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22,828,456	Albanian–Venetian War	1,157,289,241	Albanian–Venetian War from 1447 to 1448	[ "1447 in Europe", "1447 in the Ottoman Empire", "1448 in Europe", "1448 in the Ottoman Empire", "Conflicts in 1447", "Conflicts in 1448", "Venetian period in the history of Albania", "Warfare by Skanderbeg", "Wars involving Albania", "Wars involving the Ottoman Empire", "Wars involving the Republic of Venice" ]	The Albanian–Venetian War of 1447–48 was waged between Venetian and Ottoman forces against the Albanians under George Kastrioti Skanderbeg. The war was the result of a dispute between the Republic and the Dukagjini family over the possession of the Dagnum fortress. Skanderbeg, then ally of the Dukagjini family, moved against several Venetian held towns along the Albanian coastline, in order to pressure the Venetians into restoring Dagnum. In response, the Republic sent a local force to relieve the besieged fortress of Dagnum, and urged the Ottoman Empire to send an expeditionary force into Albania. At that time the Ottomans were already besieging the fortress of Svetigrad, stretching Skanderbeg's efforts thin. However, the League of Lezhë defeated both the Venetian forces and the Ottoman expedition. The League won over the Venetian forces on 23 July 1448 at the gates of Scutari, and over the Ottomans three weeks later, on 14 August 1448, at the Battle of Oronichea. The Republic was, thereafter, left with few soldiers to defend Venetian Albania. As a result, the League soon signed peace with the Republic of Venice, while continuing the war against the Ottoman Empire. After the Albanian–Venetian War of 1447–1448, Venice did not seriously challenge Skanderbeg or the League, allowing Skanderbeg to focus his campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. ## Background In 1444, Skanderbeg had managed to unite the major Albanian princes under his leadership at the League of Lezhë, where a confederation of all the Albanian Principalities was created. Stresses within the alliance were felt, when Nicholas Dukagjini, a member of the Dukagjini family, a powerful family in northern Albania, ambushed and killed Lekë Zaharia Altisferi, prince of Dagnum and also League member. Since Zaharia had no children, he organized the killing to more easily gain Dagnum. The year in which Zaharia was killed is not recorded. A Venetian document dated to 4 January 1445, mentions Zaharia as the once lord of Dagnum which was given to Boxia, Zaharia's mother. The Venetian chronicler Stefano Magno says that Zaharia was killed close to the advent of the year 1445. The two princes had been in dispute over who should marry Irene Dushmani, the only daughter of Lekë Dushmani, prince of Zadrima. In 1445, the Albanian princes had been invited to the wedding of Skanderbeg's younger sister, Mamica, who was being married to Muzaka Thopia. Irene entered the wedding and hostilities began. Dukagjini asked Irene to marry him, but Zaharia, who was drunk, saw this, and assaulted Dukagjini. Some princes attempted to stop the fight, but only more people became involved. Several people died or got injured before peace was established. Neither of the two antagonists had suffered any physical damage, but after the event Dukagjini was morally humiliated. The death of Zaharia left his princedom with no successor. As a result, his mother handed the fortress over to Venetian Albania, a stretch of possessions of the Republic of Venice. Skanderbeg urged the Venetian legates that Dagnum (along with Sati, Gladri and Dushmani which had been taken by Venice) should be restored to the League since it guarded an important trade route, but Venice refused and, consequently, Skanderbeg prepared for war against the Republic itself. The League soon sent envoys to its neighbors, Stefan I Crnojević and Đurađ Branković. Branković, a lord of Serbian Despotate, who was also in dispute with Venice over the Principality of Zeta, expressed his willingness to help Skanderbeg against the Republic but not against the Ottoman Empire. The Venetians sent an ambassador to Skanderbeg offering him 1,000 ducats to lay aside all claims to Dagnum in return that the Albanians would protect the country and keep the roads free from violence. Skanderbeg, however, refused to accept the offer and hostilities continued. Alongside the Spani family, the Dushmani family was against the war with Venice and did not participate in it. ## Initial campaigns In December 1447, after leaving a protective force of three to four thousand men under Vrana Konti to guard the frontier in the event of an Ottoman incursion, Skanderbeg turned towards Dagnum with a force of 14,000 men. Initially offering the garrison at Dagnum the opportunity to surrender, he promptly besieged the fortress upon rejection. In order to pressure the Venetians, Skanderbeg also turned towards Durazzo, then another possession of Venetian Albania, and cut the city off from their local resources and trade. This move forced Venice to redirect to Durazzo two galleys, which initially were bound for Crete, in order to watch over the events there. By then Venice treated Skanderbeg as a rebellious Ottoman vassal, so on 4 March 1448 a life pension of 100 gold ducats per month was offered to anyone who would assassinate Skanderbeg. In May, Ottoman forces besieged Svetigrad, putting great strain on Skanderbeg's campaigns. On 27 June 1448 Venice sent Andrea Venier, then provveditore at Scutari's Rozafa Castle, to attempt to persuade the Ottomans to invade Albania. After, Venice also sent Venier to meet with Skanderbeg in order to convince him to break off hostilities, and also attempted to push the Dukagjini clan away from their alliance with Skanderbeg. Despite measures taken by the Venetians, Skanderbeg marched towards Scutari unabated. He also dared the Venetians to send out a force to defeat him. The siege of Dagnum continued, however, with a force of 4,000 that Skanderbeg had left behind. ## Battle of the River Drin On 23 July 1448 Skanderbeg crossed the Drin River with 10,000 men, meeting a Venetian force of 15,000 men under the command of Daniele Iurichi, governor of Scutari. Venetian forces were composed largely of local mercenaries, forming the center of Iurichi's line. They included forces under Koja and Andreas Humoj, Simeon Vulkata, Vasilije Ugrin, Zapa family (Jovan and his brother), Pedantari family (seven Pedantari brothers and many other), Moneta family (three sons of Rajko Moneta), Malonši family (Petar with his two sons), and Buša Sornja who were pronoiars. Iurichi positioned himself on the left wing with his Dalmatian forces, while the right was composed of Italian natives. Skanderbeg positioned himself and his personal bodyguard on the right wing, opposite Iurichi. The center of Skanderbeg's army was commanded by Tanush Thopia, and the right by Moses of Dibra. Skanderbeg instructed his troops on what to expect and opened battle by ordering a force of archers to open fire on the Venetian line. Soon, the Albanian right wing advanced to engage first and managed to push the Venetian left wing back, while the center and the right engaged the Venetian center and left. The breakthrough was soon accomplished by attacking the gaps in the Venetian lines, causing disorder among their ranks. The battle continued for hours until large groups of Venetian troops began to flee. Skanderbeg, seeing his fleeing adversaries, ordered a full-scale offensive, routing the entire Venetian army. The Republic's soldiers were chased right to the gates of Scutari, and Venetian prisoners were thereafter paraded outside the fortress. The Albanians managed to inflict 2,500 casualties on the Venetian force, capturing 1,000. Skanderbeg's army suffered 400 casualties, most on the right wing. The Venetian presence in Albania was weakened and the garrisons in the cities were stretched thin. Skanderbeg retreated from the area to fight off an Ottoman invasion. Before leaving, he garrisoned the fort of Baleč (Balsha) near Dagnum, under the command of Marin Spani. Andrea Venier ordered the capture of Baleci after Skanderbeg had left, forcing Marin Spani to evacuate it. Venier then burned it to the ground. In retaliation, Hamza Kastrioti, one of Spani's colleagues, attacked a nearby Venetian fortress with what little men he had, but was defeated. ## Battle of Oranik Despite the setbacks while he was away, Skanderbeg continued to focus on campaigning against the Venetian-requested Ottoman incursion at the Battle of Oranik in August 1448. The Ottoman expeditionary force was crushed on 14 August, with Ottoman commander Mustafa Pasha captured. The loss of Balsha to the Venetians, however, forced Skanderbeg to continue raiding Venetian territory. ## Aftermath With Durazzo, Scutari, and Dagnum on the point of surrender and seeing a victorious Albanian army after the Battle of Oronichea, the Venetians sent Andrea Venier to open peace negotiations with the Albanians. The conference was held in Alessio and peace was signed by Skanderbeg and George Arianiti who represented the other princes on 4 October 1448. The signatories agreed that Venice would keep Dagnum. In return, the Venetians agreed that Skanderbeg would receive an annual pension of 1,400 ducats and an annual tax exemption for 200 horse loads of salt from Durazzo. An agreement was also made to establish trading privileges between Arianiti, Skanderbeg's ally, and Venice. Furthermore, a refuge in Venice would be offered in case Skanderbeg was driven out of Albania and two scarlet garments would be given to Skanderbeg in exchange for two altered falcons from the Albanian. However, threats were still exchanged between both sides and unofficial skirmishing continued. Wary of Skanderbeg, Venice no longer openly challenged him. Another treaty was signed in 1463, when Venice went to war with the Turks. However, no peace was made between the Ottomans and Skanderbeg until 1463, before the Ottoman-Venetian war was of the same year, who retreated to Macedonia and prepared for another invasion of Albania after their defeat at Oronichea. During the Albanian-Venetian war, they had taken Svetigrad after several months of siege. Thence, they could cross into Albania uninhibited.
11,214,029	Meghan, Duchess of Sussex	1,172,766,934	Member of the British royal family and former actress (born 1981)	[ "1981 births", "21st-century American actresses", "Actresses from Los Angeles", "American Anglicans", "American feminists", "American film actresses", "American television actresses", "Black British history", "British baronesses", "British countesses", "British duchesses by marriage", "Game show models", "House of Windsor", "Immaculate Heart High School (Los Angeles) alumni", "Living people", "Markle family", "Meghan, Duchess of Sussex", "Mountbatten-Windsor family", "Northwestern University alumni", "Wives of British princes", "Women who experienced pregnancy loss" ]	Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (/ˈmɛɡən/; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981), is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her acting career began at Northwestern University. She played the part of Rachel Zane for seven seasons (2011–2018) in the American TV legal drama Suits. She also developed a social media presence, which included The Tig (2014–2017), a lifestyle blog. During The Tig period, Meghan became involved in charity work focused primarily on women's issues and social justice. She was married to American film producer Trevor Engelson from 2011 until their divorce in 2014. Meghan retired from acting upon her marriage to Prince Harry in 2018 and became known as the Duchess of Sussex. They have two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. In January 2020, the couple stepped down as working royals and later settled in California. In October 2020, they launched Archewell Inc., an American public organization that focuses on non-profit activities and creative media ventures. In the following years, she released a picture book for children, The Bench, and launched a podcast, Archetypes. Meghan and Harry filmed an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which was broadcast in March 2021, and a Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which was released in December 2022. ## Early life and education Rachel Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981, at West Park Hospital in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, to Doria Ragland (born 1956), a social worker and former makeup artist, and Thomas Markle Sr. (born 1944), an Emmy Award winning television lighting director and director of photography. She identifies as mixed race, often answering questions about her background with "My dad is Caucasian and my mom is African American. I'm half black and half white." Her parents separated when she was two years old and divorced four years later. She has a close relationship with her mother. Thomas Markle Sr. worked as a director of photography and lighting for General Hospital and Married... with Children, and Meghan occasionally visited the set of Married... with Children as a child. She has been estranged from her father and paternal half-siblings, Samantha Markle and Thomas Markle Jr. Growing up in View Park–Windsor Hills, Los Angeles, Markle attended Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse. Both her parents contributed to raising her until the age of 9, after which her father was left in charge of caring for her as her mother pursued a career. At age 11, she and her classmates wrote to Procter & Gamble to gender-neutralize a dishwashing soap commercial on national television. She was raised as a Protestant but graduated from L.A.'s Immaculate Heart High School, an all-girl Catholic school. Markle took part in plays and musicals at the school, where her father helped with lighting. During her teenage years, she worked at a local frozen yogurt shop and later as a waitress and babysitter. She also volunteered at a soup kitchen in Skid Row, Los Angeles. In 1999, she was admitted to Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, Illinois, where she joined Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. With other members of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Markle did volunteer work with the Glass Slipper Project. After her junior year, she secured an internship as a junior press officer at the American embassy in Buenos Aires, with the help of her uncle Michael Markle, and considered a political career. However, she did not score high enough in the Foreign Service Officer Test to proceed further with the US State Department and returned to NU. She also attended a study abroad program in Madrid. In 2003, Markle earned her bachelor's degree with a double major in theater and international studies from Northwestern's School of Communication. ## Acting career According to Markle, she had some difficulty getting roles early in her career due to being "ethnically ambiguous" because "I wasn't black enough for the black roles and I wasn't white enough for the white ones." To support herself between acting jobs, she worked as a freelance calligrapher and taught bookbinding. Her first on-screen appearance was a small role as a nurse in an episode of the daytime soap opera General Hospital, a show for which her father served as a lighting director. Markle had small guest roles on the television shows Century City (2004), The War at Home (2006) and CSI: NY (2006). For her role in Century City, she told the casting directors that she was a SAG-AFTRA member when she was not, but after being cast, the employers were obliged to help her join the union according to the Taft–Hartley Act. Markle also did several contract acting and modeling jobs. Between 2006 and 2007, she worked as a "briefcase girl" on 34 episodes of the US version of the game show Deal or No Deal. She appeared in Fox's series Fringe as Junior Agent Amy Jessup in the first two episodes of its second season. Markle appeared in small roles in the films Get Him to the Greek, Remember Me (produced by her then-partner Trevor Engelson) and The Candidate in 2010 and the film Horrible Bosses in 2011. She was paid \$187,000 for her role in Remember Me and \$171,429 for her role in the short film The Candidate. In July 2011, she joined the cast of the USA Network show Suits through to late 2017 and the seventh season. Her character, Rachel Zane, began as a paralegal and eventually became an attorney. While working on Suits, she lived for nine months each year in Toronto. Fortune magazine estimated that she was paid \$50,000 per episode, amounting to an equivalent annual salary of \$450,000. ## Personal life ### Early relationships and first marriage Markle and American film producer Trevor Engelson began dating in 2004. They were married in Ocho Rios, Jamaica on August 16, 2011. They separated in July 2013 and concluded a no-fault divorce in February 2014, citing irreconcilable differences. Markle's subsequent live-in relationship with Canadian celebrity chef and restaurateur Cory Vitiello ended in May 2016 after almost two years. ### Second marriage and motherhood In mid-2016, Markle began a relationship with Prince Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II. According to the couple, they first connected with each other via Instagram, and they have also said that they were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend in July 2016. On November 8, eight days after the relationship was made public by the press, the prince directed his communications secretary to release a statement on his behalf to express personal concern about pejorative and false comments made about his girlfriend by mainstream media and internet trolls. Later, in a letter to a British media regulator, Markle's representatives complained about harassment from journalists. In September 2017, Markle and Prince Harry appeared together in public in Toronto at the Invictus Games, of which Harry is founding patron. Meghan Markle's engagement to Prince Harry was announced on November 27, 2017, by Harry's father Charles (then the Prince of Wales). The announcement was greeted with enthusiasm by the British media and prompted generally positive comments about a mixed-race person as a member of the royal family, especially in regard to Commonwealth countries. Markle announced that she would retire from acting and her intention to become a British citizen. In preparation for the wedding, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, baptized Markle and confirmed her in the Church of England on March 6, 2018. The private ceremony, performed with water from the River Jordan, took place in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace. The marriage ceremony was held on May 19 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Her wedding dress was designed by Clare Waight Keller. Markle later revealed that there was a private exchange of vows three days earlier, with the Archbishop of Canterbury in the couple's garden. However, this private exchange of vows was not a legally recognized marriage. After the wedding, the Duke and Duchess lived at Nottingham Cottage within the grounds of Kensington Palace in London. In May 2018, it was reported that they had signed a two-year lease on Westfield Large, located on the Great Tew Estate in the Cotswolds. They gave up the lease after photos of the house and its interior were published by a paparazzi agency. The couple considered settling at the 21-bedroom Apartment 1 within the grounds of Kensington Palace, but moved to Frogmore Cottage in the Home Park of Windsor Castle instead. The Crown Estate refurbished the cottage at a cost of £2.4 million, paid out of the Sovereign Grant, with the Duke later reimbursing expenses beyond restoration and ordinary maintenance, a part of which was offset against rental payments that were due at the time. Meghan gave birth to a son, Archie, on May 6, 2019. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's office moved to Buckingham Palace and officially closed on March 31, 2020, when the Sussexes withdrew from undertaking official royal engagements. After some months in Canada and the United States, in June 2020, the couple bought a house on the former estate of Riven Rock, Montecito, California. The next month, Meghan suffered a miscarriage. She gave birth to a daughter, Lilibet, on June 4, 2021. The Duke and Duchess own a Labrador named Pula and two Beagles named Guy and Mamma Mia. Meghan previously owned a Labrador-German Shepherd cross named Bogart. ### Political views Markle was politically vocal before marrying Prince Harry. At age 9, she and her friends reportedly campaigned against the Gulf War. Decades later, she backed Hillary Clinton during the 2016 United States presidential election and publicly denounced the opponent and eventual winner, Donald Trump. In the same year, when the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union resulted in favor of Brexit, Markle expressed her disappointment on Instagram. In 2017, Markle recommended the book Who Rules the World? by left-wing intellectual Noam Chomsky on her Instagram account. In July 2018, Irish Senator Catherine Noone tweeted that the Duchess was "pleased to see the result" of the Irish referendum on legalizing abortion. Meghan received criticism for potentially breaching the protocol that prohibits royals from interfering in politics; Noone deleted her tweet and emphasized that her statement was misleading and "the Duchess was not in any way political". After she returned to the United States and as an eligible voter, she released a video with her husband encouraging others to register for the 2020 United States presidential election on National Voter Registration Day. Some media outlets took it as an implicit endorsement of the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, which prompted then-President Trump to dismiss their messaging at a press conference. In October 2021, she penned an open letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, advocating for paid leave for parents. Her remarks were met by backlash from Republican representatives Jason Smith and Lisa McClain, who found her statement "out of touch" and criticized her interference with American politics while utilizing her British royal titles. Meghan has reportedly lobbied senators from both parties on the issue of paid family leave, including Democratic senators Patty Murray and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as Republican senators Shelley Moore Capito and Susan Collins. She has also publicly spoken in support of federal voting protections. In February 2022, she voiced her support for the Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson. In June 2022, she publicly supported Moms Demand Action, an organization which campaigns for safer gun laws in the US. In the same month, in an interview with Jessica Yellin for Vogue, Meghan criticized the Supreme Court of the United States's decision that abortion is not a protected constitutional right and voiced her support for the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. ## Public life ### Royal duties After becoming engaged, Markle's first official public appearance with Prince Harry was at a World AIDS Day walkabout in Nottingham on December 1, 2017. On March 12, the 2018 Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey was the first royal event she attended with the Queen. On March 23, Harry and Meghan made an unannounced day visit to Northern Ireland. In total, Markle attended 26 public engagements prior to the wedding. Meghan's first official engagement after marriage was on May 22, when she and her husband attended a garden party celebrating the charity work of King Charles III (then the Prince of Wales). In July 2018, Meghan's first official trip abroad as a royal was to Dublin, Ireland, alongside Harry. In October 2018, the Duke and Duchess traveled to Sydney, Australia for the 2018 Invictus Games. This formed part of a Pacific tour that included Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. As representatives of the Queen, the couple were greeted warmly by crowds in Sydney, and the announcement of Meghan's pregnancy hours after their arrival delighted the public and media. During their visit to Morocco in February 2019, the Duke and Duchess focused on projects centered on "women's empowerment, girls' education, inclusivity and encouragement of social entrepreneurship". Meghan also participated in her husband's work as youth ambassador to the Commonwealth, which included overseas tours. As part of establishing a separate office from Kensington Palace in 2019, the Duke and Duchess created an Instagram social media account, which broke the record for the fastest account at the time to reach a million followers. In July 2019, the Duchess's security team were criticized for creating an empty zone of about 40 seats around her at Wimbledon where she was watching a match between Serena Williams and Kaja Juvan. In August 2019, Meghan and her husband were criticized by environmental campaigners for using private jets regularly when taking their personal trips abroad, which would leave more carbon footprint per person compared to commercial planes. The criticism was in line with similar criticism faced by the royal family in June 2019, after it was claimed that they "had doubled [their] carbon footprint from business travel". In September and October 2019, a Southern African tour included Malawi, Angola, South Africa and Botswana. Archie traveled with his parents, making it "their first official tour as a family". Meghan completed 179 engagements in total in 2018 and 2019. ### Stepping back In January 2020, Meghan and Harry returned to the UK from a vacation in Canada and announced that they were stepping back from their role as senior members of the royal family and would balance their time between the United Kingdom and North America. A statement released by the Palace confirmed that the Duke and Duchess were to cease to undertake royal duties as representatives of the Queen and would therefore no longer receive the relevant financial support. The couple would retain their HRH styles but not use them. The formal role of the Duke and Duchess was subject to a twelve-month review period, ending in March 2021. Meghan's final public solo engagement as a senior royal was a visit to Robert Clack School on March 7, 2020, in Dagenham ahead of International Women's Day. She and Harry attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 9, 2020, which was their last engagement as a couple before they officially stepped down on March 31. Two years later, they made their first official appearance in the UK in June 2022 while attending the Platinum Jubilee National Service of Thanksgiving. They visited the UK and Germany in September 2022 for a number of charity events in Manchester and Düsseldorf. On September 8, 2022, while Meghan and Harry were in London preparing to attend a charity event, Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. ## Further career and investments In summer 2019, before announcing their decision to step down in January 2020, Meghan and her husband were involved in talks with Jeffrey Katzenberg, the founder of the now-defunct streaming platform Quibi, over a possible role in the service without gaining personal profits, but they eventually decided against joining the project. In September 2019, it was reported that the couple had hired New York-based PR firm Sunshine Sachs, which represented them until 2022. The couple has also been associated with Adam Lilling's Plus Capital, a venture capital fund designed to connect early stage companies with influencers and investors. In June 2020, they signed with the Harry Walker Agency, owned by media company Endeavor, to conduct paid public speaking engagements. In September 2020, the Sussexes signed a private commercial deal with Netflix. In December 2020, it was announced that Meghan had invested in Clevr Blends, a coffee company based in Southern California. In the same month, Meghan and Harry signed a multi-year deal with Spotify to produce and host their own programs through their audio producing company, Archewell Audio. A holiday special was released by the couple on the service in December 2020, while Meghan's podcast, titled Archetypes, premiered in August 2022. In June 2023, Spotify cancelled the podcast, which ran for a single season of 12 episodes. The Bench, a picture book written by Meghan, was published in June 2021 by Random House Children's Books. It is based on her perception of the relationship between her husband and their son. The book received a mixed response; it garnered praise for its illustrations and messaging but was criticized for its structure and writing. On June 17, the book reached number one in the children's picture books category of The New York Times Best Seller list. In July 2021, it was announced that Meghan would executive produce, alongside David Furnish, a Netflix animated series called Pearl. The series was originally pitched to Netflix in 2018. Pearl would depict the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who is inspired by influential women from history, but the project was canceled in May 2022. In the same month, it was reported that Meghan and Harry had signed a four-book publishing deal including a wellness guide by Meghan and a memoir by Harry. In October 2021, Meghan and Harry announced their partnership with Ethic, a sustainable investment firm based in New York City, which also manages the couple's investments. According to state filings from Delaware, where the couple's Archewell foundation is registered, Meghan and Harry incorporated 11 companies and a trust beginning in early 2020 which include Orinoco Publishing LLC and Peca Publishing LLC to hold the rights for their books as well as Cobblestone Lane LLC and IPHW LLC which are holders of their foundation's logos. Frim Fram Inc., which ran The Tig, had been registered earlier as a new corporation in Delaware in December 2019. Harry & Meghan, a docuseries about the Sussexes, was produced by Netflix and the couple's Archewell Productions and premiered on December 8, 2022. It is directed by Liz Garbus. The series received mixed reviews. In April 2023, it was announced that she had signed with WME, which would represent Archewell as well. ## Charity work and advocacy Markle became a counsellor for the international network One Young World in 2014 and spoke at its 2014 summit in Dublin and attended the 2016 opening ceremony in Ottawa. Also in 2014, she toured Spain, Italy, Turkey, Afghanistan and England with the United Service Organizations. During her time in Toronto, she volunteered for the Community Meals Program of St. Felix Centre and donated food from the set of Suits. In 2016, Markle became a global ambassador for World Vision Canada, traveling to Rwanda for the Clean Water Campaign. After a trip to India focused on raising awareness for women's issues, she penned an op-ed for Time magazine concerning stigmatization of women in regard to menstrual health. She has also worked with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women as an advocate. Her speech at the UN Women's 2015 conference as an advocate for political participation and leadership contained a number of sentences that were nearly identical to a 1951 speech by Eleanor Roosevelt. In 2017, Markle joined Prince Harry in teaming up with the charity Elephants Without Borders to assist with the conservation efforts taking place in Botswana. In January 2018, Markle became interested in the Hubb Community Kitchen run by survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire. She visited the kitchen regularly and suggested that the displaced women publish a cookbook to assist in funding for the group. Together: Our Community Cookbook, her first charity project as Duchess of Sussex, was announced in September. In August 2020, Meghan used proceeds from the cookbook to donate £8,000 to the UK charity Migrateful, which supports refugees, asylum seekers and migrants by helping them organize cookery classes. In March 2021, she donated £10,000 from the proceeds to the UK-based charity Himmah to assist them with stocking the group's food bank, provide them with equipment and help the Salaam Shalom Kitchen, the only Muslim and Jewish community kitchen in the UK. In March 2020, it was announced that Meghan's first post-royal project would be the narration of Disneynature's documentary Elephant, which was released on April 3. In support of elephants, Disneynature and the Disney Conservation Fund would donate to Elephants Without Borders for species conservation in Botswana. In June 2020, the couple backed the Stop Hate for Profit campaign and encouraged CEOs of different companies to join the movement. In July 2020, she spoke in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. In April 2021, the couple were announced as campaign chairs for Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World, an event organized by Global Citizen to increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations. They also announced their support for a vaccine equity fundraiser initiated by the same organization, and penned an open letter to the pharmaceutical industry CEOs urging them to address the vaccine equity crisis. In July 2021, Meghan and Harry were among people who were selected by UK-based charity Population Matters to receive the Change Champions Award for their decision to have only two children and help with maintaining a smaller and more sustainable population. In August 2021, to mark her 40th birthday, Meghan launched 40x40, a campaign that asks people around the world to spend 40 minutes of their time mentoring women reentering the workforce. In October 2021 and ahead of the 2021 G20 Rome summit, the couple penned an open letter together with the Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom, asking the G20 leaders to expedite efforts for the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. In February 2022, the couple were selected to receive NAACP's President's Award for their work on causes related to social justice and equity. In the following month, they were among more than a hundred people who signed an open letter published by the People's Vaccine Alliance, asking for free global access to COVID-19 vaccines and calling out the UK, EU and Switzerland for opposing a waiver that would allow vaccine intellectual property protections to be lifted. In October 2022, Meghan and Harry were named as Ripple of Hope Award laureates for their work on racial justice, mental health and other social initiatives through their foundation Archewell. In April 2023, she was named as a recipient of the Ms. Foundation for Women's Women of Vision Award. ### Patronages and interests From January 2019 to February 2021, Meghan was patron of London's National Theatre and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. She continued her role as the private patron of Mayhew until 2022. She remains a private patron of Smart Works. From March 2019 to February 2021, she was the vice president of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust. Until February 2021, periodically, online QCT chat sessions were conducted and uploaded to YouTube for general public viewing. In October 2019, along with other members of the royal family, Meghan voiced a Public Health England announcement, for the "Every Mind Matters" mental health program. In 2019 Meghan was a contributor and guest editor for the September issue of British Vogue and highlighted the works of 15 women from different areas, who were described as "Forces for Change". Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of the British Vogue, later revealed that the issue had become the "fastest-selling issue in the history of British Vogue". In the same issue, it was announced that she had collaborated with a number of British fashion houses and stores to launch a capsule collection, called The Smart Set, in September 2019 to benefit the charity Smart Works. The collection sought to help "unemployed and disadvantaged women", through selling items "on a one-for-one basis, meaning an item is donated for each item purchased". Taking advantage of the "Meghan Markle effect" (driving consumer purchases), in 10 days the collection provided a year's worth of clothes for the charity. #### Sussex Royal and Archewell In February 2018, Markle and fiancé Harry attended the first annual forum of The Royal Foundation. After marriage, Meghan became the foundation's fourth patron alongside Prince Harry, Prince William and his wife, Catherine. In May 2019, as a part of their Heads Together initiative, the Duchess of Sussex together with her husband and in-laws launched Shout, a text messaging service for those who suffer from mental issues. In June 2019, it was announced that Harry and Meghan would split from the charity and establish their own foundation. Nevertheless, the couples would collaborate on mutual projects, such as the mental health initiative Heads Together. The following month, "Sussex Royal The Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex" was registered in England and Wales. However, it was confirmed on February 21, 2020, that "Sussex Royal" would not be used as a brand name for the couple, following their step back from official life as working royals. On August 5, 2020, the Sussex Royal Foundation was renamed "MWX Foundation" and dissolved the same day. In March 2021, it was reported that the Charity Commission for England and Wales was conducting a review of the Sussex Royal organization in a "regulatory and compliance case" regarding its conduct under charity law during dissolution. Representatives for the couple claimed that Sussex Royal was "managed by a board of trustees" and that "suggestion of mismanagement" directed exclusively at the Duke and Duchess would be incorrect. The commission later concluded that the foundation did not act unlawfully, but criticized the board of directors for expending a "substantial proportion of funds" to setting up and closing the charity. In April 2020, Meghan and Harry confirmed that an alternative foundation (in lieu of Sussex Royal) would be called "Archewell". The name stems from the Greek word "arche", which means "source of action"—the same word that inspired the name of their son. Archewell was registered in the United States. Its website was officially launched in October 2020. ## Public image and style Between 2010 and 2012, Markle anonymously ran the blog The Working Actress, which detailed the "pitfalls and triumphs of struggling to make it in Hollywood". In 2014, she founded her own lifestyle blog The Tig, which posted articles about food, fashion, beauty, travel and inspirational women. The viewing audience consisted primarily of the fans of Markle and Suits. Promotion of the blog on other social media platforms targeted three million followers on Instagram, 800,000 on Facebook and 350,000 on Twitter. In April 2017, The Tig closed. In January 2018, she took all articles offline and deleted her social media accounts. It is estimated that Markle's social media activities annually earned her about \$80,000 from endorsements and sponsorships. She was also known for socializing at Soho House. Markle became known through The Tig for her fashion sense, releasing two fashion collections with Canadian clothing company Reitmans in 2015 and 2016. The lines were based on her personal style and that of her Suits character. Markle has cited Emmanuelle Alt as her style inspiration. In 2016, she hosted USA Network's video series Power Lunch with Meghan Markle in collaboration with Lexus and Eater, discussing the culinary inspirations of five different New York kitchens. Markle was featured in the cover story for the October 2017 issue of Vanity Fair and the December 2017 issue of Elle France. Shortly after her engagement to Prince Harry in 2017, she caused a surge of interest in Scottish retailer Strathberry after carrying one of its handbags to a public event. This was reported as an indication that her fashion choices would produce results similar to the Kate Middleton effect. After Markle and Prince Harry's first appearance as a couple, brands Mackage, Birks, R&R Jewelers, Crown Jewelers and Everlane noted an upswing in their website hits and sales. It was speculated that Markle's effect would be broader internationally because she already had a strong American appeal. Consequently, the United States saw a boost in yellow gold jewelry sales in the first quarter of 2018. In 2018, Tatler included Meghan with other senior royal women on its list of Britain's best dressed people. Following the announcement of her pregnancy, she appeared in a Karen Gee dress that resulted in the Australian designer's website crashing. Fashion website Net-a-Porter ranked Meghan as one of the best dressed women in 2018. She was nominated for the 2018 Teen Choice Awards in the category Choice Style Icon. In 2019, British brand Reiss reported a growth in profits after Meghan was seen wearing a mini dress by them on International Women's Day. In 2022, the black Armani dress worn by Meghan during her Oprah interview was selected by the Fashion Museum, Bath, as Dress of the Year 2021. In the same year, she was featured in the cover story for the 2022 Fall Fashion issue of The Cut. There was controversy over her claim in the interview that she had been told at the premiere of The Lion King that her marriage resulted in rejoicing in South Africa similar to that seen at Nelson Mandela's release from prison in 1990. In 2018, Time selected Meghan as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and placed her on its shortlist for Person of the Year. Her name appeared again on the listicle in 2021 and she and her husband were featured on one of the magazine's seven worldwide covers. In 2019, the magazine named Meghan and Prince Harry among the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet. She was also chosen as one of the 25 most influential women in the United Kingdom by British Vogue magazine in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Her influence was also recognized in both the 2019 and 2020 editions of Powerlist, the 100 most influential Britons of African and Afro-Caribbean descent. In 2022, she was named as one of the 50 Women Changing the World over the past year by Worth magazine. In the same year, Variety named her as a stellar honoree for its Power of Women issue, and Financial Times included her on its list of "25 most influential women of 2022". In December 2022, Meghan was found to be the second most disliked member of the British royal family by statistics and polling company YouGov, behind her husband's uncle Prince Andrew. In March 2023, The Independent included her on its "Influence List 2023". Meghan and Harry's exit from the royal family was satirized in a 2023 episode of South Park. ## Privacy and the media ### Court cases #### Associated Newspapers Limited In November 2016, the MailOnline was criticized for running an article on Markle's family background titled "(Almost) Straight Outta Compton", which triggered a response from Prince Harry's Communications Secretary. In October 2019, Meghan filed a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline over the publication of a letter she had sent to her father. Thomas Markle Sr. had provided the publisher with excerpts of the letter after five of his daughter's friends, including Abigail Spencer, referenced it in a People article. She subsequently received support from more than 70 female MPs from different parties who in an open letter condemned the use of "outdated, colonial undertones" against her in some national media outlets. In May 2020, the court dismissed claims of the tabloid's alleged dishonesty and malice, as they were deemed either vague or irrelevant to the case. In February 2021, the High Court of Justice found in a summary judgment that ANL's Mail on Sunday had invaded Meghan's privacy by publishing the letter, and she won her claim for "misuse of private information and copyright infringement" in May 2021. She was given a £450,000 down payment on her £1.5 million legal fees as an interim payment, and pursuant to copyright law, her legal team asked for a front-page statement by The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline to acknowledge her legal victory. The Court of Appeal granted ANL permission to appeal against the ruling. The appeal was subsequently launched by ANL in November 2021. Meghan and Harry's former communications secretary Jason Knauf—who had previously denied co-authoring the letter with Meghan—gave a statement to the court of appeal, mentioning that Meghan gave him briefing points to share with Finding Freedom's authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand and that Prince Harry welcomed the suggestion that they should conceal their involvement, while they both discussed the book "on a routine basis". ANL had previously applied to use the book in their defense. Knauf also revealed that Meghan wondered whether she should refer to her father as "daddy" in the letter, as she believed "in the unfortunate event that it leaked, it would pull at the heartstrings". Meghan subsequently apologized to the court for not remembering the emails earlier, adding that the "extent of the information" Knauf shared with the book's authors was "unknown" to her. She also stated in her witness statement that she was "unable to retrieve any text messages with Mr Knauf" due to "an automatic deletion system" that had been installed on her devices in 2016 for security reasons. In December 2021, three senior appeal judges upheld the judgement of the High Court against ANL, prompting Meghan to call for reform of the tabloid industry. In the same month, ANL's The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline published a front-page statement on Boxing Day acknowledging Meghan's victory, adding that there had been an agreement on "financial remedies". In addition to covering a portion of Meghan's legal costs, the outlet agreed to pay her £1 in damages for invading her privacy and a confidential sum for infringing her copyright. They were also banned from naming Meghan's friends, who had spoken to People magazine about the letter in 2018. #### Other cases and complaints In November 2016, The Sun ran the headline "Harry girl's on Pornhub". The outlet denied any smear after it was revealed that the clips were illegally uploaded scenes from the TV series Suits and not pornographic material. They subsequently apologized via an official statement in February 2017. In February 2018, a letter containing white powder and a racist note addressing Markle was sent to St James's Palace, triggering counter-terrorism and hate crime investigations by Scotland Yard. Meghan and Harry obtained a formal apology in May 2019 from Splash News for privacy invasion at their Cotswolds residence. The couple had a legal warning issued to the press in general in January 2020 after the publication of paparazzi photographs. In March 2020, the couple took Splash UK to court after Meghan and her son were photographed without permission in Canada during a "private family outing". The case was settled later that year with Splash UK agreeing to no longer take unauthorized photos of the family. The Duke and Duchess announced in April that they would no longer cooperate with the Daily Mail, The Sun, Daily Mirror and Daily Express. They won an apology in October from American news agency X17 for taking photographs of their son at their home using drones. In March 2021, ITV News reported Meghan had complained directly to ITV's CEO about Piers Morgan's comments on mental health following her interview with Oprah Winfrey. Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints about the program including one from the Duchess of Sussex. In the same month, it was reported that an American private investigator unlawfully handed over personal details about Meghan to The Sun, including her Social Security number, cell phone number and address, when she first started dating Prince Harry in 2016. Meghan and her husband condemned the "predatory practices" of the British tabloids, while The Sun stated that the investigator "was instructed clearly in writing to act lawfully", and they did not "use the information he provided for any unlawful practice". In July 2021, Meghan filed legal complaints against The Times for two separate articles, with the first one covering an unproven allegation from Robert Lacey's book that she had left an engagement in Fiji for not being appointed by UN Women as a goodwill ambassador and the second one claiming that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had refused to talk to Prince Harry after Prince Philip's funeral due to fears of a potential leak. In January 2022, the couple jointly filed a legal complaint against The Times for an article reporting on Archewell raising less than \$50,000 in 2020. In the same month, she complained to the BBC regarding their five-part podcast Harry, Meghan and the Media, in which the presenter Amol Rajan stated that Meghan had "apologized for misleading" the Court of Appeal in her case against the Mail on Sunday. The BBC responded by issuing a statement on its "corrections and clarifications" website to emphasize that she had "apologized to the court for not remembering email exchanges". In March 2022, Meghan's half-sister, Samantha Markle, filed a defamation lawsuit against her in Florida, accusing her of lying in the Oprah interview and disseminating false statements via her communications secretary for the book Finding Freedom and sought damages in excess of \$75,000. In June 2022, Meghan's initial motion to dismiss the case was rejected by a judge following amendments made by Samantha in her complaints. She filed a second motion in the same month. In addition to applying for the case to be dismissed, Meghan's lawyer also applied for the discovery process to be delayed, pending the outcome of the dismissal application. A Florida judge later denied the application to halt the discovery process, but dismissed the lawsuit in March 2023. In April 2023, Samantha refiled the lawsuit with an amended complaint that covered statements made by Meghan in her Netflix docuseries as well. Between December 2022 and January 2023, more than 25,000 complaints were submitted to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) about a column by Jeremy Clarkson in The Sun, in which he stated that he hated Meghan "on a cellular level" and dreamed "of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, 'Shame!' and throw lumps of excrement at her." On December 20, 2022, Conservative MP Caroline Nokes wrote to The Sun's editor, Victoria Newton, calling for "action [to be] taken" against Clarkson. The letter was signed by more than 60 cross-party MPs. On December 23, The Sun issued an apology, stating "columnists' opinions are their own" but they "regret the publication of this article" and are "sincerely sorry". On the following day, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex described the apology as "nothing more than a PR stunt". Clarkson said his column was a reference to a scene from the television series Game of Thrones and he later revealed that he had emailed Meghan and Harry on Christmas Day 2022 to apologise. A spokesperson for the couple said Clarkson wrote solely to Harry and the article was not an isolated incident. In February 2023, IPSO announced that it was launching an investigation about the article. In June 2023, IPSO concluded that the column was sexist and contained a "pejorative and prejudicial reference" to Meghan's sex, but it rejected complaints that the piece was inaccurate, meant to harass her or included discriminatory references on the grounds of race. ### Bullying allegations and Oprah interview In 2021, shortly before Meghan and Harry were due to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, Valentine Low reported in The Times that Meghan's former communications secretary, Jason Knauf, complained in October 2018 that her conduct at Kensington Palace had caused two personal assistants to quit and had undermined the confidence of a third employee, prompting an investigation by Buckingham Palace into the bullying allegations. The palace hired an external law firm to examine the claims, with ten aides reported to have cooperated with the review. Criticism of Meghan for twice wearing earrings gifted from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2018, after he was accused of complicity in the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, appeared at the same time. Her representatives denied her awareness of the accusations against Mohammed bin Salman and said The Times were being used by Buckingham Palace for "a smear campaign" against her. The television special Oprah with Meghan and Harry was broadcast on CBS on March 7, 2021. Meghan spoke about her personal and royal life and public pressure. She claimed to have been contemplating suicide during her time as a working royal and complained of a lack of protection for her and her son while being part of the royal institution. There was a wide and polarized reaction to the interview. In an updated epilogue for the couple's unauthorized biography, Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, the authors claimed that "two of the individuals mentioned in [Knauf's] email asked for any allegations made to HR about their experiences with Meghan to be rescinded". Speaking on behalf of the Duchess in a BBC documentary, Jenny Afia, a lawyer who represented Meghan in her case against ANL, stated that the bullying allegations were "just not true". In June 2022, The Times reported that the results from the inquiry made Buckingham Palace modify some of the policies and procedures in its HR department, but the report would not be published to ensure the privacy of those who took part in it. ### On Twitter and other platforms In March 2019, European consulting firm 89up reported on their discovery of 1,103 highly connected Twitter accounts with more than two and a half million tweets in favor of Meghan, most of which appeared to be bots carrying out "coordinated attacks" on royal correspondents who had reported negatively on her. In the same year, CNN had reported on research by Hope not Hate, stating that out of 5,200 "abusive tweets directed at Meghan" in January and February 2019, 3,600 came from a small group of trolls. In March 2019, the royal family introduced new rules for followers commenting on its official social media accounts in response to the online abuse aimed at Meghan and her sister-in-law Catherine. In October 2021, Twitter analytics service Bot Sentinel released their analysis of more than 114,000 tweets about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as a result of which they found 83 accounts with a combined number of 187,631 followers that were possibly responsible for approximately 70% of the negative content posted about the couple. The report prompted an investigation by Twitter. The company stated that it found no evidence of "widespread coordination" between the accounts and said that it had taken action against users who violated Twitter's conduct policy. Bot Sentinel also released three more reports in the following months, arguing that the accounts were part of a "bot network" and a similar network could be found on YouTube. In January 2022, the BBC named Meghan and Harry among people whose photos and videos were used in fake instant profits advertisements and bitcoin-related investment schemes. Among unfounded conspiracy theories spread on social media, including Twitter and YouTube, were claims that Meghan had faked her pregnancies and used a surrogate mother, or that her children did not exist. ## Titles, styles and arms Meghan became a princess of the United Kingdom upon her marriage to Prince Harry, entitled to the style of Royal Highness. After her marriage, she was styled "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex". She also holds the titles of Countess of Dumbarton and Baroness Kilkeel. She is the first person to hold the title "Duchess of Sussex". Following the Duke and Duchess's decision to step back from royal duties in 2020, the couple agreed not to use the style of Royal Highness in practice, but they are still referred to as "His/Her Royal Highness" in legal settings. ## Filmography ### Television ### Film
58,468,302	Sincerity Is Scary	1,170,608,580	null	[ "2010s ballads", "2018 singles", "2018 songs", "British contemporary R&B songs", "British jazz songs", "British soul songs", "Contemporary R&B ballads", "Dirty Hit singles", "Jazz ballads", "Music video controversies", "Music videos directed by Warren Fu", "Neo soul songs", "Polydor Records singles", "Songs by Matty Healy", "Soul ballads", "The 1975 songs", "Vocal jazz songs" ]	"Sincerity Is Scary" is a song by the English band the 1975 from their third studio album, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships (2018). The song was written by band members Matty Healy, George Daniel, Adam Hann and Ross MacDonald, while Daniel and Healy handled the song's production. It was released on 13 September 2018 by Dirty Hit and Polydor Records as the fourth single from the album. Contributions are featured from Roy Hargrove, who performs the trumpet, and the London Community Gospel Choir, who provide the choir vocals. Healy was inspired to write the song to confront his fear of sincerity, using postmodernism in the lyrics to denounce sardonicism and irony, choosing to portray vulnerability and honesty instead. An experimental neo soul, R&B and neo jazz ballad, "Sincerity Is Scary" is built upon a hip hop beat. The song contains a hip hop production that incorporates layers of brass, trumpets, horns, saxophones, lounge piano riffs and a steady drum beat. It also draws from jazz, funk, indie pop, soul and lounge jazz. Thematically, the song highlights the problems of modern communication and critiques society for being generally cold and emotionless. Lyrically, Healy laments his partner for not being honest with herself and leading to a breakdown of their relationship. "Sincerity Is Scary" received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who mostly praised the production, lyrics and thematic depth. Reviewers compared the song to A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, the Soulquarians and Musiq Soulchild. It peaked at number 57 on the UK Singles Chart, number 84 in Scotland, number 66 in Ireland and number 20 on the US Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. The song was later certified silver in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). An accompanying music video, directed by Warren Fu, was released on 21 November 2018. Inspired by classic musical films, the visual features numerous references and easter eggs related to the 1975's previous works. The video received positive reviews from contemporary critics, who praised the storyline, choreography and atmosphere, while it later appeared on several year-end lists. ## Background and development In an interview with Genius, Healy revealed that the process of creating "Sincerity Is Scary" was not calculated. The singer relied on his instincts, having learned that the 1975's best music was created by trusting themselves. He sought to denounce sardonicism and insincerity in the song's lyrics, saying it is easier for people to remain ironic and defensive in the face of adversity. Speaking to Zane Lowe of Apple Music's Beats 1 Radio, Healy revealed that the song is meant to denounce his postmodern fear of being authentic. He believed there was a widespread tendency amongst people to hide behind irony and shield themselves from judgement. Elaborating further on his use of postmodernism within "Sincerity Is Scary", the singer used self-awareness when developing the lyrics, recognizing certain defence mechanisms of his and correcting them by being "just a bit more open and a bit easier, and genuinely sincere". The 1975 collaborated with the London Community Gospel Choir on "Sincerity Is Scary", with them providing the choir vocals. After having previously worked with them on I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It, Healy lauded the choir as "amazing" and wanted them on A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships, saying: "It wouldn't really be a 1975 record without them on it." The London Community Gospel Choir recorded their vocals at Abbey Road's Studio Three, which were engineered by Chris Bolster with assistance by Daniel Hayden. Roy Hargrove, who collaborated with the band on their previous album, performs the trumpet on "Sincerity Is Scary". According to Healy, they were highly impressed by Hargrove's playing on D'Angelo's Voodoo (2000), calling his work "iconic". The singer felt intimidated by the instrumentalist, calling the experience: "So intense. You'd get him in the room and you'd be so scared." Hargrove died two months after the song's release, an event that Healy called "heartbreaking", noting the instrumentalist was the first non-band contributor to feature on one of the 1975's albums. The singer took to Twitter and encouraged the band's fanbase to listen to "If I Believe You" (2016) and "Sincerity Is Scary" in remembrance of Hargrove, who Healy assured "made those songs so special for us". ## Music and lyrics Musically, "Sincerity Is Scary" is an experimental neo soul, R&B and neo jazz ballad built upon a hip hop beat. The song also contains elements of jazz, funk, indie pop, soul and lounge jazz. It has a length of three minutes and 45 seconds (3:45). According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Hal Leonard Music Publishing, "Sincerity Is Scary" is set in the time signature of common time with a slow tempo of 90 beats per minute. The track is composed in the key of A major, with Healy's vocals ranging between the notes of F♯<sub>3</sub> and F♯<sub>4</sub>. It follows a chord progression of Dmaj–E♯dim–F♯m–G9. The song's hip hop production contains gentle sounds, gospel choirs, billowing trumpet lines, dragging beats, delicate guitar chords, soothing keyboard arrangements, piano riffs, a steady drum beat, synths and smooth layers of brass. It features waves of instrumentation composed of slow drums, smooth saxophones, intentionally scattered trumpets, horns and a loungey piano. "Sincerity Is Scary" features contributions from Hargrove, who performs the trumpet, and the London Community Gospel Choir, who provide the choir vocals. Thematically, "Sincerity Is Scary" deals with modern communication problems, allowing oneself to be vulnerable, Healy's limitations as a songwriter and his struggle with heroin. Lyrically, "Sincerity Is Scary" critiques society at large for being cold and emotionless. As the song begins, Healy highlights the irony of insincerity and accuses people of hiding behind their feelings. In the chorus, he describes being in a relationship with a woman who is not honest with herself, inhibiting a closer emotional bond between the pair. However, trying to address this problem puts a strain on their relationship: "Why can't we be friends, when we are lovers? / 'Cause it always ends with us hating each other". Later, Healy addresses social media surveillance, self-knowledge and a communication breakdown ("And why would you believe you could control how you're perceived / When at your best, you're intermediately versed in your own feelings?") and derides her inability to mature and start a family ("Keep on putting off conceiving / It's only you that you're deceiving / Oh, don't have a child, don't cramp your style"). Rhian Daly of NME observed the premise of "Sincerity Is Scary" to be Healy's dismantling of his ironic defences. He considered the lyrics "You lack substance when you say / Something like, 'Oh, what a shame'" to be self-referential, noting the later phrase is used multiple times throughout I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It. Jarrod Johnson II of Paste felt the song addresses the mental hurdles of reduced transparency and honesty in modern-day relationships, both socially and romantically. Maura Johnston of Rolling Stone interpreted religious undertones, calling it "a shuffling rumination on the gaps between people that underscores Healy's hoped-for leap into faith". Matt Collar of AllMusic compared the track to the work of D'Angelo. Marissa Lorusso of NPR noted that the chorus of voices in the refrain are evocative of the "more touching" numbers on the 1975's second studio album, while Joe Goggins of Drowned in Sound said the inclusion of Hargrove is more specifically reminiscent of the band's "If I Believe You". Echoing Goggins' statements, Caitlin Ison of Atwood Magazine said both songs share sonic similarities owing to the use of gospel choirs in their choruses. ## Release and reception "Sincerity Is Scary" was released as a single on 13 September 2018; the song was met with generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Chris DeVille of Stereogum deemed "Sincerity Is Scary" the 15th-best pop song of 2018, while Frazier Tharpe of Complex declared it the fifth-best song of the year. Johnston deemed the song a highlight from A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships. Robin Murray of Clash praised the 1975's incorporation of jazz in "Sincerity Is Scary" and noted influences of A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr that are "filtered through a 1975 lens". Goggins commended Hargrove's contribution. Danny Chau of The Ringer said the song was one of the most surprising stylistic choices on the album, praising Hargrove's contribution and comparing the composition to the Soulquarians and Musiq Soulchild. Shannon Cotton of Gigwise called the song smooth and sultry, saying it "makes you feel like you should be sat on the rooftop of a New York apartment, with a cigarette in one hand and an expensive glass of red wine in the other, gazing at the skyline". Ross Horton of musicOMH praised the fun and "sexy" sound of "Sincerity Is Scary" and the London Community Gospel Choir's inclusion, saying he could image listeners repeatedly listening to it. Daly praised the stark yet warm composition and lyrical depth, saying: "[Healy's] attempts at [sincerity] are still as beautiful and thought-provoking as his lyrics at the other end of the spectrum. This time, he just feels a lot more human." Marina Pedrosa of Billboard highlighted the contrast of the song's emotionally-charged lyrics against the uplifting sonics and graceful melody. Lorusso declared it the most exciting single from A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationship, praising Healy for providing an earnestness that "positions him as a try-hard worth rooting for". Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone said "Sincerity Is Scary" serves as a "reminder that sincerity is worth flexing every once in a while", commenting that its subject matter matches the band's sonic dichotomy. She observed the underlying message to be a confrontation with society's desire to hide insecurities by presenting a brighter facade. Isabella Castro-Cota of Spin commented that the song's lyrics are performed through "a more honest lens". Ison commended the 1975 for exploring a larger, more serious topic, while remaining approachable through a fun and feel-good sound. Althea Legaspi of Rolling Stone highlighted the earnest sentimentality of the lyrics and the warm chorus of voices on the hook. Gil Green of Stereogum praised Healy for "working towards some innovative angle that never quite means what you think". In a mixed review of "Sincerity Is Scary", Claire Biddles of The Line of Best Fit deemed it one of the few missteps on A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationship. While she praised the laid-back music style, Biddles found the lyrics "painfully close to the faux-authenticity of a charity single". Similarly, Libby Cudmore of Paste called the song a "stupefying mess" and the album's accidental thesis. While she praised the composition and songwriting, Cudmore felt the 1975 were attempting to incorporate too many genres at once. In a negative review, Roisin O'Connor of The Independent compared "Sincerity Is Scary" to a throwaway Ed Sheeran song, calling it a "sickly ballad that frontman Matty Healy claimed was about dismantling his ironic shield, but if anything this sounds as false and insincere as anything else they've released before". Commercially, "Sincerity Is Scary" performed modestly on international music charts. In the 1975's native United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 57 on the UK Singles Chart and number 84 in Scotland. Internationally, it reached number 66 in Ireland and number 20 on the US Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. "Sincerity Is Scary" was later certified silver in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting sales of over 200,000 units. ## Music video ### Development and release To create the music video for "Sincerity Is Scary", the 1975 worked alongside director Warren Fu. It was filmed on a fake American street located on a set at Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles, California. The video was inspired by classic musical films such as Singin' in the Rain (1952) and My Sister Eileen (1955). Healy was also influenced by more recent musicals, specifically La La Land (2016), saying: "I grew up wanting to be a dancer [...] I was obsessed with Michael Jackson." Building upon a Hollywood musical theme, Healy and Fu spent several months brainstorming ideas before filming. They sought to incorporate a supporting cast of chorus girls, dancers and marching bands. Speaking on his experience working with Healy, Fu said: "When it comes to music videos, it never ceases to amaze me when sketches on a whim materialise in person a few days later on set. There's no better feeling." Much of the video was shot using a whip pan technique to create an "endless" flow, while Healy invented other production techniques himself, such as using a treadmill to create an optical illusion that he is continuously walking on the same spot. Overall, the singer called the video his proudest visual, describing it as a "good bowl of soup levels wholesome". On 26 October 2018, Healy teased the video on Twitter, posting a photo of the band from an NME photoshoot alongside a caption reading: "Sincerity Is Scary Video". On both the occasions, the singer wore a rabbit hat that Shahlin Graves of Coup de Main compared to the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are. The video was later released on 21 November. Upon release, Healy challenged the 1975's fanbase to find all the easter eggs hidden in the visual. The rabbit hat worn by the singer was later made available for purchase on the band's official website, labelled as the "Sincerity Hat". ### Synopsis The video begins with Healy waking up in his all-white bedroom. A framed photo is shown on the wall, captured from an avant-garde art performance by Joseph Beuys entitled I Like America and America Likes Me, a nod to the band's song of the same name. As he sits up, a clock is shown with four hands, pointed at numbers one, nine, seven and five–spelling out the 1975's name; this is why an extra hand was added. The singer puts on the rabbit hat and a pair of headphones before exiting the house–shown to be located at street number 1975–in a 1990s inspired outfit. While initially shown to be drowsy, Healy's demeanour changes to joyful, and he skips down the stairs toward the street wearing a backpack. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Healy begins to sing the song on the bright, busy and colourful street, greeting strangers and sharing kindness as he performs retro choreography. No Rome makes a cameo in the scene, greeting the singer while wearing a spacesuit and walking his Dalmatian. Continuing his walk down the street, Healy encounters a man wearing a paper bag over his head that reads "A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships". The man also holds a newspaper with the headline "Modernity has failed us", a lyric from "Love It If We Made It". The singer steals flowers and grabs one to give to an older woman watering her plants. Healy continues walking the street before falling into a hole in the ground, immediately emerging from a nearby building. He engages in a dance-off with a well-dressed man in the street, reminiscent of the video for the band's "A Change of Heart" (2016), and the pair swap outfits out of frame. The singer performs a dance sequence evocative of Jackson and gives his hat to a child before dashing to a lamppost, swinging around it in reference to Gene Kelly. As the camera pans, Healy emerges from a different house and is greeted by a choir of women on the steps. The women, dressed in pantsuits, are meant to represent women in the United States Congress. After performing the chorus with them on the road, the singer performs a football trick and plays a game of hopscotch with one of the children. In a cartoonish fashion, he then rushes to save MacDonald from a falling piano that crashes onto the sidewalk as the chorus starts. The camera pans again to show Healy in front of a theatre as the sky fades into a sunset, changing the visual to a rosy hue. The signage outside the theatre reads "La poesie est dans la rue", meaning "the poetry is in the streets", a reoccurring motif that appears in several of the 1975's works, including the videos for "Love It If We Made It" and "Robbers" (2014). Healy performs the final chorus and bridge and is joined by the choir of women and a marching band. A little girl, dressed in mime makeup and holding an umbrella, stands with Healy out front of the theatre. Her attire is a nod to the 1975's video for "A Change of Heart", where the singer dons a similar appearance and plays a mime. While she is initially shown in black and white, Healy climbs up a ladder and pours water on her using a watering can, with the girl's appearance being restored to full colour. As the video concludes, the camera pans off into a pink sky. ### Reception and controversy Upon release, the "Sincerity Is Scary" music video was well-received by contemporary critics. Tom Breihan of Stereogum gave the video a positive review, saying it "fucking rules". He compared the visual to the 2010 film Step Up 3, saying: "Healy goes into a series of full-on charming and ridiculous old-timey movie-musical dance routines." Ryan Reed of Rolling Stone declared it a "joyously surreal" sidewalk musical. The Dork editorial staff compared the visual to a mix between the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Fred Astaire, praising Healy's dancing, "winningly likeable smile and [the] spring in his step". Shea Lenniger of Billboard commended the visual, calling it charming, while Graves deemed the music video a "must-watch" and called it heartwarming. Melissa LaGrotta of Soundigest echoed Graves' second comment, saying the video is heartwarming. Daly gave the video a very positive review, saying: "Much like the song it accompanies, [the video will] make you feel a different kind of way than you'd typically expect The 1975 to make you feel – warm, fuzzy, and overflowing with positivity." Philip Cosores of Uproxx deemed it a "joyful dance party on the city streets". Patrick Campbell of Don't Bore Us called the visual "incredibly fun" and praised the less-serious tone in comparison to the previous videos released from A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships. Maggie Serota of Spin wrote: "['Sincerity Is Scary'] has everything, up to and including choreography, sick soccer moves, a child in corpse paint, and what appears to be one long tracking shot." Rosie Byers of Wonderland declared the visual one of the seven best music videos of 2018, calling it "unapologetically wholesome". Breihan ranked "Sincerity Is Scary" as the 16th-best music video of 2018, describing it as a "gloriously sunny, weirdly endearing pop-music hallucination". Hannah Mylrea of NME included the video on her year-end music videos list, commending the visual beauty, easter eggs and dance routines, while calling it "gorgeous". Billboard declared "Sincerity Is Scary" the 15th-best video of 2018, with C.S. praising the 1975's successful execution of the musical-inspired concept, self-awareness and memorability, commenting it is "very fun". Daniel Welsh of HuffPost ranked the visual at number 18 on his year-end music videos list, writing it is: "At once both completely pretentious and utterly silly, which is actually a perfect description of the band themselves." Grant Sharples of Alternative Press included "Sincerity Is Scary" on his list of 10 music videos from the 1975 that should be made into feature-length films. Describing the visual, Sharples said it "is so charming and charismatic that it virtually begs the listener to smile and sing along". On 16 January 2020, Lauv released his music video for "Tattoos Together". The 1975's fanbase quickly drew similarities between the two videos, noting both visuals featured the singers dancing in the street, accompanied by dancers in a Broadway-style fashion in front of similar backdrops. After receiving criticism over accusations of plagiarism, Lauv posted a public apology on Twitter, saying: "[I] wanna be one to own up to shit, [I'm] sorry." He posted a photo showing a text message conversation between himself and Healy, saying he is a "massive fan" who heavily respects the 1975 and made "an honest mistake [...] [I] want to do whatever [I] can to make this right". Healy humorously replied, "[your] mums a hoe", telling Lauv he did not mind the similarities and encouraged him to post a screenshot of the messages in response to the criticism. He ended the conversation by saying: "Let's all love making music." ## Live performances The 1975 played "Sincerity Is Scary" live at the 2019 Brit Awards. The band's performance mirrored the song's music video, featuring Healy wearing a knit hat, a backpack, a pair of headphones and a tuxedo. Host Jack Whitehall described Healy's attire as "half James Bond, half Japanese schoolgirl". Healy also utilized the same moving conveyor belt from the video, creating the feeling of constant motion. The 1975 performed "Sincerity Is Scary" as part of their setlist for the Coachella Festival on 12 April. For the song, they included the Jaiy Twins from their Music for Cars Tour and incorporated the travelator into the front of the stage to recreate Healy's choreography from the music video. Included as part of the tour's setlist, the band replicated the video for "Sincerity Is Scary", including the backdrop of the houses and the built-in treadmill, while dancing in the streets. ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships album liner notes. - Matthew Healy – composer, producer, keyboards, vocals - George Daniel – composer, producer, programming, drums, keyboards, synthesizer programming, background vocals - Adam Hann – composer, guitar - Ross MacDonald – composer, bass guitar - Roy Hargrove – trumpet - London Community Gospel Choir – choir vocals - Guendoline Rome Viray Gomez – programming, keyboards - Jonathan Gilmore – recording engineer - Luke Gibbs – assistant recording engineer - Robin Schmidt – mastering engineer - Mike Crossey – mixer ## See also - The 1975 discography - List of songs by Matty Healy ## Charts ## Certifications
1,883,407	Frederick E. Morgan	1,166,995,029	British Army general (1894–1967)	[ "1894 births", "1967 deaths", "British Army generals of World War II", "British Army lieutenant generals", "British Army personnel of World War I", "Commanders of the Legion of Honour", "Commanders of the Legion of Merit", "Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)", "Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich", "Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta", "Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath", "Military personnel from Kent", "People associated with the nuclear weapons programme of the United Kingdom", "People educated at Clifton College", "People from Paddock Wood", "Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)", "Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)", "Royal Artillery officers", "Royal Field Artillery officers" ]	Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Edgworth Morgan, KCB (5 February 1894 – 19 March 1967) was a senior officer of the British Army who fought in both world wars. He is best known as the chief of staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC), the original planner of Operation Overlord. A graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Morgan was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery in July 1913. During the First World War he served on the Western Front as an artillery subaltern and staff officer. Afterwards he served two long tours with the British Army in India. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Morgan was promoted to brigadier and assumed command of the 1st Support Group, part of the 1st Armoured Division, which he led during the Battle of France. After serving as Brigadier General Staff (BGS) with II Corps, he was promoted to major general in February 1941 and commanded both the Devon and Cornwall County Division and the 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division, before being promoted again in May 1942 to lieutenant general when he was given command of I Corps. His headquarters was then designated Force 125, and given the task of dealing with a German thrust through Spain to Gibraltar that never occurred. In March 1943 he was appointed chief of staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (Designate), or COSSAC. As COSSAC he directed the planning for Operation Overlord. When American General Dwight D. Eisenhower became Supreme Allied Commander in early 1944, Major General Bedell Smith became chief of staff at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), while Morgan became deputy chief of staff. After the war, Morgan served as Chief of Operations for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) in Germany until his position in Germany was eliminated after he had alleged that UNRRA was infiltrated by Soviet agents seeking to stir up trouble among displaced persons. In 1951, Morgan became Controller of Atomic Energy, and was present for Operation Hurricane, the first British atomic weapons tests at the Montebello Islands in 1952. His position was abolished in 1954 with the creation of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority but he remained as Controller of Nuclear Weapons until 1956. ## Early life Frederick Morgan was born in Paddock Wood, Kent, on 5 February 1894, the eldest son among nine children of Frederick Beverley Morgan, a timber importer, and his wife Clare Elizabeth ('' Horrocks). He was raised at Mascall's Manor, Paddock Wood. He commenced his education at Hurstleigh, a private school in Tunbridge Wells in 1902. At an early age it was decided that Frederick would become a British Army officer, and in 1907 he entered Clifton College, a school noted for its connections with the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. At Clifton he played rugby and cricket, and served in the School Cadet Corps, which became the Officers' Training Corps (OTC) in 1908. As a cadet sergeant, he was one of many who lined the route to Buckingham Palace for the Coronation of George V of the United Kingdom in 1911. He eventually rose to the rank of second lieutenant. Morgan duly passed the entrance examination for Woolwich, which he entered in 1912. Morgan was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery on 17 July 1913, and joined the 41st Battery, 42nd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery at Aldershot. He volunteered for service in India, and in January 1914 departed on the British-India Steam Navigation Company troopship Rewa, joining the 84th Battery, 11th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, which was stationed in Jabalpur. ## First World War Following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Morgan's battery departed for the Western Front in October 1914 as part of the 3rd (Lahore) Division. Morgan suffered a near-miss from a German 5.9-inch gun which blew him into the air and buried him in a shell hole, and he was evacuated to hospital in Boulogne with shell shock. He was granted a short sick leave in England only to be present when news reached his family that his brother had been killed in action. On returning to the front, Morgan became aide-de-camp (ADC) to Brigadier General Edward Spencer Hoare-Nairne, the commander of the Lahore Divisional Artillery. The artillery remained on the Western Front when the bulk of the division departed for the Mesopotamian campaign. As it took longer to train artillery than infantry, the Lahore divisional artillery acted in turn as the artillery of the 2nd Canadian Division, 3rd Canadian Division, 4th Australian Division and finally the 4th Canadian Division until their own artillery was sufficiently trained to take over. Morgan became a staff captain in February 1916, and was promoted to the temporary rank of captain in May 1916. The Lahore divisional artillery was broken up in mid-1917 and Morgan, promoted to captain on 18 July 1917, was posted to the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division as a staff captain. On 15 August 1917, he married Marjorie Cecile Whaite, the daughter of Colonel Thomas du Bédat Whaite of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). The couple had met on board the Rewa en route to India in 1914. Their marriage produced two daughters and a son. During the Hundred Days Offensive which ultimately led to the armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918, he served as brigade major of the 42nd Divisional Artillery. During the war Morgan was twice mentioned in dispatches, on 15 May 1917, and again on 5 July 1919. Of the end of the war and its aftermath Morgan later wrote: > So to England, home and a new start. No question of returning home in triumph as a conquering hero. There was nothing to show outwardly for those four years in the shadows, years of inner tension for which no relief could be found since it was impossible to describe the fullness of one's sensations to any who had not shared them. Unlike the later occasion when all men, women and even children smelt the whiff of hell, in 1919 there were few among those whose task had been to keep the home fires burning who could, even with the utmost endeavour, comprehend what had happened to those of us who came back, bent or broken, aged beyond our years. > > So one had to screw the lid down on it all and strive to deaden the thought of the past by immersing oneself in present soil. This drug lay plentifully at hand, specially to the hands of those of us who must reshape the shattered army in this new world that had had more than enough of armies. ## Between the wars In 1919, Morgan volunteered for a six-year tour of India, where he would ultimately spend much time during the interwar period, and joined the 118th Field Battery, 26th Field Brigade, at Deepcut, where it was forming and training for service in the subcontinent. Later that year the brigade moved to its new station at Jhansi. After three years Morgan was posted to Attock, where he commanded the Divisional Ammunition Column. In 1924 he accepted a temporary staff posting as Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General (DAAG) of Major-General Herbert Uniacke's 1st (Peshawar) Division at Murree. This was followed in 1925 by a year's secondment to the headquarters of Lieutenant-General Sir Claud Jacob's Northern Command, where Morgan helped plan and direct large-scale manoeuvres. Morgan returned to England in 1926, and assumed command of the 22nd Heavy Battery. Equipped with a mixture of 9.2 inch guns, 6 inch guns, 12 pounders and 6 pounders, it was responsible for the coastal defences of Weymouth, Dorset. Still a captain, Morgan hoped that his next career move would be to attend the Staff College, Camberley, having narrowly passed the entrance examination. Instead, he was offered a place at the Staff College, Quetta, requiring a return trip to India. Morgan's classmates at Quetta from 1927 and 1928 included William Slim, John Crocker, Kenneth Anderson, David Cowan, George Alan Vasey and Tommy Burns. After graduation, Morgan was posted to the 70th Field Battery at Lucknow, and then was artillery staff officer at headquarters Western Command, under Brigadier Henry Karslake. When Karslake became major-general, Royal Artillery, at GHQ India in 1931, he brought Morgan to Delhi to serve with him as his General Staff Officer (Grade 2). Morgan, after receiving no promotion in rank for almost 15 years, was finally promoted to major on 22 June 1932 and brevet lieutenant colonel on 1 January 1934. Returning to England in 1934, Morgan assumed command of the 4th Anti-Aircraft Battery, which was deployed to Malta during the diplomatic crisis that accompanied the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935. He then returned to England and served in the War Office from 1936 to 1938. Here he became increasingly disturbed at the lack of urgency that the British government displayed in the face of a war that Morgan and his fellow staff officers felt was inevitable and imminent. On 28 May 1938 he was promoted to colonel (with seniority backdated to 1 January 1934) and became GSO1 of the 3rd Infantry Division, in which Brigadier Bernard Montgomery commanded the 8th Infantry Brigade. ## Second World War ### Battle of France and service in the UK On 8 August 1939, just a few weeks before the outbreak of the Second World War, Morgan was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier and assumed command of the 1st Support Group of Major-General Roger Evans's 1st Armoured Division. When the 1st Support Group was shipped to France shortly after the German invasion of France in mid-May 1940 it had already been stripped of its two field artillery regiments and two infantry battalions. As a result, Morgan's command included only a force of Royal Engineers and a Territorial Army (TA) battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, which was in the process of converting to an anti-aircraft/anti-tank regiment and armed only with anti-tank guns. His group was, therefore, in no position to fulfil its normal role supporting the division's armoured brigades and so was sent to reinforce the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division south of the River Somme. During a confused retreat most of the 1st Support Group was captured along with the 51st Division at Saint-Valery-en-Caux but the remainder, including Morgan, got away and were evacuated to England. The 1st Armoured Division was subsequently reformed, and became a mobile reserve in south eastern England. It was tasked with counter-attacking an invading German army, and Morgan's 1st Support Group was given two Canadian infantry battalions for this purpose. On 4 November 1940 Morgan was appointed Brigadier General Staff (BGS) at II Corps, based in Norfolk. Morgan was not there long, however, as on 28 February 1941 he was promoted to the acting rank of major-general and succeeded Major-General Charles Allfrey in command of the Devon and Cornwall County Division, a static formation created for coastal defence, lacking artillery, engineers and divisional troops. The division was serving in South West England in Devon and Cornwall under Lieutenant-General Harold Franklyn's VIII Corps. He was with the division for eight months before handing over to Major-General Godwin Michelmore on 30 October and succeeding Major-General William Morgan in command of the 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division, a first-line TA formation serving in Gloucestershire in Southern Command. The division, which moved to North Yorkshire under Northern Command in mid-December, was placed on the Lower Establishment the following month, losing much of its artillery, engineers and divisional troops and receiving a low priority for modern equipment. On 28 February, a year after being made an acting major-general, Morgan's rank of major-general was made temporary. He was not to remain with the division for long, however, as on 14 May Morgan handed over command of the 55th Division to Major-General Hugh Hibbert and was promoted to the acting rank of lieutenant general and took command of I Corps District from Lieutenant-General Henry Willcox, which had responsibility for the defence of Lincolnshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. In October of that year his headquarters became a mobile formation, was redesignated I Corps and placed under his American superior, Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower. On 12 November Morgan's permanent rank was advanced from colonel to major-general (with seniority backdating to 13 November 1941). Morgan's I Corps headquarters was later designated Force 125 and was given command of Walter Clutterbuck's 1st and John Hawkesworth's 4th Divisions, and the task of dealing with a German thrust through Spain to Gibraltar. This operation proved unnecessary, and Morgan's two divisions were sent to North Africa, while he was directed to plan the invasion of Sardinia. In time this was abandoned in favour of the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky), which took place in July 1943. I Corps headquarters remained in the United Kingdom the whole time, located at 1 Cumberland near Marble Arch, with the headquarters mess in the Lyons Marble Arch Corner House. However, it gained considerable experience in operational planning. Morgan's rank of lieutenant-general was made temporary on 14 May 1943, and he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on 2 June. ### COSSAC At the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, the Combined Chiefs of Staff agreed to establish a staff to plan operations in north west Europe in 1944. It was envisaged that the Supreme Allied Commander would be British, and the usual practice was for the commander and the chief of staff to be of the same nationality, so it was decided to appoint a British officer for the role of chief of staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (Designate) (COSSAC), with an American deputy. In March 1943 Morgan became COSSAC. Brigadier General Ray Barker became his American deputy. Initially, Morgan's staff consisted of an aide, two batmen and a driver with a car purloined from I Corps headquarters. Morgan established his headquarters in Norfolk House at 31 St James's Square. However, by October 1943, it was clearly too small for COSSAC needs, which called for accommodation for a staff of 320 officers and 600 other ranks. In November and December part of the staff moved to the South Rotunda, a bombproof structure that had originally been fitted up as an anti-invasion base, which was connected to the various ministries by the Whitehall Tunnel. Other staff were accommodated at 80 Pall Mall. COSSAC was charged with planning three operations: Operation Cockade, a deception operation to keep German forces pinned to the coast; Operation Rankin, a plan for measures to be taken in the case of a sudden German collapse; and Operation Overlord, a plan for a full-scale assault on north western Europe. Morgan and his staff worked on the Overlord plan throughout June and the first half of July 1943. He presented it to the Chiefs of Staff Committee on 15 July. The plan set forth in detail the conditions under which the assault could be made, the area where a landing would be feasible, and the means by which a lodgement on the continent would be developed. On 28 July, a group of the COSSAC staff, headed by Barker, travelled to Washington D.C. to present the Overlord plan to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and to confer with the U.S. War Department about the troop basis for the operation and issues related to its civil affairs and logistics aspects. Missions were also exchanged with General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ) in Algiers to coordinate the plans of offensive action in the Mediterranean and north western Europe in 1944. In October and November, Morgan went to Washington, to discuss the operation with the Combined Chiefs of Staff, accompanied only by Major-General Nevil Brownjohn and an aide. Morgan met with General George Marshall, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, who instructed him to proceed with planning on the basis that Marshall would be the Supreme Allied Commander and Morgan his chief of staff. Morgan met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House. Roosevelt turned down Morgan's request for the services of Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr. to assist with civil affairs, and also cast doubt on whether Marshall could be spared to become Supreme Allied Commander. While in the United States Morgan visited the Gettysburg Battlefield and the training camps at Camp Carrabelle, Fort Benning, Camp Mackall and Fort Bragg. The Combined Chiefs of Staff authorised Morgan to issue orders in the name of the Supreme Allied Commander to the Commanders in Chief of the Air, Naval and Land Forces, even though they outranked him. In December 1943, when General Sir Bernard Montgomery, who had just arrived in England after commanding the British Eighth Army on the Italian Front, was appointed C-in-C Land Forces for the invasion, he declared that Morgan's original plans were impracticable; they had originally been limited by the availability of landing craft, but Montgomery insisted it would require more men attacking over a wider front. Ultimately, more landing craft were obtained and the invasion was scaled up to Montgomery's satisfaction, at the cost of a month's delay and a reduction in the Southern France operation. However, all the key features of Morgan's plan remained; the choice of Normandy as the assault area, the use of Mulberry harbours, the deployment of American forces on the right and British on the left, the use of airborne troops to cover the flanks, and some form of diversionary operation in Southern France. ### SHAEF When Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Allied Commander in January 1944 the COSSAC team was absorbed into SHAEF. Eisenhower brought his chief of staff for AFHQ, Major General Walter Bedell Smith, and moved the headquarters to Bushey Park. Morgan was offered command of XIII Corps in Italy but declined in favour of becoming one of Smith's three deputies. His responsibilities covered Intelligence and Operations. Morgan coordinated the work of various SHAEF divisions and deputised for Bedell Smith when he was absent. Morgan was also called upon on occasion to deal with Montgomery, with whom his professional relationship as deputy chief of staff was similar to that before the war when Montgomery was a brigade commander. On one occasion Morgan was summoned to Smith's office to find him white with rage at a telephone receiver. "That's your bloody marshal on the other end of that," Smith explained. "I can't talk to him any more. Now you go on." "As the campaign progressed," Morgan later wrote, "it became more difficult for us British at SHAEF to provide explanation, as we were continually called upon to do, for the attitude and behaviour of the British authorities as exemplified by their chosen representative in the field." Senior British officers at SHAEF, notably Morgan, Kenneth Strong and Jock Whiteley remained loyal to Eisenhower. This cast a pall over their careers after the war, when Montgomery became Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS). After the war Smith described Morgan as his British alter ego, "a man I wouldn't willingly have dispensed with". Morgan served in this role until SHAEF was dissolved in June 1945. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in August 1944 "in recognition of distinguished services in connection with the invasion of Normandy". The United States government awarded him the Legion of Merit in April 1945, and the Army Distinguished Service Medal in 1948 for his services. ## Post-war career ### UNRRA In September 1945 Morgan became the Chief of Operations for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) in Germany. He applied his energy and planning skills to the problem of providing relief to millions of refugees and displaced persons in Europe in the wake of the war. However, he became disillusioned with UNRRA believing it was being misused by sinister organisations. In his position Morgan was responsible for administering Jewish displaced persons camps in Germany. A highly publicised incident occurred on 29 March 1946 when German policemen entered a Jewish DP camp in Stuttgart without notifying UNRRA or military authorities; when the DPs angrily shouted at the police, a German officer shot dead one of them, a Jewish concentration camp survivor. A local UNRRA district director was outraged and wanted to "admonish" the Germans; however, Morgan was angered by this admonishment and overruled his subordinate, forcing the district director to resign. Morgan's superior, the UNRRA director general Fiorello La Guardia, after hearing of the incident, denounced the Stuttgart shooting as "brutal, cruel, cowardly", overruled Morgan and pushed for a ban on German police freely entering DP camps which was duly implemented by military authorities. Morgan had pushed for repatriating the displaced persons back to their devastated home countries. However, as an anti-Communist, he was outspokenly against repatriation of former collaborationists with the Nazis who had fought against the Soviets. In January 1946 Morgan created an uproar by claiming at a press conference that there was a "secret Jewish organisation" that was attempting to facilitate an "exodus" of Jewish people from Europe to Palestine. Morgan stated that he had witnessed an "exodus of Jews from Poland on Russian trains on a regular route from Lodz to Berlin. All of them were well dressed, well fed, healthy and had pockets bulging with money. All of them told the same monotonous story of threats, pogroms, and atrocities in Poland as a reason for their leaving". Morgan claimed that by the end of 1946 there would be 300,000 to 500,000 Jews in Germany who would form "the seeds of World War III". One reporter quoted Morgan as remarking that "the Jews seem to have organised a plan enabling them to become a world power- a weak force numerically, but one which will have a generating power for getting what they want". Morgan's statements caused a furore in the press, which portrayed them as anti-Semitic and distasteful. Chaim Weizmann, leader of the World Zionist Organization, called Morgan's statement "palpably anti-Semitic". The Board of Deputies of British Jews issued a statement that said that "General Morgan’s references to a “Jewish plot” to become a “world force” coming on top of the Nuremberg evidence of the extermination of nearly 6,000,000 Jews by the Nazis is not only a grotesque bogey, but highly uncharitable and unworthy when it comes from the head of an organization whose purpose it is to bring comfort to suffering victims of Nazi barbarity." UNRRA expected that Morgan would offer his resignation but he did not do so. Morgan's friends vouched for him. Time magazine reported at the time that: "Observers here ... are positive of [Morgan's] sincerity, and know he had no intention of feeding the fires of anti-Semitic propaganda." A correspondent asserted that Morgan made "casual observations based on what he saw ... but the controversial remarks were taken out of the context and put together by correspondents." When Morgan's first attempt to clarify his position "off the record" failed and he was ousted, Morgan flew to Washington to meet with UNRRA Director General, Herbert H. Lehman, and convinced Lehman to reinstate him. Six months later Morgan was again in the news, this time alleging that UNRRA organisations were being used as a cover by Soviet agents to stir up trouble among displaced persons. This time Morgan's position in Germany was eliminated by the new UNRRA Director General Fiorello La Guardia. In his memoirs Morgan stood by his allegations claiming they were based on military intelligence. Morgan wrote that he had been able to uncover how the UNRRA was being manipulated to promote a "Zionist campaign of aggression" with Russian connivance. According to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, "Morgan’s statement also reflected linkages between Jews and “Bolshevism,” while at the same time gesturing toward future Cold War politics. Indeed, the Nazi regime frequently equated Jewish politics with a communist threat, building on antisemitic stereotypes of the Jews as part of a conspiracy to gain world domination." ### Atomic Energy Morgan was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery from 24 June 1948 until 24 June 1958 In 1951, he succeeded Lord Portal as Controller of Atomic Energy. The position had been created in January 1946 as "Controller of Production, Atomic Energy" when the Ministry of Supply had assumed responsibility for nuclear weapons. The job, the title of which was changed to "Controller Atomic Energy" in 1950, had no written terms of reference, but carried broad responsibility for the coordination of all aspects of nuclear weapons production. Although located within the Ministry of Supply, the controller had direct access to the Prime Minister; Portal rarely exercised this, however. It was widely believed that Morgan, who was, in the words of Margaret Gowing, "amiable but not adequate to the task", had been appointed by mistake, having been confused with his namesake, General Sir William Morgan. The latter had greatly impressed Prime Minister Clement Attlee as Army member of the Joint Staff Mission to the United States from 1947 to 1950. Morgan, therefore, relied heavily on his key subordinates, Sir John Cockcroft, William Penney, and Christopher Hinton. In his role as Controller of Atomic Energy, Morgan was present for Operation Hurricane, the first British atomic weapons tests at the Montebello Islands in October 1952. His position was gradually reduced to a figurehead, with his authority largely supplanted by the Atomic Energy Board, which was chaired by Lord Cherwell, and was abolished in 1954 with the creation of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Morgan then became Controller of Nuclear Weapons. Nonetheless, he was still an important figure in the push for higher-yield weapons. He pressed for the testing of the Green Bamboo boosted fission weapon during Operation Mosaic. This resulted in Mosaic becoming a two-test series, although Green Bamboo could not be made available in time. A Green Bamboo assembly was subsequently taken to Christmas Island for Operation Grapple, but was deleted from the test series to save money. Morgan was also instrumental in putting the case for the development of the H-bomb on operational grounds. Morgan retired in 1956, although he remained Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery until 1958. He published his memoirs, entitled Peace and War: A Soldier's Life'' in 1961. He died at Mount Vernon Hospital on 19 March 1967, at the age of 73.
64,042	Balrog	1,169,189,243	Race of evil fire-demons in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth	[ "Fictional demons and devils", "Literary characters introduced in 1954", "Middle-earth Maiar", "Middle-earth monsters" ]	A Balrog (/ˈbælrɒɡ/) is a powerful demonic monster in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. One first appeared in print in his high-fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, where the Fellowship of the Ring encounter a Balrog known as Durin's Bane in the Mines of Moria. Balrogs appear also in Tolkien's The Silmarillion and other posthumously published books. Balrogs are tall and menacing beings who can shroud themselves in fire, darkness, and shadow. They are armed with fiery whips "of many thongs", and occasionally use long swords. In Tolkien's later conception, Balrogs could not be readily vanquished—a certain stature was required by the would-be hero. Only dragons rivalled their capacity for ferocity and destruction, and during the First Age of Middle-earth, they were among the most feared of Morgoth's forces. Their power came from their nature as Maiar, angelic beings like the Valar. Tolkien invented the name "Balrog", providing an in-universe etymology for it as a word in his invented Sindarin language. He may have gained the idea of a fire demon from his philological study of the Old English word Sigelwara, which he studied in detail in the 1930s. Balrogs appear in the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings by Ralph Bakshi and Peter Jackson, in the streaming series The Rings of Power, and in computer and video games based on Middle-earth. ## Context According to the fictional history in The Silmarillion, the evil Vala Melkor corrupted lesser Maiar (angelic beings) to his service, as Balrogs, in the days of his splendour before the making of Arda. Upon the awakening of the Elves, the Valar captured Melkor and destroyed his fortresses Utumno and Angband. But they overlooked the deepest pits, where, with many of Melkor's other allies, the Balrogs fled into hiding. When Melkor returned to Middle-earth from Valinor, now bearing the epithet Morgoth, he was attacked by the evil giant spider Ungoliant; his scream drew the Balrogs out of hiding to his rescue. ## Characteristics Tolkien's conception of Balrogs changed over time. In all his early writing, they are numerous. A host of a thousand is mentioned in the Quenta Silmarillion, while at the storming of Gondolin Balrogs in the hundreds ride on the backs of the Dragons. They are roughly of twice human size, and were occasionally killed in battle by Elves and Men. They were fierce demons, associated with fire, armed with fiery whips of many thongs and claws like steel, and Morgoth delighted in using them to torture his captives. In the published version of The Lord of the Rings, however, Balrogs became altogether more sinister and more powerful. Christopher Tolkien notes the difference, saying that in earlier versions they were "less terrible and certainly more destructible". He quotes a very late marginal note that was not incorporated into the text saying "at most seven" ever existed; though in the Annals of Aman, written as late as 1958, Melkor still commands "a host of Balrogs". In later writings they ceased to be creatures, but are instead Maiar, lesser Ainur like Gandalf or Sauron, spirits of fire whom Melkor had corrupted before the creation of the World. Power of the order of Gandalf's was necessary to destroy them, as when Gandalf at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm tells the others "This is a foe beyond any of you." As Maiar, only their physical forms could be destroyed. Tolkien says of the Valar (including the Maiar) that they can change their shape at will, and move unclad in the raiment of the world, meaning invisible and without form. But it seems that Morgoth, Sauron, and their associated Maiar could lose this ability: Morgoth, for example, was unable to heal his burns from the Silmarils or wounds from Fingolfin and the eagle Thorondor; and Sauron lost his ability to assume a fair-seeming form after his physical body was destroyed in the downfall of Númenor. Tolkien does not address this specifically for Balrogs, though in his later conception, as at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, the Balrog appears "like a great shadow, in the middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater". Though previously the Balrog had entered the "large square chamber" of Mazarbul, at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm it "drew itself to a great height, and its wings spread from wall to wall" in the vast hall. The Balrog's size and shape, therefore, are not given precisely. When Gandalf threw it from the peak of Zirakzigil, the Balrog "broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin". Whether Balrogs had wings (and if so, whether they could fly) is unclear. This is due both to Tolkien's changing conception of Balrogs, and to the imprecise but suggestive and possibly figurative description of the Balrog that confronted Gandalf. The Balrog of Moria used a flaming sword ("From out of the shadow a red sword leapt flaming") and a many-thonged whip that "whined and cracked" in its battle with Gandalf. In The Silmarillion, they also used black axes and maces. Earlier writings also speak of steel claws and iron mail. In earlier drafts of The Lord of the Rings, some further indications of Tolkien's evolving conceptions appear, as when > A figure strode to the fissure, no more than man-high yet terror seemed to go before it. They could see the furnace-fire of its eyes from afar; its arms were very long; it had a red [?tongue]. At this writing Tolkien contemplated an edict of the Valar concerning Balrogs, having Gandalf challenge the Balrog by saying "It is forbidden for any Balrog to come beneath the sky since Fionwë son of Manwë overthrew Thangorodrim." ## Individual Balrogs ### Gothmog Gothmog is developed in successive versions of Silmarillion material. He is physically massive and strong, and in one version he is some 12 feet tall. He wields a black axe and whip of flame as his weapons. He holds the titles of the Lord of the Balrogs, the High Captain of Angband, and Marshal of the Hosts. In the Second Battle, Dagor-nuin-Giliath, he leads a force that ambushes Fëanor and wounds him mortally. He leads Balrogs, Orc-hosts, and Dragons as Morgoth's commander in the field in the Fifth Battle, Nírnaeth Arnoediad, and slays Fingon, High King of the Noldor. In that same battle, he captures Húrin of Dor-lómin, who had slain his personal guard of Battle-trolls, and brings him to Angband. As Marshal of the Hosts, he is in command of the Storming of Gondolin. He is about to kill Tuor when Ecthelion of the Fountain, a Noldorin Elf-lord, intervenes. Gothmog fights Ecthelion in single combat, and they kill each other. In The Book of Lost Tales, Tolkien describes Kosomot, the original version of Gothmog, as a son of Morgoth and the ogress Fluithuin or Ulbandi. Gothmog is Sindarin for "Dread Oppressor". Kosomot is often considered Gothmog's Quenya name; however, in the Quenya name-list of The Fall of Gondolin another version appears, Kosomoko. In Tolkien's early Lay of the Children of Húrin is "Lungorthin, Lord of Balrogs". This might be another name for Gothmog, though Christopher Tolkien thought it more likely that Lungorthin was simply "a Balrog lord". ### Durin's Bane This Balrog appears in The Lord of the Rings, encountered by the Fellowship of the Ring in the Mines of Moria. It survived the defeat of Morgoth in the War of Wrath, escaping to hide beneath the Misty Mountains. For more than five millennia, the Balrog remained in its deep hiding place at the roots of Caradhras, one of the Mountains of Moria, until in the Third Age, the mithril-miners of the Dwarf-kingdom of Khazad-dûm disturbed it. The Balrog killed Durin VI, the Dwarf-King of Khazad-dûm, whereafter it was called Durin's Bane by the Dwarves. Avarice, principally for mithril, drove the dwarves to go too deep and awaken the Balrog. The Dwarves attempted to fight the Balrog, but its power was far too great for them. In their efforts to hold Khazad-dûm against it, many Dwarves were killed: Durin's successor Náin ruled for only a year. The survivors were forced to flee. This disaster reached the Silvan Elves of Lothlórien, many of whom fled the "Nameless Terror". From this time Khazad-dûm was known as Moria, Sindarin for "Black Pit" or "Black Chasm". For another 500 years, Moria was left to the Balrog; though according to Unfinished Tales, Orcs crept in soon after the Dwarves were driven out, leading to Nimrodel's flight. Sauron began to put his plans for war into effect, and he sent Orcs and Trolls to the Misty Mountains to bar the passes. During the reign of Thráin II, the Dwarves attempted to retake Moria in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, culminating in the Battle of Azanulbizar before the eastern gate of Moria. This was a victory for the Dwarves, but the Balrog prevented them from reoccupying Moria. Dáin II Ironfoot, having slain the Orc Azog near the gate, perceived the terror of the Balrog within and warned Thráin that Moria was unachievable until some greater force could remove the Balrog. The Dwarves departed and resumed their exile. Despite Dáin's warning, Balin made another attempt to retake Moria. His party managed to start a colony, but was massacred a few years later. The Fellowship of the Ring travelled through Moria on the quest to destroy the One Ring in Mount Doom. They were attacked in the Chamber of Mazarbul by Orcs. The Fellowship fled through a side door, but when the wizard Gandalf the Grey tried to place a "shutting spell" on the door to block the pursuit behind them, the Balrog entered the chamber on the other side and cast a "terrible" counterspell. Gandalf spoke a word of Command to stay the door, but the door shattered and the chamber collapsed. Gandalf was weakened by this encounter. The company fled with him, but the Orcs and the Balrog, taking a different route, caught up with them at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. The Elf Legolas instantly recognized the Balrog and Gandalf tried to hold the bridge against it. As Gandalf faced the Balrog, he proclaimed, "You cannot pass, flame of Udûn!", and broke the bridge beneath the Balrog. As it fell, the Balrog wrapped its whip about Gandalf's knees, dragging him to the brink. As the Fellowship looked on in horror, Gandalf cried "Fly, you fools!" and plunged into the darkness below. After a long fall, the two crashed into a deep subterranean lake, which extinguished the flames of the Balrog's body; however it remained "a thing of slime, stronger than a strangling snake". They fought in the water; the Balrog clutched at Gandalf to strangle him, and Gandalf hewed the Balrog with his sword, until finally the Balrog fled into the primordial tunnels of Moria's underworld. Gandalf pursued the monster for eight days, until they climbed to the peak of Zirakzigil, where the Balrog was forced to turn and fight, its body erupting into new flame. Here they fought for two days and nights. In the end, the Balrog was defeated and cast down, breaking the mountainside where it fell "in ruin". Gandalf himself died shortly afterwards, but he returned to Middle-earth with greater powers, as Gandalf the White, "until his task was finished". Critics such as Jerram Barrs have recognised this as a transfiguration similar to that of Jesus Christ, suggesting Gandalf's prophet-like status. The critic Clive Tolley notes that the contest between Gandalf and the Balrog on Durin's bridge somewhat recalls a shamanistic contest, but that a far closer parallel is medieval vision literature, giving the example of St Patrick's Purgatory, and even Dante's Divine Comedy. ## In-universe origins The name "Balrog", but not the meaning, emerges early in Tolkien's work: it appears in the Fall of Gondolin, one of the earliest texts Tolkien wrote, around 1918. Tolkien began a poem in alliterative verse about the battle of Glorfindel with the Balrog in that text, where both were killed by falling into the abyss, just like Gandalf and the Balrog in The Lord of the Rings. An early list of names described Balrog as "an Orc-word with no pure equivalent in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya: 'borrowed Malaroko-' ". In Gnomish (another of Tolkien's invented languages), Balrog is parsed as balc 'cruel' + graug 'demon', with a Quenya equivalent Malkarauke. Variant forms of the latter include Nalkarauke and Valkarauke. By the 1940s, when Tolkien began writing The Lord of the Rings, he had come to think of Balrog as Noldorin balch 'cruel' + rhaug 'demon', with a Quenya equivalent Malarauko (from nwalya- 'to torture' + rauko 'demon'). The last etymology, appearing in the invented languages Quendi and Eldar, derives Balrog as the Sindarin translation of the Quenya form Valarauko (Demon of Might). This etymology was published in The Silmarillion. Gandalf on the bridge of Khazad-dûm calls the Balrog "flame of Udûn" ( the Sindarin name of Morgoth's fortress Utumno). ## Real-world origins ### Sigelwara Tolkien was a professional philologist, a scholar of comparative and historical linguistics. The Balrog and other concepts in his writings derived from the Old English word Sigelwara, used in texts such as the Codex Junius to mean "Aethiopian". He wondered why the Anglo-Saxons would have had a word with this meaning, conjecturing that it had formerly had a different meaning. He emended the word to Sigelhearwan, and in his essay "Sigelwara Land", explored in detail the two parts of the word. He stated that Sigel meant "both sun and jewel", the former as it was the name of the Sun rune \*sowilō (ᛋ), the latter connotation from Latin sigillum, a seal. He decided that Hearwa was related to Old English heorð, "hearth", and ultimately to Latin carbo, "soot". He suggested from all this that Sigelhearwan implied "rather the sons of Muspell than of Ham", a class of demons in Northern mythology "with red-hot eyes that emitted sparks and faces black as soot". The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey states that this both "helped to naturalise the Balrog" and contributed to the Silmarils, which combined the nature of the sun and jewels. The Aethiopians suggested to Tolkien the Haradrim, a dark southern race of men. ### Old Norse, Old English A real-world etymological counterpart for the word "Balrog" existed long before Tolkien's languages, in Norse mythology; an epithet of the Norse god Odin was Báleygr, "fire-eyed". Joe Abbott, writing in Mythlore, notes that the Old Norse Voluspa mentions that the fire-demon Surt carries both a sword and a sviga laevi, a deadly whipping-stick or switch; he suggests that it is "a short step" from that to the Balrog's flaming whip. Abbott makes a connection, too, with the Beowulf poet's account of the monster Grendel: he notes that Tolkien wrote that Grendel was "physical enough in form and power, but vaguely felt as belonging to a different order of being, one allied to the malevolent 'ghosts' of the dead", and compares this with Aragorn's description of the Balrog as "both a shadow and a flame, strong and terrible". ### Moria and the Battle of Maldon Tolkien felt acutely the error made by the Anglo-Saxon commander, the ealdorman Byrhtnoth, at the Battle of Maldon, allowing the Vikings to step ashore and win the battle. Alexander Bruce, in Mythlore, comments that Tolkien may have used Gandalf's battle with the Balrog on the narrow bridge in Moria to "correct the behavior of the self-serving Byrhtnoth through the actions of the self-less Gandalf". Bruce notes that the Tolkien scholar Janet Brennan Croft also contrasts the two leaders. ### The fall of Gondolin and the fall of Troy There are multiple parallels between the Fall of Gondolin and the fall of Troy, as told in the Iliad, but again the tales differ. The Elf Ecthelion leads the charge against the Orcs, and fights Gothmog, the greatest Balrog; they wound each other and both fall into the king's fountain in Gondolin; both drown. Bruce compares this to how Aeneas rallies the Trojans, but fails, and sees king Priam perish. ## Adaptations The Balrog in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version was named Durin's Bane and had large wings like those of a bat. Peter Jackson's 2001 and 2002 films The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers had similar wings, expressing its "satanic, demonic nature". Earlier artists such as Ted Nasmith had depicted Balrogs without wings; Jackson's films used the design of Tolkien illustrator John Howe, making wings standard, in the same way that Jackson has made pointed ears standard for elves. A Balrog appears in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, with a similar visual design to Jackson's monster. Balrogs appear in Middle-earth computer and video games and merchandise. In the real-time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, and its sequel, both based on Jackson's movies, the Balrog can use its wings, although only in short leaps. In the role-playing game The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, also based on the Jackson movies, the Balrog uses its wings to fly into the air, and comes crashing down, sending a damaging shockwave of flames at the player. In another game based on Jackson's movies, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, the Balrog is a playable hero. A Balrog features in King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's 2017 album Murder of the Universe (2017) as a giant reanimated monster. Songwriter Stu Mackenzie explained: "It might not be the Balrog from Middle Earth, but he is a sort of fire demon." Early Dungeons & Dragons books featured Balrogs among other Middle-earth characters like Hobbits and Ents; after a lawsuit brought by the Tolkien Estate, these Tolkien-specific names were changed, the Balrogs becoming Balor, after the one-eyed monster of Irish mythology. ## In culture A now-defunct fantasy writing prize, the Balrog Award, was named after the monsters. The Japanese novel series Restaurant to Another World introduces a Balrog as a butler; this Balrog is described as polite.
19,032,852	Eldridge Recasner	1,164,319,827	American basketball player (born 1967)	[ "1967 births", "20th-century African-American sportspeople", "21st-century African-American people", "African-American basketball players", "American expatriate basketball people in Germany", "American expatriate basketball people in Turkey", "American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines", "American men's basketball players", "Atlanta Hawks players", "Basketball coaches from Louisiana", "Basketball players from New Orleans", "Brose Bamberg players", "Charlotte Hornets players", "Denver Nuggets players", "Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players", "Great Taste Coffee Makers players", "Houston Rockets players", "Living people", "Los Angeles Clippers players", "Philippine Basketball Association imports", "Point guards", "Sioux Falls Skyforce coaches", "Sportspeople from New Orleans", "Undrafted National Basketball Association players", "Washington Huskies men's basketball players", "Yakima Sun Kings players" ]	Eldridge David Recasner (born December 14, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. In college, he was a three-time All-Pac-10 Conference guard for the Washington Huskies men's basketball team. After college, he played in a variety of professional leagues such as the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), Europe and the Philippine Basketball Association before entering the NBA. He subsequently played for several National Basketball Association (NBA) teams including the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers. In the 1994–95 season, his fifth season after college, he earned the CBA MVP award while leading the Yakima Sun Kings to the league championship. After that CBA season was completed, he signed to play in the NBA at the end of the 1994–95 NBA season for the Nuggets. The following season, he earned a spot on the roster of the two-time defending champion Rockets. He played in the NBA for seven more seasons. He had a career 41% three-point shot field goal percentage and 89% free throw percentage in eight NBA seasons. In each of his first four full seasons in the NBA, he shot at least 40% from the three-point line, but he suffered injuries as a passenger during an accident in an automobile driven by Derrick Coleman before the 1999–2000 season and never achieved the same level of success after the accident. He later became an assistant coach for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. ## Amateur career Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Recasner was introduced to basketball in fifth grade by his uncles. His first organized game was in junior high school. During the first game, Recasner scored on the wrong basket because he had learned the game on a half-court one-basket basketball court. While growing up, he admired Dr. J, George Gervin, and Marques Johnson. He attended Alfred Lawless High School in New Orleans and was a high school teammate with Robert Pack. Recasner was a senior when Pack was a sophomore. Recasner was a better professional prospect than Pack and outscored Gary Payton five of nine times when the two point guards opposed each other in college. In junior high, Recasner wore jersey number 32 before switching to number 14 in high school in honor of his birthday, December 14, 1967. Recasner attended University of Washington where he played for the Huskies. He redshirted during his freshman 1985–86 season. Recasner was a member of the 1990 class at Washington, and he was a three-time All-Pac-10 guard who was selected to the Washington Huskies all-20th-century team. He was the first three-time captain of the Huskies. He led the Pac-10 in free throw shooting as a senior (88.4%). Recasner was an architecture major at Washington by his own account, but another account claims he was a black history major. Recasner once scored 29 points against the undefeated and number one ranked Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team while guarding Sean Elliott. The Wildcats won the game while scoring the most points the Huskies had ever given up (109). ## Professional career Recasner, a , 190 pounds (86 kg) guard, was never selected in the NBA draft. However, after spending the 1990–91 season with TTL Bamberg in Germany, he played in the Global Basketball Association in 1991–92. He also played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) for the Presto Ice Cream Kings together with Allan Caidic, Vergel Meneses, Onchie dela Cruz and others while he played during the Third Conference. Then, he returned to Washington to play in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1992–93 and 1994–95 seasons. He played in the CBA for the franchise located in Yakima, Washington, which was near to the Seattle metropolitan area where the University of Washington was located. He played in Turkey in 1993–94. After leading the Yakima Sun Kings to the CBA championships as the league MVP, he signed to a 10-day contract with the Denver Nuggets on March 3, 1995 and played in three games. For the 1995–96 NBA season he signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets. He signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks for the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons. He then signed with the Charlotte Hornets in January of the 1998–99 season where he stayed for parts of four seasons. He ended his career with two 10-day contracts for the L.A. Clippers in January 2002 after having been waived by the team. Recasner himself considers being signed by the two-time defending NBA Champions Houston Rockets the highlight of his career. At that point he had gone from playing in the CBA to the best team in the NBA. Recasner earned the starting point guard spot over Kenny Smith and Sam Cassell. In one of his first games as a starter, he went five for six from the three-point line in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons. Unfortunately, by the end of the season the Rockets had several players injured and several CBA players on their roster. His most productive seasons were the two seasons with Atlanta where he totaled over 250 rebounds, 200 assists and nearly 1000 points in 130 games. He played in four post-seasons with three teams. Three of the four teams advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs. Recasner posted a career 41% (239–584) three-point shot field goal percentage and ranked in the league's top 10 during the 1997–98 season with a 62–148 (.419) shooting percentage. His 1995–96 season three point statistics were better at 81–191 (.424), but he did not rank in the top 10 that season. He also posted an 89% (235–265) career free throw percentage. In a 1997 NBA Playoff game against the Chicago Bulls he got hot and scored 11 quick points in the fourth quarter to nearly help the Hawks comeback in the game to even the second-round playoff series at two games apiece. At one point after a hot shooting streak, the Bulls assigned Michael Jordan to defend Recasner and the Bulls then stopped the comeback. Recasner's defense also pressured Jordan into a travelling violation in the final minute of the game. However, efforts by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen saved the day for the Bulls. Recasner was such a good free throw shooter that once in 1998 during the midst of a 36 consecutive successful free throw streak he was fouled in a two-shot foul situation with his team down by three points and 2.3 seconds left. His team needed him to make the first and miss the second, but he was unable to miss. On October 27, 1999 he was hospitalized in an automobile driven by Derrick Coleman. Coleman had been driving a Sport utility vehicle and had collided with a tractor trailer and was charged with drunk driving. Coleman was eventually acquitted of the charges and found guilty of "unsafe movement". Recasner endured a fractured right shoulder, partially collapsed lung and other injuries, and a female passenger was also hospitalized. He missed 52 games due to the accident and when he returned to the lineup he only played in seven games. Recasner was very upset with Coleman who did not even check in on whether Recasner was O.K. for over a week after the accident. On Christmas Eve 1999 during his time on the injured reserve, Recasner dragged a Continental Airlines clerk across a table by his necktie in frustration while attempting to book a flight to Texas to visit his sister, who was involved in a serious car accident. Recasner was uncertain whether his sister would survive. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was sentenced to a 24-month deferred sentence, 45 hours of community service and ordered to pay \$200 in court costs. In 2004, he was named assistant coach of the Bellevue Blackhawks of the American Basketball Association. ## Personal Recasner lives in Bellevue, Washington, during the off-season. He and his wife Karen have four children: Sydney, Erin, Lauren, and Eldridge III. Recasner had wed on August 14, 1993. During his NBA career his mother, Joyce, and sister, Schwuan, lived in New Orleans, but he lived in Bellevue.
917,611	Nur Muhammad Taraki	1,173,195,548	First leader of socialist Afghanistan (1978–1979)	[ "1917 births", "1970s in Afghanistan", "1979 deaths", "1979 murders in Asia", "20th-century heads of state of Afghanistan", "20th-century novelists", "20th-century short story writers", "Afghan communists", "Afghan expatriates in India", "Afghan male short story writers", "Afghan novelists", "Afghan revolutionaries", "Afghan short story writers", "Assassinated heads of government", "Assassinated heads of state in Asia", "Columbia University alumni", "Executed communists", "Pashtun nationalists", "Pashtun people", "People from Ghazni Province", "People from Kabul Province", "People of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan", "People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan politicians", "Presidents of Afghanistan", "Prime Ministers of Afghanistan" ]	Nur Muhammad Taraki (Pashto: نور محمد ترکی; 14 July 1917 – 9 October 1979) was an Afghan revolutionary communist politician, journalist and writer. He was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) who served as its General Secretary from 1965 to 1979 and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council from 1978 to 1979. Taraki was born in Nawa, Ghazni Province, and graduated from Kabul University, after which he started his political career as a journalist. From the 1940s onward Taraki also wrote novels and short stories in the socialist realism style. Forming the PDPA at his residence in Kabul along with Babrak Karmal, he was elected as the party's General Secretary at its first congress. He ran as a candidate in the 1965 Afghan parliamentary election but failed to win a seat. In 1966 he published the Khalq, a party newspaper advocating for class struggle, but the government closed it down shortly afterward. In 1978 he, Hafizullah Amin and Babrak Karmal initiated the Saur Revolution and established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Taraki's leadership was short-lived and marked by controversies. The government was divided between two PDPA factions: the Khalqists (led by Taraki), the majority, and the Parchamites, the minority. Taraki along with his "protégé" Amin started a purge of the government and party that led to several high-ranking Parchamite members being sent into de facto exile by being assigned to serve overseas as ambassadors, and later started jailing domestic Parchamites. His regime locked up dissidents and oversaw massacres of villagers, citing the necessity of Red Terror by the Bolsheviks in Soviet Russia, that opponents of the Saur Revolution had to be eliminated. These factors, among others, led to a popular backlash that initiated a rebellion. Despite repeated attempts, Taraki was unable to persuade the Soviet Union to intervene in support of the restoration of civil order. Amin initiated most of these policies behind the scenes. Taraki's reign was marked by a cult of personality centered around him that Amin had cultivated. The state press and subsequent propaganda started to refer to him as the "Great Leader" and "Great Teacher", and his portrait became a common sight throughout the country. His relationship with Amin turned sour during his rule, ultimately resulting in Taraki's overthrow on 14 September 1979 and subsequent murder on 8 October, on Amin's orders, with Kabul press reporting that he died of illness. His death was a factor that led to the Soviet intervention in December 1979. ## Early life and career Taraki was born on 14 July 1917 to a Khilji Pashtun Tarakai peasant family in the Nawa District of Ghazni Province, part of what was then the Emirate of Afghanistan. He was the oldest of three children and attended a village school in Nawa, before leaving in 1932 what had become the Kingdom of Afghanistan, at the age of 15, to work in the port city of Bombay, India. There he met a Kandahari merchant family who employed him as a clerk for the Pashtun Trading Company. Taraki's first encounter with communism was during his night courses, where he met several Communist Party of India members who impressed him with their discussions on social justice and communist values. Another important event was his encounter with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a Pashtun nationalist and leader of the Red Shirt Movement in neighbouring India, who was an admirer of the works of Vladimir Lenin. In 1937, Taraki started working for Abdul Majid Zabuli, the Minister of Economics, who introduced him to several Russians. Later Taraki became Deputy Head of the Bakhtar News Agency and became known throughout the country as an author and poet. His best known book, the De Bang Mosaferi, highlights the socio-economic difficulties facing Afghan workers and peasants. His works were translated into Russian language in the Soviet Union, where his work was viewed as embodying scientific socialist themes. He was hailed by the Soviet Government as "Afghanistan's Maxim Gorky". On his visit to the Soviet Union Taraki was greeted by Boris Ponomarev, the Head of the International Department of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and other Communist Party of the Soviet Union members. Under Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan's prime ministership, suppression of radicals was common. However, because of his language skills, Taraki was sent to the Afghan Embassy in the United States in 1952. Within several months, Taraki began denouncing the Royal Afghan Government under King Zahir, and accused it of being autocratic and dictatorial. His denunciation of the Royal Afghan Government earned him much publicity in the United States. It also attracted unfavourable attention from authorities back home, who relieved him of his post and ordered him repatriated but stopped short of placing him under arrest. After a short period of unemployment, Taraki started working for the United States Overseas Mission in Kabul as an interpreter. He quit that job in 1958 and established his own translation company, the Noor Translation Bureau. Four years later, he started working for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, but quit in 1963 to focus on the establishment of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), a communist political party. At the founding congress of the PDPA, held in his own home in Kabul's Karte Char district, Taraki won a competitive election against Babrak Karmal to the post of general secretary on 1 January 1965. Karmal became second secretary. Taraki ran as a candidate for the PDPA during the September 1965 parliamentary election but did not win a seat. Shortly after the election, he launched Khalq, the first major left-wing newspaper in Afghanistan. The paper was banned within one month of its first printing. In 1967, less than two years after its founding, the PDPA split into several factions. The largest of these included Khalq (Masses) led by Taraki, and Parcham (Banner) led by Karmal. The main differences between the factions were ideological, with Taraki supporting the creation of a Leninist-like state, while Karmal wanted to establish a "broad democratic front". On 19 April 1978, a prominent leftist named Mir Akbar Khyber was assassinated and the murder was blamed on Mohammed Daoud Khan's Republic of Afghanistan. His death served as a rallying point for the pro-communist Afghans. Fearing a communist coup d'état, Daoud ordered the arrest of certain PDPA leaders, including Taraki and Karmal, while placing others such as Hafizullah Amin under house arrest. On 27 April 1978, the Saur Revolution was initiated, reportedly by Amin while still under house arrest. Khan was killed the next day along with most of his family. The PDPA rapidly gained control and on 1 May Taraki became Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, a role which subsumed the responsibilities of both president and Chairman of the Council of Ministers (literally prime minister in Western parlance). The country was then renamed the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), installing a regime that would last until April 1992. ## Leadership ### Establishment and purge Taraki was appointed Chairman of the Revolutionary Council (head of state) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers (head of government) while retaining his post as PDPA general secretary (supreme leader). He initially formed a government which consisted of both Khalqists and Parchamites; Karmal became Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council while Amin became Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Internal problems soon arose and several prominent Khalqists accused the Parcham faction of conspiring against the Taraki government. A Khalqi purge of the Parcham then began with the faction's most prominent members being sent out of the country: Karmal became Afghan Ambassador to Czechoslovakia and Mohammad Najibullah became Afghan Ambassador to Iran. Internal struggle was not only to be found between the Khalqist and Parchamites; tense rivalry between Taraki and Amin had begun in the Khalq faction with both vying for control. Karmal was recalled from Czechoslovakia but rather than returning to Afghanistan he went into hiding with Anahita Ratebzad, his friend and former Afghan ambassador to Yugoslavia, as he feared execution if he returned. Muhammad Najibullah followed them. Taraki consequently stripped them of all official titles and political authority. The new government, under Taraki, launched a campaign of repression against opponents of the Saur Revolution, which killed thousands, mostly at Pul-e-Charkhi prison. Estimates for the number executed at the prison, between April 1978 and December 1979, are as high as 27,000. ### Socio-economic changes #### Land reform Taraki's Government initiated a land reform on 1 January 1979 which attempted to limit the amount of land a family could own. Those whose landholdings exceeded the limit saw their property requisitioned by the government without compensation. The Afghan leadership believed the reform would be met with popular approval amongst the rural population while weakening the power of the bourgeoisie. The reform was declared complete in mid-1979 and the government proclaimed that 665,000 hectares (approximately 1,632,500 acres) had been redistributed. The government also declared that only 40,000 families, or 4 percent of the population, had been negatively affected by the land reform. Contrary to government expectations the reform was neither popular nor productive. Agricultural harvests plummeted and the reform itself led to rising discontent amongst Afghans. When Taraki realized the degree of popular dissatisfaction with the reform he quickly abandoned the policy. However, the land reform was gradually implemented under the later Karmal administration, although the proportion of land area impacted by the reform is unclear. #### Other reforms In the months following the coup, Taraki and other party leaders initiated other radical Marxist policies that challenged both traditional Afghan values and well-established traditional power structures in rural areas. Taraki introduced women to political life and legislated an end to forced marriage. However, he ruled over a nation with a deep Islamic religious culture and a long history of resistance to any type of strong centralized governmental control, and consequently many of these reforms were not actually implemented nationwide. Popular resentment of Taraki's drastic policy changes triggered surging unrest throughout the country, reducing government control to only a limited area. The strength of this anti-reform backlash would ultimately lead to the Afghan civil war. Traditional practices that were deemed feudal—such as usury, bride price and forced marriage—were banned, and the minimum age of marriage was raised. The government stressed education for both women and men, and launched an ambitious literacy campaign. Under the previous administration of Mohammad Daoud Khan, a literacy programme created by UNESCO had been launched with the objective of eliminating illiteracy within 20 years. The government of Taraki attempted to reduce this time frame from 20 to four years, an unrealistic goal in light of the shortage of teachers and limited government capacity to oversee such an initiative. The duration of the project was later lengthened to seven years by the Soviets in the aftermath of the Soviet intervention. The cultural focus of the UNESCO programme was declared "rubbish" by Taraki, who instead chose to introduce a political orientation by utilizing PDPA leaflets and left-wing pamphlets as basic reading material. On 19 August 1978, Afghan Independence Day, Taraki started the broadcasts of Afghanistan National Television, the first TV channel in the country. ### Afghan–Soviet relations Taraki signed a Twenty-Year Treaty of Friendship with the Soviet Union on 5 December 1978 which greatly expanded Soviet aid to his regime. Following the Herat uprising, Taraki contacted Alexei Kosygin, chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers, and asked for "practical and technical assistance with men and armament". Kosygin was unfavorable to the proposal on the basis of the negative political repercussions such an action would have for his country, and he rejected all further attempts by Taraki to solicit Soviet military aid in Afghanistan. Following Kosygin's rejection Taraki requested aid from Leonid Brezhnev, the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Soviet head of state, who warned him that full Soviet intervention "would only play into the hands of our enemies – both yours and ours". Brezhnev also advised Taraki to ease up on the drastic social reforms and to seek broader support for his regime. In 1979, Taraki attended a conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana, Cuba. On his way back he stopped in Moscow on 20 March and met with Brezhnev, foreign minister Andrei Gromyko and other Soviet officials. It was rumoured that Karmal was present at the meeting in an attempt to reconcile Taraki's Khalq faction and the Parcham against Amin and his followers. At the meeting, Taraki was successful in negotiating some Soviet support, including the redeployment of two Soviet armed divisions at the Soviet–Afghan border, the sending of 500 military and civilian advisers and specialists, and the immediate delivery of Soviet armed equipment sold at 25 percent below the original price. However, the Soviets were not pleased about the developments in Afghanistan and Brezhnev impressed upon Taraki the need for party unity. Despite reaching this agreement with Taraki, the Soviets continued to be reluctant to intervene further in Afghanistan and repeatedly refused Soviet military intervention within Afghan borders during Taraki's rule as well as later during Amin's short rule. ### Taraki–Amin break In the first months after the April 1978 revolution, Hafizullah Amin and Taraki had a very close relationship. Taraki reportedly remarked, "Amin and I are like nail and flesh, not separable". Amin set about constructing a personality cult centered on Taraki. In party and government meetings Amin always referred to Taraki as "The Great Leader", "The Star of the East" or "The Great Thinker" among other titles, while Amin was given such titles as "The True Disciple and Student". Amin would later come to realize he had created a monster when the Kim Il Sung-style personality cult he had created inspired Taraki to become overly confident and believe in his own brilliance. Taraki began discounting Amin's suggestions, fostering in Amin a deep sense of resentment. As their relationship turned increasingly sour, a power struggle developed between them for the control of the Afghan Army. Their relations came to a head later that year when Taraki accused Amin of nepotism after Amin had appointed several family members to high-ranking positions. On 3 August 1978, a KGB delegation visited Afghanistan, and on first impression of general Oleg Kalugin, Taraki "did not have the physical strength or the backing to continue to lead the country for long", adding that Amin was a "far more impressive figure". Taraki could count on the support of four prominent army officers in his struggle against Amin: Aslam Watanjar, Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy, Sherjan Mazdoryar and Assadullah Sarwari. These men had joined the PDPA not because of ideological reasons, but instead due to their lofty political ambitions. They also had developed a close relationship with Alexander Puzanov, the Soviet ambassador in Afghanistan, who was eager to use them against Amin. After the Herat uprising on 17 March 1979, the PDPA Politburo and the Revolutionary Council established the Homeland Higher Defence Council, to which Taraki was elected its chairman while Amin became its deputy. At around the same time, Taraki left his post as Council of Ministers chairman and Amin was elected his successor. Amin's new position offered him little real influence, however; as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Amin had the power to elect every member of the cabinet, but all of them had to be approved by the head of state, Taraki. In reality, through this maneuver Taraki had effectively reduced Amin's power base by forcing him to relinquish his hold on the Afghan Army in order to take on the supposedly heavy responsibilities of his new but ultimately powerless post. During Taraki's foreign visit to the 6th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Cuba, his Gang of Four had received an intelligence report that Amin was planning to arrest or kill them. This report, it turned out, was incorrect. Nonetheless, the Gang of Four were ordered to assassinate Amin, its leader Sarwari selecting his nephew Aziz Akbari to conduct the assassination. However, Akbari was not informed that he was the chosen assassin or that it was a secret mission, and he confided the information to contacts in the Soviet embassy. The embassy responded by warning Amin of the assassination attempt, thereby saving him from certain death. ## Assassination On 11 September 1979, Chairman Taraki was greeted by Amin at the airport on his return to Kabul from Moscow. The flight was scheduled to land at 2:30, but Amin forced the delay of the landing by an hour as a demonstration to Taraki of his control over the government. Shortly afterward, Taraki, instead of reporting to the cabinet about the Havana Summit, indirectly tried to dismiss Amin from his position as per the plot of the Soviets. He sought to neutralise Amin's power and influence by requesting that he serve overseas as an ambassador, but Amin turned down the proposal, shouting "You are the one who should quit! Because of drink and old age you have taken leave of your senses." The following day, Taraki invited Amin to the Arg (the Presidential palace) for lunch with him and the Gang of Four. Amin turned down the offer, stating he would prefer their resignation rather than lunching with them. Soviet Ambassador Puzanov managed to persuade Amin to make the visit to the palace along with Sayed Daoud Tarun, the Chief of Police, and Nawab Ali (an intelligence officer). Inside the palace on 14 September, bodyguards within the building opened fire on the visitors. Tarun was killed but Amin only sustained injuries and escaped to his car, driving to the Ministry of Defence. Shortly afterwards, Amin placed the Army on high alert, ordered the detainment of Taraki, and telephoned Puzanov about the incident. That evening at 6:30, tanks from the 4th Armoured Corps entered the city and stood at government positions. Amin returned to the Arg with a contingent of Army officers and placed Taraki under arrest. The Gang of Four, however, had "disappeared", taking refuge at the Soviet embassy. The Soviets tried to dissuade Amin from expelling Taraki and his associates from their positions, but Amin refused. On 15 September, a Soviet battalion at Bagram Air Base and the embassy were put in position in an attempt to rescue Taraki, but they were never ordered to make a move as they felt that Amin's forces had the edge. At 8pm on 16 September, Radio Kabul announced that Taraki had informed the PDPA Politburo that he was no longer able to continue his duties, and that the Politburo subsequently elected Amin as the new General Secretary. After Taraki's arrest, Amin reportedly discussed the incident with Leonid Brezhnev in which he said, "Taraki is still around. What should I do with him?" Brezhnev replied that it was his choice. Amin, who now believed he had the full support of the Soviets, ordered the death of Taraki. Taraki's death occurred on 8 October 1979, when he was (according to most accounts) suffocated with pillows by three men under Amin's orders. Taraki did not resist nor did he say anything as he was instructed by the men to lie down on a bed to be suffocated. His body was secretly buried by the men at night. The news shocked Brezhnev, who had vowed to protect Taraki. It was also one of the factors of the Soviet intervention two months later. The Afghan media reported two days later that the ailing Taraki had died of a "serious illness", omitting any mention of his murder. ## Post-death On the day that Taraki was assassinated, 28 men and women from Taraki's extended family (including his wife and brother) were jailed at Pul-e-Charkhi prison. After Karmal came into power, family members including Taraki's widow were released. On 2 January 1980 edition of the Kabul New Times (the day of the PDPA's 15th anniversary), the education minister Anahita Ratebzad called Taraki "the martyred son of the country", and denounced Hafizullah Amin as "this savage despot, beastly, lunatic, and recognised spy of the imperialism of America". ## Books ### Novels - De Bang musāfirī, his first and best-known novel, published in 1957, The Journey of Bang looks at the tribal Pashtun world through Marxist lenses, "an imitation in Pashto of the works of the Soviet novelist Maxim Gorky" - Ṡaṛah, criticism of feudal lords of Afghanistan - Sangsār - Spīn - Be tarbiyatah zoy ### Short stories - Mochī : da lanḍo kīso ṭolagah ### Essays - Pahāṛon̲ kā baiṭā : ek Pukhtun kī dāstān-i alam'', written in Urdu, chiefly on socio-cultural and economical conditions in Balochistan
908,826	Broadway Limited	1,168,437,732	Former Pennsylvania Railroad and Amtrak passenger train	[ "Former Amtrak routes", "Former long distance Amtrak routes", "Named passenger trains of the United States", "Night trains of the United States", "North American streamliner trains", "Passenger rail transportation in Illinois", "Passenger rail transportation in Indiana", "Passenger rail transportation in New Jersey", "Passenger rail transportation in New York (state)", "Passenger rail transportation in Ohio", "Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania", "Passenger trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad", "Railway services discontinued in 1995", "Railway services introduced in 1912" ]	The Broadway Limited was a passenger train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) between New York City and Chicago. It operated from 1912 to 1995. It was the Pennsylvania's premier train, competing directly with the New York Central Railroad's 20th Century Limited. The Broadway Limited continued operating after the formation of Penn Central (PC) in February 1968, one of the few long-distance trains to do so. PC conveyed the train to Amtrak in 1971, who operated it until 1995. The train's name referred not to Broadway in Manhattan, but rather to the "broad way" of PRR's four-track right-of-way along the majority of its route. ## History ### Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Special was one of nine express trains the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) operated between New York City and Chicago. On November 14, 1912, PRR renamed it the Broadway Limited, to avoid confusion with the similarly-named Pennsylvania Limited. The name, though spelled as "Broadway", honored PRR's four-track "broad way" main line. In the heavyweight era the Broadway Limited was an extra-fare, all sleeper (no coach service) train with an open-platform observation car at the end, such as Continental Hall and Washington Hall. The scheduled running time was 20 hours until it was reduced to 18 hours in 1932. Further reductions took place between 1932 and 1935, with the final heavyweight running time at 16 hours, 30 minutes. On June 15, 1938, the Broadway Limited received lightweight streamlined cars to replace its heavyweight steel cars; on the same day rival New York Central Railroad's (NYC) 20th Century Limited was streamlined. Raymond Loewy styled the new cars and the PRR GG1 electric locomotive as well as some streamlined steam locomotives for PRR, notably the S1 and T1 Duplex drive engines. The Broadway Limited was one of four pre-World War II PRR trains to receive such equipment; the others being the General (New York–Chicago), Spirit of St. Louis (New York–St. Louis), and Liberty Limited (Washington–Chicago). Other PRR trains continued to use heavyweight cars until after the end of World War II. Most of the 1938 cars were built new by Pullman-Standard between March and May of that year, but the diners, RPO and baggage cars were rebuilt from heavyweight cars by the railroad's Altoona shops. The Broadway Limited was the only PRR train to be completely re-equipped with lightweight sleeping cars before World War II. The train's running time was further reduced to 16 hours. In 1949 PRR again re-equipped the Broadway Limited with new streamlined equipment. The all-sleeper train carried compartments, bedrooms, duplex rooms, roomettes for a single occupant and drawing rooms for three persons. The buffet-lounge-observation cars built by Pullman Standard were named Mountain View and Tower View. They had squared-off observation ends, instead of the tapered or rounded ends in the 1938 version, and contained two master rooms with radio and showers. Also introduced was a twin-unit dining car and a mid-train lounge car, such as Harbor Rest, described by a PRR brochure as "cheerful, spacious ... richly appointed for leisure with deep, soft carpets ... latest periodicals are in the libraries." The February 1956 Official Guide listed the westbound Broadway Limited (Train 29) consist as having fourteen cars normally assigned: nine sleeping cars between New York and Chicago, one additional sleeping car from New York continuing through to Los Angeles on the Santa Fe's Super Chief, the twin-unit dining car, lounge car, and observation car. The train departed New York at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time and arrived at Chicago the following morning at 9:00 a.m. Central Time. The Broadway Limited was not immune to the decline in passenger rail transport, though it resisted longer than most. The competitor 20th Century Limited began carrying coaches in 1957. The PRR in October 1957 eliminated the train's transcontinental sleeping cars connecting with the original California Zephyr and the Santa Fe's Super Chief. Factors in the termination were declining ridership, and in the case of the Super Chief the time-consuming transfer of a sleeping car between Union Station, which the PRR used, and Dearborn Station, which the Santa Fe used. In late 1967, when the Illinois Central Railroad's Panama Limited also began carrying coaches, the Broadway Limited became the last "all-Pullman" train in the United States, a distinction that did not last long. PRR merged the Broadway Limited with the General on December 13, 1967. The train was one of the few long-distance trains to survive the merger of PRR and NYC into the Penn Central (PC). Also, the train began stopping at some smaller cities it had bypassed until then. ### Amtrak Amtrak's incorporators selected the Broadway Limited as the new company's sole New York–Chicago route. Amtrak's Broadway Limited had a Washington, D.C. section east of Harrisburg that used the Port Road Branch. Amtrak refurbished the train in 1972, but the improvements did not persist. Author George H. Drury was critical in a 1974 Trains article: "In May 1972... [t]he train was as fresh and new as a spring bride. In December 1973 the Broadway looked as though Amtrak had found a mistress elsewhere." In the 1970s, the Broadway Limited experienced chronic lateness due to poor track conditions in the Midwest. The route changed in 1979 when PC successor Conrail abandoned trackage west of Youngstown, Ohio. These changes included: - A minor re-route over the ex-New York Central in Gary, Indiana in 1979. - A major re-route over the ex-Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in Indiana and Ohio, due to Conrail's desire to abandon part of the former Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway. This change took effect on November 10, 1990. This resulted in Fort Wayne, Indiana losing service; a new station was built 25 miles (40 km) to the north in Waterloo, and was used by Amtrak's Capitol Limited. The new Broadway Limited route also resulted in the restoration of service to Akron, Ohio and Youngstown, Ohio. Amtrak ultimately discontinued the Broadway Limited on September 10, 1995, in the face of significant funding problems. The Broadway Limited then earned \$6.6 million against costs of \$24 million. Amtrak replaced it with the all-coach Three Rivers, which would in turn be discontinued in 2005. ## Equipment Pullman-Standard built the entirety of the equipment pool for the 1938 lightweight re-equipping, with the exception of two dining cars which were rebuilt in PRR's Altoona shops. The equipment delivered included eight 18-roomette sleeping cars; two sleeper-bar-lounges; four 4-compartment, 2-drawing room, 4-double bedroom sleeping cars; two 13-double bedroom sleeping cars; and two View series sleeper-buffet-lounge-observation cars. The dining car seated 24 at tables (in both 1x1 and 2x2 configurations) and featured a small bar at one end with seating for two. The sleeper-bar-lounge included a secretary's room, barber shop, shower-bath, and a bar/lounge with both booth and chair seating. The Broadway Limited received additional Pullman equipment in 1949. This included Harbor Cove and Harbor Rest, sleeper-bar-lounges with three double bedrooms, and Mountain View and Tower View, sleeper-buffet-lounge-observation cars with two master rooms and a double bedroom. The Broadway Limited received coaches for the first time in 1967, when it merged with the General. Under PC the train carried "two or more coaches, two lounges, twin-unit diner, and four sleepers." This was better than most remaining passenger trains, which often had only two-three cars. Amtrak singled out the Broadway Limited for special treatment and in 1972 completely refurbished its equipment, most of which was ex-PC, although former Union Pacific Railroad sleeping cars were also used. Amtrak also added a Slumbercoach to the consist. In 1974 Amtrak tried out rebuilt 6-bedroom, 8-roomette ex-Rock Island sleeping cars, but their limited capacity reduced revenue. The Broadway Limited began receiving rebuilt Heritage Fleet cars in 1980, and Amfleet coaches thereafter. 68 cars were rebuilt at a total cost of \$9.8 million.
2,352,349	R. Carlos Nakai	1,169,605,963	American flutist	[ "1946 births", "20th-century Native Americans", "21st-century Native Americans", "American people of Ute descent", "Educators from Arizona", "Living people", "Military personnel from Arizona", "Musicians from Arizona", "Native American flautists", "Native American people from Arizona", "Navajo musicians", "Northern Arizona University alumni", "People from Flagstaff, Arizona", "University of Arizona alumni", "Writers from Arizona" ]	Raymond Carlos Nakai (born April 16, 1946) is a Native American flutist of Navajo and Ute heritage. Nakai played brass instruments in high school and college, and auditioned for the Armed Forces School of Music after a two-year period in the United States Navy. He began playing a traditional Native American cedar flute after an accident left him unable to play the trumpet. Largely self-taught, he released his first album Changes in 1983, and afterward signed a contract with Canyon Records, who produced more than thirty of his albums in subsequent years. His music prominently features original compositions for the flute inspired by traditional Native American melodies. Nakai has collaborated with musicians William Eaton, Peter Kater, Philip Glass, Nawang Khechog, Paul Horn, and Keola Beamer. He has received 11 Grammy Award nominations for his albums. ## Biography ### Early life and education Raymond Carlos Nakai was born in Flagstaff, Arizona on April 16, 1946, to a family of Navajo and Ute descent. His father Raymond Nakai served as the Chairman of the Navajo Nation from 1963 to 1970. He now resides in Tucson, Arizona. As a child he would audition tapes for a Navajo language radio show hosted by his parents; in doing so, he heard a recording of William Horn Cloud, a Lakota musician from the Pine Ridge Reservation, playing the flute. When he enrolled in a high school on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in Arizona, he sought to play the flute in the school band, but was assigned the cornet instead, which, he later said, he was less interested in. He began studying at Northern Arizona University in 1966, where he played brass instruments in the marching band. As a second-year student, he was drafted into the United States Navy, and spent two years studying communications and electronics in Hawai'i and the south Pacific. He auditioned for the Royal Hawaiian Band, but was turned down as he was not Hawaiian himself. He continued to receive musical training while in the military. He returned to the Navajo reservation in 1971, where he had a difficult period; several of his classmates had been killed in the Vietnam War. He passed the highly competitive auditions for the Armed Forces School of Music, and was 28th on the waiting list for admission. Playing with the Armed Forces Band became impossible after an auto accident damaged his mouth, making it impossible to produce the correct embouchure to continue playing brass instruments. ### Musical career After his accident, Nakai had a brief struggle with drugs and alcohol. In 1972 he was given a traditional cedar flute, which he gradually taught himself to play, going on to purchase an instrument from Oliver William Jones, a flute maker from California who Nakai met while working as a vendor at a museum. Jones would continue to supply Nakai with flutes for several years. Nakai found it difficult to expand his repertoire due to the absence of recordings or scores for traditional flute music; he therefore began to learn vocal music, and adapted many traditional songs for the flute. He returned to Northern Arizona University to earn a Bachelor's Degree in 1979 and later earned a master's degree in American Indian studies from the University of Arizona. He taught graphic art at a high school until 1983; his wife also worked as a teacher at the time. Nakai began recording his music on cassettes, and selling them on the Navajo Reservation. After a period of little success, he played his music during an exhibition at the Heard Museum, where a representative of Canyon Records bought one of his cassettes. His playing impressed the museum's administrators, who offered him a job; Nakai subsequently worked for the museum for three years. He recorded the album Changes in 1983, and sold it independently; soon afterward, he signed a contract with Canyon Records, who would release more than thirty of his recordings over the next decades. By 2016, Nakai had recorded more than thirty commercial albums with Canyon records and several more with other producers, and had sold more than 3.5 million records. These recordings included several collaborations, including with the Japanese folk ensemble Wind Travelin' Band, the Philadelphia Orchestra's Israeli cellist Udi Bar-David, guitarist William Eaton, American composer Philip Glass, Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog, flutist Paul Horn, and slack key guitar player Keola Beamer. ### Genre and style Nakai's music prominently features improvisations on the Native American cedar flute. He also plays the eagle-bone whistle, and uses synthesizers, chanting, and sounds from nature. Although he occasionally plays arrangements of traditional melodies, most of his music attempts to "[create] original compositions that capture the essence of his heritage in highly personalized ways." Nakai states: "I build upon the tribal context, while still retaining its essence. Much of what I do builds upon and expresses the environment and experience that I’m having at the moment." His collaborations have included works produced with musicians of different genres, including jazz, western classical music, and traditional music from different parts of the world. Nakai also composed a few "light-hearted" orchestral works. Although his music has been popular among enthusiasts of New Age music, he has disagreed with that categorization. ### Recognition and legacy Many of Nakai's records have been critically and commercially successful. Two albums, Earth Spirit (1987) and Canyon Trilogy (1989), were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Music review website AllMusic called Canyon Trilogy "[elegant] in its simplicity", and referred to Earth Spirit as "an outstanding CD from a soulful man." Nakai's 1995 collaboration with William Eaton, Feather, Stone, and Light, topped the New Age music album charts for 13 weeks, and was listed as a Billboard Critic's choice. He has been nominated for the Grammy Award eleven times: first in 1993 for Ancestral Voices in the Best Traditional Folk Album category, and later eight times in the Best New Age Album category, and twice in the Best Native American Album category. He has been described as one of the "most prolific and innovative artists" within his genre. Nakai developed a system of tablature notation, commonly known as Nakai tablature, that could be used to represent Native American music in a notation similar to that of Western classical music. It could be used across different flute types, as notes in it corresponded to intervals from the fundamental frequency of the flute, rather than to an absolute frequency. Nakai was featured on the 1999 film Songkeepers, which depicted five Native American flute players — Nakai, Tom Mauchahty-Ware, Sonny Nevaquaya, Hawk Littlejohn, Kevin Locke — talking about their instruments and songs, and the role of the flute and its music in their tribes. Nakai's 1985 composition Cycles was used by the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1988 as the music for its ballet Nightchant. In 1993, Nakai played the flute as a soloist for the Phoenix Symphony's world premiere of a concerto for the ceder flute, composed by James DeMars. In 2005, Nakai was inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame. Nakai was awarded the Arizona Governor's Arts Award in 1992. He received an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University in 1994, and the NAUAA Dwight Patterson (1934) Alumnus of the Year Award in 2001. The Library of Congress has more than 30 of his recordings preserved in the American Folklife Center. ## Discography Nakai's first album was released in 1983 by Canyon Records. He has since released forty other albums through Canyon and appeared as a guest on other labels. ## Publications
1,912,979	Mega Man (1987 video game)	1,172,754,148	1987 video game	[ "1987 video games", "Android (operating system) games", "Cancelled Sega Saturn games", "Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year winners", "Lavastorm games", "Mega Man games", "Mobile games", "Nintendo Entertainment System games", "Platform games", "PlayStation (console) games", "Side-scrolling video games", "Single-player video games", "Superhero video games", "Video games developed in Japan", "Video games scored by Manami Matsumae", "Video games set in Oceania", "Video games set on fictional islands", "Virtual Console games", "Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS", "Virtual Console games for Wii U" ]	Mega Man, known as in Japan, is a platform game developed and published by Capcom in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was directed by Akira Kitamura, with Nobuyuki Matsushima as lead programmer, and is the first game of the Mega Man franchise and the original video game series. Mega Man was produced by a small team specifically for the home console market, a first for Capcom, which previously focused on arcade video games. The game follows the struggle of the humanoid robot and player-character Mega Man against the mad scientist Dr. Wily and the six "Robot Masters" under his control. Mega Man's nonlinear gameplay lets the player choose the order in which to complete its initial six stages. Each culminates in a boss battle against one of the Robot Masters that awards the player-character a unique weapon. Part of the strategy of the game is that the player must carefully choose the order in which to tackle the stages so that they can earn the weapons that will be most useful for future stages. Critics praised Mega Man for its overall design. Mega Man established many of the gameplay, story, and graphical conventions that would define the ensuing sequels, subseries, and spin-offs in the Mega Man franchise. The game has since been re-released in game compilations such as Mega Man Legacy Collection, ported to mobile phones, and become a part of console emulation services. A remake with 3D graphics, titled Mega Man Powered Up, was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2006. ## Plot In the year 20XX, robots developed to assist mankind are commonplace thanks to the efforts of renowned robot designer Dr. Light. However, one day, these robots go out of control and start attacking humans, among them six advanced humanoid robots created by Dr. Light for industrial purposes. Known as the "Robot Masters", they consist of Cut Man, Guts Man, Ice Man, Bomb Man, Fire Man, and Elec Man. Dr. Light realizes that the culprit responsible for these attacks is his old rival Dr. Wily, but is unsure of what to do. His helper robot, Rock, having a strong sense of justice, offers to be converted into a fighting robot to stop Dr. Wily's plans, dubbing himself Mega Man. In time, he defeats the six Robot Masters and recovers their central cores, then confronts Dr. Wily within his Pacific-based robot factory, where he is manufacturing copies of Light's robots. After defeating replicas of the Robot Masters, as well as several robots designed specifically by Wily to defeat him, Mega Man confronts Wily in a final showdown and defeats him before returning home to his family. The initial Western release of the game, while keeping the same basic plot, significantly changed some details from the original Japanese manual. In this version, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily (who is portrayed as Dr. Light's former assistant) co-create the humanoid robot Mega Man alongside the six Robot Masters, each of whom were designed for the benefit of Monsteropolis's citizens (no such place existed in the original plot). Dr. Wily, angered by Light taking credit for their work and desiring to use his creations for criminal purposes, steals the Robot Masters and reprograms them, then creates his own army of robots to seize control of Monsteropolis and declare it his own personal empire. Dr. Light, horrified by Wily's betrayal, sends Mega Man to destroy the Robot Masters and free Monsteropolis from Wily's machines. ## Gameplay Mega Man consists of six side-scrolling platform levels freely chosen by the player. In each level, the player-character, Mega Man, fights through various enemies and obstacles before facing a "Robot Master" boss at the level's end. Upon defeating the boss, the player assimilates the Robot Master's signature attack, or "Special Weapon", into Mega Man's arsenal for the rest of the game. Unlike the standard Mega Buster (Rock Buster in Japan), the Robot Master powers have limited ammunition replenished by collecting ammunition cells dropped by defeated enemies at random. Enemies also drop energy cells that replenish Mega Man's health gauge. While the player is free to proceed through the game in any order, each Robot Master is especially vulnerable to a specific weapon, which encourages the player to complete certain stages before others. The player can also revisit cleared levels. Besides the weapons taken from the Robot Masters, the player is able to pick up a platform generator item known as the "Magnet Beam" in Elec Man's stage. Mega Man also features a scoring system where players score points for defeating enemies, and earn extra points for collecting power-ups from fallen enemies and for clearing each stage. Each Robot Master was worth a random number between 50,000 and 100,000 points whereas Dr. Wily was always worth 200,000 points. The scoring system was removed in later Mega Man games as it was found to provide no meaningful benefit to players and felt unnecessary to designers. When all six Robot Master stages are completed, the seventh and last stage appears in the middle of the stage select menu. This stage, in which the player traverses Dr. Wily's robot factory, is a chain of four regular stages linked together, each containing at least one new boss. During these final stages, the six Robot Masters must also be fought again in a predetermined order before the final confrontation against Dr. Wily. As Mega Man's ammo is not restored between stages, every action the player takes is consequential. ## Development Before Mega Man, Capcom primarily made arcade games, and their console releases were mostly ports of these titles. In the mid-1980s, Capcom made plans to develop Mega Man specifically for the Japanese home console market. They decided to bring in fresh, young talent for the small team, including artist Keiji Inafune, a recent college graduate who started on the Street Fighter team. Inafune recalled that the Mega Man development team worked extremely hard to complete the final product, with a project supervisor and lead designer who sought perfection in every possible aspect of the game. The development team for Mega Man consisted of only six people. Inafune (credited as "Inafking") designed and illustrated nearly all of the game's characters and enemies, as well as the Japanese Rockman logo, box art, and instruction manual. He was also responsible for rendering these designs into graphical sprite form. "We didn't have [a lot of] people, so after drawing character designs, I was actually doing the dotting (pixelation) for the Nintendo," Inafune stated. "Back then, people weren't specialized and we had to do a lot of different things because there was so few people, so I really ended up doing all the characters." Inafune was influenced by the eponymous protagonist of Osamu Tezuka's manga Astro Boy in his Mega Man designs. Mega Man is colored blue because it seemed that the color had the most shades in the console's 56-color palette (cyan included), and that selection was used to enhance Mega Man's detail. Although he is often credited for designing the character, Inafune insists that he "only did half of the job in creating him", as his mentor developed the basic character concept before Inafune's arrival. The basic sprites for Roll and Dr. Light were created before Inafune joined the project, and the designs for Cut Man, Ice Man, Fire Man, and Guts Man were in process. Aside from normal enemies, Inafune's first character was Elec Man, inspired by American comic book characters. The artist has commented that Elec Man has always been his favorite design. The designs for Dr. Light and Dr. Wily were based on Santa Claus and Albert Einstein, respectively; the latter character was meant to represent an archetypal "mad scientist". The team had initially considered names such as "Mighty Kid", "Knuckle Kid", and "Rainbow Man" before settling on their final decisions. The "Rainbow" name was considered because the character could change into seven colors based on the weapon selected. The production team chose a music motif when naming the main characters in Mega Man. The protagonist's original name is Rock and his sister's name is Roll, a play on the term "rock and roll". This type of naming would later be extended to many characters throughout the series. One of the original storylines considered by the team but not used in the final game was to have Roll be kidnapped, and Rock had to rescue her. Another idea had included a boss fight against a giant Roll near the end of the game. The team decided to incorporate anime elements for the game's animation. Inafune explained, "[Mega Man's] hand transforms into a gun and you can actually see it come out of his arm. We wanted to make sure that the animation and the motion was realistic and actually made sense. So with Mega Man, we had this perfect blending of game character with animation ideas." The gameplay for Mega Man was inspired by the game rock paper scissors. The project supervisor wanted a simple system that offered "deep gameplay". Each weapon deals a large amount of damage to one specific Robot Master, others have little to no effect against them, and there is no single weapon that dominates all the others. Mega Man was originally able to crouch, but the team decided against it since it made players' ability to determine the height of onscreen projectiles more difficult. Naoya Tomita (credited as "Tom Pon") began work on Mega Man'''s scenic backgrounds immediately after his Capcom training. Tomita proved himself amongst his peers by overcoming the challenges of the console's limited power through maximizing the use of background elements. Mega Man was scored by Manami Matsumae (credited as "Chanchacorin Manami"), who composed the music, created the sound effects, and programmed the data in three months, using a sound driver programmed by Yoshihiro Sakaguchi (credited as "Yuukichan's Papa"). The musical notes were translated one by one into the computer language. Matsumae was challenged by the creative limits of three notes available at any one time, and when she was unable to write songs, she created the sound effects. When the game was localized for distribution in America, Capcom changed the title of the game from Rockman to Mega Man. This moniker was created by Capcom's then-Senior Vice President Joseph Morici, who claimed it was changed merely because he did not like the original name. "That title was horrible," Morici said. "So I came up with Mega Man, and they liked it enough to keep using it for the U.S. games." 1UP.com's Nadia Oxford attributed this change to Capcom's belief that American children would be more interested in a game with the latter title. ## Reception Critics received Mega Man well. AllGame described the NES version of the game as a "near-perfect blend of action, challenge and audio-visual excellence" and awarded it five stars, their highest rating. Lucas M. Thomas of IGN described the game as an "undeniable classic" for the NES, noting its graphics, innovative weapon-based platform gameplay, and music. IGN editor Matt Casamassina proclaimed, "Mega Man is one of the best examples of great graphics, amazing music and near-perfect gameplay rolled into one cartridge". GameSpot writers Christian Nutt and Justin Speer identified the game as a "winner in gameplay" granted its "low-key presentation". Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com likewise outlined it as a "charming (if slightly rough) start for the series". Whether positive or negative, Mega Man has been commonly perceived as very difficult and is listed among the difficult games of Nintendo, being described by USGamer as “the introduction of the Nintendo Hard difficulty”. Casamassina found the game the hardest in the franchise, and among the hardest titles on the NES. Thomas observed that its combination of high difficulty and short length hurt its replayability. According to 1UP.com, the "Nintendo-hard" Mega Man bosses set the game apart from its two immediate and more popular sequels. Total! retrospectively characterized the game as "an overhard and unenjoyably frustrating platform nightmare". ### Accolades At the 1990 Golden Joystick Awards, Mega Man won the award for best console game of the year (8-bit). Mega Man has additionally received various honors from video game journals and websites. IGN listed the game at number 30 on its "Top 100 NES Games of All Time". Nintendo Power ranked Mega Man at number 20 on its "100 Best Nintendo Games of All Time" in its September 1997 100th issue, then at number 61 in its "Top 200 Games" in its February 2006 200th issue. 1UP.com included it in their "Top 5 Overlooked Videogame Prequels" and as number 17 on its "Top 25 NES Games" list. British magazine The Games Machine awarded it the "Star Player" accolade after its launch in PAL regions. ## Legacy Capcom's sales department originally believed that the game would not sell, but after Japan had received limited quantities, it had been seen as successful enough to quickly commission an American localization. As part of the rushed localization, the president of Capcom U.S.A. told the marketing representative to have a cover done by the next day, so he had a friend draw it within about six hours. Inafune blamed the game's relatively poor North American performance on its region-specific cover art, which visualized elements not found in the game: Mega Man himself resembles a man rather than a boy, his costume is colored yellow and blue instead of being entirely blue, and he is holding a handgun rather than having his arm cannon. Over the years, the cover art has been infamous in the gaming community. It has been considered one of the worst game covers of all time by publications including GameSpy, Wired, and OC Weekly. The cancelled Mega Man Universe featured a "Bad Box Art Mega Man" playable character alongside the classic 8-bit Mega Man. "Bad Box Art Mega Man" has since become a playable character in Street Fighter X Tekken. With little overseas press coverage save for a full-page advertisement in Nintendo Fun Club News, sales gained momentum over word of mouth, making the game a sleeper hit. While Mega Man was not a large commercial accomplishment for Capcom, the company decided to allow the development team to create a sequel, Mega Man 2, for a 1988 Japanese release. Many of the design elements cut from the original Mega Man due to space limitations such as planned enemy characters were included in the follow-up game. Mega Man 2, with greatly improved box art, although still repeating the 'pistol' error, unchanged in directions from Capcom America, to veteran game illustrator Marc Ericksen, ('Strider, Galaga, Bad Dudes', 'Tetris', 'Steel Empire' 'P.O.W.', 'Guerrilla War', ), proved to be such a success that it solidified Mega Man as one of Capcom's longest-running franchises. Due to "overwhelming demand", Capcom reissued the original Mega Man in North America in September 1991. Capcom carried the same 8-bit graphics and sprites present in the original Mega Man into the next five games in the main series. Even though the sequels feature more complex storylines, additional gameplay mechanics, and better graphics, the core elements initiated by Mega Man remain the same throughout the series. Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10 would later revert to the familiar graphical style set forth by this title. The scoring system in Mega Man has not been present in any of its sequels. According to GamesRadar, Mega Man was the first game to feature a nonlinear "level select" option, as a stark contrast to linear games like Super Mario Bros. and open world games like The Legend of Zelda and Metroid. GamesRadar credits the "level select" feature of Mega Man as the basis for the nonlinear mission structure found in most multi-mission, open world, sidequest-heavy games, such as Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. ## Remakes and re-releases Mega Man has been re-released several times since its 1987 debut. A version with enhanced graphics and arranged music was included alongside Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3 in the Mega Drive compilation Mega Man: The Wily Wars. Another adaptation of the game was released in Japan on the PlayStation as part of the Rockman Complete Works series in 1999. This version also features arranged music in addition to a special "Navi Mode" that directs the player in certain portions of the levels. Mega Man was compiled with nine other games in the series in the North American Mega Man Anniversary Collection released for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube in 2004 and the Xbox in 2005. A mobile phone rendition of Mega Man developed by Lavastorm was released for download in North America in 2004. A separate, 2007 Japanese mobile phone release received a 2008 update adding the option to play as Roll. Mega Man for the NES was reissued on the Virtual Console service for three different systems: the Wii in Europe in 2007 and in North America and Japan in 2008, the 3DS in 2012, and for the Wii U in 2013. The Complete Works version of the game was made available on the PlayStation Store in both Japan and North America. An enhanced remake titled Mega Man Powered Up — known as Rockman Rockman (ロックマンロックマン) in Japan — was released worldwide for the PSP in 2006. The game features a graphical overhaul with 3D chibi-style character models with large heads and small bodies. Inafune had originally planned to make Mega Man look this way, but could not due to the hardware constraints of the NES. Producer Tetsuya Kitabayashi stated that redesigning the character models was a result of the PSP's 16:9 widescreen ratio. The larger heads on the characters allowed the development team to create visible facial expressions. "The concept for these designs was 'toys'. We wanted cute designs geared towards little kids ... the kinds of characters that you'd see hanging off of keychains and such," character designer Tatsuya Yoshikawa explained. "Not only that, I made sure to tell the designers not to skimp on any of the original Mega Man details. We wanted their proportions and movements to be accurately reflected in these designs as well." As the size of the remake's stages are not proportional to those of the original, the widescreen ratio also presented the developers with more space to fill. Mega Man Powered Up features two styles of gameplay: "Old Style" is comparable to the NES version aside from the updated presentation, and "New Style" uses the PSP's entire widescreen and contains storyline cutscenes with voice acting, altered stage layouts, remixed music, and three difficulty modes for each stage. This mode also adds two new Robot Masters (Oil Man and Time Man). The NES version was originally intended to have a total of eight Robot Masters, but was cut down to six due to a tight schedule. Additionally, the remake lets players unlock and play through the game as the eight Robot Masters, Roll, and Protoman. The New Style stages differ in structure from that of Old Style, with some pathways only accessible to specific Robot Masters. Mega Man Powered Up also features a Challenge Mode with 100 challenges to complete, a level editor for creating custom stages, and an option to distribute fan-made levels to the PlayStation Network online service. Mega Man Powered Up received generally positive reviews, with aggregate scores of 83% on GameRankings and 82 out of 100 on Metacritic as of May 2010. The remake sold poorly at retail, and was later released as a paid download on the Japanese PlayStation Network digital store and as a bundled with Mega Man Maverick Hunter X in Japan and North America. Capcom additionally translated Mega Man Powered Up'' into Chinese for release in Asia in 2008.
317,497	Lloyd L. Gaines	1,084,021,889	Plaintiff in 1930s U.S. civil rights case who disappeared	[ "1911 births", "1930s missing person cases", "African Americans in Columbia, Missouri", "African-American people", "Lincoln University (Missouri) alumni", "Missing people", "Missing person cases in Illinois", "People from Jefferson City, Missouri", "People from Water Valley, Mississippi", "School desegregation pioneers", "University of Michigan alumni", "University of Missouri people", "Year of death unknown" ]	Lloyd Lionel Gaines (born 1911 – disappeared March 19, 1939) was the plaintiff in Gaines v. Canada (1938), one of the most important early court cases in the 20th-century U.S. civil rights movement. After being denied admission to the University of Missouri School of Law because he was African American, and refusing the university's offer to pay for him to attend a neighboring state's law school that had no racial restriction, Gaines filed suit. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled in his favor, holding that the separate but equal doctrine required that Missouri either admit him or set up a separate law school for black students. The Missouri General Assembly chose the latter option. It authorized conversion of a former cosmetology school in St. Louis to establish the Lincoln University School of Law, to which other, mostly black, students were admitted. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which had supported Gaines's suit, planned to file another one challenging the adequacy of the new law school. While waiting for classes to begin, Gaines traveled between St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago looking for work. He worked odd jobs and gave speeches before local NAACP chapters. One night in Chicago he left the fraternity house, where he was staying, to buy stamps, and never returned. He was never seen again by anyone who knew or recognized him and reported doing so. Gaines's disappearance was not noted immediately, since he frequently traveled independently and alone, without telling anyone his plans. Only in late 1939, when the NAACP's lawyers were unable to locate him to take depositions for a rehearing in state court, did a serious search begin. It failed, and the suit was dismissed. While most of his family believed at the time that he had been killed in retaliation for his legal victory, there has been speculation that Gaines had tired of his role in the movement and gone elsewhere, either New York or Mexico City, to start a new life. In 2007 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agreed to look into the case, among many other missing persons cold cases related to the civil rights era. His unknown fate notwithstanding, Gaines has been honored by the University of Missouri School of Law and the state. The Black Culture Center at the University of Missouri and a scholarship at its law school are named for him and another black student initially denied admission. In 2006 Gaines was posthumously granted an honorary law degree. The state bar granted him a posthumous law license. A portrait of Gaines hangs in the University of Missouri law school building. ## Early life Born in 1911 in Water Valley, Mississippi, Gaines moved with his mother and siblings to St. Louis, Missouri in 1926 after the death of their father. Part of the Great Migration from rural communities in the South to industrial cities in the North, his family settled in the city's Central West End neighborhood. Gaines did well academically, and was a valedictorian at Vashon High School. After winning a \$250 (\$ in current dollars) scholarship in an essay contest, Gaines went to college. He graduated with honors and a bachelor's degree in history from Lincoln University, a historically black college in Jefferson City, Missouri. It was the state's segregated undergraduate institution for African Americans. To cover the gap between his scholarship and the college's tuition, he sold magazines on the street. Gaines was elected as president of the senior class and a brother in the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. ## Law school application Following his 1935 graduation, during the Great Depression, Gaines unsuccessfully sought work as a teacher. Around that time, NAACP lawyer Charles Hamilton Houston was looking for a plaintiff to bring a case challenging Missouri's Jim Crow laws that restricted the University of Missouri to white students. He sent St. Louis lawyer Sidney Redmond, one of three dozen African Americans then admitted to the Missouri bar, to visit the university's Columbia campus, with instructions to take pictures of buildings that housed departments and courses of study not available at Lincoln University, and obtain admission forms. In June 1935, Gaines had requested a catalog and admission form from Sy Woodson Canada, registrar, of the University of Missouri Law School. They were sent to his address at Lincoln in Jefferson City. By August he applied for admission, encouraged by Lorenzo Greene, a Lincoln University professor and veteran civil rights activist. Accounts vary as to whether Gaines did this on his own initiative or was encouraged by the NAACP, in order to have a plaintiff, without any interest in a legal career. When Redmond informed Houston that Gaines was willing to be a plaintiff, Houston initially asked for another candidate. Houston later accepted Gaines, when it became apparent he was the only available plaintiff, but never explained what his initial objections might have been. At first Canada did not realize that Gaines was black, since the application form did not ask for prospective students to indicate their race. Only when he received Gaines' transcript from Lincoln University did he understand. He left Gaines's application on his desk, without taking any action, although the young man was otherwise qualified for admission to the law school. Canada sent Gaines a telegram urging him to meet with the registrar to discuss "further advice" and "possible arrangement". Gaines wrote both the president of Lincoln to ask what this meant, and to Frederick Middlebush, president of University of Missouri, requesting admission to the law school. Middlebush never replied. ## Lawsuit The official policy of Missouri was to pay the "out of state" expenses for education of African Americans who wished to study law until such time as demand was sufficient to build a separate law school within the state for them. At first Houston and Redmond hoped that the ruling in University of Maryland v. Murray (1936), which they had won when Maryland's Court of Appeals invalidated a similar provision there, would persuade Missouri to allow Gaines to attend without legal resistance. They began planning security arrangements for him. They filed a writ of mandamus in January 1936 ordering that Gaines's application be considered. When Middlebush asked the university's board how it should respond, the lawyers recommended defending their policy. They adopted a resolution formally denying Gaines's admission, arguing that segregated higher education was the public policy of the state, and that Gaines had the legal option of attending law school outside Missouri at the state's expense. With Gaines's application formally denied, the mandamus petition was now moot. Houston and the NAACP filed another petition, State ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, arguing that the law school's refusal to admit him on racial grounds was a violation of his Fourteenth Amendment rights. The university responded with the same points it had made in the board's resolution. Further, it said that Gaines should have sued Lincoln to compel it to open a law school. Gaines and his lawyers argued in response that lawyers educated out of state lost the benefit of courses that were specific to Missouri law, as well as the connections and firsthand experience of the state's courts that were gained by an in-state legal education. The NAACP did not expect to overturn the "separate but equal" standard set by the US Supreme Court's 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which allowed states to impose legal racial segregation, but to undermine it by requiring states that had segregated education to provide the "equal" part of the ruling. They targeted graduate and professional public institutions of higher learning. Unlike most other segregated facilities, these were few in number and under centralized state control. They expected that if the court ruled in their favor, segregationist states would realize they had to choose between the expense of developing duplicates of such institutions for a small group of African Americans and integrating existing facilities, and that those states would pragmatically choose the latter. Houston believed that, since such graduate schools served small portions of the population, attempts to integrate them would incite less public opposition than efforts to integrate public elementary and secondary schools. Lastly, judges had been educated in law schools and could be expected to understand the adverse effects of inequalities on students. Houston and the other NAACP attorneys were encouraged in this strategy by their victory in Murray, two years earlier. In Missouri, the racial bar to attendance was by state law rather than administrative regulation. The NAACP hoped to get the US Supreme Court to hear the case and establish a precedent. ### Trial Houston, Redmond and Gaines drove to Columbia, Missouri for the July 1936 trial at Boone County Courthouse. They arrived as the courthouse was beginning to open for the morning. Due to that summer's severe heat and drought, many of the white farmers from surrounding communities were there, waiting to apply for financial relief. Some went into the courtroom to take in the unusual sight, at that time, of African-American lawyers arguing a case. They were joined by a hundred current University of Missouri law students, reporters, and a few local African Americans. Two recent local lynchings had discouraged most of the local black community from attending, although local NAACP chapters tried to encourage attendance. African Americans sat among the whites, since the courtroom facilities were not segregated. The lawyers for both sides shared a table, and shook hands before the case. By the time the trial began, the heat outside already exceeded 100 °F (38 °C). The crowds and poor ventilation made it even hotter in the courtroom. Judge W.M. Dinwiddie suggested to the lawyers that he and they remove their jackets. During his opening arguments, Houston reiterated that Gaines's exclusion from the law school solely on racial grounds violated his constitutional rights. Representing the state, William Hogsett conceded in his argument that Gaines was an excellent and qualified student with a right to a legal education, as long as it was somewhere other than the state university's law school. He noted that racial segregation was public policy of the state, codified in the constitution and laws enacted by its legislature elected by the people, which prohibited African-American students from attending University of Missouri law school. Presentation of witnesses began with Gaines testifying on his own behalf that he wished to attend Missouri's law school because of its quality. He did not want to attend law school out of state, even at the state's expense, because Columbia was more convenient to his home in St. Louis than the law schools of neighboring states' universities. And at one of those schools, he would not be as able to develop the expertise in Missouri law necessary to practice in the state as he would be at Missouri's law school. On cross-examination, Hogsett suggested that Gaines was interested in applying to law school only to act as a plaintiff in this lawsuit, pressing Gaines on when he had contacted the NAACP after he had learned that his application had been denied. Had he ever seen a black student attending the university? Why had he refused, in an earlier deposition, to answer a question about whether he would have been interested in attending a hypothetical Lincoln law school? Gaines conceded that some of the out-of-state law schools were closer to St. Louis than Columbia, and cost less to travel to, per evidence the state introduced, but noted that students there were not compelled to choose them. Hogsett concluded by asking Gaines if he was aware that black students were not accepted at Missouri's law school when he applied; Gaines said he had not been. Houston next called law school dean William Masterton to the stand as a hostile witness. Masterson denied that there was any special benefit to attending the law school for a student interested in Missouri law in particular, since the other law schools Gaines could have attended all used the same casebook as Missouri. He maintained this position even when Houston reminded him that the school's law review had a stated editorial policy of publishing one article in every issue that addressed an issue specific to Missouri. Houston showed him the Iowa law school's catalog, which touted the benefits of attending for a student interested in practicing law in Iowa. On cross-examination, Masterson claimed not to know details of the admissions process or the school's budget, and could not answer Houston's question as to whether or not Missouri's was the only public law school in the state. Other state and university officials took the stand, with both sides using their testimony to buttress their cases. Canada told Houston that to his knowledge black students were the only ones barred from the university on account of their race; the university's assistant secretary added later that the school not only admitted students from overseas but extended financial aid to them if necessary. Robert Witherspoon, an African-American lawyer who practiced in St. Louis, testified that having had to attend law school out of state had put him at a disadvantage. State Senator F.M. McDavid, chair of the state's Board of Regents, testified on direct examination that the admission of a black student would be very disruptive for the university and its students, undermining a hundred years of tradition. Houston asked on cross if he really believed that that tradition "could bind progress forever." McDavid also worried that it would be "very unhappy" for Gaines. But when Houston asked him also if he was aware of any problems caused by the admission of a black student at Maryland following that lawsuit, McDavid said he was not, as he had not researched the issue. Hogsett presented his case for the audience, some of whom nodded in sympathy with his arguments, while Houston concentrated on getting facts in the record for appeal, hopefully to the U.S. Supreme Court, the only venue where he expected and wanted to prevail. Two weeks later Dinwiddie held for the state, without writing an opinion. Gaines appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court. ### Appeals #### Missouri Supreme Court The state's highest court heard the arguments near the end of the year. While normally it sat in two divisions, the case was considered so important that all seven justices were present. Two months later, it upheld Judge Dinwiddie. In his opinion for a unanimous court, Justice William Francis Frank conceded that the state's constitution's provision requiring that its public schools be racially segregated did not explicitly extend to higher education. But that did not mean the legislature was barred from making such a prohibition. Despite language in one statute, which Gaines had relied on, saying that the university was open to "all youths" of the state, the legislature had gone to great lengths to create Lincoln and differentiate between white and black colleges. Citing both Plessy and his own court's prior holdings, Frank reiterated that this segregation did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment: "The right of a state to separate the races for the purpose of education is no longer an open question." He also rejected a due process argument, that Gaines had been unconstitutionally deprived of his proprietary interest in the university as a citizen and taxpayer of Missouri. "[E]quality and not identity of school advantages is what the law guarantees to every citizen, white or black." Frank addressed the only remaining question, whether, as Gaines alleged, his legal education out of state would have been the equal of that he could have received at Missouri's law school. He accepted the law school's evidence about its non-specialization in the state's law and similarities in its curriculum to the neighboring state's law schools. As for the distance involved, some of those schools, such as Illinois's, were closer to St. Louis than Columbia would be for residents of Caruthersville, in the state's southeastern Bootheel. And if Gaines were to attend school outside he state, the state would subsidize his living expenses while he did, costs he would have to bear himself if he went to Missouri. Lastly, Frank distinguished Gaines's case from Murray by noting that that state's Court of Appeals had found that Maryland had made no provisions for establishing a law school for black students and did not financially support those who attended law school out of state, unlike Missouri. He believed that the construction of a law school for blacks at Lincoln would satisfy Gaines's desires if he could wait. #### U.S. Supreme Court Houston and Redmond successfully petitioned to the United States Supreme Court for certiorari. Now known as Gaines v. Canada, the case was argued in November 1938. Houston said the state's offer to pay for Gaines to attend law school out of state could not guarantee him a legal education equal to that offered white students at Missouri. A month later a 6-2 majority ordered the State of Missouri either to admit Gaines to the University of Missouri School of Law or to provide another school of equal stature within the state borders. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes wrote for the majority: > The basic consideration is not as to what sort of opportunities other States provide, or whether they are as good as those in Missouri, but as to what opportunities Missouri itself furnishes to white students and denies to negroes solely upon the ground of color. The admissibility of laws separating the races in the enjoyment of privileges afforded by the State rests wholly upon the equality of the privileges which the laws give to the separated groups within the State. The question here is not of a duty of the State to supply legal training, or of the quality of the training which it does supply, but of its duty when it provides such training to furnish it to the residents of the State upon the basis of an equality of right. By the operation of the laws of Missouri, a privilege has been created for white law students which is denied to negroes by reason of their race. The white resident is afforded legal education within the State; the negro resident having the same qualifications is refused it there and must go outside the State to obtain it. That is a denial of the equality of legal right to the enjoyment of the privilege which the State has set up, and the provision for the payment of tuition fees in another State does not remove the discrimination. The case articulated an important rule of law in the sequence of NAACP cases leading to the eventual order for desegregation of public schools: that any academic program that a state provided to whites had to have an equivalent available to blacks. The Gaines holding helped the NAACP lay the foundation for the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, holding that separate facilities for public schools were inherently unequal and ordering such schools to be desegregated, thus overturning Plessy. Since the Supreme Court had ordered the Missouri Supreme Court to rehear the case in light of its ruling, Gaines's legal battle was not over. Historian Gary Lavergne describes Gaines during this period as "high-maintenance": he sought media attention, then complained about how stressful it was being the center of that attention. Heman Marion Sweatt, later the plaintiff in another desegregation case heard by the Supreme Court, worked with Gaines at the University of Michigan. The NAACP had paid for him to attend graduate school there and Sweatt reportedly found Gaines "rather arrogant". After working as a clerk for the Works Progress Administration in Michigan and completing a master's degree in economics, Gaines returned to Missouri in anticipation of the proceedings there, set to begin in August. The Missouri legislature hastily passed a bill appropriating \$275,000 (\$ in current dollars) to convert an old beauty school in St. Louis into the new Lincoln University School of Law, in the hope that would satisfy the court. The NAACP planned to challenge the establishment of the new law school as still inadequate compared to the resources of the existing University of Missouri School of Law. Gaines, who would need to pay his law school tuition as well as his daily living expenses, looked for work in the meantime. Between the continuing Depression and segregation, he had to settle for work at a gas station. He gave speeches to local NAACP chapters and church groups while seeking donations, telling them "I am ready, willing and able to enroll in the law department at the University of Missouri in September, and I have the fullest intention of doing so," but he still had to borrow money from his brother George for everyday expenses. Gaines quit the job at the gas station when he discovered the owner was purposely mislabeling low-grade fuel as high-grade. He feared getting caught in the legal consequences should the fraud be discovered. After taking a train across the state to Kansas City to give a speech to the local NAACP chapter and look, unsuccessfully, for work, he boarded another train for Chicago. There he reunited with the Page family, friends and neighbors from his youth in the Central West End. He stayed at a local YMCA. ## Disappearance Over the next several weeks, Gaines looked for work and visited with the Pages. While he maintained at public appearances that he was determined to continue his court case until its end and to attend the University of Missouri School of Law, in private he was becoming increasingly ambivalent. His mother later said that he had decided not to go, as they both believed it was "too dangerous." Nancy Page later recalled asking Gaines directly about this. "His answer wasn't straightforward, and if I remember correctly, he said something like this: 'If I don't go, I will have at least made it possible for some other boy or girl to go.'" In his last letter to his mother, dated March 3, Gaines wrote: > As for my publicity relative to the university case, I have found that my race still likes to applaud, shake hands, pat me on the back and say how great and noble is the idea: how historical and socially important the case but — and it ends ... Off and out of the confines of the publicity columns, I am just a man — not one who has fought and sacrificed to make the case possible: one who is still fighting and sacrificing — almost the 'supreme sacrifice' to see that it is a complete and lasting success for thirteen million Negroes — no! — just another man. Sometimes I wish I were just a plain, ordinary man whose name no one recognized. Gaines had begun his letter by telling his mother that he had gone to Chicago "hoping to find it possible to make my own way." He ended with "Should I forget to write for a time, don't worry about it. I can look after myself OK." Gaines also wrote that his accommodations at the YMCA were paid through March 7, and that if he stayed in Chicago beyond that date, he would have to make "other arrangements". After that, brothers at an Alpha Phi Alpha house took him in. He continued to have dinner at the Pages' home. Nancy Page said that Gaines had told her he had taken a job at a department store. A reporter later found that although he had been hired, Gaines never reported for what would have been his first day of work. In the last days that she had contact with Gaines, Page said he seemed "to be running away from something". Gaines's family members and descendants believe he—and possibly the family as a whole—had received death threats. Given their background in rural Mississippi, where they knew of lynchings, they would have been too fearful to report such threats to the police. Gaines's financial woes continued. The Alpha Phi Alpha brothers took up a collection for him. Gaines promised the Pages that he would repay their generosity by taking them out to dinner on the night of March 19 but he never got the chance to do so. Earlier that evening, Gaines told the house attendant at Alpha Phi Alpha that he was going out to buy stamps, although the weather was cold and wet. Gaines never returned, and no one ever reported seeing him again. ## Aftermath Gaines had left a duffel bag filled with clothing at the fraternity house when he disappeared. Since he had had a history of leaving for days at a time with little or no notice to his friends and family, and often kept to himself, his absence seemed unremarkable at first. No one reported him missing to the police in either Chicago or St. Louis. Several months later, people became aware that he was missing. In August, Houston and Sidney Redmond went looking for Gaines, as they had begun to argue his case at the Missouri Supreme Court's rehearing. They could not locate him. Redmond said later that the Gaines family was neither concerned nor very helpful in trying to do so. The Lincoln University School of Law in St. Louis opened in late September, and pickets denounced it as a segregationist sham. Thirty students had been admitted to the first year and they arrived for classes, but Gaines was not among them. Since only Gaines had been denied admission to the University of Missouri School of Law, only he had standing to pursue the case before the Supreme Court of Missouri. The case could not proceed without him. Near the end of 1939, the NAACP began a frantic effort to find Gaines. There were rumors that he had been killed or committed suicide, or that he had been paid to disappear and was living in Mexico City or teaching school in New York. The story received widespread media attention, and Gaines's photograph was published in newspapers across the country, with a plea for anyone with information to contact the NAACP. No credible leads were received. In his 1948 memoir, NAACP president Walter White said, "He [Gaines] has been variously reported in Mexico, apparently supplied with ample funds, and in other parts of North America." Lavergne notes that Houston, Marshall, and Redmond never publicly called for an investigation of Gaines's disappearance or said that they believed he had met with foul play. Since extrajudicial abductions and murders of African Americans who challenged segregation were not unheard of at the time, and the three lawyers frequently spoke out and demanded investigations when they believed such events had occurred, he thinks that they had no such evidence in Gaines' case. He suggests that they believed that Gaines, whom they knew had grown resentful of the NAACP and his role in the lawsuit, had purposely dropped out of sight. Fifty years later, near the end of his own career as a Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall recalled the case in terms that suggest this assessment: "The sonofabitch just never contacted us again." In January 1940, the state of Missouri moved to dismiss the case due to the absence of the plaintiff. Houston and Redmond did not oppose the motion, and it was granted. ## Investigations No law enforcement agency of the era formally investigated Gaines's disappearance; it had not been reported to any, and many African Americans distrusted the police. J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who was more concerned about potential communist influence on the civil rights movement, wrote in an internal memo in 1940 that he did not believe the case fell under the FBI's jurisdiction. With the onset of World War II, other concerns displaced the Gaines case for most of the 1940s. Later the FBI released a 1970 letter from Hoover to an unidentified member of the public, thanking them for their interest in the case but reiterating his position from 30 years earlier that he did not believe the FBI had any jurisdiction to investigate. Two media outlets looked into the case, a half-century apart: Ebony magazine, in the 1950s, and The Riverfront Times of St. Louis, in the 2000s. ### Ebony Ebony reporter Edward T. Clayton revisited Gaines and his disappearance in 1951; the Times described his article as the most thorough investigation of the case. Clayton retraced Gaines's movements in the months between the Supreme Court ruling and his trip to Chicago. Many persons who knew Gaines were still alive, such as family members in St. Louis and fraternity brothers in Chicago, and Clayton interviewed them. Clayton found little new information. He drew a fuller portrait of Gaines that revealed the young man's disillusionment with his activist path. Callie Gaines, bedridden in her attic, shared her last conversation with her son. She said that both of them realized that he would not be following through and enrolling in the University of Missouri School of Law. She said that he had sent her a final postcard saying, "Goodbye. If you don't hear from me anymore you know I'll be all right." She had heard all the rumors about him turning up in Mexico or New York. "But nobody knows any more than we do." One of his sisters believed he was still alive. The family has never sought to have him declared legally dead. Gaines's brother George, who had continued to loan his brother spending money at that time, said that when he disappeared, Gaines had owed him \$500. He expressed bitterness that the NAACP had, in his opinion, exploited his brother. "That organization—the N-A-A-C-P or whatever it was—had him going around here making speeches," George Gaines told Clayton, "but when he got ready to go to Kansas City, I had to let him have \$10 so he could get himself a white shirt." Sidney Redmond agreed that the Gaines family "doesn't seem too much concerned—and never was as I recall" about finding him, due to their resentment of the NAACP's role in pushing Lloyd Gaines into the public eye without adequately providing for or protecting him. George provided Clayton with Lloyd's letters home, including the last one, written almost two weeks before he disappeared, in which he had lamented what he felt was a lack of support from fellow African Americans and said he wished he were just a regular, unknown person again. Like the postcard, it concludes by implying that he might be out of touch for a while. In Chicago, Clayton talked to the Alpha Phi Alpha brothers among whom Gaines had spent his last known days and the Pages, his family friends from St. Louis. The former could offer little beyond clarifying the precise date of his disappearance and the duffel bag of dirty laundry he had left behind. Two who claimed Gaines had sent them postcards from Mexico were unable to corroborate their accounts by producing the postcards. The Pages shared the details of Gaines's increasingly anxious state of mind in March 1939. Nancy Page said she had not inquired closely, out of respect for his privacy, but could tell something was bothering him. She reported a conversation with Gaines in which he was at best ambivalent about continuing the legal case and attending the University of Missouri School of Law. Clayton learned from her that Gaines had accepted a job, and found through his own research that Gaines had never started work there. ### The Riverfront Times In 2007 The Riverfront Times, St Louis's alternative weekly newspaper, revisited the case, well over 60 years after Gaines's disappearance. By that time Gaines had received posthumous honors. The FBI had accepted the case as the oldest of nearly a hundred civil-rights era disappearances referred to it for investigation by the NAACP. His immediate family and all others who had worked or socialized with him during that time had died. Reporter Chad Garrison spoke with George Gaines, a nephew of Lloyd's, and other, younger descendants. George was one of two surviving family members who had been alive when Lloyd disappeared, although he had only been an infant. George Gaines said his family rarely spoke of Lloyd during his childhood in the 1940s, but when they did it was usually in positive terms. "Lloyd was always held in high regard as a person who set a positive example and stood up for what was right", he recalled. He had assumed that his uncle had died. He did not learn until reading the Ebony article that his uncle's fate was unknown. While Garrison did not find any new facts about the disappearance itself or Gaines's time in Chicago, he found more direct evidence that Gaines might have fled to Mexico and lived out his life there. Sid Reedy, a University City librarian who had been an Alpha Phi Alpha brother at Lincoln University, told Garrison that he became fascinated by the case in the late 1970s. Reedy had sought out Lorenzo Greene, Gaines's mentor at Lincoln University and an esteemed civil rights activist and intellectual. Greene told Reedy that while on a visit to Mexico City in the late 1940s, he had made contact with Lloyd Gaines. Greene, who died in 1988, claimed to have spoken on the telephone several times with Gaines, whose voice he recognized instantly. The two made plans to have dinner together, but Gaines did not show up. Greene told Reedy that Gaines had indeed "grown tired of the fight ... He had some business in Mexico City and apparently did well financially." Garrison reported that Greene's son, Lorenzo Thomas Greene, said his father also told him of the encounter; the older man always hoped Gaines would return. But because of his experience with the FBI while active in the civil-rights movement during those years, Greene did not report his telephone contact with Gaines. "There wasn't a lot of trust there," said the son. "Even if my father went to them with that information, I really don't think they would have cared." Some of Gaines's relatives were willing to accept that he lived out his life in Mexico, as opposed to the alternative scenarios. "It's better than being buried in a basement somewhere—Jimmy Hoffa style," said Paulette Mosby-Smith, one of Gaines's great-nieces. Others believe that would have been against his nature. "It's hard for me to believe that he went to Mexico and accepted a big payoff," George Gaines told Garrison. "That's not the same man who presented himself during the trial. I don't believe he would compromise his integrity like that." Another great-niece, Tracy Berry, who graduated from law school and became a federal prosecutor, agrees: > When you think of those old photos of lynchings and burned bodies, who wouldn't want to think that he lived a full life in Mexico? But based on the love my grandmother and great-grandmother had for their brother and son, that's really hard for me to reconcile. If he wanted to walk away, there are easier ways to do it than to sever ties from the entire family." She has since told The New York Times that she believes her great-uncle was murdered. ## Legacy and honors Although the family never had Lloyd Gaines declared legally dead, they erected a monument to him in 1999 in a Missouri cemetery. "His legacy didn't so much make me want to go to law school," says Tracy Berry. "But I think he did instill the legacy of education in our family. It's expected that you go to college. He started the fight that made it all possible." In a December 1939 editorial, the Louisville Defender, that city's African-American newspaper, wrote: > "[W]hether Gaines has been bribed, intimidated or worse, should certainly have little permanent effect on the struggle for equal rights and social justice in connection with Negro education in the South ... [where] Negroes are already hammering upon the doors of graduate schools hitherto closed to them, with increasing persistence." Thurgood Marshall later said, "I remember the Gaines case as one of our greatest legal victories." He had argued Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court and was later that body's first African-American justice. He went on, "But I have never lost the pain of having so many people spend so much time and money on him, just to have him disappear." Lavergne has noted that the Gaines ruling by the US Supreme Court "[made] constitutional compliance in the absence of integration difficult to achieve," even though the issue was not forced at the Missouri Supreme Court, and the separate but equal doctrine was not directly challenged. He cited three aspects of the Supreme Court decision to this point: - First, the Court held that Gaines's right was "a personal and individual one." Gaines was entitled to go to law school regardless of how little demand there was in Missouri by African Americans for legal education. - Second, the state could not meet its constitutional burden by sending students out of state. "With Gaines, the idea of using out-of-state scholarships to meet the test of separate but equal legally ended forever and everywhere in the United States," Lavergne says. - Third, "the Court said that the promise of future equality ... did not make temporary discrimination constitutional." Houston had hoped the effect of similar court rulings giving segregationist states a choice between full integration or duplication of programs for students of different races would lead many of them to choose the less expensive former option. But without Gaines, he could not carry through the next stage of his plan in the Missouri Supreme Court. In the short term, the abrupt dismissal of the case forced by Gaines's disappearance was a setback for efforts to legally challenge segregation. After having spent \$25,000 (\$ in current dollars) on the case, the NAACP had no money left. It could not support new plaintiffs, who were already difficult to find in the depressed economy. By the mid-1950s, the state closed Lincoln University School of Law, the only tangible result of the case, due to lack of students. Houston was ill with the tuberculosis that would end his life a decade later. He resigned from the NAACP to return to private practice; Thurgood Marshall took over for him. In the first five years after the war, the NAACP found more plaintiffs and challenged segregationist policies in public graduate schools with cases such as Sipuel v. Board of Regents of Univ. of Okla., Sweatt v. Painter, and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents. The University of Missouri School of Law, bowing to pressure from the student body, finally admitted its first African-American student in 1951. Three years later the desegregation effort climaxed with Brown, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson and the separate but equal doctrine. ### At University of Missouri In the years after Brown, when desegregation became a reality but tensions persisted and implementation proved difficult, Gaines's story became a cautionary tale at the University of Missouri. In a 2004 paper, LeeAnn Whites, a professor of Civil War history at the school, repeated a version in which Gaines had been on his way to enroll at the school as an undergraduate and had disappeared from a train traveling across the state, with the implication that he was murdered. Gerald M. Boyd, a St. Louis native and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times, who was one of a few hundred black students at the University of Missouri in the early 1970s, recalls hearing Gaines's story early in his time there. He was also confronted by open displays of racial prejudice, such as the university's "Confederate Rock." "Whatever his fate," Boyd wrote in his memoirs, "in the eyes of blacks, the university bore the brunt of the blame." The University of Missouri, and particularly the University of Missouri School of Law, began recognizing Gaines near the end of the 20th century, despite his never having been admitted. It established a scholarship in his name in 1995. In 2001, the school's African-American center was named for Gaines and another African American who had legally challenged the school's color bar early in the 20th century. A portrait of Gaines hangs in a prominent public place in the law school building. In 2006 the law school posthumously awarded Gaines an honorary degree in law. The Supreme Court of Missouri, which had denied Gaines's admission almost 70 years before, and the state bar association, granted him an honorary posthumous law license. If Gaines were still alive and had reappeared (he would have turned 95 in 2006), he might have used those awards to practice law in Missouri. ## See also - List of Alpha Phi Alpha brothers - List of people who disappeared mysteriously: pre-1970
70,822,833	James Markham Ambler	1,110,992,587	American naval surgeon and explorer (1848–1881)	[ "1848 births", "1881 deaths", "19th-century American naval officers", "19th-century American physicians", "19th-century surgeons", "American people of English descent", "American polar explorers", "American surgeons", "Explorers of the Arctic", "People of Virginia in the American Civil War", "Physicians from Virginia", "United States Navy Medical Corps officers", "University of Maryland School of Medicine alumni", "Washington and Lee University alumni" ]	James Markham Marshall Ambler (December 30, 1848 – October 30, 1881) was an American naval surgeon who served on the USS Jeannette and perished during the Jeannette expedition, in 1881, while attempting to reach the North Pole. Ambler was born in December 1848 in Markham, Virginia. At the age of sixteen, he served in the 12th Virginia Cavalry Regiment of the Civil War. After studying medicine at Washington College and University of Maryland School of Medicine, Ambler joined the United States Navy as an assistant surgeon. After serving in few ships, he joined George W. De Long in the Jeannette expedition as a medical officer in July 1879. He performed monthly checkups of the crew including giving psychological treatments to the sick and depressed men. Jeannette sank in June 1881; a few months later, when asked either to stay or depart with two crewmen, he decided to remain aboard and provide medical attention to those alive. On October 20, he made the final entry in his journal, anticipating his death. He is presumed to have died after October 30; his body was buried later in 1884. ## Early life and education James Markham Marshall Ambler was born on December 30, 1848, in Markham, Virginia, to the physician Richard Cary Ambler and his wife Susan (née Marshall). Ambler was the eldest of five children. He was named after his maternal grandfather, James Markham Marshall. His paternal ancestor, Richard Ambler, was born in York and came to Yorktown in 1716, where he established himself as a notable tobacco merchant. His maternal ancestor, Edward Jaquelin, who descended from earlier ancestors of the De la Rochejacquelein family, was born in Kent and came to Jamestown in 1697. At the age of sixteen, Ambler volunteered in the 12th Virginia Cavalry Regiment and served during the late months of the American Civil War. After the war, Ambler entered Washington College and remained there for three years. He later took up studying medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, under Nathan Ryno Smith, who was also his father's preceptor. After graduating in 1870, Ambler became a clinical recorder at the University of Maryland Medical Center and later an assistant physician at the Quarantine Hospital in Baltimore, before entering private practice with J. G. Hollyday. ## United States Navy Ambler was a Confederate cavalryman during the American Civil War (1861–1865) and, after the war in 1874, he was appointed as an assistant surgeon in the United States Navy. He had his first appointment at the United States Naval Academy, followed by a cruise on the USS Kansas, and then was stationed on the USS Minnesota. After his time on the USS Minnesota, in 1877, Ambler joined the staff as an assistant surgeon at the Norfolk Naval Hospital, where he stayed until 1878. ## Jeannette expedition and death Ambler was suggested by his superiors to volunteer aboard the Jeannette expedition to the North Pole as a medical officer. After consultation with his mother, Ambler made the decision to join George W. De Long on his expedition, believing that it was his duty. Ambler prepared with studies of previous expeditions, consulted specialists at the Smithsonian Institution, and made visits to the Johns Hopkins University. Ambler made his way to San Francisco where he launched with the USS Jeannette onto the expedition on July 8, 1879. He maintained a positive attitude, being eager to preserve the crew's health. The ship became ice-bound on September 6, 1879. Ambler rationed the lime juice to prevent scurvy and performed monthly checkups on the crew including giving psychological treatments for the sick and depressed crew. In his journal, Ambler stated that he suggested doing an eye surgery of John W. Danenhower, due to a possibility of losing it, to which he agreed. After Ambler discovered that some of the crew had gotten lead poisoning due to the canned tomatoes, he treated them for stomach cramps and relating symptoms. The ship sank on June 13, 1881, Ambler looked after the sick crew while on the 300 miles (480 kilometers) journey across an ice-covered landscape, with the goal of finding open sea. He wrote of his condition in the journal: "sleeping in wet clothes in a wet bag on wet ice makes every bone & separate muscle ache". After discovering open sea near the end of August 1881, the crew, while split up into three boats, got hit by a gale causing their boat to drift apart from George W. Melville's whaleboat, and Charles W. Chipp's cutter to sink, with Ambler being aboard De Long's cutter. On October 8, 1881, after the food supplies were exhausted, De Long gave Ambler the decision to either stay or depart with the two strongest crewmen who eventually reached safety and passed command on to him. Ambler stated that "no one should leave him as long as I was alive", and stayed providing medical attention to the remaining crew. On October 20, 1881, Ambler made his final entry into his journal, stating "I have now, myself, very little hope of surviving ... . I ... bow my head in submission to the Divine Will." The last entry in the journal of De Long was on October 30, in which he mentioned the death of several men, but specified that Ambler was alive. Ambler is presumed to have died on or after that date; he was one of the last three members of the group to succumb to hunger and exposure. On March 23, 1882, Melville discovered the frozen bodies of the men. On February 20, 1884, Ambler's body returned to Markham. He was buried at the Leeds Episcopal Church. In his book In the Lena Delta (1885), Melville wrote of Ambler that he "proved himself a skilled physician, an excellent officer and a noble man." The author Christopher J. Huggard wrote that Ambler's efforts made Jeannette the first arctic expedition "without a single case of scurvy". ## Note
2,726,821	Nicky Jam	1,170,588,008	American singer (born 1981)	[ "1981 births", "20th-century American male singers", "20th-century American singers", "21st-century American male singers", "21st-century American singers", "American actors with disabilities", "American hip hop singers", "American male singer-songwriters", "American musicians of Puerto Rican descent", "American musicians with disabilities", "American people of Puerto Rican descent", "American reggaeton musicians", "American singers of Dominican Republic descent", "Latin Grammy Award winners", "Latin music songwriters", "Latin trap musicians", "Living people", "People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder", "Puerto Rican people of Dominican Republic descent", "Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts", "Singers from Boston", "Sony Music Latin artists", "Urbano musicians" ]	Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known professionally as Nicky Jam, is an American singer and actor. He is best known for hits such as "X", "Travesuras", "En la Cama", "Te Busco", "El Perdón", "Hasta el Amanecer", and "El Amante"; the latter three are from his 2017 album Fénix. He has frequently collaborated with other Latin artists such as Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Ozuna, Plan B and Anuel AA. While his early music exemplified traditional fast-paced reggaeton, his newer compositions place more emphasis on sung vocals and romantic lyrics. Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts to a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father, his family moved to Puerto Rico when he was ten years old. He began recording music at age fourteen with his first EP ...Distinto a los demás (1995), and eventually caught the attention of Daddy Yankee. The two formed the group Los Cangris, which was active from the late 1990s to 2004. The pair split acrimoniously and Nicky Jam's career quickly took a sharp decline, followed by a period of legal struggles and substance abuse. He then moved to Medellín, Colombia, where he rejuvenated his career and developed a more melodic style of music, which proved to be popular through the release of the singles "Voy a Beber" and "Travesuras" in 2014. His success was furthered by the 2015 single "El Perdón" and his 2017 album Fénix. He released the album Íntimo in 2019, which was a critical and commercial success. Nicky Jam has also acted in the films XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017) and Bad Boys for Life (2020), and starred in and executive produced the Netflix biographical series Nicky Jam: El Ganador (2018). ## Biography ### 1981–1996: Early life and career beginnings Nick Rivera Caminero was born on March 17, 1981, in Lawrence, Massachusetts to a Dominican mother and Puerto Rican father. Having been born on Saint Patrick's Day, he enjoyed attending parades for the holiday as a little boy. While in Massachusetts, he developed an affinity for hip-hop, specifically East Coast acts Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and LL Cool J. When Nicky Jam was ten years old, his family moved to the Río Hondo suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in an attempt to reconnect with the family's Puerto Rican roots. However, in an interview with Billboard, Nicky Jam explained that his father had become embroiled in a drug-related case and escaped bail, necessitating the move to Puerto Rico. Nicky Jam initially experienced culture shock upon moving to Puerto Rico, having never spoken Spanish before arriving to the island. Despite the difficult start, he quickly made friends in his neighborhood and after spending time in the streets as a middle schooler, became inspired to pursue a musical career. He also used Caribbean hip-hop and reggaeton as a way to help him polish his Spanish-language skills. He originally went by the moniker "Nick MC", but changed it to Nicky Jam after a neighborhood homeless man gave him the unsolicited comment, "You ain't Nick MC, you're Nicky Jam". While working at the Pueblo Xtra discount grocery store at age eleven, he passed time by rapping about the items he was bagging, which impressed a customer who invited him to record with a local indie label. He subsequently signed a contract without reading it and received no advance money for his recordings. He recorded and released his first EP ...Distinto a los demás in 1995 at age fourteen. He endured a difficult breakup with his girlfriend shortly after the album's release and the emotional pain of the experience led him to try cocaine for the first time at age fifteen. Nicky Jam reflected on the experience by saying: "[I thought], 'why am I going to take care of myself? My dad didn't handle his drug problems. My mom did drugs too, so why not me?' I mean, I had drugs all around me, and the foundation of everything is your home. It's your family." ### 1997–2006: Los Cangris and career decline Despite his drug use, he managed to gain popularity in Puerto Rico as a hip-hop artist, and eventually met his idol, Daddy Yankee. Nicky Jam recalled that Daddy Yankee was familiar with his work, explaining, "He looked at me and said, 'I know who you are. You're that little kid that sings rap in a little Mickey Mouse voice. I like your style.'" The two artists then formed a duo called Los Cangris. The duo achieved success in Puerto Rico through hit singles such as "En la Cama", "Dónde Están las Gatas", and "Guayando". While in the group, he went on to release the solo albums Haciendo escante (2001) and Vida escante (2004). However, Nicky Jam struggled to adjust to his new lifestyle and began using drugs and alcohol to an extent that concerned his musical partner. Having used cocaine on and off since age fifteen, he later began using percocet. Daddy Yankee began to criticize Nicky Jam's behavior and alluded to his bandmate in songs, including the lyric "your courage depends on a pill" from the 2004 song "Santifica Tus Escapularios". This led an incensed Nicky Jam to release a diss track in response that same year. Nicky Jam quickly regretted releasing the song, explaining, "That wasn't a good choice, because he came with [2004 Billboard Hot 100 hit] 'Gasolina.' [I] looked stupid. He went his way, I went my way -- and obviously my way didn't go very well." Los Cangris separated in 2004 after a falling out between the two musicians. After the breakup of Los Cangris, Nicky Jam struggled personally and professionally, calling himself the "embarrassment of the Latin Caribbean music industry". Deeply depressed, Nicky Jam gained a significant amount of weight, eventually reaching 300 pounds (136 kg). He also experienced legal troubles, including a police chase in his car that was in the process of being repossessed. He took a job in a hotel, performing lounge music for tourists. Despite viewing this period to be his "lowest point", the artist developed his singing voice during this time, learning to incorporate sung vocals into his music as opposed to strictly rapping. ### 2007–2016: Career renewal and successful singles In 2007, Nicky Jam moved to Medellín, Colombia in an attempt to stop using drugs and focus on music. The musician was well received by the people in Medellín, and the singer reflected, "They made me feel like I was a legend. The boost they gave me made me want to be a better person. I started eating OK, I stopped drugs, I stopped alcohol. People came to love me because I was loving myself." In 2010, Nicky Jam suffered a nearly fatal overdose that served as the impetus for him to quit using drugs completely. He lost 100 pounds (45 kg) and tattooed a significant portion of his body, including the entirety of his neck—which he considered a symbol of his recovery. Artistically, he drew influence from the romanticism of Colombian music, in particular the genre of vallenato. He also amended his friendship with Daddy Yankee after encountering him on a flight, where the two apologized to each other, and began touring together at the end of 2014. His songs "Voy a Beber" and "Travesuras" reinvigorated his career and led to his signing with Sony U.S. Latin. "Travesuras" was Nicky Jam's first song to reach the top ten on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias contacted Nicky Jam to collaborate on the 2015 song "El Perdón", which later won Nicky Jam his first Latin Grammy for Best Urban Performance. Nicky Jam was surprised when he received the phone call from Iglesias and initially hung up on him, believing the call to be a prank. The song peaked at number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 30 weeks on top of the Hot Latin Songs chart. His increased popularity during this time led Nicky Jam to reunite in 2015 with his mother who had been deported to the Dominican Republic; he had not seen her for more than twenty years. He recalled, "Most of my life, I was trying to be famous, do music to see if my mom could listen to me and see me...when [the reunion] happened, it was like a movie moment. My bodyguard was like, 'There's this woman outside. She's fighting with everybody saying she's your mom and she wants to see you'...and automatically, I knew it was her because I remembered her voice." Nicky Jam was presented with the Warrior Spirit award at the 2015 Premios Tu Mundo for his "musical resilience". The following year, he recorded a remix of the 1992 song "De Pies a Cabeza" with Mexican rock band Maná, a collaboration Nicky Jam described as a "blessing". In 2016, his song "Hasta el Amanecer" became his first song to reach one billion views on YouTube. The song won the Billboard Music Award for Top Latin Song at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards. It also won the Urban Song of the Year and was nominated for Single of the Year at the 29th Lo Nuestro Awards. ### 2017: Fénix On January 20, 2017, he released the album Fénix. The album cover consists of a mural painted in Medellín of Nicky Jam with the Spanish word for "Phoenix" (stylized FEИiX). This mural was painted by fans without Nicky Jam's knowledge, and upon discovering the existence of the mural, Nicky Jam was so moved that he proclaimed on Instagram that he would make the mural the cover of his next album. Fénix, a symbol of the artist's career rebirth, debuted at the top of the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. The album reached the top of the Billboard Latin Rhythm Albums chart on February 11, 2017, and stayed on the chart for a total of 142 weeks. The record was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, losing to Salsa Big Band by Rubén Blades with Roberto Delgado & Orquesta. Fénix featured collaborations from Sean Paul, El Alfa, J Balvin, and Kid Ink and included Nicky Jam's first English-language songs "Without You" and "I Can't Forget You". With the album, he hoped to maintain an organic reggaeton sound, feeling that genre had evolved into an overly "futuristic" sound in Puerto Rico. The previously released singles "El Perdón" and "Hasta el Amanecer" were included on the album in addition to the new singles "El Amante" and "Si Tú la Ves", the latter featuring Wisin of reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel. The songs "El Amante" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, while "Si Tú la Ves" peaked at number 18 on the same chart. "El Amante" also reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Tony M. Centeno of Vibe praised the album by writing, "Despite the high demand for commercial, electronic club records, Jam manages to keep his integrity, remaining loyal to the lane he established for himself nearly 20 years ago." Nicky Jam made his acting debut in 2017 in XXX: Return of Xander Cage, the third release in the XXX action film series, acting alongside Vin Diesel. ### 2018–present: "X" single and Íntimo His collaboration with J Balvin, "X", peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for "X" drew comparisons to Sean Paul's "I'm Still in Love with You" and Drake's "Hotline Bling". The video debuted at the number one spot on YouTube's global music chart and amassed more than 200 million views in two weeks. Nicky Jam performed the song with J Balvin on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon while Jimmy Fallon danced onstage with the two singers. Reacting to the success of the song, Nicky Jam divulged, "I knew our music was going to be big, but I didn't think it was going to be the way it is now." Nicky Jam collaborated with Will Smith, Diplo and Era Istrefi for the official 2018 FIFA World Cup anthem, "Live It Up". The song received mixed reviews, as critics derided the song's "generic message". Nicky Jam starred in the Netflix biographical series Nicky Jam: El Ganador, which explored the artist's struggles with drug addiction and his rise to fame and premiered in November 2018. In October 2019, Nicky Jam previewed the release of his documentary, Behind Nicky Jam's Íntimo, which was produced through Apple Music. He released the album Íntimo on November 1, 2019. It contained the singles "X", "Atrévete" featuring Sech, and "Whine Up" featuring Anuel AA. Billboard called the album "17 songs of pure reggaeton magic". In November 2019, he renewed his contract with Sony Music Latin. He collaborated with Daddy Yankee on the song "Muévelo" which samples Jamaican dancehall artist Ini Kamoze's 1994 hit, "Here Comes the Hotstepper". The video, filmed in Miami, serves as an homage to the period in the 1990s in which reggaeton was criminalized in Puerto Rico. The song appeared on the soundtrack for the film Bad Boys for Life. Nicky Jam played villain Zway-Lo in the film, which was released on January 17, 2020. In March 2020, Nicky Jam was honored with the annual Career Achievement Award at the Premios Tu Música Urbano 2020 hosted by Telemundo. Nicky Jam appeared on Bad Bunny's surprise album Las que no iban a salir, released in May 2020. In August 2021, Jam announced that his first official post-pandemic tour will kick off in early 2022. The 'Infinity' Tour will visit major cities across the U.S. and Canada, starting Feb. 3, 2022, at Boston's Agganis Arena. ## Musical style and influences Nicky Jam's music has been classified as Latin trap and reggaeton. Veronica Villafañe of Forbes wrote that Nicky Jam is considered "one of the architects of the Latino urban music movement". His music has been noted for both eliciting a party atmosphere and embracing overt sentimentality. His career began in the mid-1990s, when reggaeton was in its beginning stages in Puerto Rico. While his early releases exemplified the sound of old-school reggaeton that drew massive popularity in Puerto Rico, Eduardo Cepeda of Remezcla wrote that Nicky Jam's "sound has shifted from hard-hitting dembow...to more velvety rhythms and romantic lyrics". His lyrics have also been described by Billboard as "catchy and flirtatious". His earliest musical influence was Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video; he recalls that "I knew automatically when I saw Michael Jackson do 'Thriller' as a little kid that I wanted people to fall in love with my music." The artist's first exposure to Caribbean music occurred upon seeing family members dancing to reggae at a house party hosted by his parents. Upon his relocation to Medellín, Nicky Jam adopted a more melodic, romantic approach to his music, inspired by Colombian genres such as vallenato. He has also expressed admiration for American soul singer Al Green, who he says inspired him to discuss romantic themes in his music. Other artists who have influenced Nicky Jam include Prince, Jay-Z, Jenni Rivera and Shakira. Jay-Z's The Blueprint (2001) "gave [him] an idea of how to do [his] albums in the Spanish market and give [his] fans that kind of vibe". He became a fan of Mexican rock band Maná in 1992 during the beginning stage of his career and describes the members of the group as his "idols". ## Personal life Nicky Jam has four children, born in 2002, 2002, 2005, and 2012. He married his girlfriend of two years, Angélica Cruz, in a private Catholic ceremony in Medellín in February 2017. J Balvin and Vin Diesel attended the wedding, which featured performances by reggaeton group Gente de Zona and salsa singer Jerry Rivera. In August 2018, the couple filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. That same month, he purchased a house in the Palm Island area of Miami Beach for US\$3.4 million. On Valentine's Day 2020, Nicky Jam became engaged to model Cydney Moreau. The couple met on the set of his music video for "Atrévete", an encounter which the singer described as "love at first sight". After posting a photo alone on Valentine's Day 2021, Nicky Jam confirmed that he and Moreau are no longer together. In an interview with Vibe, he stated that he has attention-deficit disorder. He dated Livia Rici, Nati Torres, and Paulina Cruz. ## Discography ### Studio albums - Vida escante (2004) - The Black Carpet (2007) - Fénix (2017) - Íntimo (2019) - Infinity (2021) ## Filmography ## Awards and nominations
640,406	Upminster Bridge tube station	1,164,733,178	London Underground station	[ "District line stations", "Former London, Midland and Scottish Railway stations", "Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1934", "Tube stations in the London Borough of Havering", "William Henry Hamlyn buildings" ]	Upminster Bridge is a London Underground station in the Upminster Bridge neighbourhood of Upminster in the London Borough of Havering, east London. It is on the District line between to the west and Upminster to the east. It is 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) along the line from the eastern terminus at Upminster and 33 kilometres (21 mi) to in central London where the line divides into numerous branches. The station was opened on 17 December 1934 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway on the local electrified tracks between Upminster and Barking that were constructed in 1932. The main station building, on Upminster Road, is of a distinctive polygonal design by William Henry Hamlyn. It has relatively low usage for a suburban station, with approximately 1.15 million passenger entries/exits in 2017. ## History The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway from London Fenchurch Street and Barking was constructed through the Upminster Bridge area in 1885, with stations at Hornchurch and Upminster. The Whitechapel and Bow Railway opened in 1902 and allowed through-services of the District Railway to operate to Upminster. The Metropolitan District converted to electric trains in 1905 and services were cut back to . Delayed by World War I, electrified tracks were extended by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway to Upminster and through-services resumed in 1932. The District Railway was incorporated into London Transport in 1933 and became known as the District line. The new tracks built by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway allowed additional intermediate stations to be constructed on the local lines between 1932 and 1935. Increased local demand was caused by the expansion of the built-up area of suburban London during the interwar period. The infill station at Upminster Bridge was designed by William Henry Hamlyn, the chief architect of the LMS, and opened with platforms on the local electric lines on 17 December 1934. The station was operated by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway but was only served by District line trains. After nationalisation of the railways in 1948 management of the station passed to British Railways and in 1969 ownership transferred to the London Underground. ## Design The station consists of a central island platform between the tracks that are elevated on a railway embankment. There are four tracks through the site although there are no platforms for the main lines. The full length of the platform is covered by a single canopy with a central waiting room. The Art Deco red brick ticket office is located below platform level, to which it is connected by a subway and stairway. Although similar to the other single-storey station buildings on this part of the route, it is notable for its high atrium roof and polygonal shape. The floor is tiled with a reversed swastika pattern, a popular decorative design at the time the station was constructed. The station was listed locally as a building of local heritage interest by Havering London Borough Council. As part of the public–private partnership arrangement for maintenance of the London Underground, the station was refurbished by Metronet during 2005 and 2006. Works included provision of tactile strips and colour contrasted handrails for the visually impaired, installation of closed-circuit television cameras, passenger help points, new electronic departure information displays on the platforms, a new public address system and improved lighting. The station does not have step-free access from the platforms to the street. ## Location The station is named after a nearby crossing of the River Ingrebourne. The river was the boundary between the ancient parishes of Hornchurch and Upminster and the station is located on the western Hornchurch side. The station is situated on Upminster Road in the London Borough of Havering and is flanked by a parade of shops. It is situated in a primarily residential area and is near to Havering Sixth Form College and Hornchurch Stadium. The London Loop key walking route passes outside the station, and it forms the end point of section 22 from Harold Wood and the starting point of section 23 to Rainham. The station is located on the eastern extremity of the District line and is the penultimate station before the terminus at Upminster. Upminster station is 1.24 kilometres (0.77 mi) to the east of the station and Hornchurch is 1.26 kilometres (0.78 mi) to the west. London Buses routes 193, 248 and 370 serve the station, providing connections to County Park Estate, Cranham, Lakeside, Queen's Hospital and Romford. ## Services The station is in London fare zone 6. The typical off-peak service from the station is 12 District line trains per hour to Upminster and 12 to Earl's Court, of which six continue to Ealing Broadway and six continue to Richmond. At peak periods the number of trains per hour increases to 15 and some trains continue from Earl's Court to Wimbledon. Services towards central London operate from approximately 05:00 to 23:30 and services to Upminster operate from approximately 06:00 to 01:30. The journey time to Upminster is two minutes. Since 2006, the station has been one of the first on the network to operate without a staffed ticket office. Total number of passenger entries and exits at the station during the year is as follows: During 2011 there were 990,000 passenger entries and exits at the station, continuing a trend of growth over the preceding eight years, but lower than neighbouring stations on the route.
25,915	Raëlism	1,172,714,561	UFO religion	[ "Millenarianism", "New religious movements", "Nontheism", "Raëlism", "Religious organizations established in 1974", "UFO religions" ]	Raëlism, also known as Raëlianism, is a UFO religion founded in 1970s France by Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël. Scholars of religion classify Raëlism as a new religious movement. The group is formalised as the International Raëlian Movement (IRM) or Raëlian Church, a hierarchical organisation under Raël's leadership. Raëlism teaches that an extraterrestrial species known as the Elohim created humanity using their advanced technology. An atheistic religion, it holds that the Elohim have historically been mistaken for gods. It claims that throughout history the Elohim have created 40 Elohim/human hybrids who have served as prophets preparing humanity for news about their origins. Among them are The Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad, with Raël himself the 40th and final prophet. Raëlists believe that since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, humanity has entered an Age of Apocalypse in which it threatens itself with nuclear annihilation. Raëlism holds that humanity must find a way to harness new scientific and technological development for peaceful purposes, and that when this has been achieved the Elohim will return to Earth to share their technology with humanity and establish a utopia. To this end, Raëlians have sought to build an embassy for the Elohim that incorporates a landing pad for their spaceship. Raëlians engage in daily meditation, hope for physical immortality through human cloning, and promote a liberal ethical system with a strong emphasis on sexual experimentation. Raël first published his claims to have been contacted by the Elohim in his 1974 book Le Livre Qui Dit La Verité (The Book that Tells the Truth). He subsequently established an organisation devoted to promoting his ideas, MADECH, which in 1976 disbanded and was replaced by the Raëlian Church. Raël headed the new organisation, which was structured around a hierarchy of seven levels. Attracting more followers, the group obtained a country estate in France before relocating its operations to Quebec. In 1998, Raël established the Order of Angels, an internal all-female group whose members are largely sequestered from wider society and tasked with training themselves to become the Elohim's consorts. In 1997 Raël initiated Clonaid, an organisation engaged in research in human cloning directed by senior Raëlian Brigitte Boisselier. In 2002, the company claimed to have produced a human clone, a baby named Eve, bringing much critical scrutiny and media attention. The Movement has attracted further attention through its public protests endorsing causes such as women's and gay rights and against nuclear testing. The International Raëlian Movement claims tens of thousands of members, the majority in Francophone areas of Western Europe and North America and parts of East Asia. Criticism of the philosophy has come from journalists, ex-Raëlians, and anti-cultists, while it has also been studied by scholars of religion. ## Definition and classification Raëlism is a religion that scholars of religion classify as a new religious movement. It has also been described as a UFO religion, a UFO movement, and an ETI (extra-terrestrial intelligence) religion. The organization promoting Raëlianism is the International Raëlian Movement (IRM), or the Raëlian Church. In France, where the religion originated, the government's Parliamentary Commission on Cults labels it a "secte", a French term with negative connotations similar to the English word "cult". In 1997, a parliamentary inquiry commission issued a report through the Belgian Chamber of Representatives that also categorized the Belgian Raelian Movement (Mouvement Raëlien Belge) as a secte. Raëlism is possibly the largest UFO religion in existence, and in the mid-2000s, the scholar of religion Andreas Grünschloß called it "one of the most consolidated UFO groups internationally active today." In its beliefs, Raëlism differs from many other UFO-based philosophies, with the scholar of religion James R. Lewis terming it "the most thoroughly secular of all the UFO religions." Most other UFO religions, such as the Aetherius Society, Ashtar Command, and Heaven's Gate, use many of the beliefs of the late-19th-century religion theosophy; Raëlism does not. Raëlists have also been characterised as having a "belief in ufology", but Raëlians often stress that they do not regard themselves as ufologists. Raëlism is materialistic and rejects the existence of the supernatural, endorsing atheism and rejecting the idea that gods exist. The religion's founder, Raël, characterises traditional religion as irrational and unscientific, presenting his alternative as a philosophy free from "obscurantism and mysticism". Raëlians call their belief system a "scientific religion", with the International Raëlian Movement using the motto "Science is our religion; religion is our science." The religion emphasizes the use of science to solve the world's problems, and practitioners regard Raël as a pioneer of science who will one day be regarded as a peer of Galileo and Copernicus. Many of its members call it an "atheistic religion" and compare it to Buddhism, some branches of which similarly do not promote belief in gods (especially Theravāda Buddhism). Along with science, the other main basis of Raël's ideas is the Bible. Noting the "central role" of the Bible in Raëlism, the scholar of religion Eugene V. Gallagher suggested that it was a "thoroughly biblical and thoroughly Christian" philosophy. Similarly, the sociologist of religion Susan J. Palmer characterised Raëlism as both fundamentalist and Abrahamic in its reliance on the Bible. Raël nevertheless criticised Christianity for what he believed was its role in perverting the Bible's message, presenting himself as an opponent of the Roman Catholic Church. Raëlism is not inclusive of other religions, with new members expected to formally renounce any previous religious affiliations. ## Beliefs During the early 2000s, the scholar of religion George D. Chryssides said that Raëlism exhibits "a coherent worldview", but added that the movement remained in the "very early developmental stage". The religion is based on the teachings of Raël. Raël's claims are taken literally by practitioners of Raëlism, who regard his writings as scripture. From Palmer's extensive study of the philosophy and Raël himself, she thought that he genuinely believed his claims. The sociologist of religion Christopher Partridge noted that Raëlianism exhibits "a strong physicalist belief system". Raëlism presents a form of the ancient astronauts theory which was well known at the time that the religion was formed. Several French authors, such as Jean Sendy, Serge Hutin, and Jacques Bergier, had already published books during the late 1960s and early 1970s stating that Earth was the outpost of an ancient extraterrestrial society. Swiss writer Erich von Däniken presented the same idea in his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods? Similar ideas had also been put forward in science fiction, such as the U.S. television series Star Trek. Raëlians often deny the effect of von Däniken on the philosophy, instead believing that it derives entirely from Raël's revelations. ### The Elohim Raëlism teaches that there exists an extraterrestrial species known as the Elohim. Raël has said that the word "Elohim", which is used for God in the Old Testament, is actually a plural term which he translates as "those who came from the sky." Raël calls individual members of the Elohim "Eloha". He claims that the Elohim gave him the honorific name "Raël", a term deriving from "Israel", which he translates as "the messenger of those who come from the sky." In his first book, Le Livre Qui Dit La Verité, published in 1974, Raël claimed that he initially encountered these alien beings on 13 December 1973, when he was 27 years old. He wrote that he was walking along the Puy de Lassolas volcanic crater in the Clermont-Ferrand mountains when one of their spaceships appeared and an Eloha emerged, who asked him to return the next day and bring a Bible. Raël did so, and the over six days Eloha explained to him the true meaning of its contents, revealing more about the Elohim's involvement in human history. In his 1976 book Les Extra-Terrestres M'ont Emmené sur Leur Planète (The Extraterrestrials Took Me to Their Planet), Raël added that he was contacted by the Elohim again on 7 October 1975, when they took him aboard their spaceship and transported him to their home planet. Here he was offered six biological robot women with which to have sex, saw the Elohim create his clone, and taught the techniques of sensual meditation. The scholar of religion James R. Lewis noted that Raël's account of encountering the Elohim was similar to those of the "classic UFO contactees" of the 1950s and 1960s. The Elohim are described as physically smaller than humans, with pale green skin and almond-shaped eyes, and divide into seven different races. Raëlians are forbidden from painting or sketching them. According to Raël, their planet is outside the Solar System but within the Milky Way. Raël says there are 90,000 Elohim on their planet, that they are all quasi-immortal, and that they do not wear clothes. All are permitted to engage in free love with one another, and sexual jealousy has been eliminated. All are regarded as feminine in manner; "the most feminine woman on Earth is only 10% as feminine as the Elohim." They are not allowed to procreate, and many undergo a sterilisation operation to ensure this. Raël also reports that the Elohim can communicate with humans because they understand all human languages. #### The Elohim on Earth Raëlism teaches that about 25,000 years ago the Elohim arrived at the Earth and transformed it so that life could develop. It states that the Elohim used their advanced technology to establish all life on the planet. Raël characterises humans as "biological robots" that have been created and programmed by the Elohim. Raëlism teaches that humanity is modelled physically on the Elohim; for practitioners, this is indicated by the passage at Genesis 1:26. Also representing his own interpretation of Genesis, Raël teaches that the Elohim scientist responsible for creating humanity was named Yahweh and that the first two humans to be created were named Adam and Eve. Raëlians believe that there were originally seven human races, modelling the seven Elohim races, but that the purple, blue, and green races have died out. In believing humanity was created by the Elohim, Raëlians reject Darwinian evolution and espouse creationism and intelligent design; Raëlians term their beliefs "scientific creationism." Raëlians believe that the Elohim were also created by an earlier species, and they before them, ad infinitum. They believe that the cosmos expands indefinitely, both in time and space; infinity is an important concept for them. Raëlians believe that accounts of gods in various mythologies around the world are misinterpretations of memories about the Elohim. The philosophy states that the sacred scriptures of many other religions describe the ongoing activities of the Elohim on Earth. The tale of Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden, recounted in Genesis, is, for instance, interpreted as representing humanity's difficult transition from the Elohim's laboratories to life on Earth, where they had to become self-sufficient. The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, as presented in the Gospels, is described as representing how the Elohim cloned Jesus to restore him to life after death. References to Satan are interpreted as referring to the chief of a group on the Elohim's planet who were opposed to genetic experiments on Earth and who argued that humanity should be destroyed as a potential threat. According to the Raëlians, the Great Flood narrative recounts an attempt by the anti-human aliens to wipe out humanity, but that humanity was rescued by an alien spacecraft which provided the basis for the story of Noah's Ark. Various figures who established or inspired religions throughout human history, including Jesus, the Buddha, Muhammad, and Joseph Smith, are portrayed by the Raëlians as having been guided by the Elohim. These are characterised as being 39 prophets sent to humanity at various times. Each is believed to have revealed information to humanity that they could comprehend at the given time, and Raëlism, therefore, emphasises the idea of progressive truth. Raël claims that he is the fortieth and final prophet of the Elohim, sent because humanity is now sufficiently developed to understand the truth about the Elohim. He initially claimed that he was chosen for this role because he had a Roman Catholic mother and a Jewish father and was thus "an ideal link between two very important peoples in the history of the world." He added that he was also selected because he lived in France, which the Elohim considered a more open-minded country than most others. Raël subsequently stated that these prophets are themselves the result of a human mother breeding with an Eloha father, with the human mothers having been chosen for the purity of their genetic code, beamed onto an Elohim spacecraft, impregnated, and then returned to Earth with their memory of the event erased. In his 1979 book, Let's Welcome Our Fathers from Space, Raël added that he was the biological son of the Eloha whom he first encountered, Yahweh. He noted that Yahweh was also the father of Jesus, making the latter Raël's half-brother. In 2003, Raël publicly identified himself as Maitreya, the prophesied future bodhisattva of Mahayana Buddhism. He maintains that he continues to be in telepathic contact with the Elohim, hearing Yahweh's voice guiding him in making decisions affecting Raëlianism. The religion also teaches that the Elohim continue to monitor every human individual on Earth, remotely, from their planet. This is done so that the Elohim can decide which individuals merit being offered the opportunity of eternal life. It argues that the Elohim continue to visit the Earth, as evidenced by crop circles, which adherents regard as the landing spaces of the Elohim's spacecraft. Raëlians generally understand sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) as confirmation of their belief in the Elohim, although their opinion of Ufology is ambiguous. Raëlians also consider the appearance of "angel hair" as evidence of the Elohim's presence, stating that it has appeared at various Raëlian summer gatherings. They typically express scepticism regarding claims by alleged alien contactees other than Raël. Raëlians believe that they are all capable of linking telepathically with the Elohim but that only Raël is permitted to meet with them physically or receive their revelations. ### The Age of Apocalypse and the Elohim's Return Raëlism is a millenarian philosophy. Raël claims that since the U.S. military's use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, humanity have been living in the "Age of Apocalypse" or "Revelation". It states that the human species must now choose whether to use science and technology to enhance life or to use it to bring about nuclear annihilation. It claims that if humans successfully get through this present age, they will live in an era of advanced technology in which society will be tolerant and sexually liberated. Raël claimed that he was destined to help lead humanity away from its path of destruction. According to Raël, beginning a peaceful age will cause the return of the Elohim to Earth. He added that they will bring them the 39 immortal prophets whom they had previously sent to guide humanity. Raël stated that humanity has to build an embassy for the Elohim prior to their arrival on Earth and that it must include a landing pad for their spaceship. He stated that it needed to be located on internationally recognised neutral territory so as not to indicate favour towards any one particular nation-state. Initially, Raël sought permission to build it in Israel, explaining this by reference to how the ancient Israelites were once in contact with the Elohim. He also stated that this embassy would constitute the "Third Temple" referred to in Jewish prophecy. Receiving little help for this venture from the Israeli government, Raël instead suggested that a neighbouring country might be suitable, proposing Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt as possible locations. None of the governments of these countries were favorable. Senior people of the Raëlian Movement suggested Hawaii as a possible alternative, and in 1998 Raël stated that he had received a new revelation from the Elohim stating that this location would be acceptable. Chryssides noted that should the Elohim not arrive in 2035, the Raëlians will have to adapt to the new circumstance in which their eschatology remains unfulfilled. On 16 April 1987, the Chicago Sun-Times estimated the funding for the "cosmic kibbutz" at \$1 million. In 1997–1998, the funding had risen to \$7 million. In 2001, group members claimed that they had saved \$9 million had been saved for the embassy; and in October 2001, the funding had reached \$20 million. Once on Earth, Raël claims, the Elohim will share their advanced technology and scientific understanding with humanity and will help to usher in a utopia. Raël teaches that the Elohim's arrival will herald a new and improved political system on Earth. This will be a single world government that Raël terms a "geniocracy," or "rule of geniuses," and which he discusses in his fifth book, Geniocracy. According to this system, only those who are fifty percent more intelligent that the average person will be permitted to rule. Raël's proposed geniocratic system bears similarities with the style of governance that Plato promoted in his work Republic. Raëlians thus reject democracy, believing that it fails to ensure that society has the best leadership. Raël claims that this future society will have no war, and crime will have been ended through genetic engineering. In this future, Raël states, humanity will be able to travel beyond the Earth to colonise other planets. He claims that robots will assume menial tasks, allowing humans to devote their time to pleasurable pursuits. He also argued that there would be biological robots which would serve as sex slaves, akin to those which Raël states he encountered on his visit to the Elohim planet. A single world currency will be introduced, as a prelude to the total abolition of money, while a unified world calendar will also be adopted. ### Cloning and survival after death Raëlians reject the existence of the ethereal soul that survives physical death, and instead argue that the only hope for immortality is through scientific means. The Raëlians claim that the Elohim will clone and thus recreate dead individuals, but only those particular individuals who they deem merit this recreation. In this, they believe in a "conditional immortality", with immortality for a minority and oblivion for the majority. The resurrection of Jesus, as recounted in the Gospels, is for instance explained as an example of Elohim cloning. Raëlists advocate for the development of human cloning technology on Earth. Raëlians also believe that deceased individuals can be cloned so that they could be tried and punished for their crimes. After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, in which the attackers killed themselves, the Raëlists proposed that they could be resurrected through cloning to be tried for their actions. Due to its emphasis upon attaining immortality, Raëlism deplores suicide; after the Heaven's Gate group engaged in a mass suicide in 1997, the Raëlian Church was among the new religions that issued press releases condemning suicide. As opposed to the scientific definition of reproductive cloning, which is simply the creation of a genetically identical living organism, Raëlians seek to both genetically clone individuals, rapidly accelerate growth of the clone to adulthood through a process like guided self-assembly of rapidly expanded cells or even nanotechnology. Raël told lawmakers that banning the development of human cloning was comparable to outlawing medical advances such "antibiotics, blood transfusions, and vaccines". ### Morality, ethics, and gender roles Raëlism insists on a strict ethical code for its followers. Members are expected to take responsibility for their own actions, respect cultural and racial difference, promote non-violence, strive for world peace, and share wealth and resources. They are also encouraged to uphold democracy, in the belief that humanity will ultimately make a democratic choice to introduce geniocracy. The Raëlian opinion is that everything should be permitted so long as it harms no one and does not impede scientific and technological advance. Members are nevertheless advised against using recreational drugs or stimulants so as not to harm their health, although some practitioners have acknowledged that they use alcohol and cigarettes. John M. Bozeman characterized the religion's morality as "progressive," while Palmer referred to the group's "liberal social values", and Chryssides called Raëlist values "worldly and hedonistic". The scholar of religion Paul Oliver said that the philosophy's ethics are "relativistic" in that practitioners are encouraged to act in a manner that they feel appropriate to the context. Several scholars have also argued that it is a "world-affirming" religion, using the typology established by Roy Wallis. Raël considered gender as an artificial construct and emphasized its fluidity. Raël avoided a macho persona and is instead often described by his followers as being "gentle" and "feminine". Palmer suggested that Raël regarded women as being superior to men because they were described as being more like the Elohim. In Raël's account, the inhabitants of the Elohim planet "have 10 percent of masculinity and 90 percent of femininity." Raël also proposed that if women were in positions of political power across the world, there would be no war. The Raëlians have participated with public protests for women's rights. At its June 2003 "Joy of Being Woman" demonstration, Raëlian women danced naked through the streets of Paris. Palmer described the Raëlians as feminists, although Raël criticized mainstream feminism, arguing that it "copied the shortcomings of men". Generally adopting the belief that the human body is malleable, Raëlism has a positive opinion of plastic surgery to improve physical appearance. Raëlism teaches that the Elohim created humanity to feel sexual desire as a panacea for their violent impulses. It states that through the pursuit of sexual pleasure, new pathways between the neurons in the brain are forged, thus enhancing an individual's intelligence. Raëlism encourages its members to explore their sexuality; while Raël is often photographed with beautiful women and appears to be heterosexual, he encourages homosexual experimentation. Adopting an accepting attitude towards different forms of sexual orientation and expression, Raëlism teaches that differences in sexual orientation are rooted in the Elohim's primordial genetic programming and are something to be celebrated. Researching about the Raëlians of Quebec, Palmer found that many of them avoided categorizing themselves by using terms like "heterosexual", "homosexual", or "bisexual", finding those labels to be too limiting. The Raëlians have stressed the need for respect and mutual consent in sexual behaviour. The group places a strong taboo on incest, rape, and sexual activities involving children. Anyone involved in the Movement who is found to have been involved in these latter activities is excommunicated, while Raël has recommended that paedophiles be castrated or placed in mental institutions. Those believed to have forced unwelcome sexual attention upon another person are excommunicated from the Movement for seven years– the amount of time Raëlians believe it takes for all of a person's biological cells to be regenerated. The Raëlists reject both enforced monogamy and marriage, regarding these as institutions that have been enforced to enslave women and suppress sexual expression. The religion discourages its members from marrying. Members are also discouraged from contributing to global overpopulation; members are urged not to have more than two children, and ideally none at all. Raël states that should two individuals wish to procreate, their psychic control during the act of conception can affect any child resulting. The Raëlists also believe that once human cloning has been developed, biological reproduction will be obsolete. As well as endorsing the use of birth control and contraceptives, Raëlists endorse the use of abortion to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Raël has also argued that if a woman does not want a child who has been born then she should give it up to be raised by society. Some Swiss government authorities responded to Raëlians' opinions about Sensual Meditation with a fear that Raëlians are a threat to public morals for supporting liberalized sex education for children. They argue that such liberalized sex education that teaches children how to obtain sexual gratification would encourage sexual abuse of underage children. ### Religious symbol The symbol initially used to signify Raëlism was a six-pointed star with a swastika in the centre. Raël stated that this was the symbol he originally saw on the hull of the Elohim's spaceship. Raëlians regard this as a symbol of infinity. Practitioners also believe that this symbol helps facilitate their own telepathic contact with the Elohim. Raëlists typically wear a medallion of the symbol around their neck. The Raëlian use of the swastika, a symbol that had been prominently used by Germany's Nazi Party during the 1930s and 1940s, resulted in accusations from the Montreal anti-cult organization Info-Cult that the Raëlians promoted fascism and racism. Outside Info-Cult's office, Raëlians spoke against the act of discriminating against a religious minority. On 2 January 1992, a dozen people protested against the use of the swastika in the Raëlian logo in Miami's Eden Roc Hotel. The use of the swastika and other Raëlian practices has resulted in criticism from the group Hineni of Florida, an Orthodox Jewish organization. In 1992, the Raëlian Movement altered their symbol, replacing the central swastika with a swirling shape. They explained that this was due to a request from the Elohim to change the symbol in order to help in negotiations with Israel for the building of the Extraterrestrial Embassy, although the country continued to deny their request. Raël also stated that the change was made to show respect to the victims of the Holocaust. The newly added swirling shape was explained as a depiction of a swirling galaxy. In 2005, the Israeli Raëlian Guide Kobi Drori stated that the Lebanese government was discussing proposals by the Raëlian movement to build their interplanetary embassy in Lebanon. However, one condition was that the Raëlians not display their logo on top of the building because it mixes a swastika and a Star of David. According to Drori, the Raëlians involved refused this offer, as they wished to keep the symbol as it was. From 1991 to 2007, the official Raëlian symbol in Europe and America did not have the original swastika, but Raël decided to make the original symbol, the Star of David intertwined with a swastika, the only official symbol of the Raëlian Movement worldwide. ## Practices Raëlism involves a series of monthly meetings, initiations, and meditation rituals. Where possible, Raëlians congregate with fellow practitioners on the third Sunday of the month. It is the group's policy that these events occur in rented rooms rather than property that the Raëlian Movement itself has purchased. At the monthly meetings in Montreal, Raël himself often appeared. The main ritual in Raëlism is the "transmission of the cellular plan", in which a Raëlian Guide placed their hands upon another individual's head, through which the Guide is believed to receive the individual's cellular code and then telepathically transmit it to the Elohim. Doing so denotes the initiate's formal recognition of the Elohim as the creators of humanity. This is used as part of the "baptism", or initiation ceremony for new members joining the Movement. Those in the Movement who hold the rank of bishop and priest are permitted to conduct these initiation ceremonies. In some instances, when the necessary individuals are present, Raël touches the head of a Raëlian bishop, who in turn touches that of a Raëlian priest, who touches the head of the initiate to ensure the "transmission". These "transmissions" are permitted to take place on one of four days in the year that play prominent role in the Raëlian calendar. The first examples took place in April 1976, when Raël carried out the "transmission" ceremonies of forty initiates on the Roc Plat. The Raëlian calendar begins with the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Each year after this date is referred to as "AH" or "après Hiroshima" ("after Hiroshima"). The Raëlians celebrate four religious festivals each year, two of which mark Raël's claimed encounters with the Elohim. These are the first Sunday in April, which is the date on which Raëlians believe the Elohim created the first humans; August 6th, which marks the day of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima in 1945; October 7th, which is the day in which Raël claims that he encountered the Elohim for the second time, in 1974; and December 13th, which is the day that Raël allegedly first encountered the Elohim in 1973. ### Sensual meditation A major practice in Raëlism is "sensual meditation", something that Raël outlined in his 1980 book La méditation sensuelle. Raëlians are encouraged to take part in this guided meditation or visualisation on a daily basis, with the intent of transmitting love and telepathic links to the Elohim and achieving harmony with infinity. In this, practitioners are often assisted in this meditation through listening to an instruction tape. Sensual meditation sessions also take place communally at the group's monthly meetings, during which the assembled adherents sit or lie on the floor in a dimly lit room. They are then guided through it by a Raëlian Guide speaking through a microphone; the meditation may be accompanied by New Age music. Sensual meditation begins with a relaxation exercise known as harmonisation avec l'infini ("harmonization with the infinite"). One stage of this process is "oxygenation", which entails deep breathing. Practitioners are taught to relax and then envision themselves expanding their frame of reference until the self becomes only a tiny speck within the universe. They are then tasked with visualising the bones and organs of the body, and ultimately the atoms within the body itself. The guided meditation then encourages the meditators to imagine themselves being on the Elohim's planet and communicating telepathically with these aliens. Palmer found that Raëlians varyingly described a sense of physical well-being, psychic abilities, or sexual arousal during these meditations and interpreted these as evidence that they were in telepathic contact with the Elohim. The goal of sensual meditation is to achieve a "cosmic orgasm", which is characterised as the ultimate experience a person can have. Palmer quoted one senior Raëlian as describing the "cosmic orgasm" as "the sensual experience of the unity between the self and the universe". ### Seminars The Raëlian Church holds week-long summer seminars called "Stages of Awakening." These involve daily lectures by Raël, sensual meditation sessions, periods of fasting and feasting, testimonials, and various alternative therapies. Activities that have attracted press attention have include dressing in the clothes of the opposite gender as part of an exercise to play with the fluidity of gender expression, and observing one's own genitals and masturbating. Raëlians use these seminars as an opportunity to form friendships or sexual relationships. Attendees wear white togas with name tags; they have also used colored bracelets to indicate whether they wanted to be alone, be in a couple, or simply meet people. In 1991, a French journalist attended a seminar and taped couples having sexual intercourse in tents, something then much-publicised. Following these seminars, a second seminar, this time restricted to members of the Structure, takes place. ## History ### Origins Claude Vorilhon was born in Ambert, France on 30 September 1946. He was the illegitimate son of a 15-year-old mother; his father had been a Sephardi Jew then in hiding from the Nazi authorities. Vorilhon later recounted being raised as an atheist by his grandmother and aunt, although for a time attended a Roman Catholic boarding school. As a teenager, Vorilhon hitch-hiked to Paris where he pursued a career as a singer, having several successful singles using the name "Claude Celler." He then married a nurse and had two children with her. In 1973, he founded the racing car magazine Auto Pop and also worked as a test driver for such vehicles. In November 1973, a new law was introduced in France banning speeding on the highway, ending his work as a test driver. Auto Pop ceased publication in September 1974. There had been a range of reported UFO sightings in 1970s France, and the ancient astronaut theory was "very much in vogue" in the country by the middle of that decade. In early 1974, Vorilhon announced that in December 1973 he had been contacted by the Elohim while walking along the Puy Lassolas mountain. He began promoting these ideas in interviews on French television and radio. He began lecturing on his alleged experiences in Paris, where he attracted a group of followers, many of whom were science-fiction fans or amateur ufologists. In December 1974 an organisation based on his ideas, the Mouvement pour l'accueil des Elohims créateurs de l'humanité (MADECH; "Movement for the Welcoming of the Elohim, Creators of Humanity"), was launched. Vorilhon began referring to himself as "Raël." A newsletter, Apocalypse, began publication in October 1974. MADECH began raising money for the self-publication of Vorilhon's first book, which appeared as Le livre qui dit la verité that year. Raëlians treat his first book with reverence, often referring to it simple as Le livre ("the book"). Some members of MADECH wanted the organisation to take a broader interest in Ufology beyond Raël's own claims and also desired to restrict his authority within the group. Amid an internal power struggle, Raël called an emergency meeting in April 1975; the feud continued and in July he dismissed MADECH's executives and replaced them with seven of his own supporters. Raël also announced that he had been contacted by the Elohim for a second time and that on this occasion they had taken him to visit their planet. He outlined these claims in his 1975 book Les Extra-Terrestres M'ont Emmené sur Leur Planète. Opposition to Raël remained evident in MADECH and in 1976 he disbanded the group, beginning the Raëlian Movement as a replacement in February 1976. It operated along a strict hierarchy, with Raël as its director, referred to as the "Guide of Guides." Unlike MADECH, it promoted a broader religious structure, including ritual practices. It continued publication of Apocalypse to spread its message. In 1976, the Raëlians sent a mission to the Canadian province of Quebec to attract converts in the Francophone region. The next year a Quebecois branch of the Movement was established. Raël's first two books were then published in a single English edition, titled Space Aliens Took Me to Their Planet in 1978 and republished as The Message Given To Me By Extra-Terrestrials: They Took Me to their Planet in 1986 and, in a new translation, as The Final Message in 1998. He expanded on his ideas with several additional books: Accueiller Les Extra-Terrestes in 1979 (translated as Let's Welcome Our Fathers from Space in 1986), La Méditation Sensuelle in 1980 (translated as Sensual Meditation in 1986), and Geniocracy. ### Later development In 1980, the Raëlians sent a mission to Japan, followed by another to Africa in 1982 and to Australia in 1990. In the early 1980s the Movement bought a campground near Albi in southern France, which they named Eden. In 1984, Raël underwent a year's retreat in which he avoided public appearance. The following year, his first wife left both him and the movement; he subsequently began a relationship with a Japanese Raëlian, Lisa Sunagawa, for several years. During the mid-1990s, Raël returned to his hobby of motor racing, competing in the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix and the 1998 Motorola Cup in Miami before retiring from the sport in 2001. In 1992, a schism appeared in the religion as a group of about forty practitioners were expelled. They formed a rival, smaller group, the Apostles of the Last Days, espousing the belief that Raël had been the original spokesman of the Elohim but had been taken over by Satan. In 1992, the Raëlian Movement bought 115 hectares near Valcourt in Quebec, naming this property Le Jardin du Prophète ("the Garden of the Prophet"). It was here in 1997 that the organisation opened UFOLand, a museum about ufology. Its purpose was to raise money for the Elohim Embassy, but in 2001 it closed to the public, having proved financially unviable. It was also during 1997, a month after Ian Wilmut announced the birth of Dolly the Sheep, a successful clone, that Raël established the company Valiant Venture to explore the commercial applications of cloning. Through it came Clonaid, of which the Raëlian Bishop Brigitte Boisselier was co-founder, director, and spokesperson. The initiation of this group and its promotion of human cloning incited much debate among other religious figures, scientists, and ethicists. Raël and Boisselier both spoke before US President Bill Clinton's Congress hearing on human cloning in March 2001. At the July 1998 training camp in the Jardins des Prophètes, Raël announced that in December 1997 he had received another revelation from the Elohim, commanding him to form a new grouping within the Raëlian Movement, the Order of Raël's Angels. This was to be a secret society, open only to women who would become the consorts of the Elohim after their arrival on Earth. A newsletter, Plumes d'Anges (Angel Feathers), was issued containing information about the Order. Palmer noted that by emphasizing the unique qualities of women, this group challenged the established Raëlian doctrine that men and women are wholly equal and interchangeable. In 2001, Raël toured Asia, giving seminars. That year he married for a second time, to a 16-year-old ballet student. Raëlism discourages marriage, and this instance was done for expediency, because he had been questioned by customs officials when traveling with her across borders. They subsequently divorced but remained a couple. In November 2002, a local man vandalised the group's Jardins des Prophètes property, causing significant damage. Raël stated that this had been a preliminary test of the "Abraham Project," a joint operation between the Central Intelligence Agency and the French intelligence agencies to assassinate him using schizophrenics directed through mind control. In December 2002, Boisselier announced that Clonaid's work had resulted in the birth of a baby, Eve, which she claimed was the world's first human clone. The child was not presented for scrutiny by scientists; the IRM's allegations regarding Baby Eve were never substantiated by the scientific community. Many commentators believed the announcement had been a hoax. In January 2003 the Raëlians declared that Eve's parents had hidden themselves to evade attention. Baby Eve's appearance gained the Raëlians much international press coverage, and also much ridicule. The group claimed this publicity generated around 5000 new members. Boisellier announced periodically that further clone infants had been born, in the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, although the press increasingly deemed these hoaxes and stopped attending Raëlian press conferences. In January 2003, Raël announced Boisellier as his appointed successor, and also published The Maitreya, in which he identified himself with the eponymous figure from Buddhist prophecy. In response to Raël's association with Clonaid, South Korean immigration authorities denied him entry to their country in 2003. The group then protested near South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare that ordered him to leave. Raël appeared alongside a group of women, "Raël's Girls", in the October 2004 issue of Playboy. In 2005, two amateur documentary makers, Abdullah Hashem and Joseph McGowen, attended and filmed a Raëlian seminar in Las Vegas, claiming that they were making a student film. They then used the footage as the basis of a documentary, which they presented as an exposé of the group. A court case followed in 2008, initiated by the IRM, which claimed the filmmakers had gained entry through misrepresentation. A default judgement was made against Hashem in 2011, and he was ordered to return his footage to the IRM. In 2009, the Church announced plans for a new UFOLand in Las Vegas. ## Organization and structure A strictly hierarchical organization, there are two levels of membership. The majority of members are referred to simply as "Raëlians", while those who are in the higher levels controlling the Movement are referred to as the "Structure." ### Member hierarchy The Structure is divided along a six-tiered system. Raël is at the top of the Raëlian Church, being referred to as the "Guide of Guides." Senior members of the Structure re-elect him to that position each seven years. Below Raël are the "Bishop Guides", then the "Priest Guides", then the "Animators", then the "Assistant Animators", and finally the "Probationers". Those characterised as "Guides" are expected to be exemplars for the rest of the movement, for instance by strictly adhering to the avoidance of alcohol, caffeine, and recreational drugs. Race, gender, and sexual orientation are no barrier to rising through the ranks of the group's leadership structure. However, Palmer noted that by the mid-1990s there were few women in leadership positions within the organisation. Members of the Raëlian structure begin as level 0 "trainees" during annual seminars. The Raelian structure said in 2007 to have about 2,300 members, 170 "Raëlian guides", and 41 bishops. Three Raëlian Bishops sit on a "Council of the Wise" which monitors heresy and arranges punishment for transgressors. When they seek to punish an individual it is usually for a seven-year "excommunication"; it lasts seven years because Raëlians believe that it takes this long for every cell in the human body to be replaced. In more severe cases, the council can oversee a "demarking", by which they cancel the transmission of the cellular code, believing that this revokes the individual's hope for immortality through cloning. Members pay an annual membership fee to the Raëlian Movement. Full members of the Movement are encouraged to tithe 10% of their income to the organisation. This tithe is then divided up, with 3% going to the national branch and 7% to the International Movement's central administration. An additional 1% may go to Raël himself. Tithing is however not enforced. In her research, Palmer found many practitioners who admitted to not paying the tithe; a 1991 survey of Raëlians found that a third of respondents did not pay, while in an interview, Raël suggested that over 60 percent do not. It is these tithes and membership fees, coupled with the sales of Raël's books, that represent the International Raëlian Movement's main income. This money is then saved toward the construction of the Elohim Embassy or spent on the production of flyers, books, videos, and other material used to disseminate the Raëlian message. The group initially owned a country estate in Albi, France, before later obtaining one in Valcourt, Quebec. ### Order of Angels In 1998, Raël established an internal all-female group, the Order of Raël's Angels, whose members are trained to become the consorts of the Elohim. He stated that these women would be the only humans permitted contact with the Elohim after the latter arrive on Earth. He further claimed that they will serve as the Elohim's liaisons with human politicians, scientists, and journalists. Raël stated that it was only women who could be Angels because men were not feminine enough for the extremely gentle, delicate, and sensitive Elohim. Trans women were permitted entry; Raël praised one transgender member for "choosing to be a woman". The Angels are meant to cultivate their feminine and nurturing side. They are tasked with pursuing self-transformation, striving to please the Elohim and to resemble them more closely by cultivating discipline, serenity, harmony, purity, humility, charisma, and both internal and external beauty. The Angels are instructed to regularly pray to the Elohim and regularly meditate. They are encouraged to limit their meat consumption and to avoid carbohydrates and sugar so as to maintain their physical beauty. They have proved useful for the group's public relations and have also provided volunteers for its human cloning experiments. The Order has also engaged in the selling of human ova on the internet, launching a website to do so in 1999. Raël stated that this would help the Angels achieve financial independence. The Order of Raël's Angels has a six-tiered structure, symmetrical with the six-tiered structure of the Raëlian Movement as a whole. Raël divides the Angels into three groups: the White, Pink, and Golden Ribbon Angels. White Angels wear white feathers on a necklace, can choose human lovers, and are tasked with operating in the world to attract more women into the Raëlian movement. Pink Angels wear a pink feather on a necklace and are considered by Raël to be the "Chosen Ones" who will become the consorts of the Elohim. They are expected to live a sequestered life, initially in the Jardins des Prophètes community, and are expected to reserve their sexual activity for the extraterrestrials. The Gold Ribbon Angels are characterised by a gold cord worn around the neck. They are handpicked by Raël for their physical beauty, and are described as being the first humans who will approach the Elohim on the latter's arrival on Earth. The Pink and Gold Ribbon Angels are expected to abstain from sexual activity with most other humans but should receive instruction in alien lovemaking from Raël himself as well as engaging in sexual acts alone or with other Angels. The Order was insulated from the rest of the religion, with the Angels' living quarters for instance being off-limits to non-Angels. Access to the Angels is strictly limited for both journalists and scholars. Gold Ribbon Angels have been demoted from this status as they have aged, on the explanation that as their physical beauty has deteriorated they are no longer suited to greeting the Elohim. These demoted individuals are then tasked with training younger replacements. Other individuals have been deprived of their status as Angels altogether, when they are perceived to have acted in contravention of the group's ethos. The initiation rites include declaring an oath or making a contract in which one agrees to become defender of the Raëlian ideology and its founder Raël. A few days later, Time magazine wrote that French chemist Brigitte Boisselier was an Order of Angels member. Around this time, cult specialist Mike Kropveld termed the Order of Angels "one of the most transparent movements" he had witnessed, though he was alarmed by the women's promise to defend Raël's life with their own bodies. Raël has instructed some women members to play a pro-sex feminist role in the Raëlian Church. "Rael's Girls" is another group of women in the religion which are against the suppression of feminine acts of pleasure, including sexual intercourse with men or women. Rael's Girls consists solely of women who work in the sex industry. The women of Rael's Girls say there is not any reason to repent for performing striptease or being a prostitute. This organization was established "to support the choice of the women who are working in the sex industry". ## Outreach and advocacy The International Raëlian Movement has established various projects through which to promote its ideology. In 1997 it created Clonaid, a company devoted to human cloning. Clients can bank a sample of their DNA with the group, which offers to then produce a single clone of the individual after they die. Another Raëlian company, Ovulaid, seeks to provide ovaries for individuals and couples who cannot biologically produce their offspring. It expresses its intention to develop technologies that can create "designer babies" to the desired specification of their client. An additional project, Insuraclone, is designed to clone organs for an individual in the event of future organ failure, while Clonapet intended to clone people's pets after the latter died. The Raëlians are known for their socio-political activism, specifically for women's rights, gay rights, opposition to racism, banning nuclear testing, and promoting genetically-modified foods. Throughout the history of Raëlism, members of the Raëlian Church have toured public settings advocating masturbation, condoms, and birth control. Through its activities, Palmer stated that the Raëlian Movement was involved in "concocting, then carefully monitoring, a mild level of cultural conflict" to generate publicity for the group, something coupled with "blatant courtship of the media". She compared these tactics to those of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan in the 1960s and 1970s. When media has adopted a mocking tone toward the religion, Raël has urged its followers to defend their beliefs, resulting in letter-writing campaigns and sometimes lawsuits. In 1992, the IRM launched protests against the Montreal Catholic School Commission's decision to veto the addition of condom machines to the bathrooms of Roman Catholic high schools in Quebec. The Raëlians parked a "condom-mobile" outside Roman Catholic high schools in Quebec and Ontario from which they dispensed contraceptives to the pupils. In 1993, the Raëlians organized a conference on masturbation in Quebec, at which speeches were given by Raël and Betty Dodson. Advertising this cause, Raëlians handed out badges with "Oui à la masturbation (Yes to masturbation)" on them at the Montreal Jazz Festival. In 2000, the Raëlians launched NOPEDO, a group to combat paedophilia. In 2001, they publicly distributed leaflets in Italy and Switzerland protesting the existence of over a hundred child molesters among Roman Catholic clergy in France. Geneva's Episcopal vicar sued the Raëlian Church for libel but the judge dismissed the charges as the Raëlian accusation was deemed to only target convicted priests and not the Roman Catholic Church as a whole. In 2002, Raëlians held an anti-clerical parade in Montreal, where they gave high school students Christian crosses and invited the students to both burn them and sign letters of apostasy to the Roman Catholic Church. The Quebec Association of Bishops called this "incitement to hatred", and several school boards attempted to prevent their students from meeting Raëlians. The movement supports genetically-modified foods. In 2003, naked members arranged themselves into the shape of the phrases "J'aime OGM" and "I love GM" in a Quebec field. In 2006, about 30 Raëlians, some of them topless, took part in an anti-war demonstration in Seoul, South Korea. In 2003, Raëlians in white alien costumes bore signs bearing the message "NO WAR ... ET wants Peace, too!" to protest the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. In 2009 it launched its "Adopt a Clitoris" project to raise money to create a hospital in Africa to reverse damage caused by female genital mutilation (FGM); it has also established Clitoraid, an organization whose mission is to oppose FGM. Another of the groups established by the Raëlian Church is ARAMIS (Active Raelian Association for Multiplicity In Sexuality), which is the Raëlian Association of Sexual Minorities and an LGBT rights group. Several Raëlian groups in the United States have organized annual protests, claiming that women should have the same legal right to go topless in public that men enjoy without fear of arrest for indecent exposure. Some people have called this a publicity stunt designed to recruit members. Go Topless Day is their annual event, with women protesting topless except for nipple pasties to avoid arrest. It is held near 26 August, the anniversary of Women's Equality Day. The book Yes to Human Cloning (2001) attracted media attention after its release, including segments on 20/20 and 60 Minutes. Biophysicist Gregory Stock described the Raëlian Clonaid project as "sufficiently quirky to command instant media attention." It has been estimated that the group received free publicity worth US\$500 million as a result of the Clonaid announcement. Mark Hunt, a lawyer and politician who wished to clone his dead son with the help of the Clonaid services, was overwhelmed by the volume of media attention and in an interview said that Clonaid's chief executive had become a "press hog". ## Demographics Established in France, Raëlism initially spread in Francophone areas of Europe, Africa, and North America. As of the mid-1990s, membership clustered predominantly in France, Quebec, and Japan. Palmer noted that in Canada, Raëlism had faced difficulty spreading from Quebec and into the country's Anglophone provinces. In 1999, Bozeman said that the Movement had around 35,000 members, while in 2003 Chryssides said it had about 55,000 members worldwide. By the early 2010s, the group was claiming 60,000 members internationally, a number Palmer and Sentes thought was "probably inflated". In Britain, the sociologist Eileen Barker said that there were "only a dozen or so" committed members of the religion in 1989. By 2001, the sociologist David V. Barrett suggested that there were around 40 to 50 committed members in the country and around 500 sympathisers; two years later, Chryssides thought there were about 40 members and 200 sympathisers in Britain. An internal survey of the group's members in 1988 found that there were almost double as many men as women in the Movement. Similarly, based on her attendance at Raëlian events in Quebec, Palmer noted that men usually outnumbered women. She observed that many of the men acted in an effeminate fashion, and were often attracted to other men. Palmer also observed several transvestites at the meetings, and found that a significant number of the women present worked as strippers. On these grounds, she suggested that Raëlism had a particular appeal for "people who define themselves as sexually marginal". Palmer also suggested that Raëlism had an appeal for "committed atheists who are hopelessly secularized yet suffering from the existential angst of living in a world devoid of order and higher values". ### Conversion Raëlians engage in missionary activities to attract converts. Members buy Raël's books to sell on the street, hoping to recoup their original costs. They often encounter much resistance to their attempts to convert others; Raël explains that this is to be expected, for the Elohim told him that only 4% of humanity is intelligent enough to be receptive to the Raëlian message. Any Raëlian found trying to force someone to convert is banned from the organisation for seven years, the period which Raëlians believe it takes for every cell in the body to be replaced. Since 1979, new members of the Raëlian Movement have been expected to sign an "Act of Apostasy," and send a letter of apostasy to any religious organisation that they were previously involved with. They also sign a contract permitting a mortician to cut a piece of bone from their forehead after death, which they understand as the "Third Eye." This specimen will be stored in ice at a Swiss facility until the Elohim return, at which time it may be used to clone the deceased individual. This process is known as the "lifting of the frontal bone." In addition, those joining are expected to bequeath their assets to the local Raëlian group, although this is not obligatory. Some former Christian clergy have joined the Raëlians, sometimes being swiftly promoted to the level of Priest or Bishop due to the skills brought with them from their previous religious organisation. In 2004, for example, Ron Boston, a former bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, joined the Raëlian Movement, stating that doing so would allow him to embrace his homosexuality. ## Reception According to sociologist Susan J. Palmer, in society, Raëlism is "universally mocked", and even at conferences of scholars of religion, where individuals are accustomed to studying a diverse range of belief systems, attendees have treated Raëlian beliefs with "incredulity or even mirth". Non-members often regard Raël's claims as a deliberate forgery to fool his followers. An especially critical reception has come from ex-Raëlians and the anti-cult movement. Jean-Denis Saint-Cyr, a high-ranking member of the Raëlian movement, for instance accused Raël of plagiarising the earlier writings of Sendy in creating his religion. Another prominent apostate, the Quebecois Erick Lamarche – who calls himself Exraël – quit while claiming that too much money was being donated to Raël and the senior members so that they could have luxurious lifestyles. Critics repeatedly drew comparisons between Raëlism and Nazism, for instance for its promotion of a governance system where people are graded by their intelligence, its emphasis on genetic engineering, and its use of the swastika. Raëlism has undergone academic research from scholars of religion, especially from Palmer, who first encountered the religion in Montreal in 1987. She initially thought that she "had never encountered an NRM that was so cooperative, that actually liked being studied." Between 2002 and 2003, Palmer was blacklisted by the group; they banned her from their meetings and told her she had lost the opportunity to meet the Elohim on their arrival. Palmer then drew upon both her interviews with active members and Raël's publications for her 2004 book on Raëlism, Aliens Adored. Palmer related that journalists she had encountered were often "fishing" for "bad things" to say about the Raëlians. Many journalists sought to portray Raël as a danger to his followers, akin to David Koresh or Jim Jones, although Palmer thought this "ludicrous", stating that Raël was "not prone to violence". Journalists also sought to present him as someone who sexually exploited his female members, which again Palmer found no evidence for. Following statements that the Order of Raël's Angels would do anything for Raël, there was also press speculation that the group would engage in mass suicide akin to that of the Order of the Solar Temple. Palmer argued that the Raëlians lacked the paranoid mentality and demonization of the outside world that had been common to new religious movements that resorted to violence. ## See also - Nontheistic religions
248,420	Túrin Turambar	1,172,648,324	Fictional character from Middle-earth	[ "Characters in The Children of Húrin", "Characters in The Silmarillion", "Fictional characters involved in incest", "Fictional dragonslayers", "Fictional outlaws", "Fictional suicides", "Fictional swordfighters in literature", "Literary characters introduced in 1917", "Middle-earth Edain" ]	Túrin Turambar (pronounced ) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Turambar and the Foalókë, begun in 1917, is the first appearance of Túrin in the legendarium. Túrin is a Man of the First Age of Middle-earth, whose family had been cursed by the Dark Lord Morgoth. While trying vainly to defy the curse, Túrin brings ruin across much of Beleriand, and upon himself and his sister Niënor. His title, "Turambar", means master of fate. Tolkien consciously based the story on the tale of Kullervo in the 19th-century Finnish mythological poem Kalevala. Scholars have noted parallels with other myths including that of Sigmund and Sigurd in the Völsunga saga of Norse mythology; with the Greek myth of Oedipus; and in terms of structure and style, with Arthurian legend. Excerpts have been published in prose in The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Book of Lost Tales Part II, and The War of the Jewels, and in alliterative long-line verse in The Lays of Beleriand. The complete story was published as The Children of Húrin in 2007. ## Publication history Tolkien wrote multiple versions of the tale of Túrin. These were published after his death, edited by his son Christopher Tolkien, as follows: ## Narrative ### Dor-lómin Túrin is the son of Húrin, Lord of the Folk of Hador, and Morwen of the House of Bëor. The Siege of Angband has been broken, but Túrin's homeland of Dor-lómin in the northwest of Beleriand is still contested by Húrin against the Dark Lord Morgoth's forces. When Túrin is eight, Húrin leads his Men to war; all are killed in the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. Húrin is captured and cursed by Morgoth, who sends an army of Easterlings to Dor-lómin. Túrin remains with Morwen, who hides him and sends him secretly to the hidden Elven-realm of Doriath; Morwen remains in Dor-lómin, and shortly afterwards gives birth to a girl, Niënor. ### Doriath Túrin reaches Doriath, which is protected by an enchantment, the Girdle of Melian. The marchwarden Beleg leads them to the city of Menegroth, where King Thingol adopts Túrin, in memory of Húrin's heroism. The Elven-lady Nellas watches over Túrin at Melian's bidding, teaching him Elven-lore. Túrin becomes esteemed for his prowess, and Beleg teaches him warfare. When after some years Dor-lómin is cut off and news from Morwen and Niënor ceases to arrive, Túrin decides to pit his strength against Morgoth's forces, hoping to avenge the sorrows of his kin. Thingol appoints him a "knight of the sword". Túrin departs to fight the Orcs in the north of Doriath, where he is joined by Beleg. His chief weapon is the sword, and he wears the Dragon-helm of Hador, so that the Orcs fear him. At the age of 20, Túrin accidentally kills Saeros, one of Thingol's counsellors, who had insulted him. Ignoring advice, he flees from Doriath, fearing imprisonment. Thingol pardons Túrin, and Beleg obtains leave to seek out his friend. ### Amon Rûdh Túrin, unaware of this, flees westward, joining a band of outlaws in Gaurwaith and becomes its leader by accidentally killing their captain. Beleg finds the band in the wild, but Túrin rejects Beleg's advice to return to Doriath. Túrin's band captures Mîm the Petty-dwarf. To save his life, Mîm shares his dwellings on the hill of Amon Rûdh with the band. Beleg returns to Túrin, bringing the Dragon-helm. The "Two Captains" free much of West Beleriand from evil, but the Dragon-helm reveals Túrin's identity to Morgoth, who attacks Amon Rûdh. The Orcs find Mîm, and he buys his life by leading them up the hill. Túrin is captured and all his men killed; Beleg escapes. Beleg follows the Orcs through the forest of Taur-nu-Fuin, and meets Gwindor, an escaped slave from Angband. Together they rescue Túrin in Anfauglith. Unfortunately, while Beleg is cutting the sleeping Túrin free from his bonds, he pricks Túrin's foot with the black sword Anglachel. Túrin, mistaking him in the darkness for an Orc, takes the sword and kills Beleg. Gwindor leads the grief-stricken Túrin to the Pools of Ivrin, where he returns to his senses. ### Nargothrond They journey to the hidden fortress of Nargothrond, where Gwindor had been a lord. He gives Beleg's sword Anglachel to Túrin, who has it reforged and renamed Gurthang, "Iron of Death". Túrin hides his own name, becoming known as Mormegil or the Blacksword of Nargothrond. Gwindor meets his beloved, Finduilas daughter of King Orodreth, but she unwillingly falls in love with Túrin; Túrin does not perceive this and holds her in awe. Túrin becomes a chief counsellor to the King. He encourages the Elves to abandon their secrecy, and they build a great bridge before the Doors of Nargothrond and clear the land between the River Sirion and the coastal Falas from enemies. Túrin becomes arrogant, ignoring even a warning from the godlike Vala Ulmo to destroy the bridge and return to secrecy. After five years, Morgoth sends a great host of Orcs led by the dragon Glaurung. Túrin persuades Orodreth to fight them in the open. In the ensuing Battle of Tumhalad, Nargothrond's forces are destroyed and Orodreth is killed; the bridge helps Morgoth's forces to locate the fortress and cross the river Narog. Túrin fights Glaurung off, but leaves the battle to carry away the mortally wounded Gwindor. Before Gwindor dies, he instructs Túrin to save Finduilas, prophesying that she alone can avert Túrin's doom. Hastening to save the captives, Túrin is caught by Glaurung's powerful gaze. He stands by enspelled as Finduilas is dragged away, calling to him. The dragon deceives him into believing that Morwen and Niënor are suffering in Dor-lómin; Túrin abandons Finduilas to seek out his kin. When he reaches Dor-lómin, he finds that Morwen had already left for Doriath before the fall of Nargothrond. In his rage he kills the people around him. ### Brethil Túrin next tries to find Finduilas, travelling to the forest of Brethil, but is too late: the woodmen inform him that she had been killed by the Orcs when the Men of Brethil tried to rescue her. Túrin collapses in grief upon her grave, and is brought to a village in the forest, Ephel Brandir. There he takes up his life again, now calling himself Turambar ("Master of Doom") and renouncing his descent, hoping to overcome his curse. The Folk of Haleth dwelling there are ruled by Brandir the Lame, who hopes to preserve his people by secrecy. Turambar quickly gains power, gathering companies to fight Orcs. He stops wielding Gurthang and fights using a spear and a bow. When Morwen and Niënor hear the news of Nargothrond's destruction, they rashly go to look for Túrin. Glaurung, now living in the ruins of Nargothrond, descends into the river to create a fog. Morwen loses her way in the fog, but Niënor meets the dragon and is enspelled by him, forgetting her past. She flees to Brethil. Turambar finds her at Finduilas's grave, naked, unable to speak and remembering nothing. He names her Níniel, "Maid of Tears", and takes her to Ephel Brandir. There she is healed by Brandir, who falls in love with her; but Níniel and Turambar come to love each other. Turambar asks her to marry him; Brandir dissuades her, foreboding evil, but they are married. Turambar goes back to war when Glaurung sends Orcs to attack Brethil: taking up the sword again, Turambar drives them away. Next year Níniel conceives, and Glaurung attacks Brethil in person. Turambar decides to ambush the Dragon and to try stabbing him from beneath. Of his two companions, Dorlas deserts, and Hunthor is killed by a stone. Turambar mortally wounds Glaurung with Gurthang, but is poisoned by the Dragon's blood and falls in a swoon. When Níniel comes to search for him, Glaurung with his last words undoes his spell, and she remembers who she is, and that Turambar is her brother. Horrified, Niënor drowns herself in the river Teiglin. Brandir tauntingly tells Turambar what has happened. Turambar kills the defenceless Brandir and runs in madness to Finduilas's grave. There an Elf of Doriath, Mablung, confirms the words of Brandir. Turambar flees and kills himself with Gurthang. He is buried in a high mound, together with the shards of the sword. A great stone is set upon the grave, upon which the Elves write in Cirth runes: However, Niënor's body is not there. Two years later Morwen and Húrin meet there for the last time; Morwen is later buried there. The mound survives the War of Wrath and the Drowning of Beleriand; Tol Morwen becomes an island off the coast of Middle-earth. ### Fate after death Tolkien wrote several versions of a prophecy about Túrin's fate after death. The fragmentary earliest outline mentions "purification of Turambar and Vainóni who fare shining about the world and go with the hosts of Tulkas against Melko." In the finished manuscript of The Tale of Turambar and the Foalókë, this becomes a story that Túrin and Niënor were only admitted to Mandos after their parents' prayers; they entered the "bath of flame", where the Sun replenished its light, "and so were all their sorrows and stains washed away, and they dwelt as shining Valar among the blessed ones." A new detail is introduced, that "Turambar indeed shall stand beside Fionwë in the Great Wrack, and Melko and his drakes shall curse the sword of Mormakil". In Tolkien's later writings, Niënor's fate is not mentioned, but Túrin's destiny is made even more prominent. Túrin would take part in the Last Battle before the End of the World, when Morgoth would return and make the final assault upon the Valar and the Children of Ilúvatar. In the "Earliest Silmarillion", "the spirit of Túrin" comes back and fights, and "it shall be Túrin who with his black sword will slay Morgoth", elaborated in the 1930 revision of the Quenta Noldorinwa. ### Line of Túrin and Niënor ## Analysis ### Mythological parallels Tolkien noted some of Túrin's mythological parallels in a letter to the publisher Milton Waldman: > There is the Children of Húrin, the tragic tale of Túrin Turambar and his sister Níniel – of which Túrin is the hero: a figure that might be said (by people who like that sort of thing, though it is not very useful) to be derived from elements in Sigurd the Volsung, Oedipus, and the Finnish Kullervo. Túrin, as Tolkien stated, is mainly based on Kullervo, a character from the Finnish folklore poems known as Kalevala. Kullervo similarly committed unwitting incest with his sister, brought ruin upon his family, and slew himself. In Norse mythology, Sigmund, the father of Sigurd in the Völsunga saga, resembles Túrin in the incestuous relationship he has with his sister. In Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre (drawn in part from the Völsung myths), Siegmund and Sieglinde are parallels of Túrin and Niënor. Further, Túrin is like Sigurd, as both achieve great renown for the slaying of a dragon of immense power: in Sigurd's case Fafnir; in Túrin's, Glaurung. The Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger further likens the tale of Túrin to Arthurian Legend, with its complex manuscript history and "overlapping story variants in both poetry and prose", supplemented by Tolkien's pretence that he was translating a lost Narn poem from its original Elvish language. Tolkien mentions the resemblance to the unfortunate Oedipus, prince of Thebes, who unwittingly fulfils a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. The Tolkien scholar Richard C. West, in The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, writes that the tale "is one of almost unrelieved gloom", though a prophecy in Tolkien's mythology holds that Túrin will help in the final defeat of Morgoth, after the end of the world, and that he and his sister will be cleansed of their sin. West writes that as in many other stories of Middle-earth, there is a "delicate balance" between fate, whereby each character inevitably takes certain actions and suffers the consequences, and free will, whereby he makes his own bold or rash choices that determine the outcomes for him. ### A woman in wartime According to the biographer Charles Moseley, Niënor and Turin are one of only four "couples whose love gets much space" in Tolkien's works; the others are Lúthien and Beren; Eärendil and Elwing; and Aragorn and Arwen. West described the story of Niënor's family as tragic. Elizabeth A. Whittingham wrote in A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien that the story had grown darker with time, commenting that "no tale of Middle-earth is as dark as that", and stating that in its rendition in The Silmarillion with the end omitted, contrary to the author's original intent, "all glimmer of hope has been extinguished". The scholar of literature Victoria Holtz-Wodzak calls Niënor a "study of the lives of women during wartime. She is, for all practical purposes, a war orphan". Holtz-Wodzak sees the war-time fate of the women in Tolkien's life as well as his own experiences as inspiration for the character and its sympathetic treatment by the author. Holtz-Wodzak also compares his situation to that of Brandír, who as a non-combatant loses the struggle with Turambar for both the respect of his people and the love of Níniel. The scholar even sees an echo of Tolkien's sentiments about not being able to be active in World War II due to age in "Niennor's desperate wish either to keep the man she loves from danger or to die with him".
15,339,909	Ian Browne (cyclist)	1,163,207,232	Australian track cyclist (1931–2023)	[ "1931 births", "2023 deaths", "Australian male cyclists", "Australian track cyclists", "Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia", "Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia", "Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling", "Cyclists at the 1956 Summer Olympics", "Cyclists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games", "Cyclists at the 1960 Summer Olympics", "Cyclists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games", "Cyclists at the 1964 Summer Olympics", "Cyclists from Melbourne", "Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics", "Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games", "Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games", "Olympic cyclists for Australia", "Olympic gold medalists for Australia", "Olympic medalists in cycling", "RMIT University alumni", "Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia", "Sportsmen from Victoria (state)" ]	Ian "Joey" Browne OAM (22 June 1931 – 24 June 2023) was an Australian track cyclist who along with Tony Marchant won the 2000 m tandem event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Unusually tall and strongly built for a cyclist, Browne had little formal training and won his first Australian title in 1953 in the 10 mile event. Browne did not team up with Marchant until early in 1956 and they promptly won the tandem event at the national championships to earn national selection. The pair were eliminated after losing their first two races but were given a reprieve when the Soviet Union pair were hospitalised in a crash and forced to withdraw. Thereafter Marchant and Browne were unbeaten and progressed to an unlikely Olympic gold. Browne's combination with Marchant was broken after the Olympics when the latter retired. In 1958, Browne won the 10 mile event at the national titles and went on to win the event at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Browne went on to compete in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics in the tandem event, both times with new partners, but both times he was eliminated in the repechage round. In 1964, he became the oldest ever track cyclist to represent Australia at the Olympics at the age of 33. He won the last of his national titles at the age of 37 in 1968 in the tandem event but was overlooked for Olympic selection by Australian officials. He retired and later was involved in cycling administration. ## Early years Browne was born in Melbourne to Linda and Alex Browne, the second of three brothers. His father was a printer and Browne took his elementary education at Chatham Public School, before moving on to Box Hill High School and later took his university education at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). While he was at university, he also worked in Sunshine as a laboratory assistant at Spaldings. At the age of 20, he graduated from RMIT and took a job at the State Electricity Commission, where he worked for over 35 years continuously since then, always riding his bicycle to work, a daily journey of around 15 km. Browne learned to ride a bicycle at the age of four, but did not enter his first formal cycling competition until the age of 16, when he joined the Hawthorne Amateur Cycling Club. Browne made a habit of riding to training with his ordinary bike with heavy wheels to the club, carrying the lighter racing tyres on his back and changing his tyres upon his arrival. He earned extra money to fund a bicycle upgrade by working as a newspaper boy. There was little formal coaching at the club, and the cyclists learned by individual application and by watching and copying others. Browne and his club-mates raced on Saturdays and trained on Sundays. Browne had his first success at a major competition when he won the 10 mile at his first Australian Championships in 1953. He did not team up with Tony Marchant until the start of 1956, just ten months before the start of the Melbourne Olympics. Marchant had risen to prominence by winning the 500 m time trial at the 1955 Australian Championships for juniors, prompting Browne to select him as his partner based on his raw speed. For a final test run before formally committing to racing together, the pair simply had a few tandem sprints around the track, with Browne sitting in the front seat. They were a contrasting pair; Marchant was a short man of 170 cm (5.6 ft) and 65 kg (143 lb), while Browne stood at 186 cm (6.10 ft) and 86 kg (190 lb), unusually tall for a cyclist. The pair went on to win the 2000 metre (m) tandem event at the Australian Championships in 1956, but going into the Melbourne Olympics, nobody, themselves included, regarded them as realistic medal chances. However, their mentor, former champion Billy Guyatt convinced them that they had the potential to make progress at international level. Their training schedule consisted of individual training two or three times a week and two days a week of coordinated tandem training during the Olympic year. Marchant's main tactical responsibility was to look to the outside for impending attacks while Browne patrolled the inside. Marchant devised a signal system, such as a head bump on Browne's hip, or even a verbal shout when the opposition made a move. ## Olympic gold Ten nations were entered in the tandem competition, and in the first round, they were drawn with Germany and South Africa, who fielded their silver medallist pairing of Tom Shardelow and Ray Robinson from the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. The Australians made their move too early and led at the ringing of the bell at the start of the last lap, but they were overhauled well before the line as they faded in the final straight. Browne and Marchant were given another chance in the repechage round later in the same day. The Australians led for three quarters of the distance, but were overhauled by their Czechoslovakian opponent in the final metres and were defeated in a photo finish. This would normally have meant that the Australians would have been eliminated, however the final repechage between the Soviet Union and the Germans resulted in a tangle, resulting in a heavy pile-up. Neither team finished the race, but the Soviets were hospitalised. The cycling officials decided that the bruised Germans would be forced to compete in a repechage sequel against the losers in the previous repechages to qualify. This allowed the United States and the Australians a reprieve. The Australians seized their good fortune and set their fastest time to date with 11.0 seconds (s). Having been beaten twice after leading out, the Australians sat back before sweeping past the injured Germans and the Americans in the final lap. Australia were again drawn against South Africa in their quarter-final, who had defeated them easily in the heats. This time they equalled the fastest team in the competition over the final 200 m, clocking 10.8 s to progress to the final, where they faced Italy. Giuseppe Ogna and Cesare Pinarello appeared to be in control at the start of the final lap. They had moved alongside the Australians with one and a half laps to go, but the Australians surprised them at the start of the final lap. The Italians came back to pull level at the start of the back straight, but the Australians held them off and pulled away to win by a length and a half. The Italians lodged a protest for interference but it was dismissed. The Australians finished in a time of 10.8 s and Browne later claimed that he was convinced by the performance that they would win the gold medal. The final took place on the third day of racing. The Australians came to the conclusion that their wheels and tyres were too heavy, so they sought to buy better cycling equipment from the defeated Germans. The Germans agreed, saying "Have ours and you will win the gold medal." Australia were again pitted against the Czechoslovak Vaclav Machek and Ladislav Foucek. One of the reasons behind Australia's return to form had been the return of Guyatt to a mentoring role. Guyatt had assisted them at the national championships, but they were assigned to another coach at the Olympics. Guyatt was regarded as a marketing-style motivator and he attempted to give Browne and Marchant a psychological boost. Equipped with their new machines, Browne and Marchant employed a tactical trick devised by Guyatt. The Australian staff had noticed that the Czechoslovaks had always made their final burst from a certain point from the finish. During the final, Australian team manager Bill Young stood at the said point as the Australian led out. When Browne came to the point, he pulled upwards and pre-emptively blocked the expected Czechoslovakian attack. This helped to stifle the attack and Australia went on to win the gold medal. ## Later career Following the Olympics, Marchant retired, and Browne went on to win the individual 10 mile race at the 1958 Australian Championships. Browne went to the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Cardiff in Wales. He was unplaced in the sprint, but won the 10 mile race to collect a gold medal. Browne had intended to retire after returning from Cardiff, but the lure of a second Olympics proved too much. In 1960, he won the 2000 m tandem with Geoff Smith at the Australian Championships and was selected for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. There was to be no repeat of the triumph in Melbourne, as the pair were eliminated in the second repechage. Since no other Australian older than 28 had ever represented the nation in cycling, Browne was the oldest ever male cyclist to represent Australia at the Olympics. Browne continued to the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia, but was unable to win a gold in front of his home crowd, finishing with a bronze in the sprint. In 1964, Browne again won the tandem event at the Australian Championships, combining with his new partner Daryl Perkins. The pair then went to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where Browne beat his own mark of being the oldest cyclist to represent Australia at the Olympics, at the age of 33. This time, the Australians were eliminated in the quarter-final. Browne continued to compete at national level, successfully defending the tandem title in 1965, this time with a new partner Gordon Johnson. He won his fifth and final tandem and his last Australian Championship in 1968 with Johnson, but the Australian selectors overlooked Browne, instead selecting Hilton Clarke to partner Johnson in the tandem at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, ending Browne's career. Browne was regarded as an intelligent and meticulous athlete, who was known for a logical and somewhat introspective style in his approach to the sport. He felt that he did not have the raw speed to match the likes of Lionel Cox and Dick Ploog in vying for selection in Australia's sprint team, and that he was not suited to long road races, instead focusing on medium length track racing. Browne typically was the front rider in tandem races, liking to be in control. He was regarded to be a cyclist who behaved in a careful and scholarly manner, and was known for coaxing higher levels of performance out of his younger partners. Browne was respected for his technical knowledge of the tandem and his success was often attributed to his vast experience. ## After cycling In his retirement, Browne continued his involvement in the sport, using his vast experience to serve the sport as an administrator. Browne served as the Vice President of the Victorian Amateur Cycling Association and he strongly advocated the use of a handicap system in racing, believing that it would improve the standard of racing and improve Australia's success rate. In 1994 Browne was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to cycling. At the age of 39, he married Rhonda, a primary school teacher. They had three children, a girl and two boys. Browne died on 24 June 2023, at the age of 92.
10,028,313	This Groove	1,171,419,667	2003 single by Victoria Beckham	[ "2003 songs", "2004 singles", "Songs about telephone calls", "Songs written by David Conley (musician)", "Songs written by David Frank (musician)", "Songs written by Mic Murphy", "Telstar Records singles", "Victoria Beckham songs" ]	"This Groove" is a song by British singer Victoria Beckham, recorded for her unreleased second studio album. It was written by Alisha Brooks, David Conley, David Frank, Everett "Jam" Benton and Mic Murphy, with Damon Dash, Conley and Frank serving as producers. Telstar Records released the song on 29 December 2003 in the United Kingdom as a double A-side with "Let Your Head Go". In 2004, it was included on the video album The 'Réal' Beckhams, after her record company went bankrupt before it surfaced. The song is Beckham's last single released to date. "This Groove" is an R&B and hip hop song which samples The System's "Don't Disturb This Groove"; lyrically it deals with phone sex. "This Groove" received positive reviews from music critics, with one of them labeling it as one of the finest moments of Beckham's solo career. Following heavy promotion with many televised appearances in the United Kingdom, the release entered the UK Singles Chart at number three, after facing a chart battle with Sophie Ellis Bextor's "I Won't Change You", with whom Beckham was previously involved in a much publicised chart battle years prior. It became the 88th best selling single of 2004 in the region, and also reached the top three in Scotland and charted within the top 20 in Ireland. An accompanying music video was directed by Andy Hylton, and depicts Beckham alone rolling around on a bed. ## Background and composition In 2002, after leaving Virgin Records, Beckham signed a contract with Telstar Records and 19 Entertainment, run by Simon Fuller, who also managed the Spice Girls, of which Beckham was a member; the contract was reportedly worth £1.5 million. The singer then began working on her second solo studio album. Upon meeting American urban producer Damon Dash, she opted to explore a more urban sound, recording hip hop-influenced tracks. At the time, Dash declared: "If we can make Victoria hot, we can make anyone hot". They also had plans to release the recorded material in the United States. However, Fuller did not think hip hop music would suit Beckham's style, and wanted her to stick with formulaic pop music. Beckham's first release with Telstar was the double A-side single "This Groove"/"Let Your Head Go", which was released in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2003, following heavy promotion and many TV appearances across the Christmas period. The two tracks were released as a double A-side single as Fuller and Beckham did not agree on which direction the album should take. The disagreement would be first mediated by viewers of Top of the Pops, who would be allowed to watch the videos to both songs and vote for their favorite, and Beckham would perform the winner song on the following week on the show; "This Groove" received more votes, becoming the winner. With the media describing her solo music career a failure, Beckham's second solo studio album was shelved and never released. She was eventually dismissed from Telstar when the company became bankrupt, and gave up music to focus on her fashion career. "This Groove"/"Let Your Head Go" remains Beckham's last single release to date. The songs were eventually included on the video album The 'Réal' Beckhams (2004). "This Groove" was written by Alisha Brooks, David Conley, David Frank, Everett "Jam" Benton and Mic Murphy, with Dash, Conley and Frank serving as producers. The song samples and interpolates the melody of The System's "Don't Disturb This Groove" (1987), for which Frank and Murphy also received songwriting credits. It features backing vocals by Beckham, Alesha "China" Jones and M'jestie. Aziatic provided drum programming, while Benton also played keyboards, bass, and percussion on the song. Conley, Geoff Allen and Larry Phillabaum recorded and engineered "This Groove" at 9601 Music Factory in Newport News, Virginia, as well as at Sony Music Studios and The Hit Factory in New York City, with the assistance by M'jestie, Baby Girl, Brandon Brown, Frantz Verna, Geoff Rice, Jason Dale, Patrick Woodward and Sebastien Nicolat. It was mixed by Tony "Magic" Maserati at The Hit Factory, with Woodward and Nicolet serving as assistant engineers, and Walter Coelho mastered it at Masterpiece. Musically, "This Groove" is a mid-tempo R&B and hip hop song. Lyrically, it deals with phone sex, with Beckham stating, "Hi. It's me. You wouldn't believe what I'm doing. What are you doing?"; the subject gets more evident as she sings, "I want you to come and listen to my body sing. Ya wanna hear my bell ring?." ## Reception "This Groove" received positive reviews from music critics. Jon O'Brien from Billboard called it one of Beckham's "finest solo moments" which "briefly suggested that partnering with producer Damon Dash may not have been such an incongruous choice after all"; he also noted that it was "also one of the few times that Beckham looked and sounded entirely at ease going it alone". David Sinclair in the book Spice Girls Revisited: How The Spice Girls Reinvented Pop described the track as a "cool, somewhat smutty R&B number". Heart staff pointed out that it was a "slick R&B slow-jam", while The Independent's Andy White saw it as "dreamy". Music Week staff described both "This Groove" and "Let Your Head Go" as "inoffensive pop/dance/R&B hybrids, treated to an ultra-sleek production that makes the most of her vocal proficiency." In the United Kingdom, "This Groove"/"Let Your Head Go" faced a chart battle with Sophie Ellis Bextor's "I Won't Change You"; they were previously involved in a much publicised chart battle in 2000, when their singles were also released in the same week. Beckham's single entered the UK Singles Chart at number three on the week ending on 4 January 2004, behind Michael Andrews and Gary Jules' "Mad World", and Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne's "Changes", despite weeks of intense publicity prior to its release; Ellis-Bextor's song entered at number nine. It became the highest chart position for a solo Spice Girl single since Geri Halliwell's "It's Raining Men" topped the chart in 2001 and remained on the charts for eight weeks, becoming the 88th best-selling single of 2004 in the region. In April 2014, the Official Charts Company revealed that the single was Beckham's third biggest selling solo single in the region, out of four singles, with a total of 69,000 copies sold. In other parts of Europe, the release experienced mixed success, reaching number three in Scotland, and number 17 in Ireland. It also reached number 91 in Romania. Across the pan-Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, it peaked at number 10. ## Music video An accompanying music video was directed by Andy Hylton. It was filmed in two days, back-to-back with the video for "Let Your Head Go"; Beckham explained that the visuals were attached to one another, with the "This Groove" clip described as being serious, while the one for "Let Your Head Go" was a "piss-taker". She elaborated saying they wanted to have a real sort of boudoir kind of feel in the video, as well as a "fashion but not so fashionable" look. The song was sped up during filming to give a sexier look when slowed down during post production. The video shows Beckham alone rolling around on a bed, wearing "sexy nightie, fishnet stockings and stilettos". It was later included on the video album The 'Réal' Beckhams (2004). ## Track listings - UK CD1 1. "This Groove" (radio mix) – 3:36 2. "Let Your Head Go" (radio mix) – 3:41 - UK CD2 1. "Let Your Head Go" (Jakatta Remix) – 7:20 2. "This Groove" (Para-Beats Remix) – 4:36 3. "Let Your Head Go" (radio mix) – 3:41 4. "This Groove" (radio mix) – 3:36 ## Credits and personnel Credits and personnel adapted from the CD single's liner notes. - Victoria Beckham – main and backing vocals - Alisha Brooks – songwriting - David Conley – songwriter, producer, recorded - David Frank – songwriter, additional producer - Everett "Jam" Benton – songwriting, co-production, keyboards, bass, percussion - Mic Murphy – songwriter - Damon Dash – producer - Alesha "China" Jones – backing vocals - M'jestie – backing vocals, co-producer, assistant engineer - Aziatic – co-producer, drum programming - Jason QS Lockley – co-producer - Tony "Magic" Maserati – mixing - Patrick Woodward – assistant engineer - Sebastien Nicolet – assistant engineer - Baby Girl – assistant engineer - Brandon Brown – assistant engineer - Frantz Verna – assistant engineer - Geoff Rice – assistant engineer - Jason Dale – assistant engineer - Geoff Allen – recording engineer - Larry Phillabaum – recording engineer - Walter Coelho – mastering ## Charts All entries charted with "Let Your Head Go". ### Weekly charts ### Year-end chart
66,649,534	I Don't Wanna Be in Love (Keyshia Cole song)	1,165,977,601	2021 song by Keyshia Cole	[ "2020s ballads", "2021 singles", "2021 songs", "Contemporary R&B ballads", "Keyshia Cole songs", "Song recordings produced by Ron Fair", "Songs written by Keyshia Cole" ]	"I Don't Wanna Be in Love" is a song by American singer Keyshia Cole. It was written by Cole and Brian Bates, with production being handled by the former alongside Anthony Bell, Greg Edwards, and Ron Fair. The song was released on February 5, 2021, through Hearts and Stars and BMG, following its preview during her and Ashanti's joint appearance on the Verzuz webcast battle series in January 2021. An R&B ballad, "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" revolves around Cole ending a friends with benefits relationship. The song was generally praised by music critics, who complimented its lyrics and instrumentation. In the United States, the song reached number 43 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. An accompanying audio visualizer was released via Cole's Vevo account for promotion. ## Background and release In October 2020, around three years after the release of her seventh studio album 11:11 Reset (2017), Keyshia Cole announced that she was "real close" to finishing work on her eighth album. On December 4, 2020, it was announced that Cole and fellow R&B singer Ashanti would participate in a Verzuz battle together. Cole's longtime record producer Ron Fair revealed that she would premiere a new song during the battle. The song was debuted during the last round of the battle on January 21, 2021 Originally titled "I Don't Want to Be in Love", Cole revealed its artwork, along with the release date of February 5, 2021. The artwork displayed Cole sitting with her toes pointed forward while dressed in a red t-shirt and a pair of red and black sneakers, along with a heart wrapped in a band-aid in the corner dangling above her, symbolizing an injured heart. The song was released for digital download and streaming as the first single under Cole's independent record label, Hearts and Stars, created with the support of BMG. An audio visualizer was released to accompany the song's release. The song was released to US urban contemporary radio stations on February 13, 2021. ## Composition and lyrics Musically, "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" is a sentimental ballad, that lasts three minutes and 51 seconds. The song's instrumental includes a piano, bass, synthesizer, string section, and "heartstring-tugging" horns. Cole presents ad-libs and high notes throughout the song. The song was written by Cole and Brian Bates, with production being handled by the former alongside Anthony Bell, Greg Edwards, and Fair. It is about Cole ending a friends with benefits relationship, with lyrics such as "We both got a situation, hesitation, whenever we hook up, it's all love, never any expectations / I know you went much further, I met your girl, never wanna hurt her", confronting the friend about their relationship. Justin Kantor of SoulTracks described the lyrics as "true-to-life" and the production as "effectively simple". A writer from Hip Hop Weekly felt that the lyrics are describing "a dead end situationship". ## Reception "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Writing for Rated R&B, Antwane Folk viewed the song as a "kiss-off anthem", while Anna-Kaye Kerr from Urban Islandz described the song as a "heartbreak anthem". Jon Powell of Revolt labeled it an "emotionally charged ballad", whereas the staff of Rap-Up found it a "brokenhearted ballad". For Rap Radar, Paul Duong interpreted that Cole "details a love hate relationship with a former lover and close friend". Ken Hamm of Soul Bounce found Cole's vocals as "topnotch" and felt that in the song, she is "afraid of getting caught up in the rapture". Alexander Cole of HotNewHipHop declared the song as "beautifully emotional" and complimented the instrumental, describing it as "gorgeous". "I Don't Wanna Be in Love" entered the US Billboard Adult R&B Songs at number 30 on the chart issue dated February 27, 2021, where it moved up to number 29 the following week. Three weeks later, the song had risen up to number 20 and stayed at that position for the next week. Six weeks later, the song reached its peak at number 11 and spent a total of 22 weeks on the chart. While gaining traction over those weeks, it entered the US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart at number 50. It later peaked at number 43 and spent a total of 11 weeks on the chart. ## Track listing ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from Tidal. - Keyshia Cole – vocals, production, composition, lyrics - Anthony Bell – production, composition, lyrics - Adam Schoeller – engineering - Balewa Muhammad – composition, lyrics - Brian Bates – production, composition, lyrics - Greg Edwards – production, composition, lyrics - Jahqae Muhammad – production, composition, lyrics - Jaycen Joshua – composition, engineering, lyrics - Pat Thrall – engineering - Ron Fair – production, arranging, engineering, orchestral ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## Release history
69,371,249	Third circle of hell	1,166,644,113	Part of the Divine Comedy	[ "3 (number)", "Afterlife in Christianity", "Circles of hell", "Cultural depictions of Virgil", "Fictional subterranea", "Food and drink appreciation", "Hell (Christianity)", "Hell in popular culture", "Philosophical poems", "Religious philosophical literature" ]	The third circle of hell is depicted in Dante Alighieri's Inferno, the first part of the 14th-century poem Divine Comedy. Inferno tells the story of Dante's journey through a vision of the Christian hell ordered into nine circles corresponding to classifications of sin; the third circle represents the sin of gluttony, where the souls of the gluttonous are punished in a realm of icy mud. Within the third circle, Dante encounters a man named Ciacco, with whom he discusses the contemporary strife between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in Florence; the circle is also inhabited by the three-headed hound Cerberus, who torments sinners by rending them apart. Rather than focussing on the contrapasso punishment of the damned, Dante's depiction of the third circle of hell uses the figure of Ciacco—whose historicity is disputed—to explore the politics of Florence, which had previously led to the author being exiled from the city under pain of death. As such, the poem draws a parallel between gluttony and the thirst for power. ## Synopsis Inferno is the first section of Dante Alighieri's three-part poem Commedia, often known as the Divine Comedy. Written in the early 14th century, the work's three sections depict Dante being guided through the Christian concepts of hell (Inferno), purgatory (Purgatorio), and heaven (Paradiso). Inferno depicts a vision of hell divided into nine concentric circles, each home to souls guilty of a particular class of sin. Led by his guide, the Roman poet Virgil, Dante enters the third circle of hell in Inferno's Canto VI. Dante awakens from having fainted in the second circle of hell, and sees that the third circle is beset by a torrent of icy hail and rain, putrefying the ground. The three-headed dog Cerberus approaches and is silenced by Virgil, who feeds it several handfuls of the thick mud that makes up the ground. Cerberus serves as a tormentor in this circle; tearing apart the damned and constantly bellowing in hunger. Dante and Virgil walk further through the third circle, stepping upon the prostrate bodies of the gluttonous, who are being punished by lying face-first in the icy mud, left blind and unfulfilled. One soul greets the pair, identifying himself as Ciacco, a native of Florence. Ciacco and Dante discuss the political strife between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions in the city, with Ciacco offering a prophecy that each party will briefly hold control of Florence. Ciacco asks Dante to speak kindly of him when he returns to the mortal world. As Dante and Virgil leave the circle, Virgil explains that the punishments for sinners in hell will grow more severe after the Last Judgment. ## Background The presence of Cerberus in the third circle of hell is another instance of an ancient Greek mythological figure adapted and intensified by Dante; as with Charon and Minos in previous cantos, Cerberus is a figure associated with the Greek underworld in the works of Virgil and Ovid who has been repurposed for its appearance in the Commedia. Virgil quieting Cerberus with mouthfuls of dirt is an allusion to Virgil's Aeneid, where the hound is similarly silenced with honey cakes. It is not known whether the man named Ciacco actually existed or was invented by Dante. His name has been read as a play on the word for "pig" (ciacco), although the tone with which Dante addresses him indicates that it may be a proper name and not mockery. Giovanni Boccaccio, another writer from Dante's home town of Florence, also uses the character in The Decameron, although it is not clear if this is based on the Inferno or on shared familiarity with a historical figure. Dante's conversation with Ciacco is used to recount the strife between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions who had been vying for control of Florence during Dante's lifetime; the Commedia was written while Dante was exiled from the city having been sentenced to death in absentia. By the time of Dante's exile, the Guelphs, who had supported the influence of the papacy in Italy over the Ghibelline preference for the Holy Roman Emperor, had splintered into "white" and "black" factions divided over support for pope Boniface VIII. The white Guelphs, to which Dante belonged, favoured Florentine autonomy and opposed Boniface; their initial control of the city was ended when the black Guelphs, aided by papal troops, regained the city in 1301. ## Analysis Dante's depiction of hell is one of order, unlike contemporary representations which, according to scholar Robin Kirkpatrick, were "pictured as chaos, violence and ugliness". Kirkpatrick draws a contrast between Dante's poetry and the frescoes of Giotto in Padua's Scrovegni Chapel. Dante's orderly hell is a representation of the structured universe created by God, one which forces its sinners to use "intelligence and understanding" to contemplate their purpose. The nine-fold subdivision of hell is influenced by the Ptolemaic model of cosmology, which similarly divided the universe into nine concentric spheres. The third circle of hell sees the use of contrapasso, a theme throughout the Divine Comedy. Derived from the Latin contra ("in return") and pati ("to suffer"), contrapasso is the concept of suffering in the afterlife being a reflection of the sins committed in life. This notion derives both from biblical sources such as the books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, as well the classical writers Virgil and Seneca the Younger; Seneca's Hercules Furens expresses the notion that "quod quisque fecit patitur", or "what each has done, he suffers". In the third circle, the warm comforts of gluttony are punished with icy sleet, where sinners howl like hungry dogs; the mud and slime is a reflection of their excess. Dante uses the third circle of hell to discuss contemporary politics; although there is no clear political link to the sin of gluttony, Dante compares the city of Florence to an overfed stomach, "so full of envy" that it overflows. Unn Falkeid, in her book The Avignon Papacy Contested: An Intellectual History from Dante to Catherine of Siena, notes that the canto focusses on the "unslakable thirst for power" rather than the "food, drinks, and bodily desires" expected of Epicurean gluttony. Falkeid also draws a comparison between the factions of the "divided city" of Florence and the torn bodies left by Cerberus in this canto, "with the effect of dismissing [...] any attempt to gather them into a harmonic unity".
40,903,837	Illusory truth effect	1,173,507,425	Tendency to believe false information to be correct after repeated exposure	[ "Cognition", "Cognitive biases", "Decision theory", "Error", "Memory biases", "Propaganda techniques", "Prospect theory", "Psychological manipulation" ]	The illusory truth effect (also known as the illusion of truth effect, validity effect, truth effect, or the reiteration effect) is the tendency to believe false information to be correct after repeated exposure. This phenomenon was first identified in a 1977 study at Villanova University and Temple University. When truth is assessed, people rely on whether the information is in line with their understanding or if it feels familiar. The first condition is logical, as people compare new information with what they already know to be true. Repetition makes statements easier to process relative to new, unrepeated statements, leading people to believe that the repeated conclusion is more truthful. The illusory truth effect has also been linked to hindsight bias, in which the recollection of confidence is skewed after the truth has been received. In a 2015 study, researchers discovered that familiarity can overpower rationality and that repetitively hearing that a certain statement is wrong can paradoxically cause it to feel right. Researchers attributed the illusory truth effect's impact even on participants who knew the correct answer to begin with, but were persuaded to believe otherwise through the repetition of a falsehood, to "processing fluency". The illusory truth effect plays a significant role in fields such as advertising, news media, and political propaganda. ## Initial study The effect was first named and defined following the results in a study from 1977 at Villanova University and Temple University where participants were asked to rate a series of trivia statements as true or false. On three occasions, Lynn Hasher, David Goldstein, and Thomas Toppino presented the same group of college students with lists of sixty plausible statements, some of them true and some of them false. The second list was distributed two weeks after the first, and the third two weeks after that. Twenty statements appeared on all three lists; the other forty items on each list were unique to that list. Participants were asked how confident they were of the truth or falsity of the statements, which concerned matters about which they were unlikely to know anything. (For example, "The first air force base was launched in New Mexico." Or "Basketball became an Olympic discipline in 1925.") Specifically, the participants were asked to grade their belief in the truth of each statement on a scale of one to seven. While the participants' confidence in the truth of the non-repeated statements remained steady, their confidence in the truth of the repeated statements increased from the first to the second and second to third sessions, with an average score for those items rising from 4.2 to 4.6 to 4.7. The conclusion made by the researchers was that repeating a statement makes it more likely to appear factual. In 1989, Hal R. Arkes, Catherine Hackett, and Larry Boehm replicated the original study, with similar results showing that exposure to false information changes the perceived truthfulness and plausibility of that information. The effect works because when people assess truth, they rely on whether the information agrees with their understanding or whether it feels familiar. The first condition is logical as people compare new information with what they already know to be true and consider the credibility of both sources. However, researchers discovered that familiarity can overpower rationality—so much so that repetitively hearing that a certain fact is wrong can paradoxically cause it to feel right. ## Relation to other phenomena ### Processing fluency At first, the truth effect was believed to occur only when individuals are highly uncertain about a given statement. Psychologists also assumed that "outlandish" headlines wouldn't produce this effect however, recent research shows the illusory truth effect is indeed at play with false news. This assumption was challenged by the results of a 2015 study by Lisa K. Fazio, Nadia M. Brasier, B. Keith Payne, and Elizabeth J. Marsh. Published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology; the study suggested that the truth effect can influence participants who actually knew the correct answer to begin with, but who were swayed to believe otherwise through the repetition of a falsehood. For example, when participants encountered on multiple occasions the statement "A sari is the name of the short plaid skirt worn by Scots," some of them were likely to come to believe it was true, even though these same people were able to correctly answer the question "What is the name of the short pleated skirt worn by Scots?" After replicating these results in another experiment, Fazio and her team attributed this curious phenomenon to processing fluency, the facility with which people comprehend statements. "Repetition," explained the researcher, "makes statements easier to process (i.e. fluent) relative to new statements, leading people to the (sometimes) false conclusion that they are more truthful." When an individual hears something for a second or third time, their brain responds faster to it and misattributes that fluency as a signal for truth. ### Hindsight bias In a 1997 study, Ralph Hertwig, Gerd Gigerenzer, and Ulrich Hoffrage linked the truth effect to the phenomenon known as "hindsight bias", described as a situation in which the recollection of confidence is skewed after the truth or falsity has been received. They have described the truth effect (which they call "the reiteration effect") as a subset of hindsight bias. ## Other studies In a 1979 study, participants were told that repeated statements were no more likely to be true than unrepeated ones. Despite this warning, the participants perceived repeated statements as being more true than unrepeated ones. Studies in 1981 and 1983 showed that information deriving from recent experience tends to be viewed as "more fluent and familiar" than new experience. A 2011 study by Jason D. Ozubko and Jonathan Fugelsang built on this finding by demonstrating that, generally speaking, information retrieved from memory is "more fluent or familiar than when it was first learned" and thus produces an illusion of truth. The effect grew even more pronounced when statements were repeated twice and yet more pronounced when they were repeated four times. The researchers thus concluded that memory retrieval is a powerful method for increasing the so-called validity of statements and that the illusion of truth is an effect that can be observed without directly polling the factual statements in question. A 1992 study by Ian Maynard Begg, Ann Anas, and Suzanne Farinacci suggested that a statement will seem true if the information seems familiar. A 2012 experiment by Danielle C. Polage showed that some participants exposed to false news stories would go on to have false memories. The conclusion was that repetitive false claims increase believability and may also result in errors. In a 2014 study, Eryn J. Newman, Mevagh Sanson, Emily K. Miller, Adele Quigley-McBride, Jeffrey L. Foster, Daniel M. Bernstein, and Maryanne Garry asked participants to judge the truth of statements attributed to various people, some of whose names were easier to pronounce than others. Consistently, statements by persons with easily pronounced names were viewed as being more truthful than those with names that were harder to pronounce. The researchers' conclusion was that subjective, tangential properties such as ease of processing can matter when people evaluate sourced information. ## Examples Although the truth effect has been demonstrated scientifically only in recent years, it is a phenomenon with which people have been familiar for millennia. One study notes that the Roman statesman Cato closed each of his speeches with a call to destroy Carthage ("Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam"), knowing that the repetition would breed agreement. Napoleon reportedly "said that there is only one figure in rhetoric of serious importance, namely, repetition", whereby a repeated affirmation fixes itself in the mind "in such a way that it is accepted in the end as a demonstrated truth". Others who have taken advantage of the truth effect have included Quintilian, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, and Marcus Antonius in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Advertising that repeats unfounded claims about a product may boost sales because some viewers may come to think that they heard the claims from an objective source. The truth effect is also used in news media and is a staple of political propaganda. ## See also - Argumentum ad nauseam - Big lie - Confirmation bias - False belief - False memory - Firehose of falsehood - Fluency heuristic and processing fluency - Implicit and explicit memory - List of cognitive biases - Memory errors - Mere-exposure effect - Misconception - Omission bias - Source-monitoring error - Truthiness
36,380,570	2/15th Battalion (Australia)	1,115,452,550	Former infantry battalion of the Australian Army	[ "1940 establishments in Australia", "1946 disestablishments in Australia", "Australian World War II battalions", "Military units and formations disestablished in 1946", "Military units and formations established in 1940" ]	The 2/15th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that served during World War II. Formed in May 1940 primarily from Queensland volunteers, the battalion saw action in North Africa in 1941–1942 as part of the 20th Brigade, which was part of the 7th Division before being reassigned to the 9th Division. After completing training in Palestine, in early 1941, the 2/15th took up positions along the front line in the Western Desert, before being pushed back to Tobruk. Between April and October 1941, along with a garrison of British and other Australian personnel, the battalion helped to hold the strategically important port, which had been surrounded following the landing of German troops at Tripoli. It was withdrawn by sea in late October 1941 as the 9th Division was relieved by the British 70th Division. Following its withdrawal from Tobruk, the battalion re-formed at Gaza before undertaking garrison duties in Syria. In mid-1942, the 2/15th returned to North Africa to fight in the First and Second Battles of El Alamein. In early 1943, the 2/15th returned to Australia and was re-organised and re-trained for jungle warfare. It took part in campaigns against the Japanese in New Guinea in 1943–1944 and Borneo in 1945, before being disbanded in 1946. ## History ### Formation The 2/15th Battalion was raised at Victoria Barracks in Brisbane on 26 April 1940 from Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) volunteers. It was one of three infantry battalions assigned to the 20th Brigade that were initially part of the 7th Division, the other two being the 2/13th and 2/17th Battalions. The battalion had an authorised strength of around 900 personnel like other Australian infantry battalions of the time, and was organised into four rifle companies – designated 'A' through to 'D' – each consisting of three platoons; these were supported by a battalion headquarters and a headquarters company with six specialist platoons: signals, pioneer, anti-aircraft, transport, administrative and mortars. Upon formation, the 2/15th was placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Marlan, an Australian Staff Corps officer of the Permanent Military Forces who arrived on promotion from major, having previously served in World War I with the 20th Battalion. The colours initially chosen for the battalion's unit colour patch (UCP) were the same as those of the 15th Battalion, a unit that had served during World War I before being raised as a Militia formation in 1921. These colours were initially purple and red in a diamond shape, but after representations from World War I veterans the colour patch was changed to brown over dark blue, in a rectangle shape. The patch was placed inside a grey diamond border added to distinguish the battalion from its Militia counterpart; this would change following the unit's involvement in the fighting at Tobruk, when it adopted a 'T'-shaped UCP consisting of blue and green. Following the battalion's establishment, Marlan set about choosing a cadre of senior commissioned and non-commissioned personnel around which to build the battalion. These personnel included the battalion second-in-command, the quartermaster and adjutant, as well as senior enlisted soldiers to undertake administrative and instructional work. These were recruited from several of the existing Queensland-based Militia battalions including the 25th, 42nd and 47th Battalions. One member recruited at the time had served with the 15th Battalion that had been raised as part of the First Australian Imperial Force, during World War I. After the first groups of personnel began arriving at Redbank, in south-east Queensland, in the middle of May, the battalion's headquarters moved to the camp and basic training commenced in June under instructors from the Australian Instructional Corps. In early July, the majority of the battalion was transported by train to Pinkenba, and from there to Darwin, in Australia's north, aboard the troopship Zealandia. Tasked with defending the port and its surrounds, the battalion was based around Vestey's meatworks near Mindil Beach, and in the months that followed was occupied with vital asset protection and area defence in between individual and collective training exercises. Personnel were joined by the majority of their vehicles, including 14 tracked Bren carriers in August, as well as a group of reinforcements. In October, elements of the battalion were used as stevedores during a wharf labourers' strike. In the absence of the Darwin personnel, the battalion's rear details shifted from Redbank to Grovely where route marches were carried out in the Samford Valley. In late October, the rear details personnel returned to Redbank at the end of the month where more equipment was received. The main body of the battalion remained in Darwin, forming part of the town's defensive garrison. They were relieved by the 2/25th Battalion in late October 1940, and embarked again on the Zealandia. Sailing via Bowen where shore leave was granted, the 2/15th reached Hamilton, in Brisbane, in early November to marry up with the rear details at Redbank. Further training was undertaken at Redbank at this time before the whole battalion entrained for Brisbane on Christmas Day, embarking aboard the Queen Mary bound for Sydney. There, the ship joined up with a larger convoy that was bound for the Middle East theatre. ### Middle East Sailing via Colombo, the battalion disembarked in Bombay, transferring to the Rohna for the remainder of the journey. Transitting the Suez Canal, it disembarked at El Kantara, in Egypt, in February 1941. En route to the Middle East, the 20th Brigade was reassigned to the 9th Division, as part of a reorganisation of the Australian divisions in the Middle East prior to I Corps' deployment to Greece. Upon arrival in Egypt, the battalion moved to a base in Gaza dubbed Kilo 89, where it concentrated with the 2/13th and 2/17th Battalions, which had arrived earlier in Palestine as the 9th Division attempted to make good its equipment and training deficiencies. The battalion's war equipment, including vehicles, arrived in mid-February and throughout the month the troops were introduced to the Bren light machine gun, firing it for the first time at the Jaffa Range and practicing constructing defensive systems in preparation for desert warfare. Individual training undertaken at this time was aimed at identifying those who would be unfit for the coming battle, and many were subsequently transferred to the divisional guard battalion. In early March 1941, the 2/15th entrained at Gaza and moved to Mersa Matruh, as the 9th Division began to relieve the 6th Division along the front line in the Western Desert so that the latter could be transferred to Greece, where a German invasion was expected. A few days later the battalion was moved to Tobruk. From there it moved by road in captured Italian vehicles to Derna and on to Tochra, then Benghazi, and eventually Barce. Throughout early April, the 2/15th became involved in the large-scale withdrawal that followed the landing of German forces around Tripoli as part of Axis efforts to reinforce the Italians in North Africa following British gains in western Egypt and Cyrenaica during Operation Compass in 1940–41. The battalion subsequently fell back east along the coast towards Tobruk. During the retreat about 180 men, including the battalion's commanding officer, Marlan, were taken prisoner when their headquarters was surrounded by a force of 18 tanks and unsuccessfully attempted to fight their way out. These men spent several years in captivity, being held initially in camps in North Africa before moving to Italy and later Germany; some managed to escape either in North Africa, or from Italy; several eventually rejoined the battalion, while others linked up with Italian or Yugoslavian partisans with whom they fought against German forces later in the war. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ogle took over command of the battalion following Marlan's capture. It subsequently joined the defence of Tobruk, as part of the defensive garrison that held the strategically important port after it was placed under siege by the advancing German and Italian forces. The battalion remained there for over six months conducting patrols and raids, and holding positions around the perimeter until late October 1941, when the bulk of the 9th Division, less the 2/13th Battalion and two companies from the 2/15th, were withdrawn by sea and replaced by British troops from the 70th Division. The 2/15th's casualties during the withdrawal from Benghazi and the siege of Torbuk amounted to 45 killed in action or died of wounds, one accidentally killed, 103 wounded in action and 205 captured. The 2/15th was subsequently withdrawn to Gaza, where it stayed into the new year, before moving to Syria, where it formed part of the Allied occupation force established there at the end of the Syria–Lebanon campaign. In July 1942, in the face of a heavy German onslaught that threatened to break through to Suez, the 9th Division was hurriedly moved back to North Africa. The 2/15th subsequently took part in the First and Second Battles of El Alamein during the remainder of the year. Throughout August, the 2/15th subsequently held a position in the north-east sector of the line from Hill 33 to the coast. On 1 September, the 2/15th participated in the 9th Division's diversionary attack south of Tel-el-Eisa, codenamed Operation Bulimba, which was planned as a response to German offensive actions further south during the lead-up to the final assault in late October and early November 1942. In heavy fighting near Point 23, a low rocky outcrop, the battalion lost about half of its fighting strength, sustaining 183 casualties, amidst heavy hand-to-hand fighting as the battalion came up against heavy resistance after penetrating a German minefield. Ogle's carrier struck a mine during the operation, and he was seriously wounded. The battalion's role in the September attack, including the efforts of Corporal Horton McLachlan, who received the Distinguished Conduct Medal, was later depicted in a painting by Ivor Hele. Among the casualties at El Alamein was the 2/15th's recently appointed replacement commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Keith Magno, who was mortally wounded by artillery fire after the battalion was heavily shelled while forming up during an attack around Trig 29 – a valuable piece of high ground south-west of Tel-el-Eisa – on 28 October. Casualties over both periods the battalion fought around Alamein totaled 81 killed, 23 died of wounds, 276 wounded and seven captured. ### New Guinea and Borneo By early 1943 the Australian Army's focus had shifted to operations in the Pacific theatre against the Japanese, and the 9th Division received orders to return to Australia to join the other two 2nd AIF divisions, the 6th and 7th, which had departed earlier in 1942. A divisional parade was held in Gaza, after which the 2/15th embarked upon the transport Acquitania and sailed with a large convoy established under Operation Pamphlet as part of the final stage in the withdrawal of the 2nd AIF divisions from the Middle East. After a journey of just over a month, the Acquitania berthed at Sydney in late February 1943. During this time the battalion was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Barham. After disembarking in Sydney, the troops received three weeks of leave during which time they were allowed to return to their homes. The 9th Division then carried out welcome home marches across Australia, with the 2/15th taking part in the march through Brisbane. After this, the division was transported to Kairi on the Atherton Tableland in north Queensland where it was converted to the jungle establishment and began training for operations against the Japanese. The reorganisation saw the battalion establishment drop to around 800 men, and the loss of many vehicles and heavy equipment. Lieutenant Colonel Colin Henry Grace was appointed to command the battalion in May 1943 and would do so for the rest of the war. Amphibious training was carried out at Trinity Beach, near Cairns, with the US 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment in July 1943. Following training, the battalion was deployed to New Guinea, arriving in Milne Bay in early August 1943. It saw action in the final stages of the Salamaua–Lae campaign in September 1943. The 2/15 took part in the landing at Lae, the first amphibious operation undertaken by Australian forces since the failed Gallipoli campaign in 1915. During the operation, the 2/15th was initially assigned the task of securing the beachhead following the 20th Brigade's landing. After being relieved it joined the advance west towards the town, slowed by heavy rains that turned the many creeks in the area into raging torrents, which were invariably covered by heavy Japanese fire from the opposite bank. Later in September, after Lae had fallen to troops of the 7th Division advancing from Nadzab, the 20th Brigade undertook a follow-up operation further east, an opposed amphibious landing at Scarlet Beach, as part of Allied efforts to secure the Huon Peninsula. During the landing, the 2/15th formed the 20th Brigade's reserve force, coming ashore around Katika due to a navigational error; here it fought to dislodge strongly entrenched Japanese forces as the Australians established a beachhead. This was followed by the capture of Finschhafen, during which the 2/15th advanced alongside the 2/17th Battalion. The battalion's main effort was focused around securing a crossing over the Bumi River northwest of Finschhafen. After the town had been captured, it was tasked with expanding the Australian beachhead further west towards Kumawa as part of the drive on Sattelberg. For his actions during the battalion's attack around Kumawa on 13 October 1944, Corporal William Woods – who had destroyed two machine gun positions singlehandedly after most of his section had been wiped out – was recommended for the Victoria Cross, the only member of the battalion to be nominated for the award. It was subsequently downgraded to a Distinguished Conduct Medal. After a short period of rest while Sattelberg was captured by the 26th Brigade, in late November the 2/15th joined the advance to Wareo, capturing Nongora village, crossing the Song River, and then undertaking patrols through the Christmas Hills until relieved by elements of the 4th Brigade, which pushed the Australian advance along the coast, forcing the Japanese north towards Sio as the Australians sought to secure the Huon Peninsula. In late December, the 20th Brigade rotated back into the lead, and the 2/15th took over from the 22nd Battalion around the Tunom River, where the battalion headquarters came under aerial attack. After a brief pause near the flood swollen Tunom, the advance continued throughout December and into January 1944 with minor skirmishes punctuating the battalion's advance. Finally, on 21 January, at the edge of the Sazomu River, the order arrived for the 2/15th to be withdrawn to Finschhafen for rest prior to repatriation to Australia. The fighting in New Guinea cost the battalion 30 killed in action, six dead from wounds, four dead from accidents and 119 wounded. The 2/15th Battalion returned to Australia in mid-March 1944 aboard the Klipfontein. After docking in Brisbane, a 42-day leave period followed before the battalion came together again at Ravenshoe to begin the process of rebuilding in preparation for the next phase of the war. Between June and August, training progressed from individual instruction up to brigade-level exercises as the unit was re-constituted for its next campaign. During training it experienced a high turnover of personnel and a large influx of reinforcements, including several officers, was received in the middle of 1944 from the disbanded 62nd Battalion, a Queensland-based Militia battalion that had previously been assigned to Merauke Force. A long period of training followed the battalion's return to Australia in early 1944, as there was a degree of uncertainty about the Australian Army's role in future operations in the Pacific after the US military assumed primary responsibility for combat operations in the theatre. Nevertheless, in the final months of the war the 2/15th took part in efforts to recapture North Borneo as part of Operation Oboe Six. After a battalion-level exercise in early 1945, the 2/15th sailed from Australia aboard the Charles Lummis in early May. Staging out of Morotai Island, a detachment of the battalion landed on Muara Island on 10 June 1945, disembarking from US-operated LVTs and securing the island without opposition, while later, other elements from the 2/15th were put ashore on the peninsula around Brunei Town, as part of Allied operations to secure northern Borneo. While the main Australian force advanced towards Kuching and the oil fields around Seria, two companies of the 2/15th served as a "floating reserve" for the 2/13th Battalion's landing around Lutong, while the main body of the 2/15th subsequently moved inland towards Limbang, and began patrolling along the Limbang and Pandaruan Rivers that forked inland from the bay, using landing craft for mobility, and securing several small villages around the edge of the bay. Limbang was taken on 18 June, and two days later the two detached companies rejoined the battalion. Subsequently, several engagements were fought with the Japanese during patrols in June and July, but these were mainly small-scale; two members of the battalion were killed in an ambush around Brunei in late June, the heaviest fighting occurring in early July, when a patrol killed over 20 Japanese in a short but sharp encounter. By the end of July, a draft of 170 long-service personnel were released to return to Australia in early August, just as the war came to an end. Casualties for the 20th Brigade were light; the 2/15th suffered five battle casualties during its last campaign, two killed and three wounded. ### Disbandment After the war, the 2/15th remained on Brunei until November when it moved to Mempakul as personnel were returned to Australia in drafts based on priority of discharge. A small group of personnel volunteered at this time to undertake occupation duties in Japan and were subsequently transferred to the 66th or 67th Battalions. In early December, the battalion's vehicles were returned and after the appropriate clearances were received, the remaining cadre was transported to Labuan. From there, they sailed back to Australia aboard the Pachaug Victory, arriving at Brett's Wharf, in Brisbane on 19 December. The cadre moved into a camp at Chermside, where they completed unloading of stores and equipment before a short Christmas leave. Early in the new year, the final administrative tasks were completed and the last group of personnel were posted for demobilisation and discharge. Finally, the 2/15th was officially disbanded on 21 January 1946. During its service a total of 2,758 men served with the 2/15th Battalion, of whom 191 were killed or died of wounds, another 25 died on active service, 501 were wounded, and 212 were captured. Members of the 2/15th received three Distinguished Service Orders, 10 Military Crosses, seven Distinguished Conduct Medals, 18 Military Medals, one British Empire Medal, 47 Mentions in Despatches and nine Commander-In-Chief Commendation Cards. In addition, four were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire. ## Battle honours The 2/15th Battalion received the following battle honours: - North Africa 1941–43, El Adem Road, Alam el Halfa, West Point 23, Finschhafen, Scarlet Beach, Bumi River, Defence of Scarlet Beach, Nongora, Borneo, Brunei, Miri, Defence of Tobruk, The Salient 1941, El Alamein, South-West Pacific 1943–45, Lae–Nadzab, Liberation of Australian New Guinea and Sio. These honours were subsequently entrusted in 1961 to the 15th Battalion, a Queensland-based part-time unit that was the successor to the unit of the same designation that had been raised during World War I. ## Commanding officers The following officers served as commanding officer of the 2/15th: - Lieutenant Colonel Robert Francis Marlan (1940–1941); - Lieutenant Colonel Robert William George Ogle (1941–1942); - Lieutenant Colonel Charles Keith Massy Magno (1942); - Lieutenant Colonel Raymond James Barham (1942–1943); - Lieutenant Colonel Colin Henry Grace (1943–1945).
3,014,447	Mirkhvand	1,158,283,672	Fifteenth century Persian-language historian	[ "1433 births", "1498 deaths", "15th-century Iranian historians", "Historians from the Timurid Empire", "People from Bukhara" ]	Muhammad ibn Khvandshah ibn Mahmud, more commonly known as Mirkhvand (Persian: میرخواند, also transliterated as Mirkhwand; 1433/34 – 1498), was a Persian historian active during the reign of the Timurid ruler Sultan Husayn Bayqara (r. 1469–1506). He is principally known for his universal history, the Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ ("The garden of purity"), which he wrote under the patronage of the high-ranking functionary Ali-Shir Nava'i (died 1501). According to the German orientalist Bertold Spuler, the Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ is the greatest universal history in Persian regarding the Islamic world. ## Life Born in c. 1433/4 in the city of Bukhara in Timurid-ruled Transoxiana, Mirkhvand belonged to a family of sayyids, descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the son of Burhan al-Din Khvandshah (died 1466/7), who was a disciple of the Sufi shaykh Baha al-Din Umar Jaghara'i (died 1453) in the city of Herat, where Mirkhvand's family had distinguished themselves. Mirkhvand's brother was the sadr (head of religious fundings) of the Timurid crown prince Badi' al-Zaman Mirza (died 1514), the eldest son of the incumbent ruler Sultan Husayn Bayqara (r. 1469–1506). Mirkhvand wrote under the patronage of Ali-Shir Nava'i (died 1501), an important counselor of Husayn Bayqara and advocate of arts and literature. Mirkhvand enjoyed good relations with Nava'i, as indicated of Mirkhvand's description of the latter in his universal history Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ ("The garden of purity"), as well as the positive account of Mirkhvand in Nava'i's biographical dictionary Majālis al-nafāʾis ("The assemblies of rare talents"). Using the Timurid history book Maṭlaʿ al-saʿdayn of Abd al-Razzaq Samarqandi (died 1482) as his cornerstone, Mirkhvand started writing his Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ in 1474/5. Mirkhvand spent many years in the Ilkhlasiyya khanqah, a house for Sufis erected by Nava'i in 1483. Towards the end of his life, he lived for a year at the shrine of the prominent Hanbali and Sufi scholar Khwaja Abdullah Ansari (died 1088), near Herat. Mirkhvand died in Herat on 22 June 1498, and was buried in the shrine of Baha al-Din Umar Jaghara'i, the same place as his father. Mirkhvand's daughter's son Khvandamir (died 1535/6), whom he had trained and handed over his patronage networks, wrote a concise version of his grandfathers work in 1500, the Khulāṣat al-akhbār fī bayān aḥwāl al-akhyār ("Summary reports on the affairs of those gone by"). ## Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ Mirkhvand's only known work is the Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ, a history of the world since creation from a Muslim point of view, divided into a preface, seven volumes, and an epilogue. The final volume and the epilogue were incomplete at the time of Mirkhvand's death, and were later completed by Khvandamir. A discussion on the advantages of studying history is included in the Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ, a tradition that goes back to at least the 12th-century, when Ibn Funduq (died 1169) did the same in his Tarikh-i Bayhaq (1168). Mirkhvand's discussion on the advantages of studying history was copied and modified by three other distinguished historians; Qasim Beg Hayati Tabrizi's Tarikh (1554); Hossein Nishapuri Vuqu'i's Majma al-akhbar (1591/2); and Sharaf Khan Bidlisi's Sharafnama (1596). Mirkhvand's work attracted much attention, as demonstrated by its numerous translations, such as the Ottoman Ḥadīqat al-ʿulyā dedicated by Mustafa ibn Hasanshah to the Ottoman grand vizier Rüstem Pasha (d. 1561) in 1550 and Tercümān-i düstūr fī ḥavādisel-zamān wa-l-dühūr written by Mehmed Kemal Balatzade in 1555. The Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ was one of the three works generally read by history students in Mughal India. There exist hundreds of copies of Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ, making it one of the most copied Persian history books. However, neither the current editions by Parviz (1959/60) and Kiyanfar (2001) nor the 19th-century lithographs are based on the oldest version of the books. For example, Kiyanfar's edition is based on the Rawżat al-ṣafā-yi Nasir (written in 1854–6) of the 19th-century Iranian writer Reza-Qoli Khan Hedayat (died 1871), a continuation of the Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ and based on a lithograph printed in Bombay in 1849/50. The Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ was frequently used by western orientalists from the 17th to the 19th-century to understand the history of Iran. As a result, there are numerous incomplete translations of it in European languages. According to the German orientalist Bertold Spuler, the Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ is the greatest universal history in Persian regarding the Islamic world.
60,575,469	M-343 (Michigan highway)	1,167,489,951	State highway in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States	[ "State highways in Michigan", "Transportation in Kalamazoo County, Michigan" ]	M-343 is a state trunkline highway in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. It runs for almost eight miles (13 km) along Gull Road between the northeast side of Kalamazoo and continues through rural areas on the way to Richland. The highway was created in January 2019 from a section of M-43 after that highway was rerouted in the aftermath of a series of jurisdictional transfers in downtown Kalamazoo. It had been a part of the state highway system for a century under its previous number until it was given its current designation. ## Route description M-343 starts where Gull Road intersects Riverview Drive east of the Kalamazoo River in Kalamazoo. From there, the highway follows Gull Road northeasterly past Riverside Cemetery and Borgess Medical Center on the northeast side of Kalamazoo. M-343 passes a number of commercial properties as it exits Kalamazoo and enters farmland. As the highway approaches Richland, there are additional businesses flanking the roadway. M-343 then turns due east along D Avenue for a short distance before terminating at an intersection with M-89 in the middle of Richland. One section of M-343 was listed on the National Highway System (NHS) when the highway was part of M-43. This section is between the highway's western terminus at Riverview Drive and Sprinkle Road in Comstock Township. The NHS is a network of a network of highways that are considered important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. ## History Passage of the State Reward Trunk Line Highways Act on May 13, 1913, provided for 3,000 miles (4,828 km) of roadways in a state-financed system. No division of the original system included Gull Road between Kalamazoo and Richland, but it was included as a state reward road by the following year. In 1919, the state highway system was signposted for the first time, and Gull Road was first signed as a state highway that year as a part of M-43. The section closest to Kalamazoo was paved, while the remainder was a gravel roadway. By September 1924, it was shown as fully paved on state maps. In 2018, planners with the City of Kalamazoo negotiated with MDOT a transfer of the jurisdiction of several streets in the city's downtown. The goal was to give the city greater control, allowing Kalamazoo to convert one-way streets to two-way traffic, lower traffic speeds and giving the city flexibility on permitting and parking. On January 7, 2019, the City of Kalamazooo accepted jurisdiction over those streets from MDOT, ending their status as state trunklines. As a result, MDOT rerouted M-43 out of downtown Kalamazoo, running along US Highway 131 west of Kalamazoo north to Plainwell and then southeasterly along M-89 back to its previous alignment at Richland. The segment of highway retained by the state along Gull Road was renumbered M-343 afterwards. The number was given an odd initial digit to signify that the highway is a spur of M-43; M-143 was taken by a highway in East Lansing. Signage reflecting the change was erected in August 2019. ## Major intersections ## See also
20,599,055	Gimli (Middle-earth)	1,172,465,370	Fictional Dwarf in The Lord of the Rings	[ "Fictional axefighters", "Literary characters introduced in 1954", "Male characters in film", "Male characters in literature", "Middle-earth Dwarves", "The Lord of the Rings characters" ]	Gimli is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, appearing in The Lord of the Rings. A dwarf warrior, he is the son of Glóin, a member of Thorin's company in Tolkien's earlier book The Hobbit. He represents the race of Dwarves as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring. As such, he is one of the primary characters in the story. In the course of the adventure, Gimli aids the Ring-bearer Frodo Baggins, participates in the War of the Ring, and becomes close friends with Legolas, overcoming an ancient enmity of Dwarves and Elves. Scholars have commented that Gimli is unlike other dwarves in being free from their characteristic greed for gold. They note, too, that he is unique in being granted the gift of Galadriel's hair, something that she had refused to Fëanor. The events recall the Norse legend Njáls saga, where a gift of hair is refused, with fateful consequences. Gimli was voiced by David Buck in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings. Gimli does not appear in Rankin/Bass's 1980 animated version of The Return of the King. In Peter Jackson's film trilogy, Gimli is played by the Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies. ## Fictional biography Gimli was born in the Ered Luin in the Third Age, son of Glóin. Gimli had wanted to accompany his father on the quest to reclaim Erebor, but at age 62 he was deemed too young. He was a remote descendant of Durin the Deathless, chief of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves and ancestor of the Longbeards. Gimli was of the royal line, but not close to the succession; he was the third cousin once removed of Dáin II Ironfoot. Gimli is first seen with Glóin at the Council of Elrond; they tell the Council that the Dark Lord Sauron is searching for Bilbo, and ask Elrond's advice. They learn that Frodo Baggins is now the bearer of the One Ring. The Council decides to destroy it by casting it into Mount Doom. Frodo volunteers for the task; Gimli is among those chosen to help him. There is friction between Gimli and the elf Legolas: their races bore an old grudge against each other. When the company is forced to enter the ancient underground Dwarf-realm, the Mines of Moria, Gimli is at first enthusiastic, hoping to find Balin there. However, Moria is still inhabited by Orcs, Cave Trolls, and a Balrog: Balin and his folk have all been killed. The Fellowship finds his tomb in the Chamber of Mazarbul; Orcs attack, and they have to fight their way out. Aragorn leads the company to Lothlórien, populated by Elves hostile to Dwarves. Gimli refuses to be blindfolded, risking a conflict, so Aragorn has the entire Fellowship blindfolded. Gimli's opinion of Elves changes when he meets Galadriel, co-ruler of Lothlórien: her beauty, kindness, and understanding impress him so much that, when given the opportunity to ask for whatever he wishes, he responds that being able to see her and hear her gentle words is gift enough. When pressed, he admits that he desires a single strand of her golden hair, to be an heirloom of his house, but that he could not ask for such a gift. Galadriel is so moved by his bold yet courteous request that she gives him not one, but three of her hairs. Gimli and Legolas became firm friends. At Amon Hen, the company is divided, and Gimli joins Legolas and Aragorn in pursuing Merry and Pippin who have been captured by Orcs. After running many miles in a few days to the land of Rohan, they meet Éomer, nephew of Rohan's King Théoden, with a troop of cavalry, which has killed all the Orcs. When Éomer speaks badly of the name Galadriel, Gimli responds harshly, but Aragorn prevents a fight. Gandalf leads them to Rohan's capital, Edoras, where he rouses Théoden to war against Saruman. Gimli proves his valour in combat in the Battle of Helm's Deep. He and Legolas engage in an Orc-slaying contest (Gimli wins by one; he kills 42 to Legolas's 41). Gimli saves Éomer's life by killing two orcs and driving off two others. Later, Gimli's vivid description of the Glittering Caves of Aglarond moves Legolas to promise to visit the caves when the War was over; and eventually they make the visit together. After the battle, Gimli witnesses Gandalf casting Saruman out of the Order of Wizards; he sees through Saruman's lies with the words "This wizard's words stand on their heads". Gimli accompanies Aragorn on the Paths of the Dead, and the battles at Pelargir and the Pelennor Fields. He takes part in the final battle against Sauron, the Battle of the Morannon in front of the Black Gate. There he recognizes Pippin Took's feet underneath a fallen troll, saving his life. After the destruction of the Ring, Gimli leads many Dwarves south to Aglarond, becoming the first Lord of the Glittering Caves. They build "great works" in Rohan and Gondor, and replace the ruined gate of Minas Tirith with one made of mithril and steel. After Aragorn's death, Gimli (then 262 years old) sails with Legolas into the West, becoming the first Dwarf in the Undying Lands. ## Family tree ## Concept and creation The name Gimli first appeared in Tolkien's works in "The Tale of Tinúviel", the earliest version of the story of Beren and Lúthien Tinúviel, found in the second volume of The Book of Lost Tales. Here, the name belongs to an aged elf, a prisoner along with Beren in the kitchens of Tevildo, Prince of Cats (forerunner of Sauron). During the writing of The Lord of the Rings, as told in The Return of the Shadow, Gimli's character was first named Frar, then Burin, and he was the son of Balin. The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey writes that Tolkien has Gimli "swap grim proverbs" with Elrond. Shippey comments that dwarvish heroism is expressed in their veiled speech, as seen also with King Dáin's stubborn replies to the messenger of Mordor. He sees these examples as unified by "delight in the contrast between passionate interior and polite or rational expression; the weakness of the latter is an index of the strength of the former". Writing in Mallorn, the journal of the Tolkien Society, Lilian Darvell states that Gimli's request for a gift of Galadriel's hair is to be contrasted with Fëanor's earlier request of the same gift, described in "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", in Unfinished Tales. Galadriel rejected Fëanor's request, though he made it three times. Darvell comments that given Galadriel's ability to see into people's hearts, and the darkness she saw in Fëanor, she must have seen something better in Gimli than in "one of the greatest of the Noldor". Darvell notes that the gift of hair has echoes in both English literature, as in Bernice and the Lock and The Rape of the Lock, and in Norse legend. In Njáls saga, Gunnarr's bowstring breaks in a desperate battle; he asks his wife Hallgerðr for two hairs to use as a replacement, but she refuses because he had once struck her, and he is killed. Darvell comments that Galadriel's refusal does not kill Fëanor, but it does result in a distancing, which might have led him to refuse to send ships to rescue her from Númenor. The scholars of international relations Abigail Ruane and Patrick James view Gimli as an exemplar of "neoliberal institutionalists", since his "people avidly pursue gold and treasure". In their view, he and his Dwarves also illustrate the interdependence of nations through their networks of trade and allies; the varied "relationships among Dwarves, Elves, and Men provide a foundation upon which to build and [to] ally against Sauron and illustrate how complex interdependence can reduce perceptions of insecurity and create opportunities for cooperation rather than conflict." The Tolkien scholar John Miller writes that like the Elves, the Dwarves have withdrawn from history and become subject to "an increased aesthetic sensibility", exemplified by Gimli's lyrical description of the Glittering Caves of Aglarond. Miller argues that as well as praising the beauty of the caves, Gimli's account "emphasizes their stillness, their abstraction from the history marching along outside". He suggests that the dwarvish love of hand-crafted workmanship could be a pre-modern aesthetic, an immature or adolescent appreciation compared to that of Elves or Men. The philologist Susan Robbins writes in Žmogus ir žodis that with the words "I say to you, Gimli son of Glóin, that your hands shall flow with gold, yet over you gold shall have no dominion", Galadriel gives Gimli, alone of all the Dwarves, immunity to the dragon-sickness. Robbins defines this as "bewilderment or confusion that makes one so greedy for ... gold that one would rather starve to death rather than give any of it up", the fate that overwhelmed the Dwarf Thorin Oakenshield and the human Master of Laketown in The Hobbit. She notes that Tolkien stated that the dragon-sickness, the effect of the magic spells placed on Smaug's golden hoard, had been derived from line 3052 of the Old English poem Beowulf: iúmonna gold galdre bewunden, "the gold of men of long ago enmeshed in enchantment". ## Adaptations Gimli was voiced by David Buck in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings. Here he is drawn as being almost as tall as the rest of the non-hobbit members of the Fellowship. Gimli does not appear in Rankin/Bass's 1980 animated version of The Return of the King. In Peter Jackson's film trilogy, Gimli is played by John Rhys-Davies, using his native Welsh accent. Gimli's more prosaic and blunt style, in contrast with the more refined Aragorn and Legolas, provides defusing comic relief, with much of the humour based on his height, along with his competitive, if friendly, feud with Legolas, where Gimli consistently finds himself out-achieved. Gimli was portrayed by Ross Williams in the 3-hour Toronto stage production of The Lord of the Rings, which opened in 2006. In The Lord of the Rings: The Musical, he was played by Sévan Stephan throughout its London run. The classical composer Craig H. Russell's 1995 Middle Earth has as its second movement "Gimli, the Dwarf"; Russell describes it as sounding "like a rugged Irish tune". The piece was originally written for string ensemble, and re-orchestrated for symphonic orchestra.
680,006	The Jungle Book (1967 film)	1,172,700,193	1967 animated Disney film	[ "1960s American animated films", "1960s English-language films", "1960s children's adventure films", "1960s children's animated films", "1960s fantasy adventure films", "1960s fantasy comedy films", "1967 animated films", "1967 films", "1967 musical comedy films", "American animated feature films", "American children's animated adventure films", "American children's animated fantasy films", "American children's animated musical films", "American fantasy adventure films", "American fantasy comedy films", "American musical comedy films", "Animated buddy films", "Animated films about animals", "Animated films about apes", "Animated films about bears", "Animated films about birds", "Animated films about elephants", "Animated films about friendship", "Animated films about monkeys", "Animated films about orphans", "Animated films about royalty", "Animated films about snakes", "Animated films about tigers", "Animated films based on children's books", "Animated films set in India", "Animated films set in jungles", "Animated films set in palaces", "Films adapted into comics", "Films adapted into television shows", "Films directed by Wolfgang Reitherman", "Films produced by Walt Disney", "Films scored by George Bruns", "Films with screenplays by Ken Anderson", "Films with screenplays by Larry Clemmons", "Films with screenplays by Ralph Wright", "Films with screenplays by Vance Gerry", "Musicals by the Sherman Brothers", "The Jungle Book (franchise)", "The Jungle Book films", "Walt Disney Animation Studios films", "Walt Disney Pictures animated films" ]	The Jungle Book is a 1967 American animated musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Based on Rudyard Kipling's 1894 book of the same title, it is the 19th Disney animated feature film and the final animated film to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during its production. It was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and written by Larry Clemmons, Ralph Wright, Ken Anderson, and Vance Gerry. Featuring the voices of Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley, and Bruce Reitherman, the film's plot follows Mowgli, a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves, as his friends, Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear, try to convince him to leave the jungle before the ruthless tiger Shere Khan arrives. The early versions of both the screenplay and the soundtrack followed Kipling's work more closely, with a dramatic, dark, and sinister tone, which Disney did not want in his family film, leading to writer Bill Peet and songwriter Terry Gilkyson being replaced. The Jungle Book was released on October 18, 1967, to positive reception, with acclaim for its soundtrack, featuring five songs by the Sherman Brothers and one by Gilkyson, "The Bare Necessities". With a gross of \$23.8 million worldwide, the film initially became Disney's second-highest-grossing animated film in the United States and Canada, the ninth-highest-grossing film of 1967, and was also successful during its re-releases. The film was also successful throughout the world, becoming Germany's highest-grossing film by number of admissions. Disney released a live-action adaptation in 1994 and an animated sequel, The Jungle Book 2, in 2003; a live-action/CGI hybrid remake directed by Jon Favreau was released in 2016, with a sequel to that film in development. ## Plot Mowgli, a young orphan boy, is found in a basket in the deep jungles of India by Bagheera, a black panther who promptly takes him to Raksha, a mother wolf who has just had cubs. She and her mate, Rama, raise him along with their own cubs, and after ten years, Mowgli becomes well acquainted with jungle life and plays with his wolf siblings. Bagheera is pleased with how happy Mowgli is now but also worries that Mowgli must eventually return to his own kind. One night, the wolf pack parents meet at Council Rock, having learned that Shere Khan, a Bengal tiger, has returned to the pack's part of the jungle. Pack leader Akela decides that Mowgli must leave the jungle for his own safety and the safety of those around him - the tiger possesses an intense hatred of humans due to a fear of their guns and their fire. Bagheera volunteers to escort him to a "Man-Village". They leave that very night, but Mowgli is determined to stay in the jungle. He and Bagheera rest in a tree for the night, where Kaa, a hungry Indian python, hypnotizes Mowgli into a deep sleep and tries to devour him, but Bagheera intervenes. The next morning, Mowgli tries to join the elephant patrol led by Colonel Hathi and his wife Winifred. Bagheera finds Mowgli but after a fight, decides to leave Mowgli on his own. Mowgli soon meets up with the laid-back, fun-loving sloth bear Baloo, who promises to raise Mowgli himself and never take him to the Man Village. Shortly afterward, a group of monkeys kidnap Mowgli and take him to their leader, King Louie the orangutan. King Louie offers to help Mowgli stay in the jungle if he tells Louie how to make fire, like other humans. However, since he was not raised by humans, Mowgli does not know how to make fire. Bagheera and Baloo arrive to rescue Mowgli, and in the ensuing chaos, King Louie's palace is demolished to rubble. Bagheera speaks to Baloo that night and convinces him that the jungle will never be safe for Mowgli with Shere Khan around. In the morning, Baloo reluctantly explains to Mowgli that the Man-Village is best for him, but Mowgli accuses him of breaking his promise and runs away. As Baloo sets off in search of Mowgli, Bagheera rallies the help of Hathi and his patrol. However, Shere Khan, who was eavesdropping on Bagheera and Hathi's conversation, is now determined to hunt and kill Mowgli. Meanwhile, Mowgli has a second encounter with Kaa, who once again, attempts to eat him after hypnotizing him into a deep sleep but eventually wakes up and escapes thanks to the unwitting intervention of the suspicious Shere Khan. As a storm gathers in a desolate area of the jungle, a depressed Mowgli encounters a group of friendly vultures who accept Mowgli as a fellow outcast. Shere Khan appears shortly after, scaring off the vultures and confronting Mowgli. Baloo arrives and haplessly tries to keep the tiger from getting the boy, getting knocked unconscious in the process. When lightning strikes a nearby tree and sets it ablaze, the vultures swoop in to distract Shere Khan, while Mowgli grabs a large flaming branch and ties it to the tiger's tail. Shere Khan, seeing this, panics and runs away. Afterward, Bagheera and Baloo take Mowgli to the edge of the Man-Village, but Mowgli is still hesitant to go there. However, his mind abruptly changes when he is smitten by a beautiful young girl from the village who is coming down by the riverside to fetch water. After noticing Mowgli, she "accidentally" drops her water pot. Mowgli retrieves it for her and follows her into the Man-Village. After Mowgli shrugs to Baloo and Bagheera, to show that he has made up his mind and chosen to go to the Man-Village, Baloo and Bagheera decide to head home, content that Mowgli is safe and happy with his own kind. ## Cast - Phil Harris as Baloo, a laid-back and happy-go-lucky sloth bear who leads a carefree life and believes in letting the good things in life come by themselves. The studio held many auditions for the role until Walt Disney personally suggested Harris after meeting him at a benefit in Palm Springs. The animation staff was initially shocked to hear that a wise-cracking comedian such as him was going to be in a Kipling film. Harris himself nearly dropped out of the role after doing a test recording, because he could not see himself as the character, but reconsidered after the filmmakers allowed him to perform the way that felt the most comfortable to him. According to Wolfgang Reitherman, when they "told him not to be a bear, but to be Phil Harris, he got in front of the microphone and tore that thing apart." Most of the character's lines were improvised by Harris. - Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera, an honorable and no-nonsense black panther who is determined to take Mowgli back to the village and disapproves of Baloo's carefree approach to life. He also serves as the film's narrator. In the early stages of the film's development, Bill Peet suggested Howard Morris for the role, but Disney did not approve of the choice, while Reitherman and other animators preferred either Karl Swenson or Sebastian Cabot. The latter, who had previously voiced Sir Ector in The Sword in the Stone (1963), was ultimately cast. - Louis Prima as King Louie, a zany and obstreperous orangutan and leader of the monkeys from the Ancient Ruins who wants to become a human by learning how to make fire. According to Richard M. Sherman, Louis Armstrong was originally considered for the role, but the idea was discarded after one of the writers said that "'NAACP is going to jump all over it having a black man playing an ape – it would be politically terrible.' That was the last thing on our minds, nothing we'd ever thought of." After Phil Harris was cast as Baloo, Disneyland Records president Jimmy Johnson suggested Disney to get Prima, whom he thought to be great as a foil for Harris' character. - George Sanders as Shere Khan, an intelligent yet merciless Bengal tiger who hates all humans out of fear of their guns and fire and wants to kill Mowgli. - Sterling Holloway as Kaa, a sly and conniving Indian python who seeks Mowgli as prey, but comically fails each time he attempts to eat him. - J. Pat O'Malley as Colonel Hathi, a strict and pompous Indian elephant who leads the Jungle Patrol. - O'Malley also voiced Buzzy the Vulture. - Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli, commonly referred to as Man Cub by other characters, an innocent yet stubborn human boy who is reluctantly forced to leave the jungle because of the threat of Shere-Khan. David Bailey was originally cast in the role, but during the film's production he hit puberty, and his voice changed. As a result, Wolfgang Reitherman replaced him with his son Bruce, who had just voiced Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966). The animators also shot a live-action footage of Bruce as a guide for the character's animation performance. - Verna Felton as Winifred, Colonel Hathi's snarky and level-headed wife, who never hesitates to put him in his place. The Jungle Book marks Felton's final performance before her death on December 14, 1966, one day before Walt Disney's passing. - Clint Howard as Hathi Jr., also known as Junior or Baby Elephant, Colonel Hathi's son, who befriends Mowgli. - Chad Stuart as Flaps the Vulture - Lord Tim Hudson as Dizzy the Vulture - Darleen Carr as the Girl who lures Mowgli in the Man-Village at the film's ending. - Leo De Lyon as Flunkey the Langur\* - Hal Smith as The Slob Elephant\* - Ralph Wright as The Gloomy Elephant\* - Digby Wolfe as Ziggy the Vulture\* - Bill Skiles and Pete Henderson as Monkeys\* Additionally, John Abbott voiced Akela, the leader of the Seeonee wolf pack that came to adopt Mowgli. Ben Wright, who had previously voiced Roger Radcliffe in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), provided voice for Rama, Mowgli's adoptive wolf father. Asterisks mark actors listed in the opening credits as "Additional Voices". ## Production ### Development and writing Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book first caught Walt Disney's attention in the late 1930s, but development of the film did not begin until the early 1960s, when Bill Peet, who had just finished his work on The Sword in the Stone (1963), proposed it as the studio's next animated feature. In April 1962, after spending the previous ten years in negotiations, Disney acquired the film rights to all thirteen Jungle Book stories from the estate of Alexander Korda, who had produced the 1942 film adaptation, but decided to concentrate only on the Mowgli stories. Peet created an original treatment, with little supervision, as he had done with One Hundred and One Dalmatians and The Sword in the Stone. Peet decided to follow closely the dramatic, dark, and sinister tone of Kipling's book, which is about the struggles between animals and man. However, he also decided to make the story more straightforward, as the novel is very episodic, with Mowgli going back and forth from the jungle to the Man-Village, and Peet felt that Mowgli returning to the Man-Village should be the ending for the film. Following suggestions, Peet also created the character of Louie, king of the monkeys. Louie was a less comical character, enslaving Mowgli trying to get the boy to teach him to make fire. The orangutan would also show a plot point borrowed from The Second Jungle Book, gold and jewels under his ruins.[^1] The ending also was very different from the final film's. After Mowgli had arrived to the man village, he would get into an argument with Buldeo the hunter which would cause him to return to the jungle with a torch that he would use to scare those who attacked or mocked him through the journey, before being dragged back to the ruins by Buldeo in search for the treasure. After recovering a great part of the treasure, Buldeo would declare his intentions to burn the jungle to avoid the threat of Shere Khan, only for the tiger to attack and kill him, before being killed by Mowgli with the hunter's gun. Due to his actions, Mowgli would be hailed as a hero in both the jungle and the village, and declared the first human to be part of the wolves' council. After the disappointing reaction to The Sword in the Stone, Walt Disney decided to become more involved in the story than he had been with the past two films, with his nephew Roy E. Disney saying that "[he] certainly influenced everything about it. (...) With Jungle Book, he obviously got hooked on the jungle and the characters that lived there". Disney was not pleased with how the story was turning out, as he felt it was too dark for family viewing and insisted on script changes. Peet refused, and after a long argument, Peet left the Disney studio in January 1964. Disney then assigned Larry Clemmons as his new writer and one of the four-story men for the film, giving Clemmons a copy of Kipling's book, and telling him: "The first thing I want you to do is not to read it". Clemmons still looked at the novel and thought it was too disjointed and without continuity, needing adaptations to fit a film script. Clemmons wanted to start in medias res, with some flashbacks afterward, but then Disney said to focus on doing the storyline more straight: "Let's do the meat of the picture. Let's establish the characters. Let's have fun with it". Although most of Peet's work was discarded, the personalities of the characters remained in the final film. This was because Disney felt that the story should be kept simple, and the characters should drive the story. Disney took an active role in the story meetings, acting out each role and helping to explore the emotions of the characters, helping create gags, and developing emotional sequences. Clemmons also created the human girl with whom Mowgli falls in love, as the animators considered that falling in love would be the best excuse for Mowgli to leave the jungle. Clemmons would write a rough script with an outline for most sequences. The story artists then discussed how to fill the scenes, including the comedic gags to employ. The script also tried to incorporate how the voice actors molded their characters and interacted with each other. The Jungle Book also marked the last animated film to have Disney's personal touches, before his death on December 15, 1966. ### Casting Many familiar voices had inspired the animators in their creation of the characters and helped them shape their personalities. This use of familiar voices for key characters was a rarity in Disney's past films. The Sherman Brothers re-imagined Peet's darker more sinister version of King Louie as a more comedic character based around jazz and swing music. As Richard M. Sherman recalled: "...our discussion at the time [was], 'He's an ape, what does an ape do? Swings in a tree. The jazz is swing music and a guy literally swings if he's an ape.'" Child actress Darlene Carr was going around singing in the studio when composers Sherman Brothers asked her to record a demo of "My Own Home". Carr's performance impressed Disney enough for him to cast her as the role of the human girl. In the original book, the vultures are grim and evil characters who feast on the dead. Disney lightened it up by having the vultures bearing a physical and vocal resemblance to The Beatles, including the signature mop-top haircut. It was also planned to have the members of the band to both voice the characters and sing their song, "That's What Friends Are For". However, at the time, The Beatles' John Lennon refused to work on animated films which led to the idea being discarded. The casting of the vultures still brought a British Invasion musician, Chad Stuart of the duo Chad & Jeremy. In earlier drafts of the scene the vultures had a near-sighted rhinoceros friend named Rocky, who was to be voiced by Frank Fontaine. However, Disney decided to cut the character, feeling that the film already had enough action with the monkeys and vultures. ### Animation Animation on The Jungle Book commenced on June 1, 1965. While many of the later Disney feature films had animators being responsible for single characters, in The Jungle Book the animators were in charge of whole sequences, since many have characters interacting with one another. The animation was done by xerography, with character design, led by Ken Anderson, employing rough, artistic edges in contrast to the round animals seen in productions such as Dumbo. Anderson also decided to make Shere Khan resemble his voice actor, George Sanders. Backgrounds were hand-painted—with an exception of the waterfall, mostly consisting of footage of the Angel Falls—and sometimes scenery was used in both foreground and bottom to create a notion of depth. One of Reitherman's trademarks was repurposing animation from previous animated films, including his. For example, animation of the wolf cubs were redrawn from the dalmatian puppies in One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Animator Milt Kahl based Bagheera and Shere Khan's movements on live-action felines, which he saw in two Disney productions, A Tiger Walks and the True-Life Adventure film Jungle Cat. Baloo was also based on footage of bears, even incorporating the animal's penchant for scratching. Since Kaa has no limbs, his design received big expressive eyes, and parts of Kaa's body did the action that normally would be done with hands. The monkeys' dance during "I Wan'na Be Like You" was partially inspired by a performance Louis Prima did with his band on a Las Vegas soundstage that convinced Disney to cast him. ## Music The film's score was composed by George Bruns and orchestrated by Walter Sheets. Two of the cues were reused from previous Disney films: the scene where Mowgli wakes up after escaping King Louie used one of Bruns' themes for Sleeping Beauty; and the scene where Bagheera gives a eulogy to Baloo when he mistakenly thinks the bear was killed by Shere Khan used Paul J. Smith's organ score from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The score features six original songs: five by the Sherman Brothers and one by Terry Gilkyson. Longtime Disney collaborator Gilkyson was the first songwriter to bring several complete songs that followed the book closely but Walt Disney felt that his efforts were too dark. The only piece of Gilkyson's work which survived to the final film was his upbeat tune "The Bare Necessities", which was liked by the rest of the film crew. The Sherman Brothers were then brought in to do a complete rewrite. Disney asked the siblings if they had read Kipling's book and they replied that they had done so "a long, long time ago" and that they had also seen the 1942 version by Alexander Korda. Disney said the "nice, mysterious, heavy stuff" from both works was not what he aimed for, instead going for a "lightness, a Disney touch". Disney frequently brought the composers to the storyline sessions. He asked them to "find scary places and write fun songs" for their compositions that fit in with the story and advanced the plot instead of being interruptive. ## Release and reception ### Original theatrical run The Jungle Book was released in October 1967, only 10 months after Walt Disney's death. Some bookings were in a double feature format with Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar. Produced on a budget of \$4 million, the film was a massive success, grossing domestic rentals of \$11.5 million by 1968. By 1970, the film had grossed \$13 million in domestic rentals, becoming the second highest-grossing animated film in the United States and Canada. The film earned over \$23.8 million worldwide becoming the most successful animated film released during its initial run. ### Re-releases The Jungle Book was re-released theatrically in North America in 1978, 1984, and 1990, and also in Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. A re-issue in the United Kingdom in 1976 generated rentals of \$1.8 million. The 1978 re-release increased its North American rentals to \$27.3 million, which surpassed Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs making it the highest grossing animated film in the United States and Canada until Snow White was re-released in 1983. The film's total lifetime gross in the U.S. and Canada is \$141 million. When adjusted for inflation, it is estimated to be equivalent to \$671,224,000 in 2018, which would make it the 32nd highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada. The Jungle Book is Germany's biggest film in terms of admissions with 27.3 million tickets sold, nearly 10 million more than Titanic's 18.8 million tickets sold. It has grossed an estimated \$108 million in Germany, making it the third highest-grossing film in that country behind only Avatar (\$137 million) and Titanic (\$125 million). The film was the seventh most popular sound film of the twentieth century in the UK with admissions of 19.8 million. The film is France's ninth biggest film in terms of admissions with 14.8 million tickets sold. The film's 1993 re-release set an overseas record for a re-issue, grossing \$67.5 million overseas during that year. It opened at number one in Germany with a gross of more than \$4 million in its first six days and opened in second place at the UK box office before moving to number one for two weeks. ### Home media The Jungle Book was released in the United States on VHS in 1991 as part of the Walt Disney Classics video line and in the United Kingdom in 1993. In the United States, the VHS release sold 7.4 million units and grossed \$184,926,000 in 1991, making it the year's third best-selling home video release, behind only Fantasia and Home Alone. By 1994, The Jungle Book sold 9.5 million units in the United States. Home video sales outside North America reached a record 14 million units and grossed \$350 million by December 1993. Overseas sales reached 14.8 million units by January 1994, becoming the bestselling international VHS release in overseas markets, including sales of 4.9 million units in the United Kingdom, 4.3 million in Germany, and 1.2 million in France. By August 1994, it had sold 15 million units in international overseas markets, bringing worldwide sales to 24.5 million units by 1994. As of 2002, The Jungle Book held the record for the bestselling home video release in the United Kingdom, ahead of Titanic which sold 4.8 million units. It was reissued on video in 1997 as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection for the film's 30th anniversary. A Limited Issue DVD was released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment in 1999. The film was released once again as a 2-disc Platinum Edition DVD on October 2, 2007, to commemorate its 40th anniversary. Its release was accompanied by a limited 18-day run at Disney's own El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, with the opening night featuring a panel with composer Richard Sherman and voice actors Bruce Reitherman, Darlene Carr, and Chad Stuart. The Platinum DVD was put on moratorium in 2010. The film was released in a Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo pack on February 11, 2014, as part of Disney's Diamond Edition line. The Diamond Edition release went back into the Disney Vault on January 31, 2017. In the United States, the DVD and Blu-ray releases sold 12 million units between 2007 and 2016, and have grossed \$304 million as of August 2018. A Limited Edition from Disney Movie Club was released on Blu-ray and DVD combo on March 26, 2019. The film was re-released on Blu-ray/DVD/Digital on February 22, 2022, in honor of the film's 55th anniversary. ### Critical reception The Jungle Book received positive reviews upon release, undoubtedly influenced by a nostalgic reaction to the death of Walt Disney. Time magazine noted the film strayed far from the Kipling stories, but "[n]evertheless, the result is thoroughly delightful...it is the happiest possible way to remember Walt Disney". Howard Thompson of The New York Times praised the film as "simple, uncluttered, straight-forward fun, as put together by the director, Wolfgang Reitherman, four screen writers and the usual small army of technicians. Using some lovely exotic pastel backgrounds and a nice clutch of tunes, the picture unfolds like an intelligent comic-strip fairy tale". Richard Schickel, reviewing for Life magazine, referred to it as "the best thing of its kind since Dumbo, another short, bright, unscary and blessedly uncultivated cartoon". Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote the film was "really, really good Disney indeed, and nobody needs to say a great deal more." Arthur D. Murphy of Variety gave the film a favorable review while noting that "the story development is restrained" and that younger audiences "may squirm at times". The song "The Bare Necessities" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 40th Academy Awards, losing to "Talk to the Animals" from Doctor Dolittle. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Gregory Peck lobbied extensively for the film to be nominated for Best Picture, but was unsuccessful. Retrospective reviews were also positive, with the film's animation, characters and music receiving much praise throughout the years. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads: "With expressive animation, fun characters, and catchy songs, The Jungle Book endures as a crowd-pleasing Disney classic." In 1990, when the film had its last theatrical re-release, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly considered that The Jungle Book "isn't a classic Walt Disney film on the order of, say, Cinderella or Pinocchio, but it's one of Disney's liveliest and funniest". Charles Solomon, reviewing for the Los Angeles Times, thought the film's animators was "near the height of their talents" and the resulting film "remains a high-spirited romp that will delight children—and parents weary of action films with body counts that exceed their box-office grosses". In 2010, Empire described the film as one that "gets pretty much everything right", noting that the vibrant animation and catchy songs overcame the plot deficiencies. Colin Greenland reviewed The Jungle Book for Imagine magazine, and stated that "the last film the old boy worked on himself and I reckon the last good animated feature in his traditional mode - not least because of some rather jolly jazz which, legend has it, Walt himself resisted, and was added after his death." #### Controversy There has been criticism of the portrayal of King Louie, who some have viewed as a racist caricature of African Americans. However, this was not the filmmakers' intention as the character and mannerisms of King Louie were largely based on his voice actor, Louis Prima, a well-known Italian American jazz musician and performer, who would have been instantly recognizable to audiences during the late 1960s. While Louis Armstrong was briefly considered for the part, the filmmakers quickly steered away from that direction upon realizing the racist implications. In 2019, Disney added disclaimers warning of "outdated cultural depictions" at the start of the film on Disney+. In January 2021, Disney removed access to the film for child profiles in Disney+, and strengthened the warning message to read: "This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together." ## Legacy In 1968, Disneyland Records released the album More Jungle Book, an unofficial sequel also written by screenwriter Larry Simmons, which continued the story of the film, and included Phil Harris and Louis Prima voicing their film roles. In the record, Baloo (Harris) is missing Mowgli (Ginny Tyler), so he teams up with King Louie (Prima) and Bagheera (Dal McKennon) to take him from the man village. On February 14, 2003, DisneyToon Studios in Australia released a film sequel, The Jungle Book 2, in which Mowgli runs away from the man village to see his animal friends, unaware that Shere Khan is more determined to kill him than ever. In 2005, screenwriter Robert Reece pitched Jungle Book 3 to Disney execs., but the project never materialized. Elements of The Jungle Book were recycled in the later Disney feature film Robin Hood, such as Baloo being inspiration for Little John (who not only was a bear, but also voiced by Phil Harris). In particular, the dance sequence between Baloo and King Louie was simply rotoscoped for Little John and Lady Cluck's dance. It has been widely acclaimed by animators, with Eric Goldberg declaring The Jungle Book "boasts possibly the best character animation a studio has ever done". The animators of Aladdin, The Lion King, Tarzan, and Lilo & Stitch took inspiration from the design and animation of the film, and four people involved with Disney's animations, director Brad Bird and animators Andreas Deja, Glen Keane and Sergio Pablos, have declared the film to be their inspiration for entering the business. In 1978, a live-action sketch titled The Wonderful World of Ernie from Morecambe and Wise parodied I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song) by doing a full reenactment of the scene with sets and costumes and lip-synching to the song's original recording (including the characters' spoken dialogue in the middle of the song). The sketch starred Danny Rolnick as Mowgli, Derek Griffiths as Bagheera, Eric Morecambe as Baloo and Ernie Wise as King Louie. Many characters appear in the 1990–91 animated series TaleSpin. Between 1996 and 1998, the TV series Jungle Cubs told the stories of Baloo, Hahti, Bagheera, Louie, Kaa, and Shere Khan when they were children. Disney later made a live-action adaptation of the film, which was more of a realistic action-adventure film with somewhat-more adult themes. The film, released in 1994, differs even more from the book than its animated counterpart, but was still a box-office success. In 1998, Disney released a direct to video film entitled The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story. A new live-action version of The Jungle Book was released by Disney in 2016, which even reused most of the songs of the animated movie, with some lyrical reworking by original composer Richard M. Sherman. There are two video games based on the film: The Jungle Book was a platformer released in 1993 for Master System, Mega Drive, Game Gear, Super NES, Game Boy and PC. A version for the Game Boy Advance was later released in 2003. The Jungle Book Groove Party was a dance mat game released in 2000 for PlayStation and PlayStation 2. Kaa and Shere Khan have also made cameo appearances in another Disney video game, QuackShot. A world based on the film was intended to appear more than once in the Square Enix-Disney Kingdom Hearts video game series, but was omitted both times, first in the first game because it featured a similar world based on Tarzan, and second in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, although areas of the world are accessible via hacking codes. Baloo and Mowgli appear as interactive characters in Adventureland on Kinect: Disneyland Adventures released in 2011 and re-released in 2017. Mowgli, Bagheera, Baloo, Shere Khan and King Louie appear as playable characters in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms. Baloo appears as a playable character on Disney Mirrorverse released in 2022. Baloo and Mowgli appear as a playable characters on the kart racing game Disney Speedstorm released in 2022. Since the film's release, many of the film's characters appeared in House of Mouse, The Lion King 11⁄2, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Aladdin and the King of Thieves. In December 2010, a piece of artwork by British artist Banksy featuring The Jungle Book characters which had been commissioned by Greenpeace to help raise awareness of deforestation went on sale for the sum of £80,000. ### Exhibition A behind-the-scenes exhibition titled Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book: Making a Masterpiece, guest-curated by Andreas Deja took place at The Walt Disney Family Museum from June 23, 2022, to January 8, 2023. The event celebrated the film's 55th anniversary by displaying over 600 pieces of rare artwork, manuscripts, photos, animation drawings and cels as well as ephemera. It also detailed the entire story of the film's production, its release and the worldwide recognition it has earned through the years. A Members Only Preview which included a special talk with Andreas Deja, Bruce Reitherman, Darleen Carr and Floyd Norman took place on June 22, 2022. An extensive companion book, Walt Disney's The Jungle Book: Making a Masterpiece'' also written by Deja was originally slated to be published by Weldon Owen on September 20, 2022, before it was changed to November 1, 2022. Special screenings of the film took place at the museum's theater from July 2 to July 31, 2022. ## See also - 1967 in film - List of American films of 1967 - List of animated feature films of the 1960s - List of highest-grossing films - List of highest-grossing animated films - List of highest-grossing films in France - List of Walt Disney Pictures films - List of Disney theatrical animated features [^1]:
1,528,105	Michael Barrett (baseball)	1,155,804,854	American baseball player	[ "1976 births", "2006 World Baseball Classic players", "American expatriate baseball players in Canada", "Baseball players from Atlanta", "Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players", "Chicago Cubs players", "Delmarva Shorebirds players", "Dunedin Blue Jays players", "Edmonton Trappers players", "Gulf Coast Expos players", "Harrisburg Senators players", "Lake Elsinore Storm players", "Las Vegas 51s players", "Living people", "Major League Baseball catchers", "Montreal Expos players", "Ottawa Lynx players", "Pace Academy alumni", "Portland Beavers players", "San Diego Padres players", "Silver Slugger Award winners", "St. Lucie Mets players", "Toronto Blue Jays players", "Vermont Expos players", "West Palm Beach Expos players", "World Baseball Classic players of the United States" ]	Michael Patrick Barrett (born October 22, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player and current catching coordinator for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as a catcher and started his professional career with the Montreal Expos at age 18. Barrett spent three years playing in Minor League Baseball as a shortstop and catcher. He played with the Honolulu Sharks, West Palm Beach Expos, and Delmarva Shorebirds, and was elected to two Minor League All-Star games. Barrett made his MLB debut in 1998 as a third baseman, but was shortly outrighted to the minor leagues to play with the Harrisburg Senators for a season. Upon Barrett's return to MLB in 1999, he ranked among the top offensive rookies in various statistical categories. Barrett failed to stay healthy during the 2003 season, which prompted the Expos to trade him to the Oakland Athletics, who in turn, traded him to the Chicago Cubs. During his tenure with the Cubs, Barrett won a Silver Slugger Award in 2005, and recorded near career-high statistics in 2004 season. The Cubs traded Barrett to the San Diego Padres in June of 2007. Barrett sustained two major injuries, which caused him to miss 115 games with the Padres, and was subsequently released after the 2008 season. Barrett attempted to make a comeback with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009, but continued to struggle with injury issues, which led to his release in the subsequent offseason. He spent the second half of the 2010 season in the New York Mets minor league system. Barrett was also a volunteer assistant coach for the baseball team at the University of North Georgia. ## Early years Barrett was born in Atlanta. He attended Pace Academy, where he excelled in baseball. During his senior year, Barrett won Atlanta's Gatorade's Player of the Year, and was named to the All-USA High School and First Team High School All-Americans All-star teams. He was considered to be one of the top draft prospects that year, and declared eligibility for the upcoming Major League Baseball Draft shortly after graduating from high school. Barrett initially signed a letter of intent to play college baseball at Clemson. The Montreal Expos selected Barrett as the 28th overall selection in the 1995 draft. He spent the next three years in the minors, playing in the Gulf Coast, South Atlantic, Hawaii Winter Baseball, and Florida State Leagues, during which he was converted from a shortstop to a catcher. His Minor League Baseball career was highlighted in 1996, when he scored 57 runs and recorded 113 hits as a member of the Delmarva Shorebirds. ## Professional career ### Montreal Expos The Expos called Barrett up to MLB on September 19, 1998, in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies as a third baseman. He managed to hit a home run and a single in the game. After only playing eight games as an Expo, Barrett was sent to play for the Harrisburg Senators, a Class AA team from the Eastern League. He recorded 145 hits, 78 runs, 19 home runs, and 87 RBI en route to winning the Double-A All-Star Catcher and Montreal Expos Minor League Player of the Year awards. His performance allowed him to claim a spot on the Expos’ starting roster during the 1999 season. During his first full season, Barrett had 59 starts as a catcher, 62 as a third-baseman, and six as shortstop. He also led all National League rookies with 32 doubles, while ranking as one of top statistical tiers in runs, hits, and runs batted in amongst all other rookies. Barrett struggled to perform consistently in the 2000 season. He committed 15 errors during the course of the season, resulting in a .891 fielding percentage. In addition, he hit for only a .214 batting average, with a .288 slugging percentage. These difficulties combined to prompt the Expos to send him to the minors again. After playing 30 games with the Ottawa Lynx of the International League, Barrett returned to the major leagues before 2001. He was named onto the team's opening day lineup, and eventually earned a full-time spot on the team. He was one of the Expos' most consistent hitters, and posted career high statistics that season; leading all National League catchers with 33 doubles. Barrett also managed to improve his defensive performance by raising his fielding percentage to .993, while committing only seven errors. He also saw success during the 2002 season. Barrett started the season by hitting home runs in the first two games of the season. He would go on to have one of his best months in the Majors, scoring with four home runs, 17 RBI, eight doubles, and scored 10 runs. The League recognized his efforts, and named Barrett the "National League co-Player of the Week" for the second week of April after he recorded a franchise record 11 RBI within two games. Barrett finished the season with mixed results. While increasing his number of stolen bases and batting and slugging percentage, he failed to record as many runs, hits, and RBI, as he did in the previous season. He committed nine errors, which resulted in a lower fielding percentage, but excelled at throwing out base runners. Barrett missed almost half of the 2003 on account of three injuries. He suffered the first during a game against the Colorado Rockies, during which one of Steve Reed's pitches accidentally hit and bruised Barrett's index finger. Barrett was able to continue playing, but claimed the injury had hindered his playing performance. He eventually managed to overcome the injury in July. He recorded a batting average of .333 and 15 RBI. During this period, Barrett began to complain about tightness in his right hip flexor. This ailment took its toll on Barrett during a game against the Atlanta Braves, when he strained the muscles while taking a checked swing. The Expos sent Barrett on a rehabilitation assignment to play with the Edmonton Trappers, a AAA team from the Pacific Coast League. He only managed to play two games with team before fracturing his index finger on August 9. Barrett returned to the major leagues on September 12, although the Expos were already out of playoff contention. ### Chicago Cubs Barrett's long tenure with the Expos ended in December 2003. The team traded Barrett to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor league pitcher Brett Price. The Athletics then traded Barrett to the Chicago Cubs for Damian Miller, only days after the initial transaction. Barrett, who had just spent six days with three teams, shortly signed a one-year contract with the Cubs, which was worth nearly \$1.55 million. He first practiced with the Cubs during their annual spring training sessions, and reported receiving a cold reception from teammates. Barrett went on to become one of their top hitters during the 2004 season. He played a crucial role in their wild card chase; Barrett maintained a .287 batting average and hit 16 home runs and 65 RBI during the 2004 season. He finished the season as one of the league's top defensive catchers (fielding at a .994 clip with six errors), and led the Cubs in triples and sacrifice flies. Barrett was involved in two incidents with Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt during the 2004 season. On August 22, Oswalt beaned Barrett. Barrett, believing the pitch was a reaction to a three-run home run that Aramis Ramírez had previously hit, confronted Oswalt, and prompted both teams to take the field. Oswalt was ejected from the game, as the Astros went on to lose 11-6. Five days later, during another Cubs-Astros game, Barrett mouthed off to Oswalt and attempted to confront him. The game's umpires restrained the two before a fight could break out, but not before both benches cleared out. Oswalt remained in the game, and defeated the Cubs 15-7. In a post-game press conference, Barrett condemned Oswalt's actions, and stated, "We're going to see him again." Barrett continued to be one of the Cubs’ most consistent hitters in the 2005 season. He batted over .300 in three months of the season, and finished with 16 home runs, 32 doubles, and 61 RBI. Although he failed to meet and surpass the same statistical figures in the previous season, Barrett received a Silver Slugger Award for his efforts. Additionally, Barrett was selected to represent the United States in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He played in four games, and recorded one run batted in. Barrett sought to improve his numbers in the 2006 season, but ran into several obstacles. On May 20, 2006, Barrett was involved in an infamous altercation with A. J. Pierzynski during the Chicago Crosstown Classic between the Chicago White Sox and Cubs. During the game's second inning, Brian Anderson hit a sacrifice fly, which allowed Pierzynski to score the game's first run. Pierzynski collided with Barrett en route to home plate, causing Barrett to fall down. Pierzynski showed his enthusiasm by slapping home plate. As Pierzynski got up, he bumped into Barrett, who proceeded to punch him. Scott Podsednik came to Pierzynski's aid and subdued Barrett. Anderson and John Mabry eventually joined the brawl before both teams emptied their dugouts and stormed the field. The game's umpires ejected Barrett, Pierzynski, Anderson, and Mabry. Barrett later received a ten-game suspension, while Pierzynski was fined. Additionally, Anderson and the Sox' third base coach were also suspended for a fewer number of games. The Cubs went on to lose the game by a score of 7–0. On June 30, the two met during batting practice, and made amends. which eventually led to a bench-clearing brawl. He received a ten-game suspension, which he served near the middle of June. Barrett rebounded after the incident, and batted over .300 in the final four months of the season. He suffered an intrascrotal hematoma in early September, and was forced to miss the rest of the season. The injury and suspension caused Barrett to miss a significant portion of the season. In his shortened season, Barrett hit 16 home runs, which matched his previous career high, and nearly surpassed his hit total from 2005. During the 2007 Chicago Cubs season, Barrett was involved in another altercation with teammate Carlos Zambrano. During a game against the Atlanta Braves on June 1, tensions began to rise between the two players when the Cubs allowed the Braves to score five runs in the fifth inning. The Braves recorded 20 hits, en route to winning 8-5. Barrett and Zambrano engaged in a heated conversation upon returning to the dugout, which escalated onto a small fight. After Lou Piniella dismissed the two from the game, another fight ensued within the Cubs’ clubhouse, and Zambrano punched Barrett's lip. The wound required Barrett to go to the hospital immediately and receive stitches. Zambrano remorsefully admitted he was at fault after the ordeal, and Barrett later stated they had resolved their differences. Both players received fines for undisclosed amounts of money. ### San Diego Padres Various news sources reported that the Cubs had traded Barrett to the San Diego Padres on the morning of June 20. The Cubs officially confirmed these details in the afternoon, and revealed that Barrett was traded in exchange for Rob Bowen and Kyler Burke. Despite stating he had no knowledge of the trade until hearing rumors in the morning, Barrett expressed his appreciation and well wishes to the Cubs organization on his homepage. He received a one-game suspension on July 22, after arguing with an umpire over a third strike. Barrett sustained a concussion on August 5, after a base-running accident against the San Francisco Giants. The Padres placed Barrett on the fifteen-day disabled list. After returning from the injury, Barrett's performance declined. His batting average dropped from .266 to .244, while he produced near career low statistics. Barrett became a free agent after the end of the season, but was offered arbitration from the Padres. The Tampa Bay Rays expressed interest in signing Barrett, even though the signing would involve trading the Padres a future second round draft pick as compensation. Barrett accepted the Padres' arbitration offer on December 7. The Padres placed Barrett on the disabled list on April 8, 2008, after he sustained an elbow injury. The team later activated him on May 25, after he had recovered, and completed a minor league rehabilitation assignment. On July 2, 2008, Barrett was rushed to the hospital after fouling a pitch off his face. He required surgery to repair the damage, and had been placed on the disabled list for the second time in 2008. The Padres waived Barrett on October 11, after he previously expressed interest in testing the free-agent market. ### Toronto Blue Jays On December 29, 2008, Barrett signed a Minor League deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, and attended spring training as a non-roster invitee. He earned the back-up catcher role for the Toronto Blue Jays during spring training. He was scheduled to back up Rod Barajas, but Barrett tore a muscle in his right shoulder while attempting to retrieve a wild pitch on April 17, 2009. Barrett was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 18, and was expected to return within the two weeks. Prior to the injury, Barrett had made seven appearances with a .167 batting average. The Blue Jays activated Barrett from the disabled list on July 6, 2009, and designated to Triple-A for a rehab assignment, where he sustained a season-ending injury. The Jays never recalled Barrett to their roster after the designation, and released him in the following offseason. He only played seven Major League games in 2009, in which he recorded a .167 batting average, three hits, and one home run. ### New York Mets Barrett signed a minor league deal with the Mets on June 29, 2010, and was assigned to the Class-A St. Lucie Mets. In early August, he was reassigned to play for their Class AAA affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons. On November 6, Barrett elected and was granted free agency. ## Post-playing career On December 20, 2013, the Washington Nationals named Barrett the manager of the Gulf Coast League Nationals. Barrett has also served as the catching coordinator for the Nationals since 2015. ## Personal life Barrett is married with 4 children. His cousin, Scott Fletcher, also played for the Cubs, along with many other teams over his fifteen-year career. Barrett has spent a considerable portion of his personal life devoted to helping children. He runs several youth baseball programs, including one in Hawaii, which was inspired from his tenure with the Hawaiian Winter Baseball League. He also works with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Cubs Care Program to help lesser fortunate and sick children. More recently, he has worked with Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster to raise money to help Derrek Lee's daughter and research for Leber's congenital amaurosis. Michael Barrett donated \$50,000 to Project 3000 and pledged an additional sum of money for every home run he hits. Barrett was also a regular guest on FOX Chicago's The Final Word television show, which is co hosted by Tom Waddle, a former Chicago Bears wide receiver.
61,906,823	Namibia at the 2019 World Athletics Championships	1,166,794,315	null	[ "2019 in Namibian sport", "Namibia at the World Athletics Championships", "Nations at the 2019 World Athletics Championships" ]	Namibia competed at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, from 27 September to 6 October 2019. The country's participation there marked its fifteenth appearance in the World Championships since its debut at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics. Namibia sent two athletes to the Championships, both of whom competed in the marathon events. Helalia Johannes became Namibia's first female medallist, and their first medallist in 26 years, when she won a bronze medal in the women's marathon. Tomas Hilifa Rainhold finished in 17th in the men's marathon. ## Background Namibia first competed in the World Athletics Championships (then known as the World Championships in Athletics) in 1991, and have taken part in every Championships since. During that period two athletes won five medals for the country. Their most recent medal had come during the 1997 Championships. To qualify for the World Championships, athletes had to meet the standards set by the IAAF (now known as World Athletics). In most disciplines, these criteria were more difficult to achieve than they had been for the 2017 Championships. Two athletes represented Namibia at the 2019 Championships: Tomas Hilifa Rainhold in the men's marathon and Helalia Johannes in the women's marathon. Rainhold qualified for the Championships courtesy of completing the Hamburg Marathon in 2:14:14, 1 minute and 46 seconds within the required standard of 2:16:00. Johannes, who was the reigning Commonwealth champion after winning the 2018 marathon had set a new Namibia national record in March 2019, running 2:22:25 to win the Nagoya Women's Marathon, well within the required 2:37:00. The two athletes were accompanied by their coach Robert Kaxuxuena. ## Medallists ## Results Johannes, taking part in her fourth World Championships, raced in the women's marathon on the opening night of the Championships. Due to the hot conditions expected in Doha, the race started just before midnight. In the IAAF's preview of the race, Johannes was considered "one to watch" by the sports writer Mike Rowbottom, particularly because her Commonwealth Games victory the previous year had been in temperatures of around 27 °C (81 °F). Despite the midnight start, temperatures in Doha were higher than expected, at 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) and 73 per cent humidity. Johannes was part of a leading pack that broke away around 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) into the race, and she stayed with the leaders until there was around 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) of the race remaining, at which stage Ruth Chepng'etich and Rose Chelimo moved away from her. Johannes held onto third place, and finished in 2:34:15, around 30 seconds behind Chelimo and over a minute ahead of Edna Kiplagat in fourth. She became the first female medallist for Namibia at the World Championships. Rainhold was making his debut at the World Championships. Competing in the men's marathon, which was also held just before midnight, Rainhold ran what the Namibian Sun described as "a good race". He completed the race in 2:14:38, and finished in 17th place. Namibia's solitary bronze medal saw them finish joint 31st on the Championships medal table. ### Men ### Women
36,335,628	Albanian–Soviet split	1,172,789,227	Deterioration of bilateral relations, 1956–1961	[ "Albania–Soviet Union relations", "Anti-revisionism", "Battles involving Albania", "Cold War history of Albania", "Enver Hoxha", "Ideological rivalry", "Nikita Khrushchev", "People's Socialist Republic of Albania", "Political schisms" ]	The Albanian–Soviet split was the gradual deterioration of relations between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the People's Republic of Albania, which occurred in the 1956–1961 period as a result of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's rapprochement with Yugoslavia along with his "Secret Speech" and subsequent de-Stalinization, including efforts to extend these policies into Albania as was occurring in other Eastern Bloc states at the time. However, the Albanian-Soviet split did not become public until 1960, when, during the Bucharest Conference of Representatives of Communist and Workers Parties, the Albanian delegation, led by Hysni Kapo, did not support Khrushchev's ideological views on the Sino-Soviet split. The Albanian leadership under Enver Hoxha perceived Khrushchev's policies as contrary to Marxist–Leninist doctrine and his denunciation of Joseph Stalin as an opportunistic act meant to legitimize revisionism within the international communist movement. Occurring within the context of the larger split between China and the USSR, the Soviet–Albanian split culminated in the termination of relations in 1961, however Albania did not withdraw from the Warsaw Pact until 1968, mainly as a reaction to the Invasion of Czechoslovakia. ## Background The Communist Party of Albania—known as the Party of Labour of Albania after 1948—was founded in November 1941 in the context of the foreign occupation of the country, with the majority of its members including its leader, Enver Hoxha, having no connection to the Comintern. Historian Jon Halliday commented "it was set up without any known direct contact with Moscow." Halliday argues that "middle-class intellectuals" with "Western intellectual traditions" were the most significant force behind the foundation of the Communist party of Albania. Albania was also the only Eastern European country liberated from Axis occupation without the presence of the Red Army on its soil. A combination of these factors led Stalin to initially have been "both curious and suspicious about the only leader of a Communist regime in the Soviet bloc who escaped from any historical ties or contact with the Soviet Union." This, Halliday continues, "was true not just of Hoxha as an individual, but of almost the entire leading group in Albania." Despite this, however, for Halliday, Hoxha's cult of personality made him "the quintessential Stalinist". Halliday considers that many of the reasons used by Nikita Khrushchev to denounce Josef Stalin, were applicable to Enver Hoxha. Following Albania's liberation, the country's economic and foreign policies were dominated by its neighbour Yugoslavia under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito, and Albania became in the words of historian Miranda Vickers a "sub-satellite." During this period ties with the Soviet Union remained limited, though formal diplomatic relations were established in December 1945. ### Soviet–Yugoslav split Within the leadership of the Communist Party of Albania tensions arose between pro– and anti–Yugoslav factions and personalities, with the latter increasingly coming under attack by Koçi Xoxe, the head of the pro–Yugoslav faction. Hoxha was threatened on the basis of his opposition to the pro–Yugoslav line, as Xoxe's final goal was to overthrow Hoxha and to incorporate Albania into Yugoslavia as its Seventh Republic. The Soviet–Yugoslav split in 1948, however, had allowed Albania to break from Yugoslav dominance, and it became the first state to side with the Information Bureau (better known in the West as the Cominform) with its resolution attacking the Yugoslav leadership for allegedly pursuing a road of nationalist deviation and capitalist restoration. From that point onward, relations between Albania and the Soviet Union were relatively close until March 5, 1953, following the death of Stalin. In the words of historian Nicholas C. Pano, "by the beginning of 1949, Albania had progressed from the status of a sub-satellite to that of a full-fledged satellite of the Soviet Union." Albania became a member of Comecon in 1949, and joined the Warsaw Treaty upon its founding in 1955. In addition the Soviets built a submarine base at Vlora in 1952. ### Death of Stalin In his memoirs, Hoxha recounts the apprehension he and others had about the post-Stalin leadership, just days after Stalin's death. "The way in which the death of Stalin was announced and his funeral ceremony was organized created the impression ... that many members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union had been awaiting his death impatiently." A meeting with Soviet leaders held in June that year further raised his suspicions about the intentions of the new leadership, as did a reduction in Soviet and Eastern Bloc aid to Albania in early-1954 as Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev 'generally believed that the trade cost for the support of Albania did not generate enough return for soviet interests and their Strategic interests'. Reacting to early post-Stalin Soviet pressure on the East European countries to pursue economic and political reforms, Albania announced slight changes in planning priorities and some willingness to improve state relations with Yugoslavia as the Soviets were doing. There was also a reshuffling of political portfolios in line with the Soviet re-emphasis on the principle of collective leadership. Hoxha regarded Soviet pressure as acting in the service of ulterior, revisionist aims in an effort to unseat or otherwise undermine "Stalinist" leaders. Thus in a meeting with Khrushchev on the issue of collective leadership, he recalled: > Khrushchev told us that the other sister parties had been told of the Soviet "experience" of who should be first secretary of the party and who prime minister in the countries of people's democracy. "We talked over these questions with the Polish comrades before the congress of their party," Khrushchev told us. "We thrashed matters out thoroughly and thought that Comrade Bierut should remain chairman of the Council of Ministers and Comrade Ochab should be appointed first secretary of the party ..." Hence, right from the start Khrushchev was for pushing Bierut aside in the leadership of the party ... [the Soviets] were giving the green light for all the revisionist elements, who, up till yesterday, were wriggling and keeping a low profile, awaiting the opportune moments. Now these moments were being created by Khrushchev who, with his actions, stands and "new ideas", was becoming the inspirer and organizer of "changes" and "reorganizations". ## Beginnings of the split Jon Halliday noted that Moscow and Tirana's relationship was observably good until late 1950s, but Khrushchev's rapprochement with Yugoslavia in 1955 and his denunciation of Stalin in 1956 were the two main issues responsible for the deterioration of relations between the two states. In June 1954, Khrushchev sent a letter to the leaders of the parties of the Eastern Bloc in which the Cominform resolutions denouncing Yugoslavia in the 1948–1949 period were criticised for allegedly forcing Tito and the rest of the Yugoslav leadership "into the arms of the United States and Great Britain and had led to Yugoslavia's conclusion of a military pact with two NATO members." Hoxha, however, disagreed with this view, later writing, "even if the Yugoslav leadership had been unjustly condemned in 1949, as Khrushchev was claiming, nothing could permit or justify its falling into the lap of imperialism." In May 1955, Khrushchev led a Soviet delegation to the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade with the aim of rehabilitating Tito, a move which encouraged reformist and dissident trends in Eastern Europe. The Albanian government had received a letter two days before the Soviet delegation was to leave Moscow. The Soviets requested the Albanians approve a statement drawn up by Khrushchev in the name of the Information Bureau even though he had not convened it. The move was refused by the Albanians 'with reasoning that the Yugoslav leadership had had no change since its condemnation in 1948 by the communist and workers' parties represented on the Bureau'. On May 25, the Central Committee of the Party of Labour sent a letter to its Soviet counterpart, stating among other things, "In our opinion such a hasty (and ill-considered) decision on an issue of great importance and of principle" was conducted "without first making a profound analysis together with all the parties interested in this issue." With only Albania among the Eastern Bloc states opposing Khrushchev's move, the Soviets succeeded in unilaterally rehabilitating Tito's standing within the international communist movement and apologized for past Soviet activities in relation to Yugoslavia. ### 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union At the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in February 1956, Khrushchev issued—in addition to his main report—his "Secret Speech" denouncing Stalin. In addition to its attack on Stalin, Hoxha later stated about the Congress that: > all the distortions of the major issues of principle, such as those about the character of our epoch, the roads of transition to socialism, peaceful coexistence, war and peace, the stand towards modern revisionism and towards imperialism, etc., etc., which later became the basis of the great, open polemic with modern revisionism, have their official beginning in Khrushchev's report to the 20th Congress ... we saw how the Khrushchevites, in order to consolidate their power, operated allegedly with "a great party spirit", "free from the fear of Stalin" ... Every good thing of the past was distorted, allegedly in light of the "new situations", "new developments", "new roads and possibilities", in order to go ahead. A notable event at the Congress was the promotion of the policy of "peaceful coexistence" by Khrushchev, which officially was a policy to increase East–West collaboration against the threat of nuclear war, but which anti-revisionists believed to be a means to separate the world into influential provinces in which each side would occupy complete control. One anti-revisionist author described Khrushchev's policy as follows: "Khrushchev made it clear that he was prepared to give up international class struggle, renouncing on behalf of the colonial peoples any right to liberate themselves from oppression and reassuring capitalist governments by emphasising 'peaceful transition to socialism' or the Parliamentary road ..." He then quoted Khrushchev as saying if any mad man wanted war, we [the Soviet Union and the United States], the two strongest countries in the world, would have but to shake our fingers to warn him off.'" ### Third Congress of the Party of Labour of Albania One of Tito's preconditions for improving relations with the Soviets was for a Soviet-backed removal of "Stalinist" leaders in Eastern Europe, such as Mátyás Rákosi of Hungary and Valko Chervenkov of Bulgaria; Hoxha was also an obvious target for removal due to his intransigent position on Yugoslavia. The Soviets sought without success to force Hoxha to rehabilitate Koçi Xoxe. In April 1956, a party conference was held in Tirana: various delegates, inspired by Khrushchev's actions, attacked the line of the Party of Labour, calling for a review of the case of Xoxe along with other political and economic policies and phenomena. However, Hoxha entered the conference and managed to defeat these proposals. The Third Congress of the Party of Labour was convened a month later, electing a Central Committee and Politburo "composed of staunch Hoxha loyalists" while also demonstrating "Hoxha's first public defiance of the Soviet Union" by refusing to rehabilitate Xoxe and other persons linked with, or otherwise supportive of, rapprochement with Yugoslavia. Although the Third Party Congress did not openly criticize the 20th Party Congress of the CPSU partly because "the real aims of [the Soviets] were still not fully recognized", and because of a perceived necessity to preserve the unity of the international communist movement, it did declare the line of the Party of Labour had been "followed [correctly] up to now", and thus tacitly rejected Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policies. Following the Hungarian Uprising in November 1956, relations between Albania and the Soviet Union improved somewhat due to Yugoslavia's part in the event, which caused friction in Yugoslav–Soviet relations. On November 7, Hoxha wrote an article for Pravda denouncing Tito for encouraging the activity of the rebels, though the Soviets rebuked Hoxha for his harsh tone soon after. Soviet efforts to improve relations with Yugoslavia resumed before long, prompting a further deterioration in Soviet–Albanian relations. ### Plenum of 1957 In a February 1957 speech to a plenum of the Central Committee of the Party subsequently published in the newspaper Zëri i Popullit, Hoxha defended Stalin's legacy and attacked the Yugoslavs – but not the Soviet leadership by name. He added that, "In blackening Stalin, the enemies are not concerned about him as a person, but their aim is to discredit the Soviet Union, the socialist system, and the international communist movement, consequently, to undermine the workers' faith in socialism." As a result of the February plenum of 1957, which was seen as directly rebuffing many post-Stalin Soviet views, the Soviet leadership invited Hoxha to visit Moscow in April that year allegedly for consultations. Instead, Khrushchev called on Hoxha to rehabilitate and reinstate party members who had been sacked for their support of Yugoslavia and the theses of the 20th Party Congress; Hoxha refused. In response to this Khrushchev accused Hoxha of sectarianism and of being "hell-bent on pursuing Stalinist policies." Hoxha later recalled the meeting as follows: Khrushchev advised the Albanians to improve their relations with Yugoslavia, to which Hoxha replied, "We have always wanted to have good relations with Yugoslavia, but to put it bluntly, we do not trust the Yugoslav leaders, because they speak against the social system in our countries and are opposed to the foundations of Marxism–Leninism. In all their propaganda, they do not say one word against imperialism, on the contrary, [they] have joined the chorus of the Western powers against us." He once more said that the Yugoslav leadership failed to understand "any of its grave mistakes and deviations," to which Khrushchev replied that Yugoslavia did not betray Marxism–Leninism though it had "slipped" from its positions. "According to you," Khrushchev continued, "we ought to return to what Stalin did, which caused all these things we know about." The meeting became increasingly acrimonious and when the subject of rehabilitating disgraced Albanian politicians came up Khrushchev eventually concluded, "You are like Stalin who killed people," to which Hoxha replied, "Stalin killed traitors, and we kill them, too." ### Trade In an effort to persuade the Albanian leadership to reconcile itself with the Soviets, the USSR gave a loan of \$160 million in roubles to Albania in late-1957 for Albania's Third Five-Year Plan and among other things forgave \$105 million in past debts Albania owed the Soviet Union. These efforts proved unsuccessful in persuading the Albanians to change their course. James S. O'Donnell observed that the Soviets, then in an early stage of the Sino-Soviet split, may have also tried to demonstrate Soviet "generosity" in an effort to counteract the amount of trade Albania was conducting with the People's Republic of China. Albania's passive trade balance with China had grown from 4.2 percent in 1955 to 21.6 percent in 1957. ### Moscow Conference Relations between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia deteriorated further following Tito's refusal to attend the 1957 International Conference of the Communist and Workers' Parties, the goal of which was to establish the general line and common positions of the international communist movement. As Hoxha later wrote: > Khrushchev and Co. made feverish efforts not only to ensure that the League of Communists of Yugoslavia would take part as a "party of a socialist country", but if possible also, to ensure that Tito would reach agreement with Khrushchev over the platform ... Each side wanted to exploit the meeting for its own aims: Khrushchev, to declare "unity", even with painful concessions to satisfy and draw in Tito, while the latter, to urge the others to openly and finally abandon Marxism–Leninism, the struggle against modern revisionism and any principled stand. The Albanian delegation led by Hoxha worked with the Chinese and other like-minded delegations to the Conference in drafting a declaration alongside the CPSU and the pro–Soviet parties, with the resulting document being described by some Western observers as a compromise; historian William E. Griffith wrote that "the statement leaned strongly toward the Russian position but usually was sufficiently ambiguous so that the Chinese and Albanians could (and did) interpret it in their favor." In a notable example, the Albanian and Chinese view that revisionism was the "principal danger in the communist world" existed alongside the Soviet view that the 20th Party Congress "opened a new stage in the international communist movement," but despite this the declaration was considered overall by both Albania and China as an ideological victory. In Hoxha's view, "The whole concern of the Soviet Khrushchevites was 'to preserve unity', to keep the socialist countries and the communist parties of different countries in check ... They retreated, held back temporarily, in order to gather strength and take their revisionist revenge in the future." O'Donnell states that after the Moscow Conference any trouble in Soviet–Albanian relations "was kept strictly private" until June 1960. ## Split deepens At the end of 1958, Comecon had begun to push for what was later termed an "international socialist division of labor," in which Albania was relegated to "the task of supplying the member states with agricultural and mineral raw materials." In May 1959, Khrushchev paid a visit to Albania with the aim of pressuring Albania's leadership into building up Yugoslav–Albanian and Soviet–Albanian ties and also to, in the words of historian Miranda Vickers, "focus their economy on the growing of citrus fruits rather than concentrate on industrialization and the expansion of their oil industry ... Khrushchev's visit was clouded by an atmosphere of mistrust, which culminated in a hurried departure two days earlier than scheduled." According to Hoxha, Khrushchev displayed contempt for Albanian archaeology in Butrint and said to Rodion Malinovsky, the Soviet Defense Minister who was visiting the country with him, "Look, how marvelous this is! An ideal base for our submarines could be built here. These old things [reference to archaeological findings] should be dug up and thrown into the sea ... We shall have the most ideal and most secure base in the Mediterranean. From here we can paralyze and attack everything." He was also said to have remarked to Hoxha to turn his country "into a flourishing garden," suggested he make it an attractive holiday spot for Soviet tourists, and rather than produce grain, Albania should focus on growing oranges for export. Khrushchev allegedly said, "The Soviet Union has such an abundance of grain that the mice eat more than you can produce here." By the beginning of 1960, Albania and China had concurred "on such questions as Yugoslav revisionism, global strategy, and de-Stalinization", and the Albanian leadership made "little secret of their sympathies for the Chinese stand." With the Sino-Soviet split also deepening the Soviet leadership began applying its first signs of economic pressure on Albania in March 1960, stating its intention to alter a scholarship agreement for Albanians to study in the USSR in which the Soviets paid 60 percent of tuition costs and upkeep for the students. This threat was subsequently retracted on the eve of the Bucharest Conference in June that year, possibly in an attempt not to push Albania further into the Chinese orbit. Early in June, Khrushchev met with Greek politician Sophocles Venizelos and reacted positively to the latter's suggestion of greater autonomy for Greeks in Albania. O'Donnell comments: "The obvious purpose of this discussion was to infuriate Enver Hoxha as Albanian–Greek relations were strained at this time. It became known that Khrushchev had hinted to Venizelos that the Soviet Union would not be against territorial and/or political concessions to the Greeks by the Albanians ... It is likely that Khrushchev used the meeting with Venizelos as a way to pay back Hoxha for snubbing him during his visit to Albania." Griffith added: "Hoxha viewed this move by Khrushchev as an implicit threat to partition Albania – the overwhelming traditional fear of all Albanian nationalists." ### Albanian attack on the Soviet naval presence Albanian officials called for the Soviet Naval presence to be removed from the Mediterranean, denounced the Brezhnev doctrine of qualified sovereignty as a fascist policy adopted by the Soviet government, and called for the immediate withdrawal of the Soviet Navy ### Bucharest Conference At the opening of the Bucharest Conference on June 21, 1960, which was held on the occasion of the Third Congress of the Romanian Workers' Party, Hoxha was not among the various heads of communist parties and states in attendance; Politburo member Hysni Kapo took his place. The stated purpose of the Conference was to have "the character of a preliminary meeting of the representatives of the communist and workers' parties, mainly for the purpose of 'exchanging opinions' and taking a joint decision on the date and place of a future meeting of the communist and workers' parties of the world." In his memoirs Hoxha describes the Conference as being a "putsch" and adds, "The revisionist renegades needed another meeting of international communism to gain approval for their old plan for the final legitimization of modern revisionism," he did not attend because "[we] suspected that the problem of the differences which had emerged between China and the Soviet Union would be discussed ... we had heard only one side of the argument, the Soviet side, and we were not acquainted with the objections of the Chinese ... They had to be thrashed out thoroughly, they had to be studied carefully, and time was required for this. Therefore our Party sent Comrade Hysni Kapo to Bucharest to discuss only the date of the future meeting," for decisions besides this date were not to be taken at the Conference itself. In the words of Nicholas C. Pano, "Khrushchev attempted to transform the Bucharest Conference into a communist summit meeting for the purpose of securing the condemnation of the Chinese" with Kapo being the only representative of a European party "to refrain from criticizing Peking, to attack Yugoslav revisionism, and to refuse to alter his stand on the Chinese and Yugoslav issues despite Soviet pressure. Khrushchev's hopes of bringing the Albanians to heel by means of peaceful persuasion were certainly shattered by the time the Bucharest Conference had come to an end." During the Conference Hoxha communicated with Kapo via radiogram, stating for instance on June 24, in response to a lengthy document distributed at the Conference by the Soviets attacking the Chinese, "When you make your speech at the meeting you should declare: 'I am not authorized to make statements on these matters because our leadership knows that these matters will be discussed at the forthcoming Meeting of representatives of the parties, as we have all agreed.' ... We understand your difficult situation, but don't worry at all, for we are on the right road." ### Hostilities After the Conference ended, Khrushchev stepped up economic pressure on Albania, delaying a reply concerning 50,000 tons of requested grain to offset an acute food shortage caused by drought, and then issuing significant reductions in the amount of grain shipments. According to an Albanian account, the Soviet Union: > cut systematically all economic aid to Albania. It delayed and in some cases ceased altogether the delivery of goods and industrial equipment to Albania, refused to ship the grain our people were in urgent need of ... sell[ing it] not through clearing but in free currency ... stopped all supplies for the Albanian People's Army, from food and clothing to weapons and technical equipment whose delivery had been approved by the Joint Command of the Warsaw Treaty. The countries of Eastern Europe, too, set out on the course of aggravating relations with the PRA [People's Republic of Albania] and created a difficult situation by setting up a blockade on Albania jointly with the Soviet government. The Soviets also attempted to threaten the Albanians with force; Andrei Grechko, then Supreme Commander of the Warsaw Treaty forces, remarked to an Albanian military delegation that they would not get military equipment agreed upon beforehand, saying, "You are only in the Warsaw Pact for the time being, anyway." Attempts were made to inoculate anti-government views in Albanian students studying abroad in the USSR and to convince the armed forces to go against the government. According to an Albanian account, the Soviet embassy in Albania also "carried out intensive diversionist activity in order to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and ideological confusion about the correct line of the PLA [Party of Labour of Albania]." In July, a military plot headed by Soviet-trained Rear Admiral Teme Sejko was uncovered and the plotters executed. ### Pro–Soviet faction in Albania Within the Party itself an effort was also made by pro–Soviet elements to overthrow Hoxha. In June, Politburo member Liri Belishova visited China, giving a speech on June 6 which, in the words of Griffith, "could hardly have made her pro–Soviet sympathies clearer," having been full of praise for the Soviet Union, with said praise being omitted when the text was published the day after in the Party newspaper Zëri i Popullit. While in China Belishova made contact with the Soviet embassy there, telling them what the Chinese had told her without authorization from the Albanian Politburo. Belishova and Koço Tashko, Chairman of the Central Auditing Committee, shared leadership of the pro–Soviet faction. Foreign journalist Harry Hamm was told by Albanian functionaries that "Belishova and Tashko had never made any secret of their pro–Soviet leanings, and that they had maintained their attitude long after the decision had been made to move closer to Peking's general line. Their stubborn attitude was bound to lead to their expulsion from the Party and to their being relieved of all their offices." Tashko, asked to speak on his own behalf, had his text prepared beforehand by the Soviet embassy and, having gotten confused, accidentally read the punctuation mark for a full stop in Russian amid a burst of laughter from those present. Both Belishova and Tashko were expelled from the Party in September. ### International Conference of the Communist and Workers' Parties In October 1960, a preparatory Commission for the upcoming International Conference of the Communist and Workers' Parties scheduled for November that year was held from October 1–21, with the Albanian delegation being led by Hysni Kapo and Ramiz Alia. Alia later recalled: "the aim of the Soviets was to ensure that our Party did not come out against their party and Khrushchev, did not bring the fight out in the open, and speak about Bucharest and the contradictions which existed. To this end, they created around our delegation a harsh and dangerous atmosphere, in which open threats were combined with cunning flattery." Hoxha once again communicated via radiogram, writing to Kapo on October 13: "We are not of the same opinion as those who are trying to smooth out the problems by means of phrases in resolutions or declarations ... We are for carrying the matter through to the end. If this is not understood, it means that the danger which the Khrushchev group represents for the world communist movement is not understood. It does not depend on us whether this group should continue in power or not, but it is essential that we, should expose this group with Khrushchev at the head, as they deserve ... we shall not allow ourselves to be impressed by those who say: 'How can one attack the glorious Soviet Union or the great Communist Party of Lenin for the faults of a few rascals?' We say: Precisely to defend the Soviet Union and the Party of Lenin, these 'rascals' must be exposed, and there must be no toning down of criticism or covering up of the deviationists." On October 22, after the work of the commission had ended, Khrushchev invited the delegates to a dinner which, according to Alia, was used "to threaten those parties which might oppose the line of the Soviets in November." He gave as an example an exchange between Soviet Politburo member Yekaterina Furtseva and Kapo, in which the former asked, "Are you Hysni Kapo?! I've heard so much about you ..." Kapo replied, "For good or bad?" to which Furtseva stated, "You have attacked the Soviet Union, but you are heading for trouble on that course," getting "the reply she deserved" from Kapo, with Alia further writing "her mission was just to transmit the signal. Throughout the whole dinner she did not speak to us again." From November 3–25, Enver Hoxha headed the Albanian delegation which would present its case at the Second International Conference of the Communist and Workers' Parties together with Kapo, Alia, and others. Alia later noted, "The Soviets' aim was to ensure that Comrade Enver did not speak openly in Moscow, that, at the most, he should restrict himself to general criticisms on a theoretical plane ... they brought all-sided pressure to bear on our delegation ... even us[ing] the official reception for the celebration of November 7 against our delegation for these purposes." On November 5, a 125-page letter was sent from the Central Committee of the CPSU to its Chinese counterpart ignoring the existence of Albania as a socialist country and "malign[ing] the Party of Labour of Albania." Later noting this letter in regards to China, Hoxha wrote that, "They distributed this voluminous material against China before the meeting, in order to prepare the terrain and to brainwash the delegations of other parties, and to intimidate the Chinese, to compel them to take a moderate stand, if they would not submit. This anti-Chinese material did not surprise us, but it strengthened the conviction we had in the correctness of the line and the Marxist–Leninist stands of our Party in defence of the Communist Party of China." On November 10, 1960, the second International Conference of the Communist and Workers' Parties was convened. As Hoxha recalled, "In his speech Khrushchev expressed the revisionist views completely and attacked the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labour of Albania, as well as those who were going to follow these parties, but without mentioning any names ... wanted to keep all the communist and workers' parties of the world under his conductor's baton, under his dictate." On November 12, a private meeting was held between members of the Albanian delegation including Hoxha and members of the Soviet leadership, which "showed that no compromise between them was possible." During the meeting Hoxha noted that "[The Soviet ambassador to Albania] has asked to whom the Albanian army will be loyal. This question he addressed to our generals at the airport, in the presence of one of your generals. Our officers replied that our army would be loyal to Marxism–Leninism, to the Party of Labour and socialism." Khrushchev replied, "If our ambassador said such a thing, he was foolish." Hoxha in turn replied, "He was no fool. He committed this 'foolishness' following the Bucharest Meeting." The subject eventually came to the Vlora naval base, which was the subject of a Soviet–Albanian dispute to become acute months later. Khrushchev threatened Hoxha, saying, "We can dismantle the base if you like." Hoxha replied, "If you dismantle the base you will be making a big mistake. We have fought empty-bellied and bare-footed, but have never kowtowed to anybody." As the meeting's atmosphere became increasingly hostile Khrushchev declared, "You flare up in anger. You spat on me; no one can talk to you." The meeting ended after Kapo declared, "I do not agree that the talks should be conducted like this." Hoxha delivered his speech to the Conference on November 16, where he spoke "of the tremendous Soviet pressures to which the Albanian party and government had been subjected after the Bucharest meeting ... The only crime his régime had committed, the Albanian leader added, was that it did not agree that the Chinese communist party should be summarily and unjustly condemned. For this it had been treated in a manner that was shabby, anti-Marxist and uncomradely. Hoxha's speech had a shattering effect on the Moscow gathering." According to Khrushchev, Hoxha said—amongst other things—that the Party of Labour and Albania itself "should merely applaud and approve, but express no opinion of its own. But this is neither Marxist nor acceptable. Marxism–Leninism has granted us the right to have our say, and no one can take this from us, either by means of political and economic pressure, or by means of threats and names they might call us." According to Alia, Khrushchev "tried to appear calm" when first replying, reading his written text "almost mechanically" in regards to China but as soon as he began to reply to Hoxha's speech "he lost his head and began to shout, scream and splutter." Khrushchev was said to have angrily remarked, "Comrade Hoxha, you have poured a bucket of filth over me: you are going to have to wash it off again." Jon Halliday states "on this occasion Hoxha truly succeeded in putting himself and Albania on the world map. His denunciation of Khrushchev made headlines round the world and even his harshest critics usually concede Hoxha turned in an able performance and showed personal courage." In retirement, Khrushchev recalled the Conference and said Hoxha "bared his fangs at us even more menacingly than the Chinese themselves. After his speech, comrade Dolores Ibarruri, an old revolutionary and a devoted worker in the Communist movement, got up indignantly and said, very much to the point, that Hoxha was like a dog who bites the hand that feeds it." Alia relates that during the Conference a Soviet security officer had said to both him and Kapo that the Soviet leadership might have been contemplating Hoxha's assassination. For this reason, as Hoxha relates in his memoirs, "The Khrushchevites were capable of anything and we took our own measures ... Hysni and Ramiz stayed on in Moscow, as they had to sign the declaration" while Hoxha left the Soviet Union by train and "arrived in Austria, went down by train through Italy and from Bari returned safe and sound to Tirana on our own aircraft and went directly to the reception organized on the occasion of the 28th and 29th of November." At the Conference itself the Albanian delegation played a leading role together with its Chinese counterpart in giving the draft declaration "Marxist–Leninist content", and despite "serious flaws" (in the view of these delegations) "the Declaration eventually signed by the 81 parties was a repudiation of revisionist theses ... [and] condemned the Yugoslav form of 'international opportunism which is a concentrated expression of the theories of modern revisionism.' ... the Soviet revisionists and the revisionists in other countries and parties demonstrated [in the view of Albania and China] their opportunistic character by completely disregarding the principles set forth in a document they had found it expedient to sign." On December 19, Hoxha delivered his report to a plenum of the Central Committee of the Party concerning the Moscow Conference, remarking on the mutual defenses Albania and China provided for each other at Bucharest and Moscow and adding, "In the future our Party will strengthen its ties and friendship with the Communist Party of China and the great Chinese people, always upholding the teachings of Marxism–Leninism and the correct line always pursued by the Central Committee of our Party." ## Culmination At the Fourth Congress of the Party of Labour held in February 1961, Hoxha declared—although still not mentioning the Soviets by name—that, "During the past few years, our Party and other Marxist–Leninist parties have waged a successful struggle against the views of modern revisionists ... But in spite of all the crushing blows and defeats it has received, revisionism ... remains the main danger to the international communist movement ... a resolute and uncompromising struggle must be waged against revisionism until it is utterly destroyed." According to an Albanian account, "Right after the 4th Congress of the PLA, when it became clear that its attempts at imposing its will on Albania were futile, the Soviet leadership cut off all the credits envisaged in the agreements between the two countries." The Congress, which was the last one in which Soviet and East European representatives from other parties would attend, "confirmed that the rift with Russia was almost complete and the alliance between China and Albania an accomplished fact." On January 20 that year, the Soviets announced a withdrawal of their oil specialists within a seven- to ten-day period. The Albanians later claimed the specialists had sabotaged Albania's oil installations before departing. Although Khrushchev had symbolically delivered blueprints for the Palace of Culture of Tirana on the occasion of his 1959 visit, all Soviet construction efforts on it ceased by April 1961. A shipment of materials for the Palace, which arrived in Durrës, was "withdrawn at once on the pretext that the materials 'had been loaded by mistake and were not really intended for Albania.'" On April 23, a Sino-Albanian trade agreement was concluded; Soviet First Deputy Premier Alexei Kosygin sent a letter five days later which effectively signaled the end to Soviet–Albanian trade agreements. Among other things it stated that "It is understandable that the Albanian leadership cannot expect in the future that the USSR will help it as it has in the past, with aid from which only true friends and brothers have a right to benefit." On August 19, the Soviet ambassador to Albania left Tirana "and was never to return." On August 26, "only five days before the beginning of the fall semester," the Soviets canceled scholarships for Albanian students studying in the USSR; these students given a deadline to leave by October. An Albanian account of the economy during this period states observes "the foreign specialists left unfinished about 40 important objects of the 2nd Five-year Plan in the industrial sector alone. Difficulties increased even more after the cessation of military aid. Thus in the first years of the 3rd Five-year Plan the fulfillment of the plan in many sectors of the economy was made very difficult and to a certain extent the development of the Albanian economy as a whole was impaired." Military pressure was stepped up still further; during summer "the training of all Albanian officers, cadets, and noncoms in the Soviet Union or the East European satellite countries was brought to a stop. Since then, there has been not a single Albanian studying at a military academy in the Eastern Bloc. It has been impossible, therefore, for the Tirana Government to keep its army up-to-date on military theory." In March, Albania had not been invited to attend a meeting of the Warsaw Treaty states. Hoxha later recalled: "When we returned from Moscow [in November 1960], the provocations at the [Vlora submarine] base were increased and in order to exert pressure on and impress us, the Soviet deputy foreign minister, Firyubin, came to Tirana with two other 'deputies': the first deputy-chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Army and Navy, Antonov, and the deputy chief of the Supreme Staff of the Soviet Navy, Sergeyev. They came allegedly 'to reach agreement', but in fact they brought us an ultimatum: The Vlora base must be put completely and solely under Soviet command, which was to be subordinate to the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Warsaw Treaty." An Albanian account describes the dispute as follows: "By violating the formal Albanian–Soviet agreements signed in September 1957 and May 1959, the Soviet government did everything in its power to put under its control this Albanian base which at the same time served the defence of the socialist countries ... On April 5, 1961, in a letter addressed to the governments of the Soviet Union and the East-European states it resolutely reaffirmed that it accepted only one solution of the problem: the base of Vlora belonged to Albania and all the naval means that were its property should be handed over to Albanian crew as soon as possible. Any other solution was an act which would lead to the unilateral violation on the part of the Soviet Union of the existing Albanian–Soviet agreements of the years 1957 and 1959." In May 1961, the Soviets began dismantling the base and tried to seize the submarines, seizing some Albanian ships undergoing repairs at Sevastopol in the process. As the Albanian account describes it, "The Soviet sailors and officers carried out numerous provocations, trying by all manner of means to create a pretext for the Soviet military intervention in Albania ... On May 26, it seized in a demonstrative manner eight submarines, the floating base 'Kotelnikov', as well as the Albanian warships that were laid for repair in the port of Sevastopol. On June 5, the personnel of Soviet advisers left the base at Vlora, too." Hoxha's account is as follows: Admiral Vladimir Kasatonov of the Black Sea Fleet "came to Tirana with the mission of seizing not only the eight submarines ... but even the submarines which we had taken over earlier. We told him bluntly: Either you hand the submarines over to us according to the agreement, or within a short time (we set the date) you must withdraw immediately from the bay ... He did not hand over the submarines, but went to Vlora, boarded the command submarine and lined up the others in fighting formation. We gave orders to close the Sazan Narrows and to train the guns on the Soviet ships. Admiral Kasatonov, who had wanted to frighten us, was frightened himself. He was caught like a rat in a trap and if he attempted to implement his plan he might find himself at the bottom of the sea. In these conditions the admiral was obliged to take only the submarines with Soviet crews, and he sailed out of the bay back home with his tail between his legs." At the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in October that year, Khrushchev openly attacked the Albanian leadership, proclaiming Hoxha a "leftist nationalist deviationist" and calling for his overthrow, declaring that, "We are certain the time will come when the Albanian communists and the Albanian people will have their say, and then the Albanian leaders will have to answer for the harm they have done their country, their people and the cause of socialist construction in Albania." He further stated that "The imperialists are always prepared to pay 30 pieces of silver to those who split the Communist ranks." To this Hoxha replied in a November 7 speech, "the Albanian people and their Party of Labor will even live on grass if need be, but they will never sell themselves 'for 30 pieces of silver' ... They would rather die honourably on their feet than live in shame on their knees." Nicholas C. Pano noted that "[Khrushchev's] pronouncements [at the 22nd Congress], at least insofar as the Soviet leadership was concerned, had made the policies of de-Stalinization, peaceful coexistence, and reconciliation with Yugoslavia adopted at the 20th Congress of the CPSU binding upon the members of the communist system." Despite Albanian calls for the continued existence of state relations between the two countries, the Soviet government formally withdrew its ambassador on November 25, and on December 3, withdrew "the whole personnel of its embassy and commercial representation from the PRA, while at the same time demanding that the personnel of the Albanian embassy and the Albanian commercial adviser should leave the territory of the Soviet Union." "Thus," the Albanian account continues, "the Khrushchev revisionist group, consistent in its line, cut off all relations with socialist Albania at a time when it maintained contacts with and was drawing ever closer to the most reactionary regimes of the world." In a December 10 Zëri i Popullit article, Hoxha wrote: > The real cause [of the break in diplomatic relations] must be sought in the revisionist views of Khrushchev and in his anti-Marxist efforts to impose them on the other parties by any means ... with a view to silencing our Party, to subjugating it and giving a lesson to anyone that would dare to oppose him, Khrushchev extended the ideological disagreements to the field of state relations and began to behave with the PRA as towards an enemy country ... he aims to intimidate and subjugate the PLA, to shift it from its revolutionary Marxist–Leninist positions, to shake the confidence of our people in the PLA and its leadership, to upset the feelings of friendship of the Albanian people towards the Soviet Union ... > > But Khrushchev is trying in vain ... Under the leadership of the PLA, the Albanian people have scored historic victories in the course of these 20 years: they liberated the country from the fascist invaders and established the people's state power, reconstructed the war-ravaged country, liquidated the centuries-old backwardness and achieved great successes in the construction of socialist society ... Our Party is fighting for a great cause, for the truth of Marxism–Leninism ... > > On this course, marching shoulder to shoulder with the sister Marxist–Leninist parties and the fraternal peoples of the socialist countries, as well as with all the revolutionary forces of the world, our Party and people will score complete victory over the imperialist and revisionist enemies. Marxism–Leninism cannot be vanquished! Socialism and communism will triumph! ## Subsequent developments In his memoirs Khrushchev described the Albanian leadership as "monsters," saying that, "The rift which developed between the Soviet Union and Albania stemmed mainly from the Albanians' fear of democratisation." The downfall of Khrushchev in 1964 saw Hoxha write an article for Zëri i Popullit in which he stated that, "Despite the fact that Khrushchev was the head of modern revisionism, his political liquidation as a person does not mean the liquidation of his political, ideological, economic and organizational course ... Khrushchevite revisionism is not dead, his ideology and policy expressed in the line of the 20th and 22nd Congresses of the CPSU are not liquidated." In the view of Bill Ash, writing in support of the Albanian position, "The final proof of the correctness of Albania's characterisation of Soviet revisionism came with the invasion and military occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 – 'Khrushchevism without Khrushchev', since Brezhnev who succeeded the deposed revisionist leader followed the same line." An Albanian account discussing the invasion notes, "Albania resolutely denounced this act, calling it 'an aggression of the fascist type' which 'represented the greatest debasement of the honour and authority of the Soviet Union and the Soviet people on the part of the Khrushchevite revisionist Brezhnev–Kosygin clique' ... the Warsaw Treaty had completely been transformed from a means of defence into a means of aggression" and having been de facto excluded from the Pact since 1961, "on September 13, 1968, at an extraordinary session the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Albania decided to denounce this Treaty and exonerate Albania from any obligation deriving from it." In the 1970s, the alliance between Albania and China against perceived Soviet revisionism gradually began to break down, resulting in the Sino-Albanian split. Writing in 1988, Ramiz Alia reiterated the Albanian view that, "The revisionist current most dangerous to the world communist movement has been and still is Soviet revisionism" and that, "To oppose the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which had great political and theoretical authority, meant to isolate oneself, at least for a time, from most of the communist parties of the world. Precisely here lies the heroism of the Party of Labour of Albania, the majesty of its decision, and its courage and determination for the cause of Marxism–Leninism, for the cause of socialism and communism." In July 1990, after the fall of the Eastern Bloc and political upheaval in Albania itself, Alia announced the restoration of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. In an official communiqué the Soviets "attributed the normalisation [of diplomatic relations] to the better political climate in Europe, and the state radio reported that, as the Soviet Union was on course for reform, 'there has been a marked trend recently towards democratisation of Albanian society'." In June 1991, the ruling Party of Labour became the social-democratic Socialist Party, dropping its prior commitment to Marxism–Leninism, and in December 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved. ## See also - Sino-Soviet split - Tito–Stalin split, or Yugoslav–Soviet split - De-satellization of the Socialist Republic of Romania - Sino-Albanian split
14,371,091	HMS Vengeance (1899)	1,136,554,965	Pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy	[ "1899 ships", "Canopus-class battleships", "Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness", "Vickers", "Victorian-era battleships of the United Kingdom", "World War I battleships of the United Kingdom" ]	HMS Vengeance was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy and a member of the Canopus class. Intended for service in Asia, Vengeance and her sister ships were smaller and faster than the preceding Majestic-class battleships, but retained the same battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns. She also carried thinner armour, but incorporated new Krupp steel, which was more effective than the Harvey armour used in the Majestics. Vengeance was laid down in August 1898, launched in July 1899, and commissioned into the fleet in April 1902. On entering service, Vengeance was assigned to the China Station, but the Anglo-Japanese Alliance rendered her presence there unnecessary, and she returned to European waters in 1905. Late that year, she underwent a refit that lasted into 1906. She then served in the Channel Fleet until 1908, when she moved to the Home Fleet, thereafter serving in secondary roles, including as a tender and a gunnery training ship. In 1913, she was transferred to the 6th Battle Squadron of the Second Fleet. Following Britain's entrance into World War I in August 1914, Vengeance patrolled the English Channel with the 8th Battle Squadron before moving to Alexandria to protect the Suez Canal in November 1914. She then joined the Dardanelles Campaign in January 1915, where she saw extensive action trying to force the Dardanelles strait in February and March and later supporting the fighting ashore during the Gallipoli Campaign in April and May. Worn out from these operations, she returned to Britain for a refit. She was recommissioned in December 1915 for service in East Africa, during which she supported the capture of Dar es Salaam in German East Africa. She returned to Britain again in 1917 and was decommissioned, thereafter serving in subsidiary roles until 1921, when she was sold for scrap. Vengeance was broken up the following year. ## Design Vengeance and her five sister ships were designed for service in East Asia, where the new rising power Japan was beginning to build a powerful navy, though this role was quickly made redundant by the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902. The ships were designed to be smaller, lighter and faster than their predecessors, the Majestic-class battleships. Vengeance was 421 feet 6 inches (128.47 m) long overall, with a beam of 74 ft (23 m) and a draught of 26 ft 2 in (7.98 m). She displaced 13,150 long tons (13,360 t) normally and up to 14,300 long tons (14,500 t) fully loaded. Her crew numbered 682 officers and ratings. The Canopus-class ships were powered by a pair of 3-cylinder triple-expansion engines, with steam provided by twenty Belleville boilers. They were the first British battleships with water-tube boilers, which generated more power at less expense in weight compared with the fire-tube boilers used in previous ships. The new boilers led to the adoption of fore-and-aft funnels, rather than the side-by-side funnel arrangement used in many previous British battleships. The Canopus-class ships proved to be good steamers, with a high speed for battleships of their time—18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) from 13,500 indicated horsepower (10,100 kW)—a full two knots faster than the Majestics. Vengeance had a main battery of four BL 12 in (305 mm) 35-caliber Mk VIII guns mounted in twin-gun turrets fore and aft; these guns were mounted in circular barbettes that allowed all-around loading, although at a fixed elevation. The ships also mounted a secondary battery of twelve 6-inch (152 mm) 40-calibre guns mounted in casemates, in addition to ten 12-pounder guns and six 3-pounder guns for defence against torpedo boats. As was customary for battleships of the period, she was also equipped with four 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes submerged in the hull, two on each broadside near the forward and aft barbette. To save weight, Vengeance carried less armour than the Majestics—6 inches (152 mm) in the belt compared to 9 in (229 mm)—although the change from Harvey armour in the Majestics to Krupp armour in Vengeance meant that the loss in protection was not as great as it might have been, Krupp armour having greater protective value at a given thickness than its Harvey equivalent. Similarly, the other armour used to protect the ship could also be thinner; the bulkheads on either end of the belt were 6 to 10 in (152 to 254 mm) thick. The main battery turrets were 8 in thick, atop 12 in (305 mm) barbettes, and the casemate battery was protected with 6 in of Krupp steel. Her conning tower had 12 in thick sides as well. She was fitted with two armoured decks, 1 and 2 in (25 and 51 mm) thick, respectively. ## Service history ### Pre-World War I HMS Vengeance was laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 23 August 1898 and launched on 25 July 1899. Her completion was delayed by damage to the fitting-out dock, and she was not completed until April 1902. She was the first British battleship completely built, armed, and engined by a single company. HMS Vengeance was commissioned at Portsmouth by Captain Leslie Creery Stuart on 8 April 1902 for service with the Mediterranean Fleet. She left the United Kingdom early the following month, arriving at Malta on 12 May. In September 1902 she visited the Aegean sea with other ships of the station for combined manoeuvres near Nauplia, and two months later she was back visiting Plataea. In July 1903 she transferred to the China Station to relieve her sister ship Goliath, and underwent a refit at Hong Kong in 1903–1904. In 1905, the United Kingdom and Japan ratified a treaty of alliance, reducing the need for a large Royal Navy presence on the China Station and prompting a recall of all battleships from the station. Vengeance was recalled on 1 June 1905 and proceeded to Singapore, where she and her sister ship Albion rendezvoused with their sister Ocean and the battleship Centurion. The four battleships departed Singapore on 20 June 1905 and steamed home in company, arriving at Plymouth on 2 August 1905. Vengeance paid off into the Devonport Reserve on 23 August 1905, and underwent a refit that lasted into 1906 during which her machinery was repaired. On 15 May 1906, Vengeance commissioned for service in the Channel Fleet. She transferred to the Home Fleet on 6 May 1908, and on 13 June 1908 was damaged in a collision with the merchant ship SS Begore Head at Portsmouth. She moved to the Nore Division, Home Fleet, at the Nore in February 1909, where she became a parent ship to special service vessels, and grounded in the Thames Estuary on 28 February 1909 without damage. In April 1909, she became tender to the Chatham Dockyard gunnery school, where she acted as a gunnery drill ship. On 29 November 1910, Vengeance suffered another mishap when she collided in fog with the merchant ship SS Biter, suffering damage to her side, net shelf, and net booms. Vengeance then served in the 6th Battle Squadron based at Portland, then became a gunnery training ship at the Nore in January 1913.The 6th Squadron, together with the 5th Battle Squadron, formed the core of the Second Fleet. ### World War I On the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the Royal Navy mobilised to meet the German High Seas Fleet. On 7 August, the 6th Battle Squadron was dissolved, the more modern Duncan-class battleships being transferred to the Grand Fleet; Vengeance was assigned to the 8th Battle Squadron, Channel Fleet. The 8th Squadron was tasked with patrol duties in the English Channel and Atlantic, though Vengeance was quickly transferred to the 7th Battle Squadron on 15 August 1914 to relieve the battleship Prince George as the squadron flagship. Shortly thereafter, half of the 7th Squadron battleships were dispersed to strengthen the detached cruiser squadrons patrolling for German commerce raiders, leaving only Vengeance, Prince George, Caesar, and Goliath and the protected cruiser Proserpine. She covered the landing of the Plymouth Marine Battalion at Ostend, Belgium, on 25 August 1914. For this operation, she and the other five ships of the squadron, along with six destroyers, escorted the troopships; at the same time, elements of the Grand Fleet attacked the German patrol line off Heligoland to occupy the High Seas Fleet. In November 1914, she was transferred to Alexandria to replace a pair of older French vessels, the battleship Bouvet and the armoured cruiser Amiral Charner that had in turn relieved the armoured cruisers Black Prince and Warrior as guard ships for the Suez Canal. She later moved on to the Cape Verde-Canary Islands Station to relieve Albion as guard ship at Saint Vincent. #### Dardanelles campaign On 22 January 1915, Vengeance was selected to take part in the Dardanelles campaign. She stopped at Gibraltar that month to embark Admiral John de Robeck and become second flagship of the Dardanelles squadron, and arrived at the Dardanelles in February 1915. Admiral Sackville Carden, the commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, devised a plan to force the straits and attack the Ottoman capital by neutralising the Ottoman coastal defences at long range, clearing the minefields in the Dardanelles, and then entering the Sea of Marmara. Vengeance participated in the opening bombardment of the Ottoman Turkish entrance forts on 18 February and 19 February 1915, though her role as de Robeck's flagship limited her to observing the fire of the other ships in his formation. The battleship Cornwallis developed problems with her capstan and so could not anchor in her firing position, forcing Vengeance to take her place. She bombarded the Orkanie fortress with direct fire, but aerial reconnaissance proved that the fortress guns had not been disabled. Nevertheless, Carden ordered Vengeance and several other battleships to close with their targets and engage them at close range. The French battleship Suffren joined Vengeance in shelling Orkanie. Later in the afternoon, both ships began to engage a battery at Kumkale with their main guns, while their secondary battery kept firing at Orkanie. At 16:10, Carden ordered them to cease fire and inspect the fortification. On closing, Vengeance came under heavy fire from Orkanie and a battery at Cape Helles. Contre-amiral (Rear Admiral) Émile Guépratte, the commander of the French contingent, later wrote that "the daring attack of the Vengeance in flinging herself against the forts when their fire was in no way reduced was one of the finest episodes of the day." She suffered some damage to her masts and rigging from gunfire from the forts, but she was not hit directly. Several other battleships came to her aid, and at 17:20, Carden ordered a retreat. On 25 February, Vengeance took part in another attack on the Dardanelles fortresses. Along with Cornwallis and the French battleships Suffren and Charlemagne, she led the assault, which was supported by one French and three British battleships. Once the four supporting battleships had taken up their positions and begun firing at long range to suppress the Ottoman batteries, Vengeance and Cornwallis made the first pass at close range, intending to destroy the guns with direct hits. De Robeck took Vengeance to within 4,000 yards (3,700 m) of the fortifications at Kumkale and fired for ten minutes, before turning about to allow Cornwallis to engage the guns. The two French ships then followed, and by 15:00, the Ottoman guns had been effectively silenced, allowing for minesweepers to advance and attempt to clear the minefields; most of the fleet withdrew while the minesweepers worked, though Vengeance and the battleships Albion and Triumph remained behind to cover them. By clearing these fields, Allied warships could now enter the Dardanelles themselves, opening the route to attack additional fortifications around the town of Dardanus. While other vessels shelled the forts there, Vengeance and the battleship Irresistible sent men ashore to destroy an abandoned artillery battery near Kumkale, with both ships remaining off shore to support the raid. The men landed unopposed, but the detachment from Vengeance quickly came under fire from Ottoman infantry on the far side of Kumkale. Lieutenant-Commander Eric Gascoigne Robinson, who led Vengeance's demolition party, went forward by himself to destroy an Ottoman anti-aircraft gun, then led his detachment to destroy a second anti-aircraft gun and the one remaining gun at the Orkanie battery. For his actions, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Ottoman resistance prevented any further action, and the men returned to Vengeance. By late February, Vengeance was in need of boiler maintenance, so de Robeck transferred his flag to Irresistible while Vengeance went to Mudros for repairs. She had returned by 6 March, in time for another bombardment of the Ottoman defences; de Robeck again transferred his flag back to the ship for the operation. This time, the plan involved using Albion to spot for the powerful dreadnought battleship Queen Elizabeth, which was to fire indirectly in the hopes of being able to neutralise the Ottoman guns at a range at which they could not respond. Vengeance and three other battleships covered Albion inside the straits. The ships quickly silenced the Ottoman guns at Dardanus, but mobile artillery batteries continually forced both Albion and Queen Elizabeth to shift position, largely preventing the latter from firing and the former from relaying corrections for the few shots Queen Elizabeth had been able to make. Nightfall and the lack of progress led to the operation being called off. Two days later, Queen Elizabeth was sent into the straits in an attempt to destroy the guns with direct fire, while Vengeance and three other battleships covered her from the mobile howitzers. Poor visibility hampered Queen Elizabeth's gunners, and at 15:30 Carden called off the attack, having achieved nothing. Vengeance also took part in the main attack on the Narrows forts on 18 March 1915, by which time Carden had fallen ill and had to resign, leaving de Robeck to take overall command of the fleet. He therefore shifted his flag to Queen Elizabeth, and Vengeance returned to the Second Division as a private ship. Vengeance did not engage the Ottomans until later in the afternoon, after Bouvet had been mined and sunk. Vengeance attacked the Ottoman "Hamidieh" battery, but most of her shells fell harmlessly in the center of the fortification, away from the guns. When it became clear that the Ottoman fortresses could not be silenced in time to allow the minesweepers to begin clearing the minefields further in the straits, de Robeck ordered the fleet to withdraw. In the process, two British battleships were also mined and sunk, and the battlecruiser Inflexible had also struck a mine, though she managed to return to Malta for repairs. By late-April, the First Squadron included Vengeance, seven other battleships, and four cruisers, and was commanded by Rear Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss. The First Squadron was tasked with supporting the Landing at Cape Helles, which took place on 25 April. Vengeance and the battleship Lord Nelson were initially assigned to support the landing at Morto Bay, taking up their firing positions at 05:00 and opening fire at Ottoman positions in the heights around the bay shortly thereafter. Lord Nelson was later sent to support other landing beaches further south on the peninsula, and Vengeance was joined by Prince George. As the allied ground forces advanced on Krithia, Vengeance and several other battleships provided fire support, though the Ottomans blocked the attack in the First Battle of Krithia. Through early May, she remained off the beachhead, supporting the allied right flank along with Lord Nelson and the French battleship Jauréguiberry. She supported the ground troops during the Ottoman attack on Allied positions at Anzac Cove on 19 May 1915, before retiring to Mudros to replenish her fuel and ammunition. She returned to Gallipoli on 25 May to relieve her sister Canopus. A submarine attacked her that day while she was steaming up from Mudros, but Vengeance quickly turned to starboard to avoid the torpedo and fired several shots at the submarine's periscope, forcing her to withdraw. By July 1915, Vengeance had boiler defects that prevented her from continuing combat operations, and she returned to the United Kingdom and paid off that month. She was under refit at Devonport until December 1915. #### Later service Vengeance recommissioned in December 1915 and left Devonport on 30 December 1915 for a deployment to East Africa. The Royal Navy had begun sending reinforcements to the area in November to support the East African Campaign; on her arrival there, she joined three monitors, two cruisers, two armed merchant vessels, and two gunboats. While there, she supported operations leading to the capture of Dar es Salaam in 1916. In February 1917, Vengeance returned to the United Kingdom and paid off. She was laid up until February 1918, when she recommissioned for use in experiments with anti-flash equipment for the fleet's guns. She completed these in April 1918, and then was partially disarmed, with four 6-inch (152-mm) main-deck casemate guns removed and four 6-inch guns being installed in open shields on the battery deck. She became an ammunition store ship in May 1918. Vengeance was placed on the sale list at Devonport on 9 July 1920, and was sold for scrapping on 1 December 1921. She had an eventful trip to the scrapyard. After she departed Devonport under tow on 27 December 1921 en route to Dover, her tow rope parted in the English Channel on 29 December 1921. French tugs located her and towed her to Cherbourg, France. From there she was towed to Dover, where she finally arrived for scrapping on 9 January 1922.
35,296,261	Weapon (album)	1,166,127,123	null	[ "2013 albums", "Glitch (music) albums", "Metropolis Records albums", "Skinny Puppy albums" ]	Weapon is the twelfth studio album by Canadian electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy. It was released on May 28, 2013, through Metropolis Records. Skinny Puppy received mainstream media attention when the band billed the U.S. government for using its music as torture in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, which was a primary source of inspiration for the album. Musically, Weapon's sound is reminiscent of Skinny Puppy's earliest releases, Remission (1984) and Bites (1985), due to the employment of old equipment and simplified songwriting. The song "Salvo" was released early for streaming on May 14, 2013, a music video for the song "Illisit" was directed by Jason Alacrity and released online, and the album was followed by several tours. ## Background and concept Weapon was inspired by the news that Skinny Puppy's music had been used for torture sessions at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. In 2011, the band was approached by a Guantanamo prison guard who heard bootlegged Skinny Puppy music being played to prisoners at damaging volumes for six to twelve hours as a punishment. The guard, Terry Holdbrooks, recognized the music as coming from an unofficial 1993 release called Heavens Trash. This revelation prompted the band to develop the concept of Weapon, even going so far as originally planning to include an instructional manual detailing how to use the album to torture people. In early 2014, a few months following the album's release, Skinny Puppy received mainstream media attention after sending an invoice totaling \$666,000 to the US Department of Defense for the use of its music during torture sessions. The Department of Defense never responded to the invoice, and governmental officials denied using any music as torture. Regarding the employment of his music in such a capacity, founding Skinny Puppy member cEvin Key criticized the government both for using the music without permission and for using it as "an actual weapon against somebody". He clarified that the billing was not for financial gain, but was to make a point. Other influences on Weapon's sound include the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and American gun culture. Regarding the refinement of the album's concept, vocalist Nivek Ogre said: > Then I stumbled on the more abstract idea about all the things around us that are weapons that are dormant, that are built to be safe. Nuclear power became one of those; it was a big elephant in the room topics to me, especially after the meltdown in Fukushima and the subsequent clampdown in the media about what’s happening, what’s going to happen, and the fact that we have 23 of those similar reactors sitting around the United States, which are holding in their spent fuel pools. The album's artwork features a giant mechanized spider made of various weapons ranging from blades to firearms. It was created by longtime Skinny Puppy collaborator Steven R. Gilmore. ## Composition When the time came to record Weapon, the members of Skinny Puppy decided to go through the process in a way dissimilar to their other post-reunion albums. Key, Ogre, and Mark Walk were frustrated by the result of long production time on their previous record, so they returned to the fast-paced cycle of Skinny Puppy's early years, completing the album in "less than a few months". Additionally, Weapon was recorded without the aid of management or a professional studio. Ogre called the process of creating the album "amorphous", saying that "the days are gone of having to actually rent studio time and block out however many days you’re going to have to stay within budget." This lightweight approach allowed the band to achieve the speed of production it desired. The group started work on the new album by remaking the song "Solvent" from its 1984 EP, Remission, due to Ogre's dissatisfaction with how the original track came out, especially vocally. Using "Solvent" and Weapon's first track, "Wornin'" (stylized as "wornin'"), as a guide, the band experimented with many outmoded instruments and methods in an effort to recapture a distinctly minimal electronic sound. Key said the return to Skinny Puppy's electronic and equipment roots "seemed right". Ultimately, the self-imposed restriction of 1980s-era equipment proved too confining, so the band instead chose to focus on the approach and execution of those early albums. Musically, Weapon is densely electronic, existing in the space between synth-pop and industrial music and combining the two in a blend of bright melodies, grating rhythms, and harsh vocals; it has been called both electro-industrial and glitch music. Ogre's vocals range from spoken word and rap to his more characteristically abrasive style. Some publications noted the album for having surprisingly conventional song structures with "singalong" choruses. Zachary Houle of PopMatters called Weapon "downright accessible", a stark contrast against the noisier music Skinny Puppy is known for. Still, the album retains the atypical programmed beats of industrial music, taking advantage of a wide range of percussion from clicks and whirs to deep booms. The album's second song, "Illisit" (stylized as "illisiT"), is an aggressive electronic single with scathing lyrics and multi-layered electronics. Daniel Sylvester of Exclaim! called it the album's best and catchiest track, writing that it "is a polished revisiting of everything that makes Skinny Puppy so compelling: decaying beats and nail-driving refrains, along with world-gone-wrong rants." The third track, "Salvo" (stylized as "saLvo"), features breakbeats that are both "ominous" and "funky" and employs a number of superimposed, ghostly sounds. "Glowbel" (stylized as "gLowbeL") acts as a microcosm of Weapon at large, containing equal parts of sinisterly conveyed aggression and optimistic melody. "Solvent" (stylized as "solvent"), the album's midpoint, remains compositionally unchanged from its original 1984 incarnation, but the version on Weapon is much sharper and more professionally recorded, with notably refined vocals and improved production. The second half of the album is darker and more introspective than the first. Weapon's sixth track, "Paragun" (stylized as "paragUn"), features an overpowering chorus and a danceable rhythm, while the following song, "Survivalisto" (stylized as "survivalisto"), is slow and somber with new wave influences. "Tsudanama" (stylized as "tsudanama") is Weapon's heaviest song with "alien, non-linear squeaks and rubbery rhythms" and an emphasis on bass. "Plasicage" (stylized as "plasiCage") is another weighty dance track, but the album's closer, "Terminal" (stylized as "terminal"), is its softest and most dreary, being described by Laura Wiebe of Exclaim! as "a synth-pop requiem" with a sentimental, dirge-like sound. Some critics drew comparisons between it and the ballad "Killing Game" from 1992's Last Rights. "Overdose", the hidden track that appears after "Terminal", is a previously unreleased song from the Remission and Bites era with redone vocals, further tying Weapon back to those initial releases. ## Touring Skinny Puppy began performing the album's songs from January 2014 onward, starting with the Live Shapes for Arms tour. The set lists covered a broad range of material, and the stage show was elaborate and complicated. Later in 2014, the band returned to the road for another tour entitled Eye vs Spy, bringing Youth Code, Haujobb, and Front Line Assembly as opening acts. These performances saw Ogre changing between numerous costumes throughout the show, playing a character undergoing stages of mutation at the hand of nuclear radiation. Ogre began these shows as a hunch-backed, rain-coated figure with a white mask, an umbrella with a fallout symbol, a cumbersome box, and a plaster dog statue. As the show progressed, he became a force-fed animal with a suit of many pelts, and later a deformed monstrosity affected by the radiation let loose from the box. The themes of experimentation had previously been explored on Skinny Puppy's 1988 tour in support of the album VIVIsectVI, as had the concept of bodily mutation on the 1992 Last Rights tour. ## Release Weapon was released to retailers worldwide on May 28, 2013. It was well-received by critics, several of whom appreciated the musical style being reminiscent of that of the 1980s. Weapon was available as an LP, CD (both Digipak and jewel case), and as a digital download. The LP was reissued in 2016. The album entered on several record charts, including the Billboard 200 where it peaked at 140. Weapon was followed by a music video for the song "Illisit". Jason Alacrity, a fan of Skinny Puppy who had worked with Ogre on some previous projects, approached the band wanting to make a video. After securing Skinny Puppy's endorsement, Alacrity created the video, which features a mechanical spider, a fugitive running from an armed soldier, and skull imagery reminiscent of the cover for Remission. ### Critical reception Weapon was met with positive reception. The album received an average score of 76/100 from 6 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews." AllMusic's David Jeffries called Weapon "an instantly recognizable return to form for the veteran electro-industrial group, and a sure about-face from the film-worthy, large-landscape music the group has released since the millennium turned." Zachary Houle of PopMatters wrote, "Weapon does what it does so satisfyingly well, that it makes you rethink the concept of industrial music." Exclaim! writer Daniel Sylvester said that Weapon was the band's best effort since 1992's Last Rights. Also writing for Exclaim!, Laura Wiebe gave the album a positive review, highlighting its focused employment of electronics and how it focused on rhythm. Michael Davis of Head Full of Noise awarded Weapon a perfect score, saying that Skinny Puppy "achieve a fluid and solid combination of their older style with the new" and that it "works and sounds beautiful". Stuart Derdeyn of The Province called the album "classic Puppy", and wrote "what may surprise longtime fans is how clean the mix is. Grim but also somewhat weirdly calming". Writing for Release Magazine, Peter Marchione compared the album to Remission, saying that "the sound is retro and very analogue and if it wasn’t for Ogre’s improved singing technique, ...many of the tracks could easily have been almost 30 years old". Marchione concluded that Weapon "lives its own life like in a parallel existence that now has re-begun right after the earliest formation of our beloved Puppy, before Dwayne was in the band". Writing for the Chicago Music Guide, Dennis Kelly applauded the album, noting that the re-recording of the song "Solvent" was "a smart move on their part to potentially introduce new fans to their earlier work". Ogre's vocals were especially lauded for returning to the lacerating, abrasive quality of the band's earlier albums. Some publications considered Weapon Skinny Puppy's best effort since reforming in 2000. However, not all reception was positive; Spin gave Weapon a middling review, calling the band "tired". Trey Spencer of Sputnikmusic praised Weapon, but also recognized that it could disappoint fans who want a return to Skinny Puppy's more industrial sound. ## Track listing Notes - On all physical releases of Weapon, a minute of silence and the hidden song "Overdose" are appended to the end of "Terminal" as a single track. Digital versions of the album separate the two tracks. - The following are the album's stylized track titles: "wornin'", "illisiT", "saLvo", "gLowbeL", "solvent", "paragUn", "survivalisto", "tsudanama", "plasiCage", and "terminal". - The capital letters in the song titles can be arranged to read "CULLLT", and the O from the bonus track "Overdose" can be added to the message, making it read "OCULLLT". These letters are highlighted as orange on the album's packaging. Ogre's side project with Walk (Ohgr) used the same method to conceal messages in its first two albums. ## Personnel Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Skinny Puppy - Nivek Ogre – vocals, keyboards - cEvin Key – keyboards, percussion, electronics, guitars, theremin - Mark Walk – programming, bass, guitars Additional personnel - Ken "Hiwatt" Marshall – mixing and mastering - Traz Damji – additional instruments (track 6) - Steven R. Gilmore – sleeve design and illustrations ## Chart positions
34,515,739	Edward B. Bunn	1,168,696,982	American Jesuit academic administrator	[ "1896 births", "1972 deaths", "20th-century American academics", "20th-century American philosophers", "20th-century American psychologists", "Canisius University faculty", "Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany", "Fordham University faculty", "Loyola University Maryland alumni", "Pontifical Gregorian University alumni", "Presidents of Georgetown University", "Presidents of Loyola University Maryland", "Religious leaders from Baltimore", "St. Andrew-on-Hudson alumni", "Woodstock College alumni" ]	Edward Bernard Bunn SJ (March 15, 1896 – June 18, 1972) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became the president of Loyola College in Maryland and later of Georgetown University. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he was educated at Loyola College before entering the Society of Jesus in 1919. He continued his education at St. Andrew-on-Hudson Woodstock College, and the Pontifical Gregorian University and then taught at Brooklyn Preparatory School and Canisius College. In 1938, he became the president of Loyola College, and his term was largely defined by a protracted legal dispute with Archbishop Michael Curley of Baltimore, involving high-ranking church prelates. Bunn's term came to an end in 1947, when he was put in charge of the colleges in the Jesuits' Maryland Province. He also briefly transferred to the University of Scranton, before becoming the regent of Georgetown University's School of Dentistry and School of Nursing. In 1952, Bunn was made the president of Georgetown University. He would become the longest-serving president in the university's history to that date and came to be described as the "founder of modern Georgetown." Bunn undertook an expansive building campaign, which produced eight new buildings, and he centralized the university's administration. During his tenure, the School of Business, the School of Languages and Linguistics and the predecessor of the School of Continuing Studies were founded. The administration of the Georgetown University Hospital was also professionalized. Following the end of his presidency in 1964, Bunn remained at Georgetown as chancellor, where he continued to fundraise. The Edward B. Bunn, S.J. Intercultural Center at Georgetown was posthumously named in his honor. ## Early life Edward Bernard Bunn was born on March 15, 1896, in Baltimore, Maryland to Sebastian Philip and Filomena Philip née Fortmann. He attended Loyola College in Maryland, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1917, and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He then entered the Society of Jesus in 1919. He proceeded to the Jesuit novitiate of St. Andrew-on-Hudson in New York, where he earned a Master of Arts in English, in 1921. Immediately thereafter, Bunn began his scholasticate at Woodstock College in Maryland. His studies were punctuated by a period as professor of dramatics at Fordham University 1923 to 1926. Bunn completed his education at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, receiving a Doctor of Philosophy degree in philosophy in 1930. The title of his doctoral dissertation was "The Moral Judgments of Children from 6 to 12 Years of Age". He was ordained a priest in 1929. Following the end of his education and priestly training, Bunn became the dean of Brooklyn Preparatory School in 1930. After two years, he left to become a professor of psychology at Canisius College. Bunn remained in this position until 1935, when he transferred to Fordham as an associate professor of psychology. ## Loyola College Bunn was appointed president of Loyola College in Maryland on July 31, 1938, succeeding Joseph A. Canning. He officially assumed his duties after finishing teaching the summer term at Fordham. His inauguration on October 20 was the first time Loyola held a pompous ceremony to mark such an occasion. A significant influence on his tenure was a controversy that arose between himself and the Archbishop of Baltimore, Michael Joseph Curley. In 1937, an elderly woman, Frances Stuart, inherited a sum of money from her brother on the condition that she write her will to conform with his wishes, which specified that certain Catholic institutions, including Loyola College and the Archdiocese of Baltimore, receive bequests. In 1940, Stuart had become ill and had a lawyer that Bunn recommended draft a new will for her, which eliminated the bequests to the archdiocese and several other institutions while increasing those to Loyola and Woodstock College. She died later that year. During probate, two of her relatives filed a caveat, arguing that her second will was invalid because she was not mentally competent at the time of its creation. Archbishop Curley then entered the lawsuit, arguing Bunn had used undue influence and fraud in causing Stuart to adopt the new will. This move was highly unusual, as canon law required any Catholic suing a church official over the exercise of his ecclesial functions to bring suit in an ecclesiastical court rather than civil court. Curley declined to privately resolve the matter with Bunn or his Jesuit superiors and rejected Bunn's eventual offer to pay the archdiocese what it would have received under the original will. In 1941, several weeks before the trial, the American assistant to the Jesuit Superior General intervened by requesting Curley withdraw the suit to avoid public embarrassment for the church, in exchange for the Jesuits relinquishing their claim to the bequest entirely; Curley declined. The following month, Curley stated he would accept the offer on the condition that Bunn be removed as president of Loyola College. Meanwhile, the controversy attracted the attention of higher prelates in the church. The Apostolic Delegate to the United States informed Curley that the pope desired to have the dispute resolved out of court. Nonetheless, Curley continued the lawsuit. The Jesuit Superior General also ruled that Bunn would not be removed as president of Loyola College. The trial began in May 1941, and, after two hours of deliberation, the jury decided that Stuart's second will was valid. Following the end of the dispute with the archbishop, Bunn turned his attention to the physical growth of Loyola College. His plans for expansion, however, were initially thwarted by World War II. With the end of the war in 1945, the university saw a surge in the number of students. Therefore, Bunn aimed to construct a college chapel, but was unable to secure funding. Bunn's term as president came to an end at the close of the 1947 academic year, and he was succeeded by Francis X. Talbot. ## Georgetown University After leaving Loyola, Bunn was made the regional director of colleges and universities for the Jesuits' Maryland Province, a position he held until 1952. In 1947, he served a year as the assistant director of the labor school at the University of Scranton. Bunn became the regent of the School of Dentistry and School of Nursing at Georgetown University in 1948. During his regency, the dental school undertook an extensive renovation of its facilities and created children's and periodontal clinics and a diagnostic department. The X-ray department and orthodontic laboratory were also expanded. At the nursing school, he took the initial steps to transform the institution from a diploma-granting school to baccalaureate one. ### Presidency In October 1952, Bunn was named the president of Georgetown University, replacing J. Hunter Guthrie. He is remembered as one of the pivotal presidents in the university's history, and was described by one historian as the "founder of the modern Georgetown". Presiding over an era of post-World War II expansion, Bunn sought to establish Georgetown as the preeminent Catholic university in the United States. At the same time, he greatly increased its independence from the Jesuit superiors. His presidency was characterized by an overall centralization of the university's administration, which was previously carried out in large part by its constituent schools. One component of this was the creation of a central admissions process in 1963. He also consolidated many duplicate faculties maintained by the respective schools. Bunn also expanded and raised the caliber of the university's faculty, especially focusing on the natural sciences, philosophy, and theology. Another of Bunn's goals was to raise the academic caliber of the university. One of his first tasks was the reorganization of the School of Foreign Service (SFS). The school suffered from a lack of cohesive identity and departments that were not integrated into a single curriculum. As a result, the quality of its programs and academic caliber of its students had diminished. He also removed the Institute of Languages of Linguistics to form the School of Languages and Linguistics in 1959. Its three departments of government, economics, and history were placed under the administration of Georgetown College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. In 1956, the School of Foreign Service was named in honor of Edmund A. Walsh, its founder, following his death that year. By 1962, the school's academic standards had improved. Women were also admitted for the first time as day students in 1953 (while they previously could enroll in the evening division). In 1964, the university created its first study-abroad program. With the number of SFS students studying business rapidly increasing, Bunn oversaw the separation of the Division of Business Administration to form the School of Business in 1957. The business school suffered from poor academic quality in its early years and developed a reputation among faculty and administrators as the destination of weak applicants who were unable to gain admission to Georgetown College or the SFS. Bunn even considered closing the school in 1962, but, upon the recommendation of a committee, retained it in the form of a fully independent unit of the university. In 1953, the School of Nursing completed its conversion from a diploma-granting program to a baccalaureate one. With this saw a significant increase in the number of students and an improvement in the quality of its faculty. The Nursing School, as well as Georgetown College, also admitted black students for the first time during his tenure, joining the SFS, law, and graduate schools in enrolling black students; with this, segregation of Georgetown's schools came to an end. In 1961, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth left the Georgetown University Hospital, and Bunn took the opportunity to professionalize administration of the hospital, which had grown considerably from its early days. The School for Summer and Continuing Education, which would later become the School of Continuing Studies, was founded in 1956. Georgetown Law School also saw significant growth during Bunn's tenure, largely under the direction of its regent. The school changed its name to the Georgetown University Law Center in 1953, to reflect its new ambition. By the late 1950s, the law school's facilities had become overcrowded, and overtures were made to purchase additional land to expand. This would eventually culminate in a new building, after Bunn's presidency. Bunn oversaw a period of significant construction, resulting in the opening of eight new buildings. With the changing demographics of the Georgetown neighborhood and Washington, D.C. in general, Bunn was able to purchase numerous properties in the neighborhood to expand the eastern portion of Georgetown's campus. His building campaign ended a 20-year hiatus on construction on the campus. To support the development of new facilities, Bunn launched the Georgetown Development Campaign. Replacing the university's previous fundraising method of relying on tuition and spontaneous gifts, he was the first president to undertake large-scale, continuous fundraising. Among the buildings constructed during his presidency were St. Mary's Hall, which was initially used as housing for the nursing students; the Walsh Building, which became the original home of the School of Foreign Service; the Reiss Science Building; and the New South and Harbin dormitories. Bunn's term as president came to an end in 1964, and he was succeeded by Gerard Campbell. At the time of his resignation, he was the longest-serving president in the university's history. ### Later years After his presidency, Bunn spent the rest of his life as the chancellor of Georgetown University. In this role, he spent much of his time fundraising for the university. He also partnered with the president of American University, Hurst Robins Anderson, to create a program in which students at universities in the Washington, D.C. area could take and receive academic credit for courses in any subject at member institutions. Bunn was a member of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs, a trustee of the Washington Center for Metropolitan Studies, a member of the Newcomen Society in North America, a member of the board of consultants of the National War College, a trustee of the Federal City Council, and the chairman of the Committee for Inter-University Cooperation in Graduate Study. Bunn received honors from several countries. He was named a commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, was awarded the grand cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru, and the Grand Gold Merit Badge of the Republic of Austria. He was the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, including Doctor of Laws degrees from Fordham University in 1938, Brandeis University in 1958, Wheeling College in 1964, and Seattle University in 1964. He also received honorary degrees from Boston College and the University of Notre Dame. Bunn died on June 18, 1972, at Georgetown University. The university created the Edward B. Bunn, S.J. Award for Faculty Excellence in 1967, whose recipient is chosen annually by the senior class. In 1982, the Edward B. Bunn, S.J. Intercultural Center at Georgetown was completed and named in his honor.
36,921,977	George M. Stratton	1,157,247,736	American psychologist	[ "1865 births", "1957 deaths", "American social psychologists", "Emotion psychologists", "Johns Hopkins University faculty", "Leipzig University alumni", "Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences", "Military personnel from California", "People from Baltimore", "People from Berkeley, California", "People from Oakland, California", "Presidents of the American Psychological Association", "Psychologists of religion", "United States Army officers", "University of California, Berkeley alumni", "University of California, Berkeley faculty", "Vision scientists", "Yale Divinity School faculty", "Yale University alumni" ]	George Malcolm Stratton (September 26, 1865 – October 8, 1957) was an American psychologist who pioneered the study of perception in vision by wearing special glasses which inverted images up and down and left and right. He studied under one of the founders of modern psychology, Wilhelm Wundt, and started one of the first experimental psychology labs in America, at the University of California, Berkeley. Stratton's studies on binocular vision inspired many later studies on the subject. He was one of the initial members of the philosophy department at Berkeley, and the first chair of its psychology department. He also worked on sociology, focusing on international relations and peace. Stratton presided over the American Psychological Association in 1908, and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He wrote a book on experimental psychology and its methods and scope; published articles on the studies at his labs on perception, and on reviews of studies in the field; served on several psychological committees during and after World War I; and served as advisor to doctoral students who would go on to head psychology departments. Stratton was born and brought up in the Oakland area of California, in a family with deep roots in America, and spent much of his career at Berkeley. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, an M.A. from Yale University, and a PhD from the University of Leipzig. He returned to the philosophy department at Berkeley, teaching psychology, and was promoted to associate professor. Stratton left for Johns Hopkins University in the early 1900s and spent a few years as faculty at the psychology department before returning to Berkeley. During this period, he focused on studies on sensation and perception and the psychological effects of inverting sensory stimuli in different ways. He was involved in establishing some of the early regional associations devoted to the field of psychology. Stratton served in the Army during World War I, developing psychological tests to select airmen for Army aviation. Exposure to the war effort prompted his interest in international relations and causes of wars. He was an anti-war believer who held psychology should aim to assist humanity's quest to avert future wars. He was optimistic that people and ethnicities, making up nations, could be taught to live in peace, though the races were not equal in inborn mental capacity, a belief he held as scientific. In the later part of his career he wrote books looking at international relations, war, and the differences between races on emotions. He was also a scholar of the classics and translated Greek philosophers. Of Stratton's many contributions, his studies on perception and visual illusions would continue to influence the field of psychology well after his death. Of the nine books he wrote, the first was a scholarly look at the methodology and scope of experimental psychology. The remaining, including one unfinished at his death, were on sociology, international relations and the issues of war and how findings from psychology could be used to eradicate conflict between nations. Stratton considered these issues more salient to the application of psychology in the real world, though his ideas on this front did not produce a lasting impact in the field because of their subjective and non-experimental nature. ## Early life and education George Stratton was born on September 26, 1865 to James Thompson Stratton, originally from Ossining, New York, and Cornelia A. Smith. His parents had met and married in New York in 1854, and settled back in Clinton, now East Oakland, California. James Stratton had been to California once before during the gold rush of 1850, sailing around North America and crossing by land the Panama stretch, but finding little gold. The senior Stratton traced his ancestry to the early settlers of the British settlements of America, and Cornelia Smith had Dutch and English forebears. James Stratton would live the rest of his life in California, pursuing a civil engineering career as County Surveyor for Alameda County in 1858–59 and later as the U.S. Surveyor-General of the state, and finally as Chief Deputy State Surveyor. An expert on the big Mexican land grants, he split up several of the Spanish deeds. One of his sons, Frederick, went to the University of California, today's Berkeley, and became a lawyer, state senator, and Collector of the Port of San Francisco, before killing himself on November 30, 1915. Another, Robert Thomas, became a doctor in Oakland and died after a long illness on May 6, 1924. The couple also had a daughter, Jeanne, the later Mrs. Walter Good. George was their youngest child who lived past toddlerhood. Stratton's early education was at the Oakland public schools and undergraduate education at the University of California. At the university he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He was also the editor of the student news publication, The Berkeleyan, in 1886. Stratton graduated in 1888 with an A.B. degree from the University of California, in a total graduating class of 34 students. He learned Latin and English and taught in Buenaventura High School in 1888–89, and was its principal in 1889–90. At the school he met and courted San Francisco-born Alice Elenore Miller. Stratton then obtained an A.M. degree from Yale in 1890. He was a fellow in the philosophy department at Berkeley from 1891 to 1893. The chair of the philosophy department, George Holmes Howison, whom he met as an undergraduate, would become a significant influence on his life. He taught two philosophy courses, both with Howison. On March 14, 1893, he was appointed an instructor in the department of philosophy. As an instructor, he began teaching psychology and logic courses, in addition to a philosophy course. Howison obtained a fellowship from the University of California for his protege to study at the University of Leipzig. On May 17, 1894, Stratton married Alice Miller at the Methodist Episcopal Church in Berkeley, while being an instructor in the philosophy department. Immediately after, the couple left for the East on their way to Europe, with Stratton taking a leave of absence from Berkeley. He then spent two years at Wundt's Institute for Experimental Psychology at Leipzig, from where he received an M.A. and a PhD in 1896. He received his degree summa cum laude, with a thesis submitted to Wundt's publication, Philosophische Studien. ## Work years Stratton spent his working years primarily at Berkeley. He founded the department of psychology at the university. He left once for Johns Hopkins and once to join the Army during World War I, serving in San Francisco, San Diego and New York. ### Early Berkeley Returning to America in 1896, Stratton rejoined the University of California as an instructor. In 1897 he was promoted to assistant professor. By 1898 he no longer taught philosophy but several psychology courses. Two years later, he would influence the Philosophical Union into dedicating a year to investigating contemporary psychology. He himself presented a well-attended lecture series at the Union, with lively debates at the end, on psychological experiments. Over this time he also published three papers on his study with inverting lenses and how people adapt over time to such a view of the world: "Upright vision and the retinal image", "Vision without inversion of the retinal image", and "A mirror pseudoscope and the limit of visible depth", all in Psychological Review. He also presented a report of experiments with inverted vision to the Science Association of the university. Stratton also became a member of the APA. One of Stratton's psychology students in the Philosophy department was Knight Dunlap, a later chair at Johns Hopkins and University of California, Los Angeles. Stratton became a director of the newly established psychology lab, in the philosophy department, in 1899. By 1900 he was an associate professor in the philosophy department, then headed by Howison. He contributed a paper to the Festschrift honoring Wundt's seventieth birthday in 1902: "Eye movements and the aesthetics of the visual form". He also taught a series of twenty lectures on philosophy and psychology at the Pacific Theological Seminary in Berkeley. His first daughter, Elenore, was born in 1900, and son James Malcolm around 1903. ### Johns Hopkins and return to Berkeley Stratton left Berkeley at end of June, 1904, and moved east to Johns Hopkins University as a professor of experimental psychology in October. At this time, philosophers and psychologists at Baltimore formed the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology (SSFY) and Stratton was one of the first 36 charter members. At its first meeting, he presented results of an experiment on fidelity of the senses. While Stratton was at Johns Hopkins, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 struck destroying large swaths of the city. He had specific suggestions on how to rebuild the city to resist earthquakes and fires even with the water supply cut off. He urged the city be split into districts with avenues or boulevards as firebreaks between the divisions. Stratton's second daughter, Florence, was born in Baltimore on May 24, 1907. He left Johns Hopkins in October 1909, and was replaced there as professor of experimental psychology by John Broadus Watson. ### The army During World War I, Stratton served in army aviation developing psychological recruitment tests for aviators. He worked at San Francisco, Rockwell Field, San Diego, and at Hazelhurst Field, Mineola, New York. Joining as a captain, he was promoted to major in 1918 along with a transfer to Mineola. Stratton presided over the Army Aviation Examining Board in San Francisco in 1917, chaired the subcommittee of the National Research Council of the APA: "Psychological Problems of Aviation, including Examination of Aviation Recruits" in the summer of 1917, and headed the psychological section of the Medical Research Lab of the Army Medical Research Board at Hazelhurst Field, a wing of the Army's Sanitary Corps, in 1918. As a member of the psychological division, his research focused on developing psychological recruiting tests for would-be aviators. The tests he designed tested for reaction times, ability to imagine completions of curves presented visually, and the ability to sense a gradual tilting of one's own body. Edward L. Thorndike pooled Stratton's results with other studies to statistically analyze and correlate weak performance to a poor flying record. Part of this research was carried out in the spring of 1918 with Captain Henmon at Kelly Field, and the army thought enough of the results to allow the tests for checking recruits in four new units. ### Berkeley again After the war, Stratton returned to Berkeley in January 1919. Stratton also taught at Berkeley's extension school, lecturing on "Psychology and health" in San Francisco to people from the medical profession in 1918–19, and in Oakland in 1919–20. By this time the introductory course on psychology was so in demand among the students, it was split into two, with Stratton and Warner Brown teaching it concurrently. His wife was the editor of the Semicentenary of the University of California, a volume issued by the University Press at Berkeley in 1920. In 1921 his daughter, Elenore Stratton, graduated from Berkeley. That August she married Harvard graduate Edward Russell Dewey of New York at her father's house, and moved to the city, where she had done social settlement work following graduation. The same year his son attended Berkeley. The Berkeley department of psychology officially split from the department of philosophy, with Stratton as its first chair, on July 1, 1922. His second daughter, Florence, graduated from Berkeley with a B.A. in 1929. ### Retirement and death Stratton retired in 1935, but remained at the university, and died on October 8, 1957, at the age of 92, a year after his wife's death. He kept coming to the university until just before the end. When he died he was working on a book, The Divisive and Unifying Forces of the Community of Nations, though his eyesight was by then poor. During his retirement, he had lectured at universities across America, Europe and Asia. He was survived by his son, Malcolm Stratton, a physician at Berkeley; two daughters: Elenore, divorced and then married to Robert Fliess of New York, and Florence, married to Albert R. Reinke of Berkeley; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. ## Personal life Stratton had several hobbies, brick-laying the most important one. He built the brick walls and paths in the garden of his house, a house he himself helped design. His daughter, Elenore, would recall decades later living in the house, with a view of the San Francisco bay and the Golden Gate on one side and the Marin county hills beyond. Annual camping in summer in the Sierras was another pastime, and he carried his love of books over there as well, writing in the shade of a tree in the mornings. Elenore also recalled his night-time reading of Homer to his children, mixing with fascinating guests for weekend suppers prepared by her mother, and the family camping out with Latin professor "Uncle" Leon Richardson. ## Work Stratton began his career working in a philosophy department, teaching philosophy courses, but branched into experimentation soon after. He tackled problems of sociology and international relations later in his career. ### Wundt's lab and the inverted-glasses experiments Stratton went on to become a first-generation experimentalist in psychology. Wundt's lab in Leipzig, with experimental programs bringing together the fields of evolutionary biology, sensory physiology and nervous-system studies, was a part of the career of most of the first generation. It was the exposure there, added to the graduate work at Yale, that influenced Stratton into becoming a psychologist. It was there that he started his binocular vision experiments as well. In these experiments, he found himself adapting to the new perception of the environment over a few days, after inverting the images his eyes saw on a regular basis. For this, he wore a set of upside down goggles, glasses inverting images both upside-down and left-right. Stratton wore these glasses over his right eye and covered the left with a patch during the day, and slept blindfolded at night. Initial movement was clumsy, but adjusting to the new environment took only a few days. Stratton tried variations of the experiment over the next few years. First he wore the glasses for eight days, back at Berkeley. The first day he was nauseated and the inverted landscape felt unreal, but by the second day just his own body position seemed strange, and by day seven, things felt normal. A sense of strangeness returned when the glasses were taken out, though the world looked straight side up; he found himself reaching out with the right hand when he should have used the left, and the other way around. Then he tried the experiment outdoors. He also tried another experiment disrupting the mental link between touch and sight. There he wore a set of mirrors attached to a harness as shown in the figure allowing, and forcing, him to see his body from above. He found the senses adapted in a similar way over three days. His interpretation was that we build up an association between sight and touch by associational learning over a period of time. During certain periods, the disconnect between vision and touch made him feel as if his body was not where his touch and proprioceptive feeling told him it was. This out-of-body experience, caused by an altered but normal sensory perception, vanished when he attended to the issue critically, focusing on the disconnect. ### Berkeley psychology department Back at Berkeley from Johns Hopkins, Stratton stayed in the philosophy department as its second faculty member and first psychology specialist until the psychology department broke off in 1922. The new department started with four people: Stratton as chair; Edward Chace Tolman, with a Harvard degree, and an initiator of rodent experiments soiling the rooms of the philosophy department and hastening the split of the psychology division; Brown, Stratton's earlier student and Berkeley faculty member from 1908 onward; and Olga Bridgman, the first Berkeley psychology PhD awardee, albeit from the philosophy department. Before the split Stratton had set up Berkeley's first psychology lab in the philosophy department and taught psychology courses with Brown. The courses included sensation, perception, emotion, memory, and applications of psychology to professions such as law, medicine, schooling and clerical work by priests. Stratton continued his experiments on perception, branching into studies on pseudoscopic vision, stereoscopic acuity, eye movements, symmetry and visual illusions, how people perceive depth seeing surroundings either one-eyed or two-eyed, acuity and limits of peripheral vision, apparent motion, afterimages impressed on the eye when a person stares at an object for long and then looks away, and problems with sight in half the visual field (hemianopsia). He both reviewed earlier studies on motion and conducted two of his own, concluding perceiving movement was more than the sum of seeing successive sequential images. He also surveyed and reported in reviews in the Psychological Bulletin experiments at various labs, including those in Europe, on matters related to sensation and perception. - Philosophical Union: "The import of psychological experiments" (series), 1899–1900 - Phi Beta Kappa annual address: "The fighting instinct", May 11, 1909 - Philosophical Union: "The philosophy and the world of ideals: Aesthetics", April 1, 1910 - Philosophical Union: "The psychology of mysticism", February 25, 1916 - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Lectures: "The psychology of the war spirit" series, 1915 UC summer session - June 21: "The external occasions of fighting" - June 23: "The inner sources of combativeness" - June 25: "The psychic condition of hostility" - July 2: "Fighting among savages" - July 7: "Psychology of the war spirit: Significant changes among leading people" - July 9: "Psychology of the war spirit: The present quality of warfare" - July 12: "Warfare and the great interests: Commerce and science" - July 14: "Warfare and the great interests: Morality" - July 16: "Warfare and the great interests" - July 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 30: "Methods of control in war" - Yale Divinity School, New Haven: "Anger in morals and religion" (series of 4), May 1920 - Philosophical Union: 1921 - Jan 28: "Being mutually angry" - Feb 11: "Experiments on the mind: Their character and value" - Feb 18: "The subconscious and its importance" - Feb 25: "The training of the will" - Mar 4: "Where has psychology left religion" - Mar 11: "The teachings of morals and religion" - International Relations Lectures: "The orient and the armament conference", November 4, 1921 ### Philosophical and educational psychology and sociology Stratton was exposed to multiple influences through his life. As an undergraduate student of Howison, he learned about philosophy and religion. At Yale and later at Wundt's lab, he switched to experimental psychology and studied perception, memory and emotion. His exposure to World War I, serving in the Army then, focused his mind on issues of war and peace and international relations. Stratton's later work reflected these elements of his experience. He was also a scholar of the classics and translated some Greek philosophers. Stratton saw humans not as machines to be analyzed mechanistically, but also as seating will, emotion and drives, all of which had to analyzed as scientifically as the traditional psychological concepts of sensation, perception and memory. He also believed in a supreme actuality behind the world registered by our senses. This was the theme of his last published book, Man-Creator or Destroyer, completed in 1952 when he was eighty-seven years old. His book Developing Mental Power was a foray into educational psychology, addressing the question of general versus specific training in terms teachers could understand and use. Stratton aimed at this goal via a simple and generally applicable look at the basic workings of mental life. John F. Dashiell, writing in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, found this a failure. Dashiell saw the path from the psychological concepts—emotion, intelligence, and will—to teaching methodology, not clearly described in the book. Stratton also applied psychological concepts to figure out how to avert war. He was optimistic it was possible to harness the creative and destructive facets of individuals to get nations to coexist peacefully. He saw nations as consisting of ethnicities and races which had to coexist in harmony. In line with the prevailing view in his field, he did not see the races as inherently equally intelligent. ### Psychology of religion and emotions Stratton also contributed to the psychological study of religion. Along with other founders of the psychology of religion, he saw religion as including both personal faith and historical traditions. He used religious texts as supporting data. In The Psychology of the Religious Life he explored the epics and sacred texts of a large set of ethnicities to understand the traditions and rituals symbolizing the concrete parts of faiths to understand the goals and concept of religion as a whole. His psychology sought to explain how our need to grasp, accept and live with conceptual opposites such as the sublime and the devilish, the humble and the proud, and the docile and the energetic, led us in the direction of religion. He also tied human emotions, especially anger and pugnacity, to religious faith. To understand the linkage, Stratton collected data on religious writings and the rites and traditions of civilizations then considered not as advanced. In Anger: Its Religious and Moral Significance he listed exhaustively and studied the major religions of the world and classified them into three categories. The combative religions, such as Islam, per him, glorified anger, while those such as Buddhism were "unangry". Christianity he saw as an example of an anger-supported-love based religion. He concluded Western civilization was trending toward denying rage as good and accepting love and goodwill as desirable, but cautioned anger was at times needed to fight evil. As a professor at Berkeley, Stratton visited Philippines, China, Japan, and Hawaii, coordinating with the University of the Philippines to study the psychology of both races and oriental religions. He also explored anger and emotions in animals. He was one of the scientists who were invited to attend, and confirmed attendance, at a conference to discuss human emotions and feelings. The conference, scheduled for October 21–23, 1927, at Wittenberg College was to focus on the experimental psychology of religion. Stratton articulated his own beliefs about religion as well. He did not subscribe to the view religious feeling was primarily a social need, believing it to be a need for seeing a cause and logic to the world along with a harmony to things. A believer in dualism, he held the theory of a separate biological psyche and something beyond it. To him the most important aspects of the psyche lay beyond objective science, at least in his time. He sought to explore those boundaries where the methods of science had to stop and declare what was beyond as unknown, limited by the tools of the times. In The Psychology of the Religious Life he laid out his definition of religion as an appreciative feeling toward an unseen entity marked the best or the greatest. Stratton suggested music had healing powers. In an address on the "Nature and training of the emotions" delivered to a group of nurses at the Baltimore hospitals, he predicted music would be used to treat the sick in the future, and held that nurses had to know how to sing to patients under their care. ## Books Stratton wrote eight books, and contributed to collections honoring his mentors, writing an obituary on Wundt and a biography of Howison. His PhD thesis, Über die Wahrnehmung von Druckänderungen bei verschiedenen Geschwindigkeiten, was in German and published in Leipzig in Wundt's Philosophische Studien, XII Band, IV Heft. His first book. Experimental Psychology and its Bearing upon Culture covered the scope and practice of experimental psychology, and later books turned more toward sociology and international relations. ### Experimental Psychology and its Bearing upon Culture Stratton wrote Experimental Psychology and its Bearing upon Culture to explain both typical psychological experiment methodology and how the results obtained answered philosophical problems. The book covered experimental results in psychology and how they influenced overall social behavior and the everyday cultural life of people. It did so by looking at the history of experimental psychology, and then surveying experimental methods covering both their applications and limits. Stratton pointed out how psychological experiments differed from the ones in physiology. The survey of experiments also included studies on mental perception, including among the blind. Stratton noted that the blind did have a sense of space. He also described how measurements of mental phenomena were both possible and being done in practice, though he did believe the results had to be interpreted on a psychic scale different from the usual physical ones used for measures such as lengths and weights. He rejected the argument the mind was unitary and could not be studied by splitting it into parts, by drawing on the analogy of studying a tree by looking at its constituent parts, themselves not functionally trees. He presumed sensations were akin to trees in how they could be split up into parts. The book had chapters on memory, imitation and suggestion, perceptual illusions, and esthetics. In these he refuted the idea that experience was just the external environment acting on and molding a mind working as a passive recipient. Stratton saw the sensation of time as being multidimensional, in analogy with perception of space. That we could simultaneously hear separately, without synthesizing, multiple mixed tones meant our experiences did not necessarily come in single file temporally. To Stratton this meant time had multiple dimensions, since simultaneous events could not be distinguished on the one past-present-future dimension of time alone. He did not address how the other dimensions could be in temporal-space if the events were indistinguishable temporally to begin with. He also analyzed poetic measure as mathematically connected to the waxing and waning span of attention, tying the arts to psychology. This last was rebutted by Charles Samuel Myers, writing in Nature, who saw poetry and its rhythm as too complex a subject to be reduced to the arithmetic of attention spans. In later chapters, Stratton covered the topics of the unconscious mind, the mind–body connection, and spiritual aspects of psychology. He attacked the standard dualist view of a separate homuncular entity driving the biology of mental processes. Still he concluded, from observations that people were not always aware of how their own perception differed from sensory reality, that a diluted form of the dualist theory was tenable. In his final chapter, the author posited experimental psychology neither needed nor ruled out the idea of a soul. Myers critiqued the book's treatment of illusions, memory, and relationship of psychology to body and soul, as not addressing the broader aspect of "culture". Myers saw the work as appealing more to the educated reader than the specialist, the many deviations from experimental topics into subjective arenas a distraction. ### Social Psychology for International Conduct Stratton wrote Social Psychology for International Conduct for social science teachers who wanted to use psychology to analyze international affairs. The book's first part evaluated races. Stratton concluded the Caucasoid and Mongoloid races were innately more intelligent enabling them to build strong cultures. He also stated the prejudice of other people was from the social and political advantages it brought. Stratton saw nations as made up of individuals and possessing a national character similar to what individuals had. Reviewing the book in the American Journal of Sociology, Ellsworth Faris objected to the author concluding the Northern and Central Europeans were more intelligent than Southern and Eastern Europeans, noting intelligence measures correlated also with length of stay in America. In the chapter on "Taking national profits out of war" the author hypothesized nations often went to war because it paid, bringing both national rewards and helping achieve policy goals. He suggested nations be blocked from enjoying any fruits of war, and instead be penalized for waging it. In a review in the Political Science Quarterly, Walter Sandelius concluded enforcing such a position meant an international enforcement force with judicial and police powers, the formation of which would need an appeal to both reason and desire on the part of the international community. Sandelius also saw Stratton as pushing more for re-educating the mind rather than training people to control emotions and passions in the efforts to avert war. ### What Starts Wars: Intentional Delusions In What Starts Wars: Intentional Delusions Stratton presented nations, themselves collections of people, as triggering war from several delusions. Three of those delusions held by citizens were that their own country was a paragon of peace, that its arms were only to defend the land, and that when it fought, it fought only for what was right. Blaming the enemy rounded out this list justifying war. Stratton believed and stated people could be freed of these delusions and that there was no will to war integral to human nature. He saw both the need for and the ways to eliminate war in individuals and in their ways, and not in abstract or innate traits. Florence Finch Kelly, reviewing the book for the New York Times, saw Stratton's placing of both the blame and the responsibility on persons, of identifying the roots of war in the psyches of the men and women his readers, as an action likely to discomfit those readers. ## Legacy Stratton became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1928, president of the American Psychological Association in 1908, chair of its division on anthropology and psychology in 1925-–1926, was a member of its National Research Council, an honorary member of the National Institute of Psychology, and a corresponding member of the American Institute of Czechoslovakia. He published eight full-length books, and 125 papers. He was an honorary lecturer at Yale, delivering the Nathaniel W. Taylor Lectures at the Yale School of Religion beginning April 19, 1920. Stratton's earlier work on sensation and perception and the book based on them stayed influential among researchers in psychology. Many of his other books and articles which dealt with philosophical and sociological issues either beyond, or treated via perspectives beyond, exact and objective investigation had lost appeal to psychology researchers by the time of his death. Of the various fields Stratton studied, it is his experimentation in binocular vision and perception that has had the most impact. Whether during the inversion experiment people really see an upside-down world as being normal, or whether they adapt to it only behaviorally, has been debated for a long time. Neuroimaging studies done a century after the original experiment have shown no difference in early levels of visual processing, which indicates the perceptual world stays inverted at that level of cognition. The research has been put to use in both practical and esthetic ways. The mirror-experiment experience of disconnect between vision and feeling has parallels in, and applications for researching, phantom limb syndrome. The art exhibit Upside-down Mushroom Room by Belgian artist Carsten Höller, a tunnel installation with an inverted environment, builds on Stratton's work. Stratton provided encouragement to both his students and his children. Early at Berkeley, he encouraged young students to pursue graduate study in psychology, writing personal letters to students who scored an A grade in his introductory psychology course. The stamp of Stratton's legacy can be seen in his doctoral students. Knight Dunlap was one of his earliest students at Berkeley and he became the twenty-second president of the American Psychological Association. Dunlap was one of those who saw Stratton as a guide and mentor. Another of his early students, Warner Brown, would be the chair of the psychology department at Berkeley for sixteen years. A third, Olga Bridgman, would serve on the faculty at University of California—Berkeley and San Francisco—for over forty years. ## Committees - Standing Committees of the Academic Council for Scholarships, University of California, 1902–1903 - Standing Committees of the Graduate Council: University of California, 1902–1903 - One of the first group of members of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology (SSFY), 1904 - President of the American Psychological Association, 1908 - Committee of Arrangements for Administering the Beale Prizes instituted by Regent Truxtun Beale, 1911 - Chair of Board of Research, University of California, 1920–1921 - Chair of the University of California Meeting, October 7, 1921 - Standing Committee of the Academic Senate, Administrative Committee on International Relations, 1921–1922 - Elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, 1928. Stratton served in various capacities with the NAS: - Member of the National Research Council, 1925–1926 - Chair of Division of Anthropology and Psychology, National Research Council, 1926 - Member of the Board for administering the Rockefeller Foundation fellowships in the biological sciences, 19245–1926 - Representative on Editorial board of PNAS, 1926 - Advisory board of the Bureau of Public Personnel Administration of the Institute for Government Research, 1926 - Committee on Tactual Interpretation of Oral Speech and Vocal control by the Deaf, 1926 - Committee on National fellowships in Child Development, 1927 ## List of books ## See also - Neural adaptation - Peace movement ## Bibliography notes
30,874,883	Besarion Jughashvili	1,170,733,421	Father of Joseph Stalin	[ "1850s births", "1909 deaths", "19th-century farmers", "19th-century people from the Russian Empire", "20th-century Russian people", "20th-century deaths from tuberculosis", "Deaths from cirrhosis", "Deaths from pneumonia in Georgia (country)", "Disease-related deaths in Georgia (country)", "People from Kvemo Kartli", "People from Tiflis Governorate", "Shoemakers", "Stalin family", "Tuberculosis deaths in the Russian Empire" ]	Besarion Ivanes dze Jughashvili (c. 1850 – 25 August 1909) was the father of Joseph Stalin. Born into a peasant family of serfs in Didi Lilo in Georgia, he moved to Tbilisi at a young age to be a shoemaker, working in a factory. He was invited to set up his own shop in Gori, where he met and married Ekaterine Geladze, with whom he had three sons; only the youngest, Ioseb, lived. Once known as a "clever and proud" man, Jughashvili's shop failed and he developed a serious drinking problem, wherefore he left his family and moved back to Tbilisi in 1884, working in a factory again. He had little contact with either his wife or son after that point, and little is known of his life from then on, except that he died in 1909 of cirrhosis. ## Family background and early life Little is known of the family of Besarion Jughashvili. His grandfather, Zaza Jughashvili (born c. 1780), was involved in the 1804 Mtiuleti rebellion against the Russian Empire, which had only annexed eastern Georgia (Kartli-Kakheti) in 1801. Zaza was possibly of Ossetian background, with historians Simon Sebag Montefiore and Ronald Grigor Suny both suggesting he came from the village of Geri, near modern South Ossetia, though this claim can not be proven. Zaza escaped the uprising and moved to Didi Lilo, a village about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) away from the capital, Tiflis (now Tbilisi). He worked as a serf for Prince Badur Machabeli, tending to his vineyards. There he had a son, Vano, who in turn had two sons: Giorgi, and Besarion, who was likely born around 1850. Vano died young, likely before he turned 50, while Giorgi worked as an innkeeper until he was killed by bandits. With no family left Jughashvili moved to Tiflis and worked in the G.G. Adelkhanov shoe factory. Though he had no formal education, Jughashvili was literate, unusual for Georgian workers at the time, and was multilingual: it is likely in Tiflis that he learned Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Russian, in addition to his native Georgian. Around 1870 he was invited to move to Gori, about 75 kilometres (47 mi) from Tiflis, and make shoes for the Russian soldiers garrisoned there. Gori was a small town at the time, with roughly 7000 residents; the majority were Armenian, with a large number of Georgians, as well as small numbers of Russians, Abkhaz, and Ossetians. It grew in importance in 1871 when a branch of the Transcaucasus Railway connected the town to Tiflis and Poti, a major port for oil export. ## Life in Gori Jughashvili set up a shop in the Russian Quarter of Gori, close to the barracks. In 1872 or 1874 he married Ekaterine (Keke) Geladze, a peasant girl who was probably 16. Keke, "an attractive freckled girl with auburn hair," was from the village of Gambareuli near Gori, and had moved to the town at a young age after her father died. They had three children, all boys, though the first two, Mikheil (born 14 February 1875) and Giorgi (born 24 December 1876), died aged two months and six months, respectively. Their third and final son, Ioseb, was born on 6 December 1878. Suny writes that after the death of Mikheil, Jughashvili started to drink heavily, which only increased after the death of Giorgi, and that the marriage began to deteriorate. Kotkin has also suggested that rumours of infidelity by Keke took a toll on him, especially after the birth of Ioseb, with several men suggested as his possible father. However, Kotkin concedes that "whether Keke was flirtatious, let alone promiscuous, is unclear," and that "reliable evidence about the possible liaisons of the future Stalin's mother is lacking," and argues that Jughashvili was probably the father. Jughashvili's shop was initially quite successful, employing up to ten people as well as apprentices, and the family initially enjoyed a rather high standard of living; a former apprentice would later note that he frequently saw butter in their home, which was an expensive delicacy for most Georgians (however Kotkin writes that the family lived more modestly, eating more traditional foods like lobio, lavash, and badrijani nigvzit). However, Jughashvili's drinking, exacerbated by a Georgian custom that business be paid in part with wine rather than money, had adverse effects on his business and home life. Isaac Deutscher felt that Jughashvili's inability to lift his status, "to be his own master," likely contributed to his drinking and frustrations. This idea is echoed by Robert Service, who noted that Jughashvili did not adapt to make European-style shoes that were popular at the time, and instead kept producing traditional Georgian styles, and suggests that the rumours about Keke were also a major influence on his drinking. Frequently drunk, Jughashvili became violent and routinely would beat Keke (who often hit back) and Iosef, and frequently fought in public, earning the nickname "Crazy Beso." Jughashvili's business suffered from his drinking, and he was eventually forced to give it up. The family also lost their home, and began staying with others for short periods, with nine different addresses over a ten-year period. ## Later life and death In 1884 Jughashvili left the family and moved to Tiflis. He returned to his old job at the Adelkhanov factory. He sent some money to Keke, as well as offers to reconcile, but all efforts to do so failed. Jughashvili was upset when he learned that Keke had enrolled Ioseb in school, instead hoping his son would follow his path and become a cobbler. This led to a major incident in January 1890. Ioseb had been struck by a phaeton, severely injuring him. Jughashvili returned to Gori and brought his son to a Tiflis hospital, and after Ioseb healed he was apprenticed to the Adelkhanov factory. Keke was adamantly opposed to the idea and used her connections with the church to bring Ioseb back to Gori, where he would continue his studies to become a priest. This marked the last real contact Jughasvhili had with his wife or son, as he cut off contact and financial support when Ioseb left Tiflis. Soon after Ioseb left Tiflis, Jughashvili seems to have left the Adelkhanov factory. He briefly made shoes in a stall at the Armenian bazaar in Tiflis, and his actions after that are uncertain. He did keep in contact with Ioseb, occasionally sending him hand-made shoes. Jughashvili also had one final role in Ioseb's life: in January 1900 Ioseb was arrested for the first time, on account of Jughashvili. When Jughashvili left Didi Lilo he was not removed from the village roles, and still owed taxes as a peasant from the region. It is not clear why Ioseb was arrested instead of his father, who still lived in Tiflis, but Kotkin suggests it was a police tactic to send a message to Ioseb, who had begun his revolutionary activities. In August 1909 Jughashvili went to the Mikhailovsky Hospital in Tiflis, suffering from tuberculosis, colitis and chronic pneumonia. He died on 12 August 1909, with the cause of death listed as cirrhosis of the liver. Only one person, a fellow cobbler, attended his funeral, and he was buried in an unmarked grave in Telavi. The location of his grave was unknown until 1972, when Kandid Charkviani, the former First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party, led efforts to find it and mark it, though it was not confirmed if Jughashvili's remains were still there. Charkviani had previously looked for photos of Jughashvili, at one point bringing several to Stalin to confirm their authenticity; after looking at them Stalin was unable to confirm if any were his father. There is only one photo purportedly of Jughasvhili, though its authenticity has never been confirmed.
838,263	Monolith Soft	1,173,902,134	Japanese video game developer	[ "2007 mergers and acquisitions", "Entertainment companies of Japan", "First-party video game developers", "Former Bandai Namco Holdings subsidiaries", "Japanese companies established in 1999", "Nintendo divisions and subsidiaries", "Software companies based in Tokyo", "Video game companies established in 1999", "Video game companies of Japan", "Video game development companies" ]	trading as Monolith Soft, is a Japanese video game development studio originally owned by Namco (later Bandai Namco) until being bought out by Nintendo in 2007, best known for the Xenoblade Chronicles series of games. The company was founded in 1999 by Tetsuya Takahashi with the support and cooperation of Masaya Nakamura, the founder of Namco. Their first project was the Xenosaga series, a spiritual successor to the Square-developed Xenogears. Multiple Square staff would join Takahashi at Monolith Soft including Hirohide Sugiura and Yasuyuki Honne. In addition to the Xenosaga series, Monolith Soft worked on other projects including Baten Kaitos and Namco × Capcom, the precursor to their later Project X Zone series, along with assisting on projects from other developers. While several of its games have released on the PlayStation 2, the majority of its games have released on Nintendo platforms following the acquisition. As of 2019, Monolith Soft operates in four locations in Japan. Its main building is in Meguro, Tokyo and the secondary Nakameguro GS and Osaki Studio similarly based in Tokyo produces the company's original video game properties; and a studio in Kyoto with mainly artists as its employees, which acts as an assisting developer for both Monolith Soft Tokyo and for some Nintendo internal franchises. According to an interview published on the website of the company in February 2022, Monolith Soft's Kyoto studio has over 30 employees, which would leave the Tokyo studios with roughly 230 staff in total. The design approaches of Monolith Soft have shifted over its lifetime, with early games such as Xenosaga and Baten Kaitos being distinguished by a narrative-heavy approach, while later games have focused more on gameplay. The company's stated goals are to create projects with wide creative freedom and to allow younger developers to contribute to these projects. The company is also notable for its focus on promoting a comfortable working environment with little to no overtime in contrast to the majority of other Japanese game developers, alongside collaborating with other studios and companies. ## History ### Origins Monolith Soft was founded by Tetsuya Takahashi, a developer who had previously worked at Nihon Falcom and later at Square, in which the latter was merged into Enix in 2003 to form Square Enix. While at Square, he and his wife Kaori Tanaka (also known as Soraya Saga) would contribute to the development of multiple games including entries in the Final Fantasy series. Following their work on Final Fantasy VI, Takahashi and Tanaka created a proposal for Final Fantasy VII; while deemed too dark for the Final Fantasy series, they were allowed to develop it as their own project titled Xenogears. Takahashi's ambition and drive prompted Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, then Executive Vice President at Square, to appoint him as director. Takahashi also wrote the script with Tanaka. Following the release of Xenogears, Takahashi became dissatisfied with Square's business approach at the time, which prioritized their major intellectual properties including Final Fantasy. This left Takahashi with no funding or creative room to develop further independent projects or continue his planned Xenogears series. In 1999, Takahashi talked with Hirohide Sugiura, who had likewise worked at Square and was beginning to feel frustrated due to a lack of creative freedom. After discussing the matter, the two decided to create their own company and pursue projects they wanted to create. When planning their new company, Takahashi and Sugiura decided that they needed a publisher with substantial market presence to help them rather than being an independent studio. Takahashi and Sugiura approached multiple companies for support, but most of the companies they contacted outright rejected their offer as they believed that Monolith Soft should be an independent company. However, Namco were interested in investing into Monolith Soft as a dedicated subsidiary, whilst handling logistics and marketing so that the core staff could focus on game development. An important supporter of Monolith Soft was Namco's founder Masaya Nakamura, who shared many of Takahashi and Sugiura's goals and ideals. Monolith Soft is noted as being one of a group of video game companies—alongside Sacnoth, Love-de-Lic and Mistwalker—founded by Square staff who had worked on notable games produced during the 1990s. The company was officially founded on 1 October 1999 by Takahashi, Sugiura, and Yasuyuki Honne, who had worked at Square on both the Chrono series and with Takahashi on Xenogears. The company's offices were originally based in Yokohama. ### 2000s #### Namco era Monolith Soft's first project was Xenosaga Episode I, a role-playing game (RPG) for the PlayStation 2. Xenosaga was a spiritual successor to Xenogears; development began in 2000 when enough staff had been gathered, lasting approximately two years. As with Xenogears, the game was scripted by Takahashi and Tanaka, who planned out the Xenosaga series as a hexalogy. In 2001, Namco producer Shinji Noguchi and Monolith Soft's Tadashi Nomura conceived a new IP for the GameCube unconnected to Xenosaga. Titled Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, development began six months after the concept was formed, with Honne acting as director. The game development staff of the company was now divided between the Xenosaga series and Baten Kaitos, the latter a project driven by the younger developers at Monolith Soft. Baten Kaitos was co-developed with tri-Crescendo, which came about due to both submitting designs to Namco, which suggested they work together on the project. In 2003, Honne was approached by then-CEO of Nintendo Satoru Iwata about developing a new entry in the Mother series for GameCube. Honne created a pitch themed around a "felt-style recreation of 80s America", but the idea was firmly rejected by series creator Shigesato Itoi. Following the release of the first Xenosaga game, Takahashi and Sugiura reassessed the internal structure of Monolith Soft, determining that the current lead developers were too old, clashing with their intended goals for the company to foster young talent. With this mindset, Takahashi stepped down from his lead role in the Xenosaga series. He continued to work for the company in a supervisory role by providing the series' scenario drafts, while younger staff continued the series development. This move also allowed Takahashi a greater degree of creative freedom in a number of projects as opposed to being tied to a single series. In May 2002, Monolith Soft moved from Yokohama to their current offices in Meguro, Tokyo. The next entry in the Xenosaga series, Xenosaga Episode II, began development under a new team following the release of Episode I. While developing Episode II, the staff shifted their focus from the main series to help tell the story through multiple media. Among these additional projects was Xenosaga: Pied Piper, a spin-off title for mobile devices co-developed with Tom Create and Namco Mobile. Pied Piper was Tanaka's last work on the Xenosaga series. Beginning in 2003, Monolith Soft also developed Namco × Capcom, a PlayStation 2 crossover game featuring characters from various Namco and Capcom video games. The idea was proposed by Monolith Soft, with development lasting two years. In 2006, Monolith Soft was involved in four released games; Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Xenosaga I & II, Xenosaga Episode III and Baten Kaitos Origins. Dirge of Cerberus was primarily developed by Square Enix with Monolith Soft providing development support. Xenosaga I & II was an expanded re-imagining of the first two games for the Nintendo DS, and is notable for being Monolith Soft's first title for handheld game consoles. The game was co-developed by Tom Create in collaboration with multiple staff who had worked on the anime adaptation for the first Xenosaga. Xenosaga Episode III began development in 2004. While Xenosaga was planned as a hexalogy, the new team decided to restructure the series as a trilogy. Episode III was the last planned entry in the series, with further games depending on its commercial success. The mixed commercial and critical performance of the Xenosaga series left Monolith Soft's development staff in a state of low morale. Baten Kaitos Origins, again co-developed with tri-Crescendo, was released late in the lifespan of the GameCube shortly before the release of Nintendo's new home console the Wii. A Baten Kaitos game for the DS was also in development at Monolith Soft, but Namco, which by this point had merged with Bandai to become Namco Bandai, cancelled the project. A third Baten Kaitos game was in early development for "a long time" according to Honne, but was cancelled due to unspecified circumstances. Future efforts with the series depended upon both fan demand and the cooperation of IP owners Namco. #### Nintendo era According to Sugiura, Monolith Soft's relations with Namco had undergone a negative change after Nakamura retired as head of Namco in 2002, three years before the merger with Bandai. The company underwent changes and Monolith Soft felt they were being given less creative freedom, and the newly-created Bandai Namco was less willing to take creative risks. The company then received consultation from Shinji Hatano, an executive director at Nintendo, who advised them to continue creating innovative projects. Spurred on by Hatano's supportive attitude, Monolith Soft decided to break away from Bandai Namco to become a Nintendo subsidiary; this provided Monolith Soft creative freedom in exchange for software development exclusivity for Nintendo platforms. Nintendo's purchasing of the majority of Monolith Soft's shares from Bandai Namco Holdings was publicly announced in April 2007. Nintendo became the majority shareholder of Monolith Soft with 80% of shares, while Bandai Namco retained 16% and remained as a development partner. Namco Bandai stated that the exchange of Monolith Soft shares would strengthen their relationship with Nintendo. The remaining shares were divided between Takahashi, Sugiura and Honne. By the beginning of 2012, Bandai Namco had sold its remaining 400 shares in Monolith Soft to Nintendo, getting Nintendo 97% of the shares. Nintendo's acquisition of Monolith Soft contrasted against the company's previous publicized approach of not taking part in mergers and acquisitions of other studios and companies. In a statement on the matter, Iwata said that the deal was initiated due to the positive relations between Sugiura and Nintendo, and the two companies' parallel design and development philosophies. Monolith Soft's first releases following its acquisition by Nintendo were Soma Bringer and Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier for the Nintendo DS and Disaster: Day of Crisis for the Wii, all released in 2008. Soma Bringer was the company's first portable title to be developed entirely in-house, it was designed as an experience driven by gameplay rather than narrative. Multiple returning staff from the Xenosaga series including Takahashi and Tanaka contributed to the game. Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier, a crossover RPG, was co-developed with Banpresto and featured cameo appearances from Monolith Soft's Xenosaga series. Disaster: Day of Crisis, Monolith Soft's first and to-date only non-RPG game, was intended as a showcase for the capabilities of the Wii. Due to quality concerns and Monolith Soft's unfamiliarity with the Wii hardware, it was delayed from its planned 2006 release by two years. Monolith Soft was also chosen to develop Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans due to their pedigree at developing RPGs. During this period they assisted in the development of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. From mid 2006, Takahashi was working on a separate project; struck by an idea of rival civilizations emerging on the frozen bodies of two warring gods, he and Honne constructed a model of the two gods to better visualize the idea. After bringing their idea to Nintendo producer Hitoshi Yamagami, the team began development in 2007. Takahashi later stated that the game's development acted as a means of boosting company morale after the failure of the Xenosaga series. The director, Koh Kojima, started his directorial debut with this game, having previously written the scenario for Baten Kaitos Origins. This game also saw a shift away from the narrative-heavy approach of Monolith Soft''s earlier work, which Takahashi stated had been called out as old-fashioned. In contrast to many earlier Monolith Soft projects, the game was designed with an international release in mind. The intended scale of the game caused problems, and Takahashi reluctantly went to Yamagami with a list of proposals to cut down the game to a suitable size as he was accustomed to doing for previous projects. Yamagami rejected all of Takahashi's suggestions, instead persuading Nintendo to keep supporting the project and allow the team to complete their work as envisioned. Originally titled Monado: Beginning of the World, Iwata had the title changed to honor Takahashi's previous work on Xenogears and the Xenosaga franchise. The new title was Xenoblade Chronicles. ### 2010s Xenoblade Chronicles released in 2010 in Japan, and after multiple delays, also released worldwide to unexpected critical and commercial success. Also released that year was Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier Exceed, a sequel to the original game co-developed with Banpresto that expanded upon the mechanics of the original and featured further Xenosaga cameos. In 2011, Monolith Soft founded a new studio in Kyoto, closer to Nintendo's home base so the two companies could better interact with each other. Despite some initial reservations, the staff quickly settled into their new offices and the studio became a lauded place of work. Rather than original projects, the Kyoto branch acts as a supplementary studio, providing support for Monolith Soft and on Nintendo's in-house projects. The Kyoto branch has provided support for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011), Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012), Pikmin 3 (2013), The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (2013), Splatoon, (2015), Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (2015)), Splatoon 2 (2017), and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020). The next game released from Monolith Soft, again in collaboration with Banpresto, was Project X Zone for the Nintendo 3DS. A successor to Namco × Capcom, the game received development support from and featured characters from franchises owned by Namco Bandai, Capcom and Sega. Following the release of Xenoblade Chronicles, Monolith Soft was also working on a follow-up titled Xenoblade Chronicles X for the Wii U. A spiritual successor to the first game, and the company's first high-definition video game title, Xenoblade Chronicles X shifted from a story-driven to an open world gameplay-driven structure. The incorporation of an extensive multiplayer element resulted in its release being delayed and the narrative being substantially altered. Monolith Soft also developed a sequel to Project X Zone, Project X Zone 2. In addition to changing the character roster selected from Sega, Capcom and Bandai Namco, the game introduced characters from the Nintendo franchise Fire Emblem in addition to characters from Xenoblade Chronicles. During the last development stages of Xenoblade Chronicles X, Monolith Soft began work on a new Xenoblade title for the Nintendo Switch. Titled Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the game returned to the story-driven structure of Xenoblade Chronicles while building upon the gameplay and technology of Xenoblade Chronicles X. One of the game's story prototypes was later turned into an expansion titled Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country, released in 2018. In addition to this, Monolith Soft also began development of a fantasy action game, hiring new staff for the project. The company opened new studios in Nakameguro and Iidabashi during 2017 and 2018. The 1st Production team, known for their work on the Xenoblade Chronicles series, started hiring staff for development of a new RPG project in October 2018. In March 2019, the 2nd Production team started hiring staff for a new project in The Legend of Zelda franchise. Between 2018 and 2019, the Iidabashi studio closed. In April 2019, in the wake of high revenue during the 2018–2019 fiscal period, the company opened a new studio in Ōsaki, Tokyo. ### 2020s In 2020 Monolith Soft released Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition for the Nintendo Switch, a remaster to the original title released in 2010. In 2022 Monolith Soft released Xenoblade Chronicles 3, another sequel to the Xenoblade Chronicles franchise following Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and the title ending the original trilogy of the series known as the "Klaus Saga". ## Development organization Monolith Soft currently has four different buildings in Japan dedicated to development, with three being located in Tokyo and one in Kyoto. The company has shared the organization of its divisions over the years, being organized as the following: - Monolith Soft Tokyo, 1st Production Team: Headed by Tetsuya Takahashi, this is the group responsible for the development of the Xenoblade Chronicles franchise and the games lead in development by Monolith Soft, being the largest team in the studio with over 140 staff and working on more than one project at the same time. - Monolith Soft Tokyo, 2nd Production Team: This group consists of the Monolith Soft staff in Tokyo that assisted on the development of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom as support studio, with around 50 employees working on Breath of the Wild and after hiring more staff over the years for the group, over 100 employees working on Tears of the Kingdom, in both cases supporting over 600 developers from the lead developer Nintendo EPD. Staff in this group previously worked on Xenoblade Chronicles, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and Xenoblade Chronicles X before the team was created to work as support for the Nintendo Switch mainline Zelda titles. The team also consists of newer staff that were recruited following the completion of Breath of the Wild, including artists, programmers, planners, designers, and project managers who began working in the company during the development of Tears of the Kingdom. - Monolith Soft Kyoto: Founded in 2011, Monolith Soft's Kyoto studio is a branch dedicated to support other titles, having no lead development roles since it has been established. It has assisted in projects worked on by the Tokyo studio like the Xenoblade Chronicles series, as well as Nintendo EPD projects the Tokyo studio wasn't involved with, such as Pikmin 3, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Splatoon series and recent entries in the Animal Crossing series. The staff at the Kyoto Studio is mainly focused in art, graphics and asset creation, having over 30 employees. ## Games ### Lead development This list is for games to which Monolith Soft contributed substantially, being either a major co-developer or the main developer. ### Support development This list is for titles where a studio of Monolith Soft acted in a lesser supporting role to the main developer. Refers to development organization for more information about the groups responsible for support development. ## Philosophy From the company's inception, Takahashi and Sugiura wanted to give creative freedom to pursue projects outside genre standards, in addition to hiring young staff. An early aim was to encourage younger developers to make their mark in the industry, which at the time was dominated by people in the late 30s and up. This outlook was the reason why younger staff were given charge of the Xenosaga series. Kojima stated that younger developers were preferred as they could bring interesting ideas to a project. According to Sugiura, a major element during the period in which Monolith Soft was under Namco was the focus on creativity. They wanted to balance this with the financial logistics of game design rather than having budgetary concerns stifle the creative flare of the staff. When talking about their Wii U projects in 2012, Monolith Soft staff member Michihiko Inaba stated that the company wanted to show that Japan could keep up with the Western market in terms of ambitious games that pushed the industry forward, comparing Monolith Soft to Bethesda Softworks in this desire. Speaking about the move from Namco Bandai to Nintendo, Sugiura commented that it was a challenge to only be developing games for a single group of consoles. Nintendo endorsed the challenge to Monolith Soft with incentives such as making a particular game within given hardware specifications, providing the company time and resources to accomplish that. Another factor that changed within Monolith Soft's development process was Nintendo's increased quality control, which would moot any project that did not have the desired quality for their systems. This sense of challenge was also echoed by Takahashi, who described both Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles X as being defined by self-imposed challenges to the development team when creating the environments on limited gaming hardware. Monolith Soft's scope and goals are often attributed to Takahashi's drive and ambition. While commonly associated with Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs), Monolith Soft focuses more on making role-playing games for a worldwide audience. Rather than a fixed development structure, Monolith Soft chooses to freely assign staff based on the direction a project takes, in addition to believing in collaborations with other companies on projects rather than developing entirely in-house. According to a 2012 interview with Takahashi, a prerequisite for working at Monolith Soft is a deep passion for games in addition to general knowledge outside the field. As opposed to many other Japanese and Western studios which have come under criticism for excessive overtime and poor working conditions, Monolith Soft strives for a friendly working environment and reasonable hours for its staff. Overtime is also negotiated with the management and receives payment, a rarity in Japanese business. Speaking in relation to this approach, Honne recited the company's motto; "Zero overtime and creative work allowed". Despite the gaming industry's workforce being dominated by men, Monolith Soft has a notably high proportion of female developers working at the company, with more than a quarter of its workforce in total.
7,514,390	Karthi	1,173,608,786	Indian actor (born 1977)	[ "1977 births", "Binghamton University alumni", "Filmfare Awards South winners", "Indian male film actors", "Living people", "Male actors from Chennai", "Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan schools alumni", "Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners", "Tamil male actors" ]	Karthik Sivakumar (born 25 May 1977), known as Karthi, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has won three Filmfare Awards South, an Edison Award, a SIIMA Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award. The younger brother of actor Suriya and son of actor Sivakumar, Karthi initially joined Mani Ratnam as an assistant director and made his acting debut with Paruthiveeran (2007), which earned him several accolades including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. He went on to star in hit films like Paiyaa (2010), Naan Mahaan Alla (2010), Siruthai (2011), Madras (2014), Thozha (2016), Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru (2017), Kadaikutty Singam (2018), Kaithi (2019), Thambi (2019), Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022), Sardar (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023), thus establishing himself as a commercially successful leading actor of Tamil cinema. Apart from his film career, Karthi has also been involved in social welfare activities, encouraging fans to do likewise through the "Makkal Nala Mandram", a social welfare club that he inaugurated. In 2011, he became a cause ambassador to promote awareness of lysosomal storage diseases. As of 2015, he is the treasurer of the Nadigar Sangam. ## Early life and family Karthi was born Karthik Sivakumar on 25 May 1977 in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India. He completed his elementary and secondary school education at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan and St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Chennai. He gained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Crescent Engineering College, Chennai. After graduation, he worked as an Engineering consultant in Chennai and considered higher studies abroad. "I was earning about ₹ 5000 per month and found the work monotonous. That was when I thought, I should do something more", he recalled in an interview. Karthi got a scholarship for his higher studies in the United States, and enrolled at Binghamton University, New York, where he earned his Master of Science in industrial engineering. While pursuing his master's degree, he also took elective courses on filmmaking. During his stay in New York, Karthi worked as a part-time graphic designer. He then decided to pursue a career in filmmaking; he attended two courses in basic filmmaking at State University of New York. He stated: "I always knew I wanted to be in films, but I did not know exactly what I wanted to do. I loved movies and watched a lot of them. But my father insisted that I get a good education before I joined the film industry". ## Acting career ### 2004–2007: Debut success When Karthi returned to Chennai, he met director Mani Ratnam and got a chance to work as an assistant director in Aayutha Ezhuthu, because he wanted to become a film director and preferred directing to acting, though he did appear as an extra in Aayutha Ezhuthu. He continued to receive acting offers and his father convinced him to take up acting, telling him " ... one can always direct films, but one will not get a chance to act once you grow older". He accepted his first acting assignment with Priyamani as female lead in April 2005. When director Ameer approached him to play the titular character in the film Paruthiveeran, he accepted the offer because the film was " ... so compelling". The filming started in July 2005 and experienced financial difficulties, and was almost abandoned by mid–2006. It was released in January 2007, to critical acclaim and became commercially successful. Critics unanimously praised Karthi's portrayal of a careless village ruffian. Behindwoods said: "He has done away with every trace of sophistication in his body language and even handles the sickle with consummate ease. He looks every inch a hot blooded youngster from some rural part of Tamil Nadu [and] appears seasoned in the romantic scenes ... Uninformed people might not believe that this is the young man's big screen debut. Look out for this guy ... ". Sify said: "It's hard to believe that it is Karthi's debut film as he is just spectacular. His expressions, anger, laughter and anguish are all so realistic that you can feel the fire in him." Rediff called his performance "excellent", and " ... one of the top performances of 2007". Karthi received several accolades for his performance, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Tamil. ### 2008–2011: Break after Paruthiveeran In October 2006, Karthi signed his second project under Selvaraghavan's direction, Idhu Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam, which was supposed to be a romance film, featuring Sandhya as the female lead. Karthi's character was a " ... sophisticated upmarket stylish guy ... ". Selvaraghavan abandoned that project and in July 2007, he announced the production of an action-adventure film titled Aayirathil Oruvan, with Karthi in the lead role. Filming began later that year and was expected to be completed by February 2008. The producers planned to release it in mid-2008, but production was delayed and filming continued until early 2009. He had agreed to play the lead character in Linguswamy's next film Paiyaa, in September 2007. Because of the slow progress of Aayirathil Oruvan, Paiyaa was postponed several times. He later said that he became anxious because he received several film offers, but could not work on them because he needed to maintain the continuity of his looks. During the filming of Aayirathil Oruvan, producer R.Ravindran complained that Karthi was trying to change his look and move on to Paiyaa before finishing his commitments. Aayirathil Oruvan was released in early 2010. Karthi's portrayal of a chief coolie was often compared to that in his debut film. Sify called Karthi's performance " ... a scream.", and said, "Right from his introduction scene till the end, he is lovable and provides humour.", and that he had " ... made a sensational comeback ... ". In April 2010, Linguswamy's Paiyaa released. A romantic road-trip film, featuring an album by Yuvan Shankar Raja, it was very successful. For the first time, he enacted a character that lives in an urban area. He said that he accepted the film because he desperately wanted to play a cool dude on screen. Karthi's performances in Aayirathil Oruvan and Paiyaa earned him further nominations at the 58th Filmfare Awards South in the Best Actor category. Both films were dubbed into Telugu as Yuganiki Okkadu and Aawara, respectively, and were successful. Karthi's third film in 2010 was Suseenthiran's action thriller Naan Mahaan Alla, in which he played a middle class youth from Chennai whose life is disrupted when his father is targeted by a gang of killers. It received good reviews, was very popular, and Karthi's performances was praised by critics. Sreedhar Pillai wrote for Sify: "[Karthi] nails the character to perfection" ... He is one good reason to see the film." Bhama Devi Ravi of Times of India wrote: " ... what a pleasure to see Karthi deliver his best performance to date ... ". Rediff wrote that "Karthi has simply had a ball ... " and "It's been a long time since you saw an actor who can be as convincing in sadness and rage, as in happiness." Naan Mahaan Alla was dubbed into Telugu and released as Naa Peru Shiva in 2011; it was very successful and earned Karthi some Telugu film offers. Karthi's next film was the action–masala Siruthai (2011), a remake of the 2006 Telugu film Vikramarkudu. He played two roles; a thief and a police officer. Karthi's performances received favourable reviews. Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote: "Karthi looks and performs better with every film. Siruthai exemplifies the observation". Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff wrote: "But the film belongs to Rocket Raja (Karthi), the sort of adorable ruffian Tamil cinema has been missing for a while. He picks pockets, slices off handbags, charms women and even bashes (!) them up without a single jolt to his conscience." Despite gaining mixed critical response, the film achieved financial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2011. In 2011, Siruthai became Karthi's biggest commercial success, cementing his position in the Tamil film industry. Sify said that Karthi had become " ... one of the hottest stars in Kollywood". He made a special appearance in a song in K. V. Anand's Ko (2011), alongside other prominent actors from Tamil cinema. ### 2012–present: Career slump and resurgence In May 2011, Karthi began working in the political comedy film Saguni, directed by Shankar Dayal and featuring him amongst an ensemble cast of supporting actors. He played Kamalakannan in the film, a villager who comes to the city to save his palatial house in Karaikudi from being destroyed for a politician's personal gain and unknowingly transforms to become a kingmaker in Tamil Nadu politics. The film opened to mixed reviews from critics, and became a box office failure. Karthi dubbed for himself for the Telugu version of Saguni (2012) and his since dubbed for the Telugu dubbed versions of all of his films. He later appeared in the 2013 Pongal release Alex Pandian, opposite Anushka Shetty, which also opened to negative critical response upon release. Karthi's next release was Rajesh M's All in All Azhagu Raja, which featured him opposite Kajal Aggarwal and Santhanam. The film was released on Diwali 2013, and received mostly negative reviews from critics, with Behindwoods saying: "Though the laughs are spread across a few moments, when All in All Azhagu Raja is pitted against Rajesh's other wholesome "laughathons" such as Oru Kal Oru Kannadi and Boss Engira Bhaskaran, it falls way short" and Sify saying "The trouble with All in All Azhagu Raja is that it lacks basic story line and took the audiences for granted. The film has no real script to speak of, at best a skeletal plot." His next film was Venkat Prabhu's Biriyani, which was released in December 2013, opening to positive reviews and became a box office success. He also sang the song "Mississippi" under Yuvan Shankar Raja's direction. In 2014, Karthi appeared in Pa. Ranjith's Madras, a critical and commercial success. His next release was the 2015 action drama Komban. His first release in 2016 was the Telugu-Tamil bilingual film Oopiri / Thozha. The film received positive reviews. Karthi's performance was praised, with Baradwaj Rangan of The Hindu stating (in his review of the Tamil version Thozha), "At a time every leading man (including Karthi) seems to be participating in a game-show titled Who Wants To Be The Next Rajinikanth?, here's a simple 'buddy movie' (in the Hollywoodian sense), with no punch dialogues, no action sequences, with just one duet (with Tamannaah, who plays Vikram's secretary; her romance with Seenu is strangely unresolved). We see, all the time, character actors striving to become larger-than-life heroes. For a change, here's a hero scaling himself down to play a life-sized character." Later that year, Karthi appeared in director Gokul's Kaashmora. Though the film received mixed reviews, his performance was praised. Karthi's Kaatru Veliyidai, was directed and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film met with mixed reviews and became a failure. Karthi's Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru was directed by H. Vinoth and produced by Dream Warrior Pictures. It received critical acclaim and Karthi received a Filmfare Award South for the Best Actor – Critics for his performance. The film became a huge success at the box office. Right after Theeran Karthi acted in Kadaikutty Singam portrayed the role of a farmer directed by Pandiraj which has been produced by this brother Suriya which has gained the highest footfalls in the year 2018 in Tamil Nadu. His next film was Dev, produced by Lakshman Kumar, under Prince Pictures, directed by debutante director, Rajath Ravishankar, music composed by Harris Jayaraj, and cinematography by R. Velraj. Upon release, it received negative reviews from both the critics and audience, alike. It was a huge commercial failure. His next release in the same year, Kaithi, was a blockbuster hit and collected more than ₹100 crores at the box office. It became the highest-grossing film of his career. He was next seen in Sulthan, directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan, of Remo fame. It starred Rashmika Mandanna alongside him. It opened to mixed reviews from both the critics and audience, alike. It became a decent box-office success. Next, he was seen in the rural family drama, Viruman, directed by M. Muthaiah, his second collaboration with him after Komban. It too turned out to became commercially successful. Post Viruman, he was seen in the magnum opuses, Ponniyin Selvan: I and Ponniyin Selvan: II, directed by Mani Ratnam. He essayed Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan in the films, in which his performances received several accolades. In between the two films, he also played a dual role, as a father and son in Sardar, which released in 2022. It opened to generally positive reviews from both the critics and audience, alike. It was a huge commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film of his career (solo). ## Personal life Karthi is the second son of actor Sivakumar and his wife Lakshmi. He has two siblings; an elder brother, Suriya, who was already an established actor at the time of Karthi's film debut, and a younger sister, Brindha, who is a singer in Tamil cinema. Tamil film actress Jyothika is Karthi's sister-in-law. On 3 July 2011, Karthi married Ranjani Chinnasamy, who graduated with a master's degree in English literature from Stella Maris College, Chennai. They were engaged on 29 April 2011 at Ranjani's native village, Goundampalayam in Erode district, and the wedding was held in a traditional Kongu culture at the CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex in Coimbatore. The wedding was arranged by the elders of the family. They have two children, a daughter and a son. ## Other work Karthi has been involved in several charities and social service activities. On his 31st birthday, he inaugurated the Makkal Nala Mandram, in order to encourage his fans to become involved in welfare activities. During the event, Karthi donated blood, donated bicycles to handicapped people, sewing machines to women and schoolbags to children. He presented a cheque of ₹ 50,000 to YRG Care Centre, which helps AIDS affected children. In 2011, Karthi became a cause ambassador for promoting awareness of lysosomal storage disease. He had also adopted a white tiger cub at Vandalur Zoo and contributed ₹ 72,000 to protect and preserve the animal. On his birthdays, Karthi visits orphanages and donates funds to them. He told Indiaglitz; "When I see people in need, I make sure I go and help. If I am going on birthdays to reach out to kids in orphanages, it is for my own satisfaction. I feel happier to be with them and it's nice to make them smile on that particular day." In September 2010, Karthi signed a contract with Bharti Airtel to become its brand ambassador in South India and appear in its "Indraikku enna plan" advertising campaign. He has also appeared in advertisements for Bru Instant Coffee along with Kajal Aggarwal, who had earlier acted opposite him in Naan Mahaan Alla and All in All Azhagu Raja. In 2015, Karthi joined fellow actors Vishal, Nassar, Karunas and Ponvannan to campaign against the concurrent office bearers of the Nadigar Sangam, led by R. Sarathkumar and Radha Ravi. He was successful in the election, becoming the association's treasurer. After starring in Kaatru Veliyidai, he expressed his interest in learning to fly. ## Filmography ### Films \*All films are Tamil unless otherwise noted. ## Discography
7,236	Constantine the Great	1,173,223,183	Roman emperor from 306 to 337	[ "272 births", "337 deaths", "3rd-century births", "4th-century Christian saints", "4th-century Roman consuls", "4th-century Roman emperors", "Ancient Roman people of Greek descent", "Ancient Romans in Britain", "Angelic visionaries", "Burials at the Church of the Holy Apostles", "Byzantine saints", "Christian royal saints", "City founders", "Constantine the Great", "Constantinian dynasty", "Converts to Christianity from pagan religions", "Deified Roman emperors", "Filicides", "Flavii", "Gothicus Maximus", "Illyrian emperors", "Illyrian people", "Military saints", "People from Niš", "Sons of Roman emperors", "Tetrarchy", "Valerii" ]	Constantine I (27 February c. 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337. He was the first emperor to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea (now Niš, Serbia), he was the son of Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer of Illyrian origin who had been one of the four rulers of the Tetrarchy. His mother, Helena, was a Greek woman of low birth and a Christian. Later canonized as a saint, she is traditionally attributed with the conversion of her son. Constantine served with distinction under the Roman emperors Diocletian and Galerius. He began his career by campaigning in the eastern provinces (against the Persians) before being recalled in the west (in AD 305) to fight alongside his father in the province of Britannia. After his father's death in 306, Constantine was acclaimed as augustus (emperor) by his army at Eboracum (York, England). He eventually emerged victorious in the civil wars against emperors Maxentius and Licinius to become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire by 324. Upon his ascension, Constantine enacted numerous reforms to strengthen the empire. He restructured the government, separating civil and military authorities. To combat inflation, he introduced the solidus, a new gold coin that became the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years. The Roman army was reorganised to consist of mobile units (comitatenses) and garrison troops (limitanei) which were capable of countering internal threats and barbarian invasions. Constantine pursued successful campaigns against the tribes on the Roman frontiers—such as the Franks, the Alemanni, the Goths, and the Sarmatians—and resettled territories abandoned by his predecessors during the Crisis of the Third Century with citizens of Roman culture. Although Constantine lived much of his life as a pagan and later as a catechumen, he began to favour Christianity beginning in 312, finally becoming a Christian and being baptized by either Eusebius of Nicomedia, an Arian bishop, or by Pope Sylvester I, which is maintained by the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church. He played an influential role in the proclamation of the Edict of Milan in 313, which declared tolerance for Christianity in the Roman Empire. He convoked the First Council of Nicaea in 325 which produced the statement of Christian belief known as the Nicene Creed. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built on his orders at the purported site of Jesus' tomb in Jerusalem and was deemed the holiest place in all of Christendom. The papal claim to temporal power in the High Middle Ages was based on the fabricated Donation of Constantine. He has historically been referred to as the "First Christian Emperor" and he did favour the Christian Church. While some modern scholars debate his beliefs and even his comprehension of Christianity, he is venerated as a saint in Eastern Christianity, and he did much for pushing Christianity towards the mainstream of Roman culture. The age of Constantine marked a distinct epoch in the history of the Roman Empire and a pivotal moment in the transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. He built a new imperial residence at the city of Byzantium and renamed it New Rome, later adopting the name Constantinople after himself, where it was located in modern Istanbul. It subsequently became the capital of the empire for more than a thousand years, the later Eastern Roman Empire often being referred to in English as the Byzantine Empire, a term never used by the Empire, invented by German historian Hieronymus Wolf. His more immediate political legacy was that he replaced Diocletian's Tetrarchy with the de facto principle of dynastic succession by leaving the empire to his sons and other members of the Constantinian dynasty. His reputation flourished during the lifetime of his children and for centuries after his reign. The medieval church held him up as a paragon of virtue, while secular rulers invoked him as a prototype, a point of reference, and the symbol of imperial legitimacy and identity. Beginning with the Renaissance, there were more critical appraisals of his reign with the rediscovery of anti-Constantinian sources. Trends in modern and recent scholarship have attempted to balance the extremes of previous scholarship. ## Early life Constantine was born in Naissus (today Niš, Serbia), part of the Dardania province of Moesia on 27 February, c. AD 272. His father was Flavius Constantius an Illyrian who was born in the same region (then called Dacia Ripensis) and a native of the province of Moesia. His original full name, as well as that of his father, is not known. His praenomen is variously given as Lucius, Marcus and Gaius. Whatever the case, praenomina had already disappeared from most public records by this time. He also adopted the name "Valerius", the nomen of emperor Diocletian, following his father's ascension as caesar. Constantine probably spent little time with his father who was an officer in the Roman army, part of Emperor Aurelian's imperial bodyguard. Being described as a tolerant and politically skilled man, Constantius advanced through the ranks, earning the governorship of Dalmatia from Emperor Diocletian, another of Aurelian's companions from Illyricum, in 284 or 285. Constantine's mother was Helena, a Greek woman of low social standing from Helenopolis of Bithynia. It is uncertain whether she was legally married to Constantius or merely his concubine. His main language was Latin, and during his public speeches he needed Greek translators. In July 285, Diocletian declared Maximian, another colleague from Illyricum, his co-emperor. Each emperor would have his own court, his own military and administrative faculties, and each would rule with a separate praetorian prefect as chief lieutenant. Maximian ruled in the West, from his capitals at Mediolanum (Milan, Italy) or Augusta Treverorum (Trier, Germany), while Diocletian ruled in the East, from Nicomedia (İzmit, Turkey). The division was merely pragmatic: the empire was called "indivisible" in official panegyric, and both emperors could move freely throughout the empire. In 288, Maximian appointed Constantius to serve as his praetorian prefect in Gaul. Constantius left Helena to marry Maximian's stepdaughter Theodora in 288 or 289. Diocletian divided the empire again in 293, appointing two caesars to rule over further subdivisions of East and West. Each would be subordinate to his respective augustus but would act with supreme authority in his assigned lands. This system would later be called the Tetrarchy. Diocletian's first appointee for the office of Caesar was Constantius; his second was Galerius, a native of Felix Romuliana. According to Lactantius, Galerius was a brutal, animalistic man. Although he shared the paganism of Rome's aristocracy, he seemed to them an alien figure, a semi-barbarian. On 1 March, Constantius was promoted to the office of Caesar, and dispatched to Gaul to fight the rebels Carausius and Allectus. In spite of meritocratic overtones, the Tetrarchy retained vestiges of hereditary privilege, and Constantine became the prime candidate for future appointment as Caesar as soon as his father took the position. Constantine went to the court of Diocletian, where he lived as his father's heir presumptive. ### In the East Constantine received a formal education at Diocletian's court, where he learned Latin literature, Greek, and philosophy. The cultural environment in Nicomedia was open, fluid, and socially mobile; in it, Constantine could mix with intellectuals both pagan and Christian. He may have attended the lectures of Lactantius, a Christian scholar of Latin in the city. Because Diocletian did not completely trust Constantius—none of the Tetrarchs fully trusted their colleagues—Constantine was held as something of a hostage, a tool to ensure Constantius' best behavior. Constantine was nonetheless a prominent member of the court: he fought for Diocletian and Galerius in Asia and served in a variety of tribunates; he campaigned against barbarians on the Danube in 296 and fought the Persians under Diocletian in Syria in 297, as well as under Galerius in Mesopotamia in 298–299. By late 305, he had become a tribune of the first order, a tribunus ordinis primi. Constantine had returned to Nicomedia from the eastern front by the spring of 303, in time to witness the beginnings of Diocletian's "Great Persecution", the most severe persecution of Christians in Roman history. In late 302, Diocletian and Galerius sent a messenger to the oracle of Apollo at Didyma with an inquiry about Christians. Constantine could recall his presence at the palace when the messenger returned when Diocletian accepted his court's demands for universal persecution. On 23 February 303, Diocletian ordered the destruction of Nicomedia's new church, condemned its scriptures to the flames, and had its treasures seized. In the months that followed, churches and scriptures were destroyed, Christians were deprived of official ranks, and priests were imprisoned. It is unlikely that Constantine played any role in the persecution. In his later writings, he attempted to present himself as an opponent of Diocletian's "sanguinary edicts" against the "Worshippers of God", but nothing indicates that he opposed it effectively at the time. Although no contemporary Christian challenged Constantine for his inaction during the persecutions, it remained a political liability throughout his life. On 1 May 305, Diocletian, as a result of a debilitating sickness taken in the winter of 304–305, announced his resignation. In a parallel ceremony in Milan, Maximian did the same. Lactantius states that Galerius manipulated the weakened Diocletian into resigning and forced him to accept Galerius' allies in the imperial succession. According to Lactantius, the crowd listening to Diocletian's resignation speech believed, until the last moment, that Diocletian would choose Constantine and Maxentius (Maximian's son) as his successors. It was not to be: Constantius and Galerius were promoted to augusti, while Severus and Maximinus, Galerius' nephew, were appointed their caesars respectively. Constantine and Maxentius were ignored. Some of the ancient sources detail plots that Galerius made on Constantine's life in the months following Diocletian's abdication. They assert that Galerius assigned Constantine to lead an advance unit in a cavalry charge through a swamp on the middle Danube, made him enter into single combat with a lion, and attempted to kill him in hunts and wars. Constantine always emerged victorious: the lion emerged from the contest in a poorer condition than Constantine; Constantine returned to Nicomedia from the Danube with a Sarmatian captive to drop at Galerius' feet. It is uncertain how much these tales can be trusted. ### In the West Constantine recognized the implicit danger in remaining at Galerius' court, where he was held as a virtual hostage. His career depended on being rescued by his father in the West. Constantius was quick to intervene. In the late spring or early summer of 305, Constantius requested leave for his son to help him campaign in Britain. After a long evening of drinking, Galerius granted the request. Constantine's later propaganda describes how he fled the court in the night, before Galerius could change his mind. He rode from post-house to post-house at high speed, hamstringing every horse in his wake. By the time Galerius awoke the following morning, Constantine had fled too far to be caught. Constantine joined his father in Gaul, at Bononia (Boulogne) before the summer of 305. From Bononia, they crossed the English Channel to Britain and made their way to Eboracum (York), capital of the province of Britannia Secunda and home to a large military base. Constantine was able to spend a year in northern Britain at his father's side, campaigning against the Picts beyond Hadrian's Wall in the summer and autumn. Constantius' campaign, like that of Septimius Severus before it, probably advanced far into the north without achieving great success. Constantius had become severely sick over the course of his reign and died on 25 July 306 in Eboracum. Before dying, he declared his support for raising Constantine to the rank of full augustus. The Alamannic king Chrocus, a barbarian taken into service under Constantius, then proclaimed Constantine as augustus. The troops loyal to Constantius' memory followed him in acclamation. Gaul and Britain quickly accepted his rule; Hispania, which had been in his father's domain for less than a year, rejected it. Constantine sent Galerius an official notice of Constantius' death and his own acclamation. Along with the notice, he included a portrait of himself in the robes of an augustus. The portrait was wreathed in bay. He requested recognition as heir to his father's throne and passed off responsibility for his unlawful ascension on his army, claiming they had "forced it upon him". Galerius was put into a fury by the message; he almost set the portrait and messenger on fire. His advisers calmed him and argued that outright denial of Constantine's claims would mean certain war. Galerius was compelled to compromise: he granted Constantine the title "caesar" rather than "augustus" (the latter office went to Severus instead). Wishing to make it clear that he alone gave Constantine legitimacy, Galerius personally sent Constantine the emperor's traditional purple robes. Constantine accepted the decision, knowing that it would remove doubts as to his legitimacy. ## Early rule Constantine's share of the empire consisted of Britain, Gaul, and Spain, and he commanded one of the largest Roman armies which was stationed along the important Rhine frontier. He remained in Britain after his promotion to emperor, driving back the tribes of the Picts and securing his control in the northwestern dioceses. He completed the reconstruction of military bases begun under his father's rule, and he ordered the repair of the region's roadways. He then left for Augusta Treverorum (Trier) in Gaul, the Tetrarchic capital of the northwestern Roman Empire. The Franks learned of Constantine's acclamation and invaded Gaul across the lower Rhine over the winter of 306–307. He drove them back beyond the Rhine and captured kings Ascaric and Merogais; the kings and their soldiers were fed to the beasts of Trier's amphitheatre in the adventus (arrival) celebrations which followed. Constantine began a major expansion of Trier. He strengthened the circuit wall around the city with military towers and fortified gates, and he began building a palace complex in the northeastern part of the city. To the south of his palace, he ordered the construction of a large formal audience hall and a massive imperial bathhouse. He sponsored many building projects throughout Gaul during his tenure as emperor of the West, especially in Augustodunum (Autun) and Arelate (Arles). According to Lactantius, Constantine followed a tolerant policy towards Christianity, although he was not yet a Christian. He probably judged it a more sensible policy than open persecution and a way to distinguish himself from the "great persecutor" Galerius. He decreed a formal end to persecution and returned to Christians all that they had lost during them. Constantine was largely untried and had a hint of illegitimacy about him; he relied on his father's reputation in his early propaganda, which gave as much coverage to his father's deeds as to his. His military skill and building projects, however, soon gave the panegyrist the opportunity to comment favourably on the similarities between father and son, and Eusebius remarked that Constantine was a "renewal, as it were, in his own person, of his father's life and reign". Constantinian coinage, sculpture, and oratory also show a tendency for disdain towards the "barbarians" beyond the frontiers. He minted a coin issue after his victory over the Alemanni which depicts weeping and begging Alemannic tribesmen, "the Alemanni conquered" beneath the phrase "Romans' rejoicing". There was little sympathy for these enemies; as his panegyrist declared, "It is a stupid clemency that spares the conquered foe." ### Maxentius' rebellion Following Galerius' recognition of Constantine as caesar, Constantine's portrait was brought to Rome, as was customary. Maxentius mocked the portrait's subject as the son of a harlot and lamented his own powerlessness. Maxentius, envious of Constantine's authority, seized the title of emperor on 28 October 306. Galerius refused to recognize him but failed to unseat him. Galerius sent Severus against Maxentius, but during the campaign, Severus' armies, previously under command of Maxentius' father Maximian, defected, and Severus was seized and imprisoned. Maximian, brought out of retirement by his son's rebellion, left for Gaul to confer with Constantine in late 307. He offered to marry his daughter Fausta to Constantine and elevate him to augustan rank. In return, Constantine would reaffirm the old family alliance between Maximian and Constantius and offer support to Maxentius' cause in Italy. Constantine accepted and married Fausta in Trier in late summer 307. Constantine gave Maxentius his meagre support, offering Maxentius political recognition. Constantine remained aloof from the Italian conflict, however. Over the spring and summer of 307, he had left Gaul for Britain to avoid any involvement in the Italian turmoil; now, instead of giving Maxentius military aid, he sent his troops against Germanic tribes along the Rhine. In 308, he raided the territory of the Bructeri and made a bridge across the Rhine at Colonia Agrippinensium (Cologne). In 310, he marched to the northern Rhine and fought the Franks. When not campaigning, he toured his lands advertising his benevolence and supporting the economy and the arts. His refusal to participate in the war increased his popularity among his people and strengthened his power base in the West. Maximian returned to Rome in the winter of 307–308 but soon fell out with his son. In early 308, after a failed attempt to usurp Maxentius' title, Maximian returned to Constantine's court. On 11 November 308, Galerius called a general council at the military city of Carnuntum (Petronell-Carnuntum, Austria) to resolve the instability in the western provinces. In attendance were Diocletian, briefly returned from retirement, Galerius, and Maximian. Maximian was forced to abdicate again and Constantine was again demoted to caesar. Licinius, one of Galerius' old military companions, was appointed augustus in the western regions. The new system did not last long: Constantine refused to accept the demotion and continued to style himself as augustus on his coinage, even as other members of the Tetrarchy referred to him as a caesar on theirs. Maximinus was frustrated that he had been passed over for promotion while the newcomer Licinius had been raised to the office of augustus and demanded that Galerius promote him. Galerius offered to call both Maximinus and Constantine "sons of the augusti", but neither accepted the new title. By the spring of 310, Galerius was referring to both men as augusti. ### Maximian's rebellion In 310, a dispossessed Maximian rebelled against Constantine while Constantine was away campaigning against the Franks. Maximian had been sent south to Arles with a contingent of Constantine's army, in preparation for any attacks by Maxentius in southern Gaul. He announced that Constantine was dead and took up the imperial purple. In spite of a large donative pledge to any who would support him as emperor, most of Constantine's army remained loyal to their emperor, and Maximian was soon compelled to leave. When Constantine heard of the rebellion, he abandoned his campaign against the Franks and marched his army up the Rhine. At Cabillunum (Chalon-sur-Saône), he moved his troops onto waiting boats to row down the slow waters of the Saône to the quicker waters of the Rhone. He disembarked at Lugdunum (Lyon). Maximian fled to Massilia (Marseille), a town better able to withstand a long siege than Arles. It made little difference, however, as loyal citizens opened the rear gates to Constantine. Maximian was captured and reproved for his crimes. Constantine granted some clemency but strongly encouraged his suicide. In July 310, Maximian hanged himself. In spite of the earlier rupture in their relations, Maxentius was eager to present himself as his father's devoted son after his death. He began minting coins with his father's deified image, proclaiming his desire to avenge Maximian's death. Constantine initially presented the suicide as an unfortunate family tragedy. By 311, however, he was spreading another version. According to this, after Constantine had pardoned him, Maximian planned to murder Constantine in his sleep. Fausta learned of the plot and warned Constantine, who put a eunuch in his own place in bed. Maximian was apprehended when he killed the eunuch and was offered suicide, which he accepted. Along with using propaganda, Constantine instituted a damnatio memoriae on Maximian, destroying all inscriptions referring to him and eliminating any public work bearing his image. The death of Maximian required a shift in Constantine's public image. He could no longer rely on his connection to the elder Emperor Maximian and needed a new source of legitimacy. In a speech delivered in Gaul on 25 July 310, the anonymous orator reveals a previously unknown dynastic connection to Claudius II, a 3rd-century emperor famed for defeating the Goths and restoring order to the empire. Breaking away from tetrarchic models, the speech emphasizes Constantine's ancestral prerogative to rule, rather than principles of imperial equality. The new ideology expressed in the speech made Galerius and Maximian irrelevant to Constantine's right to rule. Indeed, the orator emphasizes ancestry to the exclusion of all other factors: "No chance agreement of men, nor some unexpected consequence of favour, made you emperor," the orator declares to Constantine. The oration also moves away from the religious ideology of the Tetrarchy, with its focus on twin dynasties of Jupiter and Hercules. Instead, the orator proclaims that Constantine experienced a divine vision of Apollo and Victory granting him laurel wreaths of health and a long reign. In the likeness of Apollo, Constantine recognized himself as the saving figure to whom would be granted "rule of the whole world", as the poet Virgil had once foretold. The oration's religious shift is paralleled by a similar shift in Constantine's coinage. In his early reign, the coinage of Constantine advertised Mars as his patron. From 310 on, Mars was replaced by Sol Invictus, a god conventionally identified with Apollo. There is little reason to believe that either the dynastic connection or the divine vision are anything other than fiction, but their proclamation strengthened Constantine's claims to legitimacy and increased his popularity among the citizens of Gaul. ## Civil wars ### War against Maxentius By the middle of 310, Galerius had become too ill to involve himself in imperial politics. His final act survives: a letter to provincials posted in Nicomedia on 30 April 311, proclaiming an end to the persecutions, and the resumption of religious toleration. Eusebius maintains "divine providence [...] took action against the perpetrator of these crimes" and gives a graphic account of Galerius' demise: "Without warning suppurative inflammation broke out round the middle of his genitals, then a deep-seated fistula ulcer; these ate their way incurably into his innermost bowels. From them came a teeming indescribable mass of worms, and a sickening smell was given off, for the whole of his hulking body, thanks to over eating, had been transformed even before his illness into a huge lump of flabby fat, which then decomposed and presented those who came near it with a revolting and horrifying sight." Galerius died soon after the edict's proclamation, destroying what little remained of the Tetrarchy. Maximinus mobilized against Licinius and seized Asia Minor. A hasty peace was signed on a boat in the middle of the Bosphorus. While Constantine toured Britain and Gaul, Maxentius prepared for war. He fortified northern Italy and strengthened his support in the Christian community by allowing it to elect Eusebius as bishop of Rome,. Maxentius' rule was nevertheless insecure. His early support dissolved in the wake of heightened tax rates and depressed trade; riots broke out in Rome and Carthage; and Domitius Alexander was able to briefly usurp his authority in Africa. By 312, he was a man barely tolerated, not one actively supported, even among Christian Italians. In the summer of 311, Maxentius mobilized against Constantine while Licinius was occupied with affairs in the East. He declared war on Constantine, vowing to avenge his father's "murder". To prevent Maxentius from forming an alliance against him with Licinius, Constantine forged his own alliance with Licinius over the winter of 311–312 and offered him his sister Constantia in marriage. Maximinus considered Constantine's arrangement with Licinius an affront to his authority. In response, he sent ambassadors to Rome, offering political recognition to Maxentius in exchange for a military support, which Maxentius accepted. According to Eusebius, inter-regional travel became impossible, and there was military buildup everywhere. There was "not a place where people were not expecting the onset of hostilities every day". Constantine's advisers and generals cautioned against preemptive attack on Maxentius; even his soothsayers recommended against it, stating that the sacrifices had produced unfavourable omens. Constantine, with a spirit that left a deep impression on his followers, inspiring some to believe that he had some form of supernatural guidance, ignored all these cautions. Early in the spring of 312, Constantine crossed the Cottian Alps with a quarter of his army, a force numbering about 40,000. The first town his army encountered was Segusium (Susa, Italy), a heavily fortified town that shut its gates to him. Constantine ordered his men to set fire to its gates and scale its walls. He took the town quickly. Constantine ordered his troops not to loot the town and advanced into northern Italy. At the approach to the west of the important city of Augusta Taurinorum (Turin, Italy), Constantine met a large force of heavily armed Maxentian cavalry. In the ensuing Battle of Turin Constantine's army encircled Maxentius' cavalry, flanked them with his own cavalry, and dismounted them with blows from his soldiers' iron-tipped clubs. Constantine's armies emerged victorious. Turin refused to give refuge to Maxentius' retreating forces, opening its gates to Constantine instead. Other cities of the north Italian plain sent Constantine embassies of congratulation for his victory. He moved on to Milan, where he was met with open gates and jubilant rejoicing. Constantine rested his army in Milan until mid-summer 312, when he moved on to Brixia (Brescia). Brescia's army was easily dispersed, and Constantine quickly advanced to Verona where a large Maxentian force was camped. Ruricius Pompeianus, general of the Veronese forces and Maxentius' praetorian prefect, was in a strong defensive position since the town was surrounded on three sides by the Adige. Constantine sent a small force north of the town in an attempt to cross the river unnoticed. Ruricius sent a large detachment to counter Constantine's expeditionary force but was defeated. Constantine's forces successfully surrounded the town and laid siege. Ruricius gave Constantine the slip and returned with a larger force to oppose Constantine. Constantine refused to let up on the siege and sent only a small force to oppose him. In the desperately fought encounter that followed, Ruricius was killed and his army destroyed. Verona surrendered soon afterwards, followed by Aquileia, Mutina (Modena), and Ravenna. The road to Rome was now wide open to Constantine. Maxentius prepared for the same type of war he had waged against Severus and Galerius: he sat in Rome and prepared for a siege. He still controlled Rome's Praetorian Guard, was well-stocked with African grain, and was surrounded on all sides by the seemingly impregnable Aurelian Walls. He ordered all bridges across the Tiber cut, reportedly on the counsel of the gods, and left the rest of central Italy undefended; Constantine secured that region's support without challenge. Constantine progressed slowly along the Via Flaminia, allowing the weakness of Maxentius to draw his regime further into turmoil. Maxentius' support continued to weaken: at chariot races on 27 October, the crowd openly taunted Maxentius, shouting that Constantine was invincible. Maxentius, no longer certain that he would emerge from a siege victorious, built a temporary boat bridge across the Tiber in preparation for a field battle against Constantine. On 28 October 312, the sixth anniversary of his reign, he approached the keepers of the Sibylline Books for guidance. The keepers prophesied that, on that very day, "the enemy of the Romans" would die. Maxentius advanced north to meet Constantine in battle. #### Constantine adopts the Greek letters Chi Rho for Christ's initials Maxentius' forces were still twice the size of Constantine's, and he organised them in long lines facing the battle plain with their backs to the river. Constantine's army arrived on the field bearing unfamiliar symbols on their standards and their shields. According to Lactantius "Constantine was directed in a dream to cause the heavenly sign to be delineated on the shields of his soldiers, and so to proceed to battle. He did as he had been commanded, and he marked on their shields the letter Χ, with a perpendicular line drawn through it and turned round thus at the top, being the cipher of Christ. Having this sign (☧), his troops stood to arms." Eusebius describes a vision that Constantine had while marching at midday in which "he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, In Hoc Signo Vinces" ("In this sign thou shalt conquer"). In Eusebius's account, Constantine had a dream the following night in which Christ appeared with the same heavenly sign and told him to make an army standard in the form of the labarum. Eusebius is vague about when and where these events took place, but it enters his narrative before the war begins against Maxentius. He describes the sign as Chi (Χ) traversed by Rho (Ρ) to form ☧, representing the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos). A medallion was issued at Ticinum in 315 which shows Constantine wearing a helmet emblazoned with the Chi Rho, and coins issued at Siscia in 317/318 repeat the image. The figure was otherwise rare and is uncommon in imperial iconography and propaganda before the 320s. It was not completely unknown, however, being an abbreviation of the Greek word chrēston (good), having previously appeared on the coins of Ptolemy III Euergetes in the 3rd century BC. Following Constantine, centuries of Christians invoked the miraculous or the supernatural when justifying or describing their warfare. Constantine deployed his own forces along the whole length of Maxentius' line. He ordered his cavalry to charge, and they broke Maxentius' cavalry. He then sent his infantry against Maxentius' infantry, pushing many into the Tiber where they were slaughtered and drowned. The battle was brief, and Maxentius' troops were broken before the first charge. His horse guards and praetorians initially held their position, but they broke under the force of a Constantinian cavalry charge; they also broke ranks and fled to the river. Maxentius rode with them and attempted to cross the bridge of boats (Ponte Milvio), but he was pushed into the Tiber and drowned by the mass of his fleeing soldiers. ### In Rome Constantine entered Rome on 29 October 312 and staged a grand adventus in the city which was met with jubilation. Maxentius' body was fished out of the Tiber and decapitated, and his head was paraded through the streets for all to see. After the ceremonies, the disembodied head was sent to Carthage, and Carthage offered no further resistance. Unlike his predecessors, Constantine neglected to make the trip to the Capitoline Hill and perform customary sacrifices at the Temple of Jupiter. However, he did visit the Senatorial Curia Julia, and he promised to restore its ancestral privileges and give it a secure role in his reformed government; there would be no revenge against Maxentius' supporters. In response, the Senate decreed him "title of the first name", which meant that his name would be listed first in all official documents, and they acclaimed him as "the greatest augustus". He issued decrees returning property that was lost under Maxentius, recalling political exiles, and releasing Maxentius' imprisoned opponents. An extensive propaganda campaign followed, during which Maxentius' image was purged from all public places. He was written up as a "tyrant" and set against an idealized image of Constantine the "liberator". Eusebius is the best representative of this strand of Constantinian propaganda. Maxentius' rescripts were declared invalid, and the honours that he had granted to leaders of the Senate were also invalidated. Constantine also attempted to remove Maxentius' influence on Rome's urban landscape. All structures built by him were rededicated to Constantine, including the Temple of Romulus and the Basilica of Maxentius. At the focal point of the basilica, a stone statue was erected of Constantine holding the Christian labarum in its hand. Its inscription bore the message which the statue illustrated: "By this sign, Constantine had freed Rome from the yoke of the tyrant." Constantine also sought to upstage Maxentius' achievements. For example, the Circus Maximus was redeveloped so that its seating capacity was 25 times larger than that of Maxentius' racing complex on the Via Appia. Maxentius' strongest military supporters were neutralized when he disbanded the Praetorian Guard and Imperial Horse Guard. The tombstones of the Imperial Horse Guard were ground up and used in a basilica on the Via Labicana, and their former base was redeveloped into the Lateran Basilica on 9 November 312—barely two weeks after Constantine captured the city. The Legio II Parthica was removed from Albano Laziale, and the remainder of Maxentius' armies were sent to do frontier duty on the Rhine. ### Wars against Licinius In the following years, Constantine gradually consolidated his military superiority over his rivals in the crumbling Tetrarchy. In 313, he met Licinius in Milan to secure their alliance by the marriage of Licinius and Constantine's half-sister Constantia. During this meeting, the emperors agreed on the so-called Edict of Milan, officially granting full tolerance to Christianity and all religions in the empire. The document had special benefits for Christians, legalizing their religion and granting them restoration for all property seized during Diocletian's persecution. It repudiates past methods of religious coercion and used only general terms to refer to the divine sphere—"Divinity" and "Supreme Divinity", summa divinitas. The conference was cut short, however, when news reached Licinius that his rival Maximinus had crossed the Bosporus and invaded European territory. Licinius departed and eventually defeated Maximinus, gaining control over the entire eastern half of the Roman Empire. Relations between the two remaining emperors deteriorated, as Constantine suffered an assassination attempt at the hands of a character that Licinius wanted elevated to the rank of Caesar; Licinius, for his part, had Constantine's statues in Emona destroyed. In either 314 or 316, the two augusti fought against one another at the Battle of Cibalae, with Constantine being victorious. They clashed again at the Battle of Mardia in 317 and agreed to a settlement in which Constantine's sons Crispus and Constantine II, and Licinius' son Licinianus were made caesars. After this arrangement, Constantine ruled the dioceses of Pannonia and Macedonia and took residence at Sirmium, whence he could wage war on the Goths and Sarmatians in 322, and on the Goths in 323, defeating and killing their leader Rausimod. In 320, Licinius allegedly reneged on the religious freedom promised by the Edict of Milan and began to oppress Christians anew, generally without bloodshed, but resorting to confiscations and sacking of Christian office-holders. Although this characterization of Licinius as anti-Christian is somewhat doubtful, the fact is that he seems to have been far less open in his support of Christianity than Constantine. Therefore, Licinius was prone to see the Church as a force more loyal to Constantine than to the Imperial system in general, as the explanation offered by the Church historian Sozomen. This dubious arrangement eventually became a challenge to Constantine in the West, climaxing in the great civil war of 324. Constantine's Christian eulogists present the war as a battle between Christianity and paganism; Licinius, aided by Gothic mercenaries, represented the past and ancient paganism, while Constantine and his Franks marched under the standard of the labarum. Outnumbered but fired by their zeal, Constantine's army emerged victorious in the Battle of Adrianople. Licinius fled across the Bosphorus and appointed Martinian, his magister officiorum, as nominal augustus in the West, but Constantine next won the Battle of the Hellespont and finally the Battle of Chrysopolis on 18 September 324. Licinius and Martinian surrendered to Constantine at Nicomedia on the promise their lives would be spared: they were sent to live as private citizens in Thessalonica and Cappadocia respectively, but in 325 Constantine accused Licinius of plotting against him and had them both arrested and hanged; Licinius' son (the son of Constantine's half-sister) was killed in 326. Thus Constantine became the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. ## Later rule ### Foundation of Constantinople Diocletian had chosen Nicomedia in the East as his capital during the Tetrarchy—not far from Byzantium, well situated to defend Thrace, Asia, and Egypt, all of which had required his military attention. Constantine had recognized the shift of the empire from the remote and depopulated West to the richer cities of the East, and the military strategic importance of protecting the Danube from barbarian excursions and Asia from a hostile Persia in choosing his new capital as well as being able to monitor shipping traffic between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Licinius' defeat came to represent the defeat of a rival centre of pagan and Greek-speaking political activity in the East, as opposed to the Christian and Latin-speaking Rome, and it was proposed that a new Eastern capital should represent the integration of the East into the Roman Empire as a whole, as a centre of learning, prosperity, and cultural preservation for the whole of the Eastern Roman Empire. Among the various locations proposed for this alternative capital, Constantine appears to have toyed earlier with Serdica (present-day Sofia), as he was reported saying that "Serdica is my Rome". Sirmium and Thessalonica were also considered. Eventually, however, Constantine decided to work on the Greek city of Byzantium, which offered the advantage of having already been extensively rebuilt on Roman patterns of urbanism during the preceding century by Septimius Severus and Caracalla, who had already acknowledged its strategic importance. The city was thus founded in 324, dedicated on 11 May 330 and renamed Constantinopolis ("Constantine's City" or Constantinople in English). Special commemorative coins were issued in 330 to honor the event. The new city was protected by the relics of the True Cross, the Rod of Moses and other holy relics, though a cameo now at the Hermitage Museum also represented Constantine crowned by the tyche of the new city. The figures of old gods were either replaced or assimilated into a framework of Christian symbolism. Constantine built the new Church of the Holy Apostles on the site of a temple to Aphrodite. Generations later there was the story that a divine vision led Constantine to this spot, and an angel no one else could see led him on a circuit of the new walls. The capital would often be compared to the 'old' Rome as Nova Roma Constantinopolitana, the "New Rome of Constantinople". ### Religious policy Constantine was the first emperor to stop the persecution of Christians and to legalize Christianity, along with all other religions/cults in the Roman Empire. In February 313, he met with Licinius in Milan and developed the Edict of Milan, which stated that Christians should be allowed to follow their faith without oppression. This removed penalties for professing Christianity, under which many had been martyred previously, and it returned confiscated Church property. The edict protected all religions from persecution, not only Christianity, allowing anyone to worship any deity that they chose. A similar edict had been issued in 311 by Galerius, senior emperor of the Tetrarchy, which granted Christians the right to practise their religion but did not restore any property to them. The Edict of Milan included several clauses which stated that all confiscated churches would be returned, as well as other provisions for previously persecuted Christians. Scholars debate whether Constantine adopted his mother Helena's Christianity in his youth or whether he adopted it gradually over the course of his life. Constantine possibly retained the title of pontifex maximus which emperors bore as heads of the ancient Roman religion until Gratian renounced the title. According to Christian writers, Constantine was over 40 when he finally declared himself a Christian, making it clear that he owed his successes to the protection of the Christian High God alone. Despite these declarations of being a Christian, he waited to be baptized on his deathbed, believing that the baptism would release him of any sins he committed in the course of carrying out his policies while emperor. He supported the Church financially, built basilicas, granted privileges to clergy (such as exemption from certain taxes), promoted Christians to high office, and returned property confiscated during the long period of persecution. His most famous building projects include the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Old St. Peter's Basilica. In constructing the Old St. Peter's Basilica, Constantine went to great lengths to erect the basilica on top of St. Peter's resting place, so much so that it even affected the design of the basilica, including the challenge of erecting it on the hill where St. Peter rested, making its complete construction time over 30 years from the date Constantine ordered it to be built. Constantine might not have patronized Christianity alone. A triumphal arch was built in 315 to celebrate his victory in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge which was decorated with images of the goddess Victoria, and sacrifices were made to pagan gods at its dedication, including Apollo, Diana, and Hercules. Absent from the arch are any depictions of Christian symbolism. However, the arch was commissioned by the Senate, so the absence of Christian symbols may reflect the role of the Curia at the time as a pagan redoubt. In 321, he legislated that the venerable Sunday should be a day of rest for all citizens. In 323, he issued a decree banning Christians from participating in state sacrifices. After the pagan gods had disappeared from his coinage, Christian symbols appeared as Constantine's attributes, the chi rho between his hands or on his labarum, as well on the coinage. The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the emperor to have great influence and authority in the early Christian councils, most notably the dispute over Arianism. Constantine disliked the risks to societal stability that religious disputes and controversies brought with them, preferring to establish an orthodoxy. His influence over the Church councils was to enforce doctrine, root out heresy, and uphold ecclesiastical unity; the Church's role was to determine proper worship, doctrines, and dogma. North African bishops struggled with Christian bishops who had been ordained by Donatus in opposition to Caecilian from 313 to 316. The African bishops could not come to terms, and the Donatists asked Constantine to act as a judge in the dispute. Three regional Church councils and another trial before Constantine all ruled against Donatus and the Donatism movement in North Africa. In 317, Constantine issued an edict to confiscate Donatist church property and to send Donatist clergy into exile. More significantly, in 325 he summoned the First Council of Nicaea, most known for its dealing with Arianism and for instituting the Nicene Creed. He enforced the council's prohibition against celebrating the Lord's Supper on the day before the Jewish Passover, which marked a definite break of Christianity from the Judaic tradition. From then on, the solar Julian Calendar was given precedence over the lunisolar Hebrew calendar among the Christian churches of the Roman Empire. Constantine made some new laws regarding the Jews; some of them were unfavourable towards Jews, although they were not harsher than those of his predecessors. It was made illegal for Jews to seek converts or to attack other Jews who had converted to Christianity. They were forbidden to own Christian slaves or to circumcise their slaves. On the other hand, Jewish clergy were given the same exemptions as Christian clergy. ### Administrative reforms Beginning in the mid-3rd century, the emperors began to favour members of the equestrian order over senators, who had a monopoly on the most important offices of the state. Senators were stripped of the command of legions and most provincial governorships, as it was felt that they lacked the specialized military upbringing needed in an age of acute defense needs; such posts were given to equestrians by Diocletian and his colleagues, following a practice enforced piecemeal by their predecessors. The emperors, however, still needed the talents and the help of the very rich, who were relied on to maintain social order and cohesion by means of a web of powerful influence and contacts at all levels. Exclusion of the old senatorial aristocracy threatened this arrangement. In 326, Constantine reversed this pro-equestrian trend, raising many administrative positions to senatorial rank and thus opening these offices to the old aristocracy; at the same time, he elevated the rank of existing equestrian office-holders to senator, degrading the equestrian order in the process (at least as a bureaucratic rank). The title of perfectissimus was granted only to mid- or low-level officials by the end of the 4th century. By the new Constantinian arrangement, one could become a senator by being elected praetor or by fulfilling a function of senatorial rank. From then on, holding actual power and social status were melded together into a joint imperial hierarchy. Constantine gained the support of the old nobility with this, as the Senate was allowed to elect praetors and quaestors in place of the usual practice of the emperors directly creating magistrates (adlectio). An inscription in honor of city prefect Ceionius Rufus Albinus states that Constantine had restored the Senate "the auctoritas it had lost at Caesar's time". The Senate as a body remained devoid of any significant power; nevertheless, the senators had been marginalized as potential holders of imperial functions during the 3rd century but could dispute such positions alongside more upstart bureaucrats. Some modern historians see in those administrative reforms an attempt by Constantine at reintegrating the senatorial order into the imperial administrative elite to counter the possibility of alienating pagan senators from a Christianized imperial rule; however, such an interpretation remains conjectural, given the fact that we do not have the precise numbers about pre-Constantine conversions to Christianity in the old senatorial milieu. Some historians suggest that early conversions among the old aristocracy were more numerous than previously supposed. Constantine's reforms had to do only with the civilian administration. The military chiefs had risen from the ranks since the Crisis of the Third Century but remained outside the Senate, in which they were included only by Constantine's children. ### Monetary reforms In the 3rd century, the production of fiat money to pay for public expenses resulted in runaway inflation, and Diocletian tried unsuccessfully to re-establish trustworthy minting of silver coins, as well as silver-bronze "billon" coins (the term "billon" meaning an alloy of precious and base metals that is mostly base metal). Silver currency was overvalued in terms of its actual metal content and therefore could only circulate at much discounted rates. Constantine stopped minting the Diocletianic "pure" silver argenteus soon after 305, while the "billon" currency continued to be used until the 360s. From the early 300s on, Constantine forsook any attempts at restoring the silver currency, preferring instead to concentrate on minting large quantities of the gold solidus, 72 of which made a pound of gold. New and highly debased silver pieces continued to be issued during his later reign and after his death, in a continuous process of retariffing, until this "billon" minting ceased in 367, and the silver piece was continued by various denominations of bronze coins, the most important being the centenionalis. These bronze pieces continued to be devalued, assuring the possibility of keeping fiduciary minting alongside a gold standard. The author of De Rebus Bellicis held that the rift widened between classes because of this monetary policy; the rich benefited from the stability in purchasing power of the gold piece, while the poor had to cope with ever-degrading bronze pieces. Later emperors such as Julian the Apostate insisted on trustworthy mintings of the bronze currency. Constantine's monetary policies were closely associated with his religious policies; increased minting was associated with the confiscation of all gold, silver, and bronze statues from pagan temples between 331 and 336 which were declared to be imperial property. Two imperial commissioners for each province had the task of getting the statues and melting them for immediate minting, with the exception of a number of bronze statues that were used as public monuments in Constantinople. ### Executions of Crispus and Fausta Constantine had his eldest son Crispus seized and put to death by "cold poison" at Pola (Pula, Croatia) sometime between 15 May and 17 June 326. In July, he had his wife Empress Fausta (stepmother of Crispus) killed in an overheated bath. Their names were wiped from the face of many inscriptions, references to their lives were eradicated from the literary record, and their memory was condemned. Eusebius, for example, edited out any praise of Crispus from later copies of Historia Ecclesiastica, and his Vita Constantini contains no mention of Fausta or Crispus. Few ancient sources are willing to discuss possible motives for the events, and the few that do are of later provenance and are generally unreliable. At the time of the executions, it was commonly believed that Empress Fausta was either in an illicit relationship with Crispus or was spreading rumors to that effect. A popular myth arose, modified to allude to the Hippolytus–Phaedra legend, with the suggestion that Constantine killed Crispus and Fausta for their immoralities; the largely fictional Passion of Artemius explicitly makes this connection. The myth rests on slim evidence as an interpretation of the executions; only late and unreliable sources allude to the relationship between Crispus and Fausta, and there is no evidence for the modern suggestion that Constantine's "godly" edicts of 326 and the irregularities of Crispus are somehow connected. Although Constantine created his apparent heirs "caesars", following a pattern established by Diocletian, he gave his creations a hereditary character, alien to the tetrarchic system: Constantine's caesars were to be kept in the hope of ascending to empire and entirely subordinated to their augustus, as long as he was alive. Adrian Goldsworthy speculates an alternative explanation for the execution of Crispus was Constantine's desire to keep a firm grip on his prospective heirs, this—and Fausta's desire for having her sons inheriting instead of their half-brother—being reason enough for killing Crispus; the subsequent execution of Fausta, however, was probably meant as a reminder to her children that Constantine would not hesitate in "killing his own relatives when he felt this was necessary". ### Later campaigns Constantine considered Constantinople his capital and permanent residence. He lived there for a good portion of his later life. In 328, construction was completed on Constantine's Bridge at Sucidava, (today Celei in Romania) in hopes of reconquering Dacia, a province that had been abandoned under Aurelian. In the late winter of 332, Constantine campaigned with the Sarmatians against the Goths. The weather and lack of food reportedly cost the Goths dearly before they submitted to Rome. In 334, after Sarmatian commoners had overthrown their leaders, Constantine led a campaign against the tribe. He won a victory in the war and extended his control over the region, as remains of camps and fortifications in the region indicate. Constantine resettled some Sarmatian exiles as farmers in Illyrian and Roman districts and conscripted the rest into the army. The new frontier in Dacia was along the Brazda lui Novac line supported by new castra. Constantine took the title Dacicus maximus in 336. In the last years of his life, Constantine made plans for a campaign against Persia. In a letter written to the king of Persia, Shapur, Constantine had asserted his patronage over Persia's Christian subjects and urged Shapur to treat them well. The letter is undatable. In response to border raids, Constantine sent Constantius to guard the eastern frontier in 335. In 336, Prince Narseh invaded Armenia (a Christian kingdom since 301) and installed a Persian client on the throne. Constantine then resolved to campaign against Persia. He treated the war as a Christian crusade, calling for bishops to accompany the army and commissioning a tent in the shape of a church to follow him everywhere. Constantine planned to be baptized in the Jordan River before crossing into Persia. Persian diplomats came to Constantinople over the winter of 336–337, seeking peace, but Constantine turned them away. The campaign was called off, however, when Constantine became sick in the spring of 337. ### Illness and death From his recent illness, Constantine knew death would soon come. Within the Church of the Holy Apostles, Constantine had secretly prepared a final resting-place for himself. It came sooner than he had expected. Soon after the Feast of Easter 337, Constantine fell seriously ill. He left Constantinople for the hot baths near his mother's city of Helenopolis (Altınova), on the southern shores of the Gulf of Nicomedia (present-day Gulf of İzmit). There, in a church his mother built in honor of Lucian the Martyr, he prayed, and there he realised that he was dying. Seeking purification, he became a catechumen and attempted a return to Constantinople, making it only as far as a suburb of Nicomedia. He summoned the bishops and told them of his hope to be baptized in the River Jordan, where Christ was written to have been baptized. He requested the baptism right away, promising to live a more Christian life should he live through his illness. The bishops, Eusebius records, "performed the sacred ceremonies according to custom". He chose the Arianizing bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, bishop of the city where he lay dying, as his baptizer. In postponing his baptism, he followed one custom at the time which postponed baptism until after infancy. It has been thought that Constantine put off baptism as long as he did so as to be absolved from as much of his sin as possible. Constantine died soon after at a suburban villa called Achyron, on the last day of the fifty-day festival of Pentecost directly following Pascha (or Easter), on 22 May 337. Although Constantine's death follows the conclusion of the Persian campaign in Eusebius's account, most other sources report his death as occurring in its middle. Emperor Julian (a nephew of Constantine), writing in the mid-350s, observes that the Sassanians escaped punishment for their ill-deeds, because Constantine died "in the middle of his preparations for war". Similar accounts are given in the Origo Constantini, an anonymous document composed while Constantine was still living, which has Constantine dying in Nicomedia; the Historiae abbreviatae of Sextus Aurelius Victor, written in 361, which has Constantine dying at an estate near Nicomedia called Achyrona while marching against the Persians; and the Breviarium of Eutropius, a handbook compiled in 369 for the Emperor Valens, which has Constantine dying in a nameless state villa in Nicomedia. From these and other accounts, some have concluded that Eusebius's Vita was edited to defend Constantine's reputation against what Eusebius saw as a less congenial version of the campaign. Following his death, his body was transferred to Constantinople and buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles, in a porphyry sarcophagus that was described in the 10th century by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the De Ceremoniis. His body survived the plundering of the city during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 but was destroyed at some point afterwards. Constantine was succeeded by his three sons born of Fausta, Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans. His sons, along with his nephew Dalmatius, had already received one division of the empire each to administer as caesars; Constantine may have intended his successors to resume a structure akin to Diocletian's Tetrarchy. A number of relatives were killed by followers of Constantius, notably Constantine's nephews Dalmatius (who held the rank of caesar) and Hannibalianus, presumably to eliminate possible contenders to an already complicated succession. He also had two daughters, Constantina and Helena, wife of Emperor Julian. ## Legacy Constantine reunited the empire under one emperor, and he won major victories over the Franks and Alamanni in 306–308, the Franks again in 313–314, the Goths in 332, and the Sarmatians in 334. By 336, he had reoccupied most of the long-lost province of Dacia which Aurelian had been forced to abandon in 271. At the time of his death, he was planning a great expedition to end raids on the eastern provinces from the Persian Empire. In the cultural sphere, Constantine revived the clean-shaven face fashion of earlier emperors, originally introduced among the Romans by Scipio Africanus (236 - 183 BCE) and changed into the wearing of the beard by Hadrian (r. 117 - 138). This new Roman imperial fashion lasted until the reign of Phocas (r. 602 - 610) in the 7th century. The Holy Roman Empire reckoned Constantine among the venerable figures of its tradition. In the later Byzantine state, it became a great honor for an emperor to be hailed as a "new Constantine"; ten emperors carried the name, including the last emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. Charlemagne used monumental Constantinian forms in his court to suggest that he was Constantine's successor and equal. Charlemagne, Henry VIII, Philip II of Spain, Godfrey of Bouillon, House of Capet, House of Habsburg, House of Stuart, Macedonian dynasty and Phokas family claimed descent from Constantine. Geoffrey of Monmouth embroidered a tale that the legendary king of Britain, King Arthur, was also a descendant of Constantine. Constantine acquired a mythic role as a warrior against heathens. His reception as a saint seems to have spread within the Byzantine empire during wars against the Sasanian Persians and the Muslims in the late 6th and 7th century. The motif of the Romanesque equestrian, the mounted figure in the posture of a triumphant Roman emperor, became a visual metaphor in statuary in praise of local benefactors. The name "Constantine" enjoyed renewed popularity in western France in the 11th and 12th centuries. The Niš Constantine the Great Airport is named in honor of him. A large cross was planned to be built on a hill overlooking Niš, but the project was cancelled. In 2012, a memorial was erected in Niš in his honor. The Commemoration of the Edict of Milan was held in Niš in 2013. The Orthodox Church considers Constantine a saint (Άγιος Κωνσταντίνος, Saint Constantine), having a feast day on 21 May, and calls him isapostolos (ισαπόστολος Κωνσταντίνος)—an equal of the Apostles. ### Historiography During Constantine's lifetime, Praxagoras of Athens and Libanius, pagan authors, showered Constantine with praise, presenting him as a paragon of virtue. His nephew and son-in-law Julian the Apostate, however, wrote the satire Symposium, or the Saturnalia in 361, after the last of his sons died; it denigrated Constantine, calling him inferior to the great pagan emperors, and given over to luxury and greed. Following Julian, Eunapius began – and Zosimus continued – a historiographic tradition that blamed Constantine for weakening the empire through his indulgence to the Christians. During the Middle Ages, European and Near-East Byzantine writers presented Constantine as an ideal ruler, the standard against which any king or emperor could be measured. The Renaissance rediscovery of anti-Constantinian sources prompted a re-evaluation of his career. German humanist Johannes Leunclavius discovered Zosimus' writings and published a Latin translation in 1576. In its preface, he argues that Zosimus' picture of Constantine offered a more balanced view than that of Eusebius and the Church historians. Cardinal Caesar Baronius criticized Zosimus, favouring Eusebius' account of the Constantinian era. Baronius' Life of Constantine (1588) presents Constantine as the model of a Christian prince. Edward Gibbon aimed to unite the two extremes of Constantinian scholarship in his work The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776–89) by contrasting the portraits presented by Eusebius and Zosimus. He presents a noble war hero who transforms into an Oriental despot in his old age, "degenerating into a cruel and dissolute monarch". Modern interpretations of Constantine's rule begin with Jacob Burckhardt's The Age of Constantine the Great (1853, rev. 1880). Burckhardt's Constantine is a scheming secularist, a politician who manipulates all parties in a quest to secure his own power. Henri Grégoire followed Burckhardt's evaluation of Constantine in the 1930s, suggesting that Constantine developed an interest in Christianity only after witnessing its political usefulness. Grégoire was skeptical of the authenticity of Eusebius' Vita, and postulated a pseudo-Eusebius to assume responsibility for the vision and conversion narratives of that work. Otto Seeck's Geschichte des Untergangs der antiken Welt (1920–23) and André Piganiol's L'empereur Constantin (1932) go against this historiographic tradition. Seeck presents Constantine as a sincere war hero whose ambiguities were the product of his own naïve inconsistency. Piganiol's Constantine is a philosophical monotheist, a child of his era's religious syncretism. Related histories by Arnold Hugh Martin Jones (Constantine and the Conversion of Europe, 1949) and Ramsay MacMullen (Constantine, 1969) give portraits of a less visionary and more impulsive Constantine. These later accounts were more willing to present Constantine as a genuine convert to Christianity. Norman H. Baynes began a historiographic tradition with Constantine the Great and the Christian Church (1929) which presents Constantine as a committed Christian, reinforced by Andreas Alföldi's The Conversion of Constantine and Pagan Rome (1948), and Timothy Barnes's Constantine and Eusebius (1981) is the culmination of this trend. Barnes' Constantine experienced a radical conversion which drove him on a personal crusade to convert his empire. Charles Matson Odahl's Constantine and the Christian Empire (2004) takes much the same tack. In spite of Barnes' work, arguments continue over the strength and depth of Constantine's religious conversion. Certain themes in this school reached new extremes in T.G. Elliott's The Christianity of Constantine the Great (1996), which presented Constantine as a committed Christian from early childhood. Paul Veyne's 2007 work Quand notre monde est devenu chrétien holds a similar view which does not speculate on the origin of Constantine's Christian motivation, but presents him as a religious revolutionary who fervently believed that he was meant "to play a providential role in the millenary economy of the salvation of humanity". ### Donation of Constantine Latin Christians considered it inappropriate that Constantine was baptized only on his death bed by an unorthodox bishop, and a legend emerged by the early 4th century that Pope Sylvester I had cured the pagan emperor from leprosy. According to this legend, Constantine was baptized and began the construction of a church in the Lateran Basilica. The Donation of Constantine appeared in the 8th century, most likely during the pontificate of Pope Stephen II, in which the freshly converted Constantine gives "the city of Rome and all the provinces, districts, and cities of Italy and the Western regions" to Sylvester and his successors. In the High Middle Ages, this document was used and accepted as the basis for the pope's temporal power, though it was denounced as a forgery by Emperor Otto III and lamented as the root of papal worldliness by Dante Alighieri. Philologist and Catholic priest Lorenzo Valla proved in 1440 that the document was indeed a forgery. ### Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia During the medieval period, Britons regarded Constantine as a king of their own people, particularly associating him with Caernarfon in Gwynedd. While some of this is owed to his fame and his proclamation as emperor in Britain, there was also confusion of his family with Magnus Maximus's supposed wife Elen and her son, another Constantine (Welsh: Custennin). In the 12th century Henry of Huntingdon included a passage in his Historia Anglorum that the Emperor Constantine's mother was a Briton, making her the daughter of King Cole of Colchester. Geoffrey of Monmouth expanded this story in his highly fictionalized Historia Regum Britanniae, an account of the supposed Kings of Britain from their Trojan origins to the Anglo-Saxon invasion. According to Geoffrey, Cole was King of the Britons when Constantius, here a senator, came to Britain. Afraid of the Romans, Cole submits to Roman law so long as he retains his kingship. However, he dies only a month later, and Constantius takes the throne himself, marrying Cole's daughter Helena. They have their son Constantine, who succeeds his father as King of Britain before becoming Roman emperor. Historically, this series of events is extremely improbable. Constantius had already left Helena by the time he left for Britain. Additionally, no earlier source mentions that Helena was born in Britain, let alone that she was a princess. Henry's source for the story is unknown, though it may have been a lost hagiography of Helena. ## Family tree Emperors are shown with a rounded-corner border with their dates as Augusti, names with a thicker border appear in both sections 1: Constantine's parents and half-siblings 2: Constantine's children ## See also - Bronze colossus of Constantine - Colossus of Constantine - Life of Constantine - Fifty Bibles of Constantine - German and Sarmatian campaigns of Constantine - List of people known as the great
488,492	HMS Conqueror (1911)	1,136,830,846	Orion-class dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy	[ "1911 ships", "Orion-class battleships", "Ships built on the River Clyde", "World War I battleships of the United Kingdom" ]	HMS Conqueror was the third of four Orion-class dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the early 1910s. She spent the bulk of her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets. Aside from participating in the failed attempt to intercept the German ships that had bombarded Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in late 1914, the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive action of 19 August, her service during World War I generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. After the Grand Fleet was dissolved in early 1919, Conqueror was transferred back to the Home Fleet for a few months before she was assigned to the Reserve Fleet. The ship was sold for scrap in late 1922 and subsequently broken up. ## Design and description The Orion-class ships were designed in response to the beginning of the Anglo-German naval arms race and were much larger than their predecessors of the Colossus-class battleship to accommodate larger, more powerful guns and heavier armour. In recognition of these improvements, the class was sometimes called "super-dreadnoughts". The ships had an overall length of 581 feet (177.1 m), a beam of 88 feet 6 inches (27.0 m) and a deep draught of 31 feet 3 inches (9.5 m). They displaced 21,922 long tons (22,274 t) at normal load and 25,596 long tons (26,007 t) at deep load as built; by 1918 Conqueror's deep displacement had increased to 28,430 long tons (28,890 t). Her crew numbered 752 officers and ratings. The Orion class was powered by two sets of Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, each driving two shafts, using steam provided by eighteen Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines were rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and were intended to give the battleships a speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). During her sea trials on 7 June 1912, Conqueror reached a maximum speed of 22.1 knots (40.9 km/h; 25.4 mph) from 33,198 shp (24,756 kW). The ships carried enough coal and fuel oil to give them a range of 6,730 nautical miles (12,460 km; 7,740 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). ### Armament and armour The Orion class was equipped with 10 breech-loading (BL) 13.5-inch (343 mm) Mark V guns in five hydraulically powered twin-gun turrets, all on the centreline. The turrets were designated 'A', 'B', 'Q', 'X' and 'Y', from front to rear. Their secondary armament consisted of 16 BL 4-inch (102 mm) Mark VII guns. These guns were split evenly between the forward and aft superstructure, all in single mounts. Four 3-pounder (1.9 in (47 mm)) saluting guns were also carried. The ships were equipped with three 21-inch (533 mm) submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and another in the stern, for which 20 torpedoes were provided. The Orions were protected by a waterline 12-inch (305 mm) armoured belt that extended between the end barbettes. Their decks ranged in thickness between 1 inch (25 mm) and 4 inches with the thickest portions protecting the steering gear in the stern. The main battery turret faces were 11 inches (279 mm) thick, and the turrets were supported by 10-inch-thick (254 mm) barbettes. ### Modifications In 1914 the shelter-deck guns were enclosed in casemates. By October 1914, a pair of 3-inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft (AA) guns had been added. A fire-control director was installed on a platform below the spotting top before May 1915. Additional deck armour was added after the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. Around the same time, three 4-inch guns were removed from the aft superstructure. Two flying-off platforms were fitted aboard the ship during 1917–1918; these were mounted on 'B' and 'X' turret roofs and extended onto the gun barrels. A high-angle rangefinder was fitted in the forward superstructure by 1921. ## Construction and career Conqueror, named after a French fire ship, Conqueror, that had been captured in 1745, was the seventh ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. The ship was laid down by William Beardmore and Company at their shipyard in Dalmuir on 5 April 1910 and launched on 1 May 1911. She was commissioned with a partial crew on 23 November 1912, but was not completed until March 1913, after which the remainder of her crew arrived. Including her armament, her cost is variously quoted at £1,891,164 or £1,860,648. The last of the four Orions to be completed, Conqueror and her sister ships comprised the Second Division of the 2nd Battle Squadron (BS) of the Home Fleet. ### World War I Between 17 and 20 July 1914, Conqueror took part in a test mobilisation and fleet review as part of the British response to the July Crisis. Arriving in Portland on 25 July, she was ordered to proceed with the rest of the Home Fleet to Scapa Flow four days later to safeguard the fleet from a possible surprise attack by the Imperial German Navy. In August 1914, following the outbreak of World War I, the Home Fleet was reorganised as the Grand Fleet, and placed under the command of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. Repeated reports of submarines in Scapa Flow led Jellicoe to conclude that the defences there were inadequate and he ordered that the Grand Fleet be dispersed to other bases until the defences be reinforced. On 16 October the 2nd BS was sent to Loch na Keal on the western coast of Scotland. The squadron departed for gunnery practice off the northern coast of Ireland on the morning of 27 October and the dreadnought Audacious struck a mine, laid a few days earlier by the German auxiliary minelayer SS Berlin. Thinking that the ship had been torpedoed by a submarine, the other dreadnoughts were ordered away from the area, while smaller ships rendered assistance. On the evening of 22 November 1914, the Grand Fleet conducted a fruitless sweep in the southern half of the North Sea; Conqueror stood with the main body in support of Vice-Admiral David Beatty's 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. The fleet was back in port in Scapa Flow by 27 November. #### Bombardment of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby The Royal Navy's Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans for a German attack on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in mid-December using the four battlecruisers of Konteradmiral (Rear-Admiral) Franz von Hipper's I Scouting Group. The radio messages did not mention that the High Seas Fleet with fourteen dreadnoughts and eight pre-dreadnoughts would reinforce Hipper. The ships of both sides departed their bases on 15 December, with the British intending to ambush the German ships on their return voyage. They mustered the six dreadnoughts of Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender's 2nd BS, including Conqueror and her sisters Orion and Monarch, and Beatty's four battlecruisers. The screening forces of each side blundered into each other during the early morning darkness of 16 December in heavy weather. The Germans got the better of the initial exchange of fire, severely damaging several British destroyers, but Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, commander of the High Seas Fleet, ordered his ships to turn away, concerned about the possibility of a massed attack by British destroyers in the dawn's light. A series of miscommunications and mistakes by the British allowed Hipper's ships to avoid an engagement with Beatty's forces. #### 1915–1916 The Grand Fleet conducted another fruitless sweep of the North Sea in late December and, while trying to enter Scapa Flow in a Force 8 gale and minimal visibility, Monarch was accidentally rammed by Conqueror on 27 December. The former had to unexpectedly manoeuvre to avoid a guardship at the entrance and Conqueror could not avoid her. The latter ship's bow was badly damaged and she received temporary repairs at Scapa and Invergordon before proceeding to Devonport for full repairs, rejoining the Grand Fleet in March 1915. On 11 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a patrol in the central North Sea and returned to port on 14 April; another patrol in the area took place on 17–19 April, followed by gunnery drills off Shetland on 20–21 April. Jellicoe's ships swept the central North Sea on 17–19 May and 29–31 May without encountering any German vessels. During 11–14 June, the fleet conducted gunnery practice and battle exercises west of Shetland and more training off Shetland beginning on 11 July. The 2nd BS conducted gunnery practice in the Moray Firth on 2 August and then returned to Scapa Flow. On 2–5 September, the fleet went on another cruise in the northern end of the North Sea and conducted gunnery drills. Throughout the rest of the month, the Grand Fleet conducted numerous training exercises. The ship, together with the majority of the Grand Fleet, conducted another sweep into the North Sea from 13 to 15 October. Almost three weeks later, Conqueror participated in another fleet training operation west of Orkney during 2–5 November and repeated the exercise at the beginning of December. The Grand Fleet sortied in response to an attack by German ships on British light forces near Dogger Bank on 10 February 1916, but it was recalled two days later when it became clear that no German ships larger than a destroyer were involved. The fleet departed for a cruise in the North Sea on 26 February; Jellicoe had intended to use the Harwich Force to sweep the Heligoland Bight, but bad weather prevented operations in the southern North Sea. As a result, the operation was confined to the northern end of the sea. Another sweep began on 6 March, but had to be abandoned the following day as the weather grew too severe for the escorting destroyers. On the night of 25 March, Conqueror and the rest of the fleet sailed from Scapa Flow to support Beatty's battlecruisers and other light forces raiding the German Zeppelin base at Tondern. By the time the Grand Fleet approached the area on 26 March, the British and German forces had already disengaged and a strong gale threatened the light craft, so the fleet was ordered to return to base. On 21 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a demonstration off Horns Reef to distract the Germans while the Imperial Russian Navy relaid its defensive minefields in the Baltic Sea. The fleet returned to Scapa Flow on 24 April and refuelled before proceeding south in response to intelligence reports that the Germans were about to launch a raid on Lowestoft, but only arrived in the area after the Germans had withdrawn. On 2–4 May, the fleet conducted another demonstration off Horns Reef to keep German attention focused on the North Sea. #### Battle of Jutland In an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, the High Seas Fleet, composed of sixteen dreadnoughts, six pre-dreadnoughts and supporting ships, departed the Jade Bight early on the morning of 31 May. The fleet sailed in concert with Hipper's five battlecruisers. Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation. In response the Admiralty ordered the Grand Fleet, totalling some 28 dreadnoughts and 9 battlecruisers, to sortie the night before to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet. On 31 May, Conqueror, under the command of Captain Hugh Tothill, was the seventh ship from the head of the battle line after deployment. The ship may have had engine problems during the battle because she was having trouble maintaining 20 knots as a signal from Jellicoe at 17:17 instructed Thunderer to overtake Conqueror if she could not maintain speed. During the first stage of the general engagement, the ship fired three salvos from her main guns at one battleship at 18:31 without visible effect. She then shifted her fire to the crippled light cruiser SMS Wiesbaden, although the number of hits made, if any, is unknown. At 19:12, Conqueror fired her main guns at enemy destroyers without result and then again, at different destroyers at 19:25 with her aft turrets. This was the last time that the ship fired her guns during the battle, having expended a total of 57 twelve-inch shells (41 common pointed, capped and 16 armour-piercing, capped). #### Subsequent activity The Grand Fleet sortied on 18 August to ambush the High Seas Fleet while it advanced into the southern North Sea, but a series of miscommunications and mistakes prevented Jellicoe from intercepting the German fleet before it returned to port. Two light cruisers were sunk by German U-boats during the operation, prompting Jellicoe to decide to not risk the major units of the fleet south of 55° 30' North due to the prevalence of German submarines and mines. The Admiralty concurred and stipulated that the Grand Fleet would not sortie unless the German fleet was attempting an invasion of Britain or there was a strong possibility it could be forced into an engagement under suitable conditions. In April 1918, the High Seas Fleet again sortied, to attack British convoys to Norway. They enforced strict wireless silence during the operation, which prevented Room 40 cryptanalysts from warning the new commander of the Grand Fleet, Admiral Beatty. The British only learned of the operation after an accident aboard the battlecruiser SMS Moltke forced her to break radio silence to inform the German commander of her condition. Beatty then ordered the Grand Fleet to sea to intercept the Germans, but he was not able to reach the High Seas Fleet before it turned back for Germany. The ship was present at Rosyth, Scotland, when the High Seas Fleet surrendered there on 21 November and she remained part of the 2nd BS through 1 March 1919. By 1 May, Conqueror had been assigned to the 3rd BS of the Home Fleet. On 1 November, the 3rd BS was disbanded and Conqueror was transferred to the Reserve Fleet at Portland, together with her sisters. The ship was still in Portland as of 18 December 1920, but was transferred to Portsmouth before June 1921 when she relieved Orion as the flagship of the Reserve Fleet there. Conqueror was listed for disposal in June 1922 in accordance with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. On 19 December the ship was sold for scrap to the Upnor Shipbreaking Co. and she arrived at Upnor on 30 January 1923 to begin demolition.
3,556,748	Mother (video game)	1,172,489,591	1989 video game	[ "1989 video games", "Game Boy Advance games", "Mother (video game series)", "Nintendo Entertainment System games", "Nintendo Switch Online games", "Pax Softnica games", "Role-playing games introduced in 1989", "Role-playing video games", "Single-player video games", "Video games about psychic powers", "Video games developed in Japan", "Video games produced by Shigeru Miyamoto", "Video games scored by Hirokazu Tanaka", "Video games scored by Keiichi Suzuki", "Video games set in North America", "Video games set in the 1980s", "Virtual Console games", "Virtual Console games for Wii U" ]	officially known outside of Japan as EarthBound Beginnings, is a 1989 role-playing video game developed by Ape and Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo for the Famicom. It is the first entry in the Mother series. It is modeled on the gameplay of the Dragon Quest series, but is set in the late 20th-century United States, unlike its fantasy genre contemporaries. Mother follows the young Ninten as he uses his great-grandfather's studies on psychic powers to fight hostile, formerly inanimate objects and other enemies. The game uses random encounters to enter a menu-based, first-person perspective battle system. Writer and director Shigesato Itoi pitched Mother's concept to Shigeru Miyamoto while visiting Nintendo's headquarters for other business. Though Miyamoto rejected the proposal at first, he eventually gave Itoi a development team. A North American version of the game was localized into English, but was abandoned as commercially nonviable. A copy of this prototype was later found and circulated on the Internet under the informal title EarthBound Zero. The game was eventually released globally as EarthBound Beginnings for the Wii U Virtual Console in June 2015 and Nintendo Switch Online in February 2022. Mother was the sixth best-selling game of 1989 in Japan, where it sold about 400,000 copies and received a "Silver Hall of Fame" score from Famitsu magazine. Mother was praised for its similarities to the Dragon Quest series and its simultaneous parody of the genre's tropes; however, many considered its sequel Mother 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū (known outside as EarthBound) to be similar and a better overall implementation of Mother's gameplay ideas, with the game's high difficulty level polarizing critics, along with balance issues. Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com wrote that Mother importantly generated interest in video game emulation and the historical preservation of unreleased games. The game was re-released in Japan on the single-cartridge compilation Mother 1+2 for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. ## Gameplay Mother is a single-player, role-playing video game set in a "slightly offbeat", late 20th-century United States as interpreted by Japanese author Shigesato Itoi. The game deliberately avoids traits of its Japanese role-playing game contemporaries: it is not set within the fantasy genre and only enters science fiction for its final sequence. The player fights in warehouses and laboratories instead of in standard dungeons. Instead of swords, assault weapons, and magic, the player uses baseball bats, toy guns, and psychic abilities. The game's protagonist, Ninten, is about 12 years old. Like the Dragon Quest series, Mother uses a random encounter combat system. The player explores the overworld from a top-down perspective and occasionally enters a first-person perspective battle sequence where the player chooses attack options from a series of menus. On their turn, the player selects between options to fight, guard, check enemy attributes, run away, use items, or use offensive, defensive, or healing psychic powers. The player can also set the battle on autopilot with the "auto" option. Critical hits register with the series' signature "SMAAAASH" text and sound. The player can press a button to have Ninten "check" or "talk" with nearby people, animals, and objects. The game shares similarities with its sequel, EarthBound: there is a game save option through using a phone to call Ninten's father, an option to store items with Ninten's sister at home, and an automated teller machine for banking money (ATM). The members of Ninten's party are all visible on the overworld screen at once, and are analogous to EarthBound's party members in style and function. Mother's world map does not keep locations separate, and instead connects all areas (akin to the Pokémon game series). The game's story begins as Ninten discovers a music box and receives the journal of his great-grandfather, who studied psychic powers nearly a century earlier. Ninten is attacked by household items, and ventures outside to find a crazy world with hostile everyday objects and other odd events. ## Plot Mother begins with the story of a young, married, American couple who mysteriously vanish from their small, rural town. Two years later, the husband, George, returned as mysteriously as he vanished, and began a strange study in complete seclusion. His wife, Maria, was never heard from again. Years later, in 1988 (changed to an ambiguous point in the 1980s in later releases), a young American boy named Ninten is attacked at home in a paranormal event. His father explains that Ninten's great-grandfather studied psychic powers, and asks Ninten to investigate a crisis occurring across the world, later revealed to be the work of an invading alien race. After resolving crises in the town of Mother's Day (Podunk in later translations), Ninten is warped to the world of Magicant, where the land's ruler, Queen Mary, asks Ninten to rediscover a song that appears in her dreams by collecting the parts and playing them for her. Ninten returns to Earth and befriends a young boy, Roido (also called Roid, Loid, or Lloyd in later translations), who is being bullied at Twinkle Elementary school. The two travel to the town of Snowman to deliver a lost hat to Ana, a young girl with psychic powers. Ana tells Ninten she saw him in a vision, and joins the party in hopes of finding her missing mother. After finding multiple parts of Queen Mary's song, Ninten is harassed at a karaoke bar by Teddy, the leader of a local gang. Teddy surrenders after battling Ninten in a fistfight, and joins Ninten's party with the intent to avenge the deaths of his parents, who were killed at Holy Loly Mountain (Mt. Itoi in later versions). Roido stays behind. In a cottage at the base of Holy Loly Mountain, Ana pulls Ninten aside and asks him to always be by her side. The two dance and profess their mutual love. Soon after, Teddy warns the party of a strange noise, and a giant robot attacks Ninten and his friends. Roido arrives with a tank and destroys the robot, but accidentally hits the party and critically wounds Teddy, so Roido re-joins the party. They take a boat out on Holy Loly Lake and a whirlpool pulls them into an underwater laboratory, where they find a robot who claims to have been built by George to protect Ninten. When the laboratory floods, they leave for the mountain's peak and the robot helps them ascend. Another robot (implied to be an upgraded version of the one fought at the cabin) attacks them at the summit, and George's robot self-destructs to destroy it, leaving behind the seventh part of Queen Mary's song. After learning this melody, the party travels back to Magicant, where Ninten sings the melodies he had learned to Queen Mary. She recalls the rest of the song, thus teaching Ninten the eighth and final melody in the process, and reminisces about an alien named Giygas that she loved as her own child. Queen Mary reveals that she is George's wife, Maria, and vanishes. Magicant, revealed to be a mirage created by her consciousness, vanishes with her. In later translations of the game, Ninten first visits George's grave at the top of Holy Loly Mountain, where George's spirit teaches Ninten the final melody. The party is warped back to the top of Holy Loly Mountain. Large rocks block the entrance to a cave inside Holy Loly Mountain, but are cleared by the power of Maria's consciousness. In that cave, they find an area with human prisoners including Ana's mother. They need to defeat the Mother Ship to free the prisoners. The party encounters the ship that the fully-grown Giygas is on. The alien expresses its gratefulness to Ninten's family for raising it, but explains that George stole vital information from its people that could have been used to betray them, and proceeds to accuse Ninten of interfering with their plans. Giygas offers to save Ninten alone if he boards the Mother Ship, only for Ninten to decline, leading Giygas to attack Ninten's party. The party begins to sing Queen Mary's lullaby while Giygas tries to quiet the party through his attacks. However, the party persists and finishes the lullaby, causing Giygas to become overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of Maria's motherly love. Giygas swears that they will meet again and flies off in the mother ship. In the original Famicom release, the game then ends with Ninten, Ana, and Lloyd facing the player as the credits roll behind them. Later releases feature an extended ending with the kids returning home and reuniting with their families. Teddy recovers from his injuries and becomes a singer, Roido is now treated like a hero among his classmates and Ana is shown receiving a letter from Ninten. Ninten goes to bed as the cast of characters appear at the bottom of the screen before the credits. After the credits, the game freezes on an image of a man, presumably Ninten's father, trying to call his son, stating, "I know that boy is home. Come on son and answer the phone. Something new has come up and . . ." ## Development Mother was developed by Ape and Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo. While visiting Nintendo for other work, copywriter Shigesato Itoi pitched his idea for a role-playing game set in contemporary times to the company's Shigeru Miyamoto. He thought the setting would be unique for its incongruence with role-playing genre norms, as daily life lacked the pretense for magic powers and they could not simply give the child characters firearms as weapons. Itoi's project proposal suggested how the natural limitations could be circumvented. Miyamoto met with him and praised the idea, though he was not sure whether Itoi "could pull it off". As an advertiser, Itoi was used to concept proposals preceding the staffing process, but Miyamoto explained that video game concepts needed people who signed on to "make" the product. Itoi was overcome with "powerlessness". Miyamoto was also hesitant to work with Itoi at a time when companies were pushing major celebrity product endorsements, as Itoi's involvement would be for such a game. When the two met next, Miyamoto brought the documentation from a text adventure game and told Itoi that he would have to write similar documentation himself. Miyamoto said that he knew from his own experience that the game would only be as good as the effort Itoi invested, and that he knew Itoi could not invest the appropriate time with his full-time job. Itoi restated his interest and reduced his workload, so Miyamoto assembled a development team. Upon assessing for compatibility, they began production in Ichikawa, Chiba. Itoi had said earlier that he wanted his work environment to feel like an extracurricular club consisting of volunteers and working out of an apartment, which Miyamoto tried to accommodate. Itoi wrote the game's script and commuted from Tokyo, a process he found "exhausting". Even with asking Itoi to prioritize the development process, Miyamoto received criticism of acquiescing to celebrity and of hiring a copywriter not up for the task. Miyamoto said that his decision to pursue the project was based on his confidence in Itoi. According to Itoi in a 1989 Famitsu interview, the word "mothership" was the influence for the game's title, although he states the title had other meanings too. Mother was released in Japan on July 27, 1989, for the Famicom (known as the Nintendo Entertainment System outside Japan). ### Localization and release The game was scheduled for a U.S. release as Earth Bound in late 1991, but the project was cancelled. According to Phil Sandhop, the director of Mother's localization, in an interview with LostLevels.org, "the Mother project and localizing it really opened up a few eyes at Nintendo. They began working closer with Nintendo of America and the other subsidiaries to produce artwork for games that would be appropriately received anywhere in the world and not need localization". In later years, a completely localized ROM file was found, and was distributed online under the fan-coined title EarthBound Zero. In June 2015, Mother was officially released via the Wii U's Virtual Console service, and released worldwide for the first time under the official title EarthBound Beginnings. In addition, the protagonist from the third entry, Lucas from Mother 3, was released as downloadable content for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. In February 2022, Nintendo released the game as EarthBound Beginnings for Nintendo Switch Online alongside its sequel EarthBound. ### Music The game's soundtrack was composed by Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka. Tanaka was a video game composer working for Nintendo who had previously composed for games such as Super Mario Land and Metroid, while Suzuki was a composer and musician for bands of many different genres. The NES was only able to play three notes at a time, which Suzuki has noted greatly limited what he was able to produce, as he could not create some of the sounds he wanted. An eleven-track album of songs inspired by the game's soundtrack was recorded in Tokyo, London, and Bath and released by CBS/Sony Records on August 21, 1989. The album contained mostly vocal arrangements in English and was likened by RPGFan reviewer Patrick Gann to compositions by the Beatles and for children's television shows. He found the lyrics "cheesy and trite" but appreciated the "simple statements" in "Eight Melodies" and the "quirky and wonderful" "Magicant". Only the last song on the album is in chiptune. Gann ultimately recommended the 2004 remastered release over this version. The game's soundtrack contains several tracks later used in subsequent series games. ## Reception and legacy Mother was the sixth best-selling game of 1989 in Japan, where it sold about 400,000 copies. Mother received a "Silver Hall of Fame" score of 31/40 from Japanese magazine Famitsu. Reviewers noted the game's similarities with the Dragon Quest series and its simultaneous "parody" of the genre's tropes. They thought the game's sequel, EarthBound, to be very similar and a better implementation of Mother's gameplay ideas. Critics also disliked the game's high difficulty level and balance issues. Jeremy Parish of USgamer described the game as a mild-mannered parody ("between satire and pastiche") of the role-playing game genre, specifically the Dragon Quest series. He noted that Mother, like many Japanese role-playing games, emulated the Dragon Quest style: the windowed interface, first-person perspective in combat, and graphics, but differed in its contemporary setting and non-fantasy story. Parish commented that Atlus's 1987 Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei was similarly set in the modern day, though it devolved into science fiction and fantasy in ways Mother did not. He added that the game has "a sense of wonder and magic realism ... in the context of childhood imagination", as Ninten can feel more like someone "pretending" to be a Dragon Quest-style hero than a hero in his own right. Parish said this makes the player wonder which game events are real and which are Ninten's imagination. Parish cited Itoi's interest in entering the games industry to make a "satirical" role-playing game as proof of the genre's swift five-year rise to widespread popularity in Japan. Cassandra Ramos of RPGamer praised the game's graphics and music, and considered it among the console's best, with "rich, ... nicely detailed" visuals, Peanuts-style characters, and "simple but effective" audio. In contrast, she found the battle sequences aesthetically "pretty bland" and, otherwise, the game's "least interesting" aspect. Overall, she found Mother "surprisingly complex ... for its time", and considered its story superior to (but less "wacky" than) its sequel. She especially recommended the game for EarthBound fans. Parish credited Itoi for the game's vision and compared his ability and literary interests with American author Garrison Keillor. Parish felt that Itoi's pedigree as a writer and copywriter was well suited for the space-limited, 8-bit role-playing game medium, which privileged Mother ahead of other games written by non-writers. USgamer's Parish noted how the game's non-player characters would "contemplate the profound and trivial" instead of reciting the active plot. He added that the game's lack of an official North American release has bolstered the reputation and revere of its immediate sequel. While Parish said Mother's script was "as sharp as EarthBound's", he felt that the original's game mechanics did not meet the same level of quality. Mother lacked the "rolling HP counter" and non-random encounters for which later entries in the series were known. Parish also found the game's balance to be uneven, as the statistical character attributes and level of difficulty scaled incorrectly with the game's progression. Rose Colored Gaming, a company that made custom reproductions of the NES cartridge, noted that the Japanese release's was more challenging than the unreleased English localization. RPGamer's Ramos similarly found balance issues, with a high number of battles, difficult enemies, reliance on grinding, and some oversized levels. Parish wrote earlier for 1UP.com that in comparison to EarthBound, Mother is "worse in just about every way", a clone where its sequel was "a satirical deconstruction of RPGs". He wrote that the game's historical significance is not for its actual game but for the interest it generated in video game emulation and the preservation of unreleased games. Mother was rereleased in Japan as the single-cartridge Mother 1+2 for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. This version uses the extended ending of the unreleased English prototype, but is only presented in Japanese. Starmen.net hosted a Mother 25th Anniversary Fanfest in 2014 with a livestream of the game and plans for a remixed soundtrack. Later that year, fans released a 25th Anniversary Edition ROM hack that updated the game's graphics, script, and gameplay balance. A film group known as 54&O Productions developed a fan-made documentary entitled Mother to Earth. The documentary focused on the road to Mother's localization in North America, and includes interviews with key people behind the process.
47,087,746	Marianos Argyros	1,171,388,538	Byzantine aristocrat (died 963)	[ "10th-century Byzantine monks", "10th-century Byzantine people", "10th-century diplomats", "963 deaths", "Ambassadors to the Fatimid Caliphate", "Argyros family", "Byzantine Empire–Fatimid Caliphate relations", "Byzantine diplomats", "Byzantine generals", "Byzantine governors of Longobardia", "Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars", "Year of birth unknown" ]	Marianos Argyros (Greek: Μαριανός Ἀργυρός, – 16 August 963) was a Byzantine aristocrat and member of the Argyros family. A monk, in 944 he supported the assumption of sole rule by Constantine VII, and was allowed to leave the monastery and enter imperial service. He held a succession of senior military commands, fighting in southern Italy against local rebels and the Fatimids, and in the Balkans against the Magyars. In 963, he tried to oppose the takeover of the imperial throne by the general Nikephoros Phokas by assuming control over Constantinople and arresting his father, Bardas Phokas the Elder. During the ensuing clashes, he was hit on the head by a platter and died on the next day, 16 August. ## Life ### Origin and the palace coups of 944 Marianos was the eldest son of the general Leo Argyros, active in the first decades of the 10th century. He had a brother, Romanos Argyros, who in 921 married Agathe, a daughter of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944). The Argyroi therefore were counted among the firmest supporters of the Lekapenos regime. Romanos Lekapenos had risen to power in 919 as regent over the young Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959), whom he married to his daughter Helena. By December 920, his position had become so unassailable that he was crowned senior emperor. To consolidate his hold on power, and possibly aiming to supplant the ruling Macedonian dynasty with his own family, Romanos raised his eldest son Christopher to co-emperor in 921, while the younger sons Stephen and Constantine were proclaimed co-emperors in 924. Christopher died in 931, and as Constantine VII remained sidelined, Stephen and Constantine assumed an increased prominence, although formally they still ranked after their brother-in-law in the college of emperors. However, in 943, the elderly Romanos drafted a will which would leave Constantine VII as the senior emperor following his death. This greatly upset his two sons, who started planning to seize power through a coup d'état, with Stephen apparently the ringleader and Constantine a rather reluctant partner. It is in this context that Marianos Argyros is first mentioned in December 944. At the time, he was a monk, and a confidant of Stephen Lekapenos. According to the 11th-century historian John Skylitzes, he had earlier been honoured and trusted by Romanos. Marianos nevertheless was one of the conspirators, men such as Basil Peteinos and Manuel Kourtikes, who supported the coup of the Lekapenoi brothers on 20 December, which successfully deposed Romanos and exiled him to a monastery on the island of Prote. A few weeks later, however, with the support of the populace, Constantine VII managed to sideline the Lekapenoi, who joined their father in exile. It appears that Marianos had changed sides in time, for he participated in the arrest of the Lekapenoi. As a reward, Constantine VII, now sole ruler, freed him of his monastic vows and raised him to the rank of patrikios and the post of Count of the Stable. His abandonment of the monastic habit earned him the nickname "Apambas" or "Apabbas" (Ἄπαμβας/Ἀπαββᾶς), whose etymology is unclear. ### Command in southern Italy Marianos then disappears from the scene until he was sent at the head of troops from the themes of Macedonia and Thrace in an expedition to southern Italy, dated by modern scholars to 955. A rebellion that had broken out in the local Byzantine themes of Langobardia and Calabria, involving also the imperial vassal city-state of Naples. The Byzantine expeditionary force encircled and besieged Naples, until the city surrendered. Marianos then took over the governance of the Byzantine provinces of Italy: in 956, he is attested as strategos (governor) of Calabria and Langobardia in a charter of privilege for the monastery of Monte Cassino. At about the same time, following a Fatimid raid on Almeria, war had broken out between the Fatimids and the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba. Fatimid sources report that the Umayyads proposed joint action with Byzantium, but Marianos appears to have been focused on suppressing the rebellion rather than engaging in war with the Fatimids. Byzantine envoys even went to the Fatimid caliph, al-Mu'izz, and offered to renew and extend the existing truce. Al-Mu'izz however, determined to expose the Umayyads' collaboration with the infidel enemy and emulate the achievements of his father, refused. The Caliph dispatched new forces to Sicily under Ammar ibn Ali al-Kalbi and his brother al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Kalbi. In spring/summer 956, the Fatimid fleet clashed with and defeated the Byzantine fleet in two battles in the Straits of Messina, followed by Fatimid raids on the Calabrian coast. In the aftermath of these raids, Marianos travelled to the Fatimid court in person, and sought a truce in exchange for the resumption of a payment of tribute and the annual release of prisoners of war taken in the East. Al-Mu'izz agreed to these terms, but warfare resumed soon after, when the Byzantine admiral Basil destroyed the mosque built by the Fatimids at Rhegion and raided Termini. Marianos therefore returned to the Fatimid court in a second embassy in 957, going first through Sicily, where he apparently delivered to the local Fatimid governor, Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Kalbi, the agreed tribute. During the reception by al-Mu'izz, Marianos presented a letter by Constantine VII confirming the terms agreed during the first embassy, but this time al-Mu'izz rejected the terms. As a result of the breakdown in these negotiations, Constantine VII sent a massive expedition to Italy under admirals Krambeas and Moroleon, while Marianos commanded the land troops. The Fatimids, under the Kalbid brothers, al-Hasan and Ammar, were victorious over Marianos, but following the arrival of the Byzantine reinforcements the Fatimid fleet left Calabria, only to suffer a shipwreck on its return to Sicily. Marianos is no longer mentioned in Italy after that, although he may have led a third embassy to al-Mu'izz in September 958, which led to the conclusion of a five-year truce between the two powers. ### Command in the Balkans and death In ca. 959/961, he defeated a raid by the Magyars into Thrace, taking many of them prisoner. In connection with this operation, Theophanes Continuatus refers to him as "monostrategos of the theme of Macedonia and katepano of the West", a position equivalent to that of the Domestic of the Schools of the West, in command of all the "western" (European) troops. It is unclear, however, whether this means a permanent appointment or was an ad hoc position, i.e. as strategos of Macedonia and temporary overall commander of detachments from the other European themes. The latter is more likely, as it is documented that Leo Phokas the Younger held the post of Domestic of the West, but was fighting against the Arabs in the east at the time. On 15 March 963, Emperor Romanos II (r. 959–963) unexpectedly died, leaving his young sons Basil II and Constantine VIII as emperors. The powerful general Nikephoros Phokas (the brother of Leo) decided to seize the throne for himself, but was opposed by the parakoimomenos (head chamberlain) and guardian of the young emperors, Joseph Bringas. Seeking support, Bringas offered Marianos the high command in the east and potentially even the throne if he would aid him. Marianos first suggested trying to win over Nikephoros Phokas' popular nephew and lieutenant, the strategos of the Anatolic Theme, John Tzimiskes. The latter not only refused, but took his letter straight to his uncle, who summoned his armies to Caesarea and had them proclaim him emperor in early summer. As Phokas' army advanced across Asia Minor on Constantinople, Marianos tried to stage a coup in Constantinople with men of the Macedonian regiments and armed prisoners of war. This move was opposed by the populace, resulting in clashes in the streets. The populace became especially enraged when Marianos tried to forcibly remove the Phokades' elderly father, Bardas, from the Hagia Sophia, where he had sought sanctuary, on 15 August. Marianos was reportedly hit on the head by a platter, thrown by a woman from a nearby house roof. Mortally wounded, he died on the next day. Phokas' supporters rapidly prevailed thereafter. Bringas was forced to flee himself to the Hagia Sophia, and on 16 August Nikephoros Phokas was crowned senior emperor as guardian of Basil and Constantine.
50,110,733	Kawan Bergeloet	1,092,506,429	Book by Soeman Hs	[ "1941 short story collections", "Balai Pustaka books", "Indonesian literature" ]	Kawan Bergeloet (Perfected Spelling: Kawan Bergelut; Indonesian for "Playmate") is a collection of short stories written by Soeman Hs and first published by Balai Pustaka in 1941. It contains twelve stories, seven of which were previously published in the magazine Pandji Poestaka, as well as an introduction by Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana. These stories are generally humorous in nature, and presented with a diction that shows strong east Sumatran influences. Released in response to the commercial success of collection Teman Doedoek, Kawan Bergeloet has been reprinted several times and received positive critical appraisal. Soeman, together with Kasim, has since been considered a pioneer of the Indonesian short story. The Dutch scholar of Indonesian literature A. Teeuw writes that the collection is Soeman's most interesting contribution to Indonesian literature. ## Background Short stories and sketches in Malay have been recorded in Indonesia since the 1870s, and a short story collection—H. Kommer's Warna Sari—was published in 1912. These early stories used vernacular Malay and were often humorous or derived from fairy tales or detective fiction. Short story-writing developed further in the 1920s and 1930s, when short stories and sketches in a more formal register of Malay were widely published in such magazines as Pandji Poestaka and Poedjangga Baroe. The first collection of short stories in the Indonesian literary canon, Teman Doedoek, was published by Balai Pustaka in 1937. This collection was a commercial success, selling 4,000 copies by 1941. Teman Doedoek was read by Soeman Hs, a Bengkalis-born teacher who had already gained popularity as a writer of detective fiction. Soeman, once a student of Kasim's, had also experimented with more humorous story-telling approaches, including in his novel Pertjobaan Setia as well as in the numerous short stories he had published through Pandji Pustaka. After the commercial success of Teman Doedoek, Balai Pustaka sought to release a new short story collection; thus, Soeman was contacted. ## Contents Kawan Bergeloet contains twelve short stories or sketches written by Soeman, seven of which had initially been written for and published in Pandji Poestaka. The remaining stories were written especially for the new collection. The first edition included an article on Soeman, written by Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, which had previously been published in the January 1936 issue of Pedoman Pembatja. This has been excluded from some later reissues. ### "Tjik Mat" "Tjik Mat" (Perfected Spelling: "Cik Mat") follows a young man named Mat who goes fishing by the riverside. After three casts he is unable to catch any fish. On the fourth cast, he hooks a fish, but it falls into the waters. The story was first published in 1933, in issue 13, volume 11, of Pandji Poestaka. ### "Piloe" "Piloe" (Perfected Spelling: "Pilu", meaning "Melancholia"), follows a mother who goes to the port with her child, Mak Jam, to meet her husband Hajji Saleh. Upon arriving, Jam is unable to find him. A crewman later tells the mother that Saleh died three days before reaching Sabang. The story was first published in 1933, in issue 40, volume 11, of Pandji Poestaka. ### "Salah Paham" "Salah Paham" (meaning "Misunderstanding") follows Kari Boengsoe, a gambir merchant, who travels to Singapore after turning a tidy profit. When his escort leaves, Kari goes to a nearby restaurant for dinner. The waiter asks him, "Kari apa?", to which Kari replies that he wants to eat. This exchange is repeated several times until the waiter asks "Kari ajam? Kari kambing?" Kari and the waiter begin fighting, and the police are called. When they arrive, they realize the source of the confusion, explain it, and leave. Shortly afterwards, the incident is repeated when Kari and the waiter have a misunderstanding over an ice cube. According to Balai Pustaka, "Salah Paham" was previously published. However, Ernst Kratz, in his bibliography of literature published in Indonesian magazines, does not note any publication. ### "Salah Sangka" "Salah Sangka" (meaning "Mistaken Expectations") follows Malim Boengsoe, a respected man from a small village, who—having had four daughters—desperately wants a son. He prays continuously, and his wife becomes pregnant. Nine months later, when she begins labour, Malim is busy praying for a son. An escaped criminal sneaks into the room of Malim's wife, and she and the other women there scream out "Laki-laki! Laki-laki!" Malim praises God and goes to the room as the criminal escapes. When Malim arrives and asks for his son, he is confused, as there is no one else there. The story was first published in 1933, in issue 59, volume 11, of Pandji Poestaka. ### "Pandai Djatoeh" "Pandai Djatoeh" (Perfected Spelling: "Pandai Jatuh", meaning "The Clever Falls") describes an incident involving three old men at a wedding. When the hosts pass out betel to be chewed, the first man takes out a golden mortar to crush the betel. He boasts that the only shortcoming of such a mortar was that the betel tasted somewhat sour. The second man then takes out his silver mortar and says that, with silver, the betel would only taste sour if left for too long. The third man, the poorest of them all, takes out his wooden mortar and says that, having tried golden and silver mortars, he has concluded that betel crushed under wood tastes the best of all. The story was first published in 1933, in issue 60, volume 11, of Pandji Poestaka. ### "Karena Hati" "Karena Hati" (meaning "Because of the Heart") follows a man who becomes an official in a small village. There, he marries Sitti Aminah, a young woman who, though only 20 years of age, has been married and divorced three times. Their marriage does not last long, and the man leaves Aminah three days before the Eid al-Fitr holiday. However, his expensive set of black clothing, which he must wear during the Eid ceremonies, is accidentally left at Aminah's home. Pretending to be sick, the man goes to Aminah and asks her to cover him with clothing and light a fire to keep him warm. When she starts a fire in the kitchen, the man escapes with his black clothes. The story was first published in 1936, in issues 100 and 101, volume 14, of Pandji Poestaka. ### "Fatwa Membawa Ketjewa" "Fatwa Membawa Ketjewa" (Perfected Spelling: "Fatwa Membawa Kecewa", meaning "Preaching Brings Disappointment") follows a Lebai Saleh, a labourer and student of Islam who is known for being greedy and miserly and was once driven out of a village for offering an insultingly low bride price. When arriving in a new village, he is taken on as an Islamic teacher. In his sermons Saleh, hoping that his students will give him some goods, preaches the importance of charity. He is soon receiving chickens and fish, and has married a local woman. During a meal, Saleh again gives a sermon on charity, but he and his wife fight soon afterwards after she gives some bowls and plates to other women. Saleh's nature is revealed, and he is again forced to flee. The story was first published in 1938, in issues 93 and 94, volume 16, of Pandji Poestaka. ### "Itoelah Asalkoe Tobat" "Itoelah Asalkoe Tobat" (Perfected Spelling: "Itulah Asalku Tobat", meaning "Thus Did I Repent") tells of Hajji Malik, a former criminal who became devoted to his prayers in his old age. A fellow villager goes to see Malik and asks why he abandoned his criminal ways and embraced Islam. Malik tells his visitor that, fifteen years previously, he and a friend were travelling through the forests when they saw some people burying a box. That night they dug up the box and tried to take it away, hoping it would be treasure. However, upon opening the box, they found it contained the body of a young child. They returned the box and Malik abandoned the life of a criminal. This story was written for Kawan Bergeloet. ### "Selimoet Bertoeah" "Selimoet Bertoeah" (Perfected Spelling: "Selimut Bertuah", meaning "The Magical Blanket") follows Tji' Dang, a man who is terrified of his wife. During Ramadhan, he is sent to buy a blanket but, on the way home, a wayward cigar burns a hole in the blanket. Afraid of what his wife will say, Dang buys another blanket. The first blanket is given to Dang's stepson, Boejoeng. Later that week, Dang tries to break the fast early by stealing some biscuits. Rather than be found out by his stepson, Dang convinces Boejoeng to cover his head with his blanket. That evening Boejoeng, having seen Dang take the biscuits through the hole in the blanket, demands that his stepfather double his allowance or else he will reveal Dang's secret. This story was written for Kawan Bergeloet. ### "Salah Mengerti" "Salah Mengerti" (meaning "Misunderstanding") follows two young boys: an Indian boy from Madras and a Malay boy nicknamed Pengkar. While out selling their wares, Tambi and Pengkar begin fighting owing to their inability to understand each other. This begins with fighting over their sales cry. This is followed by an argument regarding holy basil and poison ivy which ends with the Indian boy rubbing the poison ivy against his buttocks out of contempt. According to Balai Pustaka, this story was written for Kawan Bergeloet. However, Kratz records it as first being published in 1933, in issue 51, volume 11, of Pandji Poestaka. ### "Papan Reklame" "Papan Reklame" (meaning "Billboards") follows two shopkeeper, a man and a woman, who compete to offer the lowest prices. Both open their shops within days of each other, and they continually undercut each other's prices to attract customers. This conflict reaches the point that one shopkeeper, Wan Saleh, decides to buy out his competitor at cost. She agrees, and Saleh sells these wares, advertising a 5% markup. When he hears that his competitor will go to Singapore to buy new wares, Saleh follows her. When they are on the ship, it is revealed that the shopkeepers are actually husband and wife, and that he had actually bought her stock out with a 10% markup; as such, the customers paid a total markup of 15%. This story was written for Kawan Bergeloet. ### "Kelakar Si Bogor" "Kelakar Si Bogor" (meaning "The Antics of Bogor") follows the betting of a dockworker named Bogor. To introduce himself to some Arab sailors, he convinces them to bet on splitting purple mangosteens. After winning \$4.50, Bogor reveals his secret: he has been reusing mangosteen skins to add to his count. Bogor returns the money, and the sailors leave. On another occasion, Bogor bets a young sailor that all of the thirty eggs his chicken has laid will hatch. When the sailor returns and finds thirty chicks, he is shocked, and gives Bogor \$10. Bogor later reveals to his friend, the narrator, that only twenty eggs had hatched, and that he had purchased the other ten. This story was written for Kawan Bergeloet. ## Style The Indonesian literary scholar Ajip Rosidi writes that the vast majority of the stories in Kawan Bergeloet are meant as comedy. He considers only one story—"Piloe"—to have been intended as more serious or sad. Several of the stories use tropes previously seen in Kasim's Teman Doedoek, such as conflict arising from a misunderstanding, and the contents of some other stories are similar. For Kawan Bergeloet, Soeman wrote in Indonesian, a language based on formal Malay. His diction and phrasing was strongly influenced by his east Sumatran background, with little influence from the language as spoken in Java. Rosidi considers his language to flow more easily than Kasim's. John Wolff, the author of Indonesian Readings, sees Soeman as using "flourishes which echo folk-tale stories". ## Publication and reception Kawan Bergeloet was published by Balai Pustaka in 1941, with the series number 1426. The collection's title, Kawan Bergeloet, has variously been translated as Playmates, Comrades Wrestling, and Argumentative Companions; the word bergeloet, in Indonesian, can mean either "to wrestle" or "to laugh". Rosidi, identifying bergeloet as meaning "to laugh", writes that the title was meant to indicate that the book was intended for entertainment purposes, to be read in one's spare time. Soeman gained recognition as a pioneer of the Indonesian short story for Kawan Bergeloet, and over subsequent decades was commonly mentioned with Kasim in histories of the literary form. The collection has been reissued several times. The third printing, in 1950, introduced an updated spelling as well as nine illustrations by "Nasjah". The most recent edition was published in 1997. The story "Papan Reklame" was reprinted in Indonesian Readings, a student reader for Indonesian as a foreign language, in 1978. Rosidi writes that Soeman's greatest strength in Kawan Bergeloet is in his description. He considers the writer to have avoided clichéd descriptions, instead using "new and original" descriptions, metaphors, and turns of phrase. Rosidi considers some of the stories' comic incidents to be overly complicated, but attributes this to Soeman's previous activity in the detective genre. The Dutch scholar of Indonesian literature A. Teeuw finds the sketches in Kawan Bergeloet to be "well-observed and realistically described" and Soeman's most interesting contribution to Indonesian literature. ## Explanatory notes
1,430,977	Polydeuces (moon)	1,170,120,276	Trojan moon of Saturn	[ "Astronomical objects discovered in 2004", "Moons of Saturn", "Moons with a prograde orbit", "Trojan moons" ]	Polydeuces /ˌpɒlɪˈdjuːsiːz/, also designated Saturn XXXIV, is a small trojan moon of Saturn occupying the trailing Lagrange point of Dione. It was discovered by the Cassini Imaging Science Team in images taken by the Cassini space probe on 21 October 2004. With a mean diameter of about 3 km (1.9 mi), Polydeuces is thought to have a smooth surface coated with fine, icy particles accumulated from the cryovolcanic plumes of Enceladus. In its orbit around Saturn, Polydeuces periodically drifts away from Dione's Lagrange point due to gravitational perturbations by other nearby moons of Saturn. Of the four known trojan moons of Saturn, Polydeuces exhibits the largest displacement from its Lagrange point. ## Discovery Polydeuces was discovered by the Cassini Imaging Science Team on 24 October 2004 while routinely investigating images taken by the Cassini space probe earlier on 21 October 2004. The images were visually inspected through the blink comparison technique, which revealed any potential moons that moved relative to the background stars. The discovery images consisted of four frames taken with Cassini's wide-angle camera over less than six minutes, which showed Polydeuces moving 3–6 pixels per frame. The observed motion of Polydeuces immediately suggested that it could be orbiting Saturn at the distance of one of the large moons, Dione, possibly sharing its orbit in a co-orbital configuration. By 4 November 2004, the Cassini Imaging Science Team obtained more Cassini images of Polydeuces, including two frames taken on 2 November 2004 and another two predating the discovery images by three hours. Preliminary orbit determinations using these images confirmed that Polydeuces was a co-orbital trojan moon residing around Dione's Lagrange point. With the aid of ephemeris predictions from Polydeuces's newly determined orbit, the Cassini Imaging Science Team was able to identify 52 pre-discovery detections of Polydeuces in Cassini's narrow-angle camera images taken between 9 April 2004 and 9 May 2004. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced the discovery of Polydeuces on 8 November 2004. Besides Polydeuces, Cassini has discovered five other objects orbiting Saturn in 2004: Methone, Pallene, S/2004 S 3, S/2004 S 4, and S/2004 S 6. After the discovery announcement, Cassini was retasked to begin targeted observations of Polydeuces in January 2005 to better determine its orbit. In 2006, researchers found even earlier Cassini pre-discovery images of Polydeuces taken on 2 April 2004. ## Name The name Polydeuces was approved and announced by the IAU Working Group on Planetary System Nomenclature on 21 January 2005. In Greek mythology, Polydeuces is another name for Pollux, who is the twin brother of Castor and the son of Zeus and Leda. Polydeuces is also known by its official Roman numeral designation Saturn XXXIV (34th moon of Saturn discovered) and was previously known by its provisional designation S/2004 S 5, which was given by the IAU when it announced the moon's discovery. ## Orbit Polydeuces is an inner moon of Saturn in a co-orbital configuration with Dione, meaning they share the same orbit. Together with Dione and its other co-orbital companion Helene, Polydeuces orbits Saturn in 2.74 days at an average distance of 377,600 km (234,600 mi) from the planet's center, between the orbits of Tethys and Rhea. Due to gravitational perturbations by other nearby moons of Saturn, Polydeuces's orbital radius can vary by ±7,660 km (4,760 mi) over time. Its orbit is closely aligned with Saturn's equatorial plane with a low orbital inclination of 0.2°. Polydeuces has a slightly elliptical orbit with an eccentricity of 0.019, which is unusually higher than Dione's eccentricity of 0.002. While Dione's eccentricity is known to result from its 1:2 mean-motion orbital resonance with Enceladus, the effects of this resonance are too weak to explain Polydeuces's relatively high eccentricity. One possible explanation is that Polydeuces always had an eccentric orbit since its formation because its orbit did not change much over billions of years. Polydeuces resides around Dione's Lagrange point trailing 60° behind Dione in its orbit, which makes Polydeuces a trojan moon of Dione. The Lagrange points are locations where the gravitational pulls of Dione and Saturn balance out, allowing for stable co-orbital configurations in Dione's trojans. Dione's other co-orbital moon, Helene, is a trojan residing around the Lagrange point leading 60° ahead of Dione. Trojan moons are not unique to Dione; another large moon of Saturn, Tethys, also has two trojans, named Telesto and Calypso, which reside in its and Lagrange points, respectively. Because of perturbations by other moons of Saturn, Polydeuces does not stay exactly 60° behind Dione; its angular distance from Dione oscillates or librates over time. Of Saturn's four known trojan moons, Polydeuces librates the farthest from its Lagrange point: its angular distance behind Dione oscillates from 33.9° to 91.4° with a period of 790.931 days (2.17 years). In a rotating reference frame with respect to Dione's orbit, Polydeuces appears to travel in a looping path around Dione's point due to its varying relative speed and radial distance from Saturn in its perturbed eccentric orbit. Polydeuces's apparent looping motion combined with its librating angular distance from Dione forms a tadpole orbit about Dione's point. ## Origin Polydeuces is thought to have formed by accreting out of leftover debris trapped in Dione's Lagrange point, in a similar process experienced by Saturn's other trojan moons. This process likely took place at an intermediate stage of the formation of Saturn's moons, when Tethys and Dione have not finished forming and gases have become depleted in Saturn's circumplanetary disk. Mean-motion orbital resonances by other nearby moons did not appear to play a significant role in the formation of the trojan moons. Dynamical modeling of the trojan moons' formation suggests that Tethys's and Dione's and Lagrange points should have started with similar amounts of material for trojan moons to form with roughly similar sizes. However, this is not the case for Dione's trojans, Helene and Polydeuces, whose masses significantly differ by more than an order of magnitude. As of yet, this mass asymmetry in Dione's and trojans remains unexplained. ## Physical characteristics As of 2020, the most recent estimate for Polydeuces's dimensions is 3.50 km × 3.10 km × 2.62 km (2.17 mi × 1.93 mi × 1.63 mi), based on resolved Cassini imagery of the moon from 2015. These dimensions correspond to a volume-equivalent mean diameter of 3.06 km (1.90 mi) for Polydeuces. Cassini's highest-resolution images of Polydeuces from 2015 show that it has an elongated shape, with a relatively smooth limb deviating from a simple ellipsoid. Polydeuces presumably rotates synchronously with its orbital period, similar to the rest of Saturn's trojan moons. Little is known about Polydeuces's other physical properties because it was never approached up close by Cassini or any other space mission to Saturn. Because of its very small size, Polydeuces's gravitational perturbations on the trajectory of Cassini spacecraft and other Saturnian moons are negligible, which prevents the measurement of the moon's mass and density. In spite of this, researchers assume that Polydeuces has a density similar to those of Saturn's small inner moons, whose average density is 0.5 g/cm<sup>3</sup>, Polydeuces's small size makes it prone to disruption by impact events. Depending on the size-frequency of impactors in the Saturnian system, Polydeuces is predicted to have suffered at least one disruptive impact in the last one billion years. This implies either that Polydeuces is very young with an age of less than one billion years, or it is a primordial moon that has consistently reaccreted from each disruptive impact over the Saturnian system's 4.5 billion-year lifespan. Polydeuces has a bright and likely smooth surface due to the accumulation of fine water ice particles from the surrounding E Ring, which is generated by the cryovolcanic plumes of Enceladus. Because of its small size, any craters on Polydeuces would be completely buried in E Ring material, giving it a craterless appearance resembling Methone or Pallene. Its geometric albedo is unknown since it has never been observed at low phase angles. Cassini imagery shows that Polydeuces has a uniform surface brightness across its leading and trailing hemispheres. Its surface is about as bright as Dione's but darker than Helene's. The trojan moons of Tethys exhibit a similar difference in surface brightness, where Calypso is brighter than Telesto and Tethys. The reason for these brightness asymmetries in the trojan moons of Dione and Tethys remains unknown; possible explanations include an asymmetric distribution of E Ring particles or recent impacts that brightened Helene and Calypso. ## Exploration Cassini is the only space mission to Saturn that has made targeted observations of Polydeuces. Over the 13-year span of Cassini's mission in orbit around Saturn, the spacecraft has made 22 close approaches within 130,000 km (81,000 mi) of Polydeuces. Cassini's closest encounter with Polydeuces took place on 17 February 2005, when it passed 6,446.7 km (4,005.8 mi) from Polydeuces while moving outbound from periapse. However, Cassini did not take any images of Polydeuces on that date. The only encounters where Cassini has taken resolved images of Polydeuces were on 22 May 2006, 10 May 2015, and 16 June 2015, at closest approach distances of 64,089.9 km (39,823.6 mi), 33,997.8 km (21,125.3 mi), and 34,794.3 km (21,620.2 mi), respectively. Cassini's two close encounters in 2015 provided the first images where Polydeuces was larger than 10 pixels across. ## See also - Telesto and Calypso, trojan moons of Tethys at its and Lagrange points, respectively - Janus and Epimetheus, two inner moons of Saturn in a co-orbital exchange orbit with each other
29,075,425	Archaeomarasmius	1,167,816,526	Extinct genus of fungi	[ "Cretaceous fungi", "Fossil taxa described in 1997", "Fungi of North America", "Monotypic Agaricales genera", "New Jersey amber", "Prehistoric fungi", "Tricholomataceae" ]	Archaeomarasmius is an extinct genus of gilled fungus in the Agaricales family Tricholomataceae, containing the single species Archaeomarasmius leggetti. It is known from two fruit bodies recovered from amber, one consisting of a complete cap with a broken stem, the other consisting of a fragment of a cap. The cap has a diameter ranging from 3.2 to 6 mm (0.13 to 0.24 in), while the stem is 0.5 mm (0.02 in) thick. Spores were also recovered from the amber, and are broadly ellipsoid to egg-shaped, measuring roughly 7.3 by 4.7 μm. The species, which resembles the extant genera Marasmius and Marasmiellus, is inferred to have been saprobic on plant litter or other forest debris. The genus is solely known from the New Jersey amber deposits along the Atlantic coastal plain in New Jersey, United States, which date from the Turonian stage (about 90–94 Mya) of the Upper Cretaceous. Archaeomarasmius is one of only five known agaric fungus species known in the fossil record, and the only one to be described from New Jersey amber. ## History and classification The genus is known only from the two holotype fossils, a fruit body (or mushroom) and a fragment of a mushroom, both currently residing in the American Museum of Natural History. The specimens, collected in November 1994 from the area of East Brunswick, New Jersey, by G.R. Case, P.D. Borodin, and J.J. Leggett, were found as a single clear yellow amber nodule 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter. The specimen was found above the South Amboy Fire Clay, part of the Raritan Formation, suggesting that it is Turonian in age (Upper Cretaceous, about 90 to 94 million years ago). Due to weathering, the amber specimen AMNH NJ-90 fractured into a number of chips along fractures and flow lines. The chips with the holotype specimens, AMNH NJ-90Y and AMNH NJ-90Z, were first studied by a group of researchers consisting of David Hibbett and Michael Donoghue from Harvard University with David Grimaldi of the AMNH. Hibbett and colleagues published their 1997 type description in the American Journal of Botany. The generic epithet Archaeomarasmius is a combination of the Greek archaeo- meaning "ancient" and "Marasmius", a modern genus which it resembles. The specific epithet "leggetti" was coined by the authors in honor of J.J. Leggett and company, who first discovered the amber nodule and donated it to the AMNH. When first reported, Archaeomarasmius leggetti was the second extinct species of agaric fungus to be described, and it is the only species to be known from the New Jersey amber. Three species, Aureofungus yaniguaensis, Coprinites dominicana and Protomycena electra, have been described from the Miocene Dominican amber found in the Dominican Republic. The extinct Agaricomycetes species Quatsinoporites cranhamii, found in marine calcareous concretions on Vancouver Island, Canada, and dating to about 130–125 Mya, is probably in the Hymenochaetales or the Polyporales. In 2007, another agaric was reported, Palaeoagaracites antiquus, found in Early Cretaceous Burmese amber (about 100 Mya). ## Description The holotypes of Archaeomarasmius consist of mushrooms and associated basidiospores. Specimen AMNH NJ-90Y is a nearly complete mushroom, broken off near the base of the stipe (stem). The pileus (cap) is up to 6 mm (0.24 in) in diameter and has a convex shape sporting an umbo (a broad raised central region). The mushroom is a medium-dark brown color with thin, minutely textured flesh and an incurved margin. The lamellae or gills are distantly spaced, with 12 gills extending fully from the cap edge to the stipe, and lack lamellulae (short gills which do not reach the stipe from the edge of the pileus). The pileus is centered on the stipe, which is 0.5 by 2.2 mm (0.020 by 0.087 in) long and is broken off above the base. The stipe lacks a veil and is smooth and cylindrical. The top of the pileus is exposed on a fracture plain, and to prevent oxidation, the area was coated in a fine layer of synthetic resin, which also resulted in slightly improved visibility of the mushroom. Specimen AMNH NJ-90Z is a small wedge-shaped fragment of pileus which was accidentally fractured during preparation for study, splitting it in half. Though the researchers had not intended to perform destructive analysis on the sample, this fracturing warranted the sacrifice of some parts of the specimen for structural and molecular study. Small pieces of the specimen were mounted directly on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) stubs and sputter coated with a gold/palladium alloy. The resulting images showed that little intact tissue remained, and only fragmented and crushed basidiospores were seen. Another sample of the specimen was mounted in spurr's resin (an embedding medium used in electron microscopy) and sectioned with a diamond knife; the resulting sections were examined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The lack of discernible biological material from the mushroom seen in the SEM study was confirmed in the TEM analysis. A final section of the fossil was selected to attempt DNA sequencing. A small sample of the fossil was extracted at the AMNH and sent to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology for DNA amplification. None of the three selected extracts showed any results after the amplification was attempted. It is possible that the fractures and flowlines which split AMNH NJ-90Z during initial preparation had already penetrated into the fossil and destroyed the hermetic seal which would have been needed for preserving the organic matter of the mushroom. The basidiospores recovered with the fruiting body were examined during the SEM study. The spores showed considerable damage from both the fossilization process and the subsequent weathering and specimen collection. They also displayed distinct halos in the amber, possibly from gas or liquid leaching out, or a reaction in the spores that prevented the resin from turning to amber. Even so, enough remained to make some observations about spore morphology. The basidiospores are broadly elliptic to oval, measuring approximately 7.3 by 4.7 μm, and each shows a distinct hilar appendage. The combined characters of Archaeomarasmius indicate a relation to the modern family Tricholomataceae, with a close similarity to the genera Marasmius and Marasmiellus. Both genera are noted for marcescence, toughening and drying, rather than putrifying. This property would increase the chances of a mushroom becoming entombed in amber. However, a number of other species are also possible close relatives of Archaeomarasmius, mostly in Tricholomataceae, although some species in the family Strophariaceae are also marasmioid. The authors suggest it may also be appropriate to classify Archaeomarasmius more conservatively as incertae sedis (of uncertain placement) within the Tricholomatoceae, Agaricales, or Homobasidiomycetes. ## Associated inclusions The amber specimen "AMNH NJ-90", which preserved the two holotypes, also preserved a number of other inclusions that give indications as to what the ecology of Archaeomarasmius may have been. Of the approximately forty insect inclusions present, flies in the families Ceratopogonidae and Chironomidae, together with caddisflies of the order Trichoptera, suggest that the mushroom was growing near fresh water. Beetles from the family Elateridae, a termite and a pseudoscorpion, in addition to the mushroom, are indicators of rotting wood, probably from a tree in the family Cupressaceae. Modern Marasmiaceae members are saprobic—obtaining nutrients by breaking down organic matter—and specimens included with Archaeomarasmius indicate a similar habit for the mushroom. ## See also - List of Tricholomataceae genera
50,376,504	Edson Chagas	1,108,450,491	Angolan photographer	[ "1977 births", "21st-century Angolan people", "21st-century photographers", "Angolan photographers", "Living people", "People from Luanda" ]	Edson Chagas (born 1977) is an Angolan photographer. Trained as a photojournalist, his works explore cities and consumerism. In his "Found Not Taken" series, the artist resituates abandoned objects elsewhere within cities. Another series uses African masks as a trope for understanding consumerism in Luanda, his home city. Chagas represented Angola at the 2013 Venice Biennale, for which he won its Golden Lion for best national pavilion. He has also exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art and Brooklyn Museum. ## Early life Edson Chagas was born in Luanda, Angola, in 1977. He has a degree in photojournalism from the London College of Communication and studied documentary photography at the University of Wales, Newport. As of 2015, he continues to live in Luanda and works as the image editor for Expansão, an Angolan newspaper. ## Career Chagas represented Angola at the country's first Venice Biennale national pavilion in 2013. His exhibition placed on the floor giveaway, poster-sized photographs of discarded objects positioned in relation to weathered architecture in the Angolan capital, Luanda. These poster stacks were in "stark juxtaposition" with the opulent, Catholic decorations of the host, Palazzo Cini, which had been closed for the previous two decades. The New York Times called the pavilion a "breakout star" of the Biennale, and it won the biennial's top prize, the Golden Lion for best national pavilion. The jury praised his showing of the "irreconcilability and complexity of site". Frieze wrote that the pavilion showed a "relational attitude to space, ... responsive to context and not overly concerned with diplomacy and reifying otherness", as other African nation pavilions had been. Artsy's Giles Peppiatt named the series as a highlight and recommended purchase at the 2014 1:54 contemporary African art fair. The photographs on display came from Chagas's larger series, "Found Not Taken", which included conceptually similar photographs from citiesin addition to Luandawhere the photographer had spent time: London and Newport, Wales. The curators had asked Chagas to only display the photographs from Luanda for the Biennale, which he found acceptable since it didn't take the series out of context. He found that the cities, which were each preparing to host major events, demonstrated a "sense of renewal" in its culture. Coming from Luanda, where everything was reused, Chagas noted how consumer habits have evolved over time. He photographed each object in spaces where it interacted with its environment. Some objects were shot in nearly the same space as they were found, while others had to be moved. Through this method, Chagas felt that he learned the city's rhythm. He has said that he plans to continue the series. Chagas showed two different series in 2014. His works at the 1:54 art fair included large-format portraits that used African masks as a trope to comment on African identity. His "Oikonomo" series of self-portraits with shopping bags over his head were intended to hide his identity behind symbols of globalized capitalism and secondhand consumerism in Luandasecondhand goods permeate African consumer culture. Some of the bags include imagery such as a "World of Hope" slogan and a map of the Caribbean islands. This series, originally from 2011, was later shown at the Brooklyn Museum's 2016 "Disguise: Masks and Global African Art" exhibition. Hyperallergic highlighted the performativity in the artist wearing a Barack Obama bag over his head as kitschy, funny, and like another persona. Later in 2014, at Paris Photo, Chagas showed a portrait photograph series, "Tipo Passe", depicting models dressed in contemporary attire and wearing traditional, pre-colonial African masks. The clothes came from street markets and import retailers, while the masks came from a private collection. Hyperallergic described one such image, with its carved wood mask and plaid madras shirt a "delightfully incongruous combination". The prints were made in editions of seven. In 2015, Chagas was chosen for the Museum of Modern Art's "Ocean of Images: New Photography 2015" contemporary photography exhibition. His selectionsfrom prior series "Found Not Taken", "Tino Passe", and "Oikonomo"focused on themes of cities and consumerism.
26,464,640	Harry East	1,153,724,777	American baseball player (1862–1905)	[ "1862 births", "1905 deaths", "19th-century baseball players", "Baltimore Orioles (AA) players", "Baseball players from St. Louis", "Lincoln Tree Planters players", "Major League Baseball third basemen", "Memphis Reds players", "Suicides by sharp instrument in the United States" ]	Harry Hamlet East (April 12, 1862 – June 1, 1905) was an American professional baseball player who played in one game at third base for the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association in 1882. A St. Louis native, he was hitless in four at bats as the Orioles lost 10–5 to the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park. He played two seasons of Minor league baseball as well, then became a doctor. After being admitted to a hospital with melancholia in 1905, East slit his throat with a straight razor, committing suicide at the age of 43. ## Early life Harry Hamlet East was born on April 12, 1862. Frank Russo, in his 2014 book The Cooperstown Chronicles, lists East's birthplace as St. Louis, Missouri, where the ballplayer would spend most of his life. However, Baseball-Reference.com says he was born in Decatur, Illinois. His parents were William H. East and Ada Virginia Finnegin East. Growing up, Harry was interested in baseball as well as becoming a doctor. ## Baltimore Orioles East's only Major League Baseball (MLB) game came on June 17, 1882, at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, though he played for the visiting Baltimore Orioles as they competed against the St. Louis Browns of the fledgling American Association. He played third base in the contest, batting and throwing left-handed. East was hitless in four at bats as the Browns won 10–5. ## Minor league baseball East also played at least two seasons of Minor League Baseball. He played for the Memphis Reds of the Southern League in 1885. In 12 games (45 at bats), he recorded nine runs scored and 12 hits. All but one of the hits were singles; the other was a double. He batted .267, with a slugging percentage of .289. In 1886, East played for the Lincoln Tree Planters of the Western League, though statistics from this season are unavailable. Following his time with Lincoln, he continued to play semipro baseball through 1889, after which he decided to become a doctor. ## Later years In 1890, East enrolled at Barnes Medical College in St. Louis. After graduating, he remained in St. Louis. "By all accounts, he had a thriving practice," writes Russo. East checked into the Alexian Brothers' Hospital as a melancholia patient in May 1905. On June 2, he committed suicide, using a straight razor to slit his throat. Orderlies discovered him too late to prevent his death. He was buried a few days later in the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cemetery in Xenia, Illinois.
1,309,969	Gilbert Perreault	1,168,237,427	Canadian ice hockey player (born 1950)	[ "1950 births", "Buffalo Sabres captains", "Buffalo Sabres draft picks", "Buffalo Sabres players", "Calder Trophy winners", "Canadian ice hockey centres", "French Quebecers", "Hockey Hall of Fame inductees", "Ice hockey people from Quebec", "Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winners", "Living people", "Montreal Junior Canadiens players", "National Hockey League first-overall draft picks", "National Hockey League first-round draft picks", "National Hockey League players with retired numbers", "People from Victoriaville" ]	Gilbert Perreault (born November 13, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played for 17 seasons with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. He was the first draft pick of the Sabres in their inaugural season in the NHL. He is well known as the centre man for the prolific trio of Sabres forwards known as The French Connection. The trio helped the Sabres reach the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990. Known for his ability to stickhandle in close quarters, he is regarded as one of the most skillful playmaking centres of all time. In 2017 Perreault was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. Perreault was a standout junior hockey player who went on to be selected to nine National Hockey League All-Star Games and two post-season NHL All-Star teams (second team centre), while winning the Calder Memorial Trophy and a Lady Byng Trophy, and being selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. He played his entire 17-year career with the Buffalo Sabres and continues to be the all-time franchise leader in career regular season games played, goals, assists, points, game-winning goals, and shots on goal, serving as the team's captain from 1981 until his retirement in November 1986. He led the team to 11 consecutive playoff appearances ending with the 1984–85 season. Over the course of his 17-season career he accumulated 512 goals and 814 assists in 1191 games. Among his career highlights was the game-winning goal in overtime of the 1978 National Hockey League All-Star Game played at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Perreault once totaled seven points in a single game, which remains a Sabres record. He also recorded the first power play goal and the first hat trick in the team's history. He is the only Buffalo Sabre to wear number 11, with the number being retired in his honor. ## Early life Perreault began playing organized hockey at about age six. He preferred street hockey to playing on the ice and did not skate until he was eight. He began playing minor ice hockey at age nine. He played in the 1961, 1962 and 1963 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with Victoriaville. He left home at the age of 16 to join his first junior hockey team. His first year (1966–67) of junior hockey was spent with Thetford Mines in the Quebec Junior A League. His teammates included Rick Kehoe and Marc Tardif. The team won the league championships. ## Playing career ### Amateur career After the Quebec Junior A League shut down, Perreault joined the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) for the 1967–68 season, the first of three years with the Junior Canadiens. His 49 points in 47 games helped the Junior Canadiens to a second-place finish. During his second year on the team, one that included future NHL talents Réjean Houle and André Dupont as well as future professional teammates Jocelyn Guevremont and Richard Martin, Perreault blossomed. His 97 points were second on the team to Houle's 108 points, and they earned him OHA first All-Star team honours. As Perreault blossomed, the team excelled. In his second season, the team finished first in the OHA and won the 1969 Memorial Cup Canadian Junior championship. It was the first Memorial Cup win for Montreal since 1950. After Houle moved on to become the NHL's first overall pick, Perreault assumed the leadership role and compiled a 51-goal, 71 assist season, which led the team in both categories and place second in the league to Marcel Dionne's 132 points. The Canadiens defeated the Weyburn Red Wings to become the third junior team to successfully defend their championship and the Memorial Cup. Perreault was named the Ontario Hockey Association most valuable player. The record of the 1969 and 1970 Montreal Junior Canadiens in the playoffs was so outstanding it caused a change in Memorial Cup eligibility rules. Previously, all Junior clubs in Canada were eligible for the cup, but the Junior Canadiens beat a club from Prince Edward Island so badly in the playoffs that 'Junior A' was re-organized into 'Major Junior' and 'Junior A'. Since then, only Major Junior clubs are eligible for the Cup. ### Professional career In 1970, two new franchises were awarded in the NHL — the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks. It was a foregone conclusion Perreault would be the first selection in the 1970 Entry Draft. The two new teams took part in a roulette wheel spin to determine who would get the first pick. Ultimately, the Canucks were allocated numbers 2-6 on the wheel, while the Sabres had 8-12 (The number 7 spot was neutral, meaning the pointer landing on it would have required a re-spin). When league president Clarence Campbell spun the wheel, he initially thought the pointer landed on 1 (in reality, the wheel had no number 1 spot) and started to congratulate the Vancouver delegation. However, Sabres coach/general manager Punch Imlach asked Campbell to check again. As it turned out, the pointer was on 11. Imlach had chosen 8-12 for the roulette wheel spin because it included 11, which was his favourite number. This was the first year the Montreal Canadiens did not have a priority right to draft Québécois junior players. Consequently, Perreault was available and taken first overall by the Sabres. Coincidentally, Perreault had worn \#11 throughout his junior career, and kept it in Buffalo in honour of the roulette wheel choice. As expected, he became an immediate star. He scored a goal in the franchise's very first game, which was a 2-1 victory on October 10, 1970, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. During his first season, he led the Sabres in scoring (with 38 goals and added 34 assists) — a feat he would never fail to accomplish in any season in which he did not miss significant time to injury before his penultimate year — and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. Perreault developed a reputation as a superb stickhandler, and scored a goal on his first shift in a professional scrimmage. Bobby Orr once said of Perreault: "His head and shoulders go one way, his legs go the other way, and the puck is doing something else. When I first saw it I couldn't believe it." His popularity and respect surpassed O. J. Simpson in a poll of Buffalonians about the best Buffalo athlete. Phil Esposito once said if anyone was to break his 76-goal, 152 point season records "It will be Gilbert Perreault." Before the 1971–72 NHL season the Sabres drafted Perreault's Junior Canadiens teammate, Rick Martin, with their first pick. The two jelled as a tandem with each scoring 74 points. Late in the season the Sabres traded Eddie Shack for Rene Robert. The trio formed one of the decade's most memorable and exciting lines, known as "The French Connection" with Robert on right wing and Martin on left wing. They ended the following 1972–73 season sweeping the top three scoring positions for the team and leading the franchise to its first playoff appearance with Perreault winning the Lady Byng Trophy as the most gentlemanly player. In 1973–74, Perreault endured a broken leg that limited him to 55 games. The 1974–75 NHL season was memorable for the Sabres' Stanley Cup Finals appearance. The Sabres finished first in the newly reformatted league's Adams Division, and the French Connection members each finished in the top ten in league scoring. The Sabres defeated original six teams Chicago Black Hawks and Montreal Canadiens on their way to a Finals appearance against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Sabres lost the series four games to two. 1975 was the closest Perreault would come to winning the Stanley Cup. ### International career Perreault was named to the Canadian national team ("Team Canada") that participated in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. He managed to contribute two points in two games but left the team after game five. In 1976, Canada hosted the first Canada Cup series. Perreault played with future Hockey Hall of Fame members such as Bobby Orr, Darryl Sittler, Bobby Hull, Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne. Perreault often played on a line with fellow Québécois Lafleur and Dionne. Canada won the series after beating Czechoslovakia in a best two out of three. He later played in the 1981 Canada Cup on a line with Wayne Gretzky and Lafleur. He was playing some of the best hockey of his career, leading all scorers with nine points in four games, when he was forced out of the tournament with a broken ankle. Canada lost the final to the USSR 8–1. Perreault was named to the All Tournament Team, despite playing in only four of Canada's seven games. ## Retirement Perreault retired at the end of the 1985-86 season. Thereafter, pension changes came into effect significantly boosting the pensions of retired players who played at least 20 games in the 1986-87 season. He duly came out of retirement and still played effectively, scoring 9 goals in the first 14 games. He retired for good on November 24, 1986 after his 20th game. He finished his career with scoring totals of 512 goals and 814 assists for 1326 points in 1191 games. At the time of his retirement, Perreault was the sixth leading scorer in NHL history. Along with the other two members of the French Connection, Perreault was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 1989. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990, and the Sabres retired his number 11 in the same year, having been the only player to ever wear number 11 for the Buffalo Sabres; his \#11 was the first number retired by the Sabres. When his French Connection linemates' numbers were retired, Perreault's \#11 was lowered and raised back between Martin's \#7 and Robert's \#14, as the Buffalo Sabres retired the French Connection line as a group, marking the first three players to have their numbers retired by the Sabres. A statue of "The French Connection," unveiled in 2012, is located outside of the Sabres' arena, known today as KeyBank Center. Since his retirement from hockey, Perreault has remained active in the game, coaching Junior teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In addition, he also plays on occasion with the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team for charity events. ## Personal life Perreault is married to Carmen, has two sons, Marc-André (born 1978) and Sean (born 1986), and still resides in his hometown of Victoriaville, Quebec. After retiring from playing, Perreault coached junior ice hockey, and invested in real estate. In his spare time, Perreault enjoys golfing, listening to music, and going to the movies. ## Career achievements - Holds franchise record for most games (1191), goals (512), assists (814) and points (1326) with the Buffalo Sabres. - Won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1971. - Won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1973. - Named an NHL second team All-Star in 1976 and 1977. - Chosen to play in eight NHL All-Star Games in 1970–71, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1979–80, and 1983–84, as well as the 1979 Challenge Cup, which pitted NHL players against a team representing the Soviet Union, in place of an all-star game in 1979. - In 1998, he was ranked number 47 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. ## Career statistics ### Regular season and playoffs ### International ## See also - List of NHL players with 500 goals - List of NHL players with 1000 points - List of NHL statistical leaders
53,434,662	Liability (song)	1,144,913,328	2017 promotional single by Lorde	[ "2010s ballads", "2017 songs", "Lorde songs", "Pop ballads", "Song recordings produced by Jack Antonoff", "Song recordings produced by Lorde", "Songs written by Jack Antonoff", "Songs written by Lorde", "Tove Styrke songs" ]	"Liability" is a song recorded by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, from her second studio album Melodrama (2017). Lorde co-wrote and co-produced the track with Jack Antonoff. It was released on 10 March 2017, by Lava and Republic Records as the album's first promotional single. It is a pop piano ballad, which is accompanied with organs and guitar strums in the background. The track's lyrics detail the consequences and scrutiny Lorde's friends received from the media as a result of her new-found fame and the effect it had on her emotional health. Music critics praised the song's lyrical content and Lorde's vocal delivery; some noted its dramatic sonic shift from the album's lead single "Green Light" (2017), which was released a week prior. The song had minor chart placements in the United States and the United Kingdom, placing at 78 and 84, respectively. She performed "Liability" for the first time on Saturday Night Live in New York in 2017 and subsequently at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California. It was part of the set list of her Melodrama World Tour (2017–2018). Swedish singer Tove Styrke released a cover of the song titled "Liability (Demo)" to streaming services on 14 December 2017. ## Background and development Lorde told a crowd at a secret iHeartRadio concert she held in Los Angeles in August 2017 that "Liability" was inspired by a night she became "overcome with anger and emotion". She walked 8 to 10 km (5.0 to 6.2 mi) before ordering an Uber to take her home. She cried as she listened to Rihanna's song "Higher" from her 2016 album Anti because of a feeling of "being 'too much' for somebody." Self-proclaimed as her first ballad, Lorde described the songwriting process of "Liability" as "therapeutic" as she felt that she said everything about herself that could hurt her "coming from other people". Lorde said the original concept for "Liability" was a rap skit. She wanted to find a "fancy sound designer" to put the listener in a party. In there, she wanted to evoke the feeling of her walking away from said party down a hall, find a room, shut the door and then deliver a verse and chorus of the song. She also intended to have dialogue within "Liability", with someone calling her name and Lorde walking out of the room as the listener stays inside waiting for the next song to play. She contemplated changing the framing of the track but refrained from doing so. The singer said a note that was "deliberately missing" from the track was meant to feel like taking a breath or as if one would skip a step downstairs. She spent a couple of days in Waiheke Island to write the song. ## Recording and composition Lorde recorded "Liability" in three different locations across the United States. She started recording the song at Electric Lady Studios, in New York, with Jack Antonoff and assistance from Barry McCready and Eric Eylands in engineering. Lorde and Antonoff both worked at Rough Customer Studio, in Brooklyn Heights, New York, a joint publishing venture between Sony/ATV and Antonoff. Recording concluded at Conway Recording Studios, in Los Angeles, California. Tom Elmhirst mixed the song at Electric Lady Studios, with assistance from Brandon Bost and Joe Visciano. Laura Sisk served as the sound engineer. It was published under the licenses of Songs Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Songs LLC, and Ducky Donath Music (BMI). According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Liability" is composed in the key of D-flat major and in the common time signature. The song moves at a moderately slow tempo of 72 beats per minute, and Lorde's vocals span a range of C<sub>3</sub>–A<sub>4</sub>. It is described by critics as a pop piano ballad, with guitar strums and organs in the background. Pitchfork editor Quinn Moreland noted an "unidentified mumbling male voice" at the start of the track. Patrick D. McDermott from The Fader compared "Liability" to the works of American indie rock band Bright Eyes. Time called it a "stripped-down" track, with a haunting piano melody that accompanies the singer's voice, which was labelled as husky. Its lyrics reveal the consequences of Lorde's rise to fame, in the lines, "The truth is, I am a toy that people enjoy 'til all of the tricks don't work anymore / And then they are bored of me." ## Reception "Liability" received critical acclaim from music critics, with many commending the song's lyrical content and Lorde's vocal delivery, and was called one of the standout tracks on the record. Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone described the song as a "short but poignant song that finds Lorde grappling with fame and how it can change friendships and relationships." Billboard writer Andrew Unterberger commended its lyrics and Lorde's delivery, calling the song "an absolute jaw-dropper." Spin editor Anna Gaca praised Lorde for turning the track into a "poetic meditation on the perils of intimacy". Pitchfork expressed that the song was a "powerful counterpart to "Green Light" that shows how intensely Lorde peers into herself on her second record." The song was released with the pre-order of Melodrama on digital download sites. In the United States, "Liability" debuted at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100. It charted on the Digital Song Sales chart at number 27 (27,000 first-week downloads sold in the week ending March 16), while accruing 4.7 million U.S. streams. The song had minor chart placements in the United Kingdom and France, debuting at number 84 and 54, respectively. "Liability" debuted at number eight in New Zealand, earning Lorde her ninth top 10 entry in her native country. Elsewhere, the song debuted within the mid-tier in Australia and Canada, placing at number 42 and 62, respectively. It has received certifications in Australia (Platinum), Canada (Gold), New Zealand (Gold), and the United Kingdom (Silver). The song was ranked the 81st most popular song of 2017 by Australian alternative music station Triple J. ## Live performances and other usage Lorde performed "Liability" for the first time on Saturday Night Live in 2017. She sang the song with Antonoff, next to a piano while wearing a white bridal veil. Both Lorde and Antonoff brought several pieces to place on the piano to feel like when they initially wrote the song; these included a set of candles, a copy of Lorrie Moore's short story collection Self-Help (1985) and a framed picture of Swedish singer Robyn. Rolling Stone called it a "sparse, understated rendition." In a review for the episode, Chris White from Paste praised Lorde's performance, stating that the singer may be "remembered as the best musical performance" of the show's season. Vish Khanna from Exclaim described the performance as "artfully shot," with a piano accompaniment from Antonoff to back a "raw, emotional vocal" which was compared to American musicians Patti Smith and Paul Westerberg. "Liability" was also performed at the 2017 edition of the Glastonbury Festival in England. Lorde confessed to the crowd that the song's inspiration came from the "bottomless pit of misery that comes from knowing you're a massive loser." The Telegraph called it a "beautiful confession" and one that "demonstrated the purity of her flawless vocals." She also performed the track at the ARIA Music Awards while sitting alone in a dim corner with lights peeking through a "wall of blinds." Lorde performed the song at the 2017 Coachella festival in "a glass box." Before she introduced the song, she briefly sang Kanye West's single "Runaway" (2010). Tove Styrke, an opening act on Lorde's Melodrama World Tour, released a demo of the track on streaming services on 14 December 2017. It was well received by critics who commended its "bouncy pop" twist. Styrke released a music video of her cover, filmed in a "deserted studio, decorated with fluorescent lights, [and Styrke] sprawled across the ground." Lorde's version is heard at the end of the Quantico episode "Global Reach". It was also featured in a special episode of HBO's original series, Euphoria. ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of Melodrama. Recording and management - Recorded at Conway Recording Studios, Rough Customer Studios (Brooklyn Heights, New York), and Electric Lady Studios (New York City) - Mixed at Electric Lady Studios (New York City) - Mastered at Sterling Sound Studios (New York City) - Published by Songs Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Songs LLC, and Ducky Donath Music (BMI) Personnel - Lorde – lead vocals, songwriting, production - Jack Antonoff – songwriting, production - Barry McCready – assistant engineer - Eric Eylands – assistant engineer - Tom Elmhirst – mixing - Joe Visciano – assistant mixing - Brandon Bost – assistant mixing - Tom Coyne – mastering - Laura Sisk – engineering ## Charts ## Certifications
64,294,384	3rd Missouri Infantry Regiment (Confederate)	1,097,091,131	Infantry regiment of the Confederate States Army	[ "1862 establishments in Missouri", "1863 disestablishments in Alabama", "Military units and formations disestablished in 1863", "Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Missouri" ]	The 3rd Missouri Infantry Regiment served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The infantry regiment was officially mustered into service on January 17, 1862. It fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas in March before being transferred across the Mississippi River. While stationed at Corinth, Mississippi, the regiment played a minor role in the Battle of Farmington before the evacuation of the town. In September, the unit saw light action at the Battle of Iuka before being heavily engaged during the Second Battle of Corinth as the Confederates attempted to retake the town in October. In early 1863, the regiment was transferred to Grand Gulf, Mississippi, in order to strengthen the defenses of the Mississippi River at that point. At the Battle of Grand Gulf on April 29, the unit helped repulse a Union Navy attack against the Confederate defensive works. After elements of the Union Army of the Tennessee landed below Grand Gulf, the regiment fought in a delaying action at the Battle of Port Gibson on May 1. After the Confederate defeat at Port Gibson, the 3rd Missouri Infantry Regiment was engaged at the Battle of Champion Hill, another unsuccessful attempt to stop Major General Ulysses S. Grant's advance against Vicksburg, on May 16. The regiment was routed the next day at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge while serving as part of the rear guard. After Big Black River Bridge, the unit entered the fortifications of Vicksburg, which were soon besieged. During the Siege of Vicksburg, the regiment was often used as a reserve unit, although it saw heavy fighting during a Union assault against the Stockade Redan on May 22. On July 4, the Confederate garrison of Vicksburg surrendered, and the survivors of the regiment were eventually paroled and exchanged. On October 6, the regiment was combined with the 5th Missouri Infantry Regiment to form the 3rd and 5th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Consolidated). The new regiment then fought in the Atlanta campaign in 1864 before being almost annihilated at the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. In early 1865, the consolidated regiment was transferred to Mobile, Alabama, where it surrendered on April 9. ## Background and formation When the American Civil War began in 1861, Missouri voted against secession, despite being a slave state. Claiborne Fox Jackson, the Governor of Missouri, supported secession. After pro-secession state militia were dispersed in the Camp Jackson affair on May 10, Jackson responded by forming the Missouri State Guard on May 12. Major General Sterling Price was appointed to command the unit. Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon of the Union Army drove the secessionists into the southwestern portion of the state, but was defeated and killed at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in August. The Missouri State Guard had further victories after Wilson's Creek, but were confined to southwestern Missouri by the end of the year. While at Neosho in November, Jackson and the pro-secession legislators voted to secede from the United States, joining the Confederate States of America. The anti-secession elements of the state legislature had previously reaffirmed their position in Jefferson City in July, giving the state two conflicting governments. The 3rd Missouri Infantry Regiment was mustered into the Confederate States Army on January 17, 1862, while it was stationed at Springfield. Initially, it was planned to name it the 2nd Missouri Infantry Regiment, but it was found that two Missouri infantry regiments had already entered Confederate service, necessitating a designation as the 3rd Missouri Infantry Regiment. The regiment soon joined the First Missouri Brigade. Benjamin A. Rives was the regiment's first colonel, James A. Pritchard was appointed as the first lieutenant colonel, and Finley L. Hubbell was the first major. As of the muster date, the regiment contained ten companies, designated with the letters A–I and K; all were Missouri-raised. ## Service history ### 1862 #### Pea Ridge On February 12, 1862, the regiment left Springfield for Cove Creek, Arkansas, as part of a Confederate withdrawal caused by Union pressure. The 3rd Missouri Infantry saw some action as a rear guard unit during the retreat. On March 3, the regiment left Cove Creek as part of a Confederate advance against a Union force that was in the Pea Ridge, Arkansas, area. Over the course of the subsequent battle, the regiment was in the First Missouri Brigade, which was commanded by Colonel Lewis Henry Little. On the morning of March 7, Price's division, which contained Little's brigade, encountered Union troops near a position known as Cross Timber Hollow. Little's brigade was deployed in line; the 3rd Missouri Infantry was assigned a line of advance along Telegraph Road, which ran through the area. In the afternoon, Little's brigade attacked a Union line arrayed around the Elkhorn Tavern. At one point the fighting, the 3rd Missouri Infantry, led from the front by Rives, initially drove the enemy back before becoming disorganized and halting. On March 8, a Union cannonade forced the 3rd Missouri Infantry back from an exposed position in an open field to a more protected one in some woods. A Union counterattack then drove in the right flank of Little's brigade, causing the Missourians to retreat. Rives had been mortally wounded on either the 7th or the 8th; Pritchard took over command of the regiment in Rives' stead. The regiment's losses at Pea Ridge are variously reported as either 104 (26 killed, 45 wounded, and 33 missing) or 117 (39 killed, 45 wounded, and 33 missing). #### Second Corinth After the defeat at Pea Ridge, the regiment fell back to the Van Buren, Arkansas, area. In late March, the regiment transferred to Des Arc, Arkansas. Crossing the Mississippi River, the regiment reached Memphis, Tennessee, on April 7, but was soon sent to Corinth, Mississippi, where a roll call was performed on May 5, determining that 450 men of the regiment were present for duty. On May 9, the regiment was present at the Battle of Farmington, but did not see much action. In late May, the Siege of Corinth ended when the Confederates evacuated the town, and the 3rd Missouri Infantry spent the summer stationed at various points in northern Mississippi. Price's army then moved to Iuka, Mississippi, where it was trapped by Union forces. At the Battle of Iuka on September 19, the regiment was subjected to artillery fire, but was not otherwise engaged. After the battle, the Confederates were able to escape from the Union trap. Price and Major General Earl Van Dorn then united and moved to retake Corinth. At the Second Battle of Corinth on October 3 and 4, the 3rd Missouri Infantry was part of Colonel Elijah Gates' brigade of Brigadier General Louis Hébert's division. On October 3, Gates' brigade reinforced Brigadier General Martin E. Green's brigade in a charge against a stubborn Union line, but only the 2nd Missouri Infantry Regiment was heavily engaged. However, even with Gates' brigade in good shape, Price determined not to attempt a large-scale assault against the interior Union lines on the 3rd. On October 4, Gates' brigade and Green's brigade (now commanded by Colonel William H. Moore) began an assault against the interior Union works around 10:00 a.m. The target of Gates' brigade was a fortification known as Battery Powell. The 3rd Missouri Infantry clashed with the 52nd Illinois Infantry Regiment, defeating the Union regiment. However, Pritchard was shot in the shoulder and had to be carried off the field; Hubbell took command of the regiment. Pritchard's wound proved to be mortal. Gates' brigade was able to capture Battery Powell, but was driven off by a Union counterattack. Hubbell reported that most of the 3rd Missouri Infantry broke and was routed during the retreat. The regiment lost 92 men at Second Corinth. William R. Gause, who had been promoted from command of Company B to lieutenant colonel in May, took over the regiment permanently after the battle. ### 1863 #### Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, and Champion Hill In early 1863, the regiment was transferred to the Big Black River, where it guarded a bridge. In March, the regiment moved to Grand Gulf, Mississippi, where the men built fortifications, strengthening the defenses of Vicksburg, Mississippi. On April 5, the 3rd Missouri Infantry, as part of a larger force, was moved across the Mississippi River into Louisiana, where they encamped near Bayou Vidal in Tensas Parish. On April 8, the unit fought in a small action at James' Plantation nearby. An attempt by the reconnaissance force to strike a major blow against Union forces occupying the area on April 15 failed when the element of surprise for a planned attack was lost. On April 17, the arrival of Union Navy ships forced the Confederates to return to Mississippi. The regiment then rejoined the defenses at Grand Gulf. At the Battle of Grand Gulf on April 29, the 3rd Missouri Infantry defended a line of rifle pits that extended between the two main Confederate fortifications. The unit's position allowed the men to shoot into the portholes of the Union Navy ships shelling the Confederate position. The regiment lost one man killed and three wounded in the battle. The Confederate victory prevented Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant from landing a force at that point, although Grant was able to land a strong force south of the position. Brigadier General John S. Bowen, the Confederate commander at Grand Gulf, responded to the Union landing by sending a force to Port Gibson, Mississippi to intercept Grant. At the Battle of Port Gibson on May 1, the 3rd Missouri Infantry, along with the 5th Missouri Infantry Regiment, supported the Confederate left flank. The two regiments remained in reserve for much of the early fighting. In the early afternoon, when the Confederate left was in danger of breaking, the two regiments were sent to assault the Union right flank. However, Union leadership noticed the threat and sent troops to support the area where they expected the attack. A canebrake provided cover for the Confederate attack, which fell upon a Union line composed of the brigades of Colonel James R. Slack and Brigadier General George F. McGinnis and five artillery batteries. Despite breaking Slack's right, the weight of superior Union numbers and effective Union artillery fire drove the Confederates back to the cover of a creek bank. After two hours, the two regiments began to run low on ammunition and were ordered to withdraw. However, the attack had bought valuable time for the main Confederate line to regroup. One historian reports the 3rd Missouri Infantry's Port Gibson casualties as 24, while another has estimated that the 3rd and 5th Missouri suffered a combined total in excess of 200 casualties. The Confederates then fell back from Port Gibson, burning bridges in the process. In turn, Grant moved east in order to aim his attack at an angle that would trap the Confederates in Vicksburg. During the movement, Grant captured Jackson, Mississippi. The Confederate force at Vicksburg was commanded by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton. Another Confederate force, commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston was positioned north of Jackson. Johnston ordered Pemberton to move east from Vicksburg so that the Confederates could join together to strike Grant. While making the necessary movements, some of Pemberton's force encountered elements of Grant's army on May 16, starting the Battle of Champion Hill. At Champion Hill, Company G of the 3rd Missouri Infantry was detached from the regiment as part of a unit of skirmishers drawn from the various regiments of the First Missouri Brigade. Hubbell, who was by then a lieutenant colonel, commanded the detachment. Later in the battle, the Confederate left was severely threatened by Union assaults, and the First Missouri Brigade was sent to shore up the failing line. The brigade's right flank was exposed, and the rightmost regiment, the 5th Missouri Infantry, was forced to fall back. That movement in turn exposed the flank of the 3rd Missouri Infantry, which also fell back. After regrouping, the two regiments counterattacked to regain the line of their former positions. The entire brigade then charged the main Union position, capturing a crossroads and Champion Hill, two key battlefield locations. Hubbell was mortally wounded by a shot through the arm during the charge. However, Union reinforcements and massed artillery fire first stopped, and then repulsed, the charge. The men of the First Missouri Brigade, including the 3rd Missouri Infantry, were forced to retreat. The regiment lost 143 men as casualties at Champion Hill, including 36 killed. #### Big Black River Bridge and the Siege of Vicksburg On May 17, the First Missouri Brigade was part of a rear guard holding the crossing of the Big Black River. However, a Union charge broke the Confederate line and routed the defenders in the Battle of Big Black River Bridge. The regiment then entered the defensive works at Vicksburg, which were then besieged by Union forces. On May 18, Cockrell's brigade was engaged in a small action near Mint Spring Bayou. This forward position was determined to be dangerous due to a large ravine between it and the main Confederate line, so it was abandoned on the 19th. The 3rd Missouri Infantry was used as a reserve when Union forces attacked on May 19. On May 22, the men of the regiment manned the Confederate line at a point known as the Stockade Redan, where they, as well as other elements of the First Missouri Brigade, fought off Union attacks against the position. When the attack failed, a number of Union soldiers were trapped in a ditch in front of the Confederate position. After the Union soldiers refused calls to surrender, men of the 3rd Missouri Infantry secured a number of artillery shells, lit the fuses, and then threw the explosive shells into the Union position as improvised hand grenades. The regiment saw further action repulsing Union assaults in June and July, but it was frequently used as a reserve unit. By the time the Confederate garrison of Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, the regiment had suffered 55 casualties. After the capitulation, the survivors of the regiment were paroled, although about 100 men deserted. The men of the regiment then moved to Demopolis, Alabama, and were exchanged on September 12. On October 6, the regiment was combined with the 5th Missouri Infantry to form the 3rd and 5th Missouri Infantry Regiment (Consolidated); the 3rd Missouri Infantry ceased to exist as a separate unit. ## Legacy The 3rd Missouri Infantry had been reduced to four companies during the process of consolidating with the 5th Missouri Infantry; these companies became Companies B, D, E, and H within the consolidated regiment. Colonel James McCown of the 5th Missouri Infantry commanded the new regiment, as Gause, commander of the 3rd Missouri Infantry, had been transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department. The regiment fought in the Atlanta campaign in 1864, including at the Battle of New Hope Church on May 25 and at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 19. On October 5, the regiment fought at the Battle of Allatoona, where it suffered 76 casualties, and on November 30, at the Battle of Franklin, where it lost 113 of the approximately 150 remaining men. In February 1865, the regiment was transferred to Mobile, Alabama, adding to the city's defenses, where it surrendered on April 9 at the Battle of Fort Blakely. ## Commanders Three men served as colonel of the 3rd Missouri Infantry Regiment, none of whom were with the regiment when it was consolidated with the 5th Missouri Infantry: Rives (mortally wounded at Pea Ridge), Pritchard (mortally wounded at Second Corinth), and Gause (transferred in September 1863). Pritchard, Gause, Hubbell, and James K. McDowell were the regiment's lieutenant colonels. Hubbell, McDowell, and Robert J. Williams all held the rank of major in the regiment. ## See also - List of Missouri Confederate Civil War units
18,291,136	411th Engineer Brigade (United States)	1,140,900,503	null	[ "Engineer Brigades of the United States Army", "Military units and formations established in 1949", "Military units and formations of the United States Army Reserve" ]	The 411th Engineer Brigade (Theater Army) is a combat engineer brigade of the United States Army headquartered in New Windsor, New York. It is a major engineer command of the United States Army Reserve. Tracing its lineage back to the 355th Engineer Regiment, the brigade assumed its predecessor's campaign participation credit and honors, which were received fighting in the European Theater of World War II. The reserve brigade did not participate in any Cold War era fighting, and only saw periodic moves to various army bases around New York State. After the Cold War, however, the brigade saw several deployments to the Middle East in a supporting role for US-led contingencies. These included Operation Desert Storm, Operation Joint Endeavor, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. ## Organization The 411th Engineer Brigade is a subordinate unit of the 412th Engineer Command and its Headquarters and Headquarters Company is stationed at New Windsor, New York. As of 2017 the following units are subordinated to the 411th Engineer Brigade: - 463rd Engineer Battalion, in Wheeling, West Virginia - 479th Engineer Battalion, in Fort Drum, New York - 854th Engineer Battalion, in Saugerties, New York - 478th Engineer Battalion, in Fort Thomas, Kentucky ## History ### Origins The 411th Engineer Brigade traces its lineage back to the 355th Engineer Regiment, which was first constituted on 15 October 1921 in the Organized Reserves. The regiment was organized in January 1922 with its headquarters at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It was ordered into active duty military service on 1 September 1942 at Camp White, Oregon, in preparation for deployment to Europe during World War II. During World War II, the regiment saw action in the European Theater, undertaking numerous bridging and mobility missions in Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland and the Ardennes area. The regiment was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service during the war. After the war was over in 1945, the regiment remained in the country until it was inactivated on 17 June 1946 in Germany. A year later, on 27 May 1947, the regiment was reactivated with its headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. It was again inactivated on 31 December 1948 in Detroit. After the inactivation, the regiment was broken up and its subordinate elements were redesignated. The regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Company and Service Company were reorganized on 25 February 1949 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 411th Engineer Brigade, allowing them a larger staff with the ability to take command of more subordinate units. The regiment's 1st Battalion was reorganized and redesignated on 25 February 1949 as the 928th Engineer Construction Battalion. The 2nd Battalion was reorganized and redesignated on 15 March 1949 as the 929th Engineer Construction Battalion. The 3rd Battalion disbanded on 9 July 1953. The two separated battalions retained separate lineage from this point and the 355th Engineer Regiment ceased to exist. ### Cold War years The 411th Engineer Brigade was activated on 14 March 1949 at New York City. It was reorganized on 22 December 1950 as the 411th Engineer Aviation Brigade. A few years later, the Organized Reserve Corps itself was redesignated as the Army Reserve, and the brigade was delegated to Reserve status. On 1 January 1957, the brigade was again redesignated as the 411th Engineer Brigade. On 31 January 1968, the brigade headquarters was relocated to Fort Tilden, New York. For most of its operational existence, the brigade remained in Reserve status except for a few brief mobilizations in the Active Duty force. It was ordered into active military service on 24 March 1970 at Fort Tilden, New York, before being reverted to reserve status two days later. The brigade received its distinctive unit insignia on 28 January 1971 and its shoulder sleeve insignia on 20 December 1973. On 3 January 1978 the brigade headquarters location was changed to Brooklyn, New York. The brigade was again ordered into active duty to play a supporting role in the Gulf War in 1990. It officially switched to active service on 6 December 1990 at Brooklyn, New York. It participated in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm and earned two campaign streamers for participation in the conflict. On 11 March 1991 it was released from active military service and reverted to reserve status. The next day, while still in the country, the brigade was one of numerous units thought to have been exposed to chemical agents released during the Khamisiyah Pit demolition. Much of the NATO invasion force in the country at the time is suspected to have been exposed to these agents. On 1 April 1996, the brigade relocated to New Windsor, New York. It provided engineer Support to Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia and Kosovo by augmenting the staff of the 412th Engineer Command, and by deploying the 139th and 141st Transportation Company Detachments to the region which were under the brigade's peacetime command and control. ### Iraq War The Brigade was alerted for deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in late 2005. In the summer of 2006, it trained for three months at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin to prepare. Its mission in Iraq was to integrate other smaller engineer units and provide engineer support to the other Army units operating in the country. The brigade headquarters took command of several other engineer battalions during this deployment. Among the units under brigade's control was the 502nd Engineer Battalion based in Hanau, Germany which worked on bridges around Baghdad, as well as the 875th Engineer Battalion of the Arkansas Army National Guard based at Camp Striker and the active duty 92nd Engineer Battalion. Also attached to the brigade's command was the Us Air Force's 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron, a contingent of Air Force engineers. The brigade arrived in Iraq in September 2006. It assumed control of over 3,000 engineers from the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force and US Marine Corps, having taken over the duty from the 130th Engineer Brigade which was departing following the end of its deployment. During the deployment, the brigade had five principal duties: route clearance and sanitation, rapid crater repair, engineer support to the 3rd Infantry Division and other combat units, planning, design and construction of contingency operating bases, and command of tactical bridging assets. The first major project of the brigade after arriving in country in September 2006 was to assist Iraqi engineers in repairing and operating the run down and damaged water treatment plant at Al Bakir which provided a major source of fresh water from the Tigris River. The brigade allowed Iraqi engineers to lead this operation and played a supporting role in evaluating their work. One of the brigade's major projects was the construction of Forward Operating Base (FOB) Hammer, which was completed in just 45 days. The base required construction materials from all over the country as well as foreign materials brought to Camp Victory and Balad Air Base. The 411th Brigade's attached B CO 92nd EN BN soldiers focused primarily on land work, perimeter fences and ground fortifications totaling over nine kilometers, with a detachment from the RED HORSE USAF focused on construction of buildings and other "vertical" projects. After completion, the FOB had space for 4,000 soldiers, and was occupied by 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. After the completion of the FOB, 411th Engineer Brigade soldiers commenced construction on other facilities throughout Camp Liberty for other incoming Army units. At the same time, other units in the brigade were responsible for route clearance in the areas of Logistics Support Area Anaconda along routes used for military supply as well as civilian traffic. The brigade's soldiers used Buffalo mine protected vehicles to clear these routes of suspected Improvised Explosive Devices and other dangerous obstacles. During this deployment, the brigade completed over 200 projects on every major Forward Operating Base in the country, and three major projects supporting the Iraq War troop surge of 2007. It completed over 400,000 kilometers of route clearance and blast hole repair using over 2,800 pieces of major equipment. The brigade headquarters returned home to New York in fall of 2007, after one year of deployment to Iraq. ### Operation Enduring Freedom In 2012, the 411th Engineer Brigade was again mobilized and deployed to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to take command of theater-wide engineer operations. The brigade formed a task force dubbed "Joint Task Force Empire" and remained deployed in Afghanistan until March 2013 when it returned home to New York and was reverted to reserve status. ## Honors ### Unit decorations ### Campaign streamers
14,856,988	History of public relations	1,152,181,604	Aspect of history surrounding public relations	[ "History of business", "Public relations" ]	Most textbooks date the establishment of the "Publicity Bureau" in 1900 as the start of the modern public relations (PR) profession. Of course, there were many early forms of public influence and communications management in history. Basil Clarke is considered the founder of the PR profession in Britain with his establishment of Editorial Services in 1924. Academic Noel Turnball points out that systematic PR was employed in Britain first by religious evangelicals and Victorian reformers, especially opponents of slavery. In each case the early promoters focused on their particular movement and were not for hire more generally. Propaganda was used by both sides to rally domestic support and demonize enemies during the First World War. PR activists entered the private sector in the 1920s. Public relations became established first in the U.S. by Ivy Lee or Edward Bernays, then spread internationally. Many American companies with PR departments spread the practice to Europe after 1948 when they created European subsidiaries as a result of the Marshall Plan. The second half of the twentieth century was the professional development building era of public relations. Trade associations, PR news magazines, international PR agencies, and academic principles for the profession were established. In the early 2000s, press release services began offering social media press releases. The Cluetrain Manifesto, which predicted the impact of social media in 1999, was controversial in its time, but by 2006, the effect of social media and new internet technologies became broadly accepted. ## Ancient origins Although the term "public relations" was not yet developed, academics like James E. Grunig and Scott Cutlip identified early forms of public influence and communications management in ancient civilizations. According to Edward Bernays, one of the pioneers of PR, "The three main elements of public relations are practically as old as society: informing people, persuading people, or integrating people with people." Scott Cutlip said historic events have been defined as PR retrospectively, "a decision with which many may quarrel." A clay tablet found in ancient Iraq that promoted more advanced agricultural techniques is sometimes considered the first known example of public relations. Babylonian, Egyptian and Persian leaders created pyramids, obelisks and statues to promote their divine right to lead. Additionally, claims of magic or religious authority were used to persuade the public of a king or pharaoh's right to rule. Ancient Greek cities produced sophisticated rhetoric, as analyzed by Isocrates, Plato and Aristotle. In Greece there were advocates for hire called "sophists". Plato and others said sophists were dishonest and misled the public, while the book "Public Relations as Communication Management" said they were "largely an ethical lot" that "used the principles of persuasive communication." In Egypt court advisers consulted pharaohs to speak honestly and scribes documented a pharaoh's deeds. In Rome, Julius Caesar wrote the first campaign biography promoting his military successes. He also commissioned newsletters and poems to support his political position. In medieval Europe, craftsmen organized into guilds that managed their collective reputation. In England, Lord Chancellors acted as mediators between rulers and subjects. Pope Urban II's recruitment for the crusades is also sometimes referred to as a public relations effort. Pope Gregory XV founded the term "propaganda" when he created Congregatio de Propaganda ("congregation for propagating the faith"), which used trained missionaries to spread Christianity. The term did not carry negative connotations until it was associated with government publicity around World War II. In the early 1200s, Magna Carta was created as a result of Stephen Langton lobbying English barons to insist King John recognize the authority of the church. ## Antecedents Explorers like Magellan, Columbus used exaggerated claims of grandeur to entice settlers to come to the New World. For example, in 1598, a desolate swampy area of Virginia was described by Captain Arthur Barlowe as follows: "The soil is the most plentiful, sweet, fruitful and wholesome of all the world." When colonists wrote back to Europe about the hardships of colonizing Virginia, including the death toll caused by conflicts with Indians, pamphlets with anonymous authors were circulated to reassure potential settlers and rebuke criticisms. The first newsletter and the first daily newspaper were founded in Germany in 1609 and 1615 respectively. Cardinal Richelieu of France had pamphlets made that supported his policies and attacked his political opposition. The government also created a publicity bureau called Information and Propaganda and a weekly newspaper originally controlled by the French government, The Gazette. In the mid-1600s both sides of the English Civil War conflict used pamphlets to attack or defend the monarchy respectively. Poet John Milton wrote anonymous pamphlets advocating for ideas such as liberalizing divorce, the establishment of a republic and the importance of free speech. A then-anonymous pamphlet in 1738 by Maria Theresa of the Austrian Empire was influential in criticizing the freemasons and advocating for an alliance between the British, Dutch and Austrian governments. In 1641, Harvard University sent three preachers to England to raise money for missionary activities among the Indians. To support the fund-raising, the University produced one of the earliest fund-raising brochures, New England's First Fruits. An early version of the press release was used when King's College (now Columbia University), sent out an announcement of its 1758 graduation ceremonies and several newspapers printed the information. Princeton University was the first university to make it a routine practice of supplying newspapers with information about activities at the college. According to Noel Turnbull, an adjunct professor from RMIT University, more systematic forms of PR began as the public started organizing for social and political movements. The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was established in England in 1787. It published books, posters and hosted public lectures in England advocating against slavery. Industries that relied on slavery attempted to persuade the middle-class that it was necessary and that slaves had humane living conditions. The Slave Trade was abolished in 1807. In the U.S., the movement to abolish slavery began in 1833 with the establishment of the American Anti-Slavery Society, using tactics adopted from the British abolitionist movement. According to Edward Bernays, the U.S. abolitionist movement used "every available device of communication, appeal and action," such as petitions, pamphlets, political lobbying, local societies, and boycotts. The South responded by defending slavery on the basis of economics, religion and the constitution. In some cases propaganda promoting the abolition of slavery was forbidden in The South and abolitionists were killed or jailed. Public relations also played a role in abolitionist movements in France, Australia and in Europe. The Boston Tea Party has been called a "public relations event" or pseudo event, in that it was a staged event intended to influence the public. Pamphlets such as Common Sense (1775–76) and The American Crisis (1776 to 1783) were used to spread anti-British propaganda in the United States, as well as the slogan "taxation without representation is tyranny." After the revolution was won, disagreements broke out regarding the United States Constitution. Supporters of the constitution sent letters now called the Federalist Papers to major news outlets, which helped persuade the public to support the constitution. Exaggerated stories of Davy Crockett and the California Gold Rush were used to persuade the public to fight the Mexican–American War and to migrate west in the U.S. respectively. Author Marvin Olasky said public relations in the 1800s was spontaneous and de-centralized. In the 1820s, Americans wanted to disprove the perspective of French aristocrats that the American democracy run by "the mob" had "no sense of history, no sense of gratitude to those who had served it, and no sense of the meaning of 'virtue'". To combat this perception, French aristocrat Marquis de Lafayette, who helped fund the American Revolution, was invited to a tour of the United States. Each community he visited created a committee to welcome him and promote his visit. In the mid-1800s P. T. Barnum founded the American Museum and the Barnum and Bailey Circus. He became well known for publicizing his circus using manipulative techniques. For example, he announced that his museum would exhibit a 161-year-old woman, who had been Washington's nurse, then produced an elderly woman and a forged birth certificate. In the 1860s, the major railway companies building the Transcontinental Railroad (Central Pacific Railroad in Sacramento, California, and the Union Pacific Railroad in New York City) engaged in "sophisticated and systematic corporate public relations" in order to raise \$125 million needed to construct the 1,776-mile-long railroad. To raise the money, the companies needed to maintain "an image attractive to potential bond buyers, [and maintain relationships] with members of Congress, the California state legislature, and federal regulators; with workers and potential workers; and with journalists." Early environmental campaigning groups like the Coal Abatement Society and the Congo Reform Association were formed in the late-1800s. In the late 1800s many of the now-standard practices of media relations, such as conducting interviews and press conferences emerged. Industrial firms began to promote their public image. The German steel and armaments company Krupp created the first corporate press department in 1870 to write articles, brochures and other communications advertising the firm. The first US corporate PR department was established in 1889 by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. "The first public relations department was created by the inventor and industrialist George Westinghouse in 1889 when he hired two men to publicize his pet project,alternating current (AC) electricity." The first appearance of the term "public relations" was in the 1897 Year Book of Railway Literature. ## Origins as a profession The book Today's Public Relations: An Introduction says that, although experts disagree on public relations' origins, many identify the early 1900s as its beginning as a paid profession. According to Barbara Diggs-Brown, an academic with the American University School of Communication, the PR field anchors its work in historical events in order to improve its perceived validity, but it didn't begin as a professional field until around 1900. Scott Cutlip said, "we somewhat arbitrarily place the beginnings of the public relations vocation with the establishment of The Publicity Bureau in Boston in mid-1900." He explains that the origins of PR cannot be pinpointed to an exact date, because it developed over time through a series of events. Most textbooks on public relations say that it was first developed in the United States, before expanding globally; however, Jacquie L'Etang, an academic from the United Kingdom, said it was developed in the UK and the US simultaneously. Noel Turnball claims it began as a professional field in the 18th and 19th century with British evangelicals and Victorian reformers. According to academic Betteke Van Ruler, PR activities didn't begin in Continental Europe as a professional field until the 1920s. According to Goldman, from around 1903 to 1909 "many newspapers and virtually all mass-circulation magazines featured detailed, indignant articles describing how some industry fleeced its stockholders, overcharged the public or corrupted politics." The public became abruptly more critical of big business. The anti-corporate and pro-reform sentiment of the Progressive Era was reflected in newspapers, which were dramatically increasing in circulation as the cost of paper decreased. Public relations was founded, in part, to defend corporate interests against sensational and hyper-critical news articles. It was also influential in promoting consumerism after the emergence of mass production. ### Early pioneers `The Publicity Bureau was the first PR agency and was founded by former Boston journalists, including Ivy Lee. Ivy Lee is sometimes called the father of PR and was influential in establishing it as a professional practice. In 1906, Lee published a Declaration of Principles, which said that PR work should be done in the open, should be accurate and cover topics of public interest. According to historian Eric Goldman, the declaration of principles marked the beginning of an emphasis on informing, rather than misleading, the public. Ivy Lee is also credited with developing the modern press release and the "two-way-street" philosophy of both listening to and communicating with the public. In 1906, Lee helped facilitate the Pennsylvania Railroad's first positive media coverage after inviting press to the scene of a railroad accident, despite objections from executives. At the time, secrecy about corporate operations was common practice. Lee's work was often identified as spin or propaganda. In 1913 and 1914, the mining union was blaming the Ludlow Massacre, where on-strike miners and their families were killed by state militia, on the Rockefeller family and their coal mining operation, The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. On the Rockefeller family's behalf, Lee published bulletins called "Facts Concerning the Struggle in Colorado for Industrial Freedom," which contained false and misleading information. Lee warned that the Rockefellers were losing public support and developed a strategy that Junior followed to repair it. It was necessary for Junior to overcome his shyness, go personally to Colorado to meet with the miners and their families, inspect the conditions of the homes and the factories, attend social events, and especially to listen closely to the grievances. This was novel advice, and attracted widespread media attention, which opened the way to resolve the conflict, and present a more humanized versions of the Rockefellers. In response the labor press said Lee "twisted the facts" and called him a "paid liar," a "hired slanderer," and a "poisoner of public opinion." By 1917, Bethlehem Steel company announced it would start a publicity campaign against perceived errors about them. The Y.M.C.A. opened a new press secretary. AT&T and others also started their first publicity programs.` Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, is also sometimes referred to as the father of PR and the profession's first theorist for his work in the 1920s. He took the approach that audiences had to be carefully understood and persuaded to see things from the client's perspective. He wrote the first textbook on PR and taught the first college course at New York University in 1923. Bernays also first introduced the practice of using front groups in order to protect tobacco interests. In the 1930s he started the first vocational course in PR. Bernays was influenced by Freud's theories about the subconscious. He authored several books, including Crystallizing Public Opinion (1923), Propaganda (1928), and The Engineering of Consent (1947). He saw PR as an "applied social science" that uses insights from psychology, sociology, and other disciplines to scientifically manage and manipulate the thinking and behavior of an irrational and "herdlike" public. In 1929, Edward Bernays helped the Lucky Strike cigarette brand increase its sales among the female demographic. Research showed that women were reluctant to carry a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes, because the brand's green color scheme clashed with popular fashion choices. Bernays persuaded fashion designers, charity events, interior designers and others to popularize the color green. He also positioned cigarettes as Torches of Freedom that represent rebellion against the norms of a male-dominated society. According to Ruth Edgett from Syracuse University, Lee and Bernays both had "initial and spectacular successes in raising PR from the art of the snake oil salesman to the calling for a true communicator." However, "late in their careers, both Lee and Bernays took on clients with clearly reprehensible values, thus exposing themselves and their work to public criticism." Walter Lippmann was also a contributor to early PR theory, for his work on the books Public Opinion (1922) and The Phantom Public (1925). He coined the term "manufacture of consent," which is based on the idea that the public's consent must be coaxed by experts to support a democratic society. Former journalist Basil Clarke is considered the founder of PR in the UK. He founded the UK's first PR agency, Editorial Services, in 1924. He also authored the world's first code of ethics for the field in 1929. Clarke wrote that PR, "must look true and it must look complete and candid or its 'credit' is gone". He suggested that the selection of which facts are disseminated by PR campaigns could be used to persuade the public. The longest established UK PR agency is Richmond Towers, founded by Suzanne Richmond and Marjorie Towers in 1930. Arthur W. Page is sometimes considered to be the father of "corporate public relations" for his work with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) from 1927 to 1946. The company was experiencing resistance from the public to its monopolization efforts. In the early 1900s, AT&T had assessed that 90 percent of its press coverage was negative, which was reduced to 60 percent by changing its business practices and disseminating information to the press. According to business historian John Brooks, Page positioned the company as a public utility and increased the public's appreciation for its contributions to society. On the other hand, Stuart Ewen writes that AT&T used its advertising dollars with newspapers to manipulate its coverage and had their PR team write feature stories imitating independent journalism. ### Early campaigns `Edward Clarke and Bessie Tyler were influential in growing the Ku Klux Klan to four million members over three years using publicity techniques in the early 1920s. In 1926 the Empire Marketing Board was formed by the British government in part to encourage a preference for goods produced in Britain. It folded in 1933 due to government cuts. In 1932, a pamphlet "The Projection of England" advocated for the importance of England managing its reputation domestically and abroad. The Ministry of Information was established in the UK in 1937.` Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were the first Presidents to emphasize the use of publicity. In the 1930s Roosevelt used the media to promote The New Deal and to blame corporations for the country's economic problems. This led companies to recruit their own publicists to defend themselves. Roosevelt's anti-trust efforts led corporations to attempt to persuade the public and lawmakers "that bigger [corporations] was not necessarily more evil." Wilson used the media to promote his government reform program, The New Freedom. He formed the Committee on Public Information. In the 1930s, the National Association of Manufacturers was one of the first to create a major campaign promoting capitalism and pro-business viewpoints. It lobbied against unions, The New Deal and the 8-hour work-day. NAM tried mostly unsuccessfully to convince the public that the interests of the public were aligned with corporate interests and to create an association between commerce and democratic principles. During the Second World War, Coca-Cola promised that "every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for five cents, wherever he is and whatever it costs the company." The company persuaded politicians that it was crucial to the war-effort and was exempted from sugar rationing. During the European Recovery Program PR became more established in Europe as US-based companies with PR departments created European subsidiaries. In 1938, amid concerns regarding dropping diamond prices and sales volume, De Beers and its advertising agency N.W. Ayers adopted a strategy to "strengthen the association in the public's mind of diamonds with romance," whereas "the larger and finer the diamond, the greater the expression of love." This became known as one of America's "lexicon of great campaigns" for successfully persuading the public to purchase expensive luxury items during a time of financial stress through psychological manipulation. It also led to the development of the slogan "A diamond is forever" in 1947 and was influential in how diamonds were marketed thereafter. After World War I the first signs of public relations as a profession began in France and became more established through the Marshall Plan. ## Wartime propaganda ### World War I The first organized, large-scale propaganda campaigns were during World War I. Germany created the German Information Bureau to create pamphlets, books and other communications that were intended to support the justness of their cause, to encourage voluntary recruitment, to demonize the enemy and persuade America to remain neutral in the conflict. In response to learning about Germany's propaganda, the British created a war propaganda agency called the Wellington House in September 1914. Atrocity stories, both real and alleged, were used to incite hatred for the enemy, especially after the "Rape of Belgium" in 1915. France created a propaganda agency in 1914. Publicity in Australia led to a lift in the government's ban on military drafts. Austria-Hungary used propaganda tactics to attack the credibility of Italy's leadership and its motives for war. Italy in-turn created the Padua Commission in 1918, which led Allied propaganda against Austria-Hungary. One week after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, US President Woodrow Wilson established the US propaganda agency, the Committee on Public Information (Creel Commission), as an alternative to demands for media censorship by the US army and navy. The CPI spread positive messages to present an upbeat image about the war and denied fraudulent atrocities made up to incite anger for the enemy. The CPI recruited about 75,000 "Four Minute Men," volunteers who spoke about the war at social events for four minutes. As a result of World War I propaganda, there was a shift in PR theory from a focus on factual argumentation to one of emotional appeals and the psychology of the crowd. The term "propaganda" which was originally associated with religion and the church, became a more widely known concept. ### World War II Propaganda did not develop a negative connotation until it was used in Nazi propaganda for World War II. Even though Germany's World War I propaganda was considered more advanced than that of other nations, Adolf Hitler said that propaganda had been under-utilized and claimed that superior British propaganda was the main reason for losing the war. Nazi Germany created the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda in March 1933, just after Nazis took power. The Nazi party took editorial control over newspapers, created their own news organizations and established Nazi-controlled news organizations in conquered regions. The Nazi party used posters, films, books and public speakers among other tactics. According to historian Zbyněk Zeman, broadcasting became the most important medium for propaganda throughout the war. Posters were also used domestically and leaflets were dropped behind enemy lines by air-ship. In regions conquered by Germany, citizens could be punished by death for listening to foreign broadcasts. Britain had four organizations involved in propaganda and was methodical about understanding its audiences in different countries. US propaganda focused on fighting for freedom and the connection between war efforts and industrial production. Soviet posters also focused on industrial production. In countries where citizens are subordinate to the government, aggressive propaganda campaigns continued during peacetime, while liberal democratic nations primarily use propaganda techniques to support war efforts. ## Professional development According to historian Eric Goldman, by the 1940s public relations was being taught at universities and was a professional occupation relied on in a similar way as lawyers and doctors. However, it failed to obtain complete recognition as a profession due in part to a history of deceit. Author Marvin Olasky said in 1987 that the reputation of the profession was getting worse, while Robert L. Heath from the University of Houston said in 1991 that it was progressing toward "true professional status." Academic J. A. R. Pimlott said it had achieved "quasi-professionalism." Heath said despite the field's newfound professionalism and ethics, its reputation was still effected by a history of exploitive behavior. The number of media outlets increased and PR talent from wartime propaganda entered the private sector. The practice of public relations became ubiquitous to reach political, activist and corporate objectives. The development of the press into a more real-time media also led to heightened scrutiny of public relations activities and those they represent. For example, Richard Nixon was criticized for "doubletalk" and "stonewalling" in his PR office's responses to the Watergate scandal. Trade associations were formed first in the U.S. in 1947 with the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), followed by the Institute of Public Relations (now the Chartered Institute of Public Relations) in London in 1948. Similar trade associations were created in Australia, Europe, South Africa, Italy and Singapore. The International Association of Public Relations was founded in 1955. The Institute for Public Relations held its first conference in 1949 and that same year the first British book on PR, "Public Relations and publicity" was published by J.H. Brebner. The Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education (now the Institute for Public Relations) was founded in 1956. The International Association of Business Communicators was founded in 1970. Betsy Ann Plank is called "the first lady of public relations" for becoming the first female president of the PRSA in 1973. Two of today's largest PR firms, Edelman and Burson-Marsteller, were founded in 1952 and 1953 respectively. Daniel Edelman created the first media tour in the 1950s by touring the country with "the Toni Twins," where one had used a professional salon and the other had used Toni's home-care products. It was also during this period that trade magazines like PR Week, Ragans and PRNews were founded. John Hill, founder of Hill & Knowlton, is known as the first international PR pioneer. Hill & Knowlton was the first major U.S. firm to create a strong international network in the 1960s and 1970s. Both Edelman and Burson-Marsteller followed Hill & Knowlton by establishing operations in London in the 1960s and all three began competing internationally in Asia, Europe and other regions. Jacques Coup de Frejac was influential in persuading U.S. and UK companies to also extend their PR efforts into the French market and for convincing French businesses to engage in PR activities. In the early 2000s, PR in Latin America began developing at a pace "on par with industrialized nations." According to The Global Public Relations Handbook, public relations evolved from a series of "press agents or publicists" to a manner of theory and practice in the 1980s. Research was published in academic journals like Public Relations Review and the Journal of Public Relations Research. This led to an industry consensus to categorize PR work into a four-step process: research, planning, communication and action. ## Social and digital During the 1990s specialties for communicating to certain audiences and within certain market segments emerged, such as investor relations or technology PR. New internet technology and social media websites effected PR strategies and tactics. In April 1999, four managers from IBM, Sun Microsystems, National Public Radio and Linux Journal created "The Cluetrain Manifesto." The Manifesto established 95 theses about the way social media and internet technologies were going to change business. It concluded that markets had become "smarter and faster than most companies," because stakeholders were getting information from each other. The Manifesto "created a storm" with strong detractors and supporters. That same year, Seth Godin published a book on permission marketing, which advocated against advertising and in favor of marketing that is useful and educational. While initially controversial, by 2006 it became commonly accepted that social media had an important role in public relations. Press releases, which were mostly unchanged for more than a century, began to integrate digital features. BusinessWire introduced the "Smart News Release," which incorporated audio, video and images, in 1997. This was followed by the MultiVu multimedia release from PRNewswire in 2001. The Social Media Release was created by Todd Defren from Shift Communications in 2006 in response to a blog written by journalist and blogger Tom Foremski titled "Die! Press release! Die! Die! Die!" Incorporating digital and social features became a norm among wire services, and companies started routinely making company announcements on their corporate blog. According to The New York Times, corporate communications shifted from a monologue to two-way conversational communications and new media also made it "easier for consumers to learn about the mix-ups and blunders" of PR. For example, after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP tried to deflect blame to other parties, claim the spill was not as significant as it was and focused on the science, while human interest stories related to the damage were emerging. In 2011, Facebook tried to covertly spread privacy concerns about competitor Google's Social Circles. Chapstick created a communications crisis after allegedly, repeatedly deleting negative comments on its Facebook page. During the Iraq War, it was exposed that the US created false radio personalities to spread pro-American information and paid Iraqi newspapers to write articles written by American troops. ## See also - History of advertising - History of advertising in Britain
25,756,717	Etymology of Wicca	1,173,633,401	Origin of the word "Wicca"	[ "Etymologies", "Wicca" ]	In Modern English, the term Wicca (/ˈwɪkə/) refers to Wicca, the religion of contemporary Pagan witchcraft. It is used within the Pagan community under competing definitions. One refers to the entirety of the Pagan Witchcraft movement, while the other refers explicitly to traditions included in what is now called British Traditional Wicca. Although pronounced differently, the term Wicca is a modern derivation of the Old English word ƿiċċa, which referred to sorcerers in Anglo-Saxon England and has yielded the modern English word witch. In the early 1950s, English Wiccan Gerald Gardner, founder of the Gardnerian tradition, referred to the Pagan Witchcraft community as the Wica. He claimed to have learned the term during his initiation into the New Forest coven in 1939. By the late 1950s, Gardner's rival Charles Cardell, founder of his own tradition, had begun referring to the religion's followers as Wiccens, and possibly used Wicca in reference to the religion itself. The inclusive use of the term Wicca—referring to the entirety of Pagan Witchcraft religion—has been traced to Britain in the early 1960s, when it was used by various groups and publicised through use in adverts, magazines, and other literary sources. It was later adopted by figures like Alex Sanders and Gavin and Yvonne Frost, who took it to the United States. There, practitioners of British Traditional Wicca adopted it exclusively for themselves as a means to differentiate their practices from those of other Pagan Witches. This exclusive meaning was countered by its popularisation as a generic term by prolific authors such as Raymond Buckland, Scott Cunningham and Silver RavenWolf. As it entered popular culture, it gained an increasingly eclectic character in its usage. During the 1990s, some attempted to distance themselves from it by utilising the term traditional witchcraft. ## Definitions There are two separate definitions of the term Wicca that have been used in Paganism and Pagan studies since circa 1980. The first developed in England during the 1960s. Broad and inclusive, it covers most, if not all, forms of modern Pagan Witchcraft, especially if they share sufficient theological beliefs and ritual practices to be considered denominations within a common religious movement. In contrast, the second developed in the United States during the late 1970s. It refers specifically to the Gardnerian tradition of Witchcraft and those descended from it with little variation, namely Alexandrian and Algard Witchcraft, which are together known as British Traditional Wicca. ### Usage within Pagan studies The development and use of the term Wicca within contemporary Paganism has been a recurring topic of discussion in the field of Pagan studies. The majority of academics and independent scholars use the first, more inclusive definition. Given its historical status and prevalent usage within Paganism, Pagan studies scholar Ethan Doyle White thought it the logical and easier choice for academia, although there is still some disagreement and confusion among researchers as to what defines Wicca. Among those who have used the former definition are American sociologist Margot Adler, literary scholar Chas S. Clifton, and religious studies scholar Aidan A. Kelly, while others such as the Britons Graham Harvey and Ronald Hutton failed to make their usage clear. To deal with this problem in future, Doyle White urged scholars to specify which definition they used in their work. ## Origins ### Old English ƿiċċa and ƿiċċe In the Early Medieval language of Old English, the term ƿiċċa () was a masculine noun for sorcerer; ƿiċċe was its feminine counterpart. They are ancestral to Modern English witch. The Modern English term Wicca took the Old English wicca as its basis, although the two are fundamentally two distinct words with differing meanings, pronunciation, and grammatical usage, with nearly a millennium between their respective floruits. In 1932 Lewis Spence writes in The Weekly Scotsman, in response to the popularisation of Margaret Murray's witch-cult hypothesis in Scotland, that "the Saxon word 'wicca', a witch" was "of immemorial usage" in the Scottish Lowlands. Doyle White suggests that the early Wiccans adopted the term wicca as the basis for the name of their burgeoning faith because theirs was a new religious movement that took "iconography and inspiration" from the polytheistic cults of pre-Christian Britain. ### Gerald Gardner's Wica: 1939–1966 Gerald Gardner (1884–1964), the man largely responsible for propagating the Wiccan religion in Britain during the 1950s and 1960s and the founder of the Gardnerian tradition, never used the term Wicca in either sense that it is used today. He referred to the religion as the "cult of witchcraft" or "the witch-cult", the latter likely being a term borrowed from Margaret Murray, who wrote a book entitled The Witch-Cult in Western Europe (1921). Gardner did use the term Wica, which he always spelled with only one c in his writings, but this did not refer to the religion itself, instead referring to the religion's practitioners in a plural sense. > What are [the witches] then? They are the people who call themselves the Wica, the "wise people", who practise the age‐old rites and who have, along with much superstition and herbal knowledge, preserved an occult teaching and working processes which they themselves think to be magic or witchcraft. In contrast with this plural use of the word, in a 1954 article written by Arnold Field, a reporter for the Daily Dispatch, Gardner had apparently explained to him that "there are man and woman witches. Each is called a wica." This quote offers the only piece of evidence that Gardner also referred to Pagan Witches individually as a wica. It is possible that Field misunderstood what Gardner was saying by not capitalising Wica, and that therefore Gardner might have never used Wica in a singular sense. In his book The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959) Gardner states that he first heard the term Wica while being initiated into the New Forest coven in September 1939, stating that "I realised I had stumbled on something interesting; but I was half-initiated before the word Wica which they used hit me like a thunderbolt, and I knew where I was, and that the Old Religion still existed." This account was repeated in his biography, Gerald Gardner: Witch (1960), written by Idries Shah but attributed to Jack L. Bracelin, in which he is quoted as saying that "it was halfway through when the word Wica was first mentioned; and I knew that that which I had thought burnt out hundreds of years ago still survived." If Gardner's account was accurate and the New Forest coven had really existed, then the fact that Gardner spelled the word as Wica would not necessarily indicate that the coven members had spelled it the same way. As Shah relates, from Gardner's account, "it seems that he had heard rather than read the word in the midst of his initiatory rite" and that, "suffering from a poor grasp of spelling, punctuation, and grammar, something caused by the fact that he was self-educated and possibly also influenced by dyslexia", he would have therefore spelled the word phonetically as Wica. In The Meaning of Witchcraft, Gardner also notes the term Wica's resemblance to the Old English word wicca, stating that "It is a curious fact that when the witches became English-speaking they adopted their Saxon name 'Wica'." In his published writings, Gardner propounds the idea that his Pagan Witchcraft religion dated back at least to the Anglo-Saxon period, when Old English was the dominant language. Wica soon became an accepted term among the early Gardnerians, as Gardner's followers and initiates became known. Patricia and Arnold Crowther, a Gardnerian High Priestess and High Priest who operated a coven in Sheffield, use the term in their book The Witches Speak (1959), writing that "[T]he Red Queen told Alice that she made words mean what [she] wanted them to mean. She might very well have been talking about witchcraft, for today it is used to describe anything that one wishes to use it for. From the simple meaning 'the craft of the Wica', it is used in connection with Black Magic, Satanism, Black Masses ..." ### Charles Cardell's Wiccen: 1958–1960 Charles Cardell (1892–1977) was the founder of a Pagan Witchcraft tradition that rivalled that of Gerald Gardner's in southern England during the 1950s. A psychologist and stage conjurer, Cardell ran a company named Dumblecott Magick Productions from his home in Charlwood, Surrey, from where he also controlled a local coven that was spied on by the press, leading to a well-publicised court case. Having been involved with Spiritualism as well as Pagan Witchcraft, Cardell initially befriended Gardner, but in 1958 they had an argument, and in 1964 Cardell tried to discredit him by publishing much of the then-secret Gardnerian Book of Shadows. Cardell used the term Wiccen to refer not just to members of his own tradition, but to all followers of the Pagan Witchcraft religion, placing an advert in Light magazine, the journal of the College of Psychic Science, entitled "The Craft of the Wiccens" in 1958. The advert asked fellow Wiccens to get in contact with him. This advert shows that Cardell was responsible for the propagation and possibly invention of the term Wiccen. It is possible Cardell had also used the term Wicca, evidenced by the fact that Margaret Bruce, the owner of a mail-order business selling occult titles, wrote a letter to her friend Gerald Gardner on 23 February 1960, in which she consoled him on the attacks made against him by Cardell and included a poem in which she referred to "the 'Wicca'". In Melissa Seims' opinion, this use of Wicca was explicitly in reference to the Cardellian Craft, and therefore meant "that this spelling, along with 'Wiccan', was used by Cardell." However, it is also possible that Bruce was referring to "the Wicca" as "a community of Pagan Witches", in which case it would be a misspelling of Gardner's "the Wica". ### The emergence of Wicca: 1962–1970 The term Wicca appears to have developed within the Pagan Witchcraft community during the early 1960s, as increasing numbers of Pagan Witches learned of the Old English term wicca, the etymological origin of the Modern term witch. This etymological fact had been referred to five times in Gerald Gardner's book The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959), as well as in other early texts propagating Pagan Witchcraft, such as Doreen Valiente's Where Witchcraft Lives (1962) and Justine Glass' Witchcraft, The Sixth Sense – and Us (1965). None of these specifically referred to the Pagan Witchcraft religion as Wicca. The earliest known published reference for the word Wicca is within an advertisement published in a 1962 issue of Fate magazine; in this, a Cardiff-based group of Pagan Witches advertised a tradition as "Wicca–Dianic and Aradian". The advert may have been linked to Charles and Mary Cardell because Mary was allegedly born in Wales and Cardellian Witchcraft had apparently venerated a goddess under the name of Diana. However, many Pagan Witchcraft groups would have adopted the deity name Diana and Aradia, these being the goddesses featured in the American folklorist Charles Leland's supposed account of a Tuscan witch tradition, Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches (1899). Another early use could be found from December 1965, in the penultimate issue of Pentagram, the newsletter of the Witchcraft Research Association. Here, a small column on Halloween made reference to "the Craft of the Wiccan", apparently referring to the entire Pagan Witchcraft community. The author's name was not printed, although it had probably been produced by one of the figures involved in editing Pentagram, such as Gerard Noel or Doreen Valiente. In July 1968, a group of British Gardnerians began publishing a magazine titled The Wiccan, while Welshman Gavin Frost founded the Church of Wicca in the United States that same year. In the 1960s, the Gardnerian initiate Alex Sanders founded his own tradition, which became known as Alexandrian Wicca; he used the terms Wicca and the Wicca in reference to the entire Pagan Witchcraft religion. One of Sanders' initiates, Stewart Farrar, describes Wicca as "the witches' name for their Craft" in his book What Witches Do (1971). The widespread adoption of Wicca in reference to Pagan Witchcraft would have brought benefits to its practitioners, who were widely maligned and faced persecution for their practice of witchcraft; an emotive term often associated with Satanism that had negative connotations in the Western imagination. Doyle White argued that the practitioners' presentation of themselves as Wiccans rather than witches removed some of the social stigma that they faced. ## Popularisation ### Developments in North America: 1970–1990 From 1970 onward, increasing numbers of books teaching readers how to become Pagan Witches were published; the earliest was Paul Huson's Mastering Witchcraft (1970), which made no reference to Wicca. This was followed by Raymond Buckland's The Tree: The Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft, in which he propagated his newly developed tradition of Seax-Wica; utilising Wica as the name of the tradition, he also referenced the Wicca as the name of the religion as a whole. Contrastingly, during the 1970s the term Wicca was rejected by feminist Pagan Witchcraft groups in the United States, in particular the Dianic tradition; the term does not appear in the early works of Zsuzsanna Budapest and Starhawk, although the latter would adopt it by the 21st century. This was part of a phenomenon that took place during the 1970s and 1980s, as the term Wicca became increasingly associated purely with Gardnerianism and Alexandrianism (together known as British Traditional Wicca in North America), rather than with other variants of Pagan Witchcraft. This was encouraged by elements within the Gardnerian and Alexandrian communities who wished to emphasise what they perceived as their special position within the Pagan community. The word Wicca first appeared in a book title in 1981 as Wicca: The Ancient Way; written by Janus-Mithras, Nuit-Hilaria and Mer-Amun and published in Canada. It discussed a Gardnerian-based tradition. ### Increasing popularisation and reaction: 1990–2010 In ensuing years, many other authors would publish books containing Wicca in their titles which advocated solitary practice of Pagan Witchcraft; best known were Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (1988) and Silver RavenWolf's Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation (1998), but other examples included Gerina Dunwich's The Wicca Garden (1996), D. J. Conway's Wicca: The Complete Craft (2001), Raymond Buckland's Wicca for Life (2004) and Wicca for One (2004), Arin Murphy-Hiscock's Solitary Wicca for Life (2005) and Ann-Marie Gallagher's The Wicca Bible (2005). It was also adopted by American novelist Cate Tiernan as the title of her series of young adult novels. The term Wicca was employed in an increasingly eclectic manner by authors like RavenWolf, who considered it to be a synonym for witchcraft. In turn it began to be adopted on a wider scale, being popularised in India by Ipsita Roy Chakraverti and being adopted by a French Luciferian group, Le Wicca Française. Becoming widely known in western popular culture, it was utilised by the script writers of two popular American television shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed; the first episode of the latter was titled "Something Wicca This Way Comes" while the tenth was titled "Wicca Envy". Reacting against the increasingly inclusive use of the term were Pagan Witches who instead characterised their practices as forms of traditional witchcraft. Many Pagan Witches who considered themselves to be Traditional Witches exhibited an us-and-them mentality against Gardnerianism and allied traditions, for whom they reserved the term Wicca. Doyle White suggests that they had done so in order to distance themselves from the increasing influence of the New Age movement over the Wiccan mainstream with its "iconographical emphasis on white light", instead embracing the traditional European view that associated witchcraft with darkness. Historian Ronald Hutton states that he knew of three Wiccan covens founded in the 1980s who began to describe themselves as Traditional Witches in the 1990s.
677,641	Salt March	1,173,820,214	1930 Indian protest led by Mahatma Gandhi	[ "Articles containing video clips", "Gujarat in Indian independence movement", "Salt March" ]	The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 5 April 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly. Another reason for this march was that the Civil Disobedience Movement needed a strong inauguration that would inspire more people to follow Gandhi's example. Gandhi started this march with 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march spanned 387 kilometres (240 mi), from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, which was called Navsari at that time (now in the state of Gujarat). Growing numbers of Indians joined them along the way. When Gandhi broke the British Raj salt laws at 8:30 am on 6 April 1930, it sparked large-scale acts of civil disobedience against the salt laws by millions of Indians. After making the salt by evaporation at Dandi, Gandhi continued southward along the coast, making salt and addressing meetings on the way. The Congress Party planned to stage a satyagraha at the Dharasana Salt Works, 40 km (25 mi) south of Dandi. However, Gandhi was arrested on the midnight of 4–5 May 1930, just days before the planned action at Dharasana. The Dandi March and the ensuing Dharasana Satyagraha drew worldwide attention to the Indian independence movement through extensive newspaper and newsreel coverage. The satyagraha against the salt tax continued for almost an year, ending with Gandhi's release from jail and negotiations with Viceroy Lord Irwin at the Second Round Table Conference. Although over 60,000 Indians were jailed as a result of the Salt Satyagraha, the British did not make immediate major concessions. The Salt Satyagraha campaign was based upon Gandhi's principles of non-violent protest called satyagraha, which he loosely translated as "truth-force". Literally, it is formed from the Sanskrit words satya, "truth", and agraha, "insistence". In early 1920 the Indian National Congress chose satyagraha as their main tactic for winning Indian sovereignty and self-rule from British rule and appointed Gandhi to organise the campaign. Gandhi chose the 1882 British Salt Act as the first target of satyagraha. The Salt March to Dandi, and the beating by the colonial police of hundreds of nonviolent protesters in Dharasana, which received worldwide news coverage, demonstrated the effective use of civil disobedience as a technique for fighting against social and political injustice. The satyagraha teachings of Gandhi and the March to Dandi had a significant influence on American activists Martin Luther King Jr., James Bevel, and others during the Civil Rights Movement for civil rights for African Americans and other minority groups in the 1960s. The march was the most significant organised challenge to British authority since the Non-cooperation movement of 1920–22, and directly followed the Purna Swaraj declaration of sovereignty and self-rule by the Indian National Congress on 26 January 1930 by celebrating Independence Day. It gained worldwide attention which gave impetus to the Indian independence movement and started the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement which continued until 1934 in Gujarat. ## Civil disobedience movement At midnight on 31 December 1929, the INC (Indian National Congress) raised the tricolour flag of India on the banks and the Ravi at Lahore. The Indian National Congress, led by Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, publicly issued the Declaration of sovereignty and self-rule, or Purna Swaraj, on 26 January 1930. (Literally in Sanskrit, purna, "complete," swa, "self," raj, "rule," so therefore "complete self-rule") The declaration included the readiness to withhold taxes, and the statement: > We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people, as of any other people, to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil and have the necessities of life, so that they may have full opportunities for growth. We believe also that if any government deprives a people of these rights and oppresses them the people have a further right to alter it or abolish it. The British government in India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has based itself on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India economically, politically, culturally, and spiritually. We believe, therefore, that India must sever the British connection and attain Purna Swaraji or complete sovereignty and self-rule. The Congress Working Committee gave Gandhi the responsibility for organising the first act of civil disobedience, with Congress itself ready to take charge after Gandhi's expected arrest. Gandhi's plan was to begin civil disobedience with a satyagraha aimed at the British salt tax. The 1882 Salt Act gave the British a monopoly on the collection and manufacture of salt, limiting its handling to government salt depots and levying a salt tax. Violation of the Salt Act was a criminal offence. Even though salt was freely available to those living on the coast (by evaporation of sea water), Indians were forced to buy it from the colonial government. ## Choice of salt as protest focus Initially, Gandhi's choice of the salt tax was met with incredulity by the Working Committee of the Congress, Jawaharlal Nehru and Divyalochan Sahu were ambivalent; Sardar Patel suggested a land revenue boycott instead. The Statesman, a prominent newspaper, wrote about the choice: "It is difficult not to laugh, and we imagine that will be the mood of most thinking Indians." The British colonial administration too was not disturbed by these plans of resistance against the salt tax. The Viceroy himself, Lord Irwin, did not take the threat of a salt protest seriously, writing to London, "At present, the prospect of a salt campaign does not keep me awake at night." However, Gandhi had sound reasons for his decision. An item of daily use could resonate more with all classes of citizens than an abstract demand for greater political rights. The salt tax represented 8.2% of the British Raj tax revenue, and hurt the poorest Indians the most significantly. Explaining his choice, Gandhi said, "Next to air and water, salt is perhaps the greatest necessity of life." In contrast to the other leaders, the prominent Congress statesman and future Governor-General of India, C. Rajagopalachari, understood Gandhi's viewpoint. In a public meeting at Tuticorin, he said: > Suppose, a people rise in revolt. They cannot attack the abstract constitution or lead an army against proclamations and statutes ... Civil disobedience has to be directed against the salt tax or the land tax or some other particular point – not that; that is our final end, but for the time being it is our aim, and we must shoot straight. Gandhi felt that this protest would dramatise Purna Swaraj in a way that was meaningful to every Indian. He also reasoned that it would build unity between Hindus and Muslims by fighting a wrong that touched them equally. After the protest gathered steam, the leaders realised the power of salt as a symbol. Nehru remarked about the unprecedented popular response, "it seemed as though a spring had been suddenly released." ## Satyagraha Gandhi had a long-standing commitment to nonviolent civil disobedience, which he termed satyagraha, as the basis for achieving Indian sovereignty and self-rule. Referring to the relationship between satyagraha and Purna Swaraj, Gandhi saw "an inviolable connection between the means and the end as there is between the seed and the tree". He wrote, "If the means employed are impure, the change will not be in the direction of progress but very likely in the opposite. Only a change brought about in our political condition by pure means can lead to real progress." Satyagraha is a synthesis of the Sanskrit words Satya (truth) and Agraha (insistence on). For Gandhi, satyagraha went far beyond mere "passive resistance" and became strength in practicing nonviolent methods. In his words: > Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) engenders and therefore serves as a synonym for force. I thus began to call the Indian movement Satyagraha, that is to say, the Force which is born of Truth and Love or nonviolence, and gave up the use of the phrase "passive resistance", in connection with it, so much so that even in English writing we often avoided it and used instead the word "satyagraha" ... His first significant attempt in India at leading mass satyagraha was the non-cooperation movement from 1920 to 1922. Even though it succeeded in raising millions of Indians in protest against the British-created Rowlatt Act, violence broke out at Chauri Chaura, where a mob killed 22 unarmed policemen. Gandhi suspended the protest, against the opposition of other Congress members. He decided that Indians were not yet ready for successful nonviolent resistance. The Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928 was much more successful. It succeeded in paralysing the British government and winning significant concessions. More importantly, due to extensive press coverage, it scored a propaganda victory out of all proportion to its size. Gandhi later claimed that success at Bardoli confirmed his belief in satyagraha and Swaraj: "It is only gradually that we shall come to know the importance of the victory gained at Bardoli ... Bardoli has shown the way and cleared it. Swaraj lies on that route, and that alone is the cure ..." Gandhi recruited heavily from the Bardoli Satyagraha participants for the Dandi march, which passed through many of the same villages that took part in the Bardoli protests. This revolt gained momentum and had support from all parts of India. ## Preparing to march On 5 February, newspapers reported that Gandhi would begin civil disobedience by defying the salt laws. The salt satyagraha would begin on 12 March and end in Dandi with Gandhi breaking the Salt Act on 6 April. Gandhi chose 6 April to launch the mass breaking of the salt laws for a symbolic reason—it was the first day of "National Week", begun in 1919 when Gandhi conceived of the national hartal (strike) against the Rowlatt Act. Gandhi prepared the worldwide media for the march by issuing regular statements from the Ashram, at his regular prayer meetings, and through direct contact with the press. Expectations were heightened by his repeated statements anticipating arrest, and his increasingly dramatic language as the hour approached: "We are entering upon a life and death struggle, a holy war; we are performing an all-embracing sacrifice in which we wish to offer ourselves as an oblation." Correspondents from dozens of Indian, European, and American newspapers, along with film companies, responded to the drama and began covering the event. For the march itself, Gandhi wanted the strictest discipline and adherence to satyagraha and ahimsa. For that reason, he recruited the marchers not from Congress Party members, but from the residents of his own ashram, who were trained in Gandhi's strict standards of discipline. The 24-day march would pass through 4 districts and 48 villages. The route of the march, along with each evening's stopping place, was planned based on recruitment potential, past contacts, and timing. Gandhi sent scouts to each village ahead of the march so he could plan his talks at each resting place, based on the needs of the local residents. Events at each village were scheduled and publicised in Indian and foreign press. On 2 March 1930 Gandhi wrote to the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, offering to stop the march if Irwin met eleven demands, including reduction of land revenue assessments, cutting military spending, imposing a tariff on foreign cloth, and abolishing the salt tax. His strongest appeal to Irwin regarded the salt tax: > If my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the eleventh day of this month I shall proceed with such co-workers of the Ashram as I can take, to disregard the provisions of the Salt Laws. I regard this tax to be the most iniquitous of all from the poor man's standpoint. As the sovereignty and self-rule movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the beginning will be made with this evil. As mentioned earlier, the Viceroy held any prospect of a "salt protest" in disdain. After he ignored the letter and refused to meet with Gandhi, the march was set in motion. Gandhi remarked, "On bended knees, I asked for bread and I have received stone instead." The eve of the march brought thousands of Indians to Sabarmati to hear Gandhi speak at the regular evening prayer. American academic writing for The Nation reported that "60,000 persons gathered on the bank of the river to hear Gandhi's call to arms. This call to arms was perhaps the most remarkable call to war that has ever been made." ## March to Dandi On 12 March 1930, Gandhi and 78 satyagrahis, among whom were men belonging to almost every region, caste, creed, and religion of India, set out on foot for the coastal village of Dandi in Navsari district of Gujarat, 385 km from their starting point at Sabarmati Ashram. The Salt March was also called the White Flowing River because all the people were joining the procession wearing white Khadi. According to The Statesman, the official government newspaper which usually played down the size of crowds at Gandhi's functions, 100,000 people crowded the road that separated Sabarmati from Ahmedabad. The first day's march of 21 km ended in the village of Aslali, where Gandhi spoke to a crowd of about 4,000. At Aslali, and the other villages that the march passed through, volunteers collected donations, registered new satyagrahis, and received resignations from village officials who chose to end co-operation with British rule. As they entered each village, crowds greeted the marchers, beating drums and cymbals. Gandhi gave speeches attacking the salt tax as inhuman, and the salt satyagraha as a "poor man's struggle". Each night they slept in the open. The only thing that was asked of the villagers was food and water to wash with. Gandhi felt that this would bring the poor into the struggle for sovereignty and self-rule, necessary for eventual victory. Thousands of satyagrahis and leaders like Sarojini Naidu joined him. Every day, more and more people joined the march, until the procession of marchers became at least 3 km long. To keep up their spirits, the marchers used to sing the Hindu Bhajan Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram while walking. At Surat, they were greeted by 30,000 people. When they reached the railhead at Dandi, more than 50,000 were gathered. Gandhi gave interviews and wrote articles along the way. Foreign journalists and three Bombay cinema companies shooting newsreel footage turned Gandhi into a household name in Europe and America (at the end of 1930, Time magazine made him "Man of the Year"). The New York Times wrote almost daily about the Salt March, including two front-page articles on 6 and 7 April. Near the end of the march, Gandhi declared, "I want world sympathy in this battle of right against might." Upon arriving at the seashore on 5 April, Gandhi was interviewed by an Associated Press reporter. He stated: > I cannot withhold my compliments from the government for the policy of complete non interference adopted by them throughout the march .... I wish I could believe this non-interference was due to any real change of heart or policy. The wanton disregard shown by them to popular feeling in the Legislative Assembly and their high-handed action leave no room for doubt that the policy of heartless exploitation of India is to be persisted in at any cost, and so the only interpretation I can put upon this non-interference is that the British Government, powerful though it is, is sensitive to world opinion which will not tolerate repression of extreme political agitation which civil disobedience undoubtedly is, so long as disobedience remains civil and therefore necessarily non-violent .... It remains to be seen whether the Government will tolerate as they have tolerated the march, the actual breach of the salt laws by countless people from tomorrow. The following morning, after a prayer, Gandhi raised a lump of salty mud and declared, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." He then boiled it in seawater, producing illegal salt. He implored his thousands of followers to likewise begin making salt along the seashore, "wherever it is convenient" and to instruct villagers in making illegal, but necessary, salt. The others followed him and Sarojini Naidu addressing Gandhi, shouted 'Hail, law breaker'. In a letter to her daughter, Naidu remarked: > The little law breaker is sitting in a state of ‘Maun’ [silence] writing his article of triumph for Young India and I am stretched on a hard bench at the open window of a huge room that has 6 windows open to the sea breeze. As far as the eye can see there is a little Army—thousands of pilgrims who have been pouring in since yesterday to this otherwise deserted and exceedingly primitive village of fishermen. After the Gandhi broke the salt laws, about 700 telegrams were sent out from the post office nearest to Dandi, at Jalalpur. Most of them were by the journalists, who were there to break this news. ## First 78 Marchers 78 marchers accompanied Gandhi on his march. Most of them were between the ages of 20 and 30. These men hailed from almost all parts of the country. The march gathered more people as it gained momentum, but the following list of names consists of Gandhi himself and the first 78 marchers who were with Gandhi from the beginning of the Dandi March until the end. Most of them simply dispersed after the march was over. A memorial has been created inside the campus of IIT Bombay honouring these Satyagrahis who participated in the famous Dandi March. ## Mass civil disobedience Mass civil disobedience spread throughout India as millions broke the salt laws by making salt or buying illegal salt. Salt was sold illegally all over the coast of India. A pinch of salt made by Gandhi himself sold for 1,600 rupees (equivalent to \$750 at the time). In reaction, the British government arrested over sixty thousand people by the end of the month. What had begun as a Salt Satyagraha quickly grew into a mass Satyagraha. British cloth and goods were boycotted. Unpopular forest laws were defied in the Bombay, Mysore and Central Provinces. Gujarati peasants refused to pay tax, under threat of losing their crops and land. In Midnapore, Bengalis took part by refusing to pay the chowkidar tax. The British responded with more laws, including censorship of correspondence and declaring the Congress and its associate organisations illegal. None of those measures slowed the civil disobedience movement. There were outbreaks of violence in Calcutta (now spelled Kolkata), Karachi, and Gujarat. Unlike his suspension of satyagraha after violence broke out during the Non-co-operation movement, this time Gandhi was "unmoved". Appealing for violence to end, at the same time Gandhi honoured those killed in Chittagong and congratulated their parents "for the finished sacrifices of their sons ... A warrior's death is never a matter for sorrow." During the first phase of the Indian civil disobedience movement from 1929 to 1931, the second MacDonald ministry headed by Ramsay MacDonald was in power in Britain. The attempted suppression of the movement was presided over by MacDonald and his cabinet (including the Secretary of State for India, William Wedgwood Benn). During this period, the MacDonald ministry also oversaw the suppression of the nascent trade unionist movement in India, which was described by historian Sumit Sarkar as "a massive capitalist and government counter-offensive" against workers' rights. ### Qissa Khwani Bazaar massacre In Peshawar, satyagraha was led by a Muslim Pashtun disciple of Gandhi, Ghaffar Khan, who had trained 50,000 nonviolent activists called Khudai Khidmatgar. On 23 April 1930, Ghaffar Khan was arrested. A crowd of Khudai Khidmatgar gathered in Peshawar's Qissa Kahani (Storytellers) Bazaar. The 2/18 battalion of the Royal Garhwal Rifles were ordered to open fire with machine guns on the unarmed crowd, killing an estimated 200–250 people. The Pashtun satyagrahis acted in accord with their training in nonviolence, willingly facing bullets as the troops fired on them. One British Indian Army soldier, Chandra Singh Garhwali and some other troops from the renowned Royal Garhwal Rifles regiment refused to fire at the crowds. The entire platoon was arrested and many received heavy sentences, including life imprisonment. ### Vedaranyam salt march While Gandhi marched along India's west coast, his close associate C. Rajagopalachari, who would later become India's first Indian Governor-General, organized the Vedaranyam salt march in parallel on the east coast. His group started from Tiruchirappalli, in Madras Presidency (now part of Tamil Nadu), to the coastal village of Vedaranyam. After making illegal salt there, he too was arrested by the British. ### Women in civil disobedience The civil disobedience in 1930 marked the first time women became mass participants in the struggle for freedom. Thousands of women, from large cities to small villages, became active participants in satyagraha. Gandhi had asked that only men take part in the salt march, but eventually women began manufacturing and selling salt throughout India. It was clear that though only men were allowed within the march, that both men and women were expected to forward work that would help dissolve the salt laws. Usha Mehta, an early Gandhian activist, remarked that "Even our old aunts and great-aunts and grandmothers used to bring pitchers of salt water to their houses and manufacture illegal salt. And then they would shout at the top of their voices: 'We have broken the salt law!'" The growing number of women in the fight for sovereignty and self-rule was a "new and serious feature" according to Lord Irwin. A government report on the involvement of women stated "thousands of them emerged ... from the seclusion of their homes ... in order to join Congress demonstrations and assist in picketing: and their presence on these occasions made the work the police was required to perform particularly unpleasant." Though women did become involved in the march, it was clear that Gandhi saw women as still playing a secondary role within the movement, but created the beginning of a push for women to be more involved in the future. "Sarojini Naidu was among the most visible leaders (male or female) of pre-independent India. As president of the Indian National Congress and the first woman governor of free India, she was a fervent advocate for India, avidly mobilizing support for the Indian independence movement. She was also the first woman to be arrested in the salt march." ### Impact British documents show that the British government was shaken by Satyagraha. Nonviolent protest left the British confused about whether or not to jail Gandhi. John Court Curry, an Indian Imperial Police officer from England, wrote in his memoirs that he felt nausea every time he dealt with Congress demonstrations in 1930. Curry and others in British government, including Wedgwood Benn, Secretary of State for India, preferred fighting violent rather than nonviolent opponents. ## Dharasana Satyagraha and aftermath Gandhi himself avoided further active involvement after the march, though he stayed in close contact with the developments throughout India. He created a temporary ashram near Dandi. From there, he urged women followers in Bombay (now Mumbai) to picket liquor shops and foreign cloth. He said that "a bonfire should be made of foreign cloth. Schools and colleges should become empty." For his next major action, Gandhi decided on a raid of the Dharasana Salt Works in Gujarat, 40 km south of Dandi. He wrote to Lord Irwin, again telling him of his plans. Around midnight of 4 May, as Gandhi was sleeping on a cot in a mango grove, the District magistrate of Surat drove up with two Indian officers and thirty heavily armed constables. He was arrested under an 1827 regulation calling for the jailing of people engaged in unlawful activities, and held without trial near Poona (now Pune). The Dharasana Satyagraha went ahead as planned, with Abbas Tyabji, a seventy-six-year-old retired judge, leading the march with Gandhi's wife Kasturba at his side. Both were arrested before reaching Dharasana and sentenced to three months in prison. After their arrests, the march continued under the leadership of Sarojini Naidu, a woman poet and freedom fighter, who warned the satyagrahis, "You must not use any violence under any circumstances. You will be beaten, but you must not resist: you must not even raise a hand to ward off blows." Soldiers began clubbing the satyagrahis with steel tipped lathis in an incident that attracted international attention. United Press correspondent Webb Miller reported that: > Not one of the marchers even raised an arm to fend off the blows. They went down like ten-pins. From where I stood I heard the sickening whacks of the clubs on unprotected skulls. The waiting crowd of watchers groaned and sucked in their breaths in sympathetic pain at every blow. Those struck down fell sprawling, unconscious or writhing in pain with fractured skulls or broken shoulders. In two or three minutes the ground was quilted with bodies. Great patches of blood widened on their white clothes. The survivors without breaking ranks silently and doggedly marched on until struck down ... Finally the police became enraged by the non-resistance ... They commenced savagely kicking the seated men in the abdomen and testicles. The injured men writhed and squealed in agony, which seemed to inflame the fury of the police ... The police then began dragging the sitting men by the arms or feet, sometimes for a hundred yards, and throwing them into ditches. Vithalbhai Patel, former Speaker of the Assembly, watched the beatings and remarked, "All hope of reconciling India with the British Empire is lost forever." Miller's first attempts at telegraphing the story to his publisher in England were censored by the British telegraph operators in India. Only after threatening to expose British censorship was his story allowed to pass. The story appeared in 1,350 newspapers throughout the world and was read into the official record of the United States Senate by Senator John J. Blaine. Salt Satyagraha succeeded in drawing the attention of the world. Millions saw the newsreels showing the march. Time declared Gandhi its 1930 Man of the Year, comparing Gandhi's march to the sea "to defy Britain's salt tax as some New Englanders once defied a British tea tax". Civil disobedience continued until early 1931, when Gandhi was finally released from prison to hold talks with Irwin. It was the first time the two held talks on equal terms, and resulted in the Gandhi–Irwin Pact. The talks would lead to the Second Round Table Conference at the end of 1931. ## Long-term effect The Salt Satyagraha did not produce immediate progress toward dominion status or self-rule for India, did not elicit major policy concessions from the British, or attract much Muslim support. Congress leaders decided to end satyagraha as official policy in 1934, and Nehru and other Congress members drifted further apart from Gandhi, who withdrew from Congress to concentrate on his Constructive Programme, which included his efforts to end untouchability in the Harijan movement. However, even though British authorities were again in control by the mid-1930s, Indian, British, and world opinion increasingly began to recognise the legitimacy of claims by Gandhi and the Congress Party for sovereignty and self-rule. The Satyagraha campaign of the 1930s also forced the British to recognise that their control of India depended entirely on the consent of the Indians – Salt Satyagraha was a significant step in the British losing that consent. Nehru considered the Salt Satyagraha the high-water mark of his association with Gandhi, and felt that its lasting importance was in changing the attitudes of Indians: > Of course these movements exercised tremendous pressure on the British Government and shook the government machinery. But the real importance, to my mind, lay in the effect they had on our own people, and especially the village masses ... Non-cooperation dragged them out of the mire and gave them self-respect and self-reliance ... They acted courageously and did not submit so easily to unjust oppression; their outlook widened and they began to think a little in terms of India as a whole ... It was a remarkable transformation and the Congress, under Gandhi's leadership, must have the credit for it. More than thirty years later, Satyagraha and the March to Dandi exercised a strong influence on American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., and his fight for civil rights for blacks in the 1960s: > Like most people, I had heard of Gandhi, but I had never studied him seriously. As I read I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. I was particularly moved by his Salt March to the Sea and his numerous fasts. The whole concept of Satyagraha (Satya is truth which equals love, and agraha is force; Satyagraha, therefore, means truth force or love force) was profoundly significant to me. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform. ## Re-enactment in 2005 To commemorate the Great Salt March, the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation re-enacted the Salt March on its 75th anniversary, in its exact historical schedule and route followed by the Mahatma and his band of 78 marchers. The event was known as the "International Walk for Justice and Freedom". What started as a personal pilgrimage for Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi turned into an international event with 900 registered participants from nine nations and on a daily basis the numbers swelled to a couple of thousands. There was extensive reportage in the international media. The participants halted at Dandi on the night of 5 April, with the commemoration ending on 7 April. At the finale in Dandi, the prime minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, greeted the marchers and promised to build an appropriate monument at Dandi to commemorate the marchers and the historical event. The route from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi has now been christened as the Dandi Path and has been declared a historical heritage route. India issued a series of commemorative stamps in 1980 and 2005, on the 50th and 75th anniversaries of the Dandi March. ## Memorial The National Salt Satyagraha Memorial, a memorial museum, dedicated to the event was opened in Dandi on 30 January 2019. ## See also - Boston Tea Party - Selma to Montgomery marches - Suffrage Hikes - Gandhi Heritage Portal - National Salt Satyagraha Memorial
148,690	BBC Symphony Orchestra	1,167,817,116	British orchestra based in London	[ "1930 establishments in the United Kingdom", "BBC Orchestras", "BBC Symphony Orchestra", "Barbican Estate", "British symphony orchestras", "Deutsche Grammophon artists", "EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists", "Erato Records artists", "London orchestras", "Musical groups established in 1930", "Oehms Classics artists", "Radio and television orchestras" ]	The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The BBC SO is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The orchestra was originally conceived in 1928 as a joint enterprise by the BBC and the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham, but the latter withdrew the next year and the task of assembling and training the orchestra fell to the BBC's director of music, Adrian Boult. Among its guest conductors in its first years was Arturo Toscanini, who judged it the finest orchestra he had ever conducted. During and after the Second World War, Boult strove to maintain standards, but the senior management of the post-war BBC did not allocate the orchestra the resources to meet competition from new and well-funded rivals. After Boult's retirement from the BBC in 1950, the orchestra went through a fallow period. Boult's successor, Sir Malcolm Sargent, was popular with the public but had poor rapport with his players, and orchestral morale dropped. Sargent's successor, Rudolf Schwarz, made relatively little impact, and although the BBC appointed high-profile chief conductors in the 1960s and 1970s – Antal Doráti, Colin Davis, Pierre Boulez and Gennady Rozhdestvensky – the BBC SO remained underfunded. However, because it was the sole symphony orchestra in London that offered its players full-time contracts, players of high repute, including Alan Civil (horn) and John Wilbraham (trumpet), enrolled as regular members. As a result of initiatives begun in the 1960s by the BBC controller of music William Glock, performing standards rose appreciably. Under Andrew Davis in the 1990s and Jiří Bělohlávek in the 2000s, the orchestra prospered. By the second decade of the 21st century, the BBC SO was regarded by critics as of first-class status. From the outset, the orchestra has been known for pioneering new music, and it continues to do so, at the Proms, in concerts at the Barbican Centre, and in studio concerts from its base at BBC Maida Vale studios. ## History ### Background Almost from its beginning in November 1922, the BBC had started broadcasting from its "2LO" transmitter with its own musical ensembles. The first such groups were the "2LO Dance Band", the "2LO Military Band", the "2LO Light Orchestra", and the "2LO Octette", all of which began broadcasting in 1923. No concert promoter would co-operate with the BBC, regarding it as a dangerous competitor, but the British National Opera Company allowed broadcasts of its performances from the Royal Opera House. John Reith, the general manager of the BBC, invited the opera company's musical director, Percy Pitt, to become the BBC's part-time musical adviser from May 1923. Later in the same year, Pitt conducted the BBC's first broadcast symphony concert, which included Dvořák's New World Symphony and works by Saint-Saëns, Elgar and Weber. Pitt expanded the regular eight-piece studio ensemble to form The Wireless Orchestra of 18 players, augmented to 37 for important broadcasts. The augmented "Wireless Orchestra" conducted by Sir Landon Ronald made its first commercial recording in July 1924 by the acoustical process for HMV, Schubert's Rosamunde overture, which was issued in the following October. There was no thought at this stage that the BBC would maintain a full-scale symphonic orchestra of up to 100 players. With Reith's approval, Pitt engaged various orchestras for a BBC concert series in 1924 at the Methodist Central Hall Westminster. Pitt and Landon Ronald conducted the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra; Eugene Goossens conducted the London Symphony Orchestra; and Hamilton Harty and Sir Edward Elgar conducted the orchestra of the Royal Philharmonic Society. In 1924, the Wireless Orchestra, by then comprising 22 players, was contracted for six concerts a week. The following year, Pitt, by now working full-time for the BBC, as its director of music, augmented the ensemble to form the "Wireless Symphony Orchestra" for a new series of concerts broadcast from Covent Garden, conducted by Bruno Walter, Ernest Ansermet and Pierre Monteux; at this time Reith also allowed Pitt and the Wireless Symphony Orchestra to contract with the Columbia Graphophone Company to make a substantial series of electrically recorded discs, most of which were recorded in the Methodist Central Hall Westminster which the BBC had previously used for concerts. In 1927 the BBC and Covent Garden collaborated in a series of public concerts with an orchestra of 150 players under conductors including Richard Strauss and Siegfried Wagner. Although the orchestra was large, it was not good. The BBC attempted to stop its contracted players sending deputies to rehearsals and even to concerts, but was unsuccessful. In January 1928 The Musical Times protested: > The B.B.C. has been blamed for devoting too much time to the classics, and also for not giving them all that is due to them; it has been held responsible for the inferiority of the apparatus of the listener-in; it has been censured on a variety of trifling points, but never for the one heinous offence it has committed, and goes on committing: for this corporation, with all its assured and conspicuous wealth, has given and is giving us the worst orchestral performances ever heard in London. ... This year at Queen's Hall they have assembled an orchestra which sounds as if it were composed in great part of "substitutes". In 1927, the BBC took over the responsibility for the Promenade Concerts, widely known as "the Proms". At first Henry Wood, the founding conductor, persuaded the corporation to engage his Queen's Hall Orchestra for each Prom season; from 1930 onwards, the BBC provided the orchestra. The inadequacy of the BBC's players, and also of the established London orchestras, was shown up by the Berlin Philharmonic, under Wilhelm Furtwängler, in two concerts in 1927. A historian of the Queen's Hall, Robert Elkin, writes, "At this period the standard of orchestral playing in London was distinctly low, and the well-drilled efficiency of the Berliners under their dynamic conductor came as something of a revelation." These, and later concerts by the same orchestra, gained plaudits from the public and music critics at the expense of the London orchestras. The chief music critic of The Times, Frank Howes, later commented, "the British public ... was electrified when it heard the disciplined precision of the Berlin Philharmonic... This apparently was how an orchestra could, and, therefore, ought to sound". After the Berliners, London heard a succession of major foreign orchestras, including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra under Willem Mengelberg and the Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York under Arturo Toscanini. Among those determined that London should have a permanent orchestra of similar excellence were Reith and the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham. The latter aimed at setting up a first-rate ensemble for opera and concert performances and, though no admirer of broadcasting, he was willing to negotiate with the BBC if this gave him what he sought. Reith's concern was that the BBC should have a first-rate radio orchestra. The critic Richard Morrison writes: > Reith's BBC of the 1920s was ... imbued with an almost religious zeal for "enlightening" the public through the magical medium of the wireless. An orchestra, and particularly one that was unencumbered by commercial constraints and thus free to deliver the highest of highbrow programmes, would fit very well into that idealistic philosophy. Landon Ronald brought Reith and Beecham together in April 1928; negotiations and preliminary arrangements continued for more than 18 months until it became clear that the corporation and the conductor had irreconcilable priorities for the proposed new ensemble. Beecham withdrew and, as described by Nicholas Kenyon: > With the collapse of the Beecham scheme, the way was open for the BBC's music department to design an orchestral scheme truly suited to broadcasting needs – a plan for a 114-piece orchestra that could split into four different smaller groups, which had been devised in the autumn of 1929 by Edward Clark and Julian Herbage – and to place that orchestra's fortunes under the direction of the man who was to guide it with the utmost distinction for the next 20 years, the BBC's new director of music, Adrian Boult. ### Foundation By the time Adrian Boult succeeded Pitt as director of music for the BBC, the violinist Albert Sammons and the violist Lionel Tertis had scouted for new talent around the country on behalf of the corporation. Twenty-seven players had been offered positions in the new orchestra. Among those who joined were Aubrey Brain, Arthur Catterall, Eugene Cruft, Sidonie Goossens, Lauri Kennedy and Frederick Thurston. Although many of the principals were stars recruited from the LSO, the Hallé and other orchestras, a high proportion of the rank and file members were fresh from music colleges. Boult wrote, "a brilliant group of young and inexperienced players came to sit behind the well-known old stagers." A substantial number of the players performed at the 1930 Promenade Concerts under Wood, and the full BBC Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert on 22 October 1930, conducted by Boult at the Queen's Hall. The programme consisted of music by Wagner, Brahms, Saint-Saëns and Ravel. Of the 21 programmes in the orchestra's first season, Boult conducted nine and Wood five. The reviews of the new orchestra were enthusiastic. The Times wrote of its "virtuosity" and of Boult's "superb" conducting. The Musical Times commented, "The boast of the B.B.C. that it intended to get together a first-class orchestra was not an idle one", spoke of "exhilaration at the playing", and called another concert later in the season "an occasion for national pride". The Observer called the playing "altogether magnificent". After the initial concerts Reith was told by his advisers that the orchestra had played better for Boult than anyone else. Reith asked him if he wished to take on the chief conductorship, and if so whether he would resign as director of music or occupy both posts simultaneously. Boult opted for the latter. During the 1930s, the orchestra became renowned for its high standard of playing and for performing new and unfamiliar music. The pioneering work of Boult and the BBC SO included an early performance of Schoenberg's Variations, Op. 31, British premieres, including Berg's Wozzeck and Three Movements from the Lyric Suite, and world premieres, including Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 4 in F minor. Anton Webern conducted eight BBC SO concerts between 1931 and 1936. During the 1930s the orchestra presented rarely heard large-scale works from the past, including Berlioz's Grande Messe des morts and Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale. Mahler's Eighth and Ninth Symphonies, and Purcell's King Arthur. The excellence of the orchestra attracted leading international conductors. In its second season guest conductors included Richard Strauss, Felix Weingartner and Bruno Walter, followed, in later seasons, by Serge Koussevitzky, Beecham and Mengelberg. Arturo Toscanini, widely regarded at the time as the world's leading conductor, conducted the BBC SO in 1935 and later said that it was the finest he had ever directed. He returned to conduct the orchestra in 1937, 1938 and 1939, and declared, "This is the orchestra I would like to take round the world." ### Second World War and postwar On the outbreak of war in September 1939 the BBC put into effect its contingency plans to minimise disruption of broadcasting. The corporation withdrew from responsibility for the Proms, with which Wood went ahead, backed by the Royal Philharmonic Society, with the LSO replacing the BBC SO. The BBC SO was relocated from London to Bristol. More than 40 players were released for active service, including the 30 youngest members; the orchestra was reduced to a complement of 70, although it was increased to 90 later in the war. During 1940 and 1941 Bristol suffered devastation from German air-raids, and the BBC decided to move the orchestra again. In September 1941 the BBC SO took up residence in Bedford, where it remained, giving live broadcasts and making recordings until it returned permanently to its London base at the BBC's BBC Maida Vale studios in 1945. The BBC resumed its support for the Proms in 1942, with the BBC SO returning temporarily to London during the Proms seasons of 1942–45. For the rest of the year, the orchestra played in the hall of Bedford School, and after the launch of the V-1 raids in 1944 the remaining broadcast concerts of that year's Proms season were performed at the Bedford Corn Exchange. Boult had striven to maintain the orchestra's standards and prestige during the war; as an instance of its prowess in the 1940s Kennedy cites an HMV recording of Elgar's Second Symphony released in January 1945: "a performance that blazed with excitement and passion and is documentary evidence of the excellence of the orchestra in 1944". With Reith long gone from the post of director-general, Boult found that the top management of the BBC was less concerned for the status of its Symphony Orchestra. The new director-general, Sir William Haley, was unwilling to approve the funding needed to keep the orchestra competitive with new rivals – Walter Legge's Philharmonia and Beecham's Royal Philharmonic. Some younger players felt that many BBC SO principals were past their best. Steuart Wilson, the new Director of Music who had previously been married to Boult's wife Ann, engineered Boult's retirement in 1950, Wilson had neglected to secure a successor of similar eminence to take over the orchestra. His efforts to recruit Sir John Barbirolli and Rafael Kubelík were unsuccessful, and he was obliged to offer the post to his third choice, Sir Malcolm Sargent, on whatever terms Sargent demanded. ### 1950s Sargent, an immensely popular figure with the public, was not at all popular with orchestral players, because of what a historian of the Proms has called his "autocratic and prima-donna attitude towards orchestral players". He offended the BBC SO players by demanding that they all stand up when he came on to the platform – which they firmly declined to do. He rapidly became equally unpopular with the BBC music department, ignoring its agenda and pursuing his own. He refused to join the staff of the BBC, and insisted on remaining a freelance, taking numerous external engagements to the detriment of his work with the BBC SO. A senior BBC manager wrote: > Except when a Barbirolli or a Kletzki has been in charge for a few days, the Orchestra is inferior, as an artistic instrument, to the Hallé or Philharmonia... [Sargent] is indifferent to the morale and welfare of the Orchestra and to the individual temperaments of his players as artists or as human beings. It did not help that Sargent was universally acknowledged to be at his finest in choral music. His reputation in big works for chorus and orchestra such as The Dream of Gerontius, Hiawatha's Wedding Feast and Belshazzar's Feast was unrivalled, and his large-scale performances of Handel oratorios were assured packed houses. However, his regular programming of such works did nothing to lift the spirits of the BBC SO: orchestral musicians regarded playing the instrumental accompaniment for large choirs as drudgery. In the 1950s, the BBC SO, in common with the rest of the BBC's musical organisation, suffered from stagnation. In the words of the critic Peter Heyworth, "the Corporation's music department had become a byword for its narrow-mindedness and lassitude". Boult had been followed as director of music by a series of successors between 1944 and 1959 who either lacked his commitment to modern music or were actively hostile to it. Richard Howgill, who held the post from 1952 to 1959, took the view that although Webern "might have been a small composer of some significance, Schoenberg wasn't really a composer at all." In addition to working under a conductor it disliked, the BBC SO found its role as a pioneer of progressive music gone, and its performances of the standard classics criticised as under-rehearsed (particularly during Proms seasons) compared with those given by Legge's Philharmonia and others. Sargent's contract was not renewed in 1957, although he continued as chief conductor of the Proms until his death ten years later. Howgill appointed Rudolf Schwarz as chief conductor of the BBC SO. Schwarz failed to restore orchestral standards to pre-war levels, and lacked Sargent's box-office appeal. Under Schwarz, BBC SO concerts other than the Proms drew poor houses – as low as 29 per cent of capacity in the 1959–60 season. The manager of the Royal Festival Hall, Ernest Bean, spoke of "an inherited aura of mediocrity about BBC concerts which keeps people away". Schwarz's five-year contract was not renewed when it expired. ### 1960s to 1980s In 1959, the BBC appointed William Glock as controller of music for the BBC. During Glock's tenure, the profile and fortunes of the BBC SO began to rise. Glock engaged Antal Doráti as the orchestra's principal conductor. Heyworth judged that Doráti raised standards of playing and brought new vigour to the programmes in his four years in charge (1962–1966). Doráti was convinced that the orchestra was stultified by concentrating on studio broadcasts, as it did except during the Proms season. He strove to free players from "slavery to the microphone", and Glock promoted a regular series of concerts at the Festival Hall. The music critic Tom Sutcliffe later wrote that Doráti and his successors, Colin Davis (1967–71), Pierre Boulez (1971–75) and Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1978–81) had been partly successful in improving playing standards, but had not brought the orchestra up to its original level of distinction. By 1962, Glock had persuaded the BBC management to increase the orchestra's budget to allow for joint principals in the string sections, to attract top musicians who could play in the BBC SO without having to give up their solo or chamber careers. The following season, he was able to engage joint principals for the wind section, including as Jack Brymer and Terence MacDonagh, formerly members of Beecham's celebrated "Royal Family" in the RPO. The problem remained that recruiting rank-and-file string players was difficult: although the BBC offered secure employment and a pension, it did not pay as well as its London rivals. After 1964, the BBC SO was the only one of the five London symphony orchestras that was not self-governed, and some musicians felt that the BBC SO's constitution as a body of salaried employees, with no say in the management or repertory of the orchestra, attracted an unadventurous type of player. A former member of the BBC SO said in 1979, > I felt I was getting too secure ... [in] the BBC Symphony you can be a poor player, but if you're on time and never moan at the conductor ... you'll have no trouble... I think the BBC Symphony lost some good young players because the management got their priorities wrong. Glock was well known as a proponent of music of the Second Viennese School and their successors; earlier in his career he had been dismissed as music critic of The Observer for such views as "no great composer has ever cared how 'pleasant' his music sounds". Under his administration, the BBC SO gave world premieres of works by composers including Roberto Gerhard, Peter Maxwell Davies and Michael Tippett, and UK premieres of works by, among others, Luciano Berio, Boulez and Edgard Varèse. The policy of commissioning works, and giving UK premieres of new compositions was continued under Glock's successors. World or UK premieres in the 1970s included works by Elliott Carter, György Ligeti, Witold Lutosławski, Olivier Messiaen, Luigi Nono, Arvo Pärt and Karlheinz Stockhausen. BBC commissions premiered by the BBC SO in the 1980s included Alfred Schnittke's Second Symphony, Harrison Birtwistle's Earth Dances, and John Tavener's The Protecting Veil. Although Glock restored the orchestra's reputation as Britain's leading modern music ensemble, the balance of programming affected the players' capacity in the mainstream repertoire. The principal horn, Alan Civil, recalled: "We did about eighty percent modern and twenty percent classical. The awful tragedy, for the orchestra, was that eventually we were not able to play the standard classics. We could sight-read the most fearsome contemporary piece, but a Brahms symphony – embarrassing!" The bassoon player William Waterhouse who joined the BBC SO from the LSO found the BBC's repertory refreshing, but the music making less impressive: " There were no potboilers, but also, I'm afraid, no world-ranking soloists either." John Pritchard was principal conductor from 1982 to 1989. In The Times, Paul Griffiths wrote: "Sir John's seven-year period with the orchestra has been marked by growing orchestral confidence and many memorable performances." Principal guest conductors in the 1970s and 1980s included Sir Charles Mackerras (1977–1979), Michael Gielen (1978–1981), Günter Wand, Mark Elder (1982–1985) and Péter Eötvös (1985–1988). ### 1990s and 21st century Pritchard's successor was Andrew Davis, beginning in 1989. He held the post until 2000, the longest-serving chief conductor since Boult. He was at the helm for what John Allison in The Times called "the valuable Barbican weekends that each January investigate another major but not fully understood 20th-century composer." Noting that modern music was central to the work of Davis and the orchestra, Allison added that under Davis the orchestra took part in "once-in-a-lifetime projects such as Anthony Payne's completion of Elgar's Third Symphony." Upon Davis' departure, the orchestra appointed him its first conductor laureate. Leonard Slatkin succeeded Davis as chief conductor, from 2000 to 2004. His relationship with the players was reported to be uneasy, and his choice of repertoire received criticism. In February 2005, Jiří Bělohlávek was named the orchestra's next chief conductor, effective with the 2006 Proms season. He was principal guest conductor of the orchestra from 1995 to 2000, and was the first past principal guest conductor of the orchestra to be named its chief conductor. The classical repertory was regarded as one of Bělohlávek's strengths, but he had no reputation for conducting new works, which remained a core part of the orchestra's remit. He welcomed the fact that the orchestra's new principal guest conductor was David Robertson, a new-music expert and a protégé of Boulez. The orchestra was seen by some as "a bolshie lot" and "grumpy", but its relations with Bělohlávek were harmonious. Under Bělohlávek the orchestra won glowing reviews: The Times referred to its "superb musicians", Michael Kennedy in The Sunday Telegraph referred to a "rich and opulent [score] magnificently played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra" under Bělohlávek, and another Telegraph critic praised the BBC SO's "virtuoso form". In addition to Bělohlávek, other principal guest conductors of the orchestra from this period included Alexander Lazarev (1992–1995) and Jukka-Pekka Saraste (2002–2005). In October 2011, Sakari Oramo made his first guest conducting appearance with the BBC SO, his first guest-conducting engagement with any London orchestra. On the basis of this concert, in February 2012, Oramo was named the orchestra's 13th Chief Conductor, with an initial contract of 3 years, effective with the First Night of the 2013 Proms season. In September 2015, the BBC SO announced the extension of his contract to the 2019–2020 season. In May 2018, the BBCSO indicated a further extension of Oramo's contract through 2022. In October 2020, the BBC SO announced a further extension of Oramo's contract as chief conductor through September 2023, the scheduled conclusion of the 2023 Proms season. In April 2022, the BBC SO announced an additional extension of Oramo's contract as chief conductor through the close of the 2025–2026 season. In August 2012, the BBC SO announced the appointment of Semyon Bychkov to a newly created conducting post with the orchestra, the Günter Wand Conducting Chair. In January 2019, the BBC SO announced the appointment of Dalia Stasevska as its next principal guest conductor, the first woman ever to be named to the post and the second female conductor ever to be given a titled post with a BBC orchestra. ### Function in the 21st century The BBC SO is the associate orchestra of the Barbican Centre in London, where it gives an annual season of concerts. These seasons include series of concerts devoted to individual modern composers, who have included John Cage, James MacMillan, Elliott Carter, Sofia Gubaidulina, Michael Tippett, George Benjamin, Roberto Carnevale and Thomas Adès. The orchestra remains the principal orchestra of the Proms, giving about a dozen concerts each season, including the first and last nights. Most of its concerts are broadcast on BBC Radio 3, streamed online and available as podcasts for a month after broadcast, and a number are televised: the orchestra's website claims that this gives the BBC "the highest broadcast profile of any UK orchestra". The orchestra continues to make studio recordings for Radio 3 at the Maida Vale studios; some recording sessions are free for the public to attend. In common with other orchestras, the BBC SO engages in educational work. According to the orchestra's website: "Among ongoing projects are the BBC SO Family Music Intro scheme, introducing families to live classical music, BBC SO Student Zone and the highly successful BBC SO Family Orchestra, alongside work in local schools. Total Immersion composer events also provide rich material for education work." In 2000, the orchestra appointed its first associate composer, Mark-Anthony Turnage. John Adams became the BBC Symphony Orchestra's artist in association in June 2003. The composer and conductor Oliver Knussen took up the post of artist-in-association in July 2009. The orchestra's commitment to new music continues. In 2013, the music journalist Tom Service wrote, "I've heard the BBC Symphony give concerts that I don't think any other orchestra in the world could do as brilliantly ... That supreme virtuosity in new music makes them unique among London's big orchestras." ## Recordings From their first years the BBC SO and its predecessor the BBC Wireless SO were active in commercial recording studios. Under Percy Pitt the Wireless SO recorded mostly shorter works and some that were abridged, but represented composers as diverse as Glazunov, Tchaikovsky (the entire Nutcracker Suite on six 78 rpm sides, for instance), Mendelssohn, Wolf-Ferrari, Puccini, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rossini, and Grieg, as well as a few recordings with the BBC Wireless Singers directed by Stanford Robinson. Under Boult the BBC Symphony Orchestra recorded a wide range of music from Bach to Mozart and Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner and Elgar. In the 1950s and 1960s it recorded a range of music with Sargent, mostly British but with several Sibelius discs in addition. With Doráti the orchestra made recordings of works by Bartók, Gerhard and Messiaen. Under Colin Davis it made its first opera sets: Mozart's Idomeneo and The Marriage of Figaro, and Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini, as well as works by Beethoven and Tippett. Under Boulez the orchestra recorded mostly twentieth century music – works by Bartók, Berg, Schoenberg and Boulez himself – and also Berlioz. Andrew Davis has recorded extensively with the orchestra for the Teldec label and others. Under Bělohlávek the orchestra has recorded Martinů's complete symphonies, and also his The Epic of Gilgamesh. With guest conductors, the BBC SO has recorded Elgar and Vaughan Williams under the composers, Beethoven under Toscanini, Bruno Walter and Barbirolli, and Sibelius under Beecham and Koussevitsky. ## See also - BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
16,593,230	Millennium (The X-Files)	1,170,115,095	null	[ "1999 American television episodes", "Crossover science fiction television episodes", "Crossover television", "Fiction featuring the turn of the third millennium", "Millennium (TV series) episodes", "Television episodes about zombies", "Television episodes set in Florida", "Television episodes set in Maryland", "Television episodes set in Virginia", "Television episodes written by Frank Spotnitz", "The X-Files (season 7) episodes" ]	"Millennium" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on November 28, 1999. It was written by Vince Gilligan and Frank Spotnitz and directed by Thomas J. Wright. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Millennium" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.1, and was watched by 15.09 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics; some felt that the episode's plot was creepy and engaging, while others felt that it was not a decent conclusion for the Millennium television series. The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, an associate of the Millennium Group—a secret society which believes the apocalypse will happen on the new year of 2000—resurrects the dead for use in bringing about the apocalypse. As a result, Mulder and Scully have to ask the help of criminal profiler Frank Black (Lance Henriksen), a man who has former experience with the shadowy group, for assistance. The episode serves as a crossover with the series Millennium, also developed by the creator of The X-Files, Chris Carter, and was meant to bring closure to the recently cancelled series. The writers had a difficult time coming up with a story that would successfully allow Frank Black and Mulder and Scully to cross paths. Lance Henriksen later expressed disappointment with the episode. The idea to use zombies had originally been slated to appear in an aborted project X-Files remake of George A. Romero's cult 1968 zombie film Night of the Living Dead. In addition, the episode is notable because it features the first romantic kiss between Mulder and Scully, described as "inevitable" by one critic. Thematically, the episode has been analyzed for its use of Biblical quotes from the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation. ## Plot ### Background Frank Black (Lance Henriksen), the protagonist of the series Millennium, is a freelance forensic profiler and former FBI agent who possesses the unique ability to see the world through the eyes of serial killers and murderers. For the first two seasons of the show, Black worked for a mysterious consulting firm known as the Millennium Group. He lived in Seattle with his wife Catherine (Megan Gallagher) and daughter Jordan (Brittany Tiplady). During the first season, Black and the Group largely focused on various criminals. However, during the second and third seasons, Black began coming into conflict with the Group, which appeared to contain demonic elements and was focused on the fulfillment of apocalyptic biblical prophecy at the start of the new millennium. During the third season, Frank returned to Washington to work with the FBI following the death of his wife at the hands of the Group. In the third season finale, Black realized that the Group was preparing to come after him, and took Jordan from school as they fled Washington. ### Events In Tallahassee, Florida, on December 21, 1999, a memorial service is held for a former FBI agent named Raymond Crouch. His widow is approached by a mysterious man, Mark Johnson (Holmes Osborne), who claims to have worked with her husband. After the other mourners have left, Johnson returns to the funeral parlor, dons the corpse's clothes, and places a cell phone in the coffin. One week later, Johnson is monitoring Crouch's grave when his phone rings; he walks towards the grave with a shovel. Subsequently, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are called in to examine Crouch's empty grave. They notice damage done to the interior of the casket; Scully theorizes that the scene was staged. A briefing is held by Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), who notes that Crouch is one of four former agents whose graves have been exhumed; all four men had committed suicide. Because of the presence of goat's blood encircling the grave, Mulder states that the crime was an act of necromancy. After the briefing, Skinner takes the agents aside and asks them to investigate Crouch's possible ties to the Millennium Group, which is now dissolved. Mulder and Scully go to a mental institution in Woodbridge, Virginia, to visit Frank Black. Black is initially reluctant to help them, as he believes that any further involvement with or even activity regarding the Group may hinder his custody battle for his daughter Jordan. When Black finally agrees to assist, he explains that the four former members of the Group believe they can bring about the end of the world by killing themselves before the dawn of the millennium, acting as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Meanwhile, Johnson is changing a tire on his truck when a deputy comes upon him. Discovering Crouch's body in the back, the deputy attempts to arrest Johnson, but is attacked and killed by a suddenly reanimated Crouch. Acting on information from Black, Mulder concentrates on trying to find Johnson, while Scully is attacked in the morgue by the dead deputy; Johnson saves her by shooting the deputy before disappearing. The two agents put all their effort in to finding Johnson before it is too late. Mulder breaks into Johnson's house but is locked in his basement and attacked by the four corpses of the FBI agents; he manages to shoot and kill one of them. Frank shows up; after tying up Johnson, Frank shoots two of the zombies in the head. As his gun runs out of bullets and death seems imminent, Scully arrives and shoots the final zombie, saving both men. Frank returns to the hospital, arranging to have himself discharged. Scully informs Frank that he has a visitor and brings in Jordan. Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve is on television; Frank and Jordan leave just before the countdown begins. As the clock strikes zero and the crowd begins to sing "Auld Lang Syne" on screen, Mulder and Scully kiss to ring in the new year. ## Production ### Background "Millennium" serves as a crossover with the Fox series Millennium, also created by Chris Carter. Although Millennium, which debuted in 1996, had enjoyed critical acclaim, it suffered from low ratings and was cancelled after its third season. Unfortunately, the final episode of Millennium had been filmed before the cancellation notice, resulting in the series concluding on a cliffhanger. This episode features the last appearances of Frank Black and Jordan Black, and for this reason, is often cited as a way to bring closure to the Millennium series and its story arc. Incidentally, this episode is actually the second crossover between The X-Files and Millennium; the previous crossover involved a minor character—author Jose Chung—from "Jose Chung's From Outer Space", who appeared and was killed in the Millennium episode "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense". The idea to use zombies for "Millennium" arose from a separate aborted project. Reportedly, Stephen King, who had co-penned the fifth-season episode "Chinga", wished to write an episode based on George A. Romero's cult zombie film Night of the Living Dead (1968). Romero was also slated to direct the episode. According to "Millennium" co-writer and executive producer Frank Spotnitz, the staff of The X-Files met with both King and Romero, and the two showed an interest in producing the episode. While the episode was slated for the seventh season, it never came to fruition. Zombies as a plot device were then later relegated to what would become "Millennium". However, Mulder's line, "Shoot them in the head, it seems to stop them", mirrors a very similar line from Night of the Living Dead: "Shoot them in the head, that's a sure way to kill them." ### Writing and filming The producers of both The X-Files and Millennium had started to mull over the idea of doing a crossover when both shows were still on the air, and after Millennium was cancelled, The X-Files staff realized that a crossover made sense. Nevertheless, writing the story proved difficult, as the writers did not know whether to pen a story that dealt solely with wrapping-up Millennium, or if they should feature elements of Millennium intermixed within an X-Files investigation. The writers eventually went with the latter. With that said, Vince Gilligan, the co-writer of the episode, explained that he and Frank Spotnitz were more interested in "what would happen if Frank Black came into Mulder and Scully's world?" Gilligan also maintains that the episode was written to finally bring zombies into The X-Files universe. He explained: "It wasn't about the plot as much as getting [Mulder and Black] down in the basement of this creepy old house with these zombies climbing up out of the ground, and having to [shoot them] in the head." Gilligan also claims that the fear surrounding the perceived Year 2000 problem (that is, an issue for both digital and non-digital documentation and data storage situations which resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit year to two digits) served as an inspiration for the episode. Gilligan later joked that he was "proud to say I never bought into any of that Y2K BS for a minute!" Regarding the episode serving as a de facto series finale for Millennium, John Shiban said: "We realized that the story needed to be an X-File and that any Millennium ending we came up with had to come second. We needed to do what we always do, which is to follow Mulder and Scully through their case." For these reasons, Lance Henriksen, who portrayed Frank Black, was unhappy with the finished product, believing it to be a lackluster ending for the Millennium story. After the cancellation of Millennium, Carter called up Henriksen and asked if he would be interested in appearing in an episode of The X-Files that would wrap up the show's arc. Henriksen was excited about the episode, but when he received the script it was about zombies, much to his dismay. He noted that the episode's story was "a reasonable X-File but it's not Millennium." Spotnitz later admitted that the episode "was not completely successful, I suppose, but still seems worth it for having brought back Lance Henriksen." The episode is notable for featuring the first actual kiss between Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The series had featured other brushes with kisses between the two leads: in the fourth season episode "Small Potatoes", a shapeshifter, disguised as Mulder, nearly kissed Scully; in the 1998 film, the two's "lips brushed slightly before Scully got stung by a virus-carrying bee"; and in the sixth season entry "Triangle", Mulder kissed a Scully-lookalike from the 1930s in a reverie. John Shiban developed the idea for a Mulder–Scully kiss, which was described by series creator Chris Carter as a "present for the fans." Shiban noted that the episode's kiss felt like "the logical culmination of their relationship. They had been heading toward the kiss for years". Gillian Anderson later explained that, "David [Duchovny] and I knew the kiss was coming. [...] I felt the editors of that episode milked it in a very effective way." In order to create the atmosphere of the scene, specialized camera angles were used and everything was slowed down to make the scene last longer. The Millennium Ball scene was digitally created because the episode was filmed in October, two months before the event was scheduled to take place. Special effects producer Bill Millar was tasked with digitally adding the number "2000" into archival footage of the 1998 New Year's Eve show, hosted by Dick Clark. Clark was later hired to come in and record a voice-over bit announcing the year 2000. ## Themes The episode makes prominent use of John 11:25–26 from the Christian Bible, which reads "Who soever liveth and believeth in me shall never die". These were the words that were believed to have been said by Jesus when he raised Lazarus of Bethany from the dead; biblical scholars have noted that the verse was also intended as a foreshadow of his resurrection. For this reason, the verse is used in the episode to represent a physical resurrection from the dead. However, Amy Donaldson, in her book We Want to Believe, notes that the verse is used for the wrong reasons in "Millennium"; the necromancer is able to successfully raise the dead by reciting the line, but only their bodies, resulting in mindless zombies. Later, the verse reappears in the eighth season episode "Deadalive" during Mulder's funeral. In this instance, the verse is used to symbolize its true intentions, and Mulder is returned from the dead, both in mind and body. The episode also deals with the Book of Revelation, particularly verse 1:18, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys to Hell and of death". The Millennium Group believes that the four chosen members are the prophesied Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; although the group believes that fate is predetermined, they believe they can help by "making it happen themselves". Thus, they commit suicide in order to be resurrected as the Four Horsemen. Donaldson argues that Johnson and the Millennium Group have taken Jesus' promise of eternal life and resurrection too literally, resulting in "a recreated cycle in this life rather than escape into the next". This is further proved when the four Millennium Group members return as zombies; they have achieved life after death, but only physically—not spiritually—by "abusing Jesus's words to take their fate into their own hands". ## Reception ### Ratings "Millennium" first aired in the United States on November 28, 1999, on Fox. The night the episode aired, FX showed a nine-hour Millennium marathon, featuring episodes that were closely related to and led up to the crossover. The marathon was hosted by Lance Henriksen leading up to the premiere. The episode was watched by 15.09 million viewers in the United States; it earned a Nielsen rating of 9.1, with a 13 share, meaning that roughly 9.1 percent of all television-equipped households, and 13 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. The episode aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky1 on April 9, 2000, and received 870,000 viewers, making it the sixth most-watched episode of the week. ### Reviews "Millennium" received mixed reviews from critics. Ted Cox of the Daily Herald called the entry "creepy" and "visually captivating", particularly praising the installment's "use of light and dark symbolism". Ultimately, he noted that "it's good to once again see Mulder and Scully temporarily set free from the show's overarching conspiracy." Rich Rosell from Digitally Obsessed awarded the episode 5 out of 5 stars and wrote that "there were a lot of big, big things going on in this ep [sic], starting with Millennium'''s ace profiler Frank Black [...] reluctantly helping Mulder and Scully solve the apparent suicides of four FBI agents." Rosell ultimately concluded that the reason the episode was a success was due to Mulder and Scully's kiss, a moment he called "inevitable" although he did note that "many think [it] really signaled the beginning of the end." Tom Kessenich, in his book Examinations: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6–9 of the X-Files gave the episode a positive review and called it "highly entertaining" and "cause for celebration". He noted that, while he had never seen an episode of Millennium, the series mythology and story-arcs "integrated seamlessly into this episode" in a way that non-Millennium fans could still enjoy it. John Drake of Xposé considered the episode "excellent" and rated it 5 stars out of 5. Drake commended Lance Henriksen's performance, saying that "not only provides continuity with Millennium, but adds a new dimension as Frank tries to leave the wreckage of his professional life behind". Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B". He called the entry "tired" and wrote that it was "both too ambitious and not epic enough" to bring closure to Millennium. Furthermore, he felt that the story's basic plot was too confusing and almost laughable. Despite this, he enjoyed Johnson's role as the villain, calling him "interesting", and he wrote that the scene with Mulder and Black in the cellar was "kind of cool" because of the "creepy zombie sequences". Matt Hurwitz and Chris Knowles referred to the episode as "controversial" in their 2008 book, The Complete X-Files. Kenneth Silber from Space.com was critical of the episode, writing that "this episode vividly demonstrates that what Carl Sagan once called 'the burden of skepticism' is no longer being shouldered by anyone in the series. Why else would Mulder's assertion that a necromancer has successfully raised the dead provoke such a languid response in a room full of FBI agents?" 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 one-and-a-half stars out of five, noting that the episode's premise felt, "stylistically wrong for Millennium." Furthermore, Shearman and Pearson argued the episode was "a terrible X-File" because, instead of featuring Mulder and Scully solving a mystery, the plot revolved around the two saving the world from Armageddon, which caused "the thin credibility upon which hangs the series [to snap]." Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a negative review and awarded it one-and-a-half stars out of four. Vitaris noted that, despite the teaser and first act being "promising enough", the episode "slides downhill rapidly with a storyline that crosses the border into ludicrous." The kiss between Mulder and Scully caused a furor of opinions. The Complete X-Files noted that many fans were "ecstatic" about Mulder and Scully's "long-awaited" kiss. David Blar from DVD Talk called the episode "shocking" because of Mulder and Scully's kiss, asking, "why they didn't lock lips sooner"? Paula Vitaris noted that the kiss "seems stuck on to the episode by a tack in its complete irrelevance to the storyline or Mulder and Scully in general." Allan Johnson from the Chicago Tribune noted that "in a way, it's too bad Sunday's episode of Fox's The X-Files'' is getting more attention for what happens near the end than it does for its plot." Kessenich praised the way the show worked in Mulder and Scully's kiss, noting that its lack of a "steamy, rip your clothes off" atmosphere made the sequence work "so well". Handlen wrote that the scene, coupled with Black getting his daughter back, was "the only scene which comes close to justifying the episode’s existence". Furthermore, he enjoyed the ambiguous nature of the kiss, noting that it could be "just a one time thing, or maybe it’s the start of something, or maybe it’s just a continuation of something that’s been going on for a long time now, right under our noses."
1,437,942	Leon S. Kennedy	1,172,643,117	Character in Resident Evil franchise	[ "Capcom protagonists", "Characters in American novels of the 20th century", "Fictional American people in video games", "Fictional American police officers", "Fictional Krav Maga practitioners", "Fictional Secret Service personnel", "Fictional Systema practitioners", "Fictional characters with post-traumatic stress disorder", "Fictional gunfighters in video games", "Fictional knife-fighters", "Fictional martial artists in video games", "Fictional police officers in video games", "Fictional secret agents and spies in video games", "Fictional zombie hunters", "Male characters in video games", "Male horror film characters", "Resident Evil characters", "Science fiction film characters", "Video game characters introduced in 1998", "Video game protagonists" ]	Leon Scott Kennedy (Japanese: レオン・スコット・ケネディ, Hepburn: Reon Sukotto Kenedi) is a character in Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan), a survival horror video game series created by the Japanese company Capcom. He debuted as one of the two player characters of the video game Resident Evil 2 (1998), alongside Claire Redfield. During the events of Resident Evil 2, Leon is a rookie police officer who arrives in the doomed Raccoon City late for his first day on the job, to be confronted by a zombie outbreak. During the course of the game, he teams up with civilian survivor Claire Redfield, rescues the young Sherry Birkin, and is aided by the mysterious Ada Wong. Six years later, in Resident Evil 4 (2005), Leon returns as an agent for the U.S. federal government, as part of a special anti-Umbrella Corporation task force assigned to rescue the president's daughter, Ashley Graham, from a sinister cult. In Resident Evil 6 (2012), he continues to work for the U.S. government and reunites with Ada and an adult Sherry. Leon is the protagonist of several Resident Evil games, novelizations, and other game franchises, including Project X Zone and Dead by Daylight. Leon appears in the CG animated films and in the animated miniseries. In later games, such as the Resident Evil 2 remake (2019) and the Resident Evil 4 remake (2023), his features were based on Romanian model Eduard Badaluta. Several actors have portrayed Leon, including Johann Urb and Avan Jogia in the live-action Resident Evil films. Video-game publications list Leon among the most popular and iconic video-game characters, and he ranks consistently as a fan favorite character of the franchise. ## Concept and design Leon was created by Hideki Kamiya as a contrast in personality to Chris Redfield from the original Resident Evil, who Kamiya felt was the "blunt, tough-guy type". Though Kamiya admitted that, while he was a fan of characters like Chris, he opted to take Leon's development in a different direction. Leon was created for Resident Evil 2, as the development staff wanted to use a character who had no experience with terrifying situations, in contrast to returning protagonists. While Leon was originally designed as a veteran police officer, he was changed to being a rookie after the original version of Resident Evil 2 (also known as Resident Evil 1.5) had been scrapped. Leon's appearance was designed by Capcom artist Isao Ohishi. Kamiya created Leon alongside Claire and was aided by novelist Noboru Sugimura, in order to make the writing more appealing. Sugimura often revised the Resident Evil 2 scenario with regard to the multiple interactions between the two characters and what weapons each should acquire. Leon's backstory from the Resident Evil 2 manual indicates his having split with a woman was based in part on Kamiya's own life. Kamiya also described Leon as being manipulated by Ada Wong in Leon's relationship with her. Speaking about the relationship between Leon and Ada, Urb said: "It's kind of like Mulder and Scully and an X-Files type of deal, where you're waiting for it to happen, but it never does. Maybe in the next one, I'm hoping." Though director Makoto Kamiya initially wanted the film Resident Evil: Damnation to follow the dysfunctional romance between Leon and Ada, that idea was scrapped. Writer Shotaro Suga briefly explored the romance in Resident Evil 4. Leon and Ada never actually met in Resident Evil 5, except that an interaction was suggested in that film. Kamiya was surprised at how popular Leon had become, praising his later evolution into a laid-back character for Resident Evil 4 and adding that he "fell in love all over again". Leon was announced as Resident Evil 4's protagonist in November 2002. As the game was developed, it was intended that Leon would be infected with the Progenitor virus. This concept was expanded upon in 2004, when Leon was meant to contract a bizarre disease in his fight against the game's enemies. In a documentary explaining the conception of the game's characters, it was stated that Leon was intended to "look tougher, but also cool". His face was modeled after the game's animation department director Christian Duerre. Masaki Yamanaka explains the change in Leon from Resident Evil 2 as being due to the experience he has gained since that game. He was made to look more muscular, but Yamanaka did not want him "too buffed out". During the development of Resident Evil: Degeneration, producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi stated that Leon and Claire returned as protagonists due to their relationship and role in Resident Evil 2 and the recent release of Resident Evil 4. Leon was also added because of his experience, especially working with the new character Angela. In 2009, the producer said that he would like to make another game starring Leon as the main character. Resident Evil 5's producer Jun Takeuchi said that the series' fans "would really love" a video game featuring both Leon and Chris as the protagonists, and at the same time it would be "pretty dramatic" if the two characters never met before the series would end. Resident Evil 6's producer Kobayashi took a liking to Leon and decided to include him in the game, since "he is central to the story". Leon's eventual inclusion led to making his story be more horror-based than those of the rest of the cast and gave a sense of incompleteness, as players would need to choose the other protagonists to understand it. His initial design is meant to be that of a civilian as well as giving the idea of being someone easy to fight. For his China design, the clothing is meant to give an air of stylishness that contrasts with Chris' military equipment. Leon's key color was blue. The initial jacket is also meant to have a civilian look. To meet modern expectations for the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake, the team decided to alter some character designs to better match the more photorealistic setting; for example, Leon no longer wears large shoulder pads, which were added to distinguish his original, low-polygon model. The remake of Resident Evil 4 had Leon with more abilities, to overcome even the most difficult of situations, and being envisioned as a more realistic person rather than as a superhero. His characterization included reacting to his enemies to the point he would often insult them. In the film Resident Evil: Vendetta, Kobayashi aimed for Leon to be the main character, though other staff members wanted Chris to be the lead. The team decided to use Rebecca's addition to order to create another contrast with Resident Evil 6. The chase scene between Leon and dogs was almost removed from the film. Although Vendetta takes place after Resident Evil 6, director Eiichirō Hasumi set the mini-series Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness before the game events, in order to have more freedom with the younger incarnations of Leon and Claire, as he noted they were too popular and thus he wanted to be careful with their characterizations. The new character named Jason is meant to mirror Leon's sense of justice because of their similar backgrounds and ideas on how to deal with partners. The director was warned to remember the mini-series "was animation" during the interactions between Leon and Jason, and to maintain tension. ### Actors' portrayals Leon is voiced by Paul Haddad in Resident Evil 2. Paul Mercier takes the role in Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil: Degeneration, and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Mercier remembers being happy with the localizer, Shinsaku Ohara, and the team in the making of the game ever since its early demo. Despite initial issues in the making of Resident Evil 4, Mercier was relieved that his work as Leon was not removed and was happy to have the opportunity to work with director Ginny Mcswain. Nevertheless, Capcom requested that Mercier re-record some lines because they felt Mercier made Leon sound too old for his age. While Leon acts sarcasticly in Resident Evil 4, he behaves colder in the first CGI film. Mercier believes Capcom wanted a different voice for Leon when developing the film. For the prequel Darkside Chronicles, Mercier expressed difficulties in voicing the younger Leon while still understanding how different he was in this title due to the hardships he has faced. Mercier was replaced by Matthew Mercer in Resident Evil 6, Resident Evil: Damnation, Resident Evil: Revelations 2, and Resident Evil: Vendetta. Mercer described himself as a fan and friend of Mercier and said that he felt honored to take over as the voice of Leon. He also detailed his interpretation of Leon and talked about the changes being made to the character. Mercer elaborated that the Leon from Damnation is a "younger, cockier" character, and "actually follows his transition" in contrast to the "broken, downtrodden Leon that Resident Evil 6 begins with". Thanks to discussions with the director, Mercer was able to give his character more personality, linking him to the superhero Spider-Man, who also has a tendency to perform one-liners. However, Mercer claims that since some of Leon's enemies are silent, there is little occasion to joke. Due to the dark narrative in 6 and Damnation, Mercer believes that Leon in Vendetta is a more terrified character, who no longer trusts in his own skills. He will return to play the character in 2023 CG animated film Resident Evil: Death Island. In the Resident Evil 2 commercial directed by George A. Romero, Leon was portrayed by Brad Renfro. About Johann Urb's casting in Resident Evil: Retribution, the film's producer and director Paul W. S. Anderson said, "You have no idea how difficult it is to find someone with Leon Kennedy's hair [who] has to be manly and has to have these long bangs", adding that "if you put photographs of them side-by-side, it's almost like he was manufactured by Capcom." Anderson said that the decision to include Leon and other game characters in the film was "fan-driven". Urb mentioned that he learned the video-game Leon's mannerisms from watching clips posted on YouTube, commenting that "he doesn't have a high-pitched voice. I feel like he talks how I naturally talk, which is kind of slower." Christian Lanz voiced Leon in Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. Nick Apostolides is the voice and motion capture of Leon in the remake of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, and in the film Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness. Apostolides stated that, thanks to the Resident Evil 2 remake, he gained more exposure for his career. The actor was a fan of the franchise and noted that director needed a new voice for Leon/ due to the remake's younger persona. He went on to describe the character as a good nature young adult who stumbles into the mayhem that resulted from the outbreak in Racoon City. He was curious about the character's relationship with Ada Wong, believing his character had feelings for the Ada but found this unhealthy due to how the franchise expands these two's connection. His facial features in the remake of Resident Evil 2 were based on model Eduard Badaluta. Leon's Japanese actor Toshiyuki Morikawa said Leon has an unwavering sense of justice and the strength of his convictions, so he tries to make sure that everyone who enjoys the work can easily enter that world. He further said he enjoyed his character, while seeing him as young man that people can find anywhere. Leon grows up by getting involved in important events and fully demonstrates his various skills, resulting in his growing confident and secure enough to be a hero. However, Morikawa had the hardest time in the Resident Evil 2 remake, where he acted as a younger Leon. Morikawa was able to enter that world smoothly this time by playing the role of Leon, who became more magnificent after that. ## Leon's appearances ### In the Resident Evil video games Leon debuted in Resident Evil 2 (1998), as one of the game's two protagonists, alongside Claire Redfield. In the story, he is a police officer on his first day, who arrives in the Midwestern United States town of Raccoon City just after a viral outbreak begins. He meets Claire by chance as she is chased by zombies created by the T-virus. Together, they flee towards the Raccoon City Police Department building but get separated and go their own ways. They eventually meet again at the Umbrella Corporation underground research complex responsible for the viral outbreak. Along the way, Leon teams-up with Ada, a mysterious and charming woman eventually revealed as a spy seeking a sample of the even-more-powerful G-virus. During the final confrontation with the seemingly unstoppable T-103 Tyrant that constantly pursues the characters, Ada tosses Leon (or Claire, depending on the scenario) a rocket launcher to destroy the creature. In the end, Leon faces and kills the grotesquely mutated Umbrella scientist William Birkin, and escapes from the self-destructing facility, along with Claire and Birkin's young daughter Sherry. Leon reprises his role in the remake of Resident Evil 2 (2019). An epilogue to Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999) reveals that Leon later joined the U.S. federal government. In Resident Evil – Code: Veronica (2000), Claire contacts Leon to relay information to her brother Chris while she is imprisoned on Rockfort Island. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (2009) features re-imaginings of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil – Code Veronica; it also has a new scenario, set in 2002, that involves Leon and the soldier Jack Krauser on a mission to search for Javier Hidalgo, an ex-drug-lord who had been said to do business with Umbrella. Leon is the protagonist of Resident Evil 4 (2005). In 2004, he is a special agent assigned to rescue the U.S. president's daughter, Ashley Graham, who is being held somewhere in Europe. Her kidnappers turn out to be part of an evil cult known as Los Illuminados, which has taken control of local villagers using parasites known as Las Plagas. As Leon searches for Ashley, he is captured and injected with the parasite. With help from Ada Wong and the Illuminados researcher Luis Sera, Leon is able to remove Las Plagas from his body and to rescue Ashley while confronting the cult. At the game's climax, Leon kills the cult leader, Osmund Saddler, but is forced to give a Plagas sample to Ada, who escapes in a helicopter, leaving Leon and Ashley to escape on a watercraft. Leon reprises his role in the remake of Resident Evil 4 (2023). He is also one of the protagonists in Resident Evil 6 (2012), alongside Chris Redfield, Jake Muller, and Ada Wong. Leon also appears in several non-canonical games in the series. He stars alongside Barry Burton in the Game Boy Color-only Resident Evil Gaiden (2001). Along with Claire, Leon is one of two playable characters in the browser and mobile game Resident Evil: Zombie Busters. In the third-person shooter Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (2012) revisiting the Raccoon City incident, the players control Umbrella operatives sent to kill any survivors, and certain actions can lead to Leon's death. He is also a player character in the "Heroes" mode of this game and is portrayed by the computer-animated film Leon face model, Jamisin Matthews. Leon, along with Claire's costume, appears in Resident Evil: Resistance (2020). He is also a playable character in Resident Evil Re:Verse (2022). ### In Resident Evil films Leon teams up with Claire Redfield in the 2008 computer-animated film Resident Evil: Degeneration, in order to stop another outbreak of the T-virus on American soil. He returns in the sequel Resident Evil: Damnation, where he is sent to investigate the use of the Las Plagas during a civil war in Eastern Europe. Starting with Resident Evil: Degeneration, Capcom modeled the computer-animated Leon Kennedy after Jamisin Matthews. Unlike the live-action film series, the animated films are canonically set in the same universe as the game series, serving as the prequels to Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, respectively. A third computer-animated film Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017) starring Chris Redfield, Leon Kennedy and Rebecca Chambers. A guilt-ridden Leon joins Chris on a rescue operation and decrypts Glenn Arias's plan for a large-scale attack on New York City. Leon also appears in the Netflix series Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness (2021). He encounters zombies when the White House is targeted in a mysterious attack. He later meets Claire Redfield, who has been investigating a strange drawing made by a child refugee while working on a TerraSave-led mission to oversee construction of a welfare facility. He returned in the sequel to the animated film, Resident Evil: Death Island. In a 2010 interview, director Paul W. S. Anderson said that, if Resident Evil: Afterlife succeeds, he would do a fifth film and would like Leon to make an appearance in it. Leon also appeared as a major character in Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), "poised to rumble with Bad Rain and the defected Jill Valentine". The live-action version of Leon is leader of a mercenary group working for Albert Wesker who teams up with the film's version of Ada to fight Umbrella, save Alice, and rescue Jill. At the end of the film, he is one of the characters to survive. In the reboot film Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021), Leon, played by Avan Jogia, teams up with Claire and Brian Irons to escape the city ### Other appearances Leon is featured in the 1998-1999 manhua comic Shēnghuà Wēijī 2 ("Biological Crisis 2"). A romantic comedy, centered on Leon, Claire, and Ada, and retelling of the story of Resident Evil 2, was released in the Taiwanese two-issue comic Èlíng Gǔbǎo II in 1999. Leon also appeared as a character in the Image Comics title Resident Evil, including the novels Resident Evil: City of the Dead and Resident Evil: Underworld by S. D. Perry. In printed trading card media, Leon appears as a card in the Bandai produced game Resident Evil: The Deck Building Game. On Halloween Horror Nights 2013 held at Universal Orlando, Leon was featured as one of two main characters in a haunted house called "Resident Evil: Escape from Raccoon City", based on Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Outside the Resident Evil franchise, Leon appears as a costume for the character Chris Redfield in the fighting game Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. He appears as a solo playable character in Project X Zone 2. He makes a special guest appearance as a spirit in the Nintendo's crossover video game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Leon and multiple other Resident Evil characters appear as playable characters in Dead by Daylight. His Persistent Investigator and Impervious Agent skins were also included. Leon has also appeared in an online multiplayer battle royale game Knives Out on July 29 to August 12, 2021. In August 2021, the character Lion from Rainbow Six Siege received Leon Kennedy's skin. In February 2022, both Leon and Chris appeared as an easter egg in Dying Light 2. In March 2023, Leon and Claire appeared in Fortnite Battle Royale. In April 2023, Leon appeared in Puzzle & Survival. In 2023, before the release of the remake of Resident Evil 4, Capcom released a promotional anime of the Resident Evil Masterpiece Theater, which depicted the story of Leon and Ashley. ### Merchandise Various types of merchandising based on Leon have been released. In 2004, Capcom announced a series of outfits based on Leon's clothing, called "Leon's Collection". In 2020, a statue and figurine of Leon was also made, alongside that of Claire. In Japan, Capcom has released a 10 ml bottle of Leon-styled perfume, which is now on sale for ¥6380. In 2021, Capcom and Kadoya collaborated to produce an official reproduction of Leon's jacket from Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness. Capcom has also collaborated with Darkside Collectibles to develop a quarter-size Leon figurine based on his appearance in Resident Evil 4. In 2022, a \$1500 reproduction of Leon's jacket from the remake of Resident Evil 4 has been released. NAUTS and DAMTOYS have released a 1/6 figurine of Leon from the remake of Resident Evil 2. In 2023, Kotobukiya opened up pre-orders for ARTFX figures of Leon from Resident Evil: Vendetta. Little Armory and Seiko would produce 1/12 scale models of small arms and watches. ## Reception Game publications, including the 2011 version of the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, included Leon among the most popular and iconic video game characters. Magazines also praised him as the most likable Resident Evil character. His relationship with Ada has been noted as a memorable video-game romance. Nintendo Power considered him a Nintendo gaming hero, stating that he went from a "glorified meter maid with a bad haircut" to a tough guy. GamesRadar+ considered Leon as an "influential and badass hero", praising his composure and raw endurance. Tom's Hardware placed the character among the best protagonists in video games, lauding him in particular for his coolness and resolve in the face of all the frightening circumstances that surround him. Leon's appearance in Resident Evil 4 has generally received positive reviews. In the book Immersion, Narrative, and Gender Crisis in Survival Horror Video Games, Andrei Nae described Leon's persona as a hypermasculine persona similar to Ethan Tomas from Condemned: Criminal Origins. According to PlayStation Universe's Mike Harradence, "we've seen Kennedy transition from a likeable, wet-behind-the-ears, love-sick puppy to a wise-cracking, super smooth government agent." GamesRadar described Leon's design as "David Bowie piloting the Memphis Belle", stating that, while it was appealing, the hairstyle required modifications for encounters in the games. Complex commented on "his sarcastic and moody attitude", adding that, while Leon "stepped it up in the series by maturing and becoming a true hero", they "enjoyed the game more when Leon didn't speak." In Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian criticized Leon's continuous journey to save Ashley. In addition to their various settings and how the remake was authentic to them, Michael McWhertor of Polygon has praised Leon in the remake of Resident Evil 2 and said that "the character feels like a human being and moves like a contemporary video game action hero". Cass Marshall described Leon as a "sexy side of its star". Yet according to Ravi Sinha of GamingBolt, the character's revised design is among the worst in video games, and the creators ought to have stuck with his original appearance. GameSpot's Kurt Indovina said the game's remake improved Leon's personality, as he now seemed more human. On the remake of Resident Evil 4, Ana Diaz from Polygon reported that Leon's sex appeal represents the fetishization of the character's looks; this comment was shared on TikTok.
720,474	Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade	1,170,416,106	2003 video game	[ "2003 video games", "Fire Emblem video games", "Game Boy Advance games", "Games with GameCube-GBA connectivity", "Multiplayer and single-player video games", "Nintendo Switch Online games", "Tactical role-playing video games", "Video game prequels", "Video games about dragons", "Video games developed in Japan", "Video games featuring female protagonists", "Video games scored by Yuka Tsujiyoko", "Virtual Console games", "Virtual Console games for Wii U" ]	Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, also known simply as Fire Emblem, is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. It is the seventh installment in the Fire Emblem series, the second to be released for the platform after Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, and the first to be localized for international audiences. It was released in Japan and North America in 2003, and in Europe and Australia in 2004. The game is a prequel to The Binding Blade, set on the fictional continent of Elibe. It tells the story of Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector, three young lords who band together on a journey to find Eliwood's missing father Elbert while thwarting a larger conspiracy threatening the stability of Elibe. The gameplay, which draws from earlier Fire Emblem entries, features tactical combat between armies on a grid-based map. Characters are assigned different character classes that affect abilities and are subjected to permanent death if defeated in battle. Development began in 2002 as a companion title to The Binding Blade, but it was prolonged from its initial seven-month window as new features were added. While the Fire Emblem series remained exclusive to Japan due to concerns about its difficulty, the success of Advance Wars and popular demand following the inclusion of Fire Emblem characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee prompted the game's localization. The game was released to positive sales and international critical acclaim, establishing the Fire Emblem series in the West. Its overseas success caused all subsequent games (except for Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem) to be released outside of Japan. ## Gameplay Fire Emblem is a tactical role-playing game where players take the role of story protagonists Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector as they navigate story-driven missions across the fictional continent of Elibe. The player takes the role of an unseen tactician directing the player army. The single-player campaign is divided into chapters which generally begin with story elements presented through the use of scenes animated with still images of the main characters, then followed by a battle with an enemy; after each battle, the player is given the opportunity to save their progress. In-game currency is gained either through battles in the game's various Arenas or through other means, rather than from defeating units. Currency can be used to buy new items and weapons at merchants at specific locations within maps. Items can also be exchanged between units during battles. Battles in the story take place on maps divided into a square-based grid. Battle actions are governed by a turn-based system where each unit on both sides is given their chance to move and act. During gameplay, weather and terrain effects appear such as fog of war or elements of the environment that can be manipulated to one side's advantage, affecting the progress of battle. Units are split between player, enemy and allied non-player character (NPC) units. Each unit's movement range and attack range is displayed when selected. The player must clear a map to advance the story: the objectives for clearing a level can vary from defeating all enemies to capturing strongholds or rescuing NPCs. When engaging a unit, the scene transitions into a battle between the player and enemy unit, with battle animation playing out. When hit with an attack, a character loses health points (HP). For player characters, HP can be restored with items or by units with healing magic; it can also be regained by standing on forts, gates or castles, or using a special spell that replenishes health based on damage dealt to an enemy. Each unit is governed by a character class system, with their class affecting what weapons they can use. After each action in battle gains experience points (EXP). Upon reaching 100 EXP, a unit levels up and its statistics such as attack power and defense are randomly raised, while weapon ranks increase naturally when using their respective weapons. Upon reaching Level 10, and using a special item, a unit's class can be upgraded to a more powerful version with access to new items and weapons. If a unit is defeated in battle, they are subject to permanent death, being removed from all future encounters and the overall storyline with a few exceptions for story-related characters. If characters crucial to the storyline like Lyn, Eliwood or Hector fall, the game ends and the player must restart the level. Weapon strengths and weaknesses are governed by the series' Weapons Triangle system; axes are strong against lances, lances strong against swords, and swords strong against axes. Bows are independent of the system, being effective against airborne units. A similar system, dubbed the Magic Trinity in-game, governs how different types of spells react; elemental magic is strong against light, light against dark and dark against elemental. The strength of weapon types assigned to a particular unit is raised through usage, with its rank ranging from E to S, with S being the highest possible affinity with a promoted character. Characters also have a Support system, where talking in battle strengthens two characters' relationship, and consequently provides stat boosts. The higher the Support rank, which ranges from "C" to "A", the better the boost. Outside the main campaign, players can battle against the game's artificial intelligence (AI) in the Link Arena: after building a team, the player fights a battle against their own units controlled by the game AI. Fire Emblem also features a Link Arena multiplayer option in which up to four players can link up and do battle with teams of characters from the single-player save file. Players choose up to five characters and equip them like in the main story. During battle, each player takes turns to attack with one character. Weapons are selected automatically for each battle. Victory is determined either by surviving a period of time or aggregating the highest number of points. ## Synopsis The events of Fire Emblem take place on the fictional continent of Elibe, twenty years before the events of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. In ancient times, dragons lived in peace with humans, but were later banished in a devastating war: the Scouring. Throughout the game, the player travels through the countries of Sacae, a land of nomads and tribes; Lycia, an alliance of marquisates including Pherae and Ostia; and Bern, a militaristic kingdom ruled by a single ruler. The player assumes the role of a tactician discovered by Lyn, a Sacean girl whose tribe and parents were killed by bandits. Lyn learns from a pair of knights named Sain and Kent that she is actually Lady Lyndis, and that her mother was the estranged daughter of the Marquess of Caelin, Hausen, who seeks to reconcile with his daughter's family. She begins a journey to Caelin to reunite with her grandfather, obtaining the sacred sword Mani Katti soon after, but comes under attack from Hausen's avaricious younger brother Lundgren, who wants to kill both her and Hausen to seize power in Caelin. During her quest, Lyn protects Nils, a traveling bard, from the Black Fang, a guild of assassins, while his sister Ninian is rescued by Lord Eliwood, son of Marquess Elbert of Pherae. Finally defeating Lundgren, Lyn reunites with her grandfather. One year later, Elbert disappears, prompting Eliwood and his friend Lord Hector, younger brother of Marquess Uther of Ostia, to investigate. The pair discover that the Black Fang has incited Marquess Darin of Laus to rebel against Lycia, and Elbert was captured when he refused to cooperate. After rescuing Lyn from Darin's troops, the three pursue him to the Dread Isle. There, they reunite with Ninian and Nils and learn that the Black Fang is being manipulated by Nergal, a dark sorcerer who seeks to provoke all-out war in Elibe, providing him with an enormous amount of "quintessence", or life-force, from fallen warriors. By forcing the siblings to open the Dragon's Gate, he can summon dragons to Elibe. The party kills Darin, but Elbert dies delivering a grave wound to Nergal. The party returns to Ostia to report recent events to Uther, who directs them to the western desert of Nabatea. There, they meet Archsage Athos, who sends them to Bern to find the Shrine of Seals. In Bern, the heroes save Prince Zephiel from an assassination attempt orchestrated by his jealous father, King Desmond. Out of gratitude, the queen of Bern gives them directions to the Shrine of Seals. At the Shrine, the party meets the ancient hero Bramimond, who unseals the Blazing Blade Durandal and the Thunder Axe Armads so they can oppose Nergal. However, Nergal returns and captures Ninian. The heroes collect the legendary weapons, but Nergal tricks Eliwood into killing Ninian, who, along with Nils, is revealed to be a half-dragon. The group returns to Ostia, where Hector learns that Uther has died of an illness. The party and Athos return to the Dread Isle and defeat Nergal, who summons three dragons with the last of his strength. Bramimond arrives and resurrects Ninian, who banishes two of the dragons; the heroes slay the last dragon in battle. In the aftermath, Athos expends all of his energy and predicts a future conflict originating in Bern before passing away. Nils returns through the Dragon's Gate and seals it, while Ninian follows him, or, if she has fallen in love with Eliwood, chooses to remain in Elibe as his wife, despite a far shorter lifespan. Eliwood becomes marquess of Pherae, while Hector inherits his brother's title as marquess of Ostia, and Lyn abdicates her claim over Caelin and returns to Sacae. Fifteen years later, Eliwood and Hector reunite, introduce their respective children Roy and Lilina to each other, and discuss the recent assassination of Desmond. Meanwhile, the embittered Zephiel is confronted by a robed man who accuses him of awakening a demon dragon, a prelude to the events of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. ## Development Fire Emblem, known in Japan as Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, was created by series developer Intelligent Systems. Toru Narihiro and Takehiro Izushi from Intelligent Systems acted as producers, Hitoshi Yamagami from Nintendo supervised with Taeko Kaneda and Kentarou Nishimura as directors. The script was written by Ken Yokoyama and Kouhei Maeda. Character designs were done by Sachiko Wada, who would reprise her role for Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. A second artist on the project was Ryo Hirata, who had previously done illustration work for Production I.G and would go on to work on The Sacred Stones. Eiji Kaneda, who worked on The Binding Blade, did uncredited illustration work. Background graphics, particularly those for the Fire Dragons, were done by Daisuke Izuka. Music was composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko, who had worked on every game since the series' inception, although Fire Emblem would be her last work on the series as a composer. She was helped by Saki Haruyama. Development of Fire Emblem began in 2002 after the release of The Binding Blade. Intended as a companion title built upon the foundation of The Binding Blade, development time was initially estimated at seven months. The storyline was built around three main characters and their strengths in battle; the central character Eliwood was made fairly weak to fit the concept of an "easy" mode for new players, while the Lyn and Hector both provided steeper gameplay challenges and altered story segments. As with The Binding Blade, the titular "Fire Emblem" was represented as a family crest. The gameplay, initially identical to The Binding Blade, underwent multiple changes including expansions on the role of the player in the storyline through the unseen strategist character, and the added tutorial stages helped introduce the mechanics to new players. Due to the multiple extra features, development ultimately lasted over a year. The tutorial was included because the game's steep difficulty was proving off-putting to new players; an inclusion made to make Fire Emblem a major series for Nintendo. Additional content could be unlocked by connecting the game to the Mario Kart: Double Dash Bonus Disc via a GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable. ## Release Fire Emblem was first announced in early 2003. It was the second title in the Fire Emblem series to have been developed for the Game Boy Advance while also being compatible with the newly released Game Boy Advance SP, an upgraded version of the GBA. It was released on April 25, 2003. Prior to 2017, the game's Japanese subtitle was translated as The Sword of Flame. In 2017, the subtitle was officially translated by Nintendo as The Blazing Blade. The game was later released on the Virtual Console for Wii U on May 14, 2014, and was released for the Nintendo Switch as part of its Expansion Pack service on June 23, 2023. ### Localization The concept of localizing a Fire Emblem game in the West had been around for some time, but the combined elements of extensive use of text and a view that tactical RPGs would be met with low sales overseas had kept the series exclusive to Japan. Another major factor was the appearance of Roy from The Binding Blade and Marth from the first Fire Emblem in the 2001 fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee. The director of Melee, Masahiro Sakurai, had wanted to include Marth since the original Super Smash Bros., and included him as part of a push for more sword-wielding characters. Gameplay-wise, Roy was included to act as a clone of Marth, and his inclusion was partially to advertise the upcoming release of Binding Blade in Japan (three months after the release of Melee). There were difficulties including both Marth and Roy, as the Fire Emblem series had not seen an overseas release at that point. Sakurai, with support from Nintendo of America, managed to keep Marth and Roy in the game. The growing base of tactical role-playing games including Advance Wars, in addition to the interest garnered by the appearance of Roy and Marth in Melee, meant Nintendo was more willing to bring Fire Emblem overseas. Speaking in a later interview, localization producer Tim O'Leary said that localizing the title was more difficult than its successor The Sacred Stones, but was smaller in scale than Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. A Western release was first hinted at in mid-2003, when it was listed on a leaked release list from Nintendo of America. It was first shown at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo, along with a playable demo. For its Western release, the subtitle was removed, with it simply being dubbed "Fire Emblem". The game released in North America on November 3, 2003; in Australia on February 20, 2004; and in Europe on July 16. It was later re-released on Virtual Console for Wii U on August 21, 2014, in Europe; and in North America on December 4 of that year. ## Reception Fire Emblem met with generally positive reviews from critics. On aggregate site Metacritic, Fire Emblem garnered a score of 88/100 based on 31 reviews. It was the 6th best-reviewed GBA title of 2003. Japanese magazine Famitsu praised the characters and felt it was a suitable addition to the Fire Emblem series, while Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell cited the storyline as being similar to better examples within the Japanese role-playing genre and its near-seamless integration with gameplay mechanics. GamePro reviewer Star Dingo called the narrative "a complex (but not convoluted) classic fantasy yarn", while GameSpot's Bethany Massimilla called the story standard while praising the writing and character development. Christian Nutt of GameSpy praised the writing as highly enjoyable for both the Japanese and Western releases, and IGN's Craig Harris believed that the game was superior to Advance Wars through its portrayal of characters despite some minor complaints about characters that remained alive for story reasons despite falling in battle. PALGN reviewer Andrew Burns commented that the story gained a serious edge once Lyn's opening story arc was completed. Speaking about the gameplay, Famitsu was slightly mixed about some aspects; one critic praised the added tutorial for allowing new players to be eased in the series gameplay, while another compared the tutorial to a nagging mother and said it and the unseen Tactician representing the player might grate with series fans. Bramwell praised the integration of RPG elements and tactical gameplay, in addition to finding the permanent death of characters a suitable fit for the game's world. Dingo was positive about the level design and controls, but warned that it was quite short and lacking in depth when compared to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Massimilla found the gameplay both accessible and challenging as she made her way through the game, while Nutt was skeptical about the permanent death system and critical of the in-game economy despite generally enjoying the experience. Harris again compared it to Advance Wars, but said that Fire Emblem had enough unique elements to make it its own product, and generally praised the title's accomplishments. Burns, who had experience of earlier Fire Emblem titles, praised the game as a worthy entry in the series and a good entry for the West to experience. ### Sales In its debut week, Rekka no Ken entered Japanese gaming charts at \#2 with sales of 93,880 units. The following week it had dropped to \#4, selling a further 47,550 and bringing total sales to 141,430 units. The following week it had reached \#3 with further sales of 23,296 units. The game continued to steadily into July, reaching \#21 in the top 100 best-selling games for that half of 2003 with total sales of 223,575 units. As of 2012, Rekka no Ken has sold 272,000 units in Japan. While no exact sales figure are available for Western territories, developers later stated that Fire Emblem was a commercial success overseas, and prompted the development of Path of Radiance for the GameCube home console. ### Accolades Fire Emblem was named "Editor's Choice" by both IGN and GameSpy as part of their reviews. During the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Fire Emblem for "Handheld Game of the Year". In the same year, the International Game Developers Association awarded the game for "Excellence in Writing" alongside titles including Beyond Good & Evil and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In lists compiled by IGN, GamesRadar and Game Informer, Fire Emblem was ranked among the best games for the GBA.
14,116,414	Conscience-in-Media Award	1,165,586,874	Journalism award	[ "American journalism awards", "Awards established in 1975" ]	The Conscience-in-Media Award is presented by the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) to journalists that the society deems worthy of recognition for their distinctive contributions. The award is not given out often, and is awarded to those journalists which the ASJA feels have demonstrated integrity to journalistic values, while enduring personal costs to themselves. Candidates are decided by an initial vote of the ASJA's First Amendment Committee, which must then be confirmed by a separate vote of the ASJA's board of directors. The award has been presented twelve times since the first award was given in 1975. Notable recipients have included Jonathan Kozol, for work researching homelessness while writing his book Rachel and Her Children, Richard Behar and Paulette Cooper, for separate pieces investigating the Church of Scientology, and Anna Rosmus, for her investigation into the Nazi history of her hometown in Passau, Germany. In 2005, the committee voted to present the award to Judith Miller, but this vote was later overturned by a unanimous decision of the board. ## History The award is given by the ASJA, to recognize "distinctive contributions by any journalist in any medium". The first award was given to Jerald F. terHorst in 1975, and in total the award has been presented twelve times. The award criteria are stringent. The American Society of Journalists and Authors maintains that those honored must have knowingly taken risks in the course of researching their story, going beyond the normal call of duty. Specifically, the award is given: "for singular commitment to the highest principles of journalism at notable personal cost". Jonathan Kozol was honored with the 1988 award, for work done on his book Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America. In order to research the plight of homeless people in New York City, Kozol spent the majority of a winter season at the Martinique Hotel in Manhattan, where he grew close with the residents of the government subsidized shelter. During his time spent learning about the experiences of the homeless, he most empathized with homeless mothers - who constantly fear that sickness, poverty or intervention from the state of New York will result in the loss of their children. Kozol attempted to analyze the causes of homelessness, and to provide an estimate of what the future would be for the homeless. 1992 was the first time in ASJA history in which two writers were honored in the same year. The AJSA had already decided to honor investigative journalist Richard Behar, for his Time magazine article about the Church of Scientology: "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power". Paulette Cooper, a longtime member of the ASJA, had also written about Scientology in her book The Scandal of Scientology, and was the subject of a "fair game" tactic that the Church of Scientology Guardian's Office called "Operation Freakout". As the award was not in existence at the time Cooper wrote her book, the ASJA decided that recognizing Cooper at the same time as Behar emphasized the commitment and courage both writers imbued in the face of risk to themselves. Anna Rosmus received the 1994 award, in honor of work related to her research on the Nazi past of her hometown in Bavaria. Rosmus researched anti-Semitism, and opposed neo-Nazis and the extreme right in Germany. She also located and published artwork of Jews that had once lived in her hometown of Passau, Germany. As a result of her work, Rosmus endured threats against her life. In a 1996 Yom HaShoah ceremony, Rosmus recounted threats she faced after conducting her research: "Once-friendly neighbors threatened me openly - on the telephone, in person, in letters ... They threatened to kill me and kidnap my children. Some even attacked me physically, a room where I was to speak in Munich was bombed just before I was to be there, and several times I was sued. Nobody ever claimed I had said anything false or made mistakes. They just claimed all this would damage their reputations." Rosmus was profiled on 60 Minutes, and her story was the subject of the 1990 West German drama film, The Nasty Girl. Rosmus was presented with the Conscience-in-Media Award in a special ceremony at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In 2005, the ASJA's First Amendment Committee narrowly voted to present Judith Miller with the award, in recognition of her dedication to protecting sources. However, the full board of the ASJA later voted not to accept the decision of its committee, due to its opinion that her career as a whole and her actions in the Valerie Plame CIA leak case had cast doubt on her merits. ASJA president Jack El-Hai stated that the ASJA board's vote to reject the committee's recommendation had been unanimous. This decision sparked controversy, and Jack El-Hai received correspondence both praising the board for its decision, and accusing it of various political motives. In 2015 three freelance journalists, James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and Austin Tice were honored with the award, presented at the National Press Club. "These three men represent the highest values of journalism: courage, sacrifice and a firm commitment to the truth", said Randy Dotinga, president of ASJA. "Their bravery and dedication are especially inspiring to us as fellow independent writers." In 2018 the award was bestowed upon Daphne Caruana Galizia, an influential Maltese journalist, who had been threatened numerous times because of her investigative writing about people in high places, and in 2017 was murdered by a bomb placed under her car seat. "In her search for truth and tenacity in presenting it to the public, Daphne Caruana Galizia exemplifies the criteria for the Conscience in Media award", says Sherry Beck Paprocki, ASJA president. ## Award recipients > Honoring: "those who have demonstrated singular commitment to the highest principles of journalism at notable personal cost or sacrifice." - 2018 - Daphne Caruana Galizia, for 30 years an investigative journalist, writer, and anti-corruption activist murdered in her native Malta on October 16, 2017 - 2015 - James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Austin Tice, freelance journalists killed or captured in the Middle East - 1994 - Anna Rosmus, real-life heroine of the film The Nasty Girl. - 1992 - Richard Behar, associate editor, Time and author, "Scientology: The Cult of Greed" (Time, May 6, 1991). - 1992 - Paulette Cooper, ASJA member and author, The Scandal of Scientology - 1988 - Jonathan Kozol, author, Rachel and Her Children. - 1981 - Jacobo Timerman, former Argentine editor-publisher - 1981 - Erwin Knoll, editor, The Progressive - 1978 - Donald Woods, South African expatriate journalist - 1977 - Investigative Reporters and Editors - 1977 - Don Bolles (posthumous award) - 1976 - I.F. Stone - 1975 - Jerald F. terHorst Additional source
44,654,711	White Bear (Black Mirror)	1,170,505,417	null	[ "2013 British television episodes", "Black Mirror episodes", "Television episodes written by Charlie Brooker" ]	"White Bear" is the second episode of the second series of the British science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. It was written by the series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and directed by Carl Tibbetts. The episode follows Victoria (Lenora Crichlow), a woman who does not remember who she is, and wakes up in a place where almost everybody is controlled by a television signal. Along with some of the few other unaffected people (Michael Smiley and Tuppence Middleton), she must stop the "White Bear" transmitter while surviving merciless pursuers. Brooker originally wrote the episode in an apocalyptic setting, but when the script was about to be filmed at a former Royal Air Force base, he changed it because of a fence he saw there. He rewrote the story in two days, removing some details he considered useful for a sequel story. The main change was the addition of a plot twist at the end of the script, which was noted as the most impressive aspect of the episode by several reviewers. The episode, first aired on Channel 4 on 18 February 2013, was watched by 1.2 million viewers and was very well received by critics, particularly for its writing and Middleton's performance. The story draws parallels with real murder cases, primarily the 1960s Moors murders, in which five children were killed. Its horror aspects have been said to be reminiscent of the 1970s film The Wicker Man and the video game Manhunt, while some similarities with The Twilight Zone have also been noted. This dystopian episode reflects upon several aspects of contemporary society, such as media coverage of murders, technology's effects on people's empathy, desensitisation, violence as entertainment, vigilantism, the concept of justice and punishment, and the nature of reality. ## Plot A woman (Lenora Crichlow) wakes up with amnesia, in a house where television screens are showing an unknown symbol. Turning the screens off, she finds photos of herself and a man (Nick Ofield), along with one of a small girl (Imani Jackman) which she takes with her. She leaves the house and pleads for help, but people ignore her while recording her on their phones. When a masked man opens fire at her with a shotgun, she flees and meets Jem (Tuppence Middleton). Jem explains that the symbol began appearing on television and mobile phone screens, turning most people into passive voyeurs. The woman and Jem are unaffected, but they are also a target for the "hunters", unaffected humans who act sadistically. Jem plans to reach a transmitter at "White Bear" to destroy it. As they travel, Baxter (Michael Smiley), a man who also seems unaffected, picks them up. He turns out to be another hunter, and holds them at gunpoint in a forest, where he tries to torture the woman, but Jem kills Baxter first. They continue travelling to the transmitter; when they reach it, two hunters attack them. The woman wrestles a shotgun away from a hunter and fires at her attacker, but the gun only sprays confetti. Walls open to reveal a seated audience; and that everything was staged, and Baxter is not only alive, but the event's master of ceremonies. The woman is strapped to a chair and informed that her name is Victoria Skillane, and that the girl in the photograph is Jemima Sykes, whom Victoria and her fiancé, Iain Rannoch, had abducted and murdered, filming the crime. After the pair were arrested, Iain committed suicide in his cell, while Victoria was sentenced to undergo daily psychological punishment at the present facility, which is called White Bear Justice Park after a white teddy bear that Jemima owned. Victoria is driven back to the compound past an outraged crowd and returned to where she awoke. As she is shown her own videotaped footage of Jemima prior to her murder, Baxter places electrodes on her head, simultaneously torturing her and wiping her memory of the day's events so that she will live the same day repeatedly as part of her punishment. Interspersed between the end credits, the next day's events are seen from the point of view of the park's staff, and its visitors who play the voyeurs. ## Production Series creator Charlie Brooker came up with the idea while working on the 2008 zombie horror serial Dead Set. During filming, Riz Ahmed's character was being chased by zombies; some schoolchildren noticed the production and began watching, taking pictures on their phones. Brooker considered it to be "an interesting and frightening image, because they're standing there, not intervening". Brooker converted it to a script for Dead Set, in which a photograph goes viral on social media and "unlock[s] this primal urge for people to be voyeurs of agony". Although the idea was given the green light, they did not have the budget to do it. The first conception of the episode was as "a straightforward apocalypse story", featuring a female journalist and taking inspiration from the 1967 science fiction horror film Quatermass and the Pit. The signal would have affected people all over the world, turning 90% of them into voyeurs and the rest into mad people who attacked each other; its source was never explained. It was to end with a public crucifixion. The second version opened with a patient speaking to their psychiatrist about their nightmares and a recent urge to commit violence. The patient draws a glyph from their dreams, and the psychiatrist files it along with identical symbols drawn by her other patients. This glyph resembles an upside-down "Y" and was created by Brooker after much experimentation; it is the one used in the final episode. This draft had the character Baxter in it and resembled the 1973 horror film The Wicker Man. Executive producer Annabel Jones noted that the theme had shifted more towards voyeurism. By this point, director Carl Tibbetts was involved with the project. After working on the other series two episodes "Be Right Back" and "The Waldo Moment", the latter of which was in production, there was little of the budget remaining for "White Bear". Filming was limited to a military base at RAF Daws Hill in southeast England, which was formerly a United States Air Force base. The base contained an abandoned housing estate and buildings that could be repurposed to look like shops and garages. The base was surrounded by chicken wire and Brooker considered that the fence could be there because the events of the episode were not real. Brooker believed that the public would watch certain people be tortured for entertainment—such as Jimmy Savile, against whom hundreds of sexual abuse allegations have been made, or Myra Hindley, a serial killer who committed the Moors murders with her boyfriend, Ian Brady. Brooker then rewrote the script in two days "in a bit of a fever dream". He noted that he had never changed a script so dramatically so late in the production process, and that this is the first major plot twist in a Black Mirror episode. Brooker considered making Victoria innocent, but settled on making her unknowingly guilty. Lenora Crichlow had already been cast as Victoria prior to the rewrite. Prior to the twist, the episode is shown from Victoria's perspective. According to Tibbetts, handheld cameras were used to make the episode "very intense and personal" and to make the viewer identify with Victoria. Contrastingly, in the end credits scenes filming is "still and static" to resemble an observer's perspective. Flashback scenes were balanced to avoid giving away too much information before the twist. The scene in which Victoria is driven through the crowd was cut shorter in the final edit and many of the crowd members were added digitally. Brooker had the idea during editing of displaying Victoria's next day at the park during the credits. The episode is 42 minutes long, slightly shorter than Channel 4's standard of 45–48 minutes for an hour-long episode. The episode's soundtrack was composed by Jon Opstad. The score is mostly electronic. To give a different character to the music played as Victoria lives her next day in the theme park, Opstad added acoustic elements, but feeling that this did not fit with the universe he used pizzicato cello music and overlaid "spidery" atonal lines. Brooker had other ideas that were removed from the original script because they would be complicated to do. He said he could use these ideas in a sequel story which would involve the main character finding messages that she had left for herself on previous days as the process of erasing her mind starts not to function. However, as the location for the episode no longer exists, he felt it would be more practical to create a graphic novel instead of recreating the scenario. ## Cultural references Many reviewers identified an allusion to the Moors murders, committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, a British couple who killed children in the 1960s. The A.V. Club's David Sims emphasised the similarities between Victoria's video recording and the fact that Hindley audio-taped the torture of one of her and Brady's victims. The influence of horror works was highlighted by critics and Brooker himself. Lambie found aspects of the forest scene reminiscent of 1970s exploitation films. He also felt there are several visual and thematic parallels to The Wicker Man and Kill List. Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy agreed it is reminiscent of zombies and slasher films "and even has that unsettling Wicker Man feel with its notion of 'society gone wrong'." Brooker commented it is indeed "a Wicker Man–style horror", and Tibbetts commented that the film was "a big touchstone" for him. Because they have similar concepts, 28 Days Later and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre were also mentioned by reviewers as possible influences. Paul Brian McCoy of Comics Bulletin stated it "recalls any number of zombie apocalypse dramas, including Brooker's own Dead Set at times" and The Signal. While Brooker said the hunters' design was inspired by the horror video game Manhunt, McCoy felt its opening echoed another game, Resident Evil. The Twilight Zone has been seen as an influence by some reviewers. Jeffery commented that Black Mirror's "roots in" the American anthology series "have never been more visible", while Sims noted that "White Bear" is "the most Twilight Zone-y episode of the show", and James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly said it could even have been an episode of that series. Lyndsey Weber of Vulture made a "post-viewing guide" to Black Mirror, where she included The Twilight Zone episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" as "bonus watching" to "White Bear". ## Themes Despite the similarities to real murder cases, David Sims noted the focus is not any single case, arguing that when an "abhorrent crime" occurs people create "totem[s] of hatred and evil" from the figures involved in the crime. He said Brooker examines what he calls the "lurid media frenzy" trend. Lambie, as well as Aubrey Page of Collider, considered it was mainly directed towards tabloids' coverage of criminal cases that turns them into "witch hunts". Simon Cocks of Screen Anarchy agreed it is an allegory of the Internet, but also a discussion on how society processes information and treats shocking news stories. Paste's Roxanne Sancto wrote it is aimed at the media's tendency "to turn horrific news stories into national spectacles, riling people up to the point of mass panic and violence in the process". Alfred Joyner of International Business Times stated "the argument is that in the media notorious criminals must be demonised to appease the public's insatiable appetite to see that 'justice' is served". James Poniewozik of The New York Times identified vigilantism as a central concept in the story. Writing for Esquire, Corey Atad commented it is about the societal "appetite for punishment", while Sam Parker of The Huffington Post and Andrew Liptak of The Verge considered it represents "a cruel society's fantasy of 'real justice'" and a "perverted justice" respectively. More specifically, it deals with the remote punishment done via the anonymity of the Internet, according to some of TheWrap's staff members and Page. While Sims stated there are parallels between Victoria's suffering and the crime she committed, Joyner considered these parallels to be central to the episode's critique. When her crime is revealed, Joyner wrote, "the construction of the White Bear centre becomes apparent now, as a real-life karmic experience for the general public who wish to see biblical retribution". Mark Monahan of The Telegraph wrote that the episode "mocked, above all, our insatiable, voyeuristic, neo-Medieval thirst for supposedly 'real-life' pain and humiliation repackaged as entertainment". Jeffery stated it depicted how society turns horror into entertainment, and Parker concluded, "The fact Victoria was a murderer allows them to accept her suffering, but it's the mobile phones that allow them to enjoy it—after all, she's just a character on their screens." Liptak said it portrays people as victims of technology, while Joyner commented it denotes that "the way in which we are spoon-fed an almost constant stream of information through technology has turned us into passive consumers". Joyner believes that Brooker implicates the viewer with the story's credits scene, noting "we're the ones with the smartphones, passively absorbing abuses to human rights and decency, and yet revelling in the image from the safety of the screen". Jeffery and Parker theorised it contains the idea that people are preferring to document life rather than living it, as exemplified by "people who see violence break out ... and decide to film it rather than intervene." Leigh Alexander of Boing Boing said the episode reflects how violence is easily accessed on the Internet and quickly arouses people's attention. She noted, "you can view the episode as a critique of all kinds of themes: Mob mentality, reality television, even the complicated treatment of women in the justice system ... Primarily, though, this episode is a critique of our deep, often-unexamined mass desensitisation, or at least a dread portent of its potential to grow. It aims to ask: To what extent can you stand by and watch horror before you are complicit, punishable?" Brooker commented that after watching the episode, the viewer feels "sympathetic towards [Victoria] but also repulsed by what [she] did". Tibbetts opined that the episode is "about not torturing people" and Victoria's guilt is irrelevant to whether one should take pleasure from her torture. Sims said Victoria's suffering was shown to make the viewer sympathise with her, but noted it is difficult to do so because she committed an unforgivable crime, although her mental state is not entirely clear because of the fact "her mind has been erased so many times that the crime is barely a memory". Lambie stated it was done to explore "how human empathy breaks down when individuals are reduced to an image on a screen", and concluded, "whether it's directed at the innocent or the guilty, cruelty is still cruelty". Atad asserted it ultimately leads viewers to choose between their "so-called justice and the competing value of empathy". Writing for Sabotage Times, Gareth Dimelow concluded it leaves the viewer to ponder: "If someone has no recollection of their crimes, can they be effectively punished? Does our societal bloodlust for vengeance make us just as dangerous as the criminals we seek to discipline?" GamesRadar's Richard Edwards found that Brooker was able to present a "morally complex idea" without taking a side on the discussion. Sancto felt the episode "plays with the viewer's emotions ... making it all the more difficult to find a moral stance on her story in the end". Jones interpreted that Victoria is "incredibly remorseful" once she learns who she is, saying that Victoria's knowledge of what she did to the young girl is "obviously destroying her". In contrast, Brooker believes Victoria to only be feeling "confusion and animal fear" as her life is like "a nightmare in which society tells you're a child killer". Joyner stated the episode uses "the idea of having what the viewers are led to believe as reality exposed as a sham". Alexander suggested this could be interpreted as questioning "the assumptions we bring to the things we see – we can capture nearly any issue from all angles and pin it to virtual glass forever, but still only own a piece of the story, the unknowable remainder filled in by our own preconceptions". Alasdair Stuart of Bleeding Cool commented it "builds on this idea of the reflection that you know is fake but can't look away from and internalizes it". With the plot twist, Stuart said, "we're shown exactly what's been a reflection of the truth all along; everything". He also stated it questions "our own fundamental need to be the hero or heroine of our own story". ## Reception "White Bear" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 at 10 pm on 18 February 2013. According to the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, the episode was viewed by an estimated 1.2 million viewers, which was 7.2% of the British audience. This was lower than the second series premiere, "Be Right Back", which was watched by 1.6 million people (9%). Brooker opined that "White Bear" is definitely the episode that provides "the most visceral, holy shit reaction from viewers", while Hibberd deemed it a "fan-favorite". The episode was very well received and appeared on several lists of the series' best episodes. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 88% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 8.20/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "'White Bear' makes up for its blunt social criticism with its intense scare factor and final twist." Sancto deemed it the best episode among the first seven because its theme was presented "in a chilling manner". Page rated it the fourth-best among the thirteen episodes, asserting that it has an "ability to truly disturb" and "has put off many a viewer as spinning on a cheap twist, but despite the fact that the episode's impact does turn on a reveal, there's little in the episode that even feels remotely done before." Mat Elfring of GameSpot placed it fifth out of thirteen, labelling it "the most successful horror episode [of the series] to date". Atad ranked it seven out of thirteen, saying it "begins a dystopian horror reminiscent of 28 Days Later, but where it ends up is far more disturbing". Out of the thirteen, Hibberd ranked it eighth, highlighting its plot twist and noting that "most [would] rank this episode much higher; I just happened to like the rest of the episodes better". Moreover, Stuart said it "may be one of the best hours of TV produced [in 2013]". He emphasised how it transits from "John Wyndham stuff" to horror and then action, and commended its final twist. He concluded: "The last fifteen minutes of White Bear are amongst the most blisteringly angry pieces of television I've ever seen." It is considered to have "one of the most shocking twists on Black Mirror", as Jenelle Riley of Variety put it, before the third series aired. Writing before the third series, Margaret Lyons of The New York Times said it is "the most outright disturbing" episode of Black Mirror. Right after it aired, Cocks deemed it "the single darkest episode of Black Mirror so far" and considered its twist to be "nothing short of genius". Sims stated that it "is, by a significant margin, the most disturbing episode Black Mirror has produced". Although he praised the twist as "a smart one, brilliantly concealed and smartly revealed", he criticised it because "once the point is made, it is made over and over again." Lambie praised its "fearsome pace" and highlighted "its subtle approach", with sparse dialogue, that gives "the events and performances greater impact". He concluded: "its horror-infused drama leaves us unsure whom we can trust or what will happen next, and its last act is truly gut-wrenching". Monahan wrote that the twist was unpredictable and the episode "was an exciting and efficient piece of narrative rug-pulling". Regarding the acting and the characters, Sims and Monahan praised Middleton's performance. By contrast, Crichlow's role was considered to be repetitive. Monahan stated she just wailed, and Parker called it "a harrowing performance with no arc or resolutions, just sheer fear and distress". Lambie said: "If there's a criticism to be levelled at the first two-thirds of White Bear, it's that Victoria's carried helplessly along by events." Simon said Crichlow's potential was wasted because of the script. Jeffery criticised the fact "Victoria maintains one emotional level across the episode ... she's tearful, panicked and terrified throughout", but he remarked it was not Crichlow's fault, while praising Middleton and Smiley as "uniformly excellent". Cocks was more favorable, praising Crichlow's commitment to her performance. He also attributed to her performance "one of the episode's greatest accomplishments ... how much it makes audience members feel as though they are in the position of [Victoria]". Edwards asserted she gave a "tour de force performance" that is "an excellent, convincing portrayal of a frightened, confused woman". Some reviewers had mixed feelings about the episode. Jane Simon of the Daily Mirror said that "White Bear" lacked the "instant emotional tug" of the series opener. She commented that, a third of the way through the episode, she had lost hope that it would conclude effectively, "[...] the acting was unbelievable, the script was riddled with horror-film cliches, the violence was a bit over the top [...]", but that by the end she was positively surprised. Joyner praised it as "stylistically ... breath-taking" with "intense action", but felt "the themes come across as particularly flat" and "hardly original". He was disappointed until the twist, and concludes that Brooker has "crafted an hour of television more bold and daring than I've seen in a long time". Jeffery said "this is Black Mirror as full-blooded horror" and that it never gets boring, while criticising the characters and the final sequence as "a little overlong and obvious". TheWrap's staff was divided; while some found it has a good social critique, others considered it to be "least effective when it goes for horror". Although Parker compared the first 45 minutes to "a low-budget, low-quality version of 28 Days Later", full of "horror movie clichés", he realised that was "the whole point". He was positive to its societal criticism and wrote: "So the reason it all felt like a rubbish horror movie for 45 minutes is because that's what it was, just with a real person in the centre of it." It was ranked eleventh out of the thirteen episodes by Charles Bramesco of Vulture, who said its message is "lost beneath a simplistic twist that pulls a switcheroo and [it] fails to do much else". ## See also - "Judgment Night" – a 1959 episode of The Twilight Zone with a similar premise and twist - The Running Man – a 1987 film in which paid assassins hunt and kill prisoners as part of a television game show - The Truman Show – a 1997 film in which the unsuspecting protagonist stars in a reality television program
5,620,745	Motion camouflage	1,172,215,855	Camouflage by choosing path to avoid seeming to move against background	[ "Antipredator adaptations", "Biological defense mechanisms", "Camouflage" ]	Motion camouflage is camouflage which provides a degree of concealment for a moving object, given that motion makes objects easy to detect however well their coloration matches their background or breaks up their outlines. The principal form of motion camouflage, and the type generally meant by the term, involves an attacker's mimicking the optic flow of the background as seen by its target. This enables the attacker to approach the target while appearing to remain stationary from the target's perspective, unlike in classical pursuit (where the attacker moves straight towards the target at all times, and often appears to the target to move sideways). The attacker chooses its flight path so as to remain on the line between the target and some landmark point. The target therefore does not see the attacker move from the landmark point. The only visible evidence that the attacker is moving is its looming, the change in size as the attacker approaches. Motion is also used in a variety of other camouflage strategies, including swaying to mimic plant movements in the wind or ocean currents. First discovered in hoverflies in 1995, motion camouflage by minimising optic flow has been demonstrated in another insect order, dragonflies, as well as in two groups of vertebrates, falcons and echolocating bats. Since bats hunting at night cannot be using the strategy for camouflage, it has been named, describing its mechanism, as constant absolute target direction. This is an efficient homing strategy, and it has been suggested that anti-aircraft missiles could benefit from similar techniques. Camouflage is sometimes facilitated by motion, as in the leafy sea dragon and some stick insects. These animals complement their passive camouflage by swaying like plants, delaying their recognition by predators. ## Camouflage of approach motion Many animals are highly sensitive to motion; for example, frogs readily detect small moving dark spots but ignore stationary ones. Therefore, motion signals can be used to defeat camouflage. Moving objects with disruptive camouflage patterns remain harder to identify than uncamouflaged objects, especially if other similar objects are nearby, even though they are detected, so motion does not completely 'break' camouflage. All the same, the conspicuousness of motion raises the question of whether and how motion itself could be camouflaged. Several mechanisms are possible. ### Stealthy movements One strategy is to minimise actual motion, as when predators such as tigers stalk prey by moving very slowly and stealthily. This strategy effectively avoids the need to camouflage motion. ### Minimising motion signal When movement is required, one strategy is to minimise the motion signal, for example by avoiding waving limbs about and by choosing patterns that do not cause flicker when seen by the prey from straight ahead. Cuttlefish may be doing this with their active camouflage by choosing to form stripes at right angles to their front-back axis, minimising motion signals that would be given by occluding and displaying the pattern as they swim. ### Disrupting perception of motion Disrupting the attacker's perception of the target's motion was the main intended purpose of dazzle camouflage as used on ships in the First World War, though its effectiveness is disputed. This type of dazzle does not appear to be used by animals. ### Mimicking optic flow of background Some animals mimic the optic flow of the background, so that the attacker does not appear to move when seen by the target. This is the main focus of work on motion camouflage, and is often treated as synonymous with it. #### Pursuit strategies An attacker can mimic the background's optic flow by choosing its flight path so as to remain on the line between the target and either some real landmark point, or a point at infinite distance (giving different pursuit algorithms). It therefore does not move from the landmark point as seen by the target, though it inevitably looms larger as it approaches. This is not the same as moving straight towards the target (classical pursuit): that results in visible sideways motion with a readily detectable difference in optic flow from the background. The strategy works whether the background is plain or textured. This motion camouflage strategy was discovered and modelled as algorithms in 1995 by M. V. Srinivasan and M. Davey while they were studying mating behaviour in hoverflies. The male hoverfly appeared to be using the tracking technique to approach prospective mates. Motion camouflage has been observed in high-speed territorial battles between dragonflies, where males of the Australian emperor dragonfly, Hemianax papuensis were seen to choose their flight paths to appear stationary to their rivals in 6 of 15 encounters. They made use of both real-point and infinity-point strategies. The strategy appears to work equally well in insects and in vertebrates. Simulations show that motion camouflage results in a more efficient pursuit path than classical pursuit (i.e. the motion camouflage path is shorter), whether the target flies in a straight line or chooses a chaotic path. Further, where classical pursuit requires the attacker to fly faster than the target, the motion camouflaged attacker can sometimes capture the target despite flying more slowly than it. In sailing, it has long been known that if the bearing from the target to the pursuer remains constant, known as constant bearing, decreasing range (CBDR), equivalent to taking a fixed reference point at infinite distance, the two vessels are on a collision course, both travelling in straight lines. In a simulation, this is readily observed as the lines between the two remain parallel at all times. Echolocating bats follow an infinity-point path when hunting insects in the dark. This is not for camouflage but for the efficiency of the resulting path, so the strategy is generally called constant absolute target direction (CATD); it is equivalent to CBDR but allowing for the target to manoeuvre erratically. A 2014 study of falcons of different species (gyrfalcon, saker falcon, and peregrine falcon) used video cameras mounted on their heads or backs to track their approaches to prey. Comparison of the observed paths with simulations of different pursuit strategies showed that these predatory birds used a motion camouflage path consistent with CATD. The missile guidance strategy of pure proportional navigation guidance (PPNG) closely resembles the CATD strategy used by bats. The biologists Andrew Anderson and Peter McOwan have suggested that anti-aircraft missiles could exploit motion camouflage to reduce their chances of being detected. They tested their ideas on people playing a computerised war game. The steering laws to achieve motion camouflage have been analysed mathematically. The resulting paths turn out to be extremely efficient, often better than classical pursuit. Motion camouflage pursuit may therefore be adopted both by predators and missile engineers (as "parallel navigation", for an infinity-point algorithm) for its performance advantages. ## Camouflage by motion ### Swaying: motion crypsis or masquerade Swaying behaviour is practised by highly cryptic animals such as the leafy sea dragon, the stick insect Extatosoma tiaratum, and mantises. These animals resemble vegetation with their coloration, strikingly disruptive body outlines with leaflike appendages, and the ability to sway effectively like the plants that they mimic. E. tiaratum actively sways back and forth or side to side when disturbed or when there is a gust of wind, with a frequency distribution like foliage rustling in the wind. This behaviour may represent motion crypsis, preventing detection by predators, or motion masquerade, promoting misclassification (as something other than prey), or a combination of the two, and has accordingly also been described as a form of motion camouflage.
10,738,946	Delaware Route 10	1,159,562,087	State highway in Kent County, Delaware, United States	[ "State highways in Delaware", "Transportation in Kent County, Delaware" ]	Delaware Route 10 (DE 10) is a state highway in Kent County, Delaware. It runs from Maryland Route 287 (MD 287) at the Maryland border in Sandtown east to an interchange with the DE 1 freeway at the North Gate of Dover Air Force Base in the southeastern part of the city of Dover. The route passes through the towns of Camden and Wyoming along the way. From the Maryland border to Camden, it is a two-lane undivided road that passes through rural areas. DE 10 is a four-lane divided highway called Lebanon Road between U.S. Route 13 (US 13) in Camden and DE 1. DE 10 has one alternate route, DE 10 Alternate (DE 10 Alt.), which runs between Willow Grove and Highland Acres along an alignment further to the south, passing through Woodside and Rising Sun. What is now DE 10 between the Maryland border and Camden was constructed as a state highway in stages in the 1920s and early 1930s. The route was first designated by 1936 to follow its current alignment between the Maryland border and Camden and current Rising Sun Road to US 113 Alt. in Rising Sun. By 1969, DE 10 was rerouted to follow Lebanon Road, a road completed by 1966, to US 113 (now DE 1) at Dover Air Force Base. Lebanon Road was improved into a divided highway by 1981. ## Route description DE 10 begins at the Maryland border west of the community of Sandtown, where the road continues west into that state as MD 287. From the state line, the route heads east on two-lane undivided Willow Grove Road through a mix of farmland and woodland with some homes. DE 10 passes through Sandtown, where it intersects Sandtown Road. The road curves northeast and runs through the community of Petersburg before coming to an intersection with the western terminus of DE 10 Alt. DE 10 passes to the southeast of the community of Willow Grove and continues northeast. The route heads through rural areas with increasing residential development and intersects DE 15 at a roundabout, where the route briefly becomes a divided highway, before crossing the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision line at-grade. The road continues northeast into the town of Camden and passes homes along with some businesses, becoming Caesar Rodney Avenue at the South Street intersection. DE 10 forms the border between the town of Wyoming to the west and Camden to the east and curves north before turning east onto Camden Wyoming Avenue and fully entering Camden. The route continues through residential areas, passing north of the Camden Friends Meetinghouse and crossing US 13 Alt. in the center of town. On the eastern edge of Camden, the road turns into a divided highway and comes to an intersection with US 13. Past the intersection with US 13, DE 10 becomes West Lebanon Road, a four-lane divided highway, and intersects Rising Sun Road, which leads southeast to the community of Rising Sun. The road heads east-northeast and passes through areas of suburban residential development to the south of the city of Dover in Highland Acres. The route comes to an intersection with South State Street, where DE 10 Alt. returns to the route. DE 10 becomes East Lebanon Road and runs east through a mix of residential and commercial development. The route intersects Sorghum Mill Road, which leads south to the community of Lebanon, and curves to the northeast. The road crosses the St. Jones River in marshland and continues into a business area, reaching an interchange with access to and from the southbound direction the DE 1 freeway. DE 10 comes to its eastern terminus within this interchange at an intersection with Bay Road at the North Gate of Dover Air Force Base. Bay Road heads north to provide access to and from the northbound direction of DE 1. The portion of the route between the Maryland border and US 13 Alt. in Camden and between DE 10 Alt. and Gateway South Boulevard near Lebanon is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, a Delaware Byway. DE 10 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 23,644 vehicles at the eastern terminus at Bay Road to a low of 2,774 vehicles at the Sandtown Road intersection. ## History By 1920 what is now DE 10 existed as an unimproved county road. The portion of the current route through Camden, as well as the road between Camden and Rising Sun, was upgraded to a state highway by 1924. By 1925 the road was completed as a state highway between Willow Grove and Camden, while the portion between the Maryland border near Sandtown and Willow Grove was under proposal as a state highway. The portion of road west of Willow Grove became a state highway by 1931. DE 10 was assigned to run from the Maryland border near Sandtown to US 113 Alt. (South State Street) in Rising Sun by 1936, following its current alignment between the Maryland border and Camden and Rising Sun Road between Camden and Rising Sun. By 1964, the route was realigned to bypass Willow Grove to the southeast, with the former alignment now Willow Tree Circle. The Lebanon Road portion of DE 10 was constructed by 1966, connecting the route east of Camden to US 113 (Bay Road) at Dover Air Force Base. DE 10 was rerouted to follow Lebanon Road to US 113 by 1969. The Lebanon Road portion of the route between US 13 and US 113 was completely widened into a divided highway by 1981. In 1993, the DE 1 freeway was completed in the area of the eastern terminus, with an interchange to that road built that incorporated ramps to both DE 10 and the existing US 113, which merged with DE 1 at this point. The US 113 designation was removed from the area in 2004, leaving DE 10 terminating only with DE 1. On June 5, 2017, construction began for a roundabout at the junction with DE 15 west of Camden in order to improve safety at the intersection. The roundabout was completed by September 2017. There are plans to build a bypass of the section of DE 10 through Camden in order to improve safety and reduce congestion on the alignment through the town. The bypass is proposed to run to the south of Camden, running from DE 10 at the western end of Camden east to a roundabout with DE 10 and Rising Sun Road east of the town. Construction of the bypass is planned to begin in 2023 and be completed in 2025. ## Major intersections ## Delaware Route 10 Alternate Delaware Route 10 Alternate (DE 10 Alt.) is an alternate route of DE 10 between Willow Grove and Highland Acres. The route heads east from DE 10 on two-lane undivided Henry Cowgill Road, passing through a mix of farmland and woodland with some homes and crossing Tidbury Creek. DE 10 Alt. reaches the town of Woodside and intersects DE 15, with that route becoming concurrent with DE 10 Alt. on Main Street. The road crosses the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision line at-grade and becomes lined with homes. At an intersection with US 13 Alt., DE 15 splits from DE 10 Alt. by heading south of US 13 Alt. DE 10 Alt. becomes Walnut Shade Road and comes to an intersection with US 13 on the eastern edge of Woodside. Past this intersection the route passes to the south of Polytech High School and enters a mix of farms, woods, and residential development to the north of the community of Woodside East, curving to the northeast and reaching an intersection with Peachtree Run before heading north-northeast. DE 10 Alt. reaches the community of Rising Sun, turning northeast onto Sorghum Mill Road at the Voshells Mill Star Hill Road/Rising Sun Road intersection before making a turn to the north onto South State Street. The route passes through woods, crossing Tidbury Creek, and runs through residential development before ending at another intersection with DE 10, with South State Street continuing north toward Dover. The portion of the route between Voshells Mill Star Hill Road/Rising Sun Road and South State Street/Sorghum Mill Road in Rising Sun is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, a Delaware Byway. DE 10 Alt. has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 11,746 vehicles at the eastern terminus at DE 10 to a low of 1,341 vehicles at the western border of Woodside. The road was constructed as a state highway between Woodside and Rising Sun in 1931 and between Willow Grove and Woodside the following year. DE 10 Alt. was designated by 1988 onto its current alignment. Prior to 2004, the South State Street portion of DE 10 Alt. was concurrent with US 113 Alt., which was decommissioned when US 113 was truncated from Dover to Milford. Major intersections ## See also
34,639,051	Dan Borislow	1,168,190,736	American entrepreneur, sports team owner and thoroughbred horse breeder	[ "1961 births", "2014 deaths", "20th-century American businesspeople", "American soccer chairmen and investors", "American telecommunications industry businesspeople", "Businesspeople from Philadelphia", "Horse breeders", "People from Brigantine, New Jersey", "People from Palm Beach, Florida", "Widener University alumni" ]	Daniel Marc Borislow (September 21, 1961 – July 21, 2014) was an American entrepreneur, sports team owner, inventor, and thoroughbred horse breeder. Borislow was born and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Widener University. In 1989, he founded Tel-Save, Inc. to resell access to AT&T long-distance lines. Borislow took the company public in 1995, and two years later brokered a \$100 million deal with AOL at the "Cafe Europa." In early 1998, Tel-Save had sales of \$300 million and was valued by Wall Street investors at \$2 billion. However, due to the financial strain of paying off the AOL deal, Tel-Save lost \$221 million in 1999, and Borislow sold his stock for approximately \$300 million and retired. In his brief retirement, he focused on his horse racing career. After selling most of his horses in 2004, Borislow set forth plans for a new voice-over-IP business which became the magicJack. Invented in 2007, the magicJack is a small product that is plugged into a computer's USB port and allows for unlimited calling from regular telephones. In 2010, YMAX, the company behind the magicJack, merged with an Israeli company and became a publicly traded corporation. In 2011, Borislow purchased a controlling share of the Washington Freedom women's professional soccer team. He had a brief turbulent relationship with other owners and the players which ended in a battle of lawsuits and the termination of the soccer team and league. Borislow and his family lived in Palm Beach County, Florida. Borislow died from an apparent heart attack on July 21, 2014. ## Business career ### Tel-Save In 1989, Borislow founded Tel-Save when he was in his 20s to resell access to AT&T long-distance lines. The company was based in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and its primary market was toward small and medium-sized businesses. Borislow took the company public in 1995 and had an initial public offering of three million shares. He then invested in his own long-distance network by deploying five Lucent 5ESS-2000 switches throughout the United States. By 1997, Tel-Save was making \$20 million a year. In 1997, Borislow negotiated a three-year deal with America Online that granted Tel-Save exclusive marketing rights to sell long-distance service to AOL users. AOL users, meanwhile, would now be billed online for their local, long distance, cellular, and internet services. His original asking price was \$50 million, but after negotiations, the figure increased to \$100 million, in addition to half of future profits and 15 percent of the company's stock. Having rescued a reeling AOL from Chapter 11, Borislow was compared to Ted Turner for his vision and marketing abilities by Bob Pittman, president of AOL. This deal with Borislow skyrocketed AOL's stock prices 231% over the next year and catapulted them to be the dominant online provider with no runner up in sight. In December of that year, Borislow was behind the merger of Tel-Save and STF, a similar company that provided telecommunications services to office buildings. At its peak in early 1998, Tel-Save had sales of \$300 million and was valued by Wall Street investors at \$2 billion. His personal stock in the company was \$500 million. Borislow's America Online deal was the catalyst for other "portal deals" with AOL. The company's fortunes turned due to the financial strain of the AOL deal, and following an annual loss of \$221 million in 1998, he resigned as CEO of the company on January 1, 1999. Gabriel Battista was named CEO in his absence. Tel-Save is now known as Talk America. ### magicJack In 2005, after retiring from business to focus on his horse racing career, Borislow set forth plans for a new voice-over-IP business, with an initial name of Talk4free. He created YMAX Communications Corporation in April 2006 as a communications and equipment service. YMAX's profits come from the production of the magicJack, a small device which can be plugged into a computer's USB port and allows for unlimited calling from regular telephones. CEO Borislow invented the product in 2007 and had applied for patents from the U.S. government while he and Donald Burns shared the payment of \$25 million to start up the company. Before Borislow launched a widespread television campaign in January 2008, the company sold less than 1,000 magicJacks per day. By June, he was selling 8,000-9,000 per day and had roughly 500,000 subscribers in total. Borislow attributes its success to its pricing, at \$40 in the first year of service and \$20 each year thereafter. Although its voice quality has been criticized, Ted Kritsonis of The Globe and Mail said the "MagicJack was still better than most cell phones I've tried." In 2009, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum investigated a claim that Borislow falsely marketed the magicJack as having a free 30-day trial of the product. In reality, the customer must specifically cancel the trial prior to the 30-day mark, otherwise the credit card would be automatically billed. While Borislow maintained that his company's actions were not illegal, he reached a settlement on April 15, agreeing to pay the state of Florida \$125,000 for the cost of the investigation. He said the company resolved over 500 complaints and added a disclaimer on the website clarifying the misconception. VocalTec, an Israeli telephone company, acquired YMAX in July 2010. Since Borislow and other YMAX businessmen contributed most of the equity, they essentially run the merged business, which kept the "YMAX" moniker. VocalTec was a publicly traded company, so YMAX went on Nasdaq following the merger. In 2010, YMAX had a market capitalization of \$300 million and is expected to make \$110 million to \$125 million in sales. ## Horse racing career After watching horse races at Philadelphia Park for some time, Borislow decided to go into the business in 1991. He frequently wagered on trainer John Scanlan's horses, so he requested Scanlan to be the conditioner for his horses. Among Borislow's first acquisitions was broodmare Beautiful Bid, who gave birth to Breeders' Cup Distaff winner and Eclipse champion Beautiful Pleasure. In 2000, he sold Beautiful Bid for \$2.6 million. Borislow bought a \$1.8 million yearling in September 1999 that he named Talk Is Money. The thoroughbred was named after Tel-Save, with Borislow saying, "Every time someone was talking on the phone, I made money." Talk Is Money's best finish came at the Tesio Stakes in April 2001, where the horse placed second. This qualified him for the 2001 Kentucky Derby, and Borislow hired jockey Jerry Bailey, who won the 2000 Breeders Cup Juvenile with Macho Uno. At 47-1 odds, Talk Is Money came in last in the Derby and did not finish the race. Borislow's most successful horse was Toccet, who won four graded stakes, including the Champagne and Hollywood Futurity in 2002. Toccet's name is a misspelled tribute to former National Hockey League (NHL) player Rick Tocchet. The horse was named runner-up to Vindication for the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt in 2002, a part of the Eclipse Award. Once a favorite to enter the 2003 Kentucky Derby, Toccet was derailed by ankle injuries early in the year. He won one listed stakes after his juvenile season out of 15 starts and now stands at Castleton Lyons. After a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service, Borislow sold a majority of his horses at the Fasig Tipton November sale in 2004. In February 2005, he was in a partnership with baseball manager Joe Torre and hockey player Keith Jones to buy Wild Desert. In June of that year, Wild Desert won the Queen's Plate off a layoff of over 10 weeks. In May 2014, Borislow hit the Gulfstream Park Rainbow Six paying \$6.6 million. His winning Rainbow 6 ticket of all/all/all/1,4/all/all cost \$7,603.20. He played two other similar tickets with a total cost of \$22,809.60. ## Women's Professional Soccer In 2011, Borislow bought Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) franchise Washington Freedom, moved it to South Florida, and renamed it magicJack. Borislow attracted stars of the United States national women's soccer team such as Abby Wambach and Hope Solo with salaries well above the league average of \$25,000 per year. Borislow was criticized for discriminatory treatment of lesser-known players. Cat Whitehill, a former player and sports broadcaster said, "There are so few superstars that the majority of players can be easily intimidated." She added that the stars, "never deliberately meant for the other players on the roster to be treated badly. But it does appear that they didn't consider what standing up to Borislow would mean for the rest of the team." On July 8, 2011, the non-National Team members of magicJack voted to file a grievance through their Player's Union against Borislow. The grievance alleged that Borislow had violated the Standard Player Contract Provision, the FIFA Code of Ethics, WPS Media Policy and U.S. Soccer Federation Coaching Requirements. The suit alleged Borislow's "practice of bullying and threatening players, and his creation of a hostile, oppressive, and intimidating work environment which adversely affects players’ ability (to) perform". The only individual player to speak out publicly about Borislow was Ella Masar. Masar told of a team meeting in which Borislow demanded that the grievance be dropped or he would terminate the players and the magicJack season. Borislow also had problems with WPS staff and owners of other teams. In response to ongoing conflicts with Borislow, in June 2011 WPS moved to terminate his franchise at the end of the season for breach of contractual obligations. Borislow subsequently filed an injunction that would force the league into arbitration rather than settling the matter with the league's Board of Governors. On October 25, 2011, the WPS voted to terminate the franchise, accusing Borislow of violations ranging from "unprofessional and disparaging treatment of his players to failure to pay his bills." WPS also stated, "Mr. Borislow's actions have been calculated to tarnish the reputation of the league and damage the league's business relationships." The team was disbanded on October 28, 2011. The ongoing legal battle with the WPS led to the cancelling of the 2012 season for "pending legal issues" on January 1, 2012, and the magicJack soccer franchise ceased to exist. ## Philanthropy D&K Charitable Foundation was established by Borislow in 1997 with a \$21 million stock donation. In the first two years, he tried to use the charity to buy and preserve a tract of land in New Hope, Pennsylvania. This venture failed in 1998 when the property owner declined Borislow's offer. Following this, D&K made donations to the Clearwater Endoscopy Center and the Center for Digestive Healthcare in Clearwater, Florida until 2001. Since then, it has issued varied grants to causes Borislow supported, such as \$2.75 million to two yeshivas and \$173,450 to a West Palm Beach, Florida private school. ## Personal life Borislow lived with his wife, Michele, and two children, Danny and Kylie, in Palm Beach County, Florida. He also maintained a home in Brigantine, New Jersey. In his free time, he enjoyed playing soccer, watching sports, and deep sea fishing. On May 25, 2014, he won \$6,678,939.12 with the only ticket to have the winners of the final six races on Gulfstream's card. The winner of the biggest payoff in American racing history invested \$7,603.20 on the bet, which has a 20-cent base wager. He covered the full fields in all but the sixth race, in which he had only the Nos. 1 and 4. Borislow made two other similar bets on the race, total investment was \$22,809.60. Borislow died from a heart attack (myocardial infarction) in Jupiter, Florida on July 21, 2014, reportedly after playing in an adult league soccer match. On July 25, 2014, more than 500 mourners attended a memorial service at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.
64,082,754	Injector pen	1,130,716,735	Drug storage and delivery device	[ "Drug delivery devices", "Medical equipment" ]	An injector pen (also called a medication pen) is a device used for injecting medication under the skin. First introduced in the 1980s, injector pens are designed to make injectable medication easier and more convenient to use, thus increasing patient adherence. The primary difference between injector pens and traditional vial and syringe administration is the easier use of an injector pen by people with low dexterity, poor vision, or who need portability to administer medicine on time. Injector pens also decrease the fear or adversity towards self-injection of medications, which increases the likelihood that a person takes the medication. Injector pens are commonly used for medications that are injected repeatedly by a person over a relatively short period of time, especially insulin and insulin analogs used in the treatment of diabetes (called insulin pens). Many other medications are also available as injector pens, including other injectable medicines for diabetes, high cholesterol, migraine prevention, and other monoclonal antibodies. Studies have shown injector pens to be at least as effective as vial and syringe administration, and surveys have shown that a vast majority of people would prefer an injector pen over vial and syringe administration if one was available. After a slow uptake in the United States, injector pens have surpassed vial and syringe administration of insulin in type 2 diabetes. ## Uses The primary goal of injector pens is to increase patient adherence by making it easier and more convenient for people to use injectable therapy. This is especially problematic with injectable medications given the extra work associated with an injection, as well as the potential aversion to self-injecting medication. Injector pens increase patient adherence by increasing the ease of self-administering injectable medication, as well as the portability of injection medication. Furthermore, injector pens are easier to handle and use than vials and syringes, making them useful in people with low dexterity, cognitive or visual impairment, or those who worry about being able to properly use a vial and syringe. For medications which do not follow standard dosage in all people, injector pens may be designed to enable easier and more accurate administration of an exact dose, whereas a vial and syringe requires the person to prepare the correct dose themselves. Injector pens may also remove stigma or fear around the use of injection medication in public environments, such as insulin before a meal at a restaurant. Combination injector pens which include multiple medications used to treat a disease are designed to reduce the number of injections a person must use to administer their medications. The reduction in number of injections required may decrease the risk of non-adherence due to forgetfulness or unwillingness to self-inject medication. ## Design An injector pen consists of a chamber or cartridge of medication, a tip to attach a needle, and a piston or plunger to inject the dose. Some pens, including most insulin pens, include dials to adjust the dose of the injection before each administration. Dials enable more accurate dose measuring than traditional vial and syringe administration, especially for low doses of insulin. Injector pens which have dials to adjust dosages may also include a clicking sound or other method to confirm the dose adjustment. Some pens may include a cartridge filled with medication which can be replaced when empty to enable reuse of the pen itself, whereas other pens are designed to be disposed of after their prefilled chamber is depleted. Injector pens designed for single use may also be autoinjectors, which do not require the user to press a plunger to inject the dose. ### Pen needles All injector pens other than those designed for single use require the use of single-use replaceable pen needles for each injection. These pen needles come in various lengths to accommodate varying depths of subcutaneous tissue under the top of the skin. Pen needles are designed for single use subcutaneous injection of medication and are not designed to be reused for more than one administration. The needles are generally manufactured with an outer protective plastic shell, which is used by a person to attach the needle to the pen, and an inner plastic shell protecting the needle itself. Instruction on how to properly attach and use needles is the responsibility of the doctor or pharmacist to ensure proper use. Today, pen needles are manufactured at shorter needle lengths than required for typical vial and syringe administration, which decreases the pain associated with injection. They are available in multiple lengths and gauge of needle, including 3.5mm, 4mm, 5mm, and 8mm lengths, and 31 through 34 gauge. Over time, needles have also had bevels designed which decrease the force required to penetrate the skin, which decreases the pain associated with injection and may increase the acceptability of self-injection. Furthermore, pen needles are designed for insertion at a 90-degree angle to the skin, as opposed to normal syringes which are designed to be injected at an angle. Pen needles generally do not require pinching of the skin for proper administration, unlike historically used syringes. Pen needles should be disposed of properly after each use, preferably in a purpose-made sharps container, to prevent injury from accidental contact after use. ### Comparison to syringe Injector pens are an alternative to the manufacture of medication for injection in vials containing either liquid or a powder to which a diluent such as sterile water is added. When a vial is used as a means of storage, the end-user must use a syringe to "draw up" or remove the medication from the vial to prepare it for administration. The end user must then perform a series of actions to insert the needle of the syringe under the skin, and depress the plunger on the syringe to inject the dose. This requires dexterity which may make it difficult to accurately or completely administer the appropriate doses of medications. Injector pens remove some of the complications of syringes by allowing the pen to be "pushed" against the skin at a 90 degree angle (removing the need to inject at a proper angle as is the case with syringes), as well as by replacing a long, thin plunger of a syringe with a simple button which is depressed and held to inject the dose. ## Availability Many insulin analogs and GLP-1 agonists for diabetes treatment are available as injector pens. As with insulin vials, some insulin pens are made with higher concentrations including U-200, U-300, and U-500. Different concentration insulin products may not have the same pharmacokinetic properties as other strengths. The higher concentrations are used to lessen the volume of the injection, and allow the same dose of insulin to be injected with less force. In some cases, these medications may be combined into one pen to be administered daily, for example insulin degludec with liraglutide and insulin glargine with lixisenatide. Combination products are available in fixed-dose ratios and are generally dosed by units of insulin, which will administer a proportional amount of the GLP-1 agonist as well. Another class of medication commonly available as an injector pen is monoclonal antibodies. Due to the molecular size of monoclonal antibodies, they must be administered via injection. Examples of monoclonal antibodies available or studied as injector pens include adalimumab, secukinumab, and alirocumab. CGRP antagonists which are monoclonal antibodies, used for the prevention of migraines, are also available as injector pens. Other monoclonal antibodies designed for home use may also be manufactured as injector pens. Some medications are formulated as injector pens to quicken the onset of action of the medication. This includes epinephrine, which when used to treat anaphylaxis must work as soon as possible. Contrary to most other injector pens, epinephrine injector pens are designed to administer the medication via intramuscular injection. Another medication formulated as an injector pen to ensure quick onset of action is glucagon for hypoglycemia. Other medications normally administered orally are also available or have been studied as injector pens, either due to different pharmacokinetic properties when administered via injection, or for those who cannot take oral medications. This includes methotrexate for juvenile idiopathic arthritis and sumatriptan for treatment of migraines. ## Effectiveness Most injector pens are designed for subcutaneous injection just under the skin, but some are designed for injection into muscle. The desired injection site and the skin profile at the injection site will determine what needle length is appropriate for a person to use. For products with included needles, such as epinephrine pens, different brands may have different included needle lengths, which must be taken into account. Multiple studies have shown that many people prefer the use of injector pens over other forms of injectable medication, such as vial and syringe. Injector pens in general have also been shown to be at least as effective therapeutically as other injection methods. One study of the use of injector pens for insulin administration found that the chance a person initiated on insulin continued therapy for at least 12 months was higher with insulin pens than with vial and syringe administration. The same study found that the increase in adherence to therapy resulted in increased short-term pharmacy costs (i.e. for the pens/needles) but resulted in an overall decrease in healthcare costs related to diabetes. Insulin pens have also been shown to provide a higher quality of life than traditional injection methods. A 2011 systematic review which examined preference of insulin pens over vial and syringe administration found that in almost all studies and surveys a majority of people preferred insulin pens. The effectiveness of an injector pen can also depend on the technique used to inject. After fully pressing the plunger button to activate the pen, the button must continue to be held for about 10 seconds to ensure the dose is administered before removing the pen needle from the skin and finally releasing the button. Failure to use the pen as instructed may result in medication leakage and administration of a lower dose than was intended. Another administration problem which may impact effectiveness of an injector pen is lipohypertrophy of the subcutaneous tissue near the injection site. For this reason, it is recommended to rotate the injection site every administration. ## History The first injector pen was introduced in 1985, by Novo Nordisk to administer insulin products. After their introduction, insulin pens had a slow adoption in the United States, with only 2% of insulin being injected via pen in 1999. A major barrier to adoption in the United States was the increased up-front cost of insulin pens compared to traditional injections. Pen adoption in the United States accelerated after studies showed that the higher up-front cost of insulin pens was offset by the increase in compliance, which decreased overall healthcare costs. Historically, pen needles were manufactured in lengths up to 12.7mm. Over time, pen needles designed for insulin pens have become shorter, and a 4mm long needle is considered sufficient for most people to administer subcutaneously correctly. In 1989, an injector pen form of human growth hormone was licensed in New Zealand. In the US, a pen form of octreotide was approved by the FDA in 2020, under the brand name Bynfezia.
26,288,272	Tropical Storm Laura (1971)	1,171,851,199	Atlantic tropical storm in 1971	[ "1971 Atlantic hurricane season", "Atlantic tropical storms", "Hurricanes in Belize", "Hurricanes in Cuba" ]	Tropical Storm Laura was the final storm in the active 1971 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed on November 12 in the western Caribbean Sea, and reached winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) as it approached western Cuba. Across the island, Laura produced heavy rainfall, peaking at 32.5 inches (83 cm). The resulting flooding killed one person and caused crop damage. 26,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. Initially, Laura was forecast to move across the island and impact the southern United States, but it executed a small loop and turned to the southwest. The storm moved ashore on Belize, one of only four November storms to affect the country. Little impact occurred during Laura's final landfall, and it dissipated on November 22 over central Guatemala. ## Meteorological history Tropical Storm Laura began in a large area of convection across the southwest Caribbean Sea in mid-November. On November 12, a tropical depression formed about 175 miles (282 km) north of Panama. It moved northwestward, slowly organizing and becoming a tropical storm on November 14. Receiving the name Laura, the storm continued to intensify as it turned northward toward western Cuba; late on November 15, it attained peak winds of 70 mph (110 km/h). Originally, the National Hurricane Center anticipated Laura would attain hurricane status, as well as for it to continue northward into the Gulf of Mexico. Although a cold front was expected to bring the storm to the north, a ridge instead increased over the southeastern United States, which prevented Laura from moving ashore. Tropical Storm Laura maintained peak winds for about 48 hours, during which a minimum pressure of 994 hectopascals (29.4 inHg) was recorded. Steering currents were initially weak, which caused the storm to drift toward the northeast, before the ridge to its north forced the storm to the southwest; by late on November 17, Laura finished executing a clockwise loop. Its path to the southwest away from Cuba was unusual; only two other storms on record – a hurricane in 1888 and Hurricane Ike in 2008 – had a southward element in their path when they affected Cuba, and each struck the northern coast of the country. Laura weakened as it turned westward and later to the south and southwest. After the winds decreased to 50 mph (80 km/h), however, the storm began re-intensifying as it approached Central America. Late on November 20, Laura again reached peak winds of 70 mph (110 km/h), which was maintained for 30 hours until the storm made landfall in Punta Gorda, Belize. Early on November 22, the system dissipated over central Guatemala. ## Preparations and impact When Tropical Storm Laura first passed the Cayman Islands, it produced up to 3 inches (7.6 cm) of rainfall. As it was slowly moving off of the coast of Cuba, Laura dropped heavy rainfall, including nearly 20 inches (51 cm) across most of the Isle of Youth; one station on the island reported 14 inches (36 cm) in 24 hours. The highest total in the country was 32.5 inches (83 cm), and overall the storm impacted four provinces, including Isle of Youth, Pinar del Río, La Habana, and the city of Havana. On the Isle of Youth, Laura produced winds of 70 mph (110 km/h), with gusts to 80 mph (130 km/h). On the mainland, the storm destroyed 20 homes and several tobacco sheds, with damage also reported to the coffee, sugar, fruit, and vegetable crops. Due to the flooding, officials forced 26,000 people from their homes in Pinar del Río, and one person in that province drowned while crossing a river. The storm's passage was believed to have diverted a flock of great black-backed gulls toward Central America and north-coastal South America; the species is usually found in the Mid-Atlantic states, and were migrating to the Gulf Coast or Cuba when they were affected by the storm. When Laura's path was uncertain, forecasters advised fishermen to remain at port along the Yucatan Peninsula and southern Florida. Gale warnings were also issued for the Florida Keys, due to the uncertainty. No significant damage or casualties were reported in Central America, although heavy rainfall was reported across the region. On Glover's Reef off the coast of British Honduras (now Belize), the storm stranded a group of about 20 scientists affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution; the group was affected by the strong winds and rains, and required rescue. The storm damaged several buildings along the mainland. Laura was one of only four storms to form in November and affect Belize, the others being a tropical storm in 1898, a hurricane in 1942, and Hurricane Ida in 2009. ## See also - Other storms of the same name
24,288,678	Baila Esta Cumbia	1,158,604,290	1990 single by Selena	[ "1990 singles", "1990 songs", "2005 singles", "Cumbia songs", "EMI Latin singles", "Kumbia Kings songs", "Selena songs", "Song recordings produced by A. B. Quintanilla", "Songs written by A. B. Quintanilla", "Songs written by Pete Astudillo", "Spanish-language songs" ]	"Baila Esta Cumbia" (English: "Dance This Cumbia") is a song recorded by American Tejano singer Selena for her second studio album, Ven Conmigo (1990). It was released as the second single by EMI Latin on August 28, 1990, behind "Ya Ves". It was composed by her brother–producer A.B. Quintanilla, and Selena y Los Dinos backup dancer, Pete Astudillo. The recording is an up-tempo Mexican cumbia song. It was well received by music critics who enjoyed its cumbia-feel and rhythm. The track received exposure on radio stations that predominately played cumbia music, and as a result the recording became a hit single for the singer. It was named among her best recordings in her career by music critics. "Baila Esta Cumbia" peaked at number ten on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Digital Songs chart. In 2005, A.B. Quintanilla recorded a remix/duet version of the track with his band Kumbia Kings, which peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Airplay chart and number 44 on the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Other cover versions include recordings by Mexican singers Diana Reyes and Yuridia. ## Background and release "Baila Esta Cumbia" was released as the second single from Ven Conmigo (1990) in the United States and in Mexico. A compilation album of the same name was released in Mexico and sold 150,000 copies. It was certified platinum by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON), denoting sales of 250,000 units. "Baila Esta Cumbia" was written by Selena's brother and principal record producer, A.B. Quintanilla and Selena y Los Dinos' backup dancer, Pete Astudillo. During an interview in 2002, A.B. said that the recording helped the band's exposure on radio stations that predominantly play cumbia music recordings. The song is an up-tempo Mexican cumbia Tejano song. It is set in common time and moves at a moderate rate of 90 beats per minute. "Baila Esta Cumbia" is written in the key of C major. The vocal range of the melody extends from the note G<sub>3</sub> to A<sub>4</sub>. ## Reception and impact The majority of contemporary reviews on "Baila Esta Cumbia" were positive. Billboard contributor Ramiro Burr praised the song for its "melodic hook". Burr, who wrote in The Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music (1999), opined that Selena "evolved a rhythmic style" which paved way for "catchy cumbias", giving "Baila Esta Cumbia" as his example of her "increasing prowess". Italian essayist Gaetano Prampolini, called "Baila Esta Cumbia" a "plain cumbia dance pleasure" in his book The Shade of the Saguaro. In a 2013 contribution to OC Weekly, Marco Torres added that "Baila Esta Cumbia" is a "fun song" and noted its "lively" addictive nature. John Storm Roberts wrote in his book The Latin Tinge, that the recording is an "up-tempo romantic piece" for his review of Selena's live album, Live (1993). Roberts added that with "Como la Flor", the two "mixes pop vocalism, some quite free scatting, and a classic banda keyboard sound." Federico Martinez of the San Antonio La Prensa called the recording "upbeat". Deborah R. Vargas wrote in her book Dissonant Divas in Chicana Music: The Limits of la Onda (2008), that Selena reconstructed Tejano music with the additions of cumbia music, giving credit to "Baila Esta Cumbia" as an example of Selena's blended musical compositions. The recording became one of Selena's biggest hit singles. It has appeared on a number of critics' "best Selena songs" lists, including OC Weekly (at number five), and Latina magazine (at number three). It entered The TouchTunes Most Played chart on Billboard on the issue dated April 7, 2001, with 1.5 million airplay spins. The song was included in the set list for the Selena Forever musical, which ran for one year in 2000. ## Charts ## Certifications ## Cover versions Mexican singer Diana Reyes recorded the song for her album Ámame, Bésame (2010). Mexican singer Yuridia performed "Baila Esta Cumbia" during her tour in Mexico in 2013 to a positive reception. ### Kumbia Kings version "Baila Esta Kumbia" is a song by Mexican-American cumbia group A.B. Quintanilla y Los Kumbia Kings featuring Mexican-American singer Selena. It was released on March 15, 2005 as a single from their album Duetos (2005). A.B. Quintanilla is the brother of Selena. #### Background Selena's brother and principal record producer, A.B. Quintanilla formed Kumbia Kings in 1999. In 2005, the band remixed "Baila Esta Cumbia" into a duet version for their album Duetos under the title "Baila Esta Kumbia". Evan C. Gutierrez music reviewer for AllMusic believed that the Kumbia Kings' version is a "postmortem love letter" to Selena. Kumbia Kings performed their version for the tribute concert Selena ¡VIVE!, which premiered live on Univision on April 7, 2005. The track debuted at number 35 on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Airplay chart on the issue dated April 2, 2005. It eventually peaked at number 16. #### Personnel - Written by A.B. Quintanilla and Pete Astudillo - Produced by A.B. Quintanilla - Lead vocals by Selena - Intro and outro by A.B. Quintanilla - Background vocals by A.B. Quintanilla, Fernando "Nando" Domínguez, Frank "Pangie" Pangelinan, and Abel Talamántez #### Charts
5,496,522	169th Street station (IND Queens Boulevard Line)	1,173,316,300	New York City Subway station in Queens	[ "1937 establishments in New York City", "IND Queens Boulevard Line stations", "Jamaica, Queens", "New York City Subway stations in Queens, New York", "Railway stations in the United States opened in 1937" ]	The 169th Street station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 169th Street and Hillside Avenue in Queens, it is served by the F train at all 169th Street station opened on April 24, 1937, as the terminal station of the Independent Subway System's Queens Boulevard Line. This station was once heavily used because of the many bus connections available for riders heading further east within Queens. It became the closest subway station to the 165th Street Bus Terminal after the closure and demolition of the nearby 168th Street BMT station on Jamaica Avenue in 1977. Ridership at 169th Street station declined significantly following the opening of the Archer Avenue lines in 1988. ## History ### Construction The Queens Boulevard Line was one of the first built by the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND), and was planned to stretch between the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan and 178th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. The line was first proposed in 1925. Construction of the line was approved by the New York City Board of Estimate on October 4, 1928. On December 23, 1930, the contract for the construction of the section between 137th Street (now the Van Wyck Expressway) and 178th Street—Route 108, Section 11—was let. This section included the stations at 169th Street, Parsons Boulevard, Sutphin Boulevard, and Briarwood. As planned, Parsons Boulevard was to be an express stop, while the other three stations, including 169th Street, would be local stops. The contract for this section was awarded to Triest Contracting Corporation. The line was constructed using the cut-and-cover tunneling method, and to allow pedestrians to cross, temporary bridges were built over the trenches. The first section of the line opened on August 19, 1933 from the connection to the Eighth Avenue Line at 50th Street to Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights. Later that year, a \$23 million loan was approved to finance the remainder of the line, along with other IND lines. The remainder of the line was built by the Public Works Administration. In summer 1933 work on this station and 169th Street were completed, far ahead of schedule. In 1934 and 1935, construction of the extension to Jamaica was suspended for 15 months and was halted by strikes. Construction was further delayed due to a strike in 1935, instigated by electricians opposing wages paid by the General Railway Signal Company. In April 1936, William Jerome Daly, the secretary of the New York City Board of Transportation, stated, in response to requests for a stop at 178th Street, that constructing a station at that location would prevent express service from operating past 71st Avenue. He said that with a final station at 169th Street, express trains could run to Parsons Boulevard, and that if the line was extended to Springfield Boulevard as planned, express service could be extended past 178th Street with a yard east of the new terminal. In August 1936, construction to Forest Hills was expected to be completed by the end of the year. While the tracks were installed all the way to 178th Street, the stops to the east of Union Turnpike still needed to be tiled, have stairways, turnstiles and lighting installed. Two additional contracts remained to be put up for bid, both the results of last minute changes. One of the changes concerned the line's eastern terminal. Initially, express trains were planned to terminate at a station at 178th Street. However, the plans were changed to terminate the express trains at Parsons Boulevard, requiring the installation of switches. Since construction of the tunnel was already completed in this section, a few hundred feet of the wall separating the eastbound and westbound train tracks had to be removed to fit the two switches. In addition, a new tunnel roof and new side supports had to be constructed. Since the line's new terminal would be at 169th Street, the tracks at 178th Street would be used to turn back trains. This change delayed the opening of the line from Union Turnpike to 169th Street, and also led to protests from the Jamaica Estates Association because the 178th Street station had been eliminated. A 3.5-mile (5.6 km) extension from Roosevelt Avenue to Kew Gardens opened on December 31, 1936. In March 1937, the extension to 169th Street was expected to be opened on May 1, requiring work to be finished by April 3, and fully approved and tested by April 20. As of this point, minor station work remained, including the installation of light bulbs, with the only major work left to be completed being the final 200 feet (61 m) of track in the 169th Street terminal. ### Opening On April 9, 1937, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia announced that the operation of the \$14.4 million extension to Jamaica and express service would begin on April 24. The extension to Hillside Avenue and 178th Street, with a terminal station at 169th Street, opened as planned on April 24, 1937. Service was initially provided by E trains, which began making express stops from 71st–Continental Avenues to Queens Plaza during rush hours on the same date, and by EE local trains during non-rush hours. The express service operated between approximately 6:30 and 10:30 a.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and ran every three to five minutes. This extension was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Parsons Boulevard station and with a parade along Hillside Avenue. On December 15, 1940, trains began running via the newly opened IND Sixth Avenue Line, also running express west of 71st Avenue. 169th Street and Parsons Boulevard were both used as terminal stations during this time, with the E terminating at this station and the F at Parsons Boulevard. This setup was instituted to prevent congestion at both stations. While 169th Street was the end of the line, F trains terminated at Parsons Boulevard because the 169th Street station provided an unsatisfactory terminal setup for a four-track line. There were no storage facilities provided at the 169th Street station, and since 169th Street was a local station, trains on the outer local tracks had to cross over to the inner express tracks to reverse direction. Therefore, the line was planned to be extended to 184th Place with a station at 179th Street containing two island platforms, sufficient entrances and exits, and storage for four ten-car trains. The facilities would allow for the operation of express and local service to the station. Delayed due to the Great Depression and World War II, the extension was completed later than expected and opened on December 11, 1950. E trains were extended there at all times and F trains were extended evenings, nights, and Sunday mornings. On May 13, 1951, all F trains outside of rush hour were extended to 179th Street using the local tracks beyond Parsons Boulevard. On October 8, 1951, trains were extended to 179th Street at all times. During rush hours F trains skipped 169th Street running via the express tracks. At other times, the F stopped at 169th Street. In 1953, the platforms at several IND stations were lengthened to allow eleven-car trains; originally, service was provided with ten-car trains. The lengthened trains began running during rush hour on September 8, 1953. Eleven-car trains would only operate on weekdays. The extra car increased the total carrying capacity by 4,000 passengers. The operation of eleven-car trains ended in 1958 because of operational difficulties. The signal blocks, especially in Manhattan, were too short to accommodate the longer trains, and the motormen had a very small margin of error to properly platform the train. It was found that operating ten-car trains allowed for two additional trains per hour to be scheduled. ### Archer Avenue extension Before the IND Archer Avenue Line opened on December 11, 1988, all Queens Boulevard express trains (E and F trains) ran to 179th Street, with the E running express along Hillside Avenue during rush hours only and the F running local. At that time, the 169th Street station was considered to be the most congested due to the numerous bus lines that either terminated just outside or at the nearby 165th Street Bus Terminal; this use had increased after the closure and demolition of the nearby 168th Street BMT station on Jamaica Avenue in 1977. The station was ill-equipped to handle the high passenger traffic volume transferring between the buses and subway, and The New York Times stated that during peak hours, passengers had to wait just to get to the platform. As a result, bars were installed on each of the seven 179th Street-bound staircases at platform level to "feed" passengers into the staircases and prevent them from crowding around it. The opening of the Archer Avenue Line was expected by the New York City Transit Authority to reduce rush hour ridership at this station from 12,912 to 6,058. The locations of the station's full-time and part-time booths were switched in 1988, since more than half of the remaining riders lived closer to the 169th Street entrance. Before the change, most riders came from the Bus Terminal via the 168th Street entrance. The formerly full-time 168th Street booth was made part-time, and the formerly part-time 169th Street booth was made full-time. ## Station layout This underground station has four tracks and two side platforms. The F train stops here at all times. The station is between Parsons Boulevard to the west and Jamaica–179th Street to the east. The center express tracks are . Both platforms have a vermilion trim line with a black border and mosaic name tablets reading "169TH ST." in white sans-serif lettering on a black background with vermilion border. Small "169" and directional tile captions in white lettering on a black background run below the trim line and name tablets. The tile band is part of a color-coded tile system used throughout the IND. The tile colors were designed to facilitate navigation for travelers going away from Lower Manhattan. As such, a different tile color is used at Jamaica–179th Street, the next express station to the east. The red tiles used at the 169th Street station were also used at Parsons Boulevard, the next express station to the west. Lime green I-beams run along the platforms and mezzanine at regular intervals, alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white lettering. The I-beam piers are located every 15 feet (4.6 m) and support girders above the platforms. The roof girders are also connected to columns in the walls adjoining each platform. The station has a full-length mezzanine above the platforms with a crossover between both platforms. When the station opened, IND engineers had concluded that only a small portion of the mezzanine was needed, which led to a 1959 proposal to convert the mezzanine into an underground parking garage. Despite this, the 169th Street station's mezzanines included turnstiles and change booths at both ends, in contrast to several other stations on the same line, which included turnstiles at only one end. Above the Manhattan-bound platform, the mezzanine gets narrower as it makes way for employee space. Due to low clearance, a "DO NOT JUMP" message in black letters is painted on the white tiles of the ceiling above one of the 179th Street-bound staircases. The tunnel is covered by a "U"-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The outer walls of this trough are composed of columns, spaced approximately every 5 feet (1.5 m) with concrete infill between them. There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the tunnel wall and the platform wall, which is made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish. The columns between the tracks are also spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), with no infill. ### Exits There are two fare control areas at either end of the mezzanine. The full-time entrances are at 169th Street, and stairs go up to all four corners of that intersection. As of 2007, the 169th Street turnstile bank consists of six regular turnstiles, two High Entry-Exit Turnstiles, and two high exit-only turnstiles. The 169th Street entrances have been the full-time entrances since 1988, when the Archer Avenue lines opened, dramatically reducing ridership at this station. The part-time entrances are at 168th Street, with stairs going up to all four corners; this was the full-time entrance until 1988. The 168th Street turnstile bank also has six regular turnstiles, two HEETs, and two high exit-only turnstiles. At both entrances, staircases go up to all four corners of the street's intersection with Hillside Avenue. When it was originally built, the station had staffed token booths at both fare control areas. The 169th Street station is the closest to the 165th Street Bus Terminal, though the entrances at 168th Street are closer than those at 169th Street.
14,425,244	Julius Franks	1,162,279,551	Player of American football (1922–2008)	[ "1922 births", "2008 deaths", "20th-century African-American sportspeople", "20th-century dentists", "21st-century African-American people", "African-American players of American football", "All-American college football players", "American dentists", "American football guards", "Michigan Wolverines football players", "People from Hamtramck, Michigan", "Players of American football from Grand Rapids, Michigan", "Players of American football from Macon, Georgia", "Players of American football from Wayne County, Michigan" ]	Julius Franks, Jr. (September 5, 1922 – November 26, 2008) was a civil rights leader and an All-American guard who played football at the University of Michigan from 1941 to 1942. Franks wore \#62 as a varsity letterman in 1941 and \#63 in 1942. Franks was the first (or second depending on the source) African-American University of Michigan player to become an All-American in football. Illness cut short his collegiate athletic career. After Michigan, Franks pursued a career in dentistry. He also became an active community leader who contributed his time to public service and who helped to integrate Grand Rapids, Michigan by financing home construction in a majority Caucasian neighborhood. ## First African-American All-American football player at Michigan Franks, who was born in Macon, Georgia and raised in Hamtramck, Michigan, was named to the Detroit, Michigan, all-city team after the 1939 high school football season. He is the son of Julius Franks, Sr. and Nellie Mae Solomon and father of Daryl, Cheryl, Bobby, Beverly A Grant, Fredrick. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Michigan, where he became the third African-American to play for the Michigan Wolverines football team. In 1942, he became the first African-American at Michigan to earn All-American honors. He is described as the second to be All-American by some accounts. Head coach Fritz Crisler said Franks was one of the hardest-working players he ever coached. The 1942 Wolverines' offensive line, which included Franks, Al Wistert, Robert Kolesar, Merv Pregulman, and Elmer Madar, was known as the "Seven Oak Posts". Franks credited the group's success to scrimmaging as rookies against the 1940 offense that included Tom Harmon, Forest Evashevski, and Bob Westfall. Franks was played all 60 minute in his games as a junior in 1942 and was named a first-team All American by the International News Service (Hearst newspapers), Central Press, and Collier's Weekly, and a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and New York Sun. In 1943, Franks and teammate Tom Kuzma came down with tuberculosis and were hospitalized at University Hospital for 25 months as they recuperated. Franks recalled that head coach Fritz Crisler was a regular visitor to his hospital room, and team star Tom Harmon also stopped to visit while on leave from military service. As a result of the hospitalization, Franks missed his senior year as a football player. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in 1947. In 1982, Franks was named to the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in the fifth class of inductees that was inducted in 1983. He was the twelfth Michigan football player to earn this honor. ## Professional career and community service In 1951, Franks earned his D.D.S. from the University of Michigan Dental School, and practiced dentistry in Grand Rapids, Michigan for more than 40 years. Franks was a leader in the Urban League, United Way, American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America, and Rotary Club. In 1964, Michigan Governor George Romney appointed Franks to Western Michigan University's first Board of Trustees, where he served as a trustee until 1983. Franks served on several boards: Executive Communication, Vice President, President, 1951–87; Kent County Dental Society, 1951–92; Michigan & American Dental Association, 1951–96; trustee, Western Michigan University, 1964–82 (trustee emeritus, 1983); Director, Boulevard Memorial Medical Center, 1974–84; Director, United Way Kent County, 1987–92. In 1992, Franks contracted Guillain–Barré syndrome, which forced him into retirement. In the 1960s, Franks helped to integrate Grand Rapids. In the early 1960s, African Americans were not welcome in Grand Rapids' "white" middle-class neighborhoods, and real estate agents would not show them houses. In 1962, Franks' friend, J.E. Adams, found vacant land designated as a potential park site. Adams, Franks, and friends Joseph Lee and Samuel Triplett created a plan to purchase the 20 acres (80,937 m<sup>2</sup>) site and build a middle-class neighborhood for African-Americans. The announcement "caused an uproar that resulted in protests, lawsuits and threats." When banks refused to finance the project, the four men purchased the land on their own for \$60,000 and started building. The first of 51 houses was completed in 1965. Today, the neighborhood, known as Auburn Hills (not to be confused with Auburn Hills, Michigan), has a population of 542 and the lowest crime rate in Grand Rapids. In 2006, the Michigan Alumni Club gave Franks the "Paul G. Goebel, Sr. Distinguished Alumni in Athletics Award". In later years, Franks was also a leader with the Urban League, United Way and other groups. ## See also - University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor
1,563,413	California State Route 275	1,171,614,770	Highway in California	[ "Demolished highways in the United States", "Freeways in California", "Interstate 5", "Interstate 80", "Roads in Sacramento County, California", "Roads in Yolo County, California", "State highways in California", "Transportation in Sacramento, California", "U.S. Route 40", "U.S. Route 99" ]	State Route 275 (SR 275) is an unsigned state highway connecting West Sacramento, California and Downtown Sacramento. Since 1996, the highway has been legally defined to be the length of the Tower Bridge crossing the Sacramento River. Prior to that year, SR 275 was also known as the West Sacramento Freeway, and was a short spur connecting Interstate 80 Business / U.S. Route 50 in West Sacramento, and the Tower Bridge. SR 275 also extended east into Sacramento along the Capitol Mall from the bridge to 9th Street, just west of the California State Capitol. West Sacramento completed a project to replace the freeway with a pedestrian-friendly street named Tower Bridge Gateway. ## Route description Since 1996, SR 275 has been defined to be the length of the Tower Bridge, a four-lane lift bridge across the Sacramento River that formerly carried a Sacramento Northern Railroad track in the center. Prior to 1996, SR 275 was part of the West Sacramento Freeway. The West Sacramento Freeway designation begins on Interstate 80 at exit 81 (West Capitol Avenue), the east end of the Yolo Causeway. It soon splits, with I-80 exiting to bypass Sacramento to the north and Interstate 80 Business (legislatively U.S. Route 50) continuing east via exit 82 towards downtown. After one interchange, at Harbor Boulevard (exit 1/1B), the freeway splits again, with Bus. 80 turning abruptly southeast over the Pioneer Memorial Bridge to avoid downtown Sacramento. The original SR 275 designation then began here, at exit 3 of Bus. 80, with full access to and from the intersecting Jefferson Boulevard (State Route 84). After the Jefferson Boulevard interchange, the road — now maintained by the city of West Sacramento as Tower Bridge Gateway — crosses the new Grand Street at an at-grade intersection. This intersection replaced a partial trumpet interchange, oriented towards West Capitol Avenue with a missing westbound entrance, in 2007. After Tower Bridge Gateway crosses under the Union Pacific Railroad line that used to cross the Tower Bridge, it approaches an intersection with 5th Street. It was formerly a ramp that entered the westbound lanes from the intersection of West Capitol Avenue and 5th Street, which completed the former interchange at Riske Lane. Two blocks to the east, Tower Bridge Gateway approaches its final intersection in West Sacramento with 3rd and Riverfront Streets. A westbound offramp formerly led to West Capitol Avenue and 3rd Street, with eastbound access to Broderick to the north and the formerly industrial area to the south, now containing Sutter Health Park. State maintenance resumes once again as SR 275 as the road crosses the Sacramento River on the Tower Bridge. At the east end of the bridge, SR 275 ends and the roadway becomes Capitol Mall, maintained by the city of Sacramento, and crosses over Interstate 5. Seven blocks later, the main road ends at 9th Street; the last block of Capitol Mall to 10th Street, on which the State Capitol fronts, is a two-lane road with a mid-block traffic circle around a fountain. SR 275 is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. ## History SR 275 began as part of Legislative Route 6, one of the shorter main routes of the initial system funded by the 1910 bond issue. This highway, which included the several-mile-long Yolo Causeway, connected Sacramento with the north–south Route 7 at Davis, thereby linking the capital city with the San Francisco Bay Area. Route 6 traffic initially left Sacramento on the 1911 I Street Bridge, heading southwest through the small settlement of Washington via D Street, 5th Street, and present Tower Court to West Capitol Avenue. The state highway was moved to the M Street Bridge in 1926, as part of an improvement that also took it through a two-lane subway under the Sacramento Northern Railroad, still present on West Capitol Avenue. The M Street Bridge was replaced by the Tower Bridge in 1935. U.S. Routes 40 and 99 (soon 99W) were marked along Route 6 in 1928. These two routes remained on West Capitol Avenue until 1954, when the new West Sacramento Freeway opened, connecting the west end of the Tower Bridge with the east end of the Yolo Causeway. Traveler-oriented businesses along the bypassed West Capitol Avenue were hit hard by the shifting of through traffic. The entire freeway was designated as part of Interstate 80 in the late 1950s. However, two bypasses were planned — a realignment of Route 6 that would take I-80 over a new bridge and around the south side of downtown, and a northern bypass of the entire city (I-880). Since the southerly bypass had not been completed in time for the 1964 renumbering, the route over the Tower Bridge — and along downtown streets — became Route 80, but US 99W signage remained (initially following Capitol Mall to near the State Capitol, later turning south onto 3rd and 5th Streets east of the bridge) until the late 1960s, before I-5 had finished replacing old US 99W north of Woodland. Normally, upon completion of the new I-80 south of downtown, the old alignment over the Tower Bridge and through downtown would be relinquished. The legislature recognized that it might be useful to keep a state highway to the Capitol, and so in 1966 it passed a concurrent resolution requesting that the California Highway Commission delay relinquishment west of 9th Street until the last day of the 1967 legislative session. During that session, a new Route 275 was created from that portion of former Route 80. This consisted of the eastern part of the West Sacramento Freeway, the Tower Bridge, and Capitol Mall up to 9th Street, just west of the capitol building. The portion in Sacramento, east of the bridge, was not to be beautified with state highway funds. Due to the cancellation of a replacement of the North Sacramento Freeway, I-80 was moved to former I-880 around the city in 1981, giving the West Sacramento Freeway three numbers: I-80, US 50, and SR 275. In 1993, the West Sacramento City Council approved the "Triangle Specific Plan" for a new downtown in the triangle bounded by the Sacramento River, SR 275, and US 50; this plan included downgrading the freeway to a surface road. The state legislature passed a law in 1994 that allowed Caltrans to come to an agreement with West Sacramento or Sacramento for the relinquishment of any part of SR 275. Although no portions had yet been relinquished, the legislature deleted Route 275 from the Streets and Highways Code in 1996. The Triangle redevelopment happened slowly, with the first part — Raley Field (now Sutter Health Park) — opening in 2000. Effective January 1, 2001, Caltrans relinquished SR 275 to West Sacramento between postmiles 12.4 (west of Riske Lane) and 13.0 (the west end of the Tower Bridge). The city renamed the road Tower Bridge Gateway and demolished the Riske Lane overpass in early 2007, replacing it with a signalized intersection that now serves the new Garden Street (later renamed Grand Street). The city of Sacramento also wished to modify its section of SR 275, which, while not a freeway, was still designed for motor vehicle traffic. Capitol Mall east of postmile 0.11 (the east end of the Tower Bridge) was relinquished to the city effective January 1, 2006. A ramp from the bridge to N Street was closed in July 2007, allowing the block it had cut diagonally through to be sold. The ramp's counterpart, from L Street to the Tower Bridge, remained open, though the lot that includes it was sold to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency in 2005. The ramp finally closed to traffic in 2016 in conjunction with a project to connect 2nd Street in Old Sacramento to Capitol Mall. These 2001 and 2007 relinquishments left Caltrans maintaining only two pieces of SR 275 — the Tower Bridge and the west end through the Jefferson Boulevard (SR 84) interchange — for a total of about 0.9 miles (1.4 km), under half of the 1967-2001 length. A joint project to widen the bridge sidewalks was carried out by Sacramento, West Sacramento, and Caltrans. The project was completed in May 2008. A second phase to convert the remaining section of freeway of Tower Bridge Gateway to a city street began in 2010. The 3rd Street underpass and subsequent interchange was removed and signalized intersections at 5th and 3rd Streets were constructed. The project was completed in November 2011. The legislature added Route 275 back to the Streets and Highways Code in 2010, but its definition now only includes "Tower Bridge from the west side of the Sacramento River near the City of West Sacramento to the east side of the Sacramento River near the City of Sacramento." As of 2016, only two interchanges of the former SR 275 remain: a diamond interchange at Jefferson Boulevard (SR 84) and the split at Business Loop 80 / US 50. ## Major intersections ## See also
59,074,438	Between You & Me (Betty Who song)	1,136,231,855	null	[ "2018 singles", "2018 songs", "Betty Who songs", "Songs written by James Abrahart" ]	"Between You & Me" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Betty Who, from her third studio album, Betty (2019). The song was released as the album's third single on 14 November 2018. Who co-wrote the song with JHart, Pretty Sister and Peter Thomas Walsh, the lattermost of whom produced the track. A musical departure from Who's typically upbeat, synth-driven material, "Between You & Me" is an acoustic pop song featuring minimal production and prominent guitar instrumentation throughout; its confessional lyrics describe seeking romance from a friend whose feelings and intentions are unclear. Who co-wrote the song based on personal experience with past relationships in which she questioned her own feelings, finding this theme relatable to both listeners and her co-writers. The product of an initially unsuccessful writing session, the songwriters stopped writing "Between You & Me" midway because Who was dissatisfied with its electronic direction. The songwriters eventually revisited the song after re-arranging it using only a guitar, ultimately completing the track six months later. Who opted to release "Between You & Me" as the album's first single over a more upbeat track that had also been considered because it reminds her of her early songwriting career. One of her first singles as an independent artist since departing from RCA Records, Who considers the song's release an expression of her creative freedom. "Between You & Me" has garnered acclaim from music critics, who praised its acoustic production and Who's songwriting. An accompanying music video was released in November 2018, in which Who plays both characters exploring a same-sex relationship. ## Background and writing "Between You & Me" was written by Jessica Newham (Betty Who) with James Abrahart (JHart), Zakariah Stucchi (Pretty Sister) and Peter Thomas Walsh. Thomas Walsh also produced the track. According to Who, "Between You & Me" resulted from an initially unsuccessful session during which they had stopped writing the song midway because the singer was dissatisfied with its electronic direction, asking that they revisit it at a later time. Who and JHart then brainstormed new approaches to the song outside of the studio and proceeded to re-write it using only a guitar. Who explained that this method "completely changed the vibe from what we had been working on earlier", which was "a little bit lifeless ... I wanted to do something that felt different, that feels really meaningful." Who greatly preferred the new acoustic arrangement. The songwriters did not complete the song until six months later when Who re-discovered it. The singer drew inspiration from personal experience having feelings for others while questioning whether they are legitimate, or if she should express them. Who recalls several "instances in my life where you wish that you could have this really candid conversation with the person you have feelings for but it just goes unsaid", and found this experience to be universal among her co-writers, with whom she discussed how often people must feel similarly. Who believes this experience has grown more common in modern times because of social media, explaining that "human interaction and confrontation has gotten" more difficult. Revealing that the track makes her feel emotional, the singer identified "Between You & Me" as an ode to how she began writing music originally, recalling a time when she was 14 years-old and using solely a guitar or piano to write about her feelings. Admitting that the song's "soft and demure" nature was a conscious decision to a certain extent, Who explained that she intended "to switch things up" and "emphasize the fact that I just wanna write songs". Who claims its lyrics are "one of my favorite stories I’ve ever told,” expounding, "It feels so good to finally have it out in the world instead of banging around my own brain." Thematically, Who drew similarities between the song and "Just Thought You Should Know", another track written for her then-forthcoming album. A fan of the television series Parks and Recreation, Who also believes the song serves as a suitable anthem for characters Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) before they became a couple. ## Release "Between You & Me" was released on 14 November 2018 by AWAL Recordings, as the lead single from Who's third studio album Betty. It was distributed to several online music services, including Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Google Play, Deezer and Tidal. "Between You & Me" was one of Who's first singles as an independent artist following her departure from RCA Records after the release of her second album The Valley (2017). Who chose the song as the album's first single because it reminds her of her early years as a burgeoning singer-songwriter. Who and the album's producers had considered releasing a different song as the lead single but opted to withhold the other track because the singer felt it more suitable for summer, believing that "Between You & Me" "feels like Christmas to me. Like you wanna cuddle up on the couch and drink a really dark red wine to it." Who believes that the song may have been hindered had she still been signed to a major label because it sounds "too different", considering its release to be a "win" and expression of her newfound creative freedom, as well as "another facet of what I do". Who continued, "I just wanna release the music that I wanna release regardless of genre, and especially because of my situation being able to make the record I want to make” without external input. Rolling Stone'''s Brittany Spanos agreed that the song's release is "A brand new declaration of independence". Idolator contributor Mike Wass believed that the single's selection indicated that the rest of the album would resemble "a throwback to the bare-bones, super-powered pop" similar to Who's EP The Movement (2013). However, Who contested that the track's acoustic nature was simply an arrangement she felt that song in particular deserved, explaining "It's definitely not an indication of what the rest of the record sounds like, because I think they're all a little bit different. There isn't anything else on the record that is quite like" "Between You & Me", believing that the planned follow-up single would surprise listeners because "it's such a big pop, dance song." Although she agrees that the song's "stripped-back" arrangement is a departure from most of her material, Who explained that each track on Betty was deliberately written to sound different from each other, maintaining that "Between You & Me" "emotionally ... fits really well on the record." "Between You & Me" followed the release of Who's five-track extended play Betty, Pt. 1 (2018). ## Music and lyrics "Between You & Me" is a sensual, emotional acoustic pop song with indie pop influences, lasting three minutes and fifteen seconds (3:15) in duration. Consisting of "plucky", finger-picked acoustic guitars that drive its instrumentation, the song is considered to be a "stripped-back" deviation from the singer's synth-pop repertoire. Beginning with minimal production, the song gradually adopts "a more synth-textured beat," while Who's vocals "remain at the forefront, carrying the emotional weight of the track." Liv Toerkell, writing for The AU Review, agreed that the song "is less the electro house anthem that we are used to ... The mellow guitar play and a quiet synth-textured beat, lay the emotional weight of this stripped-back single entirely onto Betty’s smooth vocals." The same guitar chords are repeated throughout the track, only introducing sparse additional production during its chorus. Music critic Thomas Bleach observed that the song's minimal production mirrors its storyline and emotion. Who believes that "Between You & Me" remains a pop, guitar-driven song with "enough" production. Mike Nied of Idolator identified the song as a confessional track, beginning with Who singing "It’s too crowded in this bar. We’ve been small-talking so far. I can’t tell if we’re friends. You sure like to make fun of my ex. But we never get past this part." Nicole Engelman of Billboard expressed that, throughout the song, Who longs for "more than friendship" from her friend and love interest. Who sings, "Don’t wanna give myself away, because I’m trying so hard not to say," followed by heartfelt lyrics such as "Just between you and me/I can feel something here/Wondering if you do too.” Who continues "Just between you and me/Can’t help but feeling we’re acting/Like lovers do" using a soft, breathy voice, wondering about her relationship status with her "flirtatious friend" during its hook. Confused by the intentions of her love interest, Who questions how their relationship would progress if they were to explore being intimate with each other for once, beginning "sweet and emotional" before incorporating a sexual "tinge" as the singer wonders "how things could go down," singing, "Why can’t we just address it? Why don’t we start undressing until there’s nothing in between us, in between you and me." The song also discusses themes associated with unrequited love. Florence Johannot of L'Officiel USA likened Who's "raspy but powerful" vocals to those of singers P!nk and Natasha Bedingfield. According to Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos, "The verses detail close encounters between the two and her desire for them to make the spark a full-fledged fire." Who described the track as an "inner monologue of everything I wish I could say to that person when you’re in that feeling", elaborating, "the tension between friends that can grow and infest every silence or lingering smile can consume you." However, Who distinguished that the song is "not a confession of love" but rather "a voice in your head narrating your time" together, particularly struggling to verbalize "how you feel when you’re around the person you’re singing to." As such, the protagonist never voices these concerns. Ticketfly described Who's lyrics as "achingly up-close." The Montana Kaimin's Connor Simpson believes that the song exemplifies "The intersection of happiness and anxiety ... familiar to the LGBTQ+ community". Adi Mehta of the Entertainment Voice observed that "Between You & Me"'s lyrics are "suspiciously similar to the refrain of Sisqó’s 'Thong Song'." ## Reception Upon release, "Between You & Me" garnered critical acclaim from several media publications. NewNowNext ranked the song among "5 Songs You Need to Hear Today". Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone called its hook "infectious". Spanos wrote that, in addition to being "perfect" for "Getting a little closer to a seemingly forbidden crush", the track indicates "a promising start" for the artist. Notions staff deemed it "an acoustic masterpiece". The AU Review's Liv Toerkell praised Who for successfully delivering "a throwback single, to one’s teenage years, even though it was just released this week." Mike Nied, writing for Idolator, expected the song to be "a serious hit" for the singer with strong airplay potential, encouraging radio stations to play it. Vanyaland's Michael Marotta described "Between You & Me" as "a glistening" track that features Who "clearing her mind and baring her soul." A writer for Contactmusic.com reviewed the song as "an excellent preview of what's to come from Betty Who." Calling the song "the most well-assembled track" on Betty, The Post critic Halle Weber hailed the track for providing the album with more depth towards the latter half of the LP, describing it as "annoyingly catchy yet simultaneously chill." Weber concluded that "Between You & Me" remains the album's "most impressive" song "because it takes Who out of her comfort zone of old-school-meets-modern dance pop, but she still maintains her signature edge", and found its lustful theme to be a welcome departure from the otherwise "emotionally-charged record." L'Officiel USA'''s Florence Johannot wrote that the track will "keep [the listener] company on this Friday night" during their walk home. By the end of November 2018, the song had been streamed on Spotify over 400,000 times. By January 2019, the single had amassed more than 500,000 online streams. ## Music video and live performances An accompanying music video for the song was released on 28 November 2018, in which Who stars as a same-sex couple, playing both herself and her love interest as they navigate having strong feelings towards each other. Reprising her role from the music video for her previous single "Taste", in which she had played the same characters, both videos revolve around a relationship between two women. Who herself identifies as bisexual and is an active LGBT ally. The video explores both "the highs and lows" of the women's relationship. After meeting at a party, the characters proceed to spend more time with and get to know each other in "a will-they-won't-they" dynamic. With a festive Christmas theme, the characters flirt, take photographs and open presents before finally joining each other underneath a mistletoe. Since she was playing both roles, Who was required to film the entire video twice and was surprised to find herself convinced by her own performance, joking, "I can’t believe how bad I wanted me to end up with myself!” The music video was positively received, particularly by LGBT publications. Outs Glenn Garner described the video as "the cutest queer love story that we need adapted into a feature-length film in time for the holidays". Praising its "powerful pro-LGBT message and striking visuals," Notion hailed the video as an "homage to the year two thousand and gayteen – and proves that next year is going to be just as epic for Australia’s rising pop heroine." Williams of NewNowNext praised the video's "fun concept". Prior to the beginning of her U. S. tour, Who performed "Between You & Me" live at the Better Sorts Social Club in Boston as part of the Kimpton Nine Zero Hotel's Off the Record series. In September 2019, Who performed the song during the Bustle Rule Breakers 2019 event at the Lefrak Center at Lakeside Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY.
33,878,581	Battle of Caloocan	1,164,029,941	1899 battle of the Philippine–American War	[ "1899 in the Philippines", "Battles of the Philippine–American War", "Conflicts in 1899", "February 1899 events", "History of Metro Manila", "Naval battles of the Philippine–American War" ]	The battle of Caloocan was one of the opening engagements of the Philippine–American War, and was fought between a U.S. force under the command of Arthur MacArthur Jr. and Filipino defenders commanded by Antonio Luna in 1899. American troops launched a successful attack on the Filipino-held settlement of Caloocan on February 10, which was part of an offensive planned by MacArthur Jr. Coming soon after an American victory near Manila just a few days prior, the battle once again demonstrated the military superiority enjoyed by U.S. forces over Filipino troops, yet it was not the decisive strike that MacArthur had hoped for, and the war continued to rage on for another three years. From 1896 to 1898, Filipino revolutionaries waged an armed revolution against Spanish colonial rule. Despite providing assistance to the revolutionaries, the United States decided to annex the Philippines in the 1898 Treaty of Paris. On February 4, American troops fired on a Filipino detachment, sparking a war between the U.S. and the Philippine Republic. In the following days, American commanders in the region made plans to attack Caloocan. On February 10, American forces launched a three-hour bombardment of the settlement; immediately afterwards, a large U.S. force advanced towards Caloocan. Aided by a surprise attack, the American forces successfully stormed the city. The capture of Caloocan placed sections of the Manila-Dagupan Railroad along with large amounts of rolling stock into the hands of U.S. forces. However, as the majority of Filipino forces were able to retreat intact and were soon able to regroup elsewhere, the battle did not have the decisive impact that American commanders had initially hoped for. On February 22, Filipino forces launched an attack on American positions on Manila, but were forced to withdraw after two days of fighting. Later, allegations that U.S. forces had summarily executed Filipino prisoners of war during the battle were investigated by a Senate Committee on the Philippines, which chose not to pursue the matter further. ## Background From 1896 to 1898, Filipino revolutionaries known as the Katipunan waged an armed revolution against Spain, successfully ending more than 350 years of Spanish rule in the Philippines. The United States, which waged a concurrent conflict with Spain in 1898, provided assistance to the revolutionaries in the closing stages of the conflict. On June 12, 1898, Filipino statesman Emilio Aguinaldo issued a declaration of independence, proclaiming the sovereignty of the Philippines. However, the American government, under the McKinley administration, decided to annex the Philippines. In the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish–American War, Spain agreed to cede control of the Philippines to the U.S. The U.S. had dispatched the Philippine Expeditionary Force to the Philippines in 1898, which had in concert with Filipino forces taken control over most of the region from the Spanish. In 1899, war broke out between the United States and the newly-established Philippine Republic after the U.S. annexed the Philippines. On February 4, a patrol of the 1st Nebraska Infantry Regiment near Manila fired on Filipino troops they encountered, sparking the war's first battle. Throughout the day, American and Filipino forces exchanged fire; when Filipino officers heard of what had transpired, they offered a ceasefire to the Americans, which was rejected. The next day, American troops went on the offensive, storming and capturing the entrenched Filipino positions. After the battle, Filipino forces which had been pushed out of their positions north of Manila by the American offensive regrouped at the settlement of Caloocan, which was twelve miles north of the city. The city served as an important railroad center, in addition to barring any potential American advance on the settlement of Malolos. American commander Arthur MacArthur Jr. made plans to dispatch a detachment of troops to launch an attack on Caloocan immediately. However, he was persuaded by his superior Elwell Stephen Otis to delay such a move by a few days to allow both times for additional American reinforcements to be shifted into position and for Filipino forces in the region to concentrate around the Caloocan region. Otis also argued that capturing Caloocan would serve the dual purpose of occupying a key settlement and trapping elements of the Philippine Revolutionary Army in Manila Bay, a viewpoint which was also shared by MacArthur Jr. ## Battle On February 10, a detachment of the 6th Field Artillery Regiment, along with the protected cruiser USS Charleston and monitor USS Monadnock (provided to MacArthur Jr. by United States Navy Admiral George Dewey) launched a preparatory bombardment of Filipino redoubts in Caloocan, which lasted for roughly three hours. The highest-ranking commander of Filipino troops in Caloocan (numbering roughly 5,000 strong) was Antonio Luna, whose soldiers were among those who had been pushed out of their entrenched positions by American forces near Manila on February 5. Around 4:00 p.m., 3,312 U.S. soldiers from the 1st Brigade of the Eighth Army Corps under the command of Harrison Gray Otis launched a massed frontal assault on the Filipino redoubts. The 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment were ordered to advance along the Manila Bay coastline through a wooded area near Caloocan as the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment and 1st Montana Volunteer Infantry Regiment concurrently executed a flanking maneuver on the settlement's right side. As American troops advanced towards the Filipino positions, they realized that the defenders of Caloocan were firing too high, leading them to only inflict minor casualties upon advancing U.S. forces. Encouraged by this, the Americans abandoned their previous tactic of slowly advancing under the safety of suppressive fire and started rushing towards the Filipino positions, only stopping on occasion to fire off a number of fusillades at the Filipino positions before advancing again. As the 20th Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment closed in on Caloocan, the flanking attack neared the settlement as well. Led by Major J. Franklin Bell, a company of the 1st Montana Volunteer Infantry Regiment snuck into Caloocan from the east and attacked Filipino positions in their rear. Thinking they were trapped, Filipino forces in Caloocan panicked and started to retreat. U.S. troops rapidly captured the Filipino trenches and charged into the settlement, which had been set aflame by the American artillery bombardment. A detachment of Filipino troops made a last stand at the Caloocan Cathedral, leading to an intense but short close-quarters engagement where American forces managed to rout the defenders. A U.S. military officer, caught up in the excitement, shouted "On to Malolos!"; this led undisciplined American troops to start chasing the retreating defenders on their own initiative, only being pulled back by the efforts of infuriated staff officers. ## Aftermath American casualties totaled 6 men killed and 61 wounded. As noted by historian Brian McAllister Linn, the capture of Caloocan led to the southern terminus of the Manila-Dagupan Railroad falling into the hands of the Eighth Army Corps, along with five locomotives, fifty passenger cars and a hundred freight cars. It also compounded the Philippine Revolutionary Army's woes after their defeat just five days prior, which in the view of senior Filipino officers was exacerbated by the fact that their troops had "once again failed to hold field fortifications against troops attacking over open ground." However, the vast majority of Filipino forces in Caloocan had managed to survive intact, and the battle proved not to be the decisive blow American commanders had been hoping for. After the battle, the American commanders in the region agreed to halt the ongoing offensive in order to reform their lines- something which was noticed by Luna and other senior Filipino commanders, who made plans for a counterattack against U.S. positions. On February 22, Filipino forces under the command of Luna and Mariano Llanera launched an attack on American positions in Manila as part of the Second Battle of Caloocan, aiming to recapture the city. Though the Filipino troops were initially able to make strong headway against the Americans, indecisiveness and poor communication led to the success of a counterattack by U.S. forces, which pushed the Filipinos away from Manila and ensured it would remain under U.S. control for the duration of the war. The conduct of American forces during and after the battle came under scrutiny following allegations by some U.S. soldiers that certain senior officers, including Wilder Metcalf, had ordered the summary execution of Filipino prisoners of war. Several American soldiers testified to the United States Senate Committee on the Philippines that they overheard a Captain Bishop, a subordinate of Metcalf, discussing no quarter orders issued by his superiors. An American soldier, Cyrus Ricketts, testified to the committee's members that "several Filipinos in a trench near the dummy line" were summarily executed by U.S. forces after the battle. In response, Frederick Funston, Metcalf and Bishop all denied issuing any orders to summarily execute Filipino prisoners of war, with Metcalf denying an eyewitness account that he had personally executed prisoners, and the committee chose not to pursue the matter further.
68,548,895	Ethiopia in the Middle Ages	1,173,666,835	History of Ethiopia from 7th to 16th centuries	[ "12th century in Ethiopia", "13th century in Ethiopia", "14th century in Ethiopia", "15th century in Ethiopia", "Aksumite Empire", "History of Ethiopia", "Medieval Ethiopia", "Middle Ages by country" ]	The history of Ethiopia in the Middle Ages roughly spans the period from the decline of the Kingdom of Aksum in the 7th century to the Oromo migrations beginning in the mid-16th century. Aksum had been a powerful empire during late antiquity, appearing in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and mentioned by Iranian prophet Mani as one of the "four great kingdoms on earth", along with the Sasanian Empire of Persia, the Roman Empire, and China's Three Kingdoms. The kingdom was an integral part of the trade route between Rome and the Indian subcontinent, had substantial cultural ties to the Greco-Roman world, and was a very early adopter of Christianity under Ezana of Aksum in the mid-4th century. The use of "Ethiopia" to refer to the region dates back to the 4th century. At its height, the kingdom spanned what is now Eritrea, northern Ethiopia, eastern Sudan, Yemen and the southern part of what is now Saudi Arabia. However, by the 7th century, the kingdom had begun a slow decline, for which several possible political, economic, and ecological reasons have been proposed. This decline, which has been termed the "Post-Aksumite Period", saw extreme loss of territory and lasted until the ascension of the Zagwe dynasty. In the late 10th century, the Kingdom of Aksum fell to a queen known as Gudit. Historians are unsure of her ethnicity and religion, but she is theorized to have been Agaw and likely non-Christian, as she targeted churches in her attacks. Confusion surrounds the period directly following her reign, but the dynasty proper is considered to have been founded by Mara Takla Haymanot in 1137. The capital moved southward from Aksum to Lalibela, where many rock-hewn churches were built. Despite the anti-Christian nature of Gudit's takeover, Christianity flourished under Zagwe rule but its territorial extent was markedly smaller than that of the Aksumites, controlling the area between Lasta and the Red Sea. The Zagwe dynasty was overthrown in 1270 by Yekuno Amlak, whose successors came to be known as the Solomonic dynasty. The Kebra Nagast, a 14th-century national epic, established the dynasty's claim of direct descent from Solomon, recounting the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, whose child was supposedly Menelik I. The Semitic Amhara rulers of the Solomonic dynasty therefore represented a restoration of the Israelite lineage of the Aksumites, as opposed to the Cushitic Zagwe rulers, who were viewed in retrospect as illegitimate. In the nearly 150 years between the reigns of Amda Seyon I and Zara Yaqob, the Solomonic emperors made significant territorial expansions into non-Christian lands to the south, west, and east of the highlands, conquering much of the territory that comprises modern-day Ethiopia. Despite enormous expansions and the successful spread of Christianity, Ethiopia was invaded by Adal, supported by the Ottoman Empire, in 1531. It was not until 1540 that Ethiopia began to regain its territory with the support of the Portuguese Empire. Ethiopia's weakened state after the war left it susceptible to the Oromo migrations, in which the Oromo people of southern Ethiopia began to expand northward and established permanent settlements. This altered political and cultural landscape is seen as the beginning of the modern era in Ethiopia. From a historiographical perspective, the Middle Ages are a mysterious period of Ethiopian history, as there was comparatively little contact with foreign nations versus the ancient and modern periods. ## Political history ### Post-Aksumite Period (7th–10th centuries) As an early Christian nation, the Kingdom of Aksum enjoyed close diplomatic relations with the Byzantine Empire. Across the Red Sea, the Himyarite Kingdom had become a Jewish state, persecuting Christians under the rule of Dhu Nuwas. Byzantine emperor Justin I called upon Kaleb of Aksum for assistance to the Himyarite Christians, and the Aksumite invasion occurred in 525. The invasion was successful, enlarging the Kingdom of Aksum to its greatest territorial extent. However, Aksumite rule in the region was turbulent, and the territory was lost to the Sasanian Empire in the Aksumite–Persian wars less than 50 years later. With a Persian presence established in South Arabia, Aksum no longer dominated Red Sea trade; this situation only worsened following the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century. Archaeological evidence suggests that the population of the city of Aksum began to diminish in the 7th century. Around the same time, the kingdom appears to have ceased the minting of gold coins, indicating a withdrawal from international trade. This has been attributed to the aforementioned Persian and Muslim expansions, though other additional factors have been proposed as well. Historical records regarding the water levels of the Nile in Egypt indicate that the Ethiopian Highlands received less rainfall at the time, Aksum was among the nations affected by the first plague pandemic, and destruction of stelae from this time suggest internal unrest. The final three centuries of the Kingdom of Aksum are considered a dark age by historians, offering little in the way of written and archaeological records. ### Zagwe dynasty (10th century–1270) In the late 10th century, external documents refer to a queen ruling over the land of "al-Ḥabaša" (Abyssinia). The documents state that the queen (referred to in one document as queen of the "Bani al-Hamwiyah") killed the king of Ethiopia, and suggest that she had seized power at least as early as the 960s. No religion or ethnic group has been decisively identified with Bani al-Hamwiyah, but the queen, who is known as Gudit, was certainly non-Christian, as her reign was characterized by the destruction of churches in Ethiopia which is seen as opposition to the spread of Christianity in the region. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which was subordinate to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, had not been sent a metropolitan from Alexandria for many years during the 10th century. However, after Gudit's reign had ended, the succeeding Ethiopian king reached out to Pope Philotheos of Alexandria regarding the deteriorated situation, and Philotheos subsequently re-established relations between Egypt and Ethiopia. This set the scene for a Christian renaissance in Ethiopia. Though the Aksumite era was ended by Gudit, the Zagwe dynasty was not established until 1137 by Mara Takla Haymanot. The Zagwe kings, who are thought to be Agaw, moved the capital south to Lalibela, which itself is named after the Ethiopian emperor of the same name. Under Lalibela's reign, the construction of eleven rock-hewn churches began. Though Christianity experienced growth in this period, Ethiopia's territory diminished significantly since the fall of the Kingdom of Aksum, centred primarily on the Ethiopian highlands between Lasta and Tigray. The kingdom of Medri Bahri, which controlled the Red Sea coast in modern-day Eritrea, was a client state of Ethiopia. ### Early Solomonic dynasty (1270–mid-16th century) The Zagwe dynasty came to an end in 1270, after Yekuno Amlak overthrew them and established what came to be known as the Solomonic dynasty. The Kebra Nagast, a 14th-century national epic, describes the dynasty's claim to descent from Solomon, and was used to justify the takeover from the Zagwe dynasty. The epic states that the Kingdom of Aksum was founded by Menelik I, who was allegedly the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, known as Makeda in Ethiopia. By connecting Yekuno Amlak to this ancestry, it was seen as authority for the dynasty to rule Ethiopia. In contrast, the Cushitic Zagwe kings were not seen as part of this lineage, and were denounced as illegitimate rulers. One of the defining features of Ethiopia under the Solomonic dynasty was territorial expansion, primarily into Muslim areas. This began during the reign of Yekuno Amlak himself, conquering the Sultanate of Showa in 1285. The most significant expansions took place under Amda Seyon I, who conquered the Kingdom of Damot, the Hadiya Sultanate, Gojjam, Fatagar, the Sultanate of Dawaro, the Sultanate of Bale, and the Sultanate of Ifat. By the early 16th century, the empire's borders reached past Massawa in the north, past the Omo River in the south, to the Adal Sultanate in the east and near the confluence of the Didessa River and the Blue Nile in the west. Although Adal was a tributary of Ethiopia, the sultanate invaded Ethiopia in 1531 with the support of the Ottoman Empire and other Muslim peoples in the region. The subsequent war continued until 1543 and it was only with the help of the Portuguese Empire and Cristóvão da Gama that Ethiopia was able to reclaim its lost territory and win the war. However, both the Christian and Muslim regions of Ethiopia were significantly weakened by the war; this has been suggested as a possible factor of the Oromo migrations of the 16th century. From political, religious and cultural perspectives, the mid-16th century signifies the shift from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. ## Government and society Medieval Ethiopia is typically described as a feudal society relying on tenant farmers who constituted the peasant class, with landowners, nobility, and royalty above them in the social hierarchy. However, because of scarcity of information, knowledge on Ethiopian feudalism primarily comes from the Gondarine period. Some archaeological evidence and contemporary accounts have allowed for inferences of possible class structure in the Kingdom of Aksum. The kings of Aksum occupied the top of the social hierarchy, and a noble class below them is probable, based on size differences between larger palaces and smaller villas. A middle class may have consisted of merchants, independent farmers, and civil officials. Peasants likely included artisans in the urban centres, and farmers whose work supported Aksumite society. Slaves were the lowest social class; Greek traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes states that slaves in Aksum came primarily from the Sasu (in southern Sudan) and Barbaria (Somalia) regions. ## Language Geʽez was the common language used throughout the Aksumite period, initially written using the Ancient South Arabian script, but with the Geʽez script by the 1st century. The script began as a vowel-less abjad, developing into a vocalized abugida in the 4th century. However, Greek was used up until the decline of Aksum, appearing in stelae inscriptions, on Aksumite currency, and spoken as a lingua franca to facilitate trade with the Hellenized world. Geʽez remained in official written use through the entire Middle Ages (its counterpart in Islamic polities being Arabic), but likely declined as a spoken language in the post-Aksumite period. The exact period of this decline is uncertain, as essentially all written records continued to be written in Geʽez, but evidence of Tigrinya and Amharic appears in medieval texts. In addition, Cushitic and Omotic languages must have been spoken, and likely predate Semitic languages in the region. Geʽez has persisted to the modern day as a liturgical language. The Amhara nobles supported the Zagwe prince Lalibela in his power struggle against his brothers which led him to make Amharic Lessana Negus as well as fill the Amhara nobles in the top positions of his Kingdom. While the appellation of "language of the king" ((Ge'ez: ልሣነ ነጋሲ "Lisane Negus")/(Amharic: የኢነጋሲ ቋንቋ "Ye-Negus QwanQwa")) and its use in the royal court are otherwise traced to the Amhara Emperor Yekuno Amlak. ## Religion ### Pre-Christian era Prior to the adoption of Christianity, the Kingdom of Aksum practised Semitic polytheism, which spread to the region from South Arabia. It has also been suggested that Judaism was present in the kingdom since ancient times; it is not known how widely the religion was practised, but its influence upon Ethiopian Christianity is significant. ### Christian era Christianity was introduced to the Kingdom of Aksum primarily by Frumentius, a 4th-century Phoenician missionary who was a slave to the king of Aksum. After preaching Christianity in the region, he was freed shortly before the king's death, though he stayed to teach Ezana of Aksum, who was the king's son and heir to the throne. He eventually converted Ezana to Christianity in the mid-4th century, which became the official religion of the Kingdom of Aksum shortly thereafter. Having established itself as a Christian nation, Ethiopia expanded its borders and spread the religion to the surrounding peoples who practised traditional African religions, Judaism, and, later, Islam. The Aksumites enjoyed friendly relations with the Byzantine Empire for this reason, and although Ethiopia became secluded after the decline of Aksum, the kingdom participated in European religious and diplomatic affairs in the late Middle Ages. Wedem Arad sent an envoy to Spain in 1306 for the purpose of a religious alliance, Ethiopian monks participated in the Council of Constance in 1414–1418, an Ethiopian diaspora is documented in Rome as early as the 15th century, and there are several documented diplomatic missions from Ethiopia to Spain and Italy throughout the 15th century. #### Islam Despite officially being a Christian kingdom, Islam's history in Ethiopia is nearly as old as Islam itself. The first Muslims fled persecution in Arabia in 613 or 615, seeking refuge in the Kingdom of Aksum in an event known as the Migration to Abyssinia. The Dahlak Archipelago, now part of Eritrea, came under Muslim rule in the early 8th century; the Muslims there constituted the first permanent Muslim population in Ethiopia. By the 11th century, the area became the independent Sultanate of Dahlak. There is evidence that the Shewa region had become Islamized and established a sultanate in the 12th century, and by the 13th century there was significant Muslim presence in what is now eastern Ethiopia. As part of the Solomonic dynasty's expansions, many Muslim states in the east were conquered or became subjects of Ethiopia. Tensions grew between Ethiopia and the Muslim states, eventually culminating in the Ethiopian–Adal war. #### Judaism The Beta Israel are an ethnoreligious group, most of whom now live in Israel, but originated in Semien. Their origins have been the subject of scholarly debate for decades. The Beta Israel oral tradition is that of an ancient Jewish ancestry, which is usually claimed from the Tribe of Dan. Genetic testing suggests that the group could have been founded by a small group of Jewish settlers in the region who converted the local population and intermarried among them over 2000 years ago. This hypothesis is further supported by the Beta Israel's non-observance of the Talmud, which would have been written after this ethnogenesis. Written documents describing the Beta Israel date back to the 14th century. Under the reign of Yeshaq I, the Beta Israel were defeated in a war; he subsequently revoked their land ownership rights (known as rist) unless they converted to Christianity. Upon losing their land, they became known as Falasha ("landless, wandering"), which is a term that became used interchangeably with Beta Israel, but is now considered derogatory. #### Local religions Most of Ethiopian historiography focuses on Christian and Muslim history. However, although the vast majority of Ethiopians adhere to those religions today, there were significant communities which practiced traditional religions during the Middle Ages. Remnants of these cultures can be seen today in funerary stelae and tumuli, which are widespread in Ethiopia. ## Economy and technology ### Geography The Ethiopian Highlands and the Great Rift Valley resulted in medieval Ethiopia having a varied climate. Generally and like today, it can be divided into the highlands, lowlands and tropical regions. These climate zones dictated the agricultural practices in each region. Cereals and legumes, such as teff, millet, sorghum, barley, wheat, lentils, and chickpeas were grown in the cooler highlands. Pastoralism was prevalent in the hot, arid lowlands; and fruiting plants, such as coffea (coffee) and false banana were grown in the wetter tropical regions. ### Economy Although Ethiopia had been an agricultural civilization since the 6th millennium BC, it relied heavily on agriculture and became a rural economy after its decline as a significant trading power. Trade was primarily conducted on a small scale, though large market towns existed as well, serving as stops for caravans. Maritime trade continued through the Middle Ages, however this was no longer in the hands of the Ethiopian kingdom, but instead controlled by Muslim merchants. Beginning in the 8th century, a trade route to the Dahlak Archipelago was Ethiopia's link to the Red Sea, but a route between Shewa and Zeila came to prominence in the late 13th century. While agriculture was the backbone of the Ethiopian economy, the kingdom exported some luxury goods, namely gold, ivory, and civet musk. A significant number of slaves (including many eunuchs) also came from Ethiopia and were sold in Arabia. ## Warfare ### Armies Medieval Ethiopia was a highly militaristic nation based on a system of ethnic regiments known as ṣewa in Geʽez. This practice can be traced back to the beginning of the Aksumite period, when the men of newly subjugated tribes were forced to become soldiers for the king of Aksum, commanded by a tributary who was likely a local chief. The regiments were given a plot of land called a gult in exchange for their military service. Merid Wolde Aregay suggests, based on Christopher Ehret's linguistic theories, that the origin of Aksumite rule itself may have been through the subjugation of Agaw agriculturalists by Geʽez-speaking pastoralists. These regiments were instrumental in maintaining Aksumite sovereignty over the trade routes within its empire; however, due to the decentralized nature of the regiments, chiefs could easily rebel against the king. The regimental system continued through the Middle Ages, but by the Zagwe era they consisted of professional soldiers. In the Solomonic era, during the reign of Zara Yaqob, this professionalism was reflected in the Amharic term č̣äwa, as ṣewa carried a connotation of slavery which was no longer accurate. The sword and spear were universal in Ethiopia amongst both the infantry and cavalry. The javelin and shotel were used in Ifat. Soldiers of the cavalry were often equipped with chain mail and helmets, though some used a form of cloth armour. The bow and arrow were widespread, and arrow poison was occasionally used. Ethiopia's first experience with firearms was the Ethiopian–Adal war, which saw guns used on both sides. ### Navies Information regarding the Aksumite navy is limited, though it must have been crucial to the kingdom as it relied on maritime trade. The Monumentum Adulitanum, an ancient Aksumite inscription, mentions the worship of the sea god Beher, who is identified with Poseidon. The 6th-century Byzantine historian Procopius describes the Aksumite fleet as consisting of sewn boats, similar to the dhow still in use today. Throughout the Middle Ages, Ethiopia's administration and expansion was primarily focused on inland areas, though the northern coastal regions such as the Sultanate of Dahlak which controlled the Red Sea coast of modern-day Eritrea, were subject to Ethiopia for centuries. ## Arts ### Art The most considerable body of visual artworks from medieval Ethiopia is that of illuminated manuscripts. They bear some similarity to Coptic and Byzantine illuminated manuscripts, though they retain early Christian iconographic practices originating in Palestine which are absent elsewhere after the Byzantine Iconoclasm in the 8th century. However, study of Ethiopian manuscripts has thus far been limited. There are some surviving examples of church murals, though many are in poor condition and as such have not been the subject of significant research. ### Literature Medieval Ethiopian literature primarily consists of religious texts, particularly hagiographies. Although original Ethiopian additions were made to texts, early Ethiopian literature mostly comprised translations, generally from Greek under the Aksumites, and later Arabic. The first indigenous Ethiopian hagiographies appear in the 14th century. Another prominent Ethiopian literary genre is that of the royal chronicle, which dates back to the reign of Amda Seyon I. These documents recounted the rules of the kings, including their administration of the kingdom and their military campaigns. They were used to legitimize the Solomonic dynasty, similarly to the Kebra Nagast, which is probably the best-known piece of Ethiopian literature. ### Music and poetry Music in Ethiopia is divided between secular (zafan) and sacred (zema). While secular music varied between locations and ethnic groups, zema generally remained consistent. Ethiopian tradition dates the origins of zema to the 6th century, crediting Yared with the composition of the liturgical hymns as well as an indigenous system of musical notation called meleket. However, zema is part of Beta Israel culture, while the attribution to Yared and the notation system are not. A 16th-century royal chronicle credits two clerics with the system; this, coupled with the differences between Christian and Jewish traditions, suggest that Yared was not responsible for these creations. Also attributed to Yared is the traditional form of Amhara poetry known as qene. Qene utilizes a literary device known as sem-ena-werq ("wax and gold"), in which the "wax" is the face value of a message and the "gold" is the deeper meaning hidden underneath. The device is reflective of the Miaphysite beliefs of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, with the wax representing the human nature of Jesus and the gold representing the divine. There is evidence of qene from at least as early as the 15th century. ### Architecture Buildings constructed in the Kingdom of Aksum have been subject to more research than those of the Middle Ages, leading to the identification of a discernible Aksumite architectural style. Art historian Claire Bosc-Tiessé defines the general characteristics as "...walls made by the alternation of horizontal wooden beams with layers of small stones joined with mortar, the whole surface being sometimes coated, and transverse rounded beams at regular intervals on the facade..." exemplified by buildings such as Debre Damo. Due to insufficient written records, medieval Ethiopian architecture is more difficult to date than Aksumite. As such, historians use the presence and development of Aksumite architectural characteristics to establish time periods for the construction of medieval buildings. Rock-hewn churches, particularly those at Lalibela, are a noteworthy example of post-Aksumite architecture. ## See also - History of Ethiopia
6,435,417	Golden Gate Highlands National Park	1,158,794,213	National park in South Africa	[ "IUCN Category II", "National parks of South Africa", "Protected areas established in 1963", "Protected areas of the Free State (province)" ]	Golden Gate Highlands National Park is located in Free State, South Africa, near the Lesotho border. It covers an area of 340 km<sup>2</sup> (130 sq mi). The park's most notable features are its golden, ochre, and orange-hued, deeply eroded sandstone cliffs and outcrops, especially the Brandwag rock. Another feature of the area is the numerous caves and shelters displaying San rock paintings. Wildlife featured at the park includes mongooses, eland, zebras, and over 100 bird species. It is the Free State's only national park and is more famous for the beauty of its landscape than for its wildlife. Numerous palaeontology finds have been made in the park, including dinosaur eggs and skeletons. ## Geography and climate "Golden Gate" refers to the sandstone cliffs found on either side of the valley at the Golden Gate dam. In 1875, a farmer called J.N.R. van Reenen and his wife stopped here as they travelled to their new farm in Vuurland. He named the location "Golden Gate" when he saw the last rays of the setting sun fall on the cliffs. In 1963, 47.92 km<sup>2</sup> (11,840 acres) was proclaimed as a national park, specifically to preserve the scenic beauty of the area. In 1981, the park was enlarged to 62.41 km<sup>2</sup> (15,420 acres), and in 1988, it was enlarged to 116.33 km<sup>2</sup> (28,750 acres). In 2004, the park was announced to be joining with the neighbouring QwaQwa National Park. The amalgamation of QwaQwa National Park was completed in 2007, increasing the park's area to 340 km<sup>2</sup> (84,000 acres). The park is 320 km (200 mi) from Johannesburg and is close to the villages of Clarens and Kestell, in the upper regions of the Little Caledon River. The park is situated in the Rooiberge of the eastern Free State, in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains. The Caledon River forms the southern boundary of the park, as well as the border between the Free State and Lesotho. The elevation ranges from a 1,800 m (5,900 ft) plateau in the north to heights of 2,700 m (8,900 ft) in the south. The highest peak in the park (and also in the Free State) is Ribbokkop at 2,829 m (9,281 ft) above sea level. The park is located in the eastern highveld region of South Africa and experiences a dry, sunny climate from June to August. It has showers, hail, and thunderstorms between October and April. It has thick snowfalls in the winter. The park has a relatively high rainfall of 800 mm (31 in) per year. ## Vegetation The park is an area of rich highveld and montane grassland flora. It has more than 60 grass species and a large variety of bulbs and herbs. Each of these species has its own flowering time, meaning that veld flowers can be seen throughout the summer. The park also has Afromontane forests and high-altitude Austro-Afro alpine grassland, which is scarce in South Africa. The ouhout (Leucosidea sericea), an evergreen species, is the most common tree in the park. Ouhout is a favourite habitat of beetles and 117 species occur on these trees in the park. The Lombardi poplars and weeping willows in the park are introduced species, but are kept because of their cultural and historic connection with the eastern Free State. Other exotic species in the park, for example wattle and bluegum, are systematically eradicated. ## Wildlife Instead of reintroducing one of the "big five" into the park, the sungazer lizard and water mongoose were reintroduced. Twelve species of mice, 10 species of carnivores, and 10 antelope species have been recorded in the park. The grey rhebok and the mountain reedbuck were present when the park was established. ### Mammals ### Birds Over 210 bird species have been observed in the park, including the rare bearded vulture and the endangered Cape vulture and bald ibis. ### Snakes and fishes Seven snake species, including the puff adder, mountain adder, and rinkhals, are found in the park. ## Geology and palaeontology The geology of the park provides very visual "textbook" examples of Southern Africa's geological history. The sandstone formations in the park form the upper part of the Karoo Supergroup. These formations were deposited during a period of aeolian deposition towards the end of the Triassic Period. At the time of deposition, the climate of the area the park covers was becoming progressively drier until arid desert conditions set in, resulting in a land of dunes and sandy desert, with occasional scattered oases. The deposition of the sandstones ended when lava flowed out over the desert 190 million years ago. The following sequence of geological formations is visible in the park (starting from the bottom): the Molteno Formation, Elliott Formation, Clarens Formation, and Drakensberg Formation. The yellow-brown Golden Gate and Brandwag cliffs are made up of the Clarens formation. The layers in this formation are 140 to 160 m (460 to 520 ft) thick. The Drakensberg Formation comprises the basaltic lava that flowed over the desert. It forms the mountain summits in the park. On Ribbokkop, it is 600 m (2,000 ft) thick. The Elliot Formation is a red mudstone where many dinosaur fossils have been found. The oldest dinosaur embryos ever discovered was found in the park in 1978. The eggs were from the Triassic Period (220 to 195 million years ago) and had fossilised foetal skeletons of Massospondylus, a prosauropod dinosaur. More examples of these eggs have since been found in the park. Other fossils found in the park include those of advanced cynodontia (canine toothed animals), small thecodontia (animals with teeth set firmly in the jaw), and bird-like and crocodile-like dinosaurs. ## Accommodation Accommodation in the park is available at Glen Reenen and Brandwag Rest camps. Caravan and campsites with all amenities are available at Glen Reenen camp. The hotel was formerly part of the Brandwag camp, but since its recent refurbishment, it is managed separately by SANParks as Golden Gate Hotel. The nearest town to Golden Gate Highlands National Park is Clarens (17 km to the west), but Phuthaditjhaba is also easily reached by a good tar road, driving through the access gate to the east of the park. ## See also - QwaQwa National Park (incorporated into Golden Gate Park as the QwaQwa homeland no longer exists).
497,351	M-60 (Michigan highway)	1,167,085,388	State highway in Michigan, United States	[ "State highways in Michigan", "Transportation in Branch County, Michigan", "Transportation in Calhoun County, Michigan", "Transportation in Cass County, Michigan", "Transportation in Jackson County, Michigan", "Transportation in St. Joseph County, Michigan", "U.S. Route 12" ]	M-60 is an east–west state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. It runs from the Niles area at a junction with US Highway 12 (US 12) to the Jackson area where it ends at Interstate 94 (I-94). The trunkline passes through a mix of farm fields and woodlands, crosses or runs along several rivers and connects several small towns of the southern area of the state. The westernmost segment runs along divided highway while the easternmost section is a full freeway bypass of Jackson. M-60 was originally designed in 1919 with the rest of the state highway system in Michigan. It ran roughly along its current route connecting downtown Niles to downtown Jackson. In the mid-1920s, the western end was extended to New Buffalo; since then several bypasses of the smaller towns along the highway were added. One of these bypasses resulted in the creation of an alternate route (Alternate M-60, Alt. M-60) through Concord; that route has since been decommissioned. When Niles was bypassed in the 1950s, a business loop (Business M-60, Bus. M-60) was created through town. After the western end was truncated to its current location, that business loop was converted to a business spur. ## Route description M-60 starts at an interchange along US 12 southeast of Niles in southwestern Cass County. From this interchange, the highway runs northeasterly along the divided highway on Detroit Road to an intersection with Bus. M-60 (Yankee Road). There, the main highway turns due east along the shore of Barron Lake. The trunkline continues through mixed farm fields and woodlands, running northeastward to Cassopolis and rounding Stone Lake on the southern approach to town. M-60 runs north–south through town on Broadway Street, merging with M-62 to run concurrently into downtown Cassopolis. M-60 turns eastward on State Street, separating from M-62, and leaves town while crossing a line of the Canadian National Railway. East of Cassopolis, M-60 runs past Diamond Lake and through farm fields. At Vandalia, the highway passes Donnell Lake before meeting M-40 north of Bair Lake in Jones. East of Jones, the trunkline crosses into St. Joseph County and meets US 131 on the south side of Three Rivers. The two highways run concurrently northward through a retail business corridor to an intersection with Michigan Avenue. M-60 turns east along Michigan Avenue following Bus. US 131 into downtown. The business loop turns north at the same intersection where M-60 meets M-86 near the Rocky River crossing. Continuing eastward, M-60 passes the high school and Three Rivers Municipal Dr. Haines Airport while running along the St. Joseph River. The trunkline turns north, runs by Fishers Lake and continues out of town through farm fields. Near Mendon, the highway runs along the river again. East of town, M-60 meets M-66, and the two run east and northeast through Leonidas into the extreme northwest corner of Branch County. South of Athens, M-66 turns northward and M-60 continues around Union City and into southern Calhoun County. The road runs through Burlington on Leroy Street. At Marshall Street. M-60 meets the southern end of M-311 which runs north to the Battle Creek area. M-60 continues east through farm fields to Tekonsha where it meets Interstate 69 (I-69) northwest of town. Continuing to Homer, the highway runs along Lehigh Street in town; M-99 merges into M-60 after the intersection with Hillsdale Street. East of town, the highway widens into a four-lane divided highway; M-99 turns north along this short section of roadway and M-60 reverts to a two-lane highway again. The trunkline crosses the Kalamazoo River at Concord before it crosses into Jackson County. At Spring Arbor, M-60 passes the campus of Spring Arbor University. Outside of Jackson, the highway widens out to a full freeway bypass around the west side of the city. This bypass has one interchange with Michigan Avenue near Jackson County Airport. North of this interchange, the highway picks up the Business Loop I-94 and crosses the Norfolk Southern Railway line in the area. The freeway ends at a trumpet interchange with I-94 northwest of Jackson. M-60 is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) like other state highways. Among these responsibilities, the department tracks the level of traffic that uses the roadways under its jurisdiction. This is expressed using a metric called annual average daily traffic (AADT), which is a statistical calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. According to MDOT's surveys in 2009, the highest traffic counts were 12,547 cars and 999 trucks along the freeway immediately south of I-94 near Jackson; the lowest AADT was the 2601 cars and 384 trucks west of Union City. Only two sections of M-60 have been listed on the National Highway System (NHS): along the US 131 concurrency in Three Rivers and on the BL I-94 concurrency near Jackson. The NHS is a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. ## History M-60 was designated with the rest of the original state highway system by July 1, 1919, on a series of roads running between Niles and Jackson by way of Cassopolis, Three Rivers and Tekonsha. By the end of 1927, the western end was extended to terminate at US 12 at New Buffalo. In the early to mid-1930s, the Michigan State Highway Department (MSHD) realigned the New Buffalo–Niles section to bypass Galien and Buchanan, and the department extended US 112 concurrently along M-60 to New Buffalo. M-60 was rerouted around Concord in 1933, Tekonsha was bypassed by the MSHD in late 1936, and the highway was routed around Union City in 1937. The MSHD continued to improve the highway through the end of the 1930s. The last segment between Tekonsha and Homer was paved in 1940, making all of M-60 a hard-surfaced roadway. In late 1949 or early 1950, the MSHD shifted M-60 through the Jones area to straighten the roadway. The US 131 bypass of Three Rivers opened in 1953; the US 131/M-60 concurrency became a Bus. US 131/M-60 concurrency through town as a result. On December 1, 1956, the highway department opened the first 6.6 miles (10.6 km) of a new four-lane divided highway around the south side of Niles, with the final 1.6 miles (2.6 km) of the bypass opening early the next year. Consequently, they converted the former route through town into a business loop. Bus. M-60 connected the bypass into downtown where it continued along Bus. US 112 back to US 112/M-60. At the end of the 1950s, M-60 was moved to a freeway bypass along the west side of Jackson; the final mile was also designated Bus. US 12 as both highways connected to the I-94/US 12 freeway north of the city. The western end was redesignated as a part of US 12 in the late 1961, and the M-60 designation was truncated off this roadway in 1966. M-60's routing has remained unchanged since. ## Major intersections ## Special routes There have been two different special routes of M-60. Business M-60 (Bus. M-60) in Niles is still in existence, while Alternate M-60 (Alt. M-60) in Concord has been decommissioned. ### Business M-60 Business M-60 (Bus. M-60) is a state business spur running through the city of Niles and adjacent townships. The spur starts at the intersection with M-51 (Main Street, 11th Street) and runs eastward along a former routing of M-60 on Oak Street through a residential section of town. Near the Berrien–Cass county line, the highway passes south of the Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport. East of the airport, the street name changes from Oak Street to Yankee Road, and Bus. M-60 runs to its terminus at M-60 (Detroit Road). The total length is 2.554 miles (4.110 km), and 5,284–7,984 cars and 333 trucks use the route each day. The business route was a loop route, continuing through downtown along Bus. US 112 when the designation was created in late 1956 or early 1957. M-60 was truncated west of Niles in 1966; at the same time, Bus. M-60 was truncated at its junction with Bus. US 12/M-51 near downtown. ### Alternate M-60 Alternate M-60 (Alt. M-60) was an alternate loop route running through Concord. It acted as a "business route" into downtown Concord during its short lifetime after a bypass of town along M-60 was built. Its appearance predated the development of business routes in Michigan. Concord was bypassed in 1933, resulting in the creation of the alternate route. That route was turned over to local control the next year, decommissioning the designation. ## See also
1,995,617	Susan Mayer	1,160,599,908	Fictional character on Desperate Housewives	[ "Desperate Housewives characters", "Fictional artists", "Fictional housewives", "Fictional models", "Fictional schoolteachers", "Fictional writers", "Television characters introduced in 2004" ]	Susan Delfino is a fictional character played by Teri Hatcher on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry. She first appeared in the pilot episode of the series on October 3, 2004, and appeared in every episode until the series finale on May 13, 2012. Susan resides on the fictional Wisteria Lane in Fairview, Eagle State, the primary setting of the show. One of four lead characters, Susan is characterized as being a "notoriously clumsy" romantic with a "magnetic charm." Her storylines tend to focus on her romantic relationships, most notably with Mike Delfino (James Denton), whom she marries twice in the series. Cherry created Susan as a girl next door archetype and intended for the character to provide an emotional anchor for the series. When developing the character, Cherry drew upon his personal experiences as well as those of single women in his life. The role was written for Mary-Louise Parker, who turned it down; as a result, Hatcher was cast in early 2004. Hatcher's portrayal of the character is both comedic and vulnerable. During the series' debut season, both the character and Hatcher's performance received positive critical reception; however, as the series progressed, the character was received less favorably by critics and fans. Hatcher has received both a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in the series. ## Development and casting While developing the series, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry envisioned Susan as a girl next door and chose her to convey this image. In the original pilot, the character's surname was spelled "Meyer" but had to be changed to "Mayer" for clearance purposes. Cherry commented, "I knew Susan was going to be my anchor character, and I didn't really know my take on her at first. And then it occurred to me that one of these women should be divorced ... I thought there was something so real about a woman saying, 'I don't have much time left,' and when this available hunky guy moves onto the street, something in her saying 'Let me at him'". The character is a compendium of single mothers in Cherry's life "desperate to land a man". He also drew upon his own personal experiences while creating the character. Julia Louis-Dreyfus expressed interest in the role, but ABC executives felt she was not right for the part. Actors considered for the role include Courteney Cox, Calista Flockhart, Heather Locklear, Mary-Louise Parker, and Sela Ward. Cherry wrote the part with Parker in mind, but she rejected the offer, later explaining "it just didn’t feel like I was gonna [sic] serve it as well as someone else might". Teri Hatcher auditioned for the role in January 2004 and impressed Cherry immediately. After a second audition, Hatcher read for the role in front of network executives. Cherry praised her performance, saying "it was the best audition I've ever seen in network". Hatcher later commented, "I don't think they were hot to hire me for Susan ... I was maybe on a B-list, certainly not an A-list". Despite her reservations, Hatcher was the third reported cast member to have been cast in the series on February 18, 2004. ## Personality and characteristics Susan is primarily characterized as the girl next door. Teri Hatcher stated "I’m not exactly her, but I get her. I get her insecurities, her flaws." She called the character "a great representation of what [everyone] deals with daily. Our responsibilities can be overwhelming and things often don't go as you planned, so you have to roll with it. Susan celebrates rolling with it". She is a hopeless romantic and often expresses her feelings more openly and vulnerably than the other characters in the series. The series begins a year after Susan's first divorce, when she is still emotionally raw. Throughout the series, several other characters have confronted Susan about her inability to live happily and without drama. Susan has a close relationship with her daughter, Julie (Andrea Bowen), who often acts as the parent figure in the relationship. Susan's accident-proneness is commonly used throughout the series to provide comic relief. Her susceptibility to bad luck and embarrassing situations have created some of the series' most memorable moments, including accidentally burning down Edie's house and being locked out of her own house completely naked. Susan's poor cooking skills have also become a running gag in the series. ## Storylines ### Past Susan Bremmer was born in 1967 and was raised by single mother Sophie Bremmer (Lesley Ann Warren), who told her that her father was a member of the United States Merchant Marine who had died in the Battle of Hanoi during the Vietnam War. She was a cheerleader in high school and graduated as valedictorian of her class. She graduated from community college with an art degree. Eventually, Susan began writing and illustrating children's books, the first of which was Ants in My Picnic Basket. In 1989 Susan married Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi) after two months of dating, and in 1990 gave birth to their daughter, Julie. In 1992, the family moved to Wisteria Lane in Fairview, Eagle State, where Susan quickly befriends Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), her new neighbor. Susan became close friends with Katherine Davis (Dana Delany), Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross) in 1994, however Katherine had to move out one year later. Still, she gained friends in Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman) in 1998, and Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) in 2003 when they move to Wisteria Lane. In 2003, Karl had an affair with his secretary, Brandi (Anne Dudek), and ended up falling for her, leaving Susan and abandoning Julie. The two divorced and agreed to share custody of Julie, although the court ruled that Julie would be living with her mother. ### Season 1 One year after the divorce, Susan has started to consider dating again, even if that means dating someone who makes fun of her cooking. Susan takes an interest in Mike Delfino (James Denton), a plumber she meets at Mary Alice’s wake, who tells her he has recently moved in the neighborhood, renting the Simms’ house. Susan soon begins dating Mike, despite competing with realtor Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) for his affection. Meanwhile, Susan begins investigating Mary Alice's suicide after she and her friends discover a blackmail letter while putting away her belongings, one week after her funeral. Later, Susan discovers that Mary Alice's husband, Paul (Mark Moses), had their son, Zach (Cody Kasch), committed to a youth mental institution after he broke into the Van de Kamps’ house and decorated it for Christmas, Julie begins corresponding with Zach without Susan's knowledge and hides him in her room when he escapes from the institution. When Susan finds Zach in her home, she and Mike return him to Paul; however, Julie and Zach begin dating. Paul fabricates unconvincing lies to thwart Susan's efforts to discover his family's secrets too. As her relationship with Mike progresses, Susan becomes suspicious of his past, especially when she finds a gun and large sums of money in his kitchen cabinet. Additionally, evidence connecting Mike to the recent murder of a Wisteria Lane resident, Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook), surfaces. Susan ends the relationship when police inform her that Mike was convicted of manslaughter and drug trafficking. However, Susan learns the murder was accidental and the two renew their relationship, with Mike deciding to move in with Susan. While Mike is away on business, Susan finds Zach, armed with a handgun, in Mike's house. He vows to kill Mike when he comes home as he believes Mike killed Paul. ### Season 2 When Mike arrives home, Zach's murder scheme backfires and he runs away. Mike informs Susan that he recently learned that Zach is his biological son. Susan agrees to help Mike search for Zach and finds him in a nearby park. When Zach expresses hope of rekindling his romance with Julie, she gives him money to look for Paul in Utah. When Mike finds out about her betrayal, he ends their relationship. Susan decides to write an autobiography following the break-up. While researching her father, she learns that her mother lied and her father is local business owner Addison Prudy (Paul Dooley). She tries to establish a relationship with her reluctant father, but her attempts are effectively unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Susan is dismayed to learn that Karl has moved in with Edie. She begins dating her doctor, Ron McCready (Jay Harrington), who informs her that she has a wandering spleen and will need a splenectomy. When Susan learns that her health insurance will not cover the operation, Karl offers to temporarily remarry her long enough for her to be eligible for his medical benefits. They agree to keep their sham marriage a secret from Edie and Ron. While under anesthesia before her operation, Susan professes her love for Mike to Ron, which prompts Ron to break up with her. Soon after, Karl leaves Edie, as his love for Susan has resurfaced. Upon learning that Susan is the other woman, Edie intentionally burns down Susan's house. In this time of need, both Mike and Karl vie for Susan's affections. She chooses to rekindle her relationship with Mike and Karl signs the divorce papers. Susan and Mike then make plans to meet for dinner at nearby Torch Lake, where Mike plans to propose. On his way to dinner, Mike gets run over by Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan), a dentist whom Susan had recently befriended, and is left in a coma. ### Season 3 Season 3 opens six months after the hit-and-run on Mike. While waiting for him to wake up, Susan reluctantly enters a relationship with Ian Hainsworth (Dougray Scott), a British man whose wife Jane (Cecily Gambrell) has been in a coma for years. When Mike finally awakens, doctors conclude that he now suffers from retrograde amnesia. Unfortunately, Susan is out of town with Ian when Mike wakes up. Edie takes advantage of this to move in on Mike and claim that Susan was horrible to him during their relationship. Mike turns Susan away when she returns to Fairview. Having lost hope, Susan continues her romance with Ian. Meanwhile, Susan is suspicious of Orson, who has married Bree after a six month relationship and is alleged to have killed his missing ex-wife, Alma (Valerie Mahaffey). When Mike is arrested for the murder of Monique Polier (Kathleen York), Orson's former mistress, Edie breaks up with him, leaving him without bail. Susan defends Mike, which frustrates Ian. He reluctantly agrees to pay for Mike's bail if Susan breaks off all contact with him. Mike is eventually exonerated for the crime. Following Jane's death, Susan accepts Ian's marriage proposal. As Mike slowly regains his memory, he recalls his feelings for Susan and challenges Ian for her affections. When Susan learns that the two had made a bet on her in a game of poker, she calls off the wedding and declares that she does not want to see either of them again. Realizing that letting both of them go is a mistake, Susan decides to take Ian back. However, he tells her that he cannot spend the rest of his life wondering if she is still in love with Mike, and he leaves. Susan and Mike reunite and become engaged. The couple get married in a private ceremony in the woods, with Julie as their only guest. ### Season 4 In the fourth season premiere, one month after her wedding, Susan learns that she is pregnant. While looking into their medical histories for the baby's interest, Mike is forced to admit to Susan that he lied about his father being dead. Susan visits Mike's father, Nick (Robert Forster), who is in jail for murder. Nick warns Susan that Mike is still troubled by demons of his past. With the stress of finances for the baby, Mike begins working overtime, despite an injury resulting from the hit-and-run over a year ago. He begins relying heavily on painkillers. Susan confronts Mike about his addiction, threatening to leave him if he does not enter rehab; he agrees to admit himself. After a devastating tornado hits Wisteria Lane, Bree, Orson, and their newborn grandson, Benjamin, move into Susan's house temporarily. During his stay, Orson develops a sleep walking habit and unconsciously admits to running over Mike with his car. Susan feels extremely betrayed and Bree, unable to forgive Orson, asks him to move out. Shortly after, Susan gives birth to a boy, whom she names Maynard, after Mike's deceased grandfather. #### Five-year jump In the five years that take place between seasons four and five, Susan and Mike get into a vehicular collision with another car. Although Susan and Mike survive, the occupants of the other car, Lila Dash (Marie Caldare) and her daughter Paige (Madeleine Michelle Dunn), are killed. Although Susan was driving, Mike takes the blame, as Susan did not have her license with her at the time. Susan feels incredibly guilty for taking the lives of Lila and Paige, but Mike insists it was not their fault. The argument over the topic becomes so great that it results in divorce. Giving up on love, Susan engages in a casual relationship with her house painter, Jackson Braddock (Gale Harold). ### Season 5 While Susan manages to keep her relationship with Jackson a secret from her friends and her son, nicknamed M.J., Jackson seeks a deeper connection with her. Soon enough, Mike and M.J. learn about the relationship. Jackson makes the sudden announcement that he is moving to nearby Riverton for work and asks Susan to come with him. After much consideration, Susan decides that she is unsure of what she wants and turns down Jackson's offer. Also, Mike moves across the street from Susan and begins dating her close friend and neighbor, Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany). Realizing she cannot keep Mike from being happy, she gives the couple her blessing, despite still feeling uncomfortable. Susan and Mike decide to enroll M.J. in private school, and Susan takes a job as an assistant art teacher at the school to help pay for the tuition. With both Susan and Mike employed, M.J. spends more time under Katherine's care, which makes Susan uneasy. She is heartbroken to learn that Mike and Katherine have decided to move in with one another and become engaged. Susan attempts to console Edie's husband, Dave Williams (Neal McDonough), following Edie's death. She explains the truth behind her own accident, completely unaware that Lila and Paige Dash were Dave's wife and daughter, respectively, and that he has been seeking revenge on Mike since moving to Wisteria Lane. Meanwhile, Jackson returns to Fairview and proposes to Susan, revealing that his visa has expired and he needs to marry an American citizen. When Susan learns that Mike, who is engaged to Katherine, will no longer have to pay alimony once she is married, she explains the false pretenses of her engagement. Dave, who now understands that Susan was driving the car that killed his family, overhears this and reports Jackson to immigration officials. With Jackson out of the picture, Dave invites Susan and M.J. on a fishing trip, planning to kill M.J. just like Susan killed his own child. Mike discovers Dave's plans and is able to save Susan and M.J. After the ordeal, Susan and Mike share a brief, yet romantic kiss. Dave is sent to a psychiatric hospital in Boston and two months later, Mike marries an unidentified bride. ### Season 6 Susan is identified as Mike's bride in the sixth season premiere. Her marriage to Mike destroys her friendship with Katherine. The night after the wedding, Julie is strangled outside of Susan's home. Julie slips into a coma following her attack. While waiting for her to awaken, Susan learns from Andrew that Julie has dropped out of medical school, was involved with a married man (revealed to be Angie Bolen's husband Nick), and had a pregnancy scare before her attack. When Julie awakens, she refuses to identify the married man she was seeing. Later in the season, Julie's attacker is revealed to be Eddie Orlofsky (Josh Zuckerman), a local young adult who is also responsible for a handful of murders in Fairview. Prior to the attack, Susan had taken Eddie on as an art student and he developed a crush on her. When he discovered that she was remarrying Mike and that she did not see him as a romantic suitor, he attacked Julie, mistaking her for Susan. Katherine continues to pursue Mike, believing that he is still in love with her. Mike warns her to leave his family alone and claims he never truly loved her. After he leaves, Katherine calls the police and stabs herself with a knife with Mike's fingerprints on it, framing him. Susan, realizing that Katherine has suffered a total nervous breakdown, calls Katherine's adopted daughter, Dylan (Lyndsy Fonseca), who comes to town and has her mother committed for psychiatric observation. Susan later forgives Katherine once she recovers from her breakdown. Soon after, Mike reveals that he has accumulated an immense debt in the past year. Unable to balance their debt, Susan and Mike decide to move off Wisteria Lane and rent their house out temporarily. They move into an apartment across town while Paul Young rents their house on Wisteria Lane. ### Season 7 Susan accepts an offer from her landlady, Maxine Rosen (Lainie Kazan), to appear on a website in which she does housework in her lingerie in order to make ends meet, though she keeps her new job a secret from her friends and family. Soon after, Maxine's site is merged with a larger company that uses Susan's image to advertise the website on billboards across the country. Susan pays the company \$9,000 to have the billboards removed. As a result, she begins working for the website's video chatting services to earn back the money. Paul discovers her secret and threatens to expose it unless she sells him her home, in which he now lives with his second wife, Beth (Emily Bergl). Hoping to derail Paul's blackmail scheme, Susan tells Mike about her job on the website. Paul retaliates by spreading the word about Susan's involvement with the website, causing her to lose her teaching job. Strapped for money, Mike accepts a job on an oil rig in Alaska and Susan becomes Lynette's nanny. After purchasing a majority of the houses on Wisteria Lane, Paul announces that he plans to open a halfway house for ex-convicts on the street. A protest against his plan escalates into a violent riot and Susan is trampled by the unruly crowd. As a result, Susan loses a kidney and learns that her second kidney is deformed and she is at severe risk of renal failure. Susan reluctantly agrees to undergo dialysis while waiting for a transplant. After Paul throws her out, Beth submits paperwork indicating that in the event of her death, her kidney would be given to Susan, and then commits suicide. Despite initial refusal, Paul allows the operation to move forward and he and Susan reconcile. After discovering that Paul has been depressed following Beth's suicide, Susan begins cooking meals for him with the assistance of Felicia Tilman (Harriet Sansom Harris), Beth's mother and Martha Huber's sister, who secretly adds antifreeze to the food in an effort to kill him. Paul nearly dies as a result of the poisoned food. Unaware that Felicia is helping prepare his meals, Paul has Susan arrested for attempting to kill him. Eventually, Susan is released, Paul confesses to the murder of Martha Huber, and Felicia presumably dies in a car crash while fleeing town. Susan and her family move back onto Wisteria Lane. During a dinner party, Gabrielle's former stepfather, Alejandro (Tony Plana), who raped her during her childhood, attempts to harm Gabrielle until her husband, Carlos Solis (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) kills him. Susan, Lynette, and Bree agree to help cover up the crime. ### Season 8 Susan begins to withdraw from her friends and family out of guilt for having helped cover up Alejandro's death. She bonds with Carlos over their mutual guilt. When Mike begins suspecting Susan and Carlos are having an affair, they agree to tell him the truth about the cover-up. Soon after, Susan begins taking an art class with renowned painter, Andre Zeller (Miguel Ferrer), and discovers that her guilt has given her a renewed artistic ability. In a series of paintings, Susan depicts the scene of Alejandro's death and subsequent burial, arousing the suspicion of Detective Chuck Vance (Jonathan Cake), Bree's embittered ex-boyfriend assigned to investigate Alejandro's disappearance. She briefly considers moving to New York to explore new career opportunities, but ultimately decides against it. In an effort to ease her guilt, Susan visits Alejandro's wife and stepdaughter, Claudia (Justina Machado) and Marisa (Daniela Bobadilla), respectively, and write them a check to help their financial misfortune, which only arouses Claudia's suspicions. Claudia confronts Susan and Gabrielle about Alejandro's disappearance, but agrees to stop prying after learning that he had been sexually abusing Marisa. In "Is This What You Call Love?", Susan learns that Julie is six months pregnant and has no relationship with the baby's father. To her dismay, Julie plans to put the child up for adoption. When Susan discovers that Lynette's son, Porter (Max Carver), is the father, she supports his decision to raise the child himself. In "You Take for Granted", Mike is murdered by a vengeful loan shark. The final episodes of the series deal with Susan grieving and eventually moving on from Mike's death. In the series finale, Julie gives birth to a daughter, whom she now plans on keeping. Susan sells her home on Wisteria Lane and she and M.J. move to help Julie raise the baby. ## Reception ### Critical In the first season of Desperate Housewives, the character of Susan was a critics' favorite and generally regarded as the series' most prominent role. Hatcher's portrayal as Susan received praise in the series' first year. Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle called Hatcher's performance in the pilot episode "a huge surprise," commenting that she gives "self-effacing, disheveled and sadly hopeless Susan a spirit that makes you root for her". Robert Bianco of USA Today declared that Hatcher delivered "a revelatory performance". Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com was less enthusiastic, criticizing Hatcher for overacting. In the series' second season, Susan becomes less important as Bree "comfortably moves into position as the show's lead". Many critics noted that the character suffered as a result of the declining quality of the second season. Bianco wrote that the writers were making Susan "too stupid". Hatcher continued to provide comic relief in the third season. By season four, critics thought that Susan's storylines were the least interesting and that she had not "operated at full potential since [her] pivotal role in the debut season". Bianco was more forgiving, stating that while "Susan's silliness sometimes spirals out of control, Teri Hatcher usually manages to keep her likable". As a result of the five-year time jump between seasons four and five, a new direction was taken with Susan's character. The Stat-Legend'''s Alan Sepinwall calls Susan's character arc in season five the "least annoying storyline she's had in at least three years". However, Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly still felt the character was "ever-annoying". In the series' sixth season, Stransky stated that Susan was still "whiny" and he would have rather seen Mike marry Katherine, though he was not surprised when the mystery bride was revealed to be Susan. Entertainment Weekly named her one of the "21 Most Annoying TV Characters Ever". ### Awards Hatcher won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Comedy Series in 2005, beating out fellow cast members Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman. Also that year, Hatcher received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series. In 2005, Hatcher, along with Cross and Huffman, received a nomination for a Satellite Award in the Best Television Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series. She was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, but was beaten out by Huffman. In 2006, Hatcher was once again nominated for the Golden Globe Award in the same category, along with Cross, Huffman, and Eva Longoria. All four Desperate Housewives stars lost to Mary-Louise Parker. Hatcher was also nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress and a People's Choice Award for Favorite Female TV Star. ### Controversy ABC and the Desperate Housewives producers faced criticism following the September 30, 2007 fourth season premiere in which the character of Susan made a controversial remark about Filipino doctors. When her gynecologist suggests that she may be entering menopause, Susan responds "OK, before we go any further, can I check these diplomas? Just to make sure they aren't, like, from some med school in the Philippines?" Following its broadcast, viewers demanded an apology from the network. ABC issued an apology on October 3, but the controversy grew to an international concern and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III of Manila publicly sought an apology from the series' producers. Protests against the network and series were staged, prompting ABC to remove the episode from digital and online platforms in order to apply edits. As a result, the line of controversy was removed from all future broadcasts of the episode, as well as from DVD productions. However, protests continued even after this action was taken. The scene with the line in question is still viewable on YouTube. ### Cultural influences and merchandise Nicole Parker portrayed Susan in a Desperate Housewives parody on an episode of MADtv. Susan's klutziness is mocked in the skit. Colette Whitaker voices Susan in the Desperate Housewives'' computer game, which was released in October 2006. In 2007, Madame Alexander released a line of 16-inch fashion dolls of the series' main characters, including Susan.
1,349,427	Gerry McNamara	1,171,464,969	American basketball player and coach (born 1983)	[ "1983 births", "American expatriate basketball people in Greece", "American expatriate basketball people in Latvia", "American men's basketball coaches", "American men's basketball players", "BK Ventspils players", "Bakersfield Jam players", "Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania", "Basketball players from Pennsylvania", "FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States", "Living people", "Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade", "Olympiacos B.C. players", "Panionios B.C. players", "Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)", "Point guards", "Reno Bighorns players", "Shooting guards", "Sportspeople from Scranton, Pennsylvania", "Syracuse Orange men's basketball coaches", "Syracuse Orange men's basketball players", "Universiade medalists in basketball" ]	Gerry McNamara (born August 28, 1983) is an American former basketball player and current associate head coach of the Syracuse University men's basketball team. A former guard for the Orange, he never missed a start in his career which lasted from 2002 to 2006. He also helped lead the team to the 2003 national title. After graduating from Syracuse, McNamara played professionally for Panionios BC, Olympiacos BC, the Bakersfield Jam, BK Ventspils, and the Reno Bighorns. In 2009, McNamara announced his retirement as a player and returned to Syracuse as a graduate student and assistant coach. ## Personal life McNamara was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He is the youngest of the four children of Joyce and Gerard McNamara. He has a brother, Timothy, and two sisters, Bridget and Maureen. He married Katie Marie Stott on July 21, 2007. ## High school career McNamara attended Bishop Hannan High School (Now Holy Cross High School) under head coach John Bucci. In his four seasons at Hannan, the Golden Lancers compiled a record of 109-17. McNamara was named the Lackawanna League Division II Player of the Year for four years in a row, was a three-time Associated Press Pennsylvania Small School All-State First Team selection and was the AP's Pennsylvania State Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002. McNamara finished as Pennsylvania's seventh all-time leading scorer with 2,917 points. He still holds the scoring record at Holy Cross. Bishop Hannan advanced to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A championship game after defeating Susquehanna Community High School of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, in the semi-finals of his freshman year. The team also went to the finals his sophomore season and finished the state runner-up in both 1999 and 2000 to Kennedy Christian High School of Hermitage, Pennsylvania. After and before, but not during the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Bishop Hannan was named under the AA class of PIAA. After McNamara graduated in 2002, the school, and all the neighboring Bishop schools except Bishop Hoban, went back to A for population reasons. In 2007, when the school combined with Bishop O'Hara of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, the new school called Holy Cross High School, was put in the AA class. In 2001 the Golden Lancers were defeated by eventual PIAA Class AA champion Trinity High School of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, in the Eastern Final. In 2002 Bishop Hannan and Trinity met once again in the Eastern Final. McNamara exploded for a career-high 55 points (41 in the first half), putting him in 2nd place for the most points scored in a basketball game in PIAA history, as the Golden Lancers advanced to the Class AA championship game, 83-76. Three days later his 32 points led all scorers as Hannan held off Sto-Rox High School and won the Class AA state title, 70-68. Following his senior season, McNamara was named the 2002 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year and a fourth-team Parade Magazine All-American. For his high school accomplishments, McNamara was also named the 20th greatest athlete in Scranton-area history by the Scranton Times in 2004. ## College career McNamara had offers from schools such as Duke and Florida, but chose to attend Syracuse. ### 2002–03 season McNamara helped Syracuse win its first Basketball National Championship in 2003. McNamara started every game in his freshman year, helping lead the Orange to a 30-5 record, including a perfect 17-0 at home. He averaged 13 points, 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals a game while shooting 35 percent from 3-point range and 91 percent from the foul line. McNamara showed early on that he was a clutch performer, nailing a game-winning 3-pointer as then-No. 17 Syracuse notched an 82-80 win over then-No. 10 Notre Dame in February. In a March game at Georgetown, McNamara missed a free-throw with 10 seconds left that allowed the Hoyas to force overtime. Until that point, McNamara had been a perfect 41-for-41 in conference play. However, McNamara made up for his miss, hitting two 3-pointers and adding another jumper in an 11-3 run to start overtime as Syracuse beat Mike Sweetney and the Georgetown Hoyas, 93-84. Ten of McNamara's 22 came in overtime. In the NCAA Tournament second-round game against Oklahoma State, McNamara scored 14 points and added six assists as the Orangemen overcame a 13-point first-half deficit. In the semi-final game against T. J. Ford and the University of Texas, the Orangemen won 95-84 behind a career-high 33 points from Carmelo Anthony and 19 points and four steals from McNamara. In the title game versus favored University of Kansas, his six three-pointers during the first half shootout helped propel Syracuse to an 18-point lead over the Jayhawks. In the second half, Kansas used a pressing defense to throttle the Syracuse offense. The Orange held off a furious Kansas comeback, eventually winning the game 81-78 behind the stellar play of freshman star Carmelo Anthony and a game-saving blocked shot by sophomore forward Hakim Warrick. McNamara and Anthony were named to the All-Tournament team. ### 2003–04 season McNamara and Warrick were left to guide the team in the 2003–2004 season after Anthony rode his heralded postseason play into the NBA. McNamara would not disappoint, averaging 17.2 points per game. He was also a Wooden and Naismith award candidate and Second Team All-Big East selection. McNamara and Warrick led the Orange to a 23-8 record and a five seed in the NCAA Tournament. McNamara scored 43 points, including a school-record nine three-point shots, as Syracuse outlasted Brigham Young University 80-75 in the tournament's first round. Syracuse built a 16-point lead over the University of Maryland in the second round; they survived a furious Terrapins comeback in the 72-70 win. In the Sweet 16 McNamara had a game-high 24 points, but Syracuse could not overcome the University of Alabama, 80-71. McNamara averaged 26.7 points in the three tournament games. ### 2004–05 season In 2005, Syracuse finished 27-7 and captured the Big East post-season tournament title with a win over West Virginia University. McNamara averaged 15.8 points and was named to the First Team All-Big East. The fourth-seeded Orange suffered a shocking overtime upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to the University of Vermont. McNamara struggled through one of the worst games of his college career, scoring just 11 points and missing 14 of his 18 shots. ### 2005–06 season As one of only two players left from the championship team, McNamara and Syracuse struggled through the 2005–2006 regular season. Two highlights were the 38 points McNamara scored against Davidson College, the second-most points ever scored by a Syracuse player at the team's home arena, the Carrier Dome, and a 30-point performance against the visiting Louisville Cardinals. Syracuse finished with a losing record in the Big East; the team was in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament unless it secured the conference's automatic bid by winning the Big East's postseason tournament. Prior to the conference tournament two separate publications, Sports Illustrated and the Syracuse Post-Standard conducted polls of Big East players and assistant coaches. In each poll, McNamara was voted the Big East's "Most Overrated" player. Fueled by the negative press, and despite an injured leg, McNamara led Syracuse on a run to the Big East tournament title. In the first round he hit a running one-handed three-point shot with less than a second left in the game to spur Syracuse past the University of Cincinnati, 74-73. Following the game, head coach Jim Boeheim unleashed a passionate profanity laced defense of his star player to the attending media. The next day McNamara hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation to tie number-one ranked University of Connecticut and eventually led Syracuse to an overtime upset. McNamara finished with 17 points and 13 assists, one assist shy of the Big East Tournament record. Syracuse fell behind Georgetown University in the tournament's semi-finals, Syracuse's third game in three days. McNamara hit five three-pointers in the second half—including one in the last minute of the game—to slash the Hoyas' lead to one. He dished out an assist to freshman guard Eric Devendorf to put Syracuse in the lead following a Georgetown turnover and forced another turnover in the closing seconds to clinch the game. McNamara had 14 points and 6 assists in Syracuse's 65-61 championship game win over the University of Pittsburgh. Syracuse became the first team to win four games in four days and capture the Big East Tournament Championship. McNamara won the Dave Gavitt Award as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He donned a tee-shirt with the mocking retort, "Overrated?!!" as he helped cut down the nets. McNamara's career came to an unceremonious end in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Severely hobbled by his leg injury and exhausted from the run in the Big East tournament, he scored only two points in just 23 minutes of play as fifth-seeded Syracuse was upset by Texas A&M University. It marked the only game in his career McNamara was held without a field goal. The Orange finished with a 23-12 record. ### Career summary McNamara started all 135 games he played in his four years and graduated with a degree in Communication and Rhetorical Studies in May 2006. A 2006 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American, McNamara was named by Big East head coaches to the league's All-Freshman team in 2003, to the All-Big East second team in 2004 and to the All-Big East first team in 2005 and 2006. His career statistics rank among the greats in Syracuse's school history. He finished fourth in points scored (2,099), first in minutes played (4781), second in steals (258), third in assists (648), first in three-point shots made (400) and attempted (1,131), and first in career free-throw percentage (89.1%). In 63 career Big East games, McNamara set conference records for three-pointers made (183) and career free-throw percentage (91.7%). His 400 career three-pointers ranked sixth all-time in NCAA history. of the NCAA Record book it remained in the NCAA Division I all-time top 25 (21st) and his overall career free-throw percentage (435–490=88.8%) remained in the NCAA Division I top 25 (18th). McNamara was also named the 2006 winner of the Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award. The award is presented annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to a senior Division I men's player who demonstrates outstanding character, leadership, and talent. McNamara left Syracuse as one of the most beloved players in Orange basketball history; his final regular-season game at the Carrier Dome on March 5, 2006, was the arena's first-ever advance sellout for a basketball game. The final attendance of 33,633, at that time an all-time NCAA record for an on-campus regular-season game, included more than 3,000 fans—dubbed "McNamara's Band" by the media—from the Scranton area (according to media reports more than 60 buses made the two-hour trip from Scranton to Syracuse for the game). Among those people coming up from Scranton were McNamara's parents, who were in attendance for every game in his college career. Syracuse lost the game to highly ranked Villanova University; McNamara led all scorers with 29 points. McNamara's popularity continues to this date, as he can be seen in local television advertisements in Central New York area. On August 16, 2006, The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, gave the first 6,000 fans through the gates at PNC Field a Gerry McNamara bobblehead doll. The doll was featured on the Scranton-set television show The Office, placed on the desk of the character of Dwight Schrute. In March 2023, Syracuse University officially retired his \#3 jersey alongside his teammate Hakim Warrick. ### Statistics ## Team USA McNamara was one of 13 players who accepted invitations to attend the 2005 USA Basketball men's trials and training camp from July 28 – August 4, 2005. The team, coached by Villanova's Jay Wright, won the gold medal at the World University Games in Izmir, Turkey. McNamara played in all eight games and started four as the U.S. went a perfect 8-0. In those games, he averaged 8.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and a squad-best 2.6 assists per game. McNamara finished off the tournament with 13 points and five rebounds to help the Americans win the gold-medal game over previously unbeaten Ukraine, 85-70. ## Professional career Before he graduated from Syracuse University, McNamara was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2006 United States Basketball League draft held on April 11, 2006, by the Northeast Pennsylvania Breakers. However, McNamara decided not to sign with the Breakers and instead focus on the upcoming 2006 NBA draft by participating in the annual NBA Pre-Draft Camp. Despite being projected as a second round pick in some mock drafts, McNamara was not drafted. However, he was invited to participate in the Orlando Pro Summer League in Orlando, Florida playing for the Orlando Magic. At the conclusion of the league, McNamara was not offered a contract with the Magic. On September 4, 2006, he signed a one-year contract to play for Olympiacos BC, but only for 2006–07 Euroleague games. After playing just 30 seconds in the team's first five games, It is estimated he was paid \$90,000 for that one minute. While he was in Greece, McNamara was drafted in the sixth round of the Continental Basketball Association draft by the Albany Patroons on September 26, 2006. The Patroons held McNamara's rights until 2008. McNamara reached a contract settlement and left the team and returned to the United States in November 2006. On December 12, 2006, in an attempt to boost his chances of playing in the NBA, McNamara signed with the Bakersfield Jam, an NBA Development League team located in Bakersfield, California. In doing so, he gave up a significant amount of money by leaving Olympiakos. McNamara was named as a reserve to the Western Conference's All-Star team and played in the Gillette D-League All-Star Game on February 17, 2007, in Las Vegas. He scored two points and recorded 5 assists. He finished the 2006–2007 season averaging 10.8 points and 5.2 assists in 41 games. On June 29, 2007, McNamara was invited to try out for the Philadelphia 76ers' summer league team. Despite a sprained ankle he made the team and played in both Las Vegas and Utah summer leagues. After not being offered a contract by the 76ers, McNamara decided to return to Greece by signing a \$400,000 contract on August 21, 2007, to play for the Greek team Panionios BC for the Greek A1 League 2007–08 season. He played his last game for the team on November 6, 2007, and was let go the next day, just four games into the season. McNamara played three of the four games and scored just seven points. Coincidentally, he was replaced on the roster by former Michigan State University star Mateen Cleaves with whom he shared minutes on the Bakersfield Jam team the prior season. On February 15, 2008, McNamara signed a contract with Latvian basketball team BK Ventspils. After his brief stint in Latvia, McNamara returned to the U.S. after being invited to participate in the Utah Jazz's training camp on September 17, 2008, but McNamara was waived on October 27, 2008, after appearing in four preseason games. On January 7, 2009, McNamara signed with the NBA Development League's Reno Bighorns, joining him with former Syracuse stars Damone Brown and Donté Greene. Three days later, McNamara made his debut against his former team, the Bakersfield Jam, and scored six points and recorded 6 assists in a 93-91 victory. However, on March 7, 2009, McNamara was waived by the Reno Bighorns citing personal reasons, and it was reported that McNamara was considering ending his playing career. ## Coaching career On July 22, 2009, it was announced that McNamara would be returning to Syracuse University as a graduate student. He enrolled as a Master of Science candidate in the School of Education's Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation program. In addition to taking classes, McNamara joined the basketball team's coaching staff as a graduate manager. In November 2011, following the dismissal of associate head basketball coach Bernie Fine in response to allegations of child sexual abuse, McNamara was promoted to assistant coach, with a focus on development of the guards. On March 15, 2023, following Adrian Autry's promotion to head coach for Syracuse due to Boeheim's retirement, McNamara was promoted to associate head coach by Autry. ## See also - List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career 3-point scoring leaders
56,497,930	Fiebre (song)	1,094,574,253	2018 single by Ricky Martin	[ "2018 singles", "2018 songs", "Ricky Martin songs", "Songs written by Beatriz Luengo", "Songs written by Ricky Martin", "Songs written by Wisin", "Songs written by Yandel", "Songs written by Yotuel Romero", "Sony Music Latin singles", "Spanish-language songs", "Wisin & Yandel songs" ]	"Fiebre" (transl. "Fever") is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin, featuring a guest appearance from Puerto Rican duo Wisin & Yandel. It was written by Víctor Rafael Torres Betancourt, Marcos Ramírez Carrasquillo, José Angel Torres Castro, Eliot José Feliciano, Martin, Andrés Castro, Yotuel Romero, Yandel, Beatriz Luengo, and Wisin, while the production was handled by Los Legendarios. The song was released for digital download and streaming as a single by Sony Music Latin on February 23, 2018. A Spanish language reggaeton and pop song with reggae and dembow influences, it is about an addictive lover and the heat of his feelings. "Fiebre" received widely positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its sensual lyrics and danceable production. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. The track has received several certifications, including platinum in Mexico. It was nominated for Pop/Rock Song of the Year and Pop/Rock Collaboration of the Year at the 31st Annual Lo Nuestro Awards. The accompanying music video was directed by Carlos Perez and filmed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It received positive reviews from music critics and a number of awards and nominations. To promote the song, Martin and Wisin & Yandel performed it at the 2018 Billboard Latin Music Awards. ## Background and release On January 24, 2018, Ricky Martin shared a photo of himself in Puerto Vallarta and announced that he was recording a song, which would be titled "Fiebre". Two days later, he shared a photo of himself and the Puerto Rican duo Wisin & Yandel on Instagram, confirming that he has collaborated with them on the song. On February 20, 2018, in an interview with Gulf News, Martin told the newspaper about the collaboration: > The song is a powerful collaboration with Wisin and Yandel. They are super talented guys that I admire. And with this fusion we will be able to reach a broader audience. On February 21, 2018, Martin shared the artwork for the single on his social media, as well as a part of the song, announcing that it would be released on February 23, 2018. The single was released for digital download and streaming by Sony Music Latin on the specified date and includes a solo version, alongside the original. It marked the second collaboration between Martin and Wisin & Yandel, following Frío. ## Music and lyrics Musically, "Fiebre" is a Spanish language reggaeton and pop song, written by Víctor Rafael Torres Betancourt, Marcos Ramírez Carrasquillo, José Angel Torres Castro, Eliot José Feliciano, Martin, Andrés Castro, Yotuel Romero, Yandel, Beatriz Luengo, and Wisin. Its production was handled by Los Legendarios, and the song features Caribbean rhythms and elements of reggae and dembow. The track runs for a total of 3 minutes and 50 seconds. Lyrically, "Fiebre" which translates to "Fever" in English, is described as "seductive", "sensual", and "romantic". Noelia Bertol from Cadena Dial said that like it is suggested by the song's title, it "transmits high temperatures". Throughout the song, Martin sings about an addictive lover and the heat of his feelings, with lyrics, including: "Fiebre, pierdo el sentido / Me va bajando despacito por el cuello hasta el ombligo / Y sabes, no tiene cura" ("Fever, I lose my sense / It's going down slowly for me / From the neck to the navel / And you know, there's no cure") and "Yo me la paso cada día / Pensando en ti y en tus ojos negros / Y en tu risa bella" ("I spend every day thinking of you / And your black eyes / And your beautiful laughter"). ## Critical reception Upon release, "Fiebre" was met with widely positive reviews from music critics. Los 40 staff stated that the song "catches from the first moment you hear it". They praised "the magic" behind Martin's voice, which is "accompanied by an infectious Caribbean rhythm, sensual lyrics and the urban touch" of the duo, describing the trio as "the perfect combination" that turn the track into "one of the great songs of 2018". Also from Los 40, Juan Vicente gave the song a positive review, saying it has "already presented its candidacy for song of the summer". Noelia Bertol from Cadena Dial ranked it as one of "Ricky Martin six collaborations that have us moving the skeleton" and said that since we can "not stop listening to it over and over again", it would cause "fever". In another article, she listed the track among his ten "songs that brighten up summers", stating that "he is so good at raising the temperature of the place". An author of BFM TV described "Fiebre" as "catchy" and "sultry", and Monitor Latino's Nayeli Rivera described it as a "musical bombshell". Idolator's Mike Nied said that the song "sounds like a sexy smash", labeling it "a certifiably sexy bop". He continued to admire the solo version for its "danceable production" and "beguiling vocal performance", emphasizing that "it has all the makings of a major hit". About the collaboration with Wisin & Yandel, he said that their additional verses "add a little extra flair to heat things up even further". Writing for 20 minutos, David Moreno Sáenz stated: "The chemistry between Wisin & Yandel and Ricky is fantastic, and it shows in the song and the video." A writer of La Opinión complimented the track, saying: "The sounds are well harmonized and allows the listener to grow in the dance, just like the song." ### Accolades In 2021, Cadena Dial ranked "Fiebre" as one of the 10 songs to dance with at the Bonfires of Saint John. The track was nominated for Pop/Rock Song of the Year and Pop/Rock Collaboration of the Year at the 2019 Lo Nuestro Awards, but lost to "Me niego" by Reik featuring Ozuna and Wisin in both categories. It was also nominated for Urban Pop Song at the 2019 Premios Tu Música Urbano, and was acknowledged as an award-winning song at the 2019 ASCAP Latin Awards. ## Commercial performance "Fiebre" debuted at number 27 on the US Hot Latin Songs chart on March 10, 2018, with a first-week tally of 4,000 downloads sold, 911,000 streams, and 6 million radio impressions. Thus, it became Martin's 47th entry on the chart and Wisin & Yandel's 37th. On May 19, 2018, the song reached its peak of number 17, becoming Martin's 36th top 20 release on the chart and Wisin & Yandel's 27th. It also peaked at number three on both the US Latin Digital Song Sales and Latin Pop Airplay charts, and number one on both the Latin Rhythm Airplay and Latin Airplay charts. On the last chart, it became Martin's 17th crowning hit and Wisin & Yandel's 11th, making Martin continue to hold the second-most number ones on the list, trailing only Enrique Iglesias. "Fiebre" also extended Martin's record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 45 songs. The song was certified Latin platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for track-equivalent sales of over 60,000 units in the United States. As of June 2018, the song has sold over 65,000 copies in the country. Additionally, Martin's February 23 Facebook Live video in which he performed the track live in Dubai, reached the summit of Billboard's Top Facebook Live Videos chart for February 2018. According to Shareablee, it led all Facebook Live videos from musicians in reactions (142,000) and first-seven-days views (12.3 million). Besides the United States, "Fiebre" reached number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. In Mexico, the song was certified platinum by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON), for track-equivalent sales of over 60,000 units. It also peaked in the top 10 of Argentina, Costa Rica, Hungary, Latin America, Panama, and Paraguay, as well as the top 15 of Bolivia and El Salvador. In Spain, the song peaked at number 24 and was certified gold by the Productores de Música de España (Promusicae), for track-equivalent sales of over 20,000 units. ## Music video ### Development and synopsis On January 24, 2018, Martin shared a photo of himself on the set of filming "Fiebre" music video, and two days later, he shared another photo from behind the scenes of the visual, this time along with Wisin & Yandel. He was seen wearing a pair of leather trousers in the latter. Martin premiered the video via a live broadcast on Facebook and uploaded it to his YouTube channel in a few hours after the song's release on February 23, 2018. The video was filmed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and directed by Carlos Perez, who had previously directed the videos for Martin's singles "Tal Vez", "Jaleo", "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Frío", "Come with Me", and "Perdóname". The orange tinted video features a fusion of pre-Hispanic rhythms and dance in the intro, and refers to Aztec culture and landscapes of the city of Puerto Vallarta. It begins with scenes of a touristic beach center, a native warrior dancing in a "candle-lit" church, and the singer soaking in a tub. The video shows Martin in a torn waistcoat being encompassed passionately, and in other sections, he appears immersed in a sea of candles and hot choreography. In the next scenes, an abandoned rustic residence appears with fire performers and female belly dancers there. The visual also depicts Wisin & Yandel in suggestive leather police uniforms-like outfits and caps, consonant with sunglasses. Additionally, the music video features a seductive show of dancers raunchily twist behind each other and slowly move across a slightly warm glow-lit dark room. It includes two gay men dance sensually together, representing their attractive muscles and hold each other while Martin notices them passionately. ### Reception The music video was met with positive reviews from music critics. Diana Marti from E! Online said that the video is "just as steamy as the song", since Martin "never disappoints", and Lena Hansen from People described it as "temperature-raising" and "hot". Adam Bloodworth from PinkNews celebrated Martin's "first foray into music that shows off his sexuality". Miami Herald's Madeleine Marr stated that the video is "— in a word — hot". It was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2018 Premios Quiero. At the 2019 Latin VideoClip Awards, it was nominated for Best Direction and Best Edition, and won the award for Best Tropical Video – Fusion. As of November 2019, the video has received over 100 million views on YouTube. ## Live performances Martin gave his first live performance of "Fiebre" at the 2018 Dubai International Jazz Festival on February 23. He performed it along with Wisin & Yandel for the first time together at the 25th Annual Billboard Latin Music Awards on April 26, 2018. The rendition began with Martin appearing solo on stage surrounded by dancers holding torches until Wisin & Yandel presented themselves. The song was included on Martin's the Ricky Martin en Concierto tour. On December 1, 2018, Wisin & Yandel invited Martin as a guest to their Como Antes Tour and the trio performed "Fiebre" and "Adrenalina" together at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. During the performance, Martin wore a black T-shirt with the flag of Puerto Rico drawn by his children, to raise funds for helping people and reconstructing houses, following Hurricane Maria. Also, the songwriters Yotuel Romero and Andrés Castro performed the track at the 27th Annual ASCAP Latin Awards on March 5, 2019. ## Track listing ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from Tidal. - Ricky Martin – vocal, composer, lyricist, associated performer - Wisin – composer, lyricist, associated performer, featured artist - Yandel – composer, lyricist, associated performer, featured artist - Víctor Rafael Torres Betancourt – composer, lyricist - Marcos Ramírez Carrasquillo – composer, lyricist - José Angel Torres Castro – composer, lyricist - Eliot José Feliciano – composer, lyricist - Andrés Castro – composer, lyricist, co-producer, guitar, keyboards, programmer, recording engineer - Yotuel Romero – composer, lyricist - Beatriz Luengo – composer, lyricist - Los Legendarios – producer - Derrick Stockwell – assistant engineer - Daniel Buitrago – keyboards, programmer - Édgar Barrera – keyboards, programmer - Mike Fuller – mastering engineer - Luis Barrera – mixing engineer, recording engineer - Roberto "Tito" Vázquez – mixing engineer - Richard Bravo – percussion - Shafik Palis – recording engineer ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## Certifications ## Release history ## See also - List of Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay number ones of 2018
11,572,799	U.S. Route 5 in Connecticut	1,171,974,045	Section of U.S. Route in Connecticut, United States	[ "Transportation in Hartford County, Connecticut", "Transportation in New Haven County, Connecticut", "U.S. Highways in Connecticut", "U.S. Route 5" ]	U.S. Route 5 (US 5), a north–south United States Numbered Highway that is generally paralleled by Interstate 91 (I-91), begins at the city of New Haven in Connecticut and heads north through western Massachusetts and eastern Vermont to the international border with Canada. Within Connecticut, US 5 proceeds north from New Haven and passes through Meriden and Hartford toward Springfield, Massachusetts. US 5 begins at exit 5 of I-91 northeast of Downtown New Haven, heading north through the suburbs of New Haven. It crosses the Quinnipiac River in North Haven, shifting eastward to a different road. US 5 continues north through the town of Wallingford before entering the city of Meriden. North of Meriden, it becomes a four-lane expressway known as the Berlin Turnpike, where a long overlap with Route 15 also begins. US 5 continues through the southern suburbs of Hartford along the Berlin Turnpike, shifting just south of the city line to the Wilbur Cross Highway, a freeway. The Wilbur Cross Highway bypasses Downtown Hartford and crosses the Connecticut River on the Charter Oak Bridge into East Hartford. From here, US 5 exits the Wilbur Cross Highway and runs along a four-lane, divided surface road to South Windsor before returning to a two-lane road the rest of the way to the Massachusetts state line in Enfield. US 5 roughly follows the route used by the Upper Post Road, an early colonial highway for transporting mail between New York City and Boston. The route was first improved in 1798 as the Hartford and New Haven Turnpike, which ran in a nearly straight line between the court houses of New Haven and Hartford. In 1922, the Upper Boston Post Road corridor was designated as Route 2 of the New England road marking system, crossing to the east of the Connecticut River in Hartford before continuing north to the Massachusetts state line. In 1926, Route 2 was redesignated as US 5. Several realignments have been made in the cities of New Haven and Hartford with the opening of several expressways in these areas. Because it is closely paralleled by I-91 between New Haven and Hartford, US 5 serves mainly as a secondary route today. ## Route description ### New Haven County US 5 begins on State Street at exit 5 of I-91 in New Haven. State Street continues southwest into downtown as a local, unnumbered street. US 5 starts out as an undivided four-lane road, becoming two lanes just before crossing into Hamden. State Street continues north through Hamden and the industrial section of North Haven, closely paralleling the Amtrak railroad tracks on the west side of the Quinnipiac River. It has an interchange with Route 40 in this area. US 5 then turns right at the intersection with Bishop Street in North Haven and crosses the Quinnipiac River, the railroad tracks, and I-91 (at exit 11) overlapped with Route 22 on a four-lane wide road. The bridge ends at a four-way intersection where US 5 turns left on Washington Avenue, Route 22 continues straight on Clintonville Road, and Route 103 begins on the right along Washington Avenue. The four-lane Washington Avenue runs through the commercial areas of North Haven still paralleling the railroad tracks, crosses under I-91 (at exit 12) and continues into Wallingford as South Colony Street. At the town line is Wharton Brook State Park, just north of which is a short expressway connector (Wharton Brook Connector) to I-91 (at exit 13). South Colony Street narrows to two lanes within Wallingford Center. After crossing Center Street (Route 150) near Wallingford station, the road becomes North Colony Street and heads out of the town center. The road crosses Route 68 at a one-quadrant interchange about two miles (3.2 km) later, followed by a series of junctions about half a mile (0.80 km) apart each: an interchange with the Wilbur Cross Parkway (at exit 66), a split to the left where Route 71 begins and a merge from the left where Route 150 ends. At the merge with Route 150 just before the town line, US 5 then follows South Broad Street (the alignment of the old Hartford and New Haven Turnpike) into the city of Meriden. South Broad Street becomes Broad Street after the intersection with Hall Avenue as it passes by the eastern part of the city, avoiding the downtown area. Past Olive Street, the road becomes divided with a wide grassy median. At the north end of the divided section, it has an intersection with East Main Street, the main east–west business route through the city. About 0.7 miles (1.1 km) north of East Main Street, US 5 has an interchange with I-691 (at exit 8). At the intersection with Brittania Street, the road becomes North Broad Street, which climbs up on a slope as it meets with the north end of the Wilbur Cross Parkway. The northbound roadway overpasses the parkway and then merges onto it from the right. This is the beginning of a 15-mile (24 km) overlap with Route 15. Southbound at the beginning of the parkway, US 5 is signed as an exit (with no number) from the main roadway. North Broad Street continues north from the merge as a divided four-lane surface road for another 1.1 miles (1.8 km) up to the Berlin town line, where the road becomes the Berlin Turnpike. ### Hartford County US 5 and Route 15 run for 10 miles (16 km) along the Berlin Turnpike within the towns of Berlin, Newington, and Wethersfield. The Berlin Turnpike is mostly a four-lane expressway with some six-lane sections and is the alignment of the old Hartford and New Haven Turnpike. In Berlin, it has an interchange with the Route 9 freeway. In Wethersfield, Route 5 and Route 15 leave the Berlin Turnpike to travel along the Wilbur Cross Highway, an expressway bypass along the south of Downtown Hartford. The Wilbur Cross Highway runs through Wethersfield and Hartford, then crosses the Connecticut River into East Hartford on the Charter Oak Bridge. Just prior to the river crossing in Hartford, the Wilbur Cross Highway runs parallel to and interconnects with I-91 near the vicinity of Hartford–Brainard Airport. Just after the crossing, US 5 exits from the Wilbur Cross Highway on exit 90, ending the long overlap with Route 15. US 5 continues north to East Hartford center along Main Street. From East Hartford northward to the Massachusetts state line, US 5 runs along the east bank of the Connecticut River. Main Street in East Hartford is mostly a four-lane divided surface road. It crosses under I-84 about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of the split with Route 15 with access to the westbound direction only. Main Street continues through the town center, intersecting (and briefly overlapping) US 44. North of the town center, US 5 leaves Main Street to go on Ellington Road (via a short segment of King Street) until the South Windsor town line, where the road becomes known as John Fitch Boulevard (a four-lane expressway). About half a mile (0.80 km) further north, US 5 has an interchange with I-291 (at exit 4) that also includes access to Route 30, the main road to the South Windsor town center. John Fitch Boulevard continues through the rest of South Windsor, passing through the village of East Windsor Hill near the East Windsor town line. After crossing into the town of East Windsor, the roadway becomes two lanes wide with auxiliary left turn lanes and is known as South Main Street. It intersects with Route 191 (Phelps Street), which leads to the East Windsor town center. About half a mile (0.80 km) north of this junction, US 5 leaves Main Street to go on Prospect Hill Road, bypassing the Warehouse Point area. There is also a partial interchange with I-91 in this area (at exit 44). Just south of the Enfield town line, US 5 intersects with Route 140, which crosses the Connecticut River into the town of Windsor Locks and Bradley International Airport. In Enfield, the road becomes known as King Street, crossing over I-91 with a full interchange (exit 46). As it approaches the town center, the road becomes known as Enfield Street. It has a grade-separated intersection with Route 190 in this area. Just before going across the state line, US 5 crosses over I-91 again (at exit 49) and becomes Longmeadow Street as it enters the town of Longmeadow, Massachusetts. ## History The Upper Post Road was established in 1673 between New York City and Boston via New Haven, Hartford, Springfield, and Worcester. From New Haven to Hartford, it ran at various times via Middletown (now roughly Route 17 and Route 99) and via Meriden (now very roughly US 5). North of Hartford, the road remained on the west side of the Connecticut River, following the general path of present Route 159. Along this route between New Haven and Hartford, the Hartford and New Haven Turnpike was chartered in 1798 and opened in 1799, beginning at Grove Street in New Haven and leaving on Whitney Avenue, passing via Meriden and Berlin, and entering Hartford on Maple Avenue. This was one of the first turnpikes to be built on a straight line rather than along existing roads. In the 1910s, Connecticut and Massachusetts adopted a system of marking major roads by colors. The route from New Haven to Springfield, crossing the Connecticut River at Hartford, was marked with blue bands, signifying a major north–south route. This route crossed the Quinnipiac River in New Haven, heading north along an old road (now Route 103 and US 5) to Tracy, crossing the turnpike and running through downtown Meriden on Old Colony Road, Cook Avenue, and Colony Street. It then used the turnpike alignment from Lamentation State Park into Hartford. From East Hartford north to Springfield, another older road was used. When the New England road marking system was adopted in 1922, Route 2 was assigned to a route from New Haven north via Hartford and Springfield toward Sherbrooke, Quebec. This route followed the older blue-banded route from New Haven north to Hartford. At Hartford, Route 2 crossed the Connecticut River on the Bulkeley Bridge and ran north from East Hartford to Springfield on the east side of the river. US 5 was designated in 1926 along the Route 2 alignment. Between 1926 and 1932, US 5 and Route 2 were cosigned throughout the length of the route. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, the Route 2 designation was removed, leaving only the US 5 designation. Only a small number of changes have been made since then, the most prominent being in the cities of New Haven and Hartford. US 5 initially used Temple Street, Whitney Avenue, Edwards Street, and upper State Street in New Haven, beginning at US 1 (Chapel Street). By the 1940s, it had been moved onto a bypass of the downtown area, consisting of Edwards Street, Hillside Place, Munson Street, Henry Street, Sherman Avenue, Winthrop Avenue, and Davenport Avenue, ending at US 1 west of downtown. At the time, it still crossed the river on Middletown Avenue; the route leaving to the north on State Street was signed as an alternate route. The main and alternate routes were swapped by the mid-1950s, and US 5 was sent down East Street to US 1. (The alternate is now Route 103.) The old bypass became extensions of Route 80 and Route 10 but is now unnumbered. The final changes truncated US 5 to I-91 when I-91 opened in 1966 in New Haven and relocated US 5 to the new Route 22 connector across I-91 in North Haven in 1973, leaving the old route on Broadway as unsigned State Road 729. In Hartford, the original alignment of US 5 entered the city on Maple Avenue and made its way to the Bulkeley Bridge via Main Street, Central Row, and Columbus Boulevard. The route was shifted slightly eastward to Wyllys Street and Columbus Boulevard by 1941. The opening of the Charter Oak Bridge and Hartford Bypass on September 5, 1942 led to US 5 bypassing downtown Hartford on its current alignment; US 5 Alternate, an alternate route on the west side of the Connecticut River to Springfield, was extended south along Main Street to the beginning of the bypass. In the early 1940s, several sections of US 5 in the Hartford area were upgraded to four-lane boulevards. The Berlin Turnpike segment was reconstructed as a four-lane expressway, with several segments also straightened out. In East Hartford and South Windsor, a new four-lane expressway, John Fitch Boulevard, was also constructed. Both of these roadways opened in 1942. In 1948, Route 15 was designated on the Berlin Turnpike and Hartford Bypass segments of US 5 in order to connect the Merritt Parkway and Wilbur Cross Parkway to the Wilbur Cross Highway, providing a continuous high-speed route between New York and Massachusetts. ## Special designations Many sections of various state highways in Connecticut have commemorative designations for various veterans organizations or groups, as well as military servicemembers and Connecticut state troopers killed in the line of duty. In the case of US 5, most of its non-expressway alignment except for the Berlin Turnpike has been given a commemorative designation by the Connecticut General Assembly over the years. The following segments of US 5 have such designations: - The portion from the Hamden–North Haven town line to Devine Street (SR 720) in North Haven is also known as the "Korean War Veterans Chapter 204 Memorial Highway". - The portion from Devine Street (SR 720) to Bishop Street in North Haven is also known as the "VFW Post 10128 Memorial Highway". - The Route 5/Route 22 connector between State Street and Washington Avenue in North Haven is also known as the "Officer Timothy W. Laffin Memorial Highway". Timothy Laffin was a North Haven Police officer who lost his life in a motor vehicle accident while pursuing a wanted suspect. - South Colony Street in Wallingford, running from the North Haven–Wallingford town line to Route 150 in Wallingford Center, is also known as the "American Legion Shaw-Sinon Post 73 Memorial Highway". - South Broad Street from the northern Route 150 junction in Wallingford to the Meriden town line is also known as the "VFW Connecticut Ladies Auxiliary Highway". - The portion from the I-84 junction in East Hartford to the East Windsor–Enfield town line is also known as the "Purple Heart Highway". ## Junction list
292,161	Radar Scope	1,151,727,422	1980 shooter arcade game	[ "1980 video games", "Arcade video games", "Arcade-only video games", "Multiplayer and single-player video games", "Nintendo arcade games", "Shoot 'em ups", "Video games developed in Japan", "Video games scored by Hirokazu Tanaka" ]	is a 1980 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Nintendo R&D2 and published by Nintendo. The player assumes the role of the Sonic Spaceport starship and must wipe out formations of an enemy race known as the Gamma Raiders before they destroy the player's space station. Gameplay is similar to Space Invaders and Galaxian, but viewed from a three-dimensional third-person perspective. Radar Scope was a commercial failure and created a financial crisis for the subsidiary Nintendo of America. Its president, Minoru Arakawa, pleaded for his father-in-law, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, to send him a new game that could convert and salvage thousands of unsold Radar Scope machines. This prompted the creation of Donkey Kong. Radar Scope is one of the first video game projects for artist Shigeru Miyamoto and for composer Hirokazu Tanaka. Retrospectively, critics have praised Radar Scope for its gameplay and design being a unique iteration upon the Space Invaders template. One critic labeled it one of Nintendo's most important games because its commercial failure inadvertently led to the creation of Nintendo's mascot character and helped pave the way for the company's entry into the console video game market. ## Gameplay Radar Scope is a shoot 'em up in a three-dimensional third-person perspective over a gradient-blue background, often described as a cross between Galaxian and Space Invaders. The player pilots the Sonic Spaceport starship and must defend the space station against enemies called the Gamma Raiders. Gameplay involves clearing each stage of the Gamma Raiders without colliding with them or their projectiles. Each stage sets 48 Gamma Raiders in a formation, who break away and swoop down toward the player. Some will simply swoop down and fire at the player, and others will try to ram into the space station. The Sonic Spaceport has a damage meter at the bottom of the screen, which depletes with enemy fire. The player can lose a life by either allowing this meter to deplete or by colliding with a Gamma Raider or their projectile. Three types of arcade cabinets were produced: a standard upright, a tabletop version, and a rare sit-down cabinet. ## Development and release In the late 1970s, Nintendo Co., Ltd. began shifting its focus away from toys and playing cards into the arcade market. This followed the 1973 oil crisis having increased the cost of manufacturing toys, and the widespread success of Taito's Space Invaders in 1978. Nintendo had briefly experimented with electro-mechanical arcade gun games such as Wild Gunman and the Laser Clay Shooting System, followed by arcade video games such as EVR-Race, Sheriff, Space Fever, and the Color TV-Game line of dedicated home consoles. Radar Scope was created by Nintendo Research & Development 2 (R&D2). Masayuki Uemura led the development of the game, while Hirokazu Tanaka programmed the audio and composed the music. Shigeru Miyamoto assisted in the game's art production as one of his first video game projects; however, his role in development is often debated, with some claiming he designed the onscreen graphics, and others saying he simply created the arcade cabinet artwork. David Scheff's book Game Over claims that Miyamoto found the game "simplistic and banal" after it was completed. The arcade hardware for Radar Scope was co-developed with Ikegami Tsushinki. It is based on Namco's Galaxian (1979), with technology such as high-speed emitter-coupled logic (ECL) integrated circuit (IC) chips and memory on a 50 MHz printed circuit board. Galaxian, in turn, was based on Space Invaders hardware, replacing the more intensive bitmap rendering system with a hardware sprite rendering system that animates sprites over a scrolling background, allowing more detailed graphics, faster gameplay, and a scrolling animated starfield background. Radar Scope was released in Japan on October 8, 1980. That year, Minoru Arakawa established the subsidiary Nintendo of America in New York City. Based on favorable tests at arcades in Seattle, he wagered most of the company's modest corporate budget on ordering 3,000 Radar Scope units from Nintendo Co., Ltd. Shipping the units into New York by boat took four months, by which time the market lost interest. A total of 1,000 Radar Scope units were sold to an underwhelming reception, and the remaining 2,000 sat in Nintendo's warehouse. This expensive failure put Nintendo of America into a financial crisis. Arakawa moved the distressed startup to the Seattle area to cut shipping time. He asked his father in-law and Nintendo CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi to develop a new game that could be retrofitted into the unsold Radar Scope cabinets. Yamauchi polled the company's entire talent pool for fresh game design concepts that could satisfy Nintendo of America's needs. The result was Shigeru Miyamoto's debut as lead game designer with Donkey Kong, starring Mario and released in 1981. The Donkey Kong conversion kits consisting of ROM chips and cabinet marquee graphics were shipped to Nintendo of America and installed on more than 2,000 Radar Scope machines by a small team including Arakawa and his wife. ## Reception and legacy Radar Scope was a commercial failure for Nintendo upon release. Out of an estimated 3,000 arcade cabinets shipped to the United States alone, 1,000 were sold to an underwhelming reception and the remaining 2,000 sat unsold in Nintendo's warehouse. The salvage of unsold Radar Scope hardware—by creating Donkey Kong and Mario—provided the company with its first international smash hit and a resulting windfall of \$280 million. This rescued Nintendo of America from financial crisis, established Nintendo as a prominent brand in America, and helped fund its launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System. In a 1998 retrospective review, Earl Green of Allgame said the 3D perspective is a unique idea for the time, and that Radar Scope improved the trend of countless games styled after the archetypal Space Invaders. Shack News writer Greg Burke liked the game's colorful visuals and interesting gameplay which differentiate it from games like Galaxian and Space Invaders. 1UP.com criticized the lack of "tight design" as found in Galaxian, and for its blaring and annoying sound effects. They said the third-person perspective is a unique innovation, imitated years later by games such as Konami's Juno First and Activision's Beamrider. In 2014, Jeremy Parish of USGamer said that Radar Scope "belonged to the better class of [Space Invaders] rip-offs". He greatly applauded the 3D perspective for providing a unique sense of progression and depth. He was disappointed that the game is poorly recognized over the decades due to its rough history and scarcity, writing: "Sadly, Radar Scope tends to be brushed under the rug as a matter of no real significance: A failed game whose only positive contribution to gaming history was providing an opportunity for something better to come along. In truth, though, Radar Scope wasn't a poor game by any measure; its crimes were instead a simple matter of timing, and of being the focus of Nintendo's ill-conceived ambitions." He said that Radar Scope created a "lever" that allowed Nintendo to successfully propel themselves into the console market.
7,480,367	Excuse Me Mr.	1,173,128,942	1996 single by No Doubt	[ "1995 songs", "1996 singles", "Interscope Records singles", "Music videos directed by Sophie Muller", "No Doubt songs", "Ska songs", "Song recordings produced by Matthew Wilder", "Songs written by Gwen Stefani", "Songs written by Tom Dumont", "Trauma Records singles" ]	"Excuse Me Mr." is a song by American band No Doubt for their third studio album, Tragic Kingdom (1995). The song was written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont, while produced by Matthew Wilder. It was released as the fourth single from the album on August 21, 1996. The song has also been included on the band's 2003 greatest hits album, The Singles 1992–2003. Musically, the former is a rock-influenced ska track with lyrics describing a woman trying to get the attention of a man. A country version of the song was also created but never released. The single received positive reviews from music critics who labelled it a successful breakup song and as one of the best tracks on Tragic Kingdom. Commercially, "Excuse Me Mr." had a minimal impact on record charts, reaching the top 40 of the alternative charts in both the United States and Canada and peaking at number 11 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart. Sophie Muller directed the accompanying music video in January 1997. The visual features two different storylines, with the first showing No Doubt playing the song to an empty room that eventually becomes crowded with paparazzi, while the second storyline has Stefani tying herself to train tracks in the hopes that a man will come to her rescue. No Doubt has performed the song for a number of live appearances, including during their 1995–97 Tragic Kingdom World Tour, on Saturday Night Live in December 1996 while serving as the guest musical act, and at the band's Return of Saturn Tour (2000). ## Background and release "Excuse Me Mr." was written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont, while produced by Matthew Wilder. It was featured as the second track on No Doubt's third studio album, Tragic Kingdom, which was released on October 10, 1995. The album was the band's first record with minimal contributions from Gwen's brother, Eric Stefani, who had left the group due to creative differences earlier in 1995. Kenneth Partridge from The A.V. Club felt that this encouraged the members of No Doubt to incorporate the influences that helped popularize the band; Partridge later stated that this allowed Tragic Kingdom songs like "You Can Do It", "Hey You!", and "Excuse Me Mr." to be recorded. The original version of "Excuse Me Mr." was more melodic and mellow, according to Tony Kanal, but the members preferred the "harder version" that was released as a single. No Doubt disagreed with their then-producer Wilder, who wanted the band to record a country-influenced rendition. Member Adrian Young said: > When we recorded ['Excuse Me Mr.'], we used to play it the way it is now, and our producer wanted us to play it almost kind of like a country-shuffle, and so we gave it a shot. We later decided that we didn’t really like that, but the other version was erased from the tape. We had to go back in—it must’ve been months later—we re-recorded it the way we used to play it. According to the liner notes for No Doubt's 2003 greatest hits album, The Singles 1992–2003, the debate over which version of "Excuse Me Mr." would be featured on Tragic Kingdom became a debacle. The band told Interscope Records that they would refuse to record "Spiderwebs", the latter's eventual second single, unless they could re-record the punk rock version of "Excuse Me Mr.". The song was first released as an airplay single in the United States on August 21, 1996. Commercial CD singles for "Excuse Me Mr." were not distributed in the United States; however, promotional CD singles were created and sent to radio stations across that country. A Japanese promotional CD single was also made using the same cover art from No Doubt's "Sunday Morning" (1997). ## Composition and lyrics Musically, "Excuse Me Mr." is a ska punk, ska and punk rock song that is reminiscent of No Doubt's previous releases. Partridge described the track as a rock-influenced song that pays homage to the music which helped form the band. Diffuser.fm's Brendan Manley noted the track's "Dixieland brass breakdown" during the bridge and cited "Excuse Me Mr." as an example of the one of many different styles of songs on Tragic Kingdom. David Browne discussed in his Entertainment Weekly review of the album that the track is able to combine various genres within a duration of three minutes. According to Musicnotes.com, "Excuse Me Mr." is set in common time, with a double time-like feel and has a very fast tempo of 146 beats per minute. The key of the song is set in F major, with Gwen Stefani's vocal range spanning nearly an octave and a half, from A<sub>3</sub> to F<sub>5</sub> in scientific pitch notation. The song progresses in the following chord progressions of F–C–Dm–C in each of the two verses. The song's lyrics describe a woman who is actively trying to capture the attention of a male. The message is the opposite of that conveyed within "Spiderwebs", and Stefani sings in an anxious tone. Partridge felt that the point in the song where it switches to circus music helps secure the idea that love is absurd. Loren Diblasi from MTV News noted that the lyrics of "Excuse Me Mr." suggest that No Doubt was detailing a painful breakup; Stefani sings during the middle eight, "It's almost as if I'm tied to the tracks / And I'm waiting for him to rescue me / The funny thing is, he's not going to come". These lyrics, specifically, were described as "sonically slapstick" by Noisey's Nick Levine, while Browne from Entertainment Weekly compared the lyrics' "rescue-me blankness" to Mariah Carey's songwriting abilities. Seija Rankin speculated that the subject of the song was Kanal, who Stefani had broken up with prior to writing the material for the album. ## Reception "Excuse Me Mr." was met with positive reviews from music critics, with several describing it as one of the highlights on Tragic Kingdom. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the album, a panel of critics from The A.V. Club reanalyzed it. Annie Zaleski from the publication admired the track in addition to "Happy Now?" and "Sunday Morning"; she noted that all three of the songs "have just the right amount of pep". Marah Eakin described "Excuse Me Mr." as a "banger" that "aged well" despite being released over 20 years ago; she also selected the track as one of the album's singles that sounds "fucking good". Expressing a similar opinion, Ilana Kaplan from The New York Observer called it "one of the buzzy tracks that erupted" from Tragic Kingdom; she also classified the track as perhaps the "fastest song ever made". Diblasi was impressed by the track and listed it as the fifth-best "breakup song" on the album. She also found the track to be emotive and one of the "most gut-wrenching tracks" on Tragic Kingdom because of its ability to help someone "survive a breakup". In the US, "Excuse Me Mr." peaked at number 17 on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart. It did not enter the RPM singles chart in Canada, though it did reach the Top Rock/Alternative Tracks chart, with the track debuting at number 27. Similarly, it became the fourth consecutive entry from Tragic Kingdom to make an appearance on the chart. During its 9th week within the rankings, the track reached a peak of number 12 on March 31, 1997. Outside of the alternative charts in the United States and Canada, "Excuse Me Mr." only charted in one country. On May 25, 1997, the song debuted at number 38 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart. The track ultimately peaked at number 11, becoming the 4th top 40 entry from the album. ## Music video The music video for "Excuse Me Mr." was directed by Sophie Muller and released in early 1997. It served as the fourth of five videos created for the songs of Tragic Kingdom. Filming for the visual had been completed by January 1997 and took place around No Doubt's touring schedule. The video opens with the band performing in a dimly-lit room. As the camera pans to the other members, Stefani tries her best to remain in front of it whenever possible, with her resorting to pushing them out of her way. Various women dressed in vaudeville-inspired outfits are spaced evenly throughout the room and dance provocatively, as the camera approaches them. Before the song's second verse begins, Stefani ties herself to rail tracks in front of an oncoming train with the hopes that nearby people Dumont, Kanal, or Young will come to her rescue. The men fail to do so and Stefani stands up, departs the scene and reenters the dark room. The band resumes playing while a group of paparazzi enters and disrupts them. The video ends with No Doubt posing for a group picture in front of the paparazzi. The clip was selected for rotation on several music-related television networks, including MTV, where it charted within the top 10 on the channel's official "most-played clips" playlist. In 2004, the video was featured on No Doubt's compilation DVD The Videos 1992–2003. It was also included as a bonus feature on the second CD of a two part CD single series for "Spiderwebs" that was released exclusively in the United Kingdom. ## Live performances "Excuse Me Mr." was performed as the second song on No Doubt's 1995–97 Tragic Kingdom World Tour. The performance of the song at the July 1, 1997 show in Anaheim, at The Arrowhead Pond, was recorded and released on the band's first live album, Live in the Tragic Kingdom (1997). On the December 7, 1996 episode of the American television series Saturday Night Live, No Doubt served as the special musical guest, whereas Martin Short was the episode's host. During their appearances, they performed their previous single, "Don't Speak", followed by "Excuse Me Mr.". The song was performed for No Doubt's Return of Saturn Tour in 2000. A majority of the tracks performed during the event featured Stefani singing about marriage and romance, but when No Doubt returned with tracks from Tragic Kingdom, like the song and "Happy Now?", Rolling Stone's Greg Kot found the audience to be more engaged. Kanal and Stefani "bounc[ed]" around the stage during the performance, and Kot compared Stefani's vocals to a cross between cartoon character Betty Boop and American performer Lydia Lunch. For No Doubt's 2002 Rock Steady Tour, the song was performed during the concert's middle segment, in between them singing "In My Head" and "Different People". The band's performance of "Excuse Me Mr." at the November 22–23 and 29, 2002 shows at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in Long Beach were recorded and featured on their second live album, Rock Steady Live (2003). During a reunion concert in 2009, their first official show since 2004, No Doubt performed a revised version of "Excuse Me Mr." to the crowd. According to Rolling Stone's Christopher R. Weingarten, the song had a "radical makeover" as it was "slowed down and skanked [sic] up until it sounded like the English Beat". At the first Rock in Rio USA music festival in 2015, No Doubt headlined the main stage during the beginning day of the event. They performed several songs from Tragic Kingdom, including "Don't Speak", "Sunday Morning", and "Excuse Me Mr.". ## Track listings ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of Tragic Kingdom. - Gwen Stefani – writer, vocals - Tony Kanal – bass - Matthew Wilder – producer - Adrian Young – drums, percussion - Tom Dumont – writer, guitar - Eric Stefani – keyboards, piano - Phil Jordan – trumpet - Robert Vosgien – mastering - David Holman – mixing - Paul Palmer – mixing - Phil Kaffel – recording - George Landress – recording ## Charts ## Release history
2,884,686	1975 Pacific hurricane season	1,164,338,201	Hurricane season in the Pacific Ocean	[ "1975 Pacific hurricane season", "Articles which contain graphical timelines", "Pacific hurricane seasons" ]	The 1975 Pacific hurricane season officially started May 15, 1975, in the eastern Pacific, and June 1, 1975, in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1975. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeast Pacific Ocean. The 1975 Pacific hurricane season was slightly above average, with 17 tropical storms forming. Of these, 9 became hurricanes, and 4 became major hurricanes by reaching Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The only notable storms are Hurricane Olivia, which killed 30 people, caused \$30 million (1975 USD) in damage, and left thousands homeless when it made landfall in October; and an unnamed hurricane that developed at very high latitude, but had no effect on land. Hurricane Denise was the strongest storm of the year. Hurricanes Lily and Katrina passed close to Socorro Island and Tropical Storm Eleanor made landfall in Mexico. Hurricane Agatha sank a ship. ## Season summary The season began with the formation of Tropical Depression One on June 2 and ended with the extratropical transition of Tropical Storm Priscilla on November 7. No named systems formed in May, two in June, four in July, six in August, three in September, one in October, and one in November. The total length of the season, from the formation of the first depression to the dissipation of the last, was 158 days. In the eastern Pacific proper (east of 140°W), sixteen tropical storms and eight hurricanes formed. Four of the hurricanes became major hurricanes by reaching Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. These numbers are close to the long-term averages of fifteen tropical storms, nine hurricanes, and four major hurricanes. There were also four unnamed tropical depressions. The only system to enter or form in the central Pacific (between 140°W and the international dateline) was an unusual high-latitude hurricane. The only systems to make landfall this year were Tropical Storm Eleanor and Hurricane Olivia. Besides these two systems, Hurricane Agatha caused the sinking of a ship carrying millions of dollars worth of cargo. Tropical Storm Eleanor caused no serious impact. The most devastating storm of the season was Hurricane Olivia. A late-season major hurricane, Olivia came ashore near Mazatlán. The storm killed 30 people, left around 30,000 people homeless, and caused 20 million dollars (1975 USD) in damage. ## Systems ### Hurricane Agatha An area of disturbed weather about 290 mi (467 km) southwest of Acapulco formed on June 1. It organized into a tropical depression the next day. After heading southwestward, it turned to the northwest and strengthened into Tropical Storm Agatha on June 2. Agatha maintained its course and steadily intensified. It reached hurricane intensity on June 3 while located about 170 mi (270 km) southwest of Zihuatanejo. Hurricane Agatha started weakening thereafter, becoming a tropical storm on June 4 and a depression on June 5. It dissipated shortly afterwards. At this time, Agatha was located about 140 mi (230 km) south of the Tres Marias Islands. Even though Agatha passed close to Mexico as it weakened, no impact is known to have been caused. Waves caused by Agatha did impact a ship called the Polynesian Diakan. A Greek freighter en route from Pago Pago to Terminal Island, California, the Polynesian Diakan began flooding on June 3, forcing the 32-man crew to abandon the vessel. The exact cause of the initial flooding was unknown, but was speculated to be primarily due to cargo shifting and not the weather. The crew was rescued by the United States Coast Guard. Three members required hospitalization. After being reached on June 6 by a tugboat in a salvage attempt, the vessel capsized and sank near San Clemente Island on June 7, taking its multimillion-dollar cargo of 71 containers of canned tuna with it. The reason for the sinking was unknown. ### Tropical Storm Bridget On June 27, a tropical depression formed about 575 mi (925 km) south of the tip of the Baja California Peninsula at a location atypical for tropical cyclogenesis. The depression moved generally westward, and intensified into Tropical Storm Bridget on June 28. It started accelerating as it turned towards the northwest, then west, and eventually to the southwest. Bridget weakened into a tropical depression on July 2 and dissipated the next day. It remnant circulation hung about in the area for a few more days. Bridget never came near land and thus, no deaths or damage were recorded. ### Hurricane Carlotta A disturbance 480 mi (772 km) south of Acapulco organized into a tropical depression on July 2. It headed generally west-northwest and steadily intensified, becoming a tropical storm later on July 2. It became a hurricane on July 3 and ultimately peaked as a Category 3 hurricane. Hurricane Carlotta was first major hurricane, Category 3 or higher, of the season. It began weakening thereafter, and was a tropical storm by July 8. Carlotta became a depression on July 10 and dissipated the next day. The hurricane did not come near land and caused no significant impact. ### Hurricane Denise An unstable area developed a circulation and became a tropical depression on July 4. It headed west- northwest and became a tropical storm on July 7. The next day, it was a hurricane and turned to the west. Continuing to strengthen, it reached Category 4 intensity on July 9. This windspeed was the highest of the season. The hurricane turned to the southwest and gradually weakened. By July 11 it was nearly stationary. It then headed northwestward again and continued weakening, becoming a tropical storm on July 13. It weakened into a depression on July 14 and dissipated immediately thereafter. Denise brought winds of near-gale force to parts of Mexico, but otherwise caused no damage or casualties. ### Tropical Storm Eleanor An area of disturbed weather developed into a tropical depression on July 10, 100 mi (160 km) south of Acapulco. As its center of circulation became more pronounced and it was upgraded into Tropical Storm Eleanor. The tropical storm moved northwestward, and later curved northward. The system made landfall near Manzanillo on July 12. It quickly dissipated. Eleanor brought 20 mph (32 km/h) winds the Manzanillo, but damage from the storm is minor due to the lack of heavy rains. ### Tropical Storm Francene A rapidly moving squally area of disturbed weather that was moving on a northwestward path was upgraded into Tropical Depression Seven on July 27. It intensified into a tropical storm later that day. Francene turned to the west and weakened into a tropical depression on July 28. It slowly weakened and ceased to exist as a tropical cyclone on July 30. Francene's remnants persisted as a tropical disturbance for another twelve hours, before completely dissipating. This tropical cyclone caused no known impact. ### Tropical Storm Georgette An area of disturbed weather about 800 mi (1,287 km) south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas organized a tropical depression on August 11. It was upgraded to tropical storm intensity the next day. After heading generally westward and peaking as a weak to moderate tropical storm on August 12, Georgette slowly weakened. It weakened into a depression on August 14 and underwent extratropical transition thereafter. The cyclone dissipated twelve hours later. Tropical Storm Georgette had no impact on land. ### Tropical Storm Hilary A tropical disturbance formed on August 11 and gradually organized. The next day, an atmospheric circulation developed. Based on this, this system was classified as Tropical Depression Nine on August 13. The depression quickly intensified into a tropical storm and was named Hilary. The system gradually accelerated to the northwest and reached its peak strength on August 15 with winds of 60 mph (95 km/h). Tropical Storm Hilary then started a gradual weakening trend. It became a depression on August 16, turned a little bit more westward, and dissipated on August 17. Hilary never came near land, and as such caused no death or damage. ### Hurricane Ilsa On August 18, a tropical depression formed south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec from a tropical wave that had entered the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean. It strengthened into a tropical storm later that day. The tropical storm moved westward, and became a hurricane on August 21. Ilsa became a Category 2 hurricane on August 22. It maintained that intensity for three days as it moved out to sea. On August 25, Ilsa turned westward and rapidly weakened. It fell to tropical storm intensity on August 26. Later that day, while still maintaining winds of gale-force, Ilsa ceased being a tropical cyclone. Ilsa's remnants continued out over the open Pacific Ocean. The remains of Ilsa eventually interacted with another weather system. That triggered the development of the unnamed hurricane of August 31–September 5. Hurricane Ilsa caused no casualties or damage. As the unnamed hurricane formed from Ilsa's remnants, Ilsa and the latter system are unofficially the same tropical cyclone. Indeed, this year's seasonal report from the Redwood City Eastern Pacific Hurricane Center, in the Monthly Weather Review includes a brief discussion of the unnamed hurricane in the report's section on Hurricane Ilsa. Neither the Central Pacific Hurricane Center nor the official HURDAT "best track" database of tropical cyclone location and intensity data explicitly considers them the same. Hence, as far as official records matter, Ilsa and the unnamed hurricane of August 31 – September 5 are different tropical cyclones. ### Hurricane Jewel On August 24, a tropical depression formed from a tropical disturbance about 250 mi (400 km) south of Acapulco. It intensified into Tropical Storm Jewel the next day. The tropical cyclone headed generally northwest and paralleled the coast of Mexico. On August 27, Jewel became a hurricane for mere six hours, the minimum possible time in HURDAT. Jewel then turned to the west, and then back to the northwest. Jewel weakened to depression strength on August 31. Tropical Depression Jewel dissipated shortly after that, although its remnants remained distinct until September 3. There was no impact. ### Hurricane Katrina On August 29, an area of weather developed directly into a tropical storm, skipping the tropical depression stage. Katrina steadily intensified as it headed west-northwest, gradually turning to the northwest. It peaked in intensity on September 3 as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 mph (209 km/h), the second highest of the season. Katrina then headed westward and rapidly weakened. It was downgraded into a tropical storm on September 5 and a depression on September 6. The last advisory was issued on September 7 when Katrina dissipated. Although the hurricane brought Category 3-equivalent winds to Socorro Island on September 2, no damage was reported there or anywhere else. ### Unnamed hurricane A cold core low absorbed the remnant circulation of Hurricane Ilsa on August 31. Convection subsequently increased. By September 3 it was definitely a tropical cyclone as an eye slowly formed. It then became a hurricane. The hurricane rapidly headed towards the northeast and approached a frontal cyclone. By September 5 the hurricane had transitioned into an extratropical cyclone after weakening to a tropical storm. At the time it was less than 348 mi (560 km) southwest of Juneau, Alaska. The extratropical low moved southeastward, retaining its identity until it reached Montana, where it was absorbed by a front. It is unknown why this hurricane went unnamed, even though it clearly met the criteria for doing so. Any statement about why is purely speculative at this point. The hurricane is the furthest north a tropical cyclone existed in the Eastern Pacific, and is also the northernmost existence for a Pacific hurricane. It was the only tropical cyclone to exist in the central Pacific this year. No damage or casualties were reported, although it did hassle a few ships. ### Hurricane Lily Rain and wind reports from the Acapulco weather station suggested that a tropical depression was developing. This was confirmed on September 16 from ship reports. It intensified into a tropical storm and was named Lily. Tropical Storm Lily headed northwest in a nearly straight path. By 0000 UTC September 18, the system was a moderate tropical storm located about 160 mi (260 km) south of Manzanillo Lily was upgraded to hurricane status on the same day and eventually reached its peak strength. After passing southwest of Socorro Island, Lily weakened, becoming a storm on September 20. Lily weakened into a depression on September 21, turned to the west-southwest, and dissipated. Its remnants remained visible until September 24, when they were no longer distinct via weather satellite. On September 19, the cyclone brought hurricane-force winds to Socorro Island. No damage or casualties were reported. ### Tropical Storm Monica In late September, three tropical disturbances moved westward across the eastern Pacific Ocean. One of them organized into a tropical depression on September 28. The next day the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Monica. The tropical storm initially headed west-northwestward and gradually curved towards the north. It reached its peak intensity of 50 mph (85 km/h) on September 29. Monica then gradually weakened. It became a tropical depression on October 1. The cyclone dissipated shortly thereafter. No impact was reported in association with Tropical Storm Monica. ### Tropical Storm Nanette On September 28, a system developed into a tropical depression, simultaneously with Tropical Storm Monica.. It headed generally westward and on September 29, 18 hours after Monica did it, strengthened into a tropical storm. Nanette continued out to sea and slowly strengthened. It peaked in windspeed of 50 mph (85 km/h) on October 3 and turned to the southwest. It then slowly weakened. On October 4, it weakened into a tropical depression and then degenerated into a disturbance that same day. No damage or deaths were reported. ### Hurricane Olivia On October 22, Tropical Depression Eighteen formed from a cluster of three thunderstorms south of Mexico and then strengthened into a tropical storm. It moved northwestward initially, followed by a northeast turn. Olivia then intensified steadily. It reached Category 3 intensity and a peak of 115 mph (185 km/h) winds just before landfall. Early on October 25, Olivia moved ashore just south of Mazatlán causing major damage. Olivia destroyed 7,000 houses in the region, leaving 30,000 people homeless, and damage totaled \$20 million (1975 USD, \$ 2023 USD). The hurricane killed 30 people, 20 of them were from drownings in shrimp boats. ### Tropical Storm Priscilla A nearly stationary cloudy area developed a circulation on November 2. The depression drifted north for a while before turning to the west-northwest on November 3. It intensified into a tropical storm on November 4. Priscilla then began turning to the north. However, the system failed to re-curve, instead, the tropical storm turned generally westward. The tropical storm peaked in windspeed as a 65 mph (100 km/h) high-end storm on November 5. It then turned to the northwest on a heading nearly directly at Clarion Island, but it dissipated on November 7 about 115 mi (185 km) short of landfall. ### Other systems Besides the tropical storms and hurricanes this season, there were four additional tropical depressions that did not make a landfall anywhere. Tropical Cyclone Four formed on July 2 and dissipated the next day. It was the tropical cyclone to come closest to crossing 140°W and entering the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's area of responsibility this year. Tropical Cyclone Thirteen formed on September 12 and lasted four days. Tropical Cyclone Seventeen formed October 16 and dissipated a day later. Tropical Cyclone Nineteen, the penultimate system of the season, formed on November 1 and dissipated the next day. ## Storm names These names were used for storms in 1975. It is the same list used in the 1971 season. This is the last time this list was used, as modern naming began in 1978. However, the names Agatha, Carlotta, Georgette, Hilary, Olivia, Priscilla, Terry, Veronica, and Winifred were added onto modern naming lists. The central Pacific used names and numbers from the western Pacific's naming list. No names were used, as the one storm that formed in this area went unnamed. ## See also - List of Pacific hurricanes - Pacific hurricane season - 1975 Atlantic hurricane season - 1975 Pacific typhoon season - 1975 North Indian Ocean cyclone season - Australian cyclone seasons: 1974–75, 1975–76 - South Pacific cyclone seasons: 1974–75, 1975–76 - South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 1974–75, 1975–76
43,175,225	Photograph (Ed Sheeran song)	1,162,324,445	null	[ "2010s ballads", "2014 singles", "2014 songs", "Asylum Records singles", "Atlantic Records singles", "Ed Sheeran songs", "Folk ballads", "Pop ballads", "Song recordings produced by Emile Haynie", "Song recordings produced by Jeff Bhasker", "Songs involved in plagiarism controversies", "Songs written by Ed Sheeran", "Songs written by Johnny McDaid" ]	"Photograph" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran from his second studio album, × (2014). Sheeran wrote the song with Snow Patrol member Johnny McDaid, who had a piano loop from which the composition developed. After recording several versions with other producers, Sheeran eventually solicited help from Jeff Bhasker; the collaboration generated a version that Bhasker further enhanced for months. The ballad derives its music primarily from an acoustic guitar, piano and programmed drums. With visually descriptive lyrics, it discusses a long-distance relationship inspired by Sheeran's own experience of being away from his then-girlfriend while he was on tour. The song received generally supportive commentary from critics, who noted the lyrics and Sheeran's use of love for all people. "Photograph" served as the fifth and final single from the album. It reached the top five on the main singles charts in more than five countries. In the US, where it peaked at number ten, "Photograph" became the third single from the album to have reached within the top ten. In the UK, it reached number fifteen and has since been certified quadruple platinum. The single has also been certified double platinum in Australia and Canada, and platinum in New Zealand and Italy. The single's release on 23 June 2014 followed the premiere of the music video on 9 May 2015. The video is a montage of real home footage of Sheeran's infancy, childhood and adolescence, providing insight on his private early life, such as his inclination to playing music instruments and fondness of Lego. The video was nominated for Best Video at the 2016 Brit Awards. Sheeran performed the song on television shows and on his x Tour, which ran from 2014 to 2015. ## Background and composition Ed Sheeran wrote "Photograph" in May 2012 with Johnny McDaid, instrumentalist and background vocalist of the Irish band Snow Patrol. Sheeran toured with the band as a support act in select North American dates. McDaid had a three-note piano loop that became the basis of "Photograph". The song's development began when Sheeran, while in a hotel room in Kansas City, was humming "loving can hurt, loving can hurt" to the loop that was playing on McDaid's laptop. Sheeran recalled: "I started humming, and then [McDaid] put a beat behind it." They developed ideas for the song while Sheeran was building a Lego and McDaid was working on his laptop. After four hours, Sheeran picked up a guitar and they began properly structuring the composition. According to Sheeran, they ended up composing the song "within about half an hour". Both realized what had transpired only after listening back to the song the following day; they then decided on recording it. Sheeran completed writing the song while in Denver, Colorado. Sheeran credited "Photograph" as the first record "properly" completed for his second studio album. According to him, he had "probably" recorded 60 to 70 versions of the song; these varied from live to that with piano accompaniment. Aside from the earlier versions he made with McDaid, Sheeran had recordings with songwriter-producer, Jake Gosling, who produced much of Sheeran's debut album, and producer, Rick Rubin, who was involved in other tracks from the follow-up album. However, Sheeran thought these versions "never fit" and he eventually solicited help from producer, Jeff Bhasker. This particular collaboration generated a version that Bhasker continued to enhance for several months. Emile Haynie was credited on the album's liner notes for his additional production. On 24 January 2015, Sheeran recalled the backstory of "Photograph" for the VH1 Storytellers. ## Music, lyrics and inspiration An acoustic pop ballad, "Photograph" derives its music from an acoustic guitar, piano, strings, organ, electric and bass guitar, and programmed drums. The melody builds up with the guitar strums and piano keys; the drums, strings, organ etc. then follow. It has a tempo of 108 beats per minute and the originally published key is in E major. "Photograph" features a chord progression that is common in popular music. The lyrics to the song chronicle a long-distance relationship. It contains detailed imagery such as the protagonist remembering his girlfriend kissing him "under the lamppost, back on 6th street", and keeping a picture of him "in the pocket of [her] ripped jeans". These lyrics were inspired by Sheeran's own experience on a long-distance relationship. He dated Nina Nesbitt, a Scottish singer/songwriter, for more than a year. While in this relationship, Sheeran spent five months away from Nesbitt: three months while on a concert tour with Snow Patrol and further two months on his own tour. At his concert in Kansas City on 27 June 2017, Sheeran noted that he wrote "Photograph" at Kansas City's Intercontinental Hotel during a previous tour. ## Release In February 2013, Sheeran played a demo version of "Photograph" to a German radio station. This performance was not recorded in film or audio. Sheeran played the song again pre-release at a show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York on 14 July 2014. Taylor Swift was seen at the concert, notably, the only person in the crowd who knew the lyrics to this unreleased song." Sheeran favoured the song as one of the best in the album and claimed: "I think ["Photograph"] will be the one that will change my, kind of, career path." He also asserted that "Photograph" would serve as the "collateral" song that could "sell [the album]" even if the rest of the tracks would not prove appealing. The song was released as an "instant grat" digital download to the iTunes Store on 20 June 2014; it served as the final of seven promotional singles from his second studio album, × (2014). On 22 April 2015, through his Twitter account, Sheeran announced that "Photograph" would be the next single off ×. It was released on 23 June 2014 to hot adult contemporary format, and the following day to contemporary hit radio in the US. On 12 June 2015, "Photograph" was released to the German market in CD format with the B-side, "I Will Take You Home". The latter track was featured in the American television sitcom, Cougar Town. "Photograph" served as the fifth and last single released from the album. Of the five singles, preceded by two upbeat songs such as the lead single, "Sing", "Photograph" was the second mellow track released from ×. The first was "Thinking Out Loud", the third single, which is a blue-eyed soul record produced by Gosling. According to Sheeran, no one from his label wanted "Thinking Out Loud" as a single release; they favoured "Photograph" as the "big song". "Photograph" was supposed to be the main single, but when "Thinking Out Loud" spent several weeks within the top 20 on the UK Singles Chart albeit not in radio rotation, the latter song was kept as the third single. ## Critical reception Upon the album's release, critical response to "Photograph" was generally positive. In his track-by-track review of x for Billboard magazine, Jason Lipshutz suggested that the line "Loving can hurt sometimes/But it's the only thing that I know" in "Photograph" was the "lynchpin line of the whole album". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe had the same sentiment; she called the song "haunting" and felt it "[crept] up on you with [its] tunefulness". Jamieson Cox of Time described Sheeran's use of "detail and powerful imagery" in the lyrics as "smart"; Cox opined that it "[brought the song] to life". Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph deemed the track "soulful balladry" and felt it showcased that Sheeran "can slip smoothly through the gears" on the album. Lipshutz described his singing as being "restrained" over "hesitant" acoustic guitar strum before the "arena drums kick in". Paul Cantor of Vibe picked "Photograph" as one of the standouts from the album, and noted that the song's "brooding arrangement is an emotional roller coaster". Kitty Empire of The Observer called "Photograph" a "swelling ballad", and suggested that Sheeran's writing was "particularly calculated". In his review for MusicOMH, John Murphy also felt that "Photograph" was "calculated and a bit cynical, almost as if it's been written specifically as a soundtrack to a particularly emotional scene in a US television series". On her analysis of the lyrical content of the album, Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club expressed that Sheeran's "self-awareness extends to the rest" of the album by tackling homesickness in "Photograph", for instance. Meanwhile, Carolyn Menyes of the Music Times wrote in her review of the song that "in the grander scheme of x, 'Photograph' doesn't quite seem to line up lyrically", and noted that most of the album's songs explored "the feelings of a lover scorned, cheating exes and a little bit of the excess life". She also said: "Simply put: 'Photograph' is one of Sheeran's more simplistically beautiful songs." McDaid's involvement in the song was noted by a few critics. Kevin Harly of The Independent wrote: "If you didn’t know Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid produced the ballad 'Photograph', its stolid plod through clichés about how lovin' 'can hurt' and 'heal' should tell you". Meanwhile, Dave Hanratty of Drowned in Sound remarked: "... the cloying 'Photograph' ... is co-written and produced by a member of Snow Patrol should surprise nobody, given that it follows their heartstring-tugging script so resolutely. At least it moves." The Herald's Alan Morrison felt that "Photograph" was "identikit Snow Patrol". ## Chart performance "Photograph" and the rest of the album's tracks entered the UK Singles Chart due to high streaming rates. The single debuted at number 44 on the chart week ending 5 July 2014, ten months prior to the single's release. It peaked at number 15, and has spent 50 weeks on the chart as of the week ending 5 November 2015. On 17 March 2017, the British Phonographic Industry certified the single quadruple platinum for combined sales of 2.4 million units. As of September 2017, the song has accumulated 386,000 copies in actual sales, and with 96 million streams, it has a combined total of 1,347,000 units. In the US, the single reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and marked the third top 10 from the album. With "Photograph", Sheeran also became the ninth male solo artist since 2010 to spawn four top 20 hits from a single album, excluding deluxe editions. In specific formats such as the Mainstream Top 40, the single reached the top 10 on the week ending 29 August 2015; it gave the album four that have achieved the threshold. The single was first certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on 21 July 2015, double platinum on 29 February 2016 and triple platinum on 16 August 2017. As of June 2016, the song has sold 1,551,000 copies in the US. Elsewhere, the single reached top five in Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Slovakia, and South Africa. In April 2015, commercial streaming company Spotify released a report of the most streamed tracks worldwide under the category sleep. "Photograph" placed at number 18; it joined Sheeran's other six songs ranked in the top 20. Sleep is one of the company's most popular categories that, according to Spotify, "people also use for general relaxation and to help themselves unwind". The Guardian columnist Tim Dowling suggested that the report was an indication of "very popular, slightly mellow songs that keep cropping up on sleep playlists" but not a list of a "carefully curated journey to unconsciousness". ## Controversy On 9 June 2016, it was reported that Sheeran was being sued by songwriters Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard, writers of Matt Cardle's 2011 single "Amazing", for \$20 million for copyright infringement. The lawsuit says: "Given the striking similarity between the chorus of Amazing and Photograph, (the) defendants knew when writing, publishing, recording, releasing, and distributing Photograph that they were infringing on a pre-existing musical composition." The lawsuit was privately settled in April 2017, with no admission of guilt. In March 2022, while in court for a separate lawsuit over his song "Shape of You", Sheeran said that he settled the "Photograph" complaint on the advice of his lawyers, as the case was "more trouble than it was worth". He later also said he was on tour at the time, and was advised that the culture around copyright claims meant that he "probably would lose". He thought that settling the case opened a floodgate of claims, and led to the "Shape of You" lawsuit. After he won the "Shape of You" case, he said he regretted settling the claim for "Photograph", not because of the money involved, but because it changed his relationship with the song. He said: "I didn't play 'Photograph' for ages after that. I just stopped playing it. I felt weird about it, it kind of made me feel dirty." ## Music video An accompanying music video for "Photograph" was released on 9 May 2015. The video is a montage of real home footage. Sheeran sourced the clips from his father, who was then compiling it into DVDs for their family Christmas present. He initially intended the clips for inclusion in a documentary that was being produced around that time; but looking through the collection, he thought it might work for a music video. Sheeran also admitted he could not attend to an actual video shoot, hence he opted for the montage. Emil Nava, who had previously worked with Sheeran on his other promotional music videos, directed "Photograph". Editor Ellie Johnson worked with Sheeran's father while in central London. According to Johnson, they spent a weekend gathering the clips used in the montage. The montage chronicles Sheeran's infancy, childhood and adolescence (1990s and 2000s). It features Sheeran playing various music instruments (including piano, cello, bass, acoustic guitar and drums), suggesting that he was musically inclined at a young age. He is also shown displaying his skill in Bodhrán, an Irish frame drum. Other footage depicts a teen Sheeran busking in Galway, Ireland. In another clip before the final, Sheeran is shown performing to a crowd at a festival. Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone noted that the clips also revealed Sheeran's "lifelong obsession with Legos", an object the latter referenced on his 2011 single "Lego House". According to Ryan Book of the Music Times, the media form utilized in the montage contradicted the song's title. Kreps stated that the video was reminiscent of Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, a documentary film about Nirvana front man and 1990s rock icon Kurt Cobain. According to Kreps, the private life of both artists in their youth were revealed through real home videos. ## Live performances and usage in media "Photograph" was performed on television prior to its commercial release. On 13 December 2014, Sheeran appeared on The X Factor UK, where he gave his first televised performance of the song. This performance contributed to the song's first ascent inside the top 40 on the UK Singles Chart. Sheeran also performed the song for various US television shows such as on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Undateable, at Canada's Much Music Video Awards, and at the 2015 Global Citizen Festival. The song was part of the setlist in Sheeran's x Tour; the concert tour ran from 2014 to 2015. English singer Foxes covered the song for the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. ## Other recordings The song was recorded by Jordan Feliz, for his debut studio album, Beloved, released by Centricity Music. A critic says the acoustic rendition shows, "his falsetto shining", while another writes it is an "incredible" cover song, on a track meant to convey the temporal nature with which worldly mortal relationships have compared to one with God's son Jesus Christ. Jessica Mauboy covered the song on her 2016 album, The Secret Daughter: Songs from the Original TV Series. In 2021, The Portraits (an alt-folk duo, Jeremy and Lorraine Millington, previously known for a 2020 cover of "Together in Electric Dreams" with their daughter, which they said was similar to the 2021 John Lewis advert song) released a cover of "Photograph" with their 15-year-old daughter, Ciara Mill, on lead vocals again and a Somerset choir called the Skylarks backing them, alongside The Somerset County orchestra. Picked as one of the Official Charts Company's Christmas No 1 Contenders, the record has been recorded as a charity release for Cruse Bereavement Support and Mental Health Ireland and comes with a video which features 300 photos of people who lost their lives during the Covid pandemic. It was performed by Trace Adkins and Iñigo Pascual on the second episode of the country music drama series Monarch. ## Formats and track listings \; CD single 1. "Photograph" – 4:19 2. "I Will Take You Home" – 3:59 \; Digital download (Remixes) 1. "Photograph" (Felix Jaehn Remix) – 3:22 2. "Photograph" (Jack Garratt Remix) – 3:05 ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the album liner notes. - Ed Sheeran – vocals, writer, acoustic guitar - Johnny McDaid – writer - Jeff Bhasker – producer, piano, keys, electric bass - Emile Haynie – additional producer, drum programming - Tyler Sam Johnson – engineering, electric guitar, drum programming - Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing - Geoff Swan – engineering - Davide Rossi – string arrangement - Stuart Hawkes – mastering ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ### Decade-end charts ## Certifications ## Release history
22,759,242	Never Gonna Give You Up (Mai Kuraki song)	1,121,137,659	2000 single by Mai Kuraki	[ "2000 singles", "2000 songs", "Giza Studio singles", "Mai Kuraki songs", "Song recordings produced by Daiko Nagato" ]	"Never Gonna Give You Up" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Mai Kuraki. It was released on June 7, 2000, in Japan as a CD single and as a 12" vinyl by Giza Studio, Giza Inc., and Tent House as the fourth and final single from her debut studio album, Delicious Way (2000). The track features lyrics in Japanese and English language, written by Kuraki and Michael Africk, respectively. He also served as the single's composer, backing singer and producer, alongside Kanonji, Miguel Sá Pessoa, and Perry Geyer. The CD release of the track included the B-side recording "Trying to Find My Way". Musically, "Never Gonna Give You Up" is an R&B and pop song whose lyrics delve on themes of love and relationships, a common trait on its parent album. Upon its release, "Never Gonna Give You Up" received a positive review from Alexey Eremenko, who contributed in writing the biography of Kuraki on American website AllMusic; he selected the track among Kuraki's best works. Commercially, the single experienced commercial success in Japan, reaching number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and the Count Down TV chart hosted by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). The recording was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for physical shipments of 400,000 units in that region. In order to promote the single, an accompanying music video was released, with it portraying both Kuraki and Africk in a recording studio. The visual was included on some of the singer's Japanese concert tours and greatest hits compilations. ## Background and release The track features lyrics in Japanese and English language, written by Kuraki and Michael Africk, respectively. He also served as the single's composer, backing singer and producer, alongside Kanonji, Miguel Sá Pessoa, and Perry Geyer. "Never Gonna Give You Up" was one of three songs from Kuraki's debut studio album, Delicious Way (2000), to have not been entirely written by her, and was one of the first tracks recorded for the album. It was originally intended for the singer's debut in the American music market in 1999, but ended being scrapped; it was subsequently featured on the Kuraki's only English language album, Secret of My Heart (2002). Musically, "Never Gonna Give You Up" is an R&B and pop song whose lyrics discuss on themes of love and relationships, a common trait on Delicious Way. The recording was made available for consumption as the fourth and final single from the album on June 7, 2000 in Japan as a CD single through Giza Studio. The physical release included the original album track, its instrumental and a remix produced by Me-ya under his alias It's Tonight, alongside B-side track "Trying to Find My Way". The instrumental of the remixed version was later featured on a 12" vinyl distributed by Tent House—a subsidiary label owned by Giza Studios—two days later. On November 12, 2014, "Never Gonna Give You Up" was re-released digitally in Japan through Amazon and iTunes Store. ## Reception "Never Gonna Give You Up" received a positive review from Alexey Eremenko, who contributed in writing the biography of Kuraki on American website AllMusic; he selected the track among Kuraki's best works. Commercially, the single experienced commercial success in Japan. It debuted at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart with first-week sales of 284,780 copies, being only stalled from the top position by Ayumi Hamasaki's "Seasons" (2000). It spent seven weeks within the top 200. Likewise, "Never Gonna Give You Up" made its opening at the sophomore position of the Count Down TV chart hosted by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), where it stayed for another consecutive week. The recording was present in the chart for seven weeks. By the end of 2000, "Never Gonna Give You Up" was ranked at number 58 on Oricon's year-end chart, having brought total sales of 434,000 units as her fourth entry there. Similarly, it reached number 59 on TBS's annual ranking chart. The single was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for physical shipments of 400,000 units in that region. As of July 2016, it is Kuraki's seventh best-selling single in Japan based on Oricon's sales data base. ## Music video and promotion In order to promote the single, an accompanying music video was released, with it featuring both Kuraki and Africk in a recording studio. The visual was included on Kuraki's video compilation First Cut (2002). During 2000 and 2001, the song was used for Japanese television MFTV's music show I'm a Music Freak. "Never Gonna Give You Up" has been performed on various concert tours conducted by Kuraki, including her 2001 Experience tour, her 2001 Loving You tour, her 5th Japan Anniversary tour, her 2007 Brilliant Cut tour, her 10th Anniversary tour, and her 2010 Happy Halloween tour in Japan. The single has also been featured on several greatest hits compilation albums released by the singer, including Wish You the Best (2004), All My Best (2009), and Mai Kuraki: Best 151A (Love and Hope) (2014). ## Track listing - CD single 1. "Never Gonna Give You Up" – 4:01 2. "Trying to Find My Way" – 3:33 3. "Never Gonna Give You Up" (It's Tonight remix) – 5:04 4. "Never Gonna Give You Up" (Instrumental) – 4:01 - Digital download 1. "Never Gonna Give You Up" – 4:01 - 12" vinyl 1. "Never Gonna Give You Up" – 4:01 2. "Never Gonna Give You Up" (It's Tonight remix) – 5:04 3. "Never Gonna Give You Up" (It's Tonight remix) [Instrumental] – 5:04 ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the CD liner notes of "Never Gonna Give You Up". Recording - Recorded in Tokyo, Japan, 1999–2000. Credits - Mai Kuraki – songwriting, vocals, background vocals - Michael Africk – songwriting, background vocals, composing, producing, keyboards, arranging - Miguel Sá Pessoa – composing, producing, arranging, keyboards - Perry Geyer – composing, arranging, producing - DJ Me-Ya – remixing (track ) - Kanonji – producing, executive producing ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Yearly chart ## Certification ## Release history
25,601	Rhodium	1,167,148,974	null	[ "Chemical elements", "Chemical elements with face-centered cubic structure", "Native element minerals", "Noble metals", "Platinum-group metals", "Rhodium", "Transition metals" ]	Rhodium is a chemical element with the symbol Rh and atomic number 45. It is a very rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. It has only one naturally occurring isotope: <sup>103</sup>Rh. Naturally occurring rhodium is usually found as a free metal or as an alloy with similar metals and rarely as a chemical compound in minerals such as bowieite and rhodplumsite. It is one of the rarest and most valuable precious metals. Rhodium is found in platinum or nickel ores with the other members of the platinum group metals. It was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston in one such ore, and named for the rose color of one of its chlorine compounds. The element's major use (consuming about 80% of world rhodium production) is as one of the catalysts in the three-way catalytic converters in automobiles. Because rhodium metal is inert against corrosion and most aggressive chemicals, and because of its rarity, rhodium is usually alloyed with platinum or palladium and applied in high-temperature and corrosion-resistive coatings. White gold is often plated with a thin rhodium layer to improve its appearance, while sterling silver is often rhodium-plated to resist tarnishing. Rhodium is sometimes used to cure silicones: a two-part silicone in which one part containing a silicon hydride and the other containing a vinyl-terminated silicone are mixed; one of these liquids contains a rhodium complex. Rhodium detectors are used in nuclear reactors to measure the neutron flux level. Other uses of rhodium include asymmetric hydrogenation used to form drug precursors and the processes for the production of acetic acid. ## History Rhodium (Greek rhodon (ῥόδον) meaning "rose") was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston, soon after he discovered palladium. He used crude platinum ore presumably obtained from South America. His procedure dissolved the ore in aqua regia and neutralized the acid with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). He then precipitated the platinum as ammonium chloroplatinate by adding ammonium chloride (NH <sub>4</sub>Cl). Most other metals like copper, lead, palladium, and rhodium were precipitated with zinc. Diluted nitric acid dissolved all but palladium and rhodium. Of these, palladium dissolved in aqua regia but rhodium did not, and the rhodium was precipitated by the addition of sodium chloride as Na <sub>3</sub>[RhCl <sub>6</sub>]·nH <sub>2</sub>O. After being washed with ethanol, the rose-red precipitate was reacted with zinc, which displaced the rhodium in the ionic compound and thereby released the rhodium as free metal. For decades, the rare element had only minor applications; for example, by the turn of the century, rhodium-containing thermocouples were used to measure temperatures up to 1800 °C. They have exceptionally good stability in the temperature range of 1300 to 1800 °C. The first major application was electroplating for decorative uses and as corrosion-resistant coating. The introduction of the three-way catalytic converter by Volvo in 1976 increased the demand for rhodium. The previous catalytic converters used platinum or palladium, while the three-way catalytic converter used rhodium to reduce the amount of NO<sub>x</sub> in the exhaust. ## Characteristics Rhodium is a hard, silvery, durable metal that has a high reflectance. Rhodium metal does not normally form an oxide, even when heated. Oxygen is absorbed from the atmosphere only at the melting point of rhodium, but is released on solidification. Rhodium has both a higher melting point and lower density than platinum. It is not attacked by most acids: it is completely insoluble in nitric acid and dissolves slightly in aqua regia. ### Chemical properties Rhodium belongs to group 9 of the periodic table, but exhibits an atypical ground state valence electron configuration for that group. Like neighboring elements niobium (41), ruthenium (44), and palladium (46), it only has one electron in its outermost s orbital. The common oxidation state of rhodium is +3, but oxidation states from 0 to +7 are also observed. Unlike ruthenium and osmium, rhodium forms no volatile oxygen compounds. The known stable oxides include Rh <sub>2</sub>O <sub>3</sub>, RhO <sub>2</sub>, RhO <sub>2</sub>·xH <sub>2</sub>O, Na <sub>2</sub>RhO <sub>3</sub>, Sr <sub>3</sub>LiRhO <sub>6</sub> and Sr <sub>3</sub>NaRhO <sub>6</sub>. Halogen compounds are known in nearly the full range of possible oxidation states. Rhodium(III) chloride, rhodium trifluoride, rhodium pentafluoride and rhodium hexafluoride are examples. The lower oxidation states are stable only in the presence of ligands. The best-known rhodium-halogen compound is the Wilkinson's catalyst chlorotris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I). This catalyst is used in the hydroformylation or hydrogenation of alkenes. ### Isotopes Naturally occurring rhodium is composed of only one isotope, <sup>103</sup>Rh. The most stable radioisotopes are <sup>101</sup>Rh with a half-life of 3.3 years, <sup>102</sup>Rh with a half-life of 207 days, <sup>102m</sup>Rh with a half-life of 2.9 years, and <sup>99</sup>Rh with a half-life of 16.1 days. Twenty other radioisotopes have been characterized with atomic weights ranging from 92.926 u (<sup>93</sup>Rh) to 116.925 u (<sup>117</sup>Rh). Most of these have half-lives shorter than an hour, except <sup>100</sup>Rh (20.8 hours) and <sup>105</sup>Rh (35.36 hours). Rhodium has numerous meta states, the most stable being <sup>102m</sup>Rh (0.141 MeV) with a half-life of about 2.9 years and <sup>101m</sup>Rh (0.157 MeV) with a half-life of 4.34 days (see isotopes of rhodium). In isotopes weighing less than 103 (the stable isotope), the primary decay mode is electron capture and the primary decay product is ruthenium. In isotopes greater than 103, the primary decay mode is beta emission and the primary product is palladium. ## Occurrence Rhodium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust, comprising an estimated 0.0002 parts per million (2 × 10<sup>−10</sup>). Its rarity affects its price and its use in commercial applications. The concentration of rhodium in nickel meteorites is typically 1 part per billion. Rhodium has been measured in some potatoes with concentrations between 0.8 and 30 ppt. ### Mining and price The industrial extraction of rhodium is complex because the ores are mixed with other metals such as palladium, silver, platinum, and gold and there are very few rhodium-bearing minerals. It is found in platinum ores and extracted as a white inert metal that is difficult to fuse. Principal sources are located in South Africa; in river sands of the Ural Mountains in Russia; and in North America, including the copper-nickel sulfide mining area of the Sudbury, Ontario, region. Although the rhodium abundance at Sudbury is very small, the large amount of processed nickel ore makes rhodium recovery cost-effective. The main exporter of rhodium is South Africa (approximately 80% in 2010) followed by Russia. The annual world production is 30 tonnes. The price of rhodium is highly variable. In 2007, rhodium cost approximately eight times more than gold, 450 times more than silver, and 27,250 times more than copper by weight. In 2008, the price briefly rose above \$10,000 per ounce (\$350,000 per kilogram). The economic slowdown of the 3rd quarter of 2008 pushed rhodium prices sharply back below \$1,000 per ounce (\$35,000 per kilogram); the price rebounded to \$2,750 by early 2010 (\$97,000 per kilogram) (more than twice the gold price), but in late 2013, the prices were less than \$1,000. Political and financial problems led to very low oil prices and over supply, causing most metals to drop in price. The economies of China, India and other emerging countries slowed in 2014 and 2015. In 2014 alone, 23,722,890 motor vehicles were produced in China, excluding motorbikes. This resulted in a rhodium price of 740.00 US-\$ per Troy ounce (31.1 grams) in late November 2015. Owners of rhodium—a metal with a highly volatile market price—are periodically put in an extremely advantageous market position: extracting more rhodium-containing ore from the ground will necessarily also extract other much more abundant precious metals—notably platinum and palladium—which would oversupply the market with those other metals, lowering their prices. Since it is economically infeasible to simply extract these other metals just to obtain rhodium, the market is often left hopelessly squeezed for rhodium supply, causing prices to spike. Recovery from this supply-deficit position may be quite problematic in the future for many reasons, notably because it is not known how much rhodium (and other precious metals) actually was placed in catalytic converters during the many years when manufacturers' emissions-cheating software was in use. Much of the world supply of rhodium is obtained from recycled catalytic converters obtained from scrapped vehicles. As of early November 2020, the spot price of rhodium was US\$14,700 per troy ounce. In early March 2021, rhodium reached a price of US\$29,400 per troy ounce on Metals Daily (a precious metals commodity listing). ### Used nuclear fuels Rhodium is a fission product of uranium-235: each kilogram of fission product contains a significant amount of the lighter platinum group metals. Used nuclear fuel is therefore a potential source of rhodium, but the extraction is complex and expensive, and the presence of rhodium radioisotopes requires a period of cooling storage for multiple half-lives of the longest-lived isotope (<sup>101</sup>Rh with a half-life of 3.3 years, and <sup>102m</sup>Rh with a half-life of 2.9 years), or about 10 years. These factors make the source unattractive and no large-scale extraction has been attempted. ## Applications The primary use of this element is in automobiles as a catalytic converter, changing harmful unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide exhaust emissions into less noxious gases. Of 30,000 kg of rhodium consumed worldwide in 2012, 81% (24,300 kg) went into this application, and 8,060 kg was recovered from old converters. About 964 kg of rhodium was used in the glass industry, mostly for production of fiberglass and flat-panel glass, and 2,520 kg was used in the chemical industry. ### Catalyst Rhodium is preferable to the other platinum metals in the reduction of nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen: In 2008, net demand (with the recycling accounted for) of rhodium for automotive converters made up 84% of the world usage, with the number fluctuating around 80% in 2015−2021. Rhodium catalysts are used in a number of industrial processes, notably in catalytic carbonylation of methanol to produce acetic acid by the Monsanto process. It is also used to catalyze addition of hydrosilanes to molecular double bonds, a process important in manufacture of certain silicone rubbers. Rhodium catalysts are also used to reduce benzene to cyclohexane. The complex of a rhodium ion with BINAP is a widely used chiral catalyst for chiral synthesis, as in the synthesis of menthol. ### Ornamental uses Rhodium finds use in jewelry and for decorations. It is electroplated on white gold and platinum to give it a reflective white surface at time of sale, after which the thin layer wears away with use. This is known as rhodium flashing in the jewelry business. It may also be used in coating sterling silver to protect against tarnish (silver sulfide, Ag<sub>2</sub>S, produced from atmospheric hydrogen sulfide, H<sub>2</sub>S). Solid (pure) rhodium jewelry is very rare, more because of the difficulty of fabrication (high melting point and poor malleability) than because of the high price. The high cost ensures that rhodium is applied only as an electroplate. Rhodium has also been used for honors or to signify elite status, when more commonly used metals such as silver, gold or platinum were deemed insufficient. In 1979 the Guinness Book of World Records gave Paul McCartney a rhodium-plated disc for being history's all-time best-selling songwriter and recording artist. ### Other uses Rhodium is used as an alloying agent for hardening and improving the corrosion resistance of platinum and palladium. These alloys are used in furnace windings, bushings for glass fiber production, thermocouple elements, electrodes for aircraft spark plugs, and laboratory crucibles. Other uses include: - Electrical contacts, where it is valued for small electrical resistance, small and stable contact resistance, and great corrosion resistance. - Rhodium plated by either electroplating or evaporation is extremely hard and useful for optical instruments. - Filters in mammography systems for the characteristic X-rays it produces. - Rhodium neutron detectors are used in nuclear reactors to measure neutron flux levels—this method requires a digital filter to determine the current neutron flux level, generating three separate signals: immediate, a few seconds delay, and a minute delay, each with its own signal level; all three are combined in the rhodium detector signal. The three Palo Verde nuclear reactors each have 305 rhodium neutron detectors, 61 detectors on each of five vertical levels, providing an accurate 3D "picture" of reactivity and allowing fine tuning to consume the nuclear fuel most economically. In automobile manufacturing, rhodium is also used in the construction of headlight reflectors. ## Precautions Being a noble metal, pure rhodium is inert and harmless in elemental form. However, chemical complexes of rhodium can be reactive. For rhodium chloride, the median lethal dose (LD<sub>50</sub>) for rats is 198 mg (RhCl <sub>3</sub>) per kilogram of body weight. Like the other noble metals, rhodium has not been found to serve any biological function. People can be exposed to rhodium in the workplace by inhalation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has specified the legal limit (Permissible exposure limit) for rhodium exposure in the workplace at 0.1 mg/m<sup>3</sup> over an 8-hour workday, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set the recommended exposure limit (REL), at the same level. At levels of 100 mg/m<sup>3</sup>, rhodium is immediately dangerous to life or health. For soluble compounds, the PEL and REL are both 0.001 mg/m<sup>3</sup>. ## See also - 2000s commodities boom - 2020s commodities boom - Bullion - Bullion coin - Rhodium compounds
685,972	Sealyham Terrier	1,155,471,954	null	[ "Dog breeds originating in Wales", "FCI breeds", "Rare dog breeds", "Terriers", "Vulnerable Native Breeds" ]	The Sealyham Terrier (Welsh: Daeargi Sealyham) is a rare Welsh breed of small to medium-sized terrier that originated in Wales as a working dog. It is principally a white-bodied, rough-coated breed, developed in the mid-to-late-19th century by Captain John Edwardes at Sealyham House, Pembrokeshire. Following the First World War, it surged in popularity and was associated with Hollywood stars and members of the British royal family. Its numbers have dropped significantly since then, with the breed listed as a Vulnerable Native Breed by the Kennel Club; an all-time low was recorded in 2008 when only 43 puppies were registered in the United Kingdom. This decline has been blamed on an influx of foreign and designer breeds, and the Sealyham's reduced usefulness as a working dog. This breed is equally suitable as a family dog or a working terrier, given the right training. It is affected by few breed specific breed disorders, with the only two prevalent conditions being lens luxation and canine degenerative myelopathy. A DNA test is now readily available to identify dogs who carry the gene that causes lens luxation and breeding programs can be adjusted. ## History The breed was developed between 1850 and 1891 by Captain John Edwardes, at Sealyham House, near Wolfscastle in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire. Originally the breed was used for pest control, to hunt small game, and to eliminate vermin, particularly badgers, which he usually relocated. The Welsh Corgi, Fox Terrier (Wire), and the now extinct English White Terrier all played a part in the make up of the Sealyham, although Edwardes did not keep records. He wanted a small white dog with a strong jaw, and a wiry coat. The white coat was particularly prized, as it meant that the hunter in the field could distinguish the dogs from the quarry. Edwardes culled weak dogs, and bred the stronger ones. After Edwardes' death in 1891, other breeders began to work with Sealyhams, including Fred Lewis, who promoted the breed. The breed was shown for the first time in 1903, and the Sealyham Terrier club was created in 1908; the breed was officially recognised by the Kennel Club in 1911. The Sealyham Terrier now is recognised by all of the major kennel clubs in the English-speaking world. During the early stages of its recognition, the breed was alternatively known as the Welsh Border Terrier, or the Cowley Terrier. The American Sealyham Terrier Club was founded in 1913. During the 1920s and 1930s, Sir Jocelyn Lucas used the dogs to hunt badgers which he usually relocated. At this time he also used Sealyham Terriers for hunting otters, stoats and squirrels. Deciding that he wanted a better hunting dog than the Sealyhams, bred for conformation showing, he cross-bred the dogs with the Norfolk Terrier. This resulted in an unrecognised breed of dog he called the Lucas Terrier, which he described as "death to rats and rabbits". The Sealyham surged in popularity after the First World War in the UK and the United States. Within the Hollywood film industry, the Sealyham became a fashionable dog to own by the Hollywood elite. The terrier was owned by actors Tallulah Bankhead, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, and by writer Agatha Christie. Cary Grant owned one which he named Archie Leach – Grant's real name. Alfred Hitchcock had one of his Sealyham Terriers seen in his 1941 film Suspicion. Alfred Hitchcock can also be seen at the start of his 1963 film, The Birds, walking two of his Sealyham Terriers in a cameo appearance, although he also owned a third Sealyham not featured in the movie. The British royal family also favoured these dogs; King George V owned a dog named Jack. In 1959 one Sunday newspaper reported in the UK: "A notice has been posted in Clarence House and Windsor Castle giving explicit instructions that when Princess Margaret has breakfast in bed, her two Sealyhams must be brought to the room along with her breakfast tray." These two dogs were called Pippin and Johnny, and were looked after by the Queen Mother when Princess Margaret fell ill. In the 1960s, children's author Maurice Sendak owned a Sealyham named Jennie, which he featured in his 1967 work Higglety Pigglety Pop!. The Sealyham was once one of the more popular terriers, and one of the best known Welsh breeds. Today, however, the Kennel Club (UK) lists the Sealyham as amongst the most endangered native breeds. In 2008, registrations of new puppies with the Kennel Club dropped to an all-time low of 43, placing it among the bottom three on the list of Vulnerable Native Breeds. In October 2011, British magazine Country Life highlighted the breed on its front cover, with the heading "SOS: Save our Sealyhams", and launched a campaign to save the breed. End of year figures for 2011 showed that 49 puppies were registered with the Kennel Club in the UK, keeping them within the bottom three on the list of most endangered breeds. Another notable Sealyham Terrier, Ch. Efbe's Hidalgo At Goodspice, also known as Charmin, won Best In Show at Crufts in 2009, but his victory was not televised as the BBC had dropped the coverage of the competition earlier that year, following the controversy after the channel showed the documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed. He had previous won the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in the United States in 2007, and the World Dog Show in 2008. While in retirement, Charmin attended many shows as a spectator until he died in October, 2018. Sealyham terriers have also been featured on social media channels, contributing to a gain in notoriety of this rare breed. On Facebook, Ivor the Sealyham terrier (2007-2020) posted weekly photos, updates and videos of his walks in Wales, gaining over 20,000 fans worldwide. Harry Parsons, founder of the Working Sealyham Terrier Club, has stated that, "To sustain a breed...you need between 300 to 500 puppies a year". The Kennel Club has blamed the decline of the breed on the availability of designer dogs and newer breeds such as the Shih Tzu, and the banning of tail docking which has reduced their ability as working dogs. Paul Keevil, formerly of the Kennel Club's vulnerable breeds committee explains: "Traditionally, soon after Sealyhams were born, their tails were docked by half their length, because they were small working dogs and they quite often got stuck down holes, meaning that they required short, strong tails for the owner to be able to pull them out." As of 2010, the breed is ranked 152nd out of 168 breeds according to registrations by the American Kennel Club. By 2017, the breed ranked 150 out of 190 breeds registered by the American Kennel Club. ## Appearance Sealyhams measurements vary by breed standard according to particular countries. The Kennel Club breed standard states that the height of a Sealyham Terrier should not exceed 12 inches (30 cm), measured at the withers or at the top of the shoulder blade. The ideal weight for a Sealyham is 8 kilograms (18 lb) for females, or 9 kilograms (20 lb) for males. They have a white double coat which requires regular brushing with a wire comb in order to prevent matting. It has a dense undercoat, while the outer coat is wiry and weather resistant. Markings on the face can be in a variety of colours including lemon, black, brown, blue, and badger, which is a mix of brown and black. Heavy body markings or patches or excessive ticking on the coat are discouraged. Sealyhams are low to the ground, and in muddy weather their long coats can become quite dirty. Sealyham coats are groomed by hand stripping, in order to keep the coat from becoming too soft. However, if they are not shown, Sealyhams can be clipped and this is often the preferred grooming approach for pets. As with many terriers, Sealyhams have essentially non-shedding coats. ## Temperament Although happy in the company of others, they are fine if left alone. Sealyham Terriers are suited for both the town and country. They can be strong willed, occasionally vocal, and boisterous but also full of personality and affectionate. While they make for loyal family companions, they can be trained to be working dogs, making them excellent mousers or ratters. They can also be taught as puppies to get along with other animals, including cats and birds. Harry Parsons described his Sealyhams thus: "They make great companions, and the way they bond with their owners is almost magical. I keep six indoors, and if someone rings about an infestation and asks us to go ratting, they will know and are out of the door in a millisecond. If you train them, they'll retrieve. They'll do anything to please you." ## Health This is a hardy breed with few breed specific health problems. The main hereditary problem highlighted by the American Sealyham Terrier Club is an eye condition called lens luxation, for which there are DNA tests. Genetic testing can now readily determine if the condition will be passed on and most breeders test both parents before breeding. Lens luxation is a condition in which the lens slips out of position in the eyeball due to the weakening of the fibers that holds it in place. This in turn blocks the flow of fluids in the eye, leading to a painful increase in intra-ocular pressure (glaucoma) and often irreparable optic nerve damage, leading to visual field loss and eventual blindness. As of November 2011, the Kennel Club has not highlighted any specific concerns regarding the breed's health to conformation show judges. Due to the low numbers of the breed, two of the most prevalent problems facing the breed today is the popular sire effect and the general problem of genetic diversity within the breed.
3,582,565	Tomb Raider: Legend	1,172,643,810	2006 video game	[ "2006 video games", "Action-adventure games", "BAFTA winners (video games)", "Crystal Dynamics games", "Eidos Interactive games", "Game Boy Advance games", "GameCube games", "Nintendo DS games", "Nixxes Software games", "PlayStation 2 games", "PlayStation 3 games", "PlayStation Portable games", "Single-player video games", "Tomb Raider games", "Video game reboots", "Video games based on Arthurian legend", "Video games developed in the Netherlands", "Video games developed in the United States", "Video games scored by Troels Brun Folmann", "Video games set in Bolivia", "Video games set in Cornwall", "Video games set in Ghana", "Video games set in Kazakhstan", "Video games set in Nepal", "Video games set in Peru", "Video games set in Surrey", "Video games set in Tokyo", "Windows games", "Works about the Yakuza", "Xbox 360 games", "Xbox games" ]	Tomb Raider: Legend is an action-adventure video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. It is the seventh main entry in the Tomb Raider series and a reboot of the series that reimagined the origins and character of series protagonist Lara Croft. The game was released in 2006 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and mobile phones. A PlayStation 3 port was released in 2011 as part of The Tomb Raider Trilogy. Legend details Lara Croft's quest for the mythical sword Excalibur, racing across the world against her former friend Amanda Evert. Gameplay features Lara navigating linear levels, fighting enemies and solving environmental puzzles to progress. The DS and GBA versions share the game's story while sporting gameplay adjusted for the platforms. The mobile version adapts locations from the game into on rails command-based platforming and combat scenarios. Following the critical failure of Core Design's Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, Eidos transferred development of the next Tomb Raider to American developer Crystal Dynamics, who began production in 2004. The aim was to revitalise the franchise, with both the gameplay and Lara herself being redesigned. Lara's creator Toby Gard was brought on board to help with this and was deeply involved with the project. Composer Troels Brun Folmann designed the music to change during levels as the player progresses. Legend received generally positive reviews, with many praising the game as a return to form for the series, and either won or was nominated for multiple gaming awards. The GBA and DS ports received lower scores due to the impact of hardware limitations on the gameplay. Selling over three million copies worldwide, Legend helped revitalise the Tomb Raider brand and re-established Lara Croft as a gaming icon. The game was followed by two further games set in the same continuity; Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a remake of the first game in the series that released in 2007, while a direct sequel to Legend, Tomb Raider: Underworld, followed in 2008. ## Gameplay Tomb Raider: Legend is a single-player action-adventure game in which the player controls Lara Croft, from a third-person perspective, through eight levels set across seven locations around the world. As Lara Croft, the player can jump, climb and shimmy along ledges and vertical poles or ladders, crawl through small spaces, swing on ropes and horizontal poles, interact with objects and switches, use a grappling line to swing across gaps and pull objects towards her, and swim and dive underwater for a limited time. Different button combinations can create more moves such as a roll and swan dive. Some levels have Lara on a motorbike racing through that part of the level while fighting enemies. Puzzles can block progress in the level until Lara solves them by activating switches within the area. These and other objectives such as avoiding or jamming traps can involve pushing large blocks around the environment. In some sections, the player must pass quick time events by reacting to control prompts that appear on screen. While exploring, Lara can use her grapple to move and destroy certain objects, use a small torch to illuminate dark areas, identify different environmental characteristics using her binoculars, and pick up a maximum of three Health Packs which can heal damage suffered during gameplay. Collectable Artefacts hidden in each level can be found and unlock extra features, while Time Trials challenge players to complete any level within a time limit. During combat, Lara automatically locks on to enemies, with the player able to switch to another target within range. She can move around freely to avoid enemy attacks and trigger environmental hazards to aid her in combat. Lara can access up to two weapon types; her default twin pistols with infinite ammunition, and a secondary weapon, which is picked up during a level and has limited ammunition which can be replenished from defeated enemies carrying the same weapon type. Lara can also carry grenades to throw at enemies, perform melee attacks when she is close enough, and use her grapple to briefly stun them. When close to a targeted enemy, Lara can perform a jump attack which slows down time while she is airborne, allowing her more time to dispatch her enemies. If Lara's health is depleted she dies and restarts at a previous checkpoint. The home console, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation Portable (PSP) versions share content and level design. The PSP version includes exclusive "Tomb Trials". These missions have players either navigating a series of obstacles within a time limit or hunting treasures within one of the game's levels. Tomb Trials can be completed both in single-playing and multiplayer mode, where two players can compete in one on a local network. The Nintendo DS (DS) version uses a hybrid of 3D environments and 2D sprites. Lara moves through levels as in the main versions and players use the DS's touchscreen and mike functions in gameplay. The Game Boy Advance (GBA) version is a 2D side-scroller. The mobile version uses three of the locations and splits its gameplay into two types per location. In platforming sections players must guide Lara through environmental hazards. In combat sections Lara must dodge enemy fire and kill all enemies to move forward. The gameplay in each stage plays out on rails with limited movement and input from the player. ## Synopsis ### Characters Tomb Raider: Legend retells the story of British archaeologist/adventurer Lara Croft. As a young girl, she and her mother Amelia are the only survivors of a plane crash in the Himalayas. Publicly, Lara was the only survivor of the crash, as her mother was apparently killed upon interacting with a magical artifact in a Nepalese temple where they took shelter. After her ordeal, Lara goes on archaeological expeditions with her father Richard before his disappearance and presumed death in Cambodia when she is sixteen. In the years since, she has become both famous and infamous for her work as an archaeologist and explorer, privately driven by the need to understand her mother's fate. American tech expert Zip and English research assistant Alister Fletcher support her on missions from her manor house in England, where they live with her butler Winston Smith. During the events of Legend, Lara interacts with multiple supporting characters. These include Anaya Imanu, an old friend who has often helped Lara during her exploits, media tycoon and investigative journalist/reporter Toru Nishimura, who also experienced risks similar to Lara's, and Shogo Takamoto, businessman-turned-yakuza boss whom Lara once confronted over forged antiquities. The main antagonists are Amanda Evert, an old friend of Lara's presumed dead after a catastrophic incident in Peru, and her associate, American playboy James Rutland. ### Plot Lara heads into Bolivia on a tip from Anaya to find a stone dais in the ruined city of Tiwanaku. Lara believes the stone is connected to her mother's disappearance following the plane crash. A flashback shows young Lara activating a similar dais in a Nepalese monastery, creating a magical portal; Amelia vanishes upon drawing an ornate sword from the dais after hearing voices from the portal. Fighting through mercenaries exploring Tiwanaku, Lara confronts their employer, James Rutland, who has a fragment of a sword identical to the one from Nepal. Before leaving, he mentions Amanda as if she were still alive. Lara meets with Anaya in Peru near the site where Amanda died. In a flashback, Lara and Amanda are seen as part of an archeological team investigating a buried tomb. A powerful "Entity" guarding the tomb killed everyone but them before vanishing when Amanda pulled a stone from a door to open it. The tomb flooded, and Lara was forced to abandon Amanda after she was seemingly crushed by falling debris. Lara drains the flooded tomb and proves that Amanda survived and is now working with Rutland to find the sword. At the tomb's heart, Lara finds a statue of Tiwanaku's last queen—whose life strongly parallels the common legends of King Arthur—and a replica of her sword. The tip resembles an artifact stolen by Takamoto from Waseda University. In Tokyo, Lara's negotiations with Takamoto break down, and she storms his offices before facing and defeating him in a final duel. The stolen sword fragment, which has destructive magical abilities, was discovered by an 11th-century crusader said to have been a knight of Arthur. Lara then pursues Rutland to a Ghanaian temple hidden behind a waterfall that Richard Croft explored during his career. Rutland is searching for the Ghalali Key, a talisman which can reforge the sword. During her explorations, Lara finds a pendant belonging to Amelia. Confronting Rutland, who assumed Richard found the Ghalali Key, Lara takes his sword fragment, having learned that Amanda has ransacked her home in search of it. Lara pursues Amanda to Kazakhstan, where she discovers a 1950s-era Soviet research base that unsuccessfully tried to weaponise the sword's energies. Amanda, now bitter about the events in Peru, races her to the artifact. She eventually unleashes the tamed Entity on Lara using its control stone. Lara avoids the Entity and retrieves the sword fragment as the ancient facility disintegrates. Lara also discovers the shield of the knight who had the fragment, bearing an ancient map. The decoded map leads Lara to Cornwall and a King Arthur-themed tourist museum built over a hidden complex housing the tombs of King Arthur and his knights around a broken dais. She realises that the sword she is pursuing is the legendary Excalibur—one of many swords forged by an unnamed civilisation that have created a monomyth within multiple later cultures—left in pieces and scattered across the world by Arthur's knights. Retrieving the fragment left with Arthur, she escapes the tomb and the sea serpent protecting the sword. Back home, the group realise that the Ghalali Key was found in Ghana by Richard and given to Amelia to replace the pendant she lost; it now lies with the crashed plane in Nepal. During a talk with Winston, Lara reveals her determination to salvage her father's ruined reputation by using Excalibur to prove his theories about the daises. Returning to Nepal, Lara recovers the Ghalali Key, then travels to the monastery holding the original dais and reforges Excalibur. The broken dais splinters when she tries to use it, forcing her to return to the intact dais in Bolivia. On reaching it she is forced to kill Rutland during a fight with his mercenaries and destroys the Entity when Amanda summons and merges with it. Placing the sword in the dais, Lara activates a portal and sees a vision of Amelia. Realising that the portal is a time rift, Lara tries to warn Amelia, but Amanda panics and shouts to remove the sword before the dais explodes, triggering the events of Amelia's apparent death. An enraged Lara almost shoots Amanda, but Amanda says that Amelia was transported to Avalon. Lara knocks Amanda unconscious and sets out to find Amelia. ## Development British-based studio Core Design developed the Tomb Raider series until 2003. Following the successful release of the original game in 1996, they produced four successive sequels between 1997 and 2000. Their sixth and last Tomb Raider game, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, beset by developmental problems, was rushed to an early release to tie in with the 2003 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life, a sequel to the successful 2001 film. The game was a critical failure due to its technical problems and blamed for the commercial failure of The Cradle of Life by Paramount Pictures. The failure of The Angel of Darkness—in addition to general fatigue with the series among Core Design staff—prompted the cancellation of planned sequels, and Eidos Interactive moved development responsibilities to another studio. Crystal Dynamics took over responsibility for developing future Tomb Raider games. They had gained fame for their work on the Gex and Legacy of Kain series. The team responsible for Legend was the same team responsible for Legacy of Kain: Defiance. According to producer Morgan Gray, the team were wowed initially at being tasked with producing the Tomb Raider series before fully understanding the challenges involved. A notable addition to the team was Toby Gard, one of the key creative figures of the Tomb Raider franchise as both lead designer of the first Tomb Raider and Lara's creator. Gard joined the Crystal Dynamics team during the pre-production phase; he has been referred to as a senior designer, creative consultant, and lead character designer. Gard also helped the team flesh out Lara's early animations, co-wrote the overall story, and worked on creating the characters of both Lara and the rest of the cast. Production of the game began in 2004, lasting approximately two years. ### Game design Looking at how they needed to revive the series after the negativity surrounding The Angel of Darkness, the team decided that Lara's movement and control scheme needed to be completely redesigned for a modern gaming audience. Lara had to return to exploring ancient ruins and tombs following the controversial focus on urban locations in The Angel of Darkness. Small teams brainstormed and worked on each location. Bolivia was chosen for the opening level, so Lara could scale cliffs. Originally no urban levels were to be featured, but after discussion the team decided to include an urban environment to provide gameplay variety, leading to the creation of the Tokyo level. When creating each locale, the team used images of local scenery and architecture so their level designs remained authentic. A significant level cut from the game was a third South American location which would have held a piece of Excalibur. The team decided three locations would place too much focus on South America, so they created the Kazakhstan level to replace it. The motorcycle segments were described as being similar to minigames, changing the pace for players. A bike segment intended to end the England level was also cut due to scheduling concerns. The control scheme for the previous titles—which involved moving Lara through levels built using a grid system—was completely scrapped. The new control system, dubbed "fluid movement", would enable players to learn how to control Lara and safely navigate levels with a minimum of difficulty. Combat was designed around Lara's acrobatic prowess and primary goal as an adventurer. It was balanced so it would be non-intrusive and enjoyable for both newcomers and series' veterans. Finalising Lara's animations, which were all hand-animated, took a long time and accounted for an estimated 15-20% of the game's code. Several moves and items had to be cut at various stages of development. Realistic physics, something still novel in gaming at the time, was integrated into gameplay. Rather than using available off-the-shelf physics engines, the team created a custom physics system which handled everything from puzzle design to character and environmental movement. The control scheme and overall atmosphere drew inspiration from Ico. Another influence on the team was the original Tomb Raider and its 1997 sequel. Online elements were considered, but dropped so the team could focus on delivering a polished single-player experience. Legend uses a game engine based on an updated version of technology used in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Creating more open environments was a challenge for the development team. Their environment designs for the Legacy of Kain series were more enclosed and required different engine and level architecture. A key part of the engine design was a streaming system; levels were divided into individual units which were loaded in and out depending on Lara's position in the level. This allowed the team to create levels with a high amount of detail without exceeding the memory limitations of their planned consoles. The team later said that developing the engine in parallel with the game's content caused issues both with deciding on what should be kept from each version and making adjustments. The artificial intelligence (AI) was redesigned to react to Lara's actions, with human enemies being able to detect and flank her. ### Story and character design The team decided to reboot the series timeline, reworking Lara's character. Despite this, they incorporated elements of her original background and earlier adventures into her new backstory and overworld setting as a homage to Core Design's work and the general fan base. Select elements from the first two Tomb Raider films were also included. The subtitle "Legend" was intended to represent the return to Lara's origins which the game as a whole represented. The story had a three-person team working on it during the entire development period. Rather than a "traditional" use of CGI and real-time cutscenes, a combination of in-engine cinematics and dialogue during gameplay told the story. The team wanted to include a character from the original continuity, but almost all the major characters Lara had encountered were dead. They decided to use a reimagined version of Zip, who had previously cameoed in Tomb Raider Chronicles. The use of Zip and Alister allowed the team to create a new dynamic for storytelling through dialogue exchanges during gameplay. Rutland was initially a "much more stereotypical 'macho' bad guy", but was eventually redesigned into the more intellectual version used in the final game. The rebooted story contextualised Lara's treasure hunting to understand and perhaps reverse her mother's fate. While the central mystery surrounding Excalibur was completed by the game's end, the central thread of Amelia's fate was left unresolved. The team intended it as the main narrative thread binding future instalments. The central theme of the game drew from the hero's journey theories of Joseph Campbell. The team worked in Arthurian myth and the use of Excalibur as part of the story surrounding Lara's quest. An important part of the redesign was Lara herself, a process with which Gard was intimately involved. The team initially used Lara's model from The Angel of Darkness as a base and made adjustments such as slimming her down and removing harsh lines from her face. When Gard joined the team, he said he wanted to completely redesign Lara, something the team were happy with because of his role in her creation. Among the changes he implemented were an entirely new outfit and changing Lara's braided hair for a ponytail design. When redesigning her figure, Gard wanted to keep Lara's caricatured female figure while focusing on realistic bone and muscle structure. Despite the redesigns, Gard did not feel that Lara's persona had changed much from his initial vision, but was represented more clearly to players. Lara's voice actress was recast. Keeley Hawes, a British movie and television actress known for her work on Spooks, replaced Jonell Elliott who had voiced the character from Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation to The Angel of Darkness. Hawes was the fourth actress to voice the character. Shelley Blond, the voice of Lara from the original game, was also approached for the role. Blond confirmed her interest in reprising the role, but eventually Crystal Dynamics settled on Hawes because of her celebrity status. Eidos staff described her as perfect for the role having the "right balance of aristocracy and attitude to really bring to life [Lara] Croft in all her glory". Hawes was given the role after reading a couple of lines given to her by her voice agent who sent a tape to Crystal Dynamics. British model Karima Adebibe was employed to portray Lara at publicity events. ### Music In-house composer Troels Brun Folmann handled the game's music. Folmann had worked previously with Crystal Dynamics on the score of Project Snowblind after joining the company to complete research for a PhD thesis. Following their positive experience on Project Snowblind, Crystal Dynamics asked Folmann to score the project and invited him to create new systems for scoring. Folmann's aim was to create an ambitious score which would emulate the musical style of Hollywood movies. Many composers, from classical figures to those from modern films, influenced Folmann's work. Legend was the longest score he had worked on at the time. It took him nine months to complete it. The amount of music created has been estimated at between five and seven hours. Four to five hours was used in-game and the rest was dropped. Folmann created a score for the game based around a fusion of electronic and orchestral elements informed by each area of the game, rather than the more "obvious" course of using a purely orchestral style. While other games at the time, and in previous years, had used relatively few static music tracks for a level which looped continuously, Folmann sought to create a varied score which would adapt to player actions. There were musical variations for each section of a level with a quiet and a combat version which would shift smoothly depending on the situation. While this type of music was not new, the limited RAM audio capacity of gaming consoles made it very difficult to implement effectively. To create the score within these limitations, Folmann created a system he dubbed "micro-scoring". The main theme of the level played in the background with other layers of music played over it, which changed depending on conditions within the level and the player's actions. Folmann composed the entire score using nine computers, with one computer being dedicated to each part of the overall score. This allowed him to create a large-scape symphonic score within hardware limitations. He tried to imagine how players would feel in each environment while he created the score. For example, he used calming music for the Croft Manor level, and the epic orchestra sound for Lara's escape from the Sea Serpent guarding King Arthur's tomb. Each level had its own lead instrument, taken from the region where the level was set, forming a part of its overall score. Folmann extensively researched characteristic musical styles from each region. He also gave individual characters their own musical motifs. Ethnic instruments played a major role in the overall score. Folmann bought a variety of instruments including duduk, shakuhachi, African drums and Bolivian pan flutes. The series' main theme, a four-note motif composed for the original game by Nathan McCree, was incorporated into the main theme of Legend using a duduk. Folmann also incorporated it in the mission summary music. ## Release and versions Legend was announced in April 2005. An important part of marketing Lara for Eidos was that she be treated respectfully. The series had become negatively associated with promotional partnerships and publicity gimmicks during its initial run. Crystal Dynamics' positive association and communication with Eidos' marketing department was also a key part of development. This allowed the team to focus entirely on completing the game while Eidos helped promote the game to the press and at trade shows. The game was initially announced for PlayStation 2 (PS2), Xbox and Windows personal computers (PC). Legend marked the Tomb Raider series' debut on Microsoft game consoles with versions for both the Xbox and its successor the Xbox 360 (360). The 360 version acted as the Tomb Raider series' debut on seventh generation consoles. The 360 version incorporated new visual effects and lighting mechanics. While the base engine was carried over from the other versions, the lighting system needed to be entirely rewritten. The 360 version was given equal development priority with the PS2 version. After the success of Lego Star Wars: The Video Game on the GameCube, Eidos decided to port Tomb Raider: Legend to that platform, marking the series' first appearance on a Nintendo home console. The GameCube version was a port of the PS2 and Xbox versions. Despite the Nintendo versions being released close to the Wii's launch, Crystal Dynamics could not consider developing a Wii version of Legend because they did not obtain software development kits for that system until they shifted efforts towards developing Anniversary. Crystal Dynamics developed the original PS2 and 360 versions, with team members both from the PS2 version and new staff. Nixxes Software created the Xbox, PC and GameCube ports. The PC version included a "Next Gen Graphics" option which upgraded the game's graphics to appear similar to the 360 version. Buzz Monkey Software ported the PSP version, creating their port based on the PS2 with a few platform-exclusive features. Human Soft developed versions for the GBA and DS. Legend was the first Tomb Raider released for the DS. The DS version used a combination of 2D sprites and 3D graphics while incorporating the original cutscenes. The GBA version was fully 2D using parallax scrolling to simulate distance and telling the story using slideshows of still images. While the PSP version used the PS2 source code and launched close to the home console versions, the other portable versions needed to be built from scratch. Creating the combined 2D/3D engine for the DS version was challenging for Human Soft. A version for mobile phones was also created. Developed by Fathammer and Sixela Productions, the game broke away from earlier Tomb Raider mobile titles by using full 3D graphics and emulating the gameplay of its console counterparts. With a large team of 20 people working on the port, the game was developed in close collaboration with Crystal Dynamics so it would scale to a variety of mobiles which could support 3D graphics. Demo versions of the PC and 360 versions—covering the game's opening level—were made available on 3 and 4 April respectively. Following the game's release, the PC demo was updated to include the Next Gen Graphics options. Legend was released in Europe on 7 April 2006 for PC, PS2, Xbox and Xbox 360. These versions were released in North America on 11 April, and in Australia on April 13. The PC version received a patch a few days after its European release to address stability and technical issues. The PSP version was released on 9 June in Europe, 13 June in Australia, and 21 June in North America. Spike published the PS2, 360 and PSP versions in Japan on 7 December. The DS and GBA versions were released on 10 November in Europe, 14 November 2006 in North America, and 17 November in Australia. The GameCube version was released first in North America on 14 November, and in Europe on 1 December. The mobile version was released in December 2006, initially exclusive to Europe's Orange network until the following year. ## Reception Tomb Raider: Legend met with positive reviews. Multiple websites called Legend a return to form for the Tomb Raider series following a string of below-average sequels after the original game. Comments focused on its modern redesign. Edge praised the game's art direction and distinct environments, saying it delivers "more drama than ... many games twice Legend's size". The magazine also highlighted Lara's reliable controls and acrobatic movements, comparing them favourably to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, but criticized the superficial combat system. Overall, the magazine concluded that Legend "established a rock solid foundation for inevitable, now justified successors". Reviewers praised the story for its strength, as well as its graphics and environmental design. The platforming and puzzle elements were also commended, although the combat was seen as fairly weak due to simplified mechanics and predictable AI. A common point of praise was its improved controls compared to previous entries, which made navigating the game's environments much easier and more enjoyable. The music and sound design received overall approval for its quality and variety. Some reviewers pointed out its short length, lack of variety in puzzle design, and occasional technical issues such as frame rate drops. The 360 version was praised for its improved graphics over other console versions even though there were no other major content differences. A complaint specific to the PC version was a low framerate caused by the "Next Gen Content" graphics option. The PSP port was acclaimed for its added content compared to the versions released up to that point, but several reviewers faulted its controls and poorer graphics. The DS version was seen as a decent version of the game, despite weak combat and problems caused by the hardware limitations, while the GBA version was faulted for its oversimplified design and poor performance. IGN's Levi Buchanan and Stuart Dredge of Pocket Gamer praised the mobile version for its quality. Both reviewers, however, noted repetition in gameplay and felt it would be best enjoyed by fans of the series. ### Sales When Legend first released in the United Kingdom, it was the top-selling game during its first week of release, replacing the previous week's bestselling title The Godfather. It remained in first place for two weeks and moved into second place following the release of 2006 FIFA World Cup. Legend remained in the top ten bestselling titles in the UK into July 2006. The PS2 version received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The game was the eighth best-selling game in the UK in 2006. According to the NPD Group, Legend was the third bestselling game in North America during April. In Australia, the PS2 and 360 versions were both among the top ten best-selling titles during the weeks following their release. Within a month of its release, all versions of the game had sold 2.9 million copies combined by the end of June 2006. According to different estimates, in 2009, the game had sold between 3 and 4.5 million copies worldwide. This made it the second bestselling Tomb Raider game after the 1999 release of The Last Revelation and the fifth bestselling game in the series at that point. To mark the 25th anniversary of Tomb Raider, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics celebrated the franchise with community features, nostalgic and unseen contents throughout 2021. On its dedicated month, it was revealed that Legend had sold 6.4 million by June 2021. ### Accolades At the 2006 Spike Video Game Awards, Lara Croft was nominated in the Cyber Vixen of the Year category. Keeley Hawes was nominated in the Best Performance by a Human (Female) category. The National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers nominated the game in the Control Precision category in 2006. At the Golden Joystick Awards that year, the game received nominations in the Girls Choice, PC Game of the Year, PlayStation Game of the Year, Xbox Game of the Year and Ultimate Game of 2006 categories. Lara Croft herself was nominated for and won the Favourite Character award. The game's mobile version won an award at the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards in the Best Mobile Action Game category, as well as being nominated for Mobile Game of the Year. At the 2006 British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Legend won the award for Best Original Score. The soundtrack also won the Music of the Year award at the 2007 Game Audio Network Guild Awards. The game was also the winner in the Interactive Entertainment Sound Production category at the 2007 TEC Awards. ## Legacy In later articles discussing the Tomb Raider series, Legend is generally cited as having restored fans' faith in its brand and its lead character. Following the success of Legend, Crystal Dynamics remade the original game under the title Tomb Raider: Anniversary, which was released in 2007. A sequel to both Anniversary and Legend, Tomb Raider: Underworld, began development following the release of Legend and was published in 2008. Legend was remastered by Buzz Monkey Software and re-released as part of a PlayStation 3 collection, The Tomb Raider Trilogy, alongside Anniversary and Underworld in March 2011 worldwide. Hawes voiced Lara in Anniversary, Underworld, and titles in the Lara Croft spin-off series, which take place in their own continuity and began with Guardian of Light in 2010. Anaya Imanu, a non-player character from the game, returns in the 2023 free-to-play mobile game Tomb Raider Reloaded to aid Lara during breaks in combat.
54,293,106	The Rolling Stones: Havana Moon	1,157,964,758	2016 film	[ "2010s British films", "2010s English-language films", "2016 in Cuba", "2016 live albums", "2016 video albums", "Concert films", "Eagle Rock Entertainment live albums", "Eagle Rock Entertainment video albums", "Events in Havana", "Live video albums", "March 2016 events in North America", "The Rolling Stones films", "The Rolling Stones live albums", "The Rolling Stones video albums" ]	Havana Moon is a concert film by the Rolling Stones, directed by Paul Dugdale. Havana Moon was filmed on 25 March 2016 in Havana, Cuba. The film is a recording of a free outdoor concert put on by the band at the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana sports complex, which was attended by an estimated 500,000 concert-goers. The concert marked the first time a rock band had performed in Cuba to such a large crowd, breaking the previous record of the Italian singer Zucchero Fornaciari who performed to a crowd of nearly 70,000 goers in 2012. On 11 November 2016 the film was released in multiple formats. When the news that sitting United States president, Barack Obama was to visit Cuba was released—marking the first time a sitting president had visited the island nation in 88 years—the concert was rescheduled from 20 March 2016 to 25 March 2016. ## Production ### Development The concert was suggested by lawyer Gregory Elias to Rolling Stones manager Joyce Smyth during a phone call on 13 November 2015. Elias suggested that the Stones play a free concert in Cuba, which he would cover the costs of – to which Smyth responded "Well, that’s certainly a unique proposal". The concert was bankrolled by Elias' charitable organization, Fundashon Bon Intenshon. There was some speculation that the move on Elias' part was politically motivated, to which he responded in a statement that he only wanted to do something good for the Cuban people and did not have any business relations in the country. The concert was planned for several months prior to its public announcement while the band was on their 2016 tour of South America, titled América Latina Olé Tour 2016. The bands' manager, Joyce Smyth, and Concerts West worked extensively with the Cuban government in order for the show to be approved, due to the Cuban government still having control over what its citizens listen to. The embargo on Cuba proved to be a technical challenge for the band and stage crews since they had to ship all of their equipment from Belgium and could not rely on local infrastructure to assist to the degree that they are used to in more developed areas. ### Delays The concert took place five days after President Barack Obama visited Cuba, marking the first time a sitting United States president has visited the island nation since the 30th President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, visited the nation 88 years earlier, in 1928. After it was announced that President Obama would arrive on 20 March 2016, the decision was made to reschedule the concert to 25 March 2016, due to security concerns. Shortly before the rescheduled concert date, Pope Francis attempted to delay it, asking that the band play on a later date as the concert was scheduled for 25 March 2016, which was Good Friday, a major and solemn Christian holiday. The Vatican also suggested that the band delay the start of their concert until midnight to avoid the holy day. However, the Stones opted to play the concert at the originally scheduled date and time. ### Events Prior to the show, the band were guests of honour at the British embassy in Cuba, which held a meet and greet on 24 March 2016 for approximately 200 people, many being Cuban musicians. The Rolling Stones also started a "musician-to-musician" charity initiative in which musical instruments were donated by major instrument suppliers to Cuban musicians of all genres. ### Release of film and soundtrack Havana Moon had a limited one night premiere in over one thousand theatres internationally 23 September 2016. The film made its United States television premiere on the premium cable television service Starz 22 January 2017, but could be downloaded on the Starz app 15 January 2017. The sound track of the film was released on the iTunes Store and the music streaming service Spotify 11 November 2016. The film was released on DVD, Blu-ray, DVD+2CD, DVD+3LP, Digital Video, and Digital Audio. ## Reception The concert itself was attended by a crowd estimated to have consisted of over 500,000 concert-goers and marked the first time a foreign rock band had performed an open-air concert in Cuba to a crowd of that size, breaking the previous record of the Italian singer Zucchero Fornaciari who performed to a crowd of nearly 70,000 goers in 2012. The film received critical acclaim from multiple publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and The Daily Telegraph. The New York Times stated that "The Rolling Stones gave a stunning performance". The Guardian remarked that the show was "spectacular and historic." Rolling Stone magazine praised the concert, stating that it was "no ordinary concert" and had a significant impact for music in Cuba. > "This was no ordinary concert. People hugged and shared looks of disbelief. Coming at the end of a run of shows in South America and Mexico, last night might have marked at least a temporary pause for the legendary group, but it had all the markings of a new chapter for music in Cuba." > “We have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too.” ## Set list
34,484,574	Toyota TS030 Hybrid	1,164,297,959	Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) sports car	[ "24 Hours of Le Mans race cars", "Green racing", "Hybrid electric cars", "Le Mans Prototypes", "Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles", "Toyota racing cars" ]	The Toyota TS030 Hybrid is a Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) sports car built by Toyota Motorsport GmbH and used by the manufacturer in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012 and 2013. It was Toyota's first all new prototype since the GT-One last competed in 1999, and was the first petrol-hybrid engine car to participate in the World Endurance Championship. Work on designing the car began in late 2010 when early chassis designs were presented to Toyota Motorsport. The project was stopped briefly after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, but the car's building was approved six months later. The TS030 Hybrid featured a Kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) regenerative braking device to charge a super capacitor. Its engine, a naturally aspirated petrol 3.4-litre (210 cu in) V8 power unit, was mounted at a 90-degree angle, produced 530 horsepower (400 kW; 540 PS), and was based on Toyota's Super GT project. On 24 January 2012 the TS030 Hybrid was shown to the press for the first time at Circuit Paul Ricard and the team commenced testing at the track shortly after. Its planned debut at the 2012 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was delayed while the car's chassis was rebuilt after a heavy testing crash. Two TS030 Hybrid cars were entered for Le Mans which saw the team fail to finish because of a sizeable accident by Anthony Davidson in the No. 8 vehicle, and an engine failure for the sister No. 7 entry. After the race, the company fielded a sole TS030 Hybrid for the rest of the season and attracted attention for an innovative rear wing extension. It was able to compete successfully against the two Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars, securing three victories with drivers Nicolas Lapierre and Alexander Wurz, ending the season second to their rivals in the World Manufacturers' Championship. Further car development was undertaken to minimise the impact of the 2013 LMP1 technical regulations by focusing on engine fine-tuning for improvements in power, efficiency and reliability. Only one TS030 Hybrid was entered for the entire 2013 World Endurance Championship because Toyota had limited resources, though a second car was used in selected races. The 2012-specification chassis was used in the season's first two races with the updated 2013 chassis debuting at Spa-Francorchamps. The TS030 Hybrid cars won two of the eight rounds contested in the season with a second-place finish for the No. 8 vehicle at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Toyota again finished second behind their rivals Audi in the Manufacturers' Championship. The 2014 LMP1 regulations rendered the TS030 Hybrid obsolete, and it was superseded by the TS040 Hybrid. ## Background Prior to the development of the TS030 Hybrid, Toyota last competed in sports car racing in 1999. That year their cars, called GT-Ones, qualified on pole position for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All three cars ran quickly for most of the race although two retired from tyre issues, while the remaining GT-One finished in second place behind race winners BMW. The company chose to withdraw from sports car racing at the end of the year to concentrate their efforts on establishing their Formula One team. After the Hybrid GT500 Toyota Supra HV-R won the Tokachi 24 Hours outright in 2007, Toyota sought a larger and more international audience for acknowledgement of the company's work in hybrid racing technology. Engineers set themselves the objective of developing a purpose-built car to return to international endurance racing, and garner worldwide interest by competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. ## Design and development Work on designing the car began in late 2010 when early designs of its chassis were presented to Toyota Motorsport. The project was halted briefly after the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 although the building of the car was approved six months later. The carbon fibre monocoque was constructed at Toyota Motorsport's headquarters in Cologne which built 84% of the chassis, and performed aerodynamic development of the design in its wind tunnel. Designers were influenced by findings from outdated Dome chassis and impressions from current Audi and Peugeot monocoques. The suspension setup consisted of an independent double wishbone system with pushrod actuated dampers, and was designed to accommodate wide tyres. Its engine, a naturally aspirated petrol 3.4-litre (210 cu in) V8 power unit, was mounted at a 90-degree angle, and produced 530 horsepower (400 kW; 540 PS). Toyota engineers elected to base the engine on their Super GT project instead of constructing a new one. The six-speed sequential gearbox unit was transverse-mounted to the engine and the brakes were constructed from carbon materials. The TS030 Hybrid featured a Kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) regenerative braking device produced by Toyota Racing Development (the Le Mans organisers, Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), use the alternate name ERS) to charge a super capacitor. The extra power is directed to the rear wheels, giving an automatic horsepower increase of 300 bhp (220 kW; 300 PS). Its motor generator unit acts as a generator under braking; this allows it to harvest direct energy from the drive shaft which slows the car and converts energy into electricity that is stored in the super capacitor, which was supplied by Nisshinbo and mounted in the car's passenger compartment. The result allows for faster lap times when the driver exits track turns and saves fuel by reducing engine usage leaving a corner. Toyota chose Aisin AW to build the front electric motor while Denso were selected to build the rear power unit. Under the 2012 Le Mans rules they were allowed to use the system at any speed, unlike Audi who had elected to send power to the front, with a restriction to a minimum speed of 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph). Michelin was the team's tyre supplier. ### Livery, launch and testing The car was liveried in white, with blue stripes running down the sides of the cockpit and on top of each of its sidepods. Several sponsor stickers were on a number of areas of the car. The vehicle's race number was placed in a red square on the middle of the top section of its front left fender and the far-right of both fenders. The livery incorporated the colour scheme of Toyota's hybrid production cars and returned to the livery used by the Japanese manufacturer between 1985 and 1993. Toyota publicly announced its return to sports car racing in October 2011. Three months later the first car undertook a three-day, private test session at Circuit Paul Ricard. Toyota planned to test their TS030s for 40,000 kilometres (25,000 mi) during the 2012 pre-season period. The company entered into a partnership with the French-based Oreca racing team for the provision of operational support. On 24 January the TS030 was shown to the press for the first time during its test session at Paul Ricard. After its three-day roll-out at Paul Ricard, the TS030 Hybrid covered more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) with tyre evaluation, testing the hybrid system over long distances, and aerodynamic and mechanical set-up optimising undertaken in their test session. The team returned to the track in mid-February and performed a 30-hour endurance stint, after evaluating multiple performance developments. After a heavy accident at Paul Ricard during a second endurance test on 4 April that damaged the chassis beyond repair, Toyota cancelled seven days of running at EuroSpeedway Lausitz and Ciudad del Motor de Aragón. Following the car's rebuilding, Toyota scheduled a functionality test at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours one month later. ### Preparation The initial schedule for the TS030s consisted of participation in the May pre-qualifying and testing session at Le Mans in preparation for the race in June. It was scheduled to make its début in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, but its heavy accident at Paul Ricard, forced the team was forced to delay the TS030's debut race appearance until the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June because of the time needed to produce a new monocoque. The ACO and world motorsport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), persuaded Toyota to expand their presence in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) by extending the deadline for entries following Peugeot's withdrawal from sports car racing, but Toyota elected not to enter the 12 Hours of Sebring because of time constraints. In early 2012, Toyota named seven drivers to the team. Sébastien Buemi, the third driver for the Red Bull Racing Formula One team, had no prior experience of endurance motor racing. Former Williams Formula One and Formula Nippon driver Kazuki Nakajima also came from an open wheel racing background. Anthony Davidson was added to the team for his previous experience with sports cars, while Nicolas Lapierre transferred from Team Oreca's Le Mans squad. Alexander Wurz also had extensive experience of sports car racing having twice won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Stéphane Sarrazin was employed by Toyota in May 2012 to replace Hiroaki Ishiura who withdrew following the completion of the car's first testing session due to back discomfort. Super GT competitor Andrea Caldarelli served as the team's junior driver. ## Racing history ### 2012 The TS030 Hybrid made its race debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with two cars entered. It was the first petrol-hybrid car to compete in the WEC. Despite electrical problems in practice and qualifying, the No. 8 car qualified third with the No. 7 entry securing fifth. On the 82nd lap, Davidson collided with the No. 81 AF Corse Ferrari of Piergiuseppe Perazzini at Mulsanne corner, somersaulted into the air and crashed heavily into a tyre barrier. Davidson got out of his car unassisted, but was transported to a local hospital, complaining of back pain. A medical inspection found he had cracked two vertebrae (T11 & T12) from the accident. The No. 7 TS030 Hybrid, which had briefly led the race before the accident, had previously suffered from car damage that required lengthy repairs to it, and retired ten and a half hours into the event after an engine failure. After Le Mans, Toyota fielded one car for the remainder of the season, and installed innovative rear wing extensions to their cars which garnered controversy in the series, but were declared legal. The championship resumed two months later at Silverstone, where the No. 7 Toyota qualified in third position, seven-tenths of a second behind the pole-sitting No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Marcel Fässler, Benoît Tréluyer and André Lotterer. In the race, the car was able to compete with the lead Audi car, with the two vehicles trading the lead throughout, but lost their race-long duel and took second place, finishing ahead of Allan McNish's and Tom Kristensen's third-placed No. 2 Audi. Nakajima missed the next two events because of Super GT commitments. At the following round of the season, the 6 Hours of São Paulo, Wurz took the TS030 Hybrid's first pole position on his first timed lap which he improved on minutes later; he was nearly eight-tenths of a second faster than Audi's No. 2 car driven by Lucas di Grassi. Wurz and Lapierre maintained the No. 7's pole position advantage throughout most of the race, only ceding it to Audi during the pit stop cycles, to secure its first victory in the WEC. Lapierre qualified the No. 7 TS030 in third place for the 6 Hours of Bahrain behind the two rival Audi cars. Wurz started the car and used slower traffic to move into the lead 13 minutes into the race. Wurz and later Lapierre cemented their advantage at the front of the field over the next two hours until both illuminated number panels failed, forcing an unscheduled seven-minute pit stop for replacement car parts. Lapierre and later Wurz recovered to third place before Laiperre made contact with Jonny Kane in the No. 21 Strakka Racing HPD ARX-03a, damaging the No. 7 TS030 Hybrid's suspension. This caused him to abandon the car at the side of the track. For the 6 Hours of Fuji, Nakajima returned to partner Wurz and Lapierre. He was nominated by Toyota to drive the No. 7 car in qualifying and took pole position with an early effort that removed Tréluyer in the No. 1 Audi from the top of the time sheets. In the race, the vehicle kept its startline advantage and pulled away from the field. The No. 2 Audi of Lotterer, Tréluyer and Fässler traded the lead with the Toyota multiple times before it was penalised for colliding with a slower car. Hence, the No. 7 Toyota maintained the lead for the rest of the race to secure its second victory of the season. Nakajima was unable to attend the 6 Hours of Shanghai because his Super GT commitments took priority over WEC, leaving Wurz and Laiperre to drive the car as a two-person entry. Wurz put the No. 7 TS030 Hybrid on pole position despite losing time on his fastest lap, and was one-tenth of a second quicker than McNish's No. 2 Audi. In the race, the car was unhindered throughout as it consistently ran under a second faster than both Audi cars, and only ceded the lead to their rivals in the pit stop cycle, clinching its third victory of the season with a large lead over Audi's No. 2 car. Competing with the TS030 Hybrid, the Toyota team scored 96 points and were second to Audi in the 2012 World Manufacturers' Championship. ### 2013 Toyota opted to develop the car to minimise the impact of the 2013 Technical Regulations which increased the minimum weight of manufacturer Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) vehicles by 15 kilograms (33 lb) by focusing on fine-tuning the engine for power improvement, efficiency and reliability. They also manufactured new chassis tubs consisting of a narrower front nose because there was no longer a need to have an option to operate the hybrid system on the front wheels. The company had limited resources, so they elected to run one TS030 Hybrid for the entire WEC season with a second vehicle participating in selected rounds including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The first race of the season, the 6 Hours of Silverstone, saw Toyota bring two 2012-specification cars in place of the updated 2013 chassis. Nakajima was absent from Silverstone because of a Super Formula commitment. Despite a timing system malfunction preventing lap times from being published for more than an hour, the No. 7 and No. 8 Toyota cars qualified in first and second places, separated by nearly two seconds. However, the event was at best uneventful, with neither car being able to match either Audi's pace, finishing third and fourth overall having struggled in the first few hours of the race with tyre management. The second round of the season, the 2013 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, saw Toyota debut the new 2013 specification car with one older chassis entered. After a close qualifying session, the updated No. 7 car ran near the front of the race for the first three hours, before retiring due to overheating brakes as a result of a malfunctioning energy recovery system. With the rear brake assembly designed to be assisted with certain amounts of mechanical retardation provided by the hybrid recovery system by design, it did not provide the deceleration when malfunctioning, thus overloading the conventional rear brakes. The No. 8 sister car remained in fourth for the rest of the event, closing what was a mixed outcome for the team. Post race, technical director Pascal Vasselon explained that "his team's analysis from Spa showed that the current Balance of Performance significantly favoured Audi's turbo-diesel engine over its own normally-aspirated petrol engine," calling for the ACO and FIA for a more favourable balance of performance to be applied before Le Mans. As agreed at the season's start, the FIA and the ACO reviewed the technical regulations at the end of May 2013 to adjust the performance between petrol and diesel LMP1 cars for the rest of the 2013 championship. From Le Mans onward, petrol-engine cars had an additional 3 litres (0.66 imp gal; 0.79 US gal) of fuel capacity. At Le Mans, the No. 8 Toyota qualified fourth, three-tenths ahead of the sister TS030 Hybrid in fifth, but off the pace of both Audi cars. The race started on a damp and slippery track with the two TS030 cars driving faster than they had done in qualifying, moving up the field and separating the first five runners. As the track dried, Toyota dropped back from the quicker Audi cars, but had better fuel mileage. This recurring pattern continued into the night when the No. 7 and 8 Toyota vehicles took over second and third places after two of Audi's entrants ran into problems. Rain fell overnight and Toyota's tyre strategy enabled their cars to narrow Audi's lead to below two minutes. The positions remained constant until heavy rain fell on the track in the final hour, and Lapierre in the No. 8 Toyota aquaplaned into the barriers, requiring swift and extensive car repairs, and finished fourth overall. The No. 8 Toyota of Buemi gained on Kristensen's No. 2 Audi in the closing stages, but was too far behind to effect any positional change and came second. Starting from the 6 Hours of São Paulo, Davidson, Buemi and Sarrazin took part in the next two races while Wurz and Lapierre focused on developing Toyota's 2014 car and Nakajima concentrated on a joint Super Formula and Super GT programme. Buemi and Davidson were chosen to qualify the car and took third with a two-lap average lap time that was two-tenths slower than the pole-sitting No. 1 Audi. More than half an hour into the race, Sarrazin drove around the outside of the slower No. 32 Lotus T128 of Dominik Kraihamer to lap him, but Kraihamer lost control of his car's rear and went into Sarrazin's left-hand side. Both drivers made high speed contact with the turn three tyre barrier. The damage to the No. 8 Toyota's steering was great enough to force it to retire. At the inaugural 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas held three weeks later, Sarrazin and Buemi qualified the car in third position, 1.3 seconds off the lead No. 2 Audi car's pace, and Sarrazin could not improve following Jan Charouz's No. 32 Lotus T128 hitting his rear-end, sending the TS030 Hybrid spinning at the first turn. In a warm weather affected race, Buemi moved into second immediately after a fifteen-minute safety car period and challenged the No. 1 Audi for the lead before the pit stop cycle. Toyota achieved a strong performance through better tyre management, enabling the No. 8 car to finish second. Going into the team's home event, the 6 Hours of Fuji, Toyota announced that two TS030 Hybrid cars would take part in the race. Both Toyota cars lined up in second and third places on the grid with Buemi and Davidson driving the No. 8 car and Nakajima and Lapierre in the sister No. 7 vehicle. The race was shortened because of heavy rain and poor visibility. The No. 8 Toyota secured the victory when the No. 1 Audi made unscheduled pit stops for debris removal, with the other Toyota finishing one lap behind in 27th as it had to make a fuel pit stop at the race's start, but attempted to leave pit lane five seconds later than allowed and fell to the back of the field. Following their victory, Toyota changed a decision to run a sole car at Shanghai and included a second; reports suggested Toyota wished to increase their prospects of winning a race on outright speed. It was also confirmed that Nakajima would skip the round to contest the Super Formula Championship. Lapierre and Wurz qualified the No. 7 car on pole position with the No. 8 entry of Sarrazin and Buemi separating the two Audi cars in third. The No. 7 Toyota led the race heading into the final hour, but Wurz ceded it when he went off the racing line while moving past slower traffic because of worn tyres. It was overtaken by the No. 1 Audi and Wurz could only manage second place in the No. 7 car. Toyota's No. 8 car retired from the lead in the fifth hour because a right-front suspension bolt sheared. For the season-closing round in Bahrain, Toyota confirmed to the press that two cars would be fielded with the provision that neither car finished in Shanghai with major problems, although the No. 8 Toyota's suspension failure did not affect their decision. It was also announced that Nakajima would return to drive the No. 7 car with Lapierre and Wurz. Both cars qualified on the front row of the grid with Wurz and Nakajima's No. 7 vehicle taking pole position by three-tenths of a second from the No. 8 Toyota of Sarrazin and Davidson. Although it picked up a vibration in the race's closing minutes, the No. 8 Toyota was unchallenged throughout, taking the victory with a one-minute and ten-second advantage over Audi's No. 1 car. It shared the lead with sister car No. 7 until it was driven to the side of the track when its engine failed before the second hour's end. Competing with the TS030 for the second consecutive year, the Toyota team accumulated 142.5 points and finished in second place in the World Manufacturers' Championship, 64.5 points behind rivals Audi. The new LMP1 regulations for 2014 made the TS030 Hybrid obsolete. The car was retired, and replaced by the TS040 Hybrid. ## Results summary Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in italics indicate fastest lap. ## See also - TMG EV P001
18,168,681	I Will Be (song)	1,148,227,750	null	[ "2007 songs", "2009 singles", "Avril Lavigne songs", "Leona Lewis songs", "Music videos directed by Melina Matsoukas", "Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke", "Songs written by Avril Lavigne", "Songs written by Dr. Luke", "Songs written by Max Martin" ]	"I Will Be" is a song written and originally recorded by Canadian singer Avril Lavigne for her third studio album The Best Damn Thing (2007). It appeared on select editions of the album as a bonus track before English singer Leona Lewis covered it for her debut studio album Spirit (2007). Max Martin and Lukasz Gottwald co-wrote the song, whilst production was helmed by Gottwald under his production name Dr. Luke. It is a piano and guitar-led ballad. The song was released as the fourth and final US single from Spirit on January 6, 2009, by J Records. "I Will Be" garnered mixed reception from music critics, with some praising Lewis' vocal performance, whilst others described it as emotionless. Upon the release of Spirit in November 2007, the song peaked at number 160 on the UK Singles Chart due to strong digital download sales, but failed to attain a higher peak due to not being released as a single in the United Kingdom. However, it peaked at number 66 on the US Billboard Hot 100. An accompanying music video for the song was filmed in New York City and featured Chace Crawford as Lewis' love interest. Lewis performed the song live on the Late Show with David Letterman. ## Production and recording "I Will Be" was written by Avril Lavigne, Max Martin, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald; it was produced by Dr. Luke, and was co-produced by Steven Wolf and Max Beckley and Smit. Lavigne originally performed the song, which was included on her third studio album The Best Damn Thing, released in April 2007, included on the bonus track edition. In the same year, Leona Lewis covered the song for her debut album Spirit, utilizing the same instrumental as Lavigne's version. Lewis's version was recorded at multiple recording studios around the world, including Conway Recording Studios and Westlake Recording Studios, in Los Angeles, California; Henson Recording Studios, Opra Music, and Ocean Way Recording, all located in Hollywood, California; Dr. Luke's personal recording studio in New York City; Atlantic Studios, Stockholm, Sweden; Sarm West, London, England. The production coordinators were Gary "The Shredder" Silver and Emily Wright. A multitude of engineers were involved with the process of recording the song, including Doug McKean, Rob Smith, Seth Waldmann, Keith Gretlin, Josh Wilbur, Tom Syrowski, Tatiana Gottwald, Chris Soper, Sam Holland, Chris Holmes, Rouble Kapoor, Wesley Seidman, Janne Hansson, Emily Wright, Marcus Dextegen and Sam Cross. "I Will Be" was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge at Resonale Recording Studios, Burbank, CA, and was assisted by Keith Armstrong and Nik Karpen. For the instrumental, Leon Pendarvis was the conductor and arranger; Martin provided piano, Dr. Luke provided the electric guitar and Yamaha Acoustic guitar, Jack Daley provided the bass and Wolf provided the drums and percussion. ## Composition "I Will Be" is a piano and guitar led pop rock song, which lasts for a duration of 3 minutes, 58 seconds. The song was composed in the key of G major using common time and a slow groove at 72 beats per minute. Lewis's vocal range spans two octaves, from the low note of B<sub>3</sub> to the high note of B<sub>5</sub>, on the song. The song opens with the lyrics, "There's nothing I could say to you, nothing I could ever do to make you see what you mean to me." Chad Grischow for IGN described the song's piano led instrumental to be "overblown", but noted that Lewis has enough "vocal strength to prevent her from being overshadowed by the drowningly lush sound." Eric R. Danton wrote on his review of Spirit for the Hartford Courant daily that "I Will Be" begins with a "spare piano introduction" that "blossoms into an arrangement buoyed by strings and then drums and guitar". Danton described Lewis's vocals as "delicate" and that "take flight on the chorus". ## Response ### Critical reception The song garnered a mixed response from music critics. Nate Chinen for The New York Times was complimentary of Lewis's cover, and praised her "powerhouse vocals". Matt O'Leary for Virgin Media wrote that Lewis's rendition of the song was "epic", and that when the production is kept minimal, "her uniqueness is allowed to shine." Although Sarah Rodman for The Boston Globe described the song as "predictable", she praised Lewis's ability to sing with "believable pathos" and hit clean notes. Sal Cinquemani for Slant Magazine was also critical of the song, writing that it is "dangerously middle-of-the-road." Danton from the Hartford Courant considered the song as "ready-made for awards shows or emotional on-screen montages." He concluded that "I Will Be" is a "powerful stuff, and it would make for a gem of a pop record if it kept up." ### Chart performance Upon the release of Spirit in the United Kingdom, "I Will Be" debuted and peaked at number 160 on the UK Singles Chart from digital download sales. Upon its release as a single in January 2009 in the United States, "I Will Be" debuted on the US Pop Songs chart at number 34 on 31 January 2009. In its second week, it rose to number 31, and again to number 28 in its third week. It peaked at number 24 and remained on the chart for eight weeks. In its seventh and eighth weeks, it charted at numbers 25 and 31, respectively. It debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 94 on 14 February 2009. It peaked at number 66, and exited the chart at number 80. The song debuted on the US Adult Pop Songs chart at number 39 on 7 March 2009, and rose to number 34 the following week. In its third and fourth weeks, the song charted at numbers 33 and 25, respectively. "I Will Be" peaked at number 23 in its fifth week on the chart, and fell to number 24 the following week. It also debuted at number 65 on the US Hot Digital Songs chart on 21 February 2009, which was also its peak. In Canada, the song entered the chart at number 86, and peaked at number 83. ## Music video The music video for "I Will Be" was shot in New York City on 18 December 2008, and features Gossip Girl actor Chace Crawford as one of the characters. A reporter for People explained how the inclusion of Crawford in the video came to fruition, writing that "Chace went to London a couple months ago for meetings and to promote Gossip Girl. He went to a party and ended up meeting Leona. [They] hit it off and talk every once in a while and have become fast friends. A couple weeks ago Leona called Chace and asked if he would be in her next video. He obviously said yes." In the video, it is presumed that Lewis and Crawford have stolen a large amount of money, as it opens with dialogue between the pair and how they are going to try and arrange to meet each other at a later date, due to the police closing in on them. As the song begins to play, Lewis sings the first verse on the car bonnet in which they were shown sitting in previously. As she sings the first chorus, she stands up and faces Crawford in the car, and begins to walk away in a car park as she sings the second verse. For the second chorus, Lewis is shown to evade the police by trying to escape by car park stairways, but is confronted by policemen wherever she goes. For the final chorus, Lewis makes it out onto the road and runs from the police in their cars, but is ultimately blocked from escape in all directions as they close in on her, arrest her, and place her in the back of a police car. People ranked the video as one of the most anticipated videos to be released in January 2009. ## Live performances On 20 January 2009, Lewis performed the song on the Late Show with David Letterman. ## Credits and personnel Recording - Recorded at Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Dr. Luke's, NYC; Opra Music, Hollywood CA; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA; Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Atlantic Studios, Stockholm, Sweden; Sarm West, London, England. - Mixed at Resonale Studios, Burbank, CA. Personnel - Songwriting – Avril Lavigne, Max Martin, Lukasz Gottwald - Production – Dr. Luke - Co-production – Steven Wolf, Max Beckley and Smit - Production coordinators – Gary "The Shredder" Silver, Emily Wright - Engineers – Doug McKean, Rob Smith, Seth Waldmann, Keith Gretlin, Josh Wilbur, Tom Syrowski, Tatiana Gottwald, Chris Soper, Sam Holland, Chris Holmes, Rouble Kapoor, Wesley Seidman, Janne Hansson, Emily Wright, Marcus Dextegen, Sam Cross - Mixing – Chris Lord-Alge - Assistant mixing – Keith Armstrong, Nik Karpen - Conductor and Arranger – Leon Pendarvis - Piano – Max Martin - Electric Guitars, Yamaha Acoustic Guitar – Dr. Luke - Bass – Jack Daley - Drums and percussion – Steven Wolf Credits adapted from the liner notes of Spirit, Syco Music, J Records, Sony Music. ## Charts ## Release history
3,393,139	KUVS-DT	1,172,274,746	Univision TV station in Modesto, California	[ "1966 establishments in California", "Bounce TV affiliates", "Ion Mystery affiliates", "Modesto, California", "Spanish-language television stations in California", "Television channels and stations established in 1966", "Television stations in Sacramento, California" ]	KUVS-DT (channel 19) is a television station licensed to Modesto, California, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Univision network to the Sacramento area. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision USA alongside Stockton-licensed UniMás outlet KTFK-DT (channel 64). Both stations share studios on Arden Way near Cal Expo in Sacramento, while KUVS-DT's transmitter is located near Valley Springs, California. Channel 19 in Modesto was founded by country and western performer Chester Smith and began broadcasting as KLOC-TV on August 26, 1966. It was an English-language independent station but struggled to obtain programming once distributors raised their rate. As a result, the station simulcast co-owned KLOC radio during the day and began airing Spanish-language shows at night. By the 1970s, it was specializing in daytime Christian programming and evening Spanish-language programming. Its coverage area expanded to include Sacramento in 1975; the call sign changed to KCSO-TV in 1981 when Smith sold KLOC radio. Over the course of the 1980s, Smith built several additional television stations in central California and Nevada broadcasting Spanish-language programming. Chester Smith sold KCSO to Univision in 1997; Smith retained the call sign, so the station was renamed KUVS-TV. The station moved most of its operations from Modesto to Sacramento after the sale. It produces local Spanish-language newscasts for the market as well as a weekly public affairs program seen on other Univision stations in California. All of KUVS-DT's subchannels are rebroadcast in the immediate Sacramento area on KEZT-CD (channel 23), and KTFK-DT also rebroadcasts the Univision subchannel of KUVS-DT to provide improved coverage. ## History ### Chester Smith ownership On March 3, 1964, Corbett Pierce and country and western performer Chester Smith, owner of KLOC (920 AM) in Ceres, applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to build a new television station on channel 17 in Modesto, one of two channels allocated to the city. The FCC approved the application on November 12, 1964; after a national overhaul of ultra high frequency (UHF) channel allocations finalized in early 1966 shifted Modesto's channel allocation to channel 19, the station began broadcasting as independent station KLOC-TV on August 26, 1966. Initially, KLOC maintained a general-entertainment format and was one of the stations that carried programming from the United Network during its one month of operation in May 1967. About a year after its sign-on, the syndicators providing KLOC's programming raised their prices to the levels closer to a Sacramento-licensed station (the station's owners had been acquired programming at lower rates closer to that of an unrated television market); KLOC-TV alleged that Stockton's KOVR had pressured syndicators not to do business with the Modesto station. Smith resorted to simulcasting KLOC radio's programming during the daytime hours, including a camera in the radio station's studios showing the disc jockeys live, and ran Spanish-language telenovelas in the evening, when the radio station signed off. Advertising revenue from the radio station helped keep channel 19 afloat. In 1972, the station joined the Spanish International Network (SIN), predecessor to Univision; soon after came an affiliation with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) to air religious programs. SIN and CBN provided steady income and turned the struggling station's fortunes around. In 1975, the station increased its power and finally began broadcasting in color; the technical improvements also resulted in Sacramento being able to receive the station for the first time. Smith sought to expand the reach of his station's programming. In 1976, he proposed to build a satellite station on channel 42 in Concord, which had lay fallow for a decade following the short-lived existence of KCFT-TV a decade prior, with a transmitter to be built atop Mount Diablo. The move was roundly opposed by citizens' groups that felt that Concord's channel 42 would be better used by a station that proposed more local programming. Two television stations that broadcast Spanish-language programming, KEMO-TV (channel 20) in San Francisco and KMUV-TV (channel 31) in Sacramento, also objected. As a result, KLOC abandoned the Concord proposal in December 1976. In 1979, KLOC won the rights to build channel 35 in Salinas, to repeat much of its Modesto programming to the Monterey Bay area; as a result, the KLOC radio station was sold off as a condition of obtaining the construction permit, and the television station changed its call sign to KCSO ("Chester Smith Organization") in 1981. KCBA started broadcasting on November 1, 1981, becoming an English-language independent station several years later. In 1986, KREN-TV went on the air as an SIN-affiliated sister station in Reno, Nevada. Later in the decade, K07TA and K09UF, predecessors to today's KTAS (channel 33), went on air in the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo area, and in 1991, plans were revealed for further stations in Merced and Eureka. KCSO's primary local program was its 6 p.m. local newscast, which was produced on a "dental floss budget", in the words of Xóchitl Arellano, who worked at the station when it was still located in Modesto. However, the number of news personnel slowly increased throughout the 1990s. ### Univision ownership In late 1996, Smith announced the sale of KCSO to Univision for \$40 million (equivalent to \$ in dollars); once the sale closed, the station's morning Christian programs would be discontinued to make way for broadcasting all of Univision's Spanish-language output. (The KCSO call letters were retained by Smith, who started KCSO-LP, a Telemundo affiliate, in 1999.) Smith was paid in Univision stock, which quadrupled in value between 1997 and 1999. Univision changed the call letters to KUVS, relocated operations from Modesto to Sacramento, and added an 11 p.m. local newscast to the station's longstanding 6 p.m. local news, which also began to cover news in Sacramento. It was the first time a network had placed an owned-and-operated TV station in Sacramento. Univision purchased a former bank building across from the Arden Fair Mall to house its Sacramento operation, leaving only sales and news personnel in Modesto. ## Newscasts and other local programming The KUVS newsroom in Sacramento airs half-hour local early and late evening newscasts seven days a week and A Primera Hora ("First Thing in the Morning"), a one-hour-long morning newscast at 6 a.m. In 2017, Univision debuted a statewide Edición Digital (Digital Edition) newscast, aired at 12:30 p.m. The station began producing local newscasts in the early 1970s, though the station's resources were limited. The news set consisted of a table and chairs until anchor Xóchitl Arellano persuaded San Francisco's KGO-TV to sell its previous news set to KCSO for \$2,000. KUVS also produces Voz y Voto, a weekly political roundtable program distributed to Univision's California stations. When it debuted in 1999, the program was co-produced with KMEX-TV in Los Angeles and was originally hosted by Rosa Maria Villalpando; Armando Botello, state political columnist for Los Angeles newspaper La Opinión; and Arellano, among others. In 2005, the program featured an exclusive interview with governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arellano continued to serve as one of the program's anchors until she left the station in 2007. ## Technical information ### Subchannels The station's digital signal is multiplexed: There is no 19.2 on this multiplex, as it is broadcast from KTFK-DT. KEZT-CD broadcasts the subchannels on this multiplex using major channel 23. KUVS-DT is part of Sacramento's ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) deployment on KQCA, which began operating in July 2021. ### Analog-to-digital conversion KUVS-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 19, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 18.
13,990,390	Isn't It a Pity	1,167,790,750	Original song written and composed by George Harrison	[ "1970 singles", "1970 songs", "1970s ballads", "Apple Records singles", "Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles", "British folk rock songs", "Folk ballads", "George Harrison songs", "Music published by Harrisongs", "Nina Simone songs", "RPM Top Singles number-one singles", "Rock ballads", "Song recordings produced by George Harrison", "Song recordings produced by Phil Spector", "Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements", "Songs written by George Harrison" ]	"Isn't It a Pity" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 solo album All Things Must Pass. It appears in two variations there: one the well-known, seven-minute version; the other a reprise, titled "Isn't It a Pity (Version Two)". Harrison wrote the song in 1966, but it was rejected for inclusion on releases by the Beatles. In many countries around the world, the song was also issued on a double A-side single with "My Sweet Lord". In America, Billboard magazine listed it with "My Sweet Lord" when the single topped the Hot 100 chart, while in Canada, "Isn't It a Pity" reached number 1 as the preferred side. An anthemic ballad and one of Harrison's most celebrated compositions, "Isn't It a Pity" has been described as the emotional and musical centrepiece of All Things Must Pass and "a poignant reflection on The Beatles' coarse ending". Co-produced by Phil Spector, the recording employs multiple keyboard players, rhythm guitarists and percussionists, as well as orchestral and choral arrangements by John Barham. The track also serves as a showcase for Harrison's slide guitar playing, a technique he introduced with All Things Must Pass. In its long fadeout, the song references the closing refrain of the Beatles' 1968 hit "Hey Jude". Other musicians on the recording include Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Gary Wright and the band Badfinger, while the reprise version features Eric Clapton on lead guitar. The song appeared as the closing track on Harrison's career-spanning compilation Let It Roll (2009), and a live version, from his 1991 tour with Clapton, was included on Live in Japan (1992). Clapton and Preston performed the song together at the Concert for George tribute in November 2002. "Isn't It a Pity" has been covered by numerous artists, including Nina Simone, Dana, Matt Monro, Galaxie 500, Cowboy Junkies and Peter Frampton. ## Background and composition While no longer the "really tight" social unit they had been throughout the chaos of Beatlemania – or the "four-headed monster", as Mick Jagger famously called them – the individual Beatles were still bonded by genuine friendship during their final, troubled years as a band, even if it was now more of a case of being locked together at a deep psychological level after such a sustained period of heightened experience. Eric Clapton has described this bond as being just like that of a typical family, "with all the difficulties that entails". When the band finally split, in April 1970 – a "terrible surprise" for the outside world, in the words of author Mark Hertsgaard, "like the sudden death of a beloved young uncle" – even the traditionally most disillusioned Beatle, George Harrison, suffered a mild bereavement. Towards the end of May that year, among the dozens of tracks that would be considered for his All Things Must Pass triple album, Harrison returned to several unused songs that he had written in the late 1960s. Dating from 1966, "Isn't It a Pity" had most recently been rejected by the Beatles during the January 1969 Get Back sessions that resulted in their final album, Let It Be. According to EMI engineer Geoff Emerick, Harrison had offered it for inclusion on 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, while Beatles biographer Mark Lewisohn has stated that it was first presented during sessions for the previous year's Revolver. In a taped conversation from the January 1969 Get Back sessions, Harrison reminds John Lennon that he had vetoed "Isn't It a Pity" three years before; Harrison also says he considered offering the song to Frank Sinatra. In addition, Harrison had hoped to record "Isn't It a Pity" for the band's 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as the "White Album"). Despite its relative antiquity by 1970, the song's lyrics lent themselves well to the themes of spiritual salvation and friendship that define All Things Must Pass, being consistent with the karmic subject matter of much of the album. In his 1980 autobiography, Harrison explains: "'Isn't It a Pity' is about whenever a relationship hits a down point ... It was a chance to realise that if I felt somebody had let me down, then there's a good chance I was letting someone else down." His lyrics adopt a nonjudgmental tone throughout: > Isn't it a pity, isn't it a shame > How we break each other's hearts, and cause each other pain > How we take each other's love without thinking any more > Forgetting to give back, now isn't it a pity. According to musicologist and critic Wilfrid Mellers, writing in 1973, "Isn't It a Pity" blends the three song types embraced by Harrison as a solo artist – love song, rock song and hymn. He viewed it as the "key-song" on Harrison's post-Beatles debut solo album. Author Ian Inglis refers to its "surprisingly complex" lyrics, which in one sense can be seen as a personal observation on a "failed love affair" yet at the same time serve as a comment on "the universal love for, and among, humankind". This theme had featured in previous Harrison songs such as "Within You Without You" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and would remain prominent in many of his subsequent compositions. The same parallels regarding the universality of love in Harrison's work have been recognised by Dale Allison, author of the first "spiritual biography" on the ex-Beatle; "When George asks, 'Isn't It A Pity?'," Allison writes, "the scope of his question is vast: it embraces almost everything." Speaking to Billboard editor-in-chief Timothy White in 2000, Harrison said of "Isn't It a Pity": "It's just an observation of how society and myself were or are. We take each other for granted – and forget to give back. That was really all it was about." ## Recording Two contrasting versions of the song were recorded in London in mid 1970 during the sessions for All Things Must Pass, both of which were intended for release from the outset. According to Harrison, after recording the first version, he decided he was unhappy with it, and the second version came about by chance "weeks later", when one of the backing musicians began playing the song during a session. The so-called "Isn't It a Pity (Version Two)" is noticeably slower than the better known, seven-minute "epic" reading of the song. Eric Clapton's lead guitar fills, phased piano from Tony Ashton, and John Barham-arranged woodwinds dominate Version Two, which is also more in keeping with the Beatles' earlier attempts on the track; as with "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp", it features extensive use of the Leslie speaker sound so familiar from the band's Abbey Road album. The first version of "Isn't It a Pity" betrays the influence of co-producer Phil Spector more so than Version Two. It is also the most extreme example of Harrison's stated intention to allow some of the songs on All Things Must Pass to run longer and feature instrumentation to a greater degree than had been possible within the confines of the more pop-oriented Beatles approach to recording. "Isn't It a Pity" (Version One, in its All Things Must Pass context) starts small and builds, and reflects Harrison and Barham's interest in incorporating orchestration into the album's rock sound. Barham stayed at Harrison's home, Friar Park, and created the scores for "Isn't It a Pity" and other songs from melodies that Harrison sang or played to him on piano or guitar. Taping of the basic track took place at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road Studios) on 2 June. According to Spector's comments regarding Harrison's early mixes, the orchestral arrangement was not added until late August at the earliest. The first slide-guitar break on the released recording uses a near-identical melody to the one Harrison had vocalised when playing the song for the other Beatles on 26 January 1969 – reflecting a quality admired by Elton John in the latter's 2002 tribute to Harrison: "All his solos are very melodic – you can almost sing his solos." "Isn't It a Pity" provided a showcase for Harrison's newly adopted slide guitar style, which incorporated aspects of Indian music, particularly in its evocation of a sarod, and the Western blues tradition. Inglis writes that the effect of Harrison's "elaborate patterns" on slide guitar is to "counterbalance the underlying atmosphere of pessimism with shafts of beauty", similar to the "notes of light and dark" provided by Pete Drake's pedal steel on the song "All Things Must Pass". Author Simon Leng comments on the similarity of Harrison and Barham's combined musical counterbalance in the first instrumental break with elements of Indian raga, in the number of swaras (tones) in both ascending and descending scales. He writes, "the song becomes a balancing act between a celebration of life (slide guitar and choir) and introspection (the orchestra and underlying harmony)." Now in the key of G (two semitones down from the Get Back performance), "Isn't It a Pity" begins with a two-note pedal point provided by layers of keyboards and acoustic guitars. Only at the one-minute mark, at the start of verse two, does the rhythm section come in, after which the instruments begin to "break out of their metronomic straitjacket to attain an almost ecstatic release", as Beatles Forever author Nicholas Schaffner put it in 1977. The "balmy" slide guitar passage, supported by Barham's string section, follows this second verse, and from that point on – around 2:38 – the same, circular chord structure continues for the remaining four-and-a-half minutes of the song. The long coda sees what Schaffner termed the "pseudo-symphonic tension" burst into a frenzy of brass and timpani, further slide guitar soloing, and the "What a pity" mantra joined by "Hey Jude"-style "Na-na-na-na" chorus. This section is underpinned by a droning "om"-like vocal refrain and a descending three-note horn motif. Rolling Stone's reviewer later termed All Things Must Pass "the music of mountain tops and vast horizons". "Isn't It a Pity" featured the largest line-up of musicians found on the album – including three or four keyboard players, a trio of extra rhythm guitarists, the orchestral strings, brass and tympani, and a male choir. The use of multiple acoustic guitars and pianos playing the same parts was a characteristic of Spector's Wall of Sound production aesthetic. Harrison's former bandmate Ringo Starr and two musicians with well-established links to the Beatles, Klaus Voormann and Billy Preston, were among the participants. Preston later said he had reservations about Spector's preference for having several keyboard players play the same chords in different octaves, to strengthen the sound, but "with George's stuff it was perfect." Having suffered in the Beatles at McCartney's habit of dictating how each musician should play, Harrison allowed the contributors to All Things Must Pass the freedom to express themselves in their playing. Badfinger guitarist Joey Molland said that Harrison directed the sessions, and was unassuming and patient: "He'd come over to us, bring the guitar over and say, 'Okay, this is "Isn't It a Pity".' He'd go through the song with us once or twice, and show us the changes; you know George used all those diminished chords. We'd learn as we went along, and generally after two times through the song we had a really good idea of how it went." Harrison played multiple guitars on the recording, while three members of Badfinger provided the ambient acoustic guitars typical of Spector's Wall of Sound. Discussing the sounds revealed in their 2020 remix of the album, Paul Hicks and Dhani Harrison comment on the presence of Moog synthesizer parts on "Isn't It a Pity", including a pattern that provides a counterpoint to the massed backing vocals and a high-register line that Hicks says is easily mistaken for "the top end of some guitar fuzz". To accompany his and Badfinger's acoustic guitars on some All Things Must Pass tracks, Harrison invited Peter Frampton to the sessions. According to author Bruce Spizer, Frampton may have been among the rhythm guitarists on "Isn't It a Pity". Pianist Gary Wright, who went to collaborate regularly with Harrison over the subsequent decades, recalls the session for "Isn't It a Pity" as being his first with Harrison. Bobby Whitlock, the other main keyboard player on All Things Must Pass, with Wright, recalls playing a "phase-shifted pump organ, or harmonium" on the track. Maurice Gibb, Starr's Highgate neighbour at the time, claimed to have played piano on the song. Badfinger drummer Mike Gibbins played tambourine, and Spizer lists other, "unknown percussionists". According to Gibbins, he and Alan White played most of the percussion parts on the album, "switch[ing] on tambourine, sticks, bells, maracas ... whatever was needed". ## Release Originally, the intention had been to release "Isn't It a Pity" as the lead single from All Things Must Pass in October 1970. Following the Beatles' disbandment, much of Apple Records' promotional decision-making was made in New York. Allan Steckler, who ran the US operation under Apple manager Allen Klein, was "stunned" by the quality of Harrison's material and identified "Isn't It a Pity", "My Sweet Lord" and "What Is Life" as the album's three hit singles. Spector later said he insisted that "My Sweet Lord" was the most obvious choice, and he had to push Harrison and "his manager" on this point. The seven-minute "Isn't It a Pity" was therefore issued as a double A-side with "My Sweet Lord" on 23 November in the United States (as Apple 2995), four days before the album's release there. Reflecting the equal status of the two tracks, both sides of the single's picture sleeve featured the same Barry Feinstein-shot photo of Harrison, the only differences being the song title below Harrison's name and the fact that the green Apple Records logo and catalogue number appeared only on the side for "My Sweet Lord". The single was phenomenally successful in North America, and around the world. Both songs were listed at number 1 on America's Billboard Hot 100 chart, for four weeks starting on 26 December. On the Cash Box chart, which listed single sides separately, it peaked at number 46. In Canada, "Isn't It a Pity" was the lead side when the single topped the RPM 100 chart for five weeks, through to mid January 1971. "Isn't It a Pity" was issued on All Things Must Pass as the final track on side one of the triple LP, providing, in biographer Elliot Huntley's words, an "elegiac, plaintive song of reconciliation" after the angry "Wah-Wah". Author Robert Rodriguez writes of the public's perception of "Isn't It a Pity": "All Things Must Pass was replete with songs that could easily be interpreted as commentary on the Beatles' breakup; though this particular song predated the events of 1969–1970, the subtext [wasn't] diminished in the least." "Isn't It a Pity (Version Two)" appeared as the penultimate track on side four of the original three-record set, thus serving as what Rodriguez terms "a bookend to a nearly completed journey". The single and the album surprised the music industry and elevated Harrison beyond Lennon and McCartney in the period following the Beatles' break-up. ## Critical reception Ben Gerson of Rolling Stone deemed All Things Must Pass "both an intensely personal statement and a grandiose gesture, a triumph over artistic modesty" and referenced the three-record set as an "extravaganza of piety and sacrifice and joy, whose sheer magnitude and ambition may dub it the War and Peace of rock 'n' roll". Gerson also lauded the album's production and described "Isn't It a Pity" as a "lament ... whose beginning is the broken thirds of John's 'I Am the Walrus' and whose end is the decadent, exultant last half of Paul's 'Hey Jude'". The NME's Alan Smith described it as a track that "catches the mood of aching tolerance of pain, which Harrison can do so well" and a ballad that "will stand out from the album with the passing of the years". While reviewing the song's pairing with "My Sweet Lord", Billboard magazine wrote of a "powerhouse two-sided winner" with "equally potent lyric lines and infectious rhythms". Cash Box said that Harrison was making his single debut "in a grand manner with two towering sides", of which "Isn't It a Pity" was the "more impressive" and "a giant-sized chant in the 'Hey Jude' manner". Mike Gormley of the Detroit Free Press wrote that the two sides typified the "drifting feeling" evoked by the album, which he described as "a beautiful, very deep set of songs" with lyrics that impart "a lot but aren't fancy". Led by the single, All Things Must Pass encouraged widespread recognition of Harrison as a solo artist and revised views of the nature of the Beatles' creative leadership. Among these writers, Don Heckman of The New York Times predicted that "My Sweet Lord" / "Isn't It a Pity" would soon top the US charts, and he outlined his "complex" reaction to being presented with a sequence of Harrison songs for the first time: "amazement at the range of Harrison's talents; fascination at the effects of Phil Spector's participation as the album's producer; curiosity about the many messages that waft through the Harrison songs". Heckman added that "The spirit of the Beatles is everpresent" although he also rued that some of the tracks were "too heavily [orchestrated] ... and close with long, long repeated melodic patterns that have become de rigueur for many rock groups since the success of 'Hey Jude'". In a 1973 appreciation of Harrison's solo career, for Melody Maker, Martyn Sutton said Harrison had shown himself to be the most mature and capable ex-Beatle with All Things Must Pass and the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. He paired "Isn't It a Pity" with "Something" as ballads that were the equal of McCartney songs such as "Yesterday" and "The Long and Winding Road". ## Subsequent releases and live performances Despite its commercial success, "Isn't It a Pity" was omitted from EMI/Capitol's album The Best of George Harrison in November 1976. Ignoring Harrison's suggestions for the track listing, the company gave over half of the compilation to his songs with the Beatles. In 2009, it appeared as the closing track of Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison, a compilation that his widow, Olivia Harrison, said was a way to expunge the 1976 album. A demo version of the song, recorded during the Get Back sessions, was made available on Let It Roll as an iTunes Store exclusive. In Martin Scorsese's 2011 documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, "Isn't It a Pity" plays over a scene covering the failure of Harrison's marriage to Pattie Boyd and her beginning a relationship with Clapton. The scene is accompanied by Boyd, reading from her autobiography Wonderful Today, describing the night when Clapton told Harrison of his love for her. Harrison performed "Isn't It a Pity" throughout his December 1991 Japanese tour with Eric Clapton, his second and last concert tour as a solo artist. Keyboardist Chuck Leavell recalled it as a highpoint of the shows, saying: "The lyrics are just a great comment, anyway; but in performance the song had a wonderful way of building throughout its course, culminating in the crescendo at the end. At this point I always looked out at the audience to see their faces and could see how visibly moved they were by that song in particular." Harrison played acoustic guitar on the song and allowed Clapton and Andy Fairweather Low to re-create his lead parts from the 1970 recording; Leng finds this surprising and regrettable, given that "Isn't It a Pity" is one of Harrison's "most famous guitar tracks". A live version from the tour appears on the 1992 album Live in Japan. The 50th anniversary edition of All Things Must Pass includes Harrison's solo performance of "Isn't It a Pity" from the 26 May 1970 "day one demos" session; a portion of take 14, from 2 June, in which Harrison alters the lyrics to reflect his impatience at the number of takes attempted that day; and take 27, from 3 June. In his review of the super deluxe box set, Tom Pinnock of Uncut welcomed the new mix of the original album, citing the clarity afforded the "acoustic guitar picking, timpani rolls and low, buzzing synth" on "Isn't It a Pity". ## Retrospective assessments and legacy "Isn't It a Pity" remains one of Harrison's most popular songs. AllMusic's Matthew Greenwald calls it "deeply moving and powerful", while in their book on the solo Beatles' recording history, Eight Arms to Hold You, Chip Madinger and Mark Easter write: "If any George Harrison song can be called 'majestic', 'Isn't It a Pity' would be the one." In his book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, Tom Moon names it as one of the album's three "key tracks", saying that with All Things Must Pass, Harrison approached the Beatles' ignominious break-up philosophically and thereby "attains (and sustains) a state of radiant grace". Simon Leng recognises the song as musically "sumptuous" and praises Harrison's melody and "unique" use of notes beyond the key signature, as well as John Barham's "evocative, suspended orchestration". He pairs it with Harrison's 1968 Wonderwall Music instrumental "Wonderwall to Be Here" as the piece that best "captures the depth of the musical understanding" between Harrison and Barham, who had shared a fascination for Indian classical music since 1966. According to Leng, "Isn't It a Pity" is the "pivotal song" and the "essence" of All Things Must Pass, encapsulating the album's struggle between "gospel ecstasy and the failure of human relationships". Writing in the late 1970s, Nicholas Schaffner commented on the song's "towering simplicity" and the "endlessly repetitive fade-out that somehow manages to be hypnotic instead of boring". Schaffner said that whereas Spector had usually applied his Wall of Sound to "throwaways" such as "Da Doo Ron Ron", he was "at last working with a talent comparable with his own. The producer's cosmic sound proved a perfect complement to the artist's cosmic vision." Several other writers have remarked on the significance of "Isn't It a Pity" in the context of the Beatles' break-up, starting with the track's running time of 7:10, just a second under "Hey Jude". Peter Doggett considers the song to be a "remarkably non-judgemental commentary on the disintegration of the Beatles' spirit"; Leng concludes: "Ever bittersweet, 'Isn't It a Pity' records the last dying echoes of the Beatles." Elliot Huntley rues the song's enforced period in hibernation, saying: "[It] simply beggars belief that the track was rejected by Martin, Lennon and McCartney – three men whose reputations rested on their ability to spot a good tune when they heard one." Huntley views "Isn't It a Pity" as worthy of "fully fledged standard" status, with Barham's "soaring" strings and Harrison's "sublime" slide guitar combining to take the song "into the heavens, where it stays". Writing for Q magazine in 2002, John Harris said that All Things Must Pass was "by some distance, the best Beatles solo album" and the "widescreen sound" used by Harrison and Spector on tracks such as "Isn't It a Pity" had since been "echoed in the work of such Beatles fans as ELO and Oasis". Music historian Andrew Grant Jackson credits its droning backing vocal arrangement as the inspiration for "generations of indie rockers", especially producer Mitch Easter in his work on "Pilgrimage" and other songs from R.E.M.'s 1983 album Murmur. Will Hodgkinson of The Times describes "Isn't It a Pity" as "simply one of the best songs in history" while commenting that, at its best, Harrison's music "displayed an unobtrusive kind of wisdom and real emotional maturity". During his promotion for the 30th anniversary reissue of All Things Must Pass in 2001, Harrison named the song among his three favourite tracks on the album, along with "Run of the Mill" and "Awaiting on You All". In 2010, AOL Radio listeners voted "Isn't It a Pity" seventh in a poll to find the ten best post-Beatles George Harrison songs. Eric Clapton and Tom Petty each named "Isn't It a Pity" among their favourite two Harrison compositions, Petty calling it "a masterpiece". Chris Martin of Coldplay said his band's 2002 song "The Scientist" came about when he was trying to play "Isn't It a Pity" on a piano. "Isn't It a Pity" is featured in Bruce Pollock's 2005 book The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944–2000. In 2013, the Netherlands' Radio 2 programme Het Theater van het Sentiment listed the song at number 1 (ahead of Lennon's "Imagine") in its "Top 40 Songs by Year" for 1971. In 2019, financial commentator J. Mulraj of The Hindu wrote that, in an international climate of distrust fostered by the Military–industrial complex, oil prices and irresponsible banking practices, "World leaders should listen to George Harrison's song." ## Cover versions and tributes Many artists have covered "Isn't It a Pity". It was one of the songs that mainstream balladeers rushed to record as a result of All Things Must Pass' popularity. In 1971, Matt Monro released it as a single, in an attempt to repeat the commercial success he had enjoyed with his recording of the Beatles' "Yesterday". Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest 1970 winner, Dana, recorded a rendition that author Alan Clayson views as "more poignant" than Harrison's or Monro's, given the political upheaval gripping Ulster at the time. Nina Simone's eleven-minute reworking of "Isn't It a Pity" was released on her 1972 album Emergency Ward!, a statement on the Vietnam War which also includes a cover of "My Sweet Lord". A six-minute version of "Isn't It a Pity" was issued on the 51-track compilation The Essential Nina Simone in 1993. Jayson Greene of Pitchfork writes that Simone's reading "turns the song into a small dead planet with herself as the only inhabitant", and he cites this as an example of how Harrison's songwriting appealed to soul and jazz artists and invited fresh interpretations. In his autobiography, Harrison says he was influenced by Simone's treatment of "Isn't It a Pity" when he came to record his song "The Answer's at the End" in 1975. Galaxie 500 covered the song on their On Fire album in 1989. Uncut highlighted the track as a "radiant take" from the band's "career-defining album". Cowboy Junkies performed "Isn't It a Pity" on tour in 2004 and it was one of two songs that informed their subsequent album Early 21st Century Blues, the theme of which they described as "war, violence, fear, greed, ignorance, or loss". Pitchfork's Mark Richardson was unimpressed with their recording; he cited it as an example of the band's weakness in interpretation, saying it was a "plodding take" relative to Galaxie 500's "untethered" version. At the Concert for George on 29 November 2002, a year to the day after Harrison's death, Eric Clapton and Billy Preston performed the song backed by a large band that included Harrison's son Dhani and former ELO leader Jeff Lynne. In Rodriguez's description, Preston's passionate performance "nearly stole the show" at the all-star event. Jay Bennett and Edward Burch recorded it for Songs from the Material World: A Tribute to George Harrison, a multi-artist compilation released in February 2003. A version by Jonathan Wilson and Graham Nash appeared on Harrison Covered, a tribute CD accompanying the November 2011 issue of Mojo and coinciding with the release of Scorsese's Living in the Material World documentary. Annie Lennox performed "Isn't It a Pity" after receiving the George Harrison Global Citizen Award, as part of the annual Global Citizen awards, on 19 September 2017 in New York. She was accompanied by Dhani Harrison on acoustic guitar. On 16 April 2021, Peter Frampton released a recording of the song in advance of his album of guitar-based instrumental covers, Frampton Forgets the Words. Frampton said "that one is what I enjoyed doing the most" on his new album, and he had "never forgotten" hearing "Isn't It a Pity" in the studio in 1970. The video for the track opens with footage from Frampton's farewell US tour, which he undertook in the knowledge that the degenerative effects of his inclusion body myositis (IBM) would limit his ability to play in the coming years; it then shows him acclimatising to life under lockdown with the cancellation of his 2020 concert itinerary, struggling with boredom at home, and Zooming with family members. David Gill of Riff Magazine writes that Frampton's expressive playing conveys "the song's equal measure of sadness and hope", and he considers it a poignant selection, given that the closure of music venues due to the pandemic has overlapped with Frampton's potential final years as a live performer. ## Personnel According to Simon Leng (except where noted), the musicians who performed on the two All Things Must Pass versions of "Isn't It a Pity" are believed to be as follows. Version One - George Harrison – vocals, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, Moog synthesizer, backing vocals - Tony Ashton – piano - Billy Preston – piano - Gary Wright – electric piano - Bobby Whitlock – harmonium - Pete Ham – acoustic guitar - Tom Evans – acoustic guitar - Joey Molland – acoustic guitar - Klaus Voormann – bass - Ringo Starr – drums - Mike Gibbins – tambourine - uncredited players – percussion - John Barham – orchestral and choral arrangements Version Two - George Harrison – vocals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals - Eric Clapton – electric guitar - Tony Ashton – piano - Bobby Whitlock – organ - Carl Radle – bass - Ringo Starr – drums - Mike Gibbins – tambourine - John Barham – woodwind arrangement ## Chart positions
3,113,076	1986 Pacific typhoon season	1,162,692,871	Typhoon season in the Pacific Ocean	[ "1986 Pacific typhoon season", "Articles which contain graphical timelines", "Tropical cyclones in 1986" ]	The 1986 Pacific typhoon season has no official bounds; it ran year-round in 1986, but most tropical cyclones tend to form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Tropical Storms formed in the entire west pacific basin were assigned a name by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Tropical depressions that enter or form in the Philippine area of responsibility are assigned a name by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA. This can often result in the same storm having two names. A total of 32 tropical depressions formed in 1986 in the Western Pacific over an eleven-month time span. Of the 32, 30 became tropical storms, 19 storms reached typhoon intensity, and 3 reached super typhoon strength. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center considered Vera as two tropical cyclones, when all the warning centers treated Vera as one in real time, while another, Georgette, originated in the Eastern Pacific. Six of the tropical cyclones formed in August, which was the busiest month of the season. Eight tropical cyclones moved through the Philippines this season. Most of the deaths attributed to typhons in 1986 were caused by Peggy and Wayne. ## Seasonal summary Of the thirty tropical storms formed in 1986 in the Western Pacific (from 32 tropical depressions), 19 reached typhoon intensity, and three reached super typhoon strength. Broken down by month, one tropical cyclone formed in February, one in April, two in May, three in June, three in July, seven in August, three in September, four in October, six in November, and two forming in December. Vera was considered two tropical cyclones by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center after the fact, though it was operationally treated as one system, and Georgette, was a former Eastern Pacific cyclone. Eight tropical cyclones moved through the Philippines this season, while three struck mainland China, one struck Korea, and one crossed the Japanese coast. Peggy and Wayne accounted for a majority of the death toll this season. Tropical cyclones accounted for 35 percent of the annual rainfall in Hong Kong this year. ## Systems ### Typhoon Judy (Akang) The initial disturbance formed within two degrees of the equator within the monsoon trough on January 25. Over succeeding days, the thunderstorm area increased in size. However, it decreased significantly on January 30. As the convective area moved slowly westward, it increased in coverage once more, organizing into a tropical depression on February 1. Moving on a parabolic course east of the Philippines, Judy gained tropical storm status on February 2, and typhoon strength on February 4 after recurving to the northwest of the subtropical ridge. As westerly winds increased aloft, vertical wind shear weakened Judy back into a tropical storm, which lost tropical characteristics on February 6. After drifting slightly more east-northeastward, the low-pressure area dissipated. ### Typhoon Ken (Bising) A tropical disturbance formed along the near equatorial trough on April 20 well to the south of Guam. The system slowly increased in organization, becoming a tropical depression on April 26. The system quickly developed thereafter, becoming a typhoon on April 27 while moving northward. The system reached its peak intensity on April 28. The subtropical ridge built to its northwest, steering Ken to the west. South-westerly vertical wind shear led to a weakening trend to begin on April 29. On April 30, Ken's low level circulation was exposed, no longer having any thunderstorms near the center. The remnant low drifted westward, dissipating by May 3. It was also formed after Chernobyl Disaster. ### Super Typhoon Lola Forming as a twin cyclone with South Pacific's Cyclone Namu, the initial disturbance of Lola developed within the monsoon trough south of Guam. Moving eastward, the system slowly developed becoming a tropical depression, then a tropical storm, on May 17. Lola moved over Pohnpei, becoming their most destructive cyclone since 1958. In light of the damage caused by the storm, the island was declared a major disaster area on June 3 by the American government. Continuing to intensify, Lola became a typhoon on May 18 and turned northwest. Rapid intensification continued, with Lola becoming a super typhoon on May 19. Peaking in intensity on May 20, Lola recurved to the north and northeast, weakening into a tropical storm on May 23 and evolving into an extratropical cyclone later that day. ### Tropical Storm Mac (Klaring) This system moved generally to the east-northeast throughout its life cycle. Forming near Hainan Island on May 21 as a monsoon depression, the initial tropical disturbance moved through the South China Sea while slowly organizing. Becoming a tropical depression in the Formosa Strait, Mac quickly became a tropical storm and turned northeast, paralleling the coast of Taiwan. On May 27, Mac turned back towards the east-northeast as upper level westerly winds increased, causing vertical wind shear which led to Mac weakening into a tropical depression before dissipating on May 29. ### Typhoon Nancy (Deling) A broad area of convection formed to the southeast of Pohnpei in mid June. The convection formed a tropical depression on June 21 to the east of the Philippines. Tropical Storm Nancy was named the next and quickly strengthened into a typhoon with max winds of 75 kn (139 km/h) before striking northeastern Taiwan. After departing the island Nancy weakened to tropical storm strength while moving north through the East China Sea. Nancy passed through the Korea Straits just before turning extratropical and accelerating northeastward into the Sea of Japan. Torrential rains fell throughout South Korea, as a result of flooding 12 people were killed and 22,477 acres (90.96 km<sup>2</sup>) of farmland were destroyed. ### Tropical Storm Owen (Emang) Forming as a tropical disturbance southwest of Kosrae on June 21. Moving west-northwest, the system gradually became better organized. On June 28, the disturbance had organized into a tropical depression. Recurving east of the Philippines and Taiwan, Owen developed into a tropical storm, reaching its maximum intensity on June 29. Thereafter, east-northeasterly winds aloft led to vertical wind shear which weakened Owen. While moving north-northeast towards southern Japan, the system devolved into a low level circulation devoid of thunderstorms, and dissipated on July 2. ### Super Typhoon Peggy (Gading) Typhoon Peggy, which developed on July 3 east of the Philippines, steadily strengthened to reach a peak of 130 knots (240 km/h) super typhoon on July 7. As Peggy continued westward, it slowly weakened, and hit northeastern Luzon on July 9 as a 90 kn (170 km/h) typhoon. A slight weakening of the subtropical ridge brought Peggy more northward, where it hit southeastern China as a 55 kn (102 km/h) tropical storm on the July 11. In Hong Kong, winds gusted to 78 knots (144 km/h) at Tate's Cairn and rainfall totals reached 449 millimetres (17.7 in) at Tai Mo Shan. Peggy's fury resulted in 333 casualties and US\$2.5 million (1986 dollars) in damage from torrential flooding. ### Typhoon Roger (Heling) An upper-level low retrograded westward across the tropical Pacific Ocean beginning on July 4. On July 8, a tropical disturbance formed southeast of the upper low southwest of Enewetak Atoll. The system moved westward, slowly organizing. Becoming a tropical depression on July 13, the small system turned northwest, recurving gradually around a subtropical ridge to its east and northeast. The system strengthened into a tropical storm later on July 13, and a typhoon on July 14 to the south of Japan. After turning to the northeast, the system began to experience northeasterly vertical wind shear and began to weaken. After passing east of Okinawa, the system began to transition into an extratropical cyclone, a process which completed on July 17 near the southern coast of Japan. ### Tropical Storm Nine Forming on the South China Sea on July 19, the cyclone moved northwest into mainland China on July 22, maintaining its circulation as it turned westward before dissipating on July 24. This system was recognized by the Japanese Meteorological Agency as a tropical storm. ### Severe Tropical Storm Sarah (Iliang) Developing in the Philippine Sea on July 30, the system developed as it moved westward, becoming a tropical storm on July 31. On August 1, its mid-level circulation center crossed into the South China Sea while its surface circulation was left behind east of the Philippines. Sarah's broad circulation center was difficult to locate until it began moving northeast east of Luzon on August 2, when it intensified to its peak intensity. As Sarah moved east of Honshu, it evolved into an extratropical cyclone. Fourteen died in Japan due to Sarah. ### Severe Tropical Storm Georgette From August 3 to August 4, Tropical Storm Georgette existed in the Eastern Pacific, but degraded into a tropical wave while moving rapidly westward. Five days later in the Western Pacific, Georgette regenerated into a tropical storm, and became a typhoon on August 10. At this time, a tropical disturbance was developing to its west, and it became Tropical Storm Tip on the 11th. Tip and Georgette underwent fujiwhara interaction, causing smaller Georgette to loop as the larger storm Tip headed to the north. Georgette weakened to a tropical depression on August 15, and was absorbed by Tip's large inflow band on August 16. ### CMA Tropical Storm Fifteen This system formed in the South China Sea on August 9, and moved northwest through Hainan Island into mainland China, dissipating on August 12. In Hong Kong, winds gusted to 70 knots (130 km/h) at Tate's Cairn and Tai Mo Shan while Tai Po received 343 millimetres (13.5 in) of rainfall from the depression. Extensive flooding occurred on Hainan and western Guangdong Province, killing two people. The Hong Kong Royal Observatory considered this system a tropical depression. ### Typhoon Tip Georgette became a typhoon on August 10 to the east of a tropical disturbance, which developed into Tropical Storm Tip on August 11. Tip and Georgette underwent the Fujiwhara effect, causing smaller Georgette to loop as the larger storm Tip headed to the north. Georgette became absorbed by Tip's large inflow band on August 16. Tip strengthened to a typhoon, and reached a peak intensity of 80 kn (150 km/h) winds before vertical wind shear caused the system to weaken. On August 19, Tip became extratropical, but the system persisted as a remnant extratropical low for six more days. ### Typhoon Vera (Loleng) The most intense and extensive monsoon trough since 1974 spawned a tropical depression on August 15. It drifted to the southeast, relocating several times in its formative stages. On August 16 it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Vera, and operationally the storm was to continue eastward, continuing to relocate in the broad monsoon trough and becoming a storm again on August 17 after weakening. Post-analysis by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center suggested that the first storm turned to the west and dissipated, and that a new, separate storm formed well to the east on August 17. However, the Japan Meteorological Agency maintained the system as a single storm. Vera drifted northward until an upper-level ridge forced the storm to the east, providing upper-level outflow for Vera to strengthen to a typhoon on August 20. On August 22, Vera attained winds of 165 km/h (105 mph) before the weakening ridge forced the typhoon to the west, retracing its path it took days before. The typhoon slowly weakened, and hit Okinawa on August 25 as a 155 km/h (95 mph) typhoon. Vera turned to the northeast, hit South Korea on August 28 as a minimal typhoon, and became extratropical on August 29 in the Sea of Japan. A total of 23 people were killed from the storm, with moderate to heavy damage in its path as far north as the Soviet Far East. Damage totalled US\$22 million (1986 dollars) across South Korea. ### Typhoon Wayne (Miding) One of the longest lasting Western Pacific system on record began its long life on August 16 in the South China Sea, having formed from the monsoon trough. It drifted to the southwest, then looped back to the northwest, becoming a tropical storm on August 18. Wayne turned to the northeast and became a typhoon on August 19. In Hong Kong, winds gusted to 78 knots (144 km/h) at Tate's Cairn. The typhoon passed offshore of southeastern China and hit western Taiwan on August 22. Wayne turned back to the south and southwest. Vertical shear caused Wayne to weaken to a depression on August 25. Wayne turned back to the northeast, rotating around Vera. Once Vera accelerated away, Wayne drifted northeastward through the South China Sea, becoming a tropical storm on August 27. Wayne turned southward, becoming a typhoon again on August 30. Wayne passed close to northern Luzon on September 2 before turning back to the west. Two days later while moving quickly westward through the South China Sea, Wayne reached a peak of 85 knots (157 km/h) winds. During its various passages of Hong Kong, a total of 295 millimetres (11.6 in) of rainfall accumulated at Sai Kung. The cyclone hit northern Hainan on September 5, entered the Gulf of Tonkin, and made its final landfall on northern Vietnam later that day as a 60 knots (110 km/h) tropical storm. The next day, Wayne dissipated over Vietnam, after 85 advisories and being the longest lasting Western Pacific system in history. Wayne brought torrential rains through its path to the Philippines, Taiwan, southeastern China, Hainan Island, and Vietnam. Because of this, 490 fatalities (most in Vietnam), tens of thousands left homeless, and US\$399 million (1986 dollars) in damage can be attributed to Typhoon Wayne. ### Tropical Storm Fifteen Originating in the subtropical west-central Pacific, this large cyclone moved westward to a point south of Japan before becoming a tropical storm. Soon afterward, the system recurved across central Japan on September 2 and evolved into an extratropical cyclone as it returned to the northern Pacific Ocean on September 3. This system was recognized by the Japanese Meteorological Agency as a tropical storm, and the Hong Kong Royal Observatory as a tropical depression. ### Typhoon Abby (Norming) Typhoon Abby developed from an area of persistent convection to the southwest of Truk in early August. A tropical depression formed on August 13 to the southeast of Guam and was upgraded to a tropical storm a day after passing south of the island. Abby then steadily intensified to a peak of 95 kn (176 km/h) but weakened before striking Taiwan. Typhoon Abby lashed the island with winds of 85 kn (157 km/h) and heavy rains. Flooding on Taiwan killed 13 people, and agricultural damage totalled \$81 million (1986 USD, \$173 million 2013 USD). After departing Taiwan Abby continued north-northeast before dissipating in the East China Sea. ### Typhoon Ben The initial tropical disturbance formed near Majuro on September 15. The system moved west-northwest, becoming a tropical depression on September 18 and a tropical storm on September 19. Thirteen perished on a fishing vessel passing by Pagan as Ben passed nearby. Ben turned north-northwest for a day and a half, moving around an upper level cyclone in its vicinity, before resuming a west-northwest track on September 20. Vertical wind shear, caused by strong north-northeast winds aloft, weakened Ben to minimal tropical storm intensity by September 21. Ben entered a more favourable environment, achieving typhoon intensity on September 23 before rounding the southwest portion of the subtropical ridge. Ben recurved to the northeast on September 26, moving well to the east of Japan, as vertical wind shear increased due to strengthening winds aloft from the southwest. Ben subsequently weakened back into a tropical storm on September 30 before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone later that day. ### Typhoon Carmen The initial tropical disturbance was first noted to the east-southeast of Majuro on September 27. The system tracked north of due west, before consolidating slowly into a tropical depression on September 30 and a tropical storm on October 2. After passing between Rota and Saipan, Carmen turned northwest and intensified into a typhoon on October 4. Winds at Rota peaked at 53 knots (98 km/h) as it passed by the island. Heavy rains fell at Guam, where amounts totalled between 254 and 279 millimetres (10.0 and 11.0 in). Moving through a break in the subtropical ridge, Carmen rapidly strengthened as it turned north, then northeast, on October 6 when maximum sustained winds reached 100 knots (190 km/h). As vertical wind shear increased due to strengthening southwest winds aloft, the cyclone weakened into a tropical storm on October 8, evolving into an extratropical cyclone by October 9. ### Tropical Storm Dom (Oyang) Initially noted as a tropical disturbance in the Philippine Sea on October 2, the system moved slowly west-northwest to the south of the subtropical ridge, becoming a tropical depression on October 4. Crossing the Philippines, the depression caused heavy rainfall and flooding as it emerged into the South China Sea and developed into a tropical storm on October 9. Development was slow due to strong upper-level winds from the northeast displacing thunderstorms west-southwest of its center. Continuing to track north of due west, Dom made landfall in Vietnam and dissipated as it moved along the Laos/Vietnam border on October 12. A total of 16 perished and damage totalled US\$4 million (1986 dollars) in Luzon. ### Typhoon Ellen (Pasing) The initial tropical disturbance formed just west of the International Date Line within the monsoon trough on October 3. The system moved westward for nearly a week without significant development. Becoming a tropical depression on October 9 and a tropical storm on October 11, the cyclone turned to the west-northwest, moving through the central Philippines into the South China Sea. Turning more northerly, Ellen intensified to a typhoon while paralleling the west coast of Luzon on October 14. By October 15, Ellen's track became increasingly more westerly due to a building surface high pressure area to its north. Weakening began due to westerly winds aloft and land interaction with China, and Ellen dropped back to tropical storm strength on October 17. The cyclone moved south of Hong Kong and north of Hainan Island into mainland China on October 19. In Hong Kong, winds gusted to 78 knots (144 km/h) at Tai Mo Shan. As it neared the border between Vietnam and China, Ellen dissipated on October 20. ### Typhoon Forrest The initial tropical disturbance formed near the International Date Line on October 10 before moving on a parabolic track well east of Asia. A small system, it moved west-northwest and organized into a tropical depression on October 15, then a tropical storm later in the day. Late on October 16, Forrest intensified into a typhoon. The next day, the typhoon reached its peak intensity of 100 knots (190 km/h) and passed near the island of Agrihan where one building was left standing and communications were eliminated. Forrest then recurved south-southeast of Iwo Jima. As winds aloft increased out of the west, Forrest slowly weakened, becoming a tropical storm once more on October 20 and evolving into an extratropical cyclone by October 21. ### Tropical Storm Georgia (Ruping) First noted as a tropical disturbance east of Ulithi within the monsoon trough on October 14, the system moved north of due west. Slowly developing, the system evolved into a tropical depression on October 17 and tropical storm on October 18. The cyclone reached its peak intensity before it crossed the central Philippines on October 19 and emerged into the South China Sea. On October 22, Georgia made landfall across Vietnam and crossed Laos into Thailand. The system subsequently dissipated by October 23. ### Tropical Depression Susang ### Severe Tropical Storm Herbert (Tering) Forming as a tropical disturbance near the International Date Line on October 29, the system moved westward at low latitude eventually organizing into a tropical depression on November 3 south of Guam. The system moved north of due west across the central Philippines and emerged into the South China Sea before strengthening into a tropical storm on November 9. Herbert moved westward, making landfall in Vietnam on November 11 before dissipating in Laos on November 12. ### Severe Tropical Storm Ida (Uding) Initially a tropical disturbance between Kosrae and Enewetak on November 6, the system moved south of west until November 9, when the system began tracking north of west. The system organized into a tropical depression on November 10, then tropical storm on November 11, while moving towards the Philippines. Six days after Herbert, Ida crossed the central portion of the archipelago between November 12 and 13. Interaction with the islands weakened the system back into a tropical depression before emerging into the South China Sea. Strengthening back into a tropical storm on November 14, Ida transcribed an anticyclonic, or clockwise, loop, weakening back into a tropical depression on November 16 while moving to the south due to strong southwest winds aloft. The depression moved south-southwest before dissipating on November 19. Two died when a cargo ship sank near Dongsha. ### Typhoon Joe (Weling) The initial tropical disturbance formed on November 12 south of Guam. Moving west-northwest, the system organized into a tropical depression in the Philippine Sea on November 17, and then a tropical storm on November 20. Joe recurved just east of the Philippines due to a weakness in the subtropical ridge, strengthening into a typhoon on November 20. East of Taiwan, Joe weakened back into a tropical storm due to strong southwest winds aloft on November 23 and then a tropical depression on November 24. Turning southeast, the remaining low level circulation continued weakening, dissipating on November 25. ### Tropical Depression A tropical depression formed in the southern South China Sea on November 24, dissipating the following day without making landfall on any neighbouring land mass. This depression was acknowledged by the Hong Kong Royal Observatory in their year end summary. ### Super Typhoon Kim (Yaning) The initial tropical disturbance formed south of Majuro on November 27. The small system developed quickly, becoming a tropical depression later that day, a tropical storm on November 28, and a typhoon on November 29. Kim turned northwest later the day due to a weakness in the subtropical ridge, before a strengthening high pressure system to its north forced a more westerly track by December 2, with Kim becoming a super typhoon soon afterward. The cyclone moved just north of Saipan, knocking out all electricity and water. Damage on the island totalled US\$15 million (1986 dollars). Retaining super typhoon intensity into December 3, the system weakened and turned northwest on December 4 due to another weakness in the subtropical ridge. The high pressure system to its north restrengthened, turning Kim back to the west on December 5. On December 8, Kim made a cyclonic, or counter clockwise, loop due to a strong surface high building to its north, which was completed on December 11. During the loop, Kim weakened back into a tropical storm, with tropical depression status regained by December 12 as Kim moved northwest. The system recurved east of Taiwan, dissipating by December 14. ### Severe Tropical Storm Lex The initial tropical disturbance formed on November 30 in the wake of Kim near the International Date Line. The system moved west-northwest, developing into a tropical depression and tropical storm on December 4. Lex remained a tropical storm for one day, before weakening back into a tropical disturbance on December 5 due to vertical wind shear caused by Typhoon Kim and an upper trough nearby from the northwest. The depression passed between Guam and Saipan on December 7. Lex recurved south of Iwo Jima on December 8 before becoming an extratropical cyclone on December 9. ### Typhoon Marge (Aning) A long tracked system, the initial tropical disturbance which led to Marge was noted near the International Date Line on December 10. Moving north of due west the disturbance was slow to organize, becoming a tropical depression on December 14 southwest of Enewetak. The system strengthened into a tropical storm on December 15, and a typhoon by December 17. Early on December 20, Marge peaked in intensity before turning south of due west due to a strong surface high to its north. On December 21, Marge moved into the southern Philippines which accelerated its weakening trend. On December 22, Marge regained tropical storm status and soon after moving into the South China Sea, the cyclone weakened into a tropical depression late on December 23. The depression moved westward for another day before dissipating on December 24. Marge's circulation aided the global journey of the Rutan Voyager aircraft, which went on to circle the Earth on one tank of fuel. ### Typhoon Norris (Bidang) The initial tropical disturbance formed near the International Date Line on December 17, and initially moved west-northwest. The system slowly organized, becoming a tropical depression December 21, and then a tropical storm on December 23 as it turned more to the west due to a strengthening ridge of high pressure to its north. The cyclone steadily strengthened over the next four days, initially hampered by strong east winds aloft. As the storm moved south of Guam, wind gusts to 50 knots (93 km/h) were recorded on the island. Norris became a typhoon on December 27. Over the next day and half, intensification continued. On December 28, a strong surface high pressure system turned Norris to the southwest, and led to slow weakening. The cyclone regained tropical storm strength on December 30 while turning more to the west. Norris crossed the southern Philippines on December 31 and January 1, weakening into a tropical depression as it emerged into the South China Sea. Strong southeast winds aloft prevented redevelopment of the depression. Norris' remnant circulation turned northwest and dissipated on January 2 well to the south of Hong Kong. ## Storm names During the season 26 named tropical cyclones developed in the Western Pacific and were named by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, when it was determined that they had become tropical storms. These names were contributed to a revised list which started on 1979. ### Philippines The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration uses its own naming scheme for tropical cyclones in their area of responsibility. PAGASA assigns names to tropical depressions that form within their area of responsibility and any tropical cyclone that might move into their area of responsibility. Should the list of names for a given year prove to be insufficient, names are taken from an auxiliary list, the first 6 of which are published each year before the season starts. Names not retired from this list will be used again in the 1990 season. This is the same list used for the 1982 season. PAGASA uses its own naming scheme that starts in the Filipino alphabet, with names of Filipino female names ending with "ng" (A, B, K, D, etc.). Names that were not assigned/going to use are marked in . ## Season effects This is a table of all of the storms that have formed in the 1986 Pacific typhoon season. It includes their duration, names, affected areas, damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 1986 USD. Names listed in parentheses were assigned by PAGASA. \\|- \\| Judy (Akang) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Caroline Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Ken (Bising) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Caroline Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Thailand, Cambodia \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Lola \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Caroline Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Mac (Klaring) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Vietnam, South China, Philippines, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Nancy (Deling) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines, East China, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands, South Korea \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| South China \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Owen (Emang) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Ryukyu Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Peggy (Gading) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Mariana Islands, Philippines, Taiwan, China \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|- \\| Roger (Heling) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Japan \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Nine \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| South China \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Taiwan \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Sarah (Iliang) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines, Japan \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Taiwan \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Marshall Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Georgette \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Marshall Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Vietnam, South China \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| South China\\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Tip \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Vera (Loleng) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Mariana Islands, Taiwan, East China, Japan, Korean Peninsula \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|- \\| Wayne (Miding) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Wake Island \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Fifteen \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Japan \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Mariana Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Abby (Norming) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Philippines, Taiwan, East China \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|- \\| Ben \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Mariana Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Carmen \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Dom (Oyang) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines, Vietnam \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Ellen (Pasing) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines, South China \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Forrest \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Marshall Islands, Mariana Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Georgia (Ruping) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines, Vietnam, Laos \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Susang \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Herbert (Tering) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines, Vietnam \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Ida (Uding) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Joe (Weling) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Kim (Yaning) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Philippines \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| TD \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Vietnam\\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Lex \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Marge (Aning) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Philippines \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- \\| Norris (Bidang) \\|\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| bgcolor=#\\| \\|\\| Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, Philippines \\|\\| None \\|\\| None \\|\\| \\|- ## See also - List of Pacific typhoon seasons - 1986 Pacific hurricane season - 1986 Atlantic hurricane season - 1986 North Indian Ocean cyclone season - Australian cyclone seasons: 1985–86, 1986–87 - South Pacific cyclone seasons: 1985–86, 1986–87 - South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 1985–86, 1986–87
2,319,209	Hung Up	1,172,835,187	2005 single by Madonna	[ "2005 singles", "2005 songs", "ABBA", "Canadian Singles Chart number-one singles", "Disco songs", "Dutch Top 40 number-one singles", "European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles", "Madonna songs", "Music videos directed by Johan Renck", "Music videos shot in London", "Number-one singles in Australia", "Number-one singles in Austria", "Number-one singles in Denmark", "Number-one singles in Finland", "Number-one singles in Germany", "Number-one singles in Italy", "Number-one singles in Norway", "Number-one singles in Romania", "Number-one singles in Russia", "Number-one singles in Scotland", "Number-one singles in Spain", "Number-one singles in Sweden", "Number-one singles in Switzerland", "SNEP Top Singles number-one singles", "Song recordings produced by Madonna", "Song recordings produced by Stuart Price", "Songs about telephones", "Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus", "Songs written by Madonna", "Songs written by Stuart Price", "UK Singles Chart number-one singles", "Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles", "Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles", "Warner Records singles" ]	"Hung Up" is a song by American singer Madonna from her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was released as the album's lead single on October 17, 2005. Written and produced by Madonna in collaboration with Stuart Price, "Hung Up" prominently features a sample from the instrumental introduction to ABBA's single "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", for which Madonna personally sought permission from its songwriters, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. This is one of the few times Andersson and Ulvaeus have given permission to sample one of their songs, following "Rumble in the Jungle" by the Fugees and "Fly With Me" by 98 Degrees. Musically, the song is influenced by pop music from the 1980s, with a chugging groove and chorus and a background element of a ticking clock that suggests the fear of wasting time. Lyrically the song is written as a traditional dance number about a strong, independent woman who has relationship troubles. "Hung Up" received critical praise from reviewers, who considered it among Madonna's best dance tracks and believed that the track would restore her popularity, which had diminished following the release of her 2003 album American Life. "Hung Up" became a global commercial success, peaking atop the charts of 41 countries and earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was Madonna's 36th top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with Elvis Presley as the artist with most top ten entries. It also became the most successful dance song of the decade in the United States. "Hung Up" has sold over five million copies worldwide. The music video is a tribute to John Travolta and his movies, and to dancing in general. Directed by Johan Renck, the clip starts with Madonna clad in a pink leotard dancing alone in a ballet studio and concludes at a gaming parlor where she dances with her backup troupe. Interspersed are scenes of people displaying their dancing skills in a variety of settings, including a Los Angeles residential neighborhood, a small restaurant and the London Underground. Madonna has performed the song in a number of live appearances, including as the final number of 2006's Confessions Tour, a heavy metal-inspired arrangement in the 2008 leg of the Sticky & Sweet Tour, and 2012's The MDNA Tour, where the singer performed the song while slacklining. ## Background and release In 2004, after the release of her ninth studio album American Life, Madonna began working on two different musicals: one tentatively called Hello Suckers and another one with Luc Besson, who previously directed the music video for her single "Love Profusion", which would portray her as a woman on her deathbed looking back on her life. Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard, Mirwais Ahmadzaï and Stuart Price to write new songs, and told Price to pen disco songs that sound like "ABBA on drugs". However, Madonna found herself dissatisfied with the script written by Besson and scrapped it. When she began composing Confessions on a Dance Floor, she decided to rework "Hung Up" and include it in her record. "Hung Up" was one of the first songs written for the album, along with "Sorry" and "Future Lovers". It was inspired by aspects of the 1970s disco era, including the music of ABBA and Giorgio Moroder and the film Saturday Night Fever (1977). Madonna imagined it to be a cross between the music played at Danceteria, the New York City night club she frequented in her early days, and the music of ABBA. Their 1979 song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" formed the basis of the song. Songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus generally do not allow anyone to sample any of their tracks, an exception being Fugees, who sampled their song "The Name of the Game" for their single "Rumble in the Jungle". In order to gain the rights to sample "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", Madonna had to send her emissary to Stockholm with a letter which begged them to allow her to sample the song and also telling how much she loved their music. To the BBC she explained: "[T]hey never let anyone sample their music. Thank God they didn't say no. [...] They had to think about it, Benny and Björn. They didn't say yes straight away." The pair agreed to let Madonna use the sample only after making a copyright agreement that entitled them to a significant share of the royalties from subsequent sales and airplay. Andersson, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in October 2005, declared "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" to be the essence of "Hung Up" while joking that it was his favorite Madonna song thus far. He further said: > "We get so many requests from people wanting to use our tracks but we normally say 'no'. This is only the second time we have given permission. We said 'yes' this time because we admire Madonna so much and always have done. She has got guts and has been around for 21 years. That is not bad going." The song premiered in September 2005, during a television advertisement for Motorola's ROKR mobile phone. The advertisement featured Madonna and other artists jammed in a phone booth. On October 17, 2005, the song made its premiere during a live ten-minute radio interview between Ryan Seacrest and Madonna. It was also made available as a master ringtone with various mobile service providers. "Hung Up" was sent to mainstream radio in the United States on October 18. The song was added to episodes of CSI: Miami and CSI: NY on November 7 and 9, 2005, respectively. While promoting Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna played both "Hung Up" and the next single "Sorry" at Luke & Leroy's nightclub in Greenwich Village, where she was invited by Junior Sanchez to perform briefly as the DJ, mixing the two songs. Regarding her decision to release the song for digital download, Madonna said: "I'm a businesswoman. The music industry has changed. There's a lot of competition, and the market is glutted with new releases – and new 'thises and thats'. You must join forces with other brands and corporations. You're an idiot if you don't." ## Music structure and lyrics Musically, "Hung Up" is a dance-pop, disco and nu-disco song. According to The New York Times, the song has vaguely familiar hooks, sustained overlays of the string arrangement and acoustic guitar enfolding the music to create a haze like sound. Billboard described the music as frothy, nonsensical and joyous. The instant familiarity of the sampled music is changed by Stuart Price and Madonna by adding a chugging groove and a chorus which singles it out as an independent song. Alongside the ABBA sample, Rolling Stone said that the song also incorporates elements of Madonna's older songs like "Like a Prayer" and "Holiday" and features fleeting quotes from bands like S.O.S. and the Tom Tom Club. According to Musicnotes.com, "Hung Up" is set in common time, and has a moderate dance-beat tempo of 120 beats per minute. The key of the song is in D minor with Madonna's vocal range spanning from the low note of G<sub>3</sub> to the high note of B<sub>4</sub>. The song progresses in the following chord progressions of Dm–F–C–Dm in the verses and Dm–F–Am–Dm in the chorus, and changes to B–F–A–Dm for the bridge. "Hung Up" uses the sound of a ticking clock to symbolize fear of wasted time, which was incorporated by composer Stuart Price, from his remix of Gwen Stefani's 2004 single "What You Waiting For?". According to Slant Magazine, the song embodies some of Madonna's old singles, incorporating them into the song's pitched-upward vocals while presenting an archetypical key change/tonicization during the bridge. Lyrically, the song is written from the perspective of a girl who once had nothing and the theme centers around love. About.com compared the lyrics of "Hung Up" and another song "I Love New York" from the Confessions on a Dance Floor album, to the style of the songs in Madonna's American Life album. According to About.com, the song is written as a very traditional dance number which is rooted in relationship issues. Also present in the lyrics is Madonna's enduring embrace of strong, independent women. The song's hook, "Time goes by so slowly for those who wait," is taken from Madonna's 1989 collaboration with Prince, "Love Song", as is the line, "Those who run seem to have all the fun." ## Critical reception "Hung Up" received critical acclaim. Keith Caulfield from Billboard, while reviewing Confessions on a Dance Floor, called the song "a fluffier cut", while Chris Tucker from the same magazine explained that "Madonna returns with a song that will restore faith among her minions, fans of pop music and radio programmers", in a separate review for the single. Jon Pareles of The New York Times said that Madonna kept her pop touch in "Hung Up" and called it a love song which is both happy as well as sad. Alan Light from Rolling Stone called the song candy coated. David Browne from Entertainment Weekly was impressed by the song and said "'Hung Up' shows how effortlessly she [Madonna] can tap into her petulant inner teen". Also impressed, Caryn Ganz of Spin classified it as a "killer single". Peter Robinson from The Observer commented that "Hung Up" is Madonna's "most wonderfully commercial single since the mid Eighties". Alexis Petridis from The Guardian called the track a "joyous...single that could theoretically have been more camp, but only with the addition of Liza Minnelli on backing vocals and lyrics about Larry Grayson's friend Everard." On Pitchfork, Stephen M. Deusner named the track an "impressive and enjoyable single, strong enough to have everyone trying to figure out if it's her best since 'Ray of Light' or since 'Like a Prayer'", and complimented how the ABBA sample was used in such a way that it resembles a "brilliant mash-up rather than a lazy sample". Het Nieuwsblad's Mark Coppens considered "Hung Up" a good choice for first single as it was "irresistable", observing "Madonna has done a good job" at sampling ABBA; he concluded saying that "the song swings from beginning to the end". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine compared the song to the remix of Gwen Stefani's 2004 single "What You Waiting For?". Ed Gonzalez from the same magazine called the song the "biggest hit" of her career. Margaret Moser from The Austin Chronicle said that the song strobes and pulses along with another album track "Forbidden Love". David Byrne from RTÉ said "it opens the album like no other track could". Dave White of The Advocate classified it as a "winner", noting the "giddy, gimmicky ABBA loop". Ben Williams from New York magazine described the song as sounding both throbbing as well as wistful. Christian John Wikane from PopMatters called the song a propulsive track. Alan Braidwood of BBC Music noted of the track: "full-on dance, dark, disco, fun, big" and compared it to other Madonna songs like "Vogue", "Deeper and Deeper" and "Ray of Light". Tom Bishop from BBC News commented that Madonna has either reinvigorated her career or she is "merely throwing one final dance party for her long-term fans before settling down to record more sedate material". According to Camille Paglia, writing for Salon, the track was one of the "two truly strong songs" on the album, along with "Jump". Matt Cappiello from the Daily Nexus called it "amazing" and "mind-numbing", and elaborated that "it should be frozen in a capsule and sent out into space. Martians need to know the wonders of our civilization, as expressed in the delicate form of bubblegum pop." Peter S. Scholtes of City Pages considered the song a "vast improvement" over the original ABBA song. Thomas Inskeep of Stylus Magazine declared that "Hung Up" and the next single "Sorry" might not have the same sleaze as Madonna's older songs like "Physical Attraction" or "Burning Up", but have the same modus operandi of being designed for "sweaty up-all-night dancing". Rob Harvilla from The Village Voice called the song a "triumphant jazzercise single". ## Recognition "Hung Up" was ranked at number 76 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of the 2000s list, calling it "One of her [Madonna's] most captivating hits ever — and thanks to those deceptively hard-hitting lyrics, one of her most personal." NME placed it at number 39 on their list of the best tracks of 2005. Slant Magazine listed the song at number 36 on their list of Best of the Aughts: Singles, saying: "'Hung Up' employs a ticking clock to represent fear of wasted time, but Madonna isn't singing about aging or saving the world—she's talking about love. It had been years since Madge sounded this vapid. With its pitched-upward vocals, infectious arpeggio sample from ABBA's 'Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight),' and the bridge's unironic, archetypical key change, the track decidedly points to the past, and it proved that, 20 years into her career, Madonna was still the one and only Dancing Queen". The song was also named the 26th best single of 2005 by Pitchfork. Stylus Magazine included "Hung Up" on their ranking of the best singles from 2005 at number 11. In 2016, "Hung Up" was named in the online poll by Digital Spy as "The Biggest Pop Song of the 21st Century". ## Chart performance "Hung Up" was a worldwide commercial success, peaking at number one in charts of 41 countries and earning a place in the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records, as the song topping the charts in most countries. The song has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. In the United States, "Hung Up" debuted at twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated November 5, 2005. It became her highest opening position since "Ray of Light" entered the chart at five in 1998. The same week the song entered the Hot Digital Songs chart at number six and became the highest debuting single of the week on the Pop 100 Airplay, where it debuted at number 38. On the issue dated December 3, 2005, the song reached a peak of number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, jumping from number 14 from previous week. The song became the chart's greatest digital gainer for that week and claimed the top position on the Hot Digital Songs chart. It also tied Madonna with Elvis Presley for 36 top ten entries, which was subsequently broken by Madonna's 2008 song "4 Minutes", which peaked at number three on the Hot 100. "Hung Up" debuted at numbers 25 and 10 on the Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Dance Airplay charts respectively ultimately reaching the top of both. It became the most successful dance song of the 2000s in the United States, by topping the Dance/Club Play Songs Decade-end tally. The song also reached a peak of seven on the Pop 100 chart. In 2008, the single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling at least a million copies in paid digital downloads. As of December 2016, the song has sold 1.4 million digital units in the United States. "Hung Up" became the fastest rising single on radio in Canada, according to Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. On the second week itself, the song reached the top of the Contemporary Hit Radio chart of Canada, while reaching the top five of the Adult Contemporary and Canadian Airplay charts. Paul Tuch from Nielsen clarified that "Hung Up" achieved this feat within 10 days only. Consequently, "Hung Up" also peaked atop the Canadian Singles Chart for 15 non-consecutive weeks, and was certified double platinum by Music Canada for sales of 40,000 copies. In Australia, the song debuted atop the ARIA Singles Chart on November 20, 2005, breaking her tie with Kylie Minogue as the female artist with most number-one singles in Australian chart history. It was present within the top 50 of the chart for 23 weeks. The song was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 70,000 copies. "Hung Up" debuted at number 67 in the French singles chart and jumped to the top next week, remaining there for five non-consecutive weeks. It received a gold certification from Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for sales of 150,000 copies. "Hung Up" reached a peak position of number two in New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, "Hung Up" debuted at number one on the issue dated November 13, 2005, thus giving Madonna her 11th number one single on this chart. It sold 105,619 copies becoming the first single to sell more than 100,000 copies in a week since Crazy Frog's "Axel F" did it 23 weeks earlier. The first week sales of "Hung Up" were a little lower than Madonna's last UK number one, "Music" (2000), which opened with 114,925 sales, but exceeded her last single "Love Profusion", which debuted at number 11 with 15,361 sales in December 2003. The next week the single had a decline in sales of 43% to 59,969 copies, but remained on the top as Confessions on a Dance Floor debuted atop the UK Albums Chart. It remained at the top position for three weeks and a total of 40 weeks on the Singles Chart. According to the Official Charts Company, by the end of 2005, "Hung Up" was Madonna's biggest selling single with 339,285 copies since "Music" sold 390,624 copies in 2000. It was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and has sold over 730,000 copies in the UK to date. By November 2021, "Hung Up" became her second-most streamed track in the UK, and accumulated sales of 899,000 units including streaming figures according to the Official Charts Company. In Ireland, the song debuted at number two on the chart dated November 10, 2005 becoming the highest debut of the week. The song also topped Billboard's European Hot 100 Singles chart where it soared from 73 to the top of the chart on the issue dated November 21, 2005. The song was able to peak the charts in almost all the European nations including Austria, Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. ## Music video ### Conception The music video for "Hung Up" was directed by Johan Renck and filmed in October 2005. Madonna's scenes were filmed in London from October 8–11, with Pineapple Dance Studios being used for the dance studio scenes and the Trocadero being used for the games arcade scenes. Though some scenes in the video feature cities like London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Tokyo, in reality the actual sets were constructed in Los Angeles and London only. A London suburb was made to look like a Parisian one, where the routine for Parkour takes place, whereas a restaurant in London's Chinatown was used for the Shanghai sequence and Compton stood in for the Bronx. Originally the video for "Hung Up" was to be directed by photographer David LaChapelle. He wanted the video to have a "documentary"-style look, much like that of his 2005 film, Rize, in which five of the dancers from the "Hung Up" video appeared. LaChapelle and Madonna disagreed on the concept, prompting the project to be reassigned to Renck, who worked with Madonna in her video for "Nothing Really Matters". According to an interview with MTV, Renck was directing Kate Moss for a H&M commercial when he received a phone call from Madonna who desperately wanted to work with him. The next day he went to Los Angeles to meet the stylist and the choreographer hired by Madonna, who e-mailed him with her ideas for the video. The director explained that he "kind of liked that we didn't have time to over-think this and be too clever, I like being out on a limb and not know what we're doing and why. Just deal with it, the mayhem, you know?" Madonna wanted to use a few performers from her tour, such as Daniel "Cloud" Campos, Miss Prissy from LaChapelle's Rize crew and traceur Sebastien Foucan, a practitioner of Parkour, a philosophical French sport. Renck said that "It's not about the music, but the bodily expression, [...] We wanted to show the whole spectrum, be it krumping, breakdancing, jazz or disco." Since they could not shoot all over the world, Madonna wanted the video to have an "omnipresent feel", with the middle section of the song generating a sense of congregation. Renck suggested that they include a boombox, used as a means of uniting everyone and everything since it was through listening to songs on a boombox that street dancing started. Madonna clarified that the video was a tribute to John Travolta and to dance in general. Her dance moves for the video, which were inspired by Travolta's movies like Saturday Night Fever (1977), Grease (1978) and Perfect (1985) took three hours to shoot. Madonna had broken eight bones in a horseback-riding accident a few weeks before shooting the video and faced difficulty doing the steps devised by choreographer Jamie King. Renck said, > "She was such a trooper, [...] She just fell off a horse! [Madonna said] 'If you were a real dance choreographer, you could tell I can't lift my left arm higher than this' — and it was like, what, a 20-centimeter difference? [...] But when she said it 'hurts like f---,' she'd take a break and sit down for two minutes. [Madonna]'I have broken ribs, remember that!' I just can't imagine dancing like that. Talk about priorities." Madonna was also associated with the editing process of the video. She was Renck's editing supervisor. Madonna wanted a raw documentary look for the video which allowed her to be portrayed more realistically. Regarding the making of "Hung Up", Renck said that it was a massive work to undertake, "It's like you form this little family that's flourished and prospered for the month, and then you chop it down like a tree, [...] You come out with a sense of yearning and longing, like, 'Can we just do that again? Please?'" ### Synopsis and reception The video starts with Madonna entering and turning the lights on in a ballet studio carrying a boombox. She presses the play button on the boombox as the clock ticking sound of the music starts. Wearing a pink leotard, Madonna starts gyrating to the music while doing warm up exercises. The scene interchanges with a group of people on a rooftop who start dancing to the music while listening to a similar boombox. They also display aspects of the physical discipline Parkour, while climbing over buildings and jumping from staircases. As the song starts, Madonna dances to the music in the ballet studio. The second verse shows her continuing dancing while the people from the street take their boombox and board a taxi. Scenes are interspersed with people dancing in a Chinese restaurant and Parisian streets. In the meantime, Madonna finishes her dances in the ballet studio, drops her towel, changes her clothes and comes out on the street. The people in the taxi, exit the cab and take the Underground instead. After another round of dancing in the train, the intermediate music starts. Madonna is shown hugging, dancing, and conversing with choreographers on a deserted alleyway and riding on a boombox. As the song starts again, Madonna and the people from the street, who act as her background dancers, all dance on a Dance Dance Revolution machine in a gaming parlor. The video ends showing Madonna lying on the ballet studio floor. The video was nominated for five awards at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards including Best Female Video, Dance Video, Pop Video, Best Choreography and the Video of the Year award although it did not win any of them. In 2009, the video was included on Madonna's compilation, Celebration: The Video Collection. ## Live performances On November 4, 2005, Madonna opened the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards at the Pavilhão Atlântico in Lisbon, Portugal with her first performance of "Hung Up". She emerged from a glitterball to perform the song while wearing a purple leotard and matching leather boots. During next days, Madonna performed "Hung Up" on TV shows such as Wetten, dass..? in Germany, Parkinson in England and Star Academy in France, as well as on the Children in Need 2005 telethon in London. She opened her concerts at Koko and G-A-Y nightclubs in London with "Hung Up", respectively on November 15 and 19. In December Madonna travelled to Tokyo, Japan, where "Hung Up" was performed on TV show SMAP×SMAP and her concert at Studio Coast. On February 8, 2006, Madonna opened the 48th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. She sang the song by pairing up with the fictional animated band Gorillaz. The band appeared on the stage via a three dimensional technique which projected their holograms on the stage. They performed their song "Feel Good Inc." while rappers De La Soul made a guest appearance. Madonna then appeared on the stage and started performing the song while interchanging places with the hologram figures of the band. She was later joined by her own group of dancers and the performance was finished on the main stage rather than the virtual screen. Another performance of "Hung Up" came on April 30, 2006, during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. The song was performed as the last song of her 2006 Confessions Tour. It was performed at the last "disco fever" segment of the tour. During the performance, her dancers displayed the Parkour routine all over the stadium as the familiar ABBA sample played. Madonna changed her aerobics costume for a purple leotard. As the music progressed, she and her dancers appeared on the center stage and she started singing. During the second verse, she left her sunglasses and jacket and proceeded towards the front of the stage. A boombox appeared in the center with Madonna playing with it. The song starts again as balloons fall on the crowd from the top. The finale had Madonna engaging the audience to sing-along with her to the song while making a contest as to which side of the stadium can sing the loudest. Madonna then uttering the line "I'm tired of waiting for you" while the backdrop showed the phrase "Have You Confessed?". The New York Times' Ginia Belafonte compared this performance with that of Ethel Merman. Slant Magazine commented that the performance reminded Madonna's ability to encapsulate the audience as a part of her performance. On July 7, 2007, Madonna closed her set during the Live Earth concert at the Wembley Stadium in London with "Hung Up". The song was also added to the six song set list of the Hard Candy promo tour in 2008. Madonna wore a shiny black outfit with black tails, Adidas track pants and high-heeled, lace-up boots. "Hung Up" was the fourth song of the set list. It was re-invented as a heavy-metal version. As the performance of "4 Minutes" ended, Madonna picked up an electric guitar and played the first few chords of The Rolling Stones single "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". She then asked the crowd whether they thought they had come to a Rolling Stones concert. When the crowd responded negatively, she started "Hung Up", while dedicating it to all the people who had waited outside in the queue to watch the show. She declared that the noisy, metallic guitar breakdown of the song symbolised what waiting sounded like in the brain of all those who had waited. The song was performed in the futuristic rave with Japanese influences segment of the 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour. Madonna wore a futuristic robotic outfit designed by Heatherette, with plates on her shoulder and a wig with long curled hair. The similar heavy-metal version of "Hung Up" was performed but it later gave way to the ABBA music. Before starting the performance, she played a capella versions of her older songs on audience demand, mostly "Express Yourself" and "Like a Virgin". However, after that, the electric guitar was played to make noises, which Madonna dedicated to Republican vice-presidential nominee for the 2008 election, Sarah Palin. She said, "I'd like to express myself to Sarah Palin right now. [Playing a screeching note on her guitar] This is the sound of Sarah Palin thinking. [...] Sarah Palin can't come to my party. Sarah Palin can't come to my show. It's nothing personal." The performance ended with Madonna playing the guitar riff of "A New Level" by heavy-metal band Pantera. For the second European leg of the tour in 2009, "Hung Up" was removed from the setlist and was replaced by an up-beat version of "Frozen". ### 2010s and 2020s performances For The MDNA Tour of 2012, "Hung Up" was added to the setlist as part of the opening segment, known as Transgression. After performing a fragment of "Papa Don't Preach", several dancers wearing tribal masks, surrounded Madonna, tied her up and proceeded to carry her to the center of the main stage just as the song's opening riffs, underpinned by the dramatic sound of church bells with vocoder vocals, started to play in the background. Dressed in a black skintight outfit with an ample cleavage, gloves of the same color and heeled boots, Madonna and her dancers performed the song while at the same time slacklining on some ropes held on the middle of the stage. As Madonna sang the song, her dancers slid under the ropes. This performance received generally mixed reviews, Jon Pareles from The New York Times believed that changing the composition of the song in lieu of the theme for the segment made it "ominous and obsessive", while making it "a memory of distant innocence". Jim Farber from the Daily News felt that the introduction of slacklining gave the whole tour "some needed bounce". Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine was negative on his review of the performance, as he felt it was out of place on the show's segment, and compared it negatively to the performance of the Sticky & Sweet Tour, concluding that the song "should never be performed in any way other than its original form." The performance of the song at the November 19–20, 2012 shows in Miami, at the American Airlines Arena, were recorded and released in Madonna's fourth live album, MDNA World Tour. On April 13, 2015, Madonna made a surprise appearance at the Coachella Festival and performed a medley of her 1994 song "Human Nature" and "Hung Up" during Drake's act, sporting thigh-high boots and a tank top that read "Big as Madonna". She then went on to kiss Drake, whose shocked expression went viral on the Internet. The rapper then revealed that he actually enjoyed the kiss, posting a picture of the moment to his Instagram account which read: "Don't misinterpret my shock!! I got to make out with the queen Madonna and I feel 100 about that forever". The singer also performed an a cappella version of the song on her Rebel Heart Tour in Hong Kong on 17 February 2016. On June 24, 2021, the singer made a surprise appearance at a pride party at the Boom Boom Room of New York's The Standard hotel and performed the song on top of the lounge's bar; she wore a see-through mesh top, leather shorts, a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier corset, a blue wig and long pink fingerless gloves. In June 2022, to accompany the remix album release, Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, Madonna performed at Pride at the Women of the World Party in New York City. She performed a dembow, house-infused remix of "Hung Up", sharing a French kiss with Tokischa, in a similar fashion to her kiss with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. ## Remix version In 2022, Madonna recorded a dembow remix of "Hung Up" with Dominican rapper Tokischa, newly titled "Hung Up on Tokischa". It features samples of Madonna's vocals from the original version in addition to new Spanish language verses written by Tokischa. It was released by Warner Records for digital download and streaming on September 16, 2022. Madonna and Tokischa first performed the song in June 2022 at Terminal 5 during the New York City Pride. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Sasha Kasiuha and filmed in Washington Heights in New York City in early September 2022. It premiered on YouTube on September 20, 2022. The video portrays Madonna and Tokischa caressing each other in suggestive positions and perreando between an altar. Rachel Kiley from Pride.com described it as a "raunchy romp" that leaves "very little to the imagination". The music video received "mixed" reactions from public. The song was nominated at the 2023 Premios Juventud in the category Girl Power. ## Track listings and formats - US 2× 12" single 1. "Hung Up" (Album Version) – 5:38 2. "Hung Up" (SDP Extended Vocal) – 7:57 3. "Hung Up" (Bill Hamel Remix) – 6:58 4. "Hung Up" (SDP Extended Dub) – 7:57 5. "Hung Up" (Chus & Ceballos Remix) – 10:21 6. "Hung Up" (Tracy Young's Get Up And Dance Groove) – 9:03 - UK, European, French, Japanese, and Australian CD single 1. "Hung Up" (Radio Edit) – 3:23 2. "Hung Up" (Tracy Young's Get Up And Dance Groove Edit) – 4:16 3. "Hung Up" (SDP Extended Vocal) – 7:57 - UK 12" single 1. "Hung Up" (Album Version) – 5:38 2. "Hung Up" (SDP Extended Dub) – 7:57 3. "Hung Up" (SDP Extended Vocal) – 7:57 4. "Hung Up" (Tracy Young's Get Up And Dance Groove Edit) – 4:51 - US, European, and Canadian CD Maxi-single 1. "Hung Up" (Radio Edit) – 3:23 2. "Hung Up" (SDP Extended Vocal) – 7:57 3. "Hung Up" (Tracy Young's Get Up and Dance Groove Edit) – 4:15 4. "Hung Up" (Bill Hamel Remix) – 6:58 5. "Hung Up" (Chus & Ceballos Remix) – 10:21 6. "Hung Up" (SDP Extended Dub) – 7:57 - Digital single 1. "Hung Up" (SDP Extended Vocal Edit) – 5:58 2. "Hung Up" (Tracy Young's Get Up And Dance Groove Edit) – 4:16 3. "Hung Up" (Bill Hamel Remix Edit) – 5:00 4. "Hung Up" (Chus & Ceballos Remix Edit) – 5:01 - Digital single - DJ Version 1. "Hung Up" (SDP Extended Vocal) – 7:57 2. "Hung Up" (Tracy Young's Get Up And Dance Groove) – 9:03 3. "Hung Up" (Bill Hamel Remix) – 6:59 4. "Hung Up" (Chus & Ceballos Remix) – 9:41 5. "Hung Up" (SDP Extended Dub) – 7:57 - Digital single – 2022 remix 1. "Hung Up on Tokischa" (with Tokischa) – 3:21 ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. - Madonna – lead vocals, songwriter, producer - Stuart Price – songwriter, producer - Benny Andersson – songwriter - Björn Ulvaeus – songwriter - Giovanni Bianco – cover artwork - Lorenzo Irico – digital imaging - Steven Klein – photography - Andy LeCompte – hair and makeup ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Hung Up on Tokischa ### Year-end charts ### Decade-end charts ### All-time charts ## Certifications and sales \\|- ## Release history ## See also - List of number-one singles of 2005 (Australia) - List of number-one hits of 2005 (Austria) - List of Ultratop 50 number-one hits of 2005 (Belgium) - List of Ultratop 40 number-one hits of 2005 (Belgium) - List of number-one singles of 2005 (Canada) - List of number-one songs of the 2000s (Denmark) - List of European number-one hits of 2005 - List of number-one singles of 2005 (Finland) - List of number-one hits of 2005 (France) - List of number-one hits of 2005 (Germany) - List of number-one hits of 2006 (Germany) - List of number-one hits of 2005 (Italy) - List of number-one singles of 2005 (Netherlands) - List of number-one songs in Norway - List of number-one singles of 2005 (Spain) - List of number-one singles of 2005 (Sweden) - List of number-one singles of the 2000s (Switzerland) - List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2000s - List of UK Dance Singles Chart number ones of 2005 - List of number-one digital songs of 2005 (U.S.) - List of number-one dance singles of 2005 (U.S.) - List of number-one dance airplay hits of 2005 (U.S.) - List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s - List of Platinum singles in the United Kingdom awarded since 2000
34,340,919	Germanus of Winchester	1,058,295,408	11th-century English abbot	[ "1010s deaths", "English Benedictines", "English abbots", "Year of birth unknown" ]	Germanus (sometimes Germanus of Winchester, died circa 1013) was a medieval English abbot and Benedictine monk. He travelled to Rome in about 957 and became a monk at Fleury Abbey in France. Back in England by 964 he served as a monastic official before being named abbot of Winchcombe Abbey in about 970, a position he was removed from in 975. Germanus may have become abbot of Cholsey Abbey in 992. ## Early career Although Germanus's name is not Anglo-Saxon, Byrhtferth, a contemporary who wrote the Vita Oswaldi, which contains much information on Germanus, states that he was a native of Winchester. Germanus accompanied Oscytel, the Archbishop of York, and Oswald of Worcester, on their trip to Rome in about 957, purportedly to collect Oscytel's pallium, the symbol of an archbishop's authority. This journey, however, has been challenged by the historian Donald A. Bullough, who argues that no previous archbishops of York had collected their palliums in person. He also points out that this story is only related in the Chronicon Abbatiae Rameseiensis, the chronicle of the Ramsey Abbey. According to the Ramsey story, Oscytel and Oswald returned to England, but Germanus remained on the continent and became a monk at Fleury Abbey in France. Another story has Oswald journeying to Fleury on his own, with Germanus arriving at Fleury after Oswald had been resident at Fleury for a number of years prior to 958. ## Return to England In 963 or 964 Germanus was recalled to England by Oswald, who had recently founded a small monastic priory at Westbury-on-Trym. Germanus was named prior of that community and helped with teaching the novice monks. He was also prior of Ramsey Abbey, or perhaps dean, before becoming abbot of Winchcombe Abbey in about 970. Ramsey was founded by moving the monks of Westbury to Ramsey, but Germanus was not named abbot of Ramsey when this move was completed, being named abbot of Winchcombe instead. The reasons for this transfer are unrecorded. He was the first abbot of Winchcombe, but was removed from office in 975, as a result of political instability following the death of King Edgar of England in 975, when the monks at Winchcombe were exiled to Ramsey. The Chronicon Abbatiae Rameseiensis states that he became abbot of Cholsey Abbey in 992, and the Vita Oswaldi concurs with this statement. The Vita relates that when Oswald and the lay patron of Ramsey were near to death in 992 they urged the monks to elect Germanus as the next abbot of Ramsey when that office might become vacant. Instead, the monks elected another monk, and the Vita states that King Æthelred II of England appointed Germanus to Cholsey instead. Some historians have challenged Germanus' appointment to Cholsey, owing to the extreme length of ecclesiastical career this would necessitate. ## Later life and legacy Germanus took part in the translation, or moving, of the relics of St Ivo to Ramsey in 1001 or the following year. He and Eadnoth, the abbot of Ramsey, carried the remains of the saint and his recently discovered companions from where they were found to Ramsey. The "Ramsey Psalter" or "Psalter of Oswald", sometimes known as the "Harley Psalter", (now British Library manuscript (MS) Harley 2904) and the "Cambridge Psalter" (now Cambridge University Library MS Ff.1.23) as well as the "Sacramentary of Winchcombe" (now in Orléans, MS BM 127 (105)) have been connected with his abbacy. Germanus died some time around 1013. The Vita Oswaldi describes him as an expert in monastic affairs; a forged charter later described him as abbot of Fleury, although he never held that office.
55,206,124	Out Loud (song)	1,110,522,491	2017 song by Gabbie Hanna	[ "2010s ballads", "2017 debut singles", "2017 songs", "Gabbie Hanna songs", "Songs about heartache", "Songs about loneliness" ]	"Out Loud" is the debut single of American Internet personality and singer Gabbie Hanna, independently released for digital download on September 6, 2017, as her debut single. It was written by Hanna and Bruce Wiegner, with production solely handled by the latter. The lyrics of the track, a ballad, have been described as emotive. They discuss themes of loss, loneliness and heartbreak. They were inspired by the poems featured in Hanna's 2017 book Adultolescence. Upon its release, "Out Loud" was met with mixed reviews from music critics, who argued over the track's quality. An accompanying music video was uploaded to Hanna's YouTube channel on October 18, 2017. The visual features her reminiscing memories of her love interest before attending his funeral in a "major plot twist". Commercially, the track attained moderate success on record charts, reaching number 47 on the Scottish Singles Chart and number 30 on Billboard's Digital Songs chart, among others in 2017. For promotion, the singer performed "Out Loud" live at the 2017 and 2018 VidCon events in Australia. ## Background and composition "Out Loud" was independently released for digital download on September 6, 2017. The song was written by Hanna and its producer Bruce Wiegner, acting as her debut single. They began working on the song in July, and Wiegener eventually uploaded a video on his YouTube channel, during which he details on its production. In an interview with Billboard, Hanna elaborated on the release of "Out Loud": "I don't plan on really becoming a musician. I'm not that good; I'm not really a singer [...] I wanted to shock people; I wanted to step outside of the YouTube world and do something that I actually thought was a piece of art". The "emotive" lyrics of "Out Loud" discuss themes of loss, loneliness and heartbreak, and were inspired by Hanna's poems in her book Adultolescence (2017). "Out Loud" was initially only meant to be released as a one-off promotion for the book. Musically, the ballad features a "sultry, dark melody that builds up to a tidal wave of a chorus". ## Reception Upon its release, "Out Loud" was met with mixed reviews from music critics. Chris DeVille of Stereogum criticized the song, stating that it "plays more like an SNL Digital Short than a legitimate tearjerker". He further likened it to Paris Hilton's "Stars Are Blind" (2006). Tatiana Cirisano of Billboard called it "no joke", and wrote "if listeners find it hard to reconcile the track's theme of loneliness with Hanna's 1.3 million Twitter followers, well, that's kind of the point". Commercially, "Out Loud" attained success on digital platforms in the United States, and went on to reach number 30 on Billboard's Digital Songs chart. It further peaked at number 47 on the Scottish Singles Chart, and appeared at numbers 90 and 39 on download charts in the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as at number six on the Hitseekers chart in Australia. ## Music video and promotion An accompanying music video for "Out Loud" was uploaded to Hanna's YouTube channel on October 18, 2017, and was directed by Tommy Wooldridge, with Dank Brink serving as the director of photography. It was preceded by a lyric video on September 6, 2017, which showed Hanna writhing atop a bed while the track's lyrics appear onscreen in white script. DeVille of Stereogum criticized the lyric video's quality and negatively likened Hanna's appearance to that of American actress Maya Rudolph. The official music video begins with Hanna in front of a wall full of pictures, picking out multiple ones in which she is seen with her love interest; as she looks at them, the video cuts to footage of them together. Hanna subsequently tears all the photographs apart and falls to the floor crying, as the visual cuts to further memories of them. The second part of the clip features a "major plot twist", in which the singer attends her boyfriend's funeral, wearing a black dress and holding flowers in her hands. For further promotion, Hanna performed "Out Loud" live at VidCon 2017 in Melbourne, Australia, as well as one year later during the same event. ## Track listing - Digital download 1. "Out Loud" – 3:18 ## Charts ## Release history
15,180,643	2008 Bathurst Boys in Red accident	1,172,196,371	Car accident in Canada	[ "2008 disasters in Canada", "2008 in Canadian sports", "2008 in New Brunswick", "2008 road incidents", "Accidental deaths in New Brunswick", "Basketball in New Brunswick", "History of transport in New Brunswick", "January 2008 events in Canada", "Road incidents in Canada", "Sport in Bathurst, New Brunswick", "Sports-related accidents and incidents", "Transport in Bathurst, New Brunswick" ]	The Boys in Red accident occurred on January 12, 2008, just outside the city of Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada. A semi-trailer truck and a van carrying the basketball team from Bathurst High School collided, which killed seven students, the wife of the coach, and injured four other occupants in the van. It was the deadliest transportation accident in New Brunswick since 1989, when a logging truck tipped onto a hayride in Cormier Village, killing 13. It was the deadliest bus accident involving a sports team in Canada until the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in April 2018. The accident was followed by a national day of mourning in Canada, and a ban on all E350 Ford Club Wagon type vehicles being used for student transport in New Brunswick. Two investigations, one by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the other by Transport Canada, found that the cause of the disaster was a combination of poor road conditions, lack of proper snow tires, and possible driver error. Pressure from the public and victims' families prompted the chief coroner of the province to launch an inquiry, which produced recommendations to improve student transport safety in New Brunswick. The provincial government agreed with the majority of the suggestions and has since enacted many of them. ## Accident The accident occurred on New Brunswick Route 8 shortly after midnight on January 12, 2008, when the team coach was driving the Bathurst High School basketball team northward back from a game in Moncton against the Moncton High School Purple Knights in an E350 Ford Club Wagon. Light freezing rain and low visibility created poor, slippery driving conditions. As the van approached the Bathurst city limits, the coach lost control and veered in front of a southbound semi-trailer truck. The truck collided with the side of the van and the two vehicles came to rest on the shoulder of the southbound lane of the highway approximately 40 metres (130 ft) from the point of impact. The police officer who discovered the wreck initially suspected that only the semi had gone off the road. After further investigation, he found the van and called for emergency services, whose arrival was delayed by freezing rain. The rear wall and a large portion of the right-hand side of the van, including three rows of seats, had been torn away, ejecting several occupants. Seven players aged 15-17 and the wife of the team coach, 51, were pronounced dead at the scene. The coach, his daughter and the two other players survived the accident and were rushed to Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst. Of the injured, one was listed in critical condition, and two others were stable. The fourth was released shortly after the accident. The driver of the truck was not injured. ## Aftermath The accident was met with grief and condolences from New Brunswick and around Canada. Mental health specialists and teachers from across the province teamed up to help offer support to students, families and friends of the victims. Following the accident, New Brunswick immediately halted the use of 15-passenger vans and began a thorough review of transportation policy; many other provinces later did the same. At the time of the tragedy only Nova Scotia had a ban on 15-passenger vans, following an accident in 1984. Many at Bathurst High School speculated that its senior varsity basketball team would not be able to continue after the crash. Only five team members remained, including three students who did not go to Moncton because of illness. Despite this, the Bathurst Phantoms' basketball team defeated the Campobello Vikings 82–50 to win the Provincial AA championship the following year. ## Investigation Both the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Transport Canada conducted investigations into the accident. The RCMP released its report on July 29, 2008. The report stated that the van would not have passed a safety inspection at the time of the accident because of rust in its body, worn all-season tires, and faulty brakes. None of these factors could be identified as the sole cause of the accident, but the report noted that "together, they certainly contributed". The report added that speed was not a factor in the crash, as the van was only travelling about 73 kilometres per hour (45 mph) and the truck at approximately 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph) at the time of impact, both of which were well below the posted limit of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). The van had been inspected on October 29, 2007, just over two months prior to the collision, and was four months away from its next inspection. The report resulted in public questioning of New Brunswick's motor vehicle inspection program. Transport Canada released its report on July 30, 2008. It blamed weather conditions, but also focused on driver fatigue and driver error. It cited several breaches of provincial law regarding the operation of commercial vehicles. The coach had been on duty for sixteen hours when the collision happened, contravening the law that one cannot drive if they have been working more than fourteen consecutive hours. The report also identified inadequate pre-trip inspections and log book keeping, and the lack of a contingency plan in the event of poor weather. Transport Canada stated that although they put an added emphasis on some factors, their report was consistent with the RCMP's. They concurred that the vehicle would have failed an inspection in its pre-collision state because of worn tires and brakes. Six of the dead were not wearing seat belts, while a seventh was not properly restrained. Greg Sypher, a collision analyst and principal Transport Canada investigator, later suggested that seat belts most likely would not have saved all the victims' lives. One player's father credits the fact that his son was not wearing his seatbelt for his son's survival, saying that if he had not been thrown to the floor just before the collision he may also have died. ## Legal On November 12, 2008, the RCMP ruled out laying criminal charges in relation to the accident. It stated that the finding had been reviewed by a Crown prosecutor and that no wrongdoing was found. The families of two of the deceased expressed disapproval of the decision and indicated that they may bring a lawsuit against several of the involved parties, though others have publicly stated that they accepted the decision. The chief coroner of the province stated that a provincial inquest was possible, though it would take some time to come to any decision on the matter. No decision on whether or not to have an inquest was made for over a month. Two families accused the Department of Public Safety of "dragging its feet". These families stated that they wanted a "Van Angels" law that would require any driver taking students outside of their community to possess a Class 2 driver's license. They also wanted a weather law that would prevent students from travelling outside of their communities during severe weather. Ana Acevedo and Isabelle Hains, mothers of two of the deceased, went so far as to launch a website, vanangels.ca, which is dedicated to the memory of their sons and contains a blog related to the accident formerly included a petition to hold an inquest. On December 17, 2008, Greg Forestell, the province's acting chief coroner, called for an inquiry into the accident, stating that "[t]he inquest gives us the opportunity to pull all those facts together in a comprehensive manner and look at the issues in their entirety and have the jury make recommendations for prevention." The decision was met with much approval from the victims' families. The inquest began on May 4, 2009, and lasted until May 14. It included testimony from survivors, experts, and provincial officials. The inquest did not blame anyone directly for the accident, but the jury returned 24 recommendations. Kelly Lamrock stated that the province intended to implement the "vast majority" of these recommendations and that a third of them had already been initiated. ### Atlantic Wholesalers Limited and Loblaws lawsuit On December 22, 2009 Atlantic Wholesalers Limited and Loblaws, owners of the transport truck struck by the van, filed a joint claim against the coach and Bathurst Van Inc. In the lawsuit the plaintiffs complained that negligence on behalf of the defendants was responsible for the crash. Atlantic Wholesalers and Loblaws argue that they are owed \$40,667.86 in damages, and an additional \$847.50 to cover the clean-up costs. After extensive press coverage and public backlash, Atlantic Wholesalers and Loblaws attempted to defend their action stating that this action was "normal insurance procedures follow an accident of this nature". Public outrage spread and on January 8, 2010, Loblaws dropped the suit for unspecified reasons after enormous public backlash with numerous persons calling for a boycott of the chain. ## Memorials A memorial for the victims was unveiled on June 6, 2008, at Bathurst High School. An archway with a basketball net was placed in a courtyard behind the school. The memorial was funded by donations. A temporary memorial at the crash site consisting of two basketball nets and flowers was also erected, and one of the nets featuring pictures of the players remained there as of August 2022. A permanent "Boys in Red" memorial for the victims of the van crash has been erected on an empty lot on King Avenue in the city's downtown area near the Bathurst High School. The memorial was erected in a small walking park near the school. It consists of seven vertical columns of red quartz. The site has been used for a memorial space in the past as 2 small stones with plaques are placed by the St John street sidewalks of the park with 2 small trees erected as a memorial of two Bathurst High students who were among the class of 2001 who died in automobile accidents as well a few months before graduation. Every year the school holds a memorial for those who died, with students and staff allowed to place a wreath and observe a moment of silence. ## Reaction John McLaughlin, School District 15 Superintendent, stated that the community of Bathurst was in a state of shock and mourning. McLaughlin also noted that the coach held the appropriate license to drive the vehicle and that there were no laws or regulations in the province which regulated team transportation in the event of poor weather. He also added: > That's really hard because you have to gauge the weather each time you have to make a decision. As for what happened last night, I can't comment. I don't have that information. But in general, our people take great care in making decisions based on the information that they have at the time. Premier Shawn Graham said "I just want to extend sympathies to the affected families. This is a tragic situation for the community of Bathurst and our province." Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper said the incident had "shocked the nation" and called for a day of mourning. Valery Vienneau, Bishop of Bathurst, read a message on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI stating: "[The Pope] expresses sentiments of deep sympathy and spiritual closeness to the members of their families and to all staff and students who have been touched by this tragedy. The Pope assures all concerned of his prayers for those who died and for their families." On January 16, all sports-related extracurricular activities in New Brunswick were cancelled. Services were held across the country. Some schools asked students to wear red and black, the colours of Bathurst High School. The funeral for the seven deceased players was held in Bathurst at the K. C. Irving Regional Centre, which was filled with 6,000 people. An additional 3,500 mourners filled the adjacent rink to watch the service on a widescreen television. Elizabeth Lord's private funeral followed the next day. ## Legacy On August 26, 2008, a government working group presented New Brunswick Education Minister Kelly Lamrock with eight recommendations for extracurricular transportation. The recommendations included that guidelines for transporting students to school-related extracurricular activities be strengthened, that a school bus be used when transporting ten or more students, that vehicles be equipped with snow tires if travelling between October 15 and April 30, and that the district superintendent be charged with responsibility for ensuring safe transportation of students to and from extracurricular activities. Lamrock initially suggested that schools voluntarily follow the recommendations, though they were later made into enforceable policy. One major effect of the recommendations is that, as of November 2008, it is mandatory that all vehicle operators who intend to use their vehicles to transport students between extracurricular activities be covered by a Third Party Liability and Accident Benefit policy. These policies must be in the amount of no less than CAD\$1 million for vehicles with a capacity of fewer than 10 passengers, and no less than CAD\$5 million for vehicles with a capacity of 10 or more. This also applies to parents driving others' children to school related extracurricular activities. The changes were met with critical reception in the province. Many students are now required to pay higher sports fees to cover higher transportation costs. Some schools do not have access to approved vehicles because the Education Act prohibits schools and school districts from owning vehicles. To get around this they use corporate entities to operate vehicles for extracurricular activities. These require money to buy new vehicles and the required insurance, which often requires schools to conduct extra fundraising. For unknown reasons, the simple remedy of twinning the highway was not implemented. Nurse-practicioner Amanda Smith Ngo, who supported mourners at the Boys' funeral, died December 2022 in a similar incident only miles away on the same highway. 15 years later, the highway remains undivided. ## See also - List of accidents involving sports teams - List of disasters in Canada - List of road accidents ## Note - The accident's name is derived from the Bathurst High School colors, red and black.
15,373,618	Business routes of Interstate 69 in Michigan	1,143,400,016	List of highways in Michigan	[ "Business Interstate Highways", "Interstate 69", "Interstate Highways in Michigan" ]	There are currently four business routes of Interstate 69 (I-69) in the US state of Michigan. Designated Business Loop Interstate 69 (BL I-69), they are all former routings of I-69's predecessor highways, US Highway 27 (US 27), M-78 or M-21, in whole or in part. The BL I-69 in Coldwater and the one in Charlotte were both parts of US 27 before the freeway bypassed those two cities in 1967 and the early 1970s, respectively. The BL I-69 through Lansing and East Lansing was previously part of M-78 and Temporary I-69 until it was redesignated in 1987. Before 1984, the loop in Port Huron was originally part of M-21 and was initially a business spur numbered Business Spur Interstate 69 (BS I-69). It was later redesignated when it was extended to run concurrently with that city's BL I-94 which was originally part of I-94's predecessor, US 25. Each business loop follows streets through each city's downtown areas and connects to I-69 on both ends, giving traffic a route through the downtown and back to the freeway. ## Coldwater Business Loop I-69 (BL I-69) is a business loop formed from part of the old US 27 and part of US 12 near and through Coldwater. At the southern end, it begins at exit 10 on I-69 where Fenn Road crosses the freeway. The business loop follows the two-lane Fenn Road west for about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km), then curves north to merge with old US 27 (Angola Road). The highway runs northward through farmland south of Coldwater, and after approximately two miles (3.2 km), it enters the city limit at Garfield Road. Once in Coldwater, the business loop follows Clay Street through residential neighborhoods. After another half mile (0.8 km), the highway reaches a fork where Clay Street continues due north and Division Street branches to the northeast; BL I-69 follows the four-lane Division Street for about another mile (1.6 km) to the main intersection in the city known locally as "the Four Corners." This intersection is where old US 27 intersects US 12 (Chicago Street). BL I-69 turns eastward along the four-lane US 12 and continues from the Four Corners back to I-69 at exit 13. In 1919, the Michigan State Highway Department (MSHD) signposted the highway system for the first time, and the future US 27 corridor through Coldwater was part of the original M-29. On November 11, 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO), and the new US 27 replaced M-29 in the area. In September 1967, the freeway bypassing Coldwater opened. At the same time, the old route through the city was redesignated as BL I-69. Major intersections ## Charlotte Business Loop I-69 (BL I-69) is a business loop that took over the Business US 27 (Bus. US 27) route inside Charlotte. It is a surface street for the nearly five miles (8.0 km) of the loop. The trunkline starts just outside the city of Charlotte at exit 57 and follows Cochran Road The loop travels due north through rural areas south of town along a two-lane road. North of a crossing of the Battle Creek River, Cochrane Road widens to include a center turn lane. About 2+3⁄4 miles (4.4 km) north of the starting point, BL I-69 begins a 3⁄4-mile-long (1.2 km) concurrency with M-50 at Shepherd Street. North of Warren Avenue, BL I-69/M-50 widens to four lanes, two in each direction. The concurrency ends at Lawrence Avenue; M-50 continues north, and the business loop heads east on Lawrence Avenue for a few blocks. That intersection also marks the eastern terminus of M-79. From that point, BL I-69 follows Lawrence Avenue and then veers northeast onto Lansing Street to complete its loop at exit 61. In 1919, the MSHD signposted the highway system for the first time, and the future US 27 corridor through Charlotte was part of the original M-29. On November 11, 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was approved by the AASHO and the new US 27 replaced M-29 through Coldwater. By the end of the next year, M-78 was extended from downtown Charlotte along US 27 to run northeasterly toward Lansing. The highway through downtown Charlotte was first designated Bus. US 27 after the 1961 completion of a non-freeway bypass, a two-lane, limited-access highway east of the city. At that point I-69 only existed in the southern parts of Michigan. That freeway was not extended up to the city when the southernmost segment of I-69 was completed in 1967. By 1971, I-69 was completed to Charlotte and at the time US 27 was cosigned with I-69, the bypass being incorporated into I-69. For three years the business loop in Charlotte was not signed as BL I-69, but it was so designated in 1974 and Bus. US 27 was decommissioned in and near Charlotte. Major intersections ## Lansing Business Loop I-69, or BL I-69, is a business loop in the Lansing area. It is the longest business route in the state of Michigan at a length of over 14+1⁄2 miles (23.3 km). Beginning at exit 93 on I-96/I-69 in Eaton County west of the city, the business loop runs concurrently with M-43 east along Saginaw Highway. The roadway has five total lanes, two in each direction separated by a center turn lane, as it travels through commercial areas in Delta Township and past the Lansing Mall. BL I-69/M-43 continues east on Saginaw Highway and crosses into Ingham County at Waverly Road. From the county line eastward, the highway is known as Saginaw Street, and it passes through residential neighborhoods. Within the city of Lansing, BL I-69 utilizes a one-way pair of three-to-four-lane streets: Saginaw Street eastbound and Oakland Street westbound. One block separates the two directions of BL I-69/M-43 until the intersection with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near the St. Lawrence Campus of the Sparrow Hospital; east of this intersection two blocks separate the two directions of the highway. The business loop crosses the Grand River in downtown Lansing near the campus of Lansing Community College north of the Michigan State Capitol. On the eastern side of the river just north of Cooley Law School Stadium, BL I-69/M-43 intersects the one-way pair of Cedar and Larch streets that carries the two directions of BL I-96. BL I-69/M-43 continues through residential areas east of the other business loop. Near Marshall Park between Maryland Avenue and Marshall Street, Oakland Avenue ends and Grand River Avenue takes over for the westbound direction of BL I-69/M-43. Further east near the interchange with US 127, Grand River Avenue and Saginaw Street cross each other. M-43 departs to the southeast via Grand River Avenue while BL I-69 turns northeasterly via the four-lane Saginaw Street. East of this intersection, BL I-69 crosses into East Lansing and runs through residential areas on the north side of the city. The roadway turns due east at Abbot Road. At an intersection with Haslett Road, Saginaw Street widens into a four-lane divided highway with a grassy median. Along this section, it resumes the Saginaw Highway name and turns northeasterly again, crossing into Meridian Township. The major intersections along Saginaw Highway have Michigan left turns as well. Before the business loop ends, it crosses into Clinton County. The eastern end of BL I-69 is located at exit 94 on I-69 in Bath Township. In 1919, the MSHD signposted the highway system for the first time, and the east–west highways through Lansing were part of the original M-29 through downtown and the original M-39 north of downtown. The north–south highway in Lansing was the original M-14. On November 11, 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was approved by the AASHO, and the new US 27 replaced M-29 and M-14 in the area. By the end of the next year, M-78 was extended from Charlotte along US 27 to through downtown Lansing. M-78 separated from US 27 in downtown Lansing and continued northeasterly through the northern part of East Lansing. M-39 was replaced with an extended M-43 in 1938. As the freeways in the Lansing area were completed in the 1960s through the 1980s, the highways through downtown changed designations. The section of I-96 west of Lansing opened in December 1962. In 1973, M-78 was converted to a freeway near the Flint area, and from Olivet southwest of Lansing to the new freeway, the old highway was redesignated Temporary I-69 (Temp. I-69). Additional segments of I-69 north of Lansing were finished in 1984 and 1987. I-69 was routed over I-96 and the new freeway north of Lansing, and the business loop was designated along M-43 and the former Temp. I-69 in 1987 after that second segment opened. Major intersections ## Port Huron Business Loop I-69 (BL I-69) is a business loop running through downtown Port Huron. The first mile or so (1.7 km) of BL I-69 runs southeasterly from I-69 at the interchange where it meets I-94. The business loop follows a four-lane freeway until the intersection with 32nd Street. A bit further east, it turns due east–west into a one-way pair of three-lane surface streets, eastbound along Oak Street and westbound along Griswold Street, that run through residential areas on the west and south sides of Port Huron. East of 23rd Street. the two halves of BL I-69 narrow to two lanes each. In downtown Port Huron, BL I-69 turns northerly running concurrently with BL I-94 on four-lane Military Avenue parallel to the St. Clair River. North of the crossing of the Black River, BL I-69/BL I-94 continues northward on Huron Avenue through downtown. At the intersection with Glenwood Avenue, the business loop turns northwesterly onto Pine Grove Avenue through residential areas on the north side of the city. The street is five lanes, two in each direction with a center turn lane, and passes under the I-94/I-69 freeway at the toll and customs plazas for the Blue Water Bridge; north of the freeway, there is a ramp to connect to the eastbound direction of the freeway and the bridge. The business loop continues along Pine Grove Avenue, intersecting the southern end of M-25 at Hancock Street. At that intersection, the business loop turns westward for a block. It then turns south along the connector to terminate at westbound I-94/I-69 west of the Blue Water Bridge toll plaza. In 1919, the MSHD signposted the highway system for the first time, and the east–west highway through Port Huron was part of the original M-19, and the north–south highway was part of the original M-27. M-21 was extended over M-19 into Port Huron by 1924. On November 11, 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was approved by the AASHO, and the new US 25 replaced M-27 in the area. In 1964, a section of I-94 in the Port Huron area was completed. The former route of US 25 through downtown was redesignated Bus. US 25 when the main highway was shifted out to the freeway. The first freeway segment of M-21 was built into the Port Huron area in 1966; the freeway directly tied into the western end of the old route into downtown. In 1973, US 25 was decommissioned in the state, and the former Bus. US 25 was renumbered BL I-94. The remaining segment of freeway along the M-21 corridor opened in 1984 as I-69; after this freeway opened, M-21 was shortened to Flint, and the former M-21 in Port Huron became Business Spur I-69. To connect back to I-69, the business route was extended northward along BL I-94 when that highway was designated through downtown in 1986. Major intersections ## See also
3,371,360	B in the Mix: The Remixes	1,171,183,554	2005 remix album by Britney Spears	[ "2005 albums", "2005 remix albums", "Britney Spears remix albums", "Electronic dance music albums by American artists", "House music remix albums", "Jive Records albums", "Jive Records remix albums", "Trance remix albums" ]	B in the Mix: The Remixes is the first remix album by American singer Britney Spears. It was released on November 22, 2005, by Jive Records. B in the Mix: The Remixes predominantly comprises remixes of tracks from Spears' fourth studio album In the Zone (2003), but also contains remixes of tracks from its predecessors ...Baby One More Time (1999), Oops!... I Did It Again (2000) and Britney (2001) to a lesser extent. It also included remixes of "Someday (I Will Understand)" (2005) and the previously unreleased "And Then We Kiss". Producers Peter Rauhofer, Justice, Bill Hamel, Stuart Price, Dave Audé, Junkie XL, Valentin, Jason Nevins, Nick Fiorucci, Taras Harkavyi, Davidson Ospina and Hex Hector made contributions to the album; their final product was an ambient and techno-influenced EDM record. B in the Mix: The Remixes received mixed reviews from music critics, some of which called it a good remix compilation, while others argued that it was conceived as a product and criticized what they perceived as weak vocals. Commercially, the album peaked at number four on the US Dance/Electronic Albums and at number 134 on the US Billboard 200. While the album received minimal promotion compared to Spears' previous albums, the remix of "And Then We Kiss" was released as its sole promotional single in Oceania on October 31, 2005. The album's sequel, titled B in the Mix: The Remixes Vol. 2, was released on October 7, 2011. ## Recording and production B in the Mix: The Remixes includes songs recorded for her previous albums, mostly In the Zone (2003), remixed by numerous disc jockeys and musicians, including Peter Rauhofer, Justice, Bill Hamel, Stuart Price, Dave Audé, Junkie XL, Valentin, Jason Nevins, Nick Fiorucci, Taras Harkavyi, Davidson Ospina, and Hex Hector. Price had previously remixed "Breathe on Me" from In the Zone for the limited edition bonus disc of Spears' first greatest hits album Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (2004). B in the Mix: The Remixes also includes a remix of the previously unreleased song, "And Then We Kiss". It was originally produced by Mark Taylor and recorded for In the Zone, but failed to make the final cut. The song was then set to be included on the bonus disc of the DVD for Britney and Kevin: Chaotic (2005), but was left out in favor of another song, "Over to You Now". The original version of "And Then We Kiss" remained unreleased for years, until a new mix labelled as the original version leaked online on September 2, 2011. After suggestions that it might be fake, Taylor confirmed its authenticity on September 5. ## Music and lyrics The Bill Hamel remix of "Touch of My Hand" is a trance track with elements of ambient. Spears' voice has been described as "chopped up into skittering syllables and [...] becomes part of the beat". The album's fourth track, the Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix of "Breathe on Me" slows the beat from the original track making the song "darker and dirtier". The remix style was compared to songs by Kylie Minogue and Madonna. Dave Audé Slave Driver Mix of "I'm a Slave 4 U" consists of a guitar track and "quirky analog touches", according to Kurt Kirton of About.com. "And Then We Kiss" contains influences of euro-trance, techno and usage of synthesizers. The song blends dance-rock guitars and symphonic strings and closes with an orchestral overtone. Its lyrics talk about a kiss and the different sensations that the protagonist experiences, including trembling, crying and moaning. At the beginning she sings the lines "Lying alone / touching my skin" which suggest that the whole song may actually be a fantasy. The album's seventh track, the Valentin remix of "Everytime" contains a serious groove and pounding percussion, with usage of synthesizers. The Jason Nevins remix of "Early Mornin'" is considered the only hip hop song of B in the Mix: The Remixes. ## Title and artwork On September 28, 2005, Jive Records announced through a press release that Spears would release a remix album titled Remixed. However, on November 8, it was reported by Jennifer Vineyard of MTV that the album was actually titled B in the Mix: The Remixes. The album had two cover artworks, the North American one and the international one. On the North American edition, Spears doesn't appear on the album cover; there is a red butterfly against a black background instead. Vineyard noted this, stating: "[the album] is being marketed in a more underground way than usually associated with a superstar act". On the international edition cover artwork, a black-and-white image of Spears appears behind the butterfly. ## Release and promotion Jive Records originally planned to release a Japan-exclusive remix album Greatest Remixes in early 2005, but those plans fell through. The release of Spears' first remix album, then titled Remixed, was announced in September, when the promotional extended play (EP) Key Cuts from Remixed, including several remixes from the album, was released. A contest was launched on Spears' paid fan site for those who pre-ordered B in the Mix: The Remixes. The winner received a copy of Britney & Kevin: Chaotic, a bottle of Spears' fragrance Fantasy with an additional lotion and make-up kit, and a personalized autographed picture of Spears. On November 22, the day the album was released, a release party was held at an unspecified nightclub in Los Angeles, organized by Spears' management and the webmaster of the fansite WorldOfBritney.com. It was a limited event to 500 people, including members of the fan site and her official fan club. Spears commented: "I just wanted to say that I love the idea of all my fans getting together to celebrate the release of my new album. I was happy to help! I hope you have a great night out at the club and dance all night long!". B in the Mix: The Remixes received considerably less promotion compared to Spears' previous releases, as Spears did not make any public appearances in its support. Although it produced no singles, the remix of "And Then We Kiss" was released as the sole promotional single from the album in Australia and New Zealand on October 31, 2005. A promotional 12-inch single featuring a new version of the remix was also released. The remix received mostly positive reviews from music critics, with some noticing its potential to be a radio or club hit. "And Then We Kiss" failed to appear on any major charts; however, it peaked at number 15 on the US Dance/Mix Show Airplay. ### Copy protection controversy In November 2005, it was revealed that Sony BMG was distributing albums with Extended Copy Protection, a controversial feature that automatically installed rootkit software on any Microsoft Windows machine upon insertion of the disc. In addition to preventing the CDs contents from being copied, it was also revealed that the software reported the users' listening habits back to Sony BMG and also exposed the computer to malicious attacks that exploited insecure features of the rootkit software. B in the Mix: The Remixes was listed among the 52 CDs that were known to contain the software, which Sony discontinued the usage of on November 11, 2005. The company recalled this and other titles affected by XCP, and asked customers to submit copies affected by the software to the company so that it could replace them with copies that did not contain the software. ## Critical reception B in the Mix: The Remixes received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Kurt Kirton of About.com highlighted the remixes of "Everytime" and "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know", adding that the album would be better if it included more tracks. He summarized his review saying, "this is a decent release that should please any Britney fan and most club music fanatics". Barry Walters of Rolling Stone said the album was "even more redundant" than Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, but added that with the exception of "Toxic", "just about every original track is bettered here". Spence D. of IGN said: "If you had the choice to purchase only one Britney Spears' album, then this would be the one to spend your money on." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commented that "B in the Mix doesn't exactly erase the impression that Spears isn't in tune with her recording career". He also stated that on tracks such as "Toxic", "her flaws stand out just a bit too much [...] the instrumental hooks have been removed from the record, leaving Spears to carry the day—which she can't really do. [...] Overall this album sounds and feels like what it really is: a piece of product." MTV writer Bradley Stern praised the album, saying it "featured loads of excellent remixes stretching from "...Baby One More Time" to "Toxic", but nothing shined quite as bright as the album's undeniable highlight: "And Then We Kiss" (Junkie XL Remix)." Gregg Shapiro of the Bay Area Reporter gave the album a mostly negative review, calling it "hazardous waste". He also noted that Spears's voice was "reedy, cold and mechanical" when stripped from the original mixes. However, he highlighted two tracks, saying: "Spears comes closest to achieving dance-diva status on the Valentin remix of "Everytime", while the Davidson Ospina 2005 remix of "Baby One More Time" elevates the original bubblegum track to club classic." Mike Daniel of The Dallas Morning News called the Justice remix of "Me Against the Music" the best track of the album, but said it "has the feel of a hastily executed stopgap measure with almost no marketing-related thought behind it except to fulfill the once-every-two-years release cycle that's been established for Britney material." Entertainment Weekly writer Leah Greenblatt noted the remixes "amps already-aggressive singles like "Toxic" and "Me Against the Music" to brain-popping levels of synth spiraling", and transforms "sad-eyed slow jams like "Everytime" and "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" into Hi-NRG bursts. This party is BYORB (Bring Your Own Red Bull); without it, you might not be able to keep up." ## Commercial performance In the United States, B in the Mix: The Remixes debuted at number 134 on the Billboard 200, selling 14,000 copies in its first week. It spent eleven weeks on the chart overall. The album also peaked at number four on the US Top Dance/Electronic Albums, making it the first top four peak on the chart that had over 10,000 units sold since July 2002. The album spent a total of 21 weeks on the chart. According to Nielsen SoundScan, B in the Mix: The Remixes has sold over 131,000 copies in the United States. The album also debuted on Ultratop Wallonia in Belgium at number 99 on the chart dated December 17, 2005, and also debuted at number 59 on the Italian Albums Chart on the chart dated November 25, 2005. The album peaked at number 25 on Oricon Albums Chart in Japan, where it spent eight weeks on the chart. ## Track listing Notes - signifies a remixer and additional producer - signifies a co-producer - signifies a vocal producer ## Personnel Credits are adapted from the Japanese edition liner notes of B in the Mix: The Remixes. - Steve Anderson – songwriting (track 4) - Dido Armstrong – songwriting (track 13) - Dave Audé – additional production (track 5), remix production (track 5) - Paul Barry – songwriting (track 6) - Bloodshy & Avant – engineering (track 1), production (track 1), songwriting (track 1) - Anthony Carlucci – photography - Cathy Dennis – songwriting (track 1) - Dezrok – additional production (track 11), remix production (track 11) - Dan Dymtrow – management - Nick Fiorucci – remix production (track 9) - Lisa Greene – songwriting (track 4) - Chris Haggerty – digital editing (track 11) - Bill Hamel – additional production (track 3), keys (track 3), percussion (track 3), remix production (track 3) - Taras Harkavyi – remix production (track 9) - Chaz Harper – mastering (all tracks) - Jimmy Harry – production (track 3), songwriting (track 3) - Hex Hector – additional production (track 11), remix production (track 11) - Barry Jamieson – additional production (track 3), keys (track 3), percussion (track 3), remix production (track 3) - Henrik Jonback – songwriting (track 1) - Junkie XL – additional production (track 6), instrumentation (track 6), remix production (track 6) - Justice – additional production (track 2), remix production (track 2) - Eric Kupper – keyboards (track 1) - Robert John "Mutt" Lange – production (track 11), songwriting (track 11) - Claude Le Gache – keyboards (track 5) - Chris Lee – guitar (track 5) - Stephen Lee – songwriting (track 4) - Steve Lunt – A&R - Mac Quayle – additional production (track 12), remix production (track 12) - Madonna – songwriting (track 2), vocals (track 2) - Penelope Magnet – songwriting (tracks 2 and 8), production (track 2), vocal arrangement (track 8), vocal production (track 8) - Max Martin – engineering (track 10), mixing (tracks 10, 12 and 13), production (tracks 10, 12 and 13), songwriting (tracks 10, 12 and 13) - MCU – vocals (track 14) - Steve Miller – mixing (track 5) - MJN – backing vocals (track 8) - Moby – engineering (track 8), production (track 8), songwriting (track 8) - Balewa Muhammad – songwriting (track 3) - Jackie Murphy – art direction, design - Terius Nash – songwriting (track 2) - The Neptunes – songwriting (track 5), production (track 5) - Jason Nevins – additional production (track 8), arrangement (track 8), remix production (track 8) - Michael Nigro – keyboard programming (track 8) - Thabiso "Tab" Nikhereanye – songwriting (track 2) - Gary O'Brien – songwriting (track 2) - Davidson Ospina – arrangement (track 9), remix production (track 9) - Stuart Price – additional production (track 4), remix production (track 4) - Rami – engineering (track 10), mixing (tracks 10 and 13), production (tracks 10, 12 and 13), songwriting (tracks 12 and 13) - Peter Rauhofer – additional production (track 1), remix production (track 1) - Keith Scott – songwriting (track 11) - Guy Sigsworth – production (tracks 7, 9 and 14) - Shep Solomon – production (track 3), songwriting (track 3) - Britney Spears – songwriting (tracks 2, 3, 6–9 and 14), vocals (all tracks) - Annette Stamatelatos – songwriting (track 7) - David Stamm – A&R, arrangement (track 8) - Christopher "Tricky" Stewart – production (track 2), songwriting (tracks 2 and 8), vocal arrangement (track 8), vocal production (track 8) - Jeff Taylor – additional production (track 13), remix production (track 13) - Mark Taylor – additional production (track 13), production (tracks 4 and 6), remix production (track 13), songwriting (track 6) - Shania Twain – songwriting (track 11) - Valentin – additional production (track 7), remix production (track 7) ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## Release history ## See also - B in the Mix: The Remixes Vol. 2 - Britney Spears discography
7,812,421	Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2002 Winter Olympics	1,035,809,824	null	[ "2002 in Bosnia and Herzegovina sport", "Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Winter Olympics by year", "Nations at the 2002 Winter Olympics" ]	Bosnia and Herzegovina sent a delegation to compete at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States from 8–24 February 2002. This was the nation's third time participating in a Winter Olympic Games. The delegation consisted of two alpine skiers, Tahir Bisić and Enis Bećirbegović. Bisić finished in 29th place in the men's slalom, and 44th in the giant slalom. Bećirbegović failed to finish the giant slalom, his only event. ## Background The Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina was recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 31 December 1992. Despite this, they made their first Olympic appearance at the 1992 Summer Olympics, and their first Winter Olympics performance at the 1994 Winter Olympics. They have participated in every Olympics since then, making Salt Lake City their third time appearing at a Winter Olympics. The Bosnia and Herzegovinan delegation to Salt Lake City consisted of two alpine skiers, Tahir Bisić and Enis Bećirbegović. Bećirbegović was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. ## Alpine skiing Enis Bećirbegović was 25 years old at the time of the Salt Lake City Olympics, and was a veteran of the 1992, 1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics. Tahir Bisić was 20 years old then, and making his only Olympic appearance. On 13 February, Bisić took part in the men's combined, which consisted of a run of downhill, followed by two runs of slalom. He finished the downhill run in 1 minute and 48.68 seconds, which put him in 40th and next to last position. However, he failed to finish the first of the two slalom runs, and was eliminated from the competition. The gold medal in the combined was won by Kjetil André Aamodt of Norway, the silver medal was won by America's Bode Miller, and the bronze was taken by Benjamin Raich of Austria. Both Bećirbegović and Bisić competed in the men's giant slalom on 21 February. In the first run, Bisić completed the race with a time of 1 minute and 18.96 seconds. He completed the second run in a time of 1 minute and 17.21 seconds, for a final time of 2 minutes and 36.17 seconds, which put him in 44th place. Bećirbegović didn't fare as well, while he completed the first run in 1 minute and 17.56 seconds, he failed to finish the second run. For the event, the gold medal time was 2 minutes and 23.28 seconds, set by Stephan Eberharter of Austria, the silver by Miller, and the bronze by Lasse Kjus of Norway. On 23 February, Bisić was one of the competitors in the men's slalom, finishing the first run in 57.55 seconds. He was slower on the second run, finishing in 1 minute and 0.17 seconds, making his total time for the event 1 minute and 57.72 seconds, which put him in 29th place. The gold medalist was Jean-Pierre Vidal of France, who set a time of 1 minute and 41.06 seconds; the silver medal was won by fellow Frenchman Sébastien Amiez, and the bronze medal was taken by Raich. Men's combined
4,671,503	Battle of Akroinon	1,141,310,751	Battle of the Arab-Byzantine Wars	[ "740", "740s conflicts", "740s in the Byzantine Empire", "740s in the Umayyad Caliphate", "Battles in medieval Anatolia", "Battles involving the Byzantine Empire", "Battles involving the Umayyad Caliphate", "Battles of the Arab–Byzantine wars", "History of Afyonkarahisar Province", "Leo III the Isaurian", "Military raids" ]	The Battle of Akroinon was fought at Akroinon or Akroinos (near modern Afyon) in Phrygia, on the western edge of the Anatolian plateau, in 740 between an Umayyad Arab army and the Byzantine forces. The Arabs had been conducting regular raids into Anatolia for the past century, and the 740 expedition was the largest in recent decades, consisting of three separate divisions. One division, 20,000 strong under Abdallah al-Battal and al-Malik ibn Shu'aib, was confronted at Akroinon by the Byzantines under the command of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian r. 717–741) and his son, the future Constantine V (r. 741–775). The battle resulted in a decisive Byzantine victory. Coupled with the Umayyad Caliphate's troubles on other fronts and the internal instability before and after the Abbasid Revolt, this put an end to major Arab incursions into Anatolia for three decades. ## Background Since the beginning of the Muslim conquests, the Byzantine Empire, as the largest, richest, and militarily strongest state bordering the expanding Caliphate, had been the Muslims' primary enemy. Following the disastrous Battle of Sebastopolis, the Byzantines had largely confined themselves to a strategy of passive defence, while the Muslim armies regularly launched raids into Byzantine-held Anatolia. Following their failure to capture the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, in 717–718, the Umayyads for a time diverted their attention elsewhere. From 720/721, however, they resumed their expeditions against Byzantium in a regular pattern: each summer one or two campaigns (pl. ṣawā'if, sing. ṣā'ifa) would be launched, sometimes accompanied by a naval attack and sometimes followed by winter expeditions (shawātī). These were no longer aimed at permanent conquest but were rather large-scale raids, plundering and devastating the countryside, and only occasionally attacking forts or major settlements. The raids of this period were also largely confined to the central Anatolian plateau (chiefly its eastern half, Cappadocia), and only rarely reached the peripheral coastlands. Under the more aggressive Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 723–743), the Arab raids became more substantial affairs and were led by some of the Caliphate's most capable generals, including princes of the Umayyad dynasty, such as Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik or Hisham's own sons Mu'awiyah, Maslama, and Sulayman. Gradually, however, the Muslim successes became fewer, especially as their resources were drawn into the mounting conflict with the Khazars in the Caucasus. The raids continued, but the Arab and Byzantine chroniclers mention fewer successful captures of forts or towns. Nevertheless, in 737 a major victory over the Khazars allowed the Arabs to shift their focus and intensify their campaigns against Byzantium. Thus in 738 and 739 Maslamah ibn Hisham led successful raids, including the capture of the town of Ancyra. For the year 740, Hisham assembled the largest expedition of his reign, appointing his son Sulayman to lead it. ## Battle According to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor, the invading Umayyad force totalled 90,000 men. 10,000 lightly armed men under al-Ghamr ibn Yazid were sent to raid the western coastlands, followed by 20,000 under Abdallah al-Battal and al-Malik ibn Su'aib who marched towards Akroinon, while the main force of some 60,000 (this last number is certainly much inflated), under Sulayman ibn Hisham, raided Cappadocia. The Emperor Leo confronted the second force at Akroinon. Details of the battle are not known, but the Emperor secured a crushing victory: both Arab commanders fell, as well as the larger part of their army, some 13,200 men. The rest of the Arab troops managed to conduct an orderly retreat to Synnada, where they joined Sulayman. The other two Arab forces devastated the countryside unopposed, but failed to take any towns or forts. The Arab invasion army also suffered from severe hunger and lack of supplies before returning to Syria, while the 10th-century Arab Christian historian Agapius records that the Byzantines took 20,000 prisoners from the invading forces. ## Effect and aftermath Akroinon was a major success for the Byzantines, as it was the first victory they had scored in a major pitched battle against the Arabs in decades. Seeing it as evidence of God's renewed favour, the victory also served to strengthen Leo's belief in the policy of iconoclasm that he had adopted some years before. In the immediate aftermath, this success opened up the way for a more aggressive stance by the Byzantines, who in 741 attacked the major Arab base of Melitene. In 742 and 743, the Umayyads were able to exploit a civil war between Constantine V and the general Artabasdos and raid into Anatolia with relative impunity, but the Arab sources do not report any major achievements. The Arab defeat at Akroinon has traditionally been seen as a decisive battle and a turning point of the Arab–Byzantine wars, causing the slackening of Arab pressure on Byzantium. Other historians however, from the early 20th-century Syriac scholar E.W. Brooks to more recent ones such as Walter Kaegi and Ralph-Johannes Lilie, have challenged this view, attributing the reduced Arab threat after Akroinon to the fact that it coincided with other heavy reversals on the most remote provinces of the Caliphate (e.g. the battles of Marj Ardabil or The Defile), which exhausted its overextended military resources, as well as with internal turmoil due to civil wars and the Abbasid Revolution. As a result, the Arab attacks against the Byzantine Empire in the 740s were rather ineffectual and soon ceased completely. Indeed, Constantine V was able to take advantage of the Umayyad Caliphate's collapse to launch a series of expeditions into Syria and secure a Byzantine ascendancy on the eastern frontier which lasted until the 770s. In the Muslim world, the memory of the defeated Arab commander, Abdallah al-Battal, was preserved, and he became one of the greatest heroes of Arab and later Turkish epic poetry as Sayyid Battal Ghazi.
24,425,890	Madoc (poem)	1,145,175,067	1805 poem by Robert Southey	[ "1805 poems", "Christian poetry", "Epic poems in English", "Poetry by Robert Southey" ]	Madoc is an 1805 epic poem composed by Robert Southey. It is based on the legend of Madoc, a supposed Welsh prince who fled internecine conflict and sailed to America in the 12th century. The origins of the poem can be traced to Southey's schoolboy days when he completed a prose version of Madoc's story. By the time Southey was in his twenties, he began to devote himself to working on the poem in hopes that he could sell it to raise money to fulfill his ambitions to start a new life in America, where he hoped to found Utopian commune or "Pantisocracy". Southey finally completed the poem as a whole in 1799, at the age of 25. However, he began to devote his efforts into extensively editing the work, and Madoc was not ready for publication until 1805. It was finally published in two volumes by the London publisher Longman with extensive footnotes. The first half of the poem, Madoc in Wales, describes Madoc, a young Welsh nobleman, whose family breaks down into a series of bloody disputes over royal succession. Madoc, unwilling to participate in the struggle, decides to journey to America to start a new life. When he reaches America, he is witness to the bloody human sacrifices that the Aztec nation demands of the surrounding tribes in Aztlan. Madoc, believing it is a defiance against God, leads the Hoamen, a local tribe, into warfare against the Aztecs. Eventually, Madoc conquers them and he is able to convert the Americans to Christianity before returning to Wales to find more recruits for his colony. In the second part, Madoc in Aztlan, Madoc returns to find that the Aztecs have returned to their human sacrifices. After long and bloody warfare, Madoc is able to defeat the Aztecs and force them out of their homeland and into exile. The poem contains Southey's bias against superstition, whether Catholic, Protestant, or pagan. He believed that the work itself was more historical than epic, and it contained many of Southey's political views. Critics gave the work mixed reviews, with many saying that there were beautiful scenes, but many feeling that the language fell short of being adequate for the subject matter. One review went so far to mock Southey's reliance on Welsh and Aztec names. ## Background The basis for Southey wishing to write an epic poem came from his private reading of literature while attending Westminster School as a boy. In particular, the subject was suggested by a school friend that claimed to be a descendant of Madoc's brother, Rhodri, and Southey began to write a prose version of the story in 1789. In 1794, the 20-year-old Southey was attempting to publish works to raise money to support himself and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in an expedition to America to establish a Pantisocracy, a democratic form of government that the two invented. One of the poems he sought to publish was Madoc, which was an epic that he started working on while at school but he never finished. Southey and Coleridge were able to complete the poem Joan of Arc by summer 1795 while Southey worked on Madoc. However, in his notebook he claimed on 22 February 1797. "This morning I began the study of law, this evening I began Madoc." During 1797, Southey had given up his ideas of Pantisocracy and was studying to become a lawyer. He spent the rest of his time working on other publications, such as a translating part of Jacques Necker's On the French Revolution. Southey continued to work on Madoc through 1798, and started his mornings by working on the poem. It was not until mid-1799 that Southey was able to finish composing Madoc, and soon after began to work on Thalaba. Afterwards he travelled to Portugal, where he continued to work on Madoc for two more years to polish up the language. After Portugal went to war with France and Spain, Southey returned to England. While there, he travelled to Wales to get more information for his epic. He continued to travel in 1801, and worked on the epic during this time. In May 1804, Southey took the beginning of the poem to the publisher Longman, and he began to finish the second section in October. It was finished and published in two parts early in 1805, with footnotes and a preface explaining Southey's purpose. The work cost a lot of money to publish, which prompted Southey to write "By its high price, one half the edition is condemned to be furniture in expensive libraries, and the other to collect cobwebs in the publisher's warehouses. I foresee that I shall get no solid pudding by it". ## Poem ### Part one: Madoc in Wales Southey intended Madoc to be a combination of the Bible, the works of Homer, and James Macpherson's Ossian poems. The story deals with Madoc, a legendary Welsh prince who supposedly colonised the Americas in the 12th century. The book is divided into two parts, which represent a reversed division between the Iliad and the Odyssey. The work focuses on colonisation, but starts in Wales during King Henry II's reign of England. This section is loosely based on the historical events following the death of Owain Gwynedd, supposedly Madoc's father, in the late 12th century. The work begins as "Owen Gwynned" is crowned king of North Wales after removing his nephew Cynetha from power. After Gwynned dies, one of his sons, David, takes the throne after killing or exiling his siblings. The youngest sibling, Madoc, leaves Britain to settle in a new land. He joins with Cadwallon, the son of Cynetha, and other Welshmen to start their journey. After discovering America, they return to recruit people to help form a new colony. Madoc stays long enough to witness fighting between his living siblings and determines that he must leave immediately. The story follows Madoc's journey as they travel West again, contending with problems such as storms and dissent among the crew. Eventually, they reach America and are received by the natives. Madoc takes on one of the natives, Lincoya, as his guide when they begin to explore the area of the Mississippi River. As they continue to travel, they soon come to Aztlan, the original homeland of the Aztec nation, and Madoc discovers that the Aztecs require human sacrifices for their gods. Madoc decides to interfere with tribal affairs and stop two children from being taken by the Aztecs to be sacrificed. Following this, he encourages a peaceful tribe, the Hoamen, to take up arms against the Aztecs. To further protect the Hoamen, Madoc goes to the Aztec capital to deal with their king. While there, he is shown by the king how great the Aztecs are and how no one could stand against them. Madoc witnesses among the buildings and monuments piles of skulls and corpses along with other horrific scenes. Unwilling to allow the Aztecs to continue their practices, Madoc instigates war between the Aztecs and the much smaller Hoamen nation. While the Aztecs bring a large army, Madoc is able to use Welsh technology and superior tactics to overcome them. The Hoamen are able to take many prisoners while the Aztec king contracts a mortal illness. Following the battle Madoc shocks the Aztecs by releasing the prisoners instead of sacrificing them, and provides leeches to help the Aztec king recover from his disease. This leads to a treaty between the Aztecs and the Hoamen which abolishes human sacrifice. The Aztec priests fear to stop the practice, so the Aztec king decides that his people will abandon their religion and take up a monotheistic religion based on a God of love. The rest of the story involves Madoc returning to Wales to recruit more settlers for his colony. During this time, he meets with Owen Cyveilioc, a poet who tells Madoc to discuss the matter with the Congress of Bards. During the meeting, a young bard prophesies that Madoc would be like Merlin in America and that he is trying to recreate an Arthurian greatness. Afterward, he meets with Llewelyn, an individual trying to reclaim his title as Prince of Wales. Madoc tries and fails to convince him to come to America. Madoc returns to his original home, and there he stops an attempt to remove the body of Gwynned from a grave on holy ground. Instead, Madoc offers to take the corpse back with him to America where it could be buried without any worry. The rest of Madoc's time back in Wales is spent trying to get his brother David, the king, to free another brother, Rodri, whom he has imprisoned. However, Rodri escapes after his release was promised. As Madoc sets out to return to the colony, they are met by Rodri's boat. Rodri informs Madoc that he is working with Llewelyn to overthrow David and restore the rightful king. Although Madoc is upset by the potential warfare, he leaves with the promise by Llewlyn that Britain will be fine. ### Part two: Madoc in Aztlan The second part of the poem parallels the Iliad and follows the events in America after the first part. Madoc returns to America from Wales and finds that Caermadoc, the colony, is doing well. However, there are struggles with his people and the Aztecs because the Aztecs have turned back to their pagan gods. As such, the peace between the two groups ends while a shaman of the Hoamen people starts to convince the people to also worship pagan gods. The Hoamen begin to sacrifice children for their god by feeding them to a large snake. Madoc, angry, accuses a priest leading the sacrifices of being a traitor before killing both the priest and the snake. This feat brings the Hoamen back to Christianity. The Aztec high priest, Tezozomoc, tells the people that they will not have the favour of their gods unless they kill the foreigners. Two warriors volunteer to capture a child to please their gods, and they return with Madoc and the child Hoel. Madoc is forced to fight other condemned men, until Madoc's Welsh allies attack the city, allowing a woman, Coatel, to free Madoc and Hoel. At the same time the Aztec warrior Amalahta attacks Caermadoc, but is defeated by the Welsh women. When Madoc returns, he joins the Welsh and Hoamen forces, and the battle continues until Madoc kills the Aztec king, Coanocotzin. The battle is followed by the Welshmen destroying the pagan temples while the Aztecs gather to appoint a new king. Games and events are established and follow after the battle. During the various events, a temple becomes covered in flames and idols to the pagan gods appear once again. This is followed by the Aztecs telling the Welsh to leave before attacking them. A battle takes place in the water surrounding the Aztec city on boats, and the superior Welsh ships are able to win. The Aztecs, unwilling to stop, turn to superstitious rituals and priests travel to a sacred mountain to make sacrifices. However, a sudden lava eruption kills the priests. This causes the Aztecs to believe that they do not have the support of their gods and they cease their fighting. Admitting defeat, the Aztecs leave the area and head south for Mexico. ## Themes During his time in Portugal, Southey cultivated a strong anti-Catholic bias, and saw Catholic rituals as superstitious and pagan-like. However, he did not limit his feelings to only Catholics, and he believed that Methodists and Calvinists were also superstitious and a political threat. He distrusted religious enthusiasm and any alteration of the mind away from reason. Southey wrote that Madoc, in following these beliefs, was about a "gentle tribe of savages delivered from priestcraft." With such an intent, Southey also believed that he was dealing closely with history and scholarship. The footnotes within Madoc reinforce such an intent. He did not call it an epic like some of his other works. Instead, he argued that there was evidence that the story had a historical basis. The story, according to Southey, was that Madoc came from Britain to America to replace paganism with Christianity. In terms of politics, Southey believed that war with the post-revolution France was inappropriate when he first started composing Madoc. By the time the poem was finished, Southey was an advocate for a war against Napoleon's government. Instead of supporting his own government in return, he was opposed to the government of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. The poem is also heavily grounded in Southey's ideas on Pantisocracy, and it includes an earlier version of his democratic ideal within a mythic form. The connection between Wales and America within the poem alludes to Southey's own plans to travel from Wales to settle in America to start a new societal system. The endings of the two poems are the same but have opposite results: they both have a sunset and an exodus from the country, but the first deals with Wales and the second with the Aztec lands. The first is messianic and heralds a return of Wales's greatness, and the second deals with a new country being created. ## Reception Southey intended Madoc to rival the works of Homer, and Coleridge believed that the poem would be better than the Aeneid. However, Madoc received mixed reviews from critics; while one critic believed it was comparable to John Milton's Paradise Lost, another felt that it was unreadable. In letter written by William Wordsworth on 3 June 1805, he claimed that he was "highly pleased with it; it abounds in beautiful pictures and descriptions happily introduced, and there is an animation diffused through the whole story though it cannot perhaps be said that any of the characters interest you much, except perhaps young Llewllyn whose situation is highly interesting, and he appears to me the best conceived and sustained character in the piece [...] The Poem fails in the highest gifts of the poet's mind Imagination in the true sense of the word, and knowledge of human Nature and the human heart. There is nothing that shows the hand of the great Master". He followed this with a letter on 29 July 1805 saying "Southey's mind does not seem strong enough to draw the picture of a Hero. The character of Madoc is often very insipid and contemptible [...] In short, according to my notion, the character is throughout languidly conceived". Dorothy Wordsworth, William's sister, wrote on 11 June 1805 to claim that "We have read Madoc with great delight [...] I had one painful feeling throughout, that I did not care as much about Madoc as the Author wished me to do, and that the characters in general are not sufficiently distinct to make them have a separate after-existence in my affections." A review by John Ferriar in the October 1805 Monthly Review argued, "It has fallen to the lot of this writer to puzzle our critical discernment more than once [...] He has now contrived to manufacture a large quarto, which he has styled a poem, but of what description it is no easy matter to decide [...] The poem of Madoc is not didactic, nor elegiac, nor classical, in any respect [...] Respecting the manners, Mr. Southey appears to have been more successful than in his choice of the story. He has adhered to history where he could discover any facts adapted to his purpose; and when history failed him, he has had recourse to probability." Ferriar continued with an attack on the Welsh names that appear within the poem: "we own that the nomenclature of his heroes has shocked what Mr. S. would call our prejudices. Goervyl and Ririd and Rodri and Llaian may have charms for Cambrian ears, but who can feel an interest in Tezozomoc, Tlalala, or Ocelopan [...] how could we swallow Yuhidthiton, Coanocotzin, and, above all, the yawning jaw-dislocating Ayayaca?—These torturing words, particularly the latter, remind us so strongly of the odious cacophony of the Nurse and Child, that they really are not to be tolerated." An anonymous review in the Imperial Review in November 1805 stated, "something should be said of the language. This undoubtedly is not its chief excellence. The style, in many places, is trailing, flat, and uninteresting,—deficient both in strength and animation. The author seldom avails himself of any artificial ornaments [...] Though we feel ourselves compelled to make these observations, it is hardly necessary to add, that upon the whole we think very highly of this performance." The review continues by comparing Madoc to Paradise Lost: "were the style adorned by a little artificial colouring, and enriched with all the allowable decorations of poetry, Madoc would hardly yield to Paradise Lost. As it stands, it is certainly the second heroic production in the English language. Its leading characteristics are not fire and sublimity, but tenderness and humanity. Milton astonishes the head—Southey touches the heart. The first we may admire—the last we can love." Jack Simmons, in his 1945 biography, believed that the poem was "the longest, the least successful, the most tedious" of Southey's poems. In 1972, Ernest Bernhardt-Kabisch argued "Southey would perhaps have done well to have ended the poem here [at the end of part one]. In its larger framework of Welsh history, the American adventure and its clash of culture is interesting and is comparable in purpose and proportion, if not in power and dramatic nuance, to Odysses' exotic flashback narrative at the court of Phaeacia. The Welsh narrative [...] appeals to a variety of Romantic interests – patriotic and picturesque, sentimental and libertarian. And though, as always, thought tends to be commonplace and pathos shortwinded, the quality of the writing is almost uniformly high, and there are memorable and moving passages of description and rhetoric, as well as suggestive images". He continued adding that "Southey's epic thereby becomes, in fact, the crowning effort of eighteenth-century English literature to deal poetically with the American Indian". In 1990 Northern Irish poet Paul Muldoon published his long poem Madoc: a Mystery, inspired by Southey's work and the events surrounding it. Muldoon's work takes as its premise the idea that Southey and Coleridge actually came to America to found their ideal state, and offers a multi-layered poetic exploration of what might have happened. It won the 1992 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize.
20,040,721	You're Not Sorry	1,162,285,702	2008 promotional single by Taylor Swift	[ "2000s ballads", "2008 songs", "Big Machine Records singles", "Rock ballads", "Song recordings produced by Chris Rowe", "Song recordings produced by Nathan Chapman (record producer)", "Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift", "Songs written by Taylor Swift", "Taylor Swift songs" ]	"You're Not Sorry" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her second studio album, Fearless. It was released for download via the iTunes Store as a promotional from the album on October 28, 2008, by Big Machine Records. Swift was inspired to write "You're Not Sorry" by an ex-boyfriend who she realized was the contrary to what he had appeared to be. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, "You're Not Sorry" is a rock power ballad with gentle piano in the verses and dramatic electric guitar in the build-up. A remix version for the television episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, in which Swift made an appearance, was later released. Some critics praised the production of "You're Not Sorry", but others took issue with the balladic production as overdone. The song peaked at number 11 on both the Canadian Hot 100 and the US Billboard Hot 100. In the United States, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On the Fearless Tour (2009–2010), Swift performed a mashup of "You're Not Sorry" and Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around". She included it as part of a mashup with "Back to December" and OneRepublic's "Apologize" on her next tour, the Speak Now World Tour. She also sang the track at the 44th Academy of Country Music Awards in 2009. Swift released a re-recorded version, "You're Not Sorry (Taylor's Version)", as part of her re-recorded album Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021). The re-recorded version charted on the Canadian Hot 100 and the Billboard Global 200. ## Background "You're Not Sorry" was written by Swift and produced by Nathan Chapman alongside Swift. It was inspired by an ex-boyfriend who was later revealed to be opposite of what Swift had originally thought. Swift recalled that, at first, "He came across as prince charming." As the relationship continued, Swift was informed of numerous secrets about her boyfriend she was not aware of. "And one by one, I would figure them out. I would find out who he really was," she said. She wrote "You're Not Sorry" in an emotional state, which she described as "the breaking point", where she thought to herself, "'You know what? Don’t even think that you can keep on hurting me.'" The circumstances reached a point where she felt she had to walk away. "You're Not Sorry" was first released as a promotional single from Fearless on October 28, 2008, as part of Countdown to Fearless, an exclusive campaign by the iTunes Store. The song was reissued on March 5, 2009, as remix, the same day she made her guest appearance on the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the episode "Turn, Turn, Turn". The remix was featured in the episode. A re-recorded version of "You're Not Sorry", titled "You're Not Sorry (Taylor's Version)", was released on April 9, 2021, as the ninth track from Fearless (Taylor's Version), the re-recorded version of Fearless. The re-recording was part of Swift's move after a public dispute with Big Machine and talent manager Scooter Braun over the acquisition of the master recordings to her past albums. ## Composition "You're Not Sorry" is four minutes and 21 seconds long. Critics described it as a power ballad with minimal influences of country, contrary to Swift's self-identity as a country musician at the time. Jordan Levin of The Miami Herald characterized the song as a "rebellious rock tune". Anna Rosales from the Evansville Courier & Press thought the track has a "hard rock edge" to it. The song is set in common time and has a slow tempo of 67.5 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E♭ minor and Swift's vocals span two octaves, from G♭<sub>3</sub> to C♭<sub>5</sub>. It follows the chord progression E♭m–C♭–G♭–D♭. The musical arrangement contains a prominent pop hook in its refrains, according to Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine. Rob Sheffield in Rolling Stone described the track as a "dramatic piano-and-strings ballad". "You're Not Sorry" features a soft piano introduction, and in the refrains progresses with dynamic, loud electric guitars, which eventually reach a solo. The production additionally incorporates cello and strings. Scott Mervis of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette compared "You're Not Sorry" to a "chanteuse a la Tori Amos". In the lyrics, the protagonist criticizes an ex-lover who betrayed her trust. Sheffield, in a review for Blender, noted the lyrics to "You're Not Sorry" had many "tingling pheromones". Kyle Anderson from MTV said that the theme of "You're Not Sorry" is more serious than the "dreaminess" of the previous upbeat Fearless tracks: "the weight of the lyrics actually weighs down the arrangement (it literally sounds like it's being played just a hair too slow, which creates a palpable tension)." The re-recorded "You're Not Sorry (Taylor's Version)" features an identical production, but critics also commented that Swift's vocals became richer and deeper. Joe Coscarelli opined that the production of the re-recording sounded "fresh and refined", an improvement from the original. Music professor Michael A. Lee observed that on "You're Not Sorry (Taylor's Version)", Swift's vocals are less nasal and come more from the chest, the background vocals are more subdued, and the strings are recorded in a closer proximity to the microphones. ## Critical reception Music critics gave "You're Not Sorry" mixed reviews. Sheffield in Blender described the track as "drippy" and opined that it is not as effective as other upbeat Fearless tracks. Todd Martens from the Los Angeles Times deemed Swift's vocals weak. Nick Catucci of New York commented that "You're Not Sorry" contrasts with Swift's identity as a country-music artist because the track "isn't the stuff of redneck women but earnest suburban princesses". Catucci said that although he could come up with better songs by other singer-songwriters in the last ten years, "this bittersweet bit of pop fluff succeeds splendidly. She's an American idol, on her own terms." Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine was more favorable, remarking that the production of "You're Not Sorry" showcases Swift's songwriting with a prominent hook. Craig Rosen of The Hollywood Reporter said the song proved Swift's crossover potential beyond country music. Retrospectively, critics have considered "You're Not Sorry" one of Swift's weaker songs in her catalog. Hannah Mylrea in NME (2020) ranked it 146th out of 161 songs in Swift's discography, calling it "overdone". Nate Jones from Vulture ranked it 122nd in a ranking of Swift's 179 tracks, describing it as an "unflinching kiss-off song". In Rolling Stone, Sheffield placed it at number 111 in his 2021 ranking of Swift's 206-song catalog, highlighting the track for showcasing her vocal development from her debut album. Brittany Spanos from the same magazine praised Swift's singing for conveying the dramatic sentiments: "Her voice pierces through the sound of her band for one of her first truly dramatic vocal deliveries." Joe Coscarelli from The New York Times said he had admired Swift's songwriting "You're Not Sorry" but felt the production "[plods] a little"; after the re-recorded version was released, Coscarelli became more appreciative of the track. ## Chart performance "You're Not Sorry" debuted and peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 2008, becoming the week's highest debut. After being featured in the CSI series, supported by the remix, "You're Not Sorry" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 67. It is one of the 13 Fearless tracks that charted within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record for the most top 40 entries from a single album. It spent a total of five weeks on the Hot 100. On the Pop 100 chart compiled by Billboard, the track peaked at number 21. By December 2011, "You're Not Sorry" had sold 653,000 copies in the United States. In 2017, the song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for surpassing one million units based on sales and streaming. In Canada, it peaked at number 11 on the Canadian Hot 100. ## Live performances Swift performed "You're Not Sorry" on all venues of her first headlining concert tour, the Fearless Tour, which extended from April 2009 to June 2010. During each performance, Swift donned a black cocktail dress with sparkly ornaments along the stomach. She began the performance by sitting on a bench, playing black grand piano. Midway through "You're Not Sorry", Swift ceases playing the piano and commences to sing a cover version of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around" while whipping her hair, maintaining on the bench. Throughout the remainder of the performance, she intermingled between the two songs as smoke swirled and lightning was projected on the stage. Jon Pareles of The New York Times referred to the performance as one of the night's highlights at the August 27, 2009, concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Reed Fischer of Miami New Times attended the March 7, 2010, concert at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida and, of the cover of "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around", said, "That, and some extended beating on an oil drum sculpture, made for the only unsavory moments of the night." Alice Fisher of the United Kingdom magazine The Observer believed the performance at the May 7, 2009, concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, England "was undermined by the way Swift writhed on her stool and awkwardly thumped the piano lid in one of the most unconvincing displays of passion I've seen since Footballers' Wives finished." Swift also performed the song at an exclusive performance, hosted by 95.8 Capital FM, the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards, and the 2009 CMA Music Festival. During her Speak Now World Tour, she used elements of "You're Not Sorry" and "Apologize" while performing "Back To December". She also performed the song three times during the Red Tour and the first night in Houston on the Eras Tour. ## Charts ### "You're Not Sorry" ### "You're Not Sorry (Taylor's Version)" ## Certifications

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