément Janequin made these devices famous in his programmatic chanson La bataille (The Battle) in 1528. Unpitched or semi-pitched performance was introduced to formal composition in 1897 by Engelbert Humperdinck, in the first version of his melodrama, Königskinder. This style of performance is believed to have been used previously by singers of lieder and popular songs. The technique is best known, however, from somewhat later compositions by Arnold Schoenberg, who introduced it for solo voices in his Gurrelieder (1900–1911), Pierrot Lunaire (1913), and the opera Moses und Aron (1930–1932), and for chorus in Die Glückliche Hand (1910–1913). Later composers who have made prominent use of the device include Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio, Benjamin Britten (in Death in Venice, 1973), Mauricio Kagel, and Wolfgang Rihm (in his opera Jakob Lenz, 1977–1978, amongst other works). A well-known example of this style of performance in popular music was Rex Harrison's portrayal of Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady. Another form of unpitched vocal music is the speaking chorus, prominently represented by Ernst Toch's 1930 Geographical Fugue, an example of the Gebrauchsmusik fashionable in Germany at that time.
##### Machine music
In the 1920s a fashion emerged for composing what was called "machine music"—the depiction in music of the sounds of factories, locomotives, steamships, dynamos, and other aspects of recent technology that both reflected modern, urban life and appealed to the then-prevalent spirit of objectivity, detachment, and directness. Representative works in this style, which features motoric and insistent rhythms, a high level of dissonance, and often large percussion batteries, are George Antheil's Ballet mécanique (1923–1925), Arthur Honegger's Pacific 231 (1923), Sergei Prokofiev's ballet Le pas d'acier (The Steel Leap, 1925–1926), Alexander Mosolov's Iron Foundry (an orchestral episode from his ballet Steel, 1926–1927), and Carlos Chávez's ballet Caballos de vapor, also titled HP (Horsepower, 1926–1932). This trend reached its apex in the music of Edgard Varèse, who composed Ionisation in 1931, a "study in pure sonority and rhythm" for an ensemble of thirty-five unpitched percussion instruments.
##### Percussion ensembles
Following Varèse's example, a number of other important works for percussion ensemble were composed in the 1930s and 40s: Henry Cowell's Ostinato Pianissimo (1934) combines Latin American, European, and Asian percussion instruments; John Cage's First Construction (in Metal) (1939) employs differently pitched thunder sheets, brake drums, gongs, and a water gong; Carlos Chávez's Toccata for percussion instruments (1942) requires six performers to play a large number of European and Latin-American drums and other unpitched percussion together with a few tuned instruments such as xylophone, tubular chimes, and glockenspiel; Lou Harrison, in works such as the Canticles nos. 1 and 3 (1940 and 1942), Song of Queztalcoatl (1941), Suite for Percussion (1942), and—in collaboration with John Cage—Double Music (1941) explored the use of "found" instruments, such as brake drums, flowerpots, and metal pipes. In all of these works, elements such as timbre, texture, and rhythm take precedence over the usual Western concepts of harmony and melody.
### Experimental and avant-garde music
Use of noise was central to the development of experimental music and avant-garde music in the mid 20th century. Noise was used in important, new ways.
Edgard Varèse challenged traditional conceptions of musical and non-musical sound and instead incorporated noise based sonorities into his compositional work, what he referred to as "organised sound." Varèse stated that "to stubbornly conditioned ears, anything new in music has always been called noise", and he posed the question, "what is music but organized noises?".
In the years immediately following the First World War, Henry Cowell composed a number of piano pieces featuring tone clusters and direct manipulation of the piano's strings. One of these, titled The Banshee (1925), features sliding and shrieking sounds suggesting the terrifying cry of the banshee from Irish folklore.
In 1938 for a dance composition titled Bacchanale, John Cage invented the prepared piano, producing both transformed pitches and colorful unpitched sounds from the piano. Many variations, such as prepared guitar, have followed. In 1952, Cage wrote 4′33′′, in which there is no deliberate sound at all, but only whatever background noise occurs during the performance.
Karlheinz Stockhausen employed noise in vocal compositions, such as Momente (1962–1964/69), in which the four choirs clap their hands, talk, and shuffle their feet, in order to mediate between instrumental and vocal sounds as well as to incorporate sounds normally made by audiences into those produced by the performers.
Robert Ashley used audio feedback in his avant-garde piece The Wolfman (1964) by setting up a howl between the microphone and loudspeaker and then singing into the microphone in way that modulated the feedback with his voice.
### Electronic music
Noise is used as basic tonal material in electronic music.
When pure-frequency sine tones were first synthesised into complex timbres, starting in 1953, combinations using inharmonic relationships (noises) were used far more often than harmonic ones (tones). Tones were seen as analogous to vowels, and noises to consonants in human speech, and because traditional music had emphasised tones almost exclusively, composers of electronic music saw scope for exploration along the continuum stretching from single, pure (sine) tones to white noise (the densest superimposition of all audible frequencies)—that is, from entirely periodic to entirely aperiodic sound phenomena. In a process opposite to the building up of sine tones into complexes, white noise could be filtered to produce sounds with different bandwidths, called "coloured noises", such as the speech sounds represented in English by sh, f, s, or ch. An early example of an electronic composition composed entirely by filtering white noise in this way is Henri Pousseur's Scambi (Exchanges), realised at the Studio di Fonologia in Milan in 1957.
In the 1980s, electronic white noise machines became commercially available. These are used alone to provide a pleasant background noise and to mask unpleasant noise, a similar role to conventional background music. This usage can have health applications in the case of individuals struggling with over-stimulation or sensory processing disorder. Also, white noise is sometimes used to mask sudden noise in facilities with research animals.
### Rock music
While the electric guitar was originally designed to be simply amplified in order to reproduce its sound at a higher volume, guitarists quickly discovered the creative possibilities of using the amplifier to modify the sound, particularly by extreme settings of tone and volume controls.
Distortion was at first produced by simply overloading the amplifier to induce clipping, resulting in a tone rich in harmonics and also in noise, and also producing dynamic range compression and therefore sustain (and sometimes destroying the amplifier). Dave Davies of The Kinks took this technique to its logical conclusion by feeding the output from a 60 watt guitar amplifier directly into the guitar input of a second amplifier. The popularity of these techniques quickly resulted in the development of electronic devices such as the fuzz box to produce similar but more controlled effects and in greater variety. Distortion devices also developed into vocal enhancers, effects units that electronically enhance a vocal performance, including adding air (noise or distortion, or both). Guitar distortion is often accomplished through use of feedback, overdrive, fuzz, and distortion pedals. Distortion pedals produce a crunchier and grittier tone than an overdrive pedal.
As well as distortion, rock musicians have used audio feedback, which is normally undesirable. The use of feedback was pioneered by musicians such as John Lennon of The Beatles, Jeff Beck of The Yardbirds, Pete Townshend of The Who, Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground and Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was able to control feedback and turn it into a musical quality, and his use of noise has been described as "sculpted – liquid and fire expertly shaped in mid-air as if by a glass blower." Other techniques used by Hendrix include distortion, wah, fuzz, dissonance, and loud volume.
### Jazz
In the mid-1960s, jazz began incorporating elements of rock music, and began using distortion and feedback, partially due to the efforts of Jimi Hendrix, who had strong links with jazz. The proto-punk band MC5 also used feedback and loudness and was inspired by the avant-garde jazz movement. Jazz musicians who have incorporated noise elements, feedback and distortion include Bill Frisell, David Krakauer Cecil Taylor, Gábor Szabó, Garnett Brown, Grachan Moncur III, Jackie McLean, John Abercrombie, John McLaughlin, Joseph Bowie, Larry Coryell, McCoy Tyner, Ornette Coleman, Pat Metheny, Phil Minton, Roswell Rudd, and Scott Henderson.
### Hip hop
Since its origins in the Bronx during the 1970s, hip hop music has been associated with noise. According to author Mark Katz techniques such as scratching are an expression of transgression where scratching, like the visual art of graffiti, is a form of vandalism. "It is a celebration of noise," writes Katz, "and no doubt part of the pleasure it brought to DJs came from the knowledge that it annoyed the older generation." Scholar William Jelani Cobb states that "though the genre will always be dismissed by many as brash, monotonous noise, the truth is that hip hop has undergone an astounding array of lyrical and musical transformations." Scholar Ronald Radano writes that "no term in the modern lexicon conveys more vividly African-American music's powers of authenticity and resistance than the figure of 'noise'. In hip-hop parlance, 'noise,' specifically 'black noise', is that special insight from the inside, the anti-philosophy that emerges front and center through the sound attack of rap." Radano finds the appearance of "black noise" nearly everywhere in the "transnational repetitions of rap opposition," but stresses that despite its global nature, black noise still conforms to American racial structures. Radano states that "rather than radicalizing the stable binaries of race, noise inverts them; it transforms prior signs of European musical mastery — harmony, melody, song — into all that is bitchin', kickin', and black."
The hip hop group Public Enemy in particular has been noted for its use of noise in its music. The group's second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988), was backed by the production team The Bomb Squad, who helped craft the album's layered, anti-harmonic, anarchic noise. Michael Eric Dyson describes the album as a "powerful mix of music, beats, screams, noise, and rhythms from the streets", and considers it an example of the revival of black radical and nationalist thought. Public Enemy member Chuck D acknowledges that the group's use of noise was an intentional attempt to blur the boundaries between popular music and the noise of everyday life, a decision which writer Jason W. Buel says "ran directly counter to the values of mainstream music of the time." He explains that "without a doubt" this intentional use of noise influenced not only the next decade of hip-hop, but of rock as well. Furthermore, notes Buel, the incorporation of noise served a political function, elevating the ordinary and thus suggesting that common, ordinary people should consider themselves on the same footing as their political and cultural leaders.
## Noise as a type of music
Noise music (also referred to simply as noise) has been represented by many genres during the 20th century and subsequently. Some of its proponents reject the attempt to classify it as a single overall genre, preferring to call noise music a non-genre, an aesthetic, or a collection of genres. Even among those who regard it as a genre, its scope is unclear. Some commentators use the phrase "noise music" (or "noise") to refer specifically to Japanese noise music, while others instead use the term Japanoise.
While noise music is often nowadays associated with extreme volume and distortion and produced by electronic amplification, the tradition dates back at least to the Futurist Luigi Russolo, who rejected melody, constructed original instruments known as intonarumori and assembled a "noise orchestra" in 1917. It was not well received. In his 1913 manifesto The Art of Noises he observes:
> At first the art of music sought purity, limpidity and sweetness of sound. Then different sounds were amalgamated, care being taken, however, to caress the ear with gentle harmonies. Today music, as it becomes continually more complicated, strives to amalgamate the most dissonant, strange and harsh sounds. In this way we come ever closer to noise-sound.
### Some types of noise music
- Noise music, abandoning melody, harmony, and sometimes even pulse and rhythm
- Industrial music (1970s)
- Noise rock and noise pop (1980s)
- Japanoise (late 1970s – current)
- Glitch (1990s)
## Noise reduction
Most often, musicians are concerned not to produce noise, but to minimise it. Noise reduction is of particular concern in sound recording. This is accomplished by many techniques, including use of low noise components and proprietary noise reducing technologies such as Dolby.
In both recording and in live musical sound reinforcement, the key to noise minimisation is headroom. Headroom can be used either to reduce distortion and audio feedback by keeping signal levels low, or to reduce interference, both from outside sources and from the Johnson–Nyquist noise produced in the equipment, by keeping signal levels high. Most proprietary noise reducing technologies also introduce low levels of distortion. Noise minimisation therefore becomes a compromise between interference and distortion, both in recording and in live music, and between interference and feedback in live amplification. The work of Bart Kosko and Sanya Mitaim has also demonstrated that stochastic resonance can be used as a technique in noise minimisation and signal improvement in non-linear dynamical systems, as the addition of noise to a signal can improve the signal-to-noise ratio.
Noise created by mobile phones has become a particular concern in live performances, particularly those being recorded. In one notable incident, maestro Alan Gilbert halted the New York Philharmonic in a performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 9 until an audience member's iPhone was silenced.
## Noise as excessive volume
Music played at excessive volumes is often considered a form of noise pollution. Governments such as that of the United Kingdom have local procedures for dealing with noise pollution, including loud music.
Noise as high volume is common for musicians from classical orchestras to rock groups as they are exposed to high decibel ranges. Although some rock musicians experience noise-induced hearing loss from their music, it is still debated as to whether classical musicians are exposed to enough high-intensity sound to cause hearing impairments. Music-induced hearing loss is still a controversial topic for hearing researchers. While some studies have shown that the risk for hearing loss increases as music exposure increases, other studies found little to no correlation between the two.
In 2008 Trygve Nordwall, the manager of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, invoked new EU rules forbidding more than 85 decibels in the workplace, as a reason for dropping the planned world premiere of Dror Feiler's composition Halat Hisar (State of Siege) because it was "adverse to the health" of the musicians. The twenty-minute composition "starts with the rattle of machine-gun fire and gets louder" ("Das Stück beginnt mit Schüssen aus Maschinengewehren, die vom Band zugespielt werden, und das ist noch die leiseste Stelle.") Orchestra manager Trygve Nordwall reported that "readings were taken during rehearsals and even when toned down, Halat Hisar measured about 130 decibels, equivalent to hearing a jet aircraft taking off", and one member of the orchestra reported suffering headaches and permanent tinnitis after sustained exposure for three hours during rehearsals ("Ein Orchestermusiker habe nach der Probe des Stückes drei Stunden lang permanente Ohrgeräusche (Tinnitus) gehabt"). Headphones for the musicians were suggested, but they objected they could not hear each other and the composer also rejected the idea, adding that his composition was "no louder than anything by Shostakovich or Wagner".
Many bands, primarily in the rock genre, use excessive volumes intentionally. Several bands have set records as the loudest band in the world, with Deep Purple, The Who, and Manowar having received entries in the Guinness Book of World Records. Other claimants to the title include Motörhead, Led Zeppelin, Gallows, Bob Dylan's 1965 backing electric band, Grand Funk Railroad, Canned Heat, and the largely fictional parody group Spinal Tap. My Bloody Valentine are known for their "legendarily high" volume concerts, and Sunn O))) are described as surpassing them. The sound levels at Sunn O))) concerts are intentionally loud enough that they are noted for having physical effects on their audience.
## See also
### Noise in general
- Noise (disambiguation) for a list of other articles related to noise
- Noise (electronics)
### Relating noise to music
- The definition of music, detailed discussions
- Phonaesthetics for the aesthetics of sound, and particularly what is meant by cacophony
- Aesthetics of music
- Inharmonicity, one of the factors causing a sound to be perceived as unpitched
- Consonance and dissonance#Dissonance for discussion of the nature and usage of discords in melody and harmony and similar devices in rhythm and metre
- Timbral listening
### Related types
- Free jazz
- Percussion ensemble
### Related types of music
- :Category:Noise music for an automated list of articles related to noise as a type of music
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The Warning (Eminem song)
| 1,158,398,367 | null |
[
"2009 songs",
"Diss tracks",
"Eminem songs",
"Mariah Carey",
"Song recordings produced by Dr. Dre",
"Songs written by Dr. Dre",
"Songs written by Eminem"
] |
"The Warning" is a hip hop diss song written and performed by American rapper Eminem and produced by Dr. Dre as part of an ongoing conflict with singer Mariah Carey. Throughout his career, Eminem has claimed he once had a relationship with Carey, dating her for six months. Carey, however, always denied the claim. As a result, Eminem recorded a number of songs in which he rapped about the singer in a negative light, angered by her not admitting to seeing him.
Eminem's sixth studio album Relapse (2009) featured a song entitled "Bagpipes from Baghdad", containing insulting comments about the singer and her then-husband Nick Cannon. Afterward, Cannon posted on his website expressing his disgust at the rapper's comments. Eminem responded in a 2009 Tim Westwood interview by saying he meant well and that the song is actually "wishing the couple the best." After the release of Carey's single "Obsessed", a song about an obsessed man who claims to be having a relationship with her, Eminem claimed that the song was directed at himself, despite claims to the contrary by Cannon (although he later said that it was a diss to Eminem). As a response, Eminem released "The Warning". Cannon responded to that song with his "I'm a Slick Rick", and challenged Eminem to a boxing match for charity which never took place.
Though not released as a single or as part of an album, "The Warning" appeared on three Billboard charts.
## Background
From the year 2001 onwards, Eminem claimed to have dated Carey for six months throughout the gloomy times in her life. Carey denied ever having been involved with the rapper in a personal relationship, claiming that they had only met a handful of times, and it was professional. Subsequently, he referred to Carey in several of his songs in a negative light, claiming to have been angered by her not admitting to seeing him. On Charmbracelet, Carey included a song titled "Clown", which critics suggested was aimed at Eminem. "Clown"'s lyrics were described as "languidly sinister" by Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe, and read: "I should've left it at 'I like your music too'...You should never have intimated we were lovers / When you know very well we never even touched each other." In 2005, during concerts on the rapper's Anger Management Tour, he began playing voice-mails and recordings that were reportedly left by Carey. One of the messages said: "I heard you were getting back with your ex-wife. Why won't you see me? Why won't you call me?". After playing the excerpt, Eminem would pretend to be sick before launching into his song "Puke". On May 12, 2009, Eminem released his sixth studio album Relapse, which included the song "Bagpipes from Baghdad". The song's lyrics suggested Eminem was still in love with Carey and "wanted her back": "I want another crack at ya" and "Nick Cannon better back the fuck up. I'm not playing, I want her back, you punk." After the song's release, Cannon went on his website, defending Carey and expressing his disgust at the rapper's comments:
> I felt sorry for him because he must really be stuck in the past. Not only has his music not evolved, but also homeboy is still obsessed with my wife, the same female that wouldn't let him get to second base from eight years ago. What type of grown ass man lies about getting with a chick? Only Slim Lamey! LOL! I’m putting this out there now. Marshall Mathers, you need to holler at me... Man to man, let’s meet up and deal with this like adults. So, Miss Marshall, I'm going to make you wish you never spoke my name and regret the ungodly things you said about my wife. Your legacy has now been tainted from this day forth! You will now be known as the rapper who lost to corny-ass Nick Cannon!
Eminem responded to Cannon's comments sarcastically, clarifying that the song was really "wishing the couple the best", and that it was a misunderstanding. In an interview with BBC Radio, Eminem clarified that although contained a "harsh" line, he meant well: "There's a line on there that was a little harsh. It's a harsh line. But it's like this, the way I look at it, I had no idea he was gonna take it like he took it. I had no idea Nick Cannon was gonna start wildin' out on me. No pun intended." He later commented that he respected Cannon for his comment, and that he expected him to stand up for his wife: "I didn't read his blog or anything. But it is what it is. He's supposed to defend his wife, and I expected him to do that. But at the end of the day, it's a line I said – it's a song. What I actually meant to say is, I wish them the best. That's what I meant to say. That's the whole message of the record."
After Carey premiered "Obsessed" on June 16, 2009, the media frenzied and began speculating the song was targeting Eminem, due to its lyrics and overall message. Following the song's accompanying music video, which featured Carey playing a role that resembled the rapper, critics considered it Carey's response to Eminem's "Bagpipes from Baghdad". Soon after both the release of the song and its video, Eminem released "The Warning" on July 30, 2009, which he claimed to be a retaliation. In the aftermath of the releases, Cannon was questioned regarding the inspiration of "Obsessed", and whether it was ever directed at Eminem:
> She's Mariah Carey. She's not beefin', she's a vegetarian. People keep saying ['Obsessed'] was directed at certain people. To be completely honest, she did the record 'cause she's a huge fan of this movie Mean Girls, and there's a line in the movie where one of the girls is like, 'Why are you so obsessed with me?' She says that at the beginning of the song, and that's where the concept came from. But, you know, art imitates life.
## Content and composition
Produced by Dr. Dre, "The Warning" is a mid-tempo track that is almost entirely made up of soft piano keys playing in the background, a consistent drum beat, and occasional strings every few seconds. The song contains no chorus.
The song's lyrics allude to his supposed relationship with Mariah Carey, the music video for "Obsessed", and pictures and proof he claims to have of the couple. The song begins "Only reason I dissed you in the first place is because you denied seeing me. Now I'm pissed off," before describing Carey's impersonation of him in her video, "Oh gee, is that supposed to be me in the video with the goatee?/ Wow Mariah, didn't expect you to go balls out." Eminem continues describing a near-sexual encounter with the singer, threatening to release voice-mails and pictures he still has in his possession. Additionally, the song features the voice of a woman who may or may not be Carey calling herself Mary Poppins and laughing.
## Response
Although Carey did not publicly respond to "The Warning", in September 2010 Cannon responded with a song titled "I'm a Slick Rick", on which he attacks Eminem for his disparaging lyrics towards Carey, using a flow similar to that of rapper Slick Rick. He also later proposed a boxing match between himself and Eminem for charity, even setting up a Facebook page to promote the idea; however, the event never took place.
Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone noted that Eminem "is more sharp and on-point here than on some of Relapse." Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly however, stated that there is only one "clever" line aimed at Cannon, and that "everything else is just so predictable coming from Em[inem] at this point."
## Chart performance
## See also
- List of diss tracks
|
662,059 |
The Council (Star Trek: Enterprise)
| 1,160,933,273 | null |
[
"2004 American television episodes",
"Star Trek: Enterprise (season 3) episodes",
"Television episodes directed by David Livingston"
] |
"The Council" is the seventy-fourth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the twenty-second episode of season three. It first aired on May 12, 2004, on the UPN network in the United States. The episode was the fifth of the series written by Manny Coto, and it was directed by David Livingston, his fourth of the third season.
Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. Season three of Enterprise features an ongoing story following an attack on Earth by previously unknown aliens called the Xindi. In this episode, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) attempts to convince the Xindi Council not to use their superweapon on Earth. Meanwhile, Subcommander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) leads an away team to a nearby sphere to attempt to retrieve a data core in order to get more information on the Sphere-Builders.
The episode featured several returning guest stars, including Randy Oglesby, Tucker Smallwood, Josette DiCarlo and Sean McGowan. Additional sets were required for the scenes at the Xindi Council, while the sets for Degra's ship had been created for an earlier episode. Although most scenes were filmed between February 12 and 23, the scenes featuring the Sphere-Builders were filmed in conjunction with the following episode on February 26. Two reviewers praised the episode, and it was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects. There was a slight increase in ratings with the episode earning a 3.4/5% audience share, translating into approximately 3.35 million viewers.
## Plot
Enterprise is en route to the Xindi Council. Under escort by Degra's ship, Captain Archer is briefed on the five member species of the Council. Other friendly Xindi ships soon join the escort. As they approach the planet, the flagship of Reptilian Commander Dolim intervenes. After a tense standoff, Dolim backs down. On the planet, Archer and Ensign Sato enter the Council chamber and present their evidence to the gathered representatives; Dolim, angered at the move, walks out in protest. A Guardian appears to him later, promising Reptilian dominance if he continues their original plan.
Meanwhile, a shuttlepod containing Sub-Commander T'Pol, Lieutenant Reed, Ensign Mayweather and MACO Corporal Hawkins, investigate a nearby sphere in order to try to collect more data on the Sphere Builders (who are now becoming increasingly concerned with the human threat). The shuttle enters a concealed exhaust vent, and reaching the core, the team retrieve a memory module. The intrusion activates an automated defense system, and Hawkins is killed helping the others escape.
Doctor Phlox and Commander Tucker create a holographic version of the Sphere Builder (from "Harbinger") which Archer presents to the Council. Many admit its resemblance to the Guardian race, a people who the Xindi both revere and worship for helping them after the destruction of Xindus. The Guardians have claimed that they are protecting the Xindi from the spheres. The Council votes to delay the weapon's launch, with even Dolim agreeing. That night, Dolim confronts and murders Degra as revenge for the destruction of a Reptilian ship. At the next meeting, Dolim openly admits the death (and Reptilian primacy) and the Reptilian and Insectoid members leave. They soon launch the superweapon, escorted by Dolim with his flagship. With both Enterprise and friendly Xindi vessels in pursuit, Dolim kidnaps Sato and disappears into a subspace vortex.
## Production
Filming on "The Council" began on February 12, 2004, and concluded on February 23, having taken seven days to film with shooting placed on hold for Presidents' Day. The exception to this was the scenes featuring Sphere-Builders which were shot in conjunction with the following episode, "Countdown", on February 26. Manny Coto wrote "The Council", his fifth episode for Enterprise. David Livingston directed the episode, which was his fourth of the season – tying Roxann Dawson for the most episodes during season three. It was the second time that Coto and Livingston had collaborated on an episode, having previously worked together on "Harbinger".
A number of temporary sets were built for the episode, including those for the Xindi Council, which were meant to be originally created in-universe by the extinct avian race of Xindi. The sets for Degra's ship continued to be used, and the Enterprise sets still featured damage following the actions in earlier episodes. "The Council" featured a larger than normal number of guest actors to represent various members of the Xindi Council. These included Tucker Smallwood as the Primate Council Member; He had previously appeared in the role earlier in the season in "The Xindi" and "Rajiin". Smallwood had also appeared elsewhere in the genre in Space: Above and Beyond as Commodore Ross. Sean McGowan made his fourth and final appearance of the series in "The Council", while Randy Oglesby also made his final appearance as Degra. Josette DiCarlo returned as a female Sphere-Builder, after first appearing in "Damage", while Mary Mara and Ruth Williamson both made their Enterprise debuts as other Sphere-Builders.
## Reception
"The Council" was first aired on May 12, 2004 on UPN. It received a 3.4/5% share, meaning that it was seen by 3.4 percent of all households, and 5 percent of all households watching television at the time of the broadcast. This translated to approximately 3.35 million viewers. It was a slight increase on the ratings received by the previous episode "E2", which was viewed by a 3.3% audience share.
Michelle Erica Green watched the episode for TrekNation, calling it a "taut, tense action episode" with predictable plot twists that still felt "wrenching" when revealed. Although she felt that the launch of the superweapon was outweighed by the murder of Degra, she found the episode "quite engrossing" and thought "The Council" demonstrated that Enterprise was "coming into its own". Jamahl Epsicokhan, for his website Jammer's Reviews, said that the death of Degra was a shame as he was the "season's most pivotal and interesting character". He said that the shot of the superweapon being launched was a "terrific and fearsome shot", and gave the episode a score of 3.5 out of 4. In 2021, The Digital Fix said this was an episode that "gets back to the heart of Star Trek."
The episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects, but lost to the team that worked on the episode "Countdown".
## Home media release
The first home media release of "The Council" was as part of the season three DVD box set, released in the United States on September 27, 2005. The Blu-ray release of Enterprise was announced in early 2013, and released on January 7, 2014.
|
30,751,624 |
1892–93 Small Heath F.C. season
| 1,138,203,062 | null |
[
"Birmingham City F.C. seasons",
"English football clubs 1892–93 season"
] |
The 1892–93 season was the 12th season of competitive association football played by Small Heath F.C., an English football club based in Birmingham. After finishing in third position in the Football Alliance in 1891–92, Small Heath was one of 12 clubs elected to the newly formed Second Division for the 1892–93 Football League season.
During the season, the team scored 90 goals at an average of four goals per game, beat Walsall Town Swifts 12–0 to set a club record League victory which, , still stands, remained undefeated on their own ground throughout the season, and won the last nine matches of the League season to take the Second Division title at their first attempt. Promotion to the First Division was not automatic, even for the champions, but depended on the results of test matches between the top three Second Division and bottom three First Division teams. Small Heath lost to Newton Heath, the 16th-placed First Division team, after a replay, so were not promoted, although the teams placed second and third were.
Small Heath entered the 1892–93 FA Cup at the first round proper, and lost in that round to First Division club Burnley. In local competitions, they were eliminated by Aston Villa in the semi-final of the Birmingham Senior Cup and the final of the Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup. Small Heath also played several friendly matches during the season, including benefit matches for players Harry Morris, Caesar Jenkyns and Fred Speller.
Small Heath used 19 different players in nationally organised competitive matches during the season and had ten different goalscorers. Three players, Fred Wheldon, Tommy Hands and Billy Ollis, appeared in every League match. The top scorer was inside-forward Wheldon with 25 League goals, a total which made him the Second Division's leading scorer, and the other four first-choice forwards all reached double figures. Chris Charsley became the first Small Heath player to represent the England national football team, and Fred Jones was capped for Wales.
## Background
Small Heath Football Club's 1891–92 season had been relatively successful after several years of declining interest. On the field, they finished third in the Football Alliance. Off it, the Annual General Meeting of the club, held at Jenkins Street Board School in July 1892, heard that "skilful management, good matches, and capital 'gates'" had combined to produce a statement of financial affairs "distinctly creditable to managers and players", and the directors were to be congratulated. The club's application for election to the Football League First Division when it was expanded to 16 clubs was unsuccessful, but it was one of 12 clubs, mostly from the previous season's Football Alliance, elected to compete in the inaugural season of that league's Second Division. Alfred Jones had been acting as club secretary on a voluntary basis since 1885, when payment of players was first permitted. Prior to entering the Football League, the board of directors appointed him as the club's first paid official, as secretary-manager. Caesar Jenkyns captained the team.
All the regular first-team members during the previous season – goalkeepers Chris Charsley and George Hollis, backs Tom Bayley and Fred Speller, half-backs Ted Devey, Caesar Jenkyns and Billy Ollis, and forwards Jack Hallam, Tommy Hands, Harry Morris, Billy Walton and Fred Wheldon – remained with the club. Others from the Football Alliance side included the versatile Bernard Pumfrey and George Short, and the long-serving Charlie Simms, who was by 1892 employed as the first-team trainer, but retained his playing registration for emergencies. Among the newcomers were back Fred Jones from Newton Heath, forward Harry Edwards, signed from Singer's of Coventry, and centre-forward Frank Mobley, who joined soon after the start of the season, also from Singer's. They played in the same kit as in the previous season: royal blue shirts and stockings with white knickerbockers.
## Review
### September
Small Heath opened their first season in the Football League at home to Burslem Port Vale. The match was due to kick off at 3:30 pm, but the visitors arrived half an hour late. Small Heath won the toss and, with the dual benefit of a strong wind behind them and their opponents having only ten men because their centre-forward Billy Beats had missed his train, had most of the play in the first half. After a near-miss by Tommy Hands, their first goal came as "the right wing took the ball in front of goal, and after a little scrimmaging it was sent between the posts"; the goal was credited to Fred Wheldon. Port Vale rallied, and the game, "more vigorous than scientific", was even until Small Heath scored twice just before half-time. In the second half, with the advantage of the wind, Port Vale pulled a goal back, but the final score was 5–1.
Small Heath made the short trip to Walsall Town Swifts for their first away match of the season. In a "hard-fought" game, Wheldon opened the scoring after 25 minutes with a "swift oblique shot" after all five forwards broke in a line. Walsall equalised with a scrappy goal from a corner, and attempted to impose themselves on the game, but the visitors' combination play held them at bay. Small Heath regained the lead when Walsall defender Alf Pinches headed into his own goal under pressure in a crowded goalmouth. In the second half, team captain Caesar Jenkyns increased the visitors' lead following a corner, and as the players of both sides tired, the play became disjointed, both goalkeepers had several saves to make, and a Walsall goal was disallowed for offside.
A benefit match for Harry Morris, who had been a regular first-team player since 1885 and captained the club in the 1891–92 season, produced an "exciting contest" against a Birmingham and District eleven which Small Heath won 4–3. The visit to Sheffield United proved less productive. The home side opened the scoring early on, and "only good half-back and back play by the visitors prevented the United greatly increasing the lead". In the second half, with "a brilliant sun shining in the faces of their opponents", the play was more even, and Jack Hallam came close to equalising, but Sheffield United made the score 2–0 three minutes from time, when Harry Hammond ran through the Small Heath defence and scored with a "magnificent shot".
A comfortable victory against Lincoln City, with two goals from Wheldon and one each from Jenkyns and debutant Frank Mobley, all scored before half-time, left Small Heath in fourth place in the division with three wins from their September programme. According to the Birmingham Daily Gazette, Mobley, "a determined player, though on the small side, [who] passes well to his wings", made a "very favourable impression for a first appearance".
### October
October began with a 3–2 defeat at Grimsby Town. The home side, who "showed a clear superiority" in the first half, led 3–1 at half-time, and though Wheldon pulled one back from a free kick against the run of play, Small Heath did well to prevent Grimsby adding to their lead. Two days later they played a close game away to Burton Swifts in "dismal" weather; Small Heath led at half-time, Burton equalised 20 minutes into the second half, but Small Heath regained the lead and held on for a 3–2 win.
Their next game was an open affair at home to Crewe Alexandra, in which the accuracy of Crewe's shooting let them down. Despite playing against the wind, Small Heath led 2–0 by half-time, a lead extended to 6–0 by the close in a one-sided second half. Each goal was scored by a different player: Billy Walton, Hallam, Ted Devey, Wheldon, Hands and Mobley, of whom the Birmingham Daily Post suggested he had "the making of an excellent centre forward". Against division leaders Ardwick at Manchester, the home club took a two-goal lead by the interval, aided by some poor shooting by the visitors. Wheldon scored in the second half, and then a heavy rain- and hailstorm began, blowing into the faces of the Ardwick players. Wheldon scored again and Small Heath pressed hard, but their shooting failed to improve, and they were fortunate not to lose the game when a shot from William Lambie hit the crossbar.
Charsley put up a good performance playing on the winning side for the Midlands against a Lancashire and the North XI in a trial match for the Football League representative team. Although getting a hand to the first shot on target, from Sunderland's Jimmy Hannah, he could only turn it onto the underside of the bar and into the net. Early in the second half, he made a smart double save to thwart the same club's John Campbell, first from a "fast shot low down" and then from the rebound. Later on, Charsley held on to the ball in a scrimmage and needed the assistance of Sheffield Wednesday full-back Tom Brandon to keep from carrying the ball over the line.
In Small Heath's last game in October, at home to Darwen, a 3–2 victory was marred by a serious injury to full-back Fred Speller. Soon after kickoff. Speller was in the act of kicking the ball when the onrushing William Campbell collided with him, knocking him to the ground. A police constable administered first aid before the player, whose leg was broken, was carried from the field on a plank and taken to hospital. On a heavy pitch in poor condition, it was nearly impossible to dribble the ball, and Small Heath's decision to play on with only one back meant Darwen's attackers were frequently caught offside. In the second half, Small Heath's forwards took control, and repeated attacks resulted in goals from Hallam and from Hands after Hallam had struck the bar. Darwen's committee decided not to proceed with a protest lodged "on account of the bankings at the corners of the field", despite "the Small Heath ground hardly reflect[ing] credit on a club which holds such an important position in the football world". The win meant Small Heath overtook Darwen to reach second place in the division.
### November
Because of other teams' FA Cup engagements, Small Heath played only twice in the League during November. A comfortable victory by four goals to one at Bootle on 5 November took them to the top of the table, one point clear of Ardwick who lost at Grimsby. Their next game was less straightforward. At home to Burton Swifts, the visitors' superior finishing gave them a 2–0 lead at half-time; the second half was quite the opposite. Mobley scored from a Hallam cross after ten minutes, "shot after shot was sent in to the Burton goal", and eventually, with ten minutes left, Walton headed home the equaliser. The crowd's vocal support and the home side's "desperate efforts to win" were rewarded by Caesar Jenkyns with a late header.
Billy Walton scored the only goal of a friendly match against First Division team Derby County, in which Small Heath gave a first opportunity to brothers Arnold and Fred Jones. In the first half, Derby's attacks were foiled by the defensive tactics of the Small Heath half-backs, on fine form, and Wheldon twice hit the post. Derby, who had the better of the second half, appeared to score from a free kick, but the goal was disallowed because the ball had not been touched on its way to the net. That apart, Small Heath's defence held out, and Hollis, in goal for the unavailable Charsley, "defended brilliantly". The next weekend, they enjoyed a comfortable 4–1 win against Gainsborough Trinity. Despite playing only friendlies in the second half of the month, Small Heath retained their lead in the division, level on points with Darwen having played one game fewer.
### December
In their first League match for three weeks, Small Heath played out a 1–1 draw with Sheffield United. Wheldon's positional sense left him free to receive a pass from Mobley and score after only five minutes, and then the game went from end to end, both sides attacking but failing to score. Full-back Fred Jones turned up late, but once he did take the field he was kept busy by the Sheffield forwards. The visitors had much the better of the second half; "shot after shot rained upon the Small Heath goal, and it was only by swarming round Charsley that the Coventry road men kept the ball out." With 11 minutes left, the ball was dribbled from the goal-line into midfield, then passed from flank to flank before a cross from Drummond found Davies who scored the equalising goal.
A top-of-the-table clash followed as Small Heath visited Darwen in what the Blackburn Standard described as "the most exciting game that has been played on the Darwen ground for years". In icy conditions, Small Heath scored early, again just before the interval, and a combination of home goalkeeper Kenyon and defender Orr presented them with a third soon afterwards; Darwen scored three times in the last 12 minutes to take the game 4–3. The same newspaper suggested that were it not for the "grand player" Charsley's "magnificent display, the Birmingham club would have met with a severe thrashing". The win gave Darwen a three-point lead in the table, having played one more game than Small Heath.
Small Heath returned to winning ways the following week at home to Walsall Town Swifts, producing what remains, their record League victory: they won 12–0. Six goals came in each half, three from Mobley, three by Walton, whose third was the culmination of a "brilliant run", and two each from the other three forwards, Hallam, Wheldon and Hands. The goalscoring continued on Christmas Eve with a 6–0 victory at Northwich Victoria, and a 3–1 home win against Crewe Alexandra which meant Small Heath would begin the new year at the top of the table. On Boxing Day, they visited Aston Villa for a friendly attended by 7,000 spectators. Without both Charsley and George Hollis, trainer Charlie Simms played in goal as Villa won 3–2 with the last kick of the game.
### January
Simms made his Football League debut at Lincoln City in place of Caesar Jenkyns, who had missed his train. In bitterly cold weather, after snow had been cleared from the pitch, Lincoln took advantage of winning the toss by choosing to play downhill, and took a 2–1 lead. On change of ends, Small Heath came back into the game, and scored twice in the last quarter of an hour to take the game 4–3.
On a hard and dangerous playing surface, Small Heath had much the better of the game against Northwich Victoria. The visitors scored first, which only served to settle the home side. The forwards dominated, the remainder of the first half being "practically a bombardment of the Northwich goal". After Hallam used his pace to equalise, inside-left Wheldon was actively involved in the rest of the goals. Hallam just failed to reach the rebound from Wheldon's shot, and full-back Billy Ollis headed home from a Wheldon cross. The same player's shot across goal was tapped in by Walton, and a goal was awarded despite the Northwich goalkeeper's claim that the ball had not crossed the line. Wheldon himself scored the fourth with a "brilliant shot", then he and Hands ran the ball upfield before crossing for Hallam to score with a header. In the second half, Wheldon scored Small Heath's sixth from 30 yards (27 m), before the pace of the game dropped and Northwich scored a consolation with a long-range cross-shot.
After the match, 150 guests attended a dinner at the Old Royal Hotel in central Birmingham "in order that the shareholders and friends of the Small Heath Club might meet the players and congratulate them of their achievements and wish them still further success". Walter Hart, the club's chairman, spoke of the good character of the players, most of whom still worked at their own trades when not required for football, suggesting that "a man who had nothing to do but loaf about from week's end to week's end was not ready for play, and such a mode of life was not conducive to good football". He praised the players' esprit de corps and pluck which had taken them to the top of the division, and encouraged them to resist the temptation to sign for other clubs, insisting that "whatever money [the club] made after providing things of necessity would come to the players and ... the club could do as well for its players, if they only clung together, as any club in the country". In reply, captain Caesar Jenkyns agreed that the players' efforts meant they "deserved all the praise that had been bestowed on them", and promised they would do their utmost to beat First Division club Burnley the following week in the FA Cup.
Despite media predictions of an upset, their utmost proved insufficient, though in the Dart'''s opinion, "Small Heath deserve[d] all praise for the splendid fight they made with the Burnley eleven, who are all great players on their own ground." Playing downwind, Burnley scored after half an hour from a scrimmage under the crossbar, and doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time. In the second half, "dangerous fouls" were given against both sides. Small Heath continued to play a neat passing game but were kept at bay by Burnley's strong defence and the offside rule.
Small Heath's final game of January was a 3–1 defeat of Burton Swifts in the Birmingham Cup. They went into February with a three-point lead over Darwen, each club having only four League games left to play. Sheffield United, in third place, eight points behind with five games in hand, were the only other team with a chance of overtaking them for the divisional title.
### February
With no competitive fixture for the first two weekends of the month, friendlies were arranged against First Division Bolton Wanderers, at home, and Royal Arsenal away. With Charsley, a serving police officer, unavailable, regular full-back Fred Jones played in goal, giving an opportunity to triallist Arthur Littleford at right-back, as Small Heath beat Bolton 4–3, the visitors having a goal disallowed late on in the game. "In the presence of a large company", Arsenal won 3–1.
When Small Heath finally returned to League football, their forwards, "conspicuous for some really beautiful passing" on a soft and slippery playing surface, gave them a 6–2 victory over Bootle. The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent accepted that their local team was not going to win the title, for "Small Heath can scarcely be dislodged except by a very great reversal of form such as is not likely to come about", though still expected Sheffield United to finish in the top three.
Chris Charsley became the first Small Heath player to play for England, and only the second, after Caesar Jenkyns for Wales, to represent his country at full international level, when he took the field against Ireland on 27 February at Aston Villa's ground in Perry Barr, Birmingham. Although a strong team, it was composed solely of amateurs. Charsley had little to do, as England won the match 6–1, but a series of four saves in quick succession "demonstrated his ability between the sticks to everyone's satisfaction".
Back in the League, Hollis took Charsley's place in goal, as customary in the latter's absence. The heavy ground did not suit the visitors, Grimsby Town, and the Small Heath forwards' hard-working combination play brought them victory by eight goals to three. The following week, the Coventry Road ground hosted benefit matches for striking ironplate-workers. Around 1,500 spectators watched a match between tinplate- and ironplate-workers' elevens, followed by a second between teams raised by former Aston Villa captain Archie Hunter, whose poor health prevented him playing, and the recently retired Small Heath forward Eddy Stanley, who led his team to a 9–3 victory. Small Heath went into March with a four-point lead over Darwen, each club having only two League games left to play, but the former's goal average was so much superior that Sheffield United, in third place, ten points behind with five games in hand, were the only team still able to overhaul them.
### March
Small Heath fielded eight of their regular starting eleven in a friendly against First Division Nottingham Forest. A close and exciting game, which featured "both goal-keepers displaying wonderful cleverness and resource", was won by Forest with a late goal. In their first competitive fixture of the month, the quarter-final of the Birmingham Cup, they beat Wednesbury Old Athletic, a team from the Birmingham & District League, by five goals to nil in a match "characterised by a good deal of rough play". A "fairly strong" team suffered a rare home defeat in a friendly against Middlesbrough of the Northern League. Jack Hallam appeared to score in the first half, but the referee disallowed the goal, having spotted that Hallam had knocked the ball in with hand rather than head, and Middlesbrough went on to score twice without reply in the second period.
Fred Jones missed the Middlesbrough match because of international duty. Selected among the reserves for Wales' match against Scotland, he was required to play after both first-choice backs dropped out. The Liverpool Mercury reported that he had "a wretched game at back and completely disorganised the Welsh defence", as Scotland won 8–0, while according to the Wrexham Advertiser, "some-one said that he appeared to have made a resolve before he went on the field not to kick the ball".
On 20 March, Small Heath played West Bromwich Albion in a benefit match for captain Caesar Jenkyns. Teddy Jolley made his first appearance for the club, and a relatively strong side whose forwards "were very quick on the ball, and passed remarkably well", notably Wheldon, who "as usual, played brilliantly", won 5–0 in front of about 4,000 spectators. In an uneventful penultimate League match of the regular season, Small Heath won 3–0 at the Athletic Ground against Burslem Port Vale, Walton opening the scoring just before half-time with a penalty kick. The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent now predicted that Sheffield United would win their remaining four matches, all away from home, to take the divisional title on goal average.
### April
Despite competition from holiday entertainments which included the Military Tournament at Bingley Hall, Hengler's circus at Curzon Hall, the fairground, variety shows and dancing at Aston Lower Grounds, and boating and other amusements in the public parks, a large attendance was expected at Small Heath's last League match of the season, on a fine Easter weekend at home to Ardwick. Ardwick took an early lead, which Hands came close to equalising after a clever passing move with Wheldon. Just before the interval, Wheldon forced a corner, from which the ball was rushed across the line. In the second half, Small Heath went all out in attack, and after the Ardwick goalkeeper had made several saves, Walton scored with a header, and Hallam made it three from a Walton pass. Ardwick pulled one back, but Small Heath's "admirable defence" held out "by watchfulness and combination" for a gratifying result for the supporters. On Easter Monday they visited Middlesbrough where they lost 2–1 to the Ironopolis club in a friendly.
The next Saturday saw the meeting with Aston Villa in the semifinal of the Birmingham Senior Cup. Both clubs fielded full first teams, Small Heath missing only Walton, for whom Harry Edwards proved a "very indifferent" substitute. In front of 15,000 spectators at Aston Lower Grounds, Small Heath outplayed their First Division opponents for the first half-hour, and had several chances which they failed to take, but Aston Villa improved thereafter, winning 5–0 after a quite one-sided second half.
On the Monday, Darwen visited Small Heath to play a benefit match for Fred Speller, who had been injured playing against that club in October. Unfortunately for the beneficiary, the attendance was affected by the semi-final of the Mayor's Charity Cup between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion being played the same day. Friendlies against First Division Stoke and West Bromwich Albion produced wins by 4–2 and 4–1 respectively, and Sheffield United's failure to beat Walsall in their last League match of the season confirmed Small Heath as inaugural Second Division champions. Ahead of the promotion test match, against 16th-placed First Division team Newton Heath at Stoke's Victoria Ground, the Birmingham Daily Gazette was sure that "all the good wishes of Midland sportsmen will go with the Heathens for their success after a consistently good season's performance".
Small Heath forced several early corners, but then conceded on the break when Alf Farman scored from a Tommy Fitzsimmons pass. Towards half-time, they had chances from a scramble in front of the Newton Heath goal, and pressed hard after the interval, the persistence of Wheldon eventually securing an equaliser "after brilliant work by all of the Small Heath forwards". "Capital defensive play" by both teams prevailed thereafter, and the match was drawn. The Manchester Guardian noted the contrast in attacking style, as "the Small Heath players were playing a most scientific game, but the rushes of Newton Heath were often very dangerous", and the Gazette's reporter felt that half-backs George Short and, particularly, Jenkyns had been "inclined to take matters a little too easily" in the first half.
Two days later, Small Heath, with Jack Lee and Bernard Pumfrey in the forward line instead of Walton and Mobley, and Littleford standing in at back, played a similarly depleted Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi-final of the Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup. Hands scored Small Heath's opening goal, but sustained a leg injury after about half an hour; although he continued for a time, he was struggling, and could not complete the game. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Lee scored twice for Small Heath to take the tie 3–1.
Harry Morris replaced the injured Hands at outside left for the test match replay at Olive Grove, Sheffield. Newton Heath had a goal disallowed for handball before Wheldon opened the scoring with a powerful shot from distance. After several attacks at each end – Tom Bayley cleared off the line and Wheldon hit the foot of a post – Farman equalised after 37 minutes with a penalty awarded against Bayley for handball. Soon after half-time, Newton Heath took the lead from a goalmouth scramble, within a minute a pass from Hallam found Walton who equalised, but in the end Small Heath were overrun. With 18 minutes remaining, goals from Joe Cassidy, Jimmy Coupar and Farman made the final score 5–2, ensuring that Small Heath would remain in the Second Division for another year.
In the final of the Mayor's Charity Cup at the Lower Grounds – Small Heath's last competitive match of the season, and their fourth in eight days – Hallam opened the scoring from the rebound after a long shot hit the post in the first attacking move of the game. Aston Villa took a 2–1 lead, Small Heath equalised in the second half, but Villa scored the winning goal after torrential rain had driven "a great many" of the spectators from the ground.
## Summary and aftermath
Small Heath went through the season unbeaten at Coventry Road. In the League, they scored 90 goals, at a rate of more than 4 goals per game, and all five first-choice forwards reached double figures. The leading scorer was Fred Wheldon, with 25 goals from the 22 League fixtures and 1 in the test match, a total which made him the top scorer for the Second Division. Wheldon, Tommy Hands and Billy Ollis were ever-present in the League, and Caesar Jenkyns and Jack Hallam missed only one game apiece.
Unable to dislodge Wheldon or Billy Walton from the inside forward position, Harry Edwards chose to leave at the end of the season. Tom Bayley was released, and Fred Jones left for Lincoln City after losing his place at left back to Bernard Pumfrey. Harry Morris retired to concentrate on his plumbing business. Fred Speller attempted a comeback, appearing twice for the first team in September 1893, but the injury received against Darwen effectively proved the end of his football career.
Speculation by "people who profess to believe that these test matches will not be played at all, and that if they are, and a First Division team is knocked out, the rules will be circumvented in some way" proved unfounded. The League's Annual General Meeting heard proposals that the First Division be expanded to either 20 or 18 teams. Both motions were seconded by Small Heath – not surprisingly, after they as champions had failed to gain promotion while the teams in second and third place had succeeded – but both were defeated, thus confirming that the team would play in the Second Division for the 1893–94 season. Small Heath were to finish that season as runners-up and, this time, achieved promotion to the First Division via the test matches.
## Match details
For consistency, attendances and goalscorers' names in the League, Test Match and FA Cup match details tables are sourced from Matthews' Complete Record. Attendance figures were estimated, so information in contemporary newspaper reports could, and often did, differ. For example, the attendance at the last match of the regular season, against Ardwick, is variously recorded as 1,000, 2,000, and "about 4,000". League positions are sourced from 11v11.com''.
### Football League Second Division
### Test Matches
### FA Cup
### Birmingham Senior Cup
### Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup
### Other matches
## Squad statistics
This table includes appearances and goals in nationally organised competitions – the Football League, including promotion test matches, and FA Cup – only. For a description of the playing positions, see Formation (association football)#2–3–5 (Pyramid).
## See also
- Birmingham City F.C. seasons
|
26,411,834 |
Girdap
| 1,058,711,058 |
Privately owned Bulgarian bank
|
[
"1881 establishments in Bulgaria",
"1925 disestablishments in Bulgaria",
"Banks disestablished in 1925",
"Banks established in 1881",
"Commercial buildings completed in 1896",
"Defunct banks of Bulgaria",
"Ruse, Bulgaria"
] |
Girdap or Ghirdap (Bulgarian: Гирдап) was the first privately owned Bulgarian bank. Established in Ruse in 1881, until its closure in 1925 it was one of the two large Bulgarian banks which relied on capital that was both private and local, along with the Bulgarian Commercial Bank. Prior to the Balkan Wars and World War I, Girdap was among the six largest banks in Bulgaria, and during the wars its financial group was the most influential in the country.
## History
### Early years
Girdap's constituent assembly was held on 1 December 1881, less than four years after the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule and the establishment of the Principality of Bulgaria. At the time, the northeastern Bulgarian city of Ruse was a major economic hub. Ruse prospered due to its role as a major port on the Danube, its rapid industrial development and its well-established ties with Central Europe along that river. Banking, however, was a new concept, as most people employed the services of money lenders and entrusted their savings to people they knew personally. The founders of Girdap sought to "liberate the population of money lenders", in the words of later bank director Boncho Boev. Due to an overall lack of capital in the country, interest rates of loans given by Girdap were nonetheless high: 15–18% as compared to the over 20–30% interest rate of money lenders. The bank officially commenced operations on 1 January 1882. It took its name from the Girdap neighbourhood of Ruse where the constituent assembly was held.
The capital of Girdap at the time of its foundation amounted to 1,380 Bulgarian gold leva, though by the end of 1882 it had increased fivefold to 6,900 gold leva. In 1886, the capital of Girdap amounted to 70,300 leva; in that year, the bank hired a clerk for the first time. In the year of the company's 10th anniversary, 1891, it disposed of 300,000 leva, and in 1894 its capital had increased to 1,000,000 leva. Founded as a depositor's company, it was transformed into a joint-stock credit company in 1894. In 1898, Girdap's capital was 1,500,000 leva and a new company statute was approved, which extended the board of managers to 12 members. These included Ruse's wealthiest and most eminent people, most notably the chairman Stefan Simeonov. In the autumn of 1902, Girdap opened its first branch offices outside Ruse: in the port of Varna on the Black Sea coast, in the Dobrujan city of Dobrich and in Istanbul (Constantinople), the capital of the Ottoman Empire and largest city of the Balkans. In Istanbul, the bank was known under a French name, Société de Crédit Ghirdap, though the branch only existed for 18 months and was closed down due to political pressure. An office in Silistra was opened on 1 August 1910.
Ever since its establishment Girdap served political interests, and it was later tied to the Popular Liberal Party of Stefan Stambolov. On the other hand, the Bulgarian Commercial Bank (Balgarska targovska banka), which was also founded in Ruse in 1885, was close to the Popular Party. The two banks competed for lending municipal loans and regularly used their political ties in their competition. These relations were often damaging to the Bulgarian treasury, as politicians who were also bank shareholders or somehow related to Girdap awarded contracts based on their personal interest rather than that of the state. As the Bulgarian economy consolidated in the first decade of the 20th century and the emerging industry required increasing funds, local banks grew in importance. In 1911 Girdap had a capital of 2 million leva and by 1912 it was the third-largest private bank in the Kingdom of Bulgaria after the Bulgarian Commercial Bank and the Deutsche Bank-related Credit Bank (Kreditna banka). However, Bulgaria's privately owned banking sector remained comparatively small.
### Heyday and bankruptcy
Girdap's heyday was during the Balkan Wars and World War I (1912–1918), when it became the leading financial group in the kingdom and remained close to the government. It controlled some 83.97 million leva of invested capital, which put it ahead of the General Credit Society, the Balkan Bank and the Bulgarian Commercial Bank financial group. During the wars, Bulgarian banks established filial companies or invested in new enterprises. Girdap was no exception to that trend.
One of Girdap's notable enterprises was the international transport company Transbalkania which had a capital of 100,000 leva. Of the company's 500 shares, 200 were owned by Girdap and another 170 were owned by three of the bank's managers or employees. Liquidated after World War I, Transbalkania was active as a carrier from Bulgaria to Edirne, Alexandroupoli, Thessaloniki and Niš and along the Danube. During the wars, Girdap was involved in tobacco trade and had warehouses in modern Dupnitsa, Blagoevgrad and Xanthi. This led to the establishment of another Girdap venture, the Bulgarian Macedonian Bank (Balgarska makedonska banka), on 21 May 1916. The Bulgarian Macedonian Bank was mostly active as a commercial bank, which is indicated by its capital of 46.95 million leva as opposed to only 13.31 million leva of deposits. Other banks more or less related to Girdap included the Sofia Bank (Sofiyska banka, established in 1906), the Bulgarian Forest Commercial Bank (Balgarska gorsko-targovska banka, established in 1917), and the Bulgarian Surety Bank (Balgarska garantsionna banka, established in 1912). The Pleven-based Lev cement factory was founded in 1917 with Girdap board of managers member Ivan Kovachev as chief shareholder. Ninety percent of the capital of the Kurilo mine in the Iskar Gorge was controlled by Girdap or its head figures Ivan Kovachev and Boncho Boev. Despite Girdap's active involvement in assistance to national industry, it failed to make a significant contribution and gradually minimised its participation due to insufficient profits.
After World War I, Girdap was deprived of its government protections, as it had no links to the new agrarian government of Aleksandar Stamboliyski. In 1919 Boncho Bonev was imprisoned in Berkovitsa for eight months before he was acquitted, Ivan Kovachev was put on trial, and the bank's funds were sealed. In 1922, the Bulgarian National Bank closed Girdap's account, causing 38 million leva of deposits in Girdap to be withdrawn by 1923 and its debtors (including members of Girdap's management) to protest their bills. While at the time the Bulgarian National Bank, Girdap's most important creditor, was opposed to Girdap's declaration of bankruptcy, it reversed its stance two years later. Girdap was declared bankrupt on 3 February 1925 and its managers Boncho Boev, Ivan Kovachev and Nikola Kovachev were arrested.
## Headquarters in Ruse
Girdap's central office in Ruse was located in a historic edifice at 2 Aleksandrovska Street that takes up 260 square metres (2,800 sq ft). It was finished in 1896 and designed either by Stoyan Zolotov and Udo Ribau (architect of what is known as Ruse's Old High School of Music) or by Samuil Danailov, at the time still an architecture student. Together with the opposing building owned by wine merchant Petar Petrov and built in 1897 under Viennese architect Georg Lang, the Girdap headquarters are part of an architectural ensemble highlighting the entrance to Ruse's commercial street from Liberty Square, the location of the Monument of Liberty.
The building's attic was damaged in a fire in 1913. An additional storey was constructed in 1935 under the engineer Todor Tonev, turning the headquarters into a three-storey edifice. The trademark clock was added in the late 19th century. In 1964–1967, the building's interior was refurbished so it could accommodate the City People's Council. Today, it houses the administration of Ruse's Chamber of Control.
|
12,541,826 |
Nashville Xpress
| 1,153,729,502 |
Former Minor League Baseball team in Nashville, Tennessee
|
[
"1993 establishments in Tennessee",
"1994 disestablishments in Tennessee",
"Baseball teams disestablished in 1994",
"Baseball teams established in 1993",
"Defunct Southern League (1964–present) teams",
"Defunct baseball teams in Tennessee",
"Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates",
"Nashville Xpress",
"Professional baseball teams in Tennessee",
"Sports in Nashville, Tennessee"
] |
The Nashville Xpress were a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins from 1993 to 1994. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Herschel Greer Stadium, sharing the ballpark with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds of the American Association. The Xpress were named for the trains which ran along tracks beyond the outfield wall and the team's sudden arrival and expected departure.
Formerly known as the Charlotte Knights, the Xpress were formed after the 1992 season when Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired a Triple-A expansion team in the International League, leaving the Southern League franchise in need of a new home. Larry Schmittou, president of the Triple-A Nashville club, offered to let the displaced team play at Greer Stadium until a permanent home could be found. Schmittou and the Sounds' staff served as caretakers of the team during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Afterwards, the Xpress left Nashville to play on an interim basis in Wilmington, North Carolina, where they were known as the Port City Roosters in 1995 and 1996. The franchise eventually landed in Mobile, Alabama, as the Mobile BayBears in 1997. The team currently plays in Madison, Alabama, as the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
The Xpress were managed by Phil Roof in both the 1993 and 1994 seasons. A total of 60 players competed in at least one game for Nashville. The club played 282 regular season games and compiled a win–loss record of 146–136. Their only postseason appearance occurred in 1993 when they won the First Half Western Division title only to be swept 3–0 in the division finals.
## History
### Arrival
In conjunction with the 1993 Major League Baseball expansion, George Shinn, owner of the Double-A Southern League's Charlotte Knights baseball team, was granted an expansion franchise in the Triple-A International League, which would begin playing in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1993. Shinn, who had applied for Charlotte to receive one of two available Triple-A expansion teams, was recommended by the expansion committee after their visit to evaluate the city. Of the nine applicant cities, Charlotte had the newest stadium, the only major league sports franchise (the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Hornets), and the largest metro area population. Gaining a Triple-A team meant Shinn would need to relocate, or sell, his existing Southern League team as the higher classification team held the rights to the territory. He solicited offers to purchase the club to help defray a US\$5 million International League enfranchisement cost. The interested parties included the Southern League, which hoped to place the team in an attractive market within its Southeastern territory, and the city of Jackson, Tennessee, which had been rejected from receiving a 1993 Double-A expansion franchise.
In October 1992, Shinn chose to sell to Tom Benson, owner of the National Football League's New Orleans Saints, who sought to relocate the club to New Orleans. According to The Charlotte Observer, the asking price was \$3.6 million, though the actual selling price was undisclosed. The move was blocked, however, when Minor League Baseball granted territorial rights to the higher-classification Triple-A Denver Zephyrs, who wanted to move to New Orleans after being uprooted by the Colorado Rockies National League expansion team. Following unsuccessful litigation and appeals, Benson opted out of the purchase and the franchise was still in need of a ballpark for the coming season. In late January 1993, less than three months away from Opening Day, Southern League owners met to explore all options and find a solution.
Southern League president Jim Bragan had approached Larry Schmittou, president and owner of several minor league teams, about placing the club at Ernie Shore Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, home of Schmittou's Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem Spirits. The ballpark's age and low seating capacity did not meet the requirements for a Double-A facility, so Schmittou offered Herschel Greer Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, home of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, as a temporary ballpark for the displaced team until Shinn could find a permanent location. In the end, the owners decided to accept the offer and place the team in Nashville for one season. Schmittou and Shinn entered into a management agreement wherein Schmittou and the Sounds' staff would operate the club and Shinn would retain ownership.
With the league's approval, the franchise relocated to Nashville. The Triple-A Charlotte Knights carried on the history and identity of the Double-A team that preceded it, and the Nashville Xpress were established as an entirely new team. Nashville's nickname was in dual reference to the freight trains which ran along tracks beyond Greer Stadium's outfield wall and the team's sudden arrival and expected departure after the season. Their logo depicted a steaming locomotive barreling across a baseball with "Nashville" written above in red and "Xpress" below in navy blue. To accommodate two teams at Greer, the Xpress' 71 home games, consisting of 68 dates with three doubleheaders, were scheduled for during the Sounds' road trips, and the team went on the road when the Sounds played at home. The arrangement meant that Greer would host baseball games for all but 11 days between the Sounds' April 8 opener and the Xpress' September 5 finale.
### 1993 season
The Xpress became the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins after prospective owner Tom Benson signed a player development contract—a working agreement between major and minor league clubs—when still planning to buy and relocate the franchise. Nashville was managed by former major leaguer Phil Roof. The coaching staff was rounded out by pitching coach Rick Anderson and hitting coach Mark Funderburk, both of whom also had major league playing experience, and athletic trainer Rick McWane.
The Xpress played their first game on April 8, 1993, against the Orlando Cubs at Tinker Field in Orlando, Florida. Nashville's Rich Becker started the game by reaching base on an error and then scoring a run on Scott Stahoviak's RBI ground out in the top of the first inning. The 1–0 lead was short lived as Orlando hit two two-run home runs off of Bill Wissler in the bottom of the first. Both teams scored again, but the Cubs' four first-inning runs were enough to defeat the Xpress, 5–3. Nashville got its first win the next night as they defeated the Cubs 5–3 with help from starting pitcher Eddie Guardado, who pitched six shutout innings, and Steve Dunn, who scored the winning run on an eighth-inning three-run homer. Their home opener at Greer was played on April 16 against Orlando. Pitchers Todd Ritchie, Mike Misuraca, and Jason Klonoski limited Cubs batters to five hits and no runs in the 4–0 shutout. Nashville scored the winning run in the second inning when Brian Raabe doubled bringing home David Rivera and Rich Becker. The game was attended by 1,715 people on a cold night.
The Southern League's 142-game season was split into two halves wherein the division winners from each half qualified for the postseason championship playoffs. Nashville managed to hold off the other four teams in the Western Division to win the first half title with a league-best 40–31 record. In recognition of their first-half performances, pitcher Oscar Múñoz and outfielder Rich Becker were selected for the 1993 Double-A All-Star Game. Múñoz, who did not play in the game after having pitched six innings the night before, led the Southern League with 11 wins and 118 strikeouts, while Becker possessed a .280 batting average with 10 home runs and 42 runs batted in (RBI); he struck out in his only at bat off the bench.
The Xpress lost three members of their starting rotation when Eddie Guardado was called up to make his major league debut with the Twins in late June, all-star pitcher Oscar Múñoz was moved up to the Twins' Triple-A Portland Beavers in August, and Todd Ritchie was unable to play for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury. Despite winning the first-half, the Xpress struggled after the all-star break. They finished in fourth place with a 32–39 record, 11 games out of first.
Nashville faced the Birmingham Barons, winners of the Western Division's second half, in the best-of-five division championship series. In game one, held at Greer Stadium, the teams entered the fifth inning tied with two runs apiece, but Mike Robertson's grand slam put the Barons up 6–2. The Xpress answered with three runs in the sixth but left runners in scoring position in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings on the way to a 7–5 loss. In the second game, the Xpress bullpen gave up nine runs in the eighth, blowing a 6–4 lead and resulting in a 13–6 loss. Game three of the series shifted to Birmingham, Alabama, where Nashville allowed nine runs in the sixth inning as the Barons erased what was a 3–1 Xpress lead. Birmingham won the game 10–3 and eliminated Nashville from the playoffs, ending their only postseason appearance in franchise history.
Combining both halves, the Xpress' composite record stood at 72–70 for the 1993 season. Oscar Múñoz was chosen to receive the Southern League Most Outstanding Pitcher Award after compiling an 11–4 record with a 3.08 earned run average (ERA) and 139 strikeouts in 131+2⁄3 innings pitched. Rich Becker, who co-led the league in runs scored (93), was named to the Southern League's postseason all-star team and was called up to Minnesota to make his major league debut after the playoffs ended. Marty Cordova tied for the league lead in extra-base hits (54), and pitcher Jeff Mansur tied for the most complete games (4). The team led the Southern League in stolen bases (164), walks (584), on-base percentage (.344), fewest walks issued (396), and fewest passed balls (9).
### Changing owners
George Shinn continued to look for a buyer for his Southern League franchise while Larry Schmittou continued to operate the team in Nashville. Dennis Bastien, owner and general manager of the Charleston Wheelers South Atlantic League team, offered to exchange his Class A Charleston franchise, all of its assets, and over \$1 million for the Xpress. Becoming a three-party transaction, a group of Charleston-area investors agreed to then buy the Wheelers from Shinn so the city could keep its team. The arrangement was announced in October 1993, and Bastien closed on the acquisition of the Xpress in May 1994. The team had a new owner, but still lacked a city and stadium of its own. With the 1994 season soon to begin, Schmittou agreed to allow Bastien's franchise to remain at Greer for another year.
### 1994 season
Phil Roof and the rest of the 1993 coaching staff returned to lead the team on the diamond in 1994. The Xpress began the season with an 11–3 loss to the Carolina Mudcats at Greer Stadium on April 7. They stayed in the running for the first-half title until the last three days of the half. Despite winning 27 of 40 games before being eliminated, Nashville fell four-and-a-half games short of first place with a 39–31 record, third best in the Western Division. Starting pitchers LaTroy Hawkins and Marc Barcelo were selected to participate in the Double-A All-Star Game. At the time, Hawkins held a 9–2 record with a 2.33 ERA. He missed the game after his promotion to Triple-A two weeks prior made him ineligible, as did Barcelo (9–2; 2.43 ERA) after pitching six innings the previous day.
Nashville jumped out to an early division lead but, much like the first half, were eliminated from second half title contention three games before the end of the season. In their final home game, played on September 1 against the Huntsville Stars, Nashville held a 1–0 lead going into the eighth inning, but Huntsville scored three runs in both the eighth and ninth innings on the way to a 6–2 defeat of the home team. Though the loss prevented them from clinching the division title, the Xpress were still in contention for a wild card playoff spot if they could finish in second place behind the first-half champion Stars with a pair of wins in their last two games. A 5–3 loss to the Chattanooga Lookouts at Engel Stadium on the next-to-last day of the season, however, ended their hopes of returning to the playoffs. The Xpress closed out their 1994 schedule on the road against Chattanooga on September 3; Nashville's batters were limited to just two hits in a 5–0 loss. They ended the second half in fourth-place at an even 35–35, four games out of first.
The Xpress recorded a 74–66 composite record in their final year in Nashville. Right-hander Brad Radke was named to the Southern League's 1994 postseason all-star squad. He and Barcelo were tied with another player for the Southern League lead in games started (28). LaTroy Hawkins tied for the league's best winning percentage (.818, 9–2). Nashville's pitching staff led the league in ERA (3.40) and strikeouts (917) while allowing the fewest stolen bases (105). After playing 282 regular season games and compiling an all-time record of 146–136, the franchise left Nashville.
### Departure
Dennis Bastien intended to relocate his club to Lexington, Kentucky, in 1995, but those plans fell through when he was unable to broker a financial deal with the city to build a ballpark. In July 1994, the Southern League's board of directors stated that they wanted the team out of Nashville in 1995 and in a permanent location by 1996. Schmittou was unwilling to have the team back for another season as hosting the team at Greer was too big of a financial risk.
Rather than choose a city within the league's Southeastern footprint, Bastien proposed a temporary move to Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The Xpress would play at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium and be managed by the ownership group of the Memphis Chicks. The plan's chief problems involved the high travel costs to be incurred by flights to and from Puerto Rico and how to schedule the season so as to lessen those costs. Furthermore, the Minnesota Twins began looking for a new Double-A affiliate when they learned of the move, leaving the Xpress in need of a new major league affiliate who would be willing to send their players to Puerto Rico. The only major league clubs left without Double-A clubs were the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners. The Tigers elected to partner with the Trenton Thunder, leaving the Xpress to affiliate with the Mariners. Seattle, however, did not approve of their team playing in Puerto Rico, so the plan was scrapped.
In January 1995, Bastien arrived at terms to move the franchise to Springfield, Missouri, where they would play in a new stadium scheduled to open in 1997. In the intervening two seasons, the franchise played in Wilmington, North Carolina, at Brooks Field on the campus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington as the Port City Roosters. The Roosters were operated by Steve Bryant, owner of the Carolina Mudcats, similar to the manner in which Schmittou ran the Xpress.
The team never made it to Springfield after the city was unable to secure federal funding for a ballpark. Bastien made an attempt to place the team in the Springfield suburb of Ozark, but residents voted down a sales tax increase to pay for a stadium. He subsequently sold the franchise to sports investor Eric Margenau, who moved the team to Mobile, Alabama, where they began play at Hank Aaron Stadium as the Mobile BayBears in 1997. In 2018, the BayBears were sold to BallCorps, LLC. The team remained in Mobile for the 2019 season after which they were relocated to Madison, Alabama, a suburb of Huntsville, where they became known as the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
## Season-by-season results
The Xpress played 282 regular season games over two seasons of competition and amassed a win–loss record of 146–136 (.518). They qualified for the postseason once, incurring a record of 0–3 (.000). Their best full-season record occurred in 1994 when they finished 74–66 (.529). Nashville's best half-season record occurred in the first half of the 1993 campaign when they won the First-Half Western Division title with a record of 40–31 (.563). Their lowest half-season record was 32–39 (.451) in the second half of the same year.
## Ballpark
The Nashville Xpress shared Herschel Greer Stadium with the Nashville Sounds. The ballpark, which was demolished in 2019, was located on the grounds of Fort Negley, an American Civil War fortification approximately two miles (3.2 km) south of downtown Nashville. The venue experienced numerous expansions and contractions after its completion in 1978, though it was at a capacity of 17,000 spectators during the Xpress' occupancy. Greer featured a 115.6 foot (35.2 m) guitar-shaped scoreboard behind the left field wall, which was installed prior to the 1993 season.
Hindered by competition with the Sounds, according to Schmittou, the Xpress did not generate much interest among fans in their two years at Greer. Attendance for the Xpress' 1993 schedule of 68 openings totaled 178,737 people, for an average of 2,628 per game. In comparison, the Sounds drew 438,745 people in 72 openings, for a per-game average of 6,094. Schmittou estimated he would need an additional 250,000 people to attend games at Greer to recoup the extra \$400,000 budgeted for hosting a second team. With the Sounds drawing fewer attendees than in their 1992 season, the combined gain totaled only 127,491.
Attendance continued to be low in 1994, with the exception of seven games against the Birmingham Barons, who attracted fans across the Southern League wanting to see outfield prospect and NBA star Michael Jordan. In five games against Birmingham, 60,158 fans attended Xpress games, an average of 12,032 per game, while far fewer—sometimes fewer than 1,000—attended other Xpress games. The team's 1994 attendance totaled a league-low 135,048 people in 70 games, an average of 1,929 each. While the Sounds also experienced a drop in attendance, they still outdrew their Double-A stadium-mates with a total attendance of 300,821 fans across 72 openings, for an average of 4,178 per game.
## Uniforms
Nashville's home jerseys were white with navy pinstripes. "Xpress" was written across the chest in red letters with a navy blue border. A patch of the team's primary logo was present on the left sleeve. The player's number was displayed on the back in red block characters bordered by navy. Pants were white with navy pinstripes and were paired with navy belts. Nashville's road uniforms were identical to those worn at home, except they were gray and lacked the sleeve logo patch. In 1994, a patch celebrating the 125th anniversary of Major League Baseball was sewn onto the right sleeve. Worn as an alternate or for batting practice, a navy pullover jersey made of mesh material with the primary logo on the left chest and numbers on the back in red with white borders was paired with either home or road pants as appropriate. All uniforms were worn with a navy cap with a red brim and button showing a white steam locomotive coming out from beneath a red "N" with a silver border, serving like a tunnel, on the front.
## Players
A total of 60 players competed in at least one game for the Xpress. The 1993 roster included a total of 35 players, while 38 played for the team in 1994. Thirteen players were members of the team in both seasons. Of the 60 all-time Xpress players, 22 also played in at least one game for a Major League Baseball team during their careers. These players were:
- Rich Becker
- Marty Cordova
- Steve Dunn
- Mike Durant
- Gus Gandarillas
- Rich Garcés
- Eddie Guardado
- LaTroy Hawkins
- Denny Hocking
- Dan Masteller
- Damian Miller
- Travis Miller
- Mike Misuraca
- Oscar Múñoz
- Dan Naulty
- Alan Newman
- Brian Raabe
- Brad Radke
- Todd Ritchie
- Erik Schullstrom
- Scott Stahoviak
- Scott Watkins
### Achievements
These players won Southern League awards, were voted onto midseason All-Star teams, or were selected for postseason All-Star teams while members of the Xpress.
### Career records
These are records of players who led in distinct statistical categories during their career with the Xpress.
|
21,777,193 |
Per Manum
| 1,168,143,728 | null |
[
"2001 American television episodes",
"Television episodes directed by Kim Manners",
"Television episodes set in Maryland",
"Television episodes written by Chris Carter (screenwriter)",
"Television episodes written by Frank Spotnitz",
"The X-Files (season 8) episodes"
] |
"Per Manum" is the thirteenth episode of the eighth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on February 18, 2001. Written by Frank Spotnitz and series creator Chris Carter, and directed by Kim Manners, the episode helps to explore the series' overarching mythology. "Per Manum" received a Nielsen rating of 9.4 and was watched by 9.61 million households. Overall, the episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.
The series centers on FBI special agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and her new partner John Doggett (Robert Patrick)—following the alien abduction of her former partner, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny)—who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Scully and Doggett investigate several women who had no way of naturally conceiving but who claim to have been abducted and impregnated with alien babies. Soon, Scully begins to worry about the future of her pregnancy.
"Per Manum" featured a substantial appearance by Duchovny who had elected not to return to the show as a full-time main character following the ending of season seven. In addition, the episode marks the first appearance of Knowle Rohrer, played by Adam Baldwin. The episode's title means "by hand" in Latin.
## Plot
Pregnant Kathy McCready is undergoing an emergency caesarean. As her husband prepares, the ward is locked down, and the child delivered is seen to be an alien.
FBI special agents John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) meet Duffy Haskell (Jay Acovone), who tells them about his wife—a multiple-abductee who he believes was killed by her doctors upon giving birth to an alien child. He also describes how his wife's cancer was both caused and cured by her abductors. Duffy refers the agents to Zeus Genetics in Maryland, and shows them an ultrasound scan that seems to vindicate his story. As the agents leave, Doggett notes similarities between the case and Scully's history, although he does not yet know that she is pregnant. In a flashback, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) tells Scully that her abduction has rendered her infertile, as her ova were harvested for genetic experiments. Mulder later found them in a secret facility, but they were not viable.
At Zeus Genetics, Scully overhears a pregnant woman, Mary Hendershot (Saxon Trainor), who is telling her doctor that she no longer wants to be under his care. In order to avoid being seen, Scully hides in a storeroom, finding it full of preserved fetuses that resemble the alien child born earlier, but she is discovered by a Dr. Lev. Scully leaves and phones her Doctor, Dr. Parenti, who unbeknownst to Scully is dissecting an alien fetus, and asks him to compare her ultrasound scan with the one given to her earlier. Later, while waiting to be attended to by Parenti, she has another flashback, recalling the time she sought a second opinion about her ova from Parenti and was told that her ova might be viable with a sperm donor. In the present, she is called in to be attended to, and she is then assured her scans are in order. Later, Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and Doggett confront Duffy about threatening letters he has sent to both Mulder and Lev. However, when the agents leave, Duffy makes a phone call to Lev, warning him that they are being investigated. In another flashback, Scully asks Mulder to be the donor, to which he happily agrees.
Scully is warned by Mary that their unborn children are in danger. Scully meets Doggett and Skinner, having requested a leave of absence from the FBI. After Doggett leaves, Skinner tries to convince Scully to reveal her pregnancy to him but she does not. Scully and Mary visit an army research hospital to have Mary's labor induced. Whilst Mary is being prepped for the operation, Scully asks to have an ultrasound performed on herself. The scan appears normal, but afterwards Scully realizes the monitor they were watching was actually a video of another woman's scan. Realizing they have been tricked, Scully finds Mary and the two sneak out of the exam room.
Meanwhile Doggett discovers that Duffy's fingerprints belong to a man who died thirty years previously. Doggett contacts an old military partner, Knowle Rohrer (Adam Baldwin) to find his real identity. Although Rohrer assures Doggett he will investigate, the agent is not convinced, believing that Duffy is a CIA agent. Doggett confides this to Skinner, who tells him to aid Scully at the military hospital. As Scully and Mary sneak out of the building, they are found by Rohrer and several marines, claiming Doggett has sent them to rescue her. The women are driven away, but Mary enters labor and it becomes clear to Scully that Rohrer is not acting with good intentions. Scully is knocked out with drugs by Rohrer. When she wakens, Doggett informs her that Mary's baby was delivered and is normal. However, Scully is convinced the baby was swapped out, but nothing more can be done about it. In another flashback, Scully tells Mulder that her attempt at in vitro fertilization has failed, but he tells her to "never give up on a miracle".
## Production
"Per Manum" featured the appearance of David Duchovny as Fox Mulder in various flashbacks. After settling his contract dispute with Fox, Duchovny quit full-time participation in the show after the seventh season. In order to explain Mulder's absence, Duchovny's character was abducted by aliens in the seventh season finale, "Requiem". After several rounds of contractual discussions, Duchovny agreed to return for a total of 11 season eight episodes. "Per Manum" marked the fourth appearance of Duchovny in the eighth season; he had previously appeared in opening episodes of the season, "Within" and "Without" as well as the eleventh episode "The Gift". Series creator Chris Carter later argued that Mulder's absences from the series did not affect the series, noting that "there are characters who can be powerful as absent centers, as Mulder was through the eighth and ninth seasons."
A deleted scene from early on within the episode, in which Scully questions her doctor about her ultrasound scans, was cut from the final broadcast as writer Frank Spotnitz felt it was too "confusing" for the viewers to place doubt on the actions of the doctor so early. Fellow series writer John Shiban said that the scene was not "subtle" enough to convey the right level of suspicion. Spotnitz has described "Per Manum" as being "a real paranoia episode", concerning "the way you perceive connections between people, what are they saying, and is it suspicious or not".
Adam Baldwin, who makes his first appearance as recurring character Knowle Rohrer, originally auditioned for the part of John Doggett, losing out to Robert Patrick. However, the crew remembered Baldwin's audition later when casting "Per Manum", and asked him to play the role. Jay Acovone, who portrays Duffy Haskel in this episode, returned in the same role in the season's penultimate episode "Essence"; and had also previously appeared in the fourth season episode "Demons". "Per Manum" also featured a guest appearance by Mark Snow as an unnamed doctor. Snow had been the series' composer since the first season.
## Broadcast and reception
"Per Manum" premiered on the Fox network on February 18, 2001 and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on June 9, 2002. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.4, meaning that it was seen by 9.4% of the nation's estimated households. It was viewed by 9.61 million households and 16 million viewers, making it, at the time, the highest-rated episode of The X-Files to air during the season. "Per Manum" ranked as the 30th most-watched episode for the week ending February 18. Fox promoted the episode with the tagline "How did Scully get pregnant?" The episode was later included on The X-Files Mythology, Volume 4 – Super Soldiers, a DVD collection that contains episodes involved with the alien super soldiers arc.
"Per Manum" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B+" and called it "good". She appreciated the fact that the show revealed that Mulder was possibly the father of Scully's child, saying that it "ups the stakes in a lot of ways and redefines [Scully's] mission" to find Mulder. Despite this, VanDerWerff noted that the episode "has some issues", largely due to the convoluted nature of the mythology at this point in the show's run, as well as the fact that Duchovny looked "a little bored" at times. However, she wrote that the episode, along with the subsequent episode "This is Not Happening" was a showcase for Anderson's acting ability, and her performance "knits all of this together". Writing for Television Without Pity, Jessica Morgan rated the episode a "B+", deriding some of the episode's plot points, such as the hospital's locking doors, and questioning the villainy of the antagonistic doctors.
Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated the episode five stars out of five, calling it a "return to form" for the series. Shearman and Pearson also felt that the episode gave the character of John Doggett a chance to be accepted by the series' other characters; and praised the "subtle" writing of the episode's emotional dialogue. Tom Kessenich, in his book Examinations: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6-9 of 'The X-Files''', noted that the episode typifies the basic themes of the series—"dark, foreboding terror, overriding sense of paranoia" and "the fear of the unknown" among others.
Writing for The Vindicator, Eric Mink felt that the episode was "intense, unsettling, sometimes gross, and suspenseful to the point of nerve-racking [sic]", feeling that its plot would "resonate instantly and ominously with viewers". Meghan Deans of Tor.com felt that, while the episode did unfortunately reduce Scully down to a traditional idea of feminine identity for part of its run, it was "one of the most emotional Scully-centric episodes the show has ever given us." Furthermore, Deans reasoned that the episode was an example of "what The X-Files would have been, had Scully been the believer: a woman being told that she is hysterical, a woman being told that she imagined it all [and] a woman being told that the evidence of her own body is invalid", a direction that would have been "startling ".
Not all reviews were positive. Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a scathing review and awarded it no stars out of four. She heavily derided the plot, noting that Haskell's role as an "undercover operative" was not convincing. Furthermore, she reasoned that because the plot twists were so expected, Scully came off as "a moron". Vitaris also criticized the use of flashbacks, noting that they were "the only way The X-Files'' writers could figure out to use David Duchovny".
|
38,223,394 |
Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia
| 1,173,415,884 |
Foreign labour force of Saudi Arabia
|
[
"Economy of Saudi Arabia",
"Expatriates in Saudi Arabia",
"Foreign workers",
"Human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia",
"Labor in Saudi Arabia"
] |
Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia (Arabic: العَمالَة الأَجْنَبِيَّة فِي السَعُودِيَّة, romanized: al-ʿamālah al-ʾāǧnabīyah fī as-Saʿūdīyah), estimated to number about 9 million as of April 2013, began migrating to the country soon after oil was discovered in the late 1930s. Initially, the main influx was composed of Arab and Western technical, professional and administrative personnel, but subsequently substantial numbers came from Southeast Asia.
Saudi Arabia has become increasingly dependent on foreign labour, and although foreign workers remain present in technical positions, most are now employed in the agriculture, cleaning and domestic service industries. The hierarchy of foreign workers is often dependent on their country of origin; workers from Arab nations and western nations generally hold the highest positions not held by Saudis, and the lower positions are occupied by persons from Africa, and Southeast Asia. The Saudi government has faced criticism from legal bodies and employers over the treatment of foreign workers. Saudi Arabia deported thousands of Tigrayan migrants to Ethiopia after holding them unlawfully for six months to six years in formal and informal detention facilities across the kingdom. The Tigrayan migrants were brutally tortured while being unjustly held in Saudi prisons.
## Background and history
Saudi Arabia was one of the poorest and most undeveloped countries in the world when oil was discovered in the late 1930s. The country therefore needed foreign expertise and labour to exploit its vast oil reserves. As a result, in the years after World War II there was a growth in the numbers of foreign technical, professional and administrative personnel, mainly from other Middle Eastern countries but also supplied by Western oil companies, many of whom worked for ARAMCO (Arabian-American Oil Company). A much greater increase in the numbers of foreign workers came with the oil-price boom following the 1973 oil crisis. Infrastructure and development plans led to an influx of skilled and unskilled workers, principally Palestinians, Egyptians, Yemenis and others from Arab countries, but also Indians and Pakistanis, leading to a doubling of the Saudi population by 1985. Beginning in the early 1980s, South and East Asian countries, such as Thailand, Philippines and South Korea, increasingly provided migrant workers.
From 1985 the declining oil price led to a decreased demand for foreign labour, resulting in a substantial drop in migration from Asia. However, at the same time, there was a significant increase of female "guest workers" from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines and Indonesia who filled roles in the services sector – particularly in hotels and as domestic servants. The Gulf War of 1991 sparked a series of expulsions of guest workers suspected of disloyalty, including the removal of 800,000 Yemenis. The numbers of foreign workers reached a plateau in the 1990s, but from the end of the decade the inflow of migrants resumed its increase. According to official figures in 2012, foreign workers filled 66 per cent of jobs in Saudi Arabia, despite an official unemployment rate of 12 per cent amongst Saudis, and expatriates sent, on average, US\$18 billion each year, in remittances to their home countries.
Although the country's reliance on foreign workers has been a concern to the Saudi government since the mid-1950s, the situation has persisted because of a reluctance by Saudis to take on menial work and a shortage of Saudi candidates for skilled jobs. This has, in part, been blamed on the Saudi education system, which has been criticized for its emphasis on religion and rote learning. The Saudi economy has, therefore, remained dependent on Westerners for expertise in specialised industries and on the Asian workforce for the construction industry as well as for menial and unskilled tasks. In response, since 1995 the Saudi government has initiated a policy of Saudization, replacing foreign workers with Saudi nationals. For example, in 2000, it was decreed that the work force of businesses with more than 20 employees must be at least 25 per cent Saudi. In the private sector, there has been a reluctance to employ Saudis and Saudization is generally considered to have been a failure. Saudis themselves may be unwilling to take certain jobs, considering them to lack social value.
The Saudi government only recognises contracts for foreign workers written in Arabic. Where bilingual contracts are available, the Arabic language one is authoritative. The contracts, which must contain the terms of employment, are held in duplicate, one for the sponsor and one for the worker. Wages for foreign workers vary, depending on the position, although in general Saudis holding similar positions earn more.
There is currently no personal income tax in Saudi Arabia for either Saudi or foreign workers. Saudi workers and their employers must contribute to the social insurance system (which provides old age and disability benefits for citizens) but foreigners may not pay into or use this system, except for those from Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
## Composition and numbers
The 2010 edition of the Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook estimated that non-nationals represented 5,576,076 out of a population of 25,731,776 in Saudi Arabia. However, official 2010 census figures stated that there were 8,429,401 expatriates out of a total population of 27,136,977 or roughly 31 per cent of the total. According to the United Nations (mid-year 2015, counted numbers — not estimates, including refugees) there were 10,185,945 foreign-origin migrants Saudi Arabia.
The results of the 2004 census indicates that only about 15 per cent of foreign workers are in the skilled category, with the remainder mostly working in agriculture, cleaning and domestic service. Country of origin has been an important factor in determining foreign workers' occupational roles in Saudi Arabia. Saudi businesses have traditionally adopted an ethnically defined hierarchical organisation. For example, a recent academic study of a Danish manufacturing company's Saudi subsidiary noted that a manager had to be European, a supervisor had to be Egyptian, Filipino employees often had technical roles, and Indians, the lowest in the hierarchy, worked in production. Foreign workers' presence in Saudi Arabia tends to be transitory: only 3% remain in the country for more than six years.
### Skilled workers
Some foreigners often live in compounds or gated communities, such as the Saudi Aramco compound at Dhahran Camp. However, many Westerners left the country in 2003 and 2004 following the terrorist attacks in Riyadh, Khobar and Yanbu. A significant number of U.S. workers are English teachers.
Additionally Egyptians have long migrated to Saudi Arabia to take up professional jobs such as doctors, nurses, teachers and engineers, as have Filipinos to work in the health, oil and manufacturing sectors.
### Domestic workers
According to The Guardian, as of 2013 there were more than half a million foreign-born domestic workers in Saudi Arabia. Most have backgrounds in poverty and come from Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. To go to work in Saudi Arabia, they must often pay large sums to recruitment agencies in their home countries. The agencies then handle the necessary legal paperwork. Some falsify their dates of birth, allowing them easier access to the country.
## Premium Residency
In 2019, Saudi Arabia has introduced a new scheme known as the Premium Residency (informally Saudi Green Card) which grants expats the right to live, work and own business and property in the Kingdom without need for a sponsor. The unlimited duration premium residency is granted for \$213,000 while the limited residency costs \$26,660 per year.
## Restrictions
The kafala system, present in a number of other Arab countries, governs the conditions and processes for employment of foreigners. Under this system, all non-Saudis present in the country for employment purposes must have a sponsor, which is usually arranged months in advance. Unlike countries which recognize the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which declares in part "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own") Saudi Arabia requires foreign workers to have their sponsor's permission to enter and leave the country, and denies exit to those with work disputes pending in court. Sponsors generally confiscate passports while workers are in the country; sometimes employers also hold passports of workers' family members. Workers from other Arabian Gulf countries do not need a visa to enter and live in Saudi Arabia, except for Qatar. (See Qatar diplomatic crisis).
Foreign workers must be free of infectious disease, including HIV and tuberculosis. Infectious disease tests are conducted when the worker applies for their visa in their home country, and then must be conducted again once in Saudi Arabia to obtain the long-term iqama residency card.
In April, 2016, the Saudi government published its Vision 2030, which proposed an extension of foreigners' ability to own real estate, and a new system for issuing permits:
We will seek to improve living and working conditions for non-Saudis, by extending their ability to own real estate in certain areas, improving the quality of life, permitting the establishment of more private schools and adopting an effective and simple system for issuing visas and residence permits.
In 2019, a specialized Premium Residency program was put in place to facilitate these goals (see above).
Trade unions, strikes, and collective bargaining are banned for both Saudi citizens and foreigners alike. Political parties are also banned. Criminal prosecution of foreigners relies upon the country's Basic Law which recognizes sharia (Islamic law) and the Quran as the ultimate legal authorities.
## Abuse and scandals
Many domestic servants in Saudi Arabia are treated adequately, but there have been numerous cases of abuse. Foreign workers have been raped, exploited, under- or unpaid, physically abused, overworked and locked in their places of employment. The international organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) describes these conditions as "near-slavery" and attributes them to "deeply rooted gender, religious, and racial discrimination". In many cases the workers are unwilling to report their employers for fear of losing their jobs or further abuse. Other forms of general discrimination, such as a lack of freedom of religion for non-Sunni Muslims, are also applicable.
Some American English teachers have complained they were not informed of a 90-day probation period.
According to a spokesperson from HRW, Saudi Arabian law does not provide strong legal protection for migrant workers and housemaids. As such, they face "arbitrary arrests, unfair trials and harsh punishments" and may falsely be accused of crime. Amnesty International reports that those charged are often unable to follow the court proceedings, as they are often unable to speak the language and are not given interpreters or legal counsel. Foreign workers have been charged with various crimes, including theft, murder and "black magic". After a worker is convicted and sentenced to death, in many cases the worker's home government is not notified. When the country's representatives are notified, it is often difficult for them to argue for a commutation of sentence. Efforts by the Indonesian government in 2011, for example, required the victims' families to grant clemency and be given diyya ("blood money") in the millions of riyal before the Saudi government would consider the case. As of January 2013, the majority of foreign workers held on death row in Saudi Arabia come from Indonesia.
These conditions have sparked condemnation both inside and outside of Saudi Arabia. In 2002, Grand Mufti Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh argued that Islam required employers to honour their contracts and not intimidate, blackmail or threaten their workers.
Several executions have sparked international outcries. In June 2011 Ruyati binti Satubi, an Indonesian maid, was beheaded for killing her employer's wife, reportedly after years of abuse. A video of the execution, posted online, prompted extensive criticism. In September 2011 a Sudanese migrant worker was beheaded for "sorcery", an execution which Amnesty International condemned as "appalling". In January 2013 a Sri Lankan maid named Rizana Nafeek was beheaded after she was convicted of murdering a child under her care, an occurrence which she attributed to the infant choking. The execution drew international condemnation of the government's practices and led Sri Lanka to recall its ambassador. These are not isolated cases. According to figures by Amnesty International, in 2010 at least 27 migrant workers were executed and, as of January 2013, more than 45 foreign maids were on death row awaiting execution.
In 2015 Saudi Arabia introduced reforms in an attempt to fix its laws and protect foreign workers.
Saudi Arabia was exposed by The Sunday Telegraph for detaining African migrants in a drive to control COVID-19. The newspaper received graphic mobile phone images, showing the miserable condition of the detained migrants. The images show evidence of their abuse, physical torture via pictures of injuries caused by beating and electrocution. A 16-year-old hanged to death following torture. Many of the migrants have committed suicide at the detention center while some died of heatstroke in the small detention rooms, housing hundreds of migrants.
According to Amnesty International, thousands of Ethiopian migrants, including pregnant women and children, were arbitrarily detained in harsh conditions across the kingdom since March 2020. Detainees didn't get adequate food, water, health care, sanitation facilities and clothes. The prison cells were severely overcrowded and prisoners were not allowed to go outside. The specific needs of pregnant and lactating women were also not fulfilled by the prison authorities and the new born babies, infants and teenagers were detained and kept in the same dire conditions as adults.
On 8 October 2020, based on the investigation led by Telegraph, the European Parliament criticized Saudi Arabia for its treatment of Ethiopian migrants being held like slaves in COVID-19 detention camps. A footage captured on phones smuggled inside by the migrants showed thousands of men, women and children with scars from wounds of beating, torture and disfiguring skin infections.
Even after Saudi modified its sponsorship system in March 2021, it remains quite challenging to control the abuses that Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) face there. As stated by the Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola, “While there are a lot of reforms in the Middle East, especially starting March 12, Saudi Arabia will have reforms on the kafala system and labour mobility, this still does not include the household service workers”. She further added that despite the reforms, there is always a disconnect between the practice and what's on paper.
Between 2022 to 2023, according to Human Rights Watch, Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons and shot hundreds of Ethiopian migrants who wanted to cross Saudi-Yemen barrier for work at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic.
|
25,702,525 |
Russian battleship Andrei Pervozvanny
| 1,111,354,723 |
Andrei Pervozvanny-class battleship
|
[
"1906 ships",
"Andrei Pervozvanny-class battleships",
"Maritime incidents in July 1914",
"Maritime incidents in November 1914",
"Ships built at Admiralty Shipyard"
] |
Andrei Pervozvanny (Russian: Андрей Первозванный—St Andrew the First-Called) was an Andrei Pervozvanny-class predreadnought battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy during the early-1900s. The ship's construction was greatly delayed by design changes as a result of the Russo-Japanese War and labor unrest after the 1905 Revolution, and she took nearly six years to build. Andrei Pervozvanny was not very active during World War I and her bored sailors joined the general mutiny of the Baltic Fleet in early 1917. She was used by the Bolsheviks to bombard the rebellious garrison of Fort Krasnaya Gorka in 1919 during the Russian Civil War and was torpedoed by British Coastal Motor Boats shortly afterwards, as part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. The ship was never fully repaired and was scrapped in 1923.
## Description
Andrei Pervozvanny was 454 feet (138.4 m) long at the waterline and 460 feet (140.2 m) long overall. She had a beam of 80 feet (24.4 m) and a draft of 27 feet (8.2 m). The ship displaced 18,580 long tons (18,880 t) at deep load. The battleship had a double bottom and a metacentric height of 4 feet (1.2 m). The ship's crew consisted of 31 officers and 924 crewmen.
Andrei Pervozvanny was equipped with two 4-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines with a total designed output of 17,600 indicated horsepower (13,100 kW). Twenty-five Belleville boilers provided steam to the engines. On sea trials, they produced 17,635 ihp (13,150 kW) and a top speed of 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph). She carried a normal load of 800 long tons (810 t) of coal that provided a range of 1,300 nautical miles (2,400 km; 1,500 mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a maximum load of 1,500 long tons (1,500 t) that gave 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at the same speed.
The main armament of the Andrei Pervozvanny class consisted of two pairs of 12-inch (305 mm) Model 1895 guns mounted in twin-gun turrets fore and aft of the superstructure. Eight of the fourteen 8-inch (203 mm) Model 1905 guns were mounted in four twin-gun turret at the corners of the superstructure while six were mounted in casemates in the superstructure. For defense against torpedo boats, the ships carried twelve 120-millimeter (4.7 in) guns mounted in casemates above the 8-inch guns in the superstructure. Two underwater 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes were mounted, one on each broadside, and they were provided with six spare torpedoes.
Based on the Russian experience at the Battle of Tsushima, the sides of the ship's hull were completely protected by Krupp cemented armor. The main waterline belt had a maximum thickness of 8.5 inches (216 mm) and the upper belt was 5 inches (127 mm) at its thickest. The sides of the main gun turrets were 8 inches (203 mm) thick and the armor of the casemates ranged from 3.1 to 5 inches (79 to 127 mm) in thickness. The greatest thickness of deck armor was 1.5 inches (38 mm).
## Service history
Andrei Pervozvanny was built by the Admiralty Shipyard in Saint Petersburg. Construction began on 15 March 1904 and was officially laid down on 11 May. Her construction was slowed by labor trouble in the shipyard from the 1905 Revolution. She was launched on 30 October 1906 and began her sea trials in September 1910. They were completed in October 1910, but the ship entered service on 10 March 1911. Andrei Pervozvanny joined the Baltic Fleet on completion and she made a port visit to Copenhagen in September 1912. The following September she visited Portland, Cherbourg, and Stavanger together with her sister ship, Imperator Pavel I. She ran aground on Odensholm Island, off the Estonian coast, on 1 July 1914. The ship was still under repair when World War I began the following month. Her lattice masts were cut down and light topmasts were added while under repair.
Andrei Pervozvanny was mostly inactive during the war as the Russian naval strategy in the Baltic was defensive and they did not intend to seek out the German fleet. She ran aground in the Longgayen Pass on 12 November 1914. She was refloated on 14 November, repaired and returned to service. Torpedo nets were fitted in early 1915 and the ship's torpedoes were removed in January 1916. In late 1916, four 76-millimeter (3 in) anti-aircraft guns were added. The ship's crew joined the general mutiny of the Baltic Fleet in Helsinki on 16 March 1917, after they received word of the February Revolution in Saint Petersburg, and several of the ship's officers were murdered by the crew. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk required the Soviets to evacuate their naval base at Helsinki in March 1918 or have their ships interned by newly independent Finland even though the Gulf of Finland was still frozen over. Andrei Pervozvanny and her sister ship the renamed Respublika, led the second group of ships on 5 April and reached Kronstadt five days later in what became known as the "Ice Voyage".
After the October Revolution in 1918, the ship remained on active duty as part of the Red Navy during the Russian Civil War. Between 13 and 15 June 1919, Andrei Pervozvanny and the dreadnought Petropavlovsk bombarded Fort Krasnaya Gorka whose garrison had mutinied against the Bolsheviks. The ship fired 170 12-inch and 408 8-inch shells and the garrison surrendered on 17 June when Leon Trotsky promised them their lives, only to order them machine-gunned. Andrei Pervozvanny was attacked by the Royal Navy during its Campaign in the Baltic 1918–19, when she was torpedoed by either C.M.B. 31 or C.M.B. 88 during the night of 17/18 August 1919 as the ship lay at anchor in Kronstadt. She was hit on the port bow and settled 2 feet (0.6 m) down by the bow. The British claimed three torpedo hits, but two of the torpedoes actually struck the harbor wall behind the battleship. The Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military decoration, was awarded to Commander Claude Congreve Dobson and Lieutenant Gordon Charles Steele for their successful attack. The ship was raised and docked, but never fully repaired. While under repair, she was nearly hit by a small bomb during a British air raid on 3 September. Scrapping of Andrei Pervozvanny began 15 December 1923, although she was not formally stricken until 21 November 1925.
|
3,508,234 |
Hector Munro Chadwick
| 1,173,204,750 |
English philologist
|
[
"1870 births",
"1947 deaths",
"19th-century English writers",
"20th-century English historians",
"20th-century English male writers",
"Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge",
"Celtic studies scholars",
"Comparative literature academics",
"Elrington and Bosworth Professors of Anglo-Saxon",
"English anthropologists",
"English archaeologists",
"English people of Scottish descent",
"English philologists",
"Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge",
"Fellows of the British Academy",
"Germanic studies scholars",
"Linguists from England",
"Linguists of Indo-European languages",
"Old Norse studies scholars",
"People educated at Bradford Grammar School",
"People from Thornhill, West Yorkshire",
"Writers on Germanic paganism"
] |
Hector Munro Chadwick FBA (22 October 1870 – 2 January 1947) was an English philologist. Chadwick was the Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and the founder and head of the Department for Anglo-Saxon and Kindred Studies at the University of Cambridge. Chadwick was well known for his encouragement of interdisciplinary research on Celts and Germanic peoples, and for his theories on the Heroic Age in the history of human societies. Chadwick was a tutor of many notable students and the author of numerous influential works in his fields of study. Much of his research and teaching was conducted in cooperation with his wife, former student and fellow Cambridge scholar Nora Kershaw.
## Family
On 22 October 1870, Hector Munro Chadwick was born in Thornhill Lees, Yorkshire, England, the third son of Reverend Edward Chadwick and Sarah Anne Bates.
The Chadwick family traced its descent from John Chadwick of Chadwick Hall, Rochdale, who flourished during the reign of Elizabeth I. Edward was the seventh of the eight sons of James Chadwick, who in turn was a son of yet another John Chadwick. John and his sons were all members of the firm of John Chadwick & Sons, who were flannel manufacturers in Rochdale. The firm had a branch in Edinburgh, and it was there that James married Sarah Murray, daughter of George Murray and Margaret Munro, who was probably a sister of General Hector Munro. Sarah Murray was of Scottish descent.
Edward Chadwick was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, and met Sarah while he was Curate at Church of St George, Chester Road, Hulme. Sarah was the only daughter and one of eight children of an Oldham businessman of considerable prominence. Her grandfather was a member of the same business. Her cousin, Captain Chadwick, had served with distinction in the Crimean War. Sarah's father retired early from business and became a farmer at Old Trafford. Sarah's mother died on the day Sarah was to marry Edward Chadwick, allegedly heartbroken over the prospect of losing contact with her daughter. The marriage was subsequently postponed for a while. After finally marrying, Edward and Sarah spent their early years at Blue Pits, where their eldest son Edward was born. Shortly afterwards, the family moved to Thornhill Lees, Yorkshire, where Edward Chadwick senior became a close friend to a member of the Bibby family, which owned the Bibby Line. The Bibbys built a church for Edward in the suburbs of Thornhill Lees, where he became Vicar. It was during this time that the Chadwicks had their three remaining children, Dora, Murray, and then Hector. Edward ended his career as Rural Dean of Dewsbury, and his two oldest sons also joined the priesthood of the Church of England.
## Early life and education
Hector was by far the youngest child of the family, and had a very close relationship with his sister. Dora taught him both letters and Latin, and he later said that she "brought me up". Chadwick's father strongly encouraged his children to study, and used to tell Hector that a bear would come and carry him off if he did not learn his Latin. As a result, one of Chadwick's memories was peering for the bear through a window near the vicarage's front door.
Chadwick attended Bradford Grammar School from 1882 to 1883. At Bradford he showed himself a gifted student, but did not like school life, and often feigned sickness in order to stay home from school. In 1884 he was tutored at home by his sister and the curators. From 1885 to 1889, Chadwick attended Wakefield Grammar School as a day-boy. He commuted 8 miles to Wakefield each day, during which he learned German by himself. At Wakefield, Chadwick was a passionate player of tennis, and served as treasurer of the school cricket club. Contemporary students at Wakefield later described him as a determined but shy boy, who happily helped out his classmates with their Latin. Shyness, intelligence, determination and a strong willingness to help others were personality traits which were to characterize him into adulthood.
Upon leaving Wakefield in 1889, Chadwick obtained a Cave Exhibition at Clare College, Cambridge. That summer, he made a trip to Scotland, Ulster, Wales and the Isle of Man. He subsequently did his Little Go and entered Cambridge. While an undergraduate, Chadwick made memorable visits to Continental Europe with his brother Edward, during which they visited Austria and Italy. In 1890, Chadwick was elected Classical Scholar at Clare. In 1892, Chadwick obtained a First Class, Division 3 of Part I of the Classical Tripos, and gained his B.A. The next year (1893), he obtained a First Class with distinction in Philology in the Classical Tripos. From 1893 to 1899, Chadwick was a Fellow at Clare.
In 1894, his "The Origin of the Latin Perfect Formation in -ui" was published in Adalbert Bezzenberger's Beitrage zur Kunde der indo-germanischen Sprachen. It was during this time, when visiting his brother Murray, that Chadwick came upon Paul Du Chaillu's The Viking Age. Through this book, Chadwick gained a strong interest in the early civilizations of Northern Europe. The book was characterized by an interdisciplinary approach to every aspect of its subject, which was an approach which was also to characterize his future teaching and research. In the summer of 1895, Chadwick attended lectures at the University of Freiburg under Wilhelm Streitberg.
## Career
### Starting out
Returning to Cambridge in 1895, Chadwick taught Old English for Section B of the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos, while devoting himself to the study of the early North. He gained his M.A. in 1896. Section B had been established in 1894. Its teachers at the time included Israel Gollancz and George Campbell Macaulay. Its Chair was Walter William Skeat, the Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon. Skeat was primarily concerned with the study of Middle English. Section B covered Old English, Middle English, Anglo-French, Gothic and Icelandic, and English and Germanic linguistics. It was mostly limited to linguistics, and attracted few students, which however included future distinguished scholars such as Allen Mawer.
Chadwick was quickly recognized as a highly gifted tutor. His lectures were conducted in an informal manner, and he was particularly noted for his supervisions, which he began giving his students individually while they were still undergraduates. Many a student of Chadwick later described these supervisions at his home as formative events in their scholarly careers. Chadwick gained a large and loyal following among his students, who gave him the pet name "Chadders". Many of his students were female, and he insisted that they were to be treated equally with their male peers, which was quite uncommon at English universities at the time. Chadwick treated his students as his intellectual peers, which sometimes resulted in him recommending them subjects which were beyond their capabilities. Around thirty of his students came to hold prominent positions in academia, not to mention the large number of museum officials, librarians and learned individuals of prominence who had studied under him.
From 1899 to 1919, Chadwick became solely responsible for teaching at the Section B of the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos. In 1899, Chadwick published three works: "Ablaut problems in the Indo-Germanic Verb" in Indogermanische Forschungen, "Studies in Old English" in Transactions of the Cambridge Philological Society, and his first book, The Cult of Othin, which was published by Cambridge University Press. His "Studies in Old English" was a pioneering monograph on dialects and sound changes in Old English. In The Cult of Othin, he examined worship of Odin among the Germanic peoples. The book took all relevant evidence into consideration, including linguistic, literary, and archaeological evidence, which was to become a typical feature of his scholarly approach. In conclusion, Chadwick argued that worship of Odin was in all essential features the same among all the Germanic peoples, including Anglo-Saxons and Norse peoples. In 1899, his Fellowship at Clare was renewed.
In 1900, two important papers by Chadwick, "The Oak and the Thunder-God" and "The Ancient Teutonic Priesthood", appeared in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute and in Folk-Lore. From 1903 to 1911, he was Librarian at the college.
In 1905, Chadwick published Studies in Anglo-Saxon Institutions. It was at the time considered the best work ever published on Anglo-Saxon society, and was highly influential. In 1907, he contributed chapter III on "Early National Poetry" to the first volume of the Cambridge History of English Literature. The same year saw the publishing of his monumental The Origins of the English Nation (1907). Investigating the origins of the Anglo-Saxons and the English people, this work has been highly praised for its interdisciplinary combination of archaeological, historical and philological evidence from both England and Northern Europe. In 1907, the scope of Section B at the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos was broadened to cover Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and Viking Age history, culture and religion.
Upon a 1909 recommendation of the board of medieval and modern languages at Cambridge, Chadwick was in 1910 appointed Lecturer in Scandinavian at Cambridge, holding this position for two years.
### The Heroic Age
In 1912, he published The Heroic Age, which is considered one of his most important works. In this work Chadwick conducted a pioneering examination of parallels between the epic poetry of the Greek Heroic Age and the Germanic Heroic Age. Celtic, Roman and Slavic epic poetry was also considered, which testifies to the wide and diverse knowledge possessed by Chadwick at this time.
Chadwick postulated the Heroic Age as a distinct period in the history of numerous human societies. During such Heroic Ages, warrior aristocrats figure prominently, and courage and martial prowess is valued above all else. For Chadwick, such an Heroic Age was not one of primitiveness, but rather one of youthfulness, vigour and rebellion. According to him, Heroic Ages typically emerged when tribal societies came into close contact with more advanced civilizations, such as when the Germanic peoples encountered ancient Rome. Notably, Chadwick postulated the existence of Heroic Ages also among Celts and Slavs. The Heroic Age attracted strong interests from both Classicists and Germanicists. It remains a pioneering work of comparative literature.
### Leadership and reform at Cambridge
Upon the death of Skeat in 1912, Chadwick was recognized as the obvious successor, and was subsequently elected Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge. He held this position until reaching the age limit in 1941. Chadwick's election to this professorship marks a new phase in his career, during which his time was mostly dedicated to teaching and administrative work.
In agreement with previous wishes expressed by Skeat, Chadwick sought to broaden the scope of the Section beyond the field of philology, and make it concerned not only with the study of Anglo-Saxons, but also with Germanic studies and Celtic studies. By this time, he had come to see philology not as an object in itself, but rather as a key to the early history of the Germanic peoples, and the English people in particular. He insisted that scholarship should be informed through direct engagement with primary sources in their original languages and contexts. Although encountering significant opposition, Chadwick's efforts at reform were successful through a 1917 changing of regulations, which he drew up by himself. The scope of the department subsequently extended well beyond language and literature, to include history, archaeology and the study of culture, including religion and social institutions.
Chadwick's reforms at Cambridge were not limited to Section B. With his friends Professor Arthur Quiller-Couch and Dr. Hugh Fraser Stewart, he remodelled Section A (English studies) and transformed the Medieval and Modern Language Tripos in the Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos, in which English became a more or less independent course covered in sections A and B. The reforms encountered significant opposition, most notably by certain members of the English Association, but through his tenacity, persuasiveness and strategic skills, Chadwick was able to outmanoeuvre his conservative critics, and his reforms were subsequently successfully implemented.
Among Chadwick's few publications during his early years as a university administrator was his "Some German River-names", a philological study examining the origins of the Celts, which was published in Essays and Studies presented to William Ridgeway (1913). He accepted the reduction in his literary output without regret, because he considered teaching and directing his students to be a task of even greater importance than his written work.
### World War I and continued reform
In the years of World War I, there was general understanding that British scholarship had devoted too much effort on the study of languages as compared to the people who spoke them. As a result, the importance of philology for the study of history and culture, particularly in the field of English studies, was increasingly emphasized. Chadwick was the dominant figure in this effort. He received an honorary D.Litt from Durham University in 1914, and an honorary LL.D from the University of St Andrews in 1919.
On 4 May 1922, Chadwick married Nora Kershaw, a former student of his. Nora eventually became a Fellow at Newnham College, Cambridge, and an intimate scholarly companion of Chadwick. They published several influential works together. Nora was an accomplished philologist, in fact so much so that a reviewer of one of her works on Old English and Old Norse poetry wrongly mistook the work as Hector's. The Chadwicks settled into an old paper-mill outside Cambridge, close to the Norman Leper Chapel, which came under their care. They were animal lovers, and kept a large number of cats and dogs which they named after personages in Beowulf and Norse mythology. Their home became a salon for enthusiasts of early Germanic and Celtic literature. With Nora as the driver, the Chadwicks took students by car to see archaeological sites near Cambridge, and made long trips together to Wales, Scotland and Ireland. They bought a house at Vowchurch in the Golden Valley near Wales, where they spent much time. Chadwick was proud of his Scottish ancestry, and had a passionate interest in all things Celtic.
During the first years of its existence, Chadwick was almost entirely responsible for teaching at his rapidly growing Section B, but was admirably assisted by his wife. Former students of his who lectured at his section included Cyril Fox and Frederick Attenborough.
In 1920, Chadwick and his Section B had lost its eminent Celticist Edmund Crosby Quiggin, and Nora stepped in for the deceased as a teacher of Irish, while Hector taught Welsh. In 1925, among their notable students were Kenneth H. Jackson, who became an eminent Celticist in Chadwick's department. Chadwick was elected a Fellow of the British Academy. Following the Royal Commission on the Universities and the introduction of the Faculty system, Chadwick and his Section B acquired a permanent staff. Two lecturers were appointed in 1926, including his friend and former student Bertha Phillpotts, widely recognized as one of England's foremost authorities in Old Norse studies. Her premature death in 1932 was keenly felt by Chadwick and his colleagues.
In the late 1920s, Chadwick became increasingly interested in the fields of archaeology and anthropology. In 1927, he transferred his Section B to the new Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, where it become known as the Department for Anglo-Saxon and Kindred Studies. Chadwick sought to make its courses into a broad independent discipline akin to the Classics. In 1928, he was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of the Humanities at Lund.
### The Growth of Literature
Although Chadwick had heavily concentrated on his university duties rather than his own writing after becoming Professor, Nora insisted that he begin writing again. He argued that his university work was more important, but Nora persisted, and eventually persuaded him into resuming writing after suggesting to him that they write a work together. This ushered in what Chadwick's student, friend and colleague Jose Maria de Navarro considers the final stage of Chadwick's career. The Chadwicks continued the line of research pursued by Chadwick in his The Heroic Age (1912). Their original intention was to conduct a comparative study of the literature, archaeology and general civilization of the Viking Age and Ancient Greece, to which they began collecting material in 1919. About this time however, Chadwick came upon Early Adventures in Persia, Susiana and Babylonia by Austen Henry Layard, in which the effect of the recital of the Shahnameh on the followers of Mehemet Taki Khan is described.
Impressed by the parallels of the Shahnameh with Greek epic poetry, the Chadwicks decided to broaden the scope of their project, which eventually came to encompass the oral literature of a large number of peoples. The resulting work, The Growth of Literature (1932–1940), was published in three volumes. The first volume was mostly written by Hector, and was concerned with the ancient oral literature of Europe, although Nora collected the material on Irish literature. The second volume was mostly written by Nora, although Chadwick wrote its sections of Slavic, Hebrew and Indian literature. The third volume was mostly written by Nora, and included sections on Tatar, Polynesian and African literature, while the concluding section, summarizing all the material of the three volumes, was written by Hector. The Chadwicks were proficient in nearly all of the languages of the literature covered in the book, and it took literary, historical, philological, anthropological and archaeological evidence into account. It has been described as a pioneering and masterful study, and the finest work of Chadwick's career.
### Last years at Cambridge
It was at his country home in Vowchurch that Chadwick began writing his Early Wales and the Saxon Penetration of the West, but the threat of an invasion of England eventually convinced him to abandon the project in 1940, as he felt the looming prospect of a German invasion had too many parallels with the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. When World War II began in 1939, the Chadwicks moved to a new home at Adams Road. During the war, many younger members of the staff left University, and Chadwick once more conducted most of the teaching at his Department for Anglo-Saxon and Kindred Studies. In his notable "Who was he?", published in Antiquity in 1940, he examined the site of Sutton Hoo, and suggested that its magnificent burial was of Rædwald of East Anglia.
Upon attaining the age limit in 1941, Chadwick retired as Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and became an Honorary Fellow at Clare College, but at the request of the university, he continued teaching as head of his department. Chadwick was able to combine his leadership of the department with writing and research. In his The Study of Anglo-Saxon (1941), Chadwick surveyed the history and contemporary state of Anglo-Saxon studies. In this work, he argued in favour of an interdisciplinary method for the study of the Anglo-Saxons, and suggested that Anglo-Saxon studies should be split from the field of English studies and made into a distinct and broad discipline akin to the Classics. Both in his The Study of Anglo-Saxon, and his later "Why compulsory philology", which appeared in The Universities Quarterly for 1946 and was written at the request of the National Union of Students, Chadwick argued against the teaching of philology as a compulsory subject, and instead considered it best suited for post-graduate work. In view of this, some have suggested that he had grown to dislike philology, but Chadwick's ample use of philology in all of his later works suggests that he indeed still appreciated it. Chadwick received an honorary D.Litt. from the University of Oxford in 1943. Upon the election of his friend and former pupil Bruce Dickins as Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, he retired from teaching, satisfied that his department was now safely in good hands.
Chadwick thought that the broad approach he advocated for Anglo-Saxon studies should also be applied to the study of foreign peoples. This idea was further elaborated by him in his The Nationalities of Europe and the Growth of National Ideologies (1945). The writing of this work was strongly connected to the ongoing world war. He argued that the British Empire had not dedicated enough resources to the study of nationalities and their importance. Chadwick suggested the establishment of a government-sponsored Institute of Imperial and Foreign Studies to provide courses on the history, languages and literature of various countries. He believed such knowledge was indispensable for understanding the culture of any country. Chadwick's book presents a general survey of the various nationalities in Europe from an archaeological, historical and philological perspective. He notably located the Celtic homeland somewhere in the Netherlands and northwest Germany. Much of the work is dedicated to the study of the origins and nature of German imperialism. In subsequent years, The Nationalities of Europe and the Growth of National Ideologies became an indispensable work for aspiring members of the Foreign Office.
## Death and legacy
In his final literary project, Chadwick sought through a combination of archaeological, historical and philological evidence to examine the early history of Scotland. He argued that the Pictish Chronicle and the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba were derived from two distinct oral traditions of the Gaels and Picts respectively. Chadwick suggested that the Pictish language was akin to Welsh, but that nevertheless there had been an early and significant Gaelic presence in early Scotland. Chadwick became gravely ill in February 1946, but recovered and resumed writing on his final work. Within months however, his illness reappeared. He died in his sleep at Evelyn Nursing Home, Trumpington Road, Cambridge, on 2 January 1947. His final work was completed by Nora, and published by Cambridge University Press under the title Early Scotland: The Picts, the Scots and the Welsh of Southern Scotland (1947).
In 1950, The Early Cultures of North-West Europe, a festschrift in Chadwick's honour edited by Cyril Fox and Bruce Dickins, his former students, was published. Under the leadership of his former pupil Dorothy Whitelock, Chadwick's Department for Anglo-Saxon and Kindred Studies was in 1967 merged back into the Faculty of English, eventually becoming known as the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. Chadwick is today considered the founder of this department. The H.M. Chadwick Lecture was established in 1990, and is given annually by a scholar who is invited to Cambridge for the occasion.
Chadwick left a long-lasting impact on subsequent scholarship. Christopher N. L. Brooke heralds him as one of the most notable polymaths in the history of Cambridge. As a researcher and writer, Chadwick pioneered interdisciplinary research for the study of the cultures of early Northern Europe and beyond. The interdisciplinary approach of the Chadwicks has strongly influenced Celtic studies up to the present day. At Cambridge, Chadwick is notable for having developed the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, and supervised the education of generations of scholars, a large number of whom made major contributions to scholarship.
## Selected works
### Books
- The Cult of Othin, 1899
- Studies in Old English, 1899
- Studies on Anglo-Saxon Institutions, 1905
- The Origin of the English Nation, 1907
- The Heroic Age, 1912
- (With Nora K. Chadwick) The Growth of Literature, 1932–1940
- The Study of Anglo-Saxon, 1941
- The Nationalities of Europe, 1945
- (Edited by Nora K. Chadwick) Early Scotland, 1949
### Articles
- "The Origin of the Latin Perfect in ''-ui", 1894
- "Ablaut Problems in the idg. Verb", 1899
- "The Oak and the Thunder God", 1900
- "The Ancient Teutonic Priesthood", 1900
- "Early Inscriptions in the North of England", 1901
- "Early National Poetry", 1907
- "Ancestor Worship and the Cult of the Dead: Teutonic", 1908
- "Calendar: Teutonic", 1910
- "Some German River Names", 1913
- "The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial VII: Who was he?", 1940
- "Why Compulsory Philology? II", 1946
|
7,740,581 |
Hurricane Dean (1989)
| 1,167,710,202 |
Category 2 Atlantic hurricane in 1989
|
[
"1989 Atlantic hurricane season",
"1989 in Bermuda",
"1989 in Canada",
"Category 2 Atlantic hurricanes",
"Hurricanes in Bermuda",
"Hurricanes in Canada"
] |
Hurricane Dean was a strong tropical cyclone that brought minor effects the United States and Atlantic Canada offshore in early August 1989. The fourth named storm and second hurricane of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season, Dean formed on July 31 and reached tropical storm status the following day east of the Leeward Islands. Dean brushed the northern Leeward Islands as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, bringing light rain but producing no damage, before turning northward and striking Bermuda as a Category 2 hurricane. It continued northward before making landfall in southeastern Newfoundland.
Dean was initially difficult to forecast; it was thought to pose a possible threat to the Lesser Antilles, and as a result several evacuations occurred, and many hurricane watches and warnings were issued. However, as the storm turned northward, all watches and warnings in the Lesser Antilles were discontinued. As Dean approached Bermuda, a hurricane watch was issued, and was later upgraded to a hurricane warning. After the storm tracked away from the island, the hurricane warning was discontinued. In addition, a hurricane warning was briefly in effect for Sable Island, Nova Scotia. The storm left \$8.9 million (1989 USD\$, 2023 USD) and sixteen injuries across Bermuda, but no fatalities were reported. In Atlantic Canada, Dean dropped light rain across Nova Scotia and Sable Island.
## Meteorological history
A tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa on July 27, as detected by Meteosat imagery. By July 31 the tropical wave began to be classified, using the Dvorak Technique, by satellite analysts at the National Hurricane Center, in part due to persistent deep convection. Shortly thereafter, the system became organized enough that the National Hurricane Center began classifying it as Tropical Depression Five, roughly halfway between Cape Verde and the Lesser Antilles. The depression moved westward at 17 mph (27 km/h), intensifying as it did so, and eventually intensified enough to be upgraded to a tropical storm, which was named Dean by the National Hurricane Center.
Continuing generally westward, Dean continued to gradually intensify, and became a hurricane on August 2 after an Air Force reconnaissance flight had recorded hurricane-force winds. The following day a decreasing ridge of high pressure to the north and a trough of low pressure forming off the East Coast of the United States caused the storm to slow in its forward motion and turn northwest. The trough of low pressure forming off the East Coast of the United States was deepening, causing Dean to curve northward while remaining nearly stationary. The storm then began to accelerate to a forward speed of 17 mph (27 km/h) as it headed toward Bermuda. Thereafter, Dean intensified into a Category 2 hurricane, whilst the eastern half of the eyewall brushed Bermuda. Dean continued to intensify slightly after passing the island of Bermuda and became a Category 2 hurricane on August 7. While Dean was a Category 2 hurricane, it attained its peak intensity with winds of 105 mph (169 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 968 mbar (hPa; 28.59 inHg).
After peak intensity, the forward speed of the storm continued to increase as it approached Atlantic Canada while weakening back to a Category 1 hurricane. While approaching southern Newfoundland, Dean had weakened enough to be downgraded to a tropical storm on August 8. Shortly thereafter it made landfall on the south coast of Newfoundland with winds of 65 mph (105 km/h). Later that day Dean emerged into the far north Atlantic, and rapidly transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on the following day.
## Preparations
Hurricane Dean was very difficult to forecast in its early stages as the storm approached the eastern Caribbean. Even though most forecast models predicted that Dean would skirt the Leeward Islands, the track prediction models were not consistent and, as a result, uncertainty existed in justifying the posting of watches and warnings for the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. One track predicted Dean to threaten South Florida within three to four days.
Regardless, the National Hurricane Center issued hurricane warnings for Guadeloupe on August 2 and the rest of the Leeward Islands extending to the Virgin Islands. The uncertainty of the hurricane's forecast track forced residents and tourists in the Lesser Antilles to evacuate. In the British Virgin Islands, 80 American and Canadian tourists evacuated to hotels. In Puerto Rico, residents were advised to secure or stow away loose objects and stock up on emergency supplies. 1.1 million residents in the city of San Juan went to supermarkets to get much-needed supplies in anticipation that the storm might hit Puerto Rico. In Humacao, the National Guard evacuated 1,966 people living along a coastal highway. The islands of Martinique and Dominica were placed under a hurricane watch. The warning for Guadeloupe was discontinued at 2200 UTC when the hurricane no longer posed any threat to the island. Simultaneously, the hurricane watches in effect for Martinique and Dominica were also discontinued. As Dean continued westward, the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for the Turks and Caicos Islands. The watch was soon canceled as Dean made its northward turn towards Bermuda.
In Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch on August 5. The hurricane watch was later changed to a hurricane warning the following day. Dean's approach to the island canceled numerous inbound and outbound flights. In Atlantic Canada, the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for Nova Scotia and Sable Island, while the Canadian forecasters issued a high wind advisory.
## Impact
The outer bands of Hurricane Dean produced light rainfall and winds near 50 mph (80 km/h) across Barbuda or winds up to 60 mph (97 km/h) on the French territories of Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin. There was no reported damage in the Leeward Islands or the Virgin Islands since the hurricane turned northward on the 4th of August. In the Atlantic, a sailboat bound for Bermuda was caught off guard by the hurricane. The boat, which carried no radio equipment, was spotted by a hurricane hunter plane. The occupants of the boat suffered no injuries. On Sunday, the 6 August, in Bermuda, the hurricane's eastern eyewall produced 81 mph (130 km/h) sustained winds with gusts up to 113 mph (182 km/h). Bermuda's highest rainfall total from Dean was 2.45 in (50.8 mm) while parts of the island received 3–5 in (76–127 mm) of rain.
Strong winds from Hurricane Dean caused considerable power line damage, leaving 65,000 residents without electricity. The winds also caused minor roof damage. In Hamilton Harbour, 20 pleasure boats were damaged or sent adrift due to the rough seas. Flooding from the hurricane damaged fifteen houses. Sixteen people were injured by the hurricane, five of the injuries were considered serious. There were, however, no reports of fatalities from Dean's impact on Bermuda. Damage in Bermuda amounted up to \$8.9 million (1989 USD\$, 2023 USD).
Although Dean remained away from the United States coastline, it produced storm tides of 1.7 ft (0.52 m) to North Carolina. In Atlantic Canada, hurricane-force winds were reported in Nova Scotia and Cape Sable Island. Newfoundland reported winds of only 50 mph (80 km/h). Moderate rainfall was reported on Newfoundland, with most areas of the island experiencing at least 1 in (25 mm) of precipitation. Rainfall on Newfoundland peaked at 2.7 in (69 mm) on the south coast of the island, near the location of Dean's landfall. A majority of rainfall was reported on the west side of Dean, but minimal precipitation had been recorded to the east of the storm. High winds were reported on the eastern side of the storm, however, with lighter winds along the western quadrants of Dean. Offshore, waves up to 26 ft (7.9 m) were reported and Sable Island reported rainfall of 0.59 in (15 mm). Although there were no reports of damage in Atlantic Canada from Hurricane Dean, three sailors had to be rescued by the Canadian Coast Guard when their boat got dismasted during the storm.
## See also
- Other storms of the same name
- List of Bermuda hurricanes
|
1,480,584 |
IND Culver Line
| 1,172,352,381 |
New York City Subway line
|
[
"Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation",
"Independent Subway System",
"New York City Subway lines",
"Railway lines opened in 1919"
] |
The IND Culver Line (formerly BMT Culver Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, extending from Downtown Brooklyn south to Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, United States. The local tracks of the Culver Line are served by the F service, as well as the G between Bergen Street and Church Avenue. The express tracks north of Church Avenue are used by the \<F\> train during rush hours in the peak direction. The peak-direction express track between Ditmas Avenue and Avenue X has not seen regular service since 1987.
The line is named after Andrew Culver, who built the original Culver Line that preceded the current subway line. The present-day line was built as two unconnected segments operated by the Independent Subway System (IND) and Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT). The northern section of the line, between Jay Street–MetroTech and Church Avenue, is a four-track line that was built for the IND in 1933, running primarily underground except for a short elevated section over the Gowanus Canal.
The southern section, between Ditmas Avenue and Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue, was originally built for the BMT in 1919–1920 as a three-track elevated structure between Ninth Avenue in Sunset Park and Avenue X, and as a two-track elevated structure south of Avenue X. A ramp in the neighborhood of Kensington, which opened in 1954, connects the segments between the Church and Ditmas Avenues stations. The segment of the BMT line between Ninth and Ditmas Avenues remained as the Culver Shuttle until it was closed in 1975 and later demolished.
The elevated part of the Culver Line south of Church Avenue, which operated as part of the BMT until 1954, now carries only the F, a former IND service, and is chained and signaled as part of the IND. However, BMT radio frequency B1 is used on the elevated portion south of Church Avenue.
## Extent and service
The following services use part or all of the IND Culver Line:
The Culver Line is served by the as a local for its entire length, though \<F\> trains run express between Jay Street and Church Avenue in the peak direction. The portion of the route from Bergen Street south to Church Avenue is also served by the Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown service. Both routes run at all times.
There are two express tracks on the northern part of the route and one on the southern, with express stations distributed along the line. However, express service has only operated once on the line from 1968 to 1987. Restoration of express service has been thwarted by budget shortages, passenger opposition, and a serious signal fire at Bergen Street in 1999. The issue came to a head in June 2007, when a petition for express service reached 2,600 signatures and gained media attention. The Culver Line underwent repairs from 2009 until early 2013, during which the express tracks were replaced and rehabilitated which may facilitate future express service.
### Jay Street to Church Avenue
The subway portion of the IND Culver Line was originally designated the Brooklyn Line but has also been called the Smith Street Line, Church Avenue Line, South Brooklyn Line, and various other names. The express tracks beneath Prospect Park are sometimes referred to as the Prospect Park Line.
The line begins at the four-tracked Jay Street–MetroTech station, where the IND Sixth Avenue and Eighth Avenue lines interchange and continue as the Culver and Fulton Street lines respectively. Running under Smith Street south of the station, the Culver tracks split into local and express tracks, with the two express tracks ramping down to the lower level of Bergen Street, while the local tracks merge with the IND Crosstown Line tracks from Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street before entering the upper level. Between Jay Street and Bergen Street, the line passes under both the IRT Eastern Parkway Line and the Fulton Line tracks curving east into Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street, requiring a deeper tunnel and extensive ventilation systems.
At Carroll Street, the express tracks ramp up to rejoin the local tracks, and all four tracks rise onto the Culver Viaduct, curving onto Ninth Street. East of Fourth Avenue station towards Park Slope, the tracks become a subway once again. Past 7th Avenue, the local tracks diverge, curving south to 15th Street and Prospect Park West, while the express tracks take a direct route beneath Prospect Park. This is one of two places in the subway where the express tracks diverge from the local tracks, the other being on the IND Queens Boulevard Line between 65th Street and 36th Street. The express tracks rejoin the right-of-way at approximately Terrace Place and Prospect Avenue, running on a lower level under Prospect Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway near the Prospect Park Parade Grounds, then rise up as the line curves onto McDonald Avenue. The line then parallels the route of the original Culver Line surface railroad into Church Avenue station, the last stop of the original IND service.
A single track in both directions, connecting from the local and express tracks in each direction, ramps down to the four-track Church Avenue Yard, used as a relay and storage facility for trains. The four mainline tracks ascend to the Culver Ramp on McDonald Avenue between Cortelyou Road and Avenue C, which connects the subway portion of the IND Culver Line with the former BMT Culver Line elevated structure. Despite being a part of the IND Division, the Culver elevated portion is controlled by BMT radio dispatch, so train operators change between the IND (B-2) and BMT (B-1) radio frequencies at this point.
#### Culver Viaduct
The northern section of the Culver Line is a four-track line, entirely underground except for Smith–Ninth Streets and Fourth Avenue stations. The two stations sit on a massive one-mile long steel and concrete viaduct which spans the Gowanus Canal between 9th and 10th Streets. This structure is now referred to as the Culver Viaduct or Culver Line Viaduct, the only portion of the original IND subway to be elevated, and the only section other than the now-demolished World's Fair Railroad to be outdoors. The viaduct was constructed due to the depth of the canal (15 feet at its deepest point), due to the topography of the Park Slope neighborhood, and to avoid local stores in the area. Otherwise, a tunnel carrying the line would have to have been built below both the canal and the BMT Fourth Avenue Line (necessitating stations deep below the ground); or Ninth Street would be raised above grade level to pass over the canal and BMT subway.
Both underground options were considered expensive and impractical, and the viaduct was estimated to save \$12 million in construction costs when it was selected in 1927. During planning, the viaduct's height was later increased from 60 feet (18 m) to around 90 feet (27 m), due to now-defunct navigation regulations for tall-mast shipping. Because of this, Smith–Ninth Streets was built at an elevation of 87.5 feet (26.7 m), the highest subway station above ground level in the world. Fourth Avenue, meanwhile, is actually at a lower elevation and altitude than the Seventh Avenue underground station.
For most of its history, G service has terminated at Smith–Ninth Streets, relaying using the express tracks and switches at Fourth Avenue. This occasionally caused delays to F service, and prevented express service from being operated. In 2009, the G's terminus was moved to Church Avenue in order to complete renovations on the viaduct. In July 2012, the G extension was made permanent.
### Ditmas Avenue to Coney Island
At Ditmas Avenue, the Culver Ramp ends and the underground line becomes elevated. This is a three-track Dual Contracts elevated on the former BMT line over McDonald (formerly Gravesend) Avenue. Just before the station, the southbound local track merges into the southbound express track, while the northbound express track becomes the El's bidirectional center express track. During the 1990s and 2000s, the center express track in this section was occasionally used for non-revenue testing. After Avenue X station, a ramp diverges to the surface for access to the Culver Yard of the Coney Island Yards complex. At this point the Culver Line narrows to a two-track structure bearing one more station–Neptune Avenue–before curving into West Eighth Street–New York Aquarium station on Coney Island.
Formally, the Culver Line ends as the track curve enters the lower level of the double-decked station along the BMT Brighton Line's right-of-way, and the chaining track designation changes from IND tracks B1 and B2 to BMT tracks A1 and A2 of the Brighton Line. However, there is no longer a connection to the Brighton Line at this point, and for all practical purposes the Culver Line continues into tracks 5 and 6 of the Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue Terminal.
## History
### Early years as two separate lines
#### BMT Culver Line (1875–1954)
The original Culver Line was opened by the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad and was named after the railroad's builder, Andrew N. Culver. The line ran along the surface of McDonald Avenue (then Gravesend Avenue) from Greenwood Cemetery (where it connected with horse car lines including the Vanderbilt Avenue Line, operated by the PP&CI until 1886) to the Culver Depot in Coney Island, on June 25, 1875. The PP&CI began serving the Union Depot at 36th Street, where transfer could be made to the Fifth Avenue Elevated, on June 7, 1890, by using the Prospect Park and South Brooklyn Railroad from a junction at Parkville.
During a period of Long Island Rail Road control, from 1893 to 1899, a ramp at 36th Street was opened in 1895, allowing Brooklyn Elevated Railroad trains to operate over the Culver Line to Coney Island. The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), by then the owner of the Brooklyn Elevated, leased the Culver Line (to the Brooklyn Heights Railroad) on June 18, 1899, and began using it to take not only elevated trains but also trolleys to Coney Island.
As part of Contract 4 of the Dual Contracts, between the city and the BRT, a three-track elevated railway was built above the Culver Line. The line, formally known as Route 49, or the Gravesend Avenue Line, was to run from the Fifth Avenue Elevated at Tenth Avenue and 37th Street, above private property south of 37th Street, and then south over Gravesend Avenue to Coney Island. At Ninth Avenue, the elevated replacements for the Culver Line and West End Line met, with access from both lines to the Fifth Avenue Elevated and Fourth Avenue Subway to the northwest.
Construction of the route was done in four sections: Section 1, 1-A, 2, and 3. Section 1-A extended from a location on the west building line of Tenth Avenue between 38th Street and 37th Street to a location 372 feet (113 m) east of the building line on Tenth Avenue, running in an open cut and then a fill over Tenth Avenue. Section 1 extended from a point 372 feet (113 m) east of the building line on Tenth Avenue to, over private property and 37th Street, and Gravesend Avenue to a location 530 feet (160 m) south of the intersection of Gravesend Avenue and the southern building line of 22nd Avenue. Section 2 stretched from here along Gravesend Avenue to Avenue X, and Section 3 continued from here south along Shell Road and West 6th Street to a point near the southern line of Sheepshead Bay Road, where it would connect with the Brighton Line for access to Coney Island.
The contract to construct Section 2 was awarded to Oscar Daniels Company for \$863,775 on July 10, 1915. Work was to be completed in eighteen months. On September 8, 1915, the contract to construct Section 1 was awarded to Post & McCord for \$877,859. Work on the section was to be completed in fifteen months. On January 23, 1917, a contract to construct Section 1-in four months A of the line was awarded to Thomas Dwyer for \$42,268.
At 3:00 a.m. on March 16, 1919, the first portion of the new elevated structure opened from Ninth Avenue southeast and south to Kings Highway. Except for the omission of a station at 15th Avenue, all of the station locations from the surface line were preserved as elevated stations. The Culver Line was operated as a branch of the Fifth Avenue Elevated, with a free transfer at Ninth Avenue to the West End Line into the Fourth Avenue Subway. An extension to Avenue X was opened at noon on May 10, 1919. The line, the last of the four to Coney Island, was completed on May 1, 1920, at which time the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was forced to cut the fare from ten to five cents.
This construction tied into the existing lower level of the BMT Brighton Line east of West Eighth Street–New York Aquarium. Some Culver Line (5) trains began using the Fourth Avenue Subway to the Nassau Street Loop in Lower Manhattan when that line opened on May 30, 1931; the Fifth Avenue Elevated was closed on May 31, 1940, in conjunction with the unification of the transit system under city operations. Trolleys continued to use the surface tracks on McDonald Avenue until October 30, 1956.
#### IND Brooklyn Line (1933–1954)
One of the goals of Mayor John Hylan's Independent Subway System (IND), proposed in the 1920s was a line to Coney Island, reached by a recapture of the BMT Culver Line. To connect this line to the Eighth Avenue Line–the main trunk of the IND–a subway line was to run from Brooklyn Borough Hall south under Jay Street, Smith Street, Ninth Street, and several other streets to Cortelyou Road (later Church Avenue) and McDonald Avenue, just north of the Ditmas Avenue elevated station. A ramp would then lead onto the elevated BMT Culver Line.
This line was variously known as the Culver Line Extension, Culver−Smith Street Line, Smith Street Line, Smith Street–Prospect Park Line, Smith–Ninth Street Line, Jay–Smith–Ninth Street Line, Church Avenue Line, Prospect Park–Church Avenue Line, Prospect Park–Coney Island Line, Brooklyn Line, or South Brooklyn Line, though it was often simply referred to as the Brooklyn portion of the IND. As originally designed, service to and from Manhattan would have been exclusively provided by Culver express trains, while all local service would have fed into the IND Crosstown Line.
By 1927, it was decided to build a truss bridge over the Gowanus Canal and a viaduct over Ninth Street due to cost considerations, replacing earlier plans for a deep river tunnel. This resulted in the only above-ground section of the original IND. The first short section of the line opened on March 20, 1933, taking Eighth Avenue Express trains (and for about a month from July to August trains) south from Jay Street to Bergen Street. The rest of the line opened on October 7, 1933, to the "temporary" terminal at Church Avenue, three blocks away from the Culver elevated at Ditmas Avenue. In 1936, the A was rerouted to the IND Fulton Street Line and trains from the Queens Boulevard line replaced them. On July 1, 1937, the connection to the IND Crosstown Line opened and trains were extended to Smith-Ninth Streets. E trains were replaced by the on December 15, 1940, after the IND Sixth Avenue Line opened.
As part of the various proposed extensions of the IND Second System, the IND Culver subway was planned to facilitate a spur line to Bay Ridge, with a connection to the incomplete Staten Island Tunnel intended for the BMT Fourth Avenue Line. A 1931 proposal had the line travel south from Smith–Ninth Streets station through Red Hook and Gowanus to Saint George Terminal. A 1933 plan would have branched off between Smith–Ninth Streets and Fourth Avenue, then run down Second Avenue in Bay Ridge to the tunnel. Like other IND lines, this route would have been in direct competition with the then-privately operated Fourth Avenue Subway.
The final proposal from the 1939 Second System plan proposed an extension down Fort Hamilton Parkway and/or Tenth Avenue towards the tunnel, with continued service to 86th Street in Bay Ridge near the BMT Fourth Avenue Line station. This route would have diverged near the Fort Hamilton Parkway and Church Avenue stations. In 1940, proposals emerged to connect the IND with the BMT West End Line near its Fort Hamilton Parkway station; the 1946 Board of Transportation plans featured both the West End connection and the extension to 86th Street. None of these proposals were ever constructed.
### Culver Ramp
Taking over operations, or "recapturing", the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) Culver Line elevated structure in order to institute IND service to Coney Island was a high priority of New York City planners. Recapture proved unnecessary since the Culver Line and the rest of the BMT and Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) passed into City hands in 1940 as a result of the unification of the three companies. The new connection would create a one-fare ride for IND passengers to Coney Island, and eliminate congestion on the BMT's Fourth Avenue Subway. At the time, the IND had no direct connections to the rest of the subway system. Around 1940, a temporary ramp was installed to connect the underground IND Culver Line to the street-level South Brooklyn Railway, underneath the BMT Culver Line; this connection was used to deliver some IND rolling stock.
The proposed Culver Ramp, also referred to as the Culver Line Connection, would allow passenger service between the underground Church Avenue and elevated Ditmas Avenue stations. Construction began in June 1941, and was expected to be completed by the end of the year. The ramp was expected to cost \$2 million, and along with new signals, and rehabilitation of the Culver elevated and lengthening of its stations to IND standards, the total cost of the project was estimated at over \$11 million. 170 subway cars were purchased for \$8.5 million for the extension of IND service. Two substations, a signal tower, a fourth track at Ditmas Avenue, and an additional stairway at Ditmas Avenue were all completed as part of the project. McDonald Avenue was also widened between Avenue C and Cortelyou Road to facilitate the ramp.
Though the ramp was nearly complete, including rails and signal work, construction was halted later that year because of America's entrance into World War II. When the project was restarted in 1946, completion was delayed further due to continued material shortages and a lack of rolling stock to facilitate the new service. On October 30, 1954, the connection between the IND Brooklyn Line at Church Avenue and the BMT Culver Line at Ditmas Avenue opened. This allowed IND trains to operate all the way to the Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue terminal.
### IND Culver Line (1954–present)
Following the completion of Culver Ramp, Concourse Express trains (which formerly terminated in Manhattan) replaced service, and were sent over the new connection as the first IND service to reach Coney Island. The service was announced as Concourse–Culver and advertised as direct Bronx–Coney Island service. BMT Culver Line (5) trains were truncated to Ditmas Avenue, the south end of the connection, operating through to Manhattan via the Nassau Street Loop during the day, and terminating at Ninth Avenue at other times. This Culver Shuttle became full-time on May 28, 1959, and was closed on May 13, 1975, replaced by a transfer to the B35 bus route. The elevated portion has been re-chained as part of the B2 (IND) division, but still uses B1 (BMT) division radio frequencies.
On November 26, 1967, the Chrystie Street Connection opened and D trains were rerouted via the Manhattan Bridge and the BMT Brighton Line to Coney Island. F trains were extended once again via the Culver Line. From June 1968 to 1987, the Culver Line featured express service during rush hours. F trains ran express in both directions between Bergen Street and Church Avenue, while G trains were extended from Smith–Ninth Streets to Church Avenue to provide local service. Express service on the elevated portion of the line to Kings Highway operated in the peak direction (to Manhattan AM; to Brooklyn PM), with some F trains running local and some running express.
Express service between Bergen and Church ended in 1976, and between Church and Kings Highway on April 27, 1987, largely due to budget constraints and complaints from passengers at local stations. Express service on the elevated Culver Line was ended due to necessary structural work, and was supposed to be restored after the \$50 million project's completion in 1990, but never restored. With the end of express service, Bergen Street's lower level was taken out of service. Following renovations to the station in the 1990s, the lower level was converted into storage space and is not usable for passenger service in its current state.
#### Rehabilitation and express service
In 2007, the MTA announced that several portions of the Culver Line would be undergoing extensive rehabilitation. The first renovation involved repairs of the elevated Culver Viaduct (including the Smith–Ninth Streets and Fourth Avenue stations) and modernization of the interlockings at Bergen Street, 4th Avenue, and Church Avenue. The B5 layup track was removed as part of the project. This also allowed the G train to be extended from its longtime terminus at Smith–Ninth Streets to a more efficient terminus at Church Avenue beginning in July 2009. The project was completed in 2013.
Around the time the rehabilitation project was announced, a petition to restore express service along the line gained attention, due to increasing ridership on both the F and G services in Brooklyn. The petition, which gained over 2,500 signatures by June 2007 and nearly 4,000 by September, proposed to restore express service by making the Church Avenue extension of the G permanent and extending the (eliminated in 2010) from its Manhattan terminus to Brooklyn, sharing the Rutgers Street Tunnel with the F. The G extension was made permanent in July 2012, freeing up the express tracks formerly used to relay trains.
In 2015, some rush-hour peak-direction F trains started skipping local stops between Jay Street and Fourth Avenue, and the MTA used expanded rush-hour express service (from Jay Street to Church Avenue) in both directions in the summers of 2016 and 2017. In May 2016, the MTA announced that half of all rush-hour F trains may start running express in both directions in fall 2017; however, because of rolling stock and track capacity limitations, the train frequency on the rest of the F's route would remain the same. However, with the introduction of the R179s, one more train per hour could be run on the F. The operation of half of the F trains as express would result in operational improvements, with faster service, as southbound F trains would no longer be delayed by terminating G trains discharging at Church Avenue.
Overall, the F express will result in an overall reduction of 27,000 minutes during the AM rush hour and 13,000 minutes during the PM rush hour. The change in service will decrease service at local stations, reducing in longer wait times, but it will help riders in South Brooklyn with the longest commutes. F express trains would be slightly more crowded than current F trains, but the F locals would be less crowded. PM rush hour express service would lead to much larger exit surges from less frequent F local trains at Bergen Street and Carroll Street, leading to significant congestion at one staircase at Bergen Street, and moderate congestion at one staircase at Carroll Street. Relieving the congestion, would entail widening the staircases and installing ADA-required elevators that would cost approximately \$10 million per station.
Stations along the three-tracked stretch of the Culver Line were renovated until July 30, 2018 (excluding Ditmas Avenue and the northbound platform of Avenue X, which were rehabilitated in 2015–2016), with the center track being used to bypass closed stations. The Coney Island-bound platforms were rehabilitated between June 7, 2016, and May 1, 2017 (May 8 for Avenue U and Avenue X). During the second phase of the project, beginning on May 22, 2017, the Manhattan-bound platforms were closed between Avenue U and 18th Avenue until July 30, 2018. Even after the rehabilitation, though, peak-direction express service between Church Avenue and Kings Highway will not be restored due to limitations caused by current track configurations, as the switches at Kings Highway previously used were removed in the 1990s. The interlocking at Kings Highway is scheduled to be modernized as part of the 2020–2024 MTA Capital Program, and the modernization could include the reinstallation of the necessary track switches. A switch will be added between the express track and the northbound local track south of Avenue P.
The possibility of reopening the Bergen Street lower level was looked at as part of the study for the reintroduction of F express service as it could reduce the impact of less local service at the busy station. The station, if reopened, would require significant and expensive reconstruction, including making the station ADA accessible, the reconstruction of platform stairs, improved lighting and communications, waterproofing and concrete repairs, among other things. The rehabilitation would cost \$75 million, and therefore the lower level is not currently planned to be reopened.
In July 2019, online newspaper The City discovered that the MTA had allocated \$660,000 in its 2015–2019 Capital Program for a design study to make patches to the Culver Viaduct, whose renovation was completed in 2016. The study would determine how to fix the premature deterioration of structural braces, unsatisfactory drainage, and leaking expansion joints. Funding will be provided in a future capital program.
In July 2019, the MTA announced that it planned to run four rush-hour express F trains per day, two in each direction, starting in September 2019. The trains would run in the peak direction, toward Manhattan in the morning and toward Brooklyn in the evening. The trains would make an intermediate stop at Seventh Avenue between Jay Street–MetroTech and Church Avenue and bypass a total of six stations. This service is represented with a diamond \<F\>, similar to the symbol used on other peak-direction express services.
#### Automation
In order to test the interoperability of the communications-based train control (CBTC) systems of different suppliers, CBTC equipment was installed on the southbound express track between Fourth Avenue and Church Avenue, as part of the automation of the New York City Subway. The total cost was \$99.6 million, with \$15 million coming from the 2005–2009 Capital Program and \$84.6 million from the 2010–2014 Capital Program. The installation was a joint venture between Siemens and Thales Group, and was used to test the track's new signaling on R143s and R160s that were already equipped with CBTC. Though the estimated completion date was scheduled for March 2015, it was completed in December 2015. The installation was expected to be permanent.
Test trains on the track were able to successfully operate using the interoperable Siemens/Thales CBTC system. That system became the standard for all future CBTC installations on New York City Transit tracks as of 2015. A third supplier, Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc., was given permission to demonstrate that its technology could be interoperable with the Siemens/Thales technology. The \$1.2 million Mitsubishi contract was approved in July 2015. If Culver Line express service was implemented in 2017 as it was proposed, the express service would not initially have used CBTC, and testing of CBTC on the express track would be limited to off-peak hours.
In 2017, the MTA started testing ultra-wideband radio-enabled train signaling on the IND Culver Line. The ultra-wideband train signals would be able to transmit more data wirelessly in a manner similar to CBTC, but can be installed faster than CBTC systems. The ultra-wideband signals would have the added benefit of allowing passengers to use cellphones while between stations, instead of the current setup where passengers could only get cellphone signals within the stations themselves.
As part of the MTA's 2015–2019 Capital Program, CBTC is being installed on the section of the line between Church Avenue and West Eighth Street–New York Aquarium, replacing 70-year old signals. The contract for the installation of CBTC and the modernization of the Ditmas Avenue and Avenue X interlockings, was awarded in February 2019 to Tutor Perini for \$253 million. Substantial completion of the project was expected in August 2022. As part of the project, switches north of Ditmas Avenue will be removed, and will be replaced by two new interlockings directly south of Church Avenue and a new interlocking north of 18th Avenue.
Avenue X interlocking will be reconfigured. As of February 2020, 80% of wayside signaling equipment had been installed, a relay room was completed, steel and concrete floors at the Ditmas Avenue signal facility were installed, all signal cables were installed, and piling and grade beam installation at the Avenue X signal facility were completed. To allow the CBTC project to enter its next phase, F service was suspended south of Church Avenue during most weekends starting in early 2020. Work to install CBTC continued into 2021.
In December 2022, the MTA announced that it would award a \$368 million design–build contract to Crosstown Partners, a joint venture between Thales Group and TC Electric LLC, to install CBTC along the length of the G route. The contract includes not only the Crosstown Line between Court Square and Bergen Street, but also the Culver Line between Bergen Street and Church Avenue. Upon the completion of the contract, the entire G route and much of the F route would be CBTC-equipped.
## Station listing
|
54,725,108 |
Patrick Henry Cronin
| 1,169,343,593 |
Irish immigrant to the U.S., physician, and murder victim
|
[
"1846 births",
"1889 deaths",
"1889 murders in the United States",
"19th-century American businesspeople",
"Businesspeople from St. Louis",
"Crime in Chicago",
"History of Chicago",
"Irish emigrants to the United States",
"Irish nationalists",
"Irish-American culture in Chicago",
"Irish-American history",
"Male murder victims",
"People from Buttevant",
"People killed in United Kingdom intelligence operations",
"People murdered in Illinois",
"Physicians from Illinois",
"Physicians from Missouri",
"Saint Louis University alumni"
] |
Philip Patrick Henry Cronin (August 7, 1846 – May 4, 1889) was an Irish immigrant to the United States, a physician, and a member of Clan na Gael in Chicago. In 1889, Cronin was murdered by affiliates of Clan na Gael. Following an extensive investigation into his death, the murder trial was, at the time, the longest-running trial in U.S. history. Cronin's murder caused a public backlash against secret societies, including protests and written condemnations by the leadership of the Catholic Church.
Cronin grew up in the U.S. and Canada, and moved to the Midwestern United States after the American Civil War. He became a physician and a prominent member of high society, and represented St. Louis at the Exposition Universelle (1878). While in St. Louis, Cronin joined multiple clubs, among them, the Irish nationalist organization, Clan na Gael. When he moved to Chicago, Cronin continued his involvement with Clan na Gael. After criticizing the leadership of the Chicago camp of Clan na Gael, he was expelled from the group and accused of being a British spy. In May 1889, Cronin disappeared. Later that month, public works employees discovered his body in a sewer in a northern suburb of Chicago. The press coverage of the investigation and trial caught international attention. Cronin's funeral drew the largest crowds for a funeral since the arrival of Abraham Lincoln's body in Chicago. Patrick O'Sullivan, Daniel Coughlin, Martin Burke, and John Kunzel were found guilty of the murder of Patrick Cronin.
## Early life
Born on August 7, 1846, in Buttevant, County Cork, Ireland, Cronin was an infant when his family relocated to New York City. Thereafter, they moved to Baltimore, and later to Ontario. At the age of 10, he was enrolled at the Academy of St. Catherine's, graduating with honors in 1863. For the next few years, he worked in Pennsylvania as a school teacher. In 1867, he moved west to Missouri, eventually settling in St. Louis.
## Career
Cronin was known for his tenor singing voice. He sang at Irish events, at his local Catholic church, and at the Second Baptist Church in St. Louis, which was unusual because Cronin was Catholic. His singing gained the attention of affluent businessmen in St. Louis. After working for the St. Louis and Southeastern Railroad as a city ticket agent, Cronin secured sponsorship from the Bagnal Timber Company to study at Missouri Medical College. He graduated in the late 1870s and continued his education at Saint Louis University, where he earned a Master's degree and a Doctor of Philosophy. Cronin was involved with the revival of the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, and he served as its professor of eye and ear diseases by the early 1880s. Cronin was also well known in St. Louis society and attended the Exposition Universelle (1878) in Paris as one of Missouri's state commissioners.
Through his involvement with Clan na Gael, Cronin secured a position with Cook County Hospital. Cronin did not remain with Cook County Hospital, instead opting to open a private medical practice. He had two offices, one downtown and the other at his residence on North Clark Street, where he lived with Theo and Cordelia Conklin. In Chicago, Cronin sang at Holy Name Cathedral and at Irish events in the city.
## Involvement with Clan na Gael
Cronin was a member of secret societies Royal Arcanum and Chosen Friends, as well as multiple Irish societies, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians and, starting in late 1876, Clan na Gael. Clan na Gael was an oath bound secret society of Fenians devoted to Irish independence from the British Empire. The organization engaged in large amounts of fundraising, but under the leadership of Alexander Sullivan, the Clan took a more paramilitary role in the fight for Irish independence. By the early 1880s, Cronin had determined that in order to gain a more prominent position within Clan na Gael, he needed to be near Sullivan and to move to Chicago. In Chicago, Cronin was also a member of The Foresters and The Royal League.
### Rivalry with Alexander Sullivan
Cronin sought to rise through the ranks of the Chicago camp of Clan na Gael, which brought him in contact with the Triangle. Clan na Gael was administered by chapters called "camps," and Camp 20 (in Chicago) was Clan na Gael's headquarters. By 1884, the Clan was controlled by Alexander Sullivan, with support from Michael Boland and Denis Feely. This triumvirate was referred to as "the Triangle," and the symbol was used to indicate them in memoranda and circulars. Sullivan and his followers favored guerrilla warfare on British soil. This policy became referred to as the "dynamite policy". The "dynamite policy" or "Dynamite War" consisted largely of terrorist attacks on public spaces in Great Britain, including the 1885 bombing of the Tower of London and House of Commons. Due to Henri le Caron, a British Intelligence mole inside Clan na Gael, the dynamite campaign was unsuccessful, resulting in the deaths and arrests of the men attempting to bomb British targets. Meanwhile, Cronin emerged as the leader of the opposition, making him Sullivan's rival. Cronin accused Sullivan of embezzlement, and demanded that Sullivan account for the missing funds. In retaliation, Sullivan accused Cronin of "treason," and ordered an internal trial with a panel of five men to try Cronin. Among the panel members were Detective Daniel Coughlin of the Chicago Police Department, and Henri le Caron. In 1885, the panel found Cronin guilty and expelled him from Clan na Gael. Instead, the decision to expel Cronin split Clan na Gael, with many Chicago members supporting Cronin. Thousands of members quit Clan na Gael and formed Pro-Cronin camps.
This personal feud culminated in 1888, when Cronin publicly accused Sullivan of embezzling \$100,000 from Clan na Gael's pension fund for the families of deceased and incarcerated "dynamiters." Hoping to settle the feud and bring Clan members back together, leaders of both factions agreed to an internal investigation. Clan na Gael members organized an internal trial, held in New York City, to investigate the charges against Sullivan. The trial continued for five months and Sullivan was cleared but Cronin refused to acknowledge the outcome, maintaining that Sullivan was crooked.
The "dynamite policy" failed in large part because of the British spy Henri le Caron, who posed as a French-Irish member of Clan na Gael. Cronin, who correctly suspected le Caron of being a spy, rallied his followers with the fact that Sullivan was close to le Caron. In response, Sullivan shared alleged British Intelligence reports that le Caron had provided and which named other spies, Cronin among them. The accusation that Cronin was a British spy put his life in danger, and Cronin was aware of his tenuous position in the spring of 1889.
## Disappearance
Cronin reportedly told friends that his life was in danger in the spring of 1889. Nonetheless, Cronin agreed to act as company physician of the employees of Patrick O'Sullivan. In return for a stipend, Cronin was hired to attend to any injured employee of O'Sullivan's ice business. On March 20, 1889, Martin Burke, going by the name Frank Williams, rented a cottage in suburban Lake View, now the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, one block from the offices of O'Sullivan Ice Company. Burke told his landlord that his brother and invalid sister would be moving in with him and furniture, including a large trunk, was delivered to the cottage. On May 4, Chicago Police detective Daniel Coughlin came to a Chicago stable, and told the liveryman that later, a friend of his would need a horse and buggy. Coughlin instructed the liveryman to "say nothing to anyone about it." Later that day, Coughlin's friend came to fetch a two-seat buggy and a white horse.
On the night of May 4, 1889, a man called on Cronin at his home, seeking medical care for an injured worker at O'Sullivan's ice house in Lake View. Cronin was observed leaving in a buggy with a white horse. He never returned home. Cronin's friends worried about his absence. His landlords and friends reported his disappearance to the police, who assigned Daniel Coughlin to the case. Coughlin and the other officers reported searching "high and low" but found no trace of Cronin or a crime. Henry M. Hunt reported that Theo Conklin did some investigating, and drove to Lake View to question O'Sullivan about the accident call. O'Sullivan was confused by the inquiry, and replied that all of his employees were in good health, and none of them called for the doctor. The Conklins also found that Cronin did not take his revolver with him, as he would have for a long trip, and that he only carried a small amount of money.
On May 9, Annie Murphy, an elocutionist who, like Cronin, was well known in Irish and Catholic circles, reported that she saw Cronin on a streetcar on Clark Street just after 9 p.m. on May 4. Her father, Thomas Murphy, was an officer at a local Clan na Gael camp. The conductor of the street car corroborated Annie Murphy's claim. On May 10, Charles T. Long, the son of a prominent newspaper publisher in Toronto who belonged to a secret society with Cronin, sent dispatches to Chicago's morning papers that Cronin was alive and well in Canada. Long described Cronin as seeming to be "slightly deranged." The accounts of Cronin in Canada was definitive enough evidence for Cronin's enemies that he was guilty of some crime and had fled Chicago to escape justice. Some reports said Cronin admitted to being a British spy, and was making his way to England. Other rumors circulated by the press were that Cronin was fleeing prosecution for performing an abortion, or he was avoiding the consequences of a romantic affair.
## Investigation
### The trunk
Around 2 a.m. on May 5, two Lake View police officers witnessed a carpenter's wagon carrying a large trunk speeding north on Clark Street. At 3:30 a.m., the wagon returned, passing the intersection of Clark St. and Diversey Parkway, this time without the trunk. The officers stopped the wagon, but found nothing suspicious, and let the two men driving it continue on their way. The following morning, police were called to a ditch on Evanston Avenue, where passersby found a large trunk, filled with blood spatter and blood soaked cotton. There was also a dark brown lock of hair found inside. Lake View Police Captain Villiers examined the trunk and concluded that an adult person had been murdered and stuffed inside. The trunk itself was unremarkable, and was likely purchased for the purpose of holding a body. Villiers determined that a murder took place sometime after midnight.
### The body
Police searched the brush, grass, and vacant houses for a mile surrounding where the trunk was found, but discovered no trace of any body. The search continued. On May 22, employees of the Board of Public Works were called to investigate a jammed sewer near Broadway and Foster Avenue, and found the corpse of a man, wedged into the catch basin of the sewer. The body was stripped bare besides a bloody towel wrapped around its neck, and an Agnus dei medallion. The coroner found five scalp wounds from a sharp, narrow weapon, possibly an ice pick. His neck was broken, and he had been struck with a blunt instrument on his cheek and temple. A few hours after the body was found, the Conklins identified the deceased as Cronin at the morgue of the Lake View police station. Cronin's clothes, which were cut from his body, were found in November in a manhole at Broadway and Buena Avenue.
### Further evidence
Two days later, police identified the scene of the crime. The cottage Martin Burke (alias Frank Williams) rented in March was left vacant in May. The owners entered the cottage to find blood stains and broken furniture. The floor of the cottage was recently painted yellow, an attempt to hide the blood. The furniture and the trunk came from Revel's furniture store, rented by a J. B. Simmonds. Police suspected that Simmonds was an alias for Patrick "The Fox" Cooney, a familiar of O'Sullivan and Coughlin, and an enemy of Cronin. Cooney fled Chicago and was not found, but in the cotton batting found with Cronin's body, investigators found a man's severed finger. Since none of the other suspects were missing a finger, they believed it was Cooney's.
The police also identified the stable, the same one Daniel Coughlin had visited, as the source of the white horse and buggy that took Cronin from his home on May 4. The owner of the stable told Chief of Police George W. Hubbard, on the night Cronin disappeared, a man named "Smith," referred by Detective Coughlin, rented a white horse and buggy. Police identified the man who drove the carriage as John Kunze, a friend of Coughlin's. Police arrested Frank Woodruff when he attempted to sell the horse and buggy to a stable owner, who informed police of the suspicious sale. Woodruff confessed to being hired to transport a trunk around 2 a.m., but claimed that a nervous Cronin helped haul into Woodruff's buggy a trunk with a mutilated body of a woman inside.
## Funeral
Cronin's funeral was the most attended since Abraham Lincoln's body arrived in Chicago. On Saturday, May 25, 1889, nearly 12,000 people visited Cavalry Armory on Michigan Avenue to see Cronin's coffin. The body was too decomposed and damaged to permit an open casket. On Sunday morning, May 26, the funeral procession made its way through the streets of Chicago. Cronin's casket was placed in a hearse and joined a procession of 8,000 people. The procession moved north on Michigan Avenue to Rush Street, to Chicago Avenue, to State Street, to Holy Name Cathedral for the funeral mass. Thousands of people gathered in the streets during the mass, waiting for the ceremony to end. Cronin's casket travelled to the funeral by train to Calvary Cemetery. Five thousand people gathered at the cemetery for the entombment. Cronin was celebrated as an Irish American hero and a martyr.
## Arrests
On May 25, the Chicago Times reported that Daniel Coughlin had hired the horse and buggy used to abduct Cronin. Coughlin was interrogated by a panel that included Police Chief Hubbard and Chicago Mayor DeWitt Clinton Cregier. After giving "evasive and vague" answers, Coughlin was arrested as an accomplice to the abduction and murder of Cronin. On the morning of May 27, Patrick O'Sullivan, the ice man, was called to the Lake View Police Station and was arrested upon arrival. After much questioning, O'Sullivan confessed that he had known Coughlin for years, he had contrived his introduction to Cronin as a physician, he was a member of Clan na Gael, and he had talked with "Frank Williams," who rented the cottage where Cronin was murdered. O'Sullivan and Coughlin were held at Cook County Jail. In June, Martin Burke (Frank Williams), was found travelling under another alias in Winnipeg, on his way to Liverpool. On June 11, Chicago police arrested Alexander Sullivan, but only held him for one night on account of the lack of evidence of his involvement. Frank Woodruff and John Beggs, members of Clan na Gael Camp 20, were also arrested in June for their involvement in Cronin's murder.
## Press
According to Henry M. Hunt, the murder of Cronin ranked in national importance with the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and James A. Garfield, as the gruesome crime was an international sensation. The press were involved in the case from the earliest days. The newspaper offices in Chicago were notified of Cronin's disappearance promptly on May 5, and "sleuth reporters" were investigating by sundown. The Chicago Times reporting that Daniel Coughlin was involved led to long-awaited arrests. From May to December 1889, thousands of newspaper stories and editorials documented and speculated about the Cronin case. According to Gillian O'Brien, Chicago journalists used "combination reporting," collaborating and sharing information to produce more detailed reports on the Cronin case. Journalists scrutinized the police, and shed light on irregular practices, holding the police accountable.
Newspapers in Ireland paid much less attention to Cronin's murder, and reported that it was the actions of individuals, not a larger conspiracy. American journalists, however, treated the case as a sensational murder mystery, sometimes embellishing reports to attract higher readership. The press was quick to condemn the alleged murders, Alexander Sullivan among them.
Newspapers continued to run stories about Cronin's murder until the 1950s. In 1929, for the fortieth anniversary of Cronin's death, the Chicago Tribune ran a contest in which readers asked to "solve the mystery of the case" for a \$500 prize.
## Trial
The public was so steeped in press coverage of the Cronin case, it was very difficult to find jurors who had not already formed an opinion of the case. Jury selection began on August 26, 1889, and continued through October 22. 1,115 men were interviewed, making this (at the time) the largest and longest jury selection process in American history. The trial began on October 23, 1889, and 5,000 people came to the courthouse (of which only 200 could fit in the courtroom). Over the following seven weeks of the trial, the defense and prosecution called 190 witnesses. At the time, it was the longest-running trial in American history.
During the trial, the prosecution focused on the actions of Beggs, O'Sullivan, and Coughlin. Kunze was seen as a secondary player, not as guilty as the other men. Many witnesses, as well as the defendants, admitted to their involvement with Clan na Gael. Some witnesses called testified that Cronin believed his life was in danger, others testified that they had been asked to harm or kill Cronin. There was an attempt to bribe the jury but the juror Charles C. Dix turned over the evidence to State's Attorney Joel Longnecker.
Closing arguments took place from November 29 to December 12, 1889. Then, jurors deliberated to determine whether or not each defendant was guilty, and what the sentence would be for those found guilty (with a minimum sentence of 14 years in prison). The jurors deliberated for 70 hours before issuing verdicts. Seven men were indicted for Cronin's murder, and four—Patrick O'Sullivan, Dan Coughlin, Martin Burke, and John Kunzel—were found guilty and sentenced to prison time. Kunze served three years in prison but claimed innocence throughout. He was granted a new trial, and subsequently acquitted. Coughlin was acquitted at a second trial, likely because the jury was bribed. O'Sullivan and Burke died in prison in 1892. John Beggs was found not guilty. Patrick Cooney, who rented the cottage as J.B. Simmonds, fled the country, and was never found.
## Backlash against secret societies
As Cronin was murdered after exposing corruption in Clan na Gael, the Clan became associated with murderous plot. The Catholic Church mobilized against Clan na Gael. Archbishop Patrick A. Feehan faced significant pressure from the press, some Clan camps, and members of the church, to condemn the Clan and the parties involved in Cronin's death. Feehan produced a long report about "the criminal acts of Clan na Gael" for Cardinal Giovanni Simeoni. Pope Leo XIII subsequently granted Archbishop Feehan all means necessary to declare that Clan na Gael was in opposition to the Church.
The public organized against secret societies as well. Thousands of Chicagoans attended protest meetings and concerts to push for the suppression of secret societies. According to Gillian O'Brien, by the time "the Cronin murder case had concluded, there was little that remained secret about the secret society [Clan na Gael]."
|
61,009 |
Mellotron
| 1,171,697,109 |
Musical instrument
|
[
"1963 musical instruments",
"Analogue samplers",
"British inventions",
"Companies based in Birmingham, West Midlands",
"Electric and electronic keyboard instruments",
"Electronic musical instruments",
"Keyboard instruments",
"Music in Birmingham, West Midlands",
"Musical instruments invented in the 1960s",
"The Beatles' musical instruments"
] |
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. As the key is released, the tape is retracted by a spring to its initial position. Different portions of the tape can be played to access different sounds.
The Mellotron evolved from the similar Chamberlin, but could be mass-produced more efficiently. The first models were designed for the home and contained a variety of sounds, including automatic accompaniments. Bandleader Eric Robinson and television personality David Nixon helped promote the first instruments, and celebrities such as Princess Margaret were early adopters. It was adopted by rock and pop groups in the mid to late 1960s. One of the first pop songs featuring the Mellotron was Manfred Mann's "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" (1966). The Beatles used it on tracks including the hit single "Strawberry Fields Forever" (1967). The Moody Blues keyboardist Mike Pinder used it extensively on the band's 1967 album Days of Future Passed. The Mellotron became common in progressive rock, used by groups such as King Crimson and Genesis. Later models, such as the bestselling M400, dispensed with the accompaniments and some sound selection controls so it could be used by touring musicians. The instrument's popularity declined in the 1980s after the introduction of polyphonic synthesizers and samplers, despite high-profile users such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and XTC.
Production of the Mellotron ceased in 1986, but it regained popularity in the 1990s and was used by bands such as Oasis and Radiohead. This led to the resurrection of the original manufacturer, Streetly Electronics. In 2007, Streetly produced the M4000, which combined the layout of the M400 with the bank selection of earlier models.
## Operation
The Mellotron uses the same concept as a sampler, but generates its sound using analogue samples recorded on audio tape rather than digital samples. When a key is pressed, a tape connected to it is pushed against a playback head, as in a tape deck. While the key remains depressed, the tape is drawn over the head, and a sound is played. When the key is released, a spring pulls the tape back to its original position.
A variety of sounds are available on the instrument. On earlier models, the instrument is split into "lead" and "rhythm" sections. There is a choice of six "stations" of rhythm sounds, each containing three rhythm tracks and three fill tracks. The fill tracks can also be mixed together. Similarly, there is a choice of six lead stations, each containing three lead instruments which can be mixed. In the centre of the Mellotron, there is a tuning button that allows a variation in pitch (tempo, in the case of the rhythm tracks). Later models do not have the concept of stations and have a single knob to select a sound, along with the tuning control. However, the frame containing the tapes is designed to be removed, and replaced with one with different sounds.
Although the Mellotron was designed to reproduce the sound of the original instrument, replaying a tape creates minor fluctuations in pitch (wow and flutter) and amplitude, so a note sounds slightly different each time it is played. Pressing a key harder allows the head to come into contact under greater pressure, to the extent that the Mellotron responds to aftertouch.
Another factor in the Mellotron's sound is that the individual notes were recorded in isolation. For a musician accustomed to playing in an orchestral setting, this was unusual, and meant that they had nothing against which to intonate. Noted cellist Reginald Kirby refused to downtune his cello to cover the lower range of the Mellotron, and so the bottom notes are actually performed on a double bass. According to Mellotron author Nick Awde, one note of the string sounds contains the sound of a chair being scraped in the background.
The original Mellotrons were intended to be used in the home or in clubs and were not designed for touring bands. Even the later M400, which was designed to be as portable as possible, weighed over 122 pounds (55 kg). Smoke, variations in temperature, and humidity were also detrimental to the instrument's reliability. Moving the instrument between cold storage rooms and brightly lit stages could cause the tapes to stretch and stick on the capstan. Leslie Bradley recalls receiving some Mellotrons in for a repair "looking like a blacksmith had shaped horseshoes on top". Pressing too many keys at once caused the motor to drag, resulting in the notes sounding flat. Robert Fripp stated that "[t]uning a Mellotron doesn't". Dave Kean, an expert Mellotron repairer, recommends that older Mellotrons should not be immediately used after a period of inactivity, as the tape heads can become magnetised in storage and destroy the recordings on them if played.
## History
Although tape samplers had been explored in research studios, the first commercially available keyboard-driven tape instruments were built and sold by California-based Harry Chamberlin. The concept of the Mellotron originated when Chamberlin's sales agent, Bill Fransen, brought two of Chamberlin's Musicmaster 600 instruments to England in 1962 to search for someone who could manufacture 70 matching tape heads for future Chamberlins. He met Frank, Norman, and Les Bradley of tape engineering company Bradmatic Ltd, who said they could improve on the original design. The Bradleys subsequently met bandleader Eric Robinson, who agreed to help finance the recording of the necessary instruments and sounds. Together with the Bradleys and television celebrity David Nixon, they formed a company, Mellotronics, in order to market the instrument. Robinson was particularly enthusiastic about the Mellotron, because he felt it would revitalise his career, which was then on the wane. He arranged the recording sessions at IBC Studios in London, which he co-owned with George Clouston.
The first model to be commercially manufactured was the Mk I in 1963. An updated version, the Mk II, was released the following year which featured the full set of sounds selectable by banks and stations. The instrument was expensive, costing £1,000 (), at a time when a typical house cost £2,000–£3,000.
Fransen failed to explain to the Bradleys that he was not the owner of the concept, and Chamberlin was unhappy with the fact that someone overseas was copying his idea. After some acrimony between the two parties, a deal was struck between them in 1966, whereby they would both continue to manufacture instruments independently. Bradmatic renamed themselves Streetly Electronics in 1970.
In 1970, the model M400 was released, which contained 35 notes (G–F) and a removable tape frame. It sold over 1,800 units. By the early 1970s, hundreds of the instruments were assembled and sold by EMI under exclusive licence. Following a financial and trademark dispute through a US distribution agreement, the Mellotron name was acquired by American-based Sound Sales. Streetly-manufactured instruments after 1976 were sold under the name Novatron. The American Mellotron distributor, Sound Sales, produced their own Mellotron model, the 4-Track, in the early 1980s. At the same time Streetly Electronics produced a road-cased version of the 400 – the T550 Novatron. By the mid-1980s, both Sound Sales and Streetly Electronics suffered severe financial setbacks, losing their market to synthesizers and solid-state electronic samplers, which rendered the Mellotron essentially obsolete. The company folded in 1986, and Les Bradley threw most of the manufacturing equipment into a skip. From 1963 until Streetly's closure, around 2,500 units had been built.
Streetly Electronics was subsequently reactivated by Les Bradley's son John and Martin Smith. After Les Bradley's death in 1997, they decided to resume full-time operation as a support and refurbishment business. By 2007, the stock of available instruments to repair and restore was diminishing, so they decided to build a new model, which became the M4000. The instrument combined the features of several previous models, and featured the layout and chassis of an M400 but with a digital bank selector that emulated the mechanical original in the Mk II.
## Notable users
The first notable musician to use the Mellotron was variety pianist Geoff Unwin, who was specifically hired by Robinson in 1962 to promote the use of the instrument. He toured with a Mk II Mellotron and made numerous appearances on television and radio. Unwin claimed that the automatic backing tracks on the Mk II's left-hand keyboard allowed him to provide more accomplished performances than his own basic skills on the piano could provide.
The earlier 1960s Mk II units were made for the home and the characteristics of the instrument attracted a number of celebrities. Among the early Mellotron owners were Princess Margaret, Peter Sellers, King Hussein of Jordan and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard (whose Mellotron was installed in the Church of Scientology's head UK office at Saint Hill Manor). According to Robin Douglas-Home, Princess Margaret "adored it; (Lord Snowdon) positively loathed it".
After Mellotronics had targeted them as a potential customer, the BBC became interested in the possibilities of the instrument, hoping it would allow them to increase throughput at the Radiophonic Workshop. Two custom-made models loaded with sound effects were acquired in 1963, but the Radiophonic Workshop were not interested and problems with fluctuating tape speed and noise meant the sound wasn't up to professional broadcast quality. They ended up in the BBC FX library. However, this lead to a purpose-built FX version being developed.
British multi-instrumentalist Graham Bond is considered the first rock musician to record with a Mellotron, beginning in 1965. The first hit song to feature a Mellotron Mk II was "Baby Can It Be True", which Bond performed live with the machine in televised performances, using solenoids to trigger the tapes from his Hammond organ. This was followed by Manfred Mann, who used its reed sound on their late 1966 single "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James". The band then included multiple Mellotron parts on their follow-up single, "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown".
Mike Pinder worked at Streetly Electronics for 18 months in the early 1960s as a tester, and was immediately excited by the possibilities of the instrument. After trying piano and Hammond organ, he settled on the Mellotron as the instrument of choice for his band, the Moody Blues, purchasing a second-hand model from Fort Dunlop Working Men's Club in Birmingham and using it extensively on every album from Days of Future Passed (1967) to Octave (1978). Pinder says he introduced John Lennon and Paul McCartney to the Mellotron, and convinced each of them to buy one. The Beatles hired a machine and used it on their single "Strawberry Fields Forever", recorded in various takes between November and December 1966. Author Mark Cunningham describes the part in "Strawberry Fields Forever" as "probably the most famous Mellotron figure of all-time". Although producer George Martin was unconvinced by the instrument, describing it "as if a Neanderthal piano had impregnated a primitive electronic keyboard", they continued to compose and record with various Mellotrons for the albums Magical Mystery Tour (1967) and The Beatles (1968, also known as "the White Album"). McCartney went on to use the Mellotron sporadically in his solo career.
The instrument became increasingly popular among rock and pop bands during the psychedelic era, adding what author Thom Holmes terms "an eerie, unearthly sound" to their recordings. Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones played a Mellotron on several of his band's songs over 1967–68. These include "We Love You", where he used the instrument to create a Moroccan-sounding horn section, "She's a Rainbow", "2000 Light Years from Home" and "Jigsaw Puzzle".
The Mellotron became a key instrument in progressive rock. King Crimson bought two Mellotrons when forming in 1969. They were aware of Pinder's contributions to the Moody Blues and did not want to sound similar, but concluded there was no other way of generating the orchestral sound. The instrument was originally played by Ian McDonald, and subsequently by Robert Fripp on McDonald's departure. Later member David Cross recalled he did not particularly want to play the Mellotron, but felt that it was simply what he needed to do as a member of the band. Tony Banks bought a Mellotron from Fripp in 1971, which he claimed was previously used by King Crimson, to use with Genesis. He decided to approach the instrument in a different way to a typical orchestra, using block chords, and later stated that he used it in the same manner as a synth pad on later albums. His unaccompanied introduction to "Watcher of the Skies" on the album Foxtrot (1972), played on a Mk II with combined strings and brass, became significant enough that Streetly Electronics provided a "Watcher Mix" sound with the M4000. Banks claims to still have a Mellotron in storage, but does not feel inclined to use it as he generally prefers to use up-to-date technology. Barclay James Harvest's Woolly Wolstenholme bought an M300 primarily to use for string sounds, and continued to play the instrument live into the 2000s as part of a reformed band.
Rick Wakeman played Mellotron on David Bowie's 1969 hit song "Space Oddity". Having previously found it difficult to keep in tune, Wakeman had discovered a way to do so using a special fingering technique.
The Mellotron was used by German electronic band Tangerine Dream through the 1970s, on albums such as Atem (1973), Phaedra (1974), Rubycon (1975), Stratosfear (1976), and Encore (1977). In the late 1970s, French duo Space Art used a Mellotron during the recording of their second album, Trip in the Centre Head. In 1983, the band's Christopher Franke asked Mellotronics if they could produce a digital model, as the group migrated towards using samplers.
Although the Mellotron was not extensively used in the 1980s, a number of bands featured it as a prominent instrument. One of the few UK post-punk bands to do so was Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, who featured it heavily on their platinum-selling 1981 album Architecture & Morality. Andy McCluskey has stated they used the Mellotron because they were starting to run into limitations of the cheap monophonic synthesizers they had used up to that point. He bought a second-hand M400 and was immediately impressed with the strings and choir sounds. XTC's Dave Gregory recalls seeing bands using Mellotrons when growing up in the 1970s, and thought it would be an interesting addition to the group's sound. He bought a second-hand model in 1982 for £165, and first used it on the album Mummer (1983). IQ's Martin Orford bought a second-hand M400 and used it primarily for visual appeal rather than musical quality or convenience.
The Mellotron resurfaced in 1995 on Oasis' album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? The instrument was played by both Noel Gallagher and Paul Arthurs on several tracks, but a particularly prominent use was the cello sound on the hit single "Wonderwall", played by Arthurs. It also notably appears on their 2000 single "Go Let It Out". Radiohead asked Streetly Electronics to restore and repair a model for them in 1997, and recorded with it on several tracks for their album OK Computer (1997). The French electronic duo Air extensively used a M400 on their two first albums Moon Safari in 1998 and The Virgin Suicides in 1999.
Spock's Beard's Ryo Okumoto is a fan of the Mellotron, saying it characterises the sound of the band. Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson has acquired one of King Crimson's old Mellotrons and, in 2013, gave a demonstration of the instrument in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
## Competitors
Alternative versions of the Mellotron were manufactured by competitors in the early to mid-1970s. The Mattel Optigan was a toy keyboard designed to be used in the home, which played back sounds using optical discs. This was followed by the Vako Orchestron in 1975, which used a more professional-sounding version of the same technology. It was popularised by Patrick Moraz.
## List of models
- Mk I (1963) – double manual (35 notes on each). Very similar to the Chamberlin Music Master 600. About 10 were made.
- Mk II (1964) – double manual. 18 sounds on each manual. Organ-style cabinet, two 12-inch internal speakers and amp. Weight 160 kg. About 160 were made.
- FX console (1965) – double manual with sound effects. Designed to be quieter than the Mk II, with a different DC motor and a solid-state power amplifier.
- M300 (1968) – 52-note single manual, some with pitch wheel-control, and some without. About 60 were made.
- M400 (1970) – 35-note single manual. The most common and portable model. About 1,800 units were made. It has three different sounds per frame.
- EMI M400 (1970) – a special version of the M400 manufactured by EMI music company in Britain under licence from Mellotronics. 100 of this model were made.
- Mark V (1975) – double-manual Mellotron, with the internals of two M400s plus additional tone and control features. Around nine were made.
- Novatron Mark V (1977) – the same as the Mellotron Mark V, but under a different name.
- Novatron 400 (1978) – as above; a Mellotron M400 with a different name-plate.
- T550 (1981) – a flight-cased version of Novatron 400.
- 4 Track (1980) – very rare model; only about five were ever made.
- Mark VI (1999) – an improved version of the M400. The first Mellotron to be produced since Streetly Electronics went out of business in 1986.
- Mark VII – basically an upgraded Mark V. Like the Mark VI, produced in the new factory in Stockholm.
- Skellotron (2005) – an M400 in a transparent glass case. Only one was made.
- M4000 (2007) – one manual, 24 sounds. An improved version of the Mk II with cycling mechanism. Made by Streetly Electronics.
### Related products
- M4000D (2010) – a single-manual digital product that does not feature tapes. Made at the Mellotron factory in Stockholm.
- Electro-Harmonix MEL9 Tape Replay Machine (2016) – simulator pedal
## See also
- List of Mellotron recordings
- String synthesizer, another instrument used to imitate orchestral ensembles
|
21,537,641 |
Hurricane Otis (2005)
| 1,171,667,155 |
Category 2 Pacific hurricane in 2005
|
[
"2005 Pacific hurricane season",
"Category 2 Pacific hurricanes",
"Pacific hurricanes in Mexico",
"Tropical cyclones in 2005"
] |
Hurricane Otis was a moderate Category 2 hurricane that threatened the Baja California Peninsula but dissipated before landfall. Otis was the fifteenth and final named storm and seventh hurricane of the 2005 Pacific hurricane season. The storm developed on September 28, 2005, off the western coast of Mexico, from a tropical wave that emerged from the western coast of Africa and traversed the Atlantic Ocean during the preceding several weeks. After attaining tropical storm status on September 29, Otis moved in a generally northwestward direction for most of its duration. It ultimately peaked at Category 2 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale before beginning to weaken. The storm degenerated into a tropical depression on October 3 and dissipated fully on October 5, near the coast of Baja California Sur. Preparations for Otis were completed on the Peninsula; tropical cyclone watches and warnings were declared and numerous shelters opened. However, the storm's effects were minimal, and limited to gusty winds with heavy rainfall. No major damage was reported.
## Meteorological history
The origins of Hurricane Otis are believed to have been in a tropical wave that emerged from the west coast of Africa on September 9. The wave moved westward across the Atlantic Ocean, spawning Tropical Depression Seventeen on September 17. The southern portion of the wave continued westward, crossing into the eastern Pacific Ocean on September 22. As the wave entered a monsoon-like environment, convection increased on September 23. An associated area of disorganized clouds and thunderstorms persisted off the coast of Mexico for several days, although due to wind shear and its proximity to land, short-term tropical cyclone development—if any—was expected to occur slowly. On September 27, it began to show signs of organization; the National Hurricane Center (NHC) remarked upon the potential for a tropical cyclone to develop within the next day. It is estimated that the system became a tropical depression at 0000 UTC on September 28, while located about 140 miles (230 km) to the south of Manzanillo, Mexico.
The depression moved slowly toward the southwest and became better organized, despite a decrease in the coverage of deep convection. By late September 28 the depression was approaching tropical storm status; it turned to the northwest and attained winds of 40 mph (64 km/h) at 0600 UTC on September 29, at which time it was assigned the name Otis. That evening, wind shear relented and conditions became more favorable for the storm's intensification. Convection wrapped almost fully around the center, and early on September 3, Otis was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. Shortly thereafter, a ragged eye feature developed; it quickly became better defined as it entered the scope of weather radar in Cabo San Lucas.
Otis began gradually entering cooler ocean waters, although the National Hurricane Center noted in one of its discussions on the system that the environment was still warm enough to support a stronger storm. The hurricane continued drifting northwestward, and early on October 1 it reached peak intensity at Category 2 status. At the time, maximum sustained winds were at 105 mph (165 km/h) and barometric pressure was recorded at 970 mbar (hPa; 28.64 inHg). Hours later, however, it began to weaken, a trend that continued due to southwesterly wind shear and dry air. The cloud pattern associated with the hurricane deteriorated on October 2, and the center of circulation was separated from the convective activity. Otis weakened to a tropical storm and drifted erratically toward the north-northwest as a result of weak steering currents. Over increasingly cold waters, the cyclone further weakened to a depression on October 3 and consisted of a small swirl of low-level clouds. It became a remnant low pressure area the next day. The system abruptly turned southeastward and drifted parallel to the coast of the Baja California Peninsula until dissipating on October 5.
## Preparations and impact
On September 30, the first tropical cyclone watches and warnings were issued with the declaration of tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches along portions of the east and west coasts of the Baja California Peninsula. For several days the advisories were adjusted and amended, and on October 1, a hurricane warning was posted for the west coast of Baja California, from Agua Blanca to San Andresito. By October 2, all watches and warnings were discontinued on the east coast of the peninsula, and the remaining advisories were lifted the next day. High winds and heavy rainfall were anticipated.
In advance of the storm, the governor of Baja California Sur, Narciso Agúndez Montaño, ordered emergency personnel to Comondú, Lorteo, and Mulege. Approximately 700 families fled to shelters in Cabo San Lucas; elsewhere, an additional 200 families evacuated in San Jose del Cabo. Some residents in Miraflores and Santiago also left their homes. Agundez asked soldiers to assist the isla Magdalena and Margarita in preparing for the storm. Five communities in Mexico, including Cabo San Lucas, declared a state of emergency. Authorities throughout the region opened numerous shelters, and in some locations, police officers went door-to-door asking residents to leave. The port in Cabo San Lucas was closed due to the storm's threat, although the airport remained open.
Although the center of Otis remained offshore, tropical storm-force winds were reported at higher elevations over portions of southern Baja California. At Cabo San Lucas, an automated weather station recorded a wind gust to 63 mph (101 km/h) on September 30, with sustained winds of 49 mph (79 km/h). There, periods of heavy rainfall mixed with fair skies as the storm passed. No damages or fatalities were reported, although some media reports indicated that the storm caused flooding in parts of the southern Baja California peninsula. Offshore, two ships reported tropical-storm-force winds in association with the storm: the Volendam on October 3, and the Star Harmonia on October 1.
## See also
- Other storms named Otis
- Timeline of the 2005 Pacific hurricane season
- List of Baja California Peninsula hurricanes
- 2005 Pacific hurricane season
|
7,244,682 |
Pulaski station (CTA Orange Line)
| 1,147,699,496 |
Chicago "L" station
|
[
"CTA Orange Line stations",
"Railway stations in the United States opened in 1993"
] |
Pulaski is an 'L' station on the CTA's Orange Line, which runs between Midway Airport and The Loop; it is situated between and stations. Pulaski is located at Pulaski Road and 51st Street on the Southwest Side of Chicago, Illinois. The station is within the Archer Heights neighborhood, which is both residential and commercial, and the station itself is in a commercial district on Pulaski Road. Pulaski opened on October 31, 1993, the opening date of the Orange Line.
The Pulaski station was proposed in 1980 and constructed from 1987 to 1993. When the station opened in 1993, it spurred commercial development in the surrounding area and led to a parking controversy on nearby residential streets. Pulaski consists of an elevated island platform above a station house which is set back from Pulaski Road. The station also includes a bus terminal and a park and ride lot. Nearly 1.4 million passengers boarded Orange Line trains at Pulaski in 2010. Trains serve Pulaski approximately every ten minutes during rush hour but are less frequent at other times. In addition to offering train service, Pulaski also connects to several CTA bus routes.
## History
The Orange Line, including the Pulaski station, was first proposed in 1980 by Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne, who planned to fund the line using money from the canceled Crosstown Expressway project. U.S. Representative William Lipinski secured federal funding for the line in 1986 as a political favor from President Ronald Reagan, and Chicago Mayor Harold Washington signed a federal funding contract later that year. Construction began on the line in 1987 and was completed in 1993; the total cost of the line was \$500 million. The Pulaski station was built over an abandoned Belt Railway of Chicago line which ran from 49th Street to Midway Airport. Pulaski, along with the rest of the Orange Line, opened on October 31, 1993. The CTA only charged riders 25 cents during the station's first three days of service, which were considered a test run of the line.
The Pulaski station spurred commercial development in the Archer Heights neighborhood. Area development began even before the station opened, as the Midway Square shopping mall opened at Pulaski Road and 51st Street in 1988 in anticipation of the potential customers the Orange Line would bring. The station's opening continued the trend of development, and Pulaski station was credited with boosting business in Archer Heights and doubling property values in the neighborhood. The station also created a parking problem in the neighborhood. The station's parking lot filled up as early as 7 A.M. most workdays, causing commuters to park on residential streets. The commuters prompted local residents to ban non-residents from parking on certain streets during daytime hours.
## Station layout
The Pulaski station was designed by the City of Chicago. The station house is at ground level and is set back from the street. It has a glass and steel façade, and most features within the station house are either made of stainless steel or painted white. The station's island platform is accessible from the station house via stairs, escalators, and an elevator. The platform serves the Orange Line's two tracks; the track to the Loop is located to the south, and the track to Midway located to the north. A canopy covers the entire platform. A bus terminal is located to the north of the station. To the west of the bus terminal and north of the railroad tracks is the Pulaski park and ride lot. The park and ride lot has 390 spaces which cost \$4 for 12 hours and is operated by Standard Parking.
Pulaski serves the Archer Heights and West Elsdon neighborhoods of Chicago, which has both commercial and residential areas. Pulaski Road is primarily commercial, and most of the businesses on Pulaski Road rely on business from Orange Line commuters going to and from the station. However, side streets near the station such as Keeler Avenue are primarily residential. Curie Metropolitan High School, at Pulaski Road and Archer Avenue, is accessible from Pulaski station. The Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America, the cultural pillar of Chicago's Góral community, is also located nearby at 4808 S. Archer Avenue.
## Train service
Pulaski serves the CTA's Orange Line, which runs from The Loop to Midway Airport. Pulaski is the second inbound station on the line after and is situated between the Midway and stations. Pulaski is open from 3:55 A.M. to 1:20 A.M. on weekdays, 4:30 A.M. to 1:20 A.M. on Saturdays, and 5:30 A.M. to 11:50 P.M. on Sundays. Trains run approximately every ten minutes during rush hour and midday operation on all days, with more limited service in the early morning and night. Pulaski is two minutes from Midway and nineteen minutes from the first station in The Loop, . 1,393,509 passengers boarded at Pulaski in 2010; the station's ridership was the third-highest of any Orange Line station outside of The Loop, behind and .
## Bus connections
CTA
- 53A South Pulaski
- 62 Archer (Owl Service)
In addition to rail service, several CTA bus routes stop at Pulaski. The 53A South Pulaski runs north and south on Pulaski Road from the station during most daytime hours. The 62 Archer, which runs 24/7, also serves the Pulaski station through a stop on nearby Archer Avenue. The major Chicago streets, Pulaski Road, 51st Street, and Archer Avenue, are also accessible from the Pulaski station.
|
32,089,326 |
Good Mourning (Grey's Anatomy)
| 1,152,918,946 | null |
[
"2009 American television episodes",
"Grey's Anatomy (season 6) episodes",
"Television episodes about funerals"
] |
"Good Mourning" is the first episode and the season premiere of the sixth season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, and the show's 103rd episode overall. It was written by Krista Vernoff and directed by Ed Ornelas. The episode was originally broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on September 24, 2009. In "Good Mourning", the physicians are seen dealing with the revelation that a dead John Doe is their beloved co-worker Dr. George O'Malley (T. R. Knight), and dealing with the aftermath of Dr. Izzie Stevens' (Katherine Heigl) near-death experience. Further storylines include Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Stevens trying to decide whether or not to donate O'Malley's organs and Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) being offered Dr. Richard Webber's (James Pickens, Jr.) chief of surgery job.
The episode was the first part of the 2-hour season 6 premiere, the second being "Goodbye", and took place at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. "Good Mourning" was the first episode that Knight did not appear in, following an early release from his contract, and Jessica Capshaw's (Dr. Arizona Robbins) first episode in which she received star-billing, having been upgraded from a recurring-star. Mitch Pileggi reprised his role as a guest star, in addition to Debra Monk, Shannon Lucio and Zoe Boyle. "Good Mourning" opened to positive critical reviews, with particular praise directed towards Ramirez's performance. The original episode broadcast was ranked at \#1 for the night with in the United States 17.03 million viewers, and a 6.7/17 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic.
## Plot
The episode opens to a voice-over narrative from Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), explaining the Kübler-Ross model, that is the 5 stages of grief. At the conclusion of season 5's finale, Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) and Dr. George O'Malley (T. R. Knight) both flatlined, from cancer and being dragged by a bus, respectively, and the opening of the episode reveals Stevens to have been revived, while O'Malley has been pronounced brain dead. O'Malley's former wife Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) informs her colleagues that he has died, and suffers an emotional breakdown, hyperventilating. O'Malley's death had been implied in the first episode when he asks "We're gonna survive this, right?" with Grey answering nothing.
It is unknown whether or not O'Malley is an organ donor, and the chief of surgery Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens, Jr.) calls O'Malley's mother, Louise (Debra Monk), as she is his next of kin. Following Stevens's resuscitation, she is unaware that O'Malley has died, and her husband Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) decides not to tell her, with fear that she might go into circulatory shock and lose consciousness again. Pediatric surgeon Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) is introduced to a patient, with body pain, whom she diagnoses with growing pains.
Louise O'Malley arrives at the hospital, and asks Torres to decide if O'Malley's organs will be donated. The victim of a speedboat accident, Clara Ferguson (Zoe Boyle), arrives at the hospital in an ambulance, with both of her arms and one of her legs amputated. She is attended to by plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), who informs her that her cut-off arms can be reattached. The hospital's president, Larry Jennings (Mitch Pileggi), explains to neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) that Webber has not been substantially completing his role as chief of surgery, and offers Shepherd the job. Karev reveals O'Malley's death to Stevens, and Torres seeks her help in deciding whether or not to donate O'Malley's organs. Stevens opinionates that O'Malley would give all his organs, and the two come to a mutual conclusion that donation is the correct option. Prior to the harvesting of his organs, O'Malley's former mentor Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is uneasy about donating his organs, but soon comes to terms with the situation. Several days later, at O'Malley's funeral, the woman O'Malley saved, Amanda (Shannon Lucio) is shown hysterically crying while Karev, Stevens, Meredith, and Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) are laughing—unable to deal with their true emotions. After the funeral, O'Malley's former best friend Dr. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) is designated the job of emptying out his locker, but breaks down. Bailey subsequently discharges Stevens, and Robbins's body pain patient returns, with chronic pain, though Robbins is unable to diagnose him. Torres approaches Webber, seeking information as to whether or not her application to become an attending surgeon has been accepted. Webber explains that the job is no longer available, as the surgeon who was going to retire, ultimately did not. Torres becomes enraged, saying that the current surgeon who has the job is a dinosaur, and storms out while yelling: "I'm a superstar". The episode closes with Lexie consoling the speedboat victim, Ferguson.
## Production
"Good Mourning" was written by Krista Vernoff and directed by Ed Ornelas. Joe Mitacek edited the episode and Donald Lee Harris served as production designer. Featured music includes Sweet Honey in the Rock's "Wade In The Water" and Joy Williams's "Speaking A Dead Language". "Good Mourning" is the first episode not to feature Knight's character, George O'Malley. Knight was released from his contract at the conclusion of season 5, following a disagreement with series creator Shonda Rhimes over lack of screen-time for his character. When asked to make a 'flashback' appearance in season 6, Knight declined.
Vernoff offered her thoughts on the death of O'Malley: "It's heartbreaking. I fell in love with George, like many of you did, in season 1. He was impulsive, big-hearted, and yeah, it's that heart that had him jump in front of a moving bus to save a life. It's a devastating end to a beloved character, but I would argue with anyone who said it wasn't a fitting end." In the episode, Shepherd was offered the position of chief of surgery, but postponed his decision, due to Webber being his friend. Vernoff offered her insight on this:
> "Derek was pretty freakin' noble. So noble! Cause you KNOW how much he wants that job. It was the promise of the Chiefdom that brought him to Seattle from NYC to begin with. And right here, the job was his for the taking. And out of loyalty and friendship, he went to [Webber] and warned him."
The scene in which O'Malley's colleagues were laughing at his funeral was one of Vernoff's favorite scenes. She added: "Shonda gave me smart notes that enhanced the writing and then the wonderful director Ed Ornelas and the amazing DP Herb Davis and the whole crew that support them made it visually beautiful and then the actors... damn, did they all bring their A game to this scene. And then there are the editors and music folks and the people who color correct everything and mix the sound... It's a collaboration. What it takes to make good TV is a huge coming together of a great many artists. What it takes to make great TV is all that plus a little magic and a little luck. And that’s what I feel like we had with this scene. It's so funny and so bittersweet and so, so sad."
## Reception
### Broadcasting
"Good Mourning" was originally broadcast on September 24, 2009, on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. It was viewed by a total of 17.04 million people, in its 9:00 Eastern time-slot. The episode was the series' second least-viewed season premiere, up to that point, just ahead of the season 1 premiere—"A Hard Day's Night". In comparison to the previous episode, "Good Mourning" made a 0.08% decrease in terms of viewership. However, the episode's viewership ranked first in both its time-slot and the entire night, beating out CBS's juggernaut CSI. In addition to being a success in viewership, the episode also did well in ratings. "Good Mourning"'s 6.7/17 Nielsen rating ranked first in its time-slot and the entire night, for both the rating and share percentages of the 18–49 demographic. The episode also received a rating of 10.9/18 in the 18-34 demographic, beating out CBS's The Mentalist, and ranking \#1 in the ratings and shares for the demographic.
### Critical reception
The episode opened to positive critical reviews, and aired back-to-back with the next episode, "Goodbye", as a 2-hour season premiere special. Alan Sepinwall of NJ.com commented on the 2 episodes being conjoined into 1 week: "I keep going back and forth on whether it was a good idea to do that, or if we'd have been better off spacing out the tearful speeches over 2 weeks. That isn't to say that there shouldn't have been tears, or speeches. George's death, no matter how marginal he had become last season, is and should be a huge event in the lives of these characters. Had the show raced through Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's famous 5 stages of grief, it would have rang false, as if everyone making the show was in a hurry to move past the events of the wildly-uneven fifth season. My problem is, when you put 2 episodes back-to-back, those rhythms - the pace at which the acts build to emotional crescendos and then briefly recede - start to become too predictable, and it sucks some of the life and emotion away." Sepinwall also praised Wilson's, Ramirez's, and Chambers' performances, in addition to the laughing at O'Malley's funeral.
Michael Pascua of The Huffington Post also praised Ramirez's performance, calling her "the most genuine character". Although he enjoyed Ramirez's performance, Pascua was critical of the rest of the episode, writing: "The funeral wasn't as sad as I thought it would be. There were so many pre-episode pictures up that I thought the funeral would take up half the show, then it was 5 minutes and it wasn't sad at all. The core-group walked away and Izzie spread the giggles. She laughs at the fact that she has cancer, like this was all some really badly-written show. Oh wait, it is!"
Kelly West of TV Blend was also critical of the episode, writing: "I don't think based on the first episode that we can say that Grey's is headed in a new direction, nor do I think the writers are making much of an effort to bring the series back to the greatness that were its earlier seasons. That said, this is Grey's Anatomy and with that comes the usual drama, sex, love and whacky medical mysteries thrown in the mix to keep things moving. If that's what you’re looking for, I think you'll enjoy the season premiere just fine." Glenn Diaz of BuddyTV noted that the special foreshadowed a "very dark" season, adding: "The talk between George's mom and one of the surgeons [Torres] proved to be one of the more heart-breaking scenes in an episode, that in itself is heartbreaking enough."
|
1,356,954 |
Charles R. Ellet
| 1,123,542,763 |
American soldier, Union Army colonel (1843–1863)
|
[
"1843 births",
"1863 deaths",
"Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia)",
"Drug-related deaths in Illinois",
"Georgetown University alumni",
"Military personnel from Illinois",
"Military personnel from Philadelphia",
"Military personnel from Washington, D.C.",
"People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)",
"People from Macoupin County, Illinois",
"People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War",
"Physicians from Pennsylvania",
"Physicians from Washington, D.C.",
"Union Army colonels",
"Union Army surgeons",
"United States Ram Fleet"
] |
Charles Rivers Ellet (June 1, 1843 – October 29, 1863) was a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He served in the United States Ram Fleet under his father Charles Ellet, Jr. and as commanding officer of the ram fleet as part of the Mississippi Marine Brigade under his uncle Alfred W. Ellet. He commanded the ram ships USS Queen of the West, USS Switzerland, USS Lancaster and USS Monarch during the brown-water navy battle for control of the Mississippi River and its tributaries as part of the Vicksburg Campaign from 1862 to 1863.
At only nineteen years of age, he was one of the youngest colonels in the Union Army. His daring runs of two different ram ships past the batteries at Vicksburg as well as operations on the Yazoo River won him praise from William T. Sherman and David Dixon Porter. However, he was criticized by Porter when his aggressive actions on the Red River led to the capture of the Queen of the West by Confederate forces.
## Early life and education
Ellet was born on June 1, 1843 in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. He was the only son to the well-known civil engineer Charles Ellet Jr. In 1855, he traveled to Europe with his father and attended school in Paris for two years. He studied medicine at Georgetown University until the Civil War began. In 1861 he volunteered as an assistant surgeon and helped treat wounded soldiers from the First Battle of Bull Run in Washington, D.C.
## Civil war
Ellet joined the Union Army in the spring of 1862 as a medical cadet working as an assistant to a Union Army surgeon. He transferred to the United States Ram Fleet led by his father. The ram fleet was a Union Army unit of ram ships converted from commercial steamboats. In June 1862, he served in the First Battle of Memphis as a medical cadet on the Switzerland. He was one of the Union Army representatives that accepted the surrender of Memphis. Ellet and his cousin, Edward Ellet, lowered the Confederate flag over the Memphis post office and raised the American flag in its place. His father died from a wound received during the Battle of Memphis and command of the ram fleet went to his uncle Alfred W. Ellet.
### Actions north of Vicksburg
On June 26, Alfred W. Ellet commanded the Monarch and Charles R. Ellet commanded the Lancaster during action on the Yazoo River near Liverpool, Mississippi, to capture or destroy three Confederate gunboats. The Confederates burned their ships; the CSS General Van Dorn, CSS General Polk and CSS Livingston, when they saw the Union forces approaching.
On July 15, Queen of the West, USS Carondelet, and USS Tyler engaged the Confederate ironclad ram CSS Arkansas on the Yazoo River. The Arkansas was heavily damaged but escaped into the Mississippi River and took refuge under the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg, Mississippi. On July 22, Queen of the West and USS Essex attacked Arkansas, despite the batteries at Vicksburg. During the engagement, the Queen of the West rammed Arkansas but inflicted only minor damage and rejoined the Mississippi River Squadron ships above Vicksburg.
In August, the USS Benton along with Ellet's rams Monarch and Lancaster, captured the CSS Fairplay at Milliken's Bend on the Mississippi River. When captured, the steamer was carrying five thousand muskets and ammunition headed for the Army of the Trans-Mississippi.
Ellet and the Queen of the West continued to support operations against Vicksburg. On September 19, while escorting two transport barges, the Queen of the West had a short engagement with Confederate infantry and artillery on the Mississippi River above Bolivar, Mississippi. Ellet and the Queen of the West also conducted operations in the Yazoo River clearing mines and engaging Confederate batteries.
In November 1862, the Mississippi Marine Brigade, an amphibious raiding unit, was organized by Alfred W. Ellet. The ram fleet was incorporated as a part of the brigade. On November 5, Charles was promoted to the rank of colonel and became the third member of the Ellet family to lead the ram fleet. Ellet was only 19 years old which made him one of the youngest colonels in the Union Army.
In December 1862, Ellet was assigned the task to arm the USS Lioness with a torpedo raft, known as a devil, and use it to destroy armed rafts on the Yazoo River directly in front of the batteries at Drumgold's Bluff. While the mission planned for December 31 was scrapped due to heavy fog, Admiral David Dixon Porter praised Ellet in a report to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Porter wrote, "Colonel Ellet took it upon himself the perilous duty of running up in the Lioness, in face of the batteries, to clear out the torpedoes or break the wires, and to plant torpedoes on the raft which had batteries at each end of it. No doubt he would have performed it or lost his life and his vessel. I have great confidence in the commander of the rams and those under him, and take this opportunity to state to the department how highly I appreciate the commander and his associates."
### First run past Vicksburg
On February 2, 1863, Ellet was ordered by Admiral David Dixon Porter to run the Queen of the West past the batteries at Vicksburg, Mississippi, to support Admiral David Farragut below the city. The boat was equipped with a 30-pounder bow gun, three 12-pounder howitzers, cotton bales and wooden sheathing for protection. Major General William T. Sherman described Ellet as "full of energy and resources" in his preparations to run two of his rams past Vicksburg. Ellet intended to "run the gauntlet" of Vicksburg by cover of night, however delays resulted in passage of the guns at daybreak. The guns at Vicksburg fired for 50 minutes straight. The Queen of the West took 12 hits and lost a gun but made it past the batteries with minimal damage. The run provided the Union forces with insight as to where the guns at Vicksburg were positioned.
Once past the batteries, Ellet's orders were to intercept Confederate boat traffic at the mouth of the Red River and specifically destroy the CSS City of Vicksburg. Ellet found the City of Vicksburg docked, rammed her and set her ablaze with turpentine soaked balls fired from the guns of the Queen of the West. Ellet caused significant damage to the City of Vicksburg but failed to destroy her. The Queen of the West had to disengage before destroying the City of Vicksburg due to enemy fire which set the cotton bales aboard the Queen of the West ablaze.
Ellet recommended the Union forces supply the Queen of the West with fuel by floating an unmanned coal barge filled with 20,000 bushels of coal past the Vicksburg batteries at night. The barge went unnoticed by the Confederate forces and floated downriver ten miles (16 km) before being intercepted by the Queen of the West. The barge provided the Queen of the West with enough fuel to continue her mission.
On February 3, Ellet and the Queen of the West captured three Confederate transport ships – the CSS A.W. Baker, CSS Moro and CSS Berwick Bay. The Moro was empty of cargo since it had just dropped off supplies at Port Hudson, Louisiana. The other two ships were laden with food supplies headed toward Vicksburg.
The Queen of the West rendezvoused with the De Soto and on February 12, Ellet directed both ships down the Atchafalaya River to Simmesport, Louisiana, in search of Confederate forces. The crew went ashore, destroyed all supplies found and looted the residential area. On the way back up the Mississippi River, the Queen of the West received Confederate gun fire and the 1st mate was injured. In retaliation, Ellet and his crew burned three plantations that were believed to be the residences of those that injured the 1st mate.
### Loss of the Queen of the West
On February 14, Ellet led the Queen of the West and De Soto up the Red River and captured the steamboat Era No. 5 carrying 4,500 bushels of corn. Ellet moved the Queen of the West upstream to investigate reports of steamships at Gordon's Landing near Marksville, Louisiana. She came under heavy fire by the shore batteries of Fort DeRussy and was run aground onto the right bank by her pilot instead of backing down river as ordered. She was directly in the sight of Confederate guns, which pounded her until Ellet ordered "abandon ship". The Queen of the West was not burned out of concern for the 1st mate, who was wounded and could not be moved. The USS Queen of the West was captured, repaired and re-entered into service as the CSS Queen of the West by the Confederate forces.
Ellet and the crew escaped and floated downstream on bales of cotton and were rescued by the De Soto. The De Soto and the Era No. 5 fled down the Red River to rejoin the Union forces. During their escape downstream, the pilot grounded the De Soto and severely damaged the paddles by continuing to run them long after contact, whereupon the pilot was placed under arrest by Ellet. In his official report, Ellet alleged the grounding was done purposely by the pilot, whom he accused of being a rebel sympathizer. The De Soto was set ablaze to prevent her capture by Confederate forces and Ellet and crew escaped on the Era No. 5.
The CSS Queen of the West joined forces with the CSS Webb to attack and sink the USS Indianola on the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg. In his report, Admiral David Dixon Porter criticized the aggressiveness of Ellet to continue up the Red River instead of maintaining guard at the mouth of the Red River and awaiting arrival of the Indianola. Porter wrote in his report, "Had the commander of the Queen of the West waited patiently, he would, in less than twenty-four hours, have been joined by the Indianola...This is a serious disappointment to us [above Vicksburg], as we calculated certainly on starving on the garrison at Port Hudson by merely blockading the mouth of the Red River. My plans were well laid, only poorly executed. I can give orders, but I cannot give officers good judgment." Porter also questioned whether Ellet and his crew abandoned the Queen of the West too easily since it was entered back into service by Confederate forces so quickly.
### Second run past Vicksburg
On March 26, Ellet ran a second ram ship, the Switzerland, past the batteries at Vicksburg to support Admiral Farragut. Ellet commanded the Switzerland and his cousin, John A. Ellet, commanded the Lancaster. Both ships received heavy fire from the batteries and the Lancaster was run aground and sunk to avoid capture by the Confederate forces. The Switzerland was damaged but was repaired and continued duty on the Mississippi until Vicksburg and Port Hudson were captured by Union forces. Ellet also commanded the infantry of the Mississippi Marine Brigade until he requested a leave of absence due to poor health. He tendered his resignation on August 14, 1863. Command of the ram fleet went to his cousin John A. Ellet.
## Death and legacy
After leaving the military, Ellet recuperated at the home of his uncle Dr. E.C. Ellet in Bunker Hill, Illinois. Ellet was a chronic sufferer from migraines, which he treated with laudanum. On the evening before his death, Ellet complained he did not feel well and was going to take medication for "the pain in his face". He died during the night of October 29, 1863 from what was most likely an accidental overdose by a self-administered injection of morphine. He was known to have previously prepared and administered self-injections of morphine. He was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia next to his father.
The US Navy destroyer USS Ellet, in service from 1939 to 1946, was named in honor of Charles Rivers Ellet and other members of his family.
## See also
- John Miller Srodes
|
49,380,773 |
Hygrocybe appalachianensis
| 1,136,207,126 |
Species of fungus
|
[
"Fungi described in 1963",
"Fungi of the United States",
"Fungi without expected TNC conservation status",
"Hygrocybe",
"Taxa named by Alexander H. Smith"
] |
Hygrocybe appalachianensis, commonly known as the Appalachian waxy cap, is a gilled fungus of the waxcap family. It is found in the eastern United States, where it fruits singly, in groups, or clusters on the ground in deciduous and mixed forests. The species, described in 1963 from collections made in the Appalachian Mountains, was originally classified in the related genus Hygrophorus. It was transferred to Hygrocybe in 1998, in which it has been proposed as the type species of section Pseudofirmae.
Fruit bodies of the Appalachian waxy cap are bright purplish-red to reddish-orange. They have convex to somewhat funnel-shaped caps that are 3–7 cm (1.2–2.8 in) in diameter, held up by a cylindrical stipe up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long. The gills are thick and widely spaced, with a color similar to that of the cap or paler, and a whitish-yellow edge. Microscopically, the spores and spore-bearing cells are dimorphic—of two different sizes.
## Systematics
The fungus was described as new to science in 1963 by mycologists Lexemuel Ray Hesler and Alexander H. Smith in their monograph on North American species of Hygrophorus. Hesler collected the type on July 28, 1958 in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee). The fungus was recorded from the same location in a fungal survey conducted about 50 years later. It was transferred to the genus Hygrocybe in a 1998 paper by Ingeborg Kronawitter and Andreas Bresinsky. In this publication, the basionym was given as "appalachiensis" instead of the original spelling appalachianensis, and so Hygrocybe appalachiensis is an orthographic variant spelling. A reference to the type locality–the Appalachian Mountains–appears in both the specific epithet and in the common name, Appalachian waxy cap.
Because of its color and habit, Hesler and Smith originally thought the unknown agaric was H. coccinea or perhaps a large form of H. miniata, but study of its microscopic characteristics revealed that it was distinct from these. They noted that the fibrillose-squamulose texture of the cap (i.e. that it appears to be made of thin fibers, or covered with small scales) and the large spores suggested a relationship with H. turundus. The type of Hygrocybe appalachianensis is of an immature specimen, and the description of the basidia only accounted for microbasidia (i.e., the smaller of the two forms of basidia in the hymenium). The immature macrobasidia were described as pleurocystidia (i.e., cystidia arising from the side, or face, of the gill), which Hesler and Smith described as "more or less embedded in the hymenium". Microspores (the smaller of the two spore types produced by the fungus) were not accounted for in their original description, although they are present in the type.
Deborah Jean Lodge and colleagues, in a reorganization of the family Hygrophoraceae based on molecular phylogenetics, proposed that H. appalachianensis should be the type species of the new section Pseudofirmae in genus Hygrocybe. Species in this section, which include Hygrocybe chloochlora, H. rosea, and H. trinitensis, have sticky or glutinous caps that often have perforations in the center. Their spores and basidia are dimorphic (of two sizes), and the development of the microbasidia and macrobasidia is often staggered. The macrobasidia are club shaped and appear as if they have a stalk.
## Description
Fruitbodies of H. appalachianensis have convex caps that are 2–7 cm (0.8–2.8 in) in diameter. As the mushroom matures, the cap margins curl upward, and the central depression in the cap deepens, becoming more or less funnel shaped. Its color is bright red to purplish-red, which fades in age. The cap margin is often whitish. The well-spaced gills are initially adnate-decurrent, becoming more decurrent in age. Their color is that of the cap or paler; the gill edges are sometimes whitish-yellow. The cylindrical stipe, which measures 3–7 cm (1.2–2.8 in) long by 0.4–1.2 cm (0.2–0.5 in), is more or less the same width throughout its length. Its surface texture is smooth to slightly scurfy, and it is often whitish at its base. The flesh of the mushroom lacks any distinctive taste or odor. It is yellowish with orange tinges, with reddish color near the cap cuticle. Alan Bessette and colleagues, in their 2012 monograph on eastern North American waxcap mushrooms, note that the mushroom is "reported to be edible".
Hygrocybe appalachianensis mushrooms produce a white spore print. Both the spores and the basidia are dimorphic. The larger spores (macrospores) are smooth, ellipsoid, and measure 11–17.5 by 7–10 μm. They are hyaline (translucent), and inamyloid. The macrobasidia are club shaped, measuring 38–57 by 8–14 μm, and can be one- two-, three- or four-spored. The ratio of macrobasidia length to macrospore length is usually less than five to one. Clamp connections are present on the hyphae of several tissues of the mushroom. The hyphae of the gills (the lamellar trama) are arranged in a parallel fashion.
The colors of Hygrocybe mushrooms originate from betalains, a class of red and yellow indole-derived pigments. Specific betalains found in H. appalachianensis include muscaflavin, and a group of compounds called hygroaurins, which are derived from muscaflavin by conjugation with amino acids.
### Similar species
There are several lookalike species found in North American with which the Appalachian waxy cap might be confused. Hygrocybe cantharellus is a bright red mushroom that has smaller fruit bodies and a more slender stipe than H. appalachianensis. It also has smaller spores, measuring 7–12 by 4–8 μm. Hygrocybe reidii, found in Europe and northeastern North America, has flesh with a sweet odor that is reminiscent of honey. This smell is sometimes weak and only noticeable when the tissue is rubbed, or when it is drying. Its scarlet cap initially has a narrow yellow-orange margin.
Widespread and common in the Northern Hemisphere, the scarlet waxcap (Hygrocybe coccinea) is most reliably distinguished from H. appalachianensis by its smaller spores, measuring 7–11 by 4–5 μm. The sphagnum waxcap, H. coccineocrenata, also has colors that are similar to H. appalachianensis. In addition to its smaller spores (8–12 by 5.5–8 μm), its fruit bodies have smaller caps, measuring 0.6–2 cm (0.2–0.8 in) in diameter, and it is typically found fruiting in mosses.
## Habitat and distribution
Fruit bodies of Hygrocybe appalachianensis grow singly, in groups, or clusters on the ground. Like all Hygrocybe species, the fungus is believed to be saprophytic, meaning it obtains nutrients by breaking down organic matter. It fruits in deciduous or mixed forest, typically appearing between the months of July and December. Its range covers a region extending from the states Ohio and West Virginia south to South Carolina and Tennessee. Its occurrence is occasional to locally common.
## See also
- List of Hygrocybe species
|
5,265,371 |
Block 37
| 1,173,477,494 |
Development in Chicago
|
[
"Buildings and structures in Chicago",
"Buildings and structures under construction in the United States",
"CBS television studios",
"Chicago Transit Authority",
"Food halls",
"Proposed skyscrapers in the United States",
"Residential condominiums in Chicago",
"Richard M. Daley",
"Shopping malls in Chicago",
"Skyscraper office buildings in Chicago"
] |
108 North State Street, also known as Block 37, is a development located in the Loop community area of downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the square block bounded clockwise from the North by West Randolph Street, North State Street, West Washington Street and North Dearborn Street that is known as "Block 37", which was its designated number as one of the original 58 blocks of the city. Above-ground redevelopment is complete, but work stopped on an underground CTA station when the station was only partially complete.
The previous buildings on the block were demolished in 1989 for a hotly contested redevelopment plan under the then new Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. The debates included the demolition of the Chicago Landmark McCarthy Building, which proceeded after the Illinois Supreme Court decided private preservation groups did not have standing to challenge the city's decision.
Once the site was cleared, the initial redevelopment plan fell through, as did several subsequent plans. Mills Corporation broke ground in 2005, but had been in financial difficulty in the past. This reputation and changing financial climate caused a delay in 2006 as contractors feared not getting paid. In November 2009, the developer was declared in default and CB Richard Ellis was named receiver. The project was inherited by Joseph Freed and Associates LLC. However, Bank of America foreclosed on the property in 2011 and sold it in 2012 to CIM Group. The three new buildings were completed by 2016.
## Site
In 1829, the legislature appointed commissioners to locate a canal and layout the surrounding town. The commissioners employed James Thompson to survey and plat the town of Chicago, which at the time had a population of less than 100. Historians regard the August 4, 1830, filing of the plat as the official recognition of a municipality known as Chicago. Block 37 is one of the city's original 58 blocks in the layout of the town. Due to Block 37's central location in the Loop, between the State Street retail district, the city/county government complex, and the Randolph Street theater district, its history is a microcosm of the city's history.
Even before the Chicago Fire, the block was home to one of Chicago's largest theaters. During the late 19th century, tall office buildings proliferated on the block. By 1970, the block was densely developed with 11 buildings, housing theaters, offices, a YMCA, and retailers like grocery store Stop & Shop. On June 14, 1973, Mayor Richard J. Daley announced a broad urban renewal initiative centered on the North Loop theater district. Over the ensuing 16 years, numerous private developers, notably the Rubloff Company and JMB Realty, planned large mixed-use developments on the site, with a mall along State Street and hotels and office towers above. Property assembly was facilitated by Mayor Harold Washington's creation of the North Loop tax increment financing district in 1983, which gave the urban renewal effort a steady revenue stream and eminent domain authority.
The modern-day Block 37 is flanked to the west by the Richard J. Daley Center and to the east by the former Marshall Field and Company Building. It is part of the central business district that includes Chicago City Hall and the James R. Thompson Center (the State of Illinois office building) within 2 blocks.
## Design
### Buildings
According to original plans, the complex was to be composed of three united structures: a 21-story residential condominium tower called 108 North State Condominium Tower at North State Street and West Randolph Street; a 20-story hotel tower called 108 North State Hotel Tower at West Randolph Street and North Dearborn Street; and a 17-story tower called CBS Broadcast Center at North State Street and West Washington Street (for WBBM-TV, CBS 2). At one point, there was talk that the hotel tower has been abandoned in favor of a second residential tower, though later plans indicated that the hotel tower was still anticipated. These structures rise above lower level retail space, with an eclectic mix of shopping, entertainment, and dining in its lower retail floors. In November 2008, the city proposed financing to enable Loews Hotels to build a 354-room hotel.
Architecturally, the main floor features transparent cornered project facades and clear glass street level views. The multiple structures feature approximately 400,000 square feet (37,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of retail, entertainment and dining space, and 200,000 to 450,000 square feet (19,000 to 42,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of office space. The 38-story Marquee at Block 37, also known as 25 West Randolph Street, was completed in 2016 with 690 residential units.
### Transit facilities
The design that broke ground in 2005 included a superstation that would connect the tracks of and serve passengers on both the CTA Blue Line and CTA Red Line, enabling direct transfers. The planned project included a downtown station for train service to both Chicago airports: O'Hare via Blue Line trains and Midway via the Orange Line trains (connecting via Red Line subway tracks).
The cost of the station was estimated at \$213 million. The City of Chicago and the Chicago Transit Authority were to pay \$173 million, and the Mills Corporation (the initial developer) was to pay for the rest. Cost overruns and delays forced the city of Chicago and the Chicago Transit Authority to pay about \$100 million to cover already-incurred costs, and the CTA canceled the project, partly because it did not have the estimated \$1.5 billion that would be needed to create express airport service (as opposed to slow local train service using existing tracks and stations). In the end, about \$400 million was spent on construction on the shell of a station, plus \$40 million in mothballing costs.
In November 2009, progress in construction of the commercial and residential buildings allowed the Block 37 portion of the Chicago Pedway to open between the Lake station on the Red Line and the Washington/Dearborn station on the Blue Line. Because this only connected the unpaid areas of the stations, farecard holders paid the standard \$0.25 transfer fare to use this connection. In May 2013, the CTA made this transfer free.
After the failure of the CTA superstation project, the city began investigating the possibility of a privately constructed airport express service using Block 37 as the downtown endpoint. The city announced in June 2018, that The Boring Company had won a contest to negotiate a contract to construct a high-speed rapid transit link to O'Hare, dubbed Chicago Express Loop, using twin tunnels and electric vehicles based on the Tesla Model X. Funding for construction and operation would be provided completely by the company, and the system would reduce travel time to O'Hare to about 12 minutes.
## History
### Block 37
Block 37 was demolished in 1989, after Mayor Richard M. Daley approved its demolition to erect a multi-use skyscraper with retail, hotel, office, and residential spaces. This prompted much public consternation; the McCarthy Building, a Chicago Landmark, was even stripped of landmark status over the objection of preservationists and public interest groups in order for the block to be cleared. Block 37 was a nearly vacant city block from 1989 until 2005 after several attempts at redevelopment failed due to Chicago politics and insufficient funding of several past developers. The single remaining building from the pre-1989 Block 37 architecture is an active Commonwealth Edison transformer building that distributes power to a great portion of the Loop.
Maggie Daley's nonprofit, After School Matters, started as Gallery37 in the summer of 1991, where the organization set up tents to provide visual arts classes to teenagers. The organization moved from Block 37 when development began, and now operates in a nearby building named "Gallery 37 Center for the Arts" on Randolph Street, a few blocks east of its original home.
In 1987, Chicago Mayor Harold Washington approved a \$24 million subsidy to FJV Venture to develop Block 37. There were a series of subsequent alternate redevelopment plans. Among the prior redevelopment plans for the block were the original Block 37 Towers, for which the original block was demolished and which included a 47-story tower designed by Murphy/Jahn, Inc. Another failed plan was a Solomon Cordwell Buenz plan including a 711-foot 66-story residential tower and a 12-story Marriott Hotel towering over a 4-story retail base. This had followed the 39-story Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates design scheduled for 2004 completion. The developments fell through, which put the property back into the city's possession. In 2002, the city initiated a competition for the development rights to the property. In 2004, the city sold the property to Mills Corp. at a \$20 million loss. Mills sold the development rights to Joseph Freed and Associates in 2005, when the city committed \$42 million in tax-increment funding. In 2007, the city learned the development was \$150 million over budget. The complex was originally being developed by commercial real estate developer Mills Corporation, best known for its ownership of numerous super-regional shopping malls. However, Joseph Freed and Associates LLC has inherited the development rights.
### The Mills Corporation
#### Corporate difficulties
Mills' troubles began in November 2005, with revelations of large losses on failed projects, a cash crunch and a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its accounting. The SEC inquiry was upgraded to a formal investigation in March 2006. The reclassification as a formal investigation allows for the use of additional techniques such as subpoenas. On April 6, 2007, Simon Property Group, Inc. announced the joint acquisition of Mills Corporation along with Farallon Capital Management for \$25.25 per share of common stock.
#### Block 37 troubles
In March 2006, contractors halted construction because of fears that they would not be paid. This caused Morningstar to reconsider their lease commitment. As a result, the value of the project declined, which made the resale of the project rights difficult. Mills was close to a deal with German investment firm, Deutsche Immobilien Fonds A.G. prior to the difficulties. DIFA had outbid Chicago developer Golub & Co., which then became the frontrunner. Golub, an international real estate investment company headquartered in Chicago, has closed on the office space portion of the project. Mills eventually sold the retail space rights to Chicago developer Joseph Freed & Associates, who had previously purchased the nearby Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building (located at 1 South State Street) that closed in early 2007.
By 2007, Golub and Mills were in a legal entanglement over certain leases to Morningstar for 211,000 square feet (19,600 m<sup>2</sup>). Golub claimed Mills knew the measurements of the floors actually totalled 237,000 square feet (22,000 m<sup>2</sup>) although they contracted for 211,000 square feet (19,600 m<sup>2</sup>). Golub claimed a Morningstar affiliate "...induced Morningstar to agree in the lease to be bound by an after-the-fact re-measurement of the space." Additionally, Golub claimed that Mills has acted without Daley administration authorizations for plans such as elimination of a proposed hotel in favor of a second apartment tower, as required by an agreement between Golub and Mills. In addition, Golub had sued over the residential portion of the project, which was given to Freed. Golub claimed to have accepted the office space part of the project at a low profit with the expectation of making a larger profit on the residential portion. The subsequent court ruling allowed Mills to terminate its contract with Golub to develop the project's two residential towers and to sell the residential portion of the Block 37 project in the Loop to developer Joseph A. Freed & Associates LLC.
#### 2009 foreclosure
Lenders, including Bank of America, moved to foreclose on the retail and transit portion of the mixed-use development on October 19, 2009, because Joseph Freed and Associates ran out of money. Freed technically defaulted in March. With cost overruns exceeding \$34 million as of August 25, Freed owed \$128.5 million on a \$205 million construction loan, according to a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
On November 3, the developer announced it had landed 13 new tenants to open within the succeeding few months. On November 20, a circuit court judge stripped Freed of the development rights and turn the responsibility over to CB Richard Ellis. On the same day a partial occupancy permit for the underground pedway connecting the Red Line and the Blue Line as well as the first floor retail space was granted. Freed claimed that the loan payments were current and that the default was based on a technicality. Freed was found personally liable for \$6.8 million of the cost on December 30, 2009.
As receiver, CB Richard Ellis was scheduled to file a status report with the court December 8 and a full report, including financials, on January 15, 2010. Disputes over insurance delayed the handover of development rights, which finally happened in late January 2010. In March 2011, Bank of America acquired the \$206 million property with a credit bid of \$100 million at a sheriff's foreclosure sale. Then in February 2012, CIM Group was expected to close on a negotiated purchase of the entire 305,000-square-foot shopping center from Bank of America Corp. CIM did not actually close on the purchase until April 2012.
## Progress
### Phase I construction
The Mills Corporation purchased the property for the project from the city on November 11, 2005. Phase I of the project, the groundbreaking, began formally on November 15, 2005. This followed winning the competition to be master developer and having their plan approved by the city. The Mills Corporation has letters of intent from CBS 2 Chicago Broadcast Center, Boggi Milano, Sisley, Andrew's Ties, Banana Republic, Rosa Mexicano, David Barton Gym and new concepts by Steve Lombardo, creator of Gibson's Steakhouse and Hugo's Frog Bar, and Steven Foster, creator of Lucky Strike Lanes in Hollywood as future tenant commitments. Morningstar, Inc. has signed a lease to occupy about 210,000 square feet (20,000 m<sup>2</sup>) across eight floors, making it the largest tenant in the office tower. In April 2005, Mills had announced a lease commitment with WBBM-Channel 2 for about 100,000 square feet (10,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of space for offices and a showcase television studio. In February 2008, developer Joseph Freed & Associates announced Club Monaco, a Muvico Entertainment LLC theatre, a David Barton Gym, a Rosa Mexican restaurant, a coffee shop and a yet-to-be-named Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc. restaurant will be located in the State Street complex. In June 2008, Puma confirmed it is opening a two-level flagship store on Block 37. Also, the Muvico Theatre was reported to have an eight screen multiplex. In October 2008, Spanish clothing store Zara signed a lease for Block 37 along with German athletic-wear company Puma athletic wear and British clothing label Ben Sherman. Other confirmed retailers include clothier Steve Madden, Godiva Chocolatier, sporting apparel seller Lululemon Athletica Inc., hair and skin products retailer Aveda as well as body and bath products retailer Sabon. Other stores rumored to be considering Block 37 at that time were Apple Computer and Crate & Barrel home furnishings
### Phase II construction
On July 31, 2006, the retail and CTA construction began. The retail portion entails the construction of the CBS 2 Broadcast Center building at North State Street and West Washington Street. The building will also serve as the corporate headquarters of Morningstar, Inc. This 17-story building will be 276 feet (84 m) in height. After a series of previous failures on this project, this marks the first time redevelopment has gone past ground breaking to the construction phase.
The first phase of construction (Phase II) had been contracted to be completed by March 2008. This would enable Morningstar, Inc. to move before its early 2009 lease expiration at its location on 225 W. Wacker Drive. However, financial troubles caused delays that necessitated Morningstar—who had intended to occupy over half of the building—seek lease proposals from other downtown office towers. Morningstar would have suffered holdover penalties and other damages if it were unable to move before its lease expires. Morningstar was hesitant to pursue other opportunities because their lease at 108 North State Street was at a below market price in the low \$20s/square foot.
On June 11, 2008, the CTA board was scheduled to hear the city's plan of a three-phase bailout of the construction of the rapid transit station under block 37. The plan included \$20 million in additional tax increment financing. This comes on top of an extra \$60–70 million in excess of its budgeted amount that the CTA had been forced to expend. The building developer, Joseph Freed & Associates, has agreed to accept \$19 million of cost overruns. This round of assistance only covers costs that have been incurred to date. No further funds have been committed and the station's development is being halted until such funds arise. The original budget was \$213 million (\$173 from CTA) and the costs-to-date had been \$320 million. The costs had run \$150 million over budget at that time, and the city was seeking private investment. Construction finally began on the third building, the hotel and residences in the end of 2009.
#### You Are Beautiful
During construction, 100 local artists created cutout woodblock letters to place on the temporary construction wall. They were posted on the wall adjacent to the temporary pedestrian walkway next to the construction site. The phrase " You Are Beautiful" was spelled out in various languages.
### Completion
In September 2008, the mixed-use 16-story building held its ribbon cutting ceremony. The CBS studio includes a 30 by 19 feet (9.1 by 5.8 m) outside video display. Morningstar moved its global headquarters into the building. The structure also had the world's first luxury coworking space, with 100 individual workspaces for rent on the 15th floor in a space that includes a spa, pool hall, recording studio, graphic design shop, audio-visual board room, penthouse suites and concierge.
The shopping center includes Bebe, Coach and J.Crew. Lettuce Entertain You, who also operates the food court at Water Tower Place, operates a cafe, food court and market. The top floor was to be occupied by Muvico Theaters, who pulled out in 2009. The David Barton Gym, the first and largest tenant of the Block 37 project, also withdrew from the project. The reason the gym opted out was the delayed opening of the mall, which is scheduled for fall 2009 opening rather than fall 2008 as scheduled. In March 2009, Apple Inc. also withdrew from its leasing agreement, and less than a month later it signed an agreement to develop a new storefront in the Clybourn Corridor on property bounded by North Avenue, Halsted Street and Clybourn Avenue. After Apple backed out of its lease, Lululemon backed out of its lease to be located next to Apple. Other March 2009 tenant signings included Chicago's haberdashery Bigsby & Kruthers, Sunglass Hut, crystal jewelers Swarovski, Starfruit Cafe, and Fast-casual eatery Tahini. Also, in the face of declining advertising revenue, CBS sought to sublease part of its studio.
On November 20, 2009, the underground pedway connecting the Blue Line and the Red Line opened. The following day Steve Madden shoes, opened the first retail establishment in the structure. As of February 2012, the theatre, food court and gym had not opened and were no longer planned. The building remained only 26 percent occupied at that time due to hesitance by retailers to commit to leases while lender Bank of America and developer Joseph Freed battled in bankruptcy court.
### Apartment building
In 2014, CIM began moving forward with adding a rental residential tower atop Block 37. In March 2014, rumors began that an apartment building exceeding 500 units was being planned. On September 11, CIM issued a press release that it had obtained permits for a 34-story, 690-unit apartment tower, which Crain's Chicago Business described as "the biggest apartment tower the Loop has seen in decades". The official commencement of the glass-walled project was on October 29 with expected completion by Summer 2016 to include amenities such as outdoor pool and spa, plus a rooftop spa and fitness center. At the time the retail spaces were only 52 percent occupied. The apartment building construction eliminated the plans to build a hotel atop the structure. The apartment building construction coincided with plans to bring an 11-screen AMC Theatres dine-in movie theater to the building. The 4th floor AMC theater opened its doors on December 17, 2015 as scheduled as the Loop's only major chain movie theatre. The theatre is Chicago's first Dine-In Theatre in which patrons order food by the touch of a button from their seats.
On June 1, 2016, the 38-story, 690-unit Marquee at Block 37 opened at 25 West Randolph St., marking the conclusion of construction at Block 37. CIM and its partner in the project, Canadian firm Morguard, attempted to put the building for sale in 2017 at \$414 million. After no one offered to buy 25 West Randolph St., the companies refinanced the building in late 2017 with a \$225 million mortgage, of which \$110 million was used to repay a \$110 million loan that funded construction. The developers then placed the building for sale again in 2019 at a cost of \$300 million. Morguard bought out CIM's stake in November 2019. Northwestern Mutual provided the \$165 million loan for Morguard to buy out CIM's stake.
## Gallery
|
62,324,388 |
Terri Harper
| 1,172,144,634 |
British boxer
|
[
"1996 births",
"Boxers from Doncaster",
"English women boxers",
"International Boxing Organization champions",
"Lightweight boxers",
"Living people",
"Sportspeople from Doncaster",
"Sportspeople from Yorkshire",
"World Boxing Council champions",
"World super-featherweight boxing champions"
] |
Terri Harper (born 2 November 1996) is a British professional boxer and current WBA and IBO Super-Welterweight champion. She is also the former super-featherweight world champion, having held the IBO female title from 2019 to November 2021 and the WBC version from 2020 to November 2021. Following a brief amateur career, Harper made her professional debut in 2017. She won her first championship two years later, capturing the regional WBC International female lightweight title in 2019. Later that year she moved down a weight class to the super-featherweight division to win her first world championship, the vacant IBO title, and added the WBC title to her collection the following year after defeating long-reigning champion Eva Wahlström. With her victory over Wahlström, Harper became the second British woman after Nicola Adams to hold a major world championship.
As of October 2021, Harper is ranked as the world's second best active female super-featherweight by The Ring and fourth by BoxRec.
## Early life
Born on 2 November 1996 in Denaby Main, Harper was raised in Yorkshire with her two brothers and sister. She got into boxing at the age of 12 after watching Jack Osbourne box on the TV show Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie. After winning a silver medal as an amateur at the 2012 European Junior Championships, Harper stepped away from the sport to concentrate on her education. She returned to amateur boxing after completing her GCSEs, only to become disillusioned with the sport after losing her first two bouts. While deciding whether or not to continue with boxing, Harper received a call from a boxing promoter with an offer to turn over to the professional side of the sport. She subsequently accepted the offer, and stated that she has "never looked back since".
## Amateur career
As an amateur, Harper only competed 17 times, which saw her win three national titles and a silver medal at the European Junior Championships in Poland.
## Professional career
### Early years
Harper made her professional debut on 25 November 2017, at the Doncaster Dome in Doncaster, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS) victory over Monika Antonik.
After four more fights in 2018—PTS wins over Borislava Goranova in February and Bojana Libiszewska in April, and stoppage wins over Bec Connolly in October and Feriche Mashauri in December—she faced undefeated Commonwealth super-lightweight champion Nina Bradley on 8 March 2019, at the Barnsley Metrodome in Barnsley, with the vacant WBC International female lightweight title on the line. In a fight which saw Bradley down twice in the first two rounds, Harper won via technical knockout (TKO) in the tenth and final round. At the time of the stoppage all three judges had Harper winning on the scorecards with 90–79, 89–80, and 89–80.
### IBO super-featherweight champion
#### Harper vs. Bell, Obenauf
Following a stoppage win against Claudia Lopez in May, Harper faced former world title challenger Nozipho Bell on 19 July for the vacant IBO female super-featherweight title at the Magna Centre in Rotherham. Harper dropped her opponent twice in the eighth round before referee Howard Foster called a halt to the contest, handing Harper her first world title via eighth-round TKO.
It was announced in September 2019 that Harper had signed a promotional contract with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing, with her first fight under the new promotion to take place on 2 November against former two-time world title challenger Viviane Obenauf at the Manchester Arena. The fight was televised live on Sky Sports as part of the undercard of Katie Taylor's world title bout against Christina Linardatou. Harper successfully retained her IBO title via unanimous decision (UD) over ten rounds, with the judges' scorecards reading 99–91, 99–92, and 97–93. In the post-fight interview, Hearn announced that terms had been agreed for Harper to challenge reigning champion Eva Wahlström for the WBC female super-featherweight title in early 2020.
### WBC and IBO super-featherweight champion
#### Harper vs. Wahlström
On 20 December it was announced that Harper would challenge Wahlström on 8 February 2020, at the FlyDSA Arena (formerly Sheffield Arena), with Harper's IBO and Wahlström's WBC titles on the line. The fight was aired live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US as part of the undercard for Kell Brook vs. Mark DeLuca. Harper knocked Wahlström down in round seven en-route to a UD victory, adding the WBC to her IBO title to become the second British female boxer, after Nicola Adams, to capture a major world title. Two judges scored the bout 99–90 and the third judge scored it 98–91.
#### Harper vs. Jonas
She defended her titles against former Olympian Natasha Jonas on 7 August 2020, at the Matchroom Sport headquarters in Brentwood, Essex. After a closely contested fight which saw Jonas suffer a cut above her right eye in the early rounds before staggering Harper in the eighth, the result went to the judges' scorecards; one judge scored the bout 96–94 in favour of Harper, the second judge scored it 96–95 to Jonas, while the third judge scored it even at 95–95, resulting in a split draw to see Harper retain her titles. The bout was the first time two British women contested a world title.
#### Harper vs. Thanderz
In the second defence of her WBC title and fourth of her IBO, Harper faced former European female super-featherweight champion Katharina Thanderz on 14 November 2020. The bout served as part of the undercard for Katie Taylor's world title defence against Miriam Gutiérrez at The SSE Arena in London. Thanderz suffered an injury to her nose after an accidental clash of heads in the ninth round before being hurt with a punch to the body, causing her to bend over in pain. Harper followed up with a sustained assault, landing combinations to the head and body, prompting referee Victor Loughlin to call a halt to the contest to award Harper a ninth-round TKO victory.
#### Harper vs. Choi
In April 2021, it was announced that Harper would face WBA female super-featherweight champion Hyun Mi Choi on 15 May, at the AO Arena (formerly known as Manchester Arena). The bout was to be televised live on Sky Sports in the UK and streamed live on DAZN in the US and more than 200 countries and territories. In early May, Harper was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a hand injury during sparring.
## Personal life
Harper came out as gay to her father and step mother at the age of 14.
## Professional boxing record
|
46,190,717 |
Discovery of the neutron
| 1,161,299,932 |
Scientific background leading to the discovery of subatomic particles
|
[
"Neutron"
] |
The discovery of the neutron and its properties was central to the extraordinary developments in atomic physics in the first half of the 20th century. Early in the century, Ernest Rutherford developed a crude model of the atom, based on the gold foil experiment of Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden. In this model, atoms had their mass and positive electric charge concentrated in a very small nucleus. By 1920, isotopes of chemical elements had been discovered, the atomic masses had been determined to be (approximately) integer multiples of the mass of the hydrogen atom, and the atomic number had been identified as the charge on the nucleus. Throughout the 1920s, the nucleus was viewed as composed of combinations of protons and electrons, the two elementary particles known at the time, but that model presented several experimental and theoretical contradictions.
The essential nature of the atomic nucleus was established with the discovery of the neutron by James Chadwick in 1932 and the determination that it was a new elementary particle, distinct from the proton.
The uncharged neutron was immediately exploited as a new means to probe nuclear structure, leading to such discoveries as the creation of new radioactive elements by neutron irradiation (1934) and the fission of uranium atoms by neutrons (1938). The discovery of fission led to the creation of both nuclear power and nuclear weapons by the end of World War II. Both the proton and the neutron were presumed to be elementary particles until the 1960s, when they were determined to be composite particles built from quarks.
## Discovery of radioactivity
At the start of the 20th century, the vigorous debate as to the existence of atoms had not yet been resolved. Philosophers such as Ernst Mach and Wilhelm Ostwald denied that atoms were real, viewing them as a convenient mathematical construct, while scientists such as Arnold Sommerfeld and Ludwig Boltzmann saw that physical theories required the existence of atoms.
Radioactivity was discovered in 1896 by the French scientist Henri Becquerel, while working with phosphorescent materials. In 1898, Ernest Rutherford at Cavendish Laboratory distinguished two types of radioactivity, alpha rays and beta rays, which differed in their ability to penetrate, or travel into, ordinary objects or gases. Two years later, Paul Villard discovered gamma rays, which possessed even more penetrating power. These radiations were soon identified with known particles: beta rays were shown to be electrons by Walter Kaufmann in 1902; alpha rays were shown to be helium ions by Rutherford and Thomas Royds in 1907; and gamma rays were shown to be electromagnetic radiation, that is, a form of light, by Rutherford and Edward Andrade in 1914. These radiations had also been identified as emanating from atoms, hence they provided clues to processes occurring within atoms. Conversely, the radiations were also recognized as tools that could be exploited in scattering experiments to probe the interior of atoms.
## The gold foil experiment and the discovery of the atomic nucleus
At the University of Manchester between 1908 and 1913, Rutherford directed Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden in a series of experiments to determine what happens when alpha particles scatter from metal foil. Now called the Rutherford gold foil experiment, or the Geiger–Marsden experiment, these measurements made the extraordinary discovery that although most alpha particles passing through a thin gold foil experienced little deflection, a few scattered to a high angle. The scattering indicated that some of the alpha particles ricocheted back from a small, but dense, component inside the atoms. Based on these measurements, by 1911 it was apparent to Rutherford that the atom consisted of a small, massive nucleus with positive charge surrounded by a much larger cloud of negatively charged electrons. The concentrated atomic mass was required to provide the observed deflection of the alpha particles, and Rutherford developed a mathematical model that accounted for the scattering.
The Rutherford model was very influential, motivating the Bohr model for electrons orbiting the nucleus in 1913 and eventually leading to quantum mechanics by the mid-1920s.
## Discovery of isotopes
Concurrent with the work of Rutherford, Geiger, and Marsden, the radiochemist Frederick Soddy at the University of Glasgow was studying chemistry related problems on radioactive materials. Soddy had worked with Rutherford on radioactivity at McGill University. By 1910, about 40 different radioactive elements, referred to as radioelements, had been identified between uranium and lead, although the periodic table only allowed for 11 elements. Soddy and Kazimierz Fajans independently found in 1913 that an element undergoing alpha decay will produce an element two places to the left in the periodic system and an element undergoing beta decay will produce an element one place to the right in the periodic system. Also, those radioelements that reside in the same places in the periodic system are chemically identical. Soddy called these chemically identical elements isotopes. For his study of radioactivity and the discovery of isotopes, Soddy was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Building from work by J. J. Thomson on the deflection of positively charged atoms by electric and magnetic fields, Francis Aston built the first mass spectrograph at the Cavendish Laboratory in 1919. His aim, which he easily achieved, was to separate the two isotopes of neon, and . Aston discovered that the masses of all the particles are whole numbers (the whole number rule): that is, the masses of all the isotopes are whole number multiples of the mass of the hydrogen atom. In these measurements, Aston arbitrarily computed his masses relative to oxygen-16, which he took to have a mass of exactly 16. (Today the atomic mass unit (amu) is relative to carbon-12.) Ironically, the one exception to this rule was hydrogen itself, which had a mass value of 1.008. The excess mass was small, but well outside the limits of experimental uncertainty. Aston and others quickly realized that the discrepancy is due to the binding energy of atoms, that is, the mass of a number of hydrogen atoms bound into a single atom must be less than the sum of the masses of the separate hydrogen atoms. Aston's work on isotopes won him the 1922 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of isotopes in a large number of non-radioactive elements, and for his enunciation of the whole number rule. Noting Aston's recent discovery of nuclear binding energy, in 1920 Arthur Eddington suggested that stars may obtain their energy by fusing hydrogen (protons) into helium and that the heavier elements may form in stars.
## Atomic number and Moseley's law
Rutherford and others had noted the disparity between the mass of an atom, computed in atomic mass units, and the approximate charge required on the nucleus for the Rutherford model to work. The required charge of the atomic nucleus was usually about half its atomic mass. Antonius van den Broek boldly hypothesized that the required charge, denoted by Z, was not half of the atomic weight for elements, but instead was exactly equal to the element's ordinal position in the periodic table. At that time, the positions of the elements in the periodic table were not known to have any physical significance. If the elements were ordered based on increasing atomic mass, however, periodicity in chemical properties was exhibited. Exceptions to this periodicity were apparent, however, such as cobalt and nickel.
At the University of Manchester in 1913 Henry Moseley discussed the new Bohr model of the atom with the visiting Bohr. The model accounted for the electromagnetic emission spectrum from the hydrogen atom, and Moseley and Bohr wondered if the electromagnetic emission spectra of heavier elements such as cobalt and nickel would follow their ordering by weight, or by their position in the periodic table. In 1913–1914 Moseley tested the question experimentally by using X-ray diffraction techniques. He found that the most intense short-wavelength line in the X-ray spectrum of a particular element, known as the K-alpha line, was related to the element's position in the periodic table, that is, its atomic number, Z. Indeed, Moseley introduced this nomenclature. Moseley found that the frequencies of the radiation were related in a simple way to the atomic number of the elements for a large number of elements.
Within a year it was noted that the equation for the relation, now called Moseley's law, could be explained in terms of the 1913 Bohr model, with reasonable extra assumptions about atomic structure in other elements. Moseley's result, by Bohr's later account, not only established atomic number as a measurable experimental quantity, but gave it a physical meaning as the positive charge on the atomic nucleus. The elements could be ordered in the periodic system in order of atomic number, rather than atomic weight. The result tied together the organization of the periodic table, the Bohr model for the atom, and Rutherford's model for alpha scattering from nuclei. It was cited by Rutherford, Bohr, and others as a critical advance in understanding the nature of the atomic nucleus.
Further research in atomic physics was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. Moseley was killed in 1915 at the Battle of Gallipoli, while Rutherford's student James Chadwick was interned in Germany for the duration of the war, 1914–1918. In Berlin, Lise Meitner's and Otto Hahn's research work on determining the radioactive decay chains of radium and uranium by precise chemical separation was interrupted. Meitner spent much of the war working as a radiologist and medical X-ray technician near the Austrian front, while Hahn, a chemist, worked on research in poison gas warfare.
## Rutherford atom
In 1920 Rutherford gave a Bakerian lecture at the Royal Society entitled the "Nuclear Constitution of Atoms", a summary of recent experiments on atomic nuclei and conclusions as to the structure of atomic nuclei. By 1920, the existence of electrons within the atomic nucleus was widely assumed. It was assumed the nucleus consisted of hydrogen nuclei in number equal to the atomic mass. But since each hydrogen nucleus had charge +1, the nucleus required a smaller number of "internal electrons" each of charge −1 to give the nucleus its correct total charge. The mass of protons is about 1800 times greater than that of electrons, so the mass of the electrons is incidental in this computation. Such a model was consistent with the scattering of alpha particles from heavy nuclei, as well as the charge and mass of the many isotopes that had been identified. There were other motivations for the proton–electron model. As noted by Rutherford at the time, "We have strong reason for believing that the nuclei of atoms contain electrons as well as positively charged bodies...", namely, it was known that beta radiation was electrons emitted from the nucleus.
In that lecture, Rutherford conjectured the existence of new particles. The alpha particle was known to be very stable, and it was assumed to retain its identity within the nucleus. The alpha particle was presumed to consist of four protons and two closely bound electrons to give it +2 charge and mass 4. In a 1919 paper, Rutherford had reported the apparent discovery of a new doubly charged particle of mass 3, denoted the X++, interpreted to consist of three protons and a closely bound electron. This result suggested to Rutherford the likely existence of two new particles: one of two protons with a closely bound electron, and another of one proton and a closely bound electron. The X++ particle was later determined to have mass 4 and to be just a low-energy alpha particle. Nevertheless, Rutherford had conjectured the existence of the deuteron, a +1 charge particle of mass 2, and the neutron, a neutral particle of mass 1. The former is the nucleus of deuterium, discovered in 1931 by Harold Urey. The mass of the hypothetical neutral particle would be little different from that of the proton. Rutherford determined that such a zero-charge particle would be difficult to detect by available techniques.
About the time of Rutherford's lecture, other publications appeared with similar suggestions of a proton–electron composite in the nucleus, and in 1921 William Harkins, an American chemist, named the uncharged particle the neutron. About that same time the word proton was adopted for the hydrogen nucleus. Neutron was apparently constructed from the Latin root for neutral and the Greek ending -on (by imitation of electron and proton). References to the word neutron in connection with the atom can be found in the literature as early as 1899, however.
Rutherford and Chadwick immediately began an experimental program at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge to search for the neutron. The experiments continued throughout the 1920s without success.
Rutherford's conjecture and the hypothetical "neutron" were not widely accepted. In his 1931 monograph on the Constitution of Atomic Nuclei and Radioactivity, George Gamow, then at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen, did not mention the neutron. At the time of their 1932 measurements in Paris that would lead to the discovery of the neutron, Irène Joliot-Curie and Frédéric Joliot were unaware of the conjecture.
## Problems of the nuclear electrons hypothesis
Throughout the 1920s, physicists assumed that the atomic nucleus was composed of protons and "nuclear electrons". Under this hypothesis, the nitrogen-14 (<sup>14</sup>N) nucleus would be composed of 14 protons and 7 electrons, so that it would have a net charge of +7 elementary charge units and a mass of 14 atomic mass units. This nucleus would also be orbited by another 7 electrons, termed "external electrons" by Rutherford, to complete the <sup>14</sup>N atom. However problems with the hypothesis soon became apparent.
Ralph Kronig pointed out in 1926 that the observed hyperfine structure of atomic spectra was inconsistent with the proton–electron hypothesis. This structure is caused by the influence of the nucleus on the dynamics of orbiting electrons. The magnetic moments of supposed "nuclear electrons" should produce hyperfine spectral line splittings similar to the Zeeman effect, but no such effects were observed. It seemed that the magnetic moment of the electron vanished when it was within the nucleus.
While on a visit to Utrecht University in 1928, Kronig learned of a surprising aspect of the rotational spectrum of N<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup>. The precision measurement made by Leonard Ornstein, the director of Utrecht's Physical Laboratory, showed that the spin of nitrogen nucleus must be equal to one. However, if the nitrogen-14 (<sup>14</sup>N) nucleus was composed of 14 protons and 7 electrons, an odd number of spin-1/2 particles, then the resultant nuclear spin should be half-integer. Kronig therefore suggested that perhaps "protons and electrons do not retain their identity to the extent they do outside the nucleus".
Observations of the rotational energy levels of diatomic molecules using Raman spectroscopy by Franco Rasetti in 1929 were inconsistent with the statistics expected from the proton–electron hypothesis. Rasetti obtained band spectra for H<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub> molecules. While the lines for both diatomic molecules showed alternation in intensity between light and dark, the pattern of alternation for H<sub>2</sub> is opposite to that of the N<sub>2</sub>. After carefully analyzing these experimental results, German physicists Walter Heitler and Gerhard Herzberg showed that the hydrogen nuclei obey Fermi statistics and the nitrogen nuclei obey Bose statistics. However, a then unpublished result of Eugene Wigner showed that a composite system with an odd number of spin-1/2 particles must obey Fermi statistics; a system with an even number of spin-1/2 particle obeys Bose statistics. If the nitrogen nucleus had 21 particles, it should obey Fermi statistics, contrary to fact. Thus, Heitler and Herzberg concluded: "the electron in the nucleus ... loses its ability to determine the statistics of the nucleus."
The Klein paradox, discovered by Oskar Klein in 1928, presented further quantum mechanical objections to the notion of an electron confined within a nucleus. Derived from the Dirac equation, this clear and precise paradox suggested that an electron approaching a high potential barrier has a high probability of passing through the barrier by a pair creation process. Apparently, an electron could not be confined within a nucleus by any potential well. The meaning of this paradox was intensely debated at the time.
By about 1930 it was generally recognized that it was difficult to reconcile the proton–electron model for nuclei with the Heisenberg uncertainty relation of quantum mechanics. This relation, Δx⋅Δp ≥ 1⁄2ħ, implies that an electron confined to a region the size of an atomic nucleus typically has a kinetic energy of about 40 MeV, which is larger than the observed energy of beta particles emitted from the nucleus. Such energy is also much larger than the binding energy of nucleons, which Aston and others had shown to be less than 9 MeV per nucleon.
In 1927, Charles Ellis and W. Wooster at the Cavendish Laboratory measured the energies of β-decay electrons. They found that the distribution of energies from any particular radioactive nuclei was broad and continuous, a result that contrasted notably with the distinct energy values observed in alpha and gamma decay. Further, the continuous energy distribution seemed to indicate that energy was not conserved by this "nuclear electrons" process. Indeed, in 1929 Bohr proposed to modify the law of energy conservation to account for the continuous energy distribution. The proposal earned the support of Werner Heisenberg. Such considerations were apparently reasonable, inasmuch as the laws of quantum mechanics had so recently overturned the laws of classical mechanics.
While all these considerations did not "prove" an electron could not exist in the nucleus, they were confusing and challenging for physicists to interpret. Many theories were invented to explain how the above arguments could be wrong. In his 1931 monograph, Gamow summarized all these contradictions, marking the statements regarding electrons in the nucleus with warning symbols.
## Discovery of the neutron
In 1930, Walther Bothe and his collaborator Herbert Becker in Giessen, Germany found that if the energetic alpha particles emitted from polonium fell on certain light elements, specifically beryllium (<sup>9</sup>
<sub>4</sub>Be
), boron (<sup>11</sup>
<sub>5</sub>B
), or lithium (<sup>7</sup>
<sub>3</sub>Li
), an unusually penetrating radiation was produced. Beryllium produced the most intense radiation. Polonium is highly radioactive, producing energetic alpha radiation, and it was commonly used for scattering experiments at the time. Alpha radiation can be influenced by an electric field, because it is composed of charged particles. The observed penetrating radiation was not influenced by an electric field, however, so it was thought to be gamma radiation. The radiation was more penetrating than any gamma rays known, and the details of experimental results were difficult to interpret.
Two years later Irène Joliot-Curie and Frédéric Joliot in Paris showed that if this unknown radiation fell on paraffin wax, or any other hydrogen-containing compound, it ejected protons of very high energy (5 MeV). This observation was not in itself inconsistent with the assumed gamma ray nature of the new radiation, but that interpretation (Compton scattering) had a logical problem. From energy and momentum considerations, a gamma ray would have to have impossibly high energy (50 MeV) to scatter a massive proton. In Rome, the young physicist Ettore Majorana declared that the manner in which the new radiation interacted with protons required a new neutral particle.
On hearing of the Paris results, neither Rutherford nor James Chadwick at the Cavendish Laboratory believed the gamma ray hypothesis. Assisted by Norman Feather, Chadwick quickly performed a series of experiments showing that the gamma ray hypothesis was untenable. The previous year, Chadwick, J.E.R. Constable, and E.C. Pollard had already conducted experiments on disintegrating light elements using alpha radiation from polonium. They had also developed more accurate and efficient methods for detecting, counting, and recording the ejected protons. Chadwick repeated the creation of the radiation using beryllium to absorb the alpha particles: <sup>9</sup>Be + <sup>4</sup>He (α) → <sup>12</sup>C + <sup>1</sup>n. Following the Paris experiment, he aimed the radiation at paraffin wax, a hydrocarbon high in hydrogen content, hence offering a target dense with protons. As in the Paris experiment, the radiation energetically scattered some of the protons. Chadwick measured the range of these protons, and also measured how the new radiation impacted the atoms of various gases. He found that the new radiation consisted of not gamma rays, but uncharged particles with about the same mass as the proton. These particles were neutrons. Chadwick won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935 for this discovery.
The year 1932 was later referred to as the "annus mirabilis" for nuclear physics in the Cavendish Laboratory, with discoveries of the neutron, artificial nuclear disintegration by the Cockcroft–Walton particle accelerator, and the positron.
## Proton–neutron model of the nucleus
Given the problems of the proton–electron model, it was quickly accepted that the atomic nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons, although the precise nature of the neutron was initially unclear. Within months after the discovery of the neutron, Werner Heisenberg and Dmitri Ivanenko had proposed proton–neutron models for the nucleus. Heisenberg's landmark papers approached the description of protons and neutrons in the nucleus through quantum mechanics. While Heisenberg's theory for protons and neutrons in the nucleus was a "major step toward understanding the nucleus as a quantum mechanical system," he still assumed the presence of nuclear electrons. In particular, Heisenberg assumed the neutron was a proton–electron composite, for which there is no quantum mechanical explanation. Heisenberg had no explanation for how lightweight electrons could be bound within the nucleus. Heisenberg introduced the first theory of nuclear exchange forces that bind the nucleons. He considered protons and neutrons to be different quantum states of the same particle, i.e., nucleons distinguished by the value of their nuclear isospin quantum numbers.
The proton–neutron model explained the puzzle of dinitrogen. When <sup>14</sup>N was proposed to consist of 3 pairs each of protons and neutrons, with an additional unpaired neutron and proton each contributing a spin of 1⁄2 ħ in the same direction for a total spin of 1 ħ, the model became viable. Soon, neutrons were used to naturally explain spin differences in many different nuclides in the same way.
If the proton–neutron model for the nucleus resolved many issues, it highlighted the problem of explaining the origins of beta radiation. No existing theory could account for how electrons, or positrons, could emanate from the nucleus. In 1934, Enrico Fermi published his classic paper describing the process of beta decay, in which the neutron decays to a proton by creating an electron and a (as yet undiscovered) neutrino. The paper employed the analogy that photons, or electromagnetic radiation, were similarly created and destroyed in atomic processes. Ivanenko had suggested a similar analogy in 1932. Fermi's theory requires the neutron to be a spin-1⁄2 particle. The theory preserved the principle of conservation of energy, which had been thrown into question by the continuous energy distribution of beta particles. The basic theory for beta decay proposed by Fermi was the first to show how particles could be created and destroyed. It established a general, basic theory for the interaction of particles by weak or strong forces. While this influential paper has stood the test of time, the ideas within it were so new that when it was first submitted to the journal Nature in 1933 it was rejected as being too speculative.
## The nature of the neutron
The question of whether the neutron was a composite particle of a proton and an electron persisted for a few years after its discovery. In 1932 Harrie Massey explored a model for a composite neutron to account for its great penetrating power through matter and its electrical neutrality, for example. The issue was a legacy of the prevailing view from the 1920s that the only elementary particles were the proton and electron.
The nature of the neutron was a primary topic of discussion at the 7th Solvay Conference held in October 1933, attended by Heisenberg, Niels Bohr, Lise Meitner, Ernest Lawrence, Fermi, Chadwick, and others. As posed by Chadwick in his Bakerian Lecture in 1933, the primary question was the mass of the neutron relative to the proton. If the neutron's mass was less than the combined masses of a proton and an electron (1.0078 u), then the neutron could be a proton-electron composite because of the mass defect from the nuclear binding energy. If greater than the combined masses, then the neutron was elementary like the proton. The question was challenging to answer because the electron's mass is only 0.05% of the proton's, hence exceptionally precise measurements were required.
The difficulty of making the measurement is illustrated by the wide-ranging values for the mass of the neutron obtained from 1932 to 1934. The accepted value today is 1.00866 u. In Chadwick's 1932 paper reporting on the discovery, he estimated the mass of the neutron to be between 1.005 u and 1.008 u. By bombarding boron with alpha particles, Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie obtained a high value of 1.012 u, while Ernest Lawrence's team at the University of California measured the small value 1.0006 u using their new cyclotron.
In 1935 Chadwick and his doctoral student Maurice Goldhaber resolved the issue by reporting the first accurate measurement of the mass of the neutron. They used the 2.6 MeV gamma rays of Thallium-208 (<sup>208</sup>Tl) (then known as thorium C") to photodisintegrate the deuteron.
{\| border="0"
\|- style="height:2em;" \|<sup>2</sup>
<sub>1</sub>D
\|\|+ \|\| \|\|→ \|\|<sup>1</sup>
<sub>1</sub>H
\|\|+ \|\| In this reaction, the resulting proton and neutron have about equal kinetic energy, since their masses are about equal. The kinetic energy of the resulting proton could be measured (0.24 MeV), and therefore the deuteron's binding energy could be determined (2.6 MeV − 2(0.24 MeV) = 2.1 MeV, or 0.0023 u). The neutron's mass could then be determined by the simple mass balance
{\| border="0"
\|- style="height:2em;" \|m<sub>d</sub> \|\|+ \|\|b.e. \|\|= \|\|m<sub>p</sub> \|\|+ \|\|m<sub>n</sub> where m<sub>d,p,n</sub> refer to the deuteron, proton, or neutron mass, and "b.e." is the binding energy. The masses of the deuteron and proton were known; Chadwick and Goldhaber used values 2.0142 u and 1.0081 u, respectively. They found that the neutron's mass was slightly greater than the mass of the proton 1.0084 u or 1.0090 u, depending on the precise value used for the deuteron mass. The mass of the neutron was too large to be a proton–electron composite, and the neutron was therefore identified as an elementary particle. Chadwick and Goldhaber predicted that a free neutron would be able to decay into a proton, electron, and neutrino (beta decay).
## Neutron physics in the 1930s
Soon after the discovery of the neutron, indirect evidence suggested the neutron had an unexpected non-zero value for its magnetic moment. Attempts to measure the neutron's magnetic moment originated with the discovery by Otto Stern in 1933 in Hamburg that the proton had an anomalously large magnetic moment. By 1934 groups led by Stern, now in Pittsburgh, and I. I. Rabi in New York had independently deduced that the magnetic moment of the neutron was negative and unexpectedly large by measuring the magnetic moments of the proton and deuteron. Values for the magnetic moment of the neutron were also determined by Robert Bacher (1933) at Ann Arbor and I.Y. Tamm and S.A. Altshuler (1934) in the Soviet Union from studies of the hyperfine structure of atomic spectra. By the late 1930s accurate values for the magnetic moment of the neutron had been deduced by the Rabi group using measurements employing newly developed nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. The large value for the proton's magnetic moment and the inferred negative value for the neutron's magnetic moment were unexpected and raised many questions.
The discovery of the neutron immediately gave scientists a new tool for probing the properties of atomic nuclei. Alpha particles had been used over the previous decades in scattering experiments, but such particles, which are helium nuclei, have +2 charge. This charge makes it difficult for alpha particles to overcome the Coulomb repulsive force and interact directly with the nuclei of atoms. Since neutrons have no electric charge, they do not have to overcome this force to interact with nuclei. Almost coincident with their discovery, neutrons were used by Norman Feather, Chadwick's colleague and protege, in scattering experiments with nitrogen. Feather was able to show that neutrons interacting with nitrogen nuclei scattered to protons or induced nitrogen to disintegrate to form boron with the emission of an alpha particle. Feather was therefore the first to show that neutrons produce nuclear disintegrations.
In Rome, Enrico Fermi and his team bombarded heavier elements with neutrons and found the products to be radioactive. By 1934 they had used neutrons to induce radioactivity in 22 different elements, many of these elements of high atomic number. Noticing that other experiments with neutrons at his laboratory seemed to work better on a wooden table than a marble table, Fermi suspected that the protons of the wood were slowing the neutrons and so increasing the chance for the neutron to interact with nuclei. Fermi therefore passed neutrons through paraffin wax to slow them and found that the radioactivity of some bombarded elements increased by a factor of tens to hundreds. The cross section for interaction with nuclei is much larger for slow neutrons than for fast neutrons. In 1938 Fermi received the Nobel Prize in Physics "for his demonstrations of the existence of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for his related discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons".
In Berlin, the collaboration of Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn, together with their assistant Fritz Strassmann, furthered the research begun by Fermi and his team when they bombarded uranium with neutrons. Between 1934 and 1938, Hahn, Meitner, and Strassmann found a great number of radioactive transmutation products from these experiments, all of which they regarded as transuranic. Transuranic nuclides are those that have an atomic number greater than uranium (92), formed by neutron absorption; such nuclides are not naturally occurring. In July 1938, Meitner was forced to escape antisemitic persecution in Nazi Germany after the Anschluss, and she was able to secure a new position in Sweden. The decisive experiment on 16–17 December 1938 (using a chemical process called "radium–barium–mesothorium fractionation") produced puzzling results: what they had understood to be three isotopes of radium were instead consistently behaving as barium. Radium (atomic number 88) and barium (atomic number 56) are in the same chemical group. By January 1939 Hahn had concluded that what they had thought were transuranic nuclides were instead much lighter nuclides, such as barium, lanthanum, cerium and light platinoids. Meitner and her nephew Otto Frisch immediately and correctly interpreted these observations as resulting from nuclear fission, a term coined by Frisch.
Hahn and his collaborators had detected the splitting of uranium nuclei, made unstable by neutron absorption, into lighter elements. Meitner and Frisch also showed that the fission of each uranium atom would release about 200 MeV of energy. The discovery of fission electrified the global community of atomic physicists and the public. In their second publication on nuclear fission, Hahn and Strassmann predicted the existence and liberation of additional neutrons during the fission process. Frédéric Joliot and his team proved this phenomenon to be a chain reaction in March 1939. In 1945 Hahn received the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his discovery of the fission of heavy atomic nuclei."
## After 1939
The discovery of nuclear fission at the end of 1938 marked a shift in the centers of nuclear research from Europe to the United States. Large numbers of scientists were migrating to the United States to escape the troubles and antisemitism in Europe and the looming war (See Jewish scientists and the Manhattan Project). The new centers of nuclear research were the universities in the United States, particularly Columbia University in New York and the University of Chicago where Enrico Fermi had relocated, and a secret research facility at Los Alamos, New Mexico, established in 1942, the new home of the Manhattan project. This wartime project was focussed on the construction of nuclear weapons, exploiting the enormous energy released by the fission of uranium or plutonium through neutron-based chain reactions.
The discoveries of the neutron and positron in 1932 were the start of the discoveries of many new particles. Muons were discovered in 1936. Pions and kaons were discovered in 1947, while lambda particles were discovered in 1950. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, a large number of particles called hadrons were discovered. A classification scheme for organizing all these particles, proposed independently by Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig in 1964, became known as the quark model. By this model, particles such as the proton and neutron were not elementary, but composed of various configurations of a small number of other truly elementary particles called partons or quarks. The quark model received experimental verification beginning in the late 1960s and finally provided an explanation for the neutron's anomalous magnetic moment.
## Videos
- Ernest Rutherford summarizes the state of nuclear physics in 1935. (7 min., Nobelprize.org)
- Hans Bethe discusses Chadwick and Goldhaber's work on deuteron disintegration. (2 min., Web of Stories)
## Explanatory notes
|
1,080,273 |
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
| 1,167,462,721 |
National Park Service unit in Oregon, United States
|
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"Cenozoic paleontological sites of North America",
"Eocene paleontological sites of North America",
"Fossil parks in the United States",
"Fossil trackways in the United States",
"John Day Fossil Beds National Monument",
"Landforms of Grant County, Oregon",
"Landforms of Wheeler County, Oregon",
"Museums in Grant County, Oregon",
"National Natural Landmarks in Oregon",
"National Park Service National Monuments in Oregon",
"Natural history museums in Oregon",
"Paleogene geology of Oregon",
"Paleontology in Oregon",
"Parks in Grant County, Oregon",
"Protected areas established in 1975",
"Protected areas of Wheeler County, Oregon",
"Volcanoes of Oregon"
] |
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. national monument in Wheeler and Grant counties in east-central Oregon. Located within the John Day River basin and managed by the National Park Service, the park is known for its well-preserved layers of fossil plants and mammals that lived in the region between the late Eocene, about 45 million years ago, and the late Miocene, about 5 million years ago. The monument consists of three geographically separate units: Sheep Rock, Painted Hills, and Clarno.
The units cover a total of 13,944 acres (5,643 ha) of semi-desert shrublands, riparian zones, and colorful badlands. About 210,000 people visited the park in 2016 to engage in outdoor recreation or to visit the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center or the James Cant Ranch Historic District.
Before the arrival of Euro-Americans in the 19th century, the John Day basin was frequented by Sahaptin people who hunted, fished, and gathered roots and berries in the region. After road-building made the valley more accessible, settlers established farms, ranches, and a few small towns along the river and its tributaries. Paleontologists have been unearthing and studying the fossils in the region since 1864, when Thomas Condon, a missionary and amateur geologist, recognized their importance and made them known globally. Parts of the basin became a National Monument in 1975.
Averaging about 2,200 feet (670 m) in elevation, the monument has a dry climate with temperatures that vary from summer highs of about 90 °F (32 °C) to winter lows below freezing. The monument has more than 80 soil types that support a wide variety of flora, ranging from willow trees near the river to grasses on alluvial fans to cactus among rocks at higher elevations. Fauna include more than 50 species of resident and migratory birds. Large mammals like elk and smaller animals such as raccoons, coyotes, and voles frequent these units, which are also populated by a wide variety of reptiles, fish, butterflies, and other creatures adapted to particular niches of a mountainous semi-desert terrain.
## Geography
The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument consists of three widely separated units—Sheep Rock, Painted Hills, and Clarno—in the John Day River basin of east-central Oregon. Located in rugged terrain in the counties of Wheeler and Grant, the park units are characterized by hills, deep ravines, and eroded fossil-bearing rock formations. To the west lies the Cascade Range, to the south the Ochoco Mountains, and to the east the Blue Mountains. Elevations within the 13,944-acre (5,643 ha) park range from 2,000 to 4,500 feet (610 to 1,370 m).
`The Clarno Unit, the westernmost of the three units, consists of 1,969 acres (797 ha) located 18 miles (29 km) west of Fossil along Oregon Route 218. The Painted Hills Unit, which lies about halfway between the other two, covers 3,132 acres (1,267 ha). It is situated about 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Mitchell along Burnt Ranch Road, which intersects U.S. Route 26 west of Mitchell. These two units are entirely within Wheeler County. The remaining 8,843 acres (3,579 ha) of the park, the Sheep Rock Unit, are located along Oregon Route 19 and the John Day River upstream of the unincorporated community of Kimberly. This unit is mostly in Grant County; a small part extends into Wheeler County. The Sheep Rock Unit is further subdivided into the Mascall Formation Overlook, Picture Gorge, the James Cant Ranch Historic District, Cathedral Rock, Blue Basin, and the Foree Area. Some of these are separated from one another by farms, ranches, and other parcels of land that are not part of the park.`
`The park headquarters and main visitor center, both in the Sheep Rock Unit, are 122 miles (196 km) northeast of Bend and 240 miles (390 km) southeast of Portland by highway. The shortest highway distances from unit to unit within the park are Sheep Rock to Painted Hills, 45 miles (72 km); Painted Hills to Clarno, 75 miles (121 km), and Clarno to Sheep Rock, 81 miles (130 km).`
The John Day River, a tributary of the Columbia River, flows generally west from the Strawberry Mountains before reaching the national monument. It turns sharply north between the Mascall Formation Overlook and Kimberly, where the North Fork John Day River joins the main stem. Downstream of Kimberly, the river flows generally west to downstream of the unincorporated community of Twickenham, and generally north thereafter. Rock Creek enters the river at the north end of Picture Gorge. Bridge Creek passes through Mitchell, then north along the eastern edge of the Painted Hills Unit to meet the John Day downstream of Twickenham. Intermittent streams in the Clarno Unit empty into Pine Creek, which flows just beyond the south edge of the unit and enters the John Day upstream of the unincorporated community of Clarno.
## History
Early inhabitants of north-central Oregon included Sahaptin-speaking people of the Umatilla, Wasco, and Warm Springs tribes as well as the Northern Paiutes, speakers of a Uto-Aztecan (Shoshonean) language. All were hunter-gatherers competing for resources such as elk, huckleberries, and salmon. Researchers have identified 36 sites of related archeological interest, including rock shelters and cairns, in or adjacent to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Most significant among the prehistoric sites are the Picture Gorge pictographs, consisting of six panels of rock art in the canyon at the south end of the Sheep Rock Unit. The art is of undetermined origin and age but is "centuries old".
The John Day basin remained largely unexplored by non-natives until the mid-19th century. Lewis and Clark noted but did not explore the John Day River while traveling along the Columbia River in 1805. John Day, for whom the river is named, apparently visited only its confluence with the Columbia in 1812. In 1829, Peter Skene Ogden, working for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), led a company of explorers and fur trappers along the river through what would later become the Sheep Rock Unit. John Work, also of the HBC, visited this part of the river in 1831.
In the 1840s, thousands of settlers, attracted in part by the lure of free land, began emigrating west over the Oregon Trail. Leaving drought, worn-out farms, and economic problems behind, they emigrated from states like Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa in the Midwest to Oregon, especially the Willamette Valley in the western part of the state. After passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 and the discovery of gold in the upper John Day basin, a fraction of these newcomers abandoned the Willamette Valley in favor of eastern Oregon. Some established villages and engaged in subsistence farming and ranching near streams. Settlement was made more practical by a supply route from The Dalles on the Columbia River to gold mines at Canyon City in the upper John Day valley. By the late 1860s, the route became formalized as The Dalles Military Road, which passed along Bridge Creek and south of Sheep Rock. Clashes between natives and non-natives and the desire of the U.S. Government to populate the region with Euro-Americans led to the gradual removal of native residents to reservations, including three in north-central Oregon: Warm Springs, Burns Paiute, and Umatilla.
In 1864, a company of soldiers sent to protect mining camps from raids by Northern Paiutes discovered fossils in the Crooked River region, south of the John Day basin. One of their leaders, Captain John M. Drake, collected some of these fossils for Thomas Condon, a missionary pastor and amateur geologist who lived in The Dalles. Recognizing the scientific importance of the fossils, Condon accompanied soldiers traveling through the region. He discovered rich fossil beds along Bridge Creek and near Sheep Rock in 1865. Condon's trips to the area and his public lectures and reports about his finds led to wide interest in the fossil beds among scientists such as Edward Drinker Cope of the Academy of Natural Sciences. One of them, paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh of Yale, accompanied Condon on a trip to the region in 1871. Condon's work led to his appointment in 1872 as Oregon's first state geologist and to international fame for the fossil beds. Specimens from the beds were sent to the Smithsonian Institution and other museums worldwide, and by 1900 more than 100 articles and books had been published about the John Day Fossil Beds. During the first half of the 20th century, scientists such as John C. Merriam, Ralph Chaney, Frank H. Knowlton, and Alonzo W. Hancock continued work in the fossil beds, including those discovered near Clarno in about 1890.
Remote and arid, the John Day basin near the fossil beds was slow to attract homesteaders. The first settler in what became the Sheep Rock Unit is thought to have been Frank Butler, who built a cabin along the river in 1877. In 1881, Eli Casey Officer began grazing sheep on a homestead claim in same general area. His son Floyd later lived there with his family and sometimes accompanied Condon on his fossil hunts. In 1910, James and Elizabeth Cant bought 700 acres (280 ha) from the Officer family. and converted it to a sheep ranch, which was eventually expanded to a sheep-and-cattle ranch of about 6,000 acres (2,400 ha).
`Merriam, a University of California paleontologist who had led expeditions to the region in 1899 and 1900, encouraged the State of Oregon to protect the area. In the early 1930s the state began to buy land for state parks at Picture Gorge, the Painted Hills, and Clarno that later became part of the national monument. In 1951 the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry established Camp Hancock, a field school for young students of geology, paleontology, and other sciences, on public lands surrounded by what would later become the Clarno Unit. In 1974 Congress authorized the National Park Service to establish the national monument, and President Gerald R. Ford signed the authorization. After the State of Oregon had completed the land transfer of the three state parks to the federal government, the monument was officially established on October 8, 1975.`
The Cant Ranch House and associated land and outbuildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the 200-acre (81 ha) James Cant Ranch Historic District in 1984. After the monument opened in 1975, the ranch house served as headquarters for all three units. In 2005, the lower floor of the ranch house was opened to the public; it features exhibits about the cultural history of the region. The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center, a \$7.5 million museum and visitor center at the Sheep Rock Unit, also opened in 2005. Among the center's offerings are displays of fossils, murals depicting life in the basin during eight geologic times ranging from about 45 million to about 5 million years ago, and views of the paleontology laboratory.
In March 2011, the Park Service installed two webcams at the Sheep Rock Unit. Both transmit continuous real-time images; one shows the paleontology lab at the Condon Center and the other depicts Sheep Rock and nearby features. In June 2011, work was finished on a new ranger residence in the Painted Hills Unit that makes the unit almost carbon-neutral. Solar panels generate enough electricity to power the house as well as the ranger's electric vehicle, on loan from its manufacturer for a year. The project is part of ongoing efforts to make the whole park carbon-neutral.
## Geology and paleontology
The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument lies within the Blue Mountains physiographic province, which originated during the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous, about 118 to 93 million years ago. Northeastern Oregon was assembled in large blocks (exotic terranes) of Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic rock shifted by tectonic forces and accreted to what was then the western edge of the North American continent, near the Idaho border. By the beginning of the Cenozoic era, 66 million years ago, the Blue Mountains province was uplifting (that is, was being pushed higher by tectonic forces), and the Pacific Ocean shoreline, formerly near Idaho, had shifted to the west.
Volcanic eruptions about 44 million years ago during the Eocene deposited lavas accompanied by debris flows (lahars) atop the older rocks in the western part of the province. Containing fragments of shale, siltstone, conglomerates, and breccias, the debris flows entombed plants and animals caught in their paths; the remnants of these ancient flows comprise the rock formations exposed in the Clarno Unit. Preserved in the Clarno Nut Beds are fossils of tropical and subtropical nuts, fruits, roots, branches, and seeds. The Clarno Formation also contains bones, palm leaves longer than 24 inches (61 cm), avocado trees, and other subtropical plants from 50 million years ago, when the climate was warmer and wetter than it is in the 21st century. Large mammals that inhabited this region between 50 and 35 million years ago included browsers such as brontotheres and amynodonts, scavengers like the hyaenodonts, as well as Patriofelis and other predators. Eroded remnants of the Clarno stratovolcanoes, once the size of Mount Hood, are still visible near the monument, for example Black Butte, White Butte, and other buttes near Mitchell.
After the Clarno volcanoes had subsided, they were replaced about 36 million years ago by eruptions from volcanoes to the west, in the general vicinity of what would become the Cascade Range. The John Day volcanoes, as they are called, emitted large volumes of ash and dust, much of which settled in the John Day basin. As with the earlier Clarno debris flows, the rapid deposition of ash preserved the remains of plants and animals living in the region. Because ash and other debris fell during varied climatic and volcanic conditions and accumulated from many further eruptions extending into the early Miocene (about 20 million years ago), the sediment layers in the fossil beds vary in their chemical composition and color. Laid down on top of the Clarno Strata, the younger John Day Strata consist of several distinct groups of layers. The lowermost contains red ash such as that exposed in the Painted Hills Unit. The layer above it is mainly pea-green clay. On top of the pea-green layer are buff-colored layers. Fossils found in the John Day Strata include a wide variety of plants and more than 100 species of mammals, including dogs, cats, oreodonts, saber-toothed tigers, horses, camels, and rodents. The Blue Basin and the Sheep Rock unit contain many of these same fossils, as well as turtles, opossums, and large pigs. More than 60 plant species are fossilized in these strata, such as hydrangea, peas, hawthorn, and mulberry, as well as pines and many deciduous trees. One of the notable plant fossils is the Metasequoia (dawn redwood), a genus thought to have gone extinct worldwide until it was discovered alive in China in the early 20th century.
After another period of erosion, a series of lava eruptions from fissures across northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and western Idaho inundated much of the Blue Mountain province with liquid basalt. Extruded in the middle Miocene between 17 and 12 million years ago, more than 40 separate flows contributing to the Columbia River Basalt Group have been identified, the largest of which involved up to 400 cubic miles (1,700 km<sup>3</sup>) of lava. The most prominent of these formations within the monument is the Picture Gorge Basalt, which rests above the John Day Strata.
Subsequent ashfall from eruptions in the Cascade Range in the late Miocene contributed to the Mascall Formation, layers of stream-deposited volcanic tuffs laid atop the Picture Gorge Basalt. Preserved in the Mascall are fossils of animals such as horses, camels, rhinoceroses, bears, pronghorn, deer, weasels, raccoons, cats, dogs, and sloths. These fauna thrived in the monument's open woodland and savannah between 15 and 12 million years ago. The fossils of oak, sycamore, maple, ginkgo, and elm trees reflect the area's cool climate during this time period.
The last major eruption occurred in the late Miocene, about 7 million years ago. The resulting stratum, the Rattlesnake Formation, lies on top of the Mascall and contains an ignimbrite. The Rattlesnake stratum has fossils of mastodons, camels, rhinoceroses, the ancestors of dogs, lions, bears, and horses, and others that grazed on the grasslands of the time.
`Two fossilized teeth found recently in the Rattlesnake stratum near Dayville are the earliest record of beaver, Castor californicus, in North America. The beaver teeth, which are about 7 million years old, have been scheduled for display at the Condon Center.`
`The monument contains extensive deposits of well-preserved fossils from various periods spanning more than 40 million years. Taken as a whole, the fossils present an unusually detailed view of plants and animals since the late Eocene. In addition, analysis of the John Day fossils has contributed to paleoclimatology (the study of Earth's past climates) and the study of evolution.`
Paleontologists at the monument find, describe the location of, and collect fossil-bearing rocks from more than 700 sites. They take them to the paleontology laboratory at the visitor center, where the fossils are stabilized, separated from their rock matrix, and cleaned. The fossil specimens are then catalogued, indexed, stored in climate-controlled cabinets, and made available for research. In addition to preparing fossils, the paleontologists coordinate the monument's basic research in paleobotany and other scientific areas and manage the fossil museum in the visitor center.
## Climate
Average precipitation, limited by the rain shadow effects of the Cascade Range and the Ochoco Mountains, varies from 9 to 16 inches (230 to 410 mm) a year. In winter, much of the precipitation arrives as snow.
Weather data for the city of Mitchell, near the Painted Hills Unit, show that July and August are the warmest months, with an average high of 86 °F (30 °C) and an average low of 52 °F (11 °C). January is the coldest month, when highs average 42 °F (6 °C) and lows average 24 °F (−4 °C). The highest recorded temperature in Mitchell was 107 °F (42 °C) in 1972, and the lowest was −27 °F (−33 °C) in 1983. May is generally the wettest month, when precipitation averages 1.65 inches (42 mm).
## Biology
### Flora
`More than 80 soil types support a wide variety of flora within the monument. These soils stem from past and present geologic activity as well as ongoing additions of organic matter from life forms on or near the surface. Adapted to particular soil types and surface conditions, these plant communities range from riparian vegetation near the river to greasewood and saltgrass on the alluvial fans to plants such as hedgehog cactus in rocky outcrops at high elevation. Important to many of these communities is a black cryptobiotic crust that resists erosion, stores water, and fixes nitrogen used by the plants. The crust is composed of algae, lichens, mosses, fungi, and bacteria. Other areas of the monument have little or no flora. Volcanic tuffs and claystones that lack essential nutrients support few microorganisms and plants. Likewise, hard rock surfaces and steep slopes from which soils wash or blow away tend to remain bare.`
Native grasses thrive in many parts of the monument despite competition from medusahead rye, Dalmatian toadflax, cheatgrass, and other invasive species. Bunchgrasses in the park include basin wildrye, Idaho fescue, Thurber's needlegrass, Indian ricegrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail, among others. Native grasses that form sod in parts of the monument include Sandberg's bluegrass and other bluegrass species. Reed canary grass, if mowed, also forms sod along stream banks.
Limited by their need for water, trees such as willows, alders, and ponderosa pines are found only near the monument's streams or springs. Serviceberry bushes and shrubs like mountain mahogany are found in places where moisture collects near rock slides and ledges. Elsewhere long-rooted rabbitbrush has adapted to survive in dry areas. Other shrubs with adaptive properties include greasewood, sagebrush, shadscale, broom snakeweed, antelope bitterbrush, and purple sage. Western junipers, which have extensive root systems, thrive in the dry climate; in the absence of periodic fires they tend to displace grasses and sagebrush and to create relatively barren landscapes. The Park Service is considering controlled burning to limit the junipers and to create open areas for bunchgrasses that re-sprout from their roots after a fire.
Wildflowers, which bloom mainly in the spring and early summer, include pincushions, golden bee plant, dwarf purple monkey flower, and sagebrush mariposa lily at the Painted Hills Unit. Munro's globemallow, lupines, yellow fritillary, hedgehog cactus, and Applegate's Indian paintbrush are commonly seen at the Clarno and Sheep Rock units.
### Fauna
Birds are the animals most often seen in the monument. Included among the more than 50 species observed are red-tailed hawks, American kestrels, great horned owls, common nighthawks, and great blue herons. Geese nest in the park each summer, and flocks of sandhill cranes and swans pass overhead each year on their migratory flights. California quail, chukar partridges, and mourning doves are also common. Others seen near the Cant Ranch and the visitor center include rufous hummingbirds, Say's phoebe, yellow warblers, western meadowlarks, and American goldfinches. Visitors on trails may encounter canyon wrens, mountain bluebirds, mountain chickadees, black-billed magpies, and other birds.
Large animals that frequent the park include elk, deer, cougar, and pronghorn. Beaver, otter, mink, and raccoons are found in or near the river. Coyotes, bats, and badgers are among the park's other mammals. Predators hunt smaller animals such as the rabbits, voles, mice, and shrews found in the park's grasslands and sagebrush-covered hills. Bushy-tailed woodrats inhabit caves and crevices in the monument's rock formations. Bighorn sheep, wiped out in this region in the early 20th century, were reintroduced in the Foree Area of the Sheep Rock Unit in 2010. Many habitats in the monument support populations of snakes and lizards. Southern alligator and western fence lizards are common; others that live here include short-horned and common side-blotched lizards and western skinks. Garter and gopher snakes and western yellow-bellied racers frequent floodplains and canyon bottoms. Rattlesnakes, though venomous, are shy and usually flee before being seen. The springs and seeps in the park contain isolated populations of western toads, American spadefoot toads, Pacific tree frogs, and long-toed salamanders.
A 2003–04 survey of the monument found 55 species of butterflies such as the common sootywing, orange sulphur, great spangled fritillary, and monarch. The monument's other insects have not been completely inventoried.
The John Day River, which passes through the Sheep Rock Unit, is the longest undammed tributary of the Columbia River, although two Columbia River dams below the John Day River mouth impede migratory fish travel to some degree. Chinook salmon and steelhead pass through the monument on their way to and from upstream spawning beds and the Pacific Ocean. Species observed at the Sheep Rock Unit also include those able to tolerate warm summer river temperatures: bridgelip suckers, northern pikeminnow, redside shiners, and smallmouth bass. From October through June, when the water is cooler, Columbia River redband trout and sculpin are among species that move downriver through the park. The Park Service has removed or replaced irrigation diversions along the river or Rock Creek that formerly impeded fish movement, and it is restoring riparian vegetation such as black cottonwood trees that shade the water in summer and provide habitat for aquatic insects.
## Activities
`Entrance to the park and its visitor center, museums, and exhibits is free, and trails, overlooks, and picnic sites at all three units are open during daylight hours year-round. No food, lodging, or fuel is available in the park, and camping is not allowed. Hours of operation for the Cant Ranch and its cultural museum vary seasonally. The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center is open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m except for federal holidays during the winter season from Veterans Day in November through Presidents' Day in February. Its amenities include a fossil museum, theater, education classroom, bookstore, restrooms, and drinking fountains. There is no cell phone or pay telephone service in the monument. Water taps at picnic areas are shut down in the colder months.`
The Sheep Rock Unit has eight trails ranging in length from 300 feet (91 m) at the Mascall Formation Overlook to 3 miles (4.8 km) at Blue Basin. Four trails of a quarter-mile to 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long cross parts of the Painted Hills Unit. At the Clarno Unit, three separate quarter-mile trails begin at a parking lot along Oregon Route 218, below the face of the Clarno Palisades. Many of the trails have interpretive signs about the history, geology, and fossils of the region, and three trails—Story in Stone at the Sheep Rock Unit, and Painted Cove and Leaf Hill at the Painted Hills Unit—are accessible by wheelchair. Visitors are asked to stay on the trails and off bare rock and hardpan to avoid damage to fossils and fragile soils.
Ranger-led events at the monument have historically included indoor and outdoor talks, showings of an 18-minute orientation film, hikes in Blue Basin, Cant Ranch walking tours, and astronomy programs at the Painted Hills Unit. These events are free and most do not require reservations. Specific times for the activities are available from rangers at the monument. For students and teachers, the Park Service offers programs at the monument as well as fossil kits and other materials for classroom use.
Pets are allowed in developed areas and along hiking trails but must be leashed or otherwise restrained. Horses are not allowed on hiking trails, in picnic areas, or on bare rock exposures in undeveloped areas of the monument. Digging, disturbing, or collecting any of the park's natural resources, including fossils, is prohibited. Fossil theft is an ongoing problem. No mountain biking is allowed on monument land, although the Malheur National Forest east of Dayville has biking trails. Fishing is legal from monument lands along the John Day River for anyone with an Oregon fishing license. Rafting on the John Day River is seasonally popular, although the favored runs begin at or downstream of Service Creek and do not pass through the monument. Risks to monument visitors include extremely hot summer temperatures and icy winter roads, two species of venomous rattlesnakes, two species of venomous spiders, ticks, scorpions, puncturevine, and poison ivy.
## See also
- List of fossil sites
- List of national monuments of the United States
|
873,641 |
Valeri Polyakov
| 1,170,268,781 |
Soviet and Russian cosmonaut, record holder for longest single stay in space (1942–2022)
|
[
"1942 births",
"2022 deaths",
"Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery",
"Heroes of the Russian Federation",
"Heroes of the Soviet Union",
"I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University alumni",
"Mir crew members",
"Officers of the Legion of Honour",
"People from Tula, Russia",
"Physician astronauts",
"Recipients of the Medal \"For Merit in Space Exploration\"",
"Recipients of the Order of Lenin",
"Recipients of the Order of Parasat",
"Russian cosmonauts",
"Soviet cosmonauts",
"Soviet physicians"
] |
Valeri Vladimirovich Polyakov (Russian: Валерий Владимирович Поляков, born Valeri Ivanovich Korshunov, Russian: Валерий Иванович Коршунов, 27 April 1942 – 7 September 2022) was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut. He is the record holder for the longest single stay in space, staying aboard the Mir space station for more than 14 months (437 days 18 hours) during one trip. His combined space experience was more than 22 months.
Selected as a cosmonaut in 1972, Polyakov made his first flight into space aboard Soyuz TM-6 in 1988. He returned to Earth 240 days later aboard TM-7. Polyakov completed his second flight into space in 1994–1995, spending 437 days in space between launching on Soyuz TM-18 and landing with TM-20, setting the record for the longest time continuously spent in space by an individual.
## Early life
Polyakov was born in Tula in the USSR on 27 April 1942. Born Valeri Ivanovich Korshunov, Polyakov legally changed his name after being adopted by his stepfather in 1957. He was educated at the Tula Secondary School No. 4, from which he graduated in 1959.
He enrolled in the I. M. Sechenov 1st Moscow Medical Institute, where he graduated with a doctoral degree. Afterwards, he enrolled in the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, Ministry of Public Health, Moscow, where he specialized in astronautics medicine. Polyakov dedicated himself to the field of space medicine in 1964 after the flight of the first physician in space, Boris Yegorov, aboard Voskhod 1.
## Cosmonaut career
Polyakov was selected as a cosmonaut in Medical Group 3 on 22 March 1972. His first flight into space occurred on Soyuz TM-6 in 1988. After staying aboard the Mir space station and conducting research for 240 days, Polyakov returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-7. His first words upon return were "We can fly to Mars.”
Polyakov's second spaceflight, the longest human spaceflight in history, began on 8 January 1994 with the launch of the Soyuz TM-18 mission. He spent approximately 437 days aboard Mir, conducting experiments and performing scientific research. During this flight, he completed just over 7,000 orbits of the Earth. On 9 January 1995, after 366 days in space, Polyakov formally broke the spaceflight duration record previously set by Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov six years earlier. He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-20 on 22 March 1995. Upon landing, Polyakov opted not to be carried the few feet between the Soyuz capsule and a nearby lawn chair, instead walking the short distance. In doing so, he wished to prove that humans could be physically capable of working on the surface of Mars after a long-duration transit phase.
Polyakov volunteered for his 437-day flight to learn how the human body would respond to the micro-gravity environment on long-duration missions to Mars. Upon returning from his second spaceflight, Polyakov held the record for the most total time in space. Data from Polyakov's flight has been used by researchers to determine that humans are able to maintain a healthy mental state during long-duration spaceflight just as they would on Earth.
Polyakov underwent medical assessments before, during, and after the flight. He also underwent two follow-up examinations six months after returning to Earth. When researchers compared the results of these medical exams, it was revealed that although there were no impairments of cognitive functions, Polyakov experienced a clear decline in mood as well as a feeling of increased workload during the first few weeks of spaceflight and return to Earth. Polyakov's mood stabilized to pre-flight levels between the second and fourteenth month of his mission. It was also revealed that Polyakov did not suffer from any prolonged performance impairments after returning to Earth. In light of these findings, researchers concluded that a stable mood and overall function could be maintained during extended duration spaceflights, such as crewed missions to Mars.
### Spaceflights
- Soyuz TM-6 / Soyuz TM-7 – 28 August 1988 to 27 April 1989 – 240 days, 22 hours, 34 minutes
- Soyuz TM-18 / Soyuz TM-20 – 8 January 1994 to 22 March 1995 – 437 days, 17 hours, 58 minutes
## Later life
Polyakov retired from his position as a cosmonaut in June 1995, with a total of just over 678 days in space. He participated in experiment SFINCSS-99 (Simulation of Flight of International Crew on Space Station) in 1999. Polyakov was the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Public Health in Moscow, where he oversaw the medical aspects of long-duration space missions. He was a member of the Russian Chief Medical Commission, participating in the qualification and selection of cosmonauts. He also held membership in the International Space Researchers' Association and the International Academy of Astronautics. Polyakov was married and had one child.
After returning from space, Polyakov remained active in the discipline of international spaceflight, becoming a "cosmonaut-investigator" for the United States, Austria, Germany, and France during their respective space science missions to the Mir space station. He died on 7 September 2022 at the age of 80.
## Legacy
Polyakov won several awards for his spaceflight and academic achievements, including the Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Russian Federation, Order of Lenin, Order of the Legion of Honour, and the Order of Parasat. He was a member of organizations related to astronautics, including the Russian Chief Medical Commission on cosmonauts' certification.
Polyakov held the title of "Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR" and published several works pertaining to life sciences, medical aspects of space missions, and the results of research conducted on long-duration spaceflights.
Polyakov's record for longest cumulative time in space of 678 days over two missions stood until surpassed in 1999 by cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev with a total of 747 days in space during three different missions.
## Honours and awards
- Hero of the Russian Federation
- Hero of the Soviet Union
- Hero of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
- Officer of the Legion of Honour (France)
- Order of Lenin
- Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR
- Prince of Asturias Award (now renamed Princess of Asturias Awards, Spain)
- Order of Parasat (Kazakhstan)
- Order of The Saur Revolution (Afghanistan)
- Order of the Sun of Freedom (Afghanistan)
## See also
- Human spaceflight
- List of spaceflight records
|
63,224,871 |
Vauban-class ironclad
| 1,136,529,798 |
Ironclad warship class of the French Navy
|
[
"Ship classes of the French Navy",
"Vauban-class ironclads"
] |
The Vauban class, sometimes referred to as the Duguesclin class, was a pair of two ironclad barbette ships built for the French Navy in the late 1870s and 1880s. The class consisted of Vauban, the lead ship, and Duguesclin. They were based on the ironclad Amiral Duperré, adopting the same general arrangement, but were scaled down in size. They were intended for use overseas in the French colonial empire, and as such, they retained a sailing rig for long-range cruising and copper sheathing for their hulls to protect them when they would be unable to be dry-docked regularly. They carried a main battery of four 240 mm (9.4 in) guns that were mounted in individual barbettes; two were in sponsons forward, abreast of the conning tower, and the other two were on the centerline aft.
Despite the Navy's intention to use them overseas, both members of the class served with the Mediterranean Squadron for the majority of their careers, from the 1880s to the mid-1890s. They were occupied with peacetime training exercises, and in 1893, they were reduced to the Reserve Division of the squadron. They were laid up after 1895, and Duguesclin saw no further active service, being struck from the naval register in 1904 and sold to ship breakers the following year. Vauban was recommissioned in 1898 for a tour in French Indochina, briefly serving as a divisional flagship, before being stationed in Saigon from 1899 to 1905. After being struck from the register that year, she served as a depot ship, first for torpedo boats and then for submarines from 1905 to 1914, before ultimately being sold in 1919.
## Design
The Vauban class of barbette ships, sometimes known as the Duguesclin class, was designed in the late 1870s as part of a naval construction program that began under the post-Franco-Prussian War fleet plan of 1872. At the time, the French Navy categorized its capital ships as high-seas ships for the main fleet, station ironclads for use in the French colonial empire, and smaller coastal defense ships. The Vauban class was intended to serve in the second role, and they were in most respects similar to the preceding Bayard class of station ironclads. Both designs were based on the high-seas ironclad Amiral Duperré, albeit a scaled-down version.
The Vauban design, which had been prepared by Victorin Sabattier and Alfred Lebelin de Dionne, differed from the Bayards in several significant respects. First, the designers abandoned the traditional wooden hull in favor of composite iron-and-steel construction, which had been under evaluation for several years. Second, they replaced the three-masted full-ship rig with a two-masted brig rig; this permitted the stern-most main battery gun to fire directly astern, which allowed them to remove the stern chase gun mounted in the earlier vessels. Lebelin de Dionne submitted the plans on 30 November 1876, and they were approved by Léon Martin Fourichon, the French Naval Minister, on 26 December.
### Characteristics
The ships of the Vauban class were 81.55 m (267 ft 7 in) long at the waterline, 81.9 m (268 ft 8 in) long between perpendiculars, and 84.7 m (277 ft 11 in) long overall. They had a beam of 17.45 m (57 ft) and a draft of 7.39 m (24 ft 3 in). They displaced 6,207.6 t (6,109.6 long tons; 6,842.7 short tons). The ships had a minimal superstructure, with a small conning tower placed between the forward guns. Their hulls were constructed with iron and steel, sheathed in wood and were coppered to protect them from biofouling during extended periods abroad where dry dock facilities were less available. As was typical for French capital ships of the period, their hulls featured a pronounced tumblehome shape and a ram bow. The crew numbered between 440 and 500 officers and enlisted men.
Their propulsion machinery consisted of two 3-cylinder compound steam engines with steam provided by eight coal-burning fire-tube boilers that each had two fireboxes. The boilers were ducted into a single funnel directly astern of the conning tower. The engines were rated to produce 4,000 indicated horsepower (3,000 kW) for a top speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). Coal storage amounted to 459 t (452 long tons; 506 short tons), which gave the ships a cruising radius of 2,380.5 nautical miles (4,408.7 km; 2,739.4 mi) at a speed of 12.8 knots (23.7 km/h; 14.7 mph). To supplement the steam engines, they were fitted with a brig sail rig with a total area of 2,160 m<sup>2</sup> (23,200 sq ft). Later in their careers, their sailing rigs were removed and their masts carried only fighting tops.
The ships' main battery consisted of four 240 mm (9.4 in), 19-caliber M1870M guns mounted in individual barbette mounts, two forward placed abreast in sponsons and two aft, both on the centerline. They carried a 194 mm (7.6 in) 19.8-cal. M1870 gun in the bow as a chase gun. These guns were supported by a secondary battery of six 138.6 mm (5.46 in) 21.3-cal. M1870 guns carried in an unarmored, central battery located amidships in the hull, three guns per broadside. For defense against torpedo boats, the ships carried twelve 37 mm (1.5 in) 1-pounder Hotchkiss revolvers, all in individual mounts. Their armament was rounded out with two 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes in above-water launchers, which were supplied with M1880 torpedoes.
The ships were protected with wrought iron armor; their belt was 250 mm (10 in) thick amidships, where it protected the ships' ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces, and it tapered to 152 mm (6 in) at the bottom edge. The belt extended for the entire length of the hull, but at the bow it was reduced to 180 mm (7.1 in) at the waterline, and at the stern, it was reduced to 150 mm (5.9 in). The belt covered the side of the ships from 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) above the waterline to 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) below. An armor deck that was 50 mm (2 in) connected to the top edge of the belt. Compound armor that was 200 mm (7.9 in) thick was used for the main battery barbettes. The conning tower had 30 mm (1.2 in) of iron plate on the sides.
### Modifications
The ships underwent a series of modifications over the course of their careers. Duguesclin received a pair of 47 mm (1.9 in) guns in place of two of her 37 mm guns. In 1890, Vauban had a secondary conning position for an admiral and his staff installed, which received 25 mm (1 in) of iron plating on the sides. Duguesclin received another four 47 mm guns in 1893. In 1896–1897, Vauban was re-boilered, and by 1898, her armament had been revised along the lines of her sister ship. At that time, her armament consisted of the existing 240 mm and 194 mm guns, but an additional pair of 138.6 mm guns were added to the central battery. No additional ammunition magazines were installed for these guns, so they had to be supplied from the existing magazines. Six 47 mm (1.9 in) M1885 quick-firing guns were added to the anti-torpedo boat battery.
## Ships
## Service histories
The two ships of the Vauban class served with the Mediterranean Squadron after entering service, though Duguesclin was initially placed in reserve between 1886 and 1888. Through the late 1880s and early 1890s, they took part in the peacetime routine of training exercises with the rest of the fleet. Vauban served as the flagship of the 3rd Division of the squadron in the early 1890s. In 1893, both vessels were transferred to the Reserve Division, where they spent half the year in commission for training maneuvers. Rated as armored cruisers by that time, they spent two years in the unit before newer, purpose-built cruisers took their places. They were then placed out of commission in 2nd category reserve, kept only to be mobilized in the event of war. Duguesclin saw no further active service, was struck from the naval register in 1904, and was sold to ship breakers the following year.
In 1899, Vauban was recommissioned for another tour in French Indochina, where she briefly served as the flagship of one of the divisions in the Far East Squadron. She was relieved as flagship by the protected cruiser D'Entrecasteaux, though she remained in the unit. She was then stationed in Saigon, French Indochina, where she largely remained for the next six years. In 1905, she was struck from the naval register; she thereafter served as a depot ship for a flotilla of torpedo boats based at Hongay, French Indochina, from 1905 to 1910, then as a depot ship for submarines based at Saigon from 1910 to 1914. She was eventually sold for scrap in 1919.
|
14,148,859 |
1997 Red River flood in the United States
| 1,151,929,760 |
Flood in the United States in 1997
|
[
"1990s floods in the United States",
"1997 Red River flood",
"1997 in Minnesota",
"1997 in North Dakota",
"1997 meteorology",
"1997 natural disasters in the United States",
"Floods in the United States",
"Greater Grand Forks",
"Natural disasters in Minnesota",
"Natural disasters in North Dakota"
] |
The Red River flood of 1997 in the United States was a major flood that occurred in April 1997, along the Red River of the North in North Dakota and Minnesota. The flood reached throughout the Red River Valley, affecting the cities of Fargo, Moorhead, and Winnipeg, while Grand Forks and East Grand Forks received the most damage, where floodwaters reached over 3 miles (5 km) inland, inundating virtually everything in the twin communities. Total damages for the Red River region were US\$3.5 billion.
The flood was the result of abundant snowfall and extreme temperatures. Although river levels in Fargo reached record heights, the city was protected by several dikes and received minimal damage. In Grand Forks, however, the river crested at 54 feet (16 m), surpassing the 49-foot (15 m) estimate of flooding set by the National Weather Service. Within East Grand Forks, all but eight homes were damaged by floodwaters. Grand Forks mayor Pat Owens had to order the evacuation of over 50,000 people as a large portion of the city would eventually be flooded. A large fire started in Grand Forks, engulfing eleven buildings and sixty apartment units before being extinguished.
Those affected by the flood received donations from across the nation, along with billions in federal aid. City officials and flood-forecasters were criticized for the difference in estimates and actual flood levels. Fargo, Grand Forks, and East Grand Forks built new dikes to prevent damage from future floods and the Greater Grand Forks area began to rebuild around the river, developing a campground recreation area, park, and shopping districts where homes once stood.
## Red River and prior floods
The Red River forms the border between North Dakota and Minnesota. A few sets of "sister cities" sit directly on this border, including Grand Forks, North Dakota and its counterpart East Grand Forks, Minnesota, Fargo, North Dakota/Moorhead, Minnesota (Fargo-Moorhead), and Wahpeton, North Dakota/Breckenridge, Minnesota. The Red River in Manitoba and the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota has flooded repeatedly through the centuries, endangering lives and property. The river is highly prone to flooding because of its northward flow. As spring approaches, the snow is melted from south to north alongside the river flow. There is also the possibility that the surplus water can hit unmelted ice on the river and back up. The flatness of the terrain and small slope of the river is a significant factor.
The first known recorded accounts of floods along the Red River appeared in the 1770s. Severe floods occurred throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, with one of the most recent major floods occurring in 1979. Homes not damaged in that flood were incorrectly assumed to be safe from a future flood.
## Origins
There were five main factors that contributed to the flood's severity:
- Rainstorms in autumn of 1996 had saturated the ground so that it could not absorb much water.
- There was abundant snowfall during the 1996–1997 winter. A total of 98.6 inches (250 cm) of seasonal snow accumulations in Fargo and 117 inches (297 cm) downstream in Grand Forks along with other record snowfall events covered the Red River of the North's watershed.
- Abnormally cold temperatures plagued the Upper Midwest during this particular winter. Between November 7, 1996, and March 18, 1997 (a span of 131 days) the air temperature only reached 40 degrees Fahrenheit 3 times in Grand Forks. Because there were only a few days above freezing, there was very little gradual melting of the snow that fell throughout the winter. Starting on March 19, 1997, the temperature then rose above freezing for 27 consecutive days, and only eight days after that would the temperature remain below freezing. However, due to the sudden warmth in April, it melted the deep snowpack too quickly for the river to handle.
- A freak blizzard (unofficially named "Hannah" by the Grand Forks Herald) had dumped a large amount of freezing rain and snow on the Red River Valley on the weekend of April 5, 1997.
- Tributary peak flows tended to coincide with those on the Red River itself.
## Preparations
The 1997 Red River flood caused over \$815,036,000 in damages. The first flood outlook was issued on February 13, 1997, by the National Weather Service, declaring that there was "...a high spring snowmelt flood potential for the tributaries to the Red River, and a severe spring snowmelt potential for the Red River from Wahpeton, North Dakota, to the Canadian border." On February 27, a flood planning meeting in Fargo revealed that Fargo, Wahpeton, and Grand Forks would see the Red River rise to 38, 17.9, and 49 feet (15 m), respectively. The Corps of Engineers recommended on March 24 that Grand Forks' engineers build dikes to a height of 52 feet (16 m), which would provide three feet of leeway for the 49-foot (15 m) estimate. Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) publicly encouraged Grand Forks residents to purchase flood insurance, but only a thousand of the 52,000 residents did so. Later, researchers at the University of North Dakota determined that although more than 90% of residents knew about the option of purchasing flood insurance, only a small percentage purchased it since they believed the National Weather Service had projected that the river would not crest high enough to warrant a flood.
On March 31, the North Dakota National Guard used helicopters to dump sand on ice covering the Red River in an attempt to use the sun's thermal energy to thaw the ice and prevent ice jams. The "dusting" was the most extensive attempt in North Dakota's history. Starting on April 3 and continuing every day up to the flood, sandbagging and dike-building began. Residents, local university students, and Grand Forks Air Force base personnel placed about 3.5 million sandbags at various points around the river.
On April 16, at a public meeting, Grand Forks mayor Pat Owens recommended that residents voluntarily evacuate the city. The next day, about 500 airmen and women from Grand Forks Air Force Base were assigned to assisting with monitoring the dikes around the river.
## The flood hits
### The flood in Fargo
The Red River crested in Fargo at 39.5 feet (12.0 m) on April 17, but dike-building efforts were able to prevent the water from flooding into a majority of the city. An emergency dike was built and volunteers had to add sandbags to increase the height of a dike that had settled. The mayor of Fargo at the time, Bruce Furness, later stated: "We came very, very close to losing parts of Fargo...it took a lot of effort by a lot of people—a great many of them high school and college students—to save the city. I was very proud of them. I think it was one of Fargo's finest moments."
### The flood in Greater Grand Forks
There was some sense of imminent threat in Grand Forks, but the cities could not prepare for such an enormous flood. The National Weather Service (NWS) had a long-standing forecast for the river to crest at 49 feet (14.9 m), which was the river's highest level during the 1979 flood. The cities had been able to get their dikes to this level, but the river continued to rise past it, to the astonishment of the NWS (which did not upgrade its forecast until April 16, the day the river actually reached 49 feet). The dikes in the low-lying Lincoln Drive neighborhood of Grand Forks were the first to break, doing so early on April 18. Other dikes over the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks area would fail that day and the next, flooding thousands of homes.
Water would end up reaching areas over two miles (3 km) away from the Red River, necessitating the evacuation of all of East Grand Forks and 75% of Grand Forks. School was canceled in both cities for the remainder of the term, as were classes at the University of North Dakota. The river crested at 54.35 feet (16.6 m) on April 21 and the river level would not fall below 49 feet (14.9 m) until April 26. The flood reached higher levels than the prior most severe flood in 1826. Because water drained so slowly out of the most low-lying areas, some homeowners could not visit their damaged property until May. By May 30, the Red River had receded below flood stages everywhere in North Dakota.
#### Evacuations
When the dikes in Grand Forks could not keep out the flooding river, Pat Owens ordered the evacuation of over 50,000 people on April 18, which up to that time, had been the largest civilian evacuation in the United States since the evacuation of residents in Atlanta, Georgia, during the Civil War. She later reflected on the decision saying, "...if I evacuate this city and nothing happens they're gonna impeach me. But if I don't, we're going to lose lives." Because all transportation was cut off between the two cities (and for many miles, the two states), East Grand Forks residents were evacuated to nearby Crookston, namely to the University of Minnesota Crookston, while residents of Grand Forks, who were given mandatory evacuation orders on April 18, went to Grand Forks Air Force Base (residents stayed in airplane hangars containing more than 3,000 cots).
With the assistance of the National Guard and Air Force personnel, several hundred patients were evacuated from local hospitals with no injuries or loss of life during the evacuation process. Many residents also evacuated to motels and homes in neighboring communities. Some residents of Grand Forks criticized the National Weather Service for its incorrect prediction of the river level, as it had prevented them from securing their possessions from their homes. One resident said: "If they'd said earlier the river would hit 52 feet (16 m), I would have moved my stuff out of my house. At 49, it was safe."
#### Downtown Grand Forks fire
The flood made national news. The most familiar footage is possibly of the fire that started on April 19 in downtown Grand Forks, surrounded by floodwaters, where eleven buildings and sixty apartments were destroyed. The Grand Forks Herald building was totally destroyed in the fire, along with 120 years of archives. Firefighters were not able to begin extinguishing the fire immediately as they had to evacuate nearly forty people in one of the nearby apartment complexes who had defied the evacuation order. Additionally, their tankers were unable to reach the buildings due to the height of the floodwater and the water pressure from the hoses and fire hydrants was too weak to extinguish the flames. The National Guard placed the fire trucks on several tractor-trailers to prevent them from flooding, which allowed the firefighters to assist in extinguishing the fire. Also, two aircraft rescue and firefighting trucks from the Grand Forks International Airport were brought in to fight the fire because their engines were higher up off the ground, and thus did not get clogged by the flood waters. The firefighters received assistance several hours after the fire started by a fire-bombing plane that dropped retardant and helicopters who made sixty drops totaling 120,000 gallons of water. Three of the firefighters were treated for hypothermia after treading through the cold temperatures of the flood water. The fire was later determined to have been caused by an electrical problem that had resulted from the large amounts of floodwater.
## Donations and damages
The national attention of both flood and fire reached Joan Kroc, the McDonald's heiress, who anonymously (her anonymity was later revealed to the public by the Grand Forks Herald) donated \$15,000,000 to be divided into \$2,000 portions for each damaged household (though the amount some homeowners received was less due to the huge number of devastated homes; in all 7,500 households received funds). Additionally, another single anonymous donor gave \$5 million which was distributed in \$1,000 allotments. In November 1997, North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer reported that victims had been assisted by 50,000 relief agency volunteers who had served more than 2 million meals. Additionally, the communities received clothing and supplies that were donated from every U.S. state. During a concert in Fargo, the rock group KISS donated the money from sales of a special T-shirt to the Fargo and Grand Forks areas to assist in flood relief.
All told, there was \$3.5 billion USD in damages to Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, making it the eighth most expensive natural disaster in the U.S. since 1903. Across North Dakota and Minnesota, there were 4,500,000 acres (18,000 km<sup>2</sup>) of land covered in water. Thousands of people were relocated after the disaster. In May 1997, the Red Cross conducted a damage assessment of 8,000 North Dakota homes. The report indicated that 519 homes, 53 mobile homes, and 73 apartments had been destroyed by flood waters while 701 homes, 69 mobile homes, and 175 apartments sustained major damage. Inspectors reported that 5,959 homes, 166 mobile homes, and 497 apartments received minor damage. Over 5,200 businesses had been destroyed, damaged, or somehow affected by the winter and spring blizzards and the flood. In Grand Forks alone, 75% of the homes, 315 businesses, and 16 of 22 local schools had been flooded. East Grand Forks had over 500 condemned homes, with only eight homes not damaged by the flood. Grand Forks, losing only 3% of its population from 1997 to 2000, did not fare as badly as its sister city, which lost nearly 17% of its residents. Not a single person was killed in the flood itself.
### Federal and state response and assistance
On April 22, President Bill Clinton flew over Grand Forks surveying the flooded cities. He then visited the thousands of refugees at the nearby Grand Forks Air Force Base and commented on the community's spirit, stating "Water cannot wash that away. Fire cannot burn that away. And blizzards cannot freeze that away." President Clinton also declared that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would compensate 100 percent of the cost of emergency work, instead of the normal 75 percent. He also requested that Congress approve \$488 million for various counties within North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota for short and long-term reconstruction efforts.
In June, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and President Clinton appointed the International Red River Basin Task Force containing members of both countries. The task force's purpose was to find ways to improve flood forecasting.
North Dakota and Minnesota leaders initially asked the federal government for \$100 million in disaster relief, but increased their projections to \$500 million for Grand Forks and East Grand Forks. Pat Owens went to Washington D.C. to persuade Congress to provide the funds contained in a \$5.5 billion relief bill. Although the bill was initially vetoed by President Clinton since he disagreed with additional unrelated legislation being added to the bill, he signed it on June 11. East Grand Forks Mayor Lynn Stauss, reflected on the government assistance to the city, saying: "This community could not have survived without the help of the state and federal government."
Grand Forks received \$171 million from the federal program, Community Development Block Grants, which was used for 198 projects within the city. One city worker estimated that 10–15% of the funds went to developing downtown Grand Forks, while the remainder of the grants were distributed to the other projects throughout the city.
## Criticism and blame
After the flood reached unexpected levels, Senator Kent Conrad wrote in a letter on April 30 that he was "very concerned about the capability of the National Weather Service to accurately and in a timely manner predict river levels on the Red River in North Dakota." Earl Pomeroy told the Grand Forks Herald that "the inability to get realistic flood numbers certainly hindered the communities' ability to prepare." Although the Grand Forks Corps of Engineers was also criticized for their efforts, they revealed that for the last ten years before the flood, the engineers had tried to convince citizens to approve the construction of a more extensive flood protection system. Additionally, the head of the river-forecasting for the weather service of North Dakota and Minnesota attributed the rise of the Red River moving faster and higher than previously expected due to the sandbag levees that residents built to protect their homes, as it narrowed the channel of the river.
The 5-foot (1.5 m) discrepancy between the actual crest and that which the NWS had predicted led to widespread anger among locals, especially since the citizens of both cities reached and even slightly surpassed the NWS's level of protection through weeks of hard work. Lynn Staus, the mayor of East Grand Forks initially complained on the NWS's predictions, "They missed it, and they not only missed it, they blew it big." He later commented again, saying "I am not trying to blame the weather bureau. [But] we live day by day by those predictions, and many of our people did not go out and buy flood insurance." Anger over the predictions was most famously expressed by a local resident's devastated home having the words "49 feet my ass" smeared on the exterior.
## Recovery
Over 20,000 volunteers went to Grand Forks to assist in recovery efforts. The Red Cross dispersed over 25,000 clean-up kits (containing bleach, cleaning materials, goggles, and other equipment) funded by the State Department of Health that owners used to clean their flood-damaged property and possessions. Since many possessions and appliances were contaminated by flood water, sewage, mold, and mildew, residents were told by city officials to paint the word "Flood" or make some other mark to prevent looting. Over 60,000 tons of flood debris was hauled to local landfills.
Grand Forks' daily newspaper, the Grand Forks Herald, continued to publish papers throughout the flood despite having its printing facilities destroyed. Newspapers were printed in St. Paul, Minnesota and flown on a charter plane to Grand Forks for deliveries. For their efforts, the staff of the Herald was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Several local schools were destroyed, prompting the construction of replacements. Because construction was not finished on most of these schools until the end of 1998, hundreds of students spent a year and a half of school in temporary locations ranging from churches to FEMA-constructed temporary metal buildings, known by locals as "tin bins." Numerous city buildings were also damaged, especially in East Grand Forks, where the flood-ravaged downtown area had been home to the city hall and the public library. Both have since been replaced by new buildings, though not before spending a few years housed in a former elementary school and an ice rink's warming house, respectively.
Both Grand Forks and East Grand Forks had to decide whether to develop the land along the river. The president of the East Grand Forks planning-and-zoning commission commented on the idea of development, "The river had been our friend for all these years. It had been like an old dog, sleeping comfortably at our feet, and then one day it jumped up and bit us. We had to decide: Do we put it to sleep or try to make amends?" What were once entire neighborhoods, including Lincoln Drive, are now covered by grass and trees, part of an extensive area of parkland called the Greater Grand Forks Greenway. In East Grand Forks, this transformation is especially visible. One former neighborhood is now a large campground, the center of what is now known as the Red River State Recreation Area. The cities of today are significantly different from their pre-flood state, but many residents are pleased with this, seeing it as fulfillment of President Bill Clinton's promise that the cities would "rebuild stronger and better than ever." Population estimates by the Census Bureau and by the city of Grand Forks itself now show a growing community.
The City of EGF hired Ernst & Young to lead the development efforts soon after the flood and David Bentley led a team to refurbish damaged facilities as quickly as possible. The first business was reopened in 21 days.
### Future flood prevention
The National Weather Service has since revised their method of forecasting spring floods. Increased technology and funding has allowed for the mapping of the entire Red River bottom, more flood monitoring gauges, and up-to-date satellite images of the river at various flood stages.
The area continues to experience flooding as another major flood occurred April 2006. However, the Red River did not go near the level of the 1997 flood and only caused minor damage, primarily in rural areas, including water over roads and bridges. The lack of damage done to Grand Forks and East Grand Forks in particular can largely be attributed to the aforementioned improved dikes and Greenway zone.
New dikes have been constructed in Fargo, Grand Forks, and East Grand Forks. Fargo initially had three different plans to choose for developing a dike, and construction of the dike was funded with \$10.5 million it received from FEMA and \$5.5 million from state funds. For Greater Grand Forks, the system of levees and new "invisible floodwalls" was completed in 2007, having cost several hundred million USD. The areas bordering both sides of the rivers has been converted into a giant park called the Greater Grand Forks Greenway.
Since the flood, Grand Forks' recovery has been used as a model by other communities which have suffered from natural disasters. After Hurricane Katrina hit several U.S. states in 2005, Grand Forks adopted the city of Biloxi, Mississippi. Current Grand Forks mayor Michael Brown stated that it was important "to utilize the experience from those people who went through those disasters, like our fire chief, police chief and public works directors. So we went to Biloxi and said, 'This is what we have learned.'" Grand Forks leaders met with Biloxi city officials, and sent a list of contacts and a 24-page booklet that detailed how to coordinate volunteer agencies and how to interact with FEMA. One Biloxi city official stated that Grand Forks had "just helped us to understand what we were looking at, and gave us some direction to go in, which was really needed, with the rebuilding and the recovering."
By 2007, the population of Grand Forks had resumed the same levels as before the flood. East Grand Forks mayor Lynn Stauss stated "We like to call ourselves the poster child of flood recovery because we think we showed how different governments working together could make it happen."
## Cultural references
- Grand Forks native Tom Brosseau's 2007 album entitled Grand Forks is a concept album about the flood of 1997. His 2005 album, What I Mean To Say Is Goodbye, references the flood during its opening track, "West of Town".
- Two months after the flood, alternative rock band Soul Asylum played at the joint prom held for Grand Forks high school students. The event took place in a hangar at nearby Grand Forks Air Force Base. In 2004, the band released a live album of the concert, entitled After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997.
- After the flood, the Summer Performing Arts Company produced Keep The Faith, a musical written by Summer Performing Arts staff and area composers and musicians about the flood and the recovery. In 2007 a 10-year anniversary performance of Keep The Faith was held and prompted James Lee Witt to suggest SPA bring the musical to the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
## See also
- 1950 Red River flood
- 1997 Red River flood
- 2009 Red River flood
|
485,350 |
HMS Implacable (R86)
| 1,148,136,517 |
1944 Implacable-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy
|
[
"1942 ships",
"Cold War aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom",
"Implacable-class aircraft carriers",
"Ships built on the River Clyde",
"World War II aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom"
] |
HMS Implacable was the name ship of her class of two aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Upon completion in 1944, she was initially assigned to the Home Fleet and attacked targets in Norway for the rest of the year. She was subsequently assigned to the British Pacific Fleet (BPF) where she attacked the Japanese naval base at Truk and targets in the Japanese Home Islands in 1945. The ship was used to repatriate liberated Allied prisoners of war (PoWs) and soldiers after the Japanese surrender, for the rest of the year. Implacable returned home in 1946 and became the Home Fleet's deck-landing training carrier, a role that lasted until 1950. She briefly served as flagship of the Home Fleet in 1950. During this time she participated in many exercises and made a number of port visits in Western Europe. She was placed in reserve in 1950 and converted into a training ship in 1952, and served as flagship of the Home Fleet Training Squadron. The ship was considered for a major modernisation in 1951–1952, but this was rejected as too expensive and time-consuming. Implacable was decommissioned in 1954 and sold for scrap the following year.
## Design and description
The Implacable class had its origin as an improved version of the Illustrious-class aircraft carriers for the 1938 Naval Programme. They were designed to be 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) faster, and to carry an additional dozen aircraft at the expense of reduced armour protection to remain within the 23,000 long tons (23,000 t) available from the tonnage allowed by the Washington Naval Treaty. Implacable was 766 feet 6 inches (233.6 m) long overall and 730 feet (222.5 m) at the waterline. Her beam was 95 feet 9 inches (29.2 m) at the waterline and she had a draught of 29 feet 4 inches (8.9 m) at deep load. The Implacable-class ships were significantly overweight and displaced 32,110 long tons (32,630 t) at deep load. The ships had metacentric heights of 4.06 ft (1.2 m) at light load and 6.91 ft (2.1 m) at deep load as completed. Implacable's complement was approximately 2,300 officers and ratings in 1945.
The ships were equipped with four Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft using steam supplied by eight Admiralty 3-drum boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 148,000 shaft horsepower (110,000 kW), enough to give them a maximum speed of 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph). On sea trials, Implacable reached speeds of 31.89 knots (59.06 km/h; 36.70 mph) with 151,200 shp (112,700 kW). She carried a maximum of 4,690 long tons (4,770 t) of fuel oil which gave her a range of 6,720 nautical miles (12,450 km; 7,730 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).
The 760-foot (231.6 m) armoured flight deck had a maximum width of 102 feet (31.1 m). A single hydraulic aircraft catapult was fitted on the forward part of the flight deck. The Implacable-class carriers were equipped with two lifts on the centreline, the forward of which measured 45 by 33 feet (13.7 by 10.1 m) and served only the upper hangar, and the aft lift (45 by 22 feet (13.7 by 6.7 m)) which served both hangars. The upper hangar was 458 feet (139.6 m) long and the lower hangar was 208 feet (63.4 m) long; both had a maximum width of 62 feet (18.9 m). Both hangars had a height of only 14 feet which precluded storage of Lend-Lease Vought F4U Corsair fighters as well as many post-war aircraft and helicopters. Designed to stow 48 aircraft in their hangars, the use of a permanent deck park allowed the Implacable class to accommodate up to 81 aircraft. The additional crewmen, maintenance personnel and facilities needed to support these aircraft were housed in the lower hangar. The ships were provided with 94,650 imperial gallons (430,300 L; 113,670 US gal) of petrol.
### Armament, electronics and protection
The ship's main armament consisted of sixteen quick-firing (QF) 4.5-inch (110 mm) dual-purpose guns in eight twin-gun turrets, four in sponsons on each side of the hull. Unlike the Illustrious-class ships, the roofs of the gun turrets were flat and flush with the flight deck. The gun had a maximum range of 20,760 yards (18,980 m). Her light anti-aircraft defences included five octuple mounts for QF 2-pounder ("pom-pom") anti-aircraft (AA) guns, two on the flight deck forward of the island, one on the aft part of the island and two in sponsons on the port side of the hull. A single quadruple 2-pounder mount was also fitted on the port side of the hull. The 2-pounder gun had a maximum range of 6,800 yards (6,200 m). The ship was also fitted with 61 Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon in 19 single and 21 twin-gun mounts. These guns had a maximum range of 4,800 yards (4,400 m), but some were replaced by 40 mm Bofors AA guns when the ships were transferred to the Pacific Theater as the 20 mm shell was unlikely to destroy a kamikaze before it hit the ship. The Bofors gun had a maximum range of 10,750 yards (9,830 m). Two additional quadruple "pom-pom" mounts were added to Implacable before she joined the British Pacific Fleet in 1945. By the end of the war, she had 4 single Bofors guns, plus 17 twin and 17 single Oerlikon mounts. By April 1946 these had been reduced to 12 Bofors guns, 8 twin and 14 single Oerlikon guns.
They were fitted with the Type 277 surface-search/height-finding radar on top of the bridge and a Type 293 target indicator radar on the foremast. The ships probably carried Type 279 and Type 281B early-warning radars, based on the radars fitted aboard the Illustrious-class carrier Victorious late in the war. In addition, Type 282 and Type 285 gunnery radars were mounted on the fire-control directors.
The Implacable-class ships had a flight deck protected by 3 in (76 mm) of armour. The sides of the hangars were either 1.5 in (38 mm) or 2 in (51 mm). The ends of the hangars were protected by 2-inch bulkheads and the armour of the hangar deck ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 inches (38 to 64 mm) in thickness. The waterline armour belt was 4.5 inches (114 mm) thick, but only covered the central portion of the ship. The belt was closed by 1.5 to 2-inch transverse bulkheads fore and aft. The underwater defence system was a layered system of liquid- and air-filled compartments as used in the Illustrious class. The magazines for the 4.5-inch guns lay outside the armoured citadel and were protected by 2 to 3-inch roofs, 4.5-inch sides and 1.5 to 2-inch ends.
## Construction and service
Implacable was laid down by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. at their shipyard in Clydeside on 21 February 1939, as Yard Number 672. Her construction was temporarily suspended in 1940–41, in favour of higher-priority ships needed to fight in the Battle of the Atlantic, before she was launched on 10 December 1942 by Queen Elizabeth. Captain Lachlan Mackintosh was appointed to command the ship in November 1943. She was commissioned on 22 May 1944, and began sea trials which revealed a significant number of problems that required rectification, so the ship was not formally completed until 28 August. Implacable was assigned to the Home Fleet and was working up over the next several months while the Fairey Fireflies of 1771 Squadron flew aboard on 10 September. The squadron was followed by the Fairey Barracuda torpedo bombers of 828 and 841 Squadrons that made up No. 2 Naval Torpedo-Bomber Reconnaissance Wing later that month.
Her first mission was to locate the German battleship Tirpitz which had left its anchorage in Kaafjord in early October. Implacable departed Scapa Flow on 16 October, and a section of her Fireflies spotted the battleship off Håkøya Island near Tromsø two days later. No attack was mounted because the carrier lacked any single-seat fighters aboard to escort the strike aircraft, although they did damage a cargo ship before returning home. On 16 October, the Supermarine Seafires of 887 and 894 Squadrons of No. 24 Naval Fighter Wing landed aboard. In late October she participated in Operation Athletic off the Norwegian coast, where her aircraft sank six ships and damaged a German submarine for the loss of one Barracuda, while conducting the Royal Navy's last wartime torpedo attack. On 1 November Captain Charles Hughes-Hallett relieved Mackintosh and assumed command of the ship. The Barracudas were replaced by the Seafires of No. 30 Naval Fighter Wing, which consisted of 801 and 880 Squadrons, on 8 November and the Seafires provided air cover for minelaying operations by escort carriers from 11 to 21 November. The next day, Admiral Sir Henry Ruthven Moore, Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, hoisted his flag in Implacable and the ship set sail to hunt for a convoy that had been reported near Alsten Island (Operation Provident) with the Seafires and Fireflies of 801, 880, and 1771 Squadrons aboard. Bad weather prevented aircraft from being launched until 27 November, but they located the convoy and sank two merchantmen, including , and damaged six others. MS Rigel was used as a German prisoner of war (POW) transport and the sinking resulted in more than 2,500 dead, mostly POWs. Upon her return to Scapa on 29 November, Moore lowered his flag, but Vice Admiral Sir Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, second in command of Home Fleet, hoisted his flag on 6 December for Operation Urbane, another minelaying operation during which her Fireflies helped to sink a German minesweeper. Dalrymple-Hamilton transferred his flag off Implacable when she returned to Scapa on 9 December. On 15 December she began a refit at Rosyth preparatory to her transfer to the British Pacific Fleet, which included augmenting her light AA armament.
Upon its completion on 10 March 1945, 801, 828, 880, and 1771 Squadrons reembarked with a total strength of 48 Seafires, 21 Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers and a dozen Fireflies, the largest air group aboard a British carrier thus far. Implacable departed six days later to join the BPF and arrived at Port Said, Egypt, on 25 March. While passing through the Suez Canal, a strong gust of wind forced her ashore and it took her escorting tugboats five hours to pull her off. Undamaged, she proceeded on her voyage and reached Sydney on 8 May 1945 (V-E Day).
Implacable arrived at the BPF's main operating base at Manus Island, in the Admiralty Islands, on 29 May. A week later Rear Admiral Sir Patrick Brind hoisted his flag in preparation for Operation Inmate, an attack on the Japanese naval base at Truk in the Caroline Islands that began on 14 June. Having flown 113 offensive sorties over the two days of the attack, with only one loss of a Seafire to enemy action, the carrier and her escorts returned to Manus Island on 17 June. On 30 June 8th Carrier Air Group was formed, absorbing No. 24 Naval Fighter Wing, to control all of the air units aboard Implacable.
After working up, she sailed to join the main body of the BPF off the Japanese coast on 6 July, and rendezvoused with them ten days later. Implacable flew off eight Fireflies and a dozen Seafires against targets north of Tokyo on 17 July, but only the Fireflies were able to locate their targets because of bad weather. Eight Fireflies and twenty Seafires attacked targets near Tokyo the next day, before more bad weather halted flying operations until 24–25 July, when the BPF's aircraft attacked targets near Osaka and the Inland Sea, crippling the escort carrier Kaiyo. After replenishing, airstrikes resumed on 28 and 30 July, the British sinking the escort Okinawa near Maizuru. A combination of bad weather, refuelling requirements and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima delayed the resumption of air operations until 9 August. During the day, Implacable's Seafires flew 94 sorties and her Fireflies flew 14 against targets in northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido for the loss of two Seafires. The attacks were repeated the next day, sinking two warships, numerous small merchantmen and destroying numerous railroad locomotives and parked aircraft. The BPF had been scheduled to withdraw after 10 August to prepare for Operation Olympic, the invasion of Kyushu scheduled for November, and the bulk of the force, including Implacable, departed for Manus on 12 August. Her aircraft flew over 1,000 sorties since her arrival the previous month.
### Post-war
She arrived at Sydney on 24 August, and had her hangars refitted to accommodate Allied PoWs and soldiers for repatriation. Having left her air group behind to maximize the numbers of passengers she could carry, the ship arrived at Manila on 25 September, where she loaded over 2,000 British, American and Canadian PoWs. She dropped off the Americans at Pearl Harbor on 5 October and continued on to deliver British and Canadian passengers at Vancouver six days later. Opened for public tours, Implacable remained for a week before sailing to Hong Kong to pick up several hundred PoWs and continued onwards to Manila to load 2,114 more passengers. She delivered them to Balikpapan, Borneo, for transhipment to Britain. In their place the carrier embarked 2,126 men of the 7th Australian Division, and their equipment, to return to Australia. She arrived at Sydney on 17 November and sailed on 8 December to load more returning troops from Papua New Guinea. Arriving back at Sydney before Christmas, the ship had her additional bunks, etc., removed to return her to operational status.
In January 1946 her air group flew aboard, minus the disbanded 880 Squadron, and with 1790 Squadron replacing 1771 Squadron. After several days of flying exercises, Implacable made a port visit to Melbourne together with her sister Indefatigable and several other ships. She became the flagship of Vice Admiral Sir Philip Vian, the newly appointed second in command of the BPF on 31 January. She continued a relaxed schedule of training and port visits until she began a refit on 15 March in Sydney, that lasted until 29 April, when she put to sea to fly on her aircraft and to dump overboard the 16 Lend-Lease Avengers belonging to 828 Squadron (Britain had to either pay for them or dispose of them with the end of the war, and lacked the means to do the former). She sailed for home on 5 May and reached Devonport on 3 June, where Vian struck his flag.
Implacable became the deck-landing training carrier for the Home Fleet when she next put to sea in August. On 25 September Captain Aubrey Mansergh assumed command of the ship. Two months later she participated in an exercise with the Home Fleet and was lightly damaged when she collided with the light carrier Vengeance while docking in Devonport on 7 November. On 1 February 1947, she joined the other ships of the Home Fleet as they rendezvoused with the battleship Vanguard, which was serving as the royal yacht to escort King George VI as he set out for the first royal tour of South Africa. Implacable hosted the king and his family on 7 February, staging a small air show for them after which the queen addressed the crew. After leaving the royals, she made port visits at Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Dakar, Senegal before arriving in the Western Mediterranean for more training. Arriving home on 7 March, she began a lengthy refit at Rosyth on 17 April.
Upon its completion in October 1947 she embarked 813 Squadron, flying Blackburn Firebrand TF.5s, and resumed training. Captain John Stevens relieved Mansergh on 9 February 1948, as the latter had been promoted. In June and July, the ship participated in a series of demonstrations for students in the Royal Navy's staff college. Among these was the first carrier landing by a Gloster Meteor jet-powered fighter, flown by Lieutenant-Commander Eric Brown, landings by prototypes of the Westland Wyvern and Short Sturgeon, rocket firing by Fireflies and an "attack" on Implacable by motor torpedo boats. She completed a 10-week refit on 10 November and resumed deck-landing practices. She sailed for Gibraltar on 27 February 1949 and 801 Squadron flew aboard on 5 March with its de Havilland Sea Hornets, the day after she arrived there. Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor, commander-in-chief of Home Fleet, hoisted his flag aboard the carrier on 6 March before beginning a short exercise with some of the other ships of Home Fleet. She made port visits in Oslo and Bergen, Norway, in June, hosting King Haakon VII. While berthed at Portsmouth, King Abdullah I of Jordan visited on 19 August and the Prime Minister, Clement Attlee visited 10 days later. 702 Squadron flew aboard with seven de Havilland Sea Vampires in September to conduct carrier evaluations with the new fighter jets that lasted until 11 November. McGrigor was relieved by Admiral Vian ten days later.
Implacable spent February and March 1950 training in the Western Mediterranean and Captain H. W. Briggs assumed command on 1 April. She resumed flight training in the Irish Sea and off the western coast of Scotland until she made a port visit to Copenhagen in mid-July. King Frederick IX of Denmark inspected the ship on 18 July and Admiral Vian transferred his flag to Vanguard on 11 September. Two days later she was placed in reserve and slowly converted into a training ship by the addition of extra accommodation and classrooms. During this time she was considered for a major reconstruction that would combine her two hangars into a single hangar with a height of 17 feet 6 inches (5.33 m) and allow her to operate 30,000-pound (14,000 kg) aircraft. In addition her armament would be modernised and the fuel supply for her aircraft would be more than doubled. A similar reconstruction was then in progress for Victorious, but it proved to be much more expensive than planned and also took more time than had been estimated. Short of both time and money for the project, the Admiralty cancelled the modernisation in June 1952.
Implacable was recommissioned on 16 January 1952 as the flagship of the Home Fleet Training Squadron. On 13 February she arrived at Dover to serve as the port's guard ship before and after the state funeral of King George VI, to salute royalty and heads of state arriving by sea. After its conclusion, the ship sailed for the western Mediterranean to rendezvous with her sister for exercises. In June the two sisters represented a fast troop convoy being attacked by aircraft during an air defence exercise. They visited Copenhagen in the next month before returning home. Implacable sailed for Gibraltar on 25 September and made a port visit to Lisbon, Portugal, before returning to Devonport for a refit. On 16 November she had an oil fire in her galley that damaged her electrical wiring badly enough to require extending her refit to 20 January 1953. She spent most of February and March in the western Mediterranean together with her sister, participating in exercises before sailing to Southampton for a brief refit.
For the Coronation Fleet Review of Queen Elizabeth II on 15 June, she flew the flag of Vice Admiral John Stevens, her former commanding officer, now Flag Officer, Home Fleet Training Squadron. On 5 September Rear Admiral H. L. F. Adams relieved Stevens and the ship joined Indefatigable for fleet exercises off the Scilly Isles and in the Bristol Channel the following month. She ferried the 1st Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders from Devonport to Trinidad in response to a crisis in British Guiana, and transported a battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers from Trinidad to Jamaica in October, returning home on 11 November. On 19 August 1954, she was relieved as flagship by the light carrier Theseus.
### Decommissioning and disposal
Implacable was decommissioned on 1 September 1954 and sold to Thos. W. Ward for breaking up on 27 October 1955 after being towed to Gareloch. Implacable was scrapped at Inverkeithing beginning the following month.
## Squadrons embarked
|
25,999,087 |
2011 Tour de France
| 1,157,836,365 | null |
[
"2011 Tour de France",
"2011 UCI World Tour",
"2011 in French sport",
"July 2011 sports events in France",
"July 2011 sports events in Italy",
"Tour de France by year"
] |
The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 21 stages over 23 days, covering a distance of 3,430.5 kilometres (2,131.6 mi). The route entered Italy for part of two stages. The emphasis of the route was on the Alps, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the mountain range first being visited in the Tour. Cadel Evans of the won the overall general classification. Andy Schleck of was second, with his brother and teammate Fränk third.
The general classification leader's yellow jersey was worn first by Philippe Gilbert of , who won the opening stage. In the following stage, 's victory in the team time trial put their rider Thor Hushovd into the overall lead. He held the yellow jersey until the end of the ninth stage when it was taken by Thomas Voeckler (), who went on to hold it throughout the stages in the Pyrenees and up until the end of the final Alpine stage. Andy Schleck, who had won the previous stage (the 18th), held it for the following individual time trial; Evans took enough time in this stage to take the yellow jersey. He then held the lead into the finish in Paris.
The race saw Yohann Gène become the first black rider in the history of the Tour. Evans became the first Australian to win the Tour, and the second non-European to have officially done so. At 34, he was also the oldest post-World War II winner being almost a year older than Joop Zoetemelk was when he won the 1980 edition. 's Mark Cavendish was the first British winner of the points classification, Samuel Sánchez () won the mountains classification and Pierre Rolland of won the young rider classification. The team classification was won by and the overall super-combativity award was given to Jérémy Roy ().
## Teams
Twenty-two teams participated in the 2011 edition of the Tour de France. The race was the 17th of the 27 events in the UCI World Tour, and all of its eighteen UCI ProTeams were entitled, and obliged, to enter the race. On 19 January 2011, the organiser of the Tour, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), announced the four second-tier UCI Professional Continental teams given wildcard invitations, all of which were French-based. One team, the Spanish-based , which included the third-placed rider in the 2010 Tour, Denis Menchov, and the 2008 Tour winner, Carlos Sastre, was overlooked. The presentation of the teams – where the members of each team's roster are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place in front of audience of 7,000 inside the Roman amphitheatre at the Puy du Fou theme park in Les Epesses, Vendée, on 30 June, two days before the opening stage.
Each squad was allowed a maximum of nine riders, resulting in a start list total of 198 riders. Of these, 49 were riding the Tour de France for the first time. The riders came from 30 countries; France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and United States all had 12 or more riders in the race. Riders from ten countries won stages during the race; British riders won the largest number of stages, with five. The average age of riders in the race was 29.38 years, ranging from the 21-year-old Anthony Delaplace () to the 39-year-old Jens Voigt (). Of the total average ages, was the youngest team and the oldest.
The teams entering the race were:
UCI ProTeams
UCI Professional Continental teams
## Pre-race favourites
In the lead-up to the Tour, Alberto Contador (), winner of the 2007 and 2009 Tours, was widely considered as the top pre-race favourite for the general classification. His closest rivals were thought to be Andy Schleck () and Cadel Evans (). The other riders considered contenders for the general classification were Bradley Wiggins (), Ivan Basso (), Robert Gesink (), Samuel Sánchez (), Chris Horner (), Fränk Schleck () and Jurgen Van den Broeck ().
In September 2010, Contador announced that he had tested positive for the banned clenbuterol from a sample taken during his now-disqualified 2010 Tour victory. He was suspended from racing during an investigation until February 2011. When cleared to race he competed in and won the general classifications of the Vuelta a Murcia, Volta a Catalunya and Giro d'Italia before the Tour. With overall victory in the Tour he was aiming to complete the Giro-Tour double, last achieved by Marco Pantani in the 1998 Tour. Schleck had placed second to Contador in the previous two Tours and won the young rider classification in the previous three. In the lead up to the Tour his best results were third in the one-day race Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the mountains classification of the Tour de Suisse. Evans, podium finisher in the 2007 and 2008 Tours, had a successful season before the Tour, winning the general classifications of both the Tour de Romandie and Tirreno–Adriatico, as well as second place in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
The sprinters named as the "riders to watch" by Bicycling magazine and possible contenders for the points classification and wins on the flat or hilly bunch sprint finishes were Mark Cavendish (), Philippe Gilbert () and riders Tyler Farrar and Thor Hushovd. Former winners of the points classification and notable sprinters included in the startlist were the defending champion, Alessandro Petacchi (), and the winner in 2007, Tom Boonen (). The points classification winner of the 2002, 2004 and 2006 Tours, 39-year-old Robbie McEwen, was not selected by his team for the race, . Óscar Freire of was another former winner (2008) left out of his team's Tour squad.
Cavendish was runner-up in the 2010 Tour's points classification and had won 15 stages in the three previous Tours; he had won a stage at the Tour of Oman, the one-day race Scheldeprijs and two stages at the Giro during the 2011 season prior to the Tour. Gilbert had amassed a total of eleven wins (not including the national championships) for the season before the Tour, including three spring classics: Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne. Farrar's form in the lead-up to the Tour included a stage win in both Tirreno–Adriatico and the Ster ZLM Toer. Hushovd, the world road race champion, only had one win in the season before the Tour, a stage of the Tour de Suisse. Petacchi's best results prior the Tour were a trio of stages in the Giro, the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour of Turkey. The major victory of Boonen's season up to the Tour was the Gent–Wevelgem one-day race.
## Route and stages
On 26 January 2010, the race director, Christian Prudhomme, announced that the department of Vendée would host the 2011 edition's opening stage (known as the Grand Départ). It was the fifth time Vendée had hosted the Grand Départ, which consisted of two stages. The entire route was announced by the ASO on 19 October 2010 at the official presentation at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. The route was thought to suit climbing specialists, with Prudhomme saying "We wanted a balanced route. We tried to keep the suspense for the Alps but also to have a big battle as early as the Pyrenees,". To celebrate the centenary of the introduction of the Alps into the Tour it featured two of its most famous climbs, the Col du Galibier and Alpe d'Huez, with the Galibier climbed twice.
The first of the two stages held in Vendée started in Passage du Gois and finished in Mont des Alouettes, whilst stage two was held in Les Essarts. The Tour left Vendée in Olonne-sur-Mer and headed north to Redon for the finish of the third stage. The following two stages took place in the region of Brittany. Stage six left the region to the finish in Lisieux. Stages seven and eight took the race through the middle of the country from Le Mans to the Super Besse resort in the elevated region Massif Central, which hosted stage nine. The following two stages headed south through the lower slopes, and stage twelve took the race into the Pyrenees. The mountain range hosted the next two stages. The fifteenth stage took place between Limoux and Montpellier. Stage sixteen took the route into the Alps. The next two stages took the race into Italy, with Pinerolo hosting between them. Stage nineteen was the last in the Alps, before the twentieth, which was held in the foothills around Grenoble. A long transfer took the Tour to its conclusion in Paris with the Champs-Élysées stage.
There were 21 stages in the race, covering a total distance of 3,430.5 km (2,132 mi), 212 km (131.7 mi) shorter than the 2010 Tour. For only the second time since the 1967 Tour, the race started with a mass-start stage instead of a prologue (an individual time trial under 8 km (5 mi)), the last occasion being in 2008. The longest mass-start stage was the seventh at 218 km (135 mi), and stage 21 was the shortest at 95 km (59 mi). The race featured only 65.5 km (40.7 mi) of time trialling, with stage two's team time trial and stage twenty's individual time trial. Of the remaining stages, ten were officially classified as flat, three as medium mountain and six as high mountain. There were four summit finishes: stage 12, to Luz Ardiden; stage 14, to Plateau de Beille; stage 18, to Col du Galibier; and stage 19, to Alpe d'Huez. It was the first time a stage had finished on the 2,645-metre (8,678 ft)-high Galibier. It was the highest summit finish in Tour history, beating the finish of the 2,413 metres (7,917 ft)-high Col du Granon during the 1986 Tour. The highest point of elevation in the race was the 2,744 m (9,003 ft)-high Col Agnel mountain pass on stage 18. It was among nine hors catégorie (English: beyond category) rated climbs in the race. There were fifteen new stage start or finish locations. The rest days were after stage 9, at the Le Lioran mountain resort, and after 15, in the department of Drôme.
## Race overview
### Grand Départ and Massif Central
The opening stage's uphill finish of Mont des Alouettes was won by Philippe Gilbert, who took the first yellow jersey as leader of the general classification. He also led the points and mountains classifications. were the fastest in the 23.0 km (14 mi) team time trial on the second stage, four seconds ahead of second-placed . This put Garmin's Thor Hushovd, who was third in stage one, into the yellow jersey. Tyler Farrar won the third stage from a bunch finish. José Joaquín Rojas of , third on the stage, took points classification's green jersey. The following day, a five-rider breakaway group had led the stage after 9 km (6 mi), before the peloton caught on them at the foot of the Mûr-de-Bretagne climb. After a series of attacks, a group of nine riders moved clear, and Cadel Evans won the subsequent sprint finish. Evans took the polka dot jersey as leader of the mountains classification. Mark Cavendish won stage five from a bunch sprint, with second-placed Gilbert taking the green jersey. The sixth stage was won by 's Edvald Boasson Hagen, who won the hilly bunch sprint in Lisieux. Johnny Hoogerland () took the polka dot jersey.
Cavendish won the stage seven's bunch sprint finish. Rojas regained the green jersey. A crash around 40 km (25 mi) from the end of the stage forced general classification contender Bradley Wiggins out of the race with a clavicle fracture. Another overall contender involved in the crash was Chris Horner; he finished the stage, but did not start stage eight due to concussion, a nasal fracture and a hematoma to his calf. The eighth stage was the first at altitude, and saw the breakaway's only survivor, Rui Costa (), win atop Super Besse, with a twelve-second margin. Gilbert led the points classification and Tejay van Garderen () the mountains classification. In the ninth stage, there was controversy when Nicki Sørensen of was struck by a motorbike carrying a photographer, and Hoogerland and Juan Antonio Flecha () were injured after an incident with a television car. Prior to the crash, both riders had formed a five-rider breakaway; the remaining three held on to finish in front of the chasing peloton. Luis León Sánchez () won the stage, with second-placed Thomas Voeckler () gaining the overall race lead. Jurgen Van den Broeck, a general classification contender, left the race due to a clavicle fracture caused by a crash. Hoogerland took back the polka. The next day was the first rest day of the Tour. Stages ten and eleven ended with a bunch sprints, with the victors André Greipel and Cavendish, respectively. The latter took the lead of the points classification.
### Pyrenees and transition
Stage twelve was the first to enter the high mountains, and included two climbs that were rated hors catégorie, the La Hourquette d'Ancizan and the climb to the finish at Luz Ardiden. An early breakaway of six riders were caught and passed in the final 8 km (5 mi) by Jelle Vanendert () and Samuel Sánchez). They held off the chasing group that included the main general classification contenders and a late attack by Fränk Schleck, with Samuel Sánchez crossing the finish line first. Of the general classification favourites, Contador lost the most time in the stage, 33 seconds down on third-placed Fränk Schleck (the highest placed overall contender). The mountains classification points Samuel Sánchez received at the summit finish put him in the polka dot jersey. In the thirteenth stage, a three-rider breakaway went clear over the hors catégorie-rated Col d'Aubisque, and after the long descent to Lourdes, they finished with a margin of five minutes; Hushovd took the stage win. Jérémy Roy (), who was one of the three, took the polka. The fourteenth stage was last in the Pyrenees and it included six categorised climbs. As the race reached the hors catégorie climb to Plateau de Beille and the finish, the main group of overall favourites took control, and with 6 km (4 mi) to go, Vanendert attacked and won with a margin of 21 seconds. His win put Vanendert in the polka.
The transitional stage fifteen that moved the race east to the Alps was won by Cavendish from a bunch sprint. The next day was the second rest day. Hushovd won his second stage of the Tour with the sixteenth; he formed part of the three-rider breakaway that escaped with 60 km (37 mi) to go. On the descent of the final climb – the Col de Manse – Evans attacked and at the finish had gained time on his rivals, displacing Fränk Schleck and moving up one place to second overall.
### Alps and finale
Another descent to the finish followed in stage sixteen, and again the winner came from a breakaway. Boasson Hagen was the victor, improving on his second place the previous day. Overall race leader Voeckler lost 27 seconds to his rivals after he went wide on two of the final descent's corners. The Tour's queen stage, the eighteenth, included three hors catégorie climbs, including the Col du Galibier summit finish. With 60 km (37 mi) to go, Andy Schleck launched a solo attack on the second climb, the Col d'Izoard. He went on to bridge across and pass a large breakaway, before claiming the stage win; he moved up to second overall, gaining over two minutes on his rivals. Voeckler's lead in the yellow jersey was reduced to fifteen seconds. The autobus (the large group behind the leading peloton) of 88 riders finished outside the time limit, 35 min 50 s after Schleck; all riders were allowed to stay in the race due to the large number. The points classification leader, Cavendish, who was in the group, was docked 20 points.
The race for the general classification began from the start of the nineteenth stage, the Tour's final mountain stage, with Voeckler, the Schleck brothers and Evans all in a second breakaway. Andy Schleck was then part of a group that crossed the second of the stage's three large climbs, the Galibier, in pursuit of the leading group. The head of the race came together on the long descent to foot of the climb and the finish at Alpe d'Huez, with the exception of Ryder Hesjedal () and Pierre Rolland (), who had a 47-second lead. The latter won the stage, counter-attacking a solo move by Contador. Voeckler lost the lead of the general classification, dropping to fourth overall, behind the Schleck brothers and Evans, who all came in with an elite group a minute after the winner. The top three positions of the general classification were Andy Schleck, Fränk Schleck (53 seconds down) and Evans (57 seconds down). Samuel Sánchez, second in the stage, took the lead of the mountains classification. The penultimate stage, the 42.5 km (26 mi) individual time trial in Grenoble, was decisive in the outcome of the general classification, with Evans placing second and beating Andy Schleck by two and a half minutes to lead the Tour. Tony Martin of won the stage, seven seconds ahead of Evans.
In the final stage, Cavendish secured a record third successive victory on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, his fifth stage win of the 2011 Tour. Evans finished the race to become the first Australian rider to win the Tour de France, and at 34, the oldest post-World War II winner. The Schleck brothers placed second and third, Andy 1 min 34 s down and Fränk 2 min 30 s down. Cavendish won the points classification with a total of 334, 62 ahead of Rojas in second, becoming the first British rider to claim the green jersey. The mountains classification was won by Samuel Sánchez, who had a win and two second places on the four mountain-top finishes. Andy Schleck finished second in that category, with Vanendert third. Rolland, tenth in the general classification, won the young rider classification, largely by virtue of positions he attained in supporting his team leader, Voeckler, during the time he held the yellow jersey. finished as the winners of the team classification, eleven minutes ahead of second-placed . Of the 198 starters, 169 reached the finish of the last stage in Paris.
### Doping
During the Tour's first rest day, it was announced that Alexandr Kolobnev's () urine sample taken after the fifth stage had tested positive for the diuretic medication hydrochlorothiazide. Although it was listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency as prohibited, cycling's governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), only released a statement advising his team "take the necessary steps to enable the Tour de France to continue in serenity...". He withdrew from the race immediately. On 1 March 2012, CAS decided that Kolobnev would only receive a warning for this, and no suspension, because his use of the drug was justified by 'medical reasons unrelated to performance'.
On 6 February 2012, CAS removed Alberto Contador's results due to his positive test for clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour. The UCI subsequently revised the final general classification, with riders ranked between 6 and 21 upgraded, and the 21st position left unattributed. On 18 October 2012, the UCI announced that a disciplinary procedure against Carlos Barredo () was taken following anomalies in his biological passport. He retired from cycling in December 2012. In July 2014, his results were disqualified from races in which he participated between 26 October 2007 and 24 September 2011, with his 35th position on the 2011 Tour's general classification left vacant.
## Classification leadership and minor prizes
There were four main individual classifications contested in the 2011 Tour de France, as well as a team competition. The most important was the general classification, which was calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. There were no time bonuses given at the end of stages for this edition of the Tour. If a crash had happened within the final 3 km (1.9 mi) of a stage, not including time trials and summit finishes, the riders involved would have received the same time as the group they were in when the crash occurred. The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered the overall winner of the Tour. The rider leading the classification wore a yellow jersey.
The second classification was the points classification. Riders received points for finishing among the highest placed in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints during the stage. The points available for each stage finish were determined by the stage's type. In the 2010 Tour, stages classified flat had three intermediate sprint points worth 6, 4, and 2 points to the first three riders across the line. For 2011, flat stages had just one intermediate sprint which was worth 20 points to the rider in first position, and the first 15 score points. The intention was to have riders needing to sprint twice during the day to score well. Points awarded at the finish of flat stages also increased, from 35 points for the winner to 45. Medium mountain stages awarded 30 points to the winner, high mountain stages and the individual time trial gave 20 points. No points were awarded for the team time trial on stage two. The leader was identified by a green jersey.
The third classification was the mountains classification. Points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit of the most difficult climbs first. The climbs were categorised as fourth-, third-, second-, first-category and hors catégorie, with the more difficult climbs rated lower. In the 2010 Tour, any hors catégorie, first-, or second-category climb awarded double points if it was the last of the stage. In 2011, only the summit stage finishes awarded double points, specifically stages 12, 14, 18 and 19. Pre-race analysis speculated that the winner would be more likely, under this system, to be a general classification contender than in years past. This speculation proved accurate, as Samuel Sánchez, who finished sixth in the general classification, won the mountains classification, and the top three finishers in the general classification were in the top five of the mountains classification. The leader wore a white jersey with red polka dots.
The final individual classification was the young rider classification. This was calculated the same way as the general classification, but the classification was restricted to riders who were born on or after 1 January 1986. The leader wore a white jersey.
The final classification was a team classification. This was calculated using the finishing times of the best three riders per team on each stage, excluding the team time trial; the leading team was the team with the lowest cumulative time. The number of stage victories and placings per team determined the outcome of a tie. The riders in the team that lead this classification were identified with yellow number bibs on the back of their jerseys.
In addition, there was a combativity award given after each stage to the rider considered, by a jury, to have "made the greatest effort and who has demonstrated the best qualities of sportsmanship". No combativity awards were given for the time trials and the final stage. The winner wore a red number bib the following stage. At the conclusion of the Tour, Jérémy Roy won the overall super-combativity award, again, decided by a jury.
A total of €3,412,546 was awarded in cash prizes in the race. The overall winner of the general classification received €450,000, with the second and third placed riders got €200,000 and €100,000 respectively. All finishers of the race were awarded with money. The holders of the classifications benefited on each stage they led; the final winners of the points and mountains were given €25,000, while the best young rider and most combative rider got €20,000. Team prizes were available, with €10,000 for the winner of team time trial and €50,000 for the winners of the team classification. There were also two special awards each with a prize of €5000, the Souvenir Henri Desgrange, given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Galibier in stage eighteen, and the Souvenir Jacques Goddet, given to the first rider to pass Goddet's memorial at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet in stage twelve. Andy Schleck won the Henri Desgrange and Roy won the Jacques Goddet.
- In stage two, Cadel Evans, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, as Philippe Gilbert held the general classification as well as the points classification and the mountains classification. Thor Hushovd, who was third in both the general and points classifications, wore the polka dot jersey.
- In stage three, as Philippe Gilbert held the points classification as well as the mountains classification, Cadel Evans, who was second on the only climb yielding points to that stage, wore the polka dot jersey.
- After stage nine, both Juan Antonio Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland were awarded the red number bib for stage ten. They received the combativity award after stage nine for finishing the stage despite a collision with a television car. Flecha refused to accept the award on the podium after the stage; Hoogerland, having already been up there to receive the polka dot jersey, did take the award.
## Final standings
### General classification
### Points classification
### Mountains classification
### Young rider classification
### Team classification
## UCI World Tour rankings
Riders from the ProTeams competing individually, as well as for their teams and nations, for points that contributed towards the World Tour rankings. Points were awarded to the top twenty finishers in the general classification and to the top five finishers in each stage. The 260 points accrued by Cadel Evans moved him from fourth position to second in the individual ranking. took the lead of the team ranking, ahead of in second. Spain remained as leaders of the nation ranking, with Italy second.
## See also
- 2011 in men's road cycling
- 2011 in sports
|
1,465,029 |
Guttorm of Norway
| 1,169,873,532 |
King of Norway in 1204
|
[
"1199 births",
"1204 deaths",
"13th-century Norwegian monarchs",
"Fairhair dynasty",
"House of Sverre",
"Medieval child monarchs",
"Monarchs who died as children",
"Norwegian civil wars"
] |
Guttorm Sigurdsson (Old Norse: Guttormr Sigurðarson; 1199 – 11 August 1204) was the king of Norway from January to August 1204, during the Norwegian civil war era. As a grandson of King Sverre, he was proclaimed king by the Birkebeiner faction when he was just four years old. Although obviously not in control of the events surrounding him, Guttorm's accession to the throne under the effective regency of Haakon the Crazy led to renewed conflict between the Birkebeiner and the Bagler factions, the latter supported militarily by Valdemar II of Denmark.
Guttorm's reign ended abruptly when the child king suddenly became ill and died. Rumours among the Birkebeiner held that Guttorm's illness and death had been caused by Haakon the Crazy's future wife Christina Nilsdatter, a claim considered dubious by modern historians. Low-intensity civil war followed Guttorm's death, until a settlement was reached in 1207, temporarily dividing the kingdom.
## Background
Guttorm was an illegitimate son of Sigurd Lavard and thus a grandson of King Sverre. The identity of his mother is unknown. Sigurd predeceased his father, Sverre, who died in 1202 and was succeeded by his younger son Haakon Sverresson. Haakon reigned until his own death on 1 January 1204. Haakon had pursued a policy of peace and reunification between the Birkebeiner and Bagler during his short reign, but following his death relations between the parties collapsed and a new phase of the Norwegian civil wars began. Parts of the Birkebeiner were disgruntled by Haakon's policy of reconciliation with the Bagler, which may have led to his death, following which the balance of power within the Birkebeiner switched immediately to the faction around Haakon the Crazy.
The day after Haakon's death, the Birkebeiner designated Guttorm as king at a meeting of the hird, in consultation with Bishop Martin of Bergen. Sverre's nephew Haakon the Crazy was simultaneously appointed regent as leader of the hird and the army. According to the Bǫglunga sǫgur (Bagler sagas), the young king then took a sword and mounted it to Haakon's side, and handed him a shield. He further gave Haakon the title of earl, with consent from all the chieftains, and had Haakon sit next to him at his throne. Haakon's unusually strong position was thus symbolised by his sitting at the same level as the king, and not on a lower seat as would have been customary for an earl. Another of Sverre's nephews, Peter Støyper, together with Einar Kongsmåg, husband of Sverre's daughter Cecilia, were appointed as Guttorm's guardians.
## Revolt and death
The appointment of the warlike and power-hungry Haakon the Crazy (called "the mad dog" by the Bagler) to key positions contributed to conflicts within the Birkebeiner, and a worsening of relations with the Bagler. Haakon's elevation led the Bagler to believe that there was not much hope of peace with the Birkebeiner. The Bagler therefore travelled to Denmark and united around Erling Stonewall, an alleged son of former king Magnus Erlingsson, whom elements of the party had attempted to proclaim as king in 1203. Their revolt was actively supported by Valdemar II of Denmark, who sought to regain the ancient Danish overlordship of Viken, in Norway.
Valdemar arrived in Viken in June with more than 300 ships, and Erling performed a trial by ordeal before the king in Tønsberg. In turn, the Danish king gave 35 ships to Erling, and together with Philip Simonsson (another Bagler rival), he swore allegiance to Valdemar. Although Philip's claim to the throne was supported by both Valdemar and the church, in the end, the Bagler proclaimed Erling as king and Philip as earl at Haugating and Borgarting (things of the southeastern parts of Norway), and the Bagler quickly gained control of Viken. Guttorm was in turn proclaimed king (konungstekja) by the Birkebeiner at Øyrating in Trondheim in the spring or early summer. While Haakon the Crazy was in the process of gathering an army to fight the Bagler, likely at a second purely military assembly at Øyrating, Guttorm suddenly became ill and died on 11 August. He was buried at the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.
In the longer version of the Bǫglunga sǫgur, it is insinuated that Guttorm's illness and death were caused by Swedish-born Christina Nilsdatter, who married Haakon the Crazy shortly after Guttorm's death. Modern historians consider this claim to be dubious, derived from rumours spread by the Birkebeiner in connection with the sudden death of Haakon Sverresson some months earlier. The same source claims that Haakon was poisoned, allegedly by Sverre's widow Margaret, Christina's aunt. Haakon the Crazy's bid to succeed Guttorm as king foundered because he was not trusted and had made powerful opponents. Guttorm's death was followed by low-intensity civil war between his successor Inge Bårdsson and the Bagler, until a settlement was reached between Inge, Haakon and the new Bagler pretender Philip Simonsson in 1207, which for some years divided the kingdom.
|
67,185,081 |
Tropical Storm Ivo (2019)
| 1,171,832,839 |
Pacific tropical storm in 2019
|
[
"2019 Pacific hurricane season",
"2019 in Mexico",
"Eastern Pacific tropical storms",
"Pacific hurricanes in Mexico",
"Tropical cyclones in 2019"
] |
Tropical Storm Ivo was a tropical cyclone that brought heavy rainfall to five states in Mexico, causing severe flooding during August 2019. The tenth tropical cyclone and ninth named storm of the 2019 Pacific hurricane season, Ivo arose from a low-pressure area that spawned south of Guatemala on August 16. The low-pressure system gradually organized over the next several days as it tracked west-northwestward. The system coalesced into a tropical depression early on August 21 and strengthened into Tropical Storm Ivo several hours later. Located within a favorable environment of moist air and warm sea surface temperatures, the cyclone quickly intensified, peaking the next day with 1-minute maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) and a pressure of 990 mbar (29.23 inHg). Increasing wind shear caused the storm's intensification to level off later that day, as the system turned towards the north-northwest. Ivo passed by Clarion Island midday on August 23, generating winds of 60 mph (100 km/h) on the island. Wind shear caused Ivo to significantly degrade in structure and intensity during the next couple of days. Cold sea surface temperatures, as well as dry and stable air, caused the cyclone to degenerate into a remnant low early on August 25. The low meandered over the eastern Pacific before opening up into a trough of low pressure early on August 27.
Ivo prompted the issuance of blue alerts for multiple municipalities in Sinaloa and Sonora, signifying minimal danger. The Marine plan was activated in several states to prepare for heavy rainfall and flooding. Schools were canceled across over a dozen Sinaloan municipalities and at the Autonomous University of Sinaloa. Severe rainfall and flooding occurred, mostly across Baja California Sur and Sinaloa, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people. Over a hundred shelters were established for victims of the storm. Hundreds of homes and streets were inundated by floodwaters and mud, as a result of torrential rainfall and multiple rivers overflowing. The rainfall worsened damage to infrastructure, roads, and bridges, which had been damaged during Hurricane Willa in 2018. At least 5 people were killed in Nayarit after being swept away by the El Cangrejo river. Heavy rainfall and hail occurred in Zacatecas, flooding two dozen businesses and homes and stranding nearly a dozen vehicles. Three landslides occurred in Mexico State, blocking streets and damaging houses. Three rivers spilled their banks, flooding several neighborhoods in the Mexico City suburbs. In the aftermath of the storm, Plan DN-III-E, a disaster relief and rescue plan, was activated in five states. Military troops assisted with rescue and cleanup operations in multiple states. Collection sites were opened to receive food and supplies for victims of the storm.
## Meteorological history
A tropical wave exited the west coast of Africa on August 4, while a second wave reached the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean a few days after. The waves tracked westward and entered the eastern Pacific Ocean, starting on August 14. The National Hurricane Center first forecast on August 13 that a low-pressure area would form southeast of Mexico's southeastern coast later in that week. A low-pressure area spawned south of Guatemala early on August 16 from the first wave. This wave proceeded westward while the low-pressure area tracked towards the west-northwest. Thunderstorm activity associated with the latter system significantly increased during the next two days. By August 19, the system was located approximately 230 mi (370 km) south of Mexico's southeastern coast. The second tropical wave tracked through the region during this time, sparking a further increase in convective activity. The low-pressure system became more organized on August 21, with wind data from satellites showing an improved circulation. A tropical depression developed 290 miles (465 km) south of Manzanillo, Mexico, at 06:00 UTC, and further strengthened into Tropical Storm Ivo six hours later.
The nascent tropical storm was located in a favorable environment, with warm sea surface temperatures of 86 °F (30 °C), moist air, and moderate northeasterly vertical wind shear. At the time, Ivo possessed a curved rainband spiraling into its low-level center. Meanwhile, a mid-level ridge located to the north was causing the cyclone to track towards the west-northwest. Ivo continued to strengthen over the next day, with the cyclone's cloud pattern improving and a mid-level, banded eye developing underneath its central dense overcast. Ivo peaked at 12:00 UTC on August 22, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (120 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 990 mbar (29.23 inHg). Shortly after peaking, Ivo's forward crawl slowed down to 12 mph (19 km/h), about half the speed it was travelling at one day prior, as the western edge of the ridge weakened. The cyclone's intensification came to a halt as northeasterly wind shear increased. Convection was largely concentrated in the southern half of the storm, and the low-level center was partially exposed along the northeastern edge of the cloud cover.
Ivo quickly turned towards the northwest and later the north-northwest early on August 23, as it rounded the western edge of the mid-level ridge. Wind shear continued to batter the cyclone, causing the latter's low-level center to separate from the central dense overcast. Ivo passed just offshore Clarion Island around 12:00 UTC on August 23, producing sustained winds of 60 mph (100 km/h) on the island. Afterwards, Ivo's low-level center became separated from the convection as the cyclone decayed. Continuous wind shear bombarded Ivo, causing the mid-level circulation to separate and leaving only a small area of convection near the center. Cold 75 °F (24 °C) sea surface temperatures below and dry and stable air aloft caused all remaining convection to dissipate, with Ivo becoming a 35 mph (65 km/h) remnant low-pressure system around 06:00 UTC on August 25, located 445 mi (715 km) west of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. The low continued to track northwestward to north-northwestward while slowing down and weakening. The low became stationary on August 26 and turned towards the southeast, under the influence of a low-level steering flow, which was located west of the Baja California peninsula. The low opened up into a trough of low-pressure around 00:00 UTC on August 27.
## Preparations and impact
A blue alert, signifying minimal danger, was issued for the Sinaloan municipalities of Guaymas, Empalme, Cajeme, Navojoa, Huatabampo, Etchojóa, Álamos, Benito Juárez, San Ignacio Rio Muerto, Bácum, Quiriego, and Rosario. A blue alert was also issued for the Sonoran municipalities of Guaymas, Empalme, Cajeme, Navojoa, Huatabampo, Etchojóa, Álamos, Benito Juárez, San Ignacio Rio Muerto, Bácum, Quiriego, and Rosario Tesopaco. In Baja California Sur, 6 shelters were erected in Cabo San Lucas and another 6 in San José del Cabo. The Marine Plan was activated in the states of Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas. Classes were canceled in 18 Sinaloan municipalities, and the Autonomous University of Sinaloa was closed. In El Carrizo, people living on a road parallelling the International Highway evacuated from their residences due to the threat of heavy rainfall and severe flooding, not wanting to experience a repeat of Tropical Depression Nineteen-E, which affected the region one year prior.
Ivo caused severe flooding across multiple Mexican states, including Sinaloa, Baja California Sur, Nayarit, Zacatecas, and Mexico State. Two emergency shelters were opened in Ciudad Insurgentes, Baja California Sur, during the storm as a result of flooding. Homes were flooded in Comondú, and people were rescued by boats. Minimal damage was inflicted to roadways in Los Cabos. Multiple landslides occurred around San José del Cabo and Cabo del Este.
Torrential rainfall from Ivo caused flooding throughout Sinaloa; the municipalities of El Rosario, Mazatlán, Elota, Mocorito, and Guasave were the most severely affected, with rainfall ranging from 70–244 mm (2.8–9.6 in) occurring there. A sinkhole formed in a section of the Mazatlán-Culiacán highway in the Elota Municipality. The hole was at least 6.1 m (20 ft) long and 0.61 m (2 ft). Another section of the highway was flooded after a canal overflowed, forcing a partial closure of the road at that point. At least 180 homes were flooded in El Rosario. Four bridges collapsed in El Rosario municipality, isolating nine rural villages. Damage to the Monte Alto and La Batanga bridges was worsened as a result of heavy rainfall during Ivo, isolating communities along one bank of the Baluarte River. Ivo worsened the damage to many roads, bridges, and other infrastructure that had previously been damaged by Hurricane Willa in 2018. One temporary shelter was established, and the state government set up health and cleaning service groups during the storm. Around 200 homes were inundated with 1 m (3.3 ft) of water in Mazatlán.
The Jabalines river spilled its banks near the edge of Mazatlán. Floodwaters and mud inundated homes in the Jacarandas and Lico Velarde neighborhoods. At least 50 people were evacuated in the El Rosario, Indeco, Jacarandas, and Villa Jaraco neighborhoods and taken to shelters. A canal overflowed in the Jacarandas neighborhood, inundating a school with 1 metre (3.3 ft) of water and mud. Furniture, technology, and records within the building were almost completely ruined. One family in the neighborhood lost everything after floodwaters and mud inundated their house. In the Lico Velarde neighborhood, heavy rainfall from Ivo worsened existing sewage problems. The Guadalupe drain overflowed in Guasave, flooding dozens of homes. Floodwaters damaged at least 200 homes in Guasave and 46 in Ahome. In Los Mochis and Ahome, sewage systems collapsed. At least fifteen neighborhoods were flooded throughout Los Mochis. The storm caused flooding up to 12.5 mm (0.49 in) deep in the city, most severe in the Las Mañanitas neighborhood. Three pumps were working to remove water from that neighborhood. Several streets and the main access road to the neighborhood were flooded. Streets were closed to traffic in the city to prevent waves, and 108 shelters were established for victims of the storm. The Juárez drain overflowed near Los Mochis after Ivo clogged its sea outlet, flooding streets and fields, the latter of which damaged 800–1,000 hectares (2,000–2,500 acres) of crops. At least five ejidos were inundated in Guasave.
The Culiacán Water Park was entirely flooded as a result of heavy rainfall during Ivo, resulting in its closure. The nearby Black Bridge was closed by authorities, and a road in the Derivadora Dam was closed before the Culiacán river overflowed. In the Hacienda Alameda subdivision, Culiacán, Ivo caused water pipes to rupture and washed away rubble from houses. At least 180 homes were inundated by floodwaters in the town of Las Brisas. In the Angostura Municipality, the towns of Chinitos and Melchor Ocampo were left isolated, after water from an irrigation channel significantly damaged the Ford bridge. A shelter was established for people who lived on the banks of the channel.
In Acaponeta, Nayarit, five people were swept away by the overflowing El Cangrejo river. The storm caused flooding and hail and in the state of Zacatecas. Floodwaters up to 1 m (3.3 ft) were reported in the downtown region of Fresnillo. Six businesses and 25 homes were inundated, and 11 cars were stranded. Torrential rainfall affected Naucalpan Municipality, Mexico State, flooding 16 homes and vehicles and streets. A landslide occurred in the San Lorenzo Totolinga neighborhood, near the Totolinga river, damaging a house and requiring the rescue of two children. At least 30 residences were flooded in Toluca. The Hondo, Chico de Los Remedios, and Los Cuartos rivers spilled their banks, causing damage in several neighborhoods. Floodwaters damaged Calle 4 in San Rafael Chamapa. The Chico de Los Remedios river spilled its banks in Ribera de Echegaray, causing floodwaters and garbage to collide with a bridge on San Agustín avenue. This in turn caused additional flooding. The September 16 ravine also overflowed in Ribera de Echegaray. The overflowing Chico de Los Remedios river inundated 12 houses in the Colon neighborhood, 10 in the Pastores neighborhood, and 8 in the El Conde neighborhood with water and mud. A landslide occurred in the Valle Dorado neighborhood, and another occurred on Rivera Street. Heavy rainfall occurred in Iztapalapa, flooding streets in the neighborhoods of Lomas de Zaragoza, Santa Martha Acatitla, Chilpancingo Sur, and Niño Artillero Popular Ermita Zaragoza. The Water System of Mexico City requested that motorists avoid the eastern side of the city due to flooding.
## Aftermath
As a result of flooding from heavy rainfall, emergency declarations were issued for the Sinaloan municipalities of Rosario, Mazatlán, Elota, Mocorito, and Guasave to provide access to funds for food, shelter, and medical supplies. In Guasave, pantries were erected and medical teams were dispatched to aid victims of the storm. Plan DN-III-E, a disaster relief and rescue plan, was activated for Sinaloa and Baja California, with 400 soldiers being deployed to those states, collectively. The plan was later extended to include Nayarit, Mexico State, and Mexico City. In Baja California Sur, military troops were helping to remove debris, unclog drains, direct traffic, remove mud and floodwaters from homes in Comundú, and aid trapped cars. Military vehicles helped to evacuate citizens to shelters. Two shelters were set up at schools in Comondú. At least 230 people were evacuated from their homes and taken to shelters. Emergencies were declared for the cities of Los Cabos and Comondú in Baja California Sur. Food was distributed to victims of the storm at a temporary shelter located at a school in Comondú. The Baja California Sur state government requested funds from FONDEN, a natural disaster relief fund, to help with cleanup and repair efforts in Ciudad Insurgentes.
The commencement of school for 2019 in Ciudad Insurgentes was delayed for one day, as a result of heavy rainfall. Municipal officials in Loreto, Baja California Sur, set up a collection site which stockpiled donations of medicine, blankets, clothes, diapers, canned food, powdered milk, and bottled water. At least 56 families had to leave their homes in Mazatlán as a result of torrential rainfall. Relief programs were established to support these families and small businesses that were impacted by the storm. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources prevented the usage of backhoes to clear off beaches in Mazatlán after strong waves from Ivo deposited algae there. The governor of Sinaloa and the mayor of Los Mochis provided MX\$80 million (US\$4 million) in funds for 26 separate projects in order to fix drainage problems caused by Ivo throughout Ahome municipality. Farmers in Los Mochis, Topolobampo, and Villa de Ahome worked to drain their fields to prepare for the next agricultural season, after the storm inundated the fields with up to 170 mm (6.7 in) of water.
Officials warned residents in Los Mochis not to drink tap water after Ivo damaged chlorine injectors, lowering the chlorination of the water. The Autonomous University of Baja California Sur hosted a collection site for the victims of the storm, collecting food such as canned goods, water, pasta, and beans and items such as pallas, brooms, rakes, machetes, pickers, mops, hygiene products, cleaning products, medicine, and clothing. Collection sites were also established in Ciudad Constitución and Los Cabos municipality. The Mazatlán municipal government provided citizens affected by the storm in the November 20 neighborhood with over 200 household appliances and furniture items, including mattresses and bed bases, washing machines, stoves, and refrigerators. In Choix, Sinaloa, the mayor provided 12 schools with a collective total of 84 student desks, 230 chairs, 165 armchairs, 26 teacher chairs, and 30 teacher desks.
The Water Commission of the State of Mexico sent six suction-pressure trucks, two squadrons, and six bilge pumps to clear floodwaters from homes and streets in Naucalpan. In Mexico City and Mexico State, military personnel assisted with draining water, cleaning residences, clearing debris, and assisting stranded motorists. At least 250 people and 50 vehicles worked to remove mud and garbage from roads, houses, and the San Agustín bridge in Ribera de Echegaray.
## See also
- Weather of 2019
- Tropical cyclones in 2019
- List of Eastern Pacific tropical storms
|
7,023,290 |
Mark Barr
| 1,157,261,475 |
English-American inventor and polymath (1871–1950)
|
[
"1871 births",
"1950 deaths",
"19th-century American inventors",
"20th-century American inventors",
"American electrical engineers",
"Engineers from Pennsylvania",
"English electrical engineers",
"English inventors",
"Golden ratio",
"Scientists from Pennsylvania"
] |
James Mark McGinnis Barr (May 18, 1871 – December 15, 1950) was an electrical engineer, physicist, inventor, and polymath known for proposing the standard notation for the golden ratio. Born in America, but with English citizenship, Barr lived in both London and New York City at different times of his life.
Though remembered primarily for his contributions to abstract mathematics, Barr put much of his efforts over the years into the design of machines, including calculating machines. He won a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle for an extremely accurate engraving machine.
## Life
Barr was born in Pennsylvania, the son of Charles B. Barr and Ann M'Ginnis. He was educated in London, then worked for the Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh from 1887 to 1890. He started there as a draughtsman before becoming a laboratory assistant, and later an erection engineer. For two years in the early 1890s, he worked in New York City at the journal Electrical World as an assistant editor, at the same time studying chemistry at the New York City College of Technology, and by 1900, he had worked with both Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin in New York. However, he was known among acquaintances for his low opinion of Thomas Edison. Returning to London in 1892, he studied physics and electrical engineering at the City and Guilds of London Technical College for three years.
From 1896 to 1900, he worked for Linotype in England, and from 1900 to 1904, he worked as a technical advisor to Trevor Williams in London. Beginning in 1902, he was elected to the Small Screw Gauge Committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The committee was set up to put into practice the system of British Association screw threads, which had been settled on but not implemented in 1884. More broadly, it was tasked with considering "the whole question of standardisation of engineering materials, tools, and machinery". In January 1916, Barr was given charge of a school for machinists in London, intended to supply workers to a nearby factory for machine guns for the war effort; the school closed that June, as the factory was unable to take on the new workers at the expected rate.
In the early 1920s, Barr was a frequent visitor to Alfred North Whitehead in Chelsea, London, but by 1924, he had moved back to New York. Hamlin Garland writes that, "after thirty years in London", Barr returned to America "in order that his young sons might become citizens". Garland quotes Barr as saying that, for him, "to abandon America would be an act of treason". In 1924, Harvard University invited Whitehead to join its faculty, with the financial backing of Henry Osborn Taylor. Barr, a friend of both Whitehead and Taylor, served as an intermediary in the preparations for this move. Whitehead, in subsequent letters to his son North in 1924 and 1925, writes of Barr's struggles to sell the design for one of his calculating machines to an unnamed large American company. In the 1925 letter, Whitehead writes that Barr's son Stephen was staying with him while Barr and his wife Mabel visited Elyria, Ohio, to oversee a test build of the device. However, by 1927, Barr and Whitehead had fallen out, Whitehead writing to North (amid much complaint about Barr's character) that he was "very doubtful whether he will keep his post at the business school here"; Barr was a "research assistant in finance" at Harvard Business School around this time.
Barr joined the Century Association in 1925, and in his later life it "became practically his home". He died in The Bronx in 1950.
## Contributions
### Machining
At Linotype, Barr improved punch-cutting machines by substituting ball bearings for oil lubrication to achieve a more precise fit, and using tractrix-shaped sleeves to distribute wear uniformly. In an 1896 publication in The Electrical Review on calculating the dimensions of a ball race, Barr credits the bicycle industry for stimulating development of the perfectly spherical steel balls needed in this application. The punch-cutters he worked on were, essentially, pantographs that could engrave copies of given shapes (the outlines of letters or characters) as three-dimensional objects at a much smaller scale (the punches used to shape each letter in hot metal typesetting). Between 1900 and 1902, with Linotype managers Arthur Pollen and William Henry Lock, Barr also designed pantographs operating on a very different scale, calculating aim for naval artillery based on the positions, headings, and speeds of the firing ship and its target.
### Golden ratio
Barr was a friend of William Schooling, and worked with him in exploiting the properties of the golden ratio to develop arithmetic algorithms suitable for mechanical calculators. According to Theodore Andrea Cook, Barr gave the golden ratio the name of phi (φ). Cook wrote that Barr chose φ by analogy to the use of π for the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, and because it is the first Greek letter in the name of the ancient sculptor Phidias. Although Martin Gardner later wrote that Phidias was chosen because he was "believed to have used the golden proportion frequently in his sculpture", Barr himself denied this, writing in his paper "Parameters of beauty" that he doubted Phidias used the golden ratio. Schooling communicated some of his discoveries with Barr to Cook after seeing an article by Cook about phyllotaxis, the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem, which often approximates the golden ratio. Schooling published his work with Barr later, in 1915, employing the same notation. Barr also published a related work in The Sketch in around 1913, generalizing the Fibonacci numbers to higher-order recurrences.
### Other inventions and discoveries
Around 1910, Barr built a lighting apparatus for painter William Nicholson, using filters and reflectors to mix different types of light to produce an "artificial reproduction of daylight". In 1914, as an expert in electricity, he took part in an investigation of psychic phenomena involving Polish medium Stanisława Tomczyk by the Society for Psychical Research; however, the results were inconclusive. At some point prior to 1916, Barr was a participant in a business venture to make synthetic rubber from turpentine by a bacterial process. However, after much effort in relocating the bacterium after exhausting the original supply (a barrel of vinegar from New Jersey), the process ended up being less cost-effective than natural rubber, and the business failed. With Edward George Boulenger of the London Zoo, he built a timer-operated electromechanical rat trap.
In preparation for a diving expedition to Haiti by William Beebe and the New York Zoological Society in early 1927, in which he participated as "physicist, master electrician, and philosopher", Barr helped develop an underwater telephone allowing divers to talk to a support boat, and a brass underwater housing for a motion picture camera.
## Selected publications
|
56,307,840 |
Minneapolis Miracle
| 1,173,223,651 |
2018 American football playoff game
|
[
"2010s in Minneapolis",
"2017 National Football League season",
"2018 in sports in Minnesota",
"American football incidents",
"January 2018 sports events in the United States",
"Minnesota Vikings postseason",
"National Football League playoff games",
"New Orleans Saints postseason",
"Nicknamed sporting events"
] |
The Minneapolis Miracle (also known as the Minnesota Miracle) was the National Football Conference (NFC) divisional playoff game played between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 14, 2018, and specifically its final play. The game was played as part of the National Football League (NFL)'s 2017–18 playoffs. This was the fourth playoff game between these two franchises in their histories.
The Saints came back from a 17–0 first-half deficit and established a 24–23 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the game. On the last play of the game, Vikings quarterback Case Keenum threw a 27-yard pass to wide receiver Stefon Diggs; Saints safety Marcus Williams missed a tackle, allowing Diggs to run to the end zone to complete the 61-yard touchdown pass. This game was the first in NFL playoffs history to end in a touchdown as time expired.
In the aftermath, Keenum and Diggs were lauded for their efforts on the game-winning score, while Williams received criticism for his missed tackle. The Vikings' radio call by Paul Allen – who described the play as a "Minneapolis Miracle" – was circulated widely on the internet and in mainstream media and it became the popular appellation for both the play and the game itself. The play won multiple end-of-year awards and prompted a change to the NFL's rules.
## Background
The previous playoff meeting between the two teams was the 2009 NFC Championship game, which was notable for the excessive roughness of the Saints, later termed "Bountygate," as well as the Vikings driving close to a game-winning field goal before quarterback Brett Favre threw an interception. Some Minneapolis sportswriters have described the "Miracle" as atoning for Bountygate.
Prior to the 2016 season, Minnesota's starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a non-contact injury that produced a dislocated knee, torn ACL and "other structural damage." The severity of the injury nearly cost Bridgewater his leg and compelled the Vikings to trade two draft picks to the Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Bradford as a replacement. The Vikings began 2016 with a 5–0 record before collapsing to finish 8–8.
The Saints, for their part, produced their third consecutive 7–9 showing in 2016, leading to rumors that they might fire or trade coach Sean Payton during the offseason. Despite the speculation to the contrary, Payton retained his position as the Saints' head coach for 2017, although five assistant coaches lost their jobs.
Minnesota entered the 2017 campaign with Bradford as its starting quarterback, as Bridgewater was still recovering from his knee injury. Bradford suffered a knee injury of his own in a Week 1 game against the Saints, resulting in Case Keenum taking over at the quarterback position. Keenum subsequently led the Vikings to a 13–3 regular season record and the NFC North title for just the second time since 2009. Three Vikings scored eight touchdowns: running back Latavius Murray, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and tight end Kyle Rudolph. Since the Vikings were the \#2 seed in the NFC, they did not have to play during the NFL's Wild Card Weekend. The Vikings' \#2 seeding meant that U.S. Bank Stadium became the first Super Bowl host stadium (selected on May 20, 2014) to also host a Divisional Playoff Game in the same season; all previous times that the Super Bowl host stadium also hosted another postseason game that season were Wild Card Playoffs.
Despite an 0–2 start to 2017, New Orleans finished with an 11–5 record, thereby winning the NFC South and qualifying for the playoffs as the \#4 seed. New Orleans' rookie running back Alvin Kamara won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award after earning 6.1 yards-per-carry and scoring 14 total touchdowns during the regular season. Veteran running back Mark Ingram also scored double-digit touchdowns (12), while second-year wide receiver Michael Thomas caught 104 passes for 1,245 yards and five touchdowns. In their Wild Card Weekend match-up against the Carolina Panthers, the Saints won, 31–26.
The two teams had already met once before during the 2017 season. In Week 1 at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings beat the Saints, 29–19. The spread for the playoff match-up opened with the Vikings favored by 3.5 points. By game time, the betting line had risen to 5.5 points.
## Game summary
### First half
After holding New Orleans to a three-and-out on the first possession of the game, Minnesota went 55 yards in eight plays and capped off the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run by running back Jerick McKinnon with 9:45 left in the first quarter. Roughly five minutes later in the quarter, a field goal by former Saints kicker Kai Forbath gave the hosts a 10–0 lead. Minnesota added to its lead on the first play of the second quarter on a one-yard score by running back Latavius Murray.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans offense struggled; Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw two interceptions and New Orleans did not complete a single third-down conversion during the first half. Of the Saints' six first-half drives (excluding the end-of-half kneel), two ended with turnovers, three ended with punts, and one ended with a missed 58-yard field goal attempt by kicker Wil Lutz. The Vikings entered halftime with a 17–0 lead. New Orleans had not failed to score in the first half of a game in over three years.
### Second half
After halftime, the Saints' play improved. Minnesota's 11-play drive to start the third quarter stalled 10 yards into New Orleans territory at the 40-yard line, and a touchback by Vikings punter Ryan Quigley gave the Saints the ball starting at their own 20-yard line. A 12-play New Orleans drive culminated with 1:18 remaining in the third quarter, when Brees threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Michael Thomas to reduce the deficit to 17–7. After Saints safety Marcus Williams intercepted a pass by Case Keenum, Brees threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Thomas with 13:09 remaining in the fourth quarter to bring New Orleans within three. The Vikings responded with a 49-yard field goal by Forbath to increase their lead to 20–14.
Eventually, the Saints blocked a punt attempt from the Vikings that allowed them to take control in Vikings territory. From there, with 3:01 left in the game, the Saints took their first lead of the game, 21–20, on a 14-yard pass from Brees to running back Alvin Kamara on a wheel route. Forbath nailed a 53-yard field goal with 1:29 left in the game to give Minnesota a 23–21 lead. Brees responded by leading the Saints down the field in just 64 seconds, allowing Lutz to make a 43-yard field goal and take a 24–23 lead with 25 seconds remaining. Following the field goal, Saints head coach Sean Payton mocked the Minnesota home crowd by imitating the Vikings fans' "Skol" clap.
After a touchback and a false start by the Vikings, Keenum threw a completed pass to Diggs to their own 39-yard line, then threw two straight incompletions to set up a third-and-10 with 10 seconds remaining in regulation. According to the ESPN win probability model, at this point in time the Vikings had just a four percent chance of winning the game.
## The final play
With 10 seconds left at their own 39-yard line, the Vikings ran a play titled "Buffalo Right, Seven Heaven." Each word in the play call designated a particular element of the formation or route design. "Buffalo Right" communicated that three receivers were in a bunch ("Buffalo") to the right of center. "Seven" routes are corner routes in which the pass-catchers run towards the sideline. The intent behind the play was to have a receiver catch the ball and then run out of bounds to stop the clock in time for Forbath to kick a field goal. Meanwhile, the Saints set up in an outside zone defense, which is designed to protect the sidelines and keep the offensive players from catching the ball and getting out of bounds.
Keenum took a shotgun snap with running back Jerick McKinnon to his left. Kyle Rudolph, the tight end, ran an out route underneath near the right sideline, while wide receiver Adam Thielen ran a comeback route near the left sideline. Wide receivers Jarius Wright and Stefon Diggs ran corner routes, or "seven" routes, to the right sideline. The offensive line and McKinnon, who was an extra blocker for this play, blocked the four Saints pass rushers. Keenum set his feet and threw a 27-yard pass to Diggs near the right sideline, who caught the ball at the Saints’ 34-yard line.
Because Keenum's pass was slightly high, Diggs had to leap into the air to make the catch. Attempting to make a diving tackle on the airborne Diggs, Saints' free safety Marcus Williams instead missed the Vikings' receiver and collided with cornerback Ken Crawley, knocking Crawley over and preventing him from having a chance to tackle Diggs. Upon returning to the ground, Diggs stumbled slightly but managed to regain his balance and stay in bounds with no Saints players nearby to tackle him. Although the original intent – and Diggs' first instinct – was for him to catch the ball and run out of bounds to set up a field goal attempt, Diggs, upon seeing that there were no Saints defenders between him and the end zone, immediately turned upfield and sprinted down the sideline for a touchdown as time expired. Accordingly, the game was the first in NFL playoff history to end in regulation with a touchdown as time expired.
### TV call
> Keenum steps into it. Pass is... CAUGHT! DIGGS! SIDELINE! TOUCHDOWN! UNBELIEVABLE! VIKINGS WIN IT!
Joe Buck provided play-by-play commentary for Fox's telecast of the game. He later described his call of the final play—with the last eight words delivered at the top of his lungs—as his favorite of all time.
### Vikings radio call
In Minnesota, the game was broadcast on KFAN, with Paul Allen and Pete Bercich serving as announcers. As the Vikings players lined up for what would later be the last play of the game, Allen and Bercich called:
> Allen: Vikings at their own 39, it's third down. Three receivers right, Thielen left, Marshon Lattimore 12 yards from Adam... Case on the deep drop, steps up in the pocket, he'll fire to the right SIDE, CAUGHT BY DIGGS!
> Bercich: STAY INBOUNDS! OH MY GOD! NO WAY!
> Allen: Oh, he got loose! At the thirty! Ten! TOUCHDOWN!
> Bercich: AAAAAAAAAAAAA! WHAT A MIRACLE FINISH! NO WAY!
> Allen: Are you kidding me?! It's a Minneapolis Miracle! Stefon Diggs! And the Minnesota Vikings have walked off on the New Orleans Saints! It's a 61-yard Minneapolis Miracle!
Allen's call of "Minneapolis Miracle" went viral and would later be widely used to refer to the game itself, including by the NFL's official Twitter account minutes after the game ended. Some outlets also employed the name "Minnesota Miracle." SB Nation writer Harry Lyles Jr. later characterized Allen's call as the "perfect" radio call for the play. ESPN Brazilian Portuguese-language broadcaster Rômulo Mendonça also used the phrase Milagre em Minneapolis ("The Miracle in Minneapolis") during his live commentary.
## Aftermath
Assuming the game was over, broadcast and stadium crew packed the field, and most Saints players left for the locker room. Following a scoring review, both teams returned for the mandated conversion attempt. Only eight players – punter Thomas Morstead, wide receiver Austin Carr, defensive lineman Cameron Jordan, linebackers Manti Te'o and Gerald Hodges, and offensive linemen John Fullington, Josh LeRibeus, and Larry Warford – took the field for the Saints on the final play; only three of them were defensive players. While a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty was to be assessed to Diggs for throwing his helmet, the penalty could only be enforced on a kickoff. Keenum led the stadium in a rendition of the Vikings' "Skol" clap and chant and knelt to end the game on the two-point conversion try. The kneel down also meant that the Vikings did not cover the 5.5-point betting point spread.
The next week, the Vikings traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. The Eagles beat the Vikings, 38–7, which was nicknamed the "Minneapolis Massacre", thus denying the Vikings the opportunity to become the first team to play in a Super Bowl in its home stadium. In the days leading up to the NFC Championship, Vikings fans were seen performing the "Skol!" chant around various Philadelphia landmarks, such as the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where they also adorned the statue of Rocky with Vikings colors. The Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LII in the Vikings' stadium, beating the New England Patriots, 41–33.
On January 15, the Vikings filed for trademarks on the phrases "Minneapolis Miracle" and "Minnesota Miracle" for use on over 100 items, from football helmets to bathing suits. At the 7th Annual NFL Honors, the Minneapolis Miracle won the NFL Play of the Year Award.
In March 2018, the NFL instituted a new rule that eliminated the requirement to attempt an extra point or two-point conversion following a game-ending touchdown that gives a team the victory; however, the try is still required if the non-timed play could affect the game's outcome. For example, if the winning team is ahead by a point or two points before the try, the try must be attempted, as the losing team could possibly garner a turnover during the try and return it for a 2-point conversion, thereby tying the score or winning. The requirement had been in place because an extra-point play can affect a team's points for and against, which at the time were, and still are, used in tiebreakers for playoff seeding. Point differential had been as high as the third tiebreaker in the 1960s and 1970s, and was used to break a tie in the final standings. However, under the current format, points-related tiebreakers are used as the seventh through tenth tiebreakers and unlikely to be used. Eliminating the anticlimax and confusion seen at the Minneapolis Miracle game was deemed more important.
In April 2018, it was announced that Diggs' cleats would be displayed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The play also won the Best Moment ESPY Award at the 2018 ESPY Awards.
Keenum left the Vikings after the 2017–18 season and signed a two-year, \$36 million contract with the Denver Broncos. The other two quarterbacks on the roster, Bradford and Bridgewater, also joined new teams in free agency. Bradford joined the Arizona Cardinals, while Bridgewater signed with the New York Jets before being traded to the Saints to back up Brees. To replace the departed trio, Minnesota signed Kirk Cousins to a fully guaranteed three-year, \$84 million contract. Meanwhile, Diggs received a five-year extension from the Vikings for \$81 million, but would be traded to the Buffalo Bills in March 2020.
During the 2018 offseason, Payton explained that he was using the play to motivate his players and himself. Payton also expressed regret about calling a draw play for Alvin Kamara on third-and-one on the Saints' final drive. He explained that the failure to convert – and thereby extend the drive – provided the Vikings with the opportunity to get one final possession after Wil Lutz's field goal. Had they gotten the first down, the Saints could have run down the clock to the point where they could have won the game with a walk off field goal. In an interview published days before the 2018 NFL season, Marcus Williams explained that he had made peace with his error and its consequences: "I don't think about what everyone else is saying. I just do me and play."
The Vikings and Saints faced off once again at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 8 of the 2018 season, in what was billed as a "rematch" of the Minneapolis Miracle game. The Saints won the game, 30–20. In the 2019 season, the two teams met again in the postseason, in a Wild Card game at the Superdome in New Orleans. The Vikings won in overtime, 26–20.
### Reception
NFL.com writer Marc Sessler and The Ringer writer Robert Mays, among others, quickly deemed the game an "instant classic," worthy of entry into NFL lore. Several commentators – including Mays and former Vikings general manager Jeff Diamond – described the game as ending the Vikings' history of postseason heartbreak. Keenum and Diggs earned widespread praise for their late-game heroics. Joe Buck later told Rich Eisen in an interview: "As far as football, it's probably number one for exciting moments that I've been a part of."
Meanwhile, Williams – who earlier intercepted Keenum to help get New Orleans back into the game – was widely criticized for diving at Diggs instead of waiting to tackle him in bounds. Some compared the mistake to Bill Buckner's infamous fielding error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.
Saints punter Thomas Morstead was praised for his sportsmanship as he was the first player to return to the field for the extra point attempt. In recognition, Minnesota fans donated more than \$221,000 to Morstead's charity.
## Starting lineups
The starting lineups for the game were:
## Officials
The officials for the game were:
- Referee: Gene Steratore (#114)
- Umpire: Roy Ellison (#81)
- Down Judge: Thomas Symonette (#100)
- Line Judge: Mark Steinkerchner (#84)
- Field Judge: Scott Novak (#1)
- Side Judge: Boris Cheek (#41)
- Back Judge: Greg Meyer (#78)
- Replay Official: Paul Weidner (#0)
## See also
- 2017–18 NFL playoffs
- The Catch (American football)
- Miracle at the Met
- 1998 NFC Championship Game
- 2022 Indianapolis Colts–Minnesota Vikings game
- Mile High Miracle
- Miracle in Miami
- Saints–Vikings rivalry
|
19,291,929 |
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
| 1,172,435,636 |
2009 album by Franz Ferdinand
|
[
"2009 albums",
"Albums produced by Dan Carey (record producer)",
"Concept albums",
"Domino Recording Company albums",
"Epic Records albums",
"Franz Ferdinand (band) albums",
"New wave albums by Scottish artists"
] |
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (also known as Tonight) is the third studio album by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, released on 26 January 2009 through the Domino Recording Company. In contrast to their speedily-recorded second studio album, You Could Have It So Much Better (2005), the band chose to take some time off before recording a new album. Writing sessions began in early 2007 and recording took place in 2008 at the town hall of Govan, Scotland, and producer Dan Carey's studio in South London.
Tonight is a concept album loosely based around a night of partying and the morning effects after. The album has more of a dance-oriented sound, featuring dance-punk, new wave, and electropop throughout, marking a departure from the band's post-punk sound, which was prominently featured on their past two albums. They also took inspiration from dub music and the music of Jamaica and Africa while recording. The cover art was inspired by 1940s and 50s crime scene photographs, particularly ones taken by New York City-based photographer Weegee.
Tonight received generally favourable reviews from music critics and had a positive commercial performance, peaking at number two on the UK Albums Chart, number nine on the US Billboard 200, and charting in the top ten in several other countries. Five official singles were released to promote the album: "Ulysses", "No You Girls", "Can't Stop Feeling", "What She Came For", and "Live Alone". A remix album composed of dub versions of most tracks from Tonight, titled Blood, was released on 18 April 2009.
## Background and recording
Although having written about eight songs while on tour in 2005, Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy decided to write new music because they wanted the album to be "...quite new, to be quite different sounding from everything we've ever done before." Despite having recorded their second album in a short amount of time, Kapranos stressed that the band wanted to take their time. He voices, "This time we wanted to spend more time developing, and also, I suppose, allowing songs and sounds to evolve more before we ended up writing an album, and absorbing more music and ideas and, I suppose, life itself. And when I say life, I mean life off the road, because I wouldn't classify life on the road as real life."
Franz Ferdinand began working on Tonight in early 2007. Franz Ferdinand was supposed to record the album with producer Brian Higgins, yet in March 2008, the two entities parted ways. The drummer, Paul Thomson, says "We wrote with Higgins for a while and initially we thought we'd work more with him but it didn't really work out. We just realized that we're not really a pop group." However, they also commented they have not given up on the pop concept. The songs on the album were written and recorded at the town hall of Govan, Scotland, and Dan Carey's studio in South London. The band first moved into Govan's town hall following a year of touring in support of their second studio album and mostly used it for storing and rehearsing. Recording sessions for the album began on 17 April 2008.
## Composition
Tonight is a concept album that explores the highs and lows associated with an evening of debauchery, as stated by a critic on online publication Ventvox. "This album covers all its bases from the initial excitement of the early evening to the numbness of the morning after", writes the reviewer. The line "come on, let's get high" from "Ulysses", the album's first track, reveals this theme. Kapranos described the album as "like a night out", with "Ulysses" being "the sound of psyching yourself up for it" and "Lucid Dreams" serving as the climax of the night. The album has been influenced by non-British music. It has been inspired by the "heavy dub sound of Jamaican reggae stars" and has "the heavy bass and space echo you would find on a dub mix." The album also has somewhat of an African influence. Alex Kapranos stated in an XFM article that "We're one of these bands that are always gonna sound the same no matter what we do, but there are other influences there. I guess the drums are a little different, Paul has been listening to a lot of African stuff so that's gonna come through."
Musically, Tonight has been described as indie rock, dance-punk, new wave, electropop, and art rock. In a profile written about the album, The New York Times writer Melena Ryzik wrote that the album's sound was "aimed away from the wry, propulsive post-punk that defined [the band's] first two records". Kapranos stated in an interview with Billboard that the album is "the opposite of punk/pop, which took something that was wonderful and removed all the dirt." He also said that the band was using Russian Polyvox synthesizers. He also stated, in a Rolling Stone interview, that the album is more of a dance than a rock record. A song on the album previously known as "Kiss Me", presumably re-titled "No You Girls", uses a human skeleton for percussion, to which The Guardian jokingly, in response, asked "Have Glasgow's finest gone all goth on us? What next? Zombie hunting? Gigs at the necropolis?"
## Packaging
The artwork for the album is a photograph taken by Søren Solkær Starbird just after midnight behind the Barrowlands Ballroom in Glasgow. Talking to NME, drummer Paul Thomson said, "We wanted to get a Weegee vibe – that famous New York crime scene photographer from the '40s and '50s". Subsequently, it is part of a series where the band are taking photos with photographers in different cities they end up in. On the band's blog, they mention the series of photos as 'imaginary crime scenes, invaded by the photographer', and 'a slice of night frozen by flash'.
It was announced on 20 September 2008 that they had finished work on the album but still had no title for it. On 7 October 2008, reporter Michael Hogan from Vanity Fair interviewed Alex and Paul, who confirmed the title of their third album to be Tonight, with NME reporting the album's full title and release date a week later.
## Promotion and release
On 19 August 2008, Franz Ferdinand released "Lucid Dreams" through iTunes and made it available for streaming on their official website. It is also featured on the Madden NFL 09 soundtrack. The track on the album differs from this version and is four minutes longer. The song peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. "Ulysses" was released on 19 January 2009. The song received its first airplay during Zane Lowe's radio show on BBC Radio 1 on 17 November 2008 and was made available for streaming on the band's MySpace Music profile later that day. It peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart and number 20 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. It also charted in several other countries, marking a significant chart performance. "No You Girls" was released as a single on 6 April. The song was used in a commercial for the iPod Touch. The song peaked at number 22 in the UK and number 106 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their first single to chart in the Hot 100 since "Do You Want To". It peaked in several other countries, as well, also marking a significant chart performance.
On 22 January, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand was made available for streaming through the band's official MySpace Music profile. Its official physical release came a few days later on 26 January. "Can't Stop Feeling" was released as the next single from the album. The song didn't have a chart performance as positive as "Ulysses" and "No You Girls", but it did chart at number 19 on the Belgian Flanders Tip singles chart, number 47 on the Italian Singles Chart, and number 69 on the French Singles Chart. "What She Came For" was released as a single on 31 August 2009 and "Live Alone" was released as a single on 13 November 2009. "Live Alone" didn't chart in any country.
### Blood bonus disc
For its release on 26 January, the album is available as a box set which includes the whole album on six 7-inch vinyl singles and as a 2 disc limited edition. These special editions are only available in Europe and include a bonus disc called Blood which contains dub versions of the tracks from the album.
## Reception
### Critical
Tonight received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album has a total score of 70/100 on Metacritic, based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews". It did not receive the amount of critical acclaim their first two studio albums received. Critics often praised the album's sound and the instrumentation of the songs on the album. The album's sound was also subject to criticism by some critics, as well as the lyrics and album production. Clash magazine commented that it could be "the band's most complete work to date. Worth the wait, and in all honesty better than we could ever have hoped for." The Financial Post states that "Tonight is the band's best album: Paradoxically, they've allowed themselves a degree of release from their characteristic tension by creating structures within which they can cut loose." The Telegraph commented on how Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is a melody-packed re-affirmation of everything that has made the band so popular hitherto, but with a highly contemporary-sounding, keyboard-driven edge. The Trades stated that "this [album] is an evolutionary step for the band rather than a revolutionary one. Smart and danceable, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand proves that Franz Ferdinand are the masters of dance-rock." NBC commented on how 'Franz Ferdinand has once again managed to outdo themselves with their best album to date.'
Uncut's and The Guardian's reviews were less enthusiastic. Uncut commented that the album sounds dry and superficial, and the songs are too similar to each other and other Franz Ferdinand songs. The Guardian stated that "if Franz's songwriting is broader than it was, it is still no deeper" and that "they'll keep trying to move your hips because they know they'll never win your heart." Paste was similarly severe, stating that the vocals are "leering", the production "horrific", and that the lyrics "seem to lack both heart and brain" and conclude by writing that "the layoff suggests that Franz is either too confused or too lazy to move forward".
### Commercial
The album had a significant chart performance. It debuted at number two on the UK Album Chart, as well as number nine on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., selling about 31,000 copies in its first week of release. The album, however, suffered a fifty-place decline on the Billboard 200 from \#9 to \#59 in its second week on the chart. The album also charted in the top ten in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzerland. The album had a chart performance similar to their second studio album, You Could Have It So Much Better, which also charted in the top ten in several countries. In 2009. It was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 100,000 copies throughout Europe.
## Track listing
## Personnel
Personnel adapted from the album's liner notes.
- Producer: Franz Ferdinand, Dan Carey
- Mastering: John Dent
- Engineer: Paul Savage, Alexis Smith, Dan Carey, Allen Johnston (technical assistance)
- Mixing: Dan Carey (tracks 4, 7, 8, 10 to 12), Mike Fraser (tracks 1 to 3, 5, 6, 9, 10), Eric Mosher (assistant to Fraser)
- Artwork: Matthew Cooper, Franz Ferdinand (booklet), Rachel Graham (booklet), Søren Solkær Starbird (front cover)
- Personal assistant: Jeremiah Olvera
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
|
1,569,551 |
Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation
| 1,172,731,463 |
1986 animated film by Dale Schott
|
[
"1980s American animated films",
"1980s Canadian animated films",
"1980s Canadian films",
"1980s English-language films",
"1980s children's animated films",
"1980s children's fantasy films",
"1980s fantasy adventure films",
"1980s musical films",
"1986 animated films",
"1986 directorial debut films",
"1986 films",
"American children's animated adventure films",
"American children's animated fantasy films",
"American children's animated musical films",
"American fantasy adventure films",
"American musical fantasy films",
"Animated films about orphans",
"Animated films about shapeshifting",
"Animated films based on animated series",
"Canadian animated fantasy films",
"Canadian musical films",
"Care Bears films",
"Child versions of cartoon characters",
"Columbia Pictures animated films",
"Columbia Pictures films",
"English-language Canadian films",
"Films about summer camps",
"Nelvana films",
"Works based on Peter Pan",
"Works based on the Faust legend"
] |
Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation is a 1986 animated musical fantasy film produced by LBS Communications and Nelvana. The third animated feature from Nelvana, it was directed by Dale Schott, written by Peter Sauder and produced by Nelvana's three founders (Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith). It stars the voices of Alyson Court, Cree Summer, Maxine Miller and Hadley Kay. In the second film based on the Care Bears franchise, a character called The Great Wishing Star (voiced by Chris Wiggins) tells the origins of the Care Bears, and the story of their first Caring Mission. True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse lead the other Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, as they come to the aid of Christy, a young camper who is tempted by an evil shape-shifting figure named Dark Heart. This is also the first appearance of the Care Bear Cubs, who also had their own line of toys.
A New Generation was made over a seven-month period at Nelvana's Toronto facilities, with additional work handled by Taiwan's Wang Film Productions, and involved several crew members who had worked on the original Care Bears Movie. Patricia Cullen served as composer, and Los Angeles musicians Dean and Carol Parks worked on the film's six songs. The Samuel Goldwyn Company, the US distributor for the first film, was originally set to release the sequel, but demands from the film's producers caused the company to give up. The worldwide distribution rights were then acquired by Columbia Pictures.
Upon its release in March 21, 1986, A New Generation was criticized for its unnecessary merchandising tie-ins, poor animation quality, and frightening themes plotting onto a children's movie. Some of its key elements received comparisons to the German legend Faust and J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. The film grossed only \$8.5 million in North America, about a third of what the previous installment earned, and over \$12 million worldwide. It was released on video in August 21, 1986, and the final home media release to date was a DVD issued in April 2003. The film was followed by The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland in 1987.
## Plot
Before the events of The Care Bears Movie, somewhere out on the ocean, a yellow bear and a purple horse which live in a giant ship, look after a pack of baby animals known as the Care Bear Cubs and Care Bear Cousin Cubs. During their journey, a Red Sea serpent threatens them. It is revealed to be one of the many forms of Dark Heart, an evil shape-shifting mist that brings chaos to the land. They escape by following a rainbow up to the sky, while the boat transforms into the Cloud Clipper. Once taking the stranded rainbow, they reach the Great Wishing Star. This spirit gives the group their iconic "symbols", pictures that indicate each creature's role or specialty, which are attached to their chests. True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse, as the characters are named, become founders of the Kingdom of Caring, a land which comprises Care-a-Lot and the Forest of Feelings.
For the Bears' first Caring Mission, True Heart and one of the cousins: Swift Heart Rabbit travel to Earth, where they are led to a children's summer camp. At the camp, they meet three of its participants: a kind and determined young girl named Christy and her best friends, the twins John and Dawn. Christy and the twins are concerned because a boastful boy nicknamed the "Camp Champ" always emerges victorious in showdowns. They decide to confront him, only for him to assign them to trash duty. A distraught Christy resolves to run away with her friends, only to get lost in the nearby forest all alone. True Heart soon finds John and Dawn. Not knowing what to do with them, True Hearts rescues them from the forest's outskirts and brings them to the Kingdom of Caring. After they arrive, the children hear a bell toll from the Caring Meter, which tells the Bears how much caring is taking place on Earth. Noble Heart and True Heart tell them to babysit the Cubs, before they leave to search for Dark Heart and Christy.
Meanwhile, in the forest, Christy meets Dark Heart (disguised as a human teenage boy) for the first time, and asks him to make her the new Camp Champ. He grants her that wish, warning her she must pay him back with one favor with no questions asked, and walks away while she finally encounters her friends. Aware of Dark Heart's potential, True Heart and Noble Heart take action by moving the Bear Cubs to Care-a-Lot, and the Cousin Cubs to the Forest of Feelings. Both sets quickly grow up to become the Care Bear Family.
Later, while the Bears and cousins decide to celebrate the Kingdom of Caring's anniversary and prepare a party for the Kingdom's founders, Dark Heart sneaks into Care-a-Lot disguised as a repairman so that he can capture the whole Family. A cluster of Star Buddies, an army of stars which act as a defense to the kingdom (under the command of the Great Wishing Star), drives him off; he then morphs into a raging red cloud of mists and engage in a decisive battle. The Bears shoot light at him from their bellies, forming their "Care Bear Stare"; the Cousins also help by using their "Care Cousin Call". After Dark Heart is fended off, True Heart and Noble Heart decide to search and annihilate him, and leave the Bears to handle the missions all by themselves.
During their patrol, the Bears and Cousins spot Christy stranded in a canoe within a lake, but before they can rescue her, Dark Heart appears again as an aura of mist and shoots cursed bolts before the team. The family decides to retaliate, only to be captured by his evil red magic and being trapped into his magic bag, which was the favor he wanted Christy to do all along. The few Family members at hand determine that she has teamed up with him. This prompts Tenderheart Bear to hold a press wheel in the Hall of Hearts. John and Dawn join the conference after Friend Bear and Secret Bear saved them from a moose that was under Dark Heart's influence, to listen to Tenderheart Bear discuss his plans to successfully put down Dark Heart.
Later in the night, Dark Heart brainwashes everyone staying at the camp, causing them to wreak havoc around the zone. The Bears and Cousins search for any stranded Family members, and to engage Dark Heart again, only for Dark Heart to imprison them—first in cages, then freezing them inside big rubies hanging from a chandelier. Meanwhile, John and Dawn tell Christy of their conviction to rescue the Family from the evil entity. Feeling guilt, she finally comes to her senses and pays him back by admitting what she has done. Despite this, her bargain with Dark Heart is over, and finally admits that he must be expelled once and for all.
True Heart, Noble Heart (whom Dark Heart tricked into leaving the family alone while chasing his shadow), John and Dawn partake in a heist to reach and completely destroy Dark Heart inside his lair. After sending Grumpy Bear and other two mates in an attempt to steal a necklace with a key, Dark Heart awakens, revealing his mystical power. Christy soon joins the heist and threatens Dark Heart to bring the bears down. He refuses, and shows Christy the chandelier in which the Family is trapped. After an argument with Christy, Dark Heart warns her that if she saved his life, she should run and save hers, before finally shooting large bolts of red magic into True Heart and Noble Heart. Both confront the evil entity, which transforms again into an aura of red magic. Christy wants a ceasefire and attempts to intervene, only to be struck by one of Dark Heart's bolts of lightning. In a last ditch effort, Christy flicks a marble into a lever holding the chandelier before dying. When the chandelier breaks, the family confronts the antagonist one final time, which soon retaliates by firing bolts of curse to the family yet again. Thinking that he is almost rid of everyone, he looks at Christy, which in her voice, tells him that be it good or bad, he is still a person. Dark Heart flies to her and repents for killing her.
Dark Heart's evil magic fades and begs the family to bring her back to life. In a ritual meant to resurrect her, the family chants that to Christy that they care, and Dark Heart, who is hesitant at first, finally opens his mind and stops calling himself Dark Heart. Christy comes back to life, and due to Dark Heart's magic perishing, his own lair collapses. After a successful escape, Dark Heart finally is set free from the dark magic and turns into a human forever, much to everyone's delight.
After a large celebration, the bears bid farewell to the campers, returning to their promises land. The Great Wishing Star finally delivers an ending speech, which is followed by Harmony Bear and Brave Heart paddling a rowboat past the castle that they raised at and flashbacks of the family's childhood across their promised kingdom.
## Cast
## Production
### Development
The Care Bears franchise was created in 1981 by Those Characters from Cleveland, a division of the greeting card company American Greetings. Early in their tenure, the characters appeared as toys from the Kenner company, and also in greeting cards by Elena Kucharik. They starred in two syndicated television specials from a Canadian animation studio, Atkinson Film-Arts of Ottawa: The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983) and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984). After the specials, Toronto's Nelvana studio produced the first Care Bears Movie in less than eight months. It was distributed in the United States by The Samuel Goldwyn Company, an independent outfit, and grossed US\$22.9 million at the North American box office, the largest amount for a non-Disney animated film at the time. This success guaranteed production of a second film, which was in consideration by May 1985. As with the original, production took place at Nelvana's facilities and Taiwan's Wang Film Productions; the Canadian studio also hired South Korean personnel to handle inking and painting. This time, over one hundred Nelvana animators worked on the film over a seven-month period that lasted until February 1986; the company itself received credit for the story development. American Greetings and Kenner commissioned Nelvana to make the sequel on contract; television syndicator LBS Communications, a co-financier of the first one, became the producer and presenter.
Care Bears Movie II was Nelvana's third animated feature film, after 1983's Rock & Rule and The Care Bears Movie. It marked the directorial debut of Dale Schott, a Nelvana staff member who served as assistant director on the first Care Bears Movie, as well as the Nelvana/Lucasfilm TV series Ewoks. Several other crewmembers from the first film returned to the fold; Nelvana's founders (Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith) served as producers, while Peter Sauder wrote the screenplay and Charles Bonifacio handled animation duties. Jack Chojnacki, the co-president of American Greetings' licensing division Those Characters from Cleveland, served once again as an executive producer. A roster of Toronto voice actors—among them Cree Summer, Sunny Besen Thrasher, Dan Hennessey and Hadley Kay—appeared in this follow-up. Mickey Rooney and Georgia Engel, who appeared in the first film, did not return.
At one point, The Samuel Goldwyn Company was about to release A New Generation, but lost the distribution rights after turning down demands from the producers. Eventually, Nelvana went into negotiations with Columbia Pictures, which acquired worldwide theatrical rights in early 1986. This led founder Samuel Goldwyn Jr. to remark: "The fact that Columbia is distributing the Care Bears sequel is typical of the greed of the big studios. Someone else has to go in and prove something works, then a studio will charge in." By contrast, Goldwyn acquired the rights to the original film after major U.S. studios passed on it; they did not see the financial potential in a movie aimed strictly for children.
### Allusions
According to Richard Freedman of the Newhouse News Service, "This must be the first version of the Faust myth in which not only does Faust (or Faustina [Christy], here) manage to weasel out of the pact with the Devil, but succeeds in regenerating him, as well." Elliot Krieger of Rhode Island's Providence Journal also took note of such a theme, headlining his review "Faust goes to summer camp". In regards to continuity issues, a reviewer in The Scarecrow Movie Guide observed a "montage showing the Care Bears and their Cousins growing up together from infancy to full Care Bear maturation—nullifying everything that happened in the first movie". Mike McLane of Florida's Gainesville Sun gave a few suggestions of the storyline's possible religious subtext. He compared the Great Wishing Star to God, the Bears' "beautiful cloud kingdom" of Care-a-Lot to Heaven, and Dark Heart to Satan; he also hinted that the Bears protected humankind like angels did.
Charles Solomon pointed out that the film's climax, in which the Bears help revive Christy, "borrows...flagrantly from Peter Pan". The Scarecrow contributor took note of this aspect, writing, "There's an excruciating scene where the Care Bears turn to the audience and plead for help in the form of excessive and focused caring." In his critique, Hal Lipper called it the "Tinker Bell Principle", whereupon the audience must come together to save a dying character. In Vincent Canby's opinion, the Great Wishing Star "looks like Tinker Bell if she were a star-shaped beanbag".
### Music
As with the original film, Patricia Cullen composed the score for Care Bears Movie II. The soundtrack album was released in LP format by Kid Stuff Records. Los Angeles musicians Dean and Carol Parks were credited as producers, writers and performers of the film's six songs, which were included on the album. Stephen Bishop, performer of the Oscar-nominated "It Might Be You" from Tootsie, and Debbie Allen from the TV series Fame, were on hand as vocalists. John Braden arranged and edited the album.
The Parks recorded their contributions to the project at their home. At the time of production, they shared their experiences of working on the soundtrack:
> Our children helped us tremendously with their feedback as real Care Bear fans. When we took on this project, we made up our mind not to write down to children. There's a huge library of over-simplistic music available to children, but kids love music and they have very sophisticated tastes.
>
> When Debbie came over to the house to record 'Care Bears Cheer Song,' she brought her baby and nanny and manager and everyone had a great time.
> The songs are particularly important because they forward the movement and reflect the action and feelings of the story. We try to make it so that everyone can relate to the music.
Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post gave a mixed response to the film's music. "The songs are dopey," he said, "but the score [...], which is mostly seven kinds of sprightly, has its occasional moments." Vincent Canby wrote in his review, "[There are] unseen loudspeakers [that] pour out a nonstop Hit Parade of songs to be interred by, including 'I Care for You,' 'Our Beginning' and 'Forever Young.'" But Joe Fox of The Windsor Star recommended it, adding, "[W]henever things start to drag a snappy tune comes along to get everyone interested."
## Release
### North America
Initially intended for a mid-year release, Care Bears Movie II opened on March 7, 1986, in the U.S. and Canada, grossing US\$243,161 from 55 theatres, and US\$449,649 by its first few days. At this stage, it managed to rank above a reissue of Disney's 1959 production Sleeping Beauty, which also premiered that same weekend. However, when the final weekend box office results were announced Sleeping Beauty outgrossed Care Bears II by \$59,000. Its wide-release opening on March 21 brought in \$2.5 million from 1,446 theatres, placing seventh on the box office chart. Over the next two weekends, it earned little more than \$1 million in 12th place. During release, it faced competition from another toy-based film, Atlantic Releasing's GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords. At the time A New Generation opened, Richard Martin of the Ottawa Citizen commented: "... The first Care Bears movie has become the most successful non-Disney animated feature ever. This second movie from Nelvana could very well surpass that record, since it held the attention of all but the youngest members of the first-night audience and even has something to offer adults." Ultimately, this installment earned US\$8,540,346 in North America—about a third of what the previous one earned; over US\$1 million of this total came from Canada. By 1988, it made over US\$12 million worldwide.
### Overseas
Care Bears Movie II made its debut in the United Kingdom, via Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors, on July 25, 1986; it later appeared on home video in that country under the RCA/Columbia Pictures and Video Collection International labels. Warner-Columbia Film of France released it on April 8, 1987 as Les Bisounours II—Une nouvelle génération; publishing rights were held by Hachette Livre. It was released in the Netherlands on April 9, 1987, as De Troetelbeertjes Deel 2: Nieuwe Avonturen Van De Troetelbeertjes. The film is also known as Gli orsetti del cuore II in Italy, and Krambjörnarna: på nya äventyr in Sweden.
The Warner-Columbia branch in West Germany released it under the title Glücks-Bärchis, Teil 2—Jetzt im Abenteuerland (Care Bears lucky, Part 2 Now in Adventureland) on December 11, 1986. It sold 174,550 tickets and ranked 84th place among the year's releases in that market (excluding re-issues), grossing approximately (the equivalent of DM1,300,000, or US\$824,000). By comparison, Filmwelt's release of the first film that same year placed 47th with 538,487 tickets. On October 13, 1987, RCA/Columbia Pictures released the local version of Care Bears Movie II on video.
The film was released in Mexico on December 25, 1986, as Los Ositos Cariñositos II, and on April 3, 1987 in the Philippines. By the early 1990s, it was marketed as Ursinhos Carinhosos II in Brazil. In China, it is known under the title of Baby Love Bears (Chinese: 爱心熊宝宝; pinyin: Àixīn xióng bǎobǎo). In Russia, the movie was distributed under several names, such as Wonder Bears: The New Generation (Russian: Чудо-мишки. Новое поколение), in a more corresponding translation to the original (Russian: Заботливые Мишки 2: Новое поколение) and other. In Japan, the film was released direct to video through the VHS market on November 21, 1990, under the title Little Bears of the Fairy Star (Otogi no hoshi no ko gumatachi (おとぎの星のこぐまたち)). Subtitled and dubbed versions have been released.
## Reception
### Critical response
The film was lambasted by critics, in part because of their theory that Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation was part of the franchise's marketing scheme at the time of release. This led The New York Times' Vincent Canby to begin his review by proclaiming, "Product merchandising marches on." Another reviewer claimed to have seen almost every collectible within the film's first twenty minutes. The film was produced to serve as the franchise introduction of the Care Bear Cubs and the Care Bear Cousin Cubs, who also had their own line of toys from Kenner. The plushes, measuring 11" in height, consisted of Bedtime Cub, Cheer Cub, Funshine Cub and Share Cub; the line of Care Bear Cousin Cubs included Li'l Bright Heart Raccoon, Li'l Proud Heart Cat and Li'l Swift Heart Rabbit. Kenner announced the introduction of the Cubs in 1985, shortly before the film opened, and showcased them at the American International Toy Fair in February 1986.
In The Motion Picture Guide 1987 Annual, Jay Robert Nash wrote that its title "refers to the new featured characters who, more than coincidentally, have ended up on the toy shelves of stores everywhere." Steve Millburg from the Omaha World-Herald, however, found it misleading and complained that the Cubs "are not 'a new generation' at all". Several critics considered the film a prequel to the original: the Omaha World Herald reviewer; Edward Jones of Virginia's The Free Lance-Star; Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times; and Bill Cosford of The Miami Herald. According to Michael H. Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "Care Bears Movie II is what the film industry calls a 'requel,' tracing the origin of the Care Bear family and relatives of other species."
In his Animated Movie Guide, animation expert Jerry Beck gave Care Bears Movie II a half-star (1⁄2) out of four, and offered this consensus:
> Unfortunately not many critics cared for the television standard limited animation, bland songs, and blatent [sic] product placement in this film. Strictly for toddlers over age six, [it] tries too hard to cram new characters into the plotline. The characters are obviously introduced to create toy lines.
>
> This is the weakest of the Care Bear movies. Avoid at all costs.
John Stanley expressed his views likewise in his 1988 film guide, Revenge of the Creature Features:
> [This] inferior sequel [is] rather charmless. This is strictly Saturday Morning at the Cartoons, a blatant commercial for Care Bear toys and related products ... [T]he bulbs are out as far as ideas are concerned.
"Care Bears Movie II is a sort of pre-sequel that, I suspect, requires its audiences to have some prior knowledge of Care Bears," Vincent Canby said in his New York Times review. "Very young kids may love this, but anybody over the age of 4 might find it too spooky." Hal Lipper of the St. Petersburg Times remarked that it "is an enormously engaging cartoon—quite a feat when you consider the saccharine psychobabble passing for dialogue". The Miami Herald's Bill Cosford gave it two and a half stars out of four, the same rating he had applied to its predecessor. Edward Jones commented that "The animation can't compare with the best of Disney. Take a look at Sleeping Beauty [...] and you'll see the difference." Likewise, Italian critic Paolo Mereghetti complained, "[This is an] ugly sequel with awkward animation, and not even the small fry will find it fun."
Charles Solomon said, "The new Care Bears film...is even more sloppily made and hawks its goods even more shamelessly. [...] The film makers seem more concerned with showcasing the toys than providing entertainment; shared profits obviously count for more than shared feelings. If someone started selling 'Hate Bears,' there undoubtedly would be a film about them." Gene Siskel awarded the film zero stars out of four (along with "Thumbs Down" on At the Movies—the Siskel & Ebert TV show having not been introduced yet), while Leonard Maltin gave it a "BOMB" rating in his Movie Guide, and added: "Your kids deserve better entertainment than this treacly stuff about the Kingdom of Caring. Prefab animation from the era of toy merchandising tie-ins." The Gale Group publication, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever, gave it one bone out of four in its 1992 edition, but revised it to two later on. In 2001, the Los Angeles-based Hastings Bad Cinema Society picked A New Generation as one of The 100 Worst Movies of the 20th Century. "Even suffering through a Barney video would be preferable to sitting through this," said compiler Michael Lancaster. The film itself had also been nominated for Worst Picture back at their 1986 awards.Common Sense Media gave it slightly negative reviews, as the group responses "Young preschoolers may be frightened by this movie, which offers very little in the way of learning.". The group also aged this movie 6+, as the subplot is too dark for the Care Bears.
The film received some positive reviews, however. Writing for The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Norma Dyess Michaud deemed it "a must-see for preschoolers, especially those who are in the throes of the current Care Bear mania". Richard Martin praised the script and climax, along with the performances of the orphan Cubs. "Their pastel, birthday-cake-and-whipped-cream world has never looked sweeter," he stated. The Philadelphia Daily News commented that it was "even better than the first one, which was good".
### Home media
Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation was released on VHS and Betamax by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video on August 21, 1986, and debuted in 12th place on Billboard'''s Top Kid Video Sales chart on September 27 that same year. The film aired during 1987 on the Disney Channel, a premium television station, and was broadcast in later years on CBS, HBO, Showtime and The Movie Channel. It returned on VHS as part of the Columbia TriStar Family Collection on August 13, 1996. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment premiered it on DVD on April 8, 2003, as the film is digitally remastered with the picture and color enhanced. The only special features in this edition were trailers for several of the company's family-oriented titles. This was the last animated feature to be released by Columbia Pictures until Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in 2001. As of 2018, there are consequently no plans for this prequel to be reissued on DVD, even a Blu-ray release has yet to occur. However, a widescreen version of this film (unlike the DVD release, which only contains the full screen version), is available to purchase on iTunes, Amazon Prime, and VUDU. The original theatrical trailer can be viewed in the iTunes Store.
## Sequel
In 1987, Nelvana followed A New Generation with The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland or The Care Bears Movie. In this third film, the Bears and Cousins travel to Wonderland and save its Princess from a wizard; Alice, a girl from the real world, takes her place. Self-financed by Nelvana and released by Cineplex Odeon Films, it was the last Care Bears movie of the 1980s to go into theatres. It grossed US\$2.6 million in the North American market, and US\$6 million worldwide by February 1988. The Care Bears would not appear in another feature production until 2004's direct-to-video effort, Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot''.
## See also
- Canadian films of the 1980s
- List of Nelvana franchises
- List of animated feature-length films
|
39,015,113 |
Passionate Journey
| 1,153,005,609 |
1919 novel by Frans Masereel
|
[
"1919 comics debuts",
"1919 novels",
"Drama comics",
"Pantomime comics",
"Woodcut novels by Frans Masereel"
] |
Passionate Journey, or My Book of Hours (French: Mon livre d'heures), is a wordless novel of 1919 by Flemish artist Frans Masereel. The story is told in 167 captionless prints, and is the longest and best-selling of the wordless novels Masereel made. It tells of the experiences of an early 20th-century everyman in a modern city.
Masereel's medium is the woodcut, and the images are in an emotional, allegorical style inspired by Expressionism. The book followed Masereel's first wordless novel, 25 Images of a Man's Passion (1918); both were published in Switzerland, where Masereel spent much of World War I. German publisher Kurt Wolff released an inexpensive "people's edition" of the book in Germany with an introduction by German novelist Thomas Mann, and the book went on to sell over 100,000 copies in Europe. Its success encouraged other publishers to print wordless novels, and the genre flourished in the interwar years.
Masereel followed the book with dozens of others, beginning with The Sun later in 1919. Masereel's work was lauded in the art world in the earlier half of the 20th century, but has since been neglected outside of Western comics circles, where Masereel's wordless novels are seen as anticipating the development of the graphic novel.
## Synopsis
The story follows the life of a prototypical early 20th-century everyman after he enters a city. It is by turns comic and tragic: the man is rejected by a prostitute with whom he has fallen in love. He also takes trips to different locales around the world. In the end, the man leaves the city for the woods, raises his arms in praise of nature, and dies. His spirit rises from him, stomps on the heart of his dead body, and waves to the reader as it sets off across the universe.
## Background
Frans Masereel (1889–1972) was born into a French-speaking family in Blankenberge, Belgium. At five his father died, and his mother remarried to a doctor in Ghent, whose political beliefs left an impression on the young Masereel. He often accompanied his stepfather in socialist demonstrations. After a year at the Ghent Academy of Fine Arts in 1907, Masereel left to study art on his own in Paris. During World War I he volunteered as a translator for the Red Cross in Geneva, drew newspaper political cartoons, and copublished a magazine Les Tablettes, in which he published his first woodcut prints.
In the early 20th century there was a revival in interest in mediaeval woodcuts, particularly in religious books such as the Biblia pauperum. The woodcut is a less refined medium than the wood engraving that replaced it—artists of the time took to the rougher woodcut to express angst and frustration. From 1917 Masereel began publishing books of woodcut prints, using similar imagery to make political statements on the strife of the common people rather than to illustrate the lives of Christ and the saints. In 1918 he created the first such book to feature a narrative, 25 Images of a Man's Passion. He followed its success in 1919 with Passionate Journey, which remained his favourite of his own works.
## Publication history
The black-and-white woodcut images in the book were each 9 by 7 centimetres (3+1⁄2 in × 2+3⁄4 in). Masereel self-published the book in Geneva on credit from Swiss printer Albert Kundig in 1919 as Mon livre d'heures in an edition of 200 copies. It was printed directly from the original woodblocks.
German publisher Kurt Wolff sent Hans Mardersteig to Masereel to arrange German publication in 1920. It was printed from the original woodblocks in an edition of 700 copies under the title Mein Stundenbuch: 165 Holzschnitte, Wolff thereafter continued to publish German editions of Masereel's books, later in inexpensive "people's editions" using electrotype reproduction. The 1926 edition had an introduction by German writer Thomas Mann:
> Look at these powerful black-and-white figures, their features etched in light and shadow. You will be captivated from beginning to end: from the first pictured showing the train plunging through the dense smoke and bearing the hero toward life, to the very last picture showing the skeleton-faced figure among the stars. Has not this passionate journey had an incomparably deeper and purer impact on you than you have ever felt before?
The German edition was particularly popular, and went through several editions in the 1920s with sales surpassing 100,000 copies. Its success prompted other publishers and artists to produce wordless novels.
The book won an English-speaking audience after its 1922 US publication under the title My Book of Hours. printed from the original woodblocks in an edition of 600 copies with a foreword by French writer Romain Rolland. English-language editions took the title Passionate Journey after publication in a popular edition in the US in 1948. An edition did not see print in England until Redstone Press published one in the 1980s. It has also appeared in many other languages, including Chinese popular editions in 1933 and 1957. Some editions since 1928 have cut two pages from the book: the 24th, in which the protagonist has sex with a prostitute; and the 149th, in which the protagonist, giant-sized, urinates on the city. Dover Publications restored the pages in a 1971 edition, and American editions since then have kept them.
## Style and analysis
> I believe that it contained the essence of what I wanted to say; I expressed my philosophy, and perhaps My Book of Hours with its 167 woodcuts contains everything I have created since, because I have developed a number of themes from it in my later work.
Masereel uses an emotional, Expressionistic style to create a narrative replete with allegory, satire, and social criticism—a visual style he continued with throughout his career. He expresses a broad variety of emotions through understated, unexaggerated gestures. Most characters are given simple, passive expressions, which provides emphatic contrast with characters expressing more explicit emotion—love, despair, ecstasy. He considered Passionate Journey partly autobiographical, which he emphasized with a pair of self-portraits that open the book—in the first, Masereel sits at his desk with his woodcutting tools, and in the second appears the protagonist, dressed in identical fashion with the first. Literature scholar Martin S. Cohen wrote that it expressed themes that were to become universal in the wordless novel genre.
The original titles of Masereel's first two wordless novels allude to religious works: 25 Images of a Man's Passion to the Passion of Christ, and My Book of Hours to the mediaeval devotional book of hours. These religious books made frequent use of allegory, also prominent in Masereel's works—though Masereel replaces the religious archetypes of mediaeval morality plays with those from socialist ideology. The book derives some of its visual vocabulary—framing, sequencing, and viewpoints—from silent film. Thomas Mann named the book his favourite film.
Wordless novel scholar David Beronä saw the work as a catalogue of human activity, and in this regard compared it to Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and Allen Ginsberg's Howl. Austrian writer Stefan Zweig remarked, "If everything were to perish, all the books, monuments, photographs and memoirs, and only the woodcuts that has executed in ten years were spared, our whole present-day world could be reconstructed from them." Critic Chris Lanier attributes the protagonist's appeal to readers to Masereel's avoiding a preaching tone in the work; "rather", Lanier states, "he gives us a story as a device through which we can examine ourselves". This openness in the images invites individual interpretation, according to Beronä.
In contrast to the works of Masereel's imitators, the images do not form an unfolding sequence of actions but are rather like individual snapshots of events in the protagonist's life. The book opens with a pair of literary quotations:
> Behold! I do not give lectures, or a little charity: When I give, I give myself.
> ... des plaisirs et des peines, des malices, facéties, expériences et folies, de la paille et du foin, des figues et du raisin, des fruits verts, des fruits doux, des roses et des gratte-culs, des choses vues, et lues, et sues, et eues, vécues!
## Reception and legacy
Impressed by the book, German publisher Kurt Wolff arranged for its German publication and continued to publish German editions of Masereel's books. Wolf's edition of Passionate Journey went through multiple printings, and the book was popular throughout Europe, where it sold over 100,000 copies. Soon other publishers also engaged in the publication of wordless novels, though none matched the success of Masereel's, which Beronä has called "perhaps the most seminal work in the genre".
While not as successful at first in the United States, American reviewers recognized Masereel as father of the wordless novel at least as early as the 1930s. A revival in publishing interest in wordless novels in the 1970s saw Passionate Journey the most frequently reprinted.
While the graphic narrative bears strong similarities to the comics that were proliferating in the early 20th century, Masereel's book emerged from a fine arts environment and was aimed at such an audience. Its influence was felt not in comics but in the worlds of literature, film, music, and advertising. Masereel's work was widely recognized with awards and exhibitions in the early 20th century, but has since been mostly forgotten outside of Western comics circles, where his wordless novels, and Passionate Journey in particular, are seen as precursors to the graphic novel.
|
734,013 |
F. Andrieu
| 1,171,970,200 |
14th-century medieval French composer
|
[
"14th-century French composers",
"Ars nova composers",
"French classical composers",
"French male classical composers",
"Medieval male composers",
"Year of birth unknown",
"Year of death unknown"
] |
F. Andrieu (; possibly François or Franciscus Andrieu) was a French composer in the ars nova style of late medieval music. Nothing is known for certain about him except that he wrote Armes, amours/O flour des flours (Weapons, loves/O flower of flowers), a double ballade déploration, for the death of Guillaume de Machaut in 1377. The work has been widely praised and analyzed; it is notable for being one of two extant medieval double ballades for four voices, the only known contemporary musical setting of Eustache Deschamps and the earliest representative of the longstanding medieval and Renaissance lamentation tradition between composers.
Andrieu may be the same person as Magister Franciscus, although the scholarly consensus on this identification is unclear. With P. des Molins, Jehan Vaillant and Grimace, Andrieu was one of the "post-Machaut" generation whose pieces retain enough ars nova qualities to be differentiated from composers of ars subtilior.
## Identity and career
Nothing is known for certain about Andrieu except his authorship of the double ballade for four voices: Armes, amours/O flour des flours (Weapons, loves/O flower of flowers), a déploration for the death of poet-composer Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300–1377), the most significant composer of the 14th century. The work is adapted from two texts by a student of Machaut, the poet Eustache Deschamps, making Andrieu's work the only surviving contemporary musical settings of over 1,500 lyrics by Deschamps. Musicologist Gilbert Reaney notes that this would mean that, from what is known about Andrieu, he is a "pure musician". The work is contained in the Chantilly Codex from the Musée Condé. While historian Gaston Raynaud dates the text between April and 28 May 1377, Andrieu may have set it to music anytime from then up until 15 years later (the Chantilly Codex was likely assembled sometime during 1393 to 1395).
Andrieu's association with Machaut's death in 1377 suggests he was French and flourished in the late 14th century. The "F." most likely stands for either "François" or "Franciscus". References to "F. Andrieu" outside of the Chantilly Codex are absent from other manuscript sources, leading to speculation that he is the composer Magister Franciscus, who wrote two ballades also present in the Chantilly Codex: De Narcissus and Phiton, Phiton, beste tres venimeuse. The scholarly consensus on the certainty of this identification is unclear. Reaney notes that Magister Franciscus's works are likely earlier than Andrieu's, between 1370 and 1376. Musicologist Guillaume de Van proposed that the Chantilly Codex was created for use in music schools; because of this, stylistic similarities to Machaut, and the lack of additional records on Andrieu, musicologist Robert Magnan suggested Andrieu was a student or teacher, utilizing Machaut's style to honor his master.
## Music
### Overview
Andrieu's only surviving work is the double ballade déploration for four voices: Armes, amours/O flour des flours, although Reaney notes that "this work alone, however, makes him of considerable interest". Written for Machaut's death, Andrieu's style is understandably similar to his, with musicologist Gustave Reese noting that the work shows the "vigorous survival" of Machaut's influence. Andrieu's work is one of two extant four-part double ballades of medieval music, the other being Quant Theseus/Ne quier veoir (B 34) by Machaut. A polyphonic double ballade is a fitting homage for Machaut, since he is credited as the genre's originator. As a double ballade, Armes, amours/O flour des flours has two texts sung simultaneously between the cantus voices, Cantus I beginning with "Armes, amours" and Cantus II with "O flour des flours". The work's four part division—two cantus (with text), contratenor, and tenor (without text)—was an older style and atypical of the usual three part—cantus (with text), contratenor and tenor (without text)—structure that dominated the 14th-century ballade repertory. Andrieu's decision for more traditional vocal parts may be a reflection of Deschamps's text, which is written in a "classicized high poetic style".
It is also the earliest surviving déploration for a fellow composer; the tradition was popular in medieval and Renaissance music. Later examples included Johannes Ockeghem's Mort, tu as navré de ton dart (1460) for Gilles Binchois; Josquin des Prez's Nymphes des bois (1497) for Ockeghem; and William Byrd's Ye Sacred Muses (1585) for Thomas Tallis. While the Chantilly Codex is a primary source of ars subtilior music, with P. des Molins, Jehan Vaillant and Grimace, Andrieu is part of the "post-Machaut" generation whose pieces retain enough ars nova qualities to be differentiated from those of the rhythmically-complex ars subtilior composers such as Johannes Cuvelier and Johannes Susay.
Musicologist Eric Rice identifies two common characteristics in the text of typical déplorations: the "planctus" (from Latin: planctus) and the "discourse". The "planctus" refers to an involuntary sudden outburst of emotion, while the "discourse" is a calmer and clearer expression of grief. Deschamps's text contains both recurring and nonrecurring "planctus" exclamations. "Las!" (Old French for 'Alas!'), from the second strophe, is a "planctus" exclamation that is nonrecurring; Rice considers this a "stereotyped exclamation of grief".
### Refrain
The text of Deschamps's two ballades share a refrain: "La mort Machaut, le noble retorique". Musicologist Elizabeth Randell Upton notes that the "shared refrain receives the most striking coordination of the ballades' voices". Rice considers the refrain a reoccurring "planctus" since it appears at the end of each strophe; ballades were typically in aabC form – where C is always the same. Andrieu signifies the "planctus" by setting the words "La mort" and "Machaut" in long notes but followed by rests. By inserting rests, Andrieu disrupts the music and signifies the sudden outburst of emotion that characterizes a "planctus". The practice of using "planctus" during the refrain was abandoned by future composers who used more formal structures such as the cantus firmus.
Andrieu's musical setting of the refrain also highlights the name of the dedicatee (Machaut), by giving all four voices the same rhythm for the first four syllables ("La mort Machaut"). Such an effect gives the phrase a "striking and singular four-voice effect". The following bars give the lower voices subsidiary supporting roles, sustaining the dominance of the texted upper voices. This is assisted by the refrain's repetition, which naturally emphasizes Machaut's name. The designation of "le noble retorique" ("the noble rhetorician") is invented by Deschamps in order to give Machaut a formal title.
### Similarities to other works
The Chantilly Codex contains six works – four ballades and two motets – that include their dedicatee's name directly. The dedicatee's proper name is mentioned in all four of these ballades, making them the only ballades of the 14th-century to do so. Two of these – Armes, amours/O flour des flours and Jacob Senleches's Fuions de ci, fuions povre campaigne for Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Castile – lament their subject's death. Both works have the word "retorique" embellished by a melisma on the "ri" for six double whole notes. While Senleches includes himself as part of larger group of mourners, Deschamps names himself directly in the third stanza by stating "Ce vous requiert le bayli de Valois" ("This asks of you the Baliff of Valois"). Nevertheless, Deschamps also includes an invitation to a large group of mourners:
Musicologist Elizabeth Eva Leach notes that the Armes, amours/O flour des flours has both textual and musical similarities to Machaut's poetry and music respectively. In the refrain, Andrieu's work imitates a passage from the Gloria of Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame. It also shows a resemblance to Machaut's ballade De Fortune (B23); both works have "the same tonal emphases" and "similar tenor notes at key structure points". Armes, amours/O flour des flours shares a musical theme with the anonymous ballade Dame qui fust, in the Reina Codex [fr], which itself is based on Machaut's De Fortune me doy pleindre (B 23). In Andrieu's work, the shared theme appears when the two cantus voices engage in musical imitation, something which was uncommon at the time.
### Interpretation
Leach notes that the work has been "widely discussed by literary and musical scholars alike". According to Leach, the existence of this déploration suggests there was "interest in [Machaut's] own posterity... in the short term at least". Some scholars say this remembrance of Machaut mainly concerned his poetry and suggest that Deschamps did not intend Armes, amours/O flour des flours to be set to music. Magnan argues that Deschamps recognized termed musique artificiele (vocal and instrument performance) and musique naturele (poetry alone) as equally enjoyable. Furthermore, the fact that no other of Deschamps's poems have survived with music indicate that this one would not be any different. Leach disagrees, saying that it being the earliest known musical lamentation for a fellow composer recognizes his "poet-composer" status, as do the words "faysaur" (maker) and "retorique" (rhetorician). The work calls on "those who hold dear the sweet art of music" to mourn Machaut's death, suggesting his musical importance.
According to Leach, the line "Your name will be a precious relic" is contradictory to the traditional Platonism of the time: it dismisses the Platonic idea that a name is only a representation of someone, by suggesting Machaut's name alone is a "relic" and all encompassing to his being.
## Works
### Editions
Andrieu's work is included in the following collections:
## Recordings
F. Andrieu's Armes, amours/O flour des flours is included in the following albums:
|
1,026,446 |
Patricia Grace
| 1,171,102,056 |
New Zealand writer (born 1937)
|
[
"1937 births",
"20th-century New Zealand novelists",
"20th-century New Zealand short story writers",
"20th-century New Zealand women writers",
"21st-century New Zealand novelists",
"21st-century New Zealand short story writers",
"21st-century New Zealand women writers",
"Companions of the Queen's Service Order",
"Distinguished Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit",
"Living people",
"Māori-language writers",
"New Zealand Māori writers",
"New Zealand children's writers",
"New Zealand women children's writers",
"New Zealand women novelists",
"New Zealand women short story writers",
"Ngāti Raukawa people",
"Ngāti Toa people",
"People educated at St Mary's College, Wellington",
"People from Porirua",
"Te Āti Awa people",
"Writers from Wellington City"
] |
Patricia Frances Grace DCNZM QSO (née Gunson; born 17 August 1937) is a New Zealand Māori writer of novels, short stories, and children's books. She began writing as a young adult, while working as a teacher. Her early short stories were published in magazines, leading to her becoming the first female Māori writer to publish a collection of short stories, Waiariki, in 1975. Her first novel, Mutuwhenua: The Moon Sleeps, followed in 1978.
Since becoming a full-time writer in the 1980s, Grace has written seven novels, seven short-story collections, a non-fiction biography and an autobiography. Her works explore Māori life and culture, including the impact of Pākehā (New Zealand European) and other cultures on Māori, with use of the Māori language throughout. Her most well-known novel, Potiki (1986) features a Māori community opposing the private development of their ancestral land. She has also written a number of children's books, seeking to write books in which Māori children can see their own lives.
Grace is a pioneering and influential figure in New Zealand literature, and over her career has won a number of awards, including the Kiriyama Prize, the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, two honorary doctorates of literature, a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement, and an Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand for extraordinary lifetime achievement. Her books have twice won the top award for fiction at the New Zealand Book Awards. She was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM) in 2007, for services to literature.
## Early life and career
Grace is of Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa and Te Āti Awa descent. She was born on 17 August 1937 in Wellington, New Zealand. Her father was Māori and her mother was European and Irish Catholic. On her father's side she is descended from politician Wi Parata. She grew up in the suburb of Melrose, where her father had built the family home, and also spent time with her father's family at Hongoeka, on their ancestral land. In 1944, when she was seven, her father enlisted in the Māori Battalion to fight in the Second World War.
She attended St Anne's School in Wellington, where she later described experiencing racism: "I found that being different meant that I could be blamed – for a toy gun being stolen, for writing being chalked on a garage wall, for neighbourhood children swearing, for a grassy hillside being set alight". Grace has said that as a child she did not learn to speak Māori, because it was only spoken at formal events such as tangi (traditional Māori funeral ceremonies). She began to make efforts to learn as an adult, but found it difficult. She subsequently attended St Mary's College, where she excelled at basketball, and subsequently Wellington Teachers' Training College. It was not until she had left high school that she began to read works by New Zealand authors; she said that until this time, "I didn't kind of know that a writer was something one could aspire to be and that was partly because I'd never read writing by New Zealand writers". She began writing at age 25, while working full-time as a teacher in North Auckland.
Her first published short story was "The Dream", in bilingual magazine Te Ao Hou / The New World in 1966. In 1979, South Pacific Television produced a television version of this story for the show Pacific Viewpoint. She also had early stories published in the New Zealand Listener. These early works led to a publisher approaching Grace to ask her to work on a collection of short stories. In 1974 she received the first Māori Purposes Fund Board grant for Māori writers.
## Literary career
### 1975–1990
Grace's first published book, Waiariki (1975), was the first collection of short stories to be published by a female Māori writer, and its ten stories show the diversity of Māori life and culture. Writer Rachel Nunns said these early stories "inform readers at an emotional, imaginative level with the sense of what it means to be a Maori". Grace's first novel, Mutuwhenua: The Moon Sleeps (1978), was about the relationship of a Māori woman and Pākehā man and their experiences coming from different cultures. It was inspired by the experiences of Grace's parents, and marked the first time a relationship of this kind had been described by a Māori writer. It was followed by her second collection of short stories The Dream Sleepers and Other Stories (1980). This collection featured a three-page story told by a mother speaking to her new baby, called "Between Earth and Sky", which is one of the best-known and most anthologised New Zealand short stories. These early works were critically acclaimed. In 1984 she collaborated with painter Robyn Kahukiwa to produce Wahine Toa, a book about women from Māori legends. Although she continued working as a full-time teacher until 1985, her income in this period was supplemented by grants from the New Zealand Literary Fund in 1975 and 1983.
In the early 1980s, Grace began writing for children, and sought to write books in which Māori children could see their own lives. The Kuia and the Spider / Te Kuia me te Pungawerewere (1981), illustrated by Kahukiwa, told the story of a spinning contest between a kuia (elderly Māori woman) and a spider, and was published by a group of women from the Spiral Collective in both English and Māori. Grace subsequently published Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street / Te Tuna Watakirihi me Nga Tamariki o te Tiriti o Toa (1984), also illustrated by Kahukiwa (and published in English, Māori and Samoan) and several Māori language readers. The Trolley (1993), illustrated by Kerry Gemmill, told the story of a single mother making a trolley for her children for Christmas.
In 1985, Grace received a writing fellowship at Victoria University of Wellington, which enabled her to give up teaching, become a full-time writer, and complete the novel Potiki (1986), which became her most successful novel. The plot of the novel featured a Māori community opposing the private development of their ancestral land, and the attempts of the developer to buy them out. The name "potiki" can mean "youngest child" or "last-born" in Māori, and refers to the central character of Toko, a child who foresees and is impacted by the conflict over the land. Grace intentionally did not include a glossary for Māori language terms in the book or italicise these terms, on the basis that she "didn't want the Māori language to be treated as a foreign language in its own country". The novel was viewed by some critics as political; John Beston, writing for Landfall, suggested that "having sought previously to soothe her Pakeha readers and to suppress her anger, [Grace] is now ready to charge them, not with past and irremediable injustices, but with continuing injustices". Grace said that she was endeavouring to write about "ordinary lives of ordinary people" and did not expect it to be seen as political. The novel has been translated into seven languages, and in 2020 was republished in Britain by the Penguin Classics imprint.
Grace was also active in the promotion of Māori arts during the 1980s. In 1983 she was a founding member of Haeata, a Māori women artists' collective, through which she guided young Māori women artists and participated in group exhibitions such as "Karanga Karanga" (1986), which was the first exhibition of collaborative work by Māori women artists in a public museum. In the late 1980s, she was a founding member of Te Hā, a collective of Māori writers. Her third short story collection, Electric City and Other Stories was published in 1987.
### 1990–2015
Grace's third novel, Cousins, was published in 1992. It is the story of three cousins across different parts of their lives. Like Māori culture as a whole it is concerned with whakapapa (family history) and family ties, rather than the success of the individual, and it reflects troubling parts of New Zealand's history such as the removal of Māori children from their families by the state. Academic Roger Robinson said that while the book sometimes seems like a polemic, "Grace's descriptive and impressionistic skills, her insight into the consciousness of women and children, and the sustained inwardness of the Māori perspective, make Cousins a significant and uniquely Māori version of the genre of family saga". Grace has used Cousins as an example of her approach to writing, which is to develop characters before developing plot: "I had an idea in mind that I was going to base the novel around two cousins, two women who shared the same ancestry, and during the course of the story the third cousin became important to the plot."
Her fourth novel, Baby No-Eyes, was published in 1998, having taken her five years to write. The book is narrated by an unborn child who was killed together with her father in a car accident, along with other members of her family, and weaves together family drama with contemporary Māori problems. Pauline Swain, reviewing the book for The Dominion, praised Grace's "deceptively light touch with material that in other hands could be bombastic or preachy", and noted "her portrayal of contemporary issues such as land claims and the right to use genetic information for research loses nothing in impact for all its delicately oblique handling". Nelson Wattie, writing in the New Zealand Review of Books, called it "profoundly disturbing" and lacking in coherence, but acknowledged that "the doubts expressed here run counter to the warmth with which this book, like others of its author, has been greeted elsewhere". It was soon followed by her fifth novel Dogside Story (2001) centred on a small seaside Māori community. Reviewer Simone Drichel observed that although the book shared some similarities in setting and characters with Potiki, the "nature of the challenges" faced by Maori had changed in the intervening years: "For the first time ... it is not primarily the interaction with Pakeha that poses a challenge for Maori, but Maoridom itself."
By this time, Grace had become an established and well-known writer. Elspeth Sandys observed in 2001 that the release of a new novel by Grace was "one of the more significant events in [New Zealand's] literary calendar". Her sixth novel, Tu (2004), was based on the experiences of the Māori Battalion in Italy during the Second World War, and in particular the experiences of Grace's father and other family members who were part of the Battalion. She described the experience of writing a book about "men and especially men at war" as a "wonderful challenge". Reviewer Iain Sharp praised Grace's compassionate treatment of the subject, concuding: "The crowning achievement of this fine writer's career, Tu will surely become one of the classics of our literature". In 2013 it was adapted for the theatre by New Zealand playwright Hone Kouka.
Small Holes in the Silence, published in 2006, was Grace's first collection of short stories since 1987. Lawrence Jones in the New Zealand Review of Books praised the variety of stories but felt it did not meet the "sheer sustained emotional engagement of the earlier collections", and James O'Sullivan for the Taranaki Daily News equally found the stories "less than memorable". Both reviewers felt that the short story "Eben", about a mentally disabled homeless man, was the strongest story in the collection. In 2008 she published a children's book, Maraea and the Albatrosses / Ko Maraea Me Nga Toroa, illustrated by her brother Brian Gunson. Grace was approached around this time by the family of Ned Nathan, a Māori Battalion soldier who was wounded in Crete, and his wife Katina, a Cretan woman who nursed him back to health, and asked to write the story of their relationship. The resulting non-fiction biography, Ned & Katina: a true love story, was published in 2009. At this time Grace put aside her draft novel (later to be published as Chappy in 2015) in order to concentrate on family responsibilities, including caring for her mother and husband.
### 2015–present
Grace's seventh novel Chappy was published in 2015, and topped New Zealand's bestseller list. It was her first novel in over ten years, and was dedicated to her husband who had died in 2013. It is a family saga about a relationship between a Japanese man and a Māori woman, and is structured with multiple narrators and events related in a non-linear way. Simone Oettli, in her review for Landfall, noted that the themes of the book include "acceptance of cultural differences ... disappearance and loss, love and belonging, as well as the craft of storytelling". Lawrence Jones called it "well worth the decade-long wait". In the same year she published children's picture book Haka, which told the story of the "Ka Mate" haka. It was illustrated by Andrew Burdan and translated into Māori as Whiti Te Rā! by Kawata Teepa.
Grace continues to be recognised for her "pioneering role" in New Zealand literature. In a review of Chappy, Paula Morris described Grace as "a quiet and persistent presence in New Zealand literature, a groundbreaker who is, at the same time, old-fashioned in the calmness of her tone, the particularity of her focus, and her abiding interest in the particularities of Māori customs and stories". In July 2016 a sculpture in her honour was unveiled on the Porirua Writers' Walk, featuring a quote from Potiki (Grace also features on the Wellington Writers Walk, established in 2002). In 2017 her children's book Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street was adapted for the stage by Tupe Lualua and performed by 70 students from Cannon’s Creek School at the Measina Festival, a showcase of Pasifika art and theatre. In 2018, a bilingual edition of Wāhine Toa, translated by Hēni Jacob, was published by Te Tākupu (the publishing house of Te Wānanga o Raukawa).
Her autobiography From the Centre: a writer's life was published by Penguin Books in May 2021. Reviewer Emma Espiner said of the book that it "relays a lifetime of doing things her own way"; "The picture that emerges is of a quietly determined, subversive and nuanced thinker". In the same year, her novel Cousins (1992) was adapted into the feature film of the same name, directed by Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith. Grace-Smith was previously married to Grace's son, and had attended the launch of the novel 19 years earlier at Takapūwāhia Marae. In 2021, Grace was the chief judge for the Sargeson Prize (named after Frank Sargeson), New Zealand's most valuable short-story prize.
## Awards and honours
Grace has won awards for her writing since the outset of her career, with her first book, Waiariki (1975), receiving the Hubert Church Memorial Award for Best First Book of Fiction, awarded by PEN NZ. Potiki (1986) came third in the Wattie Book of the Year Awards in 1986, and won the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction in 1987. In 1994 it received the LiBeraturpreis [de] award in Germany. Her children's book The Kuia and the Spider / Te Kuia me te Pungawerewere (1981) won the Children's Picture Book of the Year Award at the New Zealand Government Publishing Awards, and The Trolley received the Russell Clark Award for children's book illustration in 1994. Baby No-Eyes (1988) was shortlisted for the Tasmania Pacific Region Prize. In the 1988 Queen's Birthday Honours, Grace was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order (QSO) for community service. She also received Scholarships in Letters in 1988 and 1992–1993. In 1989, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Literature (LitD) by Victoria University of Wellington.
Dogside Story (2001) won the 2001 Kiriyama Prize for Fiction, was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2001 and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2003, and was shortlisted in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards in 2002 and for the Tasmania Pacific Region Prize in 2004. Tu (2004) was awarded the Deutz Medal for Fiction and the Montana Award for Fiction at the 2005 Montana New Zealand Book Awards, and the 2005 Nielsen Book Data New Zealand Booksellers' Choice Award. Chappy (2015) was a finalist in the fiction category at the 2016 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. In the same year, her children's picture book Haka, translated into Māori as Whiti te Rā! by Kawata Teepa, was the recipient of the Te Kura Pounamu Award for the best Māori language work at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
In 2005 Grace received an Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, an award bestowed on twenty of New Zealand’s most significant living artists for extraordinary lifetime achievement. In 2006, she was one of three honourees awarded a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement, recognising her significant contribution to New Zealand's literature. Helen Clark, then the prime minister of New Zealand, said her work "played a key role in the emergence of Maori fiction in English".
Grace was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM), for services to literature, in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours. In 2009, she declined redesignation as a Dame Companion following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government. At the time, she expressed the opinion that the restoration of titles was a retrograde step and that she "thought that we were getting away from the colonial past".
In 2008, Grace was awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature. Joy Harjo, who nominated Grace for the Neustadt Prize, has said of her writing:
> "Grace's stories make a shining and enduring place formed of the brilliant weave of Maori oral storytelling and contained within the shape of contemporary Western forms. We are welcomed in, and when we get up to leave, we have been well fed, we have made friends and family, and we are bound to understanding and knowledge of one another."
Grace received an honorary Doctorate of Letters (DLit) from the World Indigenous Nations University in 2016, conferred at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Ōtaki, for her literary accomplishments and her writing around Māori themes. In the same year, she was awarded the Te Tohu Aroha mō Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu (Exemplary/Supreme Award) at the Te Waka Toi Awards, which she described as a "great honour".
## Personal life
Grace was married to children's author Kerehi Waiariki Grace, having met him at teachers' college. They had seven children together, and he died in 2013. Grace has described their marriage as one of shared contributions: "My husband and I worked together on everything that needed to be done. It wasn't as though I had to do the housework and look after the children, because we shared all this." Her novel Chappy (2015) was dedicated to him. Their daughter Kohai is an acclaimed weaver, and their sons Wiremu and Himonia are filmmakers.
Grace does voluntary work, such as managing iwi work schemes for unemployed people. In 2014, she won a legal battle against the New Zealand government, which had tried to compulsorily acquire land at Hongoeka Bay under the Public Works Act in order to build an expressway. The court decided that the land, which was the last remaining part of Wi Parata's landholdings held by his descendants, should be protected as a Māori reservation. As of 2021 Grace still lives in Hongoeka on her ancestral land and close to her home marae (meeting place).
## Selected works
### Novels and non-fiction
- Mutuwhenua: The Moon Sleeps (Longman Paul, 1978)
- Potiki (1986)
- Cousins (Penguin Books NZ, 1992)
- Baby No-eyes (Penguin Books NZ, 1998)
- Dogside Story (Penguin Books NZ, 2001)
- Tu (Penguin Books NZ, 2004)
- Ned and Katina: a true love story (Penguin Books NZ, 2009), biography
- Chappy (Penguin Books NZ, 2015)
- From the Centre: a writer's life (Penguin Books NZ, 2021), autobiography
### Short-story collections
- Waiariki (Longman Paul, 1975)
- The Dream Sleepers (Longman Paul, 1980)
- Electric City and Other Stories (Penguin Books NZ, 1987)
- Selected Stories (Penguin Books NZ, 1991)
- The Sky People (Penguin Books NZ, 1994)
- Collected Stories (Penguin Books NZ, 2001)
- Small Holes in the Silence (Penguin Books NZ, 2006)
### Children's books
- The Kuia and the Spider / Te Kuia me te Pungawerewere (Kidsarus 2 / Longman Paul, 1981), illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa
- Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street / Te Tuna Watakirihi me Nga Tamariki o te Tiriti o Toa (Penguin Books NZ, 1984), illustrated by Robyn Kahukiwa
- The Trolley (Penguin Books NZ, 1993), illustrated by Kerry Gemmill
- Areta & the Kahawai / Ko Areta me Nga Kahawai (Penguin Books NZ, 1994), illustrated by Kerry Gemmill
- Maraea and the Albatrosses / Ko Maraea me Nga Toroa (Penguin Books NZ, 2008), illustrated by Brian Gunson
- Haka / Whiti te Rā! (Huia Publishers, 2015), illustrated by Andrew Burdan and translated into Māori by Kawata Teepa
|
19,576,457 |
Grade I listed buildings in Somerset
| 1,139,829,064 |
Buildings of exceptional interest in Somerset
|
[
"Grade I listed buildings in Somerset",
"Lists of Grade I listed buildings in Somerset"
] |
The Grade I listed buildings in Somerset, England, demonstrate the history and diversity of its architecture. The ceremonial county of Somerset consists of a non-metropolitan county, administered by Somerset County Council, which is divided into five districts, and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are West Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Mendip and Sedgemoor. The two administratively independent unitary authorities, which were established on 1 April 1996 following the breakup of the county of Avon, are North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. These unitary authorities include areas that were once part of Somerset before the creation of Avon in 1974.
In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance, Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In England, the authority for listing under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 rests with English Heritage, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; local authorities have a responsibility to regulate and enforce the planning regulations.
Each of the districts include Norman- or medieval-era churches, many of which are included in the Somerset towers, a collection of distinctive, mostly spireless Gothic architecture church towers. The prolific construction of the towers—some started before 1360—was typically accomplished by a master mason and a small team of itinerant masons, supplemented by local parish labourers, according to Poyntz Wright. But other authors reject this model, suggesting instead that leading architects designed the parish church towers based on early examples of Perpendicular design and ornamentation developed for cathedrals—their most important commissions. Contract builders carried out the plans, adding a distinctive mix of innovative details and decorations as new designs emerged over the years. These are included in the List of towers in Somerset.
Apart from the churches, each area has its own characteristics. Most of Bath's Grade I listed buildings are made from the local golden-coloured Bath Stone, and date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Their dominant architectural style is Georgian. In the Mendip district, the greatest concentrations of these cluster around the cathedral and abbey in Wells and in Glastonbury. North Somerset features bridges and piers along with a selection of Manor houses. The Sedgemoor district has many buildings related to trade and commerce centred on Bridgwater; while in South Somerset abbeys, priories and farmhouses predominate. Taunton Deane includes the defensive Taunton Castle, similarly Dunster Castle and related buildings in Dunster feature in West Somerset.
Click here to see an interactive OpenStreetMap with locations of all Grade I listed buildings, Somerset-wide, for which coordinates are included in the list-articles linked below.
## Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset (commonly referred to as BANES or B&NES) is a unitary authority created on 1 April 1996, following the abolition of the County of Avon. Bath and North East Somerset occupies an area of 220 square miles (570 km<sup>2</sup>), two-thirds of which is green belt. BANES stretches from the outskirts of Bristol, south into the Mendip Hills and east to the southern Cotswold Hills and Wiltshire border. The city of Bath is the principal settlement in the district, but BANES also covers Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock and the Chew Valley. BANES has a population of 170,000, about half of whom live in Bath, making it 12 times more densely populated than the rest of the district.
Bath and North East Somerset has 663 Grade I listed buildings, one of the highest concentrations in the country, covered by about 100 English Heritage listings. The oldest sites within Bath are the Roman Baths, for which the foundation piles and an irregular stone chamber lined with lead were built during the Roman occupation of Britain, although the current building is from the 18th century. Bath Abbey was a Norman church built on earlier foundations, although the present building dates from the early 16th century and shows a late Perpendicular style with flying buttresses and crocketed pinnacles decorating a crenellated and pierced parapet. The medieval era is represented by the remains of the city walls in Upper Borough Walls.
Most of Bath's Grade I listed buildings are made from the local golden-coloured Bath Stone, and date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Their dominant architectural style is Georgian, which evolved from the Palladian revival style that became popular during the early 18th century. This led to the entire city's designation as a World Heritage Site.
Much of the development, and many of the buildings, were the vision of John Wood, the Elder. The Circus is seen as the pinnacle of Wood's work. It consists of three long, curved terraces that form a circular space or theatre intended for civic functions and games. The games give a clue to the design, the inspiration for which was the Colosseum in Rome. The best known of Bath's terraces is the Royal Crescent, built between 1767 and 1774 and designed by Wood's son, John Wood, the Younger. Around 1770 the neoclassical architect Robert Adam designed Pulteney Bridge, a three-arched bridge spanning the Avon. He used as his prototype an original, but unused, design by Palladio for the Rialto Bridge in Venice. The heart of the Georgian city was the Pump Room, which together with its associated Lower Assembly Rooms was designed by Thomas Baldwin, a local builder responsible for many other buildings in the city, including the terraces in Argyle Street. Great Pulteney Street, where Baldwin eventually lived, is another of his works: this wide boulevard, constructed c. 1789 and over 1,000 feet (305 m) long and 100 feet (30 m) wide, is lined on both sides by Georgian terraces.
Outside the city of Bath most of the Grade I listed buildings are Norman- or medieval-era churches. Manor houses such as Claverton Manor, which now houses the American Museum in Britain, and the 18th-century Newton Park, which has a landscape garden designed by Capability Brown, also appear in the list; Newton Park now forms part of the Bath Spa University. There is also Grade I listed canal architecture outside the city, such as Dundas Aqueduct and Claverton Pumping Station, both designed by John Rennie. The most recent building is the agricultural Eastwood Manor Farm Steading, completed in 1860.
## Mendip
Mendip is a local government district which covers a largely rural area of 285 square miles (738 km<sup>2</sup>) ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 11,000. The administrative centre of the district is Shepton Mallet.
There are 90 Grade I listed buildings in the Mendip district. There are churches in the various towns and villages, however the greatest concentrations of Grade I listed buildings are in Wells and Glastonbury. In Wells these are clustered around the 10th-century Cathedral Church of St Andrew, better known as Wells Cathedral, and the 13th-century Bishop's Palace. Glastonbury is the site of the Abbey, where construction started in the 7th century, and its associated buildings. The ruined St Michael's church, itself replacing the one destroyed in an earthquake of 1275, stands on Glastonbury Tor, where the site shows evidence of occupation from Neolithic times and the Dark Ages. The Chalice Well has been in use since Pre-Christian times. Glastonbury Abbey had a wider influence outside the town: tithe barns were built at Pilton and West Bradley to hold tithes, and a Fish House was built at Meare along with a summer residence for the Abbot (now Manor Farmhouse).
Medieval structures include Farleigh Hungerford Castle, fortified around 1370, and The George Inn at Norton St Philip, used as an army headquarters during the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, and then as a courtroom to try the rebels in the Bloody Assizes. Manor houses such as the 15th-century Seymours Court Farmhouse at Beckington and The Old Manor at Croscombe. Mells Manor followed in the 16th century and in the 17th century Southill House in Cranmore was built. Ston Easton Park and Ammerdown House in Kilmersdon were both completed in the 18th century. The most recent buildings included in the list are churches: the Church of St Peter at Hornblotton, built in 1872–74 by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson to replace a medieval church on the same site, and Downside Abbey at Stratton-on-the-Fosse, more formally known as "The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside", a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation. The current buildings were started in the 19th century and are still unfinished.
## North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authority which is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county of Somerset. Its administrative headquarters are located in the town hall of Weston-super-Mare, and has a resident population of 193,000 living in 85,000 households.
There are 37 Grade I listed buildings in North Somerset, including the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which joins North Somerset to Bristol and Clevedon Pier which was built between the 1860s and 1890s. It was removed following damage in 1970 and restored, before being rebuilt and reopened to the public in 1998. Of the listed buildings, manor houses are well represented. They include Clevedon Court, built in the 14th century, and from the 15th century, Ashton Court and Nailsea Court. North Somerset has many religious structures; the largest number are from the Norman or medieval eras. The oldest is the Church of St. Quiricus and St. Julietta in Tickenham which dates from the 11th century, and there are 8 others from the 12th century.
The most recent Grade I building in North Somerset is Tyntesfield, a Victorian Gothic Revival estate near Wraxall. It was acquired by the National Trust in June 2002 after a fund raising campaign to prevent its being sold to private interests and ensure it be opened to the public. The appeal by the National Trust collected £8.2 million from the public in just 100 days and the Trust also received the largest single grant ever by the National Heritage Memorial Fund (at £17.4 million), which caused some controversy. The house is built of Bath stone, and is highly picturesque, bristling with turrets and possessing an elaborate roof.
## Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor district is a low-lying area of land close to sea level between the Quantock and Mendip hills, historically largely marsh (or moor). It contains the bulk of the area also known as the Somerset Levels, including Europe's oldest known engineered roadway, the Sweet Track.
There are 53 Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor, 14 of which are in Castle Street, Bridgwater. In 1834, Castle Street was built on the site of the demolished Bridgwater Castle, as homes for the merchants trading in the town's port. Outside the town of Bridgwater, the largest concentration of Grade I listed buildings are in the village of Cannington, where the 12th-century Cannington Court and 14th-century Church of St Mary were both associated with a Benedictine nunnery. Cannington is also the site of the 13th-century Gurney Manor and Blackmoor Farmhouse, which was built around 1480 with its own chapel. Although 11th-century churches such as the Church of St Michael at Brent Knoll and the Church of St Mary at Charlynch near Spaxton are still standing only blue lias rubble walling standing on a conical earthwork with a ditch approximately 820 feet (250 m) in circumference are the only remains of Stowey Castle which was destroyed in the 15th century, which may have been as a penalty for the local Lord Audley's involvement in the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 led by Perkin Warbeck.
Many of the more recent structures in the list are manor houses such as Halswell House, where the south range was built in the 16th century for Sir Nicholas Halswell and the main north range in 1689 for Sir Halswell Tynte. The most recently constructed building in the list is the Corn Exchange in Bridgwater, built in 1834.
## South Somerset
The South Somerset district occupies an area of 370 square miles (958 km<sup>2</sup>), stretching from its borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The district has a population of about 158,000, and has Yeovil as its administrative centre.
There are 94 Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset. Most are Norman- or medieval-era churches, but there are other religious buildings as well. Muchelney Abbey consists of the remains and foundations of a medieval Benedictine Abbey and an early Tudor house dating from the 16th century, formerly the lodgings of the resident abbot. Stavordale Priory was built as a priory church in the 13th century and was converted into a private residence in 1533. The Hamstone Stoke sub Hamdon Priory is a 14th-century former priest's house of the chantry chapel of St Nicholas, which after 1518 become a farm known as Parsonage Farmhouse. It remained a farm until about 1960, and has been owned by the National Trust since 1946.
Since the Reformation the 13th-century Hanging Chapel in Langport has been a town hall, courthouse, grammar school, museum, and armoury before becoming a masonic hall in 1891. The house known as The Abbey in Charlton Mackrell takes its name from the site on which it was built, the Chantry Chapel of the Holy Spirit, founded in 1237. Naish Priory, built around 1400 in East Coker, was never a priory, and similarly the Abbey Farm House and Abbey Barn in Yeovil which date from around 1420, have always been in lay-ownership; "abbey" was added to their names in the 19th century. The 140-foot (43 m) Burton Pynsent Monument was designed in 1767, by Capability Brown for William Pitt, as a monument to Sir William Pynsent, Bt. King Alfred's Tower, a 161 feet (49 m) high, triangular edifice, stands near Egbert's stone, where it is believed that Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, rallied the Saxons in May 878 before the Battle of Ethandun. The towers funder, Henry Hoare, planned for it to commemorate the end of the Seven Years' War against France and the accession of King George III.
The other Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset are manor houses, built over long periods by local Lords of the Manor. The Tudor Barrington Court was the first country house acquired by the National Trust, in 1907, on the recommendation of the antiquarian Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley. Newton Surmaville was built between 1608 and 1612 for Robert Harbin, a Yeovil merchant, on the site of an earlier building, but was extensively altered and enhanced in the 1870s. Lytes Cary and its associated chapel and gardens have parts dating to as early as the 14th century. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner praised it, saying "Yet all parts blend to perfection with one another and with the gentle sunny landscape that surrounds them." The 17th-century house at Tintinhull is surrounded by a small 20th-century Arts and Crafts garden. Ven House, which stands on an artificially raised terrace, has a rectangular plan of seven bays by five bays, and is built of red brick in Flemish bond, with local Hamstone dressings; its north and south fronts are divided by two giant Corinthian pilasters. The small William and Mary style house was completed sometime between 1698 and 1700. It was enlarged between 1725 and 1730 by Decimus Burton, who provided a new drawing-room for Sir W. Medleycott and also an orangery attached to the house. Brympton d'Evercy, built in stages between about 1220 and the 18th century, has been described, by Auberon Waugh, as "the most beautiful house in England".
## Taunton Deane
Taunton Deane has borough status. The district of Taunton Deane covers a population of approximately 100,000 in an area of 462 square kilometres (178 sq mi). It is centred on the town of Taunton, where around 60,000 of the population live and the council are based, and includes surrounding suburbs and villages.
There are 38 Grade I listed buildings in Taunton Deane. The oldest buildings are churches built before the end of the 12th century, and the Castle Bow, which has been incorporated into the Castle Hotel in Taunton but was originally a gateway into Taunton Castle. The castle was created between 1107 and 1129, when William Giffard, the Chancellor of King Henry I, fortified the bishop's hall. Taunton is also the site of Gray's Almshouses, which dates from 1635, and two buildings in Fore Street from the 16th century. Many of the more recent structures in the list are manor houses such as Cothay Manor and Greenham Barton which were built in Stawley in the 15th century. Poundisford Park and Cothelstone Manor were both built in the 16th century and Hatch Court in 1755.
The most recent building included in the list is in the Quantock Hills. The original 16th century Hestercombe House, was rebuilt in 1909. In addition to being a listed building the estate is designated Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. The house was used as the headquarters of the British 8th Corps in the Second World War, and has been owned by Somerset County Council since 1951. It is used as an administrative centre and is the current base for the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.
## West Somerset
The West Somerset local government district covers a largely rural area, including parts of Exmoor, with a population, according to the 2011 census, of 35,300 in an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi). The largest centres of population are the coastal towns of Minehead and Watchet. The council's administrative headquarters are in the village of Williton.
There are 33 Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset. The oldest is either Culbone Church, one of the smallest churches in England, and pre-Norman in origin, or Tarr Steps, which may originate in the Bronze Age, although other sources date them from around 1400. Dunster has the greatest concentration of Grade I listed buildings, including Dunster Castle, which was built in 1617 on a site which had supported a castle for the previous 600 years; the Yarn Market, which was built in 1609; Gallox Bridge, which dates from the 15th century and the Priory Church of St George which is predominately from the 15th century but includes part of the earlier church on the same site. Other sites include manor houses such as the medieval buildings at Nettlecombe Court and Orchard Wyndham.
## See also
- Grade II\* listed buildings in Somerset
- Grade II\* listed buildings in West Somerset
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485,036 |
Northern Isles
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Pair of archipelagos near Scotland
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[
"Archipelagoes of Scotland",
"Archipelagoes of the Atlantic Ocean",
"Northern Isles",
"Scottish toponymy"
] |
The Northern Isles (Scots: Northern Isles; Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan a Tuath; Old Norse: Norðreyjar; Norn: Nordøjar) are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are the Hebrides. The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas. There are a total of 36 inhabited islands. The landscapes of the fertile agricultural islands of Orkney contrast with the more rugged Shetland islands to the north, where the economy is more dependent on fishing and on the oil wealth of the surrounding seas. Both island groups have a developing renewable energy industry. Both have a Pictish and Norse history. Both were part of the Kingdom of Norway until they were absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland in the 15th century. They remained part of it until the 1707 formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the 1801 formation of the United Kingdom. They both played a significant naval role during the world wars of the 20th century.
Tourism is important to both archipelagos, and there are regular ferry and air connections between them and with mainland Scotland. Their distinctive prehistoric ruins play a key role in their attraction for tourists. The Scandinavian influence remains strong, especially in local folklore, and the place-names of the islands are dominated by their Norse heritage, although some may retain pre-Celtic elements. Both island groups have strong, although distinct, local cultures.
## Geography
The phrase "Northern Isles" generally refers to the main islands of the Orkney and Shetland archipelagos. The Island of Stroma, which lies between mainland Scotland and Orkney, is part of Caithness, so for local government purposes it falls under the jurisdiction of the Highland council area, rather than that of Orkney. It is nevertheless clearly one of the "northern isles" of Scotland. Fair Isle and Foula are outliers of Shetland, but would normally be considered part of Shetland, and thus of the Northern Isles. Similarly, Sule Skerry and Sule Stack, although distant from the main group, are part of Orkney, and therefore technically amongst the Northern Isles. However, the other small islands that lie off the north coast of Scotland are in Highland, and are thus not usually considered to be part of the Northern Isles.
Orkney has 20 inhabited islands and Shetland has 16.
Orkney is situated 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the coast of mainland Scotland, separated from it by the waters of the Pentland Firth. The largest island of Orkney, known as the "Mainland" has an area of 523.25 square kilometres (202.03 sq mi), making it the sixth largest Scottish island. Its total population in 2001 was 19,245, and its largest town is Kirkwall. Shetland is around 170 kilometres (110 mi) north of mainland Scotland. It covers an area of 1,468 square kilometres (567 sq mi) and its coastline is 2,702 kilometres (1,679 mi) long. Lerwick, the capital and largest settlement, has a population of around 7,500. About half of the archipelago's total population of 22,000 people live within 16 kilometres (10 mi) of the town.
## Geology
The superficial rock of Orkney is almost entirely Old Red Sandstone, mostly of Middle Devonian age. As in the neighbouring mainland county of Caithness, this sandstone rests upon the metamorphic rocks of the Moine series. This can be seen on the Orkney Mainland, where a narrow strip of the older rock is exposed between Stromness and Inganess, and also on the small island of Graemsay.
Middle Devonian basaltic volcanic rocks are found on western Hoy, on Deerness in eastern Mainland and on Shapinsay. A correlation between the Hoy volcanics and the other two exposures has been proposed, but because of differences in their chemical makeup, this remains uncertain. Lamprophyre dykes of Late Permian age are found throughout Orkney. Glacial striation and the presence of chalk and flint erratics that originated from the bed of the North Sea demonstrate the influence of ice action on the geomorphology of the islands. Boulder clay is also abundant, and moraines cover substantial areas.
The geology of Shetland is quite different from that of Orkney. It is extremely complex, with numerous faults and fold axes. The Shetland Islands are the northern outpost of the Caledonian orogeny, and there are outcrops of Lewisian, Dalriadan and Moine metamorphic rocks whose histories are similar to those of their counterparts on the Scottish mainland. There are also small Old Red Sandstone deposits and granite intrusions. Shetland's most distinctive geological feature is the ultrabasic ophiolite, peridotite and gabbro on Unst and Fetlar, which are remnants of the Iapetus Ocean floor. There are oil-bearing sediments in the surrounding seas, on which much of Shetland's economy depends.
Geological evidence shows that, sometime around 6100 BC, a tsunami caused by the Storegga Slides hit the Northern Isles (as well as much of the east coast of Scotland), and may have created a wave of up to 25 metres (82 ft) high in the voes of Shetland, where modern populations are largest.
## Climate
The Northern Isles have a cool, temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude, due to the influence of the surrounding seas and the Gulf Stream. In Shetland, average peak temperatures are 5 °C (41 °F) in February and 15 °C (59 °F) in August. Temperatures over 21 °C (70 °F) are rare. The frost-free period may be as short as 3 months.
The average annual rainfall is 982 millimetres (38.7 in) in Orkney and 1,168 millimetres (46.0 in) in Shetland. Winds are a key feature of the climate. In summer, there are almost constant breezes. In winter, there are frequent strong winds: Orkney has an average of 52 hours of gales annually. The Burradale wind farm in Shetland, which operates with five Vestas V47 660 kW turbines, achieved a world record of 57.9% capacity over the course of 2005 due to the persistent strong winds.
Snowfall is usually confined to the period of November to February and seldom lies on the ground for more than a day. Less rain falls between April and August than at other times of the year, but no month has an average rainfall of less than 50 mm (2.0 in). In Shetland there are 1082 hours of bright sunshine per year, on average, and overcast days are common.
To tourists, one of the fascinations of the islands is their "nightless" summers. On the longest day in Shetland there are over 19 hours of daylight, and it never gets completely dark. The long twilight is known in the Northern Isles as the "simmer dim". Winter nights are correspondingly long, with less than six hours of daylight at midwinter. At this time of year the aurora borealis can occasionally be seen on the northern horizon during moderate auroral activity.
## Prehistory
There are numerous important prehistoric remains in Orkney, especially from the Neolithic period. Four of these remains comprise the Heart of Neolithic Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site (designated as such in 1999). They are: Skara Brae; Maes Howe; the Stones of Stenness; and the Ring of Brodgar. The Knap of Howar Neolithic farmstead on the island of Papa Westray is probably the oldest preserved house in northern Europe. This structure was inhabited for 900 years, beginning around 3700 BC, but it had evidently been built on the site of an even older settlement. The Shetland Islands are also extremely rich in physical remains from prehistoric eras: They contain a total of over 5,000 archaeological sites. On the island of Fetlar, there is a dividing wall, dating from the Neolithic period, that at one time extended for 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) across the island. It is known as Funzie Girt. But it is the Iron Age that has provided the most outstanding archaeology in Shetland. Numerous brochs were erected during that period. The finest preserved example of these distinctive round towers is the Broch of Mousa. In 2011, a site known as "the Crucible of Iron Age Shetland", which includes the Broch of Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof, joined the UK's "Tentative List" of World Heritage Sites.
## History, culture and politics
### Pictish times
The culture that built the brochs is unknown, but by the late Iron Age the Northern Isles had become part of the Pictish kingdom. The most common archaeological relics from that period are symbol stones. One of the best examples of these stones is on the Brough of Birsay: It depicts three warriors with spears and sword scabbards, as well as characteristic Pictish symbols. In 1958, a trove of silver metalwork, known as the St Ninian's Isle Treasure, was discovered. The silver bowls, jewellery and other pieces it contains are believed to date from around 800 AD. According to O'Dell (1959), "The treasure is the best survival of Scottish silver metalwork from the period .... [T]he brooches show a variety of typical Pictish forms, with both animal-head and lobed geometrical forms of terminal".
Christianity probably arrived in Orkney in the 6th century, and organised church authority emerged in the 8th century. An Ogham–inscribed artefact known as the Buckquoy spindle-whorl was found at a Pictish site on Birsay. There has been controversy about its origin and meaning, but it is now generally considered to be of Irish Christian origin.
### Norse era
The 8th century was also the time when the Vikings started invading the Scottish seaboard. They brought to the Northern Isles a new culture and a new language; rendering the fate of the existing indigenous peoples uncertain. According to the Orkneyinga Saga, Vikings then made the islands the headquarters of the pirate expeditions they carried out against Norway and the coasts of mainland Scotland. According to some sources, in 875, the Norwegian king Harald Hårfagre ("Harald Fair Hair") annexed the Northern Isles and gifted Orkney and Shetland to Rognvald Eysteinsson as an earldom in recompense for the death of his son in battle in Scotland. (Some scholars believe this story is apocryphal and is based instead on events connected with the later voyages of Magnus III of Norway, known as Magnus Barelegs.)
In 995, King Olaf I of Norway (Olav Tryggvasson) fully Christianised the islands by fiat, when he stopped in South Walls on his way from Ireland to Norway. The king summoned the jarl Sigurd the Stout and said, "I order you and all your subjects to be baptised. If you refuse, I'll have you killed on the spot and I swear I will ravage every island with fire and steel." Unsurprisingly, Sigurd agreed, and the islands became Christian at a stroke. In the early 11th century, they received their own bishop (the Bishop of Orkney).
### Annexation by Scotland
In the 14th century, Orkney and Shetland remained a Norwegian province, but Scottish influence was growing. Jon Haraldsson, who was murdered in Thurso in 1231, was the last of an unbroken line of Norse jarls, and thereafter the earls were Scots noblemen of the houses of Angus and St. Clair. In 1468 Shetland was pledged by Christian I, in his capacity as King of Norway, as security against the payment of the dowry of his daughter Margaret, betrothed to James III of Scotland. As the money was never paid, the connection with the crown of Scotland became permanent. In 1470 William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness ceded his title to James III and the following year the Northern Isles were directly annexed to Scotland.
### 17th, 18th and 19th centuries
From the early 15th century on the Shetlanders had sold their goods through the Hanseatic League of German merchantmen. This trade with the North German towns lasted until the 1707 Act of Union when high salt duties prohibited the German merchants from trading with Shetland. Shetland then went into an economic depression as the Scottish and local traders were not as skilled in trading with salted fish. However, some local merchant-lairds took up where the German merchants had left off, and fitted out their own ships to export fish from Shetland to the Continent. For the independent farmer/fishermen of Shetland this had negative consequences, as they now had to fish for these merchant-lairds.
British rule came at a price for many ordinary people as well as traders. The Shetlanders' nautical skills were sought by the Royal Navy: some 3,000 served during the Napoleonic Wars from 1800 to 1815 and press gangs were rife. During this period 120 men were taken from Fetlar alone and only 20 of them returned home. By the late 19th century 90% of all Shetland was owned by just 32 men, and between 1861 and 1881 more than 8,000 Shetlanders emigrated. With the passing of the Crofters' Act in 1886 the Liberal prime minister William Gladstone emancipated crofters from the rule of the landlords. The Act enabled those who had effectively been landowners' serfs to become owner-occupiers of their own small farms.
The Orcadian experience was somewhat different. An influx of Scottish entrepreneurs helped to create a diverse and independent community that included farmers, fishermen and merchants that called themselves comunitatis Orcadie and who proved themselves increasingly able to defend their rights against their feudal overlords. In the 17th century, Orcadians formed the overwhelming majority of employees of the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. The harsh climate of Orkney and the Orcadian reputation for sobriety and their boat-handling skills made them ideal candidates for the rigours of the Canadian north. During this period, burning kelp briefly became a mainstay of the islands' economy. For example, on Shapinsay over 3,048 tonnes (3,000 long tons) of burned seaweed were produced per annum to make soda ash, bringing in £20,000 to the local economy. Agricultural improvements beginning in the 17th century coincided with the enclosure of the commons and in the Victorian era the emergence of large and well-managed farms using a five-shift rotation system and producing high-quality beef cattle. There is little evidence of an Orcadian fishing fleet until the 19th century but it grew rapidly and 700 boats were involved by the 1840s with Stronsay and then later Stromness becoming leading centres of development. Many Orcadian seamen became involved in whaling in Arctic waters during the 19th century, although the boats were generally based elsewhere in Britain.
### World Wars
Orkney was the site of a naval base at Scapa Flow, which played a major role in World War I. After the Armistice in 1918, the German High Seas Fleet was transferred in its entirety to Scapa Flow while a decision was to be made on its future; however, the German sailors opened the sea-cocks and scuttled all the ships. During World War I the 10th Cruiser Squadron was stationed at Swarbacks Minn in Shetland and during a single year from March 1917 more than 4,500 ships sailed from Lerwick as part of an escorted convoy system. In total, Shetland lost more than 500 men, a higher proportion than any other part of Britain, and there were waves of emigration in the 1920s and 1930s.
One month into World War II, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak was sunk by a German U-boat at Scapa Flow. As a result, barriers were built to close most of the access channels; these had the advantage of creating causeways enabling travellers to go from island to island by road instead of being obliged to rely on ferries. The causeways were constructed by Italian prisoners of war, who also constructed the ornate Italian Chapel. The Scapa Flow base was neglected after the war, eventually closing in 1957.
During World War II, a Norwegian naval unit nicknamed the "Shetland Bus" was established by the Special Operations Executive in the autumn of 1940 with a base first at Lunna and later in Scalloway to conduct operations around the coast of Norway. About 30 fishing vessels used by Norwegian refugees were gathered, and the Shetland Bus conducted covert operations, carrying intelligence agents, refugees, instructors for the resistance, and military supplies. It made over 200 trips across the sea, with Leif Larsen, the most highly decorated allied naval officer of the war, making 52 of them.
The problem of a declining population was significant in the post-war years, although in the last decades of the 20th century there was a recovery and life in the islands focused on growing prosperity and the emergence of a relatively classless society.
## Modern times
### Politics
Due to their history, the islands have a Norse, rather than a Gaelic flavour, and have historic links with the Faroes, Iceland, and Norway. The similarities of both geography and history are matched by some elements of the current political process. Both Orkney and Shetland are represented in the House of Commons as constituting the Orkney and Shetland constituency, which elects one Member of Parliament (MP), the current incumbent being Alistair Carmichael. Both are also within the Highlands and Islands electoral region for the Scottish Parliament.
In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, 65.4% of the constituency's electors voted for Scotland to stay part of the United Kingdom.
However, there are also two separate constituencies that elect one Member of the Scottish Parliament each for Orkney and Shetland by the first past the post system. Orkney and Shetland also have separate local Councils which are both dominated by independents.
The Orkney Movement, a political party that supported devolution for Orkney from the rest of Scotland, contested the 1987 general election as the Orkney and Shetland Movement (a coalition of the Orkney movement and its equivalent for Shetland). Their candidate, John Goodlad, came 4th with 3,095 votes, 14.5% of those cast.
### Transport
Ferry services link Orkney and Shetland to the rest of Scotland, the main routes being Scrabster harbour, Thurso to Stromness and Aberdeen to Lerwick, both operated by NorthLink Ferries. Inter-island ferry services are operated by Orkney Ferries and SIC Ferries, which are operated by the respective local authorities and Northlink also run a Lerwick to Kirkwall service. Automatic lighthouses are commonly sited across the islands as an aid to navigation at various locations.
Kirkwall Airport serves as the sole commercial airport in Orkney, which is operated by Highland and Islands Airports. Loganair provides services to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness for both Kirkwall and Sumburgh Airport.
Inter-Island flights are available from Kirkwall to several Orkney islands and from the Shetland Mainland to most of the inhabited islands including those from Tingwall Airport. There are frequent charter flights from Aberdeen to Scatsta near Sullom Voe, which are used to transport oilfield workers and this small terminal has the fifth largest number of international passengers in Scotland. The scheduled air service between Westray and Papa Westray is reputedly the shortest in the world at two minutes' duration.
### Economics
The very different geologies of the two archipelagos have resulted in dissimilar local economies. In Shetland, the main revenue producers are agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, renewable energy, the petroleum industry (offshore crude oil and natural gas production), the creative industries and tourism. Oil and gas was first landed at Sullom Voe in 1978, and it has subsequently become one of the largest oil terminals in Europe. Taxes from the oil have increased public sector spending in Shetland on social welfare, art, sport, environmental measures and financial development. Three-quarters of the islands' workforce is employed in the service sector and Shetland Islands Council alone accounted for 27.9% of output in 2003. Fishing remains central to the islands' economy today, with the total catch being 75,767 tonnes (74,570 long tons; 83,519 short tons) in 2009, valued at over £73.2 million.
Orkney and Shetland have significant wind and marine energy resources, and renewable energy has recently come into prominence. The European Marine Energy Centre is a Scottish Government-backed research facility that has installed a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney Mainland and a tidal power testing station on the island of Eday. This has been described as "the first of its kind in the world set up to provide developers of wave and tidal energy devices with a purpose-built performance testing facility." Billia Croo also houses an experimental underwater data center run by Microsoft.
### Culture
The Northern Isles have a rich source of folklore. There are many Orcadian tales concerning trows, a form of troll that draws on the islands' Scandinavian connections. Local customs in the past included marriage ceremonies at the Odin Stone that forms part of the Stones of Stenness. The best known literary figures from modern Orkney are the poet Edwin Muir, the poet and novelist George Mackay Brown and the novelist Eric Linklater.
Shetland has a strong tradition of local music. The Forty Fiddlers was formed in the 1950s to promote the traditional fiddle style, which is a vibrant part of local culture today. Notable exponents of Shetland folk music include Aly Bain and the late Tom Anderson and Peerie Willie Johnson. Thomas Fraser was a country musician who never released a commercial recording during his life, but whose work has become popular more than 20 years after his untimely death in 1978.
### Language
The Norn language, formerly spoken in the islands, is descendant of Old Norse brought by the Vikings in the 9th century. Since 1468-1469, after Orkney and Shetland were absorbed by the Kingdom of Scotland, Norn gradually began to fade as the influx of Scots-speaking settlers migrated to the islands. Norn as such became an extinct language around 1850, after the death of its last-known speaker Walter Sutherland. The local dialects of the Scots language, collectively known as Insular Scots, are distinctive and retain strong Nordic influences.
## Main settlements
List of the main centres of population in the Orkney and Shetland islands as of 2020.
## Island names
The etymology of the island names is dominated by Norse influence. There follows a listing of the derivation of all the inhabited islands in the Northern Isles.
### Shetland
The oldest version of the modern name Shetland is Hetlandensis recorded in 1190 becoming Hetland in 1431 after various intermediate transformations. This then became Hjaltland in the 16th century. As Shetland's Norn was gradually replaced by Scots Hjaltland became Ȝetland. When use of the letter yogh was discontinued, it was often replaced by the similar-looking letter z, hence Zetland, the mispronounced form used to describe the pre-1975 county council. However the earlier name is Innse Chat – the island of the cats (or the cat tribe) as referred to in early Irish literature and it is just possible that this forms part of the Norse name. The Cat tribe also occupied parts of the northern Scottish mainland – hence the name of Caithness via the Norse Katanes ("headland of the cat"), and the Gaelic name for Sutherland, Cataibh, meaning "among the Cats".
The location of "Thule", first mentioned by Pytheas of Massilia when he visited Britain sometime between 322 and 285 BC is not known for certain. When Tacitus mentioned it in AD 98 it is clear he was referring to Shetland.
### Orkney
Pytheas described Great Britain as being triangular in shape, with a northern tip called Orcas. This may have referred to Dunnet Head, from which Orkney is visible. Writing in the 1st century AD, the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela called the Orkney islands Orcades, as did Tacitus in AD 98 "Orc" is usually interpreted as a Pictish tribal name meaning "young pig" or "young boar". The old Irish Gaelic name for the islands was Insi Orc ("island of the pigs"). The ogham script on the Buckquoy spindle-whorl is also cited as evidence for the pre-Norse existence of Old Irish in Orkney. The Pictish association with Orkney is lent weight by the Norse name for the Pentland Firth – Pettaland-fjörðr i.e "Pictland Firth".
The Norse retained the earlier root but changed the meaning, providing the only definite example of an adaption of a pre-Norse place name in the Northern Isles. The islands became Orkneyar meaning "seal islands". An alternative name for Orkney is recorded in 1300—Hrossey, meaning "horse isle" and this may also contain a Pictish element of ros meaning "moor" or "plain".
Unlike most of the larger Orkney islands, the derivation of the name "Shapinsay" is not obvious. The final 'ay' is from the Old Norse for island, but the first two syllables are more difficult to interpret. Haswell-Smith (2004) suggests the root may be hjalpandis-øy (helpful island) due to the presence of a good harbour, although anchorages are plentiful in the archipelago. The first written record dates from 1375 in a reference to Scalpandisay, which may suggest a derivation from "judge's island". Another suggestion is "Hyalpandi's island", although no one of that name is known to have been associated with Shapinsay.
### Uninhabited islands
Stroma, from the Norse Straumøy means "current island" or "island in the tidal stream", a reference to the strong currents in the Pentland Firth. The Norse often gave animal names to islands and these have been transferred into English in, for example, the Calf of Flotta and Horse of Copinsay. Brother Isle is an anglicisation of the Norse breiðareøy meaning "broad beach island". The Norse holmr, meaning "a small islet" has become "Holm" in English and there are numerous examples of this use including Corn Holm, Thieves Holm and Little Holm. "Muckle" meaning large or big is one of few Scots words in the island names of the Nordreyar and appears in Muckle Roe and Muckle Flugga in Shetland and Muckle Green Holm and Muckle Skerry in Orkney. Many small islets and skerries have Scots or Insular Scots names such as Da Skerries o da Rokness and Da Buddle Stane in Shetland, and Kirk Rocks in Orkney.
## See also
- Kingdom of the Isles
|
304,224 |
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9
| 1,161,075,395 |
Fighter aircraft family; first jet-powered MiG
|
[
"1940s Soviet fighter aircraft",
"Aircraft first flown in 1946",
"Mid-wing aircraft",
"Mikoyan aircraft",
"Single-engined jet aircraft"
] |
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-9, USAF/DoD designation: Type 1, NATO reporting name: Fargo) was the first turbojet fighter developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich in the years immediately after World War II. It used reverse-engineered German BMW 003 engines. Categorized as a first-generation jet fighter, it suffered from persistent problems with engine flameouts when firing its guns at high altitudes due to gun gas ingestion. A number of different armament configurations were tested, but none solved the problem. Several different engines were evaluated, but none were flown as the prototype of the MiG-15 promised superior performance.
A total of 610 aircraft were built, including prototypes, and they entered service in 1948 with the Soviet Air Forces. At least 372 were transferred to the People's Liberation Army Air Force in 1950 to defend Chinese cities against air raids by the Nationalist Chinese and train the Chinese pilots in jet operations. The MiG-9 was quickly replaced by the MiG-15. Three are known to survive.
## Development
### Origins
In February 1945, the Council of People's Commissars ordered the Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) OKB to develop a single-seat jet fighter to be equipped with two German BMW 003 engines. Intended to destroy bombers, the aircraft was to be equipped with a single 57-millimeter (2.2 in) or 37-millimeter (1.5 in) gun, plus two 23-millimeter (0.9 in) guns. A more detailed directive was issued on 9 April setting out requirements that the aircraft should have a maximum speed of 900 kilometers per hour (559 mph) at sea level and a speed of 910 km/h (565 mph) at an altitude of 5,000 meters (16,400 ft). It should be able to climb to that altitude in four minutes or less and it should have a maximum range of 820 kilometers (510 mi). Three prototypes were ordered to be ready for flight tests by 15 March 1946.
The OKB chose a "pod-and-boom" layout for their new fighter, the I-300 (also called the izdeliye F (model or product F) by the OKB) because it offered the advantages of improved landing performance and better visibility from the cockpit when landing but it had some drawbacks, such as the unfamiliar tricycle arrangement of the landing gear, protecting the rear fuselage from the jet exhaust, and where to place the aircraft's armament. The all-metal aircraft had unswept, mid-mounted wings with two prominent air intakes in the nose. Its two-spar wings were fitted with slotted flaps and Frise ailerons. Its powerplant comprised two RD-20 turbojets, which were Soviet-manufactured versions of the BMW 003. The two engines were located behind the cockpit in the lower fuselage, with the exhaust exiting under the tail unit. A steel laminate heatshield was installed on the bottom of the rear fuselage to protect it from the exhaust gasses. There were four bag-type fuel tanks in the fuselage and three in each wing, providing a total internal fuel capacity of 1,625 liters (429 US gallons). The cockpit was not pressurized. The planned armament consisted of a 57 mm NL-57 cannon mounted in the centerline engine intake bulkhead and two 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 autocannon mounted on the lower lip of the air intakes. The N-57/OKB-16-57 gun was provided with 28 rounds and the two NS-23 cannons had 80 rounds each.
Construction of the three prototypes began in late 1945 and the first prototype began manufacturer's testing on 30 December. The ground testing revealed that the engine exhaust caused a low-pressure area under the rear fuselage which caused the fighter to tilt tail-down during engine tests. The rigidly mounted heatshield caused the underside of the rear fuselage to deform because the steel and the duralumin skin of the fuselage had different expansion ratios when heated. The rear fuselage and the heatshield were both redesigned to eliminate these problems. On 23 March the prototype was trucked to the Flight Research Institute (LII)'s airfield at Ramenskoye to begin preparations for flight testing.
According to aviation historian Bill Gunston, on 24 April 1946 representatives from Mikoyan-Gurevich and the Yakovlev OKB tossed a coin to determine which aircraft would be the first Soviet jet to fly. (MiG had brought the I-300, and Yakovlev the Yak-(3)-15.) MiG won and the I-300's first flight lasted six minutes. These early flights revealed problems with the stability of the aircraft and vibration problems with the new articulated heatshield. It was stiffened before the twelfth flight, but that only partially cured the problem. The first aircraft crashed, killing the pilot. During a demonstration in front of high-ranking officials on July 11, the attachment lugs of the wing leading edge fairings failed and they hit the horizontal stabilizers. The remaining two prototypes began flight testing the following month, but preparations for the 7 November parade commemorating the October Revolution delayed the start of the State acceptance trials until 17 December. Meanwhile, the horizontal stabilizer of the second prototype disintegrated during flight, but the pilot was able to land the aircraft safely. Another such incident happened to the third prototype in February 1947 and forced the tail to be reinforced.
The aircraft was given the service designation of MiG-9 (internal OKB designations of I-301 and izdeliye FS) and a small batch of ten aircraft, equipped with original German engines, was ordered during 1946 from Factory No. 1 in Kazan before flight testing was completed. They were intended to be used in the parade, but bad weather forced the cancellation of their flypast. Two of them were assigned to participate in the state acceptance trials while others were used as testbeds for various programs. The trials were concluded in June and the MiG-9 generally met the performance goals set by the Council of People's Commissars. The test pilots found the fighter easy and simple to fly. Defects noted during testing were that the engines flamed out when firing the cannon at high altitudes due to gun gas ingestion, no ejection seat was fitted, nor were air brakes or a fire suppression system. The fuel tanks were not self-sealing and no armor was provided for the pilot. Despite these drawbacks, the MiG-9 was ordered into production at Factory No. 1 before the acceptance tests were completed as the Soviet leadership believed that its shortcomings could be rectified during production. A batch of 50 aircraft, 40 single-seat fighters and 10 two-seat trainers, were ordered in late 1946 to participate in the 1947 May Day parade. In recognition of their accomplishment Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich were awarded the Stalin Prize in 1947.
The two-seat trainer had the internal OKB designations of I-301T and izdeliye FT and the first prototype was converted from one of the "parade" aircraft during 1946. Its fuel capacity had to be reduced by one third to make room for the second tandem cockpit. Dual controls were fitted along with an intercom to allow the instructor and student to communicate in the air. Each man had an ejection seat designed after that used by the Germans in their Heinkel He 162 fighter. This aircraft was delivered on 17 January 1947, although flight testing was not completed until 5 April. The ejection seats were not tested in the air, but they required extensive testing on the ground to ensure the proper operation of the seat. State acceptance trials were not completed until 2 June and the aircraft was rejected because of the poor visibility from the rear cockpit. A second aircraft was completed on 15 July and the visibility from the rear cockpit was improved by replacing the original bulletproof windscreen with a larger glass plate, reshaping the canopy's side panels, and removing a partition between the cockpits. This aircraft was fitted with air brakes in the wings and two 260-litre (57 imp gal; 69 US gal) drop tanks hung under its wingtips. It passed its state acceptance trials later in 1947 and was recommended for production with the service designation of UTI MiG-9. The ejection seats were extensively tested during 1948 and approved for use, but by this time the aircraft was deemed obsolete and there was no point in building a training version.
The order for 50 aircraft placed in 1946 was modified to 48 single seaters and one aircraft for the OKB itself, all lacking armament. They were manufactured in March–April 1947 with the standard armament of one 37 mm Nudelman N-37 autocannon, with 40 rounds, and two 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 guns, but the production line shut down afterward to incorporate some of the desired changes. These included reinforcement and enlargement of the vertical tail to improve lateral stability; air brakes were added on the wings and the fuel system was improved. The underside of the rear fuselage was recontoured to smooth the air flow of the engine exhaust and air suction inside the fuselage was eliminated. Production restarted and a total of 243 single seaters were completed during the remainder of the year. 250 fighters and 60 trainers were scheduled to be built in 1948, but production was disrupted by preparations to begin manufacture of the vastly superior MiG-15 later that year. Only 302 fighters were delivered that year before production ceased.
The fourth and fifth aircraft of the parade batch were used in flight tests to eliminate the engine flameout problem from late 1947 through early 1948. They were fitted with a prominent rectangular hollow vane on the barrel of the N-37 cannon that was nicknamed the "butterfly" (bahbochka). This allowed all three cannon to be fired simultaneously at altitudes up to 10,100 meters (33,100 ft), but the fin disintegrated after only 813 shots, which could be very dangerous if the debris from the fin was ingested by the engines. An additional problem was that the fin hampered the directional stability of the aircraft and caused it to yaw after 3–5 shots. Another attempt to fix the problem was made in the I-302 (izdeliye FP), a modification of a production aircraft, that moved the N-37 to the port side of the aircraft, but this was apparently not successful either. Other attempts to ameliorate the problem included fitting a muzzle brake on the N-37 as well as extending its barrel, but nothing worked.
### Alternative engines
The I-305 (izdeliye FT) was a MiG-9 airframe with a single Lyulka TR-1 turbojet of 1,500 kgf (15 kN; 3,300 lbf) that replaced the pair of RD-20 turbojets. The armament was rearranged with the 23 mm cannon moved to each side of the fuselage, even with the N-37 gun in the centerline bulkhead; the latter's ammunition supply was increased to 45 rounds. The aircraft was intended to have a pressurized cockpit and its overall weight was reduced to 4,500 kilograms (9,900 lb). The engine, however, was not ready for testing and the aircraft's development was cancelled after the prototype MiG-15 began flight testing in early 1948.
In mid-1946, the Council of Ministers ordered the development of a MiG-9 with afterburning versions of the RD-20, based on the BMW 003S engine. These engines had a maximum power of 1,000–1,050 kgf (9.8–10.3 kN; 2,200–2,300 lbf) and were intended to increase the aircraft's speed to 920 km/h (570 mph) at sea level and 950 km/h (590 mph) at 5,000 meters (16,000 ft). The OKB was directed to build two prototypes, with a 45-millimeter (1.8 in) gun replacing the N-37, that would begin flight tests in April 1947. The OKB added 12-millimeter (0.47 in) armor plates fore and aft to protect the pilot and he was provided with a bulletproof windscreen, but no other changes were made to the aircraft. The I-307 (izdeliye FF) was ready for flight testing a month late and had to use German engines because the Soviet-built versions had not yet been tested. Manufacturer's flight tests were completed on 21 June and the fighter began its state acceptance trials on 2 August, after its engines were replaced, but crashed on 19 August. The second prototype was converted from the fifth aircraft of the parade batch and retained the butterfly used during its earlier gun trials. It was given the same cockpit armor and windscreen as the first prototype, but it used Soviet-built RD-20F (later RD-21) engines. It began its flight trials in December and it demonstrated a top speed of 947 km/h (588 mph) at an altitude of 3,000 meters (9,843 ft) and 928 km/h (577 mph) at 5,200 meters (17,100 ft), but no further development work was done. Some late-production aircraft received this engine.
Another prototype equipped with RD-21 engines and a pressurized cockpit was completed in June 1947. It was known internally as the I-307 (izdeliye FR) and was given the service designation of MiG-9M. The armament was rearranged in another attempt to ameliorate the gun gas ingestion problem with the N-37 being mounted on the starboard side of the fuselage and the two NS-23s on the port side, well aft so that the gun barrels did not protrude beyond the air intake. This caused the cockpit to be moved forward slightly which gave the pilot a better view when landing. The number of fuel tanks was reduced to five, but the aircraft's total capacity remained the same. It made its first flight in July, but the factory flight tests were not completed until early 1948. Despite a top speed of 965 km/h (600 mph) at 5,000 meters (16,000 ft), it failed its state acceptance tests. The reasons given were that the engines continued to flame out if they were run at low rpm at altitudes above 8,000 meters (26,000 ft), the mounts for the cannon were not fully developed and the workmanship of the pressurized cockpit was low. The real reason was that the aircraft was inferior to the MiG-15 already in flight testing.
Another re-engined version of the MiG-9 was the I-320 (izdeliye FN). It had an imported Rolls-Royce Nene I centrifugal-flow turbojet rated at 2,230 kgf (21.9 kN; 4,900 lbf) and the armament was rearranged yet again in another attempt to eliminate the gas ingestion problem. The N-37 cannon was moved to the underside of the fuselage and the NS-23 guns were moved to each side of the fuselage as in the I-305, although none of the gun barrels protruded past the lips of the air intakes. Construction began in late 1947, but it was never completed as the MiG-15 prototype used the same engine and had a higher performance.
One MiG-9 (izdeliye FK) was modified in 1949 to serve as a testbed for the KS-1 Komet air-launched anti-shipping cruise missile. A second unpressurized cockpit was built in line with the trailing edge of the wing for the guidance system operator. The aircraft was fitted with two radars, a K-1M target illumination radar in a prominent bullet-shaped fairing above the air intakes and an aft-looking radar mounted in a cigar-shaped fairing at the top of the vertical stabilizer. This latter system was intended to test the mid-course guidance system of the launching aircraft and the guidance systems of the missile. Signals from the K-1M radar were received in small bullet-shaped fairings on the leading edges of the wings. The aircraft served in this role for four years, until the missile passed its state acceptance trials in 1952–53.
## Operational history
The MiG-9 was flown in Soviet service by fighter regiments in the 1st, 7th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Air Armies. These last two were based near Kaliningrad and in East Germany respectively. In addition, the 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 303rd Aviation Division near Yaroslavl flew the aircraft in 1949.
Six divisions of MiG-9s, each with two regiments of 31 aircraft, were transferred to China in November–December 1950 for air defense and training duties. The 17th Guards Fighter Aviation Division (GIAD) defended Shenyang, the 20th Fighter Aviation Division (IAD) guarded Tangshan, and the 65th IAD protected Guangzhou. The 144th IAD defended Shanghai, the 309th guarded Gongzhuling and the 328th IAD protected Peking. These units later handed their aircraft over to the 6th, 7th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 17th Fighter Divisions of the People's Liberation Army Air Force when their training was complete. The Chinese considered sending their MiG-9s to Korea in 1951 under Soviet pressure, but reconsidered when the PLAAF commanders reported that they believed that it would be better to retrain MiG-9 pilots on MiG-15s.
## Variants
I-300: prototype, three built
MiG-9 / FS / I-301: the only production variant, equipped with RD-20 or RD-21 engines
MiG-9 / FP / I-302: one prototype with the N-37 cannon moved to the side of the fuselage
MiG-9 / FL / I-305: one prototype with Lyulka TR-1 engine, not completed
MiG-9 / FF / I-307: two prototypes with afterburning RD-20F or RD-21 engines
MiG-9 / FN / I-320: one prototype with a Rolls-Royce Nene engine, not completed
MiG-9L / FK: one aircraft modified to test the avionics for the Raduga KS-1 Komet air-launched anti-shipping cruise missile
MiG-9M / FR / I-308: one prototype with RD-21 engines
MiG-9UTI / FT / I-301T: two-seat training aircraft, only two built
## Former operators
Soviet Union
- Soviet Air Forces
People's Republic of China
- People's Liberation Army Air Force
## Surviving aircraft
- Red 01 (c/n 114010) is at the Central Air Force Museum, Monino, Russia
- White 30 is at the Chinese Aviation Museum, Datangshan, Beijing, China
## Specifications (MiG-9 / FS / I-301)
## See also
|
4,132,805 |
BitLocker
| 1,172,920,415 |
Disk encryption software for Microsoft Windows
|
[
"Cryptographic software",
"Disk encryption",
"Microsoft Windows security technology",
"Windows 10",
"Windows 11",
"Windows 7",
"Windows 8",
"Windows Server 2008",
"Windows Vista"
] |
BitLocker is a full volume encryption feature included with Microsoft Windows versions starting with Windows Vista. It is designed to protect data by providing encryption for entire volumes. By default, it uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm in cipher block chaining (CBC) or "xor–encrypt–xor (XEX)-based Tweaked codebook mode with ciphertext Stealing" (XTS) mode with a 128-bit or 256-bit key. CBC is not used over the whole disk; it is applied to each individual sector.
## History
BitLocker originated as a part of Microsoft's Next-Generation Secure Computing Base architecture in 2004 as a feature tentatively codenamed "Cornerstone" and was designed to protect information on devices, particularly if a device was lost or stolen. Another feature, titled "Code Integrity Rooting", was designed to validate the integrity of Microsoft Windows boot and system files. When used in conjunction with a compatible Trusted Platform Module (TPM), BitLocker can validate the integrity of boot and system files before decrypting a protected volume; an unsuccessful validation will prohibit access to a protected system. BitLocker was briefly called Secure Startup before Windows Vista's release to manufacturing.
BitLocker is available on:
- Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7
- Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows 8 and 8.1
- Windows Server 2008 and later
- Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions of Windows 10
- Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions of Windows 11
## Features
Initially, the graphical BitLocker interface in Windows Vista could only encrypt the operating system volume. Starting with Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008, volumes other than the operating system volume could be encrypted using the graphical tool. Still, some aspects of the BitLocker (such as turning autolocking on or off) had to be managed through a command-line tool called `manage-bde.wsf`.
The version of BitLocker included in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 Release 2 adds the ability to encrypt removable drives. On Windows XP or Windows Vista, read-only access to these drives can be achieved through a program called BitLocker To Go Reader, if FAT16, FAT32 or exFAT filesystems are used. In addition, a new command-line tool called `manage-bde` replaced the old `manage-bde.wsf`.
Starting with Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8, Microsoft has complemented BitLocker with the Microsoft Encrypted Hard Drive specification, which allows the cryptographic operations of BitLocker encryption to be offloaded to the storage device's hardware. In addition, BitLocker can now be managed through Windows PowerShell. Finally, Windows 8 introduced Windows To Go in its Enterprise edition, which BitLocker can protect.
### Device encryption
Windows Mobile 6.5, Windows RT and core editions of Windows 8.1 include device encryption, a feature-limited version of BitLocker that encrypts the whole system. Logging in with a Microsoft account with administrative privileges automatically begins the encryption process. The recovery key is stored to either the Microsoft account or Active Directory (Active Directory requires Pro editions of Windows), allowing it to be retrieved from any computer. While device encryption is offered on all editions of Windows 8.1, unlike BitLocker, device encryption requires that the device meet the InstantGo (formerly Connected Standby) specifications, which requires solid-state drives, non-removable RAM (to protect against cold boot attacks) and a TPM 2.0 chip.
Starting with Windows 10 1703, the requirements for device encryption have changed, requiring a TPM 1.2 or 2.0 module with PCR 7 support, UEFI Secure Boot, and that the device meets Modern Standby requirements or HSTI validation.
In September 2019 a new update was released (KB4516071) changing the default setting for BitLocker when encrypting a self-encrypting hard drive. Now, the default is to use software encryption for newly encrypted drives. This is due to hardware encryption flaws and security concerns related to those issues.
### Encryption modes
Three authentication mechanisms can be used as building blocks to implement BitLocker encryption:
- Transparent operation mode: This mode uses the capabilities of TPM 1.2 hardware to provide for transparent user experience—the user powers up and logs into Windows as usual. The key used for disk encryption is sealed (encrypted) by the TPM chip and will only be released to the OS loader code if the early boot files appear to be unmodified. The pre-OS components of BitLocker achieve this by implementing a Static Root of Trust Measurement—a methodology specified by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG). This mode is vulnerable to a cold boot attack, as it allows a powered-down machine to be booted by an attacker. It is also vulnerable to a sniffing attack, as the volume encryption key is transferred in plain text from the TPM to the CPU during a successful boot.
- User authentication mode: This mode requires that the user provide some authentication to the pre-boot environment in the form of a pre-boot PIN or password.
- USB Key Mode: The user must insert a USB device that contains a startup key into the computer to be able to boot the protected OS. Note that this mode requires that the BIOS on the protected machine supports the reading of USB devices in the pre-OS environment. BitLocker does not support smart cards for pre-boot authentication.
The following combinations of the above authentication mechanisms are supported, all with an optional escrow recovery key:
- TPM only
- TPM + PIN
- TPM + PIN + USB Key
- TPM + USB Key
- USB Key
- Password only
## Operation
BitLocker is a logical volume encryption system. (A volume spans part of a hard disk drive, the whole drive or more than one drive.) When enabled, TPM and BitLocker can ensure the integrity of the trusted boot path (e.g. BIOS and boot sector), in order to prevent most offline physical attacks and boot sector malware.
In order for BitLocker to encrypt the volume holding the operating system, at least two NTFS-formatted volumes are required: one for the operating system (usually C:) and another with a minimum size of 100 MB, which remains unencrypted and boots the operating system. (In case of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, however, the volume's minimum size is 1.5 GB and must have a drive letter.) Unlike previous versions of Windows, Vista's "diskpart" command-line tool includes the ability to shrink the size of an NTFS volume so that this volume may be created from already allocated space. A tool called the BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool is also available from Microsoft that allows an existing volume on Windows Vista to be shrunk to make room for a new boot volume and for the necessary bootstrapping files to be transferred to it.
Once an alternate boot partition has been created, the TPM module needs to be initialized (assuming that this feature is being used), after which the required disk-encryption key protection mechanisms such as TPM, PIN or USB key are configured. The volume is then encrypted as a background task, something that may take a considerable amount of time with a large disk as every logical sector is read, encrypted and rewritten back to disk. The keys are only protected after the whole volume has been encrypted when the volume is considered secure. BitLocker uses a low-level device driver to encrypt and decrypt all file operations, making interaction with the encrypted volume transparent to applications running on the platform.
Encrypting File System (EFS) may be used in conjunction with BitLocker to provide protection once the operating system is running. Protection of the files from processes and users within the operating system can only be performed using encryption software that operates within Windows, such as EFS. BitLocker and EFS, therefore, offer protection against different classes of attacks.
In Active Directory environments, BitLocker supports optional key escrow to Active Directory, although a schema update may be required for this to work (i.e. if the Active Directory Services are hosted on a Windows version previous to Windows Server 2008).
BitLocker and other full disk encryption systems can be attacked by a rogue boot manager. Once the malicious bootloader captures the secret, it can decrypt the Volume Master Key (VMK), which would then allow access to decrypt or modify any information on an encrypted hard disk. By configuring a TPM to protect the trusted boot pathway, including the BIOS and boot sector, BitLocker can mitigate this threat. (Note that some non-malicious changes to the boot path may cause a Platform Configuration Register check to fail, and thereby generate a false warning.)
## Security concerns
### TPM alone is not enough
The "Transparent operation mode" and "User authentication mode" of BitLocker use TPM hardware to detect whether there are unauthorized changes to the pre-boot environment, including the BIOS and MBR. If any unauthorized changes are detected, BitLocker requests a recovery key on a USB device. This cryptographic secret is used to decrypt the Volume Master Key (VMK) and allow the bootup process to continue. However, TPM alone is not enough:
- In February 2008, a group of security researchers published details of a so-called "cold boot attack" that allows full disk encryption systems such as BitLocker to be compromised by booting the machine from removable media, such as a USB drive, into another operating system, then dumping the contents of pre-boot memory. The attack relies on the fact that DRAM retains information for up to several minutes (or even longer, if cooled) after the power has been removed. The Bress/Menz device, described in US Patent 9,514,789, can accomplish this type of attack. Similar full disk encryption mechanisms of other vendors and other operating systems, including Linux and Mac OS X, are vulnerable to the same attack. The authors recommend that computers be powered down when not in physical control of the owner (rather than be left in a sleep mode) and that the encryption software be configured to require a password to boot the machine.
- On 10 November 2015, Microsoft released a security update to mitigate a security vulnerability in BitLocker that allowed authentication to be bypassed by employing a malicious Kerberos key distribution center, if the attacker had physical access to the machine, the machine was part of a domain and had no PIN or USB flash drive protection.
- BitLocker still does not properly support TPM 2.0 security features which, as a result, can lead to a complete bypass of privacy protection when keys are transmitted over Serial Peripheral Interface in a motherboard.
All these attacks require physical access to the system and are thwarted by a secondary protector such as a USB flash drive or PIN code.
### Upholding Kerckhoffs's principle
Although the AES encryption algorithm used in BitLocker is in the public domain, its implementation in BitLocker, as well as other components of the software, are proprietary; however, the code is available for scrutiny by Microsoft partners and enterprises, subject to a non-disclosure agreement.
According to Microsoft sources, BitLocker does not contain an intentionally built-in backdoor, so there is no Microsoft-provided way for law enforcement to have guaranteed access to the data on a user's drive. In 2006, the UK Home Office expressed concern over the lack of a backdoor and tried entering into talks with Microsoft to get one introduced. Microsoft developer and cryptographer Niels Ferguson denied the backdoor request and said, "over my dead body". Microsoft engineers have said that United States Federal Bureau of Investigation agents also put pressure on them in numerous meetings to add a backdoor, although no formal, written request was ever made; Microsoft engineers eventually suggested that agents should look for the hard copy of the encryption key that the BitLocker program suggests that its users make.
Niels Ferguson's position that "back doors are simply not acceptable" is in accordance with Kerckhoffs's principle. Stated by Netherlands-born cryptographer Auguste Kerckhoffs in the 19th century, the principle holds that a cryptosystem should be secure, even if everything about the system, except the encryption key, is public knowledge.
### Other concerns
Starting with Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, Microsoft removed the Elephant Diffuser from the BitLocker scheme for no declared reason. Dan Rosendorf's research shows that removing the Elephant Diffuser had an "undeniably negative impact" on the security of BitLocker encryption against a targeted attack. Microsoft later cited performance concerns, and noncompliance with the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), to justify the diffuser's removal. Starting with Windows 10 version 1511, however, Microsoft added a new FIPS-compliant XTS-AES encryption algorithm to BitLocker. Starting with Windows 10 version 1803, Microsoft added a new feature called "Kernel Direct Memory access (DMA) Protection" to BitLocker, to protect against DMA attacks via Thunderbolt 3 ports.
In October 2017, it was reported that a flaw enabled private keys to be inferred from public keys, which could allow an attacker to bypass BitLocker encryption when an affected TPM chip is used. The flaw is the Return of Coppersmith's Attack or ROCA vulnerability which is in a code library developed by Infineon and had been in widespread use in security products such as smartcards and TPMs. Microsoft released an updated version of the firmware for Infineon TPM chips that fixes the flaw via Windows Update.
## See also
- Features new to Windows Vista
- List of Microsoft Windows components
- Windows Vista I/O technologies
- Next-Generation Secure Computing Base
- FileVault
|
5,118,931 |
Tibbers Castle
| 1,143,081,331 |
Castle in Scotland
|
[
"Castles in Dumfries and Galloway",
"Motte-and-bailey castles",
"Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Dumfries and Galloway"
] |
Tibbers Castle is a motte-and-bailey castle overlooking a ford across the River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. To the east is the village of Carronbridge and to the north west is a 16th-century country house, Drumlanrig Castle.
Possibly built in the 12th or 13th century, Tibbers was first documented in 1298 at which point the timber castle was replaced by a stone castle. It was the administrative centre of the barony of Tibbers until the second half of the 14th century when it shifted to nearby Morton. During the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the early 14th century the castle was captured by first the Scots under Robert the Bruce and then the English, before returning to Scottish control in 1313.
The castle descended through the Earls of Moray and subsequently the Earls of March before coming under the control of the Scottish Crown. A 'toun' was established near the castle. While it is unclear at what point Tibbers Castle fell out of use, by the 18th century the site was used for agriculture. Archaeological investigations took place in 1864, 1912, and 2013–2014.
## History
The origin of Tibbers Castle is undocumented, and it may have been founded in the 12th or 13th century as a timber castle. It was first recorded in 1298 when Sir Richard Siward, either built the stone enclosure castle or enhanced one which had already been added to the timber structure. King Edward I of England visited the castle the same year. Siward was the Sheriff of Dumfries when the area was under the control of the English and documentation from this period gives some evidence for activity at the castle. In 1302, £100 was spent on the structured while it was manned by a 23-strong garrison.
The death of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286 led to a succession crisis resulting in English rule of Scotland under Edward I. Robert the Bruce's family was one of the claimants and in 1306 he was crowned king, leading to war with England. The first phase of Bruce's campaign in 1306 was to capture the English-held castles of Ayr, Dalswinton, Inverkip and Tibbers. Control was given to John de Seton until the English recaptured the castle from the Scots, hanging the defenders, and a larger garrison, this time numbering 54, was installed. In 1313 the Scots regained control of the region. From there Tibbers Castle remained in Scottish hands, and was possessed by Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray. He was succeeded by Thomas Randolph, 2nd Earl of Moray and John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray. When John died at the battle of Neville's Cross in 1346 the earldom along with Tibbers Castle was given to Patrick, Earl of March. His son inherited in 1369 and acquired the barony of Morton which probably became the administrative centre for the barony of Tibbers. The estates descended through the Dunbar family until 1435 when their lands were confiscated by the Scottish Crown. In 1450 or 1451, King James II of Scotland subsequently gave Tibbers to George Crichton, Lord High Admiral of Scotland and later the 1st Earl of Caithness. When he died in 1454 the property again came under royal control.
A 'toun' or township at Tibbers was mentioned in 1451, and the presence of the castle did not prevent the town from being attacked by Sir Alexander Stewart of Garlies in 1547. It is unclear when Tibbers Castle fell out of use, but in the 18th century, the ridge on which the castle sits was used to grow crops. Part of the structure was demolished to reuse materials such as lime. The "Mote de Tibbris" is mentioned in the Registrum Magni Sigilli in 1489 and 1541.
The interpretation of Tibbers has changed over time, and in the 18th century it was thought to be a Roman fort though it was later understood to be a medieval castle. The name of the castle led to the suggestion that it derived from Tiberius Caesar, however 'Tibbers' comes from the Gaelic word 'Toibar' meaning a well. The earliest recorded excavation at Tibbers Castle took place in 1864, which recovered two coins from the reign of Edward II of England (1307–1327) and a dagger from the early 15th century. The site was surveyed in 1912 with no further archaeological investigation until the 21st century. It was designated as a scheduled ancient monument in 1937. In 2013 and 2014 the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland carried out measured and geophysical (using resistivity and a gradiometer) surveys at Tibbers with funding from Historic Scotland and the Castle Studies Trust.
## Layout
Occupying a ridge on the west bank of the River Nith, the earliest phase of the castle consisted of a small bailey or enclosure. This bailey was revealed by the geophysical survey in 2014 which also indicated that it contained timber buildings.
When Richard Siward remodelled the castle c. 1298 it is likely that he added the motte with its stone enclosure castle and replaced the single small bailey with two large enclosures south of the motte. These enclosures may have housed a market as was the case at Lochmaben Castle. There are few examples in Scotland of earthwork castles being rebuilt in stone. The four-sided motte measures 44 by 27 metres (144 by 89 ft) at the summit. The enclosure castle on top is roughly rectangular, measuring 26.8 by 11.6 metres (88 by 38 ft), with a round tower at each corner. Little survives above ground of this structure, though the south-south-east tower survives best. The south side of the enclosure castle had an additional tower which tower with the south-south-east corner tower flanked the entrance. Inside, the castle had a well on the east side and a range of buildings extending along the west and north sides; these likely contained a great hall, the kitchens, and a chamber. There was a postern gate just south of the north-east tower. This phase of Tibbers is "one of the few authentic surviving remnants of English castle building in Scotland during the Plantagenet occupation."
At its greatest extent Tibbers Castle measured 330 metres (1,080 ft) by 85 metres (279 ft). The courtyard of the enclosure castle is the inner bailey. The outer and outermost baileys each cover an area of about 0.4 hectares (0.99 acres). The ramparts enclosing the site survive to a height of 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in) and are between 3.4 and 5.5 metres (11 and 18 ft) wide. Double baileys are uncommon, with examples at Windsor and Llandinam.
## See also
- List of castles in Scotland
- Morton Castle
|
197,906 |
Warning (Green Day album)
| 1,166,798,168 | null |
[
"2000 albums",
"Folk punk albums",
"Green Day albums",
"Pop rock albums by American artists",
"Power pop albums by American artists",
"Reprise Records albums"
] |
Warning is the sixth studio album by American rock band Green Day, released on October 3, 2000, by Reprise Records. Building upon its predecessor Nimrod (1997), it eschewed the band's trademark punk rock sound and incorporated acoustic elements and pop and folk styles. Lyrically, the album contains more optimistic and inspirational themes in comparison to the band's earlier releases. Warning was also Green Day's first album since Kerplunk (1991) that was not produced by Rob Cavallo, although he did have a hand in its production and was credited as executive producer.
Despite mixed criticism towards the band's stylistic change, the album received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong's songwriting. Although it peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200, Warning represented the lowest commercial slump in Green Day's career, being their first album since signing to a major label not to achieve multi-platinum status. However, the album being leaked onto Napster three weeks before its release may have been a contributing factor to its low sales. The album has nonetheless been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, and has sold over 1.2 million copies as of 2012. Worldwide it has sold 3.5 million copies.
## Background
After taking a break from touring in promotion of the band's fourth album Insomniac (1995), Green Day recorded the more experimental Nimrod (1997). The record, which delved into a wider variety of genres including punk, folk, power pop, hardcore punk, ska, and surf, featured the unprecedented acoustic hit "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". Vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong recalled that the song's stylistic departure from the group's earlier work made him anxious about the song's release: "I was scared for that song to come out...because it was such a vulnerable song, to put that song out and it was like which way will it end up going? It was really exciting and it kind of sparked more in us as songwriters to expand on that."
The band embarked on the Nimrod promotional tour, which largely featured more intimate shows with audiences of 1,500 to 3,000 people. By the end of the tour, the band noted that its audience had evolved. 924 Gilman Street, the punk club in the band's hometown that had once banned Green Day after the group signed with a major label, booked bassist Mike Dirnt's side project the Frustrators for a show. Dirnt described the experience as "a wonderful piece of closure". Punk rock music was no longer popular in the mainstream because nu metal acts such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Kid Rock were experiencing success. According to Studio 880 owner John Lucasey, the band was "definitely at a very big crossroads."
## Recording
For Warning, Green Day initially opted to work with a producer other than Rob Cavallo, who had handled the production of the band's previous three albums. The group selected Scott Litt, who had previously worked with Nirvana and R.E.M. However, the band had disagreements with Litt over the album's musical direction; vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong recalled that "It just didn't work out. He was really cool, but for that particular project, it just wasn't the right chemistry." The group subsequently brought Cavallo back in, but this time the band handled most of the production duties, with Cavallo instead serving as "executive producer". During the album's writing and early recording sessions, Armstrong repeatedly listened to Bob Dylan's 1965 record Bringing It All Back Home, which had a major influence over both Warnings musical experimentation and socially conscious lyrics.
The band began work on the album two years before entering the studio to record on April 1, 2000. During this period, the group members met five days a week to write new songs and rehearse old ones, with Tre Cool observing, "We've been practicing and writing songs and playing them and playing them and writing new songs and playing them and playing them... People think we're off in Hawaii kicking back and shit, but we're in Oakland playing our jams." The album was recorded at Studio 880 in Oakland. Cool noted of the band's work ethic in the studio, "We're not really sprinting. We're working at the same pace, but it's a pretty fast pace for recording. We're faster than every other band, pretty much. That's what I've been told." With the record, the band aimed to construct a solid list of tracks where "each song could be its own album". The group also made sure to make each song "well thought out and well placed" with regard to the album's tracklisting.
## Music and lyrics
<div class="side-box side-box-right listen noprint">
<div class="side-box-flex">
<div class="side-box-text plainlist">
<div class="haudio">
<div class="description">
The album's title track exemplifies Warning'''s "percussive acoustic" sound. It contains layered vocals and a "circling" riff which is a musical quotation from "Picture Book" by the Kinks.
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
With Warning, the band experimented with more acoustic guitars, and strove for a "not sappy acoustic... more aggressive, percussive acoustic" sound. Cool and bassist Mike Dirnt also emphasized "deeper" grooves on the record. The title track, a "densely produced blast of layered vocals [and] strummed acoustic guitars", features a "circling bass riff" similar to that of "Picture Book" by the Kinks. "Waiting", which has been categorized as a "retro-pop lament", is based on the riff from Petula Clark's 1964 song "Downtown". Its melody has also been stylistically compared to the Mamas & the Papas and Kiss. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly felt that "Misery" is "probably Billie Joe's idea of a Brecht-Weill pop operetta." It features "mariachi brass" instrumentation, as well as strings, accordions, and acoustic guitar. The song's five-minute length has been called "an epic by Green Day standards". The use of a harmonica on "Hold On" has been compared to the Beatles' "Love Me Do" and "I Should Have Known Better." "Macy's Day Parade" contains elements of folk and pop.
The album features more positive and uplifting lyrics in comparison with Green Day's earlier work. Cool noted that, "It's got the sarcasm, it's got the snottiness, but it's got a little light at the end of the tunnel." Warning also contains more explicitly political themes, as exemplified by tracks such as "Minority". This was inspired by Armstrong's fear that presidential nominee Al Gore was going to lose the 2000 U.S. presidential election and that "someone really conservative" would take office. He recalled, "We've always tried to keep an ear to the ground and keep our eyes open to what's going on...that's one reason why I was really taking my time writing songs to really [make an impact]. Instead of just writing an overly knee-jerk reaction." According to Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine, the lyrics of "Minority" serve as "a reminder of the youthful mentality of Green Day's early work". "Misery" tells various stories in its verses, all of which end unhappily. The first verse centers on a girl named Virginia who was a "lot lizard", a term for a prostitute who exchanges sex for money with truck drivers at interstate highway truck stops. "Blood, Sex and Booze" explores the subject of sadomasochism. "Church On Sunday" features lyrics in its pre-chorus that were originally written for the Nimrod demo "Black Eyeliner," which didn't see an official release until 2023.
According to some publications, such as LA Times, The Buffalo News, Sun-Sentinel, and Music Box Magazine Green Day departs from their punk rock sound with this album. Despite this, some other publications label the album as punk rock. In addition, the album has also been cited as pop-punk, power pop, folk punk, pop rock, and alternative rock.
## Release
### Commercial performance
Warning peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, remaining on the chart for 25 weeks and it sold 156,000 copies on its first week according to Billboard. On December 1, 2000, the record was certified gold by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of over 500,000 copies. In Canada, the record reached the number two position and stayed on the chart for five weeks. On August 1, 2001, the album was certified platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for shipments of over 100,000 units. Warning also reached the top ten in multiple countries outside of North America, including Australia, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The album was later certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of over 70,000 copies. As of December 20, 2012, Warning has sold 1.2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
### Critical reception
Warning received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72 based on 19 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker perceived a maturity in the album's lyrical content and called its music "as peppy as any Green Day have recorded". Charlotte Robinson of PopMatters commended Billie Joe Armstrong's lyrics and noted the band for embracing "the pop bent that has always been a part of their sound". The A.V. Club's Stephen Thompson stated "Green Day has never made a record so slick and musically mature". Los Angeles Times writer Natalie Nichols wrote that the album "reveal[s] them shaking off the transitional aspects of 1997's 'Nimrod' to craft a more coherent, less aggressive but still rebellious collection that also draws on the even older pop traditions of Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Who". "Metal" Mike Saunders of The Village Voice viewed Warning as the band's best work and compared its music to that of the Beatles' Rubber Soul (1965). In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A− rating, indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction. Anyone open to its aesthetic will enjoy more than half its tracks". Christgau noted "professionalism, craft, artistic growth" rather than maturity in Armstrong's songwriting and elaborated on his change in musical direction, stating:
> He's abandoning the first person. He's assuming fictional personas. And he's creating for himself the voice of a thinking left-liberal who 'want[s] to be the minority' and cautions against caution itself--a voice that scolds rather than whines, a nice age-appropriate shift. Crucially, his knack for simple punk tunes remains unchanged; also crucially, these do fine at moderate tempos, and one even gives off a whiff of Brecht-Weill.
By contrast, NME's Andy Capper was ambivalent towards the band's "less electric, more organic sound" and stated "Older. More Mature. 'Warning' is the sound of a band losing its way". Greg Kot of Rolling Stone wrote that Armstrong "can't muster the same excitement for his more mature themes" and stated "Who wants to listen to songs of faith, hope and social commentary from what used to be snot-core's biggest-selling band?". Adam Downer of Sputnikmusic gave it three out of five stars and commented that it "consists of instant classics like Minority and Macy's Day Parade, but it also is filled with garbage songs as well". Spin writer Jesse Berrett stated "these maturity moves buoy muzzy be-yourselfism ... Nor does everything in the stylistic grab bag fit", but concluded by complimenting Armstrong's "earnestly good-hearted" lyrics and wrote that "this album is after... evidence that even the snottiest deserve grace and the chance to age into warmth". Q gave the album three out of five stars and described it as "Hugely likeable, terribly noisy and cute, as well as being jammed with proper pop songs". Neal Weiss of Yahoo! Music called the album "crafty pop-rock" and stated "Some might wish Green Day never decided to grow up like this, but others might consider it a starting point to take the band seriously". Slant Magazine editor Sal Cinquemani perceived elements of folk and "pop sensibilities", writing that the album "displays just how well Green Day can construct pop songs".
### Retrospect
Writing in 2009 with regard to Warnings lackluster commercial performance, James Montgomery of MTV News called the record "unjustly overlooked" and applauded Armstrong's "super strong" songwriting on the album. In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Rolling Stone journalist Nick Catucci gave the album four out of five stars and wrote that the band "fully focus on the textures that have always differentiated their sturdy grooves and simple melodies". Catucci called the songs "speedy, neatly packaged reinterpretations of pop-rock history, from the Beatles to Creedence Clearwater Revival to the Ramones themselves". AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it "gleeful, unabashed fun" and complimented Green Day for "embracing their fondness for pop and making the best damn album they'd ever made". Erlewine expressed that the band displays "melodic ingenuity and imaginative arrangements" and elaborated on its musical significance, stating "Warning may not be an innovative record per se, but it's tremendously satisfying; it finds the band at a peak of songcraft and performance, doing it all without a trace of self-consciousness. It's the first great pure pop album of the new millennium". Dom Passantino of Stylus Magazine cited it as "the most influential album on the British pop landscape since 1996 (Spice, naturally)", noting it as a significant influence on "the two biggest bands in the UK at the moment, and indeed for the past few years, Busted and McFly". Passantino called Warning "a great album" and viewed that Green Day "seemed to be bored with their genre-medium, but simultaneously knowledgeable that any attempt to boundary-hop will end with them falling on their face".
## Promotion
While Green Day was nearing completion of Warning, the band announced it would be performing on the 2000 Vans Warped Tour during the summer before the album's October release. Although the group had been invited to perform on the tour before, the band was unable to do so due to scheduling conflicts. Because of Green Day's new stylistic change displayed on Warning, the band was considered an unconventional choice for the tour. Jason White, guitarist for Armstrong's side project Pinhead Gunpowder, was recruited to perform with the band to add "more power" to the group's sound; White observed that "Even I was like, 'Why are Green Day on the Warped Tour?'". Fat Mike of NOFX recalled, "They were the biggest band on the tour but it wasn't by far. Green Day weren't super popular at that time. I think they did the Warped tour because they wanted to get popular again." He also went on to call Warning "probably their worst album, I think. It's what happens, the ups and downs." However, Joel Madden of Good Charlotte, whose 2002 release The Young and the Hopeless outsold Warning, opined that "I was definitely aware that our record at the time sold more maybe than their record but I think we idolized them so much that it didn't matter. We thought Warning was one of their best records."
In January 2001, Colin Merry of the English rock band Other Garden filed a breach of copyright lawsuit against Green Day, claiming that the album's title track is a "reworked" version of his band's 1992 song "Never Got the Chance". Merry noted that despite both songs' similarity to the riff of "Picture Book" by the Kinks, the similarity between "Warning" and "Never Got the Chance" was more "striking". Green Day denied the accusations, and although Merry requested to halt all royalties from "Warning", the lawsuit was later dropped.
Green Day also co-headlined a "shared bill" with fellow Californian pop-punk band Blink-182 on the Pop Disaster Tour from April to June 2002. The two bands traded off headlining positions throughout the tour, because Blink-182 was experiencing higher record sales at the time, while Green Day had experienced mainstream success for a longer period of time. Armstrong explained Green Day's desire to perform on the tour by stating, "We really wanted to be part of an event. We figured putting the two biggest pop punk bands on the planet together was definitely going to be an event." In his book Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times and Music of Green Day, author Marc Spitz likened Blink-182 headlining a tour with Green Day to "Frank Sinatra, Jr. headlining over Frank Sinatra."
## Track listing
## Personnel
Credits for Warning'' adapted from liner notes.
### Musicians
Green Day
- Billie Joe Armstrong – vocals, guitar, harmonica, mandolin
- Mike Dirnt – bass, vocals, Farfisa on "Misery"
- Tré Cool – drums, percussion, accordion
Additional musicians
- Benmont Tench – additional musician on "Church on Sunday"
- Gary Meek – saxophone on "Jackass"
- David Campbell – string arrangements
- Mistress Simone – dominatrix
### Production
- Green Day – producers
- Rob Cavallo – executive producer
- Cheryl Jenets - production coordination
- Jack Joseph Puig – mixing
- Ken Allardyce – engineer
- Josh "Tone" Weaver – additional engineer
- Richard "Rich" Ash – additional engineer
- Tal Herzberg – G3 operator
- Kenny Butler – drum technician
- Timmy Chunks – guitar technician
- Bill Schneider – guitar and bass technician
- Allen Sides – studio consultant
- Pat Magnarella – management
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Marina Chavez, Lance Bang – photography
- Chris Bilheimer – additional photography, art direction
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
### Singles
## Certifications and sales
|
4,146,612 |
Hood event
| 1,168,528,108 |
2003 incident in Iraq involving Turkish and American troops
|
[
"2003 in Iraq",
"2003 in Turkey",
"Iraq War",
"Military history of Turkey",
"Turkey–United States relations"
] |
The Hood event (Turkish: Çuval Olayı) refers to a military incident involving Turkey and the United States shortly after the American-led invasion of Iraq. On July 4, 2003, a group of Turkish soldiers operating in Iraqi Kurdistan were captured by American troops and, with hoods covering their heads, were led away to be interrogated. Afterwards, American soldiers raided a Turkish safehouse in Sulaymaniyah and seized 15 kilograms (33 lb) of explosives in addition to sniper rifles, grenades, and maps of Kirkuk with circles drawn around positions near the local governor's building. Turkey lodged a diplomatic protest with the United States, and the Turkish soldiers were then released after spending 60 hours in American custody. Turkey has been involved in a long-running conflict with the Kurds, and one Iraqi-Kurdish intelligence official claimed that the Turkish soldiers had been linked to a plot to assassinate the newly elected governor of Kirkuk in order to destabilize the region, opening the way for the Turkish military to intervene.
Neither side has issued a formal apology, though a U.S.–Turkish investigative commission later issued a joint statement of regret. Additionally, Donald Rumsfeld expressed sorrow over the incident in a letter to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Hood event severely damaged Turkey–United States relations; both countries are strategic allies under NATO. While the incident received comparatively little coverage in the United States, it was a major event in Turkey. It became known as the "Hood event" (referring to the manner in which the Turkish soldiers were taken away) in Turkey, and many Turkish citizens saw it as a deliberate insult.
## Background
Turkey had long viewed northern Iraq, with its large mountain ranges, as a possible national security threat. During the 1980s and 1990s, Turkey fought against PKK, operating mainly in southeastern Turkey. More than 30,000 people were killed and millions more were displaced. During the war, the PKK established bases in Iraq and Syria.
Turkish fears intensified after Iraqi Kurdistan gained autonomy after the 1991 Gulf War. In 1996, after a civil war had broken out there, Turkey deployed troops there to monitor a ceasefire between the two main Kurdish factions. In 1998, Turkey was able to use military threats to force neighboring Syria to expel PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. However, because of the United States, it was never able to move decisively against the PKK in northern Iraq.
Under American protection, Iraqi Kurdistan had evolved into a semi-autonomous region. U.S. pressure helped lead to a peace deal in 1999 between the major Iraqi Kurdish factions, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq. While both parties officially swore off independence, the Turkish government remained sufficiently concerned, and continued to keep troops in northern Iraq.
## Turkey and the U.S. invasion of Iraq
By 2003, many Turks had come to see American foreign policy in the region as a threat. The election in 2002 of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) gave hopes that relations could be improved, especially given AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan's positive comments regarding the US-Turkish cooperation in the Middle East, specifically concerning the so-called "Greater Middle East Project". Shortly after the election of the AKP tensions with America increased however, due to the Parliament's decision not to send any Turkish troops to Iraq further eroded US-Turkish relations. 70% of the parliament members were Justice and Development Party members. Although more than half of AKP members voted to authorize the troop deployment, a significant minority of the AKP along with almost all of the main opposition CHP voted against it. It was considered Erdogan's first significant political defeat as part of the AKP given his vocal support for the authorization before the vote.
On April 24, 2003, only two weeks after the fall of Baghdad, a dozen Turkish special forces were arrested in Da Quq (a tribal village 45 minutes north of Kirkuk). According to Time, a weekly news magazine, they were wearing civilian clothes and intended to infiltrate Iraq, lagging behind a humanitarian convoy, in order to destabilize the region to a level where Turkey could reasonably send its own peacekeeping force. However, they were intercepted by American forces, who claimed they had received prior knowledge of the group.
Colonel Bill Mayville, a U.S. brigade commander who was responsible for the region where this took place, accused the Turks of having links to the Iraqi Turkoman Front (ITF), an ethnic-Turkish militia. However, US forces made no effort to incarcerate the Turks, merely detaining them for a day, with food, security and comfort, and then escorting them back to the Iraqi-Turkish border. In the following months, Turkey continued its policy of sending small groups of soldiers into Iraqi Kurdistan, ostensibly to search for PKK bases. According to The Economist, Turkey also began covertly arming the ITF as a lever against the PKK.
## U.S. raid on a Turkish safehouse in Sulaymaniyah
On July 4, 2003, soldiers from the United States Army's 173d Airborne Brigade raided a safehouse in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah. Seemingly acting on an intelligence tip that there were individuals in the safehouse plotting to assassinate the Iraqi-Kurdish governor of the province of Kirkuk. The safehouse instead housed members of the Iraq's Turkoman Front and Turkish Special Forces soldiers, including a colonel and two majors, whom they promptly arrested. Turkish sources refer to eleven soldiers commanded by a major. An unknown number of other individuals were also detained during the raid, although thirteen were later released. Apart from these, and the Turkish soldiers who were to be released after intense diplomatic activity, a British citizen named Michael Todd, who was in the area looking for his girlfriend and their 19-month-old daughter, was also taken into custody.
## Bilateral negotiations
The Turkish military immediately threatened retaliatory measures, including closing Turkish airspace to US military flights, stopping the use of the southern Incirlik Air Base and sending more troops into northern Iraq. A delegation of Turkish military and diplomatic officials immediately left for Sulaymaniyah on Saturday to discuss the matter with the Americans, but according to the Turks most of the American commanders were off celebrating Independence Day. Following direct protests by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to US Vice President Dick Cheney, as well as by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül to US Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Turkish soldiers were released after sixty hours in captivity.
## Aftermath and media coverage
The Hood event made a much greater impact in Turkey than in the West, which by and large agreed with the U.S. government's interpretation. While the story received comparatively little coverage outside of the Middle East, Turkish newspapers loudly condemned the raid, referring to U.S. forces with nicknames such as "Rambos" and "Ugly Americans". On the last day of the incident, Hilmi Özkök, Chief of the General Staff (Turkey), declared that the Hood event had caused a "crisis of confidence" between the US and Turkey.
The event periodically gets front coverage in the Turkish media, such as in the mass-circulation daily Hürriyet, in keeping with new declarations made to the press by the involved parties and new details divulged. Most recently, the key witness in the Ergenekon investigation, Tuncay Güney, alleged that the event was the U.S. response to the discovery of documents about the clandestine Ergenekon network's Iraq connection in the archives of Tariq Aziz.
The Hood event was the inspiration for the 2006 Turkish action film Valley of the Wolves Iraq. The film opens with the depiction of an almost identical incident, following afterwards a fictional story in which the Turkish protagonist seeks retaliation against the American commander responsible for the incident.
## Claims
Various municipal and government buildings were set on fire in Mosul and Kirkuk by Kurdish forces on 10 and 11 April 2003. A Turkish daily newspaper reported that the Turkish Special Forces soldiers, who were captured by US Army and Peshmerga, had already filmed the deed records and sent the digital records to Turkey before the historical records were terminated. The newspaper also reported that the US party was, in fact, in search of those records, but they were unable to find them. However, Turkish Ministry of Public Works declared that the ministry archives holds historical deed records from the Ottoman era and there were no operations involved.
Retired Department of Intelligence Chief of General Staff of the Republic of Turkey, Korg. İsmail Hakki Pekin, claims in his book named "Dikkat Cemaat Çıkabilir KOZMİK ODA" that, after the secret archives about Turkmens captured during the raid, local Turkmen leaders were assassinated or died in suspicious traffic accidents.
## See also
- Human rights in post-invasion Iraq
|
17,401,368 |
Torp station
| 1,141,283,261 |
Railway station in Sandefjord, Norway
|
[
"1881 establishments in Norway",
"Airport railway stations in Norway",
"Railway stations closed in 1978",
"Railway stations in Vestfold og Telemark",
"Railway stations on the Vestfold Line",
"Railway stations opened in 1881",
"Railway stations opened in 2008",
"Sandefjord Airport, Torp"
] |
Torp Station (Norwegian: Torp stasjon), also known as Sandefjord Airport Station (Sandefjord Lufthavn stasjon), is on the Vestfold Line in Sandefjord, Norway. It is served with regional trains operated by Vy. Located close to Sandefjord Airport, Torp, the station is served by a free four-minute shuttle bus service from the station to the airport. The trains operate northwards via towns in Vestfold to Drammen and Oslo and onwards via Oslo Airport, Gardermoen to towns in Hedmark and Oppland. Southwards, the trains serve Sandefjord, Larvik and Grenland.
The station opened as Raastad, later Råstad, in 1881. It had a single building, designed by Balthazar Lange. It was upgraded with a passing loop in 1910, but this was removed in 1971, and the station was closed in 1978. In 2008, the station reopened to serve the airport. The station is owned by the Norwegian National Rail Administration.
## Service
Torp Station's primary function is to serve as an airport rail link for Sandefjord Airport. The station is served by regional trains that operate northwards via towns such as Tønsberg, Holmestrand and Drammen to Oslo Central Station and onwards via Oslo Airport to Hamar and Lillehammer, calling at several other smaller stations. Southwards, the trains serve Sandefjord, Larvik, Porsgrunn and Skien. Travel time to Oslo is 1 hour and 48 minutes, and to Oslo Airport it is 2 hours 23 minutes.
The station is equipped with a shed, but no other amenities, and also lacks a ticket machine. The platform (but not necessarily the train) is wheelchair accessible. There are about ten parking spaces at the station. A shuttle bus corresponds to all trains during the opening hours of the airport, and a bus trip takes four minutes to the airport terminal. The shuttle bus leaves the airport ten minutes before each train's scheduled departure. The bus is operated by NSB, and is included in the price of the train ticket. There are 42 bus departures each day. The train supplements a coach service, Torp-Ekspressen operated by Unibuss Ekspress, to Oslo, and a local bus service to Sandefjord, operated by Tide Buss for Vestfold Kollektivtrafikk.
## History
The station was originally named Raastad, and opened as part of the Vestfold Line on 7 December 1881. It was located in the former municipality of Sandar, that was also served by Jåstad Station. Raastad was equipped with a wooden station building designed by Balthazar Lange, and cargo expedition. There was initially only one track, but on 1 July 1910, a passing loop was installed at the station, allowing trains to pass. The station was renamed Råstad in April 1921. In 1969–70 the passing loop was extended, but already on 15 September 1971 it was disabled, and subsequently removed, with the automation of the signaling. The station became unmanned on 1 October 1971 and was closed on 28 May 1978. The following day, the new "InterCity" services started on the Vestfold Line.
Sandefjord Airport experienced a rapid growth as an airport for low-cost carriers serving Eastern Norway since the late 1990s. Along with the success of the Airport Express Train that connects Oslo with Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the decision to provide a shuttle service to the competing Moss Airport, Rygge from Rygge Station, local politicians took initiative to open a dedicated stop for the airport. During the planning of high-speed upgrade of the line, plans called to move the line to create a station integrated in the airport terminal, as had been done with Oslo Airport Station and Trondheim Airport Station. However, as the construction of a new Vestfold Line was put on hold, an intermediate solution was found to reopen Råstad Station, and offer a shuttle bus to the airport. On 16 May 2007, Vestfold County Municipality announced that they would forward the investment costs of for the new station, with a payback from the National Rail Administration by 2012. The latter would build, own and operate the station. The station opened on 21 January 2008, and the new platform is located on the east side of the tracks. The old station building, location in the west side, has been converted into a museum. During the first year, 80,000 passengers used the station, sufficient to make the NOK 4.5 million used by NSB on the shuttle bus profitable.
|
31,722,983 |
Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things
| 1,143,092,177 | null |
[
"2011 American television episodes",
"Game of Thrones (season 1) episodes"
] |
"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" is the fourth episode of the first season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, which first aired on May 8, 2011. It was written by Bryan Cogman and directed by Brian Kirk. In this episode Lord Eddard Stark, the new Hand of the King, investigates the sudden death of his predecessor. Jon Snow, Eddard's bastard son, defends a new recruit who has just joined the rangers at "the Wall". Exiled prince Viserys becomes increasingly frustrated as the Dothraki horde he needs to invade Westeros and win back his crown continues to linger at Vaes Dothrak. The episode ends with Eddard's wife Catelyn arresting Tyrion Lannister on suspicion of attempting to murder her son Bran.
The title comes from the original book, spoken by Tyrion after he provides Bran Stark with a saddle design that will allow him to ride despite his paraplegia: "I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things."
Critical reaction to the episode was mostly positive, with critics citing the Night's Watch scenes at the Wall as highlights, as well as Michelle Fairley's performance as Catelyn Stark in the final scene of the episode with Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 2.5 million in its initial broadcast.
## Plot
### In King's Landing
Ned quietly inquires into the death of Jon Arryn, his mentor and predecessor as Hand of the King. He questions Grand Maester Pycelle, who tended to Arryn in his final days, and learns Arryn's last words were "the seed is strong", and that he was researching the houses of the Seven Kingdoms.
Helped by Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish and his web of informants, Eddard questions Gendry, a smith's apprentice whom Arryn had visited, and deduces that Gendry is a bastard of king Robert Baratheon. Ned plans to question Arryn's former squire Ser Hugh of the Vale, but Ser Hugh is killed by Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane in a jousting tournament.
### In Vaes Dothrak
Khal Drogo's khalasar arrives at the city of Vaes Dothrak. Daenerys fights back against her brother Viserys, who grows impatient for control of Drogo's army to reconquer the Seven Kingdoms. Jorah tells Daenerys that the people of the Seven Kingdoms do not care who rules them as long as they are ruled well, and Daenerys agrees that Viserys would be a poor conqueror.
### At the Wall
The Night's Watch receives Samwell Tarly, an obese, fearful, and clumsy recruit who becomes an easy target for Ser Alliser. Sam explains to Jon that his father forced him to join and forsake his inheritance because he considered Sam unworthy. Jon defends Sam from their fellow recruits, and Thorne warns them to toughen up if they are to survive.
### At Winterfell
On his way to King's Landing, Tyrion receives a cold welcome at Winterfell from Robb Stark, acting Lord of the castle in his father's absence. Despite Robb's suspicion that the Lannisters are behind the attempts on Bran's life, Tyrion gives Bran designs for a saddle for him to ride despite his paralysis. Before leaving, Tyrion taunts Theon for the Greyjoys’ failed rebellion against King Robert, calling Theon a "hostage" to the Starks.
### At the Inn at the Crossroads
Further south, Tyrion and his retinue spend the night at the Inn at the Crossroads, where he recognizes Lady Catelyn Stark in disguise. She calls upon her father's bannermen to seize Tyrion to face trial for Bran's attempted murder.
## Production
### Writing
"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" is the first episode of the series that was not written by the show's creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The script was authored by writer Bryan Cogman, based on George R. R. Martin's original work.
Cogman worked on the Game of Thrones's pilot as a writing assistant and was contracted for the full series as script-editor and the unofficial "keeper of the mythos" for the show, entrusted with the task of writing the series bible outlining character and background information, and making sure that the world-building remained consistent. In this capacity, he was approached by Benioff and Weiss, who asked him to write a treatment for the fourth episode. Believing it was only an exercise that would be completely rewritten by another professional writer, he completed the script that ended up being episode four.
The chapters of the book covered in this episode are Bran IV (less the first few pages that were included in the previous episode), Eddard V, Jon IV, Eddard VI, Catelyn V, Sansa II, Daenerys IV (chapters 25–30 and 37). Among the scenes created for the show, there are the conversations between Theon and Tyrion, Sansa and Septa Mordane, Doreah and Viserys, Jory Cassel and Jaime, Jon and Samwell and Eddard Stark and Cersei. The character of Alliser Thorne is given some more depth by justifying his harshness towards the new recruits, and a more subdued version of Bran's dream is included.
During the bathtub scene in which Viserys recalls the old Targaryen dragons, he lists names taken from the books (Balerion, Meraxes and Vhagar) and others invented for the show. Among them a dragon called Vermithrax is mentioned, which is an homage to Vermithrax Pejorative from the 1981 film Dragonslayer. Author George R. R. Martin once ranked the film the fifth best fantasy movie of all time, and called Vermithrax "the best dragon ever put on film," and the one with "the coolest dragon name as well."
### Casting
This episode introduces the character of Samwell Tarly, a new recruit of the Night's Watch and a self-described coward. John Bradley was cast in the part, the actor's first professional appearance after graduating from the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre. The scene used in the auditions belonged to "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things," with Sam explaining to Jon how his father forced him to take the black. According to author and executive producer George R. R. Martin, Bradley delivered "a heartbreaking performance."
Australian actor Conan Stevens, whose official website lists his height as 214 cm (7' 1/4"), first appears as the gigantic knight Gregor Clegane, known as "the Mountain." Stevens had sought to join the production since HBO started developing Game of Thrones. Since the character of Gregor Clegane, the role he believed he was most fitted for, did not appear in the pilot, he auditioned for the role of Khal Drogo instead in the hopes of getting noticed by the casting team. Although that role went to Jason Momoa, Stevens was chosen for the part of Gregor.
Other recurring roles making their first appearance in the episode include Dominic Carter as commander of the City Watch Janos Slynt, Jerome Flynn as the mercenary ("sellsword") Bronn, and Joe Dempsie as the smith's apprentice Gendry. The character of Gendry was made older for the series than he appears in the books.
### Props
The book of lineages Ned receives from Pycelle was prepared by Bryan Cogman, who in addition to writing episode four also served as the show's "lore master" and authored the historical background content included in the first season's DVD and Blu-ray release. Cogman wrote two pages worth of text detailing the lineage of four noble houses. The text concerning house Umber was shown in "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things," and the Baratheon text appears in episode six, "A Golden Crown." Cogman also wrote text for the houses of Targaryen and Royce, but the corresponding scenes were removed from the final script for episode four. Cogman said that he drew on the novels and the fan-created website Wiki of Ice and Fire for reference, and invented what could not be sourced, including even some Internet fan message board names as in-jokes.
### Filming locations
The episode was shot at Belfast's studio The Paint Hall, including interior shots of King's Landing, and on location throughout Northern Ireland: The scenes taking place at the grounds of Castle Black continued to be filmed at the large exterior set built on the abandoned quarry of Magheramorne, the grounds of the ruined Shane's Castle were used as the location of the tournament, and the area known as the Sandy Brae, at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, was used for the entrance to Vaes Dothrak. Much of this episode was filmed early in the production; an Eddard and Arya scene from this episode was filmed on the very first day of shooting.
## Reception
### Ratings
"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things"'s first airing was seen by 2.5 million viewers, a slight increase from the previous episode's 2.4 million. Including the repeat, the night's viewers totalled 3.1 million, which was also in line with the previous week's ratings. In the UK, the viewership increased significantly, rising to 628,000 viewers from 510,000 the previous week.
### Critical response
"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" was received positively by critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 19 reviews of the episode and judged 100% of them to be positive with an average score of 8.7 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Nuanced characters and a gripping plot help 'Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things' set a new first-season benchmark for Game of Thrones." Emily VanDerWerff from The A.V. Club gave it an A−, and Maureen Ryan from AOL TV rated it with a 70 out of 100.
VanDerWerff stated this was his favorite episode of the show so far, "an hour that simultaneously feels more propulsive and more relaxed than the last three." He admitted that the better part of it was given to exposition, with many monologues by the characters to expose their motivations and background. In his opinion, though, it was done skillfully and efficiently. IGN's Matt Fowler wrote that it was another great, exposition-heavy episode and that the best and most natural scene happened between Viserys and Doreah in the bath.
Out of the different storylines, many critics singled out the scenes on the Wall as the best. Myles McNutt from Cultural Learnings wrote that "Jon Snow’s time at the Wall is maybe my favorite central location of those introduced early in the series, and it is in large part due to the work done in this episode,"
`and Maureen Ryan stated that "they're exceptionally well acted and written. John Bradley is a great addition as Samwell Tarly, and I continue to be very impressed with Kit Harington's quietly charismatic performance as Jon." Besides the acting and the writing, both agreed that one of the reasons the Night's Watch scenes worked for them is that it was easy to connect with the story of a group of raw recruits bonding under a hard-nosed trainer who tries to prepare them to face great danger.`
The closing scene was praised by HitFix's Alan Sepinwall, highlighting Michelle Fairley's acting as Catelyn gathers allies to arrest Tyrion.
|
28,353,395 |
2011 Daytona 500
| 1,171,219,641 |
Auto race at Daytona, United States in 2011
|
[
"2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series",
"2011 in sports in Florida",
"February 2011 sports events in the United States",
"NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway"
] |
The 2011 Daytona 500, the 53rd running of the event, was held on February 20, 2011 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Trevor Bayne, driving for Wood Brothers Racing, won the race becoming the youngest Daytona 500 winner. Carl Edwards finished second, while David Gilliland, Bobby Labonte, and Kurt Busch rounded out the Top 5. Bayne had taken the lead shortly before the final restart and maintained it to win his first Cup Series race and Wood Brothers' fifth Daytona 500.
During the race there were 16 caution periods. There were 74 lead changes among 22 different drivers. Following the race, Edwards led the Drivers' Championship with 42 points, one ahead of Gilliland and Labonte. Ford led the Manufacturers' Championship with nine points, three ahead of Toyota and five ahead of Dodge. A total of 182,000 people attended the race, while 15.6 million watched it on television.
## Report
### Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. The layout which is used for the Daytona 500 is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. Jamie McMurray was the defending race winner.
For the race, NASCAR held several test sessions on January 20–22, 2011 for teams to test the newer pavement at Daytona. Also in the sessions, the opening of the restrictor plate was reduced from the 30⁄32-inch (24 mm) plate used in tire testing to 29⁄32-inch (23 mm). NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton stated, "We'll have to get back and talk to the teams and look at the speeds from the last two days of testing. I think we have some high-water marks at 197-and-a-half [miles per hour (318 km/h)] which, depending on where they pulled up in the draft, it may be a little quick, but it's hard to say."
Every test session began in the morning at 09:00 local time (UTC-05:00), was paused for lunch from 12:00 – 13:00 local time (UTC-05:00), and concluded in the evening at 17:00 local time (UTC-05:00). During the first session on the morning of January 20, 2011, thirty-three drivers participated, and Clint Bowyer was quickest with a speed of 184.216 mph (296.467 km/h) while David Reutimann had the highest speed of 195.780 mph (315.077 km/h) during the second session in the afternoon. The third test session, scheduled for the morning of January 21, was cancelled because of wet weather. During the fourth session, held during the afternoon, 34 drivers participated with Denny Hamlin being quickest with a speed of 196.868 mph (316.828 km/h). Several drivers decided to leave after the session, which included Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, and Bowyer. During the fifth session, held on the morning of January 22, 29 drivers participated, and Joey Logano was quickest with a speed of 197.516 mph (317.871 km/h). Brad Keselowski was quickest with a speed of 198.605 mph (319.624 km/h) in the final session.
After the two-car draft style dominated the 2011 Budweiser Shootout, NASCAR reduced the front grille opening to 50 square inches (320 cm<sup>2</sup>) and the overflow valve for the cooling system would be supplied by NASCAR and set at 33 pounds per square inch (230 kPa; 2.3 bar). Also, high speeds in the race caused NASCAR to reduce the size of the restrictor plate by 1⁄64 inch (0.40 mm), with the expectations of cutting 10 horsepower from the engines.
This race also marked the tenth anniversary of the death of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt in 2001. As such, several tributes took place during the race. All of the cars fielded by Earnhardt's former team, Richard Childress Racing, and the team he started, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, carried No. 3 decals. During the race itself, NASCAR held a "silent lap" on Lap 3, a practice that was first used in memory of Earnhardt during the 2001 season.
## Entry List
- \(W\) denotes past 500 winner.
- \(R\) denotes rookie driver.
- \(i\) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
### Practice and qualifying
Seven practice sessions were held before the race. The first two on February 12 ran 120 minutes and 105 minutes each. The next two on February 16 were for shortened 90 minutes and 55 minutes long after rain delays. Two days later, two more practice sessions were scheduled, which ran 60 and 85 minutes long. The final practice session was held on February 19. Mark Martin was quickest with a time of 48.681 seconds in the first session, less than one-tenth of a second faster than Jeff Gordon. Paul Menard was just off Gordon's pace, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, and Bill Elliott. Johnson was seventh, still within a second of Martin's time. In the second practice session, Martin remained fastest with a time of 48.567 seconds, less than one-tenth of a second quicker than second-placed Johnson. Burton took third place, ahead of Trevor Bayne, Menard and Gordon. Also in the second practice session, McMurray collided into the wall after his tire failed, and had to move to his back-up car.
Forty-nine cars were entered for qualifying, but only 43 raced per NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Unlike most races during the season, the qualifying session only determined the first two positions, while the rest of the drivers qualified by the 2011 Gatorade Duels. Earnhardt clinched his 10th pole position during his career, with a time of 48.364 seconds. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Jeff Gordon. Once the qualifying session completed, Earnhardt commented, "The main thing [the pole] does for me is take the pressure off Thursday's race. I can go out and have fun and not worry about where I finish or getting a good starting spot for the Daytona 500."
Kyle Busch was quickest in the rain-delayed third practice with 44.943 seconds, followed by Greg Biffle, Earnhardt, Johnson, and Juan Pablo Montoya. Earnhardt and Truex collided and hit the wall, both needing to use their back-up cars which meant Earnhardt forfeited pole position. Kasey Kahne led fourth practice with 44.985 seconds, only one-thousandth of a second faster than Joey Logano. Gordon was third ahead of David Ragan and Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch and Burton were the winners of the Gatorade Duels. The qualifying grid was finalized with Busch in third and Burton fourth. Regan Smith qualified fifth ahead of Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Waltrip, Matt Kenseth, and Kyle Busch. Drivers who failed to qualify were 1990 winner Derrike Cope, Kevin Conway, Todd Bodine, Michael McDowell and Casey Mears. Norm Benning was entered in his no. 57, but withdrew before qualifying after his car failed to make a lap in practice.
Burton was fastest in fifth practice with a 45.767 seconds lap, ahead of Menard, Ragan, Marcos Ambrose and Hamlin. Martin led the sixth session ahead of Johnson and Kahne. Brian Vickers was next with a 46.225 seconds lap ahead of Biffle with 46.426 seconds. Burton's 44.929 seconds topped the final practice session, followed by Bowyer and Keselowski. Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five drivers, claiming the fourth and fifth positions respectively.
### Race
The race began at 13:00 local time (UTC-05:00), and was televised live in the United States on Fox. The conditions on the grid were dry before the race with the air temperature at 71 °F (22 °C). Rev. Dr. L. Ronald Durham, senior pastor of the Greater Friendship Baptist Church of Daytona Beach, Florida, began pre-race ceremonies by giving the invocation. Country music artist Martina McBride performed the national anthem, and Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and movie director Michael Bay of the upcoming film Transformers: Dark of the Moon, gave the command for the drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, Dale Earnhardt Jr.; David Ragan, Joey Logano, and David Reutimann had to move to the rear of the grid due to changing to their back-up car. Transformers themed vehicles painted in the color schemes of Earnhardt Jr.'s, Juan Pablo Montoya's, and Jimmie Johnson's cars led the field during the pace laps as well.
Kurt Busch retained his pole position lead into the first corner, followed by outside polesitter Jeff Gordon. On the following lap, Smith began to assist Busch by drafting. On lap 3, NASCAR held a moment of silence to honor Dale Earnhardt, who died ten years ago in the 2001 race. On lap 4, A. J. Allmendinger and Mark Martin moved to the first and second positions. A lap later, the first caution was flown when Kyle Busch got turned sideways. Under caution, he made a pit stop to have his car's toe plate checked and to have the front end aligned. When the race restarted on lap 8, Kevin Harvick led but after one lap, Martin and Allmendinger passed him. Three laps later, the second caution came out when J. J. Yeley had an engine failure. Most of the drivers made pit stops under the caution, except for Brad Keselowski. At the restart, he would lead and Bobby Labonte passed him for the lead on the next lap.
On lap 17, Paul Menard, with assistance from Tony Stewart, took the lead from Labonte. Montoya and Jamie McMurray passed him and Stewart for the first and second positions four laps later. On lap 22, Harvick's engine failed, allowing the third caution to come out. During the caution, most of the front runners made pit stops under caution for mostly fuel, while some decided to change tires. Afterward, Clint Bowyer lead on the restart. He remained leading the next two laps, while Earnhardt Jr. moved to the 5th position. On lap 29, Reutimann and Michael Waltrip collided, causing a multi-car pileup, involving 17 drivers, including three of the four drivers from Hendrick Motorsports: Johnson, Martin, and Gordon. Some of the drivers who have led made pit stops during the caution, while McMurray and Montoya out in front as the race restarted lap 35.
McMurray and Montoya continued to lead for the next three laps, as 14 teams were repairing their cars in the garage after the lap 29 crash. On lap 39, Keselowski retook the lead, after having assistance from Regan Smith. Three laps later, Johnson was preparing to return to the race. On lap 43, Stewart took the lead one lap before Keselowski retook it from him. On lap 45, Bowyer became the quickest in the race with a speed of over 200 mph (320 km/h). Two laps later, Robert Richardson Jr. spun off the bumper of Travis Kvapil, bringing out yet the fifth caution. He sustained major damage to his car in the accident. Under caution, the leaders made pit stops, giving the first and second positions to Terry Labonte and Dave Blaney at the restart. On lap 51, Kurt Busch led before Menard overtook him.
Menard remained leading, as Bowyer and Burton moved to the third and fourth positions on lap 53. On the following lap, they moved to first and second after passing Menard. On lap 57, the sixth caution was given after Brian Vickers' car stalled. The front runners made pit stops during the caution, as McMurray and Montoya reclaimed the first two positions at the restart. On lap 61, Johnson returned to the race after his team repaired the car in the garage. Also on the same lap, Ku. Busch overtook McMurray to become the leader, as both McMurray and Montoya fell to the 17th and 18th positions. On the 63rd lap, Logano, with assistance from Stewart, moved into the fifth position, as Kasey Kahne moved to tenth. By lap 65, Logano and Stewart had fallen to seventh and eighth. On the next lap, Burton moved into the first position. On the 67th lap, Keselowski moved to third, as Smith became the leader. Smith remained the leader until lap 72 when Jeff Burton and Bowyer passed him. By lap 73, the race had 26 lead changes. On the following lap, Burton passed Bowyer for the first position. Three laps later, Kvapil prompted the caution after spinning sideways. At the lap 78 restart, Bowyer was the leader ahead of Earnhardt Jr. in second.
On the following lap, Earnhardt Jr. overtook Bowyer for the first position. On lap 82, McMurray reclaimed the first position, as Smith made a pit stop. After leading one lap, McMurray was passed by Ryan Newman and Logano. On the 86th lap, Martin Truex Jr., with assistance from Carl Edwards, became the leader before Bowyer and Burton passed them on lap 87. Five laps later, Kurt Busch reclaimed the first position as Smith moved into second. On lap 94, Burton's engine failed, but no caution was given. Two laps later, Robby Gordon became the leader, after having assistance from Bayne. On the 100th lap, McMurray reclaimed the first position. On the following lap, Newman became the leader, but after four laps, Gordon passed him for the position. On lap 107, the eighth caution was given after Montoya spun following a bump from teammate McMurray. During the caution all the drivers made pit stops, with Gordon reclaiming the lead afterward. On lap 110, Kurt Busch moved to the first position, but after four laps, he was passed by Bowyer. Bowyer was passed by Truex two laps later on lap 116, but Truex Jr. himself was passed by Busch on the next lap.
On the 118th lap, Bowyer and Menard moved to the first two positions. By lap 120, the race had experienced 47 lead changes among 18 different leaders. Two laps later, Truex reclaimed the first position, as the ninth caution was given for Kvapil. During the caution, most of the front runners made pit stops. At the lap 127 restart, Truex led the field to the green flag, but on the following lap, Bowyer passed him. Seven laps later, the tenth caution was given after Kenseth collided with the wall. Some of the front runners made pit stops during the caution. On the lap 140 restart, Bowyer was the leader, but after one lap, Truex passed him. On lap 143, the eleventh caution was given following contact between Greg Biffle and Montoya. More of the front runners made pit stops again during the caution. At the lap 146 restart, Truex was the leader. One lap later, Earnhardt Jr. claimed the lead for six laps before Newman passed him. On lap 158, a record twelfth caution was given, as Kvapil collided with the wall. Most of the drivers made pit stops during the caution, with Newman the leader. On the lap 163 restart, Newman was the leader ahead of Hamlin and Earnhardt. On the following lap, Hamlin became the leader, as Montoya moved up to third. On lap 167, the thirteenth caution was caused by Keselowski colliding with the wall. The accident also involved Smith and Logano. At the lap 170 restart, Hamlin was the leader, but on the following lap he was passed by Earnhardt Jr.
On the next lap, Newman became the leader, as Logano drove to pit road. On the 173rd lap, Menard moved to the third position, after having assistance from Stewart. Two laps later, Ragan became the leader, but two laps later, Bowyer reclaimed the position. On lap 179, Newman moved up to the first position, as Earnhardt moved to eleventh. Three laps later, Kahne collided with the wall, prompting the caution to come out. On the same lap, McMurray had one cylinder to fail. At the lap 185 restart, Newman remained the leader. On the following lap, Earnhardt and Stewart moved into the third and fourth positions. On lap 192, Bowyer moved up to the third position, then to the first position. Three laps later, Smith moved into the first position. On lap 197, the fifteenth caution was given after Smith spun sideways, as Bowyer was also involved and sustained major damage. During the caution, Earnhardt made a pit stop because of a possible deflating tire. At the lap 202 restart, for a green-white-checker finish, Ragan was the leader, ahead of Bayne.
On the ensuing restart, Ragan was black flagged for changing lanes before the start / finish line just before the sixteenth caution came out after a three-car accident, involving Earnhardt Jr.; Newman; and Truex Jr. During the caution, Ragan drove to pit road, giving the lead to Trevor Bayne, with Labonte second. On the final lap of a second green-white-checker finish, Edwards and David Gilliland mounted a charge on the inside lane. Exiting turn four, Edwards drew alongside Labonte and closed in on Bayne, who moved to the bottom to block Edwards and maintained the lead to win his first race in his Sprint Cup Series career at the age of 20. Edwards finished second, ahead of Gilliland in third and Labonte in fourth. Kurt Busch clinched the fifth position; Montoya, Smith, Kyle Busch, Menard, and Martin rounded out the top ten finishers in the race.
### Post-race
The 20-year-old, Bayne, appeared in victory lane after his victory lap to start celebrating his first win of his Sprint Cup Series career, in front of a crowd of 182,000 people. Also by winning the race, he became the youngest winner of the Daytona 500 at 20 years and one day. Jeff Gordon previously held the title at 25 years old. The race was Bayne's second Sprint Cup Series start, and became the Wood Brothers Racing team's fifth Daytona 500 win. He also became the second driver to win the race in his first attempt, with the other being Lee Petty who won the 1959 Daytona 500, which was the inaugural race. With the win coming in his second start in the Sprint Cup Series, Bayne also matched Jamie McMurray for quickest victory at the start of a career; however, since Bayne was racing for the Nationwide Series points championship, he did not earn any Sprint Cup points for the win. The race victory was the Wood Brothers first win since the 2001 season. Following his win, he described his happiness, "If I tried to put it into words, I couldn't do it any justice."
Following the race, which experienced a record 16 cautions and 74 lead changes, among 22 different drivers, Edwards commented, "A new winner, up-and-coming guy that's tied to so much history. This is as good as it gets. If people aren't watching, that's their problem, because we got some great stuff going on here." In the post-race press conference, the third-place finisher, Gilliland, said, "It's a credit to NASCAR and their new rules, trying to get the (cars) closer, to let teams like us have a chance to be competitive. A lot of the rules (are) making these races more competitive." Jeff Gordon also commented about Bayne, "I think it's very cool. Trevor's a good kid, and I love the Wood Brothers. I'm really happy for him. And I think it's great for the sport. To have a young talent like that – he's got that spark, you know?"
Ragan, who was the leader before the fifteenth caution, described his frustration after being black flagged by saying, "It was tough to swallow. Who knows what would have happened in that next lap? We had a top-five car [Sunday] and we didn't finish in the top five, so that's a bummer. We had a car that could've won the Daytona 500. We were sitting in position and just didn't do it. This thing only comes around once a year, so I'll think about it until we throw the checkered flag on next year's Daytona 500. So it's tough, but there is a bright side – we finished, we got some points and we ran up front, but we just didn't get what we come down here to do."
As Bayne was running for the Nationwide Series Championship and was thus ineligible to receive points, the result left Edwards leading the Driver's Championship with 42 points. Gilliland, who finished third, was second with 41, which was tied with Bobby Labonte and was one point ahead of Kurt Busch. Montoya was fifth with 39 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Ford became the leader with 9 points. Toyota became second with 6 points. Dodge followed with 4 points, one point ahead of Chevrolet in fourth. 15.6 million people watched the race on television. The race took three hours, fifty-nine minutes and twenty-four seconds to complete, and the margin of victory was 0.118 seconds.
## Results
### Qualifying
### Race
## Standings after the race
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings.
|
17,769,618 |
Hudson Bay expedition
| 1,157,134,548 |
French raid on trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company
|
[
"1782 in North America",
"1782 in the British Empire",
"Battles involving France",
"Battles involving Great Britain",
"Battles of the American Revolutionary War involving France",
"Battles of the Anglo-French War (1778–1783)",
"Conflicts in 1782",
"History of the French Navy",
"Hudson Bay",
"Hudson's Bay Company"
] |
The Hudson Bay expedition was a series of military raids on the fur trading outposts and fortifications of the British Hudson's Bay Company on the shores of Hudson Bay by a French Royal Navy squadron under the command of the Comte de Lapérouse. Setting sail from Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue in 1782, the expedition was part of a series of globe-spanning naval conflicts between France and Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War.
Operating under secret orders from Charles, marquis de Castries, the incumbent Secretary of State of the Navy, Lapérouse and his squadron set sail from Cap-Français in May 1782, and arrived in the Hudson Bay in early August. Both Prince of Wales Fort and York Factory, two trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company, surrendered without a fight to the French, though a company merchantman that evaded the French fleet spirited away some of the furs stored at York Factory.
Some of captured British prisoners were put on a company sloop and allowed to sail back to England, while others were pressed into service aboard the French squadron. Those serving on Lapérouse's squadron, which had sailed with minimal winter provisioning to maintain secrecy, suffered numerous hardships including scurvy and other diseases. The finances of the Hudson's Bay Company suffered due to the raid, which also indirectly lead to the deaths of up to half of the Chipewyan fur traders, who conducted business with the company.
## Background
During a visit to France in late 1780, Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, a captain in the French Royal Navy, proposed to hydrographer and politician Charles, comte de Fleurieu the idea of an expedition against the fur trading posts of the British Hudson's Bay Company. Secretary of State of the Navy Charles, marquis de Castries and King Louis XVI approved the plan, and Castries issued Lapérouse secret orders that could override those of any fleet commander he served under in the event an opportunity presented itself for such an expedition. The idea was to organize a small fleet in secret and make as rapid as possible a journey north to Hudson Bay from either Newport, Rhode Island or Boston, Massachusetts, the most northerly ports of North America open to French ships.
Lapérouse's duties during the 1781 campaign season did not provide him with any chances to exercise his secret orders, but the aftermath of the disastrous French defeat in the April 1782 Battle of the Saintes did present an opportunity. France and Spain had been planning an assault on the British colony of Jamaica, but the losses incurred during the battle, including the capture of French admiral Paul, comte de Grasse and his flagship Ville de Paris led them to call off the expedition. Lapérouse, on his arrival at Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue after the battle, raised the idea with de Grasse's successor, Louis-Philippe, marquis de Vaudreuil. Vaudreuil approved of the plan, and provided Lapérouse with three ships: a ship of the line, the Sceptre (74 guns), and the frigates Astrée (38) and Engageante (34). Astrée was under the command of Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle, and Engageante was led by André-Charles de La Jaille.
Preparations for the expedition were carried out secretly and in some haste, since the French were aware of the short season in the far north. The ships' crews and most of their officers were not informed of the fleet's destination, and Lapérouse, seeking to avoid all suspicion, even avoided carrying cold-weather clothing. Vaudreuil recorded the fleet's destination in his records as France, with possible stops in Newport or Boston, and de Langle and de la Jaille were given sealed orders to be opened only upon reaching the latitude of Nova Scotia. The fleet took on 250 line infantrymen from the Régiment d'Armagnac and Régiment d'Auxerrois, 40 artillerymen from the Régiment de Metz and 4 field guns and 2 mortars. These troops were informed they were being sent to supplement the French Army presence at Newport. After two weeks of preparation, the fleet set sail from Cap-Français on May 31, 1782.
## Expedition
The fleet eventually reached Resolution Island at the entrance to the Hudson Strait without incident on July 17, and proceeded through the strait and into Hudson Bay. While sailing in the bay, the fleet encountered the company ship Sea Horse, which was making sail for Prince of Wales Fort. Lapérouse sent one of the frigates to chase her. Sea Horse's captain, William Cristopher, suspecting from its behavior that the French warship lacked good charts for the bay, escaped by a ruse. He gave orders to have his sails furled as if he were preparing to anchor; this prompted the French captain, believing shallow waters to lie ahead, to drop his anchor. Once he had done so, Cristopher raised his sails and sped off before the Frenchman could raise anchor.
### Prince of Wales Fort
On August 8 Lapérouse arrived at Prince of Wales Fort, an impressive but crumbling stone fortress that was occupied by 39 British traders. Its governor, Samuel Hearne, surrendered the fort without firing a shot when the size of the French force became evident the next day. He did so despite requests from some of his men to "allow them to mow down the French troops with the heavy guns loaded with grapeshot." After resupplying his ships and confiscating the fort's guns, the French proceeded to loot the premises. According to Hearne, the French looted more than 7,500 beaver skins, 4,000 marten pelts, and 17,000 goose quills. They also spent two days trying to raze the fort, but were only able to destroy the gun mounts and damage the upper ramparts. Some of the British prisoners were put aboard the company sloop Severn, which had been anchored by the fort; others were taken aboard the French squadron, and some were pressed into service in the ship's crews.
### York Factory
Lapérouse then collected most of the company's small boats and on 11 August sailed for York Factory, a trading outpost on a peninsula between the Hayes and Nelson River. According to Lapérouse's report, he arrived in the area, about 5 leagues (15 miles; 24 km) from York, on August 20. The fort's defenses faced the Hayes River, where the company ship King George was anchored, and the fast-flowing Hayes River would have made an approach there impractical in the face of such potential opposition.
Lapérouse sailed into the mouth of the Nelson River and moved the troops to the smaller company ships on August 21 to prepare an amphibious landing, with the plan of approaching the fort from the rear, a distance of about 16 miles (26 km). He then proceeded with his engineer to take soundings in the Nelson River and discovered that due to its shallowness, even the smaller boats would have difficulty approaching firm land. His small boat then became mired in mud by the receding tide, and was not freed until 3:00 am the next morning. Captain Langle proposed to Major Rostaing, the commander of the French troops in the expedition, that they cross the muddy shallows on foot. This was agreed, and the troops then set out across the shallows. Unknown to them, conditions improved only marginally once land was reached, and they spent the next two days wading through bogs and muck to reach the fort. Meanwhile, Lapérouse returned to the fleet because bad weather was threatening its safety. Both frigates lost their anchors when sharp rocks underwater cut through their cables in the turbulent conditions.
York Factory was occupied by 60 British traders and 12 Native Americans. When the French warships were spotted, governor of York Factory Humphrey Marten loaded trade goods onto the King George so they would not fall into French hands. When the French arrived on August 24, Marten surrendered the fort. Although Lapérouse sent a frigate after the King George when she sailed off during the night after the fleet's arrival, her captain, Jonathan Fowler, successfully eluded the pursuit due to his superior knowledge of the shallow waters of the bay. Rostaing took the British inhabitants of the trading post prisoner, destroyed what goods he could not plunder, and burned York Factory to the ground. He was, however, careful to preserve a cache of supplies for use by Native Americans who came to the fort to trade. These acts of kindness, along the treatment of his British captives earned Lapérouse praise from Hearne, Louis XVI, and the British government.
Lapérouse did not learn of the capitulation until August 26, and continuing bad weather and difficulties with the frigates meant that he did not effect a junction with Rostaing until August 31. The terms of capitulation included the surrender of Fort Severn, another trading outpost of the Hudson's Bay Company. He chose not to go to Fort Severn on account of the lateness of the season and the poor condition of his ships and men, who were suffering from scurvy and other diseases. During the process of loading goods and supplies onto the fleet, five small boats overturned and 15 men drowned.
## Aftermath
Lapérouse then began the journey back to the Atlantic, towing the Severn as far as Cape Resolution. There she was cut loose to make her way back to England, while Lapérouse sailed for Cádiz, Spain, with Sceptre and Engageante; Astrée made sail for Brest to deliver news of the expedition's success to Paris. The expedition took a tremendous toll on his ships' crews. By the time the ships returned to Europe, Sceptre had only 60 men (out of an original complement, including non-marine infantry, of almost 500) fit to work; roughly 70 men had died of scurvy. Engageante had suffered 15 deaths from scurvy, and almost everyone was sick with one malady or another. Both ships had also suffered damage due to cold weather and battering by ice floes. Fleuriot de Langle received a brevet promotion to capitaine de vaisseau upon his arrival in Brest in late October.
According to the company, the goods taken at Prince of Wales Fort alone were worth more than £14,000, and Lapérouse's raid damaged the company finances to such an extent that it paid no dividends until 1786. When peace finally came with the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the French agreed to compensate the company for its losses. The raid also resulted in permanent damage to the company's trading relationships. Chipewyan fur traders who traded with the Hudson's Bay Company suffered severely due to both the company's inability to provision them and an ongoing smallpox epidemic that was decimating Native American populations throughout North America; by some estimates the Chipewyan lost half their population. The company's inability to trade with them for two seasons drove many surviving Chipewyan to develop trading relationships with European settlers in Montreal, Quebec.
Neither Hearne nor Marten was sanctioned by the company for surrendering; both returned to their posts the following year. When the French captured Prince of Wales Fort, they found Samuel Hearne's journal, which Lapérouse claimed as a prize of war. The journal contained Hearne's accounts of his explorations of the northern reaches of North America, and Hearne pleaded with Lapérouse for its return. The request was granted on condition that the journal be published. Whether Hearne had intended to publish it anyway is unclear, but by 1792, the year of Hearne's death, he had prepared a manuscript and submitted it for publication. It was published in 1795 as A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean. Lapérouse was rewarded by Louis XVI with a rise in pay of 800 livres; the exploit also drew popular acclaim in Europe and North America. His next major assignment was to lead a voyage of exploration into the Pacific Ocean in 1785. The fleet conducting the voyage, in which Fleuriot de Langle served as second in command, was last seen in the vicinity of Australia in spring 1788; although remnants of the expedition have been found, his fate remains unknown.
## See also
- France in the American Revolutionary War
- List of Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay
|
24,302,022 |
Brandon Graham
| 1,169,056,035 |
American football player (born 1988)
|
[
"1988 births",
"20th-century African-American people",
"21st-century African-American sportspeople",
"African-American players of American football",
"American football defensive ends",
"American football linebackers",
"Crockett High School (Michigan) alumni",
"Living people",
"Michigan Wolverines football players",
"National Conference Pro Bowl players",
"Philadelphia Eagles players",
"Players of American football from Detroit"
] |
Brandon Lee Graham (born April 3, 1988) is an American football defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft with the thirteenth selection in the draft and the first from the Big Ten Conference. He played college football at Michigan.
In high school, he was a highly decorated and highly rated linebacker who served as captain for the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was listed on numerous All-American lists and was a finalists for some of the highest individual honors a high school football player can earn.
Graham was the 2009 Big Ten Conference co-MVP as recognized by the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award. He was the 2009 FBS tackles for a loss (per game) champion after finishing second in 2008 by 0.01 tackles for loss per game. He was the 2008 and 2009 Big Ten Conference tackles for loss leader. After completing his career as defensive end for the 2009 Michigan Wolverines football team, he had a total of 29.5 career sacks and 56 career tackles for loss for the Michigan Wolverines football team. In 2008, he led the Big Ten Conference in tackles for loss, with 20 in 11 games. In 2009, he posted 26 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks in 12 games. As a member of the 2008 Michigan Wolverines football team he earned Second-team 2008 Big Ten All-conference recognition from both the coaches and the media. He was a finalist for the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football Hendricks Award. He was a First-team 2009 All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and media. He was named to several First-team and Second-team 2009 All-America lists by various publications. Graham was also named MVP of the 2010 Senior Bowl.
Graham was a second team 2016 All-Pro selection and a 2020 Pro Bowl selection. He led the Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia Eagles in quarterback sacks with 9.5 during the 2017 NFL season. Graham is responsible for one of the biggest plays in Philadelphia sports history, as he posted a pivotal strip sack on Tom Brady in the closing minutes of Super Bowl LII, which was the franchise's first Super Bowl victory.
## Early years
As a youth, Graham played football for the Police Athletic League Detroit Giants for seven years until joining the eighth grade team. Born and raised in Detroit, Graham attended Crockett Vocational Tech, a school that began participating in Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) football competitions in 1996 and that did not have a proper locker room for its football team before moving in his senior season. Since the football field had no lights, parents had to shine their car lights on the field for late practices. At Crockett, Graham, who had been playing competitive football since age seven, was expected to make an immediate impact upon joining the football team's starting lineup as a sophomore, and at the end of the season he was recognized as an honorable mention lineman 2003 All-Detroit selection by The Detroit News.
As a junior, Graham served as linebacker, offensive guard, placekicker, and punter for his team, and he led his team to the MHSAA state championships, while becoming one of three juniors named to the 2004 First-team All-Detroit team with one source listing him as a placekicker and the other as a linebacker on the team. Crockett won Detroit Public School League Division 1 championship game at Ford Field and entered the Division 5 MHSAA semifinals with a 12–0 record, but Crockett lost 9–0 to defending state champion Lumen Christi Catholic High School. In addition to recording 91 tackles (20 for a loss), he maintained a 3.8 grade point average. In one game, he posted twelve tackles, four sacks, four forced fumbles, two blocked punts and scored on a 78-yard fake punt. He was selected for the Associated Press first-team Class B all-state team as a linebacker.
In high school, Rivals.com ranked Graham as the top class of 2006 high school football prospect in the state of Michigan, the number two inside linebacker prospect and the overall fifteenth best prospect in the nation. Scout.com listed him as the number three linebacker in the nation and described him as the number one overall prospect in the midwest. Scout also described him as "arguably the best inside linebacker in the nation". ESPNU ranked him as the number two inside linebacker and number thirty-one prospect in the nation. Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, listed Graham as the best linebacker in the country for USA Today. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution listed him at 15th among their national top 25 prospects.
Entering his senior season, he was the overwhelming selection as the best high school football player in the state of Michigan according to The Detroit News. He had run a 4.43-second 40-yard dash at the Nike Summer football camp. As a senior, he intended to also play tight end and fullback. One Detroit News preseason analysts listed him at linebacker, tight end and offensive guard. During the season, after missing four weeks to a knee injury, Graham was chosen as one of 78 players to participate in the January 7, 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl at the Alamodome. He was also named as a finalist for both the Parade All-America High School player of the year (The high school equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) and the Walter Payton Trophy. He was elected captain of the East team at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and recorded four tackles as well as a blocked field goal in the game that also featured two of his Michigan teammates: (Justin Boren and Stevie Brown). There were only 16 finalists for the Parade award, including future Michigan teammate Stephen Schilling and future Heisman-winner Tim Tebow. Graham led his team to a rematch against Lumen Christi, which they lost 35–21 in the MHSAA Division 5 district championship game. In Graham's three years at Crockett, they went undefeated in the regular season and as a senior he was again selected to the All-Detroit first-team as a linebacker. Graham was also selected as to the Associated Press Class B All-State football team as its player of the year. The Detroit News selected him to the All-Class state Dream Team. He was also selected as the All-class statewide best linebacker as part of the inaugural class of The Michigan Prep Football Great 8 awarded by the Mid-Michigan Touchdown Club for being best at his position in the state. By his senior year, he had a 3.2 grade point average.
Since Graham was the first Michigan athlete to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, he was not aware that he was violating Michigan state rules by participating in an out-of-state all-star game. He had to surrender his high school athletic eligibility for the winter and spring seasons. During his time away from athletics, he overate and added 40 pounds (18 kg). Although he had been recruited as a linebacker, with the additional weight he was moved to defensive end. As he lost the excess weight he began to realize that he could excel at a lighter weight.
For his athletic excellence, Graham received many honors. Among the recognition he received are Parade Magazine All-American, EA Sports All-American, USA Today All-USA High School All-America first team (No. 14 player in the nation by USA Today), Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year, first player from the state of Michigan to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, 2005 Detroit News No. 1 Blue Chip prospect, and No. 2 on the Detroit Free Press Best of the Midwest rankings. Additionally, he was recognized as one of ten top prep athletes in Michigan in 2005–2006, including men and women from all sports, as a 2006 McDonald's-Powerade Tomorrow's Winners honoree at the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame dinner.
## College career
### Lloyd Carr era
Graham arrived at Michigan measuring 295 pounds (134 kg) and 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m). Graham was initially listed as a linebacker at Michigan, but before the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season started for the 2006 Michigan Wolverines football team he switched to defensive end. Graham was (along with Greg Matthews, Carlos Brown, Brandon Minor, and Stevie Brown) one of five true freshmen to play in the season opening game. Graham was the backup for 2006 Lombardi Award and 2006 Ted Hendricks Award winner LaMarr Woodley. Graham also performed as a reserve defensive tackle during the season. Graham made his first tackle for Michigan on October 28 against Northwestern and recorded his first sack and forced fumble on November 11 against Indiana.
As the 2007 Michigan Wolverines football team prepared for the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Graham got some unusual news off the field when he found out that he had been given a perfect 99 rating in the NCAA 2008 EA Sports even though his star teammates Chad Henne, Jake Long and Mike Hart had not. Also, off the field, Graham was issued a ticket playing loud music in a vehicle on July 24 and missed the September 18 court date after pleading not guilty. This caused a judge to issue an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court on a disorderly conduct charge. The charges were dropped under the belief that he had been misidentified. At the start of training camp, he weighed 262 pounds (119 kg) and was the projected starter at defensive end. Although projected to as the starter, Graham played sparingly in the opening game loss to two-time defending FCS champions Appalachian State Mountaineers on September 1. Head coach Lloyd Carr noted his disfavor with Graham at the start of the season: "Brandon, he needs to get focused," Carr said, "and do the things that he's capable of doing." He was disappointed in Graham's efforts in practice. In the third game, on September 15 against Notre Dame Graham recorded 3.5 sacks in the rivalry game to help lead Michigan to its first win of the season. The following week, he had 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a victory against Penn State. Over the course of the season, he started six games at defensive end. He led the team in sacks with 8.5 and was second in forced fumbles with 3. He ranked seventh in the Big Ten for both statistics. He was a mid-season Ted Hendricks Award watch list candidate.
### Rich Rodriguez era
Graham, who had been troubled by conditioning issues the prior season arrived at spring practice in very good shape, which pleased newly arrived head coach Rich Rodriguez, who was welcomed by a defensive line composed entirely of returning starters, including Graham. Graham began the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a Hendricks award watch list candidate for the 2008 Michigan Wolverines football team. However, the team began the season unranked in the Associated Press poll for the first time in 23 years. On September 27 Graham had 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles against the Wisconsin Badgers, and he was named Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Prior to the October 25 Paul Bunyan Trophy game against Michigan State, Graham guaranteed a victory. Although the team lost 35–21, Graham again recorded three sacks. Graham finished the season with 10 sacks. He led the Big Ten with 20 tackles for a loss and 1.82 tackles for loss per game and was second with 0.91 sacks/game. He ranked second nationally in tackles for loss and tied for eleventh in sacks. After the season, he was recognized as a 2008 Second-team All-Big Ten Conference selection by both the coaches and the media. Graham was selected as the team Most Valuable Player.
Graham began the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a watch lists candidate for the Bednarik Award, Hendricks Award, Lombardi Award, Lott Trophy, and Nagurski Trophy for the 2009 Michigan Wolverines football team. He was also selected by ESPN as the 10th best player in the Big Ten Conference before the season started. He concluded the season as the Chicago Tribune Silver Football recipient as the Big Ten co-MVP (with Daryll Clark). He was the seventh defensive player to earn the award and second in the last 25 years as well as the first co-recipient. Graham was the first player from a losing team in eight years and only the second player to win who was not either Big Ten offensive or defensive player of the year. He posted 26 tackles for loss in 12 games, which led the nation with 2.17 average tackles for a loss per game (ahead of conference rival O'Brien Schofield who was second with 1.884). His total of 10.5 sacks ranked fourth in the Big Ten Conference. Four times during the season, he recorded multiple sack games and he had three solo tackles for losses in four games. He ended his career at Michigan with 9 tackles for losses (8 solo and 2 assists) in his final two games, including a career-high 5 solo tackles for losses against Ohio State in the 2009 rivalry game, which was the final game of his career. Graham was one of seven finalists for the Hendricks Award. At the conclusion of the season he was a 2009 First-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and media. He was a First-team 2009 College Football All-America Team selection by ESPN, Rivals.com and Scout.com, and he was a Second-team All-American defensive line selection by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, College Football News and The Sporting News. He was an honorable mention All-American by Pro Football Weekly (which had no second team). Graham was again selected as the team MVP, which made him the school's first defensive player to be two-time MVP. As of December 2009, Graham was the only Big Ten player on Mel Kiper Jr.'s "Big Board" Top 25. Brandon Graham earned MVP honors at the January 30, 2010 Senior Bowl with five tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble.
## Professional career
At the NFL Combine, Graham ranked 8th among defensive linemen with a 4.72 40-yard dash and 10th in the bench press with 31.
### Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Graham in the first round (13th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. The Philadelphia Eagles acquired the selection after trading their first round pick (24th overall), third round pick (70th overall), and an additional third round pick (87th overall) to the Denver Broncos. Graham was the first defensive and Big Ten Conference player selected in the 2010 NFL Draft. He decided to wear number 94 for the Eagles immediately after the draft, but changed his mind and chose number 54.
On July 29, 2010, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Graham to a five-year, \$16.90 million contract that includes \$12.67 million guaranteed. Graham entered training camp slated as a starting defensive end. Head coach Andy Reid named Graham and Trent Cole the starting defensive ends to begin the regular season.
He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Philadelphia Eagles' season-opener against the Green Bay Packers, but did not record a statistic during their 27–20 loss. The following week, he recorded two solo tackles and made his first career sack during a 35–32 win at the Detroit Lions. Graham made his first career sack on Lions' quarterback Shaun Hill for a two-yard loss during the first quarter. On November 28, 2010, Graham collected a season-high three solo tackles and made one sack during a 31–26 loss at the Chicago Bears in Week 12. On December 12, 2010, Graham suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during 30–27 victory at the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14. On December 14, 2010, the Philadelphia Eagles placed Graham on the injured reserve list. He underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee on December 21.
He was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list on July 28, 2011, before the start of training camp. He was removed from the physically unable to perform list so he could return to practice on October 24 and was activated on November 5, 2011.
In the 2012 season, Graham appeared in 16 games and started six. He finished with 5.5 sacks, 38 total tackles, one pass defended, and two forced fumbles.
In 2013, he moved from defensive end to linebacker. Many people had predicted he would become a linebacker at the professional level back when he was still in college. He finished the 2013 season with three sacks, 20 total tackles, and one forced fumble in 16 games.
In the 2014 season, Graham finished with 5.5 sacks, 47 total tackles, and four forced fumbles in 16 games and one start. His four forced fumbles finished fourth in the NFL.
After coming close to signing with the New York Giants in 2015, Graham signed a 4-year \$26 million contract with \$14 million guaranteed with the Eagles to remain with the team. In the 2015 season, Graham finished with 6.5 sacks, 51 total tackles, and one pass defended in 16 games and ten starts.
He posted 59 tackles, two forced fumbles, and 5.5 sacks for the 2016 Philadelphia Eagles. Following the 2016 NFL season, in which he moved back to defensive end under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, he was named to the 2016 All-Pro 2nd Team by the Associated Press. He was also named a first team All-Pro by Pro Football Focus and All-NFC by the Pro Football Writers Association. and was rated as the ninth best player in the NFL by Pro Football Focus. He was ranked 93rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.
In his 2017 season debut, he recorded four tackles, two sacks, and a pass deflection in the Eagles' 30–10 win over Washington. He earned multiple performance bonuses for the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles when he posted 9.5 sacks and 47 tackles. His 9.5 sacks led the team and were a career-high. During the 2017–18 NFL playoffs, he tallied two tackles for a loss in the final drive against the Atlanta Falcons on January 13. With 2:21 remaining in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LII, he strip sacked Tom Brady, forcing a fumble recovered by teammate Derek Barnett. The Eagles won 41–33.
On May 16, 2018, it was revealed that Graham underwent ankle surgery earlier in the month, meaning that he missed some offseason practices. In 2018, he recorded 39 combined tackles, four sacks, and a forced fumble in 16 games and starts.
On March 1, 2019, Graham signed a three-year, \$40 million contract extension with the Eagles through the 2021 season. In week 5 of the 2019 season against the New York Jets, Graham sacked Luke Falk three times in the 31–6 win. In week 8 against the Buffalo Bills, Graham recorded a strip sack on Josh Allen and recovered the ball in the 31–13 win. He finished the 2019 season with 8.5 sacks, 50 total tackles (35 solo), and one forced fumble.
In the 2020 season, Graham had eight sacks, 46 total tackles (35 solo), and two forced fumbles in 16 games and starts. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the 2020 season. He was ranked 99th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.
Graham signed a one-year contract extension with the Eagles on March 15, 2021.
In Week 2 of the 2021 season, Graham suffered a torn Achilles and was placed on season-ending injured reserve on September 21, 2021.
After recording 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, a pass defended, five quarterback hits and a forced fumble in week three of the 2022 season against the Washington Commanders, Graham was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career. In Week 14, Graham had three sacks, four tackles, and a forced fumble in a 48–22 win over the New York Giants, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week, his second of the season. Graham helped the Eagles reach Super Bowl LVII. It was Graham's second appearance in the Super Bowl. The Eagles lost 38–35 to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On March 10, 2023, Graham re-signed with the Eagles on a one-year contract. At the time, Graham is the longest tenured Eagle with 178 regular-season games played and has a chance to pass David Akers' franchise record of 188 regular-season games played, as well as, tie Chuck Bednarik for most years as an Eagle.
## NFL career statistics
## Personal life
Graham is married to Carlyne Graham.
In 2022, Graham provided vocals on the Christmas album A Philly Special Christmas.
|
67,507,618 |
Lescaze House
| 1,172,892,126 |
House in Manhattan, New York
|
[
"1934 establishments in New York City",
"Houses completed in 1934",
"Houses in Manhattan",
"Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan",
"International style architecture in New York City",
"Modernist architecture in New York City",
"New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan",
"Turtle Bay, Manhattan"
] |
The Lescaze House is a four-story house at 211 East 48th Street in the East Midtown and Turtle Bay neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It is along the northern sidewalk of 48th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. The Lescaze House at 211 East 48th Street was designed by William Lescaze in the International Style between 1933 and 1934 as a renovation of a 19th-century brownstone townhouse. It is one of three houses in Manhattan designed by Lescaze.
The four-story building contains a facade of white-painted stucco blocks and glass block windows. The glass blocks, the first to be used on a building in New York City, were installed to provide insulation and privacy while also allowing illumination. The house was designed to accommodate his office at the bottom and his family's residence on the upper floors. The Lescaze House was designed with a dining room at the first story, bedrooms on the second story, and a living room on the third story, as well as a basement and first-story annex in the back yard. Lescaze designed much of the furniture for his residence.
William Lescaze and his wife Mary moved into the house in June 1934. Their son Lee Lescaze, in his adulthood, also moved his own family into the neighboring rowhouse at 209 East 48th Street. After William Lescaze's death in 1969, Mary continued to maintain the property. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Lescaze House as an official landmark in 1976, and the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The house was sold in 1985 to the William Kaufman Organization, which conducted renovations but largely maintained the house's historic design. In 2020, the house was sold again to Hendale LLC.
## Site
The Lescaze House is at 211 East 48th Street in the East Midtown and Turtle Bay neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It is along the northern sidewalk of 48th Street between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. The house has a frontage of 16.58 feet (5.05 m) along 48th Street. The land lot has an area of 1,666 square feet (154.8 m<sup>2</sup>) and a depth of 100 feet (30 m). Nearby buildings include Turtle Bay Gardens to the east, as well as Amster Yard and the Morris B. Sanders Studio & Apartment to the north.
Numerous masonry houses with brick or brownstone facades were developed in Turtle Bay starting in the 1860s. These buildings usually occupied land lots that were at most 20 feet (6.1 m) wide and had classically inspired design features such as cornices and porticos. In the early 20th century, some of these houses were renovated with new interiors or exteriors. By then, a large portion of Turtle Bay's population was involved in the arts or architecture, and structures such as the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and the residential Turtle Bay Gardens and Beaux-Arts Apartments were constructed for this community.
## Architecture
The Lescaze House was designed by William Lescaze in the International Style between 1933 and 1934. The house is a redesign of an Italianate-style brownstone residence, constructed in 1865 by Elias and Daniel Herbert as part of a row of brownstone residences on the same block. It is among New York City's few remaining structures designed by architects or artists as their own residences. The house accommodated Lescaze's office at the bottom and his family's residence on the upper floors.
The Lescaze House was the first building in the city to use a facade of glass blocks, although Lescaze claimed it was the first such structure in the United States. The house was characterized by later owner Sage Realty as "the first modernist house in New York City". It is one of only three houses designed by Lescaze in Manhattan, all of which share a similar style. The other two are at 124 East 70th Street and 32 East 74th Street, both on the Upper East Side. The design of the Lescaze House inspired businessman Raymond C. Kramer to hire Lescaze to design the 74th Street property in a similar style.
The Lescaze House was characterized by Ada Louise Huxtable in 1961 as "still extraordinarily contemporary after more than twenty-five years". Steve Dougherty, writing for The New York Times in 2002, stated that the "house puts the much more recent buildings nearby to shame". Architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern wrote that the use of glass blocks became "not only a trademark of his personal style but also a symbol of high-style Modernism throughout the 1930s". However, Lewis Mumford objected to the extension of the house into the rear yard, saying: "When architecture forgets the necessity of open spaces, it moves one step forward and two backward, no matter how 'modern' its design." Despite this, Mumford called the house "a very useful piece of individual pioneering".
### Facade
The front facade on 48th Street was pulled forward to the building line. Separate entrances were provided for the office, at the English basement slightly below ground level, and the residence, above ground level at the first story. The entrances are grouped under a projecting porch supported by one Lally column. A short flight of steps at the center of the facade led down to Lescaze's office. The entrance was recessed to the lot line of the original 1865 brownstone. The office itself had a wall of glass blocks that separated it from the street, providing privacy while still letting sunlight in. On the left side of the house, a stoop leads up to the Lescaze family's main residence on the first floor. The stoop was retained from the original brownstone design.
The second and third floors of the front facade are nearly identical, with large glass-block windows across almost the full width of each floor. The hollow glass blocks measure 5-by-5-inch (130 mm × 130 mm) across and 2.5 inches (64 mm) thick.\<ref name="Huxtable1961".\< The glass block wall on the third floor lit the living room, but had no movable windows, as the top floor had air conditioning. The living room's glass wall is the largest in the house, with 680 glass blocks. The guest room at the front of the second floor had no air conditioning, so the glass block walls were fitted with two movable windows. The master bedroom at the rear of the second floor is slightly curved outward in an "S" shape.
The glass blocks on the facade were made by the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company. The glass blocks served to reduce heat, provide privacy, and allow light to pass through. Translucent glass blocks were used at the front of the second-floor bedroom and third-floor living room. The first-floor kitchen, as well as the rear, used transparent blocks because these rooms did not need as much privacy. At night, when the Lescaze family turned on the lights, the glass block facade appeared to be illuminated. According to Architectural Forum, this allowed the facade to be "at night as frankly expressive of the life within as it is by day". The Lescaze House's glass block exterior inspired the use of the material on nearby structures, such as the Morris Sanders Studios and 212 East 49th Street one block north.
### Interior
As of 2018, the building has 7,000 square feet (650 m<sup>2</sup>) of floor area. Lescaze designed the interior with a neutral color palette that reflected sunlight. The design was meant to let in large amounts of light given the building's small width. Lescaze also made custom furniture and furnishings for his residence. These furnishings included a dining room that contained metal-tube chairs with upholstery, a rosewood table, and walls with two hues of gray paint. Additionally, chenille curtains were used for the windows, while the floors were made of gray rubber padding. The house was the city's first private residence with central air conditioning. Indirect lighting was also used throughout the house. The interior originally used a color scheme with various hues of yellow, blue, gray, and white.
At the front of the basement office was a reception room that originally contained a counter. The reception room had a plaster ceiling with sound-absorbing tiles. Behind the reception room was a bathroom, storage room, and a studio on the left side of the office, all connected by a corridor on the left side. Below the basement, there is a cellar that had storage and a mechanical room.
On the first floor is an eat-in kitchen at the front of the residence, as well as an office (formerly a dining room) at the rear. On the second story are two offices, which consist of the former guest room at the front and the former master bedroom at the rear. The third story contains the living room. The living room has a fireplace with refractory bricks. The living room was originally entirely illuminated by indirect lighting and contained a skylight at the center of its ceiling. As of 2021, the living room was being split into a family room in the front and a bedroom in the rear. A fourth story was proposed to be added atop the living room, with a lounge in the front and a guest bedroom in the rear. In Lescaze's original design, a narrow staircase with a wooden railing connected all of the stories. A hydraulic elevator also connects each story. In 2021, the elevator was proposed to be extended upward to the fourth floor.
The basement and first floor are extended at the house's rear into part of what was originally the garden. The annex stories are slightly raised above the main house's stories. Within the annex at basement level, a stair led up to the library in the annex's basement and led down to another studio in the annex's cellar. At the first story, a roof terrace was installed above this addition to offset the loss of part of the rear yard. The roof doubled as a sundeck. Outside the dining room at the rear of the first story, is a patio with a short flight of stairs leading up to the annex's roof terrace. The balcony and roof terrace both contained glass-tile floors on its roof to illuminate the rooms below. These glass tiles are made of solid blocks for strength. In 2021, the skylights were proposed for cleaning, and the rear yard was proposed to be lowered to the annex's cellar.
## History
William Lescaze was born in Onex, Switzerland, near Geneva, in 1896. He received his diploma from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in 1919 and founded his business in New York City in 1923. Lescaze partnered with George Howe to design structures such as Philadelphia's PSFS Building, an early International Style skyscraper. Just after buying the 211 East 48th Street brownstone in 1933, Lescaze married Mary Connick Hughes.
### Lescaze family ownership
In August 1933, William Lescaze submitted plans to the New York City Department of Buildings for a modification to the 19th-century brownstone at 211 East 48th Street. The four-story brownstone townhouse had been classified as a single-family home, but Lescaze proposed converting the basement to commercial use, retaining the first through third floors as a residence. Lescaze's original plans called for central air-conditioning. Due to objections over the proposed zoning of the building, the city government rejected Lescaze's initial proposals to modify the house. Lescaze resubmitted his plans for his house in December 1933 and, in an amendment the next month, clarified that the glass-block windows would enable ventilation and air-conditioning equipment to be installed. The glass block tiles were delivered to the house but stayed on the sidewalk until the building department approved the revised plans in February 1934. The Lescaze family moved into the house in June 1934.
The design of the Lescaze House inspired similar renovations to other structures in the neighborhood, including four townhouses on 49th Street in the 1930s and 1940s. The Lescaze House initially attracted so much attention that, according to the Associated Press, William and Mary Lescaze "had about as much privacy as a traffic cop". The couple agreed to invite passersby to look at the house for one hour each Monday. They then left a servant to tend to the house every Monday while they traveled elsewhere. Despite this, Mary Lescaze said the couple was not afraid of stone-throwers, as "the stones will simply rattle off". The couple's only son, Lee Lescaze, was born in 1938 and grew up in the house. In Lee Lescaze's adulthood, his father renovated the adjacent brownstone at 209 East 48th Street for Lee's family. The two houses were connected at their third stories.
William Lescaze died of a heart attack at his house in 1969, at the age of seventy-two. Following his death, his wife Mary continued to maintain the house in largely its original condition. On January 27, 1976, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the Lescaze House as a New York City landmark. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 19, 1980. Lescaze's family continued to own the house for sixteen years after his death. The William Kaufman Organization acquired the Lescaze House and the adjacent property at 209 East 48th Street in 1985.
### Later ownership
Melvyn and Robert Kaufman, the subsequent owners of the house, were looking for a tenant by 2001. Although the glass blocks used in the windows were no longer being manufactured, the LPC insisted that any replacements be to the same specifications as the original design. According to a spokesman for SageGroupAssociates (later Sage Realty), which leased property on behalf of the Kaufman Organization, a Pennsylvania studio had agreed to make replicas of the glass blocks. Sage completely renovated the Lescaze House sometime before 2011. By 2015, the building contained both a residence and a commercial unit. According to Gothamist, representatives of Sage researched the house's history before making modifications. Some time afterward, the 48th Street facade was restored to its original appearance; the stucco was painted and glass blocks were installed to Lescaze's original specifications. The interior was renovated with a new hydraulic elevator and a contemporary-style kitchen.
In 2018, after renovating the house, Sage Realty placed the building on sale for nearly \$5 million. Sage also separately placed the adjacent structures at 209 East 48th Street and 210 East 49th Street for sale. The three buildings were worth almost \$15 million combined and were sold separately. 211 East 48th Street was the last of the structures to be sold, when Hendale LLC purchased it for \$3.8 million in March 2020. The following January, architecture firm Turett Collaborative submitted renovation plans for the Lescaze House to the LPC. The company proposed repairing the exterior, consolidating mechanical equipment on the roof, and excavating the rear yard.
## See also
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets
|
37,529,140 |
2011–12 Australia women's national goalball team
| 1,161,961,363 | null |
[
"2011 in Australian sport",
"2011 in goalball",
"2012 in Australian sport",
"2012 in goalball",
"Goalball in Australia"
] |
The 2011–12 Australia women's national goalball team, known as the Belles, is a goalball team that played in two Paralympic qualifying competitions and the 2012 Summer Paralympics. The official announcement confirming the 2011–12 team was made in May 2012. The team included Jennifer Blow, Meica Christensen, Michelle Rzepecki, Nicole Esdaile, Rachel Henderson and Tyan Taylor. Most of the players, with the exception of Christensen, were relatively new. Their first competition was the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Goalball Games, with the top two teams qualifying for the Summer Paralympics. While Australia finished second in its pool, it ended the tournament in sixth place following a loss to Israel. Their second major competition was the ISBA Oceania-Africa Goalball Regional Championships, where they beat New Zealand in the semi-final, and again in the final, to qualify for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
At the Paralympics, the Belles, in the same pool as China, Japan, Canada, the United States and Sweden, played Japan first, losing 1–3. In their second game of pool play, they lost to Canada 1–3. They lost their last two games in pool play by 0–3 to the United States and 5–8 to Sweden. This placed them last in the pool, and they did not qualify for the finals.
## Background
The team is nicknamed the Belles. Going into the competitions for qualifying for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, the Australian Paralympic Committee was thinking ahead, hoping to build a new, young team that would qualify for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. The series of competitions leading up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games were seen as providing valuable training and experience.
The first selection process for 2011–12 took place in January 2011, at a camp that was by invitation only. The final 2012 Summer Paralympics team selection announcement was made in May 2012, and included Jennifer Blow, Meica Christensen, Michelle Rzepecki, Nicole Esdaile, Rachel Henderson and Tyan Taylor. This included three players from New South Wales, two from Queensland and one from South Australia. Christensen captained the side. The team was coached by Georgina Kenaghan. Support staff for the London team included Section Manager Peter Corr and team physiotherapist Eliza Kwan. Christensen came into the qualifying period as the most capped player on the team, having first played for it in 2004, but Taylor had only started playing in 2009, making her national debut at the 2010 IBSA World Championships, and Blow and Henderson had only taken up the sport in 2010. Team members received varying amounts of assistance through the Australian Sports Commission's Direct Athlete Support (DAS) program, with Blow and Henderson getting A\$7,000.
## Competitions
The Belles came into the 2011–12 Paralympic qualifying season having finished eighth at the 2010 IBSA Goalball World Championship. They competed in three events during 2011–12: the 2011 IBSA Goalball World Games, the 2011 IBSA Africa-Oceania Goalball Regional Championships and the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
### 2011 IBSA Goalball World Games
Australia's first attempt to qualify for the London Paralympics came in April 2011 at the IBSA Goalball World Games, which were held in Antalya, Turkey. The Belles finished in sixth place, with Canada and Finland taking the two automatic qualifying spots. Playing in Pool X, Australia defeated Spain 7–1, and lost to Canada 3–6 in games on 4 April. The following day, they beat Germany 8–6. Then, on 6 April, they tied with Hungary 5–5. The following day, they beat Israel 6–5, and on 8 April, beat South Korea 8–3. They finished second in their pool with 13 points, which was 5 points behind Canada and one point ahead of Israel. In their 9 April placement game against Russia, they lost 3–6, and in their 5th to 8th placement game against Spain, they won 8–7. In the game against Israel for fifth place, they lost 6–8.
### 2011 IBSA Africa-Oceania Goalball Regional Championships
The 2011 IBSA Africa-Oceania Goalball Regional Championships in Sydney were the last opportunity for the team to qualify for the London Paralympic Games. Only Australia and New Zealand were competing in the women's event, so Australia only had to play two games: a semi-final and final against the New Zealand women's national goalball team. The team included Christensen, who captained the team during the competition, Blow, Esdaile, Henderson, Taylor and Rzepecki. In the semi-final, the Belles took a 7–1 lead into the half time break, and went on to win 11–4. Christensen scored 7 of Australia's goals, while Esdaile scored 3 and Taylor scored one. When the Australian women played New Zealand again in the final, they beating them a second time, by 6–2, with Christensen scoring three goals, Esdaile scoring two and Taylor scoring one.
In May 2012, the team was ranked eighth in the world, a position they continued to hold going into the London Games. The Belles became the first Australian team to qualify for the Games since 1996, despite attempts to qualify for the 2004 Summer Paralympics and 2008 Summer Paralympics; Australia had qualified automatically for the 2000 Summer Paralympics as the host nation.
### Paralympics
At the 2012 Summer Paralympics Games in London, their pool included China, the United States, Sweden, Japan and Canada, with the United States and Chinese team reigning gold silver medallists respectively from Goalball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Australia lost their first game to Japan 1–3. Esdaile scored the team's only goal, which came off a penalty throw. Esdaile, Taylor and Christensen were the only players in the game for Australia, with 28 throws for Taylor, 30 throws for Esdaile and 38 throws for Christensen. They lost their second game to Canada 1–3. Christensen scored the team's only goal, which again came off a penalty throw. She and Esdaile once more played for the whole game, with Blow playing 14 minutes and Taylor playing 10 minutes. Christensen finished the game with 41 throws, Esdaile with 32, Taylor with 11 and Blow with 2. Esdaile led the team with blocks, having 45 to Christensen's 18, Blow's 10 and Taylor's 8. The Belles lost their third game to the United States 0–3. Christensen and Esdaile again played the whole game, with Blow playing 20 minutes, Taylor playing 3 minutes and Rzepecki playing just one minute. Esdaile led the team in throws and blocks with 45 and 33 respectively, while Christensen had 40 and 21, and Blow had 3 throws and 27 blocks. Taylor had 5 throws and 3 blocks, and Rzepecki had 1 throw and no blocks. The Australian women lost their last game to Sweden 5–8. In this last game in pool play, every player got minutesm with Christensen and Esdaile again playing the whole 24 minutes, Blow playing for 9 minutes, Taylor for 10, Henderson for 2 and Rzepecki for 3. Esdaile scored three goals, with Christensen scoring the remaining two, one of which came off a penalty throw. Christensen led the team in throws with 40, while Esdaile had 32, Taylor had 9, Blow had 3 and Henderson and Rzepecki had 2 each. Esdaile led the team in blocks with 29 to Christensen's 14, Blow's 12, Taylor's 9, Rzepecki's 1 and Henderon's 0. One of Sweden's goals was an Australian own goal scored by Rzepecki.
### Group play
### Qualifying and Paralympic goals summary
|
44,783,823 |
Alex + Ada
| 1,170,133,096 |
Comic book series by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn
|
[
"2013 comics debuts",
"Science fiction comics"
] |
Alex + Ada is an American comic book series created by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn. The duo began work on the series in January 2013, before publishing 15 issues through Image Comics between November 2013 and June 2015. The series has since been collected into three trade paperbacks.
Alex + Ada centers upon the relationship between a lonely man and an intelligent android. The series received positive reviews from critics who compared it to other popular science fiction stories, although Luna's artwork was sometimes criticized for being simplistic.
## Publication history
### Development
Jonathan Luna had previously created comics with his brother Joshua, but was exhausted after six straight years of work. Inspired by a TED Talk, he decided to take a break from working. During his two years away from comics, he painted Star Bright and the Looking Glass, a fairy tale picture book that was proofread by his friend Sarah Vaughn and published in 2012.
While working on the picture book, Luna realized he missed telling a story panel by panel and decided to return to comics. He and his brother had decided to work on separate projects, so Luna pitched the idea of a young man who falls in love with a female android to Vaughn over dinner. Vaughn, who began writing and drawing romance comics in her youth, jumped at the opportunity.
After initializing the concept in January 2013, the two discussed the project for three or four months before creating an outline for the whole story. The original outline was for 12 issues, but it left room for improvisation and a few points were removed as the story progressed. They looked at past and present social movements for civil rights for inspiration for how one would progress and how people might respond to a movement for android rights. Luna wrote the first draft of issue one, then the two worked together to rewrite it.
Luna began drawing around April. Alex + Ada is the first comic Luna drew completely digitally. Because Luna needed to focus on art, Vaughn wrote the first draft of the remaining issues. She and Luna would discuss the draft, then she would rewrite it.
### Publication
The first issue of Alex + Ada was released on November 6, 2013, and was Vaughn's first published comic work. It was the 141st best selling issue of the month with estimated sales around 15,000, which was more than any book Luna had done previously. During the course of publication, the series length was increased from 12 issues to 15 issues. Each issue was released approximately six weeks apart, with the final issue available June 18, 2015. Issue 15 was the 206th best selling issue of the month with estimated orders around 8,250. The series has been collected into three trade paperbacks, each containing five issues.
## Plot
Alex is a young man who is depressed after his fiancée breaks up with him. Tired of seeing him unhappy, Alex's grandmother sends him Ada, a Tanaka X-5 android which is capable of intelligent human interaction. The robot is initially incapable of self-awareness, as each android has a program that blocks any potential free thought or consciousness.
Alex decides to remove this inhibition and grant Ada her own mental freedom, as he is uninterested in a partner who cannot truly interact with him. Because removing the program is illegal and carries harsh consequences for both Ada and Alex, they have to pretend Ada is not self-aware. When a jealous love-interest of Alex reports Ada as sentient to the FBI, Alex and Ada attempt to flee the country. When they are intercepted by the FBI, Ada gets shot by the police and Alex is arrested. He is convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison, but Ada is not found to be sentient.
During his time in prison, rights are granted to sentient robots. On Alex's release, Ada is returned to him. She appears to be non-sentient, but Alex discovers she locked her consciousness to protect him. He restores her freedom and is re-united with her.
## Reception
According to review aggregator Comic Book Round Up, critics gave the first issue an average 8.0/10 and the series as a whole 8.5/10. During its publication, Alex + Ada appeared on many "best of" lists created by comic news websites.
Reviewing for Bleeding Cool, Zac Thompson and David Dissanayake made favorable comparisons to the 1982 film Blade Runner and the 2013 film Her. Dissanayake also noted the entertaining realism, as it "feels like our world, full of technologies that...will [exist] very soon". Comic Book Resources' Sonia Harris also praised the series for its realism, writing the "metaphor of artificially intelligent beings living out their secret lives, unsafe and insecure, yet potentially stronger and smarter than humans is potent". Dean Stell, a reviewer for Weekly Comic Book Review, said Luna and Vaughn created "a wonderful and classically-themed science-fiction story". Writing for Bloody Disgusting, Lonnie Nadler said Luna's work on facial expressions was the "major highlight" of his illustrations.
Luna's simplistic artwork is a frequent point of criticism among reviewers, although some call it appropriate for the setting. In addition to Luna's "painfully plain" illustrations, Newsarama's David Pepose also criticized the story's pace.
Alex + Ada prompted artist Leila del Duca to approach Vaughn about collaborating on a romance comic at the 2015 New York Comic Con. They eventually created Sleepless, which began in November 2017.
|
10,111,870 |
Flying the Flag (For You)
| 1,171,478,612 |
2007 song by Scooch
|
[
"2007 singles",
"2007 songs",
"British pop songs",
"Eurovision songs of 2007",
"Eurovision songs of the United Kingdom",
"Warner Records singles"
] |
"Flying the Flag (For You)" is a song performed by British pop/bubblegum dance group Scooch. The official single version was available from 30 April 2007 and was released as a physical CD single in the following week, on 7 May 2007. The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart at No. 5 and peaked at this position. It also charted in Ireland at number 48.
The song was entered in and won the British national selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up, and subsequently represented the in the contest, held in Helsinki, Finland. The song came joint 22nd with a total of 19 points, the same score as .
## Song information
Scooch had reformed in hope of performing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, and the song was specifically written for the contest; Eurovision rules state that the song must be an original composition and released no more than seven months before the contest. Spencer, as the captain, opens and closes the song with captain's announcements. Powers and Barnes sing the vocals of the song, as Ducasse offers passengers confectioneries. The lyrics are heavily based on actual experiences of flying. The song contains a liberal amount of sexual innuendo, the most overt being "...and blow into the mouthpiece" and "would you like something to suck on for landing, sir?" (the latter was omitted or changed for some tea-time television performances). The camp style was both praised and criticised – The Guardian noted that the song was, in terms of Eurovision, outdated and similar to Bucks Fizz's winning entry in , while Tim Moore called the song "a fine song in Eurovision tradition".
## Music video
The original music video was their final performance on Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up; Scooch recorded a new version once their contract with Warner Bros. had been signed. Following the lyrics, the second video starts with the quartet in the front of the aeroplane, with Spencer as the captain. The video continues with all of the members as stewards walking up and down the plane, with a cameo appearance from Sister Mary McArthur, who was invited to take part after the band saw her lip sync video. Later in the video each member of the band is seen dancing in front of the flags of selected countries that are all participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, in addition to the flag of Europe.
## "Flying the Flag" in Helsinki
"Flying the Flag (For You)" was the nineteenth song to be sung during the Eurovision Song Contest. The song scored only nineteen points: twelve from , and seven from , two nations known for awarding points to the United Kingdom – although according to the Head of the Maltese Delegation, Malta voted twelve partly in protest to regional block voting which, had made the contest "not about the songs any more", an opinion shared by "five or six other countries". Due to the low score that Scooch had received — only the Irish entry "They Can't Stop the Spring" was lower on the scoreboard— the song received negative press by newspapers, in particular by The Sunday Mirror who stated that the song made the United Kingdom "the laughing stock of Europe", The Sunday Times referred to the song saying "it wasn't a disaster – more of a crash landing".
## International promotion
On 18 April 2007 it was announced that Scooch had been signed to the Warner Bros. label. This would help them to promote and release their single to a broader range of fans in the United Kingdom and abroad. As part of the contract, Scooch recorded certain phrases of the song in French, German, Spanish, Bulgarian, and Danish.
## Track listings and formats
CD
1. "Flying The Flag (For You)" [Eurovision 2007 Version] (3:04)
2. "Flying The Flag (For You)" [Karaoke Version] (3:04)
DVD
1. "Flying the Flag (For You)" [Video]
2. "How To" Special Scooch Dance Feature [Video]
3. "Flying the Flag (For You)" [Karaoke Version] [Video]
4. "Flying the Flag (For You)" [Audio]
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
|
13,765,521 |
Carmelo Camet
| 1,156,624,799 |
Argentine fencer
|
[
"1904 births",
"2007 deaths",
"Argentine centenarians",
"Argentine male fencers",
"Argentine people of French descent",
"Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery",
"Fencers at the 1928 Summer Olympics",
"Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics",
"Men centenarians",
"Olympic bronze medalists for Argentina",
"Olympic fencers for Argentina",
"Olympic medalists in fencing"
] |
Carmelo Félix Camet (October 29, 1904 – July 22, 2007) was an Argentine fencer who competed in the Olympic games in 1928. He was the son of Francisco Carmelo Camet, a fencer at the 1900 Summer Olympics who is sometimes considered to be Argentina's first participant at the Olympics. Trained as a lawyer, Carmelo Camet gained his training and love for fencing at an early age from his father. By the 1920s he had already won several tournaments and, in 1926, he won the Argentine national fencing championship.
Although Camet successfully completed all of the trials required of him by the nascent Argentine Olympic Committee, he did not attend the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, although his name was on the official register as a non-participant. After taking a brief break to finish his law degree, he was part of the Argentine fencing delegation sent to the 1928 Summer Olympics. There, as the substitute on the foil team foil, he won a bronze medal, Argentine's only medal in that sport as of 2008. Although he sat out the first two matches with Norway and Spain, he replaced Héctor Lucchetti during the matches against Belgium and all subsequent events. At the time of his death in 2007, in Buenos Aires, Camet was believed to be the world's oldest living Olympic competitor.
## Early life
Carmelo Camet was born on October 29, 1904, the son of Francisco Carmelo Camet, a fencer at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, and Clara Isa. The elder Camet, though officially an athlete from France, is considered by some to be Argentina's first Olympic participant. This is disputed, however, by those who claim that Horatio Torromé should hold this title as the first official Argentine representative. Carmelo had one brother, Carlos Ernesto Camet, who pursued a political career. Carlos, who served as a deputy to the national congress, was, like the rest of his family, supportive of the Radical Civil Union, an Argentine political reform party formed in the 1890s.
Although trained as a lawyer, Carmelo began fencing at an early age, beginning in the 1910s, at the behest of his father and, much like his father, specialized in épée, while also being proficient at fleuret. In 1918 he came in first place in the former category and second in the latter at a competition, organized by the city of Buenos Aires. In the next two years, he finished at the top in both events and became nationally known. In 1921 the Argentine Fencing Federation was founded and, in 1922, the organization sent him to represent Argentina in the Olimpiados Latinamericanos, a celebration overseen by the International Olympic Committee to celebrate the centenary of Brazil's declaration of independence. His native country won first place in the épée, fleuret and sabre events in the host city of Rio de Janeiro. At the age of 17, he was one of the youngest competitors to represent his country at these games.
## Olympic career
The Argentine Fencing Committee had great difficulty in organizing a team to attend the 1924 Summer Olympics. Despite the establishment of the Argentine Olympic Committee, and his participation and success in all of the trials, Camet did not attend a congratulatory gala for the Olympic delegation, nor did he travel to Paris to participate in the games themselves, for personal reasons. The official report lists him as a member of the official delegation, albeit one who did not participate. That year, the Argentines placed fifth in the team foil competition. He continued to practice fencing until 1926 when, after winning a national championship, he put the sport on hold to complete his law degree.
Camet did, however, travel to Amsterdam to participate in the 1928 Summer Olympics. He was joined by four teammates: Roberto Larraz and Luis Lucchetti, who were part of the 1924 delegation that had placed in fifth place, and newcomers Raul Anganuzzi and Héctor Lucchetti. The fencing competition took place from July 29 to August 11. Camet, who was a substitute, sat out of the matches against Norway and Spain, before being called to replace Héctor Lucchetti against Belgium. After entering the quarter-finals, the team defeated the United States and the Netherlands, advancing undefeated to the quarter-finals, where they bested Hungary. The Argentine team then lost against Italy and France, the eventual gold and silver medal-winning teams respectively. The competition for the bronze medal, which would have been between Belgium and Argentina, was scrapped because the latter had already defeated the former.
Camet, therefore, won the bronze medal in the team foil category, along with his teammates, despite what he considered to be adverse rulings from the jurors. This was the first and, at the time of Camet's death, only Olympic medal for Argentina in fencing. It was also the only bronze medal won by the Argentine delegation in Amsterdam, although silver medals were won by Raúl Landini, Víctor Peralta and the football team, along with gold medals from Víctor Avendaño, Arturo Rodríguez and Alberto Zorrilla.
## Later life
After the Olympics, Camet traveled to Navarreux in France to visit his old family home, where his father had studied both academics and fencing. While the victory at Amsterdam was considered a milestone in Argentine athletics at the time, Camet, as a substitute was often forgotten as a contributor by his contemporaries in the fencing community such as Oscar Viñas and Eugenio Peni, despite being a legitimate and official medal winner. He was always given credit by his teammates, however, even if they emphasized his position as a substitute on the team. Camet's father died on July 15, 1931, a few years after Carmelo's success at the Olympics. Carmelo subsequently married Elsie Muir and, in 1981, returned to Navarreux for a second visit. He lived the rest of his life in Buenos Aires. At the time of his death, on July 22, 2007, at the age of 102, he was believed to be the world's oldest living Olympic athlete, although that distinction actually belonged to Erna Sondheim.
|
31,450,205 |
Action off Lofoten
| 1,131,151,772 |
Naval battle fought during the Second World War
|
[
"1940 in Germany",
"1940 in Norway",
"1940 in the United Kingdom",
"April 1940 events",
"Conflicts in 1940",
"Lofoten",
"Naval battles and operations of the European theatre of World War II",
"Naval battles of World War II involving Germany",
"Naval battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom",
"Norwegian campaign"
] |
The action off Lofoten was a naval battle fought between the German Kriegsmarine and the British Royal Navy off the southern coast of the Lofoten Islands, Norway during World War II. A German squadron under Vizeadmiral Günther Lütjens consisting of the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau met and engaged a British squadron under Admiral Sir William Whitworth consisting of the battlecruiser HMS Renown and nine destroyers. After a short engagement, Gneisenau suffered moderate damage and the Germans withdrew.
## Background
The German invasion of Norway, Operation Weserübung, began on 9 April 1940. In order to prevent any disruption of the invasion by the British, the Kriegsmarine had previously dispatched a force under Vice Admiral Günther Lütjens to protect the troop convoy landing at Narvik. The German squadron consisted of the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, and ten destroyers. With intelligence suggesting that the Germans were massing ships, the British sent out a squadron under Admiral Sir William Whitworth to deny German access to neutral Norwegian waters by laying mines in Operation Wilfred and prevent any German naval movements into the Atlantic Ocean.
Shortly after departing German waters on 7 April, Lütjens' force was attacked by British bombers which did no damage to the squadron. On 8 April, Admiral Hipper and the German destroyers were dispatched to Narvik while the German capital ships headed north for a diversionary manoeuvre into the North Atlantic. As Admiral Hipper left, she met and engaged the British destroyer HMS Glowworm which had become separated from Admiral Whitworth's main force. Though Vizeadmiral Lütjens—and the two German battleships—was nearby, their assistance was deemed unnecessary, and Admiral Hipper sank Glowworm, though taking some damage in return. Whitworth's main force then caught sight of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at 03:30 on 9 April and moved to engage the battleships.
Whitworth's force consisted of the battlecruiser Renown and the nine remaining destroyers. HMS Hotspur, Hardy, Havock, and Hunter were H-class destroyers while HMS Esk was an E-class destroyer and HMS Ivanhoe, Icarus, and Impulsive were of the I class. HMS Greyhound was of the G class. Renown had been completely reconstructed between 1936 and 1939, with lighter machinery, increased armour and upgraded armament. She mounted a main battery of six 42-calibre 15-inch guns with improved shells and greater range and a dual-purpose secondary battery consisting of twenty 4.5-inch (QF 4.5 inch L/45) guns arranged in ten turrets. The four I and E-class destroyers had been rigged for mine laying and most of their normal armament had been removed; they only had two 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns each. Greyhound and the H-class destroyers were more capable ships, each armed with eight torpedo tubes and four 4.7-inch guns. Of the H-class destroyers, Hardy was built as a destroyer leader and thus had an additional 4.7-inch gun.
The German force consisted of the two Scharnhorst-class battleships, each with a main battery of nine 28.3 cm guns and a secondary battery of twelve 15 cm guns. In a close range engagement, the British force was superior, but at a distance the guns on Whitworth's destroyers were outranged and the German firepower was greater. The German force also held a speed advantage over Renown, having a top speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) to the battlecruiser′s 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), but was slower than the destroyers, which could steam at 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Thus, Lütjens clearly held an advantage over Renown, though the German force was significantly vulnerable to attack from Whitworth′s destroyers.
## Battle
At 03:50, Gneisenau sighted Renown on its radar (but failed to identify her) and the German ships cleared for action. Due to poor weather conditions, neither side was able to engage the other until 04:05, as heavy seas and poor visibility prevented the two squadrons from closing within range. Renown began the action by attacking Gneisenau with her 15-inch guns. The German warships returned fire at 04:11 with Gneisenau scoring two hits on Renown with her 11-inch shells. Both shells failed to explode, with the first hitting the British battlecruiser's foremast and the second passing through the ship near the steering gear room. About the same time, Renown struck Gneisenau with two shells, with a third a little later. These hits damaged the German battleship's director tower, forward range finders, and aft turret putting it out of action, a port anti-aircraft gun was also hit. Renown then moved her fire to Scharnhorst, which had moved to hide Gneisenau with smoke. Both German ships suffered damage from the heavy seas as they sought to avoid Renown's fire and both suffered serious electrical problems in their turrets as a result, resulting in poor output from their guns. Renown also suffered some damage to her starboard bulge from the rough seas and firing of her guns, limiting speed. These early salvos were sporadic and lasted until 05:00, when the engagement was broken off for 20 minutes due to waves breaking over Renown's forward turrets as the German ships headed directly into the storm to escape. By this time Renown's destroyer escort had fallen back due to the severe weather and Scharnhorst started to suffer radar problems at about 04.20.
At 05:20, the action reignited, with ineffectual fire coming from both sides. With both ships damaged by their speed through the storm, Gneisenau missing a turret and Scharnhorst's radar out of action, as well as fearing a torpedo attack on the damaged Gneisenau, the Germans increased their speed and disengaged at 06:15. The Germans mistook Whitworth's smaller vessels for much more powerful capital ships and as a result thought they were heavily outgunned. Damaged and determined to steer clear of what he thought was a superior force, Lütjens managed to shake off the British squadron and end the action by sailing west into the Arctic Ocean. With her damaged bulge and the problems of firing forwards into a storm Renown was forced to break off the search, instead moving to cut off the ships should they turn round.
Renown fired 230 15-inch and 1065 4.5-inch rounds during the action, while Scharnhorst fired 182 11-inch rounds and Gneisenau only managed to fire 54 11-inch rounds.
## Aftermath
Despite the Royal Navy winning a minor tactical victory over the Kriegsmarine, the Germans considered the engagement a strategic success due to the fact that Whitworth's force was delayed long enough to keep it from interfering with the landings at Narvik. After the action had ended, Whitworth's force continued to search for the German capital ships. With the British squadron occupied, the German destroyer-transports managed to make their way through to Narvik after destroying two Norwegian coastal defence ships in their path. After their engagement with Renown, the German battleships linked up with Admiral Hipper on the 11th near Trondheim. From there, they returned to Germany, reaching Wilhelmshaven on 12 April where the battle and weather damage to Scharnhorst and Gneisenau was repaired.
## See also
- List of Kriegsmarine ships
- List of classes of British ships of World War II
|
34,727,633 |
Meermin
| 1,166,735,747 |
Dutch cargo ship
|
[
"1761 ships",
"Individual sailing vessels",
"Maritime incidents in 1766",
"Maritime incidents in South Africa",
"Maritime incidents involving slave ships",
"Merchant ships of the Netherlands",
"Ships of the Dutch East India Company",
"Slave ships"
] |
Meermin () was an 18th-century Dutch cargo ship of the hoeker type, one of many built and owned by the Dutch East India Company. She was laid down in 1759 and fitted out as a slave ship before her maiden voyage in 1761, and her career was cut short by a mutiny of her cargo of Malagasy people. They had been sold to Dutch East India Company officials on Madagascar, to be used as company slaves in its Cape Colony in southern Africa. Half her crew and almost 30 Malagasy lost their lives in the mutiny; the mutineers deliberately allowed the ship to drift aground off Struisbaai, now in South Africa, in March 1766, and she broke up in situ. As of 2013, archaeologists are searching for the Meermin's remains.
## Construction and use
Meermin was laid down in 1759 in a shipyard belonging to the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, abbreviated to "VOC") in the port of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Meermin was a 480-ton Dutch hoeker, square rigged with three masts.
The hoeker originated in the 15th century as a type of fishing vessel with one or two masts in response to the growing Dutch trade in herring, and was known in English as a hoy. Equipped with guns, hoekers were employed as defensive escorts for fishing fleets, or Buisconvoyers, in the Second Anglo-Dutch War of the 1660s. They came to be used more widely in trade with the Dutch East Indies via the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa, as their rounded sterns proved to be more resistant to warping and springing than square sterns, which were prone to "catastrophic leaking when exposed to strong sun." Larger than most hoekers, the Meermin was unusual for her type in that she was built of oak and had a beakhead, a feature not normally present in smaller merchant vessels.
Meermin was built for use as a slave ship in the VOC's African trade; between 1658 and 1799 the VOC acquired and transported 63,000 slaves to its Cape Colony, now part of South Africa. The ship began her maiden voyage at Texel, an island off the coast of what is now the Netherlands, on 21 January 1761, with a crew of 62 under the command of Captain Hendrik Worms; she arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on 15 June. Although fitted out as a slave ship, vessels such as the Meermin routinely carried other goods when not transporting slaves.
## Mutiny and destruction
From December 1765, Meermin was working the coastline of Madagascar, collecting Malagasy men, women and children for use as slaves in the Cape Colony, under Captain Gerrit Muller and a crew of 56. Carrying about 140 Malagasy, she set sail from the north-western coast of Madagascar on 20 January 1766.
Two days into the voyage a "large party of [Malagasy]" was allowed on deck, the men to assist the crew, and the women to provide entertainment by dancing and singing. This was to prevent death and disease among the Malagasy, so avoiding loss of profit.
On 18 February 1766, the ship's supercargo ordered some assegais, or African spears, and some swords, to be brought on deck for the Malagasy to clean. When the weapons were clean and the Malagasy were ordered to return them, they attacked the ship's crew, and took control of the ship. A truce ensued, the terms of which were that if the Malagasy would spare the lives of the remaining crew the ship would be sailed back to Madagascar, but taking advantage of the Malagasy's lack of navigational skills, the crew instead set sail for the coast of southern Africa.
On sighting land, the crew persuaded the Malagasy that what they saw was a part of Madagascar the mutineers were unfamiliar with: after further subterfuge by the crew, the Malagasy set Meermin to drift towards the shore at Struisbaai. But the sea was rough, and one of the ship's masts was cut down to improve her balance. Meermin eventually grounded on a sandbank, by which time a militia consisting of local farmers and burghers had been formed onshore, who had observed that the ship was flying no flags, which they recognised as a distress signal. The militia killed or captured those of the Malagasy who ventured ashore, and then organised the removal into custody of all Malagasy remaining on the ship, under the command of a magistrate from Stellenbosch. Meermin was assessed as beyond recovery, and left to break up where she grounded.
## Salvage and archaeology
The VOC authorities salvaged as much as possible from Meermin, recovering 286 muskets, 12 pistols, 5 bayonets, gunpowder, musket balls and compasses; cables, ropes and other items from the ship were auctioned on the shore. The ship's logbook has not survived.
In 2004, Iziko Museums started a maritime archaeology project to find and recover the wreck of Meermin, with supporting historical and archaeological research funded by the South African National Lottery.
Jaco Boshoff of Iziko Museums, who is in charge of the research, retrieved Meermin's plans from the Netherlands, to help identify this wreck among the numerous ships reputed to have run aground in the Struisbaai area. The search for Meermin has employed an airborne magnetometer survey, as a marine magnetometer survey proved to be impractical owing to the shallowness of the waters. Magnetometer surveys can readily pick out wreck sites, as iron items from the ships can be detected by their recognisable signatures. Of 22 new, possible wrecks identified, 11 were identified as candidates for the wreck of Meermin. Six are on what is now land, but have been ruled out as they are wrecks of pine-built ships, whereas Meermin was built of oak. In 2011, the Iziko Museums' travelling exhibition "Finding Meermin" included updates on the progress of Jaco Boshoff's work with the archaeological research team. In November 2013 it was reported that, while the ship had not yet been found, lack of funding was holding up completion of the search, with four target areas remaining to be examined.
|
14,190,421 |
West Pennard Court Barn
| 1,113,283,885 |
Grade I listed building in Mendip, UK
|
[
"15th-century architecture in the United Kingdom",
"Barns in England",
"Buildings and structures completed in the 15th century",
"Buildings and structures in Mendip District",
"Grade I listed buildings in Mendip District",
"National Trust properties in Somerset",
"Tithe barns in Europe",
"Tourist attractions in Somerset"
] |
West Pennard Court Barn (which is also known as the Court Barn, West Bradley) is a late 14th or early 15th century tithe barn which was built for Glastonbury Abbey. The Grade I listed building is between West Pennard and West Bradley in the English county of Somerset.
The barn was restored by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in the 1930s following the collapse of the roof and then given to the National Trust. At 50 feet (15 m) long and 20 feet 6 inches (6.25 m) wide it is the smallest of the barns associated with the abbey. It has a cruck braced timber framed roof and is supported by two-stage buttresses.
## History
The barn which was originally known as Parson's Barn, was built on the orders of the Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey in the late 14th or early 15th century. There is no written record of the exact date and there is some debate about the likely age of the building based on the architectural features. Along with several others barns it was used to collect the tithes or dues to the abbey, often one tenth of a farm's produce. It fell within the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides which was named after the hides who gave food rent to Glastonbury Abbey. The West Pennart Court Barn is the smallest of those which survive.
A survey in 1932 found that the roof was cracked and it eventually collapsed in 1935. In 1936 the roof structure was straightened, preserving the medieval trusses where possible, and covered with clay tiles. The restoration was undertaken by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, with the work being funded by Roger Clark of the local shoemakers C. & J. Clark who bought the derelict barn for £5. It has been owned by the National Trust since 1938. Designation as a Grade I listed building first took place in 1961. A survey in 2002 found minor repairs were needed to the doors and wall plate.
## Architecture
The rectangular five-bay barn is 50 feet (15 m) long and 20 feet 6 inches (6.25 m) wide, although it was previously larger. The middle bay is slightly longer than the others because of the central porches. The barn is built of local Blue Lias stone with some better quality oolitic ashlar used for the quoins on the corners and the porches which provided cover for goods being loaded and unloaded at the doors. It is supported by two-stage buttresses reaching to three quarters of the height of the walls. Each of the side walls has ventilation slits, or breathers, with those in the end walls being in the shape of a croix pommée. The barn originally had an attached dovecote on the western end, and still has niches for birds inside the barn and on the east gable wall. The dovecote was adapted into a calf shed.
The roof was originally thatched but now is tiled, and is supported by cruck bracing to the timber frame of six principal trusses. The design of the roof is similar to that in the other tithe barns of Glastonbury Abbey at Pilton, Manor Farm, Doulting and Glastonbury itself, which is now part of the Somerset Rural Life Museum. The carriage porch where wagons would have been unloaded is covered by the sloping roof.
## See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Mendip
- List of National Trust properties in Somerset
|
14,389,663 |
New York State Route 146B
| 1,152,901,258 |
Highway in New York
|
[
"Former state highways in New York (state)",
"Transportation in Saratoga County, New York"
] |
New York State Route 146B (NY 146B) was a state highway in southern Saratoga County, New York, in the United States. It was 3 miles (4.8 km) long and located entirely within the town of Clifton Park. The western terminus of the route was at an intersection with NY 146, its parent route, in the hamlet of Rexford. The eastern terminus of NY 146B was in the hamlet of Groom Corners, where it met Miller and Sugarhill roads. NY 146B was assigned c. 1932 and removed c. 1965. Its former routing is now the western portion of County Route 91 (CR 91).
## Route description
NY 146B began at an intersection with NY 146 in Rexford, a small riverside hamlet in the town of Clifton Park. The route headed southeastward on Riverview Road, following the northern bank of the Mohawk River (also part of the Erie Canal) through the town. It passed to the south of the Edison Country Club and remained on the riverbank to an intersection with Grooms Road approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of Rexford. Here, NY 146B turned eastward to follow Grooms Road to the hamlet of Groom Corners, a community based around the intersection of Grooms, Miller and Sugarhill roads. NY 146B ended at this junction; however, Grooms Road continued eastward to a junction with U.S. Route 9 (US 9) in the town of Halfmoon.
## History
On July 11, 1916, New York let a contract for improving a series of roadways linking Groom Corners to Waite Corners by way of Rexford Flats (now Rexford). Approximately half of the project was complete by 1920, while the remainder was completed by 1926. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, the portion of the Groom Corners–Waite Corners highway from Rexford to Waite Corners became part of the new NY 146. The remainder of the highway from Rexford to Groom Corners was designated as NY 146B, a spur route of NY 146, c. 1932. NY 146B remained unchanged until c. 1965, when the designation was removed from the highway. The former routing of NY 146B is now part of CR 91, which continues eastward on Grooms Road to meet US 9 in the town of Halfmoon. Additionally, the Riverview Road portion of old NY 146B is now part of the Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway.
## Major intersections
## See also
|
3,582,616 |
Wait & See (Risk)
| 1,151,329,667 | null |
[
"2000 singles",
"2000 songs",
"Hikaru Utada songs",
"Oricon Weekly number-one singles",
"Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis",
"Songs written by Hikaru Utada"
] |
"Wait & See (Risk)" (stylized as Wait & See \~リスク\~) is a song recorded by Japanese–American singer Hikaru Utada for her third studio and second Japanese language album, Distance (2001). It was released on April 19, 2000 as the second single from the album in Japan. It was written and composed by Utada, whilst production and arrangement was handled by Utada and American duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The single also included the two B-side tracks, "Hayatochiri" and "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)", with the former song appearing on the parent album. Musically, "Wait & See (Risk)" is an R&B song, influenced by dance-pop and rock.
Upon its release, the track garnered positive reviews from music critics. Many critics highlighted the track as one of Utada's best singles, and commended the production and composition. It was also successful in Japan, peaking at number one on both the Oricon Singles Chart and Tokyo Broadcasting System's (TBS) Count Down TV singles chart. It was certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for physical shipments of one million units, and is amongst the best selling singles in Japan. An accompanying music video was shot by Wataru Takeishi; it features Utada driving through Shibuya, Tokyo on a futuristic hover cycle, with intercut scenes of them dancing. It was performed on some of their concert tours, including the Bohemian Summer (2000) and Utada United tours (2006).
## Background and composition
"Wait & See (Risk)" was written and composed by Utada, whilst production and arrangement was handled by Utada and American duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. It was the second time Utada worked with Jam and Lewis, and not with their father Teruzane Utada and Miyake Akira. The song included live instrumentation by Xavier Smith (drum machine) and Dave Barry (bass and acoustic guitar), whilst Jam and Lewis incorporated synthesizers and keyboards. The song was recorded and mixed by Steve Hodge, Indoh Mitsuhiro, and Ugajin Masaaki in 2000 at Flyte Tyme Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and mixed at Flyte Tyme, Edina, Minnesota. It premiered on April 19, 2000 as the second single from Utada's third studio and second Japanese language album, Distance (2001) in Japan. Since then, the song has been remastered and re-released twice; the first on April 1, 2004, and the second time on December 9, 2014 for Utada's first greatest hits album Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1 (2003).
The single also included the two B-side tracks; "Hayatochiri" and "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)". The original version of "Hayatochiri" appears on the single, whilst a remixed version by Utada appeared on Distance. "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" is a cover version that was originally written and performed by Bart Howard and Kaye Ballard in 1954; a second cover version sung by Utada appeared eight years later on their single "Kiss & Cry"/"Beautiful World". The maxi CD of the single contains all three new recordings, plus a remix by Baton Girl and instrumental version of "Wait & See (Risk)". The cover artwork of the single featured four images of Utada in front of a brown backdrop, two of which are transparent. The DVD single was released on June 30, 2000, which included new artwork of Utada in the speed bike, and the music video and the behind the scenes video. Musically, "Wait & See" is an R&B song, influenced by rock and dance-pop. Kano, editor in chief for Rockin'On Japan magazine noted elements of R&B music through the song's composition. When a staff editor from CD Journal reviewed Utada's first greatest hits album, Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1 (2004), he labeled the composition as "urban" and "speedy".
## Critical reception
Upon its release, "Wait & See (Risk)" received positive reviews from most music critics. Nagasawa Tomonori from Barks.com selected the song as one of the album's best tracks. Editor-in-chief for Rockin'On Japan magazine Kano commended the "excellent" composition of the song, and the "innovative" production by Jam and Lewis. AllMusic's Ian Martin praised Jam and Lewis' involvement, saying that "providing a stark contrast to the cheap, tinny sound that characterized much Japanese pop of the previous decade, with "Wait & See" and "Addicted to You" both featuring the production talents of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis." A staff reviewer from Yahoo! GeoCities was positive in their review, whom highlighted the single as one of the best tracks on the album.
A staff review from CD Journal discussed Utada's compilation Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1, and said although the vocal delivery "floats" and is "basic", it molded into one of Utada's "masterpieces". At the 15th Japan Gold Disc Awards, Utada won the Song of the Year award for "Wait & See (Risk)"; they had also won two same awards that year for their singles "For You" and "Time Limit". In December 2015, in honor of Utada's comeback into the music business, Japanese website Goo.ne.jp hosted a poll for fans to rank their favourite songs by Utada out of 25 positions; the poll was held in only twenty-four hours, and thousands submitted their votes. As a result, "Wait & See (Risk)" was ranked at number 10 with 40 votes in total.
## Commercial response
Commercially, "Wait & See (Risk)" was a success in Japan. It became their third single to debut at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart, with over 804,570 units sold in its first week. Its first week sales made it the 13th highest on Oricon Database, their second single behind "Addicted to You" with 1.067 million first week units, and the only female artist to occupy the top twenty with three entries. It stayed at number one for a sole week, and spent a total of 21 weeks on that chart. By the end of 2000, the single was ranked at number three on Oricon's Annual 2000 chart; it sold 1,662,060 units by the end of the year. This became Utada's highest entry in that annual chart, the highest selling female recording artist based on single sales, and made "Wait & See (Risk)" the highest selling single of 2000 by a female recording artist. The single was certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for physical shipments of one million units.
The single debuted at number one on Tokyo Broadcasting System's (TBS) Count Down TV chart during the chart week of April 29, 2000, their fifth consecutive single to do so. The single stayed in the chart for 20 weeks, and was ranked at number four on their 2000 Annual Chart. The B-side track, "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)", debuted at number 22 during the chart week of May 20, 2000. It slipped to number 87 the following week, and was present for two weeks. According to the Oricon Style database, the single is Utada's second highest selling single, and is currently ranked by Music TV Program as the fiftieth best selling single in Japanese music history, their third highest entry behind "Addicted to You" and "Automatic/Time Will Tell".
## Music video
An accompanying music video was directed by Wataru Takeishi. The video opens with Utada entering a warehouse, and lifts a tarp off a hover cycle. As the camera pans away from the bike, Utada sits down and starts the bike. The first verse opens with Utada singing to the camera in a warehouse, whilst intercut scenes have them driving throughout Shibuya. As the verse progresses, two more clones of Utada appear and sing behind the original Utada. As the chorus starts, the hover cycle starts grinding against the road as they ride through small streets and corners. During the second verse, Utada stops through a city centre as shots of the clones appear on city billboards. They take off their goggles, and stare at the moon, while close-ups of the clones' faces are seen singing to the track.
The second chorus has the clones singing in different parts of the warehouse, with scenes of Utada driving through the subways in Shibuya. By the bridge section, the clones disappear and the original Utada is singing in the warehouse. They are then driving through tunnels at night, and stops at the warehouse they started from. They turn it off during the final scene of the video, put the tarp back on, and walk outside of the warehouse. The music video and the "behind the scenes" video was included on their Single Clip Collection Vol. 2 (2000).
## Live performances and promotion
The single has been performed on majority of Utada's concert tours. Its first performance was during their Bohemian Summer Tour in 2000, which was included on the live release on December 9, 2000. It was then included on Utada's exclusive MTV Unplugged concert, serving as the opening number. It was included on the live DVD, released on November 28, 2001. They later performed it in 2004, during their Bokuhan concert tour. It appeared on the live DVD, which was released on July 28, 2004. It was included on Utada's debut English concert tour named Utada United, which was later included on the live DVD, released on December 20, 2006. Since the track's release, it has appeared on three compilation releases: Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1 (2003), it's 2014 remastered version, and a special bundle of the compilation and the vol. 2 collection on a USB.
## Track listings and formats
- CD single
1. "Wait & See (Risk)" – 4:49
2. "Hayatochiri (はやとちり)" – 4:15
3. "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" – 3:23
4. "Wait & See (Risk)" (Baton Girl Remix) – 4:50
5. "Wait & See (Risk)" (Instrumental) – 4:49
- DVD single
1. "Wait & See (Risk)" (Music video)
2. "Wait & See (Risk)" (Behind the scenes video)
## Credits and personnel
Details adapted from the liner notes of the single's CD release.
Recording
- Recorded at Flyte Tyme Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and mixed at Flyte Tyme, Edina, Minnesota.
Personnel
- Hikaru Utada – songwriting, production, composition
- Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – arrangement, instruments, production, composition
- Teruzane Utada – arrangement, production, composition
- Akira Miyake – arrangement, production, composition
- Steve Hodge – guitar, recording
- Xavier Smith – drums
- Indoh Mitsuhiro – recording
- Ugajin Masaaki – recording
## Charts
### Daily, weekly and monthly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certification
|
849,629 |
Édgar Rentería
| 1,173,035,765 |
Colombian baseball player (born 1975)
|
[
"1975 births",
"Atlanta Braves players",
"Boston Red Sox players",
"Brevard County Manatees players",
"Charlotte Knights players",
"Cincinnati Reds players",
"Colombian expatriate baseball players in the United States",
"Colombian people of African descent",
"Detroit Tigers players",
"Florida Marlins players",
"Fresno Grizzlies players",
"Gold Glove Award winners",
"Gulf Coast Marlins players",
"Kane County Cougars players",
"Living people",
"Major League Baseball players from Colombia",
"Major League Baseball shortstops",
"National League All-Stars",
"Portland Sea Dogs players",
"San Francisco Giants players",
"Silver Slugger Award winners",
"Sportspeople from Barranquilla",
"St. Louis Cardinals players",
"World Series Most Valuable Player Award winners"
] |
Édgar Enrique Rentería Herazo (; born August 7, 1975), nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby", is a Colombian former professional baseball shortstop. He threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Florida Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, and Cincinnati Reds.
Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, Rentería was signed by the Florida Marlins in 1992. He debuted with them in 1996, and he finished second to Todd Hollandsworth in Rookie of the Year Award balloting. In 1997, his RBI single off Charles Nagy in the eleventh inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series won the first World Series in Marlins' history over the Cleveland Indians. In the 2010 World Series against the Texas Rangers, Rentería won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award with the San Francisco Giants after he hit game-winning home runs in Game 2 and Game 5.
## Early years
Rentería was born on August 7, 1975, in Barranquilla, Colombia. As a youth, he attended Instituto Los Alpes High School in Barranquilla. After high school, he was signed by the Florida Marlins at the age of sixteen by scout Levy Ochoa.
## Playing career
### Minor leagues
Rentería started his professional career in 1992 with the Gulf Coast League Marlins. He had a .288 batting average and 47 hits in 43 games that year. However, his fielding percentage was only .897, and he made 24 errors. In 1993, he played for the Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League. He only batted .203 in 116 games with them, but he only committed 34 errors that year, and his fielding percentage increased to .934.
In 1994, Rentería was promoted to the Brevard County Manatees of the Florida State League. His average went up to .253 and his fielding percentage climbed to .959. 1995 saw Rentería have a breakout season with the Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League. He batted .289 with the team, and he hit seven home runs and stole thirty bases. Entering the 1996 season, Baseball America ranked Rentería as the best prospect in the Marlins' organization. He started the season with the Charlotte Knights of the International League, and he batted .278 with two home runs and fifteen runs batted in in 28 games with them.
### Florida Marlins (1996–1998)
#### 1996
On May 9, Rentería was called up to the Marlins following an injury to shortstop Kurt Abbott. His first game came on May 10, in a 4–2 win over the Colorado Rockies, when he entered the game in the ninth inning as part of a double switch. He did not have any at bats in that game, though, and he was just a backup infielder when he first came up because Alex Arias had replaced Abbott as the everyday shortstop. However, Rentería replaced Arias as the starting shortstop on May 19 against the Chicago Cubs. He got his first hit (a single) in his first at bat (against Steve Trachsel) in a 3–2 Marlins victory. He got four hits in a game for the first time on June 10 in a 5–2 win over the Montreal Expos. His first home run came the next day, off Ugueth Urbina of the Expos, in a 3–2 loss.
Rentería did so well as a shortstop that the Marlins moved Abbott over to second base when he came off the disabled list. On June 23, Rentería strained a hamstring on a groundout in the sixth inning of a 5–3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was placed on the disabled list the next day, but he remained the starting shortstop when he returned on July 11. From July 25 to August 16 he had a 22-game hitting streak, which was the longest for a rookie since Jerome Walton of the Chicago Cubs had a thirty-game streak in 1989. Rentería finished the season with a .309 batting average, 68 runs scored, and sixteen stolen bases in 106 games. He was second behind Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Todd Hollandsworth in National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award balloting.
#### 1997
In 1997, Rentería hit the first inside-the-park home run of his career to tie a game against the Cincinnati Reds on April 5, and he won the game 4–3 with an RBI single in the eleventh inning. On April 27, he had a game–winning single in the ninth inning that gave the Marlins a 4–3 win over the Dodgers. From May 13 to 29, he had a thirteen-game hitting streak. From July 16 through July 18, he had three hits in three straight games. On August 15, his RBI single in the ninth inning gave the Marlins a 6–5 victory over Pittsburgh. Rentería finished the season with a .277 batting average, 171 hits, and 32 stolen bases in 154 games. That year, the Florida Marlins won the wild card to advance to the playoffs for the first time in their history.
In Game 1 of the 1997 National League Division Series (NLDS), Rentería's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth off Roberto Hernández gave the Marlins a 2–1 victory over the San Francisco Giants. The Marlins swept the Giants in the series and defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 1997 National League Championship Series (NLCS) to face the Cleveland Indians in the World Series. In Game 7, with the score tied at two and two out in the eleventh inning, Rentería hit a walk-off RBI single off Charles Nagy to score Craig Counsell. The hit won the game 3–2 and won the first World Series in Marlins' history.
#### 1998
In 1998, Rentería had a .302 batting average by the All-Star break, and he was the only Marlin selected to the MLB All-Star Game. His RBI single in the eleventh inning on May 1 gave the Marlins a 6–5 victory over the San Diego Padres. He had a fourteen-game hitting streak from June 8 to 22, which was the longest by a Marlin in 1998. During the streak, on June 9, he had his first career pinch hit when he singled home Dave Berg in the ninth inning to give the Marlins a 5–4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Also, on June 14, he scored the winning run in a 5–4 win over the New York Mets. For his contributions from June 8 through 14, he won the NL Player of the Week Award.
On July 13, he scored four runs (which tied a Florida record) in an 8–7 win over the Expos. On August 24, he sprained his right knee sliding into second base in the third inning of a 7–4 loss to San Francisco. He was placed on the disabled list the next day, but he was reactivated on September 9. He finished the year with a .282 batting average and 146 hits in 133 games, along with a career-high 41 stolen bases. On December 14, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Armando Almanza, Braden Looper, and Pablo Ozuna.
### St. Louis Cardinals (1999–2004)
#### 1999
On May 16, Rentería hit his first home run as a Cardinal off Ismael Valdes of the Dodgers in a 5–4 victory. He had three RBI, including the game-winner, on May 23 in an 8–3 victory over Los Angeles. He had two home runs on May 31 in a 5–2 win over Florida. On June 12, he had three hits, including a game–winning single in the fourteenth inning, in an 8–7 victory over the Detroit Tigers. From June 21 to July 1 he had a ten-game hitting streak, his longest of the season. On July 9, he had four hits in a 5–4 loss to the Giants. He had four hits again on August 31 in an 8–1 victory over the Marlins. On September 5, he stole four bases in a 13–9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. He hit ten home runs in a season for the first time when he homered on September 10 in an 11–5 win over Pittsburgh. Rentería finished the season with a .275 batting average. He led the Cardinals with 154 games, 585 at-bats, 161 hits, 36 doubles, and 37 stolen bases (which was also the seventh most in the National League).
#### 2000
In 2000, Rentería had a .273 average by the All–Star break, and he was selected to the All-Star Game to replace teammate Mark McGwire, who was injured. He homered in three straight games from April 9–11, and he set a new career high on the eleventh with four RBI in a 10–6 victory over the Houston Astros. On April 16, he reached base five times in a 14–13 loss to Colorado. On August 29, he hit his sixteenth home run of the year in a 3–1 loss to the Marlins. The home run broke Solly Hemus's record for most home runs by a Cardinals' shortstop. On September 4, his three-run triple gave the Cardinals a 4–2 win over the Expos.
He finished the season with a .278 batting average and 156 hits in 150 games. He led the Cardinals with 21 stolen bases, and his 76 RBI were the second most by a Cardinals' shortstop (in 1921 Doc Lavan had 82). His 76 RBI were also second only to Jim Edmonds's 108 that season, and he led the team with 32 doubles. He also won the National League's Silver Slugger Award for a shortstop. The Cardinals made the playoffs and swept the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, but they were defeated in five games by the New York Mets in the NLCS.
#### 2001
On April 4, 2001, Rentería went three-for-five and hit a 432-foot home run off Denny Neagle in a 13–9 loss to Colorado at Coors Field. On April 18, he walked and scored the winning run on a wild pitch by Randy Johnson in a 3–1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He had a pinch hit single on May 10 against Pittsburgh that provided the winning run in an 11–5 victory. His RBI single off John Rocker of Cleveland on July 8 gave the Cardinals a 4–3 victory. However, his batting average was only .226 by July 26. Rentería batted .299 in his last 58 games, though, to raise his batting average to .260 by the end of the season. During those games, Rentería had a ten-game hitting streak from August 8 to 17. Rentería finished the season with seventeen stolen bases, which led the Cardinals. In Game 3 of the 2001 NLDS, Rentería hit his first playoff home run, off Brian Anderson of Arizona, in a 5–3 loss. However, the Diamondbacks defeated the Cardinals in five games on their way to winning the World Series.
#### 2002
Rentería enjoyed a better season in 2002. On April 10, he had three hits (including a game-tying single in the ninth inning) in a 6–5 win over Milwaukee. On May 6, he hit his first home run since August 20 of the previous year in a 6–5 loss to the Cubs. Four days later, he hit a game-winning home run off Cincinnati's closer Danny Graves in a 4–2 victory. On June 27, he hit his nineteenth double, which tied his 2001 season total. He got his one thousandth hit on July 26 off Jon Lieber of the Cubs in an 8–4 victory. Two nights later against the Cubs, he hit a three-run game-winning home run to cap off a six-run ninth inning by the Cardinals that won the game 10–9. Two nights after that, he hit two home runs in a 5–0 victory over the Marlins. On August 18, he hit his first career grand slam to lift the Cardinals to a 5–1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. He hit another grand slam on September 4 and had a career-high five RBI in a 10–5 victory over Cincinnati. He finished the season with a .305 batting average and 166 hits, and he won his second Silver Slugger Award. He also won his first Gold Glove Award, and he became the first Cardinals' shortstop to win a Gold Glove Award since Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith won one in 1992. Rentería only batted .194 in the playoffs, but the Cardinals made it all the way to the NLCS, where they were beaten by San Francisco in five games.
#### 2003
On April 13, 2003, Rentería hit two home runs and had five RBI in an 11–8 victory over Houston. He had four RBI on April 29, in a 13–3 victory over the New York Mets. He got five hits in a game for the first time on June 12, in an 8–7 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The next day, Roger Clemens of the New York Yankees struck out Rentería for his four thousandth strikeout on the way to winning his three hundredth game as the Yankees beat the Cardinals 5–2. Rentería was selected to the All–Star Game after he had a .331 batting average by the break, and he became the first Cardinals' player since Delino DeShields in 1997 to have twenty stolen bases before the All–Star break. On September 18, he had four hits and five RBI in a 13–0 win over Milwaukee. He won his second Player of the Week Award after he had twelve runs batted in from September 15 to 21. On September 27, the final game of the season, Rentería became the first NL shortstop since Hubie Brooks in 1985 (and the first Cardinals' shortstop) to have one hundred RBI in a season when he had the game-winning RBI in a 3–2 win over Arizona. He finished the year fourth in the NL in stolen bases (34) and batting average (a career-high .330), and he won a Silver Slugger Award after setting career highs in hits (194) and doubles (47, which set a Cardinal single-season record for doubles by a shortstop, besting Dick Groat's 43 in 1963). He also won a Gold Glove Award, and he became the first Cardinals' shortstop to win Silver Slugger Awards and Gold Glove Awards in back-to-back years.
#### 2004
On April 10, 2004, Rentería had four hits in a 10–2 victory over Arizona. On June 9, against Mark Prior, he hit his third career grand slam in a 12–4 victory over the Cubs. He had a ten-game hitting streak, his best of the year, from June 22 to July 3. During the streak, on June 26 against the Kansas City Royals, his RBI single in the tenth inning gave the Cardinals a 3–1 victory. Also, on July 2, he scored four runs in an 11–2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. He was one of three Cardinals selected to the All-Star Game. He had four hits again on July 15 in a 7–2 win over Cincinnati. On August 8, he had five hits in a 6–2 win over the Mets. He had five RBI on August 22 in an 11–4 victory over Pittsburgh. Rentería finished the year with a .287 batting average, and he had ten home runs, 72 RBI, and 84 runs. The Cardinals made the World Series that year, but they were swept by Boston. Rentería was the final batter of a World Series for the second time in his career, when he grounded out against Keith Foulke to end Game 4 as the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. However, he was one of only three Cardinals position players to bat above .250 in the Series as he batted .333. Following the year, he became a free agent.
### Boston Red Sox (2005)
On December 19, 2004, the Boston Red Sox signed Rentería to a four-year, \$40 million contract with an option for 2009 to replace free agent Orlando Cabrera at shortstop. On April 14, 2005, he hit his first home run with the Red Sox off Randy Johnson of the Yankees. His double in the eighth inning of that game was the game winner in an 8–5 victory for Boston. From May 26 to 29, he had four straight games with at least three hits, the longest streak since George Brett had six (the record) in 1976. During that stretch, on May 28, 2005, he went three for three with a grand slam and five RBI in a 17–1 victory over the Yankees. The next day, he had four hits, including a home run, in a 7–2 victory over New York. For his efforts that week, he won his third career Player of the Week Award. He set a new career high for hits in a month when he had forty hits in August, second in the major leagues. He had a game-winning single on September 24, 2005 off B. J. Ryan of the Baltimore Orioles in a 4–3 victory. The win moved the Red Sox into a tie with the Yankees for the AL East lead. He scored one hundred runs in a season for the first time when he scored both runs in a 7–2 loss to Toronto on September 28. He finished the year with a .276 batting average and 172 hits. He struggled defensively, though, as he led the major leagues with a career-high 30 errors, and Red Sox fans soon began booing him after he only batted .228 in April. Rentería batted only .231 in the 2005 ALDS as the Red Sox would lose the division series to the Chicago White Sox in just three games. The Red Sox were also disappointed with his performance, and on December 8 he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for prospect Andy Marte.
### Atlanta Braves (2006–2007)
Rentería started 2006 with a 23-game hitting streak (counting the final game of 2005, it was 24 games). The 23-game streak in 2006 was the second longest that year and the longest to open the season since Ron LeFlore started 1976 with a thirty-game streak. He missed nine games after straining his rib cage on April 15 against San Diego, but he was not placed on the disabled list. On May 8, he had four hits and hit two home runs for the first time since 2003 in a 13–12 win over the Cubs. On July 3, he hit his one hundredth career home run off Anthony Reyes in a 6–3 victory over St. Louis. He was selected to the 2006 All-Star Game after he batted .318 with nine home runs in the first half of the season. On August 17, he had his first hit in 24 at-bats in a 5–0 win over the Washington Nationals. He finished the year with a .293 batting average, fourteen home runs, and seventy RBI. His defense also flourished, as he only committed thirteen errors.
On Opening Day (April 2) in 2007, Rentería hit two home runs (including the game-winning one in the tenth) in a 5–3 victory over Philadelphia. He became the third Atlanta Brave to hit two home runs on Opening Day, joining Fred McGriff and Joe Torre. From April 20 to May 12, he had an eighteen-game hitting streak, which was the longest by a Brave in 2007. During the streak, he had four hits for the twentieth time in his career on April 27 in a 9–7 victory over Colorado. On May 15, he hit two home runs in a 6–2 win over the Nationals. He had four hits on May 30 in a 9–3 win over the Brewers. He had five hits for the first time since 2004 on June 16 in a 6–2 victory over the Indians. On August 3, he was placed on the disabled list for the first time since 1998 after he sprained his ankle the previous day. Rentería returned on August 22, but he returned to the DL a day later when he re-injured his ankle after facing only one pitch. He was activated again on September 7, and he returned to the Braves' lineup the next day. He finished the year with a .332 batting average (tied for third in the NL and a new career high), twelve home runs, and 57 RBI. He was one of only four major league shortstops in 2007 to bat over .300 with over ten home runs and fifty RBI (the others were Derek Jeter, Hanley Ramírez, and Miguel Tejada). However, because of the emergence of shortstop prospect Yunel Escobar, Rentería was traded to the Detroit Tigers on October 29 for Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernández.
### Detroit Tigers (2008)
On April 16, 2008, Rentería hit his fifth career grand slam and had five RBI in a 13–2 victory over the Indians. He had four hits on April 22 in a 10–2 win over the Rangers. He had four hits again and five RBI in a 12–8 victory over Seattle on May 20. He hit his sixth career grand slam on June 7 in an 8–4 victory over the Indians. On June 17, he had his two thousandth hit (off Jonathan Sánchez) in a 5–1 victory over San Francisco. He finished the year with a .270 batting average, 136 hits, and ten home runs. After the season, the Tigers declined his option on October 30, and they chose not to offer arbitration on December 1, which made him a free agent.
### San Francisco Giants (2009-2010)
#### 2009
On December 4, 2008, Rentería signed a two-year, \$18.5 million deal with the San Francisco Giants with an option for 2011. He had five RBIs and became the first player to hit a grand slam off Jake Peavy in an 8–3 victory over San Diego on April 21, 2009. On April 29, he had four hits in a 9–4 victory over the Dodgers. He tied an eventual 7–4 loss to the Mets on May 14 with a single in the eighth inning, but he strained a hamstring advancing to first base and had to leave the game with an injury. He missed six games with the injury before he returned to the lineup on May 22. From May 8 through June 6, despite batting only .250, he reached base safely in twenty straight games. He had a game-winning grand slam on August 30, which gave the Giants a 9–5 win over Colorado. He missed nineteen of the final twenty games of the season with biceps tendonitis and a sprained AC joint, and on September 26 he had surgery to remove bone spurs and chips from his right elbow. Dealing with injuries all year, Rentería finished the season with a career-low .250 batting average and only 115 hits and 48 RBI.
#### 2010
On April 7, 2010, Rentería had five hits (in five at-bats) in a 10–4 victory over Houston. He started the season well, as he was batting .320 through April 30. However, on April 30, he was forced to leave a game against Colorado after two innings with an injured groin. After missing four games, he returned to the lineup on May 6, but he left that game after two innings when he reinjured the groin. He was placed on the disabled list the next day. He was activated from the DL on May 22, but, after three games, he strained a hamstring on May 25 and was placed on the disabled list again the next day. He returned to the Giants on June 19. However, he returned to the disabled list on August 11 with a biceps injury received the previous night. He returned to the Giants on September 1, but Giants' manager Bruce Bochy announced that Juan Uribe, who had been playing well while substituting for Rentería at short, would remain the starting shortstop, which made Rentería a reserve player. He had four hits on September 16, in a 10–2 win over the Dodgers. On September 23, with the Giants trailing San Diego in the NL West, Rentería delivered a speech during a team meeting in which he told his teammates it could be his last year, and he wanted the Giants to make the playoffs. The Giants managed to overtake San Diego, and they did make the playoffs. Rentería finished the year with career-lows in games (72), hits (67), home runs (three, tied with his 1998 total), and RBI (22). During the season, he also began contemplating retirement.
#### 2010 postseason
In the 2010 NLCS against Philadelphia, Rentería reclaimed a starting role when he started four games (the Giants benched third baseman Pablo Sandoval and shifted Uribe to third base). He only had one hit in the series, but he scored the winning run in the Giants' 3–0 victory in Game 3, and he retained the starting job in the World Series. In Game 2 of the series, against the Texas Rangers, he broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning when he homered off C. J. Wilson to give the Giants a 1–0 lead. He later added a two-run single in the eighth inning as the Giants won 9–0. Before Game 5, with the Giants leading the series 3–1, Rentería joked with teammate Andrés Torres that he was going to hit a home run. In the seventh inning, with runners at second and third, two outs, and no score, Rentería hit a three-run home run off Rangers' pitcher Cliff Lee that won the series for the Giants. The feat made him only the fourth player to have two series-winning hits in history, along with Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, and Lou Gehrig. For his contributions, he was named the 2010 World Series Most Valuable Player, making him the first player from Colombia to achieve this feat. The Giants declined his option on November 5, but Rentería did announce that he planned to play in 2011. The Giants did offer him a one-year, \$1 million contract as a utility player, but Rentería declined.
### Cincinnati Reds (2011)
#### 2011
On January 7, 2011, Rentería signed a one-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds worth \$2.1 million plus another \$900,000 in performance bonuses. He began the season as a utility player, since Paul Janish began the year at shortstop. Through 2011, he led all active major league shortstops in career errors, with 272.
In 2012, he received interest and offers from multiple teams, including the Milwaukee Brewers, but teams were told that he "intends to remain retired."
### Retirement
On March 22, 2013, Rentería formally retired from Major League Baseball.
### Career Statistics
In 2,152 games over 16 seasons, Rentería posted a .286 batting average (2,327-for-8,142) with 1,200 runs, 436 doubles, 29 triples, 140 home runs, 923 RBI, 294 stolen bases, 718 bases on balls, .343 on-base percentage and .398 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .970 fielding percentage. In 66 postseason games, he hit .252 (61-for-242) with 37 runs, 12 doubles, 3 home runs, 23 RBI, 9 stolen bases and 24 walks.
## Accomplishments
- Delivered the game-winning single off Charles Nagy in the bottom of the eleventh inning in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series.
- Five-time All-Star (1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006)
- Two-time Gold Glove Award winner (2002–03)
- Three-time Silver Slugger Award winner for shortstop (2000, 2002–03)
- Had a 24-game hitting streak spanning the last game of 2005 and his first 23 games of 2006.
- Had his two thousandth career hit on June 18, 2008, off Jonathan Sánchez of the San Francisco Giants.
- Named the 2010 World Series MVP after hitting game-winning home runs in Games 2 and 5 of the series. He is the fourth player to have multiple World Series-winning hits, along with Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, and Lou Gehrig.
## Personal life
Rentería has two brothers, Edinson and Evert, who played minor league baseball. In 1998, Edgar and his brother Edinson created Team Rentería to help Colombian baseball by giving professional instruction to Colombian professional baseball players and holding youth clinics for amateurs. In 1999, Team Rentería founded the Colombian Professional Baseball League. The league is still in existence today, although the 2010–11 season was cancelled due to harsh weather. In 1997, Colombian president Ernesto Samper presented Rentería with Colombia's highest honor, the "San Carlos Cross of the Order of the Great Knight".
## See also
- List of Gold Glove Award winners at shortstop
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
|
354,718 |
Ontario Highway 33
| 1,114,819,704 |
Ontario provincial highway
|
[
"Ontario provincial highways"
] |
King's Highway 33, commonly referred to as Highway 33 or Loyalist Parkway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The route begins at Highway 62 in Bloomfield and travels east to the Collins Bay Road junction at Collins Bay in the city of Kingston, a distance of 60.9 kilometres (37.8 mi). The highway continues farther east into Kingston as Bath Road (Kingston Road 33), ending at the former Highway 2, now Princess Street. Highway 33 is divided into two sections by the Bay of Quinte. The Glenora Ferry service crosses between the two sections just east of Picton, transporting vehicles and pedestrians for free throughout the year.
Originally, Highway 33 continued northeast through Trenton to the town of Stirling, ending at a junction with Highway 14. This section was transferred to county governments by the beginning of 1998. In 2009, Highway 33 west of Picton became the site of the first modern roundabout on a provincial highway.
In 1984, Queen Elizabeth commemorated Highway 33 between Trenton and Kingston as the Loyalist Parkway at a ceremony in Amherstview in honour of the settlers that landed there in 1784.
## Route description
Highway 33, known as the Loyalist Parkway throughout its length, begins in the west at the southern terminus of Highway 62, west of which the parkway continues as Prince Edward County Road 33 to Trenton. The route begins within the community of Bloomfield. To the east it crosses several creeks then intersects Prince Edward County Road 1 at the first modern provincially maintained roundabout. East of this, the highway enters into the city of Picton.
Within Picton, Highway 33 intersects the former Highway 49, now Prince Edward County Road 49. It exits the city and follows the southeastern shoreline of Picton Bay, passing the H.J. McFarland Conservation Area midway between the city and Glenora.
Highway 33 has two sections, which are joined by the Glenora Ferry, an auto ferry crossing the Bay of Quinte from Glenora to Adolphustown. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), which maintains Highway 33, also provides the ferry service free of charge. The eastern section of the highway begins west of Adolphustown, where it passes by several Loyalist heritage sites. Now in the county of Lennox and Addington, the route remains close to the shores of the Bay of Quinte for the remainder of its journey towards Kingston. It divides the Greater Napanee communities of Conway, South Fredericksburg, Parma, Sandhurst Shores and Sandhurst, then enters the municipality of Loyalist opposite Amherst Island. The highway passes through Bath, after which it follows the Bath Road, one of the oldest roads in Ontario, built circa 1785. At Millhaven, a ferry service provides access to Amherst Island; Highway 33 continues east and passes through Amherstview before crossing the county line into Frontenac County and the City of Kingston.
The short section of Highway 33 within Kingston travels as far east as Collins Bay Road, in the community of Collins Bay. From this point, the road continues east as Bath Road (Kingston City Road 33), ending at Princess Street, formerly Highway 2.
Highway 33 is 60.9 kilometres (37.8 mi) in length, excluding the length of the Glenora Ferry. Traffic volumes vary considerably throughout the length of the route. On an average day, over 5,000 vehicles travel the section between Bloomfield and Picton. Between Picton and the Glenora Ferry, volumes drop to under 2,000. On the opposite shore, traffic volumes grow from over 6,000 near Bath to over 11,000 outside of Kingston.
## History
Highway 33, also known since 1984 as the Loyalist Parkway, follows a pioneer colonial route on which the first segments were built two hundred years prior. The route connects several historical settlement sites in Prince Edward County, continuing east through Bath to what is now Kingston.
In 1784, following the American Revolution, the United Empire Loyalists began to arrive in Upper Canada, hoping to settle the frontier near Cataraqui (now Kingston). With the help of the military, the loyalists blazed a trail west from Cataraqui to Bath, a distance of 25 kilometres (16 mi). This trail would become a section of Highway 33 nearly 150 years later.
On June 5, 1799, Asa Danforth Jr. began construction eastward from Toronto on a road which was to extend the Governor's Road through Port Hope and to the Trent River. That road, completed in 1801, would be described by acting surveyor general William Chewett to be "good" for use in the dead of winter but "impassible" during the wet summers, when the path turned to a bottomless mud pit. It would be extended in 1802 to reach the Bay of Quinte at Stone Mills (now Glenora) and a ferry crossing established to Adolphustown. The Bath extension of the Danforth Road (1802) provided access to a key early colonial road, the Bath Road, which had long joined Bath to Kingston.
Sporadic privately operated ferry services between Adolphustown and Stone Mills (Glenora) were initially a primitive affair. In October 1835 a Mr. Clark from Cobourg tipped out of the bark canoe ferrying him to Glenora and was buried without an inquest; a year earlier, a Rev. Mathew Miller from Cobourg had drowned after falling through the February ice. The road itself was no better, barely adequate for horse and rider but unfit to run stagecoach lines.
This road would serve as the initial mail road linking Kingston to Toronto, but was poorly maintained and soon allowed to fall into disrepair. By 1817, the Kingston Road replaced or bypassed much of Danforth's Road, following a similar path to the Trent River (with minor improvements in routing around Scarborough, Port Hope, Cobourg and Grafton) but then blazing a more northerly route through Belleville and Napanee. Like the Danforth Road before it, this 1817 York Road was initially a muddy dirt road; it would, however, suffice to establish reliable scheduled stagecoach runs by which mail and passengers could make the two-day trip from Kingston to Toronto and permit enterprises (such as the branches of the newly established Bank of Montreal) safe and timely delivery of documents and valuables. By 1839, the Napanee-Kingston route was being improved for use as a gravel toll road.
While the area around Bath and the Bay of Quinte would remain a major agricultural region, the pattern of redirecting Kingston-Toronto traffic further inland which started with construction of the Kingston Road (1817) would be repeated with the Grand Trunk Railway (1856) and ultimately Highway 401 (1964).
Due to its historic role in early colonisation and its prime waterfront scenic location, the original route from Kingston westward through Bath and the Quinte Region would be commemorated in 1984 by Queen Elizabeth as the Loyalist Parkway.
Ironically, the first section of Highway 33 to be assumed as provincial highway is not part of the commemorated Loyalist Parkway. On July 9, 1930, the Department of Highways assumed the Trenton–Stirling Road as King's Highway 33, a distance of approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi). In July 1934, as part of a depression-relief effort, the Carrying Place Trail through Prince Edward County and the United Counties of Lennox and Addington was assumed as an extension of Highway 33. (The section between Trenton and Glenora was assumed on July 4, 1934, the section between Adolphustown and Kingston on July 11.) The provincially operated ferries, as the first to operate without a toll on the route, entered service after 1936.
In 1984, Queen Elizabeth toured the Kingston area as part of its two hundredth anniversary, attending several events and ceremonies through her visit. On her final day in the region, she dedicated the Loyalist Parkway in honour of the settlers that landed there in 1784. The ceremony was held in Amherstview on September 27, 1984.
In 1998, all portions of Highway 33 west of Ontario Highway 62, Bloomfield or east of Collins Bay Road, Kingston were decertified as provincial highway and downloaded as county or city roads.
In 2009, the intersection of Highway 33 and Prince Edward County Road 1 (Scoharie Road) near Picton saw the introduction of a traffic roundabout, the first ever constructed on a provincial highway in the province, to replace the at-grade intersection. The MTO felt that the area had reached its operational threshold due to high tourist and recreational activity, particularly during the busy summer months, and so felt a traffic roundabout was needed.
The engineering and consulting firm Morrison Hershfield was retained to undertake the detail design for the realignment and reconfiguration of the existing intersection at Highway 33 and Country Road 1 into a single lane roundabout with a central island and truck apron. The assignment included highway engineering, drainage and hydrology engineering, electrical engineering, public consultation, and traffic engineering. The roundabout was officially opened on July 17, 2009.
## Major intersections
## See also
- List of Ontario Tourist Routes
|
34,461,574 |
Lana Del Rey (EP)
| 1,173,826,791 | null |
[
"2012 EPs",
"Albums produced by Emile Haynie",
"Indie pop EPs",
"Interscope Records EPs",
"Lana Del Rey albums"
] |
Lana Del Rey is the eponymous second extended play by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on January 10, 2012, in the United States and Canada through Interscope Records. After the release of the EP Kill Kill (2008) and her debut studio album Lana Del Ray (2010) via 5 Points Records, an independent label, the EP was released in anticipation of Del Rey's major-label debut album Born to Die (2012). The tracks are influenced by several genres, including indie pop, hip hop, and alternative music. The lyrics and melody were written primarily by Del Rey, Justin Parker and Emile Haynie. Production of the album was led by Emile Haynie, who also co-wrote "Blue Jeans". The EP is Del Rey's second eponymous record after Lana Del Ray (2010).
Music videos accompanied each single, which were produced by Del Rey herself and uploaded to YouTube. Although the video for "Video Games" that Del Rey filmed with her webcam was not intended as a single at the time, it garnered enough online buzz to be noticed by Stranger Records, leading to Del Rey signing a joint record deal with Interscope and Polydor Records.
Selling over 24,000 copies in the United States, the EP peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard 200, reaching number six on both the Billboard Rock Albums and Alternative Albums charts. All four songs on the EP were released as singles on Born to Die, with three charting internationally.
## Music and lyrics
Del Rey used lower vocals on the EP, claiming "people weren't taking me very seriously, so I lowered my voice, believing that it would help me stand out. Now I sing quite low... well, for a female anyway." The singer's first singles, "Video Games" and "Born to Die" were described variously as "quasi-cabaret balladry", "woozy and sometimes soporific soundtrack soul", "pop", and "indie pop".
The third track, "Blue Jeans", was influenced by hip hop and has a minimalist beat that recalls songs by Timbaland. "Off to the Races" has been lyrically described as "a freak show of inappropriate co-dependency", with a chorus that recalls Sheryl Crow's "down and out drunken loner persona" in her 1994 single "Leaving Las Vegas". Pryia Elan of NME noted the track "almost falls under the weight of this persona. There's none of 'Video Games'' measured, piano-led reflection. Instead the psychosexual rumblings of the lyrics and the dual voices she uses off set the comparatively simple musical shades on display."
## Critical reception
John Bush of AllMusic considered the singer a femme fatale "with a smoky voice, a languorous image, and a modeling contract". However, Bush rated the EP 2.5 stars out of five, considering it only "as a teaser from the album".
## Commercial performance
The EP entered the Billboard 200 on the chart issue of January 21, 2012, at number 20, after selling 14,000 digital copies. As of February 1, 2012, it has sold 24,000 digital copies in the United States.
## Track listing
## Charts
## Release history
|
1,060,546 |
Early thermal weapons
| 1,173,681,590 |
Weapons during the classical and medieval periods that used heat or burning for damage
|
[
"Ancient weapons",
"Anti-personnel weapons",
"Fortification weapons",
"Incendiary weapons",
"Medieval artillery",
"Siege weapons"
] |
Early thermal weapons, which used heat or burning action to destroy or damage enemy personnel, fortifications or territories, were employed in warfare during the classical and medieval periods (approximately the 8th century BC until the mid-16th century AD).
Incendiary devices were frequently used as projectiles during warfare, particularly during sieges and naval battles: some substances were boiled or heated to inflict damage by scalding or burning; other substances relied on their chemical properties to inflict burns or damage. These weapons or devices could be used by individuals, thrown by siege engines, or utilised as army strategy. Incendiary mixtures, such as the petroleum-based Greek fire, could be launched by throwing machines or administered through a siphon. Sulfur- and oil-soaked materials were sometimes ignited and thrown at the enemy, or attached to spears, arrow and bolts and fired by hand or machine.
The simplest and most common thermal projectiles were boiling water and hot sand, which could be poured over attacking personnel. Other anti-personnel weapons included the use of hot pitch, oil, resin, animal fat and other similar compounds. Smoke was used to confuse or drive off attackers. Substances such as quicklime and sulfur could be toxic and blinding.
Fire and incendiary weapons were also used against enemy structures and territory, sometimes on a massive scale. Large tracts of land, towns and villages were frequently ignited as part of a scorched earth strategy. Some siege techniques—such as mining and boring—relied on combustibles and fire to complete the collapse of walls and structures.
Towards the latter part of the period, gunpowder was invented, which increased the sophistication of the weapons, starting with fire lances, which led to the eventual development of the cannon and other firearms. Development of the early weapons has continued ever since, with modern war weapons such as napalm, flame throwers, and other explosives having direct roots in the original early thermal weapons. Fire-raising and other destructive strategies can still be seen in modern strategic bombing.
## "Fire and sword"
The destruction of enemy possessions and territory was a fundamental strategy of war, serving the dual purpose of punishment and deprivation of resources. Until the 5th century BC, the Greeks had little expertise in siege warfare and relied on a strategy of devastation to draw the enemy out; they destroyed crops, trees and houses. Centuries later, the Byzantines recommended this strategy, even though they had developed siege technology.
Fire was the easiest way of harrying and destroying territories, and could be done easily and quickly by small forces. It was a strategy put to good use by the Scots during the Wars of Independence; they repeatedly launched raids into northern England, burning much of the countryside until the whole region was transformed. King Edward II of England pursued one raiding party in 1327 by following the lights of burning villages.
The tactics were replicated by England during the Hundred Years' War; fire became their chief weapon as they laid waste to the French countryside during lightning raids called chevauchées, in a form of economic warfare. One estimate records the destruction of over 2000 villages and castles during one raid in 1339.
As well as causing the destruction of lands, food and belongings, fire could also be used to divert manpower. 13th century Mongol armies regularly sent out small detachments from their main forces to start grass fires and fire settlements as diversions.
Devastation by fire was not only used as an offensive tactic; some countries and armies employed "scorched earth" policies on their own land to deprive invading armies of all food and forage. Robert I of Scotland reacted to the English invasion of 1322 by launching punitive and diversionary chevauchées into north-west England, then retreating to Culross, burning as he went the Scottish lands which lay in the path of the English army. The English ran out of food and had to abandon the campaign.
Such acts of aggression were not limited to wars against territorial enemies, but could form part of the strategies of conquest, subjugation and punishment of rebellion. Alexander the Great suppressed a revolt in Thebes, Greece in 335 BC, after which he ordered the city to be torched and laid waste. Alexander ordered (or allowed) a similar arson at Persepolis in 330 BC. It was a policy which was repeated throughout the period. William I of England, following his conquest of England in the 11th century, asserted his control of Northumbria by destructive campaigns throughout the region: "He ordered that crops and herds, tools and food should be burned to ashes. More than 100,000 people perished of hunger", reported Orderic Vitalis, a contemporary chronicler. It was a scene repeated the following century, during the anarchy of Stephen of England's reign. Civil war erupted between Stephen's supporters and those of the Empress Matilda, a rival claimant for the throne. The Gesta Stephani tells of the deeds of one of Stephen's supporters, Philip of Gloucester, by describing how he "raged in all directions with fire and sword, violence and plunder", reducing territory to "bare fields and dreadful desert".
## Techniques of use
At the simplest level, fire itself was used as a weapon to cause large-scale destruction, or to target specific enemy positions or machinery. It was frequently used against siege engines and wooden structures. Incendiary weapons could be used to set fire to towns and fortifications, and a wide range of thermal weapons were used against enemy personnel. Some armies developed specialised "fire-troops". By 837, many Muslim armies had groups of "naffatin" (fire archers), and when the Mamluk Sultanate raised a fleet for an attack on Cyprus they had "nafata", or firetroops.
### Simple fire-raising
The burning of enemy positions and equipment was not necessarily a complicated procedure, and many fires were set by individuals using common materials. When William of Normandy's army besieged Mayenne in 1063, they shot fire into the castle to panic the garrison, while two boys stole into the castle in order to start a fire within. The garrison surrendered.
Besieged forces would sometimes launch sorties in an attempt to fire the attackers' camps or equipment. When Hugh Capet besieged Laon in 986–987, his troops became drunk one night, and Duke Charles's men sallied forth and torched the camp, forcing Hugh to abandon the siege.
The besieged were not the only ones who might fire siege equipment; when Frederick I Barbarossa abandoned his siege of Alessandria in 1175, he burned his own camp and equipment.
However, like all weapons, fire-raising had its own dangers. In 651 Penda of Mercia attempted to win Bamburgh Castle by building a pyre at its base from planks, beams, wattle and thatch. The wind changed direction and the fire blew back on Penda's men, who had to abandon the attack. This fortuitous wind-change was credited to Saint Aidan, who saw the smoke from the Farne Islands and prayed for the defenders.
### Throwing machines
Various throwing machines were in use throughout the classical and medieval periods. Generally referred to as "artillery", these engines could hurl, fire or shoot missiles and most could be used or adapted for throwing thermal weapons, by attacking and defending forces. Barrels, fire pots and other breakable containers of pitch, Greek fire, and other incendiary mixtures could be thrown; other machines fired arrows and bolts, which could be ignited, or adapted to carry flammable mixtures. From the 12th century, Muslims in Syria were using clay and glass grenades for fire weapons, thrown by machines.
Most of the terms used for throwing machines were vague, and could refer to different engines, all of which went through changes and developments over the period. Among the most common were the ballista, mangonel and trebuchet. The ballista was similar in form to a crossbow, though much larger, and used a string-winding mechanism to fire a missile or bolt placed in a groove. Other giant crossbows were used throughout the period, and an "espringal", based on the ballista, which threw large bolts, was developed in the 13th century. Torsion-powered arrow firers had been used from 400 BC, and were adapted for stones. A mangonel had a wooden spoon-shaped arm, to hold a stone or other projectile, which was manipulated under tension from a twisted rope. The trebuchet was an advanced development of the 12th or 13th century, which used a counter-weight to power the throwing arm, and was the major siege engine until the cannon became widespread.
### In mining
Forces attacking a castle or other strong fortification sometimes sought to undermine the foundations by digging "mines" or tunnels underneath them. Usually, such mining or digging machinery was protected by a tortoise (also called a cat, sow, or owl): a covered shed on wheels, which shielded the miners from missile attack.
As the tunnels were constructed, they were generally supported by wooden beams and posts. Once the mine had been finished, the internal space was filled with combustibles, such as brushwood, firewood, resin, and other incendiary substances; once ignited, these would burn the supporting props, causing the mine to collapse, bringing down with it the structures lying above. From the 15th century, gunpowder was also used, although the aim remained to burn the props.
Defenders might sometimes dig counter-tunnels in order to reach the enemy's mines and launch an attack; frequently thermal weapons were used to drive the besiegers from the tunnels.
Rather than undermining a structure, some besiegers used borers to drill holes in the outer walls in an effort to destroy them; such methods were more effective than rams on brick walls (which tended to absorb the shocks from the ram). Borers differed in size and mechanism, but a typical machine was made from a log of wood, tipped with iron and supported and driven by windlasses or ropes. Once a series of holes had been bored along the length of a wall, the holes were typically filled with rods of dry wood, saturated with sulfur or pitch and then ignited. Bellows could be used to encourage a blaze.
### Fire ships
Fire ships were used on several occasions throughout the period. In 332 BC Alexander the Great laid siege to Tyre, a coastal base of the Phoenicians. In order to bring his siege engines within range, Alexander ordered the construction of moles. The Tyrians responded by attacking the first mole with a large fireship, which destroyed it. A large horse transport ship was packed with cedar torches, pitch, dried brush and other combustibles; above this were suspended cauldrons of sulfur, bitumen and "every sort of material apt to kindle and nourish flame". This was towed to the mole, and lit by the Phoenicians before they jumped overboard and swam away.
Another example occurred during the 886 Siege of Paris, when the Vikings filled three warships with combustible material and pulled them upriver in a failed attempt to destroy the Franks' fortified bridges. Fire ships containing straw and powder were also used during the Chinese Battle of Lake Poyang in 1363.
### Other methods
Often ingenious methods were developed for administering the weapons. The 10th-century Olga of Kiev is reported to have tied burning tinder to birds which, when released, flew back to their nests in the hostile town and set them alight. Siege towers and ladders could be fitted with a long, narrow tilting beam at the top, gouged with a groove, so that hot oil and water could be poured down on the enemy defenders during an escalade.
During an attack, castle or fortification defenders could launch or pour the substances on the heads of attackers below. This could be done over the battlements, but also through purpose-built holes such as machicolations and murder-holes. Indian records suggest smoke and fire was used defensively within a fortress to confuse and disorient attackers; iron grills could also be heated and used to block passageways. During night attacks, defenders could drop lighted bundles over the walls so the enemy could be seen; Chinese and Muslim sources also describe the light gained by torches hung on the walls.
### Use against stone castles
Stone castles were susceptible to fire, since they contained many combustible materials. In 1139, Henry de Tracy forced the surrender of Torrington Castle by the simple expedient of tossing lighted torches through the keep's loopholes.
Stone was also susceptible to intense heat, which would cause it to crack and collapse. Byzantine sources recorded the demolition of stone structures caused by placing clay pots of burning charcoal at the base of walls moistened with vinegar or urine, and the 6th century treatise by an engineer in Justinian's army includes the lighting of fires beneath the walls amongst its instructions for sieges.
Stone castles sometimes offered other inflammatory targets. During the Crusades, Muslim defenders frequently hung bundles of straw against their walls as buffers against stones and rams; in turn, the Crusader archers would set these alight with flaming arrows.
### Defense against thermal attack
Defense from thermal weapons and fire attacks was usually water or other liquids such as urine; hides were soaked and draped over vulnerable wooden hoardings and siege engines, vats and barrels of liquid were collected and stored by defenders and attackers. Hides were hung in an overlapping manner so that any water would run down the whole structure to extinguish flames. Some thermal weapons (such as quicklime or oil) could not be extinguished or eased by water, in which case sand or earth could be used. Wooden structures were frequently soaked in alum to increase their fire resistance. The Romans covered their tortoises (mobile siege sheds) with raw hides packed with vinegar-soaked seaweed or chaff, to serve as protection against regular and incendiary missiles. Throughout the period, sacks or nets might be filled with vinegar-moistened chaff, seaweed or wet moss and hung on the exterior. The wooden siege engines of the Crusaders were vulnerable to attack from the Byzantine and Muslim fire-weapons, so the troops inside siege towers kept stores of water and vinegar.
During the High Middle Ages, the majority of Poland's castles were still made of wood, so uncut stone was frequently added to the front to improve their fire defences.
Both attackers and defenders needed to be prepared for incendiary and thermal attack. When the Athenians besieged Syracuse in 416 BC they lost many siege engines to fire. The Syracusan ruler Dionysius I must have taken note of this success, for when he laid siege to Motya in 398 BC he organised special fire "brigades", who successfully doused the fires when his siege engines were bombarded.
During the First English Civil War, incendiary devices were used to raze city centers. Defenders in London were advised to combat the flames using milk, sand, earth, and urine. In Colchester, fires caused by hand grenades (the weapon was called "wildfire" by the combatants) were extinguished using wet clothes saturated in milk and vinegar.
## Types of weapons
### Flaming arrows, bolts, spears, and rockets
Lit torches (burning sticks) were likely the earliest form of incendiary device. They were followed by incendiary arrows, which were used throughout the ancient and medieval periods. The simplest flaming arrows had oil- or resin-soaked tows tied just below the arrowhead and were effective against wooden structures. Both the Assyrians and the Judeans used flaming arrows at the siege of Lachish in 701 BC. More sophisticated devices were developed by the Romans which had iron boxes and tubes which were filled with incendiary substances and attached to arrows or spears. These arrows needed to be shot from loose bows, since swift flight extinguished the flame; spears could be launched by hand or throwing machine.
Flaming arrows required the shooter to get quite close to their desired target and most will have extinguished themselves before reaching the target. In response, another form of fire arrow was developed which consisted of curved metal bars connecting a tip and hollow end for the shaft. The resulting cage was filled with hot coals or other solid object which could be fired from a much stronger bow or ballista without fear of extinguishing and would be used to ignite straw or thatch roofs from a safer distance.
Flaming arrows and crossbow bolts were used throughout the period. Fifteenth-century writer Gutierre Diaz de Gamez witnessed a Spanish attack on the Moorish town of Oran in 1404 and later described how "During the most part of the night, the galleys did not cease from firing bolts and quarrells dipped in tar into the town, which is near the sea. The noise and the cries which came from the town were very great by reason of the havoc that was wrought."
Anna Komnene records that at the 1091 Battle of Levounion, lighted torches were fixed to spears.
The Chinese Song Dynasty created fire arrows – arrows with pouches of gunpowder, which were launched en masse through platforms, and later created rockets such as the huo long chu shui, a multistage rocket used in naval combat. Primitive rockets made from bamboo and leather were used by the Mongols, under Genghis Khan, but were inaccurate. However, the Fatimids used "Chinese arrows" from the 11th Century, which probably included saltpetre. The Mamluks experimented with a rocket-powered weapon described as "an egg which moves itself and burns".
A 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long iron crossbow-bolt probably designed to carry a fire cartridge was found in a 13th-14th-century castle in Vladimir, Russia. Such large machine-thrown bolts were ideal for incendiary weapons. The Mongols used an "ox-bow" machine to throw bolts which had been dipped in burning pitch, with a range of 2500 paces.
During the British Civil Wars (mid-17th century in Great Britain), both the Parliamentarian and Royalist armies used various incendiary devices to attack enemies and destroy property that might be used for military purposes, according to historian Stephen Porter in Destruction in the English Civil Wars. The flaming arrow attack was used to set fire to buildings at a distance. An arrow with a flammable substance attached to the shaft, close to the tip, was shot from a bow or short-muzzled musket. Such arrows shot from a musket had their feathers removed, to fit inside the muzzle, and were called fire-darts. These devices were cheap to make and easy to prepare. Although used infrequently during the wars, the flaming arrows and darts proved to be destructive. The Royalists shot flaming arrows into the thatched homes in the suburbs of Chester causing extensive damage. Lyme Regis was partly razed using flaming arrows.
### Greek fire
Greek fire was one of the most effective thermal devices, although it was extremely dangerous for the users. A combustible liquid, it could be shot from siphons or catapults, and it burst into flames on impact. First developed by the Byzantines in the 7th century, it was later used by the Turks during the Crusades, and was probably first used in Western Europe in the 12th century. Early experiments by the Byzantines in the 6th century used a mixture of sulfur and oil, which would have been terrifying if not destructive. Various versions seem to have existed, and the recipes were frequently kept secret; experts today still debate the exact composition, although some recipes are known. It probably had regional variations; the Islamic derivative was known as "naft" and had a petroleum base, with sulfur; the Persian word for "petroleum" is نفت (naft).
The combustible liquid could be shot from catapults, and would burst into flames on impact. Siphons, frequently of copper, were also developed, first appearing in the 10th and 11th centuries. The siphons could shoot a blazing stream, which a 10th-century Mesopotamian source claimed could engulf twelve men. Mardi bin Ali al-Tarsusi, who wrote a military manual for Saladin in the 12th century, suggested that "naft" could be placed inside blown eggshells, which could be thrown from horseback. From the 12th century, mouth-blown tubes were developed for use in mines.
Similar petroleum and bitumen-based incendiary mixtures had been known for centuries before the invention of Greek fire, but this new recipe created a blaze which was extremely difficult to extinguish. It burned on water, and was used effectively in naval warfare, although it was primarily an anti-personnel weapon rather than a ship-burner. It remained effective at sea even after its use had declined on land after the 13th century.
The Greek fire recipes continued to be developed over the centuries, and by the High Middle Ages was much more sophisticated than the early versions. Saltpetre (also called "Chinese salt") was added to the mixture in the Islamic world, and China developed a dry saltpetre mixture in the 12th century, which eventually became gunpowder. Both the Parliamentarian and Royalist armies used Greek-fire-like petroleum-based incendiary devices known as "wildfire" during the British Civil Wars.
Duarte Barbosa ca. 1514 listed weapons made by Javanese people, including Greek fire. Zhang Xie in Dong Xi Yang Kao (1618) mentioned that city of Palembang, which has been conquered by Javanese, produces the furious fiery oil (ming huo yu), which according to the Hua I Kao is a kind of tree secretion (shu chin), and is also called mud oil (ni yu). Zhang Xie wrote:
> It much resemble camphor, and can corrode human flesh. When ignited and thrown on water, its light and flame become all the more intense. The barbarians use it as a fire-weapon and produce great conflagrations in which sails, bulwarks, upperworks and oars all catch fire and cannot withstand it. Fishes and tortoises coming in contact with it cannot escape from being scorched.
Because there was no mention of projector pump, the weapon is probably breakable bottles with fuses.
### Hot oil
Oil of various kinds could be heated to high temperatures and poured over an enemy, although, since it was extremely expensive, its use was limited, both in frequency and quantity. Moreover, it could be dangerous and volatile. Since the smoke point of oil is lower than its boiling point, the oil was only heated and not boiled.
Pouring-oil was used in historic battles, and Josephus described its use at Jotapata in AD 67, saying "the oil did easily run down the whole body from head to foot, under their entire armour, and fed upon their flesh like flame itself."
Oil was usually used to create incendiary devices. The Roman-Byzantine armies of the 6th century created "fire-pots", oil-based incendiary weapons which could be launched by hand or with ballistae. During the siege at Montreuil-en-Bellay in 1147, a mixture of oils from nuts, cannabis and flax, was heated in iron containers, launched by mangonel, and burst into flames on impact. The Chinese made early grenades out of oil-soaked hemp and cotton, which were ignited and thrown by mangonels.
Another use of oil can be seen in the naval battle of La Rochelle during the Hundred Years' War; the Castilians sprayed oil on the decks of English ships then ignited it by shooting flaming arrows down.
### Water, sand and other heated missiles
Hot oil was considerably less common than boiling water or heated sand, which were cheap and extremely effective; even "dust from the street" could be used. These would penetrate armour and cause terrible burns. Sand, especially, could work its way through very small gaps in armour. The Phoenicians at the Siege of Tyre (332 BC) dropped burning sand down on the attacking Greeks, which got in behind the armour and burned the flesh.
> They built copper and iron shields, put sand into them, and heated them over hot fire so the sand became red-hot. By means of some mechanism they threw this sand at those who had fought bravest and subjected their victims to most severe suffering. The sand penetrated through the armour into the shirts, burned the body, and it could not be helped [...] they died, going mad with horrible pain, in sufferings piteous and unquenchable.
Such heated missiles have also been used in mining situations; the 1st century Roman writer Vitruvius describes a counter-mine dug above the attackers' gallery by defenders at the siege of Apollonia. Piercing the floor between the mines, the Apollonian defenders poured down boiling water, hot sand and hot pitch onto the heads of their enemy. Other mixtures were more innovative; the defenders at Chester in 918 boiled a mixture of water and ale in copper tubs and poured it over the Viking besiegers, causing their skin to peel off.
When Frederick I Babarossa besieged Crema, Italy in the 12th century, the defenders threw red-hot iron objects down on their attackers.
### Pitch, tar and resin
Burning pitch was used on occasion. The Sasanians threw fire pots containing sulfur, pitch, and naptha ("oil of Medea") against Byzantine siege engines during the Siege of Petra (550–551). the Mongols were known to fire containers of burning tar during sieges using catapults and trebuchets. Wheels could be covered in pitch, set alight, and rolled along; this technique was commonly used during the Crusades. The besieged Carthaginians in Motya, 398 BC, set alight the siege engines of the attacking Syracusan forces under Dionysius I by dropping burning charred logs and resin-soaked oakum; however, the Syracusans were able to put out the fires.
Pitch was a base ingredient in many incendiary devices throughout the period. The Boeotians developed a fire machine, which they used against the Athenian wooden fortifications during the Battle of Delium in 424 BC. A cauldron of burning coals, pitch and sulfur was suspended at one end of a hollowed-out log and bellows were fixed to the other end. A similar mixture was used 1700 years later by the Scots, when they dropped bales of wood, tar and sulfur by crane onto the English "sow" (a large protective shield covering the battering ram) at the 1319 siege of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
### Animal renderings and parts
At the 1215 siege of Rochester Castle, King John ordered that fat from 40 pigs be used to set fire to the mines beneath the keep, which caused it to collapse; a cheap and effective technique in place of the more complicated mixture of sulfur, tallow, gum, pitch and quicksilver he had used in France the previous year. Animal fat was not uncommon as an accelerant; in the 13th century French sortie-parties would often be equipped with animal fat, straw and flax to use as fuel when setting fires amongst enemy siege engines.
There were some other intriguing uses of animal parts; during the Siege of Paris in 886 AD, the Franks dropped bucket-loads of a hot mixture of pitch (or oil), wax and fish on the attacking Vikings; the mixture got under the armour and stuck to the skin. Konrad Kyeser's Bellifortis of 1405 describes a poisonous mixture of sulfur, tar and horses' hooves. Other incendiary ingredients included egg yolks, and pigeon and sheep droppings.
Some documented uses of animals were not thermal or incendiary. Live insects were also used, to sting the enemy. 4th century BC writer Aeneas Tacticus suggested defenders should let wasps and bees into enemy mines, and jars of scorpions were sometimes fired during early bombardment in naval battles. In 189 BC Ambracia was besieged by the Romans, who dug mines under the walls. The defenders filled a clay jar with chicken feathers, which they then lit, using bellows to blow the acrid smoke down the tunnel; unable to approach the pot due to defensive spears, the Romans were forced to abandon their works.
### Quicklime, sulfur and smoke
The 15th-century engineer Taccola recommended quicklime, although its use went back to ancient times, and might well have been a component of Greek fire. Quicklime reacts violently with water, and can cause blindness and burns. While quicklime was used in some naval battles, it does not appear to have been standard issue on board ships, due to the danger of the quicklime blowing back and burning the user.
Other substances smoked rather than flamed. Sacks of burning sulfur were effective at clearing enemy mines due to the toxic smoke produced. Any smoke could be used in small confines; the Greek military writer Aeneas Tacticus recommended burning wood and straw to drive out enemy sappers by the smoke.
## Gunpowder and cannon
The discovery of gunpowder was probably the product of centuries of alchemical experimentation. Saltpetre was known to the Chinese by the mid-1st century AD and there is strong evidence of the use of saltpetre and sulfur in various largely medicinal combinations. The impetus for the development of gunpowder weapons in China was increasing encroachment by tribes on its borders. The earliest known formula for gunpowder can be found in a Chinese work dating probably from the 9th century. The Chinese wasted little time in applying it to warfare, and they produced a variety of gunpowder weapons, including flamethrowers, rockets, bombs, and mines, before inventing firearms. European descriptions of gunpowder first appear in Opus Maius and Opus Tertium, written by the English philosopher Roger Bacon in the mid-13th century, although the mixture was not very effective. The composition of gunpowder varied throughout the period, and did not settle into the current ratios of saltpetre, sulfur and charcoal until the 17th century.
The years 904–906 saw the use of incendiary projectiles called 'flying fires' (fei-huo). Needham (1986) argues that gunpowder was first used in warfare in China in 919 as a fuse for the ignition of another incendiary, Greek fire. Initially, gunpowder mixtures were utilised through traditional engines and throwing mechanisms; containers and grenades were thrown by mangonels and trebuchets, and explosive rockets and arrows were developed, along with gunpowder flamethrowers.
Like firearms, cannon are a descendant of the fire-lance, a gunpowder-filled tube used as a flamethrower; shrapnel-like material was sometimes placed in the barrel so that it would fly out together with the flames. In due course, the proportion of saltpeter in the propellant was increased to increase its explosive power. To better withstand that explosive power, the paper and bamboo of which fire-lance barrels were originally made came to be replaced by metal. And to take full advantage of that power, the shrapnel came to be replaced by projectiles whose size and shape filled the barrel more closely. With this, we have the three basic features of the gun: a barrel made of metal, high-nitrate gunpowder, and a projectile which totally occludes the muzzle so that the powder charge exerts its full potential in propellant effect.
Firearms remained in use in China throughout the following centuries. Meanwhile, gunpowder and firearms spread elsewhere very quickly. Gunpowder seems to have been widely known by the 13th century. The Europeans, Arabs, and Koreans all obtained firearms in the 14th century. The Turks, Iranians, and Indians all got firearms no later than the 15th century, in each case directly or indirectly from the Europeans. The Japanese did not acquire firearms until the 16th century, and then from the Portuguese rather than the Chinese.
In 1326, the earliest known European picture of a gun appeared in a treatise entitled "Of the Majesty, Wisdom and Prudence of Kings". On February 11 of that same year, the Signoria of Florence appointed two officers to obtain canones de mettallo and ammunition for the town's defense. A reference from 1331 describes an attack mounted by two Germanic knights on Cividale del Friuli, using gunpowder weapons of some sort. Cannon were first used by the Muslims at Alicante in 1331, or Algeciras in 1343. The French raiding party that sacked and burned Southampton in 1338 brought with them a ribaudequin and 48 bolts (but only 3 pounds of gunpowder). The Battle of Crécy in 1346 was one of the first in Europe where cannons were used.
However, early cannon were not very effective, the main benefits being psychological, frightening men and horses. Short barrelled, large-calibre "bombards" were used up until the late 15th century in Europe, during which period they grew increasingly larger. In the mid-15th century, mortars also appeared. Various smaller weapons also existed, including the serpentine, ribaudequin and cropaudin. The powder was of poor quality and was used in small quantities – to prevent explosion of the barrel – so the effective range of these cannon was rarely more than 200–250m.
The barrels of the cannon were forged or cast, and each gun generally differed in calibre and length. Early powder resembled a paste, and tended to burn slowly. Its composition varied in different geographical areas, the powder of Europe being quite different to that used in the Islamic world. The projectiles used were generally stone balls for bombards and mortars. Forged iron balls were used in smaller-calibre cannon, and coated with lead to make them smooth. From the 15th century, cast iron balls were used, which caused great destruction. As they were denser than stone, even small balls could be destructive. Thus, cannon became smaller in calibre, and longer barrels increased the range.
## Later development
The use of incendiary devices had decreased by the 14th century, perhaps due to the economic realities of war where it became increasingly important that captured castles and towns were undamaged. Moreover, fewer wooden engines and structures were employed in the battlefield after the late 13th century, perhaps because of the prior success of the incendiary weapons at destroying them.
While the incidence of use dropped, towards the latter end of the Middle Ages the incendiary devices became more sophisticated, and the principle of wielding fire with sword remained present throughout the Early Modern and Modern periods; improving technology merely allowed the process to become more efficient.
### The principle of fire and sword
Fire itself remained a part of warfare. In his reminisces of the Peninsular War (1807–1814), a British soldier recorded that the French soldiers would "regularly burn to the ground every place they pass through. In following them we find each town and village a heap of smoking ruins." During World War I, Leuven, in Belgium was "looted and burned in medieval fashion", when German soldiers set fire to much of the town, destroying the library and other cultural buildings, and causing outrage around the world. Yet the tactic was not dispensed with. In World War II, firebombing with incendiary bombs was carried out by the Germans against Britain during the Blitz, and by the Allies against Germany and Japan. After one heavy raid on Tokyo in March 1945, the resulting conflagration destroyed a quarter of the predominantly wooden buildings. Much as the Ancient Greeks before them, it was a strategy of devastation. Fire has continued to be used as a destructive measure in warfare. During the 1991–1992 Gulf War, Iraq set fire to three-quarters of Kuwait's oil wells.
Fire remained an extremely successful weapon. During naval warfare of the Napoleonic Wars, "the one thing most likely to destroy a ship was fire". Sometimes the fires were merely a side effect of weapon technology. Early firearms proved incendiary in their use and could start fires. During the Peninsular War, both Talavera and Salamanca battlefields were wracked by tremendous grassfires, first started by the guns. At the Battle of Trafalgar, 1805, the French ship of the line Achille caught fire when musket-flashes from her own men's guns set fire to the tar and grease on the sail rigging; the ship eventually exploded.
Smoke screens have continued to be used by attackers and defenders as a means of sowing confusion and hiding movements. During naval battles in the 18–19th centuries, shots were sometimes fired early so a defensive screen was erected before the ships converged, to spoil the aim of the enemy.
### Development and continued use of weapons
The major development of weapons in the early modern and modern periods occurred with firearms, which became progressively more efficient. Gunpowder settled into its standard ratio in the 17th century, and general ballistic technology improved. Initially, iron round shot replaced the earlier stone balls for cannon then, latterly, different types of shot were invented.
A carcass was a hollow projectile usually formed either by an iron cage of ribs joining two small rings or a cast iron ball with holes. A carcass was so named because the iron cage was thought to resemble the ribs of a body. A carcass was filled with a highly flammable mixture. Carcasses were used for the first time by the French under Louis XIV in 1672.
For short range use against personnel, canister and the smaller naval grapeshot were popular during the 19th century; it comprised smaller iron or lead pellets contained within a case or bag, which scattered on explosion. In 1784, Lt Henry Shrapnel invented a spherical case-shot, which was later named after him. The case was a hollow iron sphere which was filled with musket balls and was detonated by a gunpowder charge. Shot fired from cannon could be so hot that it scorched or set fire to materials that it brushed.
The incendiary liquids of the ancient and medieval periods were also developed, and have their modern equivalents. World War I saw the development of the flamethrower, a modern version of the Byzantine siphons, which used gas under pressure to squirt a mixture of inflammable oil and petrol, ignited by a burning taper. Similarly, the carcass projectile found new use in the Livens Projector, a primitive mortar that could throw a large canister of inflammable liquid (it was soon used for poison gas instead).
Technology improved throughout the 20th century, and the latter half saw the development and use of napalm, an incendiary liquid formed in part from naphtha, which was the main ingredient of the Arabic "naft".
Flames continued to be used for defensive light until artificial lights were developed. At the Siege of Badajoz in 1812, the French defenders flung down burning "carcasses" of straw so that the attacking British might be seen. Like the sieges of old, the British were met by incendiary weapons, but now these took the form of explosive grenades, mines and powder barrels as well as the enemy's guns.
Specific weapons from the ancient and medieval periods continued to develop, and many have modern equivalents. Rocket technology, originally trialled by the Mongols, Indians and the Chinese, amongst others, was improved by the 19th century; one example was the incendiary Congreve rocket, which had a tail, a fuse, and a powder charge (saltpetre, sulfur and carbon) inside a hollow shell. Grenades continued to develop, although still retaining some aspects of their medieval equivalents. The grenades carried on board British Royal Navy ships in the late 18th century and early 19th century were constructed from hollow cast iron, filled with gunpowder; the fuse was a hollow wooden tube filled with combustible material. During World War I, grenades were still occasionally launched by ballistae.
The use of some weapons continued with little change. The Koreans used fire arrows against the Japanese at the Battle of Hansan Island in 1592. At Trafalgar, in 1805, the British ship Tonnant shot wads covered in sulfur, which set fire to the Algésiras. Fireships were used in later periods. In 1588, the English sent fireships loaded with gunpowder, pitch and tar amongst the anchored Spanish Armada; the Spanish fleet broke formation, setting them up for the later battle. The last battle under sail was the Battle of Navarino (1827), part of the Greek War of Independence, during which fireships were utilised by the Turks.
Chemical warfare had been experimented with during the early period with sulfur, quicklime (calcium oxide), and others, and developments continued. World War I saw many gases used, including the extremely effective sulfur mustard (mustard gas).
## See also
- Petroleum Warfare Department
- Scorched earth
- Death by boiling
|
49,375,150 |
Naborr
| 1,114,314,877 |
20th-century Arabian stallion
|
[
"1950 racehorse births",
"1977 racehorse deaths",
"Individual Arabian and part-Arabian horses"
] |
Naborr (April 3, 1950 – November 9, 1977), originally named Nabor, was a gray Arabian stallion foaled in Russia at the Tersk Stud. He was sired by Negatiw, a Russian-bred stallion with Crabbet ancestry, out of the Polish-bred mare Lagodna. After establishing himself on the race track and show ring in the former USSR, Naborr was exported to Poland, where he lived for seven years, and from there was purchased for import to the United States by a wealthy Arabian horse breeder from Arizona, Anne McCormick. Upon her death, Naborr was sold in 1969 to Tom Chauncey and Wayne Newton for \$150,000, which was at the time the highest price ever paid for an Arabian horse at auction. He went on to become a leading sire of champion Arabian horses in the United States and Canada.
## Life and career
Naborr was foaled at Russia's Tersk Stud on April 13, 1950, and was originally named Nabor. He was sired by the Russian-born stallion Negatiw (sometimes spelled Negativ) and out of the mare Lagodna. He was a homozygous gray, and was recorded by the Russian Arabian Stud Book as standing 150 centimetres (14.3 hands; 59 in). As a two-year-old, Nabor raced at Pyatigorsk and won two times out of eight starts. His highest recorded speeds were 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) in 1:54, 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) in 1:55, and 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) in 2:10. His accomplishments at the track qualified him to become a breeding stallion at Tersk. At age four, he was awarded a "certificate of the first class", equivalent to a Reserve Champion, at the All-Union Agricultural Fair in Moscow in a competition open to all breeds of horses. His sire Negatiw was the champion. Nabor sired nine foals in Russia, but only one, a colt, was registered.
In 1955, Nabor was sold to Poland. The Polish were rebuilding their Arabian breeding program following World War II, and wanted a stallion that would restore the Ibrahim sire line to their national studs. Ibrahim was a desert-bred stallion brought to Poland in 1907 by Count Joseph Potocki. The horse was killed in 1917 during the Bolshevik Revolution, and by the end of World War II, the sire line had been lost to Poland. It was preserved via Ibrahim's son Skowronek, who had been exported to England in 1912, and Skowronek was the great-grandsire of Nabor. In Poland, Nabor was first put to stud at the Albigowa State Stud, then in 1957 moved to the Michalow State Stud. While in Poland, he was noted for his docile temperament, intelligence, soundness, and Saklawi-style Arabian beauty: "dry, fine head with expressive eye, swan neck and milk-white hair unusual for his age ... he resembled the Arabian horses painted by Juliusz Kossak, the best painter of oriental horses." In 1962, the Poles were also able to import his sire Negatiw.
Nabor stayed at Michalow until January 1963, when he was purchased and imported to America by the heiress Anne "Fifi" McCormick. Upon arrival in America, Nabor's registered name became Naborr. Naborr came to America via ship, along with 15 other Polish-bred Arabians, including Bask. The voyage lasted 44 days and was rough because the ship encountered a storm at sea. They also ran low on hay. 13-year-old Naborr came through the trip fairly well but lost 50 pounds. One other horse, a mare, aborted her foal and died, and most of the other horses lost a great deal more weight than did Naborr. McCormick only stood Naborr to her own mares and those of a few select friends, and as a result, under McCormick's ownership, he only sired about 10 foals per year, a total of 82 foals. Because Naborr's stud book was closed to outside mares, breeders seeking his bloodlines returned to Poland and purchased several of his offspring bred there, including the mare \*Dornaba and stallions \*Gwalior, \*Mirzaz, and \*Aramus. A total of 27 of Naborr's offspring were imported from Poland to the United States.
When McCormick died at age 90, in 1969, the terms of her will called for her Arabians to be sold at public auction. In October, 1969 Tom Chauncey, a television station owner, rancher and horse breeder in the Phoenix area, agreed to team up with Wayne Newton and purchased Naborr at the McCormick estate auction. Chauncey paid \$150,000, which at the time was the highest price ever paid for an Arabian horse at auction in America, and brought in Newton as a partner on the horse a month later. Chauncey had previously bred Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, but already owned a few Arabians that he kept on his ranch. He initially stabled Naborr at Newton's more suitable barn, but built his own facility near Scottsdale, Arizona, and bought out Newton's share in 1971. In the same period, Newton formed a partnership with other Arabian breeders to purchase \*Aramus, who was a son of Naborr. When Aramus was named National Champion Stallion in 1970, Naborr's stud fee was advertised at \$10,000. That same year, Naborr was brought to the U.S. Arabian National Championship show and honored before the spectators there as one of 10 "Living Legends". In 1975 he was the fourth-leading sire of champions in the United States. Under Chauncey's ownership, he sired another 260 foals.
His high purchase price and coverage in mainstream national news outlets was credited as the beginning of a "bubble" of high auction prices paid for Arabian horses. Naborr had the distinction of being the first Russian-bred Arabian to have offspring registered in the United States. Due to his importation from Poland, he could be registered, as the Russian Arabian Stud Book was not approved by the World Arabian Horse Association until 1978. Naborr died on November 9, 1977; he was 27 years old. In his final year of life, he sired 36 foals, the last of which was born on October 1, 1978.
## Offspring and legacy
Combining his imported offspring and American-born foals, Naborr sired 365 horses registered in the United States. By the end of 1967, 61 of his offspring had won 693 show championships among them. The number of wins later doubled. In 1981, Naborr was tied for third as the leading sire of U.S. and Canadian National Champions. By 1999, statistics showed that 1130 championships had been won by 121 of his offspring. Of these horses, 46 of them earned Top Ten or higher honors at the U.S. and Canadian National Arabian Championships.
Naborr's winning offspring included his son Kaborr, who was a Canadian National Champion Stallion in halter and western pleasure, and reserve U.S. National Champion stallion as well as Senior European Male Champion at the Salon du Cheval in France in 1979. Other sons and daughters had championship careers as well. The Naborr son \*Aramus, foaled in Poland and imported to the United States, became a U.S. and Canadian National Champion Stallion in both halter and performance, showing in formal driving and as a park horse. Naborr's son Gai-Adventure was U.S. National Champion stallion in 1974. His daughter, \*Dornaba, was a U.S. and Canadian National Champion Mare. Other national champion offspring in performance disciplines included Riffle, a park and formal driving horse, and Ibn Naborr, Canadian National Champion Stock Horse.
## Pedigree
Through his sire Negatiw, Naborr was a grandson of the Skowronek son Naseem, who had been sold to Russia in 1936 by Lady Wentworth of the Crabbet Arabian Stud for a price estimated at £50,000. His dam Lagodna was foaled in Poland and the Russians captured her and a number of other Arabians during World War II and brought her to Tersk. Also amongst the captured horses were Naborr's ancestors Taraszcza, Gazella II, and Enwer Bey. Via his sire line to Skowonek, as well as through Lagodna's sire Posejdon, and the mare Ikwa, Naborr carries three crosses to the stallion Ibrahim.
|
68,016,349 |
Ten Years with Guru Dutt
| 1,157,207,661 |
Biography by Sathya Saran
|
[
"2008 non-fiction books",
"Books about Guru Dutt",
"Indian biographies",
"Indian non-fiction books",
"Penguin Books books"
] |
Ten Years with Guru Dutt is a biography of Indian filmmaker Guru Dutt that was written by journalist Sathya Saran. It is based on Saran's conversations with the screenwriter Abrar Alvi about Dutt and Alvi's collaborations, which began when they met on the sets of Baaz (1953) and ended with Dutt's death in 1964. This information was compiled into a 23-chapter book with first-person narrative interspersed with Saran's commentary. Penguin Group published Ten Years with Guru Dutt on 25 July 2008.
Saran started conceiving ideas for the book after reading an Indian Express interview of Alvi about Dutt in 2003. At the end of the article, the interviewer noted there were many untold stories and challenged readers who wanted to listen to them. Consequently, Saran met Alvi between 2004 and 2007 at Alvi's apartment in Andheri with the intent of writing a series of articles, which were later developed into a book.
Upon its publication, the book was declared a commercial success and received acclaim from critics, who said its most interesting parts were those covering the production of the 1962 film Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, that both Dutt and Alvi worked on. Critics also highlighted Saran's writing for its simplicity and clarity and for providing informative commentary. In 2012, Ten Years with Guru Dutt was adapted into a stage play of the same name, which also generated positive reviews for its performances and costume designs.
## Summary
Ten Years with Guru Dutt is a biography of the filmmaker Guru Dutt that is based on journalist Sathya Saran's conversations with the screenwriter Abrar Alvi. The book has 23 chapters, whose titles are taken from well-known lines in Dutt's films' songs. The book is in first-person narrative and is interspersed with Saran's commentary. The book starts with Saran's introduction about her writing process, which is followed by remembrances of Dutt's death on 10 October 1964. It later chronicles Dutt and Alvi's collaborations, which started with their meeting on the sets of Baaz (1953). The book also details their joint works; Aar Paar (1954), Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), and Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi (1966).
## Background and writing
Before she released Ten Years with Guru Dutt, Sathya Saran was the editor of the women's magazine Femina and a Daily News and Analysis supplement. In 2003, she was reading an interview of the screenwriter Abrar Alvi in The Indian Express, recollecting his collaborations with the filmmaker Guru Dutt up to a few days before Dutt's death in 1964. At the end of the article, the interviewer concluded there were still many stories untold and challenged readers who wanted to listen to them. Having been fascinated by Dutt, she was motivated to do so and wrote in the book's foreword; "I was at the time going through a rough patch emotionally, thanks to matters at the workplace turning sour. This, I told myself, would distract me, keep me from feeling that my journalistic job was the beginning and the end of the world."
Saran originally intended to write a series of articles, which she developed into a book after meeting Abrar Alvi in Mumbai in 2004. Alvi was initially reluctant to discuss Dutt but changed his mind after finding out he knew Saran's husband's cousins. Saran described Alvi as being in poor health when she first met him but spoke positively of his complex personality; "He would say [he is] getting senile but he can remember things with ease. Sometimes, he would get agitated. Sometimes, he would get animated and would perform. So it was a lot of fun." They met once a week at Alvi's apartment in Andheri, Mumbai. The writing ended in 2007.
## Release and reception
Ten Years with Guru Dutt was released as a hardcover book by Penguin Group on 25 July 2008, and was a commercial success. Penguin Books reissued the book in 2011 and 2020, both in the hardcover format; the 2020 edition was released with a new cover. A Hindi-language version was published in 2012.
Savitha Gautam of The Hindu complimented Saran's effective writing and said the most interesting parts are those on the production of Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Gautam added; "The book may not unravel the mystery that was Guru Dutt. But it paints a picture of creative partnership, which resulted in an invaluable contribution to Hindi cinema." According to Madhu Jain of The Book Review:
> Settling-of-score books can be entertaining, vindictive, or just plain boring ... Abrar Alvi's account of a decade of working with legendary film director-actor Guru Dutt could have been fascinating if only the raison d'être of this book had not been to establish and iterate the fact ad infinitum that he and not ... Dutt held the director's baton for ... Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam.
A Zee News reviewer called the book an insightful look at Alvi's and Dutt's careers, and an intimate account of Indian cinema. Writing for the Hindustan Times, Amita Malik described information relating to Dutt's death as the book's "most poignant anecdote", saying the photographs are among the book's best parts. Baradwaj Rangan of The New Indian Express wrote: "The thing about someone else's story is that there's no real way of arriving at the veracity of the chapters, at the truth of the characters, and the best recourse, sometimes, is to let this teller himself tell the story ... The effect is that of thumbing through the very entertaining transcript of a those-were-the-days interview, laden with nostalgic nuggets as much about a bygone age of living as a bygone era of filmmaking". Kaveree Bamzai of India Today said the book's contents focus primarily on Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, which according to her makes the book "absorbing reading".
In a review for The Tribune, Nonika Singh took note of the fluidity and lucidity in Saran's writing, her initiative of presenting the story in first-person narrative, and her commentary. In The Punch Magazine, filmmaker Muzaffar Ali said through this book, Saran proves her journalistic ability; he also said; "She has gone into the essence of two interdependent personalities and created a magic of human drama which is very imaginative, informative and at the same time proactive ... she has woven an evocative past that will be a milestone in Bollywood history. A sense of record being lost to time." Deccan Herald referred to Ten Years with Guru Dutt as the finest book on an Indian personality. The author Yasser Usman commended it as "a warm and insightful look at two remarkable artistes who inspired each other to create movie magic".
## Adaptations
A 90-minute, English- and Hindi-language, black-and-white stage adaptation was held at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu, on 20 and 21 November 2012. Saattvic directed the work in his debut and starred as a younger Alvi alongside Dilnaz Irani as a journalist, Namit as an older Alvi, Tariq Vasudeva as Dutt, Dhruv Lohumi, Manasi Rachh as Waheeda Rehman, and Maanvi Gagroo as Meena Kumari. Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Raghavendra Rathore designed the costumes. The book's original story was slightly changed; the director was quoted as saying, "I had to keep all the characters' looks in mind and I was very cautious about the way the actors enacted the parts". Neha Das of Deccan Herald praised the play for highlighting important points in Dutt's life. The Times of India said the actors delivered commendable performances and commented on how the costumes enhanced the play.
|
13,189,498 |
Barclay–Vesey Building
| 1,165,647,309 |
Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York
|
[
"1927 establishments in New York City",
"Art Deco architecture in Manhattan",
"Art Deco skyscrapers",
"Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan",
"Condominium conversions",
"Condominiums and housing cooperatives in Manhattan",
"New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan",
"New York City interior landmarks",
"Office buildings completed in 1927",
"Office buildings in Manhattan",
"Ralph Thomas Walker buildings",
"Residential buildings completed in 1927",
"Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan",
"Residential skyscrapers in Manhattan",
"Restored and conserved buildings",
"Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan",
"Telecommunications buildings on the National Register of Historic Places",
"Telecommunications company headquarters in the United States",
"Telephone exchange buildings",
"Tribeca",
"Verizon Communications",
"West Side Highway"
] |
The Barclay–Vesey Building (also known as 100 Barclay, the Verizon Building, and formerly the New York Telephone Company Building) is an office and residential building at 140 West Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The 32-story building was designed in the Art Deco style by Ralph Walker of Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker, and was Walker's first major commission as well as one of the first Art Deco skyscrapers. It occupies the entire block bounded by West Street to the west, Barclay Street to the north, Vesey Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east, abutting the World Trade Center.
The Barclay–Vesey Building was constructed from 1923 to 1927 and was the longtime corporate headquarters of New York Telephone and its successor Verizon Communications. The building, being adjacent to the original World Trade Center to the south and 7 World Trade Center to the east, experienced major damage in the September 11 attacks following the collapse of the World Trade Center. Restoration of the building and damaged communications infrastructure after the attacks took three years and cost \$1.4 billion. In 2016, part of the building was converted into 100 Barclay, a residential condominium development.
The Barclay–Vesey Building's architects intended for the structure to have an imposing form, with vertical piers designed as buttresses; setbacks at upper floors; and a program of elaborate ornamentation on the exterior and interior. The Barclay–Vesey Building's design has been widely praised by architectural critics, both for its design scheme and for its symbolism. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009, and its exterior and first-floor interior were declared city landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1991.
## Site
The Barclay–Vesey Building is on the border of Lower Manhattan's Financial District and Tribeca neighborhoods. It occupies an entire city block bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street and the World Trade Center to the south, Washington Street to the east, and Barclay Street to the north. Adjacent buildings include 7 World Trade Center to the east and One World Trade Center to the south. The block is parallelogram-shaped, measuring about 210 feet (64 m) along West and Washington Streets and 250 feet (76 m) along Vesey and Barclay Streets. The total area of the block is 52,000 square feet (4,800 m<sup>2</sup>).
Prior to the 19th century, the Barclay–Vesey Building's site was located off the shore of the North River (now Hudson River). The shore from Vesey Street north to King Street was infilled during the mid-19th century, and docks were constructed west of West Street. A wholesale market called the Washington Market was established on the future Barclay–Vesey Building block in 1812 or 1813. To support the market and the nearby food businesses, about 35 three- to five-story brick structures were erected on the block. In addition, there was a lighthouse on the site. When the Barclay–Vesey Building was erected, the site was still on the shoreline of the Hudson River. In the 1970s, Battery Park City was built on filled land along the shore, severing the Barclay–Vesey Building from the waterfront.
## Architecture
The Barclay–Vesey Building, later known as the Verizon Building, was designed by Ralph Thomas Walker in the Art Deco style. It measures 498 feet (152 m) tall and contains 32 stories, with mezzanines above the ground, 17th, and 31st stories. The Art Deco style was not yet established when the building was erected, and contemporary publications described the building as being "Modernistic" or "Modern Perpendicular". Consequently, some architectural critics describe the Barclay–Vesey Building as being the first Art Deco skyscraper. It was also the first major structure that Walker designed for McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin, and, as such, was aesthetically distinguished from the firm's previous commissions. The building was constructed by general contractor Marc Eidlitz & Son, with several consulting engineers assisting in the project.
Walker intended the Barclay–Vesey Building to be "as modern as the telephone activity it houses". His design took several elements from Eliel Saarinen's proposal for Chicago's Tribune Tower, as well as from Walker's own entry in the design competition for the Tribune Tower. Such elements included the Barclay–Vesey Building's setbacks; its vertical piers; and its pyramidal roof, which had been a defining feature of Walker's Tribune Tower proposal. The Barclay–Vesey Building's architecture has been compared to San Antonio's Milam Building, the largest pre-stressed concrete and brick office building and the first to have an integrated designed-in air conditioning system. Walker subsequently designed other Art Deco buildings in the New York City area, such as the New Jersey Bell Headquarters Building (1929), 60 Hudson Street (1930), 101 Willoughby Street and 1 Wall Street (1931), and 32 Avenue of the Americas (1932), as well as telephone buildings in Upstate New York.
### Form
The massing of the Barclay–Vesey Building includes numerous setbacks. Though setbacks in New York City skyscrapers were mandated by the 1916 Zoning Resolution to allow light and air to reach the streets below, they later became a defining feature of the Art Deco style. The lowest ten floors of the Barclay–Vesey Building occupy the entire area of the city block. Above the 10th floor, there are setbacks on the north and south elevations of the facade. Narrow and deep light courts, to the west and east, create an "H"-shaped floor plan from the 11th to the 17th floors. There are smaller setbacks at each corner on the 13th floor. The building rises as a 108-by-116-foot (33 by 35 m) tower above the 17th floor, though smaller wings flank the northern and southern elevations on the 18th and 19th floors. The rectangular tower is aligned with buildings on Broadway to the east, so it is parallel to Barclay and Vesey Streets.
During the design process, Walker had considered plans for "a series of stacked blocks connected by blunt transitions", though this proposal lacked a unified sense of character. The appearance of unity was ultimately attained through the inclusion of piers on the facade. These piers divide the facade into bays. The western and eastern elevations of the Barclay–Vesey Building's facade are 19 bays wide, while the northern and southern elevations contain 23 bays each.
The Barclay–Vesey Building's form was also influenced by its interior use. There were numerous functions that did not necessitate sunlight and could operate using artificial light, such as the central operating system and the mechanical space, which was placed inside the building's core. The mechanical core was an important consideration since, at the time, office buildings largely relied on natural ventilation through means such as light courts. Because the office space was placed on the exterior walls, the lowest ten stories did not need light courts. As a result, the base could also occupy the entire lot area, with higher setbacks than in other office buildings.
### Facade
The facade was inspired by Maya architecture. Above the granite base, the exterior is clad with brick in hues of green, gold, and buff, a material that Walker preferred for its texture and color. There is cast-stone ornamentation on the building's upper floors, as well as patterned motifs and limestone decoration on the lower floors. The builders used machines to create as many of the decorative features as possible. The Barclay–Vesey Building also contains serrated stone-and-light-brick parapets, which, when combined with the building's vertical piers, give a naturalistic "alpine" look to the setbacks. When taken as a whole, the materials of the facade were intended to give an impression of stability and mass.
The facade also serves a protective purpose: the steel frame is enclosed within 12-inch-thick (30 cm), heavy masonry in the exterior infill walls. This was composed of 4 inches (100 mm) of face brick and 8 inches (200 mm) of terracotta, laid in Portland cement mortar with a waterproofing compound. Face brick on terracotta was used because it was cheaper than solid brick. The windows had wire-glass panes and hollow steel frames for fireproofing. The modern-day facade contains some Indiana limestone slabs measuring 5 to 6 inches (130 to 150 mm) thick; these were installed after the building was damaged during the September 11 attacks in 2001. Thicker limestone panels, measuring 16 inches (410 mm) thick, were installed around the main entrance.The ornamentation on the facade was carried out by Ulysses Ricci and John De Cesare. Walker wanted the ornamentation to attract passersby and to temper the building's large mass. For the Barclay–Vesey Building, Walker eschewed traditional motifs, such as egg-and-dart patterns, which he saw as cliched. He wrote that the decorative elements should be "so complicated in its structure as not to be readily comprehended; its framework should be as hidden as the steel structure itself." It includes complex foliage; babies and animal heads; and a bell above the door, symbolizing the telephone company. The bell was the only decoration on the facade that indicated the building's original use as a telecommunications center. Though Walker characterized the ornamental program as "free and flowing", it was actually rigid and complex. Architectural critic Lewis Mumford stated that the ornamental program at ground level was an extensive "rock garden".
#### Ground story
The main facades are on West and Washington Streets to the west and east, respectively. At the center of each side, there are large entrance portals that are three bays wide and two stories tall. These portals contain bronze-framed doorways with decorative motifs. Above the doors are bronze screens with vine-and-grape ornamentation; these formerly also contained motifs of bells to represent the New York Telephone Company. The main entrance portals are framed with a decorative limestone lintel depicting a bird and human figures. The limestone friezes above each set of doors depict a bell flanked by a Mongolian and a Native American, which respectively symbolize the Eastern world and the Western world. On the West Street facade, the main entrance portal is flanked on either side by two single-width double-height bays, a triple-width double-height bay, and another single-width double-height bay. These double-height bays contain storefronts. From top to bottom, the storefronts at the base are generally composed of a solid panel, glazed glass, and a decorative transom.
There is an enclosed, arched arcade above the Vesey Street sidewalk on the southern facade, measuring approximately 17 feet (5.2 m) wide and 250 feet (76 m) long. There are 12 arches in total; each corresponds to two window bays above, except the westernmost arch, which corresponds to one window bay. The arches are supported by brick piers while the ceilings are composed of Guastavino tiles. The arcade was a compromise design because the city wanted to expand the street during the building's construction, while Walker wanted a larger base. The arcade was called "one of the most comfortable shopping fronts in New York City" when the Barclay–Vesey Building was completed, but because it was so dark, the arcade did not receive too much pedestrian traffic. Nevertheless, numerous enterprises were located in the arcade, including a circulating library. The Vesey Street storefronts were converted to office space by the 2000s.
The north facade also contains storefronts set within double-width, double-height arches. Two of the central arches were converted into rectangular garage openings.
#### Upper stories
On the second through 32nd stories, the window design is mostly consistent. Most window openings contain three-over-three sash windows, though some openings have been covered with louvered grates, especially in places where there are mechanical or communications equipment. The second-story windows are generally topped by elaborate triangular limestone surrounds that contain carvings of birds, grapes, and vines, except at the corners of the building, where the second-story windows contain lintels and sills with carvings of grapes and vines. The third-story windows also contain sills with grape and vine carvings. The fourth- through 32nd-story windows have plain, undecorated sills and windows. Each window bay is separated by vertical limestone piers.
Cast stone decorative elements are concentrated above the 20th story. For example, at the 29th story, the corner piers contain elephant heads with geometrically shaped ears and trunks. The 30th floor, 31st floor, and 31st-floor mezzanine contains five triple-height arched windows on each facade. Stone piers protrude above the rooftop level, which contains some mechanical equipment.
### Features
#### Structural features
The building's basements extend 72 feet (22 m) deep and are surrounded by a concrete cofferdam measuring 8 feet (2.4 m) thick. The cofferdam encloses steel braces that descend to 65 feet (20 m) below the curb. Above ground, there is masonry encasing the steel superstructure. Brick, cinder, concrete, and other masonry materials are used throughout the interior. The floors are made of reinforced concrete, and wood was avoided in the building where possible, with steel doors used for fireproofing. The stairs and corridors were also designed to be fire- and smoke-proof, with partitions throughout the building. Some 5,000 short tons (4,500 long tons; 4,500 t) of steel was used in the substructure, while 15,000 short tons (13,000 long tons; 14,000 t) of steel was used in the superstructure.
#### Mechanical features
The building was split mechanically into two sections: one serving the basements and lowest 16 floors, and another serving the 18th through 32nd floors. The 17th floor housed the mechanical equipment. This was in contrast to other buildings, where mechanical equipment were usually contained on their roofs or in their basements. The floors could handle live structural loads of up to 150 or 275 pounds per square foot (730 or 1,340 kg/m<sup>2</sup>), depending on the intended uses of each floor section. The Barclay–Vesey Building was equipped with electric ducts on every floor, so a wire could be brought to within 2 or 3 feet (0.61 or 0.91 m) of any point in the building. Two 110-to-220-volt direct current power lines provided power for the building's normal operation, though either line could provide all of the building's power if the other line failed. In addition, there were two 13,400-volt, three-phase alternating current lines for the telephone exchanges. There were also 35 motor generators with a total capacity of 2,000 horsepower (1,500 kW).
Heating and ventilation systems in the Barclay–Vesey Building were also divided into three sections: the basements to the 10th story, the 11th to 17th stories, and the 18th to 32nd stories. Air distribution to each section was controlled by a panel in the fourth basement, which operated pneumatic valves in the 10th story and 17th mezzanine. The heat was provided by four boilers, which were powered by coal bunkers with a capacity of 1,500 short tons (1,300 long tons; 1,400 t). The heat was then distributed to the upper stories through 3,000 radiators. Within the lobby, two recirculating systems were installed, taking hot air from the ceiling and discharging it into the floor. The restrooms had their own ventilation shaft, discharging air at the roof. There was also an ice-making plant in the basement, which could create 2,000 pounds (910 kg) of ice every 24 hours.
The building's water-supply system is divided into three sections. The basements and ground story were served directly by the New York City water supply system. The second through 16th stories were supplied by a 33,500-U.S.-gallon (127,000 L) tank on the 17th-story mezzanine. The 18th through 32nd stories were supplied by a 15,000-U.S.-gallon (57,000 L) tank on the 32nd story. The tanks on the 17th mezzanine and 32nd story were each served exclusively by two pumps, and a fifth pump could serve either tank. Hot water was provided by heaters on the first basement, the fourth story, and the 17th mezzanine. The original fire-protection system had tanks with a total capacity of 62,500 U.S. gallons (237,000 L; 52,000 imp gal), with a large tank on the roof and smaller reserve tanks on the eighth, 17th mezzanine, and 25th floors. The fourth basement had two motor-driven 250-horsepower (190 kW) pumps, which could provide 2,000 U.S. gallons (7,600 L) of water per minute.
The building's drainage system was divided into several sections. In the basements and the first story, the sanitary system discharged into ejectors in the fifth basement. On and above the second story, there were two main sanitary stacks serving alternate floors. The roof had a separate drainage system that connected directly to the city's sewer system. Subsoil water and floor drains emptied into a 70,000-U.S.-gallon (260,000 L) sump in the fifth basement. From there, two sump pumps drained the water out of the building.
### Interior
In his design for the Barclay–Vesey Building, Walker believed that the structure should serve "as a machine which had definite functions to perform for the benefit of its occupants." The design scheme for the interior is a continuation of that on the facade, which was a relatively rare stylistic choice of the time, since many contemporary buildings were being designed with modern-styled exteriors and historically styled interiors. Walker created the interior elements by machine when it was possible. Mumford likened this continuity in interior and exterior design to the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Hobson Richardson, and Louis Sullivan, which also exhibited such consistency. The interior space covers 1.2 million sq ft (110,000 m<sup>2</sup>). When used as a telephone facility, the Barclay–Vesey Building could accommodate 6,000 workers in 850,000 square feet (79,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of usable space.
There are 26 elevators to transport tenants to upper floors. The second through 16th floors are served by two elevator lobbies, while the 18th through 32nd floors are served by a single elevator lobby. When the building opened, there were four banks of passenger elevators with 24 cabs between them. Elevator banks A and B each had four cabs and served the lowest ten floors. They were manually operated, running at 700 feet per minute (210 m/min). Elevator bank C had eight cabs: two of these served all stories from the deepest basement to the 30th floor, while the others skipped all stories between the lobby and the 10th floor. Elevator bank D also had eight cabs, which skipped all stories between the lobby and the 16th floor. The two larger banks of elevators were fully automatic and could travel at up to 800 feet per minute (240 m/min). In addition, there was a service elevator, a "low-speed" freight elevator, and an observation cab running from the 30th floor to the roof. During the morning peak, the elevator system was designed to receive 180 persons per minute, with cabs departing the lobby every five seconds.
#### Lobby
The lobby runs between the West and Washington Street entrances to the west and east, with a vaulted ceiling. The interior of the lobby includes buff-colored veined marble walls and floors. Travertine was used on the walls while Levanto marble was used for baseboards and trim. Toward the center of the lobby, there are two alcoves each on the north and south walls, which lead to the elevator banks. The northern alcoves both contain eight elevators while the southern alcoves both contain four elevators. All of the elevator alcoves contain painted ceilings and ornate bronze fixtures for ventilation and lights. The elevator doors were originally made of hammered iron, and the interiors of the elevator cabs had walnut panels. A telephone alcove is also placed off the lobby. Since the upper floors' residential overhaul in the 2010s, the western half of the lobby is still used by Verizon, but the eastern half is used as a residents' lounge.
The lobby has an Art Deco decorative scheme. These works were designed by Ricci and De Cesare, and executed by Edgar Williams and Mack, Jenney & Tyler. The elevator doors are framed by bronze surrounds, while the elevator lobbies feature Levanto marble walls. Other doorways leading from the lobby, as well as the fluted pilasters along the lobby's length, are also made of Levanto marble. The doors from the lobby are made of bronze, as are the capitals of the pilasters, which incorporate grape-and-vine motifs.
The lobby features inlaid bronze medallions in the floor, which depict the construction of the telephone system. The medallion on the eastern side depicts a female telephone operator, and that on the western side depicts a lineworker. There are twelve ceiling murals that depict how human communication has progressed, from Aztec runners to the telephone. Nine murals (five at the western entrance and four at the eastern entrance) demonstrate the ancient methods of communication. The three center murals depict modern communication. Two bronze chandeliers with complex ornamentation hang from the ceiling. The chandeliers are suspended from motifs of "angelic figures".
#### Other floors
The Barclay–Vesey Building has five sub-basement levels, which house communications equipment. Originally, four of the sub-basements had lead-covered cables and storage batteries with a 3,600-kilowatt-hour (13,000 MJ) capacity. At the time of the September 11 attacks, Verizon was using the building as a main telecommunications switching center in Lower Manhattan, handling approximately 200,000 phone lines and 3.6 million data circuits. These circuits traveled as far north as 42nd Street. In emergencies, the 17th floor could provide services to the building's base. As built, the Barclay–Vesey Building contained a cafeteria and recreation rooms within one of its basements. These spaces contained trees and paintings. A mural, depicting a panoramic view of the Mediterranean from Spain, decorated one wall.
When the Barclay–Vesey Building opened, it contained an auditorium at ground level and a gymnasium at the ground-floor mezzanine. The lowest ten floors above ground were intended for use as office space serving the central telephone offices. Each of these stories covered approximately 1 acre (0.40 ha). The upper stories' corridors generally had terrazzo floors, as well as 4.5-foot-high (1.4 m) Botticino marble wainscoting beneath buff-colored plaster walls. The elevator lobbies on each floor were equipped with illuminated signs, indicating which sets of elevators served that floor. The 29th floor included New York Telephone's offices. The 29th-story corridors and anteroom had travertine stone floors, Levanto marble baseboards, Kato stone wainscoting, and plaster friezes and ceilings. White oak floors and curly maple paneling were used in the suite itself. The 31st floor contained an assembly room that could hold 6,500 workers. There was also a training school for workers.
The stories above the 10th floor have been converted into 157 luxury condominium units. There is a separate lobby for residents on the Barclay Street side, which connects to the original lobby. The penthouse apartment, a duplex unit on the 31st and 32nd floors, covers 14,500 square feet (1,350 m<sup>2</sup>) with a 96-by-33-foot (29 by 10 m) living room, advertised as the largest in the city. The building also contains an 330-square-foot (31 m<sup>2</sup>) wading pool and an 82-foot-long (25 m) lap pool. Other features of the residential portion of the Barclay–Vesey Building include rooms for wine-tasting and billiards; music practice; a fitness center; a children's playroom; and a residents' lounge. There are also four residential terraces.
## History
### Development
The New York Telephone Company began to grow rapidly after World War I. An internal review of the organizational structure found that its New York City operations were housed in multiple buildings across the city and were thus inefficient. The company's main office was at 15 Dey Street, which had not been enlarged since 1904 and could not house the company's 33,000 employees. The company's president from 1919 to 1924, Howard Ford Thurber, sought to centralize the company's operations into a single large headquarters to "satisfy the present demands and to reasonably anticipate future requirements". In the early 1920s, the New York Telephone Company started acquiring the entire block between West, Barclay, Washington, and Vesey Streets. The site was chosen "because real estate values in that vicinity were much lower" compared to the area around Broadway, being relatively isolated from the rest of the neighborhood. The company owned the entire block by 1923, by which it had spent \$1.5 million on acquisitions.
#### Planning
In April 1923, the company announced that it intended to build a new headquarters at a projected cost of \$11.5 million. The structure was to house 6,000 employees from the company's six central offices, who would work with 120,000 telephones, as well as mechanical equipment to support the company's equipment. The initial design called for a height of 404 feet (123 m), with 680,000 square feet (63,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of office space, and 38,000 square feet (3,500 m<sup>2</sup>) of commercial ground-floor storefronts. In addition, the building would be erected with a steel-and-concrete frame, as well as facade trim made of limestone and buff-colored brick. The building was to be designed by Ralph Walker of Kenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin, who was then thirty-four years old and relatively inexperienced. At the time, construction was expected to be completed in July 1925.
Walker may have started planning the Barclay–Vesey Building in 1921. He wished to create a "strong corporate image" for the structure, and he sought to ensure that the proposed headquarters would comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution while also being spacious and relatively inexpensive. According to S. F. Voorhees, an efficiently designed building on the site could not be taller than 43 stories. Consequently, Walker created designs for a structure containing 10, 16, 26, 29, 32, 36, and 42 floors. Voorhees's studies found that a 16-story building was most efficient in terms of "quantities of space", while a 29-story building would have the lowest construction costs per square foot. The latter calculation also allowed the architects to determine how many basement stories were required. The height of the tower was in part influenced by how many elevators were required, since elevators took up a significant part of the rentable area on upper stories.
Walker tested out different architectural styles, such as the Gothic and Italian Renaissance styles, before settling on a "modernistic" Art Deco style. The 32-story proposal was ultimately deemed the most efficient. The blueprints for the 32-story proposal, with setbacks at the 10th, 13th, 17th, and 19th floors, were submitted to the New York City Department of Buildings in June 1923. That December, New York Telephone Company officials sought permission from the New York City Board of Appeals to construct part of the building above the surrounding sidewalks.
#### Construction
Demolition of existing buildings on the site commenced in May 1923, but high material costs at the time prompted officials to delay construction of the building's foundation. Work on the foundation began on June 20, 1923. Because the site was mostly artificial fill with riprap buttressing, water from the Hudson River sometimes leaked through to the foundation. The building's foundation needed to descend to the level of the bedrock, and the earth was described as having a slimy consistency below water level. Since the bedrock was deeper than originally anticipated, this allowed the builders to include five basement levels rather than four. To keep out the water and slime-like earth, the builders erected a cofferdam with 22 caissons. Each caisson measured 8 feet (2.4 m) thick by 40 feet (12 m) long and was sunk to a depth of 55 to 75 feet (17 to 23 m). The builders then laid down permanent steel struts to hold back the cofferdam. Not only was this likely the first such use of steel bracing, it saved \$30,000 compared to the temporary wood bracing that had been used in previous projects.
During construction, almost 700 workers were employed for the project at any given time; tradesmen, such as plumbers and electricians, worked with concrete and steel contractors in overlapping shifts, in order to reduce delays. The superstructure incorporated 20,000 short tons (18,000 long tons; 18,000 t) of steel across its above-ground and below-ground sections, and the builders used six derricks to lift the girders from the street. Four temporary stairways, each containing 351 steps, were built to facilitate the construction of the upper floors. The floor arches were built starting in October 1924; on average, one floor was completed per week. The last rivet in the building was installed in May 1925, and the last brick was laid that September. The New York Building Congress gave craftsmanship awards to several workers to celebrate the building's completion. New York Telephone's vice president James S. McCulloh placed both the first and the last rivets.
The first employees moved to the Barclay–Vesey Building on February 19, 1926. All construction on the Barclay–Vesey Building was completed by June 1926. However, the New York City Department of Buildings did not declare the building to be completed until April 1927.
### 20th-century use
New York Telephone originally had four dial telephone exchanges at the Barclay–Vesey Building. Two additional exchanges were activated in 1928, which would be able to serve 125,000 additional subscribers; at the time, Lower Manhattan was one of the busiest telephone districts in the world. During the mid-20th century, office space was gradually removed to make room for additional equipment.
In 1970, the company signed an agreement to move its executive offices to 1095 Avenue of the Americas, a proposed 53-story speculative development near Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, which would be larger than the existing West Street offices. Two years later, the New York Telephone offices had moved out of the Barclay–Vesey Building, though the switching offices remained. When NYNEX was formed as a result of the breakup of the original AT&T in 1984, the building became NYNEX's headquarters. Improvements in technology resulted in the invention of smaller telephone equipment, leading to an increase in available office space at the Barclay–Vesey Building. By the 1990s, some office workers were moving back into the Barclay–Vesey Building.
The exteriors and ground-floor lobbies of the Barclay–Vesey Building and two other telecommunications buildings were designated city landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1991. New York Telephone supported the designation, and the company's own media had previously described the building as a "landmark". The Barclay–Vesey Building became the headquarters of Bell Atlantic following Bell Atlantic's 1997 merger with NYNEX. Subsequently, in 2000, the building became Verizon Communications' headquarters after Verizon was formed from the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE.
### 21st-century use
#### Damage and restoration
At the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Barclay–Vesey Building was being renovated. The Barclay–Vesey Building had been adjacent to 7 World Trade Center to the east and the World Trade Center's Twin Towers to the south, and when the three buildings collapsed during the attacks, the south and east facades were severely damaged by falling steel beams. The collapse of the World Trade Center caused the partial collapses of some floor slabs near the windows, though the building as a whole was not in immediate danger of collapse. Debris also sliced water mains, flooding the basements. As a result, underground cable vaults belonging to Verizon, along with other underground utility infrastructure, were heavily damaged from water and debris. The Barclay–Vesey Building received only moderate damage because its thick-masonry design gave the building added strength, but two of the facades were damaged. The masonry allowed the structure to absorb much of the energy from debris hitting the building, and damage was restricted mostly to impact points. Although no fires were observed in the Barclay–Vesey Building, the ground-floor murals were damaged by smoke.
Tishman Realty & Construction, which had been planning work on the building prior to the attacks, did a quick assessment of the building in the days after the attack. illiam F. Collins AIA Architects was the lead architectural firm working on the restoration, while Tishman Interiors managed the project. The Excalibur Bronze Foundry and Petrillo Stone were hired as specialists to restore the intricate ornamental detail in the facade and in the lobby. The facade restoration involved carving motif designs in the ornamental limestone, as well as installing 5,000 cu ft (140 m<sup>3</sup>) of Indiana limestone and 500 cu ft (14 m<sup>3</sup>) of Stony Creek granite. For the murals in the lobby, hypodermic needles were used to inject acrylic resin to restore the paint and plaster. On the executive office floors, workers restored the barrel-vaulted ceilings, plaster friezes, and other elements. Restoration of the building also involved replacing a corner column; A+ Construction of Rye, New York was responsible for this work. The building's 23 elevators were also upgraded; new fire alarms, building command systems, and chillers were installed; and restrooms were made accessible to those with disabilities.
Restoration of the building took three years, at a cost of \$1.4 billion. The New York Times stated that the project would cost "three-quarters of the Chrysler Building's estimated total value." Throughout the restoration, the building continued to serve as a telephone switching center. In 2004, the New York Landmarks Conservancy awarded Tishman Interiors the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award for its restoration work on the Barclay–Vesey Building. The restoration was complete by late 2005. That December, Verizon announced it would move its offices from 1095 Avenue of the Americas to 140 West Street, where there would be space for 1,500 employees; the operations hub was relocated to Verizon's campus in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The Barclay–Vesey Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
#### Partial sale and residential conversion
The building was partially flooded by storm surges from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which seeped into the basement levels, took all except one of the elevators out of service, and damaged the lobby murals. The next year, Verizon sold off the top floors to developer Ben Shaoul, the head of Magnum Real Estate. Verizon retained the 28th and 29th floors as well as the ground through 10th stories. In conjunction with this sale, Verizon moved 1,100 employees to Downtown Brooklyn and relocated others to 1095 Avenue of the Americas. To prevent against future flood damage, Verizon installed a storm surge barrier in front of the building.
Following Verizon's sale of the top floors, it was announced that Magnum Real Estate would convert the upper floors to a condominium complex known as 100 Barclay. Shaoul and the CIM Group obtained a \$390 million loan in February 2015 to help finance the project. The partners added 157 units to the Barclay–Vesey Building and placed the first condos for sale in early 2016. However, 100 Barclay's residential units remained largely unoccupied by 2019, leading Magnum Real Estate to reduce the penthouse's asking price from \$59 million to \$39 million. To fill up the unused units, Magnum Real Estate also started advertising to renters.
## Critical reception
The Barclay–Vesey Building received much positive acclaim when it was completed. New York Telephone dubbed the headquarters "a symbol of service and progress", while Mumford said that the design "expresses the achievements of contemporary American architecture...better than any other skyscraper I have seen." Joseph Pennell called the Barclay–Vesey Building "the most impressive modern building in the world", and Talbot Hamlin predicted it would be "a monument of American progress in architecture." The New York Herald, New York Tribune wrote: "The architects deserve our thanks for their trust in the fundamental qualities of design." The building was on the frontispiece of the English version of Toward an Architecture by Le Corbusier, such was its stature. These favorable reviews have continued through the 21st century: the 2009 Guide to New York City Landmarks described the building as "one of the most significant structures in skyscraper design".
The design received awards from civic groups as well. In February 1927, the Architectural League of New York awarded Walker a gold medal of honor for the design, lauding its "quality of excellence" and saying that "A result has been achieved expressive of a high degree of skill and good taste in both general mass and in interesting detail." That October, the Broadway Association gave the New York Telephone Company an award for the Barclay–Vesey Building, calling it a "contribution to civic advancement."
Praise also focused on specific elements of the Barclay–Vesey Building. The architect Harvey Wiley Corbett said that the ornamental program was "straightforward and appropriate and eminently right". Mumford wrote that the Barclay–Vesey Building was "perhaps the first large structure" besides Chicago's Auditorium Building to "carry through with a significant scheme of decoration", in particular praising the lobby as "a gay efflorescence of remarkably good decoration". Similarly, Hamlin wrote that the lobby "proves that as beautiful a richness of color and form can be obtained freely and non-stylistically as in any of the historical styles". Following the September 11 attacks, Verizon's corporate-real-estate manager praised the Barclay–Vesey Building's resilience, referring to the building as a "tank".
Some parts of the design were also criticized. In 1991, New York Times architectural writer Phillip Lopate stated that "the corporate publicity aspects of the Barclay–Vesey lobby seem, by today's standards, overdone and kitschy" compared to Walker's later 60 Hudson Street commission, which was austere. Mumford, who largely liked the design, found the base–tower transition and the building's general shape to be an "annoying defect", believing that Walker could have designed the massing more creatively.
## See also
- 90 West Street, another nearby building damaged in the 9/11 attacks
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street
|
1,850,772 |
Beth Phoenix
| 1,172,663,184 |
American professional wrestler
|
[
"1980 births",
"21st-century American women",
"21st-century female professional wrestlers",
"American color commentators",
"American female professional wrestlers",
"American people of Polish descent",
"Canisius University alumni",
"Living people",
"Professional wrestlers from New York (state)",
"Professional wrestling announcers",
"Sportspeople from Elmira, New York",
"WWE Divas Champions",
"WWE Hall of Fame inductees",
"WWF/WWE Women's Champions"
] |
Elizabeth Copeland ( Kociański; born November 24, 1980), known professionally as Beth Phoenix, is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE. She is a former WWE Divas Champion and a three-time WWE Women's Champion.
Kociański had a successful amateur wrestling career in high school, winning several tournaments before being trained for professional wrestling by the All-Knighters. After her debut in May 2001, she wrestled for numerous independent promotions. She also appeared at the inaugural Shimmer Women Athletes shows. In 2004, she began working for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and signed a developmental contract with WWE in October 2005. She debuted on WWE's Raw brand in May 2006 but suffered a legitimate broken jaw the following month. As a result, she had numerous surgeries and returned to OVW for further training. While there, she won the OVW Women's Championship twice, although her second reign is not officially recognized by OVW.
She returned to the Raw brand in July 2007, and was heavily pushed, dominating the other WWE Divas and gaining the nickname, "The Glamazon". She won her first WWE Women's Championship at the No Mercy pay-per-view in October, and held it for six months. She then developed an on-screen relationship with Santino Marella, dubbed "Glamarella", and won the Women's Championship for a second time in August 2008, holding it until January 2009. In January 2010, at the Royal Rumble, she became the second woman in the history of the event to enter the men's Royal Rumble match, and went on to win the Women's Championship for the third time in April, holding it for a month. In October 2011, Phoenix won the WWE Divas Championship for the first time and lost it in April 2012. Phoenix retired and left WWE in October 2012 due to creative frustrations with the treatment of women in WWE, and to focus on her family life with boyfriend and later husband Adam Copeland, famous in WWE as Edge, with whom she subsequently had two daughters.
In 2017, Phoenix returned to WWE upon being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the 2017 class, also becoming a part-time color commentator for the company; her induction made her the quickest female to be inducted after her retirement and the youngest inductee in history at age 36. In 2019, she also became the first woman to be inducted in the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, a hall of fame dedicated to professional wrestlers with an amateur background. Phoenix has wrestled on a part-time basis since her return, notably at WrestleMania 35; she also took part in the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match in 2018, making her the first wrestler to have participated in both the men's and women's matches. From May 2019 to December 2021, she was a full-time commentator on NXT.
## Early life
Elizabeth Kociański was born in Elmira, New York and raised by Polish parents. When she was eleven years old, she won a coloring contest with a prize of tickets to a television taping for the World Wrestling Federation. Kociański credits this as when she fell in love with professional wrestling. She cites Bret Hart, Sgt. Slaughter, Owen Hart, and Ted DiBiase as her favorite wrestlers. Kociański attended Notre Dame High School in Elmira, where she played tennis and ran track. She was voted prom queen in her senior year. Kociański is a graduate from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and Public Relations. While wrestling in OVW, Kociański also worked as a waitress at a local restaurant known to Elmira natives as Lights Bakery and Coffee Shop.
## Amateur wrestling career
Elizabeth Kociański began wrestling on the Notre Dame High School scholastic wrestling team. She was the first female varsity wrestler in the school's history. She became the North-East freestyle women's champion in 1999, and also won at the New York State Fair Tournament the same year. At the time, she was also a member of USA Wrestling, a freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling association. Her life goal was, according to her, to become a professional wrestler, and she believed that having a solid amateur background would help her reach it.
## Professional wrestling career
### Training and independent circuit (2001–2005)
After graduating from high school in 1998, she enrolled in both a professional wrestling school and Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. Her first choice for wrestling school was Stu Hart's Dungeon, but because of the location, she decided on a more local school. At the school, she was trained by the All Knighters (Joey Knight and Robin Knightwing), who themselves had trained in the Hart Dungeon. She later stated that Nora Greenwald, who was known in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Molly Holly, had paid for her to attend wrestling school after Carolan had given her a demo tape of her work. Her professional wrestling debut match was against Alexis Laree. She then worked for various independent promotions, including Cleveland All Pro Wrestling and Apocalypse Wrestling, against both male and female wrestlers, using the name "Phoenix". In 2002, she was one of the first wrestlers in GLORY, an independent organization for women, and was the inaugural GLORY Champion. She then joined Far North Wrestling (FNW), and was the only female wrestler in the promotion. She defeated Joey Knight and Kevin Grace in 2003 to become the FNW Cruiserweight Champion. Later in 2003 she took part in World Xtreme Wrestling's annual Women's Elite 8 tournament where she made it to the final, before losing to April Hunter. She returned two years later and defeated Nikki Roxx, but was bested in the second round by eventual winner Alicia. The following month, Phoenix appeared at the inaugural taping for the Ring of Honor sister promotion Shimmer Women Athletes; during Volume 1 she was pinned by Shimmer founder Allison Danger but scored an upset victory in a non-title match against NWA Midwest Women's Champion MsChif.
### World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
#### Ohio Valley Wrestling (2004–2006)
Kociański was invited to a tryout with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2004, and then relocated to Louisville, Kentucky to work for their then-developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). She debuted on OVW television in July 2004, having changed her ring name to "Beth Phoenix", and became the on-screen girlfriend and valet of Chris Masters. The storyline was short-lived, and the following month Phoenix was repackaged as the manager of Aaron "The Idol" Stevens. She signed a developmental contract with WWE on October 20, 2005, the same month that she broke her hand. The duo was then joined by Shelly Martinez, who Phoenix soon feuded within early 2006.
#### Trish Stratus' ally (2006)
Phoenix debuted on WWE's main roster on the May 8, 2006, episode of Raw as a face by attacking Mickie James while James was assaulting Trish Stratus. After this incident, James berated Phoenix for "ruining everything" and questioned why she showed up in the first place. A week later, Phoenix was formally introduced by Stratus and then attacked a distracted James on Stratus's behalf. When James finally escaped, Phoenix claimed that James had "ruined her life", and would not let her get away with it, before calling her a "psycho". On the following episode of Raw, Phoenix attacked James after her match with Torrie Wilson. Then, on the May 29 episode of Raw, Phoenix and Wilson, with Stratus in their corner, teamed together to defeat Candice Michelle and Victoria, who had James in their corner. During the June 5 episode of Raw, Phoenix suffered a legitimately fractured mandible during a match with Victoria, but was able to continue the match, and emerged victorious despite the injury. Phoenix's jaw was entirely severed and subsequent surgeries left a portion of her face permanently numb. She spent a year having surgeries and recovering, including getting a titanium plate and nine screws placed in her jaw, but she was only out of action for two months, as she returned to action in OVW instead of on the main roster.
#### Return to Ohio Valley Wrestling (2006–2007)
After sustaining her injury on the main roster, Phoenix returned to action in OVW on August 16, 2006, defeating Serena. Phoenix began regularly competing for the OVW Women's Championship, unsuccessfully challenging the champion ODB in a battle royal and a four-way match, which was won by Serena. At the October 4 OVW television tapings, however, Phoenix defeated Serena to win the championship. She lost the championship to Victoria Crawford in a gauntlet match on October 20, and won it back the next day; however, Crawford's title reign is not officially recognized, and as a result, neither is Phoenix's second reign. Phoenix officially dropped the championship in a gauntlet match at the November 1 television taping, after she was eliminated by Katie Lea, who eventually won the match.
On the November 6 episode of OVW, Phoenix came out with her championship and claimed to still be the women's champion. As a result, a ladder match was set up, where the winner would become the undisputed OVW Women's Champion. Lea won the match and was presented with the title belt on the first show of 2007. Throughout 2007, Phoenix continued to wrestle in numerous women's matches in OVW. Phoenix made her last appearance in OVW at their August 15 television tapings where she lost to Lea in a number one contenders match.
#### The Glamazon (2007–2008)
On the July 9, 2007, episode of Raw, Phoenix returned as a villain, when Melina claimed to be injured. Phoenix replaced Melina in a tag team match as Jillian Hall's partner, and the two lost to Candice Michelle and Mickie James. At the SummerSlam pay-per-view, Phoenix won the Interpromotional Divas battle royal to become the number one contender for Michelle's WWE Women's Championship. Phoenix was then pushed as a dominating Diva, dubbing herself "The Glamazon" and attacking James, Hall, and Michelle on the September 10 episode of Raw. At Unforgiven, however, she failed to capture the Women's Championship from Michelle. Their storyline rivalry continued when Phoenix pinned Michelle during a non-title mixed tag team match on Raw on September 24.
At No Mercy in October, Phoenix defeated Michelle to win her first WWE Women's Championship. She retained the title on the October 22 episode of Raw in a two out of three falls match, in which Candice Michelle was injured by Phoenix shaking the rope, causing her to fall off the top turnbuckle and legitimately break her clavicle.
During a 10-Diva tag team match at Survivor Series, Phoenix's team lost after Melina was pinned by Mickie James. On the November 26 episode of Raw, James defeated Melina in a number one contenders match for Phoenix's Women's Championship, setting up a title match between the two at Armageddon, a match in which Phoenix successfully defended her Women's title. On New Year's Eve 2008, Phoenix successfully defended her title in a Triple Threat match against Melina and James, after pinning Melina.
Phoenix, along with then-ally Melina, took part in the Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjack match at WrestleMania XXIV, where she defeated the team of Ashley and Maria. On April 14, 2008 Phoenix faced Mickie James with her Women's Championship on the line and lost, ending her reign as champion. Phoenix received a rematch on the May 5 episode of Raw in a lumberjill match, but lost after Melina unintentionally hit her in the face with her boot. On the May 12 episode of Raw, Melina and Phoenix partnered to face Maria and James. During the match, Melina unintentionally knocked Phoenix off of the ring apron, resulting in Phoenix abandoning Melina, which allowed James and Maria to pick up the win. Later that night, Melina and Phoenix brawled in a backstage segment, ending their alliance. At Judgment Day, Phoenix failed to regain the Women's Championship in a Triple Threat match after James pinned Melina to retain the title. At One Night Stand, Phoenix defeated Melina in the first women's "I Quit" match in WWE history. The next night on Raw, Phoenix teamed with Katie Lea Burchill to defeat Melina and James in a tag team match. She was pinned by James one week later in a non-title match, and was once again attacked by Melina post-match.
#### Glamarella (2008–2009)
After a month absence from television, Phoenix returned on the July 14 episode of Raw, where she defeated Santino Marella after he issued an open challenge to any WWE wrestler backstage. The storyline continued the following week after Marella lost to the returning D-Lo Brown. Phoenix confronted Marella after the match, and they briefly grappled with each other before unexpectedly sharing a kiss, to which both expressed considerable confusion.
The two then became an on-screen power couple, and the pairing of Phoenix and Marella later became known by the portmanteau Glamarella. Within the team, she acted as the "straight-woman" of sorts, berating Marella or reacting in disbelief to his over-the-top, embarrassing antics. At SummerSlam, they defeated Kofi Kingston and Mickie James in an intergender tag team match. Phoenix pinned James, winning the Women's Championship, while Marella won Kingston's Intercontinental Championship. She successfully defended the Women's Championship against Candice Michelle at No Mercy. At Survivor Series in November, Phoenix was team captain of the victorious Raw Diva team which defeated the SmackDown Divas in a five-on-five elimination match; she eliminated Maryse and became the sole survivor of the team.
On December 8, 2008, Phoenix received the "Slammy Award" for Diva of the Year. Phoenix then began feuding with Melina, who had returned from injury in November. This storyline included the debut of Rosa Mendes, who was introduced as Phoenix's "superfan". At the Royal Rumble in January 2009, Phoenix lost the Women's Championship to Melina. At WrestleMania XXV, Phoenix competed in the 25-Diva "Miss WrestleMania" battle royal; despite scoring 12 eliminations, more than any other participant, she lost when Marella, who competed in drag, claiming to be his twin sister "Santina", last eliminated her. After WrestleMania, Glamarella separated, as Phoenix was unhappy with Santino pretending to be "Santina". Phoenix had a brief scripted rivalry with both "Santina" and Marella, and challenged "Santina" for the "Miss WrestleMania" title at Backlash, but was unsuccessful.
#### Feud with LayCool (2009–2011)
After a brief hiatus, Phoenix returned on the July 27 episode of Raw, teaming with Alicia Fox and Rosa Mendes in a losing effort to Mickie James, Gail Kim, and Kelly Kelly. Phoenix had her first opportunity for the WWE Divas Championship, being narrowly defeated by the defending champion, Mickie James, on the August 31 episode of Raw, after winning a number one contender's battle royal that same night.
On the October 12 episode of Raw, it was announced that Phoenix had been traded to the SmackDown brand. Phoenix made her in-ring debut for the brand on the October 30 episode of SmackDown, defeating Jenny Brooks, an "enhancement talent". In January 2010, at the Royal Rumble, she entered the Royal Rumble match and eliminated The Great Khali, before she was eliminated by CM Punk. With her entry, she became the second woman in history to enter the Royal Rumble match, the first being Chyna.
After being told by Vickie Guerrero, the SmackDown consultant, that she would not be receiving a Women's Championship opportunity, Phoenix turned face after she saved Tiffany from an attack by Guerrero and LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla) on the March 12 episode of SmackDown. She then went on to defeat McCool and Layla in a tag team match involving Tiffany. The feud with McCool continued at WrestleMania XXVI, where they were on opposing teams in a 10-Diva tag team match, which Phoenix's team lost, although they won a rematch the following night on Raw. On the April 23 episode of Smackdown, Phoenix teamed with Mickie James to face McCool and Layla. After the match, LayCool beat down and humiliated Phoenix by smearing make-up on her face and body while she was unconscious. This resulted in Phoenix receiving a match for the Women's Championship against McCool at Extreme Rules, where she defeated McCool in an "Extreme Makeover" match to win her third Women's Championship. On the May 6 episode of Superstars, Phoenix tore her ACL in a match against Rosa Mendes, and as a result, one week later on SmackDown, McCool invoked her rematch clause to face Phoenix in a two-on-one handicap match along with Layla, where Layla pinned Phoenix to become the new Women's Champion.
Phoenix returned from her injury at November's Survivor Series pay-per-view, and attacked the former co-champions Michelle McCool and Layla, after they lost the WWE Divas Championship to Natalya. Phoenix and Natalya then formed an alliance, and at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December, Phoenix and Natalya defeated LayCool in the first Divas Tag Team Tables match in WWE history.
#### Divas Champion and departure (2011–2012)
As part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft on April 26, 2011, Phoenix returned to the Raw brand. On the August 1 episode of Raw, Phoenix won a battle royal to become the number one contender to the WWE Divas Championship, and afterward attacked champion Kelly Kelly to provoke a feud and turning heel in the process. Phoenix later declared that she was tired of the "perky bimbos" that comprised the rest of the Divas division, and was on a mission to make a mockery of the other Divas, and was joined by Natalya to form the Divas of Doom. Phoenix went on to unsuccessfully challenge Kelly for the championship at SummerSlam. Throughout September, The Divas of Doom feuded with Kelly and Eve Torres on Raw and The Chickbusters (AJ and Kaitlyn) on SmackDown. Phoenix challenged Kelly for the Divas Championship again at Night of Champions, but was unsuccessful. At Hell in a Cell in October, Phoenix defeated Kelly to win the Divas Championship for the first time, with help from Natalya. In a rematch on the October 14 episode of SmackDown, Phoenix successfully retained the championship. At Vengeance, Phoenix successfully defended the championship against Eve Torres, with both Natalya and Kelly banned from ringside. Phoenix successfully retained her championship against Torres again at Survivor Series on November 20 in a Lumberjill match, and against Kelly at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 18.
Further successful defenses followed against Torres on the January 30, 2012, episode of Raw and Tamina Snuka at Elimination Chamber on February 19. After this, Phoenix competed only sporadically for a few months, including a tag team match at WrestleMania XXVIII, where she and Eve Torres were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos. On the April 6 episode of SmackDown, Phoenix lost to Nikki Bella in a non-title match, following Kelly's interference. On the April 23 episode of Raw, Phoenix lost her Divas Championship to Nikki Bella in a Lumberjill match, after suffering a storyline ankle injury. At Extreme Rules, Phoenix was scheduled to face Nikki in a rematch for the Divas Championship, however she was not medically cleared to compete and was replaced by the returning Layla, who ended up winning the title. Phoenix made two unsuccessful attempts at regaining the Divas Championship from Layla at Over the Limit in May and at No Way Out in June, respectively. Phoenix lost 19 times against Divas champion Layla in various live events.
In September, Kaitlyn was attacked by an unknown assailant before her championship match at Night of Champions. Upon her return, she announced her assailant had blonde hair, and Assistant SmackDown general manager Eve Torres accused Phoenix before attacking her. On the September 28 episode of SmackDown, after defeating Natalya, Phoenix was suspended by Torres, but the suspension was later reversed by SmackDown General manager Booker T. On the October 1 episode of Raw, Phoenix lost to Torres. Phoenix turned heel again on the October 18 episode of Superstars, when she berated Kaitlyn for thinking that Phoenix attacked her and demanded respect from Kaitlyn, before losing to her in a singles match. On the October 29 episode of Raw, Phoenix was defeated by AJ Lee in a singles match, but the match was restarted by Raw Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero, allowing Phoenix to win. After the match, in the storyline, Guerrero fired Phoenix for her poor performance. In reality, Phoenix had given her notice to WWE in September and had decided to leave the company; although she originally claimed that she had left to focus on her family, in September 2019, she revealed that she had been "really frustrated with where the women were at from a company standpoint, and the investment that was being made in us. I felt in my heart I had done my best, and I'd try hard to change things but, at some point, I just got frustrated."
#### Hall of Fame and part–time commentator (2017–2019)
On February 27, 2017, WWE announced that Phoenix would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the 2017 class. Her induction made her the quickest female to be inducted after her retirement, as she had retired only five years prior, and made her and her husband Edge the first real-life couple to both be inducted.
In 2018, Phoenix became a part-time color commentator for WWE, mainly for women-related events, starting from January 16 to April 3, 2018 for the first season of the WWE Mixed Match Challenge, commenting the tournament each week alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves. On January 28, 2018 at the Royal Rumble event, she made a one-night wrestling return as a face for the first time since 2012 by entering the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match as a competitor, making her the first person to appear in both a men's and women's Royal Rumble. She entered at number 24 and lasted over two minutes before being eliminated by Natalya.
Phoenix went on to continue to work as a guest commentator at various events and mainly women's matches such as the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34, the 2018 Mae Young Classic, the women's Royal Rumble match at the 2019 Royal Rumble event, and the Elimination Chamber match to determine the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions at the 2019 Elimination Chamber event.
On March 10, 2019, at the Fastlane pay-per-view, Phoenix acted as commentator on the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match between defending champions The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) and Nia Jax and Tamina. After their defeat, Jax and Tamina attacked Bayley and Banks; Phoenix came to their aid, soon joined by Natalya, but the four were still overpowered by Jax and Tamina. The following day on Raw, Phoenix accompanied Natalya to her match against Jax, eventually causing a disqualification by attacking Jax.
On the March 18, 2019 episode of Raw, Phoenix announced that she was coming out of retirement; she and Natalya reformed their 2011–2012 tag team The Divas of Doom, and challenged The Boss 'n' Hug Connection for a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania 35; however, Tamina ambushed Phoenix after a distraction from Jax during a one-on-one match between Natalya and Banks. On the April 1 episode of Raw, Phoenix wrestled her first match in nearly seven years, where she teamed with Natalya, Bayley and Banks, to face off against Jax, Tamina, and The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce), where Phoenix's team emerged victorious after she pinned Royce following a Glam Slam. At WrestleMania, Phoenix and Natalya lost to The IIconics during a fatal four-way tag team match for the Women's Tag Team Championship, when, after Phoenix performed a Glam Slam from the second rope on defending champion Bayley without realizing that The IIconics' Billie Kay had tagged Phoenix out, was thrown outside the ring by Kay's partner Peyton Royce, who allowed Kay to successfully pin Bayley.
#### Full-time NXT commentator (2019–2021)
On May 15, 2019, Phoenix joined the commentary team of NXT alongside Mauro Ranallo and Nigel McGuinness, replacing Percy Watson; this marked her first time as full-time commentator, and her first time commenting matches that did not involve women. Her first NXT TakeOver as announcer was NXT TakeOver: XXV on June 1, 2019. She was a member of the commenting team when NXT started airing live on September 18, 2019, and was extended from a 50-minutes runtime to 120 minutes.
Phoenix returned to the ring for the first time since the previous year's WrestleMania during the Women's Royal Rumble match at the 2020 Royal Rumble event as the nineteenth entrant, lasting over 23 minutes before being eliminated by Shayna Baszler and finishing in third place. She suffered a head injury early in the match when Bianca Belair slapped her chest and caused the back of Phoenix's neck to hit one of the ring posts around the ring, but was able to finish the match.
On the March 2 edition of Raw, Phoenix would make an appearance to provide a medical update on her husband Edge, who had been injured by Randy Orton. However, Orton would interrupt and explain his actions, which caused Phoenix to slap and kick Orton, who retaliated by hitting her with an RKO.
#### Sporadic appearances (2022–present)
At WWE Day 1, Phoenix returned to help her husband Edge win a match against The Miz. The couple then started a feud with The Miz and Maryse which resulted in a mixed tag team match at the Royal Rumble, Phoenix and Edge were victorious. On the August 22, 2022 episode of Raw, Phoenix returned to watch Edge's match against Damian Priest. After the match, The Judgment Day (Priest, Finn Bálor and Rhea Ripley) attacked Edge, but Phoenix stepped in to stop the assault. She interfered in Edge's "I Quit" match against Bálor at Extreme Rules, but despite her efforts, Edge ultimately lost. When the match was over, Rhea Ripley attacked Phoenix with a violent Con-Chair-To, severely injuring her (kayfabe).
In 2023, Phoenix returned at Royal Rumble, spearing Ripley before walking off with Edge. She would appear on the following Raw to do the same when The Judgement Day attempted to interfere in Bálor's match against Cody Rhodes. On February 6, 2023, Phoenix and Edge challenged Rhea Ripley and Finn Bálor to a mixed tag team match at the Elimination Chamber premium live event. At the event on February 18, Phoenix and Edge were victorious despite interference from Dominik Mysterio.
## Other media
Phoenix, along with Candice Michelle and Layla El, appeared in the February 2009 issue of FLEX Magazine. Phoenix has appeared in 10 WWE video games. She made her in-game debut in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 and appears in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, WWE '12, WWE '13, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K20, WWE 2K Battlegrounds, WWE 2K22, and WWE 2K23.
On November 9, 2021, Copeland announced her debut EP, Stone Rose & Bone. It was released on all major streaming platforms on November 12, 2021 by WWE Music Group.
## Personal life
In 2001, she was married to Joey Carolan, known by the ring name Joey Knight, but they divorced in 2010.
In September 2011 she began a relationship with Adam Copeland, known in WWE as Edge, and on December 12, 2013 their daughter Lyric Rose Copeland was born. Their second daughter, named Ruby Ever Copeland, was born on May 31, 2016. The couple married on October 30, 2016.
## Championships and accomplishments
### Amateur wrestling
- North-East Wrestling
- Women's Champion (1999)
- New York State Fair
- Women's Champion (1999)
### Professional wrestling
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Women's Wrestling Award (2015)
- Far North Wrestling
- FNW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
- George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Frank Gotch Award (2015)
- Class of 2019
- Glory Wrestling
- Glory Championship (1 time)
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- OVW Women's Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 2 of the top 50 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2008 and 2012
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
- WWE Divas Championship (1 time)
- WWE Women's Championship (3 times)
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2017)
- Slammy Award (1 time)
- Diva of the Year (2008)
|
26,747,751 |
Stephen Weir
| 1,162,071,770 |
New Zealand diplomat
|
[
"1904 births",
"1969 deaths",
"Ambassadors of New Zealand to Thailand",
"Commanders of the Legion of Merit",
"Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies",
"Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich",
"New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order",
"New Zealand Companions of the Order of the Bath",
"New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire",
"New Zealand generals",
"New Zealand military personnel of World War II",
"Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Greece)"
] |
Major-General Sir Stephen Cyril Ettrick Weir, (5 October 1904 – 24 September 1969) was a New Zealand military leader and diplomat.
Born in Otago, Weir became a professional soldier in 1927. He served in a number of postings around the country until the outbreak of the Second World War. Seconded to the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, he commanded a field regiment during the campaign in Greece and Operation Crusader. He was Commander, Royal Artillery of the 2nd New Zealand Division for two years, and in the absence of its nominal commanding officer, Major-General Bernard Freyberg, led the division for a period in 1944. Late that year, he was appointed commander of the British 46th Infantry Division. After the war he was Quartermaster General of the New Zealand Military Forces before starting a five-yeam term as Chief of the General Staff. He retired from the military to become ambassador to Thailand in 1961. He ceased his diplomatic career in 1967 and died in Tauranga two years later.
## Early life
Cyril Ettrick Weir, born in Otago, New Zealand on 5 October 1904, was the son of a farmer and his wife. Although his given name was Cyril, he was known from his early childhood as Steve. He was educated at Otago Boys' High School, where he was part of the school's cadet group. He graduated in 1921 and the following year moved to Wellington where he was employed at the Stamp Duties Department. He was interested in a career in the military but no opportunities were available for officer cadets in the New Zealand Military Forces at the time. Instead, soon after his move to Wellington, he joined the Territorial Force and served with the 6th Mounted Rifles.
## Military career
In 1925, the New Zealand government arranged for a cadetship for a New Zealand student at the Royal Military Academy in England. Weir was the successful applicant, with his experience as a school cadet and as a territorial a factor in the decision by the military authorities to award him the cadetship. He completed his studies and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the New Zealand Artillery in 1927. He was seconded to Royal Artillery units while in England and returned to New Zealand the following year. For the next few years he served in a number of posts around the country working with Territorial units. In 1931, now a lieutenant, he was among the military personnel dispatched to Napier to assist the local populace after the earthquake there. Two years later he was posted to Auckland where he became adjutant of the 1st Field Artillery Brigade. He received a promotion to captain in 1935 and married the next year.
### Second World War
Following the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Weir was seconded to the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) which was formed for service overseas. He helped with the formation of various artillery units before being promoted to major and appointed commander, with the rank of acting lieutenant-colonel of the 6th Field Regiment of the New Zealand Artillery. He departed New Zealand with his command and a large contingent of the 2NZEF in early 1940. During the transit to North Africa, Weir was commander of troops aboard the transport ship HMT Ormonde. He had to deal with a near mutiny by some of the soldiers aboard when the ship stopped at Bombay, due to the poor quality food being loaded there. He took the men's concerns seriously and did his best to resolve them, antagonising port officials. The manner in which he dealt with the situation was appreciated by the men under his command.
Once in North Africa, the bulk of the 2NZEF formed the 2nd New Zealand Division, under the command of Major-General Bernard Freyberg. It was soon sent to Greece to counter the expected German invasion there. He performed well during the Battle of Greece in April 1941 and was recognised with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).
Weir became commander of the divisional artillery (CRA) in November 1941, after the previous CRA, Brigadier Reginald Miles, was captured. He had himself narrowly avoided being captured while supervising the retreat of the 6th Field Regiment during the Battle of Sidi Rezegh, the same action that saw Miles made a prisoner of war. Promoted to brigadier shortly after assuming command, he built on the work of Miles and implemented measures to concentrate fire of the divisional artillery. This was used to good effect at Minqar Quaim, during the Battle of Mersa Matruh in June 1942. Later that year, his work in co-ordinating the artillery efforts during the Second Battle of El Alamein earned him a Bar to his DSO. The division was soon transferred to the Italian Front as part of the British Eighth Army, with Weir continuing as CRA. In June 1944, he commanded the artillery of X Corps during the later stages of the Battle of Monte Cassino. In September, he was acting commander of the 2nd New Zealand Division while Freyberg recovered from injuries sustained in an aircraft crash. Weir ably led the division during the battles of Rimini, Bellaria and Rubicone. He relinquished command on Freyberg's return to the division in October 1944.
In November 1944 Weir was promoted to temporary major-general and given command of the British 46th Infantry Division, the only officer of a Dominion army to lead a British division during the Second World War. He led his new command during its crossing of the Lamone River and at the end of the year was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his work in Italy. In early 1945, his division was transferred to Greece, which was being contested by left- and right-wing Greek guerrillas after its abandonment by the Germans. The 46th Division supervised the disarmament of guerrilla forces in Greece, work which was personally recognised with Weir receiving the Greek Cross of Valour. The division returned to the Italian front in April 1945 and then, on the cessation of hostilities, moved into Austria on occupation duties. During the war he had been mentioned in despatches on four occasions and before the year was out he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He also received the United States Legion of Merit.
### Postwar
Weir relinquished command of 46th Division in September 1946, and returned to his nominal rank of brigadier. He sought a transfer to the British Army but was thwarted by logistic constraints. His return to New Zealand was delayed due to serious health issues but he eventually took up command of the Southern Military District in 1948. Two years later he attended the Imperial Defence College after which he served in the War Office in London.
In 1952, Weir was appointed Quartermaster General of the New Zealand Army (newly formed from the New Zealand Military Forces as a result of the New Zealand Army Act 1950). The following year he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. His appointment as Quartermaster General was followed by a term as Chief of the General Staff (CGS), from 1955 to 1960. During this time he oversaw the abolition of compulsory military training, a government policy which he personally disagreed with but carried out to the best of his ability. He also worked to improve relations with the military of the United States. Formally adding Stephen as a forename by deed poll in 1960, he was knighted following the completion of his CGS term. He became a military consultant to the New Zealand Government, working in the Prime Minister's Department and advising the Prime Minister, Walter Nash, on military matters affecting foreign affairs.
## Later life
Weir retired from the military after his appointment as ambassador to Thailand in 1961. His remit also included representation in Laos and the Republic of Vietnam and he was influential in New Zealand governmental policy towards the developing Vietnam War. While in Thailand, he represented New Zealand on the Council of the South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO). He retired in 1967 and returned to New Zealand to settle in Tauranga. He died on 24 September 1969 and was survived by his wife of 33 years, Betty née Winthrop, and three sons.
|
40,142,620 |
2008 Emirates Cup
| 1,159,751,575 | null |
[
"2008 sports events in London",
"2008–09 in English football",
"2008–09 in German football",
"2008–09 in Italian football",
"2008–09 in Spanish football",
"August 2008 sports events in the United Kingdom",
"Emirates Cup"
] |
The 2008 Emirates Cup was a pre-season football friendly tournament hosted by Arsenal at its home ground, the Emirates Stadium in London. It was the second Emirates Cup, an invitational competition inaugurated in 2007. Held on the weekend of 2–3 August 2008, the participants of the tournament were Arsenal, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Hamburg.
Each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. An additional point is awarded for every goal scored. Arsenal did not face Hamburg, and Real Madrid did not play against Juventus. On the opening day of the tournament, Real Madrid beat Hamburg 2–1, while Arsenal lost to Juventus by a single goal. Although the hosts defeated Real on day two, Hamburg won the Emirates Cup as they recorded a 3–0 victory against Juventus.
## Background
The Emirates Cup began in July 2007 once Arsenal finalised plans to stage a pre-season competition at its home ground. Named after Arsenal's main sponsor Emirates, the competition's inaugural edition was attended by over 110,000 people across the two days. La Liga champions Real Madrid, Italian outfit Juventus and German side Hamburg were confirmed as participants for the 2008 edition, alongside hosts Arsenal. Hamburg's inclusion came after their withdrawal a year earlier due to European commitments. Coverage of the two-day event was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.
## Summary
Real Madrid took on Hamburg on the opening day of the tournament. There was a contingent of former Premier League players and staff, as Real Madrid’s lineup featured Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jerzy Dudek, while Hamburg was coached by former Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol. Van Nistelrooy almost scored inside three minutes of the first half when his teammate Raúl put him through on goal. Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost distracted the striker by rushing towards him. Paolo Guerrero headed wide for Hamburg, before Real Madrid took the lead five minutes before the half-hour mark. Hamburg's Nigel de Jong was beaten off the ball in his own penalty area by right back Míchel Salgado, who set Van Nistelrooy up for a straightforward tap in. Real Madrid dominated and were punished for missing multiple chances to extend their lead when Mohamed Zidan scored Hamburg's equaliser. Receiving the ball from the left-hand corner of Real Madrid's half, the striker curled the ball past goalkeeper Dudek which went in off the crossbar. David Jarolím and Guerrero came close to putting Hamburg 2–1 in front, but Dani Parejo five minutes from time sealed the win for Real Madrid, heading in Juanmi Callejón's cross.
Real Madrid lost to Arsenal on the second day of the Emirates Cup. Emmanuel Adebayor scored the only goal of the match, converting a penalty in the second half. The striker was booed throughout the tournament as he failed to clarify his plans for the future during pre-season, even though he had agreed a contract extension according to Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. "To my face he told me he wants to stay at the club and that is what happened," Wenger told reporters. Arsenal were defeated by Juventus the day before; David Trezeguet's goal came after the hosts failed to deal with a free kick properly. Gaël Clichy, Cesc Fàbregas and Kolo Touré were absent for Arsenal, though captain William Gallas did feature in the second half. New signing Samir Nasri started the match against Real Madrid.
Hamburg won the 2008 Emirates Cup after beating Juventus by three goals. Guerrero scored the first in the 19th minute and Ivica Olić added two more in stoppage time.
## Standings
Each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and a point for every goal scored.
## Matches
## Goalscorers
|
23,967,022 |
WASP-17b
| 1,171,699,656 |
Hot-Jupiter exoplanet in the orbit of the star WASP-17
|
[
"Exoplanets discovered by WASP",
"Exoplanets discovered in 2009",
"Exoplanets with proper names",
"Giant planets",
"Hot Jupiters",
"Scorpius",
"Transiting exoplanets"
] |
WASP-17b is an exoplanet in the constellation Scorpius that is orbiting the star WASP-17. Its discovery was announced on 11 August 2009. It is the first planet discovered to have a retrograde orbit, meaning it orbits in a direction counter to the rotation of its host star. This discovery challenged traditional planetary formation theory. In terms of diameter, WASP-17b is one of the largest exoplanets discovered and at half Jupiter's mass, this made it the most puffy planet known in 2010. On 3 December 2013, scientists working with the Hubble Space Telescope reported detecting water in the exoplanet's atmosphere.
WASP-17b is named Ditsö̀. The name was selected in the NameExoWorlds campaign by Costa Rica, during the 100th anniversary of the International Astronomical Union. Ditsö̀ is the name that the god Sibö̀ gave to the first Bribri people in Talamancan mythology.
## Discovery
A team of researchers led by David Anderson of Keele University in Staffordshire, England, discovered the gas giant, which is about 1,000 light-years (310 parsecs) from Earth, by observing it transiting its host star WASP-17. Such photometric observations also reveal the planet's size. The discovery was made with a telescope array at the South African Astronomical Observatory. Due to the involvement of the Wide Angle Search for Planets SuperWASP consortium of universities, the exoplanet, as the 17th found to date by this group, was given its present name.
Astronomers at the Observatory of Geneva were then able to use characteristic redshifts and blueshifts in the host star's spectrum as its radial velocity varied over the course of the planet's orbit to measure the planet's mass and obtain an indication of its orbital eccentricity. Careful examination of the Doppler shifts during transits also allowed them to determine the direction of the planet's orbital motion relative to its parent star's rotation via the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect.
## Orbit
WASP-17b is thought to have a retrograde orbit (with a sky-projected inclination of the orbit normal against the stellar spin axis of about 149°, not to be confused with the line-of-sight inclination of the orbit, given in the table, which is near 90° for all transiting planets), which would make it the first planet discovered to have such an orbital motion. It was found by measuring the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect of the planet on the star's Doppler signal as it transited, in which whichever of the star's hemispheres is turning toward or away from Earth will show a slight blueshift or redshift which is dampened by the transiting planet. Scientists are not yet sure why the planet orbits opposite to the star's rotation. Theories include a gravitational slingshot resulting from a near-collision with another planet, or the intervention of a smaller planet-like body working to gradually change WASP-17b's orbit by tilting it via the Kozai mechanism. Spin-orbit angle measurement was updated in 2012 to −148.7°.
## Physical properties
WASP-17b has a radius between 1.5 and 2 times that of Jupiter and about half the mass. Thus its mean density is between 0.08 and 0.19 g/cm<sup>3</sup>, compared with Jupiter's 1.326 g/cm<sup>3</sup> and Earth's 5.515 g/cm<sup>3</sup> (the density of water is 1 g/cm<sup>3</sup>). The unusually low density is thought to be a consequence of a combination of the planet's orbital eccentricity and its proximity to its parent star (less than one seventh of the distance between Mercury and the Sun), leading to tidal flexing and heating of its interior. The same mechanism is behind the intense volcanic activity of Jupiter's moon Io. WASP-39b has a similarly low estimated density.
Exoplanetary sodium in the atmosphere of the WASP-17 has been detected in 2018, but was not confirmed by 2021. Instead, the spectral signatures of water, aluminium oxide (AlO) and titanium hydride (TiH) were detected. The water signature was confirmed in 2022, together with carbon dioxide absorption.
## See also
- HAT-P-7b, another exoplanet announced to have a retrograde orbit the day after the WASP-17b announcement
- TrES-4b, another large exoplanet with a low density
- List of exoplanet extremes
|
28,009,269 |
2007 Indy Japan 300
| 1,144,948,100 | null |
[
"2007 in IndyCar",
"2007 in Japanese motorsport",
"April 2007 sports events in Asia",
"Indy Japan 300"
] |
The 2007 Indy Japan 300 was an IndyCar Series motor race held on April 21, 2007, at the Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi, Japan. It was the third race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season, the fifth annual edition of the Indy Japan 300 in the IndyCar Series, and the tenth anniversary running of the race (including its five years on the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) schedule). Andretti Green Racing driver Tony Kanaan won the race with a 0.4828 second margin of victory over Chip Ganassi Racing's Dan Wheldon. Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, and Sam Hornish Jr. rounded out the top five.
Hélio Castroneves, the defending champion of the Indy Japan 300, won the pole position by posting the fastest lap in qualifying. In the race, Wheldon gained the lead from Castroneves on lap 44 and led for more than half of the 200 laps, but a pit stop with 14 laps remaining forced him to relinquish the top position. Kanaan took the lead because of a late pit stop by Dixon, and held off a late challenge by Wheldon to secure first place.
There were four cautions and nine lead changes among five different drivers during the race. It was Kanaan's first win of the season, and the eighth of his career. The result moved Wheldon into the lead of the Drivers' Championship, three points ahead of Kanaan. Dixon, who led the championship before the race, dropped to third.
## Background
The Indy Japan 300 was confirmed as a part of the Indy Racing League's (IRL) 2007 schedule for the IndyCar Series in September 2006. It was to be the fifth consecutive year the race was held in the series, and the tenth Indy Japan 300, counting the period from 1998 to 2002 when it was a CART event. Uniquely in the 2007 season, the race took place at a non-American location. The Indy Japan 300 was the third race scheduled for 2007 by the IRL, out of 17. At this early stage in the season, Dixon held the lead in the point standings with 80 points. Castroneves and Wheldon were tied for second with 75 points, and Kanaan and Hornish Jr. were fourth and fifth on 65 and 61 points, respectively.
## Practice
Two days before the race, on April 19, a pair of two-hour practice sessions were held at the Twin Ring Motegi. The racers were split into two groups, which were each allowed to run laps for one hour per session. The first practice session began at 10:30 a.m. Japan Standard Time (JST); five minutes later a yellow caution flag came out due to a crash by Vítor Meira, who was forced into a backup car when he returned later in the day. A second caution flag was shown at noon local time to allow for an inspection of the track; 30 minutes later the session came to an end. From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m JST, the second practice session of the day took place. Danica Patrick posted the fastest lap of the day, going around the circuit in 26.9585 seconds in an average speed of 202.979 miles per hour (326.663 km/h). Japanese driver Kosuke Matsuura, who called the Indy Japan 300 his "most important" race of the season, had the second-fastest lap time of the day, followed by Castroneves, Kanaan, and Wheldon.
Before qualifying took place on April 20, there was a third round of practice from 10:30 a.m. to 12:05 p.m JST; the drivers were each allowed 45 minutes of track time. Two caution flags came out; the first came half an hour into the session when Jeff Simmons spun out coming off the track's fourth turn. The other caution was a track inspection, which came 18 minutes into the second group's allotted time. Kanaan had the best lap of the session; his average speed of 204.465 miles per hour (329.055 km/h) topped Patrick's leading mark from the previous day.
## Qualifying
An hour and 25 minutes after the last practice session ended, the 18 drivers determined the starting grid through qualifying. Each driver ran two laps, with the starting order determined by the competitors' fastest times. Castroneves, the winner of the 2006 Indy Japan 300, gained pole position with a lap time of 26.6416 seconds; it was the second consecutive year he qualified first. Two-time race winner Wheldon earned the other front-row starting position; his lap was .0328 seconds slower than Castroneves'. Kanaan and Patrick qualified third and fourth, respectively; they were followed by Hornish Jr. and Dixon, who would start in the third row. Dario Franchitti and Tomas Scheckter qualified in the fourth row, while Matsuura and Marco Andretti rounded out the top 10. The difference between the first and tenth-best lap times was less than three-tenths of a second.
### Qualifying classification
## Race
The conditions on the grid were dry but cloudy before the event with an air temperature between 70–74 °F (21–23 °C) and a track temperature of 80 °F (27 °C). Bridgestone CEO Soshi Arakawa commanded the drivers to start their engines. The race began at 1:00 p.m. JST, as Tomikazu Fukuda, governor of Tochigi Prefecture (location of the Twin Ring Motegi track), waved the opening green flag to signify the start. Shortly afterward, however, Matsuura suffered an accident; he crashed into the turn two wall during the first lap after he spun, and did not return to the race. A caution flag came out as a result of the incident; several drivers made pit stops for new tires, fuel and car adjustments during the caution, and Meira made two stops. On lap 9, the field returned to green flag racing, and Castroneves maintained his lead, which reached nearly three seconds by lap 25. The second caution flag of the race was flown on lap 31, to allow for the removal of debris on the track in the fourth turn. A round of pit stops occurred during the caution; Castroneves held on to the lead, with Wheldon and Kanaan in second and third. The green flag came back out on lap 39, and Hornish Jr. immediately took third place from Kanaan. Lap 44 saw a lead change as Wheldon passed Castroneves; he would go on to lead 126 of the race's 200 laps. Wheldon gradually increased the lead to almost two seconds by lap 80. Kanaan had risen to second by this point, ahead of Franchitti and Castroneves.
From laps 81 to 90, pit stops were made by all the drivers. After Ed Carpenter's stop, one of his wheels came off while he attempted to return to the track; he would ultimately finish 15th, eight laps behind. At the end of this series of pit stops under the green flag, Wheldon remained out in front, ahead of Kanaan. By the halfway point of the race, Kanaan had begun to narrow his deficit, which by lap 115 was less than a second. Wheldon, meanwhile, was faced with a mechanical problem—his radio was malfunctioning, preventing him from talking to his pit crew; he later said that he and his team "lost radio contact early on". On lap 122, Kanaan made a pass while coming out of turn two, taking the lead from Wheldon. Soon after, the drivers began their third round of pit stops, and Wheldon took back the lead before Andretti was afflicted with oversteer and crashed into the turn four inside wall on lap 135, bringing out a caution flag. The yellow flag period saw pit stops continue. Castroneves stopped twice on pit lane on top of a prior stop just before the caution; during the second yellow flag stop, he overshot his designated area on pit road, and his car needed to be pushed into position by crew members. With 51 laps left, the caution period ended, and Wheldon slowly built a gap over Kanaan of 1.8834 seconds entering the final 20 laps.
Wheldon made a pit stop on lap 186, giving Kanaan, who had been conserving fuel since early in the race, the lead. Four laps later, Kanaan stopped, and the lead briefly went to Hornish Jr., before he too pitted and Dixon assumed the top spot. On lap 196, however, Dixon was also forced into the pits. Kanaan had come off pit road ahead of Wheldon after his stop, and therefore was in position to assume the lead. Wheldon closed in on Kanaan, and by the final lap was less than four-tenths of a second behind. Kanaan, though, held off Wheldon to win the race with a .4828 of a second margin of victory. Third place went to Franchitti, who was over 11 seconds off the pace. Dixon was fourth, followed by Hornish Jr., who finished one lap behind the leaders, having stalled his engine on pit road in the closing laps. Scott Sharp was the sixth-place finisher, and early leader Castroneves wound up seventh. Simmons, Scheckter, and Buddy Rice finished eighth through tenth; all other drivers ended the race two or more laps behind.
There were nine lead changes in the race; five drivers reached the front of the field. Wheldon's total of 126 laps led was the highest of any competitor. Kanaan led four different times, for a total of 26 laps. The victory was the eighth of Kanaan's IRL career and the first of a series-high five wins he posted in the 2007 season.
### Post-race
In interviews after the race, Kanaan credited his team's fuel strategy for being the main factor in his victory. During many of the laps that Wheldon led, Kanaan drafted behind him to use less fuel than normal, and he was able to stay on the track longer than other drivers as a result. He said of the strategy, "that's what probably gave me the win." On the other hand, Wheldon later said that his radio problem forced more "conservative" pit stop planning by himself and his team. Third-place finisher Franchitti said: "We had to take the gamble to try to get the win. I thought we had as good a car as TK (Tony Kanaan) and Dan (Wheldon). I think I could have hung with them, but I don't think I could have caught up with them." Matsuura admitted his first-lap accident was his fault and apologized to his Japanese fans. After his accident on the 135th lap, Andretti was taken to the track's infield care center for a precautionary X-ray scan of his right shoulder which showed a negative result. He said that he struggled with controlling his car but was happy. With his second-place finish, Wheldon gained the season points lead with 118, three ahead of Kanaan and six in front of Dixon. The standings were closely contested, with the top six drivers separated by 27 points.
### Race classification
## Standings after the race
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for the drivers' standings.
|
5,692,558 |
Jack Dormand
| 1,144,948,814 |
British politician
|
[
"1919 births",
"2003 deaths",
"20th-century atheists",
"21st-century atheists",
"Alumni of Loughborough University",
"Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford",
"Alumni of the College of the Venerable Bede, Durham",
"British atheism activists",
"British republicans",
"Councillors in County Durham",
"English atheists",
"English educational theorists",
"English rugby union players",
"Harvard University alumni",
"Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies",
"Labour Party (UK) life peers",
"Life peers created by Elizabeth II",
"People from Easington, County Durham",
"People from Haswell, County Durham",
"Rugby union players from County Durham",
"UK MPs 1970–1974",
"UK MPs 1974",
"UK MPs 1974–1979",
"UK MPs 1979–1983",
"UK MPs 1983–1987"
] |
John Donkin Dormand, Baron Dormand of Easington (27 August 1919 – 18 December 2003) was a British educationist and Labour Party politician from the coal mining area of Easington in County Durham, in the north-east of England. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Easington constituency from 1970 until his retirement in 1987.
Described as an "old-style centre-right socialist", Dormand was a working-class child who progressed through grammar school education to study at Oxford and Harvard to a career as an educational administrator before entering Parliament at the age of 50, where he was noted as an advocate for education and for mining areas. He never achieved ministerial office, but as a skilled administrator he played a significant role as a government whip in the 1970s, and as Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party when the party was in opposition in the 1980s. An atheist and a staunch republican, he reluctantly accepted a life peerage when he retired from the House of Commons and was an active working peer until his death 16 years later.
## Early life
Dormand was born near Easington at the workingmen's club in the village of Haswell, when his father Bernard, a former miner, was steward. He was educated locally at Wellfield Grammar School. Although he later took up rugby, he was a skilled footballer in his youth, good enough to have professional trials with both Manchester United and Charlton Athletic. Sport remained a major part of his life; until his death he remained a member of Houghton-le-Spring Rugby Club and of Burnmoor Cricket Club, last playing both games at the age of 63.
After training as a teacher at Bede College, Durham University, he was not called up for military service during World War II, because teaching was a reserved occupation. After the war he improved his qualifications by taking a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at Loughborough College in 1947. In the 1950s he studied at St Peter's College, Oxford, where he was awarded a diploma in public and social administration with distinction and won a Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard in his second year (1954), becoming a friend of the future Senator Ted Kennedy.
From 1940 to 1948 Dormand worked as a teacher in the coal mining community of Easington, teaching at Hordern Modern School and his old school, now renamed Wellfield A.J. Dawson Grammar School. In 1948, he gave up teaching to become an education advisor to Durham County Council, and in 1957 moved to be adviser to the National Coal Board. He stayed with the NCB for only two years before returning to Durham to be Further Education organiser; from 1963 to 1970 he was Director of Education for Easington Rural District Council. He was also the President of the Easington branch of the National Union of Teachers.
## Political career
Dormand had been a member of the Labour Party since the age of 18. He was elected to Haswell parish council at the age of 26, and at 30 to Easington rural district council.
Manny Shinwell, the then 85-year-old veteran Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for the Easington constituency, announced in 1969 that he would not contest the next general election. Dormand, who had been secretary of the Easington Constituency Labour Party throughout the 1960s and Shinwell's presumed successor, was selected as the new Labour candidate to contest the ultra-safe seat (Shinwell had been re-elected in 1966 with over 80% of the votes). At the 1970 general election in which Harold Wilson's Labour government was defeated, Dormand was returned to the House of Commons with a barely reduced 79.8% share of the vote.
### Education
His maiden speech on 8 July 1970 focused on education and on the needs of Durham as an "excepted district", and in particular on those classed as "slow learners". It was well received, and the then Secretary of State for Education Margaret Thatcher was seen to be making notes. Dormand's views on education were supportive of comprehensive education, and in July 1973 he urged the abolition of private schools (attacking particularly those Labour MPs who sent their children to be educated privately).
Dormand opposed Britain's membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), and at the time of the referendum on EEC membership in 1975 he was an advocate for the United Kingdom leaving the EEC and rejoining the European Free Trade Association. His main work in opposition was as a member of select committee on nationalised industries, where his knowledge and inquisitorial skills won him the respect of the committee's left-wing chair Ian Mikardo. In February 1972 he called for employment for miners who had been made redundant, and became Secretary of the Parliamentary Labour Party's Northern Group in 1973.
### Republicanism
Dormand later described himself as "a republican for as long as I can remember having an interest in politics" and was a long-serving secretary of the all-party Parliamentary republican group. He spoke out in opposition to the monarchy, declaring in 1971 that "the whole of the royal establishment from the Queen downwards could go, lock stock and barrel tomorrow". He extended his criticism to the hereditary peerage in February 1973. In 1974 he and fellow Labour MP Willie Hamilton took the required oath declaring their allegiance to the Queen, then admitted that they had not meant it. The same year, he criticised the number of Royal servants who appeared on the biannual honours lists, calling instead for "scores of miners" to be honoured as they were just as worthy.
## Government whip
Labour was returned to government at the February 1974 general election, and Dormand was appointed as an assistant government whip under Bob Mellish. He was promoted to be a Lord of the Treasury (full Government whip) in a reshuffle after the October election.
The post of a Whip normally required silence in the chamber of the House of Commons, but in February 1976 Dormand was involved in a difficult situation which required him to give an explanation. The Conservative opposition had called a vote censuring the Secretary of State for Industry Eric Varley by reducing his salary to £1,000. Dormand was appointed as one of the tellers to count the vote, but both he and his Conservative opposite number miscounted and lost the true count. When Mellish announced the confusion to the Speaker, the Speaker agreed to hold another vote. Embarrassingly for Dormand, many Labour MPs had not stayed to hear the result and were no longer present, resulting in the Conservatives winning the vote by a majority of five. The Government decided that the result was not a true indication of the House's opinion and overturned the vote a few days later.
When James Callaghan succeeded Wilson as Prime Minister in 1976, Mellish resigned and was replaced by Michael Cocks, and Dormand was promoted within the Whip's office to be the pairing whip, a job which involved co-ordinating agreed absences by MPs from one party with those of another so that the outcome of parliamentary votes is not affected. The Home Secretary Merlyn Rees had urged Callaghan to appoint Dormand as Chief Whip rather than Michael Cocks.
The role of the pairing whip remained a crucial one as the government's slim majority turned to a minority through defeats at by-elections, and Dormand was credited with a central role in helping the government stay in office, telling Wilson that he was too "bloody knackered at the end of the day" to record the events surrounding the late-night votes. In January 1978 Dormand was named in a report by the Serjeant-at-Arms as having assisted in blocking one of the Division lobbies in an attempt to prevent a vote on part of the Government's legislation to devolve power to Scotland.
On free votes he did not always help the Government. In July 1977, Dormand voted against the European Assembly Elections Bill which brought in direct elections to the European Parliament.
## In opposition
When Labour lost the 1979 general election, Dormand served for two years as an opposition whip. He was an active opposition frontbencher who was particularly vocal in criticising the effects of the Thatcher government's economic policy on the manufacturing industry of the Northern region: in June 1980 he said that the policies were "crucifying" the region and it was "becoming a scene of devastation". He specifically called on Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Geoffrey Howe to abandon monetarism.
### Parliamentary Labour Party chair
In the 1970s, Dormand had opposed left-wing infiltration into the Labour Party, and in foreign affairs, he was pro-American and pro-NATO at a time when the party's left-wing was becoming increasingly hostile to both. In October 1981, Dormand stood for the vacant position of Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, supported by the centre-Right Manifesto Group of Labour MPs. The strength of the left-wing in the Constituency Labour Parties at the time had spurred the Manifesto group to improve its organisation, and Dormand (nominated by former Prime Minister James Callaghan) defeated the main challenger, left-wing MP Ian Mikardo by 102 votes to 65, and Mikardo then withdrew. The other three candidates were Harry Ewing (22 votes), Willie Hamilton (11 votes) and Frank Hooley (11 votes) but all withdrew so no second ballot was held. Dormand held the chairmanship until he retired from the House of Commons in 1987.
Dormand had a difficult job in trying to unite a fractious Parliamentary party at a time when the Labour Party was growing unpopular. In November 1982, amidst rumours that a majority of Labour MPs wanted to replace party leader Michael Foot, Dormand gave a radio interview insisting that "I have absolutely no doubt whatever that the vast majority think that Michael Foot is the man for the job at the moment, and will take us into the next general election". In response, Foot's critics noted Dormand's use of the words "at the moment".
### Kingmaker for the Speaker
After the 1983 general election, Dormand played a key role in the accession to the Speakership of Bernard Weatherill, seconding his nomination for the post. Weatherill had been an opposition whip when Dormand had been working in the Government whip's office in the late 1970s, but had not been appointed to the Thatcher government; in supporting him, Dormand pointed out to Labour cheers that Weatherill "is his own man" and would "ensure that the rights of backbenchers were safeguarded". In July 1983 he worked with his Conservative opposite number Edward du Cann (Chairman of the 1922 Committee) to agree an increase in MPs' pay over that which the Government proposed.
Like most Labour MPs, Dormand opposed the decision of National Union of Mineworkers president Arthur Scargill to call a national strike in 1984 to 1985, but he supported the miners in the Durham coalfield when his local Easington Colliery and others joined the strike. He accused the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of washing her hands of the dispute like "Pontius Pilate".
Despite his age, he remained physically active. In the 1970s he had campaigned successfully for the establishment of a parliamentary gym, continued playing cricket and rugby until the age of 63, and cycled from the House of Commons to his flat near Millbank. The then Leader of the House of Commons, John Biffen, recounted how Dormand would "swathe himself in luminous strips" before setting off, and although he abandoned the bicycle in 1987, deterred by London's heavy traffic, he took up walking instead.
### House of Lords
Labour leader Neil Kinnock was expected to ask him to be government chief whip if Labour won the 1987 general election, but Dormand thought it right to retire at the age of 67. His successor John Cummings was the first miner to become MP for the area.
A staunch republican who deplored all forms of social privilege, including hereditary peerages, he accepted Kinnock's offer of a seat in the House of Lords with some reluctance, receiving a life peerage as Baron Dormand of Easington, of Easington in the County of Durham on 13 October 1987.
However, once in the Lords he thrived, serving on numerous select committees, including education, trade and industry, and the liaison and procedure committees. He was also appointed as deputy chairman of the Teesside Development Corporation, whose 12,000 acres (49 km<sup>2</sup>) of de-industrialised land included part of his former constituency. The corporation was later condemned by Labour MP Ashok Kumar for having left a legacy of limited and "often inappropriate and threadbare development".
His areas of expertise included the film industry and tourism, continuing the work he had begun in the Commons as chair of the all-party parliamentary tourism committee in seeking the promotion of tourism in previously overlooked parts of the United Kingdom. He was also a member of the select committee on committee structure of the House of Lords and its chairman at the end of 1991, and later became Labour Peer's Representative on the Shadow Cabinet.
Dormand had been brought up a Christian, an allegiance which continued into adulthood, when he sat on the parochial church council. He described his adoption of atheism as the result of "some years of very considerable thought", and once freed from the fear of offending religious constituents, his atheism became more outspoken in the Lords; in July 2000 he called for the disestablishment of the Church of England. He helped form the All Party Humanist Group, and became vice-president of the British Humanist Association. As a former teacher, he sought parity in schools for religions and humanism, seeking to have both described neutrally rather than propagated. After his death, Michael Turnbull, the former Bishop of Durham, wrote in The Times of how Dormand had pursued this and other causes "without prejudice" and with "a warm affection for others".
He continued to live in Easington after leaving the Commons, but moved in 1991 to Clipsham, Rutland, to be closer to the House of Lords. He described the move as "traumatic", but remained active in the Lords until his death, pursuing his interests in education and continuing his opposition to the monarchy. Of some 20 Labour peers opposed to the monarchy, Dormand was the most outspoken, asking the government in November 2001 "whether they will call a referendum on the abolition of the monarchy" (the Lord Chancellor's answer was "No, my Lords"), and asked in March 2003 for a Select Committee to consider the future of the Monarchy.
He recovered from a double heart bypass in 2001, and received an honorary doctorate of letters in July 2003 from Loughborough University. His last contribution to the House of Lords debates was on 19 November 2003, when he criticised the situation of "having to borrow money from the state to undertake a degree course" as "a considerable deterrent to poorer families". The following week he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Sunderland, taking the opportunity to repeat his criticism of funding for students by saying "it is very important that young people should not be prevented from going to university".
That was Dormand's last visit to his native North-East. He went into hospital in Peterborough four days later, and died on 18 December 2003, aged 84. Tony Blair described him as "a life-long servant of the Labour Party"; When asked by a journalist to choose his own epitaph, the answer had been "he was a canny lad." A care home in Peterlee is named after him.
## Family
In 1963, Dormand married Doris Robinson (née Pearson), a former teacher who survived him. He had one stepson, and one stepdaughter from Doris's previous marriage.
|
61,113,163 |
Philinna Papyrus
| 1,104,028,882 |
Ancient Greek manuscript
|
[
"Amherst papyri",
"Ancient Greek works",
"Greek-language papyri",
"Occult texts"
] |
The Philinna Papyrus (PMG XX) is part of a collection of ancient Greek spells written in hexameter verse. Three spells are partially preserved on the papyrus. One is a cure for headache, one probably for a skin condition, and the purpose of the third spell is uncertain. Two fragments of the papyrus survive, in the collections of the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, and the Berlin State Museums.
## Papyrus
The Philinna Papyrus is made up of two fragments: P. Amh. 11, published by Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt in 1901, and P. Berol. 7504, published by Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff in 1907. In 1942 Paul Maas identified that the two fragments were part of the same roll. The surviving pieces are 10 x 8.2 cm in total: the Amherst fragment is 6 x 4.2 cm, and the Berlin fragment is 10 x 4 cm. Parts of two columns of the papyrus survive, written in a hand dating to the first century BC. The verso of the papyrus preserves parts of two further columns, in a cursive hand from about the first century AD.
The fragments were discovered in Egypt. P. Amh. 11 was purchased by Grenfell and Hunt on behalf of Lord Amherst between 1897 and 1900. In 1913 it was acquired by the J.P. Morgan Library (now the Morgan Library & Museum) in New York. P. Berol. 7504 was bought at around the same time by the Berlin State Museums. Critical editions of the papyrus text are included in Papyri Graecae Magicae as PGM XX, and Supplementum Hellenisticum as SH 900.
## Contents
The Philinna Papyrus is part of a collection of spells in hexameter verses. Each spell has a title with the name and nationality of the author and the ailment which the charm is intended to cure. The surviving portion of the papyrus preserves three spells. The first spell is damaged, and it is not certain what it was for. This damaged spell is followed by two more: one attributed to a Syrian woman for inflammation, and one by Philinna of Thessaly for headaches. Unlike other surviving ancient collections of spells, the Philinna Papyrus does not contain any descriptions of rituals to accompany the spells, and Christopher Faraone argues that its format is more influenced by Hellenistic literary anthologies than other magical handbooks. The papyrus is unique among Greek magical papyri in attributing the spells it contains to women.
### First spell
The text printed in Papyri Graecae Magicae restores the heading as [ προ]ς κεφαλη(ς) [πονον ] ("spell for a headache"), but Robert Daniel suggests instead that "κεφαλη" is part of the nationality of the author, and the word should be restored as Κεφαλη(νιδος) ("of Kefalonia"). This spell ends with the phrase "bring to perfection a perfect incantation", apparently a traditional ending to an incantation which is also known from a fragment of Aristophanes' lost play Amphiaraus.
### Syrian woman's spell
Lines 4–12 of the papyrus are a spell "προς παν κατακαλαυμα" ("for any inflammation"), attributed to a Syrian woman from Gadara. The name of the Syrian woman does not survive. Another version of the same spell is known from a papyrus from Oxyrhynchus. The inflammation that the spell treats is probably a sort of skin condition, though the word κατακαλυμα is also used in ancient Greek medical texts for fever.
The charm is of the type known as historiola, wherein a myth is told which is analogous to the desired outcome of the spell. In the story, seven maidens put out a fire with pitchers of water. No other version of this story is known in Greek mythology, though there are parallels with an Egyptian myth about Isis and Horus, and even earlier Egyptian and Mesopotamian healing magic. The Syrian woman's spell on the Philinna Papyrus is the earliest surviving instance of a historiola in ancient Greek magic.
### Philinna's spell
Lines 13–19 are a spell for headaches, attributed to Philinna the Thessalian. The identity of this Philinna is uncertain. Maas suggests that she is fictitious, and that the name Philinna was chosen as a common Greek name. However, in later magical papyri the men to whom spells are attributed tend to be famous, and Matthew Dickie argues that the same is likely to be true of Philinna. He suggests that she may be the same as the Philinna from Larissa who was the mother of Philip Arrhidaeus, one of the sons of Philip II of Macedon and half-brother of Alexander the Great.
Like the first spell, Philinna's spell takes a traditional form. It commands the headache to flee from the patient; similar formulae are known from a fragment of Aristotle from the fourth century BC, and were still in use in the first century AD, when Pliny the Elder quotes an example in his Natural History.
|
12,264,347 |
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cumania
| 1,113,173,267 |
Latin-rite bishopric west of the Siret River 1228
|
[
"1227 establishments in Europe",
"1240s disestablishments in Europe",
"Dioceses established in the 13th century",
"Former Roman Catholic dioceses",
"Religious organizations established in the 1220s"
] |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cumania was a Latin-rite bishopric west of the Siret River (in present-day Romania) from 1228 to 1241. The lands incorporated into the diocese had been dominated by the nomadic Cumans since about 1100. Catholic missions began after Andrew II of Hungary granted Burzenland to the Teutonic Knights in 1211. After Andrew expelled the Knights from the territory in 1225, Dominican friars continued the Cuman mission. Robert, Archbishop of Esztergom baptized Boricius, an influential Cuman chieftain, two years later.
Robert ordained a Hungarian Dominican friar, Theodoric, as the first bishop of Cumania in early 1228. Pope Gregory IX confirmed Theodoric's consecration on 21 March of that year, and the diocese was subordinate to the Holy See in 1229. The episcopal see was on the Milcov River, but its exact location is unknown. The diocese included Burzenland and lands east of the Carpathian Mountains. Vlachs (Romanians) who belonged to the Orthodox Church were a significant part of the diocese's population. They did not follow the Catholic bishop, and persuaded many Catholic Hungarians and Saxons to accept their Orthodox bishops.
The diocese was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Europe in 1241, and its property was seized by neighboring landowners. A Franciscan friar was ordained to the see in 1334, but he and his successors (who bore the title Bishop of Milkovia) could not restore the bishopric and its estates.
## History
### Background (before 1211)
The nomadic Cumans controlled the lands north of the Lower Danube and east of the Carpathian Mountains after about 1100. Archaeological research indicates that most settlements in the territory had been abandoned by that time. According to John Kinnamos, a Byzantine army which invaded the Kingdom of Hungary in 1166 "had passed through some wearisome and rugged regions and had gone through a land entirely bereft of men" before entering Hungary across the Eastern Carpathians.
Twelfth-century Sicilian Muslim geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi wrote that the two Cuman groups (the Black Cumans and White Cumans) were separated from each other by the Dniester River. Describing the eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary around 1150, Otto of Freising mentioned the "open land of the Patzinaks and the Falones" (the Pechenegs and Cumans, respectively). He described the territory as a "very fine hunting ground practically untouched by plow and hoe", suggesting a lack of agriculture. However, archaeological research has indicated that local inhabitants practised agriculture in the Prut-region settlements during the 11th and 12th centuries. According to the Hypatian Codex, Ivan Rostislavich—who claimed the Principality of Halych (or Galicia)—"did harm to the Galician fishermen" on the Lower Danube (implying that portions of the lands between the Eastern Carpathians and the river were controlled by the princes of Halych). The Cumans were pagans who worshipped the sky, the earth and other natural elements.
According to Niketas Choniates's chronicle, "the Vlachs, who had heard rumors" of the escape of Andronikos Komnenus (a rebellious cousin of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I), captured him in 1164 at the borders of Halych. Choniates reported that Vlachs, Slavs and Cumans also inhabited the lands between the Carpathians and the Lower Danube, and the Vlachs' cooperation with the Cumans against the Byzantine Empire is well-documented. According to Anna Comnena, local Vlachs showed "the way through the passes" of the Balkan Mountains to Cumans who invaded the Byzantine lands south of the Lower Danube in 1094. Peter and Asen, leaders of the 1186 rebellion of the Bulgarians and Vlachs against Byzantine rule, crossed the lower Danube to seek assistance from the Cumans in the summer of 1186 and returned "with their Cuman auxiliaries" to continue the fight. "Cumans, with a division of Vlachs, crossed" the lower Danube and invaded Thrace in 1199.
However, conflicts between the Cumans and the Vlachs were also recorded. According to a 1250 royal charter, King Andrew I of Hungary dispatched Joachim, Count of Hermannstadt, to lead an army of Saxon, Vlach, Székely and Pecheneg warriors to assist Boril in Bulgaria after "three chieftains from Cumania" rebelled against Boril of Bulgaria in the early 1210s. The reference to the Vlachs' participation in Joachim's campaign is some of the earliest evidence of Vlach communities subjected to Hungarian rule. The Vlachs had a special status, distinct from other commoners in the Kingdom of Hungary. They paid in-kind taxes, such as a quinquagesima (one-fiftieth) on their herds; Orthodox, they were exempt from the tithes paid by Catholic peasants.
### Conversion of Cuman tribes (1211–1228)
King Andrew II of Hungary granted Burzenland in southeastern Transylvania to the Teutonic Knights in 1211, tasking them with defending his kingdom's borders and converting the neighboring Cumans. The king also authorized the Knights to erect wooden fortresses and expand their authority over the Carpathians. The Knights were allowed to invite colonists to their lands, and settlers were exempted from church tithes. According to a non-authentic papal bull written almost a decade later, their territory extended as far as the lower Danube and the "borders of the Brodniks" (the Siret region) in 1222. Papal letters also stated that an unspecified number of Cumans and their wives and children were willing to convert after the Knights defeated them. The Cumans' power diminished sharply after the Mongol victory over a coalition of Rus' princes and Cuman chieftains in the 23 May 1223 Battle of the Kalka River.
The Teutonic Knights attempted to overthrow King Andrew, and asked Pope Honorius III to protect their lands. The king invaded the Knights' domain, expelling them in 1225. Andrew made his oldest son, Béla, Duke of Transylvania the following year. Duke Béla, who wanted to expand his authority over the neighboring Cuman tribes, supported the Dominican friars' missionary activities.
According to Friar Rudolf of Faenza's testimony during Saint Dominic's canonization, the founder of the Dominican Order "wanted to save all men, Christian and Saracens, but especially the Cumans and other pagans" and expressed "his desire to go to the Cumans and other infidels". The Dominican province of Hungary, one of the order's first territories, was created in the early 1220s. Paulus Hungarus, its first head, "decided to send some virtuous brothers" to the Cumans in the early 1220s; according to The Lives of the Brethren, written during the 1250s by Friar Gerard de Frachet, they were unsuccessful and returned. De Frachet wrote that the next Dominican mission to the Cumans reached the Dnieper River, but the friars "suffered hunger, thirst, lack of covering and persecutions; some of them were held captive and two were killed".
Historian Claudia F. Dobre wrote that the "way for the Cumans' conversion was opened" after their defeat at the Kalka River, due to Duke Béla's support of the Dominican missionaries. The nearly-contemporaneous Alberic of Trois-Fontaines wrote that a Cuman chieftain's son visited Robert, Archbishop of Esztergom in Hungary in 1227, asking the archbishop to baptize him and his 12 retainers. The Cuman nobleman also reported that his father and his 2,000 subjects were also willing to come to Transylvania to be baptized. Robert accepted the offer and went to Transylvania with three Hungarian prelates: Bartholomew le Gros, Bishop of Pécs; Bartholomew, Bishop of Veszprém, and Raynald of Belleville, Bishop of Transylvania. According to the chronicle of Emo of Friesland, they met the Cuman chieftain "Boricius, fourth in rank among the major Cuman leaders" and baptized him and his retainers in the presence of Duke Béla.
The number of Cumans baptised with their chief varies from source to source. Emo specified a "large number", Alberic noted 15,000, and the Austrian chronicles Vatzonis, Leobiense and Claustroneuburgense described 10,000 converts. According to The Lives of the Brethren, another Cuman chieftain who was "an even more important leader" was baptized "with about a thousand of his kinsmen". In a 31 July 1228 letter to Archbishop Robert of Esztergom, Pope Gregory IX expressed joy at the missionaries' success in "Cumania" and the neighboring "land of the Brodniks".
### Creation and fall (1228–1241)
The conversion of thousands of Cumans was followed by the creation of the bishopric of Cumania. According to Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Archbishop Robert of Esztergom consecrated Theodoric bishop of the new diocese in 1228. The consecration of Theodoric, who had been a monk in the Dominican province of Hungary, was confirmed by Pope Gregory on 21 March. The pope urged the head of the Hungarian Dominicans to send new missionaries to the Cumans and praised Duke Béla, who had decided to visit Cumania with Archbishop Robert.
According to Pope Gregory's 1228 letter, the nomadic Cumans were willing to settle in newly established villages and towns and build churches. However, relations between the Cumans and their priests were often tense; the pope advised Bishop Theodoric of Cumania in 1229 to show mercy to the newly converted Cumans who had attacked clerics and not punish them for minor crimes. The pope exempted the Diocese of Cumania from the authority of the Archbishops of Esztergom on 13 September 1229, subjecting its bishop directly to the Holy See. Gregory IX urged King Andrew II of Hungary to allow the Teutonic Knights to return to Cumania in at least four letters between 1231 and 1234. Nevertheless, Hungary remained the principal ally of the Holy See in Southeastern Europe; Andrew II emphasized his claim to the newly conquered lands by adopting the title "King of Cumania" in the early 1230s. Pope Gregory wrote to Duke Béla on 25 October 1234, reminding him of his previous offer to build a church in Cumania and encouraging him to grant estates to the bishop of Cumania.
The pope's next letter, written on 14 November 1234, stated that there were "certain people within the Cuman bishopric named 'Walati'" (Vlachs). The Vlachs did not receive their sacraments from the Catholic bishop, but "from some pseudo-bishops of the Greek rite". According to the pope, the Vlachs persuaded "Hungarians, Saxons and other Catholics" who had settled in Cumania to join the Orthodox church. Gregory IX authorized Bishop Theodoric to consecrate a Catholic bishop for the Vlachs, and asked Duke Béla to help Theodoric impose his authority over the Vlachs. The pope's letter suggests that the Vlachs were a significant group (possibly the majority) among the peoples of Cumania, and they had their own local church hierarchy.
The Mongols again invaded the easternmost regions of the "Cuman steppes", forcing tens of thousands of Cumans to seek refuge in Hungary or Bulgaria around 1240. The Bishopric of Cumania was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Central Europe in 1241. According to the contemporaneous Roger of Torre Maggiore, Bochetor and "other kings" led the Mongol army to the "land of the bishop of the Cumans" and annihilated the local army. The invaders destroyed the episcopal see and murdered many Dominican friars:
> After much hard work, by God's help, a convent was established, and the brothers began to preach confidently among the people. Only God can count the number of people who were converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ day after day. While the brothers' fervour and zeal for the conversion of these pagans was increasing more and more, God's hidden judgment permitted a persecution from the [Mongols]. This not only impeded the preaching of our brothers, but forced many of them to go sooner to the heavenly kingdom. Up to ninety brothers flew to the kingdom of heaven, some by the sword, others by arrows, spears or fire. The mission to these pagans was interrupted while, as a result of the [Mongol] persecution, the Cumans were scattered to different parts of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and other nearby regions. Finally most of them came to Hungary, where the king welcomed them.
### Aftermath (after 1241)
The Mongols conquered the steppes as far as the Lower Danube. They massacred or enslaved many Cumans, but significant Cuman groups survived and preserved their separate identity in the Mongol Empire until the end of the 14th century. The Holy See did not abandon the idea of proselytizing in Cumania after the Mongol invasion, and Pope Innocent IV praised the Dominicans for their successful missions to the Cumans in 1253. However, Pope Nicholas III mentioned in a 7 October 1278 letter that Catholics had disappeared from the Diocese of Cumania because no bishop lived there since the destruction of the episcopal see. The pope urged Philip, Bishop of Fermo (his legate in Hungary) to investigate the situation in the former bishopric.
Franciscan friars played an important role in Catholic missions to the lands east of the Carpathians. The Holy See had authorized the order to administer the sacraments, build churches and grant indulgences in Cumania in 1239, renewing the authorization six years later. Missionaries risked their lives in the lands subject to the Mongols in the first half of the 14th century; "Saracens" murdered Friar Pietro da Unghera near Transylvania in 1314, and Friars Blasius and Marcus were martyred in Siret in 1340.
Pope John XXII considered restoring the bishopric in 1332. In a letter addressed to Csanád Telegdi, the Archbishop of Esztergom, he wrote that "the powerful of those lands" had seized the property of the Diocese of Cumania. Hoping to receive royal support for his plan, the pope decided to make the Franciscan Vitus de Monteferreo (Charles I of Hungary's chaplain) bishop of Milkovia. Although the pope confirmed Vitus's ordination two years later, no evidence exists that the bishop ever visited his diocese. Other bishops were ordained to the see of Milkovia during the next century, but their attempts to regain the properties of the Diocese of Cumania were unsuccessful.
## Territory and see
The borders of the Diocese of Cumania cannot be exactly determined. Roger of Torre Maggiore wrote that the Mongols crossed the Siret River before entering the Diocese of Cumania, which indicates that the river was the diocese's eastern border. A 1235 list of the Premonstratensians' houses in Hungary noted that "Corona" (now Brașov in Romania) was in the Cumanian diocese, suggesting that it included southeastern Transylvania. According to historian Victor Spinei, "Southeastern Transylvania was included within the bishopric most likely to secure a constant source of revenue from the collection of tithes for the emerging ecclesiastical structure during the first years after the conversion of the Cumans". Spinei wrote that the Trotuș River must have formed the diocese's northeastern border, and the Buzău River its southeastern frontier.
The location of the episcopal see is the subject of scholarly debate. In his 1278 letter, Pope Nicholas III wrote that the civitas de Mylco (on the Milcov River) was the seat of the Cumanian bishop. Nicolae Iorga identified civitas de Mylco with Odobești; Constantin C. Giurescu with Reghiu and then with Odobești, and Carol Auner with the Crăciuna Citadel at Câmpineanca. According to archaeologists Adrian Andrei Rusu and Anton Paragină, the see of the bishopric was in Focșani or Vârteșcoiu (where small 13th-century forts were excavated). Two Cuman chieftains were buried "in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin", according to The Lives of the Brethren, indicating that at least one chapel was built in the see of the bishopric. The 1278 letter of Pope Nicholas also referred to the cathedral which had been destroyed by the Mongols. The Dominican Theodoric served as bishop under Robert, Archbishop of Esztergom from 1228 to 1234 or later; papal documents note an unnamed bishop of Cumania in 1235 and 1238.
|
999,394 |
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
| 1,173,743,203 |
2006 fantasy film directed by Gore Verbinski
|
[
"2000s American films",
"2000s British films",
"2000s English-language films",
"2000s action adventure films",
"2000s fantasy action films",
"2000s fantasy adventure films",
"2006 films",
"American action adventure films",
"American coming-of-age films",
"American fantasy adventure films",
"American sequel films",
"American swashbuckler films",
"BAFTA winners (films)",
"British action films",
"British adventure films",
"British sequel films",
"Demons in film",
"Films about Voodoo",
"Films about cannibalism",
"Films about treasure hunting",
"Films about witchcraft",
"Films adapted into comics",
"Films directed by Gore Verbinski",
"Films scored by Hans Zimmer",
"Films set in the 1720s",
"Films set in the 18th century",
"Films set in the Caribbean",
"Films set on ships",
"Films shot in Dominica",
"Films shot in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines",
"Films shot in the Bahamas",
"Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award",
"Films using motion capture",
"Films with screenplays by Ted Elliott",
"Films with screenplays by Terry Rossio",
"Flying Dutchman",
"Kraken in popular culture",
"Pirates of the Caribbean (film series) films",
"Walt Disney Pictures films"
] |
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 American fantasy swashbuckler film directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), it is the second installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. Set one year after the events of The Curse of the Black Pearl, the film recounts Captain Jack Sparrow owing a debt to Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), the ghastly captain of the Flying Dutchman, and is marked for death and pursued by the Kraken. Meanwhile, the wedding of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) is interrupted by Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), who wants Turner to acquire Jack's magic compass in a bid to find the Dead Man's Chest.
Two sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl were conceived in 2004, with Elliott and Rossio developing a story arc that would span both films. Filming took place from February to September 2005 in Palos Verdes, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and The Bahamas, as well as on sets constructed at Walt Disney Studios. It was shot back-to-back with the third film of the series, At World's End (2007).
Dead Man's Chest was released in the United States on July 7, 2006, and received mixed reviews, with praise for its visual effects and Depp and Nighy's performances, but criticism for its running time and plot. The film broke several records at the time, including the opening-weekend record in the United States with \$136 million, the fastest film to gross over \$1 billion at the worldwide box office (63 days), became the highest-grossing film of 2006, and was the highest-grossing film produced by Disney until it was surpassed by Toy Story 3 in 2010. The film received four nominations at the 79th Academy Awards (winning Best Visual Effects).
## Plot
The wedding of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann is interrupted when Lord Cutler Beckett, chairman of the East India Trading Company, arrives with arrest warrants for them, and also for Commodore James Norrington, who allowed Captain Jack Sparrow to escape. Norrington has resigned and disappeared after losing the Navy's flagship, HMS Dauntless, in a hurricane while pursuing Jack. Meanwhile, aboard the Black Pearl, Jack is visited by Will's father, Bootstrap Bill Turner, and is marked with the Black Spot. Bootstrap is a crewman on the Flying Dutchman, captained by Davy Jones. Jack previously bartered a deal with Jones to raise the Pearl from the depths, and must now join the Dutchman'''s crew or be dragged to Davy Jones' Locker by the Kraken. Meanwhile, Beckett has a meeting with Will, where he reveals that he has Letters of Marque for Jack Sparrow signed by the king. Beckett offers to validate Will and Elizabeth's freedom if Will goes on a journey on behalf of the East India Trading Company to recover Jack's compass for Beckett's use.
Will finds Jack and the crew on an island and frees them from cannibals. After escaping the cannibals, Jack and the crew visit voodoo priestess Tia Dalma, who reveals Jones' weakness is his heart, locked within the Dead Man's Chest; Jack intends to find it and free himself from Jones' service. Locating the Dutchman, Will makes a deal with Jack to find the key to the chest in return for Jack's compass, but is tricked into joining Jones' crew in Jack's stead. Jones agrees to release Jack from their bargain in exchange for ninety-nine more souls. Will meets his father aboard the Dutchman and learns that Jones possesses the key to the chest. Despite losing a game of Liar's Dice to Jones, Will escapes with the key and is taken aboard the same ship Elizabeth was on. Jones sends the Kraken after him and sinks the ship, but Will again escapes.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth's father Governor Swann frees her from jail but is captured himself. Elizabeth bargains with Beckett to find the compass herself and makes her way to Tortuga, where she finds both Jack and a drunken Norrington. Jack hires a new crew, including Elizabeth and Norrington, and Elizabeth uses the compass to find the chest. All parties arrive on Isla Cruces, where the chest is buried, but a three-way sword fight breaks out between Jack, Will, and Norrington, who all want the heart for their respective goals: Jack wants to call off the Kraken and negate his debt to Jones; Will wants to release his father from the Dutchman; and Norrington wants to regain his life as a Navy officer. In the chaos, Norrington secretly steals the heart and runs off, pretending to lure away the Dutchman's crew. Jones attacks the Pearl with the Kraken, which kills most of the crew and destroys all but one of the Pearl's lifeboats, but Jack, who briefly fled the battle, returns and wounds the Kraken with a net full of gunpowder and rum.
Jack orders the survivors to abandon ship, but Elizabeth, realizing the Kraken only wants Jack, tricks him by kissing him and chains him to the mast so that the crew can escape. The Kraken drags Jack and the Pearl to Davy Jones' Locker. Jones declares their debt is settled, but discovers, to his rage, that his heart is missing from the chest. In Port Royal, Norrington gives Beckett the heart and the Letters of Marque meant for Jack, allowing him back into the navy, as well as allowing Beckett to gain control of Davy Jones and the seas. The Pearl's crew takes shelter with Tia Dalma, where they all agree to rescue Jack. Tia Dalma introduces the captain who will guide them: the resurrected Hector Barbossa.
## Cast
- Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow: The eccentric pirate captain of the Black Pearl. He is hunted by the Kraken because of his unpaid debt to Davy Jones. He is also searching for the Dead Man's Chest to free himself from Jones' servitude.
- Orlando Bloom as William Turner: A blacksmith-turned-pirate who strikes a deal with Cutler Beckett to find Jack Sparrow and his compass so he can save both himself and his fiancée Elizabeth from execution. Later he is reunited with, and seeks to free, his father, who eventually owes a lifetime of servitude to Davy Jones.
- Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann: Governor Swann's daughter and Will's fiancée, who is arrested on her wedding day for helping Captain Jack Sparrow escape. Escaping jail with help from her father, she meets up with Jack in Tortuga and joins his crew to search for both Will and the chest.
- Stellan Skarsgård as William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner: A crewman aboard the Flying Dutchman who happens to be Will Turner's father. He was cursed by the Aztec gold on Isla de Muerta (along with Hector Barbossa's crew). Thrown overboard after refusing to take part in the mutiny against Jack led by Barbossa, he spent years bound to a cannon beneath the crushing ocean. Found by Davy Jones, he swore to servitude aboard the Flying Dutchman crew and escaped death.
- Bill Nighy as Davy Jones: Captain of the Flying Dutchman. Davy Jones was once a human being. Unable to bear the pain of losing his true love, he carved out his heart and put it into the Dead Man's Chest, then buried it in a secret location. He has become a bizarre creature – part octopus, part crab, part man – and collects the souls of dead or dying sailors to serve aboard his ship for one hundred years. Prior to officially casting Bill Nighy, producers also met Jim Broadbent, Iain Glen and Richard E. Grant for the role. Other actors considered for the role included Christopher Walken and Ian McShane, with the latter being cast later as Blackbeard in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
- Jack Davenport as James Norrington: He resigned his commission as Commodore in the Royal Navy after losing his ship and crew in a hurricane off the coast of Tripoli in the pursuit of Jack Sparrow and his crew. Fallen on hard times, he joins the Black Pearl's crew and seeks to regain his honor and career.
- Kevin McNally as Joshamee Gibbs: The Black Pearl's first mate and Jack's loyal friend, he once served in the Royal Navy under Lieutenant James Norrington.
- Jonathan Pryce as Governor Weatherby Swann. Elizabeth's father and governor of Port Royal. He adores his daughter but puts little faith in Will - not considering him the best match for Elizabeth.
- Lee Arenberg as Pintel: Ragetti's inseparable crewmate.
- Mackenzie Crook as Ragetti: A pirate and former Black Pearl crewmember under Captain Barbossa, he was imprisoned after the Aztec curse was broken, but escaped to rejoin Captain Jack Sparrow's Black Pearl crew. He has a wooden eye, and despite being illiterate, has begun "reading" the Bible, with the excuse that "you get credit for trying".
- Naomie Harris as Tia Dalma: An obeah priestess who Jack bartered with for his magic compass. She explains the legend of Davy Jones, in addition to owning a similar locket to his.
- Tom Hollander as Lord Cutler Beckett: Chairman of the East India Trading Company, he travels to Port Royal to capture and recruit Jack Sparrow as a privateer. What he really desires is Davy Jones' heart, with which he can rule the seas with Jones' commanded servitude. Ricky Gervais was offered the role but turned it down.
- David Bailie as Cotton, a mute member of the Black Pearl's crew.
- Martin Klebba as Marty, a dwarf member of the Black Pearl's crew.
- Alex Norton as Captain Bellamy, the pirate captain of the Edinburgh Trader.
- Geoffrey Rush as Hector Barbossa: Barbossa's character is resurrected in the final scene of this film. Having met his demise in the previous installment, Barbossa is resurrected by Tia Dalma to save Jack from Davy Jones's locker.
- David Schofield as Mercer, Lord Beckett's second in command
- John Boswall as Wyvern, an ancient member of Davy Jones’ crew who has fused with the ship.
- Derrick O'Connor as Very Old Man, an inexperienced sailor in Jack Sparrow's crew.
- San Shella as Leech, a member of Jack's new crew from India
- Lauren Maher as Scarlett, a Tortuga prostitute.
Dermot Keaney, Clive Ashborn, Robbie Gee, Winston Ellis, Christopher Adamson, Andy Beckwith, and Jonathan Lindsey portray the crew of the Flying Dutchman through motion capture.
## Production
### Development
Following the success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), the cast and crew signed on for two more sequels to be shot back-to-back, a practical decision on Disney's part to allow more time with the same cast and crew. Writer Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio decided not to make the sequels new adventures featuring the same characters, as with the Indiana Jones and James Bond series, but to retroactively turn The Curse of the Black Pearl into the first of a trilogy. They wanted to explore the reality of what would happen after Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann's embrace at the end of the first film, and initially considered the Fountain of Youth as the plot device. They settled on introducing Davy Jones, the Flying Dutchman and the Kraken. They also introduced the historical East India Trading Company, who for them represented a counterpoint to the themes of personal freedom represented by pirates.
Planning began in June 2004, and production was much larger than The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was only shot on location in St. Vincent. This time, the sequels would require fully working ships, with a working Black Pearl built over the body of an oil tanker in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. By November, the script was still unfinished as the writers did not want director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer to compromise what they had written, so Verbinski worked with James Byrkit to storyboard major sequences without need of a script, while Elliott and Rossio wrote a "preparatory" script for the crew to use before they finished the script they were happy with. By January 2005, with rising costs and no script, Disney executives threatened to cancel the film, but changed their minds. The writers would accompany the crew on location, feeling that the lateness of their rewrites would improve the spontaneity of the cast's performances.
### Filming
Principal photography began on February 28, 2005, in Palos Verdes, beginning with Elizabeth's ruined wedding day. For Cutler Beckett's introduction, Rossio and Elliott had him arrive on shore in a boat while sitting on a horse staind in the boat; the duo had originally planned to use this introduction for Don Rafael Montero in The Mask of Zorro (1998), but the scene was cut for being deemed too expensive. Similarly, the Pirates crew wanted to cut the idea for budget reasons, in addition to feel that it would be unbelievable, or as the film's historian dismissed, suicidal. However, Verbinski promised Rossio and Elliott to use the idea and the scene was filmed one day after weeks of planning and training. The crew spent the first shooting days at Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles, including the interiors of the Black Pearl and the Edinburgh Trader which Elizabeth stows away on, before moving to St. Vincent to shoot the scenes in Port Royal and Tortuga. Sets from the previous film were reused, having survived three hurricanes, although the main pier had to be rebuilt as it had collapsed in November. The crew had four tall ships at their disposal to populate the backgrounds, which were painted differently on each side for economy. One of the ships used was the replica of HMS Bounty used in the 1962 film adaptation of Mutiny on the Bounty.
On April 18, 2005, the crew began shooting at Dominica, a location Verbinski had selected as he felt it fitted the sense of remoteness he was looking for. However, this was also a problem; the Dominican government were completely unprepared for the scale of a Hollywood production, as while the 500-strong crew occupying around 90% of the roads on the island they had trouble moving around on the underdeveloped surfaces. The weather also alternated between torrential rainstorms and hot temperatures, the latter of which was made worse for the cast who had to wear period clothing. At Dominica, the sequences involving Pelegosto (Cannibal Island) and the forest segment of the battle on Isla Cruces were shot. Verbinski preferred to use practical props for the giant wheel and bone cage sequences, feeling long close-up shots would help further suspend the audience's disbelief. Dominica was also used for Tia Dalma's shack. Filming on the island concluded on May 26, 2005.
The crew moved to a small island in the Bahamas called White Cay for the beginning and end of the Isla Cruces battle, before production took a break until August, where in Los Angeles the interiors of the Flying Dutchman were shot. On September 18, 2005, the crew moved to Grand Bahama Island to shoot ship exteriors, including the working Black Pearl and Flying Dutchman. Filming there was a tumultuous period, starting with the fact that the tank had not actually been finished. The hurricane season caused many pauses in shooting, and Hurricane Wilma damaged many of the accessways and pumps, though no one was hurt nor were any of the ships destroyed. Principal photography was completed on September 10, 2005.
The look of the Flying Dutchman was partially inspired by old Dutch "fluyts"—17th-century vessels which resembled galleons—and more specifically, the Vasa, a massive Swedish warship which sank in Stockholm's harbor upon its maiden voyage in 1628 (the ship was salvaged in 1961 and housed in a special museum in the Swedish capital). With its high, heavily ornamented stern, the ship provided a rich foundation for Rick Heinrichs' wilder and more fantastical designs.
One of the stuntmen, Johnny Depp's stunt double Tony Angelotti, was injured on set while filming a "human yo-yo" stunt in July 2005. He was rushed to hospital, suffering internal bleeding after "nicking" a branch off his femoral artery. He lost six units of blood, had an ACL reconstruction and spent a year in recovery, before having to have the surgery all over again when a plate in his pelvis broke. He also suffered from PTSD. Despite this, he did continue filming for the following sequel, At World's End, albeit doing "lighter stunts" like sword choreography or working as a stunt coordinator. However, in 2007, Tony Angelotti did sue Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer for the injury.
### Visual effects
The Flying Dutchman's crew members were originally conceived by writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio as ghosts, but Gore Verbinski disliked this and designed them as physical creatures. Their hierarchy is reflected by how mutated they were: newcomers had low level infections which resemble rosacea, while veterans had full-blown undersea creature attributes. Verbinski wanted to keep them realistic, rejecting a character with a turtle shell, and the animators watched various David Attenborough documentaries to study the movement of sea anemones and mussels. All of the crew are computer-generated, with the exception of Stellan Skarsgård, who played "Bootstrap" Bill Turner. Initially his prosthetics would be augmented with CGI but that was abandoned. Skarsgård spent four hours in the make-up chair and was dubbed "Bouillabaisse" on set.
Davy Jones had originally been designed with chin growths, before the designers made the move to full-blown tentacles; the skin of the character incorporates the texture of a coffee-stained Styrofoam cup among other elements. To portray Jones on set, Bill Nighy wore a motion capture tracksuit that meant the animators at Industrial Light & Magic did not have to reshoot the scene in the studio without him or on the motion capture stage. Nighy wore make-up around his eyes and mouth to splice into the computer-generated shots, but the images of his eyes and mouth were not used. Nighy only wore a prosthetic once, with blue-colored tentacles for when Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) steals the key to the Dead Man's Chest from under his "beard" as he sleeps. To create the CGI version of the character, the model was closely based on a full-body scan of Nighy, with Jones reflecting his high cheekbones. Animators studied every frame of Nighy's performance: the actor himself had blessed them by making his performance more quirky than expected, providing endless fun for them. His performance also meant new controls had to be stored. Finally, Jones' tentacles are mostly a simulation, though at times they were hand-animated when they act as limbs for the character.
The Kraken was difficult to animate as it had no real-life reference, until animation director Hal Hickel instructed the crew to watch King Kong vs. Godzilla which featured a live octopus crawling over miniatures. On the set, two pipes filled with 30,000 pounds (14,000 kg) of cement were used to crash and split the Edinburgh Trader: Completing the illusion are miniature masts and falling stuntmen shot on a bluescreen stage. The scene where the Kraken spits at Jack Sparrow does not use computer-generated spit: it was real slime thrown at Johnny Depp.
## Music
## Marketing
The first trailer was attached to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Disney produced a comic book adaption in their Junior Graphic Novels: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2007). Disney sponsored a racing yacht in the 2005 event of the Volvo Ocean Race. The boat, aptly named Black Pearl, raced under the team name "Pirates of the Caribbean" for the United States. The boat itself was a Volvo Open 70 class yacht designed by Farr Yacht Design. She was skippered to a 2nd-place finish by American Paul Cayard after 31,000 nm (57,000 km), divided into 9 legs, taking 8 months to complete.
## Release
### Theatrical
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest premiered at Disneyland in California on June 24, 2006. It was the first Disney film to use the computer-generated Walt Disney Pictures logo from 2006 to 2022, which took a year for the studio to design. Wētā FX and yU+co were responsible for the logo's final animated rendering and Mark Mancina was hired to score a new composition and arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star". The new fanfare was co-arranged and orchestrated by David Metzger. The main people responsible for the logo's rendering are Cyrese Parrish and Cameron Smith.
### Home media
The film became available on DVD on November 20, 2006, in the UK and December 5, 2006, in the US. It sold 9,498,304 units in its first week of sales (equivalent to \$174,039,324). In total it sold 16,694,937 units, earning \$320,871,909. It was the best-selling DVD of 2006 in terms of units sold and second in terms of sales revenue behind The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
The DVD contained a commentary track with the screenwriters and a gag reel, with the double-disc featuring a video of the film premiere and a number of documentaries, including a full-length documentary entitled "According to the Plan" and eight featurettes. The film was released on Blu-ray Disc on May 22, 2007. The film had its UK Television premiere on Boxing Day 2008 on BBC One at 20:30. It was seen by 6.8 million viewers according to overnight figures.
## Reception
### Box office
Dead Man's Chest earned \$423,315,812 in North America and \$642,863,913 in other territories, for a worldwide total of \$1,066,179,725. Worldwide, it ranks as the 15th highest-grossing film distributed by Disney, the highest-grossing film of 2006, and the highest-grossing film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. It was the third film in history to reach the \$1 billion mark worldwide, and it reached the mark in record time (63 days), a record that has since been surpassed by many films, of which the first was Avatar (in January 2010).
In North America, the film broke many records including the largest opening- and single-day gross (\$55.8 million), the biggest opening-weekend gross (\$135.6 million), the least time to reach \$100, \$200 and \$300 million and the highest ten-day gross. However, most of them were broken by Spider-Man 3 in May 2007 and The Dark Knight in July 2008. The film was in first place at the box office for three consecutive weekends. By late August 2006, it would go on to break Finding Nemo's record for becoming Disney's highest-grossing film at the time. It closed in theaters on December 7, 2006, with a \$423.3 million haul. Thus, in North America, it is the seventeenth-highest-grossing film, although, adjusted for inflation, the film ranks forty-eight. It is also the highest-grossing 2006 film, the highest-grossing Pirates of the Caribbean film, and the seventh-highest-grossing Disney film. The film sold an estimated 64,628,400 tickets in the US.
Outside North America, it is the twenty-first-highest-grossing film, the third-highest-grossing Pirates film, the eighth-highest-grossing Disney film and the highest-grossing film of 2006. It set opening-weekend records in Russia and the CIS, Ukraine, Finland, Malaysia, Singapore, Greece and Italy. It was on top of the box office outside North America for 9 consecutive weekends and 10 in total. It was the highest-grossing film of 2006 in Australia, Bulgaria, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and Thailand.
### Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 53% based on 229 reviews, with an average rating of 6.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Gone is Depp's unpredictability and much of the humor and originality of the first movie." At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating to reviews, the film received an average score of 53 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed to average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Michael Booth of The Denver Post gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "two hours and 20 minutes of escapism that once again makes the movies safe for guilt-free fun." Drew McWeeny compared the film to The Empire Strikes Back, and also acclaimed its darkness in its depiction of the crew of the Flying Dutchman and its cliffhanger. The completely computer-generated Davy Jones turned out to be so realistic that some reviewers mistakenly identified Nighy as wearing prosthetic makeup.
A. O. Scott of The New York Times said, "You put down your money – still less than \$10 in most cities – and in return you get two and a half hours of spirited swashbuckling, and Gore Verbinski has an appropriate sense of mischief, as a well as a gift, nearly equaling those of Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg, for integrating CGI seamlessly into his cinematic compositions." Empire gave the film three out of five stars, stating, "Depp is once again an unmitigated joy as Captain Sparrow, delivering another eye-darting, word-slurring turn with some wonderful slapstick flourishes. Indeed, Rossio and Elliot smartly exploit these in some wonderful action set-pieces." "We don't get the predictable 'all friends together on the same quest' structure, and there's a surfeit of surprises, crosses and double-crosses and cheeky character beats which stay true to the original's anti-heroic sense of fun. After all, Jack Sparrow is a pirate, a bad guy in a hero's hat, a man driven by self-gain over concern for the greater good, who will run away from a fight and cheat his 'friends' without a second's thought."
Paul Arendt of the BBC compared it to The Matrix Reloaded, as a complex film that merely led onto the next film. Richard George felt a "better construct of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End would have been to take 90 minutes of Chest, mix it with all of End and then cut that film in two." Alex Billington felt the third film "almost makes the second film in the series obsolete or dulls it down enough that we can accept it in our trilogy DVD collections without ever watching it." Mark Kermode of The Observer accused the film of "lumpen direction, lousy writing and pouting performances", but wrote that "the worst thing about Dead Man's Chest is its interminable length [...] The entire Pirates of the Caribbean franchise may be a horrible indicator of the decline of narrative cinema."
### Accolades
At the 79th Academy Awards, visual effects supervisors John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects which was also the first time since 1994's Forrest Gump'' that Industrial Light & Magic had received that particular Academy Award. The film was also nominated for Best Art Direction, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing.
The film also won a BAFTA and Satellite award for Best Visual Effects, and six awards from the Visual Effects Society.
Other awards won by the film include Choice Movie: Action, Choice Movie Actor: Action for Johnny Depp at the Favorite Movie, Movie Drama, Male Actor for Depp and On-Screen Couple for Depp and Keira Knightley at the 33rd People's Choice Awards; Best Movie and Performance for Depp at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards and Best Special Effects at the Saturn Awards, and Favorite Movie at the 2007 Kids' Choice Awards.
## Video game
A video game adaptation of the film was developed by Griptonite Games and Amaze Entertainment and released by Buena Vista Games in June–August 2006 for the PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance.
## Sequel
|
1,687,249 |
Vologases IV
| 1,145,255,537 |
King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 147 to 191
|
[
"191 deaths",
"2nd-century Iranian people",
"2nd-century Parthian monarchs",
"People of the Roman–Parthian Wars",
"Year of birth unknown"
] |
Vologases IV (Parthian: 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 Walagash) was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 147 to 191. He was the son of Mithridates V (r. 129–140). Vologases spent the early years of his reign re-asserting Parthian control over the Kingdom of Characene. From 161 to 166, he waged war against the Roman Empire; although initially successful, conquering Armenia and Syria, he was eventually pushed back, briefly losing control of the Parthian capitals of Seleucia and Ctesiphon to the Romans. The Romans suffered heavy losses from a plague erupting from Seleucia in 166, forcing them to withdraw. The war ended soon afterward, with Vologases losing most of northern Mesopotamia to the Romans. He died in 191 and was succeeded by his son Vologases V.
## Name
Vologases is the Greek and Latin form of the Parthian Walagaš (𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔). The name is also attested in New Persian as Balāsh and Middle Persian as Wardākhsh (also spelled Walākhsh). The etymology of the name is unclear, although Ferdinand Justi proposes that Walagaš, the first form of the name, is a compound of words "strength" (varəda), and "handsome" (gaš or geš in Modern Persian).
## Reign
### Conquest of Characene
Vologases IV was a son of Mithridates V, who had contended against the ruling Parthian monarch Vologases III (r. 110–147) for the throne from 129 to 140. Vologases IV staged a coup d'état and succeeded Vologases III in 147, marking the establishment of a new branch of the Arsacid dynasty on the Parthian throne. In 150/51, he defeated the Arsacid ruler of Characene (also known as Mesene), Meredates, and appointed Orabazes II, most likely a relative of his, as the new king of Characene. Vologases IV's forces seized a statue of Heracles, the patron god of the Characenian royalty. The statue was taken to the temple of Apollo in Seleucia, where it was displayed as a demonstration of Vologases IV's victory. A bilingual inscription (Greek and Parthian) was carved on the statue, which recounts Vologases IV's conquest of Characene:
> "In the year of the Greeks 462 (151 AD) the King of Kings Arsaces Vologases, son of Mithridates king, led a military expedition into Mesene against Mithridates king, son of previous ruler Pacorus, and after king Mithridates had been expelled from Mesene, became the ruler of all of Mesene and of this bronze statue of the god Heracles, which he himself transported from Mesene, placed in this Sanctuary of the god Apollo who guards the Bronze Door."
### War with the Romans
When Marcus Aurelius became the new Roman emperor in 161, Vologases IV unexpectedly declared war against the Romans, marking the only time in a Roman-Parthian conflict where the Parthians declared war. Vologases IV invaded Armenia and replaced its Roman client king Sohaemus with his own son Pacorus.
At the same time, an unanticipated Parthian invasion of Syria led to the defeat of the Roman soldiers assigned there. Confident, Vologases IV declined an offer for peace by the Romans in 162. Although the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166 started auspiciously for the Parthians, after the Romans recovered from the first shock and setbacks, they counterattacked, restored Sohaemus to the Armenian throne in 163. Around the same time, the Parthians captured Edessa and installed Wa'el as puppet king. Ma'nu VIII, the legitimate king, was forced to flee to the Roman Empire. The Parthian forces were pushed out of Syria, in 164, and also lost Dura-Europos, which led many Parthian vassal rulers to desert Vologases IV. The Romans laid siege to Edessa in 165; during the siege, the citizens of the city massacred the Parthian garrison and opened its gates to the Romans. The Romans entered the city and restored Ma'nu VIII as ruler of Edessa/Osroene; he also received the epithet Philorhomaios ("Friend of the Romans").
The Parthian capitals of Seleucia and Ctesiphon were captured by the Roman general Avidius Cassius in 165 or 166. Most likely around the same time, Roman legions invaded Media and Adiabene. However, the Romans suffered heavy losses from a plague erupting from Seleucia in 166, forcing them to withdraw. The war ended soon afterward, with Vologases IV losing most of northern Mesopotamia to the Romans.
### Later reign
The chronicles do not report unrest or rebellions following the Parthian defeat, which the modern historian Michael Sommer refers to as a "disastrous military setback." This likely indicates that Vologases IV had managed to maintain political stability. The Parthian loss of most of northern Mesopotamia meant that the city of Hatra had now become their new frontier in the west. Hatra was ruled by Parthian vassals who wielded the title of malka (lord). However, due to its now higher strategic importance, Vologases IV elevated the titulature of the ruling Hatran family to that of king, and also allowed them certain ceremonies and traditional ritual oaths. After Sohaemus' death in 180, Vologases IV's son managed to gain the Armenian throne as Vologases II (r. 180–191).
The end of Vologases IV's reign was marred by the revolt of Osroes II in 190, who minted coins of himself at Ecbatana in Media. However, Vologases IV's son, Vologases II, succeeded him, and appears to have quickly put down Osroes II, ascending the throne as Vologases V.
## Coinage
On the obverse of his tetradrachms, Vologases IV is portrayed with a domed tiara with a horn on the side. He is also wearing a neck flap covering both of his ears. On the obverse of his drachms, Vologases IV is wearing a tiara without the horn. Vologases IV is the first Parthian monarch to only wear a tiara on his coins. On some of the reverse of Vologases IV's bronze coins, an eagle is depicted, which is associated with the khvarenah, i.e. kingly glory. On the obverse of the coins of the brief ruler of Edessa/Osroene, Wa'el, a portrait of Vologases IV is displayed.
|
35,299,130 |
The North Remembers
| 1,166,292,960 | null |
[
"2012 American television episodes",
"Game of Thrones (season 2) episodes",
"Infanticide",
"Television episodes directed by Alan Taylor (director)",
"Television episodes written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss"
] |
"The North Remembers" is the second season premiere episode of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones. First aired on April 1, 2012, it was written by the show creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by returning director Alan Taylor.
With a war on the horizon, the Seven Kingdoms are witnessing an ever-growing clash of kings. The boy king Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) sits on the Iron Throne guided by cruelty and deceit, while his honorable counterpart Robb Stark (Richard Madden) of the North heads south to avenge his father's death. Meanwhile, the late king Robert Baratheon's estranged brother Stannis (Stephen Dillane) emerges as yet another claimant to the throne. A frantic search for King Robert's bastard sons ensues, while the Queen sets to find the missing Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) in order to retrieve her lover and brother Jaime, now a captive to the Starks. The title refers to Robb Stark vowing revenge against the Lannisters for his father's murder.
"The North Remembers" received universal acclaim from critics, who noted Tyrion Lannister's development as a key player as a highlight of the episode. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 3.86 million in its initial broadcast. The episode introduced a number of new cast members, including Stephen Dillane's Stannis Baratheon, Carice van Houten's Melisandre and Liam Cunningham as "the onion knight" Davos Seaworth. It also featured a number of new locations, both fictional and real, most notably the city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, which served as the capital city of King's Landing. It received a great amount of critical praise, with critics welcoming the new set of characters, which they saw as a great addition. The episode went on to win an American Society of Cinematographers for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in One-Hour Episodic Television Series.
## Plot
### On Dragonstone
From the island of Dragonstone, the late King Robert's brother Stannis Baratheon declares himself rightful heir to the Iron Throne. He sends a message across the Seven Kingdoms that Robert's supposed heirs are the products of incest between Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime. Despite Ser Davos Seaworth's advice, Stannis refuses to ally with King in the North Robb Stark or rival claimant Renly Baratheon.
Fearing the influence that the Red Priestess Melisandre holds over Stannis, Maester Cressen attempts to kill Melisandre in a murder-suicide with poisoned wine, but Melisandre drinks the entire cup unaffected.
### In the Red Waste
With the remnants of Khal Drogo's khalasar, Daenerys Targaryen makes a difficult journey across the Red Waste, and sends three riders to find shelter.
### Beyond The Wall
The Night's Watch ranging party reaches Craster's Keep beyond the Wall. Craster claims that the wildlings' leader Mance Rayder is amassing an army to move south. Lord Commander Jeor Mormont offers leadership advice to Jon Snow.
### At Winterfell
After a prophetic dream, Bran visits the Godswood with Osha. Noticing a red comet, Bran declares it an omen of victory in the war, but Osha insists it means dragons have returned.
### In the Riverlands
Robb informs the captive Jaime of Stannis' letter, surmising that Robb's brother Bran was crippled and his father Ned killed by the orders of Joffrey. Robb sends Jaime's cousin Alton Lannister to King's Landing with terms for peace, including the return of Robb's sisters Sansa and Arya and Ned's remains, and acknowledgement of Northern independence; Theon Greyjoy to ask his father, Lord Balon Greyjoy, for the naval force of the Iron Islands; and his mother Catelyn to negotiate an alliance with Renly's court. Catelyn tells Robb his father would be proud, but warns him not to trust Balon.
### In King's Landing
During combats to celebrate King Joffrey Baratheon, the captive Sansa saves the drunkard Ser Dontos Hollard by convincing Joffrey to make him a fool. Tyrion Lannister, sent as Hand of the King in his father's stead, mocks his sister Cersei for letting Arya escape, having planned to trade the Stark girls for Jaime.
Cersei dismisses Stannis' letter to Joffrey as gossip. The City Watch murders King Robert's bastards, discovering too late that one, Gendry, has already left the city traveling to the Wall. Unbeknownst to the Lannisters, Arya is also with that caravan.
## Production
### Writing
The episode was written by producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on the original work of George R. R. Martin. As the second season covers mostly A Clash of Kings, the second book of the series, the first episode adapts the material from the first chapters of the book including the Prologue, Sansa I, Tyrion I, Bran I, Catelyn I, Davos I, the first half of Daenerys I and Jon III (chapters 1, 3–5, 7, 10, 12, and 23). Two chapters from the beginning of the book had already been included in season 1's finale, while Jon Snow's story is being pushed forward.
### Casting
This episode introduces several prominent characters, most notably Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane), Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham), and Melisandre (Carice van Houten). The three of them represent the head of an entirely new storyline that intertwines with other plotlines as the season progresses. Other recurring characters introduced in this episode are drunken knight Ser Dontos Hollard (Tony Way), the Starks' captive Alton Lannister (Karl Davies), Melisandre's opponent Maester Cressen (Oliver Ford Davies), Davos's son Matthos Seaworth (Kerr Logan), Night's Watch member Dolorous Edd (Ben Crompton), Wildling Craster (Robert Pugh), and his daughter and wife Gilly (Hannah Murray).
The episode also marks the upgrade of several returning characters to the main cast. John Bradley-West returns as Jon Snow's friend Sam Tarly, James Cosmo as the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch Jeor Mormont, Jerome Flynn as Tyrion's cunning servant Bronn, with Sibel Kekilli as Tyrion's concubine Shae, and lastly Conleth Hill as the gossiping eunuch Varys. Peter Dinklage takes the place of Sean Bean as the first credit during the intro sequence. Since Bean's character was killed at the end of last season, Dinklage jokingly wished that he could stay being the lead credit for some time.
### Filming locations
The production continued using the Paint Hall studios as the filming headquarters and the Northern Irish landscapes for many of the exterior shots. The burning of the Seven was filmed at the beach of Downhill Strand, where local press echoed the stir that the filming caused to the small community of Castlerock. Craster's keep beyond the Wall was built in a forest in Clandeboye Estate. David Benioff and D. B. Weiss stated in their audio commentary track that while most scenes set north of the Wall were filmed in Iceland, the Craster's Keep scenes were filmed in Northern Ireland, as the lack of significant tree growth in Iceland prevented them filming forest scenes there. The closing sequence, of a caravan heading north along the Kingsroad, bringing Arya to Winterfell and Robert Baratheon's illegitimate son Gendry and the other passengers onward to Castle Black, was shot at the "Dark Hedges", an avenue of gnarly beech trees near Armoy, County Antrim.
For the exteriors of the capital city of King's Landing, that had been doubled for Malta for the entire season 1, now the production flew to the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. Known as The Pearl of the Adriatic, the city proved to be a good representation of King's Landing since it shared many characteristics with the fictional capital: it had a well-preserved medieval look, with high walls and the sea at its side. According to David Benioff, executive producer of the show, "The minute we started walking around the city walls we knew that was it. You read the descriptions in the book and you come to Dubrovnik and that's what the actual city is. It has the sparkling sea, sun and beautiful architecture."
The first scene of the episode, depicting the celebration of King Joffrey's name day, was filmed on Dubrovnik's Fort Lovrijenac (also called St. Lawrence Fortress). The later debate about the nature of power between Cersei and Littlefinger also takes place in its porch, and in the final montage with the killing of the bastards the Old City of Dubrovnik and its famed walls can be clearly seen.
The scenery in Daenerys's desert scenes was filled in with CGI; however, the production filmed desert scenes in Morocco in Season Three.
## Reception
### Ratings
The viewership of the episode on its premiere airing in the US rose to a new series' top of 3.858 million viewers, with a rating of 2.0 in the relevant 18-49 demographic on HBO. Taking into account the additional airings of the night the number of viewers totaled 6.3 million. In the United Kingdom, the episode was seen by 0.928 million viewers on Sky Atlantic, being the channel's highest-rated broadcast that week.
### Critical reception
The episode received universal critical acclaim. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 28 reviews of the episode and judged 100% of them to be positive, with an average score of 8.6 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "'The North Remembers' underscores Joffrey's capacity for cruelty and Tyrion's development as a key player in a compelling sophomore season opener." Matt Fowler of IGN rated the episode 9 out of 10. The A.V. Club gave it B+. Alan Sepinwall, who reviewed the episode for HitFix, called it "a great beginning. Funny in spots, scary in others, never blinking away from the cruelty of this world and this war."
Andy Greenwald of Grantland praised the episode for its new additions of Dillane and Van Houten, its setup of later episodes, and its themes. "It's also evident that the second year of Thrones, if not the remainder of the series, is about a race to fill what may well be an impossible vacuum. [...] Everything feels thrillingly unsettled, as if the rules are constantly changing and the biggest prize may actually be a booby trap." Luke Broadwater, writing for The Baltimore Sun, enjoyed Tyrion's increased role, referring to him as the new lead of the series after the death of Eddard Stark (Sean Bean). He thought that the episode "excelled in underscoring Joffrey's cruelty...and Tyrion's humor and growth as a character." However, his commentary was not all positive; the reviewer criticized the scene in which Littlefinger threatens Cersei and thought that Maester Cressen should have been kept alive longer. In her recap of the episode, Jenifer D Braun of The Star-Ledger wrote that the episode contained the sex and violence that the show had had in its first season and stated, "Man, I missed this show, didn't you?"
Sarah Hughes of The Guardian was very complimentary towards the episode as a season premiere, remarking that "The season opener deftly covers a huge amount of scene-setting while introducing a host of new characters." In addition, she praised the episode's adaptation of the source novels for including a large number of important scenes and storylines with minimal filler: "this was a leanly written episode, which tackled a huge amount of exposition and scene-setting but never wasted a word." Nina Shen Rastogi, writing for Vulture, thought that the episode served as both a redefinition of the plot and a reintroduction of the first seasons's themes of violence and succession. She wrote, "from the very first scene of last night's season premiere, GoT strove to reassure us that some things would never change." Simon Abrams of Slant Magazine lauded "The North Remembers" as a "thematically focused" episode on the subject of good leadership. He enjoyed how each of the rulers were developed in the premiere and hoped that the rest of the season "can keep up with its premiere's big ideas."
### Accolades
This episode won an American Society of Cinematographers for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in One-Hour Episodic Television Series.
|
2,717,626 |
Chrono (series)
| 1,146,734,938 |
Video game series
|
[
"Chrono (series)",
"Square Enix franchises",
"Video game franchises",
"Video game franchises introduced in 1995"
] |
The Chrono (Japanese: クロノ, Hepburn: Kurono) series is a video game franchise developed and published by Square, and is currently owned by Square Enix. The series began in 1995 with the time travel role-playing video game Chrono Trigger, which spawned two continuations, Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki, and Chrono Cross. A promotional anime called Dimensional Adventure Numa Monjar and two ports of Chrono Trigger were also produced. As of March 31, 2003, Chrono Trigger was Square Enix's 12th best-selling game, with 2.65 million units shipped. Chrono Cross was the 24th, with 1.5 million units shipped. By 2019, the two games had sold over 5.5 million units combined. The games in the series have been called some of the greatest of all time, with most of the praise going towards Chrono Trigger. The series' original soundtracks, composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, have also been praised, with multiple soundtracks being released for them.
## Concept and creation
Chrono Trigger was produced in 1995 by Kazuhiko Aoki and directed by Akihiko Matsui, Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita. The development of the game was dubbed the "Dream Project", because it was headed by a "Dream Team" composed of supervisor Hironobu Sakaguchi, of Final Fantasy fame, as well as freelance supervisor Yuji Horii and character designer Akira Toriyama, both of Dragon Quest fame. Yuuji Horii worked on the general outline of the story; as a fan of time travel fictions, such as the TV series The Time Tunnel, he focused on a theme of time travel for Chrono Trigger. The outline was then finalized by story planner and script writer Masato Kato.
In 1996, Masato Kato and several other members of the Chrono Trigger staff worked on a minor project for the Super Famicom Satellaview extension, titled Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki. Initially, the game was intended to be a short, original text-based adventure developed in three months with almost no planning. Nevertheless, by the end of the development, Masato Kato had connected the game's plot and characters to Chrono Trigger, turning it into a side story. Since the platform of the game was not mainstream, the connections were however left blurred on purpose and were not advertised on the game's release.
In 1999, a continuation of Chrono Trigger, titled Chrono Cross, was announced. Although the "Dream Team" members did not participate in Chrono Cross, the game was developed mostly by the same staff as the first installment. In terms of basic system and gameplay, producer Hiromichi Tanaka made it clear that the new installment was not a sequel to Chrono Trigger; rather, the game designers' approach was to make the "gameplay evolve with the hardware", creating a completely new game while restructuring the former style so as to maximize the performance of the console. The gameplay focuses on the theme of parallel worlds rather than time travel, although the latter is still deeply involved in the game's plot. In terms of storyline, Chrono Cross was described by director and scenario writer Masato Kato as "not a Chrono Trigger 2", but "a result of a pulled trigger", "another Chrono".
## Games
### Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is a role-playing video game which was released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System on March 11, 1995 in Japan and on August 22 in North America. The game's story follows a group of young adventurers led by Crono, who are accidentally transported through time and learn that the world will be destroyed in the distant future. Vowing to prevent this disaster, they travel throughout history to discover the means to save the planet. It is regarded by critics as one of the greatest games of all time. Chrono Trigger was ported to the PlayStation in 1999 as a standalone title in Japan and in 2001 as part of the Final Fantasy Chronicles compilation in North America. An enhanced port was released for the Nintendo DS handheld platform on November 20, 2008. which itself was later released on iOS in 2011, Android in 2012, and on PC via Steam on February 27, 2018.
Additionally, three Chrono Trigger related applications were released for the Super Famicom's Broadcast Satellaview extension the same year: Character Library, a database featuring profiles on characters and monsters from the game, Jet Bike Special, a racing game based on a minigame from the original, and Music Library, a collection of music from the game's soundtrack. The contents of Character Library and Music Library were later included as extras in the PlayStation re-release of Chrono Trigger.
### Radical Dreamers
Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki (literally "The Jewel That Cannot Be Stolen") is a Japanese-exclusive text-based game released in 1996 through the Super Famicom Satellaview extension. The player takes on the role of Serge, a young adventurer accompanied by Kid, a teen-aged thief, and Gil, a mysterious masked magician. It is a side story to Chrono Trigger, wrapping up a loose end from its predecessor's plot.
### Chrono Cross
Chrono Cross was released on the PlayStation on November 18, 1999 in Japan and on August 15, 2000 in North America. The story is partly a remake of Radical Dreamers, and as such replaces it as Chrono Trigger'''s successor. The protagonist Serge, faced with an alternate reality in which he died as a child, struggles to uncover his past and meets Kid, a thief seeking the mysterious Frozen Flame artifact. Serge and Kid's fates are ultimately revealed to find their roots in the events of Chrono Trigger. A remaster, Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition, was released in 2022.
### Chrono Break
Chrono Brake and Chrono Break are the names of two trademarks owned by Square Co.; the first applied in Japan on November 5, 2001, and the second registered in the United States on December 5 of the same year. The registrations were preceded by a press report in which Hironobu Sakaguchi mentioned that the Chrono Cross team was interested in developing a new game in the Chrono series, and that script and story ideas were being considered. However, Square did not publish further news, and the American trademark Chrono Break was eventually dropped on November 13, 2003.
## Dimensional Adventure Numa Monjar
Dimensional Adventure Numa Monjar (時空冒険ヌウマモンジャ~, Jikū Bōken Nūmamonjā, lit. "Time and Space Adventures: Nu-Mamonja") is a 16-minute humoristic and promotional Chrono Trigger anime which was broadcast at the Japanese V-Jump Festival of July 31, 1996. It was created by Production I.G, and written by Hiroshi Izawa and Akihiro Kikuchi, while Itsuro Kawasaki served as director, Tensai Okamura as animation director, and Riho Nishino as character designer.
The anime takes place in the same setting as Chrono Trigger during the night before the beginning of the game's events. It follows two monsters from the game, a Nu and a Mamo (called Kilwala in the English version of the game), voiced by Chafurin and Mayumi Tanaka respectively, through various adventures. These all take place in the "Millennial Fair", the festival at the beginning of Chrono Trigger, which in the anime has been infested by a festive gathering of monsters coming through portals. They meet several characters from the game, including Johnny and Gonzalez (called Gato in the English version of the game). The anime ends with a scene from the following morning after the monsters have all left, in which Crono and Lucca can be seen. The credits show Nu and Mamo parodying scenes from the game.
The anime was followed by a manga series of the same name published in V Jump starting in 1996. The series follows Mamo and Nu, who are joined by Johnny and Spekkio (in the form of a frog), as they continue their adventure through time. They meet various characters from Chrono Trigger along the way, including Masamune, Lavos, Gaspar, Ozzie, Slash and Flea. In 1998, the chapters of the series were released as a tankōbon.
## Music
The music of the Chrono series was mainly composed by Yasunori Mitsuda. Chrono Trigger was the first game for which he had served as composer. After Mitsuda contracted stomach ulcers, Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu was brought onto the project to compose ten songs. At the time of the game's release, the quantity of its tracks and sound effects were unprecedented. Additionally, a one-disc acid jazz arrangement called The Brink of Time was also released. Mitsuda went on to compose the soundtrack for Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki, which was never commercially released as an album.
In 1999, Yasunori Mitsuda, now a freelance composer, returned to score the soundtrack for Chrono Cross after being contacted by Masato Kato. Mitsuda decided to center his work around old world cultural influences, including Mediterranean, Fado, Celtic, and percussive African music. Xenogears contributor Tomohiko Kira played guitar on the beginning and ending themes. Noriko Mitose, as selected by Masato Kato, sang the ending song, "Radical Dreamers \~ Le Trésor Interdit". Mitsuda was happy to accomplish even half of what he envisioned. Certain songs were ported from the score of Radical Dreamers, while other entries in the soundtrack contain leitmotifs from both Chrono Trigger and Radical Dreamers.
In 2006, Mitsuda arranged versions of music from the Chrono series for Play! video game music concerts, presenting the Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross main themes, as well as "Frog's Theme", and "To Far Away Times".
## Reception
The Chrono series has been very successful in game rankings and sales. Chrono Trigger shipped 2.36 million copies in Japan and 290,000 abroad by 2003, reaching two million in sales in only two months. It ended 1995 as the third best-selling game of the year behind Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest in Japan. The game was met with substantial success upon release in North America, and its rerelease on the PlayStation as part of the Final Fantasy Chronicles package topped the NPD TRSTS PlayStation sales charts for over six weeks. The Chrono Trigger DS remake has shipped 490,000 copies in Japan and 220,000 in North America as of December 2008. Chrono Cross also sold well, shipping 850,000 and 650,000 units in Japan and abroad respectively. It was re-released once in the United States as a Greatest Hits title and again as part of the Japanese Ultimate Hits series. Excluding the PC version, Chrono Trigger had shipped over 3.5 million copies worldwide by February 2018. By 2019, Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross had sold over 5.5 million units combined.
Chrono Trigger has placed highly on all six of multimedia website IGN's "top 100 games of all time" lists—4th in 2002, 6th in early 2005, 13th in late 2005, 2nd in 2006, 18th in 2007, and 2nd in 2008. GameSpot included Chrono Trigger in "The Greatest Games of All Time" list released in April 2006, and it also appeared as 28th on an "All Time Top 100" list in a poll conducted by Japanese magazine Famitsu. Nintendo Power's 100th issue placed it eighteenth on their "100 Best Nintendo Games of All Time", and in their twentieth anniversary issue named it the fifth best Super NES game. Chrono Cross was also well-received by reviewers; GameSpot awarded the game a perfect 10, one of only seven games in over 40,000 games listed on Gamespot to have been given the score, and its Console Game of the Year Award for 2000. IGN gave the game a score of 9.7, and Cross appeared 89th in its 2008 Top 100 games list.
The music of the series has been very highly regarded and enjoyed wide popularity. IGN termed the Chrono Trigger soundtrack "one of the best videogame soundtracks ever produced" and said that the music was a large part of the game's ability to "capture the emotions of the player". It furthermore called the soundtrack "some of the most memorable tunes in RPG history". The game itself won the "Best Music in a Cartridge-Based Game" award in Electronic Gaming Monthly's 1995 video game awards. The soundtrack for Chrono Cross'' won the Gold Prize for Sony's PlayStation Awards of 2000. IGN, in their review of the game, termed the soundtrack "a brilliant score" that "does wonders in stirring the emotional strings of the players as they're playing through the game". In a separate piece about Japanese RPG composers, IGN named Yasunori Mitsuda the second best out of ten behind Nobuo Uematsu.
## See also
- List of Square Enix video game franchises
- List of Japanese role-playing game franchises
|
11,548,053 |
Climate of Florida
| 1,170,474,504 |
Climate
|
[
"Climate of Florida",
"Climate of the United States by state"
] |
The climate of the north and central parts of the US state of Florida is humid subtropical. South Florida has a tropical climate. There is a defined rainy season from May through October when air mass thundershowers that build in the heat of the day drop heavy but brief summer rainfall.
In October, the dry season sets in across much of Florida (starting early in the month in northern Florida and near the end of the month in deep southern Florida) and lasts until late April most years. Fronts from mid-latitude storms north of Florida occasionally pass through northern and central parts of the state which bring light and brief winter rainfall. Mid and late winter can become severely dry in Florida. In some years the dry season becomes quite severe and water restrictions are imposed to conserve water. While most areas of Florida do not experience any type of frozen precipitation, northern Florida can see fleeting snow or sleet a few times each decade.
The USDA Hardiness Zones for the state range from Zone 8A (10°F to 15°F) in the extreme northwestern panhandle, to Zone 11B (45°F to 50°F) in the lower Florida Keys.
The Gulf Stream running through the Florida Straits and then north of the Florida East Coast keeps temperatures moderate a few miles inland from around Stuart on the east coast to Ft. Myers on the west side of the state year-round, with few extremes in temperature. The tropical ocean current also provides warm sea surface temperatures, giving Florida beaches the warmest ocean surf waters on the United States mainland. Florida's geography also makes it vulnerable to the effects of climate change, both in the intensification of extreme weather such as intensified hurricanes as well as coastal flooding and other effects of sea level rise.
## Pressure
The low pressure measured from an extratropical cyclone was 28.84 inches/976.7 hPa during the Storm of the Century (1993). From a tropical cyclone, the lowest pressure measured was 26.35 inches/892 hPa in the Florida Keys during the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. The highest known pressure measured statewide was 30.74 inches/1041.1 hPa in Tallahassee on February 5, 1996, and January 4, 1979.
## Wind
Over the winter prevailing winds are out of the north across the panhandle south to near Orlando, but are variable in the rest of the state. The summer season sees generally east and southeast winds across the peninsula. During the summer months, the average wind pattern implies a surface ridge axis which normally lies across central Florida, with easterly winds from Tampa southward and southwest winds across northern Florida. The peak wind gust during the 1930 through 1997 period was 115 miles per hour (100 kn) at Miami International Airport during Hurricane Andrew.
### African dust outbreaks
In July the trade winds south of the northward-moving subtropical ridge expand northwestward into Florida. On occasion, dust from the Sahara moving around the southern periphery of the ridge moves into the state, suppressing rainfall and changing the sky from a blue to a white appearance and leading to an increase in red sunsets. Its presence negatively impacts air quality across the Southeastern United States during the summer, by adding to the count of airborne particulates. This is in sharp contrast to the normally clean air over Florida and the southeastern USA, which on average is the cleanest air in the USA. Over 50% of the African dust that reaches the United States affects Florida. Since 1970, dust outbreaks have worsened due to periods of drought in Africa. There is a large variability in the dust transport to the Caribbean and Florida from year to year. Dust events are possibly linked to a decline in the health of coral reefs across the Caribbean and Florida, primarily since the 1970s.
### Winter
On average, Florida has the mildest winters in the Continental United States. Average lows range from 65 °F (18 °C) in Key West to nearly 41 °F (5 °C) degrees at Tallahassee, while daytime highs range from 62 °F (17 °C) at Tallahassee to 77 °F (25 °C) at Miami. Predominant tropical easterly winds across central and southern Florida keep temperatures warm during the winter. Occasional strong cold fronts move southward down the peninsula with freezing or near-freezing temperatures on a few nights into inland areas of central Florida every few years. A few times each decade Miami might see a winter nightfall below 45 °F (7 °C). El Niño winters tend to be cooler due to increased cloud cover, but tend to have fewer freezes.
Four hardiness zones exist. USDA zone 11b with average extreme annual lows between 45 and 50 °F (7 and 10 °C) is found from Key West to Marathon and 11a, 40 to 45 °F (4 to 7 °C), in the remaining keys, Miami Beach, and some of downtown Miami. Zone 10b is found in coastal South Florida and much of the Everglades where annual extreme low temperatures range from 35 to 40 °F (2 to 4 °C). Zone 10a, 30 to 35 °F (−1 to 2 °C) is found in the rest of South Florida, and in certain coastal regions as far north as St.Petersburg on the west coast and roughly Vero Beach on the east coast mainland. Next is zone 9b, 25 to 30 °F (−4 to −1 °C), across interior central Florida, changing over to 9a, 20 to 25 °F (−7 to −4 °C), just north of Orlando. The coolest, zone 8b, is located in northwestern Florida from roughly Gainesville and northwest including Tallahassee. Low temperatures range from 15 to 20 °F (−9 to −7 °C). Formerly, there existed a very small isolated area near the Georgia border north of Crestview classified as zone 8a with extreme low averages of around 14.9 °F (−9.5 °C).
Florida has experienced 12 major freezes. This includes four "impact" freezes, sufficiently severe to kill entire groves of citrus trees, resulting in a noticeable economic effect on citrus growers, prompting them to shift groves further southward. These impact freezes are indicated by asterisks in the following: Great Freeze of 1894-5\*, February 13–14, 1899, February 2–6, 1917, December 12–13, 1934, January 1940, December 12–13, 1957, December 12–13, 1962\*, January 18–20, 1977, January 12–14, 1981, December 24–25, 1983\*, January 20–22, 1985, and December 22–26, 1989\*.
Despite being the mildest on average, the winter climate was a crucial contributing factor of the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986, in which overnight temperatures at Titusville, adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center, had dropped as low as 24 °F (−4 °C) and were still below freezing at 28.0 to 28.9 °F (−2.2 to −1.7 °C) on launch day. The severe cold had caused the O-Rings on the right-side SRB to crack as they only had a redline tolerance of 39 °F (4 °C).
### Summer
During the summer, average high temperatures range from near 95 °F (35 °C) in northern Florida to near 90 °F (32 °C) in the Keys. Maximum temperatures during the summer average in the higher 90s Fahrenheit statewide. Heat indexes can easily reach 103°F–110°F. Relief from the heat during the summer comes in the form of afternoon and evening thunderstorm activity, late morning and afternoon sea breezes off the relatively cooler ocean, and during the passage of a tropical cyclone. The record high temperature for the state is 109 °F (43 °C) at Monticello in 1931.
## Fog
Like the remainder of the Southeastern United States, Florida has a winter maximum in dense fog conditions. Unlike the remainder of the region, the maximum in Florida contains roughly half of the annual occurrences per year, on average. Its summer minimum is less than the remainder of the Southeast. The annual number of heavy fog days (with visibility of .25 miles (0.40 km) or less) has ranged from 50 in Tallahassee, to 1 in Key West, the least foggy region in the state. The two types of fog that are most common in Florida are advection and radiational. Fog can be hazardous to early morning commuters. On January 9, 2008, when fog on Interstate 4 combined with smoke from a nearby fire, visibility was reduced to nearly zero. As a result, five individuals died in a 70-car pileup.
## Precipitation
### Averages
Statewide, the highest rainfall amounts occur during the summer months. In northern Florida, there is a weak winter secondary maximum while statewide the driest months of the year are during the spring. During El Niño, Florida sees greater rainfall between November and March. Due to the lack of the secondary maximum across the peninsula, a distinct dry season is seen in the averages from winter through spring. This dry season provokes brush fires annually as temperatures rise during the late spring, before they fade during early June as the rainy season gets underway.
### Extremes
The heaviest rainfall to occur in 24 hours was measured in Yankeetown during Hurricane Easy (1950), 38.70 inches (983 mm). This is also the highest known point storm total maximum related to any tropical cyclone which has impacted Florida, and by itself would be the highest known rainfall total for any month from any location within Florida. This rainfall amount remained the national 24-hour rainfall record until Tropical Storm Claudette (1979). Heavy rainfall events have fallen due to stalled fronts near the state as well, and occur during the March through May and October through November timeframe.
The wettest month recorded at a Florida climate station was during May 1891 when Gainesville, Florida received 30.90 inches (785 mm). The wettest year on record for a Florida climate station was during 1879 when 127.24 inches (3,232 mm) fell at Pensacola, Florida. The driest year for a climate station statewide was during 1974 when only 19.99 inches (508 mm) fell at Key West.
One of the worst years for wildfires was in 1998, at the end of an El Nino cycle. 480 wildfires consumed 500,000 acres (2,000 km<sup>2</sup>) statewide. In 2010, the National Weather Service issued more fire alerts in Florida than anywhere else in the nation.
A statewide drought began in November 2005, one month after Hurricane Wilma's passage through the state, and persisted until 2009. The previous significant drought occurred in 2000, which was the state's driest year on record.
### Snowfall
Snowfall is rare in Florida. The earliest recorded occurrence of snow or sleet occurred in 1774 in the far northern portion of the state. The latest occurrence of snow or sleet fell on January 16, 2022 as a winter storm brought snow flurries into Crestview and northern portions of the state.
The state record for snowfall is 5 inches (13 cm), set in northern Florida during January 1800, though some debate exists about the accuracy. The earliest in the season that frozen precipitation has fallen was during the Late November 2006 Nor'easter on November 21 across central Florida. The latest in the season that snow or sleet has fallen was on April 8, 2007. Snow flurries have been reported in the air (not on the ground) as far south as Homestead, during a January 19, 1977 event.
## Thunderstorms
Florida reports more thunderstorms than any other US state. Some places report in excess of 90 thunderstorm days per year, making Florida one of the most thundery regions outside of the tropics. Florida receives the highest density of lightning strikes within the United States. Several deaths per year are blamed on lightning, making lightning one of the deadliest weather-related phenomenon in the state. However, since 1992, the number of lightning deaths has been slowly dropping despite a rising population, suggesting that lightning awareness programs are effective. The most likely targets of lightning strikes are construction workers and others who work outside, though 12 percent of the cases occurred indoors to people using electronic devices. Severe thunderstorms can sometimes produce hail, very strong straight line winds and tornadoes. Very heavy rainfall from thunderstorms can result in flash flooding. Thunderstorms occur most often during the summer but can occur at any time of the year.
### Tornadoes
There are more tornadoes per square mile in Florida than any other state. However, these tornadoes tend to be much weaker and short-lived than in other states like the Midwest or Deep South. Strong tornadoes do occasionally form in Florida, usually in conjunction with a cold frontal passage in the winter or spring. A total of 42 people died in February 1998 from the deadliest such tornado outbreak in Central Florida, which occurred during the nighttime hours.
While tornadoes in the Midwest are more severe, a higher rate of deaths are experienced in Florida, and Brevard County, specifically, due to higher population density and quantity of manufactured homes.
## Tropical cyclones
The earliest in the year a tropical cyclone has struck the sunshine state was the Groundhog Day Tropical Storm in 1952. The latest impact was from a hurricane which struck near Tampa on December 1, 1925. The strongest hurricane to strike Florida was the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. Hurricane Easy in 1950 produced the wettest known point total from any tropical cyclone. The record number of hurricane strikes on the state in one season is four in 2004. Hurricanes typically spawn tornadoes within their northeast quadrant.
Tropical cyclones have affected Florida in every month of the year but March. Nearly one-third of the cyclones affected the state in September, and nearly three-fourths of the storms affected the state between August and October, which coincides with the peak of the hurricane season. Portions of the coastline have the lowest return period, or the frequency at which a certain intensity or category of hurricane can be expected within 86 miles (138 km) of a given location, in the country. Monroe County was struck by 26 hurricanes since 1926, which is the greatest total for any county in the United States.
## Effect of climate cycles
El Niño has the following effects on Florida climate: above average rainfall in the spring. This is followed by wildfire threat when rain dries up. Northern Florida is more susceptible to severe weather; below normal temperatures, increased number of low pressure systems in the Gulf of Mexico during the winter, and "almost always" reduces the frequency of storms and hurricanes.
La Niña has the following effects: often dry conditions prevail in late fall, winter and early spring, increased risk of wildfires in spring and summer months, the temperatures average slightly above normal, and the chance of hurricane activity increases substantially.
Long term forecasts are made based on these effects. However, they are easily overridden, in winter, by the Arctic oscillation and North Atlantic oscillations, which can only be predicted about two weeks in advance. These can drop the temperature noticeably from seasonal norms.
## Climates of selected Florida cities
The climate regime for much of the state is humid subtropical (Köppen Cfa), though the Gold Coast of southeast Florida, as well as all of the Florida Keys, qualify as tropical wet-and-dry (Köppen Aw). Florida counties with tropical climates include Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Lee, Collier, and Monroe counties. A narrow eastern part of the state including Orlando and Jacksonville receives between 2,400 and 2,800 hours of sunshine annually. The rest of the state, including Miami, receives between 2,800 and 3,200 hours annually.
## See also
- Climate change in Florida
- Climate
- Climatology
- List of wettest known tropical cyclones in Florida
- Climate of Miami
- Climate of the Tampa Bay Area
|
1,414,613 |
Dragon Quest VIII
| 1,169,055,805 |
2004 video game
|
[
"2004 video games",
"Android (operating system) games",
"Dragon Quest video games",
"IOS games",
"Japan Game Awards' Game of the Year winners",
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"Level-5 (company) games",
"Nintendo 3DS eShop games",
"Nintendo 3DS games",
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"Single-player video games",
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"Turn-based role-playing video games",
"Video game sequels",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Video games scored by Koichi Sugiyama",
"Video games with cel-shaded animation"
] |
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King is a role-playing video game developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. It was released in Japan in 2004, in North America in 2005 and PAL regions in 2006, making it the first main series installment released in the PAL region. It is the eighth installment of the Dragon Quest series and it is the first English version of a Dragon Quest game to drop the Dragon Warrior title. A version of the game for Android and iOS was released in Japan in December 2013, and worldwide in May 2014.
Dragon Quest VIII uses cel shading for the characters and scenery and is the first game in the series to have fully 3D environments and character models. The game retains most of the series' role-playing game elements, such as turn-based combat and the experience level system. Dragon Quest VIII follows the silent protagonist and his party of allies as they journey towards the goal of defeating the wicked Dhoulmagus, who cursed the kingdom of Trodain and its people. Dragon Quest VIII was a critical and commercial success, later being released under the Sony Greatest Hits brand.
## Gameplay
In Dragon Quest VIII, the player controls the Hero in a fully three-dimensional environment. Players are able to pan the camera a full 360 degrees around the character, as well as look in a first-person perspective mode. The visual controls allow players to examine people and objects more closely than the top-down perspective of the game's predecessors. With a new fully integrated world, towns and dungeons are no longer identified by two-dimensional icons found on the world maps. Players can guide the Hero across vast landscapes to reach full-size towns and buildings.
Battles are randomly occurring and turn-based. When encountering an enemy, the game switches to a battle scene with the enemies facing the party where characters from both sides take turns attacking each other. These battle scenes have visually changed dramatically from earlier games in the series, yet retain a similar text based menu system for battles. In the earlier games, battles were shown from a first-person perspective. For this installment, the battles are shown in a first-person perspective while choosing what to do, but the view then shifts to a third-person perspective with all of the members of the Hero's party shown on the screen along with the enemies. During battle, each character in the party has the ability to attack, use items, or use magic and skills. Dragon Quest VIII also introduced the tension system, which allows the player to choose the "Psyche Up" command for a character during battle. This command allows the player to skip a character's turn in order to build "tension", making that character's next attack stronger. By using it multiple times in succession, the character's attack will do more damage. Another new feature, the Alchemy Pot allows players to mix items in order to create new, stronger items. This can be done while walking on the world map. There is also a monster capturing feature, but it is not as fundamental to the gameplay as it was in Dragon Quest V. The player may find enemies visible on the world map that can be recruited if defeated and used during the Monster Arena mini-game and during battle.
Through the traditional experience point system, characters advance through experience levels and develop their abilities, similar to previous games in the series. Defeating enemies grants experience points and gold to the party, which allows the player to purchase items and weapons at in-game shops. In addition to this, Level-5 incorporated a secondary skill development system to allow players a chance to customize each character to their liking. After characters gain an experience level past level four, they accrue skill points distributed as the player chooses among five different skills—three different weapon skills (which vary from character to character), "fisticuffs", and a character-specific special attribute. Gaining enough points in a skill can allow the character to gain strength in weapons and learn new abilities and magic spells.
## Synopsis
### Plot
The game begins with the court jester of the kingdom of Trodain, Dhoulmagus, stealing an ancient scepter and casting a spell on Trodain castle. The spell turns the king, King Trode, into a troll; the princess, Medea, into a horse; and the rest of the castle's inhabitants into plants. The only one left unaffected is the unnamed protagonist, a Trodain guard. The guard, King Trode, and Princess Medea set out on a quest to track down Dhoulmagus and break the spell. They are joined by Yangus, a bandit whose life the hero saves from a collapsing bridge; Jessica, a mage seeking to avenge her brother; and Angelo, a Templar Knight with a penchant for flirting and gambling. Tracking Dhoulmagus' murderous path, the party journeys west, across the ocean. Eventually, the group hunts down Dhoulmagus and kills him, but Dhoulmagus' death fails to break the spell. Jessica claims Dhoulmagus' scepter, and soon after disappears.
Jessica later returns, possessed by the staff and battles the remaining party members in an attempt to murder a young man. After the party releases Jessica from her possession, Jessica tells them that the scepter contains the spirit of Rhapthorne, the Lord of Darkness, who was imprisoned in the scepter long ago by seven sages. He seeks to escape from his prison by killing the descendants of the sages. She proceeds to speculate that it is Rhapthorne, and not Dhoulmagus, who maintains the curse on Trodain: therefore, Rhapthorne must be defeated if the curse is to be broken. When Jessica explains this, the scepter takes control of a magician's dog, Sir Leopold, and kills the magician's assistant, who was one of the descendants of the sages. The party attempts to seek out and defend the remaining descendants, but Leopold manages to murder another descendant of the sages. Eventually, the scepter comes into the possession of Marcello, Angelo's power hungry half-brother. Marcello kills the last remaining descendant of the sages, but manages to contain Rhapthorne for a time. Eventually, the party engages Marcello and exhaust him to the point of losing control and releasing Rhapthorne. The party, aided by the godbird Empyrea, faces Rhapthorne and defeats him. With Rhapthorne dead, King Trode, Princess Medea, and the people of Trodain are returned to normal. Months later, the protagonist escorts Medea to Savella Cathedral for her arranged marriage to the spoiled Prince Charmles of Argonia, but before the ceremony can take place, the protagonist and Medea escape from Savella Cathedral and live happily together. In an unlockable extended ending, it is discovered that the protagonist is the lost prince of Argonia, and upon this revelation, the King of Argonia decides to allow the protagonist to marry Medea. In the 3DS version, the player can choose to instead begin a romance with Jessica. In the traditional ending the hero goes traveling the world with Jessica while in the unlockable ending the hero can choose to marry Jessica instead of Medea.
### Characters
Dragon Quest VIII focuses on four main characters, each joining the battle party early in the game. The main protagonist of the game, an eighteen-year-old royal guard of Trodain and the only person present in the castle to escape Dhoulmagus' wrath unscathed, is a silent hero, and named by the player. He is the most balanced party member, able to equip swords, spears, boomerangs and use magic. He is immune to all curses. His special attribute is courage. He is accompanied by Yangus, a former thief and friend of the Hero's who owes the Hero a life debt after the Hero rescues him from the side of a cliff. Yangus is a physically strong character and speaks with a Cockney accent in the English versions, and wields axes, clubs, and scythes. His special attribute is humanity. Jessica Albert, the only woman to join the party, is a sorceress from the town of Alexandria who seeks to avenge her murdered brother, Alistair. She uses magic but can also equip whips and knives, and she can stun enemies with her special attribute Sex Appeal skills. She is also the only character who can change her appearance in battle through various costumes, with the exception of one costume for the Hero. Angelo is a womanizing noble who was raised in a monastery following both his parents' deaths by a plague. He is a member of the Knights Templar and decides to battle against Dhoulmagus when the villain sets fire to his abbey and kills the abbot. In battle, he can use both magic and physical attacks effectively and has the most healing spells. He can wield swords, bows, or staffs. His special attribute is charisma.
Two non-player characters journey with the protagonists: Trode, the titular cursed king who rules over Trodain but was transformed into a toad-like creature by Dhoulmagus; and Medea, Trode's daughter, who is the same age as the Hero. Medea was transformed into a horse by Dhoulmagus and has a romantic interest in the Hero. Munchie, the Hero's pet mouse, becomes temporarily playable under certain circumstances. Other important non-player characters include Empyrea, a powerful god-like bird; Marcello, Angelo's illegitimate half-brother and the Captain of the Templars; Red, a female bandit and former colleague of Yangus' with whom she shares a rivalry; and Morrie, the proprietor of an underground monster-fighting arena. The antagonist of Dragon Quest VIII is Dhoulmagus, a jester who steals an ancient scepter from Trodain Castle and uses its power to curse the inhabitants of the castle, setting the game's events in motion. He proceeds to embark on a murder spree as the protagonists chase him. Dhoulmagus is eventually revealed to be a pawn of Rhapthorne, a demonic lord and the game's true antagonist, who is manipulating the jester in an attempt to free himself from the scepter inside of which he has been imprisoned.
## Development and release
Like the other games in the series, Yuji Horii was staffed as the scenario director. Critics praised the colorful designs done by art designer Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball fame. Koichi Sugiyama composed the music for the game. Dragon Quest VIII was released in Japan on the morning of November 27, 2004, with a celebration at Starbucks in Shibuya, Tokyo, starting at 6:30 am. Horii and Square Enix President Yoichi Wada both made appearances at the event, and several of the first buyers in line received a toy Slime.
From August through October before the game's US release, the "Simon dTOUR Live" Mall Tour featured playable demos at participating malls across the US. These free events gave away Dragon Quest merchandise and also featured live entertainment. A demo disc for Dragon Quest VIII was also released during the fall of 2005 through Shonen Jump magazine. The game was released in North America on November 15, 2005, and shipped with a playable Final Fantasy XII demo disc. Additions and changes to the North American version of Dragon Quest VIII included voice acting, new animations, enhanced music and sound effects, additional spells and attacks, and a new menu interface. In a Nintendo Direct in November 2015, it was shown that the game would be releasing for the 3DS in 2016.
Dragon Quest VIII was the first game in the series to bear the Dragon Quest name (rather than Dragon Warrior) in North America. Dragon Quest'''s North American name had been changed due to a trademark conflict with the pen-and-paper role-playing game DragonQuest, published by wargame publisher Simulation Publications in the 1980s, until the company's bankruptcy in 1982 and purchase by TSR, Inc., which then published it as an alternate line to Dungeons & Dragons until 1987. In 2003, Square Enix registered the Dragon Quest trademark in the US, making the Dragon Warrior name obsolete. As this installment of the series was the first after 2003 to be released outside Japan, it was the first to receive the Quest in its title.
Unlike the original Japanese version, the North American and European localizations of the game mark a departure from previous Dragon Quest titles due to the inclusion of voice acting in certain parts of the adventure pertaining to the advancement of the storyline. The game retains the series' tradition of allowing the player to name the lead character, reconciling the two by having the voice acting script skip incidences of the Hero's name, (e.g. the line "Okay, Hero, my boy..." appears on-screen, while the voice acting says, "Okay, my boy...") and occasionally replacing the name with Yangus' nickname for him, "guv" (as in "governor", pronounced with a Cockney accent). Unlike some earlier games in the series, which were censored during localization for North America, Dragon Quest VIII had no such censorship. The English translation is credited to Plus Alpha Translations and AltJapan Co., Ltd. Richard Honeywood, of Square Enix's localization office and famous for his work with Final Fantasy VIII and Chocobo Racing, was the main force behind the game's English localization. The iOS and Android version removed the voice acting, akin to the original Japanese PS2 version due to hardware limitations at the time.
Dragon Quest VIII was released in PAL regions in April 2006 under the title Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King, dropping the Roman numeral. This marked the first time a main game in the series had been released in the PAL region. In an interview with Horii, he mentioned that the 2003 merger between Squaresoft and Enix (creating Square Enix) allowed the company to release more games in more localities, with producer Ryutaro Ichimura adding that "European tastes have changed because of the influence of anime and cartoons, so Europeans are more willing to receive this type of artwork."
### Music
As with most Dragon Quest games, Koichi Sugiyama wrote the game's original score. An official soundtrack for Dragon Quest VIII was released in December 2005, published by Aniplex. In the Japanese release of the game, the game features sequenced music, whereas the North American and PAL versions contained the symphonic suite orchestral recordings performed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, with Sugiyama serving as the conductor. The 3DS versions swaps the soundtracks with the Japanese version using the symphonic suite orchestral recordings, while the North American and PAL versions use the sequenced music, which was entirely remastered, other than the original sequenced music in the Japanese PS2 version. The iOS and Android version uses the sequenced music from the Japanese PS2 version.
## Reception
Released for the PlayStation 2 on November 27, 2004, in Japan, Dragon Quest VIII sold 2,167,072 units in two days, 3 million in three days, and more than 3 million within a week, becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation 2 title in Japan. By September 2008, total worldwide shipments of Dragon Quest VIII surpassed 4.9 million copies, of which over 430,000 were from the North American release. Dragon Quest VIII is the biggest selling game ever for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. It was the first Dragon Quest game to receive a score of 39 out of 40 from Famitsu. It won both 1UP.com's and GameSpy's "Best RPG of E3 2005" award, ahead of runner-up Kingdom Hearts II. During the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now known as the D.I.C.E. Awards), Dragon Quest VIII received a nomination for Role-Playing Game of the Year. The iOS version became the 2nd top-seller of Japan AppStore in the debut half day, highlighting the influence of the series. The Nintendo 3DS version was nominated for "Handheld/Mobile Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards, for "Best Portable Game" at Destructoid's Game of the Year Awards 2017, and for "Handheld Game of the Year" at the 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their "Best JRPGs of All Time" list.
The US release of Dragon Quest VIII received mostly positive reviews, receiving a score of 89 out of 100 on Metacritic. Critics were quick to praise the 3D cel shaded visuals, noting that it was the first game in the series to be fully three-dimensional. A staple of the Dragon Quest series is the simplicity of its gameplay, a factor which has been criticized in the past. However, several critics pointed out that the simple gameplay works for Dragon Quest VIII. Bethany Massimilla of GameSpot wrote that the lack of "dozens of characters of all types" allows the game to remain simple, letting the player become very familiar with the main characters. Edge magazine, however, commented that the game's substance seemed out of place for 2005.
A majority of reviewers cited the English localization of the game as one of its best qualities. Nich Maragos of 1UP.com praised the game's British tinted localization, saying how the humor is often successful except for "a few puns that will, on occasion, make you want to die." Parkin described the voice acting as "a mash up of Monty Python and The Princess Bride: fantasy farce driving the cute narrative in the ideal aural vehicle." The game's world map has also been a major topic of praise for critics. The 1UP.com staff suggested that the player stop playing "to just look around and absorb the scenery" and said that it rivals Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' map of San Andreas in size and detail. IGN writer Jeremy Dunham wrote that the "only exception in the game's mass list of progression is the plotline," explaining that it has one of the more basic Dragon Quest stories; but he also mentions that the game still manages to take a simple plot and make it entertaining.
## Legacy
Characters from the game have made appearances in other Square Enix properties. Jessica and Yangus are playable characters in Dragon Quest Heroes. In the sequel Dragon Quest Heroes II, Jessica is instead accompanied by Angelo. Dragon Quest Yangus, a roguelike Mystery Dungeon game by Cavia for the PlayStation 2, follows the storyline of a young Yangus. It was released in Japan in 2006. Jessica, Angelo, and Yangus also appear opposite other Dragon Quest characters, as well as Final Fantasy and Mario characters in titles of the Itadaki Street franchise, a cross-over board game spanning multiple platforms. Appearances include Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable for the PlayStation Portable, Itadaki Street DS for the Nintendo DS and Itadaki Street Wii/Fortune Street, an enhanced remake of Itadaki Street DS for the Wii. Dragon Quest VIII characters also make appearances in Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies: Jessica, Angelo, and King Trode appear as special WI FI guests in the Quester's Rest inn in Stornway, Dhoulmagus and Rhapthorne appear as optional legacy bosses, and the player can acquire a "Trodain Royal Guard" costume to dress as VIII's Hero.
The protagonist also appears as a playable character in the 2018 crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He is one of four Dragon Quest protagonists that collectively share a moveset and the moniker of "Hero". To further differentiate him from the other protagonists, he is referred to by the name "Eight". He was specifically included due to Dragon Quest VIII'' being the most popular entry outside of Japan. He was voiced in by Yūki Kaji in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
|
43,004,293 |
Primary Colours (Eddy Current Suppression Ring album)
| 1,148,321,243 | null |
[
"2008 albums",
"Eddy Current Suppression Ring albums",
"Goner Records albums"
] |
Primary Colours is the second album by Australian garage punk band Eddy Current Suppression Ring. The album was recorded in a suburb of Melbourne over a 24-hour period in August 2007. The album was first released on Aarght! Records in Australia only on 5 May 2008, then on 9 September 2008 on Goner Records in the United States, and finally in the United Kingdom on Melodic Records on 17 August 2009. "Which Way to Go" was the only single released from Primary Colours.
At the J Awards of 2008, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.
Primary Colours peaked at No. 13 on the ARIA Hitseekers Chart in June 2008. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the album's minimalistic sound and warm, personable lyrics. It won the Australian Music Prize in 2008, and was nominated for the ARIA Award that same year for best rock album, but lost to The Living End's entry, White Noise.
## Background and recording
Eddy Current Suppression Ring formed in 2004, as a group of friends writing and performing songs together for fun. They decided to keep making their music when they discovered that other people liked it. The band recorded their first song as a trio, at a vinyl pressing plant where Eddy Current (real name Mikey Young) was working at the time. After they took a liking to the resulting song, they recruited Rob Solid (real name Brad Barry) to play bass guitar. The group recorded their debut self-titled album in four hours in a rehearsal studio, and released it in 2006 on the Australian label Dropkick Records.
They recorded Primary Colours over the night of 3 August 2007 and part of the following day, in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra on an 8-track, a form of multi-track recording. The process of recording it took 24 hours and cost \$1500. The day after recording finished, the band and their engineer, Lachlan Wooden, added overdubs to the ten tracks. After recording, Eddy Current Suppression Ring toured the US for three weeks, after which Eddy Current, the band's guitarist, mixed the album during November and December 2007. The four members self-produced Primary Colours.
Eddy Current Suppression Ring's lead singer, Brendan Suppression (real name Brendan Huntley), explained the choice of Primary Colours as its title, saying that the band chose it because they "believe...that something beautiful can be made through simple colours or notes or lyrics". In an interview with The Age, Suppression also said that Primary Colours's title refers to the way that everything is made up of a combination of simple things, as all colours are made by combining primary colours.
Primary Colours was originally released in Australia on 5 May 2008 on Eddy Current Suppression Ring's own label, Aarght! Records, before being issued on 9 September 2008 in the United States on Goner Records. In Australia it was distributed by Shock Records. "Which Way to Go" was released as the only single. The following year, on 17 August, Primary Colours was re-released on Melodic Records in the United Kingdom, in conjunction with the band's eponymous debut album. On this release, the album's title was stylised with a "+" symbol at the end, with Primary Colours denoted as "CD1". Primary Colours was originally presented in one of three different album covers – one red, one yellow, and one blue.
## Music and lyrics
The lyrics on Primary Colours often focus on mundane topics pertaining to the lives of ordinary people, including watching TV and eating ice cream, while its music often features shredding power chords. According to The Washington Post's Chris Richards, the music represents a new, gentler type of punk rock in the vein of No Age and Abe Vigoda. Richards also wrote that Suppression "[keeps] these upbeat rock tunes from becoming too saccharine with a nervy delivery that's part David Byrne, part Iggy Pop". A similar sentiment was expressed by David Bevan of Pitchfork Media, who wrote "there's a softening of edges taking place throughout, a band testing limits after having already refined them". He also described it as an "artfully polished extension of its predecessor". Current described the album as "a bit more '82ish than the '76ish sound of our first LP, slightly less frantic and maybe a bit more palatable".
The album's opening track, "Memory Lane", begins with guitar chopping described by Emily Mackay as "Stones-meets-Stooges rifforama". The second track on the album, "Sunday's Coming," is an "all-out skronkfest" featuring "whiplash guitars" and "so-nonchalant-they’re-muffled vocals". "Wrapped Up" contains "ribbons of guitar melody" matched with an "equally warm refrain". "Colour Television" consists of "five minutes of unhurried, snaky buildups" resembling the sound of The Pixies and Future of the Left. "That's Inside of Me" is a "Feelies-esque instrumental" with a "herky-jerky funk groove". The "glumly confessional" "I Admit My Faults" focuses on the same mood for its entire duration. "Which Way to Go", the album's single, begins with heavy riffage, then segues to the verse, then the chorus, then repeats from the beginning. The song's "sharp riffs, fiery speak-sing vocals and constant forward momentum" exemplify the band's typical sound. "You Let Me Be Honest with You" is centred on a lead guitar solo from Current. "We'll Be Turned On" sees Eddy Current Suppression Ring using an organ, and Suppression making an especially "goofy turn". "I Don't Wanna Play No More" features a single-note piano riff that recalls "I Wanna Be Your Dog".
## Reception
Primary Colours received generally positive critical reception, so much so that Eddy Current Suppression Ring's front man, Current, remarked that it was "weird" because he didn't "know if anyone's said a bad word about it". Bevan awarded Primary Colours a rating of 8.2 out of 10. Robert Christgau gave the album a rating of A−, which, according to him, corresponds to "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction". He also wrote that they do "the same thing punk bands have always done" and described the album as a "recurring miracle." Chris Richards compared the album to many early punk and post-punk bands such as "a breezier Stooges" or "The Fall with less squall". He concluded that the album was "the most righteous rock-and-roll moment of 2008". A more mixed review written by Emily Mackay awarded Primary Colours a rating of 7 out of 10 and criticised it for its lack of originality.
Many critics also praised Current's guitar work on the album, with Richards writing that his riffs "come ripping from his amplifier like sunbeams through a smog of distortion". Writing for Spin, Chuck Eddy wrote that Current's guitar chords "soar Byrds-like or surf Ventures-like out of melodic stomps that seem basic, but aren't". K. Ross Hoffman, writing for Allmusic, praised the song "Wrapped Up" for its "strong, slinky riff", while Bevan praised it for the way it "runs along some really beautiful ribbons of guitar melody".
### Accolades and commercial performance
On 20 March 2009, Primary Colours won the \$30,000 Australian Music Prize for the previous year, defeating eight other nominees, including Cut Copy and the Presets. Eddy Current Suppression Ring told Triple J that they didn't expect their recording plans to change significantly as a result of the win, but that they might be able to do them more quickly. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2008, it was nominated in the category "Best Rock Album", but lost to The Living End's entry, White Noise. Current described this nomination as "nice, but mainly hilarious".
Primary Colours was featured on several critics' year-end lists, including the 2008 Pazz & Jop (No. 73), the Washington Post's David Malitz's top 10 albums of 2008 (No. 5), and The Guardian's 2009 critics' poll (No. 28). Primary Colours peaked at No. 13 on the ARIA Hitseekers Chart on 2 June 2008.
## Track listing
## Personnel
- Brendan Suppression (real name Brendan Huntley) – vocals
- Eddy Current (real name Mikey Young) – guitar, keyboards, mixing, tambourine
- Danny Current (real name Danny Young) – drums
- Rob Solid (real name Brad Barry) – bass guitar
- Joseph Carra – mastering
- Lachlan Wooden – engineer
- Eddy Current Suppression Ring – producer
|
986,880 |
Hurricane Janet
| 1,171,664,096 |
Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 1955
|
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Hurricane Janet was the most powerful tropical cyclone of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Janet was also the first named storm to have 1,000 deaths and the first Category 5 storm name to be retired. The eleventh tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and fourth major hurricane of the year, Janet formed from a tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles on September 21. Moving westward across the Caribbean Sea, Janet fluctuated in intensity, but generally strengthened before reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 175 mph (282 km/h). The intense hurricane later made landfall at that intensity near Chetumal, Mexico on September 28. After weakening over the Yucatán Peninsula, it moved into the Bay of Campeche, where it slightly strengthened before making its final landfall near Veracruz on September 29. Janet quickly weakened over Mexico's mountainous terrain before dissipating on September 30.
In its developmental stages, Janet caused \$7.8 million in damage to the Lesser Antilles and 189 deaths in the Grenadines and Barbados. While Janet was in the central Caribbean Sea, a reconnaissance aircraft flew into the storm and was lost with all hands. This remains the only such loss which has occurred in association with an Atlantic hurricane. A Category 5 upon landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula, Janet caused severe devastation in areas of Quintana Roo and British Honduras. Only five buildings in Chetumal, Mexico remained intact after the storm, and an estimated 500 deaths occurred in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. At Janet's second landfall near Veracruz, significant river flooding ensued, worsening effects caused by Hurricanes Gladys and Hilda earlier in the month. The floods left thousands of people stranded and killed at least 326 people in the Tampico area, leading to the largest Mexican relief operation ever executed by the United States.
Janet's landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on the Yucatán Peninsula was the first recorded instance of a storm of such intensity in the Atlantic making landfall on a continental mainland; prior to Janet, landfalls of Category 5 intensity were only known to have taken place on islands. Janet's minimum barometric pressure, recorded in Chetumal, was at the time the second-lowest-recorded pressure on land associated with a tropical cyclone in the Atlantic, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. At least 1,023 deaths were attributed to Hurricane Janet, as well as \$65.8 million in damages.
## Meteorological history
A weak tropical disturbance was first reported by the Air France and Iberia airlines east of the Lesser Antilles early on September 21. Although it was speculated that the disturbance originated from a tropical wave near Cape Verde, the Weather Bureau considered the system too weak to be detected due to a lack of reports from the islands. At 1800 UTC on September 21, while it was located 350 miles (560 km) east-southeast of Martinique, the disturbance became sufficiently organized for the Weather Bureau to classify it as Tropical Storm Janet, the tenth named storm of the season. Upon classification, Janet quickly intensified as it moved to the west. On September 22, Janet attained hurricane strength, and proceeded to intensify rapidly as it moved westward across the Windward Islands. By 1200 UTC that day, Janet already attained Category 3 hurricane strength with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (190 km/h), before stalling in intensification.
Shortly after 1700 UTC on September 22, the eye of Janet passed south of Barbados as a Category 1 Hurricane. A reconnaissance flight into the hurricane discovered that the Hurricane Janet's eye measured only 20 miles (32 km) in diameter, with gale-force winds extending 120 miles (190 km) away from the center of circulation. The flight also reported a minimum barometric pressure of 979 mbar (28.9 inHg). After passing between the islands of Grenada and Carriacou in the morning hours of September 23, Janet entered an area of unfavorable conditions in the eastern Caribbean Sea. As a result, the hurricane became disorganized, with winds weakening to 90 mph (140 km/h) by 1200 UTC on September 23. A U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane entered the hurricane early on September 24, reporting a lack of organization, and noting an indiscernible center of circulation with weak rainbands. However, the hurricane began to reintensify in favorable conditions, regaining major hurricane strength by 1200 UTC on September 24 and subsequently Category 4 hurricane intensity by the next day.
While trekking across the central Caribbean Sea, Janet was only slightly larger than while it was moving over the Windward Islands, with gale-force winds extending 125 miles (201 km) out from the center by September 25. Remaining a Category 4 hurricane as it moved erratically westward across the Caribbean, a reconnaissance flight mission during the night of September 25–26 indicated strong rainbands with frequent lightning strikes and a well-defined eye, evidence that the storm was once again rapidly intensifying. As it neared the Yucatán Peninsula on September 26, Janet began accelerating in forward speed. After the reconnaissance flight Snowcloud Five was lost while making a penetration into the hurricane's eye, another flight early on September 27 reported a minimum pressure of 938 mbar (27.7 inHg), with winds in excess of 115 mph (185 km/h) "by a large and incalculable amount." The hurricane was estimated to have intensified to Category 5 hurricane intensity—the highest rating on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale—at 1200 UTC on September 27, while in the western Caribbean Sea. Janet continued to intensify afterwards, eventually reaching its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (282 km/h), with gale-force winds having expanded to at least 250 miles (400 km) away from the center of the hurricane. Janet maintained peak intensity as it passed over the Swan Islands before making landfall in extreme southern Quintana Roo, Mexico, just east of Chetumal, Mexico. In that city, a barometer indicated a minimum barometric pressure of 914 mbar (27.0 inHg) in the eye of Janet. At the time, this was the second-lowest pressure ever recorded on land in a landfalling Atlantic hurricane, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, though Janet was later surpassed by hurricanes Dean and Gilbert, which also made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula as Category 5 hurricanes.
Once over land, Janet considerably weakened to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 mph (169 km/h). After crossing the Yucatán Peninsula with a forward speed of 21 mph (34 km/h), the hurricane emerged into the Bay of Campeche by 1600 UTC on September 28. The weakened hurricane marginally intensified as it crossed the Bay of Campeche to a secondary peak intensity of 110 mph (180 km/h) with a minimum central pressure of 950 mbar (28 inHg). Janet eventually made its final landfall 50 miles (80 km) north of the city of Veracruz by 2200 UTC on September 29 as a Category 2 hurricane. After moving inland, the hurricane became quickly disorganized due to the highly mountainous terrain of Mexico, and as a result the Weather Bureau issued its last advisory on Janet. The weakening system degenerated to tropical storm strength by September 30, and later dissipated over central Mexico by 0600 UTC that day. Janet's remnant circulation contributed to the development of a disturbed area of weather off the western coast of Mexico that would subsequently develop into a tropical storm on October 1.
## Preparations
### Caribbean Islands
Upon Janet's formation east of the Windward Islands, the Weather Bureau office in San Juan, Puerto Rico advised small craft to remain in port and vessels in the path of the developing storm to exercise caution. After a reconnaissance flight reported much stronger winds than initially suggested, hurricane warnings were issued at 1600 UTC on September 22 for the entirety of the Lesser Antilles from Saint Lucia to Grenada, including Barbados. Storm warnings were issued for all islands in the Windward Islands from Saint Lucia south to Tobago, excluding St. Vincent and the Grenadines. All warnings in the Windward Antilles remained in effect until 1000 UTC on September 22. Shortly after warnings were lowered in the Windward Islands, storm warnings were issued for the ABC islands and the Paraguaná Peninsula of Venezuela at 0200 UTC on September 23. After Janet passed north of the islands, all storm warnings were lifted on the morning of September 25. The Weather Bureau later warned interests in Jamaica, but did not issue any hurricane-related warnings for the island.
### Yucatán Peninsula and Mexico
The Weather Bureau first began cautioning areas of Central America at 1600 UTC on September 26, advising people in areas of northeast Nicaragua and Honduras to take precautionary measures, along with all vessels and small craft in the Gulf of Honduras south to Cabo Gracias a Dios. After Janet began accelerating towards the west-northwest, advisories warned areas in British Honduras and Quintana Roo of hurricane-related impacts. Though no official warnings were issued for areas of Central America, advisories published by the Weather Bureau cautioned interests in the hurricane's path up until landfall. Evacuations took place in several coastal towns in Quintana Roo upon notification of the oncoming storm. People were evacuated to inland hillside shelters. After the hurricane moved through the Yucatán Peninsula and entered the Bay of Campeche, the Weather Bureau alerted areas in the storm's path on the western side of Mexico's Gulf Coast. At the time, Janet was expected to make landfall between Veracruz and Tuxpan. Areas were warned of the storm's potential flooding and coastal impacts. The Weather Bureau advised all small craft south of Port O'Connor, Texas to remain in port. Notifications of Janet to potentially affected areas were stopped after the hurricane made landfall.
## Impact
During its existence, areas of the Lesser Antilles, ABC islands, and Central America were affected by Janet. At least \$65.8 million in damages and 1,023 deaths were caused by the hurricane, mostly in Quintana Roo. The large number of deaths and damage caused by Janet helped make the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season the deadliest and costliest hurricane season documented since comprehensive record of such statistics began in 1942.
### Lesser Antilles
As a small but rapidly intensifying hurricane, Janet passed just south of Barbados on September 22, becoming the first hurricane to strike the island in 57 years, since the 1898 Windward Islands Hurricane, until Hurricane Elsa struck the island in 2021. Maximum sustained winds on the south side of the island were estimated to be between 110–120 mph (180–190 km/h). The strong winds knocked out communication lines, preventing officials from accurately enumerating casualties on the island, though communications were still maintained by commercial cable companies and amateur radio. Electric power was later restored, allowing newspapers to publish information on the storm. Sugar cane, the island country's main source of revenue, was severely damaged, with losses estimated to be in excess of \$1 million. Poorly constructed dwellings were blown apart by the strong winds. An estimated 8,100 homes were damaged by the hurricane. The destroyed buildings and trees blocked highways, and the Seawell Airport was forced to close. Heavy rains peaked at 4 inches (100 mm) and a storm surge of 7 feet (2.1 m) swept away low-lying houses along the coast. An estimated 2,000 people were left homeless due to the hurricane. Property damage on Barbados was estimated to be \$5 million, and at least 57 people were killed.
On September 23 Janet passed directly between Grenada and Carriacou in the Grenadines, killing 122 people in the island chain. An airport on Grenada was covered in debris strewn by the strong winds. Eight people were killed in a small town adjacent to the airport. Strong winds were also reported to have destroyed docks and warehouses, and unroofed a hotel in St. George's, Grenada. Houses were also unroofed, and balconies of government offices in St. George's were torn off. All bridges in the island's interior regions collapsed, and spice crops sustained heavy damage. An estimated 75% of nutmeg plantations were destroyed, along with nearly all of the island's banana and cocoa crops. Three ships were also grounded in the local harbor. In The Carenage, the waterfront region of St. George's, debris was scattered and an 820-foot (250 m) pier collapsed. St. Vincent was mostly destroyed, and St. Lucia suffered significant coastal damage. Over \$2.8 million in damages were estimated throughout the Grenadines. Farther south, in Port of Spain, a church being used as a storm shelter collapsed, killing ten people.
Hurricane Janet skirted the ABC islands with strong winds as it passed to the north from September 24–25. In Aruba, gusts peaked at 50 mph (80 km/h), uprooting trees. However, damage outside of trees was primarily insignificant. In Bonaire, piers were destroyed, and the island's coastal boulevard was damaged. Beach facilities at Curaçao's Piscadera and Vaersen Bays suffered considerable damage. Quays along the harbor entrance were also damaged.
#### Snowcloud Five
On September 26, the hurricane hunter P2V-3W Neptune aircraft Snowcloud Five, led by U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Grover B. Windham, was sent from Guantánamo Bay to investigate Janet, which was at the time a Category 4 hurricane south of Jamaica. Upon penetration of the hurricane's eyewall at an altitude of 700 feet (210 m), a final transmission was received from the reconnaissance flight before it presumably crashed in the Caribbean Sea. All 11 people on board, including nine crew members and two journalists, were killed. Following the loss of the plane, an extensive search and rescue operation took place over a large area of the Caribbean Sea, with 3,000 personnel involved with the search, returning no results. The exact cause of the crash remains unknown, though it is speculated that the plane's altimeter gave an incorrect reading due to the low surrounding barometric pressure. Although four hurricane reconnaissance flights have been lost since operations began in 1943, Snowcloud Five remains the only known loss of a reconnaissance aircraft as a result of a hurricane in the Atlantic basin, with the other three occurring as a result of Pacific typhoons.
### Yucatán Peninsula
As it approached the Yucatán Peninsula, Janet passed over the Swan Islands north of Honduras as a Category 5 hurricane on September 27. The hurricane caused rough seas, and strong winds uprooted trees and antennas. After gusts exceeded an estimated 100 mph (160 km/h), officials on the islands took shelter in a Navy seismograph building. Though no deaths were reported, Janet destroyed almost all buildings on the islands. The U.S. Weather Bureau and Civil Aeronautics Authority requested food and supplies for 82 people on the island after the storm passed.
#### Quintana Roo
After passing the Swan Islands, Janet made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula between Corozal Town, British Honduras, and Chetumal, Mexico, at 1700 UTC on September 28. At the time, it had winds of 175 mph (282 km/h). Hurricane-force winds were reported for two hours preceding the hurricane's landfall, with numerous pressure readings below 948 mbar (28.0 inHg). Roads and crops on the peninsula sustained heavy damage due to Janet. In Xcalak, Quintana Roo the strong winds from Janet flattened the port's infrastructure, and only one house remained intact after the storm's passage. 97 people were killed in Xcalak, constituting more than a third of the port's population. Chetumal, Mexico was devastated, with only four buildings left standing. Storm surge pushed water to a depth of 6.5 feet (2.0 m), 1,600 feet (490 m) inland, despite the peninsula protecting the city from the open ocean. The death toll in Chetumal remains uncertain; 120 bodies were recovered in the city but it is unknown how many were ever found. An additional 10,000 people in the city were left homeless after the hurricane, and were forced to sleep in the open overnight. Federal relief agencies previously providing service for areas affected by Hurricanes Gladys and Hilda earlier in the year in western areas of the Gulf Coast of Mexico were ordered to extend relief operations to the Yucatán Peninsula. In Quintana Roo, Hurricane Janet was estimated to have caused \$40 million in damages and at least 500 deaths, the most of any region affected by Janet.
#### British Honduras
Making landfall near the border between Mexico and British Honduras, the latter colony's Corozal and Orange Walk districts, containing a population of 15,500 at the time, experienced severe devastation from Janet. Strong hurricane winds knocked down and damaged numerous trees across British Honduras, particularly in the Freshwater Creek Forest Preserve. There, an estimated 30% of all trees had been damaged, especially mahogany and sapodilla trees. Hurricane Janet also caused extensive damage to crops, with an estimated \$2.631 million in damages. Fruit trees, maize, and sugar cane crops suffered the most damage. Sugar cane was expected to have a 20% decrease in yield due to the damage sustained after the storm. Pineapple crops and livestock experienced less significant losses. To a lesser extent, the hurricane also affected the Belize District and several of British Honduras' offshore cayes. Similar to Corozal and Orange Walk Districts, corn, trees, and coconut experienced the most severe damage of any crop.
In Corozal Town, British Honduras, south of where Janet made landfall, 500 people were made homeless, and six people were killed. About 90% of all buildings in the town were destroyed, and communications were knocked out by the strong winds. Based on an average home cost of \$2,000, it was estimated that property damage to homes in Corozal Town totaled \$800,000. Much of Santa Elena, British Honduras was also flattened by the strong winds. Farther south in Belize City, winds peaked at 60 mph (97 km/h), though no damage was reported. In British Honduras, the hurricane's effects were less deadly than in Quintana Roo, but in northern portions of the colony the storm killed 16 people and caused \$5 million in damages.
### Mainland Mexico
While in the Bay of Campeche, the shrimp boat Celestino Arias was sunken by strong waves generated by Janet after it suffered engine failures. The stranded ship was heavily damaged by the hurricane's strong winds in the bay, which broke towing lines. All of the ship's crewmen, which had evacuated the boat after it sunk, were later rescued and brought back to Tampa, Florida. Along the coast, tides were reported to be 3–4 feet (0.91–1.22 m) above average. Farther north along the Texas coast, tides were 2 feet (0.61 m) above average, blocking beach roads near Corpus Christi.
Janet made its final landfall in the Mexican state of Veracruz between the cities of Nautla and Veracruz as a Category 2 hurricane at 2200 UTC on September 29. In Nautla, communications were cut by strong winds from the hurricane. The strong winds also caused a relief plane to crash, causing five deaths. Heavy rains in the Tampico, Tamaulipas area added to floods caused by hurricanes Gladys and Hilda earlier in the year. The resulting flood was reported by the Weather Bureau office in New Orleans to be one of the worst natural disasters in Mexican history. In Tampico, 16 inches (410 mm) of rain was reported. The floods contributed to a localized typhoid fever and dysentery outbreak, causing over 1,000 people to evacuate out of the city to prevent further spreading of the diseases. An additional 36,000 people were being cared for in concentration centers. Although located south of where Janet made landfall, areas of Veracruz were inundated by strong storm surge, including the city's main streets and port. Operations along a railroad stretching from Laredo, Texas to Mexico City were stopped, after having just reopened due to Hurricane Hilda.
Farther inland, as Janet dissipated over the mountainous central Mexico, the storm dropped torrential rainfall over the Tamesí and Pánuco River basins. The water levels in the Panuco River remained above flood stage for four weeks. In Tampico, the river flooded neighborhoods, forcing cables to be stretched along roads to prevent people from being swept away. Small boats were also sent to monitor streets. According to some sources, 800 people died from the floods, with thousands more being stranded in the city. Tamazunchale was inundated by an overflowing Moctezuma River. The rains caused a landslide in Colonia San Rafael, killing 12 people. Heavy rains also impacted Guadalajara, which had previously not been affected by any tropical cyclones earlier in the year. In Maltarana, Jalisco, the Lerma and Duero Rivers overflowed, forcing 800 people in the town to evacuate. Farther north, in Sonora, cotton crops damaged by Janet were estimated to amount to \$12 million in damages. Combined property damage in Mexico from Hurricanes Gladys, Hilda, and Janet was estimated to total \$200 million, nearly half of the government's 1955 national budget. Although there were no official damage or fatality estimates, at least 1,000 people were injured and another 100,000 people were made homeless on the Mexican mainland due to Janet.
## Aftermath
### Lesser Antilles
After Janet passed Barbados, the island was declared to be in a state of emergency. Relief workers on Barbados helped to clean up debris scattered by the strong winds on highways, and the local government made requests for food and construction materials. The extensive damaged caused by Janet on the island to low-income households led the passage of the 1955 Housing Act, which created the National Housing Authority (NHA) in 1956. The NHA was responsible for the acquisition of lands on which houses could be built with stronger and more permanent materials, which was thought to minimize maintenance costs and hurricane-related damage. The newly founded organization quickly worked to rebuild homes after the hurricane struck.
In Grenada, the island's governor issued an emergency order against the hoarding of food in the aftermath of Janet, due to the food and water shortage that resulted from Janet. A United States destroyer and a British frigate were sent to bring relief supplies to Grenada, and ships departing from Jamaica and Trinidad were redirected to the island to help send supplies. The British government later announced that it would send £50,000 (US\$155,000) in relief to the Grenadines. The Crown Agents and Red Cross delivered relief supplies to Barbados and the Grenadines, which included aluminum roofing sheets and portable electric generators.
### British Honduras and Mexico
Relief and reconstruction measures were enacted in the British Honduras beginning on September 30. A large-scale reconstruction program was initiated by the government to help rebuild 48 villages. The government also declared a state of emergency for Corozal, Orange Walk, and Belize administrative districts, including a ban on liquor sales. Temporary communication lines were rebuilt, which initially only allowed official communications with affected areas. Due to the severity of the damage in Corozal, an airstrip was built to help deliver relief to the city more efficiently. Food depots in Corozal, Louisville, and Orange Walk Town were tasked with distributing food. The potential for widespread disease following the devastation wrought by Janet forced a widespread vaccination initiative against typhoid fever in affected areas. The Jamaican government sent £20,000 (US\$55,000) to the colony in relief funds, while the British government sent £40,000 (US\$110,000) to affected areas in the British Honduras and other affected islands in the Caribbean. The United States sent the cargo ship USS Antares, which supplied the colony with various relief materials. In Corozal Town, a \$3.5 million grant was given to land surveyor H.C. Fairweather to plan and reconstruct the township.
A U.S. Navy relief plane was sent to Chetumal, Mexico, to deliver food and other relief supplies after Janet struck the region. In areas previously affected by hurricanes Gladys and Hilda earlier in the year, federal relief agencies were ordered to extend relief operations to the Yucatán Peninsula. However, after crossing the Bay of Campeche and making landfall near Veracruz, relief measures were once again implemented in the western Gulf Coast of Mexico. The Mexican Air Force, commercial and private planes, and helicopters were sent to bring relief supplies and airlift refugees. The United States initiated the largest relief campaign ever staged in Mexico at the time. Various government and relief agencies, including the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army, participated in the relief efforts. The U.S. Air Force and United States Army began a joint-relief operation to send relief supplies to the Tampico area, beginning with the deployment of a Curtiss C-46 Commando from the Harlingen Air Force Base on October 1. Ten other military transport aircraft from the U.S. Air Force were sent from Texas to provide food and clothing. Pan American World Airways sent a Boeing 314 from Miami, Florida to evacuate victims. Helicopters were sent from the USS Saipan to transfer food and medical supplies from the light aircraft carrier. Other ships also aided in delivering supplies, including the USS Siboney, which also deployed helicopters to assist in relief efforts. By October 6, 1,500 people were estimated to have been rescued from the Tampico area, and at least 280,000 lb (130,000 kg) of food and clothing materials were estimated to have been delivered by the US Air Force to the city. There, typhoid serum shots were administered as a precautionary measure. Former president Manuel Ávila Camacho died of a heart ailment, in part due to over-exertion in helping in the relief efforts.
Due to its large swath of destruction, the name Janet was retired by the Weather Bureau, becoming just the seventh Atlantic tropical cyclone to have its name retired, and the fourth to be retired in 1955.
## See also
- Lists of Atlantic hurricanes
- List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
- Hurricane Carmen (1974)
- Hurricane Gilbert (1988)
- Hurricane Keith (2000)
- Hurricane Dean (2007)
- Hurricane Elsa (2021) – The next tropical cyclone to produce hurricane conditions on Barbados
|
31,985,997 |
Speed 2: Cruise Control (soundtrack)
| 1,151,969,578 | null |
[
"1997 soundtrack albums",
"Action film soundtracks",
"Reggae soundtracks",
"Speed (film series)",
"Tetsuya Komuro",
"Thriller film soundtracks",
"Virgin Records soundtracks"
] |
Speed 2: Cruise Control is the soundtrack album for the 1997 film of the same name. It was released by Virgin Records in May 1997, nearly a month before the film's release. Because of the film's Caribbean setting, the soundtrack features a variety of reggae music from artists including Common Sense, Jimmy Cliff, Maxi Priest and Shaggy. UB40, Carlinhos Brown and Tamia also have songs on the soundtrack, and appear in the film as entertainers on the cruise ship.
In addition to reggae, the soundtrack features a techno remix of the film score by Tetsuya "TK" Komuro and an R&B song by Tamia (which is sung by her character in the film). Many of the songs were first released on the soundtrack, and five were released as singles. The soundtrack received mixed reviews from critics, although it was praised for featuring reggae music.
## Music performed in the film
Speed 2: Cruise Control, the action thriller sequel to 1994's Speed starring Sandra Bullock, Jason Patric and Willem Dafoe, was released in 1997. The film is set on a cruise ship in the Caribbean; to complement its setting, the soundtrack primarily features reggae music. Speed 2 director-producer Jan de Bont wanted musicians to appear in the film as the ship's live entertainment. Four songs heard in Speed 2 were performed by the musicians appearing in the film, three of which were featured on the soundtrack album.
British reggae band UB40 perform "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Tell Me Is It True". The former is a cover of an Elvis Presley song recorded by UB40 for the soundtrack to Sliver (1993) and released on their album, Promises and Lies (1993). "Tell Me Is It True" was first released on the Speed 2 soundtrack album and was later featured on UB40's studio album, Guns in the Ghetto (released ten days after the soundtrack album). The band was featured in the film after the filmmakers heard a demo of "Tell Me Is It True", and wrote a cameo appearance for them into the script.
Brazilian singer Carlinhos Brown was also featured in the film, performing "A Namorada" (from his 1997 album, Alfagamabetizado). De Bont chose Brown because he wanted music that was "lively", and thought Brown's music was "very physical" and "full of energy".
While UB40 and Brown appeared in the film as themselves, De Bont also wanted to feature a musician as one of the characters who gets trapped on the ship. He selected Canadian R&B singer Tamia because he wanted someone who could sing and act. Tamia did not plan on acting in a film so early in her career, but said the part was "too perfect for [her] to resist". She worked with de Bont and Quincy Jones to choose a song for the film; they decided on "Make Tonight Beautiful", written by Diane Warren.
## Additional music
Jamaican musician Shaggy wanted to include his cover of the Erma Franklin song "Piece of My Heart", but was unable because it was to be used in the soundtrack for an upcoming biographical film about Janis Joplin. He instead used his original song, "My Dream"; both tracks were later featured on Shaggy's next album Midnite Lover, released in August 1997.
American reggae band Common Sense featured their song, "Never Give Up", from their debut album Psychedelic Surf Groove (1996). When they appeared on the soundtrack, they did not have a recording contract with a major record label; lead singer Jai Vatuk said in June 1997 that the band had begun negotiations with the soundtrack's label, Virgin Records.; Virgin re-released Psychedelic Surf Groove later that year, and signed a contract with the band in 1998.
Jamaican reggae musician Jimmy Cliff contributed to the soundtrack with a re-recording of "You Can Get It If You Really Want" from The Harder They Come (1972); Barbadian reggae singer Rayvon featured his song, "Some People", before its release on his album Hear Me Cry, released in June 1997.
British reggae singer Maxi Priest was featured on the soundtrack after recording "It Starts in the Heart" for the soundtrack to Jungle 2 Jungle (1997). For the Speed 2 soundtrack he was asked cover a song in his characteristic style, and recorded a cover of "The Tide Is High". Priest said his work for Jungle 2 Jungle was "more satisfying" than for Speed 2 because "It Starts in the Heart" was an original song.
The soundtrack also includes a reggae cover of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" by Betty Wright, which was later released on the Police reggae-tribute album Reggatta Mondatta in July 1997. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Jamaican singer Diana King was scheduled to have a song on the soundtrack but her music was "judged too plodding" for the film.
In addition to "Make Tonight Beautiful", other non-reggae songs include a modern rock cover of Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move" by Leah Andreone and the R&B song "Crazy" by British singer Mark Morrison. The version of "Crazy" selected for the soundtrack was a remix by the song's producer, Phil Chill, taken from the 12-inch single released in 1995.
Composer Mark Mancina, who scored Speed 2, wrote a techno instrumental based on the score. The track was entitled "Speed TK Re-mix", and was performed by Japanese musician Tetsuya "TK" Komuro with non-lexical vocals by Lynn Mabry. The instrumental was TK's debut in the United States, and was originally entitled "Speed 2 Theme". "Speed TK Re-mix" played during the film's ending credits, but Mancina hoped it would be featured in the film.
## Release
The Speed 2: Cruise Control soundtrack, produced by Budd Carr, was released on May 20, 1997 (nearly a month before the film's June 13 release) by Virgin Records. The TK Party Mix of "Speed TK Re-mix" was included on the Japanese release as a bonus track. Virgin Music Group executive vice president Nancy Berry said that when compiling the album, a decision was made not only to match the music in the film but to "create an album of summer music" and "a reggae compilation that would stand on its own". Two songs from the film are not featured on the album: "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "O mio babbino caro" by Victoria de los Ángeles. The album charted in Austria in August 1997, peaking at number 40.
To promote the soundtrack album, clips of each song were streamed on the film's official website and five tracks were sent to radio stations. The first single, "Tell Me Is It True", was released in late April 1997 and was commercially available on June 3; it was also the first single from Guns in the Ghetto. "My Dream" was the second single, followed by "Make Tonight Beautiful" in May and "Never Give Up" and "Speed TK Re-mix" in July. De Bont agreed with Virgin that Mancina's score could not be released until six months after the soundtrack's release, to avoid competition. The score was not released as an album until 13 years later, when it was released in a June 2010 limited edition by La-La Land Records and Fox Music.
## Reception
Response to the soundtrack was mixed. J. D. Considine of The Baltimore Sun said the film's Caribbean setting was a "perfect excuse" for the reggae tracks, and the album's "most surprising moments come with its cover versions". Jonathan Takiff of the Philadelphia Daily News awarded the album three-and-a-half of five stars for its reggae theme, which he described as a "rare [...] display of soundtrack consistency". Chuck Campbell from the Scripps-Howard News Service gave the album three out of five stars, commending the "continuity" of the reggae tracks but saying that it should have featured artists more popular than UB40 and it lacked the "commercial appeal" of other soundtracks released at the time. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that although none of the soundtrack's songs are "standouts", it is a "fairly enjoyable collection of pop-reggae Latin-dance" music.
Mansha Daswani of the South China Morning Post was more critical of the soundtrack, calling it "surprisingly bland" and saying that "tracks that should be catchy [...] are surprisingly weak"; however, she praised TK's remix and Maxi Priest's cover of "The Tide Is High". David Browne of Entertainment Weekly graded the album "D", criticizing the "waterlogged" selection of artists and TK's remix but saying the reggae collection was a "[g]ood idea" given the film's setting. CMJ New Music Monthly said the soundtrack's cover versions were unnecessary, contributing to "one of the scariest trends in soundtracks over the last few years". At the 18th Golden Raspberry Awards in 1998, "My Dream" was nominated for Worst Song but lost to "the entire song score" from The Postman (1997). "Speed TK Re-mix" became popular in Japan; it was used as entrance music for wrestler Kazushi Sakuraba, and was re-released as a single in 2001 by popular demand.
## Track listing
|
4,769,036 |
The Pink Swastika
| 1,171,310,501 |
1995 book by Scott Lively and Kevin Abrams
|
[
"1995 non-fiction books",
"2002 non-fiction books",
"Books about Adolf Hitler",
"Books about Nazism",
"Books by Scott Lively",
"Collaborative non-fiction books",
"English-language books",
"Far-right publications in the United States",
"LGBT in Nazi Germany",
"LGBT non-fiction books",
"LGBT politics",
"LGBT-related conspiracy theories",
"LGBT-related controversies in literature",
"Pseudohistory"
] |
The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party is a 1995 pseudohistorical book by Scott Lively and Kevin Abrams. Drawing on Samuel Igra's 1945 book Germany's National Vice, Lively and Abrams argue that the crimes committed by homosexuals in the Nazi Party exceed the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and that homosexuality contributed to the extreme militarism of Nazi Germany. They contend that only feminine homosexuals were persecuted by the Nazis, while "butch" homosexuals formed the leadership cadre of the Nazi party. Historian Andrew Wackerfuss criticized the book for lack of accuracy and "outright homophobic charges". The claim advanced by Igra, Lively, and Abrams that homosexuals were responsible for Nazi atrocities is rejected by most historians.
## Authors
The authors of the book are Kevin Abrams, an Orthodox Jew, and Scott Lively, an American right-wing activist who worked for Oregon Citizens Alliance (loosely affiliated with the Christian Coalition of America) and Abiding Truth Ministries. Lively is best known for his international anti-gay activism; he campaigned for the Russian gay propaganda law and his 2009 tour in Uganda was one of the motives for Uganda's so-called "Kill the Gays" bill. The book was published after Measure 9, an unsuccessful Oregon ballot measure to repeal gay rights.
## Content
The book was first published in 1995 by Founders Publishing Corporation. In 2017, the authors released the fifth edition, published by Veritas Aeterna Press. They state that their motivation for writing the book is to respond to the "myth of the 'pink triangle'" and the "gay political agenda". One significant source for The Pink Swastika was Samuel Igra's Germany's National Vice (1945). Among other things, Igra claimed that "there is a causal connection between mass sexual perversion" and German war crimes during both world wars. The book attempts to synthesize Igra's allegations that German militarism had a homoerotic foundation with the Nazi occult theories popularized by American author Dusty Sklar in her book, The Nazis and the Occult (1977). The claim advanced by Igra, Lively, and Abrams that homosexuals were responsible for Nazi atrocities has been frequently asserted, but is rejected by most historians.
In The Pink Swastika, Abrams and Lively argue that homosexuals were the "true inventors of Nazism and the guiding force behind many Nazi atrocities" and that "there was far more brutality, rape, torture and murder committed against innocent people by Nazi deviants and homosexuals than there ever was against homosexuals." The authors claim that only "femme" homosexuals were persecuted, and even they did not fare as badly as other Nazi victims, while "butch" homosexuals—including Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler, and Rudolf Hess—formed the core leadership of the Nazi regime. They claim that leaders of the Wandervogel scouting movement "recruited countless young men into the homosexual lifestyle" and that the Sturmabteilung—the Nazi party's original paramilitary wing—also engaged in homosexual recruitment. Chapters of the book address issues such as Magnus Hirschfeld and his Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, Adolf Brand, the Freikorps, Baldur von Schirach and the Hitler Youth, and Ernst Röhm.
## Reception
In his book Stormtrooper Families about homosexuality in the Sturmabteilung, American historian Andrew Wackerfuss described the authors as "a pair of anti-gay political activists" who "tried to rebrand the brown shirt as a pink swastika". He situates the book within 1990's culture wars in the United States and noted that Lively's allegations of "gay fascism" have gained "wide popularity on the American right" as well as in Russia and Uganda. Wackerfuss considers that there are "numerous and persuasive criticisms of [Lively and Abrams'] misuse of the historical method". He criticized The Pink Swastika's "outright homophobic charges" and recommended The Annotated Pink Swastika (an internet publication of the Citizens Allied for Civic Action) as "a useful guide to the errors and inaccuracies ... the text is deconstructed page by page to reveal its many flaws". German historian Martin Göllnitz called the book's argument "completely untenable" because it relies on fabrications like the claim that Röhm's SA was the product of the Weimar homosexual movement.
Sociologist Arlene Stein states that The Pink Swastika "is a carefully constructed piece of political rhetoric, mixing serious scholarship with lies and outright distortions, truths with half-truths and falsehoods". According to Stein, the book is part of an effort to strip gays of their "victim" status in order to decrease support for LGBT rights. Writing in Journal of the History of Sexuality, historian Erik Jensen regards the authors' linkage of homosexuality and Nazism as the recurrence of a "pernicious myth", originating in 1930s attacks on Nazism by socialists and communists and which has been "long since dispelled" by "serious scholarship". An article in Boston Magazine, written by journalist Spencer Buell, contended that the book contained "ludicrous theories" and has been "thoroughly debunked". According to Fordham University's Internet History Sourcebook on the Holocaust, "no serious historian takes the Lively/Abrams book seriously as anything other than evidence about the modern American far right".
Lively said that the book "indirectly forc[ed] the 'gays' to abandon the pink triangle as the primary symbol of their movement" and replace it with the rainbow flag. In fact, the rainbow flag has been in use since 1978. The book has been promoted by some conservative Christian groups and conversion therapy advocates. For example, a representative of the Family Defense Council claimed that The Pink Swastika was "a thoroughly researched, eminently readable, demolition of the 'gay' myth, symbolized by the pink triangle, that the Nazis were anti-homosexual." Right-wing website World Net Daily also promoted The Pink Swastika, stating that it "makes the case that the Nazi Party is best understood as a neo-pagan, homosexual cult". The Southern Poverty Law Center asserts that the book's historical negationism—pseudohistory which denies documented facts—is comparable to Holocaust denial.
|
27,379,482 |
Fembot (song)
| 1,171,751,514 | null |
[
"2010 singles",
"2010 songs",
"Robyn songs",
"Songs written by Klas Åhlund",
"Songs written by Robyn"
] |
"Fembot" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn, taken from her fifth studio album, Body Talk Pt. 1 (2010). The song was written by Robyn and Klas Åhlund, and produced by the latter. It was inspired by Robyn's personal experience of entering her thirties and contemplating children. With the song, she also argues against the notion that humans and robots are separate, explaining that technology has become more organic. "Fembot" is a song with an R&B vibe, and features Robyn rapping several double entendres in the verses, while proclaiming that "Fembots have feelings too" in the chorus. The song was released on 13 April 2010 as one of three promotional singles before the album's release.
"Fembot" was met with positive reviews from critics, with some of them highlighting its humor and lyrical content. Critics also noted the continued "android theme" present on a few of Robyn's previous songs, including the Röyksopp collaboration "The Girl and the Robot" (2009). Commercially, "Fembot" performed well on the charts, managing to reach number three on the Sverigetopplistan chart and number ten in Norway. Robyn performed the song for the first time on talk show Skavlan in April 2010 and later included it on the setlists for the All Hearts Tour (2010) and the Body Talk Tour (2010).
## Background
In an interview with music webzine Pitchfork, Robyn was asked if "Fembot" represented a dislike for the notion that humans and robots are separate, and she responded by saying, "The classic, dystopian theory about the future is not really as interesting to me. Like the book I, Robot is all about these robots that basically went nuts, and it's always because they were wrongly programmed by humans. It's like a mirror of our own psyche. It's almost like the wrong program could be a mental disease." She elaborated that "Fembot" is not "really about the future or about space or anything", saying that it is about the present time. "Technology is becoming more organic, and using the word 'fembot' or 'robot' in a song makes things more human to me", she said. In an interview with music website Stereogum, she explained that the song also chronicles her personal experience of "turning 30 and contemplating children". She elaborated, saying,
> People expect things of you, like kids and like marriage, and I found myself just thinking of that a lot while making this record, so ["Fembot"] is about that in a way, but it's also fun. I'm playing around with the concept of being a woman, and what it means to physically be able to carry kids, but at the same time that’s not always what you see yourself as.
The song was uploaded the song onto Robyn's official website on 17 March 2010. It was later released to digital retailers in the United States on 13 April 2010, and in Sweden three days later. It was one of three promotional singles released before the release of Body Talk Pt. 1 and the official first single, "Dancing on My Own".
## Composition
"Fembot" was written by Robyn and Klas Åhlund, and produced by the latter. It is in the key of D major and a tempo of 123 beats per minute with a "heavy R&B vibe". According to Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone, the song continues the "android theme" previously present on Robyn's track, "Robotboy", the interlude "Bionic Woman" and the Röyksopp collaboration, "The Girl and the Robot" (2009). DJ Ron Slomowicz of About.com compared its musical and lyrical style to that of previous single "Konichiwa Bitches" (2007). According to Jer Fairall of PopMatters, the song utilizes "a spare, beepy two-note synth hook and a squelching electronic rhythm." Robyn's vocals in the song are layered with Auto-Tune and vocoders. During the verses, she adapts her distinctive rapping style, and exclaims lyrical lines such as "I gotta lotta automatic booty applications" and "I'm a very scientifically advanced hot mama." Nate Chinen of The New York Times wrote that Robyn "rap[s] a series of double entendres in a digitally processed purr", and then proclaims her "voguish fixation on androids" in the chorus; "I’ve got some news for you / Fembots have feelings too". According to Lindsey Fortier of Billboard, "Fembot" sees Robyn "get[ting] in touch with her urban side".
## Reception
Michael Gragg of MusicOMH wrote that "Though the lyrics are daft [...] it's exuberance and general sense of fun is so infectious that when the chorus kicks in you barely notice what she's saying." Jer Fairall of PopMatters wrote, "Look no further than the wry chorus hook of “Fembot” for proof of Robyn's deftly subversive sense of humor." Fairall also pointed out that "[The chorus] might hint, at first, in the direction of some Blade Runner-esque sci-fi pathos, but Robyn turns it towards a canny meta-commentary on the fluid sense of authenticity that pervades 21st century pop stardom." Fairall, however, thought that "the verses are nothing more than an inventory of the titular ‘bot’s synthetic virtues." Ben Norman of About.com selected the song as his favorite track on Body Talk Pt. 1, and wrote that "'Fembot' is the incredibly quirky and well-written Robyn-rap track that needs to be heard to be believed." Christopher Muther of The Boston Globe praised the song for having "one of the most entertaining lyrics to emerge this year".
"Fembot" debuted at number seven on the Swedish singles chart chart on the issue dated 23 April 2010, becoming the week's highest debut. The following week, it rose four positions to number three, which became its peak. The song spent seven weeks on the chart, before dropping out in June 2010. In Norway, "Fembot" debuted at number nineteen on the Norwegian singles chart and peaked at number ten. The song debuted and peaked at number ninety-nine on the European Hot 100 Singles chart on the issue dated 15 May 2010.
## Live performances
Robyn performed the song on 16 April 2010 on the Norwegian-Swedish talk show Skavlan. A writer from music website Stereogum wrote that Robyn did the song very well live, and commented; "With just a keyboardist doubling as robot hypeman and two drummers, the performance is extremely faithful to the recorded version. It fact, it doesn’t really pop until the end and we get two seconds of Robyn doing the robot." Robyn also performed the song on the All Hearts joint tour with American singer Kelis during the summer of 2010. Robyn opened the show with "Fembot", which was preceded by a computerized voice counting down. Joanna Buffum of MTV Iggy wrote that the song "set the tone for the futuristic electro light show to follow". The song was also included on the set list for the Body Talk Tour. Similar to the All Hearts Tour, the show commenced with robotic voices over the speakers and backed by a heavy beat, before Robyn began singing "Fembot" as multicolored strobes lit the stage. However, for the second North American leg and onwards, "Time Machine" took over as the opening number.
## Track listing
- Digital download
1. "Fembot" – 3:35
## Credits and personnel
- Robyn – lyrics
- Klas Åhlund – music, lyrics, instruments, programming, and production
- Niklas Flykt – mixing
Source
## Charts
|
964,236 |
HMAS Sydney (D48)
| 1,172,287,803 |
Australian World War II warship
|
[
"1934 ships",
"Australian National Heritage List",
"Australian Shipwrecks with protected zone",
"Leander-class cruisers (1931) of the Royal Australian Navy",
"Maritime incidents in November 1941",
"Ships built on the River Tyne",
"Shipwrecks of Western Australia",
"Warships lost in combat with all hands",
"World War II cruisers of Australia",
"World War II shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean"
] |
HMAS Sydney, named for the Australian city of Sydney, was one of three modified Leander-class light cruisers operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Ordered for the Royal Navy as HMS Phaeton, the cruiser was purchased by the Australian government and renamed prior to her 1934 launch.
During the early part of her operational history, Sydney helped enforce sanctions during the Abyssinian Crisis, and at the start of World War II was assigned to convoy escort and patrol duties in Australian waters. In May 1940, Sydney joined the British Mediterranean Fleet for an eight-month deployment, during which she sank two Italian warships, participated in multiple shore bombardments, and provided support to the Malta Convoys, while receiving minimal damage and no casualties. On her return to Australia in February 1941, Sydney resumed convoy escort and patrol duties in home waters.
On 19 November 1941, Sydney was involved in a mutually destructive engagement with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, and was lost with all hands (645 aboard). The wrecks of both ships were lost until 2008; Sydney was found on 17 March, five days after her adversary. Sydney's defeat is commonly attributed to the proximity of the two ships during the engagement, and Kormoran's advantages of surprise and rapid, accurate fire. However, the cruiser's loss with all hands compared to the survival of most of the Germans has resulted in conspiracy theories alleging that the German commander used illegal ruses to lure Sydney into range, that a Japanese submarine was involved, and that the true events of the battle are concealed behind a wide-ranging cover-up, despite the lack of evidence for these allegations.
## Construction and acquisition
The ship was laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson at Wallsend-on-Tyne, England, on 8 July 1933 for the Royal Navy as HMS Phaeton, named after the Greek mythological figure. However, in 1934, the Australian government was seeking a replacement for the light cruiser , and negotiated to purchase Phaeton while she was still under construction.
The cruiser was renamed after the capital city of New South Wales, and was launched on 22 September 1934 by Ethel Bruce, the wife of Stanley Bruce, former prime minister of Australia and the serving Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Sydney was commissioned into the RAN on 24 September 1935, drawing her ship's company from Brisbane, which had been decommissioned earlier that day.
Following the announcement that Australia was purchasing a British-built cruiser, there was criticism, primarily from the Opposition of the day, stating that such a warship should be built using Australian resources and labour. Several reasons were given in reply for acquiring British-built cruisers instead of Australian-made: the ship was already close to completion, the pending threat of war meant that there was not enough time to train Australians in the necessary shipbuilding skills, and that of the two cruisers built in Australian shipyards, one () had taken seven years to complete.
## Design
Sydney was one of three Modified Leander-class light cruisers acquired by the RAN during the late 1930s. Although the first ship of the class to join the RAN, Sydney was the second ship to be laid down, although the first to be completed, in what was sometimes referred to as the Perth class: and operated with the Royal Navy for a short period before they were purchased by Australia in 1938. Like most British cruisers, the Leanders were designed for long-range patrols, scouting, and trade protection duties.
Sydney's displacement ranged between 6,701 tons (light) and 8,940 tons (full load), with a standard displacement of 7,198 tons: improved fabrication and welding techniques made her 52 tons lighter than her sister ships. She had a length of 530 feet (160 m) between perpendiculars and 562 feet 4 inches (171.40 m) overall, a beam of 56 feet 8.5 inches (17.285 m), and a draught at standard displacement between 15 feet 3 inches (4.65 m) forward and 17 feet 3 inches (5.26 m) aft.
The ship was propelled by four Admiralty 3-drum boilers, feeding Parsons single-reduction geared turbines, which supplied 72,000 shaft horsepower (54,000 kW) to the four propeller shafts. Unlike the first five Leanders, which had their machinery arranged on the "in-line" principle (consisting of six boilers in three compartments forward, and four turbines in two further compartments aft), Sydney was designed with two redundant machinery groups, a design practice adopted from the United States Navy. The cruiser had two boilers and the turbines for the outer shafts forward, and two boilers and the turbines for the inner shafts aft; as steam from any boiler could be routed to any turbine, the ship could continue operating if one space was damaged.
Each space had its own uptake, giving the modified ships a different profile to the single-funnelled early Leanders; an arrangement which contributed to naval historian Henry Lenton's description of the Modified Leanders as "the most handsome cruisers ever built by the Royal Navy, with a symmetry that was as attractive as it was functional."
Sydney and her sister ships were constructed from 1-inch (25 mm) hull plating, with a 3-inch (76 mm) armour belt over the machinery spaces (the lengthening of this belt from 84 to 141 feet (26 to 43 m) to adequately cover both spaces negated the weight reduction from their reorganisation), and 2-inch (51 mm) plates over the shell rooms and magazines. Sydney was the first Australian warship fitted with asdic; a Type 125 unit in a retractable pattern 3069 dome. The retractable sonar dome, located near the bow, was a weak point in the hull.
One of the cruiser's early commanding officers, Royal Navy Captain J.W.A. Waller, believed that the ship's single director control tower was a weak point in the design. The director control tower was the highest compartment on the ship, from where personnel would determine the range and optimum firing angle for a gun salvo, then transmit this information to the gun turrets: the actual firing could be controlled from the tower or the turret. Waller believed that the centralised system could be destroyed with a single hit, or the wiring linking the compartment to the turrets could be severed, forcing the four turrets to rely on independent control. Although Waller suggested that a second tower be installed aft to provide redundancy, it was deferred indefinitely as subsequent commanding officers did not share his concerns, and combat experiences of other Leander-class cruisers showed that the system was more robust than expected.
### Armament
Sydney's main armament consisted of eight 6-inch (152 mm) breech-loading Mk XXIII guns mounted in four Mk XXI twin turrets: "A" and "B" forward, "X" and "Y" aft. All eight guns could be fired in salvo, elevated to an angle of 60° and depressed to −5°, and fire eight rounds a minute at targets up to 24,800 yards (22,700 m) away.
Four 4-inch (100 mm) quick-firing Mk V guns, mounted on single, high-angle, Mk IV mountings, were fitted to a platform around the aft funnel. These were primarily used to target aircraft at heights up to 28,750 feet (8,760 m), but could also be used against surface targets, with a maximum range of 16,300 yards (14,900 m). Their replacement with eight Mk XIX high-angle/low-angle guns in four twin mounts, which was to occur in the late 1930s, was prevented by the outbreak of World War II. The guns could have been swapped out during a maintenance docking, but the demand for cruisers and Sydney's fortune in never sustaining major damage meant that the additional time in dock could not be justified. For close-range anti-aircraft defence, the 4-inch guns were supplemented by twelve 0.5-inch (13 mm) Vickers Mk III machine guns, which were arranged in three Mk II quadruple mountings, one on each side of the forward superstructure, and the third on top of the aft superstructure.
A mixture of 0.303-inch (7.7 mm) machine guns were used for close defence work, and could be fitted to pedestals at various points on the ship, primarily around the bridge and on the three searchlight platforms (one either side of the forward funnel, the third raised above the aft superstructure). At launch, Sydney carried fourteen Lewis machine guns and two Vickers machine guns, but by the start of World War II, the Lewis guns had been reduced to nine, and the Vickers guns removed completely.
Eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted in two QR Mk VII quadruple mounts to the deck below the platform for the 4-inch guns. Only eight Mark 9 torpedoes were carried. Sydney was fitted with a single depth charge rail at the stern, which held five Mk VII depth charges. Four 3-pounder (47-mm, 1.9-in) quick-firing Hotchkiss guns were carried as saluting guns. These were removed during the August 1940 refit.
Sydney was fitted with a 53-foot (16 m), cordite-powered revolving catapult between the two funnels, which was used to launch a Supermarine Walrus (sometimes described as a Seagull V) amphibious aircraft. The Walrus was operated by Royal Australian Air Force personnel from No. 5 Squadron RAAF (which was redesignated No. 9 Squadron RAAF in 1939). The 7-ton electric crane used to recover the aircraft also served to deploy most of the ship's boats.
## Operational history
### Early history
Sydney completed working up trials before sailing from Portsmouth on 29 October 1935, Captain J.U.P. Fitzgerald RN in command. Almost immediately after departing, Sydney was instructed to join the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet at Gibraltar and assist the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in enforcing economic sanctions against Italy in response to the Abyssinian crisis. During January 1936, the cruiser underwent maintenance in Alexandria and visited medical facilities in Cyprus: cases of rubella and mumps had been circulating through the ship's company since late 1935. In March, Sydney was reassigned the 1st Cruiser Squadron, where she and the heavy cruiser continued to enforce sanctions and participate in fleet exercises with Royal Navy units. Following the resolution of the Abyssinian crisis, Sydney departed for Australia on 14 July; reaching Fremantle in late July before visiting Melbourne on 8 August and arriving in her namesake city three days later.
After reaching Australian waters, Sydney spent most of her time on fleet exercises and training cruises. In 1938, the cruiser was one of several RAN units prepared to respond to the Munich crisis, but all ships stood down after the potential war was averted. From 17 to 19 April 1939, Sydney was one of eight warships involved in a joint forces trade protection exercise off the south-east Australian coast. In early August 1939, Sydney was in Darwin, prior to visiting the Netherlands East Indies. However, in response to the events which prompted the start of World War II, Sydney was ordered to sail to Fremantle on a war footing, where she arrived on 22 August.
### Start of World War II
Following the declaration of war, Sydney was instructed to carry out patrol and escort duties in Australian waters. Captain John Collins took over command of Sydney on 16 November. On 28 November, Sydney joined the Australian heavy cruisers and in an unsuccessful four-day search for the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, which was known to be operating in the Indian Ocean. Sydney was relieved by on 13 December, and sailed to Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney for a maintenance docking. The work was completed in late January 1940, and as a shakedown cruise Sydney joined Canberra and the British ships Leander and Ramillies in escorting the Suez-bound Anzac convoy US 1; Sydney broke off after the convoy left the east coast of Australia and returned to Sydney. Returning to Fremantle on 6 February, Sydney relieved Australia as the cruiser responsible for patrol and escort duties on the west coast.
On 19 April, Sydney joined the escort of Anzac convoy US 2 off Albany, and remained with the convoy until it reached the Cocos Islands on 28 April and was replaced by French cruiser Suffren. The Australian cruiser set course for Fremantle, but on 1 May was assigned to the East Indies Station and rerouted to Colombo, where she arrived on 8 May. Arriving in Colombo on 8 May, Sydney was immediately tasked with meeting Anzac convoy US 3 off the Cocos Islands and escorting it across the Indian Ocean. The cruiser departed on 12 May, but while en route, she was instructed to make for the Mediterranean.
Arriving back in Colombo on 18 May, Sydney replenished before sailing at high speed to Aden, where she arrived four days later. The Australian cruiser, accompanied by HM Ships Gloucester and Eagle, departed the next day, with the ships crossing the Suez Canal during the night of 25–26 May, and arriving in Alexandria that afternoon at 15:30. Sydney was originally marked for operations in the Red Sea, but after observing the performance of an Australian five-destroyer flotilla assigned to the British Mediterranean Fleet, Admiral Andrew Cunningham decided to "keep the Australian cruiser for himself" and attached Sydney to the Royal Navy's 7th Cruiser Squadron.
### Mediterranean operations
Sydney was in Alexandria harbour on 10 June 1940, and that evening learned of Italy's intention to declare war at midnight. By 01:00 on 11 June, all ships in harbour had departed to search for Italian warships in position to attack Alexandria, and secure the sea lines of communication in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean. The Australian cruiser was involved in the westbound sweep, and sailed as far as the Gulf of Taranto during the four-day operation. Apart from an unsuccessful depth charge attack on a suspected submarine during the afternoon of 13 June, Sydney did not encounter any enemy vessels.
On 21 June, Sydney fired in anger for the first time, joining the British cruisers Orion and Neptune, the French battleship Lorraine, and a force of destroyers in shelling the Italian-controlled Libyan port of Bardia. Sydney focused her fire on a military camp throughout the twenty-two-minute bombardment. During this operation, the Australian ship's Walrus amphibian performed bombardment spotting for the squadron, but was fired on by three biplanes: although reported at the time as Italian Fiat CR.42 Falcos, the attackers were later determined to be British Gloster Gladiators. The pilot flew the damaged aircraft to Mersa Matruh, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his skill in doing so, but the unrepairable Walrus was the only casualty of the operation. The next day, a retaliatory airstrike against the ships, by then having returned to Alexandria, failed to do damage.
That same day, Germany and Vichy France signed the Second Armistice at Compiègne: although French warships (which had until that point operated with the Allies) were ordered to return to France and disarm, the British government was unwilling to allow them to fall into Axis hands. Sydney and the British warships in Alexandria turned their guns on the French, but unlike the situation in Mers-el-Kébir, which deteriorated into a naval battle, British Admiral Cunningham and French Admiral René-Emile Godfroy peacefully negotiated to disarm the ships at Alexandria.
Sydney and other elements of the 7th Squadron sailed from Alexandria on 27 June, escorting a Malta convoy. Late on 28 June, the ships engaged a force of three Italian destroyers carrying out a ressuply mission to Tobruk. Although two Italian vessels were able to continue their way, the third, Espero was disabled. At 20:00, Sydney (which had little opportunity to fire during the engagement) was detailed to recover any survivors and sink the destroyer while the rest of the force continued on to Malta. However, while 6,000 yards (5,500 m) from Espero, the Italian ship fired two shells, both of which fell in line with but short of the cruiser. Sydney opened fire, and after four salvos struck the destroyer with no shots fired in return, resumed the approach. Espero sank at 20:35, and Sydney remained in the area for almost two hours to collect survivors despite the risk of submarine attack, before she was ordered to withdraw to Alexandria. The cruiser rescued 47 Italians (three of whom died from wounds during the return voyage), and left a fully provisioned cutter in the water to be used by other Italian survivors after Sydney had departed.
On the evening of 7 July, Sydney departed from Alexandria as part of a fleet including four other light cruisers, three battleships, an aircraft carrier, and sixteen destroyers, divided into three groups. The three groups were to rendezvous on 9 July at a point 120 nautical miles (220 km; 140 mi) east of Cape Passero and 150 nautical miles (280 km; 170 mi) from Malta, at which point the destroyers would escort two convoys outbound from Malta, while the other vessels would attack targets of opportunity around Sicily. However, early on 8 June, the British submarine HMS Phoenix reported that she had unsuccessfully attacked an Italian fleet including two battleships. Throughout the day, the fleet had to defend itself from multiple Italian air raids: at one point Sydney and the other cruisers of the 7th Squadron attacked what they thought was a high-flying bomber, but was later determined to be the planet Venus. Aerial reconnaissance located the Italian force during the afternoon, which was made up of at least two battleships, accompanied by multiple cruisers and destroyers. The sightings of such a large force of warships, combined with the heavy air attack, led Admiral Andrew Cunningham to conclude that the Italians were also covering a major convoy, and decide to reposition his fleet between the Italians and Taranto, the projected destination.
Contact with the Italian fleet was lost during the night, but regained in the morning of 9 July. By 14:00, the Allied fleet had positioned itself in the Italians' path, and Cunningham ordered them west, to close on the projected position of the enemy and engage. Sydney spotted smoke at 14:45, and made visual contact with a force of five cruisers just after 15:00. The Allied cruiser squadron, supported by the battleship HMS Warspite altered their course northward, and at 15:20, Sydney opened fire on an Italian Zara-class cruiser, 23,000 yards (21,000 m) distant, but both the Allied and Italian cruiser forces were unable to successfully hit their opposing numbers. Sydney remained unsuccessful until the late part of the engagement, when she successfully shelled a smokescreen-laying destroyer. The naval component of what came to be known as the Battle of Calabria concluded around 17:00, with Cunningham unwilling to pursue the Italian fleet through the smokescreen they had created. The Allied ships instead broke off for Malta, while enduring several heavy but ineffective air attacks; during the safe delivery of Malta Convoy MA 5 and the return to Alexandria on 13 July, Sydney sustained no damage, but expended all her anti-aircraft ammunition. Sydney's participation in the battle earned the ship a battle honour: "Calabria 1940".
The Australian cruiser spent five days in Alexandria for resupply and maintenance, before departing for Crete with the British destroyer HMS Havock. They arrived at sunset on 18 July, and the next morning, the two ships were ordered to patrol the Gulf of Athens for Axis warships and shipping, while providing support for a four-ship destroyer force (HM Ships Hyperion, Ilex, Hero, and Hasty) conducting an anti-submarine sweep north of Crete. Believing that these two tasks were incompatible, and that protecting the destroyers was the more important, Sydney's commander, Captain John Collins, ordered the two ships to move 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) south of their patrol area while maintaining radio silence. At 07:20 on 19 July, the destroyer force spotted and was spotted by a pair of Italian light cruisers; Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and Bartolomeo Colleoni, which opened fire seven minutes later. The British destroyers turned to a north-east heading and set off at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph), broadcasting news of the attack to the silent Sydney while closing the gap between the two forces. Using the wireless signals to track the four destroyers, Sydney and Havock made to intercept the destroyers and their cruiser pursuit, and was able to close at least half an hour earlier than if they had followed their original instructions: when Sydney opened fire on Bande Nere at 08:29, both sides were surprised by the appearance of the cruiser. Within minutes, Sydney had successfully damaged Bande Nere, and when the Italians withdrew to the south, the six Allied ships pursued. At 08:48, with Bande Nere hiding behind a smoke screen, Sydney shifted her fire to Bartolomeo Colleoni, which was disabled by 09:33. Collins ordered the destroyers to torpedo the ship and rescue survivors: Hyperion, Ilex, and Havock did so, while Hero and Hasty supported Sydney in continuing pursuit of Bande Nere. At 10:37, the chase ended, as the faster Italian cruiser had outrun the Allies, visibility was reduced by smoke and haze, and ammunition aboard the pursuing ships was low: Sydney had ten shells left for her forward turrets. The six ships returned to Alexandria around 11:00 on 20 July after fending off several air attacks (one of which damaged Havock), and were met by cheering from all ships in the harbour.
The only damage to Sydney during what came to be known as the Battle of Cape Spada was caused by a shell at 09:21, which knocked a hole in the forward funnel, and wounded a sailor through splinter damage. For his actions, Collins was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath, while other officers and sailors from Sydney received two Distinguished Service Orders, two Distinguished Service Crosses, five Distinguished Service Medals, and twelve Mentions in Despatches between them. Sydney herself was awarded the battle honour "Spada 1940".
After refuelling and rearming, Sydney and HMS Neptune departed Alexandria on 27 July to join the covering force for a southbound convoy from the Aegean. The ships were attacked five times that afternoon by aircraft, but Sydney escaped with only minor damage and shrapnel wounds. The two cruisers broke away from the convoy the next day to locate and sink the Greek tanker Ermioni, which was supplying the Italian-held Dodecanese Islands. The two cruisers located Ermioni just before dusk: Sydney provided anti-submarine protection while the tanker's crew were convinced to transfer to the British warships, after which Ermioni was shelled by Neptune. The two ships returned to Alexandria on 30 July, and Sydney departed the same day in company with HMS Orion for a three-day patrol.
Back in Alexandria, Sydney underwent a refit, during which a 3-foot (0.91 m) high, 0.5-inch (13 mm) thick wall of armour plating was constructed around the 4-inch gun platform, while the ship's company repainted the ship from standard grey to a naval camouflage pattern. The refit was completed by 12 August, when Sydney, Neptune, and five destroyers set off to interdict Axis shipping along the north African coast and the Aegean Sea. The operation was cancelled after no ships were located during the first two days, and Sydney was tasked with assisting a destroyer squadron during shore bombardments at Bomba and Bardia. At the end of the month, the cruiser joined the escort of Malta convoy MB 5.
On the return voyage, Sydney and several other vessels were tasked with attacking Italian facilities. Canvas and timber were used to alter the cruiser's profile to resemble an Italian Condottieri-class cruiser, allowing her to manoeuvre close to Scarpanto during the night of 3–4 September. At dawn, Sydney and the British destroyer Ilex attacked the Italian Makri Yalo Airbase at Scarpanto; the cruiser fired 135 shells in 25 minutes, while the destroyer fended off five E-boats, sinking two. On completion, the two ships rejoined the fleet, but were again mistaken for Italian warships and nearly fired on before Sydney raised the White Ensign and cut down her disguise. Admiral Cunningham congratulated Sydney with the message "Well Done. You are a stormy petrel.", which was adopted as a nickname for the cruiser. On her return to Alexandria, the Australian cruiser underwent another short refit, which was completed late in the month: on 24 September Sydney supported HMS Protector during the interception of a French merchant ship, then completed a two-day patrol west of Cyprus. Late on 28 September, Sydney joined the heavy escort of a Malta-bound troop convoy. During the return voyage, Sydney and HMS Orion left the fleet on 1 October for a sweep of the Aegean Sea, which was concluded with a brief bombardment of Maltezana before returning to Alexandria two days later.
The entire Mediterranean fleet sailed from Alexandria on 8 October to provide cover for several Malta Convoys, and attempt to draw the Italian fleet into battle. The convoys reached their destination safely, and the operation was uneventful for Sydney; the only contact with Italian forces was an engagement during the early morning of 12 October between the British cruiser Ajax and seven Italian torpedo boats and destroyers, of which Ajax sank three and damaged a fourth. From 25 October, Sydney, Orion, and the destroyers Jervis and Juno were engaged in a sweep of the Aegean for Axis vessels, reaching as far north as the Dardanelles. No major incidents occurred until 28 October, when the Italians invaded Greece: the four ships were recalled to Alexandria, where they arrived that evening. Shortly after, the two cruisers were joined by HM Ships York and Gloucester and met the main force of the Mediterranean fleet west of Crete on 30 October. Over the next few days, the warships patrolled around Crete and along the Greek mainland, and provided cover for the first supply convoy to Crete.
On 5 November, Sydney and HMS Ajax departed from Port Said with military equipment to be used to establish an Allied advanced base at Souda Bay, Crete. After delivering the equipment, which included almost 1,000 soldiers, the equipment for a Bofors battery, cases of food, and several trucks, the cruisers rejoined the main fleet. The Mediterranean Fleet remained on patrol for several days, and during the night of 11–12 November, while the bulk of the fleet supported the world's first all-naval-aircraft attack on the Italian fleet anchored in Taranto, Sydney, Ajax, Orion and the destroyers Nubian and Mohawk attempted to transit the Strait of Otranto as a diversion. Despite the mission of "looking for trouble", the northbound passage through the strait passed without incident. The return was not so uneventful: at 01:20, a convoy of four merchantmen with two escorting destroyers was spotted by Sydney's lookouts. The Allied warships manoeuvred in close, and opened fire at 01:27: Sydney directing her fire onto a freighter 7,000 yards (6,400 m) away. During the 23-minute engagement, the cruiser successfully contributed to the destruction of three merchant ships and damaged a destroyer, avoided a torpedo, and unsuccessfully fired two in return. At 01:57, the undamaged Allied force departed the strait, and met the main fleet before midday.
From 15 to 20 November, Sydney and three other cruisers transported 4,000 Allied soldiers and their equipment from Alexandria to the Piraeus as reinforcements for the Greek military. On returning to Alexandria, Sydney deployed with the majority of the Mediterranean fleet to cover multiple convoys across the sea: the Australian cruiser spent the remainder of the month operating throughout the eastern and central Mediterranean, and was bombed by Italian aircraft on 24 November at Souda Bay, but escaped damage. Sydney started December in the Aegean, where she escorted convoys and shelled the port of Valona, then proceeded to Malta for a refit and repairs to her rudder, which lasted until the end of the year. During this refit, the cruiser was fitted with degaussing equipment. The ship rejoined the fleet on 8 January 1941, when she was instructed to head home after proceeding along the north coast of Africa and linking up with any Australia-bound merchant ships she encountered. The recall was attributed to the need to bring Sydney in for a major refit and give her personnel leave, a plan to spread combat experience throughout the RAN by trading the cruiser with her sister ship, , and a need to protect Australia against the German merchant raiders operating in the area, particularly following the attacks on Nauru.
Before leaving, 100 of the ship's company were removed on 11 January, so they could be sent to England to help man the new N-class destroyers. The next day, the ship sailed for Aden via the Suez Canal. Sydney and the troopship Empress of Canada left Aden on 16 January to join Convoy SW 4B, which Sydney escorted until relieved by HMS Ceres four days later. The Australian cruiser was instructed to attack any Italian ships at Mogadiscio, but as there were no large merchant ships in port and Sydney was forbidden to attack the harbour itself, she then proceeded to the Seychelles to refuel. On 24 January, Sydney was one of several warships which responded to an attack on the merchantman Mandasor by the German merchant raider Atlantis. Despite a three-day search, Sydney did not come into contact with Atlantis. Sydney resumed her voyage home, and arrived in her namesake city after sunset on 9 February. The cruiser anchored in Watsons Bay for the night, then sailed into the inner harbour the next morning and tied up alongside at Sydney Cove to a heroes' welcome. On 11 February, a holiday was declared for school students in Sydney, so they could join the thousands of people who witnessed the ship's company perform a freedom of entry march.
As well as the battle honours for the battles at Calabria and Cape Spada, Sydney was granted the "Mediterranean 1940" battle honour for her various actions during the Mediterranean naval campaign. During the eight-month deployment, the only fatality in the ship's company was a death due to illness.
### Australian waters
Following a short refit, Sydney sailed for Fremantle on 27 February, where she was assigned to escort and patrol tasks in the Indian Ocean. This primarily involved meeting convoys off the southern Australian coast and escorting them on the next leg of their journey, either westbound to the Middle East and Europe, or northwards to the Dutch East Indies.
In April, Sydney escorted the troopship Queen Mary from Fremantle to Jervis Bay, before embarking Admiral Ragnar Colvin and a party of advisors from all three branches of the Australian military and transporting them to Singapore by 19 April for a secret conference between the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands East Indies, and the United States of America. The cruiser returned to Fremantle before month's end, after which Collins handed command over to Captain Joseph Burnett on 15 May. Shortly after, the cruiser escorted the transport SS Zealandia during a troop transport run to Singapore. Sydney escorted the troopship to Sunda Strait, where responsibility was handed over to the British light cruiser HMS Danae.
In early June, Sydney met Zealandia and Danae on the troopship's return voyage, and took over escort duties from Sunda Strait back to Fremantle. After replenishing in Fremantle, Zealandia joined a multiple ship convoy to the east coast of Australia, which was also escorted by Sydney. The convoy departed on 24 June and made for Sydney, after which the cruiser joined the escort of a Pacific convoy before returning for maintenance. This concluded on 8 August, when Sydney escorted the troopship Awatea to New Zealand, then Fiji.
On her return to Sydney at the end of August, the cruiser joined the troopships Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth during the first leg of their voyage (Anzac convoy US 12A), escorting them until rendezvousing with Canberra in the Great Australian Bight. Sydney then sailed to Melbourne, and remained until 19 September, during which her camouflage was repainted in a new pattern. The cruiser then escorted the four-ship Anzac convoy US 12B to Fremantle: heavy seas while crossing the Great Australian Bight caused "A" turret to become jammed on a port facing. This was repaired in Fremantle, and the convoy proceeded to Sunda Strait, where Sydney handed the merchant ships over to the British cruisers Glasgow and Danae on 3 October and set course for Fremantle. On the night of 5–6 October, a mysterious ship that responded to challenge signals near Rottnest Island then disappeared led the Naval Officer in Charge Fremantle to believe that the approaches to the harbour had been mined. Sydney was diverted to intercept Queen Mary before the troopship reached Fremantle, and ordered to remain with her until a channel was swept and found free of mines. After reaching port on 7 October, Sydney officially assumed patrol and escort duties in Western Australian waters.
The next few weeks were uneventful for Sydney, and between 18 and 29 October, the cruiser visited Geraldton and Bunbury. On 2 November, the Australian cruiser sailed to meet Zealandia off Albany. The troopship was on a second troop transport run to Singapore; delivering the 8th Division. The two ships returned to Fremantle, and on 11 November, they departed for Sunda Strait. Zealandia was handed over on 17 November to HMS Durban for the next leg, and the Australian cruiser turned for home: she was scheduled to arrive in Fremantle late on 20 November.
## Final battle and loss
Note: all times in this section are UTC+7
On the afternoon of 19 November 1941, Sydney was off the coast of Western Australia, near Carnarvon, and heading south towards Fremantle. Around 15:55, the cruiser spotted a merchant ship on a northbound course, which quickly turned away from the coast at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). Sydney increased speed to 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) and made to intercept. As she closed the gap, Sydney began to signal the unidentified merchantman, first by signal light, then after no reply was forthcoming and the distance between the two ships had decreased, by a combination of light and signal flag.
The merchant ship hoisted her callsign, but as she was ahead and just port of Sydney, the flags were obscured by the funnel. The cruiser sent a request that the merchant ship make her signal letters clear, which the signals officer did by lengthening the halyard and swinging the flags clear. The callsign was that of the Dutch ship Straat Malakka, but she was not on Sydney's list of ships meant to be in the area. Further flag signals were exchanged between the ships, with Sydney asking the Dutch ship's destination and cargo.
At 17:00, a distress signal was transmitted by Straat Malakka, indicating that she was being pursued by a merchant raider. Following this, Sydney pulled alongside the merchant ship from astern; pacing the merchantman on a parallel course, approximately 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) away. Sydney's main guns and port torpedo launcher were trained on the ship, while she sent the interior portion of Straat Malakka's secret callsign. Fifteen minutes later, at around 17:30, the merchantman had not replied, and Sydney sent a signal ordering her to show the secret callsign.
Straat Malakka had not replied because she was the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran in disguise, and when asked to reveal a callsign the Germans did not know, Kormoran responded by decamouflaging and opening fire. Prompted by the raider's unveiling, Sydney also fired (accounts are divided as to which ship fired first), but while her first salvo either missed or passed through Kormoran's upper superstructure with minimal damage, four of the raider's six 15-centimetre (5.9 in) guns (the other two guns were on the port side and could not fire to starboard) were able to destroy the cruiser's bridge and gun director tower, damage the forward turrets, and set the aircraft on fire.
Sydney did not fire again until after the raider's sixth salvo: "Y" turret fired without effect, but "X" turret was able to put multiple shells into Kormoran, damaging machinery spaces and one of the raider's guns, while igniting an oil tank. During this, Kormoran maintained heavy fire, and around the time of the eighth or ninth German salvo, a torpedo launched at the start of the engagement hit Sydney just forward of "A" turret and near the ASDIC compartment (the weakest point on the ship's hull), ripping a hole in the side and causing the bow of the cruiser to angle down. Down by the bows, the cruiser swung hard to port, and passed behind Kormoran; during the turn, shells from the raider knocked "B" turret off Sydney.
By 17:35, Sydney was heading south and losing speed, wreathed in smoke from multiple fires. Her main armament was disabled (the two aft turrets had jammed on a port facing and could not be swung around), and her secondary guns were out of effective range. The cruiser continued to be hit by shells from Kormoran's aft guns as the distance between the ships increased. The Germans reported that around 17:45, all four torpedoes from Sydney's starboard launcher were fired, but as Kormoran was manoeuvring to bring her port broadside to bear, they all missed. In fact, only two torpedoes from Sydney's port launcher were ever fired, which must have happened some time earlier. The raider's engines broke down after this turn, but she continued to fire on Sydney at a high rate despite being immobilised, although many of the shells would have missed as the distance between the two ships increased. Kormoran ceased fire at 17:50, with the range at 6,600 yards (6,000 m), and launched another torpedo at 18:00, but missed Sydney.
The Australian cruiser continued on a south-south-east heading at low speed; observers aboard Kormoran doubted that Sydney was under control. Although disappearing over the horizon shortly later, the glow from the damaged, burning warship was consistently seen by the Germans until about 22:00, and sporadically until midnight. At some point during the night, Sydney lost buoyancy and sank: the bow was torn off as she submerged and descended almost vertically, while the rest of the hull glided 500 metres (1,600 ft) forward as she sank, hitting the bottom upright and stern first. Sydney's shells had crippled Kormoran; the German sailors abandoned ship after it was determined that below-deck fires could not be controlled before they reached the gun magazines or the mines in the cargo hold. The raider was scuttled at midnight, and sank slowly until the mine deck exploded half an hour later.
### Aftermath
Sydney's failure to reach Fremantle on 20 November was not initially cause for concern, as several factors might have delayed the cruiser, none of which were sufficient reason to break the order to maintain wireless silence. However, with no sign of the cruiser by 23 November, shore-based wireless stations began transmitting orders for Sydney to break silence and report in. A raft of German survivors was recovered by a British tanker on 24 November, at which point a large-scale air and sea search began. During this search, which lasted until the evening of 29 November 318 survivors from Kormoran's 399 personnel were found, but apart from a carley float and a lifebelt, nothing from Sydney or the 645 aboard was recovered.
Australian Prime Minister John Curtin officially announced the loss of the cruiser during the afternoon of 30 November. Sydney's destruction was a major blow to Australian morale and military capability: her ship's company made up 35 percent of the RAN's wartime casualties. The cruiser's loss did not have the same impact internationally; Japan entered World War II with attacks on Pearl Harbor on 7 December, just over a week after Sydney's loss was announced, and two British capital ships were destroyed within a fortnight, with the loss of Singapore following shortly after.
The German survivors were taken to Fremantle and interrogated. Attempts to learn what had happened were hampered by the German officers instructing their sailors to obfuscate the enemy with false answers, people describing events they did not witness but heard of later, and difficulty in keeping groups separated in order to check their stories against each other. Despite this, Australian authorities were able to piece together the broad details of the battle, which was verified by a group of German sailors who had been taken to Sydney instead: their interviews showed the same commonalities and inconsistencies as those from Fremantle, and the interrogators concluded that the true story was being recounted. Interrogations were concluded in December, and by the end of January, Kormoran's personnel had been moved to prisoner-of-war camps in Victoria, where they remained until their repatriation to Germany in early 1947.
On 6 February 1942, a Carley float containing a dead body was spotted just off Christmas Island and towed ashore. Examination of the raft and its occupant led the island's inhabitants to believe that they were from Sydney. Although a 1949 investigation conducted by the Royal Navy stated the raft was not from HMAS Sydney, and while some historians agreed, others concluded that the raft and the body originated from Sydney. The body was exhumed in October 2006 and reburied at Geraldton Cemetery in November 2008, after DNA was extracted. On 19 November 2021, Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Andrew Gee announced that comparison of the extracted DNA with that of relatives of Sydney personnel had identified the sailor as Able Seaman Thomas Welsby Clark who had joined Sydney in August 1941, approximately four months before her sinking.
### Controversy
The battle between Sydney and Kormoran is seen as controversial: the disbelief that a modified merchant ship could so successfully defeat a cruiser combined with the lack of Australian survivors led some to believe that the German account was false. Rumours that the battle was not what it seemed had been around since Sydney failed to reach Fremantle on schedule in 1941, but several historians (including Tom Frame and Wesley Olson) credit Michael Montgomery and his 1980 book Who Sank The Sydney? with igniting the controversy.
The main claims made by supporters of an alternative view of the engagement include: that the Germans fired on Sydney before raising their battle ensign, or after using a flag of surrender or signals of distress to lure the cruiser in, that a Japanese submarine was partially or completely responsible for sinking Sydney, that the involvement of the Japanese was covered up to lure the United States into the war, and that Australian survivors were killed in the water to eliminate witnesses. Other claims, less widely heard, include a belief that Sydney was not at action stations and thus not prepared for Kormoran's attack, distress calls from the cruiser were heard by Australian shore facilities but ignored, and that survivors were captured then executed by the Japanese.
These claims have been proven false by historians and researchers; the 1998 inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade concluded that the German accounts were a "feasible" interpretation of the battle, but there was no reliable evidence to support any of the alternative claims, while the 2009 report for the Cole Inquiry (the third volume of which was completely dedicated to the "frauds, conspiracies and speculations" surrounding the battle) found nothing to substantiate any of the theories raised.
In addition, most researchers have speculated as to why Sydney was so close to an unknown vessel, with various levels of blame assigned to Captain Burnett for the demise of his ship. Theories to explain Burnett's actions include that he was inexperienced or incompetent, deceived by Kormoran's disguise, the idea that he was under conflicting orders instructing that raiders be attacked at range but enemy supply ships be captured, or that he was trying to clearly identify the merchantman.
## Search and rediscovery
Despite the approximate position of Kormoran being known (most German accounts giving the battle coordinates as ), the required search area for both ships was immense. Calculating a search area was complicated by the fact that several people distrusted the German location, and believed the ships would be found further south and closer to shore. Several attempts to bring supporters of the 'northern' and 'southern' positions to a consensus and narrow down the potential search area were unsuccessful.
Multiple searches were carried out by the RAN between 1974 and 1997 (using the survey ship and later the trials ship ), but efforts were restricted to the continental shelf, and were usually in response to civilian claims that they had found Sydney at a certain location. Other searches were conducted by RAAF aircraft carrying magnetometers; again, these were only in response to possible location claims. These searches failed to find either ship.
American shipwreck hunter David Mearns first learned of the battle in 1996, and began to study it as a prelude to a search for the ships in 2001. Mearns, with the aid of other researchers, focused on primary sources (rediscovering several archive files and diaries in the process), and came to the conclusion that the German accounts were true, and that the ship would be found at the northern position. After attracting the interest of the RAN, Mearns entered into a partnership with HMAS Sydney Search, a not-for-profit company set up to administer and help fund an expedition to locate Sydney and Kormoran. State and Federal government grants totalling just under A\$5 million, coupled with private and corporate donations, were used to fund a 45-day search from the end of February to early April 2008.
Mearns' plan was to inspect a 52-by-34-nautical-mile (96 by 63 km; 60 by 39 mi) search box around the German location with a deep-water, towed side-scan sonar to locate Kormoran, after which the search team would be able to narrow down the search area for Sydney. After locating one or both vessels, the search ship (survey vessel SV Geosounder, chartered from the subsea exploration company DOF Subsea Australia) would return to port and replace the sonar with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to photograph and video the wrecks.
After problems with equipment and weather, Geosounder commenced the search, and located Kormoran on 12 March 2008 at . Using the newly discovered wreck and the accounts of the Germans describing Sydney's heading, speed, and last sighting after the battle, a 20-by-18-nautical-mile (37 by 33 km; 23 by 21 mi) search box for the cruiser was calculated: the dramatically smaller area was due to the quality of information regarding Sydney's position and heading in relation to Kormoran, while the raider's location consisted of only broad coordinates.
Sydney was located on 17 March 2008 just after 11:00, only hours after Kormoran's discovery was made public. News that the cruiser had been found was announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 18 March. Sydney's wreck was located at at 2,468 metres (8,097 ft) below sea level, 11.4 nautical miles (21.1 km; 13.1 mi) south-east of the raider. The bow of the cruiser had broken off as the ship sank, and was located at the opposite end of a debris field stretching less than 500 metres (1,600 ft) north-west from the hull, which was sitting upright on the ocean floor. On discovery, both wrecks were placed under the protection of the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976, which penalises anyone disturbing a protected shipwreck with a fine of up to A\$10,000 or a maximum five years imprisonment. Both wrecks were placed on the Australian National Heritage List on 14 March 2011.
After the side-scan sonar aboard Geosounder was switched out for the ROV (again delayed by technical issues and more bad weather), the survey ship returned to Sydney's wreck site on 3 April, and performed a detailed study of the ship and her debris field. Inspections were also carried out on Kormoran and the believed battle site (the latter found to be outcrops of pillow lava), before Mearns declared the search over on 7 April. In April 2015, an expedition to the wrecks by Curtin University and the Western Australian Museum commenced, with the objective of using 3D imaging to map the wrecksites for further study, and to determine if any deterioration since the 2008 discovery requires the development of a conservation management plan.
## Awards, memorials, and legacy
Sydney was granted the battle honour "Kormoran 1941" in recognition of the damage done to Kormoran. This was one of only three honours awarded during the 20th century for the sinking of a single ship, and the second to a ship named Sydney (the other had been awarded to the previous Sydney for her defeat of the German light cruiser SMS Emden at the Battle of Cocos).
The main memorial for the loss of Sydney is located at Geraldton, Western Australia, on top of Mount Scott. Planning for the memorial commenced in late 1997, after a speech by Sydney researcher Glenys McDonald at the local Rotary club. The first, temporary memorial (consisting of a large boulder, a flagpole, and a bronze plaque), was installed prior to 19 November 1998, and was used in a remembrance ceremony that year. During the playing of the Last Post, a large flock of seagulls flew over the participants and headed out to sea in formation: this became a major feature of the permanent memorial. The permanent memorial included four major elements: a stele of the same size and shape of the ship's prow, a granite wall listing the ship's company, a bronze statue of a woman looking out to sea and waiting in vain for the cruiser to come home, and a dome (dubbed the "dome of souls") onto which 645 stainless steel seagulls were welded.
The memorial (minus the stele, which had not been completed in time) was dedicated on 18 November 2001, and was used the next evening for a commemoration ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the ship's loss. In May 2009, the memorial was recognised by the Australian government as being of national significance. By 2011, the stele had been completed, and a fifth element—a pool of remembrance containing a map of the region and the marked position of Sydney's wreck—had been added.
Other memorials commemorating the loss of Sydney include an oak tree planted at the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance, and an avenue in Carnarvon lined with 645 trees. The service of Sydney, along with the other ships of the same name, is commemorated by a stained-glass window at the Garden Island Naval Chapel, and by the mast of the first at Bradleys Head, New South Wales. The names of those killed aboard Sydney are inscribed at the Australian War Memorial.
The "HMAS Sydney Replacement Fund" was established to help finance the acquisition of a replacement ship. The AU£426,000 raised was contributed to the purchase of Australia's first aircraft carrier in the late 1940s; the Majestic-class carrier was named upon her commissioning into the RAN in December 1948. This Sydney operated during the Korean War, then was modified into a troop transport and served in the Vietnam War, before her sale for scrap in 1973.
The Supermarine Seagull V aircraft that operated from Sydney between 1937 and 1938 still survives as part of the collection of the Royal Air Force Museum at Colindale in north London.
The "HMAS Sydney II Cup" was introduced in 2010 as a commemorative trophy competed for by two Australian Football League clubs, the Sydney Swans (representing the ship's namesake) and the West Coast Eagles (representing the site of the ship's loss), in an annual match. The trophy is based on the cruiser's battle honour board, while the design of a Best On Ground trophy for the match's best player is based on a shell casing from the frigate Sydney.
|
1,672,901 |
Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet
| 1,153,143,511 |
2004 video game
|
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"2016 anime ONAs",
"2016 web series debuts",
"Android (operating system) games",
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"Bishōjo games",
"David Production",
"Dystopian video games",
"Funimation",
"IOS games",
"Key (company) games",
"Light novels",
"Nintendo Switch games",
"Okuruto Noboru",
"PlayStation 2 games",
"PlayStation Portable games",
"Post-apocalyptic video games",
"Prototype (company) games",
"Science fiction video games",
"Seinen manga",
"Sekai Project games",
"Single-player video games",
"VA Bunko",
"Video games developed in Japan",
"Video games scored by Magome Togoshi",
"Windows games"
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Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet (planetarian ~ちいさなほしのゆめ~, Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume) is a Japanese post-apocalyptic visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts whose previous works include Kanon and Air. It was released over the Internet on November 29, 2004, for Windows, and is rated for all ages. The game was later ported to the PlayStation 2 (PS2), PlayStation Portable and Nintendo Switch, as well as mobile devices. The story centers on a man who comes across a malfunctioning robot in a dead city. The man, known simply as "the junker", stays with this robot for a time and attempts to fix the projector of the planetarium where the story takes place.
Key defines Planetarian as a "kinetic novel", since its gameplay offers no choices or alternate endings. Instead, the player proceeds through the story solely by reading. The story is written by Yūichi Suzumoto and character design is produced by Eeji Komatsu. The game's soundtrack was composed and arranged by Key's signature composers Magome Togoshi and Shinji Orito. A light novel of short stories set in the world of Planetarian was released in April 2006, and three audio dramas have also been produced. David Production produced a five-episode original net animation series and an anime film in 2016. Planetarian's story, artwork and music have been praised, and the PS2 version ranked first for console games in terms of satisfaction in 2007.
## Gameplay
Planetarian is a post-apocalyptic visual novel in which the player assumes the role of the junker. Unlike traditional visual novels, no choices are given to the player in Planetarian to advance the story, and there is only one possible ending; this is what Key referred to as a kinetic novel. The player can choose when to advance to the next dialogue screen or put the game on auto play. In this respect, the player does not play the game as if it were a video game, but plays it rather more like one would play a music track on a CD or play a DVD film. During gameplay, the player can choose to hide the text from view and go back to any previous lines. The game can be saved at any point in any of the five save slots available, and a load option is available where the player can load any of the automatically saved chapter markers, or choose to load any of the manually saved games.
By length of story, Planetarian is the shortest of Key's games. Excluding the opening and ending sequences, there are 16 parts to the story; the first half is set within the planetarium while the latter half is set outside in the ruined city where the planetarium resides. The novel takes four hours and forty minutes to complete on auto play. After the game has been completed at least once, two new options appear on the title screen. The first is a feature that allows the player to view twenty images of CG artwork observed in the game. The second option allows the player to listen to eight of the nine music tracks featured in the game.
## Plot
### Setting
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world. It is said that due to the depletion of natural resources, overpopulation, and the failure of the Space Exploration Project, humanity has virtually eradicated itself through biological and nuclear warfare, turning a once prosperous civilization into complete ruin, cast in darkness and poisoned by constant rain from nuclear fallout. One military invasion in the past was at Mare Nectaris. The bloodshed continues 30 years after the war in a dystopic world via automated war machines, which kill anyone trespassing into their territory. Of the remaining humans, there are those known as "junkers" who go around scavenging for anything in order to survive; the protagonist in the story is one.
The main location where most of the story takes place is the fictional Flowercrest Department Store in a derelict city. It is based on the real Matsubishi Department Store of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka in Japan, although the planetarium on the rooftop is fictitious. The onset of the story takes place within the planetarium which is where the protagonist first meets Yumemi. The most prominent feature in the room when a show is not taking place is the large black planetarium projector called "Miss Jena", which is placed on a stage in front of the seats. The planetarium has electricity when the protagonist arrives, but only for a short time. Once a year, for 168 hours, electricity in the planetarium is operational, but the projector is broken. The rest of the floors in the department store are in ruins; mold and rats run rampant.
### Characters
The junker (屑屋, Kuzuya)
The protagonist is a nameless soldier living the life of a "junker"—scavenging useful items among ruined cities to survive. He enters a derelict city searching for undamaged goods and finds an abandoned planetarium on the roof of a building he first thinks is a military facility. There, he meets Yumemi Hoshino, a gynoid designed to look like a young girl who annoys him greatly due to her constant talking. The protagonist has a tough personality that comes from trying to survive in a dystopic world. He carries a grenade launcher with him and covers himself with a waterproof coat to protect his skin from the toxic rain. For drinking water, his canteen has a water purifier that can purify the rain. He is constantly searching for rarer substances such as cigarettes and alcohol which can be sold at high prices.
Yumemi Hoshino (ほしのゆめみ, Hoshino Yumemi)
Yumemi is a kindhearted but extremely talkative gynoid attendant of an abandoned planetarium; she is designed to look like a young girl. Yumemi is slightly damaged and completely unaware of the changes that have occurred in the past 30 years, as none of the facilities and databases that she connects to exist anymore. Therefore, she treats the protagonist like a regular guest by calling him "Mr. Customer" (お客様, Okyaku-sama), speaks of the world as it was before the war, and fails to understand any information he tells her, other than things related to her job at the planetarium. The name "Hoshino Yumemi" itself is a pun—"hoshi" means star or planetary body; "no" is a possessive particle; "yume" is a dream or a reverie; "mi" means see. Yumemi is the only character shown to the audience of the game.
Yumemi is very adamant about protecting humans and is happiest when she is helping those she serves. When she is unable to help someone, she gets terribly worried that she is incapable of offering assistance and must instead indirectly help a customer by directing him or her to someone who can. Protecting humans is her top priority and will even ignore previous orders to make sure no human is harmed when in her care.
### Story
While dodging detection from war machines in a ruined city, the protagonist enters a building with a dome on the roof to search for usable supplies. Once inside the dome, he meets Yumemi, who offers to show him a special commemorative projection especially reserved for the 2,500,000th customer, although he is in fact the 2,497,290th customer. Despite his aggravation with her, he agrees to attend her show. However, the projector device, "Miss Jena", has broken down and is in need of repair. After he repairs it, Yumemi starts the show, presenting a projection of the starry sky, something that cannot be seen from the surface because of the polluted skies. The power goes out in the midst of the show, but Yumemi proceeds through the rest of the event with no visuals at the request of the protagonist.
Afterward, both of them leave the planetarium, as Yumemi insists on escorting him back to his vehicle outside the city walls. The protagonist plans to transport Yumemi out of the city after her battery runs out and find a way to reactivate her. A machine the protagonist calls a fiddler crab, due to its design, is guarding the entrance to the city in which he came from, and he devises a plan to destroy it armed with only a grenade launcher. After his initial plan fails and he is forced to face the machine front on, Yumemi tries to protect the protagonist, but is blown in half by the war machine's machine guns.
Yumemi spends her emergency battery life replaying her pre-war memories to the protagonist using a tiny holographic projector on her ear. When the video fades, she reveals that she had known that the planetarium would never have more customers during the 30 years she was alone, despite her apparent infinite optimism up to this point. In her final moment as she "dies" in front of him, Yumemi ejects the memory card from her artificial brain for his safekeeping. Touched and completely shaken by the loss of the beautiful world she left in his mind, he throws away his gun and puts the memory card in his coat, before wandering off with a broken leg as the fallen war machine's automated backup units are closing in on the scene.
## Development
Planetarian is Key's fourth visual novel, and had a small staff of three main people that did the majority of the work for the game's first release. Unlike previous Key titles, Planetarian's art director position was given to Eeji Komatsu instead of Itaru Hinoue who had held the position for the three previous games. Komatsu was chosen not only because of his specialty in depicting mechanics and robots, but also because he could represent short scenes which touch on a robot's existence to reproduce a person's ideals. Furthermore, Key was not short on staff at the time, and was not forced to outsource the artwork of Planetarian. Jun Maeda, Key's main scenario writer and project planner, was left out of the project, and Yūichi Suzumoto was given the position of planning and scenario. The music, excluding a single piece composed by Shinji Orito, was arranged or composed entirely by Magome Togoshi, one of Key's signature composers. Planetarian was the first game under the brand name KineticNovel to be described by the term "kinetic novel".
In the original version, Yumemi is only voiced during the beginning and ending scenes, while other characters are not voiced. When Planetarian was released for Windows PCs on CD-ROM, Yumemi had full voice acting. The PlayStation 2 (PS2) port offers full voice acting for the entire cast. Other changes to the PS2 version include a higher resolution for the computer graphics and an extended soundtrack. All other later versions contained full voice acting.
### Music
The visual novel has one main theme song, the ending theme "Hoshi Meguri no Uta" (星めぐりの歌, Song of Circling Stars) sung by Mell of I've Sound, an arrangement of the folk song by Kenji Miyazawa. The Planetarian Original Soundtrack was released on August 11, 2006, at Comiket 70 by Key Sounds Label; it was later re-released on December 28, 2006. The soundtrack contains one disc with twelve tracks composed and produced by Magome Togoshi, and Shinji Orito; themes originally composed by Charles Crozat Converse and Miyazawa were remixed on the soundtrack. All of the tracks were arranged by Togoshi, except "Human Warrior" which was arranged by Orito. "Hoshi no Sekai (Opening)" (星の世界, World of Stars (Opening)) and "Itsukushimi Fukaki" (慈しみ深き, Deep Affection) are rearrangements of the hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" by Converse, and their titles reflect this as well: "Hoshi no Sekai" refers to the Japanese version of the hymn named "Hoshinoyo", and "Itsukushimi Fukaki" is the Japanese translation of the hymn's original title.
### Release history
Planetarian was released on November 29, 2004, via download over the Internet playable on Windows PCs, and was first made available only to Yahoo! Japan Broadband users. The game was opened up for general sale on December 6, 2004. Key released a CD-ROM version for Windows PCs on April 28, 2006, in limited and regular editions. An updated version of Planetarian compatible for Windows Vista PCs was released by Key on July 31, 2009, in a box set containing five other Key visual novels called Key 10th Memorial Box. Another updated version compatible for Windows 7 PCs called Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet Memorial Edition was released on April 30, 2010. The Memorial Edition also came bundled with the three previously released Planetarian drama CDs. An HD edition for Windows was released on July 29, 2016. Planetarian was released on Steam by Sekai Project in English for Windows on September 12, 2014, with later support planned for macOS and Linux devices. The Steam release was updated on September 17, 2014, to allow the user to switch to the original Japanese version of the game. An English version of the HD edition was released on September 19, 2022.
A consumer console port of the game was released for the PS2 on August 24, 2006, by Prototype. A version playable on FOMA and SoftBank 3G mobile phones was released by Prototype through Visual Arts Motto on November 28, 2006. A limited edition version of Planetarian developed by Prototype playable on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) was available for purchase between February 28 and March 1, 2009, at Key 10th Memorial Fes, an event held in commemoration of Key's ten-year anniversary. A downloadable version of the PSP release via the PlayStation Store was released by Prototype on August 24, 2009. Prototype again sold the PSP version at their Prototype Fan Appreciation 2010 event on May 30, 2010. The PSP version was re-released on May 12, 2011, as a fundraising release for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. A mobile app version playable on Android and iOS devices was released on November 30, 2011. An updated iOS version released in January 2013 includes support for English readers. Prototype released a Nintendo Switch version on January 31, 2019.
### Snow Globe
Visual Arts launched a crowdfunding campaign on November 29, 2019, to produce an original video animation (OVA) episode titled Planetarian: Snow Globe. By the end of the campaign, the final stretch goal had been achieved for Key to produce a kinetic novel version of Planetarian: Snow Globe for Windows. The Snow Globe kinetic novel was released on September 3, 2021 with the Planetarian Ultimate Edition that also included a re-release of the 2016 HD edition of Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet for Windows, the three previously released drama CDs, and an art book. A downloadable edition of Snow Globe for Windows was also released at the same time. The staff for Snow Globe was the same for The Reverie of a Little Planet with the scenario written by Yūichi Suzumoto and the art by Eeji Komatsu. The music in the game is from the Snow Globe OVA released as Planetarian: Snow Globe Original Sound Tracks & Voice Drama CD in January 2021 for backers of the crowdfunding campaign who pledged at least ¥13,640. The Snow Globe soundtrack is composed by Shinji Orito, Donmaru and Ryō Mizutsuki.
## Adaptations
### Light novel
A light novel featuring a collection of four illustrated short stories, including a prologue and an epilogue, and based on Planetarian'''s story were written by Yūichi Suzumoto and illustrated by Eeji Komatsu. The 243-page novel was originally bundled with the limited edition of the CD version of Planetarian, and was also included in the limited edition of the PlayStation 2 version. The book was re-published as a commercial release by Visual Arts under their VA Bunko light novel imprint on October 31, 2008, and was the second title on the imprint. A downloadable version of the novel titled Hoshi no Hito: Planetarian Side Story on Android devices was released on November 30, 2011, followed by a version on iOS devices on December 14, 2011. The first two stories presented occur before the events of the kinetic novel, and the latter two occur during its aftermath. The front matter of the book reads, "Starry sky, words, God, robots. A collection of short stories in the key of these four themes." A short preview of the book is available online.
Snow Globe (雪圏球, Sunō Gurōbu)
This story occurs before the events of the war that brought the world to ruin; at this point, Yumemi has been working at the Flowercrest Department Store's rooftop planetarium for about ten years. One day, Yumemi begins to act strangely, culminating in her simply walking out and wandering around the town. The staff of the planetarium are bewildered, and one of the workers—a woman named Satomi Kurahashi—is ordered to go follow Yumemi and bring her back. Before long, Yumemi begins to run out of battery power.
Jerusalem (エルサレム, Erusaremu)
This story occurs as the war reaches its height. The South American Unification Army receives reports of a rogue sniper operating deep in the jungles of Patagonia, and sends a platoon under the command of Master Sergeant Murdock to neutralize the threat. However, the entire platoon is killed off one by one by the sniper, until only Murdock is left. All alone, Murdock catches a glimpse of this mysterious sniper through his binoculars—and is shocked to find that he gazes upon the figure of a beautiful nun.
Man of the Stars (星の人, Hoshi no Hito)
This story occurs some time after the events of the kinetic novel, as human civilization struggles in a losing battle against the poisonous rain. Three of the last inhabitants of a nearly abandoned underground fallout shelter—named Levi, Ruth, and Job—find a quaint old man collapsed in the snow outside the bunker. When they bring him down, they are surprised to hear the adults calling him "Man of the Stars". The children grow quite interested about his strange nickname, as well as the fact that they have never seen a visitor from the outside world. The old man recovers a bit and has the children help him in putting together a portable planetarium projector. This story offers an ultimate conclusion to the story in the kinetic novel.
Tircis and Aminte (チルシスとアマント, Chirushisu to Amanto)
Identical twins Tircis and Aminte study alone in a world of their own. Tircis begins to wonder why he is studying and how long will it go on. This is the story of how the answer reveals itself to Tircis and Aminte.
### Drama CDs
Three drama CDs were released by Key Sounds Label based on the short stories in the light novel. The first, Snow Globe, was released on December 29, 2006 at Comiket 71 bearing the catalog number KSLA-0027; it was later re-released on May 25, 2007 with a different cover. The opening track takes place one year before the protagonist arrives at the planetarium and the "Snow Globe" story is told as a flashback. The end of the drama CD is where the kinetic novel begins. The second drama CD, Jerusalem, was released on July 27, 2007 bearing the catalog number KSLA-0029. The insert song "Brave New World" by fripSide is included at the end of the drama CD. The final drama CD, Hoshi no Hito, was released on July 27, 2007 bearing the catalog numbers KSLA-0030–0031. This drama CD covers both the Man of the Stars" and "Tircis and Aminte" stories. A cast of voice actors perform the characters in "Man of the Stars", but "Tircis and Aminte" is a recited story by Keiko Suzuki, the voice of Yumemi Hoshino.
### Anime
A five-episode original net animation (ONA) adaptation was produced by David Production and directed by Naokatsu Tsuda. The series was streamed on Niconico and other online services from July 7 to August 4, 2016. The screenplay is written by Tsuda and Shogo Yasukawa. Hitomi Takechi based the character design used in the anime on Eeji Komatsu's original designs. Sound and music direction is headed by Tsuda and Takayuki Yamaguchi. Katsuichi Nakayama and Shunsuke Machitani are the series directors. The anime's music is composed by Magome Togoshi, Shinji Orito, Donmaru and Tomohiro Takeshita. The main ending theme of the ONA series is "Twinkle Starlight" by Sayaka Sasaki. A single titled "Twinkle Starlight / Worlds Pain" performed by Sasaki and Ceui was released on July 27, 2016. "Hoshi Meguri no Uta" by Mell from the visual novel was used for the ending theme of episode five. The series was released on a single Blu-ray compilation volume on September 28, 2016. The same staff also produced an anime film titled Planetarian: Storyteller of the Stars that premiered in Japanese theaters on September 3, 2016. Funimation simulcasted the ONA series on their website, and later released the ONA series and film on physical media on August 14, 2018.
Visual Arts launched a crowdfunding campaign on November 29, 2019, to produce an original video animation (OVA) episode titled Planetarian: Snow Globe. The OVA was animated by Okuruto Noboru and directed by Jin Tamamura, with Yasukawa returning to write the screenplay and Takechi returning to design the characters. People who backed the campaign received a copy of the OVA on Blu-ray in January 2021, and it was released to the general public on August 25, 2021.
## Reception
In a review by Marcus Estrada of Hardcore Gamer, he praised Planetarian for having a "beautiful story," gorgeous CGs and a soundtrack that "sets a melancholic, but hopeful mood fitting with the story." He also noted that "even as an aging property Planetarian still looks and sounds good." Planetarian is one of several kinetic novels featured in the Lycèe Trading Card Game; Yumemi and the planetarium are playable cards in the second Visual Arts card set. In the February 2007 issue of SoftBank Creative's Gemaga magazine, the PS2 version ranked first for console games in terms of satisfaction; the game had ranked fourth in the previous issue. In the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu released on September 8, 2006, it was reported that the PS2 version of Planetarian'' sold 8,170 units the week of August 21 to August 27, 2006 (the PS2 version was originally sold on August 24, 2006). When the PSP version was re-released as a fundraising event for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, 16,663 units were pre-ordered by the day of its release on May 12, 2011. From these sales, Prototype and Visual Arts donated 22,415,069 yen.
## See also
- Three Laws of Robotics
|
665,822 |
Phantom Power (Super Furry Animals album)
| 1,153,142,509 |
Album by Super Furry Animals
|
[
"2003 albums",
"Albums recorded at Rockfield Studios",
"Albums with cover art by Pete Fowler",
"Epic Records albums",
"Super Furry Animals albums"
] |
Phantom Power is the sixth album by Welsh indie rock band Super Furry Animals, released on 21 July 2003 by Epic Records in the United Kingdom. The record was originally conceived as a ten-song concept album using D-A-D-D-A-D guitar tuning, but the band chose to abandon this idea during recording as they didn't want to constrain themselves. The group did attempt to create a "more coherent" album than their past efforts by choosing songs which worked well together. Phantom Power was recorded at the band's own studio, AV Happenings, in Cardiff with the Super Furries producing and engineering themselves for the first time. The album features a range of musical styles, from country rock to techno, although many of the tracks are based around the acoustic guitar. According to chief songwriter and vocalist Gruff Rhys, the album's lyrics deal with "broken relationships and war".
The album, like their previous record Rings Around the World, was simultaneously released on CD, vinyl and DVD. The DVD featured a surround sound mix of the album along with animations, commentary by Mario Caldato Jr. (who mixed the record) and remixes. The majority of these remixes were re-released as the album Phantom Phorce in 2004. Phantom Power was well received, with many critics suggesting it was the best album of the band's career.
## Origins and recording
Phantom Power was originally conceived as a ten-song cycle in the "unconventional" D-A-D-D-A-D guitar tuning. Singer Gruff Rhys wrote many of the songs on the album in this tuning and in the key of D major during the space of a few days. These tracks, which included the "Father Father" instrumentals, "Golden Retriever", "Hello Sunshine", "Valet Parking" and "Out of Control", were then demoed at the house of regular producer Gorwel Owen with overdubs added at the band's own office-block based studio, AV Happenings, in Cardiff.
The group took a hands-on approach to the actual recording sessions for Phantom Power, engineering and producing themselves for the first time. Recording largely took place at AV Happenings during the second half of 2002, with the band working through the night so as not to disturb staff who worked in other parts of the building during the day. According to bassist Guto Pryce this involved a fair amount of trial and error as the band "didn't really know what [they] were doing". Soundproof booths were improvised by setting up tents in the office corridors: "we'd record a guitar and it'd sound rubbish and we had to figure out why. So we started experimenting with different tent designs. In the end it was the wigwam that was easiest to put up and sounded best". The band had to take these booths down before office workers arrived in the morning, a process that guitarist Huw Bunford has described as "ghosts in the night ... a bit clandestine". A brief two-week session with Gorwel Owen at Rockfield Studios saw some of the album's more "straight ahead" tracks recorded with live vocals before the band returned to AV Happenings and "messed around" with them. When the album was almost finished the band enlisted the services of Tony Doogan who engineered sessions during which several vocal parts were recorded.
The ten song D-A-D-D-A-D concept was eventually abandoned with Pryce stating "we don't like constraining ourselves and if you've got a concept, you're doing that. And we had some other really nice tunes so we just chose the best songs". According to Rhys the only plan the group stuck to was to make a "more coherent" record: "In the past ... we'd put ideas kind of side by side, and on this record we wanted all those sounds to be more blended". Following arguments over the track listing of previous album Rings Around the World, after a "lot of songs" were recorded necessitating four months worth of discussions about which tracks to leave off the record, the group recorded just 16 largely acoustic based songs during the sessions for Phantom Power. Rhys's initial batch of songs were augmented by, among others, the Huw Bunford penned "Sex, War & Robots", the first time the guitarist had had one of his songs included on a Super Furry Animals album and also the first time he had sung lead vocals for the group, "Slow Life", which grew out of an electronic piece of music keyboardist Cian Ciaran had been working on for several years and "The Piccolo Snare" which was partly written in the studio.
## Music
After the more produced Rings Around the World, which relied heavily on computers and electronics, the group were keen to make Phantom Power "a little more human" with guitarist Huw Bunford stating: "with technology you can do anything these days, but sometimes less is more". Many songs on the album are acoustic based and bass player Guto Pryce has claimed that they sounded "pretty good right from the start" which also contributed to the decision to avoid "over-tweak[ing] them in the studio". Despite this the group did work electronic loops into several tracks after Ciaran bought a large number of "sound effect and light music" vinyl records from a man who worked in the same building. According to Rhys: "he knocked on the door just as we were beginning the album: "hey, I've got these records to sell, are ya interested?" And Cian went down to check them out and gave him a hundred pounds on the spot and carried 700 albums back to our tiny room".
The album showcases an eclectic range of sounds from the country rock of "Sex, War & Robots", featuring pedal steel guitar, to the heavy metal and punk of "Out of Control" and the glam rock of first single "Golden Retriever". "Slow Life", a track which singer Gruff Rhys has described as the "most sonically impressive" song on Phantom Power, features techno influences and is based on a piece of electronic music written by keyboardist Cian Ciaran several years earlier. Ciaran encouraged the band to jam on top of his original track to produce a fusion of techno and guitar-pop. "The Undefeated" is inspired by ska and reggae music, although the group removed a "cheesy white reggae" section from the song because it sounded "fucking horrible" and actively tried not to make it sound too much like a ska or reggae track as they felt they "couldn't pull it off". Many tracks feature close vocal harmonies, with all the band apart from Pryce contributing. These harmonies give the album a California / West Coast of America feel, with comparisons being drawn to the work of The Beach Boys, particularly on the song "Venus and Serena".
## Lyrical themes
Singer and chief lyric writer Gruff Rhys has claimed that Phantom Power is about "broken relationships and war" with "a positive outlook to the future". As "BBC News 24 addicts" Rhys and the band absorbed "fucked up war images" from the Iraq War during the making of the album which affected the way songs were written: "We seem to be living in such a heavy time. We're just absorbing all the words thrown at us from the TV and regurgitating them back." Frustration with the George Bush administration and its foreign policy influenced the record with Rhys claiming that he feels qualified to address the subject as United States foreign policy "effectively decides what the foreign policy is in the UK".
The two most overtly "political" tracks on Phantom Power are "The Piccolo Snare" and "Liberty Belle". "The Piccolo Snare" is about "societies torn apart by war and the waste of human life". The track uses the vocabulary of the Falklands War (Tumbledown, Skyhawks etc.) but Rhys claims it is applicable to any war. "Liberty Belle" tells the story of two cartoon characters devised by Rhys, 'Liberty Belle' and 'Memory Lane', the former representing the "bells of freedom", specifically the American Dream, and the latter representing "history's harsh lessons" which Liberty Belle has failed to learn. The song is told from the perspective of a "bird living almost in a parallel universe to humans, oblivious to the gravity of the games which are being played around us", something which Rhys admits to feeling himself much of the time. "Venus and Serena" uses a story of a child who talks to his pet tortoises, Venus and Serena, as he can't communicate with his elders to make a similar point: that people feel alienated from their elected leaders. Both "Out of Control" and "Slow Life" feature regurgitated media buzzwords, with "Out of Control's" "flippant" lyrics designed to create the feel of "an over-dramatic theme to a current affairs programme". "Bleed Forever" deals specifically with the nuclear fallout from the Chernobyl disaster which fell over North Wales, allegedly causing an increase in incidents of leukaemia among children in the area.
However, Rhys has been keen to point out that the record is not a forcefully political one, claiming that most of the band's songs are "fragments of daily life; occasionally politics are a part of that. Super Furry Animals is about exploration, not political campaigning". "Valet Parking", for example, is a song about "the glories of pan-European travel", documenting a road trip from Cardiff to Vilnius, "Golden Retriever" is about "the relationship between [Gruff Rhys's] girlfriend's two dogs - a male and a female" and "The Undefeated", inspired by a poor run of results for the Welsh football team, is about "underdogs and overdogs".
## DVD
The DVD of Phantom Power contains the 14 songs featured on the CD version of the album in surround sound, 16 remixes, commentary by Mario Caldato Jr. who mixed the record and provided one of the remixes, and song lyrics.
According to singer Gruff Rhys, the concept behind the DVD was based on the success of platform games: the listener can play the album as if it were a game and spend "months ... instead of weeks" exploring the content. Unlike the DVD version of previous album Rings Around the World, which featured videos for every track, the songs on the DVD are accompanied by slowly moving animations. Rhys has stated that the Super Furry Animals wanted to use "really bland images" as viewers began to place too much emphasis on the videos on Rings Around the World and the band wanted them to concentrate on the music.
Keyboardist Cian Ciaran stated at the time of Phantom Power's release that the band would issue a DVD with every future album, claiming that "this is just the way we make records now". However, the band's next two albums, Love Kraft and Hey Venus!, were not made available on DVD and, in a 2008 interview with Uncut, Rhys suggested that the release had been something of a failure: "no one gave a shit because people just want to rock n' roll!"
The remixes on the DVD version of Phantom Power vary from radical reworkings such as Killa Kella's beatbox treatment of "Golden Retriever" and Wauvenfold's "unrecognisable" version of "Sex, War and Robots", to the likes of Mario Caldato Jr's take on "Liberty Belle" and High Llamas' "Valet Parking" which are merely "spruced up". The majority of the remixes were reissued on CD as the album Phantom Phorce in 2004. According to drummer Dafydd Ieuan the band didn't have the money to pay the artists involved for their remix work so, in order to provide them with royalties, promised to release an album featuring the tracks on their own label, Placid Casual.
Hidden footage of the band firing machine guns can be reached by selecting the song "The Undefeated", waiting 22 seconds until the lettering starts to blink and pressing 'Enter' ('Enter' must be pressed before the lettering blinks for a second time at 24 seconds). Guitarist Huw Bunford has described this footage as being "exactly how it looked on the tin ... noisy, full of testosterone, with pumped up guys in the woods trying to kill furry animals!"
## Release
Phantom Power was released on CD, vinyl and DVD on 21 July 2003 in the United Kingdom on Sony's Epic imprint. The album reached \#4 in the UK Albums Chart. In America the album was released on 22 July 2003 by Beggars Banquet US. Phantom Power was released on 21 July 2003 in Japan with two additional tracks, "Summer Snow" and "Blue Fruit", added after "Slow Life" at the end of the album. "Golden Retriever" was released as the first single from the album, reaching \#13 in the UK Singles Chart, followed by "Hello Sunshine" in October 2003 which peaked at \#31. The Slow Life EP was released as a free download from the website of the band's record label, Placid Casual, on 12 April 2004, featuring the title track, "Lost Control" (a remix of "Out of Control"), and the Goldie Lookin Chain collaboration, "Motherfokker". The majority of the remixes from the DVD version of Phantom Power were released as Phantom Phorce on Placid Casual on 19 April 2004. Initial copies of this album came bundled with a CD version of the Slow Life EP. Phantom Power has been certified silver in the United Kingdom, denoting sales of more than 60,000 copies.
## Critical reception
Phantom Power received generally positive reviews from critics with a score of 87 on Metacritic, denoting "universal acclaim". Drowned in Sound described the album as "another fine, esoteric wonder of an LP", while the NME claimed it is the group's "most focussed, energetic pop record since Radiator" and went on to state that "for a band to be hitting such form six albums into a steady career is astonishing". Q called it "the band's best work to date, as accessible as it is inventive"; The Times agreed, calling Phantom Power "the Furries’ most satisfying album to date ... one to cherish." Several critics commented on the "summery pop" nature of the record with Tiny Mix Tapes likening the album to "the sun shining through following a large and brooding thunderstorm" and The Times calling it "mellow summer listening" despite the "grim view of the world" expressed in Gruff Rhys's lyrics. The NME found that Phantom Power compares favourably with the band's previous release, Rings Around the World, losing some of that album's mainstream polish. AllMusic agreed, expressing relief that the band had loosened up following Rings..., which the website described as "often sounding constrained by its polished widescreen aspirations". Irish website entertainment.ie saw Phantom Power as "a highly polished affair, filled with the widescreen classic pop that Gruff Rhys and co. carry off so effortlessly ... thankfully free of the techno experiments that marred so much of their previous work".
There was some criticism of the album with The Guardian accusing the band of "treading water", the album suffering from overfamiliarity as the group's sixth release despite being a "lovely record". Stylus Magazine expressed similar views, claiming that Phantom Power "feels very much like business as usual for the Welsh wizards, as if they've made just another album". In a 2008 interview with Uncut Rhys described Phantom Power as his favourite Super Furries album, although he conceded that all the band's records "have their moments".
### Accolades
\* denotes an unordered list
## Track listing
### CD/Vinyl
## Personnel
- Gruff Rhys – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, harmonica, backing vocals
- Huw Bunford – lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Sex, War & Robots"
- Guto Pryce – bass guitar
- Cian Ciaran – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
- Dafydd Ieuan – drums, backing vocals
### Additional musicians
- Jonathan 'Catfish' Thomas – pedal steel guitar on tracks 4, 13
- Kris Jenkins – percussion on tracks 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14
- Rachel Thomas – backing vocals on tracks 3, 4
- Gary Alsebrook – trumpet on tracks 6, 7
- Savio Pacini – trombone on tracks 6, 7
- Rico Rodriguez – trombone on track 13
- Eddie Thornton – trumpet on track 13
- Ray Carless – saxophone on track 13
- Marcus Holdway – cello on tracks 4, 7, 13, 14
- Sally Herbert – violin on tracks 4, 7, 14
- Brian G. Wright – violin on tracks 4, 7, 14
- Gill Morley – violin on tracks 4, 7, 14
- Ellen Blair – violin on tracks 4, 7, 14
- Pete Fowler – Kaoss flanges on track 14
- Neil McFarland – Kaoss flanges on track 14
### Remixers (DVD)
- Weevil
- Mario Caldato Jr.
- Killa Kela
- Wauvenfold
- Four Tet
- Massimo
- Boom Bip
- bravecaptain
- Zan Lyons
- Minotaur Shock
- High Llamas
- Llwybr Llaethog
- Bench
- Sir Doufous Styles
- Force Unknown
- Freiband
### Production
- Super Furry Animals – production, mixing, engineering, surround sound mix
- Mario Caldato Jr. – mixing
- Jeff Knowler – mixing assistant
- Gorwel Owen – engineering (Rockfield Studios)
- Jason Harris – engineering assistant (Rockfield Studios)
- Tim Lewis – engineering assistant (Rockfield Studios)
- Tony Doogan – engineering (Monnow Valley Studios)
- Sir Doufous Styles – engineering assistant (Monnow Valley Studios and AV Happenings AKA The Sauna), engineering (Wings for Jesus)
- Stuart Hawkes – mastering
### Design
- Pete Fowler – illustration
- [email protected] – design
## Charts
|
25,407,211 |
Robotomy
| 1,172,768,841 |
American animated television series
|
[
"2010 American television series debuts",
"2010s American animated television series",
"2010s American comic science fiction television series",
"2010s American high school television series",
"2011 American television series endings",
"American children's animated comic science fiction television series",
"American children's animated drama television series",
"Animated television series about robots",
"Cartoon Network original programming",
"Dystopian animated television series",
"English-language television shows",
"Teen animated television series",
"Television series by Cartoon Network Studios"
] |
Robotomy is an American animated television series created by Michael Buckley and Joe Deasy for Cartoon Network. The series ran from October 24, 2010 to January 24, 2011. The series revolves around Thrasher (Patton Oswalt) and Blastus (John Gemberling), two teenage outcast robots who enter high school at their home planet Insanus. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios and World Leaders Entertainment (best known for being the production company of The Venture Bros.), and co-executive produced and directed by Christy Karacas, creator of Superjail! and Ballmastrz: 9009. The series was the result of numerous failed pitches to the network by the creators.
## Plot
Thrasher and Blastus are two teenage robots who live on the planet of Insanus. Their planet is inhabited by murderous robots who seek to kill one another for no apparent reason. Slightly less horrific than their peers, the duo seeks to make it through high school, and navigate their lives with mixed results. Thrasher (Patton Oswalt), a tall and lanky robot, wishes to gain the affections of an attractive female robot named Maimy (Jessie Cantrell). Meanwhile, Blastus (John Gemberling), a short and rotund robot, just wants to be popular. As with Blastus, unlike most robots on Insanus, he is mostly sensitive and non-criminal, much to the disapproval of his mother. In his quest to be cool, however, he is incredibly impulsive and overconfident in his abilities. Thrasher, though calm and reserved, often falls prey to Blastus' badly-thought out plans.
Other characters include various schoolmates and staff members. Weenus (Michael Sinterniklaas) is a nerdy, psychopathic robot who is even lower on the social pyramid than the protagonists. Dreadnot (Dana Snyder) is a teacher at Harry S. Apocalypse who finds joy in torturing and invoking pain into his students. Their principal, Thunderbite (also voiced by Snyder), is an oversized, skull-shaped robot who, when not causing pain, acts sweet and motherly to the students. Megawatt (also voiced by Sinterniklaas) is a spoiled rich kid who is attractive to the female robots, most of whom he blows up; to Thrasher's disdain, he is dating Maimy. Tacklebot (Roger Craig Smith), Megawatt's friend and musclehead jock, acts violent and hostile toward the protagonists.
## Production
The series was created by Michael Buckley and Joe Deasy and produced by World Leaders Entertainment in New York. It was originally created with the working title Horrorbots. The network had contacted Buckley to create a series three years prior to the broadcast of Robotomy. He asked for Deasy's help, and together they pitched five ideas, to which all were rejected. Six months later, a second wave of ideas proved equally unsuccessful. Reaching their third trial, also six months later, the two pinpointed the rejections on them thinking within the network's mindset as opposed to their own. Frustrated with the project, they submitted a rough premise of Robotomy, which was accepted, much to their surprise. Buckley described the plot as when "Superbad meets the Transformers meets WWE."
According to the crew, the style of animation required a distinct set of skills, compared to another production by World Leaders, The Venture Bros. While that series was animated by the same team that did Batman: The Animated Series, Robotomy was done by the Chowder production team. In an interview, it was said that the style of the former team follows "perspective, anatomy, and real-world physics in animation", while the latter team laid its focus on "the humor of the movement and timing, squash and stretch," among other principles. Co-executive producer Christy Karacas's unique art style also proved laborious for them in that it provided "very clean polished lines" over more organic drawings. Karacas stated that the look and feel lent itself to science fiction, robotics as a whole and rock and roll. For its fictional universe, the planet of Insanus (originally called Killglobe), the production crew thought of it in unending chaos. This made way for weaponry covering the ground, a constant state of duskiness and the scarring of the land. Karacas particularly enjoyed designing and diversifying the robots in regard to their size and shape.
The show's color has been described by Karacas as a major part of the visuals; inspirations included Paul Klee and Katsuhiro Otomo, as well as the concept of fluorescence. The team wanted to create "a bold, fresh look" that reflected the universe, and so they chose to be minimal with their palette to attract attention to the linework. In addition, they eschewed the use of vivid primary colors and instead chose more secondary colors. However, they took to accentuate the scenes with "pop colors" that mimic the glow of neon lighting, and lastly, they added vertical reflections to the floors and grunge textures to the backgrounds.
## Broadcast and reception
Robotomy premiered on October 25, 2010 on Cartoon Network, following a new episode of Mad. A crew member from World Leaders established that the network was doing more to blend its Adult Swim brand with its primary youth demographic. The series was ultimately targeted for an older demographic than other series on the network, although it still had to be appropriate to the "broad age range." The debut broadcast was seen by 1.7 million viewers in the United States, acquiring a 0.2 Nielsen rating for adults aged 18 to 49. The season received an average of 1.5 million viewers, also with a Nielsen rating of 0.2. After ten episodes, the series concluded on January 24, 2011, making it the shortest run of any original series on the network.
Renn Brown of Cinematic Happenings Under Development noted Oswalt, a high-profile actor, as contradictory to the show's short-lived run. Will Wade of Common Sense Media gave the series a lukewarm review, finding it suitable for older teens while calling it appealing to those who struggled to gain popularity in high school. Wade called the storylines "pretty thin" and its focus on "the imagery that sells the metaphor of school as a battlefield". Aaron Simpson of Lineboil called the storylines "irreverent" and the chaos similar to Superjail!, "minus the dismembered bodies". The series was eventually added to Netflix in 2013 after the service announced a deal with Warner Bros. to include programming from Cartoon Network series, among other shows.
## Episodes
## In other media
Blastus makes a cameo in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Crossover Nexus".
|
42,271,103 |
Tome of the Unknown
| 1,158,360,080 |
Animated short film (2013)
|
[
"2010s American films",
"2013 films",
"2013 short films",
"American animated short films",
"American television series premieres",
"Cartoon Network Studios pilots and shorts"
] |
"Tome of the Unknown: Harvest Melody", usually shortened to "Tome of the Unknown", is a 2013 animated short film created by Patrick McHale and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The film serves as the inspiration and pilot for the miniseries Over the Garden Wall, which premiered in 2014. In the film—which is narrated by Warren Burton—Wirt (Elijah Wood), his brother Gregory (Collin Dean), and Beatrice (Natasha Leggero), a bluebird, head to the big city in search of an arcane book of all known things, meeting a vegetable man along the way.
McHale initially pitched the idea to Cartoon Network as a three-season television series, but was asked to develop it into a feature film for Cartoon Network's planned feature film department. He had trouble rewriting the series into a feature, and it was ultimately put on hold when McHale went to work on Adventure Time. Several years later, Cartoon Network asked McHale for another pitch. He reworked his pitch for Tome of the Unknown, which was accepted as a pilot and made into a short film. Released in 2013 to multiple film festivals, Tome of the Unknown has received several accolades.
## Plot synopsis
In a large forest simply called the "Unknown," Wirt and his brother Gregory walk with Beatrice (Natasha Leggero; later voiced by Melanie Lynskey in the miniseries), a bluebird who has gained the ability to speak. The three are on their way to the big city, in search of a book titled The Tome of the Unknown, which – according to legend – contains every forgotten thing. When their legs tire, Greg suggests they ride a goose, but Wirt doubts they could find one big enough to carry them. Greg wanders off and discovers a car made from vegetables, which fascinates and confuses Wirt. The car's owner, John Crops (C. W. Stoneking), is likewise a vegetable humanoid. Crops wallows over his loneliness, wishing like the others to go the city. Wirt offers, in exchange for Crops letting them keep the car, to drive Crops to the city, where he can hopefully find a soulmate.
A murder of giant crows attacks the vegetable car during the drive, forcing Wirt to veer off into a cornfield and crash into a scarecrow pole, which scares off the crows. Crops reveals that they have arrived at the "big city," which turns out to be an old-fashioned small farm community in the middle of the cornfield.
While Wirt and Beatrice try to repair the car, Greg wanders off with Crops to explore the city's gazebo garden party, where Crops bumps into a woman made of cabbage. An announcement declares that the party's scheduled entertainment has been cancelled, and Greg suggests that Crops should perform instead. The cabbage woman finds herself flattered after learning that Crops is a musician.
Meanwhile, Wirt has trouble fixing the vegetable car until Beatrice tells him what to do. When they start the engine and try to leave, they knock over the scarecrow. This summons the giant crows, as well as giant turkeys, who terrorize the city and its vegetable inhabitants. Wirt and Beatrice pick up Greg, while Crops continues to woo the woman, unaware of the chaos around him.
As Wirt, Greg, and Beatrice attempt to escape without Crops, they are set upon by the giant animals, including an alligator, who start to devour the vegetable car. As Wirt tries to fend them off, Greg jumps out of the car and wanders into the cornfield, where he finds a goose big enough for the group to ride. Wirt and Beatrice find him soon after, guided by his loud, happy screaming. Greg's screams scare off the birds, and Crops returns home with the cabbage woman. Wirt, Gregory, Beatrice, and their new companion Goose, continue to travel onwards, deeper and deeper, into the Unknown.
## Production
Tome of the Unknown is a short film written and directed by Patrick McHale, who also wrote and storyboarded it. Not long after he graduated from college, McHale pitched the idea for the film, among other concepts, to Cartoon Network. At the time, the network was considering the creation of a department for feature films, though this never came to fruition. McHale was asked if it was possible to adapt the idea for Tome of the Unknown to feature length. This proved unsuccessful as he felt it needed to be episodic, laying out plans for a full television series consisting of three seasons. The project was placed on the backburner when McHale was recruited as creative director for Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time, also a Cartoon Network production.
Several years later, around 2011, the network asked McHale to pitch an idea. Although he had made several short student films and had worked in animation for other people, he had never created a professional piece of his own. As a result, McHale did not anticipate the network to have it go further than the short. The short was positively received and was accepted for production into a miniseries.
Initially conceived as an eighteen-episode miniseries, time constraints forced the series to be cut down to only ten episodes. Although it reused the main characters from the pilot, with Wood and Dean reprising their roles of Wirt and Greg, the premise of them searching for the Tome of the Unknown was abandoned and changed to a much simpler and flexible story of them getting lost and trying to find their way home, and was retitled Over the Garden Wall. The series was announced in May 2014 and premiered in November that same year. Nick Cross, who worked as a background painter with layout designer Chris Tsirgiotis on Tome of the Unknown, was hired as the art director for the series.
## Release and reception
Cartoon Network released Tome of the Unknown to several film festivals starting in 2013, including the 20th anniversary of the Austin Film Festival on October 24, 2013, and the International Children's Film Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in May 2014. At the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the film won an honorable mention as one of the best short animations for children on September 21, 2013. A Bruce Corwin Award for animation was given to the film at the 29th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February 2014, where it was screened in the previous month. Regarding its screening in Boston, Ethan Gilsdorf of The Boston Globe called the film marked by the presence of connections by celebrities, particularly Wood, while noting McHale for his work on Adventure Time.
The film saw digital distribution as part of the DVD release of the miniseries on September 8, 2015. The network previously released the film on their official website in May 2015. Róbert Kovács-Cohner of the Hungarian IGN gave it a high recommendation, calling the story beautiful as it occurs over the backgrounds. For their work on these backgrounds, Cross and Tsirgiotis earned juried Emmy Awards, as part of the 67th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
|
36,385,682 |
Joyful, Joyful
| 1,111,942,547 |
Song performed by Casting Crowns
|
[
"2009 songs",
"Casting Crowns songs",
"Songs written by Bernie Herms",
"Songs written by Mark Hall (musician)"
] |
"Joyful, Joyful" is a song by contemporary Christian music band Casting Crowns from their fourth studio album Until the Whole World Hears (2009). Written by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms and produced by Mark A. Miller, the song is a re-interpretation of the hymn "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" and Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. "Joyful, Joyful", a CCM and alternative CCM song, is driven by a string section that has been compared to Coldplay's song "Viva la Vida". It received positive reviews from music critics and received airplay over the 2010 Christmas season, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart.
## Background and recording
"Joyful, Joyful", is a rearrangement of the hymn "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" (itself a re-arrangement of a theme from Beethoven). Hall felt that there are many Christian songs that have been around and sung so long that the meaning behind them is lost; he commented that "you hear them so many times you don't really hear what they're saying anymore", listing the original version of "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" as an example.
Although the song is a re-interpretation of "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee", Mark Hall and Bernie Herms are credited with writing the song. It was produced by Mark A. Miller and recorded by Sam Hewitt, Michael Hewitt, and Dale Oliver at Zoo Studio in Franklin, Tennessee; the string instrument tracks were recorded by John Painter and Leslie Richter at Ocean Way in Nashville, Tennessee. Digital editing was handled by Michael Hewitt, while mixing was handled by Sam Hewitt. The song was mastered by Andrew Mendelson, Shelly Anderson, Natthaphol Abhigantaphand and Daniel Bacigalupi at Georgetown Masters in Nashville.
## Composition
"Joyful, Joyful" is a song with a length of four minutes and twenty-eight seconds. According to the sheet music published by Musicnotes.com, "Joyful, Joyful" is a CCM and alternative CCM set in common time in the key of F major with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. Mark Hall's vocal range in the song spans from the low note of B<sub>3</sub> to the high note of F<sub>5</sub>. The song has regarded as a re-invention of "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the song alters the format of the former, rearranging the song's overall structure while adding a chorus. "Joyful, Joyful" is led by a "driving" and "pulsing" string section that has been compared to Coldplay's "Viva la Vida". Mark Hall felt that the band's arrangement brought out the message of one of the song's final verses ("God our Father/Christ our brother/all who live in love are thine/teach us how to love each other/and fill us to the joy divine"); Hall described the message by saying "God's our father and Christ's our brother, we have this connection with God. But if we can't love each other, the joy isn't completed. Its not real joy yet until we know how to love the people that are around us".
## Critical reception
"Joyful, Joyful" received positive reviews from music critics. Andrew Greer of CCM Magazine praised the song as a "fitting ode" to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. Roger Ham of Christianity Today praised it as one of the best songs off of Until the Whole World Hears. Tony Cummings of Cross Rhythms praised the song as having "the same kind of string arrangement which made Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida' so enjoyable". Debra Akins of Gospel Music Channel regarded the song as a highlight of the album. Roger Gelwicks of Jesus Freak Hideout, while describing the song as "interesting", felt that it wasn't much of an improvement over the rest of the album.
## Chart performance
"Joyful, Joyful" received airplay over the 2010 Christmas season, debuting at number forty-two on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart for the chart week of December 11, 2010. In its fifth week on the chart, the chart week of January 8, 2011, it reached its peak position of number three.
## Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the album liner notes for Until the Whole World Hears.
Recording
- Recorded Zoo Studio in Franklin, Tennessee.
- Strings recorded at Ocean Way in Nashville, Tennessee.
Casting Crowns
- Hector Cervantes - Electric guitar
- Juan DeVevo - Acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Melodee DeVevo - Violin, background vocals
- Megan Garrett - Piano, keyboard, background vocals
- Mark Hall - Vocals
- Chris Huffman - Bass guitar
- Brian Scoggin - Drums
Production
- Natthaphol Abhigantaphand - Mastering assistant
- Shelley Anderson - Mastering assistant
- Daniel Bacigalupi - Mastering assistant
- Terry Hemmings - Executive producer
- Michael Hewitt - Recording, digital editing
- Sam Hewitt - Recording, mixing
- Andrew Mendelson - Mastering
- Mark A. Miller - Producer
- Dale Oliver - Additional recording
- John Painter - Recording
- Leslie Richter - Recording assistant
## Charts
|
1,288,141 |
Editors (band)
| 1,169,464,924 |
English rock band
|
[
"2002 establishments in England",
"Alumni of Staffordshire University",
"English indie rock groups",
"Epic Records artists",
"Musical groups established in 2002",
"Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands",
"PIAS Recordings artists",
"Post-punk revival music groups"
] |
Editors are an English rock band, formed in 2002 in Birmingham. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band currently consists of Tom Smith (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Russell Leetch (bass guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals), Ed Lay (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Justin Lockey (lead guitar), Elliott Williams (keys, synthesizers, guitars, and backing vocals), and Benjamin John Power (composer and producer).
Editors have so far released two platinum studio albums, and seven in total, with several million combined sales. Their debut album The Back Room was released in 2005. It contained the hits "Munich" and "Blood" and the following year received a Mercury Prize nomination.
Their follow-up album An End Has a Start went to number 1 in the UK Album Chart in June 2007 and earned the band a Brit Awards nomination for best British Band. It also spawned another Top 10 hit single, "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors". The band's third album, In This Light and on This Evening, was released in October 2009 and went straight to number 1 in the UK Album Chart. The band released their fourth studio album, The Weight of Your Love, in July 2013, followed by self-produced In Dream in October 2015. In 2018, the band released their sixth album Violence. Their seventh album, EBM, was released in September 2022.
Alongside their critical acclaim and strong success in the UK Singles Chart, they consistently enjoyed sold-out tours and numerous headlining festival slots. Their brand of dark indie rock is commonly compared to the sound of bands such as Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, Interpol, The Chameleons and U2.
## History
### Formation (2002–2004)
The band met while studying Music Technology at Staffordshire University, but living in Birmingham and playing at venues such as the Jug of Ale and the Flapper & Firkin. In an interview in 2015, Tom Smith said, "Birmingham is very important. Looking back further it was where we all lived together in the early years, played all those Flapper and Jug of Ale shows, and then got our record deal. We've always said although only one of us was brought up there, Birmingham was the band's home".
The band was initially known as Pilot and played its first show under this name in 2002. While in college, the band constructed a marketing strategy which involved placing hundreds of promotional stickers across the walls of Stafford asking "Who's the Pilot?". However, they realized the name was already taken by a 1970s Scottish pop group, so they changed their name to The Pride.
They made a promo under this name with the tracks "Come Share the View" and "Forest Fire" and made the songs available on BBC Radio 1's Onemusic Unsigned. A review of the songs reads, "The Pride keep things subliminally lo-fi. Refreshingly simple and restrained, 'Come Share The View' is a lesson in welding hypnotic soundscapes with white noise while showing allegiance to the school of slo-mo on "Forest Fire"". The band then took its music offline to encourage more "A&R" representatives to see them perform.
Ed Lay replaced drummer Geraint Owen, who began to focus on his Welsh band The Heights. Under this lineup they became known as Snowfield. They played their debut gig under this name at the request of Fused Magazine in March 2003. The following summer the band self-released a demo six-track EP, of which all six songs went on to become future Editors songs. In the autumn of 2003, after graduation, the band relocated to Birmingham, the home of their management and the nearest big city.
For the next year, the band members worked part-time jobs along in addition to working in the band. After regular gigging around the Midlands, it was not long until word of mouth helped them become a popular unsigned band. They sent out a one-track demo of "Bullets". This demo attracted the interest of several British labels, including thirty A&R reps who came to see them play in Birmingham. In October 2004, the group signed to Newcastle-based indie label Kitchenware Records. At that point they changed their band name to Editors.
### The Back Room (2005–2006)
After supporting bands such as Puressence and Oceansize, Editors released debut single "Bullets", which was recorded with producer Gavin Monaghan, as a limited edition of 1000 copies on Kitchenware Records on 24 January 2005. The song had previously been played by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1, where it was 'Single of the Week'. The limited run sold out on the day of its release, with copies selling later the same week for more than £30 on eBay.
The release of "Munich" followed in April of that year and gave the band their first Top 25 hit, a sold out UK tour and a place on MTV's Spanking New Music show in Manchester. At this point, due to the band's increasing popularity, Editors and Kitchenware signed an exclusive distribution deal with Sony BMG. "Blood" was released two months later, reaching number 18 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week, selling 5,286 copies. With these releases their fanbase continued to grow and on 25 July 2005 their debut album The Back Room was released to critical acclaim and commercial success. In its first week, the album entered the charts at number 13, selling 17,627 copies. After re-issuing "Bullets" and achieving another Top 30 hit, Editors gained a high-profile support slot, supporting Franz Ferdinand in arenas across the UK and Europe.
Editors then re-issued "Munich" in January 2006, selling one and half thousand more copies than the last time it was released. The song gave Editors their first Top 10 single and an appearance on Top of the Pops. With the single release, The Back Room also rose back up the album charts, peaking at number 2. It sold an additional 40,000 copies in the week of "Munich"'s release and went platinum in the process. A joint North American tour with Stellastarr\* coincided with the American release of The Back Room in March 2006. It was released by Fader label and sold 35,000 albums after 20 weeks. The band went on to play influential American festivals in 2006 such as Coachella and Lollapalooza. Editors proceeded to perform "Munich" on the American television show Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
At the end of March, Editors released "All Sparks" as a single in the United Kingdom, achieving a position of 21 in the singles chart. After a European tour which included three successive nights at Brixton Academy, Editors re-issued a limited edition of "Blood". It entered the Top 40, pushing the album up the chart 45 places. Shortly after this, The Back Room hit the million mark in sales worldwide and was also nominated for the 2006 Mercury Prize. After a string of high-profile festival shows across Europe, including slots on T in the Park, V 2006 and the Isle of Wight Festival, Editors began work on their second album.
### An End Has a Start (2007–2008)
Editors recorded their second album An End Has a Start with producer Jacknife Lee in Grouse Lodge, Ireland over a two-month period beginning in late November 2006. It was released on 25 June 2007 and went straight to number 1 in the UK album charts, selling 59,405 copies in its first week. The album was preceded by the Top 10 single "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" on the 18th. The song was Editors' highest-charting single, reaching number 7. It also earned its own Making the Video episode on MTV.
Just after the album's release, Editors played at the Glastonbury Festival with a second from top slot on The Other Stage. They also played many other festivals such as Oxegen, Lowlands and Pukkelpop over the following weeks, as well as playing their first ever tour dates in Australia and New Zealand. They then released the album's title track "An End Has a Start" in September to coincide with their North American tour. Editors went on to play the song live on American television shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Upon returning to the UK, the band contributed a cover of the Cure's "Lullaby" to the Radio 1 Established 1967 compilation, again working with producer Gavin Monaghan, which was released on 1 October 2007. Shortly after this, Editors played a 75-minute set for the BBC Electric Proms at KOKO in London with backing from a classical string quartet. In November, they released "The Racing Rats" as the third single off the album. Editors played it live on 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross' and it helped the song reach number 26 in the UK Charts. It also reached number 12 in the Dutch Top 40, the band's highest ever single charting outside of the UK at that point.
For the first two months of 2008, Editors played 30 shows on a tour across America and Canada. During the tour Editors were nominated for a Brit Award, in the Best British Group Category. Also as a result of the nomination, one of the North American tour dates had to be cancelled, as the band had to return to London to attend the prize ceremony. A month later, Editors announced "Push Your Head Towards the Air" to be the fourth single from An End Has a Start. This release was a limited special edition which was ineligible to chart. Along with this release Editors engaged in their biggest and most extensive British tour to date. They played arenas such as the 12,000 capacity National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and two sold out dates in London's Alexandra Palace.
In June, they released "Bones" as a download only single in Continental Europe to coincide with the summer festival season, the video of which was directed by the band's bassist Russell Leetch. Shortly afterwards, Editors played at the Glastonbury Festival, playing on the pyramid stage for the first time. The band then played their second major support slot of their history supporting R.E.M. on a 16 date summer tour across Europe alongside their festival dates which included the headlining of the Lowlands Festival in August.
### In This Light and on This Evening (2009–2010)
Lead singer Smith revealed that the band will explore a new direction on their next album, pursuing a new, rawer sound. Before January 2009, Editors had written around eighteen new songs for the new album and they have been described as some of the most synthetic, raw and anthemic songs they have written to date. In October the band went to the studio to record some demos. The band spent the first week of April recording the album and on 8 April, they released a short video with information about the recording process. It announced that Mark 'Flood' Ellis would be the producer for the album. Earlier on in the year, the sound of the album was said to have a very electric feel; the band often using the Terminator theme song as a reference.
On 2 June 2009, it was announced that the new album title would be In This Light and on This Evening and that they would be the first band to play at the new O2 Academy Birmingham. Through producer Flood's heavy usage of synthesisers, the album provided a synthpop and post-punk sound to Editors' production.
The album was released on 12 October and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. Alongside the album, the band released lead single "Papillon" and it led them to their first taste of number one success outside the UK, with the song hitting the top position in Belgium and being certified Gold in the process. After releasing singles "You Don't Know Love", "Last Day" and "Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool" to limited chart success, it was announced that their unreleased song "No Sound But the Wind" would appear on the New Moon soundtrack. A live version of the song was later released in continental Europe in September 2010 and again achieved the same success as "Papillon" in Belgium, going to number 1 and being certified Gold.
In November 2010 it was confirmed that a boxset called Unedited compiling the first 3 albums, as well as b-sides and previously unreleased songs on 7 12" records, 7 CDs and 7 MP3 albums, alongside a book of photos and words, would be released in early 2011. The boxset included the full band version of "No Sound But The Wind", demos of "Camera" and "These Streets Are Still Home To Me", and an unreleased version of "The Weight of the World", called "Every Little Piece".
### The Weight of Your Love and Urbanowicz's departure (2011–2014)
On 26 November 2010 Smith announced on the band's website that they had started work on a new album, that it would again be produced by Flood, and that they were recording "in stages over 2011", and that first rehearsals started in "a matter of days".
On 26 March 2011, Editors performed their first tour date of the year at the Royal Albert Hall as the headline act for the penultimate show in the 2011 Teenage Cancer Trust, during which they showcased two new songs, "Two Hearted Spider" and "The Sting". In October 2011, Editors played their first shows ever in Latin America with two dates in Mexico City.
In October 2011, Smith spoke to Q Radio about the new album. "It's still going to be fairly electronic, I think, compared to our earlier records. So far it feels quite muscular with a bit of swagger and a bit more of a groove. The last record was liberating in lots of different ways and I think we just need to, kind of, build on that..... with a nod to our past as well. It's our fourth record and we don't want to feel like we're doing the same thing again."
On 22 November 2011, Russell Leetch, the band's bassist posted on the band's official site saying they have seven songs ready to record and some more ideas "floating around" and that the album "will be with you next year."
On 16 April 2012, it was announced that Chris Urbanowicz had left the group due to a difference in musical direction.
Following Urbanowicz's departure the band played their first shows as a five piece with new members Justin Lockey and Elliott Williams in Birmingham, UK on 26 and 27 June 2012. On 29 June, they played at Main Square Festival in Arras, France, and on 30 June they headlined Rock Werchter festival in Belgium. At the shows they played new versions of "Two Hearted Spider" and "The Sting" as well as two new songs, "Sugar" and "Nothing".
On 8 April 2013 Tom Smith stated, via his official Twitter account, that "the record is being mastered today. it's finished. done."
On 6 May 2013 Zane Lowe stated, via his official Twitter account, that the new Editors record would be entitled The Weight of Your Love. The first single for this album is "A Ton of Love". In February 2014 the band released their fourth single, "Sugar".
During 2014, Elliott Williams left the band for a period of touring to work on his own music project YdotOdotU, supporting The 1975. The band continued to tour with musician Nicholas Willes.
### In Dream (2014–2018)
In October 2014, the band reconvened in Scotland to work on their fifth album. During a session supporting Andy Burrows on Jo Wiley's Radio 2 show, Tom Smith confirmed the album's songs had been written.
On 20 April 2015, the band released a new song entitled 'No Harm' for free download. The song later became available through retailers, and on 11 May, its official video was posted on their YouTube channel. On 18 June, they released a video for the album's lead single, 'Marching Orders'. The video, directed by Rahi Rezvani (as was 'No Harm'), was filmed in the Western Highlands of Scotland. The song was released on 19 June for digital download, and a limited run of 300 12" vinyl test pressings were distributed randomly throughout Oxfam stores.
On 15 July 2015 the band announced the album In Dream via Facebook. It is the first Editors record to feature a duet. The third single and video 'Life is a Fear' got its first play on Zane Lowe's Apple Music Beats1 radio show on 11 August 2015. Its video, again directed by Rahi Rezvani, was uploaded to YouTube on the same day. On 22 September, Editors shared 'The Law', an album track which features Rachel Goswell of Slowdive.
The fifth album In Dream, produced by Editors themselves and mixed by Alan Moulder, was released on 2 October 2015. It marks the band's collaboration with the Iranian born Dutch photographer, film and music video director Rahi Rezvani who also directed the video for 'Ocean of Night', released on 24 November. In October 2015, Editors together with Brussels Beer Project has released their own beer 'Salvation', named after a track on their album In Dream.
In support of the album the band embarked on a 42-date tour, playing throughout October, November and December in the UK, Ireland and Europe. Editors supported Manic Street Preachers across the UK on the 20th anniversary tour of the album Everything Must Go. They also performed at Glastonbury, Bråvalla, Rock Werchter, Bilbao BBK Live 2016 and more than 20 festivals.
### Violence (2018–2019)
Editors released their sixth album, Violence, on 9 March 2018. The lead single, 'Magazine', premiered on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 2 show on 15 January 2018. The second single "Hallelujah (So Low)" premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on 21 February 2018.
### Black Gold (2019–2022)
In 2019, the band released their first compilation album, Black Gold, featuring 13 tracks from across their career along with three new songs: "Black Gold", "Frankenstein" and "Upside Down", which were produced by Jacknife Lee. The deluxe edition of the release featured eight stripped-down acoustic versions of previously released material under the title Distance: The Acoustic Recordings. The release was followed by a 2020 best of tour.
### EBM (2022–present)
On 20 April 2022 the band released the single "Heart Attack", and announced the addition of Benjamin John Power, who had previously worked with the band on the Violence album, as an official band member. On 22 September 2022, the band released their seventh album, EBM.
## Musical style
Editors' own variation of dark indie guitar rock draws on influences from both older and contemporary bands. Their influences include Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, the Strokes, the Walkmen, Elbow, and R.E.M. The band draw their musical style particularly from the latter two bands' debut albums Asleep in the Back and Murmur. Smith has commented that "we're dark and moody so yeah we build on the sound of the likes of Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Chameleons... Obviously we were too young when these bands came out, so it's only more recently that we discovered them." Upon Editors' first appearances in the British music scene, they were also heavily compared to American indie band Interpol.
Editors' first album, The Back Room, was described as having a wiry and raw sound, which led it to being famously dubbed 'dark disco' by the NME. This sound was created by the use of synthesisers, catchy guitar riffs and simple, ambiguous lyrics. An End Has a Start showed progression to a new 'bigger' sound. This new sound was created by adding more textured layers to the songs as well as incorporating new forms of music into them. These include the adding of a choir in "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" and the inclusion of the sounds of the band playing Hide-and-seek in the song "Spiders".
Lead singer Smith announced that the band would explore a new direction on their next album, pursuing a new, rawer sound. The new sound materialised itself on the third album through the use of traditional synthesisers instead of the band's previous use of guitars. The producer of In This Light and on This Evening, Flood also increased the importance of "vibe" in the music's sound, making it darker than the previous two albums, while also attempting to make the album sound as if it had been recorded live.
While Smith tends to write the lyrics and chords, song writing overall is a collaborative effort. The song writing starts with Smith on the piano or acoustic guitar where he records them and sends them to the other band members where the song is turned into a full 'Editors song'. Smith has said that he purposely makes the lyrics ambiguous so people can draw their own conclusions.
"To us, it's interesting if it has a darkness," said Smith in 2015. "Whatever that is. On the lyric side of things, if I was singing about dancefloors or happier or rosier things, it wouldn't ring true for me. I don't know why that is. People quite often say, 'oh, you write these sad lyrics but you're not a sad person' - and I'm not... I don't think you need to be sad to write a sad song, everybody has a dark side."
## Members
Current members
- Tom Smith – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano (2002–present)
- Russell Leetch – bass guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals (2002–present)
- Ed Lay – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2003–present)
- Justin Lockey – lead guitar (2012–present)
- Elliott Williams – keyboards, synthesizers, additional guitars, backing vocals (2012–present)
- Benjamin John Power – keyboards, synthesizers, electronics (2022–present)
Current touring musicians
- Nicholas Willes – additional guitars, keyboards, synthesizers (2014–present)
Former members
- Geraint Owen – drums (2002–2003)
- Chris Urbanowicz – lead guitar (2002–2012)
## Discography
Studio albums
- The Back Room (2005)
- An End Has a Start (2007)
- In This Light and on This Evening (2009)
- The Weight of Your Love (2013)
- In Dream (2015)
- Violence (2018)
- EBM (2022)
|
54,479,614 |
The Outrun
| 1,171,164,892 |
2016 nature and recovery memoir
|
[
"2016 non-fiction books",
"Alcohol abuse",
"British memoirs",
"Orkney"
] |
The Outrun is a 2016 memoir by the Scottish journalist and author Amy Liptrot. It is set in Orkney, her childhood home, where she returned to rehabilitate after becoming an alcoholic in London. The book combines nature writing with self-reflection. It won her the 2016 Wainwright Prize and the 2017 PEN/Ackerley Prize.
Critics in the United Kingdom and the United States have warmly welcomed the book, describing it as beautiful and moving, and classifying it variously as a travelogue, a work of nature writing, and a recovery memoir. The book is being adapted as a film, directed by Nora Fingscheidt, and produced by and starring Saoirse Ronan.
## Summary
The Outrun describes Amy Liptrot's experiences when she returns to live in Orkney, where she grew up on a farm with her schizophrenic and bipolar father and her evangelical Christian mother. She tells of her rehabilitation after ten unhappy years in London, during which she had become an alcoholic and drug user. She combines reflections and memories with immediate descriptions of the islands' wild nature, wind, geology, and wildlife. To her surprise, she gets a temporary job, on Orkney, mapping rare corncrakes for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Later, she spends a winter on the Orkney island of Papa Westray in the RSPB's house, which is normally only used in summer.
The book is illustrated with hand-drawn maps of the Orkney Islands and of the island of Papa Westray.
## Publication
The Outrun was first published in paperback by Canongate Books of Edinburgh in 2016. It was brought out in hardback in the United States by W. W. Norton & Company in 2017. It has been translated into several other languages, including Chinese, Dutch, French, German, and Spanish.
## Reception
### Travelogue
Ian Thomson, reviewing the book in The Daily Telegraph, writes that The Outrun is "a glory to read. Matchless descriptions of landscape are combined with thoughtful reflections on Orcadian culture and local Norse legend. Domenica Ruta, in The New York Times, states that the nature writing shapes the book into a sort of "personal travelogue of the Orkney Islands, their numinous geology and mystical history, from the unique perspective of one who is both an outsider and a native."
### Nature writing
In The Scotsman, Stuart Kelly writes that Liptrot interlaces "the spiralling chaos of her London life with the spiralling skies above Orkney." He describes the book as an instance of "New Nature Writing", citing works like Helen Macdonald's personal 2014 memoir H is for Hawk, which both told of personal loss and trauma, and described a close engagement with nature. Doug Johnstone in The Independent says that Liptrot's account "of the islands and their wildlife absolutely sizzles, a scintillating mix of clear-eyed insight and poetic heart."
### Recovery memoir
Ruta, labelling The Outrun as a recovery memoir, describes the book as "full of lucid self-discovery and shimmering prose, ... more atmospheric than it is dramatic." She calls The Outrun a "gorgeous debut" and "a patiently wrought memoir". Johnstone calls it a beautiful book, offering a marvellous evocation of her life on Orkney, at once a "searing memoir" and "sublime nature writing". In his view, the book adds up to a moving philosophy of life; he finds the account of her "descent into drink ... raw and powerful ... without histrionics or melodrama". Thomson comments that Liptrot, with all her newfound, disabused integrity and hard-won sobriety, has written a minor classic of addiction literature." The Outrun was BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week from 18 January 2016. The BBC's Simon Richardson calls the book a moving personal memoir of alcoholism, likening it to Cheryl Strayed's 2012 Wild which described walking the long-distance Pacific Crest Trail in an attempt to shake out of her chaotic life.
Kelly, on the other hand, denies the book is a recovery memoir, on the grounds that it emphasizes the difficulty of staying sober. He calls the book "bold-hearted and brave-minded", at once "terribly sad and awfully affecting."
## Awards
The book won the 2016 Wainwright Prize, then known as the Wainwright Golden Beer Prize, awarded for the best work of general outdoors, nature and UK-based travel writing. The chair of the judges, Fiona Reynolds, described it as "brave and searingly honest ... her spare, lyrical prose is both powerful and tender." It was the unanimous choice of the judges.
The book won the 2017 PEN/Ackerley Prize, given "for a literary autobiography of excellence." The chair of the judges, Peter Parker, described it as an "exhilarating and rigorously unsentimental memoir ... Liptrot writes with wonderful clarity and invention."
It was shortlisted for the 2016 Wellcome Book Prize which "celebrate[s] and champion[s] the best books illuminating some aspect of medicine, health or illness". The winning book was Suzanne O'Sullivan's It's All in Your Head.
## Film adaptation
In January 2022, it was announced that Nora Fingscheidt would direct a film adaptation of The Outrun. It was to be produced by and star Saoirse Ronan and written by Fingscheidt and Liptrot. Filming began in Orkney in 2022.
|
32,151,986 |
Grove Park, Chiswick
| 1,147,595,914 | null |
[
"Areas of London",
"Districts of the London Borough of Hounslow",
"Places formerly in Middlesex"
] |
Grove Park is an area in the south of Chiswick, now in the borough of Hounslow, West London. It lies in the meander of the Thames occupied by Duke's Meadows park. Historically, the area belonged to one of the four historic villages in modern Chiswick, Little Sutton. It was long protected from building by the regular flooding of the low-lying land by the River Thames, remaining as orchards, open fields, and riverside marshland until the 1880s. Development was stimulated by the arrival of the railway in 1849; Grove Park Hotel followed in 1867, soon followed by housing.
The architecture of the area includes houses in British Queen Anne Revival style, while the station building is Italianate. The 1872 neo-Gothic St Paul's Church is built in irregular blocks of stone. It has a small fleche instead of a spire, as well as an apse at its eastern end. St Michael's Church was designed by W. D. Caröe and Herbert Passmore in 1908 in a domestic style in buttressed red brick with tiled arches and with dormer windows in its roof, while the windows use neo-Gothic stone tracery.
Famous residents of Grove Park include the actor John Thaw, the soldier Bernard Montgomery, and the poet Dylan Thomas. St Paul's vicarage has repeatedly been used as a film set, including in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Killing Eve, Lewis, Grantchester, and The Theory of Everything.
## Geography
Much of Grove Park was still rural until late in the 19th century; the risk of flooding from the tidal Thames protected it from building. One of the four constituent villages of Chiswick, Little Sutton, was in the Grove Park area, about the centre of the parish of Chiswick at that time; two other villages, Strand-on-the-Green and Old Chiswick, lie just to the west and to the east of Grove Park, respectively, with Turnham Green to the north.
## History
### Grove House to housing estate
A house stood on the site of Grove House from 1412; it was replaced by 1705 with, according to a contemporary observer, "a spacious regular modern building ... pleasantly situated by the Thames side. Behind it are gardens by some said to be the finest in England". Grove House was owned by the Barker family at that time; from 1745 it belonged to the Earl of Grantham and then to an eccentric animal-lover, Humphrey Morice. The Duke of Devonshire bought the whole estate in the 1840s, reshaping Grove House without its third storey, and letting it to tenants.
The building of the railways including Chiswick railway station in 1849 spurred development. Grove Park Hotel was built in 1867, soon followed by housing. Growth was slow but steady, with residential development accompanied by small-scale industry such as soap making.
Robert William Shipway bought Grove House in the 1890s; it was demolished in 1928 and replaced by the houses on the west side of Kinnaird Avenue.
### St Paul's Church
The neo-Gothic St Paul's Church, Grove Park Road, was designed in 1872 by Henry Currey and built at the expense of William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire to provide a church for the newly built Grove Park estate. It is made of irregular blocks of stone and has an apse at its eastern end; there is no tower or tall spire. It has instead a fleche (a small spire) atop a mock belfry at the western end. Inside, the church has a high altar from St Margaret's, Birmingham, to a design by Lord Norton, and a large 16th-century Florentine painting of the transfiguration of Christ. The stained glass in the apse is modern, by M. E. Aldrich Rope (1891-1988). The Stations of the Cross were painted by Enid Chadwick (1902–1987) of Walsingham, a British artist known for religious art.
### St Michael's Church
St Michael's Church on Elmwood Road was designed by the architects W. D. Caröe & Herbert Passmore; it was founded in 1908 and completed in 1909. It is described by Nikolaus Pevsner in The Buildings of England as "one of Caröe's most interesting churches in outer London". The building was funded by the sale of St Michael, Burleigh Street, on the Strand (in central London). Pevsner calls the exterior "picturesque"; it is in red brick, its buttresses joined by tiled arches, and with dormers in the roof. The crossing point of the roof is marked by a turret with shingles and tiles; on the north of the crossing is "a curiously domestic excrescence" for ventilation and the church's belfry. The windows have decorative curving stone tracery in "free flamboyant Gothic" style; they are recessed under tiled arches. Inside, the font, lectern, and pulpit were brought from St Michael on the Strand, while the 1911 choir stalls were designed by Caröe. The south chapel's roof has a decoration made by Antony Lloyd in 1932. The stained glass windows in the south chapel and the sanctuary were made by Horace Wilkinson between 1914 and 1925.
## Parks and nature reserves
Just to the east of the Grove Park area is Chiswick House, its gardens a public park. In the south of the peninsula is the open space of Duke's Meadows, though much of its area is now taken up with private sports grounds and allotments. Just beside the railway bridge is the small Duke's Hollow nature reserve, which is allowed to flood at high spring tides.
In the First World War, a pleasure lake that had belonged to Grove House, at the southern end of Hartington Road, was turned into Cubitt's Yacht Basin; during the war it made cast concrete barges to carry ammunition. When the war ended it was used to moor houseboats.
## Residents
The actor John Thaw lived on Grove Park Road for many years, while the British Army Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, lived on Bolton Road as a teenager. The poet Dylan Thomas lived in the vicarage of St Paul's Church in the 1940s.
## In culture
St Paul's vicarage was used in the 2011 film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy of John Le Carre's novel, as was the BBC drama series Killing Eve, and the television detective series Lewis and Grantchester. The vicarage's garden was used "extensively" in the 2014 film about the physicist Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything. The Beatles filmed two short promotional films on 20 May 1966, ‘Paperback Writer’ and ‘Rain’, in the gardens of Chiswick House.
|
5,042,706 |
Al Gore
| 1,173,591,824 |
Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 (born 1948)
|
[
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"Politicians from Nashville, Tennessee",
"Primetime Emmy Award winners",
"Private equity and venture capital investors",
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"St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni",
"United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War",
"United States Army soldiers",
"University of California, Los Angeles faculty",
"Vanderbilt University alumni",
"Vice presidents of the United States",
"Washington, D.C., Democrats",
"Writers from Tennessee"
] |
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2000 presidential election. He lost the electoral college vote 266–271 to Republican nominee George W. Bush, despite winning the popular vote by approximately 543,895 votes. The election concluded after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5–4 in Bush v. Gore against a previous ruling by the Supreme Court of Florida on a re-count that would have likely given Gore a razor-thin lead in the state of Florida, had the re-count continued as planned. Gore is one of only five presidential candidates in American history to lose a presidential election despite winning the popular vote.
The son of politician Albert Gore Sr., Gore was an elected official for 24 years. He was a U.S. representative from Tennessee (1977–1985) and from 1985 to 1993 served as a U.S. senator from that state. He served as vice president during the Clinton administration from 1993 to 2001, defeating incumbents George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle in 1992, and Bob Dole and Jack Kemp in 1996. As of 2023, Gore's 1990 re-election remains the last time Democrats won a Senate election in Tennessee.
After his term as vice-president ended in 2001, Gore remained prominent as an author and environmental activist, whose work in climate change activism earned him (jointly with the IPCC) the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Gore is the founder and current chair of The Climate Reality Project, the co-founder and chair of Generation Investment Management, the now-defunct Current TV network, a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc. and a senior adviser to Google. Gore is also a partner in the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, heading its climate change solutions group. He has served as a visiting professor at Middle Tennessee State University, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Fisk University and the University of California, Los Angeles. He served on the Board of Directors of World Resources Institute.
Gore has received a number of awards that include the Nobel Peace Prize (joint award with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007), a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album (2009) for his book An Inconvenient Truth, a Primetime Emmy Award for Current TV (2007), and a Webby Award (2005). Gore was also the subject of the Academy Award winning (2007) documentary An Inconvenient Truth in 2006, as well as its 2017 sequel An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. In 2007, he was named a runner-up for Time's 2007 Person of the Year. In 2008, Gore won the Dan David Prize for Social Responsibility.
## Early life and education
Gore was born on March 31, 1948, in Washington, D.C., the second of two children of Albert Gore Sr., a U.S. Representative who later served for 18 years as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee, and Pauline (LaFon) Gore, one of the first women to graduate from Vanderbilt University Law School. Gore is a descendant of Scots Irish immigrants who first settled in Virginia in the mid-17th-century and moved to Tennessee after the Revolutionary War. His older sister Nancy LaFon Gore died of lung cancer in 1984.
During the school year he lived with his family in The Fairfax Hotel in the Embassy Row section in Washington D.C. During the summer months, he worked on the family farm in Carthage, Tennessee, where the Gores grew tobacco and hay and raised cattle.
Gore attended St. Albans School, an independent college preparatory day and boarding school for boys in Washington, D.C. from 1956 to 1965, a prestigious feeder school for the Ivy League. He was the captain of the football team, threw discus for the track and field team and participated in basketball, art, and government. He graduated 25th in a class of 51, applied to one college, Harvard University, and was accepted.
## Harvard, the Vietnam War, journalism, and Vanderbilt (1965–1976)
### Harvard
Gore enrolled in Harvard College in 1965; he initially planned to major in English and write novels but later decided to major in government. On his second day on campus, he began campaigning for the freshman student government council and was elected its president. He was roommates with actor Tommy Lee Jones in Dunster House.
Gore was an avid reader who fell in love with scientific and mathematical theories, but he did not do well in science classes and avoided taking math. During his first two years, his grades placed him in the lower one-fifth of his class. During his second year, he reportedly spent much of his time watching television, shooting pool and occasionally smoking marijuana. In his junior and senior years, he became more involved with his studies, earning As and Bs. In his senior year, he took a class with oceanographer and global warming theorist Roger Revelle, who sparked Gore's interest in global warming and other environmental issues. Gore earned an A on his thesis, "The Impact of Television on the Conduct of the Presidency, 1947–1969", and graduated with an A.B. cum laude in June 1969.
Gore was in college during the era of anti Vietnam War protests. He was against that war, but he disagreed with the tactics of the student protest movement. He thought that it was silly and juvenile to use a private university as a venue to vent anger at the war. He and his friends did not participate in Harvard demonstrations. John Tyson, a former roommate, recalled that "We distrusted these movements a lot ... We were a pretty traditional bunch of guys, positive for civil rights and women's rights but formal, transformed by the social revolution to some extent but not buying into something we considered detrimental to our country." Gore helped his father write an anti war address to the Democratic National Convention of 1968 but stayed with his parents in their hotel room during the violent protests.
### Military service
When Gore graduated in 1969, he immediately became eligible for the military draft. His father, a vocal anti Vietnam War critic, was facing re-election in 1970. Gore eventually decided that enlisting in the Army would be the best course between serving his country, his personal values and interests. Although nearly all of his Harvard classmates avoided the draft and service in Vietnam, Gore believed if he found a way around military service, he would be handing an issue to his father's Republican opponent. According to Gore's Senate biography, "He appeared in uniform in his father's campaign commercials, one of which ended with his father advising: 'Son, always love your country'." Despite this, Gore Sr. lost the election to an opponent who vastly out-fundraised him. This opponent was later found by the Watergate commission to have accepted illegal money from Nixon's operatives.
Gore has said that his other reason for enlisting was that he did not want someone with fewer options than he to go in his place. Actor Tommy Lee Jones, a former college housemate, recalled Gore saying that "if he found a fancy way of not going, someone else would have to go in his place". His Harvard advisor, Richard Neustadt, also stated that Gore decided, "that he would have to go as an enlisted man because, he said, 'In Tennessee, that's what most people have to do.' " In addition, Michael Roche, Gore's editor for The Castle Courier, stated that "anybody who knew Al Gore in Vietnam knows he could have sat on his butt and he didn't."
After enlisting in August 1969, Gore returned to the anti war Harvard campus in his military uniform to say goodbye to his adviser and was "jeered" at by students. He later said he was astonished by the "emotional field of negativity and disapproval and piercing glances that ... certainly felt like real hatred".
Gore had basic training at Fort Dix from August to October, and then was assigned to be a journalist at Fort Rucker, Alabama. In April 1970, he was named Rucker's "Soldier of the Month".
His orders to be sent to Vietnam were "held up" for some time and the Gore family suspected that this was due to a fear by the Nixon administration that if something happened to him, his father would gain sympathy votes. He was finally shipped to Vietnam on January 2, 1971, after his father had lost his seat in the Senate during the 1970 Senate election, becoming one "of only about a dozen of the 1,115 Harvard graduates in the Class of '69 who went to Vietnam". Gore was stationed with the 20th Engineer Brigade in Biên Hòa and was a journalist with The Castle Courier. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in May 1971.
Of his time in the Army, Gore later stated, "I didn't do the most, or run the gravest danger. But I was proud to wear my country's uniform." He also later stated that his experience in Vietnam
> didn't change my conclusions about the war being a terrible mistake, but it struck me that opponents to the war, including myself, really did not take into account the fact that there were an awful lot of South Vietnamese who desperately wanted to hang on to what they called freedom. Coming face to face with those sentiments expressed by people who did the laundry and ran the restaurants and worked in the fields was something I was naively unprepared for.
### Vanderbilt and journalism
Gore was "dispirited" after his return from Vietnam. NashvillePost.com noted that, "his father's defeat made service in a conflict he deeply opposed even more abhorrent to Gore. His experiences in the war zone don't seem to have been deeply traumatic in themselves; although the engineers were sometimes fired upon, Gore has said he didn't see full-scale combat. Still, he felt that his participation in the war was wrong."
Although his parents wanted him to go to law school, Gore first attended Vanderbilt University Divinity School (1971–72) on a Rockefeller Foundation scholarship for people planning secular careers. He later said he went there in order to explore "spiritual issues", and that "he had hoped to make sense of the social injustices that seemed to challenge his religious beliefs".
In 1971, Gore also began to work the night shift for The Tennessean as an investigative reporter. His investigations of corruption among members of Nashville's Metro Council resulted in the arrest and prosecution of two councilmen for separate offenses.
In 1974, he took a leave of absence from The Tennessean to attend Vanderbilt University Law School. His decision to become an attorney was a partial result of his time as a journalist, as he realized that, while he could expose corruption, he could not change it. Gore did not complete law school, deciding abruptly, in 1976, to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives when he found out that his father's former seat in the House was about to be vacated.
## Congress (1977–1993)
Gore began serving in the U.S. Congress at the age of 28 and stayed there for the next 16 years, serving in both the House (1977–1985) and the Senate (1985–1993). Gore spent many weekends in Tennessee, working with his constituents.
### House and Senate
At the end of February 1976, U.S. Representative Joe L. Evins unexpectedly announced his retirement from Congress, making Tennessee's 4th congressional district seat, to which he had succeeded Albert Gore Sr. in 1953 open. Within hours after The Tennessean publisher John Seigenthaler Sr. called him to tell him the announcement was forthcoming, Gore decided to quit law school and run for the House of Representatives:
> Gore's abrupt decision to run for the open seat surprised even himself; he later said that "I didn't realize myself I had been pulled back so much to it." The news came as a "bombshell" to his wife. Tipper Gore held a job in The Tennessean's photo lab and was working on a master's degree in psychology, but she joined in her husband's campaign (with assurance that she could get her job at The Tennessean back if he lost). By contrast, Gore asked his father to stay out of his campaign: "I must become my own man," he explained. "I must not be your candidate."
Gore won the 1976 Democratic primary for the district with "32 percent of the vote, three percentage points more than his nearest rival", and was opposed only by an independent candidate in the election, recording 94 percent of the overall vote. He went on to win the next three elections, in 1978, 1980 and 1982, where "he was unopposed twice and won 79 percent of the vote the other time". In 1984, Gore successfully ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate, which had been vacated by Republican Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker. He was "unopposed in the Democratic Senatorial primary and won the general election going away", despite the fact that Republican President Ronald Reagan swept Tennessee in his reelection campaign the same year. Gore defeated Republican senatorial nominee Victor Ashe, subsequently the mayor of Knoxville, and the Republican-turned-Independent, Ed McAteer, founder of the Christian right Religious Roundtable organization that had worked to elect Reagan as president in 1980.
During his time in Congress, Gore was considered a "moderate" once referring to himself as a "raging moderate" opposing federal funding of abortion, voting in favor of a bill which supported a moment of silence in schools, and voting against a ban on interstate sales of guns. In 1981, Gore was quoted as saying with regard to homosexuality, "I think it is wrong", and "I don't pretend to understand it, but it is not just another normal optional life style." In his 1984 Senate race, Gore said when discussing homosexuality, "I do not believe it is simply an acceptable alternative that society should affirm." He also said that he would not take campaign funds from gay rights groups. Although he maintained a position against homosexuality and gay marriage in the 1980s, Gore said in 2008 that he thinks "gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women...to join together in marriage." His position as a moderate (and on policies related to that label) shifted later in life after he became Vice President and ran for president in 2000.
During his tenure in the House, Gore voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday. While Gore initially did not vote on the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 in January 1988, he voted to override President Reagan's veto the following March. Gore voted against the nomination of William Rehnquist as Chief Justice of the United States, as well as the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.
During his time in the House, Gore sat on the Energy and Commerce and the Science and Technology committees, chairing the Science Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for four years. He also sat on the House Intelligence Committee and, in 1982, introduced the Gore Plan for arms control, to "reduce chances of a nuclear first strike by cutting multiple warheads and deploying single-warhead mobile launchers". While in the Senate, he sat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Rules and Administration, and the Armed Services Committees. In 1991, Gore was one of ten Democrats who supported the Gulf War.
Gore was considered one of the Atari Democrats, given this name due to their "passion for technological issues, from biomedical research and genetic engineering to the environmental impact of the "greenhouse effect". On March 19, 1979, he had become the first member of Congress to appear on C-SPAN. During this time, Gore co-chaired the Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future with Newt Gingrich. In addition, he has been described as having been a "genuine nerd, with a geek reputation running back to his days as a futurist Atari Democrat in the House. Before computers were comprehensible, let alone sexy, the poker-faced Gore struggled to explain artificial intelligence and fiber-optic networks to sleepy colleagues." Internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn noted that,
> as far back as the 1970s, Congressman Gore promoted the idea of high-speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship ... the Internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication.
Gore introduced the Supercomputer Network Study Act of 1986. He also sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of government agencies to natural disasters and other crises.
As a Senator, Gore began to craft the High Performance Computing Act of 1991 (commonly referred to as "The Gore Bill") after hearing the 1988 report Toward a National Research Network submitted to Congress by a group chaired by UCLA professor of computer science, Leonard Kleinrock, one of the central creators of the ARPANET (the ARPANET, first deployed by Kleinrock and others in 1969, is the predecessor of the Internet). The bill was passed on December 9, 1991, and led to the National Information Infrastructure (NII) which Gore referred to as the "information superhighway".
After joining the House of Representatives, Gore held the "first congressional hearings on the climate change, and co-sponsor[ed] hearings on toxic waste and global warming". He continued to speak on the topic throughout the 1980s. In 1990, Senator Gore presided over a three-day conference with legislators from over 42 countries which sought to create a Global Marshall Plan, "under which industrial nations would help less developed countries grow economically while still protecting the environment".
### Son's 1989 accident and first book
On April 3, 1989, Al, Tipper and their six-year-old son Albert were leaving a baseball game. Albert ran across the street to see his friend and was hit by a car. He was thrown 30 feet (9 m) and then traveled along the pavement for another 20 feet (6 m). Gore later recalled: "I ran to his side and held him and called his name, but he was motionless, limp and still, without breath or pulse.... His eyes were open with the nothingness stare of death, and we prayed, the two of us, there in the gutter, with only my voice." Albert was tended to by two nurses who happened to be present during the accident. The Gores spent the next month in the hospital with Albert. Gore also commented: "Our lives were consumed with the struggle to restore his body and spirit." This event was "a trauma so shattering that [Gore] views it as a moment of personal rebirth", a "key moment in his life" which "changed everything".
In August 1991, Gore announced that his son's accident was a factor in his decision not to run for president in 1992. Gore stated: "I would like to be President.... But I am also a father, and I feel deeply about my responsibility to my children.... I didn't feel right about tearing myself away from my family to the extent that is necessary in a Presidential campaign." During this time, Gore wrote Earth in the Balance, a text that became the first book written by a sitting U.S. Senator to make The New York Times Best Seller list since John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage.
## First presidential run (1988)
In 1988, Gore sought the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States. Gore carried seven states in the primaries, finishing third overall in a field that included Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, then Senator, future Vice President and current President Joe Biden, Gary Hart, Congressman Dick Gephardt, Paul Simon and Jesse Jackson. Dukakis eventually won the Democratic nomination and went on to lose in a landslide to George H. W. Bush in the general election.
Although Gore initially denied that he intended to run, his candidacy was the subject of speculation: "National analysts make Sen. Gore a long-shot for the Presidential nomination, but many believe he could provide a natural complement for any of the other candidates: a young, attractive, moderate Vice Presidential nominee from the South. He currently denies any interest, but he carefully does not reject the idea out of hand." At the time, he was 39 years old, making him the "youngest serious Presidential candidate since John F. Kennedy".
CNN noted that, "in 1988, for the first time, 12 southern states would hold their primaries on the same day, dubbed "Super Tuesday". Gore thought he would be the only serious Southern contender; he had not counted on Jesse Jackson." Jackson defeated Gore in the South Carolina primary, winning, "more than half the total vote, three times that of his closest rival here, Senator Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee". Gore next placed great hope on Super Tuesday where they split the Southern vote: Jackson winning Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia; Gore winning Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Nevada, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. Gore was later endorsed by New York City Mayor Ed Koch who made statements in favor of Israel and against Jackson. These statements cast Gore in a negative light, leading voters away from Gore who received only 10% of the vote in the New York primary. Gore then dropped out of the race. The New York Times said that Gore also lost support due to his attacks against Jackson, Dukakis, and others.
Gore was eventually able to mend fences with Jackson, who supported the Clinton-Gore ticket in 1992 and 1996, and campaigned for the Gore-Lieberman ticket during the 2000 presidential election. Gore's policies changed substantially in 2000, reflecting his eight years as vice president.
## 1992 presidential election
Gore was initially hesitant to be Bill Clinton's running mate for the 1992 United States presidential election, but after clashing with the George H. W. Bush administration over global warming issues, he decided to accept the offer. Clinton stated that he chose Gore due to his foreign policy experience, work with the environment, and commitment to his family.
Clinton's choice was criticized as unconventional because rather than picking a running mate who would diversify the ticket, Clinton chose a fellow Southerner who shared his political ideologies and who was nearly the same age as Clinton. The Washington Bureau Chief for The Baltimore Sun, Paul West, later suggested that, "Al Gore revolutionized the way Vice Presidents are made. When he joined Bill Clinton's ticket, it violated the old rules. Regional diversity? Not with two Southerners from neighboring states. Ideological balance? A couple of left-of-center moderates. ... And yet, Gore has come to be regarded by strategists in both parties as the best vice presidential pick in at least 20 years."
Clinton and Gore accepted the nomination at the Democratic National Convention on July 17, 1992. Known as the Baby Boomer Ticket and the Fortysomething Team, The New York Times noted that if elected, Clinton and Gore, at ages 46 and 44 respectively, would be the "youngest team to make it to the White House in the country's history". Gore called the ticket "a new generation of leadership".
The ticket increased in popularity after the candidates traveled with their wives, Hillary and Tipper, on a "six-day, 1,000-mile bus ride, from New York to St. Louis". Al Gore would participate in one vice-presidential debate against Vice President Dan Quayle, and Admiral James Stockdale. That debate, as of 2023, was the only televised Vice-Presidential debate with more than two participating candidates. The Clinton-Gore ticket beat the Bush-Quayle and Perot-Stockdale tickets with 43% of the popular vote, versus their 38% and 19%, respectively. Clinton and Gore received 370 electoral votes, versus the incumbent ticket's 168, and Perot's 0.
## Vice presidency (1993–2001)
Al Gore served as vice president during the Clinton administration. Clinton and Gore were inaugurated on January 20, 1993. At the beginning of the first term, they developed a "two-page agreement outlining their relationship". Clinton committed himself to regular lunch meetings; he recognized Gore as a principal adviser on nominations and appointed some of Gore's chief advisers to key White House staff positions. Clinton involved Gore in decision-making to an unprecedented degree for a vice president. Through their weekly lunches and daily conversations, Gore became the president's "indisputable chief adviser".
However, Gore had to compete with First Lady Hillary for President Clinton's influence, starting when she was appointed to the health-care task force without Gore's consultation. Vanity Fair wrote that President Clinton's "failure to confide in his vice president was a telling sign of the real pecking order", and reported "it was an open secret that some of Hillary's advisers...nurtured dreams that Hillary, not Gore, would follow Bill in the presidency".
Gore had a particular interest in reducing "waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government and advocated trimming the size of the bureaucracy and the number of regulations". During the Clinton Administration, the U.S. economy expanded, according to David Greenberg (professor of history and media studies at Rutgers University) who said that "by the end of the Clinton presidency, the numbers were uniformly impressive. Besides the record-high surpluses and the record-low poverty rates, the economy could boast the longest economic expansion in history; the lowest unemployment since the early 1970s; and the lowest poverty rates for single mothers, black Americans, and the aged."
According to Leslie Budd, author of E-economy: Rhetoric or Business Reality, this economic success was due, in part, to Gore's continued role as an Atari Democrat, promoting the development of information technology, which led to the dot-com boom (c. 1995–2001). Clinton and Gore entered office planning to finance research that would "flood the economy with innovative goods and services, lifting the general level of prosperity and strengthening American industry". Their overall aim was to fund the development of, "robotics, smart roads, biotechnology, machine tools, magnetic-levitation trains, fiber-optic communications and national computer networks. Also earmarked [were] a raft of basic technologies like digital imaging and data storage." Critics claimed that the initiatives would "backfire, bloating Congressional pork and creating whole new categories of Federal waste".
During the election and his term as vice president, Gore popularized the term Information Superhighway, which became synonymous with the Internet, and he was involved in the creation of the National Information Infrastructure. Gore first discussed his plans to emphasize information technology at UCLA on January 11, 1994, in a speech at The Superhighway Summit. On March 29, 1994, Gore made the inaugural keynote to a Georgetown University symposium on governmental reform with a lecture entitled, "The new job of the federal executive". Gore spoke on how technology was changing the nature of government, public administration, and management in general, noting that while in the past deep hierarchical structures were necessary to manage large organizations, technology was offering more accurate and streamlined access to information, thus facilitating flatter management structures. He was involved in a number of projects including NetDay '96 and 24 Hours in Cyberspace. The Clinton–Gore administration also launched the first official White House website in 1994 and subsequent versions through 2000. During 1993 and early 1994, Gore was tapped by the administration to advocate for the adoption of the Clipper Chip, a technology developed by the National Security Agency designed to provide for law enforcement access to encrypted communications. After political and technical objections, the initiative was essentially dropped.
Gore was also involved in environmental initiatives. He launched the GLOBE program on Earth Day '94, an education and science activity that, according to Forbes magazine, "made extensive use of the Internet to increase student awareness of their environment". In 1998, Gore began promoting a NASA satellite (Deep Space Climate Observatory) that would provide a constant view of the Earth, marking the first time such an image would have been made since The Blue Marble photo from the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. During this time, he also became associated with Digital Earth.
Gore negotiated and strongly supported the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gasses, but said upon his return that the administration would not submit the treaty to the Senate for ratification until it was amended to include "meaningful participation by key developing nations", The Senate had previously passed unanimously (95–0) the Byrd–Hagel Resolution (S. Res. 98), which declared opposition to any greenhouse gas treaty which would limit US emissions without similar limits on third-world countries such as China. The Clinton administration left office three years later without having submitted the treaty for ratification.
In 1996, Gore became involved in a "Chinagate" campaign finance controversy over his attendance at an event at the Buddhist Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California. In an interview on NBC's Today the following year, Gore said, "I did not know that it was a fund-raiser. I knew it was a political event, and I knew there were finance people that were going to be present, and so that alone should have told me, 'This is inappropriate and this is a mistake; don't do this.' And I take responsibility for that. It was a mistake." A U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the fund-raising activities had uncovered evidence that Chinese agents sought to direct contributions from foreign sources to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) before the 1996 presidential campaign. The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. was used for coordinating contributions to the DNC. FBI agents were denied the opportunity to ask President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore questions during Justice Department interviews in 1997 and 1998 and were only allowed to take notes. In March 1997, Gore had to explain phone calls which he made to solicit funds for Democratic Party for the 1996 election. In a news conference, Gore stated that, "all calls that I made were charged to the Democratic National Committee. I was advised there was nothing wrong with that. My counsel tells me there is no controlling legal authority that says that is any violation of any law." The phrase "no controlling legal authority" was criticized by columnist Charles Krauthammer, who stated: "Whatever other legacies Al Gore leaves behind between now and retirement, he forever bequeaths this newest weasel word to the lexicon of American political corruption." Robert Conrad Jr. was the head of a Justice Department task force appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate Gore's fund-raising controversies. In Spring 2000, Conrad asked Reno to appoint an independent counsel to continue the investigation. After looking into the matter, Reno judged that the appointment of an independent counsel was unwarranted.
During the 1990s, Gore spoke out on a number of issues. In a 1992 speech on the Gulf War, Gore stated that he twice attempted to get the U.S. government to pull the plug on support to Saddam Hussein, citing Hussein's use of poison gas, support of terrorism, and his burgeoning nuclear program, but was opposed both times by the Reagan and Bush administrations. In 1998, at a conference of APEC hosted by Malaysia, Gore objected to the indictment, arrest and jailing of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's longtime second-in-command Anwar Ibrahim, a move which received a negative response from leaders there. Ten years later, Gore again protested when Ibrahim was arrested a second time, a decision condemned by Malaysian foreign minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.
In the 1996 presidential election, Clinton and Gore both ran for re-election for president and vice-president. They faced Republican Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, with his running mate, Jack Kemp, a former member of House republican leadership and George H. W. Bush's secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Gore and Kemp debated once, in one of the lowest rated debates in history. Gore held his own against Kemp, and kept President Clinton's large lead against Dole stable. On November 5, 1996, Clinton and Gore were re-elected as president and vice-president with 379 electoral votes and an 8% margin of victory in the popular vote.
Soon afterward, Gore also had to contend with the Lewinsky scandal, which involved an affair between President Clinton and a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Gore initially defended Clinton, whom he believed to be innocent, stating, "He is the president of the country! He is my friend ... I want to ask you now, every single one of you, to join me in supporting him." After Clinton was impeached, Gore continued to defend him stating, "I've defined my job in exactly the same way for six years now ... to do everything I can to help him be the best president possible."
## Second presidential run (2000)
There was talk of a potential run in the 2000 presidential race by Gore as early as January 1998. Gore discussed the possibility of running during a March 9, 1999, interview with CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer. In response to Wolf Blitzer's question: "Why should Democrats, looking at the Democratic nomination process, support you instead of Bill Bradley", Gore responded:
> I'll be offering my vision when my campaign begins. And it will be comprehensive and sweeping. And I hope that it will be compelling enough to draw people toward it. I feel that it will be. But it will emerge from my dialogue with the American people. I've traveled to every part of this country during the last six years. During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.
Former UCLA professor of information studies Philip E. Agre and journalist Eric Boehlert argued that three articles in Wired News led to the creation of the widely spread urban legend that Gore claimed to have "invented the Internet", which followed this interview. In addition, computer professionals and congressional colleagues argued in his defense. Internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn stated that "we don't think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he 'invented' the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet." Cerf would later state: "Al Gore had seen what happened with the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956, which his father introduced as a military bill. It was very powerful. Housing went up, suburban boom happened, everybody became mobile. Al was attuned to the power of networking much more than any of his elective colleagues. His initiatives led directly to the commercialization of the Internet. So he really does deserve credit." In a speech to the American Political Science Association, former Republican Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Newt Gingrich also stated: "In all fairness, it's something Gore had worked on a long time. Gore is not the Father of the Internet, but in all fairness, Gore is the person who, in the Congress, most systematically worked to make sure that we got to an Internet, and the truth is—and I worked with him starting in 1978 when I got [to Congress], we were both part of a "futures group"—the fact is, in the Clinton administration, the world we had talked about in the '80s began to actually happen." Finally, Wolf Blitzer (who conducted the original 1999 interview) stated in 2008 that: "I didn't ask him about the Internet. I asked him about the differences he had with Bill Bradley ... Honestly, at the time, when he said it, it didn't dawn on me that this was going to have the impact that it wound up having, because it was distorted to a certain degree and people said they took what he said, which was a carefully phrased comment about taking the initiative and creating the Internet to—I invented the Internet. And that was the sort of shorthand, the way his enemies projected it and it wound up being a devastating setback to him and it hurt him, as I'm sure he acknowledges to this very day."
Gore himself would later poke fun at the controversy. In 2000, while on the Late Show with David Letterman he read Letterman's Top 10 List (which for this show was called, "Top Ten Rejected Gore – Lieberman Campaign Slogans") to the audience. Number nine on the list was: "Remember, America, I gave you the Internet, and I can take it away!" In 2005 when Gore was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award "for three decades of contributions to the Internet" at the Webby Awards he joked in his acceptance speech (limited to five words according to Webby Awards rules): "Please don't recount this vote." He was introduced by Vint Cerf who used the same format to joke: "We all invented the Internet." Gore, who was then asked to add a few more words to his speech, stated: "It is time to reinvent the Internet for all of us to make it more robust and much more accessible and use it to reinvigorate our democracy."
During a speech that he gave on June 16, 1999, in Carthage, Tennessee, Gore formally announced his candidacy for president. His major theme was the need to strengthen the American family. He was introduced by his eldest daughter, Karenna Gore Schiff. In making the speech, Gore also distanced himself from Bill Clinton, who he stated had lied to him. Gore was "briefly interrupted" by AIDS protesters claiming Gore was working with the pharmaceutical industry to prevent access to generic medicines for poor nations and chanting "Gore's greed kills." Additional speeches were also interrupted by the protesters. Gore responded, "I love this country. I love the First Amendment ... Let me say in response to those who may have chosen an inappropriate way to make their point, that actually the crisis of AIDS in Africa is one that should command the attention of people in the United States and around the world." Gore also issued a statement saying that he supported efforts to lower the cost of the AIDS drugs, provided that they "are done in a way consistent with international agreements".
While Bill Clinton's job-approval ratings were around 60%, an April 1999 study by the Pew Research Center for the People found that respondents suffered from "Clinton fatigue" where they were "tired of all the problems associated with the Clinton administration" including the Lewinsky scandal and impeachment. Texas Governor and likely Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush was leading Gore 54% to 41% in polls during that time. Gore's advisers believed that the "Lewinsky scandal and Bill's past womanizing...alienated independent voters—especially the soccer moms, who stood for traditional values". Consequently, Gore's presidential campaign "veered too far in differentiating himself from Bill and his record and had difficulty taking advantage of the Clinton administration's legitimate successes". In addition, Hillary's candidacy for the open Senate seat in New York exacerbated the "three-way tensions evident in the White House since 1993", as "not only was Hillary unavailable as a campaigner, she was poaching top Democratic fund-raisers and donors who would normally concentrate on the vice president". In one instance "Hillary insisted on being invited [to a Los Angeles fundraiser for the vice president]—over the objections of the event's organizers", where the First Lady "shocked the vice president's supporters by soliciting donations for herself in front of Tipper".
Gore faced an early challenge by former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley. Bradley was the only candidate to oppose Gore and was considered a "fresh face" for the White House. Gore challenged Bradley to a series of debates which took the form of "town hall" meetings. Gore went on the offensive during these debates leading to a drop in the polls for Bradley. In the Iowa caucus the unions pledged their support to Gore, despite Bradley spending heavily in that state, and Bradley was much embarrassed by his two to one defeat there. Gore went on to capture the New Hampshire primary 53-47%, which had been a must-win state for Bradley. Gore then swept all of the primaries on Super Tuesday while Bradley finished a distant second in each state. On March 9, 2000, after failing to win any of the first 20 primaries and caucuses in the election process, Bradley withdrew his campaign and endorsed Gore. Gore eventually went on to win every primary and caucus and, in March 2000 even won the first primary election ever held over the Internet, the Arizona Presidential Primary. By then, he secured the Democratic nomination. As of 2023, Al Gore remains the only presidential candidate in American history who was not the incumbent president to win every single contest in his or her party primary.
On August 13, 2000, Gore announced that he had selected Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut as his vice presidential running mate. Lieberman became "the first person of the Jewish faith to run for the nation's second-highest office". Many pundits saw Gore's choice of Lieberman as further distancing him from the scandals of the Clinton White House. Gore's daughter, Karenna, together with her father's former Harvard roommate Tommy Lee Jones, officially nominated Gore as the Democratic presidential candidate during the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California. Gore accepted his party's nomination and spoke about the major themes of his campaign, stating in particular his plan to extend Medicare to pay for prescription drugs and to work for a sensible universal health-care system. Soon after the convention, Gore hit the campaign trail with running mate Joe Lieberman. Gore and Bush were deadlocked in the polls. They participated in three televised debates. While both sides claimed victory after each, Gore was critiqued as either too stiff, too reticent, or too aggressive in contrast to Bush.
### Recount
On election night, news networks first called Florida for Gore, later retracted the projection, and then called Florida for Bush, before finally retracting that projection as well. Florida's Republican Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, eventually certified Florida's vote count. This led to the Florida election recount, a move to further examine the Florida results.
The Florida recount was stopped a few weeks later by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the ruling, Bush v. Gore, the Justices held that the Florida recount was unconstitutional and that no constitutionally valid recount could be completed by the December 12 deadline, effectively ending the recounts. This 7–2 vote ruled that the standards the Florida Supreme Court provided for a recount were unconstitutional due to violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and further ruled 5–4 that no constitutionally valid recount could be completed by the December 12 deadline. This case ordered an end to recounting underway in selected Florida counties, effectively giving George W. Bush a 537 vote victory in Florida and consequently Florida's 25 electoral votes and the presidency. The results of the decision led to Gore winning the popular vote by approximately 500,000 votes nationwide, but receiving 266 electoral votes to Bush's 271 (one District of Columbia elector abstained). On December 13, 2000, Gore conceded the election. Gore strongly disagreed with the Court's decision, but in his concession speech stated that, "for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession."
## Post-vice presidency (2001–present)
Bill Clinton and Gore had maintained an informal public distance for eight years, but they reunited for the media in August 2009. Clinton had arranged for the release of two female journalists who were being held hostage in North Korea. The women were employees of Gore's Current TV. In May 2018, he was included as a member of the Indian Government committee to coordinate year long celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary from October 2, 2019.
### Criticism of Bush
Beginning in 2002, Gore began to publicly criticize the Bush administration. In a September 23 speech that he gave before the Commonwealth Club of California, Gore criticized Bush and Congress for the rush to war prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Iraq. He compared this decision to the Persian Gulf War (which Gore had voted for) stating, "Back in 1991, I was one of a handful of Democrats in the United States Senate to vote in favor of the resolution endorsing the Persian Gulf War ... But look at the differences between the resolution that was voted on in 1991 and the one this administration is proposing that the Congress vote on in 2002. The circumstances are really completely different [...] in 1991, Iraq had crossed an international border, invaded a neighboring sovereign nation and annexed its territory. Now by contrast in 2002, there has been no such invasion." In a speech given in 2004, during the presidential election, Gore accused George W. Bush of betraying the country by using the 9/11 attacks as a justification for the invasion of Iraq. The next year, Gore gave a speech which covered many topics, including what he called "religious zealots" who claim special knowledge of God's will in American politics. Gore stated: "They even claim that those of us who disagree with their point of view are waging war against people of faith." After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Gore chartered two planes to evacuate 270 people from New Orleans and criticized the Bush administration's response to the hurricane. In 2006, Gore criticized Bush's use of domestic wiretaps without a warrant. One month later, in a speech given at the Jeddah Economic Forum, Gore criticized the treatment of Arabs in the U.S. after 9/11 stating, "Unfortunately there have been terrible abuses and it's wrong ... I do want you to know that it does not represent the desires or wishes or feelings of the majority of the citizens of my country." Gore's 2007 book, The Assault on Reason, is an analysis of what Gore refers to as the "emptying out of the marketplace of ideas" in civic discourse during the Bush administration. He attributes this phenomenon to the influence of television and argues that it endangers American democracy. By contrast, Gore argues, the Internet can revitalize and ultimately "redeem the integrity of representative democracy". In 2008, Gore argued against the ban of same-sex marriage on his Current TV website, stating, "I think that gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women to make contracts, have hospital visiting rights, and join together in marriage." In a 2009 interview with CNN, Gore commented on former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism of the Obama administration. Referring to his own previous criticism of the Bush administrations, Gore stated: "I waited two years after I left office to make statements that were critical, and then of the policy ... You know, you talk about somebody that shouldn't be talking about making the country less safe, invading a country that did not attack us and posed no serious threat to us at all."
While Gore has criticized Bush for his Katrina response, he has not spoken publicly about his part in the evacuation of 270 patients on September 3 & 4, 2005, from Charity Hospital in New Orleans to Tennessee. On September 1, Gore was contacted by Charity Hospital's Neurosurgeon Dr. David Kline, who had operated on his son Albert, through Greg Simon of FasterCures. Kline informed Gore and Simon of the desperate conditions at the hospital and asked Gore and Simon to arrange relief. On Gore's personal financial commitment, two airlines each provided a plane with one flight later underwritten by Larry Flax. The flights were flown by volunteer airline crews and medically staffed by Gore's cousin, retired Col. Dar LaFon, and family physician Dr. Anderson Spickard and were accompanied by Gore and Albert III. Gore used his political influence to expedite landing rights in New Orleans.
### Presidential run speculation
People were speculating that Gore would be a candidate for the 2004 presidential election (a bumper sticker, "Re-elect Gore in 2004!" was popular). On December 16, 2002, however, Gore announced that he would not run in 2004. While Gore seriously considered challenging Bush in 2004, the September 11 attacks and the subsequent stratospheric rise in President Bush's popularity as a result of his response to these attacks were strong factors in Gore's December 2002 decision not to run again in 2004. Despite Gore taking himself out of the race, a handful of his supporters formed a national campaign to draft him into running. The draft movement, however, failed to convince Gore to run.
The prospect of a Gore candidacy arose again between 2006 and early 2008 in light of the upcoming 2008 presidential election. Although Gore frequently stated that he had "no plans to run", he did not reject the possibility of future involvement in politics which led to speculation that he might run. This was due in part to his increased popularity after the release of the 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. The director of the film, Davis Guggenheim, stated that after the release of the film, "Everywhere I go with him, they treat him like a rock star." After An Inconvenient Truth was nominated for an Academy Award, Donna Brazile (Gore's campaign chairwoman from his 2000 campaign) speculated that Gore might announce a possible presidential candidacy during the Oscars. During the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, Gore and actor Leonardo DiCaprio shared the stage to speak about the "greening" of the ceremony itself. Gore began to give a speech that appeared to be leading up to an announcement that he would run for president. However, background music drowned him out and he was escorted offstage, implying that it was a rehearsed gag, which he later acknowledged. After An Inconvenient Truth won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, speculation increased about a possible presidential run. Gore's popularity was indicated in polls which showed that even without running, he was coming in second or third among possible Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. Grassroots draft campaigns also developed with the hope that they could encourage Gore to run. Gore, however, remained firm in his decision and declined to run for the presidency.
Interest in having Gore run for the 2016 presidential election arose in 2014 and again in 2015, although he did not declare any intention to do so.
### Involvement in presidential campaigns
After announcing he would not run in the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Gore endorsed Vermont governor Howard Dean in December 2003, weeks before the first primary of the election cycle. He was criticized for this endorsement by eight Democratic contenders particularly since he did not endorse his former running mate Joe Lieberman (Gore preferred Dean over Lieberman because Lieberman supported the Iraq War and Gore did not). Dean's campaign soon became a target of attacks and eventually failed, with Gore's early endorsement being credited as a factor. In The New York Times, Dean stated: "I actually do think the endorsement of Al Gore began the decline." The Times further noted that "Dean instantly amplified his statement to indicate that the endorsement from Mr. Gore, a powerhouse of the establishment, so threatened the other Democratic candidates that they began the attacks on his candidacy that helped derail it." Dean's former campaign manager, Joe Trippi, also stated that after Gore's endorsement of Dean, "alarm bells went off in every newsroom in the country, in every other campaign in the country", indicating that if something did not change, Dean would be the nominee. Later, in March 2004, Gore endorsed John Kerry and gave Kerry \$6 million in funds left over from his own unsuccessful 2000 bid. Gore also opened the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
During the 2008 primaries, Gore remained neutral toward all of the candidates which led to speculation that he would come out of a brokered 2008 Democratic National Convention as a "compromise candidate" if the party decided it could not nominate one. Gore responded by stating that these events would not take place because a candidate would be nominated through the primary process. Senator Ted Kennedy had urged Gore to endorse Senator Barack Obama though Gore declined. When Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president on June 3, 2008, speculation began that Gore might be tapped for the vice presidency. On June 16, 2008, one week after Hillary Clinton had suspended her campaign, Gore endorsed Obama in a speech given in Detroit, Michigan which renewed speculation of an Obama-Gore ticket. Gore stated, however, that he was not interested in being vice president again. On the timing and nature of Gore's endorsement, some argued that Gore waited because he did not want to repeat his calamitous early endorsement of Howard Dean during the 2004 presidential election. On the final night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, shortly before Obama delivered his acceptance address, Gore gave a speech offering his full support. Such support led to new speculation after Obama was elected president during the 2008 presidential election that Gore would be named a member of the Obama administration. This speculation was enhanced by a meeting held between Obama, Gore, and Joe Biden in Chicago on December 9, 2008. However, Democratic officials and Gore's spokeswoman stated that during the meeting the only subject under discussion was the climate crisis, and Gore would not be joining the Obama administration. On December 19, 2008, Gore described Obama's environmental administrative choices of Carol Browner, Steven Chu, and Lisa Jackson as "an exceptional team to lead the fight against the climate crisis".
Gore repeated his neutrality eight years later during the Democratic presidential primaries of 2016 until endorsing Hillary Clinton on July 25, 2016, the first day of that year's Democratic National Convention. Gore appeared with her at a rally on Miami Dade College's Kendall Campus on October 11, 2016.
### Environmentalism
Gore has been involved with environmental issues since 1976 when as a freshman congressman, he held the "first congressional hearings on the climate change, and co-sponsor[ed] hearings on toxic waste and global warming". He continued to speak on the topic throughout the 1980s, and is still prevalent in the environmental community. He was known as one of the Atari Democrats, later called the "Democrats' Greens, politicians who see issues like clean air, clean water and global warming as the key to future victories for their party".
In 1990, Senator Gore presided over a three-day conference with legislators from over 42 countries which sought to create a Global Marshall Plan, "under which industrial nations would help less developed countries grow economically while still protecting the environment". In the late 1990s, Gore strongly pushed for the passage of the Kyoto Protocol, which called for the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. He was opposed by the Senate, which passed unanimously (95–0) the Byrd–Hagel Resolution (S. Res. 98), which stated the sense of the Senate was that the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol that did not include binding targets and timetables for developing as well as industrialized nations or "would result in serious harm to the economy of the United States".
In 2004, Gore co-launched Generation Investment Management, a company for which he serves as chair. A few years later, Gore would also found the Alliance for Climate Protection, an organization which eventually founded the We Campaign. Gore would also become a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading that firm's climate change solutions group. He also helped to organize the Live Earth benefit concerts. In 2010, he attended WE Day (Vancouver, Canada), a WE Charity event.
In 2013, Gore became a vegan. He had earlier admitted that "it's absolutely correct that the growing meat intensity of diets across the world is one of the issues connected to this global crisis – not only because of the [carbon dioxide] involved, but also because of the water consumed in the process" and some speculate that his adoption of the new diet is related to his environmentalist stance. In a 2014 interview, Gore said "Over a year ago I changed my diet to a vegan diet, really just to experiment to see what it was like. ... I felt better, so I've continued with it and I'm likely to continue it for the rest of my life."
Gore's An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, a sequel to his 2006 film, An Inconvenient Truth, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The film documents his continuing efforts to battle climate change.
A "Climate and Health Summit" which was originally going to be held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was cancelled without warning in late January 2017. A few days later, Gore revived the summit, which was held by the Climate Reality Project without the support of the CDC. In 2020 he helped to launch Climate TRACE to independently monitor global greenhouse gas emissions.
In November 2021, Gore spoke at the early stages of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. He later criticised the Morrison government for failing to increase Australia's 2030 emissions reduction target.
### Criticism
In the late 1980s and 1990s, Gore was criticized for his involvement in asking the EPA for less strict pollution controls for the Pigeon River, which had long been polluted by a paper mill in Canton, North Carolina.
A number of people and organizations, including Marsha Blackburn, a current U.S. Senator and former Congresswoman from Tennessee, and a conservative Washington, D.C. think tank, have claimed that Gore has a conflict of interest for advocating for taxpayer subsidies of green-energy technologies in which he has a personal investment. Additionally, he has been criticized for his above-average energy consumption in using private jets, and in owning multiple, very large homes, one of which was reported in 2007 as using high amounts of electricity. Gore's spokesperson responded by stating that the Gores use renewable energy which is more expensive than regular energy and that the Tennessee house in question has been retrofitted to make it more energy efficient.
Data in An Inconvenient Truth have been questioned. In a 2007 court case, a British judge said that while he had "no doubt ...the film was broadly accurate" and its "four main scientific hypotheses ...are supported by a vast quantity of research", he upheld nine of a "long schedule" of alleged errors presented to the court. He ruled that the film could be shown to schoolchildren in the UK if guidance notes given to teachers were amended to balance out the film's one-sided political views. Gore's spokesperson responded in 2007 that the court had upheld the film's fundamental thesis and its use as an educational tool. In 2009, Gore described the British court ruling as being "in my favor".
Gore was also criticized when in 2012 he sold his television channel Current TV for around \$100 million to Al Jazeera, a media company funded by the government of Qatar, a nation largely dependent on income from the fossil fuel industry.
## Allegations of aggrandizement
### "Inventing the internet"
Critics of Gore have jumped on a statement he made in a 1999 interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer by misquoting him as claiming he was instrumental in "inventing the internet". In reality, Gore stated: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system. During a quarter century of public service, including most of it long before I came into my current job, I have worked to try to improve the quality of life in our country and in our world. And what I've seen during that experience is an emerging future that's very exciting, about which I'm very optimistic, and toward which I want to lead."
It is easy to misinterpret the claim of "creating" with "inventing" the internet. Gore has been characterized as having either misspoke, or failed to clarify his important part in the transition of the internet from a defense network to a public network. Gore spent years promoting the internet and high-speed telecommunications as being important to the world as far back as the 1970s. A spirited defense of Gore's statement penned by Internet pioneers Bob Kahn and Vinton Cerf (the latter often referred to as the “father of the Internet”) in 2000 noted that “Al Gore was the first political leader to recognize the importance of the Internet and to promote and support its development” and that “No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution [to the Internet] over a longer period of time”.
### "Protagonists of Love Story"
In 1997, Gore was having a late-night conversation with two reporters aboard Air Force Two when he casually mentioned that he had either read or was told that he and Tipper's early pre-marital relationship in Boston while Gore was at Harvard was the basis for Oliver and Jenny Barrett, the protagonists of Erich Segal's novel Love Story and its film adaptation. One of the reporters present, New York Times reporter Rick Berke, stated that Gore didn't offer it as a fact and that it was just second-hand info from a Nashville Tennessean article or reporter who had interviewed Segal. Berke decided not to mention it in his article since it was not offered as a fact by Gore. However, the other reporter present, Karen Tumulty (who was with Time and is with The Washington Post as of 2022) included the quote in her own article and presented it as though Gore claimed it as fact, which claim was picked up by numerous publications afterward as being another example of Gore bragging about an incident that was either a lie or misleading. Segal then went public to clarify that Gore was half of the basis for Oliver Barrett, which was the familial emotional baggage part, while the other half (athletic and poetic) was based on actor Tommy Lee Jones, and that he knew Tipper then, but that she was not a basis for the book and movie at all, nor was the Gores' relationship, and offered that the Tennessee reporter either misquoted him or exaggerated the story. Segal had also attended Harvard, but had done so mostly a decade or so earlier between 1954 and 1959, then later obtained his doctorate at Harvard in 1965. Segal met both the Gores and Jones while on sabbatical at Harvard in 1968 just after his college years.
## Personal life
Gore met Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Aitcheson at his St. Albans senior prom in 1965. She was from the nearby St. Agnes School. Tipper followed Gore to Boston to attend college, and they married at the Washington National Cathedral on May 19, 1970.
They have four children; Karenna Gore (b. 1973), Kristin Carlson Gore (b. 1977), Sarah LaFon Gore (b. 1979) and Albert Arnold Gore III (b. 1982).
In June 2010 the Gores announced in an e-mail to friends that after "long and careful consideration" they had made a mutual decision to separate. In May 2012, it was reported that Gore started dating Elizabeth Keadle of Rancho Santa Fe, California.
He is Baptist, and was a member of Georgetown Baptist Church and Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.. In 2004, he announced he had left the Southern Baptist Convention, but remained a Baptist. In 2007, he received Ethics Daily's "Baptist of the Year" award for his environmental activism. He was a keynote speaker at the 2008 New Baptist Covenant convention.
He is possibly related to the Albert "Al" N. Gore who ran in the 2012 Mississippi Senate election. In some interviews, the candidate described how he might be distantly related to the vice-president by saying the Gore family split into two factions in the 1800s, with one going to Tennessee (and later giving rise to the vice-president and his Tennessee Senator father), and the other going to Mississippi (giving rise to that state's Democratic Senate candidate). Despite the speculation, it has never officially been confirmed if the two are in fact distant relatives.
## Awards and honors
Gore is the recipient of a number of awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize (together with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) in 2007, a Primetime Emmy Award for Current TV in 2007, a Webby Award in 2005, the Dan David Prize in 2008 and the Prince of Asturias Award in 2007 for International Cooperation. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2008. He also starred in the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2007 and wrote the book An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It, which won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 2009.
## Selected publications
## See also
- Environmental activism of Al Gore
- Vice presidency of Al Gore
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Barbara Hershey
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"1948 births",
"20th-century American actresses",
"21st-century American Jews",
"21st-century American actresses",
"Actresses from Hollywood, Los Angeles",
"American film actresses",
"American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent",
"American people of Russian-Jewish descent",
"American people of Scotch-Irish descent",
"Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners",
"Best Supporting Actress in a Television Film or Miniseries Canadian Screen Award winners",
"Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners",
"Jewish American actresses",
"Living people",
"Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners"
] |
Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including westerns and comedies. She began acting at age 17 in 1965 but did not achieve widespread critical acclaim until the 1980s. By that time, the Chicago Tribune referred to her as "one of America's finest actresses".
Hershey won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries/TV Film for her role in A Killing in a Small Town (1990). She received Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mary Magdalene in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and for her role in The Portrait of a Lady (1996). For the latter film, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has won two Best Actress awards at the Cannes Film Festival for her roles in Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988). She was featured in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), for which she was nominated for the British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and Garry Marshall's melodrama Beaches (1988), and she earned a second British Academy Film Award nomination for Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan (2010).
Establishing a reputation early in her career as a hippie, Hershey experienced conflict between her personal life and her acting goals. Her career suffered a decline during a six-year relationship with actor David Carradine, with whom she had a child. She experimented with a change in stage name to Barbara Seagull. During this time, her personal life was highly publicized and ridiculed. Her acting career was not well established until she separated from Carradine and changed her stage name back to Hershey. Later in her career, she began to keep her personal life private.
## Early life
Barbara Herzstein was born in Hollywood, the daughter of Arnold Nathan Herzstein, a horse-racing columnist, and Melrose Herzstein (née Moore). Her father's parents were Jewish emigrants from Hungary and Russia, while her mother, a native of Arkansas, was a Presbyterian of Scots-Irish descent.
The youngest of three children, Barbara always wanted to be an actress, and her family nicknamed her "Sarah Bernhardt". She was shy in school and so quiet that people thought she was deaf. By the age of ten, she proved herself to be an "A" student. Her high-school drama coach helped her find an agent, and in 1965, at age 17, she landed a role on Sally Field's television series Gidget. Barbara said that she found Field to be very supportive of her in her first acting role. According to The New York Times All Movie Guide, Barbara graduated from Hollywood High School in 1966, but David Carradine, in his autobiography, said she dropped out of high school after she began acting.
## Career
### 1960s
Hershey's acting debut, three episodes of Gidget, was followed by the short-lived television series The Monroes (1966), which also featured Michael Anderson, Jr. By this point, she had adopted the stage name "Barbara Hershey". Although Hershey said the series helped her career, she expressed some frustration with her role, saying: "One week I was strong, the next, weak". While on the series, Hershey garnered several other roles, including one in Doris Day's final feature film, With Six You Get Eggroll.
In 1968, Hershey worked in the 1969 Glenn Ford Western Heaven with a Gun. On the set, she met and began a romantic relationship with actor David Carradine, who later starred in the television series Kung Fu (see Personal life). In the same year, she acted in the controversial drama Last Summer, which was based on Evan Hunter's eponymous novel. In this film, Hershey played Sandy, the "heavy" who influences two young men (played by Bruce Davison and Richard Thomas) to rape another girl, Rhoda (played by Catherine Burns). Though the film, directed by Frank Perry, received an X rating for the graphic rape scene, Burns earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance.
During the filming of Last Summer, a seagull was killed. "In one scene," Hershey explained, "I had to throw the bird in the air to make her fly. We had to reshoot the scene over and over again. I could tell the bird was tired. Finally, when the scene was finished, the director, Frank Perry, told me the bird had broken her neck on the last throw." Hershey felt responsible for the bird's death and changed her stage name to "Seagull" as a tribute to the creature. "I felt her spirit enter me," she later explained. "It was the only moral thing to do." The name change was not positively received. When she was offered a part opposite Timothy Bottoms in The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (1974) (or Vrooder's Hooch), Hershey had to forfeit half her salary, \$25,000, to be billed under the name "Seagull" because the producers were not in favor of the billing.
### 1970s
In 1970, Hershey played Tish Grey in The Baby Maker, a film that explored surrogate motherhood. Criticizing the directing and writing of James Bridges, critic Shirley Rigby said of the "bizarre" film, "Only the performances in the film save it from being a total travesty." Rigby went on to say, "Barbara Hershey is a great little actress, much, much more than just another pretty face."
Hershey once said that starring in Boxcar Bertha (1972) "was the most fun I ever had on a movie." The film, co-starring Hershey's domestic partner, David Carradine, and produced by Roger Corman, was Martin Scorsese's first Hollywood picture. Shot in six weeks on a budget of \$600,000, Boxcar Bertha was intended to be a period crime drama similar to Corman's Bloody Mama (1970) or Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Although Corman publicized it as an exploitation piece with plenty of sex and violence, Scorsese's influence made it "something much more". Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote of the film's direction, "Martin Scorsese has gone for mood and atmosphere more than for action, and his violence is always blunt and unpleasant—never liberating and exhilarating, as the New Violence is supposed to be." A spread recreating sexually explicit scenes from the movie appeared in Playboy magazine in 1972.
Hershey's experience with Scorsese was extended to another major role for her 16 years later in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) as Mary Magdalene. During the filming of Boxcar Bertha, Hershey had introduced Scorsese to the Nikos Kazantzakis novel on which the latter film was based. That collaboration resulted in an Academy Award nomination for the director and a Golden Globe nod for Hershey.
By the mid-1970s, Hershey concluded, "I've been so tied up with David [Carradine] that people have forgotten that I am me. I spend 50 percent of my time working with David." She had, in 1974, guest-starred in a two-part episode of Carradine's television series Kung Fu. She played, under the direction of Carradine, a love interest to his character, Kwai Chang Caine, during his time at the Shaolin temple. She also appeared in two of Carradine's independent directorial projects, You and Me (1975) and Americana (1983), both of which had been filmed in 1973. Her father, Arnold Herzstein, also appeared in Americana.
She publicly acknowledged the desire to be recognized in her own right. Later, in 1974, she did just that, winning a gold medal at the Atlanta Film Festival for her role in the Dutch-produced film Love Comes Quietly.
Later in the decade, Hershey starred with Charlton Heston in The Last Hard Men (1976). She hoped the film would revive her career after the damage she felt it had suffered while she was with Carradine, believing that the hippie label she had been given was a career impediment. By this time, she had shed Carradine and her "Seagull" pseudonym. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, however, she was appearing in made-for-TV movies that were described as "forgettable", like Flood! (1976), Sunshine Christmas (1977), and The Glitter Palace (1977), in which she played a lesbian.
### 1980s
Hershey landed a role in Richard Rush's The Stunt Man (1980), marking a return to the big screen after four years and earning her critical praise. Hershey felt that she would be forever in debt to Rush for fighting with financiers to allow her a part in that film. She also felt The Stunt Man was an important transition for her, from playing girls to playing women.
Some of the "women roles" that followed The Stunt Man included the horror movie The Entity (1982); Philip Kaufman's The Right Stuff (1983), in which she played Glennis Yeager, wife of test pilot Chuck Yeager; and The Natural (1984), in which she shot Robert Redford's character, inspired by a real-life incident where Ruth Ann Steinhagen shot ballplayer Eddie Waitkus. For the role of Harriet Bird, Hershey had chosen a particular hat as her "anchor". Director Barry Levinson disagreed with her choice, but she insisted on wearing it. Levinson later cast Hershey as the wife of Danny DeVito's character in the comedy Tin Men (1987).
In 1986, Hershey left her native California and moved with her son to Manhattan. Three days later, she met briefly with Woody Allen, who offered her the role of Lee in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). In addition to a Manhattan apartment, Hershey bought an antique home in rural Connecticut. The Allen picture won three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. The film also earned Hershey a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She described her part as "a wonderful gift".
Hershey followed Hannah and Her Sisters with back-to-back wins for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for Shy People and for her appearance as anti-apartheid activist Diana Roth in A World Apart (1988). Her character in the latter film was based on Ruth First. Also in the 1980s, she portrayed Errol Flynn's first wife, actress Lili Damita, in the TV movie adaptation of My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn (1985), which was based on Flynn's autobiography. She also played the love interest to Gene Hackman's character in the basketball film Hoosiers (1986).
Barbara Cloud of the Pittsburgh Press gave attribution to Hershey for starting a trend when she had collagen injected into her lips for her role in Beaches (1988). Humorist Erma Bombeck said of the movie, which also starred Bette Midler, "I have no idea what Beaches was all about. All I could focus on was Barbara Hershey's lips. She looked like she stopped off at a gas station and someone said, 'Your lips are down 30 pounds. Better let me hit 'em with some air.'"
### 1990s
In 1990, Hershey won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special for her role as Candy Morrison in A Killing in a Small Town, which was based on Candy Montgomery's acquittal for the death of Betty Gore. Montgomery had killed Gore on Friday, June 13, 1980, in Gore's Wylie, Texas, home, by hitting her 41 times with an ax. The jury determined that she did so in self-defense. In preparation for the part, Hershey had a phone conversation with Montgomery. Many of the names of the real-life principals in the case were changed for the movie. The film's alternative title was Evidence of Love, the name of a 1984 book about the case.
Also in 1990, Hershey drew upon what Woody Allen once described as her "erotic overtones", portraying a woman who falls in love with her much younger nephew by marriage, played by Keanu Reeves, in the comedic Tune in Tomorrow.
In 1991, Hershey played Hanna Trout, the wife of the title character in Paris Trout (1991), a made-for-cable television movie. In this Showtime production, Hershey collaborated again with A Killing in a Small Town director Stephen Gyllenhaal to play a woman who has an affair with her husband's lawyer. Her husband, an abusive bigot (played by Dennis Hopper), is on trial for murdering a young African American girl. The film, which was based on Pete Dexter's 1988 National Book Award-winning novel, featured Hopper and Hershey enacting a graphic rape scene that the actress found difficult to view. The picture was described as a "dramatic reach deep into the dark hollows of racism, abuse and murder." Paris Trout was nominated for five Prime Time Emmy Awards, including nods for both Hershey and Hopper.
Later in the year, Hershey played an attorney defending her college roommate for the murder of her husband in the suspenseful whodunit Defenseless (1991).
Because of her frequent television appearances, by the end of 1991, Hershey was accused of "selling out to the small screen". In 1992, Hershey appeared with Jane Alexander in the ABC miniseries Stay the Night (1992), prompting Associated Press writer Jerry Buck to write, "Barbara Hershey is a person who jumps back and forth between features and television very easily." She starred in another TV miniseries in 1993, succeeding Anjelica Huston as Clara Allen in the sequel series Return to Lonesome Dove. She was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for another TV appearance, The Staircase (1998). Between 1999 and 2000, she played Dr. Francesca Alberghetti in 22 season-six episodes of the medical TV drama Chicago Hope.
Hershey co-starred with Joe Pesci as a nightclub owner in the film drama The Public Eye (1992) and as the abused estranged wife of a homicidal Michael Douglas in the thriller Falling Down (1993). Among the other feature films in which she appeared during the 1990s was Jane Campion's adaptation of the Henry James novel The Portrait of a Lady (1996). Hershey earned an Oscar nomination and won the Best Supporting Actress award from the National Society of Film Critics for her role as Madame Serena Merle in that picture. In 1995, Last of the Dogmen, co-starring Tom Berenger, was released through Savoy Pictures. In 1999, Hershey starred in an independent film called Drowning on Dry Land; during production she met co-star Naveen Andrews, with whom she began a romantic relationship that lasted until 2010.
### 2000s
In 2001, Hershey appeared in the psychological thriller Lantana. She was the only American in a mostly Australian cast, which included Kerry Armstrong, Anthony LaPaglia, and Geoffrey Rush. Film writer Sheila Johnson said the film was "one of the best to emerge from Australia in years." Another thriller followed: 11:14 (2003) also featured Rachael Leigh Cook, Patrick Swayze, Hilary Swank, and Colin Hanks. In 2002, she appeared in a two-scene cameo role as the Contessa in the mini-series, Daniel Deronda.
Hershey continued to appear on television during the 2000s, including a season on the series The Mountain. In 2008, she replaced Megan Follows in the role of Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning, the fourth in a series of made-for-TV films based on the character.
### 2010s
Hershey appeared as an American actress, Mrs. Hubbard, in an adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express for the British television series Poirot (starring David Suchet), which aired in the United States on Public Broadcast Service in July 2010. Also in 2010, Hershey co-starred in Darren Aronofsky's acclaimed psychological thriller Black Swan (2010) opposite Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. The following year, she co-starred in the James Wan horror film Insidious (2011). From 2012 to 2013, she had a recurring role in the first two seasons of ABC's hit drama Once Upon a Time as Cora, the Queen of Hearts and mother of the Evil Queen. In 2014, she reprised the role in one episode of the show's spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. In 2015, she once more reprised the role when she returned to the show for an episode of its fourth season, and in 2016, she appeared again for two episodes of the show's fifth season, most notably its landmark 100th episode.
In A&E's series Damien, Hershey portrayed series regular Ann Rutledge, the world's most powerful woman, who has been given the task to make sure Damien fulfills his destiny as the Antichrist. The role marks Hershey's most recent TV gig following Once Upon a Time, The Mountain, Chicago Hope, and Lifetime's Left to Die TV movie.
## Personal life
In 1968, Hershey met David Carradine while they were working on Heaven with a Gun. The pair began a domestic relationship that lasted until 1975. Carradine said that during the rape scene in that movie, he cracked one of Barbara's ribs. They appeared in other films together including Martin Scorsese's Boxcar Bertha. In 1972, the couple posed together in a nude Playboy spread, recreating some sex scenes from Boxcar Bertha.
On October 6, 1972, Hershey gave birth to their son, Free, who changed his name to Tom when he was nine years old. The relationship fell apart around the time of Carradine's 1974 burglary arrest, after he had begun an affair with Season Hubley, who had guest-starred in Kung Fu.
During this period, Hershey changed her stage name to "Seagull". In 1979, a blunt newspaper article from the Knight News Service referenced this period of her life, saying of her acting career that "it looked as if she blew it." The article referred to Hershey as a "kook" and stated that she was frequently "high on something". In addition to that criticism, she had been ostracized for breast-feeding her son during an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show, and for breast-feeding him beyond the age of two years.
She said that this period of her life hurt her career: "Producers wouldn't see me because I had a reputation for using drugs and being undependable. I never used drugs at all and I have always been serious about my acting career." After splitting up with Carradine, she changed her stage name back to "Hershey", explaining that she had told the story of why she adopted the name "Seagull" so many times that it had lost its meaning.
By the time Hershey was 42, she was described by columnist Luaina Lee as a "private person who was mired in some heavy publicity when she first became a professional actress." Yardena Arar, writing for the Los Angeles Daily News, confirmed that Hershey had become a private person by 1990.
On August 8, 1992, Hershey married artist Stephen Douglas. The ceremony took place at her home in Oxford, Connecticut, where the only guests were their two mothers and Hershey's then 19-year-old son, Tom (né Free) Carradine. The couple separated and divorced one year after the wedding.
Hershey began dating actor Naveen Andrews in 1999. During a brief separation in 2005, Andrews fathered a child with another woman. In May 2010, after Andrews won sole custody of his son, the couple announced that they had ended their 10-year relationship six months earlier.
## Filmography
### Film
### Television films
### Television
## Awards and nominations
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